"Can we talk?", Rose asked him in a whisper, making Dimitri drop the kitchen towel he'd been wiping the dishes with and turn around to face her. He studied her carefully for a few moments before nodding silently and sitting down at their kitchen table.
Things had not been going well recently, to say the least. Over the last two months, Rose had somewhat become irritable, which Dimitri could deal with; I mean come on - she was barely out of her teens, guarding the Moroi monarch, in her final university semester, recently married ,and leading the life of a guardian. As far as Dimitri was concerned, she had every right to be stressed.
What he was not okay with was her bipolarity. In the last month, she had accused him of not being in love with her anymore and succumbed to tears on more than one occasion, while at the same time, she herself had spurned his amorous advances; pretending to be tired and sleepy whenever he tried to get close to her.
So, Dimitri was confounded…he couldn't help but wonder if she'd gotten tired of him. If she was regretting tying herself to him for life…but his pride prevented him from asking her. Well, that and her aloofness.
In fact, over the last two weeks, they'd come to resemble amicable roommates – bedmates – rather than young lovers with their platonic everyday dealings - but Dimitri still hoped that Rose would just tell him what was bothering her instead of bottling everything up and suffering in silence. He loved her, and in spite of recent indications, he knew she loved him too - with all her heart. So he - although concerned - knew that she'd tell him in due time, and he just needed to wait this…whatever it was…out.
So tonight, after another awkward, almost-silent dinner, Rose had retired to the bedroom once again and Dimitri had started washing their dinner utensils. He was – understandably - surprised when she rejoined him not ten minutes later instead of going to bed, which had become her norm nowadays.
As he sat facing Rose at the table, he couldn't help but study her more closely. She looked beautiful - as she always did, even without a stitch of makeup. But now, her eyes were troubled and dark shadows haunted them. Her face, although glowing, looked a little pale and overall, she looked…afraid?
"What's going on, Roza?", Dimitri asked, tentatively reaching his hands towards her. He was relieved when instead of recoiling from him, Rose clasped his hands in both of hers and held onto them for dear life.
But his relief was short-lived. Her hands were freezing. "Rose! Please!" Dimitri insisted, alarmed by her cold and clammy hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm so-so sorry, Dimitri", Rose burst into tears, looking down at the table, and Dimitri felt panic swell in his body.
"What for?", he asked, half-terrified of knowing. "What are you sorry for, Rose?"
"I thought you wouldn't believe me, so I didn't tell you at first. And then, the doctor said that the first three months were the most uncertain, so I didn't wanna give you false hope, and then-", Rose rambled between sniffling, but slowly the words made it across to Dimitri and he interrupted her.
"What doctor?" Dimitri asked perplexed, his mind still trying to figure out what she was saying. "What wouldn't I believe?"
Rose heaved a shaky sigh before releasing his hands from her death-grip and retrieving three envelopes from her coat-pocket. Wait, why was she wearing a coat, Dimitri wondered momentarily, but then his attention was diverted by the imposing manila envelopes she was pressing into his hands.
"Roza", he said softly, ignoring her offerings. "Please, love. Tell me what's going on? You know I love you, and you know I'd believe you, no matter how crazy things sound. You can trust me."
She stared into the brown eyes that she loved so much for what seemed like an infinity before nodding her head. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise you'll listen to everything before saying anything, okay?"
Rose didn't know how she'd survive if Dimitri didn't believe her, but she was done hurting both of them by hiding her secret. She knew she couldn't suppress it anymore and Dimitri did deserve to know the truth…but she needed to extract this promise from him before anything else.
