Yay, updates!! :D One thing before I start - Please, please, PLEASE review? I'm getting chapters out as fast as I can. And it takes about half an hour to type everything out. Reviewing takes like, half a minute. I don't care if it's a flame or not... Just please, tell me SOMETHING. Okay?
Disclaimer: We're getting closer to the people that are mine... Even though Rose and Dimitri still aren't... Sigh.
The next few months were filled with happiness, mood swings, and carelessness. Dimitri and I walked the streets of small towns, hand in hand, during the nighttime and slept through the days. We changed towns every other night, traveling mostly through the forest. We never went out of state, though.
Dimitri still never really talked about the baby, even though I knew he was happy about it. I would catch him glancing at my stomach every now and then, a look of wonder in his eyes. But every time I brought it up, he'd change the subject.
We were sitting in a motel room as of now. And thanks to Adrian, we had the money to stay in a motel every night. It was average - stiff beds and strange patterns. There was a small TV. But for tonight, it was our home, and we always made the best of it.
Dimitri had loosened up a little bit tonight and was allowing me to lay my head on his chest. I figured that he still thought of himself as my teacher, and he was telling himself that at any moment we'd get caught. True, he was still much older than me, but now he was frozen at twenty-five. He'd given me time to catch up.
I felt his cool fingers brush my stomach lightly. This was the first time he'd ever touched my stomach, and I loved the complete feeling that came with the simple gesture. I held his hand there, smiling against his chest.
And I finally got the courage to ask what I'd been wondering for a long time. "Are you happy?" I whispered, not entirely sure if I wanted to hear the answer.
I felt the atmosphere shift slightly. It went from calm to worried. "Of course," he replied quietly, applying a little more pressure to my stomach.
"Well, you never want to talk about it." I kept my eyes on the bedspread, refusing to look at him and be upset.
"I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I'm extremely happy, Roza, you have no idea." With his free hand, he traced my cheek. "It just doesn't seem real yet, you know? You can feel Z move. All I see is -"
"How fat I am," I finished bitterly. Damn these mood swings! I wanted to kill myself because of them sometimes.
"No, Rose. You're beautiful, and you know it. All I see is your stomach. That's the only physical proof I have." I sat up, looking at him. He was watching me, his eyes serious.
"So you're happy?" I asked in a small voice, wanting to be certain.
His smile was blinding. "Yes. Very happy," he murmured, kissing my forehead. I thought he was going to end the conversation, but to my surprise, he kept speaking. "Have you thought of names yet?"
My eyes widened, and I shook my head. I really hadn't. Five months, and I hadn't thought of names. I was procrastinating. We needed to have -
"Rose, shhh," Dimitri whispered, his voice alarmed. "It's all right. You're fine. It'll get done, I promise."
I exhaled slowly, trying to calm down. I hated how paranoid I got now. "You're right. I'm sorry. I get so worried."
"I know, Roza. But everything will be all right. Would you like to think of names now?" he asked gently.
I was thankful that he asked otherwise I would be obsessing over it until it got done. I nodded eagerly, and he smiled at my enthusiasm.
"Girl names first," I said. Then another thought hit me. "Wait. Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?"
"I really don't care, Rose," he chuckled. I froze. He didn't care? He didn't want this to happen? He was lying to me. He never wanted a baby. I bit my lip and stared at the ground again.
"Okay," I croaked, tears pricking my eyes.
"Rose? Roza?" he whispered uncertainly. He took my hand lightly. "Rose, you know I didn't mean it like that, don't you?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Roza," he sighed. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I'd be ecstatic either way. What do you want Z to be?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to change the subject, but now it made sense. He really hadn't meant it like that. It had been my emotions telling me hidden meanings that didn't exist.
I swallowed. "I don't know. A girl would be nice, but so would a boy."
He smiled encouragingly at me. "I'm rather fond of the name Sabrina. What do you think?"
"I think it's pretty," I told him, squeezing his hand. "But what about a middle name to go with it?"
"Hailey," he replied instantly. I wondered if he'd been thinking about this more than I had assumed.
"Sabrina Hailey . . ." A new question came to mind. "Belikov or Hathaway?"
His eyes widened, and he stiffened. "Well, technically, we're not married, so I'd say Hathaway," he replied slowly.
"Okay," I whispered. He didn't want Z to have his last name. That was the question that determined whether or not he really wanted this baby. And he failed.
"Roza, you know I would, but -" He sighed. "I do think of Z as a Belikov. But technically speaking -"
"This isn't technically speaking, Dimitri," I argued. "In your heart, is Z a Belikov or a Hathaway?"
"Belikov," he told me evenly. "Z is a Belikov."
"Sabrina Hailey Belikov," I whispered, satisfied. "It's a beautiful name."
Dimitri smiled. "That it is." He caressed my stomach once more before leaning back against the pillows. I laid my head back on his chest.
"I love you," I whispered, yawning.
"I love you, too. You need to rest, Rose." I curled up against him and sighed contentedly. I felt him stroking my hair. As I was slowly falling asleep, I swore I heard him whispering, "I'm really a father."
Yes, you are, I thought happily before falling asleep.
Soo... What do you think of the name? Like, dislike, love, hate? Please, tell me. I'm like, BEGGING you.
Review? Pretty please? And then maybe I'll give up another name?
- J.C.
