Okay, I know I said that I wasn't going to update until I got the reviews I wanted, but, I have finished this chapter and I REALLY wanna share it with you! I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: the usual. VA is not mine. Neither are the characters mentioned in the story. Everything belongs to Richelle Mead.

Now, on with chapter 3. Enjoy!

xx

Chapter 3.

Dimitri's POV.

I walked into the gym and sprawled out up against the wall at the far end with my book. Rose would be here soon. Hopefully. I needed to see her, to know that she was okay. She had been an absolute mess last night when I had gone to see her. I had never seen Rose cry like that before and just thinking about it made my heart twist in pain.

I looked up as Rose slipped in through the door, from the cold winter weather. "Hi Dimitri." She murmured so quietly, that if it wasn't for my enhanced dhampir hearing, I would not have heard her quiet greeting.

"Hello Rose." I returned as she went into the locker room.

I sighed and got up. I already knew what we were going to do today. Circuit training. Rose hated circuit training, but it was essential for keeping up her fitness and stamina. As she came out of the locker room, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the program for Rose to read so she would know what she was going to do in training.

I handed it to her when she walked over to me. I was braced for the complaint, but she said nothing, just scanned her eyes down the list and then looked back at me. "How many rotations?" She asked me.

"Mmmmm... three." I said. She nodded slowly then made her way to the weights room. I showed her what I wanted her to do and how many, then sat up against the wall with my book. I didn't really read, I mostly watched Rose as she worked out. She looked like a goddess, a mask of concentration placed firmly on her face as she exerted her energy.

When Rose was done with the weights, she looked back at the list and headed towards the door. Sprints were next. I decided to go with her. I stood up, stretched quickly and jogged after her.

Once we were outside on the track, we began. We did one-hundred meter sprints with a two minute break between each sprint. We didn't speak at all. The only sound was our heavy breathing, and the pounding of our feet as we ran.

As we crossed the finish line on our last sprint, me just ahead of Rose, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I didn't really get a good look at it. But, to me it looked like a person. Frowning slightly, I left Rose, who gave me a curious look, and darted over the corner of the track. There was nothing there. I had a bad feeling about this, but I shook it off and went back to Rose.

"Everything okay, Comrade?" She asked me. She looked a bit worried about me. I liked that more than I should have.

"Yeah, everything is okay," I told her. "I just thought I saw something... but it was nothing." I finished.

We both turned and left the track, heading back inside. We parted ways when we reached the gym. Rose went into the girls locker room, and I into the guys.

After a quick shower, I dressed and hurried off to my first watch post. I exchanged a few words with the guardian whom I was relieving, and then started my patrol of the school grounds. While I walked, I thought about Rose. She hadn't said much to me during our training session, and I had forgotten to ask her if she was better today. I silently cursed myself for that slip-up. I should have asked her. She probably thinks that I don't care! I was beginning to think that I was being irrational. Rose knew I cared about her. She knew that I loved her more than anything or anyone in the world! My Roza was everything to me, and she always would be.

"Belikov!"' I turned at the sound of my name being called. A guardian whose name had momentarily evaded me, came strutting up to me. "Your shift is over. It's my turn." Frowning, I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that I had been out walking for over four hours. Ugh, where did the time go!

"Uhh, yeah. Okay, I'm going now." I told the older guardian. I turned and walked back to my room. I had just enough time to have a short sleep before the afternoon training session with Rose.

Rose's POV.

After I left Dimitri in the gym, I went to my first class. Combat class. I used to love this class, but since Mason's death, it was not any fun anymore. He used to make it fun for me. Now, it was something I dreaded. Also, Eddie was in this class with me. I reached the door, and, pausing to take a deep breath, I pushed open the door and walked in.

I scanned the room, and saw Eddie leaning against the far wall of the room. He noticed my entrance and looked up. I smiled cautiously and gave a small wave. Eddie hesitated, the raised his arm and motioned for me to come to him. I walked over to Eddie slowly. I don't know why I was so hesitant, he didn't look angry, in fact, I could see a small smile playing around the corner of his lips.

When I reached Eddie, I smiled again. "Hey Eddie," I said in a falsely cheerful voice.

