Disclaimer: I do not own VA :P

There's a place that I know
It's not pretty there and few have ever gone
If I show it to you now
Will it make you run away?
Or will you stay
Even if it hurts
Even if I try to push you out
Will you return?
And remind me who I really am
Please remind me who I really am

Everybody's got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody's a picture perfect
But we're worth it
You know that we're worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

-Dark Side, Kelly Clarkson

Unknown POV:

Adrian ambled down a deserted hall in Court. It was late at night – well, day. Sunlight shone through windows placed strategically to give a peek at the outside world. He had stayed late at a party that day, and was just now returning home.

The attempts at getting Eddie as a guardian were proving not so successful thus far. Someone or something was blocking him.

"Adrian..." a singsong voice called out from a shadowed doorway.

Adrian blinked, his brow furrowing as he approached it. Something told him he really shouldn't, but his status as the queen's favorite nephew had gotten him into the habit of thinking no one would dare hurt him. Use him, yes, but not hurt him physically.

He approached the little alcove curiously. Just as he reached it, someone grabbed him from behind. A sharp gasp was torn from between his lips as he felt the cool sharpness of a blade at his neck.

"Adrian..." the singsong voice sounded again. Out of the shadows, Seneca Ackes stepped out. "Oh, Adrian, how curious you are." She tilted her head. "That'll be the death of you someday. Maybe even today."

Adrian glared at her, trying to keep his pure fear at bay. "What do you want, Seneca?" he snapped.

Seneca smiled a terrible smile, one that was sharper and more deadly than the knife at his throat. Poisonous. "That's not the way to speak to someone who has your life in the palm of their hand." She clucked her tongue. "Hasn't your Auntie taught you to be polite?"

Adrian sighed. "The point?" he asked in a bored voice. His entire body was tensed, straining away from the blade of the knife pressed to his neck.

Seneca sighed, the smile dropping. "You're no fun. All I want is a teensy tiny favor from you. I want you to bring a friend of mine, Alexia, when you go to meet with your friends, wherever that might be. Alright?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And why should I?" he asked, words filled with sarcasm.

Seneca's easy posture changed, straightening and turning hard. Her eyes flashed. "Because if you don't, your precious little dhampir will be on the end of the blade. Dead. Understand?"

Adrian's eyes widened with fear. "Y-yes," he stammered, filled with horror. No. Not Rose.

Seneca smiled once more. "Good. So glad we could come to an understanding. Alexia will meet you in your room shortly before departure. Have fun visiting your friends." Seneca walked away. Once she was out of sight, the blade disappeared from his neck, but he was too frozen with terror to move for several long moments.

Rose, I am so, so, sorry.

RPOV:

After Xavier had fallen asleep on Dimitri's chest, we lay in silence. We were laying side by side on the bed. Inches separated us. We were close enough that I could feel the heat emanating from his body. It took everything in me to not close that space, lean my head on his shoulder, and cuddle us together like a real family. The celebration in the rest of the house had died down. I could feel Lissa wondering where I was, along with Dimitri and Xavier. She was also wondering why I'd never told her I had lost my virginity, let alone had a child. And who was the father? I could feel her hurt at the thought that I'd lied to her because I didn't trust her. She wanted to talk to me, but wondered if my horrible treatment of her had been totally honest. I would have to fix that soon.

"Roza," Dimitri said softly, turning his head to look at me.

"Yes?" I whispered back.

"Why did you leave?"

I looked away. I could hardly tell him, but after today, I couldn't keep it from him either.

"Roza, please, tell me," he begged.

I closed my eyes. My defenses were so unbelievably down after today, there was no way I could keep from blurting out everything.

"Roza..." His voice was now a whisper, husky, caressing my skin.

I closed my eyes, shivering delicately. I felt him shift, and then he was touching me.

A shudder ran down my entire body as his hand gently glided across my cheek. He turned my face to his as his thumb stroked my cheek with feather touches. I could feel his warm breath on my lips as he exhaled.

"Roza, my Roza," he crooned softly. "Tell me why."

Tears slid out from beneath my lids. "Because Seneca said she would hurt you and Lissa and everyone else if I didn't," I sobbed out.

His hand froze. I opened my eyes to see his staring wide, horror in them. "We should put Xavier to bed," I murmured.

I sat up and carefully picked up my little boy, hugging him close to my chest. I slid out of bed and stood up. I barely took one step toward the door when I felt Dimitri behind me. He wrapped his arms around the two of us. His hard chest pressed into mine and I barely managed to keep myself from moaning.

"Roza," he breathed in my ear, "I love you. I will do everything to protect you. We will be fine."

I bit back a sob at his words as relief flooded through me. Until this very moment, I never realized how scared I'd been that he would hate me forever, that he wouldn't want to do anything with me due to the danger, that he wouldn't believe me, or that he would think I was a coward.

I spun around and buried my face in his chest, one arm around Xavier while the other clung to his back.

