I'm so sorry for the late update! Here's the proper chapter 14! My internet's been playing up since Wednesday and I had no time at school to write this chapter so it ended up being written over the weekend. Thank you to SWEmicca and rivereq for the baby names! Xx
PRINCESSKATERINA – no probs sweetie! Hehe I'm glad you liked it :) and here's the proper version, so hopefully, it'll make even more sense! xx
I snorted. "Sure. Lissa's dad hired you. To what? Stalk us for the rest of our lives?"
She shook her head, the serious expression still etched onto her face. "No. He hired us just before Andre was born."
"If he'd done that, I'd have found out about it at some point. He would have told me - I'm Lissa's bodyguard."
"I know, and he knew that too Rose. He was probably going to tell you once you and Lissa turned eighteen – before you would have moved out."
"That doesn't make sense." But it did. Flashbacks from my past were starting to resurface. Memories of overhearing Eric and Rhea talking about checking up on the security flashed through my mind. I'd thought they'd been referring to security cameras or something similar; but maybe it had been something entirely different. Maybe Alberta was telling the truth? "Why did you take me instead of Lissa? Not that I want you guys to get her, but why didn't you take her while she was within reach?"
"Because we needed to explain to you Rose. Time's running out; an agent found you when you were in the hotel - you got shot because another agency found you and Miss. Dragomir. That can't happen again. Next time, you might not be the one caught in the crossfire. Or you might be, and then your child won't have a mother; Dimitri won't have you. We need to keep Miss. Dragomir safe, but she doesn't know who to trust. You do, and she trusts your judgement. But we knew that you wouldn't talk to us if we approached you in the street and asked to pop into a café and have a chat. So we had to bring you here."
"Okay, so say that I do believe part of what you're saying. And that for some crazy reason Eric did hire you, why would he have done it in the first place?"
"Eric hired us to guard you, Vasilisa and Andre. He had his own bodyguards for his wife and himself; but he wanted to make sure you kids were looked after. He knew that being such a prominent figure in business had its risks, and he wanted to make sure that if anything happened to him or his wife – you'd be safe. When you kids were with them, their bodyguards were responsible for your wellbeing; but if you went out alone then it became our job. The day they died, we were watching you and Vasilisa. The bodyguards were taken out before the Dragomirs were killed. By the time we found out that someone was tracking them, we were too late. And then a couple of weeks later, you and Vasilisa disappeared. We kept trying to find you; worried that her family's killers would get to you first. But every time we got close, you'd realise we were there and leave before we got the chance to explain."
"Then who are all these other agencies? Eric didn't hire them too."
"No. They're after Vasilisa, like you said, for her name and her money. Eric worried people would manipulate her into doing the wrong thing, supporting the wrong causes, but her knew that you'd protect her from that – that she trusts you and your judgement. Other agencies know that too, and that's why we were hired to protect you as well as Vasilisa. They'd want t take you out, and he thought of you as family. He didn't want you, any of you, to get hurt because of his job."
"But… who killed him? Why did they kill him? He wasn't doing anything corrupt – his business was the cleanest out there."
"And that's exactly why they killed him. Corruption makes profit. Though Eric wasn't in the public eye, and very few actually knew about him; he had lots of contacts. Lots of congressmen and senators liked him, and listened to what he had to say. His morals were changing politics and business, the way that people thought about it. Those changes were for the benefit of the public, and not everyone was happy with it. They liked the way that things were; with the people at the top getting the best in life and the people at the bottom in a continual struggle."
"So they killed him because he was trying to do the right thing."
She nodded, her eyes sad. "Yes."
"Poor Eric. Rhea and Andre just got caught up in it because they were his family." A few tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and I couldn't help but sniffle. "Sorry, I don't usually cry; it's these stupid pregnancy hormones."
Hearing this, her eyes rested on my stomach and a small smile crossed her face. "Do you know what you're having?"
