A/N: Okay, you people are awesome! I got amazing reviews on the first chapter, and I couldn't believe it when they just kept coming! I was so happy that I was happy dancing in the back seat of my van when I got the messages on my phone. They made my long seven hour drive to here in New Hampshire a little more bearable. So thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and added me to author alerts/favorites and story alerts/favorites. It means so much to me.

This chapter is dedicated to XXTap Sum BongXX, a.k.a. my best friend Natalee for being the first person to review on this story, and also to crazy4444, an anonymus reviewer. I'm glad that you like my story :D

Disclaimer: I don't own VA or it's characters, only the plot of this fanfiction story.

Happy Reading! -Sarah

I Did It For You

Chapter Two: Bearer Of Bad News

Dimitri's POV

Running from that cave was - and alway will be - the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My head said 'Respect her wishes, get to the academy.' but my heart screamed 'DIMITRI BELIKOV GET YOUR ASS BACK THERE AND SAVE HER! YOU CAN'T LEAVE HER!' but duty overpowered love. I vowed that it was the last time that I would ever choose duty over love. I would do as Rose asked, even though I wanted to just sit there and yell at the sky. Even though it meant that she'd become one of them.

I ran as fast as my body would allow me in it's weakened state. I was surrounded by trees and darkness, and I would be easy pickings for Strigoi. I felt horribly and utterly weak. I hated being weak, just like my Roza. As I thought her name, I stumbled and almost fell flat on my face. My heart clenched, and my eyes watered. The love of my life was gone. Forever. She would never be coming back. I wanted to lie down and never get up. I wanted to die. My life was pointless without my Roza.

I thought back to what she said in the cave. "RUN, DIMITRI! RUN! RUN TO THE ACADEMY AND DON'T LOOK BACK!" She would be so pissed at me if I didn't go back. I had to do this for her. And, like she said, my memories of her will always be with me. I'll always have those. And I knew that Rose wouldn't just give up, had our situations been reversed. She'd do something about it. I know that I'll never be whole without her, but I'll still exist. I'll be like an empty shell, but I'll still be me. Somewhat.

I carried on through the dark forest until I saw the iron gates of the academy. Alberta and Janine were pacing on the other side, presumably waiting for Rose. Oh God, how was I going to tell that her only daughter had been turned?

"Dimitri? Oh God, you're alive! Where's Rose?" Alberta asked.

Unable to speak, I lowered my head and shook it. My lower lip trembled, and tears fell down my face in a fresh torrent.

I heard the heavy iron gates creaking open, followed by soft footsteps. I felt arms around me, and was surprised to see Alberta hugging me. Janine seemed to be in shock; she stood frozen on the other side of the gates.

"Come on, let's get you inside. Your wounds need to be treated, and then you can tell me what happened." Alberta said softly. I nodded, and let her lead me through the gates to the academy.

"Dimitri, Alberta, Janine! Where's Rose?" The voice of the Princess called from nearby.

"Not now, Vasilisa." Alberta replied. Good, because I wasn't sure I was ready to explain that her best friend was being turned into a Strigoi. Not yet. But the Princess was very persistant.

"But-"

"Lissa, not now." Alberta said, more forcefully than before.

Vasilisa looked shocked for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. "Fine. But I will know soon, right?"

"Yes, I'll come get you after I get the story from him." she replied, pointing at me.

"Okay." And with that, Vasilisa walked away. Alberta then led me to the infirmary.

After thanking Dr. Olendski, I walked out. I was told to go to the guardian building, so that's where I was headed.

The outside air was cold, the atmosphere gloomy. It was as if the world knew that it had lost a great person. Of course it did, I thought. You can't just lose a person so amazing as her and not feel it.

When I reached the building, I headed straight for Alberta's office. I knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." Alberta called, her voice muffled by the door. I turned the doorknob and walked in. Alberta sat behind her desk, working on her laptop. She closed it when I sat down.

She seemed hesitant. "Dimitri, are you sure you're ready to talk about this?" she asked, her face alive with concern.

"Yes. I have to, or else I don't think I'll be able to."

"Okay. I want you to tell me everything that happened."

"Well, as you know, I was bitten." she nodded. "I lost a lot of blood, and fell unconscious. I was slapped awake by Rose." I choked up a bit when I said her name. "She told me that I had to get out. I asked about her, but she told me she wouldn't be coming. She said that the Strigoi that had been drinking from me had given her a choice: To let me be turned and walk away, or to be turned and let me walk away. Oh Alberta, she let me walk! And now she's a Strigoi because of it!" I cried. Tears ran down my face once again, and Alberta handed me a tissue.

She stared into space, and murmured, "She really did love him . . ."

I wiped the tears away, and my mouth fell open. "You knew?"

"Well, it was kind of hard to miss. I suspected it after the Spokane incident. I know that you both tried so hard to hide it, to stay away from eachother, but you couldn't. You really loved eachother, didn't you?"

"Alberta, I loved her with all my heart. She was the only person who ever really knew and understood me, and we loved eachother so much. I need her like I need air to breathe. She was my one true love, and now she's gone. I don't know what to do with myself; I'm confused, lost without her here." My voice sounded strangled, and my eyes burned with the tears I was shedding.

Alberta looked at me with sympathy. "Dimitri, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling. How it must have felt to leave her behind. To know that she's gone forever, and never coming back." She paused. "Dimitri, Rose was like my daughter. I've watched her grow up, become the woman she was. I miss her dearly, but to know that you've lost the only person you've ever loved, well, that would be unbearable. I can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now."

