I helped Landon back to his room, and told him that I was going to take a shower, and I'd be back later to check on him. He just nodded and told me how good of a job I did today, and how much of a badass I was. Quite frankly, it was all stuff I already knew, but I took the compliments anyway. I headed into my room, and grabbed a change of clothes. I took a long hot shower, letting the hot water relax my muscles. I didn't know why, but that look on Dimitri's face before I came in continued to haunt me. That jealous glint in his eye was something I'd honestly never expected to see out of him. Dimitri Belikov, the most badass guardian I've ever met, jealous of another novice. It just didn't make much sense. I got out of the shower, and got dressed, putting on a little bit of make-up, before heading back downstairs. I went into the kitchen, and made a sandwich. I sat down at the table, and started eating with Dimitri walked in from the gym. He met my eyes for a second, before looking down.

"What'd you do with Landon?" He asked. I didn't miss the sneer in his voice when he said his name.

"He's in his room."

"You left him?" He asked. I chuckled.

"I'm not his babysitter. I was just helping him around. He's fine on his own too." I said. He nodded.

"You spent most of yesterday with him, and you brought him out today, so I just figured-." I cut him off with a shake of my head.

"I was just helping him out. I don't have to be there every second he's awake. He's a big boy. He'll make it." I told him, taking another bite of my sandwich. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, and sat down across from me.

"Have you checked on Lissa lately?"

"I actually haven't. If some things wrong, I'd know." I said, tapping my temple.

"I guess that means the medicine is working well."

"For now. I still worry about what Adrian said about it, but I guess only time will tell." I murmured.

"What'd Adrian say?" He asked.

"He said that he was on that medicine once, and being cut off from his magic was driving him crazy faster than the darkness was. I don't know how Lissa particularly feels about not having her magic, but I guess only time will tell whether she can handle being cut off from it." I said. He nodded. He looked down at his hands wrapped around his water bottle, and back up at me.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine… for now." I said, knowing that I wasn't really. Inside me there was always something dark building, ready to explode at any given moment. It scared me, but right now, I was fine.

"For now?" He asked.

"I never know when I'm gonna have another outburst." I told him, shaking my head.

"You're first one wasn't that bad." He told me.

"That's only because I was with you. What if next time, I'm with Adrian or Landon, or I hurt someone on accident?" I said.

"You won't. You're stronger than that."

"The darkness is stronger than I am. I might not be able to fight it." I told him.

"I believe in you." He said, meeting my eyes with a serious intensity. It was there I could see that he had all of the confidence in the world in me. I looked down.

"I don't. I can fight something I can see. I can fight the enemy, but what am I supposed to do when the enemy is in me?" I asked, talking mostly to myself.

"You'll fight it. We'll fight it together." He said.

"I've already told you, you can't help me."

"I will. I'll do everything I can." He said. He reached across the table, and laid his hand over mine. "You're not in this alone."

"Thank you." I said, sliding my hand out from under his. I looked up and smiled. "Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"You sure?" I asked. He nodded once. I shrugged and finished my sandwich, throwing my plate in the sink and sitting back down across from him.

"Have you talked to Adrian?" He asked me.

"No…I haven't today. Why?"

"Just curious. I haven't seen him today." He said. I nodded.

"I can go check on him if you want."

"Is that such a good idea?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow. I growled.

"It was one time. Let it go." I snapped, smirking. He chuckled.

"You can go check on him." He said. I nodded and got up, heading down the hall. When I reached his room, I knocked once. No answer. I knocked twice. Still no answer. I opened the door, and looked around to find his room empty. I called out, but there wasn't a reply. I walked back to the kitchen, seriously worried now.

"He's not there." I said.

"He isn't?"

"No… His rooms empty." I told him. I was pretty sure the worry was clear on my face.

"Check out front. I'll get out back." He said. I nodded and started for the front door. I walked out, and looked around into the night and saw nothing.

"Adrian?" I called. I could hear Dimitri's voice echoing from outback. When my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I could see better. I heard someone groan, and turned to my left to find Adrian lying crumbled on the ground. "Adrian?" I said, running towards him. I hit my knees beside him, looking at his bloody and battered face. "What happened to you?" That's when I saw the fang marks on the side of his neck. He'd been bitten. My blood ran cold. It was then I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I stood up to find someone standing at the edge of the woods. They stepped into the soft light of the moon, and that's when I saw it, the red-rim around their eyes. Strigoi. This was bad, really bad.

"You're moroi there seems to be a little battered."

"You did this to him." I said. He shrugged.

"I just roughed him up a little bit." He started towards me, taking slow steps, antagonizing me. I took a few steps away from Adrian, but still continued to block him.

"Dimitri…" I screamed, right before the strigoi lunged at me. I had no choice but to take the force of his hit, because if I moved I'd be opening Adrian up to him. He swung, and I blocked. I faked right and swung, catching him in the face. He stumbled back, and lunged at me again. I threw a kick, catching him in the face when Dimitri ran around the corner.

"Roza." He exclaimed, before running over and tackling the strigoi to the ground. "Rose, GO!" He yelled. I stood there, sort of frozen for a second, before I realized I needed to run. I ran over to Adrian, and pulled him up. He was out of it, and completely dead weight. I could still hear him breathing though, so he was alive, that was good. I got him inside, and laid him on the couch.

