DPOV

I could tell by the way Cassie was watching Rose, and Rose was watching Cassie, that something was up. Combined with the calculated looks on Janine's face, I knew for sure that I was out of the loop. All I needed was Pavel in the mix and it would be all too hard to miss or ignore.

Three weeks had come and gone since Rose returned to us, and it went so quickly that it was a blink of the eye.

I made my way down the stairs and found two of the three huddled together in the kitchen, heads bent together.

"Is there something I need to know?"

Cassie and Janine both looked up and towards me. Janine's features were schooled and collected, a perfect mask. Cassie's features showed surprise and a little guilt.

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked.

"I mean the fact that I'm clearly out of the loop about something, and it involves the two of you and Rose," I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"I think that this is a conversation you need to have with Rose when she is ready," Janine said calmly, coming over and resting her hand on my shoulder. "But don't push. You know what happens if you push her too hard."

I nodded and accepted what she said. Janine went back to the counter and picked up her mug of tea, slipping past me into the living room. I smiled to myself as she passed, noticing the stains of paint on her hands. Rose had told me many times that her mother painted, that it was a vivid memory of her.

I was happy to see that Janine was painting again. I turned my head and I could see the easel had been adjusted, a new canvas on the stand. I couldn't make out much of it yet, but it looked like a landscape. Possibly the view of the yard.

I turned back to Cassie and raised a brow.

"I wanted to ask you something," I said and Cassie made a face.

"What?"

"You said something a few weeks ago and I want clarification."

Cassie tapped her nails against the counter and sighed. "Okay?"

"You said that you didn't think Rose should drink that tea. Why do you really think that?"

Cassie shifted on her feet; lips clamped shut. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Comrade, leave her be," Rose said coming up behind me, stretching up on her toes to kiss my cheek. I raised a brow at Rose's back and then looked at Cassie. Cassie looked like God had just reached down and given her the answer of life.

"Sleep well?" Rose asked, pouring boiled water into a mug and then looking through the cabinet for tea bags. I spied the coffee pot that was full and then looked to Rose. I had a suspicion but wanted to wait for her to be ready to speak.

"Yep, after a bit of tossing," Cassie said lifting her cup of coffee to her lips.

"I slept well, you?"

Rose looked up and gave me a small smile as she stirred the sugar into her tea. "It was okay," she said, but I could see that her smile didn't reach her eyes. Cassie took the moment of my attention being focused on Rose and slipped out of the kitchen.

Rose cupped her mug between her hands and leaned back against the counter, resting her bottom lip against the rim of the cup.

"What's wrong? Something's bothering you," she said quietly, taking a sip.

"I'm just worried about you is all," I said leaving the door and coming to stand in front of her. I leaned against the island and mimicked her position, crossing my ankles. Rose nodded and looked outside.

"How about we go a walk?" she suggested standing up. I looked outside and nodded. It was starting to warm up and it looked nice out. Some fresh air would be good. Rose filled a mug with coffee and handed it to me and then walked to the back door. She slipped on some rubber boots and I retrieved a pair of shoes for myself. Rose plucked a sweater off the hooks and wrapped it around her and then led me out the doors.

We walked quietly with our mugs. The air had a crisp feel to it, we could both feel spring was here. The dead leaves crunched under our feet and the sun shone through the bare trees. I didn't know where I was going, but Rose seemed to have a specific place in mind as we walked. Rose lead us off the trail and over some fallen branches before coming to the edge of a river.

Rose sank down on a large rock and crossed her legs, resting her mug in her lap. I sat beside her and took a drink from my mug. Rose rested her head against my shoulder with a quiet sigh.

"You figured out something is happening," Rose said, tipping her head up so she could look at me while her cheek rested on my shoulder.

"It's not difficult. Cassie is acting like a nervous teenager."

"Well part of that is withdrawals," Rose said sitting up straight. I raised a brow at her.

"I told her I wasn't allowing her to turn into an alcoholic. I told her she was done with the booze a few weeks ago," she explained. It would make sense, I hadn't seen her drink anything in over a week, and any time she was close enough to it, Abe or Janine would subtly take it from her reach.

