Author's Notes -

First things first, this does contain spoilers if you haven't read the Bloodlines series, so if you haven't read them and hate spoilers, then please don't read beyond this point!

This story takes place a year after The Ruby Circle.

Adrian would be twenty four years old.

Sydney would be twenty-two.

Declan would be 2 1/2.

I don't own any of these characters and they belong rightfully to Richelle Mead. I tried my best to keep everyone in character, but there may be places that seem a bit out of character so I apologize for that! I hope you enjoy! Any feedback is welcomed!

I'm not really sure what possessed me to start taking art classes.

Art had never been my specialty in spite of Adrian's insistence that I make excellent nooses. I suppose I just wanted to surprise him in some way - he always had a way to overwhelm me with surprises and gifts and I never really knew what to give him in return. He'd always shrug it off and tell me that he had all that he wanted, of course, but I wanted to try and give him something more than usual. When I first entered the class, I was hit with the familiar smell of paint. Although I was no stranger to a school setting, my heart did a little nervous flutter when I took in the various easels and paintings on the wall. Upon habit, I was nearly ten minutes early, so the room was empty and the only other person who was here was a man who seemed to look about in his mid-thirties. He glanced up from the desk he was at, giving me a welcoming smile. "Welcome. Your name please?" He wasn't wearing what I would expect of an art teacher - in fact, he almost looked like a college professor with the suit he was wearing. Admittedly when I first walked into the room, I had been looking for someone with a long shirt splattered with paint. My cheeks warmed a bit; maybe I was just too used to seeing Adrian like that.

Realizing he was waiting for my response, I quickly spoke, trying not to stumble over my words. "Oh, yes. Sorry. I'm Sydney Ivashkov."

"Ivashkov..." He murmured, glancing down the list in front of him. "Yes, here you are." He stood up, offering his hand. "My name is Robert Rosenberg. Feel free to take a seat at any of the easels, we'll begin shortly."

After shaking his hand, I headed for one of the easels in the corner, setting my purse under my chair as I sat down. In front of me was a blank canvas. It felt strange sitting in front of it instead of looking over Adrian's shoulder. It reminded me of sitting in front of a computer staring at a blank document before typing up a paper. There was a choice of brushes placed elegantly at the bottom of the easel - all of them different in size. After a bit, more students filed in. Most of them appeared a bit younger than me, but this was a beginner's class. On the brochure I had found, it had mentioned that it was a class accepting students from ages thirteen and above. One of the younger looking students took his place next to me and gave me a friendly smile. "Hi there, I'm Drew. New here?"

I sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

He gave a small grin. "Nah. Everyone's new here so of course it's obvious." The light humor was enough to relax me a bit. It turned out that Drew was actually one of the best artists in the class and admitted that he wasn't really a beginner. His dad had decided that even if he was on break, he would be taking various classes in spite of not really needing them. I could sympathize with him in that regard. My father had always been very stern with academics as well. Admittedly, it was nice sitting next to someone who knew what they were doing, and even if I hadn't asked, over the course of the next few days, Drew was always happy to give out a few pointers.

I wasn't really sure how long I'd be able to keep the classes a secret. Adrian did have his job that kept him occupied, but we still saw each other at home. As the week went on, I could tell he was becoming a bit suspicious. I was careful as I could be, but one of the days – four days after I started – I nearly walked into him when I opened the door to our home. Apparently by some odd chance he had come home early and there was a familiar smile of satisfaction tugging at the corners of his mouth as he took in my surprised expression.

"You're home early." I finally managed to say, causing that smile to widen.

"Yeah. I tried texting you – the school closed early for a board meeting or whatever. I thought I'd take you out to lunch or something, but you weren't home." He didn't seem upset – he wouldn't be, of course, just curious.

Glancing down at my phone I noticed that I had a missed call and a text and I groaned. "I'm sorry. I had it on silent most of the day."

"That's not really like you," He was hesitating – probably debating if he should try to push or not, "is everything okay? You've been kind of distant all week. I thought you might have something going on with Jackie or whatever, but usually you tell me so I wasn't sure." It was the concern that did it. I didn't like lying to him, even if it was just an innocent surprise. For what we've all been through I could only guess he was assuming the worse – which probably meant either control obsessed Alchemists or power hungry witches.

"Everything is fine," I said, hoping I sounded convincing, "really. I promise. I've just…uh. I've been planning a surprise for you." I admitted.

Some of his concern lifted and I could see his amusement returning. "A surprise, huh?'

"Yes. And no, I'm not telling you what it is."

"How about a kiss and tell?" He suggested, his smile now a grin.

"No!" I hissed, trying not to smile back when I pinned him with a glare. "I'm allowed to spoil my husband for at least once."

He shook his head slowly, drawing me close to give me a peck on the head. "You already spoil me by just being here."

I gave him a sly look. "Does that mean you don't want your surprise?"

"I didn't say that." Adrian gave my neck a soft nuzzle. "I'm just telling you that I've got everything I need right here."

