Hello my poor deprived fans. I truly feel sooooo guilty for not posting more. Its really killing me! I want to post more really I do. :'( But ugh! My life is soo soo busy. I know you've heard it all before. But I really am sorry. Please forgive me!

Don't worry tho, I will finish the story. Thanks for sticking with me.

Ok I have a question for you. I can continue to switch back and forth between the West and Current so you can see glimpses of Dimitri in the hospital, or I can write like 5 ch straight of the West. And see what happens to Rose if she wakes up or ... bum... bum... bum...dies.

Im leaning towards writting the west all out till she... um Im not tellin' LOL

so in your review tell me if you want to see Dimitri in the hospital sitting bedside vigil. Or write out all the events of the west.

If you do see Dimitri in the hospital it will be short bc all the action is really happening in the west right now. Let me know what you think.

REVIEW! The more I get the more inspired I feel and right now I need the inspiration! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! PLEASE!

Chapter 18 The Carnival

Previously in The Wild Wild West

I giggled "And what pray tell do you have in mind for later?" I asked hearing his double meaning.

"Well, first I was thinking we could go enjoy the carnival. Tonight is the first big night of it, besides I need to show my face around town. I have been neglecting my duties." He said as we dug into our wonderful meal. I couldn't help the moan as I savored the flavors.

"Wow, this is amazing, I didn't know you were such a fantastic cook!" I said in awe.

"Not half as amazing as you." He said softly and smiled at me. "But thank you." I smiled back.

"So the carnival, like a date? And then what?" I asked hoping he would say what I was thinking.

"Yes like a date! I want to spend time with my beautiful fiancé. Then we will come back here and spend a cozy night together." Yes! Just what I was hoping he would say.

"That sounds great, just what I wanted." I said with a big grin on my face.

"Great! So how about after we eat, we both get cleaned up and meet at my office in an hour." He said happily.

"Perfect."

We finished our meal and he gave me a very nice kiss good bye. I decided I needed a bath so with that I ran off to get prepared for my date.

Currently in The Wild, Wild West RPOV

In a short hours time I was excitedly heading in the direction of the Sheriffs office to meet my handsome cowboy. My face held a grin that I literally couldn't wipe away. Being with Dimitri made me happy beyond expressible words. I felt like I was floating on cloud nine.

I practically skipped my way to the office, but as I got up close I noticed a commotion inside. When I quietly stepped in the door, Dimitri was roughly shoving a disorderly drunken man into one of the small cells. The heavy steel cell door loudly clanged shut with a distinct ringing sound. The obnoxious drunken man clumsily stumbled and swayed his way to the small bed by the cold stone wall and awkwardly fell onto it in a heap. He let out a loud groan, but did not move another muscle. I snickered quietly as I watched, entirely captivated my big strong sheriff as he shook his head in annoyance.

Hearing my little snicker, Dimitri turned to look directly into my eyes, greeting me with a big heartwarming smile. In about two seconds flat, my loving man had his big warm arms wrapped around me and his soft sexy lips crashed into mine as he dipped me backwards like a fancy dance move. I quietly giggled again and feebly tried to squirm out of his strong grasp, but he was not making it easy.

His sensuous lips persistently attacked mine, more aggressively than before, and Dimitri's encircling arms tightened around me, firmly holding me close to him. I couldn't resist giving in as his tongue eagerly stoked my bottom lip and his hands slid over my body. My hands slid up his rock hard chest and linked around the back of his neck. I played idly with his tied-back hair as I opened my mouth to let his sexy slippery tongue wrap around mine. He kissed me so deeply I melted into him, giving over my control.

An erotic buzz seemed to hum through our connection, making me completely lose track of the world around me. It was almost overwhelming, the way Dimitri's soft lips moved over mine and every gentle stroke of his hand sent heated tingles down my body, stimulating every nerve. I let out an impassioned sigh with a lust-filled moan as our slippery tongues and heated bodies rubbed together. Damn, it was hot in here. I was tempted to forcefully drag him into his little private office and have my way with him right here and now.

