Chapter 25

DPOV

I watched as Rose started wiping her hands on the leg of her jeans, like she was trying to dry them. It was then that I noticed how pale she had become. Before I could ask if she was ok, she jumped up from the chair and ran into the toilet.

'Roza' I called. She didn't answer. Instead, I heard her retching into the toilet. I knew she hadn't eaten anything yet today, so I knew she wouldn't actually be bringing anything up.

Roza, are you ok? Let me in' I called again.

I heard a very quiet 'I'll be right out' before more retching sounds came through the door. It broke my heart seeing her like this. I knew that this was just the nervousness from the needle, but I hated that she went through this every time she ate something as well. I walked over to Caleb and nodded my head to the side, telling him to follow me to the far end of the room, hopefully far enough away that Roza couldn't hear us.

We had already had a conversation earlier about getting Lissa or Adrian to heal her, because I knew that whatever was happening, Lissa would be able to fix it. Caleb was adamant that I shouldn't even suggest it to Roza because she would just say no.

'Caleb, please, I'm begging you, can't you talk to her. Suggest to her that Lissa could heal her' I said.

' Dimitri, if I thought it would work, I would definitely talk to her. But I know Marie, and I know she won't let Lissa do it' he replied.

'But why? If it was any of us that were hurt, then she would jump at the chance of Lissa healing us' I said. And I was right. In the past, if any of us were slightly hurt, she would get Lissa to heal us straight away. Thinking back though, she was always against Lissa using her magic on her.

'Yeah I agree she would! If you are so set on talking to her about it, why don't you suggest it to her?' he asked.

'Because I don't want her to think that I am suggesting it because I don't like the way she looks with the scars. She is already so self conscious. I can see that. If she thinks I think less of her because of the scars, it will kill her. I won't make her feel like that. The only reason I want her to get them healed is because they are slowly destroying her. It wouldn't surprise me if this throwing up is related to those scars' I said.

'I told you earlier, I agree, but she won't allow it' said Caleb.

'I don't understand why' I sighed.

'I don't understand either bro, but that's just Marie for you' said Cal. 'Nothing I can say will change that'

'But she listens to you. She respects you. Why can't you just try and talk her around' I cried. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't just try.

'She respects you as well Dimitri. Just hang in there ok' said Cal.

'What are you guys talking about?' said a voice from the other side of the room. Shit. We were so engrossed in our conversation we didn't even hear her come out of the bathroom. I wonder how much she heard.

'Uh nothing' we both mumbled, making us look even guiltier.

I could tell she was about to say something else, probably a very angry comment, when Dr Olendski walked in the door, saving us all.

'Are you ok Rose? You really don't like needles do you?' she said.

'You could say that. And yeah, I will be fine. Let's get this over and done with' Rose said.

'Ok, this won't take too long' she said as she stuck the needle in. Rose turned her head and looked straight at Abe. He walked over and took her hand. It was still so surreal seeing the Abe Mazur crumble when it came to his daughter. The Abe I knew growing up was always such a hard man.

'It'll be over in a moment Kiz' he said.

'Thank you Baba. Thank you for getting Dr Olendski here' said Rose.

'Anything for my daughter' he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

A couple of minutes later, the blood tests were all finished. After cleaning up the blood and placing a bandaid on the hole, Dr Olendski walked out of the room, telling us to come back in a couple of hours.

Roza got up off the chair to walk out when suddenly she collapsed on the floor.

'Roza...Roza, can you hear me' I cried but I got no response. Her eyes were closed. 'Come on baby, wake up for me. Abe, go and get Dr Olendski back in here NOW' I yelled.

'Marie, come on hunny, open your eyes' said Cal sitting on the other side of Roza. Just then I saw blood coming from the back of her head. Shit, she must have hit her head when she fell. I should have been standing closer to her!

'Where the hell is Abe? Caleb, she's bleeding, hurry up and get that doctor in here' I said to Caleb. He got up and ran out the door. 'Come on baby, please open your eyes for me'

Roza groaned and her eyes flickered, but they didn't open. 'I'm here baby, its ok. Come on, open your eyes for me' I said, but I got no response.

Just then, Abe, Caleb and Dr Olendski and another doctor ran through the door.

'What happened?' asked the other Doctor.

'I don't know. She got up to walk out after getting the blood test and she just collapsed. She has blood coming from the back of her head, so she has hit something as she fell. She just groaned and tried to open her eyes, but she's out again. Please, help her' I cried. Tears were openly falling down my cheeks but I didn't care who saw them. I just wanted Roza to be ok.

'She'll be ok Dimitri. Can you pick her up and lay her on the bed?' asked Dr Olendski. I picked Roza up bridal style and laid her down on the bed. She still didn't open her eyes. I walked around the other side of the bed, allowing the Doctors to examine her, and took her hand in mine.

The doctors were talking to each other but I tuned out, watching my Roza's face. I had no idea what had just happened and I was freaking out. I had just got her back, I couldn't handle anything bad happening to her. I needed her to be ok. I needed her.

