A/N: I'M SOOOO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER! Honestly, I had this done months ago, but I could never find time to read thru it and revise it. However, I just spent the last 3 hours writing Ch 27 and I felt inspired to spend the remaining 15 minutes of my night revising this and posting it. Think of it as an Easter present from me :)

Given that I'm like 2 chapters (and hopefully 3 or 4 chapters by the end of the week), I think I might be able to post more frequently. However, since I still have no real outline or plan for this story, and I finally got the scene I've been waiting to get to (in Ch 27)...there's a chance I'm going to be really struggling to find a way to get this story to the finish line (which I'm feeling might be in the next 15 chapters tbh but we'll see :) I love this story and I don't want to finish it so soon haha). That being said, if you have any ideas of storylines you want to see me explore in this story, let me know in a review or in aPM and i'll try my best to incorporate it!

"You need to chill," Lissa said, taking a sip of wine as if she was taking a siesta on a beach. Not sitting in my kitchen watching me run around making dinner. "Plus, since when can you cook?"

"Since I bought a cookbook."

"What's it called? Dummy's Guide to Cooking Dinner for Your Dead Ex-Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriend/Unknown Baby Mama."

Flipping the last steak, I turn to Lissa, confused. "Ok, who are you and what did you do with my best friend."

"This," she said, running her finger up and down her body. "Is your drunk best friend because lemme tell you when Sydney Sage is involved, there can only be two types of Valissa Dragomir Ozera. Drunk, Happy Lissa, or Sober, Kill a Bitch Lissa. You pick."

"She was that bad of a girlfriend?" Chopping up the lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes, I had to be careful not to cut myself while listening to her.

"Eh. I mean they were happy. Oh my god Adrian was over the moon the whole time. He was so sure they'd get married. I mean you should have heard how clear and detailed he had their future pictured. And she was nice, not going to say she wasn't, but I got the feeling she didn't like me or was scared of me. I dunno, I spent most of my time with you or Christian. I only know so much about their relationship because that was all Adrian talked about when I'd see him at family dinners. Remember? You'd always make jokes that got Christian jealous because he knew Adrian as well as I knew Sydney."

Laughing, I nodded my head. I can't believe I never put two and two together when I dated Adrian. No wonder some of his stories sounded familiar…

"But that doesn't explain why you have to get drunk to function somewhat normally."

"Well obviously it didn't end with marriage and unicorn children," she said, slightly annoyed. "At least for you, he died. He didn't just up and leave."

Dropping the knife, I looked up at her, a swirling chaos of emotions. Hurt. Sad. Mad. But still I knew she was drunk so she wasn't thinking straight, or thinking at all for that matter.

"Lissa! You can't just say that like it's nothing. Dead or alive, that shit hurts."

"Exactly! But you had closure. You had no choice. Nothing you did or could have done would have made a difference. Adrian didn't have that kind of luxury. What she did to him…it's unforgivable. He didn't get closure. He got doubt and questions."

"Why? What happened? He just said that she couldn't do the distance thing when she went off to college and decided it was best to end."

Scuffing, Lissa corrected the story. "She left. Without a word, without a letter. Just upped and left. Adrian had honestly began a search party thinking she had been kidnapped or her father had taken her away. They had just graduated and that night they were suppose to go to dinner and Adrian had planned on proposing that night. But she never showed up, and when he went to the mom's house, he had no clue since her father still had custody and it wasn't her weekend to see Sydney or her other daughter, Zoey. When he went to the dad's house, he didn't even open the door. So obviously, Adrian tried sneaking into her room, but her sister locked the window. Adrian made such a big deal about it and for a week looked everywhere for here, morgues, pedophile's homes. It was bad. He wouldn't sleep or eat. Finally he tried sneaking into her room again, but it was completely cleaned out. Months went by and we had slowly gotten him to start living some semblance of a normal life. We had managed to convince the college to defer him a semester and after winter break, he started taking classes. Of course, his business class had to be have a part of the curriculum where they would talk to students in Greece. Lo and behold, guess who was in that Greek class."

"Oh shit," I said right as the door opened.

"The booze has arrived," Mason boasted as he strode into view, his detective badge hanging on his chest. A six pack in one hand, and a bottle of wine in the other. Handing it to me, he said, "They say wine is the best housewarming gift and clearly you're ready for the next bottle."

Shaking his head, Eddie came in second, a six-pack in each hand. Jesus, how much beer are they planning on having. He gave me a quick smile and nod hello as he made his way to the fridge.

"And you call me a pyro," Christian said, coming in last. "Should you really be cooking and drinking?"

"I've only had one glass."

Without saying another word, he took in Lissa's state and focused on sobering her up before dinner. Since I had the salad done and the meat on the "grill," I went to set the table. Looking around the kitchen, I realized I didn't have any small plates for Jack to use. "Shit," I muttered. I can't give a two year old a plate that's probably bigger than his head. But we had plates here for when Dimitri's nieces and nephews came over…if I could remember where we store them

"Hey, Rose…aren't you missing a plate?" Eddie asked as he helped me set out the utensils.

