Bella ran and ran and ran. She ran until her lungs burned and the newly expanded muscles of her limbs were shaking with exhaustion. She ran until she reached a steep cliff and then she turned, running alongside it for even longer. She ran until the wind in her ears stopped sounding like music, until she remembered that she hadn't always been a tiger. Bella ran until she remembered that she had someone waiting for her to come back.
The run back to the Cullen's home was no less exhilarating than the run away from it, though it did take longer than Bella wanted it too. She wasn't used to tracking anything by scent and picking her own scent trail out of the multitude of scents that wove in and around the forest proved to be rather difficult. Bella got turned around three times before she was able to reliably follow her own scent back and then, once she got close enough, she was able to follow the much more familiar and comforting scent of jasmine and vanilla.
She could hear voices as she approached the Cullen's house, which was actually more of a mansion, now that Bella could get a good look at it. A modern mansion with huge windows and a large backyard that seemed as though it was carved out of the forest. Bella was expecting the whole family to be waiting for her since she assumed they had all seen her Shift, but there were only three figures in the backyard. They all turned towards the treeline long before Bella was in view, their conversation halting.
"Bella?" Rosalie called, a hint of anxiousness in her voice that spurred Bella into action and she moved forward until she was in clear view of the three Cullen women. Bella didn't recognize the third woman who was standing beside Alice, though she assumed that was Esme.
"She really is a tiger." Alice said, her mouth hanging open in disbelief as she looked at the giant animal emerging from the treeline.
"She's beautiful." Rosalie seemed frozen in place, golden eyes wide as Bella approached her slowly. Bella's senses were much improved in this form and, as she lowered her great body onto the ground so her head was at the same level as Rosalie's, she felt as though she could see each individual fleck of gold in Rosalie's eyes. Her sense of smell had grown sharper as well, the jasmine and vanilla that she had always associated with Rosalie swirling pleasantly around her. Slowly, cool fingers wove into Bella's fur. Bella hummed softly in appreciation, the sound coming out as a pleased growl. "Can you see when she'll shift back?"
"Soon, I think," Alice disappeared into the house for a moment and then came back out a second later with a folded blanket in her hands. Bella wasn't exaggerating on the speed either. Alice was back before she'd finished blinking. "Here, she'll need this to cover up."
"You're sure?" Rosalie took the blanket, removing her fingers from Bella's fur. Bella looked at her in disappointment, a warmth growing in her chest when Rosalie gave her an apologetic smile. She draped the blanket over Bella's huge form and then resumed stroking between her ears.
"Not exactly." Alice said. "It's weird. I saw her up until the moment she Shifted and I can see her when she's human again, but now? I can't see her at all."
"And Edward?" Rosalie said and then tilted her head.
"I can't hear her in this form either." Edward's voice reached Bella's ears as strongly as if it would if he were standing beside her. Her ear twitched in response.
"I suppose we'll have to wait then." Rosalie gracefully settled on the floor with Bella, pulling the great tiger head into her lap as she resumed her stroking. Alice and Esme must have left as Bella couldn't smell them as strongly as before, but honestly, Bella didn't care. That constant buzz of energy she'd been feeling for the past two months was finally gone, replaced with a warm contentedness.
Bella wasn't sure exactly how long she lay there with her head in Rosalie's lap. She was drifting in and out of sleep, her exhausted and overstretched body slowly reverting back to her human form. Bella was barely aware of the Shift back, her body mostly numb. It wasn't until she felt Rosalie's lithe fingers brushing through her hair and the cold ground beneath her bare body that Bella came back into herself.
"Bella?" Rosalie asked softly, her voice lower than a whisper. Bella hummed softly in response, nuzzling against Rosalie's stomach for a second before she remembered that she was human again and she jolted back.
"Ow, fuck." Bella groaned as her sharp movement made her sore muscles protest loudly. She was barely able to sit halfway up before she collapsed again.
"Woah, hey, it's okay," Rosalie's hands were on her shoulders then, adjusting the blanket around her bare frame and steading Bella in the same moment.
"Sorry, I'm sorry." Bella said, her voice hoarse and her breath coming shakily as she tried to clamp down on the pain she felt racing through her body.
"Shh, you don't have anything to apologize for." Rosalie said reassuringly. Bella looked at her skeptically. Sure, Bella knew that there was something growing between them but it was a pretty big leap from 'I really want to be with you' to 'I'm going to snuggle against your stomach because it was nice and the way you smell is comforting to me.'
"I meant - boundaries. That's all. I know you don't like people in your space."
