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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, its characters or content.

This is the last chapter! I can't believe that it's actually finished! :'( I hope you enjoy it, and the way it turns out :)

This is the longest chapter I've ever written! I hope you like it! xx

23. She'd made a fireball, and was throwing it gently into the air and catching it, similarly to the way that a bowler did during a cricket or baseball match. The action was lazy, effortless, after she'd drank from Adrian. The effect must have been similar to when strigoi drank from a moroi; moroi blood made them stronger.

But it wouldn't last for long. If she was sick, then the blood would only give her a temporary boost, kind of like the sugary snacks I'd taken after my workouts. She had no medicine, something I could use to my advantage. But my feet were frozen in place. All I could do was flick my gaze between Tasha and Adrian, praying that he'd wake up.

Glancing at her face quickly, I saw her triumphant grin had returned. "Well that was easy; he wasn't too hard to take out. It's a pity, I expected your suitors to put up more of a fight Rose. I didn't expect the compulsion though." With each word, she stepped closer and closer towards me. I wasn't sure if it was intentional, or if she planned to just blast the fireball into my face, to ruin my looks permanently. Did she still believe that ruining me physically would stop Dimitri from loving me?

"It's a pity he was holding back. I might not have been able to fight it; and you'd have been saved. I'm sure he'll learn from his mistakes though. Unfortunately for you Rose, you won't have such an opportunity." Her gaze turned predatory once again.

There was no way she was going to win this fight. She'd tried to kill me, and I'd dealt with it. She'd threatened Dimitri, and I'd held back. But now; after hurting my baby, and feeding off of Adrian, she'd taken it too far. She needed to be stopped, for her own good. I was going to fight, using the same technique as before. Once she was too close to back away, I would strike. I couldn't move just yet, my body was still locked stiff with shock at what had happened to Adrian, but I had hope that the anger would kick in and loosen my muscles once I needed them to.

She was still gloating, overjoyed with the thought of taking me out. "And now Rose, this is the end." Well those words were true. She was almost close enough for me to attack. This time, she wouldn't get a chance to escape. And as she smirked and took another step. "The end." My fist smashed directly into her nose.

Dimitri POV.

We were almost home. Once it was confirmed that Rose really was in trouble it took only a few minutes for the Princess to 'arrange' for the jet to be prepped to take us back. They'd just finished unloading, so we only needed to wait for the pilot to be found; and then we'd left.

I was pretty sure that the Princess had used a touch of compulsion when making the arrangements, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to be back in court, holding Rose safely in my arms after I'd ripped Tasha's head from her shoulders. If she'd hurt Roza or our baby… fear and anger rippled through me. There were no words to express how I'd feel. Death wouldn't be an option for her. I would torture her slowly, making sure all the pain she'd inflicted upon them was magnified a thousand times.

Up until a year ago I'd respected Tasha. She was one of my closest friends and I'd have trusted her with my life. I knew how she felt about me, and that she wanted more than just friendship; but I always made it clear that I didn't see her in the same way. Id considered it, at the ski lodge; but she knew that was all I'd done. Consider it. I'd known that by taking the position to be her guardian, it would mean a lot more. It would have shown that I wanted to be with her, to take the next step into a relationship; and like Roza said, to maybe have a family.

Roza. She'd been right that day in the training room, and on the balcony at the ski lodge, and even when she'd told me to take the offer. She'd always been right, and that day; she'd been incredibly selfless, more so than usual. She'd been prepared to give up, to let me go, to make me happy. To give me the opportunities she thought she couldn't. And that only made me love her more. I couldn't give her up; and in that moment, I realised I'd risk anything and everything to keep her. I hadn't cared about my job, about her job, or about the moroi. All I'd wanted was to run away with her like the Badica guardians had done. And then I'd almost lost her. Seeing her in Spookane, it was my worst nightmare. I'd known it was something she'd have to go through, but I'd never expected to have been there when it happened. To see the heartbreak across her face, my strong, independent, fierce Roza; so broken, it had made that urge even stronger. So I'd told Tasha I couldn't go. She'd accepted my decision; let me know that the offer would always be available. I thought she'd known that something had happened, and I wouldn't do it.

