We drove again but north this time north. And after two days of driving we were in Montana. "Where are we stopping next?" Dimitri didn't answer for a while.

"Where meeting your father at Saint Vladimir." I think he knew that wasn't going to sit well with me, because he wouldn't look at me.

"Dimitri, are you serious, you plan on walking into a heavily guarded, warded school, just to visits."

"No your father managed to get a job there, and I'm 'his guardian', so I'm getting my old room back, and your going to hide in there with me. It's only for a few days, he told me on the phone even without Lissa campaigning, she has an overwhelming favor with the public. All thanks to her special campaign manager." I scoffed.

"You've got to be joking, my father tries to be my lawyer, a school administrator, and now a campaign manager. How the hell is he doing all this. Wait don't tell me, I don't want to know. But your you, you don't do crazy schemes. That's my job." Dimitri laughed a little.

"I got you out of prison didn't I. Plus maybe coming back here might be good for you." I thought about my mental state before I left. Suddenly a feeling a dread washed over me.

"Wait I can't go back there!" Dimitri analyzed my sudden change of tone, and he quickly went to all serious mode.

"Rose, I know it's a risk, but the wards are there, and no one will see you. You'd be safer there."

"No, I can't go back there, I don't want to remember everything. I can't see that place again."

"What? Rose don't think about that, think of the good things that happened here."

"No!" I felt my breathing speed up and I knew I was starting to panic. "Everytime something good happened there is got taken away. Victor got to Lissa, Mason died, the wards where broke, the ghosts came, you left and I tired to..." At the last part my voice hitched and I began to shake. Dimitri didn't say anything, so I unbuckled my seatbelt. I needed to lie down so I could calm down.

As soon as I lay down I was pulled into Lissa's head. She was standing in front of at least a thousand Moroi, and microphones and cameras where all around her. "I do believe the limited amount of guardians is an issue, however we can't send guardians out at such a young age. The need a childhood. They need a chance to live." At that a strong surge of emotions over came her, and she disregarded the rest of her speech. "I know my guardian Rose, killed to many strigoi to count before she even graduated. But that was only because she had to, and she is my best friend and I know what I did to her. She will never be the same, she was forced to grow up and see things some of us will never see in our life times at such a young age." A women in the crowd shouted.

"You wouldn't feel the same if you had children to protect." That was enough to send Lissa's bubbling emotions over the edge. Yet when she spoke she still sounded so polite and well spoken.

"What no one knows, is I am a mother." The entire audience gasped. "I suffered a miscarriage less than a day ago, but I am up here because that is how strongly I believe in this." She looked out to an absolutely silent press room. "Yesterday I just cried, and I kept asking myself why me? Why would anyone take away my baby before it got a chance to live? Isn't that exact same thing a guardian's parents would say if they found out one of those monsters killed there baby when they where only sixteen." I single tear rolled down Lissa's cheek. As if someone flipped a switch the crowd was in a total uproar. My mother ran up to Lissa and quickly pulled her off stage.

She was walked quickly out of the building and drove home as fast as possible. When she seen Christian wasn't there when she panicked. The front door opened behind her and a disheveled looking Christian walked in followed by my mother. "A few of our 'cousins' wanted to get my attention." If I was there I would have laughed, because even in his state he still made snarky comments. Lissa hugged him tightly. "You know you either made everyone love you or hate you."

"I know, but there isn't much I can do about it. I know I shouldn't have done it, but it that women, she just..."

"I get it." Lissa wasn't letting it show but guilt weighed heavy on her heart. She was somehow blaming her miscarriage on the fact that she didn't want to be pregnant in the first place. After some time she accepted it, and admittedly start to get excited. "Come on." My mother had left to my side of the town house. I felt a little bad for her, left on her own.

"Rose, please answer me or I'll pull over."

"What?" I heard Dimitri sigh. "I was with Lissa."

"Oh, God don't scare me like that. But anyways we are going to be there soon but I've decided to stop for the 'night' so we can get ready in the 'morning'." I rolled my eyes.

"This is what I mean about you worrying too much." We where in some small town that was less that 30 miles away from the academy. We were in a diner parking lot. We went inside and ordered our meal. We had eaten quickly, but just as we finished a pair of guardians came in. As the hostess was greeting them, I glanced at Dimitri and then quickly darted for the bathroom door. After a few minutes I peeked out and seen Dimitri talking to the guardians. I was surprised when I recognized them. Alberta and Stan.

I shut the door quietly and waited. After about five minutes I peeked out again. The three where all at our table talking. Dimitri excused himself and as soon as I seen him walking in my direction, I let the door shut. I stepped back against the wall. When it opened Dimitri walked in and locked the door behind him. "What do we do?!" I tried to whisper, but I wasn't handling the situation well. For some reason I was much better with surprise undead than old instructors, but I guess they act the same some times.

"Don't worry." He looked around the room and his eyes landed on the small window. He pushed on it a few times but it wouldn't open. He flushed the toilet and then banged on it hard. It popped open. "Can you get thought here?" I examined the window. Outside the ground was just as high as the bathroom floor so it was only a few foot drop but it still worried me. My center of balance was off so I knew even that might not end well.

"Eventually I nodded. "Can you help me?" Dimitri slid his arms under mine and I kicked my feet out the window. I wiggled onto my side so my bump could fit through the narrow height. When Dimitri let go I dropped to the ground, and landed on my feet. My right ankle popped but I didn't hurt. He handed me the keys and I dashed into the RV before Alberta and Stan could see me. I locked the door, lay on the bed, and exhaled loudly. After a while I heard the door handle jiggle, and I was silent.

"Rose, it's me." I got up to let Dimitri in, but I swore under my breath when I put weight on my ankle. My feet and ankles are already swollen so I couldn't tell if I had actually injured myself or not. I made my way over to the door and unlocked it. Quickly, I jumped back into bed so Dimitri wouldn't notice the slightest of limps I was developing. He sat in front of me, and pushed the hair behind my ear. "The owner of the dinner said as long as where out of here before dark we can park here for the day. Alberta and Stan are just heading back after a couple days off, before the winter holiday madness really begins. They believed me when I told them about your father, so don't worry about them." I smiled, and he yawned. "So did you hurt your ankle or your foot?"

"Are you serious?!" Dimitri laughed a little before continuing.

"I heard you swearing and I saw you limp." I huffed.

"They're always swollen now." Dimitri took took the blanket off me. "Hey!"

"Yes, but your ankle isn't always bruising, let me get some ice." He got up and took an instant ice pack, shook it for a few seconds, and then wrapped in onto my ankle with some medical tape. He shook off his duster and shoes, lay behind me and pulled the blanket back over us. "Goodnight Roza."

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