Sorry for not posting in a long time! Here's chapter 8!

Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!

Chapter 8

Next day…

"Vikki, Rose, time for school!" Dimitri called from downstairs. I quickly came downstairs, a backpack filled with combat gear. A bit tired still, I stumbled down the stairs. "Careful, sweetheart!" He caught me just as I slammed into the side of the stairs. "Tired?" I mumbled something incoherent. "Maybe some food will do you some good," He nudged me towards the dining room where he sat me down and gave me a plate of bacon, eggs, pancakes and sausages. I slowly ate and eventually, I didn't finish it. Vikki looked at me oddly.

"Brother, didn't you say that she eats a lot?" Vikki asked Dimitri.

"Yeah…Rose, are you feeling alright?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah…I'm just tired," Dimitri touched my forehead.

"You're not warm. Let me know if you don't feel well. I have a feeling you caught a cold from being at the lake," After Vikki finished breakfast, we started to leave for school, Dimitri being the one to drive us there. When Vikki got out of the car, she told us that she would see us around. I just stayed in the car.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"Just…nervous I guess," He smiled at me.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry," The two of us got out and believe it or not, there was a wild group of girls screaming Dimitri's name. I instantly stepped back. Sensing my courage die in flames, Dimitri told them to back away and head to class immediately. The girls giggled and Dimitri looked at me.

"We can't…uh…" I showed him my hand as if asking for him to take it. He shook his head. Suddenly, he pulled me to behind the car where no one can see me and gave me a passionate, but forceful kiss. When he pulled away, he held me up as my knees gave out.

"That better?" I nodded. "Come on. Leave before me and head to the gym at the end of the hallway. I'll meet up with you when class starts. I'm just going to meet the headmaster first," I headed inside and followed the rest of the students into the school. I clenched my fists, my heart was thumping, and I pretty much was having a major culture shock. When I got to the gym, there was a shock. All guys. Not one girl was in that gym. When I came in, there was a teacher there who stared at me. A lady, almost like Alberta's age, was speaking in Russian to me. I stood there, just staring, not understanding a word she said.

"I'm sorry!" Dimitri ran in and told the teacher what was going on. I dropped my stuff off to the left of the room and I saw two pills in the bag. No, they weren't drugs, but they were drugs I took when I was little. Whenever I would feel nervous, my heart beat faster than my body could handle and it simply was something that prevented my heart from doing that. I decided not to take it. Dimitri said I would be alright and I was going to believe him on that. Dimitri came over to me suddenly as I blanked out.

"Rose? Hey, Rose?" He waved in front of me.

"Hey, yeah, what's up comrade?" He looked at me worriedly.

"You're sweating. Is everything alright?" I grabbed onto his duster and just gasped.

"Rose!" The students started whispering. "Rose, are you okay?" My vision hazed quickly as I reached for the bag. The reaction was spreading quickly. My heart started beating too fast. Dimitri reached into the bag and found the pills. "Rose…are these drugs?" I shook my head. "Rose!" I grabbed them out of his hand, my own hands shaking. I quickly swallowed them and gulped water down. I gasped and my heart slowed. I looked at Dimitri.

"They're not drugs…" I whispered.

"Rose, do you have some type of medical condition I apparently don't know about?" He asked warily.

"Yes…after the car accident with Lissa, I had a medical condition called arrhythmia. Every time I became startled or nervous, my heart beat faster than my body can handle. It was a temporary thing. The doctor said I would be fine and the problem disappeared. I brought them with me at the last minute," I whispered.

"Can you stay in class?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," I got the darkness revving through my body. When I had enough energy, I dulled the energy and I was normal again. Jumping a bit, I got myself energized. Dimitri was kind to give instructions in English. I sparred with him, but every second I fought him, I could feel something off. Suddenly, when I stopped, Dimitri accidentally punched me in the face and I fell backwards.

"Hey! I'm so sorry!" I was stunned.

"You're mean…" I stood up. "Why are you going easy on me?" I asked him.

