My mouth felt like it was full of cotton. I blinked and groaned quietly, running my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I rolled over and bumped into another body, flinching away.

"What am I doing in your bed?" I groaned.

Emily looked up from her phone and scoffed a laugh.

"You came in here around two. Complaining that your mom was a bed hog," she laughed as she got more comfortable in the bed, "By the way; you are a bed hog."

I rolled my eyes and rolled out of bed, groaning as I got to my feet. I stretched with a sigh, my joints and back cracking loudly. I knew that I slept in a funny position, but with the twinge in my neck, I knew that I did a number on myself.

I left her room and walked down the hall, pulling up short when Dimitri stepped out of his room.

"Morning," I grumbled.

"Morning," Dimitri chirped with a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes at him and started down the hall again when Gabriel walked out of his room, dressed in workout gear. I looked back at Dimitri, seeing him in similar wear.

"You're working out without me?"

"We run together every morning," Gabriel pointed out and I rolled my eyes again, shoving him gently as I walked past them. I went down the stairs and started making coffee, rooting through the fridge and found the jar of dill pickles.

I opened the jar and poured some of the juice into a glass. I put the jar back in the fridge and sat at the island, drinking the juice with half-opened eyes. I tried to stretch my neck out, but it hurt to even tilt it. I reached up and palpated my opposite shoulder, wincing at how tight my muscles were.

As I took my hand away, another set of hands rested on my shoulders, gently kneading my tight shoulders. I sighed and hissed when Dimitri found the right knot, whimpering when he had to apply pressure to work up the knot.

"That really hurts," I complained as Dimitri worked on my shoulder.

"It's almost done," he said gently. Once the knot released I groaned quietly, letting him move my shoulders and head around to loosen the muscles. I sighed and closed my eyes as his hands rubbed gently over my skin.

"Thank you," I said. Dimitri hummed quietly and I smiled when I felt a brush against the top of my shoulder. His lips made me shiver and I bit my lip to hide my smile.

"We definitely need to talk," I whispered as I looked up at him. His eyes were soft as he nodded.

"Tonight?"

I nodded and he pecked my lips. I smiled and turned it into a more substantial kiss.

"Ew. Get a room," Gabriel teased as he came into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off. Dimitri chuckled under his breath and kissed my forehead as he stood up straight.

"Leave her alone," Dimitri replied but I could hear the laugh in his voice.

"Make me," Gabriel said petulantly and looked over my shoulder, "Pickle juice?"

I nodded as I took another sip of it.

"Hung over?"

"My mother was feeding us both tequila shots last time," I replied and Gabriel ruffled my head.

"We'll be back in a little bit," Dimitri said and I nodded, getting up when the coffee pot chimed that it was ready. I waved at them as I poured my coffee, smiling to myself as I took a sip. Dimitri and I really did need to sit down and talk about us, if there even was an us or if it was just two people falling back into a somewhat comfortable routine.

I sat on the deck as I drank my coffee. It was a bit cool this morning, but it helped wake me up. I enjoyed the quiet while it lasted though.

"You look like trash."

"Thank you," I drawled and looked up, but my face fell after a moment.

"Alto?"

For a moment, my heart dropped. I may not have liked the man, but it didn't mean I ever wanted him dead. And seeing him standing here beside me in a tank top and sleep pants, I knew that he was dead.

"Yep," he said as he sat down beside me, arms balanced on his knees. I looked at him and licked my lips, not sure what to do.

"Do…do you know?"

"That I'm dead?" he asked as he looked at me, "Yeah. Wasn't hard to figure it out."

I ran my teeth over my upper lip. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks, Hathaway," he said solemnly but looked at me with alarming clarity, "They know."

"Know what?"

"That you all know why they sent the Guardians here. It's why I'm dead," he reiterated and I shook my head.

"You were a part of it?"

"A part of the ones who were collecting information. I got stationed at Court about six months ago."

I sighed. "I'm sorry," I said again, "What happened?"

Alto pursed his lips. "I thought my drink tasted a little off. I got it on my way back up to the doors from the mess hall. By the time I got dressed for bed, I felt off. Died in my sleep, I guess?"

I took a sip of my coffee and pulled my legs up, resting the mug against my knees.

"I should let Croft know somehow," I murmured to myself.

"He probably already knows. You know; Guardian doesn't show up for a shift, found dead in his room," Alto pointed out. I nodded and frowned.

"Right," I murmured and took another drink of my coffee.

"So you see the dead."

"Yeah."

"I guess I shouldn't have been so hard on you about the incident during the field experience, huh?" Alto said with a slight chuckle.

"You didn't know," I pointed out.

Alto nodded with a smirk. "I really didn't give you enough credit when you were at the Academy."