After a quick examination, they started wheeling her out of the room. I followed feeling like I was on auto pilot, never once letting go of her hand.

'Dimitri...Dimitri' a voice was saying. I didn't respond.

'Dimitri' the voice said again, and this time a hand was put on my shoulder, causing me to look up. It was the other Doctor. 'I need you to wait here. Rosemarie needs to go into theatre now'

Wait, did he just say theatre? Meaning surgery? What the hell for? Didn't she just collapse because they had taken too much blood? I had been trying to tell myself that the whole time.

'We need to operate on her now Dimitri. I will be out to talk to you as soon as I can, but for now, you need to let go of Rose's hand' said Doctor Olendski. She was gently pulling my hand out of Roza's at the same time. 'You can wait just through that door in the waiting room ok'

'What is wrong with her? Why won't you tell us what's happening?' I yelled. But there was no use, they had already wheeled Roza through the doors and I was on my own. At least I thought I was. A hand fell on my shoulder.

'Dimitri, come on bro' said Caleb quietly, pulling me into the waiting room.

'What is happening' I cried. I sagged down into the chair and leaned forward with my head in my hands, sobbing. 'I can't lose her Caleb, I just can't!'

'You won't lose her Dimitri. Whatever has happened, she will pull through. This is Marie we are talking about. Nothing can stop her' he said. It was true. She had been through so much already, a simple blood test couldn't be the end of her.

Just then, the doors flew open and Lissa, Christian, Eddie and Adrian flew through the door, closely followed by Alberta and Janine.

'Oh my god Dimitri, what happened? Is Rose ok?' asked Lissa frantically. I couldn't answer her. I couldn't talk through the sobs.

'Rose collapsed and she has been taken into surgery. That's all we know at this stage. Dr Olendski should be out soon to update us on what is happening' said Abe.

'Collapsed? Surgery? What the hell is going on?' yelled Christian. I knew he loved Roza like a sister, all of the boys did. Everyone in this room loved Roza in some way.

'I wish I could tell you' said Abe.

'Wait, Dr Olendski? What is she doing here?' asked Lissa.

'She is the doctor that inspected Rose today. Dad had her flown in from America' said Caleb.

'Wow' was all Lissa could say. She came over and put her arm around my shoulders.

'She will be ok Dimitri. I know she will, I can feel it' she said. I wish I had her confidence. Wait, how did she know something had happened?

'Lissa, how did you know something had happened to Roza?' I asked, the tears suddenly stopping. My curiosity was getting the best of me.

'That's the million dollar question' said Adrian. 'We've been asking her the whole way here. She just started running saying Rose was in trouble and we had to follow her, so we did'

'Well I kind of got sucked into Rose's head' she said. Every single set of eyes turned to look at Lissa.

'You got sucked into her head? How? The bond is one way' said Adrian.

'Well I've been working on it for a long time, because she was away. I was trying to get into her head so I could keep an eye on her like she does with me, and I have managed once or twice before. If I concentrate really really hard, then I can, but only for a couple of seconds at a time'

'I knew it' cried Adrian. 'I saw your Aura light up the other day, the way it does when Rose's does when she is in your head, but I couldn't understand why'

'But why were you sucked in today?' asked Eddie.

'Well, I was already kind of trying to get in her head' she said guiltily.

'That's why you looked so far away at lunch, but why were you trying then? While we were in public?' he asked sounding slightly annoyed.

'I was upset that she wouldn't let me come with her, and I wanted to see if everything was ok. I was pulled in as she got up off the chair. Her vision went all funny and then everything just went black' she said. 'I knew something was very wrong, so I yelled at them all and we came straight here'

'Wow, Rose is going to flip when she finds out you've been in her head' laughed Eddie.

Just then, Dr Olendski walked out and called Abe over. They walked to the other side of the room. I realised they had moved so far away so that none of the Moroi could hear them. I watched them trying to figure out what they were saying, but whatever it was, Abe wasn't happy. His face went bright red and he was using a lot of hand movements. Eventually, they both stopped talking, Abe nodded and they walked back over to us.

'Ok, well the good news is that Rose will be ok' everyone in the room sighed, including me. I didn't like the way she said that Roza would be ok, meaning she wasn't just yet. My stomach lurched at the thought.

'It sounds to me like there is a but coming' said Janine. She was looking at Abe, trying to seek out answers from him. His face was grim and he wouldn't make eye contact with her. Suddenly he got up and walked out of the room. We all watched him leave without saying a word. I knew Abe wouldn't leave like that without a good reason, not when Rose was concerned.

'Well, we have found out what is wrong with Rose and why she keeps throwing up' she said.

'And...' said Christian, prompting her to go on.

'It seems Rose has a twisted bowel and intestine. This means that every time Rose eats, it builds up and isn't being digested properly, which is causing her to throw it all back up'

'And that can be fixed with surgery, right?' asked Caleb.

