Hello again!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and are staying safe. Here is a little Easter present from me :)

RPOV

One Week Later

"Sorry," Lissa apologised, pushing her hair out of her face haphazardly as she returned to the dinner table. "It's been a nightmare trying to get her into some sort of sleep schedule."

"That's alright," Dimitri replied, taking a sip of wine. "We don't mind the interruption. She's very cute."

"She's an angel," Lissa replied with a dreamy smile.

"She's a handful," Christian called out as he shut the door to the nursery gently behind him and entered the dining room. "There's only so many times a man can sing 'twinkle twinkle little star' before he starts going round the twist."

Lissa rolled her eyes, jabbing him playfully as he took his seat next to her.

"That little girl has you wrapped around her tiny fingers," she teased. "You'd never stop singing if you thought it would make her happy."

We all laughed and Christian shook his head, denying it good-naturedly. But it was no use; we'd all seen him with little Rhea. He was completely and utterly smitten.

"Now," Lissa said, lifting her glass up to salute us. "Enough baby talk. We're so happy you two could make it to Court this weekend." We clinked our glasses together as Lissa toasted, "To good company."

"We're happy to be here," I replied, taking a sip of water.

"What's the occasion?" Christian asked, his eyes flitting between Lissa's water glass and mine knowingly.

He was so on to us.

"Do we need an occasion to visit friends?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him cheekily.

"Of course not," Lissa replied, "You both are welcome any time. We love having you over to visit so often."

"And we love visiting," I told her with a warm smile. "Your guestroom, with its unlimited channels and a thousand thread count sheets, calls to me very often."

Lissa rolled her eyes. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, and that you said your best friend is the only reason you visit."

"Course," I replied with a wink and she laughed.

"We do have some news though," Dimitri interjected, moving us back to the news before the conversation could get away from us. It was probably wise, if left unchecked, Lissa and I could be on to a conversation on just about anything within thirty seconds.

Lissa dropped her water glass on the table with a thud as she glanced between the two of us excitedly; her green eyes alight with enthusiasm.

"No!" she exclaimed, "Don't tell me..."

"I'm pregnant."

Lissa let out a loud shriek, her hand flying over her mouth.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes as she stared at me in amazement.

"Vlad, Liss!" Christian hissed, "You're going to wake the baby!"

Lissa silenced him with a glare and he rolled his eyes before turning to us both.

"Congratulations, guys," he said, giving us a big smile.

"That's better," Lissa teased before she rushed around the table, pulling me into a tight embrace while Christian did the same for Dimitri.

"Congratulations," Lissa whispered into my hair before she pulled back to look at me. She studied me for a long moment, her gaze flicking between my face and stomach.

"When did you find out? How far along are you?" she asked in a flurry.

"Last week, and I don't know," I replied, laughing as Lissa continued to study my stomach with hawk-like intensity.

"Have you had any morning sickness?"

"A little," I replied with a nervous smile. "That's why I took the test."

"You're probably about six weeks or so then, I'd say," Lissa said, lifting her gaze to beam at me. "I can't believe it! You're pregnant!"

"I know," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "I still can't wrap my head around it, and I've had a week to let the news sink in."

"Ohmygosh!" she exclaimed, pulling me into another hug. "I wonder if it's a little girl!" she squealed into my hair as she jostled me up and down. "Imagine if we both had girls around the same age! They could be best friends, just like us!"

I laughed, returning her hug tightly. "They'll be best friends either way," I promised. "They'll spend a lot of time growing up together."

She pulled back to grin at me, tears pouring down her face. "You're right. Now to the practical side of things," she said, wiping the tears from under her eyes. "How is everything going? Have you been taking your vitamins?"

"Dimitri got me some prenatal ones," I reassured her. "He had to drive forever in the middle of the night but he read somewhere that it was essential," I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure we could have lasted the few days before we got here, but there's no talking him down when it comes to project baby."

Lissa chuckled. "He's just excited. It's sweet."

I suppressed another eye roll, moving on from that topic as I added, "We were hoping to see a doctor about the rest of what I might need while we're here at Court."

She nodded, her gaze turning thoughtful. "Prenatal is a good start, probably folate, iodine and iron too. But the doctor will be able to tell you all that. Plus you'll need to increase your fruit and vegetable intake pronto."

"Oh Dimitri's on that too, don't you worry," I said dryly. "Two days ago he actually swatted a doughnut out of my hand," I complained. "Swatted!"

"He didn't!" Lissa chortled.

"He's driving me crazy," I grumbled, glaring at him good-naturedly from where he stood, pouring over a book called 'Dad's Guide to the First Year' with Christian. "But I can admit in hindsight that it is funny how bad his obsessing over my diet looks out of context," I added with a chuckle. "You should have seen the death glare he got from Alberta! I thought she was going to swat him."

