a/n: This chapter is dedicated to the ever lovely Nae. This story is entirely and completely dedicated to SideKick55. It wouldn't be half as good as it is without her. (I guess that's assuming it's good. I'd say about 90% of the parts you like, are because of her though)

And speaking of who my story would suck without, my betas – crysross and SilentNC both make my story better. You'd be reading a lot more comma splices and punctuation errors if it weren't for them.

Ch 10 – Sporking Holy Water

Rose sprinted across the common room, miraculously avoiding people and furniture even in the pitch black. Her heart beat furiously inside her chest, threatening to break through any second. She had to get to Bella.

Behind her, Emmett and Alice called her name, beckoning her to wait for them, but the rain washed away the sound of their voices, leaving Rose alone. Always alone. In the dark, the halls all looked the same, and as she slowed down to throw open doors, she couldn't even distinguish which direction she ran in.

"Bella!" Rose called desperately. She stood still in the center of the hall, listening to the sounds of the hospital. She was vaguely aware of her name being repeated somewhere behind her, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was finding her sister.

If Rose thought she couldn't have been more scared than she was when she had been trapped alone with James, she was sadly mistaken. With each frantic footstep, she vowed to find Bella, letting the mantra fill her head and her body so that even the sound of the rain faded away.

"God," she began to pray in a fervent whisper. "Please, I know we haven't always been on the best of terms...but..." She had to pause, choking back a sob. "Please, not Bella. Please let me find her."

There was no answer, only the cadence of her heartbeat ringing in her ears. She had become accustomed to God's silence. When she had driven back to Forks from college after hearing the news of her parent's death, praying for it all to be some sick joke or horrid mistake, God was silent then too.

With each empty room, her cheeks grew all the more damp. She knew that the more time that passed, the less likely it would be that her sister was still alive. The echo of her calls to Bella multiplied behind her in various tones. Rose continued slamming doors open, barely pausing to look inside them.

Though her vision was blurred with tears, she continued relentlessly through the dark. As she approached the end of the hall, she picked up on the sound of thrashing water. God was finally answering her.

Rose paused to survey her surroundings and realized that she was probably close to the kitchen. She took off again, following the source of the sound that led her to two swinging double doors. As she drew nearer, she attempted to quiet her footsteps so as not to alert James of her presence. A flash of lightening lit up the windows and revealed dark shadows inside.

Without another thought, she slammed open the doors. Rose gasped in surprise. Nothing was as she expected. James lay on the ground in front of the large kitchen sink. His upper body was soaking wet, hair plastered wildly to his head. Next to him, she saw two sporks held together in the shape of a cross with a twist tie. The sink overflowed onto the tile, the faucet still running, creating a waterfall over the edge of the sink.

Rose's eyes followed a trail of water in the shape of footprints that led further back into the kitchen. In front of the large window, Angela was illuminated from behind by the frequent flashes of lightening. She held Bella in front of her like a shield, not unlike James had done with Rose earlier.

Rose's body tensed and she felt her muscles draw together, ready to spring at Angela to knock Bella loose. "Let go of my sister," Rose said with a feral growl.

"This isn't your sister," Angela replied softly, holding Bella still against her.

"I think I know my own sister," Rose replied, still tensed for a fight, though she was surprised at the grief in Angela's tone.

"She may have beenyour sister once, Rose, but she's not anymore. You have to come to terms with that. Let me help you." Sincerity rang through Angela's voice, but there was a look in her eyes that Rose hadn't noticed before.

Angela was bat-shit crazy.

"Fine – then just let her go. We can talk about it," she said.

Angela shook her head. "I can't do that."

"Why?"

"She's a vampire."

Rose came out of her crouch and her eyebrows furrowed together. "What?" she asked, thinking that bat-shit crazy may have been an understatement.

"You said so yourself, Rose. She's a vampire," Angela responded seriously.

"No, I said Edward thought he was a vampire. Key word being thought. " Rose had begun to pace slightly from side to side, slowly moving closer to Angela. "Did you kill Jessica and Nessie, too?"

