Rose's jaw was set tightly as she looked at the floor, crossing her arms over her chest.
"How long have you known?"
Rose turned to look at me and caught the guilty expression on my face. "How long have you known it was him?"
"A little over four months."
Rose sat up and gaped at me. "You've known all this time, and didn't think to tell me?" Rose asked coldly, her eyes flashing with hurt and anger.
"Rose, I didn't want it to upset you any further than it had. You were having nightmares and you said that the only thing you didn't remember was who he was. I didn't want to inflict anymore pain on you," I explained, reaching for her hand but she pulled it away.
"I had the right to know. I had the right to know months ago Dimitri!"
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what?! Knowing the truth?! Do you think that I would have taken that information and just sat on it? NO! I would have done something with it!" Rose exclaimed, standing up from the couch and threw her arms out to the side. "How could you?"
"How was I supposed to tell you, Roza? How was I supposed to tell you who hurt you? I can barely stomach the thought of it. You just stopped having nightmares."
Rose glared at me. "You shouldn't have kept it from me. You don't do that to the people you love," she snapped at me, hurt and anger thick in her voice.
Rose shook her head as she walked away, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. I flinched when the door to our room slammed shut and I waited a moment before going down the hall to Sofia's room. I cracked the door open and peeked in, breathing a sigh of relief to see that our argument hadn't woken her. I eased the door shut and stood outside of our bedroom room, contemplating on whether or not to go in. I opened the door slowly and poked my head in to find the door to the bathroom shut.
I moved forward into the room and hovered outside of the bathroom door, noticing the shower was running. But it wasn't the only noise I heard.
I could barely hear it, but I could hear her sobs over the water.
I sat down on our bed and cupped my head, sighing heavily into my hands. God, I should have just told her earlier.
I don't know how long I sat there until the door opened, but my head snapped up quickly as Rose walked into the room wrapped in her towel. She stopped for a moment before moving into the closet and got dressed, coming out while rubbing the towel through her hair roughly. I watched her closely as she looked anywhere but at me. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew that I wouldn't get very far. I'd probably get punched before she let me comfort her right now.
Rose moved towards the bed and pulled her pillow off it before heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?" I asked quietly.
Rose stopped in the doorway with a quiet sight. "I'm going to sleep in the next room. I just need to be alone for a bit."
"Roza," I pleaded as I stood up, but she cut me off.
"I'm pissed at you right now. Being around you is not the best idea for either of us. I'll see you in the morning," Rose cut in sharply before walking out. I sat back down on the bed and groaned into my hands, swearing under my breath.
I could barely keep my eyes open as I held the spoon to Sofia's mouth. I didn't sleep at all last night. I just kept playing the night over and over in my head. Sofia made a noise of impatience when I didn't fill her spoon again fast enough, her eyes looking at me expectantly. I gave her a weak smile and spooned more of her cereal onto it and brought it back to her mouth.
I looked at the clock and sighed. If Rose slept any longer, she'd be late for class. I put the last mouthful of food into Sofia's mouth and waited for her to swallow it before I gave her her sippy cup.
"Daddy will be right back," I said, stroking her head as towards the room Rose slept in. I knocked on the door and waited a moment for her to call out, but it didn't happen. I opened my door slowly and looked in to find Rose still asleep, face pressed against the mattress. I went to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, rubbing my hand over her back gently.
"Rose? You need to get up or you'll miss your mid-term," I said softly, trying to coax her out of sleep. Rose grumbled and shifted, flinging her arm out to the side. I followed the moment to make sure she didn't hit her hand on the nightstand when a flash caught my eye.
And then I felt my stomach drop.
Rose never took her ring off, but there it was sitting on the tabletop like a taunt. I shook her slightly and her eyes cracked open with a groan.
"I'm sorry, but you have to get up or you'll be late," I said. Rose nodded and rubbed her hand over her face. I got up from my spot and walked back into the kitchen in time to watch Sofia fling her cup to the ground. I shook my head and pulled her out of her chair, stooping down to pick up her cup.
Sofia smirked at me as her hands grabbed at my face, her little fingers getting a grip on my nose. I pulled back gently to pulling my nose from her hand but kissed her sticky fingers instead. A happy sound echoed through the room and I smiled at Sofia. Sofia leaned in and rested her head on my shoulder, and stuck her thumb in her mouth. I shook my head and let her be. Sofia didn't suck on her thumb often enough to be concerned about it.
A sigh behind me made me turn and I watched Rose round the counter and pull out a travel mug. She blinked slowly a few times as she filled her cup with coffee and put the fixings in before screwing the lid on. Rose rubbed her eye as she came around the counter and stood in front of me.
"Bye sweetheart," Rose said softly as she leaned in and kissed Sofia's cheek. When she pulled away and looked up at me, giving me a weak smile.
