Title: She's Like My Own

Background: Takes place pre-Vampire Academy and all the way into the first part of the book. Part keeping with the books, part OC.

DISCLAIMER: Part of Chapter 3 from Vampire Academy, is used. All credit for that portion, goes to Richelle Mead.

"Hi sweetie, whats your name?" I asked the little brunette girl who had wondered out of her room. It was the first big intake for St. Vlad's, mostly it was Dhampir orphans or children who were signed over to the academy. The second big intake would be Moroi students starting kindergarten, and the last one would be right before junior high started for both groups.

"Rose," the little girl said softly as she clutched a teddy bear to her chest.

"Hi Rose, I am Guardian Alto, but you can call me Stan," I told her softly as I crouched down to her level. "Now what are you doing out of bed?"

"I got lost?" Rose said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Did you really get lost?" I asked her curiously, not fully believing her. It was difficult for some of the students the first few nights, often times they went out looking for a parent or (if lucky enough to have one) a sibling.

"Yes?" She said again, making it sound like a question. I could tell this girl was going to be trouble.

"Come on," I told her. "I will take you back to your room." I stood up and offered my hand to her which she took automatically and the two of us made our way toward the dorm rooms for Dhampir girls and the hall monitor.

"Oh Guardian Alto, thank you for finding her!" Debbie, the hall monitor, exclaimed. "We have been looking everywhere for you Rosemarie, come on lets get you to bed." Debbie took Rose's hand and I watched the two of them walk towards her room. Rose looked back at me as they were walking and I gave her an encouraging nod. This girl was going to be a handful.

"She did what?" I asked the junior Guardian standing in front of me and Alberta. Alberta and I had been chatting as we made our way around campus when the junior Guardian came up to report a troubled Dhampir.

"Rosemarie Hathaway threw a book at her teacher's head and called her a fascist bastard," the junior Guardian repeated to the two of us.

"I knew that girl was going to be trouble," I told Alberta shaking my head. "Janine and Zemy's daughter, why did you have to let her into this school?"

"Now, Stan, you know that Janine is an old friend," she told me. "Thank you Guardian Jase, I will take care of it." Guardian Jase nodded and went his way.

"What are you going to do Bertie?" I asked her using my old nickname for her.

"First, I am going to laugh my ass off," she said to me before cracking up. Watching her laugh, made me realize how funny the situation was causing me to crack up too. The two of us just stood there laughing.

"She called the woman a fascist bastard," I said in between laughs.

"And threw a book at her," Bertie laughed out. "God, I hate the woman, she always gets the Dhampir kids in trouble." The kindergarten teacher was horrible, she idolized the Moroi students, they could do no wrong but any time a Dhampir so much as coughed they would be in trouble.

"Me too," I grinned. "Karma's a bitch."

"That it is," she grinned back at me. "I guess I better go deal with that, its the first day of school. Could she have at least waited a couple days before she did something?"

"It's Rose Hathaway, come on I will come with you," I told her as the two of us made our way toward the Dhampir dorms in silence. We quickly made our way to Rose's room. Walking in we found her sitting on her bed with her arms crossed over her chest and the cutest little pout. The girl was an adorable child but a nightmare to deal with.

"I am not sorry!" She exclaimed the moment we walked in.

"Rosemarie Hathaway, its going to be a long twelve years," I told her shaking my head.

"Bite me Stan," she told me as she stuck her tongue out.

"Rose are you okay?" I asked the little girl who was crying her eyes out on the bench by the pond.

"Yes," she hiccuped softly.

"Whats wrong?" I asked her sitting down. I should have scolded her for being out past curfew but she looked so upset I wanted to give her a few minutes.

"Why doesn't my mommy love me?" Rose asked me as she sobbed. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes, and my heart broke for her.

"She does love you."

"Then why does she never visit?" She asked me as I handed her my handkerchief. I carried it because it was helpful in battle situations to clean blood, or put pressure on a wound, but now it had a different use.

"Well her job is very stressful," I began. "And she doesn't get a lot of time off. She would be with you if she could."

"What about my dad?" Rose asked me as her sobs started to slow down. Zemy, the most feared Moroi in our world. The Moroi with the most power too. And with many, many enemies. I shuddered thinking what would happen to poor little seven year old Rose if those enemies found out she was Zemy's daughter.

"I don't know much about him Rose, but I am sure if he could be here he would," I told her softly. "What brought all this on?"

