Chapter 13 (Dimitri POV)

Thanks everyone for your reviews. This one is Dimitri's POV about what happened after the Great Night. Please let me know what you think and how I can improve.

I woke up this morning to crying through the baby monitor. It was my babies. I noticed that Rose was still beside me. All I can think about was what a great night my wife and I had last night. We haven't had sex like that since before the kids were born. I know Rose wanted to do it to get back at Tasha. I'm sure the whole house heard us last night. I didn't care because it was with the woman I love most in this world. I wanted to slumber all day but my kids had other plans. My wife and I both got up and put on some pj's and headed on over to the nursery to see what was wrong with the children. Rose and I both entered and I headed over to my daughter while Rose went over to my son. My daughter was my world, I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to either one of my children.

As I get my daughter ready for the day, I looked over to Rose and Benny and she looked panicked. I turned and evaluate the situation and it looks like he may be sick or something. Rose grabs the baby bag and pulls the thermometer out and uses it on him. After it beeped, she looked at it and was rushing around the room. I decided to take Kitya downstairs while Rose gets Ben ready.

Everyone else was awake. Tasha and Adrian were in the living room with Ethan and Lissa and Christian were eating in the dining room. Kitya and I sat down next to Lissa and Christian and started to eat the pancakes that were made this morning. We just started to eat when Rose came rushing downstairs. She had Ben in her arms and looked ready to leave the house. She put him in the car seat and started out the door running like a maniac. I didn't know what was going on so I panicked. I handed Kitya to Christian and told him to keep an eye on her and to not let her out of his sight as I followed Rose to the car. Once I got there I asked, "Rose hunnie, what's the matter and where are you two going?" I've never seen her so panicked before; she's starting to scare me.

What she stated next made my blood turn cold, "Dimitri, he's burning up. I have to get him to a hospital to get his fever down. I already gave him some medicine but it's scaring me. He's still so young and his fever is over 103. I'm scared." I tell her to wait so I can go get dressed. I rush back into the house and dress as quickly as possible. As I'm running back, I stopped in the dining room and tell Christian and Lissa that Ben is sick and we're taking him to the hospital and Rose will call her soon.

I just don't know what happened between last night and this morning. Everything was going well. We were all happy and he wasn't sick last night. It must have been something he ate, but usually fevers this bad develops gradually, it didn't just happen in hours. As I got in the car, Rose sped off and I just kept thinking the worst. What happened if my baby didn't get through this, will Rose ever forgive me?

As we approached the hospital, I told my wife to stop by the doors and drop us off while she goes and find parking. Since our son is so young and his fever is so high, they took us in right away. I'm panicking while sitting in the patient's room waiting for the nurse to come and take a blood sample from him to run some tests. The doctor is putting him on fluids while we wait. Rose is probably calling Lissa right now, so she should be here soon.

When Rose finally got here, I was still holding my son. He looked so sick. She walked over and I put my arms around her and gave her a hug while I was whispering sweet nothing to my son in Russian. He finally fell back asleep so I put him in the crib they had and told my wife that I needed to use the restroom. When returning to the room a few minutes later I met the doctor in the hall and asked him to see if blood was taken for the tests. He nodded and said we should get them in a few hours, it usually takes a few days but since Ben is so young, they are having it rushed.

He proceeded to ask me do I know of anyone who would hurt my kids and I shook my head. "I don't believe anyone would hurt my family. We just got here to visit some friends and then my son got sick. It was very sudden but I don't believe anyone tried anything. He was with friends all night while my wife and I rested from the long trip." The doctor acknowledged this information and said that he'll come back to check on us in a little bit.

I went back to the room and asked Rose what the doctor said. I wanted to make sure she told me everything. I always knew when she lied to me, so I wanted to see if she planted that theory of someone wanting to hurt Ben to the doctor. She told me everything but I know she's hiding something. I don't have any proof if she told the doctor that theory or not, so I nodded and said I should get home to check on our daughter. She kissed me goodbye and then I walked out of the hospital. I forgot to ask where she parked so I just walked around until I found the car.

I know what Rose is thinking and that Tasha had something to do with this incident but I don't believe it. I know we all had a past and Tasha has tried to ruin our relationship, but I don't believe she would stoop this low and hurt the children. I know Rose doesn't like her because Tasha wants me for herself but she knows that I'm with Rose now and she doesn't have a chance. Plus, Tasha's with Adrian now and they have a baby together. I just don't believe it.

I got back to the house and ran inside. I went directly to Christian and Lissa and took Kitya from them. I took her upstairs and got her dressed so we can get back to the hospital as soon as possible. While I was getting her ready, Tasha approached. She came into the nursery and was wondering what happened.

