DPOV

The door to my office swung open, and I didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"There is such thing as knocking," I said dryly as I signed the documents in front of me. There was the sound of shoes against the carpet and then the quiet sound of someone flopping onto my couch.

"There's this thing called answering your phone," Rose muttered, and I smiled at my papers.

"I have a job, you know," I said as I looked up at her.

Rose rolled her head to the side and sighed.

"I think you should pretend that you've got Ebola so that you don't have to go to this dinner tonight," she said and I laughed.

"Pardon me?"

"Honestly, my dad seems like he doesn't care, but he's being weird. I think he's going to threaten to break your kneecaps," she said as she looked up at the ceiling. I scoffed and put my pen down on the blotter.

"Your imagination amazes me sometimes," I teased, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'm serious."

"I know. But your father also knows that you're going to be eighteen in three weeks. And he knows that forcing mates to separate is physically painful. He wouldn't do that to you," I explained before going back to my work.

"But he could still threaten to break your kneecaps."

I shook my head at her and finished my stack of paper when the door opened again after a quick knock.

"Ms. Kirova," I said politely as she stood in my office. I thought that Rose was exaggerating in her complaints about the substitute who took over full-time for Ms. Edwards, but I had come to know that it wasn't a complete farce.

"I need to speak with you about a student,"' she said and I noticed her eyes slide towards Rose. I already knew where this was going. Any time Rose's watch beeped, she threw a fit even after what happened last time. I looked at Rose and she nodded, sitting up and then standing slowly. She picked up her bag from beside the couch and headed for the door before spinning on her heel.

"It's your kneecaps, comrade. Knee! Caps!" she said pointing her finger at me before closing the door. I scoffed a laugh and shook my head.

"What is it, Ms. Kirova."

"I know that you think that Ms. Hathaway can get away with anything, but her constant distractions-"

"Are you looking for a lawsuit?"

"Excuse me?"

"Ms. Hathaway has filed all the appropriate documentation for her medical conditions. Asking her to silence or remove her medical alert device would mean we would not be accommodating her, and could lead to a potential lawsuit. The accommodations were approved by the board of directors. I think we have had this conversation more than once," I said with a sigh, "Have you asked her if there is a volume setting on her device?"

"It's a distraction to other students, and there is no volume control on those," Kirova pushed and I shook my head.

"You have two students who are aware of the extent of the condition and are friends with Ms. Hathaway. They aren't distracted, they are acknowledging the noise. If it were a distraction, they would have said something."

Ms. Kirova narrowed her eyes at me. "Just because she is your mate, doesn't mean she can get away with everything."

I reached for my phone and pushed the button to call Patricia.

"Yes?"

"Is she still there?"

"Yes," Patricia said with a chuckle.

"Send her in," I said and hung up the phone. Ms. Kirova furrowed her brows at me when the door opened, Rose looking somewhat embarrassed in the doorway.

"When you are in Ms. Kirova's class, please turn the volume down on your watch," I asked, tilting my head to the side to look around Kirova.

Rose nodded. "Fine," she said and I pointed towards the couch.

"You forgot your phone," I smirked and she scuttled to the couch and grabbed her phone before vacating the office again.

"Satisfied?"

"Not really."

"There is nothing else I can do, Ellen. She has a medical condition; you have seen what can happen. She keeps the watch on. As your colleague, I'm asking you to lay off," I said gently, "Please."

Ms. Kirova pursed her lips before leaving the office and I groaned quietly as I tipped my head back.

"I need a beer," I mumbled to myself.

"That kind of day?" Patricia asked, leaning back in her chair so she could see into my office.

"Apparently," I grumbled as I stood up, smoothing my tie down. I paced in the main office, trying to rid myself of the edge I had because of what Rose said.

"What does the school send Abe for Christmas every year as a thank you for his donations?"

Patricia typed on her computer for a few moments before pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Macallan single malt scotch," she said with a small cant of her head, "Why?"

"Can't show up to dinner empty-handed," I explained as I picked up the files that were waiting for my review.

I felt anxious as I approached the door, my hand raised to knock when the door opened and Rose squeezed through the opening.

"We've got a problem."

"We do?"

"My mother's here," she drawled out and I raised a brow at her.

"And that's a problem."

"Yes, because the two of them are going to be the Spanish Inquisition," she hissed and I smiled at her.

"It's worth it for you," I said and she blushed.

"Suck up," she whispered and then opened the door, leading me into the house.

"Dimitri's here," Rose called out, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. Abe came into the hall and greeted me politely.

"Good evening, Abe," I said shaking his hand and extending the box to him.

"How thoughtful of you, Dimitri, thank you. Come meet my wife," he said leading me into the kitchen. Rose was making faces at me and when I looked at her, she mouthed 'kneecaps'!

I followed Abe into the kitchen and smiled politely at the woman standing by the island. She was short and faired skin with fiery hair. I knew at a glance that it was Rose's mother. Their faces were identical, even while Rose looked like a carbon copy of her father.

