When Rose is shot by Tasha Ozera in Last Sacrifice, both Lissa and Adrian use all of the Spirit they can wield to try and bring her back. In a shocking turn of events, Rose is not only healed, but somehow ends up somewhere she never could have imagined. Canon up until Time-Travel. Rated T for language. First multi-chapter fic.

I watched my mother with fascination. I'd listened to her tell her stories. I'd seen and felt her fight. But really, truly, I'd never seen her in action in a real-life crisis. She showed every bit of that hard control she did around me, but here, I could see how necessary it was. A situation like this created panic. Even among the guardians, I could sense those who were so keyed up that they wanted to do something drastic. My mother was a voice of reason, a reminder that they had to stay focused and fully assess the situation. Her composure calmed everybody; her strong manner inspired them. This, I realized, was how a leader behaved.

Frostbite

-Richelle Mead

Bonds of Time

Chapter Nineteen

Blinding

They say that your life flashes before your eyes before you die. For me, it was much the same. When the blinding light faded, I watched from a distance as my three year old self fell onto the pavement.

My knees were scraped and I had tears in my eyes, but my mother pulled me to my feet.

"You're such a brave girl, Rosie." She smiled at me as she picked me up and carried me back into the apartment.

Then I was there on my first day of school, it was the day when my mother would leave me to go back to being a full time guardian.

"You'll do just fine, baby." My mother told me as she drove through the Academy's gates. "I'm very proud of you."

Suddenly I was in the Royal ballroom as Lissa knelt down wearing a gorgeous golden gown. Chrisitan stood off to her left. They had both aged considerably and there were two young children standing on either side of them as they watched Queen Tatiana place the crown on Lissa's head. They smiled and clapped as Lissa looked to the back of the room. Dimitri stood there, looking healthy and strong as ever but much older. He smiled and clapped as he joined everyone in the room in kneeling before the newly crowned Queen.

And then I opened my eye once again to find the stars shining brightly overheard and my entire body wracked with pain. My right eye felt like it was swollen shut and my jaw felt like it was broken. A portion of the concrete ceiling had fallen off and shielded me from the blast, but the explosion had destroyed everything else in sight. It also had shifted the rubble enough to free my trapped and broken arm. Dead silence surrounded me as I stared around into the flames and smoke. My deafness unnerved me far more than I liked to admit. My left arm ached badly as I pulled it close to my chest and tried to climb my way out. It wasn't an easy task. Flames licked at my shoes as I pulled my way up with one hand into the smoldering remains of the garage. My hip and leg scraped along the unforgiving surface, eating a hole in the side of my thin slacks and creating a sharp burning sensation along my thigh and calf.

The explosion had singed my hair and the smell of it was horrible. The nails and fingertips and fingertips on my right hand slipped and slid on the rough cement, cutting at the flesh, but I did not let go. The flames came closer and the smoke thickened as I pulled myself into what was left of the garage. My legs were shakier than a newborn colt as I took one slow step after another through the rubble.

I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I had escaped from that amount of destruction. Sure, I was battered, bruised and more than a little burnt, but I was alive. The darkness that surrounded me was testament to that fact. The ghosts swirled around me, guiding me and pushing me to keep going. The moonlight made the smoke glow like a blue mist as I stepped out into the open air. Flashing yellow lights in the distance caught my eye and I changed course and walked to where they were coming from. Everyone was supposed to have left by now. Adrian had come through for me and gotten the chopper here in time to get the injured Moroi out before I had blown the bomb.

The scene I walked up on would forever be etched into my memory. Arthur's hand was on Dimitri's shoulder as he kneeled on the ground with his head in his hands. Adrian was arguing with Tamara about something, I had no clue what about as all I could see was there mouth's moving. Adrian turned at pointed towards the ruins behind me and his eyes went wide as they met mine. He shoved Tamara away as he ran toward me. I held up my good arm to stop him when he was a few feet away and narrowed my good eye at him and shook my head gesturing at my injuries. I looked up to see Dimitri slowly walking toward us; his fists were clenched at his side as he brushed past Adrian. And then I was in his arms and I no longer cared about the pain. I was home.

My body trembled at his touch and I didn't fight the feeling. I put my good arm around his neck and pulled his forehead to mine. He said something and I had to pull away and shake my head, pointing to my ears and letting him know that I had no clue what he was saying. His eyes narrowed as he ran a hand along my neck and pulled back fingers that were sticky with thick red blood. I grimaced and shrugged as he carefully guided me to the SUV where Arthur stood smiling and Tamara shook her head with a small grin on her face.

