"You're what?" Even though my dear parents had been separated for quite some time now they were still very intuned and unified.

"Who's the father?" Of course Abe would say something like that. I really think he had some crazy ideas about my love life.

I scuffed, "Dimitri. Who else?"

I heard my mother sigh, "Well honey, it looks strange because..."

"I know, it's not possible for dhampirs to have babies with other dhampirs... But it is now. I guess it has something to do with the whole broken bond between Liss and me." I twisted my hair on my fingers.

"Are you sure nothing happened between you and, let's say, Adrian?"

"Abe! Seriously!" I kicked the couch in anger because I couldn't kick him over the phone.

He forced a laugh, "I'm sorry but I just want to cover all the bases."

"I am married to Dimitri and I am not unfaithful. Thanks for the vote of confidence." I threw myself back into the couch. "And thanks for the congrats and the excitement. I mean you both are getting a grandchild. You'd think you would be stoked."

My ever loving mother quickly recovered, "Oh, I am happy for you, Rose! I am excited and confused and... oh my gosh! You're having a baby!"

I laughed picturing her jumping up and down. My mother was never the enthusiastic type when it came to the mushy stuff. "Thank you, mom."

Then came a heavy sigh from Abe, "I am happy for you too but we are not going to be the last people questioning this whole conception."

"I know." I dropped my hand and picked at the loose thread on the cushion. "But evetually people will just have to learn to accept it."

Then came something I wasn't expecting. My mother's sobs. "You have grown so much."

"Please don't tell me you're crying, Janine."

She smacked her lips, "Shut up, Ibrahim! I can be emotional. I am a woman."

"That you are."

I thumped my head with the phone. "Not in front of me guys. I'm still on the line here."

She cleared her throat, "So, um, have you thought of any baby names? The colors or theme you want to use? Who the godparents are going to be?"

"Mom! I just found out yesterday. Still spinning on that." I sighed, "But yes we have been thinking of names. Nothing serious yet."

"You should give your son his grandfather's name." He laughed.

"I don't think she wants to name her child Abe, Ibrahim, or Zmey." She had a point.

He scuffed at that, "Ibrahim is a good name and I am a very persuasive and powerful man."

She forced a laugh, "You mean a power hungry man!"

"Don't even go there, Janine. I didn't leave our daughter in a school so that I could get back to my fighting." He did a sinister laugh that made me picture an evil Dracula was on his end.

"I did what was best for both of us! Besides, I didn't see you in that picture either."

I tried to intervene, "Guys."

"Well I helped her when she came to me. And I kept by her side after all this crap went on."

She scuffed, "Ha! You did all of that 'help' so that you could get credit and because you just like being an evil mastermind!"

"Guys..."

"Great! So now I'm an evil mastermind. What wonderful things to tell our daugter." He sounded like he might be pacing.

"I don't have to tell her. I am positive that she already figured it out herself!"

"Guys! Stop! Please." I hadn't realized I had stood up from the couch. I felt my blood boiling and my pulse rising. "Stop getting so worked up."

"I'm sorry." Once again they were in unison.

"Dad, I do know you are a kind of evil mastermind but I think that's where I get my great and crazy ideas from."

He chuckled, "See? Thank you."

"And mom, I know I got my amazing fighting skills and instincts from you so really you both made me the person I am now."

She sighed, "I suppose." Her words sounded like they were being forced through gritted teeth.

"Now can we please get back to the whole baby thing. That's why I called to begin with, remember?"

"Right, so I was thinking pinks and purples if it's a girl."

I laughed, "You can do the arrangements for the super girly things, mom."

She sighed, "Well at least I know Lissa will be helping me there too."

"And how about red and grey as the boy colors?"

That made me laugh, "Sounds kind of dark."

"We are picking colors for a child not a teen boy, Abe."

He scuffed, "Those are boy colors regardless."

"I was thinking more of like a navy blue and grey."

He sighed, "That works too I guess."

Dimitri walked in. "Hey. What have you been up to?"

I pointed at the phone, "Telling the grandparents about our surprise."

He froze. "Janine and Abe?"

I nodded. "Yes. They are talking about baby colors."

"I am just going to leave now." He turned and tried to walk out.

I grabbed him and covered the mouth of the phone, "If I have to put up with this then so do you." I put the phone on speaker, "Dimitri's here!"

"Hello Guardian Belikov." My mother as formal as ever.

He crooked a smile, "Hello."

