I woke up feeling glorious. After the concert, Dimitri and I settled on ordering pizza and garlic bread and bringing it back to the hotel. As much as I would have loved to go out with everyone else, I was an early sleeper now and I was up way longer than I usually was.

The pizza gave me a little bit of heartburn, but I didn't even care. I just wanted to enjoy every single moment I had with him before I flew back home.

I got up and made the coffee. Being an early sleeper, I became an early riser too. I fixed a mug for both of us and climbed back in bed, setting Dimitri's on the nightstand while I sat up against the pillows, looking at my phone.

I turned the volume off so I didn't accidentally wake Dimitri, sipping the coffee as I read a chapter of the pregnancy book I had. I was determined to read a chapter a day, sometimes too. The book was terrifying sometimes, but it was good information.

I lifted my mug to my lips again as Dimitri rolled over, his arm sliding over my thighs and his head resting against my stomach. I smiled to myself and ran my fingers through his hair after setting my coffee down. I scrolled through my Instagram and choked on my laughter. The cameras had followed our exit from the stage, and they caught Dimitri scooping me up into his arms.

Relationship Goals! Hope my hunny picks me up still when I'm pregnant, a commenter wrote under the video. I smirked and liked the comment, sending the video to Lissa. I continued to run my fingers over Dimitri's hair and neck as I read a few messages from Maria, confirming my flight for later today and my appointment with my physical therapist tomorrow morning.

I had gotten back into doing regular physical therapy. As my pregnancy progressed, I was starting to feel more pain in my back, but also a lot of numbness in my butt. Dimitri agreed that it was a good idea, that it was best to have help getting through the pain as my body continued to change.

"Have you been awake long?"

I looked down at Dimitri and smiled. "Not long. Maybe an hour?"

Dimitri nodded and got comfortable again, nuzzling against my stomach. I smiled and ran my hand through his hair again.

"People saw us when we walked off stage last night."

"And?"

"Oh, they loved it. I'm sure your label is going to be happy that you're viral again," I smirked, squealing when Dimitri shifted both of us and leaned over me, pressing a kiss to my lips.

"I can give them another reason to make a viral," he said with a wink. I laughed and pressed a kiss to my lips.

"How so?"

"I can post a lot more of the photos from the international tour," he teased. I smirked at him.

"I wouldn't be completely opposed, depending on the photos," I smirked with a smile. Dimitri chuckled and scooted down the bed, lifting my shirt and pressing a kiss to my stomach. I smiled at him and snapped a quick picture of him, his cheek pressed against my bloated belly and his lips near my belly button.

"I can't wait until you're bigger," he mused looking up at me.

"Why, so I can be all fat and need assistance in and out of bed?" I teased.

"Would it be wrong if I said yes?" he teased.

I smacked his shoulder playfully but I had to admit that I've envisioned myself large enough that I couldn't see my toes, unable to get out of bed with ease. I had thought about the way my body was about to change and expand for the life inside my womb.

"Only three more weeks and then you'll be home, I said tiredly. Dimitri's nose rubbed against my stomach and then he pushed up, leaning over me for another kiss.

"Come shower with me, I promise I'll make all your aches go away."

I raised a brow at him. "Is that so?" I asked.

"Yes, and by aches I will rub your shoulders, massage your scalp while I wash your hair, and maybe some of the kind of aches," he said with a wink. I snorted a laugh but let him pull me from the bed, leading me into the bathroom with a smile.


When Dimitri said that he was going to post some photos he took during the international leg, he was serious. They were all appropriate in a sense, and by that I mean, there was always an arm or something covering the parts that weren't appropriate.

One was the two of us in the hot tub in England, one that Tasha took of us. I was sitting on his lap, the two of us laughing at Ivan who was sitting across from us. The second was of me in Paris, laying on my stomach with the platter of food in front of me, the sheet draped over to cover my ass. The third was of us in Iceland in the hot springs. I gave him a cheek smile and the fourth was of the two of us at a café in Austria, both of us with chocolate on our faces from our hot chocolates. The final picture was a video of him realizing I was sitting at the table in Chicago, the awe and surprise on his face.

Counting down the days until I'm home with you 3. The best surprise was of you coming to Chicago.