When Dimitri nodded his assent and covered her hands with his again, Rose took a deep breath and began. "I don't know if you've noticed, but for the past couple of weeks I've not exactly been all rainbows-and-roses - not that I usually am, but you know….my temper and emotions were all over the place and the littlest of things set me off. Not to mention I've been hungrier than usual and suffering from dizzying spells. In fact, Lissa practically dragged me to a physician after I almost fainted on her, and then…" she paused her narrative to take a shuddering breath before continuing, holding onto his eyes as her anchor. "The doctor, he conducted some tests, and when the results came back, I was shocked. At first I couldn't believe it, but he did retests and the results all came back same. You were on a raid, I think. So, I came back home and had a total breakdown. I couldn't believe it was happening, but…"
By now, Dimitri was not only listening closely to Rose but he was also coming to some conclusions of his own. Rose's behavior over the past few weeks; the terrified, guarded expression on her face and her rollercoaster of emotions were starting to make sense. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked her levelly, forcing his guardian mask up to hide his emotions.
"Dimitri, you have to believe me - it's yours!" she burst out, stark terror apparent on her face. Terror for what he'd think, Dimitri knew now. Terror for how he'd react…
"Here, see this? Take this!" Rose frantically shoved the first envelope back onto his hands.
"What's this?" Dimitri asked her, opening the envelope and peering inside.
"A DNA test confirming that the baby is yours," Rose replied tearfully.
"How did you-?" Dimitri began, but Rose cut him off.
"I took your toothbrush and a few hair strands to the doctor and told him to work his magic. It came back positive. See the paper, Dimitri?! I swear I'm telling the truth."
Dimitri didn't so much even open the paper before setting it down on the table. "How long have you known?"
"Three weeks," Rose promptly replied. "I didn't want to tell you before the three-month mark just in case…in case something went wrong. But I couldn't take hiding it anymore; knowing I was hurting both of us, and the stress can't be good for the baby."
At the word baby, Dimitri's head shot up from studying his and Rose's clasped hands. "The DNA test…it wasn't harmful for the baby, was it?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
"No," Rose choked out, trying to figure out what Dimitri was thinking. "Why aren't you screaming?" she asked him, adorably confused.
"Theatrics is your forte, Roza. Not mine", Dimitri shot back dryly, earning a small, wobbly smile from Rose. "But how far along are you? And who else knows?"
"I'm at the 8 week mark, and no one else knows except me and the doctor. And now, you."
"What about Lissa?" he asked her, getting up to fetch her a glass of water.
"I thought you should be the first to know. I told her that the doctor said I was fatigued and I needed to take it easy for the next few months," Rose admitted with a small smile and gulped down the water Dimitri offered her. "Technically, it's true."
"Leave it to you to find technicalities in this situation," Dimitri shook his head, sitting down at the table again.
"Dimitri seriously, why aren't you screaming or freaking out? Not that I don't appreciate it, you know. But…why?"
"Because I trust you, Roza. And I love you," Dimitri said simply, dragging Rose's chair towards his. "And looking back, the signs do add up."
"And you're not a bit concerned about how this is possible?" Rose asked skeptically, gesturing to her still-flat stomach.
"We haven't exactly played life by its rules so far, you and I - so why can't we break the rules again and have another miracle?" the ex-strigoi asked his ex-shadow-kissed lover, reaching across to brush his fingers gently against her abdomen. "Also, when we went to Baia, Yeva had said something like this might happen someday. I'd never dared hope, but given the amount of time we've spent in each other's beds the last half-year, does this really surprise you?"
"So, you're not mad?" Rose asked, studying his face.
"Mad?" Dimitri scoffed. "No, Roza! No. I'm not mad. I'm happy. So, so happy. We're having a baby. You've given me everything I could hope for in this life, and now, you're giving me the impossible - our child. Hush Roza, don't cry", Dimitri said softly, leaning forward to kiss away her fresh tears before engulfing her in a hug.
"I thought you wouldn't believe me…that you'd leave me", Rose confessed, her voice muffled against his chest. "I can't bear losing you Dimitri. I love you."
"And I love you, Rose," Dimitri soothed her. "I stood on the wedding altar and promised to love and cherish you for life, to never leave you. How could you doubt that?"
"I'm sorry, love," Rose apologized, brushing her cheek against his chest lovingly. "I'm sorry for all the anguish I've caused us."