Angela nodded her head gravely. "It's harder on me than you can imagine, but as a slayer, it's my job."

Rose paused mid-pace. "Job?" she asked, looking confounded.

"Into each generation a girl is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer."

Rose's jaw dropped open. "Slayer? As in Buffy?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Tell a person that you're the Slayer and they stare at you blankly. Mention something out of a Joss Whedon show and suddenly everybody is a vampirology scholar."

After a moment of silence, Rose spoke up again. "Alright, so say I believe that you are the slayer. And suppose that my sister is a vampire. She's never hurt anyone. Why do you have to kill her?"

"She's dangerous, don't you understand?" Angela began to rant. "I mean, people are perfectly happy getting along, and then vampires come, and they run around and they kill people... With one drop of blood, this demon can go crazy and slaughter everyone in here. You all would be powerless to stop her, and if it weren't for me, you'd probably be dead already."

"And Jessica and Nessie. Were they vampires too?" Rose asked. She looked around her, trying to find something to help her get Bella out of Angela's grasp.

"Yes, they were."

"And James?" Rose figured if she could just keep Angela preoccupied with questions, it would buy them more time.

"He was the worst of them all."

Rose saw a meat cleaver on the counter and slowly began making her way over to it. "I still don't understand. Aren't slayers supposed to use wooden stakes or something? What's the deal with you forking Jessica?"

Angela shrugged. "Sometimes you have to make due with what you've got. I didn't actually plan for this to happen, but then James escaped, we were locked in, and everything fell into place. Ben having the chopstick and silverware was certainly fortuitous."

"And you killed James how...?"

"Holy water. I didn't have a cross, so I had to make one." Angela shrugged.

"And I'm sorry, but aren't vampires supposed to...I don't know...burst into flames, or dust, or something?"

"You've been watching too many horror movies," Angela said.

"Apparently I'm not the only one," Rose muttered under her breath. Her back was to the counter now and she crawled her fingers across the slick surface, gently feeling for the meat cleaver. She was tired of wasting time and was more than ready to have Bella safely away from Angela's psychotic clutches.

"I hate to break up your great reveal." Edward's voice coming from Bella was a surprise to Angela and she nearly let go. "But frankly, this position isn't exactly the most comfortable and it's constricting my blood flow. Would you mind terribly giving me a little room to breathe?" he asked politely. Rose couldn't help but roll her eyes at Edward's need to be the consummate gentleman.

"Vampires don't breathe." Angela pulled tighter and Edward's face began to turn pink. Then, faster than Rose thought Edward would be capable of in his position, he maneuvered his head down just enough to sink his teeth into Angela's forearm.

With a great shriek, Angela released him and he stumbled away towards Rose.

Angela dropped to the floor, writhing in pain. "Ugh," she groaned dramatically. Even from a few feet away and through the dark, Rose could see that Edward had hardly drawn any blood. "Ugh, the venom," she continued in a whine.

Rose hugged Edward, sure that Angela wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon, and asked, "Venom?"

Edward shrugged and smiled lopsidedly at Rose. "I think it was in one of those lame teenage vampire movies where they screw up all the vampire lore."

Outside the door, Rose heard the steady rhythm of quickly approaching footsteps. Seconds later, Emmett crashed through the doors and slid to a stop. "Are you okay?" he asked, wrapping his arms like a vice around both Edward and Rose.

"Do you mind?" Edward said, but his voice was muffled by Emmett's chest.

"We're fine. It was Angela the whole time." Rose shook her head. "She thinks that she's a vampire slayer."

Emmett raised an eye brow and released them from the hug.

"I know," Rose said. "She's a bad vampire slayer, too. I mean, I get the chopstick to the heart, being wood and all, but silverware? I thought silver was a werewolf thing."

"Why is she on the floor? And why do you know so much about what kills vampires?" Emmett looked at Rose with interest.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Rose said. "When your sister thinks she's a veggie vamp named Edward, you do a little research. And Edward bit her arm. I'm guessing she thinks she's turning into a vampire."

Emmett smiled, and for the first time in several hours, his dimples reappeared. "You...are a beautiful nerd," he said, and then gathered her into another hug.

