A big THANK YOU to all my wonderful readers who submit reviews. They really help me with the story.

I changed my profile picture to Adrian since I'm working on a Rose and Adrian story right now. I think it looks just how I picture Adrian in my head. What do you think? I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review. They make my day.

I'm not Richelle Mead, and I don't own Vampire Academy.

Rose POV

"Guardian Hathaway, you look good this morning. How are you feeling?" The new doctor asks me while looking at my chart. He seems rather young, probably right out of med school. Cute though. Maybe I should tell Mia. She's still single.

"Really well actually considering I died yesterday. My ribs are a little sore and I have a bit of a headache, but other than that, I'm fine." I shrug. Adrian's sitting next to me in the chair by my bed, holding my hand. "So when can I blow this pop stand, Dr...?" I don't remember his name, since this is the first time I actually talked to him.

"Dr Brown. Well, the test we ran last night look good. The swelling in your brain is gone and the rest of your vitals are perfect. You're very lucky to have a friend with such abilites." he says looking over to Adrian.

"Yes, I'm a very lucky girl." I squeeze his hand and smile at him.

"I would like you to stay for a few more hours, then I'll release you on the conditions that someone stays with you at night for the next few days and no physical combat training for the next week. You can do your conditioning, but I don't want you getting hit for a while." He looks over to me, waiting for me to agree.

"A week?! That's going to totally set me back. Ugh!" I scream in frustration. Adrian pretty much ignores my outburst and stands up to shake Doctor Brown's hand.

"Don't worry, doctor. I'll make sure she follows the rules." Doctor Brown nods at us and goes on his merry way. Adrian turns back to me and leans down to kiss my pouting lips. "It's only for one week and he said you can still do the weight training and punching bag, as long as it doesn't hit back." he chuckles. I guess that's better than no training at all.

"And, we get a doctor's note that says you have to sleep with me." I waggle my eyebrows at him and his eyes go wide as he practically attacks me on the bed. He hovers over me, holding all his weight on his elbows and starts kissing me all over my face, leaving my mouth alone just to annoy me. I start laughing as I try to get him to hold still for a proper kiss, when we hear someone clearing their throat behind us. We look over and see the Queen standing in the doorway with four guardians behind her. Adrian quickly jumps off the bed and walks over to greet his aunt.

"Aunt Tatianna, I'm surprised to see you here." He says as he gives her a hug.

"I heard what happened to Guardian Hathaway in her training session yesterday. I just wanted to visit and see if she was alright. I also hear you saved her life dear nephew." She says in a formal tone. I'm glad she's here because I want to talk to her about a few things. I just need to get Adrian out of the room, which is going to be a difficult task.

"Yes, thankfully I was able to get here in time. She's going to be released this afternoon to my care." She looks over to me to confirm what he said and I just shrug my shoulders. I figured he'd be my side as much as he could anyway.

"Do you think that's appropriate? Rumors spread like wildfire around here, especially with both of your reputations. You don't need the scandal." Her words are stern but laced with concern.

"She's my friend, Aunt Tatianna and she needs me. I don't care what other people think." He walks back over to me and takes my hand. He stands and I sit there like a united front.

"And what of Lady Conta? What will she think of this little arrangement?" Like I care. Actually, I hope it pisses her off.

"Frankly my dear Aunt, I don't give a damn what she thinks." Tatianna frowns at his admission and looks over to me.

"Adrian, would you mind giving Guardian Hathaway and me some privacy?" she asks. He looks a little warry to leave the two of us alone together since we are known to not get along, as far as everyone else knows.

"Hey, Adrian, could you be a doll and go down to the coffee shop and get me one of their chocolate donuts I love?" I give him my best doe eyes and pouty lips. "It's okay. I'm sure she just wants to talk." He takes one last long look at Tatianna and then sighs. He kisses me on the forehead before leaving.

"Rosemarie, I must say you gave me quite a scare. Are you sure you're well enough to leave the hospital so soon?" she asks concerned.

