Hey guys, sorry for that reeeeally long break. What was it, like 5 months? Yeah I can only blame that on college and life. Lol Anyway this is the last chapter of the story and I am glad I can say that I actually finished the story. Thanks to all the readers who stuck with me up until my 5 month break. I really appreciated your guys' comments and reviews. And thanks to my beta Maribel who always had great ideas to add to the story.

~Daisy (^_^)

Chapter 23

RPOV

Dimitri and my mother stood there staring at me like if I was a headless body. I could see the shock clearly on their faces.

"Like my makeover?" I said as I wiped the blood away from my mouth. The guy lay on the couch motionless.

"Rose?" Dimitri's voice came out in a whisper. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as he looked from the guy on the couch to me.

"How could you?" demanded my mother. "How could you do this to your family, to your friends, to your children." I could hear the scorn and accusation in her voice. But of course, I never managed to live up to her expectations.

"Oh, like you were such an exemplary mother?" I spat back. "And if you must know, I didn't do this willingly. Daniela turned me against my will. It doesn't matter though, it feels amazing. I have so much power in me." I extended my arm out and looked at it, as if the power was visible in my hands. I turned to Dimitri. "You were right," I told him "I should have joined you when I had the chance."

He shook his head. "No Roza, you don't want this kind of…life. It isn't even a life Rose. You shouldn't exist, not like this."

"So what? You'd rather I was dead?" I asked incredulous.

He swallowed. "I'd rather you were dead than like this," he said. I could see the pain that it caused him to say that. "I made you a promise once, and I'm going to keep it." With that he launched at me.

He threw a punch that I easily blocked. Our fight reminded me a lot of when we used to train together. We knew each other well enough to know what to expect next. I had to hand it to Dimitri, he was giving me a run for my money.

Just as I was starting to wonder where my mother was, I felt her attack me from behind. I'll admit it, her punch was hard. It managed to distract me long enough for Dimitri to get in a powerful hit, but that only made me angry. I turned around and hit my mother so hard that I sent her flying across the room. She crashed against a bookshelf and fell on a heap on the floor.

I turned back to Dimitri who was already preparing his next attack. We sparred for a while longer until I managed to get the upper hand and knock him off his feet. I got on top of him and without missing a beat I sank my fangs into the soft flesh of his neck.

His blood was sweet and warm, the best I had ever had. I could only describe it as pure bliss as I drank him in. I faintly heard his moans of pleasure for I was too consumed in my own world. I was so consumed that I did not pay attention to my surroundings and did not notice the approaching guardians. They hit my back and broke me out of my reverie. Leaving Dimitri on the floor, I turned on them. It was easy to take out the two guardians that I didn't know. But Mikhail, he was harder to take out.

I could see it in his eyes, the same shock that Dimitri and my mother had had at seeing me like this. I probably reminded him of his precious Sonya. He was a good fighter, but in the end I won as he lay on the floor unconscious. I stood up and looked around the room, at all the unconscious bodies lying on the floor. I wasn't sure if any of them were dead, but I was sure that they were all seriously injured.

Just then I saw Daniela pop out from behind a corner. "Come on!" she urged me. "More are on their way!"

"Have you been there the whole damn time?" I yelled. "Why didn't you help me?"

"I barely came in," she said. "I heard that Mikhail guardian call for back up. Now hurry up and let's go."

I took one last look at Dimitri and left without looking back.

DPOV

I was riding a horse. A beautiful black Capricornia that had a coat that shined in the sunshine and looked almost blue when the rays of sun hit it. I looked ahead of me and I could clearly see evil Tiny, the man who had a damsel against her will. It was actually a ridiculous name to call him seeing as how he was a robust man with a considerable circumference.

I was catching up to him fast, I could see the pattern on his saddle now. "Give up while you can!" I told him.

He gave a boisterous laugh. "You'll never catch me!"

