Chapter 20:

DPOV

I didn't know how Rose did it. She was sound asleep. Eric had been home from the hospital for a day and he wasn't sleeping, his parents weren't sleeping and I certainly wasn't sleeping. I could hear him crying from our room. There were a few walls in between our room and theirs but in the silence of the night his cries were as loud as thunder.

But my sweet Roza didn't hear it. She was sound asleep, snoring a little. I was glad. Her own pregnancy was in its last stages and now she should get as much sleep as she could. Ideally so should I, but I suppose that wasn't happening.

I picked up my phone from the side table and checked the time again. Argh only ten minutes from when I last checked. Eric had settled down a bit, no doubt receiving his food. I tried to sleep a little more, but when I was up I was up. My phone went off. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was my mother. She would know better than to call in the middle of the night so I assumed she had a damn good reason.

"Hi mama , what is going on. Everything okay?"

Her voice sounded a little hoarse as if she had been crying for a while.

"No, Dimka, It's your Babushka. The doctor just came and we are in the last stretch now. Her liver is failing and her breathing is becoming more and more labored. The Doctor said a few days at best. We are keeping her here, I know she would hate dying in a hospital."

There was a lump in my throat. I knew my grandmother was over ninety and I knew every time we said goodbye it could be the last time I saw her, but some part of me actually believed her when she said Death was scared of her and she would outlive us all.

Rose had started to wake up. Frist she was moaning and groaning but when she saw my face, she sobered up pretty quickly. I put the phone on speaker.

"What do you need from us? You want us to come over?"

"Oh no honey. I couldn't ask that. Rose isn't even allowed to fly anymore."

I looked over to Rose. She was still confused.

"Besides, Yeva isn't very coherent anymore. The doctor is keeping her mostly sedated."

Realization crossed her eyes.

"We are coming Olena. We will be there as soon as we can."

And apparently soon would be right now, because she was getting dressed. She was trying to hurry but it wasn't easy with her big belly.

"I will call back later mama. Tell Babushka we love her."

I hung up the phone and walked towards my wife.

"Rose, you can't go. You are due in a few weeks."

"I know, but we can take the jet. I am sure I can talk Lissa into lending it to us."

Well that would be more comfortable and faster than an airline but it wasn't just the plane ride there or back. It meant Rose would risk giving birth in Baia. When I looked at her I saw she had come to the same conclusion. As a matter of fact I think Rose was resigning herself to give birth there.

She walked over to Lissa's and Christian's suit and knocked. Both were awake and I saw little Eric nursing happily.

Rose explained the situation and I saw Lissa's face fall. Not just because we were going there because Yeva was dying but also because it meant she wouldn't be there for Rose's birth. I actually assumed she would be too busy with Eric to attend the full session but I also knew she wanted to be one of the first to see them and hold them.

I guess that honor belonged to my family now. We wouldn't be returning with a newborn immediately either. So it would be a few weeks before Lissa would be able to see them.

But she agreed for us to take the jet none the less. Rose kissed her head and then the head of little Eric and was wobbling back to our room again and started to pack. I immediately moved her out of the way and motioned for her to sit on the bed. I would pack.

"I assume there will be enough stuff for the babes to get us through the first few weeks?"

She asked me a little hesitantly. I nodded and looked over to the room next to us. We had created a nice nursery for the twins and I was a little sad that they wouldn't be spending their first nights here, but it was only for a few weeks. Maybe if Rose was feeling up to it we could make it back here in time for the birth.

By morning I had phoned my mother, Rose's parents and the guardians overseeing the jet and had arranged everything. When we were on the plane I felt Rose relax for a bit. The last few hours had been crazy and even if I was trying my best to do everything and keep all of it away from Rose I knew she found it stressful too.

The entire trip I kept looking at Rose. She was either reading a magazine or listening to music or sleeping. But every time she moved I would jump up. One time when one of the twins had kicked I had gone into complete panic mode thinking labor had started. She had actually slapped me out of it. And went back to sleep. I was glad when we were touching down at the airfield closest to Baia. It would be another hour drive from this local airport but at least I knew if it started now then we would be home in an hour. And I doubt the labor would progress that fast.

When we finally crossed the threshold of my childhood home I felt relieved. I saw by my mother's face we had made it in time. I saw Rose being relieved too. One because Yeva was still with us and two because traveling was difficult for her now and three because I would stop fussing over her so much. Well the latter probably isn't going to happen.

We first had a cup of coffee or herbal tea in Rose's case and afterwards we went into Yeva's room. Yeva had been sleeping on the ground floor for over a decade now. It had gotten increasingly difficult for her to walk up the stairs so my mother had expanded the house so she could have a room and a bathroom on the ground floor. Yeva didn't want to admit she couldn't take the stairs anymore but had said she would accept it because it would mean she was the first to be targeted by a Strigoi and the first line of defense for the house. My mother had shaken her head and told her she could do just that. Although I had seen my grandmother in a Strigoi fight once. She was in her mid-eighties and could barely hold the stake but one look from her and the Strigoi decided the old woman wasn't worth draining and fixed his eyes on a younger victim. I think the Strigoi was scared.

But as I walked into the room I didn't see the strong woman who even in her eighties was fearless against Strigoi. I didn't see the woman who could send me to my room even when I was a foot and a half taller than her. I saw a frail old woman about to die.

Yeva had never looked her age even when you could clearly see her aging and failing body. Because her eyes had been so alive and so intense you didn't even look at her body, But now she looked every bit her age of ninety two.

She could barely open her eyes. Her body weak and unmoving. She was wearing a breathing mask hooked up to a portable oxygen tank. There was an IV drip giving her the nutrient she needed seeing as she wasn't able to eat or drink herself anymore. She had lost a bit of weight since the last time I saw her.

