So this is the last official chapter for Rose and Dimitri: The Forbidden Love. It's been a long and hard process writing this story, and I know it is far from perfect, but I was reading over it from start to finish, and I couldn't help but notice how much my writing style has improved since I started this months ago.
This chapter is almost 5000 words and it took me my whole Sunday to do. That homework I should have been doing? Yeah still in my bag. Oh well. Dimitri is more important than an education :)
Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns this perfect little series and I thank her every single day for her wonderful creation of the perfect Russian god and our lovable Rose Hathaway. God I love you Richelle (L)
Chapter 21.
Sex with Dimitri was everything I had ever wanted my first time to be like. Dimitri was the most gentle lover. He handled me like I was more fragile than a spider web, always holding me and touching me with the lightest of pressure.
When we had both reached our peak, we lay beside each other, still touching. Dimitri wrapped his arms around my body and hugged me closer. "I love you." Dimitri said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I love you," I said with a kiss in his lips to seal my words. Sealed with a kiss.
=x=
"Come on Rose, we have to go. The plane is leaving in like, ten minutes." Dimitri said with a firm tug to my hand.
"Just a second," I insisted. I turned away from him to face the human girl at the counter. "So I'll have three large fries, two double cheese burgers, a quarter pounder - hold the pickles - and a jumbo coke." Dimitri sighed. The poor girl looked a little green as she put my order through. "I'm hungry." I said with a grin. She gave me a slightly disgusted look. From the look of her, I doubted very much whether she had ever actually touched a burger in her life. Clearly McDonald's was just a job to her. To me, it was my haven - my own personal God of sorts. If I worked here, there would never be any food for the customers.
A couple of minutes later she gave me the three bags with the Golden 'M' on the front and we headed to the terminal to get our plane back to Montana.
"Are you going to eat all that?" he asked sceptically, looking at the size of my body and then at the amount of food I was holding.
"Comrade, you would be surprised how much food I can consume and still have room for dessert."
"Oh, how I love a girl with an appetite." He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the top of my head.
"You calling me fat?" I asked with a shove to his side. He deflected it easily by playfully in the shoulder.
"Roza, you are the most perfect girl I have ever laid eyes on. Everything about you is perfect. And, you are most definitely not fat."
We caught up with the others and boarded the plane bound for Montana. I honestly couldn't wait to get home.
=x=
Stan's class felt like it was never going to end. Listening to him talk was just one of those things that could put me to sleep better than any lullaby could put a baby to sleep. He was just that boring. The room was hot and stuffy, which wasn't making it easy to keep my eye lids from drifting closed. A survey of the room told me that many others were feeling the same as I was. Eddie's head had just hit the table with a soft thump, confirming my theory that every single person in this class was feeling the drowsy feeling that seemed to be more common in this class than in any other. As guardians in training, we had a lot of energy and were interested in the physical side of our education more so than the theory side of things. I let my own head come into contact the table as I slowly closed my eyes. If I wasn't careful, I would fall asleep, and once I was asleep, it was damn hard to get me to wake up again. Lissa once said it was like I had been in a coma for months. The minutes seemed to drag by. Even the ticks of the clock above the board at the front seemed far apart. Every time I looked to the clock, only five or ten minutes had passed when it felt like a billion years. I sighed and settled in for the long haul in this class. The only thing getting me through this was; 1: the fact that there were a limited number of them left with the term drawing to a close, and 2: lunch was next. I was famished. As if on cue my stomach grumbled. I ignored it a best I could and focused my eyes on the clock, hoping that if I watched it, it would somehow make it go a little bit faster. Forty minutes to go.
Suddenly I felt my stomach churn. Oh shit. I sat bold upright in my seat and attempted to settle my stomach to no avail. I stood up and bolted for the door with the sound of Stan calling my name in an aggravated tone.
