Chapter Six

Last Time:

Something inside of me sent a jolt of unwanted pain. "Ah!" I grunted, doubling over. Dimitri put his hand on my shoulder and took my hand.

"Roza? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he asked, terror in his voice.

"Nnngh," I moaned my back suddenly full of excruciating pain. And then I felt the warmth of liquid running down my legs. I gasped from the feeling of it.

And suddenly... I just happened to, um, pee, all over the floor. My cheeks turned rosy and I looked away from Dimitri. "Oh God. I think… shit!"

"Roza–"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut the fuck up, Dimitri! My water just broke! Get me to the goddamned hospital; I'm having a baby!"

Currently:

Dimitri POV

Holy shit, like, all the thoughts that raced through my mind at that second... Wow. I blinked a couple times before I sized her up and down, placing her hand in mine. "We've got to get you to the hospital!" I screamed. Rose looked like she had a snappy reply on her lips, but I beat her to it.

I picked her up bridal-style, effectively shutting her up, and grabbed my car keys off of the counter. I raced from the kitchen to the front door, opening and slamming the door after me. A small smile tugged at my lips, and I knew that the events soon to come would be entertaining ones.

-A Day Later-

I woke up the next morning feeling extremely tired, uncomfortable, and a bit hungry. I tried to stretch, but as I moved my arm, I felt Rose's head twitch. She made a quiet moan, and I froze completely. That's right– how could I forget? I'm a father, finally.

Flashback

"Push Roza! Push… You're almost there, baby, I can see the head," I cried in excitement. Jesus... This was really happening! She screamed out as she began to bear down to push again. Rose had been pushing for twenty minutes already. She was sweating and numerous tears leaked from her bloodshot brown eyes.

"Dimitri, I can't… I'm so tired…" she breathed as she squeezed my hand tight. Labor had been going on for hours, and when I say hours, it's seriously been like seven hours. I had no clue whatsoever of the time and to tell the truth, I really didn't care at this point. All that was on my mind was my wife about to have my son. The last thing I wanted was for this pain to continue within her.

"You can do it Roza," I said in a gentle voice, wrapping my larger hand around hers. "Take a deep breath, love, I know you can do it," I encouraged as I kissed away the tear that slid down her cheek. She cringed as the next contraction hit, then continued to cry out in pain.

"Alright, Rose! Last time. One good push and the baby is out," the doctor said enthusiastically from between her legs. A surge of anger enveloped me. I wanted to be the only one reserved for that spot. But now wasn't the time to feel jealous; I was a doctor myself. "Take a big deep breath and push hard…"

"Ah!" This time she pushed so hard, her face turned beet-red. Suddenly, I heard it. The first cries of my baby boy. My head snapped in the direction of the sweet sound. And there he was–a slimy, white, and wrinkled screaming mess. I was stunned at the very sight. Surprisingly, I found him to be absolutely beautiful. My heart slammed against my rib cage and my eyes blurred. I was speechless as I swallowed dryly. The nurse wiped him down as he cried and then she walked over to me and placed him in my arms.

She smiled brightly as she met my eyes. "It's a beautiful baby boy."

At that point, tears streamed down my face from just looking into that little yet perfect face. His small, delicate fingers reached out and wrapped around my pinky finger. My heart clenched as I fell in love with my baby boy right then and there.

End of Flashback

Gazing lovingly down at my new family, I couldn't help the sharp prick of tears in my eyes. One by one, the little droplets began a stream down my face. It felt like a small shard of glass was being pulled out of my heart every second I watched Rose and little Nikolai sleep like the dead.

Nikolai being not even a day old was the most handsome thing I'd ever seen. His eyes hadn't opened up yet, and they were the biggest mystery– which traits would dominate? Rose's beautiful, soft yet fierce hazel eyes? Or my darker, calm and calculating chocolate brown eyes.

Otherwise, his swirl of hair, what little of it there was, was thick and dark. Like Rose's it was brown with darker streaks in the midst of it. Nikolai's skin was pale like porcelain, with full lips and a button like nose. He had long, dark lashes, and as I watched them, I waited for them to flutter up and show me how his eyes looked.

I glanced at the plain illuminated clock on the wall and read seven twenty five. I heard faint distant noises, but mostly the annoying beeping noise of Rose's heart monitor. Often there was the light tap of feet outside our room, and then sometimes random talking. We were on the higher floors, in the maternity ward, so we didn't have to deal with listening to any unfortunate people rushing into the hospital.

