All Bark, No Bite [Jacob & Edward]

18

Jacob wakes up a little out of it. All of his limbs feel like jelly and his head feels like it's floating, completely disconnected from his shoulders. They're still there, though, attached to his neck which is aching. He can feel a distant throbbing somewhere on the left side of his body. He also feels a little cold. That's odd.

He tries to be casual when he moves to look over his shoulder, but the dull ache in his neck becomes a sharp pain and he can't stop the hiss that passes through his teeth. 

"You should be resting." Comes a groggy sounding voice from somewhere behind him. It takes him a second to realize that it's Edward. He has an eye cracked open, but it looks as if it's taking all of his energy to keep it that way. 

He wants to say something sarcastic, but he can't get past his own obvious concern. Edward doesn't sleep really. Sometimes he closes his eyes and pretends to make Jacob feel better, but he looks like he's actually just woken up from a deep sleep. 

"You alright?" He tries to hide his worry behind a light mask of irritation as he moves to lie back down.

Edward only responds with a quiet grunt. He can hear him roll over onto his side and feel his hands as they move to tug Jacob over to him. They don't quite feel the same. They usually feel a little cool against his skin, even when he feels like a human oven. They feel like ice.

"Do you need Carlisle?" Jacob finally asks after a moment. He isn't given any kind of response. Jacob glances over his shoulder again, slowly this time so as not to stretch too much. Edward's eyes are closed again and he's gone completely still.

Jacob doesn't bother with trying to wake him up. He pushes himself up, ignoring the pain down the left side of his body and scrambles for some kind of clothing. He manages to tug a pair of pajama pants and a sweatshirt on before he stumbles downstairs in search of anyone. 

Leah's the first person he comes into contact with, and he would bet his nonexistent life savings that it wasn't by chance. He wasn't exactly hiding his anxiety well. 

"Where's Carlisle?" She's already scanning him over, trying to find whatever this is about.

"There's something wrong with Edward." She visibly relaxes, but must catch the look on his face as she quickly makes her way back outside. Carlisle is trailing behind her when she returns and doesn't ask any questions as he quickly makes his way up the staircase. Jacob follows a bit slower. Yes, there is adrenaline pumping through his veins, but his lower back doesn't seem to care. 

Edward's in the same position where Jacob left him, eyes still shut, chest still not rising. 

Carlisle looks to him for more information as he turns Edward onto his back.

"I think he's been sleeping since last night and he can't even keep his eyes open..." Jacob begins his rant. Edward looks paler than usual. He looked ghostly before, always has, but he looks like an actual corpse currently.

"Maybe you should go downstairs; lay on the couch." Carlisle says, eyes never leaving Edward. Jacob wants to protest. Go downstairs? Why would he want to go downstairs? Edward barely breathes, his heart barely beats, but he's not moving at all. What is Jacob going to do from downstairs?

"He wouldn't want you to worry," Carlisle says quietly as he uses his fingers to push open Edward's eyes. He shines a light into them, they barely react if at all.

"Too late for that." Jacob tries not to visibly get agitated, but it leaks through in his voice. 

Carlisle finally glances back at him, face fixed into this soft expression, that he must give patient's family members when they're badgering him in the waiting room. Jacob can't help the glare that appears on his face in response. He detests that look. 

He's about to lose his temper when he feels a light pressure on his shoulder that causes him to jerk away.

"Jake, you gotta let him do his job." Quil mumbles quietly, his head tilting towards the door. 

Jacob knows that he's right. It doesn't diminish how much it upsets him to leave. He takes one more look at Edward's lifeless body before he reluctantly trudges out of the room. He slowly makes his way down the stairs and plops onto the sofa. He doesn't even bother to acknowledge the rest of his pack as they make their way inside and head his way, plopping into any free space that they can find. 

After a minute of sitting in silence, Embry goes to grab anything he can find in the kitchen and lay it out on the coffee table. While he's gone, Seth starts flipping through channels on the TV. When Embry returns, Leah heads upstairs to find some blankets and pillows. They're trying to comfort him, but he'd rather be alone right now, if only to be able to sulk where no one can see him.

Leah passes him a cup of water and a bowl of fruit after about thirty minutes of him staring down at his own lap. He doesn't feel hungry for about the first time in four months. 

He forces himself to take a few bites.

There is something playing on the TV, but his brain barely registers it. 

He wants to think that it was great timing, that he chose the perfect time to get the bite. If he hadn't, he'd be inconsolable right now. There's nothing coming from Edward, though. No emotions, no real thoughts. It's abnormal; practically unheard of. Unless your partner is dead.

He feels queasy. 

He can feel the pack shifting closer. Seth is basically laying on his leg. Embry has a hold of one of his ankles. Leah has a hand on his back and is rubbing small circles. Quil has an arm thrown over his shoulders at an angle that avoids the bite.

What if it was his fault? They aren't exactly a standard...match. What works for werewolves, doesn't necessarily work for vampires. What if it killed him? 

"Maybe we should try a different movie?" He hears one of them say and the others only shrug or mumble in agreement. 

The movie must be really interesting, because no one speaks throughout about thirty minutes of it. They only turn away from the screen when the sound of footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs. Carlisle eventually appears with a barely visible grimace on his face and Jacob can feel his heart stutter if for only a moment.

"Magic. Someone is using magic." He huffs out. 

Magic?

"You wanna bet on who it is?" Seth pipes up, glancing over at Embry who is glaring at him. Seth's lips pinch together and he turns back towards the TV.

"She must've known he was keeping an eye on her," Leah begins quietly, "but where is she getting magic from?" 

The room falls into silence before Embry finally speaks,

"Maybe that witch isn't as harmless as we thought."  

"Or maybe there is another one out there. Maybe the Volturi have their own," Carlisle relents, "Either way, we have to find whoever's doing it or he'll be stuck in that state."

"What state is he in?" Embry asks reluctantly.

"He's in a deep sleep." Carlisle sighs out, looking down at his hands.

"Like Sleeping Beauty?" Seth pipes up again.

"His breathing is slow, his heart beating about once every ten minutes, he's very likely in a constant REM sleep." Carlisle divulges. He has this wary look in his eyes. Jacob turns back to the bowl of fruit. 

"So, we find them." Seth says enthusiastically. 

No one bothers to match his energy.

They move Edward into another bedroom.

 Jacob is forced to sleep alone. Or lie alone. He can't even calm down enough to go to sleep. The baby can most likely sense it as well, but they aren't kicking him as avidly as they had when he was alone before. The kicks are gentler, almost as if they're just to remind him that they are there.

He almost expects a visit. Some figure to just be sitting in that corner. He expects some vague message to warn or reassure him of something, but he gets nothing but silence. 

He falls asleep at 4 AM.