THE REST OF TOMORROW
Chapter 16: Waiting Edward's POV While Renesmee slept next to me on the bed, she had no idea of knowing just how much her upcoming surgery concerned me. That it was even possible to perform one on her had been a puzzle to me until Carlisle sat down with us and explained what he could only guess on. The venom injected into Renesmee's body when the werewolf scratched her was diluted enough to not kill her immediately, but strong enough to do some pretty bad internal damage. It was the reason why her heart had stopped beating, and why she couldn't maintain her body temperature at its normal reading. My father had been working day and night to find a sort of anti-venom that might better stabilized Renesmee's condition. Jasper had gotten a blood sample from one of the wolves before ending the man's life, but there was just no way to know how any of this would turn out. "Daddy, I'm cold," Renesmee whispered snuggled closer to me. She had on a pair of pajamas Esme had brought from home, thick with long warm pants and a long shirt, but being so close to me it was hard for her to stay warm. I kissed her forehead as Jacob roused from where he had been sleeping in a chair near by. The moment I tried getting up Renesmee began to protest. "Nooo," she cried out clinging to me. "Shhh, I was going to let Jacob rest with you so you could warm up." Renesmee's heart beat had quickened and was again erratic. We didn't have much time left, and I prayed Alice and Rosalie would be here by morning. Even then we still had to test Nahuel's blood to see if it was compatible. If it wasn't I wasn't sure what we would do. Tired and not feeling well, Renesmee wouldn't let go of me, or listen to any sort of reason. She was stubborn just like her mother, and I could never be angry by that as I tried to think of a way to warm her up without me having to move away from her. "What about an electric blanket?" Jacob asked as he scratched the back of his head, yawning widely. I hadn't thought of that, but wasn't sure the hospital would allow it. Before there was any time to think of a reply, Carlisle came in with Bella and two blankets aside from the two Renesmee was already wrapped up in. "These have been heated, and I'll have Esme bring an electric blanket when they come tomorrow," he whispered. Once the heated blankets had been put over my baby she went back to sleep, her small hands clutching my sweater. As she slept Carlisle listened to her heart beat using a stethoscope. It wasn't an instrument he needed but Carlisle had to keep up the appearance of needing one and write down what he found. "How are you going to proceed with the surgery?" I asked as he wrote things down on Renesmee's chart. My father finished what he was doing before looking down at me and my daughter. "I've been analyzing the blood sample we took in Dresden, and the ones we charted when she had her ulcer. Her blood DNA is closer to Jacob's than anyone else's we've tested aside from Nahuel. I think given her size, I should be able to use the normal amount of anesthetic a child her size would require. That was when Jacob's thought bombarded my head. What does he mean he thinks? He's just going to go into this blind? "Jacob has concerns," I said not willing to let him off the hook. I too worried about how little we knew going in to this, it's what made everything so unsure and dangerous. Carlisle turned around to face him, "You don't like that I don't have certainties to offer. I don't like it either, Jacob, but if I don't act then my granddaughter won't live past another week," Carlisle whispered so low that Renesmee wouldn't hear that last part if she was awake enough to listen. I had known that, Bella had known, but it was news to Jacob and it shut him up both in my mind and verbally. He sat down hard in the chair he had just left and Bella went to him placing her hand on his shoulder. "When?" I asked dreading knowing the actual time. "Two mornings from now. She will be able to hold on for that long and I still need to work out the finer details. Jacob, I need to draw some of your blood. I want to see if maybe yours is compatible enough to give her if it's needed." Silently Jacob stood walking to the bed where he leaned forward kissing Renesmee's cheek. My baby didn't move and he lingered there a moment longer before leaving to go with Carlisle. My wife who had remained by the chair sat down and shut her eyes covering her face with both of her hands. "Bella, Carlisle will get her through this." "I know, I trust him, but I am afraid of what will happen…if he can't fix her." More than anything I wanted to be able to go to her and hold Bella in my arms swearing to her that Renesmee was going to be as good as new, but she was right. There was always the chance that the damage to her heart was worse than what my father could fix. With her body so much like Jacob, there weren't any other alternatives, not that I would even voice aloud what I had once briefly thought. When Renesmee was still so new, and we didn't know that she wouldn't stop growing and stay immortal in her own way, Carlisle and I briefly discussed turning her. Holding my baby in my arms as I was now I couldn't fathom trying that, and