Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it~

Chapter 10

Rose's Point of View

I didn't exactly want to be in my room then so I headed down to the heated pool in the basement. My normal swimsuit was already packed and I usually kept a spare bikini in the lockers. Sure, it wasn't the best attire to do laps in, but it will have to do for now. I quickly changed and jumped into the pool, welcoming the warmth that engulfed me. Exercise has always been good therapy for me and since I couldn't go out for a run, and I seriously doubted that I would be allowed to step a foot out of the villa even to go to the gym, swimming was the only other option I had.

My hands sliced through the water and with each stroke, I felt myself forget about the conflicting emotions and the jumble of thoughts in my head. Forgetting may not be a permanent solution, but I sure as hell needed some escape right now. I wasn't the best swimmer – Dimitri never trained me in it. I shook away the thought of Dimitri and I in a pool, both of us with barely any clothes on. It thrilled me, yet broke me at the same time. I only picked up swimming since Lissa and I started living in New York and had been working on my strokes ever since. Nevertheless, I had learned quickly and soon found it to be as enjoyable as running. The silence of being underwater lent me comfort and usually helped me sort out any pent-up anger I may have.

I finished swimming 100 laps. If Lissa ever needed me to swim away from Strigoi, I was pretty sure I would handle it quite well. I threw my goggles onto the pool deck and paused to catch my breath. I closed my eyes and all I could see was Dimitri's smile, his laughing eyes, his handsome face. 'Damn it,' I cried out loud, splashing water onto my face.

Pushing myself out of the water, I saw Adrian approach me. Great, I groaned inwardly, I really don't need another man to deal with right now.

Adrian cocked an eyebrow at me, 'Not happy to see me, Little Dhampir?'

I opened my mouth to protest but he interrupted, 'I can't say the same for myself. I personally consider it a waste to hide that body behind clothes,'

I rolled my eyes at him. I so wasn't in the mood. Turning away from him, I toweled my hair dry.

'I know how you feel about Belikov,' Adrian said suddenly. I froze.

'In case you've forgotten Rose, I can read auras,' he said solemnly. I knew he meant business – he only used my name when he was serious, 'You love him,'

I scoffed at him. Okay, if this was what he wanted to talk about…

'Don't you?' Adrian looked at me with all seriousness. His handsome face was not smiling. It was odd not to see Adrian crack a joke, or laughing at me silently. He looked older, wiser and somewhat… Sadder. I refused to answer his question and decided to scamper off to my room instead. I felt his eyes bore into my back and I felt terrible for running from him and not telling him the truth. Coward, I scolded myself.

In my haste, I had forgotten that my clothes were still in the change room. Shit, I thought to myself. I hope everyone wasn't up, otherwise I'd be parading around in a bikini. I peeked into the living room – everyone was there. Damn it. I had to make it to the stairs as quickly as possible. A few meters, I can do it.

As I went to do my run, Lissa screeched, 'ROSE! Where are your clothes?'

Oh God. Who is she? My mum?

I turned and looked at her sheepishly. She had her hands on her hips and every male pair of eyes were on me. Yes, Dimitri too. Yeah, feast on this. It's the last time you'll see it! I thought bitterly.

'I uh… Forgot them,' I said, lamely.

She arched an eyebrow. Since when did she learn to do that? 'You forgot them?'

Okay, I've had enough. I threw my towel on the floor, sick of pretending to be modest. 'Look. We're all adults here, Liss, what exactly is the problem?' and looking pointedly at each man in the room said, 'What? You've never seen a woman in a bikini?'

'Seriously,' I rolled my eyes, bending down to pick up my towel, 'Adrian was there okay. He wanted to… I don't know… Talk or something… And I wasn't feeling like it, so I kinda ran from him and I just forgot about my clothes. God!' I was exasperated. People should stop giving me shit. As if I hadn't already had more than my fair share of it.

'What are you looking at?' I snapped at Peter and he blushed and quickly looked away. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I stormed upstairs to my room, slammed the door and let out a loud yell. I didn't care if everyone heard me.