Lissa burst into a fit of giggles, shaking her head in amusement.

"So other than seeing the doctor, is there anything else you need while you're here?" she asked after a moment, getting straight back to business.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea what I need. If you have any advice, I'm all ears."

"I have plenty of books you can borrow," she said, guiding me towards the library.

I shook my head in disbelief when we entered the room to find three giant shelves filled with pregnancy and baby books.

"Vlad, Liss!"

Lissa laughed lightly, "It's a bit much, isn't it?" she asked sheepishly. Her tone turned sad as she added, "It's just that neither of us has anyone to turn to really... for guidance," she gestured to the rows of books with a sad smile, "So we read. A lot."

"I'm sorry you had to learn it all like this," I said, grabbing her hand in mine and squeezing it lightly. "But they would be so proud."

She nodded, her eyes turning glassy. "Thanks, Rose."

We were silent for a long moment, Lissa's eyes far off into the distance before she shook her head and looked back to smile at me.

"Right, so where do we start?" she asked, grabbing a couple of books from the shelf and dragged me back to the dining room with the others.

"Right, guys!" she announced, slapping the books onto the table. "Dinner time. Christian, we can teach Rose and Dimitri 'Early Term Pregnancy 101' while we eat. I'm famished."

We all nodded, taking our seat and digging into the beautiful roast. Lissa had kindly made enough to satisfy even mine and Dimitri's appetites; which wasn't easy to do, I had been especially hungry lately.

"Rose and I were just discussing what else you guys need while you're back at Court," Lissa began between delicate chews.

"I definitely wanted to get some books," Dimitri said. "And then see what we need from there."

Lissa nodded, indicating with her fork towards the books on the table. "You can have these, they were really a lifesaver. And they have a Dhampir section too, though I imagine it's all pretty much the same."

We both gave our thanks before Lissa continued her advice, counting it off her fingers.

"You should definitely be careful about the cleaning products you're using. I would throw out anything harsh and get new, more natural products. You don't want Rose inhaling anything like that." Dimitri nodded, pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper and pen. I leaned over to read the Baby Tips on the top and snickered. How long had he been carrying that around? "It sounds like you're already pretty on top of the diet," Lissa continued, "and it's good that you've started on the prenatal vitamins already – my doctor told me those were really important. What else..." She thrummed her fingernails on the mahogany table for a long moment before her hand slapped it with a thud. "Ooh!" she squealed. "We should get you some good maternity bras while you're here!" she said, grinning at me. "There's a great shop here at Court. They're the best – sooo comfortable. And you'll probably go up a size or two soon, so it's best to be prepared."

"Liss," Christian groaned. "We're eating."

Lissa rolled her eyes. "Sorry," she said with a shrug. "But you didn't seem to mind that part so much when I was pregnant."

Christian's cheeks flushed red and I burst out laughing. Christian turned to glare at me, which only made me laugh even more.

"Vlad!" Lissa exclaimed suddenly, pulling me out of my laughter. "What are you going to do about work?"

"Keep working until I show," I said with an easy shrug. "And then figure out how the hell to hide this or explain it to everyone," I added with a chuckle.

"What?" Lissa exclaimed, her voice going up an octave. "Is that safe? Surely you really shouldn't be lifting anything heavy or doing any sparring!"

I rolled my eyes as I turned to find Dimitri smiling at me smugly.

"Oh, Dimitri has seen to that," I grumbled, shaking my head when he continued to smile at me sweetly. "I get to the gym in the morning to find all the equipment mysteriously set up for the students. And he won't demonstrate on me anymore. Even the students are starting to think it's strange. I'm just standing around like a lemon!"

"Pregnant women shouldn't strain themselves," he said simply and I groaned.

"It's a wonder you let me cut up my food," I scoffed. "Do you think this lamb is a bit too strenuous?"

Dimitri rolled his eyes, ignoring me.

"You know, I'm barely pregnant," I continued when he didn't reply. "Most women don't even know that they are at this stage. They could be off like... horse riding, or scuba diving or something. Or smoking like a chimney and drinking like a fish!"

"You're not drinking or smoking," he replied, shaking his head incredulously.

"That's not what I meant," I huffed. "I just meant that I think I can handle setting up some sandbags."

"We'll see what the doctor says," he replied, smiling at me smugly. We had been having this argument all week. Vlad, I couldn't wait to get to the doctor so operation 'Wrap Rose in Bubble Wrap' could come to an end. "Speaking of doctors," Dimitri continued, turning to Lissa and Christian. "There is the issue of confidentiality for us. We would prefer to keep the parentage a secret, as Sydney and Adrian have done with Declan. We want our child to live a normal life, not be some lab experiment."

Lissa and Christian nodded. "Yes, this stays between us," Christian agreed. "As for the doctor, the Royal doctor is very discreet. We'd be happy to front the costs of that for you."

