Hello lovelies! I hope you are all well. I rewrote this chapter seven times hoping to get it right, so I really hope you like it. The restaurant in this chapter is an actual restaurant I got to every Christmas and screams holiday spirit each year. Funny enough, it's call Speakeasy.
I am the only one who has reviewed this chapter, so I apologize if there are any errors.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Kissing his forehead and carefully slipping out of bed, I creep out of the room and down to the kitchen. Pulling a bowl out of the cupboard and staring down at my notes on a piece of paper I hid for the last couple of days.
After a very long conversation with Olena, I have finally gotten her recipe for her blini and I want to surprise Dimitri. Flicking on the coffee machine and heating the pan, I mix everything together and ladle the mix onto the pan. Watching them carefully cook, I flip them and slice up some fruit and put it on a plate, then loading another plate with the fresh blini and setting it on a tray.
"Mmm. What are you making?" I hear Dimitri ask as he walks into the kitchen.
"No! Get back into bed. I will be up in a minute," I exclaim while pouring a coffee into a cup and setting it on the tray. I look over my shoulder and see him raise his hands in a surrendering motion and retreating out of the kitchen. I wait a few minutes before following, grabbing the syrup, and heading back up to our room.
"Are you back in bed?" I ask him through the door, and he responds with a muffled yes. I push the door open with my foot and carry the food into the room, setting the tray in his lap.
"You made blini?" he asks surprised and I toss him a dazzling smile.
"I have attempted it. I apologize if I screwed it up," I say, climbing into bed next to him and watch him take the first bite, biting my lip in anticipation. He chews carefully and then takes a sip of his coffee.
"So?"
"I think this is the best blini I've ever had," he says with a wink and a smile. I beam at him, glad that I didn't completely screw it up.
"Oh thank god!"
He smiles and leans over to kiss me gently before returning his attention to the coffee cup.
"Now this - this is a good cup of coffee," he jokes and I shake my head. I lean over and cut a piece of blini with his fork and try a piece for myself. Oh man, this is good, I can't even believe I did a good job. I mentally thank Olena over and over for her detailed instructions. Stealing another bite from his plate he chuckles at me and drains his coffee cup before I hand him the fork back.
"I guess your Mom did a very good job of explaining her recipe then," I say happily and sink back into the pillows. "I'm taking you out tonight," he says once he finishes eating, offering me some fruit from the plate. I take some and nibble on it.
"Tonight? It's Christmas Eve, Comrade." I say with raised brows. Dimitri lift the tray and sets it on the end table before returning his attention to me.
"Yes, tonight. I want to take my beautiful girlfriend for dinner," he says rolling onto his side and resting a hand on my leg.
"I think that sounds like an amazing idea," I say.
Sitting in our room on Skype with Lissa I hold two tubes of lipstick up for approval.
"Go with the brighter one, it'll match your skin tone better," Lissa says pointing to the tube in my left hand and I drop the other back into my makeup bag and uncap the other. "What dress are you wearing to dinner?"
I smirk wickedly at Lissa before standing and pulling a dress from the closet. It looks similar to the dress I wore to the Equinox dance, but looser around my stomach with capped sleeves. Lissa gasps and then squeals loudly, making her voice sound a little mechanical through the speakers.
"If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed it was the same dress but with sleeves! Dimitri is going to die when he sees that," Lissa exclaims smiling widely, fangs showing and all.
"I know. When I saw it I was drawn to it, let me put it on." I say stepping out of view to pull the dress on and fluff my hair a little.
"Ta-dah!" I say striking a pose and Lissa whistles.
"That dress looks hot, and it makes your bump look amazing! If I were a man, I'd tap that," Lissa says and I lose it in laughter. I have never heard Lissa say something like that before in my life. Well, that's a lie, when she's drunk, she is pretty loose-lipped.
"Thanks, Liss. I got to go, I'll text you later," I say grabbing my purse and shoes, and spritzing a little of my perfume on. She waves and ends the call. I turn to look in the mirror and touch up my lipstick before walking out of the bedroom.