I was next to him now and I could see that he was starting to panic. I looked behind him where he had the young woman. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had a gag in her mouth. Her eyes were full of fear but as soon as she saw me her features were overtaken with trust and hope. She was truly beautiful, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

I reached out to her. I had a hold of her waist and I was about to grab her when I was snapped out of my dream. I sat up and stared at the wall in front of me, my heart racing. I looked next to me at the empty space on the bed. Rose. I had been dreaming of Rose again. The same dream that reoccurred every night; I would be riding my horse trying to catch Tiny and just when I thought I had a hold on Rose she would slip away from under my fingertips. She haunted my every waking thought and dream. At least this time it hadn't been a nightmare.

A cry came out of the baby monitor, reminding me why I had been awoken. I made my way into the nursery and found baby Sasha crying in his crib. I looked at the clock on the wall and realized that it was time for their feeding. I went to the kitchen and after heating up their bottles I went back to the nursery. On top of the dresser there was a small carousel in between a delicate Faberge egg. It had been a gift from Lissa, and it played a soothing Russian folk song that I remembered my mother humming to me as a child. I twisted the crank and let the music fill the room as I fed the twins and rocked them back to sleep.

Time passed and I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I was awoken by a knocking on my front door. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and went to see who it was. I opened my door to reveal Tasha.

She smiled at me. "Dimka! Did I wake you?"

"No, don't worry," I said. "I feel asleep in the twins' nursery after feeding them in the early morning." I stepped aside. "Come on in."

After making coffee for the both of us, we sat down in the living room. We were quietly sipping our coffee until Tasha broke the silence.

"How are you doing?" I could see her piercing blue eyes looking at me with concern.

"I'm hanging in there, I guess," I said. How could I explain it to her? How could she understand the pain that I was feeling at losing my other half, my soul mate.

She reached out and placed her hand on top of mine. "Don't you think it's time to move on? You have to accept that she's gone."

"She's not dead, Tasha," I said, maybe a little harsher than I intended it to sound.

"I know, but it's not like you're going to be getting back together with her any time soon. Not now, not ever. You're going to have to move on sometime, Dimitri."

I took a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes. "I don't know if I can move on. I don't know if I will ever be able to love someone like I loved her. It wouldn't be fair to the person, I wouldn't be able to give them all of my love." I pleaded at her with my eyes, pleaded that she understand what I was trying to tell her. "When I saw her, a part of me died. You don't know how it feels to see the love of your life as the thing you despise the most on earth."

Now she grabbed both of my hands with hers, our cups of coffee long since forgotten on the table. "Dimitri I—"

She was interrupted by a knocking on the front door. "Ms. Ozera, we should get going or you will be late."

"Coming Sergei," she said loud enough for him to hear and turned back to me. "Please just try to be happy. You don't have to move on right now, but I just can't stand to see you in so much pain. I know you try to put on a façade for everyone, but we can all see past it. The pain is clearly written on your face."

Was that really how I looked to everyone? I wouldn't know, I avoided looking in mirrors, probably because I already knew how horrifying I looked.

"Take care," Tasha said before leaving my apartment.

The day passed by uneventful. After Rose had turned, I had taken an indefinite time off work. I couldn't work properly as a guardian if my mind was off with Rose where ever she was. So I stayed home with my twins, going out once in a while so that they could get some fresh air.

My mother, sisters and babushka had left back to Russia. It had been nice to have them at home but Viktoria had to go back because of school. I couldn't ask them to pause their lives just for me.

In the evening Lissa and Christian stopped by and it wasn't a casual visit. I could tell by the way they acted. They seemed nervous and…excited? No, that couldn't be right.

"How are you doing Dimitri?" asked Lissa. It seemed to be a popular question today.

"Good," I responded.

She gave me a good long look, probably seeing past that façade that Tasha said everyone could see past. "How are you really doing?"

"Really? The same as all the other days. She haunts me, her memories haunt me. Everything reminds me of her and truthfully, I don't know how I don't go crazy in this house," I admitted.

