Growing up being told that they come first was more damaging than I ever thought it could be. For a while, I thought packing up my things and leaving with next to no trace was the craziest thing I ever had done.

But not doing it sooner was the crazy part.

I could have gotten by after what Dimitri said to me in the church. Don't get me wrong, I was heartbroken, and it felt like a hole had been punched into my chest. But I was also a strong woman. I didn't need a man. I just wanted him because I longed for him because I loved him.

The straw that broke the camel's back was Lissa. She seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't the only victim of Strigoi Dimitri, and Dimitri wasn't the only person to lose something in the process. I lost my best friend, the man I loved, my friends' respect, and what little of my reputation I had left.

I didn't want the help, but I needed it. So, when I called Abe and asked him to get me out, he was all too happy. He set up a bank account for me to get started, got me a car and an apartment in a safe neighbourhood in New York, along with all the necessary documentation I needed.

It took Lissa all of a week to realize I was gone, but by then I was well on my way to finding a way to block her out. Antidepressants helped block Spirit for her, a low dose did the same thing for me, while taking care of the side effects of Spirit.

There were only four people I had contact with from my old life: Abe, Eddie, Adrian, and Mom. I was surprised when Mom showed at my apartment five months after leaving everything behind, but she took one look at the life I started to make for myself with a small smile.

"You've got everything I wished you would have," she said one night over a glass of wine. I raised my brows at her in surprise, but she just shook her head. "I may have dedicated my life to being a Guardian, but every parent worries about their children. I always feared that you might go before me. And that would have killed me."

Her admission surprised me, but it was just one step in the right direction.

When the Novice graduate law changed, there was a large outcry amongst the Guardians, even some of the Moroi were livid. There were a few Royals who voiced their concerns, but the votes outweighed them. That was when I decided that I found a better purpose.

Getting Dhampir out of the society.

I gave up my small, cozy apartment and moved to a home in a suburban area. It was bigger than I needed alone, but it was enough as a halfway house. Eddie being the loving, generous person he was, stayed in the society so that he could help get others out. Adrian played a part in that too by helping get transportation for Dhampir leaving. My home was rarely empty these days. I saw a few classmates come across my steps, a few Guardians I had met at Court when I lived there. I was surprised to see Stan Alto on my doorstep one morning, but stepped aside and let him in.

His heart wasn't in it anymore. He could stand by and watch children be raised and groomed for slaughter. And that's what was happening; children were being lead like pigs to slaughter while the 'high and mighty' stood behind them, cowering away like cowards.

But between helping wayward Dhampir, I worked at a group home twenty minutes away. I wasn't trained as a counsellor, but I was there more to help out, to be an ear for one of the kids to talk to. There were a few kids, well young men, who thought they could pull their crap with me. They were wrong.

It surprised the caregivers when one of the boys tried to get rough with me and I had him pinned in a blink of an eye. After that, the hostility started to simmer down. And it seemed like an ice-breaker of sorts. The kids seemed to respect me and even opened up to me.

I had started to settle into a life that I felt I was made for. And it felt good.

Another one should be at your place today or early tomorrow. - E

I nodded to myself and dumped my phone onto the counter. I would need to go grocery shopping before they got here. I always liked to stock up on snacks and things before people came, it seemed to lift their spirits a bit.

Leaving everything behind could feel lonely and upsetting once the seriousness of your decision set in. I wanted to ease that burden the best I could. I hung out around the house for the day before settling in for the night. It seemed like it was going to be tomorrow instead.

I had climbed into bed after cleaning up the last little bit, letting my day pull me under and into sleep. It felt like I had only had my eyes closed for a few seconds before there was a firm knock on the door. I rubbed my hand over my eyes and hobbled to the front door. Eddie was right, it would be early 'tomorrow'. I looked through the peephole and stepped back, confused about why the person standing on my step was standing there. This was not someone I thought I'd see again. I took a deep breath and unlatched the deadbolt before opening the door.