"If I minded you being here, I would have moved you as soon as you shifted back." Rosalie pointed out. She lifted one of her hands from Bella's shoulder to cup her cheek. Bella noticed, far from the first time, how cold Rosalie's hands were and she leaned gratefully into the contact. There wasn't a single part of her body that didn't ache and Rosalie's hands felt like the best ice pack ever. "Are you okay?"
"My whole body hurts," Bella admitted, closing her eyes. "I figured the first Shift would be painful but damn that hurt. How long was I gone?"
"Three hours, seven minutes," Rosalie said promptly. Bella raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't give me that look. I just watched you turn into a giant tiger and then run into the woods with no clue when you would be back. So what if I paid attention to the time."
Bella laughed softly. It felt nice, Bella admitted to herself, to be cared for like that. She wondered if Rosalie felt the same pull that Bella did, though she hadn't worked up the nerve to ask about it yet. And now wasn't the time. Despite the plans for Bella's birthday dinner, all she wanted to do was sleep. Maybe in a walk in freezer so her body would be numb enough that she could move without wincing.
"You shifted back about half an hour ago. It's close to midnight now."
"Sorry I kept you up."
"Don't be." Rosalie waved the apology off. "I don't sleep much anyway. Neither do the others, before you start worrying about them."
"Okay." Bella wanted to protest but she was far too tired. Now that the adrenaline had worn off and the energy flowing in her veins had diminished, Bella was stuck in an uncomfortable haze of pain and exhaustion. Rosalie was looking at her critically, her eyes soft as brushed her thumb against Bella's cheekbone.
"What do you need?" Rosalie asked softly.
"Sleep." Bella answered. "I'm so tired but I don't think I can rest. My body aches too much."
"Sorry to eavesdrop, Rose, but I can examine her real quick. Charlie has already given permission for her to spend the night with us anyway. I might have something that can put her to sleep." Another voice, male and soothing, reached Bella's ears. She turned towards the house expectantly but there was no one there.
"Did you hear that?" Rosalie asked, tracking Bella's line of vision. Bella nodded. "That was Carlise. He's a doctor. Are you okay letting him look you over?"
"Sure." Bella answered. She wasn't looking forward to trying to stand up and walk but if she was promised a bed to rest in after, she'd shoulder through it.
"Okay," Rosalie wrapped the blanket around Bella, training her gaze away when Bella's naked front was exposed for a brief second in the process of getting the blanket properly wrapped around her form. She helped Bella shift positions as she did so, leaving them with Bella mostly curled against Rosalie's chest, an arm behind her back supporting her as Rosalie snaked the other beneath her knees. "Lean against me. I've got you."
Before Bella could protest, Rosalie stood up with Bella held securely in her arms.
"You're stronger than you look." Bella remarked, her nose pressed against the hollow of Rosalie's neck. Her scent was stronger there and Bella drank it in eagerly. Rosalie chuckled in her ear.
"You have no idea." Rosalie whispered, her voice taking on a slightly husky quality. Bella shivered slightly, though she didn't feel cold at all. "I'm full of surprises."
Bella thought that she would enjoy the chance to discover each and every one of them.
Rosalie carried her into the house with gentle motions, Bella unmoving in her arms. Bella was barely aware of the world around them, lost in the haze of the pain scorching through her limbs and the cool comfort of Rosalie's embrace. Even the small breeze created from Rosalie moving through the house set her skin on edge and she pressed herself closer to Rose, groaning. Rosalie hummed softly, a mindless tune that helped Bella relax just a bit more.
"Carlisle, can you examine her upstairs?" Rosalie asked in a whisper. Bella assumed that Carlisle had nodded his agreement as she heard a second set of footsteps follow behind Rosalie.
"Don't crowd her," the unfamiliar female voice said, Esme. Bella assumed that someone else had tried to follow them upstairs. Jasper maybe. He was the only one other than Rose that Bella could see trying to check on her. They'd become decent friends due to their shared history class and Jasper ease at fitting into the teasing dynamic Bella had created with Rosalie. "If you're worried, go feed. She needs to rest and be with Rosalie."
Anything that the Cullens might have said in protest was lost as Bella heard a heavy door close and silence descended upon her ears. Bella stiffened as she felt a second pair of cold hands on her, curling into Rosalie.
"It's okay, Bella." Rosalie said gently. "It's just Carlisle. He's going to help you, darling."
