The Disciplinary Committee

by The Color Ninja

What happens when Rose is put in front of the rarely called upon Guardian disciplinary committee, from Dimitri's pov. T for language

A/N: Hey guys! Here's a long one! Almost seven pages. It took me a while to do, but I had the time, and I've kind of hit a writers block on my original, The Beginning of the End. So here's the product. Also, my family's coming into town, so I don't know what all I'll get up in the next week. Be patient, I will have some good ones done, promise! As usual, none of this belongs to me, I just like to play with it! On to what you all really want to read :-D

"Rose, what have you gotten yourself into now?" I mumbled under my breath. There was a committee meeting, and I was already told I was allowed to participate. Usually I was always one of the three, being the most objective of the guardians, so I could only assume it had something to do with Rose.

Soon I found out. "Belikov, did you hear what your 'star' pupil did today during her first test?" Stan Alto said smugly. For whatever reason, he hadn't liked Rose from the beginning, finding every possible chance to make her look bad. Wanting so badly to put him in his place, I simply cocked my head.

He took that to mean 'please continue' which he did. "She let me kill Ozera. I attacked them, and she did nothing. Just stood there, staring out into space. This'll be the end of her field experience, and her graduation…"

I stood there, my brain spinning. Rose? Just standing aside, not doing anything? Something was wrong, seriously wrong. The Rose Hathaway I knew wouldn't have even dreamed of ever doing something like that. She took her duty too seriously to pull a stunt like this.

"There is still the committee. They have the final say in her fate." I said, dangerously quite. He was pushing my last nerve. I, and I alone should be the one to punish Rose. She was, and still is, my charge. Kind of. I had been assigned to help teach her, to be her mentor. It was my jurisdiction, but I knew that something this serious had to be addressed by the ones higher up. It had to happen.

"Yeah, but I'll get my way, and she'll be expelled. End of story." Alto said with conviction. "She's always getting away with things… When I was a student…" he droned on. My anger flared. The thing was, times had changed. Without Rose, we would have lost at least one Moroi and two very capable Dhampirs. As it stood, we did loose one, and I couldn't help but wonder if the death of Mason had anything to do with her freezing today.

Not being able to keep my temper under control, I turned and started to walk off, muttering "zavali yebalo ebanatyi pidaraz." I was thankful that Alto was like most Americans, monolingual. He didn't even recognize I had said anything. The only thing on my mind was to find Rose, and find out what was going on. The committee was meeting at 3, and it was two thirty. After a quick jog around campus revealed no Rose, I decided to go straight to the meeting.

Entering, I saw Emil, Alberta, and Celeste sitting at the long table reserved for the judges. Rose was sitting in the lone chair in the center of the room, with other guardians standing by the walls. Included in those guardians were Stan Alto, Marissa Jameson, and a few others I didn't know the names of. It wasn't often I had to work with the other guardians, and I never socialized with anyone outside of training.

Rose was, understandably, on the defensive. "For the last time, I didn't do it on purpose." Just from those words, I knew she was telling the truth. She was hiding something, something important. By the end of this questioning, I would know the answer.

"Miss Hathaway, you must know why we have a hard time believing that." said Alberta, in full guardian captain mode. I shivered hearing her tone. It was her 'I don't believe a word you said and you will pay' voice. Celeste joined in. "Guardian Alto saw you. You refused to protect two Moroi – including the one whose protection you were specifically assigned to."

"I didn't refuse!" Rose vehemently exclaimed. "I … fumbled."

Stan jumped in. "That wasn't a fumble. May I?" he asked, looking at Alberta for permission to speak. If I were her, I would have said no. But alas, she allowed him to continue on. "If you'd blocked or attacked me and then messed up, that would be a fumble. But you didn't block. You didn't attack. You didn't even try. You stood there like a statue and did nothing." He said, with a note of triumph in his voice.

Rose's facial expressions changed. She looked furious. Knowing what I did about her… drive to protect the Moroi, it was understandable. The others, however, thought it was inappropriate, and uncalled for. I was surprised, though, when Rose was able to speak with a level, albeit tight voice.
"Why am I getting trouble for messing up?" she asked. If I could have, I would have applauded her restraint. "I mean, I saw Ryan mess up earlier. He didn't get in trouble. Isn't that the point of this whole exercise? Practice? If we were perfect, you'd already have unleashed us upon the world!" she said, getting a little excited towards the end.