"Jesse Zelkos told me I wasn't good enough to be friends with Lissa. He said it was because my mom was a glorified blood whore and my father probably took one look at me and left. He said Lissa shouldn't waist her time with friends like me," she cried out.

"Rose, people like Jesse always say mean things," I told her. "People will talk no matter what, and its up to you if you will let it affect you or not. Remember though that you have nothing to apologize for."

She nodded her head and handed me back the handkerchief. "Okay."

"Let's put you to bed." I stood up taking her hand and we made our way back to her room.

I was patrolling through the grounds when I heard raised voices. I debated for a moment if it was just a teenage spat or if it was an actual problem I needed to step in for. It sounded very much just like a few girls having a cat fight, but the moment I heard Rose's voice I knew I had to step in.

I quickly made my way to the break in the trees where I saw Rose and Dawn Yarrow fighting. It looked as if Vasilia's was trying to defuse the situation, but knowing Rose nothing would stop her. Not to mention the several bystanders that were waiting for the fight.

Before I could make my presence know, Rose shoved Dawn hard into a tree. I heard the crack before her scream. "Shit!" I mumbled. Grabbing my radio, I called for back up and raced toward the girls.

"Hathaway!" I hollered.

"It was an accident Stan," Rose told me as I made my way toward her.

"I am sure it was," I rolled my eyes at her. "Go sit down and wait for me, do you understand?" I pointed to the bench near some trees.

"Whatever," she mumbled but I was happy to see she went to the bench.

Shaking my head, I went to Dawn to check on her arm. "Guardian Alto, it hurts," Dawn whimpered. I did feel a little bad for the girl but knowing her I knew she mostly likely was playing the victim so Rose would take all the blame.

"I know," I told her. "Let me have a look." Taking a look at her arm, I noticed it was broken right away.

"Alto," I heard Emil come up to me. "Do you want me to take her to the infirmary or deal with Hathaway?"

"You take her, I will go deal with Rose," I said shaking my head. I helped Dawn up and passed her to Emil, who guided her towards the infirmary.

Making my way towards Rose, I thought about how to handle this. "Want to tell me what happened?" I asked her sitting down next to her. She was pouting.

"Not particularly," she grumbled crossing her arms over her chest and slouching back against the bench.

"Uh huh, you sure about that?" I asked her. "I am sure, Headmistress Kirova would love to have a chat with you."

"What's your point Stany?" She asked me glaring.

"I am saying, you tell me what happened, and we will go straight to Guardian Petrov," I tried to reason with her. "You don't and I go to Kirova and you take all the blame."

"Doesn't matter to me."

"Rose!" I hissed out.

"What Stan?" She barked out. "It was an accident! You can't prove anything!" She hissed out.

"Why can't you stay out of trouble and do what you are told?" I asked exasperated.

"It's not in my nature," she smirked at me. The daughter of Janine Hathaway and Abe Mazur, she was right, it wasn't in her nature.

"Fuck, again?" I muttered to myself as I saw Rose making her way down from her window. This girl attracted trouble not to mention she always went to find it. I debated a few minutes what to do. I quickly decided to wait at the bottom and drag her up to her room after.

"Yes," I heard Rose whisper to herself as she dropped to the ground without incident.

I started a slow clap. "And she sticks the landing," I said dryly. Rose whipped around and saw me standing there.

"Guardian Alto, I was just checking St. Vlad's security, being a good Samaritan and all," she grinned at me trying to weasel her way out of being in trouble. The girl was still just recently a high schooler and she had a rap sheet the size of a short novel. And she got away with a lot too, being the best novice had its perks.

"Uh huh, now how about the truth?" I asked her as she sat there and squirmed a little.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she grinned at me.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, which is it going to be" I asked her.

"I guess I will go back to my room," she mumbled to herself. "You are such a kill joy Stan."

"I know, come on," I told her as I lead her back up to her room.

"The one time I don't check when I sneak out I get caught," Rose mumbled to herself. "Serves me right."

"Rose, please don't do this to yourself," I pleaded with her as I deposited her to her room.

"I don't know what you mean Guardian Alto, I was just checking security," she grinned at me sticking with her story. The girl was smart, that was for sure.

"People will talk Rose, don't you have any self respect!" I grumbled, sneering at her.

"People will always talk no matter what, I have nothing to apologize for," she smirked at me before heading into her room. I knew I was going to regret those words the moment they came out of my mouth.

I shook my head and headed toward Alberta's room, without knocking I let myself in. She and I had an understanding, had for many years now. Hearing she was in the shower I went straight to the bedroom. "Bertie, she did it again," I called out as I laid down on the bed.