"Not yet. We've not decided whether we want to find out the sex, or to just wait until the birth and let it be a surprise. We know that we're having twins though." I smiled and stroked my stomach. "I want twin boys, but Dimitri wants twin girls. Ever since we found out that I was pregnant he's been like a kid on Christmas morning, in a state of constant excitement."
She laughed. "You don't sound too enthusiastic."
"I am, I just know how to keep it controlled. And I have to face the harsh reality you know? I'm pregnant at nineteen by my boyfriend who I've only known for a year and a half. Considering the fact that I hated him for six months, it's only been a year. And then there's going to be all that pain when I go into labour, I'm not looking forward to that."
"Do you love him?"
I looked up to meet her eyes startled. "Of course I do. Why would you think that I didn't?"
"I never said that I thought you didn't. But trust me Rose, it wouldn't make a difference. If you'd known him for five years rather than one, or one and a half, would it be any better? Or would it make things worse? You've been through a lot; and perhaps, moving so quickly is what makes you work. Would you have had time to stay in a relationship for years and years before you decided that it was time to settle down, or would you have left with Vasilisa by then?"
I didn't like to be wrong, but I'd admit to it when it happened. "You're right, I would have moved on with Liss by then. I probably would have ended the relationship after a couple more months. I just never expected things to turn out like this. It's like the whole world's been tipped on its head."
She laughed again. "Life always throws strange things at you Rose. And it just gets worse with age."
We both laughed before lapsing into silence.
"Have you got any name ideas yet?"
"Damn! I knew we forgot to buy something!" She was looking at me in confusion. "Baby name books, we were going to buy some when we went shopping; and Lissa wanting to go in that damn wedding dress shop made me forget!"
A grin lit up her face, making her look years younger. "I think I might have some in my room somewhere. They'll be years old, the last time I used them was when Dimitri's mum was trying to find a name for her youngest child, but names don't change that much. They might help you think of something."
…..
Half an hour later, we were both searching through the two books Alberta had managed to dig out, jotting down ideas on a sheet of paper.
"Have you found any good ones yet?" She was looking for boys and I was looking for girls.
"A couple. What about Eric, Zachariah, Eamon or Kaliq?"
"I like Eric; in honour of the man who inadvertently set all this in motion. What do they mean?"
"In here, Eric's Scandinavian meaning is 'powerful ruler'. Its English meaning is 'brave ruler', so they're kind of similar. Zachariah is Hebrew and means 'God remembers'. Eamon is Irish, meaning 'prosperous protector' and Kaliq is Arabic meaning 'creative'. Oh and there's Matvey which is Russian; meaning gift of God. It's a version of Matthew."
"I like them except for Kaliq. And Matvey would be nice, in honour of Dimitri's heritage. Good work Alberta."
She grinned and stood taking a mock bow. "Thank you, thank you for your kind words. What did you find?"
"Astrid, Alyssa and Veronique. Astrid is Greek or Norse, meaning 'divine strength'. Alyssa is Greek too, meaning 'logical, rational, flower'. I figure the logical, rational part is Dimitri; and I'm the flower. And surprisingly, Veronique is Latin, not French, but it's a form of Veronica. It means 'true image, like her mother'. So if we do have two girls like Dimitri's hoping for and one of them looks and acts like me, we could name her Veronique."
"That sounds good. Astrid's rarely used, so it's something unique."
A flash through the link made me grin. "So what do we do now?"
"We wait for orders from higher up and then go looking for Miss. Dragomir."
My grin grew even wider. "Or we could just wait for her to get here."
On cue Alberta's earpiece went off. There was a load of shouting and commotion in the background, so it was difficult to hear what the person on the other end was saying. "Petrov, three people have broken into The Academy. Belikov's one of them and the other is claiming to be Miss. Vasilisa Dragomir. All three are armed, but they've not acted offensively yet, they're demanding that we release Miss. Hathaway. What should we do?"
