Well, here is a long overdue update. Don't get too excited, updates are still going to be a little sporadic, but I have a end goal in mind, and I'm doing my best to get there. There are only about two more chapters left, but there will be a GIANT twist at the end and then a sequel. So don't give up on me yet!

"Bella?"

I looked up at the words, just that small motion costing me monumental effort.

"Hey, Carlisle," I said, trying to pick my voice up a little and knowing I failed miserably.

His very expressive face showed all the emotions I was trying to hide. In one step he had me pulled against him. I breathed in his clean, unique scent, telling myself I wasn't going to cry. Why did Charlie go to Seattle? Doesn't he care that I need him?

The thought was selfish and I knew it. Because I didn't need Charlie nearly as much as I needed Carlisle. Carlisle knew. He cared. He didn't judge. And neither did Esme. I felt safe for the first time in days.

His arms held me tightly, like Charlie had never dared to do. Esme's hand on my back gave me the strength to take the last few steps. "I wish you'd called us," Carlisle said gently, drawing me up closer against his side. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't have let this happen to yourself."

How was I supposed to tell him that I was ashamed? That I never wanted them to see me this broken and pathetic? It was enough that it had happened once – when they came back to Forks to find my depressed, suicidal self. But now…I had no logical reason for this.

Esme and Carlisle traded glances over my head. "Where's Edward?" I asked quietly. Another glance, then Carlisle cleared his throat. "Sweetheart, they all went hunting, remember? Edward told you he was staying, and you had to beg him to go."

Fuzzily, the memory tugged at the edges of my mind. "Oh. When will they be back?"

Carlisle squeezed my shoulders a little more tightly, planting a kiss on my head. "Two days."

I should have remembered that – why hadn't I?

Carlisle held the door as we stepped out into the bright sunlight. I blinked. It had been a few days since I'd been outside. Or maybe more than a few. I hadn't had to go back to school – the end of the year was only a week away. They had told Charlie I could make up the work over the summer.

I wouldn't have been able to handle school anyway. The gossip, the stares, the comments…

I blinked, coming back to reality with a thud. Drawing in a deep breath, I forced myself to meet Carlisle's eyes. "Are you ready?" he asked, holding my door open.

"Oh. Yes."

I climbed into the back. To my surprise, Esme slid into the seat beside me, rather than getting in the front. "You can nap if you like, dear," she said, even though it was only a fifteen-minute drive.

My head fell on her shoulder of its own accord; I was only vaguely aware of her and Carlisle talking softly, their words flying too rapidly for me to understand. The sound drew me to sleep, where the nightmares gave way to blessed silence.

Esme's POV:

Bella's even breathing told me she was still asleep as we pulled into the drive, her head pillowed on my shoulder. One of her hands still held mine, and I wondered at the trust she had in us.

Carlisle looked at me through the rearview mirror. "Should we call Edward to come home?"

I shook my head. "He put off hunting for too long, Carlisle. You know that. And when he comes home to find her like this…I don't think he'll be leaving again anytime soon."

My husband shared his fears with me, that Bella's reaction went deeper than the episode at the bank. "I need to examine her, but I don't know how she'll take that right now."

I glanced down at my impossibly fragile human daughter. "Let me get some food into her, maybe a warm bath. Then we can see about that."
He nodded, deferring to my judgment in the matter. "Bella," I said, shifting her head a little. "We're here."

"Edward," she sighed.

"It's Esme," I reminded her gently. "Come on, sweetheart, we're here."

She woke up enough to walk into the house and up the stairs under her own power. Carlisle told me he would wait in the living room, and I knew how much that cost him.

"She'll be okay now," I reassured him, speaking too quickly for Bella to hear. "Trust me."

He did, I knew that. But his worry for Bella tended to overshadow everything else.

"Bella, why don't you take a hot bath?" I suggested kindly. "Maybe that would make you feel better."

"Yeah, that sounds good," she said, a little more awake now. "Thanks, Esme."

"No problem, dear. Do you need help?"

Her blush worked its way to her hairline. "Um, it's okay. But thank you."

I nodded, pressing some of Alice's less intimidating outfits into her hands. "I'll be right here if you need me, dear."

After she went into the bathroom, I sat down on the bed, carrying on a conversation with my husband downstairs at vampire speed. I kept one ear tuned to the bathroom, in case Bella needed me, as I discussed possible treatment options with Carlisle.

When she finally came out, I winced at how the clothes hung off her. Alice was so slight, and for her clothes to be too big for Bella…

"Better?" I asked, keeping my anxiety out of my voice.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"Let's go downstairs. Are you hungry?"

"Kind of," she said with a shrug.

Carlisle was already in the kitchen. I couldn't suppress a smile, love for my husband washing over me in a warm wave of happiness. There was only one Carlisle Cullen, and I was lucky enough to be the one married to him.

Bella's lips curved up slightly. "What?" I asked her.

"Mushroom ravioli," she said quietly, blushing a little. I was puzzled – I'd have to ask about that later.

But Bella, sitting down eating a few minutes later, told us herself. We knew it made her uncomfortable to have us watch her eat, so Carlisle was washing the few dishes he had used at human speed. I dried and put away, hoping she would manage to eat the whole portion.

"When Edward first told me the truth about himself, we were in a restaurant in Port Angeles. I think that's when I first realized I loved him," she added quietly. "I had mushroom ravioli – and since then it's kind of been a favorite of mine."

"I understand," I said warmly. "I have a few "favorites" myself." Carlisle and I shared a warm, understanding smile, and his fingers brushed mine as he handed me a pot to dry.

Bella did manage to eat more than I knew she had in awhile, and Carlisle and I made quick work of her plate and fork. "You guys don't have to do that for me," she protested, but I shook my head. "You should know by now we enjoy it," I scolded her lightly.

As I put it away in the cabinet, Carlisle hung the dishrag up to dry. "Bella, why don't you come to the study with me?" he requested. She looked apprehensive, but slid off the stool and followed him. At vampire speed he asked me to stay out here, but wait nearby in case he needed me. I drifted to the living room and picked up a magazine as the door shut behind them.