(Thomas POV)
Not much was said when I returned to the Cullen house after my fight with the pack. Emmett was disappointed that I didn't give him a blow-by-blow recount, but the others were just happy that the tension had passed.
Jasper tried not to show it, but he was struggling to be in the house while Bella was drinking human blood in the other room. Nothing like being on a diet while someone was in the kitchen baking pies and cookies. Alice tried to distract him as much as possible, but her efforts only went so far. Surprisingly, Seth became key in helping Jasper distract himself.
After getting used to our morning workouts, Jasper had missed them once they stopped. A simple suggestion from Edythe about training with Seth had begun an unlikely friendship. The two were now either training together or playing World of Warcraft at every opportunity. The mix of Jasper's methodical personality and Seth's bright playfulness was a fun contrast to watch. Edythe later explained to me that it was her plan from the beginning. Jasper's emotions tended to mimic those nearby, and Seth was a delight to be around, so it made Jasper more relaxed.
The Edward–Bella–Jacob situation was its own mess. Edward was still against Bella carrying the baby to delivery, but Bella's health returning, slowly, unevenly, gave him a kind of hope he didn't have before. Jacob clearly didn't want to be here, trapped in the same house while Bella slid toward either death or something he told himself was worse. He left more than once, swearing it was the last time, and then showed up again hours later like he'd been pulled back on a line he couldn't see.
Bella didn't understand it any better than he did. She apologized to Edward for wanting Jacob nearby, hated herself for the relief she felt when Jacob walked into the room, and still looked at Edward like he was the center of her world. When Jacob finally said something careless…something that implied she 'got off' on watching him hurt…Bella broke down, and the guilt sat behind her eyes from that point on.
But even that didn't change the simple fact that she felt better when he was around. It came to a head one afternoon when Edward started looking around questioningly from his seat at Bella's feet.
First, he looked at Bella, who was talking with Rosalie, who still camped out on the end of the couch like a supportive guard dog. Then he looked at Jacob, who returned his look.
"Who is that?" He finally said out loud.
Bella was the first to respond, "What are you talking about, Edward?"
He paused, and his eyes went wide for a moment. "I… I'm not sure, but they really like the sound of your voice. So much love…"
Then he paused again as if listening to a reply to his comment, "It really likes my voice too… But I don't…"
Bella's eyes widened, and for some reason, the answer was obvious to her. "You hear him?" she said while placing a hand on her belly.
Edward smiled the first whole face smile since I had seen it at his wedding. "He bursts with love at the sound of your voice… Mine too. He…She… I am hearing… emotional impressions. It loves you so much…"
I lost focus for a moment and pulled myself back into the conversation when Bella started offering names for the child. E.J. (Edward Junior) if it was a boy, and Renesmee if it was a girl. She was explaining the combination of Esme and Renee's names, as if it should have been obvious from the start.
Everyone was focused on Bella's belly or Edward's face, but something drew my eyes to Jacob. He looked as if the whole world had betrayed him, like he was all alone. The look of loss on his face was devastating to watch, and his thoughts must have bled over to Edward, who was quick to stand and pull out a set of keys before offering them to Jacob.
"Go… Jacob. Get away from here."
He didn't say it like he was being rude, but like he was offering a lifeline, or a path from a dangerous place.
And Jacob took them without a moment's hesitation, before racing to the garage. Seconds later, I heard the Aston Martin Vanquish roar to life and peel out of the garage like it was being stolen.
(Leah POV)
As I was coming down the stairs, I heard Edward tell Jacob to leave, but it didn't sound like an order… It was more like urgent advice from someone trying to save you. As I heard the rumble of a powerful engine start up, I walked (I refused to think of it as a waddle!) and asked Thomas and Edythe, "What was that all about?"
Edythe gave me a warm, steady smile. "Nothing you need to carry, love. Not today."
Thomas's hand slid to the underside of my belly. His big hands were being careful, like he still couldn't believe he was allowed to touch it and have it be real. "Are you ready to go see your mom?"
I recognized the tactful redirect and let it happen.
"Yeah," I said. "I just ate, so I should be good for a couple of hours. Do you have the file Carlisle wanted her to read?"
Edythe held it out to me. A neat folder, Carlisle's handwriting, his clipped notes, the polite, clinical way he tried to explain something he didn't understand.
"He added a summary page at the front," Edythe said. "So your mother doesn't have to dig for the important parts."
