Although Adrian had to return to the Infirmary after Janine's funeral, he was able to leave the next day. Rose came by first thing, to help him get home okay.

"Don't you have work?" Adrian asked, shrugging into a new shirt Rose had brought over from his place. She shrugged, smiling, "It's so hectic down there, they won't notice I'm gone." She handed Adrian a black jacket, and he stretched, wincing slightly. Together, they said goodbye to Dr. Vallencourt, heading towards Adrian's place.

"So, remind me again when Queen Naomi's funeral is?" Adrian asked, and Rose said, "Tomorrow, in the evening." The funeral was going to be a huge ceremony, incorporating every Moroi and Dhampir in the court. Afterwards, they would announce who was eligible for becoming the leader of Moroi and Dhampirs all over the world. She went to comment on Lissa's chance, but Adrian missed a step, not quite used to the crutch under his arm.

"Woah, we can walk slower.." She mumbled, catching his arm to right him once more. He shot her a sheepish smile, and as they continued at a slower pace, he mused, "Do you ever get tired of dating someone you have to pick up all the time?"

"Nope. I knew what I was getting into, it was already part of my job description," Rose smiled, taking her key from her pocket. She unlocked his door, and as they walked inside, he mumbled, "How about marrying one?" Rose froze, her back to him as she was heading to the kitchen. She sighed, turning back reluctantly, "Adrian, maybe we-"

"No. Don't push this away Rose. For gods sake.. " He trailed off, frustrated. He abandoned his crutch by the door, using the furniture to manouver around to sit on the couch. He put his cast up, and said, "I asked you to marry me, Rose. The least you can do is treat it with a little respect." This made Rose wince, and she came to sit next to Adrian. She softly replied, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry you aren't being serious about this, or sorry you can't marry me?"

"I don't know. Sorry about everything. Adrian, when you were taken.." She trailed off, at a loss for words. He took her cheek in his palm, turning her to face him as he quietly said, "I love you, Rose. This whole attack has made me realize that I can't imagine living without you. I kept thinking, that if you died, I wouldn't be able to keep going. I need you."

"Adrian... I don't even know if they would let me be a guardian, if we got married!" Rose explained, moving out of his touch though it hurt to do so. She sighed, "I love you to. Isn't this enough?" As she said it, she could see his features hardening - she knew it was the wrong thing to say. He moved back to sit comfortably, and looked towards the television, muttering, "Guess so."

"Ad-" Rose started, but she trailed off as he shook his head, not looking at her. She sighed, and said, "Look, I really need to get back. Can I come over tonight?"

"I think I'll have an early night tonight," Adrian said, in an odd voice, "I'll see you at the queen's funeral tomorrow." Rose frowned, but nodded, understanding that she deserved to be brushed off. She stood, and squeezed his shoulder as she passed, "I'm so glad your safe." When he said nothing, she let herself out of his apartment quietly.

The day flew by for Rose, but her night was long. She quickly realized that she wasn't going to get any sleep - she had this uncomfortable feeling in her stomach ever since Adrian had turned away from her. Hell, she knew she deserved it. She wished she could go back, but what would she say differently? She mulled this over as she walked outside, in the rising sun. She turned her face upwards towards it, and sighed. Sitting on a bench, she kept her eyes closed, leaning back and thinking things over.

If she married Adrian - god knew she wanted to, that much she could admit to herself - she would be talked about. Gossiped about. Alex would have to deal with that when scheduling and planning missions, which was something she didn't want anyone to have to bother with.

On the other hand, Tasha and Dimitri made it look so easy. But Dimitri already had an established reputation - he didn't have to worry about people judging him. She rubbed her face, groaning out loud. When did life get so fucking complicated?

"You look like you could use a friend," a familiar voice asked. Rose jumped slightly, opening her eyes to see Eddie standing a few feet away, smiling. He looked like he'd been beaten up - bruises still loudly proclaiming the injuries he'd taken at the manor. She gestured wordlessly to the bench, and he came and sat, staring straight ahead and copying her.

"Whats up?" He finally asked. She shrugged, replying, "Making life changing decisions over here. No big." Eddie chuckled, and said, "Just suck it up and say yes, Rose."

"What?"

"To Adrian! The Rose Hathaway I know wouldn't be scared of a little backlash. In fact, the old Rose would be excited for it." Rose gave a small grin, and said, "The old Rose. I've grown up since then, Eddie." Eddie firmly shook his head, and said, "No, you've just got more of a conscience. You know you want to marry him, Rose. Before he asked you, he spoke to everyone. Including your parents, your mother. She gave her blessing, as much as it was."

