"I want it!"
"That's impossible, Roza!" Dimitri sighed desperately. They told him women could get crazy while pregnant, he should have seen that coming. If someone would take it to the next level that would be his wife. "Where am I supposed to find that?"
"You'll find a way." She shrugged and shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. He took a deep breath and remind himself that Rose was going through something very hard for a woman now, so he should do everything in his power to make her happy. She was about to give birth to his children after all. With three sisters he knew how difficult that was he knew way more than he liked about giving birth, to be honest.
"So let me get this straight," Breath in, breath out, and repeat, he reminds himself trying to stay calm. He could handle this, he wouldn't upset her. "You want me to somehow find a Doctor Who themed baby crib?"
"No!" She pronounced as if talking to a child. "I want that exact crib that was shown on the sixth season of Doctor Who!" Crazy! That was the only thing he could think about her. His wife was insane!
"Again! That's impossible!" He hissed a little too harsh but Rose seemed unfazed by it.
"Daddy!" Rose whined and Abe's eyes rose to meet hers. He sat silently in the armchair reading the whole time. Too silently for Dimitri's taste to be frank and he could sense that something was up. "Tell him it's possible!" Dimitri blamed Abe for all this. He was the one that was spoiling Rose rotten the last few years. More so now that she was pregnant.
"Do it, Belikov." The look Abe threw at him left no room for argument. His shoulders slumped, the first evidence that he gave up. Another deep breath and he sat up, he had a lot of things to do.
"Take Adrian with you!" Rose smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. Oh how much he loved her!
"You are crazy."
"I've been called worse." Rose shrugged lazily. The house was strangely quiet but then again it was always like that when Dimitri was away. Add to that the fact that Adrian tagged along it shouldn't surprise her. Sydney offered to keep her company and Rose was more than happy to accept. At eight months she felt like she was about to pop and any help was welcomed. Any help that didn't drive her insane that is. "He needed to get out of here for a while or I would murder him. And I kind of love him to kill him, you know!" She teased.
"That bad, huh?" Rose smiled at her friend's question. Dimitri had been hovering the last few weeks, Rose knew he wanted to make sure everything was fine but that didn't mean he wasn't overbearing at times. He needed something to keep him busy and so Rose found it.
"Yes and no. I enjoy all the attention but sometimes it's just too much." She sighed running a hand over her overgrown stomach. She was ready for them to be born already. All this wait was killing her! "I have my mom, Lissa, and Olena to fuss over me and it already stresses me out. Having Dimitri worrying about every little single thing too doesn't help either. The other day he dragged me down to the hospital just because he thought I was in labor! Turns out it was Braxton Hicks! Penny was laughing with us for a good half an hour!"
"Come on! That's not so bad! It's pretty sweet and reassuring, he is concerned about you." Syd justified. Leave it to her to back up Dimitri. It still surprised Rose how much the two had bonded over the past few months. Rose couldn't be happier about it, finally, their little weird family was coming together again.
"I'm not saying it's not! I'm just saying I had enough and he needs a break." She rose awkwardly from her chair and made her way over to the sink unaware of Sydney's expression.
"Um, Rose?"
"Yes?"
"Please tell me you just peed in your pants!" Just in time a small stab like pain shot through her lower abdomen and Rose grabbed her stomach.
"Nope." She hissed. "I did not pee in my pants."
Leave it to Dimitri to not be here when he's needed, Rose thought as she breathed through another contraction. Thankfully Sydney was able to stay calm because Rose was fucking freaking out. After getting her to the hospital Syd called up everyone and made sure they showed up. Three hours later her room was crammed with four women and her father and they still couldn't get a hold of Dimitri and Adrian. She was in a lot of pain and her mother and Olena did not make it any better!
"Rose was such a small baby!" Janine smiled recalling the memory. "She just slipped right out!" Abe made a face looking away from her.
"You and I remember that day very differently." He murmured under his breath but Janine heard it. The dirty look she threw him made him effectively shut up.
"Dimitri was big!" Olena counteracted and a small whine escaped Rose. She didn't want to hear about this right now! "I pushed for hours and hours! I thought I was going to be torn in two." She laughed lightly unaware of the panic storm raging within Rose.
"Get them out of here!" Rose hissed grabbing Sydney's sleeve. "Please get them out of here and find Dimitri!"
"I'm trying!" Sydney whined pressing the keys on her phone again.
"I got a hold of him!" Sydney exclaimed happily. "They are just half an hour away from Court!"
"It's about damn time," Abe murmured bitterly. "She's ready to give birth any moment."
"Shut up, old man!" Rose's voice was soft and she seemed relaxed. Sydney took it as a sign that the drugs were finally kicking in and breathed deeply. That is until Rose whined again and drew everyone's attention. "I think I'm ready to get this over with. Now!" Everyone stood still for a moment. "Get my fucking doctor!"
