If they had hoped for a few moments alone when they landed in Seattle, Rose and Dimitri were disappointed. As they stepped on to the private concourse from their flight, Guardian Hathaway was there, in full uniform, waiting for them.
"Mom!" Rose said, doing her best to look enthusiastic. "I didn't expect you to be here?"
"Your father let me know you were coming in today, so I took some leave…" Janine said, trailing off. She had forgotten that Lissa and Christian were also on the flight, so she paused as she saw them tentatively following Rose and Dimitri into the airport, flanked by Castile and Matthews. Recognizing her mother's discomfort, Rose was secretly pleased that Janine had a reason to feel awkward beyond focusing on her relationship with Dimitri. Not one to back down from a situation, Janine stepped forward, starting with the easiest target. Lissa.
"Princess Dragomir. Lovely to see you again," Janine said, giving her a rather awkward hug and air kiss.
Lissa responded in kind, her good manners and aplomb on display as she greeted Janine. "Guardian Hathaway! So pleased to see you—especially on such a special occasion." Special, obviously, referring to Rose being alive and reuniting again with her mother, and not Christian's aunt's actions that had started the whole situation.
"Thank you, Princess Dragomir." Turning to Christian, Janine continued, "Lord Ozera. I am so sorry for everything that has transpired."
Rose had to hand it to her Mom. It was an artful way to cover everything without being too specific.
"Janine," Pavel said, interjecting in what could quickly become a tricky moment. "As always, a pleasure."
"Pavel," she acknowledged. "Always more pleasurable seeing you when the snake is not present." Janine was still a long way away from forgiving Abe for what he'd done, even though it had saved their daughter's life. Pavel chuckled; glad he was not on the receiving end of Janine's anger.
Just when Rose hoped Janine might move on, she turned to her next target. Dimitri.
"You and I need to have a long talk," Janine said with a stern glance, looking almost as scary as her daughter's father as she regarded the 6-foot 7-inch guardian. To his credit, Dimitri solemnly nodded, although with a lover's eyes, Rose could see he was quietly shitting himself.
Rose, hoping they'd have at least the taxi ride to compose themselves, was again disappointed. Janine (or more likely Abe) had organized a mini bus to transport them all to their hotel. The hotel turned out to be the best in the city, and Abe had booked the premier penthouse suite for them to share. With eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, its own full kitchen, dining room, lounge, living and sitting rooms plus a media room and a library, it seemed completely over the top to Rose. But that was Baba for you! The plan was Lissa and Christian would stay for a day so the flight crew could recharge before continuing in Abe's plane to Lehigh. Rose was hoping Janine might take the opportunity to return to that side of the country with them, but she seemed determined to stay with Rose and Dimitri for as long as possible.
"I might as well get this over and done with," Dimitri muttered unenthusiastically to his love after he had brought their bags to the room he and Rose would share. While they'd both noticed Janine's stink-eye when they selected a room together, they had chosen to ignore it.
"Do you want me to come with?" Rose checked. While not relishing the no doubt abrasive conversation about to occur between her mother and her love, she felt she should at least offer to be there as a buffer.
"No. This is something your Mom and I need to speak about one on one," Dimitri replied, projecting a confidence he did not necessarily feel. Guardian Janine Hathaway was a legend in anyone's book. Even he had grown up hearing of her skills and prowess. And no one was more protective than a mother of their child. Yet he knew he needed to apologize for his wrongs and promise her he would do his utmost to worship Rose the way she deserved from this point forward.
"I'll pour a bath and wait for you," Rose said, giving him a sympathetic smile. She, of all people, knew what her Mom could be like.
Crossing the communal space in the suite, he was relieved to see the only person present was Pavel. He was sitting on one of the sofas, a book in his hand.
"Where's Janine?" Dimitri asked, since he did not know which bedroom she'd claimed. Pavel pointed to the second doorway down a short corridor with a series of doors, Nodding Dimitri stood his tallest and straightened his back. "Wish me luck," he muttered, walking determinedly toward his fate.
"I'll keep my ears open," Pavel promised, wondering who would be the victor in what was no doubt going to be a fiery exchange.
"You took your time," Janine snapped, opening her door to Dimitri. Still in her full dress uniform, it was evident she'd been expecting him.
"My priority was making sure Rose was comfortable and settled," Dimitri replied calmly. He knew this was likely to be a shit-show, but there was no point outright antagonizing his beloved's mother.
"I'm surprised you had the guts to face me," Janine all but snarled, her eyebrows lifted in challenge.
"Trust me – I didn't want to," Dimitri admitted. "But there's nothing I wouldn't do for Roza," he said more softly, and it was true. She was the most important and precious thing in his world. Whatever it took. No matter who he had to face, he would be the man she needed, and the man she deserved him to be.
"Sit down," Janine growled, begrudgingly impressed by her daughter's lover's candor. Not that she intended to let him off so easily. "I want to know EVERYTHING" she demanded. Understanding what Janine wanted, Dimitri started from the very beginning…
"… and so I was in love before I even knew it. And then I was turned."
Janine had been surprisingly accepting of her daughter and mentor becoming lovers at St. Vlad's. While Dimitri had been as scant on details as possible, he'd told Janine enough that she understood the truth. If talking about him and Rose first being intimate was hard, it was nothing compared to the discussion about thereafter. He hated to even think about being turned, and the time he spent as a Strigoi, but recognizing Janine would be satisfied with nothing other than full disclosure, Dimitri gritted his teeth and put it all out there. His actions. His crimes. His horrors. And then his regret.