A quiet knock on the door caught my attention. Rose stirred, but thankfully didn't rouse. A male nurse walked in and gave me a silent wave. He adjusted his glasses on his nose as he looked at a clipboard.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Belikov? Excited to be a father?" he asked in a low whisper. A proud grin grew on my face in reply just hearing the words 'father'. "I've yet to experience it, but by the look of your, excuse my language, shit-eating-grin all night, I can tell it's great." I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, but he made it easy by turning around and looked at Rose's monitors before swiftly leaving the room.

"Hey daddy," came Rose's hoarse voice beside me. I propped my head up on my hand as I gazed down at her. Her eyes were still closed, but she had a content look on her face.

"Hello, mommy," I replied, kissing her closed eyelids. She cracked a grin and looked up at me with her brilliant eyes. I couldn't help but feel a little thrilled at the way she looked at me. For some reasons, it felt like everything was beginning all over again. "How do you feel?"

Her response was immediate. "Like shit. Honestly. Go pull that plug. I dare you."

I snorted and kissed her nose. "Get some more sleep. You'll feel better later."

"I want to go home. Can you argue with that gay male nurse and let him sign me out early? I'm dying to sleep in my own bed. Sleep with you for God's sake," she joked, meeting my eyes and biting her lower lip.

"I would like nothing more..." I trailed my fingers from her temple to her jaw line, halting at her chin where I gently tipped it up so our lips could brush. "But seriously. You need to sleep." She gave me a pointed look, like she wanted to argue some more. "I promise if you'll sleep, I'll talk to the gay male nurse. But I don't think he has the final call; I think your doctor has to see you," I said with a smirk.

She sighed an exasperated sigh. "Ugh. Fine." An amused spark in Rose's eye caught my attention, but she quickly yawned and fell back into a deep sleep. I inhaled a deep, content breath. I bit my lower lip, thinking about how our life will be once Nikolai gets acquainted to our family. I was excited.

-Lissa POV-Later-

I chewed on my finger nails. "Hurry up, Christian! We're going to be late!" I cried, eyeing the rear view mirror to see my two little angels in their car seats. They both looked unhappy. I couldn't help but pout at them.

Christian slid his hand into mine. "Shh... Calm down, Lissa. It's going to be okay. We're going to get there on time. Judging by the time, Rose is probably still sound asleep." I glanced at the clock. Half past noon. Yeah, he was probably right. Especially with being tired as hell from just having a baby the night before... Oh God, I swear, no more kids for me. Those two in the back are getting no more siblings. I cannot stand squeezing anything else out of me.

When we made it to the hospital, I rushed out, the loose curls in my hair bouncing up and down as I moved. Christian had hardly parked the car and I was already digging in the back seat, unbuckling Raine. Christian called out in alarm as he finally cut the engine and got out on his side.

"Sorry babe," I sent him an apologetic smile, "but my sister just had a baby. There's no way in hell you can expect me to be calm about this," I said as I pulled Raine out and pressed her tightly to me. Christian did the same on the other side, but with Anthony. He slammed the door behind him and opened the trunk. Tons of balloons bounced out, but stayed restrained thanks to the little purple weights they were tied to. Raine giggled and clapped her hands while Anthony began pulling at his fathers' hair. Damn, if only I had a camera right now.

"Ah mother fudge, Christian. We forgot the camera!" I shrieked as that thought went through my mind. I groaned in annoyance. How could I forget? The four of us set for the hospital doors after my little outburst. It was a big, and certainly a fancy, hospital. The big glass doors opened for us automatically as we approached. We went to reception first.

"Hi. We're Christian and Lissa Ozera. We're here to visit Rose Hath– Belikov? She's in the maternity ward." I nearly tripped on her new last name. It was still weird, and she still demanded to be called Hathaway, though I knew she internally was in love with her new last name. That's pretty much how I am now, Lissa Ozera. Although it's been almost a year, it's still strange.

The woman nodded and handed us our visitor badges and we continued on our journey to the sixth floor. Once on the correct level, I took a deep breath before opening the door. Christian looked at me, smirking of course, and I wanted to slap him. I couldn't help the tears in my eyes. This was emotional! "Shut up!" I said, though grinning now.