"Do you need me to pick her up from daycare?"
"No," I said gently, "I'm not going in today."
Rose nodded her head and fidgeted for a second. "Okay, well I will see you later."
"Okay. Good luck," I said, shifting Sofia in my arms so I had a better grip. Rose nodded and stretched up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before heading towards the door.
"Roza?"
Rose stopped and looked at me as she pulled her bag onto her shoulders. "Yeah?"
"I love you."
Rose's lips quirked. "I love you too. I'll see you when I'm done," she said before slipping out the door.
I sighed and looked down at Sofia, shaking my head at her. "What are we going to do today?" I asked her. She looked up at me before looking down at her fingers as she played with them. I chuckled and kissed her forehead.
It didn't take long for curiosity to get the best of me before I walked into the spare bedroom and looked at the nightstand table. It was empty. Then I went into our room and looked at her nightstand only to find it empty too. I looked in her jewelry box, empty. Bathroom counter, empty.
I shook my head in confusion. Rose wasn't wearing it when she left this morning, so where would it be?
I heard the front door open and close, so I headed out of the room and into the hallway. Rose sighed and dropped her bag unceremoniously to the floor and beelined for the kitchen, pulling food out of the fridge.
"How did it go?" I asked, making my way towards her. Rose shrugged and she ate some cold chicken as she put a plate in the microwave.
"It was fine. It wasn't crazy or anything. It was just like any other test. I was one of the first people done," she explained, licking some of the seasonings off her finger. I nodded and leaned against the counter.
"Is Sofia asleep?"
"Yeah. She fought going down for a nap. She's only been asleep for half-hour," I replied, lacing my fingers together. Rose nodded and tapped her fingers against the counter as she waited for her food. My eyes drifted towards her hand and frowned. I looked up to find her watching me. Rose knitted her eyebrows together and looked confused until she looked down at her hand.
Rose reached under her shirt and pulled the chain of her necklace out, holding out towards me. I looked and felt a small wave of relief ripple through me. Nestled between the disks was her engagement ring.
"I took it off because my fingers swelled up like sausages last night," Rose explained softly, looking me in the eyes. I nodded and gave her a small smile. Rose came around the counter and stood in front of me, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at me.
"I'm sorry about last night," she said quietly, shifting on her feet.
"No, I'm sorry," I returned.
Rose sighed and pulled herself up to sit on the counter, dangling her legs over the edge. "I get why you didn't tell me. I understand that you were trying to protect me. But I had the right to know. It's my life," Rose said bluntly. I stood in front of her and placed my hands on either side of her legs, dipping my head down.
"You're right. You did deserve to know sooner.
Rose gave me a level look as she fisted her hand in the front of my shirt and pulled me towards her.
"You ever pull something like that again, I kick your ass so hard you'll taste shit for a month," Rose said lowly, eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring.
My lips quirked at the sides before I forced them to stay in place. I knew that Rose was pissed, and she very much would kick my ass, but the way she phrased it made it harder to keep serious. Plus, a small part of me liked seeing her mad. It was equal parts hot and adorable.
"I swear to God if you laugh, you'll be sleeping on the couch."
I couldn't hold back my smirk anymore and ducked in to kiss the corner of her mouth. "I guess it's a good thing I like our couch."
Rose narrowed her eyes at me again. "But I also know just how serious you are. I promise I won't keep any information from you again," I added quickly.
Rose pursed her lips and I peck her mouth, giving her a soft look. "If it helps, I've been in my own punishment all day while you were gone."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. I didn't sleep at all last night and then when I woke you up and you had taken your ring off, a part of me panicked."
"You thought I took it off because of last night?"
I nodded and shifted my weight when Rose let go of my shirt and brushed her fingers over my cheek. I leaned into the touch and held her gaze. The hard look in her eyes softened and she frowned.
"For this ring to stay off permanently, you would have needed to have done much, much worse than that. I don't plan on taking this off unless I physically can't put it on my finger."
I nodded and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, smiling softly against her skin. I could still faintly smell her body wash on her skin. Rose toyed with the hair by my ear and jumped when the microwave chimed. I pulled away and took her food out of the microwave, grabbing a napkin and brought it back to her.
Rose thanked me but grimaced a bit as she set the plate beside her.
"Does this smell bad to you?" Rose asked while making a face. I shook my head but took a small piece of her fried chicken and put it in my mouth. It didn't smell bad to me, and it wasn't undercooked or bad tasting.
"No. It's fine to me."
Rose frowned and gingerly put a piece of it into her mouth. "It smelled fine when it was cold," Rose mumbled, but I could see she was trying to choke the piece in her mouth down. I don't know why she kept trying to force it. If it made her nauseous, she shouldn't try to force it down.