"Dimitri."

"Abe."

I heard a slight change in Abe's tone. "So how have you been handling the news?"

He shrugged, "I'm actually pretty excited about it." He wrapped an arm around me. "Who would ever have thought?"

"Not curious about anything?"

"Abe!"

Dimitri forced a small laugh, "I was a little at first but I trust your daughter. And besides, she is a little strange anyway."

My mother laughed nervously, "So Rose tells me you were thinking of names?"

He smiled, "Sort of. Nothing serious. Just throwing around suggestions."

"We have plenty of time. I'm only five weeks."

Abe cleared his throat, "I suggested my name for a boy but some people didn't think it was such a great idea."

Dimitri made a face and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. "We'll think about it."

"Don't encourage him." My mother and her blunt honesty.

I sighed, "Please don't start up again."

Dimitri slowly started releasing me, "Well I have some business to attend to so I will talk to you later."

I grabbed his hand and squeezed, "But you just got here."

"Guardians have so much more to do than just guard their charges all day. Especially at Court." My mother was oblivious to his tactics to escape this scene.

He smiled and shrugged, "So I will see you when I get back." He kissed my cheek and opened the door. "It was nice talking to you both."

"Take care, Belikov", Abe had to add that hint of menace to his tone. Who was he kidding. I was scarier than that.

Janine on the other hand kept her unusual casual tone, "Congradulations."

"Thanks!" And with that he was gone.

I sat back down and took the phone off speaker. I sighed heavily, "You just reminded me that I have to go find Liss. There's something going on that we need to discuss."

"Right now? We just started talking."

"I know but this is important."

Abe scuffed, "What's more important than my daughter having a baby?"

That made me smile, "Some rouge moroi is starting trouble and I might be assigned the mission."

My mother gasped, "In your condition." She lowered her voice, "Does Lissa know about your condition?"

"Yes, I already told her."

I heard another scuffed from Abe, "How did she react?"

I nodded as if they might see the confirmation, "The same way you did."

He laughed, "Well then I guess we'll leave you to your duties. Take care."

"But I wanted to keep talking about the baby!"

My head dropped back, "Next time, mom. I promise."

She sighed, "Okay. You just take care."

"I will. Talk to you later." I heard the lines click and I finally got to hang up.

I slowly lowered the phone and plopped down into the couch. I stretched out my limbs and ran my fingers over my stomach. It was still so har to believe but now I knew for certain that there was life growing in me. And I might be stepping into a situation soon that could put us both in danger. My body jumped as a sudden knock came from the door. I sighed heavily and reluctantly got up. "Who is it?"

Lissa's voice came through, "It's me! I need to talk to you." The door handle rattled a bit like she was trying to open the door.

"I'm coming", I opened the door and saw the look on her face and knew instantly that something wasn't right. I lead her in, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head slowly, "It's, uh, a mission of sorts. And, God I don't know how to tell you this."

"It's Robert, right?"

Her eyes shot up at me and cried out apologies, "Hans asked for your help in this. You've become one of the best. I tried to argue my point that I needed you here but he said I have plenty of other guards to watch me." She growled the last part. "I'm really starting to dislike that man."

I patted her shoulder, "Calm down Liss. It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? Not that big of a deal? Really? Well then I'll send you and your unborn child into trouble and sit back in safety and not worry because it's not that big of a deal!" She threw her hands in the air.

I couldn't help but crack a smile. She was so dramatic. "Liss." I forced her to sit down. "I am going to be fine. We are going to be just fine. I can handle myself."

She shook her head, "I'm asking to send Dimitri with you."

"Does he even know about this whole thing?"

"I do now." He walked in with a stone expression on his face. Whenever he was tense he seemed taller and, if even possible, more godlike. "When do we depart?"

I shook my head, "This is my mission. I can handle it."

"Don't be so proud and think you don't need anyone's help, Rose. You're not just defending your life now." He ran his hand across my cheek, "And I am not letting you go out there without me. I am not losing you."

"He's right. You need someone there to watch your back." Lissa was on the verge of tears. "I'll be worried here if you go and lose sleep and stress. Do you want to me to completely lose it?"

I smiled at her, "Fine. I'll do it for your sake." I looked up at Dimitri. He looked lost in thought but his presence was still very much felt. "Let's go talk to Hans."

When we walked into his office Hans was neck deep in paper work. He looked up at us like we were disrupting his concentration. "May I help you?"