"Rose?" She called back.

"Yeah, why can't she just do what she's supposed too? She has the raw talent of her mother and she puts the work in," I called back. "It's a waste if she isn't going to take it seriously."

"I don't know how to make her see sense Stan," Bertie said as she came out of the shower wrapping herself in a towel and made her way over to me.

"She won't," I said softly.

"I can at least try," she said to me. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Nah, I am still technically on duty, its just my break right now," I shook my head.

"Well better get going then, wouldn't want the Head of Guardians to get upset," she grinned at me. I smiled at her and made my way back on duty.

"Hey Stany!" Rose sauntered into class ten minutes late. "Did you miss me?"

"Hathaway!" I screeched. "Sit down and try not to be a distraction everyone else."

She smirked at me and made her way to her seat, promptly sitting down and putting her feet up on the desk. I rolled my eyes bet kept lecturing. If she wanted to ignore the lesson, then she could.

A few minutes in I head a crinkling noise, like from a wrapper followed by a crunching noise. I looked up and saw Rose eating potato chips. "Hathaway!" I screamed. "There is no eating in my class!"

"Uh huh," she said around a mouthful. "Mase, want some?" She asked Mason Ashford. The two of them where close, they had been at the academy the longest.

"Rose!" I exclaimed as I made my way towards her.

"Oh did you want some Stan?" She asked with fake concern. She held out the bag offering me some. I harshly grabbed it out of her hand.

"No eating in my class! This could one day be the difference between life or death, pay attention," I made my way back to the front of the room after trashing the bag of chips. "As I was saying," I continued my lecture, answering a few questions here and there.

"You would think that we didn't need a class for this," I heard Rose say to Eddie Castile. "But then again, where else would they put a Guardian like Stan." She snickered.

"Hathaway! Kirova's office!" I bellowed out.

"Do you need a Snickers Stan? You aren't you when you're hungry," Rose said pulling out a candy bar from her bag as she recited a famous commercial. The entire class giggled at her comment.

I went to her desk and slapped my hands flat on the top. "Go now!" I whispered out harshly. Rose and I knew each other well enough to know when the other meant business. She grabbed her bags and made her way out of the classroom.

"Later Bitches!" She exclaimed right before ducking out of the classroom and just missing the stapler that I threw at her.

"She won't see sense!" I grumbled to Alberta at lunch later that day.

"I've been trying to make her understand the seriousness of the situation," Alberta told me. "But she refuses."

"She won't," I said softly. "Not until something hits close to home."

"I agree, its what made you see sense," she told me softly. "The day you got a call that your brother had died. After that you took your training so seriously."

"Yeah, I just wish she wouldn't have to face that to realize how serious this is," I shook my head.

"The Dragomir's were in a car crash," Alberta told me as we laid in bed.

"What? Bertie! Rose was on vacation with them! Is she okay?" I exclaimed getting up fast. "She would be the last person they looked at."

"Stan, STAN!" Alberta exclaimed trying to get my attention. "She's fine! She and Vasilisa, the rest of the family didn't make it."

"She's okay?"

"Yeah, its weird though," Alberta trailed off. "The report, she wasn't in the safe seat."

"What do you mean?" I asked her as I got back into bed.

"Vasilisa, was in the safe spot and she was more injured than Rose. Rose was in the worst spot possible," she told me. "She shouldn't have survived, but she did."

"It's a miracle."

"Yes it is," she told me. "There is a memorial being held later this week."

The day the memorial for the Dragamir family took place. I watched as Rose was strong for Vasilisa, Lissa. The entire time she comforted everyone, yet no one looked to make sure she was okay. Not once did she show that she was in pain, or that she was struggling. For days Rose was Lissa's lifeline.

I had been by her room at night and I heard her crying a few times. She was in pain. Lissa's family was practically hers, and her mother didn't show up after the crash. Janine was busy, and couldn't take a lot of leave. It wasn't that she didn't love Rose but it was the fact that she payed Rose's entire tuition and she couldn't afford to take time off.

"I am worried about her, Bertie," I told Alberta as she climbed into my bed.

"Me too, but I don't know what to do," she said softly as she cuddled up to me, laying her head on my chest.

"This isn't right, Janine should be here," I grumbled wrapping my arms around her.

"I agree, but you know why she can't. And you know why Zemy isn't in her life."

"I do, but she's struggling. She's all alone and Vasilisa won't pull her head out of her ass to realize that it isn't all about her," I said to her.

