Rose had been let loose to terrorise the world once again a few days ago and she and Dimitri already had a house of their own. It was all my idiot best friend had wanted since all this started and now his dream, his fairy tale happy ending had come true. I grinned as I walked up the path, gift in hand, and let myself in the front door.

"Hello!" I called.

"Who is it?" Rose called from the lounge.

"Jazz."

I walked into the room. Rose was lying on the sofa propped up by a couple of pillows. There was a small table next to her with some sandwiches, crisps, chocolate and a drink on it. She smiled weakly at me. Dimitri's molnija ceremony had ended a couple of hours ago and she'd been there. I'd been put on protection duty whilst we stood so solemnly as Dimka was tattooed, but the only person I was protecting was Rose. I was protecting her from herself. She'd insisted on standing the whole time and had worn herself out.

"I bring the godly gift of McDonald's," I announced.

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Big mac and fries?"

"Large with a chocolate milkshake. And Costa brownies. Dimka said you like them." I gave her the food and she looked at it like it was the first thing she'd had to eat in a month.

"He keeps giving me healthy stuff," she explained. "Like lettuce."

"Our secret," I winked.

"He said that you staked your husband. I'm so sorry." Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. Had she not gone through the last few months I would have said she was only crying because she was so tired, but she'd been about to stake Dimitri in the warehouse. He told me so the other day. She'd faltered twice, but as soon as Lissa was in danger that had changed everything.

I let a tear fall. "It's not your fault. No one knew…" I shook my head. "Mikhail and Sonya… they're so lucky too. I've never seen the man so happy."

"I bet this is all really difficult for you. Seeing us together."

"Yeah. But I did what I had to do. The only thing I could have at the time. I freed his soul.

"But –"

"Just eat your fries, Rose," I said perhaps a little too firmly. "Where's Dimka?"

"He's been upstairs since we got back. He's just… You didn't see him break down when he killed Donovan."

"We'll make him better, Rose. You, me, Lissa, his family. He won't ever be the same again, but he'll be better."

I got up from the floor and went upstairs with the rest of the food I had brought over. I found Dimitri in the main bedroom, sat on the bed staring at the wall. His eyes were lost in the middle of a waking nightmare. Sighing I sat next to him and put the bag of food in his lap. He blinked and looked down.

"You don't need to keep checking up on me, Jasmine," he said softly.

"Who says I was checking up on you? Can't I just pop over to see my best friend?"

He slid his eyes over to me. "You were checking up on me and you know it."

I sighed. "Ok, so I was. But… God, Dimitri, I still worry about you. A lot."

"You don't have to," he said shortly. "Being with Rose… She made me see the beauty in the world. The sunlight, the wind in the air, the earth, the fire in her heart… Her." A small smile played on his lips. "I love her, Jasmine."

"I know."

"I wish it was Ivan too."

"I know… Alexander keeps asking when you're going to visit. He's also really excited that you have a house. I think he wants to stay over…"

A proper smile came to his lips. "When Rose is better, maybe."

"Ok. And when she is you're coming over to dinner. You, Rose, Lissa, Christian and Janine if she's still here. I suppose Abe can come too. Not that he'd wait for the invite," I said dryly. Over the last few weeks we'd come to know one another a little. I didn't hate him or anything, I never had. I was just wary of him and his scheming mind.

"I wonder who will fall for Alexander's charm first."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do we even need to bother wagering slices of bread on that?"

He chuckled. From what I'd heard the only other person he'd chuckled for so far was Rose. "No. It's going to be Lissa… God, it feels like a life time ago."

We both deflated a little at that. We'd known one another for eight years. Eight years ago since we bartered slices of bread on my first day at St. Basil's. Because of everything that had happened since we met – holding off that Strigoi at school, Ivan, him – well, it seemed like a life time. And Dimitri's life had been so much harder than mine.

"Promise me, Jasmine, promise me that no matter what happens we'll always have one another."

"You do have Rose you know," I said softly.

"Not if I loose her," he whispered.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. She beat me you know. One hundred and seven."

"I'm being serious, Jasmine," he said.

"And so am I. But, for your soppy, romantic sensibilities… Yes, no matter what you'll always have me."

He hugged me for a moment and kissed my hair. "Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever. Eat your fries, cowboy."

"Yes, Mother."

Now, I know he and Ivan used to call me Mum a lot, but when they called me Mother that was when they thought I really was mothering them. They knew it annoyed me no end, but they called me that anyway.

"You cheeky git," I muttered and began to walk from the room. "You need to eat up because we're both on duty in twenty minutes. We got the outer boundary walk."

"Really?" he asked, excited and looking up at me with huge, round eyes. "But I can't leave Ro –"

"Hello!" Abe called from the door.

Dimka raised an eyebrow at me. "You got Abe to babysit Rose?"

"I think he prefers 'taking care of my darling hero daughter', but yeah," I shrugged. "You coming downstairs to witness this or what?"

"Oh, you're kidding me!" Rose exclaimed from the lounge. "I don't need looking after! Dimitri!"

He looked a little alarmed. "I think we should sneak out the back."

"Aww, scared of a half incapacitated woman?" I mocked.

"This is Rose Hathaway we're talking about," he said seriously.

Then we heard her footsteps on the stairs and he looked anxiously at the door.

"If you even suggest climbing out of the window…"

He actually looked at it like it was a good idea.

"Jesus Christ, Dimitri, it's not like she's going to kill you," I said, grabbed his arm and made him walk over to the door.

Rose was just about to open it. "I don't need looking after," she said straight away, eyes flashing at her boyfriend.

He seemed to finally find his resolve. "You nearly died a week ago, Rose."

"I still don't need –"

"Then watch TV with him, talk to him, have dinner with him."

"It was Jasmine's idea," Abe called up to us.

I decided all progress with him had been lost as those dark eyes flashed over to me.

"Watch TV with him," I said as I began to pull Dimitri passed her. "Talk to him. Have dinner with him." We were at the stairs by that point and I hurried down them before she could say anything else.

Abe was leaning on the lounge door frame smirking at me.

"This is so not over," I told his smug face and hurried out of the front door.

I only slowed down when we were down the road and around the corner.

"It's not like she's going to kill you," Dimitri said solemnly, a perfect approximation of how I'd said it to him.

We walked in silence for a heart beat and then burst out laughing. We walked and laughed just like we did so many times when we were still students. We were both light and happy and so looking forward to the rest of our lives surrounded by the people we loved.

I thought for a moment that life would have been properly complete if Ivan were here and the four of us could do everything together. It would be great. Ivan and Rose would get on like a house on fire, we could double date and live life happily. But even though Ivan wasn't here… This, this life that I had stretching before me… This life with Alexander, Rose and Dimitri…

Yeah. I could do this.

We could do this.

So that's it, the final chapter. I hope you liked it.

I'd like to give a huge shout out to all the people who have reviewed/followed/favourited this story each and every one of them means a lot! I'd like to say thank you for sticking with it all the way though to everyone who read whether you were a silent follower or a reviewer. Thanks a lot!

VA belongs to Richelle Mead