Emily was an ordinary girl but six years old she couldn't quite understand why her mother had been killed by strigoi while she watched. When Dimitri (my gorgeous mentor) and I found her we just couldn't leave her to die, so we took her to Kirova. The headmistress was not quite please when I busted through the door demanding her attention in the middle of an important meeting about what to do with the strigoi bodies and the bodies of the few guardians that happen to have passed. Dimitri carried the little girl to kirova's office while she clutched on to the shoulder of his well worn duster. He set the little girl down and she found my hand and gripped it tight. Kirova told us to send her to the clinic for Dr. Olenski to take care of but we just couldn't leave her. She was just so innocent. She reminded me of a good friend of mine whose parents both passed away, she was just too precious. Once the Doctor gave her a clean bill of health we took her to the cafeteria and got her a PBJ sandwich because that happens to be her favorite food. She informed us that her favorite color is violet and she wants to be a guardian, just like her mother was. The academy has always been short on female guardians so she was worth a shot. She was certainly a charmer, ambitious too, the first time she met Christian she told me she was going to marry him. After a week of her sleeping in the clinic and not being referred to as a person Kirova finally came to a decision after I opened my big mouth that I would be raising Emily, as well as continuing my guardian training. That was a shock considering that I am only just 18 recently. When I can't take her places aunt Lissa and Dimitri would take care of her for me. She was my responsibility; I'd never had a goldfish let alone a child so this should be interesting. So our first step was to pack all her belongings and move her into my dorm room, which wasn't hard considering that she only had one suitcase of clothing and a small backpack with all of her belongings for school and her toys. She was particularly attached to me and Dimitri considering were the ones who kept her alive. The next thing we did was went shopping. We went to the mall that wasn't so far off, Lissa came to and her guardians as well. Lissa took her shopping for new clothing while Dimitri and I made dinner reservations and visited the toy store to buy her a new toy. She was going to be spoiled rotten, only being in our lives for a few days and she's already a princess, not to mention she has a rich auntie. At the restaurant she got macaroni and cheese with a pickle on the side and chocolate milk, she ate every bit. Dimitri and I shared a pasta dish and Lissa got a salad, the food was so good I thought I might burst at the seams. Once our tab was paid (complements of Lissa and Dimitri) we left and headed back to the academy, she fell asleep in Dmitri's lap, just like I had done in my first trip into the big guardian world back in September. She really liked him, a lot. She clung to him from the moment she saw him, you would have thought that Kirova would have given her to him, him being a guardian and all. Dimitri was great with children. He had just enough tenderness in him to be delicate with them but knew when to be stern. Most kids loved him, it made me jealous, a lot of kids think of me as being mean, I'm really not. Emily was different she liked me, I liked her too. The more time we spent with her the more she revealed to be just like me that both scared me, and made me happy. I was starting to love this little girl more and more, she was just so darn cute.
Later that evening I carried Emily to Dmitri's room where he laid her down in his own bed and headed for the couch, I sat down next to him and he sighed as he took off his boots and leaned back against the couch cushions.
"What's the matter?" I asked him noting the grimace he was showing. He sighed again.
"My back, it's been awhile since I carried something of that weight for that long. I'll be fine in the morning." He said, I knew it something hurt more than that but he wouldn't let on to it, he was much too professional for that. So I got up and asked him to lay down on the couch.
"Why?" He asked but he obliged and laid face down on the couch. I straddled his lower back and began to rub at his shoulders. He was surprised at first and I felt his muscled tense up.
"Relax." He Laughed. "You're not on duty, comrade." He sighed. I could tell he was trying to but it was clear that he had never had anyone this close to him. Or had someone who he trusted them without seeing what they were doing. Every once in awhile I'd have to remind him to relax and pretend he was sleeping, the only time he was relaxed was when he was sleeping, and not thinking. I could tell he was thinking now.
"What are you thinking about now?" I asked, he responded a minute later, sounding much more relaxed then the before.
