DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction for which we will receive no compensation, especially since all characters belong to a different Stephenie. But this story helped save the babies, which we are all for.

Thank you to Maplestyle who actually got to look over this chapter for us. LOL.

Chapter 31

Rosalie Lillian Hale was a lot of things.

An only child and the apple of her father's eye. Valedictorian of her high school class and during undergrad at Princeton. Missed the hat trick at Johns Hopkins by only a fifth of a point.

She'd demanded a recalculation twice.

More than anything, Rose was observant. Being beautiful and blonde caused people to underestimate her intellect, and she thrived in their ignorance. She pretended not to notice the stares, feigned ignorance of the petty cares of those around her. All the while, she missed not a jot or tittle. This attention to detail mixed with her unerring bullshit detector made her a stellar student and an ideal doctor.

And a ferocious friend to the blessed few in her life.

When Bella jetted off to the East Coast with Dr. Jerkward, Rose had reservations. But Bella said she knew what she was doing, and Rose wanted to trust her. She'd spoken to Bella while she was away, texted a few times, and believed all was well. Their differing schedules meant Rose wouldn't be home when Bella returned, but Rose assumed she would soon learn what exactly went down in Connecticut.

Bella had been back for five days and still hadn't said a word.

Rose had noticed Bella's name on the OR board and watched her flawless appendectomy from the gallery. She'd seen proof of Bella's return in the house – dishes in the sink, laundry in their dryer, and the black golfer's umbrella by the front door.

Other than that, Bella had been quiet.

The hospital grapevine had been quiet too, and that alone told Rose something was up. Speculation had soared when McBitchy and Bella had taken the same week off, and Rose listened with detachment, giving nothing away. She figured Bella would come home enamored enough to want to shack up with Cullen or vengeful enough to have him drawn and quartered. But between Bella's silence and the rumor mill stalled, Rose had no choice but to do what she did best.

She watched.

She listened.

She waited.

She watched Assward when Bella wasn't scheduled, how he strutted around like the cock of the walk as if the world should be grateful for his presence. And she watched him when Bella was in the building, nervous energy rolling off of him in frantic waves. He never approached or spoke to her, and after spending a week together – let alone their professional camaraderie before the trip – that was a red flag.

She listened to Bella in the house, how she made as little noise as possible and never knocked on Rose's door. She overheard Jasper and Jake in the locker room wondering if Bella was okay because she hadn't responded to any of their texts. Rose pretended not to notice the tightness in Shitward's voice when he answered Dr. Carlisle's question about his family reunion and why Edward seemed so tired.

And she waited for the moment she knew would come: when Bella would break and confess all or Rose would confront Bella to avoid breaking Cullen's neck.

As it turned out, neither of those things happened.

Rose was used to being stared at, so she barely paid it any attention. But her spidey senses tingled in the library just as they did outside the skills lab, so she knew her stalker was a staff member. The visiting Dr. Call had given her the eye more than once, much to Alice's chagrin, but he seemed more appreciative than infatuated. Bella had gone home for the day, so there could only be one option.

And Rose couldn't believe he would be that stupid.

But as she approached her favorite vending machine where the good gummi worms were back in stock, she felt Cullen post up at the nearby water fountain, taking longer than necessary to quench his thirst. Rose pretended not to see him, debating aloud whether she should get a bag for Alice, and couldn't believe it when he approached her.

"Dr. Hale," he said, his voice unsteady.

Rose looked at him then went back to her browsing. "Alice doesn't need the sugar," she said. "She's hyper enough already."

"Yeah," McSucky chuckled.

Rose glared at him, and he promptly shut his mouth. She went back to her snack selection, and he cleared his throat. "That was, uh... that was some surgery the other day."

"What?" she snapped.

"The... the app... appen... appendectomy."

"What the hell are you..." Rose bent to retrieve her candy then stood slowly. "You mean that very basic procedure Dr. Swan performed five days ago?"

"Yes," he said, adding firmly, "It was superbly done."

Rose narrowed her eyes, studying his twitchy fingers and inability to look at her. Abruptly, she shoved the gummies in her pocket, grabbed Cullen by the wrist, and dragged him into an empty patient room.

"Ow!" he cried. "I've got surgery in an hou—"

The slam of the door silenced him. Rose locked the door and faced him with furious eyes. "What did you do?"

Edward's eyes widened. "Dr. Hale, I don't think this is an appropriate way to..."

"You've been following me for two days, and unless you've got a death wish, it must have something to do with my roommate. I will ask you again." She stepped in his face, staring without blinking. "What. Did. You. Do?"

Edward swallowed hard, unable to look away. He'd known Hale was smart, and any idiot with eyes could see she was a knockout. But up close and personal, Hale was something else.

She was scary as hell.

