Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does.

RPOV:

Despite the fact that at the end of the appointment I had shared a cute moment with Dimitri, I still gave him the cold shoulder, letting him know I was not at all please with the fact that he's been checking out the doctor. At first, he hadn't realised why I was mad, or that I was even mad in the first place, but after five straight minutes of him talking and me ignoring everything he said, he'd caught on. It wasn't until I had practically caught a tree on fire from my glare at the mention of the new doctor that it finally occurred to him that I was upset about it. Now he was practically on his knees apologizing.

"I'm sorry, Roza," he pleaded. "Please forgive me. I didn't mean." I didn't say anything. "Roza, I'm sorry. She just caught me off-guard." Silence. "You're still the most beautiful girl in the universe. I'm sorry. I love you. I wasn't staring because she was beautiful, I was actually staring because, um, she was so ugly, Yeah! She caught me off-guard because she was so ugly."

I couldn't help but snort at that, breaking my no speaking rule. Dimitri seemed to take that as encouragement.

"Exactly! She was really ugly. Her hair? Simply atrocious. And that lab coat? Made her look so bulky and ugly. And her face? I'd rather stare at Ralf Sarcozy all day," Dimitri continued.

I giggled helplessly. "Nice save there, Comrade," I attempted to say dryly, but my laughter make it come out bubbly and amused.

Dimitri looked relieved as we stopped at his - our now - room. "In all seriousness, I'm really, truly sorry Roza. It will never happened again."

I smiled softly. "I believe you," I replied.

"Good. Now, I have this weird feeling that my son and his mother are hungry," Dimitri stated.

Right on cue, my stomach growled. I giggled again. "Right you are, Comrade," I said lightly.

Dimitri chuckled and lead me to the cafeteria. On the way there, We came across a girl I'd never seen. She was drop dead gorgeous, tall like all Moroi but with curves that any Moroi would kill for. Her long brown hair had an artful, just had sex look to it. However, she look at me with cold blue-gray eyes, sending a foreboding chill down my spine.

"Hi," she said, sticking out her hand. I shook it as she continued. "I'm Avery Lazar. Do you by any chance know where I could find Adrian Ivashkov?"

I froze, my hand instinctively going protectively to my stomach. Her cold eyes followed it critically.

"Oh. You must be Rose Hathaway." Avery smirked.

I blinked back tears at the condescension and slightly disgusted tone in this stranger's voice. I could almost hear her finishing the sentence in her head with 'the blood whore.' It surprisingly hurt to hear such judgment in the voice of someone I have never met. I bowed my head, feeling irrationally ashamed.

"You would find him the guest rooms," Dimitri replied evenly. His hand twitched by his side and I knew he wanted to wrap it around me in comfort but couldn't since we were in public.

"Why thank you, handsome," Avery replied in a flirty tone.

I looked up finally, giving her a dark look. Avery simply smirked back at me coldly, then flounced off in the direction of the guest rooms.

As soon as she was out of sight, Dimitri spun around to face me, putting his hands gently on either side of my face. "Don't listen to her, alright?" he told me. "She's just a spoiled royal brat; she has no idea what you went through."

I nodded unconvincingly.

Dimitri sighed. "Someday you will see exactly how strong and beautiful and amazing you really are," he mumbled before straightening up. "On to food!"

I gave a halfhearted smile and followed him to dinner.

After both of us got trays of food, we claimed an empty table in the back.

Halfway through a silent dinner, Lissa's thoughts burst in my head.

Adrian rape Rose? What are the two of them on? He wouldn't look twice at her! He is so in love with Avery!

Her words made me choke on my pizza.

"Roza, are you okay?" Dimitri asked frantically, patting my back.

I nodded, trying to breath. "Sorry, just...Lissa surprised me is all," I wheezed out.

I refused to say any more, despite Dimitri's insistence, instead returning to my food.

Going back to class was slightly disorienting. I'd gotten so used to hanging out with Dimitri all day and not doing anything that sitting in a classroom surrounded by other people was a shock to my senses.

It seemed as though the time away from school had put everyone in really good spirits. No one was saying anything degrading or vicious to me; in fact, most people who talked to me asked nice questions, such as how the baby was doing, what sex it was, and what I was planning on naming him. The girls in particular would gush over how happy and glowing I looked, and that my baby was going to be sooo adorable, and could they please see him once he's born?

