chapter┊ ✦. :: thirty
♡ ﹙beginning of the end﹚ ❋  ˚  ݂ ꛒ

There was a terrifying silence in the room, as if they were mourning something. All the Cullens were in the room, staring into nothingness. Carlisle had managed to persuade the doctors and nurses at the hospital to take Lydia away from that place and bring her home, where she would be safer. Her and the others.

He had tried everything once he brought her home, but nothing had worked. Plus, with the baby, it was somewhat complicated because he couldn't focus more on one or the other. At that moment, both needed his absolute attention, fortunately for him, his family supported him in every possible way to reduce the burden on his shoulders. Still, it was difficult.

Rosalie hadn't let go of the baby, who fortunately was more than healthy. Carlisle attributed it to the fact that he was a hybrid, but he wasn't entirely sure. Mainly he believed it because the baby didn't need to spend much time in the incubator, both the nurse and the pediatrician were surprised, the newborn looked like a nine-month-old baby and not a seven-month-old. Of course, it was good news and Carlisle took him home immediately to keep him close.

The blonde girl was probably the happiest to have the baby in her arms and didn't hand him over to anyone other than Carlisle or Esme, as she didn't trust that the others would be careful when carrying him. She also didn't mind changing his diaper or feeding him or giving him a sponge bath. She enjoyed it more than she would ever admit.

But everything was very tense because Lydia had been asleep for three days. Her heartbeats were weak, but that was the strange thing, that there were still heartbeats. Normally, the venom should have taken effect almost immediately, maybe one or two days due to Lydia's weak condition. But three days had passed already. And the girl's condition didn't change. It didn't improve or worsen, it just remained, and that was what worried Carlisle the most.

Esme got up from her seat and sat next to Carlisle, not thinking twice when she placed her hand on his back as a support. She didn't like seeing him so depressed, or anyone, really. But there was nothing they could do other than wait.

"Have you thought of a name for your son yet?" Esme asked gently.

He smiled a little as he nodded. His son. He loved how that sounded.

"Yes, in fact, I think I found the perfect name but... well, I wanted Lydia to agree with me or she would hate me for the rest of her life."

There were some giggles.

"What is it?" Emmett asked with a smile. The big man still didn't dare to hold the newborn because he feared hurting him with his great strength. But Rose had told him that he wouldn't hurt him.

"I decided to stick with the name Lydia chose. Lyssander, I like it because it starts with the same two letters as her name. But I thought I could give him another name," he smiled to himself, "just that day they hurt Lydia, I would tell her what I had thought about the name of her son—Maven," he finally said, "Maven Lyssander."

"It's terrible," Emmett said with a big smile, "I love it."

Rosalie punched him in the chest but also smiled.

"I think it's perfect," Alice said with that cheerful tone that characterized her.

"You still don't see anything, Alice?" It was Evander who asked.

She shook her head.

"I try, but his future is really uncertain. I still don't see anything clear."

"That's okay," Carlisle looked at her, "I have full confidence that she will be fine."

Alice nodded.

"So it will be," she murmured.

"So, Maven Lyssander Cullen," Evander spoke again, "I actually like the one Lydia chose. But you're terrible at this."

Carlisle knew they were just joking to lighten the heaviness of the atmosphere. He thanked them for that.

"What do you say, Jasper?" Emmett asked him.

He also smiled a little.

"I actually like both names. They combine well and sound good."

Emmett threw a pillow at him, which he obviously managed to stop before it hit him.

"Don't try to make Carlisle feel better. We all know it's a horrible name. They'll make fun of him when he goes to school."

The room filled with laughter but abruptly stopped when they heard the baby's cry. Nobody had experience with babies, not even Carlisle, at least not beyond the medical aspect. And many times he had no idea what to do.

"He wants his mother," they heard Edward's voice as he arrived. Everyone looked at him.

The atmosphere became tense again, and Carlisle stood up to take his son. He remained standing while rocking him in his arms.

"What did Charlie say?" Carlisle asked Edward, ignoring the first comment.

"He thinks it's a hasty decision and that we should wait. He also thought I got Bella pregnant but I assured him it wasn't like that," he took a seat, "he agrees that we should get married. Although he still doesn't entirely like me."

Carlisle nodded with a small smile.

"I'm very happy for you, Edward."

But Edward seemed uncomfortable. Although he was the one who proposed to Bella, he had some insecurity about the decision. He also thought everything was happening too quickly. But he didn't say it out loud.

"Bella wants us to start the preparations right away. She doesn't want anything big, just wants us to sign the paper and that's it."

"But obviously that's not going to happen," Alice stood up very excited, "don't worry, I'll take care of everything. You just have to be present on the day, and that's it. Esme, Rose, you'll help me, right?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"Count me in," Esme said with a warm smile.

"Yeah, whatever. As long as they let me pick my nephew's clothes, I don't care about anything else."

The atmosphere lightened again, but the joy didn't last long.

"Edward," Evander stood up and approached him, "you know that I appreciate you and love you like a son, we've been family for a long time... so I'll just tell you. I think you're making a big mistake marrying Isabella."

They both stared at each other. Probably having a mental conversation. But Carlisle didn't need any more drama at that moment.

"Okay. I'll be with the baby in my office, in case you need me."

He didn't wait for a response and left at a slow pace to his office, where Lydia rested, connected to some machines and a drip.

"Look, Maven," he spoke very softly when he saw his son open his eyes a little, "she's mommy. Soon you'll be in her arms."

He knew newborns didn't have good vision, but at that moment, it didn't really matter. He needed to hold on to something. He walked around the small room, talking to his son, and listening to Lydia's weak breaths.

