All Bark, No Bite [Jacob & Edward]

27

Jacob isn't allowed to go anywhere near the building Bella's being housed in. He's not even really allowed to suggest anything of the sort even if he wanted to for whatever reason. In fact, Edward doesn't go back on his word or reevaluate his feelings about the manner as he turns to where Quil is standing in the doorframe and promptly shuts the door with a quiet "Put her out of her misery." 

Then, Jacob's watching as Quil quickly jogs down the beach, the sand underneath his feet making it seem as if he's moving in slow motion. It gives Jacob plenty of time to object, but he just stands there watching his cousin's back as he retreats.

He needs to lie down after. It's less of a comfortable rest and more of him shuffling around and maneuvering pillows and pushing away blankets until he's sufficiently buried himself in the nest. There weren't any familiar smells that had become ingrained into old clothes to comfort him, but he had snagged a tiny onesie from a pile of newborn clothes and that sat buried underneath one of the pillows at the head of the bed. 

Jacob's never killed anyone before. 

He's attacked people in order to defend others, but he hadn't basically ordered the death of another human. He couldn't ignore the weight of it on his conscience. She'd hurt them so many times and had even sentenced them to death. Even then, he can't ignore the way his stomach turns at someone taking matters into their own hands on his behalf. 

Edward, on the other hand, had watched so many people die that he doesn't seem particularly bothered by the choice. Maybe it was the way the witch had managed to get into his head that has him so sure of himself. If Jacob had agreed with Edward in that moment, they would've handed over one of their children to Bella with no questions asked because Edward had his mind altered to believe the woman was harmless. In fact, Edward's so content in his choice, that he spends his free time trying to take Jacob's mind off of it.

"What about this swatch for their room?" Edward asks, holding up yet another rusty brown swatch.

"Babies usually get like a basic primary or secondary color, Ed." Jacob reminds him and watches as Edward pulls a face.

"Well, our kids are different. They've been through a lot. I think they deserve a room that has some thought put into it." He explains while shuffling through the swatches yet again. 

He's pulled out a lot of warm browns and ambers. The only odd one out is an emerald green that he's been holding on to since Alice had delivered the container an hour ago. He holds up yet another swatch, manufactured smile in place as he tries to get Jacob to play along. 

Jacob wants to play along. He wants to play with the two tiny pairs of booties that had been created by someone on the island just for them. He wanted to think about the ridiculous shit the babies would get up to once they were here, but the truth is that his stomach feels as if it's about to fall out of his ass. 

He doesn't regret his decision, he's just anxious. 

So, he watches quietly as Edward holds up yet another swatch before the faux smile finally falls. 

"Jacob, it's for the best." He begins his explanation.

"I know." 

Doesn't make him feel good about it though. He honestly feels like he could be sick.

He's about to voice his worries when there is a knock on the door and in comes Seth looking every bit as unnerved as Jacob feels. 

"We got a small problem." Seth announces, hands behind his back as he tries to make himself small as well.

Edward, while his expression is rather neutral, is clearly radiating something that's a bit more potent than rage. Seth looks like he regrets stepping into the room as he rocks back and forth on his heels, eyes on the floor. Jacob can hear him planning his escape in his head.

"Someone gave her the bite." 

The room feels like it comes to an abrupt halt as Edward and Jacob stare wordlessly at Seth. There is a lot to unpack and not a lot of time to unpack it. 

"Where is she?" Edward's head turns from side to side as if she was just going to suddenly appear before them. Seth takes a step back as if he's afraid that if he's not ready, Edward was going to catch him off guard and rip his throat out.

"She muscled her way out of the chains," He admits, "...and out of the building."

There are black dots dancing in front of Jacob's vision and he's finding it harder to catch his breath. 

"Find her, kill her." Edward demands and Seth reels back, very similarly to if he'd heard Jacob's voice booming orders. He seems shaken up as he scrambles away with his tail between his legs. 

Jacob's struggling to catch his breath and he can hear Edward trying to talk to him. Everything seems to go out of focus and he can see the edges of his vision blurring and closing in on him. The only thing that brings his surroundings back into sharp focus is an intense pain in his stomach. It's nothing like the discomfort he's felt before. It's strong and it has him curling forward, teeth clenched around a groan. 

Edward's still talking, but his voice seems further away and his words seem to be running together. 

There's a small window where the pain momentarily subsides and he's vaguely aware of drawers being opened and slammed shut. Edward's trying to communicate something that seems reassuring. He's almost relieved by the lull until he feels the sheets becoming damp underneath him. 

Jacob's afraid to look down. 

The vivid reminder of an old nightmare flashes in front of his eyes. He's trying to communicate that the bed is wet to Edward who is tripping over himself as he gathers a couple of blankets. His words twist into a long, pained groan as another, what he realizes is a contraction, hits him like a truck. 

Jacob hadn't heard a lot of birth stories growing up. Being a male in the pack, most of the time he heard about the baby's name and what the parents hoped they would be when they grew up. He'd heard a few snippets about long births that could span over several days. Jacob thought he'd be ready for that. It's just pain, he could do that. Then, he'd been made aware that he'd need a c-section. It took some of the fear away. It was just surgery; he could handle being cut open. That's how this entire thing had begun anyway.

What he hadn't prepared for is his body working solely on instincts and he feels the distinct need to bear down. He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying here, but it hadn't been hours. In fact, he was sure it'd barely been thirty minutes. 

"Push." He grits out and he becomes suddenly aware that, at some point, Carlisle had made his way into the room.

"No, no pushing. C-section, remember?" He says, before calling over to Seth and Edward to help Jacob up. The trip downstairs feels like some form of odd torture and Jacob can barely remember why he was so worried about Bella, this was significantly more painful than anything she could manage. They eventually find their way outside and the building they need to get to is two houses down. Being carried through sand while a contraction whoops his ass is much more harrowing than whatever Bella had planned for him.

"Maybe we should stop." Seth recommends when Jacob doubles over yet again.

"You stop and I will kill you." Jacob informs him and Seth doesn't speak the rest of the trek to the small building that Carlisle had painstakingly prepared for the surgery. Seth and Edward help Jacob onto the table before Seth is scurrying out of the door with one blistering look from Edward.

They'd made an entire plan. They'd even readjusted it with every single ridiculous thing that had happened so far. Instead of some calm, nice birth, Jacob's being prepped quickly for an emergency c-section while the rest of the group runs around looking for Bella.