1 week and 6 days before she was due to give birth, Rose woke to tremendous abdominal pain. Groaning, Rose changed her sleeping position, thinking that her Braxton-Hicks were getting worse, and hoping to alleviate it. It wasn't-after shuffling uncomfortably for about 15 minutes-till she returned to her original position that Rose felt the cold, wet patch on her bedsheet. Her eyes shot open as she realized what had happened…

Dimitri had woken up early that morning, and after greeting his mother, who-even here-insisted on busying herself in the kitchen from the crack of dawn, he had returned to his room, and pressed a kiss against Rose's forehead before brushing his hand across her swollen abdomen.
Then, he'd gone for a short run, following which he decided to enjoy a hot shower, seeing that Rose hadn't still woken up yet. When he returned from their bathroom, toweling his hair, he found Rose lying awake, looking at the clock unwaveringly.

Rose tracked his movements across the room owlishly. It wasn't till he was properly dressed for the day that she decided to open her mouth. "Dimitri", she called, one hand fixed over the swell of her belly. "My labor's started"
Transfixed, he blurted the first thing he thought of. Which was 'No, it didn't'
"Don't you think I'd be a more reliable authority on the topic than you?", Rose questioned sarcastically.
"But you're not due for….about 2 more weeks", he squeaked, looking at the calendar. "Are you sure?"
Rose only nodded, eyeing him carefully, and Dimitri? He did what any self-respecting-almost-thirty-years-old-father-to-be would do. He screamed for his mother.

Olena came rushing in at once, and took charge of the situation. She helped Rose sit up on the bed, and pack an overnight bag, while she instructed Dimitri to draw Roza a bath, cancel his shift, notify the doctor, and make some tea. Dimitri followed her orders to the dot, still being unable to understand what was happening. It wasn't till he had taken Rose in his arms and helped her settle into the bath that he thought to ask why she wasn't freaking out.

"Because your mom is here, and I absolutely trust her", Rose sighed, settling into the water. "And I have a feeling that there'll be a lot of freaking out on my part in a few hours anyway."

"Does it hurt?", he asked warily, reaching for her hand.
"It's tolerable, for now", she replied truthfully, squeezing his hand, sinking further into the water.

Dimitri sat with her till the water turned cold, and she wanted out. Then he helped her get dressed, and accompanied her to the kitchen table for a light breakfast-her last pre-parenthood meal, joked Rose-and watched her with hawk eyes, looking for even the slightest wince or groan.

Two hours later, Rose was still in a good mood, waddling around the apartment, one hand permanently fixed over her stomach, and on the phone with Liss, begging her to not yet rush over, as there still was time. Dimitri watched her, one eye fixed on the Google search he had going on for early labor predicaments.

5 hours, and Rose couldn't maintain her optimism anymore. She shifted, moving around on the bed, groaning every now and then, her hand gripping his for dear life. 6 minutes 17 seconds apart, 24 seconds long, Dimitri noted on Rose's phone, where she had started timing the contractions.

7 hours, and Rose couldn't take it anymore. She moaned, demanding to be taken to the hospital. Dimitri soothed her with words, brushing her hair, and holding her in the backseat of the car, while Sonya Belikova drove them over to the hospital. Her contractions spaced just over 4 minutes apart.

During the 8th hour, Rose growled at an attending, who told her that the only thing she was to be allowed to eat from that time forward would be ice pellets. 9 hours, and she was sobbing, asking for an epidural. Her doctor came in then, along with an intern to check on how things were going. Her cervix was deemed to have healthily effaced, and her labor to be progressing healthily. Unfortunately for Rose, her request for an epidural was denied…for now, at least until the doctor checked back in an hour.

An hour later, the doctor checked in as promised. And Rose was deemed to have already entered the active labor stage, so the only advice the doctor could offer her was to stay calm, take deep breaths and to hold on, just for a little longer.

A little longer meant approximately three-and-a-half hours, and for Dimitri, two pillows, a box of crackers and one shoe thrown at his head (along with threats of a sex-ban for life). Olena, meanwhile, did her best to soothe Roza, holding her hand and talking her through the pain.
Christian had come to check on Rose, heard one blood-curdling scream after a particularly uncomfortable contraction, and decided to wait outside. Vika and Mia sat with him, both having sworn off pregnancy, after seeing Rose-one of the toughest people they personally knew-being reduced to sobs.

Pretty soon, doctors and attendings were rushing in, Dimitri and Olena were both being forced into scrubs, and everyone else forced out. Rose looked sickly, slightly nauseous, and exhausted beyond belief. She whimpered, holding onto Dimitri for dear life, as he settled in the bed beside her, and she hid her face in his chest, taking comfort in the smell of his aftershave.
As much as Dimitri wished he could take away her pain, he knew that he couldn't. All he could do was to hold on to her tightly, and help her through the process.

While Rose and Dimitri's friends and most of their family paced outside, (Janine having arrived a few minutes ago, and Lissa cancelling her appointments and rushing over the moment she heard of Rose entering active labor, and the rest of the gang being already present), Olena helped Roza through the birthing, yelling encouragements and patting her leg, while the doctor did his thing.

