A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites, and alerts! I was a bit hesitant to post the the last chapter, but after reading the reviews, I've decided to update every Monday instead of every other Monday. Again, thank you so much! ~IP
Disclaimer: Vampire Academy and all related works and characters belong to Richelle Mead. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 2
"I got it," I said to Lissa, walking to the door.
"Mmhm," she replied as the twins immediately distracted her with their endless chatter.
"What happened to the key we gave you Adrian? You're not getting another one," I muttered, annoyed at the thought of Adrian losing the key yet again. Adrian and Mia usually came over for breakfast in the morning, and because of their frequent visits, we had given them a house key. Unfortunately, Adrian always decided to keep the keys with him instead of giving it to Mia who was undoubtedly more responsible.
However, it wasn't Adrian on the other side of the door when I opened it. Since I'd believed Adrian had lost yet another key, I hadn't looked through the peephole to identify our guest - a novice mistake, and a deadly one if there really was danger on the other side. Instead, looking back at me after I opened the door was none other than Tasha Ozera.
"Rose, it's so great to see you again!" she said as she gave me a hug.
"Ummmm…" I stiffly replied, unable to think properly. What the hell was she doing here? Lissa definitely hadn't told me Tasha was coming. No one had. This was the woman Dimitri had left me for. This woman could give him the kids I knew he wanted and more. This was the woman who had wanted to start a family with him. Even I had thought he was crazy for denying her offer the first time. I was just grateful that Dimitri always took breaks whenever Tasha decided to visit.
She finally let go of me and turned to Lissa. I turned to sneak away while Lissa distracted Tasha. I must have succeeded with about two steps or so when I was captured in a bone -crushing hug. "Rose! I missed your wit more than I missed you," he greeted me.
I laughed. "Oh god Mikhail… are you trying to kill me?" I managed to gasp out.
"Oh how you wound me," he joked, bringing his hands up to his heart and feigning pain. "Mikky!" the twins screamed and ran up to him, knocking him off balance and onto the floor, face first. In the time that Mikhail had been here, he spent every minute possible with them.
Mikhail and I had first met at Lissa's wedding when he came with Tasha as her guardian. Tasha had stayed for about a month to help get ready for the wedding, and I had gotten the impression then that she didn't like me very much. Perhaps it was because I had left Lissa even though I was supposed to be her guardian. Her reasons for hating me were definitely not the same reasons why I hated her. While the twins had taken an immediate liking to Mikhail, they disliked Tasha the same way I did, and though I wouldn't admit it to the twins, I was pretty happy they didn't like her.
With everyone distracted, I made my way back to the kitchen. "What's up?" Christian asked me, "I heard the doorbell ring. Who's here?"
"Your Aunt," I muttered as I went to pour myself a glass of milk.
He stared at me blankly, and in any other circumstance I would have laughed at his expression. "I guess she thought it was a good idea to pop in for a surprise visit." I clarified.
He shot me a sympathetic look as he left to greet his aunt. I felt bad for him sometimes (not that I would ever admit it) because I hated Tasha with the same intensity he loved her, his only family. He knew the truth about the twins along with Lissa, Eddie, and Vicki, and I tried to keep my feelings from influencing theirs, but sometimes, it was just so hard.
I sighed to myself. Living everyday knowing that Dimitri had left me for Tasha used to hurt, especially because I knew there was no way I could give him what he wanted most - a family. I couldn't, but Tasha could.
After I arrived in Russia, I periodically checked up on Lissa through the bond, and could tell she was purposely hiding things from me. She began using insane amounts of spirit on a daily basis, trying to do anything she could to find me. So I took her darkness away, leaving me extremely bitter with the whole world.
For the first month I was in Russia, I hunted Strigoi, channeling my anger into fighting. When Dimitri had left, he had left me broken and in pain, and my pregnancy (that I hadn't known about at the time) and the imbalance of hormones only added to my spirit-induced bouts of rage and recklessness.
After saving Seth from an unfortunate situation with Strigoi, he had tagged along with me, claiming he owed me his life. I was hunting Strigoi in Omsk when I'd heard his yell of pain. Running closer, I found him on a bridge fighting two strigoi. The bridge wasn't the strongest, and there were already bodies on the floor - more dead Strigoi - so I ran over to help, killing the two Strigoi. In doing so, I had unwillingly become friends with someone who understood me better than I knew myself.
"Little Dhampir, have you returned from Wonderland yet?"
I almost dropped my cup in surprise seeing him inches away from my face, worried.
"Adrian! When did you get here?" I asked him, surprised that I hadn't heard the door open.
"After Tasha arrived. I've been watching you for a while," he admitted. I rolled my eyes at him and finished my milk.
"i know my face is irresistible, Adrian, but that's just a bit creepy,"
"I need to talk to you about Vicki actually."
I looked up at his worried face. "What's up?" I asked him, starting to get worried myself.
He took a deep breath and began. "Has she been acting weird to you at all?" he questioned.
"No…" I replied slowly. "Why?"
"She's been sick, throwing up every morning for the past week and a half," he replied, watching me carefully. "There's white in her aura too."