"You. Me. Emily. What would anyone say if they saw us right now? Why am I letting you do this, and what about Emily, how come they chose me to be her guardian?" I almost laughed,
"Did you just ask why Kirova chose you to be a legal guardian for Emily? Seriously? You're the best guardian at the school and you always tell me that you wanted a child in the worst way."
"Yes, except the woman I love can't have any children with me." He sounded sad.
"I'm sorry. But honestly would you rather have Kirova give her to Stan or any of those other jerks, and what about us? I'm giving you a massage; you've been carrying around a five year old all day. Is there something wrong with that? Or do you think your little dhampire girlfriend will get mad that I'm touching you." With that I could tell he was smiling. So I pressed my nails into his back a little harder and he hissed a breath out.
"I wouldn't call her little, she'd be offended" He almost smirked. "And she's not my Girlfriend yet."
"Really? Why not?" I asked. My hands still roaming around his shoulders and working out the stress he's built up. There were so many knots in his back I was surprised he could even walk. Each time my fingers moved he got more and more relaxed, and so did I. He didn't answer my question but I let it slide because he was so relaxed for once in his live it only took me a minute to realize that he had fallen asleep. I slowly slid off of the couch and went over to Emily who had fallen asleep hours before and I kissed her forehead and turned for the door. I looked at Dimitri one last time before I had to leave him, it killed me to leave him but I just couldn't stay, he stirred slightly and I froze. He settled back in shortly after and I quickly ran to the door. I snuck through the Guardian housing without getting caught, which was a miracle, and headed off to my dorm.
I was able to make it all the way up to mine and lissa's room without anyone saying a word to me; I just went to my room and fell asleep without changing or anything. That night I did not dream, which was good because I so did not need Adrian invading my much needed beauty sleep. Nor did I need to have a dream about which the hell Dimitri's girlfriend is. I've never had such peaceful sleep. I still would have rather slept for another thirteen hours or so. The sun was in my face and I just sat up and stretched. It was 9:30 I had to run to the cafeteria to catch breakfast before they stopped serving I jumped into some fresh cloths and splashed water onto my face and took off at a steady jog. I was always late, and both running to catch classes and Dimitri's morning workouts of running about twenty laps before seven o'clock kept me in shape to run the length of this campus without running out of breath but what I saw when I reached the cafeteria took my breath away instantly. Emily was sitting on Dimitri's lap eating a blue and pink colored yogurt and trying to get him to take a bite, he finally surrendered. He just laughed an actual laugh that I haven't heard in a long time. I came over to the table and Emily was the first to greet me, she jumped out of Dimitri's lap and grabbed onto my leg.
"Good morning, Rose." Dimitri said with an enormous smile on his face that seemed to make him glow.
"Good morning to you to, Comrade."I said as I ruffled the hair of the little monkey attached to my leg and I picked her up and sat her at the table and sat down next to Dimitri.
"Rose, can we go to the playground today?" Emily asked.
"Sure, as long as Dimitri says it's allowed. What do you say?" I turned to Dimitri.
"Dimka, can we play on the playground today please!" Emily asked while bouncing around like a maniac. She couldn't say Dimitri so she called him Dimka, his childhood nickname his sisters used to use.
"Of course, it's our day off let's use it wisely." He said throwing his hands up to let the little monkey bounce into his arms again. Seeing them together you'd think they were biological family. He just smiled at me and excused himself from the table for 'official business' I got breakfast while Emily finished hers.
"So Rose how was your night?" Lissa asked slyly.
"Umm good? Why?" I said questioningly.
"Well… we didn't see what time you came in and we were up awfully late too." She said with a smile.
"I came in around 11:30 or so. I was with Dimitri, we put Emily to bed and I was with him for awhile." I said, not thinking anything of it.
"You were in Guardian Belikov's room? Rose you know that's not allowed." She rebutted at me.
"Lissa, he's my mentor, I was saying good night to the orphan he's taking care of who I happen to think is adorable." I said and sighed. "Besides nothing happened we just sat and, well I gave him a back rub, and he fell asleep. He was so calm it was nice-"
"You gave Belikov a what-?"She interrupted and I slapped my hand over her mouth and told her to be quiet.