All too soon, my sizzling hot sheriff pulled back from the stimulating kiss with a sexy smirk on his handsome face. Breathing a bit heavy, though, as he looked at me with those chocolate eyes that smoldered with as much lust as I felt. I growled at the loss of the fiery contact. He leaned into my ear and quietly whispered, "I love you and I missed you." Goose bumps spread across my body feeling his hot breath sweep over my tingling skin and the musical sound of his sweet loving voice.

"I missed you too and I love you more than you can possibly imagine." I whispered into his neck as my lips trailed small kisses up to his ear. Grabbing his earlobe with my teeth and nibbling enticingly. It was his turn to growl as his arms tightened around me, once again bringing our bodies flush as I leaned into him.

"My God, Roza, the things you do to me." Dimitri moaned breathlessly. His Russian accent thickly laced his words and he sounded so… so sexy.

"Mmm, its nothing compared to what you do to me." I whispered as I molded my body to his, getting as close as I possibly could. A sigh of his hot breath swept lightly over my skin. His teeth grazed across my tingling flesh sending a burning flame right to my core. Desire surged through my whole body begging for more as I pressed even harder against him.

"Damn, Roza, you're killing me here. We're never going to make it to the carnival if we keep this up. I'll have to drag you into my office and have my way with you on my desk!" He growled as he bit my neck sending shockwaves of pleasure through me making me moan with desire.

"You two need to get a room!" A familiar voice grumbled sarcastically. Dimitri and I froze and then snapped apart guiltily as we turned towards the sound. I felt a flush of heat rush to my cheeks when I locked eyes with the sharp crystal blue eyes of Christian Ozera. Standing next to him was my grinning and giggling best friend.

"You're just jealous that Lissa isn't all over you!" I jeered back with a smirk. Dimitri wrapped his arm back around me and pulled me to him. I smiled up at him and giggled.

"We saw you walking this way Rose, and thought you two could come with us to the carnival." Lissa said with a huge smile on her face, her eyes twinkling at Dimitri and I. "It's a good thing we got here when we did." She gestured with her hand back and forth between us and giggled again.

"Yes well, I don't know about that, but we were planning to go to the carnival, too. So, that sounds like fun." I said laughing at her and rolling my eyes. I grabbed the front of Dimitri's shirt and dragged him with me as I walked towards the door. He followed me without complaint and as we walked down the street, his arm wrapped around me.

The carnival was in full swing, it looked as if the entire town had turned out. People were at every booth playing the games and winning little trinkets. Carnies called to us to come try our hand at winning a prize for just a nickel. The hum of activity was fun and exciting. People were laughing, sometimes whooping and hollering as they won their insignificant little prize.

Dimitri and Christian had a friendly competition going, to see who could win the most prizes. The two taunted and bantered with each other poking fun at the others lame attempt to master the games. Lissa and I were getting in as much girl talk as we could with her drilling me for details.

"Hey Dimitri, Lets see how bad your aim is, I bet you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn." Christian shouted with a cynical grin appearing on his face. He pointed to the pie throwing dunking game.

"Well, Sparky, I wouldn't be sheriff if I wasn't a dead shot; you on the other hand couldn't hit an out house with a bundle of dynamite that was placed inside for you." Dimitri slammed back. I giggled at him; it was quite funny hearing Dimitri being sarcastic.

"The only out house you could hit is the little kiddy potty with that little pea shooter in your pants." Christian jeered with an evil little grin. Lissa shook her head and rolled her eyes at Christian's low blow, below the belt.

"Oh trust me, I'm packing a big gun and not the ones on my holster, as for you, I'm sure all you have is some royal little pea shooter." Dimitri said gesturing to Christian's crotch with an eyebrow raised and a cocky smirk gracing his lips. A bubble of laughter escaped my lips and a grinning Dimitri looked down at me with a sparkle in his eyes. He tightened the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him as we walked in the direction of the dunking game.

"I bet my royal little pea shooter has seen way more action then your little cork gun." Christian said with another cheap shot to Dimitri's manhood.

"Ah, so were both in agreement, that all you have is a little pea shooter. At least mine comes out with a big bang." Another loud burst of laughter left my mouth as I thought about how loud we can get when we're "'bangin' with our boots on," so to speak.