"Rose!" I didn't need to turn around to know it was Dimitri following me. He had been in the class guarding at the back of the room. I ignored him as I pushed my way into the bathroom and rushed for the closest cubical. I had just enough time to lean over the bowl and empty the contents of my stomach. I felt large hands pull my hair back and a soothing Russian accented voice filled my head.
"Shh, it's okay Roza." he slowly rubbed circles into my back in a gentle motion. I groaned and leaned away from the toilet. I grabbed some toilet paper and wiped my mouth. Dimitri's hand came around to my forehead.
"You feel hot." He stated.
"No shit. I feel like Hell." I grumbled as I stood up and flushed the toilet. We had been back from Russia for almost four weeks now. Dimitri and I had agreed upon arriving back in America to put our relationship on hold until I graduated. I told Lissa about what happened in his room at the hotel as soon as we got back. To say she was shocked would be an understatement.
Flashback.
"Hey Lissa," I called her as we made our way back into the school grounds. "I know you probably want to spend time with Christian, but could we talk first?"
"Uh, yeah sure Rose." She turned to Christian as we got out of the car. "I'll meet you in your room in a half hour." She whispered to him with a small kiss to his lips. They truly were the prefect couple and I couldn't have been happier for them.
Dimitri came up behind me. "Are you going to tell her?" he asked.
I nodded. "I have to tell her. I tell her everything. I can't keep a secret like this from my best friend."
He nodded his head in understanding, a small smile playing around his lips. "I understand. I don't expect you to keep this from her. Just... please make sure this doesn't get around to anyone else. We can't afford to have this get back to the board. We would both be caught up in a scandal." I shushed him with a finger to his soft lips.
"I know. I think – and believe me, this is possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to say – but, I think we should put this on hold. You would get into huge trouble if someone found out, and you would lose your job. I won't let that happen to you. So, we wait until I graduate and then we go from there?" he kissed the finger that was still at his lips.
"I love you." Dimitri whispered against my hand. I understood that that was his way of agreeing, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew exactly how he felt. I didn't like this anymore than he did. Not one bit.
"I love you too." I said turning away from him and headed back to the car where Lissa was still with Christian. No one had noticed mine and Dimitri's parting words. Everyone was busy with their own problems.
"You ready to go Liss?" I asked. She nodded and gave Christian one last kiss. I envied them. They could openly display their affection for each other. No one cared about their relationship. They were free to do as they wished. I hoped Dimitri and I could have that kind of relationship one day. One day. It seemed a long way off.
"What did you want to talk about Rose?" Lissa asked as I unlocked my door to my dorm.
"Well," I started, searching for the right words to get this across to her. I sat down on my bed and patted the spot next to me. Lissa sat.
"Rose, I have never seen you so lost for words. Just spit it out already." She joked lightly.
"Dimitriandislepttogether." I slurred in an indecipherable manner. Lissa looked at me quizzically.
"What?"
I took a deep breath. "Dimitri and I slept together." I said slowly, emphasising each word. I looked at her face. Her mouth had formed a perfect 'o' shape. Her brow was furrowed.
"When?" she finally asked.
"Last night." I whispered. "After he took me to the medical clinic to get my hands stitched. When we got back I went to go to our room, but you were asleep with Christian. I didn't was to disturb you. So I went to Dimitri's room and it kind of just happened. It wasn't planned or anything, we just gave in."
I carefully gauged her reaction to my words. It was a lot to take in. Your best friend sleeping with her teacher and your soon to be guardian. Yeah, it was a bit of a bombshell.
Lissa took a deep breath and looked me squarely in the eyes, her pale green ones piercing my soul. "Do you love him?"
"Yes." I said without the shadow of a doubt.
"And how does he feel?" she was talking very calmly. I didn't know how to take it. Was she so mad she could hardly speak? Or was she actually okay with it? I reached out and touched the bond. I allowed her emotions to seep into me. I was careful though, if she was angry, then me doing this would then in turn lead me into a full on rage. The feelings I found were those of uncertainty. She didn't know how to feel. She was shocked and a little upset at me for not telling her how I felt sooner.
