Hello! This my second Fanfic, and yes, it's all human, unlike my other one where it starts off as an all human story and then turns into the real deal. My bad for that. Anyway, I've had this idea in my head for quite some time now and I really wanted to type it out. I do apologize if sound like I am stealing someone else's idea, but I assure you, I don't steal. I respect people for their work and it's meant to stay remained in their hands unless they give it up for adoption. In the passage, there will be things in parentheses to explain what the military terms are… I hope it helps. And before you ask, I did not get all of these things off of the internet. I happen to just know some things about the US Army- oh, and pleaassseee, if I happen to get a military term incorrect, please correct me. It'd be appreciated. ALSO, in the military, many soldiers and higher ranks address most people by their last names- except Ivan. Heh. Thanks! (:

I'm Now Content in My Little World-
Full Summary:

Dimitri Belikov is a soldier who fights in Afghanistan every day, shooting down the Taliban. He puts his life on the line every day when he's in Afghanistan, but will a certain someone change his mind about doing that? Which path will he choose? Rose is a clothing designer for men, children, and teens. Rose loves helping people in any way she can, but she's easily distracted by the man right before her eyes. What happens when they meet? How will they get along? This story is AH and some characters, if not all, are slightly OOC. R&R… please? (:
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD!

PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R!)
Chapter One:
(Dimitri POV)
I adjusted my MICH (Modular Integrated Communications Helmet), grabbing my M-4(type of rifle) along with more ammo. Today I was on patrol, searching for any IEDs (improvised explosive devices). Second in line, I followed the Afghan soldier to one of the places the Taliban could possibly be hiding, making the IEDs.

"We got 'em." said the Afghan soldier. I went forward, doing my duty. I kicked down the door that was the only thing separating us from the Taliban.

"We will not shoot unless the Taliban shoot first! We are here to come to an agreement on terms. As I repeat- we will not shoot unless we are shot at first-" A man yelled "fire" in his language, making many other men fire. I immediately raised my rifle, shooting at anybody that was firing at us.
"Take cover!" I launched a grenade into the little house, taking cover with the other soldiers behind a thick clay wall. Any debris from the house flew back, smacking around and onto all of our ACUs (Army Combat Uniform).

"Belikov!" I turned my head to see Kesterman, a friend of mine, holding his bloody and wounded leg.
"How bad?" I asked, slightly scooting from my spot to check his wound(s?). There looked to be a few bullets here and there along with a knife lodged into his leg.
"A guy shot me three times and then who I assumed was his wife flung a knife right into the skin above my kneecap."

"We need to get you out of here. I'll call in Castile."
"Thanks."
"No problem. You think you can survive another five?"
"Yes-" he hissed as he applied more pressure onto his wounds. "sir."

I radioed Castile, another good friend of mine who had joined the military about ten years after I did. This was only his fourth year while I was almost finished with my thirteenth. I was thirty-one compared to him being twenty-five.
"Castile."
"Belikov? Let me guess, Kesterman got hurt again?"

"Yes. We need to get him to the base- ASAP. We're lucky we brought extra men. It was a small group but they know how to fire."
"You got it. No rapid evacuations (the event of many soldiers wounded in the combat zone and need to be rushed out)?"

"No. Hold on, let me check for anymore wounded." I looked around, counting all of our men.

"Where did Phillips go?"
Wellebie spoke up as soon as I asked the question. "Sir, we don't know if he'll make it. He looks to be puncture in the heart." Shit.

"Where is he?"
I stood to my full height, which was a very bad idea. Someone who was alive shot at my head, but I quickly raised my arms. I don't know why- a reflex? The helmets had padding, but I was still unsure of how bad it could damage my head since I've never experienced that. However, I wasn't quick enough and the bullet went through my uniform, grazing my arm, and then leaving a stinging pain in its path.

I ran around the wall, searching for a person. A rifle was pointed to me once I found the man and well, he asked for it. I shot him dead-center in the chest without any hesitation. He fell to the ground, landing on a burned group of bodies. I ran back around, seeing some people jogging to where we were with roll up stretchers.

"Where did you say Phillips is located?" Kesterman raised his not-wounded arm over to where a body lay. I hurriedly made my way over to him and knelt down.

