Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 8 Viktoria

There was a soft knock on the door, but we didn't stop our kissing and making out. I let out a soft sigh as he traced my collarbone, and gave me a soft kiss. "Dimka? Are you up yet?"

Dimitri pulled away from my lips, which felt very swollen from his kisses. I pulled the blanket over myself, ready in case anyone came in. "Just got up, Mama," he called back.

I tried not to laugh at his lie. If Olena came in and saw us both half-naked in bed…that wasn't going to be a very good impression I would make.

"Alright, but hurry up! I made blini," she called as her footsteps padded away. I let out a sigh of relief, and threw the blanket off.

"What's blini?" I asked Dimitri as I got up and ruffled through my suitcase for something to wear. I pulled on a T-shirt and jeans before rushing to the bathroom to comb out my hair and brush my teeth.

"If you like pancakes, you'll like blini," Dimitri said, and I could hear him changing in the bedroom.

I turned back to my reflection and nearly shouted. There were several bruises covering the side of my neck, probably from when we were making out. I scowled at my reflection. Good going, Rose. I combed my hair out to the sides so it would completely cover the hickeys, and examined my reflection. There. Unless someone knew about them, they'd be unseen.

I came out and he went into the bathroom. When he finished about a minute later, I opened the door and we started walking down the hall and down the stairs.

The living room wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny either. In a rocking chair was an old lady with graying hair. She appeared to be knitting something but looked up at her approach.

Her eyes were like Dimitri's and Olena's…but the fierce expression in them reminded me of Dimitri when he had killed Natalie a few months ago to save me. I shivered a little uneasily at her harsh glare.

Dimitri said something to her in Russian, and the only word I could pick out was my name. Roza.

The old lady (she had to be his grandmother) replied rapidly in Russian, looking at me and giving me a look that screamed disapproval. I tried my best to be meek and not draw attention to myself.

Dimitri was talking more loudly in Russian. Shaking his head, he led me into the kitchen.

"Was that your grandmother?" I asked as I sat down at the square table in the middle of the tiny kitchen. I wondered how everyone ate.

"Yes," Dimitri sighed, looking over at his grandmother.

"Don't mind Yeva," Olena said as she set down a plate of blini in front of me, along with a glass of orange juice. "She's just in one of her moods."

"I don't even know what she said," I told Olena, eyeing the plate of blini. It looked like super-thin pancakes, with lots of maple syrup. Yum.

Olena put down another plate of blini in front of Dimitri and he started eating, so I followed his lead. Instead of taking my time, I just wolfed everything down.

"She...well, I guess you could say she thinks you're not worthy enough for him," Olena said reluctantly.

Yeva said something in Russian, and Olena's gentle expression turned hard. She retorted in rapid-fire Russian, and then turned around and went back to cooking.

I turned to Dimitri questioningly. He frowned, and said, "Mama said to Grandmother, 'Don't say that about Rose, it's very rude.'"

"What did she say about me?" I asked as I finished my last blini. I shouldn't have been full from just one plate, but I was.

Dimitri shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not…er…you know…what most people think about dhampir women living together, if you know what I mean."

I understood what he'd left unspoken. Blood whores.

Well, I guess it was a relief Yeva hadn't mentioned that about me.

Dhampir women often chose to not become guardians to raise their children. Because Moroi men often wanted to be with Moroi women, it left a lot of single dhampir mothers but we could handle it.

However, rumors surrounded these dhampir women who chose to raise families. They lived together in communities, and it was said that Moroi men visited a lot of times for sex. And another rumor was that dhampir women would let them drink blood while they had sex. It was a kinky, dirty thing, to let a Moroi drink from a dhampir. So that was where the term "blood whores" had come from.

Dimitri took my plate and glass. I stood up to help him but he shook his head. "You're a guest here, so I'll do the chores."

"Thanks Comrade," I teased, sitting back down again.

He washed the plates and glasses before putting them in the dishwasher. "Mama, when's the hospital open?"

"It's already open," Olena replied, washing her hands. "I went early this morning, but Viktoria hadn't woken up yet. Still, the doctors are very hopeful she'll wake up soon."

"I'm going to visit her. Rose, do you want to come?" I nodded, and stood again.

"We'll walk there. It's a nice day out today," Dimitri added, coming over to me and taking my hand.

Now that it was morning, plenty of people were strolling about on the streets. I smiled a little. Baia reminded me a little of European small towns I'd seen in travel books. It was charming, with that village feel.

Of course, all the signs on stores and buildings looked like they were in Cyrillic, but oh well.

"Baia is a beautiful place," I told Dimitri as we walked through a small park with grass and lots of trees. A small brook quietly bubbled on the far end of the park.

"It is," he agreed, closing his eyes briefly. "I've always missed coming back home. I don't think I've been here since I graduated."