I did some final packing and managed to squeeze everything I owned into my luggage. After pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I dusted some make up on myself and pulled my white singlet on. There was a knock on my door and Adrian came in.

'We need to talk,' he said soberly. I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes.

'Okay, what do you want to know?' I might as well face the music.

'You're unhappy and I hate seeing that. I don't know what's been going on over the past few days, but your aura's been pink and yellow. I had hoped that it was because of me, but we've rarely spent any time together,'

I shifted my eyes guiltily and he continued, 'You've been seeing Belikov,'

His tone was not accusatory, but I felt like he was accusing me of a crime nonetheless. And so he should be. I muttered my response.

'I knew it,' Adrian said, dejectedly, 'His aura was quite the same as yours. I knew something was going on,'

'I'm sorry Adrian,' I walked towards him. He looked at me with pain in his eyes, 'I'm so sorry,'

'No,' he said, reaching out to hold my shoulders, 'Don't be. You can't control who you love,'

I shook my head, 'when we leave for Australia, it'll be different,'

'Australia?' he asked, 'Aren't you going to fight for what you want?'

I stared at him ludicrously, 'We can never be together, Adrian. Dimitri and I are not meant for each other. I've had this talk with him. Over the past few days, I've been getting up to go for a run. It wasn't planned or anything. I just happened to meet him downstairs one day, and apparently he couldn't sleep either so we went for a run… And everything kind of went from there,' I blushed at the memory and Adrian looked at me, amused. He must be reading my auras again.

'Anyway, I was fooling myself. It was just an infatuation, just lust for him,' Adrian cocked his eyebrow at me when I said this. 'Lust doesn't look pink,' he informed me. I shook my head and carried on, 'Dimitri and I had a talk this morning anyway. Lissa heard us and made him promise to stay away from me. And he agreed. I mean, doesn't that say a lot? If I meant that much to him, he'd fight for me, but he's not going to. So… Why should I?'

Adrian shook his head in disbelief, 'You know, I've never seen so much longing between two people before, and both of you are just going to let each other go. Again. And don't tell me that Lissa didn't make you promise to stay away from him. Did you agree to that?'

I looked away, guiltily. He was right. I did agree to that, I was partly to blame too. Adrian took my silence as confirmation.

'So, he probably thinks that he doesn't mean that much to you either,'

I opened my mouth to protest but Adrian interrupted, 'Like I said. You're going to let him walk out of your life again. You're not going to fight for him. That's not the Rose that I know,'

'But what am I supposed to do Adrian?' I heard my voice rise, 'What do I have to offer him? Tasha has everything. She's a Moroi, she's beautiful, she can give him a family, he doesn't have to be ashamed around her, he doesn't have to feel like an outcast every time he attends functions and holds her hand. What's his life with me going to be like?'

'If he's half the man you think he is, he'll be happy,' Adrian said darkly, 'Any man who shares his life with you, should consider himself the luckiest bastard alive,'

I looked at Adrian gratefully, 'Oh Adrian' I said, hugging him tightly. He patted my back comfortingly and we lapsed into silence.

'So are you going to fight for him?' Adrian insisted after a moment's silence and I sighed with a heavy heart. I wasn't even sure if Dimitri loved me, he'd never said it. Maybe all he felt for me was physical attraction…

'Okay, someone needs to do something about this and if you're not going to do it, I'm going to see if he will,' Adrian declared, pushing me away from him. I stared at him in horror.

'You will not!' I yelled out at him, but he had already slipped away. Oh God. This is worse than I expected. Why does drama surround me? I raced after Adrian, but he was already downstairs, yelling for Dimitri. Shit. Shit. Shit. How can he just rush off like this? What about Tasha? Oh my God, what was Tasha going to think? I'm the third person in this relationship. Shit, when did I become a home wrecker? I'm the distraction because Dimitri wasn't happy. I felt my heart go cold at the memory of what he said to me – If I was so happy with Tasha; I wouldn't be out here with you, would I? – The bastard! I had to stop Adrian from making a fool of me.

