So there's a fair amount happening in the Epilogue, so I decided to split it into two parts. This is the first part, which answers the current questions about Dimitri. :)

The next half will be up soon (hopefully) to officially conclude Black Rose.

Thank you all so much for the reviews. I got a lot of nice compliments that really made my day- plus, seeing everybody so excited (well, for you guys it was more like you were freaking out for Dimka) about the plot was really fantastic. So thank you again for reviewing, and please keep it up!

Part II is coming soon.

EPILOGUE

Or at least she had tried to.

Help had arrived just in the knick of time, getting Dimitri to the hospital so that both professional doctors and spirit-users (both Lissa and Adrian had been enlisted in the uproar; it wasn't clear just how intense his injuries had been) were there to fix him. He hadn't died before Lissa healed him, so he wasn't shadow-kissed. My best friend closed the gap in his chest as easily as she had shut mine. He was back up and walking the next day, as though nothing had ever happened.

But it didn't change the fact that I had come so close to losing him.

It put everything in perspective, and I had found myself watching so much more closely how we utilized our time as a family.

Dimitri's and my jobs—and someday in the distant future, our daughters' jobs—put us in harm's way every day. As was demonstrated two months ago, it didn't even take battling Strigoi to bring you to your end…it could be something as unpredictable as a wronged friend.

"Two months since…?" I prompted.

He overlooked the stupidity behind the question and went on as though I hadn't spoken. "Two months, and I swear you're even more beautiful now."

I felt a flush rise in my cheeks.

Dimitri reached down and cupped my face. "I love you. I love our daughters. And I don't want to pretend anymore."

"Pretend?" I asked in confusion. "What are we pretending?"

Dimitri pressed an urgent kiss to my lips, probably just to shut me up. As soon as he backed away, he started talking again. "You are everything to me. My family is everything to me. And I'm not going to wait to screw this up."

"Screw what up?" I was utterly lost. I glanced behind us, checking on Lissa and Christian, who were fine. I caught a quick glimpse of Janine and the twins a few yards away, where the attendees were loading up to trek back to Court for the reception.

Dimitri paused. "You look stunning, Roza. Even more stunning than you did the first time I saw you. Even more stunning than our first night together. Even more—"

"Dimitri," I said sternly, "You're freaking me out. What's—"

He bent down on one knee. "Like I said, Roza, I love you, and I'm not going to wait any longer. Things have changed; our circumstances have changed. Now you and I get to capture the chance to embrace our love…and I'm seizing it." He produced a small box.

I wasn't stupid. I knew what was going on. But for some reason, my mind wasn't processing it, and I went mute.

"Roza," Dimitri said, opening the little box to reveal the most astonishingly, strikingly exquisite diamond ring I had ever laid eyes on. "Will you marry me?"

"What about Jasmine?"

I wrinkled my nose, flipping to the next page. "Oh look, here's a Nathaniel."

Lissa shook her head adamantly. "No, we already agreed that if it's a boy, he's going to be named Andre."

Two more months had flown by, moving at such a warp speed that I was almost scared to see the end of the year approaching.

Lissa was, indeed, pregnant, now five months along, and she was showing. She and Christian were still in their honeymoon stage and still thrilled to be newlyweds. The pregnancy sparked even more lovey-dovey cooing, and it was hard to be around them for long periods of time now. Lissa's hormones were also driving me crazy through the bond.

I stretched out on the bed next to her, rolling onto my stomach and glancing at the time. We had only been back from Lissa's doctor checkup for an hour, but it was already time for me to leave. Groaning, I rolled off the mattress. "I have to go get the girls," I said. "I told Adrian I would pick them up at three."

"Can't Dimitri get them?" Lissa whined. "I need help picking out girls names!"

"Where's Sparky?" I asked, shrugging on my sweater. "He should probably have a say in this."

"They're together," she groaned. "Christian went somewhere and Dimitri had to escort him, or something or other." Lissa slowly maneuvered herself off of the mattress and hobbled me to the door, sighing. "I won't follow you all the way downstairs, because I won't make it back up here," she said, "but give me a hug goodbye, and come back for dinner." She grinned at me. Through the bond, I heard her excitement: We have more important things to discuss.

I made it to Adrian's with two minutes to spare, which was lucky. He was all but pushing the girls out the door when I arrived.

"What's this?" I asked. The girls ran to me in excitement, leaping on me in greeting. I kept my attention focused on Adrian. "In a rush?"

He pecked my cheek as he went by, walking backwards and calling to me, "I have a date. Can't be late." He seemed to realize the rhyme, and I heard him creating a silly tune and singing it as he left.

I finally turned to the girls. They were five now, and somewhere along the way they had experienced a growth spurt. Viktoria was at least two inches taller, and Lexi was almost three. They had dedicated themselves to sparring with Dimitri and me, and they were rapidly proving their natural talent.

