" So, let me get this straight. Unless we figure out what effects the…..plague has had on our children, we may not be able to save them. Correct?" Mikhail Dubrinsky-the prince of Carpathians-asked as he gripped the hand of his lifemate, Raven. Everyone was silent, mulling the information over.

" I know a doctor. A pediatrician. She is an expert on the plague and what its possible lingering effects could do to children." Shea Dubrinsky-the lifemate of Mikhail's younger brother, Jacques-said slowly.

" A human doctor? Shea, please tell me you have not been conversing with this woman." Jacques pleaded. Shea ducked her head.

" She's an expert, Jacques. She knows children like no other. It is her specialty." Shea said, glancing up at him.

" Shea, what you do is risky." Gregori Daratrazanoff-Mikhail's second-in-command, son-in-law, and oldest friend as well as the Carpathians master healer-groaned.

" She doesn't know anything, Gregori. She's a pediatrician for the love of God. She transferred to the Carpathian Mountains, gave up a practice in the U.S. to move here and care for children in the village. I had planned on meeting her anyway. We merely discuss the effects the plague has on children of today's society." Shea defended, her hands on her hips.

" She is one human doctor. She can easily be controlled, but we will all go to the hospital to meet this woman." Mikhail declared, knowing this could possibly go wrong and he did not want Shea and Jacques in the line of fire alone.

" You hope." Gregori corrected, reluctantly following them to the hospital with his own lifemate-Mikhail and Raven's daughter-Savannah. Mikhail shot him a quelling glare as they walked into the hospital.

" Excuse me, is Inara here?" Shea asked a nurse who was standing at the front desk.

" I'm sorry, you just missed her. I can call her back if it is an emergency." The nurse said, smiling softly.

" No, just tell her when she comes in next time that Shea stopped by." Shea said. The nurse's eyes flashed in recognition.

" Oh! No, no, no. Dr. Daratrazanoff said that if you stopped by to give you her address. Here." The nurse said, pushing an envelope towards Shea who blinked at her. Shea numbly took the envelope, thanking her softly. She glanced up at Gregori who looked beyond shocked at the doctor's last name.

" Did she say…..Daratrazanoff?" Raven asked, shocked.

" She did." Mikhail agreed, looking at Gregori who shook his head in confusion. Was there another Daratrazanoff they didn't know about? Another ancient female?

" Do you think she is related? Maybe a Carpathian woman who was overlooked?" Mikhail asked.

" I do not know, Mikhail. I know I had no other siblings and none of them have any children." Gregori said, shaking his head.

" I know of no other Daratrazanoffs." Mikhail said.

" Maybe she heard the name and liked it. I've seen Americans change their last name all the time." Savannah suggested innocently.

" It is a hard name to pronounce and I do not see someone changing their name to it." Gregori replied, frowning. Was it possible that there was another Daratrazanoff family completely unrelated to the Carpathians? Had his parents had another child in secret?

Inara Daratrazanoff sat on her front porch with her year old daughter, Zaria, in her lap, watching as her four year old daughter, Damalia, run across the yard, playing with Inara's lifemate, Tiberiu Bercovitz. Damalia bounced across the yard, a ring of pink flowers from Inara's flower garden atop her dark curly head.

" Daddy." Damalia called, rushing over to Tiberiu with one hand out. Tiberiu extended a hand to her and she began giggling. " Not that one, Daddy. You're supposed to shake with your left hand since I held out my right, silly." She laughed. Tiberiu's eyebrow shot up.

" Is that so?" He asked, swooping down and snatching her up so she was hanging upside down, her legs in the air as he began spinning around, tickling her. " Who are you calling silly?" He asked, laughing as well.

" Not you! Not you!" Damalia yelped, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face. Tiberiu turned her over, setting her on her feet, and holding her steady until she regained her balance.

" That's what I thought." He said as she stumbled over to the porch, grabbing a bottle of bubbles and wobbling back over to him.

" Bubbles, Daddy." She begged, her dark eyes wide with childlike innocence and wonder.

Inara shook her head, looking at Zaria who smiled up at her, kicking her little feet. Inara smiled back, leaning back and picking up a baby cup to feed her with. Zaria's deep garnet eyes widened in excitement, her little hands coming up to grasp eagerly for the cup, bringing it to her mouth.

" I think they've lost their minds, Zaria. They've gone completely bonkers." Inara mused as Tiberiu sat on the ground at the foot of the steps, blowing bubbles for Damalia to run around, trying to pop them.

" Daddy! You not blowing fast enough!" Damalia called. " You getting old!" She then taunted, smiling mischievously at Tiberiu.

" Oh, you are going down, little girl." Tiberiu replied, putting the bubbles down and springing to his feet.

Inara's musical laughter rang out as Damalia's dark eyes widened in shock and she let out a little scream as she backpedaled before turning and fleeing across the yard. She laughed as Tiberiu chased her, laughing as well. The house was never quiet and Tiberiu was generally in the middle of all the noise. Unlike most women who would be annoyed at having a husband who was a big of a child as the children, Inara enjoyed every minute of it.

Mikhail glanced at Gregori at the sound of the musical laughter floating through the night. He was so entranced by the musical laughter that he didn't see the little ball of energy barreling straight towards him until she ran right into his leg, Tiberiu on her heels. She bounced off his leg and into Tiberiu's awaiting arms, rubbing her nose as she scowled at Mikhail.

" Mikhail, I knew you all were close, but I didn't realize you were coming here." Tiberiu said as he sat the little girl on his shoulders acting as if it was an everyday occurrence, not even responding when the toddler wrapped her arms around the top of his head, smiling happily.

" I would imagine with all of the noise. We did not know if someone was being murdered." Mikhail said.

