So the new story is up.

Also I would like to point out to everyone that a few authors and I have worked on a valentines special. It is on a seperate profile page VA10thanniversaryproject.:

To celebrate Valentine's Day and the 10-year anniversary of Vampire Academy, a small group of avid VA fandom writers have teamed up to create
a collection of romantic one-shots based on our favorite VA couple – Romitri!

The iniative was from Llaria6 and Swimming the same deep waters.

Chapter 1

RPOV

I was crouched down in the bushes, my hand caressing my stake in my pocket. My eyes focused on the building in front of me and my body wired with adrenaline just waiting to strike. Dimitri was sitting next to me in a similar position. His hand found mine briefly before landing on his own stake.

We were currently outside, far away from the house to do recon and not be noticed by the Strigoi, but close enough to be able to tell with how many we were dealing with.

Although Dimitri and I and our team were the most experienced slayer unit out there I was always on high alert, no matter how well trained we were. One moment of distraction could end very badly. It was in these days I missed being shadow-kissed. My own personal Strigoi radar would be very handy at times. Although it would have meant I would currently be keeling over from nausea.

Since Lissa took the throne things had changed. Change had been slow but we were moving in the right direction. Lissa was now able to focus completely on her task as queen since we had graduated Lehigh a year ago and I was focusing on this. It had been a long four years. Political science. I swear I would have chosen Art over political science. Lissa was kind enough though to let me pick most of the electives so I could enjoy college to. How I ever made it through I don't know. But I was now also the proud owner of a bachelor's in 'how to be an asshole and rule the world'. Even since she became a full time queen she had been busy with making changes.

Lissa had given the okay for so-called slayer units. Small units of highly trained guardians and one or two Moroi that actively went after Strigoi. Dimitri and I had been advocates of this system for a while and were the first to volunteer when the bill passed the council. Our unit was the first and was so unoriginally called team Alpha: the first.

Christian was also in a slayer team, team Echo. But we had discussed that only one of our teams could go on missions at a time. Because we all knew what would happen when Lissa would lose all of us. Lissa had on more than occasion pleaded with Christian not to go, but fighting was in his blood as it was in ours. Lissa being a healer didn't understand to concept. She loved Christian but couldn't understand that part of him. Although I think it was different for Christian as it was for us. Dimitri and I were born warriors. We would always be fighting one way or another, but Christian was made into a fighter. Losing his parents gave him a determination not to be helpless. To stop the same from happening to anyone else. So reluctantly Lissa had let Christian join a slayer unit.

Team Alpha was known throughout the Moroi world. And we had actually been getting a lot of volunteers to join us. It was now considered highly prestigious to join a slayer squad and especially ours. We had the highest kill count and the lowest casualty count. We hadn't lost anyone in months. Dimitri led the team with me as second in command. At first the council was a bit hesitant to place us together, but Hans had long ago learned we were better together.

Hans had seen us sparring and fighting together. There was even a rescue mission where Hans had come along himself and witnessed us in our full glory. After that he said there was no doubt. The fact we could communicate without saying anything, always knew where the other one was and complemented each other's fighting style so we could take on Strigoi together in perfect sync, meant he saw as being together as an asset. We weren't known anymore as guardian Dimitri Belikov and guardian Rose Hathaway, we were known simply as 'them'.

Dimitri and I got married two years ago and I noticed some guardians that joined the team or saw us at court were a bit hesitant as to how to approach us. But the members of our team were used to us. They knew in the heat of battle we were the best. And they also knew that when the door to our room was closed after a battle they shouldn't disturb us. Some had to learn that the hard way. It was fun having newbies discover this by themselves. Although the more experienced members of the team would advise against it. I had seen a similar thing in one of the animal behavior classes in college. A group of monkeys were placed in a room with a ladder and a banana on top of the ladder. Now of course monkeys try and take the banana. Whenever one attempt this the sprinklers would be turned on. After a while no monkey would attempt it. Then they would swap out the monkeys one by one. Now the new monkey would try and take the banana but the other monkeys made sure he didn't get up the ladder. Eventually all monkeys were swapped out and no monkey had been there to see the sprinklers turn on when going after the banana. But still no monkey would attempt it. Even if they didn't know why they couldn't go up there. Of course when it came to barging into our room it was quite clear why the shouldn't be doing it. If they hadn't witnessed it themselves the other members of the team would enlighten them in intricate detail. Just goes to show we did come far in our evolution.