"Phillips?" I felt his neck which had an extremely faint pulse.
"Herrera! We need a stretcher!" -Where in the world was his vest? We all wore the Kevlar bullet proof vests.
"Coming, sir!" Herrera replied, running over with three other men. Phillips, I have to admit, wasn't a very light man. I wasn't sure if those four could even lift Phillips up.
"You need to get Phillips in that Humvee ( a.k.a- HMMWV- type of truck/vehicle that is often used for off-roading whenever searching for IEDs or land mines) because he most likely doesn't have much more time before his heart stops beating."
"Yes, sir- anything else?"
"Be careful. Ran into about seven snipers (shooters that hide out in the land and then shoot when they see someone against them) on our way here."
"Yes sir." The four of the ten Humvees we came with sped off as fast as they could towards the base.
"Let's go." I took the rest of men and we settled into the six Humvees, heading back to the Kandahar military base. It has been my make-shift home for the past two years, but since my birthday was coming up, I was going to take leave for two weeks to visit my family in the states. Just one more day until I see my loving mother and three sisters. I could hardly wait.

Even though the wicking material (a material that helps allow sweat to exit from inside the uniforms) on our ACUs help with sweat, the degree of the heat in the atmosphere was rising quickly.

The hottest it's ever been here is a max of one-twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and today seemed

like the sun wasn't going to give it a rest. It was one-seventeen degrees Fahrenheit, almost one-eighteen. I was in a Humvee with three other men; Garretson in the driver's seat, myself in the passenger's, Hubert in the seat behind Garretson, and then Ivan Zeklos, my best friend since two, in the seat behind me. Thank goodness for air conditioning in this thing.

"So, Belikov, are the rumors true?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion while I looked at Hubert.
"What rumors?"
"The ones about you leaving Afghanistan for good."

"No. Why would I do that?"
"Well, we heard that you were going to the states for your birthday and then staying with your mom because she didn't want you leaving anymore." I scoffed.
"My mother wanted me to join the Army. Yes, she'd take me back any day, guaranteed, but she's always wanted to be in the Army, and since none of my sisters didn't step up to the plate, I did. And I freakin' love it."
"Awe, big'ole Dimitri is a momma's boy." Garretson said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"Shut it, Garretson. Last I heard, your mom actually sent you cupcakes and some underwear with your name sewed into it." Ivan always backed me up in these situations.
"Hell yeah! I'm a momma's boy and I ain't afraid to admit it." I smirked at him as he had his lip curled back.

"Answer a question for me, Garretson," Ivan said, leaning forward. "How many sisters do you have?"
"None."
"Exactly."
"Why does that matter?"
"Because Dimitri is the only boy in his family. I bet if you grew up in a house with five females in the house, you'd be a momma's boy too. He's not willingly choosing to be a momma's boy."
"What about your dad Dimitri?" Garretson asked.

I stiffened immediately at the mention of my father.
"Don't wanna talk about it." My own voice was barely recognizable. Just thinking about my so called 'father' made my blood boil. After another minute of extremely uncomfortable silence, Hubert asked, "How long you been away from your family?"
I frowned as I realized how long i've been away.
"Nine."
"Nine what? Weeks? Months? Years?"
"Years."
"Then why now?" I shrugged. The truth was, I was afraid to visit them before. I felt like my mother would turn around and look for him again like the last two times. The first was when Karolina lost her unborn child and ran away from home. After a week of no reply from Karolina, Mama 'needed' a distraction. She called up Aleksander and broke three ribs and her leg from that mistake. The second time, Viktoria got drunk and was fined for DUI. We were broke back then because of Aleksander stealing any money we had, only leaving us just enough for the bills on the house and Vika's fine. She crawled back to him while I was working one night. She was almost beaten to death.

Whenever we Skyped, even thought it wasn't often, my mother seemed happy along with my sisters. I hoped they were alright.
My suitcase and duffel were packed. As I went to sleep, I smiled, thinking of how fun it'd be to see my family again. I could hardly wait.

(Rose POV)
"Number twenty-three please! Your order is ready!" I yelled, heading back into the kitchen.
"Jeez, Rose. Can't you use that voice for something else? Some of us are old. Old as in over-half-a-century-old." I smirked at Alberta who was the oldest co-worker here besides Dean.

"Nope," I said, popping the "p." "You'll just need to get some hearing aids." She shook her head, resuming to cook the juicy steaks.

I worked at Dean's Deli to occupy myself. Most people don't like to work even more, but my career is actually a quiet one, never needing that much work. I was a clothing designer- yes- Rose Hathaway, a clothing designer. But here's the catch. I do children's clothing and men's clothing. There's one punk company that I design teenagers' clothing, for girls and boys, but that's it.
I've never been the really girly girl. That's Lissa's job, and she does it well. However, Lissa doesn't design things. She's the down-to-earth chick who loves helping people and animals.
Liss works as a neonatal nurse assistant and is employed by the Belikov Health Company. I've met Ms. Belikov, or Olena- as she wants me to call her, several times when I have had to pick Lissa up from work. She is a nice woman who deserves every penny she earns.
"Rose, your shift is over. You can clock out." I stared at the clock above Destiny's head. I thought about it. Destiny was a hard worker who was raising triplets by herself since her boyfriend left her. She was never okay in the financial department- or at least that's was Alberta said, and she had to work three jobs to keep her family healthy and living.

