Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ Bette Noir ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

“Emmett?”

Setting down the sports page he'd been reading, Emmett stood and walked over to the bed where little Bella was sitting, her legs dangling over the side as her hand picked at a loose string on the comforter. The expression on her face was a curious one, and he wondered just what it was that she was thinking. Looking up when he heard the door open, he saw Jasper enter the room and kiss Alice on the cheek as she walked with the sleeping infant in her arms. The tiny newborn boy would only sleep if someone was holding him; the few times either he or Alice had tried to lay him down once he was asleep he immediately woke up and started screaming. Catching the soft gasp from Alice and seeing the infinitely sad expression on her face, her attention focused on Bella, Emmett returned his attention to the child at his side.

“What's up, Little One?” he asked as Jasper pulled out a chair from the table and sat facing them.

“You said that my mommy couldn't come with us from the hospital because she died, right?” Bella asked looking up at Emmett.

“That's right, Little B,” Emmett said, nodding once and pressing his lips into a thin line as he waited for her to continue.

“What's `died' mean? Does she have to stay with the doctors for awhile? Will she come home later?”

Emmett stilled; breath he didn't need catching in his throat. He had thought that she was handling the news fairly well; he had never realized that she hadn't understood it. Looking at first Alice and then Jasper, he opened and closed his mouth a few times not knowing how to answer the child's question. What was he supposed to say? How do you explain death, especially the death of a parent, to a child her age?

“Hi, Sweetheart,” Jasper said softly and moved his chair a little bit closer to the bed. “I'm Jasper.”

Looking up at the new person through the thick fringe of her lashes, Bella scooted closer to Emmett, halfway hiding behind his arm. Her shyness was adorable, her porcelain cheeks coloring with just a hint of a pale blush. Her short arms were wrapped around Emmett's arm just above his elbow and she peeked out at Jasper through the space between his arm and side.

“Are you the brave knight?” she asked after a long moment.

“Am I the what?” Jasper asked and felt Alice's amusement.

“Emmett told me a story about the brave knight, Jasper who slays the mean dragon R-“

Emmett's hand was suddenly covering her mouth and the girl turned her head to look up at him with wide innocent eyes. Blinking up at him owlishly, she watched as his lips twitched. He wouldn't meet her eyes, choosing to look at the wall across the room instead. Turning her attention on Jasper when he began laughing outright, she watched as Alice spoke with her face near his ear, too low for her to hear the words.

“Oh, son, that's priceless,” Jasper said, his southern drawl thick in his amusement. “You have to let me tell Rose that story.”

“I'd like to keep my boys, thank you,” Emmett responded and Jasper laughed at the completely confused look on Bella's face. “Bella,” Emmett turned his face down to look at the child and brought her to sit in his lap as he hugged her close. “About your question, honey…”

Emmett did his level best to explain to her what `died' meant, Jasper interjecting here and there in his attempt to help. After nearly an hour of explaining the term and answering her many questions, Bella bit her lips and heaved a big sigh through her nose as she shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly. Looking at Alice, the child furrowed her brow and shook her head.

“I don't get it,” she said after a long moment. “Mommy's not coming back anymore. I'll never see her again?”

“No, Sweetheart,” Alice said as she knelt in front of the girl, cradling the infant in the curve of one arm and brushing Bella's hair behind her ear with her free hand. “I'm sorry, but you won't.”

“What about Daddy?”

“You remember the dark haired lady and her husband from the hospital?” Alice asked and nodded her thanks when Jasper took the infant from her arms.

“Your Auntie Karen?” Bella asked and held her arms out to Alice.

Lifting the diminutive child from her brother's lap and sitting cross legged on the floor, Alice held her in her lap.

“Carmen,” she corrected the tiny girl with a nod. “Carmen and her husband Eleazar are staying at the hospital to watch over your father. The doctors have to do a lot of surgeries,” pursing her lips and thinking of a better way to explain the medical term to the child, Alice tried for something a bit abstract. “Have you ever put a puzzle together before?”

Bella nodded excitedly. “I like puzzles. Mommy and I used to work on the ones that had lots and lots of tiny pieces. We'd make pictures of unicorns and faeries and flowers.”

