"Now, are you sure you don't want to stay with me?" Narcissa inquired as Bellatrix leaned, somewhat begrudgingly, on her. "You know there are more than enough guest rooms at the manor… We wouldn't even have to be in the same wing."

The two took it very slow on the march up to the front door of Bella's home, mostly because her concussion wouldn't allow her to move much faster. She shot her blonde sister a somewhat irritated look, and then sighed, "We've already had this conversation-"

"I know," Narcissa interjected sharply, cutting her off without a second thought, "but I just don't think your head is in the right place at the moment, and I think-"

"For fuck's sake, Cissy," Bellatrix snapped, stunning her sister into a silence. "Look, I'm happy you got me out of that hellhole, but I just want to burn my sheets, and then crawl into my own bed."

Her sister's cheeks were sucked in, no doubt at her displeasure with Bella's word choice, but she knew the younger woman would understand. For some ridiculous reason, the staff at Mungo's wanted to keep her another night, just to monitor her condition. Like Hell that was going to happen. She demanded Lucius return home and call on his private physician, seeing as hers had taken ill recently, and the woman would come round to decide Bella's fitness once she was home. The idiots at the public hospital put up a bit of a fight, but Narcissa was the one to finally put her foot down, and the conversation ended very quickly.

Apparently she had a fairly serious concussion from the fall, but the medicine that the healers had given her took away the brunt of it. For now, her body ached. Her head ached. Everything ached. The healers there told her it would take a few days to start to feel normal again, and by the end of the week, she would be able to indulge in her normal activities again.

She didn't have a week. The dark lord wanted her back in his service as soon as possible, and Bellatrix had no qualms with bullying Narcissa's private healer into giving her a perfectly acceptable clean bill of health when the woman came to visit the following day. After all, he had made a personal trip to see her, despite the irritation she had caused him recently, and that meant everything. She was eager to fall back in line, and see what he had planned next for her.

Fucking Rodolphus would ruin everything if she couldn't get straight back to work, and she would never forgive him for that. Naturally, there were other things he had done to wrong her as of late, but Bellatrix could get over it. The cheating too… Maybe. She was fully aware that one might call her a hypocrite because of her relationship with her dark master, but since that dreadful ring had touched her finger, Bellatrix had been faithful sexually. Unfortunately, Rodolphus could no longer say the same. It was nice to have the upper hand morally for once.

"I know you want to sleep it off," Narcissa insisted as she gently leaned Bella against the doorframe, and then rummaged in her cloak for her wand to unlock the door, "but… I don't want you staying here with him. As far as I'm concerned, he pushed you."

"Pushed me into nearly hexing him into oblivion, maybe," Bellatrix grumbled, rolling her eyes a little, "but I fell… all by myself. I feel perfectly safe in my own home, and you should too."

"Your ego leaves me doubtful," her sister stated, giving Bella a hard look. "Promise you'll stay with me if you need to."

"Cissy, just open the door!" Bella cried, her arms wrapped around her thin figure as her head rested gently against the wall, "I want to get in!"

"Promise me."

"Fine," Bellatrix hissed. "Would you like a blood promise, or is my word sufficed?"

"For now," her sister sniffed, and then flicked her wand at the door knob. She heard the typical lock open, and accepted Narcissa's arm to help her walk slowly into her home. They broke apart so Narcissa could shut the door, and Bellatrix nearly collapsed onto the chair in the front hall, a look of frustration on her face. She couldn't believe how painful her body felt. It wasn't as if she had refused the pain potions, but she thought she was strong enough to get by on just one or two. However, it became clear now that she would need more over the course of the day. Perhaps she might call upon dear Severus… the little runt had an affinity for potions, and everyone knew it. He was bound to be able to make something a little stronger, something that would help her get through the day on one dosage.

She leaned back in the chair, her eyes shut to collect herself, and suddenly felt the laces on her heels being untied. When she looked down, she spotted her sister crouched in front of her, gently untying the laces the best she could without moving her feet too much. Without warning, she felt a sudden swell of emotion toward the woman, who had no hidden agenda in doing this. Everything Narcissa did for her was genuinely for the love the pair shared. Yes, sometimes the younger woman was a little selfish, but Bella blamed that more on the way she was raised than anything; Narcissa always got what she wanted. She was the Golden Child. Yet, here she was, on her knees, removing Bella's shoes so that she wouldn't have to bend down to do it herself, and without magic to ensure softness. Smiling a little, Bellatrix reached out and managed to touch the wisps of her loose blonde hair, making her look up. Light eyes met dark ones, and they exchanged a smile.

"Thank you," Bellatrix whispered. Narcissa grasped her pale hand and kissed it, gave her a nod, and then continued to remove her shoes, tossing them aside for the house elf to collect later. They then got Bellatrix to her feet, and she felt as if she was dragging her body through the house. The stairs were definitely the worst, but they took them one at a time, sometimes waiting a few seconds for her head to stop hurting to continue to the next.

It never really stopped hurting, but there were variations in the pain that Bellatrix could tolerate, and though she wished she could handle more, she was starting to realize that those bloody healers at Mungo's were right; she needed time… Time she didn't have, unfortunately.

"Promise me something…"

"Something more," Bellatrix groaned as they strolled along the corridor to the master bedroom. Narcissa sighed, as though Bellatrix was being more petulant than normal. However, when she looked at her sister, she noticed something real in her eyes. This wasn't nagging… This emotion was something different. Worry. Fear. Narcissa nibbled on her lower lip, and then stopped them.

"Promise me you'll take the time you need," she ordered firmly. "Promise me you won't run back to him tomorrow… Because we both know you won't be healed."

