A/N: I know this ending was a bit underwhelming and I am sorry. I was getting to a point where I just wanted to finish it, because I didn't like that it was going unfinished. I am hoping this epilogue makes the ending a little better.

EPILOGUE

TWO YEARS LATER…

ROSE

"Is it time, yet?" I asked Lissa for the fifth time in the last five minutes. We were expecting a very important Skype call, and I was getting extremely impatient.

"Rose, five more minutes." She responded as she finished getting everything set up. There was only the slightest bit of irritation in her voice. I knew she was just as excited as I was. "Where are those boys?"

"Dimitri texted a few minutes ago," I said. "Their training class went over, but him and Christian are on their way over right now." I still couldn't believe how much Lissa had managed to change over the course of the last two years. Any Moroi who wanted could now openly practice defense and Christian and Dimitri were leading the charge.

"Well, they better hurry, or they are going to miss it." Lissa answered. "They are busy people, and we shouldn't hold them up."

"We won't, they will be here." As if on cue, the door swung open and the loves of our life stepped through. They were laughing about something. "Speak of the devil." I smiled.

"What?" Christian asked.

"Lissa was worried that you were going to miss it." I explained.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Dimitri answered. I had known that all along. It had surprised me that he allowed the session to run over. This call was as important to him as it was for me. Lissa and Christian were simply there because our callers had requested that they be.

"That's what I tried…" My response was cut off by the ringing of Lissa's laptop.

The four of us rushed over to Lissa's desk and arranged ourselves in front of the camera. It was hard because there was four of us, but we managed. I clicked the answer button and came face-to-face with a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years.

"Katya!" I practically yelled as a smile spread across my face. She looked so much better than she had the last time I has seen her. She had gained a healthy amount of weight and had gotten some sun. Her eyes were brighter and had more life in them than before. Sadly, I could see the shadow of what she went through behind them. Her hair was in a tight French braid and she wore a simple black t-shirt.

"Rose, it is so good to finally see you again." Her smile mirrored mine.

We had planned on keeping in better contact, but Jill's attack happened on the very night Dimitri had returned from Russia. No one had foreseen the insane events that would follow that incident. Sadly, Katya and Adam, now safe, fell to the bottom of the priority list. Lissa had kept her promise of sending them money, but that was the most we had been able to do for him. We had to take care of our little misfit family first.

"You, too. I am so sorry that it took us so long to do this." I said.

"I understand. A lot has happened in the last couple of years. I hope everyone is okay, now."

"For the most part." I shrugged. "There are still some details being worked out, but everyone is at least safe."

"Good." Katya smiled.

"Where's Adam?" Dimitri asked. I could hear the guilt and disappointment in his voice. He and Adam had not ended things well in Russia. Despite understanding what happened, Adam had been unable to forgive Dimitri for what he had done to Katya. Dimitri had hoped to have some time to fix things, but it didn't happen. I gently squeezed his shoulder in comfort.

"He'll be along in a minute." She got a funny smile on her face when she said this. Almost like she was hiding something from us.

"What have you guys been up to in the last two years?" I asked.

"Well, thanks to Lissa's allowance, we were able to settle down here in the states, we bought a house and Adam has been going to business school. When he graduates, he is going to open a legit boarding school for runaways and kids who have been kicked out of their homes. He is going to take care of the kids the way Rebekah and Marcus should've taken care of us."

"That's amazing." Dimitri told her. "I think that is the perfect idea. What about you?"

"Well, I finished high school, and the plan was for me to go to college to be a trauma psychologist, but something unexpected happened."

Before any of us could question her, Adam stepped into view. He was holding what at first looked like a bundle of blankets in his arms until a little hand reached up.

"Is that?" Dimitri asked.

"Our little girl." Katya nodded with tears shining in her eyes. "It took about a year before I was comfortable to even let Adam touch me like that, but when it happened, I took for granted that Marcus and Rebekah had screwed me up so bad inside. We never thought to use protection. A few weeks later, I found out we were wrong." Tears were streaming down her face now.

