A/N: Once Again I own NOTHING….it all belongs to the beloved Ms Meyers. I am just borrowing them. Sorry my lovely readers for taking so long with this chapter but I kept having to rewrite it. I hope you like it and as always Reviews and Comments make me happy.

Charlie had been sitting downstairs watching the game, leaving Jake and Bells to talk alone, when the doorbell sounded alerting him to visitors. He glanced at the clock as he got up to answer the door, almost six already, which meant that was probably Dr Cullen coming to check on Bella.

"Hello Charlie, "Carlisle said as soon as Charlie opened the door. Today he was flanked by his daughters Alice and Rose. "How is our Bella doing today?"

"She seems to be doing okay, she doesn't talk to me much, and she still isn't eating much."

"That is to be expected Charlie, she is dealing with a lot of pain and heartache, not to mention the drugs, I have given her for the pain, she is probably not very hungry."

"Okay Doc, if you say so, go on up."

Carlisle climbed up the steps at a slow deliberate pace, something was off in the Swan household, something different, and he couldn't put his finger on it. He made his way to Bella's room at the end of the hall and looked into the doorway, on the bed he saw Bella lying in the bed, as she had every day this week when he came to check on her; but something was definitely different today he saw a brown-skinned boy with long hair the color of a raven's wing, stretched out in bed next to her. Bella was stroking his hair in her sleep and he had his arms gently laid across her cast and was softly snoring. Carlisle was so shocked by the scene in front of him he failed to notice Rose had joined him upstairs until Rose whispered in his ear.

"Who let the dog in?"

"Rose," he reprimanded her. "He is not a dog."

"Maybe not yet, but he will be soon, especially if he is around here for any length of time, he is already beginning to smell like one."

"Yes, that is true Rose, I recognize him. He is Jacob Black, son of William Black the Chief of the Quileute tribe and we will treat them with the same respect they have treated us with for hundreds of years Rose, you have forgotten that we are the reason they exist. "

"I have not forgotten, they just make me antsy."

"You and Alice go get Bella's chair we need to get her up today and change her bed linens. I will wake Bella and check her and get rid of Jacob, so you and Alice can help her get cleaned up and redressed, also tell Alice to go out to the car and bring in the food Esme sent over for Bella and Charlie."

"You sure you want to left alone with wolf boy?"

"It will be all right Rose; he hasn't even phased yet, go."

With that Rose turned and left the room. Carlisle crept closer to Bella's side the bed. He gently tapped Bella on the shoulder to wake her. Bella roused from her peaceful slumber and Carlisle felt a pain of regret because it was as peaceful as he had seen her since their return to Forks.

"Bella, dear, sorry to disturb you but it is time for your daily examination and there is one too many people in the room for me to do that."

"Oh, sorry, we must have fallen asleep talking. I am sure Billy is freaking out. Let me wake him." Bella poked Jake in the ribs. "Jake, wake up, Jake, come on wake up. It is after six. Billy is gonna be mad"

Jake opened his eyes to see Bella and Dr Cullen both staring at him. He practically fell out of bed.

"Ommf, Bella sorry about that. How long have I been asleep?" He asked as he scrambled for his shoes and his backpack."

"It is after six Jake. Billy will be pissed."

"Oh Bells, don't worry about it. I will just tell him we were talking and I fell asleep, besides it is not like he doesn't know where I am. I will see you tomorrow after school, okay."

"Jake you don't have to really; you can wait til the weekend to come back."

"I want to Bells, unless you don't want me to come."

"I just don't want you to fall behind in school trying to keep me company."

"If I promise to do homework here tomorrow will it make you feel better?"

"It will and Jacob thank you for everything. I mean it and tell Billy I am sorry for everything will you please."

"Sure, sure Bells, remember what I said; you are amazing Bella. I gotta go," he said as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading out the door.

Carlisle said nothing for a while. He wondered what had went on between those two but knew it was not his place to ask, but he also knew Rose was right if he was going to be here with Bella while they were still here; Jacob would be phasing soon and that could be dangerous for all of them, but especially for Bella and they had promised to protect her. It left him with one option; he must contact Billy Black and discuss the relationship between his son and Bella. He knew Billy would not be happy being that he hadn't been to the hospital since their return, but Bella's safety and well being was his number one priority. He was broken out of his thoughts by Bella speaking.

"Carlisle is everything okay?"

"Yes, Bella my dear I was just thinking, but let's get on with the exam shall we before Rose and Alice come up here to help you wash and dress and change your sheets."

"You guys don't really have to do all of this, you know."

"Yes, we do Bella; we owe this to you and Charlie."

"You don't owe me anything. I went into this with eyes wide open. I was the one who snuck out of the hotel. I went to James. I am so tired of everyone trying to take the blame for my mistakes. I have had nothing but time these last four weeks, time to think and I have come to the conclusion that I was the one who should be sorry to everyone."

