A/N: You guys have been awesome! I'm glad so many of you like these little snippet shorts even if they are a little long winded and nonsensical (at least I think they are). This one was one of my favorites when I first wrote it. I added a second part to it that I'm finishing up and will post separately.

Apologies for grammar/spelling

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns all things Vampire Academy of course. I'm only responsible for the fluffy, ooey, gooey, slightly angsty plot.

Burnt Chicken, Surprises, and Plans

Summary: Rose has a few surprises for Dimitri.

I jabbed the smoke detector with the butt end of the fire extinguisher a little too hard. It popped off of the ceiling and shattered into broken plastic pieces on the linoleum. At least the shrill beeping finally stopped, but the roasted chicken was still crispy, blackened, and sizzling in the sink where I tossed it. I screamed as I noticed a lone flame still flickering on one side of the roast, but my fire extinguisher was empty. I reached for a dish towel and adjusted the faucet over it, smoldering the last licks of the fire. The entire apartment was smokey and reeked of burnt chicken, but at least the fire was out.

I sighed in relief, sinking down into one of the kitchen chairs as I took in the mess around me. My friends always joked about my inability to cook—I even poked fun at myself about it most of the time—but this... this was a new low. In fact,, this was ridiculous. I followed the recipe Olena gave me word for word, I took my time and started prepping everything as soon as Dimitri had left for work, and I somehow still managed to screw everything up. I even managed to break most of our dishes during the fire fiasco.

I was startled as I heard Dimitri's key turn in the front door. "Roza?" he called out worriedly as he walked into our smoke filled apartment. He dropped his things by the door and hurried over as he spotted me wallowing at the kitchen table. He knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his as those dark eyes of his searched my face in concern."Are you alright?" What happened? I can smell the smoke from the hallway. "

I sighed as I shoved my hair back from my face. It had come undone from the cute hair pins I had used to braid it back. I'm sure I looked like a mad scientist with my hair all over the place, my dress covered in fire extinguisher goop and food, and I couldn't even smell my perfume over the smell of burnt chicken.

"I'm fine," I sighed, taking in the scene around is always complaining about how messy I am, but this takes the cake.I had practically trashed the place looking for the fire extinguisher when I couldn't remember where Dimitri told me he put it. "I made dinner."

He nodded slowly as he stood up, pulling me with him. "Ah, it makes sense now." I ignored that as he turned toward the oven, but I stopped him, gesturing toward the running faucet. "It's in the sink."

"Roast beef?" He asked, shutting the water off. He grabbed one of the prongs and poked at the smoldering roast.

"Chicken. A little more well done than usual. "

"I can see that," he chuckled. He set the prongs down to reach over the sink and open the windows. A gust of fresh, winter air rolled into the apartment, the smoke already dissipating.

"I should have thought of that," I realized as I moved to grab the broom and start cleaning up my mess. "I panicked when the smoke alarm went off. Mrs. Kirova said she'd report us for disturbing the peace if I made the fire alarm go off again today. "

"How many times did you set it off?" He asks as he pulls his coat off and wraps it around my bare shoulders. It's things like that, small gestures, that make me fall in love with him more every second of every day. I hug the material and his scent close around me. Dimitri's a good man, a dream man who's sweet and giving and caring, while I can't even manage to make him one edible dinner without burning the place down or poisoning him.

"Only twice this time, but she was still annoyed," I sighed again, halfheartedly sweeping. I honestly didn't even know where to begin with this mess. Dimitri took the broom from my hands and set it aside as he reached for me. He pulled me into his arms, into my warm, safe spot against his chest as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"Didn't we have this talk last month about you and the kitchen?" He teased, laughing softly, his breath tickling the top of my head. Yes, we did. We had a long discussion about microwave safe containers and why I shouldn't leave water boiling while I take a long bath.

I pulled back, frustrated with myself as I tried to explain. "I thought I could do it this time! Your mom wrote the recipe down and everything! She even went grocery shopping with me. I followed her instructions to the letter, but I just wanted to make sure the chicken was done...you know...after that salmonella scare last time, and I guess I put it on too high and left it in too long. " My eyes felt hot and I sniffed... right before I burst into tears.

For a second, Dimitri looked panicked, unsure of what to do. In all of our years together, I've only ever cried in front of him once, and that was when my appendix burst on our first date. I didn't even shed tears when I stepped on one of Dimitri's nephew's Lego pieces while walking down the stairs, tripped and broke my ankle. My grandma used to tell me that I used to freak her out when I was a baby because I rarely ever did more than whimper and whine. Twenty-five years of unused tear-ducts and all of a sudden, I can barely seem to stop myself from crying lately.

