I apologize for the late update. I've been really busy the last few days. I'm sorry. And thank you very much for the reviews! Glad you all like this story :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 24

DPOV

The kids were ecstatic that I'd made their favorite dish. I could only hope they'd stay this happy when I told them about Rose and me. I feared, though, that that wouldn't be the case. Nonetheless, I had to tell them. I'd been keeping my relationship with Rose a secret for too long already. They deserved to know.

"I've got something important to tell you," I said, clearing my throat, as we sat at the dinner table.

When they saw the grave look on my face, their smiles vanished. Even Liam understood this was serious.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Alisa asked, concerned.

"Nothing, sweetie," I said. Yet. "I just…"

I fell silent as my kids looked at me expectantly. I cursed myself in silence as I looked back at them. I had no clue how I was going to tell them this. I had no clue how they'd react. It could be good or bad. Or even worse.

"Dad?" Inna said. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," I said quickly, glancing up at her and forcing a smile. "Just fine."

"You're acting a little weird," Inna said carefully. "What's going on?"

I sighed. Just get on with it, I thought to myself. Just tell them.

"You all like Rose, right?" I started at last, hoping for the best.

They all nodded.

"And you like it when she hangs out here? Even when she doesn't have to babysit you guys."

They nodded again, but now they were looking confused.

"What does she have got to do with this?" Inna asked.

Everything.

I cleared my throat again. "I like her having her here, too."

"We know," Alisa said smiling.

Suddenly, Liam exclaimed, "Is she leaving us? Is that why you want to talk about Rose?" Tears filled his eyes. "I don't want her to go! I don't want a new babysitter. I want Rose!"

"Don't cry," I said hastily. "Rose isn't going anywhere. It's okay, Liam. She won't leave us."

It was now that I realized that Liam had come to see Rose as a mother - sort of. His real mom had died and now he'd found one in Rose. He would be devastated if he lost Rose too.

Liam calmed down. "Okay," he whispered, looking relieved.

"It's actually the opposite… Sort of." God, I had no idea what I was doing. What I was saying. I honestly felt stupid. "Would you mind if she spent more time here?"

"More?" Inna said, raising an eyebrow. "She's already here so much."

"Yes, but she likes it here. And, like I said earlier, I like it when she's here." I swallowed heavily as my children looked at me in confusion. I wasn't explaining this all too well. "I would like her to be here more often."

"Why?" Inna asked.

Alisa smiled, already guessing why. Liam, now that he knew Rose wasn't leaving, had lost interest and was playing with his leftover food. I drew his attention back to the conversation and made sure he listened to what I was saying.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Because Rose and I…"

Inna's eyes widened, realizing what I was trying to say, and she cut me off, "No!" She shot up from her chair and stared at me. "You can't replace Mom just like that!"

"I'm not replacing your mother," I said, getting up too. "No one can replace her, but-"

"Then why do you want to be with Rose?" she yelled.

I was a little taken aback at her angry voice. "Rose is special to me," I said in a calm voice. "I care about her and she cares about me. She cares about you too."

Inna snorted. "If she cared about us, she wouldn't steal you away!"

"She isn't stealing me away from you if that's what you think," I said, grasping her hand. She pulled away from me, an angry look on her face. "Hey, you know I love you very much. No one can-"

"It doesn't matter!" Inna shouted. "What matters is that you don't love Mom anymore. You betrayed her. And it's Rose's fault!"

"Inna," I said desperately, reaching for her again. "Please calm down. This isn't Rose's fault. I just – I-"

Inna took another step back and then sprinted out of the kitchen and to her room. I followed her upstairs, but she slammed the door shut in my face. I tried to open the door, but she'd locked it.

"Inna, please open the door," I pleaded. "We need to talk about this."

"Go away!"

"I know this is upsetting you, but-"

"I said, go away!" Inna screamed.

I flinched. I could hear her crying behind the door and there was nothing I could do right now. If only she'd let me in…

"Dad?" Alisa's voice carried up the stairs. "Dad, is everything okay?"

I sighed and went back downstairs. I hoped that if I left Inna alone for a little while, she would come out of her room later so we could talk.