"Bella, I approved Edward bringing you into our world. I made that decision, not you, if I had told Edward, no you would not be here in this bed now, and we would be gone and I think sometimes that would have been the best for everyone concerned."

"But that doesn't make it necessary for you guys to have to come here and the amount of money you guys spent is ridiculous."

"Bella we have more money than you could use in ten lifetimes; what is this argument really about my dear? Do you not want us to come here anymore?"

"Yes, I like having you guys here, although having Rose be so nice takes some getting used to honestly."

"I heard that," Rose said as she interrupted. "How is she doing today?"

"She is getting better. How is your pain level, Bella?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10 it stays constantly a 5 for the most part."

"Even with the meds?"

"I try not to take the meds during the day. The make me sleepy and I am tired of sleeping, so I just take them at night now.

"Bella, you need to take them, if they are too strong, I can write you another prescription for a lighter dose for the day and you can take the stronger one at night. If you are in constant pain you will not heal properly."

"I may not heal anyway."

"You can't think like that Bella."

"I have been laid up a month already and as it stands now I won't graduate on time now and may never walk, so excuse me if a wallow in self-pity for a few minutes. You know us fragile humans' pity ourselves sometimes too."

"Alice and I can help you with school Bella," Rose chimed in. "We will get you caught up in no time. Typing your papers will be a snap."

"Thanks Rose."

"No problem, now let's get you in this chair and get you all ready for bed. I am sure that young man who was here earlier will appreciate clean clothes and sheets when he comes back tomorrow," Rose said with a smile.

"That's just Jacob," Bella protested as Carlisle and Rose gently placed her in the chair.

"I noticed, the way he was draped all over you when arrived." Rose laughed

"Rose stop making Bella blush and help her get cleaned up."

"Sorry, Bella but he was kind of all over you when we arrived," Alice chimed in.

"Jacob is just a friend Alice, a very good friend, who has been through a lot and apparently still wants to be my friend despite the fact that I have not been a very good one to him."

"Bella you do not have to explain yourself to us, Carlisle interjected. "I, for one, am glad to see you actually have friends visiting. I think I will go downstairs and give Charlie an update and give him these prescriptions for you. By the end of this week, we may have a date to have your casts removed; I will schedule you for x-rays on Friday to see what the progress of your healing is. I will see you tomorrow evening my dear." Carlisle bent down and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

Carlisle hurried down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen where he found Charlie cleaning his gun. Carlisle knew this was the way Charlie dealt with the stress of it all; he had seen him do this many times now since they had arrived back in Forks.

"Charlie, I think you have the cleanest gun on the Forks police force," he said as he sat down across from him at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, well there is not much I can do right now, but clean my gun. My compassionate leave runs out in another month and Bella is still bed bound. She just lays up there and doesn't speak, or cry or anything. I am beginning to think I should have sent her to Jacksonville, but then today Jacob came and she was talking and laughing and happy."

"What is it with her and this Jacob?"

"Jacob and Bells were friends when they were little, they lost touch after she left with Renee, and I was hoping they would reconnect when Bells came back. Jacob has had a rough time since his mom died, his sisters both left as soon as they could leaving Jacob to care for Billy all by himself. It has taken him two weeks of pacing back and forth on my porch to get the courage to come in here and see her. I know it reminds him of his mom, but hearing Bella laugh this afternoon, I will be forever grateful to that boy."

"Charlie, you know I can't make any promises but I can tell you, your daughter is stronger than you think. She hasn't been taking her pain pills in the daytime because she doesn't want to sleep all the time, which is probably one of the reasons she has been so quiet, not to mention she is probably scared Charlie, but have no doubt this is where she wants to be. She loves you and doesn't want to be away from you anymore. Now about her pain meds, I am writing her a prescription for a lighter dose for the day time and she is to keep taking the heavier dose so she can sleep at night. I am going to schedule her for x-rays on Friday so that we can see how she is healing and I am hoping the casts will come off next week. Then we will talk about the next steps in her recovery. She will need you to be strong for her Charlie."

Just as Carlisle finished speaking Rosalie and Alice descended the staircase carrying Bella's wheelchair. Charlie went to help them and Carlisle went to the stove and started making Bella and Charlie a plate. He sat Charlie's on the table and started back upstairs to take Bella hers when Rose stopped him.

"I will take it, although I don't think she will eat much. The bond between her and Edward was stronger than we thought. I am worried for her well-being."

"So is Charlie," he said quietly as he handed the plate to Rose and stepped back into the kitchen where Alice was coaxing Charlie to eat. Charlie I have got to go make a phone call, so I am going to go outside and wait for the girls. I will see you tomorrow." With that Carlisle made his way out the door and to the car with vampire speed and dialed the hospital to get Billy Black's phone number.