'Adrian!' I yelled out, skidding into the living room. I managed to clamp a hand over his mouth before he said anything. He reeled back in shock but I kept my hand in place. Everyone stared at us and I smiled apologetically at everyone else, 'Sorry, he's just… Drunk,'

Adrian let out a low growl and struggled against me but I held him in place, 'He doesn't actually know what he wants to say,' I looked at him pointedly, 'Do you Adrian?' He narrowed his eyes at me. Confusion surrounded Lissa and I felt it pulsate through our bond. I would have to explain it to her later, now was not the time. I started to march Adrian out of the room, calling out, 'The plane's arriving in two hours, I'll see you guys then. Adrian and I have things to do,'

I marched Adrian into the kitchen and slammed the door behind me, 'What the hell do you think you were doing?' I demanded.

He snarled at me – and my eyes opened with surprise – Adrian never snarled at me, 'Why don't you take your own happiness seriously for once?'

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was starting to seriously piss me off, 'And do what Adrian? I'm the one who's wrong here. I'm the third person in their relationship. Do you want to know what he said to me? He said, if I was so happy with Tasha, I wouldn't be out here with you, would I? What does that sound like you? You're going to confront him in front of everyone, in front of his girlfriend? What are you trying to do to me? I'll be forever labeled as the one who came between them. Everyone knows how perfect it is for them to be together. Christian is marrying Lissa. Do you think he'll ever forgive me for doing this to his aunt?'

Adrian let out a growl of frustration, before storming out of the kitchen again. 'Where the hell do you think you're going?' I yelled out after him. I saw him storm into the living room and head towards Dimitri. Oh my God. Was this guy drunk or what?

I heard a loud crack and realized that Adrian had punched Dimitri square in the jaw. I gasped, and so did everyone else. Christian rushed to pull Adrian away and Tasha was fussing over Dimitri's bleeding lip and Peter and David, Adrian's Guardians were restraining Dimitri as he looked like he was about to commit some serious bodily harm to Adrian. Dimitri eyes screamed murder, but so did Adrian's. They looked like two bulls, ready to charge at each other. I held my head in my hands; this was turning into a nightmare. Christian was yelling at Adrian, Tasha was screaming about a bloody lip, Lissa was trying to calm Christian down, Eddie and the other Guardians were dumb founded… It was chaos, and I was responsible for it.

Amidst the commotion, I heard Adrian snarl at Dimitri, 'You're a fool, if I've ever seen one,'

Lissa looked over at me and silently asked what happened. I shook my head at her. I had a lot of explaining to do but this wasn't the right time or place.

'What happened?' Tasha asked Dimitri, 'What is Adrian talking about?'

Dimitri didn't answer, just stared at Adrian murderously. I walked towards the two of them and pushed Adrian further away from Dimitri. 'Come on,' I said gently, 'It will be over soon, we're leaving soon and it will all be okay again,'

'Come on,' I urged, tugging at Adrian's hand. He wouldn't budge so I decided to pull out the one trick I knew would always work with Adrian. I kissed him. It was wrong of me, but I needed to get him out of the living room. I felt Adrian relax considerably. Mission accomplished. Christian looked at me – obviously confused at what was going on, but probably had an inkling that it had something to do with me.

I shook my head and whispered, 'Later,' indicating that I'd talk to him later.

Adrian gave Dimitri one last murderous look and spat, 'You don't deserve her, at all,'

'Enough,' I said firmly, gripping his hand tighter. I dragged him out of the room and up the stairs to my room. I threw him onto my bed and placed my hands on my hips, 'You shouldn't have done that,'

'He shouldn't have taken advantage of you,' Adrian said angrily.

I shrugged dejectedly, 'It's over now Adrian; I'll get over it,'

He sat silently on my bed, staring moodily at the wall and I plopped myself beside him, letting out a heavy sigh, 'Thanks for punching him though,' I grinned at Adrian, trying to lighten the mood. Adrian looked at me, surprised, before breaking out into a grin, 'Anytime,'

Then, my bedroom door burst open and in strode Dimitri, looking everything like a Russian God on the warpath. Adrian and I were shocked to see him.

