Disclaimer: Not that it will come as a surprise to anyone reading this, but Twilight and it's characters do not belong to me, Stephanie Meyer is the only one that can make that claim. I just like to play in the wonderful universe she created.

As always, thanks to my betas Im2xshy and Kzintikiller for their invaluable support and input. I never would have posted this story if not for them. They also both write awesome fan fiction stories of their own in the Twilight universe so please look them up here on this site and check them out. You won't be disappointed.

Author's Note: Well, the upside to me not posting the previous chapter until Monday is that you get this one that much sooner. As always, a huge thanks to everyone who added me and my story to their alerts and left me reviews. Real life is crazy right now and I've been an epic fail at trying to respond the feedback and reviews, but please know they are like little drops of heaven to me and I read every one.

Last week: Bella and Emmett had a long discussion about her suicide attempt and about the Cullens leaving her in Forks without word. Once they had all that settled, Emmett challenged her to some Grand Theft Auto (during which she kicked his sparkly butt). Then Alice showed up with a surprise for Bella. Her surprise was what we will simply call "The Binder" and in addition to fake IDs for Bella under the 'Cullen' and 'Masen,' it contained pretty much all the family's financial and contact information she would ever need to know.

Chapter 25

CARLISLE

Darkness was just falling as I pulled into the garage. Turning off the engine, I picked up my briefcase and my medical bag and got out. "Good evening, Rose," I greeted as I passed her working under the hood of one of the cars. With her usual grunt and the wave of a greasy hand, she greeted me back as I went inside.

I walked into the kitchen to find Esme busily slaving over something on the stove. It smelled repugnant to me, but I suspected it was for Bella and I hoped her opinion would be more favorable.

"Hello, darling," I said sliding my arm around Esme's waist and leaning in to kiss her when she looked over her shoulder at me with a smile. "What are you cooking up this evening?"

She smiled. "I'm trying my hand at spaghetti sauce. Bella was going to make it herself but I asked if I could give it a try so she gave me her grandmother's recipe, well at least as much as she remembered of it." She frowned over it slightly. "It looks like spaghetti sauce I've seen on television, but I have no idea if it actually tastes right or not. I hate to have Bella be the guinea pig if it's bad."

I wrinkled my nose. "Well, it smells terrible."

My lovely wife shot me a raised eyebrow. "Thank you for the support, honey."

I kissed her cheek. "Just an observation, my love, not a comment on your cooking ability," I clarified. She didn't need me to remind her that all human food smelled and tasted awful to us.

She gave me a bemused smile. "You couldn't lie to me this one time?"

"No, that would be unethical," I teased.

"In that case, get out of my kitchen before I brain you with this big spoon," she said brandishing the large metal spoon she'd been using to stir the sauce.

Not wanting spaghetti sauce in my hair, I chose to retreat. So, after giving her another quick kiss, I walked into the living room and studied the scene before me. The missing members of the family were all seated around the large television. Bella was reading something on her tablet and Alice was drawing something on a sketch pad as Emmett, Jasper and Edward were playing a game with rather loud explosions on the Playstation.

Alice and Bella looked up as they greeted me. "Hi, Carlisle."

As for the boys, they were too wrapped up in their game to do much more than mutter, "Hey, Carlisle," without looking away from the action on the screen.

"Good evening everyone," I greeted back.

As I watched them and thought of Rose working in the garage and Esme in the kitchen, I experienced of a moment of... utter peace and contentment. Now that Edward and Bella were back together and Bella seemed to be on the path to recovery, our family was whole again and nothing could have made me happier.

I almost hated to break the moment to signal to Edward that I wanted to talk to him. Hearing my thoughts, Edward let his character be killed off and then he rose and walked over to me.

I continued to speak to him mentally rather than verbally. "Son, I'd like to talk to you about Bella. As you know, I've been doing some research and I think I've come up with some things to partially explain her behavior during the time she's been here."

Edward frowned and stared at me for a moment. Then he turned back toward where everyone was sitting. "Bella?" he called softly.

