– DIMITRI –

We spent the rest of the day putting everything in order for Rose's return. If we hurried, we'd have just time to make the original flight arrangements that Lissa had put together for this evening. Marie arrived back at the apartment a half an hour or so after Rose agreed to return to Court, and didn't seem surprised at all at the news.

"What about rent?" Rose seemed worried about every aspect of leaving Marie behind, and I couldn't help but wonder just how much of an imposition Rose's sudden departure would be for her friends and life here. Things like shared rent and termination notice had never been a part of my life and I hadn't factor it into the equation initially. "Do you have enough time to find another roommate? I can pay my portion for next month too, maybe even the month after that."

"Ivy, sweetie. It's fine. We just paid Eric yesterday, and I'm sure I could give him our 30 day notice if we needed to. But we don't. I just heard last week that Rachel was looking for a new place and I bet she'd jump on the chance to take your old room. It'll be fine. I'll be fine."

I didn't know any of the names that Marie mentioned, but her assurance seemed to calm Rose a little.

"What we do need to worry about is how we're going to pack up everything before tonight. I was hoping we could grab some In-N-Out before you guys leave for the airport. You know they don't have them on the East Coast, right?"

"Oh crap. I didn't think about that," Rose stared off with a bit of concern in her tone.

It took me a second to realize that Rose was more worried about the burger joint than packing up her belongings.

It turns out that Rose hadn't gathered many personal items during her time here, and since she had a fully stocked room set up with Lissa, she didn't care about bringing many items like her bedding or a second hand table lamp. After loading up a small suitcase of clothing, many of which had come back here from Court anyways, and a box or two of small trinkets, Rose's room was ready to go. I used an old catalog page to wrap the last picture frame – one containing a photo Marie and Rose dressed as an angel and devil, respectively – and set it into one box while Rose slid several notebooks beside it. I recognized a familiar black one just before she closed the box and taped it shut without bothering to mark the contents.

"That's the last of it," she declared. Her hands came together over her head as she arched the fatigue out of her back and I turned away before my gaze drifted down her body. Despite Rose coming home, there were still a few things we needed to talk about on a more personal level and I wasn't about to take any liberties until we did. "Jason wasn't exactly thrilled that I'm leaving work so abruptly, but he'll survive. He's just overacting, I think. Losing a dancer with so little notice isn't nearly as hard as losing a good bartender."

"I hear that!" Marie's too-eager agreement earned a playful smack from her soon-to-be ex-roommate. She continued with a good natured laugh. "Sorry hun. I don't mean to sound rude, 'cause you're one of the best. Still, by the time I'm done slinging drinks at those boys, they aren't able to tell you apart from the pole itself."

The girls fell into a fit of laughter as I tried to stay silent and unnoticeable on the other side of the room. Thankfully, blending into the background was a fairly common tool in the guardian's arsenal and they continued on as if I wasn't there.

"Are you sure I'm not putting you through any trouble? I can stay here a little longer if you need me too."

My back tensed at the question, the hairs on my neck silently standing on end as I anticipated the Marie's response with bated breath.

"I'll be fine," Marie insisted, "and I'm not about to unpack all of your stuff. Just give me a hug and let's go get some food."

"Fine," she agreed, stepping into the waiting embrace. Her next words were muffled slightly by Marie's shoulder, "but I'm buying. Okay?"

"Deal."

After dropping all but the suitcase off at a local shipping center, eating what could only be described as the world's messiest fries and what Rose was still insisting to be the most delicious burger (though, it was the last time I would ever allow her to order for me), plus a few tears that I firmly decided to ignore as Marie and Rose shared one final hug before we walked into the airport...I could finally relax. Some part of me half expected Rose to suddenly change her mind. Honestly, I wouldn't blame her if she did.

The truth of the matter was that nothing had really changed in the few weeks since she had left. Rose's place at Court was still undetermined. She was still Unpromised. She was still a dhampir in a society that saw us as second class. She was still walking into a world that was as unsettling as it was before she left.

The amount of sacrifice that Rose was making hit me all at once, and for a moment I felt my chest contract painfully. She was looking out the window while the final few passengers stowed their luggage and found their seats, and I could practically feel the anxiety radiating off of her. Of course, when she caught me staring, she tried to comfort me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, swallowing my worries. "I'm just glad you're here. Thanks for coming back."

"Thank you for coming to get me." Her grin fell a little as she continued. "I guess I'm just wondering what happens next."

