A/N: Alright guys… You wanted it, you've got it. I'm starting on the sequel to Secrets, Love, and Lies. I loved writing that story so much, so I'm going to continue on, and see what I can do with it. I've got some pretty good ideas about some cool stuff to put in this one. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, by the way… with the holidays, and then school exams, it's taken me forever to get back into the swing of things. I hope you guys enjoy 'If I Knew Then'!

Set Three Years After Secrets, Love, And Lies.

"God, where is he?" I demanded. Dimitri chuckled, and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Rose, he'll be here. Give him some credit, Jeez." Dimitri said. I rolled my eyes. Today was Bailey's seventh birthday and we were throwing her a surprise party. The ballroom was completely decked out in birthday decorations, done by none other than the queen herself, Vasilisa Dragomir-Ozera. Adrian had Bailey's gifts, because we didn't want to take the chance on her finding them back in our room. I'd told Christian to have Bailey here at eight o' clock. Eight was approaching fast, and Adrian was still no where to be seen.

"I swear if he's not here within-" I was cut off by his voice behind me.

"Oh, will you shut up." He snapped. I turned to find him laying Bailey's bags on the table with the rest of the gifts everyone had brought her. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he smiled.

"What took you so long Ivashkov?" He asked. He chuckled.

"I picked up a stranger on the way here." I looked towards the door to see my mother walk in. I smiled.

"Mom." I said. She beamed back at me.

"Hello Rose." She walked over to me, and wrapped her arms around me. I'd called and invited her, but she'd told me she wasn't going to be able to make it. I knew it would upset Bailey, but my mother was a guardian. They come first.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. She shrugged.

"It shouldn't matter. I'm here." She said. I chuckled, and hugged her again.

"Bailey is going to be so happy you're here."

"I know. That's exactly why I'm here. I've missed her. I've missed you too." She said. I grinned.

"We've missed you too." I told her. I looked down at my watch. I looked at the humongous group of people we'd gathered for Bailey's party. All the kids from the preschool she used to attend were here, along with all of the guardians she'd managed to wrap around her fingers. Lissa walked over to me.

"It's almost time." She said. I nodded. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Alright everybody… it's almost time, so get ready." Everyone nodded, and the room went silent, except for a few whispers. Dimitri took my hand, and smiled.

"Think she'll like it?" He asked. I grinned up at him.

"She'll love it." He nodded. The door opened, and Bailey stepped in, Christian trailing behind her.

The entire room erupted into a chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" I watched as Bailey's eyes went wide and she froze. Her eyes found mine, and her face lit up. I couldn't stand it. I released Dimitri's hand, and ran to her, almost tackling her into a hug.

"Happy birthday baby." I said. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held me close.

"Thank you momma." She said. I grinned as I pulled away from her. Dimitri was next to grab her. He picked her up and swung her around in his arms.

"Happy birthday." He said. She giggled.

"Thanks daddy."

"You're growing up so fast, I can't stand it." He told her. She shrugged.

"I'm only seven dad. Calm down." She told him. Dimitri and I looked at each other and laughed. She then went around to everyone, hugging each of them, and talking. When she got to my mother, Bailey freaked out. She hadn't known she was here, and she hadn't seen her since last fall.

"Happy Birthday honey." My mother said. Bailey latched onto her, squeezing her tight.

"God, I've missed you grandma."

"I know. I've missed you too." Mom said. They embraced for a little bit longer before Bailey walked over to me, and hugged me again.

"I don't know how I didn't see this coming." She said.

"Why?" I asked, grinning.

"I was kind of suspicious as to why you sent me off with Uncle Christian on my birthday." Dimitri and I laughed.

"Yeah, I was hoping he could entertain you long enough for us to get set up." I told her. She grinned.

"Yeah, Uncle Christian is fun to beat up on. It kept me entertained." She said. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Whatever." He said.

"Honey, your supposed to protect them, not beat up on them." I said, grinning.

"But mom-" She complained, giggling.

"Oh well… maybe he's an exception." I told her.

"ROSE!" Christian exclaimed. I smiled.

"Just take it a little easy on him. We all know he's a wuss." I told her. She nodded, and laughed, running off to go talk to some of her friends.

