August 12, 2011

Hello and thank you for reading. I am making the effort to post more often and I know I fall short but I thank you all for staying with me. I have noticed that this seems to be the most popular of all my stories so I will concentrate on this one most but I will not abandon the others. They are all important to me.

Thank you to RangaRose for being a great beta. Any mistakes you find are probably do to the fact that I added several things including a conversation or two after she edited.

I do not own VA but that which comes from my nutty nut I will willingly share with you.

Chapter: 17. Reading the Files

Dimitri POV

At the door I paused for a moment before knocking. The door was ajar and there was only the sound of papers shuffling and quiet conversation. I knocked lightly on the door. Both women looked through the opening in the door and waved me in.

"Dr. Olendzki, I have been told by Lord Ivashkov that you and Dr. Isham-Ivashkov have consented to let me in the know?" Suddenly I felt very nervous but I shoved those thoughts aside.

"Yes Dimitri, we have. It wasn't our idea but I think that with your medical background you might be able to bring a new prospective to this." She replied using her professional tone. "And please, call me Maria."

"Cousin Dimitri, I must admit I am a bit more skeptical, it has been 8 almost 9 years since you last practiced, has it not? I read in your files that you only just finished your internship and never got to even begin your residency. I am sure you are well educated but well, it has been a long time." Dr. Isham- Ivashkov's comments didn't offend me. Instead it showed me how much she truly wants the best for Rose. I almost questioned why she used the Moroi term of Cousin but then I realized she might just be acknowledging the fact that I am her cousin's brother.

"Cousin Sasha, I understand and appreciate your concern. Though it has been a long time I can assure you that I have a near photographic memory; I remember almost everything that I have been taught. Also I have been keeping up with, as best I can, with what is new through reading medical Journals and even new text books. Dr. Ivan Zeklos Sr. convinced me to start volunteering with a colleague of his who runs a Moroi/Human clinic a few towns away from where I lived in Maine. I had only been volunteering for a few months before being reassigned but I have no problem with letting you talk to Dr. Battersea."

"Well, Cousin I truly hope you can bring a fresh prospective into this. We could honestly use all the help we can get but due to the need for security we have not been able to ask for much outside help. Come, sit down and let's get you caught up on their medical files."

I took the third seat and settled in. I made a mental note to myself to call Tasha and ask her to send me all my books and journals.

"Dimitri, before you walk into this blindly I want to warn you that, well, they are both suffering from the same thing. They are suffering from some unknown type of cancer or cancer like illness. A few years back we tried using chemotherapy but it took some very strong dosages to even make the tumors shrink and go dormant but well it almost killed them. We have also tried surgery with no success."

Tears instantly formed in my eyes. I closed them and tried to keep from hyperventilating. I would not be able to help them if I let my emotions take over; but this is My Roza and her little girl we are talking about. I feel like someone just told me that my wife and child are dying. Even with my eyes closed the tears still made their way down my cheeks. I didn't even realize that I was trembling till I felt two sets of arms wrap around me. I felt no shame when a sob made its way out of my chest. My emotions were raw but I knew I had to acknowledge them before I could set them in some other part of my brain and be able to focus on healing my girls. I already know that I will do anything to save them. They are my life.

I must have cried in the arms of both women for an hour but it felt like days. I felt drained but I set my weariness aside as best I could along with the raw emotions. I didn't even realize that Maria had gotten up and poured me a cup of coffee. She set it down in front of me and I took it gratefully. After a few minutes of sitting quietly drinking the coffee and calming myself down; I was able to take one last deep breath and get my focus together.

"OK. I am ready to get started. I am sorry you had to see that but well I am sure you understand."

"Yes we do." They both said quietly.

Sasha handed me one of the two files on the round table we were seated at. The name on the tab read Hathaway, Annemarie Christine B-. Christine, her middle name is Christine; she must have been named in honor of Christian. I opened the folder; the first document was a description of the incident of her birth. It was actually a copy of a guardian report that was filed by the guardians because it was during a Strigoi attack that she was born.

February 24, 2011

I was filling in the position of near guard for Princess Vasilisa Dragomir; because, her near guard (and best friend) Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, was on maternity leave. During Lissa's last class at Lehigh University she received a call from Lord Adrian Ivashkov stating that Rose was in labor. We returned to the off-campus home that Lissa shares with Christian Ozera to pick up Rose, Adrian and Christian to take Rose to the hospital at court.