Alice nodded. “Ok. Well, when your father fell and hurt himself, his legs became like pieces of a puzzle and the doctors have to put him back together again. It's going to take them a long time to do that because it's a much tougher puzzle to work on.”

Brows drawing together in a serious expression, Bellaniece looked up at her and then at Emmett.

“When Mommy and I wanted a puzzle to stay together for a long time and put it in a frame we used glue. Will the doctors super glue Daddy back together?”

Coughing behind a well placed fist, Alice hid her laugh. “I don't think that they'll use super glue, per say, but you could always ask Papa Carlisle that question.”

As soon as the subject of her parents had begun, Bella let it go and stood from Alice's lap to stand in front of Jasper and look down at her sleeping brother held in his arms. Tipping her head to the side she looked curiously at the baby. His skin was still slightly red, the infant only four days old. She didn't know what to make of the baby.

“When can I play with him?” she asked Jasper and he smiled down at her.

“Not for awhile, Bella,” he answered and held the child in one arm and off to his side. “Come here,” he said and tugged her to sit up on his knee. “He's sleeping, and still pretty small, but I can help you hold him if you'd like.”

She nodded excitedly and bit her lip as he cautioned her to be careful and gentle. Instructing the child how to hold her arms, Jasper slowly laid the infant in the cradle she made and curled one arm underneath hers to support the baby. The emotions of a child were so pure that he felt as though he were experiencing the world in a completely new way. Her wonder of the baby held in her arms filled his being and he found himself completely entranced with her emotions.

Emmett watched from his seat on the bed as Alice moved to stand behind Jasper, her hands on his shoulders as she looked down lovingly at her husband and the children in his lap. Shaking his head, his face a mask of amusement and love, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and took a few pictures of the family portrait before sending them straight to Esme's phone. Not a moment later his phone buzzed to life and he answered the call holding the device to his ear.

“They're absolutely beautiful,” Esme gushed, her voice thick with emotion. “Thank you for those pictures, Emmett.”

“Sure thing,” he said with a smile before he turned serious, his smile fading as he stood and moved to the balcony doors. “Esme, I don't know what to do.”

“About what, Emmett?” she asked, her voice warm and maternal.

Leaning against the wall and looking out at the unusually sunny day, Emmett sighed and glanced back at the girl sitting on his brother's knee.

“Little Bella. I thought she was taking everything pretty well and then a little while ago she asked me what `died' meant. I thought she understood. Jasper and Alice and I spent the past hour trying to explain it to her, but I still don't think she understands.”

Esme sighed into the phone and was quiet for a few moments before speaking. When she did, her words were both comforting and wise.

“She may not truly understand for awhile, dear. It may be a few more days or even weeks before she truly understands that she won't be seeing her mother anymore. Carlisle's been arranging for a funeral and we'll take her, and try to take her father, to it, but even then she may not understand. Death is a very foreign concept for most children. All you can really do is be there for her when she does finally understand and help her grieve.”

“Will that really be enough?” he asked as he watched silver grey clouds begin to cover the sky as rain began to drizzle down.

“What more can you do?”

Emmett snorted and nodded. “You're pretty good at this mother thing. Ever thought of adopting?” he joked and she laughed. “Oh, by the way, Little Bella has a question for her `Papa Carlisle'.”

“Does she?” Esme asked and he could hear her footsteps as she moved through the house. “Well, it looks like he finally took my advice and went hunting. It might be awhile before he's back. If you'd like I could pass the question along to him.”

“Fair enough. She asked, and I quote, `Will the doctors super glue Daddy back together?'”

Esme was quiet for a moment and just when he began to wonder if she'd hung up, he heard her begin to laugh. Her soft laughter grew louder and he smiled at the sound. He hadn't realized how much he missed being near his adoptive mother until he heard her laughter and suddenly all he wanted to do was hug her.

“Esme?”

“Hm?”

“Do we stay here until her father is completely out of surgery? When do we bring the kids home?” he asked and heard her soft intake and exhale of breath as she considered the questions.

