Well Love Fades…Mine Has …has inspired me to write another songfic...I know i haven't been on here in For-fricken-ever. I am so sorry! Between work and college and family its just driving me insane but now its summer! so hopefully i can catch up on some stuff... This is based on the song "A little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you reconize. no Vampire Academy nor Sara Evans...sadly enough... Enjoy!


Located on the side of the road in a small town in Louisiana, just outside of new Orleans; There was a bar. A small little shack, older than some of the buildings that graced the Louisiana Bayou. This building was covered in old scratches and wood burns, the red and white paint was faded and crusty. Spanish moss grew along the top and covered the sides, some of the planks were pulled up and broken, a window was shattered and in need of replacing. But this bar, Rose in Paradise, wasn't famous for its looks, nor was it famous for the people that entered.

This bar was famous for the singers it displayed, for the music it delivered and the hearts It could fix. This bar was said to have been built on an Indian village famous for healing wounds. It was known as the Paradise to the Cherokee Indians that had owned the land. This bar was said to be magical and wondrous. Heartbroken people could come and grace the stage with any song of their choice and, it was rumored that they could move on from the pain. If they were heartbroken from true love, it would help them little by little until their true love could come back to them. If they were heartbroken by a friend, then it would help them find better friends, if they were heartbroken over a loved one dying, it was rumored they could see their lost loved ones again.

That's why, a tall brunette was gracing this stage tonight. She was tired of hurting, from feeling useless. She was tired of everything. Her best friend betrayed her to help the man who ripped her heart into millions of pieces and blew them into the wind. She was tired of everyone leaving her; tired of losing everything she had.

Rose Hathaway was tired of hearing 'Love Fades….Mine Has…' Every night she went to sleep. She ached from seeing his brown eyes that had loved her so tenderly and so openly, cold and desolate. She was desperate to get over this pain she felt. She couldn't eat. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't live. She'd left Adrian high and dry. However, she knew he would find solace in Sydney, the alchemist. She knew Lissa would be fine with Christian, She knew that…..d…d…He, would heal one day. She was done. A year had passed and her wounds still burned.

Her soul still screamed and she was done, Finished. She;d tried everything to rid herself of him, The memories they'd shared, The love they had, the dreams she'd kept hidden. She wanted all of it gone. She was ready to throw in the towel. This was her last hope, this bar.

Rose didn't care to much for country music, but since that day… She was now a country girl. She could relate with the songs.

The heartbreak in the country music, the ballads and the stories each song told was something she could relate to.

Of course there wasn't a song about a mentor and his student falling in love in a vampire school only to be ripped apart when the mentor was turned into a strigoi against his will and the student to try and free him and became his temporary blood whore until she could escape then months later find a way to turn him normal all while breaking out a criminal from jail. Then when she finally fixed him, sorry, when Lissa healed him; He didn't give two shits for the girl who'd went through hell and high water to save his soul.

But hey? Maybe she should write music…

The dim lights in the bar appealed to Rose, the heavy fog of cigarette and grill smoke circulated through the air as the jukebox played an old tune she didn't really know the name too but she could relate to just as easy as any song she knew. She watched as the newest girl took to the stage and the jukebox was turned off.

Her usually guardian attire wasn't needed tonight, she was dressed in a pair of blue jeans that held scratches on the knees. The jeans were tucked into a pair of tan old worn cowboy boots. She wore a tight black button up blouse with the top buttons undone showing just a bit of cleavage and her favorite black rose necklace. She was still thin and curvy as she lounged against the bar. Her brown hair down and long, her brown eyes were sad and cold and didn't hold their normal glow. She was a beautiful broken angel with nothing left to lose.

Her guitar was perched against the bar as she waited her turn for the stage. The current singer was a small woman, barely five feet tall. Her blonde hair was ragged , her green eyes were blank. Her black dress clung to her curves as she sang about her husband lost in the war. The woman could barely be nineteen and yet she'd already lost him. Rose knew the lyrics just as much as the woman did. Carrie Underwood's Just A Dream was a beautiful haunting song. Another song Rose could relate to, but she wasn't here to sing about that. She was here to finally find closure.

The woman finally finished and looked somewhat relieved, like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The woman didn't say anything as her phone rang, the woman answered as she walked out the door.

The owner of the bartender headed to the stage, he was a short little man with a kind face and gentle blue eyes. He was a nice guy, for a human.

" Our next singer is a girl whose been through a tough time, Please welcome miss Rose Hathaway, I hope we can help her through this." He drawled in his Cajun tone.

Rose picked up her black and red guitar from its case and headed to the stage. The lights were a little brighter than she expected but she could handle it. She rearranged the mike so she could sit down on the stool and play…

"Um..hi guys" she said almost shyly into the mike looking around noticing a lot of guys staring at her and a lot of women looking sympathetic. She didn't notice the threesome at a table in the back. The shocked green and blue eyes nor the chocolate brown eyes watching her so intently. She didn't see the shared look all three held before the guitar began play and the opening cords began.

Rose took a deep breath before she began her song, her voice was soft and clear , a beautiful rich alto.

Woke up late today and I still feel the sting of the pain
But I brushed my teeth anyway
I got dressed through the mess and put a smile on my face
I got a little bit stronger

A small smile came to her lips as the jitters she felt began to fade away. The music reaching deep into her soul . She didn't dare look out into the crowd, not yet.