We were approximately 30 min from our destination when our car was boxed in by four others. Guardian Hathaway began informing us that there were Strigoi present. We realized that this was another ambush. Guardian Edison Castile, Rose and I all pulled out our stakes and prepared ourselves to defend our Moroi. Christian pulled out his phone and made the call to Guardian Croft.

The four cars maneuvered us and forced us off the road and into a ditch. Before we could even assess any injuries, the doors were ripped from the car and each of us pulled from the car. There was a total of 8 male Strigoi. I lost track of Rose and realized that they must have taken her from the scene. The Strigoi appeared to be only holding the Moroi and keeping them from helping us. Christian was able to use his element of fire to kill three of the Strigoi and he helped both Guardian Castile and I by lighting the heads of several of ours.

Once all 8 Strigoi were dispatched we went searching for Rose. Lissa began to head to a path that led into the forest. We found two Strigoi bodies along the path. We followed it and found Rose. She was unconscious on the forest floor; she was naked. There were two Strigoi near her. One was holding the limp body of the first twin to his mouth. The other had his hands inside of an opening that was cut into her abdomen. He was just extracting the second twin when two flames shot past me and enveloped his head and the head of the other Strigoi. Guardian Castile ran to take the babies from them and I wasted no time lunging and staking them. Lissa went straight to Rose and proceeded to heal her injuries. Adrian attempted to revive the first twin to no avail. I took the surviving baby and held her inside of my clothing against my skin to keep her warm.

Lissa and Adrian were still trying to heal Rose's wounds when the guardians from court arrived.

Guardian Janine Iris Hathaway
February 25 2011.

I had to stop myself from reacting emotionally to this report. I already knew some of the facts regarding Annemarie's birth from Alberta and from ladybug herself but to read this report was just heart wrenching. It also brought up more questions.

"February 25 was her real birthday. Why does her student file say the 18th?"

"You do have a good memory Cousin. The date was changed to help protect her Identity and the fact that she was a twin was hidden. She doesn't know she had a sister."

"What happened to the other baby?"

"I did the autopsy on Marianne myself. She would have been the larger of the two and she also took the most injury from the stake cutting into Rose. She had a laceration across her back that had severed her spinal cord. A small stab into her chest but it was enough to damage her lungs. It also appeared that they snapped her neck prior to draining her. Grandmother Tati insisted that she be buried in the Ivashkov family plot at court. That was the first kind thing she ever did for Rose."

"Dimitri there is something that isn't in the report that I think you should know." Maria said.

"What is that?"

"How we learned that Annemarie needs blood. It was very cold that winter and they didn't have anything to wrap the baby in. Janine had used her own body heat to keep her grandchild warm by putting baby under her shirts and jacket; up against her bare skin. Well due to an incident that happened a few days before she had a large abrasion on her back that made wearing a bra uncomfortable. The baby attempted to nurse; Janine didn't stop her because she wanted to comfort her. She figured that even though she had no milk to offer; the baby would take comfort in suckling; like with a pacifier. After the baby latched on she bit Janine. When they got to the infirmary Janine checked and found two very small fang marks on her breast and Annemarie had two tiny little fangs nestled along her gums. It wasn't till after I got Rose stitched up and stable that she told me. It was decided after that, that even though Rose was unconscious we would help her breastfeed so that Annemarie would get the blood and milk she needed from her mother."

I picked the file up again and read about the lacerations Annemarie had that correspond to the scars I have seen during our water combat classes. Even with the help of Adrian and Lissa it took two days for them to close up and the scars would not go away. There were five other incident reports showing that Rose and Annemarie were the intended targets. Each received injuries but nothing that was not able to be healed by a spirit wielder.

"Is this why Annemarie is not allowed passed the wards?" I asked.

"She hasn't been out of wards except for plane rides since she was just about one and a half years."

"What about normal childhood experiences; camping, shopping, movies, Disneyland?" Connor is a year and a half younger than her and he has gotten to all this and more.

"It is not safe for her to do those things in person. Rose, Emma, Lissa and Adrian take her to do what they can via dream walk. They really do try to give her some normalcy. Tatiana has a carnival brought in for the kid's birthdays so she gets a taste of that at court as well as shopping at the court mall."