By now Alberta and I were running, well in my case waddling, down the corridor towards the source of all the noise. "Don't hurt them; just try to keep them in the building. We can't let them leave unprotected. Just try to calm them all, especially Dimitri, and let them know that we're on our way down."
Neither of us spoke again after Alberta gave him instructions. We were both focused on our own thoughts and feelings. Alberta looked worried; the same way I was feeling. I couldn't wait to see Dimitri, Lissa and Christian again, to know that they were okay. But I was frightened at the same time; at the fact that Lissa's life was in more danger than I'd originally thought, and that she wouldn't believe me when I told her. Shrugging off my fears, I followed Alberta out of the stairwell and into the main foyer.
It was chaos.
Agents were spread in a clumsy circle, yelling random instructions at each other rather than doing it themselves. Some were shouting into earpieces and walkie talkies, while others had guns trained on the three people in the middle or the floor, and yet others were yelling at everyone to calm down and relax. Pretty hard to relax if you're being shouted at.
Yet I was focused on the three people in the middle. Christian was there, stoic and fierce at the same time; one hand holding Lissa's whilst the other held a gun trained directly in front of him ready to clear them a path. Lissa was next, a mixture of fear, excitement and determination flowing through her body and onto her face. She was worried about coming here, but she was determined to keep me safe and protect me the way I'd always protected her. I could feel through the link that she didn't have a gun, but she did have a knife hidden in one of her boots. Dimitri had shown her a couple of defensive and offensive moves to use before they'd stormed the building, and she was ready to use them.
And then there was Dimitri. He was breathtaking. Jaw dropping. Awe inspiring. He was stood behind the two of them, his body alert and ready for an attack. He held a gun in each hand, one pointing into the crowd of agents; and the other pressed against the side of Lissa's head. Panic flooded into me when I saw this, fright that he'd actually been double crossing us again; but then Lissa's eyes found mine and I felt her reassurance through the bond. He wasn't going to shoot her - it was part of their plan. He would pretend to hold her hostage until they saw that I was released. She was the bargaining chip, because they knew that The Academy wouldn't risk her safety. I nodded, letting her know that I was okay, and then focused back on Dimitri.
His eyes scanned the room continuously. Making sure that none of the agents suddenly decided to be risky and try to shoot or 'rescue' Lissa. But once they fell on me, the stopped. Reassurance and relief flowed though his face, and I could feel his gaze as he took me in, checking to see that I wasn't bruised or injured.
Satisfied with his assessment he nudged Lissa slightly and she spoke. "You know who we want. Rose is over there, so if you'll let her, Dimitri and Christian go free I'll stay." Through the link I could tell this wasn't true either. They were going to grab me and run.
The agents obviously thought this too, because they burst into an even louder commotion than before. Some were shouting to take this chance, whilst others were yelling that it had to be a trap. It was pathetic. Grabbing Alberta's hand, I started to slowly push my way through the crowd. We were making slow progress, with Alberta trying to calm the agents around us and to get them to spread the word to be quiet; when I was ripped from her grasp.
Glancing up in shock, I found that I'd been grabbed by Stan Alto. Dimitri had often told me about his strong dislike for this particular agent; and he had also been one of the agents who I'd enjoyed beating up continuously during my time as a captive. He'd been fond of giving me bread and water on the days that Dimitri hadn't brought my meals, and so I'd retaliated by humiliating him at every opportunity. His fighting skills were poor, and his comebacks were even worse. Most of the time, his so-called fellow agents had openly laughed at him when I'd taken the piss.
Back then, he'd held a lot of resentment; but now I could see in his eyes that that bitterness had turned into something stronger. Hate. Glaring back at him, I tried to tug my hand free, but he only tightened his grip and yanked me through the crowd even faster. Flailing my free arm around, I tried to grab onto the agents in the crowd; but they were too busy arguing, and shook me off. My voice wasn't loud enough to be heard over the noise of all the agents and Stan was tugging me along too fast for me to make a scene and grab someone's attention.
