——
IN the living room sits Ellie, watching the windows on the seat adjacent to the couch. She can hear the wolves prancing around the outside of the home, their paws thudding against the mud, accompanied by Bellas shaky breaths and strained heart.
It's been only a few days since the shapeshifters joined their side, and not much has happened, besides a phone call from Charlie to Bella and her bump growing even larger, still, at an unprecedented rate. Sam's pack has been prowling nearby, but they never venture any closer than the tree line around the property.
Everyone has grown thirsty, not having fed in weeks now. Their eyes are all obsidian and the purple shadows beneath them have become more visible. It's especially hard for Ellie, still being a newborn and all. Thankfully, Bellas blood isn't appealing to Ellie, and it's even less now with all the medication in her bloodstream.
As the sky begins to lighten, Bella begins to stir awake for the first time in nearly twelve hours. She goes to sit herself up, with the help of Jake, but then she sharply gasps, nearly falling back on the couch but Jake holds her up.
Ellie, Rosalie, Edward and Carlisle are immediately by her, worried looks on each of their faces.
"Get her up to my office." Carlisle instructs as Edward gently lifts Bella up, immediately hurrying upstairs with her in his arms. He places her down on the hospital bed in Carlisle's office as Carlisle readies the equipment.
Ellie holds onto Bellas hand, Bellas teary brown eyes peer into Ellies jet black ones, making Ellie frown deeply.
Carlisle does an x-ray, showing them that Bella has a fractured rib. The rib hasn't punctured through anything yet, but it's only time before it does.
"Human babies crack ribs." Rosalie tells Bella after they went over the scans, her voice is smooth and assuring.
Edward shakes his head. "Carlisle, tell her what you told me." He says, his voice unwavering from its now ever present dullness as he glances at the doctor.
"The fetus is... incompatible with your body. Its far too strong and isn't allowing your body to get the nutrition it needs. Its growing stronger by the minute and I cannot stop the growth or slow it down. Its starving you." Bella looks up at Carlisle as he speaks to her, she nods, showing him that she's listening, or at least hearing the words he says. "At this rate, your heart is going to give out before you deliver."
Ellie isn't exactly surprised to hear this, just by looking at Bella you can see her draining health. Though she knows Carlisles words won't get through to Bella at all, not with Rosalie in her ear telling her this is all normal.
Ellie decides to then glance at the Rosalie, who has her eyes pinpointed on Bellas stomach -- not Bella herself, just her distended bump. She knows Rosalie's concern for Bella is only because of the baby, and when Bella dies, she doubts Rosalie will even care if the creature survives it all.
"Then I'll hold on as long as I can." Bella says, determined, yet she's so weak that her words hardly sound it.
"Bella," Carlisle sighs softly. "there are conditions that sometimes even venom cannot mend." He says, and Ellie thinks back to when she expressed these same worries to Rosalie two weeks ago, when there was still time to take care of it. "I'm sorry." He sympathizes, before turning away from the hospital bed and exiting the office.
Bella looks up at Ellie, and then Rosalie, her eyes glossy with tears. "You guys can go." She says softly.
Ellie slightly tightens her grip on Bellas hand. "Are you sure?"
Bella nods. "Yeah."
Ellie gives her hand one last squeeze before stepping away and leaving the office, Rosalie right behind her. They depart as they split in different directions, Rosalie going to she and Emmetts room, and Ellie goes downstairs, past the living room to the back porch.
As she emerges to the outside, she sighs, feeling so emotionally exhausted; it's draining watching your kid sisters life slowly fade right before your eyes — the sister you want to protect more than anything, and yet you're helpless in this situation.
If she could cry, she'd be sobbing. But the best that happens is her eyes pool with unshed tears made up of venom, never giving her the relief of falling.
She stares at the cloudy sky, the seemingly ever stretching forest, and the mountains in the distant background, attempting to distract her mind from thoughts of her sisters impending end.
HOURS pass, and the Cullens, including Jacob and Ellie, are all gathered around the living room, silence enveloping the whole space.
Bella is lying on the couch, with Jacob sitting near her feet, when Bella begins to heave, sitting forward to get closer to the trashcan, but nothing comes out.
"We need to find a way to get food into her system." Esme says tenderly, as Bella settles back into the couch with a soft groan.
Alice sighs. "If only I could see the fetus—"
"Baby." Rosalie corrects.
Alice ignores her, though Jasper glares heatedly at the blonde. "Maybe then I could figure out what it needs."