She looked up from her tablet. "Yes?"

"Carlisle has something to talk to the two of us about. Would you like to meet with us in his study?"

Frowning a little in what I'm sure was confusion, Bella set her tablet aside and rose. "Of course," she replied walking over to us.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me in private before we talk to Bella?" I mentally asked.

When Bella was by his side, he took her hand and then turned back to me. "No, this concerns Bella too and I promised her that I wouldn't keep anything from her. I'd prefer you discuss your findings with both of us."

I could understand his reasoning and saw no reason to argue, I'd only originally suggested talking to him alone so that we could discuss the best way to approach Bella with what I'd learned. But I could see that Edward was determined to meet things head on, which I could appreciate.

The three of us walked to my study and the two of them sat down in my visitor chairs and I sat down behind my desk and folded my hands in front of me.

When I spoke, I tried to keep my voice professional, but not detached. "Bella, you may not be aware of this and I hope you don't feel that I was being presumptuous, but in the past couple of days, I've been doing some research into a number of things that I suspect might have fed into your distress and contributed to your suicide attempt."

Bella glanced at Edward and took his hand in hers as if to gather some strength. "Go on," she said cautiously.

"Some of the behaviors I observed in you, especially on the day of your suicide attempt, started me thinking and remembering some of what I remember from the psychology classes I took in medical school," I told her. "Now, I'm no mental health expert, but after conducting my research and asking a few basic questions of some colleagues that are more well-versed in such matters, and without violating any doctor patient confidentiality between us, I now believe that you are suffering from some form of..."

I watched Edward's expression tighten as he picked the next words out of my mind. He knew I was doing some research regarding Bella's suicide attempt, but not the exact direction my research had taken and I had tried to keep it out of my mind whenever I was home so as not to worry him.

"...post-traumatic stress disorder."

My gaze shifted to Bella as I spoke the words aloud to see her reaction. Her look was blank for a moment and then changed into one of confusion. "Post-traumatic stress disorder...?" she repeated. "I thought only soldiers or people with dangerous jobs like the police got that."

I shook my head. "No, while those in the military and in other professions where risk of life and limb is frequent do have increased instances of it, anyone from young children to the elderly can get it. In the most basic terms, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as it's commonly called, is an anxiety disorder made up of two components. First, the affected person must have suffered a risk of serious injury or death, to themselves or others and second, they must have had a response to the event that involved feeling intense fear, horror, or helplessness."

I could see the wheels turning in Bella's head as she considered my words. I saw her fingers grip Edward's hand even tighter. "I guess I would qualify for both those things," she said softly.

I nodded. "You've spoken a number of times about feeling helpless and afraid the entire time you were in the hospital."

I pulled a couple of papers from my briefcase and laid them on the desk in front of me. "This is a 'Trauma Screening Questionnaire' – it's a standard form used to help identify those at risk for or suffering from PTSD. There are ten yes or no questions on it and none of them are invasive or embarrassing. Do you mind if we go through them?"

Bella glanced at Edward and then back to me. "No, of course not, go ahead."

I gave her one other tidbit of information before we started. "Answer 'yes' if you've felt what is described in the questions at least twice in the past week and answer 'no' if you haven't felt what is described at least twice in the last week."

"I understand," she told me.

"Have you had upsetting thoughts or memories about the event that have come into your mind against your will?"

"No, I..." she closed her mouth, pressing her lips tightly together, then she spoke again. "Yes, just for brief moments, but yes."

Edward frowned at her and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he remained wisely silent as I checked off the yes box and I moved onto the next question. "Have you had upsetting dreams about the event?"

This time she didn't hesitate. "Yes, but they are getting fewer."

I nodded and moved on. "Have you acted or felt like the initial event were happening again?"

She frowned a little. "Well..." she trailed off as she considered. "...I'm not sure how to answer that. I mean I haven't felt that way about..." her voice faulted. "...about him, the man that attacked me, but the day I tried to kill myself I thought you were going to send me away again, does that count?"