I bit my lip as I looked over the photos, commenting with a kissy face and saying I couldn't wait. I posted the photo of Dimitri's face against my stomach and captioned it with 'Someone is very excited to meet you. Whether it's you or the baby, I don't know who is more excited.'

I was missing him already, but we only had a week and a half to go until he was home. I had promised Millie that I would come by and see her after her chemo session. She seemed to be responding well to her treatments, but I hated how sick she had been feeling.

"Hello?" I asked, unlocking the door and walking in. Andrew's car was in the driveway, so at least she wasn't alone.

"Hey," Andrew called out, getting up to hug me. I hugged him and sighed, sitting down on the couch.

"Where's mom?"

"She's sleeping. The treatment wiped her out this morning," he said with a small smile, "How was Chicago? Was Dimitri surprised?"

"He was surprised," I said with a grin, "Very surprised and very happy."

Andrew smiled. "Good. I'm glad you had a good time. Do you know if I'm getting a niece or nephew yet?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You know that we aren't finding out," I teased. Andrew moaned and groaned petulantly, but I knew that he was just playing. He knew that we wanted to be surprised.

"I know you said you were due in the fall. What's your due date?"

"December fifteenth," I said with a smile, "You know, I get it get it now, the feeling Mom used to talk about when she talked about finding out she was pregnant with you. That feeling that takes you over almost. Do you remember Mom talking about that when Jill got pregnant?"

"That she would break her own heart for us? Because she loves us so much?"

I nodded. "It catches me off guard sometimes. Like I think about becoming a mom and it hits me like a freight train. It's like, I know all the parts of myself that I dislike, I know that I'll love those parts of my child anyways."

Andrew smiled at me and thankfully ignored the way my breath caught in my chest. I was having a hard day with my own emotions. I felt like I couldn't keep them in check, but I knew it wasn't entirely my fault.

"I can't wait to see you as a mom. You're going to do so well," Andrew said and I nodded, giving him a watery smile.

"I think it'll be easier when Dimitri's back. You're going through a big part of your pregnancy and you miss him. If you weren't a little emotional, I'd be worried," he said and I laughed, sitting up straighter when I heard footsteps overhead. I gestured for Andrew to stay and I headed upstairs.

"Mom? You okay?" I asked, poking my head into her bedroom. I looked around and waited a moment, but the bathroom door opened behind me, and I spun around.

Mildred blew out a deep breath as she supported herself on the door frame.

"I'm alright," she said softly, "It's just bothering my stomach is all."

I frowned and I took her arm gently, helping her back to bed. Once I got her into bed, I tucked her in. She felt clammy but she was almost asleep as soon as she was back in bed. I frowned as I got up, walking back down to the kitchen and getting a glass of water for her and then stopped in the bathroom to get a damp cloth.

Andrew was on the couch again, looking up as I came down the stairs.

"She's not as bad as she was last time," he pointed out and I nodded tiredly. I joined him on the couch with a yawn.

"You know, I sleep all the time and I'm still exhausted."

"I think that's pretty normal with growing another human being," he chuckled and I smirked at him, crossing a leg over the other.

"Got anything fun planned for the rest of the week?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, Rufus mentioned he wanted to meet up later this week. I think he wants to work on how my security is going to change now that I'm pregnant. He's very much like Barry when it comes to my safety."

Andrew smiled at me. "Good. I'm glad he takes your safety seriously."

I nodded. "I think we all are."


My palms were sweaty, and my arms shook a little. My stomach felt like it was in knots and my heart was pounding in my chest.

"I can't do this," I said.

"You can. Just take a slow breath. It's just us here, there's no other cars or people," Rufus said encouragingly. I glanced in the rearview mirror at Mason.

"I can't do this," I said again.

"It's okay," Mason said, "I promise, it'll be okay."

I swallowed and licked my lips. "Okay," I whispered, "What do I do now?"

"Put your foot on the brake and push the button," Rufus said kindly. I nodded and did as he said, feeling the car rumble to life beneath us.

"Okay, what now?"

"I thought Barry taught you the basics of driving?" Mason pipped up and I glared at him in the mirror.

"He did!"

"That's enough," Rufus interjected, "Now slowly ease on the gas."

