Vampire Academy is not owned by me. Sad, but true.

Rose POV

"We found his hide out Guardian Hathaway. You leave here in one hour." The Queen tells me as soon as I walk into the room. Holy crap! A whole bundle of emotions flow through me, eagerness, apprehension, fear. I take a deep breath, letting the fact that in a few hours, I'll hopefully be face to face with the monster threatening to take my life away, my Adrian. One way or another, one of us isn't walking away alive.

"So, where is he?" My nerves are causing my stomach to do flip flops. I've been waiting for this day for two years now.

"He is living in a little house about two hours north of here. Here are the specifics." she hands me a folder with all the information her team has gathered about Stephan. I look it over and notice that the information I gave the queen after my encounter with him, is in here. It looks like someone did some research and found all the victims Stephan killed, believing they were the reincarnated couples of the original guardian and Ivashkov. Their names were Guardian Elizabeth Gates and Ivan Ivashkov. I close the folder, not having time to read it all right now, and face the queen. "Do they know all the details of who we're going after?" I ask referring to the five guardians standing to the side. I don't know what they have been told or what she wants known.

"They know we are after a particular Strigoi, but not the reason why. I'll leave that to your better judgement as to how much you want them to know." she tells me. She sure is giving me a lot of power here, she must have more faith in me than I ever thought. I get closer to her so that the others can't hear our conversation.

"I thought I made it clear I didn't want Dimitri on my team." I know I shouldn't be talking to the Queen like this, but what do I have to loose right now.

"And I told you that he is one of the best and is going with you. End of discussion." she says firmly. I give her a scowl, which she returns. I know I'm not going to win this battle, so I sigh and give up. I walk over to face the five guardians waiting for instruction.

"Okay, you all know that we are going on a raid to kill a Strigoi. His name is Stephan Giordano and he is over two hundred years old, which makes him very strong and deadly. He's also insane and a bit cocky." I look in the folder again to check the latest information. "We believe he has seven other Strigoi with him in the house. Go gather all your weapons and meet up a the parking lot by the Court vehicles in one hour. You are to tell no one about this mission, top secret." They all nod at me and leave to get ready.

As I quickly walk to my room to shower and dress for battle, I think about how I left things with Adrian. I hate that the last time I might ever see him, we were fighting. I wish I had more time to go and appologize for being such a bitch, but I don't. I get to my room and head staight for the shower and turn it on hot. I need to calm down as much as I can, because right now I'm so wound up I might explode. I stand under the water letting the heat loosen my muscles up while my brain is stuck on Adrian. I don't want to leave with out seeing him one last time, but I know I won't want to leave once I look into those hypnotic eyes of his. Plus, if I do manage the strength to leave, will he let me go without an explanation? No. I can't tell him about the raid. Great, another secret I'm keeping from him. He's going to be pissed when he finds out. But I can't leave things the way they are. What if I don't make it back? I don't want him to doubt what's in my heart. A letter. I'll write him a letter and give it to Tatiana to give to him if I don't return. This way he'll have something to keep with him that proves my love for him.

I jump out of the shower and dress in clothes that will be easy to fight in. I gather all my weapons, three stakes and a silver dagger, and attach them to my body. No need to conceal them so I put them where I can easily and quickly get to them. At my desk, I pull out the rose stationary Lissa bought me for my birthday one year and pour my heart out in my letter to Adrian. I don't even realize I'm crying until a tear splatters on the page. I tell him how much I love him, how I'm sorry for keeping this secret from him and how I wished we could've gotten married and had the family he always said he wanted with me. I look at the clock and see I only have twently minutes until I have to meet up with the others. I sign my name to the letter and put it in an envelope. I even put some red lipstick on so I can seal it with a kiss.

