Outtake #1

I do not have a Beta reader, so any mistakes that you see are my own.

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns Vampire Academy and all its characters.

Rose POV

That day I graduated from St. Vladimir's Academy and became a guardian, I met my father for the first time in eighteen years. It was also the day I went into labor and had to be flown out to the hospital at the Royal Court because the Academy's infirmary didn't have the resources to treat pregnant patients.

Anyway, after finals were done and the graduation ceremony was over, a party was held in the Academy's banquet hall. It was where the Moroi graduates were going to find out which guardian they've been assigned to. I was standing off to one side with my boyfriend, Adrian Ivashkov, standing behind me, both our hands cradling my protruding stomach, feeling our baby girl kick every few seconds, making us both smile and laugh as I soothingly rubbed the spots where she kicked. Right after I finished my final—which, for me anyway, was going through a modified but still hard obstacle course the teachers set up—I felt Adelina drop so it was only a matter of time before I went into labor.

I couldn't sit down, no matter how badly I needed to. Almost everyone was walking up to me, congratulating me on getting through my last year at the Academy and I didn't want to be rude. Despite the pregnancy scandal that shocked the vampire world, they were happy for me.

A man with black hair and brown eyes walked up to Adrian and I and congratulated me on my success and pregnancy. I could tell he was Moroi because he had the tall height and very pale skin of one. He introduced himself as Ibrahim Mazur and while Adrian nor I didn't know that name, my mother—who was nearby, talking to a group of guardians—certainly did because when she heard that name, she turned around with an angry look on her face.

"You!" The man called Ibrahim turned around as my mother stomped up to him until she was practically touching him. Because he was taller than her, she had to lift her head to look up at him. She lifted a finger and stabbed his chest. "You have a lot of nerve being here."

Ibrahim raised his hands up in defense. "I'm not here to cause trouble, Janine. I just wanted to see our daughter and congratulate her on officially becoming a guardian. I also heard she's carrying our grandchild."

When I heard the word "daughter" come out of Ibrahim's mouth, it was like someone poured a bucket of ice cold water on me. Adrian must've felt the same way because I felt him tense behind me.

"Daughter? What do you mean 'daughter?'" I asked. I pulled away from Adrian and stepped closer between Ibrahim and my mother.

My mother sighed while Ibrahim turned back to face me. "Your mother didn't tell you about me?" Before I could answer, he sighed. "Of course, she didn't. I can see why."

"Let's not talk here," my mother glanced around the room. "Let's talk outside."

"I'm coming with you," Adrian spoke up, taking my hand in his as we started walking—or in my case, waddling—out the door, past people who were staring after us, dumbfounded.

"Sorry, Adrian, but this is a family matter," my mother told him.

"Let the boy come with us," Ibrahim said. "He's the father of our grandchild after all."

My mother pursed her lips before sighing. "Okay, fine."

Once we were in the hallway, she turned to face Ibrahim. "You left me at the hospital with our newborn daughter eighteen years ago." She pointed an accused finger at him. "You left without a word."

"I was young, Janine," he told her. "Just like you were. And my father needed me to take over the family business."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" I asked, rather loudly, but not loud enough for everyone in the other room to hear. They had all gone back to enjoying the party.

"I'm your father, Rose," Ibrahim confessed.

"What?" I gasped. Adrian came up behind me and we placed both our hands back on my stomach. Adelina had stopped kicking by then.

"I'm your father," Ibrahim repeated before going on to explain. "Your mother and I were just kids when we met and fell in love. Teenagers. When she told me she was pregnant, at first, I was upset because I thought we were being careful. But after seeing you on the sonogram, I was happy. But I came from a wealthy family who had enemies and did very terrible things. I didn't want that for you. If I left and stayed away, no harm would come to you. And that's exactly what I did."

"How did you know where to find me?" I found myself asking. I didn't know whether to be happy that I found my long-lost father—or rather, he found me—or angry that he left my mother and me after I was born. What I did know was that he was here and that was all that mattered.

Ibrahim turned his head to glare at my mother before turning back to give me a small smile. "I found out five years later that your mother left you because she'd rather protect Moroi from danger than take care of you. At first, I was furious, but then I was relieved because it was St. Vladimir's Academy she left you at. A safe place where others would take care of you."

"I left her because it was time for her to start her guardian training," my mother explained. "Not because I didn't love her anymore."

"If you loved me, then why didn't you keep in touch?" I asked, calmly. If it weren't for Adrian moving his hand to my back to rub soothing circles, I would be lashing out at my mother and even my father. "Why didn't either of you come and visit?"

It was Ibrahim who spoke while my mother just stayed silent, which gave me the answer I needed. "I wanted to, but I was already risking your safety just by keeping tabs on you. I told myself I couldn't do that, but now that I knew you weren't with your mother anymore, I needed to make sure you were safe and still with the Academy." He gestured to my stomach. "It was when I found out you graduated and are expecting your first child with your Moroi boyfriend that I decided to risk it and fly down from Russia to see you."

"Well, congratulations, Abe," my mother fumed, angrily throwing her hands up in the air. "You just killed our daughter and granddaughter."

"You don't have to worry about that," Ibrahim assured her. "I'm not in the business anymore, so no one will be coming after me or Rose."

"I hope not, for your sake," my mother stepped closer to him with fire in her eyes. "Because if anything happens to her or our granddaughter, I'll come after you with a silver stake."

"That sounds reasonable," Ibrahim affirmed, seeming unfazed by my mother's anger. He turned his attention back to me. "So, you're having a girl?"

"We are," Adrian spoke for the first time in a while, still rubbing circles along my back. "We even have a name picked out."

"Adelina," I gushed. "We spent hours debating on names until finally, that's what we came up with. And since Adelina is a Romanian name, we decided we should give her a Turkish middle name. So, her full name is Adelina Ela Ivashkov."

Ibrahim smiled. "That's a beautiful name," he commented. "I'm happy for you two and I know you'll be great parents."

It was at that point that my water broke.