"That's fantastic." Dimitri said. I could hear his attempt at holding back his tears. He had been so worried he had taken everything from Katya, but she had still been granted the greatest gift ever.

"Boy or girl?" I asked as Adam shifted the baby towards the camera.

'Girl. Her name is Roza."

I was still working hard on my impulse control, so I was unable to keep my mouth from dropping open in shock. I was the catalyst that caused Dimitri to do what he did. Essentially, I was the reason for her suffering. It made no sense for them to do that.

"I don't understand." I stuttered shaking my head. "Why?"

"You are the reason for all of this, Rose."

"I know. I wouldn't want to name my baby after me because of that."

"Not the bad stuff, no. But, Rose, this little girl never would've existed if it wasn't for you. If Dimitri didn't love you the way he does, I never would've ended up at the club. I never would've met Adam. I spent the last two years trying to make sense of it all, and I can't. However, I know that I was blessed to have Adam after it all. And that's because Dimitri loved you."

"More importantly," Adam took over when Katya was too emotional to speak anymore. "It was yours and Dimitri's love for each other that saved us both, and you don't know how grateful we are for that."

It still didn't make sense to me, but I wasn't going to argue with them. If it helped them through the hard times then who was I to complain about it. "I'm flattered. Thank you."

Silence fell for a moment as Katya collected herself. She swallowed hard and looked over me to Lissa. "I'm sorry, but I am not quite sure how to address you, ma'am."

I looked back to see Lissa blush a little. It had been almost three years since she had been crowned, and she still wasn't used to people being unsure around her. "Lissa's fine." She answered. "We are all friends here."

"Thank you, Lissa. I wanted to discuss the money you have been sending to me and Adam." It was Katya's turn to look a little embarrassed. "While we appreciate it very much. It has helped us settle down and buy our beautiful home. It has helped Adam through school, but we have decided that it is time to stop accepting it. We have both found decent part time jobs, and an amazing babysitter for Roza. We need to start learning to stand on our own. Please can you stop sending it."

It had been difficult for them to accept the help of the money from the beginning. Katya simply didn't want to live off someone else, and Adam called it blood money. It took some convincing, but they both realized that they needed it to move on from the tragedy. I can only imagine how difficult it was for them to ask us to stop sending it.

"No." Lissa answered. "I admire that you want to stand on your own two feet and care for your daughter, especially after everything that has happened. I could send money until Roza's grandchildren are dead, and it will never be enough to make up for what my people did to you."

"Lissa, you have done everything…" Katya started to argue, but Lissa held up her hand.

"I will arrange to turn your account into a trust for Roza that cannot be touched until she is eighteen, I will continue to put money into every month until then. At eighteen, she can decide if she wants to use it."

Katya looked at Adam. It wasn't so much a look asking for permission, it was more of a look that was asking what he thought. Adam looked down at the baby in his arms then nodded to Katya.

"That we can accept." Katya said.

"Thank you." Lissa nodded.

"No, thank you." Katya said. "Thank you all. You saved my life." Dimitri looked away from the camera as if he wasn't worthy of her thanks. "Dimitri, it is time that you forgive yourself. I have forgiven you. You may have been the reason I got there in the first place, but you are also the reason I got out. And was able to have me happy ending."

"I'm trying." Dimitri whispered.

"We'll get there, Comrade." I placed my hand on his shoulder. He simply nodded.

"I hate to cut this short, but Roza has an appointment at four." Katya explained. "Let's not let another two years go by before doing this again.

"Of course, not." I said. "I think we are all about due for a vacation anyway. Perhaps a trip to Florida is in order soon?" I looked to Lissa with a tempting smile.

"We'll talk about it." Lissa laughed.

"I guess that's the best I can hope for right now." I turned back to the camera. "Go take care of that baby and we'll be in touch."

Katya and Adam smiled as Adam gently lifted the baby's hand so she was waving to us. I smiled and clicked the end call button.