"How was your day?" I asked as we walked. It was wintertime in Pennsylvania, and the three of us were wrapped up to keep warm. The girls were dancing around enough, too, to help keep them from getting chilled.

"Fun," Lexi said at the same time that Viktoria said, "Uncle Addie seemed distracted."

I felt a smile stretch across my face. The girls hadn't yet realized that Adrian had a new love interest, and no one felt the need to enlighten them. We all knew that the moment they found out that they lost their #1 spots in Adrian's eyes, there would be hell to pay for the other woman.

Good thing it was Angelina, and she was looking forward to the day when the twins found out.

"Is Uncle Addie going to stop playing with us?" Lexi asked, interrupting my personal inside joke.

"No!" I exclaimed. "He's just busy now." I reached down and smoothed Viktoria's hair before she danced away. "Are you girls hungry?"

We had reached the center of Court. The snow was beginning to fall, gently layering the bare trees and the stone pathways. A small gathering was present up ahead; I immediately recognized the first tall figure in sight. So did the girls. My earlier question was completely forgotten as they found their new shiny toy.

"Daddy!" They both exclaimed, Viktoria's voice ringing out before Lexi's. The twins barreled toward him.

Dimitri turned, bending down swiftly. I was too far to hear what he whispered, but he put his finger to his lips and pointed back to me. From their fallen expressions, I could tell that he had delivered bad news.

Our eyes met briefly as he rose. He gave a brief, formal nod before turning back to the focus of the meeting.

"What was that about?" I asked as the girls sauntered back dejectedly.

"Daddy said he couldn't play right now because he's at an important meeting with Uncle Chrissie, so he told us to come back to you."

When I glanced back at Dimitri, my gaze lingered for a moment too long. He turned again, his dark eyes pinning me sharply. I felt my breathing hitch in my throat. The person he had been listening to must have dismissed the meeting, because after a brief glimpse back towards the front, Dimitri turned his full attention to me.

It was Christian who came forward first. "Hey, Rose," he said. I could have sworn that I heard nervousness in his tone. "Where's Lissa?"

"Oh, you know, I left her stranded and alone…" I watched Christian's face turn white with fear, and I quickly snapped, "She's fine, Sparky. Jeez, did you really think I was going to let her get hurt on the short walk to the doctor's and back? She's at home, on the bed, comfy and cozy with all of her baby name books."

Christian's face brightened again, and he let out a sigh of relief. He switched his interest to the girls, who were eagerly tugging at their father.

"Come on Dimitri," he said, elbowing the giant Russian. Christian probably hurt himself more than he hurt Dimitri. "Loosen up. It doesn't matter that you're on duty; enjoy your family. Hell, say hi to your fiancée. You've barely acknowledged Rose."

I grinned, watching Dimitri shoot Christian a gentle glare. He followed his charge's orders, however, and scooped me up quickly, pressing his warm lips to mine.

"Hello, Roza," he whispered huskily in my ear once we separated.

"Jeez, I didn't mean that," Christian muttered behind Dimitri.

The girls were going wild, vying for their father's attention. "Daddy, Daddy!" They were both taking turns screeching. "Let's practice sparring!"

With his muscled arm draped around my shoulders, he turned to the twins. "I can't right now," he said. "I have to watch over your uncle."

Christian rolled his eyes. "The meeting is over," he said. "I'll be fine walking back home by myself." With a shrug, he gestured to us. "Stay with your family. Enjoy them. I'll see you tonight at dinner."

Dimitri looked pained to leave his charge alone, but Christian refused to let him walk away from us. I had to give Sparky credit; that was a nice thing to do.

Left alone, he gently pressed another kiss to my forehead. The girls hadn't stopped their squealing, so he finally said, "You win. We'll practice sparring. But first we need to go get changed, and then we need to set up in the gym."

Viktoria bolted forward, charging past us. "I'm going to beat you home," she challenged. "And I'm going to be the first one to the gym."

Lexi didn't like that. With a scowl, she caught up to her sister. "Nuh-uh," she taunted. "I'm faster than you."

Dimitri and I shared a glance while the girls battled it out. Giving each other knowing grins, we both took off at a jog. Our long legs—his longer than mine, of course—took us far, but it didn't take long at all for the twins to catch on.

"Hey!" They both chorused, leaping after us. "That's cheating!"

While the four of us raced—Dimitri and I toning it down considerably to account for our five-year-old children—the cool air grew colder, and small flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky.

The girls were instantly distracted by the weather change, and sparring seemed to be forgotten as snowflakes began to descend upon their small heads.

"Ice-skating!" Lexi spun towards us, exclaiming. "Let's go to the pond!"