"Oh sure. Adrian healed me last night, so I'm good to go. I just can't do my usual training for a week."

"And you're going to be staying at Adrian's home during this time?" she asks uneasy. I know it's not personal, but she is concerned about appearrances.

"You know Adrian. He just wants to take care of me. I'm supposed to have someone stay with me for the next few nights. Would you rather he stayed at my place?" I'll give her the option, but bottom line is Adrian is the person staying by my side.

"As long as your careful, I guess it really doesn't matter where you stay." she sighs.

"So, is there any new developements concerning Stephan?" Hopefully his where abouts has been discovered. The sooner I can kill this guy and get him out of our lives, the better.

"Actually, that's the main reason for my visit. He's been spotted in the next town. We don't exactly know where he's staying, but we know it's nearby. Hopefully by the time you've recovered, we'll know, and you and a few other guardians can go and take care of this problem." I'm excited and nervous about this information. I've been working and training so hard for two years to get to this point, and now it's almost here. I just hope I don't have a repeat of last night.

"That's great. Who are the other guardians that you have assigned to help me?" They better be good, no, great.

"Guardians Belikov, Chenko, Conner, Ailseworth and Johnson." she ticks them off on her fingers. There is one name on that list that sets off my alarm bells.

"I know he's the best, but does Dimitri really need to come? It's a very dangerous mission and he's going to have a baby in a few months. Isn't there anyone else?" If anything happens to him, right before he gets to see his baby girl born, I don't know what I'll do.

"Rose, he is one of the best and this is dangerous mission. All the more reason to have him by your side." I sit in my bed and shake my head like a stubborn little child.

"He's not going. I know very well that not all of us are going to return and I can't bare the thought of Dimitri dying to save my boyfriend." The word slipped out before I even realized it. Her eyes went wide and it took me a second to figure out why.

"Your boyfriend? I thought you were going to wait until you killed Stephan to tell Adrian how you feel. What changed?" She sounds a bit pissed that I went back on my word to wait.

"Well, I was talking to Dimitri and he helped me realize that I can do both, protect him and love him, because I already do. Plus, the likelyhood that I make it out alive on our raid is pretty slim. I want to be with him as much as I can before I die. Especially since the time to fight is getting nearer." With this deadline looming over me, I'm starting to understand just how precious time is, and not to waste a second of it. I want to spend as much time with Adrian as I can.

"I see. And who knows about the two of you?" she sounds like she's calming down a bit.

"Just our close friends. We're keeping it secret, don't worry." I try to reassure her.

"And what of Emily Conta. Isn't Adrian dating her already?"

"You mean the bitch? Yeah, well that's complicated. He's going to break it off with her, but we want to have a little fun with her first." I say with a devious grin. She gives me a disapproving look. "Have you ever talked with her? She treats guardians like second class citizens. If she knew about Ambrose, she'd look down on you too."

She was about to say something when Adrian returns with my donut and one for his aunt, which she declins. "Hand that baby over here then." I motion with hand for the pastry while stuffing my face with the other. They both laugh, but I'm hungry and hospital food isn't very appealing.

"Well, I'll be leaving now. I'm glad you're doing better Guardian Hathaway. Adrian." She nods to both of us and leaves with her pack of guardians flanking her. Adrian faces me as soon as she's gone.

"What did my aunt want to talk to you about?" Curiousity filling his voice.

"She asked about my training and how you and Emily were getting along." It's not a total lie. I just left out a few topics. I move over so he can join me in the bed again. I don't like it when he's away too long. He puts his arm around my shoulder and I lean my head on his chest while I munch away on my delicious donut. I look up him as he watches the tv. I could watch him all day. I take a piece of my gooey chocolate donut and bring it up to his mouth to give him a bite. He opens his mouth and I feed him. He grabs my hand before I can put it down, and he begins to lick and suck the icing off my fingers. Oh. My. God. This is totally turning me on. When he's done with my fingers, he starts leaving kisses along my arm and up to my shoulder and neck, making his way to my mouth. I guess I have a little icing on the corner of my mouth, because he gently licks it away before pressing his lips to mine. The kiss quickly heats up as both of us can't seem to get enough of the other. I move him under me and pin him down with my entire body. His hands are on my hips while mine are running through his hair. I start to move my mouth down to his neck, when someone knocks on my door. Damn it to hell! Does everyone need to interupt us? I move to lay next to Adrian and look to see who spoiled out little party. It's Tasha and Dimitri.