Dimitri's shock was clear on his face when I opened the door, his tired features almost dropping. His body drooped too, sagging under the weight of his back. I squinted at him and rubbed my hand over my nose and jerked my head to the side.

"Don't let the heat out," I mumbled as I stepped out of the way, stifling a yawn. Dimitri tapped his boots against the frame before hurrying into the house. I was grateful for it, the front hall floor was a nightmare when wet, and the snow was coming down hard. I was partly loving, partly hating the semi blizzard we had going for the first week of December

I rubbed my hands over my face again as I waited for him to take his shoes and duster off, and then gestured for him to follow me. I lead him into the kitchen first, beelining for the coffee pot.

"Coffee?" I asked.

"If you're having a cup," Dimitri replied politely.

I shrugged. "Tea?" I offered instead, holding up a box of herbal tea. If I drank that I'd be able to get back to sleep afterwards. Dimitri nodded and I filled the kettle with water and set it to boil, leaning against the island that he sat at.

"What was the final straw?" I asked through another yawn.

Dimitri raised a brow at me. "To make me leave?"

I nodded and yawned again. I had only been asleep for an hour or so before he showed up according to the clock above the stove.

"They thought that they could force me into something I didn't want to do," he said rubbing his hands together with a slight shake of his head.

I raised my brows at him and tucked my hair behind my ear. His eyes followed the movement, and I could see a familiar glint in his eyes. I didn't exactly look the same as I did two years ago. While my hair was still long, it wasn't the dark brown it was before. I decided I wanted a change and sought after a red similar to my mother's. It was more of amber flame colour, but it looked good. And now that I was free to do what I wanted, and live for myself, I learned how to properly take care of my curls. It wasn't the only thing I had changed. I decided that the marks I earned as a novice and Guardian weren't the only tattoos I wanted. I wanted pieces that meant something else to me. The lily on my forearm was more uncomfortable than any of my other tattoos, but it was my favourite.

"What happened?"

Dimitri's lips pursed into a tight line and his fists clenched a bit. I decided to back off and leave the topic alone. I pulled away and pulled two mugs out of the cupboard and put the tea bags in them, adding sugar to my cup. I felt like a zombie as I almost blindly poured the water into the mugs and set them down on the island, pushing the sugar jar towards Dimitri.

"When did you start doing this? Housing Dhampirs leaving the society?" Dimitri asked after thanking me for the tea. He didn't seem like he was digging, more genuinely curious. It was expected after not seeing him for years.

I pushed my hair back over my shoulder and shrugged. "Right after they changed the age law. Abe and I both saw it coming and wanted to be prepared. If he did it, it would draw too much attention, but I did it in small quantities, nobody would notice. I think the most I've had here at a time was five. That was a little too much for comfort though," I explained quietly, nursing my mug between my hands.

Dimitri nodded his head and gave me a tight smile. "I appreciate what you're doing. I'm surprised you didn't close the door in my face," he said with a slight scoff.

I rolled my eyes at him. "C'mon Comrade. I was just as surprised to see you. But if I let Alto stay here for a week, I can't turn you down either," I said with a chuckle. Dimitri's lips quirked as he lifted his mug to his lips, his eyes still on me. "Honestly? I like to think that you would have done the same for me."

"Of course I would," he said immediately, so quickly that it was as if he didn't need to think of a response. We were quiet for a few minutes, just drinking our teas in silence as my eyes started to droop.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about the fact that whoever I was sent to was on human schedule. You must be exhausted," Dimitri apologized when my head dipped down and snapped back up.

"It's okay. I'll show you where you can sleep. You're more than welcome to stay up and watch TV or use the gaming system, just keep the volume down," I said as I pushed myself upright, leading him to the hallway. I pointed to the bathroom at the top of the stairs before hanging a right.

"My room is next to yours, but this one has the biggest bed," I explained as I opened the door and flicked on the light. It wasn't much to look at, but for someone who left everything behind, a warm bed, a roof, hot water and food were perfection. I let Dimitri go in and set his bag down on the bed and then pointed to the closet beside the bathroom.

