Rose smiled slightly as she walked into the gym and spotted Dimitri. She couldn't imagine a time before he came. He had changed her so much in such a short time, and she was grateful for that. She wasn't about to tell him that, though. He would bring it up at worst possible time to prove a point.

"Rose!" He greeted, waving.

"Afternoon," she grinned at him, sauntering over and punching him lightly on the shoulder.

He looked at her in mild confusion. "You're happy this afternoon."

"Am I not allowed to be happy?"

"Not what I said, Roza," he sighed but his look was soft. "You haven't been yourself lately, after what happened at Spokane."

"I'm happy because I get to spend time with you," she whispered boldly. The last time she had seen Dimitri was when he had talked to her about Mason and then had kissed her, and she was going off the slim hope that he might still want her, and that his guardian mask wasn't back.

He looked at her with conflicton. "Rose..."

"Don't day it Dimitri. Don't say we can't be together. Every time I think you might want me...you pull something stupid and go back to avoiding me."

"Rose, I do want you. I want you so bad...but I don't want us to get caught. Your reputation is at stake."

Rose glared at him and he caught her wrists.

"Let go," she snarled. Her good mood was gone, replaced with rejection.

"I never said I don't want you and don't you ever believe that I don't want you because I can't physically show it," Dimitri said roughly. She swallowed.

"Why can't you show it physically? I can't keep doing this and being cut away from you because of the rules. They're stupid," Rose frowned.

Dimitri pulled her to him and hugged her, kissing her forehead. "I know."

"So would you like to explain to me why kissing my forehead is okay, but not my lips?" Rose asked him innocently.

Dimitri groaned and Rose smirked. "Roza, I want to kiss you..."

"Then kiss me, there's nobody around," Rose said earnestly. She was expecting him to argue or say something about how morally incorrect it would be, but apparently his self control had gotten weaker, for his lips were on hers in an instant and it was beautiful and refreshing and she never wanted to leave his embrace.

He tightened his hold on her and ran his hands down her arms, and she could tell his stance over her was protective, and he didn't want to let her go either. They were both clinging to each other as a lifeline, and in a sense they were each other's lifeline, for without the other, life would be miserable.

But right now Rose just wanted to focus on the good. The good was the feeling of Dimitri's mouth covering hers and it felt so good and—

"Guardian Belikov! Novice Hathaway!"

Dimitri and Rose jumped apart as they stared at a furious looking Stan Alto. Rose's heart sunk as she could visibly see Dimitri's job fly out of the window, out of their reach. A quick glance at Dimitri's face showed he was already thinking along the same lines and was resigned about it.

"You two. Come with me," he snapped, and Rose knew better than to argue. She grabbed Dimitri's hand under Stan's seething gaze, figuring it really couldn't hurt at this point. Dimitri squeezed it encouragingly.

Soon they were both standing in Kirova's office, with Alberta, Stan, and Kirova herself.

"What is the meaning of this, Hathaway, Belikov? Stan says he caught you two in a...precarious position," Kirova said accusingly. Rose opened her mouth to speak but Dimitri beat her to it.

"It was my fault, I should have been more responsible and I completely understand it was wrong of me to kiss my student." Rose stared at him, shocked. "I understand I will have to lose my job and you can do whatever you want with me...but don't do anything to Roza. Don't punish her for something that I did in a moment of weakness."

Rose snorted. "Yeah right Comrade, like I'm gonna let you get away with that. I'm the one who asked you to kiss me."

Dimitri gave her a pained look, and she knew he just wanted to protect her. Well, she wasn't about to have it.

"You're not wrong, Belikov," Kirova said. "You did the wrong thing here. I'm disappointed in you, I trusted you more than this."

"I would say I'm sorry but I'm not," Dimitri bowed his head. "And I can pack up my stuff right now if needed."

Kirova looked at him with sickening sympathy. "Belikov, you're going to be reported to Court. They're going to probably arrest you."

"What? No!" Rose looked from Kirova to Dimitri to Alberta. "That can't be true! Everything we've shared has been consensual!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it's illegal," Stan said with clenched teeth.

"But all we've ever done is kissed!" Rose said, mildly infuriated. "That's no reason to put a completely innocent man in jail!"

Alberta sighed. "Do you really think it's wise to report them?"

"Wise? It's necessary!" Kirova burst. "I will not tolerate this behavior at my academy. Rose will be expelled too, of course..."

"No!" Dimitri frowned. "She is the most innocent person in this room!"

"Dimitri would you stop trying to protect me from this? We're both equally guilty parties here, even if we are both innocent. Whatever punishment you get, I get too," Rose glared at the other adults in the room.

"Roza, no," Dimitri said firmly.

"Dimitri why is this such a big deal to you—?"

"I'm not letting the woman I love get arrested because of me!" Dimitri snapped. Rose and Alberta froze, as did Dimitri, realizing what he had said.

"Ellen, Stan, can I have a private word with the two?" Alberta asked quietly. Kirova almost protested, but seeing the serious look and Alberta's face, she nodded and Stan and her left the room.

The instant they had left Alberta looked sharply at Dimitri.

"You love her?"

"Yes, I do," he said firmly. "And I will do anything to protect her from getting punished."

Rose had to admire his eagerness, even at the prospect of facing jail time for something trivial.

"Good," Alberta said distractedly. "Then I want you two to do something for me. It's risky, but it's better than jail."

Rose looked at Alberta curiously. She was going to help them?

Alberta smiled at Rose, despite everything. "Rose, I don't want to see you and Dimitri in jail any more than you do."

Dimitri gave her a grateful smile and squeezed Rose's hand.

"Right. I need you two to run. Dimitri, you have stakes on you, yes? Good. Take them and run, go into the human world."

"You want us to live as humans?" Rose asked, shocked.

"It's your only option. Any other place will be searched once they realize you're missing. You understand what this will mean?" Alberta asked urgently.

Rose and Dimitri glanced at each other and nodded. They would possibly never return from where they would go.

"Are we allowed to contact our friends?" Rose asked.

"I suppose, vague information and that you're okay."

They heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Dimitri looked at Alberta.

"We need to go," he said and she nodded, opening the window and ushering them out. It was on the first floor, so there wasn't any drop.

"Thank you," Rose told Alberta. "We could never thank you enough."

Alberta smiled sadly. "Take good care of her Belikov."

"I will, Guardian Petrov. Don't worry."

And by the time Stan and Kirova were back, Alberta was gazing out the open window and told them that the two dhampir had regrettably escaped and were likely to never return.

xXxXx

Here's to the beginning of an adventure in the human world for Rose and Dimtri? Love it? Hate it? Either way, comment! Will get to the sequel on my other story soon! Sorry it ended so abruptly, that was a bad decision on my part!