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Chapter 15

Adrian fixed his gaze on Dimitri. "When were you going to break the news that we're one big happy family?"

A pained expression crossed Dimitri's face as he sunk down in a chair. "I honestly didn't know." I stood there with my mouth open in shock and my old man looked at me with a grin. All I needed now was Jesse to be related and I would have the Rose Hathaway paramour family collection.

Adrian threw up his hands. "Come on. You've got, what, two or three sisters? That guy was obviously around a lot. It never occurred to you that Rand Ivashkov might be related to another Ivashkov you knew?"

A hint of anger shone in Dimitri's eyes. "He never told us his full name. He was always just Randall. We knew he was an American royal who drank too much, I didn't think that was unique to a specific family. We never asked questions. My mother liked him . . . for a while."

"He mentioned that they stopped getting along, he claimed he wasn't appreciated." Adrian said casually.

Dimitri's face turned cold. "I didn't appreciate him almost killing my mother and threatening my sisters."

Those words drew even Adrian up short. "Then what happened?" he asked softly.

Dimitri didn't answer, but I did. "Dimitri hit him back," I replied.

I walked over to Dimitri, wanting to comfort him I placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't look at me, but he placed his hand over mine and squeezed it.

I turned to Abe, "How did you know?"

"I've been doing business in Baia for a long time, I saw him around the town from time to time. I'm also the reason that Rand stayed away from Dimitri's family." Dimitri dropped his hand from mine and stared at the floor.

"I'm sure you did it out of the kindness of your heart." I said to him with a tone indication that I would rip him end to end if he was still holding a debt over the Belikovs.

"The debt has been paid" He replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see an eyebrow twitch from Dimitri, indicating that was news to him.

Sonya and Sydney walked down the stairs with Mikhail behind them carrying bags. Sonya looked brighter, but still out of it and avoiding Mikhail. I could see Mikhail shooting furtive glances at her, but he maintained a safe distance.

"Shall we go?" Mum asked, looking eager to get to a safer location.

"Can I see my garden" Sonya spoke up. Dimitri got up and escorted her outside to see the garden. Sydney and Mikhail joined them, but stayed on the porch.

Adrian got up shakily and joined me at the door. He quietly closed the glass door and turned to me. "So little Dhampir, something you want to tell me? I mean, most are going to assume that it is mine."

I stood there shocked, and my parents looked like they were putting the pieces together. I slapped him in the face, not full Rose Hathaway force, but enough for it to hurt.

"I am going to assume that was the darkness speaking and not just you being a pure arsehole." He looked down at his feet and avoiding my eyes

"You got pregnant at 18, who else have you slept with?" Mum yelled. I clenched my fist, reminding myself that I shouldn't hit my mother, she would probably block it. Last time we sparred, I wound up with a black eye and a lot of jokes at my expense by my classmates.

"There has only ever been one man that I have been intimate with, Janine." I ran up the stairs to the bathroom before I burst into tears in front of my parents and my ex-boyfriend. I sobbed into a towel, trying to muffle my cries.

"Rose." A gentle knock on the door accompanied the voice of my father. He pulled me into a hug and for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I had the unconditional love of a parent. He held me to his chest and let me cry on his shoulder.

"I'm pregnant. I don't know how, but somehow I am carrying Dimitri's child. Obviously I would have used protection if I thought it was actually possible."

He placed his hands on my cheeks and got me to look into his eyes. "My beautiful daughter, I've learnt with you anything is possible." I smiled weakly at him.

He wiped the tears away from my eyes. "What do you want to do?"

"At the moment, I am still trying to get my head around the fact that this is actually happening, I am having another dhampir's child." I buried my head into his shoulder and he continued to stroke my hair.

"I can't say that I thought I would become a grandparent in my early forties, but then again, I never thought I would become a parent. I know I wasn't around for most of your life, but you will always have me in your corner. I am excited to be a Dede or a Büyük baba"

I looked up at him and nodded. "Thanks.. Ab- Baba? At least I have one parent who cares."

He smiled when I called him Baba then he wiped my face and handed me his handkerchief, which I checked for previous use before wiping my face. "Janine cares very much, she is just terrible at expressing her feelings. I was there when you were born, I know how much love she has for you. She also might be able to relate, you were similar ages."

It was true, she was 20 when she had me and junior would be due close to my 19th birthday.

After I splashed my face with water and reapplied my makeup, I walked down the stairs to see everyone assembled. I could see Dimitri studying my appearance and I deliberately avoided mum and Adrian and settled on Sydney. She took in my face and made a quick observation at everyone else around the room, she settled on Adrian and fixed him with a glare.

Mum took charge as per usual and I knew she wouldn't want to make a scene in front to everyone. "We have two cars, 2 guardians in each car. The sun is setting in one hour and I want to be settled."

Dimitri got the keys for our rental, Sydney and I moved to go with him and my glare told Adrian he was not invited. Abe joined us to Sydney's dismay, so I made him sit in the front next to Dimitri. I settled myself in the seat and popped into Lissa's head.