"What if we could get her back?" she said.

My head snapped up. "We can't get her back Lissa, she's…we can't get her back," I said.

She looked pointedly at me. "But Dimitri, I've already done it once."

Realization hit me as I understood what she was saying. She wanted to turn Rose back. I shook my head. "No," I said. "I can't let you do that."

"Well I'm not asking for your permission," she stated.

"Lissa, you can't endanger yourself. Our people can't lose another queen in such a short period of time. They need guidance, your guidance." I hoped I could make her understand how much her safety was important.

"Yes, I understand," she said. "But isn't my happiness important too? You're not the only one in pain here, Dimitri. I miss her just as much as you do. She's my best friend. She's like my sister, the only family I have left." Her eyes had filled with tears and I could see that the loss of Rose had hit her just as much as it had affected me. Rose and Lissa had been best friends since grade school and they had built a bond that not everyone is lucky enough to have. Not to mention that they had the psychic bond that connected them and allowed Rose to see into Lissa's mind.

"How are we even supposed to find her?" I asked. "It's not like you can take time off and I can't leave my twins alone."

"Well reports have been trickling down to me," she said. "I've been hearing of more Strigoi activity in town and I've heard a few accounts of Rose's presence."

"She's here?" I said incredulously. I couldn't believe she had stayed so close to home. When I was turned I had fled to my home country of Russia, seeking to escape my old life. To hear that she was so close to me made me feel anxious.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked after a while.

"We need you there as back-up," said Christian who until then I had forgotten was there. "In case things go…awry."

They wanted me there as a safety net in case things went wrong. If something happened, I would be the one taking out Rose. And who better to do it than the person who had promised her they would do it if she ever turned into a Strigoi?

I nodded slowly in agreement. "Okay."

Lissa gave me a small smile. "Don't worry, everything will go fine."

I hoped so, otherwise I would find myself killing my other half.

RPOV

It felt amazing as his life drained into me. With every gulp that I took I felt his heartbeat become fainter. It always exhilarated me when I felt the life my victim pour into me. And this one was particularly tasty, making the experience that much better. His blood reminded me faintly of cinnamon and something sweet. When I was certain I had drained every drop of him I let him fall to the floor. His body hit the floor with a muffled thud.

The trees swayed with the wind, reminding me of dancers. I closed my eyes and felt the wind play with a loose strand of my hair. I liked to come to this park at night. It was always calm and it had colorful flowers that stayed open during the night. They were interesting to look at, seeing as how I couldn't go out in the sunlight. I guess you could say that I missed the sun, it was probably the only thing I wanted back from my old life. Well, that and maybe a certain someone who likes to wear dusters…

"Are you done?" came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Daniela standing by a fountain of three dolphins. Water spurted from their mouths and trickled down their bodies. It reminded me of a long ago dream that I had as a kid to go to Sea World.

"Obviously," I stated slightly annoyed. "Haven't I told you I don't like you watching me when I feed?"

"Y-yes, I know," she stammered. "I wasn't watching, I just—"

I put up a hand, effectively cutting her off. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"The others were wondering if you were done. They are all waiting for you," she said.

Over the past few months I had become the leader of the Strigoi in the area. They all feared me and did as I said, otherwise they knew what would happen. My rise to power actually reminded me of when Dimitri had been a Strigoi. He too had risen to power in a short period of time. This was almost unheard of amongst the Strigoi, but then again, Dimitri and I had been feared even when we were simply dhampirs.

"When do we strike?" asked Daniela.

"How many times must you repeat that question Daniela?" I asked annoyed. Most of the time she reminded me of both a pestering fly and a power hungry weasel. "The perfect time to strike is almost near. Lissa's birthday is approaching and she will have a grand party. And what better time to attack the court than when all the royals will be present?"

"Yes that will be perfect," said Daniela with a devilish grin that then disappeared. "Wait, how do you know this?"

"I still have my bond with her," I said. "It comes in very useful, wouldn't you say?"

