"Seth," Edward quietly answers Jacob's unspoken questions, "may have answered a few questions I may have had."
Jacob says nothing as Edward becomes bolder in his ministrations, shifting from beside him to the foot of the bed to massage Jacob's feet.
"Started with him dropping off a few of his shirts that he thought you might like." Edward pointedly looks over his shoulder at the pile that had begun to form at the end of the bed.
Jacob doesn't want to think about it for too long. If he thinks about it for more than a second, it could upset him and he's had a turbulent enough day as it is. That combined with the unrelenting feeling that this wasn't over. Jacob wasn't known for just being handed a happy ending.
Edward's words start to become more faint the more he finds himself in his own head and the only thing that brings him back into sharp focus is the sharp pain in his side that almost folds him in half. He lets a grunt in his fumble for actual words.
"Oh, fuck."
His voice comes out tight like someone's wringing the words out of him and he can feel Edward next to him again, can hear him questioning Jacob.
What's wrong? Hell if he knew.
"Is it your stomach?" Edward frantically asks and Jacob wants to yell at him for asking such a stupid question, but he knows it was just fear. He was scared and lashing out. He had to calm down.
After about a minute, the pain finally lets up enough for him to breathe and unglue his hand from his side where it had been pressing down. Jacob cautiously lifted his shirt up, eyes not having to search long as he looked down at the wound on his belly.
Earlier, it had been closer to looking healed. It sort of hurt when he leaned over, he barely noticed it when he sat up. Though, there it was. His own red blood is a stark contrast against the white bandages. It wasn't just a speck, the blood traveled across the entire bandage, drenching it and eventually rendering it useless. It was like he'd been cut open all over again.
"Shit!" Jacob can hear Edward stumbling around so fast that he wouldn't even be able to see him. He didn't even bother looking at him, eyes glued to his stomach, as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening to him.
They'd done everything the damn witch had asked and yet, at the first sign of any peace, they're back at step one. He tries to get himself to relax or else his panic could cause more complications.
Or maybe it's the loss of blood that's slowing his heart rate down, lulling him into this calm as he sways without consent.
"Did everything," he hears himself mutter to no one.
Edward had rushed downstairs at some point and when he returned, he had a phone pressed to his ear. He looks distraught even as his face stays the same amount of pale, his free hand mussing up his hair as he runs his fingers through the strands. He's yelling at someone about something as he tucks the phone between his shoulder and ear.
"What do you mean 'complications'?" Edward leans over Jacob, towel in hand as he presses it against Jacob's side.
"You can't find her body?"
His voice had become eerily calm, clearly trying to not scare Jacob, but Jacob wasn't fooled. He could see the unhinged look in his eye.
Edward changed languages. While his voice was still just as "calm" and steady, Jacob watched his eyes slowly turn redder with every word, almost scarlet by the time he was done speaking.
Jacob's head feels like it's not even attached to his body, like a balloon barely tied down, he feels like he's floating away. Maybe that's why he sees her bright green eyes shining at him from one of the corners of the room. She's watching them, watching them closely like she was appraising them.
He could taste it again, the copper in the back of his throat. His eyelids are getting harder to raise but he continues to stare at her as she watches them. He's pleading with his eyes, he knows, but she doesn't seem to care. She'd said that she'd done it to save this kid, so why was she killing him? He was barely a couple of weeks along and the only thing that seemed to be causing the kid any harm was her lingering, opening the gash whenever she saw fit.
Edward's whispering something to him, is looking at him with wide eyes, but he's slowly becoming a blur in Jacob's.
"She is yours now," the witch finally speaks a small smile on her face as she does so, "but don't think the girl won't retaliate."
Then, the pain is searing hot again and he thinks this very well might kill him. He doesn't have the strength to curl into a ball so he just presses his face into Edward's shirt and waits it out.
He wakes up to a confused Carlisle. This was basically how he woke up almost every morning, but this Carlisle wasn't mumbling anything to himself. He was just staring intently at the same spot on Jacob's body as if that would just magically give them the answers they were seeking.
It takes Carlisle about two minutes to realize that Jacob is staring back at him.
"Oh, I will go and get Edward." Then, he's scurrying out of the room.
It's the worse déjà vu that Jacob's ever had and he's truly tired of starting his days like this, but he keeps those complaints to himself, instead choosing to look over his body. His stomach is exposed and he can see the slight curve of the almost unnoticeable bump. There is barely any noticeable difference. What's more confusing is the scar. Or the lack thereof. There is no scar. It was like it was never there.
"She is yours now."
Ok, then why rip open a scar that was already healing fine just to reseal it?
