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.
Embry gives him an excuse to end the call without explanation. He quietly taps on the door before slowly peeking his head in when Edward doesn't answer.
"Eddy?"
He doesn't say anything, struggling to breathe, let alone speak.
"Hey, maybe we should go downstairs." Embry provides, slowly coming over to gingerly help Edward stand.
Seth's standing quietly in the doorway and throws Edward's free arm gently over his shoulder before helping Embry get him downstairs. They eventually get down to the bottom and Leah's messing around with a pile of blankets. He can hear Bear quietly whining in her car seat that's settled on top of the coffee table that's been pushed over to the side of the couch. Leah momentarily drops the ones she's maneuvering to get him over to lay on the couch where she places Bear into his arms.
Edward holds her close, wishing that there weren't so many eyes on him as he tries to regain control of his breathing. He hides his face in between Bear's neck and shoulder, listening to the sound of her heartbeat slowing as she snuggles into his shirt. The smell of Bear's scent mixing with the baby lotion he'd slathered on her skin earlier is enough to help him catch his breath as he breathes it in. The sound of her little breaths as she snoozes against his shoulder, the feeling of her being alive and okay in his arms is enough to calm him for now.
Jacob makes it in record time to the house, rushing past Emmett who's waiting for him at the door. He's on high alert, eyes darting around as Lahote would be standing in plain sight. The man has done some pretty brazen things and he wasn't about to take his chances.
"We haven't seen him again." He's informed as he makes his way over to Jasper, who is still staring at the screens.
"Well, that's good." Quil mutters behind him, clapping him on the shoulder as a way of telling him to relax.
"Yeah, but there's something else," Emmett says, mouth pulled back in the way he does when he's telling Edward something that he's definitely not going to like, "Bella thinks she's having contractions."
It's not the news Jacob's expecting. He'd prepared himself for a fight. Now, he was getting news that she might be going into labor.
"Carlisle's examining her to see if it's actually time." Jasper informs them, head tilting towards a door that Carlisle's muffled voice is filtering out of.
"So, I'd make myself comfortable if I were you."
Edward's on dish duty. He's not sure why he'd agreed to any of this, but now that he's forearm deep in steaming soap water, he wishes he'd stayed upstairs. Despite that, he thinks he's doing a pretty good job at pretending to be fine. He doesn't have it in him to join in the little banter that Seth, Embry, and Leah have started, but he hasn't started panicking into a dish towel, so he thinks he's doing pretty good.
That is, until Eric pops into the kitchen, smile on his face as he's greeted warmly by Embry.
"Sup, Ricky. How's the love life goin'?" He teases and watches as Eric huffs.
They'd been discussing the man's recent failed attempts to capture Mike's attention. They're skirting around it with words like "distracted" or "oblivious", but he knows it's because he's in the room. Mike's still got a thing for Jacob.
According to what he can hear, Mike's had a thing for Jacob since they'd met. It seemed to be an on-going gag of Mike trying to figure out how to get a foot in the door and Jacob, unbeknownst to him, slamming the door in Mike's face.
The man was more than a little smitten. He was clearly in deep, spending so much time with Jacob's family that he most likely knew more than Edward would ever know. He had memories here. He'd gotten the chance to meet Jacob's dad, spent several Christmas' helping Jacob put up the tree.
Then, here comes Edward. Edward who had seemingly ruined all of that...
"Apparently not as good as yours," he concedes, "heard Q finally popped the question."
It's an update that Edward clearly wasn't aware of. It wasn't like he was an actual part of the pack. Though, now that he was aware, he could feel a nagging thought creeping up in the back of his mind. The thought that maybe that would never be him. He shakes it off, hoping to hide the reaction amongst a symphony of congratulations from Eric, Seth, and Leah, but they never come. Instead, the announcement is met with silence.
He's confused for a moment before he realizes that there are eyes on him. There are eyes watching him as if they were waiting for some kind of reaction, as if they knew he was going to have one. That stings a lot more than the announcement itself. It's like confirmation that there is a possibility that Jacob's not coming home alive.
Eric goes to excuse himself as if he'd said something taboo, as the rest of the room stares at Edward, clearly waiting for some kind of visceral reaction.
