Everyone froze when Eleanor stood up. She looked down at the warm feeling on her legs and almost forgot to breathe. Her voice was slightly broken. "Jacob..."
Jacob was instantly on his feet, shaking his head. "This isn't happening. Everything will be okay, El. I promise you. Breathe. We'll take care of you. Sarah is going to be okay."
"Seth, take Renesmee home," Edward instructed. "Jacob, we should get her upstairs. Carlisle shouldn't be long. I'm not sure we have time to get to the hospital."
Eleanor couldn't tear her eyes from the blood dripping down her legs. She knew something wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. Even if bleeding was normal, she knew it wasn't supposed to be this much. She didn't feel anything but fear as Jacob took her upstairs. Eleanor was paralyzed by the fear of losing her little girl. The words of her husband had done nothing to comfort her.
"It's too early," she whispered. "She isn't ready. Jacob, she can't come yet. We aren't ready for her. I'm not ready. I can't do this. I can't be a mom. Jake-"
"Shh, honey," Jacob tried to comfort. He placed her on the table and held her hand tightly in his. "Everything's okay. Sarah will be perfect. She's strong like her mother."
Eleanor was caught between crying and not breathing altogether. Carlisle walked in quickly. "Edward, help Esme downstairs. Emmett took Jasper out already."
"She hasn't been bleeding long," Edward said quickly, almost too fast for Eleanor to catch. "But there's a lot of blood."
"I have this taken care of," Carlisle assured. He was moving too fast for Eleanor to see him, but she could feel Jacob's tense body close. "Eleanor, talk to me. What are you feeling?"
"Get her out," Eleanor managed, pain and fear taking over. "Carlisle, don't let anything happen to her. Save my little girl. Please."
"I'll have to do a cesarian," Carlisle told her. He had an IV set up and already in her arm. "The medication will make you feel a bit off. That's normal. Tell me if there's any pain at all. You'll feel a bit of pulling."
Eleanor blinked and a curtain was over her, blocking whatever Carlisle was working on. She thought she heard him talking, but the medication was beginning to take effect on her mind and body. She turned her head to look at Jacob standing next to her. "Jake..."
"I'm not going anywhere," Jacob promised. He quickly glanced across the room at something Eleanor couldn't see before looking down at her again. "I promise. Both you and Sarah will be fine. I won't let anything happen."
"Everything's ready, Jacob," Carlisle said. "This is the best I could do with the time we have. If I don't get started, things may not turn out the way we want them to."
"Then stop talking and do it already," Jacob snarled. He smoothed down Eleanor's hair in a way that contradicted his tone. "Don't let them die."
Eleanor felt a faint pulling sensation but had a hard time paying attention to where it was coming from. She felt suddenly calm as the full effect of the drugs hit her. She knew doing all this in Carlisle's office wasn't the best thing to do, but she couldn't think clearly enough to say anything. Her only concern was Sarah. She only wanted her daughter to live and grow up to be a healthy young woman.
"Eleanor, can you hear me?" Carlisle spoke. "Do you feel any pain?"
Eleanor shook her head. Her voice was almost silent and her eyes fluttered. "No."
It was seconds later that a baby's cry filled the room. Eleanor smiled and Jacob gasped lightly. Carlisle smiled. "Jacob, would you like to hold your daughter?"
Sarah was quickly placed into Jacob's arms while Carlisle worked to close Eleanor's incisions. Jacob held her close before resting the baby on Eleanor's chest. "She's so beautiful."
Eleanor smiled. She managed to place a hand on her daughter's small body. "She has her daddy's eyes."
Later, Eleanor was lying in a hospital bed in Carlisle's office. It didn't take Carlisle long to finish the procedure and make sure Sarah was perfectly healthy. Once she was cleaned up and swaddled, Jacob held her close and sat by Eleanor's side until the young mother woke up. He smiled at her, his voice quiet. "Hey, honey."
Eleanor smiled. "Hey. How's our girl?"
"She's so beautiful," Jacob told her. "Strong like you. I think she wants you."
