Kate laughed at yet another one of Georgi's crazy stories of how he grew up. He had been doing wonders to offset the pain and anguish of not having Niko around and losing her brother. Or that she could or could not be pregnant. His light candor and openness to tell her anything was refreshing, and she had turned fully toward the couch to watch his animated retelling of how he stumbled into the Petrovic family.

"I had a break from the enforced service years in Russia and decided I'd follow some of my friends over to Liberty City for a week of sin. I was maybe nineteen? I don't remember. But we went to this wild club, and I got wasted. Which for a Russian is hard!" He laughed when Kate grabbed her stomach and let out another round of giggles.

"I'm Irish and don't even know what the limit is anymore!" She wiped a few tears from her face as Georgi continued his story.

"So here we were- me and a few friends on break before deciding what we wanted to do with our lives, and this fight breaks out. I'm way too drunk for my own good. Bottle of top shelf vodka will do it to you- and I grab this asshole by the back of his shirt and throw him across the dance floor. People fell over like bowling pins." He belly laughed when she wheezed at his description.

"I stumble on the dance floor and square up. The kid had been beaten pretty good and I'm not about to let someone get dropped like that. You know? Stand up for the little guy. Hell! I was that kid at one point. Scrawny person I was back in the day." He smirked at her negative shake of her head.

"No! You?" Kate covered her mouth to hide her amusement. He had been speaking freely and easing her fears about what was going on. He had a way of just shifting her mood and mind and she was happy to just listen and indulge in past stories and what ifs for a time.

"I was such a scrawny string bean. It was only once I hit eighteen that my body grew up to match my voice. Imagine a man's voice with a kid's body. I was ridiculed for years! Anyway, there I am, plastered, rocking back and forth on my feet trying to stick up for the little guy, and all these assholes show up. I look around and stupidly ask if that's all of them." He couldn't fight the laugh that came when she bent over gasping for breath with her laughter.

"Oh! Oh my! Lemme guess? There was plenty more where that came from?" She wiped a tear or two from her face with the cloth he had given her and felt her cheeks ache with the smile that seemed to be stuck on her face.

"You assume correct. So my friends stumble outta the booth we had and got ready to throw down. The room is spinning for me, but I'm not about to lose, right? So we knock people out left and right. Take down after take down. Just straight dirty bar brawl." He mimicked a couple of air punches and laughed at her next round of breathless laughter.

"I'm knocking fools out left, right, and center, my friend and his cousin are backing me up, then this shotgun goes off and everyone freezes. Like dead silence. Even the music stops. I'm thinking we are about to get deported. That it is the cops. But nope. There stands Kenny with some of the guys I now know." He smiled at the memory and how Kate couldn't wipe the grin from her face.

"Apparently, I saved his son from a hit that was placed against him at a club. He offered us a place within his organization, and I honestly turned it down at first. It wasn't till a day or two later when we were out at lunch with Lenny, who my friend was cousins with, that I changed my mind. Another hit was attempted, and I just reacted. Blame the years of service in the military since I was sixteen, but I didn't want me or my friends to die." He shook his head with the bittersweet memory. He had never meant to go off the straight and narrow path.

"You saved Lenny?" Kate gasped and placed a hand to her mouth in astonishment.

"Twice. I had never met the kid. He was way younger than me. But Kenny basically told me he would pay whatever price I named to join him and keep them all safe. I had nothing waiting for me back in Russia, so I agreed. I was trained, moved up the ranks, and now I am the second to the most powerful man in the world. Kenny even scares Martin Madrazo. It's a strange life I have lived." He laughed at her awe struck look she was giving him.

"No different than everyone else involved in Liberty City crime, I guess. You really had no one waiting back home?" She wasn't prepared for the dark and guarded look he sent her.

"My mother was killed in a bombing in Crimea and my father was killed in the war in Afghanistan. I was orphaned at the age of fourteen. The country took care of me. Gave me education and then the mandatory service in the military. Sometimes it feels like fate that I was given than break after my service term to come to LC." He shrugged at the appalled stare she was giving him.

"You didn't have someone… special?" She tried to hedge into his personal life wanting to know if maybe there had been someone he loved or cared for. Surely his life hadn't been one tragedy to the next. Without realizing it she rubbed over her lower abdomen. It was like her subconscious was trying to shove her into mom mode.

"I had my fair share of intimacy if that is what you are implying. Used to sneak off base with a woman here and there. But I never gave myself the hope of something more with anyone. It was just a way to blow off steam. I know some people want someone to be their someone's, but not me. Kenny gave me protection, a job, and a purpose. And that is what I dedicated myself to." He sighed lightly and had a fondness fill his chest at the way she seemed to grow worried at what he was saying.

"Everyone deserves someone. We all want to be someone's someone Georgi. I avoided it for so long. But now that I could be someone's someone for life?" She placed her other hand over her womb, cradling it, and said a silent prayer that things would work out how they needed to, "I am terrified and worried that Niko will not want to be involved."

"He seemed shell shocked, but not unwilling. I think it just took him by surprise. Have you two even…? I am sorry I am being too forward." Georgi wanted to ask questions, feeling comfortable with her, but knew certain things should not be brought up.

"You're perfectly okay to ask questions. I am sure I will cross the line at some point with you and wanting to know more about your personal life." Kate snuggled back into the pillow and smiled in his direction. There was an ease to talking to him, as if she had known him her whole life. And it was just insane to think she would never have met him if Niko hadn't taken over.

"I was going to ask if either of you ever discussed kids or a future. I've never been in that position and was curious is all." His cheeks tinted pink at her boisterous laughter.