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Hathaway. I'm Dimitri," I said introducing myself.

"Nice to meet you. Alberta has told me some good things about you. I'm Janine," she said almost stoically. Rose had warned me that her mother could come off cold, but knowing what profession she was in, I could understand. It wasn't necessarily her personality, but a façade; a mask that she had created for work.

I glanced at Rose with a reassuring look, but she didn't look all that convinced.

Dinner went better than initially expected. Rose had made me believe that it was going to be a firing range of questions when it was truly a calm dinner. We made idle chit-chat about mundane topics over dinner, but Rose's eyes flicked between me and her parents the whole time.

"Rose has voiced concern about the integrity of my kneecaps," I said teasingly after a while, glancing at Rose across the table. Rose stuck her forkful of food into her mouth, her cheeks pinkening adoringly. Abe laughed boisterously from his spot at the head of the table.

"She can have an active imagination," he said but I knew that there was an underlying current in his words. Janine watched everyone at the table with an eagle eye over the edge of her glasses. I never would have expected her to wear glasses.

"Rosemarie, you haven't been wearing your glasses," Janine mused and I looked at Rose with a raised brow.

"Needing glasses isn't in your medical file," I teased.

"I don't need them," Rose mumbled.

Janine gave her a firm look and I folded my lips together to prevent myself from laughing. It was an identical look I had seen on Rose's face so many times.

"You do."

"The eye doctor said that I could get by not wearing them unless I was reading," Rose retorted and I couldn't fight the smirk anymore. Rose caught it and glared at me, making my laugh present itself too.

"Look at my little nerd. Closeted book lover and glasses," I teased and Rose rolled her eyes at me, lobbing a piece of her bun across the table. I noticed Janine and Abe watching us, but it wasn't calculated. It was simply an observation. And from the way that Abe's lips quirked, they weren't used to seeing the softer side of Rose that she had displayed.

"What are the glasses for?" I asked Rose, my fingers brushing the inside of her wrist.

"I just get headaches sometimes. I barely have a prescription to begin with. But sometimes the POTs causes blurry vision, so I keep them in my bag," Rose said quietly, peaking up at me after a moment. I winked at her and returned my attention to my hosts.

"How has Peru been? I've heard that it can be quite beautiful."

"I work in Nepal. I was supposed to be stationed in Peru, but my charge changed locations at the last minute. It worked up much better. It's quite beautiful," she explained.

"Have you ever thought about visiting Everest?"

Janine smiled and leaned back comfortably in her chair.

"No, once upon a it was one of Rosemarie's dreams to climb Everest, but I feel that her health conditions may cause some difficulties. I can't do that without her," she said. I smiled softly and nodded my head. I knew that Rose had a passion for physical activity. Hiking, swimming, rock climbing, anything that could get the adrenaline going. Rose had told me about some of her adventures before the condition set in.

A part of me felt that she was robbed. It didn't mean she couldn't do these things, it just meant that she was struggling a bit.

Rose was quiet at the table and I squeezed her wrist gently, quirking my lips up when she looked at me. She returned the smile and reached for her water, taking a sip. I heard the familiar beep of her watch and my brows furrowed, but it wasn't the noises that I needed to be worried about.

Rose glanced at it but didn't comment. Maybe it was the topic of conversation or simply the dinner that was making her feel on edge, therefore making her heart rate go up.

"How is your family, Dimitri?"

I looked at Abe and smiled.

"They are doing very well. My oldest sister was just blessed with a daughter, and I know that one of my younger sisters is expecting as well. My babushka is still terrorizing everyone, even me from across the globe," I chuckled, "She asked after you when I let them know about my mateship with Rose."

Abe nodded and asked me more about my family. I knew that he knew my babushka to a degree, but never knew just how well they knew each other. I knew that someone on the American side of the program was helping my family out while I was here, but I never knew. But I had an inkling.

"Can I ask you something bluntly, Abe?"

"Of course," Abe said.

"When I moved here with the program, it meant that I was no longer working in the village to provide for my family. I was assured that a stipend was being provided by the program. Was that you?"

Abe nodded. "Yes. Your mother had an ulterior motive for pushing you to join the program."

I thought about what he could have been talking about, and after a minute it dawned on me. It was around the time my father tried to make a reappearance in my mother's life. Thankfully, she held firm and had the police waiting when he arrived, but I remembered her being on edge whenever the phone rang.

I knew that she was concerned that Randal might come after me with charges for what I did.

"Thank you," I said after a moment, "I understand now why the push."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, tilting her head. Her hand fell over her shoulder and almost landed in her plate, but I reached forwards, catching it and tucking it behind her ear. I glanced at Janine, but she also seemed confused about my statement.

"Remember what I told you about my father?"

Rose nodded. "You didn't say much, but yes."

"He tried to come back around right before I left Russia. I think my mother was concerned that he was going to try and press charges for assault. But at the same time, the police already knew about the incident, and that it was in self-defence," I said quietly. I didn't like thinking about it, and voicing it was just as terrible.

