A few months later

Rosalie walked into Carlisle's office and opened the curtains, allowing the morning light to flood into the room.

Carlisle had kept Bella in an induced coma for a few weeks to allow her body to heal. Bella was now awake but remained very weak and tired.

Rosalie pulled up a chair to the bed and reached out to touch Bella's hand.

Bella shifted position and stirred from the touch. She slowly opened her eyes and met gaze with Rosalie. "Rose?" she murmured.

Rosalie smiled gently. The words would have been inaudible to a human, but Rosalie heard them just fine. "Good morning, Bella. I let you sleep in a little considering it's a weekend."

Bella laughed weakly and pushed herself into a sitting position. The simple movement caused a spike in her heartrate, but Rosalie refrained from showing concern to not worry Bella.

The house was very quiet this morning – Carlisle had taken the family on the usual hunting trip to ensure they were well fed and comfortable with Bella in the household. Emmett remained at home as he had hunted with Rose the previous day, but he was keeping busy in the games room.

"Edward?" Bella questioned, a small flicker of hope in her half open eyes.

Rosalie sighed deeply although unnecessary. "I'm sorry Bella, there's still no word. Don't worry, Edward will come back I promise. He's very hurt to see you unwell".

Edward had left the Cullen household not long after Carlisle put Bella in a coma. Edward felt responsible for not noticing Bella's illness sooner and couldn't bear to stand seeing her in the condition she was in. No one knew where he was except Alice of course but she promised to respect his privacy until his return. She did reassure everyone he was well.

Charlie was a difficult matter. Carlisle had gone over to the Swan household to let Charlie know that Bella had become unwell but that it was safer and more comfortable for her to be treated at the Cullen household. Charlie appeared uncomfortable with this arrangement but respected Carlisle's skills as a doctor and knew Bella was too stubborn to be treated in hospital. He visited often when he had chance to get away from work, but Bella was often reluctant to let him see her like this.

Bella nodded slightly but Rosalie saw the pain behind her eyes. Bella needed Edward in the darkest moment of her life, and he was absent. Rosalie and Emmett had vowed to protect Bella and keep her occupied as much as possible but as the days went on it was becoming difficult.

Bella was in the very early stages of treatment for her eating disorder. Carlisle was focused on ensuring her physical health improved before imposing any psychological treatment on Bella or trying to determine why Bella descended into an eating disorder in the first place.

Carlisle had started Bella on a liquid feeding programme through a NG tube and a strict rule of bed rest to help her become stronger and heal. Her heart had been seriously impacted by the lack of nutriments and the strain Bella's body was under in starvation mode.

Bella was not an easy patient. She had dislodged her feeding tube a number of times since being woken up from her coma because she was anxious it would make her gain too much weight. She had also tried numerous strategies to prevent the food in the tube going into her stomach with little success. Bella also found it very difficult to understand the term 'bed rest'. Bella was restricted from physical activity and Carlisle prevented her from walking initially. If Bella wanted to move from the bed, then a member of the Cullen household was to carry her.

Bella really hated having to rely on people to carry out basic tasks.

"Come on then," Rosalie said suddenly, standing up from the chair. "Let's have a bath and start the day. I wonder what Emmett and Alice have in store today!" Rosalie scooped Bella into her arms after disconnecting any tubes and walked across the hall into her ensuite. She helped Bella sit on the toilet seat as she filled up the bath.

Rosalie scanned over Bella's body quickly as she assisted Bella to wash. She was looking better – the bruises were healing and fading, and her bones were becoming less sharp; her skin now starting to protect them. Bella's physical health was improving slowly, and Rosalie felt that soon she may be able to start standing and walking a short distance by herself without stressing her heart.

Rosalie noted it would take a while for Bella to progress to eating without the NG tube; both physically and mentally. It just wasn't time yet. This was a long road for Bella.

Once Bella was settled back into bed, Rosalie called out to Emmett quietly, so Bella was unable to hear.

Emmett came into room, immediately cracking a smile from Bella with his boisterous and childlike humour. He then met gaze with Rosalie and nodded weakly.

Rosalie needed to set up Bella's feed for the day and Emmett knew the challenge that was coming. It was the same each morning – Rosalie and Emmett needing to work together to help keep Bella calm.

Bella knew it too – she stiffened in bed and pushed herself to a strong sitting position. Rosalie saw her clench her hands onto the side of the bed and the fear pool into her eyes. "Guys please," Bella pleaded weekly. "This has been going on for so long, I honestly don't think I need anymore food."

Emmett closed his eyes for a second to mentally prepare himself for the task. "I'm sorry Bella," He walked over to bed and pulled Bella onto his lap in a swift movement. "This is to make you better, please don't fight it".

Emmett knew she would fight it; she did so every morning. That didn't ease the heartbreak of having to watch Bella go through it.

Just as expected, Bella started thrashing against Emmett's cold grip although she knew her attempts would be lost. She started to cry and plead that they stop and tried pulling the tube from her nose.

Emmett caught her hand quickly and held both against her stomach, being mindful that Bella was human and didn't require too much strength to keep her still. He didn't want to hurt her.

Within seconds Rosalie began the feed and Bella slumped against Emmett's chest. The small movements had taken it out of her, and Bella's eyes slowly shut. Her body relaxed and she fell asleep as Emmett adjusted her back onto the bed. It was not unusual for Bella to sleep most of the day away.

Rosalie sighed, taking Emmett's hand and sitting in the chair by the bed. "Oh Bella, let's hope Alice has some fun things in store this afternoon to make this all a bit better".