Okay lads, though I've just updated recently, I wanted to give you a small treat for the weekend. And I also want to go on with the story. But I'd also say some things first. reading it! But you know the treat: the more reviews I get the faster I'll update! ;)

I am aware that there some loose ends and I promise to tie them all up together rather sooner than later. On of these loose ends I want to play a small game of guessing with you: Guess who killed Steve! I already know who did (that's the positive effect of being the writer) but I want to test how closly you are reading this. I know I'm mean. ;) So tell my in your review!

Then I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of those who have reviewed! You really just make my day, honestly. Special thanks to vox ad umbram sum for the suggestion on how to improve the story. Thank you so much, I'll remember your tipps grately! And also a huge thank you to deliciouse for those awesome reviews!

And as you have probably already guessed it, I would like to deticate this chapter to those two of the many reviewers! So this is for you, deliciouse and vox ad umbram sum!

And for all the others only one more thing: ENJOY!

One more thing for all those Dimka-Roza-Shippers out there: only 4 more chapters to go an THEN something HUGE will happen (we'll solve the Rose-Dimitri-tasha triangle)! I'know I've enjoyed writingit and I'm absolutely positive that you will enjoy

CHAPTER 14 – Welcome to Baia!

Before we had reached the door, it opened up suddenly and a woman stepped out, throwing her arms around Dimitri. "Dimka!"

Standing behind Dimitri, I could watch those two closely. The woman obviously was his mother; they looked a lot like each other. She must have been a beauty once, but age certainly didn't make her ugly. Her brown hair was long, framing her slender and tall body. When they had finished hugging and exchanging welcoming words in Russian, the woman turned towards me, smiling widely.

"You must be Rose! It's nice to meet you finally!" Olena said, pulling me into a hug. I tried hard not to stiffen, but couldn't help but to do so a little. But Olena didn't feel this, since she let go of me, put her arm on my shoulders and ushered us inside.

Obviously Dimitri hadn't told his family anything about the recent happenings. Glazing at him inquiringly, he confirmed my guess with a short nod. Giving him a thankful smile, I followed Olena inside the house.

Inside everything was very neat and tidy. Though the furniture seemed to be old, it was an atmosphere of familiarity. Shortly said, it felt homey to me. Letting my eyes wander through the living room, I felt Dimitri's warm hand on the small of my back.

"I'll show you everything later. But I would like to get settled first." He said, pushing me towards the staircase. Nodding at him, I followed his lead upstairs.

Opening a door on the right side, Dimitri showed me his room. It was also very tidy, with only a small bed, a desk in front of the window and a bookshelf, crowed with books, especially western novels. After he had put his bag onto the bed, we left the room and went into the one next to his.

"This is Viktoria's room, but since she is still at school, you can have her room for the time being. When she returns for Christmas time, we'll see what we do." Dimitri said, putting my bag on the bed. The room visibly was used by a girl. The walls where covered with posters of singers and actors, stuffed animals where lined along the wall on the bed and the table was covered with romance novels.

"If you want to take a shower, the bathroom is just down the hall. Let's meet back up in half an hour for a house tour, okay?"

"Yes, thank you." I said, smiling at him when he left the room.

Sitting down on the bed I took in my surroundings. The room was really nice. Dimitri's mother, Olena, had been really nice and her welcome was coming from her heart. She surely was a great mother and I was looking forward to spend some more time with her.

But the best thing was, that living here in Baia for some time, would also mean to spend even more time with a relaxed and happy Dimitri. During the time when he had been my mentor, Dimitri hadn't let his guard down very often. He had been a stern and strict teacher, trying to teach me everything he knew. This had been the Dimitri I had fallen in love with, but seeing a happy Dimitri was even more worth everything.

Deciding to take a quick shower, I searched for fresh clothes in my suitcase and went to the bathroom. It was more spacious than the other rooms with a shower stall and even a quite big bath tube.

As soon as I had finished with my shower, I heard Dimitri coming upstairs again to get me. Pulling my thick and still chaotic looking hair into a tidy bun, I exited the bathroom quickly. I still hadn't decided what to do with the hair problem, but I tended to the hair saving possibility. Especially since it was Dimitri who had offered to take on the job of untangling my hair.

"Are you ready?" he asked smiling, when he saw me walking towards him.

"Yes, sure." I said, linking my hand with his. His closeness was my comfort and though I wasn't sure if Dimitri did mind, he had never said anything. So I took what I could get, fearing the day when this would be over soon.

We made our tour through the rest of the house with Dimitri showing me the different rooms and sometimes he told me stories of his past. Hearing him talking about his school time here in Russia, I heard his happiness. It seemed to me that Dimitri had actually been a very funny person, never hesitating once to get himself in trouble. I had to fight back a smile, picturing a younger Dimitri being in trouble. There were so many things we've had in common, it pained me that Dimitri obviously had thought differently when accepting Tasha's offer. Pushing those depressing thoughts aside, I concentrated back on the stories Dimitri told me with his deep soothing voice.