Dimitri and I and the Moroi member of our team, Emily, were on recon tonight. We would scope out the building and learn with how many Strigoi we were dealing. Then we would return to base discuss strategy and go in guns blazing. I liked Emily, she was badass. Her Moroi senses came in handy in recon but her magic came handy in a fight. Emily was a fire user. Although a lot of Moroi that joined the slayer units were fire-users some other elemental users had joined as well. Mia of course being one of them. She was too late to join our team, but she has been a loyal member of team Bravo from the beginning. Christian still remained the only Royal though.

Now Christian was considered very good, because he had technique. He knew how to control is flame and how to inflict the maximal damage. The technique he had learned from his aunt from an early age had only increased and improved over the past few years. But Christian needed that technique, even though, for a fire user he was considered strong, he had nothing on Emily. Emily was pure power. She learned everything about fighting and control while she was with us. Before that she would simply unleash herself. And what a sight it was. One time we just had Emily burn down the building and we took care of the few Strigoi that tried to get away. Christian didn't have enough stamina to do such a thing. It was almost as if Emily was fire itself, but maybe that was because of her red hair.

But today that wasn't an option. The Strigoi cell was too close to the civilized world. And there were several escape routes for them to take. Also we didn't know if they had any victims alive in there. It was rare to find people alive in a Strigoi nest, but we had noticed the more Strigoi aggregate together the more they would also share their food. They would simply pick up a few victims and nibble on them throughout the night.

We had been there for almost two hours watching the coming and going of the Strigoi. We signaled to Emily if she had seen enough and what her count was. She counted the same amount us as so Dimitri signaled retreat.

We carefully and stealthily retreated back to the car waiting for us about half a mile back.

"I counted six." Emily said once we were safe in the car and driving back to our current base of operations.

"There might have been one up the stairs but I am not sure. But let's assume seven."

Both Emily and Dimitri nodded.

Lissa had been kind. She said that if Guardians and Moroi were willing to risk their lives to actively hunt Strigoi then they should do so in luxury. She always booked us at least a four star hotel. And today it was even five. Dimitri and I had a suite with a living section where we held out meetings, the rest had adjoining rooms to ours. Although I did try to explain to Lissa that we were there to work and not play, no matter how much the Jacuzzi was calling to me and my Russian hunk of a husband. She simply said that when Moroi go on a business trip it is also all expenses paid. She did have a point there. I also explained to her she would have to pay the bill when housekeeping charges us for ruined sheets and towels and carpets. Lissa was actually mad after one particularly brutal raid and she had to pay cleaning coast of four suites to get all the blood stains out.

When we got back to our suite the rest of the team was waiting. Slayer units were small. Consisting of one or two Moroi. In our case one because really we didn't need any more then Emily, a team leader: Dimitri, a second: Me, and three or four other guardians, depending on the Moroi composition, so in our case four. Seven total. It was a nice number to handle this sort of thing. Usually a Strigoi cell wasn't larger than five. The six or seven we saw tonight was a rare occasion. And with Emily assisting in the kills and distraction we actually had quite the advantage. We discussed strategy and decided we would move in just after dawn. Dimitri never liked going in in the dark if he didn't really have to. It provided us with an extra layer of protection and an exit strategy. It had saved us in more than one occasion. It also meant that the Strigoi were usually dormant. However, whenever we had an inkling there could be victims in there we moved during the dark. Although Strigoi shared, food never made it through the night.