I found myself relaxing my guard after several days on this. Lissa and I had started talking more too, as well as Christian and I. Things were looking up for me. Over the weekend Dimitri fully moved me into his room. Adrian didn't bother me; in fact, I almost never saw him, but when I did, Avery was attached to him. I didn't heed them any attention, and that proved to be my downfall.

That Sunday, Avery decided to throw a mini-party. It was being held in Adrian's room, and several people including Lissa, Eddie, Mason, and Christian were invited. Mia had gone to stay with her dad at Court for a couple weeks because her mother had been killed in an attack over break, but she was due to come back at the start of February.

Lissa asked me if I could come to it, but since there was alcohol and Adrian there, I said no. Besides, Dimitri wouldn't have let me go regardless.

I kept an eye on Lissa through the bond, however. It seemed as though the entire senior class and half of the junior class were there. Lissa was getting a bit tipsy, and saying things she really shouldn't have.

She was talking to Jesse Zeklos, gossip extraordinaire. "Yeah, Rose was drank from when she had sex and got pregnant," Lissa slurred.

Jesse looked at her with interest. "Oh really? Is it true that she also fed you when you guys were on the run?" he asked, his voice husky.

Lissa nodded and finished her beer. "Mmhmm. I think that's why she didn't say anything about pain when she finally told me about it. She probably enjoyed it, being bitten."

Jesse's eyes gleamed, but before he could say anything, I was pushed out.

I sat in my body, confused. What had pushed me out? Was it the fact that Lissa drank too much? Lissa's name reminded me of what she had said. I felt a sharp pain begin in my heart and spread to my lungs. Suddenly, it was difficult to breath.

"Roza?" Dimitri asked, putting his book down. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

The pain finally formed itself into tears. Distantly, my mind was disgusted by how easily I cried. It seemed as though not a day went by without something setting me off.

"L-Lissa is d-drunk and was saying really mean things about me," I sobbed out.

Dimitri wrapped his arms around me. "Like what?" he inquired.

"She pretty much told Jesse Zeklos that I was a blood whore."

Dimitri tensed. I think he expecting me to say something like, 'she complained too much,' not something serious like this.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Dimitri soothed.

"Who cares if she meant it? She told Jesse, which means everyone will go back to calling me a blood whore by the end of the day!" I wailed.

Dimitri had no response for this, except to continue to comfort me.

The next day at school, it was worse than I had thought.

Everyone was now laughing openly at me, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the fact that when I approached Lissa, she had simply turned her back on me.

"I can't be seen with someone like you, Rose. I'm a Princess; I need to keep my image. It'll blow over. Until then, please leave me alone," she's said coolly, looking down at me.

I didn't understand what had happened between Friday and Monday, but she was no longer my Lissa. And I was afraid.

The rest of the week passed by in the same manner. It seemed as if any friend I had turned their back on me, even Mason. For the first time in my life, I had no one.

Field experience had officially started, but since I was pregnant, I couldn't participate. Dimitri had to, though. So I was stuck going to class and watching my classmates fight guardians, while I did nothing.

It seemed that fate had it out for me, however.

Two weeks into the field experience, I was walking down the hall when a fight broke out. I somehow ended up in the middle, with a Moroi cowering behind me. The guardian acting as Strigoi must have assumed I was the other 'guardian' and attacked. I had never in my life been so afraid, because for the first time ever, it was not only me I had to protect, but also my baby. It was as if the guardian was being controlled; I couldn't run away or cower away, I had to fight because he or she kept coming at me. I used every skill I had at my disposal to defend against the attacker. I was so terrified, I almost could breath, couldn't think. It all instinct. My heart was pounding so loud, I could hear nothing but my own breathing.

And then it ended.

I heard shouting, and someone pushed my attacker away from me. Then I was in someone's arms, and their sweet voice was babbling away in Russian in my ear.

In the span of about five minutes, I went from fighting to lying on a bed in the infirmary with an anxious Dimitri clutching my hand.

It was very lucky that Dr. Bryar had a basic understanding of Russian because Dimitri seemed to have forgotten what English was.

