Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4

Rose POV

I woke surprisingly refreshed and ready to face another day. I mentally scolded myself about letting my anger blind me to the things I was trained to notice during a fight. In those moments during the confrontation with Victor, I had let my anger blind me to the obvious. Somewhere deep down I knew that Victor was leading me into a trap but at the moment, I was too naïve to realize it. I shook those depressing thoughts from my mind and showered quickly. I could smell the delicious scents coming from downstairs, signaling my stomach to announce its impatience by a loud rumble. I dressed and went downstairs quickly, only briefly noticing that the rest of the group were already there awaiting my arrival. Christian of course had to put an end to my peaceful morning.

"Figures Rose would follow her nose." He muttered sarcastically, earning a hard glare from me and a surprisingly harder one from Liss.

"Roza, I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me tonight?" Dimitri asked trying to break the tense moment between Christian and I.

"Of course Dimitri." I replied happily and that breathtaking smile that I loved so much covered his face. We sat in relative silence until I noticed a somewhat sneaky look cover my father's face. Usually this meant nothing but something inside me told me that it was something I needed to be worried about.

"Dad, is there something wrong over there? You are a lot quieter than usual and I know something's up so spill." I finally said and the all powerful, mobster father of mine actually paled. Yeah now I knew that something was definitely up with him. I glared at him and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Well Rosemarie," I growled at the use of my full name. "I had planned to tell you later in a more private venue but I do have some news." He smiled and turned to Janine with a secret smile and she returned it. Okay something was definitely up with these two. "Janine and I have decided that it is high time that we got married." He blurted and my mouth literally dropped open in shock. What? Okay this wasn't bad news exactly, but it was rather unexpected, but dad, always had a flare for the dramatic and he wasn't through yet. "I also wondered how you would feel about having a little brother or sister?" He asked and I then did something that I, Rose Hathaway have never done, I fainted.

I came back to myself about ten minutes later and I was still in shock at the news I had received. Not only are my parents getting married, but they are giving me a sibling. If this had been anyone else stuck in this situation, it would have been laughable, but to me this was just …just, I don't know insane.

"Are you going to stay with us this time?" I heard Abe say with a hint of amusement and a little concern.

"Yeah I think so. It's just…did you guys have to throw such a curve ball? You guys know I'm not good with things like that." Abe laughed lightly but a glare from me stopped it. I turned to Janine who was sitting close to Abe's side. "Are you really pregnant?" I asked. Mom laughed at my expression. Wait, the formidable Janine Hathaway,… laughing? I would have glared at her too but I was too shocked to form that much of a reply.

"Yes Rose, I am indeed pregnant." Mom said and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I am about three weeks right now and we wanted to know if you would like to be my maid of honor at the wedding Rose?" I was shocked yet again and all I could do is nod dumbly at the pair.

The conversation took a turn towards safer subjects and I ended up spending most of the day with my parents. Later that evening I excused myself to get ready for my dinner date with Dimitri. I wore a blood red dress that seemed it was made just for me. It was just an inch or so above knee length and had a short split on the right side. It was decorated with black swirls that started small at the right shoulder and increased in size as the designs descended down to my left hip. I wore my hair down my back in loose natural waves and only applied minimal makeup. I wore short heels and concealed my stake just under the dress, attached to my right thigh for easy access if we ran into a fight.

Dimitri and I went to a small restaurant just north of court and it was really pleasant, although I was admittedly a little nervous about going outside the wards again. After the meal was finished, Dimitri ordered desert for the both of us and I was incredibly surprised when I noticed a metallic gleam on top of the slice of chocolate cake in front of me. Closer inspection revealed that it wasn't just a metal gleam. Sitting there perched on top of my dessert was a ring. I looked towards Dimitri's chair and he was not there, but instead was in the floor to my right, kneeling down on one knee beside me. He looked up at me with an expression of reverence and love. Wait, is he doing what I think he's doing? He took my hands in his and looked directly into my eyes.

"Roza, I loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you and even though I denied our love for a long time and pushed you away, I love you now more than ever and I want for us to be a family in the true sense of the word. There have always been a lot of obstacle for us and there still will be, but I want for us to face them together as man and wife. Roza will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He said. I felt traitor tears running down my face and for a moment the only thing I could do was nod frantically. I pulled him up and kissed him while he wrapped me in a tight embrace.

"Yes Dimitri, I will marry you." I said after a few minutes when I finally found my voice. Dimitri plucked the ring from the dessert and wiped it clean with a napkin before placing it snugly on the appropriate finger. I smiled at the thoughts that were now running wild in my mind. I would now be a permanent part of the family that I loved from the minute I met them. Thinking about his family in Russia made me miss them and their presence for this special occasion was greatly desired. When the restaurant calmed down from our display and we finally finished out dessert, we left the restaurant heading back towards court wrapped up in our own pleasant conversation until my phone rang. The caller ID read that it was Guardian Croft and I groaned. I answered the phone reluctantly.

"Hathaway." I answered formally.

"Guardian Hathaway, I regret to inform you that Natasha Ozera has escaped our custody and is now believed to be Strigoi." My world stopped along with my good mood with just that one sentence. "We need you and Belikov back here immediately to set up tighter security around Queen Vasilisa." He ordered.

"We are on our way back right now. How did this happen Guardian Croft? She was supposed to be highly guarded and she was to be tried just this week." I asked in frustration and slight irritation over the whole mess.