"Poor thing she lives such a sheltered life. Do Emma's children get attacked too?" I ask.

"Somehow the fact that Emma is fully bonded to Ben has made a lot of things easier for her. Somehow her bond provides her children some kind of protection. It is almost as if the Strigoi can smell Rose and Annemarie; they can tell that they are vulnerable." Hearing this made me boil over with anger.

"We have to find this Asshole that Rose is supposed to be married to and make him understand how much she needs him."

"Be careful what you wish for cousin." Sasha said wryly.

"I know it sounds hypocritical of me because I love her and I have been hoping to win her heart again; and I know it will kill me to step aside for any man. My body might live but my heart and soul belong to her and won't ever move on. But if he is what she needs to be complete I would do anything for her."

Sasha looked like she wanted to say something more but Maria made a sharp sound and gave her a very pointed look while shaking her head. Sasha took a moment to calm herself and then tapped on the folder. I brought my attention back to the folder in front of me.

There were her routine check-ups which documented her accelerated growth and development. Now I really understand why she sometimes seemed so immature. Poor thing is only six and she is treated like an eleven year old.

The next few pages were quite informative and difficult. When she was almost two years old Rose went on assignment for a week. During that time she was assigned a feeder. Around the same time the flu was going around in the human world and some Dhampir and Moroi were also catching it. Annemarie threw up once every day and it was assumed that she had a touch of the flu.

It was Helen, Adrian's cook who realized she was only throwing up after going to the feeder. She alerted Dr. Isham and they tried several other feeders. When it became obvious that Annemarie couldn't take blood from an ordinary feeder Rose was recalled from her mission.

After a week of receiving blood from her mother she seemed better but her scars began to grow in height and thickness. A biopsy showed that the cells were multiplying at an alarming rate. A Human surgeon was hired and compelled to remove the malignancies. He removed as much as he could but he told them that there were fibrous roots that couldn't be removed without taking so much of the surrounding tissue that Annemarie would probably loose full use of her affected limbs.

The decision was made to try chemotherapy. They did research and chose Vemurafenib; this is a drug that I have heard a lot about in the journals. There has been a lot of positive feedback about it. I myself would have thought it was a good choice. It is not a Chemo drug but it has been hailed as very effective. Unfortunately in this case it was not working fast enough and the decision was made to add Chemo to the mix. They started with small doses of Dacarbazine but it didn't have much effect at the low dose. They increased the dosage and it finally stopped the progression of the growth but unfortunately it made Annemarie so sick that they were afraid to increase it farther to try to shrink the growths. The end result is that Annemarie still has her scars and they are still a threat to her.

"You are anticipating that her scars are going to begin to grow again because she went too long without her mother's blood; aren't you." It was a statement more than a question. The looks on their faces told me all I needed to know. The rest of her file consisted of her regular check-up leading up to the last one dated just before the start of school.

"I wonder; has Annemarie ever had blood from her father."

"No she has had from her grandmother on several occasions when Rose would be gone for extended periods of time. We have also tried blood from her father's half-brother and she tolerated it better than donor blood but it still was not sufficient enough to be a viable alternative. Rose always draws her own blood for Annemarie to keep in a small refrigerator in her bedroom when she leaves on missions. It isn't as good as living blood but it will do for a weekend." Sasha informed.

"The day after Rose left, Annemarie was upset because she had forgotten to put some 'vitamin juice' in the fridge and it had gone bad. I understand now why she said I couldn't buy more."

"The interesting thing is that Emma's children don't have the same issue with blood as Annemarie." She continued.

"Emma has children? I thought she was only nineteen. Isn't she a bit young to be a mother?" I didn't mean to sound judgmental but still it was hard to believe someone so young might have one child let alone more.

"Rose was only 18 when she conceived and had Annemarie. I prefer to let her explain things better but I will only say that it is both the gift and the blessing that a Wielder of Life and Death is called to be a mother. In fact it is the miracle of meeting their other half that begins the transformation into the wielder. Due to the way things turned out for Rose, fate called Emma early." Maria explained and I heard a bit of anger in her voice. They must care for Emma as they do for Rose and Annemarie.

"What is your theory, why is it that her children can use a feeder yet Annemarie can't?"

