A/N: Rose and Dimitri are not married! Not even engaged! Dimitri just calls Rose his wife, because he considers her to be his, even though he hasn't asked her to marry him yet.

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters to belong to Richelle Mead.

"I know, Roza." Dimitri said.

The huge smile vanished from my face and my brows crashed down. "What do you mean you already know?"

He was silent for a couple of moments, probably thinking of ways to tell me without pissing me the hell off.

Too late for that.

"Goddamn it, Dimitri! Tell me right now or so help me God..."

"You didn't have to tell me for me to know, baby. Please don't get upset." he paused. "You think I don't hear you getting up every morning? Around six-thirty to seven AM, you fall out of bed, stumble to the bathroom, slam the door closed with your foot, and get sick. No offense Roza, but you're not so quiet about it. Your heaves are loud enough to wake a hibernating bear."

I laughed, suddenly not feeling angry anymore. "Why didn't you come in there and hold my hair? Ask me if I was okay? Needed some water? Or better yet, why didn't you call me out on it?"

"Because I wanted you to tell me yourself. I didn't want to force it out of you. Make you feel terrible for not telling me. So I waited patiently, and he we are."

"Buggers. Way to ruin the surprise, you douche!"

There was a stretch of silence and I knew Dimitri was grinning from ear to ear. "Have I told you how wonderful your breasts look, sweetheart? Beautiful. So swollen. When I hold them now, they overflow my hands. And I just love that. Your nipples are wonderful too. Dark red and perfect for my mouth. And as for your bottom? So plump and soft. I want to squeeze-"

I groaned loudly as the rush between my legs ached and throbbed. I rubbed my thighs together. "Stop trying to change the subject, Comrade! It's no going to work-aghh!" My words were cut off as my body came apart in an earth-shattering release.

Moments later, after my heartbeat slowed down to a healthy rate and I caught my breath, my head dropped back against the porcelain and I rested my eyes. "My God...hey don't do that!"

"Do what? I'm only listening to you, Roza."

"Your silence is filled with smug satisfaction and male pride. I can feel it even though we're on different continents! Stop it. I don't like it."

"Yes, you do." Dimitri's tone was all smiles. "And as for feeling satisfaction and pride? Of course I do. My wife is on the other side of the globe and I brought her such intense pleasure-

"Try torture. I wish you were here with me."

"Have I told you how beautiful you sound when you come? It's spectacular." His voice was a low growl. That combined with his thick Russian accent and the way he rolled his R's...

ENOUGH! I mentally screamed.

"You have to stop using terms like that. It's dangerous."

"How so?"

"Because I'm pregnant and hormonal and horny as hell right now. You keep talking dirty, and I might just have to go find a stud that'll have sex with me while my husband is away on a business trip. Darius seems like he would volunteer for the job."

There was a hiss on the other line. "I love the way you say "my husband" when referring to me. It sounds amazing on your tongue. And as for Darius? He would cut off his own dick with a brush cutter before he touched you."

I gulped. "He...he thinks I'm that ugly?" Gee, what an asshole. I knew I was teasing earlier when I'd said I would sleep with him, but still, rejection stung like a bitch. Man, he would rather chop off his privates than get anywhere near me?

"He made his attraction for you clear when you first came to the mansion, Roza. That isn't the problem here. I've talked with him before we were together. Laid down the rules when it comes to you. Darius isn't stupid. He wouldn't come anywhere near you, sexually speaking. So there are no worries for me." Dimitri chuckled.

I scoffed. "Whatever. I may just go find one of your staff workers..." I said. "Hey, what's that cuties name? Juan? Early twenties. Tattoos. Real bad boy vibe. He works down in the kitchen with Pavel and Tasha right? Oh. I think I want me some Latino lovin'."

"My workers are all gone by seven."

"Oh, right." Picking up the shaver, I ran the blade along my legs and thighs. "Well damn. Looks like I'm SOL."

"Want to know where my hand is?" Dimitri's voice was smooth, gliding over my skin like a caress.

Without warning, I remembered him telling me he was naked in bed. I could picture with aching clarity my boyfriend in all his bare glory.

"Tell me." My voice didn't sound like my own. It was husky and full of demands.

"Between my thighs. Wrapped around my-"

"Shit!" I hissed as the shaver nicked my skin. "Damn razor!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I splashed water to wash off the blood, wincing when the sea salt seeped into the wound. "It just stings, that's all."

"Get out of the bath," Dimitri demanded. "Dry off and put a band-aid on it to stop the bleeding."

"Relax," Chuckling, I stepped out of the porcelain and walked carefully over to the towel wrack. "It's not like I lost a limb or something. It's just a little cut."

"Doesn't matter," he said. "I want you taken care of while I'm gone. Now do as I said and grab the package of band-aids in the medicine cabinet."

"Not until you ask nicely."

"Roza..." he warned.

"I'm waiting..."

"Will you please do as I say? I'm worried about you."

"Good. That's better."

Once I'd smacked a band-aid over the small razor knick and climbed into bed naked, which was Dimitri's request, I clapped my hands together, snapping off all the lights. With the room dark and being wrapped up in the soft covers, it was..."It almost feels like you're here."