again her body was too much like Jacob's. "This is why Carlisle is giving it another two days. He wants her surgery to be well planned," I whispered. Finally my wife came over to us and I reached out pulling her hand against my lips kissing her palm. "I love you, Bella." She leaned over me moving her hand away as she brushed her lips over mine and then against the right side of Renesmee's cheek. "I love both of you so much." ~*~*~*~ Renesmee's POV When I woke up in the morning Daddy wasn't with me but Mommy was. Grandpa Charlie was with us because I could smell him. When I opened my eyes he stood up and walked over to my bed. "Good morning sweet, girl," he said as he kissed my nose. "Grandpa Charlie, did you get any sleep?" He still looked tired to me. "I slept at your other grandparents' house, and had a good night's sleep. How are you feeling?" For some reason I wasn't cold. "I'm not cold, maybe it means I'm all better," I said letting my lips smile. My mommy hugged me close to her. "Grandpa brought an electric blanket with him. It plugs in to the wall there, and heats up so you won't feel so cold," she explained. Still it felt good not to be cold. "Where are Jacob and Daddy?" "Jacob needed to go back to the house and get some sleep. Billy talked him into that, but he wasn't very happy about having to leave you," Mommy said. I thought about that for a moment. "Does it mean I don't have to get my toes wiggled around?" "I'm sorry, baby." My Grandpa Charlie pulled his chair closer to my bed. "I got really cold toes and the frost bit them so we have to massage them and Jake has to wiggle them around." "I see, it looks like you are feeling a little better," he said looking at me and Mommy. My grandpa doesn't know all of our secret so he doesn't know the bad things. My heart jumped a little and Mommy helped me put my nose plugs in. "Mommy, what if I wake up when Grandpa is fixing my heart?" Grandpa Carlisle said I would be asleep, but sometimes I wake up and I didn't really know what he was going to do with my heart. Maybe Mommy was going to say something, but my door opened and Grandpa and Daddy came into the room with the boy I met when I was little. "Dad, why don't we go grab something to eat," my mommy said, and I felt sad but knew she had to say it because Grandpa Charlie didn't know who that boy was. She kissed me and Grandpa Charlie did too before the left. Daddy got in the bed where Mommy had been and I hid my face in his gray jacket. "Renesmee, do you remember Nahuel?" I nodded once but didn't want to talk. "Nahuel wanted to be here with you while Grandpa fixes your heart," Daddy said as he pulled his arms around me. "Daddy?" "What baby?" "What if I wake up when Grandpa's fixing my heart?" He didn't say anything and that meant he had to think, which sometimes wasn't a very good thing, "Renesmee, Grandpa is going to give you a medicine which is going to help you stay asleep while he fixes your heart." My mind had so many questions that I felt my heart jumping lots and it got really hard to breath. Daddy held me cradled in his arms, and Grandpa Carlisle looked really worried. I started to cry because it was hurting and it was harder to breath like my dream. "Renesmee, listen to me baby. You need to take in a deep breath if you can," Daddy told me while Nahuel left the room. I tried to remember what to do but it was so scary like when Daddy and Jacob found me and everything was dark and far away. It felt like that now and I cried more. We were going somewhere and Grandpa Carlisle was saying things in really big words while Daddy stroked his hand against me cheek. "Baby, hold on a little longer," he told me. I think he wanted me not to go where it was dark, but my heart was not doing what I wanted it too, and it hurt really bad. There was a big room with lots of bright lights and Daddy was holding on to me but Grandpa said he had to put me someplace. "Nooo," I told him when he leaned over. "I'm right here, baby." "Mommy," I cried feeling really sleepy. My eyes wanted to shut, but I made them stay open and she was there too kissing my cheeks, "Grandpa is going to make it all better now." "Da…daddy." "Shhh," The blackness wanted me, and I tried to stay but it was too hard not to go there. ~*~*~*~ Edward's POV Leaving our baby alone in the O.R. was the hardest thing I had ever done. I knew Carlisle was there with doctors and nurses he trusted, and that they were aware that Renesmee was different than other children because of a birth defect in her heart. That story had to work but none of it really mattered if in the end she couldn't be saved. Bella was still in my arms, still clinging to me as we both stood in the empty hospital room. Logically, I knew that my explanation to Renesmee hadn't set off her heart's erratic beating, but I still felt I was to blame. "She was so afraid," Bella whispered. I leaned my chin against the top of her head shutting my eyes. For the moment it was just the two of us and I focused on my arms around Bella and her intoxicating scent. "Nahuel's blood is compatible." "And Jake's?" My wife asked lifting her head from my chest. "No, it was a long shot," She nodded once before resting her head back on my chest. "Where is Charlie?" Bella