He probably looks just as perplexed as Carlisle when Edward enters the room. It must've only been a couple of hours between him almost bleeding out and now. Edward was in the same clothes, bloodstains added to his expensive-looking casual wear. His hair looked like a bird's nest and he seemed genuinely frazzled but he still came over and climbed into bed next to Jacob like it was just any other day.
They sit in silence for a couple of minutes before anyone bothers to say anything.
"You were talking to her." Edward finally starts, eyes over in the corner next to the bathroom door.
He looks haunted by whatever was there and yet his eyes were still searching for it. Jacob doesn't know what to say to that. Maybe he should ask what he said, but he isn't sure he wants to know.
"Asking her what she wants, trying to bargain," Edward continues anyway, eyebrows lowering and face twisting into one of disdain, "then you started crying. Thought that was it, she was going to take you-"
He paused to stare blankly at the wall.
"She said she was mine." Jacob finally speaks, wanting to ignore the pain in Edward's voice.
They shouldn't be like this. People who have been in a relationship for at least a year have this kind of attachment. At most, they've been clinging to each other for less than a month, but he shouldn't be surprised, that's just how Edward was. Or maybe it was how he was when it came to kids.
"Yeah," Edward looked like he's been snapped out of his trance, like he all of a sudden remembered something very important, "about that..."
Jacob didn't find the piano face as amusing when it was aimed at him.
"New organs?" Jacob repeated to himself, ignoring Carlisle's small smile of reassurance and Edward trying to busy himself by analyzing the random bits of stuff poking out from behind one of Jacob's pillows.
"Female internal organs in preparation for birth." Carlisle said it again like it would make sense a second time.
"How?" Jacob doesn't genuinely want to know how.
"That's the million dollar question isn't it." Carlisle mumbles as he starts to stare at that one spot again, laser focused on where the scar used to be.
There is a question lingering on Jacob's tongue that he definitely isn't asking in front of Carlisle so he just allows the man to tinker with the machines around him until he's happy with his assessment. Jacob watches as he leaves before he looks over at Edward.
"Birth?"
Edward seems genuinely startled by the singular word aimed at him.
"Like she gave me a vagina?" Jacob asks as if Edward would know.
They hadn't had the chance to make it that far. The most he's seen is Jacob's bare ass while he's eating mashed potatoes. He ignored Edward's lingering stare as he glances down at the general area where Jacob's dick might be.
"Maybe...or just a uterus." His eyes never leave that spot and Jacob can basically feel the curiosity radiating off of him.
"Edward, my eyes are up here." He reminds him and watches as Edward's eyes reluctantly find their way back up to his.
"Yeah, I'm very familiar with them." His eyes quickly flick back down to the boxers Jacob doesn't remember dressing himself in. His hands soon follow as he slowly tugs lightly at them first, gauging Jacob's response.
Jacob just stares at the top of his head, trying not to roll his eyes too hard as Edward gave a harder tug. That pair of underwear would, no doubt, disappear into the pile of clothes underneath them never to be seen again.
Edward wasn't as shy once he realized Jacob wasn't going to protest, separating his legs to see what was in between them.
Jacob just busied himself with running his fingers through the mess of hair on top of Edward's head.
"See anything unusu-?" Jacob almost bites a hole in his own tongue as the air is knocked out of him.
Edward has taken the head of Jacob's cock into his mouth and doesn't bother stifling the groan as Jacob tightens the hold on the hair at the crown of his head. Jacob has to slap a hand over his mouth to keep from alerting anyone who might be in a hundred mile radius of what they were doing.
"Yeah, that's definitely different...no vagina though." Edward informs him.
Jacob wants to punch him in the face, but he has to catch his breath first.
"I mean he did just say internal organs-"
"Shut up." Jacob cuts him off, trying to unfold himself so he can push Edward off of him. Edward taunts him for a bit by taking an openmouthed kiss to his taint before letting his legs fall.
"God, I hate you." Jacob bites out only to get a hum in response before Edward's hovering over him with the beginnings of a smirk on his face.
He's more than just a bit faster than Jacob so he manages to get a quick peck on Jacob's lips before he's being pushed onto his back next to him.
"You know I think that's just the sexual deprivation talking." Edward mocks, barely dodging an elbow sent his way.
Jacob's a bit more than half hard, but something had piqued his curiosity a bit more.
"Is Bella still here?"
"And there goes the mood." Edward huffs out, throwing an arm over Jacob and tugging him closer.
It's clearly a lie as Jacob feels the hard line of Edward's cock pressing into his ass, but he ignores it.
"She's back at Charlie's." He mumbles into Jacob's shoulder, nipping at it lightly before licking at his work like a silent apology.
"The witch warned about her, said she might retaliate." Jacob finally admits.
Edward pauses for only a moment.
"We'll be ready."