Dimitri

"I miss you."

Rose gave Dimitri a squeeze so tight, he almost regretted helping her work and train so much lately.

"You haven't even left yet. We just got here," he chuckled squeezing her back, holding her face between his hands.

"I know but still...I didn't think it'd feel this bad."

"I'm the one having the surgery. Shouldn't I be the one worried about feeling bad?"

"Well, it's not easy sitting on the sidelines either," she shrieked flustered.

"Rose, the surgery will take only about five hours and my recovery time is only a couple of days considering the surgery goes well-"

"And what if it doesn't?" she whispered, playing with the zipper on the overnight bag he'd packed the night before.

Dimitri wanted to be able to tell Rose not to worry about his impending surgery but it was kind of hard to give out reassurances in a sterile, white room. Dimitri would've found the room just as starkingly intimidating and creepy if he hadn't mmade a career of spending most of his adult life in them.

He grabbed a hold of Rose's hand and pulled her back against him.

"Then I'll leave you all of my wordly posessions and the condo," he joked trying to make light of the situation, a tactic Rose usually fell back upon when nervous.

"Dimitri," she tried to scold in a serious tone but Dimitri could tell that he'd been able to make her smile. He squeezed her tighter against him, wishing that he could run his hands over the warm skin of herstomach or gently brush the tense, tender, sensitive skin of her breast to hear the unforgettable, soft sound that escaped her lips from pleasure.

He wished tgey weren't in a busy hospital room where nurses were forever entering and exiting Dimitri's assigned room. He wished she wasn't wearing this dress.

Instead he dared to allow his hands to clasp tight around her chest where he could feel the soft pattern of her heart. His lips skimmed along the warm skin of her neck before tiltibg her face up to meet his in a long lingering kiss.

She tasted as sweet and filling as she had during those long days and nights they'd spent tucked away in Dimitri's condo, their alternate form of hide-and-seek linger many hours after Dimitri's remaining hours were over. He smiled against her lips at the memories, breaking the kiss.

Rose made an irtitated sound at the kiss being broken and stared up at Dimitri dreamily.

"What were we talking about?" she sighed, grinning dazily.

"We were talking about you having nothing to worry about. This doctor is supposedly one of the best and does a hundredd of these surgeries a month."

He tucked her long curls behind her ears. "Not to mention Ivan was granted approval to observe the surgery as long as he doesn't interfere so you have nothing to worry about. You knoe Ivan wouldn't let anything happen to me. I'm his wing man, married or not, and I'm no good to him dead."

Rose shuddered at the last word but tried to give a relaxed smile. She let out a long breath.

"It's going to be weird not sleeping next to you for the first time in months. Stupid hospital rules," she muttered.

Dimitri almost laughed at the pouty scowl Rose wore. She'd nearly raised hell when she found out that Dimitri wasn't allowed hospital visitors until deemed fit enough to rest annd only then did that include family.

"Time will pass before you know it. You'll be covering at the clinic for Ivan and I and that should help these next few days go by quicker than you think."

She sighed. "I doubt it."

Before Dimitri could respond the nurses and doctors came in to the room to prep Dimitri for surgery.

"I guess this is it," Rose sighed once the nurses told her she'd have to go soon.

"Rose, I'm not going to war."

She gave a shakey laugh and not-so-reassured smile. "I know. It's just...last time we

were in here...it didn't go so well."

Dimitri was about to ask what she was talking about , thinking she was referring to after he'd been shot and was in the hospital but thenhe paused...he knew exactly what she was referring to.

The false pregnancy.

Dimitri still shuddered at the memory of how intense things had been back then and how he had reacted to the news of het possible pregnancy. They hadn't really talked about it much but Dimitri knew they'd have to discuss the subject sometime.

Just not now.

"I know," was all he said before one of the nurses cameback in to tell Rose that visiting hours were over.

They hugged and held on to each other with one long kiss before she said goodbye. Dimitri watched her walk out of the room toward the elevators until he couldn't see the coton blue dress she was weasring any more.

Dimitri missed her already.


"You're wife?" one of the many nurses inquired after Dimitri had changed into his hospital gown and settled into the hospital bed.

The nurse was checking and recording his vitals.

"Girlfriend," Dimitri anwsered quickly.

