AN: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. I decided to go a little heavy on the fluff to make up for the drama of the last couple of chapters. In a way this is also a cleansing chapter for Rose. You'll see what I mean. This story is getting closer to the end. Just a few more things to wrap up! I'm so excited but sad for it to be here!
"Rose, you need to go home and rest," Vika said from the couch in front of the window in Dimitri's room. I sat by his bed in a chair holding his hand.
"I took a nap earlier. The couch turns into a bed. I'll sleep on it once I get tired. Plus, I have a good feeling. He's going to wake up soon," I said squeezing his hand. I'd been saying that for the last couple of days.
It's been a full week and 3 days since he'd been shot. Turns out, his body didn't handle the antibiotics they'd been giving him very well, and he'd still managed to end up with an infection in his lungs. They were worried he may go septic so they had to bring in an infectious disease doctor. She got him on the right meds and managed to get the infection gone quickly. Unfortunately, the infection had weakened his lungs which meant they couldn't pull him off the ventilator as quickly as they'd hoped. They were finally able to pull the ventilator out yesterday and they'd started weaning off the sedation meds yesterday but, it took a while to work out of your system. He'd woken up once or twice but he was incoherent and drugged up. I had faith though that, he'd wake up soon and be more like himself.
"He may but, he may not. You on the other hand need to take care of that baby," she scolded. Everyone pretty much knew by now even though we'd wanted to hide it.
"I am, I promise. I'm eating, sleeping, staying hydrated. I'm not leaving though. I promise I'll be fine," I told her. She sighed and stood up.
"Ok, well I guess I'm going to head to the hotel for the night. Check on mama. I'll see you in the morning," she said walking over and giving my shoulder a squeeze. Then she turned to my stomach, "Bye my baby!"
"MY baby," I laughed. She just winked and walked out. About 30 minutes later, Dr. Romero walked in.
"How's everything going?" she asked.
"We're all doing ok. I feel like he's going to wake up soon," I told her already knowing she was going to give me the 'be cautious' speech.
"Rose, you know it may be a while before he fully wakes up and is back to normal. He's had a lot of sedation meds. That really slows down a brain. Some people wake up fine after sedation and some people take a while."
"I know, its just a feeling. You know he heals quick. His bullet wounds have already healed a lot. It's just his lung strength that kept him down this long. I have faith that he'll recover from the sedation quick too."
"There's nothing wrong with faith, I just don't want you to get your hopes up only to be let down."
"Honestly, he's been out so long, even if he wakes up messed up from the sedation I'll be ok. I just need him to wake up."
"He will. He's already been starting to from what I've heard," she said. "How are you? Morning sickness still bad?"
"It's eased up a little," I told her. The full morning sickness had started up. Apparently, with twins it could potentially be worse than usual. I was not looking forward to that. I'm sure the stress of everything else hasn't been helping.
"That's good. Your scans came back clear?" she asked as she walked over and listened to Dimitri's lungs. I really appreciated the fact that she really seemed to care about both of us. Whenever she came by and someone else was in the room, she would ask them questions about themselves too.
"Yep, I don't have to go back for a couple of weeks now," I nodded.
"That's fantastic!" She said excitedly. She stood back after finishing her full inspection. "Ok, well everything looks good from here. His breath sounds are good, once he wakes up we may even be able to take the nasal oxygen off. No fluid sounds so I'm not worried about pneumonia or anything like that. His blood pressure and everything else is stable and good. He's looking up. I'm about to head out for the night but, if you need absolutely anything, let the nurse know and she will contact me ASAP. I will be back in the morning to check in. Any questions or concerns?"
"No, I think I'm ok for now. Like I said I'm just waiting for him to wake up," I told her honestly squeezing his hand softly.
"He will. Give it time," she smiled warmly.
