We showered together, neither quite ready to let go of the other and at six made our way downstairs ready for dinner with my father. If anyone had overheard our love making, they didn't let on. However, while no one else might realize it, something about the experience had fundamentally changed how I felt about Dimitri, and he seemed to feel the same way.

He'd said he was going to make me his, and whether he'd meant to or not he'd succeeded. He'd also promised me he was forever mine, and I believed that, too. The knowledge that he saw me as irrevocably his, and himself as always mine, was a game changer. It did a lot to dispel my insecurities and fears. Dimitri could have any girl he wanted, yet he wanted me as much as I wanted him. And from here on forward, we'd face every challenge together. As partners.

We sat on the sofa, cuddled against one another, enjoying some alone time while the others dressed for dinner. I kept giving him shy little looks, and he'd respond by kissing me tenderly or caressing me. We were lost in our own little world, nervous and excited about the promises we'd made to each other.

"So that's that settled then," Yeva commented, giving us a knowing look as she walked through from her bedroom to the kitchen.

I didn't wonder how she knew about the shift between us – Dimitri had warned me she just knew things.

"It was never in doubt, Babushka," Dimitri said knowing exactly what she was getting at, his eyes not leaving mine. "I'll never love another. It will always be Roza for me."

I blushed, but I didn't take my eyes from him.

"I feel the same way about Dimitri."

"That is as it should be," Yeva grunted, sounding like she might be pleased. It was honestly a little hard to tell with her.

Olena was nervous as she fluttered around the kitchen. Dimitri whispered she was worried about Abe coming for dinner, but also she was stressing out about cooking for so many while still trying to create a meal with all Dimitri's favorites. We tried, individually and together, to offer our assistance, but it was Yeva who eventually sent Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri, Paul and I outside with a large basket along with instructions to pick various fruits and vegetables from her plot. It was clear she just wanted us out of the house.

As we walked around in the garden in the twilight, Dimitri pointed out things he wanted to fix around the house while we were visiting, the implication being that Eddie, Meredith and I would be helping with this.

"You two seem… different," Eddie said tentatively. "I don't know what it is, but it's like you're more… together?"

Dimitri looked at me; a whole love story contained in a single glance.

"It's being here," I explained. "We've never been able to be ourselves anywhere else, and here we can. I'm sorry if it's a bit much…"

"It's not too much at all," Meredith said, giving the two of us a smile. "It's beautiful to see, and everyone is so happy for you."

"Rose!" Abe greeted enthusiastically.

He was at the door right at 7 pm, carrying an honestly enormous bunch of flowers. He presented these to Olena with a flourish before turning to Yeva, passing her a bottle of vintage port.

"Thank you although you've wasted your money. I never drink," Yeva declared imperiously, giving Sonya a reproving look when her snort was hastily converted into a very unconvincing sneeze. I also stifled a giggle. Dimitri had told me while the old woman claimed never to touch a drop, she was rather partial to a sherry or port before bed each night.

Abe introduced Pavel who followed Abe through the door, carrying perfume for each of the Belikov girls, the latest aspirational toy for Paul and some little dresses for Zoya. Abe had gone to an effort to discover who lived in the household, and to bring a thoughtful gift for each of them.

Showing Abe through to the living room, Olena asked her guests to sit while she and Karolina finished the dinner preparations. It was a little awkward, but Abe's natural ability to further a conversation helped. Within minutes, he had Viktoria telling him all about her studies at St. Basil's. She was meant to be there, now, but Olena had kept her home so she'd be here for Dimitri's homecoming.

Before too long, the twelve of us were installed at the table, little Zoya already in bed for the night. At his mother's request, Dimitri led the family and guests in prayer before we sat down to enjoy the feast Olena and Karolina had prepared. The food was delectable but better than anything was seeing my love's face lit up with joy simply being home for a meal with his family.

"You love being here, don't you?" I asked as he was busily feeding me some of the delicacies Olena had made.

"I do. But more than anything, I love having you here."

I quickly swallowed as he leaned forward to brush his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, one hand stroking the side of his face. We probably would have kept going, had not someone cleared their throat.

I pulled back and looked up in time to see everyone at the table watching us.

"Sorry," I muttered in embarrassment, although Dimitri didn't seem in the least fazed that we'd just been smooching at the dinner table.

"Well I guess I don't need to ask how things are going with you two," Abe chuckled.

We managed to keep it PG for the rest of the dinner as I shoveled down everything in sight. The table had been loaded, and it had seemed impossible we'd finish all the food, but between us all, we'd managed it. The meal finally finished, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I jumped up to make tea and clear the table.

"Now you lot, give Olena and I a minute. We need to discuss the terms of you staying here."

I shot my father a wary glance. So far he'd been very generous, but I knew from Dimitri he could be a shrewd negotiator. I didn't want to see him shafting Olena or taking advantage of her generosity.

My eyes flicked to Pavel, and he gave me a reassuring smile.

