When Emily mentioned Gabriel 'wolfing out' this morning, I didn't realize what she meant. But after dinner rolled around, Gabriel was on edge. So much so that when he was helping Michael clean up from dinner, he dropped the casserole dish. His limbs trembled, and before any of us could move, Michael called out for Rose.

The sun had come down over the horizon, leaving the moon to dance over the rippled water. Rose wanted us to stay inside, but even though we were in the house, we could hear it.

Guardian Croft seemed to be in mental distress listening to Gabriel's scream being choked off, we could hear his bones cracking and Rose's whispers of encouragement. Tilda came out of her office and sat on the couch closest to the back door, her head angled towards it in case she needed to go outside.

"Should we be concerned about him?" Guardian Castile asked.

Sheila shook her head from where she went over Michael's homework with him.

"This is normal. It's actually moving much faster than it usually does," she explained quietly, "If she doesn't come in in the next ten minutes, one of us needs to go check on them. But if there was a serious problem, she would call out for us."

"Isn't there a possibility he could hurt her?" Jamieson asked.

"No. Even in his state, his instincts are in hyperdrive. The last thing he would be capable of is hurting her."

"I'll do it," I said, "Gabriel is going to be in a vulnerable state. He knows I'm not a threat to him or her."

Tilda smiled. "You caught on to it quickly."

"I simply understand the lengths you would go to protect someone you care about," I said quietly. Tyson muttered something under his breath, but Sheila was close enough to hear him and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I think you should really keep your mouth shut, before I kick you out of my house," she chastised, "From what I've read in Guardian Belikov's file, he put himself between Rose and a Strigoi, which in turn, is why he was turned. It was either him or Rose, and he cared about her enough to literally but his life between her's and danger. That's more than what can be said about you. You who has more disciplinary remarks, assault charges, and complaints from former charges. You know nothing about care," Sheila snapped.

Guardian Croft cleared his throat and left the room, mumbling that he needed to make a phone call.

Multiple set of eyes moved to Sheila. "How do you know that?" I asked.

"You got files about us; we got files about you. It's only fair," Bryce said as he flopped down onto the couch, picking up the gaming controller.

I smirked because I knew that they got files about us, I just didn't know what they got about us. I took the moment and listened carefully. I couldn't hear anything from outside so I got up and went to the door. I couldn't see much so I went out, closing the door carefully behind me.

I scanned the deck but didn't see much and headed for the stairs.

"Comrade?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned, finding Rose in the corner of the deck, enveloped in darkness aside from her eyes.

"I just wanted to check on Gabriel. It got quiet," I said as I slipped my hand into the pockets of my jeans. I felt naked without my duster but understood why Rose was holding it hostage.

"He's okay. He's tired," Rose said, turning her head and stroking her hand over what I originally thought was darkness. Instead, she was sitting on the deck and Garbriel's form was wrapped around her, his head resting on her lap. The closer I looked, I could see the blue-green glow near her lap. His eyes were open, but barely. You could see the exhaustion from here. I crept closer and sat down too, my back against the wall of the house.

"How is he?"

"He's better. This phase went much faster, and then was no vomiting, which is a plus. The fact that he climbed the stairs says a lot too. I'm glad," Rose explained as she stroked the top of Gabriel's head and between his eyes. he lifted his head slightly, a whine vibrating through his throat. He leaned into Rose's touch, and she rubbed it again.

"I call it the pet strip. Think of it as having a wicked headache and you wear a pressure mask. It feels good, alleviate some of the pain," she mused and then rubbed behind his ears. If I didn't know that he was a person, I would have thought that he was a very loyal dog.

I reached over and rubbed between his eyes too, a small chuckle leaving my lips. I expected the fur to be coarse, but it was surprisingly soft.

"He's not going to bite me, is he?"

Gabriel made what I could consider a snorting noise and rested his head back in Rose's lap.

"Are you cold? I could get you a blanket from inside," I offered and she shook her head.

"No. He's overheated so he's keeping me warm," she said with a smile, "But if you are cold, you can go inside."

I smiled at her. "I'm fine here," I whispered and crossed my ankles, folding my hands in my lap. Rose smiled and shifted under Gabriel and rested her head against the wall of the house too.

"I love it here," she whispered, "I love the water."

"It is nice. I've never seen the ocean aside from being in a plane," I mused quietly.