"Hey, Destiny, do you mind if I..."
"What, Rose? I'm wasting time when I could be filling out orders."
"I was wondering if you would like me to fill in your shift while you can clock in early at Benny's. I know you're raising three kids by yourself and it's hard to keep up with them -and- juggle three jobs. I was thinking, I could do your shifts and I'll just have Dean take the hours that I worked for you and put them in your time sheet. I can do it for the rest of the week."
"Really? You'd do that for me?" I smiled and nodded. She squealed and attacked me with a bear hug.
"Oh my gosh! Thank you, Rose! So much! If you can't do a day, just let me know and I'll stay, but thank you so so so much Rose! How can I repay you?"
"Listen, Des, I just want to be friends in return. It doesn't hurt to have a friend by your side." She beamed and nodded.
"Thank you. Thank you, Rose. No one's ever done this for me. I really appreciate it." I smiled and nodded again, watching Destiny rush out the back door and into the employee parking lot. I knew what I was going to do after work.
"Rose! You ain't no slacker; get your butt back to work!" Dean yelled from the cash register.

I ran up to the sub line and began my sub making. Six hours later, I was done with my shift and Destiny's. Dean was washing dishes in the back while Alberta was sweeping. Another worker, Jordan, who was also Dean's son, was taking all of the trash out and scrubbing down tables in the dining area. Dean didn't need many workers for the place.
He was a speedy cashier, Alberta and Destiny were great cooks, I made the subs and sandwiches and soup, and Jordan did most of the manly work other than cleaning.

"Hey, boss? May I talk to you after you're done with the dishes?"
"Can it wait until I lock up?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright. I'll be all ears after Jordan leaves." I nodded and resumed wiping down the counters, sub line, and glass covers.
Jordan left ten minutes later, leaving Alberta, Dean, and myself alone.
"What's this about Rosie?" I always thought of Dean as my -real- father since mine was never around. Abe was around now, actually, but tried winning my love with money. It doesn't work that way for me. Well, at least Dean treated me like family. Like I was his own kid.
"Well, I want to make a donation to Destiny."

"Like an anonymous donation?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she's raising three kids while working. I want to give her... One mil."
"Rose, that's a very generous donation. Do you even have that much money to spare?"
"I sure do. You remember that guy, Abe, that I told you both about?"
"Yeah." Dean said, while Alberta just nodded.
"He's my dad. And he's rich. He gave me a lot of money, probably thinking that I would give him daughterly love in return, but we all know that's not how I roll." They chuckled in agreement.
"I trust you guys not to tell anyone because when I say he left me money, I'm talking quite a few mill."
"How much is 'a few' mill, exactly Rose?" Alberta asked, slightly scratching her head.
"I'm not going to say. All you need to know is that it's a lot."
"Is that why you live in that mansion?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, but I didn't want a large house. I actually just wanted to live in like a two story house with four bedrooms and a basement... anyway, that's not the point. I want to make a two million dollar donation."
"I thought you wanted to make it a one-" I cut Alberta off.
"I changed my mind. Two million dollars, to her, and I was wondering if you could give it to her saying, 'Hey, Destiny, somebody left this for you.' or something like that. And if she asks any questions about who 'dropped it off,' just tell her you don't remember."
"I can do that Rosie." I gave Dean a cheeky smile.
"One more thing. I filled in for Destiny and kind of told her that I'd do her shifts for her but still have the money go into her paycheck. She really needs it and I was wondering if you could count my time as hers also."
"Anything for you, darlin'. I was going to give her a raise too, but screw that! She's gonna be rich within the week!" I laughed and bid them my farewells with hugs.

O.o
When I arrived at the daycare, Sydney greeted me on the way in.
"How did he do today?" I asked, snatching up the little bugger. Cj bounced in my arms and I ruffled his black hair. I planted a big kiss on his cheek, causing him to giggle.

"He did really good. I was surprised at how sleepy he was this morning."
"Late night," I explained. "How much is this week's payment?"
"One-sixty-two." I put Cj down and I scribbled on a check, making sure that I filled in everything correctly before dropping it into the deposit-box.
"Come 'ere bud. We gotta go."
"Okay. By Miss Syd!"
"Goodbye, Cj. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Sydney. Have a good night." I told her. She nodded and waved back at the waving Cj.

