Once the 'excitement' of the night settled, I changed for bed. When I walked into Rose's room, she was sitting on the edge of her bed dressed for bed.

"Are you alright?"

"I haven't seen a Strigoi since…you," she breathed, "I forgot what it felt like. The nausea, that fear in your chest. I forgot what it felt like."

I nodded and sat beside her, gripping her hand that rested in her lap.

"You hide the fear well," I whispered.

"All I could think about was Mikey. I remember when I froze when I saw Natalie, and I knew what to expect. But him…that was hard. To comfort Bryce, Emily, and Martin and Sheila. Gabriel, he'd seen one before, but them. That's terrifying. And for a minute, I thought I was too late."

I nodded and squeezed her hand.

"You're lucky to have an Alchemist contact like that. It can come in handy," I mused, not wanting to jump on the topic directly but ease into it. Rose was like a deer in the woods when it came to personal things. You couldn't make any sudden movements; I couldn't make any sudden movements.

"Yeah, I can thank my father for that," she said after a moment, looking up at me from under her lashes.

"I knew that you were going to ask," she said with a smirk. I chuckled.

"I was simply curious about his generosity that came so quickly."

Rose shrugged. "Before I even told them about my gift, they took me in. Gabriel found me camping out in the woods. Instinct led him to me, and they took me in. Once they realized I could see the dead, they reached out to Jerry. Once Abe heard that they were taking me in, out of the kindness of their hearts, and understanding out our mateship, he offered to help fund the project. That's why it flew under the radar for so long," she explained tiredly, yawning widely.

"It's been a long day," I whispered, standing up and reaching under the pillow to turn the bed down. Once I had the covers down, I gestured for Rose to climb under the sheet.

"You're not coming to bed?" she asked. The notion of the question made my lips smile. She didn't mean it in the way that I wanted it to, but it was a sweet question.

"I have to talk to Croft about tonight's incident, and then I'll be in shortly," I whispered as I tucked her hair behind her head. She nodded and tucked the edge of the blanket under her cheek and closed her eyes.

I didn't linger and headed down the stairs and went into the living room. Martin was sitting on the couch with a beer, a report file balanced on his lap. he looked up and nodded politely at me.

"Beers in the fridge if you'd like one. Or if you want something stronger, there's liquor out the cabinet above the fridge," he offered before making a note on his file. I nodded and I glanced at Croft out of habit. He had a beer in his hands while everyone aside from Guardian Castile declined. I stepped back into the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

From the look on Castile's face, I knew something was on his mind, and I had a feeling it was the same thought. Gabriel came down and grabbed a beer too, eyeing Croft and then me before sitting on the ground next to my chair.

"How's your face?" Gabriel chirped at Tyson as he took a sip of beer. Tyson grumbled and a few Guardians threw a look at Gabriel, but Castile tried to cover up his laughter.

"Tonight was a long one," I murmured as I relaxed.

"Yeah, that's not how I expected your last night here to go," Gabriel mused, "Did you talk to Rose yet?"

"About what?" Castile asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Not yet."

"Get a move on," Gabriel joked. I rolled my eyes again and drank my beer. Martin engaged the rest of them in conversation and shortly after, Bryce came down.

"Can I have one too?" he asked gesturing to my beer.

Martin looked up at him and shrugged.

"You aren't leaving the house. Go for it," he said as he got up to get another one for himself. I asked for another as Croft walked by, reaching for my phone as it buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled to myself.

"Uh oh. There are only so many things that can make you smile like that," Croft joked as he came back into the room, handing me my beer.

"My niece," I said with a smile, turning the phone to him so he could see. Katya was so small, but so much like her mother already. Croft smiled at the photo and sat back down, sighing quietly as he got comfortable.

"Is it wrong to say that I'm not looking forward to going back to Court?" Tyson murmured from his corner.

There was a collection of murmured no's from the room. I smirked and noticed Gabriel tense up before springing up from his spot, jumping in front of me when a glass sculpture flew across the room. He batted it out of the way and ducked as a picture flew off the wall.

Tyson's face was stunned but the bottle in his hand exploded, spraying him with beer and glass.