I have to admit the dress does look amazing, it's a little longer coming down to just before my knees and not as tight, but it looks so similar to that fateful dress. I stop at the bottom of the stairs and throw on my red heels. I stride into the living room, fastening some studs into my ears. "Ready?" I ask Dimitri as I fasten the last earing in my ear and look over to see him sitting on the couch gaping at me. I smooth my hands over my dress and raise my brows at him. "What?"
He inhales and runs his hand over his mouth, eyes moving rapidly over me, from my loose hair down to my heels.
"You look… I don't even have words," he says getting up and taking me into his arms, kissing me passionately. I giggle and kiss him back, cupping his face.
"Thank you," I say running my thumb along his lip to wipe the lipstick that transferred over.
"You know this dress is like the one…" he says huskily and I wag my eyebrows at him and link my hands behind his neck.
"I know exactly what dress it looks like, why do you think I bought?" I say saucily before stepping back from his arms and pulling his hand. "Come on, we will miss our reservation and we are starving!" I exclaim, tugging him towards the door.
The restaurant he picked is what I would describe as a cross between a Hallmark Christmas movie moment and the most beautiful place I've been in. The floors are black and white square tiles and the whole room is filled with twinkling lights and poinsettias, soft Italian music playing and a lively atmosphere. To the direct right is a counter and behind it is a brick oven for pizzas while there is a large Christmas tree to our left. The whole room screams festive and I can't contain my happiness over it.
Being seated and told the specials, I swivel around in my seat to look around the room more, admiring the décor. I spot Guardians Andrews and Ballard a few tables over and she winks at me before moving her eyes around the room. They must be the only guardians inside with us.
"I take it you like my choice," Dimitri says taking my hand in his on top of the table and I smile at him. "I love it. This is beautiful," I say squeezing his hand.
"I had hoped you liked it, especially with all those corny Hallmark movies you watch," Dimitri says, running his thumb over my knuckles. Looking over the menu, I eyeball the margarita pizza. Dimitri deciding the same thing and order.
"Should we call your family tomorrow?" I ask playing with the straw in my glass.
"We can, but they won't be celebrating until January," he says pulling his hand out of mine as the waiter sets our food on the table. I thank him and rub my hands together staring at the pizza, watching the steam rise from the plate and the smell assaults my senses.
Digging in and groaning at the food, I bounce a little in my seat contently while eating. This as got to be the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. While we wait for our check, I sit and admire my man. He genuine looks happier since we've been in Goderich and I'm not sure if it's because he's been able to have a little more down time, or if it's because we have formed a bond that is stronger than it was at the academy, where we move in sync. His hair has grown a little longer than normal, and he has kept the slight stubble on his face to which I enjoy greatly, and the charcoal dress shirt he is wearing looks phenomenal.
He catches me ogling him and he smirks at me, his eyes softening even more. "Why are you staring Roza?"
I merely shake my head and smile at him. If someone had told me the day he caught Lissa and I in Portland that he was to become the love of my life, I would have laughed in their face.
After we pay the bill he helps me into my coat, and we proceed out of the restaurant, Andrews and Ballard following behind us. Dimitri wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him to block out some of the wind. We had a heavy snowfall last night, and the temperature dropped considerable while we were eating. He tenses for a moment, bringing his free hand to his ear and then tilts his head down to me ear.
"I don't want you to panic; did you bring your stake with you?" he whispers seriously, and I nod my head subtly. "When we get to the car, I want you to get in and lock the door. Do not get out unless absolutely necessary."
I turn my head to protest but the look he sends my way is fierce and I back down seeing a flicker of concern in his eyes.
"I can help. I am a Guardian too," I whisper but he shakes his head.
"You're also pregnant, I won't take that risk. Langton said he spotted three Strigoi lurking around," Dimitri explained quietly. His eyes moving around as he surveyed our surroundings and his hand drops to my belly, stroking it quickly before pulling his stake from its place in his coat. But we didn't have enough time to get to the car, because it wasn't just three strigoi; there were at least a dozen of them, and they were on us quickly.
I pull my stake out and gripped it tightly, looking for a threat as Dimitri pushed me behind him, his back against mine. A previously human man stalks towards me and I'm able to take him down quickly, before two more emerge. I can hear Dimitri behind me still but can't let me focus slid to him. The two in front of me, both previously Moroi, tower over me but it isn't anything new. The woman seems to be more of a threat than the man and I move to take him out quickly, leaving me with just her. We circle each other and she circles me like prey.
