DPOV

"Dyin' ain't much of a livin"―Outlaw Josie Wells.

I have never been so grateful for a day to be nearly over. My whole body aches.

I glance over my shoulder at Adrian Ivashkov, envious. He'd passed out on the floor about an hour ago after trying and failing, to start a conversation with me about Estonia. He hadn't made a lot of sense when he approached before stumbling back into the wall and sliding down it. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

Rose had put a perimeter of stools around him and then fetched a blanket from the utility closet, pointing at anyone close and warning them to leave him alone. Thankfully he isn't a St. Vladimir's student which means he's not our problem. He can figure out a way home in the morning.

The last shuttle would be here soon to take the rest of the kids back to the school, the majority of which are lounging around eating snacks to soak up the alcohol. Alberta would be furious if they were returned without the ability to walk.

There had been no major issues bar the one incident involving Lissa's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Drozdov, and another girl, Mia Rinaldi, and the girls. Victor would know soon which will make their hangovers that much worse tomorrow.

Since I was in a less than capable condition Spiridon and I had swapped roles. I'd been tasked to monitor the floor in the house instead of my usual position of patrolling the grounds.

"I've prevented about seven teenage pregnancies." He's said earlier, storming past. "One of them being that brat that lives with us."

"Who, Rose?" Natasha asked, laughing.

"WHO ELSE?"

He was prone to exaggerating I knew but it still pissed me off and he'd disappeared before I could question him.

"Hardly a timid little thing anymore." Natasha had mused. I didn't reply.

I'd been worried about Rose. Concerned that she would find tonight overwhelming but she surprised us all – she'd thrived. The moment she'd come down the stairs with Lissa and Natalie I'd felt the shift. I'd been scanning the crowd, noting the one's to keep an eye on, when heads started to turn toward the stairs as Natalie entered her party. I hadn't known what to expect but the results made me do a double-take.

Lissa and Rose came down behind her. Night and Day. Lissa was graceful and ethereal, although slightly bloody, and then Rose clad in black. The suit clung to her every curve and demanded attention – attention that before had never been appropriate to give her. My gaze travelled over her thighs, hips, the dip of her waist and the rounded swell of her chest which I could swear had not been there previously. Her long dark hair shone in waves and I wondered if it felt as silky as it looked. She was far from that wafer thin girl we'd saved months ago.

She looked...finally like herself.

I'd watched her expression go from wary to delighted surprise when she tried her first drink. Watched her go from reserved and stiff to care-free when she danced with Lissa. She'd been having fun and it made standing here, for seven hours, worth it.

The first rocky part came when I spied Natasha and Christian coming through the front door without warning. Spiridon had been in my ear giving me a run-down commentary on his patrol and I'd not gotten the alert I'd asked for. Christian slipped into the kitchen and I immediately moved from my post. It wasn't fair for Rose to be blindsided by his appearance. Especially when she was drinking. It could be a recipe for disaster. Tasha had spoken to Christian about the situation and Victor had been reluctant to compel Rose again to forget or not mention her past.

"The mind is a fragile thing." He'd said quietly at our meeting yesterday when Spiridon had suggested it.

I reached the entry and Tasha immediately launched into conversation.

"What do you think? Do not tell me I look like my mother even though I do."

"Tasha I need -"

"Ethan is out front and he's going to take your post when you need a break. Bell's co-ordinating with Spiridon and Croft should be staying to the East side of the lake."

I already knew this. "Rose is in there. I'm going to-"

"It'll be fine." She said quickly. "Lissa and Chrisitan have been getting close so maybe when Rose see's that she'll be less apprehensive."

Since when had they been getting close? Yet another grenade. I knew she wasn't going to apprehensive. She was going to be pissed – and not two minutes later she comes storming out of that spangly curtain. She'd snapped at me, those big dark eyes ablaze and took off upstairs.

I asked Tasha to keep an eye on the floor and followed her up. I reclined against the door and waited for her to come out of her bathroom, trying to figure out the best approach to this situation. She had every right to feel the way she did but her anger could collapse all our plans and schemes like a house of cards. It would also now affect her friendship with Lissa.

I hated it but for now, Moria and Lucas's dark secrets needed to stay secret. They'd get what they deserved but it all hinged on patience.

Rose stepped out of the bathroom looking thoughtful until she saw me and scowled.

She suited black. She suited that suit and she knew it.

