Don't Take My Girls

Disclaimer: i don't own twilight, the characters, or the song. i only own the dialog and the new verse. everything else is owned by Stephanie Meyer or Tim McGraw. Too bad.

Takes place in Breaking Dawn~                                ~                                        ~                                            ~                                                  ~       
Edward's POV

I did as much as I could to save her. Her heartbeat was stronger, beating on its own, and she was breathing. All I could do then was sit by her side and hold her hand. I felt terribly weak, knowing there was nothing else I could do and that she was probably in unbearable pain. I started to sing, to let her know I was there.

“Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old
A little girl came through the front gate holdin' a fishing pole
His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind
Son I know you don't want her to go but someday you'll change your mind,”
This song reminded me of her, pushing herself in front of me, and my family not letting me do what was best for her and leave her before it would cost her lasting harm. I did change my mind; I couldn’t let her go. Now she was dying- one way or another- and it completely my fault. My poor Bella…

“And Johnny said "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo
Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go
Take any boy in the world
Daddy please don't take the girl.” I was faintly aware of Carlisle coming in. Seeing that Bella was fine, he placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. I kept singing.

“Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Ten years down the road
He held her tight and kissed her lips
In front of the picture show
Stranger came and pulled a gun
Grabbed her by the arm said "If you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm"
And Johnny said "Take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards
Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me
Here's the key to my car
Mister give it a whirl
But please don't take the girl.” I’d have given anything for her safety. First it was James, then Victoria, then the Volturi. I didn’t say it, but I’d have begged for her life if I had to, given them anything- anyone- as long as it wasn’t my Bella.

“Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Five years down the road
There's going to be a little one and she says it's time to go
Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave
'Cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees and there he prayed
Take the very breath you gave me
Take the heart from my chest
I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me
Make this my last request
Take me out of this world
God, please don't take the girl.”    This was all too similar. I never imagined it, ending like this, but here was my unselfish angel, giving her life for something that we had made together. I would hold it against our daughter if she didn’t love her mother so much… if she wasn’t half of her.
I begged God- there had to be one for such a perfect woman like Isabella to exist- for her to survive, even if it was through a half- life as a blood- craving monster. I would gladly take her place, even if she would fall apart in my absence. I couldn’t live without her existing. Let God damn my soul to Hell, I didn’t care.

“Johnny's daddy
Was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old…” I choked out the last part of the last verse. They never did finish the song. They didn’t have to.
The boy could save the girl from everything… except for what he did to her. He lost her; that was implied.

But he didn’t have vampire venom and my stubbornness at his disposal. She had been so close to death, I could feel it pulling her away from me, but it seemed that she was fighting it. Leave it to Bella to do the impossible and fight God while I sat here pleading with him to spare her, to not punish me by taking her away. I’d felt her loss once before, but I hadn’t watched it happen.

What if she didn’t make it? What if I was too late? I imagined a world without Bella; without her kind smile and open- book eyes; to never hold her in my arms again, press my lips to her forehead, to see her blush as I told her I loved her; to hear her laugh, say how she thought she loved me more…

I broke down in bone- shattering sobs. I held Bella’s hand, but when Esme came up the stairs and grabbed me in a hug, I had to wrap my free arm around her and squeeze her in what might have been too painful an embrace for her; she just held me stronger.

“Momma, don’t let him take her. Make her stay. She’s mine, Momma. She can’t leave yet.” I was blubbering like an infant, but she just smoothed my hair and rocked me like any caring mother did to soothe their child’s fears. I never had called her Momma.

“It’s all going to be ok, darling, I promise. Bella will be fine. She’s Bella.  She’s too damn stubborn to give in without a fight.” Esme had never sworn before, but she spoke the truth. “She’ll pull through this for the family; for Alice and Jasper, and Rose and Emmett, for Carlisle and me. She’ll pull through this for Jacob. Mostly, though, she’ll pull through this for you, and for Renesmee. She wanted her so badly, and she loves you far too much to leave you.” Her soothing voice had calmed my tearless sobs to just pained whimpering.

“Momma, I’m so worried about her. I love her so much…” my voice hitched. She kissed both my cheeks, then my forehead. My eyes were cast down, so she took both my hands in one of hers and tilted my chin up with the other.

“Don’t underestimate Bella.”  She quoted Alice’s words from two years ago… it seemed like millennia… but I couldn’t bring myself to do more than stop my shaking.

Esme was right, of course.

She saw I was going to be ok- or as ok as I could be while my wife was in pain.

“Edward, dear, would you like me to bring Renesmee to you?” she asked, straightening out my shirt.

“Yes, ma’am, please.” I went back to watching Bella. She didn’t even twitch, but she seemed like she was frowning at my behavior. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised.

“Bella, please stay with me. I can’t go on without you. I need you; our daughter needs you. Fight it, love, please, God, fight it!” I grasped her hand tightly with my own. I could smell her changing blood; it was surprisingly comforting.
“Here she is,” Esme handed me my daughter and then disappeared downstairs. Renesmee put her hand against my cheek and I saw her hearing the soft lull of my voice as I sang to her mother. She liked it and wanted to hear me sing something else. I had her in my right arm, still holding Bella’s hand.

“Would you like to hear her favorite?” I murmured, indicating Bella. She watched me intently. I began to hum Bella’s lullaby. It seems like centuries since I composed it, but also I seemed like yesterday.  Renesmee enjoyed it, found it comforting; true to its title, she fell asleep.
I made up my own ending to the song, and sang it.

“Same old boy, same sweet girl ten decades down the road
They are happy, together at last
They have forever you know
Close calls and pressures they could handle
They got back on their feet
Now a happy family, nothing left behind
Two sweet girls, one lucky boy until the end of time,
He’s got his love, his baby and family
They’ve all got eternal lives
They’ll stand together and brave the unknown
Standing by each other’s sides,
So, please, don’t take my girls,”