A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait between chapters! I'm busy with school & college applications *sigh* (thanks EmmaCastairs01 for wishing me good luck)

I hope you guys like this chapter. I know that it gets kind of critical of the Night Court (or at least, the way that the Night Court runs Illyria) but I hope you guys don't mind. I'm trying to balance character development and sticking to canon which can be a bit tricky.

Anyway, shoutout to Kayleigh for beta reading!

I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave reviews :)

"He was all strong muscles and swirly tattoos," Brielle recounted for the hundredth time. Alright, perhaps that was a slight exaggeration, but still.

"Wait, wait, so he said he wanted to try your food?" Khoniya repeated. They were having their weekly dinner, but they were at Khoniya's house this time. They had also decided to let Riona and Saibh join them.

Brielle nodded in answer to Khoniya's question, ignoring Nesta's groan.

"Are you going to invite him soon?" Khoniya asked. Then, smirking in Nesta's direction, she added, "I want to meet Nesta's handsome, muscular lover."

"I'm still here you know," Elian called out playfully from the living room.

"Go to sleep!" Khoniya replied, though a large grin decorated her face.

Elian merely laughed.

"I'm sure he'll love to meet you, Khoniya," Nesta said, rolling her eyes.

Saibh let out a small snort.

Nesta glanced at her. "What?"

"Nothing," Saibh took another bite of her food, "Just please warn me if you decide to have General Cassian visit this house."

Nesta raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Saibh shrugged passive-aggressively. "Forgive me if I'm not as welcoming to the High Lord's Inner Circle."

Nesta sighed, tension leaving her. "I understand why you may not be comfortable with the Inner Circle, and of course I'll tell you beforehand if he's coming but… Cassian isn't that bad."

"He's a fearsome war general who commands thousands of brutes and kills at the High Lord's orders," Saibh countered.

"I'm not going to say he's perfect, but he is the head of the Illyrian army." Nesta felt hypocritical as she added, "Don't call them brutes when you don't even know them."

"Calling Lesser Fae brutes is not generally something I appreciate," Khoniya said softly, staring into her glass as she took a sip.

"I'm sorry," Saibh acquiesced. She stared resolutely at Nesta. "He did kill thousands at the High Lord's request, though. And every time the Inner Circle visits the Hewn City, General Cassian is uncivilized, mannerless and brutal. He's also a vital part of the High Lord's regime — the regime that forces the people of Hewn City to remain in a living hell with no other legal choice."

"First off, yes, Cassian is a war general. That involves killing people. I'm not going to say that that is good or just, but that is his job," Nesta replied, her face impassive. "Secondly, you know that whenever the Inner Circle visits Hewn City, they put on a facade, right? I don't think that's correct in any way, but Cassian isn't actually so vile. You're free to dislike him if you wish, but at least dislike who he really is and not some fake version of him. And lastly, I understand that he's part of the High Lord's shitty regime." She sighed. "Look, I'm not going to excuse it, but consider this: do you think Cassian had any choice, either? He had one path drawn out for him, the path of being a warrior, and he followed it. He grew up in his own kind of hell, without a family, as a child in the war-camps."

Saibh tilted her head, considering.

"I need to meet him," Riona declared suddenly.

All eyes turned towards her.

"What? I need to talk to him before passing judgement."

Nesta thought she had hidden her worry well, but Riona glanced at her and added, "Chill, Nesta, I'm not going to hate him completely. I mean, he did help create your baby, little- what's her name again?"

Nesta let out a small laugh. "That's not going to work, Ri."

"Oh come on! Just tell me her name already! I promise I won't tell anyone."

Nesta merely chuckled in response.

"Fine, then, I'm going to assume you're trying to surprise me by naming her Riona. Don't worry, I'll act surprised when you tell me," Riona quipped.

The mood had lightened considerably thanks to Riona.

Still, Nesta was appreciative when, after dinner, Saibh whispered to her, "Ri's right. I can't promise to like him, but I will give him a chance. And I'll do my best to not completely hate him, for your sake and for your daughter's sake."