Eleanor held out her arms. Jacob placed the baby in them carefully, waiting until he was sure Eleanor wouldn't drop her, and sat closer to the bed. Eleanor gazed down at her daughter and smiled. "She's perfect."
"Carlisle said you could try to feed her if you want," Jacob said shyly. "He said to let him know if you need any help. Esme had a baby a long time ago, but she might remember some things to help."
Eleanor's eyes flickered up to her husband before focusing on her daughter again. "She's probably hungry."
"Do you want me to leave?" Jacob asked. He was already half out of his chair.
"Only if you want," she whispered.
Eleanor was surprised when she and Sarah had no problems with breastfeeding. She hadn't been sure what to expect, but she knew babies had a hard time getting the correct latch more often than she wanted to think about. What killed her was the pain from the surgery and that it prevented her from holding Sarah as much as she wanted to. It took her a long time before she managed to get up to go to the bathroom, and even longer for her to comfortably spend more time out of her bed. At one point she got so frustrated she yelled at everyone to leave, only to feel horrible about it later. Being a new mom was hard.
"You seem better today."
Eleanor looked up from where Sarah was sleeping in her bassinet to see Jasper standing against the wall. She swallowed and looked down. "I didn't mean to yell yesterday. I just want her to be okay by herself. Of course we'll come visit you guys, but when I'm home by myself I can't hold her constantly. I am trying to be better about keeping my house clean. I don't want to lose her in the mess somehow. I'm so scared of doing something wrong."
Jasper shrugged. "Your experience is different from Bella's. You mean well and want what's best for your daughter. Nobody can blame you."
"We go home today," Eleanor admitted. "I made Jacob go make sure everything was okay at home. We had all the essentials but they weren't set up. He was going to try and get some help with the crib, at the very least."
"I'm surprised you let him leave," Jasper teased. "Or that he left willingly. You and that little girl are his entire life."
Eleanor blushed. "I couldn't do anything without him. I wouldn't have met you without him. I wouldn't have Sarah."
"Then it's a good thing you don't have to worry about losing any of us," Jasper said. He tugged at her ponytail teasingly. "You're stuck with me now."
"You know I wouldn't have it any other way," she told him. Sarah started fussing and her little face scrunched up before she started wailing. Eleanor suppressed a sigh and picked her up, bouncing her slightly in her arms. "Sarah... Don't cry. Daddy will be back soon. We're going home today. You get to meet more family. I know it's a lot, baby. Just please don't cry."
Sarah calmed down slightly at the sound of her mother's voice. Jasper could tell it was comforting for the child. He smiled as he watched the interaction, only looking up when Jacob walked into the room.
"I could hear her outside," Jacob teased. He kissed his wife. "Quil was more than happy to help put everything together. He says you're the reason Claire is so perfect."
Eleanor laughed lightly as Jacob rolled his eyes. "Did you thank him?"
"Yeah," Jacob said. He took Sarah carefully from Eleanor's arms, smiling at her. "But he's wrong. Nobody could be more perfect than our little girl."
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Did you bring the baby seat?"
Jacob thought for a moment, a look of panic on his face long enough for Eleanor to begin to be annoyed, before he smiled at his wife. "Yes. I'm not that forgetful, El. It's by the door."
Eleanor groaned and hit his arm. "Don't do that! Thank you for doing everything, though. You're the best, you know that?"
"You might've said that once or twice," Jacob said. He winked at her with a smile, Sarah resting against his chest with heavy eyes.
"What time is Billy expecting us?" Eleanor asked her husband. It had been a couple of weeks since she'd seen Jacob's family and was a bit nervous about seeing them again. They would've gone home sooner, but Carlisle had insisted they stay until her incision looked better and there was a less chance of infection. Eleanor hadn't protested. She was nervous about leaving and not having the help of her extended family. Billy had called almost every day asking if they could come back once he heard the baby had arrived.
"I stopped by before leaving and told him I was coming to pick you up," Jacob answered. "Impatient old man... He's probably sitting at the door right now like a kid on Christmas."
Eleanor suppressed her sigh. "Give me five minutes."
