A/N Alright folks, this is a big chapter! I have been so nervous and so excited about posting it. Also, I have three more chapters to write before it is completed (frown slightly). Only 10-14 chapters left!
I would like to take a moment to the TheLittleSubmissive for editing this chapter, she is a gem!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
May
In the four months after Tatiana announced her retirement, a lot of things have happened. Before Tatiana announced Lissa, she revealed that she is not the last Dragomir. Eric had an affair and had an illegitimate daughter, who happened to be Jill Manstreon. Lissa was in denial for a few days before seeing reason, and gracefully accepted reality.
After multiple DNA tests, it was confirmed, and Jill was announced as a Dragomir, and nobody could say anything about Lissa not taking her place on the council now. There was an outcry from many royals when I was announced as an advisor. Thankfully, the majority of the non-royals and dhampirs supported the decision.
Lissa insisted that Dimitri and I take advantage of the housing provided for us as members of Parliament, so we moved from the small house at the edge of court to a comfortable family-sized home. It looked similar in structure and colour to the house in Goderich and I was ecstatic to find a fenced-in pool in the backyard.
It's not widely known, but each advisor is assigned a guardian because they are confidants of the monarch, and because of that, Dimitri applied to take that position. When I questioned it, he simply said he felt better being the one to have my back, and that way we would be together if I have to travel with Lissa. Eddie was assigned to Jill to his and my excitement.
Adrian confided to me one night that he and Sydney have been seeing each other in secret, that he had been sneaking away from court every weekend to see her. He also confided that it was the best choice he has made. He cut back on his smoking and drinking with her help, and she was distancing herself from the Alchemists.
Mom had to go back to Nepal with her charge two months ago, and I discovered how much I didn't understand about my impending motherhood, and it scared me shitless. I called her almost every night with questions, most of which she laughed at because they were ridiculous, but it made me feel better.
After an extensive investigation, we discovered that Tasha, along with Victor and Robert, were also at fault for the necklace, car accident, and Tatiana's assault. Christian was crushed when we told him what was going on and was in denial for a few days about it. A warrant was put out for their arrests, but there have been no sightings of either of them since Tasha compelled Dimitri.
Dimitri has become my rock through all of this. Listening intently during our meetings with the current advisor and helping me whenever he can. We even picked a wedding date for next October, which made both of our mothers happy, and Abe has been trying to front the bill, but I told him that he couldn't pay for all of it.
"You ready to go?" Dimitri asks, putting on his watch and making sure his stakes were where they belonged. I nod as a sob slips out of my mouth.
Dimitri turns, crouching in front of me where I sit on the edge of the bed, cupping my face in his hands. "Roza, what's wrong?"
I shake my head and wave him off, but he asks me again, wiping the fat tears that roll down my cheeks. "I can't put my shoes on," I sniffle. Dimitri bites his lip to keep himself from smiling and snorts out a breath, reaching down to grab my shoes and sliding them onto my feet.
"Oh sweetheart," he says with an amused chuckle and kisses my nose. I swat my hand at him and try to push myself up off the bed.
"This is your fault. You and your freakishly large genetics. I look like a jersey cow!" I wail as he takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. Looking at him, I can tell he is trying his best not to laugh at me, which makes me even angrier. "It's not funny, Dimitri!"
"I know, I'm sorry. It's not funny," he soothes, trying to appease me. I scowl at him and cross my arms over my chest. I will admit, the closer to my due date I get, the crankier I have become. Lately, he has to sleep in the guest room because I can't get comfortable in bed if he is sleeping next to me. It's a double edge sword because I want him to be close to me at night.
"Hey. I love you," he says, brushing his lips against mine in a peace offering gesture. I sigh and lean into his kiss. "I love you too. I'm sorry for being such a bitch lately."
He chuckles and places his hands on the sides of my monstrous belly. He rubs circles gently against the skin, stopping when one of them kicks up against his palms.
"It's fine, and you aren't a bitch. You're uncomfortable and exhausted, I understand."
I place my hands on his chest and straighten the cross on his chain before leaning forward and kissing him again. "I meant to thank you for painting the nursery yesterday. I appreciate it."
Dimitri spent the last two days painting the nursery a beautiful grey colour, and Adrian and Lissa promised to come by to paint all the Winnie the Pooh characters on the walls later today.
He winks at me and picks up my bag and puts an arm around my waist, walking with me out the door. Heading towards the palace is a little slow now that I waddle more than walk, but I refuse to drive the five-minute walk. Might as well enjoy it while I can.
"We just have the two meetings today, right?" I ask, already dreaming of curling back up in bed with my man and a bag of pork rines.