'Never learned to knock?' Adrian scowled at Dimitri, jumping to his feet and standing in front of me, as if to guard me from Dimitri. Dimitri scowled back at Adrian, 'I need to talk to Rose, Ivashkov,'

'Maybe she doesn't want to talk to you,' Adrian shot back. I looked back and forth between the two of them. I had never seen Adrian so protective before, neither have I ever seen Dimitri lose his control like this before. This week has just been insane.

'Why don't we ask her?' Dimitri snarled.

'Look, I'm sure we can all talk about this without throwing punches,' I said, standing up and guiding Adrian towards the bed. I sat him down – used all my strength to push his shoulders down. He never broke eye contact with Dimitri. I pulled out a seat for Dimitri and motioned for him to sit down. He sat down – again, never breaking eye contact with Adrian. Men, I thought, rolling my eyes.

'Okay,' I started, putting on my best United Nations voice, 'Adrian, you go first. You need to apologize to Dimitri for punching him,'

Adrian turned his scowl at me, 'I'm not apologizing for something he deserves,'

I sighed. This was going to be difficult, 'Look guys. The plane's coming soon. We need to go soon. Let's sort this out okay? And I need you two to cooperate with me,'

'Okay,' Adrian said, staring angrily at Dimitri, 'I'll go first. What the hell do you think you're doing messing around with her when you're with another woman? What do you want from Rose? Do you think this is some sick game where every time you turn up, you break her heart?'

Okay, so this was so not going to my plan.

Dimitri stood up from his seat immediately and looked like he was going to launch into Adrian. I shoved him back into his seat and Adrian looked cockily at Dimitri. 'If that's your excuse for trying to keep her away from me, and if you think that I'll ever let you have her, then you're dreaming!' Dimitri growled menacingly. God, men! They're totally like animals.

Wait. What did Dimitri say? I turned to stare at him. Adrian must have thought he heard wrong as well because he was looking at Dimitri blankly.

'I don't care who you are Ivashkov, if you want her, you'll fight me for her,' Dimitri continued, eyes flashing with anger.

'May the best man win,' Adrian cocked an eyebrow at Dimitri, rising up to the challenge.

Wait. What the hell was going on? I was so confused. 'Hey!' I shouted, catching both their attentions, 'Why are you fighting? Why me? What the hell are you guys talking about?'

'I'm fighting him for you, my sweet,' Adrian drawled, amusement flickering in his eyes. Dimitri's eyes narrowed at the sentiment.

'I know that!' I said, irritated, 'But why? God, you two need to stop fighting!'

'Well, it looks like our Russian friend here wants a piece of you and I want more than just a piece of you, so we're going to fight for it,' Adrian chuckled. I had no idea why he was so amused. Judging by the look Dimitri was giving him, he looked like he was about to be turned into minced meat. I gave up talking to Adrian so I turned to Dimitri and asked, 'What's going on? You can't just storm into my room and demand that Adrian fight you. If you want an apology for him hitting you, then you can just say so,'

'What's going on?' he repeated at me incredulously, 'What's going on with you and Adrian in here? This morning, you were kissing me, now, you're kissing him. Maybe you should start explaining yourself! You sure do move on fast Rose. What are you planning to do with him in here? Last minute kisses? Seriously, you can do that anytime in Australia, don't do it when I'm around!'

I looked at him like he had gone out of his mind. That was the only way to explain the absurdity of the situation – he must have lost his mind. Adrian was rolling over with laughter.

'I'm sorry,' I shot at Dimitri sarcastically, 'If you've forgotten, I dragged him in here because he was about to start a fight with you! Don't you think you should be thanking me? Adrian might have given you a bloody nose to go with your lip'

Dimitri scoffed at me, 'You think a Moroi can ever do any harm to me?'

