Sorry that it has taken me so long to post. I hope you like this chapter. By the way I named the academy after the perochial school I attended as a child.

I do not Own VA but that which has been born to my imagination I share with you.

St. Columban's Academy

Adrian and I were snuggled up in our dream walk when the scenery around us morphed. I had been the one to initiate the dream walk tonight and I should have had control over the setting. We went from laying naked in our bed, at our home to swimwear and poolside recliners. I looked at Adrian wondering if this was his doing.

"This is not me. I don't even recognize the location." I looked around, everything looked familiar. It was one of the houses that Lissa's family had owned. We spent a whole summer here one year. It was in Anaheim Hills California. Every evening that summer we practically lived at the beach and at Disney Land. She and I had been so happy here.

"Lissa is that you? Are you here?" I heard her giggle and she came out from behind a pillar. The happiness I felt through the bond showed clear on her face.

"I DID IT! I FINALLY FUCKING DID IT!" I was more shocked by her language than I was over her accomplishment.

"Lissa, you swore!" She blushed.

"Sorry it's just that I have been working on this for almost 2 years and I finally did it."

We both rushed over to her to attack her with hugs and kisses. She had always wanted to be able to Dream walk and it had seemed that it was the one thing she would never learn.

"Hey I have to get going. I took a nap in the middle of work so I can share this with you. Oh and by the way now I see why you guys dream walk every night. Chris is loving this?"

"Have a Good day Liss. Love you and can't wait to really see you."

"Bout time you learned this. I'm proud of you." Adrian gave her one last hug and kiss. Her dreamscape faded leaving Adrian and I back in our room and in each other's arms. We had just started to kiss when I heard our giggle girl laughing and talking to Dimitri.

"I guess it's time to get up." Adrian held me a little closer as I woke up. I looked over at him and he smiled before opening his eyes.

"Good Morning my Lil' Dhampir." He gave me a hug n kiss then with a sigh he me get up to start the day.

I dressed in the traditional black trousers and blazer with a white blouse. When we made Official visits to the academies it was customary to dress in the unofficial official Guardian uniform. I braided my hair loosely then wound the braid into a soft bun. Adrian had made the bed and dressed while I was doing my hair.

I walked into the living room where Dimitri and Adrian were reading her Green Eggs and Ham. Adrian did the voice of Sam I Am and Dimitri did the Voice of the guy who does not want to try the green eggs and ham. I sat and listened. The Voices they made were so funny but my favorite thing was Giggle girl's laughter.

She has grown so much. I wish she had not grown so fast. Other mothers get to savor their child's babyhood. But at just under ten months old she looked and acted more like a twenty month old. I had no idea how long or short her life would be. Yeva suspected that her growth would slow to normal soon. I hope she is right; Yeva has always been right. I look at my watch and realize that we have to hurry.

"Essa it's time for a feeding." She smiles her biggest smile at me and comes over to me climbing into my lap. Since Moroi children need blood from birth on and they get it while nursing; they are nursed till the age of two and then they are taught to go to the feeders as an older Moroi would do. For Theresa it would be sooner than that. In just 2 months she will be at the development of a two year old and so she will be going to the feeders then.

As I nursed her Adrian and I told Dimitri about Lissa. He was shocked as we were about her foul language. I think I have only heard her swear a handful of times. I on the other hand still had trouble keeping my language clean.

By the time we all had our rain boots and coats on there was a knock at our door.

"Mr. Smith and Guardian Gomez wanted us to show you to the dining hall." I had to stifle a laugh as I saw Dimitri raise his eyebrow and give them his stern guardian mask.

"Did you boys sneak out again?" Patrick and James both sighed and looked down.

"Yes we did sir."
"It was his idea." James pointed at Patrick.

Patrick nudged James and it looked like they might try to scuffle. Dimitri gave a small grunt and put a hand on each boys shoulder.

"Sorry Guardian Belikov. This way please." They turned and led us to the main campus.

Once in the commons we were joined by Alii and Austin. When we reached the dining hall the novices were allowed to go and join their friends.