Christian pressed the door open. Dimitri, Rose, and their new son came into view. Surprisingly enough, Rose was awake. Dimitri was on the bed beside Rose, hovering over the left side of her like the protective man he is. His arm was wrapped around Rose and the baby in a fatherly way. The tears rushed out of my eyes and I'm sure all the mascara I had applied before leaving was streaming down my cheeks. I knew I shouldn't have...!

"Rose!" I couldn't help but scream. I felt like an ass the next second, realizing I just woke the baby up. It was bright in the room, and the sun streamed in through the window that covered the whole far side of the room. The room was by no means large, but definitely roomy for a hospital. I was betting Dimitri had a hand in that.

Rose's face fell, and tears welled up in her eyes just like mine. Dimitri looked up and met my eye, then Christian's with a surprised look on his face. "Liss..." she hoarsely said just above a whisper.

I rushed over to her bedside, wishing I could hug her and kiss her, but just settled on kneeling and pressing my hand to her cheek. "I'm so happy for you..." I mumbled. "This is brilliant!"

Rose smiled a million-watt smile and glanced up at Dimitri who looked down at her at the exact second. Their lips met slowly and then turned back to me. The cutest fucking thing I've ever seen!

A short knock came at the door, and a man made his way in, a big smile on his face. He entered with a clipboard, and checked out the monitors silently. Dimitri got off the bed. "Can I talk to you for a second...?" he wondered. The man whirled around and nodded, a smile still plastered to his lips. The two walked out of the room, passing Christian and Anthony and the huge hoard of balloons in the process.

Christian then approached Rose. They exchanged a couple words before her son awoke. Rose sat up and positioned him on her lap. My cell started ringing in my pocket, and not wanting to bother Rose, I whirled around and left the room.

I looked up to see Dimitri and the male nurse down the hall a bit... Talking. Well, that's to put it plainly. Despite Dimitri being a good twenty feet from me, I could hear his condescending and threatening tone. The nurse was practically hiding beneath his clipboard. He nodded consecutively and scurried off in the opposite direction with wild eyes.

Dimitri turned to me and smirked. "Hey Lissa," he said and brushed past me into the room. I shook my head. I'm just going to pretend I didn't see any of that. My mind returned to the present and I pulled my phone out. Oh. Mia.

"Hellooo Mia?" I said in a singsong voice.

"Hey can you tell me the address to the hospital Rose is at?" she asked, and I swear, I could practically see her examining her nails rather than really listening to me.

"I don't know it," I told her. Well, no shit I know it, but do I really feel like opening up my maps app on my iPhone and looking for it? Eh...

Mia scoffed. "Well sure you do. It's on your maps app; I know it is."

I rolled my eyes. "One moment."

Dimitri POV

"The nurse said he would get the doctor right away," I said as I entered the room. Christian was sitting idly with Anthony on his lap and a million balloons beside him. I sat down on the bed beside Rose and kissed her on the forehead. I eyed her when I pulled away. "You look nervous."

As if just to prove my suspicion, Rose bit her lower lip and cuddled Nikolai closer. "I am. You see, Abe..."

No sooner did she say his name did he barge in. Well... Wow.

Sydney in tow, the two of them took one look at Rose and raced towards her. They both had tears in their eyes. "My baby had a baby!" Abe hollered. "Let me hold him," he demanded, looking like an eager child. Rose took a deep breath and looked over at me wearily, as if to ask, 'Should I?'

"I don't feel good about this," Rose muttered as she sat up in a sitting position and cradled Nikolai. She glared at her father before she handed her son off to Sydney. Sydney, after all, is a doctor, or nurse in the very least.

Sydney looked as if she were in heaven. She cooed to the baby and held her tightly to her. "I've never delivered a baby before," she said, looking up into Rose's big brown eyes. "He's definitely very healthy, and wow, what a looker."

"That," Abe raised a hand in the air, "would be my doing, thank you very much."

"Oh, shut up, old man," Rose growled, rolling her eyes and sending me a sympathetic look. I merely inhaled a deep breath and looked over to Abe.

"I think your nickname is more suiting now, since you are a grandfather now," I said, smirking at my father-in-law who only glared at me. Christian hid his chuckle as he pretended to be looking outside a window.

