Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy

Chapter 21

Dimitri POV

We were sitting on the couch in the living room conversing quietly as to not alert the boys to my presence. We'd moved quickly past the tougher subjects, not asking questions about where the other was when they were supposed to be right here, and it went a long way to making a comfortable atmosphere. Rose was still amazingly beautiful and sweet. I still loved her. There was no doubt in that. The only problem was, she probably hated my guts. I put those thoughts aside. I didn't need to add love confessions to our conversation.

"…So he got cake all over himself and Aleksi. I was lucky it was Mom's birthday so it was midsummer so we could hose tem off." I laughed with her. The kids were definitely troublemakers as toddlers. They hadn't grown up much.

"Sounds like they were a lot like they are now." She cocked her head.

"How so?"

So I told her about the food fight Aleksi started back in her freshman year. She laughed again but then got serious.

"I hear my baby girl's a man eater." I winced. That was definitely an understatement.

"Let's just say that she lives up to, and way past, your old reputation."

She looked down at her lap and watched her fingers interlock and come apart. "I didn't realize it had gotten that bad."

An awkward silence filled the rom. We sat there for three minutes until I couldn't take anymore. "Why don't you tell me more about the kids when they were younger?"

"I can do better." She got up and went over to the TV. "We videotaped practically everything." She pulled out an old looking tape. "Let's start at the beginning. Shall we?"

Nikoli POV

"I still don't see why you had to drag me up here."

"Ugh! Because we can't go down there and act like nothing happened these past nine years." I put my hands on my hips.

"Seemed like you were getting quite comfy down there." He waved me off.

"Simple lapse in judgment. Won't happen again." I scoffed at him and plopped down on my bed.

"It's okay. I hit her a few times. Why can't I go on acting like nothing changed between us? I mean we've all wished for her multiple times since she disappeared." I slid off the bed slightly so that my head and most of my back were hanging off of it upside down. My shirt started to slip up. As soon as it got past even the tiniest bit of my scar, I pulled it down. No reminder equaled no pain. It's why we never went near a mirror if we could help it. When we couldn't, we never acknowledged they were there.

"It's not that simple." He plopped down beside me and hung off the opposite edge.

"Why not? No reminder, no pain right? If we just forget about everything it'll be alright again. We'll be a family again." I smiled at my geniousness.

Zak apparently decided to ruin it. "A family without Alek." That brought me from the cloud I was on.

"Yeah. A family without Alek." We sat there for a few minutes more before I sat up and shoved him the rest of the way off. I smiled at him from the bed. "No reminder, no pain."

Marcus POV

Lillya laid her head in my lap and breathed deeply. "You okay Lil?" She nodded her head and I let my hand roam over her loose blond hair.

"Just a little car sick." She grabbed a plastic bag and pulled it closer to her.

"Do you want me to have Dad pull over?"

She shook her head. "Can I just lay here for a while?"

"Of course Lil. Stay there as long as you need." She closed her eyes and I started to sing to her like I used to.

"I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house

That don't bother me

I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though

Goin' on with you gone still upsets me

There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay

But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most

Was bein' so close

And havin' so much to say

And watchin' you walk away

And never knowin'

What could've been

And not seein' that love in you

Is what I was tryin' to do"

I broke off when I realized what I was singing. I was horrible at choosing random songs. That was horrible for me to sing to my sister.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too sis."

Aleksi POV

I watched as houses passed through the window. I was about to fall asleep. Car rides made me sleepy. We were close to court so I was trying to stay awake.

"Have you been to a feeder today?" Adrian's voice cut through my sleepy haze.

"Yeah." Even though I hated it, I got so hungry otherwise. We missed where we were supposed to turn. "Adrian, I think we were supposed to turn back there." I looked over to him. He was smiling.

"Nope. I'm taking you to get ice cream."

"Really? We haven't been there since I was seven."

"Exactly." I laughed when he winked.

Tasha (aka Bitch) POV

Dimitri had been gone for quite some time now. I figured he'd be back groveling at my feet. I fingered the large envelope I had laying out on the table in front of me. Oh well. It wasn't like he'd need them now. I flung the heavy envelope and all its contents into the roaring fire and walked away. The flames licked at the paper and on it read: Alekzandre Mason Hathaway – Dimitri Belikov – Father.

Third Person POV

A three year old boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes looked down at the scene playing out before him and smiled. Everything was falling into place. His family was finally settling. His job was done. They were on the path to happiness. They weren't there yet, but they were on their way. He went running to the field he knew he should have run to long ago. But what are you going to do about Alekzandre Mason Hathaway Belikov?

THE END!

And that's the end of this horrible story. I know it could've ended better but it works. I want to thank you all for putting up with me and reading this story. Thank you all of my reviewers, favoriters, and alerters. There is one reviewer that stuck out most to me and I want to thank her personally. Well as personally as this can get. Thank you Olivia Williams. I found your reviews quite hilarious and informative. They were quite long and actually displayed your opinion. I love you for that. I would hug you if I could. Well, anyway, that's the end. If you have a question that wasn't answered please send it to me and I will answer it. I'll see you in my other stories.

~belikov123