A/N After I had to write Adrian's version/pov of the cave scene for Aurora Borealis, I felt horrible. Even though I was only following the storyline Richelle Mead had already written/laid out in Shadow Kiss, I felt terrible for Strigoi-ing Dimitri (My poor Dimitri!)

My subconscious offered up this little story to soothe my pain. It's an alternate version of the cave scene in which Dimitri lives, because someone unexpected rides in, saving the day. It will be in two parts, and I'm leaning towards tying the 2nd part in with Aurora Borealis, so you Adrian lovers will be happy.

I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer for entire story: I do not own the characters, the world they're based in or the foundation plot/dialogue. I only own the dialogue and plot changes I've created.

On a normal day, he would run through a vast gamut of emotions. He'd feel love for his girlfriend. Irritation towards Rose. Anger—no, make that barely contained rage when dealing with the other morons who walked the halls with him. Moreover, deep inside—in a place he refused to acknowledge—there was a well of sorrow, constantly on the brink of overflowing. He'd lived with it since that horrible night almost thirteen years before; only recently—since he'd fallen in love with Lissa—had the sadness finally begun to subside.

On a normal day he would try to ignore his classmates in the same way they ignored him. There were always a few idiots that had to stand out, though. Snickering and pointing, their stage whispers to each other made in voices pitched just loud enough so they could be sure his sensitive ears would catch their attempts to taunt him. To insult him.

All because of something he'd had absolutely no control over.

Tonight, none of that mattered. Right now, in this moment, he felt none of those things. He felt… good. No—he felt abso-fucking-lutely fabulous.

He'd just saved Rose Hathaway's life.

The Strigoi's fangs were mere inches away from her neck when she screamed out. She hadn't cried out 'stop' or 'don't'—the single word she uttered gave testament to the fact his safety was her sole concern. Death was about to claim her, and she was telling him to run. To save himself.

Fuck that.

Without thinking his magic flared to life and he directed it straight at the asshole who'd made the mistake of attacking his friend. The Strigoi lit up like a torch, skin sizzling and popping as it jerked backwards, giving Rose the opportunity to roll safely away, unharmed.

Thick flames covered its body, completely obscuring it, turning it into a man-shaped bonfire. As they watched, it gave a horrible sounding, gurgling cry, falling to the ground. Twitching, it rolled over before finally going still. Steam rose where fire hit the snow, and the flames soon burned out, revealing nothing but ashes underneath. The air felt thick and oily around them, coating their skin with a thin, filmy layer, reminding him of the way he felt after standing over a frying pan for an extended period of time.

They stared at the charred remains for a moment, then his eyes darted over to Rose. She had an expression of utter astonishment on her face as she looked up from the ashes, her eyes darting around the clearing and up to the sky, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth. It only lasted for a moment before she pulled herself together, reaching down to help him up from his crouched position.

"Wow." she said. Being Rose, she didn't verbally thank him, but her eyes sent him a silent message of gratitude. He smirked, a sarcastic quip ready to roll off his tongue—she always brought out his snarky side.

"No shit. Didn't know I had that much power." He peered around, body rigid and tense. "Are there more?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You seem pretty certain."

"Well…this is going to sound weird, but I can kind of sense them. Don't ask how," Rose said, as he opened his mouth. "Just roll with it. I think it's like the ghost thing, a shadow-kissed side effect. Whatever. Let's get back to the chapel."

He didn't move. He had a strange, wonderful idea, if only he could convince her . Once upon a time it wouldn't have been hard, she'd been as much of a rebel as he was—probably more of one, truth be told—but lately she'd been acting almost… responsible. Right now, with her in guardian mode… Fuck it, he had to take the chance.

"Rose … do you really want to hole up in the chapel?"

"What do you mean?"

"We just took out two Strigoi," he said, pointing to the staked and charred bodies.

She met his eyes, indecision playing across her face. "I can't," she told him slowly. "I can't risk your life..."

"Rose. You know what we could do. I can see it in your face. It's worth risking one Moroi life—and, well, yours—to take out a bunch of Strigoi."

She bit her lip, and he could tell she was waging an internal battle. All dhampirs were taught the same basic lesson. Never put a Moroi in danger. He waited, for once not taunting her. They may have their differences, but this… this was too important. Their unrelenting torment of each other could be put on hold until tomorrow. That is, if they actually made it to tomorrow and didn't end up as Strigoi snacks.

"Don't use your full power on them," she finally said. "You don't need to incinerate them in ten seconds like that. Just light them up enough to distract them, and then I'll finish them. You can save your power."