Glancing back through the crowd, I could see the top of Alberta's head turning around in confusion trying to see where I'd disappeared to; and Dimitri's anxious face as he tried to catch sight of me. We locked eyes for a second as he scanned the crowd again, but by the time he realised and looked back, Stan had already dragged me closer to the edge; and with one last tug we were round the corner and out of sight.
Finally, he spun us and pushed me backwards so that I would have to get past him to get back to the crowd of agents, and more importantly, Dimitri. "What do you want Stan?"
He grinned at me, but there was no friendliness behind the smile. It was more like he was baring his teeth at me in a crude imitation of a smile. "You."
"Me?" I was baffled. What the hell would Stan want with me?
"Yes, you. Dimitri's in 'love' with you. I can't stand that little Russian toad, but I know that at this moment in time he treasures you above everything. I don't see why. You're an easy little slut; cold-hearted and cruel, who doesn't have any morals or values." He paused and seemed to think for a minute before continuing. "Actually, now that I've said it I can see how that appeals to him. It probably reminds him of the women back home, and his character is the same as yours. Selfish, greedy, all about instant gratification. In fact, you're perfect for each oth-"
He'd gotten so carried away with his little rant that he didn't notice me stalk up to him until my fist connected with his face. There was a satisfying crack as his nose broke and I grinned at his howl of pain. He glared at me, while clutching at his nose with one hand and trying to swing at me with the other. I'd said before that he was a terrible fighter, and the broken nose didn't do him any favours.
His punch was uncoordinated and wildly out of range, leaving me smirking and him even more enraged. "Don't you dare talk about Dimitri in that way. He's the best operative out there, and I can see from your terrible punches that it's jealousy talking. You haven't improved since I was here last, and you should be ashamed that you've just had your arse kicked by a heavily pregnant nineteen year old girl."
He spat at me and tried to swing again, and this time I used his momentum to swing him into the wall. He thumped against it heavily, winding himself in the process, and I used those few seconds reprieve to twist his arm up behind his back. It was painful, but if he tried to move it would be excruciating and he'd most likely dislocate his shoulder. "Why do you hate Dimitri so much? What did he ever do to you?"
He struggled and tried to rip himself free, but I simply twisted his arm a little higher, grimacing when he emitted a little yelp of pain. Normally, I'd have enjoyed the fact that I was beating him so easily and that he was in such discomfort, but again the pregnancy hormones were twisting my emotions all over the place. Instead, I felt pity for Stan, and even a little sympathetic. It can't be easy, being overshadowed by an agent who's a third of your age and with only a fraction of your experience. But that still didn't explain why he hated Dimitri so much. "Why Stan?"
He struggled for another minute before seemingly giving up. "Because he's the goddamned golden boy! Thirty years I've been here; and as soon as he turns up, I'm out of the picture. It's not fair! After all the work I've put in, why was I overlooked so easily?" There was a plaintive note in his voice, and my grip loosened, understanding how he felt. He was hurt and upset, and these damn hormones were making me tear up at the thought of poor Stan.
Until he took advantage of my loosened hold and spun suddenly, his hand pinning me to the wall by my neck. Shocked, I tried to pry at his fingers to get him to relax his grip so I could breathe. But his fingers were like pincers, and that cruel smile came across his face again.
"Pity. I thought you were too smart to fall for that Hathaway." He snorted. "I hate Belikov. And I'm going to ruin his life by taking yours. For fifteen years I've been on this case for Dashkov, trying to find out any information that would help. But The Academy was too damn cautious. Wouldn't let me near the files, just sent me out to do fieldwork all the time But I waited and waited; hoped that eventually I'd get promoted up the case to do more important jobs. But what happens? Belikov comes over from Russia, and gets the case immediately. All my years of undercover work and training wasted. Wasted! If I don't get something good, Dashkov's going to drop me; and then I'll be stuck in this hell hole forever. That can't happen – I won't let it!"
