A/N: The final chapter. Takes place ten years later.

-04-

"Happy Valentines Day, moya lyubov'," Dmitri greeted his wife with a kiss on her cheek and smiled as she turned around to face him.

"Roses?" Galina asked curiously, her lips curving upward in a smile. She took the glass vase from her husband's hands, and inhaled the beautiful red roses deeply. "Thank you." She placed the vase on the counter and touched her finger along the delicate petals gently. "We don't normally celebrate Valentine's day, what made you do this?"

"I celebrate Valentines Day," Dmitri corrected his wife. He walked around her to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Since when?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Since always," he reached for another cup and poured her one as well. "I was thinking we could go out tonight and celebrate?"

"Who is going to watch the boys?" She asked curiously.

"No one. Galina, they're almost teenagers," Dmitri admonished her. "They'll be fine for a few hours. We haven't had a date night in years," he said gently as he pour sugar into their cups. "I thought you would enjoy this."

She took her cup from him and leaned against the counter top. "Where did you want to go?"

"Italian?" He suggested. "There's that new place a couple of blocks over."

Taking a sip of her coffee, Galina nodded her head. "I guess that will be okay. I have a few errands to run today, what time did you want to leave?"

"The owner knows Ganya, I've worked with him a few times. I'll give him a call and see if we can get a reservation for seven-thirty."

Downing the rest of her coffee, Galina put her cup down in the sink and grabbed her purse from the table. "I have to get down and open the store, but it's date."

"No, here," Dmitri reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out three hundred dollars. "Run your errands and buy something for tonight. Go get your hair done or something, I'll open the store."

"Where did you get this money from?"

"Don't worry about it," he shushed her. "Just go, enjoy your day." He placed the money into her hand and kissed her cheek as he walked past her. "I'll see you tonight, Galina."

…

"What about this?"

"What about what?" Gloria asked distractedly as she single handedly surfed the clothing rack.

"This, it'll look great on you babe."

Lifting her head up, she rolled her eyes at the negligee her ex-husband was holding up. "Chris," she sighed. "We're supposed to be shopping for real clothes, not that."

"I still think it'll look great on you."

"In your dreams," she muttered. "I still haven't dropped the baby weight. Everything still feels too tight except for my maternity jeans, and they're irritating my incision."

"You're being too hard on yourself, Gloria," he told her gently. "You didn't even give birth a month ago." He placed the negligee back and walked around to join his ex-wife. "Four kids later and I'm still crazy about you, you know?"

"Mm-hmm," she shook her head as she adjusted her newborn son in her arms. "Is that why you divorced me?"

"If memory serves me right, you're the one who left me."

"Why would I ever do a thing like that?" She grasped the handle of the stroller in her free hand, and began to push it as they made their way out of the store and into the main area of the mall. "Did you see which way Lourdes went?"

"She said she was going to take Julio and the girls to get some jeans," Chris told her. "I gave her some money to get them lunch, but maybe they haven't eaten yet, we can get something when we leave."

Gloria sighed. "Why didn't you go with her? You know I don't like her buying things for the kids, she does enough for us as it us."

"I offered her my card, but she didn't want it. She said she won a couple hundred dollars last night at bingo."

"Of course she did," Gloria chuckled. As the baby in her arms began to squirm and whine, she directed them through the crowd of people waiting outside a smoothie stand, and took a seat at a corner table so that she could tend to her baby.

Knowingly, she reached into the diaper bag for a receiving blanket and draped it over her shoulder, before releasing her breast so that her son could nurse. Sore from the constant attention her newborn regularly sought from her, she bit her lip painfully and tried to settle back and relax.

"Is it cool if I stay over tonight?" Chris asked her. "I want to go with you to Julio and Benny's appointment tomorrow after we drop the girls off at school."

Gloria smiled at him and nodded. On and off since high school, no matter what happened between them, Chris had always been consistent and present for the kids.

"When we leave here, I want to stop by this bakery I found the other day."

"Yea? Where at?" Gloria asked as she lifted the blanket away from herself to check on her baby. She traced her finger across his chin, smiling down at him as his hand pushed greedily against her breast.

"Some Russian place," he told her. "I found it on my lunch break the other day."

"Russian?" Gloria wrinkled her nose.

"Don't knock it before you try it, babe. You don't know what you're missing."

…

Holding the door open, Marka bit back a smile as her daughter continued to ramble on and on. Ever since she'd picked her up from school that afternoon, Nicky had been talking non-stop.

"What are we here for again?" Nicky asked as she walked alongside her mother.

"Your dad and I used to come here a lot," Marka told her as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I thought we could surprise him with a dessert for after dinner tonight." She smiled at the older couple she passed and moved to stand at the back of the line.

"Do you think they have chocolate covered strawberries?" Nicky asked as she rocked onto her tiptoes to peek into the display case.

"I would think so, but I'm not sure," Marka answered her. She trailed her fingers distractedly through the curly ends of Nicky's strawberry ends as she squinted up at the menu posted on the back wall.

"Is dad going to be home tonight?" Nicky asked curiously as she picked at the hem of her school skirt.

"Yes, darling," Marka answered her passionately. She angled her body toward her daughter and gripped her chin firmly in her hand, forcing Nicky to meet her eyes. "Everything's okay," she reassured her. "You know that right?"

Nicky blinked at her and sighed. "You two have been fighting a lot," she said quietly.

