Hello peoples!

So when I first published this story, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go anywhere else with it, and to be honest, I'm still not sure. But I wanted to give Bella a better ending than her being sedated and put into a straight jacket. So I'm going to go a little farther with it and see where it takes me.

So here's chapter two.

SM owns Twilight.

Reminder: I'm working without a beta, so forgive mistakes.

Enjoy!

Song for chapter: Breathe Me by Sia.


"Do you know where you are, Bella?"

She didn't answer. It had been three days and three sessions since her breakdown, and she still hadn't said a word.

Dr. Barton pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He'd been trained to deal with patients like this, had been told repeatedly that he had to be calm and patient before any progress could be made. But something about this was getting to him.

"Your nurse tells me you haven't been eating. Can you tell me why?" he asked, his voice as calm as he could make it.

Still, she said nothing. Her brown eyes, dull and tired, looked right through him as if he wasn't even in the room. And to Bella, he wasn't. She wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. She didn't respond because she didn't believe this man was there. Shutting herself off from everyone was the only way she could feel even the least bit sane.

Dr. Barton stood up and squatted in front of her. He hesitated before putting his hand on hers. He knew the rules; he wasn't supposed to touch patients unless they truly needed it. But he didn't know how else to get through to the girl.

For the first time, he got a reaction out of her. Her eyes widened and she looked down. She could feel his cold hand against hers. The room was so quiet she could only hear her heart beat and his hand was so cold, too cold.

She ripped her hand away, standing up and backing against a wall.

"No, no no no. You're not real, you're not real!" she yelled, hysterical. She smacked her hands against her head and continued to scream.

Dr. Barton stood up, holding his hands up in front of him in a calming gesture. He quickly pressed a button on his desk and seconds later, two men in white coats walked in. One carried a needle.

Bella felt the pinch of the needle as it pierced her skin, and then everything was black.

Numb.

That was the only word to describe Bella. She didn't do anything. During group sessions, she just sat, staring. She never offered anything. During recreational hours, she did nothing. She would sit in a chair by the window and stare at the sky for hours.

Despite the ethics of it, Carlisle took a job at the psychiatric hospital as the on call physician. He treated a lot of cuts and scrapes and had at least three patients a day that would come in with self-inflicted injuries. It wasn't what he was used to, what he was trained for, but his paternal affection for Bella wouldn't let him leave.

He would put books out near Bella's preferred spot every day, books he knew she loved. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, The Hobbit, all the classics he knew she enjoyed. They remained unopened. He made went to the rec room at least once a day when he knew she would be there, just to keep track of her. She never saw him though, not after that first night. He wasn't sure if that would be detrimental to her recovery or not.

Bella sometimes caught a glimpse of Carlisle here and there. It wasn't often; he was good at being sneaky. But sometimes she'd see his blonde hair as he turned the corner, or would see him as she passed another patients room. She wanted to talk to him so badly, but she didn't dare. If he wasn't real, if he was a delusion like Edward, that would be the last straw. Even in her scrambled, dark mind, she knew she was that close to being broken completely beyond repair.

Edward was as present as ever. He would visit her every night, taunt her in the cruelest of ways, but she refused to respond. She would close her eyes and listen to his voice as he tried to bring her back into her delusion. But he didn't touch her anymore. She never felt his cold skin against hers. That night had shattered the illusion enough that she knew he couldn't actually touch her.

But she could still hear. She could still see. She was still stuck inside her head, and she was terrified that she would never find a way out.

"Bella?"

Bella didn't turn around. She continued to stare out the window, her mind preferring to stay among the clouds. It was much prettier up there, much safer.

"Can she hear me?"

"Yes," her doctor responded. "She just is choosing not to respond."

"How do you know she's choosing not to respond? How do you know she just can't hear?"

Her doctor sighed. "We've done tests. She responds to loud sudden noises. She can hear. She just doesn't want to respond yet."

Charlie came to visit frequently. Bella wasn't really sure how often; days seemed to blur together nowadays, but she knew it was often. And every time, he seemed to get more frustrated at the doctor. He was convinced that she'd gone deaf.

"Is she on medication yet?" Charlie asked.

"We've been trying different medications, but none seem to be working yet, which isn't uncommon," Dr. Barton explained. "She's on a new antipsychotic and a mild sedative. We'll start to wean her off the sedative soon, and the new antipsychotic should start to build up in her system. We're hoping to see some results in the next few days."

Charlie sniffed. "And what happens if we don't?"

Dr. Barton sighed loudly. "Then we try a new medication and we keep trying therapy."

Charlie seemed to grunt in assessment and stared at the back of his daughter's head. She still hadn't looked at him, hadn't turned around and greeted him. Nothing.

"I'll leave you alone," Dr. Barton said. "If you have any questions, have a nurse page me."

Once the doctor was gone, Charlie came and sat in front of his daughter. She seemed to look right through him, but he saw a flash of recognition that gave him hope.

"How have you been, Bells?" he asked. She didn't look at him, just stared out the window. "It's a beautiful day out, isn't it?"

Charlie was hoping he could get a reaction out of her with that one. They were still in rainy Seattle, and Charlie knew how much she hated the rain. But she didn't take the bait. She still sat there, staring out the window.

He looked around, desperate for something to say, something to talk about. His eyes landed on a pile of books next to Bella. They looked brand new, and Charlie picked up the one on top. It was The Hobbit. He smiled, feeling slightly hopeful for the first time in a long time.

"You know, I've still never read this," he said as he gazed down at the cover. "Why don't we read it together?"

He knew she wouldn't respond, so he simply opened the book to the first chapter and began reading.

"'In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit…'"

He read for about an hour. He found himself actually enjoying the book, which would have surprised sane Bella as much as it surprised him. When he finally closed the book and looked up at his daughter, he wanted to burst out into a jig.

For the first time in days, her face wasn't expressionless. Her lips were slightly upturned, and she looked content. She wasn't smiling by any means, but it was better than the glazed expression she'd had on her face since her breakdown.

"When I come back tomorrow, maybe we can read some more?" he asked. In a moment of bravery, he reached out and grabbed her hand. He'd been told to avoid contact with her after her freak out with her doctor a few days ago, but his gut told him it was the right thing to do.

She didn't freak out. She didn't do much of anything. Her eyes slowly moved to where Charlie's hand was gripping hers.

Warm. Familiar. Real.

Charlie stood up and leaned down to quickly kiss her on top of the head.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bells."

And he couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw her nod, just an infinitesimal movement of her head, but it was more than he had hoped for.


So there's that.

I hope you all enjoyed it. Like I said, it's not going to be the longest fic, but I just couldn't leave Bella like that.

Please review and let me know what you think :)

Lots of love,

Emilia Elliot