"Well its not all her fault, she's Moroi and now a Princess on top of that. She was always taught it was all about her," Alberta soothed me.

"You are right," I snuggled into her and we both fell asleep.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Petrov," Alberta answered her phone. "What?" She paused listening to the other person. "Rose did what?" She shirked. "I will be right there," she hung up the phone. "Get dressed."

The two of us got dressed fast and made our way to the Moroi dorms and making our way towards a few huddled Guardians.

"Guardian Petrov, we can't seem to find the girls," one of them, Emil, came up to us. "But Rose was seen fleeing the scene. If you follow me, I can show you the damage."

"Let's go."

We made our way into one of the dorm rooms, and the sight in front of us was shocking. The amount of damage was incredible and looked like it had to have taken days to come to this.

"I want you to track down Rose and then deposit her in my office, I will talk to Kirova," Alberta told Emil who was standing next to us.

"Yes, ma'am."

"This is crazy," I whispered to Alberta.

"Yes it is," Bertie replied.

"Guardian Petrov?" Emil came up to the two of us. "Rose and Vasilisa's things are gone. They've left the academy."

Alberta and I looked at each other, horror being seen in both of our eyes. Please God, keep her safe.

"It's been a year! A year of false leads!" I grumbled to Alberta.

"Stan what do you want me to do?" She asked me as we fought about the same issue for the past year.

"I want, fuck! I don't know," I sighed softly. "We need to find her - them."

"I agree but all we have is false leads, what are we supposed to do?" Bertie asked me as I sat down next to her.

"I want to be part of the next group that goes," I told her.

"Okay," she told me softly. "They are leaving in a few hours. You should probably go pack." I nodded my head and went to pack my things.

A few hours later I was boarding a plane. "Where are we going?" I asked the pilot.

"Georgia," he told me. "And from there it is up to you for awhile."

A few days and six Strigoi later, we still couldn't find the girls. This lead was a dead end too.

"I guess its time to head back," Guardian Mathews said to me that night.

"Seems like it," I mumbled. "Why did she have to run away? She has so much potential."

"Vasilisa's family just died, that might be the reason she ran. You are talking about Vasilisa right?" Mathews asked me giving me a strange look.

"Yeah," I grumbled. Why Rose? Why did you have to run? She didn't need to leave her entire life behind. The amount of Strigoi we have faced in only three and a half days was alarming. God, keep her safe.

"Guardian Petrov, Guardian Alto, I am Guardian Dimitri Belikov," the large Russian in front of us introduced himself.

"Belikov, here is all the information on the girls," Alberta passed him a few files. "It's been two years, the likelihood that they are still alive is slim."

"Give me a month, a dozen Guardians, I will find them," he told the two of us, ignoring Alberta's comment. He nodded and left the room.

"Bertie, are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked her. The Russian seemed overly confident and cocky. We had been searching for two years, and all he needs is a month? It didn't seem like he could do what he was saying.

"He comes highly recommended from Zemy," she told me honestly. "And frankly, I don't know what else to do."

"Do you really think they could be dead?"

"I hope not," she whispered.

Later that night, I found myself in the chapel like I did most nights. I sat there thinking about and praying for Rose.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Petrov," Alberta answered the phone groggily.

"Bertie," I grumbled out rolling over.

"What?" I heard her say. "Today?"

"Go back to bed," I mumbled.

"He found them!" Alberta said jumping out of bed as she ended the call, scarring me a little.

"What?" I asked groggily. I had been sleeping, and lately sleep didn't come easy for me.

"Belikov, he found them!" She grinned at me.

"Bertie!" I jumped out of bed. "He did it!"

"She's coming home," Alberta smiled at me.

I grinned at her and then we made our way to get things ready for the arrival of our girl.

"She called him outsourced help," Alberta told me as I was getting ready for my class.

"Who?" I asked as I started writing on the board.

"Rose, called Belikov outsourced help," she said grinning. "And cheap foreign labor."

"The girl has spunk still, thats good," I smiled. "And can't say I blame her for what she said."

"Me either," she smiled at me. "He agreed to mentor her too. I think if she puts in the work she could still graduate."

"I hope she can," I shook my head thinking. Why did she pull a stunt like this? Did she really understand what it meant to live in the real world? To fight Strigoi?

"Maybe, being out there is the wakeup call she needed," Alberta told me before she left the room.

I walked into my classroom and saw her sitting there, Rose. She looked as if she wanted to disappear into the wall behind her.

"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege!" I exclaimed. I could see her reverting back into her seat more and more. "How very generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us."