"We can't accept –" I began before Lissa cut me off with a raised hand.

"Consider it an early baby shower gift," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," Dimitri said. "That's very kind."

"Of course," Lissa replied, smiling at us warmly. "I do ask that you send samples to Sonya and the Spirit team from both of you though; and that you let her examine the child once a year as she does with Declan. Declan's blood is the closest we've been able to come to isolating a cure, it would always be helpful to have more information."

"Of course," I promised.

"You should start to show in another two months or so," Lissa pointed out. "That in itself will present problems with confidentiality, considering what a public couple you two are."

Dimitri nodded, glancing at me anxiously. "Yes, we thought about that. We were hoping you might have some way to excuse our absence over a period of a year or so. We were thinking perhaps some sort of mission? One that is top secret and confidential so no one asks any questions. From there we can stay with my family in Russia with relative privacy and anonymity. To the outside observer Roza would be another pregnant Dhampir in a town of..." he trailed off, his eyes downcast as he shook his head slowly. "And I'll just be a retired Guardian who has fallen in love and promised to help her raise the baby."

I reached under the table to take his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. My heart ached for him. As crazy as he was driving me during this whole process, he deserved to be as excited as he was. This was our baby – our little miracle. And he deserved not to have to hide the fact that this baby was his. I knew that even the thought of doing so pained him.

"We'll know she's yours," I whispered, stroking his hand gently with my thumb.

"She?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me in question.

"I don't know," I replied sheepishly. "Just a feeling."

"Rosemary Belikov!" a slim, middle-aged Moroi called from the open door of an examination room.

Dimitri and I stood; ignoring the sideways glances we received from the other Moroi that frequented the waiting room. This was a doctor's office for high-end Moroir elite; undoubtedly we were the first Dhampir patients they had ever had.

"Doctor Ivanov," he introduced as we approached him, reaching out to shake our hands.

"Rose," I corrected him with a smile.

"And you must be Rose's husband?" he asked, as he shut and locked the door behind us.

"Yes," I replied for him when Dimitri made no move to answer. "This is my husband Dimitri."

Doctor Ivanov smiled at us warmly for a moment as we took our seats across from him. I grabbed Dimitri's hand from where it sat, fidgeting in his lap. The man needed to get a grip. He'd been a basket case all morning. I caught his eye, raising an eyebrow at him.

What's wrong?

He shook his head, glancing back towards the doctor. Now that his hand was steadied in mine he resumed his shaking, only this time with his knee. The jittering bounced our entwined hands up and down and the Doctor stared at them for a moment.

"I suppose you're eager to see your baby," he said with a chuckle. "I'll have to admit, I'm rather excited to see it myself. It really is such a miracle."

He stood, motioning for me to stand and patting the gurney next to a white machine.

"Alright, Rose," he said with a smile, "I'll just get you to lift your t-shirt up to your chest and unbutton your jeans and pull them down your hips."

I nodded, my teeth gnawing at my lips nervously as I pulled everything into place.

"Can I..." we both turned to see Dimitri hovering nervously by the gurney. "Can I be near? Is that okay?"

"Of course, Dimitri," Doctor Ivanov replied and I smiled nervously, reaching out my hand to take his. He gripped it tightly, his lips coming down to brush my forehead.

"I love you, Roza," he whispered, his grip tightening in mine. "No matter what."

I nodded, my throat too thick with tears to respond. The full weight of the nerves Dimitri had obviously been battling all morning settled over me as I took a shaking breath. What if this was all a false alarm? What if I wasn't pregnant? What if I couldn't be?

"This is going to be a little cold," Doctor Ivanov warned, pulling me out of my spiral.

I nodded, gripping Dimitri's hand tighter in mine as he squeezed the gel onto my stomach and pushed a funny little machine over it.

I held my breath for an agonising moment, my fingernails digging sharply into Dimitri's hand before we heard it. The little thrum of a heartbeat.

"Was that a..." I gasped.

"Yes," he replied, smiling at me warmly as he manoeuvred the machine around. "Do you see that little spot there?" he asked, pointing to a small little blur on the screen. "That's your baby. And it has a heartbeat. From the size, I'd say you're looking at about... seven weeks. And everything looks nice and healthy."

I stared, my mouth hanging open as tears blurred my vision. Our baby.

For the first time, I allowed the idea to truly hit home for me. I was pregnant. We were having a baby – our own little miracle.

"Our bean has a heartbeat," I finally managed to whisper, turning to stare at Dimitri in wonder. But he wasn't paying me any mind; his eyes were glued to the screen, tears streaming down his face as he watched the little ball on the screen in amazement.

"Oh my..." Doctor Ivanov said, turning the machine in his hand as he squinted at the screen.