"Goodnight, we'll see you in the morning," I told her smiling softly at her. She nodded and made her way out into the hall. I let out a deep sigh. Honestly, I was relieved we were finally alone. Tonight, was the first night in a while where we were alone before 11. Olena was feeling tired so she left early. My parents had both reluctantly gone back to work. Lissa had to go back to Georgia to take care of AJ. Sydney and Adrian were still in town and managed to stop by usually twice a day to check in but, they never stayed super long. I knew it was to give me and his family time with him. Poor Viktoria tried to pretend to be ok but, she couldn't really handle seeing her big brother like this in the hospital so she would leave as soon as she got the chance. I know she wanted to be here for him, but it was hard for her. I loved the support and love from everyone but, I constantly felt like I had to put up a front and pretend I'm ok when everyone's here. Besides my break down with Olena, I hadn't cried again, even I was shocked at that but, it was part of pretending I was ok. I had however, held Vika a few times while she sat there and cried.
"Alone at last Comrade," I said squeezing his hand gently. I laid my head on the bed, propped up on my arm as I played with his fingers softly. "You know what I want to do more than anything right now? I want to go to our cabin in the woods, curl up against you and just stay there for a week…maybe a month. That sounds like heaven right now. Adrian brought me a notebook the other day and I've been working on some new stuff. Want to hear my favorite so far? Of course you do!" I joked as I softly started singing to him.
"Roza…" I heard faintly from somewhere. I jumped not realizing I had fallen asleep on my arm. I sat up quickly looking at Dimitri. I gasped as I saw his eyes open.
"Comrade," I breathed smiling softly. He went to speak, coughed slightly, then winced at the pain in his chest. I jumped up and grabbed his glass of ice water by his bed. I'd kept it ready for when he woke up. "It melted a bit but its still cool."
I brought the straw to his lips as he took a small drink. He pulled back then took another before shaking his head no to let me know he didn't want more.
"God, its so good to see your eyes," I breathed putting my hand on his cheek as the tears welled up in my eyes again. He reached his hand over to my stomach which luckily was pretty close.
"Baby?" he asked, his voice hoarse and harsh.
"The baby's fine. Actually, the babies are doing great," I smiled emphasizing the S at the end of babies. His face registered his surprise before he raised an eyebrow in question. I smiled even bigger before confirming. "Twins."
"Two?" he asked, his voice a little stronger. I nodded as his face broke out into the biggest smile. My heart melted as the tears that had been building rushed out. He reached out and gently wiped the tears from my cheek.
"Why are you crying?" he laughed softly his voice still rough but getting sturdier each time he talked. He tried holding my cheek for a minute but was too weak so he lowered his hand and grabbed mine in his.
"Because I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to see you smile again. It's just so good to see," I told him smiling sadly. "It's been one week and 3 days since you rescued me. You've had one surgery, a major infection, almost went septic…it's been a long week and a half. So, seeing you awake and smiling at me…it's everything."
"I'll always come back to you," he said pulling me closer to him.
"I know you will. That's what your mom said too," I laughed softly.
"Smart woman," he smirked.
"Marry me," I blurted. He laughed then winced when it caused him pain. I instantly felt bad.
"You're not supposed to laugh when a girl proposes," I teased.
"Sorry. Why're YOU asking ME?" he asked gruffly.
"Because for one, if I have to argue with another doctor or nurse to tell me if you're even alive, I will be in a jail cell," I told him.
"Not a good enough reason," he stated looking pained.
"I mean that's not the only reason and stop talking. You'll hurt yourself." I mumbled looking down. "I just…I love you. You love me. we're not going anywhere so why not?"
"Roza," he said softly getting me to look up at him. He gave me that look that told me he wanted me to continue. I could also hear the question in his mind on what changed my mind. His eyes were glassy though so I wasn't sure how much he'd actually remember this conversation later.
"Seeing you laying there covered in blood after taking two bullets, meant for me…it..," I said choking up as the tears started slowly again. He squeezed my hand gently. "I realized how stupid I've been. You've been the one for me since the day we met on that playground. So, Why wait?"
"Come here," he said tugging my hand to pull me beside him.
"I want to more than anything but, you've been shot, you're in the icu, and have been in a coma for over a week. Not a good idea," I told him wiping the tears off my face with my other hand.
"Rosemarie Hathaway. Ass. Bed. Now." he said grimacing as he shifted in the bed.
"See you're hurting yourself! Stop," I told him.