"Sorry, it must be the smoke," I lied, pulling away from him and turning toward the window for fresh air as an excuse to look away from his searching gaze. Dimitri knew me better than I knew myself, and he could always tell when I was lying. I wasn't ready to tell him the truth just yet. Not now. Not surrounded by this mess and the burnt chicken right beneath my nose.

The smell of it was so strong and cloying to my nostrils that I could feel the nausea growing within me in seconds. I'm surprised I made it this long without wanting to puke. I thought maybe those morning sickness pills the doctor gave me were finally helping, but from the bile rising in my throat, they clearly weren't doing the job anymore. I turned and bolted toward the bathroom, Dimitri calling my name as he followed behind me. I'm quick enough to close the door shut and lock it behind me as I retch into the toilet, barely making it.

"Rose! Roza, please open the door! " He knocks from the other side, twisting the handle.

I can't just yet. I'm not quite finished puking my guts out. When there's nothing left to throw up, not even bile, I lean back against the side of the tub, my head spinning, my body feeling weighted and heavy with exhaustion. Is this what pregnancy does to you? I'm only two months in and if it gets any worse than this, I don't know what I'm going to do. I suddenly feel like I should call my mom and apologize for any tough pregnancy symptoms I put her through.

"Roza, please open the door. I'll take it down if I have to."

As much as that man loves me, I know he really would. He probably already has the screwdriver in his hand.

"OK, just give me a second," I say, hoping to calm him down and buy me some time to gather my thoughts.I flush the toilet and use the side of the tub as leverage to stand up on my trembling legs. I feel a little better after I thoroughly brush my teeth and splash some water on my face, but I was right before about me looking like a mad scientist. My reflection in the mirror is a reminder of my planned romantic dinner that went terribly wrong. There's no hope in saving my makeup or my hair, so I scrub my face clean and try to brush out some of the tangles in my hair, wanting to wear it down for him. I knew how much Dimitri liked it down, and it was at least one thing I could do right tonight for him. Well, that and the baby I was going to tell him about. And that I wanted to marry him. There was clearly a lot we needed to talk about, and after I finished with my hair, I felt well enough to open the bathroom door and face him.

He visibly sagged in relief when the door finally opened, dropping the screwdriver in his hand and pulling me tightly against him back into my spot again just beneath his chin as he peppered me with both questions and kisses.

"Are you okay? We're you sick? Was it the chicken? Did you eat some before you knew it was done? " His accent thickened with every question, his concern growing when I didn't answer any of them. "Let me call my mom, see what she says. I think there's a flu going around. A couple of the guys at work have it. I hope I didn't bring it home to you. " He cursed as he pulled out his phone, scrolling through it for his mother's number.

"Dimitri I-"

"You feel a little warm," he murmured as he touched his hand to my forehead as he waited for his mother to answer the phone. "And she's not answering. Let's get you into bed and I'll try Karo or Yeva," he decided.

"But Dimitri-"

He scooped me up into his arms and had me tucked into our comforter before I could say anything.

"Let me just grab your pajamas." He was speaking almost to himself now, his worry over me taking over, as it always did when I was sick. I smiled, as I always did when this six foot seven man fussed over me. Dimitri Belikov is a man who fights criminals by day and puts fuzzy socks on his girlfriend's feet at night. The man I've been in love with since the moment we met when he arrested me at a college party, that I'm building a family with, that I want to marry.

He returns from the bathroom after tossing my dress in the hamper, his phone, and a thermometer in his hand.

"None of them are answering. Karo must still be at work. I'll try Yeva and-"

He stops when he realizes I'm crying. Again. He's beside me in an instant, sitting next to me on the bed. His dark brows are drawn tightly together, a mix of fear, worry, and uncertainty etched on his face.

"Roza, tell me what's wrong ? What is it that hurts? You know what, where are my keys? Let's go to the emergency room and get you checked out. "

Before he can lift me up and out of bed, I stop him.

"Dimitri, wait, no."

He freezes, his hands ready to scoop me up in an instant.

"I'm fine. Really, I am. "

"Roza, you threw up, you're crying - which scares me more than anything, and you feel a little warm and flushed. Something is obviously wrong. Talk to me."

I sit up in the bed, propping myself up with our pillows with Dimitri's help. He sits beside me, angling himself so he can read my face, looking for answers and the truth.