"Me too. But don't stress about it too much. We'll figure things out. I'm here for you, Rose. I promise." I hadn't even realized I had reached for her hand until I felt her squeeze mine in response. Our hands were still clasped when the next words spilled from her mouth.

"I want to take things slow."

"Excuse me?" She lost me somewhere, though admittedly I had gotten a little distracted.

"You and I. I...can we please take things slow?" She glanced at me almost shyly before her rant pressed forward quickly before I could answer. "I want to get to know you. I know we were close and I know those feelings are still there but you've changed, and I've changed, and I don't know if I can just pick up where we left off, you know? I'm not sure if I can just jump right back into bed, not that I regret sleeping with you – really, I don't, because you are amazing – but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get caught up in all that until we have time to get reacquainted and figure things out. So...is that okay?"

A pretty blush colored her cheeks, and while my answer was obvious, it took me a second to say anything because I was almost amused at her concern. "Of course, Roza. We can take things at whatever pace you're comfortable with. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to getting to know you. We've never really had the chance to court properly, and I would love to take you out on a real date like you deserve."

Rose smirked at me, her dimple becoming prominent on one cheek with that lopsided smile. "Court?"

I shrugged and replied off-handily, "Call me old-fashioned. I'm a traditionalist."

"No kidding," she laughed before hesitantly moving my arm around to settle on her shoulders as she laid her head against my chest for the long plane ride back to Court.

After a few minutes of silence...I couldn't help it any longer. "Amazing?"

Rose quickly turned to hide her face in my shirt. "Oh, shut it." Through her laughter, I could feel the heat rise in her cheeks and her lips work upwards in a little grin.

I've never had to think too hard about breathing, but at this moment, I had to remind myself that air was necessary to life because I was fairly certain that I could survive on the feeling of her smile against my heart forever. I relaxed my arm, tucking her just a little tighter, and focused on keeping my breath even so she could rest comfortably as long as she wanted to. As the plane took off, I smiled with the realization that Rose wasn't the only one coming home, but I'd finally be home too.

~ ROSE ~

I don't know what was more nerve wracking: not knowing what was waiting for me, or knowing exactly what was waiting for me. I could feel Lissa's excitement before we ever made it to the wards.

"Did you tell them?"

"Tell what to whom?" Dimitri's eyes never left the road. We had taken a traditional airline since none of the Moroi were traveling with us and security wasn't quite the hassle it typically would be. Now, Dimitri was driving us the short distance from the closest airport to Court.

I gave a horrible rendition of his trademark eyebrow. "Don't play coy with me, Comrade. Did you tell Lissa? Anyone."

"I told them that you were coming back, nothing...else." He left the word hanging there, in all its unnerving glory.

Part of me wished he had told, because then it would have been done with. I couldn't exactly pretend that I didn't remember everything now. Even if Dimitri could keep his lips sealed, which wouldn't have been fair to him or anyone else, Adrian was bound to blow the secret at the worst possible moment, especially if spirit or the drink got the better of him.

The sooner, the better, I determined, biting my lip as if it would stamp and seal the internal promise to myself. I still had no idea HOW I would tell everyone, only that I needed to.

By the time we passed the guard station, and the guardian who still checked Dimitri's ID despite calling him by name while simultaneously checking me in as a visitor, I was starting to second guess my determination to spill the beans right away. Lissa was waiting for us on the porch of the town house, Christian and Eddie lounging nearby, and she bolted for us faster than I had ever seen her run the moment we came into view.

I braced myself for impact moments before the short blonde projectile made impact, her arms circling around my neck and her face burrowing into my plane-frazzled hair.

"Don't you ever leave me like that again!" Lissa demanded into my shoulder. "I swear, you're going to give me abandonment issues."

Eddie and Christian finally made it, one significantly more winded from the jog than the other and I bit back the insult on my lips. At least...until he spoke.

"Seriously" Sparky gasped between breaths, "you really do have a thing for running away."

"You really want to talk about running right now, huff-n-puff?"

Eddie hid his chuckle between a cough, unsuccessfully, and we both shared in Christian's glare.

Dimitri had already insisted on carrying my main bag, and Eddie stole my backpack as we made our way back to the town house. Lissa linked arms with me, almost determined to keep me within arm's reach as if that was the only thing that would keep me from disappearing again. Maybe I had given the poor girl abandonment issues, and who could blame her for having them. Her entire family had passed away, her pseudo uncle had tried to kidnap her and use her as a personal fountain of youth, I had been assumed dead before ever reaching graduation. Then, almost as soon as I had returned, I disappeared again. I wouldn't be surprised if she locked me in that nice room she set up for me and threw away the key.

