Red Dawn - Book 6

Chapter 12

Nic lifted me into his arms and carried me into the large closet that held all the emergency and medical supplies. He laid me on my back and then took out several candles and lit them, causing the room to illuminate in its golden glow.

When he turned back to me I expected to see a look of panic on his face but he seemed calm. Was he forcing it to keep me calm or was he freaking out.

"Renesmee, what kind of pain do you feel?" He asked me.

I held my breath as pain rolled through my body. It felt like it would never end but finally I was able to let out a breath.

"I don't know what to say." I whined as tears began streaking my face. "It comes every thirty seconds, whats happening to me?" Cried.

He took my hands into his and kissed them. "Honey, you are going into labor. The baby is coming... now."

"What! No! Nic! Please, make it stop! The baby can't come right now!" I screamed.

All I could do was cry and cradle my stomach.

Nic shuffled around the room, grabbing several things. A few being a suction bulb, a towel, a clamp and scissors. Then he was kneeling between my legs, which were spread wide.

"Oh my goodness, Renesmee. I can see hair already. Dark hair." He said, gleefully to me.

"What do I do?" I whined.

He took a deep breath. "Right when you feel the pain, you need to push as hard as you can until the pain stops. You need to do this everytime you feel pain."

"Why?" I gasped as I felt pain.

"Renesmee, the pains are contractions. They are helping expell the baby."

I nodded my head and waited, breathing as calmly as I could. Then I felt the pain and began pushing, as hard as I could. During the middle of my push the pain began to grow unbearable and I had to scream.

Then the pain stopped and I was able to relax.

"You are doing great, love." Nic said to me.

Then came the pain again and I started pushing. As hard as I could I pushed.

"The head, the head is out!" Nic exclaimed.

I saw him pick up the suction bulb. What was he doing?

Then the pain was back and I began to push. The pain began to burn as if I was on fire.

"Keep pushing Renesmee, the baby is almost out!"

I took a quick breath and continued pushing. It felt like I was pushing for an hour before the pressure and pain disappeared.

I let out a breath and rested on my back. From where I lay I saw Nic holding a baby in his hands. With perfect dexterity he managed to clip the umbilicle cord and cut it. In one swift movement he swaddled the infant and then put it in my arms.

"It's a girl." He finally whispered to me.

As I looked into her eyes I felt my heart melt. She gazed back at me with her big beautiful silver blue eyes. Her fathers eyes. I smiled as I looked at her and for the smallest moment I saw her smile back. Her skin was the most beautiful peach color, the shade resting gently between her fathers and my own. A faint blush traced across her face, just like my cheeks. On top of her head was a beautiful light brown, just a few shades darker than her father. She looked like her father.

"She is perfect." I whispered as I held her in my arms.

Sometime had passed before either of us spoke. "What should we name her?"

"Sophia Camille Cromwell." I said as I brushed my fingertip along her bottom lip.

As an automatic response she puckered her lips and made an attempt to suck on my finger. It was so precious.

"I think she is hungry. She need to feed from you." Nic said.

"Like, blood?" I asked.

Nic chuckled. "No, love. You have milk." He unbuttoned the top half of my maternity dress and adjusted my bra so he was able to help Sophia latch on and begin her feeding. The feeling was awkward, different, intense as I knew this was one of several bonding moments between mother and child. "See." he said.

I smiled as I watched her suckling. Her little hand clenched and unclenched several times and I couldn't help but press my finger against the palm of her hand.

"Nic, she is so precious." I smiled and looked up at him.

After ten minutes of her feeding she stopped suckling and I button my dress back up.

"You have to burp her now." Nic said as he took her from my arms and began patting her on the center of her back in a steady rhythm. After a few seconds she made a little burp. "This helps to release the gas bubbles in her tiny stomach that could cause her pain. Everytime she feeds you need to do this until she burps."

"Feed, burp... check." I repeated. Then it hit me. After a baby fed they had to use the bathroom. But.... "We need diapers. I mean, the baby needs diapers." I blurted out.

"I ... uh... have that taken care of." Nic said as he carefully helped me to my feet. "Here." He carefully placed Sophia in my arms and then picked up a lantern before lighting it. "Come, there is something I have been hiding from you." He said before he led me from the closet.

As we made our way towards our bedroom, I had almost forgotten that I had just pushed a baby out of a hole that I knew was ten times smaller than our daughters head. Thank goodness for my accelerated healing from being a hybrid. Physical wounds, depending on the degree, healed quickly. Though I still felt some pain the bleeding had stopped.

