Okay, because you asked.. hehe, I typed this a long time ago and never uploaded it! strange.. XDDD

"Dimitri please?"

it had been only last night that Anya had finally revealed her little secret that she had been keeping from him for quite sometime, and already he was making her feel quite annoyed. She knew that towards the end, he probably wouldn't even allow her so much as to leave the bed. Anya sighed to herself, pondering how the months to come would go.

"Anya you have to sleep." Dimitri was more the determined to keep his wife safe. He actually had a chance at finally becoming a father for once and he wasn't going to let ANYTHING sabotage his opportunities. "You can't be running your self like this all just because we have yet to unravel this mystery."

"Is this the way it's going to be from now on? Cause we haven't even made a month yet and let me remind you we have about eight more to go. Already you are acting far too overprotective!" Anya despised feeling this way. She already felt caged and did NOT want to go through the long months the same way. Dimitri didn't take all of this too lightly as his voice had raised a bit.

"Can I help that I actually want to keep out future son or daughter alive?"

"Oh what, and me simply missing about an hour of sleep will change that fact?!" Anya responded standing up with her hands on her hips.

"I know you must think I'm being too overprotective of you but,…" he silenced as a memory had floated into his consciousness.

It had only been about three years since the great tragedy that was the Romanov massacre. Dimitri was now about thirteen years of age and already thought he could take on the entire world.

"Dimitri!" a voice beckoned to him. He slowly made his way down the stairs and out into the living room, well Vlad had told him it was one. After the revolution Dimitri had no place to go. He couldn't even remember his parents, much less if he had any siblings. Vladimir was an old member of the imperial court who had volunteered to raise the boy. Since Vlad had kind of admired how Dimitri had a taste for bending the rules. Such as the fact that even under threats of severe beating he still remained good friends with Anastasia.

There was the old count sitting upon the dust piece of furniture. He did not look to pleased with him. "Come here." Dimitri slowly walked into the room. He had grown a lot and now was much taller but still about as thin as a tooth pick. His clothes were less baggy now that he had finally grown taller and his shoulders had broadened. He was slowly becoming a man.

"Yes?"

"Why on earth did I get the police on my doorstep yet again?" he demanded tapping his foot impatiently awaiting Dimitri's answer. "Were you out late again?"

"Yes, but look at all the rubles I got, urm found." The boy had dug into the side pockets of his trousers. Retracting the many dollars he had come by. Vlad put a palm to his face and shook his head slightly.

"Dimitri, you shouldn't be out so late. Much less without my permission." Dimitri had turned his back to the older man. He ran a hand and began to finger-comb his dreadfully messy brown hair. It constantly would fall into his eyes and even on rare occasion of sleeping, his mouth.

"What do you care?!" he voice bellowed. "You are not my father!!" Dimitri was on the verge of tears. All he wanted to do was please Vlad, since he was allowing him to live there. He hated to cry and thought it to be a very wimpy action to carry out. Since all the men he knew hardly cried much less shown a bit of emotion.

"I know my dear boy, but I am responsible for you." He motioned for him to come forth. Dimitri rubbed his face rather roughly with his fithy peasant sleeve before sitting next to him. Vlad gently wrapped his arms around the rather thin teenage boy. "I know, you think I am being far too overprotective but," he released him as so he could make eye contact with him. "It's only because I love you." Just then Vlad added on something that Dimitri had never heard within his life. "My son."

"But, what?" Anya asked incessantly questing to find the reason for this such odd behavior. Dimitri was a man who usually didn't "hem and haw" with his words. If he needed much less wanted to speak his mind; he said it straight out. He turned to her standing up, his face clouded still with the emotion from the past.

"It's because I love you." He took forth her hands into his very own. "Anya, I don't know where I would be at this moment without you." She looked deeply into his eyes; pure and genuine emotion harbored with him them.

"Dimitri…" Anya had never seen him like this before. Whatever moment he had remembered must have gotten under his skin. She had yet to actually see him holding back such tears as he was at the moment. Well except for the fake ones he would give to Pooka tying to get the little dog to relinquish his socks.

"I know where I would be, in prison. Probably rotting in a cell for the rest of my life, wondering what the heck I did wrong. You saved me from being the dark person I used to be. It was you and only you that finally opened my eyes to the really important things in life." He glanced downward at his own feet.

"Like what?"

"Like, love. All I used to give a care about was how much money I could get. The fanciest place to live, and to never have a care about my real family. When you used to talk about homes, family, and love." He finally had made eye contact with her yet again. "I would have a snicker about it on the outside, but deep down something finally clicked." He held the side of her chin gently just continuing to stare down into those deep blue eyes. "Here was this skinny, badly dressed orphan girl who had less than I and still all she cared about was not the almighty ruble, but finding the people who loved her even if the quest had been hopeless."

"I at one point in our journey, there was a time when I almost felt stupid about chasing such a dream." Dimitri shot her a confused look as she uttered such a statement.

"Why?"

"Well, here was little miss Anya, with two rather strange men." She grinned slightly as the next part came out. "One, whom she would start fighting with all the time and acted as if he absolutely hated her."

"I never hated you…" he urged in protest before allowing her to continue on.

"But, I can remember thinking at one point: "Dear lord Anya, what mess have you gotten your self into this time?!" I was thousands, maybe millions of miles from Russia and my fate rested upon if I really was Anastasia or not."

"What were you planning on doing if you weren't found by the empress?" he asked with curiosity overflowing.

"I'm not sure." He laughed loudly before she asked: "What's so funny?"

"So, for once in our adventure you had nothing to really say?! That's a miracle." He added with sarcasium. Anya punched his shoulder. "What did the shoulder do to you?"

she grinned. "It's more of what the face and mouth did, the shoulder simply takes the punishment." She added a playfull pinch.

"You look like a fragile girl, but yet you fight like a man." Dimitri nursed his shoulder with his right hand.

"Oh, you big baby!" Anya rolled her eyes as him before rolling up his sleeve to examine the area. "Not even a bruise." She lightly kissed his shoulder. "better?"

"Yes, but…" she pursued her lips for a real kiss. As he pulled away, Anya felt a little dazed as he recalled his lips from hers. She smiled warmly at him.

"I think I'll head off to bed." He nodded but as she turned to leave, he stopped her.

"Hand over the necklace." His hand was outstreached.

"Why should I?" she asked with her best innocent tone and face. She knew the jig was up and that somehow Dimitri had always managed to stay at least two steps ahead of her. She slipped the chain off and handed it over before retiring to bed.

Hehe, I LOVED writing the whole Vlad being Dimitri's "Father".. XDD