whispered "Esme took him back to the house to wait there. I think she was going to return with Jacob. Everyone else is staying behind until we need them here." After a while, I admitted, "I want to be with her," "I know, I do too. How did Carlisle manage to get Nahuel's blood?" My wife asked. "He had to develop needles and instruments strong enough for Jacob and his pack, those some tools are what he's using now with Renesmee and Nahuel." We were supposed to have two more days to prepare ourselves and I began feeling restless. Bella had let go of me when her phone rang and already an hour and a half had gone by. While she talked to Charlie I focused on hearing my Father's thoughts pulling my mind away when I realized that my fears had been right, her heart had been damaged much worse than he thought. "How is she?" Jacob asked as he came running through the door. My wife was still on the phone and I looked at Jacob not sure what to tell him. He seemed to read my expression and ran his hand through his hair walking over to the window. His thoughts were positive. He knew Renesmee was going to make it, there was no doubt in his mind. I had always been practical, and believed with all my heart that Renesmee was going to make it. The practical side of my mind was also forcing me to see what I didn't want to, that there was a chance we would lose her. That chair Bella had sat in earlier in the morning was inviting and I forced myself to walk over and sit down. I tried not to listen to Carlisle's thoughts but couldn't help it. …tell Edward and Bella how bad it is. ~*~*~*~*~ Bella's POV My husband wouldn't talk to me, and I knew that it wasn't going well for our baby. Edward held my hand as I settled on his lap and pulled his arms around me as he rested his cheek against my hair. It had been five hours since we left Renesmee in the O.R. and there wasn't any word to her condition. Jacob had gone with Charlie and Billy down to the Cafeteria, and my father thankfully wasn't pushing for any more information. Everyone else had stopped in to sit with us, and Jasper's presence had allowed us a moment of reprieve from our conflicting emotions. This seemed to be our darkest moment, and would be a true test to our love no matter what the outcome. "Do you remember that day Alice and Rosalie made me go shopping with them, and you stayed home with Renesmee? You were trying to get her on a nap schedule and finally ended up in her room with her asleep on your chest." "She never did like having to take them. I think she was always worried she was going to miss something, but we were right to get her used to it. I remember that day Jacob watched her and let her stay up all day. Renesmee was so grumpy when we got home and tried to attach herself to his leg before I was able to get her hands free so we could take her home." "She's always been such a determined little thing, and she's had so much to go through these past few months. Edward, I never had it in my heart to tell you this, but when I was going through the change, I was pretty much aware of it all." My husband lifted his cheek from my head and I looked up at him, "Why?" He asked. "I knew how much pain you had gone through when I was pregnant with her. I didn't want to cause you anymore. I remember this blackness pushing down on me and how I wanted to give in and be in a place where there was no more pain or fear. What kept me going was knowing that it wasn't just about me, and that I had to fight for you and our daughter. "I felt the burning start in my arms, and grow from there." I didn't know why I needed him to know this so long after the fact, but deep inside I'd always felt guilty from keeping this from him, "Maybe Renesmee is in that dark place where it's so much easier to not have to fight. What if she chooses to give up?" We both held on to one another crying silent tearless cries for our baby, and for everything she had been put through. I wanted to go to sleep and wake up to find my daughter asking me for a piece of candy, or if she could go into her little clearing to play with Gracie and Harvey. The trouble was there wasn't any sleeping, and if we lost her the rest of my life would be a living nightmare. The door opening was the only thing that brought both of us out of that painful realization and Nahuel was there with his Aunt. "Things are not going well for her are they?" he asked I looked at my husband as his focus went elsewhere and when his gaze fell on my face I shut my eyes. "I don't believe that it is," I whispered. "I want to help her live. If they need more than my blood to give to her, then I will let her have what she needs." My husband stood both of us up. "Nahuel, we can't ask you…" but the young man cut him off with the shake of his head. "You are not asking me to do anything that I have not already thought of. My Aunt and I both understand what it would be like for you to lose her. I've never felt my place in this world until I met Renesmee, realizing that I wasn't a killer. Even then I felt out of place. I'm not sure my own mother would understand what I was going to do, but to allow her to parish because of evil would be so very wrong." Zafrina entered the room at that time putting