AN: Hey everyone! Sorry this has taken so long. The last couple of weeks have been insanely busy and stressful with work and my homelife. Hopefully, things will calm down soon and I can write fast again. This chapter is kind of short but, there's a reason. You'll see next chapter. Let me know what you all think!

"Rose, you need to eat and then you need to sleep. The chair over there pulls out into a bed. We can get you a pillow and a blanket and as soon as the dr comes out, we'll wake you," Sydney said from the chair beside me. I had already been checked out, Adrian stayed by my side the whole time. The doctor confirmed we were having twins. I had sworn Adrian to secrecy because I wanted Dimitri to be the first to know. As excited as I was to hear that, my fear for Dimitri was consuming everything else. I had been checked out and released two hours ago and Dimitri was still in surgery. The doctor had wanted to keep me for observations but I told him I wouldn't be leaving the hospital tonight anyways so if anything went wrong, I would go straight to the ER. He compromised telling me to limit my activity and come back in two days for another check up.

"Syd I appreciate it but right now my stomach is turning and I'm too amped up to sleep. I promise as soon as I know about Dimitri and I get to see him, I will rest."

"Ok Red but, when was the last time you ate?" Adrian asked from my other side.

"Honestly? Um…I had some crackers at like 5 am the morning I got kidnapped…was that yesterday morning?" I asked confused about how long had passed.

"Girl, you need to eat ASAP. I'm surprised they didn't admit you for that alone," Sydney said in shock. About then my parents walked in…together.

"Syd and I are going to go find you some food and give you guys time to talk. When we get back, you will eat," Adrian said grabbing Sydney and pulling her down the hall. I stood and went towards Abe and Janine.

"Any news?" She asked.

"He's still in surgery. They haven't told us anything else. With me not being family they didn't even want to tell me that," I sighed annoyed.

"How are you?" Abe asked.

"Fine. They said everything looks good. I have to come back in two days for another check up just in case. They wanted to keep me but once I told them I wouldn't be leaving anytime soon anyway, they released me and told me to come back if I start getting unusual cramps or pain."

"That's a relief," Abe said as my mother, in an uncharacteristic show of emotion wrapped me in a hug. I gasped at first but then surprising everyone, including myself, leaned into it and held her tightly. A few tears escaped but I managed to not break down. I can't even remember the last time my mother hugged me. After a few minutes we both pulled away.

"I was so worried we wouldn't find you in time," she said.

"I had hope that between Dimitri's determination and Abe's resources they would find me. Gotta say though, I could have guessed that Tasha was behind it. I wouldn't have guessed that there were 4 people, 3 of which apparently hate me, behind it all."

"Four?" Abe asked.

"Oh, I haven't talked to the cops and didn't even realize I hadn't told anyone else…" I rambled. The cops had came but I was being checked out and then Adrian convinced them to come back in the morning. Apparently Adrian can charm anyone. "Stan was behind the accident. He paid Ralph to do it hoping he would kill me. When he failed, Tasha roped Stan into her plots then her and whoever the hell 'amanda' is used him as their lackey. They were going to kill me and pin it all on Stan."

Abe turned and nodded towards Pavel, whom I hadn't even noticed. Pavel nodded back and turned and exited the room pulling his phone out.

"Butch and Chuck as you so kindly call him, are taking tonight off, Pavel himself will be staying with you tonight, they will be back in the morning. Olena and whoever she wanted to bring are on their way as we speak. They should be here in a couple of hours."

"Thank you! And Butch and Chuck should get at least a couple of days off, not just a night," I sighed glad they were on their way. I had called Olena from the ambulance but wasn't able to tell her much and hadn't talked to her since.

"I do have some bad news. Amanda or whatever her name is, got away. The police are out searching for her but in all the chaos, everyone was focused on Tasha and Stan and she slipped out the back," Janine said.

"So this still isn't all over," I stated. "Wait, she said that it was her cousins house but that they were out of the country or something. So, whoever's house that is, she's related to them. Just not as Amanda," I said. Maybe I should have spoken to the cops. I didn't realize anyone had gotten away. When I had last seen her, the cops had her. Abe grabbed his phone and started typing.

"We'll find her soon," Abe assured me. After a few minutes of silence, I spoke up.

"I guess we have time to kill so I think we need to talk," I said walking over to a table with chairs. They followed and sat down with me. "Start from the beginning."

"Janine and I met in Turkey when she first started her job. She came over for some extra training and from the moment I met her, I was smitten," he admitted. To my surprise she blushed and looked away. "I don't know what all you know about my career…choices-"

"Mafia/mob or something else crazy illegal," I stated bluntly. He laughed while she looked at me like I was insane for just throwing that out there.

