A/N: A couple thing before I start this one. First, Richelle never mentions how long it takes for someone to transform into a Strigoi, so I'm going to assume the transition takes a couple of days. If I'm wrong just overlook it just this once.

Second, I could start this chapter with Rose's, Dimitri's, and their friends' initial reactions to the two of them spending some time apart, but I don't wanna beat a dead horse.

For these two reasons, I am picking the story up two days after the previous chapter. Rose and company are in Russia, at the Belikovs and waiting for Abe to return with information about the club, and Adam is about to wake up as a Strigoi.

Also, this particular story is going to take place after the short story, "Homecoming," so the references to last time they were in Russia was Dimitri's return to his family as a dhampir.

I hope you all enjoy.

TWO DAYS LATER…

DIMITRI

It had been two long hard days since Rose told me she needed time to figure out how she was feeling. I had given it to her, but I hated every minute of it. I needed her more than anything else in the world right now, but she was so far away from me. She hadn't even been willing to share a room with me while we were in Russia instead she was staying with Viktoria.

I knew she needed time to get over what I had done, and I wanted to respect that. It was just so hard to be so close to her, yet so far away. Lissa had assured me before we left that things would be fixed between Rose and I before we returned to the US but I doubted it.

Roza was such an amazing person with a big heart. If she truly thought what I had done to this girl was unforgivable, she would never return to me, no matter how much she loved me.

I had been that way just after my restoration. Rose had been the ones to convince me that I was wrong. She had been the one to remind me of the beauty of life and stopped me from wallowing in what I had done.

I wished she had someone to do that for her. I wished she had someone to tell her that we could get through this because we loved each other and nothing else mattered. I knew that would never happen. What I had was the worst thing I could've done in my time as a Strigoi. I didn't expect her to return to me after it, but I wished desperately for it.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Dimka," Viktoria's voice called through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." I called back.

I hadn't been downstairs since we'd arrived. I didn't want to face my family after everything that had happened. They had been so happy about the idea of Rose and me getting married. It was an idea that Rose hadn't been completely sold on, but she was getting there. Now, I didn't know if she would even come back to me.

They had noticed something was wrong the minute we walked through the door, and Rose's request to room with Viktoria only made matters worse. They would want to know what happened, but in order to answer their questions I would have to explain what I did. I didn't want them to know, even more than I didn't want Rose to know. They would still love me, I had no doubt, but I didn't want them to hear that dark secret about me.

I wondered if Viktoria had chosen to come up and see me on her own, or if the family had elected her to represent them. Either way, I couldn't ignore them forever. Perhaps, I could explain Rose and I to her without having to go into to many details.

"Hey." She said, entering the room. "Mom sent me up to make sure you were alright."

"Fine." I said. "I just have a lot on my mind that's all."

She gave me a look that said she wasn't buying my crap.

"Give me a break, Dimka." She said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know there is something going on between you and Rose; something that is eating at both of you. She hasn't been down to see anyone since you arrived, either. You're both sulking about something, and I wanna know what it is."

I shook my and looked down at the bed. Despite out age difference, Viktoria and I had always been incredibly close. She was the only one of my sisters I felt I could tell anything, and I was the sibling she always went to when she was in trouble, whether it be with our mom, or bullies. We took care of each other, and she knew me better than anyone else, except maybe Rose.

"I did something, bad." I finally said. I wouldn't tell her the whole story if I could avoid it, but I needed to tell her something. "Back when I was…"

"A Strigoi." Viktoria filled in the blank when I had a hard tie saying it.

"Rose is having a hard time dealing with her feelings about what I did." I explained. "She wants to forgive me, and she says she still loves me, but she doesn't think she should."

"I can't help, unless I know what you did." Viktoria whispered, coming to sit beside me on the bed.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me too."

"Dimka, you're my big brother, nothing you do could ever make me hate you. Just tell me."

"When I first became a Strigoi, I had a hard time ridding myself of my feelings for Rose." I said, knowing I wouldn't get out of this without telling her anything. "That is why I came to Russia. I wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. I thought that would be enough, but it wasn't.

"A couple weeks after I came here, I stumbled on a girl who looked so much like Rose, that they could've been sister. I killed her father, and took her as my prisoner. I kept her locked in a closet, fed her enough to keep her alive, and did some pretty horrible things to her."

"What kinds of horrible things?" Viktoria asked slowly. There was sympathy and pity in her voice, but I could also hear disgust and fear. I tried not to let it bother me. At least she hadn't fled the room.

"The kind of horrible things Dad used to do to Mom." I said. "But worse, so much worse. I told Rose and the others, and Rose she's having difficulty with it."

