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Chapter Three
Adrian had just plopped down on the bed of the hotel when the phone rang. He stared at it a moment before he answered with a tentative, "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Rose." She said awkwardly.
He smirked, "Did you request to be told when I arrived?"
"No. But Dimitri saw you walk up and told me. I wanted to see if I could see you."
"Is Dimitri on duty?"
"No, why?"
He took a deep breath. "I'd like to talk with the both of you. About this whole situation."
"Sure. That sounds like a good idea. I'd considered it myself, but I didn't want to push you too much."
"It's my baby, Rose." He said softly.
"We're just down the hall from you." She told him the room number.
"When do you want to meet, then?"
"Are you up for now?" She asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, sure." He picked up his cell and sent Sydney a text, "Wish you could be here. Going to see Rose."
"Then I'll see you in a couple minutes." She hung up.
Adrian stood and took a few deep breaths. His phone buzzed.
"I could try to get away if you need me there."
"Don't risk it, Sage. But I may call when it's all over."
"I'll be here."
He stood in front of the appropriate door and clenched his fist at his side. He raised his hand and then dropped it. "I can do this." He finally knocked.
Rose opened the door and stood looking at him expectantly.
"You look great." He said, looking her up and down.
She smiled and rested a hand on her stomach. "Thanks. I'm surprised my bridesmaid dress fits." She stepped back and motioned for him to come inside.
"Hi." Adrian said, nodding to Dimitri where he stood just a few feet away.
"Adrian." The guardian said in greeting.
Adrian turned to Rose again. "You're not very big."
"No. Just about four and a half months. I didn't really start to show until recently."
"So everyone knows?" He took a seat at the desk in the corner of the room when the guardian couple both sat on the bed.
"Not everyone. But it's going to be pretty obvious at the wedding tomorrow."
"What does Lissa think?" He leaned forward.
"After she berated me for being so irresponsible, she told me she thought it was pretty cool."
"And your mother?"
"She supports me. After all, it's what we're supposed to do." She took Dimitri's offered hand. "Abe wasn't too happy about it for a while. But he's come around."
"Eddie's still upset." Adrian said softly.
She gave him an imploring look. "Are you?"
"I was angry with myself. But I'm not angry with you or with her existence. This is probably the best thing…" He smiled. "That's going to be one cute kid, you know."
She smiled and nodded. "With a great sense of humor and a very large appreciation of music."
He laughed. "That's true."
Dimitri spoke up. "I don't want you to think that I'll be taking her away from you."
Adrian looked to the dhampir. "Did you read my mind or something?"
"No, but I figure that would be a thought you had. Rose and I are together. It's a pretty sure thing. I will be there for the child and I hope to be a father to her, but you are the one that created her. You are her father more than I will be."
"Thank you." He looked to Rose. "Are you going to send her away?"
"No, definitely not. I want her close. Since we're at Court, she'll be taught and trained there. I'll get to see her every day unless I'm given an assignment elsewhere or Lissa makes a goodwill trip. But I plan on being close and staying that way."
"And what about me?" Adrian asked, his voice kind of thick at the thought of not seeing his daughter.
"You can see her whenever you want. And once everything is safe with Jill, I hope you can come back. And we can work on it more when this is all over."
"It may be a while."
"I know. I'm not looking forward to it. She needs to know her dad. I want her to. It's not right that so many of us don't know our Moroi parent. Or if we do that they only exist to create more dhampirs or just show their dominance over us. But you're not like that. She deserves it and so do you."
"I want to be in on everything, every major decision."
"You will be." She said adamantly.
"And when it comes to rules, we should make them all together. I don't want her to be with me and she gets to do something that you wouldn't approve of or the other way around."
"I completely agree."
Dimitri nodded beside Rose.
Adrian took a deep breath and said, "I want everyone to know she's mine."
"By giving her your last name?" Rose asked gently.
"I just want it in there somewhere. She can ultimately be a Hathaway, but I would prefer if she wasn't a Belikov." He looked to Dimitri. "I don't mean any offense, but—"
"I understand completely." Dimitri said. "We usually give the dhampir children the dhampir parent's name. I am not this child's parent and I wouldn't expect to have that privilege."
"I think she can have the Ivashkov last name as long as your father and the rest of your family won't be upset by it."