"Hello, Bella." Carlisle greeted her. Bella turned her nose from Rosalie's neck to catch sight of a rather young looking man with blonde hair and kind, golden eyes. If Bella didn't know for sure that Rosalie was adopted, she would have thought that Carlisle could be her biological father. "It is nice to finally meet you, that I had hoped that we would have met over dinner instead."
"You and me both, Doc." Bella said, her throat aching but her voice a bit more steady than it had been downstairs. "I've good things about your wife's cooking."
"She'll be happy to cook for you anytime, I promise." Carlisle raised his hands again but paused before he tried to touch Bella. "I'm sure you're in quite a bit of pain right now. Every Shifter I've met has said that the first Shift is excruciating."
"You've met other people like me?" Bella asked, surprised. Carlisle nodded. Bella looked to Rosalie, silently asking if she had met other Shifters too.
"I've only met one other type of Shifter," Rose said. She shifted Bella in her arms, adjusting her into a better position so she could lean over the mattress and gently set Bella on the bed. Bella blinked in surprise as she looked around. It didn't take her but a moment to figure out where she was and there was a slight pang of regret that went through her. Bella had hoped - prayed, dreamed - that if she was ever naked in Rosalie's bedroom, it would be under much different circumstances. "But Carlilse has been around for a lot longer than me."
"I'm sure you have questions," Carlisle continued, looking amused at the insulation about his age though he said nothing to contradict Rosalie's assessment. "That we will be happy to answer. I just want to make sure that your bones have settled back into the right places and then you can sleep."
"There's a chance they didn't settle right?" Bella had no idea that was even possible. Carlisle frowned.
"You didn't know?"
"Uh, no. I've only that I'm a Shifter for like, a month, maybe? I found an old journal that had belonged to my granny, Charlie's mom, and it explained Shifting and why I would start to experience the Shift and that it was a talent passed down through my family, but only the women." Bella shrugged and then winced, regretting the movement instantly. She wished that she was back in Rosalie's arms, where the painful ache had shifted to a dull throb. Uncomfortable but bearable.
"We can talk about all of this after you've gotten some rest. Carlisle?" Rosale looked pointedly at her father. Carlisle nodded and quickly began his examination of Bella. Rosalie lingered at her bedside for a moment, until Bella's stomach growled.
"Looks like you'll get a taste of Esme's cooking sooner than we thought," Rosalie said. Carlisle was busy examining her legs so Rosalie took a seat on the edge of her bed and ran the fingers of one hand through Bella's hair. Bella hummed, though her cheeks were tinted an adorable shade of pink in embarrassment. "Any requests, darling?"
"For you to keep calling me that." Bella said without thinking. Rosalie looked puzzled. "That's the second time you've called me 'darling.' I like it."
"Oh." Rosalie smiled softly. "And here I thought you'd want something classic like 'babe.'"
"I wouldn't mind that either, but I've been called that by other people too." Bella said. Rosalie suppressed a strong urge to growl. "No one has ever called me 'darling' before. I like knowing that you're the only one who has."
"I like it too." Rosalie admitted. Carlise cleared his throat softly, signaling that he was done examining Bella's legs and reminded the two girls that they were not alone in the room. "I'll bring you something to eat. Try to stay awake for me?"
"Anything for you, babe." Rosalie raised an eyebrow. "What, you're the only one allowed to use a pet name?"
"No," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back." Quickly, so quickly that for a second Bella was sure she'd imagined it, Rosalie leaned down and kissed Bella on the cheek and the next second she was gone. In the brief moment that the door was open, Bella was certain that she could hear several voices shouting congratulations at Rosalie, at least one person chiming in with a loud 'Finally!'
Carlisle continued the exam, reassuring Bella that everything seemed to be in order and asking if she wanted any pain medication. "I'm afraid I don't have anything that will last for longer than an hour. Your temperature is well above the average human now, you'll burn off the medicine much faster, unless you'd like me to set up an IV."
"No, I think I'll be alright with an IV. As long as I can fall asleep before it wears off." Bella said. She was sitting up now, still wrapped in the blanket that Alice had draped her tiger form.
"I think you'll manage that." Carlisle said. The bedroom door opened and Rosalie came in carrying a tray that thankfully contained a rather simple meal of what looked like spaghetti. Bella's stomach rumbled at the sight of the food, making Rosalie laugh as Bella blushed. "Eat a bit first, I'll grab the medicine for you."
Rosalie set the tray down over Bella's legs, balancing it carefully. Bella attempted to reach for the fork so she could eat and winced.
"Here," Rosalie picked up the fork herself, preparing a bite for Bella. "I'll help."
