So in the spirit of Valentine's Day, this is an alternate ending. While for me, the first ending is "canon" this was just how the angel on my left wanted this story to go, so please enjoy!

Dimitri's Point of View

Time slowed down dramatically once I'd burst into the infirmary with Rose's limp form in my arms. It's like going from a high speed chase to slow motion. It was jarring and almost doesn't make sense as I watch the team gather around Rose's form.

I watch the Doctor preform CPR as they try to hook her up to machines and get the paddles going. Rose had stopped breathing right before I'd gotten here and the panic I'd felt was something I'd never experienced before.

She was alright. She was talking not even a few hours ago. I kissed her a few hours ago and she was promising to tell me everything, just a few hours ago everything had been as close to perfect as it had ever been. How the hell did we get here?

There's orders being yelled and the first thing that registers from the machine is that she has no pulse. She's dead. My entire body feels like it's being held down by lead. The wolf that seemed to always be around Rose is lying strangely still behind the head of the Rose's bed, how he managed to get there amidst all of the chaos is beyond me.

Dr. Oldenzki gives a loud shout and she's seems to be talking to Rose, telling her it's not time yet, that she needs to wake up, all the while pumping her chest quickly trying to force her heart to beat again.

She'd been so light in my arms… like she'd lost weight, but how had I not noticed sooner. I start thinking about the time I'd seen her around campus, I don't recall ever really seeing her eat anything… or talking to anyone really. How had that slipped by me?

The doors slam open and an almost deranged looking Lissa all but flies through the door. A confused Christian follows her in but she shows no realization of that fact. Her eyes lock on Rose and she pushing through people trying to get to her. The nurses try to push her back but she's fighting like the world will end if she doesn't get to Rose. One nurse tries to pull her away and she reels back and lets her fist fly, making the nurse's nose bleed.

I jump into action, immediately helping her get to Rose.

"This is her bond mate! SHE CAN HEAL HER!" I hear myself shouting, the panic and relief making my voice boom. They all part ways, letting Lissa throw herself on top of Rose's already cooling skin.

Everything goes silent. Everyone stops and watches. Lissa clenches her eyes tightly in concentration and after a long minute we hear the most beautiful sound in the world. Rose's heart beat.

Rose begins to breath and immediately her complexion starts to gain some color. Lissa stands, still holding Rose's hand tightly, even as she sways uneasily on her feet.

I grab her before she falls, the Doctor already has a gurney ready for her and is calling for a transfusion. All at once everyone starts to clear out and Rose is taken to a separate room. I follow her and wait beside her. It's like time ceases to exist.

I know Adrian eventually shows up, his eyes wary as he touches her, like he expects she'll disappear before he claims to heal the little still left behind. Little of what, he doesn't know, just claims to see it in her aura before wandering out.

I sit a silent vigil at her side, the wolf had woken up when Rose's heart started beating again and a part of me wonders if he had died too. Never the less he squeezes himself onto the bed with Rose, almost like he'd done this before.

I mentally shake my head, maybe he had. The two of us are up through the whole night, waiting for her to open her eyes. The next day, after Lissa is released, all of Rose's friends end up in the small room. Once everyone is settled in, Adrian gets the ball rolling.

"I was there when she collapsed." He announces, I turn to glare at him, so where the hell was he when I was trying to wake her up. "Before you start," He looks to me. "I tried to dream walk her, something was wrong and I knew you'd get her here, I can't heal like Lissa can."

"Okay, so what did you see?" Christian steps in.

"She was in a room, with all of us…"

"It was Christmas." Lissa whispers, her eyes hadn't left Rose's face since she'd sat down, she doesn't look away now.

"How did you…?"

"I was there." A tear falls from her eye. "I was there but I couldn't move or speak… like I was in her head but not, I could see her and everyone around was frozen too." She sniffs. "I heard her talking to you… I just couldn't find my voice."

"What did she say?" I turn to glare at Adrian again and he returns the stare, his eyes surprisingly sharp and focused.

"That she was dying and she finally wasn't hurting anymore. She told me to tell you two that she loved you and she wishes she had more time but doesn't regret a second of it… then she shoved me out. Literally." He summarizes. I turn back to look at the love of my life on the bed. Why hasn't she woken up?