The Cullens look amongst themselves, each attempting to figure out ways to feed Bella, when Edward speaks.
"I think you may be right." Everyone looks towards the telepath, who has his eyes on Jacob.
"What?" Bella asks, brown eyes bouncing from Edward to Jacob.
"Jacob had an idea." Edward says.
Jacob scoffs, rolling his eyes. "It wasn't an idea. It was a snide comment."
"Well, share it with the class." Ellie urges.
"I was thinking it probably just needs something to sink its teeth into." Jacob says, shrugging.
A frail smile appears on Bellas cracked lips. "He's thirsty." Edward weakly smiles back.
Carlisle considers this idea, his head tilted to the side as he ponders it. "I do have some o-negative set aside for Bella..." And then, he turns and exits the living room into the connecting kitchen, where he pours a bag of blood into a glass cup.
"Let's go for a walk." Alice says to Jasper, gently leading him out of the room.
"Wait—you're gonna make her drink that?" Jacob asks, his eyes widening more and more.
"It's the quickest way to test the theory." Carlisle answers simply.
Ellies throat immediately feels scratchy and her mouth pools with venom at the sight of the red liquid. She ceases her breathing, knowing if she inhales the scent of the blood, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back.
Jacob promptly moves himself away from Bella, face scrunched in disgust. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Edward transfers the blood into a styrofoam cup, walking it to Bella and kneeling before her. "This may make it easier." He hands the white cup to her, and she holds it in her shaky hands.
All eyes are on Bella as she brings her lips to the straw. The blood flows through the straw, saturating Bellas chapped lips, filling every crack they've formed. She pulls the straw away, tasting the flavor on her tongue. "It tastes... good." She finally answers.
Optimistic glances are shared, and Carlisle steps forward, checking the pulse on the inside of Bellas wrist.
"Your pulse has already grown stronger." He states, amazed.
A sudden, lighter energy has filled the room. It feels hopeful. Ellie smiles, just like everyone else is, relishing in the feeling.
DEMETRI hurries to find Ellies contact in his phone, and he immediately presses it when he finds it. He waits for her to answer with a large and excited smile on his face.
He just got back to Volterra after two weeks of being on a mission in Austria, clearing out the beginning of a newborn army near a town full of humans. He misses Ellie dearly, and can't wait to speak to her again.
It only rings for a few seconds until the call is answered, then he hears her voice. "It's about fucking time." She says, and he laughs.
"Hello to you, too, darling." He responds, his smile even wider now than it was before.
"Hi, Dem." She greets, smiling on the other line just as hard as Demetri, so much so that he can hear her smile. "You know, I was getting worried. Thought you got kidnapped or something."
"And you didn't try to find me?" He asks in fake offense.
"I was packing my bags when you called, actually. I was gonna come to Italy and find you." She states jokingly. She's actually just sitting on her bed in the Cullen home, staring at the pines from the windows. Pretty much the same thing she does everyday, except now she's happy, thanks to Demetri's call and Bellas improving health.
"You would make for a wonderful detective, I think." He tells her, listening to her laugh after.
"Yeah, Sherlock Holmes better look out."
"Truly."
"So, how long are you back for?" Ellie asks, hoping he's not about to disappear for two weeks again. She understands that he can't control the missions he gets sent on, but still, it sucks.
"I am not sure... It could be for only a few days or we could be here for months until called for another mission." He answers. He holds the same hopes as Ellie, he doesn't want to go weeks without hearing her voice again. It's strange, he used to prefer leaving the castle, to do something other than spending all day in the court room, but ever since he's met Ellie, that's changed.
"Well, the latter would be preferable."
Demetri nods to himself in agreement. "For me as well, most certainly. Now, enough about me." He says, changing the subject, wanting to know what Ellie has been up to since they last spoke. "How have you been, love?"
On the other line, Ellie resists the urge to spill everything to Demetri, to have someone to open up to and just vent about everything that's happened since he's left. But, alas, she can't, much to her dismay. Instead, she sighs softly. "Oh, you know, the same." As always, it goes against every instinct in her to lie to him.
Demetri senses an undercurrent of something in her voice, something is off, though he can't truly discern what it is.
"And your thirst?" He asks, shaking away his feeling of worry, because she would tell him if something were going on, wouldn't she? "How has that been?"