"Yes. One with Tatiana and a council meeting that you will be sitting in on," Dimitri says, opening the door for me, and I step in before him. Saying my hello's to the Guardians in the hall and heading towards Tatiana's sitting room, I wince for what feels like the thousandth time today because of Braxton Hicks.
Lissa is standing at the door waiting for me and bounces over, wrapping her arm around me as well.
"You really should be taking it easy, Rose. You should have gone on maternity leave already," Lissa scolds with a smile. She has been pushing for me to go on maternity leave for three weeks now, but all I'm doing is listening in on meetings and learning the rules and protocols that are in place.
"I'm fine," I huff. Lissa looks up to Dimitri, and I look to see him shrug and throw her a look, saying, what do you want me to do?
"I've had this discussion multiple times. She wants to continue to the end of the week," Dimitri says, and I can feel him rolling his eyes. I shuffle out of their arms and sink into the first chair I see, sighing happily.
"Good morning, everyone," Tatiana says as she glides into the meeting chambers, and I move to stand back up to greet her accordingly.
"Rosemarie, don't you dare get out of that chair," Tatiana says firmly, and I hear Lissa snicker beside me. I blush deeply as a few eyes turn towards me, some of the royals giving me indifferent glances.
Getting started with the meeting, I take notes the best I can, whispering questions to Amilia while we carry on. Amilia is Tatiana's current advisor and Lissa's to be moroi advisor, and she has been gracious enough to help me learn.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Amilia whispers during a lull in the meeting, observing me groan and shift in my chair. Even though she is from royal descent, she has been friendly with me and also showed up to my tiny baby shower last month. It consisted of a dozen people, and we did not stick to the "women only" rule as I only have a few females friends.
"I'm ok. Twins are kicking like crazy, and these false contractions are seriously kicking my as- butt. They are seriously kicking my butt," I whisper back, catching myself before swearing. Dimitri decided that we were going to start a swear jar because of my foul mouth, and he swore that he wasn't having his children coming out with the first words out of their mouths being profanity. Both of us owe the jar a dollar for this morning.
She smiles and pats my hand softly. "You're almost there."
I nod and turn my attention back to the others in the room. Tatiana calls for a break until tomorrow morning, and I internally thank god for allowing this meeting to be shorter than usual. I wait until the council members leave the chambers, bar Lissa, and pull myself up to pack up my things.
"Lunch?" Lissa asks. I nod my head vigorously and step away from the table.
"Um, Rose?"
I hum at Lissa as she pulls me to a stop. She looks at Amilia and Dimitri before clearing her throat.
"Did you have an accident?" Lissa whispers, and I frown at her. She flicks her gaze down to my legs, and I follow her gaze to see a large wet spot spreading down my pants.
"No, I don't think I did, Liss," I say. I definitely did not pee myself. My bladder is still very full. "I think my water broke."
Laying in the bed, twiddling my thumbs as I wait for the OB to come and examine me, I huff again and roll my head to look at Dimitri, who is the picture of calm. His eyes are a whole different story, though.
"Are you ok?" I ask with a laugh, reaching my hand out to hold his. He moves to sit on the edge of my bed and takes my hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm fine. How are you feeling?"
I smile and rub my thumb over his knuckles. "I'm fine, really. No need for everyone to kick up such a fuss," I say with a cheery smile. He nods and squeezes my hand again.
"Hello, Rose, Dimitri. How are we doing so far?" Dr. Chu says as she walks in and washes her hands at the sink. Dimitri stands and moves to the chair next to me, keeping my hand tight in his grasp.
"I'm just going to take a look, ok?" Dr. Chu says, coming over to lift the blanket. Looking over to Dimitri while she does the exam, I reach over with my other hand and stroke his cheek.
"Rose. When did your contractions start?" Dr. Chu asks from the end of the bed. I turn to look at her and frown. "Umm. I don't know, maybe late last night? I just thought it was Braxton Hicks, and it got worse," I reply, gripping Dimitri's hand tightly in mine as another contraction hits me.
"Last night? It got worse last night and you didn't say anything?" Dimitri asks, and I roll my eyes. He worries too much.
"Well, you are pretty far in, 6 cm dilated," Dr. Chu says, putting the blanket back over my legs and pulling her gloves off.
"But I'm not due for another two weeks," I say quickly, feeling panic settling in my chest. She smiles at me, patting my leg and lifting my medical chart off the table.
"That was your 40 weeks date, but it is very common for women carrying twins to deliver anywhere between 36 and 38 weeks. Your little ones are a little eager. I am going to set up a monitor for the babies," she explains, writing things down before bringing her attention back to us. Telling us that she is going to be back in a few minutes, she retreats out the door, and I shift to sit up in bed.