"You told me we're having twins, asked me to marry you, and you're crying. I NEED you in my arms now or I'll climb off this bed myself," he grunted moving again then gasped in pain.
"STOP! Ok fine, but if I hurt you at all you've gotta say something," I told him sniffling as I put my hands on his shoulder to get him to lay down. Once he was still, I gently climbed into the bed, laying on my side. I laid my head on his shoulder trying to stay far away from his bullet wounds. I laughed softly. "Stubborn ass."
"Yep. Better," he sighed. About then the nurse walked in. She gave me a disapproving look as she walked over to his bed side.
"I made her," he spoke up seeing the look himself.
"It's not good for you," she said messing with his IV in his right arm.
"Roza's the best thing for me," he coughed. I turned gently grabbing his water and bringing it to his lips. He took a drink as the nurse spoke up.
"I brought your nightly meds, including pain medicine. I didn't know you were awake already."
"He hasn't been awake too long. Maybe, ten minutes," I told her putting the cup back down.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him.
"Sore. My throat hurts. Chest too."
"That's normal. Any grogginess, dizziness?"
"Tired, little dizzy. Not too bad," he sighed leaning his head back.
"Good, if it gets any worse let me know. For now, you need to rest," she said finishing up what she was doing at his IV and throwing the syringe in the trash. She turned towards me, "I'm not going to talk you out of that bed am I?"
"I told HIM no, he forced me by trying to get up," I smiled as his arm tightened around me at her question.
"She stays," he practically growled causing her to laugh.
"I figured. Do you want a blanket?" she asked.
"Would you mind?" I asked feeling bad that I'd forgotten that but not wanting to get up and risk jostling him. She went over and grabbed the blanket from the couch and laid it over me. "Thank you."
"No problem. I'm serious though. Sleep. Rest," she stated walking towards the door.
"Aye aye captain," I teased as she walked out. After she stepped out, I laid my head back down and sighed. Dimitri turned his head slowly and kissed my head.
"I was scared we wouldn't find you," he whispered.
"I knew you would," I told him wrapping my arm around his stomach. "You love me too much."
"I do. You and the babies," he said sounding exhausted.
"Sleep. We'll talk later. I love you too by the way."
"I know," he mumbled sleepily.
"I expect an answer tomorrow," I told him softly. He mumbled an agreeance as I felt his breathing even out. I kissed his chest gently smiling as even in his sleep, he tightened his grip on me.
The next morning, I woke up before him feeling the unwelcome nausea well up. I gently pried myself out of his grip. I made my way to the bathroom attached to his room before heaving my guts up. I sat on the floor for a second waiting for the nausea to fade.
"Roza?" Dimitri called coughing.
"Hold on, I'll be right there," I said getting up and rinsing my mouth out with some mouthwash I had stored by the sink. As I walked out, I saw Dimitri looking confused in the bed. I went over and grabbed the water cup. "You ok? It's melted. I'm sorry."
"You ok? What happened?" he asked after taking a few drinks. I could tell by the what happened he didn't mean my throwing up.
"I'm fine. Just morning sickness. What do you remember?"
"The last thing I remember clearly was Stan holding you at gun point. You slipped away and I ran over. Then the rest is fuzzy…I think I was shot" he said coughing a little again.
"Do you remember our conversation last night?" I asked grabbing his hand.
"Bits…did you say twins?" he asked. I smiled and nodded. He smiled brightly again. Not gonna lie, I was disappointed he didn't remember the conversation but telling him that news twice felt amazing. I just hoped there wasn't a third.
"Yep, seems you and I have two miracle babies cooking in here," I laughed rubbing my belly. He reached over and put his hand on my stomach.
"Amazing," he breathed.
"I know isn't it?" I smiled up at him.
"No. Well yes. I meant you." I shook my head in embarrassment then took a deep breath.
"You were shot. Twice. In the right lung. You ran and caught me but we both stopped paying attention to what was going on around us. Tasha got mad and tried to shoot me but you jumped in the way. In the whole mix up, Stan was killed and Tasha was arrested," I said leaving out the par about Amanda escaping. He didn't need that unnecessary stress. Before he could ask I continued. "Once you were here, you had surgery, got an infection, almost went septic, and now we're here. Infection free and healing."
