I threw myself on to our bed, burying my face in Dimitri's pillow. This was supposed to have been a special day where I showed Abe how much he'd come to mean to me. Instead, he was furious. Whatever today reminded him of was enough to make him hate me – and consequently, I hated myself.

I'd taken off in a rush, but now I was here I could hear furious voices downstairs. Abe and Dimitri, by the sound of it. They were speaking, well shouting really, in Russian, so I didn't know what was being said, but it sounded like it was escalating and by far the angrier of the two voices was Dimitri's. I was getting worried it might come to blows when I heard a third male voice interrupting the others; Pavel if I had to take a guess. He shouted for a moment and then there was silence. His voice continued with calm authority for several moments.

When the other voices started up again, they sounded more controlled. I could hear Dimitri's voice as he was explaining something, the name 'Roza' the only word I recognized amongst the unfamiliar Russian syllables. When Dimitri's voice finally stopped, I heard the voice I recognized as Abe's reply, and while most of the anger seemed to be gone, he still sounded tense. Yet I still had no idea why.

Pavel interjected again. His voice was too low for me to hear specifics, and being in Russian I wouldn't have understood in any case, but his tone sounded appeasing. Amongst two very angry men, his was the voice of reason. Dimitri and Abe seemed to be agreeing to something, and then the voices stopped. I heard footsteps on the stairs, and the next thing I knew the door to the bedroom opened and the bed beside me dipped as someone seated themselves next to me.

It was Dimitri; I could smell his aftershave. But I didn't look up from where my face was nestled into his pillow. Just then I couldn't face anyone. Even him. His huge hand was soon stroking my back, and while I was heartbroken, having my man beside me was still soothing.

"I don't understand what happened," I whimpered into the pillow. "I didn't mean to upset him. I just wanted to show him how much he's come to mean to me… Oh God – I should go down and apologize to your family and everyone. They all went to so much effort helping me arrange this, and now the whole evening is ruined! I've really fucked everything up," I wailed.

"Shh. Everyone's still outside. Pavel told them your father isn't feeling well and needed a moment."

"Don't call him that," I said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw the way he looked at me. You heard what he said. He hates me, and I doubt he wants to be my father. First Mom and now Abe… I just wish I knew what I did wrong. Why don't either of my parents love me?"

Dimitri jumped in quickly, rubbing my back firmly and reassuring me that both my parents cared. But I didn't believe him, so all that did was prompt another round of tears.

"I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding," Dimitri soothed, moving a little closer to me on the bed. He sounded far from happy about the situation, but I knew he was keeping his cool for my benefit. "Maybe if you talked to him? Explained you meant no harm…?"

"But why would he assume I had horrible motivations? 'Til now he's been so wonderful. I thought I finally had a parent who cared, and I care for him too. I know I'm probably crap at showing it, but I've never had a family. That's why I wanted to make tonight special - to show how much I appreciate him coming to the States to meet me, and then helping me so much ever since. He didn't have to, but he did, and I can't explain how after not having that ever how much it's meant to me. But now he hates me, and I don't understand why!" I wailed, sobbing into the cotton and down of the pillow once again. "I don't know what I did wrong, and I don't know why he thinks I'd try to hurt him!"

Dimitri was muttering soothing words and stroking me when the other side of the bed dipped.

"You didn't do anything wrong," an accented voice said. Abe's. It dawned on me he'd probably been there and heard everything I'd said. "I'm sorry for my reaction before. I haven't celebrated my birthday in close to thirty years, and I owe you an explanation why." He sounded tired and as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You don't owe me anything," I said bitterly, embarrassed that Abe had obviously overheard my private words with Dimitri. I kept my face in the pillow, determined not to look at either of them.

"I do. This is painful for me to speak about, but I need you to understand why I was so distressed to have my birthday marked. Please, Rose. Will you listen?"

I nodded, still refusing to look at the men sitting either side of me on the bed.