"He loves me too." I replied all the while still feeling the emotions she was emitting. With those words, she became decided on her feelings. Happy. Her face split into a huge grin and she threw her arms around me.
"I can't believe I never saw it before! I am such an idiot." She gushed. "But, now it all makes perfect sense. The way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. I must have been blind. Oh but I'm so happy for you!" there was still one question that she wanted to ask.
"Just ask it Lissa." I said impatiently.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"We had to keep it a secret. We couldn't have it get out." I explained the promise Dimitri and I had just made.
"But didn't you trust me?"
"Of course I did Liss. I trust you with my life. You're my sister. I was just, I don't know, afraid I guess. And I was worried that someone might overhear it. I know I should have told you ages ago. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. As long as you guys are happy, then it's fine with me." She flashed her dazzling smile.
After that we talked for ages until she finally left to go back to Christian. She parted with a kiss to my cheek and bidding me a goodnight.
End flashback
"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked me as we left the ladies room. I shrugged my shoulders up and down.
"Okay now. I need a drink though. It's been going on for a few days now. I keep getting sick, especially early to mid morning and sometimes even at night after I've eaten. Weird thing is after I throw up, I generally feel fine." Dimitri stopped walking and because my hand was in his, he jerked me to a stop as well. "What?" I asked.
"Okay, I know this is a personal question that I would never ask if I wasn't desperate." He paused. His face was contorted with a mixture of emotions. Shock, anger and finally uncertainty.
"Dimitri, you're scaring me. What is it?"
"When was your last, um, cycle?" he looked extremely uncomfortable and his cheeks were slowly pooling with blood. I had never seen Dimitri blush. Must be something he does when he is nervous.
"Excuse me?" I raised both my eyebrows as I couldn't do it with just one. "Why would you ask me that? It's a little private don't you think?"
"I know that, but please just answer me." He grabbed my shoulder roughly in his hand. I jerked away, and out of reach.
"I don't know, like..." I counted back the days. 34 days. Shit. I was late. Five days late, and I had never been late a day in my life. It was the one thing about me that was punctual, right on schedule. Shit, shit, shit. The uncontrollable hunger urges, the mood swings, the sleep deprivation and the vomiting. I felt my heart rate pick up. No, this can't happen. I only slept with a Dhampir. It's impossible. "I'm late." I whispered in fear.Spots started to appear in front of my eyes and I could distantly hear Dimitri's voice calling my name as I felt the world go black around me.
=x=
"Rose." I felt slight pressure to my hand. I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I was still in the hall, only now I was on the floor with a drowsy feeling in my head. Dimitri was leaning over me, his face pinched in worry.
"Dimitri," I sat up and felt the world spin around me. "Ugh, what happened?" I groaned, putting my hands to my head.
"You passed out." He indicated the obvious.
"Dimitri," I whispered. "I think I might be – " I couldn't say that one word. I looked at him with pleading eyes. He finished the sentence for me, knowing exactly what I was going to say.
"Pregnant." I nodded. Suddenly his face turned into one of enragement.
"Who is he? Who did you sleep with? Was it too hard for you to wait for your graduation to be with me, huh? Couldn't stay away from the boys. Was it Jesse? Because I know you have no worries getting naked with him."
His words cut me. I felt the tears well up and spill over, cascading down my face. "I swear Dimitri, there's no one else. I promise. Only you. Only ever you. Dimitri, you are the only one I love, the only one I would ever give myself to. That's why I don't understand what's happening. It's impossible."
Dimitri stared at me, and quickly wiped away the tears glistening on his cheeks.
"What's all the yelling about?" a female voice laced with a heavy Russian accent asked me. Viktoria came up to us, looking between my tear streaked face and Dimitri's hurt, angry and confused one. "What happened?" she asked when no one answered her.
"Nothing." I said shortly. She took a step back, shocked at my harsh tone.