When we finished our little excursion, Dimitri led me to the kitchen where we heard Olena rummaging through the cupboards and moving pans already. A growl in my stomach signaled me that it was time for dinner. Grinning up at Dimitri who had heard my grumbling as well, we decided to lend a hand to Olena, preparing some dinner. When we entered, she turned around smiling.

"Is everything okay, Rose? Do you need anything?"

I smiled at her motherly behavior. Although I had been here for only a mere hour now, I already felt at home. "No, everything is all right. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Rose." She said, turning back towards some food she had already started on preparing. Offering our help, Olena smiled at us, giving each of us a task. While I would help her preparing a Soljanka, a traditional Russian soup, Dimitri was ordered to set up the table. Tonight it would only be Olena, Yeva and us, she told, with Sonya and Karolina being out of town for the next few days.

As soon as everything was in the pot, we had some more time to kill since the soup needed some time for boiling. When Dimitri excused himself to his room for a short while, Olena pulled me towards the living room and onto a comfortable sofa. Now the interrogation started, I thought smiling slightly. Since there was not really much to say, I didn't fear it.

"It's really good to finally get to know you, Rose. Dimka has always told so much about you, that I've always had the feeling of you belonging to the family for a long time now." Olena said, smiling at me warmly. Hearing this, it made me a little bit sad that so many things had changed now and that I would most likely never become a part of this wonderful family. Not with this package I was carrying around with me nowadays.

"I'm also very glad I got this chance to finally meet you. Dimitri would always be very professional, never letting his mask slip. But when he was telling something about you, he would always smile. It was the only times I actually would really see him smile." I admitted.

Olena nodded shortly. "Yes, that's Dimitri. Always so sincere. He didn't used to be like this when he was younger. He was a real trouble maker, making excuses faster than I was able to shout out his name." An affectionate smile crossed her face. This revelation made me smile wider, having no trouble at all picturing him as a trouble maker. Especially after Dimitri telling me some funnier parts of his past earlier.

"He told me some of the things he did earlier." I smiled. "He was a good kid, or?"

Olena looked at me, her smile deepening. "Oh yes, that he was. He always looked after his sisters, though he wasn't the oldest. Especially Viktoria. I think she is his favorite sister." Laughing to herself, Olena looked at me. "There is this one story I always remember when seeing him. Dimka was about 5 and I was pregnant with Viktoria. He was so excited to get a new sister as the other didn't really want to play with him. He was convinced that his new sibling would be playing with him. And for his birthday I got him a set of hand paint because he loved to play with everything that was colorful." Olena stopped here, chuckling to herself at the memory. "Well, one day I was out and Sonya was supposed to look after him but she had to study for a test so he was roaming the house freely. When I came back and walked into the nursery, the walls where colored with blue, pink, yellow, green and red hand prints. And Dimka looked like he had fallen into a paint bucket."

Picturing this, I felt my mouth twitch into a wide smile. I had seen some pictures of Dimitri's youth and he had been a really cute child with huge brown eyes and dimples. I had sensed him feeling uncomfortable when I saw these pictures but they had made me smile inwardly.

"When I wanted to scold him, he looked up at me with those huge eyes of him and said in all honesty: 'Now my sister has a nice room.' I honestly couldn't be mad at him for that." Olena was laughing out loud now, remembering this happening so many years ago.

My smile even grew wider, when I saw Dimitri entering the living room, a frown on his face. "Mom, stop telling her these stories. It's embarrassing."

Now I couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed. I had never seen him like this, feeling embarrassment with his mother telling stories of his youth. I honestly thought them to be adorable and I really enjoyed hearing about a side of Dimitri I had never really witnessed.

"Oh, is the big bad Russian embarrassed? What a pity!" I mocked him, feeling happy for the first time since the incident. I had decided to call it that since everything else was just too painful.

Dimitri hadn't expected me to react this way, as he looked at me with a mixture of uneasiness and happiness. "Don't mock me, Rose. It's not nice."

Grinning up at him, I shrugged my shoulders shortly. "Nobody ever said I was a fair person!" I recognized that Dimitri astonished at the return of my usual behavior. But when his eyes looked down at my, brightening up with happiness, I felt my heart doing flip flops. I still was in love with this man like crazy, and if me being witty would give him happiness, then I would do it more often.

Suddenly a elderly woman entered the living room, her presence giving me a chill. I eyes had locked with mine the moment I saw her and the depth of the dark opals, gave me a creepy feeling. It felt as if this woman was able to look into my soul deeply and I had to fight to not avert my eyes.

Rose? This is my grandmother Yeva. Yeva, this is Rose I've told you about." Dimitri's deep voice cut into our connection, forcing me to avert my eyes to him.

Smiling slightly, I got up from the couch and averted my hand towards Yeva. "It's nice to meet you."

After a moment of hesitation, she outstretched her hand. Looking me up and down, she said "Give this girl something to eat. She needs it." Then she turned around, walked to the table and sat down.

Okay, so tell me if you like it. I'm honestly not really feeling very comfortable with the character of Yeva, so she will not have many appearences in this story. Sorry.

But still, give me a review! Thank you so much!

Lilian85