Stranger Love

10

Eleanor was sleeping, curled up in an armchair, when all hell broke loose. She had a fleece blanket over her- used to Jacob's heat now when she slept- and Jacob had just come in from running a patrol. He was explaining that Sam wasn't happy about things and would try to attack soon. Eleanor stirred in her sleep as if she sensed he was near, which intrigued Jasper in a way he hadn't experienced before. Eleanor's bond with Jacob troubled him and he didn't know why. Something connected the both of them, something that was bigger than any relationship he'd seen before. He couldn't figure out what it was. He watched observantly as Jacob unconsciously moved to Eleanor's side and rested a gentle hand on her head, smoothing her hair softly while he spoke. Both calmed greatly from their restless emotions at the contact.

It happened in slow motion then. Bella had just told Seth to relax and reached for her foam cup. Her spine snapped, causing her to fall in an unnatural way, and the cup crashed to the ground before the contents spilled onto the white carpet. Jasper's eyes went wide with hunger. Alice immediately took him outside, unsure of what the future would hold due to the wolves and whatever was growing inside of Bella. Bella's cry of pain had Eleanor sitting up in her chair and looking around, disoriented and wide-eyed. She was immediately on her feet.

"What can I do?" she asked.

Nobody answered her. Edward disappeared quickly, Bella in his arms, and Rosalie followed. Eleanor ran after Seth and Jacob who had followed the vampires as a slower pace. She found herself in a large room that reminded her of a home office, and she would've loved to take the time to look around under different circumstances. Everything was in a flurry. She could barely catch the words the vampires were saying and her weak human eyes had a hard time catching the movement. Bella was screaming and begging for them to get her baby out. She was scared of him dying. Light glinted off the silver scalpel as Rosalie made the first incision before Jacob tackled her to the ground and dragged her from the room. Things were moving too fast for Eleanor to make much sense of what was happening in front of her.

"Do something!" Seth begged. He had one of Bella's hands in his own and was close to tears. Eleanor hadn't realized how close he'd gotten with the girl on the table. Before she knew what was happening, Edward leaned forward and bit into Bella. Her brain was in too much shock for her to understand what he was doing. Then there was a cry of a baby.

"It's a girl," Edward said in awe. "Renesmee."

He placed the baby on Bella's chest. Eleanor had a hard time seeing what was happening from her spot in the room. The next thing she saw was Seth doing chest compressions, trying to keep Bella's heart going. He growled at Edward's request for him to take the child. "No."

"I-I'll take her," Eleanor finally spoke up. She stepped forward, trying to ignore the blood and gore that covered Edward. "I'll take care of her."

Edward nodded and placed the baby, larger than a typical newborn and wrapped in a blanket, into her arms. Eleanor hurried from the room. She didn't know exactly what to do because she hadn't ever been there for a birth- much less for a child that was part vampire- but Renesmee seemed to be breathing well enough. She took the child into the bathroom and cleaned her with gentle hands. Rosalie appeared at the door.

"I can help," she said quietly. She had a tiny smile on her face. "I'm better now."

"Okay," Eleanor whispered.

Rosalie suddenly had a towel in her hands. Eleanor stepped back, the baby on the large counter, and allowed the blonde vampire to take over. She noticed how hard she was shaking then. For as much as she had endured in her life, Eleanor realized she wasn't exempt from what could put a human into shock. She could barely form a coherent thought to wonder where Jacob had gone off to. Everything had been happening so fast. She knew only minutes had passed since the blood had spilled onto the carpet, but it felt like hours to her. Eleanor collapsed on the bathroom floor after Rosalie had left the room, a sob caught in her throat, from the shock of the last ten minutes.