Billy pulled Jacob out of his school for the day and he stayed with Bella the entire time she was stuck to her bed, while Billy and Charlie were quietly talking downstairs. She and Jacob were busy watching a marathon of Firefly, eating junk food and basically being lazy.

When school was out, she was surprised to see Jessica, Mike, and Angela visit her. All three wore worried looks on their faces and questioned her repeatedly about her health, at the same time they talked about what went on in school. They also got her schoolwork for her, and Bella thanked them tirelessly.

“We should go watch a movie when you’re feeling better,” Jessica suggested excitedly.

“Sure, what movie?” Bella smiled at her enthusiasm.

“I don’t know. Do you mind a horror film? I was thinking the new Friday the 13th.” Jessica asked her.

Mike pouted, “I want to watch the Watchmen.”

“Why don’t you guys make a day of it? You know, movie hopping,” Jacob suggested.

“That sounds cool. Why don’t you come with us? It’ll be the four of us in Port Angeles,” Angela outlined for them.

“I don’t see why not,” Bella grinned. Jacob exasperatedly agreed, winking at Bella.

They chatted some more before the three of them had to leave, and it left Jacob and Bella alone again. At least, not for long. Bella’s next visitors were Alice and Jasper, and they were greeted warmly by a surprised Charlie and a disgruntled Billy.

“Bella’s upstairs if you want to see her,” Charlie told them and both of them thanked him.

Jacob smiled politely and Bella’s eyes lit up. “Alice! Jasper! What are you two doing here?”

Jasper gave her a hug, which Alice followed, and both of them sat on the edge of her bed. They started talking about everything and anything, and despite the unusual hostility they seem to be holding back from Jacob, even Jacob was able to have fun joining in on the conversation.

“Do you want us to tell Carlisle you’re ill so he can come over?” Alice asked her.

Bella shook her head, “No, please. I’ll be fine after some rest.”

“If you’re sure,” Jasper said, still doubtful.

“I’m sure,” she smiled at them tiredly.

“Are you tired now, Bella? Do you want us to leave?” Alice asked worriedly.

“I’m so tired, but I’m having so much fun with all of you here,” Bella murmured.

“We’ll stay with you until you fall asleep,” Jacob grinned at her.

It wasn’t all that long until Bella did fall asleep.

“We’ll be heading back,” Alice quietly told Jacob. “I’ll probably tell my dad to check on her anyway. She’ll thank me later.”

Jacob hesitated, “I’m sure Bella’s fine.”

Both Cullens looked at him suspiciously.

He gulped, “Really. I mean…oh, well, it doesn’t hurt to make sure, I guess.”

Jasper grinned smugly, “Exactly.”

Alice concurred with her husband, “Good to know you see it our way.”

Jacob sweatdropped.

 ~*~*~

“Is she alright?” Edward asked anxiously, fretting. He’d wanted to come with Alice and Jasper earlier, but he thought that it would’ve been too awkward with him not having made up to Bella for his earlier behavior.

“She’s fine, Edward,” Alice said exasperatedly.

“Are you sure about that? I mean, how could she have fallen ill so quickly? What’s wrong with her? Is she really okay?”

Alice glared at him, “She’s fine. Will you stop bugging me now?”

Edward frowned, “No need to get tetchy. I only wanted to make sure she was alright.” He turned on his heel and walked at human pace to his room, turning on his stereo and loudly blasting Beethoven’s 9th.

Alice lightly growled, but headed to her surrogate father’s study, seeing Carlisle reading an old tome.

“Carlisle?” she called out softly.

He looked up and smiled at her. “What can I do for you, Alice?” He looked worried and strained, and she could guess why.

“You okay?” she asked first.

He sighed, “Bella’s father called and said she couldn’t make her appointment today. I couldn’t get anything more out of him, and I’m worried about Bella.”

Alice gave him a small smile, “She was missing from school today. Jasper and I visited her in her house, she looks tired but nothing seems visually wrong. Will you check on her today?”

Carlisle’s smile brightened a little bit, “Yes, I think I will. Tonight though. Probably when she’s half asleep, so I can easily get an examination through and some answers.”

“Answers…?” Alice hesitantly asked, having a clue on what he might want to know.

“Yeah…like why would her first doctor try to kill her.”

Alice’s eyes widened and she stared at him. He looked frustrated, glaring down at the piles of papers on his desk that he’d pulled on hold, Bella’s folder right on top.

“I see…that is something to find out, Carlisle.”

She offered a small smile and left quickly, searching out her husband.

Later, when night fell, Carlisle decided it was time to leave and head over to Bella’s. He went there on foot, assured by the darkness and his speed that his cover wouldn’t be blown. He watched as Bella lay in bed, looking exhausted as she tried to read a book. An hour later, Bella finally went to sleep and he listened to her heartbeat before slipping inside once he determined it was indicating a state between full sleep and still a little awake.

