Chapter Sixteen

My phone rings just as I am handing the cashier money for the tea. I hand Oleg the cups and answer it. " Dobroye utro, gospodin Igor'ov. Tvoya zhena prosnulas'.(Good Morning, Mr. Igorov. Your wife is awake)"

Heart racing, I make my way back to her room. The twins jog to catch up with me while I stand in front of the elevator, pressing the button. The elevator dings, the doors slide open and we all enter. Oleg presses the "4" and the door shuts as the pulley lifts us. Lina has been unconscious for two whole days. The doctors said that impact triggered a pretty serious concussion, and she needed to be monitored.

As soon as the doors open, I make my way to the nurses' station, where Lina's nurse gestures for me to come along. Upon entering the room, I am captivated by the mesmerizing arctic blue eyes of moyzhena (my wife). Her eyes are red-rimmed, glistening with unshed tears. I cross the room to be by her side, feeling the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I take her hand in mine, placing tender kisses all over it.

"YA zdes', moy prekrasnyy tsvetok. YA zdes'.(I'm here, my beautiful flower. I'm here.)" The words spill from my lips against the soft skin of her hand. The tears she had been holding back escape from her eyes. I pull the side rail down. Lina scoots over, allowing me space to sit with her. She buries her face in my chest and cries.

"Everything is okay, Tsvetok (Flower)," I say, my voice calm and comforting. "Malysh (baby) is fine. Now you are awake. It's all going to be okay." As she rests against me, I can feel the vibration of her shoulders slowing down, responding to the comfort in my voice.

A soft knock on the door pulls our attention. Dr. Marchenko greets us with a smile. "Not where we want to be, huh? May I come in?" She motions to the side of the bed, and Lina nods. The doctor enters the room and stands beside us, her clipboard in hand. Her eyes scan the notes and papers before she focuses back on us.

"Baby is fine and so are you," she reassures.

Upon hearing the doctor's words, a sense of relief washes over me and I let out a deep sigh. Lina and our syn are my everything; I can't handle anything going wrong. Dr. Marchenko informs us she will send Lina home, but she must return if any issues arise. I extended my hand to the doctor, saying, "Konechno(of course)." She taps her clipboard against the railing and heads towards the door.

"Moy Lev (My lion)," Lina says, her eyes trailing up to mine, "I'm sorry for the other day. If only I had been patient, I could have avoided this. Please don't be angry with Vladimir." Her eyes plead with mine. My sweet Lina. I pull her into my embrace, placing a kiss atop her head.

"I am not mad at him or you." I lend a hand in getting Lina ready to go home. When Mila came yesterday, she kindly brought a bag of clean clothes with her. She smiles at me after I dress her.

"Spasibo, moy lev. (Thank you, my lion)" She reaches up to her forehead, wincing at the touch.

"They opted for medical glue instead of stitches to close the cut," I inform her, as I double-check our gathered items. Lina stands up, stretching, and I can't help but admire how lovely she is.

As her hands glide across her belly, she stops and her expression turns into a grimace. "Ow," she breathes out, her face turning to mine, "one of those practice contractions."

The doctor reminded us about them a few appointments back, and Lina seems to never notice them. She is noticing them now. I drop the bag on the bed, moving to stand behind her. I know I can't take the pain away, but if I can give any kind of relief, I'll try. With my hands supporting her belly, I tell her, "Lean back into me." I lift her belly, taking the weight of our syn in my hands and off her pelvis and lower back. Lina moans at the relief.

"Allow me to carry the weight when I can, Tsvetok (Flower)," I whisper in her ear. Lina is the perfect height for my chin to rest on her head. Instead, I tip my head down and kiss her forehead. A knock on the door brings us back to reality. The nurse provides information on aftercare and signs to watch for. After she's done explaining, she says we are free to go. They provide a wheelchair and Lina grumbles as she is told she has to be taken downstair in it.

"I can walk," she mumbles under her breath, as we wait outside the elevator doors.

I lean down so only she can hear me. "Tsvetok. Bud' khoroshey devochkoy. Pozvol'te miloy medsestre otvezti vas vniz. (Flower. Be a good girl. Let the nice nurse wheel you downstairs.)"

We reach downstairs and the nurse informs me she'll stay with Lina as I bring the car here. "Khorosho (okay)," I say, kissing Lina's hand. I quickly head to the parking garage to get the car. Oleg and Ilya left me with the SUV while Mila came to pick them up after Lina awoke. I bring it to the front of the hospital and put it in park, getting out to help Lina in. I toss her bag in the backseat, thank the nurse, and climb in.

"Home, moy lev (my lion). Take me home."

As I arrive at the gate, Lina surveys the front area and notices an unusual abundance of men. "Did something else happen? Did you find your father?" The question reminds me of my failure. In the coming days, I will. Now that I have Sasha in my possession. That ublyudok(motherfucker) will crack under the immense suffering I intend to inflict upon him.

