Summary: This is an outtake from Rose's point of view written for Fandoms Fight the Floods. A number of you have wondered why Rose hasn't said something to Bella about James or the gifts she has received from Edward. I hope this will give you a little look into what she is thinking and struggling with. It's not as easy as you would think to tell Bella how she feels about the guy she is dating.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. I'm playing around with them in a different environment.

Hope you enjoy it.

Catch 22

RPOV

If life's path was not illuminated by the flares of friendship, it would be a long and winding road. But as it is, true friendship brings a light step to the journey. It's about showing up, knowing what's important, and sharing triumphs and challenges – sometimes without word. In this whole wide world, we're as frank and feisty as only real friends can be-and that has made all the difference. ~Anonymous

~o0o~

"Attention ladies and gentlemen awaiting the departure of United flight 843 with service to Chicago, O'Hare International Airport. I am sorry to inform you but your flight will be delayed due to mechanical problems. We will update you with departure information as soon as it becomes available."

What? You've got to be kidding me. All I want to do is get back home to see Emmett and Bella and sleep in my own bed. This business trip was a nightmare and it just got worse. I should have waited until they started to board before I left the lounge.

Those were the thoughts that went through my head as the gate agent spoke those words no business traveler wants to hear when they are trying to get home from an exhausting week.

I grabbed a hold of the handle of my carry-on and decided to head back to the lounge since I knew this would probably take a while. I figured it was better to wait it out there instead of sitting at the gate hearing all the others on the flight bitch and moan.

I decided to stop by Hudson Booksellers on my way and see if there was a trashy novel I could grab to help pass the time. I browsed the shelves and found nothing that interested me. I passed one of those turn-styles that held those little books, the ones with uplifting sayings, quick how to's or pictures of animals or celebrities. I suddenly remembered that I already had something in my purse to pass the time. I reached into my purse and found exactly what I was looking for.

I scurried back to the lounge, grabbed myself a glass of red wine and then found a quiet corner. As I reached back in, I wondered which one I would pull out first. Of course it was the one of my favorite celebrity. Bella had given this to me before one of my business trips to Europe since I was going to be gone for three weeks. She didn't want me to be lonely and felt this little book was perfect. It could fit in a purse, pocket, and briefcase and if left out would hardly even be noticed by anyone else.

I sat back and took my glass of wine in one hand and slowly gazed at the pictures of him, my guilty pleasure. He was my favorite actor, someone I would never meet or have a relationship with, but Bella knew me all too well. She knew by just looking at this book it could make my mood change in an instant. She was very perceptive in those ways. Emmett didn't even know about this book. This little secret belonged to Bella and me... I gave her a similar one a few months later when I was going to be gone for a week and I knew she was going to have a crazy week. The only difference was that hers was a newer version which had some additional pictures, but it was of the same guy. I was okay with that since I know she would share him with me and I would do the same for her if we ever got the chance.

"Shhh..." I heard a rather stern voice say as I looked up from my picture book.

"What?" I countered with a raised eyebrow.

"Those sounds you are making were a little…umm…sexual," the man said as he looked me over.

"Oh sorry, I guess I got caught up in my book here. I'll try to keep it down," I explained as I waved the little book at him, accentuating it with a wink.

When I was done with my wine, I decided it was time to check on my flight. When I walked over to the desk by the entrance, the lounge concierge informed me that it would at least another hour before they would be boarding and that she would keep me informed if there was any changes.

I made my way over to the self service bar and poured myself another glass of wine then went back to the seat I had been occupying. I grabbed my phone and dialed Bella's number to let her know about the flight delay.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bells, how are you?"

"I'm fine Rose, but you shouldn't be using your phone on the airplane should you?"

"That's why I'm calling. My flight has been delayed due to something on the plane being broken and I'm not sure when it's going to take off so I'll just plan on taking a cab home from the airport."

"But Rose, if it's going to be late I would prefer to pick you up."

"Bella, you have to work in the morning and I'll be fine."

"Do you want me to see if Laurent can pick you up? James is here."

"Umm…NO!" I said rather rudely. I didn't want to have James' gopher doing anything for me, and if I was being honest, I was surprised that Bella even suggested it. "Well I should let you go since James is over. Have a nice night and I'll see you in the morning. Love you."

We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. I decided it was time for me to take out my other little book. It was the one that really got me through hard days, whether at home or on the road. Bella had given it to me while I was going through a hard break-up a few years back. She knew I would have too much time to think while I was away and in a lonely hotel room. She didn't want me to sulk or be sad, so she did what Bella always did. She found ways to brighten my days. She secretly stashed a few little cards in my luggage after I was done packing it. You know, those little ones with funny pictures and she put quotes about friendship in them. She also included the book I took out of my bag; You'll Always Be My Friend, You Know too Much! As I took it out and gently caressed the spine, I thought about if I was being the best friend I could be to her.

I found my thoughts immediately go to Bella and what the last few months had been for her. She had found James, and I wasn't really sure how I felt about that. James came out of nowhere, and if I was to be honest, he wasn't the type of person I ever thought Bella would be with. He was handsome and he had money and actual power when it came to the city of Chicago, being what looked to be the future mayor's son. But then there was how he treated Bella. Don't get me wrong, he could be kind. He did give her experiences she had never had before and did seem to fawn over her at times. Then there were times he would call her his pet names and the hair on my arms would stand on end. They would sound more like names you would use more with a hooker or a quick lay than with your girlfriend. Oh, and then there was how he would treat Bella like a child sometimes, deciding what she should eat, where she could go, when she could see people. The thing I hated the most was he always seemed to know where she was and what she was doing. Almost as if he was having her followed or was stalking her himself.