"Without getting to into it, you're not far off. I deal in some blurry businesses. At that time I was just taking over the organization and there were quite a few people out for my head. We were smaller at the time and I didn't have as many resources. When your mom told me she was pregnant, I panicked. There had already been threats against her and I wasn't sure if I would be able to protect both of you. We both agreed it'd be best if she went back to the states and no one knew about you. Next thing I knew, she was married. I did check in over the years, see you were doing well at school, see where you were living. When I found out you were in LA and had been performing at the karaoke bar, I may have sent some nudges to Eddie to go check you out."

"I have so many questions but first, I only got a contract because I was your daughter?"

"Not at all. I made sure the information got to him but he didn't know it had come from me and I let him handle it on his own. If he felt you were good enough to come in, that was all him. Then Alberta heard you and insisted we signed you. I just nudged him in your direction. Your talent is the reason you got a contract."

"Ok well that's a relief. Though I don't know if other people will see it that way."

"Who cares. People are always going to have opinions. All they have to do is hear you sing to realize you deserve it," Janine said.

"Thanks…mom," I said hesitantly. It was the first time I'd actually called her mom in years. "So, when you left Turkey, was the plan always to just never tell me?"

"Honestly, we didn't have a well thought out plan. We just agreed I should go back to the states and not tell anyone. When I came back, I ran into Stan, we reconnected and I realized it would be a good cover story if anyone came asking around. I didn't know If Ibrahim would ever get to the point where you would be safe around him so, I went with the safest option. Or at least what I thought was the safest option."

Right then, Adrian and Sydney came back holding a McDonalds bag and a large bottle of water. As soon as I saw the bag my stomach growled loudly. I let out a small laugh.

"Guess I was hungry," I joked. They dropped the bag in front of me and sat down at the table with us. As I grabbed the burger and chicken nuggets out of the bag, I spoke.

"So, Syd, Adrian, have y'all met my parents," I stated knowing the bomb I was dropping. Adrians jaw dropped in shock and Sydney looked confused. "You heard that right. This is my mom Janine and I believe you've met my father. I know, it was quite a shock to me too!"

"But…how?" Adrian asked.

"Long story short, they met in Turkey when they were young, mom got prego and came back to the states. Out came me and here we are 22 years later." I shrugged diving into the food.

"Interesting," Adrian nodded going along with it. Sydney just smiled and didn't say anything. It was mostly silent while I ate, Adrian asked a few questions while Abe updated them on Amanda. I told them about Stan and Ralph.

Finally after an hour of small talk, pacing, and staring into space a lady in scrubs walked out. She looked to be in her mid-thirties with caramel skin and dark brown hair.

"Belikov?" she called as she walked out, then saw us and paused. "Hi, I'm Doctor Romero. Are any of you next of kin or actually related to him?"

"Ma'am, I'm not actually his next of kin but, I'm his fiancé and I'm carrying his baby. I'm as next of kin as it gets," I said lying just a little bit.

"I'm sure but legally I'm not allowed to give you any information. They said his family was here so I assumed his next of kin was here. I wish I could give you information but, I could get fired."

"I completely understand where you're coming from but, I'm literally carrying his dna in my body, you can't get much closer than that. Look at any tabloid and you will see that we are in a relationship. He freaking got shot jumping in front of me so that I wouldn't get shot," I said getting frustrated.

"She is legally his emergency contact, I can have my people email you the paperwork as soon as we're done speaking here," Abe said speaking up. I looked at him confused. "He changed it after your accident. He said if anything ever happened to him, you would be the person he wanted contacted first and the person by his side when he woke up."

"Alright, I'll tell you. Mostly because that was the sweetest thing I've ever heard and I truly believe he's right. I've followed along, I know you're together. Also, because I don't need a pregnant woman having a panic attack on me. Congratulations by the way. He's in recovery. We have him in ICU. Both bullets went into his right lung which caused a decent amount of damage. We have him on a ventilator and sedated right now. We're going to monitor his healing and see how he progresses before deciding when to take him off and wake him up. As of right now, things are looking good. He's healthy, and strong. Barring any unforeseen complications, I think we will be able to wake him in a couple of days."

"I'm staying with him," I told her trying not to crumple under everything she just said.

"He's going to be asleep, Why don't you go back and see him for a little bit, then we'll get you a hotel room and come back in the morning?" Janine suggested.

"I'm not leaving him in the hospital by himself. He didn't leave me, I'm not leaving him."

"Yea but he wasn't pregnant," Sydney spoke up. "He wouldn't want you sitting in a hospital for days."

"I don't care. I'm staying with him," I said adamantly. I turned to the doctor, "Can I please go see him now?"

"Yes ma'am, There's two people allowed at a time. We don't have time restrictions in the ICU, we just ask that there's no visitors between 1 and 3 PM to let the patients rest. Is it just you coming back?"