I'd never have realised that she'd actually expected me to change my mind, had been hoping that I'd change my mind. The yearly requests were irritating, but since I was as she put it 'so devoted to the art of guarding', I figured she was simply reminding me the offer was still there. And like everyone else, I'd breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't call. I'd felt like I could finally relax, and enjoy my life with Roza. But she'd ruined it. Not ruined it, but she'd almost broken that dream, which was slowly becoming a reality. She'd ruined Roza's life though. Yes, she'd been able to continue guarding; but Vasilisa was tipped to become the next queen. With the way that Rose's illness affected her, they wouldn't risk having a weak link in her guard if she did succeed Tatiana. We all knew it.

But we hoped that it wouldn't be the case. Vasilisa had been steadily going on dangerous trips and excursions, ones that were often attacked. It gave Roza the chance to prove herself. With the opposition she faced daily that would no doubt multiply if Vasilisa became queen; she needed as many good marks on her record as possible. And with this breakthrough in her medicine, there was a chance that by the time Vasilisa became queen, it could be a possibility that Roza could remain as her guardian. It was slim, but we were holding onto it.

I only hoped that it was worth it. I glanced at my watch. Not much longer until we landed. Until I had Roza safely in my arms I wasn't going to stop worrying. I'd seen Tasha fight, and though Roza was the best I'd ever seen; since she'd fallen pregnant, she wasn't at her best. Still, I knew she was strong enough to keep herself and the baby safe. Once this was over, I wasn't going to leave her side. If that meant I had to quit becoming a guardian, I'd do it. My priority wasn't on saving moroi lives anymore. It was on protecting Roza and our baby. The thought of our baby, our daughter Evabrought a smile to my lips. Two words that I'd never expected to hear were now a reality.

Rose POV.

Tasha was dumb. Crazy and dumb, the best possible combination. Or the worst, if she decided that she didn't have anything to lose and did something stupid that would kill us both. We'd been fighting steadily for the past… I didn't even know how long it was. The boost she'd gotten from Adrian's blood was starting to wear off. I'd had the first advantage; the punch had caught her off guard, but she'd recovered quickly. Since then, we'd been trading blows and kicks, one of us gaining the upper hand, then the other.

I'd been right when I'd seen her in the kitchen and guessed that if it came down to a fight, it would be a close match. Thing was, I hadn't been sure which of us would come out on top, and now I was still just as uncertain. But I was determined to win this. It wouldn't be fair for her to win; and I needed to survive. Hell, even if I only survived long enough for them to get me on a life support machine so the baby wouldn't die; I'd be okay with that. She was who I was fighting for. She was who I would win for.

We were fighting in the hallway again. We'd been moving throughout the separate rooms, but it was trickier in them; more space to manoeuvre, but more obstacles to dodge around. Our hallway was wide, with enough space for me to kick her into the opposite wall. I was trying to keep her away from my upper body, my arms were the worst affected. Well, my feet were burnt the worst; but I couldn't feel it any more. So every chance I got, I kicked her. I was hoping to break one of her ribs, and judging from the wince I saw when she stood up, I might have succeeded.

Just then Adrian started to stir. Well, he groaned and rolled over. Tasha saw this too, and my instinct to protect kicked in again. I needed to keep her as far from him as possible.

"Adrian!" He groaned again but didn't move. So I yelled again. "Adrian! Get up and get help!" I'd been able to hold Tasha back for this long, but I'd feel a lot safer if there was another guardian in the room; despite the fact that she was weak, she was still putting up a good fight.

"What do you really think he can do Rose? He's weak, like you. Look at him." Her face had gone red from the effort, and I'm pretty sure mine looked the same; but we both kept fighting. She was trying to edge towards him, probably to drink from him again. If she did, she was no better than a strigoi.