"You've got five seconds," she hissed through her teeth. "Me saying that cost you two."

"I didn't do anything!" he cried. "I mean, I did... but nothing she didn't want me to do."

Rose fisted her hand to keep from grabbing him by the collar. "Say more."

Edward stepped back, running a hand through his hair. The more he avoided answering, the more concerned Rose became, and she wanted to throttle him for making her worry.

"Edward..."

"Okay." He turned to look at her, his green eyes stormy. "I... I ended it."

"Ended what?"

"What we started in Connecticut."

"Which was?"

"That's for her to tell," he said quickly. "Or not tell."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

Rose's nostrils flared. "I'm getting annoyed again, Fuckward."

"The point is..." He sighs. "The point is what happened on the East Coast needed to stay on the East Coast. So I ended it. Actually, I suggested we ended it, but she... she beat me to it."

Rose stared at him, waiting for more. "Is that it?"

"That's all I'm able to tell you."

She stormed toward him. "Don't fuck with me."

"I'm not," he said, running a weary hand down his face. "That's... that's what happened."

"If that's all it was, why have you been stalking me?"

"I haven't been stalking you!"

"You have been creeping on the edge of my three-sixty for the last two days. And I know it's not for my winning personality."

He almost smiled, but his heavy heart wouldn't let him. "I just... I wanted to know how she was."

"What?"

"I wanted to know if Bel—if Dr. Swan was okay."

She rolled her eyes. "Ask her yourself."

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just told you."

"You haven't told me anything!"

"Look, could you..." He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Could you just look after her?"

She snorted. "I don't need you to ask me that."

"I know, but I'm... I'm asking anyway." His tone made her look up. "Take care of Bel—of Dr. Swan, Ros—Dr. Hale. Please."

"But why can't you just..."

Edward bolted for the door, fumbling with the lock before fleeing to the hallway, and Rose was left alone, her mind whirring. There was more to the story—that much was clear—but she couldn't figure out what it could be.

And with only a half hour left in her shift, she knew where to go for the rest.

*** STYB ***

Bella sat cross-legged in the center of her mother's study, the one room in the house where nothing had been touched. Esme's things from other rooms had been boxed up and unceremoniously dumped in here, and Bella hadn't sorted or stored them properly.

Today she was looking for a picture of herself and her parents from a cross-country trip they'd taken when she was four. Charlie had gotten a promotion at work and wanted to celebrate with his girls. Esme complained most of the trip and called the hospital from every rest stop. But if Bella's memory served, there was one picture of the three of them with Bella and Charlie grinning and Esme marginally pleasant.

Bella needed that picture today, needed some reminder that once upon a time, happiness had been hers, however fleeting it always proved to be.

She rummaged through the boxes, the ones Esme packed clearly labeled with the year and a list of contents. Though she wasn't specifically looking for one, Bella didn't see a single memento from her childhood. Not a report card, crayon drawing, or favorite toy. There were magazine clippings chronicling Esme's success, a host of recommendation letters from prominent doctors around the world, and more award plaques than one person could ever use. But there were no traces of Bella or Charlie.

Bella finally found a box of pictures, this one randomly assembled. As she picked through the photos, she found a photo album from the Women in Medicine Awards. This award honored Esme for her gender, and though she usually rejected such bullshit, Esme knew she'd get more attention if she also presented herself as a single mother.

Bella had forgotten all about it, but that was the only time Esme indulged Bella in the slightest. She got the full treatment: the hair salon, a fancy dress from a real department store, and Esme let her wear a little makeup. It was the most attention Esme had ever given her, and the event photographers ate it up. Bella opened the photo album with excitement, eager to see her younger smiling self among the images.

But as she flipped through it, she came up empty. There were photos of Esme with her fellow nominees and the keynote speaker. Candids of Esme with other attendees, her expression open and light as if having the time of her life. But not a single photo of Bella or any indication that she had been there.

She'd gone through the book twice and was about to close it when she caught sight of a lavender blemish in the corner of one photo. Bella remembered her dress was the same purple color with a sequined top and flower detail on the sash. With a devastating shock, she realized Esme had cut her out of the photo like she never existed.

She was staring at the photo when Rose found her a few minutes later. The house was so quiet Rose thought Bella was asleep and had only come into to turn off the desk lamp. When she saw Bella clenching the photo album, her brown eyes damp with tears, Rose sank to the floor beside her.

Bella didn't speak for a long time, and when she did, her voice was barely audible.

"Ho—how was your day?"

"It was... interesting." Rose paused, debating what to say. "A patient came in with a weird arm rash that turned out to be necrotizing fasciitis. Jake got stuck giving an enema to a cranky millennial, and I got to scrub in on the removal surgery."

"Cool."

