Two Years Later
"I still don't see how you finished med school in two years," Christian grumbled from his place beside Lissa. We were all sitting in a little café close to campus. It was the weekend after Dimitri and I had graduated, and we were celebrating with large cups of strong coffee.
"It's called hard work and dedication," I said proudly.
"I'm pretty sure you cheated a few times, Roza," Dimitri said in amusement.
"We both know I wasn't the only one, Comrade." I pointed out.
"I suppose you're right, but I'm blaming Big D. He's a bad influence and convinced me to stay in bed with you while we sent Dimka and Rosemarie to class."
"And you actually listened to him?" I teased. "At least I'm done and can start looking for an internship and residency, you still have to go specialize."
"We all know you weren't patient enough to specialize," Christian said, and I glared at him.
"You didn't specialize because you wanted to be able to help all over the hospital. That's understandable, Roza. I know that I want to work with the brain, so I'm going to specialize. That doesn't mean we won't be the best pair of doctors around when it's all said and done." Dimitri soothed, draping an arm around me.
I sighed contently. The last two years had been like a dream. Hans had come through and created a test that we had to complete and pass before being released completely into the greater population. Dimitri and I were the first ones out, followed closely by Lissa and Christian. Mason and Mia had decided to stay in the compound in Montana, and Eddie was still trying to convince Jill to join him in the real world.
Lissa was in her third semester of college and was planning on taking summer classes to graduate early. She's pursuing a degree in Political Science, claiming she wants to change our government for the better. Christian didn't want to go to a normal college and enrolled in culinary classes, instead. He is now interning at one of the best restaurants in Boston, Mistral. He's already gotten a job offer from them when he finishes in internship and from several others around the area.
When Mom had moved in with Abe, and we moved out, not because Mom was there, but because we needed a space of our own. Dimitri and I owned a two-bedroom apartment close to campus that Abe had insisted paying for. We let him pay for the apartment, but we drew the line at letting him pay for the furnishings.
Halfway through our schooling, Dimitri had proposed, but I told him I'd only accept if we waited to get married. I wanted us both to be completely done with school before we got married, and that included internships and residencies. I did not want to start a marriage off with sleep-deprived nights and grumpy moods.
So, we've been engaged for a year and are looking at another five or six before we actually get married. Dimitri said he'd be willing to wait a lifetime as long as we got married at some point before he died.
"Where are you thinking about doing your residency?" Lissa asked.
"I have the option to do it at Johns Hopkins Hospital because of how well I did in their program, but I'm not sure if I want to do another three years there. I was thinking about George Washington University Hospital in D.C." I said, looking over at Dimitri to see if he'd like the idea.
"It's a little further away than I'd like you, but I'm sure I'll live," Dimitri said giving me a soft kiss. "Plus, I hear some of George Washington's residency programs are actually partnered with Johns Hopkins, so maybe I'll see you around." He said with a wink.
"I have to get into one of them, first, Comrade."
"You won't have to worry about getting into either." A voice said from behind us. We all turned to look and found Hans Croft sitting at the table behind us with Lee and two other agents.
"What do you mean, sir?" I asked a little hesitantly. Did he decide that we were going to be allowed to live in the greater population?
"Don't worry, Rose. I'm not going to force you into isolation. I'm here to tell you that you won't be doing a residency at any hospital. You'll be interning with specific individuals within our government. You'll be working in conjunction with the CIA, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, and, of course, the DOD. They're going to get you ready for everything and anything." He told me. Dimitri stiffened beside me.
"Belikov, calm down, we aren't taking her from you," Lee said soothingly, but Dimitri didn't relax by much.
"You, too, will be going through this program but we are making sure that it's tailored toward neurology for you," Hans stated. "Along with your medical studies, you'll be trained as a field agent. For lack of a better term, you'll be a sleeper agent: living your life as normally as possible until we need your help."
"So, we're going to have to move?" I asked.
"Yes. You'll be moved into a house on the outskirts of D.C., but it will still be isolated enough to where you can train and be yourselves without anyone else observing." Lee said with an excited smile. "The only people that will be living close to you will be other agents who will know about you, so you don't have to worry either way."
"Training will only be during the week; your weekends are free to use as you see fit," Hans said kindly. "We expect you to be ready to move in a month. We'll give you another month to move in and settle, then we'll start training in mid-August."
"I think I can live with that," I said. "At least I don't have to fill out several applications, now." Dimitri shook his head at me in amusement.
"I think that would be good for both of us." He said to me before turning to Hans. "I guess we'll see you in a few months?" Hans nodded and stood, followed by the agents seated at his table.
"As always, don't hesitate to reach out to me or the agency. It's always a pleasure working with you." He shook our hands and nodded toward Lissa and Christian who'd sat stunned through the entire encounter. We stayed quiet until they'd left the café altogether.
"Well, that was unexpected," Lissa said breaking the silence.
"I'll say," I muttered quietly.