Her face said it all. Rose was pissed and humiliated, but that was the point.

"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come on up to the front so you can help me lecture the class," I sneered at her. Maybe this would be the reality check she needed.

"You don't really mean—" she began.

"I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class." I watched her walk to the front of the room, she looked absolutely humiliated.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Belikov slip into the room. Bertie told me he had said he would mentor her, this would give him a clear indication of where she was. Rose used to be the top of the class, but not any more. Fuck, she might not even be at passing level.

"So, Hathaway," I began cheerfully, a little more cheerfully than I expected it to sound. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."

"My . . . techniques?" She asked me a little confused.

"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats," I circled around her like a vulture.

"We never ran into any Strigoi," she replied stiffly.

"Obviously," I snickered. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."

I watched her squirm a little under the pressure. She didn't say anything. Come on Rose, say something . . . Prove me wrong.

"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"

"Sometimes."

Seriously, girl? I wanted to scream. I gave you the answer, lie through your teeth.

"Sometimes," I shrieked. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night." Again, I was giving her the answer.

"Er . . . no."

"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding," not to mention common sense. "Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here."

I watched her calm herself down before answering. "I watched the area whenever we went out," she tried to defend herself.

"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegies Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?" I again gave her the answer in the question.

Rose didn't answer, she just stared straight ahead.

"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To-Method."

"No!" She exclaimed. "That's not true! I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"

I walked up to her, seething. I leaned in closely.

"Because you got lucky!"

"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," she fired back at me. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."

Of all the things she could say, she said that. I needed to do this, I need her to understand what it all means.

"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!" I yelled in her face. I was so close to her. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him — and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And you do know what makes them more powerful?"

Rose turned her head away from me. I could see the tears in her eyes. I noticed how she looked at Belikov.

"Moroi blood," she whispered out so softly, I almost didn't hear it.

"What was that?" I asked loudly. "I didn't catch it."

Rose spun around to face me. "Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."

I nodded satisfied that she remembered, maybe she wasn't a lost cause. "Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough — even with guardians — to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear . . . " I trailed off.

" . . . so do the dhampirs," she finished.

"Well," I said to her. "It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."

"Why did you do it Stan?" Alberta screeched at me.

"Bertie, I wanted to make her understand! She doesn't get it! This is just a big game to her," I shouted back at her.

"But humiliating her in front of the entire senior Novice class?" She crossed her arms over her chest, distracting me for a moment as my eyes zeroed in on her chest.

"How else was I going to get through to her?" I asked her after I focused again. "She needed to be put in a situation where she hit rock bottom! She isn't a child anymore!"

"She's only seventeen!"

"And in less than a year, someone's life is going to be in her hands!" I exclaimed. "We don't have anymore time to wait for her to realize the severity of the situation!"

"There were other ways you could have done it," she huffed out.

"How? All the other ways haven't worked before! I had to break her down. I had to make her understand that she could have been killed out there!" I hissed out. "I will thank God until my last breath that she survived! But she needs to realize how close she could have come to dying! This needs to be her rock bottom!"

"Stan," Alberta said softly as she walked up to me, her hand coming to rest on my cheek.

"I don't want her to be another statistic," I whispered. "If hating me means that Rose will pay attention and learn, fine. She can hate me all she wants."

"I don't want her to be another statistic, either," she whispered back.

"I've known her since she was four, Bertie. She's like my own," I told her. My eyes filling with tears.

A few weeks later I was coming off shift, when I saw Belikov and Rose together. They were training and the looks that passed between them were anything but student/mentor related.

Hovering to the side for a few minutes, I waited until they were done. I saw Rose leave, and I made my way inside the gym.

"Belikov," I called out.

"Alto," he responded as he came out of the office.

"What were you doing in there?" I asked him curiously. The office was the only door that locked in the gym. Where things happening between the two of them?

"Returning the first aid kit," he told me. "Rose, doesn't have gloves. Her hands were pretty torn up," he explained to me. It seemed like it was the truth but a small part of me wondered. . . Shaking my head I chose to believe him.

"Don't hurt her," I told him as he gathered up his things before making his way toward the door.

"I am sorry?" The young Russian turned back to me looking confused. But I could see that he knew what I was hinting at.

"Don't hurt her," I repeated slowly and loudly for him to hear.

"I don't plan to," he told me. The two of us stared at each other for a few minutes, having a silent conversation. Happy with what I saw I nodded.

"I hope you don't," I said as he made his way out. If anyone could handle Rose Hathaway, it was Dimitri Belikov.