In the early morning we were all gearing up. I felt like a regular buffy the vampire slayer. I had stakes strapped all over my body. Dimitri was more than happy to help me with the one strapped to my upper thigh. His eyes roaming over my legs and looking up at me with fire in them. I heard some whistling from the boys but they quickly shut up once they saw Dimitri's glare. We were a tight group and mostly rank didn't matter between us, but when the boss gave you a look to stop staring at his wife you complied.

Before we left the room I kissed Dimitri and he kissed me.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He replied back.

We always did this before walking out the door. One last moment of romance before we put our game faces on. The rest was the same. We were all fun and games in the suite, but the moment we stepped across the threshold we were a lethal weapon.

A few hours later I entered the threshold again and let out a big sigh and was able to relax a bit.

"I keep buying new shirts. They keep ripping them apart. I am glad Lissa is picking up the tab on this one."

Dimitri laughed besides me. Now we were able to relax again and he was able to pull me in his arms and kiss me. We tried to stay all business while on the job, not just because of the others but because it was necessary.

"I don't mind."

He said as he pulled the hole across my chest open. He had a nice view of my cleavage from here.

I slapped his hand away.

"Shower first."

"I can multi-task." Dimitri had become a lot more open about certain things. Certainly when we were along, he was sometimes actually a bit of a flirt.

Dimitri pulled of his own torn shirt revealing his muscular and now scarred back.

Although we had made it out of all situations so far, evident by us still breathing, we didn't come out of every mission unscathed. They had left their mark on us, literally. There was a bite scare on the side of his neck and a particularly nasty scare on my back and side showing just how close we had some sometimes. I didn't mind too much, it made him look even sexier. Although every time I run my fingers over the scar I can still see the moment in front of me. Sometimes I would see the caves, but I was glad to know that those memories weren't coming back that often. But this time it was mostly bumps and bruises.

"Let's check each other out first."

Dimitri turned around raising his eyebrow and looking me up and down. God he was supposed to be foreign and not get the double meaning of those words. But he got out the medical kit anyway. I took of my shirt and pants just leaving me in my panties and bra. Dimitri was stripping down as well.

He sat down in front of me first with his back turned to me. I washed off most of the blood and checked which wounds would need further treatment.

"I think this one needs stitching."

He nodded.

"you want some numbing agent?'

He turned around and looked at me funny. I knew Dimitri always refused. Why I didn't know. I always wanted it. Somehow getting a wound fixed after the adrenaline had left your system was a lot more painful than getting the wound in the midst of battle.

I had been getting rather skilled at suturing. I had actually asked a doctor to teach me a bit and he showed me how. At first we would have medical staff waiting for us when we got back from missions but now there were just too many units out there for each to have their own medical staff. We did always inform the local Moroi clinic we would be going on a raid and to keep supplies on hand. But today we hadn't needed it. We called in the alchemist to clean up but otherwise all in all it was a good day. The worst injury was a broken rib and that didn't need medical attention. We all knew how to bind a broken rib and the only thing that would require was rest.

"All done. You look pretty again. I'll put a membrane over it once we get out of the shower."

Dimitri checked me over but found nothing in need of stitches. After the shower we would see which wounds would still bleed and bandage those. The prospect of the shower now taking precedence of our wounds. Battle always got us riled up. I wondered if we should see a shrink about that one.

After we got out of the shower, thoroughly satisfied, Dimitri called Hans to talk to him for debriefing.

"Lissa wants us back at court. There aren't any missions we can go on right now."

That was fine with me. We had been on the road for the past month and I was getting a bit homesick.

I know that some of our team would also like to go home. Adam in particular. He had a wife and child at home and only joined the team because he needed to extra pay. He was actually pretty good but we all protected him a bit to make sure he would see his family again. He had the cutest little boy and I would hate for him to lose his father.

Things had gotten better for guardians and Dhampirs in general when it came to family life. It was now more accepted for guardians to have a home life and to marry. I do like to believe that Dimitri and I had a hand in that.

We said our goodbyes to everyone and made our way to court.