"Elisabeth Roza Belicov! You will never do that again!" I said angrily.

"But, mom she deserved it! She totally embarrassed Kelly when she-"

"Kelina could've handled it; she's strong. Besides, that was no way to speak to a Gardian!"

"I know, but-"

"No 'buts.' Now, you're grounded!"

"Mom!" She cried, tears swelling in her father's big brown eyes.

"That's my final word, Beth. How you act in the next few days will determine for how long," I said firmly, trying hard not to cave under the pain in her features such like her dad's.

Without another word, she ran up the stairs and made sure to slam the door-twice, just for good messure. I sighed.

"How mature you've grown, Rosemarie," Said an all too familiar voice.

Spinning around, I looked straight into the usually narrowed eyes of my mother. However, they weren't narrowed now; they were wide with joy-an unusual look for her. Flinging my arms around her neck, tears of my own filled in the brinks of my eyes. Not of sadness-but of happiness.

"Mom!"

"Hello, honey," I couldn't tell, since my head was buried into her shoulder, which was weird since she was so short, but I thought she was smiling.

Pulling away, I was surprised to find tears twinkling in her eyes, too, "It's been so long. I haven't seen you since...well since Beth was born!"

"And that was...10 years ago, if I'm not mistaken."

I nodded, tears finally pouring down my cheeks, "Too long..."

"Sweetie," She said softly as I started to sob, " It'll be all right...I'm here now."

We stood like that for a while, her holding me as she would a child afraid of a storm.

Finally, I pulled away.

She smiled, and I was once again shocked to see that a few tears had ecaped her eyes as well, "Where is this so-called husband of yours?"

"Dimitri?" I asked, laughing.

"Unless you've been married twice, and I didn't know about it."

We laughed, and just then, Dimirti walked through the door. Looking at our tear stroked faces, he said, worriedly, "Is everything all right?"

"Speaking of the devil," I whispered.

Janine Hathaway wiped her cheeks clear, going into guardian mode. But I could still see a smile playing on her lips.

"Never better," I responded out loud.

He nodded towards mom, "Guardian Hathaway."

"Please, call me Janine, you are my son-in-law now."

"What ever you do," I whispered just loud enough for my mom to hear, "Do not call her mom."

Dimitri relaxed and smiled, "Where's Beth?"

"Oh, uh, in her room. I sort of grounded her," I said.

"You what?" He groaned, "What did she do this time?"

"Mouthed off a teacher and, to be nice let's say, 'pranked' her. Little Rebel almost got expelled," I sighed.

Dimitri and mom both laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"Remind you of anyone?" Dimitri said.

I thought about it, "What do you mean?"

Mom laughed, and even Dimitri looked surprised at the unusual burst of humor, "Rose you were just like her!"

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Take our word for it," Dimitri said, smiling, "Let's call her out to meet her grandma."

"Oh, don't call me that! Makes me feel old," Said my mom, though she was smiling.

"Liza!" Dimitri called, his Russian accent very clear. 'Liza' was his russian nickname for her (as he calls me 'Roza') since it was close to 'liz' in E-liz-abeth. I liked it since it was close to my best friend Lissa's name. She was Aunt Lissa to Beth, even if Lissa wasn't my actual sister.

"Daddy?" She called down.

"Yes, it's me," He responded.

From the top of the railing, she looked down at us, making sure it was him. A smile lit up her face as she ran down the stairs, straight into his arms.

"Daddy! Mommy's being mean...she grounded me! Make me ungrounded!"

Smiling, he looked at me and then backed at her, "Why did she ground you?"

Beth made a pouty face, "All I did was stick up for Kelly! Mr. Alto was totally embarassing her!"

I laughed out loud, "So putting dead animals in his car, egging it, and super-gluing his passanger side door is 'sticking up for her' now?" I asked

"Egged his car?" Dimitri asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, but onl-"

Dimitri laughed, "I did that to a teacher once."

"Really?" Asked Beth, mom, and I at the same time.

"Never got caught, though. You outta be more careful."

Beth giggled, "Okay, daddy."

"Dimitri!" I snapped.

"Okay, okay..." He said, picking her up, "Listen, Liza, you musn't do anything like that again. School is-"

"The top priority above all else," She finished, "Above all else except Moroi. They come first."

Dimitri's smile softened, "I guess I should stop giving that lecture so much." Then, he whispered in her ear, "All I was saying before was that if you don't get caught, you don't get in trouble."

"Dimitri!" My mom and I yelled. We looked at each other and laughed.

Laughing too, he said, "I guess I didn't say that soft enough. Okay, promise you will never do that-or anything like that-again."

Looking at her toes, she said, "I promise...Does this mean I'm ungrounded?"

We all laughed, and I said, "Not quite."

Her excited face turned disappointment and then curious, "Who's this?"

Mom smiled, "I'm your...grandma."

The last word seemed to come out like sand paper on her tongue, but her features softened as she smiled at her grand child.

"Oooh, Mommy's mommy?"

I nodded, and she ran up to my 'mommy,' giving her a big hug.

"What should I call you?" She asked, "Grandma, gran gran, granny...ooh, how about grandgran!"

"Ooh," My mom said, mocking Beth, looking at her with excitement, "That sounds grand!"

Beth laughed and kissed her on the cheek, "I love you GrandGran!"

Mom went a little stiff, but then relaxed more than I've ever seen her relax. Hugging her tighter, she whispered into Beth's hair, "I love you too, baby."

Tears came to my eyes. Dimitri put his arm around me, smiling. I love my family.