He shook me slightly and my head banged against the wall only furthering the black spots at the edge of my vision. Realising that I was on the verge of passing out, I clawed at his hands more urgently, trying to get him to let up on his hold. But the pain didn't seem to be registering in his mind because he grinned and placed a hand onto my stomach. "You're going to die right here Rosemarie, and so are your babies. Once you're all dead, Belikov will fall apart, and there'll be no one to look after Miss. Dragomir. That boy can be taken care of, and Dashkov will have what he wants. And I'll get my pay out, as well as the satisfaction of seeing Dimitri break apart."
I'd dimly noticed in my subconscious that everything had gone silent; but thought it was due to the lack of air. Seeing the black spots grow larger, I cast my eyes around frantically, desperate to see something that I could use to save my life. And that was what saved me. My eyes caught sight of Dimitri's brown ones, narrowed towards Stan's unsuspecting form as he crept closer to us. My eyes widened slightly and Stan must have seen because he spun to see what was happening.
Because he spun, I was able to twist on his hold and slip out of his grip, collapsing to the floor. Because he moved forwards slightly to spin, and I'd slid to the floor, Dimitri then had the assurance that I was safe, and the space to fire directly into the middle of Stan's forehead.
It was over, hopefully.
Before Stan even hit the floor, I was scooped up safely in Dimitri's arms and carried out of the corridor. Lissa was trailing behind us, and Christian behind her as Dimitri followed Alberta down the corridor. A few agents had scuttled in to clean up what was left of Stan, and the rest lined the corridor as we passed through, their faces pale and anxious. A few nodded to Dimitri, whilst others cast their eyes away, embarrassment covering their features.
But I didn't care. Right now I was intent on staying safe in Dimitri's arms, and gulping in as much air as quickly as possible.
Dimitri had followed Alberta into a small side room, and placed me onto the bed gently before pulling up a chair so he could sit beside me. A few minutes later, another 'nurse' came in with an oxygen mask and an ultrasound machine. While I clutched at the mask, she explained to me gently. "We're just going to make sure that those few minutes when age- when Mr. Alto was choking you didn't stress the babies. It's a basic ultrasound, and then you can rest up."
I nodded and squeezed Dimitri's hand gently as she lifted my top to squeeze some of that weird cold gel over my stomach before placing the sensor on top. It took a few seconds before we saw a graining black and white image pop up onto the screen. She moved the sensor slightly to the right so we could see the first baby clearly. "There's you're little boy, and there's…" she moved the sensor to the left to get a clearer view of the second baby "…your little girl. Both perfectly healthy and fine."
Dimitri chuckled slightly. "I guess it's not a surprise anymore Roza."
The 'nurse' however, looked mortified. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I thought you already knew what you were having. So many people nowadays don't wait until the birth to find out. I just assumed that you were the same."
I waved off her apologies. "It's fine, at least now we know what colour to paint the nursery. Can you give u a few minutes alone please?" She nodded and walked out quickly; and I watched amused as Lissa stood up to leave too. "Where do you think you're going Liss?"
"I thought you wanted a couple of minutes to talk to Dimitri." I grinned and squeezed his hand before looking back at her. "I do, but first I need to talk to you." Alberta caught my eye, understanding what I was going to talk about, and nodded before standing and leaving the room quietly. "First, let me get this gunk off my stomach. Have you got any tissues?" Liss laughed and threw me the packet before pulling up another chair so she could sit beside the bed too.
"Does it have something to do with why we haven't left yet? And why Stan was going on about working for Victor Dashkov, my dad's business partner?"
"Yeah. What I'm about to say is going to sound absolutely crazy; but please just try to think of everything as a possibility."
