𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙔 𝙏𝙒𝙊
ミ★ ( bewitched, act four ) ★彡
Tension was thick the minute the newlyweds stepped back into Washington and into the Cullen home. The entire family had been split into two sides of an argument with the news about a possible baby on the way, mostly out of fear that it could kill Lilith before it even could be born. Rosalie stuck by Lilith's side like she promised and supported Lilith's decision on wanting to keep the baby, but, definitely held the same fears as the rest of the family when it came to the health and safety of her sister in law. It had been about a month since they arrived back into Forks from Isle Esme, they had told their other friends and family that they were extending their trip there because they were having such a great time and they wanted to make more memories—thankfully to which they all believed.
The second they arrived in Forks, Edward immediately made Carlisle look at Lilith's stomach in fear of what they had created. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best news he had heard in his life—it was quite the opposite actually.
Carlisle sighed and removed the probe away from Lilith's stomach, handing her a wipe to clean off the gel that had been placed all over it, "Unfortunately I can't exactly see much, nothing is penetrating the embryonic sac." He explained, "But, I can see that it's strong and fast growing."
Lilith couldn't help but let out a defeated sigh at the news, she could see Edward disappointed glare at her stomach also which she couldn't help but glare at him in return. She then turned to Carlisle, "Is there a chance I could survive it if I chose to keep it?" She questioned, trying to ignore the angry scoff she heard come from Edward.
"I'm not sure. We've been researching legends, but there isn't much to go on." Carlisle answered her, "But, there could be a higher rate of survival considering you're not the average human, but, if not, your health could deteriorate quickly since your body might not be strong enough to carry it."
Lilith bit her lip, taking in all of the information and trying to make sure she knew every part before she wanted to make her decision on what to do. While all signs were currently pointing on getting rid of the baby, there was a small (slightly large) part of her that wanted to take the chance anyway, "How long do we have until my health takes a turn for the worse?"
"Months, if we're lucky, otherwise it could be as soon as a couple of weeks." Carlisle answered her again, "From what I could tell without the equipment, you're currently two months along, but, the baby is already as strong as a four month old. If we don't find a way to handle this quickly, this might turn very bad very quickly."
Doing the math in her head, Lilith could assume that their baby was convinced around the first week or second week of their honeymoon. She began to piece together all of the subtle cravings and other symptoms of pregnancy that she simply shrugged off just thinking that it was just her body reacting differently to a different climate and location that she was used to—which she could see now as very dumb.
With the information that her baby is already strong enough to be four months along at two months was slightly frightening her, but, she was surprised considering that she felt the baby moving in her stomach not too long ago. The strength was obviously there because it would be half vampire and Edward was already quite strong to begin with, which was assumed to be passing down to their child.
She suddenly had a thought, "Is there a chance that I could be changed right after the baby is born to save me if it does turn badly?" Lilith couldn't help but want the baby even if there was a chance of her not surviving, and her being changed into a vampire seemed to be the small loophole that would make it possible to have it her way.
Carlisle sighed again, "There is a chance, but we have to time it correctly otherwise this would all be for nothing."
Edward seemed to not like his father's answer, growing frustrated quite quickly, "Why are you giving her false hope? This could kill her!" He exclaimed, Lilith flinching at the tone of his voice.
"I'm not giving her false hope, I'm giving her facts." Carlisle disagreed softly, trying to soothe the tension in the air, "There is a chance we could do it that way and everyone gets what they want. But, in the end, it is Lilith's decision on whether she wants to keep the baby or not. It's not ours."
After that 'appointment', Edward began to distance himself from Lilith, holding her at an arms length away for the next few days. He couldn't stand there and watch as the thing that was in Lilith's stomach had a high chance of killing his wife, and there wasn't anything he could do to make her not go through with the decision because she was already so attached to it.
He believed she was attached to the image that she created in her dream about their supposed daughter that they could have, and he was growing more and more frustrated that there was a chance that the baby wouldn't even turn out the way she had pictured in her head; and it could kill her, leaving him stuck with the thing that tore his marriage apart for nothing. Edward knew it was an ugly thought to have about the child that was his, but, his mind was turning bitter the more he could see Lilith's health turning worse rather than flourishing like it was during their honeymoon because of how happy they were.