Rose looked down at Gabriel again, his eyes closed and his breathing slow. She carefully untangled herself from Gabriel and extended her hand to me.

"C'mon," she said softly. She didn't have shoes on and her pants only came down to her knees.

"Where are we going?"

"You're going to dip your toes in the ocean," she said as she took my hand. the smile on her face was worth it. Even if the water was cold, it was worth it. I pulled my boots and socks off, rolled my jeans up and waded into the water with her.

There was a sharp bite to the temperature, but it was refreshing. Rose had a carefree smile on her face as she waded into the water, her back to the ocean.

Once we were out far enough, Rose stopped and closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sky.

"Gabriel told me what Tilda saw in me," I said after a moment. We were far enough away from prying ears, even Gabriel wouldn't be able to hear us from here.

Rose's smile dropped and she looked at me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because it's my fault," she said, "A lot of things that you went through in the last year are because of me."

"Roza," I started but she cut me off.

"If you never got assigned to me and Lissa, you never would have bee at the academy. You never would have fallen in love with me, and you never would have put yourself between me and that Strigoi. And if I had done what you wanted, you would have been staked by me, and you never would have been restored, and laced with Spirit. It is my fault."

I walked closer to her, the waves lapping up over the thighs of my jeans as I walked closer to her. I reached for her hand. She let me take it, and I slipped my fingers between hers.

"Meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened in my life, Rose. I can promise you, that my life would have been incredibly boring and mundane. And I never would have gotten the opportunity to know what it feels like to love someone as much as I have loved you," I whispered.

Rose's lips twitched and she blushed.

"Damn it. Now I have to acknowledge that Ivan was right," she laughed, "He's a pain in the ass. Was he a pain in the ass when he was alive?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Yes. And a loudmouth."

"Oh my God, he doesn't stop sometimes. Do you know that the week before you guys came, he stood next to my bed and talked about you nonstop? And then told me some amazing stories about you as a teenager. Did you really break into the Moroi common room to steal a case of pop?"

I smiled. "It was a dare."

Rose smirked at me and her eyes glanced over my shoulder, her smile falling from her lips. I glanced over my shoulder as well, but couldn't see anything. I turned back to her and moved so I was in her full line of sight.

"Just look at me. I'm here, I'm the one in front of you. If it's who I think it is, then he can't hurt you."

Rose's lips twitched. "But he can," she whispered.

"Is that what happened to your wrist?"

"It's why we have the wards on the property. It's not just for Strigoi. It doesn't stop the ghosts from appearing, but it makes them weaker," she said, "It's part of why there are cameras in the house. Sometimes we can pick things up on the cameras. The sleepwalking is induced by stress."

"Is that why Gabriel wanted the straps on the locks?"

"Yeah. They go on near the top of the door. Kind of like baby-proofing a house," she said with a shrug, "It's just an extra precaution."

I lifted her hand up and looked at the jagged scar inside her wrist.

"What happened here?"

"Derek's a poltergeist. It's a ghost or entity that can behave violently and manipulate physical matter or objects. Nobody really knows what they are. They tend to like women more than men. But Derek…I don't know where I picked Derek up. But one day, I did. I didn't see him at first, it was when I was still on the anti-psychotics, so it made everything hazy. Anyway, one night I was actively trying to ignore him, and he threw one of Sheila's vases at me. I blocked my face, but got a lot of glass instead," she explained as I ran my finger over the skin.

"And with the wards?"

"He's more of an annoyance," she said plainly, "But he's a pain in the ass. So if anything just randomly goes missing, it's Derek."

I nodded in understanding, laughing when there was a howl from the deck.

"Are you just butt hurt up there that my attention isn't on you?" Rose called out. Garbiel whined and howled, stamping his paw against the deck.

"Is that something to be concerned about?"

"No, he's just getting a second wind," Rose laughed as Gabriel trotted down the stairs and ran into the waves. Rose squeezed my hand before letting go, splashing Gabriel as he ran towards us.

It was comical watching the two of them splash in the water. Gabriel lunged at her, growled and tried to splash back, but it wasn't so easy. Gabriel whined in protest, so I dragged my hand through the water, spraying Rose with water.

She squealed and gasped, turning on me. It was war! Rose turned on me, spraying me with water while I splashed her back. Gabriel would lunge at her, making her dance back in the waves. We were both soaked at that point. I lurched forward and picked her up, kicking and squealing before letting us both fall into the waves.