'Yes it can be, and we did' said Dr Olendski. Adrian, Eddie and Christian all gave a sigh of relief. The rest of us were still on alert.

'There is more isn't there?' I asked.

'Yes, there is. The attack on Rose caused a lot of damage to Rose's body, particularly her stomach and shoulders. There is extensive damage and scaring in those areas. There is one particular scar that concerns me though' she said looking at me and then Janine. 'Do you mind if I have a word with Dimitri and Janine in private?'

'Whatever you have to say, can be said in front of everyone here' said Janine. 'Rose considers every person in this room her family and she has had enough of having to hide things from them'

'Are you sure Guardian Hathaway?' asked Dr Olendski.

'It's Janine, and yes I am sure' said Janine. Dr Olendski looked over to me, trying to get confirmation that I was ok with that.

'Dr Olendski, in the past few years, Janine has been with Roza a lot more than me. If she says it is ok, then it is ok with me too'

'Very well then. Rose has a scar along her lower abdomen. It doesn't match the scaring on her stomach from the stake' she said. Before she could continue, she was cut off by Eddie.

'Scaring from her stake? What the fuck is that meant to mean?'

'Eddie, when Rose was attacked and raped, they used her stake to stab her...numerous times' she finished.

'Oh my god' he said. His face had visibly paled, as did Adrian's and Christian's. I'm sure mine had as well. I knew she had been stabbed, but I didn't know it was with her own stake. If I ever get my hands on those bastards, they are going to wish they were never born. Lissa didn't seem shocked by this. I guess Roza had told her. By the looks on Janine's and Alberta's faces, they also knew. This hurt a little bit because it showed she had opened up to them about the attack, where she still hadn't with me. I kept my guardian mask firmly in place.

Dr Olendski continued. 'As I was saying, there is a scar on her lower abdomen that doesn't match the others, so I have had Dr Zhan looking into Rose's medical history. It turns out Rose's history has been made confidential and we couldn't access them, so we had to do some testing' I knew the scar she was talking about was obviously from the baby. That means the baby was cut from her body which confused me. Roza said she had lost it. I assumed it was a miscarriage.

'Do any of you know if Rose has had any other surgery that it could be from?' asked Dr Zhan interrupting my thoughts. No one answered. I looked over and Lissa and I could see she was having the same realisation as me.

'Dimitri, Lissa...Do either of you know anything about this?' asked Janine.

'Ummm...we might' said Lissa. 'Can I talk to Dimitri alone for a moment?' I got up and walked over to the other side of the room with her.

'Should we tell them?' she asked.

'I really don't know Lissa, I mean it has devastated Roza. I don't think she wanted everyone to know' I said.

'I know. That's what I thought too. But it's obvious that the scar is from the baby, which means that Rose didn't just lose the baby like she has been told. Someone cut it from her' she said.

'They might have had to do that because she was so far along' I said.

'Maybe, but I don't know. If anyone would know the answer to that, it would be the doctors. I think we should tell them and deal with Rose later' she said. I nodded. We really didn't have much of a choice. I just wanted Rose to be better. We still didn't know what the big deal was with that scar. We walked back over to the others.

'Four months after Rose left to go to Russia, she found out she was pregnant' said Lissa.

Everyone gasped.

'It was my baby' I said. Everyone started talking at once. I heard a lot of that's not possibles and wow, I can't believe it. Dr Olendski whistled causing everyone to freeze and stop what they were saying.

'It is definitely possible, although very rare' she said. 'There have only been a few cases known throughout history. Only a person who is shadow-kissed can have a baby with another dhampir, so it was definitely possible for Rose and Dimitri to conceive together'

'What is the significance of the scar?' asked Lissa.

'Do you know which hospital Rose had the baby at?' asked Dr Zahn ignoring Lissa's question. 'We'd like to get the details on the birth'

'Umm...Roza didn't have the baby. She lost it due to the attack' I said.

'Oh ok' he said sounding confused. What was up with that? I have a feeling that this is what the conversation was about with Abe. I am beginning to wonder if Roza actually lost the baby, or if it was taken from her. But she would have only been five to six months pregnant. No way could a baby survive that early. Could it?

'So are you going to actually tell us if Rose is ok and when we can see her? Or are you going to stand around asking questions all night' asked an irritated Christian.

'Sorry, I am, but these questions were important' said Dr Olendski. 'As I said earlier, Rose had a twisted bowel and intestine. We have fixed that. The problem is this scar. It looks like whoever performed the surgery, used a knife that was infused with some kind of charm. It is slowly eating away at Rose's blood, that's why she collapsed. Between not being able to keep food down, and the blood we took out of her system, she may as well have been drained by a Strigoi. Her body is not producing enough blood and it isn't receiving or retaining enough nutrients'

'What the hell is that meant to mean?' I snapped. None of this was making any sense.

'It means that her body is starting to shut down Dimitri and we can't stop it' said a very glum Dr Zahn.