I smiled at her for being honest and thoughtful in her answer. "But you only felt that way that one time in the last week, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, my understanding is that you have to have felt that way twice in the last week and I think it bodes well that you haven't had any feelings like that with regard to your attacker, so we'll mark that question as 'no'."

She nodded and looked a little relieved that she'd had at least one 'no' answer so I moved onto the next question.

"Have you had any bodily reactions such as fast heartbeat, stomach churning, sweatiness, dizziness or other related symptoms when reminded of the event?"

"Yes."

Checking the box, I read the next question. "Have you had difficulty falling or staying asleep?"

I didn't even need to wait for her to answer that one and I was checking off 'Yes' before she even finished saying the word. Everyone in the house knew about her issues with sleeping.

"Have you been irritable or had outbursts of anger?"

"Well, if you consider board game throwing and writing on the wall in crayon, an outburst of anger, I'd have to say yes," she retorted sarcastically. Then she sighed. "And I guess that little tirade just now was another one, so again, I'd have to say 'yes'."

I nodded. "We're almost done, Bella, there just three more questions."

She sighed. "Okay, bring them on."

"Have you had difficulty concentrating?"

Bella thought about it before she answered. "I guess, sometimes, but I think it's getting better too."

I smiled at her encouragingly. "Good. Now have you felt a heightened awareness of potential dangers to yourself or others?"

Her answer for that one was not long in coming. "No, not really; not in the last week. The last time I felt anything like that was when Jasper and Emmett came after Edward."

"All right. Last question, have you experienced feelings of being jumpy or being easily startled?"

She sighed. "Not to sound like a broken record, but yes; although again, it's getting better."

Marking the last question appropriately, I looked over the sheet, tallying the answers and making sure that I understood how to grade the final result.

"Well, again, I'm not a mental health professional, but if I understand how this form works, usually six or more 'yes' answers out of the ten questions on the questionnaire indicates a diagnosis of PTSD," I glanced from Bella to Edward and then back to Bella again. "You scored eight out of ten."

Bella locked eyes with Edward. "I guess that means I have it then," she said quietly. "Guess I'm more screwed up than even I realized."

"You're not screwed up," Edward reassured her. He lifted their linked hands to his lips and kissed her hand. "And I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this together."

I hated to interrupt the moment they appeared to be having, but I felt it was important for me to get more information. "Bella? The day of your suicide attempt, Edward told me that you seemed to have an especially bad nightmare and that when you woke up you seemed very much out of sorts. Is that true?"

She looked back at me and nodded. "It was somewhat different than the others and even after I woke up, I couldn't seem to get the images out of my head and I felt very anxious."

"I know you didn't want to talk about your nightmare at the time, but could you tell me about it now?"

She glanced at Edward and he seemed to sense that the dream might have been about him. "It's okay, love, you can tell us."

"I... I just..." She stumbled over the words. "...I don't want to hurt you."

Gently, he kissed her hand again. "I know you don't, but it's important that we know the details."

She stared at him for a long time as if trying to decide what she should and shouldn't say and then she looked back to me. "A lot of it has faded now, but I remember it was cold and very dark. Then it started out like a lot of my nightmares do..." She glanced at Edward and then pulled their clasped hands into her lap. "... with a variation of what happened in the forest when Edward left me."

Edward visibly flinched and looked away, shame written all over his features. I could see he tried to pull his hand away from Bella's but she stubbornly refused to let it go as she continued. "But that's when it changed. I started to follow his voice through the forest, but when I came around a bend in the path, someone was there." She visibly swallowed. "Someone not Edward. I think..." her voice caught a little, snapping Edward out of the guilt ridden moment he appeared to be having. "...I think it was the man from the hospital. The one who... attacked me. He was huge and... I couldn't move."

Her breathing had picked up and before I could say anything, Edward was way ahead of me as he lifted her from her chair, pulled her into his lap, and began stroking her back. "It's okay, love, just breathe slowly. He can't hurt you anymore. You're safe."