"What a beautiful name!" Healer Galen said.

Nesta tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It's still a secret, so…"

"Of course. As usual, I will use the utmost discretion," she smiled.

Their 8 month appointment had gone smoothly.

"And you're sure she can still be active?" Cassian inquired.

"Again, the pregnancy looks good for now. There is no need to worry. I've examined everything and Nesta is fine to continue on as usual for now."

Cassian nodded, blowing out a heavy breath.

Cassian wrapped his arms around her and they took off into the sky. It was getting harder and harder to travel this way as Nesta's stomach grew, but they still managed.

"They want to meet you," Nesta blurted out suddenly.

"Who?" His eyes concentrated on the sky ahead of them, but she knew his focus was on her.

"My friends."

"Oh." His voice got a little higher as he said, "Um, sure. What do they- I mean, what should we, uh, do?"

Was he nervous?

"I think Brielle wants to invite you for a meal some time. The others want to meet you too."

"When did you get so popular?" His tone was playful but Nesta stiffened.

"If you don't want to meet-"

"No, no, no. Of course I want to meet them, I just…" He hesitated. "I'm not sure your friends like me.

They landed in front of Nesta's house and entered quickly, eager to escape the cold breeze.

"They don't dislike you. I think Brielle is actually fond of you," Nesta said as they sat down. "The others haven't even met you yet."

"Saibh doesn't like me," Cassian pointed out.

"She hasn't decided yet. That's part of why she wants to get to know you," Nesta retorted.

"So they're evaluating me?" Cassian rubbed the back of his neck. "If I fail, your friends will hate me?"

Nesta shrugged one shoulder. "They probably won't hate you."

He sent her a half-panicked look.

"Just don't fail," she told him.

It took every inch of restraint for her not to say "At least my friends are giving you a chance, which is more than you can say about your friends."

Instead, she opted to switch topics and ask, "How have you been?"

Cassian ran a hand through his hair. "To be honest, it's been tough. I was in Illyria for a while and it's difficult being there after spending so much time here in Velaris."

She tilted her head in question.

"It's just that the standards are so different. In Velaris, equality is expected. People are happy about it and all, but it's the norm. In Illyria, every attempt to even the playing field even slightly is met with a boatload of resistance by those who don't want to lose even a fragment of their power. They want to keep their advantage and continue to marginalize those that they have always marginalized. They have fundamentally different philosophies from Velaris and it's so hard sometimes…" He sighed. "Also… Velaris is a land of choice and of plenty. Illyria is beautiful in its own way and Rhys does his best to make sure there's enough food for everyone, but really there are no choices. You follow the path of warriorhood that was given to you by being Illyrian. But," he shut his eyes, "sometimes there's kids who are so smart. The Illyrians would say that they'd be good at war strategy, but to make it that far, you have to be good at fighting and climb the ranks. These kids almost never get that far up, but you can tell that they'd be brilliant architects or artisans. It's just such a waste."

"You said before that Illyrians make Siphons. Why don't they do that?"

"It's a very complex tradition. Those who do end up as Siphon makers are respected, but being a warrior is a more traditional path to success." Cassian hesitated for a moment and then said quietly, "A long time ago, there was music and art and storytelling in Illyria. Festivals and dancing, feasts and revelry."

Nesta frowned. "What happened?"

There was a kind of ache in Cassian's eyes as he looked at her that she had never seen before. "Illyria was conquered by the High Lord of the Night Court. At first, the Illyrians just needed to pay a tribute to the High Lord, but slowly we lost everything until we were no longer a people — we were merely an army."

"Rhysand?"

Cassian jerked. "No! This was long before him. It was probably his great-great-grandfather or his great-great-great-grandfather or something."

"Do they still remember the old traditional songs?" Nesta asked, her voice quiet but resolute.

"A few of the very old females do. There are only less than a dozen left, as far as I know."

"Only the females?" Nesta questioned.

Cassian smiled sadly. "The males die in combat."

They sat together in silence for a few moments.