"How does some rice sound? Maybe you might like that more?" I asked, moving the plate away from her. Rose peaked up at me and gave me a sheepish look with a small nod.
"I'm sorry."
"Roza, don't apologize. But I think it's time you went and saw a doctor," I said gently, brushing her hair back from her face. Rose tilted her head up to look at me and pressed her lips together into a tight line. She had lost a bit more weight than I would have liked. You could see it in her face too, especially around her eyes and cheekbones.
"I'll call and make an appointment for the end of the week," Rose said leaning into my hand. I gave her a sharp nod and kissed her head.
"Thank you," I said, "I've never seen a stomach bug last this long."
"Neither have I. But I haven't had a fever or anything, just a few headaches. Lissa got over it in a week," Rose complained.
I nodded and kissed the top of her head. Rose slipped off the counter and went down to check in on Sofia while I made some rice for Rose to eat. I watched Rose come out of Sofia's room with Sofia cradled against her chest.
"Really?"
"She was awake when I went in. Maybe a cuddle with help her go down," Rose said as she laid down on the couch, wrapping the throw blanket around them and rubbed her nose against the top of Sofia's head. I smiled to myself and watched them.
How you could love two people so much that it makes you feel heavy, I'll never know. But I loved it, I loved every moment of it. I loved how full and complete it made me. I put the lid on the pot and went towards them, standing in front of them with a smile. Rose looked up at me and shifted forwards on the couch, and I climbed over her and laid behind her, wrapping my arm around her and Sofia. Rose situated Sofia so that her back was against my chest, and her cheek was against Rose's shoulder.
"I don't want to go to work tomorrow," Rose grumbled, eyes fluttering shut. I rubbed my hand over her back and kissed the top of her head.
"I don't blame you. I don't want to go tomorrow either."
Rose chuckled under her breath. "You're the boss, you don't have to go anyways."
"Tomorrow I do. I have a meeting with the head of our England branch," I sighed. I didn't want to do the meeting, but I had to. We had already rescheduled it twice.
"Too bad we can't play hokey tomorrow," Rose whispered. It seemed the cuddle was helping her fall asleep instead of helping Sofia sleep.
"Maybe next week, love."
Rose smiled and brushed her lips over Sofia's forehead. I kissed Rose's head before extracting myself from her to tend to her food.
Ever had a day where everything went at a snail's pace and it felt like hours had passed, only for it to be minutes? That was how my day was going. I'd been here for an hour and it felt like six.
I rolled my head back against the chair with a groan, closing my eyes, hoping that maybe I could get a power nap before my meeting.
That was until the silence of my office was shattered by the shrill of my phone. I sighed and picked up the phone.
"Yes?"
"Dimitri? I have someone named Alberta Petrov on the phone," Jared said. It felt like a weight dropped into my stomach and that ice crept into my veins.
"Put her through," I said, "Alberta? Is everything okay?"
"Hi Dimitri. Um, Rose collapsed at work and she's on her way to the hospital."
My eyes snapped opened and I sat up straight in my chair. "What happened?"
"I honestly don't know much. She was sick a few times since she got here, and she was complaining that she was dizzy just before she passed out. I figured it would be better if I called you than the hospital."
"Okay. Thank you, I'm going to head over," I said, listening closely to Alberta as she told me what hospital she was headed to. I managed to stop myself to tell Jared I wasn't sure if I'd be back.
"Wow, what's going on?" Ivan asked as I rushed by him, "We've got a meeting in twenty minutes with our England branch."
"Rose is at the hospital. I'm assuming you can take care of the meeting," I said as I waited for the elevator.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. She was supposed to go see the doctor later this week about how often she's been sick. Maybe it's that? I don't know, I'll let you know when I get some answers," I stammered and slipped into the elevator when the doors opened. Ivan had a worried look on his face but nodded his head.
Rose was sleeping when I got to the hospital. I must have looked panicked when I got to the hospital because the nurse I encountered tried to soothe me and instructed me to take a few deep breaths before letting me into Rose's room.
"She's asleep. She was up for a bit before falling asleep. We are waiting for her lab work to come back. Is there anything you can tell me about her general health?"
"She's had this stomach bug for a few weeks. She can barely keep food down, and sometimes the smell or even thinking about eating makes her nauseous. She's lost a bit of weight too," I said scratching my neck, thinking back over the last few weeks.
"How much weight would you say roughly?"
I shook my head. I wasn't sure, to be honest. "I don't know. Maybe five or ten pounds. Not a lot, but enough for myself and others to notice."
The nurse scribbled what I told her down on her notepad before nodding. "Okay. I will let the doctor know, and hopefully, her labs will be back shortly. You can stay in here until the doctor comes back," the nurse said gently.