"Well according to the journals that Rose has from the previous Wielder, all wielders have a blood bond to their spouses. Since Rose is well, I guess single is the best way to describe her situation; we think that she is blood bound to her daughter."

"That sounds as good a reason as any; but I still wonder if she would be able to tolerate the blood of her father? You said that she was almost tolerant to the blood of her half-uncle."

There was a knock on the door. When Maria answered it Lissa and Christian stood at the door each holding trays of food. I hadn't even thought about food and quite frankly after reading Annemarie's file I felt too upset to eat. I think the look on my face must have said as much.

"I know how must be feeling right now Dimitri, I have been dealing with this since the beginning and it still bothers me; but you know your brain needs food to be able to think straight. Just try to eat something."

I nodded, Lissa was right. I missed dinner last night and I skipped breakfast this morning. The only thing I have consumed today was the cup of coffee that Maria gave me earlier. She set for us cream of broccoli soup, Caesar salad, and large turkey sandwiches. She brought us all large cups of Ice tea. Christian also set out three large chocolate cupcakes; on top of the chocolate frosting was some type of brownish red stuff.

"Christian is that bacon crumbled on top of the cupcakes?"

"Yeah Dimitri it is. I saw the recipe on food network a few years ago. Rose never eats junk food anymore but the rest of the pack loves them. Try them; I am sure you will like them too."

I did my best to eat and after a while I realized how hungry I truly was. As we ate we talked about some other cancer meds and alternative treatments that are being talked about in the journals. They told me that they suspect that it was Strigoi blood that gets into the wounds that causes the scaring and subsequent malignancy.

They told me that since they first diagnosed the cancer, Rose has completely changed the way she and her children eat. They consume a diet high in fiber and antioxidants. There is a small subsistence farm about five miles from the school that is worked by volunteers; some of the formerly Strigoi. There are humans who won't be able to integrate with the human world again along with Dhampir and Moroi who are not ready to integrate or who have been "dead" to long to be accepted into our world. Sasha explained that the Moroi are learning to use their magic to work the soil and make it flourish. They also raise some animals such as cows; pigs, chickens, and turkeys. Everything is organic because Rose doesn't want to eat foods grown with pesticides.

Most of Rose's food comes from the farm and what she buys is carefully selected. I remember that Ladybug rarely chose the junk food offered for lunch. She usually ate salads, pastas, and things that had lots more veggies than any other kid I have ever known; though she did tend to like to indulge doughnuts or chocolate cake and other sweets when she could. I once asked her about it and she told me that her "M Mentor said it was important to put good things in your body if you expect it to do good things for you." No wonder why the kids at the barbeque were nuts over the hot dogs and S'mores; they probably never get to eat things like that.

I was surprised that I eventually finished all of my food and even ate my cupcake with another cup of coffee. Christian was right; the salty, crunchy, crumbled bacon was actually really good with the sweet chocolate.

After lunch we decided to check on Rose and Annemarie. (I don't feel comfortable calling her Marie anymore because the other baby was Marianne. I think I will stick to my nickname of Ladybug. And if I need to I will use Anne.) Christian was with them when we entered. He told us that both of them had woken up long enough to drink the soup but went back to sleep soon after. We checked their vitals again for ourselves and drew some blood. Well actually they had me do everything. I think they were checking to see if I still remembered how to be a doctor. I am glad for the short time that I had spent volunteering for Dr. Battersea.

In her lab, Maria prepped the blood samples and placed a drop on the slides. After prepping them she slid them under an electron microscope. It took an image that she then sent via email to some lab for analyses. She did this with both samples. I couldn't help but be nervous because I was afraid of what the white count would tell us.

I was surprised to see such expensive equipment in a school infirmary but Maria explained to me that Rose's father is very wealthy and he insisted on purchasing the best equipment so that his daughter and granddaughter would not have to leave and go to a human hospital for treatment. He has also made sure that Sasha has everything she would need at court as well. It makes me wonder who her father is.

"Dimitri, are you ready to tackle the second file are do you want to wait till tomorrow?" Sasha asked me.

"I am afraid to read it but I would rather do it now so that we can move forward tomorrow." She nodded and led the way back to the office. Our dishes were cleared and the table was ready for us.

Maria handed me the other file. The label read, Hathaway M- B-, Rosemarie. Hmm I wonder what the M and the B stand for. Her student file didn't have either of those initials to it. I opened it up and the first page was Eddie's Incident Report on the February 25.