"Dimka?" she whispered to her brother. "Ty v poryadke? Chto sluchilosʹ? " (A/N; are you okay? What happened?)
"YA dumayu, chto Roza mozhet bytʹ beremennoĭ." I only understood my name thrown in there, but otherwise I had no idea what they were saying. Viktoria gasped and looked over at me.
"Okay, it's kind of rude for you to talk in Russian when I don't understand it." I said.
"Oh, sorry, Rose. Habit I guess." Viktoria said sincerely. "I was just asking what happened." Her gaze followed a trail up and down my body, resting for a minute on my mid section. My hand flew to my tummy.
"I'm guessing that he told you?" I asked in a tight voice. I was scared, yeah I'll admit that. I was shit scared. How could I be pregnant? Dhampirs can't procreate with each other. There was no way I could be pregnant to Dimitri, and I had never had sex with anyone else, so therefore I couldn't be pregnant. Viktoria nodded.
"Are you okay? You probably need to take a test..." she said carefully. I just nodded, stood up and walked away. I knew she was right, but I was scared.
=x=
Dimitri's POV.
I watched Rose walk around the corner and let out a sigh and slid down the wall, knees drawn up to my chest. My sister manoeuvred to my side and sat down next to me. She slipped her arm around my shoulders and I leaned against her.
"How did this happen?" she asked softly.
"How do you think it happened?" I asked sarcastically.
"Don't get angry at me. And I know how it happened, I'm not naive. What I'm asking is who is he?"
I sighed again. "She says she didn't sleep with anyone, but, how can that be true?" I suddenly realised that Viktoria didn't know that Rose and I had slept together. "Um, Rose and I, we um, slept together." It was an awkward topic to talk about with your little sister, but Viktoria and I had always been able to tell each other most things. Why should this be different?
"Oh, okay. But dhampirs can't have kids together."
"I realise that, Vik. But she says there was no one else." I dropped my head into my hands and squeezed my eyes shut trying to block out the images of her with another guy. It literally was a gut wrenching thought and it killed me.
"Look, there's nothing to panic about yet, we don't know for sure that she's pregnant. So we'll just go get her and get her to take a test." She made it sound so simple, but it wasn't. But instead of pointing out the flaws in her plan, I simply got up, helped Viktoria up and headed to Rose's room.
I knocked lightly on her door. "Rose?"
"What?" her voice sounded through the door. She sounded like she was crying. I turned to Viktoria.
"Wait here okay?" she nodded and pushed me to the door.
"Go give her a cuddle."
I opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind me. "Roza," I whispered going over to her. She was curled up on the bed, mascara filled tears running down her beautiful face. Her hands were clutching her stomach.
"I can't do this Dimitri. I can't be pregnant." I kicked off my shoes and lay down next to her, cuddling her body closer to mine. I ran my fingers through her knotted hair, hoping to soothe her.
"Roza," I tilted her head up with my finger. "You have to take a pregnancy test. It's the only way to know for sure. Either that or we go to the nurse and she can do it."
"Nooo, I won't go to the nurse. I'll take a normal test." She murmured. "I want Lissa." I nodded, sifted her off of me and stood up.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To get Lissa, like you asked."
I opened the door and spoke to Vik who was still there. "Come in and sit with her while I go to find Lissa."
I rushed down the stairs and found a timetable on the senior's notice board. Lissa was in Advance Calculus.
When I knocked on the classroom door and entered, she looked up and saw me looking at her. Worry clouded her features instantly. "Excuse me," I addressed the teacher at the front of the class. "Could I please borrow Princess Dragomir?"
"Oh of course you can Guardian Belikov. Vasilisa, could you go with Guardian Belikov please."
"Grab your books, Princess." She scooped up her text books and hurried out the door.
"What happened? Is she okay?" it amazed me how she knew right away it was about Rose.
"I'll let Rose tell you what happened." I put my hand on her back to hurry her along.