"Net (No), Tsvetok (Flower). My father"s most trusted man was the one who hit you. I am sure he knows." I cut the engine and get out of the car. Before I even get the chance to open her door, Dmitriy is there. He opens her door and holds out his hand to help her out. Part of me is proud of him, for acting like a gentleman. The other part is irritated because that is my job as her muzh (husband).

"Mrs. Igorova," Dmitriy addresses her, as he helps her down. Lina looks up at him with a hard stare.

"Please, call me something else. Not that I don't love my husband's last name," she laughs. "It makes me sound old."

Everyone erupts into laughter while Dmitriy stands frozen, his face turning red with embarrassment. With the bag in hand, I give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder while we go up the steps to the house. Once inside, I take our coats, keys, bags and place them on the table. Dmitriy takes Lina's bag and runs it to our room.

Lina turns to me while he is out of sight. He has warmed up to the idea of being here, then?" She asks, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Moyazhena (My Wife) felt so strongly about him staying and being a part of our family.

"Da, moya lyubov (Yes, my love)," I say, guiding her into the living room. "He called me Papa yesterday when I called to check on how things were here. I suspect he will ask to call you mama." Lina sat down on the couch, leaning over to get her shoes off. I stand back, knowing that if I try to help before she asks, she will get annoyed. Pregnancy hormones have kicked her need to be independent into overdrive. It's annoying.

Frustrated, she looks up at me. I smirk and get down on my knees, unlacing her boots. "I had to put them on you at the hospital. Did you think you'd be able to take them off without me?" She grabs a pillow and whacks me with it. I look up at her with a devious gaze. "Don't start a fight. You will lose, Tsvetok (Flower)." I reach for the pillow to my left. She giggles and whacks me again.

"I'll have you know, I was the pillow fighting champion. Raisa could never beat me." Lina gets to her feet, taking a fighting stance. I can't help but laugh. Dmitriy rounds the corner and freezes. His eyes dart from Lina to me. "Choose a side, Dmitriy. Your papa here thinks he can beat me."

Dmitriy takes his shoes off and enters the living room to grab a pillow. He looks over at me and then takes a place at Lina's side. "Betrayal," I chuckle.

"Net (No)," Lina says, "He just knows his mama and malen'kiy brat(baby brother) need him." She winks at him.

Dmitriy's eyes light up with pure delight as Lina playfully refers to herself as his mama and our syn (son) as his malen'kiy brat (little brother), filling my heart with an overwhelming sense of love. This woman is exceptional in every possible aspect. They exchange a glance before launching themselves at me, Dmitriy tackling me to the ground. They attack me with the pillows, and I lie there and laugh. Lina is on her knees next to me. Her smile is luminous. I never want this moment to end.

Lina has me order pizza for dinner, and we all eat in the living room as we watch a movie. Our little family is growing and finding its place each day. While we were waiting for the pizza, I brought Lina up to speed on Dmitriy. Once at the warehouse, I got more information from the files my father had. Dmitriy is only fourteen. He didn't even know the year he was born. His mother died a year after he was born, and his father has never resurfaced.

The first thing Lina did after hearing the information was hug him. She let him know that if it's what he wants, and he doesn't mind her being so young, she'd be proud to call him her syn (son).

Gathered as a family, we have our meal like it's just another day. I glance over at Lina, and she is watching the boy sitting on the floor. A smile on her face. She looks up at me, and her eyes widen. "Der'mo (Shit)! Raisa!" She runs to grab her phone. I put my plate down and follow behind her.

"What about her?" I question, not knowing if I should be worried.

"Before the accident, she asked if she could come home early. I was going to talk to you about it once I got home." She fumbles with her phone in her hand. Her shoulders drop. Dmitriy is now standing in the hallway, concern on his face.

"I don't want you leaving to get her. Either I'll go, or I will send someone to get her. Maybe the twins." I tell her, bringing her into my arms.

"Would you? She wanted to come home tomorrow if we could get her." With her pleading eyes, how could I refuse?

I usher us all back into the living room and sit down. I pull out my phone and text the twins.

Leonid: Ty, ublyudok, prosnulsya?(You fucker's awake?)

Oleg: I have a baby. What do you think?

Ilya: I am now.

Leonid: Can either of you or both of you go pick up Raisa from her school tomorrow? I"d rather not take Lina that far. Raisa wants to return home before the baby arrives. YA budu dolzhen tebe uzhin. (I'll owe you dinner.)

Oleg: Ugh…driving to Vladimir tomorrow… let me talk to Mila.

Ilya: I'll do it. Oleg just stay home with Mila and moy plemyannik.(my nephew)

"There," I said, putting my phone on the couch and grabbing another slice of pizza. Dmitriy starts the movie back up. "Tomorrow, Ilya will drive to get her. So be sure to call the Sestra's (Sister"s) tomorrow morning to let them know." Content, we carry on watching our movie, relishing this moment of tranquility.