Hi, y'all! I hope everyone is having a good summer so far and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Feel free to let me know what you thought in the reviews!

Rose POV

Dimitri was still sleeping in the rollaway bed next to my hospital bed when I woke up the next morning. His arm was stretched out, easily covering the small gap between our beds, so that he could hold my hand while we had both slept.

As peaceful as he looked sleeping, I had to wake him. I couldn't find the remote to call the nurse station, and I desperately needed to use the bathroom. The tight pull of stitches in my stomach every time I moved told me that I probably shouldn't attempt to get out of bed alone.

"Dimitri?" I whispered.

He stirred slightly but didn't wake.

"Dimitri," I said, slightly louder while rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand.

He jerked awake, his eyes wide.

"Roza?" Relief flooded his eyes. "You're awake, and you seem better."

I nodded. "Can you get a nurse? I really need to use the bathroom. And I could use some medicine."

"Of course," he said, swinging his legs over the side of the rollaway bed. He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before walking out of the room.

He returned moments later with a nurse in tow.

"Hi, Rose," the nurse said. "I'm Kyla. I'll be the nurse on this floor for the next few hours."

She unhooked my IV and lowered the railing on the bed. She sat the bed up a little more to make it easier for me to get out of the bed, and she assisted me to the bathroom before helping me get back into the bed.

"Dr. Carter will be by shortly to talk to you about the surgery and the next steps," Kyla explained once I was comfortably back in bed. She also handed me a small container that had two small pills in it. Pain medication and antibiotics, Kyla had explained. "You also have some visitors that have been waiting to see you. I'll go ahead and let them know that you're awake."

"Am I able to eat?" I asked.

Kyla nodded. "You're on a liquid diet for now, though. The cafeteria makes excellent fruit smoothies if you want one of those."

I nodded. "That would be great."

"I'll get the order sent in. It should be here soon."

Kyla left the room, and a few minutes later, Adrian entered.

"Rose," he said, relief evident in his voice. "I'm glad you're okay. How are you feeling?"

I shrugged. "Sore, but it's not too bad right now. I took some medicine not too long ago, so it's starting to kick in."

"Good," he said.

Kyla knocked on the door as she opened it. "Here's your smoothie, Rose."

She handed me the smoothie, and I thanked her. She closed the door on her way out.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Adrian said the moment the door was closed.

"What?"

"Why would you go and meet her after everything that she's done to you, Rose?" Adrian said. "Seriously, what the hell?"

I looked away from him. "You wouldn't understand."

"Rose, if she was blackmailing you with something—" Dimitri started, but I cut him off.

"She wasn't," I said. "Well, not in the way that you'd think. She wouldn't really have anything to blackmail me with after everything that happened with the cheer squad. The most that she could threaten would be going public with it, but there was too much that would implicate her in that, so she would never do that."

"Then why did you go?" Adrian said. "I don't know if you've noticed, Rose, but this is the second time in a month that you've almost died."

I sighed. "I needed it to be over. She was still watching, still threatening. And I needed answers. So, when she texted me and told me to meet her, I went. And before you say anything, Dimitri, I had to go alone. I don't even want to try to think about what she would have done if you had been there."

Dimitri sighed. "Promise me, Rose, no more almost getting yourself killed."

"I promise," I said. "I don't think I'll be doing anything but finishing high school and then getting the hell out of this town for the foreseeable future."

"That's a good plan," Dimitri said.

"What happens now?" Adrian asked. "Lissa's dead, and Gallagher's in jail, right?"

I flinched at the mention of Lissa being dead. Dimitri glared at Adrian.

"I can't share anything from an ongoing investigation," Dimitri said, managing to keep a straight face.

I already knew from what Dimitri had told me that Gallagher was refusing to flip on anyone in the Dragons, though he wasn't being offered full immunity. Dimitri didn't think that he would flip even if he were being offered full immunity for his crimes, which he promised wasn't going to be offered. He also thought that the Dragons will die back down since there hadn't been any real substantial activity from them before everything that happened with me.

Adrian rolled his eyes, and I knew I'd get a message from him later about it. He glanced down at his phone.

"I have to get going," he said apologetically. "I promised Sydney that I would help her run errands after I visited with you."

"Go," I said. "Tell her that I say hi."

"I will."

As he left, I could faintly hear him talking to someone and wasn't entirely surprised when a doctor walked in shortly after.