"Damn," he sighed taking it all in. I could see he was still a little foggy so I figure I'll be explaining at least parts of this again later. About then, Dr. Romero walked in.
"Look who's awake!" she exclaimed walking over to the opposite side of his bed. "About time. I thought we were about to have to get a bed and sedate your girl just to get her to rest."
"I rest! The couch pulls out into a bed. I slept there," I defended with a laugh as Dimitri glared at me. I shrugged. He put his hand on my hip and pulled me to sit on his bed by him.
"Don't worry, we've been watching out for her. How are you feeling Dimitri?" she asked as she pulled out her stethoscope and started listening to his lungs.
"Sore. It hurts to take a deep breath. Talking is uncomfortable but as long as I'm careful doesn't hurt."
"That's really good. I'm going to go ahead and keep the nasal oxygen on you for now but this afternoon we'll start taking it off for a couple of hours at a time and see how you do. I think if you keep looking this good, we'll move you to a regular room tomorrow and get you out of the ICU. Maybe even get to go home within the week."
"Yes please," he sighed.
"Not a fan of hospitals?" she asked with a laugh.
"No, makes me feel weak," he said grumpily.
"Can't have my macho man feeling weak," I teased. His hand, which had been sitting on my thigh, slid down just a little and squeezed just enough to hit my ticklish spot above my knee.
"Stop! I don't want to jump and hurt you," I laughed.
"See, weak," he grumbled.
"That's ok, just means I get to be your nurse this time," I winked playfully.
"On that note," Dr. Romero laughed drawing both of our attention to her again. I hadn't even noticed she'd been messing with his IV. She had a vial in her hand that I now recognized as his pain medicine. "I'm going to head out and make my rounds. I'll be back this afternoon. Let the nurse know if you need anything."
"Thank you Dr. Romero. Sorry about that," I apologized with a small smile.
"Please don't apologize. You two give me hope that a love like yours is out there for me too somewhere," she smiled. "Dimitri, better hold on to that one. She's one of the good ones."
With that she left the room.
"I think I might keep you," he smiled his hand wrapping around my hips.
"Good to know," I joked back. I didn't mention my proposal last night figuring he'd forgotten it. I saw the exhaustion in his face. "Rest Comrade. You look exhausted. I'll still be here when you wake up."
"Lay with me," he said. I rolled my eyes but instead of arguing, I complied with what he said. This time instead of him wrapping his arm around me, I laid up higher. I put my arm behind his head as my other hand ran through his hair gently. He rolled his head to lay against my shoulder and chest as he sighed in contentment. His right arm was too weak to wrap around my waist so he slid his left hand to my inner thigh in between my legs so he was still touching me. As much as I loved laying in his arms, I know he loves it when I play with his hair and I just want to comfort him. I laid my head softly against his as I continued to play with his hair.
"I love you," he mumbled against my chest.
"Me or my boobs?" I teased softly.
"Both," he said smirking slightly but keeping his eyes closed.
"Go to sleep," I chuckled. He didn't respond but soon enough I heard his breathing even out.
Two weeks later, we were finally home, in the cabin. He was given the clearance to leave after a week but had to wait another week to get clearance to fly. Because he was shot in the lungs and planes effect oxygen, they had to make sure his were strong enough. He has been given a light activity restriction and has some inhalers and a bottle of oxygen on standby if his lungs start acting up. Currently we were laying on the couch, him holding me with my head on his chest. On the left side of course. Today was our first full day home so we were taking full advantage of doing absolutely nothing. Olena had brought some food so we didn't have to worry about cooking, Abe gave us some time off from the studio. The businessman in him hated that because it meant we wouldn't be able to finish the tour right now and we would also have to push the release date of my new album. I promised I would work on it here when I had time. The new found father in him completely agreed with it.
"You know before you woke up, I was sitting in the chair by your bed holding your hand telling you that all I wanted was this. You holding me in our cabin," I smiled.
"Well your wish is my command," he teased. "I remember you singing but I don't remember what."