The conversation did not go well. She'd been deliberately stubborn and I end up leaning over her so she had to crane her head back to glare at me. Her chest brushed against mine. I'm ashamed of how aware I was of that fact and where my mind had momentarily slipped off too.

It had been a while since I'd been with anyone and not something I'd thought to remedy, even though Tasha had subtly offered. But there I was thinking about the material between us. Lissa had interrupted before I could continue down that path.

A lie slid smoothly from Rose's mouth, challenge laced in it but I'd been too stunned at what had just happened I didn't meet it. They left with the intent of finding more alcohol which didn't unsettle me so much because I trusted Valissa's presence to keep things under control but then -

'By the way, I think Mason likes you.'

'I like him too.'

All churning thoughts halted.

I'd gone after them. Rose was not ready to get tangled in something with a boy, an immature hormone fuelled boy, and with alcohol involved God knows what would happen. Maybe I should have spoken to her about this before, warned her, but after Estonia and Voda's Guardian, I thought she'd have her guard up and use tonight to spend time with her friends, have fun.

"I take it, it didn't go well?" Tasha asked, waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I scanned the crowd in the living room. She waved a hand to the entry. "They went back in there."

I started toward the kitchen when she took my arm. "Dimka, leave it be. Christian is going to keep his distance. If you go in there you're going to draw unwanted attention. Let her stand on her on her own."

It wasn't Christian I was worried about.

I'd clenched my jaw so hard my teeth hurt as she guided us through the crowd and I resumed my post. I told myself that Natalie and Lissa would look out for her and I trusted in their choices of friends. Andre and Adrian were a grey area but again Lissa knew more than anyone what her brother was like and I'd made sure Adrian knew I was here when he arrived. Perhaps I was wrong about him but I'd let down Rose before by being too trusting and I wouldn't make that mistake again.

I had to admit Tasha was a good edition. She had the right amount of charm to mingle with the kids and her presence at the school had earned her some respect, even though from what I'd heard not a lot had signed up to her classes. Maybe tonight was an opportunity to convince some of them.

"Anything interesting in there?" Spiridon had asked in my ear.

"No."

"Really? There's bound to be some mini soap operas playing out. 'Why doesn't she doesn't like me', 'Oh my god I can't believe he did that', 'I totally want to do things that matter in the world like, recycle, but no I wouldn't date a service worker. Ew'."

"I'm guessing it's pretty quiet out there too then."

"Not at all, kids trying to sneak off and practice what only married people should."

I watched Andre and Adrian come into the room.

"I didn't realise you were an advocate of abstinence."

"Well, after putting up with you this past year I'm considering it. Like Olena should of." There it was. I was saved from having to reply when his voice gets more serious. "Something's going on in there. Natalie's being held back by Ralf" I looked toward the silver hangings but over the music, I couldn't hear anything. "And Rose has strolled out hand in hand with a redhead."

Tasha must have noticed my expression because she makes her way over to me. She mouths, "What's wrong?"

"Hold the room."

I crossed the floor, passing Adrian who averted his eyes and parted the draping.

"AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REST OF US?" A Dhampir girl was yelling the loudest. "WE GET PLACED IN THE HIGH-RISK AREAS, HAVING TO WORK DOUBLE, TRIPLE SHIFTS TO COVER -"

"IS THAT MY FAULT?" Natalie shouted back at her.

The rest of the group were trying to make peace but neither girl was paying attention, locked on each other.

"Enough!" I barked and they both paused. Ralf and Christian looked relieved, the former had his hand on Natalie's waist as if to restrain her. The Dhampir looked furious but sat back in submission however Natalie opened her mouth and I cut her a sharp look. "For the sake of your evening to continue as planned I would think twice about what you're about to say."

Victor had been very clear about the terms of the party and who could decide they were not being met. Natalie's mouth snapped shut and she leaned back against her boyfriend, glowering.

"Let's go hit the pinatas." Lissa said, breaking the silence. "Ease some...frustration."

"Good idea." A blonde Moroi agreed.

Ralf tugged Natalie along, who snatched up a bottle of Patron and it took restraint to not take it from her. The Dhampir girl remained sitting, arms crossed and glaring at the countertop.

I put a finger to my ear, "Find her."

"I'm not a babysitter." Spiridon responded.

"Spiridon."

He sighed and I heard faint laughter from his end. "As if I wouldn't".

