Dimitri fell asleep first this time.

Actually, I drifted off for a second or two but when I opened my eyes, Dimitri was out like a night.

I don't think he meant to. In fact I'm pretty sure he intended to stay awake, watching over me like a guard dog all night.

He didn't make it.

I can't exactly hold it against him seeing as I'm pretty sure I was the first to fall asleep that night I was at his house. In fact I'm both surprised and amused that he fell asleep so easy.

The second he had walked into my hospital room, even with my swollen bruised eyes, I could see how tense and worked up he was. He looked like a bundle of angry energy barely holding it in and keeping himself together. In a way he reminded me of a soda bottle that's been shaken up; the only way for the tension to release would be if it's top exploded.

Dimitri's top didn't blow. In fact, he didn't say a word about it. He listened to me talk, he comforted me, made reassurances, showed me how much he really cares about me by telling me how happy he was that I was alright but he didn't say a word about how angry he was. I knew it was there though.

I'd never seen him angry before. From the way he'd been trembling before, clenching his fists, I realized I never want to.

I'm not sure exactly when the angry tension left his body. The longer I talked and he listened, realizing I was okay, the more relaxed he seemed to get.

The only thing I knew was that one moment he's telling me to lay down and get some sleep. He sits in a chair beside my bed and I lay on my side so we're facing each other. He's gently brushing my hair back, combing his fingers through the loose tangles in such a gentle way that if I hadn't been staring at him I probably wouldn't have known he was doing it. The next moment, as I felt my eyes start to get heavy, I glanced up at Dimitri one last time and saw he was asleep.

He was resting his head on one his arms leaning against the raised railing of the hospital bed. He had one hand still extended, resting in my hair. It would have been an awkward position if it wasn't so comforting that he was here at all.

I was sleepy before but now I feel wide awake. He looks so calm and peaceful when he sleeps.

Dimitri, Stan, and everyone else was worried that I would change my mind and walk away from al of this. I'd considered it, believe me. I was ready to bolt the second I woke up in the hospital bed and remembered what happened. And then I thought about Lissa and Viktoria. I couldn't do it to them. I couldn't just leave them to deal with all of this. Adrian and his crew did their best to beat me down, both literally and figuratively, but I couldn't let them get the best of me. I couldn't let them get the upper hand thinking they'd gotten away with this.

I thought about Christian. I remembered everything he had said when I first met him, everything he told me about me being brave.

"You shouldn't act so surprised," Christian says smiling slightly as I tune back into the conversation.

Dimitri's nodding agreeing with him. "It takes courage to do what you've done so far."

Between the two of us I think Christian was the brave one considering he crashed his car to save me. I have to be brave too. I want to be brave. One of my first conversations with Dimitri, he had asked me if I wanted to fight.

"Do you want to fight?"

It was simple question, one I use to answer right away.

Fighting had gotten me trouble a lot lately though.

"I-I don't know."

"Do you want to defend yourself and fight?" He asked, amending his question.

I was about to give the same answer but decided that for the first time in the last two days, I was going to tell the truth.

I had told him yes. I wanted to fight, I wanted to defend myself and that's still true. Sure, I don't want to let anyone down, I don't want anyone to ever have the upper hand on me again, I don't want to feel as scared for my life as I did in the last few hours but I especially don't want to let myself down. I'm scared...no, I'm terrified that they'll come after me again and kill me. But I'm more afraid of living my life in constant fear, always questioning and second guessing myself if I runaway.

So I'm going to swallow my fear for the time being...or maybe I should let it consume me, use it to remind me why I'm fighting back in the first place. Not only to protect myself but to protect everyone else involved in this nightmarish mess. I'm accepting my fear and fighting back.

It's the only thing I can do.

I slowly opened the door to Christian's room after knocking softly.

It was pretty late and he was probably asleep. Even though a few hours had passed by I had only just realize that Lissa never came back from visiting Christian. Maybe she ended up going with Tasha after all and just didn't say goodbye. It hurt getting out of bed but I managed to do it slowly, quietly, and carefully enough without disturbing Dimitri.

The hospital was pretty quiet. I tried being careful of not running into any nurses or Dimitri's mother and luckily I made it to Christian's room without any one noticing.