"Thank you," I muttered, and meant it.
Edythe's smile flickered into something sharper, protective. "Text me when you get there. Text me when you leave. And if Sam so much as breathes in your direction…"
"Edythe," Thomas warned gently.
She exhaled, then lifted her hands in surrender. "Fine. I'll think happy thoughts while you're gone." Her eyes said she was lying.
Then she leaned in and kissed me, quick, firm, loving. When she pulled back, her forehead touched mine for half a second.
"I can't go along," she said quietly, like the words still tasted bitter, "but I'm with you."
My throat tightened. I nodded once because anything else would've made me embarrass myself in front of everyone.
Thomas took my hand. "Let's go."
Edythe walked us to the door, like she wanted to hold every second she could until we parted. On the porch, she squeezed Thomas's fingers once… a silent warning and promise all wrapped together, then stepped back.
"Bring her back," she said.
Thomas nodded. "In pristine condition, love."
Within minutes, I was in Thomas's truck with the window rolled down, letting the air wash over me. After so long being cooped up in the Cullen house, the smell of wet pine and moss and the cold edge of the ocean was almost dizzying.
Thomas kept both hands on the wheel, posture controlled, but I could see the tension in his jaw.
I tapped the folder against my thigh. "You nervous?"
He glanced at me. "About Sue? A little."
I snorted softly. "Good. She'll appreciate that."
That got the corner of his mouth to move.
We drove the rest of the way in a quiet that felt… better than the quiet back at the Cullen house. Not because the problem was smaller, but because this was mine. My mother. My ground. No, Bella's dying hanging over our head, as bad as I felt thinking that.
When Sue's house came into view, my stomach did a small, stupid flip.
Not nausea.
Just… Mom… The house I grew up in, the absence of Dad.
Thomas slowed before turning onto the driveway, like he was giving me a last second to decide if I wanted to stop or do a drive-by.
"We're good," I said before he could ask.
He nodded once and pulled in.
Sue was already on the porch before the engine cut off.
Of course she was.
Arms folded. Weight on one hip. That head nurse stare locked on the truck cab like she'd been watching our approach since we turned onto the road. She wasn't smiling, not the warm one, anyway, but she wasn't bracing for war either.
That was progress.
I climbed out carefully, refusing to wait for Thomas to open my door, refusing to let my body make me look fragile. The baby disagreed and decided to ram against the right side of my ribs and shift my balance at the worst possible moment, but I caught myself with only a half stumble.
Sue's eyes flicked down. Then up.
She didn't comment on the stumble.
She just stepped forward and hugged me…tight, quick, and a little too fierce, like she was trying to physically confirm I was still here. But at the same time, she didn't want me to feel like she was trying to confine me.
"Hey," she said into my hair.
"Hey," I managed, and the word came out smaller than I wanted.
She pulled back, and her hands immediately went to my shoulders, then my arms, then my face, checking without admitting she was checking. I noticed she resisted touching my swollen belly.
"You eating?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How much?"
I hesitated.
Sue's brows lifted.
"… Lots," I admitted.
"Good." She nodded once, satisfied, and then her gaze slid to Thomas.
There it was.
The shift.
Sue Clearwater could be tender with her kids and still make you feel like you were standing in front of a judge.
Thomas straightened a fraction without meaning to. Not intimidated, just respectful in the way he always got around her. He confided in me this morning that he was a bit worried she would look at him fearfully after his display the other day.
"Sue," he said.
"Thomas," she replied, neutral. Then, after the tiniest pause, she added, "You two come inside."
Not you can come inside.
Not Leah, come inside.
Both of us.
That landed.
Inside, the house smelled like coffee and laundry detergent and the ocean that never really left La Push. Sue moved with practiced efficiency, clearing a space at the table like she'd already decided this was where the conversation would happen.
I set Carlisle's folder down like it was evidence.
Sue's eyes went to it immediately.
"You brought homework," she said dryly.
Thomas's mouth twitched before answering. "Carlisle's idea."
Sue made a thoughtful sound and opened it, scanning the first page fast…too fast for a normal person, but she'd been a nurse long enough that medical language didn't slow her down.
Her expression changed in small increments as she read.
Not panic.
Not denial.
Calculation.
When she reached the part about accelerated gestation, her jaw tightened.