'He just gave you a bloody lip!' I shot back. Adrian hooted with laughter behind us. He was starting to annoy me. I might give him a bloody lip after I'm done with this raging lunatic. Dimitri scowled at me angrily.

'Look, what do you want? I'm leaving in less than an hour anyway, you get to go back and play happy families with Tasha, and whatever Adrian and I get up to, will not be any of your business. We agreed on that, remember?' I crossed my arms angrily. How dare he accuse me of being with Adrian when he and Tasha have been cozying up to each other every night? Dimitri didn't answer and we stood there, fuming at each other for a few moments. Adrian winked at me and got off my bed. He sneaked out of my room, but not before giving me a thumbs-up. I had no idea what he was so happy about.

'Tasha and I aren't playing happy families…' Dimitri started, breaking the silence between us.

'Well, I don't care if you're not happy with her okay? You guys sort it out. You can't – '

'No, Rose. Tasha and I aren't playing happy families; whatever you and Adrian get up to together may not be my business but I'm going to make it mine because it kills me inside to think about it; and I know you're leaving in less than an hour, but you have no idea how much I'll give to have you stay by my side forever. I know I promised Lissa to stay away from you, but it's going to take a whole lot more than an angry Princess to stop me from seeing you,' he held onto my shoulders and looked at me in the eye, 'I know I've told you over and over again that we can't be together, but every day we're apart, I wonder whether you're okay, whether you're safe, whether you're happy, whether you're thinking about me too. I know we're both Guardians, but I'd be a fool if I keep telling myself that any Moroi's life is worth more than yours,'

I stared at him, shocked at his confession, too stunned to speak. This was not what I was expecting. It was what I've been dreaming of, but to have Dimitri actually say it… I was speechless. My first instinct was to be skeptical, 'What about Tasha?'

He shook his head, and tenderly tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears, 'Don't worry, I'll sort it out,'

'I don't want to be a home wrecker,'

'Don't say that. Tasha and I tried to make it work. For 6 months after I left, we really tried. I tried to forget you, I tried to stop thinking about you, but whilst I was mostly successful during the day, you were always there in my dreams. I tried to love her, but it always felt forced and unnatural. It soon became clear to both Tasha and I that it wasn't going to work. She knows that I will never have the same feelings for her as I do for you. This trip only confirmed it for her. Tasha's not an idiot; she's not going to be content with someone who doesn't love her as much as she loves him,'

I stared at him – a million thoughts raced through my mind, 'But you've been sleeping with her,' I managed to say lamely. Way to go, Hathaway.

He chuckled. It sounded gorgeous. 'When it isn't possible to have separate bedrooms, we share a room. I take the floor. Back at hers though, we have separate bedrooms,' he smiled at me – that beautiful smile that could fool me any day, 'does that make you feel better?' he teased.

I scowled at him. How dare he patronize me?

His brown eyes opened wide in surprise, 'I'm sorry I found that amusing. You don't know how happy it makes me to know that it matters to you. Ever since I got here, I've been wondering if I still matter to you, if you still care about me, if it was going to be too late. I should have come for you earlier, but I couldn't leave Tasha, especially because Alex was staging attacks on us pretty much weekly. And… After I saw how you and Adrian were… Well, I didn't know anymore. I thought… Maybe it was too late,'

I shook my head, tears threatening to choke my throat. I felt his sincerity. All this time, he was wondering about Adrian and I; just like I was wondering about him and Tasha. I thought back to all the times our eyes met, all the unspoken words, all the speculations, all the misunderstandings.

'Adrian wanted me to do something about my own happiness,' I finally managed to say. My voice was thick with emotion, 'I told him I wasn't going to make a fool out of myself because I didn't know if you still loved me,'

In one swift motion, Dimitri held me close to his chest. 'I love you Roza, I've always loved you. And I'm sorry if I ever did anything to make you doubt that,'

I was sobbing into his chest by now; his heart was beating wildly, as was mine. He kissed my hair gently and whispered, 'Those early evening runs were the best part of my day,'

'Why didn't you ever tell me back then?' I sobbed.