She arched an eyebrow, "Him?"

"I'm not stupid, Bella," Narcissa exclaimed, seeming exasperated with her. "You don't have friends in the ranks… No one that would come and see you, anyway. I knew it was him, and you can't go running back until you're better. It'll only do you more harm than good!"

"I… I can't…" Bellatrix stammered, a little thrown off that Narcissa was aware of her relationship with the dark lord, "I can't make that promise to you."

"You owe it to me," Narcissa pressed, taking both hands in hers and squeezing them. "He'll live without you for a week-"

"He'll forget that I'm at the top in a week," Bellatrix whispered heatedly. "He needs me now, and if I can't be there, then I'm sure I'll be replaced by someone who can do it… Everyone is willing to cut your throat to get his favour."

"Bella," her sister scoffed, shaking her head flippantly. "We both know you have something the men can't give him, therefore you won't lose your place. I'm sure he knows what you can do, and he is surely understanding-"

"What gives you the impression he is understanding toward weakness?" Bellatrix sneered, putting up a front as the conversation shifted toward Voldemort, "You don't know him, Cissy… So don't pretend like you do."

"I'll keep my opinions about him to myself then," Narcissa replied, her tone suddenly as equally unappealing as Bella's. "Don't push yourself before you're ready."

"Yes, mother," Bellatrix droned, smirking a little. Narcissa's face, however, remained decidedly neutral, and she linked their arms together again, and then carried on down the hallway. It was strange to think that her sister even had an opinion on Voldemort. Perhaps it was because Narcissa was never directly involved, but Bellatrix assumed that she adored the man as much as the dark-haired witch did. Well, Bellatrix sort of assumed everyone loved him with the same fanatical devotion that she did, but according to the media, that wasn't necessarily the case. They all needed to wait for his pure genius to become public. Then they would all see… Narcissa would understand her devotion someday, but clearly not today.

When they arrived in her room, Narcissa tenderly removed her cloak, and Bellatrix glared venomously at her defiled bed.

"My wand," she ordered quietly, holding out her hand. Narcissa dug into her cloak and pulled it out, wordlessly setting it in the palm of her hand. Bellatrix stared at the bed, the four-poster glory that she had sunk into contently many nights since she and Rodolphus had been married. That lovely, large bed that she spread out in, hogged the sheet in, and fucked her husband in. It had a lot of surprisingly fond memories, despite the new stain. However, she could no longer let it live in her house. Had the girl been there still, Bellatrix might have done it to her… However, without so much as breathing the spell, she lit the entire bed on fire, causing Narcissa to shriek.

"Bella!" she called, rushing forward with her own wand in hand, "You said you wanted to set the sheets on fire! This could burn down your entire house!"

"I'm in control," Bellatrix muttered as she watched the flames dance, licking at the wood bedposts, seeping out onto the carpet beneath it. The corners of her lips curled upward, and she almost wanted to laugh as that bed, full of lovely memories, crumbled to the floor. Suddenly, the double doors to her bedroom flew open, and Rodolphus barrelled in, eyes wide, wand out.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, flicking his wand to curtail the flames against the rest of the bedroom, "Bella, what are you thinking?"

"I'm getting rid of your love nest," she informed him, not missing a beat. The witch levelled her wand at other parts of the room, ready to set them on fire, but her wand was charmed from her grasp, and landed in Narcissa's free hand. "Cissy-"

"No," her sister said quickly, cutting her off, "I understand your anger, and I know what you want to do… I won't let you bring this house to the ground."

"Then you may leave," Bellatrix remarked curtly, looking at neither of them as she stared blankly at the ashes of her former bed. She heard Narcissa's heels click as the woman sashayed across the room, and to her silent shock she gave Bella's wand over to Rodolphus.

"I'll be back shortly to collect you," Narcissa informed her. "It's clear that you cannot remain here on your own."

Bellatrix said nothing, her dark eyes still fixated on the desecrated bed. She could faintly hear her sister snarl something at Rodolphus, but within a moment she had vanished from the room, no doubt apparating home to prepare a fresh bed for her. Silence settled over the couple, and finally Bellatrix decided it was time to lay down the law.

"I plan on getting a new bed," Bellatrix informed him, "but you are no longer welcome in it."

"Bella-"

"Consider yourself banned from my company, until I see fit that you deserve it again."

"That's hardly fair," he started. She heard him take a few steps toward her, and she whirled around, ignoring the horrible way it made her ache.

"No," she snapped, her eyes watering involuntarily. "No, you know what isn't fair? I can't do anything for him now. You've made me weak, and if you love me the way you claim to, you'd know I'd take any punishment in this world over feeling weak and useless. You've spoiled me, and you've spoiled us."

For the first time in what felt like forever, she met his gaze, and he opened his mouth several times before closing it, and Bellatrix knew, in some small part, she was right.

"Go. Leave me be."

"No," he hissed, moving toward her and taking hold of her arms. "Please, please can we just talk… Argue, yell, beat each other, I don't care! Just-"

"You're hurting me," Bellatrix sneered, her body shrieking at the rough touch. Her husband instantly released her, but he didn't back away.

"Let's fight. Yell at me… Do what you want, but please can we try to work through-"

"I don't want to talk to you," she informed him with a shake of her head, her eyes going to the floor, "because if I do, we'll fight. When we fight, we're like electricity… and I don't want to feel that with you right now."

She paused, took one last look at the hurt on his face, and then managed to shuffle back, "Now… Get out."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

A very calm fight for Bellatrix. Now, I've only had a mild concussion, but even that sucked, so I can't imagine what a real one feels like. The sheer crappery of it is probably what has toned Bella down.