"Sorry" She said "You gave him a massage! Rose! I'm confused." She stopped and looked at me for an answer; the bond was swelling with questions and worry.
"Yeah he just always looks to tense and he was carrying around Emily all day, she loves him. Did you see her trying to feed him yogurt this morning she's so cute!"I rambled. Lissa just stared for a minute.
"So that's what the Shit-eating grin is all about, I haven't seen him so smiley since before the zelkos incident." Lissa was smiling now too.
"Really, he's that happy over a back massage? I mean I guess I'm good at massages then because he actually fell asleep! I didn't know what to do so I left." I said
"So how did you ever get him to agree to that? Isn't he some badass no fun kind of guy?" Lissa asked.
" I guess I just told him to lay down on the couch, he mentioned that his back hurt so I guess I did what came to mind first. I guess I never realized how much muscle he has too. I mean even in his back you can feel them all! He's like a lion or a bear or something. It felt so cool!" Lissa was laughing and I didn't understand why, until I heard that familiar chuckle behind me. Dimitri was behind me holding Emily trying not to laugh; I guess he heard my gawking about his muscles. Great.
"So Roza like's my muscles, eh?" He chuckled
"Who?" I asked.
"You, Rose, glad to see that the whole school knows I'm a sucker for good back rubs." He laughed again and looked at Emily who was giggling like a maniac."Come on, little Miss Emily wants to go to the play ground before dark." I hit him in the arm and he faked like it hurt. A lot of other kids were at the playground when we got their so we let her be a kid and sat on the bench and talked while we kept an eye on her.
"Thank you, Rose." Dimitri said out of the blue.
"For what?" I was so confused.
"The massage, I feel like a new man!" he was smiling from ear to ear. I blushed.
"You're welcome. I'm glad, you needed one. But keep me in mind next time you feel like giving out a free back massage!" We both laughed.
"Sure, I don't make people fall asleep when I give mine though." He joked and I punched him in the arm again.
"Whatever, Comrade." I said. "So what's the deal, no practice on Saturdays anymore?" I asked.
"No we'll still have practice later just not early morning practice, I've got to have some time to take my daughter out for pancakes and orange juice." He smiled. I could tell he took it all seriously, and loved it too.
"You really like her, don't you…" I asked. He didn't hesitate to say
"Yes, I do. I've always wanted children and she was in need of a father, I'm glad Kirova chose me. I just hope Emily can accept me to be her new father now. I want her to like me too." His smile faded.
"Dimitri, she's never had a father, even if you were the worst father in the world she would still love you. All she had was her mother, and now that she's gone it's time for someone to step in and be a father, she doesn't need a replacement mother, that's why they didn't give her to me! Besides, I see the way she clings to you, you make her smile when she is sad and you're always there to protect her." I said
"You asked for her and they gave her to me? Rose, I'm sorry. If I knew you wanted to take care of her then I would have let you have her, I'm sorry." He looked sad.
"Dimitri do you think Kirova would have given me the responsibility of a child even if you weren't there? I think not. It was just a whim. She's bold, I like her."
"She's just like you Rose." He said, and his smile came back.
"That's a good thing? I asked
"Yes, it's a great thing." He said. Just then Emily came toddling over with Christian in tow. Christian is aunt lissa's boyfriend. She told me the first day she met him that that's her boyfriend and that she's going to marry him. I find it cute. She was holding his hand, well, trying to; she had a hold of his thumb and his index finger and was dragging him back to Dimitri and me. She already had the attention of most of the boy's her age so I guess she really was like me.
"Hey, Rose!" I got up and hugged him. "Dimitri." The two nodded to each other. "Your little girl here is quite the charmer. I guess Lissa has some competition now." We all laughed.
"I guess so, just remember you break her heart and I'll break yours!" Dimitri said in the most serious voice, we all just stood there for a minute and then burst out laughing. Emily yawned, and looked as if she would fall asleep any minute so we took our conversation up stairs. Christian left to go visit Lissa and I knew that meant to block the bond so I didn't get an image in my head I'd want out later. So I settled for following Dimitri up to his room to let Emily take a nap. I guess Christian and Lissa weren't doing anything bad because they knocked on the door just as I was about to sit down.