But then, the baby started crying. Carlisle didn't know what to do, he had already fed him, it

turned out that the baby accepted human food, in this case, milk. His diaper was clean, and he didn't seem to have any pain or discomfort.

"Looking for his mom," he remembered Edward's words.

He couldn't think of anything else, and he didn't like hearing his baby crying in such a desperate way, it hurt him. So he approached Lydia and carefully placed the baby on her chest. He made sure to stay close so the baby wouldn't fall.

The newborn settled on his mother's chest, almost instantly falling asleep again. Carlisle smiled to himself. It was proof that Lydia was still alive.

Two days. Two more days passed when Lydia opened her eyes. She felt dizzy, tired, and sore all over. Everything in her mind was very blurry, the last thing she remembered was seeing Jonah in the hospital, he was very upset that she had made a new life and was so happy without him. As she recalls, Jonah had found out that her son was not actually his son, and that had driven him completely crazy.

She remembers the intense pain when the bullet pierced her skin. But then there's nothing. There are small fragments of a strange dream.

One second. Her baby. Where was her baby? Tears filled her eyes instantly, but then she noticed she wasn't in the hospital. She was at the Cullens' house.

"Carlisle, Lydia is—" Emmett spoke, trying to suppress that intense emotion that was beginning to spread through his body.

"Yes," he said with a smile, "she's awake."

They were the only ones at home, so they hurried to Carlisle's study along with the baby. Emmett was too noisy when he entered, and he didn't care at all when he threw himself to hug Lydia.

She smiled. She was very grateful to see a familiar face, but his big body covered Carlisle's view, and at that moment, she was desperate to see him.

"Lydia, we were so worried. You have no idea how much," he let go of her and took her by the shoulders as gently as he could, "I'm so glad you finally woke up."

"I'm also very glad to see you, Emmett," she smiled.

The man nodded with a smile and didn't hesitate to leave the room to give the couple and their son some space.

Lydia looked at Carlisle carrying the baby, and tears silently streamed down her face without stopping. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in her entire existence.

"It's a boy," Carlisle said softly. He was so excited that he didn't even know what to say exactly.

Lydia let out a soft laugh. Gods, Carlisle had missed that glorious sound so much.

"Come here," Lydia murmured.

Carlisle approached and settled on the bed next to Lydia. He handed her their son and then hugged her by the shoulders to give her a big kiss on the forehead. Their lips didn't part for a good moment.

Was she dreaming? She hadn't dreamed of anything in years. Did it feel that way? No. It was real.

Lydia hugged her son while looking at him with a big smile and tears that she couldn't stop.

"What happened?" she finally asked without taking her eyes off the baby.

Carlisle didn't remove his lips from Lydia's warm skin. Warm. She was still warm. Blood was still circulating in her veins. But there was something different. She was just like Maven. She was a hybrid.

"Do you prefer the short version or the long one?"

She smiled and looked at the blonde man.

"The short one."

"It's not actually that short. But okay. Everything turned out fine with the Victoria and the newborns issue, unfortunately, we couldn't save the life of a poor scared girl. I was about to go get you, but Jacob got hurt and I was going to attend to him at that moment, but then Alice had a vision," he stopped, "I ran to the hospital with Edward and Emmett... I had never felt so desperate in my life. Charlie explained to me more or less what was happening, I did everything possible to be the one to attend to you, and in the end they let me, but you were in a very delicate state and the baby's heartbeats were dropping with every passing minute. It was hard work, but Maven was born healthy and strong. On the other hand, you... well..."

"One second," Lydia interrupted him and looked at him with a furrowed brow, "did you call him Maven?"

Carlisle made puppy eyes.

"Don't you like it? Actually, it's Maven Lyssander."

"I love it," she admitted sincerely and smiled with wide shining eyes.

Carlisle gave her another kiss on her forehead, smiling even more.

"Continuing with the story... you were about to die, so I decided to bite you," Lydia was surprised, "I did everything possible to get you out of the hospital after that, and I did, but I still had to go see Jacob. By the way, the wolves are very worried about you, they come once a day to ask about your health. They already came today, so you'll probably see them until tomorrow. You were asleep for almost a whole week, but... you finally woke up."

"You said... you said you bit me, but I don't feel different."

"I can notice the change. My theory is that you didn't fully transform and you're some kind of hybrid, just like Maven."

It made some sense. Obviously, she wouldn't have survived otherwise.

"I'm glad to be alive," Lydia started crying again, "I was really terrified when I saw Jonah pointing the gun at me. I was so, so scared."

Carlisle hugged her.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I won't let anything or anyone hurt you."

"I love you, Carlisle. And I love our baby."

"I love you both, Lydia. I love you more than anything in the world."

There was a short moment of silence.

"A few minutes ago I felt really sore," Lydia mentioned, "but I feel like the pain is fading away."

"It's your vampire part... I suppose. Your cells regenerate faster. Maybe in an hour you'll feel like new."

"Where are the others?"

"Oh... Bella and Edward will get married in a month. They're arranging everything for the big day."

Lydia wasn't sure if the news surprised her, but she was sure that something would go very wrong.

"By the way," the girl murmured, "I had a very strange dream. There was a man, he told me everything would be fine... that he would fight to stay alive."

Carlisle frowned.

"Do you know who he was?"

She shook her head.

"No. But he had big white wings."

"Like an angel," Carlisle murmured with a small smile.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm very glad you're okay and that you're here with us. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"I'm also very glad to be here."

They stared into each other's eyes before joining their lips in a soft kiss.

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