Dimitri's eyes lit up. "That, Shashen'ka," he said, "is a fantastic idea."

Viktoria slipped on a patch of ice, landing directly on her bottom. She paused for a moment, stunned, but then looked at me with tears in her eyes. Given the force that she landed with, I had to give the kid credit for not instantly falling apart.

I picked her up before she started wailing, knowing that she had inherited my flare for drama. She had a large wet spot from the snow, and her teeth started chattering.

"All right," I said, motherly instinct kicking in. "We're going to go home and change, and we'll meet you at the pond." I turned to Dimitri, Viktoria in my arms, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him goodbye. Lexi was watching her sister with an amused expression.

"Be strong, my beautiful Vika," Dimitri murmured after kissing me. "Don't shed a tear."

I carried a sad-faced five-year-old back home, treading carefully on the slippery ground. The snow was turning to ice in the bitter cold, and I was beginning to remember just how unfriendly the Pennsylvania winters could be.

I helped change Viktoria and get her warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate before heading out for the pond.

"Mommy," Viktoria said suddenly, "Can I see your ring again?"

I paused in surprise. "My ring? You mean my engagement ring?"

Viktoria nodded. I dutifully stuck out my hand, and she ogled the diamond.

"How much longer until Lexi and I get to walk you down the aisle?"

I grinned. I had originally wanted Lexi and Viktoria to be flower girls, or the ring bearers—something traditional for a wedding. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the twins and I had been closer than that; we had shared four years together, depending on only each other. That counted for a hell of a lot more than throwing flowers around. So then I tried to promote them to bridesmaids, or maybe even little maids of honor, but I knew I needed Lissa to fill those shoes. So then they transferred to the one spot I knew would be open—walking me down the aisle.

"Only a few more weeks," I said, feeling my heartbeat speed up. The girls were constantly asking about the wedding, which had kept me on top of making sure everything was done on time. The last thing for me to do was go to the final fitting for my wedding dress—which had been no easy task to obtain in the first place.

Lissa had insisted on accompanying me, which meant we needed a large number of guardians to assist. We went to the largest bridal boutique within state limits and, after hundreds of dresses, settled on a gorgeous strapless, with intricate beading around the bodice and a heavy skirt that blossomed out in waves. Even my employees—all females, to pass it off as unsuspicious at the shop—were in awe.

"Will anything change after you and Daddy get married?"

I considered for a moment. She slurped at her cocoa. "I don't think so," I finally said. "We'll still live here, together, like we are now. And we'll still be spending lots of time with Auntie Lissa and Uncle Chrissie."

Viktoria's brow creased. "But Uncle Addie isn't around as much."

I bit back a smile. It was true; part of the reason that Adrian was keeping his distance was because of the tense relationship he and Dimitri shared. But the other part—the more prevalent part—was that he and Angelina had moved on from their unrelenting hatred of each other, and had let their relationship blossom into a precious romance.

The girls had yet to find out that they had been replaced in his heart by a certain lady.

"He's still around," I said determinedly, not offering any more or less. Viktoria had finished her hot chocolate, so I prompted her out the door. Just as I was about to lock up, the telephone went off. With a grumble, I snatched it off the receiver.

"Hathaway," I barked impatiently.

"Is this Rose?" An unfamiliar voice questioned.

With a brief gesture to Viktoria, I stepped back inside the house and shut the door. Viktoria watched me darkly, clearly unhappy that I was delaying her time with her father.

"Yes," I said. "Who is this?"

"My name is Patrice LuElle," she said, her feminine voice high and soprano. Based on her voice, I pictured her as a petite twig with long, stick-straight blonde hair, and huge blue eyes. Was it just me, or did she sound panicky? "I'm calling with some bad news."

"Okay…" I said slowly. "Wanna tell me what this bad news is, or do I have to guess?"

"No, no," she said quickly.

Yeah, I thought, she's definitely panicky.

"No need to guess. I'll…I'll tell you."

I frowned. "Look…Patrice, was it? I'm kinda in a rush here—"

"On behalf of Tarasov prison, I'm calling with a formal apology and strict warning concerning an inmate—"

My throat went dry and my stomach shriveled. "Did you say Tarasov?" I choked out.

"Yes, ma'am, she's esca—"

I slammed the phone down, instantly picking it up and dialing Hans.

"Croft," he grunted.

"I need an immediate update on Tasha Ozera and her status at Tarasov," I gasped. I needed to try to prove that blonde bimbo wrong. "And I need to be put through to Tatiana immediately." Just in case she wasn't.

"Rose, slow down," Hans said. "Why are you asking about Tasha?"

"She's escaped," I snapped, anxiety rushing into my voice. Viktoria was looking at me in fear, her big eyes rounded in terror. "Tasha's gone."