Disclaimer:

I do not own any part of the 'Twilight Universe. This is strictly for fun.

Author's note:

I would like to send a huge 'Thank You' to all people out there, that still read my story. :-)

'Special Thanks' go to those, who review, as they help me a great deal to improve my story.

Still unbetaed. Bear with me. Now: "Have fun and knock yourselves out!"

Recap:

"You can leave now, Heidi. But please, take care of the mess in the bathroom first. But silently. I don't want her to wake up." He didn't look up from her but stayed at her side, drinking in the sight of her, like a parching man would a glass of water, like it could never be enough.

Chapter 23 ( Marcus' pov):

She had fallen asleep again and it had taken her only a few minutes of solitude and silence.

'How exhausting taking a simple bath is for her. She will have to see a doctor. I will definitely make sure of it.'

I stopped my train of thoughts, as in this moment she turned a little, rolling on her right side, so now she was facing me. With her eyes softly closed and her breathing even, she looked like an angel, her dark hair in stark contrast to her pale skin.

'She looks a little better.' I mused to myself. 'The shadows beneath her eyes are still prominent, but I think they are a little less; and her skin has a healthy glow every now and then. Before, when she stood in all the foam, she looked like a younger sister of Aphrodite, stepping out of the sea's spray. Her laughter was music to my ears. So soft and clear, I thought a goddess stood before me. And she is my goddess. I will do anything for her, revere her, protect her and worship the ground she walks on. No one will ever cause her harm again.' Lost in thought, I carefully brushed a strand of hair aside that had fallen over her face, obscuring a part of it.

After another few minutes, Heidi emerged from the now spotlessly clean bathroom, with a look of indecision on her absurdly beautiful face.

"Master..." she whispered. I nodded my head once, signalling her to continue. With my hand resting on Bella's, ever so gently, I was able to look away from her.

"You see, I was thinking about her living arrangements, as you encouraged me to, and came up with a few things. Firstly, as I already mentioned, we should modernize the bathroom. It would make things for her much easier. Furthermore, we could install a little kitchen unit somewhere. I don't think she would ever ask for something, out of fear to inconvenience someone, even if her life depended on it. Perhaps she would eat more then, when she had free access to food and drinks.

Another point is that she might like to stay in touch with what is happening in the world, especially the USA, respectively Forks, her home town. She might appreciate a newspaper or access to a TV- system with satellite reception, so she can watch news or whatever. Humans seem to do that a lot."

At this point her words drifted off a bit; Heidi looked at Bella questioningly, before she continued in an unsure voice: "Although not much seems normal about her, does it? She doesn't seem to be the stereotypical eighteen year old girl. I mean, she came here willingly, which is wrong on so many levels for a human, and brought her favourite books with her, not a laptop or something like that. It is clear they are of sentimental value to her. You could also make some space somewhere for her to put those and her diaries, so that she can unpack and really settle in."

"When she is better you might try to lighten her mood by showing her the library. I think she might like it a lot." With that she ended and we were both silent for a few heart beats. And I thought over the things she had just said.

"I will talk about your suggestions with my brothers, Heidi. Thank you. You can leave now. On your way, would you stop by Aro's chambers and ask for him to come and see me here? I assume Felix is on his post, guarding the doors?"

Her simple nod told me 'yes, he is'.

"He can leave. I am here now. I will call for him, when he is needed. Thank you for your help, Heidi."

Immediately my attention returned to the sleeping woman, who held all of me. Softly, like a feather, barely making contact, I slid my index- finger along her hand, all the way to the tip of her fingers and back, her skin only a few nuances darker than mine, the veins underneath clearly visible, like the darker streaks you could find in a piece of high quality marble.

'Perhaps I should have someone carve a statue after her image. Then again, why look at a lifeless block of stone, when I have the original, in all its glory and life, right with me, forever.'

A knock on the door to my study pulled me out of my daydream and back into reality.

"Enter, Brother."

Silently the door to our chambers slid open and Aro came in, looking curiously between Bella and I.

