Noonday Sun: a Fanfiction Book

  Chapter 21, The Awakening

  “Esme,” I asked quietly, “do you have a blanket for the baby?”

  Wordlessly, she flitted across the room and brought me the blanket she’d already set out for him. I didn’t want to chill the infant with my cold vampire flesh.

  She headed back into the kitchen to finish fixing a meal I assumed was for Jacob, Seth, and Nessie.

  Nessie was sitting on a couch feeding Grace. I walked into the kitchen and found a cup for the boy. I filled it up then carefully sat next to Nessie. I was feeding him when Emmett walked in the door.

  He stopped in astonishment and blinked. Once. Twice.

  Maybe he thought he was seeing a mirage, but the infants looked decidedly different. The boy’s red hair stuck out in a wild spike and Grace’s dark curls clung tight to her head. There could be no doubt. Two separate infants were being fed by two separate people.

  “What happened here?”

  Nessie and I looked warily at him.

  Esme walked out of the kitchen and sounded grim as she answered, “It seems as though word has spread around the vampire world that Carlisle is the OB/GYN for humans with vampire mates.”

  Emmett slapped his leg and let out a roaring laugh.

  I suppressed a giggle. Trust Emmett to see the humor in the situation. It seemed ridiculous to think that there would be enough women pregnant by vampires to require a dedicated doctor.

  I sobered up. If the current trend continued, Carlisle would have to quit his work at the hospital to deliver babies here in his house. Even the kind people of Forks wouldn’t be able to ignore a steady stream of strangers showing up at our door. Arriving as normal humans one day and two days later emerging as white monsters. I shuddered. I hoped Sarah and Lily weren’t going to be monsters, but there was no way to know for sure.

  If there had been any chance of a good outcome, it would’ve been Lily’s pregnancy. Everything was going smoothly. I had every confidence that Carlisle would’ve succeeded in sewing up the uterus and getting the bleeding stopped. To our utter horror, we had forgotten to coach Jaron on the dangers of a male infant.

  Better coaching, early delivery. Healthy human mom. I could see Carlisle succeeding in keeping the vampires’ human mates intact. If, indeed, there was a vampire explosion coming, Carlisle would be the only one who could handle it.

  Emmett walked closer to examine the babies. “I know about the little girl, but I didn’t know babies dropped from ceilings. Where’d the other one come from?”

  I exchanged a look with Esme. “We had another strange vampire show up after you left. His mate wasn’t as far along as Sarah was.” I looked down at the tiny baby I was holding. “You can tell. He’s quite a bit smaller than Grace.” His shape was as perfect as Grace’s, just smaller. I’d expected a preemie half immortal to look more like, well, a preemie human.

  He looked exactly like a full-term half immortal just smaller. It reminded me of some of the pictures that had been painted in the Middle Ages where a newborn infant looked like an adult only with different clothes. He didn’t look like an adult, but he certainly didn’t look like a human preemie. “The delivery went fine until Lily’s uterus wouldn’t contract after the delivery. I had to find the Oxytocin to help the uterus contract. Edward was clamping down on the arteries so she wouldn’t bleed to death and we forgot to tell Jaron that his son was venomous. He put him on her chest and he bit her. We didn’t notice until the venom reached her heart.”

  “Oh, man. Bad luck with that one.”

  I nodded. “We all feel bad about it. I didn’t say a word to Jaron about what happened. I don’t know if Edward and Carlisle have explained it, either. There’s no use blaming anyone. It’s not like it’s something that can be undone.” I looked down at the precious infant. I touched his soft hair and marveled at his perfection. His intelligent eyes looked into mine and he smiled a brilliant white smile. His eyes drooped closed and he drifted into sleep, his precious baby lips closing around his venomous teeth.

  I wondered if someday he would hate himself as much as Nahuel had hated himself. Would his mother be a monster or would she be someone he could love? I sighed. I suppose we’d find out in another couple of days. I prayed that Lily would remember what I had told her before her surgery. Surely the example of Jaron and the other vegetarian vampires could show these newborn vampires that they could control who they were.

  My first days as a newborn hadn’t been nearly as difficult as everyone had told me they’d be. Maybe the love a mother has for her child created in her the ability to become a different kind of vampire.

  The next couple of days would be hard. I held the wrapped infant closer, hoping his mother would be someone he could love.

  Edward and Carlisle remained upstairs. I guessed they were having a discussion. I wished Edward would come down. I ached for his touch.

  Jacob and Seth walked in the door. Esme’s dinner was almost done. Jacob looked sober. He’d taken on a lot of responsibility that day, and his face showed it.

  “Jacob,” I informed him quietly, “Lily’s surgery didn’t go as planned. She’s transforming into a vampire. I’m so sorry.” Horror flashed across his face.

  “Dinner’s ready.” Esme announced then walked over to trade places with Nessie so she could eat with Jacob and Seth. They moved over to the dining table and started to eat. Seth tried to keep up a conversation, but neither Nessie nor Jacob would give more than one-syllable answers. They finished their meal in an uncomfortable silence.

