Last one :D

I'm very proud of myself for completing this :D

Presumed Dead

They lost contact.

That was all they could say. We lost contact and couldn't find a signal.

Their eyes already saying what they thought the outcome was, not even considering it could be anything else. They thought they were dead.

They were looking at both Lissa and me with no doubt in their minds that Christian and Dimitri were dead.

"Turn the car around!" Lissa ordered, her fingers digging into the black leather of the seat. The guardian in the front seat winced.

"Your Majesty. We can't –"

"This is an order! Turn the car around and go back for them!"

I didn't even need the bond to know she was lacing her words with compulsion. I doubt even she realised. Since getting pregnant her magic had been surging, fluctuating with her hormones.

The thought of Dimitri being in trouble, needing help and we were leaving him behind made my heart clench, but I also knew what my job was. They come first.

I gripped Lissa's hand, making her turn to me, tears in her eyes, just as they were in mine. "Liss. We can't. You know we can't."

Her head shook, tears falling down her cheeks, "No! I need him, Rose. I can't do this without him!" Her hand dropped to her protruding stomach.

My face fell, but I quickly tried to pull my mask back up. I couldn't break, not when she needed me to be strong. "If we go back, we could all die. Christian wouldn't want that for either of you." I cupped her face, "We have to get you to safety."

Lissa and her child were all that mattered now.

I gripped her hand tightly in mine, giving each other the strength we needed as we drove further away from the men we loved, knowing that we were unlikely to see them again. I took small solace in the knowledge that Dimitri couldn't be turned again, not being doomed to the fate that already haunted him.

Dimitri was strong and determined, he would fight until he knew Christian was safe, or die trying.

As time passed and we still heard nothing, the truth settled in my heart, feeling like ice spreading through my body as I accepted that Dimitri was dead.


It had been fifteen hours and still no word. Guardians were sent to locate their car, finding blood and one of the guardian's bodies. No traces of the others.

I wanted to believe that maybe they got away, but there were no Strigoi bodies either, and if they were alive, they would have contacted someone. Dimitri knew the protocol. He knew we would be waiting for something.

My shift was long over, yet, I couldn't bring myself to go back to the apartment I shared with him. To see his things and know that I would never see him in there again. Instead, I sat on Lissa's couch, her head on my lap as she cried.

My tears refused to fall, just leaving me feeling numb, memories of how it was mourning Dimitri after the caves.

If he was taken by Strigoi, then it was to feed on him. There was no chance of tracking him down to restore him. He was dead. No coming back this time.

The doors to Lissa's quarters were thrown open, a guardian standing in the doorway, short of breath and a face of disbelief. "Your Majesty, they need you at the gates!"

I wanted to tell them to fuck off, to leave Lissa to mourn in peace, but something about their expression made me bite my tongue. Helping Lissa stand, we both hurried after the guardian, only making it into the main hall of the Palace when raised voices neared us.

If I wasn't so close to Lissa, she would have tumbled to the floor at what was before us—who was before us.

Covered in dirt and blood, clothing torn and exhausted expressions were Christian and Dimitri.

I stood with Lissa until Christian took her from my arms, eyes unmoving from Dimitri's, and yet my body refused to take the steps forward. He was talking to Croft, though I don't know how much attention he was paying.

My emotions still felt numb.

Dimitri was dead.

I had accepted it. Acknowledged that my life with him was over and that I would never be able to feel that kind of love again. And yet, he was standing in front of me.

He moved first, walking away from the others and straight to me, a sad smile on his face. "Roza."

My hand covered my mouth, my lip starting to tremble, "You were dead. We all thought –"

"We got away and had to hide, and then luckily managed to get a lift close by. I couldn't get a phone to contact anyone with." His expression was filled with guilt as he explained.

"I had to leave you behind," My voice cracked, a tear sliding down my face. His hand lift, catching it with the pad of his thumb.

"I know."

Like the dam had broken, hot tears poured down my face, the emotions I had been blocking hit me all at once. Dimitri pulled me into his arms, rocking me while whispering in my ear.

Finally, I could believe my eyes. Dimitri was alive.

Ok so, please review on this chapter which are your top three choices from the month's collection of one-shots you want me to expand on and I will write to the ones that get the most votes. I am also making a post on my Facebook page Scotty1994 Fanfiction where you can vote there too.

on March 14th I will let you know which 3 I will be writing more for :D