Anytime he thought or heard the word 'wife' he immediately thought of how close he'd come to providing Tasha with the title of his could feel his blood boil beneath his skin and struggled to relax at the memories. The word 'wife' or any terms referring to marriage didn't comfort Dimitri at all.

"You two seemed so close before she left, I thought I'd have to use the jaws of life to separate you two," she smiled kindly. "I assumed you were married. I've only seen such love like that in the old married couples that come through here."

Dimitri almost gave the answer or reply that he would've given if he was still jumping from girl to girl without any idea of settling down; that their relationship wasn't like that, but he stopped himself.

Things had changed.

This wasn't anything like the relationships Dimitri had been in before. In fact, this was nothing Dimitri had ever felt of experienced before.

When he was with Rose, he didn't want to let her go and when he wasnt with her he wished he was. The majority of his thoughts either revolved around Rose or concerned her in some way. Dimitri felt light and carefree lately, able to breathe and calm down when he had his long-haired, brunette in his arms or in the vecinity.

He smiled at just the thought of her laugh, the feel of her smooth, tanned limbs tangled with his own, the sweetness

of her long, lingering kisses...

"Mr. Belikov, your heart rate is through the roof," the nurse noted holding his wrist for a pulse. The older woman smiled kindly, knowingly. " Thinking about the girlfriend?"

Dimitri could actually feel a blush rising in his cheeks before admitting, "yes actually."

"That'll do it everytime," the nurse noted releasing his wrist. "Any pictures?"

The loving, corny boyfriend that he was becomnig, he should've had a roll of them in his wallet or on his phone but he didn't.

"Only one," he finally anwsered sadly, disappointed in himself. He lifted his phone for the nurse to see with the one picture he had of Rose as his wall paper. It was a photo he'd taken when they went to revisit the beach.

"This is strange," Rose sighed leaning against the railing.

"What is?"

"The last time we were here, we weren't together...I didn't think we'd ever get together," she breathed staring out at the overcast skies and the wild sea.

"It's a little like Deja Vu...except we're together now...but if I remember correctly, you were mad at me the last time we were here too because of how-"

"Mean?" she suggested.

"Yes, because of how mean I was being to you."

Rose turned away from him, resting her head on the palm of her hand. "Well, I'm still mad at you now."

Dimitri laughed, loud against the wind. "But for a completely different and insane reason," he said between chuckles. He leaned beside her on the rail, tucking her hair back so that it wasn't flapping wildly in the wind against her face. "You're mad at me because of the surgery? Seriously?"

"I just still can't believe you didn't tell me and I can't believe your even having this very risky and dangerous surgery done. You heard all of the possible consequences and risks from the doctor and you still want to do it!" she shouted over the wind.

Dimitri regretted taking her to his doctor's appointment this morning. She'd pestered the doctor with the most insane of questions and shouted at him, asking why he would even risk her boyfriend's life with such a surgery.

"Rose, the surgery will be fine. I'm a doctor, I know the risks," he tried to calm her.

Rose snorted suddenly, smiling. "I find it funny that a doctor has to go see a doctor. You'd think you'd be able to just treat yourself."

"Lemme get this straight. You'd rather have me operate on myself and risk pulling out something important rathern than have an experience professional help me?" He ask disbelieving.

"At least you know your own body. What if your doctor is secretly incompetent and drops his glasses inside your body and then sews you up without realizing. I saw that on Dr. Oz once."

"Rose, I'll be fine. Do you know how painful it would be for me to operate on myself? I think I'll leave it to the professionals."

"Well maybe you can just help them along," she suggested hopefully.

"Yes I'll just refuse the anestesia and tell them where everything goes and what doesn't belong," he said sarcastically. "You want me to sit up during surgery and give them pointers? Not a good idea. 'Yeah just tuck in that vein right there,'" Dimitri pretended.

Rose made an unamused face at his sarcasm. Dimitri could see she was just worried.

"Haven't I given you a good impression of doctors?"

"I guess," she muttered.

"You guess?" She shrugged a shoulder and exhaled deeply, resting her face against his coat. He ran smooth circles on her back. "You know, I can give you an example of everything that'll happen."

"Really? How?" She asked, her interest peaked.

"You'll have to take off your clothes for starters," he smiled. His attempt to make her smile and ease her worries worked. She grinned giggling.

"We can do that when we get home."

"Sound like fun," Dimitri agreed pressing kisses on her face. "Letting your boyfriend have his way with you again."

She pulled back slightly.