I had to remember that I wasn't there all the time though, and I didn't know how he was when I wasn't there. Bella always seemed happy after she was with him. She would talk about their dates and smile. I would sometimes come home to find her curled up into his side as they watched a movie at the condo. He would always have his arms tightly around her as if not wanting to let her go. It was different though. It didn't really seem intimate to me. I'm not talking Jasper and Alice intimate where you wanted them to get a room whenever they were together. It's sort of hard to describe, but when he touched her it looked to me like it was more out of habit or because that is what you did, not because he had the draw to do it to her out of a deep seated love. But Bella did seem happy. In fact, happier than I had ever seen her.

Then there was 'E', her secret admirer. I was pretty sure it was Edward, but was still wondered why he hadn't said anything. I had been tempted to talk to Emmett about it, but didn't know if it was my place. The clues were all there. He was the one who would visit the coffee shop and stay there for hours on end, driving her crazy as she secretly wanted him to notice her. The stationery that was used when the butterfly was sent was monogrammed with EAC. I wasn't positive, but it wouldn't have surprised me if Edward's middle name started with an A. Then there was the connection to London. We never talked about where Edward had spent most of the last year, but when Edward came back and moved in with Emmett, he had a number of bags and things from stores you could only find in London.

Another piece to the puzzle was that whenever Edward and Bella were together, there seemed to be some type of natural pull between them. Both of their eyes gleamed brighter, their smiles larger, but it was more than that. It was the way Edward would be conscientious about everything that seemed to be happening with her. Whether she needed her coat put on, or needed a little reassuring smile, Edward always seemed eager to fill that role. To me he seemed to be enamored, but to Bella, not having had a lot of boyfriends in the past, I don't think she would have ever noticed the difference.

The days she would receive something from 'E' would always make the day she was having better, even if it was a great day already. Bella never had a bad day, at least that's what she wanted everyone to believe. She always had a smile and was saying something positive, but I knew that down deep she wanted to meet that special someone. Even though she was excited and flattered by the gifts 'E' had sent, I also knew she was apprehensive due to the fact that her secret admirer had never stepped forward to reveal himself to her. It was almost as if her mind was telling her that although she had those gifts, there wasn't a real person behind them. Then there was what she called doubt, but I would characterize as fear. What if James found out? How would he react?

I had a felt all along that James knew something was up since each time Bella received something from 'E', James would try to do something similar. Normally his attempts were not well executed, but Bella never compared what the two of them sent. On the outside, at least, she seemed to just take everything in stride.

That's why I had struggled for so long. I knew that if I talked to her about my feelings regarding James, it could back fire. There was just something I didn't like about him. The problem was, I couldn't put my finger on it and give Bella concrete evidence on why I thought he might not be good for her.

There was also whether or not Edward was really 'E' or not. What if I was wrong? What would happen if I told her that I thought Edward was 'E' and he wasn't. What if by telling her, she broke it off with James only to have her hopes dashed that Edward wasn't her secret admirer.

Could I take the risk of hurting her? Could our friendship survive if I told her something she didn't want to hear or didn't believe? It's strange since everyone always looked at me as the strong one. The one in the pair who didn't worry about saying what was on her mind. In most cases they were correct in that assessment of me. I did tend to speak out when I thought something wasn't right, but not when it came to Bella. She meant so much to me that I never wanted to hurt her. I wanted her to find happiness in her life...all parts of it... her work, her friends, but especially I wanted her to find her true love. The one who would climb mountains to be with her; the one who would do anything in his power to make her happy and the one who would love more than she could ever imagine. I wanted her to find what I had found in Emmett, my missing piece, and she deserved to find the one which would complete her puzzle.

After I was finished musing over the thoughts in my head, I opened the book to see the inscription she had written on the inside cover. She could have just as easily filled in the blanks where it said "to and from", but that wouldn't have been Bella. She always thought things through before she gave them to someone. This was something her secret admirer also did.

Rose-

I couldn't have picked a better person to call my best friend. You deserve ALL the happiness in the world. I LOVE YOU!

XOXO

-B

As I read it over and over to myself, I pondered about what I should do. Instead of dwelling on what to do, I decided that maybe I could find my answer in the book as I looked at some of the sayings which Bella had marked as being special to her.

A true friend laughs at your stories even when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your troubles even when they're not so bad. ~ Irish Proverb

True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it be lost. ~Charles Caleb Colton

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession; friendship is never anything but sharing. ~ Elie Wiesel

As I paged through this little book which had seen better days, I finally saw the one she marked with the bookmark attached to the book.

A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself ~ Author unknown

It never left that page because of what was written in the margin.

Rose-

I will believe in you until the day I die. You can move mountains. I love you! MWAH!

-B

I stared at that page for what seemed like forever.

"Ms. Hale? Your plan is boarding now and they are waiting for you so that the plane can depart."

Once I heard those words, I put the book back in my purse and gathered my things and made my way to the plane. It was then that I knew the flight home would be one filled with decisions to be made.

A/N: Let me know what you think (reviews are an easy way to do it). Did this answer any questions or make you more confused?

I am sorry I have not posted a chapter in a while and could give you lots of excuses but will just say bear with me as I hope to have something new posted soon.

I need to thank those who helped me with this chapter. First and always my Beta Mommakal... I truly don't know what I would do without her. Next 84Gemma and BnB4Ever for pre-reading.

Finally I would like to thank all of you who read as without you I would not have the inspiration to not only write but to get through the things I have been dealing with in my RL this year. Thank you!

~ChiTwiGal