She nodded. "Very."

"We should get going," I said. "We need to start finalizing the plan so that we are ready when the time comes."

Soon things were going to change. The Moroi, dhampir and Strigoi would have a new Queen. Soon I would have my Dimitri back.

DPOV

1 Month Later

I loved my twins, but changing diapers was not my favorite thing to do. I wrinkled my nose as I unwrapped an especially smelly diaper from Anya. She lay there moving her arms and legs and looking at me with her wondrous gray eyes. I wondered what was going on inside her little head. Was she thinking about Rose? Did she miss her just as much as I did? Did she even realize that her mother was missing?

I smiled at her and finished changing her diaper before taking her back with me to the living room where Lissa and Christian sat on the floor with Sasha. Christian had become Lissa's sidekick, always at her side where ever she went.

I was still not working as a guardian, wanting to spend as much time with my twins as possible. Every day I felt them getting bigger and coming into their own personalities. Sasha was loud and always wanted attention (much like his mother) and Anya was more quiet and calm (just like her Daddy).

"Right Dimitri?" I looked up and noticed that Lissa had been talking to me.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She looked at me meaningfully. "I said, you are coming to my birthday party, right?"

Right. Her birthday party was in three days' time. She had told me about it a while back but I had forgotten, probably on purpose. Parties meant socializing with people and pretending you were happy. I wasn't sure if I had the strength to do it. I would much rather stay at home with the twins and watch a western movie.

"I'll think about it" I said.

Christian smirked. "Coming from you, that means you've already made up your mind and you're not going but you're too nice to say it"

Lissa looked at me with pleading eyes. "It would mean so much to me if you were there Dimitri. You and Christian are the closest thing I have to a family and with Rose gone…"

I sighed. "Fine, I'll go." But I couldn't promise her that I would enjoy it.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you! You don't know how happy it makes me." She looked down at her watch and stood up. "I should be going, I have some last minute party details to attend to." She gave me a hug and left with Christian in tow.

3 Days Later

I stood in front of the mirror wearing a tuxedo, a gift from Lissa who had insisted that I accept. I looked at my reflection on the mirror. I had lost weight and my cheek bones were more prominent, there were dark circles under my eyes (thanks to terrible nightmares and Sasha's cold), and my eyes looked haunted with memoires and shadows of my past. I hadn't realized it, but I looked miserable. Is this how everyone saw me? No wonder they always looked worried for me.

Three short knocks on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I opened the door to find Tasha in a blue dress that hugged her body and made her eyes stand out.

"You look beautiful Tasha," I said.

She gave me a big brilliant smile that made me think that comment had meant more to her than I had intended. "You don't look too bad yourself, Dimka. You clean up nice."

We waited in the apartment until the babysitter came before leaving to the party. She was a middle aged Moroi woman named Laura with graying hair. I made her promise to call me in case anything happened.

The party turned out to be alright. I spent most of it with Tasha, dancing, talking to people (well she did most of the talking), and just reminiscing on old times. It was about halfway through the party and I was dancing with Lissa when a screeching noise started blaring around the room. I was confused for a moment before realizing that it was the security alarm. Something serious must have happened because this was the alarm with the red flashing lights, indicating that there was serious trouble.

I felt Lissa tense up in my arms, realizing at the same time as me what the alarm meant. My guardian instincts kicked in at that moment and I thought only of protecting Lissa.

"Stay with me," I said as I lead her through the growing crowd of panicking people.

I knew that to keep her safe I had to find her other guardians. They would know what to do, they had been trained in case of such an emergency. I had had the training long ago but it was still best to find her assigned guardians.

"Do you see any of your guardians?" I asked her. We both craned our necks looking for the red suits that indicated the royal guard. Just then to the right I saw them as they made their way toward us.

"We can take it from here, Belikov," said the one in the front. He looked familiar but I couldn't think of his name at that moment. I nodded and released Lissa to them.