“I think, right now, we just kind of play it by ear. Stay a few more days in Seattle, if in three days, he still in surgeries, than I would advise bringing the children home. Rosalie came back this morning and has been helping me assemble the baby furniture that arrived yesterday. We're turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery.”

“How's Rose doing?” Emmett asked, and felt the sudden need to hear his love's voice.

“Why don't you ask her?” Esme said and he heard the muffled sounds as the phone switched hands.

“Em?” Rosalie's voice was soft, if not a bit sad. “I'm sorry I've been such a bitch.”

Sighing as his lips turned up in that lopsided smile she always loved, he ducked his head.

“You know, Rose, you never really did work through all that stuff that happened to you,” his voice was soft and understanding. “I know it's not really such an option to talk to a counselor, but maybe you should. Even if it's just to me or Esme or one of us.”

She laughed, though he could hear the distinct sound of a sniffle mixed in.

“Why do you think it took so long for me to come back home?” she asked him. “Kate and Tanya wouldn't let me leave until I had talked through everything with them. I guess you could call it an impromptu intervention slash counseling session. I don't know that I'm completely better or healed or whatever, but I do know that I'm in a better place than I was before… Emmett?”

“Yes, my love.”

“Could you send me pictures of the kids? I want to see them.”

“You'll have them in moments,” he promised. “I love you, Rose.”

“I love you, too, my monkey man.”

He chuckled at her favorite nickname for him. They spoke for a few more minutes before he hung up with her and immediately sent her every picture that he had taken of Bella and her brother, including a few snapshots that Alice had taken with her phone and sent to him. His favorite by far, was a picture that Alice had taken of him lying with his eyes closed on the hotel bed, Bella tucked against his side and the infant sprawled across his chest. Smiling as he moved to the table and picked up the room service menu, he tucked the laminated book beneath his arm and frowned in thought.

Opening his phone and scrolling through his contact for the number of a person he hadn't spoken to in nearly three years, Emmett held the device to his ear and waited for Jonny Mack to pick up. His words were soft in an effort not to disturb the conversation Bella was having with Jasper about knights and dragons, and he waited quietly for the vampire on the other end of the line to search through his inventory list.

“Well, Emmett, I've got two things that might fit the bill for what you're looking for. I've got the frame and most of the stock parts for a 1966 Indian Chief. I've also got the frame and body, in fairly decent condition, for a 1969 Pontiac Judge. Which one do you want?”

Emmett considered the options for a few moments, before shrugging to himself and tapping the menu against his thigh.

“You know what, Mack, have both delivered to the house in Forks. You've still got my card on file, yeah?”

“Sure do, Cullen. Your girl better enjoy these pieces. I haven't had any in this good a condition in a while.”

“Oh, she will. It'll give her something to do. Thanks, Mack.”

“Anytime, old man. Peace.”

The call disconnected and he turned around to be greeted by a smiling Alice. She nodded her approval of his presents for Rosalie and held her hand out for the room service menu. Walking over and handing her the book, he turned his attention on Jasper, his expression playfully mulish.

“Whitlock, you stealing both my kids now?” he asked feigning displeasure.

“What can I say, Emmett, I'm irresistible,” Jasper drawled smiling up at the man with a grin.

“Gimme my boy back, old timer,” he said reaching for the baby and accepting the infant from his chuckling brother.

“What about your girl?” Jasper asked looking at Bella and Alice.

“You're in for a treat, Jazz. You're about to witness the most epic of battles. Little Bella loves ice cream and cookies and pie and macaroni and cheese. Alice, here, is about to try and convince her to expand her culinary horizons and talk her out of the sugar buffet she always begs for.”

Blond eyebrows climbing high on his forehead, Jasper turned his attention back on his wife and the child she was sitting with. Sure enough Bella was pointing to a picture of a chocolate lover's sundae and Alice was trying to talk to her about the merits of eating vegetables and fruit. He shook his head as he listened to Bella try to convince Alice that Macaroni and Cheese and chocolate cake was a healthy dinner. No way would the child be winning that argument.

