If the last chapter was too fast, this one makes up for that.

. . .

"I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." - J. Robert Oppenheimer

It takes another two weeks before Rosalie comes to.

Bella only leaves her side for seven hours of a school day, (sometimes, Bella doesn't even go to school,) and then she's right back to the blonde's side, curling into her and trying to keep her warm.

Edward hasn't liked that; he's become suspicious. Bella can see it in the way he furrows his eyebrows and glares at catatonic Rosalie. He tries to coax Bella out of the blonde's side with promises of dates. He's even offered to let her visit Jake. But Bella hasn't listened to a single word.

In the course of two weeks, Bella's taught herself how to write with her left hand so she could do her homework. Her right hand was entangled with Rosalie's, no way was she about to let go. And she hasn't. Bella doesn't know how Alice convinced Charlie to let Bella stay over day and night, but she did. All Bella had to do was make sure to call him.

It's the last Friday of the second week and Bella had just gotten done with her Russian lit, she kicks it away, watching it spiral across Rosalie's floor, and leans her head on Rosalie's shoulder, trying her hardest to sit high enough so her head fits in the crook of the taller girl's neck. Her tailbone and ear have gone numb years ago. There isn't anything left but to sigh and squeeze the blonde's hand tighter.

She must've done it at least a hundred time by now. Except this time is different.

This time she gets a response back.

She hears a large suck in of breath. It sounds like the dead taking in their first breath of life.

"Rosalie!" Bella squeals, watching as the blonde's eyes flutter and how her chest sucks in another breath. Rosalie's eye are black and flat, but all Bella really cares about is that she's working again. The human launches herself at Rosalie, wrapping her arms around the vampire's neck. "Oh, I'm so glad you're back!"

"Bella," Rosalie husks, jaw shut tight. "You'll need to get off before I accidently hurt you, please."

Bella's eyes widen in realization and she back off quickly, eyeing the way Rosalie appears to shift uncomfortably. It has been two and a half months since She's hunted. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, I-"

"Bella," Rosalie sighs, staring deadly into space. "It's okay."

"I mean, it isn't. You have hunted for two and a half months, and I sprang at you, sorry."

"Two and a half months?" Rosalie questions, voice fluctuating from the monotone.

"Yeah," Bella winces at the physical pain she gets from moving around. Rosalie notices.

"And… how long have you been there? Sitting next to me?"

"Just for the past two weeks," Bella shrugs off Rosalie's attempt of trying to get her face out of her blank, dead stare, and into a vaguely horrified one. "Alice, Esme, Carlisle, and Jasper sat where I was for the two months; I'm new at this station." Bella grins at her cheekily, she was so, so, so, happy that Rosalie had finally "woken up."

Rosalie opens her mouth to say something but then flinches, eyes snapping shut and looking away, tendons in her neck standing out. She gets up, and Bella eyes how every movement the blonde makes is mechanical. Robotic. Every limb stopping at every ninety degree angle.

Bella watched with heart-rending eyes.

"I have to hunt," mouth barely moving, "I'll be back."

Bella lunges forward out of impulse, easily trapping Rosalie's limp hand. "Should you go alone?"

"No. That probably isn't the greatest idea." Rosalie sounds hungry and irritated. Like a shark. Her face is dead and it makes Bella want to puke. "But, I need to go alone."

"O-Okay," Bella shivers, letting her hand drop to the floor. She tries so hard not to think about flaming red hair that could be hiding in the trees, waiting to take Bella's family out. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Rosalie eyes Bella carefully, "are you going to get up off the floor?"

"Uh," Bella laughs awkwardly, running a hand through her hair. "I- I think I'm glued to it."

Rosalie shifts, looking very conflicted. "Do you need help up?"

"No," Bella blushes at the thought of Rosalie getting so near her now while she was awake. "I'm okay."

Bella catches a glimpse of golden eyes being rolled before Rosalie is bending down, capturing Bella around her waist, picking her up and placing her gingerly against her chest.

Rosalie's jaw is taut and Bella hates herself for thinking it's so damn beautiful. She watches pale eyebrows twitch and curve. She sees red lips tremble and eyes shake.

She sees a broken woman trying to stitch herself up.

The only problem was, Rosalie didn't have enough thread.

Heartbreak has been the new theme for Bella these past few months; now Rosalie is tasting it on her tongue, too.

"I can walk, Rosalie," Bella breathes gently, she's now being placed on Rosalie's duvet. Rosalie sucks - gasps - in a breath, and-

"I know."

. . .

Blue, blood, and Bella.

It's all and everything. It's what makes up Bella and that's how Rosalie associates her with things.

But everything else is painted with him. There's a tree that was smashed to bits from him wrestling Jasper. To her side, she can see his footprints. The last thing she'll ever have of him.

Her head still hurts and her lungs are sore.

However, she isn't mad.

Rosalie knows why Emmett had to leave. They weren't mates, they loved each other, but they weren't meant to be together. They both deserved happiness.

It may have taken her two and a half months (according to Bella) to come to terms with that realization, but now that she knows, she can't help but wonder how Emmett had figured it out first.

Did he find somebody he loved truly?

A black bear wanders into her hunting zone.

Or was it something else entirely?

The bear makes eye-contact with her, cautiously sniffing the air. Danger and death are in the air and the animal can smell it. He can smell he's made a mistake wandering into her territory. Rosalie cocks her head, baring her teeth.

And lunges.

Her teeth sink past fur and fat and sinew and straight into his jugular vein. He squirms, paws feebly trying to swat her away, heavy breath mixing with blood and fluid. He's wild. He knows Death is knocking at his door.

It's a messy feed; Rosalie didn't snap the bear's neck and his blood is getting all over her clothes. Not to mention that bear blood was far too heavy and thick for her taste.

But this is how Emmett hunted.

The bear dies with a feral look in his eyes. Rosalie thinks that this is closure. It's her way of telling Emmett that she is fine and that she gets it.

They deserve happiness. Both of them.

Rosalie's left side and shoulder are still tingling from where Bella has been practically laying on her for the past two weeks. Wonders how Edward felt about that.

She thinks of brown eyes the color of earth and starts her way home, flexing her left hand.

Blue, blood, and Bella and warmth.

They deserve to be happy.

Both of them.

. . .

Bella is asleep when she gets back and climbs through the window.

It feels Rosalie's lungs with ash and she stands, not knowing what to do. Because Bella looks so-

so breakable. So warm entangled in Rosalie's blanket and cuddling a pillow. With every shaky, sleepy breath Bella took, Rosalie's lungs filled with ash and smoke.

She looked so soft.

How is it possible that Bella is this beautiful?

Faintly, down stairs, Rosalie hears a faint growl and smirks.

Right.

Rosalie decides to press her luck, she doesn't know why, but maybe it's because she's already dead.

She decides to press her luck and-

she swoops down, planting a kiss far too soft on Bella's cheek.

(It gets a little too close to the corner of Bella's lips.)

The growling downstairs rips into an inferno of snarls combined with Esme telling Edward to shut up.

Rosalie sighs and licks her lips, ignoring the tingle on her mouth and walks downstairs.

Blue, blood, Bella, warmth, and tingles.

The list keeps growing and growing.