Abe started by pulling out a bottle of wine and pouring himself and Olena a glass. I knew from Dimitri she very rarely drank, but she took a sip to be polite.

"Pavel here has helped me do some calculations. Basing it on what it costs me to feed my Guardians, I've worked out a weekly cost of six thousand rubles."

Olena paused and considered it. I had no idea of the currency conversion, but she nodded and seemed to think it was fair.

"That's for food. Of course, there's accommodation as well, so I thought a round ten thousand rubles a week should cover it?"

"You don't need to pay for accommodation, nor should you pay for Dimitri. He is my son, and this is his home."

"Be that as it may, he is here training my daughter and her friends. You should not be out of pocket. Ten thousand rubles a week. Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"How much is that in US money?" I asked Dimitri quietly where we were standing in the kitchen eavesdropping. There was something about the glint I saw in my father's eye that I didn't trust.

"About a hundred and seventy dollars," Dimitri said, not looking happy. Even though I knew the exchange rate was in her favor, it didn't seem like very much to feed and house four people for a week, and by the look of it, Dimitri thought the same thing.

"Yes. That will be fine," Olena said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Excellent!" Abe said looking very pleased with himself. He reached into his wallet and pulled out some notes, counting out forty thousand rubles.

"Here's the first week. I thought perhaps I could drop by after Church on Sunday with the next week's installment?"

Olena looked shocked.

"Mr. Mazur. We agreed on ten thousand rubles a week…"

"Call me Abe, please. And yes, that's right. Ten thousand rubles a week each, so forty thousand rubles for the four of them," Abe said, deliberately misunderstanding her.

"That's far too much," Olena gasped, appreciating she'd been hoodwinked into accepting a lot more than she was comfortable with.

"Not at all. My daughter has inherited her mother's very healthy appetite. In fact, we might need to renegotiate if you find she's eating you out of house and home," he laughed, turning and giving me a cheeky wink to let me know he knew I'd been listening the whole time.

Satisfied that Abe wasn't trying to fleece Olena, Dimitri and I returned to washing the dishes.

"Thank you," I whispered to Abe when I sat next to him once the dishes had been washed and dried.

"I don't know what you mean," he said with a mischievous smile.

I hugged him anyway.

"You and Dimitri look very happy?" he commented.

"We are. It's been less than twenty-four hours, and I love being here with him. I can honestly say it's the happiest I've ever been," I said, my eyes drifting to where Dimitri was chatting with Eddie and Sonya.

"I'm glad for you. Being in love must be a wonderful thing."

"It wasn't love for you and Mom?"

He sighed and looked at me. I got the sense he'd been waiting for me to ask about this.

"Your mother and I had a fun weekend together. We played tourist, spent half the time arguing, the other half in bed, but that's all there was to it. It wasn't love for me, and I don't think it was for her either."

He was watching me closely.

"Does that upset you?"

"A little," I replied. "More than anything it makes me sad. I don't Mom's ever been in love."

"She never found anyone?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not that I know of. But then she doesn't share much with me. What about you? Have you ever been in love?"

He shook his head.

"I've enjoyed the company of some wonderful women over the years, but a relationship was never where I put my energies."

"It's not too late, you know. You're not exactly ancient!"

"Says the eighteen-year-old in love," he teased. "It's alright, Rose. Just now the only relationship I want to focus on is ours."

I smiled at him, happy to hear he still wanted us to get to know each other better. Not long after, Abe and Pavel stood to take their leave.

"Did you come by car?" Karolina asked the two of them, looking out the window.

"Yes we did," Pavel answered.

"Oh good – it's just started to rain, and it looks like we'll be in for quite a storm tonight."

"I told you so," Yeva said with a satisfied grin as Dimitri stood up rolling his eyes to fetch extra blankets for Eddie, Meredith and our room.

I didn't want to open my eyes the next morning - even when it was Dimitri kissing me into wakefulness.

"Come on, Roza. You know you'll feel better once we train…"

I groaned. He was right, but I would have liked it even more if we could sleep in for another hour before training!

"If you don't come down soon, Eddie's going to eat all the blini," he coaxed.

I opened my eyes and sprang to my feet, pulling on the sweats Dimitri had thoughtfully laid out for me.

"My blini," I grumbled, following him down the stairs.

Olena was already up and had cooked up a feast.

"I've missed Dimitri's early morning training sessions," she said with a motherly smile. "He'd be up at six and at the gym by seven."

"I thought he lived at St. Basil's and trained there?" I asked curiously, waving to Eddie and Meredith as they wandered in.

"He did. But he still trained on the weekends and school holidays. He was very dedicated to his training."

"Still is," I laughed, leaning forward to kiss my man before swiping the blini he had on his fork.

"Roza," Dimitri growled in warning.

"My blini!" I said, shoving it into my mouth and swallowing it.

He shook his head, and Meredith laughed.

"Has she always been like this?" he asked.

"Yes," Eddie and Meredith both replied, laughing at my expense.