Lissa had just arrived back at court to a crowd of people waiting to see who returned. She could see a large mix of people, Dhampirs, royal and non-royal moroi. They looked very excited to get a glimpse of who made it and who did not.

Lissa was grateful for the bottles of water and towels provided to her in the van, so she could make herself a bit more presentable. The other participants were had various degrees of sunburn, but everyone looked equally worn out.

Faces peaked into windows, Lissa jumped when one face appeared suddenly in her field of view. "Get ready, this is only the start." Arianna gave her a comforting smile.

They all walked off the bus, Ava Drosdov at the rear with her shoulders slumped, she had used the phone. Lissa could see that she was surrounded by people, overwhelmed by the response of the crowd. She realised that this tradition that she was participating was so much bigger than her. This affected the lives of all Moroi and Dhampir.

Guardians stood around the candidates to prevent them from being mobbed. They finally let in family members and Lissa felt Christian grab her arm and pull her into a hug. He got a couple of guardians to escort them back to her apartments, as they walked people cheered Lissa and wished her luck and hailed about the return of the dragon.

She was greeted by Pavel at her door "Princess, I've been sent by Mr Mazur to maintain your security while Janine Hathaway is away."

I pulled out of Lissa's head to see us pull up at a local hotel in Lexington Kentucky

Abe set us up in a series of rooms on the same floor, Sydney was in charge of assigning rooms. My parents were staying together and to my disgust I was situated next to them. Dimitri and Mikhail shared a room, they had decided to patrol the hall at night for our safety. I hadn't been asked to participate and I selfishly had no plans to given my current sittation and fragile mental state. Adrian and Sonya had adjoining single rooms, she was very comfortable with Adrian due to his spirit nature and his role in her restoration. I hadnt had a chance to speak to her yet, Dimitri was very protective of her.

Dimitri helped Sonya get settled, they were locked away in her room for an extended period. I was in a foul mood and locked myself away in my room with my room service menu for company.

I heard a knock on the door.

"Go away"

"Rosemarie, please let me in"

I sighed, I wasn't ready for her next lecture on 'Poor decisions' and my 'Age-inappropriate former mentor'. I got up and hovered at the door, trying to decide whether to answer.

"Please Rose, I just want to talk".

I slowly opened the door, I was wearing sweats and my hair was mussed, eyes were bloodshot and I had a sundae in my hand. "Come in"

She gave me a quick once over as she stepped in. She looked around, I had thrown my suitcase in a corner and strewn my items around the room. I looked at her, she was the one who wanted to talk, not me.

"I know that you have figured out that I am not winning mother of the year award in this lifetime. I'm sorry that I never react the right way, I don't filter myself and I don't get the full story before I make a snap judgement. I'll admit it is a shock and I am very sorry for implying that you were promiscuous"

I stood there shocked, I didn't think I had ever heard my mother, the legendary Janine Hathaway admit that she was wrong or overreacted. "Thank you"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I did.

We ordered more food and I snuggled into her arms like I did when I was 4 before St Vladimirs. I told her about school, how I fell for Dimitri, what kind of man he was and an abbreviated version of Russia. I explained the circumstances of his restoration, while being vague about the parts involving Victor Dashkov and how things had been since he was restored.

"Despite how things are with the baby's father, I know that his side of the family would be so loving and supportive. I'd love your support too."

"Of course you'll have my support. I know that I am bad at showing it, but I do love you, more than you know. I am proud to be your mother, to see what a woman you have grown into."

I blushed and muttered thanks, overwhelmed by her words.

"I will say one thing.. You restored him from being Strigoi and have been brought back from the dead but pregnancy with a Dhampir was a step too far?"

"Uggh, the old man said something similar. You were pregnant at 20, I doubt I was planned."

She looked at me carefully before she spoke. "You were a happy surprise, but his work was unstable and too dangerous for a family. We stayed together for your first year, when your safety became an issue staying with Abe I found an allocation where you could be looked after while I worked."

Mum had rarely spoken about my life before St Vladimir's, an allocation where childcare would be sorted was rare for Dhampir women. I had assumed that I was more of the one night stand variety, I didn't know that I spent any time with Abe as a child. "Why didn't you tell me about Abe?"

"The nature of his businesses, your safety paired with the fact that you also have a tendency to say things in the heat of the moment, we decided that it was better that you didn't know until you were older. At that point, our relationship deteriorated before I worked up the nerve to tell you and you had met him in Russia"

"Why did you leave me at the school?"

"I kept the paternity a secret from everyone as best I could. I knew that the best way that I could protect you was by having a dedicated guardian as a parent, so I went back to work and kept in line. Working as a full-time guardian and single parent was not easy and I felt like a failure. I sent you to St Vlad's and threw myself into my work."