"Dimitri go get the twins and hurry back to the safe hall. Go!" she urged me.

I immediately took out my phone and called Laura as I made my way to the apartment. The phone rang once, twice, three times. She wasn't picking up.

I saw Eddie running past me and I stopped him. "What's going on?" I asked him.

"We've been infiltrated! Strigoi have broken into the court. Get your kids and go to the safe hall!" And with that he left.

I stood there only for a second, paralyzed, and then started sprinting as fast as I could to my twins. I tried calling Laura again but she didn't pick up. What was going on?

I finally got to the apartment and burst in through the door. I found Laura in the twins' room trying to quiet them down. Relief flooded me at seeing that they were okay.

"Why didn't you pick up?" I said out of breath.

"Sorry, I couldn't get to the phone. They were crying so much. I think the alarm really startled them," she said.

"It's okay, just help me get them ready so we can take them to the safe hall," I said, already taking ahold of Anya and putting some warm footies on her. We hurried out of there in record time, making a beeline for the safe hall.

When we got there it was filled with people. I looked for a familiar face and found Tasha's anxious one. "What's wrong?" I asked, dread filling me to the bone.

"I can't find Christian anywhere," she said. "And Lissa is missing too."

"What do you mean Lissa's missing? I left her with the royal guard!" How could this be happening?

"She was with them, but then there was a large explosion and then she wasn't there anymore." Her eyes looked frantic and worried.

"Don't worry," I told her. "I'll go look for them." I turned to go but stopped when she grabbed my hand.

"Be careful," she said before giving my hand a squeeze and then releasing it.

I made my way through the crowded room until I got outside. It looked desolate and empty without anyone there except for guardians that passed by running.

Where could they be? I asked myself. Because surely if they were both missing then they had to be together. Then a sudden thought froze me in place. I remembered the conversation we had had a few weeks ago, where Lissa told me that she wanted to turn Rose back. What if Rose was here? What if they were looking for her?

"Dimitri." A voice came from behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know who it came from. I slowly turned and saw Rose standing there. My Roza. My breath hitched and sped up along with my heart rate. My Roza was standing in front of me.

No, a voice said in my head. She's not your Roza anymore, she's a Strigoi. She's pure evil.

"Aren't you going to say anything? We haven't seen each other in a long time," she said. Her voice was cold, emotionless, but it still sounded like her.

"What are you doing?" I managed to ask.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said. She extended her arms out on either side of her. "I'm taking over."

"What about Lissa?" I said.

"Lissa?" she scoffed. "What about her?"

"She's your best friend." What am I doing? I thought. I can't change her mind.

"She's not my friend," Rose sneered.

"She still considers you her friend." Stop it, I thought. Stop trying to put if off. You need to do this and save her soul, so she can be happy.

"Join me."

I was brought out of my internal conflict by her sudden request. "What?"

"I said join me. You asked me to join you once and I was stupid enough to refuse. Now I'm giving you the chance you wanted. We can be together forever." She looked at me unwaveringly with her hand extended out to me.

Join her? I thought it ludicrous that she would ask me when she knew I would refuse. But I couldn't deny that there was a certain appeal to it, to be with her for the rest of eternity. But then I thought of the twins, my beautiful baby twins. I couldn't leave them without any parents at all.

"Rose you—" I didn't get to finish because I was interrupted by a shout.

"Dimitri move!" It was Christian followed closely behind by Lissa.

As soon as I stepped out of the way, Rose burst into flames. Her blood curdling cries filled my ears and I wanted nothing more than to make the pain stop.

"Remember our plan," said Lissa. "If I can't do this, you're going to have to finish it." I could see the pain it cause her to admit that there was a possibility that something could go wrong. I nodded in agreement.

Lissa ran forward with the stake held high above her head and rammed it into the middle of Rose's chest. If possible, Rose let out an even more earsplitting cry. Enchanted, I watched as a blinding white light emanated from Rose. A light that was so bright I had to shield my eyes. When I looked back Rose lay in a heap on the floor.

