Carlisle's POV

Our family had experienced more than its share of trauma, grief, and pain over the years. Not only with regards to Bella's disappearance, but as life had moved forward, we had each experienced different things that had impacted us. As a medical doctor myself, and Esme as a psychologist… our particular skills had come into use throughout our children's lives, difficult circumstances placing us into a position where we were able to directly help them through these events.

But as serious as previous situations had been, nothing could have prepared us for the emotional battle we would face upon finding Bella and Nessie.

Of course, overall they were doing remarkably well considering. But the damage and the effects of her kidnapping and abuse, were far-reaching. And in the months that followed, we found much of our lives dedicated to helping these two girls that we considered a part of our family, our world almost halting; although difficult at times, after everything that they had been through, we were happy to be able to support them however we could.

But it didn't mean that it wasn't difficult for all of us at various moments; none of us always sure how to approach Bella and her situation specifically. This wasn't something that any of us could have possibly prepared for, and oftentimes we were at a loss as to what to do to help. Sometimes it felt as though our words, and our efforts were incomplete… not quite enough, despite knowing that we were doing everything that we possibly could.

This was true, even for Edward.

Honestly, I didn't know where Bella would be if she didn't have Edward to lean on. Somehow, she had welcomed him back into her very small circle of trust, and she had been able to open up and rely on him. He was happy to do so, determined to be there for her no matter what, still blaming himself internally for not being there the day that she had been taken.

But as Victoria Sutherland turned herself in and the process began, Bella fell apart… the reaction that we had expected four months prior, finally catching up to her. Esme assured me that it was a good thing, the numbness, shock, and walls beginning to crumble and allow her room to grow again… but it was incredibly hard to watch and know that there was little that we could do about it, aside from ensuring that we were there, and that she knew that.

Thankfully, when she hit her lowest spot, as always, Edward was there for her… accompanied by Esme.

She had called him that morning, asking him to take Nessie to school and to speak to Esme. He knew that something was off, and when they had returned from dropping her daughter off, she had broken down again. This time she had confessed to darker thoughts, and an inability to function… thoughts of disappearing, or harming herself had surfaced and instead of acting on them… she had asked Esme and Edward for help. She and Edward had spoken at least once previously about Edward's own experience with depression and the choice that he made… his regret that he had allowed it to get that bad. Renee, had been mostly off limits, but her choice was mentioned briefly… and from what Esme later told me; it was the knowledge of those experiences that had allowed Bella to realise that she needed to deal with what she was experiencing, before it reached that point. She never wanted her daughter to have to grieve her mother for that particular choice.

It had bothered Edward more than he let on to drop her off at the hospital and leave her there with Esme. But he was also willing to do anything that he could to help… and what Bella asked, for him to take care of Nessie while she was there, was what he knew he would do for her. He loved Nessie like she was his own. He was prepared to be the father-figure that the girl needed in her life, someone stable who they both could depend on, no matter what was happening.

When Nessie disappeared at school, he had panicked. When he told me what had happened later that evening, the fear in his eyes was evident… it had shaken him to his core, sending him spiralling back to that same day twelve years prior when Bella himself had disappeared. But despite his own issues, he was still determined to fulfill his promise to Bella, and to ensure that Nessie was safe with him.

Bella ended up staying in the hospital for nine days… allowing herself to be treated for depression and post-traumatic stress. Upon release, she was referred to a program in Port Angeles that ran once a week, and dealt with deep trauma… specifically sexual and physical abuse. She also continued to see Hannah Parker, increasing the frequency and intensity of the sessions.

We continued to be there for her as a family, and although we knew it would still be a long and difficult journey… both Esme and I could recognise that this had been a turning point for her. As broken as she was, this was where she needed to be, not still holding onto the cracked pieces and praying for a miracle, but allowing the cracks to break apart, fall to the ground. She needed to rebuild, not simply fix herself with little bits of sticky-tape.

"Are you alright Son?" I had come into my study to find my notebook... not quite sure where I had left it earlier in the day. I had stopped though when I entered the room, not expecting to see Edward sprawled out across the sofa at the end of the room, his hands folded behind his head and his feet dangling loosely over the end. My office was always open… each one of the kids knew that they were always welcome, and had appeared throughout the years to talk at various times. But it had been a while, and if I wasn't there, they usually didn't hang around to wait for me these days.