I told her what happened, said that Ben was sick – very high fever. Told her that Rose and Ben were still at the hospital and I needed to get back soon. She said she was sorry, which didn't make sense, but I supposed – she's probably sorry that the kids got sick. She came over and gave me a hug and said that my son will get through this. I was stressed out with what could happen to my son. I needed a hug and she gave one to me. She said comforting words and helped the situation. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and said I should get back. I just don't understand why Rose would think she had anything to do with it. She's coping and I'm sure she's moved on from the obsession she had on me. I finished getting my daughter ready and we left to the hospital.

As we got there, Rose was sobbing on the telephone. I went over to her and took the phone and started talking. I told them that Ben was sick and we're both worried sick. They had been vacationing in the states and were in Montana so Janine said they will come here to see us. I told her that I needed to get back to my family and she said they'll come and see us soon. I hung up and returned my attention to my family.

I finally sat down on the chair next to the bed and Rose turned to me. She had been crying and I hated seeing her cry. I feel guilty as I cannot help her at all. This is just a fever, she shouldn't feel any different than the other times the kids were sick. She looked like she was going to be sick. As I processed all of this, she finally came out and told me her theory. Of course I didn't believe it. Tasha was once my friend, she would never do this to me. I refused to believe it until she told me what the doctor found in his blood test.

Oh my god, it is true. Someone poisoned my son and I cannot believe it was Tasha. No one else would do it. Everyone else was Rose's friends so they would never jeopardize her children that way. I never believe my friend would do something like this to me, to get back at my wife. I didn't even consider it – I started to argue with Rose stating maybe the kids got into cleaning chemicals or something. I don't believe that Tasha had something to do with my son being sick. We fought for a bit leaving us both angry and Kitya started squirming in Rose's arms to get to her brother. They were always so close; I cannot imagine one without the other. It's been a rough morning and my wife and I haven't fought in a while. I hope that we can get through this incident and everything will go back to normal.

After our fight, the doctor finally came back and confirmed my worst fears. Someone poisoned my baby boy. He wanted to get a blood sample from Kitya and test it as well. After the nurse took the samples, the doctor came back and told us what was in there. He explained that someone gave them sleeping pills and someone poisoned Ben. They don't have the specific type yet, but will soon.

I was pissed off. I know there will always be trust issues with me and Rose. She doesn't fully trust me with everything I've ever put her through, but I don't know why I don't fully trust her either. I guess I always look at the best of people. As I was thinking of how I'm going to fix this, Rose heads over to Ben and puts the back of her hand to his forehead. I know she's checking his temperature. I go and stand next to her holding my daughter. Our son is still flushed, but he looks better now that he has some fluids to help is little body process the poison. The monitor states that his temp is now 101, not as hot as before but still not great either. We waited in silence – both of us mad at each other or at the situation. Silence has never been a problem with us; we were so in-tuned with each other that it was comfortable.

After a few hours, Rose's parents finally arrive. To say that Rose's dad is scary is an understatement. He's very overprotective of his family and someone tried to hurt his grandchildren. Abe started yelling at me about my friends. Well, just one of my friends – Tasha to be exact. I was on the brink of losing control so when he started yelling - I yelled back. The conversation was getting nowhere. "We didn't know Tasha was going to be there. We didn't anticipate her doing something like this – ever." After I made my point, I stomped off to find the culprit. I know I shouldn't have left Rose and the kids but her parents were with her and I was too mad to go back. I needed to fix this issue and address the problem with the person. I purposely turned off my phone so I wasn't disturbed and went back to the house.

When I got there I updated everyone on Ben's condition. I didn't tell them that he was poisoned; I just stated that he was sick. Told them that he was getting better and I just needed some time alone to think things through. On cue, Tasha approaches me so we can have a conversation. I went out back to their backyard to address the problem.

Tasha approached me from behind. She came up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist and said she felt sorry for what I was going through. She didn't know we already found out the baby was poisoned, so I played her. I reacted like a hurt and sad father would. I pretended to take comfort in her seeing if she will open up. I told her Rose and I am having problems, which seems to brighten her day. Of course, I forgot my compulsion ring. I told her I needed the restroom and I'll be right back. I went upstairs got my ring and wore it on the same finger as my wedding band. I needed her to open up and I needed to record the conversation. Rose always seems prepared for everything, especially with the amount of strigoi we've encountered. Instead of writing reports, she records everything and hands those in instead. I replace the tape inside with a new one and head outside. I have it in my pocket and as soon as I got closer to the door, I pressed record.