I grab my bag with some emergency supplies and extra clothes and haul ass back to the Queen's parlor to talk with her. I just hope she hasn't gone to bed yet since it's technically the middle of the night for Moroi. The guardian at the door lets me right in. She standing on the other side of the room, talking to one of her many advisors, when she looks up to see me enter. She holds up a finger to me letting me know she'll be right with me, so I take a seat on the couch by the little coffee table in the middle of the room. When she's done, she makes her way to me and sits next to me, putting her hand on mine. "Are you ready?" she asks concerned.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Can you do me a favor?" she nods, so I go on. "If I don't make it back, will you give this to Adrian for me? I need him to understand why I'm doing this and that I do love him. Can you do that?" I hand her the letter and she takes it with care.

"Of course, but I have a good feeling I won't have to. Be safe, Rose. I know you'll succeed." she says with a small smile. I sure hope she's right. We both stand and she pulls me into an embrace. When she pulls back, it almost looks like she has tears welling in her eyes.

"Thanks Tatiana. I'm sure you're right. I'll be back to give you hell soon enough." I say with a smile. She shakes her head and laughs quietly to herself.

"I know you will. Now go. You have a long drive ahead of you and daylight will be gone soon." I nod and turn to leave. Okay, one problem down, one to go, Dimitri.

I need to talk to Dimitri but I don't know exactly where he is and I don't want to wake up Tasha. So I go to the meeting spot to see who's there already. When I get there, I see Conner, Guardian Chenko and Guardian Johnson putting their bags in the back of one of the SUV's. I throw my bag to Chenko to add to the pile. I walk up to Conner who's leaning against the car, enjoying the sun shining on his face. "Have you seen Dimitri?" I ask him. He looks down to me and shrugs.

"Not here yet." he seems unusually quiet for him, but of course we're not going on your typical assignment either.

"I need to talk to him before we leave. I'll be right back." He doesn't say anything, but goes back to his sun bathing as I leave toward Dimitri's room to intercept him before he gets to the car. As I'm walking up the stairs, I see him at the top on his way down. He sees me and gives a half hearted smile. "Hey comrade. Can we talk before we meet the others?" He nods as he follows me down the steps and around the building where we can have some privacy.

"What did you need to talk about, Rose?" he asks as he sets his bag down by his feet.

"I don't want you to go on this raid." I say bluntly. I don't know any other way to say it. He looks at me confused.

"Why?"

"You don't know Stephan like I do. He's crazy and I have a bad feeling about this. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you, especially with Little Roza on the way. I love you too much for that." I know they haven't decided on a name yet, but I'll compaigne for my name any opportunity I have.

"You don't think I can handle myself?" He's getting defensive now as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"It's not that. If this were any other time, I would be thrilled to be fighting with you, but I won't put you in danger. Especially when it's my fault the bastard's still alive. You need to stay alive long enough to see that little girl be born." His expression softens as he listens to my reasons for not wanting him along.

"Roza, if you think I'm letting you go without me, you're crazy. Do you think I'd be able to live with myself if anything happened to you? I'm going and that's final." He steps closer and wraps his arms around me and rest his head on mine. "Don't worry, Roza. Together we'll complete this mission and come home safely." Right now I'm torn between wanting him fighting with me because he is one of the best and wanting him to stay safe and sound. The image of his happy face when he talks about that little bundle of joy on her way to him, flashes in my mind and I know what I have to do. I pull away from him enough so that I can look him in the eyes.

"Can you just promise me one thing? If for some reason I don't make it back," he starts to interupt me but I put a finger to his mouth to shut him up. "watch over Adrian for me. He won't take it well and he might do something reckless. Keep him safe, for me." I plead with him with my eyes.

"I don't think it will be necessary, but I promise." he says. I look at him and think that this might be the last I see him, so I give him another hug and whisper in his ear.

