As requested, a continuation of the last one-shot. Enjoy!

And since I haven't posted a disclaimer in a while: Vampire Academy and all of it's characters are owned by Richelle Mead. I merely own the hoops I'm making them jump through.

APOV

Seeing my daughter for the first time in over eighteen years was amazing. The little baby I had held in my arms all those years ago had turned into a smart, strong, passionate young woman. The reports I had received over the years and the pictures I had seen of her didn't do her justice. I had rarely seen anything as awe-inspiring as her trials this afternoon, and judging by the murmurs I had heard around the bleachers, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Even Janine had been very impressed. Not that she'd ever admit it.

Actually meeting her, hearing her voice and being able to observe her and talk to her, was an experience I'd never forget. Honestly I had half expected her to throw a scene as soon as Janine finished the introduction. The Hathaway-temper was very familiar to me, and I had heard enough stories to know that Rosemarie possessed it in large quantities. She surprised me when she quickly recovered from the shock of it and observed me. I was quite disappointed until the first words out of her mouth were an insult, and at my reply she instantly narrowed her eyes at me. And then she turned the tables on us altogether. The little girl obviously takes after me.

I looked at the man next to her. I didn't really know him, though I did know of him. We had only ever had a single conversation and that was a very long time ago. When his mother had walked around Baia years ago, carrying the marks of her abusive relationship for all to see, Dimitri Belikov had been walking behind her, glaring at everyone who stared at her until they looked away. I was impressed with the then twelve-year-old's attitude and approached him a couple of days later.

One would think any kid would jump at the offer to make their abusive parent disappear at the mere cost of working for me for a couple of years. I certainly expected him to. Honestly it was a double favor if you asked me. He would rid their lives of the poisonous presence of Randall Ivashkov and have a well-paying job waiting for him as soon as he graduated. It was more than most dhampirs could ever expect. Court guardians received a ridiculously low salary and terrible accommodations in return for long days with a high probability of death within the first five years.

Dimitri Belikov however did not agree with me. He politely thanked me for my offer but informed me that the relationship between his parents was a private matter. He added that he was working hard in school in the hopes of guarding his best friend Ivan Zeklos after they left the academy and that while he was honoured I considered him worthy of working for me, he had made his friend a promise and was unwilling to go back on it.

In short, he declined both of my offers, though in the politest manner possible. He was the first to refuse me anything in years and while most people are terrified of denying me anything, a simple dhampir boy had no problems doing exactly that. He didn't ask for time to consider his options, he simply turned me down without a second thought. To my surprise I was impressed rather than annoyed. That kind of integrity and honor couldn't be bought and I think few people could appreciate how rare such characteristics really were. I knew from experience that nearly everyone could be corrupted, as long as you offered them the right incentive.

When a story reached my ears a year later that there had been another incident at the Belikov house and the young boy had beat up his father and kicked him out of the house, my admiration grew. Just to be sure his efforts weren't wasted I paid a visit to dear Rand and suggested he never bother the family again. It was the first time I'd done a favor without receiving anything in return, but in my opinion such bravery should be rewarded. I valued family, and especially their safety, above anything. That was what made me stay away from Rose until today, and that was also the reason I decided to help out the Belikov family, unbeknownst to them. A man who was willing to physically defend his family was a man I could admire. Even if Dimitri Belikov was only thirteen.

It was obvious Janine was flabbergasted by the news Rose just dropped on us, but I honestly wasn't as surprised as she seemed to be. Honestly, I didn't understand how Janine could be this shocked after what she told me happened when they found Rose in Spokane. All of the reports I had received over the past year had certainly indicated a level of trust and intimacy that was more than the normal bond between mentor and student warranted. Yuri certainly had his doubts. He'd been friendly with Belikov and had seen changes in him, and in Rose, that cast doubt on the nature of their relationship. Shame really, what happened to Yuri in that attack. He had been a useful asset.