My eyes narrowed. "No, Alberta, you can't. It feels like half of my soul ripped away from me when I fled from that cave. I can't breathe; she was everything to me. Everything. I'll never get to take her to meet my family. I'll never get to see her with my ring on her finger. I'll never get to grow old with her, gray-haired and wrinkly, by my side. That asshole took everything from me when he made her make that choice. And I blame myself, because I shouldn't have been so weak. I should have fought, fought for my Roza! But I didn't. I got up and ran, because Rose told me to. And every single day that I live, I'll live with that regret and guilt! There's nothing that anyone can do to make this better for me. Without her, I feel like I'm already dead. And I might as well be." I saw Alberta's shocked expression, and continued. "But I'm going to try to live my life. Rose would have wanted it. So I'll do this one last thing, the thing that will make me have to endure the worst pain in the world, for her. I'll keep living." My voice had dropped from a shout to a whisper, and angry tears ran down my face. Alberta looked like she was trying to find the right words to say, but couldn't.

Finally, after a few moments, she spoke, her voice low. "Dimitri, I never knew. I don't blame you for wanting to stop living. But you're right. Rose would want you to carry on with your life. She'd want you to take care of Lissa and her friends, and comfort her mother."

I laughed, a bitter sound. "Speaking of her mother, that reminds me of something. Rose never once in her life got to meet her father. I bet he'll feel like crap when he finds out. And I hope that he does. Because he missed out on knowing the most amazing person on the planet. And I hope that he realizes that."

"Dimitri, you don't understand; Janine felt that it would be better for Rose if Ibrahim wasn't in her life. He wanted so badly to be, and she let him for the first year of Rose's life. But then she decided that he couldn't be in her life anymore. They argued all the time about it, and in the end, Janine won. If it were Ibrahim's choice, he would've stayed. He loved his little angel very much."

So it's Janine's fault that Rose never knew her father. I once said that Rose should give her mother more credit, but I know now that Janine doesn't deserve it. She kept her own daughter from her father. If that isn't cruel, then I don't know what is. "Do you think that Ibrahim will be at the memorial service?" I asked after a few moments.

Alberta paused, her brow furrowing. "I have no idea. If Janine calls him, then yes. If not, then he probably won't even know."

"But she has to call him!" I protested. "She was his daughter too!"

"I know. But it's her choice, Dimitri."

Then I thought of something. "Alberta, you wouldn't happen to know how I can contact him, would you?"

She seemed taken aback by my question. "Well yes, he donates money to the academy. I have all of his contact information. But Dimitri, you couldn't possibly call him!"

"Why not?"

"Because - Well -"

"He has a right to know. Rose was his daughter, and I won't let Janine deny him the chance to grieve her."

Alberta sighed, and went to her filing cabinet. She extracted a file, then handed it to me. "Don't tell Janine until you absolutely have to, okay?"

I nodded, grateful to Alberta. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Dimitri." She paused, seeming hesitant. "Do you want to tell the others? Because if you don't want to, then I can do it for you. I wouldn't hold it against you."

"No, I will. Rose wanted me to deliver some messages to everyone. Which reminds me, Rose wanted me to say thank you to you for looking out for her. She said that she's grateful that you took care of her when she was here."

Alberta looked shocked, but then her face softened. Her eyes became watery, and she whispered to herself. "I enjoyed every minute of it, Rose. You were a good student, and I'll never forget you." I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear it, but I did. Alberta didn't notice, and stood up out of her office chair, wiping a few stray tears away. "Come on, we had better get over to the Headmistress' office. Everyone will be waiting there."

Standing up ut of my chair, I nodded and followed her as we walked across the campus.

When we reached Headmistress Kirova's office, we walked right in. I immediately saw five pairs of eyes staring at me: Jade green, pale blue, hazel, emerald green and brown. The eyes of Vasilisa, Christian, Eddie, Adrian and Janine. Janine's eyes were so much like Rose's that I wanted to cry. But I didn't. I promised myself that I wasn't going to, because I wanted to be strong.

On the other side of the room, I noticed Headmistress Kirova and Stan, and Alberta walked over to join them. I stayed where I was, so that I could see everyone.

Vasilisa spoke first. "Guardian Belikov, please, please tell me that Rose is okay. Please." Tears pooled in her jade green eyes, and the expression on her face was so terrified that I felt like crying. She was so terrified for Rose. The thought of Rose sent me over the edge, and a lone tear slid slowly down my face.

The moment they saw the tear, they knew. Or at least the thought they knew.

Christian spoke next, his voice flat and expression pained. "She's dead, isn't she?" he asked. In that moment, I knew that he too was suffering. He and Rose were always fighting, but they had a brother/sister relationship. He loved her like she was his own sister.

"No," Their faces turned half-hopeful, but I soon took that hope and stomped on it. "Rose is a Strigoi."

My eyes didn't see Ellen and Stan's reactions; they were focused on Rose's friends. Christian and Eddie began to cry, Adrian seemed frozen in shock, and Vasilisa and Janine both fainted.

Did I do good with this chapter? Let me know what you thought of it in a review. I wanna get to at least 20 before another update. I hope that's not too much to ask :)

Songs listened to for this chapter:
Pretend - Secondhand Serenade
Last Time - Secondhand Serenade
Something More - Secondhand Serenade
Awake - Secondhand Serenade
A Twist In My Story - Secondhand Serenade
Time - Cute Is What We Aim For
Hipbones and Microphones - Cute Is What We Aim For
Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Half Alive - Secondhand Serenade
Take A Minute - K'naan