He couldn't stop the grin from forming. "We're going hunting?"

She smiled back at him, and for a brief moment, he realized how alike they were—not that he'd ever admit it to anyone. She was giving him such a wicked grin that it made him feel like they were planning to do something totally abominable and forbidden.

With a nod of her head, she indicated their destination. "Let's go to the elementary campus."

They set off at a light jog, almost making it all the way to the other campus without seeing anyone or anything. Suddenly, Rose's hand clutched at her stomach. She called out a warning, but it was a second too late.

A Strigoi grabbed him by the shoulders.

It underestimated him, just like everyone did. Christian was fast—faster than other Moroi. He'd practiced with his aunt for as long as he could remember. She'd prepared him for an attack like this. Flames wreathed the Strigoi's head and it began to scream, releasing him instantly. It was so intent on attempting to put out the flames that it never saw Rose coming. In seconds she was removing her stake from its chest, smiling as she used the newly deceased's clothing to remove the gore from her weapon. The whole thing took under a minute.

Christian and Rose exchanged looks, each slowly breaking into a beaming smile.

Oh yeah. Together, they were fucking unstoppable.

Racing through the trees to their destination, he felt the addictive rush of adrenaline as it began to flow through his veins. What a fucking rush.

Breaking through the trees, they stopped, stunned for a moment by the sight before them. The elementary campus was a hotbed of activity. At least twenty Strigoi were spread out, with not even half that many guardians trying to keep them away from the entrance to the dorms. Rose took a quick look around, immediately charging into the battle. Less than five seconds later, he was by her side.

She ran towards a compactly built dark haired guardian—he thought the man's name was Emil. The man was either extremely brave or a complete idiot, attempting to take out three Strigoi on his own. Noticing the body lying near the man's feet, Christian decided on a third option—so far, Emil had been very, very lucky. Judging by the massive bruise welling up on the side of his face, however, the man's luck was fading fast.

Rose caught his eye and with a single, quick movement of her head, indicated which of the three she was claiming. The female Strigoi she lunged at did not even have time to turn around before the silver stake buried deep in her heart. With a minute amount of concentration, Christian pulled on his magic, shoving it towards one of the two remaining monsters. Within seconds, it went up like a stack of dry wood, its screams filling the air along with the greasy odor of burning flesh.

Emil seemed surprised, perhaps wondering if the Strigoi had spontaneously combusted, but quickly pushed whatever thoughts he had aside as he rammed his stake home, finishing off his remaining attacker. Christian stepped forward, out of the shadows and guardian froze for a moment, eyes widening.

"You shouldn't have brought him here," Emil said to Rose, even as their eyes scanned the yard and they began moving to assist another guardian. "Moroi aren't supposed to get involved with this."

On their heels, Christian gritted his teeth, unable to keep his tone civil. "Moroi should have been involved with this a long time ago."

There wasn't much time for conversation after that. They moved from fight to fight, combining his magic and her stake. Not all of their kills were as fast and easy as the early ones had been. Some fights were long and drawn out. After the first six, he lost count of how many Strigoi they took down. Still they kept coming, appearing in a never ending flow. One would be taken down and two more would take its place. He pulled on his magic more forcefully, and when he released it this time, two of their nearby foes went up in a blaze.

From the corner of his eye Christian saw a blonde haired male Strigoi circling Rose. He pivoted, determined to keep her in his line of vision, in case the creature got the upper hand. He was momentarily distracted when another Strigoi lunged at him from the side, but again, he'd been underestimated. He may not have the speed of a dhampir, but thanks to his aunt Tasha, he was better prepared than the average Moroi. Ducking he gathered his magic, holding it like a clenched fist for a moment, allowing it to gather and strengthen within him. When it built to the point that he felt his blood beginning to boil he flexed, shoving it outward. The element left him with a rush of force so great that it instantly incinerated the Strigoi in its tracks.

He turned toward Rose, feeling his rage flare to life as he heard the blonde Strigoi taunting her. "You were always with that Dragomir girl, the blonde."

Trying to keep one ear on the conversation, Christian formed a fireball in his hands, hurling it across the yard like a major league pitcher throwing a 100 mile an hour fastball. It hit its target, earning him a nod from the guardian who'd almost been overpowered. His eyes immediately flicked back to Rose, assessing her situation.

Rose's stake came within inches of catching the blonde. "I am her guardian!"