"I'm sorry! It is so ironic! So-" Another round of giggles left her lips, "So the table meeting? I nearly killed Niko, and that whole night I was scared to even face him. Then Antonia and I got drunk too fast in my bedroom and I asked her what I should do, you know? Should I give up on me and Niko or fight for us? And she told me to ask him point blank what he wanted out of us. In a way I guess I asked him to marry me? After nearly shooting him." Kate shook her head at the utter ridiculousness of that night.

"Pakhan explained some of it, but not enough to paint a picture." He bit the inside of his cheek and gave her a boyish smirk when she sent him a rather pointed glare.

"Gun?" She held her hand out to him knowing he was armed. There was not a single doubt in her mind that he was there in her room without some kind of weapon.

"Excuse me?" Georgi sat more upright not sure what she was getting at.

"Oh come on. You can't tell me you don't have a pistol on you, or a knife, or consider yourself as a weapon. You and Niko both have no understanding that you are more than how you can win fights. Now hand me the handgun you have tucked away." She lifted her eyebrow at him and extended her hand out more toward him.

"I uh… Um." Georgi wasn't sure what to do. Avia had given him her gun and he was told by Niko about the low experience Kate had with weapons. He felt incredibly uncomfortable staring at her rising ire at him.

"Just give it here so I can show you what I've learned. And then maybe you can show me more?" She would play on his protective nature and see if she could work around his defenses. He had more similarities to Niko than either one of them realized and it caused the corner of her mouth to lift in a small smile.

"You- You are sneaky." Georgi felt the smirk tug at his mouth, and he reached behind himself to remove Avia's pistol, "So, do you know if I have the safety on, or if there is one?" He held the pistol out to the side to show her the side of it that had the safety switch. He would give her, her own test.

"That looks like the gun Avia helped teach me with, the flip switch is in the downward position. There is no red dot." Kate looked over the barrel and handle. It was kind of similar to Darko's pistol but looked sleeker and like the caliber of bullet would be smaller. Her knowledge of guns was so minimal, but she would confidently tell him what she knew.

"Yes, this is her pistol." He turned it in his grasp and held the handle out to her, "Show me what you know." He would be vigilant and be careful with how she handled the gun. He could almost feel the death glare from Niko, and he was nowhere near them, or knew what they were doing.

She grasped the cold, heavy metal in her right hand and brought it to her. Silently she turned it left and then right looking it over for what Avia had shown her and taught her. She spotted the eject button for the magazine and pressed it, catching the fully loaded magazine in her other hand. Carefully she placed it down on the mattress and twisted the gun to be facing the end of the bed. With a heave she pulled the slide back and removed the seated round, letting it drop into the covers of her hospital bed, releasing the slide with a loud click.

"Alright. I commend you for knowing how to disarm it. Can you reload it?" Georgi watched her movements carefully and fell into instructor mode. He had been Kenny's lead weapons master and taught everyone in their crew how to load, reload, operate, and fire every type of weapon.

Kate slowly pulled the slide back and lifted the lever to keep it cocked back. She picked up the small nine millimeter round and tiled the gun down toward the bed away from her body or Georgi, dropped it into the barrel, and released the slide. The strangely satisfying clack of the gun getting into position sent a shiver over her body. Then she picked up the magazine and shoved it into the pistol grip letting the other loud clack to rake over her body. With a slight tilt of her head, she glanced to Georgi to see if she had passed his test.

"Avia teach you?" He smirked at her triumphant smile and shook his head, "Here let me see it" He held his hand out for the gun.

With the way she had seen so many people rotate and hand off weapons, she turned it and offered him the handle. She had a small thrill travel down her spine with his rather wicked smirk that crossed his lips, "Yes. I asked her to show me the basics after I nearly shot Robert and Niko."

"So far so good. Show me how to hold it and aim at a target." He stood up and approached the hospital bed, liking the way she had properly tried to hand him the pistol.

"But I'm not standing…?" Kate lowered the pistol to her lap and sent him a questioning glance. 'What is he getting at?'

"Well if you are stuck in this bed for a few days, how are you going to defend yourself? Show me. How would you hold it as if someone was breaking down the door." He lifted her hand that held the pistol and pointed it toward the door, "Go on. I want to see what you know."

"Alright…" Kate took in a deep breath and recalled what Avia had shown her. She shifted on the bed and turned her shoulders to be in position, locked her one elbow, moved her hands on the gun and remembered what Niko had shown her about keeping her finger along the barrel and not within the trigger guard.

"I'm not usually impressed by beginners, but so far so good." He pressed down on her steading arm and liked how she resisted the shove, "Now how many rounds do you have?"

The question threw her for a loop, and she lowered the gun to her lap to look up into his eyes, "It's not a standard amount for every gun?"

Oh how he wanted to laugh at her question, but her innocent look, and how she appeared to shrink slightly in on herself had him biting his tongue, "No, Kate. Depending on caliber, weapon type, and if it's extended mag or not- it changes it all. Avia's gun is the standard nine millimeter pistol that most LCPD and military carry as their side arm. It will have between fifteen-sixteen with one in the chamber. But if it is full auto? You are looking at twenty or thirty. Rifles vary by a ton."

"You sound like you know your stuff." She held the pistol out to him and watched as his returned it to his typical hiding place.

"I teach Kenny's men. I was a weapons expert during my time within the Russian military. I helped modify the AN-94 during my time in service. I know my way around a gun or two." He shrugged and pulled out his knife and twirled it around between his fingers effortlessly, "Now. Do you want to know how to defend yourself without bringing a ton of notice to you?"