Everyone was on their feet in an instant, but the room ensued into chaos. I understood what Rose meant about Derek now. Poltergeist. The chairs flew out of the dining room, stacking together in a way that they separated half of us from the other.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know," Gabriel said as he batted another flying object that came toward my face, "But he's pissed at you."

"Lovely," I grunted and raised my arm fast enough to block the snow globe hurtling towards me. For a moment, everything was still before the chairs exploded, the knick-knacks that were still on the shelves shook.

There was a smell that floated from behind me and I turned, finding Rose behind me holding a smoking stick. Well, it wasn't a stick, but a bundle of dry herbs tied together. It was quite large and the smell was strange. Rose wafted the smoke into the room with her hand, her eyes almost like she was in a trance.

"You aren't wanted here, and you will not hurt my friends. Not anymore," she said as she blew at the stalk in her hand. The shaking stopped as Rose blew the smoke into the room. She did it for a few minutes before she dabbed the end out against the saucer in her hand.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked no one in particular.

"What was that?"

"Sage," she said tiredly, "It's one of the few things that actually works. But it's not a complete fix, he'll be back. And he'll be pissed. Mason woke me up when he saw Derek coming."

Gabriel and I moved at the same time to comfort her, but I let Gabriel go to her first. He needed to comfort her, and while I wanted to comfort her too, I let him.

Rose rested her head against his shoulder for a second before she smiled at me tightly.

"I'm going back to bed. I was dreaming," she whispered. We all watched Rose walk sleepily back towards the stairs. I could hear her footsteps overhead before she climbed into bed.

"I didn't realize that he could be so volatile," I said as I moved to help clean some of the broken glass.

"He did a real number on her one night," Gabriel muttered as he picked up some of the bigger pieces. Everyone else was righting the furniture and putting items that weren't broken back on the shelves. When I went into the kitchen to toss the glass, there was a lone file lying on the island. It was one of ours, the writing on the file was Croft's.

When I picked it up, something caught my eye. I knew that the contents were none of my business, but there was something about it that made my stomach drop. I set it back into the briefcase that was tucked on the window seat as Guardian Croft came into the kitchen. He glanced at me and then the file in my hand. Guardian Croft cocked his head to the side and I followed him, stepping outside and shutting the door behind us.

"Can I speak freely?" I asked and Croft cast his eyes towards the house before he nodded.

"We aren't here to see if they know anything about Spirit, are we?" I asked.

Guardian Croft shook his head. "No. I can't say now, but I hope that I can trust you to keep this to yourself?"

"Of course, sir," I said firmly and he gave me a curt nod.

"Good," he said before going back inside. I followed him inside as well and bid everyone else good night, climbing the stairs.

We had been back at Court for a week and I wasn't surprised when I got a text message from an unknown number to meet someone at a specific location outside of Court.

I walked into the bar that I was told to go to and found the man I was looking for quickly, weaving through the people and sliding into the booth across from him.

"Croft," I said politely.

"Belikov. Thank you for meeting me," Guardian Croft said. I nodded and ordered a beer with a plate of nachos. Guardian Croft had a beer himself and I could see a file lying on the booth next to him. Once my beer was brought to the table, I asked the million-dollar question.

"What happens now?"

Guardian Croft smirked and picked up the file, setting it on the table between us.

"The assignment was never to see if Nighthall had information on Spirit," Croft stated.

"I gathered," I said dryly, "What was the real reason we were there?"

Croft gestured to the file and I opened it. I took a sip of my beer as I read the file, rubbing my finger over my lip as my brows furrowed.

"We were sizing them up," I said quietly, "They figured they would be useful to the Moroi."

Guardian Croft nodded and took a sip of his own beer. I flipped through the file some more, shaking my head in frustration.

"They figured they could use Rose to get Gabriel to do what they wanted, keep him in somewhat of a subdued state," I said with a sigh, drinking more of my beer.

"We all watched Gabriel decapitate a Strigoi with his bare hands. Emily is an astral projector and could be used for indigent purposes. Michael could be used for intelligence inception. I think they mentioned someone was like a faith healer?"