"I just want you to know, you'll always have a special place in my heart." I place a kiss on his cheek before I pull out of his arms. "So, you ready to go kick some Strigoi ass?" I ask him. I look around the area for something heavy and blunt that I can knock him out with, but I don't see anything. Then I remember my dagger has a heavy wooden handle. I pull it out, but keep it hidden behind my back as he bends over to pick up his bag. Before he can stand upright, and out of my reach, I whack him hard on the back of his head. He goes down instantly with a thud. I go over to make sure he's out, but not dead. He'll thank me for this one day, I hope. "I'm sorry Dimitri." I tell his unconscious form before I leave him there on the ground. I know someone will find him eventually, but not too soon after we leave. Tatiana is so going to give me shit for this.

I run back to the car and see that Guardian Ailseworth has made it and is waiting for me and Dimitri. "Alright, everyone in the car now. Let's go." I yell as I jump into the front passenger seat. Conner is driving but gives me a confused look.

"Where's Guardian Belikov?"

"He's not coming, now go." I give him a look that tells him to not ask anymore questions, and he doesn't. He starts the car and we drive out of the Court gates and toward Stephan. Nobody is talking until Conner decides to break the silence.

"Is this Stephan guy the one that we encountered after our one and only dance lesson?" he asks.

"Yep." I say popping the 'p'. I open up the folder and read more about all the victims this guy killed, all because some chick broke his heart. Talk about holding a grudge. I also think about what he said to me. He might spare my life. I wonder if he'll still feel that way when we come invading his evil lair.

I read for about fifteen minutes when my eyelids start to get too heavy to keep open. I lay my head back and fall asleep. I find myself back at the bench that I last saw Adrian. I look around hoping that this is one of his dreams and that he'll appear to talk with me. "Adrian, if you're here, please come out." I shout. I finally see him walk out from behind a tree and stroll over to me and take a seat on the bench. I scoot closer to him and take his hand in mine. "Adrian, I'm so sorry for the way I acted and for keeping the secret from you. It's just that I thought that by not telling you I was protecting you. Please say that you'll forgive me." Now normally I wouldn't give up so easily, but considering the circumstances, I'll swallow my pride so that we are right again. He pulls me close to him and holds me tight.

"No, Rose. I'm the one who was acting like a jerk. I know you were only doing what you felt was right. I shouldn't be mad at you for that. Forgive me?" I give a little laugh at both of our behavior before accepting his appology. I feel so much better that we made up, I have a better outlook on our upcoming battle. I don't want to let him go until the very last second, and luckily, he seems to feel the same way. He gently places a hand on my cheek and looks deep into my eyes. I always get lost in his gorgeous green eyes. He leans down slowly and brushes his lips to mine. My hand travels right to his neck as I pull him down to me, deepening the kiss. He gradually pushes me down so that I'm laying on the bench as he hovers over me, never taking his lips off mine. I feel his hand on my hip and running up along my torso, under my shirt and over my chest. I feel the heat travel up my body in the wake of is roving hands.

Now, Adrian and I haven't gone all the way yet, if you know what I mean, and I don't think our first time should be in one of our dreams. I want it to be real. Besides, I don't know how long I'll be able to stay asleep before we get there. And there is also a real possibility that I could talk or moan in my sleep. That would be so embarrassing in a car full of men, so I think we'll have to keep it PG-13 right now. As we lay on the bench, kissing and caressing each other, we also continuously tell each other 'I love you' over and over again.

I feel the dream start to fade and I begin to panick. I'm not ready to let him go yet. I grab on to him tight and inhale his wonderful scent, trying to take a part of him with me out of the dream. "I love you Adrian. Don't ever forget that." I tell him as I feel myself slipping away. I wake up to someone shaking my shoulders. I look over to see that Conner is the one waking me up.

"We're here Rose. Are you okay?" I give him a puzzled look about his last question when I realize I have tears running down my cheek. I quickly wipe them away and sit up straight. I look out at the little white house standing in front of us and notice the nausea telling me we found the right place. I take a deep breath and look to the others. "Let's do this."

Poor Dimitri's going to have a nasty headache when he wakes up. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and let me know how you feel about the story so far.