"Rose!" Lissa burst into the room ahead of me. Rose was now in a sitting position, but still curled in a ball against Viktoria's side. Vik moved away for Lissa to take her place. She sat on the desk chair instead.
"Honey what happened?" Lissa looked into her eyes. If I wasn't mistaken, she was using a little bit of compulsion on Rose. She probably wasn't doing it intentionally though. It was part of her natural charm. People couldn't seem to resist her.
"I think I'm pregnant, Lissa." Rose hiccoughed and swiped the tears away. Lissa looked shocked as she glanced between me and her best friend.
"But, that's... not possible. Unless you..." she trailed off, looking at Rose tentatively.
"Oh for God sake, why does everyone think I slept with someone else?" she lashed out. "I'm not the slut everyone thinks I am. I don't sleep around. And I've only had sex once." Rose said with a point in my direction.
Lissa began to backtrack. "Oh babe, I know you aren't. I never thought you were. I'm just worried about you, that's all." She pressed a kiss to Rose's cheek.
I moved to her side, sitting down on the bed. "Okay, so we'll get this sorted. Take a test and then we will... go from there." I stroked her cheek. "Lissa," I said turning to face the Princess. "I know this is asking a lot of you, but could you go down to the Dr Olendzki's office and get a pregnancy test? You might have to use compulsion to make her forget. It depends on what Rose wants." Lissa nodded.
"Rose, do you want Dr Olendzki to know?" Lissa asked her. Rose simply shook her head 'no'. "Alrighty, I'll go. Viktoria come with me and keep a look out?" she asked with a pointed glance at Rose and I. Viktoria looked around, surprised.
"Oh, yeah. Sure I'll come." They left quickly, shutting the door, leaving Rose and I alone.
"Roza, love, are you alright?" I whispered bringing her to my lap and hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head against my chest, over my heart. I felt her nod.
"I'm scared Dimitri." It worried me. Rose was hardly ever scared. Throw her into a fray of Strigoi, and she goes in all guns blazing without so much as a blink. But, faced with the prospect of becoming a mother however seemed to have her terrified. "I'm only seventeen and I was supposed to graduate and become a guardian and guard Lissa forever. That was my life. It was all mapped out for me from the moment I was born."
"Roza, we don't know for sure yet. And, even if you are, I'll be there for you. We can do this together. You can always guard Lissa afterwards, and you will graduate with the best score of your year. I'll make sure of it." I kissed her lips lightly. "I love you Krasivaya devushka. (A/N: Beautiful girl). As we waited for Lissa and Viktoria to return, I continued murmuring comforting words to her in Russian. It always calmed her when I spoke in my native language.
Lissa and Vikka soon returned with a pink box in hand. I took a deep breath a lifted Roza's head off my chest. "You ready to do this?" I asked looking deep into her eyes. They became hard and determined. She nodded. Lissa took her hand and led her into the adjacent bathroom. She closed the door with a click. I reclined on her bed. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Viktoria came and lay next to me.
"Eto budet horosho brata" (A/N, "It will be okay brother.") I didn't answer. I just lay there in silence.
It seemed like an eternity before Lissa finally opened the door and they came out, the little white stick in Roza's hand. She placed it on the night stand and then sat down. Lissa watched her watch tick. "How long?" I asked.
"Three minutes." She said tersely.
We all watched the white stick in anticipation. Finally Lissa picked it up and looked at it. Her lips formed a perfectly straight line as she studied it. She handed it to Rose who took a deep breath before looking at it. I leaned over her shoulder to get a closer. Two pink lines had appeared. "Positive." I whispered. Rose's shoulders shook as the tears came again. I wrapped my arms around her body and just held her.
"I don't know how it's possible," she said quietly some time later.
"I think we should go and see Dr Olendzki." I told her. Something had occurred to me, but I wanted to see the doctor before I put my theory to Rose. She hesitated. "We'll tell her it was someone else." She bit down on her bottom lip, in deep thought. Finally she looked up at me and bobbed her head up and down. I took her hand and led her down the stairs, Lissa and Viktoria tagging along behind.