"What? Did I say something?" he ask worriedly.

"You used the label 'boyfriend'," she said as a smile spread slowly across her face.

"We've done that a lot lately. You're only noticing now?"

"It's nice to hear."

She leaned up, pressing her soft lips against Dimitri's.

"If that's what happens when I use the labels then I'll say them ore often." She smiled, kissing him again. "The perks of being a boyfriend." They kissed for a while longer.

"What more do I have to do to get more kisses like this?" Dimitri asked, his voice muffled by Rose's neck. She pulled back, hope in her eyes.

"Refuse the surgery and I'll give you more than a kiss," she proposed.

Dimitri groaned still kissing her neck.

"If I have the surgery, we'll be more likely to have moments like this."

"But the doctor said you could avoid the surgery and live normal enough."

"And also risk being paralyzed with one wrong move?"

"But you could end up being paralyzed even more with this surgery. What if you were just extra careful for the rest of your life, no more wild sex, then we could avoid this life threatening surgery and everything will be fine," she proposed.

She had her arms wrapped around him now, her back pressed against the rail. Dimitri took in her warm, fresh scent, the light whiff of her vanilla perfume and her shampoo, holding her close. He rested his forehead on her own.

"Rose, I have to take this risk so that I can avoid living the rest of my life worried that I might be paralyzed or die. It'll be fine."

Rose wasn't convinces, her face falling even further into a concerned frown, her lip puckered out. Dimitr playfully leaned down and nipped at it making her smile slightly. "Besides, if the surgery is a success, and it most likely will be, then we can have all of the wild sex we want."

"I didn't hear the doctor say that the surgery is likely to be a success," she pointed out.

"You might have if you weren't yelling at him," Dimitri muttered smothering the rest of her worries with a kiss.

"You're trying to distract me," she said ocne they'd pulled away.

"Well, yes, but I'm also trying to enjoy the time I have with my girlfriend before this perfectly safe surgery I'm supposed to have in a couple of weeks, so smile," he ordered pecking her on the lips.

She gave him a forced smile, dropping her arms from around his neck.

"A real, ginuine smile. The kind of smile you'd give in a picture," he suggested pulling out his phone. "I realized I don't have any pictures of you."

"That's because you told me not to send you any risque pictures of myself to your job since your staff has access to your phone," she smilde smugly.

"Well those would've been nice but how about one picture of you smiling with clothes on," he said holding his phone up.

"If you must," she sighed reluctantly but stood back against the rail smiling nicely. "Why don't you take this picture with me?"

"Because I want one of those pictures of my girlfriend that I can show off and brag about to anyone who asks."

"I think the pictures I wanted to send you would've been better for that."

"I'd like people to know that I've changed and have a girlfriend. They don't need to know the dirty details about our sex life."

"Good point."

Dimitri watched her over his phone where she stood with her hair blowing in her face wildly, the flaps of her waist coat and the ends of her dress billowing in the wind. She stood with her hands on the rail and her boots crossed in front of her, relaxed.

Dimitri snapped the picture, capturing her true beauty.

"How'd it come out?" she asked leaning over to see for herself.

Dimitri held her in front of him showing the photo and kissing the side of her neck.

"You couldn't be any more beautiful."

The nurse whistled. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she is," Dimitri sighed smiling, resting his head back against the hospital bed.

The nurse patted Dimitri's wrist in a nice gesture. "I'm just going to give you a bit of medicine to make you sleep," the nurse told him unnecessarily.

He was a doctor, he knew all of this stuff.

"Just count back from ninety nine and relax," she instructed stucking the needle in his arm. Dimitri felt the piercing, light pinch and started counting mentally.

When he rested back more comfortably and the nurse saw that he was relaxing she smile gently. "Thinking about your girlfriend helps to," she told him.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," she grinned heading toward the room's door. Before exiting, she paused with her hand on the door knob. "You should tell her you know."

"Tell her, what?" Dimitri asked confused.

"That you love her."


A/N: Sorry, I thought I'd posted the chapter on sunday but apparently I didn't and I should've checked. Also, the drama in the sotry will continue but I thought we needed another light hearted Rose and Dimitri chapter to liven things up and to make up for all of those chapters that were without Rose and Dimitri moments. Thanks for all of the love and reviews and private messages rmeinding me to keep this sotry alive and a new chapter will be posted soon! Thanx!