When Bella's breathing evened out signalling she was asleep, Rosalie put the magazine down.

Bella was sleeping sitting up, with her chin on her knees, so Rosalie carefully laid her down on the bed, tucking the blanket around her. Bella still clutched the giraffe plush.

Rosalie made her way down the stairs and settled on the couch next to Emmett. He and Jasper were still gaming, but a little less aggressively now. "She's asleep." She announced, although she didn't need to because they could all hear the even breathing coming from upstairs.

"Is she doing okay?" Alice asked, looking at Rosalie and Carlisle.

Carlisle shrugged, running his arm along Esme's as they sat together. "She's as good as she can be under the circumstances. She needs to let her body rest, especially until she gains more weight, but her injuries are healing. She will need a lot of psychological input which will start in a few days at Seattle Children's, and then will continue virtually when we head back to Forks. We need to try and get her talking so we can see what's going on in her head."

"She's very closed off isn't she?" Rosalie murmured, noting the silence Bella obtained unless someone directly spoke to her.

Carlisle nodded. "I'm struggling to understand why she won't accept pain medication. The healing burns must be causing some intense pain at this point. She hasn't had any pain relief in days, she's going to be sore."

Edward frowned and looked over at Rosalie. "Do you have any idea? You've been through something similar."

Rosalie waited a few seconds to answer. "I don't know. I can't remember the emotions I felt really, only what had happened because I forced myself to remember. The transformation healed me physically so I wasn't in pain after that in that sense, not like Bella. I felt different when I woke up though - like Royce had somehow impacted that and left me dirty and worthless. Perhaps it's self-punishment? That she believes she deserved what Charlie did to her somehow and the pain is a reminder of that?"

"Thank you, Rosalie." Carlisle looked like he was deep in thought. "That makes a lot of sense."

"I really wish I could share my story with her." Rosalie sighed. She wondered if it would help Bella open up or feel more safe.

"Why don't you?" Esme asked, and everyone turned to look at her. Had she forgotten they were vampires? Seeing their expressions, Esme rushed to explain herself. "I mean, parts of it. Just share with Bella that you have been through something similar…but adapt it in regards to a human story."

Rosalie nodded. That made a lot of sense and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it. "I'll have a think about it. I just want Bella to not feel alone."

"Do you think Bella suspects anything about us?" Jasper broke the silence of the room.

"Especially now she will be living with us." Emmett added.

Carlisle was the one who answered. "She hasn't given any indication that she suspects anything. I suppose she has been rather preoccupied the last couple of weeks, and we are being careful. We can't do much about the cold skin, but she hasn't complained about that or questioned it."

"She's always so cold anyway," Rosalie put in. "Her low body weight is impacting that, so perhaps she just thinks everyone feels cold to her because of that."

"Perhaps." Carlisle mused, but Rosalie wasn't sure if he agreed. "We need to be careful with hunting and making sure we act more human, now she will be at the house with us. We will go in small groups to hunt during the night if need be so Bella doesn't wonder where we're going. Rosalie, we will tell Bella that I've shown you what to do with the medical equipment so you can take over if I'm not around, and I'll have to train Esme too for when you guys go back to school and I go to work."

"She's going to find out eventually, you know. Bella would make an awesome vampire." Emmett put in, and Rosalie fought the urge to smack him in the head.

Carlisle remained serious as he looked at Emmett. "We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we need to concentrate on getting Bella better."

Emmett nodded, more serious now. "We will make Bella better, don't worry."

Edward, who had been very quiet throughout the conversation, ran a hand through his hair. "How long do you think it will be before she lets people near her? Well, I mean men more than anything."

Carlisle smiled sadly. "Son, I don't know. She will grow more confident in time, especially when she realizes she's safe from Charlie. You just need to give it time."

Rosalie felt a little bad for her brother. Edward definitely had a strong attachment to Bella, and although they'd never seen it happen with a human, Carlisle was convinced there was a mating bond between Edward and Bella. Any chance at creating that bond was mostly severed at the moment, with Bella being tense around men and refusing any touch. Thankfully, she was able to communicate with Edward from a distance.

"She's very broken." Alice murmured, to no one in particular. She was staring off towards the stairs, as if she could see Bella through the walls.

"She will get there. Things like this don't get better overnight. It's a lot of trauma for such a young girl to have gone through. There will be a lot of emotional healing long after the physical wounds have healed." Carlisle was calm, composed as he spoke, but Rosalie picked up the concern in his voice.

"I'll speak to her." Rosalie put in quietly. "I'll tell her my story somehow, and try to figure out the pain medication situation."

The house then fell into a comfortable silence as Bella slept.

Alice went off with Esme to finish sorting the house. Carlisle went to do research on the computer. Edward was looking through the book collection. Emmett and Jasper continued to play video games.

Rosalie pressed herself to Emmett's side as he played, allowing her mind to ponder on everything that happened since they moved to Forks.