"Do the females want to fight?"

"A few of them do. The others think their place is at home."

Nesta narrowed her eyes. "Well, if those that don't want to fight shouldn't have to fight, right?"

"It's more a matter of principle," Cassian explained. "We want to introduce gender equality in Illyrian society. This is the best way."

"Why don't you build a school and educate both the males and females?"

"It wouldn't work," Cassian replied, sounding defeated. "I did try something like that on a small scale, but the males just want their male children to learn to fight. The females need to do chores and learn how to cook, clean, make clothing, and all that stuff from the other females. They also don't really want to be learning from anyone close to the Night Court, because they think it's all useless, fake propaganda."

"So why doesn't an Illyrian teach them?"

"Az and I are too close to Rhys for us to be trusted. There are very few Illyrians who have education, let alone enough education to teach. And those that do have enough basic education are those that are on the fringes of Illyrian society. They get little respect and no one would listen to them for fear of shame."

"I see."

"Yeah." Cassian sighed once more. "Sorry to bore you with such a depressing topic."

Nesta shook her head. "I don't find it boring."

Something glistened in his eyes but he cleared his throat and asked, "So what have you been up to, sweetheart?"

"How old are you?"

"541."

"Hmm. That's pretty old," Riona remarked, taking another bite of the salad.

Cassian nodded, but Nesta could see the tension in his body.

"You must have explored a lot of the world in your life then, right?" Riona asked. "Where have you been?"

Nesta narrowed her eyes at her friend, but Riona merely returned an innocent smile. It was far too innocent to be genuine.

Cassian did not catch this and seemed to relax slightly. "I have traveled a fair amount. I've visited all the courts as well as the Mortal Lands a few times. I've visited Valhallan once too… but I don't travel very often as having the general of the Illyrian armies present doesn't always give off a good impression."

Riona nodded. "I see. And don't you think that females, especially young females deserve a chance to explore the world as well?"

Cassian nodded enthusiastically. "Of course."

"So then why are you tying Nesta down when she's over 500 years younger than you?"

Nesta rolled her eyes. "Ri, that's not-"

Cassian cleared his throat. "I have no intention of tying her down, Riona. I would support her travelling the world if she wishes to do so."

"Even with the baby?"

Cassian nodded. "I would want to be a part of their lives, of course, but I would support her no matter where she goes."

Riona's eyes were fierce as she replied, "Good."

"So," Khoniya injected. "Cassian, how cold is Illyria?"

"It's very cold." Cassian seemed grateful for Khoniya ending the interrogation. "It snows throughout half the year, but then it's very hot during the other half."

"Was it an adjustment when you moved to Velaris?"

"At first I thought it was marvellous not to freeze to the core, but then I missed the snow."

Khoniya smiled, "I understand what you mean. I thought I hated the fields where I grew up, but now I miss the leaves' rich coloring, the tangy sweetness of the fruits and the warm sunlight."

Cassian smiled. "Where did you grow up?"

Khoniya stiffened at the question despite Cassian's friendly tone. Her eyes darted to the table, then the ceiling and then landed on Nesta. Nesta tried to make her eyes convey reassurance. To be quite honest, she had no idea how Cassian felt about people from other courts living in Velaris, but Khoniya hadn't done anything illegal — surely Cassian wouldn't do anything drastic, knowing Nesta was friends with Khoniya.

Khoniya bit her lip.

Cassian furrowed his brow. "If you'd rather not talk about it, I'd understand."

"No, no, that's not…" Khoniya let out a breath and then met Cassian's eyes. "I grew up in the Autumn Court."

Surprise flickered over Cassian's face but disappeared quickly.

"I came here to be with Elian, my husband and mate," Khoniya explained. Nesta knew how nervous Khoniya was and felt a rush of admiration at her bravery.

"Do you visit your family in Autumn Court frequently?"

Nesta knew that Cassian meant no offense by the question, but everyone at the table tensed, waiting to see how Khoniya would react.