"Come on Rose just one more-"
"I swear to everything I hold dear, Leonard if you tell me to push one more time I'm going to skin you alive!" The last hour had been a maze of moments like this, screams, threats, tears, and everything that comes with it. And Dimitri was still nowhere to be found!
"Rose." Penny squeezed her thigh reassuringly. "We are trying to help you here." Her voice was and soothing and Rose thanked her lucky stars that she was in such good hands.
"I know!" She choked and pushed hard again. The door burst open just as a scream tore through her. "Where the fuck have you been!" She hissed as Dimitri made his way over to her side.
Rose rested her head against her pillow. To say that today was a long day would be an understatement. In her life, Rose fought crazy Moroi that wanted to take over the world and undead vampires that wanted to kill her more than they wanted blood. She brought the love of her life back from the dead, broke out of prison, and made her best friend a Queen. But today, Rose won the biggest battle of her life.
She gave birth to two little miracles. Through the course of the eight months, she was pregnant, both her mom and Olena tried to prepare her for what was to come. But what she felt today didn't even come close to what they were describing. Rose thought she had experienced love to the greatest level with Dimitri and that nothing could top it. But boy was she wrong! Just when she thought she couldn't love her husband more these two miracles came and took her straight to cloud nine.
Happiness.
Finally, after all those years of pain, God sent them something good. Rose didn't believe in God as much as the others did, even her father went to church every Sunday. But now, looking down at the little angels she could only thank Him for blessing her with them.
"They are beautiful." She whispered afraid that she would wake them.
"Just like their mother." Her husband murmured kissing her forehead softly. Rose let sleep take her as Dimitri put the babies in the bassinets. She needed rest.
The next time she opened her eyes she saw Dimitri still standing by the bassinets watching over their children. Their children. As in plural; when she learned she was pregnant Rose was happy with the idea of only one child. But apparently, fate had other plans and when she booked her appointment for her first scan her doctor informed her that she was pregnant with twins. The term ecstatic didn't even start to describe how she felt. A smile crawled its way up her lips. Rose felt a euphoric wave rush through her. As if sensing she was awake Dimitri turned to look at her.
Their eyes met and they didn't need words to understand each other. He took two big steps and was suddenly in front of her, cupping her face between his large hands and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Pouring everything he felt for her in that kiss. Today she gave him the best thing anyone could offer. Rose gave him two beautiful children. One of each, a little girl looking like her and a little boy looking like him.
"Hey there, sleepyhead." He teased her and kissed her cheek.
"How long was I asleep?" Rose asked in a hoarse voice.
"Just a couple of hours. Three, maybe four." He answered tucking her hair behind her ear lovingly. How he ended up with such a lovely creature was beyond him. Rose went into full panic mode. Four hours? What about the babies? Who took care of them? She made a move to get up but Dimitri pushed her gently down on the bed again. "What are you going to? You need to rest!"
"I just wanted to check on the babies." Rose pouted making him smile again.
"They are just fine." He assured her, moving a little to the left so Rose could have a full view of the bassinets. "They are peacefully sleeping. They inherited your love for sleep." He mused making Rose giggle. God how he loved her laugh! Even after almost 24 hours of labor she still looked so beautiful. The last few months hadn't been easy on them. The stress of getting through this and setting up things to stay here for a while made everything just a bit tiring. But looking at her eyes now he knew it was worth it.
"How are you feeling?" Rose could hear the concern in his voice. Dimitri was so scared about her and the babies' health the whole course of her pregnancy. Seeing him like this, so relaxed made her feel better. Finally, they were complete. They were a family.
"A little sore." She smiled caressing his cheek and kissing his lips softly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." She said her smile touching her eyes. It'd been a long time since Dimitri had seen Rose so happy.
"I love you. So much it hurts." He whispered resting his forehead against hers.
"I love you too." She said. After a few minutes of kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other, Rose finally register that they were alone. "Where is everyone?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him. She expected a room full of people, not this silence.
"Penny kicked them out after a while. Told them to come again later." He said chuckling as he remembered the faces of their family. They were all ready to put up a fight and stay but Penny warned them that if they didn't leave in the next few minutes she would throw them out herself. Such a sweet well-mannered woman! Dimitri knew there was a reason he liked her.
"Come lay beside me?" She didn't need to ask twice. He immediately removed his shoes and joined her on the bed. Dimitri wrapped his arms around her and Rose let out a happy sigh, snuggling closer to him.
Her eyes fell again on the bassinets beside her bed and she couldn't help but smile. Their lives were about to change. From now on there would never be silence in their house and it would always be a mess. Still, Rose couldn't help but be grateful for what was given to her.
"Are you happy?" Dimitri looked at Rose, surprised by her question. Was he happy? He was more than that, he was blessed by God with a family he never thought he would have. When he was turned back from being a Strigoi, Dimitri had lost all his hope. He might have been in his old body but what he did to innocent people, what he did to Rose was unforgivable.