"It's a new song I wrote while you were in the hospital. I'll play it for you later sometime."
"I also remember something else," he hinted. I buried my head at the smile I heard in his voice knowing where this was going. "I didn't at first but in my dreams, I keep having flashbacks of different people talking to me and one that popped up was you asking me a very important question."
"Yea and you didn't answer me. So rude."
"I was drugged up and thrown for a loop. I also know there's more to your question than the answer you gave me," he said knowing me all too well.
"Who said? I just don't want to be fighting with hospital staff ever again over what they can and can't tell me."
"Roza, I love you and we will get married one day BUT, I'm not saying yes because of hospital personnel. Actually, I'm not saying yes at all because it's my job to ask you and you are not taking that away," he said grouchy.
"So, you won't marry me?" I questioned knowing what he meant but not letting it go.
"That's not it at all. I'm saying I'm not marrying you because its more convenient and you're not asking me. We will get married, I promise. What I want to know though, is what really changed your mind?" he asked running his hand through my hair.
"I told you, I realized I love you, you love me. We're not going anywhere so why wait?" I told him.
"What made you finally realize that?" he asked.
"Well, I mean ok fine, I'll explain but I'm not saying anything to hurt you and you can't take any of it personal. When you left, it almost broke me. Then with everything else. I could barely hang on. Without even feeling realizing it, I put a bunch of shields up so I wouldn't get hurt again. When you came back, I thought I had gotten rid of all the shields but, when you were laying there in my arms, I realized I'd been hanging on to a few that I didn't even know about. I was so scared something would go wrong and you would leave again and I knew I wouldn't survive it a second time. So, every negative thing that happened, I used it as a way to prove myself right…I started realizing it when I was down in that basement. I knew without a doubt that you would do everything in your power to find me. I knew with your determination and Abe's resources, you would find me. That's when I realized that I knew you truly love me and aren't going anywhere this time. Then when you took those bullets meant for me, which was stupid by the way, it broke me. You laying there in my arms dying. I realized I'd been so stupid this whole time. You've done everything you can to show me you're sticking around, I was just too scared to realize it."
"Soo all this time, all I had to do was get shot and almost die," he teased but I could hear the emotion in his voice.
"Apparently. Don't go getting any ideas. I better not see you in a hospital bed again until your 80. Unless its like an appendix or something. I can live with that…maybe" I teased back.
"You realized a lot while I was out."
"Well I had plenty of time to think. At first, I wouldn't let you go. Adrian had to convince me to go get the baby, later we found out babies, checked out. He said if you were awake that's what you would want and I realized its what I wanted to. Because I'm finally happy about them. I'm mad at myself that I wasn't from the beginning but, I've got to learn to let it go. Anyways, at first it was just me in the room with you until Olena showed up. I talked to you for a good two hours. Olena walked in when I was reminiscing about the day you broke my ankle. She said she knew by then that we were meant to be, she was just waiting on us to figure it out."
"Told you, smart woman," he smiled.
"Yea. After that during the day, we were rarely alone. Either Vika or Olena was there. Occasionally Adrian and Syd. Lissa, Abe, and my mom were there for a few days. At night though, everyone would leave and it was just you and me. You know I have nightmares and trouble sleeping so when I'd wake up, I would sit there and write or just think. I did a lot of talking so I'm sorry if you remember a lot of nonsense. That was when I would discuss and think about everything."
"What made you decide you were happy about the babies?" he asked still running his hand through my hair. He bent his head down and kissed the top of my head.
"Connor actually," I smiled remembering my dream. "When I was down there in the basement, Stan knocked me unconscious. I'm fine. Mild concussion but I'm already over it. Anyway, While I was out, I had this dream. Stan was trying to steal or murder the babies, I'm not really sure what his plans were. You got shot, weird foreshadowing by the way, and it was just me to protect them. Stan and I fought and I was on the floor about to give up when Connor showed up. He told me I wasn't meant to save him but I was meant to save the babies. He told me it wasn't my fault and that he believed in me. Then I woke up. I'm not sure if it was a crazy dream or if it really was him but, it gave me the closure I needed."