"No." Khoniya lifted her chin slightly in a gesture Nesta knew all too well — she refused to be ashamed. "I left my family to come here. They didn't want me to be with a High Fae. I made a choice that I'm happy with, even if I do miss them."

Cassian nodded slowly. "Are you able to get Autumn Court fruits here?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"It's hard to even find a decent store for Dawn spices," Brielle chimed in. Then she smirked, "And Night Court cuisine is so bland."

"Hey! That's not true!" Riona pouted.

"There are at least a few good dishes," Saibh added on.

Brielle rolled her eyes playfully. "I could count them on one hand."

"Illyrian food is definitely not bland," Cassian replied.

"True," Brielle admitted. Khoniya nodded.

"Really? I've never had Illyrian food," Cian said, his eyes wide.

"Me neither," Nesta remarked.

Riona's eyes twinkled. "Cassian, could you make or bring us some Illyrian food sometime?"

Cassian chuckled. "I'd love to."

The evening progressed smoothly after that.

By the end of the evening, even Saibh had relaxed around him, although she still didn't seem to like him very much.

Right as they left, Brielle gave Cassian permission to stop by the coutique if he ever needed anything, although she did imply that she would demolish him if he did it too frequently.

As Cassian accompanied Nesta on the walk back to her house, he asked, "Do you think I passed?"

"What?"

"Do you think your friends are okay with me?" He sounded so unsure that Nesta couldn't help but smile, despite the fact that he couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Yeah, they loved you."

"Are you sure? Saibh seemed to be mad at me for some reason."

Nesta sighed. "That's complicated."

They walked in silence for a few moments.

"What did you think of Khoniya?" Nesta decided to ask.

"She seemed really kind."

"She is."

"Honestly, she seems to know so much about kids that I might have to ask her and her mate for some advice," Cassian said jovially. His pitch dropped as he added, "Did I offend her when I asked about where she was raised? I didn't know it was a sensitive topic, but, well, she seemed a bit uncomfortable."

Nesta rolled her lips before answering, "I don't think you offended her. She was just nervous about telling you because some fae think that Velaris should only be for Night Court fae and Autumn Court is particularly disliked right now. She didn't know what your views were on the subject and especially since you're in the Inner Circle, she was a bit worried about how you would react."

"What? Why would anyone not want people from other courts in Velaris? We're not at war or anything, and as long as they aren't spies, there's no issue. Especially Velaris — it's supposed to be a city of dreams, where anyone can come and live out their dream. I would never be against that, especially as an Illyrian." He sounded surprised.

"So you think anyone should be allowed to come to Velaris to have a better life?" Nesta dared.

"Yes," Cassian said resolutely. Then, he hesitated. "Maybe not everyone… For some people like Tamlin or Keir or Eris, it's just not- their presence would ruin Feyre and Rhysand and Mor's experience but those are exceptions."

Nesta wondered how much to reveal. "What would you do if you found out that someone who isn't supposed to be in Velaris is there? I don't mean the kind of peop- fae you just mentioned, I mean like… random fae."
Before Cassian could respond, she added, "Not Khoniya — there's nothing illegal about her being in Velaris. I just mean in general."

"As long as they aren't causing harm to the population of Velaris, there shouldn't be an issue," Cassian replied, sounding slightly confused.

Nesta nodded, just as they arrived in front of Nesta's house.

"Cassian? What are you doing here?"

Brielle's voice sounded shocked, but some other emotion was mixed in, too.

Cassian looked around the busy boutique, wondering if he was intruding too much. He had been in Velaris and had missed Nesta (well, he was always missing Nesta) when he had the sudden urge to go and check up on her. This was the first time he had been to the boutique. He had hesitated to go in during their working hours, but the beautiful display window outside had made him decide to go in, even if he had to use the pretense on shopping for something.

Now he wondered if he should have remained outside. It wasn't as if he had an actual reason for coming.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," he replied, stepping towards the door. He had gotten the impression that Brielle had liked him when they'd had dinner two weeks ago, but perhaps he'd misjudged her.