As we walked through the dining hall I watched how the kids interacted. For the most part the student body was well integrated. The children all wore uniforms and it was harder to tell who was Royal and who was not; harder but not impossible. I could still see the subtle signs of the typical clicks that exist in every school.

Austin opened the door to the teachers dining hall and ushered us in. I was surprised to see that almost half of the staff were nuns. I was somewhat familiar with Roman Catholic Nuns and Priests because when Lissa and I were on the run it was safer for us to avoid anything that could be associated with Moroi including Eastern Orthodox Churches. Lissa being as devout as she is, she insisted that we make a concession and attend whatever Roman church was near us at the time.

A tall nun walked up to us. The habit she wore was slightly different than the one that the others wore and she had a white vale with three slight points to it whereas the others had a plain blue one. Kealiiwai did the introductions for us.

"Mother Superior, my I introduce you to Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, Guardian Dimitri Belikov and Lord Adrian Ivashkov." He turned to us. "This is our headmistress, Sr. Katherine Murphy.

She reached out to shake each of our hands.

"I am very happy to meet each of you." Then she addressed me with a knowing smile. "I cannot tell you how very pleased I am to meet the descendant of Bridget Donnelly." I was taken aback by this.

"I am sorry but how did you know that I am her descendant? I just barely learned about her a few months ago."

"She was Irish was she not? It has been the privilege of this school to keep what precious little knowledge about her safe. We have been following her family line for centuries and I must say that it has been growing smaller rather than larger. I am afraid that we lost track of the descendants of her spirit wielding friend but I suspect that you have stumbled across them."

She smiled and inclined her head towards Adrian and Dimitri. I could feel my face blush but I managed to put my mask on so that I could hide most of my feelings of astonishment. I had a feeling that this nun was very well informed about this journey that I am supposed to be on. Part of me wanted to ask her to please tell me everything she knows but I had to put my work first. I think Sr. Katherine realized this.

"Well perhaps we can save that for another time. Please join me for breakfast and I will tell you more about our school and then you can observe the classes."

Just like the kids in the hall we waited in line for our food but instead of finding a table Sr. Katherine led us to one. She spoke of her school with a pride of a mother.

"Starting from kindergarten Moroi and Dhampirs have to work on projects together in every subject. It is a goal of the school to teach them to socialize and interact together. Later when the novices begin training; interaction is still encouraged in the non novice classes. The Integrated Combat class of course is fully integrated."

"That kind of integration must be part of the reason that Mr. Smith and Guardian Gomez worked so well together during our training."

"Well I am sure the fact that they are very close cousins had something to do with it too. I hope you will find that all of our students work well together."

"Pardon me for asking Sr. Katherine but you are not Moroi and you don't quite look like Dhampir ether."

"Very astute of you to notice Guardian Hathaway; I am Human as are five other sisters here. The Order which runs this school is the Sisters of Divine Mercy. We take vows when we become a Religious. These vows are not unlike the verbal ones you took with Lord Ivashkov or the nonverbal ones that bind you to Guardian Belikov. Also belonging to an Order is almost like the army; you go where they tell you and if your mission is classified you don't talk about it with outsiders."

"I believe that I can understand that. A guardian rarely has any choice whom it is that they will protect and once given a charge they will give their life to protect them." I paused for a moment before I let my guard down a little. "I was not aware Sr. Katherine that you were knew of the unique situation of my marriage."

"Well Alii did not want me to be surprised by it. He said that it had been a difficult thing for you when you learned the full truth of the situation." The others at the table had been quietly listening to our conversation but Alii lowered his head and blushed. Sr. Smiled at him. "I think he wanted to protect you from having to explain yourself. What he does not know is that it was said that the wielder of Life and Death would have a husband who knew only of life and one who had been pulled like her; from the other side."

"Class will begin in ten minutes would you like to walk with us or join in later?" Austin said after clearing his throat.

"We'll walk there with you, Austin. Which class do you guys have first?"

"First we have Defensive Magic, with junior class. Then next hour we have Integrated Combat, with the juniors. Third and Forth hour is the same with the seniors. The seniors have elected to have extra training before and after school; since they will not have the benefit of having two years training like the junior class will."

