Charlie sat down next to his little girl, his tears still falling down his face. Carlisle had moved the chair on that side closer so that he could hold Bella's hand. "Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you hide things the way you did. I should have made you face the fact that he had chosen to leave you. I should have made you move on. Maybe then you wouldn't be here right now."

With Charlie's broken voice ringing in his ears, Carlisle left to find out what his colleagues could tell him about this situation.

****

"Carlisle, we're sorry. But at this point, all that can be done is being done. You can't break through to her now. It's apparent to us that she has suffered a complete loss of the block she had put in place. She is the only one that can make this better right now. All you can do is try to keep the fever from killing her. But I would recommend that you make sure your son is there to talk to her as much as possible."

"Edward? Why?"

"You told us that he left her. According to her he was very cruel about it. He needs to talk to her. Not only for her sake but for his own. He has to accept the fact that she may be cruel in return. In fact, if she is cruel, it may speed the healing process along."

Carlisle could tell that there was more to what his friend was saying. "What aren't you telling me, Darryl?"

"She may not ever fully recover. She may even slip into a coma and die. No one knows what causes these kinds of breakdowns or how to fix them when they happen. It's a case-by-case scenario. All I can tell you is what I've seen. I can give you ideas to try and we can see if they work. I can't give you a guarantee. The mind is a fragile thing and we have no clue as to exactly what goes on in there."

Carlisle nodded. He understood now. He just wasn't sure if he should tell Edward about the possibilities.

"I wouldn't tell Edward. But make sure her father knows what could happen. Make sure that he gives Edward plenty of chances to talk to her. He could be the deciding factor in whether or not she actually recovers."

"You mean that if Edward doesn't talk to her and explain, she may never escape this fever and it could eventually kill her." Carlisle's words carved out what was left of his heart. He might loose Bella anyway, even with all he was doing to save her.

"It's a possibility. Carlisle, I can tell you're close to this girl. I would warn you to be prepared for the possibility and make sure that the rest of your family is ready for it too."

Carlisle nodded. "I will. Thank you, Darryl."

"On a professional note, I've never seen one of these cases before. Would you mind if I check in on her and maybe document the things you try and how well or poorly they work?"

Carlisle smiled at his friend. "Of course not. It might help some other family with a similar problem."

"Thank you, Carlisle. I'll stop by later."

****

"Charlie," Carlisle voice softly reached through the man's sorrow. Charlie sat up suddenly. "It's okay. Bella's fine. Except for the fever of course. I just want you to be comfortable. Why don't you go on back to the hotel and I'll sit with Bella for the night? I promise I'll call if anything changes."

Charlie nodded, so tired that he couldn't argue with the doctor. He was doing everything he could for Bella and he wasn't the one that had callously ripped out his daughter's heart and thrown it away. He stood up, kissed his little girl's forehead and walked toward the door. Carlisle couldn't remember seeing any man look as broken as Charlie looked just then.

If he could have wept for the man, he would have.

****

Not ten minutes after Charlie had left, Edward walked into the room. "What did you find out, Carlisle?"

'Edward, you may just be the key to Bella's recovery. Of course she could get mean at points. She's going to have to talk to you about how she felt. You two need to clear the air between you. Don't try to force it. Just let her talk. Darryl thinks that it might be the way to bring her back to us.'

"This is going to hurt isn't it?"

"I would spare you this if I could, son. You know that."

"I know. Maybe you should let us be alone. You'll know if anything goes wrong."

"Of course. Be careful here, Edward. The mind is very fragile."

"I know, Carlisle. I just hope we're not too late to save her."

Carlisle placed his hand on his son's shoulder as he sat beside the daughter he thought he'd lost.