"Well, you…just now…" I punched him back.

"Don't go easy on me. Ever," I told him. I came at him with full strength. We fought and fought until I pinned him multiple times. As class ended, we stayed like that for a while before I stood up. I suddenly coughed and Dimitri stood up quickly.

"Rose!" I coughed a bit more.

"I'm fine," When I stopped, I drank some water. "So am I done for the day?" I asked. Dimitri just stared at me worriedly. "Look, I'm fine. Don't worry," I reassured him.

"Rose, go to the infirmary. I'll meet up with you in a bit. Tell the nurse to give you a checkup on your heart and that's an order, so do not disobey me. Is that clear?" He asked sternly.

"Yes, sir," I mumbled and headed down to the infirmary. When I got there, no one was there. I laid on a bed and relaxed. I put my hand on my chest and felt my heart beating slightly irregular. When I started to fall asleep, I felt my heart calm finally. As I closed my eyes, Dimitri ran in.

"Oh god…hey, are you asleep?" I purposely didn't answer him. "Rose?" I felt him lean close to my breathing. "Good…Rose, are you asleep?" I pretended to be asleep still. Suddenly, I felt his lips on mine. I slowly opened my eyes and he smiled at me. "Hey, sleeping beauty," I smiled a bit at him.

"You don't have a class to teach?" He shook his head.

"Period off," He answered quickly. Suddenly the nurse came in and gasped. Dimitri started speaking in Russian and she awed in between her conversation. She nodded and closed the curtain around us.

"What did you tell her?" I asked, curiously.

"The truth. I figured she could keep it. We've known each other for a while. It's been a while since I've seen her, but still. She's a person to trust," Dimitri climbed into the bed and held me against him.

"Get some rest. When you wake, I'll likely be teaching, but you know where to find me," I snuggled against him and he made sure I felt safe around him. It had been a while since I felt like that. Eventually, I did fall asleep, calm for once. "I love you, my Roza," I giggled and kissed him as he kissed back. "Go to sleep now. Really," I quickly closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

Few hours later…

"Mm…" I woke up and to my amazement, Dimitri was still here. "Woah, Dimitri!" He slowly opened his eyes. "Didn't you have class to teach?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's lunch break now," He mumbled.

"Had a hard day or something?" He just nodded. I giggled and got up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm fine. My heart's beating regularly now so I'll be fine for a while. The medicine already kicked in," Dimitri rubbed his eyes and got up. Ironically, the two of us yawned at the same time.

"We're not having a good start to the school day, are we?" He joked. I laughed.

"Oh well, at least we're together," I took his hand as we shared a romantic kiss. As he wrapped his arms around me waist, I wrapped my arms around his neck. After a few minutes, he leaned in so our foreheads were touching.

"I love you so much, Dimitri," I whispered.

"I love you too," He gave me another quick kiss. "We should probably get going," I nodded and headed to the gym with him. When we got there, another class was there. I sat down at the side of the gym, out of the class's way.

"Good afternoon, Guardian Belikov," The class chanted at the same time.

"Good afternoon, class," Then class got started. It was decently fun to see them spar with each other. Suddenly, I heard Dimitri's voice yelling. "You boys over there! Stop messing around!" Two boys started rough housing a bit.

"Oops!" I saw the boy accidentally hit some beams behind him. Dimitri went over and told them to stop. Unfortunately, the gym was in construction so tools were everywhere. When I saw what was going on, I ran to Dimitri.

"Rose!" I pulled Dimitri out of the way and pushed the two boys away from me. "ROSE!" I looked up and the beams came crashing down on top of me. "ROZA!" I heard Dimitri yell. When I opened my eyes, I saw the ground as well as the metal beams on top of me. "Someone get the paramedics! Roza, sweetheart!" He took my hand. Good. He was safe. "Roza! You have to stay awake!" He yelled again. I tried to move my body but everything hurt. Tears streamed down my eyes.