Dimitri paused for a second, 'I knew you wanted me physically, I knew your body responded to my every touch, but I wanted your heart. And I didn't know if I had it. You always seemed to laugh more around Ivashkov, always seemed so much happier. I hated the fact that he could make you laugh and I couldn't,'

I blushed at this. I did want him physically. It was as if our bodies were made for each other, made for dancing, touching, intertwining. But at the same time, I loved him with all my heart – his courage, his pride, his passion, his intellect; his loyalty, his strength, his gruff tenderness; his smile, his laugh, his dancing eyes; his fierce dedication to his work, his intense belief in the good, his constant struggle for self-control.

'When you promised Lissa that you'd give Ivashkov a serious chance when you leave for Australia, I thought it was the end. Lissa was right – you deserve a lot more than dark corners and sneaking around behind everyone's back. I was prepared to let you go again, convinced that I was too late, that you had already given your heart away to another. Ivashkov was right – I was a fool and I didn't, probably still don't, deserve you. But seeing you kiss him and then drag him away into your room broke me. I wasn't going to let you walk out of my life again without a fight. I had to know if you still loved me,'

'And if I didn't?' I asked quietly. He paused for what seemed like a long time.

'Then I would be a broken man forever,'

I wrapped my arms tighter around him and we stood there for a few minutes; him stroking my hair, me listening to his heart beat. I felt my heart brim over with joy. The moment seemed too perfect, something was bound to give. Nothing this good ever happens to me without a price.

Family. My heart sank at the thought. He wants a family. I looked up at him, teary eyed, 'But what about a family?'

'You're the only family I ever want. When I think of children, they have your smile. I'd love to have children, but I'd rather have none with you than to have them with someone else,' he said passionately, holding me tighter than before.

My mind searched for an excuse. 'What about Alex?'

'I would rather be where I can defend you than tear myself up every day wondering if he's gotten to you, if you're safe. He knows I love you, he's not going to be fooled by me staying away from you,'

I looked into his eyes – they were warm and hopeful. I realized that he'd been doing all the talking, all the confessing and he still didn't know if I loved him. I broke away from his embrace and turned away from him, smiling to myself. I could picture the confusion on his handsome features as I walked away from him to the other side of the room. I crossed my arms and frowned, as if deep in thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his eyebrows knit into a frown.

'Adrian could give me anything I want,' I started. Dimitri's eyes darkened, 'I could even become queen. He's a Royal Moroi. I could have a family with him,'

I saw Dimitri clench his fists. 'Adrian's handsome. And has a great body,' I continued, and Dimitri narrowed his eyes at me. 'No one would find our union ridiculous; it would be perfect,' there was a pregnant pause.

'You have my best wishes Rose,' Dimitri said darkly, turning to leave.

'It would be perfect, if it wasn't for one thing,' I called out after him. He stopped in his tracks. 'He isn't you. And I'll never want any seemingly perfect situation if you're not in it,' I continued. Dimitri turned to look at me stoically. 'It would be perfect, if it wasn't for the fact that I was, always been, still am and will always be madly, deeply, hopelessly in love with you,'

Dimitri crossed the room in two strides. He lifted me up in his arms and kissed me urgently. I wrapped my legs around his waist and returned his fierce kisses. I trembled in his arms as he gently bit my lower lip and ran his tongue over it. 'You scared me, Roza,' he whispered hoarsely, 'I thought I had lost you again,'

I smiled into his kisses, 'Never,' and he kissed me harder as he lowered me onto my bed, just like I had always dreamed. I arched my back urgently towards him, wanting to get closer to him. His fingers teasingly dipped into my jeans as I squirmed underneath him. I gently bit his lower lip, opening his mouth slightly, enough to slip my tongue inside to meet his. He let out a low growl of desire as he pushed against me. My head was giddy with passion and our breathing was labored. I had dreamed of this moment for so long, I still had trouble believing that it was real.