"Christ, I'm only forty-three! Rose, you're having kids too young," he said, turning to his shocked daughter.

"History repeats itself, that's all I can say," Rose said, holding her hands up. "And, Jesus dad, you're one to talk."

Abe looked a little taken aback when Rose addressed him as dad, and his eyes softened up a little bit. He smiled kindly and bent down to kiss Rose. "I'm just glad my daughter is safe," he admitted, looking at her lovingly, a look that was certainly reciprocated from Rose.

Not even a second later, Lissa burst in with an out of breath Mia and Eddie following close behind. Mia was already crying. So when she rushed over, tears were spilling all down her face and down her front.

I eyed her. "How did you get in so quickly?" I asked curiously. I happened to hear Lissa announce Mia's name as she answered the phone when I walked into the room.

Mia breathlessly glanced over at me and sneered. "I just screamed 'My girlfriends' having a baby!', and they totally did not put up any restraint. Except for this one big guy, but I ducked..." her eyes drifted off, as if she were remembering a distant memory. She snapped out of it and returned her gaze to Rose. "I'm so proud of you!" she hollered and took Rose's face into her hands. She kissed her lips repeatedly, then finally pulled back and hugged the daylights out of Rose. By the end of her PDA, Rose was coughing.

"Love you too," Rose said in between coughs. "Where is my baby?" she asked, glaring at person from person. Eddie had the baby, and reluctantly handed Nikolai over to Rose and she smiled warmly at him.

"What did you name him?" Christian asked, Anthony no longer in his arms, but in Lissa's. Everyone looked at Rose and I expectantly. We exchanged a look before Rose spoke.

"Nikolai," she said in the warmest, softest, most affectionate voice I'd ever heard. I looked down at her with adoring eyes as our lips met quickly. Everyone looked to me for assistance when I returned my eyes to the group.

I shrugged. "In English, the name is roughly Nicholas," I explained. "Or Kolya, a diminutive," I explained. "Moĭ dragotsennyĭ novorozhdennogo syna," I breathed in Russian. My precious newborn son. Rose looked up at me, a breathtaking smile on her plump lips. I Looked back up at everyone, and the confusion on all their faces, besides Abe and Sydney who were gazing proudly at us, made me want to take Rose and Nikolai in my arms and escape. Where? Only God knows. But just away from the watching eyes, and into the comfort of our own home.

"I've never seen something so cute!" Mia squealed in excitement. She turned to Eddie. "Let's have a baby!" she said. Eddie looked down at her like she had three heads.

"I can hardly contain you the way you are. Think of the way you'll be when you have all those pregnant-woman-hormone-things. I'd rather jump out the window of a skyscraper," he said bluntly. Mia pouted, and Eddie sent her a 'we'll talk about it later' look and a smirk.

Rose smiled at everyone warmly. "Dimitri, get my clothes. I want to get out of here," she said, examining the tubes connected to her arms, probably deciding which ones would hurt if she yanked them out. I sent her a dangerous look. Her shoulders slumped.

I smiled. "Go back to sleep," I said, leaning her back gently. "The doctor will be here soon." I looked apologetically at everyone in the room. "She needs more sleep, would it be okay if you came back later...?" I asked calmly, hoping my request wouldn't put anyone out.

They all made noises of understanding and such before they shuffled out, saying they would wait for my call. I turned back to Rose, who was leaning back against the raised bed with a sound asleep Nikolai in her arms. "Thanks," she admitted.

A few minutes later the doctor strolled into the room. I was really relieved to see her since Rose was so anxious to get out of here. She smiled at us sitting on the bed cuddled up together admiring our newborn protectively held in Roza's arms.

"How are you feeling, Rose?" The doctor asked as she picked up the chart that was on the end of the bed.

Rose grimaced before she lied and said, "Just fine." The doc smiled a knowing smile at her.

"I know you want out of here Rose, but I'm sorry to tell you its not quite time yet." Rose frowned at her words and looked up at me with an unhappy look. It killed me to see her unhappy, so I had to ask.

"Do you have an idea how much longer?" I questioned, hoping it would be soon for all our sakes. The doctor smiled brightly at me and nodded her head, looking over the chart.

"Well everything is looking pretty good on the charts, but Rose has some things to learn before she leaves. Has the lactation nurse been in to see you since you woke?" Rose and I both looked at her and shook our heads no.

