Carlisle

A week passed slowly but without complication. Rosalie's feed was being increased carefully and she was much more alert now that she was having the nutrition she needed. Alice was spending a lot more time with her and had grown quite protective over the last week.

Rosalie was having some time out of the restraints, but I reminded her to stay lying down to help relieve the stress on her organs and to help them recover. I was mindful to keep moving her position to stretch her muscles and prevent bed sores.

Halfway through the second week, however, we hit a complication. Rosalie had spiked a temperature during the night and appeared restless and agitated.

I pressed a cold hand to her forehead, and she was extremely hot to the touch. She was asleep but appeared to be distressed. She was likely dreaming due to the effects of the fever.

I sat with Emmett at her bedside as she slept to monitor her vital signs. I flushed Tylenol and water through her feeding tube in the hope of bringing it down. Apart from the fever, she seemed okay, but it was hard to tell when she was sleeping.

She woke suddenly at 6am. She started coughing and struggling against the restraint. I quickly used the tool to let her out of them and pulled her into a sitting position so she could clear her lungs. The cough was wet and deep, and Rosalie was having a hard time clearing her chest.

Alice heard the noise and came to join us almost instantly. She hovered near Rosalie; concern etched across her features.

I could already tell Rosalie's temperature had risen slightly and her heartbeat was rapid. I tapped her on the back a few times firmly but made sure it wasn't too hard. "You're okay, Rosalie. Just cough it up and remember to breathe."

Liquid was pooling out of Rosalie's nose and mouth as the coughs racked her body. Emmett was holding a cloth to her face to catch it. The cough produced a thick mucus tinged with blood and I pushed Rosalie forward more to make sure she didn't choke on it.

When the coughing eased, Rosalie's breathing was rapid and shallow, and she was shivering. I pulled her backwards so that she was lying down, and then I connected her to a high rate of oxygen because of the wheezing. "I'm just going to have a feel of your chest."

I felt gently over Rosalie's chest and tapped her lungs, being cautious not to hurt her. Alice supported me to hold Rosalie and reassuringly spoke to her.

I quickly located the rattling feeling which indicated mucus in the bottom part of her left lung. I supported her onto her right side into a position that would allow her lung to drain.

The cough had taken a lot of energy out of Rosalie. Her eyes were fighting to stay open as she struggled for breath. Unfortunately, she would need to keep coughing in order to clear her lungs and chest.

"She's got pneumonia," I reported to Emmett and Alice. "It's a complication from her weakened immune system. We will keep a very close eye on it and hopefully prevent it getting worse. It's a good sign that she was able to cough up the mucus otherwise we will have to resort to suctioning and clapping to manually help her clear her lungs."

"She can't catch a break. It's really not fair why she has to go through all this." Emmett stroked her fever-stricken cheek gently.

Although Rosalie wasn't asleep, it was hard to tell whether she was listening to our conversation. Her eyes were quite glassy, and she appeared out of it. She must have been exhausted and confused about what was going on.

15 minutes later, I moved Rosalie into a different position. It was important to keep moving her, but I was getting more concerned that she hadn't been able to clear a cough since the first one and she was getting raspier.

Edward brought across the suctioning machine from my office in preparation in case we needed it. It seemed to be heading that way. Rosalie just didn't have the energy she needed to dislodge the mucus.

I kept a close eye on her and remained sitting at her bedside. She really couldn't catch a break, but it was no surprise that she would get sick considering her health was so fragile at the moment.

I glanced at my watch. "You both need to be heading to school. I'm going to need to keep Edward off with me to help with the medical side of things and we've already drawn a lot of suspicion with people taking days off."

"We don't need stupid school anyway," Emmett grumbled but did get up to get sorted. He gave Rosalie a soft kiss on the forehead before he left. "I love you baby girl; everything is going to be okay." He turned to me at the doorway. "Call me if anything changes, anything."

I nodded in agreement. Alice gave Rosalie a soft hug before joining Emmett.

Edward came in a little while later and looked over at Rosalie. "Her mind isn't so guarded today." He said softly so she wouldn't hear. "I think she's too exhausted for the mental block she usually does. The fever is making her quite lucid I feel. There isn't much sense to her thoughts and she's struggling to understand if this is real or not; whether it's just a dream."

"That's somewhat good." I reported softly. At least Edward was able to see some of her thoughts.

I was anxiously waiting for Rosalie to cough. It was so important, and it would be a lot better for her if she was able to clear her lungs without any assistance. "Rosalie?" I attempted to get her attention.

Rosalie's eyes rolled once as she moved them to look at me. Her lips were parted open, and the gurgling sound of the phlegm was clear as it was catching in her throat. The oxygen was keeping her stable, but there was no doubt that she was feeling poorly.

"I need you to try and clear the phlegm. You need to force coughs to clear it otherwise it will get thicker." I had already given her extra fluids to help break down the phlegm so hopefully that would be having an effect.

Rosalie tried to force a cough, but she was so weak and disorientated that it was just too much for her. A small amount of secretion came out of her mouth, and I wiped it away with a cloth.

I didn't want to resort to any chest physiotherapy or suctioning just yet as I wanted to give her body a chance to clear it herself, but it appeared to be heading that way.

Rosalie was in a very dazed state throughout the morning. She was barely moving, and her eyes were only just open. Edward said that the thoughts he was able to pick up were jumbled and far away from here. We couldn't be sure that she completely knew where she was.

Her temperature had started to come down which I hoped would help lessen her dazed state.

All there was to do now was to keep an eye on the situation and hope that she would be okay.