Hello everyone! Thank you all for your lovely thoughts in the reviews. I'm usually really insecure about my writing, so it makes me really happy to see that you're all enjoying it. I apologize in advance if this chapter is a little boring. I was having a bit of a writer's block half way.
I expected myself to throw a fit after hearing Dimitri's words. I could have told him he was crazy, that they were all crazy for coming up with such an outrageous joke.
Instead, I burst into laughter that was so hard it started hurting my chest. My little fit continued until I saw everyone's faces and realized Dimitri wasn't joking.
"Oh shit, you're serious," I said. My laughter died down in seconds.
"Yes, I'm serious. I know it sounds strange, but the queen has ordered it. I volunteered, and with my ranking, she decided I was a good fit."
"Wait, wait. I don't understand. I thought she hated me. Why the sudden urge to protect me? I'm a dhampir," I pointed out.
"Right, but you're different. Your body carries what they like to call 'golden blood'. For years, the royal court has been trying to find someone whose blood was mixed with a strigoi. The problem is that they're either too rare or hiding out with a pack of other strigoi, making it too dangerous to hunt them down," Dimitri explained. He sat down beside me, keeping his eyes on mine.
"One of Sebastian's people mentioned that," I brought up. "Golden blood."
Dimitri nodded. "It's a code name. It earned the name from its value. Your blood can give a strigoi the ability to walk through wards and sunlight which is why your life is so endangered. Remember, strigoi will do anything to gain power. But there are other things—good things, such as being able to heal people of their injuries and offer pain relief. It can give a person strength too. And, if someone is dying, it can turn them as well which gives them another chance to live."
"I get that my blood is important and all, but I still don't understand why the royal court would want me so much. Weren't strigoi hybrids banned from moroi grounds? There are probably other people like me in the world, but they're hiding because they're afraid."
"That was centuries ago," Christian stated, diverting my attention. "Things have changed. Believe me, I've done enough research."
"Rose, think about this," Lissa said. "I know you never asked for any of this, and the way it happened was horrible...but now, you can do something good with it. You can help people. Vampire or human. You can help."
"I mean...I guess," I sighed. "But I promised to guard you. I feel like I won't be a good friend if I don't. Your safety matters a lot to me."
Lissa smiled. "You don't have to worry about me. I have plenty of guardians watching me. They're top guardians from the royal court. Both of us will be safe."
"Fine, but I'll still kill anyone who tries to hurt you, whether I'm a guardian or not."
"I don't doubt that," she said, pulling me into another hug. There was a knock on the room door, breaking us apart. Eddie opened the door, revealing both of my parents. My mom gasped, and a smile of relief came over her when she saw me sitting up.
"Out of my way!" she shouted, totally disregarding my friends as she rushed over to my bed. I couldn't help but laugh at how eager she was to see me. I was happy though, and it felt good to know she cared so much. I hadn't seen her look this happy since the day I was rescued.
"You're finally awake!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. She hugged me a little too hard, causing me to feel pain in my chest again.
"Ow," I moaned, squinting my eyes. She pulled back immediately, letting out a stream of swear words. She usually chastised me for swearing, but I was beginning to think she was where I got it from.
"Oh, shit! Fuck, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked, cupping my face to look for signs of pain.
"Mom, I'm fine. You just hugged me a little too tightly, that's all. I'm okay."
"Oh, honey," she said, planting a kiss on the top of my head before hugging me again. "I was so worried about you. You have no idea!"
"We were afraid you'd never wake up," Abe added. Dimitri noticed him walking over and moved so that he could sit on the other side of me. Janine let me go as Abe held his arms out. "Get over here, kiddo."
It had been a while since hugging him, but this one felt different. It didn't feel like I was just hugging someone I barely knew. It felt like...hugging my dad. Although he couldn't see me, I smiled against his shoulder and squeezed him as much as I could without causing pain to my chest.
"I think we should give you guys some family time," Lissa said, hinting at everyone else to follow her out. "We'll see you later, Rose. We're staying at the institute for a few more days, so we'll be here. Call any of us if you need to."
"Thanks, Liss," I called, pulling away from Abe's arms. She left with Christian, Eddie and Adrian, but before Dimitri could leave, I stopped him.
"Wait," I told him. He still had his hand on the door knob and turned to face me. "Stay. I think we need to talk."