"Hi, Rose," he said. "I'm Dr. Carter. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay," I said.

He came over and inspected the incision from the surgery to make sure that the stitches looked good and that there weren't any infections starting to set in.

"We'll keep you here until at least tomorrow, but possibly longer depending on how you're healing," Dr. Carter said. "When you're released, you'll need someone to stay with you and help you adjust back to a normal routine. I assume you'll be the one taking care of her, Mr. Belikov?"

"Yes," Dimitri said, nodding. "Rose will be in good hands."

"Good to hear it," Dr. Carter said. "I'll see how you're doing tomorrow, and we'll see where to go from there."

He left the room as quickly as he came, and Dimitri moved to sit at the edge of my bed, down by my feet.

"Are you getting tired?"

I nodded. "A little bit."

"You should get some more rest," he said. Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for me to identify.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. He frowned. "Aside from the fact that you're in the hospital. Again."

"I promise this will be the last time for a while," I said. "I never want to see another hospital again if I can help."

He laughed. "I'll hold you to that."

He stood and walked over to the head of my bed. He started to lean down to kiss my forehead again, and I tilted my head up at the last moment so that my lips met his instead. I kissed him long and hard, reaching up with the hand free of IVs to tangle it in his hair.

"Roza," he whispered, pulled back a moment later.

"Stay,"' I whispered back.

"Of course," he said, his brow furrowed.

I moved over in the bed, wincing slightly.

"No, I meant stay here with me," I said, gesturing to the bed.

"I don't think that's allowed."

I shot him a look. "When have I ever followed the rules?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Dimitri said.

"You won't. The incision is more on my right side, and you'd be on my left side. That's already a decreased chance of me getting more hurt. Please?"

I could see in his eyes the moment that he conceded. As he climbed gingerly onto the bed, I tried not to make any sounds as my side flared up in pain.

Dimitri could see right through me, of course, but he didn't say anything as I rested my head against his shoulder.

"Get some sleep, Roza," Dimitri said. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Dimitri wasn't in the bed when I woke up sometime later, but he was still in the room. And he wasn't alone.

"Can't you see that now isn't the best time? Not only is she still sleeping, but she hasn't even been out of surgery for 24 hours yet," he snapped.

"Mr. Belikov—"

"It's Agent Belikov to you."

"What's going on?" I asked, using the bed's remote to sit the bed up as I blinked the sleep from my eyes.

"Roza," Dimitri said, walking back to my bedside. "Did we wake you?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

Dimitri frowned at my answer but didn't say anything as the other man stepped forward.

"Rose, I'm Detective Byrne," he said. "I'm here to ask you some questions about Vasilisa Dragomir."

"What about her?" I said warily.

"For starters, we need to piece together exactly what happened."

"What happened is that she helped kidnapped me twice in a year and then attempted to kill me," I said, gesturing to the hospital bed.

"We'll need a detailed statement, a written one to be specific," Detective Byrne said.

"I'll be sure to get that to you when I'm not in the hospital and not on pain medication."

"May I ask why you would meet Miss Dragomir by yourself after knowing that she was involved in your kidnappings?"

I could tell that Dimitri was getting more agitated with each word the detective spoke.

"As I just said, I will provide you with a statement at a later date when I'm at the appropriate mental capacity to do so," I said, nearly gritting my teeth.

The detective nodded. "That would be wise. We'll need to cross-reference your account with what actually happened to make sure we have all of the information and that all the appropriate charges are filed. On that note—"

"I'm sorry, do I need to get a lawyer in here?" I said sharply, cutting off Detective Byrne.

He arched an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, Rose. Do you?"

"That's enough," Dimitri said, his voice tense. "It's time for you to go. Rose needs to rest and heal. We'll contact you when she's out of the hospital and healed."

The detective nodded, handing Dimitri his card. "I look forward to hearing from you then."

He left without another word, and I sighed.

"It's routine," Dimitri supplied, "but they could have waited until you were out of the damn hospital."

"It's routine to make me feel like I've murdered someone in cold blood when in reality, I was only defending myself?" I snapped. "Not only that, but I wasn't even trying to kill her. I was only trying to get her away from me so she couldn't keep using the knife, but I failed, and she's dead because of me."