"Please don't feel that you need to make amends because you died. Really, I've let it go," I said softly. He wasn't the first person that I had seen since I learned about the extent of my gift. Most people wanted to make amends, but I knew that sometimes it felt like an obligation. Not necessarily to me, but amends in general.

"Do people do this a lot? Come to you?"

I nodded. "You aren't the first Guardian. But I get a lot of visitors. Not just me, my mentor Jerry sees a lot too. Sometimes people are confused and need me to explain to them what's happened, or explain to them that they don't have to stay in one location. I have one woman who had a debilitating disease and she always wanted to travel. Now she goes everywhere. It's not exactly the same, but it's enough that it makes her happy," I explained, "And then sometimes, I get the angry ones. Or the ones that never walked this Earth in human form."

"That must be hard," Alto said after a moment, the severity of what I went through clear in his voice.

"It can be. The first time I saw something that wasn't originally human, it was pretty scary. And sometimes, I pretend I can't see them, but it doesn't always work. Could you imagine using a public bathroom and a ghost just 'pops' up in the stall with you?"

Alto choked a laugh and I could see his shoulders shake out of the corner of my eye.

"That would be very awkward," he admitted.

"Yeah," I said with a shake of my head, remembering the moment an old woman appeared in a bathroom stall with me while I was trying to deal with a period from hell. It was very, very awkward.

"I'm sorry," I said again, looking at him with a soft smile.

"Thank you," he said.

Dimitri had jokingly asked if I wanted to go down to the restaurant on the strip, but I blanched at the idea of going back in there. He laughed and led me towards the beach, both of us barefoot as we walked on the shoreline.

"I saw Alto this morning," I said quietly, squinty as the sun bounced off the water. Dimitri sighed quietly and nodded his head.

"I heard that he was found this morning," he said.

"He said that his drink tasted funny," I supplied and he nodded his head, frowning at the news. He slipped his hand into mine and pulled me closer.

"They're getting bolder," he whispered. I nodded and leaned into him. I knew that there had been a few incidents that were taken care of at Court, but I wasn't oblivious to think that they weren't trying. I had seen the thing that Robert had sent after me any time I left the wards, and it was unnerving, but I couldn't stay hidden in the house anymore.

Dimitri sighed again and lifted our hands, kissing the back of mine softly. I enjoyed the feeling on my hand in his. Doing something as simple and mundane as walking together on the shoreline was comforting and relaxing.

"Things are getting tense," I said softly.

"They are, but we're on the upside," Dimitri said, looking down at me with a small smile.

I nodded and rested my head against his shoulder as we walked.

"When this is all over, what do we do?"

"In what matter?" he asked and I smirked up at him, knowing he was teasing me.

"I think that when all of the issues with the Royals are over, we can move forward. I plan on stepping back from being a Guardian. I've done more for them than anyone should ever need to."

I nodded to myself and sighed quietly.

"It sounds like a good start," I said.

"I want a life. Not just going through my motions. I want to live," he explained and I smiled at him.

"I want that for you," I said softly, squeezing his hand.

"I want that for you as well. This life has robbed us both of so much and taken more than anyone should be expected to give. We've both died for this life. I want to be able to run away from this all."

I smiled and let my head rest against his arm again.

"I love you, Rose. I always have, and I was an idiot to push you away. But I didn't realize just how much I needed to heal to know how important you are to me. I hope that one day, I can earn your forgiveness for that."

I grinned even though he couldn't see me.

"Oh, comrade. I already forgave you for that. I had to heal too. I had to grieve you," I said. I looked up at him and laughed at his furrowed brows.

"I mean you being turned. I never really mourned the loss of you, I just went balls to the wall and hopped a plane to Russia. But when I took the time to really process everything that happened, I learned that I had to forgive in order to heal. I was hurt and angry, but then I realized that you were mourning yourself too," I explained, "What happened, the breakdown of our relationship, wasn't truly either of our faults. It was just right person wrong time."

Dimitri smirked. "When did you get so wise? I feel like that is something I should have said."

I rolled my eyes.

"The student has truly surpassed the teacher," I teased but could keep a straight face, breaking into a fit of laughter. Dimitri couldn't keep a straight face either, the sound of our laughter bouncing along the shore.

I let him pull me to a stop and leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I hummed quietly as he brushed his lips against mine, his fingers tangling into my hair. For a few moments, it felt like I was just regular me, not someone who had a hectic life and constantly looked over my shoulder. I was me before all the crazy happened.

"You may want to get back to the house."

I gasped and flinched back from Dimitri, rubbing my hands over my face as my heart pounded in my chest.

"Christ! Don't do that!" I exclaimed at Ivan, narrowing my eyes at him when I spun and found him standing behind me.