I saw her body relax and her breathing calm as she seemed to take comfort in his words and in the proximity of her body to his. She pressed her face to his throat for a moment and then turned back to me. "I've dreamt of him before, but usually he didn't talk to me and when he appeared in other dreams I would just feel blinding pain and then wake up. But this time he talked to me." She shuddered slightly. "I have to say I liked it better when he didn't speak."

I didn't want to pressure her too hard if she wasn't ready. "Do you want to take a break, Bella?"

"No, I'm okay," she said pressing her face against Edward and taking a couple more deep breaths, before lifting her head to look at me again. "I don't remember his exact words, but I know I was terrified because he said something like he was going to kill me and no one was going to be there to save me. He reached for me and I think I screamed and then I woke up in Edward's arms."

I nodded. "And how did you feel after you woke up?

"Well, like I said, I felt really anxious, jittery even, almost like I was coming out of my own skin," she told me. "I kept telling myself to calm down or I tried to distract myself but it only seemed to make things worse."

"Go on," I prompted.

"Everything seemed to annoy or irritate me," she said. "Edward asking how I was, you asking me how I was, Esme making me a beautiful breakfast that I had no appetite for, and you guys talking about what you were going to do that day even though I knew I'd be sitting up in my room alone. I was also paranoid when things got really quiet in the kitchen and I was pretty sure Edward was reading your mind and the topic of the mental discussion was me."

I sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Bella. We were trying not to upset you any more than we thought you already were."

Bella nodded and gave me a little smile. "I know that now, but then, well, I wasn't exactly being rational."

Then she looked up at Edward, her expression guilty. "I was even angry that the three of you were talking about Edward playing the piano again. Well, I'm not sure 'angry' is even the right term. Actually it was all I could do not to run screaming from the room at the idea."

Edward frowned down at her. "Why would that bother you, love? I thought you liked to hear me play."

The guilt in her expression intensified. "I did, Edward...I do. It's just that..." she swallowed.

"Go on, love," he gently urged. "Whatever you have to say, it's all right."

I could smell her tears before I saw them glisten in her eyes as she spoke to him directly. "When you left, I couldn't bear to hear music. Any music. I destroyed most of my CDs and gave away my iPod," she sniffled as the first tear spilled over. "I even tore the new stereo Emmett got me for my birthday out of my truck. It was physically painful to hear music because it reminded me so much of you." She swallowed then rushed on. "Sometimes I'd even hear you playing in my nightmares. And that day in the kitchen, things still weren't resolved between us, so even the thought of you playing something was unbearable to me."

Edward gathered her close and kissed at the tears that had begun to trail down her cheeks. "It's all right, love, if it makes you sad, I won't play ever again."

"No!" she said shaking her head emphatically. "I do want to hear you play again, I swear," she said sniffling. "I just need a little more time."

He kissed her temple. "Take all the time you need."

Handing her a tissue, I gave them a moment before I moved on. "Bella, can you tell me what happened after the time in the kitchen when Edward went upstairs to see you?"

She blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "I went upstairs and tried to do something on my tablet but I couldn't find anything that I wanted to do. That feeling of coming out of my own skin was getting worse and that's when Edward showed up." She looked up at him as she spoke. "I didn't want him there but he seemed determined to spend time with me. He talked me into cards and then Scrabble, which actually calmed me down a little. Then he asked me why someone had to carry me out of the woods when he'd left me just inside the tree line near my house and it was like something inside me snapped."

Bella bowed her head in shame and Edward pressed his lips to her temple. "I was so angry I could hardly see." She swallowed and tears filled her voice again. "It gets a little fuzzy from there. I remember spelling something out with the Scrabble tiles, but not what. The next thing I remembered was staring at the wall and seeing what I'd written in crayon."

She turned to me, her eyes pleading. "You have to know how horrified I was, Carlisle. It was like waking up from a nightmare. I never thought I would be capable of something like that."

I nodded. "I know, Bella, it's all right. In my opinion, you had little control over your actions at that point."