"Hey Rose! We're here to take Emily so you can go to your training tonight!" Lissa said with a cheerful tone. I really wasn't excited to have my butt kicked my Dimitri for two hours, but it had to be done so we headed out to the gym. After changing in the Girls locker room I started my laps to get my heart rate pumping. I was to do three laps, and in between each lap I was to do lunges and this weird sideways skip-shuffle thing… just after Lap one and lunges Dimitri caught up to me. We usually kept conversation to a minimum at first in the trainings. Somewhere between the second lap and the skip-things Dimitri got a weird grin on his face. I asked him what evil workout he was planning for the afternoon he just smiled more and ran faster. That meant it was straight on brute force day. This meant we litteraly beat the crap out of eachother until one of us gives up. He usually beats me but sometimes I get lucky, after additional stretching and the both of us getting a quick drink the first round of sparring started. The first round is kicks only. I'm usually the one who initiates it all but today Dimitri was feeling pretty charged so he started it all by landing a solid kick to the back of my calves knocking me down to the mat before I could see what hit me. I got back up and shook out a little and jumped up and down to wake myself up. Dimitri was still smiling, but only a small smile, not the enormous smile he had on before but he was planning something mischievous, I just couldn't tell what. I got focused and tried to kick him in the ankle but he jumped I turned and kicked him dead in the ribs. He stumbled and almost fell backwards. Regaining his balance he kicked out my legs again, as I fell backwards for the same time in twenty minutes I realized what happened I needed to get back at him. Ten minutes later with little success we took a break.
"Ready?" Dimitri asked standing up and adjusting his gloves.
"You bet." I replied taking a ninja-like stance, Dimitri just laughed and I lunged in with a punch to the shoulder which he blocked.
"Point."He said I hesitated.
"What do you -?"He pulled me towards him and kicked out my feet again. I found myself lying on my back trying to kick him in the shins while he was trying to help me back up.
"Ow. Thanks for the warning." I said, getting back up for the third time.
'if I warned you then it wouldn't be fun." He barely had time to finish his sentence when I hit him with a cheap shot to the gut and then another to the side of the head. Good thing I had gloves on or else I probably would have broken my hand I hit so hard. He just rubbed his face and said
"Nice shot." He said as he lunged and tackled me to the ground I had my legs wrapped around his waist and was trying very hard in vain to pull his hands loose enough to get my arms free. He must of lost concentration somehow because I slipped my hands free and flipped him over so that I was practically kneeling on his chest and declared that a 'point'
" fine, you get a point." He said
" woohoo!" I yelled forgetting that I was still in the middle of a match. I grabbed his arm and spun it around in the shape of a Z and put weight against his elbow.
" Ok!" he said as he tapped out." You win." He said. As I rejoiced for the first time in about a month I had won a match against him.
"So, what next? Three mile runs around campus, agility drills?" I asked I was suddenly full of energy and looking for a fight.
"Go rest, I've got an appointment. We'll pick up tomorrow morning." He said as he grabbed his coat and book and headed out the door. I jogged back to my room shortly after he left hoping that I'd get a chance to see Emily but she was gone by the time I got back. I jumped in the shower and put on a pair of worn out blue jeans and an old baseball style T-shirt. And headed down stairs to go see Lissa, she was in Adrian's room practicing spirit with him. On my way I ran into little Emily and Dimitri again, only this time he wasn't' wearing his normal workout clothes. He was in a Black suit with a red tie and Emily was wearing a fancy purple dress and carrying the doll that Dimitri had bought her, she was holding his hand and he looked as if he could die any moment and still be as happy as a clam.
"Rose!" Emily shouted and ran up to me and jumped nearly making me tumble backwards.
"Emily, how are you? You look awfully nice today" I said.
"Rose we went to the court place and Dimka is my daddy now!" She said. I just looked at Dimitri and he was smiling like a mad man, so I took it as the truth. Even though she was my responsibility Dimitri had been fighting for custody to make sure she didn't end up with a scumbag family.