"Towels are in there if you want to shower."

Dimitri nodded. "Thank you. I really appreciate your help."

I smiled and yawned again. "Of course. When I get up, we can discuss where to go from here."

My eyes snapped open and it was like I was on high alert. It wasn't out of danger, but of awareness. I knew who was in my house. A part of me was excited to see him, but a part of me wanted to keep myself distant because of the pain I felt the last time I saw him. I wanted to prove that I was healed and wasn't still hurt by what happened because I wasn't, but I still missed him sometimes.

I missed the person that proud that he had faith in me when I didn't have faith in myself.

I pulled myself from bed and got dressed for work, rushing to do my morning routine. I thumped my way down the stairs and came face to face with Dimitri staring down someone standing at the door.

"Um? Hello?"

Dimitri turned to look at me and it was enough for me to see who he was staring at.

"Oh fuck! I totally forgot I said I'd drive you to work!" I exclaimed, seeing my neighbour Dante standing there. Dante was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. He and his husband were so welcoming when I moved in, and the three of us bonded almost instantly. Dante was legally blind, but it didn't stop him. He worked in the library in town and knew the building like the back of his hand.

"It's alright. I figured you might have forgotten. That's why I came a little bit earlier, to make sure you were ready," Dante said with a shrug and a smile, tucking the spare key I had given him for moments like this.

I sighed in relief and looked at the Russian God standing in the room with mild confusion. "Dimitri, this is my friend and neighbour, Dante. Dante, this is Dimitri. An old friend," I explained, gesturing to each other even though Dante couldn't see me.

Dimitri nodded and extended his hand out towards him while giving me a sideways glance.

"Dante?"

Dante extended his hand up and let Dimitri go to him, shaking his hand firmly. "Well. I'm assuming that you haven't eaten or had any coffee yet, and we have a bit of time. How 'bout a cup?"

I snorted. "Come on in. You know the way," I said while canting my head to Dimitri. I got busy making a pot of coffee and dropped a few pieces of bread into the toaster. I offered Dimitri and Dante breakfast too, but they both declined, sticking with coffee.

"Did you sleep or stay up?"

"I slept for a little bit. I just came off a shift when I got here."

I hummed and buttered my toast. "So. Are you thinking of staying here or going back to Russia? I just need to know so I can start getting you the proper documentation."

Dimitri's head snapped and looked at me in alarm, his eye practically bugging out of his head.

"It's okay. Dante knows what we are, and what I do," I said waving him off. I didn't keep that information from them. Dante took it pleasantly, his husband Dean took a few more moments to wrap his head around it. With the people coming and going, I figured it was safer if they knew.

"I have helped direct Rose to the right people. I used to work for the government, so I know a few loopholes," Dante chimed in, carefully placing his hands on the hot mug in front of him.

"Yeah, got me out of a few holes too," I chuckled as I ate the last of my toast.

Dimitri nodded slowly but didn't comment. "I think I might stay here for a bit. I still have some bad memories in Russia."

I paused in my chewing before swallowing my half-chewed bite whole. I hadn't thought about our time in Russia in a long time. I hadn't really spoken about it either. I kept it bottled up and to myself.

"Well," I said clearing my throat, "We need to get going. I left my cell number on the fridge if you need to get a hold of me. There is a spare key in the cutlery drawer. I should be back in a few hours. Make yourself at home."

Dimitri nodded with a quiet thank you as I came around the island and walked with Dante to the front door. Once I had my coat and boots on, I practically bolted out of the house. Dante didn't say a word as we got into the car, but once the doors shut, a smirk grew on his lips.

"So. That's Dimitri, eh?"

I shook my head and snorted. "Just put your seatbelt on."

This was originally in my one-shot collection, Moments in Time, but I decided that that wasn't going to do this justice. So here I am, giving it the full potential it deserves.

I hope you all enjoy this! :)