I could see that Janine was about to explode, but I didn't quite feel the same way. Not that I wouldn't gladly tear of some of Belikov's nails or break a kneecap, or perhaps some fingers, simply because the man would be touching my daughter. And perhaps it wouldn't hurt to threathen him a little, just to remind him to treat her well and who he would be dealing with. All in all though, I wasn't against their relationship per se. At least I could count on Belikov to put her safety first and I knew that if he told me he truly loved her I could take his word for it. And he'd better tell me that, because I wasn't about to allow my only child to settle for anything less than true love. Call me sentimental.

Janine's face had turned red, then white, and finally a impressive shade of purple at Rose's revelation. I could easily recognize the flash of satisfaction in my daughters eyes while she observed her mothers reaction to the news. As a parent I should probably disapprove of her attitude but I had to admit it was entertaining to see Janine like this. I'd never met anyone else who could get under her skin like I could, but it was a talent my little girl had obviously inherited. And it was a lot more fun to watch when I wasnt the person on the receiving end of her anger.

Janine finally pulled herself together enough to spit out: "Boyfriend? Since when?!"
Rose made a point of checking her watch. "Hmmm, about ten minutes I guess? Fifteen maybe."
The casual answer did exactly what she probably expected it to do, which was to make Janine even angrier. I was a little curious to see which side of her would win; the proper guardian who'd never make a scene in the middle of her peers, or the very pissed off mother who wasn't in the least entertained by our kid's attitude.
She spluttered: "Ten minutes? Ten minutes?!"

Her voice was rising, as was the color in her face again, and I decided to stop her right there. Janine could be fiery when she lost control of her temper, and it would probably be better to continue this conversation in a different setting. "Keep it down Janine, no need to do this here. Why don't we take this somewhere more private?"
I glanced around, meeting the eye of everyone who'd started paying attention to our little group, smiling pleasantly, sort of, at most, narrowing my eyes at some. It didn't take long until everyone is the room was studiously ignoring us. Belikov was muttering under his breath in Russian and I caught a few words that I didn't appreciate being used around my daughter. We would discuss it later.

"I'm not sure private is a good idea old man. I'm pretty sure that the last private meeting involving you and mom is exactly what got us here in the first place."
She was answered by two shouts of "Rose!". Janine sounded appalled and Belikov's voice was full of disapproval. I merely grinned at her. Guess she got her guts from me as well. "Well I'm sure we can all agree that the results were spectacular Rosemarie. And that wasn't the last time."
Janine's reproachfull eyes turned on me next and Rose's eyes widened in horror. "Ugh! Stop! Too much info, I do NOT want to know!"
I smiled innocently. "You're the one who brought it up."
"I.. Damnit."

She turned to the man next to her. "Dimitri, do you know anywhere we can talk to my parents?" She said the last word like it was something dirty and my smile grew wider. Rose clearly wasn't the type to respect anyone simply because it was expected of her. In my opinion it was a healthy attitude to have in our society where name and status decided who was worthy. I'd seen enough disgusting habits and dirty secrets from royals to know that status and moral superiority were most definitely not the same thing. Her attitude would go a long way in keeping her safe if she'd start spending more time at Court.

"Ten minutes! Really Rosemarie?"
"Eighteen years mom? Seriously?" Rose mimicked her mother's tone exactly.
"That's completely different! Did you even think it through? I bet you didn't even have time to do that," Janine scoffed. Rose opened her mouth to interrupt and shout right back at her when Belikov took her hand and squeezed it. I watched in fascination as she turned to him and there was a moment of unspoken understanding between them before she closed her mouth and backed down. Interesting.

"Did you consider what's on the line when this gets out? Your careers, the safety of the Dragomir princess, the respect of your peers? You're too young to understand the implications of your actions! Your name will be tainted, we'll lose everything I worked so hard for! If you there's some sort of.. tension..," I could see Janine choking on the word before she continued: "between the two of you, do something about it. But don't make more of it than it should be. And for heaven's sake, don't go announcing it to the whole world!"