"Sure, sure," Jacob said. He rocked slightly in the chair where he sat, one hand on Sarah to keep her steady on his chest. He watched Eleanor disappear into the bathroom and close the door behind her. He could tell she was nervous and scared about leaving. He knew she was scared to be alone with their daughter, no matter how much she denied it. He waited, almost falling asleep himself, for her to be ready to leave. Jacob looked up when he heard the door and saw Eleanor coming out of the bathroom with her hair thrown up in a bun and a little makeup on. "Everything okay?"
Eleanor nodded. "Is she asleep?"
Jacob smiled. "I think so."
Eleanor found the baby carrier near the door and brought it into the room before kneeling in front of it. "Hopefully she'll sleep in the car. She needs it."
Jacob moved carefully to sit next to his wife. He handed her the baby and observed how Eleanor carefully strapped in infant into the seat. He pulled her into his arms once Sarah was secure. "Hey, you okay? You're a bit tense."
Eleanor let out a sigh and looked up at him. Her voice was a whisper. "I'm scared. I'm so scared I'm going to screw up and she's going to hate me. It was different with John's girls. They don't have to have me around forever."
Jacob wrapped Eleanor in a large hug. "She's not going to hate you. You're the sweetest person ever, El. You're the best mom."
Eleanor said nothing, soaking in his affection before she pulled away. "Thanks, Jake. We should go before Billy calls again."
The drive to La Push was quiet, and despite how short it was Eleanor almost fell asleep from the exhaustion of being a new mom. Jacob shook her gently when they reached Billy's and opened her door before taking Sarah's seat out to avoid waking her up. Billy had the door open before they were out of the car.
"Hey Billy," Eleanor greeted. "Sorry it's been so long."
"You look great, Ella," Billy complimented. "We've missed you guys."
"Thanks," Eleanor said. She followed Billy into the house and dropped onto the couch, dropping the diaper bag on the floor by her feet. "Sarah's asleep, but Jacob can get her out for you. If she doesn't wake up soon she won't sleep very well tonight."
Jacob sat next to his wife and meticulously extracted the infant from the seat. He cradled her to his chest, a sense of pride showing in his face, and Eleanor couldn't help but smile. Jacob was already the best father, and Eleanor was barely three weeks old. She couldn't help her warning to support Sarah's head as Jacob handed the infant to his father. Billy held the girl in his arms, looking down at her with old, wise eyes. Eleanor saw his eyes glisten as tears threatened to fall. Billy's voice was quiet. "She's so beautiful. She looks so much like her."
Eleanor smiled. "I hope you don't mind we named her after Jacob's mother."
Billy looked up from the infant in his arms. "It's the greatest gift you could've given me, Eleanor. Sarah would've been honored. She would've loved you, you know."
Jacob wrapped an arm around Eleanor, sitting back. The two young parents relaxed together. Jacob was getting used to the smell of the vampires, but being home was the best feeling in the world. This was familiar to him. Eleanor had just closed her eyes when Paul and Rachel came in.
"She's so adorable!" Rachel squealed and rushed over to her father. "What's her name?"
"Sarah," Billy answered. He smiled at his daughter. "After your mother."
"Oh, Sarah..." Rachel cooed. "Can I hold her?"
Eleanor nodded with half closed eyes. "Please be careful."
Rachel promised to be extra careful and took the baby from Billy. Eleanor caught Paul's expression before her eyes fell shut and couldn't help but smile. The hothead was growing on her, and she knew he was seeing his future in that moment. He would protect Sarah as if she were his own, at least until he and Rachel had children and his attention was otherwise diverted. She fell asleep with that thought in her mind.
~Author's Note~
This is the last chapter. There will be an epilogue after this before the story is ending. If you want a sequel or to know more about any of my characters (Eleanor and her small family), comment and let me know! I'm torn on writing a sequel or leaving things the way they are now. Happy reading, lovelies! (P.S. What do you want to see in a sequel? Would you want more with Eleanor and Jacob? Or would you want it to be about Sarah and/or the twins?)