When Rose woke up, she found she had slept for much longer then she intended to. It was a full day since they'd arrived back at court - then again, her body had taken quite the beating. She stretched, wincing gingerly at the aches in her poor muscles. Images from the previous day rushed to the front of her mind, but she forced them back, not wanting to deal with any of it just yet. She snuggled in deeper, but then realizing Adrian was still asleep she shifted away from the bed, and went to find Dr. Vallencourt to check on Adrian's progress. He was her main concern from now on.

"Good evening, Rose." Dr. Vallencourt said, as she walked into the nurses station. She nodded, and said, "How is Adrian doing?"

"His vitals are back to normal - he should be able to leave as soon as he feels strong enough." Vallencourt replied, turning his chair to face Rose, "And let's see how your doing." She scowled as he held her jaw, pointing a tiny flashlight into her eyes.

"You look better," he finally said, "No training until those stitches come out - and yes, I mean all of them. I don't want to see you back here with ruptured sutures."

"Yes, sir," Rose said obediently. She figured it was better to play along, then to protest and have to stay there longer. Vallencourt was satisfied with her answer, but as he turned away, Rose said, "Sir, could you please tell me what room Natasha Ozera is in?"

"Ah, you'd like to meet the twins?" Vallencourt smiled, flipping through some papers, "I delivered them myself, you know. Poor woman, her body was in shock from the attack. Thank goodness they are both alive and health- Ah! Here it is. She's in the room at the very end of the hall Lord Ivashkov is in - door to the left." Rose nodded, smiling a quick thanks, and she headed back in that direction.

When she reached the end of the hall, she found the door slightly ajar. She went to knock, then hesitated - what if she woke the babies? Instead, she gently pushed the door open, peeking her head inside.

"Rose." Tasha's tired voice smiled at her, from under the covers on a hospital bed. Rose pushed the door open further, and smiled, coming in as quietly as she could. Tasha was holding one baby to her chest, for a feeding - Dimitri held the other, who was fast asleep. Both babies looked like little sausages in their hospital blankets. Rose sat on the edge of the spare chair, and smiled, "Gosh, Tasha. Twins."

"Tell me about it..." Tasha mumbled, stroking her baby's hair. Dimitri gave Rose a once-over, and said, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Rose said honestly. Out of everyone, felt no need to lie to them. Hesitantly, she turned to Dimitri and said, "May I hold..."

"Him. Ivan." Dimitri supplied. Rose smiled, recognizing that they named him Ivan for Dimitri's deceased best friend and previous Moroi. She remained seated as Dimitri brought Ivan over, and gently placed him in her arms.

"God, am I doing this right?" Rose asked, her throat suddenly dry. She couldn't remember ever having held a baby before. Tasha nodded, "Yes, you are."

"Hi, Ivan.." Rose mumbled, her lips brushing his forehead. Dimitri went to sit with Tasha and their baby girl, while Rose mumbled words to Ivan, who stared up at her with big eyes. Her face was close, and as she spoke, he suddenly flung his arm up, whacking her in the cheek, right over a bad bruise.

"Oh, are you okay?" Tasha asked in a worried voice, seeing Rose grimace. She laughed through gritted teeth, and nodded, "This one's guardian material, he is." Dimitri gave her his best smile, and Rose looked at the little girl, "What is her name?"

"Rosine," Dimitri told her, making Rose's heart skip a beat. She carefully lifted Ivan with her as she walked over to the hospital bed, sitting near Tasha's waist and opposite Dimitri. She cradled Ivan close as she leaned in, and touched Rosina's hair softly, "Rosine, hey.. Well, I knew you'd name her after me if I pushed hard enough."

"We used -ine for your mother," Dimitri explained, and Rose's eyes met his, her throat burning with those incredibly annoying happy-tears she seemed to get so often. She must be going soft. She nuzzled Ivan once more, and gave him back to his father.

"How is Adrian?" Tasha asked, a bit sadly. Rose shrugged, offering a weak smile, "He'll live. Still out cold. If you have time, would you mind checking in on him now and again, Dimitri? I need to go to the offices, see where I can be of use." Dimitri nodded, "I will." With one last smile, Rose stood, walking to the door. As she reached it, she turned, hand on the doorknob.

"Your children are beautiful, Tasha," She said softly, her eyes locking on the tired mother's, "I never thought I would say this, but I actually envy you." This made Tasha smile wider then she had the entire visit, and she replied, "Maybe once Adrian is feeling better-"

"I don't think so," Rose cut her off, smiling apologetically. Tasha glanced at Dimitri, who was watching the exchange silently, and then said, "Did he get a chance to propose to you, at the reception?"