"Alice was stalking Dr. Call again and followed him into an on-call room, not knowing Dr. Embry from dermatology was in there waiting for him. They turned down her offer to make it a threesome, forcing her to cross two hot docs off her 'people to do' list."

"That's a shame."

"And Edward cornered me by the vending machines."

Bella dropped the photo album, staring at Rose with panicked eyes. "What?"

"I think you heard me."

Bella looked down, nibbling her bottom lip. "Did he... I mean, why did he..."

"I think you know why."

Bella squeezed her eyes closed, and Rose laid a hand on her bouncing knee. Bella shook her head, clamping her lips shut, and when she couldn't hold it in any longer, she muttered, "I am so stupid."

She told Rose everything that happened from the moment they left Seattle until their return. Rose listened without comment, though Bella's history with Peter made Rose want to tear off the coward's legs and beat him with them. The stories about Edward's father and ex-wife were shocking but didn't excuse him being an unapologetic asshole.

"I couldn't let him break me," Bella said, finishing her tale.

"He could never," Rose said fiercely.

Bella was holding the photo album again, her bottom lip quivering. "Why doesn't anyone want me?"

"Oh, honey..." Rose took her hand, knowing how Bella felt about hugs. "This isn't your fault."

"Isn't it? It can't be a coincidence that everyone I've ever lov—" She cleared her throat. "Everyone I've ever trusted has walked away from me, left me behind as if I'm not worth it."

"It isn't you, babe," Rose said gently. "It's them."

Bella snorted. "You're just saying that."

Rose faced her with serious eyes. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

"No."

"Exaggerated?"

"No."

"Been nice when I could avoid it?"

Bella gave a watery chuckle. "No."

"I rest my case. Look, life has dealt you a shitty hand, and I don't have an answer for that. But you're smart and kind and have more guts than most men I know. And if someone can't see that you're worth keeping around, fuck them and the horse they rode in on."

Bella wiped her damp face. "You forgot to say I'm pretty."

"I told you," Rose said. "I'm never nice if I can avoid it."

*** STYB ***

After pouring out her heart to Rose, Bella felt much better. Rose hadn't judged her, asked any questions, or to Bella's surprise, called Edward every foul name in the book.

And in the two weeks following their conversation, Rose hadn't hovered or tipped off their friends that Bella was less than okay. If she ever had any doubts before, Bella knew for sure how good a friend Rose Hale could be.

She was thinking about her good fortune as she stood at the main information desk waiting for the family of a VIP patient. The controversial politician was in the middle of a cheating scandal, but an unknown heart condition had landed her on the roof of Olympic Med last night, medevacked from a campaign stop in nearby Portland.

Bella and Rose had been assigned to the case, but Rose's known interest in cardio had Bella taking a backseat. Her main job was reassuring the campaign manager, helping him craft an official but vague statement explaining the senator's abrupt change in schedule, and reminding him not to stroke the senator's cheek in front of witnesses.

Scandals were one thing. Stupidity was another.

Bella was reviewing the dossier on the senator's soon-to-arrive family when she felt someone looking over her shoulder.

"That should be interesting," the unfamiliar voice said.

Bella turned to face the stranger, but he was already beside her. "What should be interesting?" she asked.

"The moment when the campaign manager comes face-to-face with the husband of the woman he's in love with." The stranger shook his head, his blue eyes somber. "Reality's a bitch when it bites you in the ass."

"I'll bet." Bella studied the tall and brawny stranger, trying to get a read on him. "Are you here for the senator?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really." He grinned, a pair of dimples coming out to play. "It's more fun having you wonder about me."

"I'm more so wondering what you want."

"Why is that?"

"Because in my experience, handsome men don't talk to me unless they want something. So let me save you some time: I don't want a boyfriend, don't do casual sex, and unless I'm misreading you, I don't date doctors."

"Who said I'm a doctor?"

"Only a doctor would walk into a hospital and stop to flirt with the first woman he sees." She looked at him. "Tell me I'm wrong."

He laughed out loud, the boisterous sound making her smile in spite of herself. "You're good."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Well," he drawled. "I could tell you that..."

The stranger's words were cut off by a strong right hook to the cheek. The sucker punch caught him by surprise, and he tumbled to the ground, holding his face.

Bella whirled around to see a murderous Edward shaking out his right hand, his body coiled as if to spring again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she cried, turning away to help the stranger up. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "I don't know why he..."

"No, it's fine." The stranger waved off her help. "I deserve that and much more." The stranger noticed Edward's body language, how he angled himself to protect Bella, and raised an eyebrow. "Though I suspect this punch has nothing to do with what happened between me and his ex-wife."

Bella looked at Edward, his fist cocked and ready, and gasped as the stranger's words registered in her brain.

"Emmett?"

So that happened. How we doing out there?

Story rec: Those Days Were Over by 2Brown-eyes

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