"No, you're not disturbing anything, it's just-" Her voice was confused yet firm and it stopped Cassian in his footsteps. "I thought you'd be with Nesta."

A sudden panic gripped him. "What do you mean? Isn't she here, at work?"

"What? No!" Brielle's voice was too loud, and a few customers turned towards them to see what the fuss was about, but Cassian couldn't have cared less. "Nesta said her stomach hurt. She kept getting these cramps every few minutes and Saibh said they might be contractions, so Saibh walked her home and Nesta called her healer."

Cassian's distress must have shown on his face.

"I don't know for sure but contractions are a sign of labor, aren't they?" Brielle finished.

"But she can't- It's too early," Cassian felt his heart pounding faster and louder. He blinked at Brielle then mentally slapped himself for wasting time and took off. He needed to be by her side for this, to hold her hand through the pain. He jumped into the sky, flapping his wings as fast as possible to reach Nesta. Oh god, would they be okay? Fae babies were often born late, not early. Their baby still had eight more weeks to go until her due date. Would his daughter's lungs even be developed enough to breathe? What if there were complications that injured Nesta? Cassian didn't allow himself to imagine the worst case scenario, but a cold dread settled into him nonetheless.

He landed in front of Nesta's apartment and stormed in — the door was left unlocked.

Saibh was sitting on the sofa. Her tumultuous eyes darted to him as he entered. He barely registered her saying, "The Healer is with her in her bedroom."

Cassian gave her a small nod of acknowledgement as he stalked to the bedroom.

He rapped on the door once to announce his arrival but didn't wait for a signal to enter.

Nesta was on her bed, propped up by a few pillows. She was squeezing something in her palms and sweat glistened on her brow.

It seemed like Nesta and the Healer had been talking, but they fell silent as the door opened.

"Cassian?" Nesta's voice seemed confused and tired, so unlike her usual self that he almost winced.

"What's going on?" he asked. He had no idea why he asked that, since he already knew what was happening, but it was the first question that had come to mind.

Nesta shrugged one shoulder. "Oh, nothing much."

Was she making a joke? But there was no mirth or irony in those words. "Are you kidding me? Nothing much?" Cassian registered that his voice sounded gravelly and panicked. "You giving birth — our daughter being born — is not nothing much."

"Cassian, calm down," Nesta sighed. "I'm not giving birth."

His brow crinkled. "What do you mean? Brielle said you had contractions and-"

"It's false labor," cut in Healer Galen's cool tone. "Very common occurrence. Painful, but the tonic I gave you should help. The baby isn't coming yet."

Cassian's eyes slid to Nesta's face, seeking confirmation. She nodded.

He slumped into a chair next to Nesta's bed with a sigh. Time blurred after that — Nesta's contractions subsided, Saibh talked to Nesta and then left, the Healer left, the darkness replaced the light outside. Cassian remained in his chair, trying to process and let go of the fear that had enveloped him during his flight to Nesta's house.

When they were finally alone and some time had passed, Nesta broke the silence.

"Cassian?" Though she uttered only a single word, he understood her well enough. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling, what he wanted to say.

He met her eyes. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I was a little busy having contractions, if you didn't notice," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Some part of him wanted to slide on his fake grin, but another part of him urged him to do that, not with Nesta. Besides, the whole endeavor had drained him and he lacked the energy required to conjure even his most familiar mask.

"You could have asked Brielle or Saibh."

"It was only false contractions, Cassian. It's not a big deal."

And he knew— of course he knew that it wasn't a big deal, at least not in the grand scheme of things— and he shouldn't have been this worked up about it but he was. Because it wasn't about the false contractions.

"What if they were real?" That was not what he meant but he was not able to find the right words— he had never been Rhys with his grandiose speeches or Az who selected only a few words but always the perfect words. He could command an army, he could give orders, he could teach people to fight but he had never known how to express his emotions properly.

"They weren't, though." Her eyes flitted to the heavens, as if she were annoyed that he kept on repeating this moot point.