"Understandable." Viktoria nodded. "I'd feel the same way if I was in her shoes, but I wouldn't let it change the way I feel about you, and Rose won't either. She will take the time she needs, and decide that she loves you, no matter what."

"But will that be enough?" I asked. I hadn't forgotten our conversation just before we left court. Rose had insisted she still loved me, but felt guilty for doing so. Would the guilt be too much for her to get over? That was the question that haunted my mind.

"In most cases, no." Viktoria answered, squeezing my shoulder. "But in yours and Rose's case, yes. Look at everything your love has already survived. It will survive this, I promise. It may take time, but it will survive."

"How do you know?" I asked. I suddenly felt like I was the younger sibling needed reassurance. It was a weird change in our relationship.

"Because you and Rose are good people." She told me, pulling me into a hug. "You're the best people I know, in fact. You both deserve to be happy, and I've seen enough of both of you to know that you aren't happy unless you are together."

I didn't completely believe her, but it was nice to hear that she believed our love would stand a chance against these odds. I supposed she was right about all the other odds or loved has survived. If we could get through all of that, we could get through this.

Viktoria pulled away from me offering a sad smile.

"Mom also wanted me to let you know that dinner will be ready in a half hour." She said. "Will you be okay until then?"

"I think so." I told her as she rose from the bed and headed to the door.

"Good. I need to have a few words with my future sister-in-law before we eat."

She walked out of the door before I had a chance to protest.

ROSE

I sat on Viktoria's bed trying to think about our impending mission, instead of Dimitri. It wasn't working very well. He hadn't so much as spoken to me since I told him I needed time to figure things out, unless of course it had something to do with the mission. Despite the state of our current relationship, Lissa had entrusted Dimitri and I as leaders of this mission. It was a job with both took as seriously as possible. Innocent lives depended on our ability to put our personal feelings to the side until this was over.

Unfortunately, that was the easy part of all of this. It had been drilled into our heads that our duty to protect Moroi and kill Strigoi came before anything else, even our own personal feelings. We would get through this mission as if we were still the happy couple that we had been since we cleared our names.

No, the hard would be living my life without him until I decided what I needed to do. The hard part would be walking down the stairs and sitting with his family until it was time to put our plan into action; it would be having to face their questions about why I had asked to room with Viktoria when we arrived.

Last time we were here, Dimitri and I had been connected at the hip. Now, we couldn't get far enough away from each other. The Belikovs were going to wonder why that was. I only hoped they wouldn't hate me too much when Dimitri told them—if Dimitri told them.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"It's Eddie." Eddie's voice came through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." I said, relieved it wasn't Viktoria. I didn't think I could handle the questions that I knew were coming just yet.

Eddie walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt, and I could see his silver stake sticking out of the holder on his belt. We weren't going to battle just, yet, but with all the Strigoi that end up dead when I'm in Russia, we couldn't be sure if they'd launch an attack on me just to save themselves the trouble. I figured it be a good idea for everyone to be ready just in case.

"How're holding up?" He asked, sitting next to me on the bed. I shrugged and swallowed the lump I hadn't realized was growing in my throat. It was one thing for Dimitri, Lissa, and my mother to see me a sobbing mess, but a completely different one for Eddie to see it.

"Okay, I guess." I said. "I know it was my decision, and I know I need the time away from him, but it hurts a lot more than I thought it would, especially being back here with his family. Last time we were here, the family couldn't stop talking about our wedding and now, I've broken his heart. How am I supposed to look at his mother, knowing what I did to him?"

"You did what you had to do, Rose." Eddie answered, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Regardless of his mental state, Dimitri did something horrible, and you need a chance to deal with that. I know Dimitri understands that, even if being away from you is hurting him. He loves you and wants you to be able to move past this, no matter what it means for his relationship with you. As far as his family goes, if they can't understand where you're coming from, then that's their problem, not yours."

Another knock on the door cut off any reply I had been about to make.

"Rose, it's Viktoria. Can I come in?"

KATYA

It had been two days since Rebekah told me Marcus was awakening Adam, and I still hadn't completely understood what that meant. I figured it had something to do with turning him into a vampire, but I didn't understand how that would affect his feelings told me.

I had been an avid reader of vampire novels before I had been taken prisoner by Dimitri, and in most of them, when a person was turned, they didn't lose their humanity. If anything, it intensified their human feelings. Yes, they were primal, but it was something they could learn to control. Occasionally, I'd read about a vampire who flipped their "humanity" switch, which is what I assumed Marcus, Dimitri, and Rebekah had done. It was the only excuse I could think of for their evilness.