He eyed me suspiciously, then his face smoothed. "Hey Rose..." He said. Eddie opened his mouth to continue, but we were interrupted by the teacher beginning the class. "Later" I mouthed. Eddie nodded in response.

After class, Eddie hurried out of the room. I jogged to catch up to him. "Eddie, I thought you wanted to say something?" I asked him. He just shrugged his shoulders and made a comical noise in the back of his throat.

"I have nothing to say, Rose," Eddie finally said, sighing. "It's your life. You do with it whatever you want. And if you want Belikov, then go get him." He concluded. I could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I miss him too, you know," I told Eddie. "He was my best friend, and I loved him... just not in the way you think. Mason and I never dated. We were just really close friends. You have to know that." Telling Eddie this made me calm down. I had been freaking out ever since he had seen Dimitri and I kiss in the gym.

"I don't think you know how much Mason loved you, Rose. He loved you as more than a friend. A lot more. He would have done anything for you." Eddie said as we sat down in our next class. I knew that Mason's feelings toward me had been more than friendly, he had really wanted us to work as a couple, but I had always known that I could not be with Mason, not when I love Dimitri. It wouldn't have been fair to Mason.

I told Eddie about Lissa's idea for a party for Mason's eighteenth. He said it was a good idea. I told him that I was meeting with Lissa at lunch to discuss what we were going to do.

"Wanna come?" I asked him.

He considered for a moment, then said; "Yeah, that would be great." I smiled in response.

We lapsed into silence when class began, but I had a feeling that I was making some progress with my friendship with Eddie.

During class, I suddenly was overwhelmed with a searing headache. I gasped in pain and clutched at my head, my eyes closed in pure agony.

"Rose!" I could hear Eddie calling my name through the haze of pain the covered my body. "Rose, what is it?" I tried unsuccessfully to pull away from the pain, to focus on something else, but I couldn't. It had taken over my body and it was so painful.

I felt someone's strong hands grip my shoulders and lift me up to my feet. I tried to resist at first, but then I realised who it was. There was only one person who wore aftershave like that. Dimitri.

"Come on, Roza," He whispered in my ear. "Just relax. Everything will be okay." He continued to murmur in my ear, and I took comfort from the soft sound of his beautiful voice, focussing on the slight Russian accent that laced his words... but, everything was becoming distant and hazy and soon I was overcome with blackness.

Dimitri's POV.

My phone woke me up. I rolled over and picked it up, glancing at the caller ID. It was Alberta.

"Alberta?" I said into the phone.

"I'm sorry, Guardian Belikov if I woke you, but I need you to fill in for one of the other guardians. He says he's not feeling up to guarding Stan's class." Alberta told me.

I sighed quietly. "Okay, I'm on my way." I replied and hung up. Great, now I had to work. I would be in Rose's class.

I got out of bed and dressed quickly, then headed in the direction of Stan Alto's classroom.

I slipped in un-noticed and stood at the back with the other guardians. As I stood, I watched Rose, just for something to do. Nothing major ever happened in classes that required guardians, but still, we had to protect.

Rose and Eddie were talking about something, and I was tempted to listen in. I wanted to know what they were saying. Had Eddie forgiven Rose? I didn't know. But, I tuned their conversation out and focused on my job. In the outside world, guardians focused on one-on-one protection with their Moroi, but, in the Academy, with so many others to protect, we guarded as a group, protecting groups of students at a time. It was more conventional.

I heard Rose gasp and my head snapped around to face her. Her small hands clenched at her head and her eyes were crammed shut. She was in agony. Not many people had noticed Rose, but Eddie and I had. Eddie was leaning over her in an instant. "Rose!" He said desperately, his hands trying to pry hers from her head. "Rose, what is it?" A frightened look crossed Eddie's face.

I broke away from my post and crossed the room quickly, bending down beside Rose's desk. I grasped her shoulders and lifted her easily from her seat, supporting her weight as she sagged slightly. "Come on Roza," I whispered in her ear. "Just relax. Everything will be okay." As I took her from the room, I continued to murmur in her ear in Russian, calming her down. Then, she passed out.

Reviews please!

Isn't Dimka cute? He cares sooooo much about Rose. *sigh*

R&R!