"Would you look at this, a little blood whore," she drawls and advances towards me, a fist flying towards my face, and I counter with a block and swipe my stake along her arm. She hisses and snarls at me and lands a kick to my thigh, making me wince slightly as she aims another attack at my abdomen. I block it and land a punch to her face, cracking it to the side.
What I wasn't expecting was her other hand to swing out and strike me in the face, knocking me down and I curl to absorb the impact. Tucking my head in as I fall and roll to get back onto my feet, the strigoi advances quickly and grabs my face and backs me into the car.
"Too bad you'll never get to see that baby," she hisses before she gaps and releases my face from her grip and collapses to my feet, I look up to see Andrews standing in front of me.
"You ok?" she asks looking me over quickly before turning her back to me and putting herself in a defensive stance. I scan the parking lot as well, keeping myself alert, but panic a little when I can't see Dimitri anywhere.
"Where is he?" I ask Andrews and she shakes her head.
"Leslie. Where is Dimitri?" I hiss, fear starting to run cold in my veins.
She doesn't answer and take a shaky breath. I cannot do this again; I cannot deal with this again. There is so much more at stake here, it's not just me anymore, and I'm not about to raise my children without their father. I move my eyes around the parking lot for a tall figure but nothing stands out. I see Ballard walking back with another guardian, the latter looking battered and blood pouring down the side of his face due to the nasty gash, but still no Dimitri.
"One of them slipped away, but the others are dead. Langton got 2 and I got 2, how many did you get?" Ballard said as he approached, pulling Langton alone with him.
"Rose got 2 and I got 2, I don't know about Belikov. We lost visual of him, have you seen him?" Andrews replied, putting a hand on my arm and pulling me beside her. I look at Ballard pleadingly, praying that he's seen Dimitri.
"No, I thought he was with you," he replies, and I feel my heart drop into my stomach. I suck in a shaky breath and grab onto Andrews' hand and try to keep tears from forming.
"We need to call the Alchemist's, and Abe," I say quietly and step back into the car and lean on it, looking up to the sky and try to calm myself. I try to block out Ballard as he places the call to the Alchemists. "I'm calling him," I whisper to Andrews as she calls Abe and pull my phone out of my clutch. I listen to the dial tone before it goes to his voicemail and growl before ending the call. I try this a few more times but get the same result.
Andrews comes back over after dragging the strigoi in the parking lot away to keep from the humans from seeing and wraps her arm around me. "It's going to be ok, he's going to be fine," she whispers trying to comfort me but I just shake my head.
"You don't know that," I say blankly. She rubs my arm and tries to soothe me, but nothing is going to do that at this moment except seeing that he is ok. Andrews unlocks her vehicle and moves me to sit in it, draping her coat around me. I have only been sitting for a few moments before another vehicle comes screeching into the parking lot and parks next to us, Abe flying out the backseat door with my mom hot on his heels.
"Kiz," he sighs and leans into the car to hug me. I rest my face in the crook of his neck and sigh deeply. He rubs the back of my head gently, speaking quietly in what I'm presuming is Turkish, trying to comfort both me and him.
"Where is Dimitri?" I faintly hear Mom ask Andrews and I peek up to see Andrews pull Mom to the side, the two talking adamantly.
"Are you hurt?" Abe asks pulling back to look me over, a concerned look on his face and touches my cheek softly.
"Not really," I whisper and take his hand off my cheek and squeeze it, standing up and walking towards Mom. The two are still speaking in hushed voices and they stop talking when I get close to them. Mom turns to me and looks me over and squeezes my shoulder, eyeing the forming bruise on my face.
"That doesn't look too bad," she says and I nod to her. An SUV pulls into the lot and Sydney steps out of the car along with another man, who seems a little familiar but can't place him. Mom cup my cheek and turns my head away from them.
"Don't look at them unless they come up to us directly. Sydney has protocols she has to follow," Mom whispers and I nod, wrapping my arms around myself. I peek out the corner of my eye to see them address Ballard, him pointing to us and then Langton before walking them over to the pile discreetly hidden in the shadows. I look around after they've turned the corner and look to see any sight of my tall Russian but see nothing.