I ran and fell on my knees in front of her. She had sat up now and stared at me with her warm brown eyes without the red ring around them.

"Roza." Her name escaped my lips like a soft caress.

"Dimitri," she said before clinging to me like if I was her lifesaver keeping her afloat.

As her tears soaked through the fabric of my shirt and I lost myself in the feel of her long, silky dark hair, I could think only one thing: I finally had my Roza back.

I slowly but cautiously made my way back to the safe hall with Rose, Lissa and Christian. As soon as we entered, Lissa was surrounded by her royal guard who asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine, really Gergon," she said.

"Please, you mustn't deviate from us again. Especially during an emergency such as this," he said.

"I understand. Now tell me Gergon, what is the status of the court?"

"We have managed to get a good grip on securing the surroundings of the court. Plus the Strigoi are retreating and I don't know why because it isn't close to sunrise."

Lissa and Christian remained talking to Gergon while I led Rose back to Tasha and the twins. She still clung to my arm like a scared toddler, silently shedding tears. When we approached Tasha, she seemed shocked to see Rose, undoubtedly never imagining that I would return with her.

Her eyes widened and she stood up. "Rose…"

Rose just stood there without responding. I knew what she was going through. It felt like just yesterday that I had been turned back. Everything starts rushing back to you, all the pain and death that you've caused. In a time like this all you need is someone to support you.

"Come on," I said as I pulled her toward the chair that Tasha had vacated. I offered her the chair but she decided to sit on the floor instead, and seeing as how she was still clutching my arm, I sat on the chair next to her. In front of us were the twins, sound asleep in their baby carriers. I thought that maybe seeing them would help her, but Rose just sat there staring off into space.

"Dimitri, how is…how is she back?" asked Tasha. "I thought she was a Strigoi."

"She was," I said. "But she was restored, just like I was." I looked at her intently. There was a small smile on her lips, indicating that she was happy, but there was also a hint of sadness. "Thank you," I told her.

She looked at me puzzled. "Why?"

"For being there for me when I needed it the most. You may not realize it, but your presence did help me," I told her.

She nodded and said, "I'll always be there for you Dimka," before leaving.

A couple of hours later they let everyone go back to their homes. It was daylight outside now, ensuring that the Strigoi would stay away. People had been stopping by to see Rose, Adrian and Sydney among them. Although they claimed they weren't dating it was obvious to everyone that something more existed between them.

I had thought that with having a previous dhampir restored the guardians would know what to expect, but they acted almost the same way they had with me. They questioned Rose who reluctantly answered back, wanting to be alone and away from everyone. Only when Lissa had insisted that they let us go, were we able to leave.

When we reached the apartment, I took Rose to our bedroom and told her to rest while I fed and put the twins to sleep. It didn't take long for me accomplish the task. They were up past their usual bedtime, after all. It only took a warm bottle of milk and a little rocking on the rocking chair and they were fast asleep.

I walked back into the room to find Rose in the fetal position on the bed. She was blankly staring at the window, the tracks of her tears dried on her face. It hurt me so much to see her like this, especially knowing how it felt like to be in her position.

"Rose…" I slowly approached the bed and kneeled in front of her. "Roza?"

She abruptly turned away from the wall to look at me. "Don't call me that."

I sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "Roza? Why don't you want me to call you that?"

"Because," she said. "That name is beautiful and represents something I no longer am." Her voice sounded cold, but underneath it I could hear her sadness and desperation.

"Don't say that," I pleaded while taking a hold of her hands. "You're still you. Somewhere in there is the Rose that I know and love." I searched her eyes for a sign that I was reaching her.

"She's not here anymore." Her voice sounded resigned and sad at the same time.

I cupped her face with my hands. "Rose listen I know what you're going through. I've been through it and you helped me. Now let me help you," I pleaded.

She shook her head. "Why not?" I asked.

"I'm not good anymore."