After eating, we all pitched in to get the kitchen to rights before setting off on a run around the town. It was muddy because of the storm the night before, so we ran on the roadway.

"I still can't believe I'm in Russia," Eddie said as we ran, looking at everything around him with interest.

"I know! I still can't believe Abe made it happen."

"He really cares for you," Meredith said kindly. "You can tell."

"Wish my father was a loaded mob boss!" Eddie laughed.

Dimitri looked at him sharply.

"Mr. Mazur is paying for you to be here, Castile. A little respect is in order."

I put my hand on Dimitri's back.

"It's ok, Comrade. Eddie doesn't mean anything by it. I know he values everything everyone's doing to help us."

"Yeah, sorry. I was just mucking around. I'm lucky to be here, and I really appreciate it," Eddie said seriously. "I know this is a great opportunity, and I have you and Rose to thank for it."

Dimitri appeared mollified.

"You're here on your own merit," he conceded. "You all are. But we're going to be working hard. It's not just St. Vladimir's reputation on the line; it's mine, too."

I hadn't thought about that. Once it became known Dimitri had personally trained us for the six weeks before graduation, people would expect us to be good. If anything, it just added to my desire to blitz my trial and the elimination fights. I wanted everyone to see that Rose Hathaway was every bit the badass Dimitri Belikov was and that we belonged together. Maybe if everyone else could see it, I could convince Christian, too.

"For the next few days we're going to be focusing on strength and endurance," Dimitri explained as we ran. "The best moves in the world won't save you if you don't have the strength to carry them out."

It was like when he'd brought us back to St. Vlad's. The serious 'zen' life lessons. It had taken me a while to appreciate them, but I got it now. I got him.

"We're up for it, Comrade," I assured him.

Our run at an end, we'd arrived at the gym. Walking inside, I could see there were ten Dhampir inside training. Some promised, some not.

"It's busiest in the mornings, so I said we wouldn't use the equipment until 9 am," he explained setting us stretches and then floor work. Once we'd finished that, he ran us through some new throwing techniques in slow motion, getting us to practice against each other on the mats.

By 9 am we had the gym to ourselves, so then he started us in on our weights and reps. We worked out for an hour and then it was time to stop and rest and listen to more theory. I was surprised to see Abe, Pavel, and two younger Guardians, Kirk and Yang, turn up. Pavel ended up teaching us along with Dimitri while Kirk and Yang demonstrated and then took turns working through some new techniques with us.

Unsurprisingly, I was ahead of Eddie and Meredith. Dimitri had already shown me some of the moves he was introducing to them, so Pavel worked with me showing me variations I hadn't seen before. While I loved being trained by Dimitri, it was good being trained by someone else, too.

"I didn't think this would be Abe's thing?" I commented looking across to where Abe sat on a bench to the side watching us and working on his laptop.

"I've known your father for twenty years, and this is the first time he's shown any interest in Guardian training," Pavel laughed before turning serious. "I don't want to speak out of turn, but your father has become very fond of you."

He said it kindly, but there was a warning behind his words.

"He's very special to me, too. I grew up with no one, Pavel. Meeting Abe has been nothing short of wonderful. I'm very grateful to have him."

Pavel considered my words.

"I've never seen him put himself out there like this for anyone… He's flown across the world and reorganized his whole schedule so that he can spend time with you…"

"I'm not getting any younger. What are you trying to say?" I asked, sick of beating around the bush.

"I hope you actually care for him, at least a little, and that you want to know him. I'd hate to think you'd take advantage of how he feels," Pavel replied.

My immediate response was anger, but then I tried to see it from Pavel's point of view. He knew my father better than I did, and whatever changes he'd seen were obviously significant if he felt he needed to speak to me about it. It underscored the point - in some ways Abe and I were still perfect strangers.

"Pavel you saw my Mom and how things are between us. I grew up at the Academy, and I've never had a proper parent. I know it's new to him, and it's new to me too, but Abe is my dad. We're going to have to play catch-up, but he's become very special to me. Not because of all this," I said gesturing about me with my hand, "but because of that," I continued, pointing to where Abe was working on his computer at the side of the gym – there just because he wanted to be a part of what I was doing.

Pavel smiled and looked relieved.

"I am not sure I should tell you this, but maybe you can pretend it was on that Alchemist database you hacked into? He never makes a fuss about it, but next Sunday is his birthday…"

Oh! Abe's birthday would be the perfect way to show him how much I appreciated everything he'd done for me, and how much I cared. I'd have to confide in Dimitri, of course, but between the two of us, I'm sure I could come up with a suitable way to celebrate and show him he was valued.

I looked at Pavel and gave him a genuine grin.

"Thanks for letting me know. I won't tell him you said anything," I promised. "I'm not sure what, but I'm going to plan something… I'll keep you in the loop, but I might need your help."

"Dad's the word," he joked, touching the side of his nose before trading out with Dimitri to go and work with Meredith.