"I'll walk you back then come back out here when you're ready," Adrian said grabbing my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Sydney had his other and I turned to her to make sure it was ok. She smiled sadly and nodded her assurance. She let his hand go and gestured forward. The doctor turned and scanned her card letting us back in the way she came.

"I know I said no visitors between 1 and 3 but honestly, if you're already in the room and not causing any problems, no one will say anything," she admitted. "We have a couch that pulls out into a bed, so there is a place for you to sleep. Though, they are right, he's going to be sleeping the whole time. A hospital is not a great place to get rest and you need to rest. You've been through a lot."

"I appreciate that but, honestly, I'm not going to get any rest until he wakes up. I can't sleep well without him, add in the fact he's in a coma? The only way I'm going to be able to rest is by being here with him," I admitted.

"I understand," she nodded smiling softly. "I have to warn you seeing him on the ventilator after surgery can be scary but, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Ok," I nodded. She paused outside of a door and looked at me checking to see if I was ready. I nodded and she opened the door. When I saw him, I gasped. For the first time in my life, he looked frail. He had the breathing tube in his mouth taped down which was forcing his lungs to move. He was in an ugly yellow and orange gown which made his normally tan skin look really pale.

"Why is he so pale?" I asked.

"He had a lot of blood loss. We have him on periodic transfusions to build his supply back up. We also have him on fluids to keep him hydrated and antibiotics to make sure he doesn't get an infection."

"Oh," I muttered. Adrian squeezed my hand and I squeezed it back before letting go and walking over to Dimitri's side.

"If you don't have anymore questions, I'm going to go and give you some time. I'll be here for another hour then the night shift doctor will take over, I'll be back in the morning. If you have any more questions just let the nurse know and she'll pass it along to me."

"Ok. And thank you. I know you risked a lot by talking to me but I appreciate it more than you'll ever know."

"You're welcome," she smiled softly and walked out.

"I guess I should have also thanked her for saving his life," I said looking back down at him.

"You can tell her that tomorrow though I'm sure she knows how thankful you are for that," Adrian said coming over to my side. "Do you want me to stay or do you want me to go?"

"You can go ahead and go. I'm sure you and Sydney are exhausted. Like I said, I'm staying here. Y'all go, get a hotel and get some rest. Thank you for everything. I really don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been by my side all day," I said hugging him.

"You know I'm here for you whenever you need. If you need anything tonight, whether it's more food, someone to just keep you company, absolutely anything, call me," he said hugging me back.

"I will. Go get some rest." I told him. I watched him walk out as I walked over and grabbed a chair bringing it to Dimitri's side. I grabbed his hand as the tears I'd been holding back finally fell.

"Hey Comrade. I don't know if you can hear me but, I'm fine. The baby's fine. Actually I have some exciting news about the baby that I cant wait to share with you. I'm not telling anyone until I tell you. Adrian already knows. I'm sorry but he was with me. I know he's not your favorite person but I'm not sure I would have survived today without him and Sydney. He's been my rock through it all today. She brought me extra clothes so I wouldn't have to stay in my bloody clothes. They made sure the baby was fed. Your mom is on her way. I'm not sure who all came with her…Tasha is in jail and Stan is dead. My mom killed him. Not sure how I'm processing everything right now. all I know is I need you here with me. Now they're telling me you're ok but it will be a couple of days before you wake up. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive that but, I know I will. I have to." I stated wiping the tears from my face.

I continued talking to him for a while. Mostly rambling. Some was old memories, some was about ideas for songs I had. I sang him the newest song I had written while he was gone. I just felt like if I stopped, I would finally break completely and I was trying to avoid that. My parents took turns coming in and saying goodnight. Abe said he'd wait in the waiting room for Olena and update her then he'd leave. Neither stayed very long. My mom brought me a bag of clothes Sydney had brought earlier that I left in the waiting room. It also had essentials like a toothbrush and deodorant. I'd have to remember to thank her later. Abe had managed to get it to where Pavel was allowed to sit a desk in the hallway and stand guard. I felt bad but, it was also reassuring with the threat of Amanda still out there.

At some point I was reminiscing about the day of the softball game where Dimitri broke my ankle when I heard a chuckle from the doorway.

"I remember that day," Olena said from the doorway. I jumped up and ran to her. She hugged me tight. She gasped when she saw my face, running her hands over bruises I had honestly forgotten about before pulling me into a hug. "Oh my Roza. I'm so glad you're ok. I was so worried when Dimka called and told me you'd been kidnapped."

"I don't know if ok is the word I'd use right now but, me and the baby are healthy and safe," I admitted. I backed off so she could go to Dimitri. "Sorry, I should have let you come see him first. I just couldn't help it."