"I couldn't even look at myself after the things I did while undead, let alone look at her. There were many times when I wish she'd been successful," he admitted, referring to Rose's failed attempt to liberate his soul on the bridge.
"Yet now you're together?" Janine said, with only a hint of animosity.
"I can't live without her," Dimitri explained. "My life, without Rose in it, is not worth living."
"I can't see any bruises," Rose remarked, eyeing her love carefully. She was trying to play it cool, but she'd been worried during Dimitri's absence.
"I won't say we're good," Dimitri admitted, smiled at his girl as she soaked in the tub, "but we've reached an…. understanding."
"An understanding?" Rose asked, perplexed.
"Let's just say I am on probation."
Basically, Janine had promised Dimitri untold pain and retribution if he caused Rose any distress or unhappiness. She had openly declared she was willing to inflict said pain herself—but if she felt the need for backup, she'd ask her former lover—e.g. Abe—to aid and assist her.
Dimitri honestly thought he'd got off lightly!
"But I do have some bad news…"
Rose raised her eyebrows—still frustratingly unable to lift just one.
"Your Mom has your Dad's credit card, and plans to take you and Lissa shopping tomorrow."
Rose groaned and sunk under the bathwater. Shopping was always a horror for her. With her Mom, Lissa, Celeste, and a probably unlimited source of money thanks to Baba, it would no doubt be a shit-show.
"Are you going to come with us?" Rose asked hopefully once she resurfaced, her hair wet and dripping.
"Nope," Dimitri replied smugly, divesting himself of his clothes and climbing into the oversized tub to sit behind his girl. "Pavel, Christian, Castile and I are going to spend the day golfing."
"Asshole," Rose mumbled, half under her breath. Dimitri chuckled. He'd just had a Janine Hathaway interrogation where he'd had to admit to taking her daughter's virginity. A shopping day was nothing in comparison, as far as he was concerned!
"How bad was it?" Dimitri asked when Rose returned the next afternoon.
"Actually, not too bad," Rose admitted. Her mother had been surprisingly practical, willing to follow Lissa as she shopped big, but then guiding her—and to a lesser extent Celeste—on practical choices that would work for them in their line of work. Lissa—with an almost unlimited trust fund—insisted on paying for herself, but Rose appreciated her mother's kindness covering Celeste's admittedly minimal and modest purchases. Yeah, it was on Abe's dime—but it wasn't like he could not afford it!
"Golf?" she asked, enquiring about Dimitri's day.
"Thrashed them," Dimitri declared with a triumphant grin. "I've only played once before, but it seems like I have a natural gift!"
Rose grinned. It was no surprise, to her, that her man excelled physically. Not that she had any basis of comparison, but he sure rocked some other physical pursuits!
"Christian came second," he quickly added. Everyone was conscious of the Moroi Lord's distress given everything that was going on with his Aunt.
"How is he?" Rose asked. With everything that had gone on, and was likely to happen, she'd been keeping her distance.
"Not great," Dimitri admitted. There was no point sharing with Rose that Christian had spent almost half an hour 'looking for a lost golf-ball' in the trees to one side of the golf range as he sobbed, knowing his last family member was likely going to be put to death. Thanks to Pavel, Dimitri already knew that would be the outcome – it had been decided a few hours before, and Abe had communicated this to his right-hand man who'd shared the intel with Dimitri. However, Queen Szelsky wanted to wait until Lissa and Christian returned to LeHigh to deliver the news. She would delay to give Christian the chance to visit Court and say goodbye, in person, if that's what he wanted. Otherwise, Tasha Ozera would be given a choice: lethal injection, odorless gas, a fatal dose of meds to be taken at her choice, or similar mixed into her food. A kinder fate than what befell Tatiana, the new queen felt the need to be beneficent.
"I worry for Sparky," Rose murmured, despite not knowing the full extent of things.
"She tried to frame you for murder," Dimitri said, less inclined for clemency than his love. While Tasha had played no part in him being turned and becoming part of the undead, knowing it had always been expected he'd become a Guardian and protect Moroi rankled. He'd lost his soul by protecting a largely disinterred bunch of individuals-and he still did not feel anyone, beyond his Roza, understood that.
"I can't believe this is the first time I have seen the sea," Rose said, staring out of the hotel's window to the beach and sea beyond. "It's beautiful!
"It is," Dimitri acknowledged, his head beside Rose's as he cuddled her from behind in their suite as they stared out the window. Abe might be an arse, but he knew how to do things in style! Their accommodations were second to none, and they were both enjoying the luxury bedroom and bathroom.
"I don't want to go back to guarding Moroi," Rose said decisively. She'd been thinking about it for a while, and it just felt right for her.
"I figured," Dimitri said with a small grin. Rose knew him better than anyone else, but the same was true for her. He could usually sense what was going on in her mind – even despite her 'Rose Logic'.
"We will find our way together," Dimitri continued. "Where you go, so do I."
Rose smiled in contentment. She'd worried about Dimitri leaving a Guardian role. But this felt right, for her, and she was thrilled he seemed equally on board.
"It's a big change…" she said, leadingly.
"If it is with you, then I am looking forward to it," Dimitri admitted, giving her a heartbreakingly honest smile.
"So – the human world?" Rose asked, trying to get a read on her beloved's thoughts.
"Why not?" Dimitri said with a smile. "It's just you and me, baby. Time for us to make our own lives!"
And while she was terrified, Rose recognized the truth. This was their chance to branch out, and become everything they could be. But who knew what that looked like?