"Jordon. He can heal any ailment, and inflict it. From what I heard from Rose, he flies pretty heavily under the radar. But, Emily could find anyone if she tried hard enough," I mused and gestured for a refill on my beer when our waiter came by. I drummed my fingers against the tabletop as I got to the end of the file.

"This is atrocious," I said as I closed the file, "Where did you get this?"

"That's why I know just how effective Emily is. She observed a meeting at my request, and she told me where they stored the information afterwards. The Royal Council don't safeguard their documents as well as I thought they would," Croft said tiredly and we stopped our conversation when the waiter came by with my nachos. I offered some to Croft and shook my head to myself as I looked at the closed file on the table.

"Does Rose know about any of this?"

"I'm not sure," he said and I sighed. I felt conflicted on so many levels. I was conflicted with my moral compass, my duty, but ultimately with my feelings towards Rose. She was free. I would never say that I was jealous of that, but sometimes I wished I was part of a different life. Rose didn't need to be sucked back into this when she had enough to deal with on her own.

"What do we do? If they were able to find this group, what's to say that they won't be able to find other people like them…even people who are more dangerous than Gabriel and Rose?"

"I don't know yet," Croft said after a minute. The hesitation was louder than his words and it made my stomach sink, the nachos feeling like lead.

"I don't like this."

Croft nodded and ordered two drinks from our waiter when he came by. I hadn't heard of it before but didn't pay any mind to it, pulling my phone out when I buzzed in my pocket.

I think you forgot something – Rose.

I opened the photo and chuckled. "That makes sense," I said with a chuckle.

"What's that?"

"I haven't been able to find the cologne I use. I apparently left it in Cape May," I said with a smile.

Croft nodded and leaned back in the booth, rubbing his brow when two shot glasses were set on the table in front of us. I cocked my head when I looked at it. It was dark, but I wasn't sure what it was.

"Mind Eraser," Croft said as he lifted his shot glass. I lifted the other one and cheered it, shooting the shot back and clearing my throat. It was bitter, like coffee and vodka.

"Can I say something without overstepping?"

I nodded. "You are my boss."

"I would like to say it as someone you could view as a friend or an acquaintance that you trust?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"I had heard rumours about you and Hathaway when you were both at the Academy. I'm not one to listen to gossip, but after seeing how you two interacted…I can see it. Why everyone turned a blind eye to it. You two were good for each other. Even with a strained relationship, I could see that you trust each other, and I can see your friendship blooming," Croft said, "We're lucky to have fleeting moments, but to have something real. That's something else. And I have an idea about how to help it work for you."

"Make it work for me?" I asked with a slight chuckle. I wasn't laughing at him exactly, but more at the underlying eagerness to help me in my personal life.

"Her Majesty is going to want someone to go back every few weeks to Nighthall for observation purposes. I can recommend you for the job. I could use the basis that not many Moroi will allow you to guard them, and that you have gained the trust and respect of the program members. That way, not only will you be around people who don't make snide comments when you're standing in the room, but you can work with Nighthall on a solution to our little problem."

I mulled it over as we finished off the nachos. It was a good idea to be honest. I'd be running on day time, I'd be doing something of use, and I'd be out of the now toxic environment I had found myself in. Since being restored, it wasn't uncommon for other Guardians to cross the halls or sidewalks when I approached, or for them to stray clear of me in public places.

But even as someone who once found solitude in being alone, it didn't mean I didn't get lonely. I still craved interaction. My reputation wasn't what it once was. It was with Croft and a handful of Guardians, but among the Royals and Moroi, I wasn't trusted.

"When would this start?"

"Within the next week. I can have the documents drawn up in the next few days."

Out of respect, there was one Moroi that I needed to see before I started my new assignment. It would be two weeks there, one week here, and so on.

I knocked briskly on the door, turning my back to the door as I waited for it to be answered. I turned back when it opened, Lissa standing in the doorway with a polite smile.

"Guardian Belikov, what a surprise," she said as she stepped away from the door. I was surprised that she opened the door herself, given that she had a sanctioned Guardian, but when I saw him standing just inside, I nodded my head at him politely.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" I said as she led me into the living room. Lissa shook her head and offered me a coffee, one that I greatly accepted.