I took a bottle of water from the fridge and set it down in front of the girl.

"You graduated top of your class, have Blood Master level 7 and the record time for field exams." She said, surprising me. She stopped glaring at the counter to glare at me. "You could have been sent somewhere where they really need help. Instead you protect one man in his big house near a heavily guarded school with two other highly qualified Guardians. Make it make sense?"

I returned her gaze, wall up, mask firmly on. "I have my reasons."

"Money?"

Internally I cringe. "I have my reasons."

She looks away as emotion eclipsed her face. I knew that look. I made my voice gentle. "Who did you lose?"

I had no right to ask.

"My brother." She murmured and then the grief had contorted to rage as she looked back at me.

"And if you had been there maybe it would be different."

There was no guarantee that would be the case but I felt guilty never the less. Her gaze fell past me and her expression relaxed slightly.

"Cooled off Angeline?" Adrian drawled.

I expected her to take his head off but instead, she said, "A little."

I nodded to Adrian, despite my dislike for him he was still Moroi and deserved respect, and started back to the living room to take up my post.

"You really don't give a fuck about anything do you?" I heard her say.

"Nope but that's why you're here with me."

"Right." She agreed.

Natalie and her friends were on the make-shift dance floor, throwing around what I presumed was candy from the pinata and Christian was with Tasha where I'd left her.

"Christian said you had to step in to stop a lot of hair-pulling." She shouted to me.

"Luckily I have my mine tied back. It was ropey there for a minute."

"I was just telling Christian that if he really likes Lissa he should be dancing with her."

Christian gave his aunt a dry look. "Please stop."

I surveyed the floor, things were getting more sloppy, wilder. "I wouldn't call that dancing."

"Exactly."

"The fact you dressed up willingly is testament enough I suppose." Tasha said, taking my arm and leaning against it. She shouldn't have. I was working and it could be a point of gossip. Gossip she'd probably welcome. "Dimika never dressed up for our parties although he and Spiridon would try and re-create crime scenes."

I had grinned despite myself. The last Halloween party I'd attended had been the turning point for us. I'd showed up with a girl on my arm that I knew Spiridon cared for, perhaps loved, and I hadn't cared. Back then there were two ways for me to vent the anger, the hurt, the frustration and desperation constantly tearing me apart – one had been fighting and the second had been fucking.

Spiridon had made her cry that night, telling her exactly what kind of low ranking, low born bastard I was and it all spiralled out of control. I broke his nose and he bruised my ribs. We wrecked an entire room and only stopped because we were pulled apart by six of our classmates and Galina's arrival.

Galina made sure we made our qualifiers, putting her job on the line.

"I seem to remember you trying to create a line of fire to keep us apart." I recalled.

She snorted. "A fat lot of good that did. Oh, look, your little Rose is really coming into her own."

I hadn't seen her come in but there she was, hanging from a red-headed boys neck and kissing him much to her friend's encouragement.

Tasha squeezed my arm gently. "See, stop worrying. She's having fun."

"Mason's a good guy." Christian said, looking uncomfortable. He didn't know his footing in this situation and I knew he had only come because Lissa probably asked him to.

I nodded and pulled my arm away, striding to the other side of the room for a new surveillance point. One that wouldn't have Rose directly in my line of sight and I wouldn't have commentary in my ear about it.

The next few hours passed easily enough. There was a late arrival of students, one I recognised as Aaron Drozdov, and I watched them closely. The girl he was with had a permanent sneer and kept looking around in anticipation. Aaron and Mason clasped hands and it seems the former isn't looking to cause trouble. I'd seen Lissa and Rose disappear out in the little garden and Christian excused himself to follow, casting a dark look toward Lissa's ex-boyfriend.

"There's potential for trouble." I told Tasha, coming back to stand beside her.

She'd lost her pointy hat and her black hair had come loose. She was also nursing a drink. "I know. I told Christian to go feel things out and perhaps suggest they keep their distance. Teenagers."

I continued around the perimeter of the room.

I watched the blonde girl in the crown lean suggestively toward Andre behind Aaron's back. Interesting. I could tell by Andre's face that whatever he was saying to her wasn't kind before brushing her off and walking away.

Rose entered the room with a handsome blonde Moroi boy, Jesse, and irritation skittered under my skin. It intensified when Mason pulled her to him.