"Are you okay with this, Roza?" Dimitri asked softly. "We can figure something out if you aren't okay with this arrangement."
"Are you kidding? I could get to carry a gun! Of course, I'm okay with this!" The concern Dimitri held in his eyes vanished completely and was replaced with exasperation.
"Only you, Roza…" Dimitri said rubbing his brow.
"Are you okay with this, Comrade?"
"I'm okay with this as long as you're okay with this. This arrangement puts us in the same house, in the same city, and on the same path. We won't be separated for weeks at a time. We'll get done with schooling at the same time. We'll be partners."
"We already are partners, babe." I reminded him.
"Yes, but we will also be partners in jobs too. I'm sure that we could convince Hans to talk a hospital into taking us both as a team."
"I think that would be the best thing for us," I said taking his hand in mine. "I had hated the idea of having to leave you alone for weeks at a time while I was on numerous 72-hour shifts."
"Trust me, I also hated that thought, too." He said sweetly, leaning down and kissing my lips.
"You two disgust me," Christian mumbled under his breath, but he didn't say it quietly enough.
"You want to say that again, Fire Crotch?" I asked glaring at him.
"You two are the most adorable thing ever." He said with a fake smile.
"Mhmm…That's what I thought." I said still glaring. "What are you two going to do?"
"We're not really sure. There's a lot of paperwork to fill out in order for us to travel, but we're still thinking about doing it anyway. Christian is eager to get out of the kitchen and I'm not going to complain if I can get away from the textbooks for a while, too."
"Where will you guys go?" I asked, cuddling down into Dimitri's side.
"We were thinking of a cruise around the Mediterranean and seeing all the countries that border it."
"That sounds super fun!" I said. "This is going to be so weird, being apart from each other for so long."
"I'm sure you could spare a weekend and come find us," Lissa said while rolling her eyes.
"Yes, but isn't that cheating?"
"So, you'd rather go months without seeing us?" Her face fell a little but I could see she was teasing. She knew there was no way that I wasn't going to see her at least once a month. I wasn't going to go every weekend because I wanted those to mainly be alone time for Dimitri and me.
"I'll go to see you, not him," I said, jerking a thumb in Christian's direction.
"Hey!"
"Oh, I don't care about him, I only want you to come see me. We can ditch him if you want to." Lissa said, ignoring Christian's exclamation and hurt look.
"Deal," I said with an outstretched hand. Dimitri only chuckled as Lissa and I shook on it. He turned his head and kissed my temple.
"Are you ready to go, Beautiful?" He whispered in my ear huskily.
"Ready if you are."
"Trust me, I'm ready."
"Then let's go," I said, making a move to stand. "We'll see you guys again before you leave, right?"
"Absolutely. It probably won't be for another couple of weeks, but I'll be sure to let you know when we set a date." Both Lissa and Christian stood, Lissa gave me a hug, and Christian shook Dimitri's hand in a very manly way.
"Bye, Liss!"
"Bye, Rose!"
Dimitri placed a hand on my lower back and guided me out of the café, scanning the area as we went. He'd become extremely protective of me as soon as the engagement ring circled my finger. He stated that he wasn't going to let anything happen to me before we got married. I'd asked him about after marriage, and he said he'd "think about it."
"I guess we have to start packing, now," Dimitri said when we'd gotten safely in the car.
"Yeah, but this time we'll have a lot more stuff to move," I said laughing.
"And you're absolutely sure about all of this?"
"I'm sure. This offer honestly seems too good to be true, but I'm not going to waste my time arguing about it."
"I love you, Roza. I just want to make sure you're happy."
"I'm happy, Comrade. You make me happy. I wouldn't be happy with this unless you were coming with me, and since you are, I'm happy. That is if you're happy."
"I'm happy." He said with a smile.
"Then I'm happy. We're both happy." I said taking his hand in mine as he drove us to our apartment. There would be a lot of work to do, but I was looking forward to relaxing with him for a few days before starting in on packing and such.
"I think that the next few years will be interesting, but I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives. Perhaps this way we'll be married sooner than you thought." I laughed at his not so subtle impatience. "I meant it when I said I'd be willing to wait my entire life to make you my wife, but I kind of want you to be my wife sooner rather than later. That way, I can say I've spent the majority of my life married to the most exquisite woman to ever exist."
"Well, aren't you a sweet talker," I said in a sweet voice. "But you are still going to have to wait until we get out of whatever program Croft is throwing us into."
"Yes, dear. As long as you still want to marry me. You do still want to marry me, right?" He asked taking his eyes off the road for a second to glance worriedly at me.
"Don't worry, Comrade. I still want to marry you." I said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Good." He said. We fell into a comfortable silence. Dimitri drove the rest of the way back home with a small smile on his face, and I found myself smiling with him.
I couldn't wait for the rest of our lives.
This is the end. I'm sad that this is over, but also happy that I made it through. Let me know what you all think and I'll see you in the next one!
~Victoria