Hello, Lovelies! After working away all day from home, I decided I need a little break and thought I would post another chapter. I hope you are all well, and for those who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Sitting in the back of the Belikov's backseat with Karolina, listening to the three of them chat away in their native tongue, I feel serenity wash over me. The smiles on their faces are contagious and seeing the weight that has been lifted off Dimitri's shoulders makes me feel like the world is starting to go right for us.
"So how exactly were you turned back to a dhampir Dimka?" Karolina asks Dimitri and he looks back at me.
"I think it's best until we get home, it's a long story and it's one I'd rather only tell once." Karolina nods her head and turns to me, asking how everything has been since returning to America and graduating while Olena and Dimitri continue speaking.
"How is Viktoria?" I ask hesitantly. Karolina furrows a brow and looks over at her brother before whispering in my ear.
"Sonya and Vika talked about Rolan, and Vika understands what she did was wrong, and you were just looking out for her. But when she found out you were coming, she got quiet and went up to her room. I think she's worried that you're mad at her." I sigh and shake my head, mentally gearing up for what is to come. Pulling down the street leading to their house, the look of joy on Dimitri's face is radiant and both Karo and I look at him adoringly.
"Ready?" I ask him. He turns to look at me and takes my hand with a large smile on his face.
"I've been ready since you told me I was coming with you," he replies. We all step out of the pickup truck and the Belikovas walk up to the house to have the family gather outside in the sun, to lessen any confusion regarding Dimitri. Dimitri takes the opportunity and whisks me up into his arms, kissing me passionately before setting me back on my feet. A little breathless, I tilt my head up to look at him.
"What was that for?" I breathe, my heart fluttering. Tucking my curls behind my ears he cups my face and places a kiss on my forehead.
"For being you, and for never giving up on me. Even when I deserved it. And thank you for doing everything you could to save my soul," he proclaims against my forehead and pulling me into another hug.
The front door opens again, and I step back from his embrace to be met by the eyes of the remaining family. Vika steps in front of Sonya protectively, Sonya is holding her daughter looking shocked, Paul standing beside his mother apprehensively, and Yeva with a knowing smirk on her face waddles down the small steps and walks to us and reaches up for Dimitri to hug her. Wrapping his arms gently around her and kissing her cheek she speaks to him in Russia before patting his cheek and turning to me. I stand up a bit straighter and look her straight in the eyes. She comes closer to me and pats my cheek.
"You did well, I'm proud of you." She says before turning around and speaking to the other on the porch. A moment passes and they all come down the steps and embrace Dimitri, Sonya and Vika both crying while Paul is speaking excitedly before coming over and hugging me tightly. It's only been four or five months since I saw them, and Paul has grown even more, almost to my collarbone.
"Roza you're back!" he says when he releases me, and I ruffle his hair affectionately. Olena ushers us all into the house and I step back to the car to grab our bags. Catching my movement, Dimitri steps away to help me but I tell him to go inside. Rolling his eyes at me, he picks up our bags and leaves me with my carryon and brings them into the house and asks his mother where we are sleeping. She responds as she bustles around the kitchen and I follow him up the stairs into his old bedroom. Taking a moment to steady myself I can feel my anxiety rising, remember sitting in this room clutching a bottle of vodka after the memorial, hiding here after everyone had gone to sleep and crying silently while wrapped in one of the sweaters I had found in the dresser. I must have been standing there lost in thought because when Dimitri placed his hands on my waist I almost jump out of my skin.
"Are you ok?" he asks me concerned, leaning down to look me in the eyes. I take a deep breath and nod with a weak smile and peck him on the mouth.
"I'm fine. I just need to keep reminding myself that you are here with me know," I say running my hands up his arms gently. "Come on, I'm sure everyone downstairs wants answers."
Taking his hand and walking back out of his room and down the stairs, we step into the living room and see everyone sitting there waiting for us. He sits down in the lone armchair and I stand behind him, placing my hands on his shoulders and squeezing softly, letting him know that he has my strength for what is about to come.