"It hurts…" I cried. Dimitri started panicking and removed the beams on top of me. When I felt the load lighten, I tried to move my arm and screamed. My left arm was broken. When I tried to move my right arm, it didn't move. I saw blood flow freely from me as there was a giant cut through my arm there.

"Rose, don't move!" He told me. The paramedics finally came and got me into an ambulance. Dimitri went with me, grabbing my hand tightly. During the ride, my consciousness faded in and out.

"She's losing a lot of blood! What type blood do you have, sir?" The paramedic asked.

"Type B-positive," He quickly spoke up. The paramedic started to laugh.

"She'll be fine. We'll do a blood transfusion if you don't mind," The man spoke in Russian-accented English.

"Of course not," When I closed my eyes again, they felt heavy. Darkness surrounded me. The sounds were loud. I wanted to block them out. Then everything in the hospital passed in a blur. I remember being in surgery as Dimitri kept me company. When I was knocked out, I kept hearing his voice though. "I'm here Rose, I'll always be here,"

Several hours later…

Finally feeling strength return, I pushed out of the darkness surrounding me and woke up in yet, another hospital room. The room was dark and as I looked deep into the darkness, I saw a shadow there unmoving. Dimitri was asleep and I started to get up slowly, quietly. A pain shot through my back, but I continued to move. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go home. I've had enough of this cat and mouse chase. It was never ending and I knew well enough that it would kill me eventually. As I got up and headed for the door, Dimitri was still asleep. I opened the door just enough to leave. As nurses saw me, I glared at them. I wanted them to stay quiet.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Hathaway?" I turned and saw a doctor. I sighed.

"I'm leaving. Don't wake Dimitri, but when he wakes, tell him that I've had enough. Tell him that I don't want to be hurt anymore. Tell him that I don't want to hurt him like that either. I'm tired of all this," I kept walking towards the exit of the hospital. Taking my stuff with me into the elevator, I clicked the button that brought me down to the ground floor. When I got outside, I took a cab and headed towards the airport. It took a while and it didn't seem to me that Dimitri was following. After paying the fare to the driver, I stepped into the airport.

"One ticket to Missoula, Montana," I told the lady at the front check in desk. "Cheapest price please," It took a short time since it wasn't like anyone would just go to Missoula. The next step after was to just walk through security. I looked back, and Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he wouldn't come after me anymore. That's right, he loved Siberia. 'Don't leave…' I started to turn around. That was Dimitri's voice. 'Don't leave…please…' Tears stung my eyes. I wanted to leave, but not like this. When I turned around though, no one was there. Was I imagining things? A warm feeling started to spread throughout my body. It felt nice, safe. I started to walk back towards the lobby. 'Don't leave!' I turned to where I heard the voice and I looked upstairs and saw Dimitri, panicking. He was looking for me. 'Damn it! Where are you?' I kept looking at him. "Illusion's magic!" Everything around the two of us disappeared.

"Rose!" Dimitri turned to me, running towards me with everything he had. But when he got too close, I stepped back. "Rose…sweetheart…what's wrong?"

"I'm tired…" I whispered.

"Then come back and rest! Rose, you're not fully healed yet," He told me. I shook my head weakly. Using my powers like this was exhausting especially in my state. "Roza, listen to me! Stop all of this! Just let me take care of you! Is that too much to ask? For you to be safe, just once?" He begged now. I shook my head, covering my ears. I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to be safe, but everything was so unfamiliar now. Getting hurt all the time, suffering, I never was like this before. Things had changed, rules for the game changed now.

"I want to go home…" I mumbled.

"You know you can't! You're going to get captured if you go back," He told me.

"But am I not already in a checkmate position?" I asked him back. "I stay here, he'll come eventually. When? I don't know. If I go back home, at least I can defend for myself. But right now, I'm in no better of a position!" I yelled. "Dispell!" Everything around me reappeared and soon, Dimitri looked down from the second floor, seeing me. My mind was made. I was going home whether anyone liked it or not. Walking through security, I saw Dimitri trying to buy a ticket. When I made it through, I ran to the gate. Dimitri was behind me when I looked back. He was in the midst of getting through security still while I escaped. I ran into the girl's bathroom in the meantime. Ladies in there saw me and quickly left. My heart pounded like before and I sank to the floor, light-headed and weak. My medical condition had started to reappear and even I didn't know why. I looked in my bag and took the last pill. It had to last until another attack would come up so I quickly left.