You aren't going to lay another finger on him Tasha. Besides, I thought you came here to finish me off and take Dimitri. It doesn't look like you're doing so well."

Uncertainty played across her face for a second before she bared her fangs and launched herself at me. "Fine. You should have taken the brief respite that you'd have gained while I took a small donation." She was in a frenzy, her punches manic and uncoordinated. I was blocking the majority of them, the ones aimed at either my face or stomach, but I needed Adrian out of the house where I knew he was safe before I stopped defending and started attacking her ass.

"ADRIAN! GET OFF YOUR LAZY ARSE AND GET HELP NOW!"

That got him into a sitting position at least. Relief flowed through me and I started to push forward in my blocks, minimising the space Tasha had to move. I'd noticed that she didn't seem to fight so well once her space was cut down. I looked in Adrian's direction to check if he'd left yet, to see that he was still sitting on the floor. I caught his eye for a second and he mumbled something that sounded like "Dimitri's almost here." Before his eyes drooped shut and he slumped to the side again.

That idiot! Why hadn't he left when he had the chance? Tasha's fist flew by my cheek reminding me of where I was. I could yell at Adrian later. But my heart felt lighter as I turned back to her. Dimitri was on his way. There was a surge of energy that came from knowing he would be here soon; and he could finally set her crazy head straight.

20 minutes later:

We'd moved into the front room. Tasha had started throwing small fireballs at me. Trying to distract my attention so she could gain some sort of advantage. . I was trying to stay near to the window in the hopes that someone would see the flashes of light and come up to investigate. But our house was on the second floor up. Well it was four floors up because it was a proper house; with an upstairs and downstairs. So it was unlikely anyone would notice.

Another fireball came at me, hard, but this one was directed towards my face. Luckily, her shots had been slowly losing their accuracy, and so I only had to step slightly to the side to dodge it. It slammed into the window; and I heard a small crack. "You owe me a new window. I'll send the bill to the padded room they'll keep you in." We had beautiful floor length windows that let light into the whole room. Perfect for sunbathing when I was off duty. But that was now a weak spot, and I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

We were circling once more, focused on beating the other. Her fist flew towards my face again, and I returned the favour. She wasn't pleased that I'd held out this long. Her plan must have been to get in and out as quickly as possible. She should have killed me when she got the chance; trying to gloat and drag it out had turned the odds against her and she knew it.

"Roza?" There were voices in the hall. Dimitri was finally home! "Adrian, what happened where's Roza? Princess, you check on him; Christian, you come with me."

"Dimitri, in the front room!" We were still fighting, despite the fact that we were shouting at the same time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him burst through the doorway with Christian close behind. "Roza what's goi-"

He trailed off as he took in the scene before him. "Dimka help me! She just doesn't get that you're supposed to be with me. That you want to be my guardian. You love me, not her."

His face was looked shocked, but he shook his head and stepped forwards to help me. But I waved him off. "No comrade. Let me finish this. You can have her when I'm done." He nodded and stepped back again. Tasha was shocked at the fact Dimitri hadn't stepped in to save her; so I took that moment to get a quick jab to her face. Now Dimitri was back, I didn't want to fight. I just wanted to curl up in his arms, knowing I was safe and protected once more.

She focused back on me, and our fight continued. "He won't stay with you Rose. Once he realises how weak you are, how wrong you are for him. I'm his! I'm the one he's supposed to be with. What can you give him? I've said it once and I'll say it again. Nothing! Once you're gone; he'll realise you were just a mistake and move on."

The strength of our hits had increased. We were both fighting for the man we loved. Well I loved him, she was just a crazy obsessed bitch; and neither of us was willing to give him up. I caught sight of Dimitri's face once more as we moved.

Disdain had covered Dimitri's features and his voice was filled with disgust. "What's happened to you Tasha? You're crazy if you think that I'd ever choose you over Rose. I love her Tasha. You know that I love her. Not. You. And I'm not going to even pretend to understand why you'd even entertain the idea that I'd leave her for you. That was never an option, not in that way. I didn't want to be your guardian; I was looking to protect Roza's future as a guardian. I was never supposed to be with you otherwise I'd have been with you by now."