"I'm exhausted." Edward announced, firmly but quietly. It took me by surprise… although we talked often, it was rare that he came out with something like this so directly.

Moving to the chair across from the sofa, I sat down, crossing my foot across my knee and waiting for him to continue.

"I love her." He started again, swallowing thickly. "I love them both." He continued and I nodded. "I want to be there for them every step of the way… I want them to know that I will always be there for them, and that I will never fail them again." He said, his eyes closing. I knew that he meant his words, it was obvious that he cared greatly for them, and still carried the burden of Bella's disappearance.

"Edward…" I began but he opened his eyes and cut me off.

"I want to do all of that… but I'm exhausted." He said again and I nodded.

"It's so strange… like since finding Bella… I can breathe again. But at the same time, I'm so busy that I can't. I'm here… and I'm there… and I'm trying not to trigger things, and I'm second guessing everything that I say or do… all of the time." He confessed and I nodded again, waiting for him to get everything out.

"Isabella Swan is the single most amazing person I've ever known… and the things that she has been through and survived… and she's chosen me as the person that she trusts… and it's the least that I can do to be there…"

"Edward wait a moment." I spoke quietly, interrupting his thoughts. My boy – although now a man, with a career of his own, and life experience that was quickly adding up to form more wisdom than many twice his age had, was vulnerable right now. He was still my son… my boy that needed his father, and reassurance.

"Bella experienced something that none of us can possibly imagine, and she has been quite amazing in her recovery… even with the hiccups, and her recent stay in the hospital… she has handled things better than any of us could have imagined. But despite that, it has still been an emotional journey that has taken its toll on each and every one of us." I told him carefully.

"We all love Bella and Nessie, and we are all here to support and care for them however they need. But we all must also remember to take time for ourselves, or we will not be any good to them at all." I said and he closed his eyes again. I could see him thinking through my words. It wasn't rocket science… but I knew Edward, and I knew that he simply needed someone to tell him what he already knew.

"Thanks Dad." He said quietly a moment later.

"I'm just exhausted… between working and taking care of Bella and Nessie… being ready at any point to manage my emotions and prepared to handle her triggers, Nessie's newfound tantrums… driving back and forth to Port Angeles for Bella's appointments, being there for her all of the time, and on top of that… actually dealing with putting away one of her kidnappers, and not to mention that we're constantly worrying about Laurent Da Revin coming back the same way that Victoria Sutherland did… or worse… I just… I'm tired." He confessed and I smiled over at him.

As was often the way with mine and Edward's conversations, nothing was actually resolved that day… and although I nudged Edward to allow some of us to help out a little bit more, I knew that he had a difficult time with that. But as I left my office that day, I also noted that Edward had relaxed a fair bit throughout our conversation and acknowledged that the best thing for him was to have a safe space to acknowledge his own feelings on the situation, without fear of judgement from me.

He was also snoring before I walked out the door, needing an actual nap to fight some of the fatigue he was feeling.

When I mentioned the gist of our conversation to Esme, I could see the gears turning in her head and I knew that she would be the one to start to organise things a little better… most likely poking each of us towards ways in which we could all take some of the responsibility off of Edward, and divide it among the family.

In the following days and weeks, things shifted again.

Our family held onto each other. Some of us supporting Charlie a little closer, and some of us supporting Edward. All of us were available to Bella and I watched as Alice stepped in, finally able to rejoin Bella's life in a more comfortable way, their relationship blooming quickly again now that she had begun to trust Jasper, and allow Alice the opportunity to return to her life.

Finally things began to settle down a little bit, and life began to return to some semblance of normal. Our family's bubble that had been filled with awkward silences, painful memories, and an inability to process everything that had happened, was filling in with the mundane life we had been leading before we had found her. Jobs. School. Family dinners. It became life again – mundane and yet also beautiful – and because of this, the struggle that Bella – and to an extent Nessie – still dealt with on a daily basis, began to calm, began to just exist as life, and not as eggshells scattered across the ground, our fear of stepping on them no longer holding us back from being able to truly reconnect with these remarkable girls.

By the time that we began to see the first signs of spring, things seemed to be okay. Not perfect as we still navigated tricky waters at times, but more hopeful than we had experienced in the last twelve and a half years.

Bella was back physically, but she was also coming back mentally and emotionally… and we had gained Nessie… the best thing that could have possibly come out of such a dark circumstance.