"I admire their dedication. I know what a pain it is to get up early every morning and leave late every day just to catch up to my class." I said.

"What about the dedication of their teachers who are also taking timeout of their own days to help them?" Dimitri gave an amused look.

Adrian gave a little cough that sounded more like a stifled laugh. He glanced at Dimitri out of the corner of his eye. Dimitri gave him a slightly shocked look. I could only imagine what Adrian had told Dimitri through their bond. There was a slight blush that crept up Dimitri's face. Thankfully the guys never noticed the exchange. So I ignored it and continued asking questions.

We observed all four classes and I have to say that I am impressed. I had always expected that they would be good teachers but they were great. It almost made me miss my academy days, almost.

We joined Sr. Katherine again for lunch. The subject of Bridget Donnelley came up again when I noticed a portrait hanging over the fire place. She looked exactly as I remembered her; reddish brown hair that hung in soft waves, Intense green Eyes that were even deeper than Adrian's, I pointed to the portrait and told Theresa.

"See the lady in the picture? That is a grandma from a very long time ago." She looked at it for a moment.

"She is a pretty lady, momma." I smiled at my daughter and nodded. Sr. Katherine looked a little contemplative.

"She was quite an extraordinary warrior; it is a shame that the promise mark has completely replaced Hunters mark."

"Hunters mark? I have never heard of that before. Could you tell me about it?" I didn't even bother to hide my curiosity.

"The hunters mark was a very light blue tattoo that was shaped like the full moon. Bridget herself was the designer of it. It marked those who hunted Stigoi from those who guarded against them. Only Dhampirs received a Promise mark but both Moroi and Dhampirs could receive a Hunters mark. The hunters worked in groups that operated much like a wolf pack. Both Guardians and hunters could get Moinjia and Zvezda marks."

"I have met un-promised Novices who have left the academies and gone off to hunt Strigoi. I fought with them for a few weeks. They were good fighters but they lacked the discipline and finer training that they would have gotten if they finished school. While I was with them I tried to teach them to fight smart. I have often wondered what ever happened of them. If they could have an alternative to becoming promised guardians I wonder if we could keep kids like them in school till graduation."

"That would be a good Idea to bring up to the Princess and Queen Tatiana." Dimitri had a sad and serious look in his eyes but it was apparent only to me. He knew that I was referring to my time in Russia just before he captured me.

After lunch Sr. Katherine gave me a flash drive. I must have looked a bit confused.

"We have taken the time to put Bridget's first two journals on this flash drive. As we get more into our data base I will send you more journals."

"Thank you Sister, I was just going to ask if I could take a look at them."

After school was out; Dimitri and Adrian helped Austin and Alii with the afterschool training. Theresa and I sat on the gym bleachers and watched. She loved to watch anytime the guardians sparred together. I loved to watch Dimitri move; to me it was beautiful. He moved with such grace. Over the last year Adrian has become more graceful as well and his strength was amazing.

We decided to eat dinner with the students. It was nice to talk to them and see what their thoughts were about the program. The general consensus was overwhelmingly positive. After Dinner I told my husbands that I was feeling tired and wanted to turn in early. I still had three weeks till my due date but I would be glad in two days when we would be going back home.

I gave Theresa her bath and helped brush her teeth. Once she was done she gave me her big fanggy smile. Lissa has been trying to teach her to smile without showing her fangs. Somehow I think it will be a long time before she masters it. She dressed for bed then ran to get her fathers.

"Daddies, Daddies." She giggled as she called them. I followed her into the living room in time to see her launch herself at Dimitri who was the nearest to her. He caught her and held her close. He whispered something in her ear and she giggled and answered him in Russian. I understood enough to know that she said something about loving him all the way to the moon too. He kissed her cheeks and extended his arms so she could pretend to fly. He flew her over to Adrian who took her and showered her in kisses. He flew her to her room and into her crib. She settled down under her blankets. Dimitri pulled out her favorite bedtime book; Tales from Shakespeare (For children) She chose the play and then Adrian began to read. Every night they took turns reading to her. She held her bear, bear and fell asleep before he finished the story.