When she reached the part about unknown paternal physiology, her eyes narrowed like she was about to personally fistfight biology.
Then she looked up at me.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fine," I started.
She didn't blink, just kept staring.
I exhaled. "Hungry. Tired. Annoyed. And I hate fish now."
That got a flicker of amusement out of her, "I was the exact opposite with you. Harry used to claim that you making me crave fish almost every night was all the justification he would ever need to fish the rest of his life." She trailed off with a wisp of sadness in her eyes. Then the nurse was back.
"Any pain?" she asked.
"No."
"Dizzy?"
"No."
"Cramping?"
"No."
She stared at my midsection like she could see through skin and muscle just by wanting to.
Then her eyes narrowed.
"…You're wider over the pelvis than most," she said quietly.
I bristled on instinct. "I'm not…"
Sue held up a hand. "I'm not judging you, Leah. I'm observing you."
Thomas shifted in his chair like he wanted to say something and didn't know how to put it.
Sue noticed that too. Of course she did.
She didn't soften. But she aimed her next words at both of us.
"You realize that by Carlisle's calculations, you have just over a week before you are due?"
Thomas placed his hand over mine on the table.
"Yeah… It's a bit scary every time I think of it." I confided in her.
In that moment, the baby decided to use my bladder as a trampoline. "Need the bathroom, be right back."
I pushed my chair back carefully and stood. The movement made Sue's eyes track me automatically, nurse brain, always counting risks. I ignored it and made it to the hallway without incident.
The bathroom was down the short hall, and I shut the door behind me like I could shut out the whole world with it.
I took my time washing my hands once my bladder was empty. I stared at my own face in the mirror…tired eyes, stubborn jaw, and a belly that still didn't look like mine. I waited for the little surge of panic to pass.
When I stepped back into the hall, I paused.
Not because I meant to eavesdrop.
Because I heard my name.
Sue's voice carried, low but sharp. "Leah's not made of glass, Thomas."
"I know," Thomas answered, and his voice was tired in a way that made my chest tighten. "I know she isn't. I'm trying to treat her like she's still Leah and not… a countdown."
Sue didn't soften, but her tone shifted. "Good. Because if you start hovering, she'll bite your head off and then feel guilty about it. She is too much like me in that way."
A short exhale from Thomas. Not quite a laugh. "She already feels guilty."
There was a pause. I could picture him rubbing the back of his neck like he did when he didn't know where to put his hands.
"About what?" Sue asked.
Thomas hesitated, then said it anyway. "About being… okay."
Sue didn't respond immediately.
Thomas kept going, words steady but packed tight. "Bella's getting worse even when she's getting better. If that makes sense. Every day is a fight just to keep her off the hospital bed." His voice dropped. "And Leah's pregnancy… It's moving fast, but she's strong. She's eating. She's laughing. She's glowing when she forgets she's allowed to."
Heat crept up my throat. I pressed my palm to the wall for a second and stared at the floorboards.
"I'm happy," Thomas said, and the confession sounded like it hurt him. "I'm terrified and happy. And then I look at Bella, and it feels like I'm celebrating in the same room as a funeral."
Sue's reply was quiet. "That's because you have two truths at the same time. You don't get to pick one just because it's easier to hold."
"I'm not trying to pick," Thomas said. "I'm trying not to make Leah feel like she has to shrink her joy to protect my sister's feelings."
Sue inhaled, then let it out slowly. "Leah will shrink it anyway if she thinks she's hurting someone. That's who she is when she cares."
My throat went tight because that was exactly what I had been doing.
Thomas's voice softened. "She keeps looking at me like I'm going to resent her if… if Bella doesn't make it."
Sue's tone turned sharper again, like she was forcing steadiness into the air. "Then you tell her the truth until she believes you. You tell her you chose her before any of this. You tell her you're allowed to love your sister and still want your child. And you tell her…" a pause, a subtle shift " that if she tries to carry everyone's grief and everyone's joy, she's going to break her own back."
Thomas said, quietly, "I'm trying."
Sue answered, and there was something fierce in it. "Try harder. She's my daughter."
I swallowed hard and stepped back before my breathing gave me away.
My hand went to my belly without thinking, protective and furious all at once…furious at the timing, furious at the guilt, furious at myself for needing them to say it out loud.
Then I forced my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and walked back into the kitchen like I hadn't heard a thing.
"You got anything to eat, Mom?"