Hey, guys. So... I kinda missed the deadline, haha. But I'm on vacation, so you're lucky that I even remembered you guys while I'm hanging out in Florida. Haha, kidding, kidding. I could never forget you all. ;D I love you too much. Happy Fourth of July to my American readers. To the rest of you all, I hope you had a good Sunday. xD I hit 300 reviews, which absolutely made my day. I appreciate your reviews so much, you guys have no clue.

So I have a little something for you, starting this week. If you review, I will send a link to a picture of one of the triplets in a review reply. The triplets love to take pictures and want you to know what they look like. If you review, you get a picture of one of them. It's a little disheartening to have 300 readers per chapter, and I get 10 reviews. But anyway~ Review and get a picture. Easy-peasy.

Done with the long-ass A/N.

Disclaimer: Rose and Dimitri aren't mine, but you get a picture of one of their kids if you review. [:

Dimitri and I glanced at each other for a long moment. We had just finished playing hide and seek, and now Adrienne wanted to play a new game. How typical. Adrienne's eyes were bright with excitement as she watched us silently deliberate. Her face fell as she began to realize that we were going to say no. Her eyes widened. "Please, Mommy?" she asked. She pushed her lower lip out into a pout. Dimitri smirked beside me as he noticed Adrienne's signature look. "Please?" she asked again.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead with the palm of my hand. "Yes, Adrienne. We can play tag." She grinned widely. "But -" She froze, her eyes widening as she waited for my condition. "You have to let your sister sleep, all right?"

Adrienne nodded quickly. "Yeah, Sabrina can sleep. Let's go play!"

Dimitri and I chuckled and followed our zealous daughter to the living room. Jeremy was jumping up and down on the couch, not tired in the least. Dimitri hid behind the couch and pounced when Jeremy was turned around. He caught him by the waist and growled playfully. Jeremy snickered but threw his arms around Dimitri's neck, not worried in the slightest.

My husband sighed happily and hugged his son before setting him on the ground. Of course, by then Adrienne was tugging on Dimitri's shirt, demanding to be held. Dimitri picked her up and looked at me.

"So what are we playing?" I asked, hoping to get the game started. "Freeze tag, or regular tag?"

Adrienne thought it over for a short moment. "Freeze tag."

"Who will be it?"

"Daddy." Her answer was quick.

"Adrienne, are you sure?" I asked. "If he's it, you won't have much of a chance to get away."

She scowled at me, and her eyes hardened. "I want Daddy to be it." Her voice was cool and hard, and I chuckled.

"All right, all right."

Dimitri leaned forward, smirking. "You're going down, Roza."

I chuckled, staring into my husband's humored crimson eyes. Our foreheads were barely touching, we were so close. "That's what you think, Dimitri." I might suck at hide and seek, but I was faster than he gave me credit for.

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" he snickered. He squeezed my hand once, then let me go. He set Adrienne on the floor and smiled. "I'll give you humans a ten-second head start. Fair enough?" He smiled good-naturedly.

"We won't need it. But if you must," I sighed dramatically, grinning. Adrienne and Jeremy were buzzing with excitement.

"One… two… three…" Adrienne and Jeremy darted for the kitchen, and I sprinted to the staircase, going up the stairs three at a time, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I watched from the top of the stairs as Dimitri tagged Adrienne almost immediately. She pouted, but Dimitri kissed the top of her head as he passed by her to get to her brother.

Jeremy escaped being tagged immediately by rolling underneath the coffee table. The downside to that was that he was trapped. Dimitri's arms began reaching for him, and a few moments later, Dimitri wrapped his arms around Jeremy's waist and pulled him out from under the table. He set him on the couch and smiled.

"Momma's left," Jeremy reminded him.

"Oh, I know," Dimitri chuckled devilishly. He glanced up at me, and I ran to hide in what would be Adrienne's new room. The kids were getting their own rooms because of privacy issues. Plus, they were getting so big. It was hard to fit three growing kids in one room.

Dimitri took his time in coming up the stairs, grinning. I hid in Adrienne's bathroom, trying to calm my breathing and pulse rate. Dimitri poked his head in the room, chuckling. "Roza, I know you're in here. You might as well give up. There's no way you're getting past me."

I growled under my breath. I'll show him. Dimitri stuck his head in the closet, figuring that would be where I was, after our earlier game of hide and seek. I slipped past him and jumped down the stairs, four at a time. I was terrified of losing my footing, but I heard Dimitri behind me; there wasn't time to slow down.

I tore through the kitchen, dodging chairs and toys, all the while knowing Dimitri was less than inches away. I managed to tap Adrienne on the arm, and she ran for it, going to un-tag Jeremy.

I led Dimitri through the lower half of the house, hoping to get him distracted by the kids that were running around. It worked for a moment, but then he was after me again. I ran up the stairs, jumping several at a time.

We ended up in our bedroom, and I was stuck in a corner. "Dimitri," I threatened. "Please? Please let me go?"