Cj and I walked out, hand in hand, and made our way over to the silver Honda Civic. I hated it, but Lissa insisted on having a safe, gas saving, car. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Cj let go of my hand and yanked on the car door handle. He pulled just a little too hard and landed on his butt. I scrunched up, worried that he's start crying, but he just stared at the door in confusion. I shook my head and laughed, picking him up. I buckled him into the car seat and then made my way to the driver's seat. I had to pick Liss up because Christian had taken her to work today, but he wasn't able to pick her up because he got held up at a meeting at the fire department. Lissa owns her own vehicle, but she doesn't like driving. She's just odd like that.
I glanced at Cj who was staring out the window.
"So, what my little fire boy do today with Miss Sydney?" He grinned.
"Today, we colored and made magaronchi necklaces." Magaronchi. Exciting.
"Macaroni necklaces and coloring! Man, I wish I could do those things. What did you color?" He giggled.
"I colored mommy a cat picture, daddy a doggy picture, and you- a flower. Miss Sydney said the flower was called a rose, like your name."
"Miss Sydney is right." was all I replied with. Five minutes later, we pulled into the hospital. I unbuckled him from his seat and his eyelids were now beginning to drop.
"Come on big boy. Don't fall asleep on me yet."

I hoisted him up on my waist as he buried his face into the crook of my neck and began to snooze. I soothed him into my neck as I smoothed out his hair. It was getting long, but Lissa didn't want to cut it. His hair was almost chin length, actually, but she was too damn stubborn to listen to me. He had Christian's hair style and color with Lissa's eyes.
His nose was also like his father's but his lips were pouty like his mother's. I could tell he was going to be tall like his parents and most likely have their pale complexion. I walked along the

sidewalk, going through the main office. I went up to floor three and saw Mia, the receptionist.

"Hey Rose! Lissa's shift is almost over."
"Alright."
"Is that little boy yours?" Mia was one of the newer workers and didn't know many people and whose kids were whose.
"No. This is Christian Junior, Lissa's son."
"Aw. He's adorable!" I smiled and nodded. He snuggled deeper into my neck while also releasing a tiny yawn. I internally frowned. There was that dull ache in my chest.

I sat in one of the waiting chairs, cradling little Christian to my chest, wondering if I'd ever be a mother. Everyone girl probably thinks that if they haven't had a kid- well, probably not if they didn't want kids, but I wondered. I was soon going on twenty-six, still without a lover. Not even a fake one. I've never been the one for romantic crap, but I feel lonely. I don't have anyone that knows me, as in the real -me-. Liss is close, but there are things that she won't understand the full concept of.
I scoffed at myself.
I was being a baby.
I was drowning in pity for my love life.
I don't need anyone.
I don't need to let anyone in.
I won't do it.
I won't get hurt again.
Maybe it was a selfish thing to do, but for once, I felt free.
No one was going to rain on my parade anymore. Well, I hoped they didn't.

Lissa came out of a room no less than two minutes later and took her kid from me.
"How's my baby?" She squealed into his face. He frowned.
"Mommy, I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy." the three-year-old said.
"I know. But you'll always be mommy's baby." He giggled into her shoulder.
"Where's my little man?" a voice bellowed.
"Daddy!" Poor Cj writhed in his mother's arms, trying to escape his mother's arms. Lissa put him on the ground and he fell the first step he took, making Liss gasp, but scrambled back up and resumed running towards his father. Lissa babied the kid too much.
Christian crouched on the ground and then scooped him up, spinning him around in a circle, pretending to be an airplane. Though Christian and I had our very jacked up differences, I had to admit that he was a great father. When the two were done fooling around, I took in Christian's appearance.
He was in a tuxedo. Not the usual navy blue fire department's shirt with the logo, not the usual black pants, not the usual black books. Cj ran back to Lissa and they spoke about how daycare was. I walked over to Christian and asked,
"Let me guess, I'm babysitting?"
"Uh, could you? If not we have Jill, but we trust you more. Lissa works a lot and we normally don't have any time together. Please, Rose." I almost died with laughter. "If you can't, then I guess we'll take him to Jill's, but-why are you laughing?"
"Spar-kles, y-you said ple-please!" I managed to gasp out. All the workers stared at me like I had grown three heads and begun to eat children. Once I stopped laughing, I looked at everyone.
"What?" They shook their heads, returning to their seats.
"And? I said please. Big deal. Who cares?"
"It's funny. Never once have I heard you say 'please.'"

"Come on Rose, we're not in high school anymore."
"Your point is?" he narrowed his eyes at me. I put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.
"Sure. I'll babysit- one condition."

