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Chapter 23 DPOV

"Guardian Hathaway," I greeted Rose's mother as I collected her from the Missoula airport. Abe had sent me to pick her up. I was glad that he did, it gave us a few hours to talk. Janine knew that Rose and I were in a relationship, Abe admitted the other day that he accidentally spilled the beans. The burden of explaining things to Janine was falling on me, which was probably a good thing.

"Belikov," she nodded at me. She stood in casual clothes in front of me, a first. I had only ever seen her in uniform. Janine had a large black duffle bag slung over her shoulder and a medium suitcase next to her. I wasn't sure how long she was going to stay but by the looks of it, she would be here for awhile.

"Do you need help with your bags?" I asked her, I had a feeling she would decline my request but I thought it was still polite to offer. I was surprised at the slight nod of her head. Janine was the kind of woman who rarely accepted help from anyone.

"If you don't mind," she said to me. I nodded and held out my hand to take the bag she offered. I wasn't surprised this time when she handed me the duffle. I could feel that it was heavy.

"Since you traveled as a . . . civilian," I stated for a lack of a better word. I didn't know how to mention she traveled as a human instead of with Moroi airlines. "I packed a little extra, in case you didn't have one charmed."

Silver stakes were hard to get through human security. You could have one charmed so it could be disguised when going through security, but the charming was risky. If it wasn't done recently it was faulty. I figured an experienced Guardian, such as Janine, would be sure traveling armed. But I wanted to let her know I was prepared in case she wasn't.

"Thank you," she told me. I could see the glimmer of respect in her eyes. "But it isn't necessary."

"The car is this way," I told her as we started walking through the airport. I had hoped my offer showed Janine that I was being prepared and respectful. I knew that we would be having a difficult conversation soon and any points I could get on my side now was necessary.

I thought it was best that Janine and I were speaking before she and Rose. Rose tended to jump to conclusions and react quickly. Janine was the same way, so it was best that someone who could keep a cool head was broaching the subject first. I knew that both Janine and Rose were passionate people, especially when dealing with each other. They cared about each other deeply but would never admit it, it's the reason why they both acted defensively with each other.

The two of us walked to the car in silence. It wasn't awkward, Guardians were used to walking in silence with each other. It seemed very natural. I opened the back of the SUV and helped Janine deposit her things inside. The two of us entered the car silently. I maneuvered the car out of the parking lot and made our way onto the highway.

I could feel Janine's eyes on me as I drove. We had a couple hour drive and thankfully she couldn't attack me because I was driving. So I guess that was a good thing. I knew she had a lot of questions but I didn't know how to broach the subject. Do I just start telling her about myself and Rose? Do I ask if her if she wants to know anything? I wasn't really sure the best way to converse in this situation. I wanted to be sure that I was honest and forthcoming, but also ease her fears.

"Well?" Janine asked after a while. We had been on the road for almost half an hour. I didn't really know how to break the silence, I guess it was good that she did. Though she probably realized I wasn't going to talk until she did.

"I'm not sure how to have this conversation," I told her honestly. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Maybe we start there?"

"How long?" She asked me. I expected this one. Pretty much every person who found out about Rose and me wanted to know how long we had been together. And really how the whole thing started. It was natural.

"I knew I had feelings for her, feelings I knew that I shouldn't have. So I did everything in my power to distance myself, I almost took another offer at Christmas time," I said. I knew Janine would remember that because she and I had talked about it. I was hoping that would be a point in my favor. "I'm sure you remember that."

"I do," she said curtly.

"When Rose went missing," I took in a deep breath. I could feel every moment of that day as I thought about. The fear, the worry, the panic coming to the forefront of my mind. "I panicked. All I could think about was her. I just wanted to find her alive, that's all I cared about. The day we found them, I felt a crippling amount of relief that day. I knew then I couldn't lose her. I didn't care about anything else."

"So you decided to act on your feelings?" Janine asked me harshly. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that Janine was in a male dominant profession. She had to be harsh and direct to be respected. I couldn't take offense to the tone of her voice, especially because up until I left my allocation I was the one in the wrong.

"I decided to be there for her," I said honestly. "I told her I loved her and I didn't want to pretend that I didn't. I lost her before I could really have her. And while I know I'm supposed to make sacrifices for Moroi, I didn't want to sacrifice this. That probably makes me a horrible Guardian, but it's the truth."

"When did you leave the academy?" Janine asked me. Her voice was a little softer, I think she was warming up to the idea of us. I was hoping she was warming up to the idea at least.

"Towards the end of January," I explained. I decided to address the elephant in the room, well car. I had done it with Abe and it had helped, so I was hoping that it would help here too. "Rose and I haven't done anything. I assured Abe, and I am going to assure you that her virginity is still intact. I will not do anything until she tells me that she is ready. I love her, this isn't some affair for me."