Tasha was sitting with a group of seniors, playing with a ball of fire between her hands before letting it land in her drink and set the surface on fire. In a snap of her fingers, it went out and she threw it back.

Through the din, I distinctly heard Natalie's voice and it was angry. The entire group was cloistered together, Mason had an arm around Rose and seemingly tried to pull her behind him but her dark eyes are trained on the blonde. Christian sidestepped to be in front of Lissa and snapped something at Aaron.

I moved across the floor, felt Tasha join me and we came upon them and caught the end of the blonde Moroi's sentence, her attention fixed on Rose.

'Does Victor Dashkov have a live-at-home blood whore? I mean, typical Dhampir slut with her tits out and -'

That dark thing I keep tethered and under control had risen against its restraints. Tasha had demanded to know what the meaning of this was whilst I pushed the thing in me back down. Rose snapped at Tasha and before that could gain legs I said as evenly as I could that they should be on the next shuttle back to the school. They argued with me, Aaron tried to belittle me and Tasha touched the small of my back as she threatened Aaron with informing his father.

We lost control of the situation as Christian put in his two cents. Those holding drinks found them exploding in their hands. I block Aaron's attempt to reach Christian, Mason stepping up beside me, as Tasha reaches for the girl but too late.

I hear Lissa yell my name and turn to see Rose and the girl roll on the floor. Rose getting the upper hand.

God, if she had hit her there would be a world of hell to pay for.

I darted over and lifted her, pulling her back against me so I could beg into her ear. She froze in my arms and an intrusive thought seared through my head without warning, every line of her body against mine and how it felt. It startled me so much that I let her go which resulted in her body brushing down my sternum and setting the thought on fire.

Tasha pulled the girl to the front door, having the privilege to do so because she's a Moroi and a faculty member, well, almost. Dazedly I gesture for Aaron to follow. Part of me hoped he'd resist so I can use a tiny bit of force but he hadn't.

I told Spiridon to take my spot and we waited outside. A few of their friends came out to leave with them and I learned her name was Mia. from her friends fawning over her. And then she and Aaron got into an argument, leaving her in tears and him seething. At that point, I threw a pleading look at Tasha but she seemed at a bit of a loss about what to do as well.

Finally, the transfer came and they all piled in.

"Weird being on the other side of the dramatics, isn't it?" Tasha said as they drove off.

"I'd say our lives are still plenty dramatic."

I made to turn away.

"Dimka." She said softly, drawing me to a stop. She stepped closer to me, her blue eyes concentrated on my face."It doesn't have to be. Ever since you got hurt I haven't been able to stop thinking about what could have happened. If I hadn't gotten word...what you put yourself through to support your family and barely have anything for yourself. It could be different."

"I like my job." I told her, not entirely sure if it was enough of an answer.

"I don't mean your job." She'd murmured, stepping closer again and I suppressed the urge to step back. I did not want to have that conversation. Not there, not like that. "It could be different if we were together. Your family would be my family, I could help."

'Money?' Angeline had asked me.

If we were together I could hold my post and the Ozera money would take care of my family. Tasha would ensure they wouldn't want for anything. My mother would be put into a rehab facility, the best money could buy, Karolina would have help with the baby not having to depend on myself and Sonja, and Sonja could live her own life. I would be Tasha's and I could love her...but I would never be in love with her.

I would never hold that passion for her and that seemed deeply unfair. Despite everything, all the bigger issues and flaws in the system, the expectations set on us by birthright, the very least she should have, is love. And I know that's something she's always wanted and never really had. Not until Christian was born and gave her a small piece of the kind of family she wanted.

"Think about it." She'd whispered and stood on tiptoe to kiss my cheek.

"If you're done with your fucking rom-com maybe you could get back to doing your job?" Spiridon said in my ear.

I looked to the entry where Spiridon was lounging against it. Tasha followed my gaze. He waved at us and she tutted.

"He's...the same as always and yet not."

"I need to get back."

And I left her standing there, feeling like I'd escaped.

"Lissa and Christian have disappeared. Tasha might be becoming a great aunt. If she wants I can go prevent that now your done chatting."

"Something a bit perverse about wanting to interrupt teenagers at a crucial time, no?"

He gave me a side-long glance. "You seem grateful I interrupted at a crucial time."

He had a point.