She'd stopped fighting and was staring at Dimitri open mouthed. I should have taken the opportunity to knock her out; but I wanted to hear what else he was going to say. I'd never heard Dimitri speak like this. Yes we'd defended our relationship; but he was never so open, or so brutally honest in front of other people. His words were distracting her; I'd take her out once he was finished.

"Roza isn't a mistake. She never has been, and she never will be. She's not weak Tasha. She's strong, powerful, passionate, caring, breathtakingly beautiful, funny, smart, sexy, and she's the mother of my child. You say that she can't give me anything Tasha. She's given me everything and more! I'd never dreamed that I'd meet someone like this let alone have the chance to spend the rest of my life with her. I'd always wanted a child, but I'd never envisioned it actually coming true. And Rose has done all that. I came back here hoping to find you talking; or by some miracle, realising that what you'd done was a terrible thing to do, you'd decided to give Roza the cure."

His face darkened and he took a step towards her. Dimitri was intimidating just by standing up straight with his guardian mask on; but when he looked at Tasha, I was reminded of just how scary he actually was. The threat and promise was clear in his eyes.

"You're lucky that I've only just arrived back Tasha, and that Rose dealt with you first. Because once she's done; her work will seem like a blessing. I'd say that I hope you rot in prison, but that would be too good for you. So instead, I want you to know that every injury you've inflicted upon Rose. Any sort of discomfort you've caused to her or our baby, I'll deliver back to you in a much, much worse fashion." His voice had lowered and Tasha squeaked slightly before taking a half step back.

So I tapped her on the shoulder, giggling when she jumped with fright and spun in midair to face me. "Hey remember me? Girlfriend to the tall, sexy Russian you just pissed off. Mother to his baby." Those words still brought a smile to my face. "I'm not done."

My fist flew into her face again. I just loved the crunching sound that came from breaking her nose repeatedly. She screamed, but came back at me. "I told you that he didn't love you Tasha. You had so many chances to leave with your head held high. Now you're going to leave in pieces."

The scared look in her eyes was replaced by one I couldn't identify as she took a few steps back. I took my time walking towards her, with Dimitri and Christian standing in the room, she couldn't do anything to hurt me. Until I placed the look. It was like her voice; frantic and desperate, the eyes of a crazy woman.

"If I can't have him, then neither will you Rose." And a steady stream of bright blue flames headed towards my face. Knowing I didn't have time to dodge, I instinctively brought my hands up to shield my face. But the heat never came. I opened my eyes to see Christian had stepped forwards, directing them away from my face before extinguishing them. But Tasha we'd all been transfixed by the flames, too busy to watch Tasha running behind them. So I didn't have anytime to react before I saw her face, pinched with rage, directly in front of me, and her fist connected with my stomach.

The momentum she'd built up from that short distance gave her an incredible amount of power. It was only because I'd been crouched to try and protect my face that gave me a greater sense of balance; allowing me to stumble back only a few steps rather than being pushed over. A choked noise made its way out of Dimitri's throat.

All I could think about was the baby. If she'd survived through what had happened before, I didn't think she could have made it through such a strong punch. My heart was thudding in my chest. We'd been so close, so close to finally having our happy ending. And she'd ruined it.

"You bitch." Was out of my mouth before I could stop it, and she just looked smug, even when I started to run at her. I was wobbly, but the determination was pumping through my veins. If she thought she'd known pain before… My fist was cocked, and I saw as she raised her hands to guard her face. But I didn't punch her. Instead I lifted my leg and put all my weight behind the kick that I sent directly to her ribs.

Stupid bitch was standing too close to the window. The power from my kick and her body weight combined was enough to break the glass that had cracked earlier. Shock was clear across her face as she hung, almost suspended in midair for a second, before she tried to windmill her arms crazily to regain her balance.

Except she failed. And all five of us watched as she fell out of the window and landed; four stories down.

