OMG thank you guys so much! 123 reviews so far haha, OK, as I promised, I'm continuing When Your Gone. So, have fun!

Dimitri POV

I pulled away, brushing her hair away from her peaceful face, I felt someone sit down next to me, and to my surprise it was Alberta.

"Guardian Belikov," She began, staring straight ahead, "Take care of her."

I nodded once, and gave her a small smile. I expected something a lot worse.

"I won't ask you guys to end this because I know how you feel about her, we've all experienced something like that once in our life," she whispered the last part.

My eyes never left her face, so I saw the brief flash of pain cross her features, but then it was quickly brushed away, hidden by that mask we wore so often.

I nodded again, and she left, leaving the seat empty again. I propped Roza up into a sitting position, wishing that the flight was a lot longer than a few hours.

I felt her move around in my lap and immediately looked down again, just in time to see her brown eyes open, big and curious, like a new born child seeing the world for the first time.

"Roza," I smiled, kissing her forehead, leaving my lips there for several seconds before pulling away.

She hadn't reacted, to my surprise. I followed her eyes to my arm, resting limp on the arm rest.

"You're hurt, no wonder you were so pale," she whispered, and touched the blood encrusted jacket.

I shook my head, "I'm fine," I had just began to feel the dizziness, but she didn't have to know that; not when she was just starting to heal.

She shook her head back, and pressed the flight attendant button.

A girl dressed in black came towards us with a smile plastered to her face, it was so fake that I almost laughed out loud.

"Yes?" She asked me instead of Rose.

"I need a first-aid kit here," Rose growled.

The flight attendant's eyes immediately left mine and looked at Rose, as if she were just noticing her. She straightened her tie and nodded and walked away, to return moments later with a glass of water and a first-aid kit.

Rose took it and sent her away. She opened it and started rummaging for a small towel.

"Take off your jacket," She instructed.

I sighed and nodded, to reveal my white shirt. The sleeves were cut off, it was an undershirt, I had never expected to take off my duster.

She soaked the towel in water and started cleaning my wound. I winced as the water hit my skin and seemed to run into the whole punctured through my skin.

"Rose," I growled, wishing she would just stop.

She shook her head, "No, can't do that comrade, I have to clean it first."

I looked up at her again, she looked like a stern nurse, fixing up a patient. What was strange is that her eyes were fixed firmly on my arm, almost as if by force.

I gave a low chuckle, and pulled away gently.

"I'm fine, just give it a minute to heal," I told her gently.

She shook her head and reached for me again. I sighed and let her grab hold of my arm and she dabbed at it with gauze and wrapped it up with a huge pressure bandage.

"This should stop the blood flow," she mumbled, her head falling onto my chest.

I looked at her, she looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days. Her face was much too pale, and her eyes had a hollow look to them.

"Rose," I began, this wasn't a subject I wanted to talk about, but I had to know, "What exactly happened in that house."

Rose POV

As soon as he asked me that I froze. The house, I thought, my face became a chalky white, and I seemed to be back in that black mansion, in the basement, wishing desperately for the pain to stop. I would have done anything to make the pain stop, I would have done anything to make the whip stop coming down.

But my thoughts were in vain. It kept coming down, like a crack of thunder right before it hits the earth, making the long awaited crops whither in fright and burn. It made the cracked ground hiss and sputter with pain. That's what I was thinking when I heard the whip the first time. It was a smack of reality, of where I was and what could happen if you couldn't defend yourself.

Then my mind wondered to when the Strigoi began their descent. It was like I was there, out of my body, watching myself be attacked and I could only utter my silent screams. I could see the hunger in their ravenous blood red eyes, full of hate, menace, and above all thirst.

I watched their claws rake across my body, I watched myself cry out, I could feel myself staring at nothing, just the ground, my eyes wild with pain and my features tormented into what I had thought a permanent mask of agony.

"Roza," I heard him whisper, but I was long gone. His voice might as well have been far away, it sounded as if it was getting lost with the wind.

I watched the Strigoi continue to claw at me and cringed, I wanted it all to end. I wanted everything to just stop, so I could return to my body and defend myself, but again, the thought was futile. I stood there, watching, staring, frozen.

"Roza," the voice that called me was louder now. It shocked me enough to speed onto the part where I was being treated in the van.

I was grateful of the change, and I slumped in relief. But when I saw my body, I gasped, it was battered, bloody, and full of scratches from countless white claws. Then, I saw him. He was cradling my body close to his, he was mumbling words I couldn't hear, I was too far away. It was as if I was watching someone else's life, not mine, from a distance and I couldn't move. I watched as Dr. Olendisiki treated me with care, I watched my eyes close. I saw anguish flash across his perfect feature, and I couldn't breathe for a second.

"Am I dead?" I wondered, "Was the plane ride really a dream after all?"

"Roza," He yelled.

My eyes snapped open, I was collapsed on his chest, my vision was blurred but when I blinked again, I saw Dimitri, Alberta, Christian, Lissa, and Stan looking down on me in both shock and worry.

"Are you ok?" Dimitri asked, making my eyes immediately focus on his face.

I nodded, and to my shame, began to cry. I couldn't stop myself, it hurt too much.

"I saw the whole thing, it was so horrible, I thought I was going to die," I mumbled through sobs.

Dimitri began to soothe me, murmuring into my hair how much he loved me and how he would never let that happen ever again. I watched Stan and Lissa and Christian depart with worried looks on their faces, but Alberta stayed. She talked to Dimitri, and then she left.

I was still crying, it all hurt too much, the reality of it all was like the weight of the world resting on my shoulders, and I was slowly sinking to my knees because I couldn't handle it.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I stopped. I looked up, wiping my eyes and saw that his brown eyes were full of tears too.

I was shocked, he had been crying as well, but it was so quiet that I hadn't heard him. I wiped his tears away, not daring to say a word.

"Roza," his hand immediately went to mine, and he caressed it, regarding me with utter seriousness, like he always did.

I felt like a child as I flinched away from his gaze. He tilted my face up to meet his, and bent over a little bit to look into my eyes.

"Listen to me very carefully," his tone was so soft and gentle, as if he were talking to a new born, "I will never let you go through that ever again, as long as I live you will always be safe, and you'll always be with me until the day you say you don't want me anymore."

My lower lip trembled a little bit but I made it stop with some effort.

"I will always want you," I managed to choke out, swallowing back further tears.

He smiled a heartbreaking smile, "Then I will always be here to protect you from now on."

I nodded and put my head on his chest, I felt his hand stroke my hair, twirling it around his fingers occasionally.

"Sleep, Roza," He whispered.

I shook my head, "No, I don't want to sleep, I'll dream of that again."

I shuddered at the thought and cringed. I felt his arms wrap securely around me, until I was pressed against him. I could smell his aftershave, now faint, and mixed with his own scent, a sharp minty smell.

"Think of me, think of our future together and you won't dream of that place ever again."

I smiled as I heard those words, I felt like I was being wrapped in complete bliss. I closed my eyes, but couldn't sleep. Instead, I just listened to the steady thump of his heart. I counted, one, two, three…