Lilith had turned to Rosalie for support, the blonde vampire being there for her during appointments with Carlisle and doing her activities to strengthen her and keep her happy—like shopping for baby clothes out in Port Angeles and just getting her out of the house for daily walks and for some fresh air away from all of the tension in the household.
It was in those appointments that they would learn that her pregnancy would be much shorter than an average human's due to the baby's fast growing pace, and it could be due within a six month period of time depending on if the growing of the baby declined or increased at any point in time, along with the fact that Lilith being a witch and Edward's mate helped make the baby become a reality for them.
Edward wished he could be there for some of the moments and was quite jealous of the fact that Rosalie was standing in his place instead, but, he was too far gone and this was the result of his actions since he was the one to decide to distance himself from his wife in the first place. He was too scared to go in there and see for himself what was happening to her, only relying on what was being told to him by Carlisle.
He tried calling her parents to come and convince her not to have the baby, and while they were on board with his idea at first, they saw how happy she was despite feeling a little unwell physically and saw a large amount of hope in her eyes for an extraordinary future, causing them to retract their statements and take her side. They also didn't want to be the ones to try and make a decision for her daughter as they had done something similar for her once before and it didn't exactly end well. They didn't want to continue the cycle and they told Edward to keep them out of it and to enjoy this time as it was so unique and special, and that they were blessed to have something like this.
Edward refused and his little stunt ended up estranging him further from Lilith—along with the rest of her family—as she felt insulted that he would disrespect her decision like that and tried to make her change her mind. She was already pissed that he went against his word that if Carlisle gave them the green light about the baby, that they would go ahead with it and his little stunt pushed her over the edge. While Carlisle didn't exactly say it was safe, he didn't say that there was a definitive result in her death if she were to have the baby either. It was all too unclear at that moment because there were so many other factors incorporating themselves into the pregnancy.
While Edward was concentrating on the negative things and focusing on the fact that there was a chance that the baby could kill Lilith, Lilith was focusing on the positive things like the fact that they would eventually have a child of their own out of this and she would become a vampire afterwards.
The Cullens and the Baileys could only just have to wait and see what the future held for Lilith, and hoped that whatever was happening to her held a good outcome or that she would snap out of her daydream once she realised that having that baby wouldn't end well for her.
And Edward didn't want to give up on his wife just yet either, having another plan up his sleeve to help Lilith wake up to herself sooner rather than later.
Days later, Bella and Jacob knocked on the front door of the Cullen home after receiving a strange call from Edward earlier that morning saying that they had arrived back in Forks and that he wanted to surprise Lilith as she was missing her friends. They didn't think much of it and were eager to see Lilith anyway since they hadn't seen her in months so they agreed to come over that afternoon to say hello.
Lilith was sitting on the living room couch with a thick blanket over her body to warm her up and watched as Carlisle went downstairs to answer the door, looking confused as they weren't expecting any visitors. The Cullens had all been standing around watching Lilith like a hawk in case anything changed and she was hurt or sick, the pregnancy being so unpredictable that they had to make sure that nothing changed or that she was okay at all times. Carlisle opened the door, "Hello, Jacob, Bella." He greeted, "We didn't know we were expecting guests."
"Edward invited us over." Jacob told him as Carlisle loved over to let the couple inside the home, "He said Lilith wanted to see us."
Lilith couldn't help but sit up as she heard the voice of her friend, she wasn't exactly sure if it was though as their voices were slightly faint, "Jake, is that you?" She called out, knowing that if it was, he would be able to hear her.
Jacob and Bella immediately ran up the stairs, ignoring Carlisle as he calmly called out to them to give them a warning that not everything might be all fine and dandy upstairs, but, the two passed it off and continued to follow the scent of their friend. When they reached the top of the flight of stairs, they halted as they saw the entire Cullen family and the Bailey parents standing around the home stiffly and silently while Rosalie stood in front of Lilith protectively, glaring over at Edward.
Lilith peeked her head out from behind Rosalie and her eyes softening from the sight of her friends, even though they were here on false pretences, "I'm glad you're here." She told them.
Jacob and Bella took a step towards her and Rosalie took one as well, blocking them from reaching Lilith, "Close enough." She warned.
"What's your problem?" Jake scowled at Rosalie, not understanding why everyone was so tense and angry at their presence.