"I don't care if they're upset by it. That's my child, not theirs. I only care what you think about it." He watched her a moment.
"I wouldn't mind it. But let me think about it for a while."
Adrian nodded.
Rose stood. "I have something for you." She took something off the nightstand and handed it to Adrian. "Your own copy to show off to Jill. Stick it on your fridge or something."
He looked down at the ultrasound printout. "That's her?"
"That's her."
He looked up at her and then at her stomach, protruding only a little.
She took his hand and placed his palm on her belly. "A lot of people keep asking. I don't know why strangers want to touch me. But you don't have to ask. You never do. This is your baby, Adrian."
"I'm sorry." He looked up. "Rose, I'm so sorry. We should have stopped—"
"But we didn't. There's no reason to worry about the past. This is now. This happened. This is our future. If you ever change your mind, I understand."
He looked at her stomach again, lifting his other hand to rest on the other side. "I wouldn't be a very good person if I ran away from this. I'm ashamed of all the Moroi that run or only show up to make them and then disappear. There's so much more. I didn't want to father a child. That wasn't what it was about. And I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I didn't break away from the stereotype." He looked up at her. "I want to step up and be the dad this kid deserves. I want to be better than…"
"Than mine? Than Dimitri's? I want that too. And I plan on being a better mother than my own."
Adrian looked at her stomach once more. He leaned forward and pressed a tentative kiss there. He whispered, "I promise to do my best by you." He rested his forehead against her a moment and then sat back. He dropped his hands. "If you need anything, just tell me. I'll buy the crib and the car seats and—"
She put her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. You don't have to pay for everything. I don't want you to think that."
"No, I don't want to show my affection by throwing my money around. But I do want to provide for her. I'll even pay child support if you want."
Rose smiled and returned to her seat beside Dimitri. "You don't have to. But thank you."
"I want to help."
"I know."
He thought for a moment and then said, "I'll set up a bank account in your name. You don't have to use it, but I want you to have it. Just in case. I know you're both royal guardians, but this baby—"
"Adrian. Thank you. I think that's a good idea. We really appreciate it."
He nodded. His phone went off and he looked at it.
Jill asked, "Can we get pictures of Rose?"
"What do you mean?"
"Progress shots of her belly."
He looked up and asked cautiously, "Jill wants pictures of you over the months."
Dimitri smiled. "I've already been taking them. I'll send you copies."
"Thank you." He relayed the message to Jill. "She says thank you. It wasn't something I thought of. Not sure if you'd want me to have pictures of your pregnant girlfriend."
"Pregnant with your child." He pointed out kindly.
"You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Rose thought I didn't love her anymore. You thought you were in love with her. She needed you. A lot of factors went into this child's conception. None of us expected this to happen. But I for one am glad to have the chance to help raise this child. I have often wondered what it would be like to be a parent. But I never thought I would be able to have the chance, even if it was something I really wanted. But here we are. And it's not a bad thing for any of us."
"Rose, what will you do in the later months? You're not going to be in duty or anything, are you?"
She sighed. "No, I won't share duties. But I will start my new job in charge of the queen's guardians. It's a lot of desk work. And I will be in Court, no venturing out after this at all, actually. So, don't worry, we're all going to be in good hands." She patted Dimitri's knee.
"Okay, good." Adrian stood. "I should go."
Rose surprised Adrian by pulling him in for a hug. "It was good to see you."
"You, too." He patted her back.
Dimitri held out his hand. "No hard feelings?"
Adrian shook the offered hand. "Not from this side."
"Same here."
As soon as he was in the hall, he punched in Sydney's number and headed outside for a cigarette.
"How did it go?" She asked in greeting.
"Not bad." He explained to her about the talk between drags of his cigarette.
"It sounds like you have it all figured out." Sydney commented when he finally stopped.
"I hope so." He sighed, "Sage, I don't know if I could handle any of this if it hadn't been for you."
"I'll do what I can, Adrian." She assured softly.
"I should let you get some sleep."
"Yeah."
"Good night, Sage."
"Good night." She paused. "I wouldn't mind a dance tomorrow."
He chuckled. "Remember to act scared."
"Don't worry, it won't be an act. If they see me get too close, I could be sent to re-education. And losing you scares me more than anything."
She hung up before he could ask for further explanation.