She nodded, he eyes deep and serious, holding onto Christian's hand lightly as I began to explain. "We've had it wrong from the beginning. Well, not all of it, just some of it. The Academy was hired by your dad to take care of us kids. He was worried someone would try to bump him off, and so, despite me being your protection; they were our protection. You, me and Andre. Some other agency killed you parents and Andre; and I think that we can safely say that it was Victor Dashkov who had them killed. We went into hiding anyway, and The Academy kept searching for us to try and make sure that we were okay. But I thought that they were going to hurt you, or manipulate you, so I kept them away. T turns out, that not a lot of the agents actually knew the whole story; all they knew was that they needed to find us and bring us back here. That's why Dimitri was assigned to us, to get close without us realising, so that they'd have the chance to explain. You know everything that happened after that, but the short and short of it is that The Academy is actually on our side, and that Victor Dashkov most certainly is not. You're not part of that business world anyway, so you should be okay Liss. And with the added security that can be provided by The Academy's agents, you'll be a lot safer than having me alone."
She was silent for a minute, her mind thinking through everything I'd just told her; and piecing together memories from her childhood. Once she was satisfied she leant forwards and hugged me hard. "If you say that they're okay, then I believe you Rose. You're my best friend, and I trust you undoubtedly. It's a lot to take in, but it's a big relief in a way." She hugged me again before pulling back. "I'm just glad you, my niece and my nephew are okay." Saying this she placed a hand against my stomach, smiling when she felt a couple of kicks and then standing up. "They're definitely okay. I'll let you and Dimitri have some time alone now. I think I need to talk to Alberta and see what else we've missed out on."
"Okay, see you later Liss. And you Christian."
He grinned before hugging me gently. "I'm glad you're okay too. It wouldn't be the same without you."
They left and shut the doors behind them quietly. And once they were gone Dimitri moved from the chair to perch on the side of the bed. His strong brown eyes surveyed my face taking in my face before he cupped my chin and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I saw Stan pinning you to the wall like that, I was frozen. I was so scared that you or the babies wouldn't make it through."
"Shhhh." I pressed a finger to his lips to calm him. "I'm fine now, and so are our babies. Taking his hand and placing it against my stomach, we both smiled when we felt a few soothing familiar kicks from our babies. "We're all okay.2 He nodded and I pressed my lips to his again, gently stroking down the side of his face.
Just as I felt him begin to deepen the kiss the door flew open. We broke apart to stare at whoever had chosen to interrupt at this moment, to find the 'nurse' standing there blushing. "Sorry, I just came back to get the equipment. I can come back later if you want."
I was about to tell her that yes, that would be much better, but Dimitri beat me to it. "That would be fine, thank you." He trailed kisses across the side of my face while she collected up all the stuff she'd used before murmuring her apologies and leaving once more.
As soon as the door closed my lips sought his out hungrily. These pregnancy hormones were doing something right for a change. He broke the kiss once he realised what I was doing and laughed softly as I tried and failed to pull him closer. "Roza, we're in a medical room at The Academy. No matter how much we both want to, I don't think this is the time or the place."
"My horny pregnant body says otherwise. And so does your muscled sexy one. Even though it's only been a day, I feel like it's been weeks…" Giving up on getting him to kiss me again, I let my hands slide up under his shirt to trace across his chest before venturing further south inch by inch.
"Roza. We can't." His voice was strangled and I smiled to myself before continuing. My hands slid down, and once they passed over his stomach he shivered and caught my wrists. "We really can't."
"But I really want to. And I know you do too. So quit fighting and kiss me." He didn't kiss me, but his hold weakened on mine as my hands continued their descent. Finding their target I let my body press up against his before whispering into his ear. "You definitely want to. So now that you've stopped fighting, kiss me."
And kiss me he did. His lips crashed to mine urgently, pent up need making the kiss forceful and strong. I couldn't help the moan that broke free once I felt him give himself over to me completely, and hearing this he laid me back gently before moving so that he was hovering over me rather than kneeling beside the bed.
We kissed like that for a few more minutes, relearning the taste and touch and feel of each others mouths before he pulled away gently.
"Come back." His lips met mine again in another passionate kiss before he pulled away and got off me completely.