"Rose, it's okay." Lilith told the blonde haired vampire. She didn't need to be so protective when it came to Jake and Bella, but, she understood that she was doing what she thought was best.
Rose stepped out of the way and Bella immediately went to Lilith side, holding back the gasp when she noticed how sickly and pale Lilith looked, her mind jumping to the time when Edward left her and their bond broke, "You look terrible." Bella said with worry.
Lilith let out a small chuckle at the bluntness from her best friend, "It's nice to see you too, Bella." She responded.
"Sorry." Bella softly apologised, realising that was probably really mean of her to say and Lilith was most likely already feeling down about it herself, "Are you gonna tell me what's wrong with you?"
It was clear that Edward hadn't told Bella or Jake about the pregnancy, and that Lilith would have to tell them herself, but she could tell that he called them over here as another way to try and convince her to not have the baby once they reacted to the news. Lilith let out a nervous sigh and looked over at Rosalie, "Rose, do you wanna help me up?" She asked as she pushed the blanket off of her body slightly so it didn't fall once she stood up, and the blonde went over to her side and helped lifted her while everyone looked sadly at her.
Bella let out a small gasp as she saw the rounded belly that was protruding from Lilith, along with the bruises on her skin, standing up in shock as Jake also stood. Lilith pulled the shirt down and covered her skin, and let out another nervous breath as she rested her hands on her stomach protectively. She knew that Bella wouldn't hurt her; but, Jake was always a bit protective over both of the girls and they didn't know how he would react with the news.
"What is this?" Jake snapped, looking over at Edward angrily, "What did you do?" He snarled as he stormed over towards Edward, Emmett stopping him in his tracks by holding him at arms length by the shoulder.
"We didn't know it was even possible." Carlisle told Jake, "But, we believe it might have had something to do with the fact that they're mates, and that Lilith is a witch that it helped make it possible."
"It's just a baby, isn't it?" Bella asked Carlisle and Oliver as she walked back over towards Lilith who was sitting back down and reaching out to hold her hand comfortingly.
"We're not sure." He answered her, "Ultrasounds and needles won't penetrate the embryonic sac."
"I can't see it either, and I can't see Lilith's future anymore." Alice admitted.
Oliver looked over at Lilith and let out a sigh at her reaction to Alice's words, "She's not letting you, that's why." He realised.
"Then how do you know that this could be bad for her?" Bella questioned again, jumping to Lilith's defence. She could see how uncomfortable she was with the fact that no one besides Rosalie or her parents were on her side.
"There isn't much to go on besides legends, but, even that doesn't tell us much. The only thing we know about the baby is that it's strong and fast growing, and that's just from observation of Lilith's physical state." Oliver explained to Bella, "Until then, we just have to trust what Lilith is saying about her instincts since she's the only one who can see the baby."
"Why haven't you done anything? If this is dangerous and could kill her, take it out of her!" Jake argued and both Lilith, Rosalie and Bella scowled at him.
"This is none of your business, dog!" Rosalie scowled, regretting letting him even coming near Lilith with that attitude and mindset considering she's already at a bad place with her husband not wanting the baby. Seeing her friends disagree with her decision made her feel worse about it and it made her feel alone, and Rose couldn't stand seeing Lilith feel that way when it could feed into how the baby grows and affects Lilith's health.
"Rose!" Esme scolds her adoptive daughter, "All this fighting isn't good for Lilith. We all know it affects her worse than normal."
Jake turned to Lilith's father who had his wife gripping onto him nervously, "Oliver, you've gotta do something—"
"No." Lilith spoke up sternly, glaring at her friend, "It's not his decision. It's not any of yours, and if you continue to act like it then you can leave."
Oliver let out a sigh, looking up at Jake, "As much as I don't like it, she's right." He knows the risk of Lilith having this child, but, he knows there's a chance she could survive it also. Considering there was no actual evidence or examples around a witch having a vampire's baby, they just had to play by ear. Plus, they refused to try to take away her decisions and make them for her when they've already done it once and they almost lost their daughter in result of it. This way, they could have a chance to help her if it did go wrong.
"Jacob, I need to talk to you." Edward announced suddenly and began to walk out of the room, leaving Jake to send a small somber glance towards Lilith before following after Edward.
