Hey Guys, I know, I dropped off the face of the earth for about 6 months but I'm back with a brand new chapter (quite a long one too) and you may even get another little tiny mini chapter before the 10th of December, but that depends on how busy I am packing and getting as much work done as I can before I go on holiday. Also, my applications to Universities are FINISHED! So I'm just waiting for my replies now so wish me look

Also, I just want to clear something up which I may not have fully explained in my last chapter; the house they are staying in isn't where the doc lives- it's just a safe house, which is why it sounds so makeshift and food is stockpiled and the taps (faucets?) don't work.

Anyway; on with the chapter. xx

I woke from a deep sleep feeling uncomfortable and too hot. I shifted my weight, feeling the hard, lumpy surface pushing into my ribs. I tried to remember when I had fallen asleep, but my mind refused to comply. Reluctantly opening my eyes, I was faced with the faded brown back of an old couch. Erugh! I squirmed again trying to get comfortable and fall back to sleep, but was shocked awake by my pillow moving. I looked down, seeing a toned, tanned forearm. A moment later, another arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me against an equally toned body. "Roza," Dimitri whispered sleepily behind, "Stop squirming." I moved again, partly to try and get comfortable again, but mostly to annoy Dimitri; it worked. He heaved a sigh before sitting up and pulling me with him. "Jesus, how did we both manage to fit on here?" I said, only able to appreciate how small the couch was now that I was sitting up and wide awake. "We didn't." Dimitri grumbled as he stood and stretched, his arms above his head, fingers grazing the ceiling. I got up as well, wrapping my arms around his waist before he could put his arms back down. I rested my head on his chest as his arms enveloped me in his familiar, comforting smell. . "Sorry. You didn't have to stay with me you know," I told him, closing my eyes and enjoying the moment of serenity. Dimitri pulled back a little, looking down into my now opened eyes like I was crazy. "Of course I did," he said incredulously, before bending so he could speak low in my ear, "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I love you" I sighed, losing myself in his eyes as he smiled down at me,

"I love you too, Roza. So much." He twirled a strand of hair that had fallen in front of my face around his long, skilled fingers, before tucking it behind my ear before bending so that his mouth was inches away from mine. I closed the gap between us and as our mouths touched, all of the emotion from the last couple of days flooding through the kiss; fear, anger, sadness, relief and happiness. I tightened my arms around his neck, pulling our bodies closer together, deepening the kiss. Dimitri pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against mine as we caught our breath. I was about to ask why he had stopped, but voices outside silenced my question, reminding me that weren't alone. Dimitri smiled at me, seeming to read my mind and pulled back, raising my hand to his lips and kissing it lightly before using it to lead me into the kitchen area. "Come on," he said, "let's find you some food." Right on cue, my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten in at least two days. I hopped up onto the countertop, swinging my legs slightly as I watched Dimitri search through the pantry, coming back to the cooker holding a carton of eggs and a loaf of bread. "French toast?" I asked hopefully, wrapping my legs around his waist as he tried to walk past. "Roza," he part sighed, part moaned, putting the items down before wrapping his arms around my waist as I rested my hands on his shoulders. "I can't cook you anything if you keep grabbing onto me," Dimitri said, yet not moving away, but instead rubbing his hands up and down my sides. I tightened my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me and running my fingers through his hair. "Give me what I want then you can cook for me all you want." I said, adding a seductive smile at the end for good measure. A moment later, I heard talking outside; coming, presumably, from the Guardians who were currently patrolling, and remembered the reason why Dimitri hadn't tried anything. With a knowing smile, Dimitri moved away from me and began cooking.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying each other's company as we ate. The peace short lived and soon the other Guardians started waking up. Alberta was one of the first to emerge from the makeshift bedroom, greeting us with a silent nod as she walked towards the pantry. Before she could reach it though, Dimitri spoke from the table where we now sat. "There's coffee in the pot and some French toast under the grill, keeping warm." As she fixed herself a plate and came to sit at the table more and more people began to fill the communal room. I ignored them now, taking full advantage of the first free time I had had to think since leaving court. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that I really needed a shower. I looked over at Dimitri, seeing that he was able to pull off the been-captured-and-haven't-slept-in-days-look with startling ease. Even though he had been half beaten to death and was sleep deprived, he still managed to look sexy as hell. His hair was tousled and down, framing the sharp masculine lines of his face. Stubble from not having shaved in the last couple days was noticeable and gave him an overall rugged and manly look; now this was a man that belonged in a duster and cowboy hat.