"What's that condition?" he asked, righting himself once I let go.
"When you come to pick Cj up tomorrow, bring me some chocolate glazes donuts."
"You got it Rose. Thanks."
"No problem, Sparky. He's only allergic to apricots, right?"
"And cats."
"Cats? Since when?" I had one dog and she was a mix of a Labrador and a Great Dane. Her name was Cat.
"Since he visited Tasha. Guess how many cats she has."
"Two?"
"Ten!"
"That's… Disturbing. Are you sure it isn't thirty?"
"Yeah, it is. She's freaking forty years old and she lives with ten cats. I think it will be thirty in no time."
"I agree."
"Anyway, Liss and I gotta hit the road. I made reservations for nine." I nodded and walked over to Cj, picking him up as soon as he tugged on my sweats.
"Rose?" I turned to Lissa, who was happy and bright. It radiated off of her and I could tell she could hardly wait to have some... "fun" but in the adult kind of way.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me." I smiled, which was something I was doing a whole lot of today, and shrugged.
"It's cool. I like spending time with mini Christian unlike the real one." I said, grinning at Christian. He rolled his eyes.
"Rose!" she chastised. "What will we do with you? Anyway, I wanted to ask you, do you want to attend a birthday-slash-welcome home party with Christian, Cj, and I this Wednesday?"
"Wednesday. That's kind of a weird day to host a party. I mean, most are on the weekends."
"Yes, Rose, I know that. It's an odd day, so what?"
"Eh. Fine. When time is her party?"
"His party. It's at five and they have no clue when it'll end."
"Uh-huh, and who is 'they'?"
"Oh. 'They' is Olena. The party is for her son."

"How old is he?"
"I think eighteen, nineteen? She said something about that."
"Yikes. Okay, I'll go." I was hoping he'd be older.
"Wednesday. Five. Don't be late." I rolled my eyes, "Why set me at that expectation when you know I'll never be able to meet it?"
"Because we can always hope." Cj cut into our conversation.
"Am I staying with Auntie Ro tonight?"
"Yes. Mommy and Daddy have go go do some things, but we promise we'll be back to pick you up." Christian said, plucking his boy out of my arms and giving me Cj's overnight bag. I checked the items that rested inside the bag.
"Where's Bopper?" I searched through his clothes but came up empty handed.
"Oops. I left it in the car." Christian put his son down and jogged to the staircase. It was a wise choice, considering how long it took for the elevator to come up and down.

Bopper was Cj's stuffed giraffe.

"Be good for mommy, okay buddy? Be good for mommy and daddy."

"I will." Lissa bent down, placing a kiss on her son's forehead and giving him a tight hug, which I was sure that his eyes would pop out if she didn't stop.

"Liss, you're going to be charged with murder if you don't let go of the poor kid."

"Right." She sighed, patting his back.

Christian was back in a record time and tossed me Bopper.

"Love you guys, be safe!" Lissa said, as Christian nearly pushed her out the door for not moving.

"We will. Say bye to mommy and daddy Cj."

"Bye mommy! Bye daddy! Drive safer!" I chuckled at how he phrased his words.

"Alright big boy. Let's go." I grabbed his hand and started to walk towards the elevator but was stopped by Olena.
"Rose!"

"Hey! Olena, how are you?"

"Good! I just wanted to know if you're coming to the party Wednesday… I wasn't sure if Lissa was able to pass on the message."

"Oh, she did. And I will be attending. We all will. Thank you for inviting us." She smiled and nodded, pulling me in for a quick hug.

"Hello Cj! How are you today?" He rubbed his eyes and shrugged. We both laughed as his eyes began to droop again.

"Hm." She reached behind Mia's desk and produced two lollipops. "One for you, big boy, and one for Miss Rose, as we all know how she likes to have treats." Cj's jade-green eyes widened and he smiled brightly at Olena.

"Drive safely, Rose, and be a good boy, Cj. Goodbye!"

"Bye. It was nice talking."

"You too. Don't forget, five o' clock."

"You got it."

With that, she left.

"Cj, have you had any food?"

"No. I'm hungry. I didn't wanna eat earlier."

"Why?" I asked, as we walked inside the elevator.

"I wasn't hungry. We had meatballs today." He replied, making a face.

"Alright. We'll go eat somewhere and then go to my house and watch some cartoons. How does that sound?" He nodded happily.

We came home around nine, nine-thirty, and Cj was already fast asleep. I went to his room he had at my house and managed to slip his pajamas on without too much of a hassle. I tucked him in and gave him Bopper, and watched as he snuggled up with the stuffed giraffe and fell back into his heavy slumber. Oh how I wished to be a mother.