Author's note: A little shorter than I would like but it was a good place to end. So let me know what everyone thinks. I love to read the comments! :D Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Richelle Mead, the most brilliant woman in the world.

Warning: Nothing, except maybe language.

Word Count: 4,711

Alina didn't elaborate any more on it and decided to just leave me with that. I spent the rest of the day, with Gerard, who even if I didn't even slightly speak to, could talk nonstop about anything and everything. He has lots of good theories and has done a lot of in depth research and he's even studied St. Vladamire and Shadow-kissed Anna. I got to meet Helena, a tired, older woman who's been with Gerard since the beginning of time, and we eat together. They're more like family than like Guardians and Moroi.

I called Dimitri that night, knowing how naughty that Lissa is, she would make sure she was back before it go too late. He hand I talked for hours.

"So, it's good there? Quiet?" Dimitri asks after a while.

I lay back onto the bed and put one arm over my eyes. My back burns from sitting around in an uncomfortable chair all day listening to Gerard go on and on about his studies on Spirit. "Yeah. It's cute. Everyone here is nice and they seem very comfortable around each other. Like... one big happy family. Oh, so they have this feeder named Joshua, he's a strapping young man with a six pack and a sexy voice." I say, then laugh.

Dimitri makes a disgruntled noise on the other end of the phone. "I bet, and exactly what about his voice is so..." he clears his throat. "'Sexy'?"

A small, girly (although I'll never admit that it is to anyone) giggle escapes me. "Well, you see, he takes breathlessly, like he's always..." A grin crosses my face. "Ready for anything or... anyone." I throw my head back and laugh loudly. I am so not good at being flirty and I think almost every time I've make Dimitri jealous it's either been on accident or in the heat of the moment. I'm not so good at things like this.

"Come now, Rose," Dimirti says calmly, but I can hear the smile in his voice. Clever bastard knows he's the only one for me.

"Dimitri," I sigh dreamily, grinning a little wider when I hear him chuckle softly.

"Roza," he murmurs.

"Dimka," I say back in my best imitation of a Russian accent. He huffs out amused.

"Wild Girl."

"Comrade." I grin. "Trust me, I have way more creative and provocative things that I can call you." He huffs out again in amusement. "But seriously, there was something interesting that happened."

Amusement mode turned off immediately for Dimitri and is replaced with his normal seriousness. "What is it?"

"Calm down, Dimitri," I say. "It's just the granddaughter of Gerard Kyoshiva-"

"So you found out what his name was?"

"Yes, now shut up. So, the granddaughter, Alina is her name, is a Spirit user and she just left me with this really cryptic message." After a moment of quiet breathing on his side, I figured that was my cue to continue. "Gerard kept calling me Shadow-kissed and after a few long minutes of me insisting, quite nicely, I might add, that I no longer was, she was all like, 'are you sure you are no longer Shadow-kissed? Just because you don't feel it anymore doesn't mean it's not there'. Like some kind of Spirit knowing fortune cookie." A moment's pause, I add, "We were talking about the bond. By the way."

"Yeah, I got that," Dimitri says in what sounds like sarcasm. But before I can crack a joke about that he goes on to ask, "Is there a chance that you are still Shadow-kissed and you just don't know it? Like you have to put in more concentration than before or something?"

I open my mouth with the full intention of telling exactly what he should be concentrating on when the thought actually stopped me. Was there a chance that I was still Shadow-kissed but just not in the way I was originally with Lissa? I mean, I never went into an in-depth conversation with Mark and Oksana about their bond and didn't really have the opportunity to talk to Avery, Simon and Reed about their demonic possession when they were trying to kill Lissa. Adrian is still kinda mad at me so I wouldn't dream of asking him. Maybe Jill, but I'm sure Adrian will get upset and it would be cruel to put Jill in the middle of it.

Maybe all Shadow-kissed bonds are different somehow. Maybe it was weakened when I wasn't healed with Spirit after I was shot, but not destroyed or erased all together. But how can I test that? I cross my ankles and stare at the ceiling.

"I didn't have to concentrate before, Dimitri," I sigh. "It was just there. I could just feel her." I roughly rub my eyes. "I don't know, comrade. I don't know if I can suddenly feel for something..."

