This week has been hectic. And writers block is a bitch.

Disclaimer : I do not own VA or any of the characters

Please review!

Enjoy!

Abe POV

We were all waiting anxiously for some news about Rose's condition when Dimitri's phone started ringing. He answered it quickly to keep it from waking Julia. I didn't hear anything other than "hello, Mama" before he walked away, still holding a sleeping Julia. I took this opportunity to ask my family (yes, Lissa is family too) what they thought of my new business partner.

"What are we thinking? About Dimitri, I mean? Will he be good for Rose and Julia?"

"Well, he's definitely persistent. If he hadn't been, we'd still be in bed, clueless about the accident." My wife said. Guilt coursed through me again.

"He seems quiet, like he keeps to himself most of the time. Almost like the opposite of Rose. I'm not sure if they would be perfect together, or if they would fight all the time and cause a world war." Lissa commented.

"She has a point, Abe. How much do we really know about him?" Janine asked me.

"I had extensive research done on him before I decided to sign him as my partner. Aside from beating up his drunk, abusive father when he was 13, he's never been into any trouble. He's never been engaged or married. His family owns a small diner on the edge of town. He was in the process of opening a gym when I gave him the proposition to become my partner."

That's when it clicked with my wife what I had done. I seen it in her expression.

"How did you... I thought that... damn it, Ibrahim. You couldn't leave well enough alone, even after she asked you to, could you? What are you going to do if she finds out?"

"I'll get to that when it happens, Janine." I turned my attention to Lissa, who was thoroughly confused. "Rose won't be happy when she finds out that I had his background checked out. Even if it was just for the partnership, before she told me that he was Julia's father. Can I trust that you will keep this to yourself for now?" My wife gave me a pointed look. She knew that I was lying.

"I won't tell her, but I won't lie to her about it if she asks me." Lissa replied.

I just nodded because Belikov was walking back towards us. We resumed the mindless chatter that filled the silence before until the doctor came in to tell us that Rose was going to be okay, even if she was banged up a bit. I was relieved. We all were. The doctor told us that she didn't need visitors, but she could go home when she woke up.

The hardest part was waiting for her to wake up.

Rose POV

Seeing everyone in the waiting room was like a breath of fresh air. All of their faces showed relief and worry.

"Could you guys not worry so much? I'm okay. I'm just gonna need some help getting around for a bit. Other than that, I'm fine." I said, slightly annoyed.

"Tough as nails, just like your mother. I bet you are going to love being wheelchair bound." Sarcasm filled my father's words, paired with a small smirk.

"Shut up, old man, before I put you in one right beside me."

He held up his hands in mock surrender and made his way over to give me a gentle hug. My mother followed suit. Dimitri stood off to the side, patiently waiting his turn. I'm glad that my parents decided to call him.

"So who gets to drive me home since I'm pretty sure my car is not going to be drivable?"

Dimitri let out a dry, humorless chuckle.

"Rose, your car will never be drivable again. It was totalled 3 times over. It's really a miracle that you and Julia come out with minimal injuries." He paused. "If your family doesn't mind, I'll take you home and help you get settled in." I was okay with that, but the look on my father's face made me believe that he wasn't quite as okay with it as I was.

"I'm okay with that if Rose is okay with that. It's almost midnight now, and I have to work in the morning." Lissa said, smiling at me. She knew that I would be okay with it. My mom really surprised me when she spoke up.

"Take her home, Dimitri. I'm sure Abe will give you some time off so that you can help out Rose for a bit. You are probably the only one who will be able to carry Rose up the stairs in her house anyway." I looked over at Abe; he was looking at my mother in shock. She reached over and whispered something in his ear. An emotion that I couldn't place flashed in his features before he spoke.

"Go ahead, Belikov. Just remember what I told you before." I heard the silent threat in his words, and I was sure Dimitri did too when he nodded at my father.

"Hey, Comrade, you can stay in my guest room if you want. That way you won't have to rush over every morning to help me get Julia ready for school."

I think Abe was happy that I offered Dimitri my guest room instead of my room. Dimitri didn't have any emotions present on his face, so I have no idea how he was really feeling about my offer. Finally, he spoke.

"I think that would be best, so that I can be there anytime that you will need help. At least until we can figure out a different solution." That actually disappointed me a bit. He's acting like he doesn't have a choice. Did I misjudge his feelings for me? Did I push him too far by asking him to stay over for a while?