Dimitri made an odd noise, almost like a groan, or a sigh of relief. His arms wrapped around my whole body, one reaching up to touch Xavier's head while the other hooked around my waist. We stayed like that, hugging for a long time. Touching for the first time in almost four years was a heady experience. My whole body thrummed with energy, a charge running between the two of us, like two cables touching.

It wasn't until Xavier stirred in his sleep did we break apart. Even then, Dimitri still kept an arm around my waist.

Opening our door, we stepped out into a house of silence. Everyone had either gone to bed or was out watching the TV.

We crept down the hall to the little bedroom that was about the size of a closet. Tasha had kept it secret from us so that Dimitri and I would be forced to sleep in the same room. The plan had worked out nicely, since it was now Xavier's room. Abe had been kind enough to bring Xavier's crib, which he had one of his guardians set up earlier, along with all of Xavier's luggage. Abe was confident that Seneca had no idea where we were; though Lissa's vacation was almost a habit, she had also considered going to Russia for some sight-seeing, according to Abe. I translated that into Abe spreading a rumor that Lissa was somewhere in Russia and enough people believed it to be fact that she was safe.

I handed Xavier to Dimitri, indicating for him to put Xavier to bed. Dimitri stared at me, wide eyed.

"Are you sure?" he hissed, unsure.

I nodded, smiling encouragingly. Dimitri nodded, looking determined.

He placed Xavier carefully into the crib, then pulled the covers over him. He tucked him in, then whispered something too quietly for me to hear. After pressing a kiss onto his forehead, Dimitri stepped back, gazing at Xavier lovingly.

I leaned into the crib and kissed my sleeping angel on the forehead. "Goodnight, my little man," I murmured, brushing his hair back. "Mommy loves you."

I stood next to Dimitri, simply looking at our son. Dimitri put his arm around me. "He's so beautiful," he said, awed.

I nodded. "He is. He has your eyes. We made that, Comrade," I said, my voice trembling slightly. I loved my son unconditionally, but seeing how in awe Dimitri was of him, how he loved him and how he saw all the things Xavier did with with wonder in his eye made me see my son in a different light, made me appreciate him that much more, love him even more. I was so glad Abe had brought everyone here, so glad I didn't care for the consequences. Having Dimitri and Xavier meet would be worth it, whatever it maybe.

"We did," Dimitri breathed. He held me close to him. "Once it's safe, can we have another child? A little girl, maybe. Or another boy for that matter. Or both. Can we have both?"

Dimitri looked at me excitedly, like a little kid in a toy store. I suppressed a smile. "Dimitri, do you have any idea how painful it is to give birth?" I asked, amused.

Dimitri gave me a sheepish look. "You can use drugs," he said hopefully.

My smile faded. "Dimitri," I began.

Dimitri shook his head. "No, let's not do this tonight, Roza," he begged. "Let's just enjoy ourselves, okay?"

I was struck how our positions had changed. Ordinarily, it would be me avoid the subject, but now it was Dimitri.

I sighed. "We need to talk about this, Dimitri," I said sternly.

Dimitri bowed his head obediently. "Yes, but not tonight, please."

Of course, tonight would be the night I choose to be stubborn and responsible. Sigh. "No, Dimitri, we need to talk about this." Maybe it was because I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, maybe it was the chance that we might not be able to talk again, but I wanted to have this conversation now, while I was brave enough to do it.

Dimitri clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. "Roza..."
"Dimitri, having this conversation tonight or tomorrow won't change anything; we'll just have everything solved earlier by doing it now as opposed to tomorrow," I said patiently.

Dimitri exhaled. "Alright. Alright, let's do this," he said, determined now.

I chuckled. "Let's not do this here, though," I suggested playful.

Dimitri nodded. "Okay, let's go to our room."

He took the lead. Once I was through the door to our room, he closed and locked it before joining me on the bed.

"Okay, tell me everything," Dimitri commanded.

I sighed. "Okay, so, the morning after I left the gym, Seneca cornered me and told me to leave you, to disappear off this earth, or else you and Lissa and everyone else gets killed. I asked Alberta to let me take my trials and graduate early, but to let me travel for a year, learn more and such. She let me. Then, I talked to Adrian and told him to meet me in my room." I looked down, ashamed. "I did kiss, though. I'm sorry."

"Rose, it's okay," Dimitri said gently.

I nodded, letting it go for now. "I hung out with Lissa, then I told her that I was meeting Adrian. Adrian came, but said that he wanted to wait to do anything, he wanted to have an actual relationship. I agree and we spent the night sleeping in the same bed, but that's all. Then that morning, I made sure that when he left, he kissed me goodbye in front of lots of people. I knew you would hear it eventually. I just wanted some way to get away from you, to keep you from looking for me. I was so, so scared that she would do something, hurt you some way. I went to Russia in hopes getting away from you. I met Sydney Sage there, an Alchemist. She cleaned up my messes and took me to the doctor when she saw me throwing up. I found out I was pregnant and decided to stay with your family. Sydney took me there, but the house we stayed at before the road to Baia was attacked by two Strigoi. I fought them off, but I passed out..." I went on to tell him everything about what happened after Abe found, meeting his family, and finally ending with explaining how we had no idea who had asked Seneca for the favor, or the reason behind it, with the exception of Dimitri.

