Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

Previously on Cop an Attitude...

I barely managed to grab the gun. I aimed and silenced the dog. Getting to my feet, I realized just how much blood I had lost. The entire side of my arm was raw. I knew there were ripped tendons and muscles and broken bones, but I was blessed that the animal hadn't reached my throat.

I heard a shot. A sinking feeling of dread washed over me. I picked the gun up with my good hand and ran to the front of the house. What I saw made my heart drop to the pit of my gut.

Ambrose turned around and came at me. I ended his life with one bullet to the forehead. He fell flat on the concrete.

I dropped to my knees next to Roza and rolled her body over, brushing her curly hair away from her face. There, on her temple, was a perfect entry point. Lines of crimson dripped down her cheek and throat. I brought her limp, cold body into my arms.

"No. No. No. No…" I growled, refusing to believe it. "Goddamn it, Roza! You're not fucking dead. You wouldn't do that to me."

With uncontrollably shaking, bloody hands, I radioed for backup and ambulances.

Then I broke down.

"Damn it. You can't do this to me." I begged her, lightly patting her cheek, trying to make her wake up. My vision went blurry and I frantically blinked. I needed to see her right now more than ever. She was so beautiful and innocent it took my breath away. I kissed her forehead and the smooth skin of her cheeks and lips.

"I can't lose you, Roza."

I looked up into the sky as the love of my life lay dead in my arms, and screamed until my lungs collapsed.

DPOV:

The polished mahogany coffin lowered into the earth. Family and friends mourned their beloved's death. Countless tears were shed. Some held on to others like their life depended on it, like they would shatter into a thousand pieces if not for that vital comfort and support.

I watched with a sense of detachment as the men filled in the six foot hole with dirt, forever marking this eternal resting place. I thought I would be angry. I thought I would be regretful. I thought I would scream and wish I could have gone back and done differently, just to reverse everything that had happened that one fatal winter night.

But I felt nothing. Numb. Frozen. I was disconnected, like I was out of my body and watching the world occur around me from a far distance.

But I did have one purpose. I was here to repay a debt to Roza. I owed her this much since I'd failed in everything I had promised the love of my life. She deserved to know the man who had ruined her life was dead and never going to bother her again. I was at the funeral in her place, hopefully giving her some sense of closure, since she would never have the chance to see it for herself.

LPOV:

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Rose was in her hospital bed and gown, a bandage wrapped around her head. She looked so pale and lifeless…so unlike the vivacious woman I once knew. She was hooked and poked by a dozen machines. Their sounds were familiar to me, like an old song. Every beep was so constant, so absolutely maddening I wanted to destroy each and every one.

Tears trickled down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away. I needed to be strong. Rose needed that right now. But it was so hard to at times like these.

The white walls had become an enemy to me. They were closing in, trying to suffocate me, blind me. I wanted to scream. How much longer would this pain last? This giant gaping hole in my chest had to heal soon.

I was empty on the inside. It had been hard to find any purpose in my life lately. I had become a complete robot. I did basic daily functions—I showered, I dressed, I worked. Anything to keep my mind busy. But my body was on auto pilot. Christian very often had to remind and force me to eat.

I scooted forward and grabbed Rose's limp, cold hand. The tears came back with a vengeance. They forced the air right out of my lungs. I would give anything just to have her squeeze my hand back.

I had lost my partner, my best friend, my sister. I thought I had been all cried out weeks ago. It was a wonder how tears kept coming ever since that night the doctor had told us Rose was in a coma and it was anyone's guess when she, if ever, would come out of it.

The machines were the only thing keeping her alive. She was nothing but an empty shell. A body without a soul. A vegetable.

I kissed her hands and wrapped them in my own, forcing the tears back.

"Hey, dork," I spoke to her. "I know you can hear me right now. You're just being your usual stubborn self. Don't tell me you're pretending you're in a coma just so you don't have to wake up early for the morning shift."

I swallowed on a painful lump.

"Hey, there's something I really need to tell you. I've been keeping it secret for a while now. I would have let you know sooner…but then you pulled this three ring circus." My forced laugh was full of emptiness. "Just before the accident-" My voice cracked. "Christian asked me to marry him. We're engaged. I need you to wake up, Rose. I need you to be my maid of honor at my wedding. I need you to be here so we can grow old and cranky together. It can't end like this. It just can't."