I let his information sink in. Dhampirs rarely ever got sick; our immune systems were a lethal combination of Moroi and human genes that made us great for healing.
Throwing up… strange aura… shadow kissed… slowly I came to a realization. "You think she's pregnant," I stated, staring at him. He gave me a sad smile. "If she really is, the next nine months will be difficult for her." I whispered. He looked at me helplessly.
And with that, I shot up the stairs in twos. Liss, where are the pregnancy tests? I asked her.
I could tell I had surprised her and a part of her became excited. She thought they were for me. It's not for me I told her hastily. Dear lord, what did she think I was?
Her curiosity filled the bond. Vicki I told her.
Bathroom, top right cabinet.
Upon reaching her room, I ran into the bathroom and snatched the pregnancy test before running downstairs to Eddie and Vicki's room. I found her in the bathroom, miserably kneeling over the toilet, puking her guts out. Setting the test on the countertop, I reached over and pulled her hair out of her face, holding it until she was done. "Why didn't you tell any of us you were sick?" I asked her as sternly as I could.
"I didn't want anyone to worry," she shrugged as if the answer were the most obvious thing in the world.
I let her brush and gargle as I tried to figure out how to tell her. Finally, I asked, "do you know what's wrong, Vicki?"
"No. How could I? Dhampirs aren't supposed to get sick! What's wrong with me?" She began sobbing.
"Vicki, look at me," I told her, "I want you to take this-" I handed her the pregnancy test, "-I'll be waiting outside, ok?"
She stared at me as if I were crazy. I probably wasn't far off. "Rose, you know we can't reproduce with other Dhampir. The only person I've ever been with is Eddie."
"I know," I told her. "I'm Dhampir too."
She looked at me. I was right. Of course I was right. The only person I'd ever been with was Dimitri, and yet I had two beautiful kids.
Finally, she nodded mutely and took the test off the counter. I walked out and sat on the edge of their bed. Since Mason's death, Eddie had been like my big brother. He had passed his trials with flying colors at the top of the class, and become Christian's guardian (Lissa had been given two guardians by Queen Tatiana since I had run away without graduating). Vicki on the other hand, I had met in Russia. We had become close over the six months I had stayed with her, but after saving her from an unfortunate asshole trying to get with her, she had hated me. So naturally, I had been surprised to see her at court with the promise mark tattooed on the back of her neck after Lissa's S.W.A.T. team of guardians had brought me back. Eddie and Vicki had started dating not long after, and they couldn't have been more perfect for each other.
He was calm and collected, yet there was a fire burning passionately in his eyes when he was around those he wanted to protect. She on the other hand was a bit more reckless - perhaps because she was shadow-kissed. He kept her balanced the same way Dimitri had done for me: they kept each other whole.
Vicki walked out of the bathroom then, with the test in her hand. "What now?" she asked nervously.
"Now we wait."
She sat down beside on the bed. "What do I tell Eddie if I really am pregnant Rose?" she asked me, "We haven't been together for that long. We're not ready for kids! This is insane… What if he doesn't want it? Oh God… What if he breaks up with me?"
The conversation felt kinda like de ja vu from this morning.
"Vicki, you can't honestly tell me you don't know how he feels about you after two years! He will love the baby as much as he loves you, because the baby is a part of both of you. Whatever happens, I'm here for you. Don't you ever forget that," I told her.
She looked at me, unconvinced. "Damn it Vicki," I told her, "You have us all here with you to protect you. Nothing will happen to you. I promise."
She sighed.
"Let's check the test," I told her, handing her the stick.
"You look first." Vicki replied, worriedly, pushing it back towards me. I glanced at it to see a little green plus sign. Yup, Adrian was right.
"Vicki, maybe you should take a look at it," I told her. She took it and looked. "Oh god, no."
She was so filled with fear from the stories she had heard about me. She was terrified of becoming what I had become in Russia, so scared that she would become some sort of monster who didn't know what she was doing that she didn't know what to do. "Vicki, there is no way Eddie will ever agree to what you are thinking. The two of you will get through it together. You have all of us. You will never be like me," I told her sternly.
"I know, but – "
"No buts. You have all of us here and we will do whatever it takes to protect you and the baby. You know that."
She wiped away her tears, "How do I tell Eddie?"
"Just tell him. He loves you. He'll find out eventually." There was no way he wouldn't be able to tell after she started showing. " He's gonna be so happy…" I trailed off.
"He'll probably be here soon, huh?"
I nodded. "He texted me earlier saying he had extra work and he would be home soon," I told her.
She sighed. "I'm gonna shower before he gets here." She told me. " Thanks Rose."
I smiled at her. "Don't worry about it," I replied, "and Congratulations!"
I walked downstairs with a small smile on my face. Through the bond, I could feel Lissa's shock. I tried to pry further but she intentionally blocked me. I sighed. Rose? She asked through the bond. Are you listening?
Yeah Liss, is everything okay?
No. She replied. It's not. I could feel her anger and frustration as if it were my own.
What's wrong? I asked her.
Dimitri's here.
A/N: Oooh...what now? How do you think Rose will react to this?
Please review! It really makes my day :)