It's quiet for a moment. "Rose? Did you just think of something?"

I sit up and stare out the window, trying to organize my thoughts. At the beginning of our bond Lissa and I had no control of what went through the bond. She wasn't able to prevent me from seeing and hearing and feeling anything that she did. I wasn't able to stop myself from feeling, hearing and seeing any of that either. After a few years I began to close the tunnel on my side, ignore what was filtering in through her side and then nearing the end, she began to be able to do the same, stop anything from being revealed.

Could this be another of those things? Could we both have somehow become numb to the bond? And it just so happens to correspond with when Tasha Ozera went coo-coo bananas and shot me? Could it be coincidence?

"Rose?" Dimitri calls out softly, like he's worried of disrupting my thought process, but I'm not sure where else to go. "Are you there, Roza?"

"I'm here, Dimitri," I sigh, lowering myself back into the bed. "I just don't know what to do."

"What are you thinking?" He asks softly. I smile a little at the sound. A year ago, I'd never have imagined that this would be my life. I would be able to protect my best friend and have the sexiest boyfriend all in one fell swoop. After school, life was just suppose to be about killing Strigoi that were going after Princess Lissa. Now, I'm killing Strigoi trying to kill Queen Vasilisa Dragomir.

I pull back from my daydream. "I'm not sure. I think I need to sleep on it."

"Then I'll let you do that," Dimitri says. "I have an early shift in the morning, anyway. Goodnight, Roza."

I smile lightly. I love it when he calls me that. "Thanks. Goodnight to you too, Dimitri. I love you, comrade."

"I love you too, Roza."

After he hung up, I spent the majority of the night staring at the ceiling, thinking about this Shadow-kissed thing. It's been a decent amount of time since our bond broke and I've never had even the slightest inkling that it might still be there.

But even though I've rationalized it over and over in my brain for hours, why won't it sink in? It's like I'm staring at a blank, white wall waiting for it to transform into something else. Something other than a boring wall. Like a dancing kangaroo or something. But the longer I stare, the more my head starts to hurt and harder it gets to pull my eyes away. Finally, exhaustion dropped me into a deep and dreamless slumber.

It's weird being on somewhat protection detail and not have anything to do. The three Guardians work in such synchronicity that only years of doing it can engrain into routine. After only three days of being there, I began to feel the familial connection. They welcomed me with open arms and I got more than my fair share of creepy messages from both Alina and Gerard.

Although I did get a sorta explanation from Alina about her strange words about me still being Shadow-kissed. She said, "I mean that there are very few cases about Shadow-kissed and thus far, you are the only one that has ever been un-Shadow-kissed. That's all I'm saying." The she shrugged a thin shoulder and walked out the door to go to work. Helena, who also works with her, follows after.

Normally, such a shift would be so horrible for a human, but for Moroi and Dhampir on a Moroi schedule is practically perfect. It's basically a great time for them as an eight-to-five would be to a normal, every day human.

"Rose, light of my life," Joshua says, dropping into the seat next to me at the table. I look over to see, as per usual, he's in shorts. Just shorts. Showing off his dark, sun kissed flesh and pronounced six pack. He smiles a dazzling pearly toothed smile. "That top looks great on you. Shows off how well... endowed you are."

"Josh, pain in my ass," I say, reaching out and stroking his cheek. "To what do I once again owe this sexual harassment?"

Richmond, who is making lunch for Gerard, lets out a light laugh. He looks over his shoulder and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, Joshua."

He waves away the apology, eyes still locked onto me. "Don't worry, Kyle. Now, Rose, what about me isn't so appealing to you?" He makes a gesture towards his body, like I'm not a healthy teenage girl and not seeing the on-display boy body in front of me. For his sake, I give him a once over before looking back up into his eyes.

"You're a little too short for my tastes and a little more... American than what I'd like." I tilt my head and reach out to pluck a strand of his fluffy blond hair. "I like my boy's having dark hair, and eyes." I look into his green. I grin. "And I'm sure that's just the way my boyfriend likes me to like, too."

"You're breaking my heart, Rose," he says, putting a hand over his chest as if to add dramatic effect.

