Little Pink Plus Sign

It's going to be good

Rose POV

I jolted awake at the awful sound. "Well... I don't feel dead."

The nurse laughed as she leaned down beside the bed. "That's the thing about pulse oximeters, Mrs. Belikov." She placed it on my finger and smiled. "You have to keep them on."

With that, I shot back to life. Suddenly, Dimitri attacked me with kisses. "Roza, don't ever scare me like that again."

"Don't blame me!" I exclaimed before glancing down at the paler of the two twins. "Blame Evanna. She kicked it off."

"Evanna?" Dimitri smirked.

"Well her red hair, pale skin...she just seems more like an Evanna than an Adelaida. Don't you think?"

Placing a kiss to my forehead, he whispered, "It's perfect." Picking up Adelaida, he smiled lovingly down at her. "You look just like your babushka, you lucky girl."

Olena's eyes teared up. "May I?" She took Adelaida into her arms, gently cradling her head and began singing to her in Russian. It was a soft melody, simple, but enthralling. I hung on her every note.

Once she'd finished, I told her, "You'll have to teach me that one."

She nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Of course, Roza."

Lissa was lightly stroking Evanna's head with her ring finger. "Your mom will be so proud of that red hair." She smiled up at me. "I asked Christian to go call her."

"Thanks Liss."

"They're beautiful, Rose. Look, she has your smile."

She did. She was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't believe just how much I loved them both already. As Evanna looked up at me with her bright green eyes, I suddenly understood what Olena had said. I had everything in the world with my girls, and nothing else mattered. Suddenly all of the struggles we'd been through with...well, with everything were nothing. It had all been worth this.

It didn't take long for my mom to get to the clinic, moving as fast as her legs could carry her with Abe close behind. She was on a mission, and no doubt, people were practically jumping out of her way.

"Oh Rose...they're absolutely adorable. Look at all that red hair!" She took Evanna into her arms and smiled at me. "Have you named her?" I told her and she swooned. "Your great-great-grandmother's name was Evanna," she told her. "She was the most respected guardian of her time."

Turning around, she offered Evanna to Abe who looked utterly terrified. I don't think he'd ever held a baby before. Mom showed him how to hold her and supported his arms. Watching him was almost comical. The look of pure concentration upon his face had me giggling.

"Rose?" Olena handed Adelaida back to me. "I think I'll take Yeva for a walk. She's a bit...out of it."

I nodded thankfully. Since the mishap with the pulse oximeter, her daunting mumbling had turned into confused sputtering. It would be nice to get her out of the room.

"I think we're going to leave too, Rose," Lissa said, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "Give you and Dimitri some time with the girls. Besides, I'm feeling a bit tired."

Christian pulled Dimitri into a hug. "The girls are beautiful. You're one lucky guy."

Patting his shoulder, Dimitri smiled wide. "I know, and thank you."

My parents kept us company for a bit. Mom was utterly taken by Evanna. Her red hair and pale skin had my mother talking about long lost memories of Scotland and the family she barely recalled. It was kind of nice to see her this way. It made me wonder how she'd been with me.

My father, on the other hand, cowered behind her. It seemed that babies made him a tad apprehensive, though he was warming up to Adelaida...as long as I was the one holding her that is. He was already promising her all sorts of things, and it quickly became clear that these two would be extremely spoiled by everyone around them.

Finally, my mother tore herself away from Evanna and placed her in Dimitri's arms. "We should probably go," she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

Abe kissed my forehead. "We're so proud of you. If you need anything, Rosemarie, you know the drill."

Then, it was just the four of us. Dimitri sat down at the foot of the bed cradling Evanna. He was smiling down at her, meeting her bright green eyes. She cooed as her rocked her back and forth, and I quickly decided that this was something I could get used to.

Adelaida, I could already tell was going to be a fighter. She squirmed against me, her deep brown eyes alight with a thirst for freedom. A laugh bubbled up in my throat. Leave it to me to have a born warrior. She was probably the little culprit that kept using my bladder as a punching bag. I couldn't help but feel she'd taken after me, and with that, a bit of guilt at what I must've put my own mother through.

"They're so beautiful, Roza." I could hear Dimitri chocking up a bit. "You're amazing."

I considered this. "Well, I'm not going to argue with you there." After receiving his best, really Rose? face, I smiled and added, "They really are amazing, aren't they? Look, Addie has your eyes."

Nine months ago, if you had described this day to me, if you had told me I'd be sitting here with the love of my life and our two beautiful daughters, I may have used something worse than the things I'd said to the initial doctor that had flipped my world upside down. And I probably would've called you cruel.

When Dimitri and I had gotten married, there were several whispers in the audience. Some were innocent, some scandalous, and some downright mean, but none haunted me quite as much as the one I heard walking up the aisle.

She took away his chance at a family.

Honestly, I'd come to peace with the fact that I'd never be a mother. It didn't really bother me. I had Lissa to look after, and that was good enough for me. But the fact that I'd taken away something that I knew Dimitri wanted so badly...well it killed me and quite literally almost made me turn and sprint back up the aisle.

Yet, here we were. Cradling not one, but two precious baby girls. A lover and a fighter, it seemed.

And it didn't matter what people thought about us, or what they whispered as we passed by. All that mattered is that my husband and babies, my family, were surrounding me.

"Rose?" Dimitri's eyes held a bit of concern.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I was just thinking about the future."

Nodding, he smiled and tucked the blanket closer to Evanna's face. "What's it hold?"

"I don't know." Biting my lip, I ignored the blurriness that filled my eyes as I repeated something I'd said a lifetime ago. "But I think it's going to be good."