"Where's Inna?" Alisa asked when I was back in the kitchen.

"She, uh, is in her room. She wants to be alone for a while," I said quietly.

"Will she be okay?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said honestly. I'd expected her to be upset, angry even, but not like this.

I sat back down and sighed for what felt like the hundredth time this night. Alisa walked over to my side and put her hand on my arm.

"Dad, it's okay," she said softly. "I don't mind. I know Rose makes you happy. She makes you smile more. I like her and I like that she makes you happy. I don't like to see you sad."

I looked up at her, a surprised look on my face. She was pretty much observant for her age. I gave her a small smile. "Thanks, sweetheart. That means a lot to me." After how Inna had reacted, I hadn't expected a much better reaction from my other children.

"And Liam doesn't mind either," she added.

Liam nodded in agreement and crawled onto my lap. "Does this mean Rose is going to live here?" he asked excitedly. "With us?"

My smile grew a little wider. "I don't think so, Liam."

He pouted. "Why not? I know she couldn't before, but now she can, right? Because you like her now?"

I kept my answer simple. "She already has a place to live," I pointed out.

"That's too bad," he said. "What if you marry her? Then she'll have to live here."

I chuckled. "One thing at a time," I said. "You're getting way ahead of yourself now."

"If you won't, I will," he said, crossing his arms.

This time I laughed. "I think you're a little bit too young for that."

"I'll marry her when I'm older," he said defiantly. "And taller."

I shook my head, still smiling. Alisa was smiling too.

"Come here," I said, wrapping them both in my arms. I kissed them on top of their heads. "I love you, guys."

"Love you too, Daddy," they said in unison.

I smiled. "Why don't you go watch TV while I do the dishes? I'll join you soon."

Later that night, when they'd gone to bed, I checked on Inna. Her door was still locked. I tried talking to her, but she ignored me. I sighed and went back downstairs, giving up. Hopefully, she'd talk to me in the morning.

I called Rose, but she didn't answer. I remembered her telling me she was going out with her friends tonight so I figured she wasn't paying attention to her phone right now. I tried calling her again later that night, but she still didn't pick up. I thought it was a little weird since she'd asked me to call her after I'd told the kids about us.

It was past eleven now. Was she still out with her friends? I decided to text her, asking if she could come over tomorrow morning. I really wanted to talk to her. Maybe she knew what to do about Inna. I hoped so.

RPOV

Like I'd already expected, I didn't get much sleep. I was exhausted in the morning, but I still got up to get ready so I could go over to Dimitri's house. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect. Were the kids okay with it – with Dimitri and me being together? Were they not? Did they hate me? Was he going to ditch me if they weren't okay with it?

All these questions had troubled me and kept me up last night. And now I was finally going to find out how they felt about the idea of Dimitri and me as a couple.

When I arrived, the front door already opened before I could ring the bell. Surprised, I took a step back and looked at Dimitri.

"How'd you know I was here?"

A faint smile played at his lips. "I saw you walking on the street. I was watching through the window."

"You've been waiting for me?" I asked.

He nodded and let me in. "The kids are still asleep so we got some time to talk without getting interrupted."

I followed him into the living room. "So…what did they say?" I asked, a little hesitant.

He gestured for me to sit down and when I did, he sat down across from me on the coffee table. "Well… Their opinions are divided."

I swallowed. "Okay. Tell me."

He reached out and clasped my hand in his. "Alisa and Liam seem to be okay with it. They said so."

I sighed in relief, but sensed there was something else coming. Something bad. I realized he hadn't mentioned Inna. "But Inna…"

Dimitri sighed. "But Inna is not so happy about it." He grimaced. "Actually, I'm pretty sure she hates me right now."

"She could never hate you, Dimitri," I protested, squeezing his hand gently. "She loves you. You're her father."

"Well, she's pissed at me. The things she said last night…" He let out another sigh and shook his head. "I've never seen her this angry before. She locked herself into her room afterwards and wouldn't let me in. She yelled at me to leave her alone."