"Oh, Dimitri, That's great. So you're her official parental guardian now?" he nodded his head.
"Yes, I'm her Father and she's my Daughter." His smile was stretched so wide that I thought it would be permanent.
"That's fantastic! I'm glad your appointment went well. I guess you clean up well. Emily looks great too, did Lissa dress her?" I said.
"Thank you, and yes Lissa bought it for her. I told her she didn't have to, but I thanked her anyways." He replied and motioned for us to keep moving. Lissa showed up to save the day and take the little rascal to play and Dimitri wanted to talk to me. We went up to his room and he took of his jacket and motioned to the table. I sat down and he pulled out a small stack of papers.
" Incase anything is to happen to me I don't want Emily to have to be placed with a new family so I hope you're not mad, I didn't ask, but I opted for you to be the secondary guardian." There was a moment of silence and I didn't know quite what to say, he diverted his gaze to the floor.
"Dimitri that's great, but what do you mean incase anything happens?" I was confused.
"Me being a Guardian and all, I have to put myself in front of any obstacle that I face. I just wanted to be prepared for everything. And I know what it's like not having a father and I don't want Emily to have to go through that again. She's lost to many people already. Call me over bearing but if Emily is now my daughter then I want the best for her." He said not taking his eyes off the ground. I was truly flattered,
"You're not going anywhere so there are no worries about that, besides you don't really think I'd be the best for her?" I asked.
"If anything happens I believe that you truly are the best person I know, next to maybe my own mother, to take care of this little girl, she already loves you." He said.
Their was a breach at the academy and my best friend, and her guardian/my mentor were in the epicenter when the Fit hit the Shan, if you will... Once the sun sank down a group of strigoi wannabes went after every royal they could find, dimitri was able to fight off about 7 of the fifteen which went after he and Lissa but the others split up and spread out. Their was only a few other Gaurdians that were able to respond quick enough and they all worked together and scared them all off. By the time they got to Dimitri and Lissa Dimitri didn't have much fight left in him, almost all of them were small enough to take individually but not with the weapons they all carried. One of them actually pulled a gun to Dimitri's head and as he tried to take the gun away the smashed him right in the temple with it, causing him to lose consciousness, luckily the other guardians were there to rescue Lissa. Daylight had broken by the time I had gotten to the hospital where Christian and I ran to the ICU and Lissa was and handed Emily to her after a long embrace. She was physically ok except for a scratch on her cheek and a sprained wrist she healed herself most of the way but not the whole way because there was no way the hospital would believe her if she came out unscathed. Dimitri on the other hand was in rough shape. I didn't want to see him like this and I sure didn't want Emily to see him like this either so I asked to be alone with him. I stood next to his bed and talked to him, I wasn't sure if he was awake or not, or if he could hear me so I just rambled on and on to his motionless form and myself. Shortly after the nurse came in and informed me that he could hear everything he just couldn't respond and that he needed time to rest and recuperate. She also couldn't believe he was still alive
" He lost well over half of the blood in his body, his right arm is broken and were not sure if he will have any brain trauma, he was conscious for only ten or fifteen minutes when they brought him in. He was on a ventilator for breathing support but he has proved us that he doesn't need it." She said looking down at the floor. I thanked her and told her that I didn't want to hear anymore, I then brought Emily in and told her that her dad was injured and needed a lot of sleep and band-aids to make him better. She held his hand and started to cry, I told her that we had to be strong and that tears would only make her daddy hurt more, it was a harsh thing to say but the tears stopped immediately and she kissed Dimitri on the forehead and told him that she loved him and that she needed him to be awake so he could take her for chocolate chip pancakes again, and that she loved him again. The tears were welling up in my eyes and I told myself to keep them in that Dimitri would be happier is no one cried over him. I had Lissa take watch once she woke up from her nap and I took her place with Emily curled up in my side. She squeezed my hand tight
