I am so amazed at the awesome response that I have gotten over this story. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and added me to their favorite or alert lists! You guys really are awesome! It has inspired me to continue this story. Not sure how long it will go but expect at least a few more chapters. As for now, here is the 2nd chapter that I had to finish thanks to all the reviews I got! I hope you will keep them coming!

Of course I own nothing...and I didn't have a beta so if there are any crazy mistakes please let me know. Thanks!

Stop Being a Coward

Chapter 2

Dimitri walked up outside of the room that he had learned Rose way staying in. He had wanted to stay as far away from the Royal Court as possible but since she and Princess Lissa were staying there for the moment, he had no choice. He had to do what he could.

He hesitantly knocked on the door outside of her room and waited for it to open. As he waited, he heard soft talking coming from within. "That will be Christian. I asked him to bring you something to eat." Lissa softly exclaimed, "I will be right back."

There was no reply but Dimitri had heard the pain in Lissa's voice as she spoke to who he assumed was Rose. The door was then pulled open and Lissa had a sad smile on her face, expecting her boyfriend. Her face suddenly turned to one of hatred and rage as she saw who it was. Lissa turned back to verify that Rose had not seen who was at the door and then stepped into the hall, closing it behind her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" Lissa exclaimed furiously, "You have no right to be here now."

Dimitri was startled by the abruptness of the Princess, he had never seen her raise her voice or be anything other than the polite girl that she was.

"I brought her some food." Dimitri held up a bag with a burger and fries as he tried to not let the harshness of the Princess' words get to him. He deserved this and so much more for what he had done to Rose.

"You think food is going to make this better? You think we haven't brought her food everyday for weeks? You have no idea what is going on here. You can't just expect to show up like everything is okay. I think seeing you would make it worse." Lissa spat the harsh words at Dimitri.

He thought about walking away but knew he had to do what he came here to do. "No, I know this won't fix things, but I need to try." Dimitri's voiced broke on the word try and Lissa realized he had tears in his eyes. "Please, let me try. I messed up."

"You're damn right you messed up." She hesitated, knowing that Dimitri rarely showed his emotions, "But I don't know if you coming here will help. I am afraid she might be too far gone." Lissa's voice softened as she thought about the pain her friend was going through. She couldn't actually feel her pain but she could understand it. She was also glad that Rose was so numb to her surroundings that she didn't know Dimitri was there or about the rage Lissa had been feeling.

"Lissa please?" Dimitri was begging now, "I have to see her."

Lissa thought about his request for a moment but was at a loss for what to do. If she let him in, maybe he could help Rose but he could also hurt her more.

Christian showed up just then, obviously hearing part of the conversation. "Let him in Lis, what can it hurt?" He put his arm around Lissa and nodded to Dimitri.

"Fine," Lissa said, her anger returning momentarily, "but if you hurt her more, I swear you will regret it Guardian Belikov." She had been pushing her finger into this chest while spewing the words at him, an obvious distaste in her mouth as she said his formal name.

Dimitri nodded, thinking back to when he had threatened Victor Vashkov with death if he hurt his Roza. Dimitri was glad that Rose had Lissa to care for her in much the same way.

"Come on, let's give him some time." Christian pulled Lissa away from Dimitri and started walking her down the hallway to another room. "You need to eat; it will do you some good to get away from Rose for a few minutes, I brought you some food too." Christian handed her the bag, seeing that Dimitri had brought food as well.

Dimitri watched the couple walk away and turned to face the door once again. This time, he bypassed knocking and walked directly into the room. His eyes scanned the area as he looked for Rose. What he saw, took his breath away. He was so happy to see her. He thought he would never look at her again and the thought had hurt him. Just seeing her, brought a warmth to his chest that he had thought he would feel again. Once the relief of seeing her passed, he really looked at her and what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

He had never seen her so weak. Her eyes were red and puffy, obviously from crying. It had been three weeks and she was still crying over him. He really didn't deserve her.

She was sitting on the floor in front of the couch. The TV was turned off and she was just staring forward into nothingness. The words from her mother returned to him as he did notice that she seemed to not actually be there even when she was physically in front of him. He had never thought his Rosa could be like that. She was so strong, so much stronger than he had ever been.

His chest ached as he realized that it was him who did this to her. He wanted to turn and leave, he was suffocating on his own emotions. What he had seen back in Spokane, was nothing compared to how she looked now. She truly was broken. At least in Spokane she had some fight left in her. A look in her eyes that said she still cared about her friend and what happened to him. He knew that she would have fought had any Strigoi that came in to hurt Mason's lifeless body.

But this Rose, this Rose was none of those things. She had given up on herself. He pushed through his own emotions and walked towards her, a new determination to make things right settling in his stomach.

