I opened my eyes to find Paul standing beside my bed, Zoya sitting on top of me, and Pepper resting his wet nose against my neck.
It took me a moment to realize where I was and to remember that Rose, Alberta and I had made it back from Russia last night after a week of not being able to fly back because of having to be questioned even more by the police just so that they were sure of what happened.
I sat up and groaned. I'd forgotten how hard it was to readjust my sleep schedule.
"Uncle Dimka!" Paul said excitedly. "You're awake! Vika, he's awake!" he shouted as he leaned out the bedroom door.
Paul bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet as we waited for Victoria to appear in the door way. She leaned against the door frame with her arms cross over her chest. Pepper perked up the second Paul had started shouting and was now standing on all fours looking me over as if trying to remember why I'm so interesting.
Everyone had been asleep when we'd finally made it here, home, and I was so tired that it didn't register I wouldn't see my family until morning. Now that I'm awake, it feels good seeing the familiar loving faces of my family.
"So, you made it back alive," Victoria grinned.
"Thank goodness," I answer running my hands over my tired eyes so I could look my family over clearly.
"We thought you were dead," Paul says. "You slept a long time. Grandma said I had to stop poking you to make sure you were okay. She told me to be patient but now you're awake!" He leaped forward and wrapped his arms tight around my neck. "I missed you uncle Dimka."
"I missed you too, Paul."
I hugged him back and reveled in the fact that I was here, alive, able to hug him.
"I missed you too I guess," Victoria mumbles as she strolls over and sits on the edge of my bed.
"Vika, are you getting soft on me?"
She rolls her eyes but is smiling. "Yes, yes, Dimka. I missed you. A lot happened and for a second we thought we wouldn't see you again."
For a second, I had the same worried.
"That's the only time I'm ever going to say that though so don't get use to it!" She adds pointed a finger at me.
I chuckled, expecting no less from my sister.
"I am glad you're back though," she says a second later, softly. I reach my other arm out and Paul and I reel her in for a group hug. "I'm glad you're both back," she says voice muffled by my sleep shirt.
Both.
At this, I remember there were two people in this bed when we went to sleep. I look over to where Rose had gone to sleep beside me and saw an empty side of the bed.
"She's downstairs, helping with the party plans," Vika tells me once she guesses what I'm about to ask.
"Party?"
Paul nods excitedly. "We're having a party! Everyone in the neighborhood wants to hear about what happened."
"More specifically they want to hear about Yeva kicking some serious ass," Victoria adds grinning at the memory.
The thought of my elderly grandmother showing a bunch of hired muscle whose boss is such an odd image in my mind I start laughing too.
"I want to hear about it too but first-"
"You're going to go check on your girlfriend," Victoria grins teasing.
Instead of answering I stand up, give Victoria a playful shove white ruffling Paul's hair, and grab some clothes to dress. After showering and dressing I follow the sound of my sisters' and mother's voices and find them in the kitchen surrounded by everything needed to make full tables of food for a party.
I watched them for a second, working furiously to cook and laughing all the while. Paul and Zoya were coloring at the table. It was such a familiar sight I thought my heart was going to swell and burst out of my chest. I missed this. The smell of food in the air, laughter in my ears, family all around me.
At one point, before all of this happened, I'd been ready to leave Baia and not look back for a really long time. Right now, I couldn't imagine ever being anywhere else. Despite all the trouble, drama, and near death experiences, I thought Montana was nice but this...this was home.
"Dimka!" My mother finally noticed me standing in the doorway and before I knew it I was in a circle of tight hugs, kisses, and a flurry of words about how happy they all were to have me back safe and sound.
"I can't believe all of that happened and I can't believe what happened here! I mean I was here and I still don't believe it," Karolina was saying.
"I don't believe it either," I said looking at my mother and Yeva. "I mean I've always known you guys could defend yourselves but...I wish I'd seen it from what Ivan told me," I chuckled imagining my mother and grandmother fighting to defend their home and family.
"We did what we had to do," my mother laughs.
My grandmother nods solemnly but I can see a small smile appearing.
"I believe it."
"I'm just glad everyone is okay," Sonya sighs.
That seems to be the only phrase to sum it all up. There's too much emotion to really sum up everything so we can only talk about what we're happy about.
"Me too," I sigh looking at Sonya...and notice for the first time that she is smaller in the stomach area than she should be. "Sonya..."
"I went into labor that same day that everything happened. Stress," she tells me.
I'm in such disbelief that she'd had the baby and the fact that I didn't know, I'm speechless for a second. I look at Victoria. She shrugs.
"I thought it'd be more fun if it was a surprise."
"Why didn't Ivan tell me?"
"He'd already left to get back to Mia," Karolina answers.
"We would've told you over the phone but you never called us back after that one time you talked to Mama," Victoria says.
"I was a little startled when I got up this morning and found Alberta in my kitchen drinking coffee," my mother laughed.
"I know. Everything was so crazy. The police and Eddie needed us to stay a week longer just to make sure everything was in order," I explained.
