Alice's POV

I was beyond nervous as I walked through the hospital doors, Jasper's hand in mine as we wove through the crowds of cameras and news trucks. It was a media circus out here… it was utterly ridiculous.

"I still can't believe we're about to see Bella again… I thought for sure… I never thought we'd see…"

"It's alright Al. We didn't know, but she is alive… and she's here and from what your mother says, she's doing well." Jasper assured me and I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

This was the first time that I would see her. I wanted to come as soon as Mom had told us the news, but she had advised us against it, explaining that it would be easier to re-introduce us a couple of people at a time so that we didn't overwhelm her and her daughter. Her daughter. I couldn't believe that she had a little girl… that they had both survived the nightmare that they had lived through.

"I just hoped that after all of these years, Bella could forgive me for not finding her sooner."

Finally we were there. Standing in front of the door. I wasn't surprised to see Edward seated next to the bed, his hair as dishevelled as usual. For a moment, I felt my heart skip a beat and I almost didn't want to knock on the door… didn't want to look at the girl in the bed for fear that I wouldn't recognize her.

Taking another deep breath I raised my hand to knock lightly, at the same time that I turned my head and stared directly into the eyes of my best friend. In that moment… twelve years didn't matter. She was the girl I had loved as though she was my sister… the girl who spent every weekend at our house and who had pretended to be my twin. She was there, frail and tiny… but her eyes… they were her eyes.

"Hi! I'm Nessie!" I almost didn't see the little girl who was now standing in front of me, I had been so focused on Bella that I gasped audibly when I looked down at the child and was thrown instantly back in time. She could have been Bella's clone… the similarities were incredible.

"Hi Nessie. I'm Alice – and this is my friend Jasper." I crouched down to her level, looking her in the eye but occasionally glancing up at Bella in the background. She was watching the interaction quietly, her eyes darting up to Jasper every once in a while.

"Hi Nessie. It's nice to meet you." Jasper smiled down at her and I watched as she pulled back slightly.

"Can we come in?" I asked, looking back to Bella with a small smile. She nodded her head, but her eyes were now trained on Jasper… the fear evident.

"Are you gonna hurt me or Momma?" Nessie was staring up at Jasper too and I felt the butterflies swirling in my stomach. I knew who this James guy was and while he didn't look exactly like Jasper, they both had the same colour of hair, and from what I remembered were around the same build. I knew it was enough of a similarity and I could understand why it would trigger them.

"Nessie, I promise you that I would never hurt either you or your Momma." Now it was his turn to crouch down to her level, looking her in the eye as he spoke. "I know that I might look a little like…" he paused, glancing over towards Bella, "Mr. James." She whispered quietly. "But I am nothing like him, and I would never hurt anyone. In fact… do you see this teddy bear?" He asked as he held up the stuffed animal he had been holding… holding it out to Nessie to take. It was almost as large as she was and she gingerly took it from him, the bear hanging loosely from her hand.

"Bears are known to be big and scary looking… did you know that?" Nessie nodded and then told him about how her Momma had told her all about animals… including all the kinds of bears.

"Well… this teddy bear if it were real, would be big and scary…. But it's a stuffed animal. And there is a saying that sometimes the biggest, toughest looking people… are really only giant teddy bears. They would never hurt anyone." He explained and I watched as she thought about it. I knew that if she and Bella were still uncomfortable then Jasper would leave in a second. He would never want to cause further psychological harm.

"So you're soft and cuddly like this bear?" Nessie asked and pulled the bear fully into her arms, giving it a big hug as she thought through his words.

"That's exactly it!" he smiled at her and I watched as she stepped towards him, reaching out and poking her finger into his arm. It was priceless watching this brave little girl explore an entirely new world and learn to trust him.

"Okay. Mr. Jasper. I like you." She said after a moment and then she was gone, returning to the bed beside Bella and curling up with the giant teddy bear.

"Come in," Bella didn't look as trusting as her daughter as she spoke the words and I looked back at Jasper to see his face.

"Are you sure? If I make you uncomfortable, I can come back another time?" Jasper offered and I watched my friend shake her head.

"It's fine… you guys were two of my best friends." She answered a little louder and I saw her struggle to relax her body.

Trying to lift the mood a little as Jasper and I entered the room further and Jasper leaned back against the far wall, I looked back at Nessie.

"So… Mrs. Esme told me that you guys will be going back to Charlie's house tomorrow… and I thought that this might help a little bit." I held out the two gift bags in my hands and handed the first one to Nessie. It wasn't much… Mom had told me not to overwhelm them. But it was an outfit each for them to leave the hospital in.

"It's green!" Nessie squealed excitedly a she tore into the bag, pulling out the dark green cotton dress I had found for her, holding it up against her body in awe. "I love it!" She exclaimed and I watched as she tugged at the headband that she wore haphazardly on her head… I had given it to Edward to give to her and I could see that she was truly enjoying all of the new things. Inside Nessie's bag there were also leggings and a light sweater in case the temperature dropped a little bit, along with underwear and a pair of white and green sneakers. Those had been harder to find.

In Bella's bag, there was a similar outfit – leggings, a long tunic, and clean undergarments. She thanked me for it as she pulled it all out.

"Seriously, thank you Alice." She spoke up again a little while later. So far she had been mostly quiet, with Nessie doing most of the chatting. "I was beginning to wonder whether it would be the sheets or the curtains I would have to make new clothes out of…" The room went quiet at her words but as I looked back at her, I saw just a small trace of a smile cross her lips.

"That was a joke… too intense?" She asked and I immediately relaxed, shaking my head with a nervous chuckle. But when I saw the look on Edward's face, I realized exactly what was going through his head.

We were only able to visit with Bella for a few more minutes. After her joke she was quiet, although she did watch us closely as her daughter continued to babble on, telling us all about the art set that Edward had brought for her and the people that they had met so far. When the social worker came in with Charlie, we took our cue and all of us exited the room – including Edward.

"She's… she looks… its Bella." I managed to stutter out as we walked down the hallway. Edward was beside me and Jasper was walking behind us.

"Yeah. It's definitely her." Edward muttered and I stopped, grabbing his arm and forcing him to stop as walking as well.

"In so many ways she is the same girl that we lost… but at the same time… she's not – she's a stranger." I said, watching his expression. I saw the recognition, he knew what I was talking about.

"She's still in there… and now, she's back. We'll find her and we'll help her find herself." He spoke with so much assurance, so much conviction that I believed him. She would never be the Bella we lost twelve years ago… but we would be there for her now, as she became the girl she was meant to be… however long it took.