"Your dad's been working late," Marka explained. "I just don't want him to forget that he needs to put as much into his family as he does to his firm."

"So… You're not going to get a divorce?"

Marka sighed and forced a sad smile onto her face. "It's Valentine's Day, Nicole," she tucked a curly lock of hair behind her ear and tugged playfully at the diamond stud in her ear. "Let's think happy things, okay? Your dad loves us, he loves you and I love you, and that will never change."

As the customer in front of them left, Marka guided Nicky to the counter and placed her hands on her shoulders. She smiled politely at the red-headed woman who was standing on the other side of the counter and said, "We'll take a dozen Syrniki if you have it."

Nicky looked up at her mother expectantly. "Ma…"

"You're a big girl, Nicole," she told her gently. "Ask her if you want something."

"What can I get for you, little girl?" The red-headed woman asked her gently as she leaned across the counter on her elbows. "Ponchick? Chocolate Salami?"

"Salami?" Nicky made a face and shook her head. "Do you have chocolate covered strawberries?"

The woman smiled at her. "I think I have a few left in the fridge. How many do you want?"

"A dozen," Marka answered.

"No," Nicky objected vocally. "We'll take whatever you have left." She turned her head to look over her shoulder at her mother and smiled. "We have to give something to Paloma, too."

Marka sighed, but nodded her agreeance. "Fine," she reached into her purse and pulled out her card. "We'll take all the chocolate covered strawberries that you have and the Syrniki."

…

"Hi, boys," Galina greeted her sons as she wrapped up the last of the strawberries. "What are you three up to? I haven't seen much of you today. Where is your father?"

"Arguing on the phone. Trying to get a reservation," Yuri told her.

"We went with Baba to get flowers," Vasily told his mother. "She said it'd help, and that girls like flowers."

Galina smiled. "Is your grandmother here too?"

"She's asking Papa why he didn't buy her flowers," Maxsim laughed.

"I thought you said he was on the phone?" Red frowned.

"He is," Vasily answered. "She is talking in his ear and he keeps trying to walk away."

Laughing, Galina put the finishing touches on the order she was working on. The sound of the door's bell rang out through the store and she gestured with a nod of her head for her boys to follow her back onto the main floor.

"Hello," she greeted the large, Hispanic family that just walked in. "I'll be with you in just a minute." Handing the wrapped package to Vasily, she pointed him in the direction of her customer and said, "Drop this off to them, and take both of them a flower, okay?"

Vasily did as was asked, and Red couldn't help but smile at the look of surprise that flickered across the young girl's face. She seemed almost hesitant to accept the yellow rose, but one approving nod from her mother telling her it was okay and she did. She couldn't have been much older than her son, and the sight of her little boy being such a gentleman was both heartwarming and overwhelming.

"You boys go pass those flowers out to those ladies there," Galina said quietly as she pushed Yuri and Maxsim onto the floor. She smiled at the gentleman waiting at the counter and said, "how can I help you?"

…

Gloria smiled as her eldest daughter leaned her head on her shoulder. "Are you tired, Selena?"

Selena nodded. She reached her hand out to hold her little brother's and smiled as his whole hand wrapped around her index finger. "We have been out all day," she said quietly.

"It's not even six, silly girl." Gloria kissed her head and wrapped her arm tightly around her shoulder. "I can't believe you're already ten." She looked down to her son and sighed. "I remember when you used to be this small."

"Mami," Reina, her second oldest sighed from where she sit across the table next to her Tia Lourdes. "Mami are you going to start crying again?" She asked. "You cry a lot now, like the baby."

"Not me," Julio popped up from where he sat on his Tia Lourdes' lap. He waved his Spider-Man toy in the air. "I don't cry."

"Well," Chris said as he approached the table, interrupting them . "She's out of chocolate covered strawberries but I promise you'll like the Vatrushkas."

"I wanted a Sopapilla," Reina complained.

"Yea, well," Chris grabbed a chair from an empty table and took a seat. "You don't always get what you want. You'll like this though, mija, I promise."

Gloria had to bite back a smile at the look of annoyance that flickered across her child's face. She feared for the karma that would sure rain down on her, as every day she saw more and more of herself in her children.

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

Looking up, she smiled at the two little boys who had suddenly appeared at their table. "This is for you," the older one said as he hand Gloria and Selena red roses.

"This is for you," the youngest one handed Lourdes a white rose and then handed Reina a pink one. "And that is for you."

"That is so sweet," Lourdes cooed.

"Thank you," Gloria smiled at the boys as she brought her flower up tp her face so that she could inhale its scent. She nudged Selena while at the same time Chris nudged Reina. "What do you say?" She asked her girls.

"Thanks," both girls echoed, blushes spreading hotly over their faces.

"Here you go, sir."

Chris turned take the package from the shop owners hands and smiled at her. "Thank you."

…

Dmitri sighed as he walked up behind his wife. "Rain check?" He asked gently.

Galina looked over her shoulder at him and nodded her head softly. "So, we aren't going to dinner tonight?"

"I'm sorry," He apologized. "I should have made a reservation earlier."

"It's okay," Galina said as she looked out across her store.

The mother and daughter who had come in earlier were immersed in their own world as the conversed back and forth. The large family who had entered was crowded together, the parents doting and attentive to both each other and their children. As her own boys made their way back to her, she opened her arms to envelop them in a hug.

"This is enough," she said softly as she squeezed her boys tightly. "This is more than enough,