Dr Olendzki was at her desk when the four of us walked in. She glanced up from something she was reading. She didn't seem surprised to see Rose. "Rose, what can I do for you?" Rose was a regular at the med clinic.
Rose held up the pregnancy test and pointed to the pink lines. Dr Olendzki gasped.
"I have something to ask you though." Rose said.
"Of course, go ahead."
"I only slept with a dhampir." Rose told her. Dr Olendzki's brow furrowed as she studied Rose. She shook her head.
"That test can't be right then, Miss Hathaway. You know dhampirs can't produce children together."
I stepped forward and addressed the doctor. "I was thinking... would it be possible that she can in fact procreate with a dhampir as she's shadowkissed?" Rose turned to me, surprise evident on her face.
Dr Olendzki cocked her head to the side, obviously thinking. "That could be a possibility, I guess. I've never known someone who is shadowkissed, so I can't say for sure."
"But think about it, Rose has been to the other side, the realm of the dead. She's meddled in the afterlife. What if that, somehow, along with the healing Lissa has done, has put life into her we never thought possible?"
"Hmmm, and you've never slept with anyone but a dhampir Miss Hathaway?"
Rose shook her head. "I've only ever slept with one person, and that was almost a month ago. And my menstrual cycle is five days late. Also, I've been sick every morning, eating much more than usual, unable to sleep properly. And, my body feels... weird."
"Well, we'll take some blood and run a test. Just to make sure." She took Rose over to a bed and had her lie down. I turned to Lissa and Viktoria.
"What do you think of my hypothesis?"
"I understand what you're saying, I've just never considered it before," Lissa said. "I suppose healing has given her a different life form that allows her to conceive with a dhampir." Viktoria nodded in agreement.
Dr Olendzki went away for a few minutes, then came back. We gathered around with Rose. "Well, Miss Hathaway, congratulations. You're going to be a mother." Rose nodded and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. I bent down next to her.
"You and me Roza, we can do this." I murmured in her ear. As Dr Olendzki walked away muttering something about organising an ultrasound, Rose leant up and kissed me on the lips, capturing my bottom lip between hers. I kissed her back in earnest, giving my love and support to her. I placed a hand on her stomach. I couldn't help but smile against her lips as I thought about our baby growing in there. Our baby. It sounded so perfect. Like, it was meant to be.
I pulled away from Rose and looked her in the eye. I looked over to Viktoria who passed me the little velvet box. I slid down on one knee. Rose gasped and her hands flew to her face. I heard Lissa's surprise behind me.
"I know the med clinic isn't your typical place for this, but the timing seems perfect to me." I took a deep breath and continued. "Rosemarie Hathaway, I promise to love you and our child everyday of forever. Would you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?" I opened the tiny box and displayed the ring to her. It was a round design, with diamonds and the thin white gold band had diamonds set in it. I pulled it out of the box and took her hand in mine. I looked into her eyes, waiting for her answer.
"Yes. Oh god yes." She threw her arms around me and crushed her lips to mine. My heart swelled with joy and excitement. I grabbed her left and slid the ring into place. Perfect fit. Like they were made for each other. I could hear Lissa and Viktoria jumping up and down in the background.
"I love you. Forever." I murmured into her soft hair. I had a baby on the way and my fiancée. What more could I wish for in life?
A/N. FINISHED. No, not really. There is still the prologue to come. What did you think? I hope I made it perfect for you guys!
I will post the link on my profile tomorrow of the ring. It's the same one my cousin proposed to his now wife with. I just loved it and thought I could use it for Dimitri and Rose.
20-30 reviewwws maybe? For the last official chapter :)
Stick around for the prologue, which will hopefully be up in the next week or so.
Reviews are better than having Dimitri Belikov get down on one knee and presenting you with a beautiful ring. Well, no not really, but they come pretty close.