By that point I was crying. Dimitri tilted my head up and wiped away my tears as he hugged me a little tighter. "I think it was him."
"You believe me?" I asked.
"I do, know why?" he asked when I softly shook my head he smiled sadly. "Because I saw him too."
"You did?" I questioned looking up at him.
"Yea, sometime when I was unconscious. I think it was while I was in surgery. I remember waking up as they were pulling me out of the ambulance. I was in a lot of pain and worried about you and the baby but I couldn't speak. They started messing with the wounds and I just remember the pain was a lot. Then all of a sudden, I didn't feel anything. Next thing I knew, I was standing at his grave. I started apologizing to him for not being there along with some other stuff. When all of a sudden a little boy who looked a like a good mix of Paul and you walked up and grabbed my hand. Instantly I knew it was him. He told me he didn't blame me. I asked him if this meant I was dead and he told me it was up to me but that I'd be leaving you alone and he didn't want that. I told him I didn't either. Then he told me he loved me but it was my time to come back. I thought it was all a crazy medicine induced dream. Now I wonder."
"That's amazing," I said tears slowly streaming down my face. Dimitri looked down and noticed them and smiled. "Get used to it. I'm pregnant and hormonal. Apparently, that means crying. It's stupid."
"How dare Rose Hathaway cry?" he teased.
"Shut up," I laughed.
"I do have a problem about something you said," he stated.
"What's that?"
"Adrian knew about the twins before I did?"
"He was the only one and I swore him to secrecy. He hasn't even told Sydney. You, the Doctor that checked me out and Adrian are the only ones who know," I told him. We hadn't told anyone yet deciding to do a surprise announcement. I've been thinking about waiting and doing a gender reveal at the same time. We're still discussing ideas. "I hate to tell you but you may have to start actually liking Adrian. I honestly don't know how I would have survived that day without him and Sydney. I refused to leave your side or let you go when you were shot. He was the one who broke through and made me realize I had to go get the babies checked out. He rode in the ambulance with me while Sydney waited for you. He went with me to get checked out by the doctor. Then Sydney brought me a bag of clothes. They were the ones who made me realize I hadn't eaten in two days and brought me food. Adrian walked me back to your room after surgery supporting me. Even after, when you were in the coma, they stayed in town to make sure I had clothes and food everyday. They spent two and a half extra weeks just visiting for an hour or two everyday to make sure I had eaten for the day and bringing me clothes."
"I think you're right, I might have to start liking Adrian. I'll have to thank him for taking care of my family."
"We're not family, I'm just your girlfriend since you rejected my proposal," I teased not admitting how much I loved hearing him say that.
"Shut up smartass," he laughed rolling his eyes at me. "I meant the babies anyway."
"Oh ok. If you want to go with that," I joked back.
"I do," he smirked tickling me softly. I jumped just right to where I almost rolled off the couch. Dimitri reached out and grabbed my hand catching me before I fell. Unfortunately, I was laying on his left arm so he'd grabbed me with his right. He winced but didn't say anything.
"Dimitri Belikov! Behave before you hurt yourself!" I warned.
"Yes ma'am," he said rolling back onto his back and pulling me with him. about then, my stomach growled. He looked down at my stomach then back at me with a smile.
"What? I have two babies I'm feeding plus my self."
"It's a surprise you do anything other than eat. You already ate for two before," he teased.
"Are you calling me fat?" I asked pretending to be offended.
"Absolutely not, you're perfect," he said smirking at me. I pretended to glare at him. "You know you love me."
"I guess I do," I laughed leaning down to kiss him. When it got more heated I pulled away. "I need food."
"I'm fine," he tried to argue as I got up and walked to the kitchen.
"Doctor said light activity. That means no sex for you right now," I told him before turning to the fridge. "Now, what do you want to eat?"
"You," he said and despite not even looking at him, I could hear the smirk and arrogance on his face.
"You have 2 seconds to tell me what food item from the fridge or pantry you want or you can starve," I told him not wanting to admit how ready I was to cave already. Pregnancy and near-death experiences really affect the body.
"Fine, just bring last nights pizza," he sighed in defeat. I smiled as I grabbed it out. Score one for me.