"Alright big boy let's see what cha got." Christian said with a clear challenge as he rolled up his sleeves and picked up a pie. He took aim at the lever to the side of the dunk tank and let the pie fly. We all watched with anticipation as the pie flew within inches of the target.

"Okay Christian, let's make this interesting. What do you want to bet that I hit that target first try?" Dimitri challenged Christian right back with a little bit of a cocky attitude.

"Yeah right, I'll take your little wager, how about a night at Rosie's Saloon; whoever loses buys the drinks all night!" Christian threw out and Dimitri agreed with a nod and a firm handshake.

Dimitri stepped up to the line and picked up his pie like an expert, placing it in his hand just so. He carefully balanced the weight of it in his hand. I could see his calculating mind at work as he judged the distance. In a blink of the eye he hurled the pie, sailing through the air with amazing speed. All of us could see that it was headed directly for its little circle target. The man in the dunk tank braced for the hit. Suddenly, with a ringing clang the pie smacked dead center of the lever and a startled cry was heard from the guy as he was plunged into the cold tank of water. A loud cheer exploded up around us as the people watching saw it all go down.

"No way!" Christian shouted over the loud cheering crowd. "Best, two out of three!" he said as he stepped up to the line again determinedly, aggressively picking up the pie. The poor guy on the dunking chair had just got situated again as the pie soared towards its target. With a half hit the pie pan tumbled over the lever in a spinning mess. The guy on the dunk chair held his breath as he was dumped unceremoniously into the frigid water.

Dimitri applauded Christians lame hit and confidently stepped up to the line again. He was so cocky as he picked up the stupid little pie, it was actually kind of a turn on. He had a certain swagger in his movement that exuded domination. He weighed the pie in his hand and then looked up at me with a little wink. A second later the pie whizzed toward the lever, once again, dead on target. The cheers erupted even before it hit, as everyone could see it wasn't going to miss. Dimitri made a little "yes" motion with his fist in the air as the poor shivering carnie was thrown into the icy liquid.

Christian marched up to the line with attitude this time, no more fooling around. Squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eyes at his competition with an evil grumbling glare. He had to hit this or the bet was automatically lost, this was his last chance. He grabbed a pie, placing it in his hand.

I don't know what he was thinking with his next move, but the pie left his fingertips spinning high into the air. A collective gasp went around the crowd as it flipped over and over above us. People in every direction were taking cover as bits of pie sailed around in a little circle overhead. The next thing I saw was the pie upside down dropping from the sky like a rock. So fast that we all spit in four different directions. And then… a roar of laughter burst out from the onlookers.

When I looked up, there stood Christian with the pie pan upside down on his head. He stood there, stiff as a board, as oozing wet pie glop slid down his cheeks. An instant hush suddenly blanketed the entire mass of people, waiting for the anticipated reaction with bated breath. Christian reached up with his fingers and wiped the cream off his eyes. Then he stuck out his tongue, swiping a sliding chunk of pie off his nose.

"Mmm, banana cream pie! My favorite!" All around us, groups busted into hysterics, watching him lick the pie off his face. We got a pretty good laugh out of it. And Christian took it all in good natured fun.

"Okay, well you lose Christian, even though that was quite entertaining. But, just to show you that you would have been buying the drinks anyway..." Dimitri said as he stepped up to the line one final time. The carnie in the dunk tank looked disappointed, knowing that he would soon be submerged, once again, in the cold water filled tank. "Oh wait, Christian, you sure you wouldn't like to be the one on the dunk chair, at least you could rinse that banana cream pie from your hair." Dimitri said with a cocky grin.

Christian grumbled something, cocked his head back and forth and rolled his eyes in response. Dimitri laughed a beautiful sound, and then hurled the pie at its target one more time. And without a doubt it smacked dead center of the awaiting little circle. The guy in the tank didn't even make a sound as he hit the water, again.

A few bystanders came up to Dimitri and shook his hand, still laughing at the show. Christian decided that this wasn't so fun anymore and told Lissa he wanted to head back home to clean up. We said our goodbyes and went the opposite direction.

"That was pretty impressive, Mr. Belikov." I said with a big grin. He laughed again and just shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, I warned him I was a dead shot." He said with a bragging smirk.