"Hey, just thought you might want to know that someone showed up at the house and everyone is in a tizzy right now," Ivan said holding his hands up in surrender, but he still had a grin on his lips.

"Ivan, you're a dick," I grumbled and looked back at Dimitri. It seemed like he thought he was the reason for my outburst, but hearing Ivan's name made him realize that it was just his dead best friend trying to be a pain in the ass, and helpful at the same time.

"Ivan said we should get back to the house," I said tiredly, deflating at the end of our little bubble. Dimitri took my hand and canted his head back towards the house. It was a bit of a walk, and I wasn't going to risk running barefoot in the sand. With my luck, I'd step on a stick or rock.

Even walking the same route back, I still managed to step on something. It was a stick that was buried under the sand, and it was almost sickening how much it hurt. Dimitri had to carry me back and I hated to think about the trail of blood I left on the beach.

Gabriel was waiting at the back door as we approached. I could see from here that he was on edge, to begin with, but seeing my state, his agitation increased.

"What happened?" he asked.

"A stick," I grumbled. Dimitri stepped into the kitchen and set me down on the counter by the sick. I grumbled but didn't look at my foot. I wasn't usually a squeamish person, but I didn't like the sight of my own blood.

"What's going on? Ivan told me that I needed to come back?" I directed at Gabriel, who was hovering over me like a mother hen.

"We had an unexpected guest," he said and I rolled my eyes at him, telling him that he needed to elaborate further, but the guest stepped into the kitchen with everyone else on his trail.

"Jordan?"

Jordan looked a little rough for wear. His hair was long, twisted into dreads and tied back. he looked like his skin had been exposed to the sun too much, a little bit of pink and peeling. He walked over and rested his hand on my shoulder. I opened my mouth to protest but knew that it wasn't the same as Lissa. It didn't take a toll on his mentality the way it did her. Once he lifted his hand away, I lifted my foot so I could see the bottom of it. The only sign was a slightly pink mark on the arch of my foot.

"Thanks. What are you doing here? I thought you were off the grid."

"I was until those freaks found me, no offence," he grumbled, gesturing a hand towards me and Dimitri.

"Guardians?"

"Yeah. I hope they enjoy late-stage Marburg virus," he said with a shrug. I furrowed my brows at the others.

"I don't know what that is," I said.

"It's kind of like Ebola," he brushed off and leaned against the counter, "And now that they found me, I had to change where I was hiding out. I figured safety in numbers was better than being off the grid."

I nodded and slid off the counter, crossing my arms over my chest.

"When did they find you?"

"A few days ago," he said, "I hoped a boxcar so I stayed undetected. But once I hit the state, I hitchhiked it."

I nodded and pulled my phone out of my pocket, curious about what exactly the Marburg virus was. After reading the symptoms I closed my phone and blinked.

"Did you have to pick something with such a high death rate?"

"It was me or them," Jordan said and I sighed. I forgot what he was like. It was one thing for me not to 'have a care in the world'. But he took it to a completely different level. He genuinely didn't care because too many people had taken advantage of him in the past.

"How many?" Dimitri asked.

"Maybe four or five? If they were smart, they would have gotten medical attention. But if they didn't they'll probably be dead in a few days."

I felt Dimitri bristle next to me and I rested my hand on his shoulder.

"Did you get any information from him before you tried to kill them?"

Jordan looked over the counter before reaching to the other side, picking the apple off the bowl and biting into it. I could tell that Sheila was practically fuming at the idea that he hurt them but knew that he was protecting himself. And I could see her watching him carefully, assessing his skin. Despite being able to heal himself, he didn't feel ailments. He didn't take the extra care to protect his skin.

In his mind, he could just heal the cancer away if he got it.

I sat down at the island and looked at everyone in the room.

"I guess we're getting another housemate again," I said lightly to up the mood.

"Really, I don't mind," Dimitri assured and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not going to kick you out to the boat house. There's a smaller room downstairs near Tilly's office. You can take mine and I'll move down there," I said and he shook his head.

"You're stubborn," he said.

"Or, there is another possibility," Gabriel piped up from his bedroom. I backed down the hall and raised my brows at him.

"And what is that?"

"He practically sleeps in your room every night. Why not just share?" he said, "Besides, he's here two weeks on, one week off."

I looked back at Dimitri and he didn't disagree. I grabbed his bag from his hand and backed further towards my room, dropping the bag on my bed.

"That problem is solved. Plus, we both know that you really enjoy having Nacho sleeping on your head at night," I said with a smile. Dimitri shook his head but smiled.

"Just don't hog the closet space," he laughed.

"No guarantees," I joked, knowing that I barely used half the closet, and realistically, he had more clothes than I did at the house. He rarely packed a bag to come here anymore. Instead, leaving all his leisure clothes except for one pair here.