He stared a little too long at her, and when noticed he hastily tore his eyes away and took out his stethoscope. He did his usual exam, but couldn’t find anything wrong. And since he wasn’t at the hospital, he couldn’t even do a more thorough examination.

“How do you feel, Bella?” he asked quietly.

She gave him a small smile, her eyes closed and kept closed. “I feel just fine, Carlisle. What did I tell Jasper and Alice?”

“Probably that you didn’t need me,” he murmured softly. “I wanted to come anyway. You had me worried.”

“S’fine. Promise.”

“You’re so adorable, especially in your sleep,” he laughed lightly.

“Not funny,” she pouted.

“Why…” he wanted to ask so many things. But he felt he would be taking advantage of her like this, so he didn’t finish his question.

“Goodnight, Bella,” he said, kissing her forehead and smoothing her hair back.

“G’night, Carlisle. Stay?”

“Okay.”

He stayed the night by her side on the bed, watching her sleep and not knowing why he felt such turmoil.

For the rest of the week, Bella returned to the school and resumed her regular appointments with him. He didn’t say anything about that night, or the following nights as he seemed to have taken up the habit of watching her sleep, but she seemed to have assumed she had just been dreaming up his visit to her that night –just as he’d wanted.

Unfortunately, from reports from Alice and Jasper, it seemed that while Bella was back, she seemed to be extremely exhausted and easily tired out. Her friends, including his son and daughter, were all worried about her and were watching her carefully. He had seen evidence of it as well, when they had their sessions with each other.

It was quite worrying and they had no answers as to why it was happening in the first place.

He was starting to get frustrated for once in his entirely long life, and he knew he was going to start pushing for some answers soon.

 ~*~*~

Bella stopped prematurely at the entrance to the school, sitting down on the steps and focusing on her breathing.

“Bella, are you okay?” Jessica asked anxiously.

Bella looked up and gave a tired smile. “I just needed to catch my breath. I’m getting better, I swear.”

Angela shared a look with Jessica before they were cut short when Charlie’s car drove up to them.

“Hey girls,” he greeted them, looking a bit tired himself.

“Bye guys,” Bella said as her father helped her up and began leading her to his cruiser, helping her into her seat.

Her two friends watched them drive away worriedly.

“You know, Jacob’s going to need some tutoring,” Charlie started out.

“Oh?” she managed a small grin.

“Yeah…it’s going to be in the mornings.”

Her smile faltered. “I see.”

“He won’t be able to pick you up in the mornings and drop you off to school, but I’ve already found someone.”

“Already?” she asked wearily.

“We have a surprise guest. You’ll be happy to see him,” Charlie promised.

Her interest peaked, but she was still unenthusiastic. They were home soon, and Bella followed her father into her home.

“Now is that any way to greet an old friend?”

Her head shot up and she stared at the man in front of her.

She recognized the Italian accent anywhere. Ruby eyes, dark hair, pale skin, and beauty that matched the Cullens on any given day…

“Marcus!” she screamed in delight, running forward and showing energy for the first time in the last few days.

 ~*~*~

Charlie had decided with the others that maybe they should head to Volterra, Italy. There was a doctor there that many had recommended to them, and if whoever it was could help Bella, then all the better.

It was the off season for Phil, so both he and Renee were coming with Charlie to bring Bella there. At the moment, Bella was currently in the physical therapy room, all alone and trying to steadily walk across the length of the long yoga mat.

She had placed her wheelchair nearer to the door, which was quite far from her, but she had been determined to master walking as much as she could so she didn’t depend on the wheelchair.

She hadn’t counted on losing her control.

Bella collapsed and tried to use her power to help her get up again, but her control over it was abysmal and she couldn’t perfectly use it to the point she could make it do the big tasks she wanted without difficulty. She raised her hand and held it towards the wheelchair, making it roll closer to her until it was right in front of her.

Angrily pulling herself up by using the wheelchair as support, she collapsed into it and tried to keep the tears at bay.

“You shouldn’t be alone here,” an Italian accented voice spoke up and she snapped her head to face the speaker in fear.

Had he seen what she had done?

“I-I know,” she stuttered.

He was looking at her with an inscrutable look on his face, but a hint of curiosity was hidden in his eyes.

She studied him as she noticed he was studying her, taking note of the well-dressed manner of the man and that the clothing looked expensive. He had ruby colored eyes that didn’t share his emotions clearly, and his mouth was set in a straight line. His skin looked unnaturally pale, as if he had never seen sun before in his life. He was a good deal taller than her, even without her sitting in the wheelchair, and he looked lean but clearly muscled. He had a refined face, with slightly high cheekbones.

One fact stood clear in her mind above all, this man was unbelievably beautiful.