I figured it was better not to find out quite yet, so as Dimitri and Eddie brought my things to my room, I called out to Christian. "Hey, once you catch your breath, how do you feel about making meatloaf for a crowd tonight?"

He rolled his eyes but glanced towards the clock anyways. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"Great. Liss, do you mind if my parents come over for dinner? Adrian too?"

"Yeah, sure, this is your home too, you know."

Her assurance did nothing to sooth me, but I nodded to appease her reassurance while reaching into my pocket to finger the small "visitor" badge I had been given earlier.

As I made small talk, discussing things like work and Marie, and biding my time before dropping the bomb, I could practically feel the clock ticking. Adrian showed up first, wrapping me in a comforting hug with a few quiet words of encouragement. My parents showed up, the picture of punctuality, just as the oven timer sounded. Abe...Dad...looked significantly more excited to see me than my mother. Janine just looked...disappointed. Figures. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different.

"Abe, Janine." I greeted them with the same handshakes they had given me only a few weeks before. Janine allowed it while Abe pulled me in for more.

"Good to see you, Little Girl. Thought we misplaced you again."

"I can see why, Old Man. You're getting forgetful in your old age. Don't worry. It happens to the best of us I hear."

"Rosemarie," Mother snapped while my father laughed. "You shouldn't talk to your father like that."

"I shouldn't greet you with a handshake either, but hey, that's life." It was way too early in the evening to be picking fights but between my frazzled nerves and my already stressed relationship with the people that created me, this night was pretty close to matching the disaster of our previous dinner.

"Dinner's ready!"

Thank God. Saved by the dinner bell.

It seemed like my mother and I were calling a truce for the time being, with warning glances from Dimitri and my father facilitating the cease fire as we sat down. However, things weren't so bad. Besides some good-natured ribbing from Adrian, Christian, and Eddie about disappearing and a forced promise from both Lissa and my mother to never do so again, or at least to leave more than a note next time, conversation was able to flow relatively easy.

Thankfully, time went quickly and I didn't have too much time to think about what came next. Eventually though, the plates were cleared and the night was coming to an end. It was now or never, and never wasn't an option. As we sat down with some cocoa and peanut butter cookies, I cleared my throat with a cough.

"So, I thought I should mention something to everyone tonight."

"Oh?" Lissa dipped her cookie daintily into her cocoa, and though it was a casual night with friends and family, she could easily be picked up from her living room, placed into Buckingham Palace, and still fit right in with the Queen of England.

"Yeah," I stalled nervously, taking another sip just to keep from having to say it a moment longer. "I remember."

I scanned over the faced, gauging for various reactions and not sure what to expect. Dimitri was a bit wide eyed, as if he wasn't quite sure I'd actually admit this tonight. Adrian seemed a bit proud of me, though I guess the color of my aura probably revealed my building nerves so I couldn't give him too much credit. Lissa peered closer, perhaps looking for the same aura clues that Adrian had been reading all night, though he knew the meaning long before. Eddie seemed to be intuitively coming to the correct conclusion and immediately turned to Dimitri to confirm his suspicion, which I gather has been a long ingrained pattern to their professional relationship. My mother and father, plenty smart and intuitive on their own, seem to hit the same conclusion at the same time. Only Christian, too distracted by his baked sweet in his hand, asked the obvious.

"What'd you remember?"

"Pretty much everything."

He noisily slurped some of the thick foam from his mug, licking the remains from his upper lip as he rolled his eyes at me, obliviously unaware of the others' stares. "Yeah, that doesn't tell me much."

"Rose?" The quiet whimper was equal parts hopeful and confused.

I set my dessert aside, not entirely sure what to expect next. I was half expecting Lissa to embrace me, and the other half of me was ready to run for my life in necessary. Either way, I nodded, confirming her vague question.

"When? When did you start to remember?" This one was from my mother, and I should have expected as much. It wasn't an emotion based question, but a logistical one. She needed facts before she could figure out a plan of action.

"It was all at once. At the reception, during the attack, while I was fighting. I think seeing Eddie falter for a moment was too close to Mason." I felt my breath steal away subconsciously, confirming as much. At the same time, Eddie's eyes met mine and it seemed like it was almost too much for us both to handle at right then. He looked away first. "It triggered something, and they all came back."