"No, I was just studying. But I needed a break; my brain was starting to turn to mush," she laughed from the kitchen, coming out with two mugs of coffee in her hands. She extended one to me and I took it, following her to the couches and sitting down.

"Was there something that you needed?" she asked as she sipped her coffee, crossing her legs.

"I wanted to let you know that I have accepted an assignment that will require me to be from Court two weeks at a time," I said and she lowered her mug, looking perplexed.

"What kind of assignment? They don't have you on one of the hunting groups, do they?"

I choked on my coffee. I wasn't aware that she would know of them. Only very few people were a part of the hunting parties that would go to take care of clusters or nests of Strigoi that were getting too close to Court.

"No, Princess. It's an assignment in Cape May. I'll be working with an organization that Her Majesty believes has some knowledge of Spirit," I explained. Lissa raised her brows and rested the mug in her lap, a puzzled look crossing her face.

"This isn't a punishment, right? I mean, being sent away from Court? It seems like a punishment when it's just you," she said.

"I'm touched at your concern, Princess, but no, it's not punishment. Guardian Croft asked me personally if I would like to take on the assignment. There is also a…personal reason why he asked me," I explained, a smile crossing my lips as I thought of Rose.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "May I ask what?"

I smiled. "Let's say that I am potentially rekindling an old relationship," I said. Lissa smiled at me in a way that reminded me of my mother. It was a warm and comforting smile that radiated encouragement. After a moment though, it fell and then shot up again.

"Do you mean Rose?" she asked, moving her coffee mug to the coffee table, perching on the edge of her seat. She was almost off the couch as her big green eyes stared me down.

"Yes. She is part of this program for mainly humans who have supernatural powers or abilities. Rose, as you know, was seeing Mason at the Academy after his death. Her abilities only got stronger, and now she is struggling with telling the difference between life and death. She's set up with an extraordinary mentor though, one who knows what he is doing. When I was there, we rekindled our friendship and we are both looking to rekindle other relations," I explained, a smile growing across my face.

Lissa smiled softly and leaned back against the couch.

"And aside from the ghost thing, she's doing okay?"

"She's doing good. She has a very good friend looking out for her, whether it be her wellbeing or her in general. Gabriel is a very good man."

Lissa's lips twitched. "You aren't concerned about that?"

"Gabriel is a Lycanthropy. Roe is his mate, but he says that it's platonic and that she reminds much of his mother before her death. Actually, the way they act reminded me of you and her at the Academy. It's uncanny," I explained.

Lissa's eyes showed what she wasn't willing to say. I knew that she missed her friendship with Rose, but I wasn't sure if there was much that could be done to fix it. And I felt guilty that I was partly to blame. When I was restored, Rose tried so hard to put things back to where they were, to get our relationship back. she didn't realize that while she thought she was helping me, she was hurting me because she was a reminder of the worst I had done.

And while trying to protect me, Lissa pushed Rose away and treated her poorly. She wanted to be my champion, but that meant she had to pick a side. Inadvertently, she didn't and it ruined their relationship. It wasn't long after that that Rose left Court without much of a goodbye to anyone, aside from breaking up with Adrian.

"I don't think that reaching out by phone would hurt," I said leadingly.

Lissa nodded. "Yeah. I've tried to block the bond as much as I could. I didn't think she'd like to hear from me."

I took another drink of my coffee.

"To be honest, she probably wouldn't have heard you. For a while she was on antipsychotics to try and give her clarity, but they didn't work. She's on a new medication that worked well in the clinical trial with people who were wrong-diagnosed with schizophrenia. They were all like Rose instead," I explained.

"But she's okay? I know that antipsychotics can really mess you up," she asked quietly.

"She's doing good. She's talking in her sleep still," I laughed and Lissa smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. She told me that cats like peanut butter," I chuckled. Lissa grinned and ran her hand through her hair before she spoke.

"When do you leave?"

"I leave tomorrow. I wanted to tell you myself because I respect you. You've had my back for a long time, and you have always done what you could to make me feel of use," I said. She nodded her head and smiled at me.

"I wish you all the best with your assignment, Dimitri. I really do," she said kindly.

"Thank you, Lissa."

I know the talk didn't happen here, but it will :)