"Guardian Belikov, I need you to calm down. There doesn't seem to be anything majorly wrong with Rose. I see no blood or any other indication that she is going into labor or had a miscarriage."

Of course, the fact that there was even a possibility of it sent Dimitri into a frenzy.

Me? I was simply shell shocked.

Dimitri finally remembered how to speak in English. "What's wrong with her, doctor? Why is she just staring blankly at the wall? Why is she not saying anything? Why is she so quiet? Did she get hit in the head? does she have a concussion? Does she-"

Unfortunately he remembered how to speak English. His frantic babbling seemed to break the ice in my mind.

"Shut up, Dimitri!" I cried out, turning to glare at him. "You're freaking out worse than I am, and I'm the one who almost lost the baby!"

Dimitri snapped his mouth shut, looking pale and almost haunted.

I looked away to face the doctor. "Is there anything wrong?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything majorly wrong, no. Could you lift up your shirt?" Dr. Bryar's voice was surprisingly soothing.

I took a calming breath and lifted my shirt. She put the gel on my stomach, then moved the wand over it. An image of the baby popped onto the screen.

"Okay, it looks as if that just shook him up, but he is fine. You did a wonderful job protecting your child," Dr. Bryar complemented.

"Thanks," I muttered. I exhaled slowly. I was relieved that nothing was wrong. I felt the edges of hysteria, but after assessing myself, I decided that the tears would be unnecessary.

"You seem to be perfectly fine, just a bit shell shocked. I would like to keep you here overnight, but if you promise to stay in bed for the rest of the day, I'll let you go," Dr. Bryar continued.

I thought about it for a brief moment. "I'll stay in bed so long as it's my own," I replied.

Dr. Bryar nodded. "That's what I thought. Okay, here's a paper towel, and you can leave whenever you want." She left the room after turning off the machines.

I wiped the gunk off my stomach before finally turning to Dimitri. He was still staring blankly at the wall.

"Comrade," I began softly, putting my hand on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. You were just being hysterical and I needed you to stop before you freaked me out too. I'm sorry."

Dimitri slowly turned to me. "That's not the problem Rose," he said in a tightly controlled voice.

I was taken aback. "Then what is?"

"I wasn't there, Rose. You could have had a miscarriage right there on the floor and I wouldn't have been there. I wasn't there to stop it." He took a slow breath. "Let's go."

He helped me off the bed, then turned away abruptly.

I followed him all the way to his room. Once there, he made sure I was in bed before leaving. I wanted to follow to make sure he was alright, but the doctor's words rang in my head, reminding me I was on bed rest. And for the first time in my short life, I listened to the doctor and stay in bed.

DPOV:

I hurried to the gym. Once there, I took out everything on the dummy someone had left out. I let out all of my anger and sadness and shame until the dummy was unrecognizable. I collapsed against the wall, breathing hard. I had failed to keep Rose safe. Not only Rose but my son too. What kind of father was I, when I couldn't even take care of my son, make sure his mother safe, before he was even born?

I kept the tears at bay. Suddenly, I needed to be with Rose, to have her in my arms, safe and happy. I sprang up and ran all the way to my room, keeping to the shadows to avoid suspicion.

I paused outside my room to take several deep breaths and to make a phone call. After I arranged for someone else to take over my shifts for the day, I unlocked my door and stepped in quietly.

I took off my duster and boots, then crept to the bed where Rose lay asleep. I glanced at the clock, surprised that I had been gone for over an hour. I maneuvered myself into bed behind Rose.

She stirred in her sleep, cuddling closer to me. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Comrade?" she mumbled, her voice sleepy.

I hummed. "Go back to sleep Roza. Everything is alright."

"Okay," she mumbled back, already halfway to dreamland.

If I had any idea how wrong I was, I would've grabbed her up and ran away to Russia. However, I didn't know, so I simply watched her sleep.

The next day, I awoke to the ringing of my phone. I groaned and buried my face deeper into Rose's soft hair. The phone persisted.

Rose moaned. "Comrade, get that," she whined.

I groaned again but fumbled on my bedside table for my phone.

"Belikov," I answered, trying to keep the sleepiness out of my voice.