"She did?" Rose asked, looking at Eddie full on to see if he was joking. He nodded seriously, and said, "Everyone did. They want you to be happy, Rose. You've been alone for so long, I think you need him." They sat in silence for a moment, before Rose leaned over, and pecked Eddie on the cheek. That was the first time they had ever interacted like that, and he amused her by turning bright pink.

"Oh Eddie.." Rose laughed, gently punching his good shoulder. He laughed, and said, "I guess it's kind of late to see him now, but maybe tomorrow..."

"I'll do what I need to do," Rose nodded firmly. She stood, and bid him farewell, walking back to her room with a much lighter heart then when she'd left it. She had herself a Moroi to marry.

The following day, Rose's schedule was jam packed all morning. There were the gates to guard, as well as extra protection for all of the Moroi visiting from outside of court. There was the hall to secure, and the wards to double check - no one was taking any chances after last time. Unfortunately, Alberta ran into her as she was heading to Adrian's, and needed her help escorting a prominent family to their accommodation. She had no choice but to agree, and worked like a mad man to try to secure some time before the ceremony to see Adrian.

Time flew by, and before she knew it, the ceremony was due to start at any time. She and a few other guardians did a sweep of the housing and grounds, and once they were sure no one was straggling behind, they headed towards the hall. Dressed in their finest guardian uniforms - in white, for mourning - they filed in, taking their places at the walls.

She had to give it to Alberta - she somehow found a way to station most of the guardian's close to their respective Moroi. For instance, Eddie was two guardians away from Rose - and Adrian and Lissa were fairly close, seated only a row or two apart. Adrian didn't glance Rose's way yet, and she kept her eyes trained on him, knowing that talking would have to wait until after the funeral. When he finally looked her way, she felt her heart jump in her chest. Christ, she thought, rubbing it absently. I'm acting like a teenager.

Though it was against the rules for her to go speak with Adrian, it wasn't against the rules for a Moroi to speak to a Guardian, when they pleased. She kept her eyes locked on his as he slid out from his row, walking over to stand right in front of her. She kept her face immobile - standing with her arms behind her back, legs slightly spread. Generic guardian pose. He glanced from side to side, and Rose hoped he knew that causing her to relax out of position would not be a good thing. He seemed to grasp this, and he said, "After the funeral proceedings, there's a few hours gap. Want to grab a coffee?" She gave him a quick nod, pleading with her eyes for him to understand why she couldn't really reply. He nodded after a moment, and said, "Okay, then." He backed away, then turned, wading past the slightly-annoyed people back to his seat. Eddie cleared his throat from his place, and Rose glanced his way momentarily, a brief smile on her lips. Adrian had approached her. This was good.

Before she had a chance to mull what she needed to say over, a slow, sad song started on the organ. A Moroi choir stood, as well as a priest who would oversee the funeral - the same priest from Lissa's wedding, Rose mused. She straightened up, watching a few minor priests walk down the long, elegant aisle to the front. As the choir began a slow, mournful hymn, pallbearers entered the room, eight in total, carrying what looked like a large, decorated table.

Because the Queen was so important, Guardian's had taken lengths to retrieve her body from what used to be the Manor. Though it had only been a few days since her death, teams had been forced to work even at night, under heavy protection, to dig through the debris for her. So there she lay, on top of the table, covered in a thick, lacy white cloth. The priest began to speak, using grand words of honor and all that Moroi stuff. Rose couldn't force herself to tune in too closely - instead, she kept her eyes scanning, watching for danger. They wouldn't be caught unprepared this time.

Some time later, chosen representatives from each royal family stood to pay respects to the late queen. This took some time as well - many knelt to pray, although for what was beyond Rose. For their family to reign? Some, she bet, were doing just that.

Lissa had to represent her family - or herself - and when she knelt, Rose allowed her shields to fall for a moment, slipping into Lissa's mind.

'Please, Naomi, I have no will to rule. If I am chosen, I will try my hardest - and I ask your guidance...' Rose let herself slip back out, not wanting to invade on Lissa's private thoughts too much. So she didn't want to lead. Rose felt a tiny bit relieved - who wanted their best friend to be completely unavailable to them all the time? Once Lissa was done saying farewell, the priest gestured for everyone to rise. In Russian, he spoke a phrase - one often used to say a final goodbye to Moroi. The crowd repeated it, and the ceremony was over.

