A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday, my internet has gone down and I had to wait until I was at uni! Hopefully next chapter will be up in a few hours. Thanks to everyone for the reviews, and as a guest reviewer pointed out, this obviously isn't "humour". That has been corrected, my apologies. And also, sorry to anyone that is frustrated with the Rose/Adrian and Irena/Dimitri pairings, bear with me and we'll get to the fluffy stuff, I promise.
Another apology for any OOC that occurs in this chapter.

DPOV

If you had asked me five minutes ago if I could run all the way back to my mother's house after the morning I'd had, I would have laughed. But I did, with Rose in my arms, her hands gripping my shirt as she begged me to make it stop.

When I burst through the front door, with Rose writhing in my arms and panic written all over my face, Yeva was standing in the kitchen. She looked surprised.

"I need Oksana," I gasped out, unceremoniously sweeping a vase off the table. "And Mark."

While Yeva busied herself with spitting swear words and finding the phone, I tried to settle Rose on the table as comfortably as possible. She was still crying out, clinging to me, with her eyes shut tightly against the ghosts, and slow tears leaking down her cheeks.

"Shh, Roza, I promise it will be okay," I whispered, holding her forehead to my cheek. "I will protect you."

I couldn't help but remember my own experience with those ghosts as I tried to calm her, remembering how terrifying they had been, even to a Strigoi. They hadn't been able to hurt me then, but they had been angry. Rose had once said it felt like they wanted her to come with them, like she didn't belong in the world of the living, and they knew it. I hadn't believed that they were real, all that time ago.

I sat myself at the head of the table and Rose curled up against me.

"Please make them stop," she pleaded. "Please."

"I will, Roza, I will."

"What's going on?" Sonya asked as she walked in, her daughter on her hip.

Rose screamed, pulling away from me, writhing and bucking like she was being tortured. I fluttered my hands over her anxiously, knowing there was nothing I could really do to stop Spirit from destroying her.

"Hold her down," Yeva snapped, phone to her ear. "Sonya, go get your mother, and tell her to bring something to knock out a bear."

Sonya fled as I attempted to restrain Rose. I couldn't hold her in my arms, or stop her from banging her head against the hardwood table from my position in the chair. I didn't feel like I was in any sort of state to pin her down after our sparring matches – she seemed filled with a crazed energy that I wasn't sure I could match.

"Please, Roza," I whispered, kneeling over her and gripping her forearms. "Sonya?!"

Karolina strode into the room quickly. "Sonya is calming the children. What do you need?" she asked determinedly. She didn't seem phased by Rose's agonized shouts.

"A pillow," I said harshly. "Something to stop her from cracking her skull open, at least."

She returned in seconds, cushions from the living room gripped in each hand. I lifted Rose's head as Karolina slipped the cushions into place. Rose was fighting against me as I tried to keep her in place, and it took all of my body weight settling over her to keep her from thrashing too wildly.

"Oksana is on her way," Yeva announced. She glanced at Karolina. "Where's your mother?"

"Is Mark coming?" I asked, before Karolina could answer. I had a feeling he would have some insight into whatever was happening with Rose.

Yeva scowled at me for interrupting, but nodded. "Of course. I don't know what Oksana would do with ghosts."

I smiled grimly, not all that surprised that Yeva knew this was about ghosts. Moments later, Mama was in the room with a large first aid box.

"Can she swallow anything?" Mama asked, searching through the box fervently.

"Make them stop!" Rose screamed, bucking against me hard enough that it almost threw me. I grimaced and pressed down.

"Better make that a no. Do you know if she's allergic to anything? I've never had to sedate her before. Does she have respiratory problems?" I shook my head, knowing from all those times anxiously reading the medical chart at the foot of her hospital bed.

Seconds was all it took for Karolina and Mama to prepare a sedative.

"Don't put that in me," I warned.

Mama smiled grimly. "Move your arm, Dimka. I want to try to get this in a vein."

I shifted slightly to lift my forearm off Rose's, whilst still keeping enough of my weight on her to stop her from flailing wildly. She didn't resist the injection, but it didn't seem to have an effect.

"Please," she sobbed, "please make them leave."

I glanced desperately at Mama. "How long does it take?"

"Only a few seconds," she replied, frowning. She took the medication from Karolina and squinted at the label. Muttering something under her breath, she watched as Rose bucked underneath me again. I gritted my teeth.

"How many seconds?" I growled.