The words spilled out of him in a jumbled mess. "I know they weren't real but- what if they were? Would you have called me then? Would you have asked anyone to tell me? I want to be here for you and for her and I- gods, Nesta, do you know how scared I was when I was flying to your house? She's not supposed to be here yet- a million things could've gone wrong and she's not even fully developed yet and what if she couldn't- what if some complication hurt you and you- Gods, do you know how scared I was that I'd lose you both?"

He placed his face in his hands to steady his breathing and to make the moisture in the back of his eyes recede and to avoid the inevitable ridicule in Nesta's facial expression. He knew he was being ridiculous — they were both fine — and yet his fears remained.

"Cassian." Her voice was softer than he expected. He would never cease to appreciate how his name, that same name that Illyrians had spat out, sounded when slid off her tongue. It sounded elegant. Maybe that should have reminded him that they were born worlds apart — her, a daughter of a rich merchant, him, a filthy bastard in a war camp — but instead it made him feel warm inside. "I'm fine. We're both fine."

"I know." She hadn't understood what he had meant, obviously, since his 'speech' had been a combination of half sentences and sharp breaths.

Nesta continued, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I didn't mean to avoid you or cause you to worry. I know that I should've at the very least had Brielle or Saibh write to you but I was kind of caught up with everything that was happening. When it's the real thing, or if this ever happens again, of course I'll tell you."

He nodded. That was what he wanted, wasn't it? Then why was it that he still felt that something was not right?

He handed her a glass of water.

"Nesta," he said after a moment, "you don't need to say yes, but how would you feel about moving into the house we bought together soon? By soon, I mean as soon as possible." He ran a hand through his hair. "I know we see each other more often now and," his eyes flickered to her stomach, "she isn't here yet, but I don't want to miss any more moments. I don't mean just this stuff but like- I want to be there if you're craving something or if you suddenly get the urge to talk or take a midnight stroll or if you need a massage or whatever. I lo-," he cleared his throat, "I enjoy spending time with you and talking to you and I just- I don't see the point in us living apart. If you want to have some privacy while you still can, I understand. I just mean that for me, one meal I share with you is worth a million dinner parties at the House of Wind or the Estate or the Town House. I can't stop thinking about you and the time I spend there just feels wasted. It could be put to better use if I spent it with you."

He let a small smirk coat his last sentence, perhaps to mask the vulnerability in what he had just shared.

Nesta studied him, her beautiful eyes unreadable.

"Won't your friends miss you?"

He didn't miss the way she says 'friends', like there were a thousand things she wanted to say about them, but he ignored it. That was a conversation for another day.

"They've been around me for centuries. We could use a break."

"And Feyre?"

Now, Cassian allowed his smile to bloom. "I doubt she'll miss me. She's a little preoccupied during her free time with a certain High Lord of the Night Court."

Nesta rolled her eyes.

"How much furniture did we put in there? How long would it take to move in?" Her voice was contemplative and provided no insight on how she felt on the matter.

"Most of what we need is already there. We would need to bring clothes and dishes and all that." He tapped his chin, estimating. "Maybe a day or two at most."

"Okay then." She nodded. She stretched her arms up once and then got off of her bed

Blinking, he asked, "What?"

Nesta laughed. Her smile lit her up and her eyes sparkled. She was so the most mesmerizing sight he had ever seen.

"I guess we'll be living together in 2 days, then," she shrugged.

Cassian's lips parted but no words escaped. Was this a dream? Nesta Archeron, who was pregnant with his baby, agreeing to move into their new house in two days definitely sounded like one of his dreams.

Some of his awe must have shown on his face. Nesta grinned once more and then burst out laughing. Once he recovered from his state of shock (which took an embarrassingly long time), Cassian's chuckled joined in. Their laughter was a melody that filled the night and lulled their unborn daughter to sleep.

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Since I'm still very busy, the next chapter probably won't be posted until late November. I'm sorry, but I'm doing my best. In the meantime, feel free to check out some of the Nessian one shots I've written! You can also request some on my Tumblr ( sayosdreams).

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