As I sat there watching her, I was taken back to what seemed like years ago.

It had been just over a week since Rose had been shot and rushed to the hospital, clinging to her life by the smallest, weakest thread. We had almost lost her, but the doctors had rushed her to emergency surgery. After a seven hour operation and three transfusions to replenish her severe blood loss, Rose had stabilized and was rolled into recovery to be closely monitored.

I believed the nightmare had ended there and everything would get better. We already hit rock bottom.

I could not have been more wrong.

The doctor had carefully explained to me the very extent of damage that had been caused to Rose's body.

"There have been cases where the bullet has entered the head and travelled along the outside of the skull." He had said. "This is what happened to Rosemarie. When she was shot, she held up her arm to protect herself. That is what slowed the bullet, ultimately saving her life."

I had to take a seat. It was all just too much to hear.

"Do you need some water?" the doctor asked, concerned.

"No, I'm fine." I assured him. "Just a little lightheaded. Please, go on."

The doctor continued, "However, that does not mean it still didn't cause damage. It did, we are just unsure of the exact significance and extent of it. That is to be determined as Rosemarie's condition progresses."

I nodded, feeling nauseas. "Where did the bullet go?"

"You see, this is where it becomes peculiar. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it." The doctor took a seat, trying to find words to explain it in simple terms. "It travelled along the front…" he ran his index finger across my forehead, demonstrating. "Made a shallow entrance into her skull for some unfathomable reason below her left ear, and just barely grazed her brain."

"Is that why she is in a coma?" I was crying again now.

"Yes."

"When will she wake up?"

"I am very sorry to tell you this, but no one really knows. It could be today, tomorrow, or a decade from now. It all depends on the patient and the severity of their condition."

Hearing that was like swallowing a glass of needles. This couldn't be happening. Not to Rose. She was the strongest person I knew. She could beat this.

"That she is alive is a miracle in itself." The doctor said, patting my shoulder. "Count your blessings, darling."

I snapped back to the present and blinked away the surfacing tears. Before I had the chance to break down again, I kissed her forehead and left the hospital as fast as my feet would take me.

RPOV:

Everything was so quiet. I had never been more content with where I was. I was free of all pain, thoughts, heartache, and worries. I could stay in this peaceful darkness forever. Maybe this is where I truly belonged.

Then that familiar voice came to me. It soothed me. It made me feel loved. It made me want to die with the ache and sense of loss it carried.

The voice continued to speak to me, hurting me yet bringing comfort, like temporary arms wrapped around you. It was amazing to listen to, but the hollow feeling that followed was worse than ever being alone in the first place.

"I need you to wake up, Rose."

It was always like listening underwater. The sounds were blurry and broken up, but I clung on to every syllable like my life depended on it. Maybe it did.

"I need you to be here so we can grow old and cranky together."

My heart stopped.

Lissa.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, praying to the heavens she would hear me.

"It can't end like this." she said, and I knew she was about to leave me once more. I couldn't handle it. I needed her here with me.

Lissa! I'm here! I'm here! LISSA!

"It just can't."

Don't leave me here! Please take me with you. I miss you so much…

My mouth wouldn't move. I was trapped and paralyzed, like I had been cemented. I cried out in frustration, trying to claw my way out of this endless hole. I only fell deeper.

Lissa was gone, and I was left sobbing and emptier than ever before.

I waited for the peaceful, painless darkness to consume me once more. I just wanted to forget it all.

LPOV:

"I guess we can finally put this case to rest." I said, handing Dimitri Ambrose's folder.

"I hope so." he said, drinking his coffee. "It never ended the way I had imagined it."

I looked into his eyes, and saw everything I felt.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Dimitri set his mug down on his desk. "Please, take a seat."

I did. For a few long moments, I didn't say anything. Dimitri raised his brows expectantly, waiting for me to talk. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I miss her too. So much. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her."

He cleared his throat and spoke in a gravelly voice. "I don't think now's the time for this."

"Why not? What's the point of waiting anymore?" I challenged. "It's been eight months since the accident."