Edward just wants out. He just needs to get away from the pitying stares. So, he pats his hands dry and takes a step outside into the backyard. He takes a couple of steps, taking in the space that he's never explored before. He hadn't had the chance to really go outside in months. He stands out on the porch taking in the fresh air, ignoring the way he can feel the sun hitting his skin.
He manages to have five minutes of silence before Lucy starts barking, seemingly annoyed by his presence. It shouldn't surprise him. He should be used to it at this point, he doesn't exactly have the best track record with dogs. Though, he does still find his head snapping over to where she's been lounging in the yard.
Thing is, she's not looking at him.
Her head is turned towards the trees, eyes pointed at something in particular as she barks and growls as if she's trying to intimidate whatever it is. The next twenty minutes feels like a whirlwind. He's standing there for a solid minute, before the eyes peering back at him become apparent. They aren't human. Dog, Edward decides. They belong to an oversized dog. They're watching from the brush, clearly analyzing him before the creature makes any sudden movements. Edward starts backing up, eyes glancing over at Lucy who's holding her ground, barks and growls getting louder.
He doesn't know how to communicate to her that they aren't going to win this fight. He doesn't know how to get her to follow him as he inches back up the porch. They needed to get inside. Now. It's slowly migrating forward, a pair of eyes turning into a head, turning into a body as the thing stalks forward.
"Lucy!" He calls and watches as Lucy glances at him, never ceasing in her barking.
She understands the command, maybe his tone, as wanting her to stand in front of him. Protect him. He takes advantage of her new position, moving to scoop her up, only to realize that the giant dog is no longer lurking near the woods. It's about six feet away from him and making quick work of the distance as it bounds towards them. He scrambles towards the door, aiming to get Lucy inside before scrambling in himself, only to fall short as he's knocked onto the porch. It's like being sandwiched by a brick wall as a building collapses. He can hear bones in his arm snap as he lands with his full weight on top of his cast, but the pain feels like a distant memory as he scrambles to get away. His good hand finds purchase on what seems to be an old, broken pole of rake and swings, stabbing as hard as he can.
He can hear fabric ripping and feel the sting of claws dragging against his skin as he rolls around in grass with a dog the size of a small car. He can feel the warmth of blood dripping onto his body, but he's not even sure who it belongs to at this point as he watches the dog stumble back, clearly disoriented. He turns for the door, reaching to open it, only for it to fly open as another dog comes hurdling out.
It's Leah.
He can tell it's Leah by the way she's snarling and snapping like she's trying to take the thing's head off. However, she's clearly meant to only be a distraction as Seth grabs for him, dragging him back inside. They can't do anything to him. Eric, at least, is still supposed to be watching the house. So, Leah backs up as the dog attempts to make an escape, limping as it retreats into the woods.
"Eddy?"
Jacob's annoyed, genuinely irritated as he listens to Carlisle reel off his observations.
"So, she lied." Jacob sums up, eyes darting around to Emmett and Jasper to see if he'd understood that correctly.
They look just as unimpressed as him as they stare up at Carlisle. He's expecting Quil to but in, give a different perspective, but his cousin just stands there looking just as perplexed.
"She may have felt some pain. This baby isn't standard or human for that matter and she's never had a baby before. She could have felt some pains and thought they were contractions." Carlisle tries to explain.
No Lahote. No contractions. No reason to be here.
Carlisle seemed to be an optimistic guy. Jacob was not. He had the sneaking suspicion that she thought Edward would come running. She thought he'd show up what with the actual danger of a werewolf looming mixed with her potentially going into labor. She probably thought it was a sure thing. She most likely wanted to see him in person, at least once, before she was gone.
"Oh, we have company." Jasper mutters as a cop car pulls up and Mike steps out of the driver's seat while Jessica climbs out of the passengers.
The two step inside and he can already feel Jessica revving up for some kind of speech about leaving them behind and "How the hell had they gotten here so fast?", but she puts it on pause due to the look on his face. He's not in the mood for any of this. He could be at home; he could be with Edward.