I shake my head. I stand up and walk over to Richmond and take the tray of food from him.

"Oh no, I can do it," he says, reluctant to hand the tray over.

I take it anyway and smile tightly. "If I don't do something around here, I may end up doing something I'll regret."

"Oh goodie," Joshua jokes.

"Something, not someone," I say back sharply, grinning when I hear his groan. And him mutter more about me breaking his heart. I roll my eyes. His hearts not the only thing I'll break if he doesn't get the picture soon. I mean, I like him, but ever since I got with Dimitri, no one has a slight chance with me anymore. He's everything I've wanted. Want. So now, it's just a little boring dealing with other boys. It's still a little fun to get those jealous, displeased looks from Dimitri, but I would never even consider being with anyone else.

"Congratulations, comrade, you ruined boys for me," I mumble, shaking my head. Boys are no longer enough. Not even men are really enough. Just Dimitri.

"Pardon?" Richmond says, reluctantly handing me the tray.

I wave him away. "Nothing. Just talking to myself." I head down into the basement and into Gerard's study, walking past Bobby who was standing guard at the doorway. As per usual, he's hunched over his desk looking through more books he had delivered last (Vampire) night. I place the tray next to him and he mumbles a distracted "Thank you, dearie" before continuing to read.

Right as I'm just out the door Gerard spins around in his chair and calls out to me. "Rosemarie, darling, can I have you try something for me?"

"It's Rose, Gerard," I say turning back around to see the old man. "But sure. What do you need from me?"

"I've been thinking a lot about your connection to Queen Vasilisa and the lack of being able to feel such a connection and began to think to myself. What if the connection is still there but not as strong or as present as it was in its infantile stage? So, what I was thinking was that instead of relying on it just being there, why don't you mentally try and draw it out?" Gerard asks, eyebrows raised.

"So, instead of just assuming it's not there because I can't feel it, I should search for it?" I clarify. He nods. I shrug. "Sure, why not? It's not like I have any plans for today. Time for my zen meditation, god, Dimitri would be so proud of me." I shake my head and lower myself to the floor next to the open doorway and after a moment of consideration, I cross my legs and put my thumb and forefinger together.

I even hesitate a moment, considering on going the extra mile and humming out, "Ohhummm.." but I'm not sure if Gerard would find that disrespectful or not, so I decide against it. So I sit in silence and wing it. I listen to the sound of Gerard shuffling papers and flipping through books. I can hear Richmond and Joshua walking around and I can hear them talking. I can't make out any words but I can hear their voices. They laugh about something.

I try to block them out and instead fill my mind with Lissa. I imagine her face, her laugh, her voice. I think about the way her nose crinkles up when she smiles broadly and the way she claps her hands together when she's talking about something she's really excited about. I think back to when we were in Kindergarden and how she always wore her hair in these two pigtails. And now, at eighteen, she's the Queen of the Moroi. So beautiful and elegant. My best friend and made something truly amazing with her life.

Shifting slightly, I try to remember that feeling that the bond filled me with. The connection with Lissa that was so different from anything that I had ever felt before. It's like, more often than not, we weren't just Rose and Lissa but some kind of Rose-Lissa hybrid. I could feel everything she felt and see life through her eyes. She wasn't just my best friend. She was like another part of me. When I couldn't deal with my life, I'd just take a moment to hop into hers. I know she didn't get the same treatment, but in some ways, it made our relationship stronger.

I mean, I guess it would have had to, considering I was seeing into her mind. But it just made it easier for us to communicate without any words. Well, I could look into her mind, but it's like the more I did that, the easier it got for her to read me when we were face to face. Plus, I mean, come on, unless she was trying to keep me out, I would know where she was 24-7.

Like when she was kidnapped by Victor Dashkov or was being attacked by that bitch Avery. I mean, I couldn't physically help her against Avery but I did what I could and I'd like to say that it was something in the long run.

I shake my head, forcing those thoughts away. That's not what I'm suppose to be focusing on. I try and feel for the bond through memory. I try to pull back all the feelings and try to mentally recreate the bond. I think about Lissa. Try to envision her mind with my. Recreate the connection that she and I shared. I imagine a tangible thread connecting me, in Gerard's basement, to Lissa all the way in Court.