  “Well, I’m heading over to Mom’s.” He grinned at us. “Not like I’m escaping anything. Two babies here, two babies there. Raining babies everywhere.”

  Emmett’s loud guffaw didn’t even disturb the babies. They were heavy sleepers.

  Esme and I were too stressed to react.

  Jacob was staring at the wall and acted like he hadn’t heard. Maybe he hadn’t.

  Nessie gave a half-hearted laugh and picked up Jacob’s plate and added it to her own. Seth and Nessie loaded the dishwasher and Seth headed out the door to go back to Sue’s. We weren’t a very sociable bunch.

  “Mom, I’m tired. When are we going home?”

  “This has been a hard day for you, I know.” Nessie did look tired, but I needed her help just a little longer. “Could you help hold Grace while we bleed out the bear?”

  Esme handed Grace to Nessie and took the venomous boy from me. I didn’t feel comfortable with Nessie holding the boy, even if he was asleep.

  We’d already used several of Esme’s containers. Fortunately, she had a big kitchen with lots of cupboards full of containers. I found enough for the four gallons of blood we typically got from a grizzly. I scooped up the package of anticoagulant solution and looked at Jacob. He was still staring at the wall. “Jacob, could I get some help?” He shook his head as if coming out of a daze and stood up to follow me.

  I glanced at Jacob occasionally while we were bleeding out the bear. I didn’t have words of comfort. What could I say? Jacob looked like he held the worries of the world on his shoulders. I knew he would blame himself if the newborn vampires turned into raging killers.

  Sarah hadn’t started screaming yet. Maybe she’d listened to me. I paused. Lily hadn’t started to scream, either. She hadn’t screamed when she was bitten by her son. She must’ve remembered our talk earlier. She wouldn’t want to hurt Jaron.

  We worked silently. Emmett was unusually quiet. I wondered if he was missing Rose. He answered my question as he threw the emptied bear into the SUV. “I’m going to find somewhere to dump this thing then I’m heading over to Charlie’s place.”

  Jacob muttered, “I’m going home to Billy’s. I’ll be back to get Nessie in the morning.” I watched him climb into his SUV, his every movement showing dejection.

  It hadn’t taken long for us to bleed out the bear. I managed to find spots for the containers. The fridge wouldn’t hold much more, but the babies’ appetites were large. It would only b
e a few days before we would need a refill.

  I walked into the living room. “Nessie, I know you’re tired. Dad is upstairs. You might want to ask him when he wants to go home.” I opened my arms for the red-headed boy Esme was holding. She handed him over and Nessie gave Grace to Esme. “I’m going to be caring for this infant a little longer. You and Dad can head to the cottage. I know you need your sleep.” Edward didn’t need to sleep, but Nessie liked her own bed and I knew she didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to take the risk of bringing the baby home. He was irresistible. What if Nessie picked him up and got bit? I shuddered. The boy had to be with me or Esme at all times and not in the cottage.

  His mother would be awake in a couple of days. She could take over his care except for feeding. My help wouldn’t be as necessary then.

  Nessie ran up the stairs and Edward followed her back down in just moments. He turned his wondering eyes on me, and I answered his unspoken question, “I’m going to be caring for the boy until Jaron can take over.” He nodded his understanding then headed out the door with Nessie.

  My eyes followed him longingly. How I wanted to follow him!

  I walked up the stairs with the boy and headed into Carlisle’s study where Lily was lying on her pier burning. I knew the pain she was feeling. The sickly sweet smell of morphine rose up from her body. The morphine would wear off in another couple of hours. Jaron was staring down at his mate. He hadn’t heard me come in, his entire focus on Lily.

  “I thought you’d like to meet your son,” I said quietly. He jumped and turned to me. He looked at his red-headed boy. His hair was a darker red than his mother’s. Jaron took him from me. Emotions ran across his face. They must’ve been powerful. Vampire stone faces usually didn’t show any. I saw them clearly.

  Anger, hate, disgust, and then a different look emerged. The power of the immortal infants couldn’t be denied. He loved his son. A look of wondering awe replaced the warring emotions. He bent to kiss his son’s head.

  After a moment, I asked, “Had you decided on a name?”

  Jaron nodded. “Lily liked Thomas. We were going to call him Tom.”

  I looked at the red-headed infant. “Tom. That seems to suit him.” I smiled.

  From the smell of bleach in the air, someone had cleaned up the library. Since Esme and I had been busy with the infants, I assumed it was either Carlisle or Edward.

  We had two days before we knew what these new vampires would turn out to be. They would be a long two days. I sighed. “I’ll leave Tom with you. Please let Esme know if he wakes. She can call me and I’ll come and feed him.” Jaron nodded.

  I silently drifted down the stairs. “Esme, please call if you need me.” She was staring into the sleeping face of Grace and nodded her acknowledgment.

  I headed for the cottage. I needed Edward like a plant needed water.