Kate flinched back from the blade and tried to control the recoil, "Knives and me don't…"

"Only way to conquer your fear is to face it head on." Georgi slowly sat down on the couch and kept up the rhythmic twirling of the sharpened blade. But maybe he was pushing her to far as he watched fear slowly seep into her eyes, "Here, let me tell you one of my rules and give you a bit of insight." He flipped the knife and took the handle, tucking it back into the holster on his belt. He unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve and rolled it up to his elbow. A formfitting wristband stretched from his just above his wrist to mid forearm. Georgi rotated his arm to show her the inside where a throwing knife rested, tucked away and small enough to where it wouldn't hinder him using his arm.

"I never go anywhere without a knife or gun. This one has got me out of a few sticky situations. I can grab it with my fingers and use it to cut rope or zip ties if I am captured. It can be used to jimmy a door open or window. Pop the dash off a car to be hotwired." He showed her how he could pull it out of the sleeve without drawing notice by tucking his hand in a fist and dragging the hilt out of the pocket.

"That's sneaky. I didn't even feel it when you hugged be back." Kate sat mesmerized as he removed the knife from the arm holster and twirled it once and returned it to the hidden compartment.

"I can get you one. That way if you are ever alone and find yourself needing protection, you'd have something. It can be on the arm or leg. I have one on each ankle. And one tucked into the lining of my boot. I always have to be prepared for an attack and with how high of a target Kenny and his family is, it could come any second." Georgi rebuttoned his sleeve and shrugged. It was just how his life was and he was thankful for the training he had received.

"I could have used it when I was nearly choked to death down the hall." Kate trailed her fingers over her neck and sighed. The scalpel had been sheer dumb luck and had it been a few inches further away… She sucked in a breath and turned to look at the tv so Georgi wouldn't pick up on her distress.

"I got a good look at him when I was helping Ron. Did you stab him?" Georgi leaned forward on the couch and put his weight on his hands over his knees.

"It all happened so fast. He slapped my arm with the clipboard and shoved me into the room. I couldn't catch my balance and knocked over the fully stocked nurse's cart. I think I rolled over to try and get to my feet and he… he wrapped the stethoscope around my neck. I've been attacked before, and I guess I just reacted and saw the scalpel. I did not care where I hit him, just that I got him to stop." Kate tucked her hair behind her ears and let herself process what had happened.

"This will sound horrible, and I'm sorry, but good job. You fought back, you didn't give up. You did what you had to, to survive. I am very proud of you for being able to hold your own against a third ranked assassin. People like that are not easily beat." He felt like reaching out and taking her hand to still the shaking he spotted but hesitated.

"I don't think I did that great of a job. He was seconds away from taking that same knife and doing Lord knows what. You showed up-" She gasped and snapped her eyes closed begging the image of his dead, lifeless stare to go away.

"Kate… Look at me." Georgi got up and sat down next to her, taking her hands into his own, "You were unprepared, attacked by someone who had every intention of killing you. You put up one hell of a struggle. Niko, myself- the entirety of Kenny's crew, will always come to save you." He watched as she turned back to him and lifted wet, sad eyes to him.

"Once Kenny is awake you will disappear from my life… I will not have this level of protection forever. Niko is very skilled, and I trust in him to be here for me. He's been guarding me for longer than I realize." She gripped his hands back and took comfort from him. So much violence had been introduced into her life… But if she was honest with herself, that violence had been there since the day of her birth.

"Kate- I am about to swear something that I never thought I would." He ran his thumbs over the back of her hands and tried to gather his thoughts. Was he really wanting to do this?

"Georgi?" Kate watched as he darted his eyes to random spaces on the scratchy comforter as if lost in his own little world.

"When Kenny wakes… I will ask to step down. I do not think I will be able to go back to the way things were. Niko- you, his family. I have been shown a life that I did not think was possible. And I don't want anything to happen to you. And with the understanding that you might be carrying…" He locked his eyes with her's and tried to convey what he was feeling and debating. His life had been devoted to Kenny and his duty, but now he was yearning for friendships and the loyalty Niko brought out in people.

"We still don't know." She smiled at him and removed one of her hands from his to lovingly rub at where a new life could be growing.

"This is true. Niko was so shell shocked." He smirked at her laughter and shook his head. It would have been hilarious had the situation not been so grim beforehand. The utter 'what the fuck' look on his boss' face caused a couple of chuckles to slip past his lips. This is why he was feeling like he could just leave his life behind. There was a peacefulness being around Niko and his inner circle.

"Oh! I would've paid money to have someone take a photo of him in that moment." She slapped her other hand to her mouth when she snorted at the mental image she had of what her boyfriend looked like when the doctor told him.

"What? Like this?" Georgi dropped his face and opened his mouth, widened his eyes, and gave her a cross between a horror stricken face and disbelief. It didn't last long as she busted out laughing and he couldn't resist her infectious mood, and joined in, letting his own merriment show. He hadn't laughed or smiled this much in years.

"I can't!" She wheezed as the giggles and full belly laughs escaped her, "You said Frankie nearly ran into you leaving the room?" She wiped her eyes as tears formed from the laughing fit. Her mood swings were bound to catch up to her at some point, but right now? She couldn't bring herself to care.

"Yes! He was red all over his face and I was mere seconds away from opening the door. He stormed down the hall and that's when I saw Niko with this look on his face!" He mimicked the facial expressions again and caught her as she collapsed into his shoulder in a wave of embarrassing cackles and snorts. His own happiness only grew as she clutched his upper arm and continued to dissolve into peels of giggles and laughter.

The door creaked as it opened and they both looked up to see Niko walk into the room, his eyes going straight to Kate, with the softest and unguarded look they had ever seen. Georgi helped her sit up and tried to get it together to not laugh and show too much emotion in front of the man he served.

