Author's note: Here you go, Folks! Hope you all had a lovely weekend! And I hope you enjoy this chappie! And you had BETTER Review! :D Oh, and Sasha would like to say something. *turns to Sasha, smiling* Go ahead, Sweetie!

Sasha: Thank you, Nancy! *smiling* Mrs. Mead owns Vampire Academy as well as my adoptive Mommy and Daddy who need to stop being stupid and get back together so we can be a proper family. However, this plot belongs to Nancy, and I am her brain child. Enjoy the story!

"That… was h-hilarious!" Lissa hiccuped, holding her stomach as she pointed and laughed at Christian, who was still staring at me, completely dumbstruck with custard still in his face. Sasha, still giggling, ran from my side and crawled into Dimitri's lap with a napkin in her hand.

"Uncle Dimka! Auntie Rose got you all wet!" she exclaimed, still giggling uncontrollably as she gently dabbed his face with her napkin, finding the whole event to be rather hilarious. I heard the rich, warm laughter that solely belonged to the man sitting at my side wrap around me, making me want to melt. Focusing on my food, I managed to not look up at them, knowing that if I did, I would wrap my arms around them, and kiss the crap out of Dimitri, regardless of how things were currently bad (as in non-existent) between us.

"Something on your mind, Rose?" Christian asked with a wicked smirk on his face, seemingly reading my mind… or my expression, rather. I simply looked up at him with a level gaze, hiding the conflicting emotions that threatened to take me over.

"I was just musing over the irony of you having pudding on your face, Christian. If I recall correctly, weren't you the one to instigate the food fight between you, Adrian, and I my last day at Court by flinging pudding into my face? What is the phrase? Oh! Payback is a beast!" I shot back at him, making everyone at the table laugh again, though I still pointedly ignored Dimitri.

"Oh my G-d. When did Rose Hathaway develop a decent vocabulary?" Christian exclaimed. "Has Hell frozen over?" I just smiled at him.

"Just because yours is still the equivalent of a two-year-old's doesn't mean that the Apocalypse is coming when the rest of us sound more intelligent than you. It's really not that hard to do, Fire Crotch," I stated loftily with a grin, before turning to Sasha. "Don't ever call anyone that. It's rude," I told her. Sasha just giggled and nodded in agreement. After that, everyone fell into a comfortable routine of chatting… except me, of course.

Lunch seemed to drag on at an agonizingly slow rate with my being stuck next to Dimitri, and I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to get out of that position. He seemed to follow me everywhere else for some reason or another the rest of the time. It made me a little angry, considering all the work I'd done trying to get over him and the fact that he kept hurting me, even if he didn't mean to. I was so tired of the emotional train-wreck I was in with him. Dimitri made me want to curl up into a ball and never leave my room. I hadn't really said much the whole time I had been sitting with my friends, and that was still unusual for the more reserved side of me.

"Hathaway!" Stan suddenly barked, snapping me out of my reverie. "Patrol. Your shift starts in five minutes. Get your ass moving!" came the gruff order. I smiled at him gratefully, probably shocking him to the core. At the moment, he was my hero.

"I'll be right there!" I called, standing up from my spot. "Well folks, I need to take my watch. I'll see you later; Lissa, Christian," I said, nodding to each of them, before turning towards Dimitri, who was still holding Sasha in his lap. I may have hated him for the current moment, but I'd be damned if I'd let him estrange me from my little girl, who obviously loved him dearly already. I bent over to kiss Sasha's forehead, and I smirked when I heard Dimitri's breath hitch slightly. Ha, eat your heart out, sucker! I thought to myself before pressing my lips to Sasha's forehead.

"Auntie Rose, where are you going?" she asked me, wrapping her small arms around my neck and giving me a kiss on the cheek. I smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"I'm going to patrol the campus, sweetheart. You be good to Dimitri while I'm gone. Understood?" I asked, finding it ironic that I was telling her to behave for a man I would have loved to make miserable nowadays.

"Yes, Ma'am," Sasha chimed with an obedient nod of her head. I chuckled warmly, before turning to Dimitri, my eyes flashing dangerously as I glared at him. I leaned even closer so that I was whispering in his ear, clearly taking him by surprise, but he didn't jump away from me like he did at the chapel back at the Royal Court.

"So help me, you had better take good care of her, because if she is returned to me harmed in any way, shape, or form, I don't care who did it, I will string you up from the tallest tree I can find by the gonads and use you for target practice. Got it?" I hissed menacingly so only he could hear my not-so-nice promise. Dimitri turned slightly and regarded me seriously.

"Of course, Rose," he said sternly with that damn guardian mask on his face. "I will never let any harm come to my own niece." His eyes never left mine, and I nodded sharply, shaking myself out of any trance I might have fallen in. I gripped his shoulder tightly, almost painfully, still not taking my eyes from him. When it came to Sasha Rakova, I meant Business.

"Glad to see we understand each other, Comrade," I told him darkly, patting him roughly on the shoulder as I walked away from my group.

As I patrolled the grounds, I put my body and senses on autopilot, and let my mind wander over previous events that I had shut out of my brain until now. Why had Lissa brought Dimitri? I had a feeling that there was more to it than just leaving him alone for Christmas. Why did Dimitri suddenly want to be friends now after he pretty much told me that he wanted nothing to do with me and to stay away from him? I groaned, and pressed my palms against my temples in frustration. Nothing made sense anymore.

My shift ended sooner than I would have liked it to, and I shuffled back to the Guardian Building to grab something to eat before hitting the sack. It was past curfew, so all of the students should have been in their dorms and in bed by now. As I neared the break room, I heard two very meaningful voices behind the door. I didn't go in right away, and attempted to listen to the conversation before I interrupted.