"Can't wait to have kids of your own huh?" I asked Christian. He chuckled.

"I'll have to make sure to keep my kids away from you and Bailey so they wont beat the crap out of me too." He told me. I laughed.

"Like that'll happen." I said, laughing Dimitri was shaking his head at me.

"You think we should do gifts now? Some guardians here do have duties elsewhere." He said. I chuckled, and nodded.

"Yeah, your right. I forgot." I called Bailey back over, and grinned.

"We're going to presents now so you can thank everyone, Kay? Some guardians here have to work." I said. She nodded.

"Okay." She said. I walked over to the table, and eventually got everyone's attention, so they gathered around.

"Where do I start?" She asked.

"Where ever you want, birthday girl." I said, patting her head. She rolled her eyes a little bit, but smiled.

"Okay…" She grabbed a bag and read the tag.

"From Adrian." She said, turning to grin at him. He beamed back at her. She pulled the paper out of the small bag, and revealed a small box, one that looks like it contained an necklace. Of course he'd buy her jewelry. I think that's what he bought everyone for every occasion. She opened the box and smiled. In the box set a gold necklace with a beautiful blue star pendant. It was gorgeous, and sparkled in the light.

"It's so pretty." She murmured. He grinned.

"I thought you'd like it."

"I love it." She said.

"Keep digging." He told her. Obviously there was more. She reached into the bottom and pulled out what looked like a credit card.

"Adrian." I warned. He smiled.

"It's a gift card for the mall. Calm down. I wouldn't give her an actually credit card. Not till she's sixteen." He said, chuckling. I shook my head.

"How much is on it?" I asked.

"One fifty." He answered, unashamed of how much he was spoiling her.

"Jeez." I said. Bailey grinned.

"Mommy, will you take me to the mall later?" She asked.

"No, now open the rest of them." I said, smiling. She handed me the card so she wouldn't lose it. She put the box back in the bag, and set it on the ground next to her chair. She then grabbed another bag, and looked at the tag.

"Guardian Meredith." She said, turning around and grinning at her. Meredith smiled. Bailey opened the bag, and pulled out a large box. Another board game for her to obsess over. Monopoly. Bailey giggled.

"Yay. A new board game. I was really getting tired of Sorry." She told Meredith. Meredith nodded.

"I know. That's why I got it for you. That game goes on forever, and I loved it as a kid." She said.

"Thank you." Bailey cooed at her. Meredith grinned.

"Your welcome honey." She said. I never really understood Bailey's obsession with board games. That was just like I never understood Dimitri's obsession with old western novels, but whatever. She laid the box on the ground, and moved the bag out of the way. She went through her presents quick. Before long she only had a few bags left. She grabbed the last few bags, and pulled them closer to her. She grabbed one bag, and pulled it in front of her. It was one from Dimitri and I. I'd went to the mall a few weeks back with Liss, and just picked out a shit load of clothes that I knew she'd love. She smiled when she read the tag. She opened it, and smiled as she pulled out all kinds of shirts, and pants. I got her a few dresses, and skirts too, but mostly things she could run around and play in. Bailey wasn't very girlie. She smiled at all of it.

"They're all so cute, mom." She said, looking at me.

"I know. I know. Mommy has an amazing fashion sense." I said. She giggled.

"I love them." She said. I helped her stuff them all back in here, but before I could shove one of the dresses back in there, she grabbed it.

"Hey… when I get done with these, can I go put this on. It's really pretty." She said. I grinned, and nodded.

"Yes. I'll hold onto it." I said, grabbing the dress, and putting the bag on the ground. She grabbed another bag and read the tag.

"From Auntie Liss and Uncle Christian." She said, wrinkling her nose at Christian playfully. I laughed, and Christian shook his head. She opened the bag, and pulled out a small plastic case. I'd already known what it was, but her eyes lit up.

"You. Got. Me. An. IPOD?" She said. Liss smiled.

"I did." She said. Bailey grinned.

"I love it. I love it. Thank you so much." She said. I grinned. She hugged the case, and giggled. She then placed it back into the bag, and set it on the floor. There was one bag, and one card left on the table. She grabbed the card, which surprised me. Dimitri grinned.

"From the Belikov's." She said. She turned and looked at Dimitri.