"Rose I wish you were my mommy, you'd be a good mommy." She said to me, I kissed the top of her head. Tears rolled down my cheek as she drifted back off to sleep. The room was quiet and I was left to my thoughts a few months earlier Dimitri had made arrangements for Emily to be in my custody if anything happened to him, I was dreading the reality of those arrangements. As much as I loved this little girl I did not think that I could give her the life she deserved. I was worried that Dimitri wouldn't make it. As badass as he was I wasn't sure if even he could come through the severity of the attacks. The nurse mentioned that he was had sustained the second worst injuries, the next step was death. Only one other person survived with worse injuries but they died shortly after making it to the hospital. A few hours after Emily had fallen asleep the doctor came in and put Dimitri back on the ventilator, I cried. I had to leave the room. Lissa took Emily for a walk and I went to the bathroom and cried. Besides Lissa, Dimitri was the only other person in my family that I had. My mother left me years ago and my father had abandoned me at birth. Lissa's family had all died as well. It was just me and her, and Dimitri. He was the only one I truly trusted(besides Lissa), he understood me, and I couldn't afford to lose him too. When I got back to the room Dimitri was gone and Lissa had left a note, gone to surgery (Room 4). My heart sank and I ran through down the hallway to operating rooms and tried to get in and the nurses kicked me out but pulled the curtain slightly over so I could watch. Once I saw he was still breathing my heart rate slowed a bit. His eyes hadn't opened yet but I could tell he was still fighting. The doctor was just entering the room the nurse had set up multiple trays with what looked to be scalpels and other frightening objects. I noticed that there was a mark on his stomach and another mark just under his ribs and the doctor took the scalpel and walked towards him and pressed the scalpel into his skin the nurse closed the curtain just as the blood escaped from his skin. I fell to the floor and sobbed my eyes out. I hadn't noticed that Lissa and Christian were holding me trying to keep me from falling to the ground. Once I could finally stand I went back to the bathroom and cried until the tears couldn't fall anymore. I got off the floor and walked back to Dimitri's room. I could not believe how real this situation was, the only thing I could think of was the conversation Dimitri and I had back at the academy when he was first allowed custody of Emily. If anything happens I believe that you truly are the best person I know… to take care of this little girl the tears fell harder. Shortly after the doctor stopped the bleeding and removed the excess blood from his chest and lungs the incisions were stitched up and he came out of his comatose state and out of the anesthesia and before the doctors realized he was trying to sit up and get off the table. When I saw him again he was sitting up talking to the doctors with Emily curled up into his side. He looked as if he was in pain and a little confused. Everyone turned to look at me when I entered the room. Tears fell from my eyes as I ran to Dimitri and gave him a hug. He was surprised at first but then hugged me back tightly. He made a strange noise I jumped back afraid that I'd hurt him. He wiped away the tears and pulled me back into another hug and didn't let go for several minutes. Christian and Lissa left, taking Emily to get some dinner.
"Rose, I'm sorry." He said. His expression was blank and his eyes looked hollow.
"I'm just glad you're alive, I'm sorry that you're hurt but you're alive and lissa's alive as well. That's all that matters" I said.
"I suppose. I just wish I could have been awake to help Lissa through this." He said as he sat up he disconnected the IV tube and the heart rate monitor which flat lined as he walked to the bathroom and splashed water onto his face. The nurse ran in and grabbed his arm.
"Sir you have to go back to bed. Please, did you hear me?" Dimitri just shook his arm and the nurse flew back about ten feet.
"Mr. Belikov, you have to understand for safety reasons, please go back to your bed!" the nurse got more frantic and threatened to call security.
"Give me two minutes or else I will most likely vomit on your floor." He said. The nurse turned to the door to shut off the bed alarm that was set off when Dimitri had gotten out. The doctor came in and checked to see what all the commotion was all about.
"What's the problem?" the doctor asked Dimitri who looked up into the mirror and straight into the doctor's eyes.
"Nauseous." Dimitri replied as he clutched onto the sink to steady himself, his Right hand and wrist were broken; he flinched after forgetting and putting weight on it.
"Sitting down will help, let's get you back to your bed and get you a drink. When was the last time you ate?" the doctor asked as I helped Dimitri back towards his bed. His arm was around my shoulder but he didn't let me have his full weight.