"Yes." Rose replied, not saying another word. Her expression must have daunted Tasha, because she backed off, not questioning her more. Rose sighed, and said, "May I come back later?"

"We'd like that," Dimitri smiled. Rose nodded, gave them one last smile, then left.

As she walked down to the offices, she looked down at her hand. The ring had remained there, on her fourth finger on her left hand, since the reception. It was beautiful - Adrian must have spent loads of money on it. She shoved her hand in her pocket, not wanting to see it anymore. How could he expect her to say yes? Sighing, she knew she was in this over her head. Rather then go straight to work, she decided to take a little detour.

Ten minutes later, she was knocking on Lissa's door. When it opened, she saw a very tired-looking Christian. He gave a small smile, and said, "I'm glad your up and about, Rose. Lissa's in the kitchen." Rose nodded, walking through to sit at the little kitchen table. Lissa was making tea, and she smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Great, Spirit always makes me sleep well," Rose admitted, as Lissa sat with her. Christian hovered on a stool, next to the fridge. There was silence for a moment, before Rose said, "I'm sorry your wedding was ruined."

"It wasn't," Lissa insisted, "Everyone I love is alive. That's all I can ask." Rose frowned - that should NOT be how Lissa had to remember her wedding day. She said, "Did you know Adrian was proposing to me?"

"I did," Christian admitted, coming to sit at the table with them, "He told me before the wedding."

"I didn't, until it happened," Lissa mumbled. Rose nodded, leaning back in her chair with a sigh. Lissa said, "Why don't you just go for it, Rose? You know your happier with him then anyone else!"

"I know that, Liss.." Rose trailed off, playing with a cloth napkin from the pile in the center of the table. There was another short silence, before Rose changed the subject, "How is Eddie?"

"Recovered nicely. He went to work this morning," Lissa smiled, sipping her tea, "I'm assuming your heading there as well?" Rose nodded, "I was, then I came here instead. I needed to talk a little." Lissa nodded, and Christian said, "Have you seen the twins yet?"

"Yes," Rose said, her face lighting up, "God, they are so beautiful. Ivan and Rosine."

"Rosine? Really?" Lissa asked, surprised but excited. Rose nodded, feeling that familiar ache in her throat, "Yeah. I'm really..."

"Touched?" Lissa supplied, knowing Rose was crap at describing the more intense feelings. Rose nodded.

"We'll go visit them now," Christian said decisively. Rose stood, and said, "I better go to work anyways. See you guys later." As she went to leave, Lissa cleared her throat, and said, "Oh.. Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"Your mo- your mother's funeral. They announced it to be in a few days. I wasn't sure if you heard after you woke or not." Rose froze in the entrance way, and she looked back, giving a curt nod, "Okay."

"Rose.." Lissa started once more, but Rose shook her head, "Not now, Liss. I'll see you later." With that, she left, determined to make it to work this time.

It was hours before Adrian woke fully. His body had lost too much blood - he was going to have to stay in the Infirmary for longer then Vallencourt had suggested. Rose went to see him when he did wake, but he was so groggy and out of it, that they kept a very light conversation up until he passed out mid-sentence. She left a message for him, saying she would be back as soon as he asked for her - she was busy with work in the meantime. Vallencourt assured her he would need lots of rest, and in the end, he gave Adrian heavy sleeping medication so that his body would heal faster. It was rumored that he might be among the few chosen Moroi that were eligible for King/Queen, so it was important that he get well quickly. Rose just scoffed at those rumours - she didn't think she could ever see Adrian as King. It was just too unreal for her.

During guardian duties, she helped maintain the gates a lot. Which meant she had access to the list of incoming Moroi for the soon-to-be-held ceremonies. She decided to take a quick peak at the list, and sure enough, she found Ibriham Mazur's name and a notation indicating he was in residence already. As soon as her shift ended that day, she set off, heading towards the more expensive Moroi accomodations. Hah. Trust Abe not to go cheap.

She found his room relatively quickly, and didn't hesitate once as she knocked on his door. A stoic guardian answered, and as soon as she identified herself, she was let into the living area. After waiting a moment, she saw her father appear, coming down the stairs.

