Hello again! Happy Friday! I give you another update. To tell you the truth, I really don't like how I've ended this chapter. I was tired and I wanted to give you guys something just because you've been so awesome.:)

Title: Fire in the Blood

Author: xxxLovely Insanityxxx

Rating: PG-13/R for violence, language, and sensuality.

Summary: Returning home after being away for seventeen years, Rosalie "Rose" Rakes nee Thomas is reacquainted with a certain Bondurant. Yet as Forrest and Rose try to find common ground between themselves again, neither could imagine the lengths that her husband will go to keep his wife by his side

Theme: Not quite sure yet.

Over & Out

"There's something about that hick that I simply don't like."

I stopped brushing my hair, and look at my husband from the vanity mirror. He was reading reports as he drank his brandy. He had a look of complete concentration upon his face, with a hint of a scowl upon it. I sighed and returned to what I was doing as I prepared for bed. Ever since we arrived at the motel, Charley began complaining about Forrest. It was becoming tiresome, and was driving me on edge. I was tired of him speaking about Forrest in such a demeaning way. I may have nothing to do with Forrest and the Bondurants anymore, but that didn't mean that I stopped caring about them. Not to mention, I was afraid that if Charley kept carrying on about it, I would let something about my true origins slip, and then it would be all over.

"And why is that?" I asked him. "Other than that he doesn't care that much, and won't listen to you."

Charley looked at me, watching me brush my hair. He stood up from his seat and walked up to stand behind me. He gently placed his hands upon my shoulders and said, "I don't care for the way he looks at you."

I froze for a slight moment before I regained my composure. So he had noticed…

"It was almost as if he had seen you before-"

"That's ridiculous!" I exclaimed, turning in the chair to fully face him. "I've never seen him my entire life."

I began to feel uncomfortable under Charley's gaze, and so I gave a soft laugh with a slight shake of the head and said, "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything. Perhaps I remind him of someone. I have one of those faces, you know."

"Perhaps," Charley thought to himself, seeming satisfied with my answer. I mentally sighed in relief when it looked like that he would finally drop the issue. "But you certainly don't have those faces."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, wondering what he was getting at. Charley danced his fingers along my along my throat. I gasped slightly as I watched him kiss my neck before closing my eyes in surrender.

"No, my sweet rose. That face of yours is simply one of a kind." He whispered, and for a moment, I was reminded of how he once was.

"To be honest, I was quite thrilled with how that hillbilly looked at you."

"Why?"

"Did you see the way he looked at you?" Charley whispered huskily in my ear. "He couldn't take his eyes off of you… of us." He paused for a moment as he looked at me in the mirror. "And I'm glad. I want him and other men to look at you. I want them to be envious. I want them all to see the one thing that I cherish most."

Holding my chin, he turned me around slightly to face him. I gazed into his eyes, searching for any hint of the Charley Rakes that I met all those years ago. Then, he placed his lips against mine. I didn't like it. There was no warmth or passion in the kiss. It only held possession, as if he was only doing this to claim what was his. Finally breaking away, Charley looked at me as he stroked lightly my face, like I was made out of fragile glass.

"You must know how much you mean to me, don't you?" He asked, almost like he was begging. Not knowing what else to do, I gave him a small smile and nodded my head. Satisfied with my answer, Charley left my side to go to the bathroom.

Alone, I shuddered as if I were cold at what had just happened. I turned my head and casted my eyes away from my reflection. Consciously, I began fingering the gold chain that was around my neck, which hung something that reminded me of my roots that I wasn't able to let go of. It was something that reminded me of something that used to be mine. I smiled sadly as I realized it was probably the thing that gave me comfort these days. Looking at it, it made me wonder what he was doing at this moment, or what he was thinking about.

Forrest Bondurant stood out on the porch, smoking a cigar and staring out into the night sky. He had already seen Maggie to her car and leaving. It was good thing he hired her to care of the place, since he, Howard, and Jack were rarely around. She was good and sweet woman, but she wasn't who the middle Bondurant was thinking about. No, he was thinking about the events of what happened that afternoon. He was thinking about someone whom he hadn't seen, or thought about in over seventeen years.

Rosalie Thomas. Vivacious, beautiful Rosalie.

Rosie…

Memories from seventeen years ago flooded back to his mind, taking him back to a place he thought he had forgotten, and had wanted to forget after she left, but never could… a time before the Spanish Lady Flu came by Franklin, or before Forrest had even considered in taking the reigns as family patriarch.

1912

Seventeen year old Forrest Bondurant ran up to a tree, and glared at the figure sitting on a branch. Rose looked down with a mischievous grin, and stuck out her tongue at him.

"I win!"

"That's cheatin' Rosalie Thomas, and you know it!" Forrest growled. Rose merely giggled.

"Have you ever heard the phrase, 'survival of the fittest'?" She teased. "I just simply found a way to win, and I took the opportunity."

"Git down from there!"

"Why don't ya come up and make me?" Forrest looked up at her, getting frustrated but amused by the minute. He knew that girl knew that he didn't like dancing, didn't like showing public affection, and certainly didn't like climbing trees. But she still tries to vex and provoke him to do those things. His wild, crazy rose.

"Nuh-uh!"

"What happen to being a Southern gentleman?"

"You're lookin' in the wrong direction for one, Miss Thomas. Now will you come down?"

Rose sighed dramatically at her friend's antics. 'If you gotta get something done, then you mighta as well do it yourself.' She thought. She began climbing down the tree branch by branch. When she made down on the ninth branch, she heard something crack beneath her foot, and suddenly Rose found herself tumbling down to earth. Everything became slow to Forrest as he watched her fall, fear and panic filling his entire body.