I don't know how many times I had to tell the story, from that first day of when I dropped that piece of wood on Rose's head to the moment André shot Abe. It was a story I'd forever live with and never forget.
I look at my family as they watch me playing everything over in my mind.
I relaxed. Maybe this would be apart of my life forever but I was going to make sure I made better, happier memories from this moment on to replace it. I smile slightly at the thought and then hugged Sonya.
"Well congratulations. Where's the baby? And where's Rose and Alberta?" I added remembering the other reason I'd pulled myself out of bed.
"Outside," my mother answered.
Everyone returned to continue fixing dinner while I started making my way to the backyard. Suddenly I felt someone walking beside me and I looked to see that it was Yeva. It always surprised me how fast she could move even with the cane.
She touches my arm to stop me from walking.
"You did a good job saving her, Dimka," she says as we look out the doors that led out to the patio where Alberta and Rose are leaning against the back railing talking. I can't really see anything except the blanket but I know she's holding Sonya's baby.
"She saved me too," I say so suddenly that it's a moment before even I realize what I mean.
I'd always had a plan for myself, a promise to only take care of my family even if it meant working my entire life and never being completely happy with having done nothing meaningful with my life, something I wanted to do. The moment I met Rose and the time we spent together afterward, I started changing, seeing possibilities of having my family and complete happiness, having someone to wake up next to every morning and sleep beside every night.
She save me from having an incomplete life.
It was among the many reasons I loved her.
My grandmother, the all-knowing elderly woman she is, just smiles and says, "Yes, yes she did," before turning to return to the kitchen.
I push the doors to the patio open and walk out.
Rose and Alberta smile when I come out.
"We thought you'd sleep the day away," Alberta says.
Behind them, the sun is ready to set into the evening. I practically did sleep the day away. It was one of the first nights of sleep where I didn't have to close my eyes and worry about whether the next day would be a bad one.
"It felt pretty good to sleep in too," I smiled, walking toward Rose to look down at the bundled baby in her arms.
He was slightly awake, his small eyelids only partially raised and his little lips parted.
"Isn't he cute?" Rose asked.
"He's a Belikov, he was bound to be cute," I answer causing both of them to laugh.
"Rose was a little nervous to hold him," Alberta explains, "But I knew a face like that could warm any heart."
Rose smiles to the woman who is practically like a mother. Alberta touches her cheek and presses a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm going to go help with the party food," she says, touching my shoulder gently, as she makes her way back into the house.
"I didn't even ask what his name is," I say once Alberta is inside and Rose and I settle ourselves against the railing of the patio deck.
"She named him Lev. Lev Dimitri Belikov," she said in full.
I looked up in surprise. "She gave him my middle name?"
Rose nodded, a small smile on her lips.
"She said she wanted her son to have a hero's name in there somewhere."
The feeling of my heart bursting was coming up again.
"You are a hero, Dimitri. You saved me and there will never be a big enough way for me to thank you." Rose was looking up at me with so much love, the setting sun reflecting in her glistening eyes, and I couldn't remember the last time I was really able to kiss her without any worries on my mind and I realized there was a never time like that.
I leaned down and pressed a long kiss on her lips.
"Just promise to love me and we'll be even."
We share and smile and then look back down at Lev as he turns slightly in her arms.
"Wanna hold him?" she offers.
I take the new edition to our family in my arms the same way I held Paul and Zoya not so long ago. He doesn't even stir at the change in who's holding him. Rose leans close and brushes her fingers over Lev's sticking out of the blanket.
"That's a nice name, huh? Lev."
"Yeah," I agreed looking at the little face.
It felt odd that after so much had happened, this little guy was new to the world, didn't know anything that was going on, and would have a fun ups and downs in his own life. When I was a kid my biggest worries were whether or not my sisters would ever play with me or if I was going to get a new western book that came out.
For a while, my adult worries were if I was going to live to see the next day, to see my family and Rose every again.
Now, I don't have to worry about anything except maybe bills and the usual money troubles but even then I know that as a family, we'll manage and get through the troubles together.
"I can't believe it," Rose says breaking through my thoughts.
Lev's eyes finally close completely and he's asleep, moving his tiny mouth up and down.
"How tiny he is?"
She shakes her head, leaning against my arm looking down at the baby. "That it's finally over."
"I told you we'd make it," I smile, thinking of the many times I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep my promise.
"I kind of don't know what to do now."
She sounds worried at the idea of having her life back, of having a normal life without having to ever look over her shoulders.
I kind of have the same worries. It sounds weird just going back to the way things use to be, me working to support this ever growing family with nothing else in mind for my future. Looking down at Lev, I wonder if sometime in the future Rose will have one these, our own addition to the family. I wonder what the future will hold: travelling, marriage, kids, simply being together just the two of us.
It seemed like there were endless possibilities.
"We'll figure it out," I promise, leaning carefully to kiss her forehead.
"Together."