When Jill awoke, she was alone in her dark room. She breathed, and then all the feelings and memories and emotions came rushing back.

Only a few hours ago, had she been given the news that her guardian/best friend/potential boyfriend had been turned Strigoi, and her other best friend had been taken by the very people she was working for.

Jill bolted up and vomited, right on the expensive Persian carpet. Her stomach roiled and her head ached. Adrian, she realized. The bond was numb, but she felt like she had been doing shots with full bottles of vodka, not just tiny glasses.

Oh my God, Adrian! She pushed back the covers and stood shakily. There was no way in hell that Adrian would be taking Sydney's capture in good spirits. She winced at the double pun. And then she winced again with every step she took.

She almost fell back in bed, feeling the crushing weight of Eddie's 'death'. She wanted nothing more than to curl back up and cry herself to sleep again, but her worry over Adrian's health prompted her to swallow down the sobs and go to him.

When she exited her bedroom and entered her main rooms, she saw Rose and Lissa sitting on the couch, talking quietly.

"Jill! Get back in that bed!" Rose chided gently. "I think you need to sleep."

She shook her head. "I think Adrian's in trouble."

"He can't be. I got all the liquor out of his room."

"Did you check his closet, underneath his boxers?"

"No," Rose stared at her, baffled. "Why would I – oh. Dammit. A secret stash."

Jill nodded miserably. "He's probably passed out. I have an awful headache."

Lissa gently guided her sister to the couch. "Stay here. Rose will check on him."

"No! He needs me!"

Lissa frowned. "Jill-"

"Who understands you better than your bond mate?" Jill challenged. Grief churned within her, making her lash out like a wounded animal. "And he and I both lost someone we loved today."

"Jill, everybody loved Eddie and Sydney-"

"Not like Adrian loves Sydney! What if it were Christian that was missing?"

Lissa sighed.

"Because that's how Adrian feels, and that's how I feel!" Jill practically shouted at her sister. Tears sprung back into her eyes and she wiped them angrily away.

Lissa's brow furrowed in concern, but Rose smiled a knowing smile, one tinged with sadness.

"Liss, let her come with me. She's been asleep for a while." Rose sighed. "You remember how you needed me back when we had the bond."

Lissa nodded after a moment. "But… Jill, you're sure you're okay?"

She wasn't. She was barely holding it together, willing the tears not to leak out. Eddie's absence was already a gaping hole.

Some mornings, she would walk out into her main rooms and he'd be asleep on the couch, not bothering to go back to his rooms after his shift. Others, he'd be gone and her other guardian would take over, but he wouldn't be gone for too long, always ready to take over later in the day.

He was always the one constant thing she had, always with her while Lissa was in meetings doing queen stuff and Adrian was either taking art classes or with Sydney. Angeline had elected to go back to the Keepers, and Trey had surprised them all by following her back to the Keeper community. His reasoning was that the Warriors were never really the best choice for him anyhow.

Jill was virtually alone all the time, except for Eddie's constant and welcome presence.

Now she was alone for real.

She squared her shoulders and took a shaky breath. "Adrian needs me."

Lissa nodded and Jill allowed Rose to lead her down the hall to Adrian's rooms.

He was lying on his bed when they entered, eyes bloodshot and he smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Adrian," Jill murmured, crawling onto it beside him.

He stared at her blindly. "Hey, Jailbait," he croaked. "How are you?"

She shook her head.

He laughed mirthlessly. "Me too. And I drank all my stash."

Jill sighed. She didn't feel like busting him just that second.

"Adrian," Rose said gently. "Is that all of it?"

He shrugged, and Rose didn't push him. "Do you guys need anything?"

"Just some water," Jill murmured. "For both of us."

Rose nodded and hurriedly backed out of the room.

Adrian rolled over to face Jill. "I can't reach her," his voice was raw, his eyes were wild. "I've been trying all night and I can't get through."

"Maybe she's not sleeping?"

"No, she's got to be."

"Adrian, have you slept?"

He didn't answer and Jill brushed his hair back from his face, as a mother would with a child. "Adrian. You need to sleep. The bond's gone numb with alcohol."

"I drank all my stash when I couldn't reach her," Adrian confessed. "And now I can't touch the spirit."

"Exactly why you need sleep," Jill said. "You need to heal."

Adrian smiled at her bitterly. "It doesn't matter anymore, Jailbait. Nothing does without Sydney."

Just then, Rose entered carrying two glasses of water and aspirin for both of them. "Drink all of that water, Adrian," Rose said. "And I mean all of it."

"Haven't I drunk enough, Little Dhampir?"

Rose rolled her eyes and gave Jill a sympathetic look. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head. "I'll stay here with Adrian."

Rose nodded and turned to go, but paused. "Jill… Eddie's funeral is going to be tomorrow. I know it's so soon but… we felt it would be best."

Jill bit her lip as fresh waves of grief washed over her. She swallowed a few times before answering. "What… what time?"

"Noon. Lissa wanted to know if you wanted to give the eulogy."

Jill nodded wordlessly.

Rose gently enfolded the girl into a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I miss him too."

"I can't believe he's Strigoi," Jill let the dam break and tears leaked out onto Rose's shoulder. "He's not a monster. He could never be like them."

"I know, sweetie," Rose said, wiping her own tears away.

"He wouldn't have wanted this. He'd rather be dead," Jill sobbed.

Rose pulled back to look at Jill. "Jill, I swear. I will go and… you know. Free him. Let him move on."