"Oh no, you don't!" I ran and Dimitri yanked on my wrist hard. I winced and looked at him. "Don't you dare run from me. Talk to me. What's going on? I know you're freaking out and from the looks of it, you took another pill. Is something scaring you?" He asked, concerned. I gulped.

"I'm terrified…" I whispered.

"Of what? Of me? Of this place?" He kept asking.

"Of dying! I'm afraid of dying again! I keep seeing the car accident in my mind. And I saw it play out again when those bars hit me. I don't want to die. I want to go home…" I started to cry.

"Oh sweetheart," He hugged me. "Then go home. This place is scaring you and I don't to see you like this. You don't have any more medicine too if I'm not mistaken so we have to get you home. There's almost no chance of you surviving here without the medicine," I was shocked as he took my hand, leading me to the gate.

"What? What about you?" He smiled gently.

"I can't leave just yet. I just started this job. I have to notify them the situation and then I'll head back where I'll meet up with you. Alright? You're my first priority," He kissed me multiple times. When they called for last minute passengers, I headed towards the entrance to the plane. "We'll see each other soon," I gave Dimitri one last kiss and then I heard him say, "I love you Roza," After heading in, I got seated. Even though Dimitri wasn't going to be with me, I was going to prove it to him that being at home made me stronger. It wasn't long before the plane took off. I relaxed a bit when we were in air, but then a chill ran up my spine. Something didn't feel right. I stood up when the seatbelt sign was off and looked behind me. There, a man in the back gave a smirk. When I looked at him, I was terrified. It was Ryan's father. The Strigoi from last time who my dad fought with was here. He started to approach me and I ignored him.

"Roza," He called out to me. I turned to him. Not wanting to create a scene, I went to him reluctantly.

"How did you find me? Why are you here?" I hissed.

"Oh, it's not hard. Ryan, naïve as always, didn't realize that on his cloak was a tracking device implanted by me. My dear, it's time you came home, now isn't it?" He teased. "My, how you seem to have forgotten me when you were mine long ago," He told me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Dear Roza, I believe you recognize this?" He showed me the same pills that I took.

"How do you know about that? No one knew about the medication except my parents. The only one who knew is my mom. How do you know this?" I demanded.

"Because I'm your real father, Rose," He smirked. I backed away quickly.

"Abe's my father. That's a lie!" I yelled quietly.

"Oh is he? Then how does this sound? I had an affair with your mother while I worked with Abe. The baby she conceived was ours. While we were creating this power, the power you contain, Abe decided to steal your mother from me. Janine told your "father" about the baby she carried, but he didn't seem to care. He said he'd raise it as his own, knowing it was you. Then when the power was complete, he stole it from the lab and then used it on you. Rose, I do hope you know what his name 'Zmey' means, right?" He asked. I shook my head carefully.

"It means snake. That's right. Abe betrayed me. So of course, I had another child. Ryan was to be my next container for the same power, but because of his weak mother, he had the weak body. I developed the power once more and injected it into myself. But then, then I was determined to find you" I clenched my fist.

"You're lying…" I shook my head. He had to be kidding me.

"Fine. Don't believe me if you wish," He smirked and let me go. I stood there.

"Then how do I know you're my father?" I asked him cautiously.

"You don't. I know you but you simply don't know me," I stepped away from him. Was this why even my mom didn't keep in touch with Abe? I went back to my seat, devastated. Who was telling the truth now?

Ooo…cliffhanger! So sorry for not posting in a long, long time! I had midterms and fights with friends to deal with, but now I'm back! Please review! There has been many faves and whatnot, but I do wish to see more reviews! Thanks