I read it through and it corresponded very well with Janine's but his went into more detail about the positions that the Strigoi were in when they first spotted them. The one who was draining the baby was kneeling at her left side. The Strigoi who was taking the babies out of Rose was kneeling between her legs. Another thing he noted was that Rose's Stake was on the floor next to her right thigh. He told of how there was so much blood; on Rose, on the floor, on the stake and on the hands of the Strigoi between her legs. He listed the bruises and cuts he saw prior to Lissa and Adrian trying to heal her. Clipped to the back of the page was a picture he had taken with is phone. I burst out crying silently; the photo looked like a CSI photo of a murder scene.

It took all my control to set my emotions aside and focus on the here and now. There is nothing I could do about the past but I can help her in the here and now. That is what I plan to do for my Roza; help her and ladybug.

The next page was Dr. Isham's report explaining her injuries upon arriving at the court's clinic. She had made a diagram marking all the wounds she sustained during the attack. I remember seeing her back, stomach, neck, arms and face. She has many more scars now, than there are listed on the diagram. The diagram showed 5 defensive wounds on her arms, 3 bite marks and a large incision across her lower abdomen and 4 smaller ones along the same general area.

I found that this whole section of her file was dedicated to Incident reports and subsequent injuries she sustained in each. On the diagram each wound that led to a scar was re-marked over in blue while the ones did not were left red.

The second attack was the most sadistic. According to the report which was filed by Guardian en Paca Mia Rinaldi- Castile (I recently learned that the Moroi who join the packs must pass a qualifier and trial just like a novice. They must also pass an elemental trial to show that they can fight with their element as well as with physical combat. If they successfully pass all tests they are given the title of Guardian en Paca.) Rose was separated from the pack and it was later found that she was knocked out and that is the reason she didn't call for help.

The pack had to stall and stake all the Strigoi before they could go in search of her. When they found her she was stripped naked and she had red lines covering her legs and torso. She was bitten and there was also evidence that he had used her stake to sexually abuse her. This made me sick to my stomach. It took all the control I had not to throw up.

I looked at the looked at the diagram and counted 28 different purple marks all together; (red covered by blue) 12 defensive marks on her arms and hands, one that ran the length of her face, 6 on her torso, 2 on her legs from her ankles up working in a spiral and deepening on the flesh of her thighs, and 7 on or in her genitalia.

I didn't realize that I was reacting to the report till calming hands covered my arms and hands. The paper shook violently in my hands. How could he do that to my Roza? I let this happen. By the mere fact that I was not with her to protect her I allowed this to happen.

I don't know how long I was sitting there trembling but at some point the woman left me and another person sat in front of me. They placed their hands on my shoulders. Emerald green eyes bore into me. I could feel him compelling me to calm down. The trembling slowed and my breathing began to stabilize. It was then that I understood that I must have had some kind of anxiety attack.

"I know this is hard Dimitri. You love her and cannot bear to know what she has suffered. I know the guilt you are already laying on yourself and I wish I could tell you that it will get better; it won't. What I can tell you is that no matter what Dimitri, I will be here for you. I love you brother and I know you are a good and strong man. If you need someone to lean on you can count on me. She needs you to be strong. If ever there was a time to fight for her it is now and I believe you will win."

He then embraced me; for the first time I really felt like his brother. His hug held the love I would have gotten from my mother and sisters and his words gave me the strength I would have gotten from Yeva. I hugged him back taking from him the strength he offered.

"Thank you, Brother."

The ladies came back with a bottle of Russian vodka and poured some in my coffee cup. I drank it down and let the heat burn through me. Maria indicated that she would pour another if I needed but I declined.

"If my Roza was brave enough to live through this, the least I can do is read about it."

"Well I am going back to watch over your little family while you stay and work. If you need me, brother, you know where to find me." He gave a nod to Maria and gave Sasha a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you Cousin, for getting me; this has been hard on him you should have seen his aura." He whispered to her. He then looked down passed my chest to my lap. "Come on Mocha, you did your part now let him work." At that moment I realized that there was Ladybug's fat Siamese sitting on my lap. She looked at me with her sapphire blue eyes as if to ask if she should stay. I gave her a scratch behind the ears and she jumped down to follow Adrian.