"Heidi told me you wanted to talk with me? How is our young one here doing now?" With his last words his eyes focused on Bella again, as he gestured towards her sleeping form.

"I think she is doing well so far, but I would feel so much more at ease with this whole situation, if we had a doctor take a look at her. She still doesn't look like a healthy human should. Her scent is off somehow, too. Don't you agree? As if it should be stronger and her hair and skin look like a piece of silver that lost its lustre. Even more important, we may have healed her skin, but who's to know, whether the tissues below are healing well? She is still terribly weak and look at her now, a simple bath exhausted her to the point of falling asleep, while still sitting!" While I spoke, my voice grew in volume and urgency. Aro needed to understand that I needed her to see a doctor, to have some confirmation that her body was healing as it should. I knew it posed a risk, to interact with humans like that, but that didn't really count, when it was about my Bella.

"Now, now, Marcus. Calm yourself. For the time being she is fine."

Unwillingly I gestured towards the empty seat nearby, motioning him to sit down, as it was clear there would be more he wanted to say.

Elegantly he took the offered seat and continued, where he had halted just moments ago: "We will certainly try to guide her into this direction, Marcus, but we cannot force her into visiting a doctor, rather we should not, as that would certainly not increase her fondness towards us, would it?

Leave her her independence, her freedom of choice, Brother. From what she told us so far, I assume that she has been robbed, or rather deprived of so much in her life up until now, that you should not take from her, but rather give back. Let it be her decision. She is an adult, a clever woman, and she should be allowed, even encouraged, to take the leading role in her own life. You will see, it will mean a lot to her and will further cultivate her trust and strengthen her character."

"I am not finished, yet, Marcus." Aro cut me off before I had even muttered a tone. So I bit my tongue and went on listening to his advice.

"Look at her life, all the things she had to endure, Marcus, and I am sure she did not even tell us half of the dangerous situations she has been in, and look, she is still here, alive. She is strong. We will help her to come to terms with everything. That is what she needs."

"May I speak now, Aro?" My words were scathing and irate, mirroring my anger towards his presumptuous behaviour. I did not wait for his answer as my question had been rhetorical, in my eyes anyway.

"Why do you think you know all about my mate, Aro? You can not read her mind. She needs protection! That red haired witch is still out somewhere, only waiting for a chance to take my mate from me and I shall be damned if I let this happen! I will keep her safe, I will protect her and worship her as she deserves! And so should you, as her brother by all meaning!"

"Exactly!" Aro replied in delight, smiling as if I hadn't just growled at him, but made him a huge present.

"Aro? You lost me here."

"Of course, Marcus; I want all that for her and even more. You are right, she needs protection. Which is why there are two guards outside right now, guarding your balcony, and all other guards are on high alert and well informed. Additionally, one of us is always with her. What else can we do to secure her safety? Keep her in bed at all times? Carry her through the halls, so that she won't fall? Keep her away from sharp objects, perhaps? Marcus?"

His outstretched hand was question enough, he wanted to read me, and I saw no problem in that, as I was sure of my thoughts and that they were right and just, with only her best interest in mind. So I took it.

"Ah, I see. That is just what I feared." My brother of millennia looked at me indulgently, and with no small amount of pity in his eyes.

"Marcus, you are getting ahead of things. Take a figurative step back and look at the circumstances as objectively as possible: Bella here", with a flourish of his hand, he waved at her still sleeping form, "has the potential to be your mate, you yourself said that you see the potential in your bond. And I am happy, as are the others, that you finally found someone to match you so perfectly. But you need to be careful. Bella does not know about the bond, that you two share, does she?" Aro inquired, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his chair.

"You know she doesn't." By now, my anger had subsided and left me wondering, what he was insinuating?

"How do you think she would react, if you told her now? Do you expect her to would jump into your arms and embrace the possibility of eternal love?"

