Romeo and... Cullen?

18. Weak

The Cullens watched as Verne and Jacob barely left Bella's side, sleeping on the couch with her at night. Jacob warmed her up and Verne dulled all the pain. They felt bad as the two of seemed to work around the clock for their friend while the Cullens couldn't do much to help. Even the husky, Koda, was at the base of the couch guarding the three. The family watched as Jacob was the first to stir. He looked over to see the bruises on Verne's neck hadn't gone away, they were reverting back to the bright red of when he first gave the love bites. Something was wrong.

Bella woke up as Jacob moved his arm to tug at the bottom of Verne's shirt. The bruises on her hips were still there too. Jacob frowned seeing them, they should've been gone. She seemed weak, he could feel it. Verne didn't even move in her sleep, almost like she was in a coma.

"Bella, are you gonna be okay for an hour or two without Verne?"

"I don't know, I think so."

Jacob slowly got up, gently laying Bella's head down on a pillow to replace himself. He went to pick Verne up. She was still asleep, head and hand resting on Bella's stomach to stop her pain. Verne stirred very slightly as Jacob picked her up bridal style.

"Hmm?" Verne's eyes fluttered open a little bit before closing again.

"Come on, baby," Jacob whispered.

"Where are you going?" Rosalie and Edward asked.

"She can't heal herself if she's too focused on taking away someone else's pain. I'm taking her upstairs, don't worry we're not leaving."

"But what about Bella? The pain?" Edward asked.

"It's just an hour. The bruises need to heal, they should have been gone by now."

"Bruises you caused."

"Let's not start comparing the damage we've done... my imprint is my top priority."

No one dared stop him, not that Esme or Carlisle would let them. They understood for Jacob, Verne was the most important thing no matter what the circumstances. Jacob laid her down on the bed, brushing hair out of her face before going downstairs to get a blood bag.

"We need to find a way to get some food into her system." He heard Esme say.

"If I could only see the fetus—"

"Baby." Rose corrected Alice.

"Baby. Maybe I could figure out what it wants."

"I think you might be right," Edward said. "Jake just had an idea."

Jacob huffed, digging around the fridge for a bag Verne wouldn't find completely disgusting. "It wasn't an idea, more of a snide comment."

Jacob closed the fridge door and turned to see everyone looking at him.

"What were you thinking?" Carlisle asked.

"That it's probably just looking for someone to sink its teeth into," Jacob said tossing the blood bag in his hand.

He reopened the fridge for Carlisle to get blood and left to go back upstairs. Verne was sitting up in bed shivering, as if suddenly aware of how cold her skin really was. Jacob set the bag down and engulfed her in a hug until the shivers stopped.

"How long were you using your powers?"

"24/7. I can do it in my sleep if I try hard enough."