I choked on the water as I sat up, laughing before I cleared the water. When Rose rose up on her knees, her hair was covering her face. She sputtered as she tried to get her hair out of her face. Gabriel lunged at her again, knocking her back into the water. He rolled off her and danced back a few feet when Rose's arm swung out.

"Asshole," Rose laughed as she got her hair out of her way. She stood up and tried to right herself, but couldn't with wet clothes.

"Who? Me or him?"

"Both of you!" she laughed as she swiped at Gabriel again, trudging towards the shore.

I could feel eyes on me. It was unsettling, and the way my heart pounded in my chest was unsettling. I rolled slowly, finding a figure standing beside the bed.

"Hello?"

The figure swayed as my vision adjusted.

"Rose?"

Rose swayed again and shuffled around the bed. She lifted the covers and climbed into the bed, almost climbing directly on top of me. Once she got comfortable, she sighed quietly.

"Panda's like pineapple," she muttered.

I laughed. "What?"

"And cats like peanut butter," she murmured, burrowing her nose against my neck.

I chuckled to myself and moved on the bed, pulling both of us away from the edge of the bed. She sighed again but I could see that her eyes weren't exactly closed.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you awake or are you still sleepwalking?"

She was quiet for a moment. "I was sleepwalking, but I'm awake now," she whispered, "Partly mortified that I just climbed on top of you."

I chuckled. "Well, I was going to go with it. Not much you can do to stop a sleepwalker."

Rose chuckled. "It's nice, being held for a minute," she said before she moved off of me, laying beside me as she tucked her hands under her hands.

"Are you alright?"

"Gabriel's bed is too firm," she whispered, but I could tell there was something deeper, more pressing at the forefront of her mind.

"What is it?"

"Do you ever dream about it? The caves? The attack on the Academy?"

I shifted down the bed so I was at eye level with her. "Sometimes, when I'm stressed out," I whispered, "Or the anniversary. The last time I dreamed about that night was your birthday."

Rose frowned. "That sucks."

"Well, not exactly about the attack. But other things that happened that night," I said honestly. Rose's lips quirked at my words.

"Gabriel told me other things the other night."

She sighed. "Yeah?"

"That you told me what I wanted to hear? I'm guessing Ivan helped you with that?"

"No, Mason," she snorted with a laugh.

I chuckled. "Of course, he rats me out," I said as I rolled onto my back. I tucked my arm under my head and sighed quietly.

"What happened here?" Rose asked, her finger ghosting over the thin scar on the underside of my bicep. The feeling of her finger brushing my skin made my skin pebble and I suppressed a shiver so she didn't realize how much it tickled.

"Strigoi hunting party," I said, "It happened a few months ago."

"Hunting party?"

"Nests were getting too close to Court. It was one of the nests I knew about from when I was Strigoi," I explained, "I'm not allowed to do much. I was lucky that I was allowed to do this exercise."

"That's part of my fault," Rose quipped, "Croft contacted me because I was the common link. I asked who was coming, and said that you were one of the best. You were a good teacher, and people need to remember that you are the youngest Guardian to ever be offered a position on the Queen's guard. And you turned it down to find me and Lissa."

I was stunned for a moment and looked at her.

"How did you know that?" I asked before I shook my head, "Never mind. Ghosts."

Rose smirked at me. "Do you want me to go sleep on the couch? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

I smiled softly. "No. It's fine. It's not like I haven't shared a bed with you before. And, I slept better last night than I have in a while."

Rose smiled. "You feel safe. Your brain produces more oxytocin, so you relax more and you have less anxiety as well. You reach REM sleep quicker."

"When did you turn into a doctor?" I chuckled.

Rose smiled a full teethed smile. "I didn't. There's an old woman that likes to follow me around. She used to be a psychiatrist, one of the first female psychiatrists in the U.S. She likes to tell me things from time to time. Like how when you're panicking, it's best to be hugged tightly because it compresses your nervous system and calms you down," she said through a yawn.

"Good to know," I whispered softly as her eyes started to droop.

"Go to sleep, Roza. Tomorrow's another day. You can tell me more about your ghost friends in the morning," I whispered. Rose nodded softly to herself and within a few minutes, she was out cold. I smiled to myself and stretched my head forward, kissing her temple softly.

Just something short and sweet 3