"I'm going to go look for Dimitri," I say and Mom grabs my bicep in a vice grip and yanking me back to her.
"You will stay here. When the Alchemist's take your statement you will be thorough, then you will return to the house with Andrews and your father. I will stay with Ballard and look for him," she hisses and I huff. I cannot just sit idly while they look for him, this is too much. It's too much like the caves. I crouch down and hug my knees, pressing my face into my dress and take a shuttering breath.
Sydney comes over and takes my statement, her eyes showing concern when I tell her what happened and that we haven't seen Dimitri since. She looks around for her partner before placing her hand on my shoulder and patting it, whispering she will keep me updated and walking back to the other Alchemist.
"Come on Rosemarie, let's get you back to the house," Mom says guiding me back to Abe's car and setting me in the front seat and closing the door, saying a few words to Abe and heading over to Ballard. Abe and Andrews joining me in the vehicle. Tilting my head against the window and I close my eyes, trying to bring my anxiety down to a manageable level and rubbing my belly, feeling a small nudge and smiling sadly.
Hoping out the minute we are in the driveway, I walk to the door and unlock it, holding it open for Abe and Andrews and halting before entering the hall when I see the lights are on.
"It's Pavel and Adrian," Abe says and we walk together down the hall, Andrews remaining at the door. Adrian stands up and strides towards me and pulls me into a tight hug and Abe steps around us to talk to Pavel.
"I'm glad you're ok," Adrian says rubbing my back and I nod into his chest, desperately holding back the tears that try to break through now that I am home and my adrenaline has started to wear off.
I pull away and flop onto the couch and kick my heels off, scrubbing my hands over my face and huffing. Abe sits down next to me and offers a small smile before moving one of the pillows on the couch into his lap, and puts his arm around me, pulling me to lay down. I rest my head on the pillow and he runs his hand up and down my arm gently, talking softly about how they are going to look for Dimitri and that things will be ok. I close my eyes and try to calm myself, thinking happy thoughts and trying to think about anything other than what happened tonight.
I groan feeling disoriented; someone is holding me against them as they unzip the back of my dress, and then lay me back down, tugging the dress down my body. My eyes flutter as sleep tries to pull me back under, when the person gently pulls me back up and unclasp my bra and pulls a shirt over my head, then feeding my arms through the holes. I push against sleep harder when they pick me up and then lay me back down, leaning me against the pillows, and I realize I'm in my own bed because I can smell Dimitri's aftershave.
Wait.
That's too strong for it to be what lingered on his pillow. I force my eyes open and see his molten eyes peer down at me, and all the fear and tears I held back earlier this evening erupt and I clutch onto him, crying hysterically. He sits me back up and pulls me to him, hushing me and rubbing up and down my back, placing kisses on my head and murmuring my name over and over.
"You're-you're alive!" I sob and he pulls me tighter.
"I'm alive, banged up but alive. I went after the Strigoi that ran and I staked it, but lost my footing after and fell down the embankment and hit my head. I came to an hour ago," he says leaning back and cupping my face, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. I sniffle and ghost my fingers over his face, he has a faint bruise forming over his right cheekbone, and a small cut above his eyes, but other than that I can't see any other damage. I cup his face and pull his lips to mine, kissing his fiercely, pouring all my love into him and he pulls me back to him, moving his lips against mine in tandem.
"I was so scared," I whisper to his lips and he peaks mine over and over.
"I know, the minute I woke up and saw Janine standing over me I knew you would be frantic. Hell, she looked frantic. You were sleeping in Abe's lap on the couch when we got back and I didn't want to wake you," he says against my lips between sweet kisses and my tears have slowed to a soft trickle.
"All I could think about was the caves," I whisper brokenly, and he rests his forehead against mine, his breath fanning over my face.
"I know baby, I know. Come on, let's go to bed. I want to hold you close," he says gently pushing me back into the pillows. "I'm just going to wash up and I will be right back. 5 minutes tops ok?"