"The door needs tot be locked. The last thing we want is for someone to walk in unannounced." By the time he'd finished speaking, he was lying next to me again. "The crazy things you make me do Roza." His voice was a murmur as his lips trailed down my neck and across my collar bone before moving back up to claim my mouth.
"But that's why you love me." He murmured his agreement as his hands lifted my top, and he broke the kiss quickly to pull both of our shirts off.
I linked my arms around his neck, pulling him closer so I could deepen the kiss before trailing my hands down to the waistband of his trousers to undo them. He lifted his body to help me slide them down as far as possible before doing the same to me, and before I knew it, all of our clothes were lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. I was clutching him to me, and his lips were moving with mine. Feeling the urgency growing in me, I lifted one of my legs to wrap around his waist and let him know I was ready for him.
This kiss was fierce and lust-driven and all I could focus on was the lust and love pounding through my body. Dimitri rolled slowly so I was straddling him, and I shifted to get even closer. Staring into his eyes, I lifted my body gently, letting Dimitri's hands guide my hips until I was positioned directly over him.
Still looking at each other, I felt my breathing hitch as my body lowered to take him in gently before pushing back up again. This time, his hands moved to the small of my back to pull my against his chest, while I moved up and down against him; keeping the pace slow. It was more intense, more sensual, and gave us the time to enjoy being together. Hearing his breath catch, I smiled and leant forward to kiss him, the gentleness the perfect accompaniment to the smooth motion of our bodies as we rocked against each other.
Feeling the familiar sensations of my climax getting closer, my rocks began to become stronger and more forceful; which only seemed to enhance the effect that Dimitri seemed to have on my body. He groaned slightly and gripped at my hips harder, before moaning my name. Roza. That was all I needed to hear for the pace to change again, this tie becoming faster and more… I didn't even know.
My mind blanked as my body seemed to fall, feeling the coil of pleasure in my stomach twisting as what I could only describe as one of the purest feelings ran through me. I didn't have the strength to cry out, and instead collapsed against Dimitri's chest breathing heavily as he panted against my neck
We sat like that for a few minutes, just holding each other in the after glow before Dimitri shifted so that we were lying down in the bed. His fingers stroked down my back, much like that first night after I met him in the club, and my fingers traced the outline of his face just as gently.
…..
I don't know how long we laid there, just content to be in each others arms, until Dimitri spoke. "I know we didn't buy the baby books when we went shopping, but have you thought of any names yet?"
I smiled and leant forwards to press my lips to his gently before answering. "Alberta let me look through a couple of hers. For our baby boy I'd definitely like to have 'Eric' in there somewhere, to say thank you. And I liked the sound of Matvey, to relate back to your heritage. They've both got beautiful meanings too."
His eyes smiled at me, and a proud smile worked its way onto his face. "A little boy. Our little boy. It sounds old fashioned and silly, but it's someone to carry on the Belikov name; and like you wanted, it's someone to wrestle with and to pass all your fighting skills onto."
"Definitely. I'm going to be teaching our daughter too. Make sure none of the boys try to push her around once she starts at school. Or when she's older."
At the mention of 'daughter' Dimitri's eyes softened and a gentler smile worked its way onto his face. "She'll be fierce, loyal, protective and beautiful like you I hope." A happy sigh escaped his lips. "A baby girl, our baby girl. I'll get to watch out for her, and beat up all her boyfriends, and always hold a soft spot for her because she's my baby girl."
"You've turned all soft and gooey Dimitri." I laughed gently and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Astrid, Alyssa and Veronique were the names I found. Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't have any for our son; I like your idea of naming him Eric. But… I'd like to name our daughter Micaela."
"That's a beautiful name. You sound like you've thought about this for a lot longer than the past five minutes."