"Weren't you listening?" exclaimed Stan. His vein was throbbing, showing just how close he was to loosing control completely. Everyone else in the room had blank faces, faces gained from years of experience in dealing with emotional situations. "You didn't mess up because 'messing up' implies that you have to actually do something!"

The clock ticked on. The silence in the room was louder than any I ever heard. "Okay, then. I froze." She looked at Stan, defiance written across her face. She was completely ignoring the head table. "Does that count as messing up? I cracked under the pressure and blanked out. It turns out I wasn't ready. The moment came, and I panicked. It happens to novices all the time." Something was definitely wrong. For Rosemarie Hathaway to admit she panicked, in front of all of these people, there was something wrong. Very wrong. She couldn't admit to me when she was weak. There's no way she would say any of this to any of them.

It was Emil's turn to interrogate. "To a novice who has already killed Strigoi?" he asked. Emil was from Romania; his accent a little stronger than mine, a little harsher than mine. "It seems unlikely." He continued. The question and statement brought forth some of Rose's anger she had managed to hold back.

"Oh, I see." She said sardonically. "After one incident, I'm now expected to be an expert Strigoi killer? I can't panic or be afraid or anything? Makes sense. Thanks guys. Fair. Real fair." She shot, crossing her arms over her chest. Her bitchy side was coming out, but she had a point. Had anyone else froze today, I'm sure we wouldn't have been having the meeting. However, because she had killed, she was being held to a higher expectation, one I wasn't sure was fair.

"We're arguing semantics. Technicalities aren't the point here. What's important is that this morning, you made it very clear you did not want to guard Christian Ozera. In fact…" Alberta said, continuing her drilling, "I think you even said you wanted us to be sure we knew you were doing it against your will and that we'd soon see what a horrible idea it was." The room again was silent. Rose had indeed said all Alberta said she said. And she knew it. The look on her face told me she was regretting ever saying anything at all. "And then," she continued, "when your first test comes around, we find you completely and utterly unresponsive."

Before my mind had even finished processing what Alberta had just said, Rose was yelling.

"That's what this about? You think I didn't protect him because of some kind of weird revenge thing?" everyone stared at her. Of course that's what they thought. What else would have gotten her put in front of a guardian discipline committee?

"You aren't exactly known for calmly and gracefully accepting things you don't like." She said dryly.

That got Rose out of her chair. "That is not true." She exclaimed, gesticulating. "I have followed every rule Kirova laid down for me since coming back here. I've gone to every practice and obeyed every curfew." A small smile graced my lips. She was right. She came to every practice I had assigned, and then some; but she didn't obey every curfew. Most had a good reason, and the others, I was willing to help her out with. Over all, she had been extraordinarily cooperative. "There's no reason I'd do this as some kind of revenge! What good would it do? Sta—Guardian Alto wasn't really going to hurt Christian, so it's not like I'd get to see him punched or anything. The only thing I would accomplish is getting dragged into the middle of something like this and possibly facing removal from field experience." She stated, emotions still running high.

"You are facing removal from the field experience." Celeste said. I thought Rose understood the gravity of her situation.

"Oh." Was all she could say. Now I realized she hadn't. And it would probably cost her. It was my time to make a stand.

Moving so I was directly behind her, I said "She has a point. If she was going to protest or take revenge, she'd do it in a different way." I said. She was smart enough to come up with a hundred plans to extract revenge without making herself look like an idiot. I could hear people murmuring in the background.

"Yes, but after the scene she made this morning…" Celeste trailed off.

"This is all circumstantial. Regardless of how suspicious this looks, there's no proof. Removing her from field experience – and essentially ruining her graduation—is a bit extreme without any certainties. Looking around, I saw many of the observing guardians nodding their heads. What I had said made sense, but of course there were those who refused to see it.

Rose stared at Alberta, not even glancing towards me. But I could tell she was grateful to have me nearby. Her shoulders relaxed slightly. The three gathered around Alberta, consulting in a whisper. Alberta gave a weary nod, and the three sat down again.