"And the other part?" I asked.

Rose sighed again and set her now empty mug on the ground and shifted around on the rock so her body was facing mine. Rose wiggled her hand into mine and wrapped her fingers around mine tight.

"We all saw something. Cassie, Mom and me. We all saw the same thing."

"What did you see," I asked setting my mug on the rock beside me. I didn't think she'd be ready to tell me this soon.

"A baby," she said quietly, not quite meeting my eyes. I took a slow controlled breath, not wanting to show too much in case it upset her.

"And?"

Rose shook her head. "I've been too scared to even take a test."

"Why?"

"Because of Grace," Rose said finally meeting my eyes. I frowned and let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her shoulder, kissing the top of her head. I hadn't factored fear into the situation. I thought of nervousness, worry, but not fear.

"Are you scared that we'll lose another baby?"

Rose nodded against my shoulder. "Terrified. You have to understand, I thought I was dying too. And then having to go through labour, and then only be able to hold her for a few minutes. It took something from me," she said brokenly. I could hear her trying to keep herself composed, but it hurt to hear her try to keep that bottled in.

"It's not fair to dump this on you," she said quietly but I just hugged her tighter.

"We are in this together, Roza. Now and before. I am always here when you need me," I said quietly, resting my cheek against her hair. "But we need to know before we take Division. I can't let you go in there if you're pregnant. I can't."

"I know," she whispered, "I just need more time."

I nodded again, wrapping my other arm around her. I hated the idea of using Rose as a key player in taking down Division, but I wouldn't put her at further risk if she was pregnant. Nobody would be able to convince or persuade me otherwise.

I wasn't going risk her again. I had already done that too many times in my life.


RPOV

I could barely hear their footsteps behind me over the alarm. It blared in perfect sequence with the lights, strobing in the dark. I turned down the corridor and felt panic rise in my chest as the door started to close.

"Rose!" Dimitri yelled behind me, his hand pressing roughly against my shoulder. I shot forwards as the door met the frame. I could hear a quiet grinding noise as the door fought against an invisible force as I slammed into it. I wedged my finger between the door and the frame and pulled, sighing when the door released.

I pushed it open and held it open long enough for Cassie and Dimitri to slip out behind me. When I let go it slammed shut, leaving the three Division agents stuck on the other side.

I blinked and wiped my hand over my mouth. Puking and seeing a vision at the same time was not a sensation I ever wanted to experience again. I'm surprised I didn't choke on it. I sniffed and stood up walking to the sink, turning on the tap and cupped water in my hands to rinse my mouth out.

I didn't know where I was in the vision, but I had a pretty good idea.

I brushed my teeth and let my thoughts wander. It wasn't the first symptom. On and off heartburn, tiredness, bloating and sore joints. It was too many symptoms and too coincidental. I looked at myself in the mirror and found someone I didn't exactly recognize. This girl was tired, but she looked like she had seen too much.

This woman looked older than I remember, but at the same time, she looked the same. But behind all of that, I saw fear. Fear of uncertainty, fear of making the wrong choice. I spat and rinsed my mouth again and set my toothbrush back in the holder.

It was time to face the light, no matter how much facing it made me. Facing it made everything real. I took a deep breath and opened the door and trudged down the stairs, finding Dimitri alone in the living room with a book. He looked up as I entered and looked back at his book, only for his head to snap back up when the look on my face registered to him.

"What is the alternative plan?" I asked quietly with a sniff.

"Alternative plan?"

"For taking down Division. If I can't be there," I pressed. Dimitri set his book down on the table beside him and stood up, coming up to me and cupping my cheeks. His eyes looked down into mine intensely, understanding clear.

"I thought we were careful," I said quietly, "I thought that the visions might have been further out."

Dimitri nodded but gave me a smile. "I know. But we can't change things. We should have both known that if the three of you were having the same visions."

I nodded and wrapped my hands around his wrists, giving him a small smile.

"I don't know how far I am," I said, "My periods have been hard to track for a while."

"It's okay," Dimitri said and I nodded.