"Adrian… Adrian, can you hear me?" I asked. He groaned. I ran into the kitchen and wet a wash cloth, holding it to his neck. "Castille!" I screamed. He came running.

"What?"

"Stay with Adrian." I said, motioning for him to hold his neck. I stood up, and started back for the front door.

"Rose, what's going on?" He demanded.

"I have to find out if Dimitri's okay. Stay with him, please." I said, running out the front door. When I got outside, Dimitri was on the ground, over the strigoi. The strigoi was obviously dead, because Dimitri was pulling his stake out of his heart. "Dimitri…" I murmured. He stood up, and turned to me, but the moment he did, his legs gave, and he fell to the ground. I rushed to him.

"Hey… are you alright?"

"I'm fine… I'm just tired." He murmured.

"Come on, let's get you inside." I said, trying to pull him up. He shook his head.

"No… Just give me a minute. Just let me rest for a second, and I'll be fine." He told me.

"What if there are more out there, we have to get you inside." I said, touching his face. He nodded, and allowed me to help him up. I wrapped an arm tight around his waist, trying to support all of his weight. The moment we got in the door, Eddie completely abandoned Adrian and rushed to us.

"What happened?"

"Strigoi." Dimitri said. "I took care of it."

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, how's Adrian?" He asked, motioning to him. Eddie nodded.

"I called the doctor. He's on his way. He should be fine. Just a little endorphin high and tired, he'll recover. Do you want me to help you to-." I shook my head then.

"I'll take care of him. Will you take Adrian to his room please? He'd be so much more comfortable when the doctor gets here."I asked. Eddie nodded.

"As you wish. Feel better Dimitri." He told him, before I helped Dimitri over to his bedroom. When I got him into the room, I kicked the door closed behind me, and helped him over to the bed. I helped him in, and stood up.

"You're shirt is all bloody. You need to change." I told him.

"I'll change in the morning." He groaned.

"Dimitri, that's disgusting. I'm not going to let you sleep like that." I told him. I walked over to his dresser. "Which drawer?"

"Third one down." He answered. I opened it, and pulled out a black t-shirt. I helped him sit up, and pulled his shirt off over his head. It was the first time I'd ever seen him shirtless, and by god was he gorgeous. I'd always thought Dimitri in jeans and a black t-shirt was the sexiest thing ever, but I'd been wrong. It was then I noticed the dark scratches on his chest.

"Damn, Dimitri. He got you good, didn't he?" I asked. He looked down, and frowned.

"I guess so."

"Those could get infected." I said.

"Dhampirs rarely get sick." He argued.

"But with our luck, you probably would." I said. I walked into his bathroom, and found a bottle of peroxide and wet a wash cloth before walking back out.

"I'll be fine. There isn't any need for this." He said.

"Will you just let me take care of you… please?" I said. He groaned, but nodded. I poured peroxide on the rag, and met his eye. "You ready?"

"Go ahead." He said. I ran the rag across the first scratch. I heard his teeth grind together.

"I'm sorry." I murmured, as I did the second one, then the third. When I was done, I helped him pull his shirt on over his head, and he lied back.

"Do you want me to get you some water?"

"Rose, I can take care of myself. I'm fine now." He said.

"Dimitri, do you want a glass of water?" I asked again. He just sighed and nodded. I walked out of his room, and into the kitchen, getting him a glass of water, and carrying it to him.

"Thank you." He murmured, taking it from me. I sat down on the edge of the bed, and turned to him.

"You feeling better?" I asked. He nodded.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I said. He raised an eyebrow at me. "I don't think I've ever been that afraid in my life." I whispered, looking down at my hands.

"That was the first time you've ever encountered a strigoi, wasn't it?" He asked. I nodded.

"I just knew I couldn't let him get back to Adrian."

"You did amazing." He murmured. He laid his hand over mine on the bed once again.

"If you hadn't come to help me, I would have died." I told him.

"I wasn't going to let that happen." He said, emotion thick in his voice. I just nodded, not knowing what else to say. "Thank you, for taking care of me."

"It wasn't a problem. You saved my ass, it was the least I could do." I told him. He smiled. I stood up, and walked over to him. I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, Dimitri." I started to stand back up, and walk out, when he grabbed me preventing me from moving. Our faces were only inches apart, and I watched as his eyes traveled down my face. I could tell he was putting up a big fight trying not to kiss me. He pulled my head down to his lips and kissed my forehead as well. As disappointed as I was, I took it willingly.

"Goodnight, Roza." He murmured softly. I smiled and stood up, walking out and shutting his door behind me. When I walked out, the doctor emerged from the hallway.

"Doctor…how is he?" I asked.

"He'll be fine. He's a little battered, and endorphin high, but they'll both pass. I bandaged the cut on his arm and face, but other than that, the rest he'll have to get through on his own." I nodded.

"Thank you sir." I said, nodding before he walked out. I walked to the door to lock it, when I noticed the strigoi's body was missing.

"We called the alchemist. They came and took care of it." Eddie said, walking over to me. I just nodded. "How's Dimitri?"

"He's fine. He's worn out, but he'll be okay. I disinfected his cuts, and helped him to bed." I told him. He nodded approvingly.

"Good." He said.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight Guardian Castille." I said, walking around him, and going upstairs. I laid down in my bed, and was fast asleep within a matter of seconds.