I nodded and slowly digested her words. I had a few advantages over my mother's situation. I was financially secure and I had my parents support, I could do this on my own if I had to.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I would rather we sort things out between us before I drop that bomb. I haven't had a chance to tell Lissa and already four people know." My mum looked like she was trying to count in her head. "Sydney got me the pregnancy tests, she has also tried to get me to take vitamins, stop fighting and talk to Dimitri."

"Good to see you have had a confidant with some sense from the start... Not that you would have listened to her. I'll leave you to get some sleep, but i'm here if you need me." Mum said as she gave me a hug and then walked out the door.

I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly, only to be pulled into a spirit dream. The familiar sight of Sonya's garden, but it was Adrian who was standing in the garden. I crossed my arms and frowned at him. Despite his assurances that I was properly rested, I didn't think that keeping my brain active was particularly helpful.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly, i'm still angry at you. Secondly, you are a few doors down from me, why not see me in person."

"Little Dhampir, I wanted to talk to you in person, but I heard you had company in the form of your mother, so I thought I would catch you in a dream."

"You shouldn't use more spirit, you just used incredible amounts to restore a strigoi, you should be resting."

"Its a drop in the bucket, minimal spirit use."

I gave him a look, he really needed to look after himself, otherwise he might head down the same road as Sonya. I stood there and waited for him to start, I was still mad. He robbed me of the right of telling my parents, the way that I wanted.

"I'm sorry."

"For what exactly?" I said while crossing my arms under my chest.

"I'd always known how you felt about Dimitri, maybe even more than you did. When Dimitri was restored, a part of me knew I never had a chance by your actions and through your aura. But there was a part in me that refused to listen, because I love you and wanted you to love me too."

A part of me wanted to make him feel better, but I couldn't. Not yet. Adrian had ruined a special moment with my family.

"I wish that I could take back my actions from this afternoon, I was petty and cruel. I let the darkness affect me and you didn't deserve it. I can't promise that I won't be the occasional jerk, I know that it will take time, but I want to be friends."

I smiled. "I accept your apology. I don't think that we can avoid each other, my baby is related to you." The idea that Dimitri and Adrian were related was still a shock.

Adrian smiled and pulled me into a friendly hug. "Cousin or Uncle Adrian has a nice ring to it. I guess on the bright side of all of this, I can celebrate a new family member. Sadly, since Aunt Tatiana died, I guess that would make Dimitri my favourite by default, until your little one come along."

I grimaced, considering how much he disliked Dimitri, it didn't say much about the rest of his family. "Dimitri's dad is an Ivashkov, its hard to picture."

"To be honest, I never thought of him having a father. He just seems like the kind of guy who sprung into being fully grown up. Or, if I was going to picture a dad for him, I guess I'd just go with a gray-haired version of him, complete with duster."

I closed my eyes and pictured Dimitri when he was older, with some greying in the temple but still the same strong rough hands. Adrian abruptly let me go and stepped back, I could tell he was looking at my aura. He gave me a smirk and I blushed, avoiding his eyes.

"I'll let you go, I wouldn't want to intrude on your dreams any further"

I rolled my eyes "Good night, Uncle Adrian. See you are a superhero after all!"

He flashed me a brilliant smile and the dream winked out.

When I woke the next morning, I checked in with Hans and sent Lissa a message and she called me right back.

"Hi" She said.

"Congratulations on completing the first task!" I could feel through the bond that she was both pleased and annoyed that I knew. She felt that she wasn't able to tell me anything, because I already knew. In the meantime, I was not telling her a lot of things.

"How much did you see?"

"I caught up when you were midway, I had a concussion and had to rest."

"Are you okay?" I could feel her itching to heal me, despite being states apart.

"I'm fine, we found Sonya." Lissa held her breath, her mind was racing with anticipation. "Adrian restored her.

Lissa squealed with delight "I knew he could do it!"

Lissa started rambling on Adrians exhaustion, the feeling of the power flowing through you and then she asked about Sonya.

"She's ok, very scattered and quiet. Dimitri has been talking to her, he is very protective of her."

"I'm sure he doesn't want her to go through the same experience that he did." She was right, his transition was very traumatic.

"And how are you both?" I paused, I was desperate to talk to her about everything, but I wanted to do it in person, so I deflected.

"Any progress also feels like a step back, we will have to have a long chat when I get back to break it all down. For now we have to focus on getting Sonya better and finding your sibling while you do your trials and investigate."

Lissa could smell my bullshit a mile away, but I was right, we had too many things going on. I knew that she would pounce when I returned back to court. She could tell that something was up, but she didn't pry, even though she wanted to.

"We'll talk when you get back." We certainly would.

AN:

If you like this story, feel free to click on fave.

I have once again re-edited older chapters, particularly chapter 9 for errors. I was re-reading the chapters to make sure chapter 15 was cohesive with the rest of the story, I was worried that the style of the story had changed too much.

I'm going to do a Dimitri chapter next which backtracks a little to catch his story.