Hey everyone it's FuryPossesed here! I had this idea when I was on holiday trying to sleep in a freezing tent, unfortunatly Dimitri (who belongs to Richelle Mead, as does Rose) wasn't there to keep me warm. It's my first VA fic so please tell me what you think and if I got the characterisation down. Love you all!

The driving wind buffeted the tent making the flimsy structure shudder and groan. I was glad Dimitri knew how to put tents up because I sure ass hell didn't.

Dimitri… I was sharing a tent with him and although it fit both of us I it he insisted on sleeping on the floor whilst I had the camp bed. It had taken his strength to put the legs in the holes of the stretcher-like frame. He'd done it whilst I puzzled over the tent he'd entrusted me to construct.

I tipped everything onto the floor hoping to find instructions no such luck. Typical. My best guess was that it was guardian issue so everyone, apart from me, knew how to put it up. Damn guardian secrets. I picked up a pole which was easy to put together but I didn't have a clue which hole it went through. As the wind started to pick up I threw the poles on the fabric of the tent and sat on top of it with a sigh. A very frustrated sigh. I hated looking incompetent in front of him and here I was struggling to put a tent up. Dimitri looked over to me, a half smile playing on his lips.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

As if he didn't know. Instead of throwing the pegs at him I said, "The tent is refusing to go up."

"I doubt that's the tent's fault, Rose." the last leg of the camp bed popped into place. He wasn't even looking at what he was doing. If I wasn't so distracted by the way his hair fell to frame his dark, dark eyes, which had lost their guardian mask, I probably would have thrown the pegs at him. As it was I was lost for words.

He put the bed the right way up and began putting the rest of the poles together. He then instructed me to stand at a certain point which was apparently the top left hand corner and began feeding the pole through. We did the rest of the poles in the same way in that comfortable silence we shared. He was just about to secure the last pole into place when I looked up to the sky.

"Um, Comrade," I said studying the black clouds. He turned to me. The wind picked up. "You may want to hurry that up."

His eyes turned skywards. His guardian mask slipped back on and just as the pole he was holding slipped and tore through his hand. I dashed to his side but he was already working on getting the pole into place smearing blood on it.

"Rose, get the pegs."

"I need to fix you up."

"I'll be fine – "

"Dimitri – "

"Rose." He looked me in the eye.

"Pegs."

I hated leaving him like that, bleeding onto the floor, but if he said he'd be okay, he'd be okay. Besides there was only so far he could go in a tent. I pegged the corners down whilst he worked on the guy ropes which were now flapping in the bitter cold wind. I went to the car without him seeing me and wrestled with door. I grabbed the first aid kit and a bottle of water and was thankful the wind closed the door for me because I didn't think I could have even with Dimitri's help.

By the time I was in the windless bubble of the tent I was frozen to the core. The skin of my fingers had cracked and was bleeding, my wrist had been turned red raw where my ckotki had flapped around in the wind and most of my toes had gone numb.

Dimitri was sat on the floor trying to turn a shirt into bandages. I took it from him and put the first aid box in his lap and took his hand. It was still bleeding although sluggishly, clotting already started. Blood had dried on palm around the jagged wound and between his fingers and encrusted on his fingernails. And dirt. Dirt covered his hand and was deep inside the wound.

"Did you use this hand to put the pegs in?" I asked incredulously.

He sheepishly looked away. I sighed in exasperation. In my bag there was a camping bowl which was, typically, right at the bottom. To save time I just tipped everything out and ripped the box open. It didn't look much like a bowl. More like a swimming cap with a thick rim. Whatever. I'd make fun of it later.

He obediently put his hand over the 'bowl' and waited for me to pour water all over it. When I did he winced a little but it was nothing compared to when I poured alcohol on the wound. I found a little hip-flask marked 'whisky'. If I could do that cool one eyebrow thing I would have. As it was he knew the question behind my eyes and didn't hesitate before nodding his consent. When I poured that on his hand his other one clenched his thigh and even his guardian mask slipped a little. When I finished I offered him the rest of the flasks contense but he declined. Probably something to do with setting an example to students because I was pretty sure he would have taken it if Stan or Alberta offered.

After that it was a simple task of putting the butterfly stitches on and bandaging him up. I quickly washed my hands and then began gathering my clothes back up. Just when I thought I had everything he picked something up. Just knowing it was going to be a bra – because that was my luck – I took it without looking at him. Until I realised which bra it was. Only one bra felt like that. My black one. My sheer black one. And it was lace.

Adrian had given it to me at Christmas. The one at the ski lodge. He waited until my mom wasn't around to give it to me and then left before I had even opened it no doubt guessing my reaction. It probably wasn't what he thought it would be. instead if packing it back up I put it in my wardrobe and guiltily thought 'I wonder what Dimitri would think'.

I guess I was about to find out because I involuntarily looked into his eyes. The guardian mask was gone and his eyes were deeper than I'd seen them in a long time. Almost as deep as the night of the lust charm. His breathing was slow and heady, his breath warm on my face. He leaned forward and the air thickened between us even more than before. If that was possible. Lightning struck over head and thunder rumbled for a long time. Neither of us moved, the connection between us sizzling.