"Are you warm?"

"Yes." I shook my head and smiled. "Stop worrying about me."

"Never."

I wrapped my fingers around the cell phone and curled my self into a ball, bringing my knees up. Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait. If you knew I was pregnant, why were you letting me train and fight with you?"

"Why were you letting yourself fight?"

"Not important. Don't try to twist this around."

"Okay, I was hoping my wife would stop being so stupid and wake up and realize how dangerous it is to spar while she's pregnant."

I hissed, ready to release a parade of arguments.

"Do you honestly think I'd let you get hurt?" Dimitri asked. His tone was so full of confidence, like he had power and control over the whole world.

"Accidents happen." I reasoned. It was the best I had.

"Not when it comes to you, they don't. I would never let anything happen to you."

There was a long stretch of silence, where all I could hear was his soft breathing. It was soothing, like a lullaby, and I felt myself being eased into slumber.

"How does it feel to be a father?" I mumbled.

"Overwhelming," he whispered. More quiet. "I'm the happiest man on earth."

I smiled, truly feeling blessed for the first time in my life.

"I hope we have a girl that looks just like you." he said.

Clutching a pillow, I squeezed it and pretended it was him. "When you get home, the first thing I want you to do is touch and kiss my stomach. I've wanted for you to do that for so long. It was practically all I could think about as I built up the courage to tell you I was pregnant."

"I do, Roza." Dimitri's voice was so deep. "Every night, I wait until you fall asleep...then I climb down your body, pull up your shirt, rub your belly, and talk to our child."

That was the last thing I heard before I fell in to the dark arms of oblivion. And when I woke up the next morning, the cell phone was blaring hot and it showed I had been on it for over eleven hours. Dimitri had never hung up on me, even when he knew I'd fallen asleep. I smiled and rubbed my slightly swollen stomach. In a way, Dimitri had been with me all night, sleeping beside me though he wasn't here in person.

I opened the door.

"Well don't you look refreshed," Darius said. "You need a pair of batteries for your vibrator? Poor machine. It's probably been working hard all night."

"Shut up." I grinned, punched him on the shoulder, and headed down the Victorian grand staircase.

"You know what, senorita. I have this great body massager. It has five speeds. Heat. And deep, penetrating action. You can't have mine, but the next time I go to Target, I can buy one for you. Only nineteen-ninety-ninety. It plugs into the wall so you don't have to go through batteries like a chain-smoker goes through cigarettes-"

"I don't need a damn massager. I have Dimitri. He brings me more pleasure than I'll ever need." I rubbed my temples. "What do you want? Why are you bothering me?"

"First of all, gross. I don't need to know what my boss does between the sheets. And second, I'm taking you to the doctors."

"Why?"

He cocked a black brow, electric-blue eyes amused. "Oh, come on. Don't even try to play anymore. The whole mansion knows Dimitri knocked you up."

"Shut up!" I hissed, reaching forward and twisting his nipples.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

"Who did you tell?" I demanded, twisting and pinching even harder. "Tell me!"

"Everyone. The workers are setting up a celebration for when boss gets back. Gee. Way to ruin the surprise."

"Damn you." I released him.

Darius rubbed his sore chest. "I don't know what the big deal is. Having a child is something to be proud of-"

"Because news in Dimitri's world spreads like wildfire! It's only a matter of time before the Belikov's find out. Oh, God. Yeva is going to murder me and then dance on my grave."

"Don't worry about breaking word to the family," he said. "Dimitri and I already did it this morning while you were asleep."

"What?" My hand sailed and connected with his cheek. "What the fuck? You told them! I'm going to stop your heart!"

A look of panic crossed Darius's face, and then he was off, heading across the mansion at a dead run. "It was boss's idea! I swear!" The kitchen doors slammed open as he went through them.

"You are such a fricking liar!" On my homicidal pursuit, I spotted a tray of blue and pink cupcakes - no doubt for the celebration - and picked up as many as I could, dropping some as I sprinted after Darius. Pulling my arm back, I aimed and chucked one treat as hard as I possibly could. Bingo. It pegged him in the back of the head.

"How dare you!" His leather boots pounded against the floor as we navigated through the cinema. "I used my new shampoo that my mamma sent me today!"

"I ought to rip your throat out." I threw another cupcake.

Darius ducked just in time, and unfortunately, the thing hit the gigantic projector screen in the front. The pink icing drew a line as the cupcake slid down.

"See," he cocked his head to the side. "Your children are going to be just as violent as you are if you don't learn to control your terrible temper."

Like some kind of animal, I jumped over two rows of seats and tackled Darius to the floor. Raising my fist, I prepared to strike-

"Wait!" he held up his hands, as if pleading to a madman for his life. "If it makes you any less crazy, Babushka was happy to hear that you are pregnant. She said it was about time you two settled down."

I lowered my arm. "Really?"

"Yes," he panted, catching his breath.

"Wasn't Yeva angry, though?"

"Only at Dimitri for not wedding you already."

I smiled a little, which turned into a grin that spread from ear to ear. Then I broke out in a fit of laughter.

Darius joined me once I climbed off his chest and flopped down beside him.

