"Papa! Papa!"
I turned around quick, just in time to catch the little dark haired boy running towards me.
"Nickolai" I sighed at his name, my son. Lifting him up as he snuggled deep in my arms and laid his head against my chest. Had he gotten bigger?
"Where have you been? Mama said you would be home yesterday" I smiled against his thick hair as I leaned to give him a kiss on his forehead, the word 'yesterday' came out sounding more like est-urd-day. I carried him over to where the other guardians that I was with were all standing, they looked over at me, and surprised expressions covered some of their faces, probably just finding out that I had a soft side. I reached my bag and unwrapped a stake – it was completely blunt and held no magic- and handed it to Nickolai. He grabbed it in his small hand and wriggled to get put down. I allowed him, the minute he reached the ground he ran about the front green fighting the air only to slam the stake into the ground and let out a war cry that sounded more like an excited squeal.
"Papa, I got him, no strigoi are getting past me!" He smiled at me; he looked like the perfect match of his mama and had the same eyes as me. I frowned a little though as he said this, worry threatened to strangle me as I thought about my son one day fighting the monsters, diseased with death that I had been fighting since I was just a boy.
"Well the stranger has returned, welcome home comrade" At this I looked up, worry for my son put to the back of my head for a little while. I ran my eyes over the beautiful woman standing before me. She was dressed in jeans and a red, snug fit t-shirt, her hair was tied up just the way I liked it and she looked stunning.
"Roza" I dragged her name out slowly, knowing she loved it when I let my Russian accent roam free.
"So much for, I am currently rushing home this minute Roza. So much for the quarrel is sorted and I will be home for Nick's birthday." She sighed and frowned at me, standing with her hands on her hips she looked exactly like the amazing guardian that she was.
"I took time off being a guardian so that Nick can have some sort of childhood, something he can look back at with a smile, something he can tell his friends about when he heads of to St. Vladimir's in a few years time. I put my job on the line, Lissa's life on the line for him and you can't make it home for his birthday Dimitri!" Oh god she was angry!
I was beginning to feel hollow though, I had lost too many people that should have been guarding in the past to let Rose let me feel bad about how much time my guardian work took up. I was fighting the Strigoi for my family and for my wife. Nickolai meant the world to me but I wasn't the stay at home Papa. Rose knew this however; she was just trying to make me feel bad. She thought she was the one in charge in this relationship.
I walked over to her, knowing that the two guardians behind me were snickering at me, probably hoping Rose would stake me or something, so they could go back to the royal courts to spill the beans about how Guardian Belikov got his ass handed to him by the small but fierce Guardian Hathaway. I looked over at Nickolai before I reached Rose, he was currently sitting on the grass carving pictures in the ground with the stake I had given him, so much innocence, I never wanted to lose this.