"Oh Rose." Tasha comes over to give me a hug. "I was so worried about you, but it seems you recover quickly." she gives me a wink, making me blush. Dimitri has a vase of flowers in his hands that he places on the table by my bed. They're all sorts of differnt colors, though I have no clue what kinds they are.

"How are you feeling Rose? What did the doctor say?" Dimitri asks. I can see the concern in his eyes.

"I'm going home today. Adrian volunteered to stay with me at night and I can't do hand to hand combat for a week. Other than that, I'm good." Hell, I'm ready to go home now. Dimitri just nods his head at the information.

"As you can probably guess, I won't be in today, Tasha." Adrian informs her while he squeezes my shoulder.

"I figured that out as soon as I got here." she smiles. "Emily will be so disappointed you're not there." We all flinch at the mention of her name. We chit chat for a little while until Tasha says she needs to leave. Tasha gives me a hug and Dimitri just rubs my leg and tells me to rest up before he takes Tasha's hand and walks out the door. Seeing Dimitri make an effort to move on makes me smile. Now, I just need to make sure he's stays alive long enough to see his happy ending, that little baby girl.

Now that we're alone again, I try to continue where we left off, only to be interupted again. God, I so want to get out of here. This time it's Conner. "Hathaway, if you didn't want to go dancing with me, you could have just said so." We both laugh while Adrian looks confused, and a little jealous.

"Conner asked if I would take ballroom dance lessons with him so he can impress Guardian Jenkins. In exchange he would flirt with Emily so we could get a good photo of her having an affair with a guardian." Understanding washes over his face. "Sorry about that. Can we still get in the class?"

"Yeah, you can come tomorrow moring. The classes are full of humans, so they start in their evening, our morning. Oh, the instructor said to wear heals. I assume that's just for you." he winks. I look over to Adrian to see if he has any objections.

"I don't suppose you'd let me go with you? Just to watch." Is he serious?

"No. You aren't leaving these wards unless absolutely necessary. Conner and I will be safe, trust me." I give him a peck on the lips. "But I'm sure I'll have homework you can help me with." I say with another kiss, which makes him smile.

"Okay, since dancing isn't considered combat training, although I haven't seen you dance yet, Conner. Just be gentle with her." he warns with a smile.

Finally a few hours later, a nurse comes in to release me and Adrian takes me to my room after stopping by his apartment for some clean clothes. The first thing I need to do is take a shower, Adrian too. He hasn't left my side, except for when he got my donut when the queen wanted to talk to me. "A hot shower sounds like heaven right now. Will you help me out? Head injury and all, I don't want to get dizzy and fall." I ask as I walk to my bathroom, removing my clothes along the way, leaving a trail of clothes on the floor. Adrian's never seen me completely naked, so I'm a little nervous to his reaction. I look over my shoulder to see if he's coming, and I see him standing in the doorway looking at me, practically drooling. I point to his fully clothed body. "You can't get too clean with all your clothes on, so strip."

"I might need some help." he says seductively. Who can resist that invitation. I walk up to him and help him unbotton his shirt and pants. When the last stitch of his clothing is laying on the floor, he leans and crashes his lips to mine. He pushes me against the bedroom door as our kissing gets hungrier and deeper. I'm just glad that no one can interupt us now, or so I thought.

BANG BANG BANG

Someone is knocking on my front door. I look up and growl. "You've got to be freakin' kidding me!"

Hmm, who's knocking at the door? It seems the showdown with Stephan is coming soon. And don't forget the Conta's. I think Rose and Adrian are going to be real busy, real soon. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review and let me know how I'm doing.