"Grandma?" She asked. He nodded. She opened the card, and began reading. It never ceased to amaze me how she'd learned to read so well, and hadn't even been in a real school yet. Something fell out of the card, but she caught it. It was a hundred dollar bill. I turned to Dimitri and frowned.

"They didn't." I said. He nodded.

"They did. I tried to tell them." He said. I shook my head.

"I hope you have an amazing birthday little one, from Grandma. Happy Birthday Bailey, I hope you have an awesome day. Tell your mommy and daddy I said hello, from Sonya. Happy Birthday Bailey, I miss you, Love Paul. Hope you have an amazing day sweetheart, miss you, love Viktoria. Happy Birthday sugar. I hope you have a day as amazing as you, love Karolina. Happy birthday Bailey, from Yeva." She smiled, and turned to look at me.

"I miss them." She said. I could tell she sincerely meant it. I missed them too. I'd talked to them a few times, but I hadn't seen them since our wedding.

"I know. I miss them too." I told her. I looked up at Dimitri to see him looking down at the floor. I squeezed his hand, and he looked up at me. I knew he missed them too. I knew he missed them a lot, probably more than Bailey and I combined. She handed me the money, but left the card on the table. She then grabbed the last bag and read the tag.

"From mommy, and daddy." She read aloud. I smiled. She opened the bag, and pull out a stack of three movies. Despicable me, Tim Burtons, Alice in Wonderland, and The Game Plan. She smiled.

"My favorite movies." She said. I nodded.

"Yes ma'am." She giggled.

"Keep digging." I told her. She reached in again, and pulled out a thing full of almost every color of nail polish known to woman. She turned and looked at me.

"You know your going to be painting my nails later, right?" She asked. I nodded.

"I know. I know." I told her. She grinned.

"Good." She said. I chuckled.

"Dig one more time." I said. She nodded, and reached in, pulling out a small box. She opened it, and turned to me.

"It's… it's pretty. What is it?" She asked. I giggled.

"It used to be mine. My momma gave it to me. It's a Nazar. There's a legend that says that if you wear one, it will protect you from evil." I said. She smiled.

"It used to be yours?" She asked.

"It was."

"Will you put it on me?" She asked, pulling it out of the box. I nodded, and helped her put it on. She grinned. She stood up, and wrapped her arms tight around me.

"Thank you for everything momma." She murmured.

"Your welcome baby. You deserve it." She released me, and hugged Dimitri tightly.

"Thank you daddy." He nodded.

"Your welcome baby." He said. She then made her way around to everyone and hugged them, and thanked them for coming. I had a few people come over to me and tell me about what an amazing girl she was, and how mature she was for her age. I just smiled and thanked them. I knew. She was the most amazing little girl. Yeah, I was a little biased, but what could I say. She was my baby girl. A few guardian's had to leave, but a bunch of people stayed. Liss went and had the DJ turn the music on. She made sure to make a list of Bailey's favorite songs. I told everyone to stay put, and Bailey and I would be right back. We ran upstairs really fast to change Bailey into the dress she wanted to wear. She took it into her room, and changed into it. She grinned at me.

"Does it look good?"

"Amazing." I told her. She grinned.

"Don't you have a dress sort of like this?" She asked. I nodded.

"I do."

"Will you put it on? We can look alike." She said. I grinned.

"Yes. I will." I went, and changed, putting on the only white dress I owned. It was the dress Lissa had bought me for my wedding. It was gorgeous and flowed, just like the one Bailey had on. Mine was a little shorter than hers though, for obvious reasons, but we looked alike. I grabbed the scrunchi out of her hair, and letting it fall down in curls around her face. I grinned and grabbed her hand, taking her to the large guilt framed mirror in my room. She grinned.

"We look alike now." She said. I nodded.

"You know, when you were younger, all I saw was Dimitri when I looked at you, but now that your growing up, your starting to look more like me." I said.

"I'm glad. Your beautiful. I want to look just like you." She said. I felt tears well to my eyes.

"I love you baby." I murmured.

"I love you too momma."

"Did you have a good birthday so far?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. Now, lets go make it even better." She said, taking my hand. We started out, heading back to the ballroom to continue her amazing birthday party.