"This is probably not suitable for Paul to hear," Dimitri says quietly, looking up at his eldest sister. She nods and tells Paul to go and play in his room until we come and get him, and he goes quietly after giving Dimitri another hug. Once we hear the bedroom door shut, he takes a deep breath and begins. Telling them from what happened when he was turned to finding me in the streets of Novosibirsk, to the estate, Galina and Nathan, to the fight on the bridge. As he tells his family about our time together at the estate, I can hear the agony in his voice, and I rub his shoulders and the back of his neck trying to comfort him. His mother cries quietly along with Sonya, Vika has a blank face and Karo has leaned forward and places her head in her hands. Yeva sits in her rocking chair holding her cup staring at the two of us with a level gaze.
"When I saw Oksana before I went home, she and Mark told me about a story they had heard about a strigoi being restored and it had me thinking that maybe it was possible. After finding more information we put things in motion to help restore Dimitri. Hell, I broke Victor Dashkov out of prison to get the information I needed," I take over giving Dimitri a moment to compose himself.
"What? You did what?" He says as he snaps his head around to look at me. I only respond with a sheepish smile.
He turns back and takes a deep breath before continuing with the story, the fight in Las Vegas to abducting Lissa and Christian. After explaining how Lissa had staked him with a charmed stake, he seemed to be able to breathe a bit better and I can visibly see the weight lift off his shoulders.
"You're leaving something out, boy," Yeva says for the first time since we walked in the door, and I frown trying to see where she is going with this.
"You pushed her away when you needed her most," Yeva says bluntly. I feel him tense up under my hands, and I wonder just how much she knows that happened after he was restored. Voicing the question, she lifts her gaze to me.
"I know about your accident and being in the hospital, I also know that you were being suffocated by the darkness." The other ladies in the room ask questions about my time in the hospital, but I just shake them off saying it is irrelevant, solely for Dimitri's sake. He may not admit it, but I know that a part of him still blames himself for what happened.
I can feel Viktoria moving her glance between me and her brother, but she remains in her seat. Olena stands and walks over to us before leaning down to hug her son, speaking to him softly and smoothing his hair out in an affectionate gesture. Thinking this is a moment that shouldn't be impeded on I gather up the empty cups that are on the table and bring them into the kitchen. Placing them in the sink I brace myself on the counter and let out a deep breath. So much was unloaded and so many emotions and memories were dragged up that I felt overwhelmed. Making a mental note to make an entry in my journal before bed tonight I turn around and see Vika standing awkwardly in the doorway. I stand up straight and look at her, waiting to see what happens. She moves quickly and throws her arms around me and lets out a sob, and I reciprocate the gesture.
"I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you. He just wanted in my pants, and you did all of this for my brother… I'm sorry for the things I said and how I acted. Please forgive me," she cries into my shoulder and I hug her tightly, telling her there is nothing to forgive. Pulling ourselves together in time for Olena to come in the kitchen and shooing me out stating I will not be helping with dinner, I walk back into the living room to see Zoya in her playpen and Dimitri holding Sonya's daughter and he is gazing down at her lovingly. Seeing him hold the small brown-haired baby sends a pang through my chest.
I never thought that I would ever want to experience having a child, but the thought of not being able to give Dimitri his own hurts a little. There is a slight ache in my chest thinking about not having a little boy with Dimitri's eyes and my curls running around or a little girl with Dimitri's smile in his arms, but it is something that I will have to accept.
He lifts his head up and smiles at me, beckoning me over with his head. "This little one is Katya," he whispers to me as I come around and look over his shoulder at the sleeping baby. She really is beautiful, tan skin with bright rosy cheeks and tufts of brown hair that all the Belikova women have, I smile at her before looking up to Sonya on the couch.