Jill sniffed. "Thank you, Rose. That means a lot."

"It's the least I could do for him. He's done so much for me." Rose took a shuddering breath. "Kinda crazy how this isn't the first loved one I've had to go stake, huh?"

Jill didn't laugh but wiped the tears from her face and sat back down next to Adrian's limp form. "Thank you, Rose."

Rose nodded. "You sure you're okay here?"

"Yeah. I'll watch Adrian."

"Okay. Just call if you need anything." Rose disappeared through the door.

Jill sighed and flopped down next to Adrian, curling into a miserable ball. At least he had finally fallen asleep, and she watched his chest gently rise and fall with each breath.

She closed her eyes and lay there, too.

"Jill. I have an idea." Adrian's voice caused her to open her eyelids and stare at him.

"You should be sleeping."

Adrian sat up, brushing her off. "No, listen. I have an idea. I think we can save Eddie."

"Adrian-"

"No, hear me out, Jill," Adrian grabbed her hand. "I can charm a stake and use it to bring him back."

Jill wanted so badly to agree. She could have Eddie back. On the other hand, that much spirit… Adrian was already unstable, and she didn't want to send him over the edge. "Adrian, what if it's too much?"

"It won't be, because Sydney will be there to help."

Now he was talking crazy. "Adrian… Sydney's in a reeducation center."

"Not for long." Adrian grinned, his eyes green eyes glinting faintly. "We're going to break her out."

"How?"

"I may not have been sleeping, but I was in a spirit dream just now. With Sydney. She's in a center somewhere in Maine. And we're going to break her out."

Jill was shaking her head. "Adrian, this is crazy. No. We're not going to break Sydney out. It's impossible."

"Bringing you back to life was impossible, and yet here you are right in front of me."

"We don't have any resources or tools for this. It's probably a high security prison."

"We have my magic and yours. A little compulsion on my part, a little water magic on yours, and presto! Cameras are down, guards are unconscious and Sydney is free."

"No. This is the spirit talking. You need to go back to sleep."

"But Jill, if this works… we can bring Eddie back, good as new. And you can finally tell him how you feel."

"Don't use Eddie as a bargaining chip!" Jill cried, eyes flashing. "This is stupid, and you know it! We're underprepared, and… and…" she broke down crying again. "And, I want to see Eddie again so badly. But if it puts you in danger…"

"Jill, if Sydney's there, then I won't be. She can do some witchy magic and help me out a bit. And Lissa recovered just fine from when she turned Dimitri back." Adrian gently draped an arm around Jill's shoulders. "Jill. Sydney's in trouble and I need to help her. In her dream she seemed so scared…" he faltered. "And I can do something about it. I can get her out, and after we do, we can bring Eddie back."

Jill wiped her eyes again. "But how? How do we get in? Our magic isn't going to cut it."

Adrian chewed his lip, thinking. "We can call Zmey."

"Who?"

"Rose's father. He's a Moroi mobster and he owes me for saving Rose's life two years ago. He might owe her too. They have history. And how could he say no to a request from the Dragomir Princess, let alone a friend of his daughter's?"

"What could he do?"

"He has connections everywhere. He'll think of something."

Jill was too shocked to be grieved now. "Okay, so let's say he somehow gets us in, but how do we get her out? We'd have to hide ourselves and Sydney from the Alchemists, and we have no idea where Eddie is. And I think people would notice if I were gone!"

Adrian was quiet a moment, his eyes darkening, but they brightened again as inspiration came. "You can say you're so upset over Eddie that you want to go home. I'll go with you, and we ditch the guardian and head for Maine. We can meet one of Abe's guys on the way there. He'd have tools, blueprints… we could decide on a plan then, and execute it."

"What about Strigoi we could encounter on the run?" Dread filled Jill as she realized that one of the Strigoi they came across could very well be Eddie. And she'd have to fight him.

"We'll travel during the day, and I guess we could bring a Dhampir guard with us."

Jill sighed and shook her head. "Who? Rose is busy with Lissa, Dimitri's with Christian."

"Not them, obviously. They'd try to stop us. What about… your other guardian?"

"Kyle? Nope. He's so stiff with protocol, like Neil was. What about Mikhail?"

"He's with Sonya and their kid." Adrian rubbed his eyes. "I don't think he'd be enthusiastic about leaving them."

Jill shrugged. "Unless Abe knows some Dhampirs who are willing to work with us-"

"I got it!" Adrian cried. "How far away are the Keepers from Maine?"

"How would I know? Why do you want the Keepers?"

"Because, Jailbait, we can find some Dhampirs to help us. Well, at least a Dhampir and an ex-Warrior."

"Angeline and Trey?" Jill asked.

"Yes. They're Eddie and Sydney's friends. They'd both be willing to help out. I'll send Trey and Angeline a spirit dream right now."

As Adrian lay down, Jill did too, resting her head on his shoulder. "You know… this just might work."

And she felt a little spark of hope flutter in her chest.

WHO'S SEEN THE VA MOVIE? I'M GOING THIS WEEKEND AND I'M SO EXCITED. I've heard great things about it and I CAN'T WAIT to see Danila as Dimitri!

And another view from Lizzie! Thank you! And thank you, ShadowHuntingDhamphir2014! And you other guys… REVIEW! Please! Reviews mean faster updates. Love it, or not, or whatever you feel, let me know! And I'm sorry about the quality of this drabble. I know it's not my best. My writing hasn't been very good since winter started. It's seasonal depression: s And I KNOOOW this took me FOREVER. Sorry!