Rose POV

"Rose," a familiar and gentle voice calls out to me. "Rose, wake up."

I mumble, "Five more minutes," into my pillow. Voices laugh around me and my eyes snap open. "What is going on?"

"You fell asleep on Dimitri," Vika tells me matter-of-factly. "You missed the best part of the movie, but he refused to let me wake you up."

I blink a few times as her words registered in my mind. I glance up from my pillow only to see Dimitri's smiling face. "Hi, Rose."

Fuck.

Immediately, I sit up. "I'm sorry."

"You've had a long day falling asleep is to be expected," says Dimitri. "Especially during such a dull movie."

"Hey!" interjects Viktoria fiercely. "That is my favorite movie!"

"I'm aware."

Ivan speaks up. "Your bickering is going to wake up the baby."

I glance over to him and find my daughter sleeping comfortably in his arms. "I'll take her to bed so the bickering can continue."

"You two can have my room," Dimitri offers.

I get off the couch and make my way to Ivan. Carefully I pick up my sleeping daughter. "Thanks, comrade. Night guys!"

A chorus of "good night" is said as we head for Dimitri's room. I get Lennox settled before throwing myself on the bed, falling back asleep almost instantly.

I wake up from my hellish nightmare in a cold sweat. I blink, letting my eyes get used to the darkness surrounding me. Nothing seems familiar and panic starts to set in.

I blink again and it all comes back to me.

I'm in Dimitri's room.

It's okay.

Everything's okay.

Except it's not. I had the dream again.

I have it every time I close my eyes. At least, every time I'm not completely exhausted. It's always the same.

It's always that night.

Tears unwillingly spring into my eyes and I let them fall. They fall faster and faster, sobs threatening to escape my lips, but I refuse to let them. I don't want to wake my daughter. Besides, I need to be strong for her.

I can't keep going like this.

When the tears stop I leap out of bed. There's no way I'm going back to sleep. Quietly I check on Lennox, who is still fast asleep, and leave the room. The hallway is illuminated by a dim glow and voices can be faintly heard from the living room.

I go there, despite looking and feeling like utter crap, finding Dimitri and Ivan deep in conversation. They stop talking as I approach, their eyes taking in the sight of a broken Rose before them.

"Did you have the dream again?" Dimitri immediately asks, his voice soft but still somehow firm and strong. I nod in response, not really trusting myself to speak. He ushers me to the sofa before wandering into the kitchen. Ivan grabs a blanket for me from behind the chair he's sitting in. Before I know it, Dimitri's sitting next to me and handing me a cup of hot chocolate.

"I don't know if this will help you, but it's what my mother would always do for us growing up. She said it would ward off bad dreams."

I take the cup with unsteady hands. I stare at it as if my glare would somehow cool the temperature. Moments pass in silence before I finally take a sip.

It's surprisingly good and I tell him so.

"The secret is to double the packets." It grows silent again. The two Russian men watch me stare into space and drink out of the cup. When it's empty I set the cup down in front of me. A glance in either direction shows each man with a questionable look on their face.

"Do you want to talk about it, Rose?" Ivan asks.

Dimitri quickly adds, "If you want to, of course. Only if you want to."

"That was implied, Dimitri," Ivan argues. "You don't need to state the obvious."

Dimitri glares at Ivan and then refocuses on me. "What Ivan meant, is that we're here for you."

"And who knows? It might be helpful if you talk about it."

"Ivan!"

"What?"

"Ivan is right," I say softly, surprising everyone in the room, including myself. "I should talk about it. But it's a long story. And it is pretty late. I don't want to keep you up." They both smile towards me encouragingly as they lean back into their seats and settle in for my story.

"The floor is yours, Rose," Ivan tells me.

I look over to Dimitri, who is still giving me an encouraging look. "You wanted to know about my daughter's father." I quickly look away so I don't see his reaction. I stare at my hands as I continue on. "I was kind of seeing this guy at school. Everyone expected it. The bad boy and the bad girl." I draw my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. "It was more of an on again off again kind of thing. At first it was fine. It was fun and exciting, but it didn't stay that way.

"He liked to party. We both did, but he always took it too far. Sometimes he would get physical after he had a lot to drink. I would leave, but he would always apologize and convince me to come back to him. It started off small, a few slaps, but it escalated quickly. And I always went back. We were at a party one night. He was drunk and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

My eyes make their way towards the eyes of my friends. "Every time I close my eyes I relive that night."

"Rose-"

"When I found out I was pregnant I left. I had no choice. I couldn't let him find out about the baby; I have no clue how he's going to respond. He has eyes everywhere. He's going to find out and try to do something. If I'm not having that dream, I'm dreaming about what he'll do to her."

"We're not going to let that happen, Rose," Ivan promises.

"Have you gone to the police?" Dimitri asks.

I laugh humorlessly. "Of course I have. Nothing ever happens. Files get misplaced. Things get covered up."

"We're not going to let anything happen to you," Ivan vows again.

"Either of you," Dimitri adds. "You're family now, Rose. You and Lennox are going to be stuck with us forever."

I smile at both men, grateful for everything they've done for us. It's nice to be a part of a family.

The three of us stay up and talk about anything and everything for a while before I attempt to sleep again.

I fall asleep with a smile on my face. I wake up with it, too, because I didn't have the dream again.