"You promise me that her virginity is still intact?" Janine asked me after a few minutes of silence. I could tell she was becoming more and more comfortable with our relationship. It was obvious with how she was speaking.

"I promise you," I told her. If we were not in a car I would have looked her in the eye. I knew that this was probably a big deal for Janine. "This isn't about sex, I truly love her. And I want to spend the rest of my life with her, in whatever way she will allow me."

"She's my baby," Janine said quietly. I had never heard Janine so sentimental about Rose, I don't think Rose had ever heard her mother refer to her as anything other than 'Rosemarie'. I don't know why it surprised me as much as it did. I had seen Janine's fear just two months earlier. But still it did, it was an odd sentiment coming from Guardian Hathaway. "If you hurt her, I will make sure you suffer like no other. It will make Abe's torture seem like a walk on the beach."

"I would expect nothing less," my voice was confident as it came out. I was thankful for that, the truth was I was a little frightened now. I had heard stories of what Abe did to his enemies, I could only imagine what Janine would do. Even though I was slightly terrified, I was thankful that she accepted us. I felt a shiver trail down my spine as my thoughts wondered to what would happen to me. I reminded myself that I wasn't going to hurt Rose, so I had nothing to worry about.

APOV

I was waiting at the front of St. Vlad's for Janine and Belikov. I was curious to see how he survived explaining to Janine his and Roes's relationship. But not only that, I wanted to see Jean again. I had missed her. I loved her deeply. I still had her engagement ring, I brought it everywhere with me. In fact, it never left my body. The ring hung on a gold chain that was around my neck. Something that Pavel liked to tease me about occasionally, though he was careful only to do it in private.

I watched the black SUV pull up, I was glad I had purchased the car in Belikov's name. Especially considering that he was seeing my daughter. It was one of the safest cars out there, built like a tank. I knew Rose would spend a lot of time in that car, and it made me sleep better knowing that she was in a safe car.

Belikov pulled through the gates after he went through the security, he stopped the car a few feet off to the side from me. Janine stepped out of the car and came to stand in front of me. She looked beautiful. She was clad in a pair of tight jeans, short ankle boots, and a sporty winter jacket that ended at her hips. Her hair was short, it was long when we were together. She used to braid it off to the side, in this one long messy braid. But now her short hair looked good on her.

"Abe," she said softly.

"Jean," I took a half step toward her and pulled her in for a quick hug. Her body felt stiff as I hugged her. I was glad I wasn't the only one a little uneasy about this.

"How are you?" She asked me after I pulled back from her.

"I'm good," I grinned at her. "Our daughter is magnificent! I see a lot of me in her."

"So did I," she whispered softly. So softly, I wasn't sure I heard her. I decided not to comment on that.

"Well, let's gather your things and make our way to guest housing," I suggested. "Belikov, would you like to join us?"

"That's all right Abe, I have a meeting with Pavel in an hour," he told me. Pavel was currently taking a nap, he didn't have any meetings scheduled today. I figured he knew an attack was happening on Rose and he wanted to watch it.

"We will see you and Rose for dinner tonight then," I nodded to him. I watched him hand the keys of the car to another Guardian on duty so it could be properly put away. Belikov had removed Janine's bags and they were seated next to her. "Do you need help with your bags?"

"Please," she nodded to me. Jean grabbed the duffle and slung it over her shoulder while I grabbed the suitcase. The two of us walked in silence as we headed toward Guest housing. I wasn't sure exactly what to say to her and I think she felt the same way.

DPOV

I declined the invitation by Abe so I could watch Rose. This would be her second attack and I wanted her to win. I knew she wanted to win too. Things had been better since Jesse Zelkos outed us. Who knew that our life would be easier once we were public? I think because we were stable and not into PDA, there was nothing people could talk about.

I quickly made my way along the path I knew where Rose would be attacked. It was going to be in-between the building Lissa was currently in and the dining hall. They wanted this attack to be public again. I hoped Rose would do well. She needed to earn a perfect score on each attack now to still be the top novice in her class. I knew she wanted to keep that title.

I didn't want to stand out in the open to make her worried, so I was sure to stand off to the side and a little hidden. I figured she might still see me because she was far guarding, but I hoped I was hidden enough for her not to notice. I waited patiently for a few minutes, the bell rang signaling the end of class. I immediately was on alert.

A few minutes later I saw Eddie, Lissa, and Christian come out of the building. Thirty-seconds later, Rose followed about fifty meters behind them. Enough distance that she could be there within seconds, but far enough she could see a bigger picture.