I thanked her and sank down into the chair beside her bed, running my hand over hers gently. My phone pinged and I pulled it out to see a message from Alberta.
Sofia is still here with me, I told Eddie that the hospital wasn't the place for her. I've been walking around with her. I think she'll start walking soon, she looks strong on her legs.
I sighed in relief and smiled at the screen. It was comforting that Sofia was with Alberta, and I was glad that Alberta was walking Sofia. It seemed to be the only thing she wanted to do the last few days.
"Hey," Rose said gruffly. I shifted in my chair and stroked her cheek. Rose gave me a weak smile and shifted in bed, getting into a more comfortable position. "How long have I been here?"
"Not long, maybe ten minutes. How are you feeling?"
Rose nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. "I feel like crap. My head hurts."
"You collapsed at work Rose," I said. Rose licked her lips and sighed.
"Has the doctor come in yet?"
I was about to open my mouth when there was a knock on the door and a woman poked her head in.
"Oh good, you're awake."
Rose and I looked to find a young doctor standing in the doorway, clipboard in her hand.
"We got your labs back and we believe that you collapsed because of dehydration," the doctor said from the foot of her bed.
"Because she's been vomiting. Because of the stomach bug?"
The doctor's head tilted to the side a fraction. "No. Not because of a stomach bug. You have what's called Hyperemesis Gravidaru."
Rose sat up straight and stared at the doctor, her mouth gaping open. "You're joking?"
"What?" I asked looking from Rose to the doctor.
"I had Hyperemesis Gravidaru when I was pregnant with Jenny. I was lucky to not have it with Sofia," Rose said slowly. "How sure are you?"
I was lost.
"Oh, I thought you knew."
"Knew what?" I asked getting frustrated.
"You get Hyperenesis Gravidaru when you're pregnant. It's severe morning sickness," Rose said as she leaned back into the pillows, arms folded over her stomach.
I looked at Rose with confusion when what she had said sunk in. "You're?"
"Apparently I'm not sick, just baking another baby," Rose said while clearing her throat, lips quirking a bit.
The doctor looked slightly uncomfortable, maybe more awkward. "I'll give you two a moment," she said before swiftly leaving the room. We sat in silence for a moment before Rose started to giggle.
And giggle, and giggle. Giggling to the point there were tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she said around her fit of giggles, "I don't even know why I'm laughing."
My lips twitched too and I started to laugh, moving to sit on the edge of her bed and slipped my hand onto hers resting over her stomach.
"I should have known. I mean, I've been pregnant twice, I should have realized it earlier," Rose gasped, tipping her head back as she laughed. I shook my head and squeezed her hands, which made her raise her head up and look at me.
"We're having another baby," Rose said as she sobered up.
"Mmhmm," I replied, lacing my fingers with hers.
"And you're okay with that? I mean, Sofia is only ten months old," Rose said with a sigh.
"Are you okay with that?"
Rose raised a brow at me and nodded. "I mean, yeah. I'm okay with having another baby. I would have liked it Sofia was a bit older, but I'm good. You know, once it sinks in," Rose said with a gentle smile.
"Good," I said leaning over and kissing her, slipping my hand to cup her neck.
"Good?"
"Yes, because I'm happy too. I'm also thrilled to know that there's nothing serious with you," I said kissing her again. Rose chuckled against my lips but slipped her arms around my neck.
"It never once crossed my mind that I was pregnant. I mean, with the birth control I'm on, I don't get a period. But it also makes sense with the very vivid dreams I've been having, and sometimes I've been getting really intense cravings."
I shook my head with a chuckle. "Well, as long as your cravings aren't as weird as last time, I think you'll live."
Rose rolled her eyes and looked at the door when there was a knock. I looked over too and watched the doctor that was in before walk in with another doctor, one that looked much older. One that I knew.
"Dr. Miles," I said with a dip of my head, pulling back to sit up straight.
Dr. Miles gave us a light smile and gestured for the other doctor further into the room.
"I see that you've been having some trouble, Rose."
Rose shrugged and slipped her fingers into mine. "Apparently. I didn't even clue in that I was pregnant."
Dr. Miles nodded and glanced at the doctor beside him. "Yes. I do apologize on behalf of Dr. Hill. She is an intern with our obstetrician department, and it should have been confirmed with Rose first if she was aware of her pregnancy. But if you don't mind, I'll like to do a work up on you Rose, considering I was your doctor with your previous child."
Rose nodded and sat up a bit more and I moved out of the way, sitting back into the chair. Rose smiled at me and let Dr. Miles start his workup, not letting go of my hand.
I'm sorry for the delay, my laptop was being weird and took three days to update... It was mind-boggling.
Let me know what you think!:)