Dimitri hesitated for a second before he shut the door and walked back over, standing at the foot of the bed.
Abe chuckled. "We already had an interesting conversation this week while you were out. He's in the clear."
I glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," my mother continued, "that although we don't fathom or condone what's been going on between you two, we don't want to take away something that's been making you happy. Dimitri was there for you when we weren't..." Janine gave Abe a regretful look on her last words which he returned.
"He's protected you too," Abe added. "He trained you to fight for yourself in battle. He saved you when you were kidnapped, supported you when you were going through a rough time, and from what I hear, he's the only person you actually listen to."
Dimitri chuckled at Abe's remark. "It takes quite a bit of effort with her stubbornness, but if I drive my point thoroughly enough, then yes, she'll listen."
I blushed, recognizing the double meaning in his words. I remembered the night he had spanked the living daylights out of me after I had put myself in danger.
"Sounds like me whenever I need someone to get a job done," Abe said. "Sometimes, you just have to hit them hard enough until they finally get the message."
I really didn't need to hear this conversation between my boyfriend and my damn dad. Abe was completely oblivious to what was going on in Dimitri's head. I blushed furiously, giving Dimitri an embarrassed look. He smiled mischievously at my discomfort. "I agree, Mr. Mazur."
"Anyways, while I trust you to take care of my daughter, I'd rather you two stay off of each other at the academy. Janine and I will have jobs there, so we'll be watching you."
"You two are working at the academy now?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Yes. Both of us have registered for teaching positions. Janine will be with the dhampir novices while I help moroi students with magic."
"We gave it a lot of thought, and we've decided to stay close to you for a while. I think both of us missed out on parenting, but I'm glad you've taken care of yourself all these years. You've grown into such a strong, beautiful woman, and I'm so proud of you. It's just, when we thought you were going to die, all we could think about was how much we regretted not being parents. You're our only child and we want to be here for you." By the time my mom was done speaking, she almost had tears in her eyes.
"Thanks mom," I said. I turned back to Abe. "And thanks dad."
Abe was surprised to hear me call him that, but he was happy with it nonetheless. Our moment was briefly interrupted when Dimitri's phone rang. "Sorry," he muttered, pulling out his phone. "Belikov."
We stayed silent as he listened to whoever was talking on the other end of the phone. "I'll be there soon. Thanks for letting me know." Just like that, his quick conversation ended.
"What's up?" I asked him.
"I'll be right back," he said, heading for the door. He was already gone before I could ask him where he was going.
"So, am I going to be stuck in this room for the rest of the week?" I asked.
"We'll have to wait and see what the doctor says," Abe replied. "You've already been here for a week, and if they see that you're getting better, they might discharge you. You'll still have to stay in bed, but you'll at least be in a proper bedroom."
"They're insane if they think I'm going to stay in bed all the time," I muttered.
"That's why we're letting Dimitri stay with you. He promised to look after you."
"I'm sharing a room with him?" I gasped. The idea of sharing a room and getting to sleep in his arms again excited me, but that also meant he would actually make sure I stayed in bed.
"If you'd rather stay in the hospital with a bunch of nurses taking care of you instead, we can arrange that as well," my mother threatened.
"Absolutely not!"
"That's what I thought," she finished. The door opened again and I turned to find Dimitri walking back into the room. He was holding someone's hand, someone small and child-like. When I took a closer look to see who it was, a bright smile warmed up my face as I was filled with happiness and excitement.
"Mommy!" Nevaeh shouted, running over to my bed. My parents moved as she climbed up and hopped onto my lap, throwing her arms around my neck. I hugged her back just as tightly, barely noticing the pain in my chest as I was engulfed in a bubble of love and warmth.
My baby was back. She was here and she was okay. I planted several little kisses on her cheek and forehead as tears of happiness started to come down.
"I missed you so much," she cried against my cheek.
"Shh. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere," I ensured her. When I held her, I noticed she was still just as skinny and fragile as she had been before. She hadn't been eating much.
"I'm going to age before my time," Abe murmured. He headed for the door, taking my mom's hand to lead her out as well. "We'll give you guys some time alone. Janine, why don't you say we grab them some food?"
"As long as it's not hospital food," I reminded them.
My mom made a disgusted face. "You call that food? You're insane if you think I'm letting you eat that crap. I'll find you something nearby."