"We do not know for sure, but I think she might have classified herself and the other one of our kind, to be mates. She knows enough, to assume exactly that, and knowing, what you read in her bonds, she would have been correct in doing so. From her point of view the whole concept of mating, being bound for eternity, surely seems like a farce, when her other half could so easily leave her behind."

A short silence ensued, during which we both contemplated this unknown man's stupid actions.

"You know, I still don't understand how in the world he could do something as cruel and irrational as that. I mean he surly cannot be unaffected by leaving her? He must be miserable. Such a fool; to throw his chance at happiness away like that, and hurt the one he ought to love most in such a way."

My brother shook his head. It would seem that more than just Bella's mental muteness had gained his interest, as well as his disdain.

"So what I am trying to tell you is that you need to go slow, give her a chance to work through her problems at her own speed. If you continue to venture on the path you are on, you might easily smother her with your affection." Aro paused here, to let the things he had told me sink in and slowly I had an inkling of what he was getting at.

'Is it true? Am I being overbearing, when I want to make sure she is fine? But how can I not care, not protect her? After all that is what a mate usually does...' Before I could word my musings however, my brother went on:

"What she needs now, above all, is a friend, whom she can trust. I think you should be that friend. You should get to know her and give her a chance to get to know you, the real you, with all your rough edges. In time she will undoubtedly realize, what she has found in you."

When he went on, he looked at me, almost beseechingly: "Don't break her, Marcus. She is weak now, not only physically. Guide her, give her advice and let her choose. If she makes a mistake or something turns out to be even dangerous, we will be there and keep her safe; help her back on track, like we would do for each other; like family. You want an equal in her, not a child, don't you?"

I sat there, staring at him, for the second time in my new existence, not trusting my hearing ability.

"What are you trying to imply, Aro? Of course I want her to be my equal, my mate by all means."

"If you want her to become your equal, Marcus, you need to treat her like one," my brother said in a serious voice, and before I could interject, he continued:

"I know that she is not truly your equal yet. Her body is like a figurine made of the thinnest glass and a wrong move from either of us could break her. I know that we need to treat her with the utmost care. She is human. Yes. And until she is changed she will be."

"You know perfectly well, that we don't alter completely during the change. We keep our characteristic traits. When you break her now, form her into a pitiful, dependent, shy, complex- ridden girl, you won't be able to fix that after the change. She will stay like that then, a broken doll, no will of her own, no spirit, for eternity. Do you really want that for your mate?

I'd be willing to wager, that you would murder anyone who tried to harm her like that. Yet here you are doing the same thing yourself now. You think you know what is best for her, but you can only guess to what she wants, because you are not her, you don't perceive things like she does."

With that, he stood up from his chair and slowly came closer to the bed, stopping right next to me, where he placed an encouraging hand on my shoulder. All this only registered peripherally, because my thoughts were running rampant. 'Do I smother her? Is it true? Could it be that I treat her like a child, that I am breaking her spirit even further, that I am making things worse?'That thought appalled me like few other things ever have. 'How could I hurt my mate?'

"How can I stop it, Aro? I mean I feel like I need to simply be with her every hour of the day, so that I can protect her, I don't want to trust anyone with her. You have no idea how hard it has been to leave Heidi alone with her, to leave her in this room, unprotected. And you are right, I would love to carry her everywhere, to make sure, that she won't take a fall and hurt herself..."

I could see no way out here, I was at an impasse. 'How do I control something that seems to be ingrained into my very being?'

"Cia and I will have an eye on the situation, if you don't mind. We will warn you, if we find, that you venture too close to the edge of smothering her, Marcus. We will back you up. That is what family is there for."

He smiled down at me. Under any other circumstances I might have been affronted by this gesture, but now I only felt grateful.

"So is that all that you wanted to discuss with your brother? I had the distinct impression there was more." With these words the tensed and serious atmosphere evaporated and our brotherly moment with it. I shoved his hand from my shoulder and snapped back at him in mock hurt:

"Yeah, you had the impression. As if! You eavesdropped on Heidi's thoughts, didn't you? You have always been a curious bastard and that is what you will always be. No surprise there."

