This one-shot is based on the word prompt I got from the lovely Scotty1994!

Word Prompt: Don't Leave.

Set after Tasha shot Rose.

Hold onto your butts, this one made me cry.

Lissa POV

I took a slow breath as I stepped off the elevator and turned down the corridor. My shoes clipped loudly against the floor, the sound of it bouncing off the walls. Everything had happened so quickly that I didn't know what to make of it.

I was glad to see that Rose was okay, and then she dropped a bomb on me, and well everyone else at Court. To find that not only had my father, who I viewed as an honest and loyal man, had had an affair, but there was a child as a result. I hadn't been able to wrap my head around that before Rose dropped another preverbal bomb.

I don't know why I was so surprised, to be honest. If I had been so blinded, I would like to think that I would have been able to figure it out myself. Tasha had so much motive, so much gain. Not only did it get Tatiana out of the way, but I had always speculated that Rose was what was the wedge between Dimitri and Tasha. But I had never expected Tasha to pull a gun on my friend, only to turn it on me.

Seeing a gun pointed at me made me freeze like someone poured cement into my veins. The only thing I could fully remember was feeling Rose's body collide with mine and blood. So much blood. I scrubbed my hands together anxiously as I walked, remembering just how much blood had been on my hands after the Guardians pulled me away from her. I kicked, I fought, I did everything I could to get back to her, but they wouldn't let me. I could hear Dimitri yelling, pleading for someone to help her, but that was the last I saw of either.

I managed to pull myself together long enough to be told that I had won the elected vote, and at the prime age of eighteen, I was Queen.

Only Rose would think up a ludicrous idea to make a distraction, only for it to take hold.

I was relieved when Guardian Croft came to me where the Guardians were keeping me secure hours later. Hearing the words 'she made it out of surgery," was music to my ears, only for the word 'we don't know the extent of the damage' broke me all over.

I took another breath and swallowed thickly, standing at the entrance of the intensive care unit. I was told I was allowed to come and see her, but it was like my feet were glued to this spot.

"Your Majesty?"

I swallowed and looked over my shoulder. An older Guardian I had been introduced to a few hours ago, Townsend, had stepped forwards and handed me a handkerchief. I was shocked to know that anyone still carried them, but I took it with a quiet thank you and wiped my tears. I needed to be strong before I walked in there. I needed to be composed for the rest of them.

I moved and opened the door, walking towards the desk. A nurse looked up as I approached and she stood, taking a binder off the counter and moved towards me.

"Your Majesty," the nurse said with a slight bow of his head, "Ms. Hathaway is stable for now. Her lung was pierced as well as her aorta. She flatlined on the table twice and lost almost half her blood volume, but she is stable," he explained as we walked, directing me to where she was.

I nodded as we walked, feeling a chill settle over my body. We came to a stop at the door of a room and I thanked him quietly, staring at the figure on the bed.

"Could you all stay out here, please?" I asked the trail of Guardians behind me, looking over my shoulder again.

"Of course, ma'am," Townsend said gently. I fisted the handkerchief tightly in my hand as I slid the door open. Dimitri was hunched over the bed, his hand holding hers tightly. He lifted his head the slightest bit as I entered. I gave him a tight smile and closed the door behind me, making my way to the other side of the bed.

It was hard for me to see Rose like that, pale and so still. Rose always had an air of energy and light about her, and you could feel it just by being near her. But looking at her now, the only thing I could feel was fear.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner," I whispered, "I tried to."

"I know," Dimitri said quietly, his eyes not leaving Rose's chest. He was watching her breathe. "Congratulations."

I snorted. "It doesn't feel like a time to celebrate. My best friend is laying in a hospital bed because she jumped between me and a bullet."

Dimitri's face pinched. "I'm so sorry. I should have moved faster."

"No. I don't blame you one bit. Rose knew what she was doing. I just never entertained the idea that would ever need to do that for me. I think I forget that this is the reality of our situation. She the Guardian, and I the Moroi.

Dimitri nodded. "She had always been dedicated to you," he said.

I knew that, and I took it for granted.

"I hate to ask; but could I have a moment alone. I'll be quick," I asked, hating to ask him to leave. He was struggling just as much as I was. He loved her; I didn't know just how much, but it was clear to see. Dimitri nodded and lifted Rose's limp hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of it. I waited until he left the room and closed the door before I took his place, sinking down in the chair at her bedside.

I reached out carefully and brushed my hand over her cheek. I wanted to heal her so badly, but I felt numb. I couldn't feel my magic. Adrian had been whisked away with me when all the chaos ensued, and when I told him the bond had broke, he told me that I shouldn't use my magic. I was confused but he explained that any or all of the darkness that Rose could have been holding would have flooded back into me. He urged that I not use Spirit until I felt the darkness settle, but I was itching to heal her.

But at the same time, I could hear her voice in the back of my head. Don't risk it, Liss. It's not worth going crazy over. You've got your people to worry about.

Her skin was warm but clammy. It looked like someone had washed her down, but I could still see where the blood had seeped into her hair, making the ends hard and crusted together. There were tubes and wires sticking out of her body and it made me queasy to see it. All of these things to keep her alive. I let my hand travel to her hand and gripped it gently, holding it between both of mine.

Too much had changed this year, too many things were different and confusing. I had declared my magic, graduated, did the unimaginable, witnessed the murder of a monarch, and found out that after losing my family that I actually had a sister too. It was too much to handle and the only person I wanted to talk to was laying in a bed clinging to her own life. The only family I knew and I wasn't sure if she was going to make it through the night.

"Please don't leave me," I whispered brokenly, intertwining one of my hands with hers. "I can't do this without you. Please don't leave."

I pretended that the Guardians just outside the door weren't watching, weren't able to see how I broke in that chair, begging quietly that I get this one do-over. I couldn't lose her, not when I needed her most. Not when she had her whole life ahead of her.