A Little Miracle

Strigoi

    Few Months after Tasha Incident
 
  I glared at the tall moroi man staring at me outside the door. He wore an expensive looking gray suit and his brown hair was slicked back. "Look." I said impatiently. "I have a husband. This needs to stop." This guy saw me at the club when Tasha had compelled me and he has been trying to get me to go out with him for months. At first it started with stalking me when I went to the grocery store. Then he started calling me. And now he's showed up at my house. God knows how he got my address.
   "Rose please!" The guy said frantically "I fell in love with you at first sight! I've never felt this way about anyone!"
    "Well. Good for you, but I feel absolutely nothing for you." I tried to slam the door but he leaped forward and put his foot inside. Before I could react, he reached out and grabbed my swollen stomach with both hands. "You are so sexy with your big belly! I will impregnate you again! Keep that belly nice and big. Please let me plant my seed in you!"
    Okay. This guy was a nut job. I reached out and twisted his arm. He screamed in agony as I shoved him hard out the door. I slammed the door shut and heard him howling. I rolled my eyes and went up the stairs to me and Dimitri's room.
   Dimitri was playing with Dylan on the floor. He laughed as Dylan poked him on the arm with a plastic toy stake. He looked up when I came in. "Hey Roza,"he smiled and threw his arms open "come here."
   I went over and let Dimitri embrace me. He was so warm and comforting. "That guy found our house" I mumbled into his shirt.
  Dimitri tensed against me "what happened?"
  I pulled away slightly and looked up at him with a grin "I broke his arm and maybe a few ribs."
  Dimitri laughed and ran his hands over me gently "did he hurt you in any way? You okay?"
   I nodded my head "except for the part where he said he wanted to impregnate me." I shuddered "really creeped me out."
   Dimitri put his warm hand on my gigantic belly and kissed it gently. "Only I get to do this" he said firmly.
   I kissed him and whispered against his lips "my body is yours only."
    Dimitri shuddered as I let my fingers slide under the top of his jeans and down on the bare skin. He cleared his throat "Rose. Our son is sitting next to us."
   "Oh right." I flushed and pulled away. Luckily Dylan was on the other side of the room playing with some plastic cars. "Dylan?" I called to him. "Mommy and daddy have to do something important. Will you go downstairs and tell grandma to take you to the ice cream shop?"
   "But I want to stay with daddy! Daddy said he will teach me to stake strigoi!" Dylan ran over to us and pushed me aside a little roughly before flinging himself into Dimitri's arm and wrapping his chubby arms around his waist. Dimitri chuckled and kissed his head.
   I frowned. I couldn't believe I was feeling jealous of my own son. "Dylan" I said sternly "mommy and daddy need to do things. Go down stairs." I resisted the urge to pull him out of Dimitri's arms and put myself in there instead.
   "It's alright baby." Dimitri patted my arm. "Let him stay."
    "Fine!" I snapped, pushing Dimitri's hand away. Dimitri laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. He shifted Dylan over to one side and beckoned me with his free arm.
   I sighed and slid under his other arm. Dimitri smiled and kissed each of us on the cheek. "Mommy!" Dylan cried happily "Did you know that daddy met a real strigoi ?"
  I nodded, feeling my stomach tie itself into knot as I remembered the strigoi attack on St Vladimirs, Masons's death, Dimitri as a strigoi... I shuddered and Dimitri squeezed my arm gently.
   Dylan didn't notice my discomfort and said happily "Daddy let me play with his stake today! I hope I can stake lots of strigoi in the future!"
   Dimitri and I looked at each other. We saw the fear in each other's eyes. There was also helplessness knowing that one day our children would face strigoi on their own and we wouldn't be able to protect them. I felt Dimitri tighten his arms around us as Dylan rambled on about how he wanted to kill strigoi.
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   "Dimitri" I said into the phone as I walked up the little grassy path with Dylan's hand clasped tightly in mine. "Bring me some chicken nuggets and two burgers. No. Actually four burgers...and large fries."
   I heard Dimitri laugh loudly on the other end. A lovely warm laugh, the kind that brightened my mood instantly. "Alright. See you soon Roza."
   I was taking Dylan into the forest near our house so that we could have a family picnic. I was craving McDonald's so I sent Dimitri to town to pick up some food for us.
   "Mommy!" Dylan suddenly pulled at my hand. I looked down at him. "I saw someone!"
   "It's alright Dylan." I tugged him down to sit next to me on a patch of grass. "We don't own this forest. Other people can come here too."
    "No." Dylan's brown eyes were wide "the guy...he had red eyes."
     And then we were surrounded by strigoi.