I saw the Guardian dressed all in black just seconds before she did, but I also knew where they were coming from. I watched as Rose's lips moved. She probably was alerting Eddie, she was smart. Though it was only one and it was going to be directed at her, but it was good she went through the standard protocol.

I watched as she slowed her steps a little, her body becoming stiff. It was something only I could tell. We had trained for months together and now I knew more about her body than before. Reading her body language was easy for me to do. Her arm went across her chest, she looked like she went to scratch her side inside her jacket. I could see her arm still and knew she had grabbed the practice stake.

The "strigoi" attacked her. She was fast. I watched her get a couple of good hits and blocked everything he threw at her, that would give her a good score I thought. I watched as she spun around after sending a sharp kick to her opponent's abdomen. That was going to hurt him in the morning, I thought as he staggered back from the force trying not to fall over. I had been on the receiving end of those kicks before, she could put some force behind them.

I watched as Rose turned to look at him to see what he would do when she froze. Her mouth opened in a silent scream it looked like. Unfortunately for her, the guardian assigned to attack her was young and didn't notice her frozen form. He immediately retaliated and I watched as Rose fell back onto the concrete her head striking the ground from the force of his hit.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath as I watched how hard she hit her head. I hoped she didn't have a concussion. I made my way out of my hiding spot and sprinted to Rose. I crouched down next to her, the Guardian who fought her also crouched down.

"I didn't mean too," he said to me all panicked. I looked at him and realized he was Guardian Jones. I really didn't want to spend time easing his worries, but he was still a young Guardian. He hadn't even seen his first Strigoi yet, but I knew I should say something comforting.

"It's okay, it happens," I told him honestly. Truth was, these things did happen. We tried to avoid them but Guardian training was rigorous, intense, and very violent. There were times that Guardians (and novices) would endure more injuries during training times than fighting off Strigoi. "Roza, Roza, open your eyes for me."

I heard her groan and I let out a soft sigh. I watched her eyes flutter behind her eyelids, I was hoping she was going to be okay. Rose groaned again. Her eyes blinked rapidly before opening and then shut tightly again as she let out a whimper. It didn't sound good. The force her head hit the concrete could have caused a concussion or worse, I was just hoping it was just something mild.

"Milaya, open your eyes for me," I said softly trying to coax her to do what I asked. I wanted to make sure she didn't have any severe trauma to her head. I could tell a crowd was gather around us.

"Can't," she mumbled through a groan. "Going to be sick." I figured she might have a little-blurred vision and dizziness from the fall.

"Belikov?" I heard Stan say next to me. "Is she okay?"

I hadn't heard him arrive but I figured Jones called for some help in case this was serious. Plus Stan could help manage the crowd that was forming. Most students hated him but would do what he asked. He was ranked high as a Guardian at the school. Not to mention most didn't want to deal with his wrath. I was incredibly grateful once again that I had found an ally in Stan.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should give her space," I said to him. I heard him command everyone to go there way after a minute. He knew I was right that she needed space from her classmates. Especially if she was going to be sick.

"Roza, it's just you and me now," I whispered softly. "Open your eyes."

Rose eyes fluttered and opened, I watched her pupils dilate and constrict before she focused on me. I let out a huge breath I had been holding once her eyes had adjusted to the light fully.

"Ouch," she said quietly. I helped her sit up softly and noticed she got a little green when she did. I figured she would be a little woozy for a while. The key was to stagger her stand up, get her to adjust to sitting and then get her to stand from there. I didn't want her to get a head rush just from getting up too fast, especially when it could be avoided.

"What happened Rose?" I asked her after she seemed to be handling sitting up. I didn't want to rush her, but I also wanted to get her to admit that something was wrong. I knew the moment she was standing and fine, she would pretend nothing happened.

"Nothing, I just panicked," she lied to me. I could tell she didn't want to admit something. There was something bothering her, had been for a while now. I was hoping that today's events would lead her to open up. Especially because we could help her if something was really wrong.

"Rose, there is no shame if there is something wrong," I told her. I wanted her to know there was nothing wrong with asking for help. Sometimes people need help and that was okay. "You went through something very traumatic not even two months ago. If you need help, let me help you."

I could see the tears well up in her eyes as she thought over my words. I figured she was going through something, I had researched PTSD symptoms and new that there was a lot of ranges. I wouldn't be surprised if she had some form of it because of what happened. She had to watch her best friend die when he tried to save her. And right after she killed his killers. That had to have affected her a lot harder than we all thought.

"Mason," she whispered bringing me out of my thoughts. "I'm seeing Mason."

Well, the shoe dropped! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. A lot to come in the next coming chapters, stay tuned for more!

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