"This isn't something we can control," Yeva explained, as Mama's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The ghosts aren't letting her go."

Mama raised an eyebrow, but didn't question the ghost explanation.

Yeva looked at me. "What happened, Dimka?"

"She went into her bond mates head. It was only a few seconds…" I shrugged helplessly. Rose seemed to have stopped fighting. She was moaning quietly underneath me, proving the sedative hadn't knocked her out, but it had obviously had an effect on her body. I cast a concerned glance at Mama.

"It's better this way," she assured me. "She may be awake, but she's not going to hurt herself."

I lifted myself off the table, but Rose wouldn't let me go far. As soon as I had released her arms, she was tugging at my shirt again, pulling me back. I sat on the edge of the table and leaned over her.

"It's okay," I whispered in English. "Oksana is coming. She'll make them go away." I hoped it was true. I wasn't sure what role a spirit user could play when it came to ghosts. I brushed her hair from her face, and her eyes opened a little. I offered her a smile, but I knew I couldn't keep the panic out of my eyes.

"Oksana's here!" Sonya cried from the entry.

Oksana stalked into the kitchen, throwing off her light cardigan with a grim determination. Mark was frozen at the door way, his eyes wide and fearful.

"What happened?" Oksana demanded, looking right at me.

"We were at the gym, talking, and she was pulled into Vasilissa's mind. It was only a few seconds, and she seemed okay at first, but she started seeing ghosts. She tried to block them out, but it didn't work. Can you help?"

Oksana looked at me curiously, then back at Mark. "Can we?" she asked softly.

Mark hesitated, looking around the room carefully.

"Can you see them?" I asked.

"No," he muttered, his eyes darkening. "But I can feel them. There are lots here."

He looked uncomfortable, but stepped into the room all the same.

Oksana looked down at Rose and pried her hands from my shirt, holding them in her own. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, but after a few moments, they lifted in surprise. "I can't get in," she stated. "She's ignoring me, and she has all of her walls up."

"Well, they're obviously not doing her any good," I snapped. "Can't you get through them?"

Oksana gave me a speculative look, and I shifted uncomfortably. "I know you're scared, Dimitri, but I'm doing my best. I promise I will do everything I can to help her. Sit down."

I fell back into the chair, exhausted, and it took me a moment to realize she had used compulsion on me. I scowled, but said nothing.

"Can you… can you use me?" Mark asked nervously. It was very obvious that it was not his first choice. Something passed between the couple. "Yes, sort of like that." Another moment. "Yes, I'm sure."

Oksana shrugged and took Mark's hand. "Ready?" she asked.

I couldn't really explain what happened in the next few minutes. Spirit had never really frightened me – the side effects definitely did, but Spirit itself seemed like a wonderful magic. Whatever passed between Mark and Rose, it obviously happened somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind, with Oksana acting as a conduit. It only took a few moments for Mark to start breathing erratically, one hand gently held in Oksana's, and one gripping the table like it was the only thing anchoring him to the earth. His eyes were squeezed shut, and teeth gritted together audibly, and I knew he was fighting the ghosts, the same way I had watched Rose fight them. The same way I had fought them.

I wanted desperately to help, somehow, and the only thing I could think to do was lean forward and press my lips against Rose's temple.

"I know you're strong enough, Roza," I murmured into her ear. "I know you are."

We stayed like that for an eternity, my fingers brushing back her hair, tracing her jawline. Finally, Rose's breathing eased into a normal pace, and Oksana let go of her hand. Mark shuddered and fell into another chair beside her. He looked at me, his expression unreadable.

"You helped," he said at last, like he felt it was important. "Whatever you were doing… She heard you."

"She needs rest," Oksana whispered, one hand at her throat. She was swaying where she stood, and Mark pulled her into his lap.

"So do you," he told her, frowning in concern. She touched his face lovingly, and something passed through their bond. "I don't care," he answered. "How much spirit you used isn't the issue, you still need rest."

"You didn't use much?" I asked. Rose was stirring on the table, her eyebrows puled together and her fists clenched.

"Just as much as it took to hold the connection," Oksana answered she rubbed a hand over her face and smiled. "Rose needs to sleep. Whatever you gave her before, it's already wearing off. The darkness burned through it."

I nodded, and collected Rose in my arms as I stood, cradling her gently to my chest. "Thank you," I answered, offering a small smile. I knew it had cost them something here, to help her. I started through the kitchen, on my way to the stairs.