"I'm not sure" he said. I put my arm around his waist and he relaxed a little. After a few more steps his legs gave out and he collapsed on the edge of the bed. Once the doctor helped him get comfortable the doctor asked him to take off his shirt so he could look at the stitches in his side. I'd been tanning with him for several years now being within very close proximity to his finely tuned muscles and yet each time I've seen him shirtless my breath stops. This time I was horrified, I must have gasped or something because both the doctor and Dimitri turned to look at me. I couldn't help but reach out and touch the cuts on his chest, there were multiple incisions that were stitched up and each one had a darn rim of bruise around it. There was also a huge purple and brown bruise just under his ribs. I didn't quite touch them but I came very close to it. I just kept staring at them until a warm hand closed around my own and pressed it against his ribs, on the edge of the bruise, I tried to pull my hand away after I heard a sharp intake of breath but the warm hand wouldn't let go. When I looked up I met Dimitri's eyes which could have spoken a thousand leagues. I hadn't noticed that the doctor left until one of his nurses came back into the room with a bottle of water a package of crackers and a little cup with a few pills in it. Dimitri happily accepted the water and crackers but refused to take the medication. The nurse left with the pills asking us to call her in when he changed his mind. I was sitting on the edge of his bed leaning backwards and Dimitri's head was resting on my chest when Lissa and Emily walked in. Christian had gone back to the academy to get a pair of pants and a shirt that Dimitri could wear since he would be in the hospital for a few more days. As of now he was in jeans that had seen their fair share of abuse. The jeans hung low on his hips leaving little to the imagination, which was strangely ok to me. I brushed the hair out of his face which revealed a large six stitch cut just above his left eyebrow I grimaced and looked away. Sweat dripped down the side of his face I wiped it away as another bead formed. He opened his eyes and tried to sit upright again. I pulled his hair back into a pony tail and removed the blankets from his legs keeping only a sheet over him to keep him feeling somewhat less exposed. He took another sip from the bottle of water and nodded to Lissa, I'd forgotten she was there as well.
"Get the doctor." Dimitri said in barely a whisper. I got up quickly and he grabbed my hand. "Rose, stay. Vasalissa, go?" it was less of a command and more of a question. Lissa ran out of the room and yelled for help as I settled back down next to him.
"Dimitri, what's wrong?" I was scared out of my mind. He closed his eyes and he tried to take in a staggered breath. I could tell that he was in much more pain then he let on. He wasn't in the shape to answer he replied by placing a hand across his stomach parallel with the baseball bat sized bruise.
"Mr. Belikov, I told you to take those medications. Which is it now the wrist or the head?" the doctor asked.
"Neither" we both said in unison. Dimitri took another breath and continued.
"It's internal. I think the bruising is not half as bad as it really is." The doctor came over to look at his stomach again. He looked startled and confused as he pressed down on Dimitri's stomach and he let out a hiss in pain and tried to take the doctors hands away.
" were going to have to take a look at that, Jen, book him with MRI right away and get him up in OR to I'm almost positive that this is got to be done fast." The doctor said. I turned to help Dimitri back up and out of his bed, the nurse brought in a wheel chair but he opted not to use it. Instead he chose to use my shoulders; once again I had my arm around his waist and his arm around my shoulder. He sighed,
" I'm sorry, rose." I looked up at him
" What are you sorry for?"he looked down at the floor.
"For being in this condition, I should be protecting Vasalissa, but instead I cannot even stand on my own." He said, completely ashamed.
" No, Dimitri it's okay. You're doing great. Were all here and you'll be back to work in no time, wishing for a vacation." Christian showed up just as we were about to enter the MRI prep area. Being that all metal was prohibited from the room with the machine in it Dimitri had to change into sweatpants and a white tank top. Christian then returned with Lissa to the waiting room where Emily was still fast asleep. About a half hour later the scan's were done and Dimitri an di were on our way up to his room to wait for the doctors solution. I just prayed to god it came soon so I did not have to watch Dimitri in pain for any longer.