"I am going to go see how my stocks are doing and get some work done. I'll come to bed in an hour or so." Adrian kissed me before heading to the kitchenette where he had his laptop. Though I have no doubt that he really wants to get a little work done I also know when he is discretely giving Dimitri and I some private time. He is tries very hard not to monopolize my time. Dimitri and I went to talk in his room. We sat on the floor like we used to during training sessions in the gym. As we talked the baby started to get active; I reached out for Dimitri's hand and placed it on my belly. He liked to feel the baby move inside me. We kept on talking and enjoying the time we had together.

"I think he is trying to stretch it feels like he is standing on my ribcage."

I had to lean back to ease the pressure. Dimitri lowered his head to talk to the baby. He spoke in Russian as usual. I love hearing him speak in his native language. He has been teaching me; and I can understand a lot now but I still have trouble speaking it. Unfortunately he still won't teach me to swear. I listened to him talk to the baby and tears welled in my eyes when I heard him say moi syn (my son). I suspected that he loved Adrian son as much as Adrian love his daughter; but to hear him say it made me so happy. He looked into my eyes.

"Roza you are moya zhena moego serdtsa; (my wife of my heart) I will love any child you bring into this world."

I pulled him close to me and kissed him. He pulled me onto his lap and held me in an embrace. I felt so close to him and at that moment I wanted to make love to him in the special way that we do. I started to kiss his neck and nibble his ear. He gave a soft sigh and moved his hand into my hair. Love flowed between us. He brought my lips to meet his and he kissed me with such tenderness it made me shiver. I tilted my head slightly; with the hand that was tangled in my hair he guided my neck to his lips. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feel of his vampire kiss. No endorphin high could compare to the feeling of the love that sharing of my blood brought us. He only needed blood every few days but we needed each other more often than that.

He held me close for some time and I drifted to sleep in his arms. I didn't even hear him call to Adrian but I woke to Adrian laying me on our bed. I looked at him and he smiled at me. He brought me my nighties . I sat up and began to undress but he put my hands down and took over, once I was undressed he applied vitamin enriched oil on my belly then dressed me for bed. I lay down; the last things I felt were his kiss on my cheek and his hand over my neck. I drifted back to sleep with the sensation of his healing spirit.

The next day we again joined in on the classes. I wanted to participate but both of my husbands objected. Instead I sat on the sidelines and explained to my Essa how or why a move made by a novice was good or bad. She had an eye for critiquing. I bet she will be an even better guardian than her parents.

After dinner the school held an assembly in there amphitheater. I was going to bring Essa with us since Adrian and Dimitri were both expected to be there too. Thankfully Sr. Katherine came up to us just before the assembly and told us that a freshman had offered to babysit for us. After meeting the girl and talking with her fathers about it I consented.

First Guardian Gomez and Mr. Smith wanted to show how well a properly trained Moroi can defend themselves. They asked my guys to help them out. Adrian and Austin of course were on the defensive. Alii and Dimitri were on offensive, AKA Strigoi. I felt bad for him because I know it bothers him to play that role but he does it anyway. Dimitri and Alii began their attack. It took about fifteen minutes for Austin to 'kill' Alii with his stake. In the end he had him staked first then pinned down he called some water out of the bucked nearest me and doused him with it. Alii Jumped up and shook his hair sending water all over Austin.

Adrian and Dimitri were still fighting. Watching them was like watching some kind of sophisticated choreography. Adrian looked tired and he did something unexpected. He stopped and stood still. Dimitri gave him and angry look and lunged toward him launching himself in the air. As he did Adrian positioned his stake into Dimitri's path. With no way to change direction mid flight Dimitri essentially staked himself. A practice stake won't penetrate but it will hurt like hell and leave a nasty bruise when you get hit with one that hard. Adrian extended his hand to Dimitri; when their hands touched I could see from their faces as well as through Dimitri that Adrian sent him healing spirit.

Next the Best students from the senior integrated combat class came up to show how well Moroi and Guardians can work together during a battle. A few students brought up a couple of large potted trees. Another student refilled the water bucket that Austin used to drench Alii. There was a Moroi student and a novice for each element.