"She's still alive, then…There were rumors that she'd died last year…" Its voice was full of pure malice. "You have no idea what kind of reward I'd get to take down the last living Drag— Ahh!"

He'd dodged her stake from hitting his chest again, but this time Rose managed an upward strike that dragged the stake's tip across his face, making him scream out in pain.

"I'll come back for you after I finish her," he snarled.

"You'll never get near her," Rose growled back.

Christian felt a sense of amazement at the utter surety of her tone.. She was so damned… confident. The feeling was washed away in a burst of fear as a Strigoi that another guardian was fighting slammed into her side. She stumbled but still somehow managed to drive the stake through its heart. He was so intent on watching, he somehow missed out on the blonde bastards escape.

Fuck.

There was no time to feel regret—another immediately took his place, moving in on Rose. As she moved toward it, Christian covered it in flames, making it an easy mark for her stake.

"Christian, this Strigoi—"

"I heard," he panted.

"We have to go to her!"

"He was messing with you. She's across campus, surrounded by novices and guardians. She'll be okay."

"But—"

He didn't hesitate for a moment. "They need us here." As much as he loved Lissa, as much as he wanted to run to her side and protect her, this had to take precedence. The kids that were behind those doors wouldn't have a hope in hell if the Strigoi got into the building. The dhampirs were too young to fight, and most of the Moroi probably still had no idea as to what element they could call into play.

He lost himself in the battle, moving from one to the next, always keeping an eye on Rose. My God, Lissa would be the safest Moroi in the world when they graduated. Rose fought like a maniac. They moved from Strigoi to Strigoi, never stopping, not even to catch their breath.

Until they were all lying dead, their corpses and ashes littering the ground.

He was panting, feeling the first hints of exhaustion. Nothing like what he was sure Rose was feeling—the woman was a killing machine—but he'd used a lot of magic tonight, and that had taken its own physical toll.

Rose looked around. "We gotta find another one."

"There are no others," a man called out.

Christian saw the change come over her as soon as she heard the accented voice. In the split second before she turned around, she lit up, becoming almost… radiant. He'd never seen—never even imagined Rose could look like that.

He glanced at the tall man who'd approached them from the trees, stopping perhaps a foot and a half away from them. Guardian Belikov. But why would Rose light up for her mentor?

He narrowed his eyes, taking in the scene that was unfolding before him. Being ignored by his peers had given him one very useful skill—he 'd learned how to fade into the background. Not that he really needed to do it right now, they seemed to have forgotten his existence. He took advantage of their momentary distraction to study them—he had always had the ability to discern even the most subtle hint of evidence. He absorbed everything, almost in the blink of an eye.

Belikov and Rose had locked eyes, each one swaying slightly, as if they were struggling not to move forward. Belikov had fisted his hands; his arms were rigid and stiff, as if he were struggling to keep them in place. Rose mirrored him, one hand still clenching her stake, the other shaking slightly , held tight to her side.

His eyes darted to the tall man's face, and he felt his eyes widening in shock. He recognized the look—the expression on the Russian's face. Belikov was gazing at Rose in a way that Christian, himself, often used when staring at Lissa.

What. The. Fuck.

When Christian gave that look to Lissa, it told her that he was thinking about the things that happened in the attic. It said he was thinking about the feeling of her body beneath his. It let her know he was remembering the taste of her skin, and the small, passion filled cries she made as he moved inside her, driving her towards her climax. That look, that… countenance conveyed the fact she was his everything, and that he loved her from the depths of his soul.

Oh yes. He understood every nuance that flicked across Guardian Belikov's face. Christian forced his eyes to look at Rose, wondering… Yes. She had the same expression on her face, mixed with a look of intense yearning.

It was so damned obvious. This was why Rose had been so rude to Tasha. And Belikov… Rose was the reason the man had declined his aunt's offer. How had he missed it? How had they kept it under wraps? What… As he watched them, trying to puzzle over the fact the entire school was clueless; again, he took in their posture. The way they were standing so rigid…

They were fighting against the urge to embrace—the same urge he knew he would feel when he saw Lissa. He'd want to hold her, and kiss her, to revel in the fact she'd made it through a dangerous situation unharmed. But these two… they couldn't. It wasn't allowed, for more reasons than he could list.

The realization hit him like a blow, and for the first time ever, he filled with sympathy for Rose. He forced himself to look away, to give them this brief moment of togetherness without being watched or judged.

Because Christian knew all too well, how it hurt to be condemned for things you had no control over. And falling in love, well that was something that no one could command, no matter how hard they might try to avoid it.