"Hey Tasha, you've been a great friend to me. I just wanted to tell you I missed you. Thanks for helping me through this. Sometimes I don't understand Rose. She's very overprotective of her family, but that doesn't mean we still cannot be friends." That was the punch line I knew she was looking for. She crept up to me and hugged me. I hugged her back. I have to try to convince her that I'm leaving Roza because she's too controlling. I laced our fingers and dragged her on a walk. I told her we needed to talk in private and she agreed. This seems simpler than I anticipated.

Once we were out of range, she turned to me and kissed me passionately. I didn't stop her so she continued. I didn't want to do this but I had to. I stopped it and told her now wasn't the time. "We would have time for this later" I said. She understood that I was going to give her more time. I told her that we were going to be here for a few weeks yet so I'd find time to spend with her alone. I hope she knew what I meant by that. She giggled like a school girl with a crush. I kissed her on the lips and kept walking. I told her I don't believe I was the father to the twins, but I committed to her so they were like my own children since I didn't have any. I kept up the charade so she will trust me, finally she came clean.

"Dimka, I never believed you were the father. They don't look like you. I know you love her, but you love me more." She stared into my eyes trying to use compulsion on me. She thinks it worked, I repeated after her. "I love you more than Rose and the twins are not my kids." I think she bought it because she cuddled into my arms and we kept walking.

Finally her confession, "I didn't believe they were yours. I think Rose got pregnant by someone else who has some similar qualities. I do have a confession to make, I put some rat poison into the ice cream I gave the twins, but Kitya didn't eat any. I also put the sleeping pills into their bottles when I was fixing a bottle for Ethan. I know the effect they have on children - it makes them sleep all day long. I use it on Ethan all the time, he's so bratty. I just wanted some of your attention. I love you Dimka."

"We've been walking for a long time, why don't we go back to the house. Maybe we can go out to dinner or something, just you and I." She agreed and we walked back. I told her we had to keep our distance until we were on our own, she understood and we kept up the charade.

I told her I needed to get ready and for her to meet me at the moroi restaurant down the street in two hour. I got ready and went down to the Guardian headquarters here in California. It's an hour away so hopefully I will not be gone too long. I needed her there when they went to arrest her. Once I got there, I spoke to the head guardian and let him listen to the tape. It appears they have grounds to arrest her and send her to prison. I also told them of our history and her threatening our family. I told him how I played her to get the information I needed. I asked him to make a copy for himself but I needed a copy for my records and he agreed. He has a team to go get her from the restaurant; hopefully I make it back before Rose gets worried.

I look at my phone, damn, I forgot to turn it on. Rose must be worried – shit, there are a ton of voice mail. I'm not going to worry about it until I get back. I drive to the house as fast as I can, only to get stopped by a cop. Man, today is not my day. I got a speeding ticket for $250 and since I was from out of town, I had to charge it. Stupid cop!

I finally make it back to Lissa and Christians and they were very upset. Lissa stated Rose tried calling. "She was worried and they left." That definitely got my attention, "what do you mean they left? I had to take care of a problem. I cannot believe she just left."

Lissa looked directly at me and stated, "She tried calling you but apparently you were too busy to pick up her phone calls. I know you were with Tasha at one point so don't try anything with me, Mister. She called you a thousand times and you never answered. Her parents are taking them home. She said if you want, you can go home when you're ready and if you're not, then to tell you goodbye."

No, she can't leave me. I have to go home. I finally call her and she picks up. "Rose, where are you and the kids? Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"Dimitri, I called you several times – you never picked up. We're going home. We're ready to leave now. I've been trying to call you for hours – I'm fed up with you always taking other people's side over mines. We're leaving, you can come home when you're ready and if you're never ready then I guess this is goodbye." She hung up on me. I cannot believe she thought I didn't care about her and the kids. I know I don't always take her side but I eventually do after I hear all the facts. I guess I should have more faith in her; especially when she always seems to be right. I have to get home, but only after I check with the guardian headquarters to see if they arrested Tasha yet.

I settled in for the night in the room Roza and I were staying in. I picked up the phone and called Guardian Slate about the raid and if they got her. Apparently she wasn't there when they got there. Oh man, I have to get out of here. Hopefully she didn't come back here. I pack all my stuff and head downstairs to talk to Lissa, Christian and Adrian. I tell them the situation and they all sympathize for our situation. Adrian is especially devastated because he has grown to love her. They all tell me to stay put and they'll keep an eye out for her. I make all the arrangements to leave for home tomorrow to make things right with my wife and kids. It's been a long time since Rose and I have been separated and I don't like not sleeping next to her. At least it's only a couple of nights and then we'll be together again. Hopefully, everything will work out for the best. I just kept thinking of my Roza and my children while letting sleep consume me. It's been an exhausting day – I'm hoping tomorrow will be better.