Chapter Twenty Three
Baby
Alice

Carmen preformed a C-section perfectly after knocking me out with some heavy medications and when I awoke she was bouncing the baby in her arms as she stood at the window, talking to him happily.

"Look who's finally awake." She cooed to him and he stretched his arms up toward her happily cooing in return. "How are you feeling Alice?" Carmen asked me softly.

"Like I just got hit by a bus." I groaned as I sat up and laughed lightly.

"As to be expected." She nodded and turned around to face me. "Congratulations." She smiled. "It's a boy." She sighed as she carefully handed him to me.

He fit perfectly in my arms and I was left speechless as I looked down at his perfect face. He smiled at me happily, emerald green eyes shinning curiously as he reached up to touch my face with his little hand. He was so alert, his green eyes were so wise as he seemingly memorized my face.

"He doesn't look like a newborn." I finally found my voice enough to ask a question.

"He grows just as fast on his own as he did when he was apart of you." Carmen giggled. "I'll go make him another bottle and find you some painkillers." She told me, squeezing my hand and giving me some alone time with him.

"My little Anthony Carlisle." I smiled down at him and he laughed happily, surprising me.

"You like your name?" I laughed and he laughed in response. "I'm glad." I smiled at him.

He was so perfect, I could tell I was right about him looking more like Edward than me. He had my eyes and slight curls, but his face and light fluff of bronze colored hair was all Edward.

I couldn't help it as tears starting streaming quietly down my face, my little Anthony became upset however seeing me cry and started to sob.

"Oh, I can fix that." Carmen sighed as she entered the room and handed me his metal bottle. "Alice? Are you alright?" She asked me worriedly, noticing my tears.

"N-no." I sobbed. "He-He's perfect."

"He's supposed to be perfect." Carmen giggled at my state a little bit.

"He looks like E-Edward." I cried harder.

"Oh Alice, it will be alright." Carmen sighed worriedly and wiped my tears away. "Your heartbreak is fresh again, you just need to give it time to heal." She nodded. "Just focus on your little boy."

I clutched Anthony tighter to my chest as I bottle fed him, relaxing in the comforting feeling of his weight in my arms.

"You're right." I nodded, sniffing away the last of my tears.

Over the next few days, Teddy, my most used nickname for my little boy, kept growing quickly. He soon looked months old rather than just days old and it was starting to worry me deeply.

"Carmen, did the little hybrid you took care of grow this quickly?" I asked her as I laid Teddy on his blanket on the floor.

"Yes, she actually grew much faster then Tony." She nodded. "Don't worry Alice, he'll slow down after a year or so and then he'll age slowly until he's around the age of seven, he'll be fully grown by then." She smiled, sitting on the floor beside Teddy's blanket and running a hand through his thick bronze curls.

He smiled widely and laughed happily in response, wiggling around on his stomach.

His laugh makes me laugh and as I giggled along with him I felt myself slipping into the first real vision I've had in months.

I was running.

Trees blurred around me as I rushed to get as far away from the house as possible, not wanting to alert the nomadic vampires chasing me to Carmen and my baby. I would protect them with my life, which is exactly what I was about to do.

I ran only a little further before someone grabbed my ankle and sent me crashing to the ground. I clutched my stomach and grit my teeth painfully as my incision burned.

James stood over me, looking down at me with hungry and unforgiving black eyes.

"I told you I always win, little Alice." He mocked me before wrenching me upright by my neck and sinking his teeth into my jugular.

"Alice! Alice stop screaming!" Carmen yelled over my panicked cries.

I stopped immediately, not wanting to scare her anymore. I frantically tried to calm my heartbeat as I scooped Teddy up from the floor and held him against me protectively.

I'm going to die to keep he and Carmen safe.

I ran through thousands of scenarios in my head, cycling through tons of different possibilities and they all ended the same way. If I don't run from James, then he'll come for me and find Carmen and Anthony. I can't let them get hurt because of me.

"Alice, dear are you alright?" Carmen asked me in a panic.

"I'm fine." I took a deep breath, inhaling Teddy's comforting scent. "Take a seat Carmen, we have something to talk about."

I told her about my vision, although instead of telling her that there was no way around my death, I told her that I knew how to outsmart James and would survive the attack. We made plans to meet at the river creek at nine thirty seven tomorrow night after I was sure I wasn't going to be followed any longer.

She was not happy, and it scared her to think I would be in such danger, but she agreed anyway, realizing it was the only way that I could protect all of us.

My heart hurt as she wished me and Teddy goodnight and I climbed upstairs with my baby held tight against my chest.

I sat in the rocking chair we had brought into my room and wrapped a blanket around Teddy's cold skin before settling him against my chest and starting to rock him.

I tried to cement this moment into my memory. The smell of his skin, his comforting weight against my chest, his fluttering heartbeat and deep slow breaths, I cherished each individual memory as if it was my last moment with him, because in reality it was.

It's almost as if Teddy knew something was going to happen to me. He clutched my dress collar tightly and refused to fall asleep, instead opting to take deep inhales of my scent and listen intently to my calm heartbeat.

"I love you Teddy, so so much, don't ever forget that." I sighed and he clutched me a little tighter as he snuggled deeper into my neck. "I don't want to leave you, but I have to protect you no matter what it cost." I told him and he let out a quiet whine. "Don't cry, sweet boy. I'll always watch over you, if I can. You've been my angel, now I guess I get to be yours." I cried and held him tighter, not ever wanting to let him go.