I haven't seen Christian since they brought us in.

I was a little out of it when they brought us in but I remember Christian kept trying to tell me that it was okay. The words 'thank you' wouldn't even begin to convey everything I have to say to Christian. In fact, I'm a little scared to even open the door to his room but I do it anyway.

He's wide awake. I expected to find him asleep the same way I should have been but he's sitting up wide awake, surfing through TV channels.

That isn't nearly as surprising as the fact that Lissa is lying asleep in his hospital bed next to him.

"She said she was just going to sit a minute before heading back to your room but..." he explained, trailing off as he gestured to Lissa who is covered with a thin blanket.

I smiled and gently closed the door to the room.

"She must have been exhausted."

"It's been a...long day for all of us."

'Long day' doesn't even begin to cover it. I open my mouth ready to try to thank him and say everything else running through my mind but he holds up a hand.

"You came here to thank me and apologize and all that jazz but I'm going to stop you right there. It's okay Rose. I'd do it again if I had to. I'm just glad you're okay."

I swallow past the lump in my throat, ready to cry. "I'm glad we're both okay." Even though he told me not to, I have to say it. "I'm just so sorry. If something had happened to you because of me...I can't even...'thank you' isn't enough but..." I babbled as I started crying.

When it became obvious I'm done, Christian just nodded. "I know, Rose. It's okay. We're friends right?"

"Of course," I answer immediately as I wipe at my face. "But it's not okay-"

"Seriously, Rose," he interrupts. "Stop. It's okay. We're both okay. I don't do the sentimental mushy moments but if you need a hug..."

I laugh as I wipe my face dry. "I'm okay. If I hug you...it might hurt," I answer honestly. I was feeling more than sore. I felt like...like I'd been hit like a car. I guess the way I'm feeling is completely appropriate.

He agreed, "good point."

I leaned over a little to get a better look at Liss. She was as sound asleep as Dimitri is. This is a little funny considering Christian and I were the ones hurt.

I almost died...I almost died and...Christian almost died because of me...

When I decided to press charges, Stan had warned me it wouldn't be easy. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I didn't think things would get this messy. I wasn't ready for it to be this frightening. I can't believe it's become this painful.

I take a deep, trembling breath and try to just focus on Lissa. She really surprised me earlier. Of course I knew Lissa more than cared about me but it was still startling to realize how much I meant to her. I couldn't imagine what she'd do if something had happened to me. What would anyone had done? Would the case have been thrown out and forgotten because Viktoria and Liss would become to afraid to testify? Would I be remembered?

My head fills with a variety of 'what ifs' and I try to shake them away. I guess it doesn't really matter 'what if' as long as I'm here and I've survived. So instead of playing the 'what if' game, I try to focus on the fact that I'm here. Christian is here. We're hurt but we survived and I can't help but think that maybe there's a reason for that; that I'm meant to see this to the end. I have never really believed in fate but maybe I should start.

I look at Lissa who seems more calm than I've ever seen her in the last few days.

And then I look at Christian.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's looking at Lissa the same way I find Dimitri sometimes looking at me and when I look at him. Maybe I'm wrong and it's just the medication.

Or maybe...

"You should get some rest," Olena whispers as she comes into the room, startling both of us. "Both of you," she says firmly as she check's Christian's charts before going to check his IV. "How are you feeling?" she asks Christian.

"I've felt better," he answers dryly. "Especially since my parents might be flying out," he adds in an equally dry tone. He holds up his broken wrist. "Will I be able to chop soon? I have a cooking final coming up? And then there's my job at the restaurant and then working at Dimitri's studio-"

"I'm sure, given the circumstances, your instructors and your employer will understand as long as Stan calls to explain things. And I know Dimitri more than understands. You're going to need some time to heal that wrist though if you ever want to be able to use it properly again as well as all your other damaged body parts." Christian nods in agreement but he doesn't seem too pleased that he's out of cooking commission. He glances at Lissa briefly and then seems to remember something else he'd been thinking about. "Do I wanna know what condition my car is in?"

Olena seemed to grimace as she walked over to me to check my fever and pulse before she wraps my arm around her to help me back to my room. "You don't want to know."