"I woke up when she said she was dying… I could feel it; I could feel her slipping away so I ran…" Lissa whispers. We turn back to her. "I was so scared I wouldn't make it; I couldn't feel her anymore… I never realized that I can always feel her and suddenly she was gone. Oh my God, she was dead." Lissa begins to shake and cry.

"So you brought her back, again. What does that mean for the bond?" I ask, she shrugs.

"We'll know when she wakes up. She just has to wake up…" and just like that we all lapse make into silence.

"What's the plan for when she wakes up?" Eddie asks. We turn to look at him, the questions must be evident on our faces because he sighs before continuing. "Things can't just go back to how they were, she's a guardian, do you still want her to be your guardian?" He turns to Lissa.

"Of course I do, but there's so much she's always wanted to do, and I think this should be a wake up call to all of us that we aren't going to be here forever! She deserves more." Lissa exclaims.

From there plans are made and everyone else leaves to get some things settled while I stay with her. I can't look away from her face. While the paleness had receded quite a bit, her face is a bit thinner and there are dark circles under her eyes, showing the lack of sleep she had hidden from everyone.

I lean forward and take one of her hands in my own while pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Come on Roza, you have to wake up." I pull back and let my head rest on the bed, careful not to disturb the still and sleeping wolf who has his body protectively curled beside hers on the opposite side of me.

I don't know when I fall asleep, I just know that I wake up to fingers combing through my hair. I look up and could cry when I realize gold flecked chocolate eyes are staring back at me.

"Morning sleepy head." She teases lightly, a small smile on her face. "Everyone was just getting me up to speed." She gestures around to the room full of her friends but I don't care. I almost lost her, she died in my arms, but she's here… she's alive.

I don't think, I act. Standing up, I immediately cup her face and kiss her softly. She lets out a soft sigh before kissing me back.

"You're okay, thank god you're okay." I murmur when I pull back, she smiles softly before pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.

"I love you." She whispers. I smile.

"I love you more."

"I love you most." She gives a soft giggle and I pull her into my arms, holding on to her like she'll disappear if I let go. She hugs me tightly, seemingly content to be held for a moment.

"I thought I'd lost you." I breathe. She tenses slightly and holds me closer until I can almost feel her heart beating in her chest.

"Not quite yet Comrade," She says before kissing me soundly.

A dramatic cough interrupts us and I turn to glare at the group.

"Well that's lovely and all," Adrian says nonchalantly. "But we were just getting to the part about the plan." He smiles a bit and before nodding to me.

"What plan?" She looks around before stopping at me.

"When you're released from here, we're leaving." I state, she raises an eyebrow.

"Who's we?"

"All of us, we're taking the next few months and we're going to travel, where ever, when ever. You just need to pick a place and that's where we're going. It's all been cleared, guardians will be brought with us and you and I will be on leave until we get back and if you so chose then you will be the Princess' primary guardian." I explain.

"Are you sure? This is way too much, we can't possibly…"

"We can." Lissa interrupts.

"And we will." Adrian finished.

"We want to Rose." Eddie adds.

"Second chances are worth celebrating." Christian shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant, but it's clear as day that he wants to as well.

She looks at all of us with tears in her eyes as the biggest smile I'd ever seen spreads across her beautiful lips.

"Alright. Well then let's get this part over with shall we?" She smiles, we all break out into relieved laughter. I lean in a press a kiss to her forehead.

_Flash Forward 15 years_

Rose's Point of View

Time had flown by in the blink of an eye. After an extensive amount of testing, I was released from Dr. O's care, though I still go for testing once a year, even if just as a precaution at this point.

The bond between Lissa and I had strengthened to the point that we could now talk to each other and she had a decent amount of insight to my feelings though she can't go into my head like I can hers, we were both fine with that. With time and patience, we had managed a delicate balance between spirit, its madness and my own sickness.

I wear a charmed ring that helps keep me healthy, an idea from Oksana and Mark who we met in Russia. It keeps us from having to do the massive healings when a tumor starts to form, and it takes less spirit so we manage to stay sane as well.

That trip had solidified us in ways we never thought, we ended up taking a gap year, literally hopping from one place to the next before we all decided it was time to get home.

Lissa, Christian, Eddie and I went to Leigh and graduated four years later. In that time, we found out about Jill being Lissa's half sister, Dimitri and I got engaged, as did Lissa and Christian. Adrian went to art school and opened his own studio. Mia went on to be in fashion and eventually moved to London to expand her career.