Ten of the schools guardians played the part of Strigoi. Dimitri and Adrian sat on either side of me. I was very impressed with the fire wielder's ability to envelop the head of her opponent without actually burning him. From what Chris told me it is actually a very difficult skill to learn.

I had to avert my eyes away from the air wielder. Watching him work brought me flashbacks from when Lissa was abducted by Viktor Dashkov. Dimitri put a gentle hand over mine; I knew he was remembering how I experienced through Lissa.

The most fascinating was the earth wielder. He caused the earth to open up under her opponent and made it close in around his legs trapping hi waist deep. She also used the trees to grab hold of two opponents trapping them.

There were two large buckets of water on the stage for the water wielder. She used the water to disorient her opponents much the way Mia did. She also took the water making a cyclone of water around one opponent. She called the water from the bucket that was near us. As the water flowed over our heads I caught a whiff of it.

"Alcohol!"

Dimitri Rushed up and pushed the water wielder down and covered her with himself. At the same time her 'water' connected with a ball of fire that was flying over head. Adrian leapt over and covered me as I was about to cover him. Together we braced for the explosion. There was a flash of heat and then screams and crying.

Adrian and I rushed over to the epicenter. Dimitri was rolling to extinguish the fire on his duster. He was unharmed as was the water wielder he shielded. Virtually every one on stage and several in the front row were burned. The Doctor and her nurses came rushing up. Dimitri has triage training as every Guardian does plus he had some additional training from his former charge's father. He helped bandage the patients with moderate damage. Adrian obviously when to heal the most severely injured. I helped the ones with minor burns.

About ten minutes later I felt a strong pain from my back moving forward. The intensity of it caused me to fall to my knees as I grunted. I began to do a few reps of breathing exorcizes. I know that labor can take a long time so once the pain subsided. I continued to work but was interrupted by another contraction. Again I was doubled over breathing.

"Guardian Hathaway, are you in labor?" I grunted and nodded my head. I had no idea who asked me and I really didn't care ether. I was still breathing through the last of it when I felt a strong pair of arms lift me and cradle me.

"I can walk. I can walk." Dimitri and Adrian both said "NO!" I gave in and held on to Dimitri. We were being led by a novice across campus to the med clinic. About half way there I felt another one hit. I buried my head in Dimitri's chest in an effort to stifle my moan. Dimitri stiffened and mumbled something in Russian. I concentrated on my breathing; his intoxicating sent helped to calm me.

"Dimitri that was three minutes apart." Adrian sounded nervous

"Yes I know." I could hear Dimitri fight to remain calm.

I kept my eyes closed and tried to think relaxing thoughts. I heard the sound of the automatic doors hiss. Dimitri soon set me down on a hospital bed. I let my arms fall down to my sides. He sighed and rubbed the part of his shoulder where my hand had been. I must have squeezed his shoulder without realizing it. A nurse came running in. She handed me a gown and though I didn't want to wear it I knew it would be better than my clothing. Adrian helped me change while Dimitri spoke to the nurse. He came back over to us.

"Roza we are going to be on our own on this. There are too many wounded children and teachers. I helped deliver a baby before so please allow me to help you."

I didn't have time to think of an answer because another contraction hit. Adrian crawled on the bed behind me. He spoke to me soothingly. Dimitri took a look to see if he could see the baby's head. There was a knock at the door and Dimitri went to answer it. I ignored everything except Adrian's voice and my breathing. I felt someone take hold of my legs and act as stirrups. When the contraction subsided I looked up and saw two of the senior girls I helped earlier.

I had a handful more of contraction before Dimitri told me to start pushing. Adrian spoke soft words of encouragement to me as he held my hands. With every contraction I pushed with all my might. This time I had no local anesthetic or episiotomy; I could feel my skin tear. I cried out for the first time.

"Ow Ow OW.!"

"Roza keep going his head is already out and his shoulder is almost out." Adrian helped me breath through the pain. I realized that the baby wasn't making any noise.

"Get the nurse or somebody!" He spoke quietly to the girls; his voice was quiet but urgent. One of the girls let my leg down and ran out the door.

