I could tell that this was a lot harder than Dimitri was letting on. He hugged his mother longer than I thought, holding her tightly with his face tucked into her hair. The Belikova's stayed much longer than originally planned, but it was needed. Once they pulled away from each other Olean stroked Dimitri's cheek before wiping away her own tears from her face.

Dimitri moved to hugs his grandmother when Olean slipped to me, wrapping me in her embrace too. I rested my head against her shoulder, basking in the familiar feeling of her embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered in my ear, stroking my hair with motherly affection. I squeezed her gently before kissing her cheek.

I gave her a soft smile before catching Vika in a hug, laughing as we toppled back a bit. During the time I did get to spend with her, I realized that Dimitri was right when he told me once upon a time. We were alike and we grew close very quickly. The same with Karoline. I grew close to her and she was the big sister I never had. I genuinely viewed the two of them as sisters.

Sonya on the other hand…well, we were better off seeing each other in small, supervised doses.

Either way, I felt like I was a real member of the family. My heart felt whole. I went from having next to no relationship with my mom to meeting my father, and now, Dimitri's family. I felt like I had a real family.

I hugged the remaining family goodbye, promising that I would keep in touch and that we would see them again soon. I wrapped my arms around Dimitri's waist as we watched them, his hand on my hip before slipping into the back pocket of my jeans.

"We'll see them again soon," I said resting my head against his shoulder. His hand squeezed my flesh before he dipped his head down so he could kiss mine. We waited until we saw their plane taxi before leaving, and we sat in the car in silence for a few minutes. I reached over and put my hand on Dimitri's leg, squeezing gently while his hands were over his face.

He made a noise that was a mix between a groan and sigh before removing his hands. He turned to look at me and gave me a tight smile before starting the car. I placed my hand back in my lap but Dimitri slipped his hand into it, resting it in my lap as he drove.

I was being shaken. Not hard, but enough to pull me from the clutches of sleep. I groaned and rolled onto my back to find Dimitri leaned up on his side.

"What is it?" I mumbled as my eyes slide closed again. He was quiet for a moment and I cracked an eye open and looked up at him. That was the only answer I needed, his face said enough. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes wild in fear. I opened my arms and beckoned to lay down and he did, resting his head on my chest while I wrapped my arms around him tightly. He held me just as tight, his arms slipping under the arch in my back to hold himself closer. I ran my fingers along his scalp and kissed the top of his head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

Dimitri shifted his head so his face was pressed against my collarbone, his breath dancing over my skin and he breathed through his nose.

"There was a girl. After you found me, and I left you in that ally. I came across a girl that looked so much like you..." he started before trailing off. He was starting to get worked up and I shushed him softly, rubbing my other hand over his back as he tried to get his breathing right.

"She couldn't have been more than sixteen, and I killed her. I feel guilt about all the people I hurt and killed as a Strigoi, but she was the only kid. She haunts my dreams."

I tilted my head back into the pillowed and tried to prevent the shaky sigh that tried to escape. It was hard to hear about some of the things he had done, but we lived in a twisted world. A world where the monsters of our nightmares crept in the shadows. Monsters that were very much real. And Dimitri was the victim of those monsters.

I tucked my head down and kissed the top of his head. "Did you draw it out? Or was it quick?"

Dimitri shuddered in my arms. "It was quick. I snapped her neck and left her there in the street. I didn't realize I had done it until I got back to where I was staying during daylight," he confessed quietly. I nodded against his head and kissed him again.

"I still don't know how you even found me."

"It wasn't you, remember that," I whispered into his hair. He let out a slow, deep breath against my skin and started to pull away. I wrapped my arms tighter around him, keeping him close to me. Realizing I wouldn't let him get very far, he adjusted himself around me and snuggled into me, kissing my shoulder.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Whether it was for listening to him, holding him, or just being here for him, I didn't know. But I knew that I didn't want or need to be anywhere but right here, with him.

I nuzzled my nose against his skin and sighed, rolling further on top of him. I loved couch naps with him. It gave me even more of an excuse to be glued to him. I pressed my lips against his skin and was rewarded with a quiet hum, the vibration in his throat against my lips. I sighed as his hands slid under the back of my shirt and he stroked my skin softly, his lips in my hair.

"You snore so loud. It's like laying under a bear," Dimitri mumbled into my hair. I gasped in faux annoyance and sat up, smacking his chest lightly.

"I do not snore!"

Dimitri smirked. "Well, maybe you were sleeping with your mouth open. You were loud, Roza. At least you slept, you were restless last night."

I scrunched my nose up at him but ducked my head down to peck his lips. "It was nothing," I shrugged offhandedly, but it didn't fool him. His hands were skin on the skin of my back and traced his fingers lightly over my spine.