"It's been okay." Another lie. Her thirst only becomes increasingly worse by the minute, especially with the scent of fresh human blood always lingering now because of Bellas new diet. Every breath she takes is like inhaling fire, but she tries not to think about it. Until now, anyway.
Again, something feels off about her words, her tone. Demetri tries not to worry, but everything inside of him is screaming to worry. "Are you sure?" He asks, his voice becoming softer.
His question almost makes Ellie come undone, the urge to let everything go is so intense, but she shakes her head to herself. "Yeah, I'm sure." She attempts to put some enthusiasm back into her voice. She doesn't want him to worry, and she also doesn't want him to suspect anything, despite how wrong it feels.
Demetri doesn't want to pry, so he doesn't press any further. "Thats good."
Ellie opens her mouth to respond, but pauses when she hears heavy footsteps thudding down the front steps of the home, and then the roar of a loud engine coming to life, followed by tires peeling down the driveway at a high speed.
She can only wonder what just happened downstairs. No one has used a car in the past few weeks since Carlisle went up to the hospital for equipment and more supplies.
Downstairs, she can hear Edward and Bellas voices becoming louder, filled with excitement.
"Yeah, it is." She eventually says to Demetri, after letting some silence hang in the air accidentally for a couple of seconds.
"Someone's a little distracted." Demetri notes with mirth.
"Sorry." She says softly.
"No worries." Demetri assures.
Right after Demetri speaks, a howl ripples through the air. Ellies eyes widen, hoping Demetri didn't hear it, but knowing he most likely did. The howling is a sound that Ellie has grown used to, thanks to the wolves constantly keeping it up all day and night, but she's pretty certain that Demetri, and the rest of the Volturi, are completely unaware of the shapeshifters. And now really isn't the time for them to find out.
"What was that?" Demetri asks, sounding taken aback.
"It was, a, um, c—" But before Ellie can stutter out an animal to disguise the howl as, she's interrupted by a monotonic voice on the other end, something she never thought she'd be glad to hear.
"I do apologize for intruding on your time with your friend, but there is a trial we must attend." Ellie recognizes the sudden voice as Jane's.
"We just got home, why must we immediately be tossed into more work?" Demetri asks Jane, and she rolls her eyes.
"I am not here to answer your questions, fool. Take it up with Aro — or, actually, better yet, Caius. Therefore at least you'll get decapitated." She says before leaving his chambers, the door wide open.
"I presume you heard that?" Demetri asks.
"Oh, I heard." Ellie answers. "Jane seems as lovely as ever, by the way."
"Yes, she's quite the treat." He then sighs. "I do not wish to leave you."
"It's fine. I have my own shit to attend to, anyways." She tells him.
"I will call you tomorrow, my love."
"Okay." Ellie smiles. "I love you, Dem."
"I love you, too, darling. I will try to call tomorrow. Goodbye."
"Bye." She says, and then he's gone. She's still smiling, happy to finally have spoken to him. And also a little relieved he was called away, so she can go downstairs, and see what happened while she wasn't down there.
She raises from her bed, exits her room and goes down the steps, following the voices to the living room. She enters, finding Edward and Bella sat on the couch, Edward's hand placed on Bellas stomach, smiling. A sight she never thought she'd see.
"What's happening here?" Ellie asks.
Bella looks away from Edward's hand on her stomach, to Ellie. "Edward can hear his thoughts."
"The cre- the babies thoughts?" Ellie asks, her shocked expression matching her voice.
Bella nods, her eyes brimming with excitement and joy.
"Well, what's he thinking about?" Ellie asks, turning her gaze towards Edward.
"He recognizes you, your voice." Edward speaks softly, so much different from earlier, when his words were harsh and cold.
Ellies eyebrows lift as she hears this. "Really?"
Edward nods. "He says hello."
Ellie would be lying if she said this wasn't a little creepy. She's never had a conversation with a baby in utero before, and she isn't sure she wants to have one.
"Tell him I say what's up." She says, and then notices the absence of Jacob, who is normally always somewhere around Bella now. "Where's the dog?"
"He went to clear his head." Bella answers, her voice sounding so much stronger than it was yesterday. Ellie can't believe that the blood has made her better in only a day.
"Oh, okay." Ellie says, looking at them huddled close together on the sofa, both smiling with their hands on Bellas bump. They look like an actual family, then. Like they planned this rather than it happening out of nowhere with such horror. Ellie figures she should give them some time to revel in their newfound happiness.
"I'll be in my room if you need me." She tells them before going back up the stairs.