" No, no, no. Daddy just being silly with me." The toddler stated, shaking her head rapidly.

" Tiberiu being silly? Now that doesn't seem like much of a stretch." Gregori stated dryly. Tiberiu flashed him a grin.

" I was never silly." He denied.

" Mommy calls you silly all the time, Daddy." The toddler objected quickly, leaning around to look him in the eyes.

" You're not helping, Mali." Tiberiu pointed out. She scowled at him.

" Mommy says it bad to lie." She reprimanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

" She's right, but I was not silly, I was rebellious." He stated, smiling at her.

" Oh." She said, sitting back up and remaining silent for a few minutes. She frowned, leaning back down to look at him. " What's that mean?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

" Go ask your mother." Tiberiu said, lifting her from his shoulders and sitting her down on the ground. Damalia nodded and took off

" Mommy!" She called, running towards the house. Tiberiu and the others watched after her for several moments. Tiberiu shook his head, sighing softly.

Mikhail watched the entire display with an amused expression. The little girl was a ball of energy and obviously loved Tiberiu. She was full of life and millions of questions. She was adorable. Gregori was shaking his head along with Jacques and Tiberiu.

" Is there something I can help you all with?" Tiberiu asked, looking back at them.

" Inara Daratrazanoff." Gregori said. Tiberiu sighed, knowing this wasn't going to end well.

" She is my lifemate." He allowed.

" She is a Daratrazanoff though?" Gregori demanded, glaring at Tiberiu.

" She is. She is Daniel's daughter." Tiberiu stated, raking a hand through his hair.

" Yet you did not inform any of us." Mikhail stated, his eyebrow raised.

" I had my reasons. Tell me, if you had lost your father a couple of years ago, how would you feel coming face to face with someone who looked just like him? Inara is still not over the death of her father. She has been traumatized enough without having to face men who look identical to her father." Tiberiu said as the sound of a startled gasp caught his attention. He whirled around, going straight to the dark haired beauty standing there with the toddler from earlier and an infant in her trembling arms, her deep violet eyes locked on Gregori.

Tiberiu stepped in front of his shocked lifemate, blocking her view. He touched her mind, finding it in complete chaos. Inara, you do not have to do this thing. He whispered into her mind, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. What will they think of me, Tiberiu? I'm nineteen with a four year old and one year old, both who are not my lifemate's biological children. She asked, tears in her mind. Inara, what happened was not your fault. You chose life for these children when others would not have. Tiberiu said, his ice blue eyes flashing at her.

" Mommy, Zaria and me are here with you. We know you do nothing wrong. Daddy knows too." Damalia said, far too wise for her own good. Inara gave her a tight lipped smile, ruffling their hair.

" I think you pay far too much attention for your own good." Inara said, her voice soft and musical with a teasing edge to it.

" Yep, Daddy says vigilance is the key to staying alive." Damalia chimed, smiling up at her mother and father proudly.

" Hmm. She did listen." Tiberiu said. Inara smiled sweetly at him.

" It appears so." Inara answered, nodding to Tiberiu that she was ready to meet them and had regained control of herself. He lifted Damalia onto his hip, tangling his other hand with Inara's free hand, leading her to the others.

" Gregori, this is Inara, my lifemate. Inara, this is Gregori, your cousin." Tiberiu said. Inara smiled softly at Gregori.

" A pleasure to meet you. My father told me many stories about you when I was a child." Inara said, her voice soft and gentle. Gregori stepped forward, nodding to Tiberiu as he pulled Inara into a hug, careful of the infant on her hip. The infant was clinging to his shirt when he went to step back. Inara surprised him by laughing and pressing the infant closer to his chest so he could hold her. He was startled to see a pair of vivid garnet eyes staring up at him, a pacifier in her little mouth. She rubbed her forehead against his chest, burrowing closer to him.

" You remind her of my father." Inara said, smiling warmly at the scene before her.

" She is beautiful. They both are." Gregori said, noticing that neither child looked like Tiberiu. It brought the toddler's earlier comment into another light. They weren't Tiberiu's children at all, yet they were wholly Carpathian. That could only mean……

Gregori's head came up, his silver eyes filled with questions. Inara refused to meet his gaze, keeping her eyes on the infant. He shifted his gaze to Tiberiu who merely nodded in answer to his silent question. He let his breath out in a long, slow sigh, his eyes softening when he looked at Inara who was chewing her lower lip.

" You are a brave woman, Inara. To give birth twice under those circumstances. To choose life for both children is nothing more than testament to your will and compassion." Gregori said. Inara smiled softly at him.

" I love my children. I do not care how they were conceived nor who their biological father is. Neither does Tiberiu. I may be only nineteen, but I could never harm my children." Inara said, handing Damalia her cup.

" What are their names?" Savannah asked, noticing Gregori wasn't giving the infant up.

" This is Damalia. She's four and that's Zaria. She's one." Inara added, looking away.

" They are beautiful." Savannah agreed as Inara and Tiberiu led them back towards the house.

" Thank you." Inara said as Damalia and Tiberiu took off across the yard again, playing as they usually did. Tiberiu never cared about looking like an idiot with the children, he enjoyed his time with them. Every moment.

" Tell me, who is the child and who is the adult in that relationship?" Raven asked, glancing at Gregori who was putty in the hands of the little infant her cradled to his chest.

" Neither. They are both children and get in trouble together quite frequently." Inara laughed as Tiberiu and Damalia moved across the yard, fighting with plastic swords.

" That I can believe." Mikhail said, shaking his head at the display. They had more energy than should be allowed in an adult or child.

" It is never quiet. Poor Zaria and I hide in the bedrooms to get some peace and quiet." Inara added, glancing back at them.