Now that I knew he and Cia would help me, the whole situation didn't seem so helpless anymore and I wanted to concentrate on the matters at hand, namely improvements to her and mine environment. I had never been a fan of changes and that certainly had not gotten better with the change.

"That may be so, dearest brother, but a gifted bastard none the less." With a smug smile he sat back down on his chair, waiting for me to begin, although he already knew what I wanted to talk about.

"Well, let me be the bigger person, as always." With these words I threw a dirty glance at him.

"You see, Heidi has come to me with a few suggestions to heighten the comfort for Bella. Those included a TV- System, new bathing facilities and some sort of cooking respectively cooling unit. What do you say?" If having Bella more comfortable, meant I had to endure the scent of human food to linger in our quarters permanently, I would gladly do so.

"Shouldn't we have this discussion with at least Caius present? If not Dora and Cia too?" He replied in his calm, analysing voice; now all business.

'He has the nerve to bring up Caius! After what he almost did? Impossible!'

A steady, low growl was rumbling in my chest, while I tried to answer without letting too much of my anger slip.

"Brother, it would seem you are becoming forgetful in your old days. Caius will not enter our quarters. If you think this matter is of such great importance, that it has to be discussed with all in attendance, we will do so, but he will not enter." The light skin-to-skin contact I had with Bella during all this time was oddly calming, making it easier for me to remain in control over my ranging emotions.

"No, I don't. Marcus, to be honest, Caius and Dora wanted to talk to you in private. I have not read their minds, so I can not know for sure, but I think they, mainly meaning Caius, want to apologise and I assumed getting you all into one room would be a good start. I hate to see the both of you so at odds."

"Of course you can rearrange your quarters to your or Bella's hearts delights." At the end he sounded discouraged, almost to the point of miserable. We three had been together for about 2,500 years and never had it occurred, that either of us had not talked to the other for longer than a few hours. So this situation was a first. It was a sadness really, but I would not be swayed for once. I simply couldn't, although I felt disheartened in a way. I didn't like this any more than Caius, Aro, Dora or Cia for that matter, but never before had anyone of us tried to attack someone's mate either.

"I am sorry, Brother, I truly am," saying this I extended my hand towards him and he held it shortly, before he let go and nodded his head.

"I know. Just, please try to give him a chance... soon?" He spoke the last word in a different, hopeful tone.

"I will try, I promise. Would you ask Dora whether she would help me later on in planning the modernization of the bathroom? I am sure she is well informed on everything of the like and would be of great assistance... so would be Cia, I am sure." This was the figurative olive branch I offered here, and Aro, who recognized it for what that little request really meant, accepted it gladly.

"I am sure they will be glad to help. But as for the cooking unit, neither of them would seem to be an expert." He chuckled at his own joke and even elicited a small one of mine.

"So it would seem. Gianna could take a look into this though, no? Or perhaps the cook, that Caius employed?"

'Hm, he does that for her. He even went so far as to read books on proper nourishment for humans and to give the cook exact orders, to make sure it would be good for Bella. He must care for her; at least a little.' I recollected in my mind.

"Alec might be a good choice to ask for a recommendation on this TV system. He chose the one in Cia and I's chambers and we are very content with it." Aro advised.

I was just about to reply, when Bella suddenly jerked her hand closer to her body and moaned, like she was in pain.

Both of our attentions were instantly focused solely on her, our conversation forgotten, at least for the moment. We watched her silently, observing her every move. She twitched again, some forty seconds later and began to mumble things, her moving increased as did the volume of her voice. Another nightmare.

When I reached out towards her, to wake her, Aro stopped my movement short and shook his head 'no'.

"Let her be, Marcus. Does she know you are in this room? You might frighten her further, when you wake her up like this. Let us go to the study. She will wake up on her own. You cannot protect her from her own mind. This is one of the problems she needs to work out herself. Come." Softly he took hold of my elbow and guided me towards the door that lead to the study, and nolens volens, I followed, looking back at a twisting and turning Bella.