"I just ran, if the bathroom had been bigger or if it had connected to another room, I would have run even further. I thought I was coming apart mentally and physically. It was hard to breathe and my chest hurt, there were grey spots in my vision and my hands and feet were tingling."

I nodded. "You were most likely hyperventilating," I told her.

"I was just beginning to calm down a little when Edward broke in and found me in the shower. I think you know the rest from there." I could see she was trying pull away from Edward, but he only gathered her closer.

I watched them for a moment, letting Bella collect herself. "Thank you, Bella, I know how hard that was for you to talk about," I said. "But it definitely strengthens the PTSD diagnosis. I think that the day of your suicide attempt, you were in the midst of a profound PTSD episode. I suspect that your especially vivid nightmare was partially a flashback and it put things in motion that would eventually lead to your suicide attempt.

"Your irritation, anger, paranoia, and to a degree your inability to think rationally about the situation you found yourself in are classic examples of what can happen during an episode. Under normal circumstances, Edward's innocent question about why you hadn't gone right home after he left would not be incendiary or upsetting, but in the midst of your episode, it was deeply disturbing."

Guilt flooded Edward's face. "So, you're saying that my question was the thing that ultimately sent her over the edge?"

Bella answered before I could. "No, Edward, it wasn't you. It was me," she laid her hand on his cheek. "I wildly overreacted."

"No, Edward," I agreed. "I was not trying to blame you; I was merely using your question to illustrate that Bella was already on a very short fuse. You had no idea that she would react in the way she did. I believe that what happened to her was the cumulative affect of a number things, both internal and external, her nightmare being the touchstone event."

Leaning back in my chair, I steepled my fingers thoughtfully. "I have also been thinking about the possibility that the roots of your PTSD may even go back further than your recent time at the hospital in Florida."

Edward frowned and I didn't know if he'd figured the answer out for himself or picked it out of my thoughts. "James?" he said. "That hadn't even occurred to me."

"James!" Bella exclaimed in surprise.

I nodded. "I suspect that at least on some level, your traumatic experience with James in Phoenix may have planted the seed for your PTSD and your time in the hospital in Florida made it worse. What happened with James was definitely a life threatening event, you must have felt helpless, and it wasn't all that long ago. Both events happened within the last year."

I paused a moment as I watched both Bella and Edward think about that. "Tell me, Bella, have you ever had flashbacks or nightmares of that night in the dance studio when James tried to kill you?"

Slowly, she nodded. "I had some pretty bad nightmares in the beginning, but not for a while now."

"Well, then, I think that supports my hypothesis."

Neither Bella nor Edward seemed to know what to say to that as they stared at each other for a long time. Then Bella managed to give him a small smile before she turned back to me. "Can PTSD be treated?"

I nodded. "Absolutely. There are a number of ways to treat it. Due to the fact that each person's mental make up is different, they've had different experiences, and therefore react differently, my research indicates that the most effective treatment is tailored to the specific individual. You're age will also be a factor."

"How so?" Bella asked.

"While there are different components to treatment, one of the easiest and most direct methods is medicating the patient with anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drugs."

"No, I don't want drugs," Bella said and I wasn't a bit surprised by her vehement response. "They filled me full of drugs when I went to live with Renee and then in the hospital. They never helped and only left me feeling confused and emotionally smothered, plus I don't want to take anything I might become addicted to."

"I suspected you'd feel that way. There's also the fact that your age makes giving them to you a grey area and could conceivably make things worse, which is what I think happened when you were in the hospital. That's what I meant when I said your age is a factor."

"Carlisle? What are the alternative therapies?" Edward asked.

"Actually, Bella's already started one of them all on her own. Cognitive behavioral therapy is usually the next most accepted method of treatment."

Bella frowned. "Cognitive behavioral therapy? What's that?"

"Basically, it's talking about the incident and working through issues related to the trauma rather than suppressing the event or the feelings related to it. The idea is that PTSD is more pronounced when the patient represses or suppresses the traumatic events. Given the events after your suicide attempt and the resulting discussions you've had with Esme, Edward, myself and the rest of the family, I believe that you're already helping yourself to heal just by talking about what you remember from your time in the hospital and what you're feeling. When we were going over the items on the questionnaire, you even said that while you were answering yes to those questions you thought that your symptoms were much better now than a couple of days ago."