"Huh?" I said oh so eloquently as I turned around to face him.

"Isn't there 7 of us eating? The mystery guest, Chris, Liss, Mase, Dimitri, you, and me, right? And a kid." Oh fuck. Dimitri.

"You didn't tell him?!" Lissa asked, drinking her fifth glass of water.

"It might have slipped my mind. Plus we've been so busy with appointments and surgeries that we haven't had much time to talk."

"Don't you live together?" Mason asked. I gave him a look that explained why I haven't a chance to tell him when we're home. Or chance to talk at all. "Geez, Hathaway. A simple yes or no would have been enough."

Laughing, I shrugged my shoulder and finally remembered where the plates were. On top shelf…where only Dimitri can reach. Figuring I could reach it if I climbed on the counter, I almost fell when I heard the door open. "Oh fuck," I yelp, grabbing onto one of the cabinet doors to pull myself back up.

"Roza?"Dimitri calls running into the kitchen, eyeing our friends as if they were strangers on his way over. Unsure of how to respond, I just give him a big smile when he comes up behind me and grabs the plates for me. Walking together to the living room, I saw it was filled with his nieces and nephews and our friends.

"One of us forget we had made plans," Dimitri said, looking down at me. Smiling sheepishly, we both knew I had forgotten. I completely forgot we had offered to have the kids over so that Vika could take her sisters out.

"This is fine. This can work. I mean Jack can play with Alex and Ana."

"Who's Jack?"

"Sydney's son…"

"And who's Sydney?"

"The bitch that left Adrian," Lissa said…clearly not sober. Sighing, I shrugged my shoulder as a confirmation.

"Rose…"

"I'm sorry," I said, embracing him.

Things have been different, to say the least, since I told him the truth. But despite all my worries, they've been different for the better. For starters, we're still together, and living together. I knew Dimitri was understanding and while I didn't think he'd push me away with disgust, I wouldn't have been surprised if he would have decided to end things amicably. But like he said, we've been waiting 10 years for this chance and it didn't make sense to throw it all away for something neither of us had a choice in, and something we could easily work around. As if to prove his point, this whole week we've been over to his mom's and spending time with the kids. I wouldn't say I feel blessed, but Dimitri has made sure I felt loved and wanted. Oh damn has he made me feel wanted!

"You know…we still haven't greeted each other," he said, looking down at me with a smile as he tucked a strand a hair away. The bustle of the kids choosing what to watch and our friends enjoying being together seemed to quiet down around me as my attention focused on Dimitri.

Smiling, I whispered a hello as our lips met briefly, but sweetly. A kiss that would always be a greeting, a promise of more to come. Barely into the kiss, I noticed that there was a knock on the door and the room quieted down substantially, even the kids hushed a bit. Pulling away, I saw Sydney at the door, face emotionless and gripping her son rather tightly, and Jack eying the boxes of pizza and the kids.

"You made it!" I said, walking over and closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry I think I'm early," she started saying, resisting my attempts to bring her into the living room.

"Nope. Right on time. Jack, would you like to go with the kids?" I swear if that boy nodded his head harder it would have popped off. We both looked at his mom, and with a defeated sigh, she nodded her head and let go.

"Here I'll introduce you to everyone," I said as they brought the food to the table (thankfully, Christian finished what was left to do). After introducing everyone, her eyes remained on Lissa, as if she was waiting for her to lash out or something. When nothing happened, she seemed to realize something.

"Where's Adrian?" she asked, before whispering, "and why were you kissing Dimitri?"

Everyone looked away, and, under the table, Dimitri squeezed my hand. Coughing, Eddie asked for Christian to pass the salad and everyone quickly jumped on board and started serving themselves, Mason serving everyone drinks.

"No," Sydney said when the food came to her. "Where's Adrian? And why isn't anyone saying anything about what I walked into? And where is your ring?!"

"Sydney, calm down," I said, gently easing her back into her seat. "There's a lot you missed. But first, can I ask how you knew I was engaged to Adrian?"

"I um got into a fight with my father and he threw the engagement announcement in my face." Announcement? I don't remember any announcements being publicized, but I don't put it past Adrian to put it in early and have them publish it the morning after he proposed, no doubt confident I'd say yes. Shaking my head, I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Sounds like something Adrian would do. You should hear the stories his brigade brothers loved to share."

"You guys remember Christian's bachelor party?" Mason chimed in, all the guys blushing and laughing with him.

"Adrian's dead," Lissa blurted. Everyone quit laughing and looked at her, but I focused on Sydney. What little color she had drained from her face, her body going rigid.

"Sydney, I never showed you the house," I said, quickly getting up.

"I don't–" she began to say, but I quickly interrupted her.

"I insist. Please." Looking at me for a second, she finally agreed and got up.

