Life is unfair. Many people in this world agree with this. I, for one, do not. My life, or the one that I had once lived, had been sad and pitiful, but I had been blessed. Blessed by the final meeting and joining of one man; it may sound stupid and pathetic, but he blessed me. Dimitri Belikov, my love life and savior, was also my colleague.

We worked together at Saint Vladimir's General Hospital. Both of us worked in the pediatrics wing, yet our paths had never crossed….

Everyday our arms would brush and we'd just continue on. Nothing ever changed; our routines were set. He would pass by and smile at the nurse behind me, and I'd pretend that it was me that he saw… Nothing ever changed… until one day…

He sat down next to me. He was sitting next to me in the cafeteria! Dimitri spoke to me softly and his dark brown eyes sparkled in delight when I spoke back to him.

He was a real charmer. He had a beautiful voice that spoke volumes, eyes that seemed to shine brightly and possibly held a million secrets. Dimitri was absolutely tall; he towered over me, always. I knew I was in love.

After that fateful day, Dimitri made it a common thing to speak to me in the halls and smile when he saw me coming. Sitting with me at lunch became a part of his daily routine. I like to think that maybe Dimitri too was falling in love…

Unbeknownst to me, our days together were numbered. He may have sensed this, because he became even more forward and desperate to spend as much time with me as his schedule would allow. He took over every moment and every second of my free time. Even the children began to expect the two of us to watch over them together.

"What's love?" It was one of the many questions asked by a young girl slowly dying of cancer. Her innocent question had sent a flurry of butterflies into my stomach. Did I truly know what love was? My answer, I was sure, would have an impact on this child.

"Love is different for everyone. But the one thing that I have noticed is that where there is love, there is happiness." My answer seemed stupid at the time, but looking back now, I feel that I was right.

My love for Dimitri brought me happiness; it made me feel invincible, strong, protected, and hopeful. It was amazing how one person could change and affect me so much.

"I want to love…" was the silent whisper that was carried to Rose; she couldn't help but smile down at the young girl and promise her a bright future. Later that day, the girl had passed away. The weight of it settled upon me and I remember Dimitri coming to comfort me. He had taken me home and held me tightly in his warm embrace. This led to the soft spoken words of love and then to silent moments where we found comfort and compassion within each other's lips. Hands fumbled, lips slid, and teeth clashed.

Two days after that amazing lip lock, Dimitri formally asked me out. It was ten that we became completely consumed by each other. Our late night dates led to one of us going to the other's home and just let loose. These were the moments that I secretly craved for; his body wrapped around mine, his lips kissing my neck tenderly, and his hands caressing me softly.

I also craved the moments where we were both clothed and interacting in public. Dimitri was social with almost no one, but to the occasional colleague he shared a smile.

This went on for months. Our time together was beautiful, but short lived.

He shyly cornered me, a year after asking me out, and asked me a simple question.

"Will you move in with me?"

Another question, "Do you want to find our home together?"

Then finally three days after our move, 'Will you marry me?' was painted across our living room wall. Our time was now, and I had no intentions of wasting it.

We were living out of our boxes. Dimitri was cooking dinner downstairs and I was upstairs trying to sort through all of our boxes. He hollered up that dinner was ready and that I should hurry down. In my haste to eat dinner with him, I booked it out of the room and to the stairs.

My back foot caught on a stray box and I went tumbling down. It felt unreal, a slow motion reel of me crashing down the stairs and finally resting on the tiles below.

My body stayed motionless, unseeing and unfeeling, as Dimitri shouted and scramble to get to me. Although I was clearly dead, I was also not. I could see my lifeless form cradled in Dimitri's arms, but even as I watched him he could not see me. I was what they called a ghost. But, I like to think of me more as a dead girl watching over the one she loves.

I was forced to watch the paramedics pry my body from Dimitri's arms; it was horrible. I was forced to see Dimitri's body shake and him slowly deteriorate.

One of the worst parts was that I was able to see him there, but he couldn't see me. I know he felt me; my whispered breath, my soft caress. He truly believed he was going crazy….

Dimitri moved one week after my death.

He left our house… and he left me….

If Dimitri could see me now, I'd want him to see that I've grown, to see that I've become stronger. If he could hear me, I'd tell him that I'm proud he moved on, that remaining here was unhealthy. I'd want to tell him that I love him and I'm dead, and that it's okay to love and be loved again.

Dimitri I love you

-o.o-

The house remained old, dusty, and destroyed by natural elements. All of the furnishings remained where they last sat. Dishes set haphazardly on the counter and the sink; one or two broken from when Dimitri dropped them in his rush to get to Rose.

Pictures sat in their dusty home, the shelves. The couches, TV, DVDs, and every other item sat in the living room, a thick coat of dust blanketing everything in sight. The upstairs was only more of the same; dust, dust, and personal belongings packed in the dust enveloped boxes.

Dimitri closed the front door and breathed in his home. Looking towards the couch, Dimitri sat down with a huff. Unable to take his eyes away from the stairway, where Rose had taken her last breathe, Dimitri silently contemplated his reasoning for coming back.

The house should have felt stifling to Dimitri, the emotions overwhelming, but the house came alive as soon as he had stepped through the threshold. Where it should have been cold, it was warm, light where it should have been dark. It was almost as if Rose was welcoming him home.

Dimitri I love you…. It was a soft whisper; and had Dimitri not been waiting for it, it would have gone unheard. The smile that graced his face was impossible to deny. Rose was home and Dimitri could care less if he were crazy.

Lifting his head up silently, he met the transparent warm brown eyes with his own.

"I love you too Rose"

Author's Note:

Ugh…. This has been sitting in my computer growing dust… I guess I should put it up, but ugh… This is not my best work…

Thank you for reading this one-shot! Please review; I'd like to hear your thoughts on this (even if it is criticism!) I hope you enjoy your night/day! :D

-Lolita

PS: There aren't page breaks…Sorry about that! ;)