"I think you're the guy to ask about this particular topic so yes. Yes, I do believe you can help me." I leaned against the desk and stared him down.

He slowly lowered his pen and brushed aside his pile of paper to clear a spot. He placed both his elbow down as a base and rested his chin on his knuckles. He sighed heavily, "Alright Guardian Hathaway. Make it quick. I have things to attend to."

I cleared my throat barely stopping myself from correcting him. "The mission I have just been assigned to. What's the job detail?"

He smirked, "Considering your skill and rather unorthedox strategy planning I decided that you should accompany just a few Guardians and Moroi to help subdue a rouge Moroi that is using his magic unlawfully and bringing harm to people." He rose from his seat. "Not to mention that he is exposing our world to the humans." He leaned towards me from across the desk. "Any questions?"

"By subdue do you mean by any means?" I inched away from him a little.

He nodded, "Well that will be his choice. If he comes quietly then of course we want to be subtle and bring him in to be tried. But if he resists and is a danger to any of you or others around you then by any means, of course."

I echoed his words, "Of course."

Dimitri stepped forward. His shadow loomed over us. "Sir, I ask permission to go on this mission as well."

Hans sighed, "We need you here to protect the grounds just in case another batch of Strigoi come trying to tear down Court."

Dimitri balled up his hands, "I ask that you reconsider. If I go I will be a greater help getting the rouge to come back quickly and everyone will be here to protect the grounds. We ave plenty of capable hands here. Moroi and Guardian alike here will work together to see to the safety of Queen Dragomir."

"You do think ahead of all of this quite well, Guardian Belikov." He stood up straight and weaved his fingers together. His faced looked concerned and worry lines played on his forehead. Finally he relaxed and nodded, "I will assign you as well." He turned and grabbed a folder off of a shelf. He examined it and then handed it to us. "Here is the assignment in detail. Picture of the rouge, place, where to meet, and what you might need. It will take a few days and the rest is up to how fast you work together."

I looked down at the folder and randomly opened it. It was a list of Guardians and Moroi. I jabbed the paper with my finger, "What's this?"

Hans sat back down in his seat and leaned back, "Those are the others that will be joining you on the mission." He waved us off, "You are dismissed. I have to get back to the joys of paperwork." He pulled the pile back in front of himself.

I looked back down at the list. There she was. Mia was coming with us. I guess that was for the best. It was about time we had our little talk about my magic and what happened the day of the battle at Court. "This is everyone aside from Dimitri not being on the list?"

Hans sighed heavily, "Are you still here?"

I scuffed, "I'm gone."

The air was still and I started noticing the different smells and sounds around Court. I inhaled deeply and took in my surroundings. Dimitri gently placed his hand on my shoulder.

He smiled at me, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

I nodded, "I'm great. Excited. Anxious. Relieved. There's just so much going on right now that I... I just feel overhwelmed."

"And that's a good thing?" He smirked.

I laughed out. "Yes! It's a new feeling. Like I know we still have so much ahead of us but at the same time I know everything's going to be alright."

He wrapped me in his arms, "And you know everything's going to be alright?"

I shrugged, "I am just trying to be optimistic. Can you please support that?"

"I guess I can." He placed the tips of my feet on his shoes and we walked in step. It felt like a dance. "So let's go up to our room and pack for the mission and tomorrow we have another big day ahead of us."

"Another big day is right." I sighed and rested my head on his chest, "Have you noticed lately how exciting our lives have been?"

He laughed, "Oh I've noticed."

I breathed him in, "And is that a good thing?"

He lean his chin on my head, "I think so." He stopped abruptly. "We're here."

I turned to see the door to our building. I sighed, "So we are."

"What's bothering you?" He turned me back towards him.

"Nothing." I kept my eyes on the ground.

He tilted my head back up to look at him. "This isn't nothing. You can tell me. Or would you rather tell Liss?"

I nudged him, "I don't know. Now I feel like I'm seeing the world from a whole new perspective. I mean I am a royal Guardian, married to the perfect guy, I have magic, and I'm pregnant. I never would have thought any of this would be part of my life."

"That's just life. It just happens. Planned or unplanned." He caressed my face.

I forced a laugh, "You and your wise words of wisdom."

"I'm just pointing out the obvious." He had his toothy grin. I felt a tug at my heart. I love his smile.

I nodded, "I didn't think it was that obvious."

He shrugged, "I guess that's because you never go for the obvious thing. You're surprising and spontaneous. You never do things the easy way."