***

Jasper and Emmett had carried the still-thrashing Angela back to the common room and put her inside the straightjacket that had initially been used for James. They sat on either side of her, neither willing to risk Angela getting free again.

Bella and Rose sat on the sofa next to each other, Rose gently stroking Bella's hair. She couldn't remember ever being so tired, and she had to fight against the gravity that pulled insistently at her eyelids. It was in the middle of this battle that Edward returned, but this time, Bella remained as well.

Rose's head had begun to droop on her chest when she heard Bella's quiet exclamation. "Edward!" she whispered reverently, , ,and her voice was full of joy that Rose hadn't heard in more than two years.

Rose instinctually kept up the pretense that she had fallen asleep, letting Bella have this moment alone with Edward. If he really was leaving, Bella would need this goodbye.

"Bella," came Edward's voice. He said her name like a prayer to a worshipped goddess. "I'm leaving."

Bella stilled in Rose's arms. "Why now?"

"Bella, it's time," he said despondently.

"Please...please don't leave me...I can't...I just can't take it." Bella had to pause intermittently between quiet sobs. Rose felt the warm tears trickle down her arm that was draped over Bella's chest.

"Bella. My love. I can't stay like this," Edward responded with agony. "You can't stay like this. You have to move forward with your life. There's so much out there for you beyond these hospital walls."

"I don't want any of it," Bella replied, her light voice obstinate and infuriated that Edward would suggest such a thing. "Without you, Edward, it's meaningless. Without you, it's dull and gray and pointless. I can't exist without you. Don't you understand?"

Edward shook his head. "You haven't tried. You have to try. You have to live your life or everything I am to you will disappear. I promise you, Bella, we'll be together again. Just...not like this. This...what we are...is wrong. It's unhealthy. You need to move forward with your life, my love. Move forward and carry me in your heart, because I'll live there forever. And with every step you take, I'll be there with you."

Bella began to shake against Rose; her sobs racking her body and tearing her apart from the inside out. Rose hadn't ever been witness to the intimacy of the conversation between Edward and Bella. Mostly, Bella and Edward saved moments like these for when they were alone. Now, witnessing it first hand, Rose felt she was getting a better understanding of their feelings for each other. Part of her wanted to plead for Edward to stay on Bella's behalf.

After a few moments, Edward responded in a clear voice, interrupting Bella's jagged breathing. "Live. That's the greatest gift you can give me. You won't be alone forever. I promise you that. Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I love you," Bella responded as an answer.

"Then trust me." Rose felt a hand reach up to brush Bella's hair away from her face and she knew it was Edward. "Trust me. Do this for yourself, for me, for Rose."

Bella's body collapsed against Rose, and she knew Edward was gone. She wrapped her arms around Bella, holding her tight against her body. Bella was falling apart and Rose had to hold the pieces together.

***

Over the course of the next few hours, the storm finally subsided. When Rose awoke, her shirt was still wet with tears from Bella as well as tears she had shed herself for Bella. The sun was peaking in through the window, victorious and bright. Rose shifted Bella slightly to move away from her and went to bask in its warmth.

As she stood there, someone walked up behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know it was Emmett.

"The electricity's back on and Jasper's already called the police," he said. "They should be up here in the next hour. Apparently the roads are pretty rough."

Rose nodded her head, emotionally and physically exhausted. She wanted nothing more than a warm bath and a soft bed.

"How's Bella?" Emmett asked. He was standing next to her now, also looking out the window and appreciating the warmth and the glow of the sun. His hand was rubbing soothing circles on Rose's back.

"Not good. But she will be, I think." Rose replied. She leaned into Emmett's side, letting his large frame support her.

He draped his arm across her shoulder and held her to him tightly. "Yes, she will be."

End a/n: One more chapter and then an epilogue. I'm excited and a teensy bit sad.

And while we're all here, I'd like to do some self-pimpage. I'm working on a new story called Catalyst. I've posted the prologue up for you to take a look at. Updates to it may be a little slow to begin with, since I need to finish this little baby up first.