"Can we go now? I'm ready to leave this hospital."

"Sure, Kiz. Let's all go home. We can work everything out tomorrow."

Lissa went to the car with my parents, because apparently, they picked her up to bring her to the hospital. I held onto Julia while Dimitri pushed us to his car. I gently shook her awake.

"Jay, baby, wake up for Momma."

"Mommy?" She asked, groggily.

"I'm here, baby girl. Momma's okay. It's time to get in Daddy's car. It's time to go home." I told her, gently. She tightened her hold on me, but released me fairly quickly.

"I don't want to! We might get hurt again, Momma! I don't want you to het hurt again, and I don't want Daddy to get hurt!" She exclaimed, starting to get really upset.

"Julia, please calm down." Dimitri interjected. "I'm going to drive very carefully, so that we won't get hurt. I promise everything will be okay."

Julia calmed almost instantly with his promise.

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm scared." My baby told me.

"I know, Jay. I'm a little scared too, but I trust that your Daddy is going to keep us safe. Would you feel better if I sat in the back seat with you?"

She nodded, and finally got in the car. Dimitri helped me in beside Julia, then he put my new wheelchair in the trunk.

We finally got home, and Julia asked if she could sleep with me tonight. I was happy to comply with that. What really surprised me is what she asked after I agreed to let her sleep with me in my bed.

"Mommy, is it okay if Daddy sleeps with us too? He makes me feel safe."

I froze. I had no idea what to say to that. What would he say? He didn't leave me quessing for very long, because he spoke when he realized that I froze.

"Julia, why don't you go get ready for bed, and we will let you know in just a few minutes. Momma and I need to talk about it first, okay?" He was so perfect with her.

"Okay, Daddy." Then she ran off upstairs, leaving Dimitri and I alone.

"I'll let her down easy, and I'll still sleep in the guest room. I'll be the bad guy if I need to." He said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"What? Oh! No, I don't mind. I just froze because her question caught me by surprise. Well, that, and I wasn't sure how you would react. Our poor baby was terrified in the car, and I'd do anything to make her feel better. I hate that I'm the reason she was terrified, and could have been badly hurt."

"First, I don't want to push you into something that you are not ready for by having to share a bed with me-" he started, but I interrupted.

"You're not pushing me into anything. You aren't asking me to have sex. I'm not even sure that I could do that right now if I wanted to. We are simply sharing a bed with our daughter. I'm more than okay with that. Oh, and before you ask, yes, I'm sure that I'm okay with it."

He smiled at me. "Okay then."

"What else were you going to say?"

"Oh yeah. Second, the accident was not your fault. There was no way that you could have avoided the car that hit you."

"I'm glad my parents asked you to come to the hospital after they found out about the accident. It's only fair that-"

"Roza, your parents didn't tell me about the accident." Huh?

"Lissa?" I questioned.

"No, a girl named Sydney called me from your phone right after the accident happened." What?

"Who is Sydney? And how did she get my phone?"

"She was technically in the accident with you. Your car clipped hers after the other car hit you. She was barely banged up, so she was able to get out to see if you and Julia were okay. She called the police, and then called me after she found your phone. I called your father to tell him about the accident. Sydney rode in the ambulance with you and Julia, and she stayed with Julia while I sat with you before they took you to get x-rays done. Julia loved Sydney, and Sydney wants to meet you when you are feeling up to it."

"Oh." That's all I could say. My mind kind of went numb. Thankfully, Julia walked back in, all ready for bed.

"I'm ready for bed, Momma!"

"Okay, good. Go find you and me something to snack on while I get teady for bed."

She did just that. Dimitri took me upstairs, and helped me get into a large shirt that I used for sleeping in. I hoped he didn't recognize it. It was the one that I stole from him the night that we met. It's a lot older now, and kind of ragged, but it's the most comfortable sleep attire that I have. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side, because he did recognize it.

"This was mine. You stole it when you ran off." I shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"It smelled like you and I love the smell of your aftershave. After I found out that I was pregnant, I wore it every night."

He was quiet after that. After I had finished getting ready for bed, he helped me lay down. Julia walked in just then with a bag of cookies.

I sat up in bed, and Julia sat beside me. Dimitri sat on the other side of her. It was like we were a real family. We munched on the cookies until the bag was gone, then we all headed to bed.

My last conscious thought was that of Dimitri wrapping his arm around both Julia and I, pulling us closer to him. I realized something; I'm happy with him here.