I wasn't sure how this conversation suddenly seemed to turn into a parental sex-talk but I suddenly felt an unfamiliar desire to be anywhere but here. Belikov looked aghast and Rose gaped for a moment before she finally, truly lost the grip on her own temper. "Mom! What the fuck! That's.. are you insane?"
"I understand that you have.. needs Rosemarie." Janine obviously shuddered at the thought, and honestly so did I. "Everyone does, and I'm sure that it can be difficult to deal with as a teenager with all of those hormones, especially when you're often physically close to someone during training. But if you can't move past it, you do something about it and you get it out of your system. It's not.. unheard of with our solitary lifestyles. It's.. part of human nature so to speak. Really, I get it, I was young once too."

All three of us stared at Janine in shock, though probably for very different reasons. By the looks of it Belikov and Rose were horrified by her suggestion, or even the fact that we were discussing it at all. In my case it was about something else entirely. Yes I was stunned at Janine's little speech, but more than anything, I was pondering if she was speaking from experience. And if so, which jackass had put his hands on her for a little entertainment or relief from their solitary lifestyle. I'd get Sergei to research any former guarding partners of hers as soon as we got out of here.

Rose was the first to recover. "Yeah well, I'm sure we all know what happened when you were young. I might not be great at math but it's not exactly hard to figure out how old you were when you had me."
She had a point. Janine and I had met when she had only just started working as a guardian, and Rose came along soon after. "Rose.."
"No! This is not about getting laid mom. Trust me, if that's all I wanted there'd be plenty of Moroi willing to do the job." Belikov visibly winced. "Would that be more acceptable to you? I would've thought you'd be happy that at least with Dimitri I have zero chance of getting knocked up like you did."

There was a flash of disappointment on Belikov's face but it was gone as soon as it appeared. Again, I wasn't completely surprised. Even as a teen he had clearly been a boy who cared greatly about his family, and I had heard the rumours about the offer that Ozera-woman made him. Good thing he turned her down, some people really shouldn't procreate and the unstable wannabe-fighter was top of the list in my opinion. Still, if having a family was something he had wanted, he was giving up quite a bit to be with Rose. Now was not the time to question him though. I'd just add it to the list of things to discuss in the private conversation I would be having with him soon.

"Just because Dimitri and I only made it official ten minutes ago, though it's actually more like half an hour by now, doesn't mean that we didn't think it through. This isn't about sex. I love Dimitri. Everyone, and that includes you, can either deal with it or you can go screw yourselves. I'm more than willing to sacrifice my life for the Moroi, but as long as I do my job they can't keep me from loving someone while I'm alive to do it."

Rose was breathing heavily by the time she finished but her rant had finally rendered Janine speechless. I considered her words for a moment before I turned to Belikov and looked at him closely. He was looking at Rose and it was easy to see the admiration and awe on his face. He obviously cared about her. As if he felt my eyes on him, he straightened up a little and met my gaze. "Anything you'd like to add boy?"
"Yes sir." He looked down at Rose with a warm smile and her eyes softened considerably. "I love Rose and I will do everything I can to make her happy and keep her safe."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "And what about Janine's objections?"

"When I first became aware of Rose's feelings for me, and mine for her, I held the exact same objections. I even explained to Rose why we could never be together. It wasn't so much my job or my reputation I was worried about, but I didn't want to be responsible for destroying Roza's future. It took me a while to realize that having to keep our distance made both of us unhappy. I nearly lost Rose on a number of occassions and I came to the conclusion that being happy and making her happy was more important than other people's opinions. That left the weightier objections so I considered ways to deal with those."

He seemed to gather his thoughts of a moment before continuing. "For obvious reasons we couldn't be together until after Rose finished school. After graduation we would be partners in protecting Vasilisa, but I have known for months that I could never put someone else's life above Rose's." I heard Janine's gasp beside me. From a guardian point of view that was probably the worst thing for him to admit to, but as a father I was exceedingly glad to hear it.
"Just this morning I received confirmation that my transfer request has been granted and I will be assigned a different charge as soon as we arrive at Court. Rose will still be able to guard Vasilisa without any extra risk to her or ourselves because of our relationship."