"Nic, I've seen everything in our bedroom." I said as we entered.

"Not, everything." He grinned.

He walked me over to where our bed was and flipped a switch on the wall sconce. Immeadiately the large blank wall space between our bed and the closet slid open revealing a second room. Only this one was a nursery.

"When?" I asked as I entered inside.

"While I was having everything else built. It isn't finished yet, I don't have electricity running through here so it is just oil lamps, not to mention it's colors are just cream and white but I had the best interior designers working on it. So it is good enough for our child." As he spoke, he went around turning on the various oil lamps that hung on the walls and sat on the small tables.

When the room was finally illuminated I was able to see the beauty of the room. The curtains that framed the windows were cream and white. The floor was wood but here and there it was covered with beautiful white faux fur carpets. The crib was wrought iron and had simple, yet elegant bedding. But, out of every beautiful detail in this room, my eyes caught and held the display that set in the center of the room.

I walked to the center of the room and stared at the contents in the case. There on a beautiful plush cushion was a crown, scepter and orb.

"Are these?"

Nic nodded his head. "Yes, they were my parents during their royal days."

I smiled and looked down at our daugher. She was looking right at me. Her eyes very attentive.

"Lets get you dressed, yes." I cooed as I carried her over to the changing table and lay her down. I grabbed a diaper from the small drawer and diapered her. Then Nic joined my side, with a beautiful chic dress that he helped me dress her in. "Look at you, so beautiful." I whispered as I lifted her into my arms.

She stared at me and once again, she smiled. Her smile was showcased by a full set of perfect milk teeth. She looked the same size I did in my new born baby pictures. If my memory was correct I looked to be at least 3 months in age. So Sophia should be the same.

I watched her as she slowly turned her head to look at her father who had began humming a song. She was so precious.

"So-phi-a." I said in a sing song voice.

She immeadiately turned her head back and looked right into my eyes. She was barely two hours old and she already knew her name and was able to turn her head and support it on her own.

"Momma loves you, sweetheart." I whispered to her.

She stared at me for the longest time before her face scrunched up as she released a small yawn. Then very slowly her eye lids seemed to grow too heavy for her and they closed.

"Nic," I murmered, lightly, trying not to wake her.

He was at my side in less than a second. Very carefully he pressed his lips, briefly, to our daughters forehead.

"I am going to put her in her crib." I said to him.

I turned away from him and crossed over to her elegant crib before laying her down. The second she left my arms I already wanted her back. I didn't want to let her go. After an hour of me watching Sophia sleep, Nic had to pry me from the nursery.

We laid in each others arms, in the comfort of our bed, listening to the sounds of the wind and rain rapping against every inch of the yacht.

I felt Nic shrug his shoulders. "Renesmee, we could be stranded out here. When the deck was struck by that bolt of lightening it fried everything. The engine, the electricity, everything."

As he spoke I felt my heart speed up. I didn't know what we were going to do. "My parents are going to freak out when we don't return home on time. What are we supposed to tell them? More importantly, how do we find a way to tell them?"

"I don't know. But tomorrow when the first sign of sun shows I am going to try pulling up the anchor. If we are lucky I can try and jump the boat with its internal battery charger. If that works we can make our way to land."

"And if the charger is fried?" I asked.

"Then we let the waves tow us towards shore."

"And if the waves pull us back into the storm. Then what?"

I didn't enjoy sounding so negative but I was trying to be realistic. We didn't have many options at the moment.

"Then, we sink. Without the electricity our pumps are down. That means, any water we take on will not be able to be pumped back out."

If it was possible, my heart would have stopped. If this boat sank then we would be stranded. That means our daughter would be in danger.

"We have to do everything we can to save her." I whispered.

Nic wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. "And that we will."

As I closed my eyes I focused on one memory in particular. We were in our beautiful home on Bainbridge Island in Washington. We were happy and Sophia was beautiful and healthy and safe. The three of us sat in our backyard on the beach front watching the sunset in the distance. Nic and I sat side by side and our daughter sat on his lap. Just like now, she looked just like her father.

But would that end up as nothing more than a dream? Tomorrow, whatever happened would decide on that. We would either sink or float. Sadly, that choice wouldn't be ours.

A/N: The Picture on the right is Sophia after her birth.