'We'll make it work,' Dimitri promised, as he dipped down to kiss my neck. I bent my head back to give him easier access. His wet lips were on the sensitive area behind my neck and I gasped with pleasure. My fingernails dug into his back urgently and I heard him let out a low chuckle. What a tease, I thought and urging myself to gain composure, pushed him over and rolled on top of him. I was straddling his hips now, and I saw his eyes fill with desire. I smiled smugly at him and slowly grinded my hips against his. He let out a low growl and reached out for me, pulling me towards him. I laughed softly against his lips as he dragged me into a long kiss. I moved my lips against his jaw, feeling the slight stubble on his chin. He kissed my forehead and whispered promises of love into my ear.

Then we both heard the door open and sat up quickly to see Lissa come in, 'Oh God!' she blushed furiously, shutting the door quickly behind her. Dimitri laughed into my hair, hugging me tightly as I was still straddling him. I smiled and kissed him on his forehead. It was a tender moment that I wished would last forever.

Soon after, there was a knock on the door, and Lissa poked her head around. 'Uh… The plane's here,' she said sheepishly, trying to avoid looking at us, but she quickly gained composure and strode angrily over to Dimitri, 'You promised,'

He grinned and shrugged at her, all the while holding me in my position – straddling his hips, 'But she's irresistible,'

I laughed at the look on Lissa's face and pried myself away from Dimitri. As much as I wanted to stay there forever with him, we had a plane to catch. 'Stop teasing her,' I chided him. His eyes were dancing. I don't think I've ever seen him that happy before. I smiled happily back at him. God help us, we were so in love. He winked at me and because he looked so irresistible, I laughed and leaned down to give him a quick kiss.

'Oh guys,' Lissa groaned.

'Don't worry Liss, we'll make it work,' I said, echoing Dimitri's words. He grinned at me and reached out to squeeze my hand. I squeezed his hand in return and pulled him out of bed, 'Come on, we need to go,'

'You guys have a lot of explaining to do,' Lissa warned.

'We know, Princess,' Dimitri said cheekily, giving her a low bow. It caught Lissa off guard and she blushed furiously. I laughed loudly and smacked Dimitri playfully on the shoulders. 'Stop it,' I chuckled. I liked this lighter side of Dimitri. Lissa tried to scowl at him but couldn't keep from smiling.

Dimitri wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on my forehead, 'I need to go back with Tasha for a few days. We're going to work out my transfer, and if all goes well, I'll see you by the end of the week,'

'You're transferring?'

'Of course, I'll be guarding Christian soon,' he said happily. Lissa looked quizzically between the two of us, not quite understanding what was going on.

I looked at Dimitri in surprise. I was ecstatic. When he told me he loved me, I didn't think things could get any better, but this was beyond my dreams. He was coming to Australia! I could see him every day!

'I love you!' I threw my arms around him and he laughed into my hair, 'I love you too,' I felt like my heart was about to burst with joy.

'How?' I asked excitedly, wondering when he sorted all this out.

He smiled at me, 'I told you not to worry about Tasha,'

Tasha. She must have organized all this. She was a bigger, better person than I gave her credit for. I had some serious apologizing to do. I would like to ask Dimitri for the details, but we had a plane to catch so instead I said, 'Don't stay away for too long,'

'I never will,' he promised, leaning down to kiss me. I finally broke away from his kiss, but only because Lissa was getting impatient and tired of seeing us exchange sentiments. She was gagging through our bond. As Dimitri lugged my luggage downstairs, I literally skipped down and ran to hug Adrian. 'Thank you so much!' I whispered as he spun me around.

'I'm glad you're happy,' he said, a wisp of melancholy in his voice.

In the next chapter, the gang will touchdown in Melbourne, Australia. And I chose Melbourne because that's where I'm from heh!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Rose and Dimitri are finally together - yay!
Please, please, please review! I'd love to know what you guys think; it also gives me an idea of where to take the next chapters..! So, please review, and I'll hopefully be able to post the next chapter up soon. Until then, take care! x