I stared in surprise. "You haven't returned home since you graduated?'

He nodded as we strolled out of the park and into the rest of town. "To be honest, I'd sort of lost contact with my family when I came to the States and became Lissa's guardian. I got in contact with them again about a year ago."

"Wow…"

I couldn't imagine losing contact with people I cared so much about. To be fair though, I wasn't that close to my mother, the famous guardian Janine Hathaway. Recent events (although bad) had drawn us a little closer, although we weren't quite there yet.

We stopped in front of a tall imposing building, which I knew was the hospital.

Dimitri checked us in at the receptionist's desk, who directed us to the third floor. He told me, once we were in the elevator, that Viktoria had been in Intensive Care for a few days before. She'd only been moved out to Rehabilitation last night.

Dimitri clenched my hand tightly as we started walking down the corridors to Viktoria's room.

I gently stroked his hand. "It'll be alright," I gently soothed him.

"I hope so," he murmured as we entered Viktoria's room.

She was on the first bed to the left.

If I hadn't known she was in a coma, I would've thought she was peacefully sleeping. She was hooked up to a few tubes, and I could see an IV needle poked into her arm. Ugh. I hated needles.

Her face was very gentle and angel-like as she slept. Even though her eyes were closed, I could tell that she was a very pretty girl. Her lightly tanned skin was a little paler than healthy. The long hair spread across her pillow was dark brown, with a few hints of gold catching the sunlight coming in through the windows.

A slight sob caught in Dimitri's throat when he saw his young sister lying there in a coma.

I was shocked at Dimitri releasing his emotions like that. It had only been recently that he'd been letting go and showing his emotions, and little by little…

"Viktoria!" he whispered, sitting down in the chair next to her bed and clasping her hand.

A nurse came in, with long black hair tucked into a bun. From the slight tingle I felt when I saw her, I knew she was a dhampir.

"Dimitri Belikov?"

Dimitri instantly got up but didn't release his sister's hand. "That's me."

The nurse nodded, looking down at her clipboard. "She's been in a coma for about three days now. The doctors said she should be waking up anytime now."

"What if she doesn't ever wake up?" Dimitri's voice was a pained whisper as he turned his gaze back to Viktoria.

The nurse shook her head. "Her vital signs are good, and just yesterday, she moved her hand. It was a slight movement, but it's a good sign of improvement. If she wakes up, press the button next to her bed."

"Thank you," Dimitri murmured, looking at Viktoria again.

The nurse stopped at the door, and turned around. "Talk to her. It could help her recover quickly." She quietly left afterwards.

I bit my lip, watching Dimitri's pained face as he looked at his sleeping sister. I quietly sat down on Dimitri's other side.

"Viktoria, it's me. It's Dimka," he said to her, probably knowing he wouldn't get a response. "I've come back from the States. And I hope you'll wake up soon, and recover quickly…I brought someone special with me I want you to meet when you wake up. Her name is Rose."

I stared at him in amazement. I'd just come to Baia last night with him, and now he was already talking about me to his sister who was in a coma…

He kept talking to her, switching back and forth between Russian and English. I gave up on attempting to follow the conversation and decided to lay back and relax.

Dimitri stood up some time later, and gently nudged me. "Come on, let's go."

I stood up, and we walked hand in hand out of the room.

Once we were outside, Dimitri said, "I want to get some flowers for her."

"Let's go to the flower shop downstairs," I suggested, steering him towards the elevator.

We got out on the ground floor, and Dimitri deliberated on what flowers to get her. He turned to me. "What flowers would represent happiness, or a quick recovery?"

I found it a little amusing he would ask me for help on the secret language of flowers. But I didn't know that much about flowers. I bit my lip. "Why not something yellow? Those are very bright and cheerful."

"I guess," Dimitri sighed. "Viktoria never really liked yellow a whole lot."

I tilted my head as I examined a pot of beautiful roses. "Get her some of her favorite flowers."

"She liked lilies, daisies, and tulips," Dimitri told me, looking around the flower shop like he was on an alien planet.

"Then tell the shopkeeper what you told me," I said, leading him over to the matronly old lady.

She nodded as he listed the flowers, and started bustling around the shop, picking out several flowers and arranging them quickly in a crystal vase. I stared in amazement. I'd never be able to do that in a hundred years if I tried.

Dimitri nodded in approval, and paid for them. We made our way back to the elevator with the flowers, and went to Viktoria's room.

Dimitri gently set the flowers on the table at the foot of Viktoria's bed. "These are your favorite flowers. Wake up soon, and see the beautiful colors and smell them."

We left after that, and started walking back across town to Dimitri's house.

Author's note: I probably won't be updating this on a daily basis anymore...school's starting up again this coming Monday, and I need to focus on my schoolwork and tests. But I promise I'll try to update on a weekly basis :)