Kate smiled brightly at seeing him and sat up on her knees, holding her arms out to him. Just the sight of him had her heart thumping excitedly in her chest. The need to feel him in her arms, his lips on hers, the scratch of his scruff against the tender flesh of her neck, had her insides clenching in anticipation.

Niko moved like a man in a trance and knelt slightly on the bed and pulled her to him, crashing his lips to hers in a hungry and needy kiss. He fisted his hand into her hair and slipped his other into the opening of her hospital gown along her spine. Her near unapologetic whine that vibrated in her chest that was pressed against his own had him tilting her head to the side to deepen the kiss.

"I'm just gonna… leave you two to it." Georgi dipped his head and felt his cheeks tint pink as he awkwardly left the room, pulling the door closed to stand guard. He would give them a few minutes to come unraveled before the world decides it's time to move on. The twitch of his lips into a smirk had him shaking his head. His life was truly, drastically, different now.

"Niko!" Kate moaned his name into his mouth as she raked her nails over his scalp and slipped her other hand into his open jacket, around his side and down to the pistol that sat nestled in the waistband of his jeans. His hands gripped her harder and only heighted her own frenzied need to feel him. Another throaty moan escaped her parted lips before his tongue wove its way back into her mouth.

"God Kate… Волим те (Volim te)." He forgot to speak English as he yanked her to be flush with his own body. So many thoughts and emotions battled within him, and he couldn't figure out where to land. Her hands on him, the way she returned the urgency he was exuding, how she nearly just submitted to him was making him hard.

Kate pulled his gun lose and dropped it down to the bed and worked on getting his jacket off. Her body was on fire, and she needed- no wanted him to extinguish the flames that licked along her spine and legs. Her hands fisted into the collar and pulled on the heavy leather to work it down his arms.

He untangled himself from her and gripped her hands, "Лепа (Lepa), I don't have very long- I need to go soon-" She cut him off by sucking his bottom lip into her mouth and lightly biting it. She had managed to throw him off for a second and she removed her hand from his right one, slipping Kenny's ring off his finger.

Kate shoved the ring over her thumb, as it was too big to fit on any of her other fingers, "I don't give a shit where you need to go. You are going to be here with me for the next few minutes." She cupped his face between her hands and set him with a lustful glare, "You will make time for us… now, please…"

His hands landed on her hips and balled into the wafer thin fabric of her gown. She had demanded of him something he would never refuse her, "Kate… You want me?" He whispered the words in Serbian as he placed kiss after, agonizingly soft kiss to her lips. Building them back up to the intense, yearning want. His fingers dragged along her sides to her back to pull loose the ties of her gown.

She drifted her fingers back into his jacket and worked it off his shoulders, moaning at the accent and words she would never understand, but wanted to learn one day. One by one he removed his arms from his jacket, and she dropped it off the side of the hospital bed. Immediately her hands went in search of his belt and button of his jeans.

"It's going to have to be quick…" Niko whispered the words against her cheek as he worked his way to her ear, nibling on her earlobe. His hands disappeared under her gown and lightly drifted to her ribcage, making a slow trek up her body to cup her breasts. Her nipples were already pebbled as he flicked his thumbs over them.

"When has it ever taken you long to get me to come undone?" She sucked in air when the coil inside her tightened to almost a painful level. Her fingers pulled the belt loose and unfastened the buckle. The button was hastily ripped open, and she slipped her hand down below the hem of his pants and boxers, moaning when she connected with the hardened flesh of his member.

Niko leaned into her and guided her to lean back into the bed, removing one of his hands to find the button to lower the bed. The things she did to him… "I am going to- I'm going to fuck you so hard." His mind was no where near thinking of meetings, assassins, or that Kenny's second was probably right outside the door listening in on them. He was dead set on burying himself in her and giving himself to her. He would get her to go as many times as he could before being forced to go face the world.

She shifted around on the bed as it was lowered to the flat position, pulling his pants down over his hips to be able to free him from the confines of his clothing. Her fingers firmed over him and stroked over his length mimicking the motions of what she wanted him to do to her. Every time he spoke in his native language it caused her to feel the telltale sign of an impending orgasm. It would curl her toes, squeeze her insides, and cause a wetness to form between her legs.

"I need you Niko." She pressed the words to his throat as she placed kiss after kiss to the warm skin of his neck. Her back hit the mattress and she moved her legs to either side of him, wishing he'd just rip the stupid hospital gown off of her and take her over the edge. Too many things wanted to muddle her spirits. And all she wanted to feel in the moment was his love and devotion to her.

"I will always need you, Kate." His hand bunched in her gown and pulled it up to her waist, seeking out her entrance. The groan forced its way up his throat when his fingers found wet and eager lips, "You want me?" His fingers parted her and dipped down into her warmth.

She bucked her hips up to his fingers and couldn't stop the spine tingling moan that reverberated in her chest. She kept up a firm pumping of him in her left hand and cupped his face with the other, cracking her eyes open that she didn't realize were closed, "Take me… Please Niko." She pleaded with him and felt him twitch in her hand when his eyes sought out hers.

This woman was surely going to be the death of him. Her hands on him, the slickness that coated his fingers, it all drove him mad. Why had it taken them so long to reach this point? Had he known what she would be like with his guard down, he would've acted sooner on his desires. He placed his free hand over her's on his face, feeling Kenny's ring on her thumb, and separated her fingers to be able to occupy the spaces between hers, "It's going to be hard and quick, are you okay with that?"