As soon as Edward and Jake had left the room, Bella turned towards Lilith, "I'm sorry about him." She told her friend, "I didn't think he would react that way."
Lilith shook her head, "It's okay. I'm kind of used to it at the moment." She responded, thinking about how that had been the same reaction for most of the Cullen family along with her parents at first.
"Let's give them a moment alone." Sierra told them Cullens as she stood up, along with Oliver, "They need it."
The Cullens and the Bailey parents all left and Bella waited until they were all gone before she looked at at Lilith with a sigh, "What are you thinking, Lilith? About all of... this?"
"I think that everyone thinks it's this big scary thing, but, it's not. It's exciting." She answered Bella, "It's just a part of the life cycle that I finally get to experience after I thought I wasn't going to be able to with Edward, and it's a miracle. I understand that it's scary for him because it was so surprising, but, I'm happy. I can feel her and it makes me happy."
Bella chuckled slightly, "So, it's a baby girl?" She asked with a small tone of excitement at the thought of being an aunt to a baby girl.
Lilith shrugged, "I have a feeling that it's a girl." She answered her, "I've had dreams of a daughter, and there's an old wives tale that says that baby girls take all the beauty out of their mother while growing in their stomach, while the boys give their mother more beauty. And I don't know about you, but, it definitely feels as if she is." She joked while pointing at her face and how deathly sick she looked.
"I'll bring some pink balloons next time then." Bella gave her a small smile while grabbing onto Lilith's hand and squeezing it tightly.
Lilith looked down at their hands, "Thanks for not freaking out on me, Bells. It means a lot that you believe that I could be strong enough to have this baby unlike everyone else."
"Of course." Bella smiled at her again, "But, I can see what this baby is doing to you and it does scare me a little bit. I just want to make sure that you know what you're doing and that you're absolutely okay with it."
"I'm okay, I promise. Everything else will be okay too." She nodded reassuringly. She was glad that Bella didn't push her fears into Lilith to the point that she tried to force her to get rid of the baby like everyone else did, and she was even more glad that she took her side immediately without her having to ask, "Especially once Edward comes around."
"What's going on with that?" Bella asked her.
"He's scared." Lilith told the brunette, "He's scared that it'll hurt me or kill me, and that's all he can see. He can't even notice how happy and excited I feel, and all he cares about is finding out a way to convince me not to have the baby."
"He'll warm up eventually, you know he tends to do dramatic things when he's scared about you being hurt or losing you." Bella reminded her friend, recalling all of the big things Edward did to try to 'protect' Lilith his way.
Lilith opened her mouth to speak when Jacob came storming back into the room angrily, "Bella, we're leaving." He announced.
Bella stood up, looking confused, "What, why?" She questioned her boyfriend hesitantly as she watched him grab onto his leather jacket.
"That thing in Lilith's stomach is a killer, Bella, and we aren't sticking around to watch if she won't listen to us." He shook his head.
"No." Bella refused as she crossed her arms while Lilith sat silently, biting her lip to hold back the tears as she listened in to the way that Jacob was speaking about her and her child.
"Bella, don't fight me on this." Jake argued further, growling at her lightly for being so loyal and stubborn about Lilith.
"Lilith needs us, we aren't leaving." The brunette continued to stand her ground, refusing to leave Lilith in such a state when she felt like she barely had anyone in her corner besides her parents and Rosalie.
"Bella—"
"Bella, it's okay." Lilith said softly, interrupting Jake before it got anymore out of hand. Bella turned around with her eyebrows furrowed at why she was going to let her go, "I'm not going to let you ruin your relationship over this. I'll be okay, you can go."
"See, even she doesn't want you to watch while this thing kills her." Jake said smugly.
"Jake, shut up!" Bella snapped at him before turning back to Lilith, "Are you sure you want me to go? I can stay here, it's fine."
"It'll be okay, don't let this get in between you and Jake." Lilith nodded and Bella let out a hesitant sigh before turning towards Jake who was beginning to walk out the home of the Cullen residence with Bella slowly following after him.
Lilith then watched as the two left, trying to ignore the sharp stabbing pain in the side of her stomach from where she felt her child kick, a small feeling at the back of her mind that she was going to regret letting them walk out that door.