"Don't say that. You found the good in me and now I'm going to help you find the good in yourself," I said sternly.

Tears were running freely down her cheeks now. She shook her head which made it seem like I was moving her head. "Why won't you let me?" I said, almost close to shouting. Sometimes, no, most of the time she was the most stubborn person I knew.

"You're not bad, Rose, I know you're not," I continued.

"You're not the one who devised a whole plan to get your best friend killed so you could take her spot!" she shouted.

I sat there dumbstruck, the realization that today's attack had been led by Rose hitting me like a bucket of cold water. Finally I said, "I didn't try to kill my best friend, but I did try to kill the love of my life."

We just sat there staring at each other, neither of us moving or braking eye contact. "At least you had a reason," I added. She stared at me before the corners of her mouth lifted up slightly. I smiled back at her and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. It felt so much better to see her like this, somewhat like her usual self. I would have lived a thousand years just to see her smile again.

I rested my forehead against hers and looked straight into her eyes. "Will you let me help you? I need you," I said.

She nodded her head slowly. "Okay," she whispered.

I smiled at her and closed the short distance between our lips. It was a small feathery kiss that I had been dying to give her since the moment I saw her again. She didn't react at first, but then her lips started moving urgently against mine.

A small moan escaped my lips. "I missed you so much," I said.

"I missed you too."

RPOV

4 Years Later

I dug my toes deeper in the ground, loving how the warm sand felt against my feet. There was a slight breeze faintly smelling of salt and sea, which ruffled my hair against my chin. I closed my eyes and let my senses take over. I could spend the whole day out here, I thought to myself.

"Mommy, are you sleeping?" came a little voice beside me that was promptly followed by little hands tapping my face.

I opened my eyes. Sasha stood in front of me in his shorts and t-shirt. His hair was as long as Dimitri's though I sometimes argued that he would look like a girl if we let it grow any longer.

"What do you need, baby?"

"Daddy said to come inside. He said they're almost here." He looked at me with those big gray eyes that were oh so good at melting me.

"Where is your sister?" I said

"She's in the kitchen with daddy," he said, pointing his chubby little hand at the house.

"Want to race back to the house?" The words had barely left my lips when he was already on his way. "I'm going to catch you!" I yelled as I raced after him. He let out a cry of joy and surprise as I reached him and scooped him up into my arms. I filled his face with kisses until we reached the house.

My father had kindly given Dimitri and me the beach house in Santa Cruz as a wedding gift. It had been hard, but Dimitri and I had decided to move out here away from the world of vampires. At least until the twins were old enough to go off to an academy. I didn't want to be the kind of mother that I had criticized Janine for being.

As soon as I slid the living room door open, Adrian's usual playful voice came through. "What, no kisses for me?"

"I don't think Sydney would appreciate that very much," I said.

He put an arm around her. "Nah, Syd wouldn't mind."

She lifted up an eyebrow. "Don't be so sure," she said

"Well, I don't think Lissa would mind," said Christian as he came into the room.

"Oh shut it fire boy," I said as I spotted Lissa next to him and encircled her in a tight hug, which was kind of hard seeing as how her belly seemed like was about to pop. "I still don't see how you guys managed to make this little guy when Lissa is always busy."

"Look who's talking," Christian said. "You guys aren't wasting much time are you?"

I looked down and rested my hand on my small baby bump. Baby number three. "Hey," I said. "We took a three year break."

"What a long break it must have been for you," he said.

"When are we going to have our own little tyke?" Adrian spoke to Sydney who responded with a slightly frightened look.

I just shook my head and hugged everyone before we settled down for the dinner Dimitri had prepared. We all headed to the dining room and sat down to eat. We shared stories and memories that made us laugh and tear up. Looking around the table at all the happy faces, I realized something. The family I had never had surrounded me now and it filled me with an unimaginable happiness that could not be put into words. I caught Dimitri's eye and give him a radiant smile that he returned. Everything in my life was now as it should be.

At least for the moment.

The End…