Once we were in the hallway, I explained everything to her. From his death to his memorial service that just happened.

"I should have told him. I should have told him," she kept saying.

Stopping in front of the still empty room, I made her look at me. "I'm not going to lie and say you were right to not tell him. But you did what you thought was right, and no one can make you feel bad about that. For whatever reasons you had, you kept Jack away from Adrian. And I think it was the right thing. If he had died knowing he had a son that he couldn't see grow up, he wouldn't have died peacefully. At least dying the way he did, he was peaceful and accepting."

"But things could have been different and he might still be alive."

"Don't do that," I said firmly. "Don't play that game. Nothing you could have done would have saved him. Nothing any of us could have done would have saved him."

"That's easy for you to say! You have someone! You moved on. I have no one! What am I suppose to tell my son when he asks about his father?"

"You can show him this," I said, opening the door and letting her into Adrian's studio. While she looked at all his work, I kept talking. "You could tell him about the big heart he had, about his love and passion for painting. How he loved to take risk and was all or nothing, he never half-assed anything, not even dating. You could tell him…that he loved you."

"That's not true. He was going to marry you."

"That doesn't mean anything. Adrian loved me, yes, but it was nothing compared to what he felt for you. I never caught on because I was the same way, but seeing that purple painting he did after high school reunion, there's no denying the love he had for you. It's fine, if you had come back into the picture, we would have become the best of friends, each happy with the real love of our lives. Him with you, and me with Dimitri."

"What am I suppose to do now? Jack's going to ask questions, and a lot of them. What do I tell him?"

"Everything you know," I said. "And if that's not enough, then just look into the living room. You have a table full of people ready to fill his ears with stories, and when he's older there's a whole brotherhood ready to share what they've lived with him."

"How can you be so calm about all of this?" she finally asked.

"Because I've had a year to come to terms with everything. I have had two wonderful pillars that helped me recover. Don't let this version of me fool you, when he died, I died too and if it hadn't been for Lissa and Dimitri…"

"Thank you," she said, squeezing my hand. "I'm sorry if I–"

"Stop apologizing," I said, laughing. "Look. I know how hard being a single mother can be, and knowing what little I do about your father, I don't think you have the support system you need. If you every need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thanks, Rose," she said again. "Thanks for inviting me to dinner, and for showing me this room."

"Speaking of which," I said, looking at the door. "Do you want to go back to the table? I spent hoooours cooking."

"Oh are you sure? I'm pretty sure Lissa hates me…"

"Well she needs to get over it," I said. "I love her to death, but she's acting like a child and I'm hoping she behaves better when we get out."

Sure enough, when we joined everyone at the table, Lissa quickly apologized for speaking out of turn. We spent the rest of the dinner sharing funny stories about Adrian, and our first (and favorite) impression of him. Soon, the Belikov kids and Jack went to bed while we migrated to the living room. Wrapped up in Dimitri's arms, I couldn't help but play the blame game and wonder if I had fought for Dimitri, then maybe Adrian would be alive, with his son and happy with Sydney like I am with Dimitri.

"We should do this more often," I confided in Dimitri when we were snuggled together under the covers.

"What? Babysit and have a dinner party at the same time?" he teased, twirling a piece of hair.

"Ok, rude," I replied, smiling up to him. "I meant having our friends over and cooking dinner."

"Mmm…tonight was fun, and dinner was delicious, maybe we could do this once a month, taking turns at each others place."

"Yeah, I'll see who wants to do it next month, or maybe we could do it again. But tomorrow we should do something with the kids, I feel bad I barely said five words to them tonight."

"We can make them a big breakfast and take them to the movies," he suggested.

"You can get up early and do breakfast," I said, turning around and getting into the blanket. Wrapping his arms around me, he buried his head in his hair. "And maybe we can also go to a park or zoo, I know one of the kids keeps wanting to go."

"Whatever you want, Roza." Giving me soft kiss on the forehead, we said good night and I didn't even blink before I fell asleep.

A/N: Sooooo whatcha think ;) I know it's a bit short and just a tad rushed...but I feel like it was the best way to really incorporate Sydney into the story in a way that fits everyone's character. Apologizes for any grammar mistakes I didn't fix, it's honestly my weakness and I tried fixing what I could, but I guarantee I missed something haha. Either way! Sydney finally knows! And Romitri is still going strong! What do you think will happen in the next chapter?! (Honestly tell me if there's something you'd like to see w Romitri and the kids at the zoo or park or movie and I'll put it in!)

Also! As I mentioned, I'm open to ideas and storylines, but not yet! I want you to read ch 27 first! So I'm giving you like a month (more or less) to come up with anything relatable, and then at the end of ch 27 I'll ask again, and that's when you can leave a PM or Review with your idea...that's not to say you can't now haha I'll definitely take suggestions now, just keep in mind there's something in ch 27 that could totally change your mind about how you want this to progress.

I hope you all have a fun, safe, and relaxing Spring/Easter Break!