Rose sat down next to her on the chair and grabbed her hand. I was standing beside her.

When Rose touched her her eyes opened a bit more and I was glad to see a bit of the old Yeva spark still there. She started speaking in Russian. I think Yeva was to out of it to remember Rose only spoke a bit.

I translated for Rose as Yeva spoke.

"I am sorry, I couldn't be here for the birth of the twins. But someday you will know why. I always knew my life would end when theirs would begin."

I thought back to when Yeva heard about the twins. Although she was happy I could also see something else. Now I knew what is was. It meant time was running out for her.

"Don't worry about me, Dimka, Roza, I had a wonderful life and I am going to a better place."

Rose squeezed her hand and answered her in a bit of broken Russian.

"Well I think you are losing your touch Yeva. Death isn't afraid of you anymore."

Both women were smiling.

"I am sure the twins will love hearing stories about their fearless babushka. I know I will them that if they didn't behave your ghost will haunt them."

I could actually hear a small chuckle from the old woman followed by a coughing marathon which I thought would end her right there and then. I saw Rose wasn't keeping it dry. Tears were streaming down her face. I placed my hands on her shoulders.

It was funny, she was my grandmother, but Rose and Yeva had always had a deep connection, I think because they are a bit alike. I knew I would take her death hard but Rose would feel it more.

Yeva fell asleep after that and I moved a crying Rose to the living room.

The atmosphere of the house was gloomy. Zoya and Katya who were always playing were now almost subdued on the couch. My mother and Karolina were working silently in the kitchen as opposed to the lively chatter they normally had.

Rose looked around the room. She was always the one to break these sort of moments and it was no different now.

"Come on comrade, let's see if we can set up your room for the twins. Just in case… Come on girls, you want to help Auntie Rose with picking clothes and toys for the twins and putting it into our room?"

The girls seemed elated by that prospect. Decorating a nursery sounded like something five and six year old girls would like.

It had been a few days now. Rose was over the 37 weeks and was in the all clear. If they would be born now they wouldn't be premature anymore. Abe and Janine had come to pay their respects. The interaction between Abe and Yeva had been quite touching. A man who rivalled Yeva's reputation for scary. Yeva had always liked him and I wondered if liking Rose had been an extension of that. They had laughed about all the men and women they had threatened and Abe was boosting about that his numbers far exceeded Yeva's. when she pointed out that she only needed a look, so that she counted everyone she had ever looked at, Abe had admitted defeat.

She seemed more lively today, which I thought was a good sign but the doctor had looked at me with pity when I had mentioned it. He said people often had a small period of lucidity before they passed. He speculated it was hours now. I had texted Abe that it would probably be today. He had offered to pay for her funeral any way she wanted it and my mother had accepted gracefully. She had wanted to be buried in the backyard but apparently it was illegal and the paperwork to get it done would cost a fortune. Abe said he would take care of it.

Rose had been quiet all day. It was as if she could feel her death approaching. I saw she was sitting in the living room her eyes closed. I could tell she had transformed but didn't want to scare anyone so she closed her eyes to hide the red. I knew what she was doing, she was listening for Yeva's heartbeat. They had had a moment this morning and I knew Rose had said goodbye then. I had done the same a few minutes later. She said she was tired and went to sleep. And as I saw my wife open her eyes and saw tears fall down her face, I knew she hadn't woken up from her nap and never would again. My grandmother had passed away.

I walked over to Rose, who had transformed back and hugged her. She just cried into my chest.

My mother took one look at us and her hand went to her mouth as she slowly made her way to Yeva's bedroom. When I heard her crying I knew she confirmed what we had already known.

I called Janine and Abe who were staying close by. Abe got to work on the arrangements and I and Paul who had come home last night would help him. The women would be in the kitchen cooking up a storm. And tonight we would hold the bonfire with lots of alchohol. I had things to arrange so I left Rose with Janine. Both feeling a little lost in the movements of everyone around them. Janine didn't know what to do and Rose couldn't do anything. So they kept each other company.

The undertaker came in and started balming her. She would be kept in her room until she would be buried later tonight.

By nightfall everyone had gathered around the hole in the ground at the end of the yard under the large oak tree. We said a few words and drank a few shots. Well everyone except Rose and the kids. I wondered if fetal alcohol syndrome was relevant in a Strigoi powered pregnancy, but neither of us was willing to find out.

As they lowered her casket into the ground I knew this was it. This was the last time I would see her. Not that I was actually seeing her now, but still. I closed my eyes and listened while I transformed. I needed to make sure there wasn't a heartbeat. I had half a mind to believe she planned this and would come out of the casket and tearing us all a new one because we believed she was so easily taken by death. But there was no sound. No heartbeat, no wooshing of her blood through her veins, or the sound of her intestine working. No working of her muscles, nothing. She was gone and wat they buried in the ground was nothing more than her package. I knew she was at peace. She had told me so. She had the last laugh after all because while she was at peace, our lives would take a long while to go back to normal.

I grabbed Rose's hand and squeezed it before I took her back inside. It was getting cold and she couldn't stand on her feet to long. Everyone joined us a moment later. We were reminiscing about Yeva when I heard a groan coming from Rose as she grabbed her stomach. She was rubbing it but after a few moments the pain seemed to pass. Another few minutes the same happened and my mother looked at me and nodded. Rose was having contractions. She was in labor. How close Yeva had come to see the twins. I wish she could have hold out a little longer, but her words echoed in my ears. 'My life ends when theirs begins'.

Rose was in labor because Yeva died.