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"It's not your fault, Roza," he said, knowing what I was thinking. "Inna is still very upset about her mother's death and it's understandable. When she heard that I'm moving on… She said I betrayed Tasha in doing so."

"I guess I can understand," I said. "I mean, I was mad too when my mom took off with her boyfriend after my father had died. I'm not anymore – mad, I mean. At least not about that," I added, scoffing. "So maybe if you give Inna a little more time…"

He nodded. "She's also afraid you'll replace her mother."

"I could never replace her mother," I said.

"I told her that, but… She's stubborn," he said, smiling reluctantly.

"Yeah…" We were silent for a few moments. I was afraid to say the next words, but I had to ask it. I needed to know. "So…what's happens now? With us?"

Dimitri looked up at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well… If Inna can't handle us being together-"

"No, I'm not breaking up with you," he cut me off. He moved to sit next to me. "I love you, Roza. And Inna will realize that soon – when she stops being stubborn. I'll talk to her when she's ready. Tell her how much you mean to me. She'll understand."

"Will she?" I asked. "Because it doesn't seem like-"

He silenced me again, this time with a kiss on my lips. "No, Roza," he said, looking determined. "I'm not giving you up. I'm not giving us up. I love you too much for that."

"I love you too, Dimitri," I murmured. "But what if Inna can't accept it? She's more important-"

"You're important to me too," he interrupted again. "You and my children are the most important people in my life. I'm not giving up on either of you." He moved closer to me and he laced our fingers together. "She will accept it. She just needs time," he said. He looked like he wasn't just trying to convince me but also himself.

"Okay," I said at last.

He smiled, relieved, and kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder as he enveloped me in his arms. I felt his lips against my hair as he whispered how much he loved me. I tightened my arms around his neck and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and we both sprang apart. Startled, I looked up and noticed Alisa standing in the doorway, a sheepish look on her face.

"Hey," Dimitri said, clearing his throat. "You're up early."

She shrugged. "I was awake and didn't want to lie in bed anymore." Then she looked at me and smiled. "Hey Rose."

I smiled back. "Good morning, Alisa."

"Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said, smiling knowingly, as she looked between Dimitri and me.

"You know, I really think she knew all along," I said when she'd left us alone.

"Me too," Dimitri said smiling. He sighed. "I'm glad she's so supportive of all this. Liam is too. I just wish that Inna would…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but I knew what he was trying to say. "I know," I murmured, squeezing his hand again. "I know." It was quiet for a while again and at last, I suggested, "You want me to go talk to her? Explain to her that I'm not trying to replace her mother?"

"I don't know if she'll listen," Dimitri said sadly, "but, yeah, you could try. I tried, but so far it isn't working. She's too angry at me."

"Well, if she's angry at you, then she's definitely angry at me," I said.

"I don't know," he said. "It's different with you. She likes you and, well, you didn't betray her mother. I did."

"She's got to talk to you at some point. You are her father."

He sighed. "Yeah, well, let's just wait until she wakes up and see if she's ready to talk."

While Dimitri went upstairs to take a shower, I joined Alisa in the kitchen. She smiled at me when I entered and asked if I wanted something to eat. I told her I already had breakfast and sat down across from her.

"So how are you feeling about…?"

"About you and my dad?" Alisa finished my sentence.

I nodded.

She smiled. "I think it's okay. You make him smile. Not a lot of people can do that so you must mean a lot to him. And I kind of noticed it before he told us."

"Of course you did," I said grinning. "You're a clever girl."

She grinned too, but then her expression turned serious again. "You do love him, though?"

"Yes," I said earnestly. "He means a lot to me too. And so do you. And your brother and sister."

She smiled again and got up from her seat. She moved to the door, but before leaving, she turned around to look at me. "I'm glad my father chose you, Rose. And not just as our babysitter," she added.

Then she walked away, leaving me perplexed.

That was it for this chapter. So, were the reactions expected? I think most of you thought Inna would react bad. Will she come around? Are you all happy didn't break up with Rose? I guess you can rest easy about that now :P

Hopefully, I'll be able to update sooner next time. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. And have a great weekend ;)