The water was cool, so Dimitri topped it up with warm water for the third time. The bath was now dangerously full but given we'd barely moved since he started talking, it wasn't a concern. Usually taciturn, in the last hour and a half Dimitri had barely paused for a moment.
Starting from the moment he'd seen me, he'd described every feeling through to now. And my heart was singing! I had so much more information. So much more insight. My poor Russian God had suffered as much as I. And, finally, he'd told it all to me. I hadn't thought it was possible to love Dimitri any more than I already had, yet here we were - and yeah I did.
When we'd climbed into the bath, I'd been on the edge of completely losing it in fear. Now I was calm again. I'd known it back in the cabin, and I knew it again now. I really couldn't do this without him!
"What do you need, Roza?" he asked, now he could feel me calm in his arms.
"I'd really love to cuddle up and watch a movie with you," I said shyly. "We've never had much of a chance before."
Smiling softly, he helped me to my feet, and together we stepped out of the bath. He dried me, and then himself. I elected for comfy sleepwear; a pair of cotton knit boyleg sleep shorts and a matching tank top, and he donned a pair of boxers. Grabbing a blanket and some pillows from our bed, we curled up together on the larger couch in front of the flatscreen, me leaning back against him.
"What do you want to watch, milaya?" he asked, softly.
"Well, there's this movie called 'The Notebook' I thought I'd like to see?"
Flicking through the TV menus, Dimitri soon had it started. Holding one another while we watched it, at the end tears were pouring down my face.
"I'm sorry, that was such a chick flick!" I said embarrassed.
"There's nothing unmanly about loving a woman and spending your whole life devoted to her," he said, looking at me with love. "It's what I intend to do," he said, taking my hand and kissing it.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, Dimitri! I love you so much! I promise to fight with everything I have to come back to you!"
Nodding, he pulled me against him, rubbing my back and keeping me calm.
A little later he asked, "So how are we going to do this?"
"Well, Abe said they're arriving at sunset. It sounds like they're bringing Lissa in sedated. I thought we'd put her in one of the rooms up here and I'll take as much of the darkness as I can bear."
Dimitri nodded, looking bleak.
"Hopefully Adrian can guide me by reading our auras. I thought if I take some of it, it might be enough?" I said, without much optimism. "But in case not, I thought it might be best to have the doctor on hand again, in case I need to be sedated."
"That makes sense," Dimitri agreed.
"If I go crazy, don't let me hurt anyone, Dimitri," I said quietly. "And if I am sedated, please take care of Lissa until I'm ok again. Tell her about us."
"I will," he promised, cuddling me.
It was past lunchtime, and my stomach was starting to grumble.
"Come on Comrade. Let's go get some food," I said, feeling a little like I was headed for the last supper. We each put on jeans and a shirt and walked hand in hand down the stairs. At the second floor, we encountered my mother and Abe. They were standing together in the foyer, he with his arms around her. As she looked up, I could see Mom had been stepped back awkwardly.
"Rosemarie, your father's just been telling me more about the spirit darkness. I had no idea it was as serious as it is," she said sniffling.
"We're both very worried about you," Abe clarified.
"Yep sucks to be me right now," I joked, hugging her then Abe, too. "We're going to get some food, you hungry?"
"Sure," Abe said, taking Mom's hand in his and following us down to the kitchen.
If Suzanne looked surprised to see Abe and Mom holding hands and in her kitchen, she didn't let on. The meals area was deserted, so we sat there while Suzanne rustled up four BLTs. Dimitri sat beside me on the bench seat, his arm around me. Abe and Mom sat opposite us. I noticed Abe had not released Mom's hand.
"So does Alberta know I'm here?" I asked Mom.
"Not exactly," Mom said. "Alberta doesn't even know where 'here' is. I was worried the academy phone lines might be compromised, so I told her I'd heard about Princess Dragomir's breakdown and that I'd arranged for her to get treatment at a private facility. I said it would be best if she were transported with people she knew and trusted, so I asked Alberta if she would come and if she could bring Adrian. They won't even know where they're headed until Pavel meets them at the airfield."
"I'm surprised she agreed to such a vague request," I said.
"Alberta's pretty canny," Mom replied, "and we've known each other a long time. She'll have twigged that the only way I could have known about Lissa is through your bond and that the only way I could send a plane to collect Lissa was with Abe's help," she explained, squeezing his hand.
"She knows about Baba then?"
"Yes. She's known since I left you at the academy. I told her everything."
Right then Suzanne brought in our BLTs, and for the next few minutes, we were all busy eating.
"Do you have any plans for the afternoon?" I asked Mom and Abe.
"Not a thing," Abe said, Mom nodding in agreement.
"I was wondering if maybe we could all play a board game?" I asked. "Monopoly or Scrabble or something?"
"That sounds like fun, Rosemarie," Mom said. "Your father and I would love to join the two of you," she said supportively. I think I could have suggested naked paintball, and she would have agreed enthusiastically at this point. It was nice to see her trying.