Christian leaned back against his pillow. "Totaled?"

"Totally," Olena answered, surprisingly making all three of us laugh despite the situation.

"Well, I've been thinking of getting a new car. I guess I don't really have to think about it any more."

"So...something good came of this," I point out, making them smile.

Olena steadies me against her, as we turn to leave. "Get some rest," she orders Christian firmly. She tells him a nurse will be checking in every hour since he has a slight concussion and then she looks to the still sleeping Lissa. "And keep her warm. It gets a little chilly in here despite the heater."

Christian nodded and automatically tightened the blankets around Lissa's shoulders with his good hand.

"Hey Rose," he gently calls just as we near the door.

"Hmm?"

"We survived a near death experience and everything. I think that makes us besties."

I have only known Christian a little less than I've known Dimitri but I know enough about him to know that is his own way of telling me that we're more than okay, we're friends, and he's going to endure this with the rest of us.

"It seems that Christian and Lissa have become quite close," Olena says on our slow trek back to my room.

I'm feeling a lot weaker now that I've been on my feet for a while. She'd supporting most of my weight. The walk to Christian's room seemed a lot shorter when I was going the other way.

"I noticed the same thing."

I barely saw Christian because our schedules were so different but he was usually at the house keeping Liss company and making sure she is fed. Liss loved it because it meant more food for her ever-growing appetite. I hadn't really noticed anything special between them but then again I hadn't really been looking for it.

"Maybe a lot of good will come out of this entire ordeal." Olena sounded hopeful. I was hoping the same thing. For all this pain, there has to be some good.

"I sure hope so."

She manages to pat my good shoulder reassuringly while balancing me as we continue to walk. It's the same kind of touch Dimitri would have done. I've never really taken the time to realize how much they're alike. Sure, most of the Belikov clan looks alike in some small way: the gentle brown eyes, the beautifully thick dark hair...

But it was mostly in personality that they were most similar. They had this air of gentleness about them. I knew they had their own family struggles that they'd had to endure but it seemed to make them strong, better, and it didn't keep them down. I appreciate and admire that and I hope I'll be the same way some day.

"I called Vika. She's a little shaken up. She's scared, thinking that-"

"That if they were able to get to me so easily, what's to stop them from trying to hurt her or Liss?" I guessed.

The older, motherly woman nods. "I assured her that Stan was sending over a patrol car to watch out house. She texted me a little while after and told me the car was sitting outside the house but she's still scared I'm sure. She wanted to come down here tonight to see you and Christian but I told her to come tomorrow. I think it'll make her feel better if she sees with her own eyes that the two of you are okay."

"I'll talk to her. I know she's probably worried I'm going to back away from the case but-"

"I know you won't," Olena says so suddenly and with such certainty that I stop for a moment to look at her. I wonder why my mother couldn't be strong enough to handle all of this by my side supporting me. I wonder why someone else's mother is able to support me so easily, both literally and physically, when my mother wont.

She pats my shoulder again, encouragingly, and we continue walking.

"I saw Dimka sleeping like a log in your room," Olena whispers as we come closer to the hall that leads to my room. I detect the faintest sound of amusement in her voice.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to fall asleep," I laugh.

"He's like a guard dog."

"I was thinking the same thing earlier," we laugh together in the quiet corridor.

"He always means well."

"I know. I don't know what I'd do without him. I don't even think I'd be here without his help." I hope my feelings aren't so obvious and transparent. Even I can hear the overtly affection tone in my voice. From the look on Olena's face when I glance at her, it appears she hears it to.

"He always be there for you. If there's one thing about my son that I am most proud of, it's his loyalty. He never gives up, he never walks away."

"I think he has you to thank for teaching him that. I didn't notice it before but you and Dimitri are the most alike," I point out.

"Yeah, he's always been the closets to me. Don't get me wrong, my girls love me but they've always been independent. Sonya and Karo have never really needed me much. I raised them, sure, and they turned out pretty well but they mostly learned on their own with a little push from me and their grandmother. I guess it was different with Dimitri since he was my only son," she tells me.