"Dimitri why isn't he crying?" I was terrified.

"Roza don't worry, his airway is blocked I am trying to clear it but I need a bulb syringe do it."

I gave one more big push as soon as his shoulder cleared I could feel Dimitri gently pull him the rest of the way out.

As the nurse rushed in he told her what he needed. She went to a drawer and pulled one out. I could hear the suction and a moment later I heard my son cry for the first time. A tear rolled down Dimitri's smiling face as he held him up for me and Adrian to see. His little face was a little bluish but as he cried it became a bit red. He handed him to me.

"Hello Alexander Dimitri Belikov Ivashkov welcome to the world." I looked at Adrian who was smiling at his son.

"Alexander Dimitri Belikov Ivashkov? You are honoring me by giving him my name."

"Brother, I am the one who would be honored if you accept this." Dimitri hugged Adrian and kissed Alexander's head. Just like his older sister had done when she was born; gave a hungry cry.

Adrian chuckled as I hurried to feed my baby. "He's Dhampir like his mommy; always hungry."

"Judging by the fangs I would say he is more like his sister." I smiled at my hungry boy. The doctor came in to check in on us. She looked tired.

"Oh I see you all were busy I here." She helped Dimitri with the umbilical cord then she weighed and measured the baby she also tested his reflexes. Her nurse cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket. She handed him to Adrian.

"We weren't prepared for this. We brought nothing for him." I began to worry.

"Dimitri and I will head to the town." The doctor cocked her head.

"Um several large boxes arrived just before you did the other day. They were addressed to Sr. Katherine and there was a letter with it stating that your wife was very close to giving birth. The boxes contain a car seat, some newborn clothing, diapers and some other essentials."

"Yeva" the three of us said at the same time.

Dimitri left to go get Theresa so she could meet her baby brother. The senior girls came back in to congratulate us and coo over Alexander. One of them called him Xander. I turned to Adrian.

"Hey babe I like the nickname Xander much better than Alex. What do you think?"

"I like it but we should check with Dimitri and Theresa first."

It took a while for Dimitri to get back and when he did his guardian mask was firmly in place. I could feel tension and anger radiate off of him. For the moment I decided not to press him for information. Dimitri and Adrian showed Theresa her baby brother and she was happy to see him. Dimitri ended up holding her on his lap as he held the baby for her to talk to. Adrian put his hand low on my belly and I could feel his healing spirit repair my torn skin and even tighten the muscles that had been stretched to accommodate my pregnancy.

I was released and allowed to go back to our guest house. We put the baby to sleep in a Moses basket like the one that Theresa had. Theresa settled back to sleep and the three of us went to the living room to talk.

"All right Dimitri; you can take down the mask and let us in now."

"The girl who baby sat for us knew something was going to happen. She has the gift of foresight and she knew that If Theresa was there that she would be harmed. When I got back here she was in tears with worry. I had her talk with the head Guardian for questioning. While I was with the guardians I found out that those two trouble makers James and Patrick are responsible for this mess. They thought it would explode in the air and cause no real damage. Alii looked like he wanted to stake them." He shook his head.

"Those boys looked like they were more upset at getting caught than about the people they harmed. I suggested that on top of whatever other punishment they receive they be required to work in the clinic caring for the injured till the last person is discharged. Alii took them straight to the clinic." He put his head in his hands. We talked only for a few more minutes before we headed to bed.

I was exhausted. Thankfully I had showered in the clinic and changed into a maternity night shirt that Yeva had packed in the box. I slipped into the bed and fell right to sleep.

Ok so it was about time that poor Lissa finally get to dream walk. The house that she took them to is in an upscale area. I on the other hand live reality.

Were you guys surprised to find human's working in the academy?

Do you think that the make out session between Rose and Dimitri was ok or starting to go beyond the bounderies?

I was going to name the baby Marcus but I hate the name Mark so I had to think of something that had a nickname I could live with. Do you like Xander for a nickname?

How do you think the two novices should be punnished?

The next few chapters have me on an emotional Rollercoaster. I will update as soon as I can.

Suzanna