"Oh Roza." Dimitri exclaimed as he reached her. She did not even flinch or look up at him. She was an emotional void. Dimitri knelt down and pulled her into his arms, against his warm body. She didn't even act like she knew he was there.

Her body was shaking slightly and he realized that she was silently crying, mumbling something about how he wasn't really there, how she must be asleep. She thought he was part of her imagination. Dimitri broke down at that realization and began crying too as he rocked her, holding her body against his chest.

They sat like that for about forty-five minutes. He had watched the clock on the TV stand and just waited for her to stop crying. He had noticed Lissa stick her head in to check on them but seeing them on the floor, Lissa gave Dimitri a sad smile and closed the door behind her, giving them their privacy.

About twenty minutes later, Dimitri realized Rose had finally fallen into a silent sleep, her body obviously exhausted by the outpouring of emotions she had gone through. He had not known someone so small could cry so much.

Dimitri picked up the sleeping form and carried her over to the unmade bed. His thoughts attacked him as he remembered the last time he had lain in bed with Rose but he forced them away, wanting to solely concentrate on her for the time being. He could tell that Rose was at least ten to fifteen pounds lighter. After working out with her every day for six months, he knew exactly how heavy she was. How could he have done this to her? Part of him knew that what he did to her now was way worse than anything he had done as a Strigoi. At least having the monster inside of him gave him an excuse. What was his excuse now? He was an asshole and a monster.

Dimitri carefully lowered Rose towards the bed. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that said 'Bite Me' and some black sweat pants. He could tell she was exhausted and hoped she would get some sleep. He would be patient and let her. He did hope that she would become lucid at some point in time so they could talk though. Just as he had pulled the covers up over her and turned to sit in the chair beside the bed, he felt her hand grab his wrist. He looked down shocked, not realizing she had woken up.

"Please," her voice was scratchy and sounded painful to his ears, "I need you to just hold me. Just for now. Please hold me. I know this has got to be some really crazy dream that I will wake up from soon but please?" she begged, her eyes already drifting closed again.

He nodded and pulled the covers back, pulling her small frame into his arms. "Comrade?" She whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah Roza, I'm here." She nodded once and fell back asleep. Dimitri held her and mumbled sweet words in Russian in as he kissed her head and held her body close to his; somehow calming her body from the nightmares she was fighting.

After a while though, he also succumbed to the exhaustion threatening to engulf him and drifted off into a peaceful sleep with Rose in his arms.

What could have been minutes or hours later, loud whispering by the door woke Dimitri from his dreamless sleep. He looked down at Rose and fortunately she was still sleeping. He didn't want to wake her so he didn't move but just listened to what was going on across the room.

"Adrian, you have to stop." Lissa said, pushing Adrian back towards the still open door. Her loud whispers were obviously an attempt to not wake Dimitri and Rose up.

"But that asshole is in there with her. He shouldn't be anywhere near her, he is the reason she is like this to begin with." Adrian's voice held a little more volume but he restrained himself from yelling in order to let Rose sleep. Dimitri had no double that Adrian's whispers were for Rose's benefit alone.

"I know Adrian. But look at her, I know you saw her. It's been weeks, WEEKS, since she has slept that soundly. And if Dimitri is the one that can do that for her then so be it. I know you are hurting Adrian, I know you love her. I know how hard you tried to be there for her and comfort her but it just wasn't working. I know you hate Dimitri but I also know you love Rose. You have to think about what is best for her. She is sleeping without the screaming or the nightmares. She is at peace for the first time in I nearly a month. If he is the one that can give that to her then how could you deny her? How dare you deny her? If you truly love her, like I know you do, you have to let them work through this their own way."

Lissa continued, glad that Adrian had somewhat settled down and Dimitri listened on with interest. "I wasn't going to let him in either but after I thought about it, it made sense. They need each other now, more than ever. Rose would have died without him Adrian. I don't know if they will be together today or tomorrow or ever. That is something that they will have to work out on their own. All I know is that right now, she needs him more than anything. So please Adrian, let them be together, let them figure this out. Don't visit her dreams either. Give her some peace. She needs it." Lissa begged Adrian.

Adrian finally consented and turned to leave. Dimitri could just make out Lissa following him as the door once again shut behind them.

Once again alone, Dimitri's thoughts turned to the angel is his arms as he thought that just maybe he was helping her. Sure, maybe the entire situation was his fault but maybe he could at least help ease some of her pain.

Her soft steady breathing soon lulled him back into a peaceful rest of his own. "I love you so much Roza," Dimitri mumbled as he pulled her closer to his chest.

Thanks again everyone! Please keep up the reviews!