"Thanks mom!" I called as she left the room. Focussing my attention back onto Nevaeh, I pulled back, holding her at arm's length to check her complexion. She was so pale.
"She's been refusing to eat," Dimitri mentioned. "I tried to get something in her stomach, but she was too upset. I think she's okay now though."
"What about her blood intake?" I asked, pressing my hand against her forehead to feel her temperature. Vampires usually felt cold if they were low on blood.
"She hasn't had that either, but there should be a few bags coming in," he informed me. I nodded, giving Nevaeh a reassuring smile. Just then, a blond-haired moroi with dark blue scrubs and a lab coat walked into the room, smiling at me before she closed the door.
"Ms. Hathaway, it's nice to officially meet you. I'm Dr. Jones," she said, holding out her hand.
"Please, call me Rose," I said politely as I shook her hand.
"Very well. How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Not as bad as the last time I woke up, but I've been better," I admitted.
"Any pain in your chest area or the surrounding muscles?"
"N—" I was about to lie, but one warning glare from Dimitri changed my mind. "Um, yes there is. Mostly if I move too much."
"That's normal," Dr. Jones informed me. "I'll be prescribing you with pain medication for the next few weeks. The pain could last you a few months though, so you'll have to discuss this with your doctor at St. Vladimir's academy. She's already been informed, so any check-up appointments will be with her. Have you had any nausea or vomiting since waking up?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Good...any fever?"
"No fever, but my throat's been a little sore."
"That's quite normal after intubation. You had a tube in your throat for a while, so it tends to cause some irritation. If you could lift your gown, that'd be great. I just want to listen to your breathing." Dr. Jones lifted her stethoscope and placed the earpieces into her ears while raising the bell towards me. Her hand slipped underneath my gown and I felt the cold object against my skin.
"Deep breath in," she instructed. I took a deep breath, wincing as I felt the pain in my chest again.
"Does it hurt when you breathe deeply?" she asked.
"Yeah," I answered honestly.
"Alright. Just take a deep breath, but stop when you feel pain, okay?"
I complied, letting her check my body on both my chest and my back. I kept my eyes on Dimitri, feeling a little bit vulnerable while the doctor did her job. She checked my blood pressure, body temperature, and did a pain assessment before finishing it off with an inspection on the surgical sight.
"I think I'm going to replace this," she said, carefully peeling off the adhesive dressing. The wound underneath was covered in stiches.
"What's that?" Nevaeh asked curiously.
"These ugly things on my chest? They're called stitches," I said reluctantly. Dimitri chuckled and sat down on the bed again, resting his hand on my leg.
"Don't you worry, Rose. They won't be there forever," Dr Jones said. "Your doctor at school will take them out for you."
"Awe, fuck. Can't wait for that."
"Rose," Dimitri chastised, gesturing at the child in front of me. I realized I had just sworn in front of her. Damn it, I hoped she didn't pick up onto my foul language.
Dr. Jones lightly patted the area with what I assumed was rubbing alcohol. My curiosity was starting to creep as I looked down at the stitches and tried not to move. "Doc, can I ask you something?"
"Of course," she said.
"When you were operating...what did you see? I'm pretty sure I should be dead since the stake stabbed my heart."
"That's the thing. It didn't." When I gave her a confused look, she elaborated. "You're very lucky. The stake went through the bottom of your sternum, but it was closer to the right side. We had to repair it in surgery, and your right lung was also punctured. Luckily, the stake only grazed your heart but it didn't actually go through. It seems like your attacker just barely missed his target. If it had been even a few millimeters off, you probably wouldn't be here."
"You could have died if he didn't miss," Dimitri said sadly.
"It wouldn't be the first time," I whispered under my breath.
Dr. Jones pressed a brand-new adhesive bandage on the wound to protect my stitches. "If things continue to improve, I can discharge you by tomorrow. However, keep in mind that you were still stabbed with a stake, and a broken sternum can take over two months to heal. I want you to rest for the next couple of months. That means no intense physical activity, no running, and no lifting."
My attitude started to creep back. "I'm sorry, am I hearing this right or did you say months? Because if you think for one second that I'm going to—"
"Thank you, Dr. Jones, for your advice. Rose will stay well rested while she's healing," Dimitri declared, giving me another threatening stare.