"Miss Hathaway, do you have anything you'd like to say before we tell you our conclusions?" she asked. Rose looked like she had many things to say, not one of them appropriate. Luckily for us all, she held her tongue.

"No, Guardian Petrov. Nothing more to add." She said, meekly. It was the first time I had ever heard her sound that way, and I didn't like it. It made her sound weak, like she was in need of protection.

"All right. Here's what we've decided. You're lucky to have Guardian Belikov to advocate for you, or this decision might have been different." I breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't going to pull her from field experience. She was going to be able to graduate with the rest of her class. "We're giving you the benefit of the doubt. You'll go on with field experience and continue to guard Mr. Ozera. You'll just be on a probation of sorts." She continued. I knew Rose could handle that. It seemed before she left she was always on a probation of sorts.

"That's okay. Thank you." she said, sounding sincere.

"And" Alberta added, "because the suspicion isn't entirely removed, you'll be spending your day off this week doing community service."

Rose jumped out of her chair again, and luckily I was able to anticipate it. "What?" she cried.

Grabbing her wrist and pulling her back to her chair I murmured, "Sit down. Take what you can get." She needed to know that she was being given a generous offer, made even more clear my Celeste's next comment.

"If that's a problem, we can make it the next week too, and the next five after that."

She took my advice and sat down. "I'm sorry. Thank you."

The crowd disappeared, and Alberta ordered Rose to go and find Christian. Walking over to her, I asked if I could have some time alone with my student. She agreed, asking me to find out what really happened. She didn't believe Rose's story about freezing up anymore than I had, but had been overruled by Celeste and Emil.

I waited until the room was empty. Looking at Rose, I could tell she was weary. The look on her face told all. She was steeling herself up to receive a lecture from me, or worse. So I decided to take her by surprise. Motioning to the cart that held the lifeblood for most guardians, coffee, and my personal favorite, hot chocolate, I asked if she'd like some.

"Sure." Came her surprised answer. She walked over to where I was standing. I grabbed four packets of the mix, and two Styrofoam cups.

"Doubling it is the secret." I whispered, conspiratorially. I handed her a cup, along with a wooden stir stick, and let her towards the enclosed porch.

"Where are we—oh." Was all she said. Not many students were allowed in this building, so not many of them knew about the small glass enclosed patio. I swept the dust off one of the chairs and sat down, with Rose following suit.

Neither of us spoke. For a while, the only sound either of us made was the sound of her blowing on her hot chocolate. I drank mine right away, seeing as hot liquids didn't bother me. Growing up in Russia, you learn to appreciate the burn of something hot scorching your throat.

I looked off into space, completely aware she was studying me again. I hoped she could feel safe around me. She was the one person I had allowed myself to grow close to after Ivan. Finally, after a while, she sighed and started to drink her cocoa. I took that as a sign that it was safe to start asking her the questions she knew were bound to be coming.

"What happened out there. You didn't crack under the pressure." I said, making sure she understood none of her bullshit would fly with me. I was really concerned for her, not as a student, but as an equal. I had been considering her my equal since the Strigoi incident, but hadn't always been able to let her know. She considered me for a moment before beginning to speak.

"Of course it was." She said, looking down, not meeting my gaze. "Unless you believe I really did let Stan 'attack' Christian." I didn't even care how she was addressing my fellow guardians. I just wanted to know the truth.

"No. I don't believe that. I never did. I knew you'd be unhappy when you found out the assignments, but I never once doubted that you'd do what you'd have to for this. I knew you wouldn't let your personal feelings get in the way of your duty." I explained. She needed to know I was there to support her; that she had at least one friend in this world.

She looked up at me over the rim of her cup, meeting my eyes. I hoped she could feel the love, warmth, support and devotion I had for her. "I didn't. I was mad… Still am a little. But once I said I'd do it, I meant it. And after spending some time with him… well I don't hate him. I actually think he's good for Lissa, and he cares about her, so I can't get upset about that. He and I just dash sometimes, that's all… but we did really well together against the Strigoi. I remembered that while I was with him today, and arguing against this assignment just seemed stupid. So I decided to do the best job I could." She let it all out in one long breath. I could tell she hadn't opened up to many people regarding Spokane. She seemed to be talking a little more with me, which was a good sign. I had always been worried about what that incident would do to my Roza. She was, after all, the one I had fallen in love with. Even through all of this trouble, I still felt the strong connection; the bond that brought us together in the first place.

