Wow, the last month has just gone by so quickly. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. Blame stupid A levels for being so freaking horrible. My first 2 exams are on Monday, then the next few weeks after that, so I won't be getting any writing done then. After that, however, I will be making a start on the next instalment of both this series and the Next Generation trilogy. I also have ideas for a couple of shorter stories, but am trying not to think of them too much until exams are over. But somehow, Dimitri is just so much nicer to think about that Chemistry. Ho hum.

Hope you enjoy this last chapter of Camping Trip- you've waited long enough for it. Thank you for the amazing number of great reviews this story has received. Every one is so appreciated.

Disclaimer: If I was already a published author, I wouldn't be worrying about my Lit exam this week. Therefore, Vampire Academy is not mine :(

Viktoria and Nikolai left early the next morning to catch their flight, Alberta and James dropping them off at the airport on their way back to St. Vladimir's. Sonya and Mikhail left in one of the small cars, my parents taking the other, leaving just the 8-seater for the 8 of us remaining. Along with our baggage it was a tight fit, but we managed to shove it all in as Dimitri dismantled the tents with his usual boy-scout skills.

Eddie, Sydney and Adrian took the back seats whilst Lissa, Christian and Mia sat in the middle. Dimitri and I were up front, meaning that within ten minutes of leaving the campsite we were already bickering over which radio station to play.

"This sucks," I complained, before changing the station. The sound of heavy metal filled the car, and Dimitri immediately flicked the dial back again. As soon as his hand was back on the wheel, I changed it back.
This went on for almost a minute, until it got to the point where our hands were clasped trying to keep the other away from the dial. Reaching over with my free arm, I thought I'd one-upped him as I changed the station back again as he had to keep one hand on the steering wheel. This didn't really work when Dimitri removed his other hand and steered with his knees. At this point, Christian interrupted our miniature battle.

Leaning forward between our seats, he switched the radio off altogether. "Get a room you two, or better still, focus on driving. Dimitri, I'm ashamed of how easily you got distracted then."

"I wasn't distracted," he scoffed, but moved one hand back to the wheel anyway. "I managed to stay alive through a high-speed chase with Rose in the car before; this is nothing."

The mention of high-speed chases and being on the run reminded me of something. "Are you ever going to let me drive?" I asked. "It's like you don't trust me or something."

Dimitri didn't take his eyes off the road, and to anyone else, it would look like he hadn't heard my question. Not me though- I knew him well enough to catch the barely perceptible tightening of his features, a barely there wince.

"You don't, do you?" I said incredulously. "Unbelievable. After everything we've been through together, you don't even believe I can drive properly. I'm offended, wounded-"

"Rose, I can see his point," Lissa piped up from seats behind. "You don't even have a licence. A real one, anyway."

This did get a reaction from Dimitri. He turned to look at me incredulously, and I shot Lissa a death glare in the rearview. "Thanks, bud. Now I'll never be allowed to drive."

"All this time, you've been begging me to let you drive, and you don't even have a licence?" Dimitri asked.

"Like that means anything," I snorted. "I grew up around rich people, remember? Andre turned 14 when I was 12, so I basically started to learn when he did. We'd take turns doing timed laps of the Dragomir estate. By the time it came to running away from the Academy, I could have been a pro getaway driver. After that, I was sort of busy evading capture from vampires of both kinds and staking the bad ones to be booking in driving tests. And I'm sure getting parental consent wouldn't have been exactly easy either."

"Somehow, I'm not actually that surprised."

Sydney looked confused. "But how did you manage to drive around for 2 years without a licence? Did you not get pulled over?"

All the ex-St. Vlad's kids shared a look over innocent Sydney's question. "You've seen my powers of persuasion over traffic cops, Syd. Lissa could always compel them if that didn't work."

"And we had fake licences," Lissa piped up. "We got them along with all our other fake Ids."

There was that look from Dimitri again. "Oh, deal with it Comrade." I fished around in my wallet for my Id. "On the plus side, it means that you can actually buy me a drink on our next day off. You won't be restricted to coke."

"You are incorrigible."

"And you love me for it," I shrugged. Honestly, I was quite glad that our jobs prevented us from being able to drink when we went out. It was irritating being reminded of how underage I still was when Dimitri could do whatever he liked.

It was Christian who interrupted my musings. "Um, who's driving in the car that you girls came in?"

"My parents, I think. But I ripped out the radios and Dimitri fixed the doors."

"Still," Christian looked sheepish. "We may still have a problem."

At this point, Adrian cursed, and Eddie knocked his head against the window. "You girls didn't happen to open the glove box on the way here, did you?"

"No... why?" I asked.

"Because that means the booby traps are still set. With stink bombs. And aerosol-propelled skin dye."

The amusement of thinking of my parents getting booby trapped only lasted so long, and it was just a matter of time before Adrian got bored and needed entertaining again. "Hey, Rose. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

"What, crazy in a suicidal way, or crazy in an entertaining way?"