Bella nodded. "Yes, that's true. It's a little hard to describe, but it's like I'm more settled inside... quieter... calmer."

I smiled at her. "Then that's a definite step in the right direction. And I think having things more positively resolved between the two of you personally is of the greatest importance. Given your mating bond, being secure in your relationship helps you feel more secure in general, which will also help with Bella's PTSD."

"Mating bond?" Edward asked in surprise. "I didn't think vampires could form a mating bond with a human."

"Mating bond?" Bella echoed almost at the same time. "What's that?"

It occurred to me then that Esme and I had been the ones to talk about their mating bond and that we hadn't actually discussed the idea with Edward or Bella.

I answered Bella's question first. "When vampires find their life mates, it's a powerful connection. I found it myself with Esme, just as Rose and Alice have found it with Emmett and Jasper. Generally, the connection is so deep that it is difficult for the mated pair to be apart for any length of time without feeling some level of pain or discomfort. It's also usually for life. While some vampires can go on to lead fulfilling lives when they lose a mate to a final death, more often than not they either go insane or become suicidal."

I looked at Edward. "As to your question, while I've never heard of a human and a vampire developing a mating bond, I just don't see any other explanation for what you and Bella share, Edward. Its part of the reason that I believe your leaving was so hard on both of you, but especially on Bella." I looked at her. "Bella, you told me that while Edward was gone that any time you'd think of him you had chest pains, correct?"

She glanced up at Edward and I could see she was reluctant to say what was on her mind.

"Go ahead, Bella," Edward said gently.

Bella studied him for a moment and then looked at me. "I don't think it was the same feeling someone would have when they're having a heart attack, it was more like I had an open, gaping wound in my chest. Almost as if someone had ripped out my heart but hadn't closed the wound afterward."

Edward kissed her temple. "I'm sorry, love," he murmured.

"And Edward, after you lost Victoria's trail, didn't you say you couldn't concentrate, to the point that you almost couldn't hunt?"

Edward stroked Bella's back as he nodded. "Yes, it was very difficult to do much more than stare at the wall. There were even periods when time passed and I had no sense of it doing so."

I watched as Bella tangled her fingers loosely in his hair in what I had come to learn was a comforting gesture and it warmed my soul to see them so comfortable with each other again.

"It's just as I suspected. The separation affected you both on a very deep, fundamental level. In addition, to the open wound feeling in Bella's chest, you both suffered from a mental malaise that left you both nearly anorexic and Bella practically mute. In Bella's case the medication she was being given and her time in the hospital made things worse as did the simple fact that she's still human."

"Why does being human matter?" Bella asked.

"You're body isn't as durable as Edward's is so it stands to reason that you would feel the separation that much more acutely."

What I didn't say was that if I was right and what they felt was a mating bond, if Bella should someday be changed, the bond would only grow stronger... stronger than any mating bond I'd ever seen. Edward must have heard the idea in my thoughts because his eyes flashed up to mine but he didn't comment.

"I'm just sorry that I didn't figure this out sooner," I said pressing on. "If I had known that the two of you shared this bond, Edward, I never would have agreed to your plan to leave Bella."

"It's not your fault, Carlisle, it was my ill-conceived plan," Edward said. "Even without the mating bond, I was insane and deluded to think I could be without her."

Bella pressed her face against his neck. "It's all right, I'm never letting you go anywhere without me again."

I felt a bit like a voyeur as I watched them. While they weren't doing anything overly suggestive, the way they touched each other and interacted was very... intimate.

I cleared my throat. "Back to the subject of your PTSD, Bella. I believe the best way to manage it is to keep doing what you're doing. Anytime you have another nightmare like you did a few days ago don't suppress the urge to talk about it. Or if you feel the need to talk about what happened to you when you were with James or after we left you in Forks or when you were in the hospital, don't hesitate to seek one of us out. I'm sure that anyone in the family would be willing to listen and talk things through with you."