Focusing all my strength into mentally creating this bond with my long time best friend. I feel a sweat build up on my brow and the burn of all of straining muscles. I stop breathing and try as hard as I can to make this mental connection to my friend. I try and grasp the feeling that Lissa is filled with when she uses Spirit. I try and use that as the foundation of our connection.

The nausea hits me so hard I tip over and hit my shoulder on the floor. My muscles all burn and I breath out heavily. I'm left a twitching mess on the floor. I open my eyes and am met with blurry vision. I blink it clear and see Gerard, still hunched over his desk, but by the blanket draped over his shoulders, I'd assume he's asleep. I look around the darkened study for Bobby but don't see him. That's when I notice the television on in the next room.

I slowly sit up and freeze. The nausea still heavy in my chest. I bring a hand up and clutched the front of my shirt. I breath in heavily, trying to calm my racing heart, to settle the sickness in my gut. Then, I stop. I stop breathing. Stop moving. Stop thinking. I just focus on the nausea as it slowly crawls up my throat and settles just behind my tongue.

I jump to my feet, immediately regretting it, but force the wooziness down. I walk out the room to see Bobby dozing off on the couch. I harshly shake his shoulder. He flinches, jumping to his feet. He opens his mouth but most have see the dark look on my face because his turns from surprise and confusion to grim determination. He reaches into his coat and pulls out one of his stakes.

He makes a gesture toward Gerard's room and I nod. He makes his way back in there while I follow my gut and it leads me to Joshua's room. I arm myself with my own stake and with my free hand, open the door. I scan the room, my eyes landing on the egress window, and the fact that it's wide open.

I open my mouth to shout a warning when something slams into me from the side, throwing me against Joshua's dresser. I grab hold of it and use it to keep myself on my feet. I twist around and feel my stomach drop into the soles of my feet as a red eyed Strigoi woman stares back at me. A cruel smile curving across her face.

"It's you..." she says, eyes widening like I'm some kind of delicious treat. I probably am.

"Yeah," I say, straightening up, gripping the stake in my hand tightly. "I'm me." With that I jump at the Strigoi but she easily evades, swiping at my face, barely missing and knocking my shoulder. I twist around weird before gaining my footing and making another strike. She would have been able to avoid it, if her foot hadn't slipped on what appeared to be a dirty magazine.

She grabs hold of the footboard of Joshua's bed, bending over it slightly, giving me enough time to plunge the stake into her heart. She tenses up, her body going rigid before crumpling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I don't waste any time, I turn around and head out the door. I quickly check Gerard's study, happy to see that Bobby already got him out.

I dart up the stairs and come to a screeching halt, I feel the blood drain from my face as Kyle Richmond stares back at me with vacant eyes, neck twisted at an awkward angle. I have to look away a moment when I hear the sound of Joshua yelping a floor above us. I quickly scoop up his stake left limply in his hand. He must have tried to use it but was caught off guard by another Strigoi. Probably the one going after Joshua now.

Armed with both stakes, I race for the stairs. The first two rooms I check are empty, but the one at the end of the hall, Alina's room, it appears, is the jackpot. I find Joshua inside, backed up against a wall with another female Strigoi slowly closing in on him.

"Come on, handsome. You let Moroi drink from you, why is this any different?" she purrs, tilting her head slightly, running her hand over the side of his face, touching the bite marks on his neck. Joshua presses himself tighter against the wall, eyes wide in terror.

I try to sneak up behind her, but Josh's eyes fly over to me and he yelps out my name. I could have smacked the shit out of him but the Strigoi is on me in a matter of seconds. She manages to get the stake from my right hand to fall to the floor and kick it across the room and into the hall. I land a kick on her knee and she staggers back.

"Get the hell out of here!" I yell at Joshua. He hesitates for just a moment before obeying. Jumping over Alina's purple comforter, he dashes out of the room.

I make to strike her in the heart but she moves out of the way. She grabs me by my arm and tosses me toward the window. It cracks beneath the force, creating a spiderweb across the surface. I stagger a bit, trying to ease the pain in my back. But she's on me again in just moments, teeth snapping at me. The window cracks a bit more against hers and my own combined weight.