"Entertaining. Something that happened before you came back to the Academy, because we know all that."

I turned to Lissa. "What do you think?"

"Pizza bike."

"Alright," I grinned. "So, this happened on the night we were being chased by Psi hounds. This is the story of how, down to my creative genius, we were able to get away." Christian rolled his eyes, but the showboating had worked to make light of a story that could have been uncomfortable. "So there we were, running from these freaky dogs, no chance of fighting them. We managed to climb over someone's garden fence and get up into a tree. The dogs didn't want to get too close to the lights in the houses, hid in the woods behind the house and waited for us to come down."

Adrian leaned forward, a false look of enthrallment on his face. His voice dropped to a stage whisper. "How did you get escape?"

"Ssh, I'm getting there. So, there was this new pizza place in town that was trying to compete with Domino's, so it promised to get all deliveries to houses in the area within 20 minutes."

"Trust Rose to know that," Eddie smirked.

"It tasted crap, and they closed down not long after. But still, not really relevant."

"How is any of this relevant?" Mia interrupted.

Lissa tutted. "You'll find out if you let her talk." I exchanged a glance with Dimitri to say story of my life. He smiled in return, encouraging me to carry on.

"We needed to get out of there- fast. So, I called for a pizza. 18 minutes later the pizza delivery kid turns up at the house on this super-fast Ducati and takes the Pepperoni to the door of the house behind the garden we're hiding in. Whilst the delivery guy is arguing with the owner about whether or not he ordered a pizza, Lissa and I jump out of the tree and get on the bike. I have about 30 seconds to work out how to ride the thing before pizza guy gives up and walks away." I grinned. "We were long gone. Plus, we got a free pizza."

Everyone was stunned, and a second later there were various questions from the people in the car. "You stole a pizza delivery bike?" "How did you manage to ride it?" "What did you do with the bike?" "What kind of pizza?"

I laughed at the last one. "Hawaiian. I know, disappointing. I'd seen enough people riding them on TV and it wasn't all that different to Andre's quad bike, just a little harder to balance, and Dhampir reflexes took care of that. I didn't steal it, I borrowed it. I rode it back to near the house the next day."

"Rose wanted to keep it though," Lissa added.

"Obviously. It was badass and totally fitted my rebel image at the time."

"An image you never tried too hard to lose. Guess we can add Grand Theft Auto to your delinquency file," said Christian. "Dimitri, you do realise what you're marrying, right? She stole a motorbike from a pizza boy."

I was about to point out that it was really nothing to the string of stolen cars Dimitri had left across the Midwest, and that I'd really only borrowed the bike, but there was no need.

"Yes. Someone who used their initiative to protect their charge in a difficult situation, despite not even having graduated." I turned to look at him incredulously, but he gave me a quick conspiratorial wink. I kept quiet, realising that this was Dimitri's way of getting back at Christian for all the snarky comments he'd made over the last week. "It's no wonder it took so long to find you two. Your ability to find a way out of any situation you're placed in is part of what makes you such a great Guardian."

I leaned over and played along, pecking Dimitri on the lips before looking smugly at Christian in the rear view mirror. "Insult backfired there mate."

Christian muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'so whipped', but it lacked his usual enthusiasm. Suddenly, he sat up straight. "I just realised something! I can't believe I never noticed it before."

"Probably due to your lack of brain cells," I jibed.

"Or the concussion, maybe. Sitting behind you two just made me have a flashback. When we went to save Lissa from Victor, I followed you two to the car so I could be sure to stowaway in the one most likely to arrive first. The two of you were having a hushed discussion about how the attack charm was actually a lust charm... then there was all the weird tension on the drive there, and when Dimitri got out I thought you were going to kiss." I was incredulous and mortified in equal parts, and a glance at Dimitri showed that he was feeling the same. "I knew first!" Christian shouted triumphantly. "Now who has a lack of brain cells?"

I let my head fall against the dashboard. "I should have just let you die."

We'd stayed in a hotel overnight, wanting to ensure that we'd arrive at Court during daylight. As we drove through the Court gates, I felt some of that apprehension about announcing our engagement again before squashing it down. People think what they liked. If they pissed me off, they'd have the imprint of a diamond engagement ring on their face for the next week.
They wouldn't know until tomorrow, anyway. Since Dimitri and Christian were supposedly just returning from Romania, having picked up the rest of us on the way here, Adrian used Spirit to stop the Court gatekeeper from noticing Lissa. The first time I'd been on gate duty I'd thought it was going to be kinda cool, since I'd have the power to turn people away, but nobody even noticed my scary butler voice.

Though it was Moroi night, there were still a few people around, so mine and Lissa's 'reunion' had to look convincing. The 'golden shadow' squealed when I came into sight, and I heard the real Lissa giggle behind me, still invisible to everyone else. I pretended to hug the illusion, careful not to let my arms pass through its nonexistent body. I then ushered it inside so that Christian could 'greet her' in private. Making out with a Spirit-made ghost apparently wasn't on the cards for today.