Looking closer though and I could see the fatigue starting to set in. His face a little gaunter; paler than usual and under his eyes hung dark bags giving away his exhaustion behind his alert exterior. In all honesty, it scared the hell out of me to see him like this, almost fragile. I had learned the hard way that he wasn't invincible, but to me he was still the strong one, the fighter; the Guardian. My protector. Seeing him weak not only shook my beliefs, but also brought back some dark memories. We needed to get out of here; and soon.

Dimitri seemed to sense my stare, turning his head to meet my gaze. The look he sent my way told me that he knew something was wrong, but thankfully he didn't bring it up in a room full of people. I moved away from the table, going instead to stand in front of the window in the living room. Looking out, I found a small plot of land that I assume was a garden at some point but had succumbed to nature; weeds and shrubs covering the grass, making the area blend in with the forest which spread out around the building, isolating it from the rest of the world. Perhaps that should have been daunting due to recent circumstances but it wasn't. It felt safe in its seclusion, and the sprawling forest in front of me reminded me of old fairytale Lissa's mum used to tell us when we were little; I almost expected Goldy Locks to come skipping towards the house any minute. I looked up, above the tree line, seeing that the small, wispy clouds had turned a cotton candy pink, signaling that the sun was starting to rise. I released a breath that I hadn't realised I had been holding; the immediate threat was over. I didn't notice that Dimitri had come to stand behind me until he wrapped his arms around my waist. I jumped a little, not expecting the contact. "You let your guard down, Rose. That's dangerous." His words sounded like a rebuke, similar to words we would say to me when we were back at St. Vlad's, but his voice was gentle rather than criticizing and held affection. Rather than respond to his words directly, I changed the subject, nodding my head towards the window. "The Sun's coming up. I don't think I have ever been so grateful for that." Even after the attack on the school, the sun had held no relief after the disaster; probably because Dimitri's arms weren't wrapped around me then. I leaned back into Dimitri, reviling in the feel of his chest against my back, the hard contours of his muscles and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. His masculine, unique sent wrapped around me like silk, reassuring and familiar; home. We stood in comfortable silence for a while, watching the sun rise above the trees, illuminating the sky in a bright blues of a crisp fall morning. Our private little bubble was soon broken by Alberta's clear, authoritative voice calling everyone's attention. "I have just gotten off the phone with court, there will be a plane for us landing in half an hour, we need to be at the safe landing zone by then, which gives us five minutes to pack to our things and be in the SUVs. So grab your bags and let's get going. Everyone sprung into action; bags where packed and loaded into the SUVs with military efficiency, meaning we were on the road before three minutes was up.

The 'safe landing zone' turned out to be a dry, flat field; seemingly left unused for a long time judging by the amount of weeds that were sprouting out of the arid land. When we arrived I jumped out of the car, turning my head up to bask in the already warming Sun that beat down on us. I had missed the Sun since going back onto a nocturnal schedule. Even when on a 'night' shift, you still didn't get the opportunity to enjoy the warming glow. By the look on many of the Guardian's faces, they felt the same as me. For the first time in days we were able to relax a little, catch our breath before going back to court, even Alberta had taken the phone away from her ear and was just enjoying the moment. No doubt when we got back there would a huge enquiry, interviews with everyone involved, miles of paperwork and then the memorial service for the ones who didn't make it back. After that would be the Zvevda ceremony; the Strogoi kills had been too numerous to be precise about numbers, so a battle tattoo seemed more appropriate than Molnija marks. Looking around me, I saw Dimitri leaning against the side of the SUV, looking at me, a half smile on his lips. I walked over to him, slipping my arms around his waist as I rested my head on his chest, hearing his heart beating beneath my ear. I felt him rest his chin on my head as his arms circled around me, pulling me closer. I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling clam wash over me but when I opened my eyes it washed away just as quickly and was replaced with a wave of guilt. I saw Eddie off to the side of my, hands in his pockets staring off into the distance. All this time I had been so caught up in the fact that I had Dimitri back that I had completely neglected to think what this had done to Eddie; hell, I'd even forgot he was here. My change of emotions must have shown in my posture, or maybe Dimitri just knew me that well, because he pulled back a little, brows furrowed together as he tried to decipher my change in emotion. He followed my gaze and seemed to understand immediately. Looking down at me again, he unwound his arms from around me and spoke softly to me, simply saying "Go." I looked up at him, sending a silent thank you before breaking away from him and heading towards Eddie. He turned as he heard me approach but was caught off guard as I threw my arms around him with such force that he fell back a step or two. "Whoa hey Rose, you sure your Russian jailer doesn't mind you doing that?" He said, pulling away a little so he could see me. I looked over my shoulder at Dimitri, who was now talking to a couple of Guardians. "Naa," I laughed, remembering the old nickname from back at the academy "See, he can occupy himself for a while." I said, pointing a thumb over my shoulder to where he and the two Guardians stood. "You okay?" I asked, serious now but Eddie shrugged it off, choosing to continue to be jokey. "Rose, I'm a veteran at this now. This is what, the third time I've been captured. I'm used to it now."