I turned the page to the next incident. This time it was written by Rose. She had wandered away from her camp so that she could talk with Lissa through the bond. Rose was in Lissa's head and not paying attention to her surroundings; a Strigoi caught her off guard. The Strigoi was only able to get her once using the same stake she had used to break the wards around Rose's camp. Rose reached out and transformed her. The Strigoi happened to have been a very young female novice. As soon as she was transformed she joined Rose and the pack in fighting the other Strigoi who had invaded. The girl nearly lost her life but Guardian en Paca Christian Ozera saved her by surrounding her with fire and burning the Strigoi who was about to break her neck.

I looked at the date and time of this incident and realized that it corresponds to my first day back when I was having breakfast with Guardian Tanner. I wonder if that is why Lissa was sucked into Rose's head. I bet it is part of the reason she had warned me not to try to get back with her. I believe Lissa has changed her mind now but I could understand her worry. My sudden appearance must have been a distraction to Rose.

I read the last incident report. This one was written by Guardian Mikhail Tanner. I couldn't figure out what would have caused Rose to freeze like he had described. He explained that when they found her she was in a gruesome state. Her throat was slit but not enough to kill her. She had lots of smaller cuts on her torso and breasts and even a tic tac toe game on each leg. With this attack she received 24 scars.

When you combine all of her incidents she has 62 scars from head to toe. Though I hate that the scars contain Strigoi blood which is making her sick; I still see those scars as a badge of courage. She is so much stronger and braver than I ever knew. I wish I could show her just how beautiful she is; inside and out.

I had just finished looking through the incident reports; well all the pertinent ones, the next few pages were various other reports. But the ladies explained that all injuries she received had been healed by her spirit wielders before she came back in.

Maria got a text from the lab concerning the blood tests so she went to check the results. The news wasn't good. Both my girls have raised white blood cell counts. We went to check on the girls. I noted the size and color of their scars seem to have changed ever so slightly. Before leaving I gave each a kiss on the forehead. When I was bending over Roza I brushed my lips along the scar on her face.

"You are even more beautiful to me now. I love you and I will fight for you. Would you mind if I slept with you again tonight. I don't know if I can be away from you." I turned to Adrian who was sitting between the beds. He was analyzing her aura. He looked up at me and smiled with a nod. "I will be back in a few hours. I am still looking through the med files and I want to check on the children at the cottage house before bed." I kissed her cheek then headed back to the office.

I know it must be boring for Maria and Sasha to sit with me the whole day just going over the files but it has been very helpful to have them there to answer my questions and to give me support when I get emotional.

I reopened the file and turned to the next section. What I found there really threw me for a loop. Rose tried to have another baby. She used IVF and got pregnant twice. The first time was about the time that Lissa got married, and a few months before the second incident with the Strigoi. She used sperm donated by the half-brother of Annemarie's father. After 8 attempts she succeeded to fall pregnant but lost the baby in the 4th month.

The second attempt was a year and a half later. This time she used a donation from Annemarie's biological father himself. She fell pregnant on the first try. She carried this baby almost all the way through the second trimester but lost it just before reaching the seventh month. The theory regarding the cause of the miscarriages was that once the placenta grew over one of the internal scars the baby would grow sickly and die. This brought up some questions.

"Sasha, I don't understand why you would agree to do In vitro fertilization on a patient with cancer? By the second attempt you definitely already knew that the scars held cancer or something very much like it. Don't you think that is very irresponsible?" I was beginning to doubt my "cousin's" moral code.

"Farther more, why would Annemarie's father give a sperm donation; when he doesn't even recognize his own daughter?"

"Dimitri there are some things you will have to ask Rose about. Suffice to say, the first time she was trying to complete the most important part of her task as The Wielder of Life and Death. The second time she had that and the added stress of trying to keep fate from calling on her elder daughter Emma. I hear that Emma is helping out with the Strigoi who need to be transformed and helping to council and heal those who are transformed. I think she plans on paying a visit to you soon. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on your questions."

"I don't like that it happened, but I know from the scans and everything that the cancer has not ventured past the scars as of yet so there was reason to believe it wouldn't transfer to the babies; but the fact that she lost them and to suffer though yet more pain and grief upsets me." I looked at the clock and it was almost 6 am. Just then there was a knock on the door and Maria called for them to enter.