I intervened, when he wanted to close the door completely and we left it ajar. After that we sat down in the chairs next to the cold fireplace.

We could hear her heart rate pick up further and her breathing become irregular, but Aro held me back when I jumped up in my seat as a choked cry escaped her. Following this I began to pace, like a caged tiger, not knowing what to do. Her murmurs had become clear words that told us nothing new. It would seem to be a similar nightmare to the one she had had when she first came here, if not the same...the one about this Victoria. Every soft, strangled scream shot through me like a dagger through soft flesh, straight to my unbeating heart, and Aro had to physically restrain me from bursting into her room.

Finally, with a last soul splitting scream, she started awake and we could hear the mattress shift, as she sat up, still sobbing uncontrollably.

In a flash I was at the door, knocked, just once, and threw it open, not bothering to wait for her answer.

A soft cry escaped her in surprise, and I cursed myself for being so impatient, for bursting in like this.

"Bella? Would you mind me coming closer?" I was unsure, what I could do to make her better. She was sitting in her bed, pale as a sheet, her pupils dilated and her unusual, now swollen, eyes stood in stark contrast to the bloodshot vessels in the white of them. Tears were still running down her cheeks and she was trembling all over. A fraction of a second later, Aro was next to me, his pose relaxed, and he smiled a sad, empathic smile at her.

"Yes... no... I mean, you can come closer." Bella managed to get out between sobs, and deep stuttering breaths.

Slowly I went towards her, my movements as non-threatening as possible. Aro, on the other hand, just stepped towards her like there was nothing wrong, and stopped right next to her. Smoothly he offered her the handkerchief from his lapel, which she gladly took.

"Can we sit with you, Isabella?" She only nodded at Aro, who had spoken, while she made good use of the piece of pristine white cloth, drying her eyes and rubbing her red nose.

We took seats on the side facing the fireplace that had burned out by now, waiting for her to calm down and dry her tears.

When she was done, she looked at the handkerchief sheepishly and then back up at Aro, who smiled fondly at her and simply said, "You can keep it, and don't ever mention it. Do you understand?"

"Okay and thank you." Her voice was still meek and scratchy, but she was definitely recovering from the nightmare.

After that she looked down at her lap, twisting her fingers.

"How are you now? Better?" with that Aro tried to coax her into talking.

My mate didn't even lift her eyes, not to speak her head, while she replied automatically: "Fine, I'll be fine in a moment."

"Bella? You know that you can talk to us, don't you? It's clear that you are not fine, and I really wish you wouldn't use this word so often, when everyone can see that it is a lie. You see, everyone needs help once in a while and everyone is out of sorts once in a while. Neither is shameful. How do you Americans put it so lightly? 'Nobody is perfect.' But as I remember, we have had that talk already, have we not?"

I was in awe of my brother. The way he treated this situation, like it was nothing, was unfathomable for me. It was a big matter, it was a huge matter in my eyes. But I decided to wait and see, for Aro had been proven to desire only what was best for her.

"So, would you tell us what your dream was about? It might make it better. At least people say so."

While he spoke to her, he softly put his hand on her back and began to rub soothingly up and down. At their proximity, a sudden burst of jealousy shot through me and my hands clenched into fists, of their own accord, and my jaw locked.

'Marcus, calm down, he is your brother and he is mated. This is absurd. Their bond is that of familial love, it is not romantic. Now hold yourself together and let him talk.' Instantly I relaxed a few degrees, but a certain degree of tension remained.

My short lapse in continuance however, didn't go unnoticed by Aro, and he shot me a pacifying look.

Bella stared into space, focusing on nothing, really. All of a sudden, she spoke lowly: "You know what it was about. I speak in my sleep."