Hans had obviously been in on our plan, so early in the morning Dimitri and I were called in for a debrief on the supposed 'conference', but what was in reality a way to make sure we'd all survived the terrifying wilds of our campsite. What a complete waste of time that was going to be.

It turned out to be worth it, though, to see Hans' face when he caught sight of the ring for the first time.

"You're... I..." His eyes flicked between Dimitri and I, and I had to hold back both a laugh and an eye roll. "Uh, congratulations."

You had to feel sorry for the guy, really. Whilst he had accepted our relationship, it still had to be quite a shock. A Dhampir in a committed relationship with another Dhampir was rare, but not completely unheard of. Those two Guardians tying the knot? The stuff of rumours- taboo ones at that. Two well-respected Guardians openly admitting their intentions in the heart of Moroi society? It had probably never happened.

"Thank you," Dimitri said sincerely. I on the other hand, couldn't be so polite. I still had a reputation to uphold after all.

"You know, I can't decide if this news has shocked you more than finding out about us in the first place. I mean, the expression is the same, but it's lasting longer. Though maybe it changed faster before because you were angry..." I pretended to ponder the point. "Ah, yes, there. It changed. More irritated than angry though now."

"How do you know when I found out? You weren't there." Hans said.

"But Lissa was. Honestly I can't believe it took you so long. You and Steele were the only ones in the room that didn't know."

Dimitri looked lost, and that angry expression from months before finally made its appearance. "So Alberta did know! I knew it..."

I shot Dimitri a panicked glance, but he just looked at me as if to say I had to deal with this one. That's it; he was so not getting any tonight.

"So, Hans, um, you'll be getting your official wedding invite once we've finalised the official guest list and have finalised the date, but we just wanted to give you some advance warning to not schedule any raids or anything for early May. Flight arrangements to Russia are dealt with so no worries there. There'll be great cake. Speaking of food, I actually promised to have breakfast with the Queen- who is perfectly fine and much better for her holiday- so I have to go. See you later!"

I grabbed Dimitri's arm as I all but ran out of the room, and didn't stop until we were out of the Guardian HQ building.

"You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?" Dimitri's affectionate smile softened the words.

I grinned wickedly. "Well, I didn't hear you complaining last night when-" Dimitri's eyes were wide as he hastily covered my mouth with his hand, checking around to see if anyone had heard. I kissed his palm before freeing myself. "Relax Comrade, nobody heard."

He rolled his eyes, the slight red tinge of a blush already fading. He'd almost got used to our friends knowing personal details, and had accepted that I'd tell the girls practically everything, but would still turn red at the slightest mention of anything vaguely sexual in a public place. I would never say anything if people were actually in earshot, though. I wasn't that cruel- it was just that it was so freaking cute when he got all embarrassed.

We held hands as we walked slowly to the gym, where we'd get some sparring in before our shifts started.

"So, you've just invited our boss to our wedding. Anyone else you want to tell?"

"Well, Vika will be home by now so I'd imagine we'll have an excited call from your family before too long. Pretty much everyone else that matters knows already, unless you can think of anyone else..?"

Dimitri pretended to consider. "Now that you mention it, I was actually thinking that we should invite your old friend Guardian Alto..."

"Alright, that's fair after what I was going to say. But seriously, we haven't forgotten anyone right?"

"Who said I was joking?"

I socked him lightly in the arm, and he tried to feign hurt, but was smiling too much for it to be really successful. For someone so adept at schooling his features into an expressionless mask, he must have been truly excited to be failing so miserably right now.

He wasn't the only one. Yes, me, the great Rosemarie Hathaway, was getting excited at the thought of wedding dresses and guest lists. I figured I could still keep my badass reputation, so long as I never squealed over place settings.

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't wait to get planning this wedding, and then to walk down that aisle to where Dimitri would be waiting.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, drawing to a halt beside a little copse of trees.

Looping my arms loosely around his neck, I rose up onto my tiptoes. His hands came to rest on my hips, supporting me. I gazed into his eyes, seeing somthing like my own anticipation reflected back.

"We're getting married," I whispered, a smile sinding its way onto my lips.

"Yes, we are."

He pulled me in for a kiss as the stars burned brightly above us in the indigo sky.

Well, that's all for now. I want to thank you for sticking with this story, through more than 70,000 words, and I hope you stay tuned for the next instalment. I'm not exactly sure what it will be called yet, but probably something wedding-y. I'm so excited to write the wedding planning, the bachelor/ette parties, and obviously the wedding itself :D Fun times await, so keep an eye out for it!

Going to watch the end of Eurovision now, and probably the sneak peeks for the Castle season finale again. And then dream of Dimka and pretend that revision doesn't exist :3

Good luck to anyone else who has exams coming up over the next few weeks, I hope you all do amazing :)

Review and kiss Dimitri under the stars ;D

~ Dimitri's. Smexi. Shewolf xxx