:::::

“Hey,” Bella's voice was rasping and rough when she greeted the woman standing near the foot of her bed. “Where have you been?”

“I had some demons that I needed to work out,” Rosalie said as she moved to sit in the chair beside the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked and arched a brow at the girl's undignified snort.

“Are you Carlisle's newest spy?” Bella asked, grimacing as she tried to sit up.

“I will have you know that I'm no one's spy, little girl,” Rosalie huffed and watched Bella laugh and groan in pain.

Struggling to sit up against the stack of pillows behind her, Bella shrugged. “Apparently only my wrist is broken,” she said holding up her casted arm. “But I swear it feels like everything is broken. I just want to know who drive the truck,” she joked.

“That would be you,” Rosalie said haughtily. “I've told you before that your driving leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Hey!” Bella shot back and stuck out her tongue at the blonde's arched brow.

“You're not upsetting my patient are you, Rosalie?” Carlisle asked as he stepped into the room.

“She's insulting my driving skills. Again,” Bella answered and saw Carlisle chuckle.

“Considering…” he said and laughed at the comical expression of outrage on Bella's face. “Are you in pain?” he asked her seriously only to be met with a look somewhere between annoyance and exhaustion.

“…Yes,” she grumbled after a moment and he blinked at her in surprise. “But I don't want any of that morphine. It's kind of nice being awake and coherent for a little while.”

“Well then,” Carlisle nodded decisively. “You're in luck. Dinner's ready and you need to eat,” he told her with a pointed stare.

“What?” Bella asked. “I've been eating, I haven't refused to eat.”

“Perhaps not, but you haven't been eating nearly enough to keep your strength up.” Looking at his newly returned daughter with an expression that clearly stated `you talk to her', Carlisle turned to the door. “Edward will be up shortly to bring you downstairs. No, you are not walking,” he told her before she could say anything. “Your ankles and knees are still a bit swollen and I want you staying off your feet until the swelling goes down completely and you're able to move them without pain.”

Walking out the door before she could rebuff his commands, Bella's teeth clacked together when she snapped her open mouth shut. Turning to Rosalie, she sighed, the sound mixed with an almost growl.

“They treat me like an invalid,” she groused.

“Have you looked in a mirror recently?” Rosalie countered, her voice challenging.

“Ok, so I'm a little banged up.”

“Bella!” Rosalie shook her head before looking at the girl with a rather serious stare. “You really haven't looked in a mirror, have you?”

“Kind of hard to do that when I'm carried in and out of the bathroom and no one lets me stand on my own feet.”

Nodding and pressing her lips together, Rosalie helped Bella to her feet, and guided her slowly to the closet. Opening the door, she stood the girl in front of the full length mirror and held gently onto her waist to keep her from falling. Bella's horrified gasp was evidence enough that she hadn't seen her reflection and Rosalie let her stare into the glass for a moment longer before helping her back to the bed.

“Do you think they'll scar?” Bella asked in regards to the healing cuts on her face that had been made by the automotive glass.

“It's doubtful. They're fairly superficial, just kind of scattered everywhere. The bruising and slight swelling should lessen in the next couple of days. Until then, you're just going to look like someone's favorite punching bag. Your ribs are wrapped, huh?” she asked having felt the stiffness beneath the overly large sleep shirt the girl was wearing.

“Yeah, they're still pretty sore. Carlisle said they were bruised and my chest, well… The truck's too old for an airbag and the steering wheel kept me from going through the windshield when I hit the tree.”

Eyebrows raised in question and reproach, Rosalie leveled a look at her, for now human, sister. “And where was your seat belt?”

“I wasn't exactly thinking about safety when I got the call, just about getting there as fast as I could.”

Sitting back against the chair and sighing sadly, Rosalie's expression softened. “How are doing?”

Bella opened her mouth to give her usual response of `I'm fine', but drew in a shaking breath instead and sniffled. She shook her head and felt tear sting behind her eyes.

“I don't know,” she answered honestly after a long moment. “Most of the time it doesn't feel real. It feels like something that I watched happen instead of something that happened to me. And then there are times when it feels too real and I kind of panic.” Looking down at her hands and picking at the blue cast wrapped around her arm, Bella's lips trembled as she fought not to cry. “And then there are the nightmares.”