I told myself over and over again over those two days that it wouldn't happen to Adam. He was too pure and good for that. If anything, I prayed his love for me was too strong for that.

Despite that, I was terrified of what would happen when he woke up. When Marcus had finished the blood exchange, he ordered Rebekah to take me up long enough to clean, and bandage my arms, before chaining me back up in the room with a lifeless Adam.

Marcus wanted me to be there when Adam woke up. He wanted me to see what the man I loved would become, and that scared the hell out of me. He was convinced that Adam would wake up and become just like the rest of them. All I could do was pray that he was just trying to scare me. I had to believe that the things I read held more truth than the things Marcus said.

I spent most of the two days staring at Adam's lifeless body praying that when he woke, he would remember how much he loved me. I had to believe that would save him.

Marcus and Rebekah, who no longer trusted their employees to do it, brought me food once or twice each day. They left me dangling by my arms, and force fed me. They would play a little once they finished, but refused to hurt me too much. They wouldn't even drink from me in those two days; something that I found odd and completely terrifying. Why were they denying themselves their favorite meal? It didn't make sense, and scared me even more when I thought about Adam finally waking up.

Close to the end of the second day, Marcus and Rebekah returned; both looking like kids at Christmas. Rebekah had a black hood and some kind of gag in her hand. I gulped terrified about what was going to happen next.

"It's almost time." Marcus said with a smile. "We've come to prepare you for our new friend's awakening."

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked with a shake in my voice.

"We aren't going to do anything, dear." Marcus smiled running his index finger down my cheek. "Lover boy is, and I can guarantee he's not gonna care who or what were to him two days ago. All he is going to see is food."

"You're gonna let him feed from me?" I asked as there odd behavior suddenly started making sense. They were feeding me so well and refusing to take blood, because they wanted me to be at my full strength for when Adam woke up, just in case he lost control.

"For now." Rebekah smiled. "We may eventually let him fuck you, but feeding will do for now."

"He won't do it." I said. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince them or myself. "He will wake up and remember who I am. He will remember how much he loves me. He won't hurt me."

"Well, there is a small possibility that could happen." Marcus said, running his hands over my still naked body. "Sometimes those feelings are strong enough to withstand the awakening, especially a forced one." I still had no idea what he was talking about, but I was too afraid of what was going to happen to ask questions. "So Rebekah and I will just have to make sure he doesn't recognize you."

Before I could even process his words, Rebekah had shoved the gag into my mouth and was fastening it tightly around my head. Then she shoved the hood over it, and I was plunged into darkness.

ROSE

"It's your room." I said with a sigh. Viktoria, Dimitri's youngest and closest sister, was the last member of the family I wanted to take you. After Dimitri's return as a dhampir, she forgave me for the fight we had during my first visit to Russia. I hated that she was angry with me when I left and didn't want her to be again. Somehow, I was sure breaking her brother's heart would be enough to convince her to hate me. Still, I couldn't get her locked out of her own room for the duration of our stay.

She opened the door and walked in. She looked much better than she had on my last night in Russia before leaving to find Dimitri. Yes, her tank top showed a little more cleavage than I thought was appropriate for someone her age, but I couldn't say much, considering that is how I used to dress before I met Dimitri and understood the need for a respectable reputation.

"Hey Eddie." She smiled at him. I could see there was an almost flirtatious glint in her eyes, and I wondered if maybe there could ever be something between. True, it would've been extremely long distance, but maybe it could work.

"Viktoria." Eddie replied with a small nod and smile that was all business. Okay, maybe not.

"I wondered if I might have a couple minutes alone with Rose." Viktoria said speaking to Eddie. I wasn't sure how I felt about being left alone with her after everything that was going on. If I was going to get chewed out, I would like to have a little morale support.

"Of course." Eddie answered. "I have to go check with Hans and the others anyway." He turned back to me with a kind smile. "Rose, everything will work out, I promise."

"Thanks, Eddie." I gave him a quick hug before he walked out the door.

When we were alone, I looked down at the bed, unable to meet, Viktoria's eyes.

"I talked to Dimitri, and he told everything." Viktoria said, sitting beside me on the bed. "He told me about the girl and how you feel about it all. It's really hurting him, and I can see it's really hurting you."

I nodded still not looking at her.

"I really hate doing this to him, Viktoria." I said. "You have no idea, but how can I still love him knowing what he did to that girl? How am I supposed to share a bed with him, or have sex with him?"

Viktoria wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to her.

"Only you can answer that question, Rose." She said. "I didn't come in here to tell you what to do, or make you feel bad for the decision you made. There's too much of that going on between the two of you. I came in here to tell you that I think you made the right choice, and I know Dimka does too. I know he's hurting, but he wants what's best for you. He knows you need this. And I know you do too."