"We'll stick around here for a bit. Make sure he doesn't come back." Jessica promises him, letting him off the hook as she steps aside and lets him leave.
They head for the pickup, Jacob ready to break about three laws to get back home and Quil ready to protest, when Mike calls for him. The man steps out into the driveway, eyes clearly trying to communicate that he would like whatever he wanted to say to be private as he glances over at Quil.
Though, whatever it is, Jacob never gets to hear it.
Jacob doesn't get truly upset very often. While he can be really passionate, he likes to pick and choose his battles. He'd chosen Edward. Edward, whose entire torso is wrapped in bandages, arm broken yet again as it rests on his chest. Bear is in her bassinet, but she's growing restless. She can smell his scent nearby. She can smell his blood, can sense any distress he may be in. He's not the only one who's worked up as her beet red face balls up and she begins to wail.
Jacob scoops her up, rests her on his shoulder, gently rubbing her back with the hopes of calming her down, but it's not enough. Eventually, he caves and wraps her up in a blanket before tucking her under Edward's good arm. She lets out an audible sigh as if the weight of the world has finally been lifted off her tiny shoulders.
Along with Bear, Lucy also seems distraught. While she usually slept in Seth's room since Jacob had gone to stay with Edward, she'd brute forced her way into Jacob's room after he'd returned from the woods. She was currently lying next to the bed whining quietly.
While he's used to Bear getting upset when Edward is hurt, this was new. Lucy hadn't been around Edward for more than a minute, when Edward first stepped into the house. Jacob had kept her away, trying his best to make Edward comfortable. Though, even with the limited contact, she seems to understand. She'd been whining for almost half an hour after Edward had gotten attacked, only being comforted when she could see him.
Even though she was currently content, Edward was still hurt and Jacob was still just as worried about him which meant that Lucy was also worried about him. He folds up a blanket and places it next to the foot of the bed for her before climbing in next to Edward. He lays there for who knows how long, eyes pointed up towards the ceiling as his heart finally begins to slow down.
Though, once the adrenaline has worn off, he's left exhausted. He wants to drape himself over Edward and sleep for a week, but Jacob doesn't want to risk hurting him, so he tucks his head into Edward's shoulder. He just lays there, limply, breathing in Edward's scent until the day finally sinks in.
He can feel Mike's eyes on him, feel the questions that he's itching to ask as he stares at the side of Jacob's head. They hadn't spoken about anything besides the case sense their last incident, and so many things had happened since then.
Mike looks like he's about to finally muster up enough courage to speak his mind, when Jacob is suddenly aware of the distress in the air. He looks around, expecting to find someone wounded nearby, only to realize that it's more like a phantom of a smell. They're not really here.
Edward's not really here.
Edward's a little groggy, so he thinks it's raining at first. He thinks it's started to soak into his shirt, he's been laying in the backyard for so long. That is, until he hears the quiet, stuttered breaths as the weight pressing into his shoulder shifts slightly. He may not be a werewolf, but he's able to recognize Jacob's scent anywhere. He forces his eyes open and takes in his surroundings, noting Bear's tiny form pressed up against his right side as she sleeps. On his left, Jacob's hovering over him and Edward can't see his face, but he can feel Jacob's nose pressed into his neck. Jacob's hand is gently cupping the right side of Edward's face as if he was afraid Edward was going to disappear. He's not doing his usual scenting ritual. Edward realizes he's not scenting him at all.
He's crying.
It's hushed and muffled by Edward's skin, but Edward can feel his distress. Edward turns his head pressing his own nose into Jacob's neck with the hopes of attempting to calm as he tries to find his voice.
"What's wrong?"
Had he gotten hurt at Carlisle's? Was he in pain? Did Leah know? He can't raise his arms to try to rub a reassuring hand over Jacob's back, all he can do is listen as the man tries to gain some control over his breathing. He moves back a little and Edward can see his puffy, red eyes as Jacob looks down at him.
"Are you hurt?" Edward tries again and, even in his groggy state, is surprised when that gets a laugh.
It's dry and humorless, and he can hear the tears starting again as Jacob goes to press his face back into Edward's neck. He's struggling to keep his eyes open as the world seems to spin around him.
"I love you."