He thought he was unworthy of the thing called love, he was unworthy of calling Rose his. He concluded that he would die alone like any other Guardian. But fortunately for him, Rose didn't give up on them. Because of her, he was finally able to leave the dark past behind.
"I'm more than happy. After you got shot, for a few hours I thought I lost you and I hated myself for what I made you go through. I prayed to God to let you stay beside me, to let me make it up to you. When my wish was granted and you lived I was happy. And then I screwed up again and let you walk away." He took a deep breath, his forehead resting against her. "I have Andrei to thank for knocking a little sense into me back then. I thought you'd never take me back but you proved me wrong. I was beyond happy back then. But now after what you have given me? Happy can't even begin to describe what I am feeling. I'm on cloud nine, babe!" He smiled and swept away the tears that were running down her cheeks.
"That was so beautiful." She sobbed burying her head in the crook of his neck.
"Roza!" Dimitri whispered panicked had he said something wrong. "Tell me, baby. What's wrong?" He asked caressing her hair softly.
"It's these damn hormones!" Rose wiped her tears away. "What you said was so sweet and it made me emotional. I'm sorry!" Abe warned him about those things. Apparently, Janine went through it when she had Rose. Dimitri cupped her face and softly kissed his wife's lips again.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, love." Dimitri chuckled kissing her forehead. They stayed like this for a while until a little wail broke the silence. Rose's head snapped towards the sound and before she could get up Dimitri was already on his feet picking their son up. The infant stopped crying as Dimitri placed him in his mother's arms.
It felt so bizarre to hold him. Rose couldn't believe that she and Dimitri had created this life. This little thing with the small fingers and the button-like nose was their son. Tears started running down her cheeks again. "He is so beautiful." She whispered and Dimitri smiled.
"He is also very hungry." He noted caressing the baby's fuzzy head. "So you better feed him." Rose looked at him with wide eyes a little bit lost.
"Here let me help." He whispered and helped her adjust the baby in her arms. The little man latched on his mother's nipple and started eating, sucking contentedly. Dimitri picked their daughter up and joined the rest of his family on the bed.
"Names," Rose whispered caressing her baby boy's cheek as he ate. Her focus all on him, she looked at the baby wondering how they could make something so beautiful.
"Hmm?" Dimitri was humming a song Rose never heard before to their daughter. Probably some Russian lullaby.
"We don't have names yet," Rose repeated as the baby stopped sucking. "What am I doing now?" She looked at Dimitri waiting for his advice. He had experience with babies after all.
"Just place him on your shoulder and rub his back." He instructed and Rose did as she was told. "I have thought of a few names but I want your opinion."
"Go ahead," Rose whispered smiling sweetly at him. The kind of smile she only gave to Dimitri.
"I was thinking Ivan Mason Belikov for our little man." He leaned down and kissed Ivan's head softly. "And Aleksandra Vasilissa Belikova for our little princess." He smiled down at the pink bundle in his arms. Dimitri knew from the first moment he held his little girl, he knew that he would have to chase a lot of boys away from his front door. "You know, that way they will both be named after people we love or loved once." His daughter's small fingers wrapped around Dimitri's and he fell a little more in love with her. He and Rose made this little miracle together.
"I like them." Rose's smile never left her lips. Dimitri noticed that she did that a lot the last few months. He liked it when his Roza was happy. "We are parents." She laughed softly, her heart full of love. "Can you believe it? I mean you were born to be a daddy I knew that. But it's still hard to believe that I am a mother. What if I mess everything up Comrade?" Dimitri expected that Rose would doubt herself. She may look all tough and strong on the outside, and she was all that to some extent, but deep inside Rose was scared that she would be a terrible mother.
"You will be an amazing mother. You took care of Lissa and yourself for years without any help. This will be the same with the only difference that you have me beside you and we both have our families. They will all be there for us if we need anything." He assured her and Rose let a small part of her doubts go. Just as she was ready to speak a knock on her door stopped her.
"Yes?" Dimitri answered for her and the door opened and Sydney's head popped in the room. Sydney had been living with Rose and Dimitri for the past three months and she was happily dating Adrian against all odds. Turns out there was more than meets the eye between them. At first, Sydney was adamant about ignoring her feelings for Adrian but after a little help from Rose, she finally saw logic and gave Adrian a chance. Which was going very well for both of them. Rose had never seen Adrian so happy before. He finally had found his one and only.
"Are we allowed to come in?" Sydney smiled brightly. She did that a lot lately Rose mused. Apparently, Adrian was as good for her as she was for him. Dimitri nodded and the door opened fully to reveal a bunch of people, waiting outside.
Rose's parents, Olena, Lissa, Christian, Mia with Eddie, Adrian with Sydney, and then Jill. Tears threatened to fall from Rose's eyes as she took in the picture of their crazy and unusual family. The room filled with balloons, teddy bears, and most importantly, happy voices and that was all that mattered for the new parents.
The happiness…