And so I went back to my post, willing my legs not to shake and reminding myself that pain is only pain. You can think through it and push past it. If I didn't it would mean being transferred to monitor the academy's cafeteria for months.

Natalie and her friends spent the rest of the time dancing, falling over, laughing, and then feeding each other cupcakes. Lissa and Christian re-appeared hand in hand and I didn't miss how Rose reacted. She stopped dancing, pain flashing across her face before she turned away.

Why Tasha hadn't mentioned Christian and Lissa becoming close? If she'd mentioned it I could have warned Rose and prevented some of the hurt.

Spiridon comes through the front door, having locked up out back and hoarded students inside over an hour ago. He signals to me the last shuttles are coming. He starts calling for them to come forward and Ethan helps those a little unsteady on their feet. I do a final sweep to make sure no belongings are left behind.

"Well, that was a different way to spend Saturday night." Tasha says, meeting me at the entry.

"Get anyone to sign up?"

She sighs. "One or two seemed interested but we'll see."

"You should of let me light Aaron up. That would have been impressive." Christian says, coming down the stairs.

"We have already been through that." Tasha chides, a small smile on her face. She may have been disapproving of his previous methods but the control he had mastered made her proud regardless.

We say Goodnight, Tasha hesitates for a moment as if waiting for something but then smiles and steps out to where Ethan and her two other Guardians wait.

"Good to see you, Dimitri." Christian says quietly. I nod but still, he lingers. "Do you think I could talk to her sometime? Explain…"

I know who he means. "That'll be up to her."

"I'm not like them." He says, his shoulders dropping.

"Time will show that."

He nods still looking troubled. "Lissa wouldn't, if I were like them Lissa wouldn't give me the time of day but I need to explain when the time's right. I need to -"

"When the time is right you will say your peace." I tell him and motion to the door. Tasha calls for him and he leaves.

I wait until Spiridon steps back into the house and sets the alarms. Then I collapse onto the stairs.

"I'd help you upstairs cowboy but I'm beat."

"You're an asshole." I mutter.

His face lights up. "Ah, finally, you're coming out to play." He disappears into the kitchen and comes back with two beers and a protein bar. "Tonight could have gone worse."

I look around at the mess and Adrian lying behind the stools. "Could have gone better."

"I'll ring Victor when the last shuttle gets there. Natalie and Rose are not in for a good time."

I take a long drink. "They didn't start the fight."

He snorts. "When has it ever mattered who started it?"

That's true.

"When do the clean-up crew get here?"

"Few hours. Once again I'll be getting up for that."

"Thanks." And I mean it, I needed to rest if I have any hope of getting out of bed at all tomorrow. The beer works its way through me, relaxing the tension in my shoulders.

"Don't get weird on me." He passes me on the stairs, dropping the protein bar beside me. "I meant it, I'm not helping you."

"What did you mean earlier, about Rose?"

I hear him laughing quietly. "She's not some delicate little thing let's just say."

What the hell did that mean? I resist calling after him, it's likely he's goading me and exaggerating. To ask more questions is to give him what he wants. I take another drink and then heave myself up. I flick off the lights before tackling the stairs, one at a time.

This might be one of the shitier moments of my life.

Lying on a dingy bed with a vague memory of how I got there with Rose shouting my name is another.

I reach the landing and her door's ajar, a faint glow from inside. I'll talk to her tomorrow, I don't have the energy right now to be supportive or a sounding board if she needs it. I fear I'll say something and make things worse.

I slip into my room and pause. "What are you doing?"

Rose grins lazily at me from my bed, face atop her folded hands.

"I wanted to talk to you." She sits up and crosses her legs.

That suit is molded to her like the darkest night sky and there are patterns on it that I'd need to be closer to discern.

"Can it wait until the morning?"

"Technically it is morning." She says, her voice dragging a little on words.

"Okay smartass." I quip. I leave the door open and move across the room, removing my belt and setting my stake on the dresser. "What can't wait?"

In the mirror, she tosses her thick hair back. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"We argued, then I argued with Spiridon...twice, and then I got into a fight with that girl, Mia."

"I told you, I rarely get mad." Something I'd worked hard on, for a long time.

"I don't believe you." I couldn't stand any longer and I all but stagger to the bed and drop down on the edge. She crawls closer to me. "You seemed mad earlier."

"I wasn't mad. I was concerned."

"Can you help me take this off?" For a terrifying moment, I think she means her suit but she pulls at her mask. "I think it's stuck in my hair."