He laughed softly, but there was a slight touch of sadness in his eyes. "I have Roza. Mikhail was an agent; one who I respected and looked up to. He was killed when his assignment went wrong… when he didn't go through with what he was supposed to do. He was dealt with, and of course, people gossip and spread what they hear. After hearing the horror of what happened to Mikhail, my mindset changed. Like you, I couldn't believe that The Academy had killed him simply for falling in love with Sonya. I understood that she was his assignment; but now I understand that you can't control love. He was the first one to realise it. He tried to be with the woman he loved, and he was killed for it. But if he hadn't fallen in love with her, I would have turned you in to The Academy straightaway, I wouldn't have hesitated. And we wouldn't be together. So it's thanks to him that we're together; that things turned out the way they did. That's why, if we have a girl, I'd like to name her Micaela; after him."
There were tears in my eyes when I thought of what must have happened. "He was a brave man, and I'm thankful too. Without him, we wouldn't be where we are now. I'd be honoured to name our daughter Micaela."
He smiled at me, and the sadness in his eyes slowly faded as he stroked my bump before pressing a tender kiss to it and trailing kisses up to my lips. "Thank you Roza. I love our babies and I love you."
My fingers twined into his hair gently to pull him closer. "And I love you."
Cinderella walked on broken glass.
Sleeping Beauty let a lifetime pass.
Belle fell in love with a beast.
Princess Jasmine chose a common thief.
Ariel walked on land for love.
Snow White barely escaped a knife.
It was all about blood, sweat, and tears
because love means facing your BIGGEST fears.
We come to love not by finding a perfect person,
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.
I can't believe that was the last chapter of Who are you, really? :'( But thank you so much for reading and reviewing and alerting this story as I wrote it; and most importantly, for enjoying reading it! I can't thank you enough. :):):) The response that I've had for this has been the best out of all the stories I've written so far; and I feel like I've really improved upon my style and techniques when writing. This story was a heck of a lot more graphic than the stories I've usually written, and I was worried at the start as to whether you'd like it or not, but I'm very pleased to see that it was a hit with all of you amazing readers. I will now be going back to Rose, Craig and the Alchemists; and after New Years, I will be reposting True Love? Or The End? Which is the sequel to True Love Never Runs Smooth.
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a very merry and blessed Christmas; and a brilliant New Years! xx
So here's my final thank you! Thank you to; UnderworldVampirePrincess, the anonymous reviewer, rivereq, , laineylane03, vampireacademy101, Badass Hathaway, saraiibelikov, DimkasRoza, Twilighternproud, redglasses, loveyy10, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, DarkRomanceAddict, snowdrop0594, vox ad umbram sum, Xoxo Vampire Lover oxoX, Chella Vampa, IHeartVA, Rachel-rob-Sandwich, addicted2reading28, lovethefang, CullenCoverGirl88, 1-with-th-Sakura-Blossoms,
IloveCeci, soccaplayer71, pandabear, iluvbooks379, Cherrygirl320, lynnHathaway, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two, -x- moonlightvampire-x-, Angel of love3142, XXXDimitrixRozaXXX, random4evea, I AM ROSE HATHAWAY, PeaceRoseG'ladheon, D., SWEmicca, OMG, SwiftPaw95, stella-bear, Caza101, norikac, lovedimitri, miti1, Rose-Dimitri-Hathaway-Belikov, Farmer Joe-Gothic-Fairy, crazygirl2810, Kadiem02, Alkerr, xoxdreamrrxox, Kester04, mosie66,
keyohalovette, mdanser, penguin1, Princes Lexi, Ms. Damon Salvatore, BreannaNash, vampirepalaii, markme, vampirelover081, , whitegufl-rachelfish, PRINCESSKATERINA, PhilandLil, Miss Katie Ivashkov, crazy book reader, Bibi7, amandamowdy, DelicateSoul, TheDanishGirl, 23, YuliaRox, adrianslittledamphir, JaSpErAndeEmMeTtLoVeR, (), rainbow645, tylerw, BrittanyBoo1224, Claudette's, murderthethirst101, ShirinBelikov, writeyourlove and southernrebel96!