Both of our heads immediately snapped up.

"What is it?" Dimitri demanded, his hand falling protectively to the space above the machine. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he reassured, staring at the screen a moment longer. He finally turned to smile at us. "It seems... you're having twins."

"Twins?" I gasped out in shock. We had been terrified of the fact that there might not be one baby in there and now he was telling us there were two?

"Yes," he replied, pointing at the screen. "It's hard to see, but there are definitely two little ones in there." He grinned at us. "Congratulations!"

I stared in wonder at the small but distinct second little bean-like blur wobbling around on the screen.

"Udivitel'no!" Dimitri exclaimed, tears pouring down his face as he showered my belly in kisses.

"Dimitri!" I exclaimed, giggling around his kisses. "You're eating so much gel right now!"

"I don't care," he said, reaching up to plant a wet, cold kiss on my lips. I laughed, wiping the gel off of both our mouths as he leaned down to kiss me again. "We're having twins," he whispered, reaching up to cradle my face in his palms.

We stayed like that for a perfect immeasurable moment, locked in our little bubble of happiness. I couldn't believe it. We were going to be a family. Not just a child, but children. My heart swelled with happiness at the realisation that we really were going to have it all; that Dimitri hadn't had to give anything up to be with me. I could give him his biggest dream of all, he was going to be a father.

Dimitri's face suddenly turned serious when he added. "Now you're definitely not lifting anything."

I rolled my eyes at him, slapping at his arm playfully for ruining the moment.

I turned to Doctor Ivanov, who was fiddling around with his computer. "Doc?" I asked, "You're not busy doing anything medically for our babies right now are you?"

He chuckled, shaking his head as he replied. "I was just finishing up getting those images saved and sent to you. What can I help you with?"

"We have a debate to settle regarding exercise," I replied as he wiped the jelly off my belly with a paper towel and motioned for me to sit up. I pulled my jeans and t-shirt into place before I sat up to face him. "You see, we both work in a school training Dhampir and Moroi in combat. I'm also used to a daily exercise routine. I know I'll eventually have to give it up, but what exactly is safe for me to do at the moment?"

"Well..." he said, taking a seat before us and lifting his glasses. "For my Moroi patients I definitely don't recommend any exercise, but that is because they aren't accustomed to exercise already. For someone of your fitness level, I'd say that it's perfectly safe for you to continue to train. In fact, it will be better for you at birth if you have retained some strength in your muscles. The healthier the mother, the healthier the baby... or babies, in this case," he added with a smile.

I grinned at Dimitri and he shook his head in exasperation.

"Surely it's dangerous though, Doctor," he replied insistently. "We really don't want to be taking any risks."

Doctor Ivanov nodded reassuringly. "No, of course not," he replied. "We want to take every precaution. But, as a general rule, I would say that exercise, as long as it is not in the extremes, will actually be of benefit to Rose and the babies."

"What does that mean, 'not in the extremes'?"

"Well, I'd say reduce the weights you'd usually lift by about 20% or so, this may need to continue to decrease throughout the pregnancy. Running is fine also, but just don't overexert yourself too much. Basically a slightly lighter version of what you're used to is fine, just make sure to stay hydrated and listen to your body. If something doesn't feel right, stop. Take note the further along you get how your body is feeling, but with someone as physically fit as Rose prior to pregnancy, I don't see any issues with continuing to be active. In fact, it will be good to keep the muscles strong. I would recommend adding in some yoga and Pilates as lower impact exercises though. Just follow the basic rule that you shouldn't be pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion in a session."

"And what about sparring?" Dimitri asked, he had pulled out his piece of paper and was scribbling furiously while I watched him smugly.

"Sparring of a serious kind, I would say is a no," he replied thoughtfully. "But if it's just for demonstrations at a slower speed that should be fine. Basically we just want to avoid any hits, knocks or falls, but other than that it should be completely fine to continue on with life at a relatively normal pace. Obviously we will continue to evaluate that as we go, but for now, everything is looking excellent. Congratulations to you both!"

Dimitri nodded, scribbling everything down furiously. I cleared my throat and he put his pen down, turning to look at me guiltily.

"Sorry, Roza," he apologised, giving me an embarrassed smile. "I may have gone a little... overboard."

I held back a smile as I arched my eyebrow at him.

"Ask the Doctor if I can eat a doughnut, Dimitri," I asked in my most menacing voice.

He turned back to the doctor sheepishly and Doctor Ivanov laughed.

"Don't worry, Dimitri," he promised. "As long as it's a part of a balanced diet, Rose can eat as many doughnuts as she likes."

Yes!

I hope that you all enjoyed that little moment. What do you think of the pregnancy so far? There are only about 2 or so chapters left now :( Is there anything you guys are dying to see before I wrap this up?

Don't forget to review!