"Okay, I will send her in immediately," she said decisively, clicking her tongue. "That little one needs to eat right away." She pointed at Nikolai. "Also I need to give you an exam to check your stitches, and a few other things before I can let you go home. To answer your question, Dimitri, typically you have at least a twenty-four hour stay after birth. And since Rose didn't have the baby until late last night she's not going to make it out of here today. So it looks like she's staying the night and can be discharged first thing in the morning as long as all is well at that time." A small smirk formed on her lips as she took in our disappointed faces.

"But…" Rose started to say. But the doctor held up her hand.

"Rules are rules, Rose. That's the way it is here in this hospital." Rose sagged in defeat and huffed unhappily again. Damn, it's going to be a long night. The doctor's beeper went off and she said she would be back in a little while to do the exam. She hurried out the door after a quick,"See you later."

The day was very busy with visits from all kinds of hospital people. First, the lactation nurse, who made us wake up the sleeping angel to feed him. But I have to say, seeing my wife breast feed my newborn son for the first time was… Well, I'm just going to say it: pretty hot. A turn on. But, it was also sensational, breathtaking, the most beautiful thing I think I'd ever seen.

I watched in awe as the nurse showed Rose how to hold Nikolai and how to get him to latch on correctly. It was simply incredible. Nikolai latched on like a pro, Roza flinched and hissed out in pain as his small, but apparently very strong mouth grabbed a hold of her. "Holy shit!" flew out of her mouth before she could even stop it. I laughed, but that was a mistake since she glared at me with evil eyes. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing.

The records department came in and filled out an arm long list of papers for his birth certificate, social security card, hospital records, his foot print and thumb print. It seemed like they would never leave. And Roza was exhausted; I could see it in her eyes she needed a break and to take a nap, but she knew if she wanted out of here first thing in the morning, then this stuff had to be taken care of.

Finally, we got to be alone for like two whole seconds and Nikolai woke up crying wanting to be changed and fed. As soon as we got him settled down they came and took him away for his first baby picture and all the weighing and measuring and whatever else. Wow, I never knew there was so much to do. We thought for a second that we would get a moment together, but nope. In walked all our visitors from last night.

Nikolai was back in just a few minutes and was passed around the room to all the visitors. He wasn't too keen on so many people because he started crying again. But as soon as he was in his mothers arms he settled down. I guess he was hungry because he started nuzzling her trying to find the source of food he had before. It was so cute I couldn't look away.

Rose decided she needed to feed him and everyone left so she could have some privacy, promising to see her at home tomorrow. I was glad to see them go, because we hadn't had a moment of peace since this morning. I mentally braced myself thinking that, most likely, that's the way it's going to be from now on.

Rose sighed in relief that everyone was gone, she looked extremely tired. She cursed as Nikolai took hold of her swollen breast and scrunched up her face like she might cry.

"Does it really hurt that bad, Roza?" I asked thinking it can't be that bad.

Her eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of her head she looked at me with a pained look. "Shit," she mouthed not saying it out loud and baring her teeth at me in a silent growl, but I got the message loud and clear. Obviously, it hurt like a bitch.

Finally…. Finally! The night came and I swear we were out before nine o'clock! Completely exhausted from the days' events.

To Be Continued...

Thank you Debra! Keep in mind that I'm only fourteen and I have no idea what I'm talking about... Pertaining to babies and birth. Dpower helped me out soo much, and I'm glad I have her!Okay, I want to say I'm sorry about updating so freaking late. It's finals week so that's pretty much the only reason I'm updating. So I'm going to work harder on updating. I love this story as much as you all claim to, but my plan for the story is a little weird and complex and I didn't completely think through how I wanted it to be, so it's hard. Okay, poll:

Should the Antagonist be a character already established in Vampire Academy, or a created by me character? And just know, she's not going to be MY character, so I'm not going to make her an annoying girl who suddenly becomes the center of attention. Okay, I HATE those. They ruin the whole story, because they become the story. hatehatehate.

So I really need some reviews. You guys have been great and I'm really grateful that everyone really likes this. It makes it ten times easier to write. Just as a heads up, I have around twenty chapters in mind. That may change, up or down. That's why suggestions are so welcomed. So, I want to thank NellyRose1994. So, if you're still reading this bs, REVIEW! sphanks.