When the baby's head appeared, Olena informed the couple that there was hair on the head, which made Rose laugh, even through her tears. She found a new, defined purpose, a burning need to meet her child, which fueled her through the next contraction, which the doctor assured her was going to be the toughest yet. Two more contractions and an almighty scream later, the baby was born. "Congrats", the doctor smiled, holding up the wriggling baby. "You have a boy"

One moment, Rose was going through the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, the next she was stupefied, staring in awe at the baby. Her baby. Their baby. The baby that she and Dimitri had made, the fruition of their cosmic love…
Turning to look at Dimitri, she found the same stunned look on his face, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, as he looked reverently at their miracle child. When the doctor moved to a corner, to clean, tag and weigh the baby, Dimitri was torn, He wanted to stay with his Roza, hell he wanted to stay with her for life, but he couldn't bear taking his eyes off the baby, in fear that the baby would disappear and he'd find out it had all been a dream, an illusion. Rose nudging him towards the doctor made his decision easier. With a grateful smile at her, he shuffled after the doctor, watching as the still crying baby was 'processed'. Crying was healthy, the doctor assured him, and it would only take a bit longer.

The next few minutes for Rose passed by in a haze. She dozed between watching Dimitri, hugging a tearful Olena, and feeling more than seeing a nurse tidy her up. She, however, became fully lucid, when a beaming doctor placed her baby boy on her chest, and he….he curled into her, quieting down. She held him carefully, preciously, and using one fingernail, stroked through his downy hair, and across his knuckles. Dimitri's forefinger entered her view, as he too, carefully, stroked the baby's cheek, and when the baby opened his eyes for the first time, her breath caught.

His eyes were chocolate-brown, a shade perhaps lighter than Dimitri's, but his nose was all hers, and she couldn't help but fall in love with him. "He's perfect", Dimitri whispered softly, worshipfully.

"Mason-Ivan Belikov", she tried out the words lovingly, taking a shuddering breath when he sighed into her skin upon hearing her voice. Unknownst to the couple, Olena backed out of the room, to give the concerned party waiting in the room outside the good news.

Dimitri retraced her steps a couple of minutes later, cradling his son to his heart. "Ladies and gentlemen", he began cheerfully, breaking out in the biggest smile anyone had ever seen him in, "I'd like you to meet our son, Mason-Ivan Belikov"

From her hospital bed inside, Rose heard her friends cheer and clap, and fall in love with her son the same way she and Dimitri had, and she couldn't help but smile sleepily as she closed her eyes.
She opened her eyes to a hand gently caressing her hair, and was surprised to find her mother at her bedside. "He's sleeping", Janine whispered, gesturing towards the furthest corner of the room, where Rose could make out a distinctly Dimitri-shaped-shadow hovering over a cot.

"How long", Rose asked groggily, stifling a yawn. About an hour and a half, Janine confirmed, glancing at her watch.

"Where's everyone?", Rose questioned, looking around the empty room. She would have expected at least Lissa to have been there.
"I sent them all home", Janine confessed, with a mischievous look in her eyes. "I used my guardian voice"
Rose burst into shocked laughter, which seemed to have woken the baby, so Janine walked over and brought him back, settling him in Rose's arms. "Thanks, Mom", she replied quietly, overcome with emotion at seeing the tiny fragile baby-her flesh and blood-who seemed to trust and love her (or at least her body heat and voice) implicitly.

"You did good", Janine choked out. "I'm happy for you"
Mother and daughter sat together in comfortable silence, occasionally cooing over the newest addition to the family, till a disoriented Dimitri woke up and almost suffered a heart attack until Rose assured him Masey was with her. Janine left them then, to spend some family time alone, after kissing Rose's forehead, and going as far as to squeeze Dimitri's shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey, beautiful", Dimitri smiled at her, settling by her side.
"Hey handsome", Rose returned, leaning up so she could capture his lips in a kiss.
"You okay?", he asked.
"Never better", she replied honestly.

"I have a confession to make", he whispered, smiling when she looked at him. "I love Masey, maybe even more than you"
"Just so you know, I feel the same way", she nudged him affectionately.
"I can't wait for him to grow up", he returned, tracing Masey's button-nose. Rose hummed in agreement, closing her eyes again. "I have a confession, too", she returned in a whisper. "I want another one…"
"But not yet", Dimitri completed her thought. "Me too. And I'm sure Mom does too"
Rose snorted with laughter, remembering the gleam that had entered Olena's eyes when she saw Rose pregnant for the first time. "What if it's a girl?", Rose teased, remembering how Dimitri had all but forbidden her to have a daughter.
"In that case, I might need to accelerate Masey's hand-to-hand combat training", he replied with a straight face, mockingly tapping his son's fisted hands, making Rose laugh. "We'll tackle it when it comes", he answered more seriously.

"But, for now….this is enough", Rose intoned, clutching her two men a little closer.
Dimitri nodded, leaning down to press a kiss against his son's head. "Yeah, for now", he smiled mischievously, his words more a promise than teasing.

The End.

I'll begin by saying sorry for any inconsistencies in the factual-portion. If you find some problem with the narrative, please let me know, because my research was largely based off Google. And thanks to Dimitri's Secret Lover for naming the last chapter!
Also, this will be the end of the story…..for now, at least, so thank you for all your kind words (and sublime threats) and support and love for the story, it meant a lot.
A special thanks to Roza-Dimka-Reader, because if not for her, this story would've remained another lost draft on my computer, so thank you!
And also thanks to Steph Hathaway, whom I don't think I thanked before, for leaving the first review.
Take care, lovelies, and I hope you all enjoyed this story! It's been a privilege writing for you lot!
Cheers!