The equinox dance, Spokane, the attack, being at Saint Vladimir, it all felt like a life time ago, but last night I was brought back to the cabin. I felt safe again, like nothing could stop me from being with Dimitri. Only this time I intended to keep it that way. I lay in bed and watched the sun come up in the window. I pulled the covers over me tighter, accidentally waking Dimitri up on the process. He threw his arm over me and I played with his fingers.

"We have to go soon, I want to be home before dinner time, and we have to be out of here at around three." That was plenty of time, so we lay there for a while and I let myself slip into Lissa's head.

She was in the bathroom in our townhouse, but I couldn't read her emotions happiness, fear, stupidity. She looked up and I got the glimpse of a little pink stick sitting on the counter. There was a knock at the door.

"Baby, hurry up Adrian's waiting for us." It was strange hearing Christian talk like this.

"One minute, I want to fix my makeup." Lissa looked at mirror and used every ounce of self control she had not to look down. She wiped the black tear streaks staining her cheeks and put on a lipgloss. She exhaled loudly, before looking down. She threw her hands over her mouth making sure to not make any noise. She wrapped up the stick and threw it in the little trash bin next to her sink.

I felt Dimitri get up and I rolled onto my back. I looked at him and smiled. Lissa instantly went to the back of my mind. "Can you get me something to wear, something warm please." Slowly I sat up, making sure to keep myself covered. A few minutes later Dimitri had a pile of clothes and was fully dressed. I got dressed while asking more questions about his family and he happily answered. He sat on the bed and opened his arm gesturing for me to come over. I crawled on the bed and sat next to him. He looked at me and started using his no messing around mentor voice.

"Are you okay, Roza?" He hadn't said anything about yesterday til now but my my mood instantly darkened. I shifted uncomfortably.

"I just can't feel safe anymore knowing that Victor somehow killed Tasha and I just know he killed the queen. If he can do that what's keeping him away from me?" Dimitri pulled me closer.

"Me." It was so brief but it meant so much to me, Dimitri hated him almost as much as I did. He tried exposing us before and the way Dimitri handled it scared me, but now it made me feel better. I decided I was done talking for now, so I changed the subject.

"Could you show me around the city?" Hesitantly Dimitri nodded. We, well mostly Dimitri, packs dour bags and called to say we were checking out. I put on a jacket and Dimitri put on my shoes, following him down to the lobby was a little unnerving because everyone spoke Russian. I spotted a few Moroi. "Is this like you know one of those hotels...we go too?" He nodded. "What if someone recognizes us?"

"That's a smaller risk than running into strigoi at a less popular hotel." I agreed after someone thought. We decided to leave our bags in the storage room our hotel provided for tourists at a fee. When we made it onto the streets I was completely overwhelmed. The buildings weren't tall but they were big and colorful. I walked closely behind Dimitri toward a little cafe only about a block away. While Dimitri got us a table, two drunk men approached me.

"Congrats Missy." The first man slurred. The other one laughed and elbowed him. "That baby of yours is gonna save us a couple bucks, because they no use in get us some protection for when you come back to our hotel room." I could tell the man wasn't from here because there was no trace of a Russian accent in his mumbled statement. I honestly had no idea what to say to the two. Before I could he grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into him. The smell of alcohol in his breath made me gag.

Quickly, I pulled back and jammed my elbow into the mans stomach. He fell instantly and his friend laughed. He cracked his knuckles, but before he could get one swing at me, I punched him square in the jaw. Someone grabbed both my wrists from behind. I struggled until I smelled Dimitri's aftershave, I relaxed for only a moment. I jerked away just in time and I emptied the contents of my stomach in a near by trash can. I felt Dimitri holding my hair and rubbing my back. When I turned to face him he wiped my face. I felt sweaty and gross. I heard someone call Dimitri's name and we both turned to see the hostess waiting to seat us.

Dimitri took my hand and pulled me through the crowd of people that gathered around us. I heard one of the men yelling something on the floor and I just laughed. "Good to know you can still throw a good punch. I smiled, I felt like the little girl, who was complemented on the dress Lissa picked out for me. It was a little chilly out but there was a clear sky so, we ate outside.

Afterwards, we walked around a little more not talking much. At about three we went to our hotel and got our stuff. Once we were in a cab, I asked if I could see the picture Dimitri had of his family. I looked at the longing for their approval. I hadn't even met them yet, but I knew I wanted them to like me. I wanted my baby to have a family, with all the love in the world. To say my side of the family is untraditional is a compliment.

The recent signs of being motherly at all seemed so weird to me, but so natural. In a way I felt protective over this baby like I did Lissa. I wanted the best for it and I put it before everything I my life now. Before even Lissa at times. "Dimitri how do I choose?" He looked at me funny while I thought of way to phrase my question. "What do I do when I have to choose between, Lissa, and you, and our baby?" He looked at me with a slight sadness.

"I can't tell you, but you should put me last. Always." He didn't say anything for a while. "We both know guarding Christian isn't going to get me in nearly as much trouble as Lissa, so when the time comes, I'll be there to save who you can't." It sounded reassuring but I troubled me. I didn't say anything though. I just leaned into him and sat quietly for the rest of the ride.

When we got their in Baia I was pleasantly surprised, it was like a small town, similar to one me and Lissa live in for a while. There was no snow here but it was chilly, I put on my big jacket when I got out of the cab. Dimitri helped me unload my stuff from the trunk. I stood In front of the house. "They aren't expecting me so they're going to be surprised when we go in. They know who you are, I've told them about you before." I wondered what he said about me, and how long ago that was. We walked onto the porch and knocked on the door.

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