Tidal Moon (Renesmee & Jacob)

Chapter 29: Adjustment

"If that ring sparkled any brighter I think we would all be blind." Carlisle chuckled as he examined the ring on my finger. I was sitting atop the examination table in Carlisle's home office as he conducted a check-up on the the pregnancy. Jacob leaned against the grey accent wall in the back with his muscular arms crossed over his large chest as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"I'll take that as a compliment." He smiled, winking at me attractively. My cheeks warmed up slightly and I had to avert my eyes from his muscular build to keep myself from blushing and embarrassing myself more.

"So, how have you been feeling. Any nausea or lightheadedness?" Carlisle asked, checking my pupils for dilation and light sensitivity.

"No, just hungrier than usual." I shrugged, my stomach rumbling as though on cue. This earned a slight laugh from Jacob as he smiled at me endearingly.

"Human food or blood?" Carlisle asked as he had me lean back. He plugged the ultrasound machine in and squirted the cold jelly on my abdomen, making me shiver slightly.

"Both." I answered, nervously shifting my eyes to the screen. Jacob had seen the baby on ultrasound, but I'd only seen pictures. Both excitement and worry seemed to swirl around within me viciously, causing intense nausea to rise into my throat. I gulped it down, thankful that neither Jacob or Carlisle had noticed. 

"You're about twelve weeks pregnant right now, I can probably check the gender today if you'd like. Usually doctors can't tell this early, but I'm an exception to that rule." Carlisle winked, hinting at his hundreds of years of experience within the medical field. I glanced at Jacob to see what he wanted to do. He looked lost in thought for a few moments before a smile returned to his face.

"Whatever you want." He coaxes in a raspy voice. I contemplate the decision at hand for a few seconds before finally answering. 

"Can you write it down and put it in an envelope? Jake and I could read it on our own." I answer confidently, feeling the comfort with my decision radiate inside of me. Jacob smiled, as though intrigued and delighted at what I had decided. 

"Of course." Carlisle smiled, getting back to work on the ultrasound. The screen was like static and out of focus for a few moments, but from the copious amounts of television I've watched, I deduced that this was a completely normal sight to see when an ultrasound first began. As quickly as the static came into view, a new sight danced across the monitor. A small child nestled into a ball inside of my stomach. My heart squeezed, but not in an alarming way, instead it squeezed in an overwhelming and heartwarming way. 

"Everything seems to be progressing beautifully, sweetheart." Carlisle said with a large smile as the sound of the heartbeat pulsed through the room like background music. 

I was listening, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen, off of the baby. I'd seen the pictures Jacob had shown me, but seeing it in real time was different. Not only did the sense of warmth and love set in, so did dread. I could feel the sense of impending doom in my chest. 

"Renesmee, what's wrong?" Jacob asked, sensing my mood shift. 

"Something's wrong." I said, my voice cracking and barely above a whisper. 

"Renesmee, the baby is fine. What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, concern evident on his face. 

"Not with the baby." I managed to get out. 

 My throat was on fire and the room began to spin in circles as red encapsulated my vision. Images began to jump out at me, but one was brighter than all of the others. Seth. He was on a concrete floor in what looked to be a dark and desolate room. He was cold, he was barely breathing but I could tell by the thick puffs of fog coming from his slightly parted lips that he was cold. Goosebumps raised against his arms and he was bleeding from so many spots that it was almost impossible to see where the first injury had occurred. His arms were chained in barbaric cuffs on the floor, as were his legs to make shifting impossible and excruciatingly painful. One thing was clear. He was being brutally tortured. 

"Renesmee, I know you can see this. Aren't you so sick of letting everyone else die protecting you? An eye for an eye is what I've always been taught. I'll release him if you come and take his place. You know you aren't selfish enough to let someone innocent die for you. You are an insecure little girl, but I never pegged you for selfish. You think I didn't know about the abomination within you? The child that shouldn't exist. You were a child that shouldn't exist and now you've bred another one. See? Selfish. You know where I am." River's voice was thick with hate and floated through my mind like a haunting soprano playing the darkest of melodies. I felt like I was going to either be sick or pass out, whichever came first. Slowly but surely, the scene faded and I was back in the examination room. Carlisle, Esme, and Jacob all stared at me with concern painting their expressions. Esme must have rushed in when she heard what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Jacob gripped my hand tightly and looked at me with questioning eyes as I tried to swallow as much air as I could. I couldn't seem to grasp what was real and what wasn't. I took a few deep breaths before looking around at everyone.

"You saw something." Carlisle says. It might have seemed like a question, but it was clearly a statement. He could see it in my eyes and in the way my hair matted to my forehead due to my profuse sweating and stress. I nodded weakly and shifted my gaze back to Jacob, the reality of the danger nestling into my bones once more. How do I even begin to tell him what's going on? Would River hurt Seth more if I involved them? Questions spiraled in my head, but eventually I came to the realization that the only thing that mattered as of now was my child's safety. Doing what River asks is out of the question, and I will not follow the orders of a deranged psychopath. 

"River has Seth." I managed to say in a raspy voice. It sounded as though I'd been screaming and swallowing glass, even though I hadn't spoken a word. Thousands of emotions seem to flit through Jacob's face at once, until finally one expression took dominance over the others. Anger.

"Tell me everything you saw." He ordered. I gulped and nodded, launching into a detailed explanation of what I'd seen and what I knew based on the surroundings in the vision, making sure to not spare any detail, no matter how painful it might be. I watched as his face twisted at every detail, the way his knuckles would turn white as he clenched his fist so hard I was sure they'd explode. 

"We need to have the others return from their hunting trip." Carlisle whispered when I was done. I glanced over at him but before I could speak, Jake interrupted me. 

"They won't get here in time. That asshole is going to kill Seth, and that's if he hasn't done it already." Jacob was pacing now and I could tell he was on a warpath. The man in front of me was no longer my fiance. He was the Alpha. No one could stand in his way or speak to him when his mindset shifts in this way.

"It's the only choice we have." Esme says soothingly, looking at Jacob sympathetically. Jacob looked up at her angrily, but his expression softened as he looked over to me. I had a bad feeling in my stomach, somehow like I knew his plan before he said it out loud. 

"I'm going now. I have to tell the pack and we will find him. Renesmee, I love you." Jacob sighs, walking over and lifting my hand to his lips. 

"No Jacob, you can't go!" I yelp desperately. 

"I'm sorry." He whispers before bolting out of the door before I even had the opportunity to react or make a move to stop him. Tears welled in my eyes as I realized that no matter what happened tonight, this wasn't going to end well. The sensation that I was about to lose someone I loved flooded my entire body until finally, I passed out.