Dr. Jones laughed. "Her friends warned me she'd be stubborn with that."
"Oh, she is, but I'll make sure she gets better," Dimitri said, giving me a mischievous wink. I squirmed in my spot, trying to hide the heat in my cheeks.
"I hope she will. Oh, before I forget, this is for you." Dr. Jones reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a blood bag, handing it to me. "Enjoy."
"Thanks, doc," I called as she left us alone. I opened the little tube at the top of the bag and started drinking, recognizing the familiar taste almost immediately. I snapped my head up to find Dimitri watching me intently. "Is this—"
"Mine? Yeah."
"Are you my donor now?" I asked, sipping on the tube. It didn't feel as euphoric as it did when I drank straight from his vein, but the taste was still just as satisfying and it gave me enough strength.
"Well, it's not everyday you get blood for a guardian facility. You seem to enjoy it, so I offered."
"Oh, I enjoy it. What's your diet like? You must eat a lot of healthy food."
Dimitri didn't expect me to ask him such a random question, but he answered anyways. "Yes, Roza. Lots of healthy food. Can you actually tell?"
I nodded. "Yeah. You give me more strength than a human. Maybe it's just because you're healthy." I took one last sip before passing it to Nevaeh. She was looking really pale and I knew needed it. She had to use both of her hands to hold the bag, but it didn't seem to bother her as she started gulping it down greedily. I stroked her hair as I watched her quench her thirst.
"Thank you," I said abruptly. "Not just for the blood, but for everything, really. You've been there for me since the beginning and I think I've lost count of how many times you saved my life. They way you jumped in front of me when the strigoi were trying to attack me back at the house, the way you risked your life...it scared me. Don't get me wrong, I know you're strong and you can take on more strigoi than most guardians..."
"But?" Dimitri prompted.
"But sometimes I worry that one day, you'll get seriously hurt, like you did in the first attack at the school. You were almost taken away. If anything happens to you because of me...I don't think I could ever forgive myself."
"Roza, look at me," Dimitri ordered softly, placing his fingers under my chin as my eyes started to brim with tears. He moved his hand, caressing the side of my face. I leaned into his touch, looking up into his eyes. "That won't happen, okay? If I die, I won't be here to protect you—and I promised you that I would. I'm a man of my word and I won't let anything happen to any of us. Trust me on that."
"Will you at least let me fight by your side if something ever happens again?" I asked.
"If it's absolutely necessary, I will. But it's still my duty to protect you. If I believe you're in immediate danger, you have to trust me. No irrationality or stubbornness. Some moroi get killed because they decide not to listen to their guardians."
"But I'm not a moroi." My smartass comment only resulted in Dimitri's sigh, so I reassured him that I was listening. "Okay, okay, fine. I get what you mean. I need to stop being a danger magnet."
"Mhm. I'm sure you don't need me to remind you about the consequences of endangering yourself." Dimitri raised an eyebrow, chuckling as my cheeks started to heat up again.
"Well then, let's hope I can keep myself out of trouble," I said in a small voice, knowing very well that Dimitri would definitely lend my ass a firm hand if I needed it again. A lot of women would probably think I was crazy for letting him do that, but I didn't care. I had given him consent, and it was something we were both okay with.
"You know, we still haven't really talked about our...special relationship." I emphasized the last part and he got the message.
"We have a lot of things to talk about, but it'll have to wait. At least until we're alone," he hinted, cocking his head at Nevaeh. At this point, she was done drinking and handed Dimitri the now empty bag. He threw it out and grabbed a tissue from the side table before using it to clean up the little red mess on the side of her mouth.
"She's already looking better," I noticed, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"All she needs now is some food. You too, Roza," Dimitri added, running a hand over my empty stomach. It was perfect timing, because just then, the door burst open. The smell of burgers and French fries immediately hit my nose.
Eddie stood in the doorway with the rest of my friends in tow, holding up two large brown take-out bags. "You guys want McDonald's?"
What did you think of this one? I know there wasn't really anything crazy going on since it mostly consisted of reunions.
Also, since Rose mentioned their 'special' relationship', I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up that Rose and Dimitri will be discussing aspects of BDSM in the next chapter and how they can incorporate it into their relationship, and how it can also help her heal emotionally after everything she went through.
I hope you're all okay with this, but I'd still love to hear your thoughts. Please let me know!