A look of nostalgia crosses over her face and I wonder if she's thinking back to how she raised her children and if she regrets any of it. I wonder if my mother thinks of me with the same look of happiness that Olena has on her face now as she talks about her kids.

"I was really protective of Dimka. Before Viktoria was born, he was my youngest obviously," she explains. I listen wholeheartedly, glad I'm distracted from today's events for a little while. "You wouldn't believe it but Dimka was quiet and shy, really kept to himself."

She was right. I couldn't even imagine a timid Dimitri. "For the time I've known him he's been quick to talk and make any new comers to his studio feel welcome as well as safe. He's never really come across as reserved."

She nods. "I know. He's like that now but he wasn't always. He use to stick to my side or my mother's side like glue. He use to beg to play with his sister's sometimes but when they got older, more into boys, school, and partying, he grew quieter. The only time he really seemed like an average child was when he was with Ivan but I suppose that's because of his father..." she trails off.

I hesitantly bring it up. I don't want to be the one to bring up a sore subject but I do it anyway, my curiosity getting the best of me. "Because of what happened with...when Dimitri was shot?" I can't bring myself to bring up the fact that Ivan and her ex-husband were both dead.

Olena nods. She doesn't seem distraught or hurting that I brushed the subject but I guess she's had a lot of time to think about this. "Perhaps we shouldn't talk about this. This isn't something you want to hear after what you've been through today," she suggests tenderly. I worry maybe I've offended her after all.

"No, no, I want to hear about it. If you don't mind."

She looks me over as we slowly walk as if to make sure I'm really mentally stable enough to listen to this. "My Dimka was quiet and shy but every time his father would hit one of us...I could see Dimitri changing slowly every time it happened. Obviously, his father's abuse would affect all of us in some way. Sonya and Karo dealt with it by staying out of the house as much as they could, Vika was still pretty young and Dimka was always careful to shield her away from their father. And my mother hadn't lived with us at the time."

Olena takes a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sure she had an idea of what was going on but I told her not to do anything because I was afraid he'd take my kids away or hurt them...I was afraid. Dimitri was quiet though until one day when it became so bad that he couldn't take it anymore. He did what I couldn't do...he fought back against his father and he made him leave for good...at least for a while," she adds gently.

It didn't sound right, giving my condolences or saying I'm sorry they suffered so much. So I didn't say anything. I just listened.

"Dimka was a little less shy with his father gone. He was only twelve but he helped the family as much as he could. He and Viktoria were the closest and he took care of her mostly when my mother or I was unable to. Sonya and Karo had moved out for a while and Dimka and Ivan soon graduated from high school, joined the police academy and for a while everything seemed like it was going to be okay."

The rest didn't need to be said. Her family's brief happiness hadn't lasted but they were pretty well put together now considering.

"Dimitri's told you the rest?" As I nod, she smiles one-sided and says, "I'm not surprised. You two have really grown close over such a short time. To be honest, I warned him of getting to close with his trainees. There's a rule that he generally has about keeping his distance...have you ever heard the myth of Florence Nightingale Syndrome?"

I shake my head. "It's when a an injured or ill person of some sort develops romantic feelings for the person who helps them the most, their rescuer," she explained. "I had warned Dimitri about it. I often told him to be careful and he had his own rules about keeping his distance but...it seems Dimitri's broken his own rule for the first time."

I'd be lying if I didn't say I had feelings for Dimitri. It wasn't just because he was saving me or helping me although it seemed that way. I like him because he listened, he makes me feel good even when I'm feeling at me worst...and if what Olena is saying is true then I know that he has some of the same feelings for me.

"Don't get me wrong," she continues after a moment of me silently thinking through all of this and processing. "You're young. You're still in high school and considering all that's going on right now this is the last thing that should be on your mind especially when you're trying to come back to whomever you were before this happened. But..." she trails off as she looks at my face as if searching for something. "It's those same reasons that I think that you and Dimitri are good for each other. As much as Dimitri has helped to heal you...you've done a little healing of your own for him."

I don't understand what she's talking about. Dimitri has never seemed like he's ever needed healing, not that I wouldn't help him. I haven't done anything. I accept her words though and make a mental note to figure out what she's talking about later.

