Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: I am not Richelle Mead. Everything recognizable is hers.

"You two in particular are about to get your worlds rocked," Adrian said with a goofy grin on his face. Declan cooed, and Adrian stretched out his index finger for the baby to hold. He seemed so at ease, and so excited to tell us the news.

Saying that our worlds were about to get rocked was the understatement of a lifetime. At that particular moment, I didn't know that what was going to come out of his mouth would change my whole life. I had guessed that there was something special about Declan, but I was in no way prepared for what Adrian was about to say next.

"So here is the deal," Adrian continued. "It's all really complicated, and I don't even know for sure all that happened. What I do know, as simply as I can put it, something happened to Olive when she was restored. You see, Declan is a lot more special than anyone thought possible. Hell, he shouldn't even be possible, genetically and biologically." Adrian stopped, cleared this throat, and continued. "His mom is a dhampir, but you know that already. What you guys should know is that his dad is a dhampir too."

He was right. Our world was rocked. I heard Dimitri's sharp intake of breath, as blood rushed to my ears. My mind started to race with the possibilities. We could have a family, Dimitri could have the children he always wanted but never dreamed would be possible. I could give him these children, and we would live a dream that we had never thought possible.

He would be so happy. These hypothetical children would be gorgeous, of course. Let's be honest, me and Dimitri are both knockouts. Our children would be stunning. Further, they would probably be brilliant and stubborn little creatures.

Dimitri would adore them. He would probably coo to them in Russian as they drifted off to sleep. He would read to them every night, and teach them Russian as soon as they would be able. He would probably even be able to help them with homework when they go to school.

And then there is me. The boring old, doesn't speak Russian, can't do math homework, and doesn't have a single functioning maternal instinct that all women are supposed to possess. I, who have little self-control when it comes to my own instincts and urges, responsible for a small human that would be entirely dependent on me. A small human, who will eventually have to have some sort of rules put in place that I would be absolutely horrendous at enforcing. I, who had had barely managed to take care of Karolina's daughter, responsible for my own child, all of the time. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

I would have to take maternity leave. Almost a full year of doing nothing but sit around in the apartment all day. I would gain weight, loose muscle mass, and have to eventually give birth in this scenario. Then I would somehow have to get back into fighting condition before I returned back to work. Someone would have to look after the hypothetical baby, and I had heard somewhere that quality childcare was starting to cost almost as college tuition would be. Oh god, money. Guardian salaries are small, even when you are the famous of the Queen and her lover. It never mattered before, simply because the two of us don't require that much extra money. But there is simply not enough to pay for a kid. I have heard that they are expensive.

There is also the small matter that I would have no clue how to be a good mother. My own mother gave me up to be raised by the Moroi, and they were basically just a string of mediocre babysitters. Janine still isn't that great of a mother. I am pretty sure I inherited that from her, because whenever I am placed in a situation where there are small children I panic. And then they start to cry.

I suppose if we were somehow able to skip the baby years and go straight to having a seven, eight, or nine year old, it may not be so bad. I could probably figure out something that would work. But kids just skipping years is impossible. But then again, I thought that this whole situation was impossible.

Sydney placed her hand on Adrian's shoulder, nodding down the hallway. "Let's give them some time to absorb." Adrian nodded, and they walked out of the room, Declan cradled happily in Sydney's arms.

I felt numb. Not just physically, but my brain felt numb. Almost like it was dumped in a vat of molasses. The world felt blurry, fuzzy, and unintelligible. How could dhampir have children, restored from being a strigoi or otherwise? It was impossible. This whole conversation shouldn't be happening. I had to be dreaming, right? That is the only way that this made sense. Our whole understanding of biology and genetics can't just simply be undone by someone being restored from the legions of the undead. Doesn't the word restore mean put back the way that is was before? Not like, resetting our whole understanding of a race. Right?

But there was Declan, and he was obvious proof that it was possible for two dhampirs to have a baby together. It didn't take a genius to guess who his father was, he looked just like him, even as a squishy faced newborn.

But hell, what did I know. Squishy faced newborns look like everyone.

I wanted it desperately to be true. I could see it in Dimitri's eyes whenever he saw a child or was around his nieces and nephews. He wanted kids, and he would be a good father. It was heartbreaking that I couldn't give them to him.

But then again, what if Adrian was wrong? What if this was all false hope?

Then there was the small matter that I would be a horrible parent. I could get away with not wanting kids when I thought that we couldn't. If it isn't a possibility, it doesn't even have to be discussed. Now that we could (if this whole thing wasn't some messed up lie on Olive's part), the horrible truth had to be realized one way or another. Either I had to come clean to Dimitri and say that I don't want kids because I would be an absolutely terrible mother, or I will end up pregnant anyways, and once the kid gets here he would realize just how useless I am with kids.

I could see no other possible outcome.

I peeked a glance at Dimitri, who was still frozen in shock. I swear, he hadn't moved a muscle since Adrian told us. Not even so much of a twitch of the face, or shifting of his hand. He was a godly statue of shock, and while I would love to just sit there and gawk at him, staying in such a state for extended periods of time couldn't possibly be healthy for him.

I reached out and grabbed his hand, rubbing circles with my thumb gently on his knuckles. He relaxed a bit, but was still totally floored.

"So," I started, not really sure how I should even begin to end the statement. "Wow," I said quietly after a moment's consideration. The biggest, goofiest grin that I had ever seen lit up his features. Man, I had thought he was earth shatteringly sexy before. This was on its own new level of godliness. I swear, my breath may have even caught in my throat for a moment. If I were an extremely sentimental person I would have teared up a bit.

"Wow is a bit of an understatement, Roza," he breathed. He pulled me down to the couch, wrapping one of his arms around me.

"How about absolutely astonishingly, impossibly, strangely, and impossibly wow," I smiled, proclaiming with my usual air of self-importance.

"You said impossibly twice."

"Its poetry, comrade. Don't question my mad skills as an artist."

He snorted, shaking his head a bit. "This is amazing."

"What, my poetry. Yeah it is," I said slowly. I knew I should tell him that I thought it was a bad idea, but just one look at his face made that impossible for me. The pure joy that overcame his features, and knowing that I could absolutely shatter that joy with just a few words made me feel terrible. "I know it is," I repeated in a more serious tone. Sighing, I leaned against his shoulder. I would tell him my feelings on the matter later, maybe when he had calmed down a bit.

He pressed his lips against my forehead. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that everything that I have been taught has now somehow managed to flip itself around, and it is a bit overwhelming." This was the truth. Science says that dhampirs can't procreate with each other. Science can tell us exactly why this is the case too. Then, some magical, undefinable, and unknown force comes in and absolutely changes what science says to be true. I may not be particularly science-y, or scholarly, but I did believe in what science has proven to be true of biology. I have studied it, by choice, and this shouldn't be possible.

"Understandable. I am overwhelmed as well."

"So," I drew out, "what is going to happen next?"

He shrugged. "We can talk about it later. When we both have had some time to think."

A/N: I literally just finished the Ruby Circle yesterday. It completely interrupted my life. I read instead of finishing a paper that was due that day. Now that I have the paper finished, I was able to write this. This is my first time writing for VA, something I have been wanting to do for a long time but I was waiting for Richelle Mead to finish the series so I could know what I could work with. And when she did finish, she gave me the perfect opportunity to write this. Ah, she is brilliant!