"Want to try again?"

I didn't say anything because I was more concerned about his demons right now, but he raised a brow at me, and I caved.

"Just a bad dream about Howes. It's not a big deal," I said with a shrug. Dimitri sat up and wrapped his arms around me, resting his forehead against mine.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head and kissed the tip of his nose. "No. It's not anything different than the other nightmares."

Dimitri hugged me tightly before laying back down, his hands slipping into the back pocket of my jeans. I giggled to myself and I snuggled into him. I sighed in content and tipped my head up to look at him. He smiled down at me, his eyes warm and soft.

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked, reaching up and stroking his cheek softly. Dimitri leaned into my touch and nodded his head.

"Tell me what you dreamed about," I said tucking my face into the creves of his neck.

"I dreamed about Ivan. That he never died but I still got to meet you. It was just a simple dream of me introducing you to him. He would have loved you, Rose. I feel like you two would have ganged up on me frequently," Dimitri explained, chuckling at the end.

I hummed and smiled against his skin, picturing the moment in my mind. I wish I could have had that moment, but I only ever got to meet him as a ghost.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed popping up from my place. Dimitri furrowed his brows but I practically ripped him off the couch. I stuffed my feet into my boots and tugged on my coat and hat. Dimitri had raised brows at me.

"Put on your coat! I want to show you something!"

He did as I asked and got his stuff on and followed me outside. The wind thankfully had started to die down as we made our way to the closest exit of Court. The Guardian stationed there was no stranger to me exiting here. We made our way across the ward line and I breathed slowly as I let my guard down. Thankfully this time I wasn't bombarded with spirits, just the one I was looking for.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, turning to look at Dimitri.

"Of course," he said taking my gloved hand.

I nodded and looked back to Ivan's ghost. "What if I told you that I have met Ivan?"

Dimitri frowned, not understanding what I meant.

"Tell me something only you and him would know," I said to Ivan. Dimitri gathered quickly that I was speaking to a ghost, but it hadn't registered who yet.

The look of amusement on Ivan's face was contagious. "When we were seventeen, Dimitri and I snuck into the Guardians lounge to steal booze and caught two of our teachers having sex on the couch. Dimitri was mortified but I ended up laughing so loud that they realized they were caught. The one teacher was so embarrassed that she couldn't look either of us in the eye for the rest of the year."

I laughed so hard that I doubled over, clench my stomach as I tried to repeat what Ivan had said. The look on Dimitri's face was a real kodak moment and I watched him figure it out.

"Ivan?"

I took a few deep breathes to stifle my laugh and nodded at him. His mouth gaped open like a fish as he tried to form words, but nothing comes out. Ivan's snickering didn't help with me trying to laugh, and I sputtered into giggles again. Dimitri gave me a look but tugged me towards him, wrapping his arm around my shoulder while I slipped mine around his waist.

"You can hear him?"

I nodded and smiled up at him. For forty minutes Dimitri voiced questions and I relayed them back, all the while with a soft smile on his face. I felt like maybe he was getting closure he didn't know he needed, but I could tell that Ivan was feeling the same closure.

"I want you to know that I didn't blame you for a second," Ivan implored, "You couldn't have known, and I watched you beat yourself up over it. I was starting to worry about you and this wonderful creature came into your life."

I shook my head with a laugh as I repeated what he said to Dimitri, and he chuckled quietly to himself as he kissed the top of my head. I could feel the tension leaving his body as I spoke and I tilted my head up to look at him.

"This is goodbye, isn't it? You won't be around after this?" Dimitri asked quietly.

I looked at Ivan and I could see it clearly on his face. This was it. Ivan frowned and nodded his head.

"I've been here longer than I should have. I was always hoping I'd be able to find a way to speak to you one last time, and I have."

"He said it's time," I said to Dimitri quietly. I hugged Dimitri tightly before letting go, waiting for him to say his peace to Ivan. I had a sad smile on my face as I watched the two and I could tell that Dimitri was finally feeling peace.

"You should know something," Ivan said, turning back to face us. I turned to look at him and found a soft smile on his face.

"I hear things on this side. Things will be different now. What you did defies the laws of nature for us, maybe that's not the only law of nature you'll defy."

My brows furrowed together as he laughed, shaking his head before turning back around and walking away. He was gone by the fifth step, fading into the air like mist.

I gnawed on my lip as I put the rest of the documents away, humming a tune under my breath of a song that had been playing on the radio. Guardian Croft was surprised that I wanted to continue working in the archives. I enjoyed the quiet in here.

"Red lights, stop signs, I still see your face.." I sang to myself, thumbing through the pages before filing them into the correct drawer.

"You know, I thought Croft was joking when he said you were down here."