"She is beautiful," I whisper to her. She smiles back at us. "You look good with a baby in your arms, Dimka," she says happily. Another pang goes through my chest and I refuse to let it pass through my face. Dimitri flicks his gaze up to Sonya and smiles before looking back down at Katya, cooing at her in Russian. Zoya starts to fuss in her pen and I walk over to pick her up and smile at her before perching her on my hip and talking to gently. She gazes at me before moving her hands up to my face and prods at it with a gurgling laugh before taking the strands of hair that have fallen over my face and yanks on them.
I hiss at the pain it evokes on my scalp and Karo laughs before coming over and pries my hair out of her hands, and then she ties my hair back with an elastic.
"She is in the grabbing phase. She loves hair and glasses right now," Karolina explains before placing a kiss on Zoya's cheek and sits back on the couch. I sit down next to her and place Zoya in my lap bouncing her gently while talking to the two older sisters about how they have been. Yeva is still sitting in her chair observing all of us with a peculiar look on her face but pulls out her knitting and sits quietly in her chair. Sometime later Dimitri gets up to bring Katya up to Sonya's room to put her in the crib and Olena calls Sonya and Karolina into the kitchen. I stand with a half-asleep Zoya in my arms and walk across the living room towards the playpen, passing in front of Yeva.
During the passing she reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me to a gentle halt. I look down at her and she beckons her hand for me to come closer. I shift Zoya to my hip and lean down.
"The things our hearts yearn for are never far out of reach. You brought Dimka back, but your heart wants something else. Don't give up yet," she says cryptically before releasing me and proceeds to knit again.
What could I possibly want more than Dimitri?
After dinner we all return to the living room for tea and hot chocolate and all share stories to uplift the mood. I snuggle into Dimitri's side as he tells them about finding two fellow guardians in a very compromising position and it takes me a few moments to realize one of them is Alto. I look up at him with wide eyes and he bursts into laughter at my realization and kisses my head. That is not an image I want in my head.
It's nice to sit here together and not have to feel anything but happy. Happy to be in Dimitri's arms, happy to feel loved by the people around me, happy to be able to say that things are starting to go right in my life. Seeing how much light has returned to Dimitri's eyes after this afternoon makes all the pain I went through after he was restored worth it, because seeing the joy in his family's eyes shows me that they are able to move past everything that he did as a strigoi. Olena mentions throwing a party to celebrate Dimitri returning home and I silently pray that there is no vodka at this event. As night falls I can feel the burden traveling has put on me and I yawn and snuggle closer into Dimitri's side and Olena declares that it has been a long day and that she is off to bed, and we take our cue as well. Hugging and kissing everyone goodnight, Dimitri and I walk hand in hand up the stairs to his room. Shutting the door behind him, he leans against it and pulls me into his embrace with a deep sigh.
"Feel better?" I ask into his chest. He is silent for a few minutes. "I feel much better. Thank you for bringing me home," he says into my hair before straightening up and walking us towards the bed, me still in his arms. The back of my knees hit the mattress and I laugh as I fall gracefully onto the bed pulling him with me. I roll us over and I lay on him for a few minutes before sitting up and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.
"I will be back; I need a shower." I say before hopping off him and walk to my bag pulling my toiletries out and walking across the hall to the bathroom. Having a quick wash off and wetting down my hair, I wrap the towel tightly around me and head back into the bedroom to see Dimitri shirtless under the quilt on the bed, holding a book in his hands. I can feel his heavy gaze on me as I pull off my towel and pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Tugging my hair up into a ponytail I turn around and quirk my eyebrows up at him before settling down on the bed next to him.
"I don't think I would have been able to hold up our deal," he says running his hand up my leg. What does he mean by that? I look at him with confusion written all over my face. He leans towards me placing a kiss over the hickey behind my ear.
