Clearer (J.HALE)

26

"I'm here!"

Carlisle dashed into the room, a large bag under his arm and drenched from the rain. I lifted my head and almost fainted from relief at the sight of him.

"Glad you could join us," I groaned.

"My apologies for the delay," he said, unpacking the bag at a speed my eyes couldn't have processed even when I wasn't mildly delirious. "Lift your legs, please."

I did as I was told, counting the freckles on Meg's cheeks to distract me.

"Okay, I have mixed news," he said, after around thirty seconds.

"What is it?"

"Well, you're nine centimetres dilated, so there is no way you're moving from this house."

I nodded. I'd come to terms with that fact as soon as the storm had kicked off.

"But that does mean you're almost ready to have a baby. Jasper, could you get me some boiled water?"

His hand left mine.

"Is Jake okay?" I asked.

"He'll be fine, now," Carlisle replied. "It'll be painful for a few hours, but he'll heal quickly."

I sighed in relief. "I'm going to kill him."

"Counterproductive," Meg said.

"I told him he was going to get hurt!"

Jasper returned to the room with the water, setting it down on the floor beside Carlisle. His hand slid back into mine immediately and my shoulders loosened.

"And everyone else is fine?" I pressed, glancing wildly at Meg.

"Everyone's fine," she reassured me. "Victoria's dead."

"Bella's fine, too," Jasper murmured.

"Okay," I breathed. "Okay. Good."

"Approaching ten centimetres," Carlisle said, replacing the towels beneath my hips. "Almost time to start pushing."

A new kind of panic flared up within me.

It was real. It was happening. That little heartbeat was going to be a person. It was going to be outside my body, in the real world.

My legs were cold. They were bare and the window was cracked to let some air in, the trees outside creaking and groaning in the strong wind.

"Right," Carlisle said, voice firm and calm. "Imogen, I need you to push when the next contraction comes."

Meg gripped my hand tighter. Jasper just looked at me, such assurance in his eyes that I almost wasn't scared. But then the contraction came.

"Push, now."

My groan quickly bloomed into a shout. Every muscle in my body clenched, tight.

"Good! Good," Carlisle said, one of his gloved hands holding up my left leg as it began to wilt. "Well done! Keep it going, just for a bit-

I collapsed down into the mattress, sobbing.

"Well done," Meg murmured, holding my hand against her lips.

"If you keep going like that, you're only going to have to do a few more pushes, alright?"

My head lolled backwards. I didn't have the energy to lift it.