"Roza." In that one word was more love than I thought any man could bestow upon a woman.

I leaned in and his hand came to the side of my face, his fingers twining in my hair. Even thought it was hid injured hand I could feel heat coming through the bandage. Electricity filled the air around us making it hard to breathe.

The wind surged swinging the tent. And the lamp. Into my head.

"Shit!" I cursed but my voice was drowned out by the sudden downpour of rain and another rumble of thunder. I had a feeling Dimitri was chuckling or containing a full blown laugh.

I glared at the lamp which I then had to turn on because even though it was daylight hours the storm clouds had blocked out that sun.

Dimitri was putting a sleeping bag on the camp bed. I remembered I was still holding a lacy black bra and shoved it into my bag also remembering that I did not pack this. I was going to kill Adrian when we got back.

"Where's the other sleeping bag, Rose?"

Other sleeping bag? He'd said that we were sleeping in motels all the way. I was on my way to go to the most important interview of my life. For the second time. Last time I was supposed to do it the guy who was supposed to conduct the interview, Arthur Schoenberg, had been found dead with a few other guardians and the Moroi they protected. By Dimitri and I no less. When he told me I had to go to the royal court this time round he said we'd stay in motels. There was no sense in getting the private jet out for two people to use when there was plenty of time to drive there. I'd been thrilled at the prospect of spending the next few days, maybe slightly over a week, alone with my Russian God.

"You have the sleeping bag, I'll wrap up in coats."

"Sure." I said moving it onto the floor.

"And the bed, Rose."

"But – " he gave me his 'don't argue you won't win' look. "No way, Comrade. I'm not losing this one."

"Rose," it was his exasperated voice this time, "I barely fit in the tent as it is. I'll be comfier on the floor."

I carried on shifting to the floor.

"Rose, get back on the bed."

No matter our relationship, how close we were, or how much I loved him I had to follow orders. He was my instructor after all. I glared at him the whole time I moved back to the bed and again when I was snuggled in the sleeping bag. He sighed and pulled his duster higher round his cheeks.

"Dimitri…"

"I'll be fine, Rose. You should get some rest."

I sighed and shifted on the bed turning away from him. The temperature dropped and I once again cursed the Strigoi for being allergic to sunlight. If they worked daylight hours we'd be able to sleep at night. Although it was colder then it hadn't chucked it down with rain yet the entire time we'd been travelling.

"Why didn't we sleep in the car like I said?" I asked no one in particular.

Dimitri answered me anyway, "Because they gave us a Yaris."

Whilst the word didn't mean anything to me I knew what he meant. The car was tiny. At least it was warm. And had air con.

"I hate Alberta." I grumbled.

"Night, Rose." Dimitri smiled and turned the lamp off.

Outside the storm got heavier. The wind grew stronger and louder, howling underneath the car and whistling in the guy ropes. The temperature dropped. Drastically. Rain turned into hail threatening to tare through the fabric of the tent. I closed my eyes against it and wished I didn't have such sensitive hearing. Deafening wasn't even close. I began to get a little chilly even in my sleeping bag. I pulled it a bit tighter. Then Dimitri swore.

If I was cold then he was freezing. I didn't know exactly what his expletive mean but I'd heard it enough in our training sessions to be able to repeat it and I knew enough of his expression to understand the meaning of the word: he wasn't enjoying this one bit.

"Dimitri are you okay?" I asked. I knew of course he wasn't but I hoped that admitting how cold he was he'd resort to survival text book style, i.e. sharing body heat., naked.

"Siberia is and 'arctic waste land' remember? I'll be fine." I rolled over to protest but he said, "Rose, go back to sleep."

I knew his no arguing tone all too well and obeyed. He'd given me and order and I had to follow it.

For a while I managed to ignore him but as I got colder he swore more and pulled the clothes tighter around himself giving away how cold he was. I looked round and saw his breath plume out in front of him.

I knew he'd sacrifice himself for the sake of school rules and keeping our relationship a secret. Especially with how close we'd come to losing control earlier, so getting him to move for his sake was out of the question. But for mine…

I knew that he wouldn't move unless he had real cause so I'd have to fabricate the evidence a bit. Okay a lot. I opened out my sleeping bag earning a question form him. I said I was reaching for another jumper which e seemed to believe. I very quickly felt the cold seeping through my clothes and gnawing at my bones. I held out a little longer waiting for my breath to turn to ice. Before that happened my teeth began to chatter.

"Are you cold, Rose?"

"Freezing, Comrade."

A second later I felt frozen yet strong hands pull me down to the floor and next to a frozen, muscle bound chest. I gasped and momentarily pulled away from him before realising I was in his arms for the second time ever. Alright he was an icicle but he was my Russian God. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and breathed into my hair, resting his cheek on my head.

"We won't both fit in the bed, Roza." He whispered.