She removed her hand from his face and threaded their fingers together, pulling his hand to drop down beside her head, forcing him to lean further down into her face. Her lungs burned with the rapid breathing and her heart hammered away in her chest. His fingers continued to stroke in and out of her and she clenched around them, just wanting to go so bad. Tears blurred her vision as she searched his eyes for the lust and love he held for her.

Her own insecurities wanted to surface within her. He hadn't been there when she found out she could be pregnant. She had been alone and scared. Having seen the lab report with the inconclusive result tore at her heart. They were either going to be thrown into a world they either wanted or he didn't. They had never discussed children or what that future looked like.

'Would he be happy if we are…?'

"Niko… I love you and trust you. Take me. I just need to know you love me and want me. And that you won't leave me if- if we…"

"Kate if you are carrying my child, I will never leave your side. I will love you with every fiber of my being. I will love that child more than anything. I am here." He removed his fingers from her folds and grasped her hand over him, moving to press against her entrance, "Now let me show you how much I need you right now."

"Yes Niko…" She sighed the words and lifted her hips up to meet him. He had turned her worries to ash with his words. He had squashed that fear that twisted around her heart and mind. Niko was singlehandedly confirming her future to be what she longed for. Her legs lifted to wrap around his waist as he slipped his head into her entrance. The sheer faintest of pressures had her wanting to come. Her toes popped as they curled in.

"I love you and will always love you." He breathed the words against her lips as he slowly sank down inside of her, burying himself in her heat and tightness. He wove his one arm under her and held her close wanting to feel her pressed against his body, his hand that held hers firming against the hospital bed. He had nearly lost her, gained a family of his own possibly, and worried for their own future. His mouth sought out hers and captured her kiss, trying to convey everything that was jumbled up inside.

Her hand gripped his harshly, feeling the ring dig into the crease of her thumb and index finger. He felt harder and bigger for some reason, and she moaned loudly into the quiet of the room. Her legs tightened over his hips begging him to move or do something to make her pleasure increase. She brushed her nose against his trying to get him to look into her eyes.

"Niko… You said it needed to be hard and fast?" She tried to meet his downward thrust when he pulled out and shoved back in slowly. Niko had mentioned he didn't have a whole lot of time. That he was needed elsewhere. But she was determined to get him to satisfy the nagging lust that clouded her own mind. They were in public so to speak, and she had never once dreamed of being in this position- where someone, namely a doctor, could walk in any second and interrupt them.

A dangerous, and rather wicked thought slashed over her body. It was like being a teenager sneaking out of the house and not getting caught. Getting away with a small sin. She forced her hand higher on the bed that he gripped, causing him to lower into her body, "Niko. I need to go… Please!"

He slid up her body with the movement and lifted her hips up to his, seating himself as far as he could go, "Stop me if it hurts?" He locked his eyes to her wanting to make sure she understood and would tell him if it began to become painful.

"Fuck me already!" She hardened her eyes and nearly barked out the command. Her body was throbbing and tingling everywhere. Even the pain of her injured arm had dulled to a low ache, completely overcome with the smoldering, building orgasm that was rising in intensity.

His dark, bordering on evil, smirk lifted the edge of his mouth as he lifted off of her, "Yes, boss." He thumbed the ring around her own thumb and gave her the unneeded recognition that she was in charge. He released her hand and body and firmly dragged his hands over her thighs, feeling his own insides clench at the sight of himself buried in her entrance, and lifted them to rest against his body. Her calves partially bent over his shoulders and the position made her almost impossibly tight.

Slowly he drifted his fingers down her legs, loving the shiver and quake she gave him, and pulled her gown up to expose her breasts. He leaned forward some, changing the angle of her hips, and rolled her nipples between his fingers, "I am going to come so fast, Kate."

She defiantly tilted her chin up and looked up at him through half lidded eyes, "Pakhan demands it." The position and flexing of him inside her had her at the brink of coming. He was giving her that look that always sent her over the edge. The predatory sharpness of his eyes- the way he observed her body. It was like something out of an erotic novel she read. He was everything her wettest dreams built up.

"As you have asked it, It shall be done." He switched to Russian knowing he had heard Georgi and the others give the same phrase to him when he gave out orders around her. If she was wanting to role play for the moment and be the boss, he wasn't about to deny her. She was beyond tight, wet, and hot. He pulled himself out to where the tip brushed along her clit before tilting back down and diving into her. The near scream of a pleasure filled moan had him caging her legs to him with one arm and clasping a hand over her mouth.

"Kate, you will need to be silent… Too many people will bust down the door." Niko nearly groaned the words out in Serbian as she turned his hand over her mouth and sucked his ring finger into her mouth, running her tongue along it in a way he yearned for her to do on another part of his body. The cold of the ring sent a shiver over his body. It was just one more reminder that their lives were crashing into one another.

She had recognized part of the Russian that he had spoken. Georgi said that phrase many a time, and so had the others, so maybe it was their way of confirming the task at hand would be done? She didn't dwell on it because as soon as she took his ring finger in her mouth, the one that would one day host it's own wedding band, he began to thrust into her with a renewed eagerness. It was quick, rushed, and held an edge of urgency. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she snapped her eyelids closed as a wave of wanton lust overcame her.

He let her continue to tease his finger as he persisted into a hurried tempo of pulling out and slamming into her. He squeezed her legs together and shifted them to his right shoulder, forcing them to be closed- which only heightened his own pleasure at the tightness. It was as if he couldn't fit, and he lifted to his knees needing the extra leverage to pound into her.

Her closed eyes raked an emotion over him he couldn't identify, "Kate. Look at me!" His own accent was accentuated and harsh. He wanted her to look at him as he sent her over the edge and made her come apart. His finger slipped from her mouth with a near audible pop and grasped her hand that was still resting by her head, the gold of Kenny's ring shined in the dim light of the hospital room.