Riding in the car to work and I'm trying to ignore the hurt
So I turned on the radio, stupid song made me think of you
I listened to it for minute but I changed it
I'm getting a little bit stronger, just a little bit stronger

She could feel the tears starting in her eyes, she just wanted to be stronger..to get over this and get on with her life.

And I'm done hoping that we could work it out
I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels
Letting you drag my heart around
And, oh, I'm done thinking that you could ever change

Her voice opened up as she sang her heart out with each lyric trying to get rid of the constant loneliness.
I know my heart will never be the same
But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my weakest days
I get a little bit stronger
Her voice softed as she remembered how she used to be before everything.
Doesn't happen overnight but you turn around
And a month's gone by and you realize you haven't cried
I'm not giving you a hour or a second or another minute longer
I'm busy getting stronger
She continued singing the lyrics trying desperately to actually feel stronger.
And I'm done hoping that we can work it out
I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels
Letting you drag my heart around
And, oh, I'm done thinking, that you could ever change

I know my heart will never be the same
But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger
I get a little bit stronger

Getting along without you, baby
I'm better off without you, baby
How does it feel without me, baby?
I'm getting stronger without you, baby

A smile graced her lips as she raised her head looking out into the crowd, there were tear stains on her face and her brown eyes were practically glowing from the watery cover of her tears.

And I'm done hoping we could work it out
I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels
Letting you drag my heart around
And, oh, I'm done thinking that you could ever change

I know my heart will never be the same
But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my weakest days
I get a little bit stronger

I get a little bit stronger
Just a little bit stronger
A little bit, a little bit, a little bit stronger
I get a little bit stronger

She finished biting her bottom lip as her beautiful alto tone disappeared into the sounds of people clapping. "Thank you" she whispered over the mic before she stepped off the stage, grabbed her case and headed out the door. Not noticing the three people following her.

She turned on her heel heading to the back of the building. She laid the guitar against the old wooden frame . She still felt the raging pain, the heartbroken emotions pulsing through her. A small scream rose from her lips as she slammed her fist against the building. "it didn't work…Why the hell didn't it?"

"Roza….."a deep accented voice whispered from the side of the building.

"No…Your not real, Go away" she whispered.

"I'm here Roza..listen to me." He said softly, she heard the concern, the pain, the need in his voice.

"NO! it worked the wrong way, I want to forget about you! Iwant this damn pain to leave me! I want to be able to live! To smile again! I want to be able to love again. I want to be able to eat and sleep without nightmares! I want to be happy again!" she dropped to her knees. "I can't do this anymore Dimitri, just leave me alone…..please…."

His hands grasped her shoulders as she whimpered. "I Lied Rose, everything I've said to you was a lie since I was brought back. I do Love you, I do miss you, I do want you, I want to help you, I need you rose."

"no you don't, no one needs me, no one wants me, I'm useless" she whispered" I'm not worthy of anything, I'm shit Dimitri. I'm not meant to be happy' she kept her head down as he felt her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

He pulled her into his strong embrace, "No.. No Roza, you're the most beautiful woman in the world, your worth your weight in gold and so much more, Your kind and loving and feisty, You're the woman I'm meant to be with, the one I've hurt so wrongly, the one I should protect myself from, the one I need to live, the one I desire the most, the one I need to have, the one who needs to forgive a man for his idiocy, for his ignorance, forgive him so he can help you, so we can help each other Rose, we are two halves of one soul."

"But…..your love faded .. "She whispered "You…"

He pulled back and lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes. His chocolate brown eyes filled with tears for both of them, she saw the unadulterated love within them, the hope, the pain, the sorrow, the regret , the need, and the loneliness. Her eyes reflected every emotion he felt and more.

"Why now ? After a year you find me now? After I've went through shit for a year…why now?"

"Because I couldn't find you, we've tried to find you for a year, this was the first time we've actually found you…..i started looking the day after you left." He breathed.

"it hurt more for me to say those words and hurt you so badly than when I …was a strigoi it took that moment for me to realize…I….i'm sorry rose..please…forgive me…please come home with me…I miss you, Eddie Misses you, Lissa misses you…everyone misses you… We can start over, no more hiding, no more secrets..no more sneaking around..Kirova wants you to work at the school with me and the other guardians.. Lissa is a teacher there with Christian…. "

Rose was filled with hope as she heard what he said.."I forgive you comrade" she whispered. "but don't do this to me again,. I can't live like this, if you leave me again I'm dead."

"Never again Roza…never again" he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her deeply. She returned it burying her hands in his hair.

They broke it as she pulled back and gazed up at him. "lets go home Comrade.."

In the bar the owner smiled over at one of his bartenders as they watched Rose and Dimitri. "We've helped another Jessie" the man said softly feeling the emotions of the two as his blue eyes glowed beautifully.

"I know Gabriel " she said gently grabbing Gabriel's hand. The bar glowed as the two disappeared and the lights and the people disappeared revealing the old bar once again rundown and without life, awaiting another desperate soul in need of healing.


There you go! if i get enough reviews i might write some more of these... i've gotten an addiction to Jace and Clary from the Mortal Instrument series... I might write a fanfic about them... I also have a story about Rose coming up...Well let me know!