Dimitri perched on the side of the bed. "They're trying to test you, trying to see if you'll slip up. But they're forgetting that you weren't alone with her at the end. I was there, and I saw everything that happened. It would have been better if there were cameras, but I'm sure she planned that in advance, knowing there would be no cameras in the locker room."

He reached out, brushing my hair back from my face. "And you didn't fail. You did what you had to, and there's no shame in that, Roza."

"Isn't there?" I said softly, not meeting his gaze.

"Rose. Look at me."

After a moment, I did as he asked.

"At that moment, you were protecting yourself. And you said it yourself that you weren't trying to kill her, you were only trying to get her away from you before she could hurt you more with the knife. There is no shame in protecting yourself from someone hell-bent on hurting you," Dimitri said. "And despite everything she did to you, it's okay to grieve if you want to or if you feel that you need to. Despite everything, she was still your friend for years. That doesn't just go away."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Part of me feels like I do need to. Despite everything."

"Grief doesn't make sense. It makes its own rules," Dimitri said. "But I'm here for you, and I'll be by your side every step of the way."

I was released from the hospital the next day with a packet of information on caring for my incision. I had an appointment with the nurse for the following week to have my stitches removed, and the incision checked over. Assuming all went well with the healing, I would have a fairly easy recovery, mostly on bed rest for the first week, and then I'd slowly be able to resume normal activities.

Dimitri and I were cuddled on the couch on New Year's Eve, a week later, watching Ryan Seacrest host one of the many special programs that were on. My stitches had come out a few days earlier, and everything was healing perfectly, according to my doctor and the nurses. Slowly and steadily on track to getting a normal life back.

"Wake me up when it's almost midnight," I murmured after having jolted myself back awake yet again. I turned on the couch so that I was nestled into Dimitri's side and was asleep before I knew it.

"Roza," Dimitri whispered. "The ball is dropping in a minute."

I blinked the sleep from my eyes, rolling over to see the big timer on the television steadily counting down to the new year. We both sat up, and I stretched, hearing my joints crack as I did.

"Happy new year," Dimitri said as the clock ticked over to midnight. I could faintly hear fireworks in the distance.

"Happy new year." I leaned over and kissed him. "I love you."

It was the first time that I had said the words to him, and the significance wasn't lost on him.

Dimitri pulled back, his eyes soft. "I love you too, Roza. So much."

"Come on," I said, getting up off the couch and holding out my hand to him.

He took it, and I led him to the bedroom. I leaned up to kiss him again, ignoring the slight ache in my side at the stretch.

"Roza, careful," Dimitri murmured, sensing it anyways.

"I don't care," I said. "I want you. No, I need you."

Dimitri stepped back. "Rose."

"My stitches are gone. The doctor gave the all-clear," I said. "Please. I promise I'm okay."

I tugged my t-shirt over my head and stepped out of my leggings. I saw Dimitri's eyes darken.

"See something you like?" I said, smiling.

"You already know the answer to that."

He tilted my head up, bending down to kiss me while slowly backing me up towards the bed. We both broke the kiss as the back of my legs hit the bed, and I sat down, tugging him down with me.

"Lay back, Roza," he whispered, pulling his shirt over his head as I did as he instructed.

Dimitri hovered over me, his weight carefully distributed onto his forearms so that he wasn't hurting me. He kissed me softly, gently biting my bottom lip. Tenderly, Dimitri pressed another kiss to my shoulder, and then my collarbones. With each kiss, he moved further down until Dimitri was removing my bra, tossing it across the room.

Underneath his gaze, I could scarcely breathe, and I cried out as his head dipped, sucking a nipple into his mouth. I arced off the bed, a breathless sound rupturing from me, and Dimitri repeated the movement on my other breast.

I reached towards him, needing him now, but he pulled away, kneeling between my spread legs.

"This is about you, Roza," he said, his voice strained. "Let me take care of you."

I shifted on the bed, trying to get some kind of friction, and Dimitri chuckled. Reaching out, he braced his hands on my thighs, spreading them wider. Dimitri flashed me a grin before his head lowered.

I whimpered at the first touch of his mouth through my underwear, which he quickly removed so that I was completely naked before him. Dimitri pressed a kiss to my left inner thigh, and I bent my legs at the knee, letting them both fall open, giving him complete access.