"I know exactly how long it's been." He rubbed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Trust me, I am very aware of that fact."

"I know how much Rose means to you."

"I love her so much it hurts me." Dimitri looked down for a long time, a far away look in his eyes, like he was remembering. A small, sad smile lifted his lips. "Sometimes I wish I had never got assigned to her case. Sometimes I think my life would have been so much better if I had never met her. But then I think of everything Rose brought me, all the love and laughter, and it makes all of this pain and waiting worth it."

"She was lucky to have someone who loved her as much as she loved you." I nearly started balling knowing what I had to say next. My throat squeezed tight and dry, like it wanted to keep me from every uttering these next dreadful words.

"I went to the hospital today and spoke with Rose's doctor." I said. "She still has shown no improvement, and he believes the best thing to do now is end her life support."

The look Dimitri gave me told me I might as well have slapped him across the face.

"I know you didn't come into my office to tell me this. I will not hear it." he said furiously, eyes like black ice. "Get the fuck out of here."

"You think Rose would want to go on like this, Dimitri? Like a fucking vegetable? The only thing keeping her alive is those fucking machines. We need to let her go. She deserves her peace. She deserves to rest."

I never realized what it would take out of me to say what I just had. The truth hurt, but we both needed it. I was done with denial. I was done waiting. I was going to get my closure. Rose would always be my sister and I would never forget her, but I needed to move on—at least from this absolute miserable chapter of my life.

"I know she'll come out of this. She has to."

"I just want what's best for Rose."

"You so much as jeopardize her existence, and I'll kill you."

His words were as sharp as a knife, and for a moment, I just stood there, stunned. I stared back at him, processing his warning. I nodded and swallowed on a dry throat. "I understand." I told him and left his office.

"How you handled that guy was pretty hot, doll." Christian said, climbing into the passenger seat of the squad car. "I'm not going to lie. Huge turn on."

"Everything turns you on."

"When it comes to you, hell yes."

I laughed, pulling out of the police station. "I'm absolutely starved."

"How about some burgers? My treat."

"Gee, I'm touched. I really think all of this money and power is getting to your head."

"I think you need to get to my head."

I rolled my eyes and snorted, turning into the driveway of the fast food joint. "What do you want to drink?"

"Sprite."

"That's such a sissy drink." I teased before placing our orders.

It had been such a long day. My body ached and was bruised from wrestling with a couple of assailants. All of the paperwork and booking had given me a pounding headache. I couldn't wait to pig out, shower, and crash. Oh, how I longed for home sweet home.

I parked, unbuckled, and began to feast.

"You're so mean to me." Christian said, stuffing his mouth full of French fries. "There are nights when I think of some of the things you say to me. I'll just hold my pillow tight and cry myself to sleep."

"Oh, lord, yes." I chuckled. "I'm just a terrible, cruel human being. You must be terrified of me."

"It's true. I am."

I rolled my eyes and groaned when I felt my cell vibrate against my hip. "No more work." I whined around a mouthful of burger, looking at the small screen.

"Who is it?" Christian asked.

"I have no idea. Private number."

"Just ignore it."

"What if it's important?"

"It can wait until tomorrow. You're all mine tonight."

"I can't argue with that." I said, letting it go to voicemail.

"I have you trained so well." Christian gave a cocky smirk.

"Oh, shut your face." I socked him in the arm. "We all know I wear the pants in this relationship."

"Yeah, but who takes those pants off at the end of the day? I do. The man. I'm the boss. But I prefer to be called The Champ."

The phone buzzed with a new voice mail. Christian growled when I picked it up and held it close to my ear.

"What?" I snapped, listening. "It's only thirty-seven seconds long. I didn't answer the call, did I?"

He didn't look pleased but continued to keep eating.

The phone slipped out of my hand, clattering against the armrest. Everything seemed to stop for a moment as my brain tried to process the words. I wasn't even sure I was breathing.

"Lissa? Lissa? Lissa!" Christian demanded, shaking me softly. "What the hell was on that message? What the fuck is wrong? Tell me now. Answer me, Lissa."

"It was the doctor." I said, not really registering what was coming out of my mouth. "Rose is awake."