"The guards were taken out after she managed to somehow drain a feeder and she turned Strigoi. I don't know all the details yet since two of the four guards are dead and the other two are still unconscious at the clinic. We have a security camera feed down there but it appears that it was disabled shortly after breaking out of her cell." He explained. I looked over to Dimitri and motioned for him to step on it. We were just entering court grounds and I was still on the phone with Guardian Croft when I felt Lissa's fear. I was immediately pulled into her head and I was face to face with the crimson rimmed eyes of a newly awakened Strigoi. I pulled out of her head quickly and relayed to Guardian Croft.

"Croft Tasha is with Lissa now. Send all the guards you can spare and I'll be there in just a second." I said and hung up the phone. As soon as the car stopped I was out and running towards Lissa's house. I could still feel her fear and I had to fight hard to keep my mind in the here and now. I rushed through the court grounds, making a bee line for the building that Lissa was housed and practically flew up the stairs with Dimitri hot on my heels. Thankfully I had left those horrible shoes in the car since running in those was absolutely impossible. Just outside Lissa's suite, I had Dimitri keep watch as I slipped into Lissa's mind to get a feel for what was going on in there.

Lissa was cowering in the corner, holding Christian tightly and watching Tasha intently. Tasha stalked the room and I noticed that there were others in the room. Janine and Abe were in there and Pavel and Sergei were unconscious on the floor. Janine clung tightly to my father in fear but I knew she wasn't fearful for herself, but for her child. I had to make a choice and I knew this would be hard.

"There are four inside plus another two unconscious. Three are guardians, three Moroi. I need to go in alone and get Tasha's attention drawn to me, she will definitely come towards me, possibly leaving an opening. If the isn't one, don't worry about me and get the others out. One of the guardians is Janine Hathaway and she is three weeks pregnant." I stated and the guardians that had assembled nodded but a look at Dimitri told me that he didn't like the plan but what choice did we have. She was waiting on me and I knew it.

"Tasha I'm coming in alone." I announced and opened the door slowly. I kept my stake still hidden, thinking that she would see me as unarmed. I left the door open a mere crack and stared murderously at Tasha who now picked up Lissa, shielding herself from me. Thankfully the bond that Lissa and I shared had grown so that I could send her messages in my mind.

Liss, I'm going to switch with you. When I go into your mind, go into mine. She nodded slightly so that Tasha didn't notice our exchange. Do it quickly Liss. And like that we switched and I was able to control her body. I knew that Liss would probably be bruised the next day but it was a small price to pay. I/Liss elbowed her with all the force I could find and ran from Tasha. I sent the message for us to switch back just as Tasha grabbed my body and pulled me to her again. Hey at least this time I was in my own body. I elbowed her in the gut again, granted a little harder this time, while reaching for my stake. As she doubled over from having the air knocked out of her body I spun and connected the stake with her body, slashing to create an opening. She hissed and faced me, howling as the stake's metal sizzled at her skin. I punched her in the face and her arms went back to steady her as she staggered back, creating an opening for my stake. I took the opening, finding her heart easily and watched as the light disappeared from her cold eyes. After that was done I looked over to see Christian and Liss huddled together crying on each other.

I knew this was hard for Christian and even though I gave him hell repeatedly, he didn't deserve this. His last blood relative, murdering the queen and turning Strigoi all because she didn't catch the eye of a guy. This would cause an uproar and alienate him even more and I felt bad for my friend. He was now left to suffer the actions of his family squarely on his shoulders and it wasn't fair to him. The guardians fanned out into the room and carried the body out of the room, others tried to revive the two unconscious guardians and gave up, taking them down to the clinic for them to be looked after. I walked toward Lissa and asked if she and Christian were okay.

"Fine Rose, it's just been an emotional few minutes and we need some time alone. Lissa sent a message in my head. Go and see about your mother Rose. We are fine and Christian just needs some time to process all this. I nodded and sent her a message in return. Let me know if there is any way I can help Liss. I'm sorry but you know it had to be done, otherwise she would have killed you both. She turned willingly and trying to save her wasn't an option unfortunately. I told her in my mind and she nodded slightly in understanding. Sure Tasha and I never got along so well, but if there was a way to safe her without endangering Lissa and Christian, I definitely would. I sent the pair upstairs for some privacy and went to look after my mother.

"Are you alright mom, dad." They both looked a little stunned at me calling them mom and dad but recovered quickly sending me a small smile.

"We are fine Rosemarie. I was just trying to get you mother down to the clinic to make sure the baby is okay but she is stubborn." I snorted a laugh while Janine glared at Abe.

"Wow I wondered where I inherited that stubbornness from." I mused and they answered at the same time.

"Your mother." Abe answered.

"Your father." Janine answered. I had to laugh as they glared playfully at one another and I got back to more serious topics.

"Seriously though mom, it wouldn't hurt anything just to make sure." I stated and her playful glare turned to a serious one and it was now directed towards me. I laughed. "Come on mom, you know I'm immune to the Hathaway glare." A small smile finally broke on her face and she sighed in defeat as dad and I escorted her to the infirmary. I was finally getting close to my parents, both of them, and it only took 18 years to accomplish.

I realize that this chapter is a little shorter than the others but this will be the shortest. Please R&R and sorry for the long wait guys.