"ROSE!" He yelled. Forrest ran out to catch her, but it was too late, Rose landed on ground with a muffled scream and a sickening crack.

Instant pain shot through Rose's body as she cried out in agony, holding her leg. She could barely hear Forrest saying sorry repeatedly. Checking for any further injuries, Forrest lifted Rose up off of the ground, and ran to get her to the nearest doctor.

888888888888888

Rose had decided that staying at the hospital was a strange way to spend her birthday.

After the tree incident, Rose had to remain in the hospital for the next several days to recuperate. Her parents would visit her every day, and would try to be civil just for her sake. Jack, Cricket, and Jack's youngest sister, Emmy, would come and see her every day. Sometimes Howard would drop by. But Forrest never came to see her. Why? Rose's mother made it her mission to ban him from ever seeing her daughter. Though Rose was angry with her mother for not allowing Forrest to see her, she was disappointed. She had hoped that Forrest would find a way to sneak into the hospital to see her. She especially thought that he would make the effort to see her on her birthday.

But here she was: lying on her hospital bed, waiting for sleep to consume her. Suddenly, a nurse appeared at the front of the door, asking, "Ms. Thomas? There's someone here to see you."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. That was impossible. Visiting hours were over. Unless…

Before Rose could think about it any further, her blue eyes lit up when Forrest walked in. His blue-green eyes wouldn't meet her light blue gaze as he fiddled with his fedora between his hands. Rose couldn't help but find the sight adorable. Finally, Forrest looked up at her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Rose grinned. "What're you doin' here? How were you able to get in?"

"It's your birthday, ain't it?" Forrest replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "B'sides, I have my ways to get in."

"I'm sure you do," Rose rolled her eyes, but the grin still remained. When Rose looked at Forrest, she saw that he wasn't smiling that crooked grin that she loved so much.

"What's wrong?"

"How can ya still talk to me?"

"What're you talkin' about?" Forrest motioned to her cast leg with the gesture of his hand. "This thing? It's nothing."

"You wouldn't be here if I had caught you!" He sighed.

"But it's not your fault!" She argued. "I should've have paid more attention to what I was doin'.""

Still ain't right," Forrest muttered, turning away from her. Rose sighed and grabbed his hand.

"Hey," Rose whispered. "Will you look at me?" Reluctantly, Forrest slowly turned his head to look at her again. Rose smiled and squeezed his hand in assurance.

"This ain't your fault," Forrest tried to say something else, but was cut off by the quick shake of Rose's head. "And if you keep saying it is, I'm gonna punch you in the face."

Forrest finally grinned at that, making the newly fifteen year old smile back. It became a comfortable silence between the two, when Forrest snapped his fingers together suddenly and exclaimed, "Aw shit, I almost forgot!"

Forrest looked into his cardigan pocket. When he found what he was looking for, he simply placed it in Rose's hand.

"Happy birthday."

Rose opened her hand and saw a beautiful wooden pendant. It was a bit larger than a thimble. It was made from cherry wood, and there was a painted white butterfly in the center.

"Forrest, it's beautiful…" Rose said in awe, stroking the smooth wood against her thumb.

"It's why I didn't come see you sooner." Forrest explained. "It's a locket. Here, I'll show you how it works." Forrest began playing and twisting with it. After he had pressed the right combination, the locket opened and revealed a small picture of him.

"You can add other pictures, but ah…" Forrest began, scratching the back of his head as tried to find the right words. Rose could only smile at the big brute.

"It's sweet and so… very unForrest like of you." She said and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I shall treasure it always."

"There's one catch though."

"And what's that?"

"You can only wear it if…"

"If what?"

Forrest smirked. He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "If you agree to be mine and no other man's."

He began courting Rose after she was discharged. And from that day forward, they were attached to the hip, You wouldn't see one without the other. During the days, they would spend every moment together. At night, Forrest would lie next to Rose to comfort her when things at home would become worse. They had fallen hard and fast into young love. It was like one of those love stories that were in the books that she used to read, but they were far from perfect. Rose was strong willed and stubborn. Forrest was prideful and impatient. These traits caused the two to bump heads a lot, but their love and adoration for each other always saved them from themselves.

It would remain that way until Rose left.

Forrest closed his eyes when her loud, carefree laughter echoed through his mind. He cared for her, he did everything he could to make her happy- to make her feel that she was worth it. But then she left. She left Franklin. She left him.

But she had come back.

She came back as completely different person, with that clown as her husband. Forrest began to wonder if Rose still had the locket. He grunted and shook his head. She probably didn't. Remembering how much she hated Blackwater, she probably discarded it to a corner when that Rakes fellow probably showed her off with pretty sparkling diamonds. Just by the looks of her, she didn't look like the Rose that he once knew. Not his Rose.

Still, Forrest couldn't shake off some of the old feelings upon seeing her again. She was so beautiful now than she had before… and so sad. Forrest was never quite good at reading people, but he was certain that he had seen a look of disgust and sadness upon Rose's face when she looked at her husband. She had appeared empty and hollow. The fire that had once burned in her icy blue eyes had extinguished. As Forrest stared out into the night, he began to wonder.

Was there any inkling of the Rose that he knew deep down somewhere?

Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, and sorry again for the crappy ending. The next update for next week will definitely be better! Also the locket is based on the one from the movie, "The Illusionist", and I had one question for you guys. Just a curious thought. Is there anything you would like to what happens? You know, besides seeing Rose and Forrest seeing each other behind Rakes' back- I know we all want to see that.:) Lol, seriously what do you want to see? I want this to be a story where my readers can interact and tell me what they want.;)