Dimitri and I got married a year after I graduated and not too long after I found out I was pregnant. Our son was born and we bought a house, not far from Lissa and Christian.

When the Queen unexpectedly passed, Lissa went through the trials and became Queen and shortly after, she married Christian who took her majesty's last name. Lissa had her first son a year after they got married.

Over the next few years she'd pop out one more before we'd both find out we're pregnant at about the same time. She'd go on to have two more kids, totaling five under eight years old.

Christian, with the help of his aunt, got the magic self defense off the ground and he now helps coordinate and run it. Between the Queen and her Consort, they have brought our world into the modern age.

Dimitri and I had helped usher in a new training program that was tightly wound with Christian's, teaching dhampir's how to train with moroi to maximize damage in the event of a raid. I was the head of the Queen's guard and Dimitri was recently promoted to head guardian after Guardian Croft passed unexpectedly. Both of our little ones attend St. Vlad's with their cousins.

Even after all of these years, Jericho still remains at my side, faithful and supportive as always. A charmed collar helped him blend in when we were out in the human world so he really never strayed far from my side.

After a few years of continuing his player ways, Adrian met an Alchemist named Sydney, needless to say he fell head over heels for her. He met her and put his past behind him and focused on creating an amazing life for the two of them. They're now married and awaiting their second child. They run an art studio/gallery/mechanic shop and are very happy together. We see them all often.

Eddie and Jill eventually married and now have a son and are planning on trying for a second child.

It's Christmas Eve and everyone is sitting around the fire, watching as Dimitri plays the guitar for the kids who are watching him with rapt attention. The kids are laughing merrily and the room smells of fresh baked cookies, curtesy of me, the Christmas tree and eggnog.

It warms my heart as I lean against the wall and watch my family with love in my heart.

"So this is your dream huh?" I look away from the kids and turn to look at Adrian's happy eyes. The nostalgia is thick between us.

"Yeah, I think it is." I smile warmly before snuggling under his offered arm. We turn to watch the family, listening to the giggling and singing. "It's crazy to think this almost never happened." I whisper. My heart clenches.

"Let's just be glad it did, you're the glue that holds us together, I'm just glad we actually got to see this play out, for real this time." He murmurs back, I smile widely.

"There's no place I'd rather be." I sigh softly and enjoy the scene with a love filled heart. My family. Everyone under one roof, laughing and singing, it almost feels like a dream.

A tiny part of me glances over Adrian's shoulder, terrified that I'd look over and see Mason waiting for me like he had all those years ago, I get a small chill.

I shake off the feeling before standing straight. "Alright kiddos, time for bed, you know Santa doesn't come when you're awake!" Everyone turns to look up at me before we all hustle our kids to bed. When they're all settled, we close the door and Jericho lays in front of the door, he's the silent protector, I don't think he'd let any danger get through him to those children, I pet him on my way out to meet the rest of the adults in the living room.

I curl into Dimitri's side before remembering I have some news to share.

"Hey, I had some Christmas pictures taken, would you guys look through the proofs and tell me which ones you like?" Everyone agrees and I smile widely before passing out the carefully arranged stacks to everyone, even Dimitri.

They start flipping through, everyone looking through the pictures until my mother gasps. I smile wider. Olena is next to make a soft noise, followed by Lissa who jumps up and down, squealing.

Dimitri flips to the last set of pages and finds the sonogram that had been taken yesterday. He looks up at me with bright eyes and a beaming smile. He lifts me up, spinning me around as he gives a whoop of joy.

"I'm going to be a Papa again?" He asks gently, I smile as I wipe my happy tears and nod. He kneels down to kiss my stomach, murmuring softly before kissing me. "You make me the luckiest man in the world."

We're briefly interrupted by cheers and hugs from all around. We all celebrate the tiny life growing inside of me and eventually I'm settled back in Dimitri's lap. I turn to kiss him.

"I love you." I whisper on his lips.

"I love you more, more than I can ever express." He nuzzles my neck softly. I lean into him, enjoying his warmth and presence.

"Merry Christmas." I say softly, he grins.

"A very Merry Christmas indeed." He says a bit huskily, I giggle.

So there, in my home with all of our family, I'm surrounded by the dream I never would have allowed myself to even consider so long ago. In a moment of pure joy; I soak it all in because truly, there is no place like home.