Kate's eyes snapped open, and she let her hazy, lust filled eyes meet his own matching look, "Yes?" She could only hold on to his hip as he madly grinded into her. He was driving her body into an unrecognizable fog. Every nerve was firing on all cylinders, and she came the second he sank down into her on a manic downward thrust.

He almost went with the way her body squeezed him and pulled him in. He separated her legs and leaned down to capture her lips, sliding his arm under her lower back to change the angle. He used his knees and core strength to quicken his pace to pound her rapidly, feeling her legs lift around his own hips. Niko released her hand grabbed her thigh, holding her in place, so he could reach his own finish.

"NIKO!" Kate screamed his name as once more she felt a world shattering orgasm crash over her. She held on for dear life as everything shook, and her vision swam with tears and dark spots. Her useless limbs draped over him and tried to pull him more in to her embrace.

He could not remember the last time he had come that hard or felt that kind of connection to someone. She had won his heart and soul. There was no doubt about that. He worked his tired arms under her body and cradled her to him. He lazily placed a few kisses to her lips before burying his face into her neck.

"Волим те (Volim te). I love- I love you Niko." Kate whispered as her eyes closed and forced whatever strength was left in her body to hold him tightly and try and convey just how much she felt for him. He would be who she wanted for the rest of her life. The flutters and quakes of her womb caused a tear to slip past her tightly closed eyelids. Her dreams were wanting to manifest before her eyes and a desperation flooded her overworked system. Another tear fell and before she knew it, she was crying silently- wrapped up in the arms of the man who was giving her everything she ever wanted out of life.

"Shh. I'm here. I love you. Everything is going to be okay." Niko could feel the tremble of her body and the coolness of her tears as they soaked into his head from his buried position. He shifted just enough to be able to see her expression and figure out if she was falling apart or happily shedding tears. The absolute beautiful, peaceful, and loving softness of her face broke whatever feeble barrier he held at guarding his own heart.

"You have told me that we could disappear anywhere in the world. To just be us and live our own life. But there is no need to see the world, when it's right here in front of me." He said the words in a hushed, awe-filled tone. Making sure to speak in a language she would understand. He sluggishly pulled his arm from out of under her and brushed her tears away, "Kate, you have given me something I never thought would be possible. A second chance. As much as I don't want to walk out that door, I have to, but know that my entire world rests with you. And I will always come back."

His body was spent. His mind was worn out. His soul was breaking into so many directions- being Kenny, being with Kate, finding his enemies and ending their existence, stealing her away to the furthest corners of the world, just telling Packie he had done what he suspected-

"Niko, I want to be with you till the day I die. You are my world. My everything. No matter how much fear, anxiety, pain fills me over recent events- my answer is always you. You have possibly given me everything I have ever wanted in life-" Tiredly she lowered her arms from around his body and pulled Kenny's ring from her thumb, letting a couple more tears slide down her cheeks, "If you are meant to be the leader of the underground world, or just simply the man who loves me, I will always come back to you." She held it up near his face for him to take. To go be who he needed to be. It was like handing over the key to her soul.

More tears cascaded down her face. Was this really how they were going to be? Stolen moments between chaos?

'If that peace is only but a moment spent in his arms, is it worth it? If the peace is meant to be moments between madness, is it worth walking the path of night and darkness? If only to see the sunrise knowing sunset will eventually come? Life is not meant to be set in stone my dear. They call it a leap of faith for a reason. You must jump in order to know what lies ahead. The fall can sometimes be the most exhilarating, the most important fleeting moment in your life.'

Bernie's words that were spoken to her in a moment of need floated across her wounded mind. Her heart swelled in her chest, and she closed her eyes when his lips crashed into her own. She felt his hand land on top of hers that held Kenny's ring. Forcing her to drop it to the bed to link their fingers together. A sob rocked her body, and she gave in to him.

Niko moved his lips over her's hoping it was telling her what he couldn't in a language he was still learning new phrases in, "I love you and want you to be with me. I will find a way to make this work. I swear it. To my dying breath…" He spoke the words between airy kisses to her mouth and face.

She recognized part of what he said, "To my dying breath… I am yours." Her insides clamped down and she let him shove her hand above her head, feeling him pull out and back in, the quake of her body shouldn't have her at the edge already. He sought out her other arm and she readily let him take her other hand, wishing she didn't wince against the pain moving that arm caused, but felt the pain vanish the second he pinned her down- hands clasped together with his, the talent of his mouth teasing her own, the rolling of his hips-

The quiet tinkling of Kenny's ring falling off the bed didn't affect either one of them.

Niko grinded his hips against hers and moaned when she fluttered around him. He shifted his thighs out, opening her more for him, and used his knees for leverage. He slowly built them back up and ignored the knock at the door. Everyone else could wait a damn minute. He needed her to quiet everything inside him.

"Niko… Promise me…" Kate barely managed to get the words out between his knee weakening kisses. He was shutting her brain off with the way he held her and gave himself to her.

"I promise… I promise to love you. I promise to protect you." He kissed along her cheek, tasting her salty tears on his way to her ear, forgetting for a moment that she didn't know Serbian, "I promise to love you and our unborn child."

The small amount of guilt and uneasiness was let go instantly and she moaned into his mouth as her soul burst to life and coated her in a fullness she didn't know was possible. Her knuckles turned white where she gripped his hands, and she met his rhythm as he rolled into her. They met halfway- the way she felt they would always meet.

The way a relationship was meant to work.

Compromise.

Companionship.

Understanding.

Love.

