Renesmee raised her head slowly. The spinning room, all the voices shouting at her, the hands reaching out to help her up, and the way her eyes couldn't focus had her mind swirling. Suddenly she remembered why she had collapsed. Jacob.

Now she struggled to stand. Emmett cleared the way, swept her into his arms and set her back on her feet. He led her to the table where Jacob was lying. Emmett seemed to be the only one who understood her fears. "Look, he's okay. They were just covering him up."

She held her hand over her mouth as she gasped. He looked so small lying there. She reached for Jacob's hand, but Emmett pulled her aside. "We should go and let them take care of him now. We'll get you all cleaned up," Emmett offered.

Renesmee twisted out of his grasp. Her eyes widened as she saw her father and grandfather on either side of the table, each with a scalpel in their hands. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Both lungs are collapsed. And all of his ribs are broken. We have to reinflate his lungs before it's...." Carlisle's calm voice trailed off. "You should go. You won't want to see this."

Renesmee rounded the table to stand near the end where his head was. She lifted her hands to his face, pushing his inky hair off of his forehead and leaving kisses everywhere. "I'm not going anywhere," she said quietly when she noticed everyone staring.

"We're running out of time," Edward warned, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Just do it, I'll be fine."

She watched as they both trailed gloved fingers down Jacob's ribs, looking for the fifth intercostal space. Edward hesitated momentarily before making the incision. He saw the fear in his daughter's eyes and he wanted nothing more than to end her pain.

"Do it now, Daddy."

Her wavering voice brought Edward around. After they sliced into his skin, they each inserted a gloved finger and fed the tube directly in. You could hear the woosh of air as it was released from his body and the hitch in his breath. Color was already returning to his face.

"That should bring him some relief," Carlisle commented as he continued to examine Jacob. The gaping wound near his stomach continued to bleed as Carlisle changed the gauze and applied more pressure. Jacob winced and everyone looked to see if he was finally going to open his eyes. No such luck.

"I don't understand it either," Edward breathed, shaking his head slowly.

"Something just isn't right here," Carlisle said, agreeing with his son.

Renesmee raised her head slowly. "What are you talking about?"

Carlisle leveled his gaze with hers, eyes full of genuine concern. "Jacob normally heals much faster than this. I've treated him for other injuries and I've never seen him like this before."

"Renesmee, do you have any idea what's going on with him?" Edward asked gently.

She glanced back and forth between her father and grandfather, confusion evident in her expression. "I have no idea..." she paused to search her mind and remember if he had said anything. "Maybe we should call Sam...and oh my God, I should have told Billy."

"I'll call them," Alice offered as she rushed out of the room with Bella's cell phone in her hand.

Edward agreed. "Maybe one of them will have some idea of how we can help him."

Renesmee nodded absently, her mind so clouded by everything that happened and how badly she just wanted him to wake up and smile at her.
........
Carlisle glanced over at Renesmee's sleeping figure. The family had tried to convince her to go lie down in the guest room and try to get some sleep, but she refused. So now she sat in a chair next to Jacob, her head resting on the edge of the table near his hand. She told them she had to be there in case he woke up.

It hadn't even been an hour since Alice had made phone calls to Billy and Sam, but they were arriving at the small deck off of the medical room. Carlisle finished tending to Jacob's head wound when he noticed Sam carrying Billy up the few steps that led to the patio door.

Renesmee heard Carlisle greet them both as he opened the glass door. She raised her head slowly, glancing at Jacob first, cradling his cheek gently with her fingertips. She felt the heat radiating off of Sam before she even turned to see him approaching her.

Renesmee stood and faced them both. She squeezed her eyes closed and willed herself not to cry when she saw Billy's worried face. Sam looked horrified too, but not about Jacob. This had to do with Renesmee's appearance. "Are you okay?" Sam choked out, reaching for her face.

She pushed her her mud matted hair away from her face, remembering how bad she looked. Her face was smattered in Jacob's blood and her clothes weren't much better. Her family had brought her something to change into, but she still hadn't left Jacob's side to do so.

Now Renesmee looked at Billy, almost apologetically. "I'm sorry, Billy. I did everything...I just..." she sputtered as she bent down to hug him.

Billy squeezed her tightly, releasing her slowly and pulling her hands into his as he looked up at her. "From what I understand, you saved my son. And for that," he paused to glance at Jacob, "I will be forever grateful."

Renesmee nodded, afraid to speak, not wanting to fall apart. She felt so guilty, wishing she could have done more. Billy gave her a sad smile and looked down at her palms, still in his grip. They were covered in cuts and scrapes, painted in mud and dried blood. "You're hurt," he said sadly.

Carlisle noticed her hands and cringed. "She hasn't let me examine her. She won't leave Jacob's side."

Renesmee winced as she looked down at her own hands. She hadn't noticed her injuries or any sort of pain, but now they stung. "It's from the tree, I had to get that tree off of him."

"You moved a tree?" Sam asked incredulously.

She nodded quickly as she turned to stand beside Billy. "I had to do something."

Sam smiled proudly, he wrapped a protective arm around her and replied, "That's gonna be one hell of a story to share with Jacob when he wakes up."

Billy rolled his wheelchair forward, inching closer to his son. "Why hasn't he woken up yet, doc?"