Rosalie nodded and moved from the chair to sit next to Bella on the bed. “I pretty much went through the same thing for months after Carlisle had changed me,” she told Bella. “I'm just glad Edward was strong and rational enough to work everything out with Jasper after your birthday party. I don't know if he told you or not, but he'd been planning to leave Forks. He wanted all of us to leave. If we had and we weren't here when this happened…” Rosalie let her voice trail off and looked down at Bella.

“And I have you to thank for that,” Edward said, his voice thick as he walked into the room. “I don't think I've ever received such a thorough verbal bitch slapping before.”

Bella laughed at the sound of those words coming from Edward and shook her head. It was rare that she ever heard him curse and to hear him say the word bitch was almost comical. He wasn't a prude by any means, but raised in a different time, he definitely had different views on certain derogatory terms for women.

“You are my life, Bella,” he said moving to sit by her side as Rosalie stood and stepped away from the bed. “If I had lost you…”

“But you didn't,” Bella said, a single tear falling over her cheek as she looked up at him. “I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Certainly not looking like Mary Frankenstein,” she said in an effort to lighten the mood.

Edward laughed and kissed her lips chastely before tucking his arms around her back and under her knees. Lifting her to sit in his lap before standing and cradling her against his chest, he ducked his head and kissed her brow.

“I love you. Monster cuts, neck bolts and all,” he teased receiving her laughter in return.

“Neck bolts,” Rosalie mused as she led the way down stairs. “We could put a few of those in. Maybe add some wires leading to a light bulb on top of your head.”

“Oh haha, very funny,” Bella grumbled and breathed in deeply of the beef stew, blushing when her stomach growled loudly.

“We need to feed that monster,” Edward told her with a laugh.

:::::

Holding her hand out for her ringing phone, Bella curled against Edward's chest and held the device to her ear. Blinking heavily as she talked to Jasper and Emmett in turn for a few moments, she put the call on speaker and laid the phone on Edward's stomach as Emmett began his nightly routine of telling her stories from his human life about his sisters and the world he had lived in. He told her about the thickness of the forests, the cleanness of the air, the way he would build things with his bare hands. She listened for as long as she could before finally giving in to the sleep that beckoned her and Edward lifted the phone, taking it off speaker and talking with his brother for a few moments longer.

There were times when he was jealous of Emmett's nightly routine of telling Bella what were essentially bedtime stories. Even though he was the one holding her, it was Emmett who soothed her to sleep with the sound of his voice. It was Emmett who she wanted to tell her stories at the moments before she fell asleep. Rosalie looked at Edward and shook her head in silent amusement. She didn't need Jasper's talent for reading emotions or Edward's telepathy to understand what he was feeling. It was written all over his face.

“She loves her big brother,” Rosalie said, reminding him of the familial bonds and why he shouldn't be jealous. “Emmett's my mate, but he's also her big brother set on protecting his newest little sister. She won't have much longer as a human. Let them have these moments.”

“And when did you get so wise?” Edward asked with a crooked smile.

“Alaskan Reindeer. Wisdom is in their blood.” She answered with a straight face.

“Dork.”

Smiling and shaking her head, Rosalie stood and left the room. She was glad to be home, glad to have worked out the bigger of her demons before they ruined anything. Walking into the nursery, she looked at the crib and changing table. There were packages of newborn diapers as well as cloth diapers and fasteners in the open area beneath the changing table. The mobile assembled above the crib held stuffed animals with bells on them so that if the baby were to swat at them they'd make noise.

No, the baby that was coming to live them wasn't hers by birth, but it would be a part of their family. She had always thought that she was upset that she couldn't have a baby of her own, but as the prospect of having a baby in the house grew a little more real in her mind, she came to understand that it didn't matter if the baby was hers; it was still a child in need of love and family. Smiling as she ran her hand over the black and red accented crib, she breathed in deeply. She couldn't wait to hold that baby in her arms or to meet that little girl. The one thing she had always wanted was now going to be a part of their family.