"Rosemarie eventually will be Belikova!" she said sternly grabbing my face with her hands, making sure to avoid the bruises and not be rough. I smiled at her words. "You are just as much one of my children and just as important to me. Don't you ever apologize for needing a hug or comfort. You are just as important as he is. You got that?"

I shrugged and gestured towards his bed leading her towards him. She didn't make a noise when she saw him but her eyes welled up. She walked over and grabbed his right hand while I went to his left side. "Would you like me to give you some time with him?"

"Absolutely not. There's no where else you need to be than right here by his side. Except for a hotel but I already know I won't get you to leave this hospital tonight."

"No Mama Belikova. I'm staying here. I will leave and let you have some time with him though," I told her though every piece of me screamed to stay where I was. Instead of answering she used the hand not holding his to wipe a strand of hair off of his forehead.

"You know, I knew even back then that you two were meant to be together. At that point, neither of you had realized it yet but I knew," she smiled fondly.

"We barely got along," I laughed. "We were constantly bickering and arguing."

"You did constantly argue. You two were like cats and dogs but, nobody pushed you two more than the other. Despite all the arguing, nobody was as loyal as you two were. Dimitri could taunt you and give you heck but the moment somebody else said a bad word against you, he was there to shut it down. Same with you. You challenged each other. Even that day, you were each striving to be your best to impress the other. Even if you didn't realize that's what you were doing. As much as he loves his sisters and is protective over them, I've never seen him be as protective as when it came to you."

"I didn't know it at the time but, the reason he broke up with most of his girlfriends is because they would argue about me," I smiled. "I used to get so mad that he would let his girlfriends be catty towards me, only to find out that they would later argue about it and ultimately end because of it."

"It took him a while but, he finally realized it himself. He's never loved anyone like he loves you. That's how I know he'll be ok. Because there's no way he's going to leave you, especially not while you're pregnant with his baby."

"Maybe he loves me too much," I said as the tears gathered in my eyes at her words. She looked up and I saw the pity on her face. "I don't deserve his love. It's what got him here in the ICU. If it wasn't for me, this would have never happened."

"Oh Roza," she said softly coming over to me and wrapping me in a hug. As soon as my head hit her shoulder I finally broke as she held me while I sobbed into her shoulder. She ran a soothing hand through my hair as she let me cry it out for a few minutes before speaking up again. "If it wasn't for you, he'd still be with that psycho. You woke him up again. You helped him become him again. Besides I heard from a little bird that you tried to push him out of the way first. You were willing to take that bullet for him, just like he was for you. I never ever want any of you harmed but, I'm glad it was him not you. He's going to be ok. I know it deep down in my gut. He'll survive this. If it was you, you could have lost the baby and then we would have lost you too. Who knows what that would have done to Dimitri. Then I would have lost both of you and this precious grandbaby. Dimitri knew what he was doing and I'm proud of him for protecting his family like a good man should. I hate that it happened but we will all get through this."

"What if he doesn't?" I asked voicing my fears.

"We can't think like that. He has too much to live for. Plus, the nurse told me he's already doing better than most people would be in this situation. He's a fighter and he's going to fight to get back to you and this baby."

"I'm sorry, I'm over here breaking down on your shoulder and he's your son. I shouldn't be breaking down like this," I said pulling away. She grabbed my hands and forced me to look at her.

"Roza, you're pregnant, have been through a kidnapping where you were held hostage, by your stepfather I might add, in a basement for the better half of two days. By the looks of your face, I'm assuming you got roughed up pretty well and I'm guessing you didn't get great sleep during that time. Then, you had the love of your life shot in front of you, while protecting you. I'd be worried if you weren't breaking down," she smiled lovingly at me. "That also doesn't include finding out who your biological father is and trying to process all of that. You've had to be so strong the last couple of days, now its time to break down for a minute. That's ok."

"It has been a lot but still," I shrugged embarrassed I broke down on her. She pulled me over by the couch. She made it up into a bed, then grabbed a blanket and a pillow. She sat on the edge on the makeshift bed and put the pillow against her leg before patting it, telling me to lay down.

"What I want you to do know is, come over here. Lay down and try to get some rest. This day would break the best of people, but you're still going. You're a fighter just like he is but, even fighters need rest. So, come here and rest," she said patting the pillow again giving me a no non-sense look. I gave in and laid down as she draped the blanket over me.

"Who all came with you? And don't they want to come back here to see him?" I asked as she started gently running her fingers through my hair.

"Vika, Lissa, and Karolina."

"What about Paul and Zoya?"

"Her boyfriend is watching them. Aj's grandparents are watching him so Lissa could come out here."

"Don't they want to come back here?" I asked my eyes dropping as she continued playing with my hair.

"I made them all go to the hotel. I told them they could come see him bright and early but for tonight you and him need rest. Now, sleep Roza," she said softly. Before I knew it, my eyes closed completely as I drifted off, exhaustion finally taking over.