"Me most of all," Edward said, kissing her temple and making her smile softly.

"I would also recommend that you take steps to manage your stress as excessive stress can increase your chances of having an episode. Meditation and even some form of exercise like yoga are just two ways you can do that. I've got a number of books on both topics here in my library or I'm sure you can download some to your tablet. We could also purchase some appropriate exercise DVDs if you'd like to try that and I think you can even get programs for use on our video game system."

Bella lifted her head from Edward's shoulder so she could look at me. "Well, I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough for yoga, but I guess I could give it a try."

"Yoga is just a suggestion, I only recommended it because many say that it combines both exercise and meditation, but any form of exercise would be good as long as you don't overdo it."

She nodded. "Okay."

"If you should feel like you're having another episode and you're not able to calm yourself down, would you be open to using medication at that point to help? Not a heavy sedative mind you, but more like something short term like valium that will still leave you awake and aware but will help calm you down or keep you calm?" She frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but I added something before she could. "It would be completely voluntary, of course, as I promised a few days ago, I won't give you anything without your consent."

Her frown eased and I could see that I'd answered some of Bella's fears. "Yes, I'd consider the short term meds if things got to that point again, but now that I know some of what I'm up against, I hope I'll be able to avoid getting there in the first place."

"We all hope that," I told her honestly.

"In any case, you don't have to do it alone," Edward said giving her a squeeze. "We're all here to help you."

Just then a knock sounded at my door and a moment later, Esme stuck her head in the room. "Bella, dinner's ready whenever you'd like to eat."

"Thank you," she said giving Esme a smile. "Even with just my human senses it smells wonderful."

"I hope I did your grandmother's recipe justice."

"I'm sure you did," Bella replied as she hoisted herself out of Edward's lap and got to her feet. "And surprisingly, I find myself kind of hungry." I didn't have to be a doctor to know that a healthy appetite was always a good sign.

She had started to walk out, but then paused and turned back to me. "Thank you, Carlisle, for talking to me, to us, about all this. While I don't want PTSD, knowing I have it is better than thinking I'm just plain going crazy."

"If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask," I encouraged. "If I don't know the answer then I will find out."

"I'll be along in a minute," Edward told her. She gave him a momentary look then nodded and walked out with Esme.

Edward and I waited a few moments before speaking. "What's on your mind, son?"

"What can I do to help her with the PTSD, Carlisle?" he asked, the concern he'd suppressed while Bella was there showing clearly on his face.

Long ago I'd learned that my adopted son was the consummate fixer when it came to things and those he cared about. It was a wonderful trait, but it could also be a heavy burden as he put a lot on his own shoulders.

Rising from my chair I walked around my desk and laid my hand on his shoulder. "Well, Edward, we can only do so much for her, a lot of her healing is going to be up to Bella. I think the best thing you can do for her is to do what you're already doing, love and support her in any way you can and make sure she knows that you're not leaving her again. No matter how bad of a day she has or how much she tries to pick a fight because she doesn't want to talk about what's really bothering her, reassure her that you're not going anywhere. I think abandonment is her greatest fear at this point. And don't let her get away with saying she's 'fine' when you don't think she is. She needs to talk about what she's thinking and feeling. She also has a habit of pulling in her emotions when she's upset and she tends to put other peoples needs, both emotional and physical ahead of her own and we need to get her to be a little more selfish about speaking up for her own needs and wants."

"Well, I won't leave her no matter how difficult she is, so that won't be an issue." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "But you're absolutely right about her putting others' needs ahead of her own. That's definitely something she needs to work on and I intend to see she does just that."

TBC...

The PTSD diagnosis might not have come as a shock to a lot of you, but I felt it was necessary to show what has been motivating a lot of Bella's more unstable behavior.

Next Week: Bella tries out Esme's spaghetti sauce and she considers what to do about Charlie and Renee and going back to her old life (I know a lot of you have been asking about this). See you then!