Her legs lifted once more to welcome him in and accept the love he had for her. They had been put through too much and she told her thoughts to shut it. This moment was for them. The rub of his clothes bothered her, and she yanked her hands free from his grip to shove his shirt up his body to feel his skin on hers. The moan was almost embarrassing in nature when the heat scorched over her skin.

He used one of his hands to jerk the long sleeved shirt up over his head and worked the thin fabric off is body. He chucked it to the couch not caring if someone walked in on them anymore. She needed him and he needed her. The love and attachment snuffed out everything else in his system. There was only them.

His knee bumped his pistol and he blindly reached out for it, lifting it up to be above her head. Her hand grabbed his wrist as he made to put it down and slid up to clasp over the chilled metal.

"What… Wh-What do the words say?" Kate spoke brokenly between his kisses. She had wanted to know after seeing the matching phrase on Darko's pistol.

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." Niko recited the words they had all said to one another as they got the commissioned weapons and supplies after getting assigned a unit. He was a terrified teenager. Not even- more like a pre-teen who had anger and hatred in his heart. Which molded him into the man he was today.

But now?

"English… please?" She whispered the word in Russian that Georgi taught her. 'Thank you' and 'Please' were getting easier and easier to say. Her legs tightened over his own and she grounded up into him. His language would be its own orgasm if she let it.

"Лепа (Lepa), I am afraid of losing you. It means bravery is knowing you are afraid." It was a loose translation and was about as good as his brain could put together as she welcomed him and nearly had him going with the way she gripped him.

"I am scared to death of- of you walking out that door and it will be the last time I see you." The tears kept coming as he loved her body and heart. She held the pistol with him- it was symbolic in a way. It was something that would always stand between them. The war. The violence. The criminal business.

"You will never lose me. I will always be with you." He kissed the words across her face and down the column of her neck, being sure to be gentle against the harsh red marks that marred her skin.

"Promise?" It was nearly a sob as it came out of her swollen lips. Her other hand lovingly trailed over his hair and down to cup his face, asking him to lean up so she could see him, "If not for me… for the life that we could have created?"

"Kate… You are my future. My life restarted the day I met you." He leaned up and pressed his lips to hers in a desperate kiss, quickening his pace of thrusting into her. He was getting close to his own end and knew they were running out of time. He needed to go meet this Pavel and get back into his role of Kenny Petrovic.

As much as he hated the thought.

He wanted to stay here with her. To hold her when the doctor drew her blood to rerun the test.

To cuddle her body to his own as the doctor confirmed his wishes.

To be there when they were told they were going to be parents. To kiss her smiling lips and feel the joy that was elusive to him.

But the past was not done with him. He would need to address Packie about killing Derrick. To find someone to pin the blame on. To get out from under the lie that hung above them like a guillotine. To force Francis to get off his case. To end the threat against him and his entire network of friends and family.

He had been given a glimpse of what the happily ever after could be- and he craved it.

Kate dropped her hand to his back and slightly dug her nails into the strong muscles as he started to pound into her again. The speed and forcefulness behind it had her ready to go instantly. Her fingers firmed under the gun that was pressed down into her palm as his own hand closed down on it. It was erotic in a way that should have turned her off.

"Come for me. Come with me Kate." Niko started in Serbian before switching back to English and felt her shake below him, "Come with me. Share with me…" He pressed their cheeks together as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, thrusting into her in an uncontrolled way. He was slipping in his own stability.

"The moment I first saw you… I was so attracted…" Kate moaned the words to her favorite song she had sung in his apartment and closed her eyes as her body tightened to a new heightened level of pleasure, "I couldn't measure this and that- and said…"

"My answer is you." They both spoke the words together and tumbled over the edge, finishing together.

Their labored breathing filled the now overly warm room. Their eyes were locked on one another and neither seemed to want to look away. While he could swear their love making the other night had been something out of his dreams, this topped it and shoved every negative and horrible thought from his mind. The love she held in her gaze for him filled his chest.

"I know you need to go be who you need to be for the world." She spoke softly and caressed his face tenderly, memorizing the way he was so open with her. Expressions and warmth flowed from him, and she drank it in. This was the most unguarded he had ever been with her.

"You are my world. Just remember that when the door shuts and I am no longer physically here with you." Niko leaned into her hand and did his best to give her everything she could need if he was to die at this meeting. He would show her, un-spokenly tell her, that he loved her and the possible child they had made together.

Their love making the night they got home from her Ma's place had felt different- so maybe this was what was created between them. Someone to bind them together forever. He had felt different then, just how he felt now. He couldn't help himself as he lifted up off her. His hand sought out her flat stomach and he stared at it wondering if there was truly a life growing there.

Her hand landed on top of his and she smiled broadly as the tears kept falling down her cheeks, "I love you. I love the thought of having your child. But the knocking at the door is getting incessant."

"Give me a damn minute. I will be right out!" Niko raised his voice and spoke in Russian knowing Georgi would get the message, "I love you too Kate. Promise me you will stay in this hospital till I get back? I don't care if you go see Bernie or Mal. If Bernie is awake, it might help if you are there." He pulled out of her and felt his insides quiver at the lost warmth. Silently he used some of the bedsheets to wipe himself off and redo his boxers and jeans.

"I was going to try and convince Georgi to let me go see Bernie. I need to know he is okay. With Gerry-" She closed her eyes and shifted out from under him and sat up on the bed, holding his pistol in her hand, "With Gerry's death I need someone with me till I know I won't completely lose it. I… I will miss him." She leaned into his chest once he wrapped his arms around her in a semi-awkward hug.

