Thanks for all the encouragement to keep writing this story..Enjoy :)

A Family Affair

DPOV

Roza looked so nervous when my entire family met us at the airport. Leave it to Yeva to spoil the surprise, but then again, I should have known she would already know. She knows everything. I would have to ask Yeva later about what she said to Roza about she has been waiting for her, I will ask her when we are alone.

The drive home was uneventful. I keep sneaking glances at Roza in the rear view mirror. She sat in the very back of the van on Viktoria's persistence. Viktoria took to Roza like they had been friends all their lives. It was nice to see Roza start to relax.

Yeva persisted that I drive the van back to Baia and that she wanted to sit up front, instead of the middle seat that she usually occupied when going for drives. Momma sat in the middle seats with Karolina and Sonya (my sister, not my friend Sonya). Paul had taken to Roza and had fell asleep with his head in her lap. She was brushing his hair absent-minded, while talking to Viktoria. She melts my heart.

When we pulled into the drive way Momma said, "Dimka, Rose...You both must be hungry after the long flight. I will start fixing something for supper."

"I can never turn your cooking down you like some help?", I asked as I kissed her cheek.

"No, Dimka thats ok. You and Rose just relax and enjoy yourselves." She replied with a smile.

"Momma, can I actually borrow the van? I want to take Roza to the store, she forgot to pack somethings and needs to pick them up." I looked at Roza and she blushed a bit. I don't think anyone seen her do it. She was remembering what she forgot.

"Sure Dimka. There is a few things that I need anyways. Would you mind picking them up for me?"

"No problem Momma. I will just put our luggage in our room while you make the list."

After a few minutes Roza and I were back in the van and were headed for the town center where all the shops were. The first shop that we stopped at was a shop that sold clothes, since Roza forgot to pack her underwear.

We were walking around the store looking for the underwear. I noticed Roza had a frown on her face. "Roza, are you ok?"

"It's just...I don't understand any of these signs and I have no clue what direction the underwear are in.", she replied with a lost look that over came her face.

I took our intertwined hands and kissed the back of her's, then lead her in the right direction.

"Roza, I'm sorry. I should have realized that all the signs are in russian.", I said apologizing, kissing the top of her head.

We soon found what she was looking for and headed for the cash, then onto the grocery store for the items Momma wanted. When I looked at the list I noticed it was all the ingredients for black bread.

"Looks like Momma is making black bread. You may like mine, but her black bread is beyond this world. I can never get mine to even come close to what her's tastes like. It just melts in your mouth." I said licking my lips.

We gathered all the things that Momma needed and headed back to the house. On the way home I showed Roza some of the places that I frequented growing up. I showed her where Mikhail and I got caught drinking by Momma just after the green thong incident. "She never raised her voice or anything at us." I told her. "She told Mikhail to go home and we walked home. She never said a word all the way home. I asked her what my punishment was and she said my punishment was knowing how much I disappointed her. The guilt knowing how much I hurt her was enough for my punishment." I said with a frown on my face. My punishment for that day is forever, I will never forgive myself for hurting Momma that way.

When we got home Momma was in the kitchen cooking. I swear that is all she does from the time she wakes until she closes her eyes.

I walk over to her putting on an apron. "What can I do to help Momma?"

"You can do nothing. I can manage myself." She said trying to shoo me and Roza out of the kitchen.

"I would like to help too." Roza piped up.

"No. You can sit and watch." I steered Roza to a stool on the other side of the island in the middle of the kitchen. She pouted, but sat down. She knew she wouldn't win.

I persisted with Momma, "Momma you do the work of 10 people. Please let me help you."

" Fine Dimka. You can help,(Roza had started to get up) but Rose you sit . Dimka you can start on the black bread, since you will be eating majority of it." Momma said smiling at me.

RPOV

I sat on the stool watching Dimitri and his mother work in silence. I couldn't believe how happy I was. The whole situation with Adrian seemed to have happened a life time ago. I couldn't believe that I had finally found someone like Dimitri. I didn't think I ever would, I didn't think that I deserved to. Dimitri kept telling me that I deserved the world.

After a little bit Dimitri's nephew Paul came into the room. "Auntie Rose, would you come and play trucks with me outside?" My breath caught for a moment and I smiled at Paul. I liked the idea of being called his Auntie. It was amazing how quickly I was accepted into the family.

Karoline walked him behind him. "Paul don't be bugging Rose."

"Momma, please..Everyone else is busy and cannot ply with me.", he beggingly.

"Sure Paul. I would love to play trucks with you." I said getting up from my perch. I walked over to Dimitri and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If you need me. I will be outside with Paul." Taking Paul's out stretched hand we walked outside.

Walking out the door I could hear Dimitri say, . We all laughed at that.

DPOV

" Don't get any funny ideas Paul. She's my girlfriend.", I called to Paul as he and Roza walked out the door. Myself, Karolina and Momma all started to laugh.

"Dimka, I never seen you so happy. You must truly love and care about Rose." Karolina said after her laughter subsided.