"Baba? Can you arrange for the doctor to come again this afternoon? Dimitri and I agreed that if the darkness is bad this time, if I can't control it, that I will be sedated. Also, Lissa will probably need to be checked out."
"Of course, I'll arrange that now. We'll need more feeders, too. I'll see you in the games room in a few minutes," Abe said, leaning over and giving Mom a quick kiss before standing up and walking towards the stairs.
"Dimitri, could you race up and grab me a jumper? I'm a little cold," I asked, seeing Mom's surprised face when Abe kissed her in front of us.
Realizing I was sending him away so Mom and I could talk Dimitri said, "Sure – I'll see you in the games room."
Mom looked uncertain where to start, so I thought I'd spare her the trouble.
"Mom, it's really nice to see you and Baba affectionate together."
"We're not together if that's what you mean. I guess I'm just remembering all the things about him I used to love so much," she said uncertainly.
"It doesn't matter if you are together Mom. Just enjoy yourselves," I said, parroting Abe's words to me. I'd neglected to repeat the 'scream the house down if you want' part because frankly, I could live without hearing that!
"You approve then?"
"It's not up to me to approve or not approve. But I think it's great," I said with a smile, meaning it. "Now you ready to get slaughtered at Monopoly?" I asked her.
As it was Mom and I both got owned. Abe was the out and out winner, although Dimitri put up a good fight. We'd had an awesome afternoon sitting on the floor in the games room around a low coffee table. Mom and Abe were laughing and teasing each other, and at one point Dimitri was tickling me for landing on one of his properties. The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon when a Guardian knocked at the door, announcing Dr. Bojarovski had arrived and was waiting in our suite.
"Might as well get my ribs checked," I said.
Heading upstairs with Dimitri I quickly shed my top, and the doctor checked out my ribs.
"They're healing well," she said. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes. I'll need a repeat prescription for the pill. I've only got a few left in this pack," I said showing it to her.
Looking at it, she scrunched up her nose.
"Are you using that for birth control or to time your periods?" she asked.
"Um, both?" I said, immediately alarmed.
"Hmm. This is the mini pill, and it's quite good, but you have to be careful to take it at the same time each day otherwise it can be ineffective as a method of birth control. I'd feel happier if you were on a combination pill," she said, pulling a box of a different brand from her bag. "You can change straight over from one to the other."
My mind was frantically racing. I took my pill when I woke up every morning, but the time had been a bit variable over the last week what with changing from day to night and then being on the run. Looking up at Dimitri's horrified face, I turned back to the doctor.
"Um, I think I have been? Are you saying I could be pregnant?"
"It's unlikely, but it's a chance. Would you like to take a test?"
Hurriedly I sat on the edge of the bed before I fainted.
"Yes please," I replied nervously.
Searching within her bag, the doctor brought out two different tests.
"These brands are very accurate. Instructions are on the pack," she said passing them to me.
Walking woodenly towards the bathroom, Dimitri followed shutting the door behind us. Without a word, I opened one test, following the instructions before doing likewise with the other. Sitting on the edge of the bath, side by side, Dimitri took my hand in his.
"No matter what it is, we'll be ok, and I'll be with you, alright?" he reassured me.
Nodding, I just looked at him.
Dimitri's watch read two minutes, so I picked up the first test to look. One line.
"What does that mean?" Dimitri growled, trying to find the instructions amongst the boxes and bits of paper on the washstand with impatience.
"It means not pregnant," I whispered.
The second test was an electronic one. It beeped to say it was ready, and we turned it over to read 'Not pregnant' written on the LED panel.
As one we both breathed again.
"Oh thank God!" I said, looking at Dimitri. He just nodded.
Pulling me to him he said, "One day, milaya, I promise you we'll be doing this for real. And when we do it will be wonderful. Just not yet."
"No, not yet," I agreed.
If the doctor thought it was strange to see two very relieved Dhampir emerge from the bathroom after taking a pregnancy test, she kept it to herself.
"I take it you're not pregnant then?" she asked kindly.
"No!" I said, obviously thankful. "Does that mean it's safe? Is there still any risk?"
"You'll be fine," she said. "If there's been any exposure in the last day or two, the new pill will act much like the morning after pill. Take one of the new pills now, and then start taking it as normal from tomorrow morning. You can discard your other pack." She ran me through the risks and potential side effects of the new pill, but honestly, I was still so overcome with finding out I wasn't pregnant that I barely heard her.
Dimitri, of course, was listening carefully and taking it all in. Thanking her profusely, he showed her down to the second floor where she would wait with Abe and Mom for Lissa to arrive. We still had half an hour or so before the group from St, Vladimir's were expected, as near as I could tell, so when Dimitri came back to our suite, I pulled him down onto the bed beside me.
"Hold me, Comrade?"
"Always, Roza," he said tenderly.