"Dimitri, I need to speak with you immediately." Alberta's voice on the other end sounded deadly serious.

Suddenly, I was wide awake. I sat up. "I'll be right there, Guardian Petrov," I replied, already getting up,

"Hurry up." Click.

"Huh? What;s going on?" Rose sat up sleepily, her hair everywhere. I couldn't help but chuckled.

"Alberta needs to talk to me," I replied, pulling my boots on.

"Oh," Rose said blearily, falling back against the pillows. She sat back up almost instantly. "What's wrong with your hands?"

I looked down, surprised. My hands had little cuts all over them, dried blood caked everywhere.

"Oh," I mumbled. "That's from, um, last night." I laughed nervously. "There's a dead dummy in the gym."

Rose huffed in annoyance and stood up. "Let's go."

I followed her obediently to the bathroom where she cleaned up my hands and wrapped them.

She kissed both of my hands. "Now you may go."

I smiled down at her. No matter how bleak things appeared, she could always make me smile.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Rose rubbed her cheek.

I chuckled. "Yes, you do."

"What? Where?" She began rubbing her nose vigorously.

I pulled her hand away from her face. "You have two eyes," I kissed her eyelids. "A nose," I kissed the tip of it. "Two cheeks," I kissed both of them. "And a pair of cute lips." I kissed her softly on the lips, but Rose being Rose, she deepened it. Our lips moved in synchronization for several long moments before I found the will to pull away. "I have to go," I whispered, leaning my forehead against hers. "But I'll be back as soon as I can. You better get dressed - no, on second thought, stay in bed, I want to make sure you're 100% fine."

Rose sighed, but nodded. "Alright."

I pecked her one last time on the lips, then walked out.

On the way to Alberta's office, I quickly used the bathroom.

When I finally reached her office, I was late by at least ten minutes. Oops.

"Rose is rubbing off on you, Belikov," Alberta said drily as I sat in the chair across from her.

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I thought of Rose. "She tends to do that," I said lightly.

Alberta's face turned serious. "I understand that yesterday a horrendous even occurred," she began gravely. "But it has been brought to my attention that your relationship with Rose is more than that of a mentor with his students. Now, that is clear, seeing as you are her birthing coach and are taking care of her for the duration of the year. But it has been said that your relationship is more than even friendship."

I opened my mouth to protest but Alberta raised her hand. "Personally, I don't care what you have as long as Rose is safe and happy. Unfortunately, I can't turn a blind eye to it when someone else notices, which they have." Alberta gave me an apologetic look.

I felt as if the breath had been knocked out of me. "What-what are you saying?" I asked, praying it wasn't what I thought she meant.

"I'm going to have to separate you two, at least in the eyes of the students," Alberta sighed heavily.

I was stunned. For a few moments, I couldn't think, but then my brain jumped into action. How to get out of this?

"Could we move to Tasha's cabin?" I asked suddenly.

Alberta looked at me in shock. "Why so far away?"

"Because that way no one can bother her. No one ever goes there. We could keep everything in my room and make it seem as if she moved back to her room and I stayed in mine, but in reality, we could just stay in the cabin. That way it would be easier for me to take her to the infirmary in case of her going into labor; no stairs to deal with." I took a deep breath, hoping.

Alberta thought about it for a few moments, then nodded "I'm going to have to ask you to move her back to her room for a couple of days, then over the weekend you can move to the cabin, alright?"

I sighed with relief. "Yes, that's fine."

Alberta sighed wearily. "I'm really sorry I have to do this Belikov."

I nodded. "I understand. I just hope Rose does too."

Alberta chuckled, standing up. "Good luck to you."

A/N: Well, that lasted long! I couldn't keep away. You're welcome! lol. So, lots going on in this chapter! Tell me what you think! Sorry about the ending being a bit rushed. I had a different ending, but I forgot some dialog, so this is what you get lol :P

I feel a bit unloved...last chapter didn't really get that many reviews :( Maybe more for this chapter so that I have encouragement to write my NaNo novel and be able to update this soon? puppy dog eyes* Thank you to everyone who did review! You are the bestest! Especially Do'B! Mwaha! I wish I could give you a hug! Xoxoxo