"Can you pass me my phone? I want to message Mom and Abe, let them know that everything is a little ahead of schedule," I ask Dimitri, reaching for my bag. He opens my bag and roots through it for a moment before pulling my phone out and handing it to me. Thanking him, I fire off a few texts and place my phone down on the table beside the bed.
"Come here," I say softly, scooting towards the edge of the bed, gesturing for him to come to lay beside me. He hesitates for a moment before taking his duster off and reclining on the bed next to me, his feet dangling over the side. Shifting onto his side and wrapping his arm around me, I tilt my head to rest against his chest and run my hand over his arm.
He kisses my hair and rests his face on my head for a few moments. "Why didn't you tell me last night?" he asks, and I roll my eyes again.
"To be honest, it just felt like I had to go to the bathroom really bad. And then, after going to the bathroom, I thought it was Braxton Hicks. I didn't want to worry you," I say with a chuckle. But as quickly as the chuckle comes, so does another contraction, and I dig my fingers into Dimitri's arm. Waiting until I released my grip on him, he sits up and takes one of my hands in his and rubs the other over my lower belly.
"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asks carefully about ten minutes later after I squeeze his hand to the point where it might break. I look him dead in the eyes and pinch my face.
"Remember when I bagged you in the junk during training at the academy, and you dropped like a bag of brinks?"
He nods his head slowly, and I can see apprehension cross his face. "That is how I feel, except ten times worse, and it keeps happening," I groan. He winces slightly when I squeeze his hand again and looks at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, Roza."
"I hate you!" I growl at Dimitri for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. Now roughly being in labour for 13 hours, I am anything but friendly. Lissa showed up an hour ago and has been trying to appease me, talking about random things to try and distract me, along with feeding me ice chips. She even got me up out of bed to walk around, saying she read somewhere that it will help with the pain.
"Maybe you should go and get a coffee? Maybe get a little fresh air?" Lissa says kindly to Dimitri, who looks like he's about to keel over from worry any second now. He looks over to me and leans down to kiss my sweaty forehead.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, I love you," he says against my skin before nodding to Lissa and walking out the door.
I let out a sigh of relief and shift to roll over on my side, whimpering and groaning as Lissa helps me. "It hurts, Liss."
Wiping my forehead with a damp cloth, she looks at me sympathetically and moves the cloth down to my neck. "I know, sweetie," she says softly. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing when the door opens, and I groan.
"Dimitri, I swear to god if you are back already, I'm going to knock your teeth in!"
"Thank god I'm not Dimitri then," Abe says with a laugh. I look up to see him standing in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a cotton button-up shirt. I smile at him and burst into tears.
Don't ask me why, but I did, and it scared the shit out of him. His face grows pale as he drops his things inside the door and rushes over to my side, looking as frantic as Dimitri was earlier.
"Kiz?" Abe asks, eyes wide as he looks at my tear-stained face. Lissa looks between us with a smirk, and I narrow my eyes at her. "Why are you smirking?"
"Because you are hormonal, and it's slightly entertaining," she says with a chuckle, and I toss the ice chip I was holding at her head. She tilts her head to avoid the ice and stands up, excusing herself from the room with a smile. I look at Abe and wipe my face, trying to make myself look a little less miserable.
"How did you get here so fast?" I croak, putting my hand on his arm when he sits down on the edge of the bed.
"I was already on my way back to court. Good timing, I guess, I just landed ten minutes ago. I saw Dimitri on my way up," Abe replies, putting his hand on my back. "He looks like he's going to pass out," he adds a moment later with a throaty laugh, pulling a smile from me too. Poor Dimitri, he is taking this like a champ all things considering.
Abe fills me in about his business trip back in Russia, and I tell him about what has been happening here at court, and how excited Lissa is becoming the more she accompanies Tatiana. I like hearing about his business, the legal and shady parts. It helps me get to know him a little more, and he becomes enthusiastic when he starts explaining things to me. But above all, it gives me a perfect distraction.
Twenty minutes later, there is a knock on the open door, and Dimitri is standing there in the threshold with a soft smile.
"Is it safe for him to come in here, or are you going to punch his teeth in?" Abe laughs, and I swat his arm lazily. "It's fine. Can you give us a few minutes?" I ask Abe. He kisses my head and stands to allow Dimitri to take his place. He sets a small freezer pack bag on the table and I eyeball it while reaching for him.
"Help me sit up?"
He leans forwards as I wrap my arms around his neck, and he helps me into a seated position, moving pillows around to support me. Not letting him go right away, I press a lingering kiss to his lips and rest my forehead against his.
"Thank you. I know I've been horrible the last few hours, but I really do appreciate what you've done to try to make me comfortable, and I don't hate you – I love you, very much."