_.._

Adrian didn't press on the subject after that, but I could tell that he was becoming more and more curious so I made him promise not to follow me whenever I went out to my class. Meanwhile, whenever I was attending class, I allowed Jill to babysit Declan when Adrian was at work. He was getting so big – it was hard to believe that he was already half way to being three years old already. He still was a quiet toddler apart from saying the occasional "Mamá" and "Da" whenever he was reaching up for us and "pete" which meant pizza – his favorite food. It was adorable. Even as my adoptive son, I still loved him very dearly and it was hard not to think of him anything but. It was a bit hard at times, even with my responsibility and Adrian's devotion. We certainty couldn't have done it without all of the support that we had received from friends and family. Turning my focus back to my canvas, I gave it a critical eye. "What do you think?" I asked Drew quietly. He was focused on his own easel - his brush lightly touching the canvas as he added some details to the beautiful sunset he was creating.

His gaze lifted from his work as he gave my piece a careful glance over. After a moment he finally gave an approving nod. "It looks really good. No joke. You weren't kidding when you said that you learn pretty quickly."

"Do you think he'll like it?" I asked, frowning at it.

A chuckle escaped him. "I'm no expert, but if my girlfriend or wife went through all this trouble for me I'd be even more smitten."

A smile twitched across my lips. "Thanks for helping out, Drew."

It was a bit sad once classes were officially over. I sort of enjoyed getting back into the routine of being in some sort of school, but as I was driving home with Adrian's present resting on the passenger's seat, excitement coursed through me. This was going to have him totally surprised. It was already evening by the time I stepped through the door and I could hear voices debating on the TV as I walked in. Adrian was resting on the couch, not really even paying attention to the TV as he flipped idly through a magazine. By him on the floor, Declan was playing contently with his toys and Hopper was batting one of his blocks around playfully. It was my son who noticed me first, and as soon as he saw me, he gave me a wide smile. "Mamá." He instantly reached up towards me as I approached, making grabbing motions with his hands as I lifted him up in my arms.

"Hola mi amor." I hugged him close as he snuggled against my chest.

Adrian set his magazine down, giving me his own smile. "I know it's late. I tried to get him asleep, I promise, but I think he wanted to stay up with me to see you."

"I'm going to try and get him to bed." I leaned down to give Adrian a swift peck on the cheek. "Then I have something for you." I grinned playfully before I headed for Declan's room.

One thing about Declan was he was easy to rock to sleep – as long as he wanted to. There were times like tonight that he'd refuse to, but otherwise he rarely would give us trouble. After singing him to sleep, I re-emerged from his room nearly a half hour later. Adrian was waiting for patiently for me and as I entered the room, he clicked the TV off, giving me a curious look as I carried a large gift bag over to him. "Is this the surprise you were talking about?" He asked as I set the bag in his lap, sitting up next to him.

"Yes." The nervousness was beginning to rise in me again. "I hope you like it." He began removing the wrapping paper from the bag, setting it aside. I could tell by his expression that he instantly recognized what rested inside of the bag – a canvas – and I held my breath as he lifted it carefully out, slowly turning it so he could see the front of it and I heard his breath inhale sharply, his body going completely still. When I was thinking of ideas of what I wanted as my final painted, I had decided on something simple and settled on the idea of painting something that I saw every day – one of Adrian's eyes. Not perfect – a bit abstract. His eyes always reminded me like green fire whenever he was serious and that inspired me to also add green flames coming from the eye.

After a moment of silence, Adrian finally spoke, his voice full of wonder. "Did you paint this?" He whispered softly in awe, his gaze taking in each detail.

"Yes… I was taking classes," I gave a small smile, "I know that it's probably not as great as yours but…"

His lips silenced me as he pulled me into a passionate kiss. "I love it." He breathed against me, careful not to drop the painting as he tugged me closer.

I wasn't sure how long we were locked in the kiss, but I finally pushed lightly against his chest, remembering something. "Wait, there's something I want to say before we get too carried away."

"Too late for that, Sage." His eyes seemed even darker as he gazed at me in blatant desire and I smiled at the old nickname.

"There's something else in the bag. Then we can get back to where we left off if you want to." I gave him smirk.

Adrian set his painting gently to the side, giving me another curious look as he dug around in the bag for a moment. The second gift that I had slipped in there had been a bit short noticed, but I had managed to wrap it up before I had come inside. I watched as he carefully unwrapped it and something gently fell into his hand. At first his expression was a bit puzzled. "What's this?"

"Turn it over and read the other side." I murmured gently and he followed my instructions. I could tell by his furrowed brow that he still hadn't quite figured it out yet. I tried not smile as I let him think about and finally recognition lit his eyes as he gazed at the two pink lines.

"Is this...?" His voice was a mere whisper.

"Yes." I smiled, "You're going to be a father, Adrian."

Even in the darkness I could feel the emotion flowing off of him and he drew me back into our kiss, this time his lips softer and I instantly noticed the taste of salt as we fell in each other's embraces once more.

Adrian Ivashkov was crying.