Carlisle

2 weeks passed almost in a blur. Everyone had fallen into routine of observing Rosalie and making sure she was well cared for. Alice and Esme had barely left her – making sure her clothes were changed, and her hair was well kept. There was no moving Emmett from Rosalie's side either – he had hunted just enough to survive but he was growing agitated as he wasn't well fed.

I had started the process of bringing Rosalie out of the induced coma. It would likely take some time for her to come around as she had been unconscious for so long, but I had hope that everything would be okay.

It took hours for Rosalie to start opening her eyes. They were flickering and opening and closing repeatedly. She squirmed amongst the tubes and wires and eventually started to make small noises. I kept a constant check on her vitals and decided to remove the breathing tube because it seemed she would be able to breathe by herself. I quickly replaced the tube with a nasal cannula just to be cautious and I was ready to act if I felt she wasn't coping.

She continued to wriggle on the bed but seemed more comfortable now the breathing tube was out. "You're okay, Rosalie. We're here for you. It's okay." I wanted to reassure her she was safe. It was likely that she would be very confused and agitated when she came round.

Her violet eyes soon opened fully, and they flickered around the room. She groaned and her brows furrowed in confusion as she laid eyes on Esme, Emmett and me. Edward was in the doorway of the room, but she hadn't spotted him yet. She started to pull at the wires and try to sit up, so I carefully but firmly put my hands on hers to still her movements.

Tears were trickling down her face and her eyes appeared like a deer caught in the headlights. "You're okay, Rosalie." I said again. "Just take your time. You've been asleep for a little while and I know you're probably confused."

Edward spoke lowly so Rosalie wouldn't hear him. "She's trying to figure out where she is and who everyone is. She seems a bit agitated, and her thoughts are blurry."

I nodded. It was completely normal for Rosalie to react like this, and we just needed to be patient and give her time.

"Do you remember what happened?" I asked her softly. Her violet eyes turned towards me, and she shook her head. "You ended up having two tonic-clonic seizures and you went into cardiac arrest. I put you in an induced coma to let your body heal. It's been around 2 weeks." Rosalie didn't react to my words, and I looked to Edward for support.

"She's just really confused." He looked at Rosalie with sad eyes. "She understands, but literally her thoughts are a blur and all over the place. I don't think she can remember much at all about the last couple of weeks…"

I nodded. I needed to keep an eye for any long-lasting damage as Rosalie came around. It was likely that the sedative and the other medications were impacting her ability to wake up fully, so I needed to give her time.

A few hours later, I propped her up so that she was in more of a sitting position and Emmett had moved to sit in one of the chairs rather than in bed with her. She hadn't spoken yet so I couldn't determine if there were any changes with her speech, but she remembered who she was and wo we were now but she was still confused on what had happened. She had been quite agitated and was constantly trying to pull the nasal cannula, the feeding tube and the ECG wires off of her. There was always someone there to prevent her doing this which seemed to anger her more. I was expecting her to be agitated considering she'd been medicated and sedated for so long, but I was hoping it would wear off as the hours went by.

Her breathing and vitals seemed stable to which I was grateful of. That was the main priority at the moment.

She slowly started to appear more awake and Jasper's calming effect was working on her agitation. Edward said things seemed to be making more sense to her now and she was starting to relax and accept what was happening.

She stopped trying to get away from the bed and let me tend to the machines. She had said just a couple of words, but I'd noticed a slight delay in her responding to someone and her trying to piece the words together. Edward had also noted that in her thoughts her spoken words were delayed. I wasn't sure at this point if this was long-term damage or whether it was just because she was still coming around. I additionally hadn't failed to notice the involuntary twitch of her left arm occasionally and I knew that wasn't likely to be the effect of any medication.

It would be rare for Rosalie to recover from a cardiac arrest and two seizures like that without any damage to her brain. I was just hoping that any damage wouldn't be severe.

Time passed by uneventfully and Rosalie appeared stable. Her oxygen levels were in the normal range with the nasal cannula, so I felt assured that she was coping well. She hadn't said much at all but that was to be expected with how poorly she was. She had been in and out of consciousness over the last couple of hours, but she was wide awake now.

Edward was grinning from his perch at the window next to me and I looked to him to see what was going on. "She remembers bits of Esme looking after her when she was asleep. She remembers hearing Esme's voice and some touches. She's just really appreciating how much she loves Esme. One word is swirling around her thoughts very clearly – mum."

Esme got up from where she was sitting and went straight over to Rosalie after hearing Edward's words. She gently ran her hand through Rosalie's curls.

Rosalie smiled weakly and reached to hold Esme's hand in hers. Her movements were shaky and delayed but I hoped they would improve over time.

"She's feeling really overwhelmed with guilt." Jasper told us from where he sat with Alice in their bedroom across the hallway. "There's a lot of emotions all in one but the strongest ones are regret and guilt." I could feel his attempt to try and calm Rosalie fill the room.

"It's the eating disorder." Edward murmured. "She feels guilty for deceiving us and is repeatedly thinking it's her own fault for being in this situation. She's frightened that she's so unwell but keeps thinking she needs to be perfect and thin."

Rosalie would definitely need psychological input when she was feeling better physically. She couldn't see how tiny and fragile she already was. There was just no way she could become any thinner, it would kill her.