"Yes, that is true, Bella. Most of what you say or rather mumble is unintelligible, even for us, and you are unconscious when you utter these sounds, so that doesn't count. It only shows that there is something on your mind, that has your thoughts so filled that it has no other way to come out of that silent head of yours, except for the time when you have least control over your thoughts, namely, when you are asleep. Do you understand what I mean?" Aro looked at her, gazing into her eyes, searching for a sign that she comprehended what he attempted to tell her.

"I think I know what you mean. You are saying I should talk about it and get it out of my system. Yes, that's what everyone at home told me, too; I should see a shrink. But how is that supposed to work? I mean I either fall right back into my memories, or I would have to talk about things I am not allowed to talk about, like the existence of your kind, for example, so tell me, clever one, how am I supposed to get it off my chest, when both ways are blocked? Tell me that!" Bella's mood had obviously changed drastically from scared to absolutely blazingly furious in just a few minutes, as her voice was oozing sarcasm and her eyes glared daggers at him, not breaking eye contact. I was happy that this time I was not on the receiving end. Aro looked just as taken aback as I felt, which made me feel a bit better about my cowardice to face her. His troubled expression however, lasted only for a second before he told her with a shining smile and in the most cheerful voice: "I will be your therapist. Problem solved." His whole posture screamed smugness now.

"Come again?" Bella asked completely stunned. "You got to be kidding me. Don't you need some kind of qualification to meddle with people's heads?"

"Ah, my dear, you might find I have a lot of 'hands on' knowledge in the field of psychology. Add the fact that I already know about vampires and most things out there, as well as the fact that I have read all your symptoms since you came here, and I would think that I am more than qualified."

Bella was speechless. She looked from Aro to me, and back again, her mouth had fallen open in her surprise. Slowly she shut it and blinked.

Afterwords she sat there, her head a tiny bit inclined to her right, looking at Aro, contemplating what to do or say now.

"You don't have to give your answer to my offer right away Bella. We have time. A week or two more won't change an iota on this whole situation. Think about it and just tell me about your decision, when you've reached it. Shall we remain in this fashion? Of course you are free to ask me any questions you have, or might come up with."

"You're really serious, aren't you? Do you honestly think you could help me; that there is a chance the dreams will stop, and I won't fall into that hole and see all those things again and again?"

Bella's voice got higher and more hoarse the longer she spoke, her own hope taking her breath away. While talking she unintentionally inched towards Aro, gripping the sleeve of his suit jacket.

Aro clarified the situation, to make sure Bella would not have her hopes up too high: "Isabella, I will work with you for as long as you want or need to, and it will be work, not a walk in the park. You might fall over the edge and have flashbacks during our meetings, and in the end we might not achieve all our goals, but the chances are rather good, at least that is what the statistics imply. You need to know that I can not guarantee you will succeed. Is that clear? I just don't want you to be disappointed and angry with me, if that should be the case."

Now Aro looked truly apprehensive. He was walking on thin ice, risking his relationship with her by offering to take the place as her therapist, and he was well aware of it.

"Yes, I see that. No guarantee. Got it. But a realistic chance, right? And other people have similar problems? It's not just me?" Bella asked back, fishing for confirmation.

'She is worried about that? That she might differ from the norm?'

"That is good to hear. For your other questions: yes, yes ,and no, Dear." With that Aro brought her into a light hug and patted her back tenderly.

"Nonetheless, we have time until we can start, should you agree. We ought to take care of your physical health first, as our meetings might be rather strenuous on you. I think it would be best if we went to see a doctor in town, as we don't have any of the instruments that he might need here. What do you say?"

Ah, now I knew his intentions. His motive and his reasoning were perfect, too.

Bella looked unconvinced, perhaps even scared, and her heart rate picked up its pace again. "Is that really necessary?"

"Bella, is there something wrong? Why wouldn't you want to see a doctor? It is no trouble for us, I assure you. I will even gladly accompany you to make sure you are safe wherever you go." I piped in for the first time, offering my support.

"Easy for you to say, you won't be the one to end up on the sharp side of the needle." She muttered under her breath, while looking anywhere but at Aro and I.