"Uncle Dimka, why does Auntie Roza always seem so sad when she's with you?" Sasha's voice innocently rang though the air. I could hear Dimitri sigh loudly, and I would have bet money that he was wracking his brains, trying to figure out what to say to her.

"Sasha, Roza and I used to be very good friends before I was taken by the Strigoi," I smirked. 'Good friends,' way to be tactful, Comrade. Wouldn't want to corrupt the innocent little girl's mind, now would we? My thoughts were interrupted when he spoke again. "She tried to find me so she could free me from that awful state, but I captured her instead, and tried to make her join me…," I could hear him choke on his words, along with Sasha's horrified gasp. There was a long pause before they spoke, and I assumed that it was too painful for him to continue. He drew in a ragged breath, supposedly to compose himself, and once again, I admit, I felt awful for him.

"I did many horrible things to her while I was a Strigoi… things I'll never be able to forgive myself for. So, when she helped Princess Vasilisa return me to my original state, I told her to stay away from me, and it hurt her for me to push her away like that," he explained, obviously not wanting to go into all the dirty details of the whole affair. I felt anger bubbling up inside of me as I scowled at the door. You're damn right you hurt me! You practically ripped me into little pieces, stomped on them, and fed my guts to the Strigoi. And I helped Lissa? No, you've got it all wrong. I went to Russia to find you! I found out about the 'cure'! I organized everything to busting Victor Dashkov out of Tarsov Prison! Lissa helped ME! She laid the last brick on the wall that I had built! You little-! I cut myself off from my mental rant, not wanting to dwell on it any more, in case I lost my temper and barged in on them, busting myself for eavesdropping.

I hadn't realized that there was a long silence before Sasha spoke again. The only problem: she spoke in Russian, and I cursed myself once more for not knowing the language.

"Djadja Dimka, Vy ljubite moju Tetushka Roza?" she asked. I could pick out my name in relation with the Russian word for 'love' and my breath caught in my throat as a sudden anxiety seized me as I waited for his answer.

"Da. Da, Sasha, ja ljublju Roza ochen '…, no ne govorju ej; o ljubom iz jetogo. Jeto dolzhna byt' nasha tajna, i nikto bol'she ne dolzhen znat'. Vy mozhete soglasit'sja na jeto?" he said. I'm not sure what he told her, exactly, but I'm positive that I forgot how to breathe at his answer. 'Da'… 'Yes.'

I vaguely wondered if my heart would explode with happiness, but then suddenly, I was angry; furious, even. Dimitri had lied to me, and made me want to step in front of a speeding semi-truck when he told me he didn't love me. That no-good, low-life bastard! I burst through the door scowling darkly at Dimitri, catching him off guard. Sasha jumped up and ran to me happily, jumping into my arms. I smiled at her, unable to help it, and covered her face with kisses before smoothing her hair gently.

"Bedtime, Squirt," I teased affectionately. "In fact, it's way past your bedtime. You're lucky to have me around so you don't get in trouble." Sasha wrinkled her nose adorably at this, sticking her tongue out at me, making me laugh.

"I wanted to stay with Uncle Dimka and see you before I went to bed, Auntie Rose," she told me matter-of-factly as she snuggled into my chest and buried her face the crook of my neck. I smiled tenderly as I held her, lightly leaning the side of my face against hers. I could feel Dimitri staring at us, and my eyes flicked upward to see him studying me intently like he always did, but his eyes held a heart-breaking fondness in them as he looked at me holding the little girl in my arms. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat as his gaze met mine, his lips quirking into a small smile when he saw that I was looking at him. G-d, he was so, so beautiful. The dim light of the break room reflected on his chocolate brown hair like a halo.

"See something you like, Belikov?" I piped up quietly, desperate to distract myself. Dimitri's expression changed as he cocked his head slightly to the side, giving me a wry smile. I had no doubt he was remembering the time I last used that line on him. He'd caught me in my make-out session with Jesse Zelkos, threw Jesse out, and had been about to chew my ear off with a major scolding until the sight of me wearing nothing but jeans and a black bra caught him off guard.

"She is a remarkable little girl," he suddenly said, nodding in Sasha's direction. I looked at Sasha, realizing that she'd fallen asleep in my arms, and smiled slightly in agreement, before looking back to Dimitri. "She loves you very much, Roza," he stated, almost reverently, and his whole attitude stopped me from correcting him on my name. I wanted him to kiss me right then. 'You do too, Comrade. You do too,' my mind added, and Dimitri straightened up, seeming to read my mind. Damn it.

"Well, goodnight," I said, spinning on my heel and carrying Sasha out towards the door so I could take her to her room. Before I left though, I looked back. "Dimitri?" I called softly, slipping and using his first name for once. He looked at me, obviously as shocked as I was.

"Yes?" he asked, warily.

"Thank you… for taking care of her. She loves you too," I said quietly, before turning and carrying Sasha out the door before he could say another word. As I left, I heard him speak again, though his voice was so soft, I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not.

"I would do anything for you, Roza… I love you."

Translations:

"Djadja Dimka, Vy ljubite moju Tetushka Roza?" : "Uncle Dimka, do you love my Auntie Roza?"

"Da. Da, Sasha, ja ljublju Roza ochen '…, no ne govorju ej; o ljubom iz jetogo. Jeto dolzhna byt' nasha tajna, i nikto bol'she ne dolzhen znat'. Vy mozhete soglasit'sja na jeto?" : "Yes. Yes, Sasha, I love Roza very much... but don't tell her; about any of this. It is to be our secret, and no one else must know. Can you agree to that?"