I didn't flinch when she disappeared from my view. I didn't jump when I heard her hit the ground like the others did. I wasn't sure if it was because I was in shock, or because I'd simply gone past the point of hate, to a level where I simply had no feelings whatsoever towards Tasha. Maybe I was channelling Lissa's shock as well as my own.

But once Dimitri came over and wrapped his arms around me. That feeling of safety and security finally encircled me once again; I started to shake and tears leaked out of my eyes. He picked me up gently, and carried me over one of our sofas, still holding me tightly in his arms. He was whispering to me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. All I knew was that I was snuggled against his chest, held in his arms where I was protected.

Gradually, my hearing returned to normal, and I could make out what he was saying. "You're okay now Roza. I'm so, so sorry that I left you alone unprotected. I'll never do it again, ever. But I'm so proud of you. So, so proud; and I love you. Don't ever forget that Roza. I love you and only you."

Hiccupping slightly, I looked u at him, and he wiped away a few stray tears. "Do you think she could have survived?" The last word was a whisper. I felt terrible for killing her, but I didn't want her alive. She was better off dead. We were safer with her dead."

He nodded, his eyes sad. He hated the thought of taking someone's life as much as I did. And whether she'd tried to kill me or not, a life had been lost today. Something that could have been avoided. "She couldn't have survived that fall Roza. She would have been dead on impact." I closed my eyes, guilt running through me slightly. Life, gone in an instant. "But, if it cam down to it again; I'd rather her than you. His arms tightened round me. I'm sorry that it came to that, and I wasn't here earlier to stop her from doing what she did. But I'd choose this result every time."

"I would too. But it's still such a waste. And I've never felt like that before; holding so much hate towards someone. And it was scary because it was all me. It wasn't Lissa's darkness. Just me. I wanted her to die that much. In that second when she punched my stomach, if I could have gotten close enough to break her neck myself, I would have. I don't ever want to feel like that again."

Is hands moved to rest on my stomach lightly. "You won't Roza. I promise."

My hands rested on top of his, and another load of tears ran down my cheeks. "I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to protect our baby. It was our only chance at having a family and I blew it. I tried so hard, but it wasn't enough in the end. I messed up and she paid for it." This time he kissed my tears away.

"Roza, it's not your fault. I'm sorry too. You shouldn't have been left alone unguarded. Please don't blame yourself. You're so strong, and I saw you before. You did everything that you could and more." He kissed my cheek once more. "Don't you dare think that you let anyone down. We'll get through it together. Maybe we just weren't meant to have children together."

And just as he finished speaking, I felt the most wonderful sensation in the world. A tiny nudge underneath both of our hands. Followed by another kick, this one slightly stronger.

Sobs broke out of my chest properly after that. "She's okay. Dimitri, our baby's okay." There were tears down his cheek too, but the grin across his face made it all worthwhile.

"Our little Eva Nasya. Life and Gods miracle. Thank you for giving me this chance. I love you Roza."

"I love you too comrade."

And in that moment, I saw how everything was going to turn out. We'd lost both chances at finding a cure, but like Yeva had said, it didn't matter. We were both happy with the way our lives were turning out. Eva would be born, and our family would be complete. We would have each other and our daughter, something amazing that shouldn't have been possible. Yes, I would get sick from time to time, but with Dimitri's help, I'd recover. Eva would be strong and healthy, surrounded by family and friends who loved her. Adrian wasn't infected, and would lead is life. This experience would change him, and it wouldn't be long before he met someone he would be ready to spend the rest of his life with, and have children with. Lissa and Christian were there already. Wedding in the summer, and kids would be sure to follow. Someone for Eva to play with. And Eddie and Mia? Well, once they got over their nerves and gave the other a chance, they'd be perfect together.

But that was all to come. For now, I was content to simply smile into Dimitri's eyes, feeling our daughter's kicks beneath our hands, waiting for what was to come.

The End.

Thank you so much for reading The Disease; and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! =]

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Thank you so much for reading! I really do hope you enjoyed it. :') Denicia xx