"I have to thank you," I say suddenly. "You were the one I suggest go to him in the first place."

She smiles a little abashed. "Well I knew he'd be able to help you. I know he's the best there is but he's my son so I guess I'm a little biased," she finishes, laughing gently. "He'll always be there for the ones he cares about, anyone in need. Especially you," she adds, nudging my shoulder gently.

Despite all the ache and soreness in my body, I know I'm blushing.

"And maybe...you'll be with him?"

This conversation has suddenly taken a different turn, one I've been thinking about for a while now. I just don't know if now is the best time for me to think about this or that we should do this.

I'm trying to heal right now, trying to both fight back and fix myself so that I can live the normal life I've always longed for. I'm not sure if I can learn to be myself again if I focus on being with someone else so much and become dependent. But today made me realize a lot of things, the most important of them being that life is scary.

It's scary, sometimes lonely, often painful but it's the small moments that make all the pain worth it all. When Dimitri called me beautiful, when he came to sit by me and just hold my hand and brush back my hair, when he let me cry on him more than once, when he just held me...

When I'm broken, when I'm having moments where I'm the most normal person in the world, when I'm damaged to the point of no return. So far, Dimitri's been with me through the worst. I've spent most of my young life mostly scared, unhappy, alone with a few good moments in between. I can't just give up one of the few people in my life that always makes me feel good, about myself and life in general, makes me feel hopeful, and cared for...

I like Dimitri and I've stopped denying that for a while now. Whatever proper, respectable boundary lines we had set between us before didn't feel like they were there anymore.

I open myself to answer Olena's open question, ready to spill my heart out to anyone who will listen. Just as we round the corner that leads to my room, we both stop. I feel my breath catch in my throat and the blood drain from my face.

Nothing prepared me for the pain I was feeling now. If possible, I'm sure Olena is as shocked as I am by the sight in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye I see her mouth hanging open, the hold of her arms around me slackens a bit, and she sputters, in search of words or some type of response.

All of the searing agony that Jesse, Adrian, Charlie, Camille, and Ralph doled out, the pain of having been abandoned by my best friend at one point and then by my mother, the aching unimaginable hurt of the last few months...somehow, it very barely compares to the hollowness I'm feeling now.

I don't understand how why this is happening...maybe I interpreted everything wrong...maybe it's been a one-sided Florence Nightingale crush all along and Olena was just as wrong as I was to assume her son had feelings for me.

One thing I do know as I feel the floor being swept out from under me both literally and figuratively: the two bags filled with clothes she'd promised to bring for Liss and I are laying sprawled on the floor at their feet, his arms are tightly around her slim frame, his face his cradled between her hands, their lips pressed together in the middle of the empty hospital corridor.

Without Olena's strong hold, my body slackens, weakening from its upright position into a falling one.

I have one last fleeting thought of stating what is obviously happening in front of me as I feel my body sail down toward the ground beneath me where it's ready to catch me...

Dimitri is kissing Tasha.

A/N: WOW! I can't believe so many of you guys liked the Adrian chapter! Honestly, my favorite line was the 'She kept asking for you' line. If I do say so myself, that was a pretty heart warming line XD.

I'm not extremely happy with this chapter. It seems a little convoluted each time I reread it and I rewrote it a zillion times but it still doesn't seem like it's right. I thought about not posting it but I figured I'd go for it and hope for the best. Don't hate me! I know the ending was like o.0 and there was no romitri but I have a plan! :)

Anyways, one reviewer mentioned being a little disappointed that there wasn't a scene where Adrian and the gang were talking together about planning Rose's 'accident'. Honestly, I didn't even think about writing that into the chapter, I had only planned on doing one chapter from someone else's POV other than Rose an Dimitri but if you guys want then I can add that scene later on somewhere. Just let me know! I really love spending my free time fanfiction writing and taking in the reviewers opinions.

As for the suggestions about Abe and tying him and Janine back into the story I really love the ideas and see what I can do about working them in!

And escape-reader.13 you totally guessed right! I don't know if I'll have Tasha going all crazy like in most of my other stories (there're already so many crazy people in this story) but we'll see where it goes.