Dimitri leaned against the headboard, stunned. "So all of this is because of me?" he asked with disbelief.

I shook my head. "No. At first, that's what Abe and I thought, but it seems to be more than that. It has to be. I mean, no one tried to make any moves on you, nor did they try to make your life even more miserable, so that rules out jealousy and hate. Abe thinks you're just one part of the puzzle." I sighed again, tired.

"Roza, we'll figure this out, I promise." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "I'm not letting you deal with this alone."

"Dimitri –"

"No, Rose," Dimitri said firmly. "I let you go once. I'm not going to do it again. That's not to say that I'm willing to flaunt this and cause retaliation, but we can be together in private. It'll be like the Academy all over again," he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Except for this time, it's not our jobs and reputations on the line, but our lives."

"See, you understand." Dimitri grinned.

I smiled thinly, not amused in the least.

Dimitri's smile faded. He took my small hands in his huge ones. "Roza, I love you. I'm not going to stay away from you just because there's a sword hanging over our heads. What happens when, even though you stay away, the person still hurts you? I'm not going to waste whatever time I have with you, okay? We could be attacked by Strigoi tomorrow and you could die without me ever saying I love you. I'm not letting that happen, do you understand?" His eyes pierced mine.

Tears welled up in my eyes. "I understand," I sniffled. "I love you, Dimitri, so, so much."

"Oh, my Roza," he murmured, pulling me into his chest.

I closed my eyes and inhale his wonderful scent. Feeling of love and release and relieve filled me. We were finally together. The realization hit me like a train. We were together.

"Dimitri," I whispered, looking up at him.

"Roza?" He looked at me questioningly.

I didn't answer, simply stretched up my neck until our lips met. Dimitri got the message instantly. He kissed me back, setting my soul aflame.

Suddenly, we were like sharks in a feeding frenzy. We couldn't get close enough. All those years spent apart were crashing down on us, all resemblance of control gone, poof. We attacked each other with our mouths as our hands tore at clothing. Dimitri ripped my shirt off of me, my bra following. His shirt suffered the same fate. Both of us were rough, our hands almost punishing as they ran over each other's bodies. I tugged at his hair as he bit my neck, crying out as he squeezed my breast roughly. In a haze of pure lust, the rest of our clothes were reduced to shreds on the floor, barring our jeans, of course.

I raked my nails down his back as he did something to my breast. One hand travel down my body to my core, just to make sure I was ready. Satisfied that I was, he positioned himself.

"I love you, Roza," he murmured.

"Wait!" I gasped out, suddenly remembering the very likely chance of me getting pregnant.

Dimitri groaned. "What?"

"Do you have any condoms?"

He looked at me as if I was insane. "Why would I have condoms?"

I sighed and let my head fall into the pillows. "Dammit," I swore.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I could get pregnant," I said miserably. "It's a very likely chance right now." I sighed again, not helping out situation at all as my chest brushed against his, causing both of us to shudder.

He stared at me. "Of all the times..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

We gaze at each other, not moving. Finally, Dimitri shifted. "Well, even if we can't make love, that doesn't mean we can't do anything else." He gave me a wicked look as his head ducked down.

"Yes..." I breathed.

For the rest of the night, we reconnected in every way possible. When we finally fell asleep, exhausted, I couldn't help but think, I can't wait until he gets condoms tomorrow. The anticipation of that made me shiver. We had been apart way too long. Never again.

A/N: Well...this isn't what I'd planned for the chapter, but, hey, whatever! Figured you all deserved some cuteness(: THanks to Chelsea Jay for editing this!

Thank you for reviewing to the following people: RozaRocks (erm, well, yes...but...well, I have to. I really do :/ I'm sorry in advance :(), Rose-loves-Dimitri (xD No, Seneca is not. They're about the same age!), Victoria Marie Dragomir (you are not allowed to guess! xD), XxXRose-DimitriForeverXxX (mmhmm, that was indeed Seneca), Chelsea Jay (nope :D), Dragons-Twilight1992, Do'B (Nah, no queen. Woman (at least, I think you're a female...sorry if you're not!) stop guessing! YOu're not allowed to guess either! You'll see her next chapter, I'll make sure to include her just for you(: Or...he could just demand it of her :D), Kay1a (I don't like to switch POVs constnatly, but I will add some conversations to show what they think, don't worry:)), Supernatrualfreaak, Guest (no need for murder, I do enough of that on my own! xD), bboop12, AlyLuvsYou.