“You are tired, yes? Use it to help you sit up straight. I will wheel you to your room.”

“By it…you saw what I could do,” she stated resignedly.

He didn’t answer, moving behind her to start moving the chair with her in it.

“M-my name is Bella,” she blushed.

“Ciao. Il mio nome è Marcus, mia bella cara. Si tratta di un piacere di incontrare voi. Ho la sensazione che sarà molto vicino,” Marcus lightly smiled, taking her breath away.

“You do realize I have no idea what you just said,” she giggled, finding herself at home with this stranger.

“Yes. But then now you have an incentive to learn Italian and so we can speak to each other.”

“But you speak English.”

He smiled again, and she just had the feeling he didn’t smile often even though he looked even more perfect with one.

“But it will be nice to speak to you in Italian.”

And she didn’t question that any more.

“Do you know how to play chess, cara mia?” he asked her as they neared her room, and she didn’t ask how he knew the way to her room. With him, she just felt an instinctive trust and she felt like she wanted to listen and do as he asked.

“No, I’ve only been able to move recently,” she murmured.

“I see. Then I will teach you. Don’t use your hands.”

She understood immediately what he was asking of her.

And that was the start of building her control over her power. It was because of Marcus that she learned how to eventually perfect her control over her telekinesis.

It went from moving chess pieces around with her power while thinking of strategies to defeat Marcus or evade traps, to starting to multi-task even more by playing chess and then learning to play the violin at the same time, and so forth…

All without the use of her hands.

She grew progressively closer to Marcus, who never showed up when her family or any of the doctors or nurses were there, but was always ever present otherwise. They talked about everything, and he taught her many things, even going so far as to get her books he recommended to read or read to her himself.

He also talked plenty of his life, though some details never added up, but she never prodded anymore because he was already trusting her with as much. She talked about whatever she could, having not experienced and done as much as he, though she did reveal anything to do with her power and how she felt.

Belle, of course, didn’t understand one of the many advices Marcus had given her.

“Don’t trust your doctor.”

The doctor they had traveled to Italy for had been very nice to her, and had been doing his best to try to understand and help her. However, just recently, his words and actions were starting to be strained and he would look at her in an uneasy manner. Marcus’ advice weighed heavily on her mind.

After one particularly trying day, she was so tired she could barely use her power to help her do anything. But she used the last ounce of her strength to write a note on the white board for some water, taking care to emulate her mother’s writing. She thought it would be fine, since Renee had been there with Phil earlier and was going to return sometime later.

But the clattering of a clipboard to the ground alerted her to the fact it wasn’t fine, and she looked up to see Dr. Moretti looking at her in horror and fear. She lost her hold over the marker she had been writing with, and it echoed the clatter of his clipboard on the floor.

“I knew there was something abnormal about you, freak!” he spat out.

He strode closer and too weak and exhausted to even defend herself with her power, she couldn’t stop him from wrapping his hands around her throat, choking the life out of her. Tears gathered in her eyes, and the last thing she heard before she blacked out from the lack of oxygen was a loud, terrifying growl.

Bella found out later, when she’d awoken, that Marcus had come in the nick of time to stop the doctor, who had been severely injured by Marcus’ resolve to save her. Marcus had stood by her side protectively even after Dr. Moretti had been removed by security and her family had come. She was sure her family was confused about who Marcus was, but for now she was glad he was there and that he guarded over her like he was her dark guardian angel.

“I have a secret too, cara mia,” he whispered.

She blinked up tiredly at him.

“I can sense the relationship between people.”

“T-that’s how you knew about him.”

He smiled grimly and took her hand, kissing it lightly.

“But I’m here to protect you, bellezza. I promise.”

“Grazie, caro mio.”

And for once, he gave her a confident smile.

Omake!

“Jasper! There you are!”

Her blond empath looked at her in confusion. “Alice, what’s wrong?”

“I needed to rant to you,” she pouted.

A smile tugged at Jasper’s lips. “I’m all ears, darlin’.”

“Isn’t it creepy wanting to watch Bella at night? Stupid Edward thought it would be a good idea to go over and watch her sleep. It’s creepy and stalkerish! I told him not to do it.”

Jasper did start grinning at that. “I had no idea Edward was developing stalker tendencies.”

“Exactly!” she huffed.

“There’s more, isn’t there Alice?”

She looked sheepish, “It is creepy, but mostly I stopped Edward from going the first time because I didn’t want him to run into Carlisle. It would have been a bit awkward, you would think. And the trouble would have started too soon. I just didn’t expect Carlisle to want to watch Bella sleep either, after checking up on her the first time.”

“So now Carlisle’s being creepy and stalkerish.”

They both paused at that.

“Stupid creepy, stalkerish vampires,” both of them said at the same time.

They ignored the pictures they’d taken of a sleeping Bella, scattered around their bed.