"You might have noticed I've told you about my younger years and from my twenties but nothing of the time in between? Well, there's a reason for that. It is the most painful period of my life, and it started on my thirteenth birthday."

He paused, seemingly collecting his thoughts.

"Birthdays in Turkey are not usually a big deal," he explained. "In the old days, many Turkish villagers did not even know their date of birth, so parties or presents were uncommon. But I was the youngest of my family, and the only boy, so my mother spoiled me. For my 'coming of age,' as she called it, she'd arranged a picnic by the lake for our family. It was a place we had been to many times."

I could hear his voice starting to shake, but he took a deep breath and continued.

"Mine was a large family by Moroi standards. As well as my mother, I had a father and two older sisters. My father was loving but distant and remote, so our mother was everything to us. She was my sun and moon, and I was very close to her. On the day in question we had our picnic, at night, and afterward, my sisters went for a walk around the lake. They were near the water's edge when they were cornered by a large group of men. A group of human mobsters from our town. They put up a fight, both of them, but after the men did what they did, my sisters were killed."

I could feel the bed shake a little, and I could tell from his voice Abe was crying or close to it. I could only imagine the guilt he must feel, even though it was no fault of his. From the corner of my eye, I could see his hand on the quilt in front of me, and I very cautiously moved my hand to hold his. His hand was passive, at first, but after a moment he gripped my hand and continued his story.

"The girls had been gone too long, so my parents and I packed up the picnic and went to investigate. When he saw what had happened, my father tried to fight the men, but one of them slit his throat. Then they grabbed my mother and…"

Abe was incapable of continuing, so for a moment, we sat there together as he squeezed my hand.

"The last thing my mother did was tell me to run. To save myself. And so I did. I lost my whole family that night. With no extended family living close by, from that moment I was on my own. I swore I would avenge my family, so I infiltrated the gang; climbing my way through the ranks. They didn't know I wasn't human, or that they'd murdered my family for sport. I was careful to keep any hint of that to myself. But I learned the business, and when the time was right, I made sure they all got what was coming to them."

His voice was harsh and unapologetic.

"How old were you, then?" I asked, my words muffled because of the pillow.

"Seventeen," he said with a sigh. "I took control of the business, expanding the human interests and expanding operations into the Moroi world. It started with blood running; then I discovered a way to convert a little Moroi venom into a drug that humans would pay a fortune for. I'd get blood donations from young, unpolluted humans and sell it at a premium to Moroi with a taste for that sort of thing. As part of the deal, my buyers would provide me with some of their saliva, which I'd convert into a drug and sell back to humans. That was the start of my empire, but I soon diversified into anything I could that made money.

"By the time I was twenty, I was the head of the largest organized crime syndicate in Turkey and Russia, and I started to clean up my image enough that I could be a part of polite Moroi society when I wanted to be. That's what I was doing when I met your mother," he explained. "I was traveling with a bunch of aged Moroi, making myself agreeable and making respectable contacts."

"I'm sorry," I said, rolling slightly toward him on the bed. I didn't mean about his twenties; I was talking about everything that had gone before.

"You weren't to know," he said with a sigh, squeezing my hand.

"Since then I've continued expanding my business interests. I promised myself I would never be poor and I would never be vulnerable again. I have succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, and now at least three-quarters of my dealings are in legal, legitimate businesses, although I don't advertise that. I've been careful with my money and received good advice. The bulk of it is invested in stocks, bonds, and real estate. But I'd trade it all to have my family back."

While he was talking, Abe's other hand had started stroking my hair. Gone was the scary man I'd seen downstairs before, and back was the man who'd given me so much.

"Why were you so upset about the necklace?" I asked, still feeling the sting on my neck from where he'd wrenched it from me.

"It was my mother's," he said. "Or it's very like the one she had. The bead is called…"

"A nazar," I finished. "Mom gave it to me at Christmas."

"Did she tell you how she came to have it?" he asked tightly.

