Only Him

Chapter 24

"Can I please go home now?" I demanded of the nurse who was pulling the final IV tube from my arm. I winced at the tube finally left my arm with a faint pop. I'd fallen asleep with Dimitri after our friends visited the night before and was eager to leave and see what they'd come up with. Also, I really wanted a shower.

Dimitri himself had disappeared for a half hour while Lissa came to sit with me, returning freshly shaved and showered. He'd at least brought me a change of clothes.

"The doctor will be in to check on you soon," the nurse said patiently. She hadn't risen to any of my jibes since I'd started with her this morning.

She left and Dimitri made a noise of chastisement. "Don't be mean to her, Rose. She's doing her job."

"But her job is boring me to tears! I'm fine! I just want to go home." I sank lower into my sea of pillows, arms crossed as I gave him a defiant look. "Tell me you'd be happy to spend another night in this cramped bed. I'd much rather our bed." I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.

He gave me a stern look. "If you think I'm going to touch you tonight after all you've been through you have another thing coming. You need to heal."

I made a face at him. "We've been over this before, comrade. I'm the one with a stronger will. I bet I could come up with a few good arguments." I was pretty much just putting on a show at this point. I didn't think I had it in me to get physical with him right now. I was still aching and exhausted after the events of the past few weeks. I couldn't do more than walk to the window and back to bed without winding myself a bit. But I did want to curl up close to him in or bed and never leave again.

Dimitri didn't dignify that with an answer, instead he turned his attention to his constantly buzzing phone.

He checked the screen and then put it away. It buzzed again.

"You can answer that you know," I assured him.

He shrugged. "Its just Karolina."

I raised an eyebrow. "Since when is it just your sister?"

He smiled slightly. "Since I just talked to her three hours ago."

"Oh?" I asked. "Then what does she need?"

"I talked to them a while ago, when you first were taken," he informed me. "I've been updating them throughout the process but I called them earlier when Lissa was staying with you and told them you were safe."

"Did....did you tell your family?" I asked hesitating only slightly as I gestured to the fetal monitor, the only equipment I remained attached to.

"No," he admitted. "At first I didn't want to tell them about the baby in case...."

"Yeah, in case." In case we died.

"Well," he cleared his throat. Moments like this gave me a glimpse at just how torn up he'd been during my absence. "You're back now. I just don't know how to go about telling them."

"Its not exactly something you can say over the phone," I agreed, thinking of my own reasons for not telling him sooner. He nodded and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand.

"I'll tell them. We'll tell them. But I figured we'd wait until things settled down a bit."

"If it's not a result of the million questions following that particular announcement, then why is Karolina messaging you so much?" I asked as his phone chimed yet again.

"She's relaying well wishes from all of Baia. Apparently they told the entire community about your disappearance."

"Oh God," I groaned. "If its anything like when I told them about you then they have a yard full of drunk mourners to inform."