Baby Fever [Jacob & Edward]

30

It's like all the air has been sucked out of the room. Jacob's not even sure how long he stares down at Edward, trying his absolute hardest to make his mouth catch up with his brain. Though, by the time he's managed to regain control of his lips, there's a knock on the door. Jacob's willing to ignore it and threaten the life of whoever it is later, but the knocks become more and more insistent, clearly not content with being disregarded. 

He can feel Edward's eyes tracking his lips, waiting to hear those words from Jacob.

The moment is delicate and clearly broken by their guest who doesn't know how to take a hint, as Edward's legs loosen around Jacob, before promptly falling to lay beside him. Jacob lurches up, yanking on his pants, before snatching open the door with a snarl already in place. He's expecting Eric, who's about one more misplaced knock away from being on desk duty. Maybe it was Mike who was about one mistimed knock away from being thrown down the stairs. Potentially, it could be a rare knock from one of Jessica or Angela telling him something of significance. 

Instead, he's met with Quil. Quil, who looks irritated at having to knock so many times, but is shaken out of that by the expression on Jacob's face.

"I know, but you have to go," He says, nodding towards the stairs, "Jasper said Lahote was near Carlisle's place." 

It's like a switch has flipped in Jacob's brain. Jacob had known about this baby for the better part of a month and yet it felt like it was all happening to someone else. It was like he was watching the wife of a pack member go through a pregnancy that was wholly unrelated to him. It wasn't the same as when Edward found Bear, there wasn't this immediate connection. This sudden need to protect. He didn't feel like a father anxious about a new baby. When Edward got anxious or felt the symptoms that would often be associated with a pregnant and nesting werewolf, his brain struggled to make the connection to a baby growing in a woman's stomach that he's never even met. Though, seeing the way Edward looked at the screen, looked at Bella's stomach the same way he looked at Bear, gave him this intense urge to protect this baby. He got that anxious feeling he got in his chest when Bear was crying or Edward was hurt.  He doesn't think, he just acts, racing out of the house with Quil flanking him as they followed Jasper's rushed instructions.

Edward has never been an emotional person. Most things in life, he experiences as if they're happening to someone else. Though, when he does feel them, they feel so much more intense. He feels as if he can't breathe with how the waves hit him.

So, when the anxiety finally settles over him, it hits him like a truck. He's on a video call with Emmett. He has no clue what his brother has been blabbering about for the past five minutes. He's clearly talking about something important, something regarding keeping Lahote out until Jacob could get there. Jasper's there standing next to him, watching the cameras Carlisle has installed, but he's joining in every now and then. 

They know him, know how he gets in situations like this, so they're not at their most serious. They're clearly trying to keep him calm, throwing in a light-hearted remark every now and again, but his heart is pounding so loudly in his ears that he can barely tell what they're saying. 

Edward's throat feels like it's closing up. His eyes are burning. He can tell he's been made when both of his brothers go quiet. It's a stretch of a full minute. He's expecting some snide comment about how he's not paying attention, doesn't appreciate them calling.

"Eddy?" 

It's simple, just a call of his name, but it asks so many questions that he's too distraught to answer. For the first time in a long time, he's genuinely scared. He doesn't know what to do, doesn't have a plan, can't even really do anything. He just sits there quietly trying to catch his breath while his brothers stare at him as if he's falling apart.