her arm around Huilen. I looked at my husband feeling more conflicted than every before. "Nahuel, we just can't," I finally said. How would we live with his death on our hands? Suddenly Edward left the room at a dead run. I heard people's angry replies as he pushed them out of the way and found myself focusing on the sounds down two levels. There was a drawn out beeping sound, and I tried to remember what that was supposed to mean. When it hit me I found my balance badly off and Nahuel put his arms around me about the same time Jacob arrived. "Bella?" Jacob asked, alarmed. "I need to get out," I whispered when Jacob held on to me. Charlie was somewhere near but I needed to go. I couldn't remember what I was talking about with Edward as I felt pain worse than anything I had ever experienced. At the entrance to the hospital we met up with Alice and Jasper, and I felt a blanket of comfort close around when I didn't want it. "Bella," Alice said as I felt her arms taking me away from Jacob. "Edward," I whispered. It was cold and snowy, and despite that Jacob and Alice led me out to a small courtyard. I felt something being put around me and realized Jacob was putting my coat around my shoulders. This wasn't real. It was a dream. Any minute now I would wake up and I would be human in high school with Mike, Angela, and Edward. He was human too and there was no such thing as vampires, werewolves, indians who could turn into wolves, and most of all not such a thing as a half human half vampire child. "I think she's in shock," Jacob said his voice breaking. He didn't know what I did, and even I wasn't sure. "Nahuel wants us to take what we need to save her, but I don't think we can now," I said trying to make my brain work better. "He wants to give his life for hers?" Jacob asked sounding shocked. I nodded once as Alice pulled me back to my feet, but it wasn't Alice's arms that wrapped around me. "Tell me she isn't gone." "Carlisle got her back for us," Edward answered, shaken. Relief flooded through me, but only temporary as I thought about Nahuel. "What about what Nahuel said?" "That won't be necessary. He was able to repair the hole in her aortic valve and had to repair one in her tricuspid valve. Some of the arteries in her heart are still very weak, so he is going to have to keep her sedated for the next couple of days," Edward explained. As he talked, my husband led me back into the hospital explaining what had happened to cause her heart to fail. His explanation was too technical for me, but the important thing was that our baby was going to recover. ~*~*~*~*~ Edward's POV Bella and I were the only two allowed in to see Renesmee once she was settled in the small room at the Pediatric ICU. Again my father had taken great precautions to keep her safe, and any information gathered went straight to him. That was the benefit of Carlisle being the head over the entire surgical department, but also very well respected. The bed my baby was resting in seemed to swallow her up. I felt Bella's hand tighten in mine as we walked to the left side of the bed. There was no color in Renesmee's cheeks and her lips were parched and cracked. She was hooked up to every sort of monitor and wire available, and Bella shuttered as I brought her into my arms. "Will they remove some of this before she wakes up?" "I hope so," I said as I reached my hand out and took Renesmee's right hand. Her skin was warmer than it had been and as much as I wanted to keep holding her hand, I was afraid my own cold skin would somehow hurt her. "Renesmee, Mommy and Daddy are here now," Bella whispered as she leaned over and kissed our daughter's forehead. The glass door slid open and Carlisle stepped in. My wife let go of my hand and walked to him hugging him. "Thank you for what you did." "You have no need to thank me. Bella, do you have any questions?" "Edward explained it on our way up. Is there any chance that um, her heart might fail again?" "No, I made sure everything was checked over before we finished with the surgery. She has a long recovery ahead of her. The venom did a lot of damage," Carlisle said looking from my wife to me. "How long will she remain here?" Bella asked. Carlisle sighed, "That is all up to her, but I think a two to three weeks at the very most." "What caused her heart to fail the first time?" my wife asked. "The hole in her Aortic Valve tore, and that caused her heart to beat erratically." My wife nodded once before returning to Renesmee's bedside. "Are we going to be able to stay with her?" "One of you will. I was able to pull strings, but they won't bend on having both of you here over night." Bella came back to us. "Edward, would you be angry if I wanted to stay in the waiting room?" I reached out and my wife came into my arms. "No, this isn't easy to be around." I studied medicine for a while and even pediatric medicine. Being around a sick child was hard. When it was your own, it was terrifying. ~*~*~*~ AN I decided to let you guys have this next chapter, and this is where I've stopped until after the surgery. Thanks for all the support for this story, and I'll be back when I can. Mac Thanks for the Beta as usual.
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