"If we go from the last time, I would say maybe two weeks. But if we go from when you came back, I'd say seven. My periods have been on and off since Grace," I explained sinking down on the couch. Dimitri sank down on the couch beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"You took a test?"

"No, I haven't gotten one yet. I just know," I said looking up at him tiredly. I didn't know how to explain it, but my body knew. Dimitri nodded and kissed the top of my head. It felt just like last time. There wasn't the joy and excitement I had always seen in movies. I may not be on the run right now, but my future was still undecided.

Don't get me wrong, the idea of another baby didn't make me unhappy. It made me happy, but I just didn't know how to process it.

"You're staying right?" I asked, not looking at him.

Dimitri made a noise in the back of his throat. "Pardon me?"

I looked up at him and swallowed. "You're staying, right? You're not gonna disappear again?"

Maybe that was what distressed me more. I didn't want to go through this alone again. I didn't want to go through any of it alone. I wanted him to be there every step of the way.

Dimitri shook his head and ran his hand over my hair, a frown crossing his face. "I'm not going anywhere."

I nodded and let out a deep sigh, resting my head against his chest.

"You know what worries me the most?"

"What's that?"

"What happens if I was pregnant before I got the drug?"

Dimitri's hand stilled on the back of my head. Yeah…that's what I thought.


It felt like a divided front. Dimitri, Lissa, Eddie and Mom on one side, Dad, Christian, Cassie and Adrian on the other.

"I think that she will be fine if she goes," Cassie argued, but Mom was just as quick to argue back.

"We have no idea how far along Rose may be. We can't risk this, not after what happened last time."

"I agree," Dimitri said firmly.

Dad sighed with a slight shake of his head. "If Rose doesn't go, this will all be for nothing. We can't bring Division down without breaking the link," Dad argued and turned to me, "I'm not too proud to admit I'm not strong enough for that. But you are."

I rubbed my hands over my face and groaned. I knew this was going to happen. I stood up and walked towards the window, losing myself in the falling rain. It was soothing despite the tension in the room.

"I don't know."

"Rosemarie," Dad started, but too many people were talking, all clamouring over themselves to be heard. People arguing whether or not I should be there, whether or not it was safe. Dimitri's voice was the loudest among them, but I was starting to feel the panic settle in my chest.

"ENOUGH!" I shrieked, turning to face everyone in the room. They all stopped and I couldn't hear anything except for their breathing.

"Regardless of what happens, it is my decision. I'm asking what the safest option is."

I could see them all sink back a bit. Dimitri's eyes were on me still. We had had this conversation last night. If we could find a safe way for me to be there, I would go. But only if it was a last resort.

I could see calculating thoughts cross through all of them.

"What if Dimitri stays with you. He's a talented mover, and he can watch your back. He knows how to project a shield, plus I know he isn't going to let you out of his sight. Cassie can go with you too. If anything happens, Cassie will see it first," Eddie said calmly, gesturing between us. I looked at Dimitri and raised my brows at him. I felt safe with Dimitri but this was something that was out of all of our depths. Except for my parents.

"Show me the layout again," I said gesturing to the blueprints. Dad spun them around and pushed them across the table to me. I leaned over it and studied them. I ran my finger along one of the corridors before stopping.

"What is that?"

"It's a door," Mom said but the look on her face made me raise my brows.

"What?"

"It leads out of the procedure rooms. If we cut the power, it triggers the door to seal shut. There is no way to get it open afterwards. We will need to be sure that the power is back up after you cut the link."

I looked at Dimitri. "Procedure rooms?"

"It's where they administered the drug on your mother. And Kira. There are other things they do in there. But just past it is where we think the link will be," Dimitri explained. This must have been what I saw, and it looked like luck was on our side. I nodded and licked my lips.

"Then I guess you and I need to be quick," I said with a quirk of my lips before looking at Cassie. "That is if you're up for running like hell?"

Cassie nodded her head with a growing smirk. Ah, there was the rebellious badass I knew. "If it means I get to kick the shit out of some Division agents, I'm in!"


Hey lovelies!

It's a bit of a filler, but I need to move things along a bit!

I hope you all are doing well! Let me know what you think!:)