"Did I get that right? You don't want to see a doctor because you are afraid of needles?" My brother did a poor job at concealing his disbelief, considering he is a vampire. But I am sure, had I tried to word that question, I wouldn't have done it much better.

"Yes," Bella whispered.

"Well, what can I say to that? I am surprised to hear that after all you went through, you are afraid of a needle of all things. But it does not change the fact that we need to get this physical aspect taken care of, before we can start on the other one. So, what do you normally do when you need to see a doctor to make it work? To overcome your fear? We will just do it like that then." Aro inquired further, with a comforting, yet at the same time encouraging voice. He still had one hand loosely on her back.

"Well, I don't go if I don't really have to... But I guess, if it is absolutely required to start on the other stuff," at this she looked pleadingly between Aro and I, and we both nodded to silently tell her it was indeed needed, so she went on dejectedly, "then I'll have to bear the needles. I definitely want the dreams gone..." Bella looked down on the sheets, that lay crumbled at her waist and the last part was spoken in a whisper. She sighed then, a little gesture that belied her resignation.

"Now now, Isabella, I'm sure you will come out just fine."

"I am afraid I will have to take my leave now, if there is nothing else on your mind that you would like to dispute, as there are some things that I have to see to." He looked at her and she nodded, telling him: "Sure, and I'm sorry for..."Aro raised his eyebrow warningly and Bella quickly caught on, "...oh, yes, um, I mean thanks for the offer to help me. I think I'll think about it some more, but more likely than not I'll take you up on it." They both smiled at each other and Aro patted her shoulder a last time and stood up.

"You are very welcome, Isabella. Perhaps you'll consider having a late lunch now? I am sure Marcus will organize anything you like. If you need anything, you know where to find me, and in case you have difficulties, Felix will hear you when you call. Have a good day Isabella. Marcus." He inclined his head towards the both of us and unhurriedly left the room.

Isabella looked at me, confused and repeated: "Late lunch? What time is it? How long did I sleep?"

"Yes, late lunch. It is half past two. You slept for about two hours," I replied calmly.

"And who put me into bed? Heidi? Oh, I hope she isn't angry with me. I literally fell asleep on her, didn't I? Damn it! I mean I wasn't bored, far from it, our conversation was very interesting and she was so kind. How could I fall asleep like that?" Now she seemed to be frustrated with herself, if her tone and facial expression were anything to go by.

"Never mind. She isn't angry. We understand that you were exhausted, so you fell asleep. I took liberty to relocate you onto the bed. The position you were in appeared to be uncomfortable.

She calmed instantly upon my reassurance.

"So, how about the food?" I pushed.

"Yes, sure. I'll make it myself though. No need to bother anyone. I'll just freshen up first." With that she pushed the covers aside and stood up. Perhaps too fast, as she instantly began to sway. Reflexively my arm shot forward and I steadied her, holding her by her elbow. A small chuckle escaped me.

"Well how about this alternative: you freshen up and I'll have someone pick up your food? You would save time by picking this option, as I understand you wanted to work on your diary today."

To be honest, I was just too selfish and didn't want her to leave our quarters. Aro's words still rang loudly in the back of my mind though, so I tried to give her a choice.

'You'll have to watch yourself like a hawk, if you want to make this work and cut the smothering.'

"Okay, you're right. Can I come to the study then? If I don't disturb you, that is." Bella asked, insecurity ringing loudly in her tone.

"Of course, whenever you wish. I'll be over there then. Take your time." I pointed towards the study, explaining my words further.

"Thanks." She nodded her understanding and made her way over to the bathroom, which I took as my cue to leave for the study.

As soon as I was in there, I called in Felix and had him get some fresh food for Bella, while I lit a fire and cleared a space on the desk, setting up a second chair as well. When I was done, I sat down and picked up my writing, where I had left off, while with another part of my mind I listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom, screening them for anything that might indicate a danger to Bella. In this fashion I sat, waiting for her to join me.

End note:

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