"No. She didn't even tell me it was yours, although I got the impression it was. She said when she was younger she got a lot of attention from men, and while it was flattering at first, it wasn't in the end. She said that it could be hard to tell the difference between real affection and something else, but that one day I'd experience real love, and then I'd know."

I peeked up at my father's face, and he looked confused, and then sad.

"It was the only thing I had left of my mother's. We weren't a wealthy family, and the landlord kicked me out and took everything we'd owned in lieu of back rent after my family died. One of the gang had taken this from my mother as a souvenir after he'd…" Abe faltered. "I took it back when he got what was coming to him."

I shuddered, trying not to think about what Abe had done to get it back.

"How did Mom come to have it?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not sure. Your mother and I only knew each other a few weeks and were only intimate for a weekend, and while it was diverting, it was nothing serious – at least to me. We went our separate ways, and I never saw your mother again until Sheridan. A few months after the weekend with your mother, I was in a different city with another group of Moroi when the room I was staying in was ransacked while I was out. The place was a mess, but the only things taken were a large stack of cash from the safe and the nazar which I'd also kept there. I couldn't have cared less about the money, but the nazar was the most precious thing in the world to me, and I was beyond furious at its theft. It was like losing my mother all over again. It didn't occur to me the robbery had anything to do with Janine. We'd parted amicably…"

I squeezed Abe's hand supportively.

"I am so sorry. I really had no idea. When Mom gave it to me, I thought maybe it had been a token of your affection. I didn't know she'd stolen it from you! I wore it today to mark your birthday and to remind myself to ask you about it."

"It's not your fault, although one day I will ask Janine if this is the one that disappeared. I honestly don't even care if she took it now," he confessed. "I'd just be glad to know if yours is the one that had been my mother's."

He sounded so broken; I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Dimitri was still sitting on my other side, his hand resting supportively on my hip as Abe spoke. He had wisely kept out of the discussion, but I got the sense he wasn't prepared to leave me alone with Abe just yet, nor was he happy about what happened - no matter what the reason.
"I understand now why you're upset," I said. "But I want you to know that was never my intention. It was foolish holding you a party without letting you know, but it was the only way I could think of to show you how grateful I am for everything you've done for me, and for choosing to be part of my life. I really had no idea this day would remind you that you lost your family."

"It's ok. I am the one who needs to apologize. I made horrible assumptions without all the information. I'm afraid it's an occupational hazard, but I should have known better than to ever think things like that about my own daughter. If you forgive me, I'd like to try and forget this happened and move on from this."

"Of course I forgive you," I said sitting up nervously.

"Good – because I don't want this day to be about remembering what I've lost, anymore. I have a family again now. You are my family, and that's what I want this day to be about from now on. Now, how about we clean ourselves up and go down to enjoy the birthday party my kiz arranged for me?" he coaxed gently. He was looking at me carefully, trying to judge my mood.

"Kiz?"

"It means daughter in Turkish."

"What's the Turkish word for dad?"

"That would be baba."

"Ok, Baba. Let's go downstairs," I said nervously before Abe pulled me into his arms for a long hug.

"Perfect timing! The sashlyks are ready!" Eddie announced casually when Abe, Dimitri, Pavel and I emerged a second time from the house.

Pavel had been waiting downstairs but gave me a tentative smile when I'd descended with Abe and Dimitri. He didn't say anything, but he looked pleased when he noticed Abe and I holding hands and staying close to one another as we went outside. Dimitri was hovering beside us watching Abe carefully. Sure the crisis might be over, but Dimitri was still on his guard. I wasn't the only one Abe would need to rebuild trust with.

"Well, that sounds perfect! I love a good sashlyk!" Abe said enthusiastically, all sign of his previous uncertainty and anger gone. He was doing us utmost to be agreeable to all. "Everything smells delicious!"

And like that, genial Abe was back. He made his way to the mangal, claiming a couple of skewers and putting a little of each salad onto his plate and walking over to where Olena and Yeva were sitting at a table near the bonfire. Dimitri, Pavel, and I followed, each with overflowing plates, and the six of us sat together.

