Breaking Dawn

Chapter 13: Wednesday, August 16

I tense up. All of my emotions start rushing through me. Petulance, melancholy, sorrow, revulsion, guilt, angst, anticipation... It is like riding a roller coaster, but a roller coaster comes down at some point, and my emotions are never-ending.
"What is the news?" I take a deep breath. Carlisle looks at me intently, almost as if he's asking if I want to hear the news. "What are the lab results?" I reiterate.
"Bella, I don't want you getting ahead of yourself when you hear this." He stares deeply into my eyes like he's looking for something. "As far as I could tell, he has no venom left in his blood. But that doesn't mean-"
I cut him off with a gasp of relief, quickly hugging Jake. It seems like he is never going to move again, but Carlisle said his blood is clean.
"Bella, that doesn't guarantee that his blood is clean. I need to keep him comatose for another 24 hours to run more tests, and to clean his blood again."
I shake my head lightly and smile. "I'm okay with that, test on him all you need to, I'm just happy with that news."
I know Carlisle doesn't want me to get my hopes up, in case something were to happen to Jake, but if his bloodwork came back clean, I'm guessing that he has low chances of anything bad happening.
I look around the room. The only people left in here are Emmett, Alice, and Carlisle. "Wait, where's Edward?"
"He couldn't stand to see you crying like that, and not be able to help. He went out into the woods, but he will be back soon," Alice smiles. I wish she could tell Jake's future, and I wish she could tell me that he will be okay, but she can't see visions about the wolves, or even sometimes about me if I am with the wolves.
Alice wraps her dainty arms smoothly around me. I'm not one for hugs and other girly things, but it's different with Alice. She knows our friendship limits (although she does tend to push them).
It's so weird how in one minute, you could feel as though your life is ruined, and in the next minute you can feel ecstatic, euphoric even. I understand that something could still go wrong with Jake, but I think he's going to be all right.
I find myself a warm spot between Jacob's feet on the couch. I get underneath the covers, to discover that Jake isn't feeling as warm as usual. He feels warm, he is at least 100 degrees, but he is generally 108...
"Carlisle, what was his temperature the last time you checked?" I ask.
"Good question, it was normal for him but I will check again." He shuffles through some of the stuff he has on a desk, finding the thermometer.
"Well?" I question as he sticks the thermometer under his tongue.
"It's down to 106.9, we need to get him more blankets. Bella, try to keep him warm," Carlisle rushes off.
I pull his socks up higher over his feet and fasten my beanie over his head in hopes of helping. I take one of his large hands and rub it between my two small hands, hoping the fiction will help the cause.
Carlisle is back within a minute and wraps Jake up tightly, and smiles at me.
"Carlisle," I begin, "why are you helping him? He's your enemy, or he's supposed to be. Even when he picks fun at you and your family you are nice."
"It's years and years of practice," he half jokes. He likes to say that a lot because to a normal human it could mean 50 years, give or take, to a vampire it could be centuries upon centuries. "Also, it doesn't hurt to be nice. I want them to respect me, so I start by respecting them."
I nod my head. It must be the hundreds of years of practice that he's had because my eighteen years of practice hardly makes a difference.
My eyes start getting heavy, so I focus on Jake. He breathes heavily, his mouth slightly open, a small snore is coming from his mouth, and his hair is tousled. Even though he is in what sounds like the worst state of being ever, he looks peaceful, calm. I never truly get to see him calm, resting, and content. I guess I understand why Edward enjoyed watching me sleep, it's relaxing yet intriguing. It's like watching a live work of art.

Alice and Jasper have gone to explore somewhere in the state of Washington now, Rosalie took Emmett upstairs to "have a talk", Edward is still out in the woods, and Carlisle and Esme are sitting in chairs across from the couch, watching tv.
"You can sleep in Edward's bed," Esme says softly.
"No, I don't want to leave Jake," I explain, slightly offset that she could tell how tired I am.
"Are you sure?" Carlisle asks. "Nothing is going to happen, I wouldn't let you miss him waking up."
"I-, yeah I'm sure," I smile. It's not only that I don't want to miss it if anything happens to Jacob, but I also don't want Carlisle to feel like he is "in charge" of Jake. He has been doing all the testing and procedures, the least I can do is make sure he is okay for an hour. "Why don't you and Esme take a break? I don't mind keeping an eye on him."
Carlisle smiles sincerely at me. "It's okay, we get enough time together, I can stay out here with Jacob until we are sure he is healthy."
As far as we know, Jacob is doing good. His heart rate has increased slightly, but not enough to concern Carlisle. He isn't struggling to breathe, and his blood has come back clean of venom each of the five times Carlisle tested him.
All is good for now, and I hope that everything can stay this way.