"I do Lina. I didn't think that I could ever love someone so much, I didn't think that I would ever find someone like Roza.",I said looking out the kitchen window, watching Roza and Paul playing trucks.

"Lina?"I turned to my sister all serious now.

"Yes Dimka?"

"Do you know what Yeva meant when she said that she has been waiting for Roza?"

"I kind of know. The day after you left the last time you were here, she said that she had one of her visions about a long dark haired girl. That you were going to meet her and that the girl had trouble. But the vision changed a few weeks ago. She has been saying that she still has them, but she won't go into any details anymore."

Just then Yeva hobbled into the kitchen. "Dimka my boy, I want to talk to you." She turned and walked out of the room. When Yeva wanted you, you dropped what you were doing and followed.

I looked at Karolina. She shooed me out of the kitchen and started to help Momma.

I found Yeva sitting in her rocking chair in the small living room. She was rocking back and forth, staring out the window. Not looking at me she said, "Dimka, change is coming. I have been having visions about it. Some of it good and some not so much. I see a darkness coming and he wants to see you hurt and he will do anything for it to happened. Just hold on to the good and it will all come out in the wash." Yeva then got up and walked out of the room, not saying another word. I got up from my seat shaking my head. Yeva's visions never made much sense.

I walked to the kitchen and noticed that Momma,Karolina and Sonya were all sitting at the table talking, I decided to go outside with Roza and Paul.

I sat down on the step and watched Roza and Paul playing. I loved seeing Roza so relaxed and carefree. In frame of a minute I could see my life before me. I could see Roza and I getting married, traveling around and having a few children of our own.

"Earth to Dimitri..DIMITRI..." I snapped back to present time to Roza snapping her fingers in my face. "Where were you? Paul has gone inside and I have been trying to get your attention." Roza said with a smile playing on her face.

I looked up at her and took her all in, from her long dark brown hair, to her big beautiful brown eyes, to her naturally tanned skin and all the way to her feet.. I brought my eyes back up to hers and smiled. I stood up and leaned down, lifting her chin with a finger to kiss her on the lips. She let out a tiny moan and wrapped one hand around my neck and the other hand she wrapped up into my hair. I pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. I wanted to do so much more than to kiss her right now.

When we broke apart, we both had to catch our breath.I heard some snickering, still holding on to Roza, I turned my head to see my three sisters all in the door way watching us.

"Dimka and Rose sitting in a tree. K I S SI N G . First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Dimka with a baby carriage..." Letting go of Roza, I grabbed the water hose and turned it on. Spraying my three sisters through the screen door.

My sisters all ran out of the house trying to get the water hose to turn it on me. We were laughing and carrying on when we heard Paul screaming from the front yard. We all immediately stopped and ran to the front.

I stopped dead in my tracks and all my sisters ran to see what was wrong with Paul, oblivious to what I was seeing. I could feel Roza's hand come onto my shoulder. But I paid no attention to her, I couldn't right now. My mind was with who was at the front gate.

With out looking at my Sisters or Roza I said, "Girls go in side. Go inside now and take Paul with you." I walked out of Roza's hand and passed my sisters.

"Dimka what's wrong?" Sonya had said before turning around to see why I urgently wanted them to go in the house. When she turned, her eyes widened in fear. My other sisters noticing the change in Sonya and the harshness in my voice turned to see what we were looking at. When they noticed who was here,they immediately backed towards the door, Viktoria grabbing Roza on the way.

Roza broke out of Viktoria's grasp and came to stand beside me at the gate.

"Roza, get inside with my family.. Get inside now!", I said to her with more anger and terror than I ever should have used with her.

"Dimitri, What's wrong? Who is this?" She said very tenderly.

"This Roza..This is no one." I said through gritted teeth.

RPOV

I could sense the person at the gate was not a friend, just by how tense Dimitri was standng. I could see him turn red and his fists clinching in rage. It looked like Dimitri wanted to kill the man.

I broke from Viktoria's grasp and went to Dimitri's side, wanting to comfort and calm him down.

."Roza, get inside with my family.. Get inside now!" Dimitri said with anger in his voice and a look of terror in his eyes.

"Dimitri, What's wrong? Who is this?" I asked tenderly.

It wasn't Dimitri that had told me who the man was, the man told me. "I Miss, am Ivan. Ivan Belikov. I am Dimitri's father."

The next set of events happened so quickly. Dimitri swung at his father hitting him in the nose and breaking it. I could hear then crunch and the snap of the man's nose as it broke.

"YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!...NOR WILL YOU EVER BE..."Dimitri yelled at Ivan.

Wiping the blood from his nose, Ivan said, "You haven't seen or heard the last of me..." Ivan turned on his heals and left.

After Ivan was gone out of sight, Dimitri turned and fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. I went to my knees and pulled Dimitri into a hug.

"Shhh...It's going to be ok." I said rocking Dimitri in my arms. I hated seeing him broken like this.

After Dimitri calmed down a bit, he stood up pulling me with him. "That is the last time I cry over that man." Dimitri pulled me into a side hug and we walked back into the house.

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