"You don't have too." Bella began to protest immediately. She may have been in extreme pain but she didn't want to appear completely incompetent. It was bad enough that she didn't think she'd be able to dress herself without help, she didn't want Rosalie to pity her.
"You're hurting, Bella." Rosalie said gently. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it."
"It won't be like this everytime." Bella said, looking away from Rosalie's eyes. "Just the first couple of Shifts. I'll be better after that."
"Darling," Rosalie lifted Bella's chin with one finger, their eyes meeting. "I don't care if this happens every single day. I will still be here. If you want me."
"I do." Bella confirmed in a whisper. "But I'm-"
"No buts." Rosalie interrupted. "I'm here, darling. I'm not going anywhere."
Bella nodded, silent gratitude shining in her eyes. If she didn't think that she'd literally collapse from the pain of moving, she would have taken the chance to lean forward and press her lips to Rosalie's in the way that she's been so desperate to do. But then Rosalie lifts the fork to Bella's lips and the moment passes but Bella knows that another one will come and next, certain that Rosalie must feel some part of this pull between them, Bella would take the chance.
It takes about half an hour for Bella to eat, Carlisle coming in halfway through with two pills for Bella to take before he leaves them alone again. Bella is surprised by how clearly she can hear the rest of the Cullens when the door is open but virtually nothing when the door is closed.
"That's the product of very expensive soundproofing." Rosalie explains when Bella comments on it. "Necessary in this house, even if it's not always fully effective."
Bella wanted to know why it was necessary, but she was too tired to ask so she simply nodded in acceptance. Her meal finished, Bella watched as Rosalie set the tray on top of her dresser and then rummaged around in her drawers for a moment. She came back to Bella's side with two sets of clothing in her hands.
"These might be more comfortable than that blanket." Rosale said, holding the items in her hands out for Bella to see. It was a soft, black tank top and a pair of loose, gray, cotton shorts. "May I?"
Bella nodded slowly. There wasn't anyone she trusted more than Rosalie to help her get dressed, knowing from the way she had wrapped Bella in the blanket before carrying her upstairs that she wouldn't look more than was strictly necessary, though Bella wasn't altogether against the idea of Rosalie looking at her body. There was going to be so much for them to talk about the next day, Bella realized. From her Shift to whatever secrets the Cullen family had to this unspoken but very much real thing between her and Rose that seemed to have grown in leaps and bounds over the course of the past few hours.
Rosalie was careful as she helped dress Bella for bed. The clothes that she had chosen were light and airy, barely pressing against Bella's skin at all and Bella knew that she had done it on purpose. Bella hadn't said anything about how sensitive her skin felt, but Rosale had known somehow. It took a bit of maneuvering to get the shorts settled over Bella's hips but they managed it together, Rosalie taking the time that Bella was carefully balancing her weight beside the bed to turn the blankets down. When Bella laid down again, she was completely enveloped in the scent of Rosalie and she sighed happily.
"Comfy?" Rosalie asked after she came back into the room for her bathroom, where she had quickly changed into a similar outfit as Bella. She wore white shorts and a gray t-shirt that looked worn and well-loved. Bella smiled at the sight of Rosalie's long, perfect hair pulled into a hastily done messy bun atop her head.
"Yeah, but…" Bella hesitated, unsure how to voice her request and nervous as to what Rosale would say. Rose approached the bed with slow, sure steps.
"What do you need, darling?" She asked softly. Bella closed her eyes so she didn't have to see Rosalie's expression morph from affection to annoyance or pity when Bella voiced her request.
"Can you hold me?" Bella asked in a small voice. "Your skin is so cold."
Rosalie chuckled and Bella felt the bed shift slightly as Rosalie climbed in beside her. Gentle hands eased Bella into a position laying on her side and then Rosalie was pressed against her back, an arm draped over her waist.
"Are you trying to tell me that you need a full body ice pack?" Rosalie teased quietly. Her words were spoken into Bella's hair, soft and low. Bella hummed, already feeling the sweet release of sleep weighing her limbs down. She pressed herself closer to Rosalie.
"Just need you." Bella mumbled, the words slurred with drowsiness. Now that she was safe and cool and blissfully pain free for a few moments, the sleep that she needed was coming on quick. "Only you."
"Go to sleep, darling." There was a kiss pressed against the crown of Bella's head. Rosalie waited until she was certain that Bella was fully asleep before she pulled the girl in her arms closer and let her eyes fall closed. "I only need you, too."