Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing to do with Twilight.

Chapter Four: The Delivery

Two days passed, and Bella's condition seemed to improve. Her color seemed less gray, and her body seemed to fill out a bit. Carlisle theorized that her unborn child had, as a part vampire, been draining her of her blood as it grew, and her body couldn't keep up. Now that her new diet was underway, Bella seemed much healthier, which strengthened her resolve to see her pregnancy through to the end. As happy as they were that Bella was improving, everyone was heartbroken that she hadn't changed her mind. No matter what anyone said, Bella took her turn for the better as a sign that everything was going to work out. On top of that, she was also convinced that her child was a boy who would look exactly like Edward.

"I'm going to name him Edward Jacob," Bella announced proudly, "EJ for short."

The conversation about names had come about when the Swan sisters were sitting in the living room with Leah, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme. The six women had become especially close during the troubled times. Bella had always been close with her mother- and sisters-in-law, but Mandy and Leah had been drawn in as well. Mandy had always liked them, but she had become even fonder of them due to their care for her and her sister. Leah, whose only close female friends had been Mandy and Emily (with whom she had had a strained relationship in recent times), seemed to be opening up to the women whom she had seen as enemies.

Bella had been telling the other five women of her plans for her child and what she thought it would be like. Of course, the others weren't quite sure they agreed with her.

"It might turn out to be a girl, you know," Leah pointed out.

"No," Bella disagreed with a laugh, "I know he's gonna be a boy. It's something I've always been sure of, like a mother's intuition."

"You know, a mother's intuition isn't always accurate," Esme said gently, "When I was human, I had a child. During my whole pregnancy, I was convinced that I was going to have a daughter. Nothing could change my mind, I was sure that my child was a girl. You can imagine my surprise when he turned out to be a boy."

Everyone laughed, enjoying the lighthearted tone of their conversation.

"Well, in that case," Mandy said, "You better have a back-up name just in case it turns out to be a girl, Bella. You'll probably give birth soon, so you don't want to be caught off guard."

Bella seemed to consider this.

"Yeah, I guess so," she finally agreed, even though she didn't seem totally convinced, "What do you guys think would be good girl names?"

"Well, since your boy name is something so personal," Alice replied, "Being the names of your husband and best friend, why don't you pick a girl name that's just as special? Like your mom's name, or something along those lines."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Rosalie agreed, "I always thought that if I'd had a daughter, I would have named her after my mother."

"I know Mom would be thrilled if either one of us named a daughter after her," Mandy added, "She'd love it."

Bella paused, then smiled.

"What about Renesmee?" she asked.

The five other women looked at her, blinking in confusion.

"What the heck is a Renesmee?" Leah deadpanned.

"Not 'what,' it's 'who'" Bella corrected, "Renee after my mom and Esme after Edward's mom. That way, if it's a girl she'd be named after both of her grandmothers."

"That's ... unique," Mandy said carefully.

It was taking everything that Mandy had not to dissolve into giggles at her sister's choice of name. She glanced over at Leah, but had to look away almost immediately. The other woman seemed to be fighting off her own laughter and Mandy knew that if they made eye contact, both of them would lose it. It was clear that they were thinking along the same lines: Renesmee had to be the most ridiculous name either one of them had ever heard, but they didn't have the heart to voice that to Bella. The sentiment behind the name was sweet, even if the name was horrible. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice their struggle. In fact, the three vampire women seemed to have the opposite opinion.

"I'm honored that you would consider naming your child after me," Esme told Bella, clearly touched by her name choice.

"Yes, it's wonderful!" Alice agreed happily, "Such a pretty, fun name!"

"What about a middle name?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know," Bella replied.

A burst of inspiration came to Mandy.

"What about Carlie?"

The other women blinked, considering her name offering. Bella looked at her, confused.

"Where'd you get that name from?" she asked her older sister.

"Well, if you were wanting the first name to be a combination of the grandmothers' names," Mandy explained, "Why not have the middle name be a combination of the grandfathers' names? Carlisle and Charlie, hence Carlie."

There was a beat of silence... before suddenly:

"I love it!" Alice squealed, causing them all to jump, "Renesmee Carlie for a girl, Edward Jacob for a boy! This way, no matter if it's a boy or a girl, it will have a name that means something! Oh, I can't wait!"

Mandy looked at Alice in carefully veiled disbelief. How could one person be filled with so much excitement over these names, especially when considering the circumstances? Shaking her head, she looked back at her younger sister.

"What do you think, Bella?" she asked, "It's your baby, it should be your call. Well, yours and Edward's, anyway."

Bella smiled, looking pleased.

"I think it's a great idea," Bella replied enthusiastically, "Both are great names. I hope Edward will like them!"

"You can ask him now!" Alice told her, "He's on his way with Jacob."

Sure enough, the two men entered moments later. Mandy and Alice helped Bella stand, as she was still too weak to stand unassisted. The vampire and the werewolf took in Bella's happy demeanor and the lighter atmosphere that seemed to fill the room.

"What's going on?" Jake asked curiously, "You all seem happy about something."

"Tell them what you decided, Bella!" Alice prompted, almost vibrating with anticipation.

"Yeah," Leah piped up in barely detectible sarcasm, "Tell them what's got the pixie girl so excited."

Mandy reached over and pinched her, her urge to laugh coming back in full force. Leah swatted her hand away, biting her lip to hold back her own giggles. Edward, reading their minds, looked mildly amused, while Jake watched their exchange curiously.