"That's not completely true."

"Really?" He rose a brow. "Name one, just one situation that you did something the simple easy way."

"Just one?"

He nodded and rose one finger, "One."

I ran my fingers through my hair, "Well I cannot think of one right now. You just put me on the spot like that."

He smiled, "I don't mean to."

"Yes you do."

He pulled me to him, "Maybe just a little."

"Uh-huh." I tiptoed and kissed his lips. "So have you thought up anymore names since you abandoned me to the wolves eariler?"

He made a face that reminded me of a child getting in trouble. "Not too much. And I didn't know you considered your parents wolves."

"Then you don't know them very well." We started walking into the building.

"They seem, " he paused, "very protective."

I rolled my eyes, "That's an understatement." Of all the things I knew about my parents it was that they were survivalists. My mother was a survivor by means of fighting and protecting the people around her. She's all heart, blood, sweat, and tears. And she works for it. My father was a survivalist of a whole different means. He lied, cheated, stole, and made bribes to keep in the circle of being the man in control. As long as he had the power nobody dared to touch him. Zmey suited him well.

We almost made it into our room when Christian came tumbling out of his and Lissa's. He thumped his head on the wall as he rolled out. Dimitri and I ran to his side faster than I could think it.

"Damn it..." he groaned as we got him to his feet.

Dimitri took a fighting stance and I took in the surroundings. "What's going on?"

He waved us off, "It's nothing. Mia and I are training and she got me..."

"Mia's here?"

She stepped out in a white shirt and blue jeans. "Hey guys." She was breathing heavily. "Want to join the game?"

I laughed, "Game? What are you doing in there?"

Lissa poked her head out, "We are practicing our magic." She looked extremely happy.

"You too?" I gave Christian a concerned stare.

She shook her head. "Not anymore. Just a little."

I nodded, "Good. I wouldn't want you to stress yourself in your condition."

Mia laughed, "She has the strongest magic against us. It wasn't fair that we couldn't do real damage back."

Christian rubbed his head, "Didn't stop you from testing it on me."

"Well you don't need to be babied."

Liss frowned, "You think I need to be babied?"

Mia shook her head rapidly, "Not what I meant at all. It's just that you're in a fragile state."

I laughed, "Liss, you know you're in no condition to be thrown out of doors."

Christian scuffed, "Funny."

Mia looked me over, "Want to join us?"

Liss looked at me in worry, "What are you talking about? She can't. She doesn't have magic."

"Please don't play dumb with me. I know something's going on with her." She walked over and took a seat on a chair.

"What are you talking about?" Liss was still trying to play it off.

"She knows." I sighed heavily. "She saw me use it. I used it on her."

Liss' jaw dropped, "Rose, you know that's dangerous."

Mia smirked, "So you do have magic. You can heal people like a Spirit user."

I nodded, "That's not all."

"Yea, I saw you shoot that Strigoi too with some kind of spirit energy."

"It might not even be Spirit. It has different qualitites." Christian stood beside Liss.

She shrugged, "Then what is it?"

"Magic." Adrian was standing by the door. His eyes were piercing into me. "So did you confirm my suspicions?"

Dimitri stepped up to him, "We did. And you were right."

He smirked, "I figured as much. Congratulations."

They shook hands. I could tell it was a firm one from the looks on their faces. Dimitri nodded, "Thank you."

Mia looked between both men, "Wait, what?"

Adrian returned his glance to me, "It's magic. Simple as that. In it's purest form."

"What makes you say that?" I couldn't look away from his stare. It was weird but it was like he was trying to signal something to me.

That smooth grin spread over his face again. "It can take any form you want. Physical, spiritual, emotional, and let's not forget the little qualities it gave you, little dhampir."

"Qualities? Like?" Mia was certainly very curious today.

He started saying something but I quickly intervened, "Don't. I'd rather not share that bit of information just yet."

She shrugged, "Whenever you're ready to share."

"Thank you."

"What I really want to know is what you did to me the day of the battle. Any takers?" She looked around the room waiting for someone to explain what the hell had happened.

I stepped up, "I healed you."

"Yes, I know that." She touched the back of her head. I can remember some of it but how? It was almost like you were inside me."

"That sounds kinky." Adrian laughed.

I shot him a glare. "In some sense of the word I was." I looked back at Dimitri. "I've healed him and myself before so I knew I could do it."