Olena noticed my red-rimmed eyes, and I saw Dimitri shoot her a look to let her know everything was ok. She was still concerned but left it. Yeva, on the other hand, quickly launched into a discussion about her garden and the planting she'd be doing soon with complete disregard for anything that might have taken place.

"These sashlyks are delicious. Did you make them Rose?" Abe asked, looking at me tenderly.

"Yeah. Well with Dimitri, Eddie and Meredith. We all helped, and we made the salads, too." I was trying to be upbeat, but I know I didn't sound myself.

"Did you know, when St. Vlad's closed, Roza couldn't cook a thing?" Dimitri jumped in, trying to put me at ease.

"It's true," I chuckled, pulling the meat from the sashlyk skewers before spearing a piece of the meat with my fork and popping it into my mouth.

Oh man – Dimitri had not been wrong about sashlyks! This was amazing. I was only half listening to the story Dimitri was telling as I tried each of the salads. They were good, too!

"… so once we realized Janine couldn't cook, and Stan was hopeless other than breakfast, as well as teaching combat I got to teach the Novices basic cooking!"

"Hey! I could cook before. A little bit…" Eddie joked, catching the last of Dimitri's comments as he came over to sit with us.

"A very little bit," I teased. "Castile – you were almost as hopeless as I was!"

"Yeah, alright," he agreed laughing. "So you're all set for Omsk? Sonya said Tuesday and Wednesday would be perfect."

"You're going to Omsk?" Abe asked attentively.

I looked around to make sure we would not be overheard by Sonya or Kirill before I answered.

"Yeah. Just for a night. Sonya's boyfriend has a business and lives there, and he's got a new flat. It needs renovating, so he's asked Sonya to visit for a couple of days to give her opinion on it."

Abe looked perplexed. It was like I was speaking a different language.

"Their relationship is very new," I explained. "But he's asking for her opinion so he can set up the apartment to her taste. It's not appropriate for her to go and stay there alone, so Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith and I are going to chaperone the visit."

"Meredith and I are chaperoning! You and Dimitri are going to stay at a hotel for 'alone time,'" Eddie said in a sing-song voice.

I gave him a level look. While it might be the truth, I was willing to bet Dimitri was just as embarrassed as I about having this fact mentioned in front of his mother, my father, his grandmother and Abe's Guardian!

"Got an issue with that?" I growled protectively. "Because I am sure Dimitri can arrange lots of alone time for you running continuous laps of Baia as part of your training if you do…"

"No problem!" Eddie said, raising his hands in the surrender position.

"Didn't think so," I smirked triumphantly, standing up to get myself some more food.

Abe stood beside me. Dimitri stood up to follow us, but I shook my head at him, letting him know I was up to it. Abe and I walked back toward the tables of food, him stopping to say a word to a group of his Guardians as he passed. Then we stood together at the edge of the bonfire, watching the flames in silence.

"I scared you today. I saw it in your eyes, and I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've let someone get close enough to frighten me, and I'm not used to it. You're a remarkable young woman, Rose. I'm proud to call you my daughter, and I promise to listen before getting the wrong idea in future."

I could hear the remorse in his voice, but I could also still picture the anger in his eyes and the hate on his face as he'd shouted at me. It was going to take me time to move past that, but I was willing to try. Taking a deep swallow, I reached for his hand.

"I know, Baba. This is a big adjustment for both of us. We've both spent the majority of our lives with no one. I'm really scared of doing the wrong thing here, but if I do you need to know it's not on purpose. I want you to know I love you. I know it's only been a few weeks, but you're special to me."

We stood by the fireside, Abe's arm around me. Despite our misunderstanding earlier, I felt ok. It was ridiculous to think two strangers could become family without a few hiccups. Like it or not, we had a lot to catch up on, but we had reaffirmed our commitment, and that was a start.

"Thank you for organizing this for me," Abe said, staring into the flames. "It's honestly the best birthday I've ever had. I love you, Rose. I'm so glad we've found each other."