He grinned. "I don't think so, Roza." He kept getting closer and closer until we were inches apart. He still hadn't touched me, though. While he was preoccupied with thinking that he was winning, I slipped underneath his arms and darted for the door.

He was standing in the doorway, and I crashed into him, lips and all. He steadied me, keeping our lips pressed together. I opened my eyes in shock, and he smirked into the kiss. "I love you," he breathed.

"I love you, too," I replied before he continued the kiss. As we kissed, my head began to fill with fog, and I couldn't think straight. Dimitri was the only thing that mattered. He was tangible, visible, alive, to me, at least. I could imagine the beat of his heart, the steady throb of his pulse. I had felt it all before. I ran my hands over his chest, and he sighed softly.

"Rose." My name fell from his lips in a worshipful sigh.

"Dimitri," I replied, fisting my hands in his shirt. "Do you miss it?" I asked suddenly.

"Miss what?" he mumbled, not paying attention. He craned his head to kiss me again, but I pulled back slightly. His eyes finally opened, and he searched my face, confused.

"Do you miss being alive?" I breathed, watching his face carefully. "Eating, sleeping?"

He shrugged. "There are times that I do. And times that I don't. Why?"

I shrugged back. "I don't know. Just wondered."

Dimitri smiled, his eyes becoming gentle. He brushed his lips over my forehead. "Oh, and Rose?"

"Hmmm?" I sighed.

"Gotcha."

My eyes widened, and Dimitri snickered. "Damn it," I hissed. How dare he trick me into forgetting that I'd been tagged? That wasn't fair. If I'd been tagged, I should at least get the satisfaction of being able to sulk about it. I scowled at him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He smiled, closing the distance between us once more. "Oh, come on, Rose. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy my little distraction."

"Shut up, Dimitri," I muttered, glaring at him. But he was right. I couldn't be mad at him for kissing me. I could never be upset at him for that. And he knew it.

"So you'd be against another distraction?" he breathed, centimeters from my face.

I nodded slowly, knowing that I was lying. "Yeah. You could say that," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"Hmm. . ." Dimitri pressed his lips against my chin and smiled. "So you don't want me to kiss you, is that what you're saying?"

"Uh-huh." I noticed too late that I was shaking my head back and forth instead of nodding like I thought I was. Dimitri laughed for a short moment.

"So you don't want my lips pressed against yours?" he asked quietly, his eyes lighting up with something darker, more primal than he normally showed.

I shook my head slowly, swallowing heavily. I didn't trust myself to speak.

"You're sure?" he breathed.

I hesitated, and that was his answer. He closed the tiny space between us and pressed his lips to mine much more forcefully than he usually allowed himself. His hands came up to cup my face as our mouths moved in sync, knowing every line of the other's face.

"You're everything," I whispered, tracing his jaw with my fingertip.

"I know, Roza," he replied, smiling. He leaned forward to kiss me again when we heard a small voice.

"Momma? Daddy?" We both turned to see Sabrina standing there, looking confused. I smiled and picked up Sabrina.

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you have a nice nap?" Dimitri murmured. I was envious of how easily he became a dad instead of a husband. I had to work on not jumping Dimitri on the spot in front of our youngest daughter.

She nodded shyly, hiding her face in my shoulder. "Did you guys play another game?"

"Yes, we did," I answered. "Adrienne and Jeremy wanted to play freeze tag. Do you want to play?"

"Uh-huh. Can I be it?" she asked, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

"I'm sure we can work something out," I chuckled. "But I bet Aunt Lissa would want to play, too. What do you think?" I asked Dimitri, trying to get him to understand where I was going with this. If they were at Lissa's, then they weren't here, and we could finish what he had started.

His answering smile said it all. "I'm sure Lissa will be more than happy to play with you all. Rose? Do you mind taking the triplets to her house?"

"Not at all," I replied. As I passed him, I squeezed his hand tightly. "I'll be back," I murmured lowly. He nodded imperceptibly, and I grinned.

I took the triplets to Lissa's house and subtly tried to explain the situation. Lissa was ecstatic that she had some alone time with the triplets, and Andre was getting bored as well, so he was happy to see his partner in crime. When I returned to the house, it was quiet for the first time in ages.

I ascended the staircase and smiled when I saw Dimitri waiting for me by our bedroom. His eyes were dark and smoldering, and I exhaled slowly. You can do this, Rose.

"Kids are gone," he breathed.

"So it seems," I replied, smiling. I took his hands and squeezed tightly. "I love you."

"You know I love you."

I nodded as he picked me up, bridal style. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he kissed me once more. "I know."

Dimitri kicked the bedroom door shut, and as it slammed, I knew Lissa would be getting a lot more alone time with the triplets if I had anything to say about it.

- Squeezes eyes shut, cracks one open - So I tried to give you some sexiness. How'd I do? No, nevermind. I don't wanna know. Don't forget. If you review, you get a link to a picture of one of the triplets.

Please make me happy, guys. The triplets are greedy and want more reviews.

- J.C.