"I will miss him too. I am sorry." Niko had done up his pants and immediately hugged her when she brought up her brother's death. It was another reason he felt the need to come see her. He had not been there for her after he killed Derrick. Their emotionless phone call had done little for either of them.

"I am too." She returned the hug and did her best to take solace in his words, "He will be missed greatly. I am worried about Packie." She reached out and pressed the bed remote button to get it in a sitting position, untangling herself from Niko and holding his pistol out to him. He silently took it and tucked it into the back of his jeans.

"I am also worried about him. Something is going on with him. I'll figure it out." He shuffled down the bed and stood up by her bedside, "Do you want me to keep Georgi here? Or will you be okay without him?" He would offer her some kind of cushion or security while he met with Pavel. While he would feel better having his newly trusted second to watch his back, he almost wanted Georgi to stay at the hospital and watch over her and his family.

"I would feel better if he was watching your back. I like him." She smiled at him and tried to tie her gown back together, but the pain flared in her arm, and she sucked in a rush of air.

"I got it. And yeah, he's growing on me." He smirked at her glance at him. She had given him the look that asked, 'can we keep him?' as if a child wanted to keep a dog or cat they found on the streets. He reached behind her and knotted the strings together to close off her gown over her body.

"Might want to get dressed before he comes in here looking for you." She giggled as the knock came a little more urgently.

"Georgi I just need to get dressed and we can go. We have time!" He nearly shouted in Russian smiling at her laughter to walk around the bed to find his shirt and jacket. He pulled the shirt on and turned when the door opened, hand going to his pistol knowing Georgi would never go against his orders.

"And what the hell do you two think you are doing?!" Doctor Ashley nearly screamed as she burst past Georgi, carrying more medicine and fluid IV bags, "I better not get the impression you two had sex!"

"Boss she-" Georgi tried to grab the doctor and pull her back out of the room, stumbling into the room letting the door shut behind him.

"It's fine. Kate needs to be tended to. And I need to know for sure whether or not I am going to be a father." Niko picked up his jacket and slipped it up his arms, zipping it halfway up his chest. He leaned over the bed and cupped her smiling, breath-taking face and kissed her lips, "Take care of her doc. I'll be back in an hour or so to check in on her." He searched her eyes and found only happiness and trust there.

"I love you, Niko." Kate whispered as he leaned away from her. Then she realized something, and she nearly spun around on the bed and leaned over the edge, finding the large golden ring easily. Her fingers plucked it off the cold tiled floor and sat up on the bed, shoving her hair from her face.

"It is with this commitment, that I pledge my loyalty to you." She recalled the words so many men and women spoke in her home when they joined her Pa's mafia. How they swore undying loyalty and faith to her family. She had hidden in the corners of the house and watched fascinated by the ceremony and rituals that were performed when someone joined the ranks. She turned the heavy ring in her fingers to observe the encrusted crest of the Petrovic Bratva.

"To give life, blood, body, and service to your will." Georgi spoke in Russian and dropped to a knee, hand over his heart seeing the ring in the hand of Kate. He bowed his head. He was shocked to see it off of Niko's hand and would swear service to whoever wore the ring- be that Kate or Niko.

Kate grabbed Niko's right hand and slipped the ring over his ring finger, "I will surrender my life to you so long as I have life to fill my lungs." She lifted her eyes to meet his hoping he'd get the double meaning behind her words. While this may be something her family and various mafia's did, she was hedging on other things- that she was willing to wait for him forever. To be there when he returned. To love him with open arms and heart.

That one day they would wed and be one.

He clasped his hand over her's and pulled it to his mouth, kissing her ring finger, never letting his eyes leave her's, "One day I will ask you to stay forever. I will make you, my forever." He spoke the words in Russian so Georgi would get the weight of what was happening, "Kate, I will love you till my heart stops beating. Rest and I will come back." He kissed her ring finger again and then lowered down to capture her lips, "Stay safe."

"I will be. You will keep me safe." She whispered the words against his lips and leaned back into the bed before turning her eyes to Kenny's second- well Niko's second, "Georgi watch his back and bring him back to me. Please? I'd like our little one to grow up with a father… and Uncle." Her eyes softened when his head snapped up to her's and he grew an astonished look that she figured he'd never held.

"As you have asked it, it shall be done. Pakhan I will do as your equal asks. I am humbled…" He slowly rose from his position on the floor completely freaking out the doctor who only looked between everyone before giving up and moving to the computer to log in the meds and get things going.

"Kate you are going to have to cut it out before you break him." Niko chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "Alright let's get this meet over with. I have places I'd rather be." He drifted his fingertips over Kate's cheek, along the faintest of scars before heading toward the door and his second.

"I await your return… Pakhan." Kate snorted when Niko shook his head and looked up to the ceiling for patience. She turned to the doctor who gave her the most quizzical look she had ever seen.

"Have fun with this one doc, she is a real piece of work." Niko laughed out loud when he felt the pillow hit the back of his head and pulled Georgi out of the room knowing he had delayed the meet long enough. He could almost hear her berating him as the door clicked closed.

"Boss?" Georgi looked back at the closed door not understanding why they had left her alone with the doc.

"We have to meet someone down at the docks in East Hook. Aleksei said he'd have someone else watch over the hospital. I don't know this person, and I don't trust anything anymore. But I trust you. Kate trusts you. And I trust her. So you are going to be my second and I will need you to watch over her tomorrow morning. I have something I need to do." Niko ushered Georgi down the hall and toward the main elevators to get them back outside.

"Pakhan?" Georgi hurried his pace and met his boss' stride.

"I need to see someone who will get me what I need. Roman will be with me. So I will need you to watch over my future wife and cousin-in-law."