The Way It Should Have Happened…

Chapter 5

Esme heard the sound of falling at the same time Rosalie jumped down the two flights of solid, uncarpeted wood stairs. In moments Carlisle, and the three women, Alice, Esme and Rosalie were kneeling by Bella at the foot of the staircase. The girl was unconscious and the smell of human blood was becoming strong as the small pool under her hips grew larger second by second.

Carlisle quickly checked her pulse, heartbeat and breathing then carefully and gently picked her up and lay her on the kitchen table.

“Carlisle?” Esme looked at him, horrified. Alice covered her mouth and nose and Rosalie hung as far back as she could. “She may be losing the baby; Esme, help me. Alice and Rose, see if you can get the boys back; Edward should be here.”

“They’re not answering their phones.” She held hers, a look of frustration on her face. Either the others had forgotten theirs, weren’t answering—which was unlikely, or the batteries were dead or they were in a pocket of poor reception. Without pausing she simply went out to find them somewhere on the hundreds of square miles they could be. She didn’t tell anyone what she’d seen happening; there was no point and Carlisle knew the likely outcome anyway.

Esme did what she could to help, but the blood overpowered her within minutes. “Go, it’s all right. I can handle this.” Carlisle glanced at her. “It’s what I do and you’re not used to this. I’ll be fine.”

“What about Bella? If something happens to her Edward will never…”

“I know.” He was concentrating on his patient. “Go.” It was said softly; he knew how difficult this was for Esme. He bent to his work.

Out in the woods Alice was trying to contact Edward mentally but he didn’t seem to hear her and she was becoming more frustrated by the second as she moved through all their usual hunting areas.

 

*          *          *
 

The crisis didn’t take long, Carlisle was sitting by the bed in Edward’s room after he’d moved her up there an hour or so ago. She was asleep; or rather she was still sedated. He sat quietly, worried about her and how she and Edward would react when they learned what had happened and why. The three young men weren’t back yet, nor was Alice and he was starting to become concerned; Edward wouldn’t have gone far with Bella pregnant and upset. His brothers were sensitive to the situation and would have done whatever they could to offer support; they would have stayed close and should have been on the alert for a call asking they to come back. This was odd and worrisome.

“How is she?” Esme stood silently beside his chair, he’d been so distracted he hadn’t noticed her come in.

“Her vitals are strong but she hasn’t come out of the anesthesia yet. It shouldn’t be too much longer now.”

“Are you going to tell her or wait for Edward to do it?”

“I don’t know, we’ll see. Have you heard from them yet?” He’d been through this sort of thing countless times over his centuries of medical work, but never with a member of his own family. This was…difficult.

Esme nodded. “Alice called and said that they were on their way in, they should be here any moment.”

“Does he know? Did she tell him?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Where were they, why did it take so long?”

Esme looked like she would cry if she could. “Alice said that Edward had apparently tried to run away from the situation, insisted that Bella would be better off without him. Jasper and Emmett had all they could do to keep him from ending up in Denali or Italy.” Carlisle shook his head, they’d have to deal with this when the boys got home and things were calm enough for him to have a talk with Edward.

 

*          *          *
 

Alice had found them nearly a hundred and fifty miles from the house, sitting on the edge of a high cliff, seemingly relaxed and full after a successful hunt. Edward was immediately on his guard when he saw her walking over. “What’s happened?” He was in an instant panic, his mask completely gone and his fears obvious.

“She fell, Carlisle is with her.”

His face went several shades whiter than his usual pale and he was gone before the others could even stand up, following him as he ran at full speed back. It took them almost an hour to make the trip through the dense forests with Edward leading by several miles and not pausing until he was inside the house and in his own room. He stared at Bella, lying unconscious and pale, seeming to barely be breathing.

“Tell me.”

Carlisle didn’t bother looking up or even turning. “She fell on the stairs, the placenta separated and she was bleeding heavily. I performed an emergency c-section within a few minutes but it was almost impossible to get through the uterine wall because of the vampire influence. The fetus was without oxygen too long and…” He shook his head. “I’ve managed to stop the bleeding and, baring any complications, she should recover in a few weeks.” He paused, searching for the right words and knowing there weren’t any. “I’m sorry, Edward, that’s the best I could do. The damage was too extensive to save… I’m sorry.”

He just stood there, stunned and speechless. Esme moved over and put her arm around his waist, pulling him close. “She’ll be all right, you heard Carlisle, Edward. She’s going to be fine.”

“Was it a girl or a boy?”

“Edward, it was so early that…”

His patience gone, Edward exploded. “Answer me.”

“…A girl.”

“How did this happen?” She was clumsy, they all knew that, she could have tripped, slipped on the polished wood, missed her footing. It would be like her. “She was convinced it was a boy.” When no one commented he looked at the others, now all close in the smallish room. “How?”

“She fell.”

“You said that, how did she fall?” Of course. “Where’s Rosalie?”

“She’s downstairs cleaning up after the…she’s finishing in the kitchen.”

That wasn’t like her, not at all. Rose couldn’t stand to be near human blood and it was out of character for her to be this helpful when it involved something she’d rather avoid. “Did they argue, was Bella upset?”

The silence was answer enough. Edward could see in Rosalie’s mind how it had happened; an argument, accusations, Bella running to get away and falling. The fall had caused internal damage and had led to…this. “Does Bella know about the baby?” God, how would he tell her? Rose could wait, his wife came first but Rose would answer for this and he’d see to it that she never came close to Bella again, no matter what it took, he’d make sure of that.

Just then Bella started to stir slightly, moving her arms and softly groaning. Edward knelt by her and took her hand, speaking softly and doing what little he could to ease her. “Is she in pain?”

Carlisle added something to her IV and she settled back. “She won’t wake for at least another hour with that, call me at once if anything happens but she’ll recover and be fine, I promise she will.” The family left the two of them alone, gave them some privacy.

Down in the kitchen Rosalie stood motionless by the large window, staring at nothing. It was true that she disliked Bella and thought Edward had made a mistake with his own life which endangered all of them but she’d never intended for anything like this to happen. She also knew that everyone would blame her and she wasn’t sure how to deal with that. Obviously she and Emmett would have to leave for a few years or a decade or so but this would pass. It would just take time.

Later, up in Edward and Bella’s room he watched as she slowly woke. “Edward?” He bowed his head over her hand and kissed it, bringing her fingers to his lips. “The baby?”

He glanced at her and dropped his eyes, unable to meet hers.

“Edward?”

He heard the fear in her voice. “The damage was too great. Carlisle did everything he could but he couldn’t…” He didn’t finish, moving to hold her as she started to cry.
 

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