Thanks for the reviews, guys, but only a couple people did what I asked in the previous chapter….DX Still love ya guys, though! A few people told me I'm actually ok at DPOV and I didn't think I was THAT good. XD

I was still with Roza when someone knocked on the door softly. Not wanting to wake Rose, I carefully moved her to the pillows and laid her head on the, while getting up and opening the door enough where I could slip out and talk to whoever it was.

Lissa and Tasha were there. No surprise. I left the door open a crack and faced the girls. "Can I help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lissa shrugged and Tasha answered: "Where's Rose? With you? She wasn't in her room and Lissa and I were wondering if she was ok."

"She's in my room," I said with a blank face.

Lissa gazed past me at the slightly ajar door. "Can I visit her?"

I shook my head. "She isn't well and she's asleep right now."

"I can heal her!" Lissa exclaimed excitedly.

I crossed my arms and remained impassive while Lissa tried to beg me to get into the room. I shot Tasha a helpless look when Lissa wouldn't give up, asking for help. She didn't help me. She chuckled and said, "Dimka, I'm sure she's fine; just let Lissa in for a little while."

For a moment, I felt like Tasha and I were the parents of the two girls, although we weren't. It almost made me smile to think of how close we had all become for me to think of Rose, Lissa, and Tasha as my family, though I still missed my mother and all.

Lissa was looking up at me, pleading, though not using compulsion. I finally sighed, "Fine. No healing, though, Lissa," I told her sternly.

She grinned. "Whatever you say, Guardian Belikov," she teased.

I smiled slightly at her while she poked her head in and then started squealing. Startled, I stuck my head back in through the door. I relaxed slightly when I saw that it was just because Rose was awake. I stepped back out and found Tasha watching me.

"What?" I asked.

She shrugged, but her smile gave it away. "Nothing, Dimka," she said sweetly.

I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore her, hearing the girls talking in hushed tones.

"You think if I heal you real fast, Dimitri won't know?" Lissa whispered to her friend.

"I heard that," I remarked through the half closed door.

Both of them started giggling. I let them talk a bit longer, and then an idea popped into my head. I looked back at Tasha who gave me a confused look when I left my post near the door and stepped closer to her.

"Do me a favor; kiss me, now."

She looked shocked. "Why?"

"Just do it, I know what I'm doing."

She pursed her lips. "This is about Rose, isn't it?"

I nodded gravely. She sighed and then moved in, touching her lips to mine. I found that after all this time, it wasn't the same as kissing Rose. There was no fire, or burning desire running through me. When I broke away, I asked her to use compulsion on me.

She looked straight at me. "Dimka, come kiss me."

Nothing was in my head except to kiss Tasha, those full lips of hers. I moved closer until we were kissing. I loved the feel of the long lost contact I yearned for, but I felt no actual pull towards her. Nothing like Roza.

Roza coughing brought me back out of my daze and I stepped back into the room, shooing Lissa outside and making Rose take it easy again.

After a minute, I saw her playing with the blanket, biting her lip unconsciously. "What do you want, Rose?"

Startled, she glanced up, eyes wide. Her face flushed ever so slightly, but decided not to point that out since she would just deny it and get mad at me for doing so. "Rose, I'm waiting," my tone was impatient…But not with her…How bad I wanted to just get out of the room or go to sleep so I wouldn't have to deal with my desire.

"Why do you avoid me now days?" she finally said.

My head snapped up to meet her gaze. "I don't."

I felt my face slip into a blank expression, showing no emotion. Rose seemed to be getting frustrated because she crossed her arms and glared at me expectantly. I tried to take a deep breath and compose myself as best I could, but I felt horrible that she came to that conclusion.

"Dimitri," she pressed her voice small and childlike. "You do avoid me sometimes, no wait, all the time now. It's like you can't be near me anymore and I don't know why. It feels like you don't want me anymore, like you don't care about me or anything…" The whole time I had been looking at her and didn't miss when the tears fell from her eyes.

I leaned closer to her, brushing her tears away gently. "Rose, I don't want to avoid you; I can be near you. I do still want you. I still love you, my beautiful Rose," I whispered huskily.

She jerked her face away from my gaze, staring down. I placed a finger under her chin, making her look up at me. "Look at me, Roza," I murmured to her softly.

She refused still. "No. Not until I get an answer."

I exhaled, wondering how I was going to explain my feelings towards her. I took my hand away from her face and played with her fingers, finally pouring everything out. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would come to the conclusion that I was purposely avoiding you…I guess I was trying to put myself in a position where, if your life and Lissa's was endangered, who I would go after. I wanted to see if the feeling to always protect you would fade away so I could protect the Moroi-"she opened her mouth to interrupt, but I placed a finger over her lips, continuing on. "I was wrong. I can't stop loving you, and the feeling to protect you was still there all this time. I tried to experiment with Tasha and found it wasn't the same at all."

Wrong. So, so wrong. I shouldn't be telling her these things, giving her a false hope that we could stay together, but I loved her enough where I would, unintentionally, choose her over a Moroi. Even Lissa. Rose was my world and I was just starting to accept that….

"I have one question," she stated.

I turned back and looked at her, wary. "What?"

I could tell she was working on keeping herself under control. "What exactly did you do with Tasha?" Oh, Rose. She was fighting the urge to start swearing, I could see it.

I felt slightly guilty and looked away again. "I…kissed her. Just to see if it was the same. IT wasn't. I had her use compulsion and it wasn't the same. See? Nothing for you to worry about," I teased her half heartedly.

She just sighed. When she looked up at my amused expression, she exclaimed, "What now?"

I shook my head and smiled genuinely. "Did you forget it's your birthday tomorrow?

"Um, yes, why?"

I thought about it, but if I told her anything I'd spoil the surprise that the girls had set up for her. "I'll ruin the surprise Lissa and Tasha set, and I especially don't want to ruin the surprise I have for you myself."

I was nervous about my plans, which was something rare. If she would let me, I would make her mine, physically as well as emotionally. I wanted nothing more than to sleep with her in bed, privately and tell her how much I loved my Roza.

Rose narrowed her eyes at me, trying to decipher what was going on. I laughed and leaned in and kissed her forehead, leaving my lips there longer than necessary. Hesitating, I swiftly leaned back down and pecked her lips before she could respond and try to get more out of it.

"Get some rest and be up early or I'll come get you myself," I threatened her playfully.

She grinned at me. "That sounds so nice."

"Goodnight, Rose."

"'Night, Comrade."

I chuckled at her use of the nickname she had given me when we had first met.

So, the part where Dimitri experiments with Tasha isn't very good…Sorry about that, until I was like halfway through with this, I realized this was the chapter that it was in and had to go back and fit it into the chapter somehow. XD

SONGS:

Swing- Trace Adkins

All I Need-Within Temptation

Total Eclipse Of The Heart-Bonnie…