I oblige. It takes a few minutes but then the ribbon comes loose. She rubs under her eyes and lets out a sigh of relief. She smiles at me, doe eye's framed by dark lashes.

It's taking all my willpower to stay sitting. I feel like I've been clubbed over the head, the beer has accelerated my exhaustion. I don't feel substantial, I feel like I'm between the place of dreaming and being awake.

"I kissed a boy tonight." She blurts.

"I know."

"It wasn't how I thought it would be."

"Oh?"

"I didn't feel anything."

"You seemed pretty enthusiastic about it."

Again, in the mirror I see her brow furrow as she looks at me and moves into a kneeling position. "No, the second time I was annoyed and wasn't really thinking."

"Second time?" I rub my eyes, trying to stimulate some sense of awareness.

She hums. "Yeah. The first time I was curious but as I said, didn't feel like what I thought it would feel like, you know?"

I chuckle because despite everything this was a relatively normal experience she was owed. Her first kiss at a party, with her friends, and from what I'd seen and heard a relatively decent boy.

I turn to her and say gently, "There will be other kisses and they'll be better."

"How do you know?"

The mask has left indentions on her skin. I reach out and smooth my thumb over one of the red lines and she leans into my hand. "Because they'll mean something to you."

"Mean something to me." She repeats quietly.

I know a line has been crossed, the exact place and time I couldn't be sure. I knew I should move away, now. I could blame it on a mix of exhaustion and intrigue, intrigue piqued by how she'd emerged tonight. The cold hard truth is I didn't want to move away – even with a voice in the back of my mind screaming at me as her eyes drop to my mouth. She leans in and a shred of decency makes me say her name as a warning but to my ears, it sounds like an invitation.

Her lips brush against mine, a whisper of a kiss but I feel it in every nerve ending. The hand cupping her cheek draws her closer and she sighs against my lips. Sweet, her breath is sweet. My tongue traces her bottom lip before closing over it again. She makes a small noise in her throat. It's that noise that makes me pay attention to the voice in my head, to reason, because that noise would make me lose all my sense if I let it.

I pull away and her head falls into the crook of my shoulder.

My heart is thundering as hard as it had before I went into cardiac arrest.

I should be filled with shame and disgust but the sensation of the kiss is still pulsing through me. I blink not entirely sure of what's happened and what's real.

"Rose, I think you should go to your room now." I say quietly.

She doesn't respond. Her breathing coming soft and slow against my neck. I look up at the mirror and see her eyes closed, her cheek resting on my shoulder, and a small smile on her lips.

What have I done?

What the hell just happened?

I dreg up every ounce of strength I have left and pull her into my lap before standing. I rock back on my heels and take a steadying breath. The trip across the hall is laborious but I don't falter with her in my arms. Lissa is asleep in the bed, still in her costume. I lay Rose down next to her and pull a blanket over them both.

I stumble on the way back to my room, trying to outpace my thoughts before they can consume me whole. I collapse and I'm asleep before they find me.

Notes:

Hello lovelies. Let's just say...this is a trial chapter which might not entirely be fair seeing some of you have waited years for this and I might not have executed it appropriately so I'll see what your feedback is like. I don't mean in terms of the Romitri interaction but in terms of putting a lot more detail into things.

* I'd like to stress something because it's easy to assume a course of a story. Dimitri will not wake up and be a cold-hearted, self-hating bastard and push Rose away. A near-death experience has him re-assessing things and more in tune with his emotions. 'That dark thing' he controls is not just his rage and impulsiveness but his passion.

* About his younger days when he was frequently fighting with Spiridon or getting with a girl, there was only one girl and he was not about false promises or leading people on.

I didn't want to walk through the party in real-time with Dimitri but wanted him to recall it instead. I wanted his focus to be on his job with a few distractions (Rose) instead of pouring over how he felt about the happenings of previous chapters (he was in a coma, not a lot to agonize over).
I do worry the tense might be confusing – so if it is felt it should be in real-time I will re-write it. I owe you all that much.

I have the rest of this story mapped out and nailed down now. Dramatic and sexy things are coming (I've been reading so much smut it's absurd).

Once again I thank you all so so much for all your kindness and patience. I read all your reviews and some of them have been so supportive and understanding. I can't thank those people enough – just know that you bring a lot of light into a hard time.

Stay safe x