Chapter Two: First Day Back and Memories

I smashed the snooze button on my alarm and forced my body to get out of my warm bed. I peeked into Aria's room to see her still sleeping happily. I went to the kitchen to get myself some breakfast and wait for Mia to get here.

Mia had offered to look after Aria while I went back to work and should be here in another hour or so.

I honestly wasn't sure if I could leave my daughter but I had to.

I smiled as I remembered when the fact I was actually pregnant finally sank in.

Flash Back

It had been two months since Lissa, Christian, Eddie, and me graduated and moved to court permanently and I was now about six months pregnant. I was currently sitting on my couch watching a movie in my pajamas when suddenly I feel a wired fluttering in my swollen stomach. I moved my bowl of cereal and looked at my belly with round eyes.

What the hell? I thought when I felt the flutter again and it was then I realized my baby was kicking! There was something actually inside there?!

I continued to stare at my stomach as if I've never seen it before and let me tell you I've been pregnant for about five to six months and I've seen my stomach before.

It happened again and I grabbed my phone and dialed Lissa's number.

"Hello?" She answered.

"LISS! SOMETHING IS MOVING INSIDE ME!"

She was quiet for a second then she began to giggle. "Rose (giggle) Of course something is moving inside you, it's your baby. They tend to move."

I suddenly felt very dumb. "Well… it feels weird." I grumbled and Lissa gave a full out laugh.

Lissa and I talked for a little while then we hung up. I sat there staring at my belly again. I guess it hadn't really sunk in that I was having a baby until now. As I sat there rubbing my belly as tears began to build in my eyes.

I shouldn't be here, experiencing this on my own. My baby's father should have been the one to laugh at me for overreacting and placing his hand on my stomach to feel his child move. But Dimitri couldn't be here because my Dimitri was gone.

Flash Back End

A knock at the door brought me out of my memories. I looked up at the clock. Right on time.

I opened the door to see Mia who smiled. "Hey Rose." I smiled and opened the door wider to let Mia in.

"Thanks for watching Ari today Mia." I said as I lead her to the living room. Mia sat on the couch and smirked up at me. "No problem, its your first day back to work right?" she asked as I heard Aria's baby babble down the hall.

"Yup." I brought Aria out to the living room and as soon as she saw Mia she giggled and clapped her hands to express how happy she was to see the small blonde Moroi.

"Yeah," I said. "Auntie Mia's here to play with you today."

Mia took my little girl into her arms and I went into my bedroom to get ready for the day.

Lissa's POV (12:00 A.M. Lunch)

"Lissa!" I turned my head to see Rose making her way toward me. We had decided to meet at the café at court. It was Rose's first real day as a guardian, I had made her go on maternity leave as soon as her baby bump had grown too big for her to fight safely so she hadn't really been on the job long after graduation.

Rose was dressed in the usual guardian attire, black slacks, white button up shirt, and a black blazer. She had her long bark brown, almost black, hair up in a bun. She had once told me that Dimitri had loved her hair and had urged her to wear her hair up in a bun instead of cutting it like most female guardians did. So she did.

"Hey." I smiled. Rose stopped in front of me and plopped down in the chair across form me.

"Haven't seen any action for almost a year and I still can run a marathon without getting winded." She said cockily. I rolled my eyes. "That's only because you were back on the track running every morning and every evening as soon as your body recovered."

A waitress came, took Rose's lunch order then left.

Rose leaned back and put her arms behind her head. "I'm nothing if not dedicated." I smiled at her. She was my best friend, my sister even, it killed me what she had gone through with Dimitri. I studied her face for a minute. I could see the circles around her eyes and despite her happy disposition she looked exhausted.

"Aria still not sleeping through the night?"

A soft smile graced Rose's face at the mention of her daughter.

"No that's not it. She sleeps until one then she wakes up for a feeding and a diaper change then she's right back asleep."

"Rose… are you still having the nightmares?" I asked her and I saw sadness flash in her eyes. Since she had found out that she was pregnant she's had nightmares of Dimitri taking Aria away. Whiles she was still inside her Rose would dream that Dimitri would attack her and rip Aria from her womb. I still remembered the first time she had the nightmare.

Flash Back (Lissa)

Something was wrong. I knew it was. I was lying in my bed when I began to feel antsy. So I got up and decided I'd call Rose to see if she was all right.

I dialed her cell number and all it did was ring. I hung up and tried again this time Rose answered.

"H-Hel-lo?" I could hear the tears in her voice when I realized she was crying.

"Rose are you ok? What happened?" she gave a loud sob.

"Oh god Lissa. It was just a nightmare but it felt so real."

I got out of bed. "I'm coming over there. I'll be there in a minute."

I hung up the phone and made my way to the dhampir dorm. Using a little bit of compulsion I was able to sleep up o Rose's room. I knocked on the door but got no answer so I opened the door and went inside.

I found Rose hunched over the toilet in her pajamas getting sick and still crying.

"Rose!" I cried out as I dropped to my knees next to her. Finally the morning sickness passed and she looked to me. I had never seen her look so frail and in need of comfort before. Whatever dream she had must have really done a number on her.

"Come on Rose." I said as I pulled her toward the bedroom.

"Now sit down and tell me what happened." Rose took a deep breath and put a shaking hand to her small stomach.

"I dreamt that I was huge, I had to be in my last months, and Dimitri came he just appeared out of no where and he… he seemed like the old Dimitri and he was happy about the baby."

I was confused. A dream like that shouldn't have scared her so bad.

"Then he changed. He was Strigoi and he…" she began to cry. "He bit me, and then he ripped my baby out of me Lissa, then he was gone and so was my baby."

She cried into my shoulder and I held her. It wasn't until now that I realized how much it traumatized her to see the man she loved as a Strigoi.

Flash Back Ends (Lissa)

Rose nodded. "Yeah. There not as bad as when I was pregnant but they always end the same way. He comes and I can't stop him, Aria's gone."

I grabbed Rose's hand and gave her a smile. "We'll find a way to get him back Rose." She frowned.

"Lissa you do know that we have to break Victor Dashkov out of prison, right?"

I felt that irrational fear shoot through me at the mention of Victor's name. He had tortured me, harassed me. I had trusted him and he betrayed that trust. Yes, the thought of him free scared me but I knew that Rose wouldn't let him touch me. She wouldn't let him get that close ever again.

So I smiled. "I know but it's worth it. Dimitri doesn't deserve to be a monster, he is a good man, and Aria deserves to have her daddy. And Rose, you deserve to be happy again."

I saw the tears buildup in her eyes as she smiled. "Thanks Lissa."

The waitress came back with Rose cheeseburger and fries.

"So." I said. "How was your first day back to work?"

Ok so that is chapter two. I hope you like it please review and let me know what you all think.

I do not own Vampire Academy. The wonderfully talented Richelle Mead owns all rights to the Vampire Academy Series Thanks and enjoy.