"That's actually what tonight was all about. I wanted to talk to you and I wanted it to be perfect but I almost burned our apartment down again, which would suck because I forgot to send in that check to the renter's insurance place again and everything smelled like burnt chicken, and then the smell made me sick and then I felt woozy and I was mad that I ruined everything. I broke the smoke alarm, we need a new extinguisher and these stupid morning sickness pills don't work and I was frustrated that I felt sick and woozy and I just didn't take into account how tired I'd be being pregnant even though the doctor tried to warn me and your sisters and Liss and Syd were always tired through their pregnancies, but I thought I could push through it, but I couldn't, so I went to lay down for a little bit after I turned up the oven for the chicken, but I slept a little bit after I turned up the oven for the chicken, but I slept a little too long and it burned and everything is ruined and this isn't how I wanted to tell you any of this, that I'm more in love with you every day and that I want to marry you and that we're having a baby.

I'm not sure what happened or why everything came out like word vomit, but there it was, all laid out on the table. I felt a little better getting it all off my chest after a week if keeping it all bottled up inside. And Dimitri, my strong, stoic Dimitri, with the dry sense of humor, with the rare smile that could light me up from the inside out, with the ability to disarm my stubbornness with one glance from these dark, chestnut colored eyes of his…was frozen in shock.

"Dimitri?"

I couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

I put my hand over his chest where there were bare detectable signs of movement.

"Honey?"

He blinked slowly, his gaze fixated on me but unfocused, as though he was lost in thought, undoubtedly turning over my elegant little speech in his head, going over each revelation. I wanted to give him some time to process the way I did that our lives were suddenly changing, but his silence was kicking my nervousness into overdrive and I couldn't seem to stop talking.

"I know that was a lot to take in. I know and I wanted to tell you right away, the moment I found out, but you were out of town for that work conference thing and then the other times our schedules were reversed and we only saw each other on our way to work or coming home, and I wanted it to be special and not something I just blurted out and then one of us had to leave to work. I wanted it to be a special moment between just the two of us and we'd spend the whole night together and I'm sorry I spilled it all out like that and-"

His lips were pressed against mine in an instant, his hands cradling my face in his before they got lost in my hair. It's my favorite type of Dimitri kiss, slow and tender, as though we have all the time in the world together. His lips engulf mine, the soft stroke of his languid tongue gently lapping against mine, the tender way his eyes lock with mine when we pull apart, reluctant to leave barely a hair's breadth of space between us. He leans his forehead against mine, the tips of our noses touching as his hands slowly stroke down my back.

When he finally speaks, his lips tickle against mine, the timbre of his voice low and gentle. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

I'm not sure what I expected to hear or needed to hear, but he once again proves he's the good man I know him to be. One simple sentence and I'm weeping again, blubbering like a baby. "I r-really need to g-get this under control because this-s is getting out of hand," I hiccup.

He chuckles as he swipes at my tears, exhaling deeply as we stare into each other's eyes.

"This is...a lot of change."

A seed of fear takes root in my belly. What if this was too much change? I nod. "This is a lot of change."

His lips twitch, and I realize it's because he can barely keep himself from smiling. "Really really good change."

I nod, again agreeing with him. "Really really good change."

I tilt my head up for another kiss.

"A baby," he murmurs against my lips.

"Yep. About eight weeks. "

"And you're both okay? Both healthy?"

"Yep. Other than puking my guts up occasionally." It was tough to hide all the puking from him, but it helped that he'd been busy with work these last few weeks. "And I never want to see a roasted chicken again."

"And married? You want to get married? "

"Yep."

It was quiet while we both thought about everything happening and the future ahead of us. This was all I wanted for us, to sit together and just be together. It wasn't what I planned, but it was perfect.

"I just have one more question."

"Hmm?" I ask, wondering what his first question about all of this might be and preparing myself for all questions.

"Did you really forget to send the check for the renters' insurance again?"

A second passes before I realize he's joking. I whack his chest and he captures my hand in his, grinning so wide I can't do anything but smile with him through my tears.

"The smoke alarm is a lost cause. Mrs. Kirova told me last time that she'd cut the wires to our apartment if you ever set it off again. The fire extinguisher, though, that's our third one this year. I think we get the next one free. "

"Stop," I laugh, trying to dry my eyes at the same time.

Dimitri smiles his blindingly bright smile that lights up the whole room as he softly laughs, wrapping me in a hug.

We stayed like that, curled up together on the bed. He lets me cry it all out, everything I've kept pent up and finally released into the open. We're so wrapped up in each other that I don't know where he ends or I begin, just how I like us. I'm encircled in his arms, blanketed in Dimitri's limbs, the warmth of his chest flush against my back, his legs locked around mine, his chin resting on the crown of my head and his hands caressing the planes of my stomach. Every few moments or so, there's a kiss, a slight squeeze as he tightens the hug, a soft murmur of I love you. I once thought that I couldn't have all this; that a love like this couldn't possibly exist, but in this moment, wrapped in his arms, it's the best feeling in the world to be proven wrong.