It was surprisingly easy to convince Dimitri to tour the house. They started in the kitchen, where she grabbed bottles of water for both of them. They drank greedily, thirsty after the long walk from Mark and Oksana's.

Jill joined them in the kitchen. A broad smile spread across her lips when she saw Dimitri. She glanced between Rose and Dimitri, a hundred unspoken questions visible on her face. "Guar... um, Mister Belikov, hi."

Rose bit back a laugh, she hadn't heard Jill's adorable rambling for a very long time. Dimitri smiled. "You can call me Dimitri."

"Hi Dimitri. Rose, I thought you weren't going to see him?"

"Well, I wasn't planning to, but we ran into each other at Mark and Oksana's."

Jill grinned brightly. She had found out about Rose and Dimitri's previous relationship many months earlier. Rose had realized long ago that Jill was a hopeless romantic, and the idea that love could conquer all enthralled the younger girl. "And you walked her home?"

Rose looked away, attempting to stop herself from laughing. Dimitri didn't fully manage to restrain his mirth. "I thought that her father would be happier with me if I walked her home rather than letting her walk alone."

"Yeah, probably," Jill agreed. "Abe's pretty nice but can also be scary. Have you been with your family since returning from America?"

"Yes, I have. I've enjoyed being with them."

Jill's smile suddenly fell. "I miss my mom and dad. I'm glad that you have time with your own family." She looked at Rose. "I called my mom today."

Rose walked to the girl and embraced her. They relaxed into one another, holding onto the familiarity of a friend. "I know that my dad is working on a way to have them visit. It'll just take time."

Jill chewed on her lower lip, preventing herself from crying. "I know, but it's almost been a year."

"I'll see what can be done," Rose promised. "Is your school work done?"

Jill pulled away and made a face. "No, I still need to finish reading Macbeth by the end of the week."

"Have you even started?" Jill's expression told Rose that the answer was a decisive 'no'. "Go read. I'm sure Dimitri will visit again soon."

The younger girl gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine. It was good to see you again Dimitri, you should come back. Bring your family with you!" A moment later, Jill walked from the room.

Rose giggled. "You really should bring them. They could all come here for dinner tomorrow night. We have more than enough room and food."

"I will ask when I get home."

"Great! I would love to see them all again."

"I know that they would love to see you again as well." His face and voice were warm and affectionate.

Warmth spread throughout her body. She looked away from him, heart racing. "Why don't I give you the grand tour?"

"Sure," he agreed.

She began the tour in the kitchen, since that was where they were. The building had five floors, two of which were below ground. Half of the top floor was locked- those were her father's private rooms. The other half of the top floor held two guest apartments, which was where Rose and Jill were staying. There was also a library and a lounge containing a television, bar, and a pool table. The floor below held six bedrooms and another lounge. The ground floor contained the kitchen, two dining rooms, two sitting rooms, a pantry, and a very large wine and liquor room. The first basement level held the gym, a pool, laundry rooms, and staff housing. The second basement level held unoccupied staff housing, storage, and maintenance.

Rose didn't bother to show Dimitri the lowest level. She did show him the gym, telling him that he should come spar with her and the other guardians, to which he agreed. He seemed amazed by the sheer amount of alcohol in the liquor and wine room. He was impressed with the library, admiring the many volumes which lined the walls.

"Come on, I'll show you my apartment," she told him. He agreed, somewhat hesitant, and followed her up to the uppermost floor. She opened the door, and they walked inside.

"Impressive," he said.

She laughed. "I love it."

Her apartment contained a living room, kitchenette, office, bedroom, and bathroom. She walked into the office and brought out her laptop. Then she sat on the sofa and gestured for him to sit beside her, which he did a moment later.

"These are pictures of the other houses," she said, looking through the pictures on her computer. She felt a flood of joy and nostalgia when she reached the pictures of Paris. One more week until she and Lissa were reunited.

"You three seem very happy there," he said as they looked at a picture of Rose, Lissa, and Jill standing in front of a brightly lit Christmas tree.

"Yeah, we were. Jill and Lissa still have a lot to work through, but we had a lot of fun together. I can't wait until she's here again."

"It seems like you've worked through your issues with her."

"We worked through all our issues after I returned from Siberia. She was brave. She helped find a way to free you and wanted to learn to stake a Strigoi, just so that I could have you back. She would do anything for me, and I would do anything for her. Right now, that means I need to be with Jill. I don't know if I'll ever be her guardian, but I will always be her best friend."

"Good, I'm glad."

"What made you comment on that anyway?"

"I was worried that I might have caused a rift between you two."