"I wouldn't have been able to wait until graduation to be with you again. You're too tempting," he breathes into my ear before nipping the soft shell of my it. Inhaling sharply at the sensation that it sends through my body; I turn my head and capture his lips in mine and kiss him deeply. He rolls over onto me and braces his weight on his forearms before I tug him down on top of me so that his weight is on me. I love the feeling of his weight, it's comforting, and it makes me feel safe. Hooking my leg up around his hip I run my fingers up his back and play with the hair above his promise mark, dragging a small growl from his lips.
"Am I now?" I giggle into his mouth. I swear that I have never giggled more in my whole life than I do with him, but he pulls out the more feminine and giddy side of me. Slipping his hands up my bare leg and under the leg of my shorts, he palms my butt and the sensitive skin of my upper thighs with his large hands before squeezing firmly.
"Yes, I've only had you back for a little while and you are driving me insane. I don't know how I stayed away from you for so long," he says against my lips before placing kisses on my cheeks, eyelids, nose and forehead. I hum softly, feeling my eyes droop and try to stifle a yawn. Cause that's not a mood killer.
"Are you tired?" he asks me, caressing my face. I smile sheepishly. "Would you be offended if I said yes?"
He laughs and shakes his head and rolls onto his back, dragging me with him. I get myself comfy on his chest and swing my leg up across his hips before tucking my foot between his knees, and he shivers slightly at the contact of my ice-cold feet hitting his bare skin. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me gently, pouring love into the kiss.
"I love you so, so much Rose Hathaway. What would I do without you?" He says to me sleepily, and I know that I'm not the only one exhausted from the long day. I shrug and kiss his chest before nuzzling into him and closing my eyes.
I wake groggily in the middle of the night to pressure around my body, almost to the point of pain. Disoriented I pull back from the cause of the pressure to be pulled back to it, and I can hear ragged breath that is not mine. Taking a moment to catch my bearings I lift my head up to see the top of Dimitri's in the crook of my neck and he has me in a vice grip.
"Dimitri?" I whisper when I recognize that the ragged breathing belongs to him. He squeezed me a little tighter and I feel a wet heat on my shoulder where his face is pressed into me. He doesn't respond other than pulling me even closer, dissolving any space between us and I can feel the rapid rise of his chest against mine. I move my hand up to stroke the back of his head and he snaps it up to look at me.
His eyes are bloodshot, and his face is flushed, tears trickling down his cheeks. I move my hands to his face, cupping his cheeks and brushing my thumbs under his eyes to wipe some of the tears away.
"Hey, you're ok. What's wrong?" I croon to him, tilting my head back to get better look at him. He turns his face into one of my palms and kisses it gently.
"I'm fine," he says hoarsely against my hand, his accent thick. I stroke his face and place a kiss on his lips lightly.
"What's wrong, something is bothering you? Talk to me."
He pulls his head out of my hands and places his head back on my shoulder, kissing it lightly through my shirt. I give him a moment to compose himself, running my hands up and down his back in a soothing gesture.
"Just a bad dream," he says into my shoulder, muffled by the fabric. I nod up to the ceiling before asking my second question.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He shakes his head no and squeezes me gently again. If I thought I was bad at talking about things that bother me, Dimitri is not far behind on the scale. We lay like this for a few minutes and I think about how he has tried to make himself small around me and it breaks my heart a little.
"Was it a nightmare, or a memory, Comrade?". He tenses up under my hands. Bingo, not just a bad dream. He pulls up enough to be face to face with me and pressed his lips into a thin line.
"How is it you always know what is going on in my mind?" he whispers gruffly, running the back of his finger over my cheek. I smile up at him while leaning into his touch.
"I know you, better than you know yourself sometimes," I say to him. He lets out a deep breath before laying back down on me and loosens his grip slightly.
"It was a memory, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet." Nodding in response I pull him back down to me and resume running my hands on his back. The look on his face breaks my heart, to see the pain in his eyes makes me want to protect him from everything in the world that could possibly hurt him. I kiss his head and wait for him to fall back asleep before I attempt to close my eyes again. Whispering my love for him into the open space above us, I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep.
