Chapter Seventeen/Epilogue

" No Liss put the bear on the dresser. Good now everything is perfect." I said looking around the room.

Vika and Christian would be home any minute with baby Alexander. We had moved to Portland four months ago. My father had given me the key to the safe house along with the deed. Christian and Vika had sold his parents house and bought the house next door. After every one found out the truth of what Tasha had done Christian decided living in that house just wasnt worth the looks he kept getting. They didnt want their son raised around that.

Lissa had decided after finding out about Jill that she wanted to get to know her sister rather than be our next Monarch. Jill was at school and Eddie became her Guardian. Lissa lived with us too. Her and Luka had started a relationship and he was her Guardian now as well. When the news of their romance broke a lot of Royals shunned her, but for once she didn't care at all. We weren't friends like we once were, but we were well on our way.

" They're here!"

My mom shouted from downstairs. Her and my father had come for the birth. They had been traveling quite a bit the last two months so I was happy to have some time with them. Lissa and I ran downstairs as Dimitri carried the baby carrier in and Christian and Olena helped Vika.

Dimitri got Alexander out of his carrier and started murmuring in Russian. I watched with a huge smile on my face. It was a miracle I still had him here with me. I will never forget that day.

" I need to speak with you Rose." Dr. Olendski said

I couldn't seem to get my legs to move so my father walked me to where she was standing. I couldn't speak. I knew something was wrong, she looked too grim for everything to be okay.

" The bullet went into his heart at an angle. It tore through it and lodged in his left lung. We got it out, but he lost a lot of blood. He also lost oxygen to his brain. He's in a coma and I don't know when he'll wake up. Or if he will at all."

I felt like I couldn't breath, my heart felt like it would stop right then. My knees buckled and my father caught me before I hit the floor. After everything we had made it through, this is how it would end?

Dr. Olendski was talking but I couldn't understand her. It was like I was under water, my emotions were drowning me. My father said something to her and then they were taking me down the hall. I walked into his room and there were so many tubes. Someone had put a chair next to the bed and that's where I sat for a week.

Adrian and Sonya had healed him when they got there, but he couldn't or wouldn't come out of the coma.

Finally after seven of the longest days of my life, Dimitri opened his eyes. I had instantly turned into a blubbering mess of tears and kisses.

" Roza do you want to hold him?"

Dimitri was watching me as Olena tried handing me my sweet nephew. I hadn't realized he was being passed around. I smiled and cradled his tiny body in my arms. Dimitri walked over and wrapped me and Alexander in his own arms.

" What were you thinking about Roza?" he whispered.

" I was thinking about how I almost lost you. I was thinking I'm very lucky to have you here. We all are lucky."

He placed a kiss to the top of my head and we just smiled at the little bundle in my arms.

We all stayed for a while longer and then went to mine and Dimitri's house. Olena was staying with them to help Vika since Christian was going through the process of Opening his own restaurant.

I just worked from home, which reminded me of the paper work I hadn't done yet. It could wait one more day.

As soon as we walked though the door my phone started ringing. I looked at the I.d. to see it was Guardian Croft. I had known this call would be coming.

" Hathaway" I said answering.

" I'm sorry to bother you but Natasha's trial has finally been set. We will need you and Belikov for sure. But I don't think we will need your father this time."

I had to laugh. At the proceedings to start the process of a trial for Tasha, my father had been asked to take the stand. They'd asked him how he found out what Moore knew. Abe being Abe went into detail only for everyone to find out he hadn't gotten a thing out of him. I think the Council was too scared to do anything to the man so no one pressed any charge on the beating he'd dished out.

" Just let us know when and we will be there." I said respectfully.

He told me the date which was five weeks from today and we said our goodbyes.

I was feeling tired so I went to nap while Dimitri fixed dinner for us all. I felt the familiar pull of a Spirit dream.

" Hello little dhampir. I heard Vika had little Alexander. How are they?"

" She is doing great and he is perfect. How's the research coming along?"

Adrian, Sydney, Sonya and Mikhail were at St. Vladimir's trying to figure out the cure to bringing back a Strigoi and how it works afterwards. If you were changed back from being a Strigoi then that was it, you couldn't be turned again. The goal was to figure it out and use that against the undead we faced.

" Um we're still trying a few things." he said.

" How's Sydney?"

The alchemists agreed this was a good enough cause to send one of their own to one of our schools. It gave Adrian and Sydney the perfect cover for their relationship while they figured out what was next for them.

" She is doing good, we're great." he said happily.

I smiled because my friend had finally found his other half. I told him about the call I had received from Guardian Croft and he asked me how I felt about seeing Tasha again. Honestly I felt uneasy about it. I felt she needed help but she also needed to pay for the crimes she had committed. I just needed it to be over.

