When they finally made it back to the bunker, Edward lay Bella on her cot in the back room. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and brushed her hair off her face. She was still and silent to the point where it was almost eerie.
"She's so still." He observed.
"There's a lot going on inside her right now." Carlisle explained. "And the effects of the paralytic I gave her are likely still having an effect on her."
"But she sat up, before when the lightning stuck."
"I know and I can't explain it." Carlisle said at a loss for words. "She needs to rest." He told his son.
Edward squeezed Bella's hand and then left the bedroom with his father. They left the door open in case she woke and called for them. Bella lept for five days in the bunker after the attack. Carlisle hooked her up to a saline drip on the second day so that she would stay hydrated. He and Edward monitored her vitals carefully. Each hour, one of them would make sure she was okay and that her body was behaving at it should. By some miracle, she had no burns or marks from the lightning she was struck with. The only reason the men could hypothesize was because of the marks they had made on her right before the strike. They had protected her, which was also why the elves on Alfheim couldn't finish the job they started out to do. Bella as protected from them the moment Carlisle and Edward finished their etchings. The power and magic from them were already seeping into her pores when she was struck the final time.
Edward found that he was able to breathe easier around his human now, knowing she was slightly more durable. From sickness and ailments at least. She was still at risk for physical attacks and accidents, just like they were, but she at least was somewhat more resilient to the virus that was going around. She'd taken on their strengths and resilience with her new markings. For Bella the five days she was blackout for were hard to describe. When she came to the afternoon of her fifth day she was disoriented to say the least. Some of the recent events she experienced were jumbled and she wasn't sure what was real and what was fake. It took some convincing on Edward and Carlisle's part to remind her that the events of the last few weeks had in fact happened.
Heart wrenchingly, she asked if her father's death had been a dream or if it had been real. Edward thought back to the last time she'd asked that and gave her the same response. That her father was in fact dead. She also asked if the house had burnt down and if they were both really were elves. Edward told her yes to both. Bella asked if they'd met at school and had declared their feelings for each other. He gladly answered both with another two yeses. Finally, she asked somewhat bashfully, if they'd started college and moved in together. For this one, Edward had to correct her and broke the pretty picture she described to him.
"Are you sure?" She kept asking, not quite believing him. "You fought an invisible force and protected me by casting a spell. But something as mundane and normal as finishing school and moving in together didn't happen."
Edward chuckled at her observation. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."
"It just felt so real" She insisted. "Did you get hurt?" She asked, her mind flicking back to their previous topic.
"No. They tried but I was okay. My dad patched up the few scrapes that I had. But I'm okay now."
"You did get hurt!" Bella exclaimed, sitting up. She ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders and then up to his cheeks, checking him over. Her hands then went down his chest and landed on his legs. "Where?" She demanded.
He pointed to a few marks on his hands and arms, and one on his temple, but they had already faded substantially and now resembled a soft pink blemish instead of an abrasion.
"You're skin. I've never seen it marked before."
"With enough power and with a sharp enough weapon our skin can be pierced. But it heals quickly." He reassured her. "There won't even be a scar in a day or two."
"Lucky." Bella replied, her mouth almost forming a pout.
"Yes. Some of us need rest." He insisted, helping her lay back down.
"I feel fine." She argued.
"Baby steps, okay?"
"Okay."Bella agreed, sniffling a yawn.
"The next time you wake up we'll go for a walk around the bunker."
Bella nodded her head and closed her eyes. It was only a matter of seconds before she was out she came too again it was to Carlisle listening to her heart and her breathing with a stethoscope.
"Good morning." He offered merrily when he saw her eyelids flutter. "How are you feeling this morning?"
Bella stretched carefully and assessed how her body felt. Her chest was sore and her muscles ached terribly but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
"I feel stiff and my muscles are really sore, particularly my arms and chest" She informed him.
"The marks we made, they will ache for some time. I'm sorry, there was no other way. And your chest…" He said trailing off. "You remember us telling you about the lightning?" At her nod he continued. "There are no burns or marks of any kind but that amount of energy is going to leave a mark, even if it's invisible on the outside."
"I know you did everything you could, Carlisle. I'm glad you made the marks. You were right to. We would have a constant threat hanging over us if you hadn't."
"I took a big risk though." He insisted, not quite believing he'd done the right thing. "I didn't even know if the magic would work."
"But it did." Bella reminded him.
Carlisle let out a sigh. "You're right."
"Let's just be glad for it, shall we?"
He nodded. "Would you like to get up and stretch your legs?"
"Yes please!" Bella exclaimed. "And maybe take out the drip?"
"Will you make you make sure to drink plenty of water while you're up? And drink some of the broth Edward made for you?"
"Of course."
With her heart felt agreeance, Carlisle followed through with what he promised. As he was helping Bella stand, Edward came through the bunker door from the surface.
"You're up! How do you feel?" He exclaimed, rushing over to her side.
"Ready to walk." She insisted.
Carlisle passed Bella over to his son and went to the sofa to read. She was in good hands. The couple walked around the inside of the bunker together a few times. Edward started out with his arm around her shoulder, providing little support. But as the number of laps grew, Bella's strength waned. By the fourth lap he had his arm around her waist and was supporting more of her weight. He drew her over to the sofa to sit where his father was when her legs shook uncontrollably under her weight.
"Time for a rest, some water and some broth." Carlisle insisted.
Food was the last thing on Bella's mind but she had agreed to Carlisle's terms and she wasn't going to back out. She slurped down the broth and water Edward brought over. Complimenting him on his cooking skills. The trio then decided to sit and watch a movie on the TV Charlie had placed in the bunker. Bella didn't even make it 20 minutes into the movie before she was breathing deeply against Edward's shoulder. As carefully as he could her lifted her and carried her to the cot and pulled the blankets up to her chin. He kissed her forehead and softly bid her good night.