Hey guys thanks for the reviews! Well here is the next chapter so I hope you enjoy!

Roza and I continued on our walk in a comfortable silence. She seemed a little tense and I knew her thoughts were exactly where mine were. She tried to play off the concern I had for her by telling a joke. "Well, don't worry. My birthday's coming up. As soon as I'm eighteen, I'll be an adult, right? I'm sure I'll wake up that morning and be all mature and stuff." I knew she probably had a whole list on her dream gifts but there was only one present I really wanted to give her…my heart.

I smiled down at her and said, "Yes, I'm sure. What is it, about a month?" By her smug expression I had a feeling I was about to hear the total count of days.

"Thirty-one days," she said. I tried so hard to not smile because I knew I was right.

"Not that you're counting." She shrugged her shoulders and I just couldn't hold back my laugh any longer. "I suppose you've made a birthday list too." I wouldn't doubt it. "Ten pages? Single-spaced? Ranked by order of priority?" I kept smiling because I wouldn't put it past her to do something like this. It was so typically Rose! I looked down to see her open those perfect lips to say something but she closed it as if she were deep in thought. I kept my eyes on her as we walked around to the back of the building and noticed she looked a little sad. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she suddenly said, "No. No list." She said it in a small voice and I felt my heart pounding against my chest.

I tilted my head more to get a better look at her face and that move caused some of my hair to blow across my face. I tried to keep them out of my face but gave up quickly. I said incredulously, "I can't believe you don't want anything. It's going to be a boring birthday." No doubt. Hmmm maybe I can do something special, just her and me, and my bed…no snap out of it! She is your student so treat her like one and not someone your madly in love with. She looked me in the eyes and I saw what she really wanted…to be free. She looked away and said, "It doesn't matter."

"What do you-" I stopped in the middle of what I was saying. I saw what her real intentions were when she'd be able to run her own life. She wanted me but I knew that it could never happen. We had to take care of Lissa first and being in a relationship while we're both her guardians can be a danger for her safety. Not to mention I was still seven years older than her but I could never get distracted while on the job and surely that's what Rose would be to me…a distraction. But I just loved her so much! I wanted to wrap my arms around her curvy figure and knot my hands in her gorgeous locks…O God! What is up with you this morning Dimitri?! Get it together man!

I tried to change the subject but it wasn't as subtle as I hoped, "You can deny it all you want, but I know you're freezing. Let's go inside. I'll take you in through the back." I felt slightly uncomfortable about where our conversations were heading but I had to get over it and make sure Rose didn't get into trouble when I had to sneak her back in to her room. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and she started to smile.

"I think you're the one who's cold. Shouldn't you be all tough and stuff, since you're from Siberia?" she joked. I swear she made it sound like the arctic tundra! I told her, "I don't think Siberia's exactly what you imagine." Surely she didn't think it was only ice and snow there…or did she?

"I imagine it as an arctic wasteland," she said confirming my thoughts. A small smile escaped my lips as I remembered the beautiful lay of the land. I said, "Then it's definitely not what you imagine." I wish I were there now with my mom and sisters. I wish I could run down the streets of my hometown and just feel free and have no worries. She pulled me back from my thoughts when she quietly asked, "Do you miss it?"

I felt so homesick it hurt. "All the time," I said sadly. We were almost to the back door now. "Sometimes I wish-" I was about to continue when a voice rang out to us.

"Belikov!" said the approaching guardian.

Oh Shit!

Well there's chapter two for you. Sorry if the chapters are short but I plan on writing a lot so I can do the whole book. Read and Review!