Kissing my nose and running his hands over my shoulders and back, he replies with a simple, "I know."
Leaning back and moving my gaze back to the bag on the table, staring in curiosity for what it could hold. "What's in the bag?" I ask excitedly, hoping that it's food. Dimitri reaches over and opens it, pulling out two small clearish freezies. I smile widely and reach for one, but he pulls them out of my reach, causing me to pout.
"They are kids apple fruit freezies and you have to eat them slowly, understood? You'll make yourself sick if you inhale them," Dimitri says, ripping off the top of one and handing it to me, while I shake in excitement. All I've had today is a little bit of broth they brought me when I got here and ice chips.
"This is why I love you," I murmur around the top of the freezie, savouring the apple grape taste, humming happily.
"I can't do this!" I cry, slumping back into the bed between pushes. Lissa is standing on one side of me, and Dimitri is standing on the other, holding my hand tightly in his hand. The nurse had tilted the bed up to a recline, so when I pushed I was more sitting up than laying down. It was comfortable, but I could also see Dr. Chu sitting directly in front of me.
"Roza, look at me," Dimitri says, trying to pull my attention to him. Gasping for breath with tears rolling down, I turn to him and look at his brown eyes that are soft and warm.
"You – are Rose Hathaway. You don't back down from anything, and you are the strongest woman I've met. You can do this," he says firmly but kindly. He tucks a sticky piece of hair behind my ear and places a kiss on my lips before I let out a shaky breath.
Sucking in a deep breath, I use Lissa and Dimitri's hands to pull myself back up and buckle down, clearing my mind and preparing to push again.
"One more Rose and the first one will be out," Dr. Chu encourages from the end of the table. I nod my head and push again, letting out a loud cry and sucking in a deep breath.
"Good job Rose, you're little boy is out!" Dr. Chu says happily, placing my son on my stomach, his big eyes opening and looking right up at me. Big and brown – the same shade as his father's. My tears of pain turn to sobs of joy, and I remove my hands from the people beside me and cup his little body.
"Dad? Do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Chu asks Dimitri, and I look up at him beaming. He has a few tears on his cheeks and brushes his lips against mine before moving to clip the umbilical cord between the clamps.
"He's beautiful," Lissa whispers, wiping my forehead with a wet cloth and smiling at me.
"Take a breather Rose; your little girl isn't quite on her way out yet," Dr. Chu says a moment later, picking my son off my stomach and handing him to the nurse to clean him up.
I lay back and run my hands over my face, trying to slow my breathing and close my eyes while Dr. Chu does what she needs to prepare for our little girl. A few minutes later, the side of the bed dips and I open my eyes to see Dimitri sitting beside me holding our baby, and the nurse moves to unclip my gown to expose my chest. Moving to place our baby onto my bare chest, I cup the back of his little head and rest my other hand on his back.
"Hey, little man," I coo, placing a featherlight kiss on his head. I smile up at Dimitri who is smiling at the two of us. "You look just like your Papa."
Dimitri leans down and rests his head against mine, gazing down at his son, running a finger over the tiny arm and hand that isn't covered by my hands. I groan a few minutes later, knowing that it's time for our little girl to make her grand entrance. I lift my son off my chest to Dimitri, and he moves to place him in the warm bassinet.
"Ready?" Dr. Chu asks, squeezing my ankle in a gesture of encouragement and I nod. Now I get to do that all over again.
I don't think I've ever felt joy like this in my life. Nothing can compare to the bliss and happiness I feel, laying here almost an hour after welcoming my two miracles into the world, them laying on my bare chest and a sheet pulled up over the three of us. They're so tiny in my hands but so large in my heart.
"Artyom looks so much like you," I whisper, tearing my gaze away from my babies to Dimitri, who is laying on his side beside me, arm wrapped protectively over us. The smile on his face hasn't left since the moment he held his son, and it only got bigger when he held his daughter for the first time. He is already wrapped around both of their fingers.
"Nadia is a carbon copy of you," Dimitri says, resting his lips against my cheek. He's right though. As much as Artyom looks like Dimitri, Nadia is a mirror image of me, but with much lighter hair. We settled on Nadia's name only a few days ago, and her name translates to hope. We felt it was fitting since we never thought that we would experience this miracle.
"I love you," I declare softly, turning my head to press my lips to his sweetly, pouring my love for him into the kiss.
"I love you too. More than words can say," he whispers back, moving his hand to rest over mine that is resting on their backs.
I would just like to point out that I have never been pregnant, and the way I wrote the birth is based loosely off what has happened with my sisters and my mom. Research can only take you so far. If I got things wrong, I apologize!
Please let me know what you think!:)