Janine spluttered: "It doesn't matter. You know how everyone regards guardians in a relationship, especially with another guardian. Your reputations will be ruined, everyone will talk about you behind your backs."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Everyone has talked about me for years.I doubt me being with Dimitri is gonna be more of a scandal than me and Liss running away or those bloodwhore rumors that I know are still going around."
Belikov added: "We're both well aware of the fact that our relationship will be frowned upon by some, but honestly, I think that's a small price to pay for being happy."

Both of them had obviously made up their minds and nothing we could say would make them change anything. There were still plenty of things to discuss, like what exactly did happen between them before graduation, or the age difference, or what would happen if Rose would fall for someone else considering she was still quite young to make a decision like this. Still, now was obviously not the time and place for that, and I finally suggested we'd get to know eachother after we all relocated to Court. Janine was reluctant to comply but Rose and Belikov nodded in agreement.

After a moment of silence Janine finally broke the tension in the room by complimenting Rose on her trials and they made their way outside talking about the execution of some sort of kick and the best way to stake a Strigoi if they were behind you. Belikov followed and I fell into step beside him. Janine and our daughter had just turned into the next hallway ahead of us when I put my hand on his arm to keep him from following them. He turned to me and I immediately fixed him with the icy glare that had scared so many over the years.

"If you harm so much as a single hair on my daughter's head, you will be answering to me boy. I will find out everything about you, every mistake you ever made, every word you ever said, and I will ruin you. You won't just lose Rose, you'll lose everything you ever wanted or worked for, and after that I will take great pleasure in breaking every bone in your body before finally taking your life. Do I make myself clear?"

I expected Belikov to back away, but though he paled considerably, he stood his ground. "Perfectly clear mr. Mazur. You won't have to worry about it though. I will never hurt Rose. If I lose her I'd already have lost everything I've ever wanted from life and I couldn't live with myself if I did anything to cause that."
I narrowed my eyes a little more, just to make a point, before I nodded. "Excellent."

"Yeah absolutely fucking great old man," said an icy voice behind me. I spun around and was met by two disturbingly familiar dark brown eyes. The same eyes that I had seen in the mirror every single day of my life. "Just so you know, if Dimitri would hurt me, I'm more than capable of dealing with him myself. And if you ever harm so much as a single hair on his head, I will take great pleasure in breaking every bone in your body and afterwards I won't grant you the mercy of killing you. You will have to live with the knowledge that by hurting Dimitri, you hurt me. Are we clear?"
I couldn't stop myself from taking a step back before I steeled myself. "Crystal little girl."

She was absolutely terrifying and I suddenly understood how it felt to be on the other end of my business deals. Did she inherit that menacing look from me? No wonder I always got exactly what I needed. And Rose didn't even know about my line of work yet, nor that I was perfectly capable of carrying out the threats I'd just made to Belikov. It was a shame I wouldn't be there later when he would undoubtedly tell her the rumours he'd heard about me through the years. I'd pay good money to see her reaction.

Rose had cheered up immediately at my reply. "Great."
Then she walked past me, stood on her toes and gave an uncomfortable Dimitri a quick peck on the lips. "You coming? Lissa organized a wicked party and I want to get there before Eddie eats all the good food, or sparky accidently sets it on fire."
He relaxed and put an arm around her shoulders. "Of course."
They walked away but just before they went around the corner Rose turned back and smiled at me, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Later old man! You'll remember what we talked about won't you?"

Ah my little girl. She really does take after her baba.

Author's note: Since most of the reviews on the last chapter said you wanted to read Janine's and Abe's reply, here you go! I'm not sure I'm evil and disturbed enough to really get into Abe's head, but I did have a hell of a lot of fun writing this. I always think he's such an interesting character. He's clearly dangerous and has different ideas of right and wrong than the rest of the world, but he also cares greatly about Rose and I think family in general.

I've been given some ideas that I think I can work with, but if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Still not sure when the next one is going to be up, but as soon as I finish something you'll all be the first to know.