I nod and curl under the blankets and roll onto my side and watch him disappear into the bathroom, leaving the door open and stepping out of view to the shower. True to his word, he had showered and crawled back into bed in five minutes and pulled my tightly to him, intertwining our legs and arms, dropping kisses onto my head and whispering sweet, soothing words to me until I fell back asleep.
Soft kisses are pressed to the nape of my neck and I smile shimmying backwards into the warm body behind me and pull the arm around my waist tighter.
"Hi," I whisper, running my hand up Dimitri's arm and clasp his hand in mine. He hums placing another kiss on my skin and shifting to pull me flat to his chest.
"Merry Christmas Comrade," I say, and I wiggle around to face him making him laugh at me and wraps me into a bear hug once facing him and burying his face into my hair.
"Merry Christmas, moya lyubov'
I run my surprisingly cold toes up his shins and flinches slightly which makes me push them against him again and he growls in my hair. I chuckle and move my hand to run through his hair and kiss his head.
"Come on! Let's go downstairs, I have so amazing things for you down there," I whisper and struggle to get out of his grip and he eventually loosens up and follows me out of bed. I walk over to the tree to plug in the lights and light the fireplace while he heads to the kitchen to make his morning coffee and I bounce over to the couch and plop down, wiggling in excitement.
He returns with his coffee and a mug of hot chocolate for me and sits next to me and kisses my temple before reaching over and plucking a gift for the pile and handing it to me.
For the two of us setting a budget, we failed to remain in said budget. Forty-five minutes later we sit together watching the snowfall and Dimitri looks through the entire John Wayne western movie collection I found him, all 162 of them. His face was priceless when he opened the large box that contained the multipacks and he was speechless. I smirked into my cup as he looked them over like a small child seeing the toy they wanted all year. I also bought him a few new books and replaced the wristbands on his watch that were worn down.
Dimitri bought me a lovely pyjama set and slippers that said "If you can read this, bring me food." which I immediately threw on my feet. Along with five tubes of my favourite lip gloss and a few pairs of pants that have stakeholders in them. They are stretchy enough that I can wear them now, but I will also be able to wear them after I give birth. We also each bought stuff for the babies and had the other open, which was comical in its own way because we both got the funniest stuff we could find. Mustache soothes, onesies that say things like "Feed me and tell me I'm pretty," and "I'm not milk drunk, I'm tit-faced", and small little Knick knacks we saw for the kids.
"Ok, I have one more gift for you, but you have to find it," Dimitri says stroking my cheek and I pout at him before laughing and standing up.
"Do I get a hint about where to look?" I ask placing my hands on my hips.
"It's around the tree," is all he says and lifts his mug to his lips, a smirk on his lips. I strut over and start to look around, shifting the gifts we have here for Adrian, my parents and a few of the guardians, looking along the mantel and behind the couch. I sigh and move back to the tree when a small gleam catches my eye. I get closer and grasp the blown ornament that Dimitri gave me when we put the tree up, and at the top of the bulb is a ring, simple and elegant resting above the photo of us.
I carefully take the bulb off the tree and pull the ring over the hook and place the bulb back on the tree. The ring is a small teardrop cut diamond the size of my baby fingernail and the band is woven sliver with little flecks of blue along the top. I spin around to speak to him and see him standing directly behind me with a gentle smile on his face and he takes the ring from my fingers before getting on one knee.
"I had actually planned on doing this last night, but things didn't go as planned," he says and a tear drips down my face.
"I know this isn't a ring pop, but I felt you deserved something much nicer than that. You are best thing that has ever walked into my life, from the moment we met in Portland I was entranced, and I was in love with you before I realized it. You are the light in my darkest of nights and the air that I breathe. You are worth even sacrifice I've made, and every early morning training session. I love you more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and be by your side forever, even if you think I'm cheap foreign labour," he says solemnly and I choke on a few tears as a laugh bubbles its way out of my mouth. He stands up and cups my face in his hands and presses him forehead against mine.
"Marry me Roza, do me the honour of becoming my forever," he whispers and I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him soundly, stretching up on my toes to get closer to him.
"Yes," I whisper and he picks me up and holds me to him tightly, peppering me with sweet kisses before setting me back down and sliding the ring onto my hand.
Did I do ok? Or does it suck completely?