Rose nodded and didn't say anything further about the topic, knowing that it was a sensitive subject. Janine cleared her throat and set her glass on the table.

"So, how did you and Rose discover your mateship?" Janine asked, folding her arms on the table.

"I was having a lot of trouble with a cufflink," I said with a chuckle, "Rose offered to help me and when she touched my skin, we knew."

Janine chuckled. "That's like Abe and I. I ran into him in the hallway. He grabbed my arm to catch me," she mused, glancing at him with a fond look. Abe returned the look with the same kindness. Even if they weren't together in the sense that most were, you could see that they loved each other. And Abe referred to her as his wife even though they didn't live together.

"I heard about what happened with Camilla Conta. Thank you for stepping in," Janine said and it looked like Rose wanted to slip out of the chair and under the table. She wanted to drop the subject altogether.

"Of course. Like I said to Rose, if she wouldn't let me defend her as my mate, I was going to do it for my student. I still look out for your well-being in the Academy," I said firmly, casting a glance at Rose. She threw a faux glare at me but sat up straight when she realized that the topic wasn't going to be pushed further.

Something rubbed against my leg under the table. I jumped, thinking that it was Rose teasing me, but I heard a sharp 'meh' noise from under the table.

"Get out," Rose grumbled, swiping her hand under the table. A large orange and white cat darted out from under the table and jumped onto my lap, rubbing his face against me.

"Yuzu!" Rose whispered but I smiled at her, petting his head as he purred.

"He's quite friendly," I said to Abe.

"He is. And has no concept of personal space," he said as he took a sip from his whiskey glass, "I think that the girls have some things to catch up on. Why don't you come with me and we'll chat. I want your opinion on something."

I nodded politely and gently nudged the cat off my lap as I stood up. I collected my plate but Rose jumped up and took it and hers, throwing me a look that I had seen so many times tonight.

"Kneecaps!" she hissed as she passed me into the kitchen, Janine following her. I followed Abe out of the dining room and towards the back of the house. We walked to what looked like a traditional study and Abe gestured towards one of the armchairs across from a fireplace nestled between two large panel windows.

I sat comfortably and Abe offered me a glass of whiskey. I hadn't had a drink through dinner, but I felt that now was a time to accept. He sat in the chair across from me and crossed his leg over the other, loosening the scarf from around his neck.

"What is it that you'd like my opinion on? Or was that so Rose didn't have a fit?"

"So she didn't have a fit. But I don't intend to bust your kneecaps," he chuckled and took a drink, "I did want to talk to you about Rose."

I nodded and waited for him to lead the conversation. He mulled over his thoughts, smiling when Yuzu thumped into the study. I never thought that I would ever hear a cat walk so heavily, but it sounded like a dog coming instead of a cat.

"What are your intentions with Rose? I know what it sounds like, and she is an adult, but is this just a fling to see how strong the bond is, or do you see this becoming something stronger?"

"I hope to see it become something serious. Right now, it's very casual, mostly because she is still a student. But I won't deny that watching Rose breeze into my office between classes like she doesn't have a care in the world will bring a smile. Or how I look forward to seeing her. She's a lovely young woman, and I'm grateful to meet someone who has shown me what a good mateship can look like. Healthy," I explained as I traced a rivet in the glass. Abe nodded and scratched the top of Yuzu's head.

"You had a bad example," he said in almost a sympathetic tone, "Janine and I didn't want that for Rose. Yes, we've been married for almost twenty years, but being separate in our marriage has saved us. We are far too much alike. But at the end of the day, the biggest comfort is the sound of her voice. And watching the two of you interact tonight, and even at the Academy, I can see this becoming stronger."

I nodded and licked my lips after taking another sip. The whiskey was nice. I was never one to drink whiskey on the rocks, but this was so smooth that it didn't need a mix.

"Is there anything else?"

Abe shook his head. "Nope. Just that, but I figured we could sit here, drink our whiskeys, and let Rose and Janine stew for a few more minutes. Lord knows that girl of mine will ponce the moment we step out of the study."

I snickered. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was standing outside the door trying to listen," I said before reaching into my pocket and pulling my phone out. She had downloaded some kind of app on my phone so that if she had a high alert go off, my phone would show a notification. I had come in handy with Kirova, but there was something else I had learned about the app.

I could send off a sound if she took it off and set it down.

I opened the app and smirked at Abe as I hit the icon. I heard the shrill beeping from the other side of the door and a curse. I snorted a laugh and Abe chuckled too, the two of us listening to Rose curse to herself as her voice floated away from the door.

"You know her so well," Abe said.

"Oh, I have learned some of her tricks in the last few weeks," I mused with an exasperated sigh.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and will have a happy New Year!

Yuzu (or Zule) I would call him, used to literally stomp when he walked. Twenty-eight pounds of pure attitude and pure heart. Although, having a cat stomp up the bed at you in the middle of the night will wake you from a dead sleep lol.