I stopped and turned to find Dimitri standing at the door. I smiled at him and put the last of the papers in their files before skipping to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Hey handsome!" I exclaimed with a small smile. "What are you doing down here?"

Dimitri chuckled. "Rose, your shift was over two hours ago."

Oh! Had time really passed that quickly? The last time I looked at the clock was when I came back from lunch. I laughed quietly to myself before slipping away from him, putting away the guide for the archives and coming back to him.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's head up so I can clock out," I said jubilantly. Dimitri smiled and kissed the top of my head, guiding me out.

"How did training go with your father this morning?"

A smirk crossed my face. "Good, it's nice being able to stretch those muscles you know. It helps that Lissa has learned how to balance Spirit so that the darkness isn't so bad. I feel like I'm finally balanced, you know?"

Dimitri nodded as he slipped his arm around my shoulders. I tilted my head against his shoulder as we walked through Headquarters. I was pleased to know that it was finally the weekend and I could go home and curl up on the couch with Dimitri and a few movies. As we walked I noticed that Dimitri wasn't leading me towards our place, but towards Lissa's.

"I thought we were going to have our movie night?" I voiced to Dimitri, looking up at him.

Dimitri smiled. "We are, Lissa just said that she needed to see you when you were done your shift. That's why I came looking for you," Dimitri explained.

I nodded and tentatively probed Lissa's mind, but she had her mental shields up. I rolled my eyes and knocked on Lissa's front door when we got there. Eddie opened the door a moment later with a smile and let us in. I took my shoes off and padded into the house, smiling at Lissa as I plopped down on the couch next to her.

"Hey!" I said.

Lissa set her magazine down and smiled at me, leaning towards me and wrapping me up in a hug.

"Hey! I'm glad you're here! There's something I wanted to talk to you about," Lissa said, pulling away and faced me. I nodded my head and noticed that Christian had joined us, Dimitri sitting in the chair across from all of us.

"I just spoke to Guardian Croft and Queen Tatiana, since I'm starting my next term in a few months and Christian will be joining me, there needs to be an adjustment to my guarding team."

I nodded slowly and looked at Eddie who took up position behind Lissa, a full fledged smile on his face.

"And?"

"And, you will be joining my guarding team as a near guard," Lissa said excitedly, her smile going so wide that it looked like it was going to split her face in half. I was a little stunned to hear it and looked to Eddie to confirm. Not only did he shake his head, but I looked to Jensen who was standing in the hall and he nodded too. I let a giggle-like squeal pass my lips as I hugged Lissa again, her excitement equaling mine.

Despite wanting to go home and watch a movie, my excitement won over and the group of us spent an hour discuss new rosters and how we were going to make this team work while at Lehigh. Lissa has a small smile plastered on her face the whole time, and I have to admit that my expression matched hers too.

I had been waiting for this for so long and now it was finally here.

Dimitri seemed very happy too as he relaxed in the chair across from us, his expression not quite a smile but light. This would be his first assignment since being restored. As the night started to head into the late hour, we decided that we would pick this up in a few days.

As I got up to leave Lissa waved me into the kitchen.

"What's up?"

"I have to go get my prescription redone, will you come with me?" Lissa asked.

I nodded. "Which prescription?"

Lissa blushed. "My contraceptive. I went on it when I started college. I figured it was time," Lissa explained. I nodded and agreed to go with her.

"You should go on it too, it may help level out your period. I found my period was sporadic and constantly late when I was at Lehigh," Lissa suggested casually. I thought it over and I figured she was right. It would make my life a little bit easier if I didn't need to worry about tracking a period.

I shrugged and nodded my head, but I couldn't let my quip go.

"Hey, now that you're on the pill you and fire crotch don't have to worry so much about wrapping it up," I said as I walked out of the kitchen.

"ROSE!" Lissa squealed mortified. I laughed and said goodnight to the team and met Dimitri outside.

"What did you do?" Dimitri asked, raising a brow at me. I chuckled and fell into step with him.

"I just teased her a bit," I said with a laugh. Dimitri shook his head as he gave me a sideways glance that I returned with a cheeky grin.

"How did you go about that?"

I snorted. "Not important, but in a way, you'll be happy," I said pulling out the keys to our apartment and unlocking to the door. I toed off my shoes and flopped onto the couch.

"How is that?"

"Because I'm going on a contraceptive pill, and if I take it a certain way, I'll only get my period a few times a year," I said raising my brows at him. Dimitri smirked and approached me, growling playfully at me before leaning down and giving me a heavy kiss.

Only one more chapter before it's over! To think that a movie gave me the smallest spark of inspiration brought me all the way to here.

I hope you all have enjoyed the journey so far!:)

Let me know what you think!