"That's what we wanted to ask you...well, both of you. Because I'm completely stumped as to why his accelerated healing hasn't kicked in yet," Carlisle replied honestly.

Sam sucked in a deep breath and cringed. "I think I know why."

All eyes went to the tallest man in the room. He swallowed thickly and began to speak. "Jacob hasn't been phasing. He's only done it maybe a handful of times since..." his voice trailed off, feeling guilty about betraying Jacob's confidence. "Since that fight he had with Seth and Jared, when you told him never to speak to you again." Sam looked at Renesmee, eyes searching hers to see if she understood.

No one spoke, so Sam continued. "Jacob didn't want to be a wolf after that. He was so upset with the way he had attacked Seth and Jared, that he thought that is was the only way to control his temper. And then he said..."

"Please tell me," Renesmee begged when he gazed at her and she surmised that it had to do with her.

"Please understand that these are our secrets and I feel awful sharing his thoughts without his permission," Sam prefaced this fact before saying, "he said that if he didn't have you, then he didn't wanna live forever. What would be the point?"

She gazed at Jacob now, tears brimming in her eyes. "Why didn't he tell me?" she suddenly accused.

"He didn't want you to know. And asked us not to say anything to you either."

Those tears spilled over as she realized the cold hard truth. "I did this. This is all because of me."

Sam gripped her shoulders and bent his head to find her gaze. "He changed his mind, Renesmee. Jacob came to me last night and told me that you finally said you loved him. He wanted me to know he would be joining us from now on. He was so incredibly happy with you and he wanted that to last forever."

Renesmee finally broke down in tears, crumpling in Sam's grasp. She could feel her heart shredding to bits. This really was all her fault. Sam soothed her in a big hug as she sobbed. "Once he's well, he can phase again. It's not too late for you two."

"IF he gets well," she gasped, pulling away from Sam to look at Jacob's face. "He hasn't regained consciousness, not once since I found him."

"All this information has been very helpful, Sam. Jacob is healing, but it's much slower than normal for him. Look at the cut over his eye, Renesmee. It's started healing," Carlisle explained.

Renesmee swiped furiously at the tears in her eyes needing her vision to be clearer. "I see that," she murmured, holding her fingertips above his fading injury.

The eerie silence in the room was pierced by a shrieking beep coming from the heart monitor attached to Jacob's chest. Renesmee froze. "Jacob!" she cried, reaching for him.

"Take her out of here, Sam," Carlisle ordered calmly as Edward came running to see that Jacob's heart had stopped as his daughter was inconsolable.

Sam had to pick Renesmee up just to get her out of the room. He carried her to the deck, showing her that she could still see Jacob through the glass, while maintaining a tight grasp on her waist because she was determined to go back inside. She watched in horror as Edward applied the paddles to Jacob's chest. His battered body bounced off the table from the powerful shock that was applied.

Renesmee held her breath and waited for what felt like an eternity. The whole scene seemed to silently move in slow motion. She opened her mouth to scream when she saw her father cross the room and approach her. She wrenched out of Sam's grip and flung the door open.

Edward smiled almost imperceptibly as he uttered, "Your boyfriend's back."

Renesmee finally exhaled and threw her arms around her father. He held her while she cried for a moment, eventually pulling herself together again so she could return to Jacob's side.

She squeezed his hand with hers and pushed his hair off of his forehead with her other hand. She leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his lips and tried to keep more tears at bay.

"He's not out of the woods yet," Carlisle announced. His spleen is lacerated and I had hoped it would heal on its own, but I can see now that will not happen."

Her grandfather's words stung because she still felt guilty. "What can you do?" Renesmee asked, never taking her eyes off of Jacob's sweet face.

"He needs surgery. The spleen has to come out," Carlisle said as directly as possible. "Are you okay with that?"

Renesmee whirled around to reply and realized that her grandfather was speaking to Billy and not her. They both replied, "Do it!" at the same time. Renesmee covered her mouth with her hand and gasped, "I'm sorry."

Billy smiled as he reached for her hand. "It's fine, sweetheart. We both want what's best for my boy."

She nodded, sniffling back tears. "But it should be your decision, not mine."

"We both know he would want us to fight for him, so that's what we'll do."

Renesmee sighed and glanced back at the love of her life, suddenly realizing where Jacob had gotten his enormous heart from. "I'm definitely not giving up on him."
.....
Renesmee wearily climbed the stairs to find her mother. Edward had insisted she leave during the surgery to at least get a shower and have Bella look at the cuts on her hands. Now Rosalie had drawn her a bath, Alice had chosen her some clean clothes and Bella was examining her hand wounds.

She stared blankly at the ceiling as the three women tried to keep her spirits up. She didn't want to cry anymore and wondered how she even had any tears left to shed. She didn't even notice when her aunts left the room, they felt defeated and wished they could help her.

Renesmee absently undressed and lowered herself into the warm, soapy water. She let her mom wash her hair like she did when she was a little girl. Bella watched as her daughter pulled her knees up to her chest cried against her own skin. She didn't know how to make this better for Renesmee.

Bella was afraid to be too encouraging because there was a real possibility that Jacob might not make it. And she couldn't even think about what that would do to Renesmee or worse yet, to herself.

Jacob had to live.