"Hey, I'm serious!" I exclaimed, smacking him on the shoulder for good measure. Having said that, though, this was the first time I had seen him relaxed and happy; or as close as under the circumstances, since mason's death. Eddie seemed to be able to read my train of thought, as he answered the question that hadn't even taken shape in my mind yet. "Rose, life is too short; I can't keep dwelling on the past, it never helps anyone. Like I said, I've been captured three times and I'm still alive; it would seem that I'm somewhat of a lucky charm." He said, sounding like a royal while, pretending to inspect his fingernails.

"Don't get too cocky Castile, I can still kick your ass, remember that" I laughed outright, happy that I finally had my friend back.

"Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night Hathaway," He paused, looking over my head and back down at me, "and it seems lover boy wants you back." I hugged him again, before returning back to Dimitri. He chuckled at me, probably because I was grinning like an idiot but who could blame me; I was happy. "Hey" I greeted Dimitri as I reached him. His reply was cut off by the sound of a jet flying low overhead. As it turned to land, another car pulled up next to our convoy and the Doctor and his Guardians stepped out. "Have you decided to come live at court like I suggested?" I shouted over the noise of the nearby plane. He laughed walking towards us as his Guardians went to talk to Alberta. "Sadly no, my Guardians and I are driving your vehicles back to court. They could be with a spare pair of hands there too; you all need checking over and most of the beds are already full with the Alchemists." He explained. The last bit caught my attention. "Why are the Alchemists at Court? Surely they would prefer a human hospital?" The Doctor shook his head.

"The numbers where too great. If a large group of people with matching face tattoos all turned up in A&E with serious injuries it would look suspicious, the Police would get involved. All who could survive the trip went to court; the others either went to Alchemist healing centres or were distributed between human hospitals nearby." I nodded; it made sense to split up the casualties to avoid suspicion. It also made sense to have another doctor at court. As Moroi seldom got sick, and the Guardians really ever got injured, the medical centre was minute compared to the amount of people. "What about your family?" Dimitri asked, obviously concerned that they were unprotected. After all that had happened, people rarely trusted the wards to protect them anymore. It would seem that the Doctors views where no exception. "Both my children are at school, so they're safe and my wife is coming with me." He gestured back to his car; a modest, dark green, ancient looking thing. Through the tinted glass of the windscreen; a necessity of Moroi, I could just about see the outline of a women sat in the passenger seat. His Guardians joined us and one; a short, stocky man with black hair and olive skin spoke in true Guardian style; "Ready Sir." was all he said before jumping into one of the SUVs and driving around so that it was in front of the green car, as the other was pulled around behind it by another of his Guardians. His third stood with us; presumably he would be in the car with the Moroi, making it a textbook protective positioning. Our plane landed a couple of hundred meters away and we set off toward it after saying our goodbyes.

By the time me and Dimitri had arrived; going slower than usual due to our injuries and fatigue, almost everyone was on the plane. We boarded, finding that all of our bags were already stowed away; we searched to find a seat, finally finding two together near the back. Dimitri sat by the window and I sat next to him in the aisle. The plane was only small; seven rows of two, with a walkway down the middle. Alberta stood near the front, talking to a less than pleased looking Alchemist, who I assumed was the pilot. He walked back into the cockpit and Alberta came to sit in the aisle seat next to mine, smiling tiredly at me as she sat down. "Hey, Alberta," somewhat out of the blue I asked, "What's the date today?" but I had a feeling I knew the answer. She flipped open her phone to check, "It's the 18th, Rose. Why?" I didn't answer her; instead, I turned to Dimitri and took his face in my hands, kissing him on the lips. He looked a bit surprised, obviously not having listened to my conversation. I looked him straight in the eye, trying to put as much love into my look as I stared into his eyes and kissing him again lightly. I moved my head back just a fraction, so that I could murmur to him, low enough for only us to hear, "Happy Birthday Dimitri" before kissing him again.

NAWW aint they sweet, looks like everything is on the up for now, and don't worry, I'm sure they will get the opportunity to celebrate Dimitri's birthday properly ;)

Review; tell me what you think, they are all read and appreciated and lastly a shout out to my every patient Beta ItaSaku1.