So this is a quick oneshot I did while I was supposed to be studying for a hideous Microbiology exam. It's loosely based on events in the books. this was just something that popped into my head.

I don't own Vampire Academy etc. etc.

Enjoy!

"Roza, Roza, my Roza."

He could hear her name being choked out as he pried open the handcuffs binding her wrists. Was that his voice? He couldn't recall ever sounding so... broken. Rosemarie Hathaway rested limply in his arms; eyes closed; face pale. Dimitri stroked her cheek, desperate for some response, terrified when none came.

"She's just unconscious Dimitri. That's a good thing." Adrian rasped. "She can't feel the pain right now."

Dimitri nodded jerkily and gently slid his arm under her legs, leaning on Adrian as he stood, finding his balance. The young man leaned down to the other body in the room. They had both known instantly from the odd bend of his neck that Mason Ashford was dead. They had focused immediately on Rose who was close to following her friend. Now though, with Rose safely in Dimitri's care, Adrian turned his attention to his dead friend. He let out an agonised groan as he pulled Mason to his chest. He clutched him there for a moment before pulling the body over his shoulder and leading Dimitri out, choking back sobs as he carried his friend out of hell. Mia had described the route they had taken when they were escaping. Dimitri's chest burned in anger as he thought of the little blonde and her friends.

How could they leave Rose? How could they have listened to her screams and just run away? Only Mason had stayed; his love for her had cost him his young life but saved hers. The older guardian felt sick at the sight of the boy hanging limply over Adrian's shoulder. His red hair was stained with the blood of the dead Strigoi, the same Strigoi that would have killed Roza, and had ultimately killed him.

Later Lissa would try and comfort her friend, saying that Mason was not the kind of person to leave anyone behind, that his love for Rose meant his death was not a waste. He had died to save the best of them. Rose would smile shakily but she'd never truly believe it.

She had forbidden Lissa from trying to heal her, so it was months before she was back to full fighting strength. Mason's death had made her bolder, fiercer in battle than Dimitri had ever seen her. It hadn't changed her though. That much he had made sure of. When she had first begun to shut herself off from the world, her friends had tried everything to bring her back. Eventually Dimitri took action himself. Dropping the picture he took from the boy's old room in her lap he pointed at the laughing pair in it.

"Mason died for that girl. He died for his friend. Do not belittle his sacrifice by killing her yourself."

Rose stared at the photo, her fingers brushing gently across the image of her smiling friend. Eventually tears began to roll down her still-bruised cheeks. Tears turned into choked sobbing as she curled around the picture frame, clutching it to her chest. Her other hand snaked its way into his and held him in place. He had sat beside her, pressing his lips to their joint fingers, whispering broken words of love and sorrow.

As her body healed, so did her heart. When she was marked for the two Strigoi she had killed he could see the tears pressing behind her lashes, but he could also see the smile she wore. And though she would sometimes still grow sad and quiet, his Rose – his beautiful, courageous Roza – was coming back to them.

Finally they could be together. Rose graduated only weeks after returning to the academy. Age seemed less significant anyway, after all they'd been through together, and Rose's own ordeal had aged her in a way.

For once it had been Dimitri fighting for them. Although she hadn't been in love with him, Rose had seemed reluctant to let herself be happy after Mason's death. As she pushed him away, despite her clear love for him, Dimitri finally understood Rose's frustration with him back in the early days of their relationship. She had fought his stubborn nature since day one, knowing in her heart how he had felt about her.

It occurred to Dimitri now that maybe her hesitance to fall back together wasn't entirely out of fear or guilt, but perhaps out of a small desire for revenge. If retribution was what she wanted he couldn't fault her for it. It had only taken a few weeks for her to come around, and he knew he probably deserved to sweat a little.

Regardless, as he lay pinned under her on the sparring matt, her freesia-scented hair brushing his cheek, he was happy. Her triumphant smile hovered inches from him and he could feel her strong pulse in her wrists where she held his hands against the matt. He curled his fingers around hers and she let him pull her closer to him, every line of her body fitting perfectly to his. His thumbs brushed her cheeks and his lips whispered against hers.

"Roza. Roza."

A smile.

"My Roza..."