"Wow," I said. "She's really cool. Oh, and I'm sorry about going all crazy on you."

"It's all good, baby girl." he said. "By the way, congratulations on your baby. Or as I will call him or her, Little Senor and Tiny Senorita."

I laughed. "Thanks."

"All right," Darius gracefully hopped to his feet. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked as he grabbed my hand and hauled me up.

"Doctors. Dimitri scheduled you an appointment."

I flinched as the cool blue gel made contact with the skin of my belly.

"Okay. Let's see if we can find that heartbeat." Dr. Johnson murmured, staring at the black screen from behind rimless glasses. For being in her early sixties, she looked strangely young. Sometime years of experience and a butt load of knowledge did that to you, though. The doctor was dressed in the standard white coat. Her salt and pepper hair was pinned up in an elegant bun, her gray eyes were sharp as a blade, and her thin lips were shaped in a matter that told you she took absolutely no nonsense.

I liked her.

After moving the wand around and searching for five more minutes, she sighed and started to clean up the mess on my stomach. "No luck."

A surge of panic struck me, so powerful that it pushed the air from my lungs. "Oh, God. The baby is dead...?"

"Oh, no, honey. No. No. No. No." she chuckled, pulling my hospital gown in place. "You're so early on in the pregnancy; it's not unusual for doctors to be unable to find a heartbeat."

"Oh, whew." I put a hand over my heaving chest. "You scared the hell out of me! How far along am I again? I forgot." Part of me was relieved that she hadn't found it. I wanted Dimitri to be here when we heard our child on the ultrasound.

Dr. Johnson's smile was heartbreakingly kind. "Thirteen weeks."

"And that's...?" My forehead creased as I counted in my head.

"A little over three months."

"Right. Yeah. Sorry. Math was never my strongest subject."

"Mine either. I hate numbers."

After my blood pressure and heart rate were taken, along with a few blood tests and filing some boring paperwork, the baby and I were deemed healthy and Darius and I were off.

"Why are you smiling like that? It's kind of freaking me out." Darius glanced over at me, one arm hanging on the steering wheel as we maneuvered through the Montana forest, heading for the mansion.

"I can't wait to tell Dimitri all about the appointment!" My voice came out in an excited burst, causing him to jump and laugh.

As expected, Dimitri was ecstatic about the news. So happy in fact, that he was working extra hard to move the meeting up a day early so he could hop on the jet and be home in the morning.

I was practically flying and bouncing all over the mansion, light as a butterfly from the overwhelming joy that was inside me. Opening the kitchen's doors, I found Tasha hovering over a silver tray packed with food.

"There you are!" she smiled, placing a piece of cilantro on the massive cheese omelet I'd asked her to make me.

I inhaled deeply. "You are a saint."

Tasha rose to her full height and smoothed out her chef uniform. "Tell me something I don't know," she winked. "Actually, I only chopped the vegetables and stirred the eggs. Pavel did everything else. Don't tell him I told you though...he's letting me take full credit for all this deliciousness."

"Your secret is safe with me, girl." I pretended to zip my lips shut, then reached forward and grabbed the tray, and all but danced out of the kitchen.

I raised my arm and knocked on Victor's door.

He didn't answer.

Shrugging and not thinking much of it, I palmed the handle and walked in—

I screamed and dropped the silver stray. Food bounced, drinks spilled, glass shattered.

But I didn't notice any of it. It was as if the whole world was a blur and everything around me went in slow motion until all I could hear was the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.

Uncle Victor was lying on the floor by his bed, obviously having fallen. Besides his mouth, was a pool of liquid. His vomit.

"Oh, God." I ran to him and like the idiot I was, tried to pull him off the floor.

"No!" he hollered in pain. "My hip...is is...broken."

Tears spilled out of my eyes and I fell back, clutching my mouth as a gasp escaped me. "It's okay." I ran for the phone. "The ambulance-"

He shook his head. "No." It looked as if it was painful for him to speak, like it took too much energy out of him. "This is my time to go dear. Let me die in peace. Without medical attention."

A raw sob bubbled in my throat as I ran over to him. He had broken his hip, so I was unable to move his body, but I gently took his sagging head in my palms and rested his cheek against my thighs, trying to provide him with what little comfort I could. I wasn't going to let him die alone no matter what he said. I wanted to make sure he knew how loved he really was. Stroking his fuzzy white hair, I croaked, "Uncle V?"

"Yes, my darling?"

"I-I-I...I just wanted to let you know-" My voice cracked. "You're a...you're a grandpa."

The peaceful smile that lit his tired face made everything okay. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes."

"You and Dimitri are going to make wonderful parents."

I squeezed my lids shut and continued to run my fingers through his hair. "Thank you, uncle."

"You make me so proud," That smile remained. "If it wasn't for you darling, I would have never experienced this amount of joy and happiness. And you better believe that I adore this child you're carrying. I'm going to continue loving my grandchildren even after I no longer exist on this earth."

"And they will love you just as much."

His breathing became shallow and his sea-green eyes went glassy. "Angel...you're an angel."

Victor made a little gasping noise, then sighed in content, and died in my arms minutes later.