I nodded and did as he said, the car moving as I increased the pressure. I wasn't going fast, but I was going fast enough. We were on an off-season service road, Rufus having called and spoken to someone to have permission to teach me how to drive. I learned the basics in driver's ED at school, and Barry tried to help me learn, but it scared the hell out of me.

"See, it's not so bad," Rufus encouraged. I nodded to myself and did the loop as he instructed. Once I made it around the loop, I felt anxious again.

"I don't like this. I don't want to do this anymore," I whispered.

"Okay. Then we're done for the day," Rufus said.

I thought that that would have been the end of our driving lessons, but every few days Rufus would show up on my front step, ready to do another driving lesson. I wasn't sure why he was so persistent, but for the next few weeks, we practiced driving every few days. I was still anxious about it, but it was getting better. Sometimes Lissa would sit in the backseat, sometimes Eddie, but someone was always there in the backseat.

Rufus hoped that eventually, I would start to feel comfortable driving. He said that he felt that I should know how, even if I didn't want to drive myself around. After a bit of practice, I started to feel more comfortable, but I wasn't ready to drive around other people.


I felt nostalgic being here. The bar hadn't changed over the years, and sitting at the bar facing the stage, it felt like I was stepping backwards in time. He had the regular concert planned for Toronto but booked a private show at Orchard's.

"This place has a special place in my heart," Dimitri said with a soft smile, the wire of the mic wrapped around his wrist, "I had my very first concert here."

There were titters in the room. I smiled to myself as I looked around the room.

"You know, I swear I recognize faces in this room," Dimitri joked before the smile returned to his lips, "I'm going to tell you all a little story."

He sat on the stool behind him and licked his lips, his eyes moving up to mine before he spoke again.

"After the concert here, I went to a bar down the street because I still felt a little wound up from the show. And when I walked in, I was surprised by just how quiet it was, but I didn't mind it. And as I walked towards the bar, there was a woman sitting at the bar. And I recognized her because of the colour of her hair. She had hair that looked like the sky on a summer day, and it was long and wavy, coming down to the top of her jeans. I asked her if I could sit with her, because let's be honest, nobody wants to sit alone at the bar."

"And we made idle chit chat before I asked her what her opinion was of my show. And she was honest, and told me that she liked the vibe and sound, but that I needed to practice my mic skills, and I quote, 'if I was going to swing a mic around like Taking Back Sunday, I needed to not hit the stand,'" he said with a laugh and other joined in too.

"And then the night went on, we had a few drinks together and shared some nachos before I walked her back to her hotel. I didn't have any intentions, I just, enjoyed the company of someone who didn't see my fame. And then a few years went by, and I walked into my manager's living room one day, and there was. I met my girlfriend for the first time in this venue," Dimitri explained and bit his lip for a second, caught up in his own memory.

"I know that being in a relationship with someone can have its trials, and I know that when you're in a relationship and it's out for everyone to see, it can be straining. But, I wouldn't be in the place I am now without Rose. So, this first one is not something you've heard before," he said and the room erupted with excitement, but when he looked at me again, my chest started to feel tight.

"Rose, I couldn't imagine the rest of my life without you next to me, so if I make you cry, I suffer the consequences for it," he said before the drums and guitar started. I glanced at Tasha but she frowned and shook her head. This was news to her too.

I had never gotten used to how his voice sounded when he sang, how a man like him could hit notes like he could, but I felt shivers as I listened to the words. He had been working on this long before the tour, but I knew that he meant every word.

I rubbed my hand affectionately over my bump as I listened, swaying slightly to the music. It really hit me in the heart, the intensity of the meaning behind the words. When it came to an end, I knew that while he was performing for the crowd, deep down that one was just for me. He carried on to a few other songs, a mix-up of his oldest works to some of his newer songs.

As the show dwindled down, a few people approached me, some congratulating me, some asking to get their photo with me. It was nice that with this being a private show, people were a little more respectful and calm.

Dimitri came over to me at the end of the night, smiling softly at me before he tipped my chin up to kiss me.

"It was beautiful. Thank you," I whispered softly.

Dimitri stroked my cheek. "I love you."

I leaned into his touch and smiled to myself. "I love you too."


Next To Me - Imagine Dragons

In one year, I'll be getting married!:)