Adrian surprised me by bringing a hand to my cheek as I sat down beside him. Dimitri sat on my right, holding my good hand as I felt the tingling pull of Adrian healing me. I wanted to pull away, but I could feel how much he needed to do this. Slowly, my hearing came back, and I could hear the smooth purr of the motor and the tires spinning along the rough pavement. I grabbed Adrian's hand and removed it from my cheek.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, "but I'd like to heal on my own from here."

"She speaks!" Arthur looked at me from the rearview mirror as Dimitri held my hand tightly. "You did good today, child. Janine would be proud."

My breath caught in my throat and my voice croaked as I asked a question that had weighed on me since before the blast. "What will happen to her?"

Tamara turned around in her seat and put a hand on my knee. "There's a team on their way now. They'll get her back to court for us."

Guardian funerals were usually held in their hometowns, but for the life of me I didn't know how I'd begin to plan such a thing. I had never met any of my mother's family. Hell, I didn't even know if she liked her hometown. Dimitri squeezed my hand gently and I didn't hesitate to lean onto his side as I watched the road. Arthur smiled at us in the rearview mirror and I took that as a sign that he and Tamara were not bothered by the relationship I had with my mentor. Adrian held my other hand as I fell into a restless doze.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room I did not recognize. It was very nice and well decorated, the twin bed that I was in was comfortable and I didn't want to move, hell I just wanted to go back to sleep and forget the past twenty four hours. My hand felt warm and heavy and I looked over to see that Dimitri had fallen asleep with his head resting on the side of my bed, while holding my hand. My fingers grazed over his silky hair as I listened to the even sounds of his breathing. The fit of coughing that overcame me was not something that I could contain. My lungs and throat burned as I sat up and coughed more than I ever had before.

"Roza," Dimitri said quickly as he stood and pulled into his arms, "try to take small breaths. You've inhaled a lot of smoke."

"Where are we?" I asked quickly.

"Back at the lodge." He brushed the hair out of my face. "You slept through the drive and most of the flight. We got back an hour ago."

"Oh," my mind swam as I tried to remember any of it, "how long am I in for?"

Dimitri chuckled as he helped me lie back down. "Just for the night."

"Well that sucks." I grimaced.

"Your father will be here in the morning." Dimitri said solemnly. "I hope you don't mind that I told him what happened."

"How did you find out who he is?" I asked curiously.

"Your cell phone was ringing in your bag on our way back." Dimitri told me. "He seemed quite adamant that he be here to see you."

"She's gone." Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes. "I just can't believe that she's gone."

"I'm so sorry, Roza," Dimitri kissed my forehead. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just stay." I squeezed his hand as I turned on my side.

"What you did back there scared the hell out of me." Dimitri bent down until he was eye level with me. "But I want you to know that I love you too."

With that he kissed me gently as he wiped the tears from my cheek.

When I woke up later that day, I felt much better and was released from the hospital with my arm in a cast. Adrian and Dimitri had both turned into mother hens on me and had made me go straight to my room to rest, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

My father stood in the room, speaking to Lissa, when the three of us walked in. Lissa rushed to my side and pulled me into a hug. Hell, even Christian didn't hesitate to hug me and I couldn't resist planting a kiss on his cheek just to see him squirm. But my father stood there looking like a statue as he stared at me.

"Rosemarie," he called me by the name that my mother was so fond of and I couldn't help it as I stumbled toward the couch.

He grasped my arms and pulled me toward him. "I'm sorry, little one."

"I'm sorry." I cried, not caring who else was around. "I couldn't save her."

"Your mother loved you very much." He told me. "I know that she would be glad that you are safe."

He was right. My mother's ghost had stayed with me until I had gotten to safety. She wasn't angry with me. But the thought of never seeing her again ate at my very soul. I wanted her to be there when I graduated and got my promise mark. I wanted her there for every big moment in my life. But more than anything, I just wanted her to back.

End Chapter Nineteen

Thoughts? Comments? Let me know.

Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! I love to hear what you have to say.

I will be taking a brief break from this story to start writing the companion piece from Dimitri's POV. Be sure to add me to your Author Alert list if you are interested in reading it. The title will be Bonds of Fate. I will still be continuing Bonds Of Time. It has a very long while to go before it's over.

Special thanks to Caden29 for her supreme awesomeness in editing and proof reading. ::sends tequila and limes::