The guardian's had to wait until most of the Moroi left before they could move from the walls - Rose waited impatiently as Adrian walked over, and said, "Well, are you coming?"

"I can't, not until they're mostly gone," She explained, hoping he would wait. He nodded, and said, "Why don't I go order us something, then." Rose felt her face fall, knowing Adrian could read it loud and clear, but she nodded, "Sure." He left, and Rose started to tap her foot impatiently as families spoke with families, or approached Naomi on their own. After twenty minutes, they finally were cleared to leave - they had to return a half hour before they all piled back into the hall to hear who was in the running for the crown. Rose calculated that she had about two hours of free time, so she moved as fast as she could through the still-thick crowd, heading towards the cafe.

When she walked in, she saw Adrian sitting at a two person table, in the far corner. A steaming cup of coffee sat in front of him, as well as one in a Styrofoam cup. As she walked over, she grinned - he got her Styrofoam in case she got caught up, she figured. So he did understand. She slid into her chair, silently waiting for him to begin.

"How can you stand so straight, for so long?" He asked, stirring his coffee absently. Rose raised an eyebrow, and grinned, "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" He gave her a grin back, and shook his head, "No, but I was curious."

"Discipline," Rose whispered, as if she was telling secret. Adrian nodded wisely, and took her hand, thumb running over her fingers. She'd taken the ring off after their arguement, but now she pulled it from her pocket, twirling it between her free hand's finger and thumb.

"Rose-" Adrian started, but Rose shook her head, squeezing his hand, "No. I need to apologize, Adrian. Things have been so hectic lately, I just needed a little down time." He nodded, and Rose stopped playing with the ring, holding it still between two fingers. Neither of them noticed Lissa, Tasha, Christian and Dimitri seated a row back from them, sipping drinks silently, blatantly eavesdropping. If Rose had, she would have noticed Lissa whispering, "God, Rose. Please don't screw this up." The others nodded seriously, falling silent once more.

But this went unnoticed to the pair, who could have been the only two people in the room for all they knew. Rose was staring down at the ring, and she whispered, "It's beautiful."

"It was my Great-Grandmothers," he explained, "She married her guardian." Rose looked up in surprise, and she said, "Did it work out well?"

"No, if you look at how they were pushed away from society for their union - but yes, if you look at how happy they were, and how old they got to grow together." Rose didn't reply, and Adrian pushed the ring back into place on her finger, stroking it with his thumb, "I can't promise you this won't be hard. But I'll be there with you. Why the hell do we need to care about what other people are saying? If I cared, I would have done something with my life a long time ago." This made Rose grin, and she said, "Really, Adrian?"

"Maybe not," he laughed, "Maybe I was just waiting for you to come alone." She smiled, standing up from her seat. Adrian frowned, but she quickly moved over to share his chair with him, hugging him tightly and burying her face into his neck.

"Forgive me for being an idiot?" She mumbled, barely audible. Adrian nodded, even though she couldn't see him, and said, "There isn't anything to forgive." She nuzzled him a moment longer, then looked up, completely seriously into his eyes.

"Then I guess I have a wedding to start planning." Adrian kissed her passionately, the excited voices of their observing friends circling around them. Yes, he thought. This is how its supposed to be. He hugged her closer, letting her mouth go but squeezing her tight against his chest. Pondering the fact that they had an hour and a half until Rose was due back on duty, he stood, pulling her up with him. He shot her a mischievous smile, and said, "Let's go."

"Where?" Rose asked, not having any choice but to follow behind him as he pulled her arm. She gave a small wave to her friends, and as they left the cafe, Adrian pushed her up against the wall, kissing her thoroughly. They pulled away, breathless, and Adrian had a wicked gleam in his eyes. He leaned in, biting her earlobe and mumbling, "It seems to me we had a fight. Doesn't that entitle make up sex?" Rose laughed, gently swatting him so not to hurt his injuries, and she teased, "Only if you can catch me, Ivashkov." With that, she slipped away, moving fast down the hall with Adrian close on her heels. Hm, she thought, calculating their window of time. Maybe she could be a little late.

A/N: Alright. I hate to say, but one more chapter! Thanks once more for all the support - I'll share a few little details about the upcoming sequel at the end of the last chapter :) And what's going to happen next?

Well, let's just say this story is going out with a bang.. :)