"I came up with some name ideas," Bella informed her husband and best friend, "Since the baby's almost here, I thought it would be a good idea. For a boy, I thought we could name him Edward Jacob, EJ for short. For a girl, the name could be Renesmee Carlie."

"Um...what?" Jake asked, clearly confused, "How'd you come up with 'Renesmee Carlie'?"

"Renesmee for Renee and Esme, Carlie for Carlisle and Charlie," Bella told him, "That way, if it's a girl, she'll be named after all four grandparents."

"I think it's perfect," Edward told her, smiling lovingly, "Both names are wonderful."

"You really think so?" Bella asked hopefully, "I'm glad! It's a relief to know that we have the names picked out before the..."

Suddenly, Bella cut herself off. She stiffened, sucking in a shocked gasp of air. Mandy, along with everyone else, turned to her, confused as to why she was no longer speaking. The pregnant woman twisted, her knees buckling. There was a sharp crack as her back snapped, and a flash of pain crossed her face. Edward and Jake lunged forward to help break her fall as Mandy and Alice supported her by the arms, all while Bella let out a blood curdling scream of anguish. Edward scooped her up in his arms and rushed her out of the room.

"What the hell's happening?" Leah shouted as the rest of the group trailed after Edward and Bella towards Carlisle's study.

"The baby," Mandy replied hurriedly, "I think it's coming now!"

"Shit!" Leah swore, "Seth's outside patrolling the perimeter, I'm gonna go out there with him. The other pack's probably gonna attack once they realize what's happening and he won't be able to hold them off on his own."

As they reached the door of Carlisle's study, where a birthing bed had been set up in preparation for the birth, Jake suddenly stopped, blocking Mandy's entry into the room.

"What the hell, Jake?" Mandy exclaimed, "Move!"

"No," he said, turning to her, "It's time for you to leave!"

"Are you kidding me?" she asked in disbelief, "Now? No, I need to make sure she's ok!"

Jake shook his head and gripped her shoulders, look more serious than she'd ever seen him be. From in the room, Mandy could hear her sister's cries of pain mixed with panicked, rushed voices.

"Of course she's not ok," Jake hissed at her, "That's why you need to leave! That thing is coming out of her right now and she's probably gonna die! God only knows what'll happen in the next few minutes, but I do know that you won't be here to see it!"

"I can't leave her!"Mandy sobbed, tears of panic and grief streaming down her face, "Please, just let me in there!"

She started fighting against him, trying to force her way into the room. Jake only gripped her harder, pushing her back.

"You promised!" he shouted, "You promised you would leave at the first sign of danger! Well, that time is now!"

Mandy stopped struggling and stared at him in disbelief.

"You can't actually expect me to just walk away as my sister's in there dying!" she exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes, I can," Jake replied, "Go get your things and have Seth or Leah take you home. I'll call you and let you know what happens."

With that, he released her arms and turned away from her. Jake quickly entered Carlisle's study and shut the door behind him, leaving Mandy standing alone in the hallway. Despite Jake's order to collect her belongings and leave, she couldn't bring herself to move. She could hear cries of pain, both physical and emotional, coming from the closed door; each one felt like a knife to her heart as her imagination ran wild. What was happening in there? Was Bella dying? If she managed to live, how would she ever recover from a broken spine? What about the child, was it alive or dead? What the hell was going on?

"Mandy?"

She jumped, startled. In her frozen, panicked state, Mandy had failed to hear Emmett coming up behind her.

"What's going on?" Emmett asked, concerned.

"Um, I... I don't really..." Mandy stumbled on her words, trying to collect herself, "I don't really know. We were in the other room talking, then Bella started having pain. They brought her in here and Jake told me I had to leave, and I think she's having the baby now and I don't know what to do and..."

"Hey, hey, stop! Slow down, take a breath!" Emmett exclaimed, seeing that she was starting to hyperventilate, "She's having the baby? Ok, well, in that case, Jake was right. You need to go downstairs to get your things, you probably shouldn't be here right now. Come on, I'll help you load up your car."

Mandy allowed the large vampire to guide her down the stairs, as she was starting to feel numb. For all of the time she'd had to prepare herself for this moment, for the certainty of Bella's impending labor and almost guaranteed death, she felt caught off guard. It didn't seem real that her sister was finally at her moment of reckoning, her moment of death. Could this really be the day that Bella would die, killed at the hand of her own child? How had it all come to this? How would things ever rebound from this terrible, awful moment in time?

Emmett helped Mandy pack her bag. There wasn't much for them to pack, as Mandy had gathered her things from home in a rush and hadn't had much time to bring a whole lot with her. Only minutes had passed since Bella's labor had started, but as Mandy and Emmett walked to her car, it felt like hours had gone by. Emmett opened the passenger's side door and put her bag inside. After he closed the door, he turned back to her.

"Do you need someone to go with you?" he asked.

As he was speaking, Mandy saw Seth and Leah approaching behind him. Mandy shook her head slightly.

"No, I think I'll be ok," she reassured him softly, "You should probably see if they need any help inside."

Emmett smiled at her sadly, then hugged her.

"I'm so sorry this is happening," he whispered, then took a step back.

"Me too," Mandy sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Leah and Seth came to her side as they watched Emmett return to the house. The three of them stood there for what seemed like an eternity, waiting and wondering.

"Do you think she'll make it?"Seth asked softly.

Before either woman could answer him, the front door of the house opened violently and Jake came streaking out. He fell to the ground, crying in anguish and pounding his fists on the ground. At the sight of him, Mandy felt her world shattering. His obvious pain could only mean one thing: Bella was dead.