Lissa and Christian again came in with food. This time they brought sliced turkey breast, vegetable medley and pumpkin ravioli. I wasn't very hungry but I would make myself eat anyway.

"Oh Dimitri, Adrian told me that you wanted to check on the children so I called ahead and told Tanya, Helen and the Guardians you will be by to read them a story. They go to bed at 8:00 so I would be there about 7:30, it takes a while to get them settled but once they are ready they are gold." Lissa told me.

"Ok I will be there then." She nodded and left us to eat dinner. I have to admit that the food was good and much better than what they normally serve in the dining hall. When I said as much Maria informed me it was probably made either by Christian Ozera or Helen McManus; and they probably used the food from Rose's farm.

After dinner I made some calls. I asked Tasha to send me my med books and journals. I called Ivan's father to ask him to send me everything he can about cancer. He agreed and didn't even ask why. I think Ivan Sr. is just happy that I have a renewed interest in Medicine.

~~*O*~~

Spending time with the children was very soothing to me. I got so many hugs from each of them and they gave me handmade cards to give to their "Mama Rose" and "Sister Annie." (I think Rose has problems calling her Marie too but she doesn't stop Mikhail or others from using it.) The second level of the house has two very large rooms with four beds each that serve as nurseries, one for girls and one for boys. There are also three smaller rooms with two beds each for slightly older children. Joshua's room is one of three on the third floor with Annemarie's.

We gathered all the kids in the boy's nursery after they finished getting ready for bed. I read them Skippy Jon Jones (Conner loves this book.) I also read them Good Night Moon. After tucking them in I kissed them and promised to take care of Mama Rose and Sister Annie. Josh was very worried but I told him I would do anything and everything I could to make them healthy again.

I was so drained of energy that I almost wished I could skip a shower but the thought of not being clean for Rose was unthinkable. I went to my dorm and showered and changed into flannel sleepwear. I packed a bag and went back to the infirmary.

Lissa was in Rose's room sitting on her bed with Misty blue on her lap. She had her eyes closed and I believe she was using the bond to talk to Rose. Adrian was sitting on Annemarie's bed quietly reading her a story. Mocha latte was cuddled up next to Ladybug; fast asleep.

I busied myself with the cards from the kids. I put them up on the tack board where they both will be able to see them when they wake.

Adrian kissed her forehead than Rose's, patted my back and walked out. I took his place by ladybug and told her that I am going to help the doctor's make her and her mommy better. Then I sang my lullaby for her. It was the one my mom sang to me, the one I sang to Rose when we dated and the one I heard Rose sing to her yesterday.

"Night Dimitri, I will see you tomorrow." Lissa whispered on her way out.

I finished my lullaby; kissed her cheek and wished her sweet dreams. I then lay next to Roza and wrapped her in my arms. Misty Blue jumped up on the bed and settled on my hip. I sang my song for my Roza like I used to and drifted off to sleep.

POP QUIZ

1. Janine was the first one who Annemarie took blood from. Do you think that Janine felt a bit of the Endorphin Rush that would accompany a Moroi bite? If so do you think Rose feels it too?

2. Annemarie has never been outside of the wards. Do you think Dimitri might try to get Rose to agree to an outing if they bring the pack to help guard and protect Ladybug?

3. Annemarie has had blood and tolerated it much better than feeder blood but it still wasn't right. Why do you think she is able to take blood from Janine with no problem but Adrian is not quite compatible?

4. Now that Dimitri knows that the scars are killing her; how come he still doesn't hate them? If the find a way to heal them and get rid of the scars do you think he will miss them?

5. What did Adrian mean when he was thanking Sasha and Maria for calling him to calm Dimitri; he told them that they should have seen his aura. Why was Mocha Latte in his lap? (Reference to Misty Blue's purpose in So What Now; if you haven't read it then take a guess.)

AN I made this chapter extra-long and I hope you all like it. Yes the drugs are real I did some research for ya. Just so you know this "Cancer" that they have is nothing like what one might find in the human world so even if they could compel a human Oncologist to help them they wouldn't be much help. It is almost like a cross between a random tumor and a skin cancer. So far it only effects the organs it is embedded in. Though that might change.

Please Review and I will try to make the next chapter almost as long.

Suzanna