"Rosemarie," Abe nodded, taking his seat in the couch across from her. She was silent for a second - what do you say to your father, when your mother has just died? Silently, she dug into her jeans pocket, taking out the necklace she'd kept close since she took it from her mothers neck.

"Here.." Rose mumbled, holding out her arm straight, palm up. Abe frowned, gazing at the necklace in curiosity. Gently, he picked it up, the chain tiny in his large fingers.

"I gave this to Janine when she was 19 years old.." He said, mind lost to his past. Rose waited for him to come back to the present, and when he did, his eyes snapped back to hers, "She gave this to you?"

"No. I took it off her after she passed," Rose explained. Abe nodded, gazing down at it once more in wonder. Without another word, he held it back out to her. She took it, and said, "What?"

"Its for you. It always was - I gave it to her when she was pregnant," Abe explained, leaning back as rummaging through his cigar container, "I think she would have wanted you to have it." Rose nodded, clasping it around her neck as she'd wanted to do since she found it in her jeans. She stood to leave, and said, "Will you miss her?"

"I will," Abe nodded, unsmiling. He glanced up at Rose again, and said, "But you are much like her, Rose. I'll expect you'll make me just as proud." Rose nodded, licking her dry lips. She said, "May I sit with you, at her funeral?"

"The family must stick together," Abe reasoned, sitting up with a nod, "Tomorrow, then." Rose nodded, and she left before she said anything sappy to her father that might embaress herself.

Rose returned to Adrian's room the morning of her mother's funeral. She was starting to feel like she lived there - she didn't even bother waving at the nurses. Tasha and Dimitri had gone back to their place, moving the twins with them, so it was very lonely for Rose to sit and stare at Adrian while she visited. She was surprised to see him awake, as she walked in. He shot her a grin - it made her heart flutter, because she knew that was a good sign.

"Your awake," she breathed, coming to his side. He nodded, and kissed her fingers slowly, "Vallencourt says I can come to the funeral." Rose's moment of happiness faded - she gave him a quick nod, threading their fingers together. He was already dressed, and she said, "Do you want to go now?"

"Sure, it might take me awhile to get down there. Rose..." Adrian trailed off, and Rose shook her head, kissing him softly, "We'll talk after. I can't right now." He looked a little frustrated, but nodded, letting her help him up. They walked slowly down to the funeral, and the entire time Rose was conscious of Adrian's fingers holding her left hand, her ring pressing into her finger. She knew he could feel it - but she thanked god that he didn't ask her about it. This was not the right time.

When they reached the hall the ceremony would be in, Rose had to pause at the doorway. There were so many guardian's here - and so many dead guardians being honoured. She knew her mother would be last, due to her prestige, but it didn't help as she looked at all the photographs of deceased guardians.

"Where do you want to sit?" Adrian asked, rubbing Rose's hand with his thumb. Rose jerked her head towards Abe, who was a dominating presence in the front row. They walked over, and found that he had saved a seat for not only Rose, but Adrian as well. They sat in silence - Abe looked lost in thought. Rose felt distinctly uncomfortable - she kept tugging at her formal guarding clothes, trying to figure out what was wrong. After awhile, Adrian gripped one of her roaming hands, and whispered, "They're starting." She nodded, squeezing his hand for her own comfort.

Since there were so many dead from the attack, it would take a long time to hover over guardian's names. Instead, they read off every deceased Dhampir in the order by how many Molnija marks they had. As she expected, Janine's name came last.

"At last, we grieve for Janine Hathaway, one of our best Guardian's. Please, take a moment of silence for Janine and all of the other fallen Dhampirs." The man at the front said. Rose bowed her head, her fingers never leaving Adrian's as she thought of her mother. Red hair, Scottish accent. Silver chain around her neck, the one which Rose now wore. She felt a few tears fall down her face, and when she looked back up at the man guiding the ceremony, she stared right at her mother's picture. Beside her, Abe was restless, and he slung his arm around the back of her chair. This seemed like a casual gesture, but Rose didn't know Abe to do anything without a purpose. She leaned into him, giving him a brief but definite hug. Though she didn't expect anything back again, he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. This spoke worlds in her mind. Maybe, just maybe, her relationship with her father could begin. She kept her hand in Adrian's, and for a brief moment, she felt like her mother's memory was at peace in her mind. Instead of remembering the woman bleeding from a dagger in her chest, she remembered the vibrant, badass guardian she had been since Rose could remember. Touching her fingers to her lips, as everyone else did it as well, she promised herself that she would live up to her mother's well-earned and valued honor.