What the Future Could Hold- One Shot alternative after Dimitri is restored

What the Future Could Hold

*After Dimitri is restored and back at Court*

Rose had been trying to reason with Dimitri, make him understand they could be together, that they were good together; almost to the point of being desperate. The thing was, Rose was desperate. She was desperate for them to get back together because she wanted that, knowing he wanted to be with her for her, before dropping a bomb on him; a baby Belikov bomb. Rose knew Dimitri was the type of man that would do the honourable thing if he found out he knocked someone up, but Rose didn't want that. She wanted to make sure he was with her because he wanted her, not just be with her for the baby.

But Rose's hope died completely with her final attempt to get through to him during Church when Dimitri said, "love fades, mine has". With that knowledge, Rose ran. She knew she couldn't stay at Court; it wasn't safe for either her or her baby, had her baby's parentage been discovered. Rose didn't want to become a lab rat, nor did she want her baby to be taken away to study either. The safest thing for both was to get far away from the Moroi world. As soon as Rose ran back to her room, she contacted her father, Abe Mazur, to organise her escape.

Abe had organised his daughter's departure and within an hour, Rose had packed all her belongings, put in a letter of resignation to Head Guardian Croft, and was boarding a private plane to Istanbul to meet up with Abe. Abe was concerned why his daughter sounded so upset on the phone and needed to get away from Court ASAP, but he would need to wait until they were together to get the sought-after answers.

When Rose arrived in Istanbul, Abe and his primary guardian, Pavel, were waiting for her. They took Rose back to her father's house, which was more like a mansion, and got Rose settled. Abe didn't want to rush Rose, so gave her time and then when they sat down for dinner a few days later, started his enquiries. Rose confessed to Abe that she was pregnant with Dimitri's baby, a dhampir's baby, and explained why she needed to get away. Abe was very supportive of his only daughter. He wanted to keep her close to him, but he was also needing to travel a lot for work, so Rose and Abe came to the conclusion together that it was best for her to live in his house in Baia, Russia. This decision also kept Rose out of the Moroi world, and no one would think twice about a single dhampir woman with a baby there.

Abe had taken Rose to a private doctor for a check-up to make sure the pregnancy was going well, with no risks. With the doctor confirming the pregnancy was progressing perfectly and prescribing antenatal vitamins, Rose and Abe spent some time getting to know each other better. After spending a few weeks together – which is all the time Abe could afford to neglect his businesses – Rose and Abe flew to Omsk, Russia. There, Abe had a brand-new top of the line SUV with all the bells and whistles waiting for them; it was Rose's new car. They drove from the airport to Abe's house in Baia and the next chapter in Rose's life. Rose was looking at her new home, the house she was going to raise her baby in thinking about how differently things could have been if Dimitri didn't say those words to her.

Abe had been planning for their arrive, so had the house set up, and had been in contact with Olena Belikova. He wanted Rose to have someone to be there for her, and help her through the pregnancy, so Abe employed Olena to do so. With Abe's departure, he had given Rose the keys to her new car and house, bank cards with unlimited funds; he wanted her to have the life she deserved, and a promise to call her soon.

Olena and Rose got close over the months leading up to the birth of her baby. During one of their late-night chats over hot chocolates, Rose came clean and confessed to Olena everything that happened from the time she left. Olena was vexed to hear how her son treated Rose, but she promised not to mention any of it to Dimitri; he made his decision, and it wasn't fair to drag Rose through more heartache. Olena promised they would be there for Rose and the little one; they were their family after all.

Olena was there supporting Rose through all twelve hours of labour and delivery of Ivan Ibrahim Belikov while Abe paced the corridor outside. Ivan was a spitting image of his papa, which Rose absolutely loved; if she couldn't have the love of her life with her, at least she had a small part of him as a daily reminder of the love they once shared. Abe loved his grandson and was brought to tears when he heard Ivan was named after his Dede.

It had been two years since Ivan was born and was still adored by his family, especially his cousin Paul, who was thankful to have another boy in the family. Over the years, Rose had completed an online business management course and with Abe's help, opened her own gym. Life was good.

Dimitri had a long road to forgiveness and self-discovery. It took him years to find himself after being turned and restored, and without Rose there to help him through it, it took even longer. He finally got back to himself and had worked up the courage to visit his family, only to step into his family home to stumble upon the love of his life; his Roza, sitting at the table sharing lunch with his family. Dimitri was surprised.

It was your typical Sunday, Rose and Ivan were over at the Belikova's house for the weekly family lunch. They were all seated around the table, talking and laughing, you could see the love they shared amongst one another. With the noise they were making, they didn't hear someone let themselves in through the front door. It was the surprised faces looking behind Rose, and the sudden quiet that alerted Rose to the presence of an addition.

Rose turned in her seat to see Dimitri standing there in the flesh. She was unsure how he would take the news of her being there with his family, that she thought it best to head home. Rose made a quick excuse to leave, saying she would let them catch up, grabbed Ivan, who was saying goodbye to his Babushka and Paul, and hastily left the house.

Dimitri wasn't sure what stunned him the most, seeing Rose again, or seeing a mini version of himself being lifted into his mother's arms and then both mother and son walking out the door. Dimitri looked at his own mother for answers.

It was a day later when Dimitri had wrapped his head around the new information of him having a son, him being a papa, and walked to Rose's house to talk to her. Dimitri knew he made the biggest mistake of his life when he told Rose he didn't love her anymore, he knew it back then too, but the guilt of what he did was too much. He couldn't forgive himself then, so believed that Rose could never forgive him for the horrors he had done to others, and her, so he pushed her away. That was going to be fixed; he was going to get his family back!

Dimitri knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Remembering his Mama said if she wasn't home, she was likely to be in the new local gym, he walked there. Dimitri entered the gym, and at the first look of the place, was immediately impressed with it. He saw his little boy running around, who his Mama said was named Ivan (after his best friend and first charge). Seeing this brought a smile to Dimitri's face. He soon located Rose in the office looking through papers.

Dimitri scooped up the little boy that ran over to him – Ivan had always been told about his Papa and seen pictures so knew who Dimitri was – and walked into the office. Rose turned her head to see who entered. Her face instantly softened seeing Ivan in his Papa's arms, talking animatedly in Russian to him. Dimitri had the brightest smile on his face too. Dimitri suggested they have lunch together, catch up and talk everything out. Rose was receptive to the idea, if not for herself, at least for Ivan's sake.

Dimitri and Rose talked while they watched Ivan play. They caught each other up with what they had been up to since they were last together, and finally made it to what had happened all those years ago. Rose said they needed to head home for Ivan to have a nap, so they walked back together, and laid him down to rest. Rose and Dimitri sat on the couch to continue their talk from where they left off. Dimitri apologised profusely for the way he acted, and he explained what he was going through back then. Dimitri put himself out there, and said that if Rose was willing, he would like to court Rose the way he should have before, to go on dates, spend time getting to know Ivan too, and hopefully all have a future together as a family; he confessed he still loved Rose, that he never stopped loving her.

One year later, Rose and Dimitri were engaged. At this time, he was working at her gym full-time as a trainer and loved working alongside his wife-to-be. Dimitri was glad he sent Head Guardian Croft his letter of resignation as a Guardian; spending everyday with his family is what his life was all about. He was also stoked to find out that he would be a Papa again, but this time he vowed he would be there through Rose's whole pregnancy, be there for the delivery and to see his little one grow up. He didn't want to miss a thing this time around.


(The End)