He kissed my other thigh, moving up further until his mouth was hovering over my center. The sensation of his warm breath was the only warning I had before his tongue was on me, licking deeply.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, my head tilting back as the pleasure washed through me. He licked me again, lingering near my clit before sucking it into his mouth and nipping at it.

"Dimitri!" I yelped, my back arching and my thighs tensing.

Dimitri continued to lick me, his tongue sliding in deep, curling deeper with each swipe.

"You taste amazing, Roza," he growled against me, making his way up again toward the bundle of nerves, in short, teasing licks.

I whimpered, and he flicked his tongue again.

Dimitri glanced up, meeting my gaze, and as our eyes locked, he slid a finger into me.

"Dimitri!"

My back arched as he continued sucking on my clit while pumping his finger in and out of me.

More—I wanted, needed, more. I undulated my hips against him, hard enough to drive his finger deeper.

"So greedy," he murmured, withdrawing his finger nearly to its tip before adding a second finger as he plunged back in.

I rode his hand, and his face, grinding into him with abandon. Dimitri growled against me, the vibrations pushing me closer to my orgasm.

"Roza," he groaned. "You're gorgeous."

"Please," I cried.

Dimitri moved his fingers faster, the base of his palm rubbing against my clit as he leaned up over me to kiss me. His mouth muffled my moans as my orgasm burned through me. He worked me through my orgasm until I was practically melting into the mattress.

Dimitri was panting, still hard, as he rose up and stared at me. He withdrew his fingers, popping them both into his mouth, his gaze never leaving mine.

I sat up, reaching for him. I was intent on removing his pants and getting him to fuck me properly. Before I could reach him, though, Dimitri backed off the bed.

"Dimitri?"

"This was about you," he said. "I'm fine."

I glanced down at where his erection was still straining against his pants and then glanced back up at him. I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't going to budge, not wanting to hurt me, despite having the all-clear from my doctor. Instead of arguing, I nodded and accepted the pair of underwear and t-shirt that Dimitri was holding out.

He disappeared into the bathroom, and I heard the shower start a few moments later. I climbed out of the bed, setting aside the shirt and underwear Dimitri had handed me in favor of following him into the bathroom.

Though the door of the shower was glass, I couldn't see much since Dimitri was facing away, his back to the door. His legs were spread, and I could see that he was bracing himself against the wall with his left arm while using his right hand to stroke himself.

I crossed the bathroom silently and opened the shower door. Dimitri turned as I stepped into the shower, and I smiled at him. I reached up to adjust the showerhead, turning it so that it wasn't hitting either of us directly.

"Want some help?" I said, gesturing to his flushed cock.

Dimitri glanced down at me, but before he could say anything, I dropped to my knees in front of him, thankful that there was a padded shower mat that slightly protected my knees.

His eyes went wide. "Roza."

"Please," I said, meeting his stare.

He nodded, and I shifted my gaze to his cock.

I had nearly forgotten how big he was; it had been so long since we had had sex. My fingers shook a little as I stroked them down the long, thick shaft. He shuddered, and I lifted my eyes to find his gaze fixed on my hand.

"How do you want it?" I asked. I wrapped my hand around his cock—my fingers barely able to reach around him completely. "Gentle?"

I made a soft pass over him, squeezing lightly.

Dimitri shook his head, biting out, "No."

I stroked him again, slightly harder. "Like this?"

His chest heaved, but he shook his head again, beyond words this time.

I smiled, and when I stroked him a third time, I squeezed harder and just barely let my nails graze the sensitive underside of his shaft.

His hips arched off the wall, and a string of Russian curse words left his mouth.

I did it again, twisting my fist as I reached the round head. He tried to arch into my hand, but I pinned him to the wall with my other hand, before leaning forward to lick across his broad head, my tongue sliding into the small slit across its tip.

"Roza," Dimitri panted.

I licked up his shaft in one long motion and leaned back to slide him into my mouth. He filled me almost immediately, and I added my hand to the part still exposed.

"Roza!"

I pulled nearly all the way off before swallowing him again, letting my throat relax, desperate for as much of him in my mouth as could fit. Dimitri's hand speared into my hair, gripping, and I realized he was holding himself back, still worried about hurting me.

When I took him into my mouth again, hand working in unison, I dragged my teeth along his shaft lightly enough to shock him a bit.

Dimitri's hips bucked, and I let them, relaxing my throat further and swallowing him down greedily. I withdrew to the tip of him, rolling my tongue around him, and gazed at him from under my lashes.

