Snakes In The Grass

3

It took a few days for my anger to simmer, and in that time Alberta came to my room a few times to talk to me. She brought a home pregnancy test with her and I took it to prove a point, but seeing that stupid, pink plus sign was the nail in the coffin.

"Dr. Olendzki estimates you being roughly three weeks," Alberta said when I was finally able to put the stick down.

"I don't know how this happened," I said quietly, "How did this happen?!"

"She has a theory."

I looked at her and bugged my eyes out at her. "Well?!"

"She thinks that when you died in the crash that when the Princess healed you, it changed your genetics. She thinks that Spirit gave you more Moroi DNA markers. It seems to be the only explanation."

I sighed and rested my face in my hands, clutching my hair. "He's never going to believe me."

"You don't know that. I think that if we explain it to him-"

"We will not be explaining anything."

"Rose?"

I looked up at her and shook my head. "He won't believe me. Besides, we split up."

"I didn't realize you were seeing someone," Alberta said softly, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah well, it wasn't for very long," I said glumly, thinking about Dimitri. I didn't want to admit it, but I missed him. But I doubted that he missed me.

"I only ever saw you with Eddie and Dimitri, but as far as I'm aware Eddie was dating Meredith," Alberta said before trailing off, "Rose? Who was it?"

I swallowed roughly and cleared my throat. She already knew the answer. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

____________________________

Even while Dimitri and I weren't doing our training sessions together, he still had a routine. So while I wasn't working out at the crack of dawn anymore, he still was.

It also didn't help that it was like I acknowledged I was pregnant and the vomiting started. So I was up at the time I usually would have been if I had training. I knew that because of the nice weather Dimitri would be running outside. I decided to wait for him on the bench, hands clasped between my knees.

I don't know if it was the hormones that were making me feel so sick, or if it was the idea of telling Dimitri. A very large part of me wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of my life, but the smaller part knew I needed to tell him. Even if he didn't believe me, or think I was crazy or that I cheated, I still had to tell him.

I had sat for long enough that I contemplated leaving when the door opened and the decision was made for me. I used the moments when he didn't recognize me to take him in. He looked exhausted and I could see it clearly on his face.

I stayed perfectly still as he walked towards me, looking down at his watch. He stopped the timer on it and looked up, stopping in his tracks.

"Rose? What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," I said quietly, my hands still wedged between my knees so that I wouldn't fidget.

Dimitri sighed and his jaw ticked a little.

"Rose. We know we can't be doing this."

"Look. I need you to listen to me for like, five minutes, and if you don't want to ever see me again, fine. But I need you to listen to me," I pleaded, jumping to my feet. "Please."

Dimitri dropped his towel onto his duffle and nodded, resting his hands on his hips as he waited.

"I also need you to have an open mind because I had a hard enough time wrapping my head around all of this too."