I stick the stake between us, grazing her bare shoulder. She throws herself back, hissing in pain. I take that time to follow after her, I strike at her again with the stake, but I don't have enough strength behind it to pierce her heart. She screams in pain, ripping the stake out and tossing it into one of the corners. I dodge around her toward the stake in the hall.

My fingers just wrap around it when she grabs my shoulders and spins me around. I use the momentum to plunge the stake deep into her chest. Her eyes widen and she convulses for a moment before falling limp. Her body hits the floor with a loud thump. I rip the stake out of her and then head back into the room, finding the other stake by Alina's dresser next to the window. I spot a picture of Alina with her arms around both Gerard and Bobby. A huge, jubilant smile on her face. I see something in the corner of my eye move before I feel it.

Another Strigoi, yet another woman, this one the only blond thus far football tackles me and the two of us bust through the window and onto the small secondary roof under the window. We slide down to the end of the roof, her hovering over me, hissing when the two stakes in my hands brush up against her arms. She jerks back a bit and I use that to but my legs in between the two of us. She's either human or Dhampir but she's tiny. I can easily vault her over me off the roof. She yelps loudly a moment before a loud thump.

I roll over, feeling glass press into my hands and face. I stagger to my feet, feeling weak and dazed. I think I hit my head. The broken glass crunches beneath the boots Lissa bought me. I almost fall over but I manage to steady myself and glance down below to see the Strigoi laying in the grass. Her neck broken. But that won't keep her down for long.

I steel myself and jump from the roof, hitting the ground hard and force myself to roll but that doesn't stop the shooting pain up my leg. I don't waste any time, I spin around and quickly plunge the stake into her heart through her back. Her body twitches a bit before falling still. I fall onto my back, my world spinning a lot faster than I would like. Turning my head a bit, I see the world starting to light up a bit. The sun is going to be up soon.

I drink in the cool night air, feeling it chill the sweat on my brow and limbs. But no rest for me. I climb to my feet, hissing when I put weight on my left leg. I limp to the driveway where Gerard's car, the same one that Richmond used to pick me up, usually was. It's gone and I let out a sigh of relief, that means Bobby was able to get Gerard out of there in the chaos. Hopefully, Joshua got out and ran for the hills. At least if he was smart he would have.

"You killed my girls, Dhampir."

I spin around to see, standing in the doorway to the house, a male Strigoi standing there. His lips curved into a malicious smile. A small, human woman-burnet- standing behind him. Her brown eyes wide.

"Shit," I curse under my breath looking around and seeing, conveniently, I left my stakes over by the dead blond Strigoi. One stuck in her back and other from where I fell next to her.

He smiles a little more. "But you're pretty enough to replace any of those girls," he purrs.

I take a risk, breaking into a hobbling run toward the stake but he makes it there before me, smacking me hard across the face. I stumble back, landing on my bad foot and then, with a yelp of pain, crumple to the floor in agony. I start to scoot back, vision blurry with pain. My breath is coming out ragged. What used to be cold air is now burning my lungs.

He straddles me, pushing my shoulders down into the grass, my head hitting the cement of the driveway, making me cringe. He runs a hand through my hair, not minding when his hand gets caught in some of the tangles.

"Such beautiful hair. I've been watching you for a while, Ms. Hathaway, and I have to say..." he leans forward, sniffing my neck longingly, "you are very, very beautiful."

I struggle but he's able to hold me down easily. He tilts his head curiously. And then he smiles. It's a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Rosemarie Hathaway, so beautiful," he leans down and kisses my neck, holding me in place when I try to shuck him off. "You know what would make you look even more beautiful?" he asks, pulling away to look down into my eyes with his sickeningly red ones. When I spit on him he snarls a little and back hands me before turning me back to face him. My head is spinning.

It feels like that last hit really rattled my brain. I'm seeing double and two of the same little burnet human makes her way over to me, eyes wide and innocent and filled with sick curiosity.

"What?" I croak, focusing in on the loving look the Strigoi man is giving me, turning my head away from his caresses.

"If those beautiful brown eyes shone red."