For a while, the two dhampirs sat together, taking comfort in each other before Dimitri broke the silence. "Why are you wearing the coat?"
Rose lifted her head off his chest and gave him an embarrassed smile. "Just in case you didn't want me here, I was gonna go over to Lissa's."
Dimitri nodded before his next question. "And the other envelopes?"
"The first one has my blood reports, which confirmed the pregnancy, and the other one has an ultrasound photo," Rose pointed to the envelopes in question.
"Photo?" Dimitri queried, sitting upright and ripping the photo out of it's envelope. Rose leaned against his chest again, smiling at his enthusiasm as he peered at the image of her lower abdomen. "That tiny dot in the center, that's our kid", Rose smiled, gesturing to the tiny blur in the photo. Dimitri brought it closer to his face and squinted at it for a moment before a breathtaking smile took over his visage.
"We're having a baby, Rose," he informed her with a laugh, seizing her lips with a searing kiss. Rose kissed him back with all she had, both repenting her silence and expressing her gratitude to him. When he'd had his fill, Dimitri released her from his hold to cover her stomach with his hands. And then he whispered, "Hi baby, it's your Dad. Mommy and I love you so much. We can't wait to meet you…"
Tears sprung again to Rose's eyes and both she and - a now panicking - Dimitri wiped furiously at them. "Sorry - hormones", she explained apologetically, trying to stop the waterworks. "But that was so sweet, Comrade!" she declared, leaning forward to buss his cheek.
"Sweet or not, stop crying Roza", Dimitri ordered her. "All of this emotional upheaval and stress can't be good for the baby. And go to bed right now, I'll get you some water and some fruit to eat. Did the doctor say what you can eat and not? What about vitamins, did he recommend them? Who's your doctor, by the way, and when's your next appointment-"
Dimitri spewed that out in a breath, and would have continued, if Rose didn't place her hand over his mouth. "Chill, Comrade. It's all under control. To answer your questions, you can come along to my next appointment, which is in 5 days and interrogate my poor doctor. As for meds, he's given me a prescription. Now, before you can ask me anything else, I'm gonna head to bed," Rose announced, standing up.
"Do you need anything?" Dimitri asked her, standing up too.
"Yeah…you," Rose answered, standing up on her toes and stealing a kiss from him. "You probably need a minute, so I'll go to bed now. But don't you keep me waiting, okay?"
"Never," Dimitri declared before he smiled his assent and kissed her forehead. When Rose glanced back on her way back to the bedroom, she saw him studying her sonogram image under the kitchen light, tears glistening in his eyes. She decided to give him his privacy and continued with her nightly routine before settling into bed.
He joined her soon, after placing a water bottle by her bedside and changing into pajamas. Then, he slipped under the covers and spooned her from behind, his jaw coming to rest on her shoulder. "Thank you, Roza, for everything. I love you," he said in an achingly loving voice before sliding his hands down to wrap around her abdomen protectively. "And I love you too, little one."
Rose turned around to face him and brushed a few strands of hair off his face. "I love you too, Comrade. We love you and thank you too, for being my life." Having said her piece, Rose settled against his shoulder and fell asleep to the motion of him caressing her abdomen and humming a lullaby.
That night they both thanked whatever deities they could think of for the happiness and blessings in their life. And so overjoyed and relieved, neither of them found sleep for too long, opting to doze instead and talk through the entire night. All the while, Dimitri's hands didn't stray far from Rose's abdomen and her hands didn't let go of him. They reveled in their closeness and relief that Rose had finally told him what had been eating her up for the past few weeks. And the two - no, three - of them had their first stress-free, unburdened night in a long while, because Rose had finally faced the music and confessed to Dimitri that he+she had made three.
I'd like to thank Roza-Dimka-Reader, without whose encouragement I'd probably not have published this. And yeah, also thank you for editing too! :p
To everyone else, thank you for reading my latest offering.
Don't forget to let me know what you think!
Cheers!