"Thanks." I sighed and laid my head on her shoulder.

"I am also here to tell you that you are part of this family." She continued. "And you have been since you should up to tell us about Dimitri. Whatever happens between you two won't change that. We love you, Rose. You will always be my sister, the same is true for Karolina and Sonya, and Mom will always think of you as a Belikov. It doesn't matter if you choose to be with my brother or not."

I couldn't help but smile at those words. I had been terrified that the family would hate for hurting Dimitri the way I had. I thought they would shun me, but they still loved me.

"I really needed to hear that." I told her.

"Good, now will you please come downstairs?" She asked. "The others have been dying to see you, and Mom is threatening to drag both of you down for dinner by your earlobes."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, because I could totally imagine Olena Belikova doing that.

"Can I ask you a question first?" I said.

"Anything."

"Would you be able to continue loving someone if they did the things Dimitri did?" I asked. I knew the question would put her on the spot, and I hope she wouldn't take it as me asking if she could love her brother. I just needed a second opinion.

"If you're asking me if I can forgive my brother for what he did, the answer is yes." She answered in a gentle tone. "If you are asking me if I could continue loving my boyfriend or husband, I don't know. I think it is different for everyone, but I will tell you what I do know." She walked back over and knelt in front of me.

"I know you love my brother more than anything, and I know you can't live without him." She said. "The first time you were here, you were different. Yes, you were the same spunky, sarcastic Rose you are now, but there was something missing. I saw the emptiness in you when you here. There was no light in your eyes. You were just moving through life on autopilot. But when you came back with Dimka, the light was back, and it burned brighter than anything I have ever seen.

"You two will get through this, because you deserve to keep that Rose. After everything you've been through, you deserve it. And you'll have it."

"Thanks, Viktoria." I said as she pulled me in for another hug.

"You're welcome." She whispered. "Now, let's get downstairs before Mom makes good on her threat."

She grabbed my hand, pulled my off the bed, and practically dragged me down the stairs before I could protest.

KATYA

Once the hood was over my head, Marcus and Rebekah didn't say a word. I could feel their hands all over my body, but neither of them spoke. I think they were trying to scare me more, something that was completely unnecessary. I was already terrified enough of what would happen when Adam woke up.

I hadn't considered that they would do something to keep him from recognizing me when he woke up. If my novels were correct, he would be too thirsty when he woke to do more than register there was pray sitting right in front of him. If I didn't have the hood over my head and the gag in mouth, seeing my face and hearing my voice would've been enough to give him pause. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case now.

No matter what happened when he woke, he was going to drink from me. There was nothing I could've done to stop that from happening, and it scared me. If I wasn't able to talk to him, there was no way to remind him of who he was before they changed him. He was going to be a monster, and my captors were going to train him.

I was glad the hood was over my head. They could see how much this new knowledge was terrifying me. Tears were pouring down my cheeks as I fought to keep myself from sobbing.

A moan from across the room broke me out of my thoughts and set my heart racing. Adam was starting to wake up. I took as deep a breath as the gag would allow. I would get through whatever happened next and find a way to make Adam be Adam again. I just had to keep reminding myself that this vampire would not be the man I love.

"He's waking up." Marcus said in my ear causing me to flinch. The hood prevented me from keeping tabs on where they were. "I know how bad you want to see this, but I think you need to watch through the door. He'll want you blood more than hers, and I would hate it if he attacked and killed you before I had a chance to explain that you are off limits."

"I suppose you're right." Rebekah sighed. "As much as I would love to be right here when it is happening, I'd rather not die, just yet."

There exchange confused me and gave me a minute to focus on something other than my fear. Why would a vampire want to drink another vampire's blood? I thought that was how they poisoned each other. Stupid authors needed to do more research before they published a book.

The slamming of the door was followed by another moan and someone walking across the floor.

"Adam," Marcus said in a jovially tone. I could imagine him spreading his arms in welcome. "So glad to see you awake. I know you must be thirsty, so I've brought you your first meal. Just…"

Before he could even finish, I felt someone's hands shoving my head to the side. I screamed as fangs pierced my skin and prayed the love of my life wouldn't kill me.

A/N: What do you guys think? I have been working on this for the last three and a half hours. I hope it turned out okay. Also, I was just guessing that Viktoria would be Dimitri's closest sibling. I mean, I am closer to my youngest brother than I am to my sisters. Also, I can't remember if Dimitri and his siblings have the same father or not, so just pretend that they do.

I think that's it. Please review!