Adrian was studying me or my aura and the widest smile lit up his face. He told me he had to go but would be in touch soon. And then I was left to my own dreams.

I woke up to someone softly shaking me. Lissa was sitting on the bed next to where I was laying. It was dark outside and I could hear the rain hitting the window.

" Hey sleepy head" She said while laughing. " I didn't think you would ever wake up."

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. One look at the clock told me I'd been out for just over two hours. I still felt drained and exhausted though. It was weird.

" Sorry I have no idea why I've been so tired."

She gave me an are you serious look.

" It's been a rough several months for us all. Your body is just trying to catch up." she said in way of an explanation.

I nodded. What she said made perfect sense, but I couldn't help to think there was something else. She was probably right though.

" So how are you and Luka doing?" I asked wanting to talk about anything but the shit we'd been through.

" Oh Rose, I didn't think I would find anyone after Christian. I'd settled for Aaron again because the Council said I had to have someone. But Luka is so amazing. He is so sweet and caring. I'm so in love with him. And I'm happy Christian found Vika. They're perfect for one another and I just can't get over little Alexander." She said with a loving smile.

" Remember Liss you made sure that little boy made it into this world. I know we've all thanked you for that before, but seriously thank you again."

Lissa leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back effortlessly.

" I missed this. I missed you." She whispered.

" I did too Liss, I did too." I whispered back and getting a little teary eyed.

We went downstairs and I found Dimitri in the dining room going over some of my paperwork. We had gone into business together. We bought and fixed up houses to sell around Portland and surrounding areas. Dimitri and Luka would do the heavy work while Lissa, Vika, and I did the decorating. I did the selling though because I was licensed to do it.

" There is a plate of lasagna for you in the fridge." He said while looking over the plans for the house we recently acquired. It needed a lot of work, but the boys wanted the challenge.

I took the plate out and heated it up. Sitting down next to Dimitri I dug in while also looking at what needed to be done. I'll say this when we were done with this one I wanted to go on Vacation. I finished my food and put the plate in the sink. When I sat back down I started signing off on things that needed to be done already. It wasn't long before I was yawning again. That was when my parents walked in the front door and straight into the dining room.

Olena followed behind them. My father dropped some papers on the table between Dimitri and I.

" What's this?" I asked

" This is some research Sonya and Sydney have been doing." He said matter of fact.

Then my mom dropped a brown paper bag on the table. I looked at it and then her.

" And this?" I said pointing to the bag.

" You're going to go take this." My mom said.

I opened the bag as Dimitri looked at the research. There was a pregnancy test in the bag. I felt angry and hurt all at the same time. Was this a joke?

" This isn't funny at all. This is just hurtful." I said holding back the tears that had started to form.

" Roza go take the test." Dimitri said staring wide eyed at the paper. The way he said it left no room for arguments.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I walked to the bathroom. The only way this test would say anything but negative was if I'd cheated. And I would never do that.

I peed on the test anyway and as I waited the three minutes Dimitri came in and handed me a sheet of paper.

'Our research shows a Dhampir healed with Spirit or brought back from the undead with Spirit can reproduce with another Dhampir.'

I read the line over and over and when the timer on my phone beeped I lunged for the test.

Positive!

I handed it to Dimitri and a huge smile spread across his face.

" We're going to have a baby!" He yelled to the world. I was crying tears of complete joy now. " I guess we mutated." He whispered to me and I laughed.

When we came out of the bathroom Olena and my parents were standing there smiling and crying. Olena hugged her son and then me.

" I'm so happy for you both." She said

" Kiz I guess this is a good time to tell you that your mother and I are moving in down the road. Pavel and Keaton are closing everything up in Turkey. That will be our vacation house now." My father said proudly.

I couldn't have been happier. Being surrounded by my family and friends was almost the best feeling ever. The absolute best was our baby though.

Dimitri and I had stayed up talking all night and now we were walking through Portland. I was lost in my own world imagining what our child would look like. Whether we would have a son or a daughter. We had stopped walking though and I took in our surroundings.

In front of us was the building Lissa and I had lived in while we were here. I turned back to look at Dimitri but he was on one knee in front of me.

" This is where I saw you for the first time. I was told you were a high strung rule breaker. You were but you were also dedicated, more so than anyone I know. I knew you would just be the death of me. Instead you've been my life, and you always will be. I love you Roza, will you be my wife!"

I nodded as he slipped the diamond on my ring finger.

I looked around and realized while we were back where we started years ago, we were better for everything we had gone through. We had left our world behind us for the most part, we had family and friends. And most importantly we had each other.

The End