When I looked up, I realized we were standing right in front of the Fortune Tellers tent. Something was telling me that I had to go there, like my life depended on it. So I grabbed Dimitri's hand dragging him into the heavily scented tent. For some strange reason the old woman sitting there looked very familiar to me. I studied her features trying to place where on earth I had seen her before. The whole setting looked so recognizable to me. Right down to the scarves layered over the table and a crystal ball placed in the middle.

"Come in my child, and have a seat. It is my honor, to have the warrior princess in my presence, once again." She greeted me with a bow. As strange as that sounded, I felt like, somewhere, I had heard someone call me that. "I am Madame Esmeralda; it is my great honor to be your humble guide." Her voice was gritty with a heavy thick accent.

"Sit, sit, I have much to tell you, young one." She pointed to the two available chairs. She looked deep into my eyes and in complete silence; she studied me for a minute. "Oh child, I can only hope my words of wisdom can help you through your long hard journey." She reached out and took my hand in her frail old fingers.

"The battle you must wage is in mind, body and soul." The fortune teller closed her eyes as she gently stroked the palm of my hand with her fingertips. "The spirit dream walker is trying to guide you, but you have not been ready to hear him. You must trust him, dear child; when he comes to you next, you must put your faith in his hands and let him guide you home." I looked at her with puzzled eyes not understanding a word of what she said.

"When the mind is unconscious, it is of your true destiny that you dream. In this world your walls will crumble down around you and when it happens your soul mate is there waiting for you." She nodded with a small smile towards Dimitri.

"I see in this other vivid reality, that you have everyone you love. You must make your peace here and it will set you free, you must… be set free, my child." She said firmly as she squeezed my hand in hers.

"There is quite a battle ahead, you must face your enemies, put your faith in the ones you love and you will survive." She patted my hand like a loving grandmother. I listened intently to her because her words had such an ominous tone, I couldn't help but feel the importance of them.

"Your future is never set in stone, dear child, but yours is predestined to be bright, it's written in the stars. A love like yours will follow you through time and space. Believe that all you desire can come true and your dreams will become reality." She placed a hand on my cheek for a moment; she looked into my eyes, once again, as if she could see my soul.

"Remember these words… run as fast as she will go, have faith he will come for you, listen to the spirit walker, and you will find your way home. Stay vigil and do not hesitate or all will be lost." She stood and kissed me on the forehead. In her mother tongue, she said some kind of prayer, or something over me and then she bowed to me once again.

"I bid you farewell, and good luck, my child." She immediately turned and walked away disappearing through the back of the tent, leaving Dimitri and me sitting in quiet. I opened my mouth several times to say something, but nothing came out. I was stunned into complete silence. Dimitri reached out and took my hand guiding me out of the tent. Neither of us said anything, I was still trying to process it all. The noise around me allowed me to be in my own little world for a moment.

In the distance I heard another thing that sounded familiar. I turned toward the sound of the man's voice. It had a sing song hypnotic quality to it that drew you in. I kept walking until I was directly in front of the source.

"Step right up. This here tonic will magically make all your aches and pains go away. One sip and you'll be dancing a jig with your sweetheart. It'll cure headaches, toothaches, joint pain and get rid of those unsightly bumps and bruises." He sang out to all the passers-by.

I stood sort of frozen in place as my dream flooded back to me. The last time I had seen his face was in the most spectacular garden I had ever been to. Why he was in that garden and why he was in my dreams, I haven't a clue. All I could remember was the sad look in his eyes when he realized that I couldn't hear him and the words 'wake up'. I stared into his emerald green eyes trying to make heads or tails out of all of this.

Confusing bits of information flickered in my mind. I felt like my life was flashing before my eyes, but yet, it could not be. A snowy cabin porch, a large school, a dating proposal, hugs, and friendship all little glimpses of a life. My life. I shook my head breaking eye contact with him. It was as if I had been put in some kind of trance.

"Hello, little lady." He said with a tilt of his top hat. Like the last time I had actually seen him, the night he was in my saloon, he was dressed like city folks do. A cape hung over his shoulders. Under that he was wearing a long sleeve shirt with a vest and a tie. Quite fancy for this town.

