Bleeding Stars/Emmett Cullen (Sequel to Whispering Dusk)

Chapter Eight

     I told them all that it was normal; because I lived on human food, it didn't always agree with my vampire insides. They believed it, but I would tell Bella the truth later. Jacob had told Bella about them killing Laurent and that they had almost caught 'the redhead'.

       But she was too fast, of course. They lost her at the Canadian border and Bella told them that Victoria was after her. I was right! I had to tell Carlisle. Jake drove Bella home so that they could talk some more and I sped back to my house. I dialed Carlisle's number as soon as I entered the living room.

      "Aubrey? Is everything okay?" he said urgently. I rolled my eyes.

      "Yes, Carlisle. Well, mostly... First of all, Bella found out about the wolves. Alice can give you a play-by-play on that one. Second, I think I might be pregnant. And third, I was right about Victoria; she's here and she's trying to get to Bella.
   
       "She's already sent Laurent for her, but the wolves caught him. They also chased Victoria to the Canadian border," I finished with a sigh. Everyone should listen to me more often.

       "Oh, my... Okay, Emmett and I are coming back tonight. I need to check you out. If you are pregnant, Aubrey, I don't think it's safe for you to be there alone and with Victoria so close. If you haven't forgotten, you were the one that ripped James's head off and threw it in the fire.

       "And along with Emmett and Jasper, you helped to kill him. She wants her revenge on Edward, so she's going after Bella. She may want her revenge on you, too. She could try to hurt Emmett or...the baby."

      Carlisle's words hit me hard. Would Victoria really stoop that low? There were only two things on this Earth that could hurt me--taking Emmett or taking my baby. And I wasn't about to let either of those things happen.

      I hung up the phone and set to cleaning before my soon-to-be father-in-law and boyfriend arrived in a few hours. I had really this house go to shit; couch cushions were untucked, dishes in the kitchen weren't clean, and there were food take-out boxes in the trash.

      Bella called me not long before Emmett and Carlisle were due to arrive. She told me that a posse had been formed, which included Charlie and Harry Clearwater, to search the woods for the 'menace'. I had that bad, worried feeling again.

       Emmett and Carlie arrived, I helped to unload the equipment for the makeshift hospital room and set it all up in a spare bedroom that we wouldn't be using. I sat on the bed next to an ultrasound machine with my feet in the stirrups.

      Emmett sat next to me anxiously as Carlisle rubbed the gel over my abdomen and turned the machine on. He rubbed the gel around on my stomach with the equipment and furrowed his eyebrows.

       "I'm not sure this will work on vampire skin... Ah, there it is!" he laughed. I guess there was still a human part of me. Emmett grasped my hand and the screen showed a black and white image of my womb.

       Carlisle took his finger and touched the spot on the screen where a ball was cradled right side up in my womb. I knew this would be a rather quickly pregnancy; the baby already looked as if I had been pregnant for weeks.

       "There is indeed a baby in there, Aubrey. It looks to be almost two months along, so a larger bump will start to appear within a matter of days."

      He smiled as he removed the gel from my skin and rolled his chair to the end of the table, his head between my feet. Well this was awkward... I felt him poking and prodding at me.

      "Also, your womb seems to be thinning, so you may be able to have this baby naturally. You shouldn't be in an extreme amount of pain, but time will tell. We will be able to tell the gender very soon, if you wish to know. Congratulations, you two."

      We were having a baby.