His eyes were on me, wide and glazed with lust.

Easily reading what was in my eyes, Dimitri slid his other hand into my hair, fingers twining into it, as he thrust into my mouth.

I moaned loudly around him, causing him to arch into my mouth again. He gripped my hair tighter, holding me in place as he continued to thrust his hips. I met him with each stroke, mouth and hand working in unison.

I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes, swallowing him deep enough that his tip bumped against the back of my throat. My name was a chant on his lips as I moved my hand to cup his balls, squeezing them softly.

I felt Dimitri tense a moment before he was coming with a shout, spilling down my throat. I swallowed around him, causing him to groan weakly and pulling another weak spurt out of him. I held his gaze as I pulled off of him before rising to my feet. Dimitri nearly crushed me against him, conscious of my incision, and kissed me deeply. I knew he could taste himself, and he groaned.

Before I could fully process what was happening, Dimitri was switching our positions so that my back was against the cold shower tiles.

"Do you want more, Roza?" he whispered.

"I want you," I begged.

"You have me."

The heat that had been curling in my stomach while I had been sucking him off intensified as Dimitri's thumb circled my clit. His mouth captured my cries as he plunged two fingers into me, his thumb never leaving my clit. He set a quick pace, and I clung to him as my hips moved in tandem with his fingers.

Dimitri wrapped his other arm around my waist as my orgasm washed through me and my legs gave out. He worked me through it and also through a second, smaller orgasm before removing his fingers.

The water was nearly cold as we both rinsed off, and neither of us stayed in the shower for long. Once we were both dressed, we curled up together under the blanket on the bed. Dimitri wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him, and I sighed, relaxing into his embrace.

"I love you," I said.

I could feel him grinning against my neck. "I'll never get tired of hearing that," he said. "I love you too, Roza."

January and the start of the spring semester came too quickly. It was weird to be back at Vladimir High School without Lissa by my side. I shook off the feeling of déjà vu as people stared at me as I walked down the hallway, and I kept my head held high, not letting anyone see how it was affecting me.

As soon as I reached my locker, I pressed my forehead against the cold metal for a moment before unlocking it to grab my notebook. I could hear the whispers from students around me and did my best to tune them out, but that didn't prevent me from hearing someone making bets with other students about whether I'd dress out in front of the other girls in my HOPE class, which would inadvertently show off the scar from surgery.

"How about you shut the fuck up and mind your own business?"

I froze, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Can we talk?" Haley said, a pleading note in her voice.

While I was hoping to get this chapter up a bit sooner, I was swamped in the last couple of months with wrapping up my last semester of graduate school and preparing to move. Now that both of those are completed and out of the way, I'm hoping that I'll be able to have a slightly more regular posting schedule (no promises but fingers crossed) since I'll have more time to write!

I have been working on editing this story in my spare time and have started re-uploading chapters as I edit them. While there won't be any major plot changes, there will be some changes to dialogue and some extra (mostly minor) information provided. Since doesn't tell subscribers when chapters are re-uploaded (as far as I'm aware), you can follow along with the updated chapters on Archive of Our Own as I post them there as I edit each chapter, if you want to be notified to be able to reread the new chapters.

Also, I have no clue about how long after abdominal surgery someone is supposed to wait before having sex, so I made a best guess based on some very limited Google information, so if I'm completely off base, just pretend that Rose is a super-fast healer.

And finally: a timeline for the last couple of chapters: Rose was kidnapped the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and was gone for 10 days. She was in a coma (essentially) for 3 days and released from the hospital two days after waking up. Roughly two weeks later (give or take a day), she got the text from Lissa telling her to meet at the school and then was released from the hospital a couple of days before Christmas after having surgery and staying there for a night.

Using the dates for the 2018 calendar, she would have been kidnapped on November 20th, rescued on November 30, and released from the hospital on December 5th. She got the text from Lissa telling her to meet at the school on December 20th, had surgery on the 20th/21st, and was released again from the hospital on December 22nd.

You can kinda play around with the dates on the calendar for pretty much any year that has 5 weeks in November (even if it's not a full week after Thanksgiving). I didn't really have a specific year in mind when writing this, considering that I started this story in 2015 and definitely didn't originally imagine it going in this direction (or that I'd still be writing it six years later).