"Mr. Ivashkov, what are you doing here?" I asked relatively confused by his whole appearance.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked little lady, for that answer you only need to try my tonic, for I am the Medicine man." He said puffing out his chest.

"Really?" I asked in pure and utter shock. "You, are the Medicine man?" Disbelief replaced my shock and I stared at him.

"Why yes ma'am, with this here tonic, I can make all your aches and pains disappear. A swig a day will keep the doctor away, I say!" He boastfully sung the praises of the bottle held in his hand. His boyish charm made you want to trust his words. But for me it set off some kind of warning bell in my head. Something telling me not to trust the smooth talker, but yet memories of friendship and true trust held steady in my mind.

I glanced over to Dimitri as silence seemed to fall around us. That's when I noticed that there were only a few people in the area. As I opened my mouth to ask either of them what happened to all the people. A loud voice rang in the air.

"And now please welcome Gypsy Jane" Boomed across the carnival area as the loud deep carnies' voice carried over the crowd from the distance. The big, highly anticipated gypsy show was about to begin as I heard the introduction of my mom from across the little carnival. A raw wound seemed to open up in side of me. Pain flared in my chest and gripped ahold of me and I closed my eyes as the painful memory flashed through my mind, hearing her sad story outside the room at the Inn. Dimitri and I were already walking in the direction of the large stage and part of me needed to go there. I wanted to see her performance. My heart was racing, because I hadn't seen her since discovering that she is my Mother.

I walked towards the stage kind of in a daze, staring at the figure that stood bowing to the attentive audience as they cheered and applauded her. It was a large group of people for our little town, but still only a few hundred people. When I entered the seating area my mom looked up to me. Her face looked pained for just a moment and then a false entertainer's stage mask slid into place as she smiled to everyone.

"I'd like to dedicate this song to my daughter, Rose." She said as she locked eyes with me. Something in that moment kept me from turning away. Maybe it was the pain I have felt so long from not having a family of my own. The crowd hushed around me and my vision clouded, black around the edges. I could only see her. I could only hear her.

"This song is called The Rose." She announced, not once wavering from my eyes. The piano began to play a slow and haunting sound and she began to sing.

Some say love it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Every word she sang felt as though they were sharp little knifes stabbing through my heart. I felt the words slicing me like the razor that left my soul to bleed. She had taken her love from me and left an eternal gaping wound, deep within my soul.

Some say love it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
And you it's only seed

As a child I craved nothing more than my mothers love. It was a crushing, never ending ache. And now with her poetic words she was telling me that I am the only one who can give her the love she hungers for, aches for. Her words were hauntingly beautiful, and excruciating at the same time.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

My heart was more than broken when she left me and now she's asking me not to be afraid, to take the chance to love her. It's her dream for me to give her a second chance. To take her love, to heal our souls, to learn to live again.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong

So many agonizing nights passed that I cried myself to sleep wishing I had my mother to hold me and rock me, sing to me. It has been far too long since I was lucky enough to have that kind of love. I always thought that I wasn't meant to know a mothers love. But I am strong now and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world when I'm with Dimitri.

Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love
In the spring
Becomes the rose

Is she telling me that even after all the harsh pain we have been through that I can have the love back? Tears flowed freely down my cheeks and I hadn't really noticed that I had moved closer to the stage. I could see Janine's tears streaming from her eyes too. Her perfect entertainers mask had completely shattered.

Applause snapped me from my haze as I looked around; I realized how close I was to the stage and stumbled back. Strong arms wrapped around me supporting my balance and he whispered calming words in my ear.

"Get me out of here, please." I begged as he wrapped his arm around my waist and I leaned on him for support. We made it back to the saloon a few minutes later. Dimitri carried me up the stairs and tried to lay me down on my bed, but I clung to him and cried in his arms. He rocked me back and forth and rubbed soothing circles over my back. I was finally calming down when we heard gun fire. Dimitri stiffened at the sound.

That could only mean one thing trouble.

Dont forget to answer my question from the begining AN in your review.

REVIEW! The more I get the more inspired I feel and right now I need the inspiration! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! PLEASE!

Song: The Rose by Bette Midler