"Why? Because she talked to you when you cut me off? Yeah it made me jealous and angry, but I've been in hiding for ten months, and you've been in Baia for just as long. Right now, every moment I can spend with her or any of my friends makes the long months of near isolation worthwhile."

"I can only imagine how hard it is for you to constantly be in hiding."

"I miss Lissa. Yeah, it gets boring to be cooped up all the time, but I have Jill, Abe's guardians, staff, and our tutors to talk with. I work out and train with Jill and the guardians. We take walks to local markets quite often. But Lissa has been with me since we were in kindergarten. It hurts. Everyone I called friend is gone except for Jill. In some ways, our mutual isolation has helped Jill and I bond so much. We only have one another."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?" She was genuinely confused.

"I wish I could have been there for you."

"It's fine, really. Right now I don't want to think about our past. We've already had one awkward conversation about it. I think that's good for now. I'm happy enough to talk to you as a friend. Yes, I've got a hundred questions going through my mind, but I don't want to think about them right now because I want to just relax in the present. I want to enjoy having a friend here. Later on, I'm sure that I will be awake half the night overthinking everything, but right now, I'm not going to do that."

He smiled, shaking his head. "I've missed you."

Her heart fluttered. Didn't she want to avoid him only a few hours ago? "I've missed you too."

They looked at one another. So much warmth and familiarity was in his eyes. She felt her face grow warm, and her body seemed to have ideas which went beyond friendship. Of course, that fell into the category of things she was trying to avoid thinking or talking about. She set the laptop on a table and stood, flustered.

He stood a moment later, concerned. "Do you want me to go?"

"I don't know."

A moment later, she broke. Her words came tumbling out, pouring from her like a dam breaking. "I'm so afraid that if I let out everything I'm feeling that you'll hurt me again. I loved today Dimitri. Talking to you like an old friend has been the best thing to happen between us in I don't know how long, but I am terrified of you hurting me again. I can't go through it a second time. I... I'm not strong enough."

His reply was slow and quiet, an anchor in her storm. "I don't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. I..." He stopped himself.

Her despair gave way to anger. "You what? Say what you mean to say. I'm tired comrade, tired of wondering why your eyes light up when you look at me. Part of me keeps hoping, wanting you to feel something. The rest of me keeps replaying what you told me in the chapel. Make a choice, but when you do, make sure you stick to it because I won't let you play with my emotions again."

He stared at her in stunned amazement. "I am sorry for hurting you, Roza. I have loved every moment of our time together today. I told you earlier that I don't want to presume anything, and I still don't. I... I do still have feelings for you. For a long time, I couldn't admit that to myself, but now I can. What I don't want is for either of us to rush into something which could destroy the steps we've made toward one another today. I would rather have you as a friend than not have you in my life."

A broken laugh, mixed with tears, sprang from her lips. "I hate when you're so rational."

He held out his arms to her, and she walked to him, letting him embrace her. She breathed in his scent, relaxing against him. She hadn't touched him like this as a warm, living person since the Saint Vladimir's attack. They both pulled away reluctantly, giving each other tentative smiles.

"Are we friends now?" she asked, wiping furiously at the tears which were escaping from her eyes.

He gave her a soft smile. "Yes. Does this mean that my answer was good enough for you?"

She laughed. "Only because it makes too much sense. I'd also rather have you as a friend than not in my life."

"I really should be getting home."

She looked at her clock. "Yeah, I don't want to worry Olena. I'm serious that you should bring everyone around for dinner tomorrow."

"We will."

"If you come early enough, we can spar. I want to know if I can kick your butt. Oh, and you should see Jill fight. She's pretty impressive."

"Jill fights?"

She laughed. "Yep. She wanted to learn how to fight when I first met her. When I came back from Siberia Christian and I trained her. Now that she and I are together all the time, I took to training her regularly."

He shook his head, amused. "I'll have to see that."

"Then you will. Come on, I'll walk you out."

He followed her downstairs to the front door. The guards greeted them, and Rose could see that they were curious. She walked outside with Dimitri, where they were alone even though they were definitely being watched by the guards.

"Thank you for walking me home," she said.

"It was my pleasure."

They stood awkwardly for a moment before he pulled her into a hug. She felt dizzy, warm, and happy in his arms.

"Я люблю тебя, Roza," he whispered into her hair, moments before they pulled apart. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose."

She swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions in check. "See you tomorrow, comrade." She forced herself to remain calm as she watched him walk away. He didn't know that she understood some Russian; the topic hadn't come up when he was around.

Я люблю тебя.

I love you.

Her heart squeezed in her chest. "Don't hurt me again," she whispered after him. "I can't lose you again."