"Dimitri?" Mark called after me. I looked back at Oksana and Mark on their chair, and my family standing in shock behind them. "She wants you to stay with her. She didn't really say so, but… She shouldn't be alone."

I nodded, and started my way upstairs.


RPOV

My dreams were wild and uncontrollable. I could hear people speaking in Russian above me, and I recognized Dimitri's voice. Occasionally he would speak directly to me, although I wasn't sure how I knew the difference.

I felt like I was being pulled apart, like pieces of me were being claimed like collectables at a pawn shop. It was a bidding war for my soul. I knew they were ghosts, but the further into the darkness they pulled me, the more alive they felt to me. They were real. Dimitri's voice? That didn't feel so real.

"Rose?"'

I ignored the calling, sure it was here to pull another piece of me away.

"Rose, I want to help you."

"Mark?" I whispered.

"I need you to let me in."

"Okay."

Putting down those walls was harder than I would have thought, and it pulled me to the brink of consciousness. I was frightened, and as soon as I knew Mark was with me, I could feel his fear as well.

"What happened?" he asked. "Never mind, it's not important."

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I didn't mean for them to come after you as well."

"It's alright," he answered kindly, although I could hear the strain in his voice as the ghosts went after him, desperate for any part of him they could grab. "I need you to fight this with me."

"How?" I asked desperately. I felt like so much of myself had already been taken. Wouldn't it be easier to just let go?

"Don't think like that," Mark said gently. There was a note of steel in his voice. "I didn't come in here just to watch you give up."

"Then you can go." What was the point, anyway? How did I know I was ever going to get out of here at all, let alone intact? Besides, it was easier than fighting. I felt Mark's resentment, his disappointment, but he knew I was determined. He started pulling away, and I didn't blame him. It was hard, being in here with all this darkness, with all this crazy.

I know you're strong enough, Roza. I paused and let his words wash over me. I could feel all the little pieces that those ghosts had stolen from me burn at the sound of his voice. I could almost feel him touching me, renewing my strength. I know you are.

"Hell yeah, I am."

Mark was with me again, afraid, excited, and determined.

Fighting strigoi was easier than fighting ghosts, especially ones that were in your own head. It was like being stranded in the middle of the ocean, watching a huge wave bearing down on you and thinking 'I can totally kick that waves ass.'

Mark had a lot more practice at blocking out ghosts than I did, and I let him take the lead. Mark did most of the wall building for me as I pulled myself together, and I tried to protect him as much as I could while he worked. With his energy and mine, the darkness seemed to ebb.

I wasn't sure what made it all work out, in the end, but I had a feeling that it was a touch of spirit that didn't come from either of us. Eventually Mark and I were there together, in the silence, with not a ghost in sight.

"You'll have to build your own walls up again when you wake up," he told me. He sounded exhausted.

"I'll be okay," I answered. "Say thanks to Oksana."

I felt vulnerable when Mark was leaving, like I was being abandoned in this prison we'd built together. He hovered at the edge of my mind for a moment afterwards, too far away for either of us to make contact, but close enough that he could feel my gratitude – and probably the fearful loneliness that was beginning to suffocate me. Then he was gone.

My own mind had never seemed so vast before, so filled with uncertainty. It had always felt so personal, something I could control, except when the Spirit darkness was there.

That was when I became aware of it, looming somewhere in the back of my mind. The ghosts had come from my side of the bond, and I knew they had been exacerbated by my earlier visit to Lissa's mind. I knew the difference between Lissa's darkness and my own. I knew the feeling of Spirit crazy, and knowing it was there, waiting, was almost more terrifying than facing the possibility of losing my mind to ghosts.

At least the ghosts could only hurt me. If that darkness came for me, I could lash out, hurt people on purpose. Just like last time…

A cold panic was settling over me, and I could feel myself rising to consciousness, so much so that I could almost open my eyes. I wanted to get out of my own head, but I was exhausted, paralysed. I didn't want to be alone.

I felt arms wrap around me, and I could smell Dimitri's aftershave. He was holding me so gently, and I remembered seeing the concern in his eyes when I had roused earlier. I could hear his voice, and feel it as a rumble in his chest. He felt warm, and soft, and like all the comfort ad strength I'd ever needed. I relaxed.

The darkness, the loneliness, the fear… That didn't seem so bad when I knew he was with me.