I decided to continue my questions. "What happened then? With Stan?" The second she looked away, I knew she was preparing to lie to me. I could always tell, because she couldn't look me in the eye and lie. So she always looked away.

Lost in thought, she remained silent. I kept looking at her, and finally she noticed. " I don't know what happened out there. My intentions were good… I just … I just messed up." She said, still trying to make her bullshit float.

"Rose." I said, looking at her skull, since she wouldn't look at me. "You're a terrible liar." She glanced up quickly.

"No I'm not. I've told a lot of good lies in my life. People have believed them." She said, trying to convince me not to dig deeper. A small smile played on my lips.

I decided to let her know, without a doubt, I knew she was not telling me the truth. "I'm sure. But it doesn't work with me. For one thing, you won't look me in the eye. As for the other… I don't know. I can just tell." I finished, giving her a knowing smile. She blanched, realizing the depth of my understanding.

She looked like an animal in a trap, desperate for any way out. She stood up, and started walking away from me, which was unusual, because I was always the one to be ending contact like this. Usually, it was because she had come too close to all of my skeletons hanging in the back of my closet. Now it appeared to the reverse.

"Look, I appreciate you being worried about me…but really, it's okay. I just messed up. I'm embarrassed about it—and sorry I put your awesome training to shame—but I'll rebound. Next time, Stan's ass is mine."

The pain in her voice was so evident, so tangible, I had to go to her. Standing up silently, I was right behind her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Rose, I don't know why you're lying, but I know you wouldn't do it without a good reason. And if there's something wrong—something you're afraid to tell others—" She broke contact with me for less than a second, pivoting so that my hand ended up in the exact same place on her other shoulder.

"I'm not afraid," she cried, alerting me to the fact that this was indeed a lie. "What happened with Stan was nothing. Really. All of this is just something stupid that got blown out of proportion. Don't feel sorry for me or feel like you have to do anything. What happened sucks, but I'll just roll with it and take the black mark. I'll take care of everything. I'll take care of me." She said, more to convince herself that me. I knew she had to be shaking on the inside, and it took everything I had not to go and wrap my arms around her small frame. I allowed myself a small squeeze of her shoulder, and then released the pressure.

"You don't have to do this alone." I said, pensively. I was her mentor; she should be coming to me to help solve her problems.

A small smile slipped through her lips. "You say that… but tell me the truth. Do you go running to others when you have problems?" she asked me. I winced slightly, because I knew she was going to call me out for being hypocritical. Yes, I told her, begged her, pleaded with her, to come to me for help, but rarely did I ever accept that help from others.

I tried to sidestep the question. "That's not the same—"

She cut me off quickly with an "Answer the question, comrade." Where she got the notion to call me that, I had no clue. But right now it was bothering me.

"Don't call me that." I said, a little more roughly than intended.

"And don't avoid the question either." She replied.

I tried to think of a way to explain this to her without letting too much of myself show. She didn't need to worry about me, or my problems, with all that she had going on. I decided the quickest way to end this conversation was to agree with her.

"No. I try to deal with my problems on my own."

"See?" she said, shrugging out of my touch. I felt the cool air at the loss of her touch. I continued with my explanation.

"But you have a lot of people in your life you can trust, people who care about you. That changes things."

I could hear the wheels inside her mind turn. Surprised, she asked "You don't have people who care about you?"

I had used the wrong words, and tried to rephrase it. "Well, I've always had good people in my life… and there have been people who cared about me. But that doesn't necessarily mean I could trust them, or tell them everything."

She looked at me as if seeing me for the first time again, for what had to be the second or third time that night. I could see the pieces falling together in her mind. My lack of socialization outside of training. All the time I did spend was spent with her. Yes, lots of people knew my name, and lots of people respected me, but there were very few whom I could actually trust.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

I hesitated only a second before giving her a resounding "Yes."

"Then trust me now, and don't worry about me just this once." She said. I could feel it coming off of her. The respect, the love, the admiration. She stepped out of reach of my hand, and headed inside. I sat back down, needing a chance to think about what had just occurred.