"Wow, so that makes me number three, huh?" She looked bewildered.

"I suppose so."

She nodded, "Pretty insane."

I forced out a laugh, "You're telling me."

"What does it feel like?"

I shrugged, "I don't really know how to describe it all too well in words."

"It's like a cool stream of water flowing through you. Then she makes contact with the person she wants to heal and sends the magic flowing through them. I think she concentrates it on the major wounds and keeps letting it flow in that area until the tissues and blood start working faster to heal the body. Once it's done she pulls back the magic and settles it inside herself for another time." Adrian took in a deep breath and smiled at me. "Sound about right?"

I nodded slowly, "How would you know that?"

"Because I watch you during the practices in the dreams. I can see it." He smirked. Then he spoke again without moving his mouth, "I can feel it."

My eyes went wide. "Did you just...?"

Everyone's glances were shooting between us. Liss spoke up, "What's going on?"

He shrugged, "I've been doing quite a bit of practing with my magic as well. I found out something quite interesting. I think you might like it Liss. It doesn't take much."

She looked intrigued. "That depends on what it is."

"Telepathy." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

He nodded, "Clever, little dhampir."

Liss' eyes went wide. "You know how to use telepathy?"

"I did a little bit of reading and studied on it. I had to keep myself busy since I haven't been doing too much drinking." He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall.

Christian laughed out, "You read and studied?"

Adrian made him a face, "Surprising, I know." He had definite sarcasm in his tone.

"Whoa, this is alot of information to take in one setting." Mia stood up from her seat.

"Imagine stuff like this happening everyday." I leaned against the wall beside Adrian. I hadn't realized I had just stuck myself between Dimitri and him.

She nodded, "You must lead an exciting life."

I shrugged, "It's never boring."

"So how about that game?" She smiled kind of big but managed to keep her fangs concealed.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." I looked down at my hands.

She laughed out like what I said was funny. When she saw my face she stopped, "Oh, you're serious."

"I haven't exactly gotten it under control quite yet." I ran my fingers over my left palm.

Adrian scuffed, "I think you've got quite some control over it considering."

I nodded, "Yea, I guess I do. Considering. But that doesn't mean it's safe to practice on my friends."

"Why not? You tried it on me." He grinned.

Dimitri gave me a puzzled look, "What? When?"

I shook my head, "It was one of his dream visits. Him and Sonia were there and I might have kind of shot him with one of those energy balls."

"You shot him?" He actually seemed very surprised.

Adrian nodded, "She shot me. Right here." He rubbed his shoulder. "And it hurt like hell."

I made him a face, "Sonia healed you didn't she. And I said I was sorry."

Dimitri shook his head, "So you shot him. Just out of curiosity, why?"

"Well I was trying to let it flow and focus it and I lost my temper. Adrian just so happened to be standing in the wrong spot." I began weaving and unweaving my fingers.

Adrian threw up his hands, "Oh! So it's my fault you shot me. Silly me. This whole time I thought it was because you lost your temper."

"I didn't say it was your fault but it was an accident." I inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. "I thought we already discussed this and had put it aside."

He nodded, "We did."

"Then why are you bringing it up?"

He shrugged, "I didn't. I just said that you had practiced your magic on me. You went on to say what exactly happened."

"I..." I looked around for some help.

Dimitri dropped his eyes to the ground, "You kind of did, Rose."

"Well, you asked me what happened." I leaned back against his arm.

"I did. But I didn't know it was going to start a dispute." I felt him brush his fingers on the back of my arm. Just that simple act let me know he was honestly sorry for starting all this.

Mia laughed, "Well now that we got all that out in the open lets get this started."

"I'm serious. I don't want to hurt anyone." I tucked back my hair.

She shrugged, "Then let's take this outside to the training field. Open space to manuver and you won't have to hit anyone. We could use targets."

Christian grinned, "Sounds like a plan."

"Really? Out in the open? Where everyone can see me using magic? Smart." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Liss cleared her throat, "I could always distort your face or make you look like someone else."

"Don't forget I can be of some help in that department as well." His smug smile still played across his face. Once again I caught myself noticing how green his eyes looked. I shook it off.

Christian clasped his hands together, "Sounds like a plan! Let's get this going. I'd like to see what Rose can do too."

It actually did sound like a pretty decent plan. I nodded in approval. "Alright. Let's put it to the test. I'll need some practice before our big day tomorrow."

By Shadow Kissed Mori