"Yet you still left?" Christian's arm was around Lissa, and though the words came from his snarky mouth, the question was in her eyes. He was simply voicing it, and even shot me a small look of sympathy for doing so. I think he understood, but it needed to be said and it sounded better coming from him than from his wife and my best friend.

"Sorry," I replied with just as much sass, which I wouldn't have been able to muster for Lissa in the same situation, "I was a tad overwhelmed. I was planning on leaving before, and I didn't see how this made the situation any different. If anything, I had that much more reason to step back and think things through."

The room was silent, with varying emotions on various people. I knew that I shouldn't expect everyone to be thrilled that I remembered everything and didn't come home right away, but coming to terms with it still sucked. Adrian was quiet, but encouraging, as was Dimitri. Eddie seemed completely lost within himself. Christian looked disappointed yet understanding, and bore a strikingly similar expression to my father which terrified me to no end. It was almost as upsetting as seeing both my mother and Lissa somewhat irritated at me. Sure, that was somewhat expected from my mother, almost a default emotion by now, but it took quite a bit for Lissa to be mad at me. Even worse, she was blocking her private thoughts from me. Whatever was on her mind, she didn't want me to know it.

With a deep breath, and taking the all-or-nothing approach, I continued. "I promise, it's nothing personal. I love you guys. You've been wonderful to me, but, you have to see that I made this whole other life for myself and had other options that I had to consider too. Ones that seemed more...normal, I guess. But, I'm back. And I'm staying. I don't know exactly what that means yet, and I can't promise I'll be the same Rose you guys remember back from the Academy, even with my old memories back, because I still have those years I lived as Ivy, but...I'm here now, and I want to be here with you guys." I paused, feeling insanely vulnerable despite the fact that I was surrounded by the people who had known me longer and loved me more than anyone else in the world. "Is that okay?"

I'm sure it was only a moment, but the pause seemed like an eternity, and it was Dimitri who broke it first. "Of course Rose," He stepped forward, making a grand and very unexpected display of public affection by actually giving me a hug in front of another living soul, "Of course it is."

I hid my shaky breath of relief in his shirt, grateful for the privacy his arms provided even if it was just for a small moment. He had barely released me before another pair of surprisingly strong arms took over. Eddie.

"We're always here for you Rose. No matter what."

One by one, everyone offered their support. Even Abe, who reminded me that it really didn't matter much, since we were starting fresh either way. Finally, there was only Adrian who sat like the Cheshire Cat on the back of the sofa with a lazy grin on his face.

"I don't know, Little Dhampir. Abandoning everyone after remembering everything? That's pretty low. I might need a little more motivation to forgive you."

"Adrian!" Lissa's outrage was now in full force, most likely because she was thinking something similar only a few moments prior, yet he seemed completely calm and collected as if nothing was amiss.

I could feel Dimitri's hand slyly touch my lower back, either in protection or support, but the moment Adrian spoke again, it clenched into an angry fist.

"What? All I'm saying is that she learned some special skills on the outside, and I might be more willing to accept her apology if she used them to persuade me a little."

Everyone was immediately aghast, and it looked like everyone was willing to fight him on my behalf, including gentle Lissa, but the little smirk on his face told me that his motivation was anything but sexual. I returned it just as quickly.

"Uh-huh, sure. Hey, Liss? Adrian knew, by the way. He was aware I had my memories back before I even set foot in Court."

Two seconds later, he was being attacked by a little blonde spit-fire and all the self-justified fury her two little manicured hands could manage. The guardians did nothing to help.

Author's Note

I'm sorry for the unexpected hiatus. I'm not going to give any long winded apology or excuse. Long story short was that life demanded that I step back and devote some extra time to my family and myself. I want to give a BIG thank you to everyone who stood by me through this break. I didn't receive a SINGLE negative note over the past few weeks, only lots of positive messages of support, love, and well wishes. You guys are truly amazing and I can't tell you how much those little messages in my inbox meant to me on those tougher moments. You got be through some days. Thank you :)

Rose is BACK! Everybody knows! Dimitri showed public affection! But...now what? What happens next?

Thank you again for sticking by me and I am ready to post Shadow Kiss DPOV on Saturday night and I fully plan on posting the next chapter of MitM next week :) Have a wonderful week everyone and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving for those of you in the US.