Toby does not want to be settled and he doesn't want his soother either. Christian gives us a sympathetic smile as Rose and I try to soothe Toby, but he's teething and miserable. Lissa comes bustling into the living room and scoops Toby out of Rose's arms, setting him in her lap and squirting a gel onto her finger before rubbing it against his gums.

"Liss? What are you doing?"

Lissa smiles at us as she continues to rub her finger against Toby's swollen gums.

"Orajel. Honest to God, it's the best thing I've ever bought. Lydia was a terror when she started teething and this stuff numbs the gums. It's safe for the baby too," Lissa explained. I look to Rose whose forehead is wrinkled in concern. Lissa lifts Toby up and cooes at him, telling him he's going to feel much better soon before handing him back to us. Rose tucks Toby up against her and runs his back, rocking from side to side gently. Hopefully, the movement will put him to sleep as he barely has slept in the last few days.

"How do you feel about tomorrow?" Christian asks, resting his arm against the back of the couch. I shake my head and sigh, scratching the side of my head.

"Not looking forward to it, but I want to know what happens. I don't think the court won't let Tasha get by with a slap of the wrist this time."

"Why do you say that?" Lissa asks, leaning into Christian while turning up the volume on the baby monitor. When we got here they had just put Lydia down.

"Because Tasha shot a royal, a direct relative to the Queen. Sure, Randall is an outcast, but he's still royal," Rose interjects. She's right though, Randall is Tatiana's nephew and it would look bad if a royal got away with harming another royal.

Lissa nods in understanding and twirls a strand of hair between her fingers. "DO you think they'll give her a harsh sentencing?"

"Who knows," Rose replied, tucking her legs up underneath her.

I look over to Christian and see the peculiar look on his face.

"You ok?"

"Yea. I just don't even recognize her anymore, you know?"


Rose slides into her seat just as the proceedings start, huffing a sigh as she settles in. I raise my brow at her and she shakes her head.

"Toby did not want to be left at Mia's. He had a complete meltdown."

I nod and intertwine my hand with hers, giving her a comforting squeeze. The room quiets down as the Queen takes her place next to the judge and the trial begins. It's different than any court proceeding I've ever seen. Any of them that I've been to they prosecute each defendant individually, but in this case, they're doing both at the same time while doing a cross-claim. The judge lays out the charges; abduction to Tasha, attempted murder to Tasha, accessory to Randall.

It's clear the cross-claim is for Randall, as he was shot during the events. It is also very clear that Randall is testifying against Tasha. I'm surprised more charges haven't been laid, but I guess blackmail against a man who owes a lot money to people is being overlooked.

Tasha doesn't have a leg to stand on, there's just too much evidence against her for her to get out of this. Randall gets off a lot easier than Tasha and is given two years in general population with a chance of probation, while Tasha is given thirty years. I would have preferred if she got more time, but it is what it is.

I watch the two be lead away, and I end up catching Randall's eye. He stops and the Guardian leading him away tugs on his arm a bit, but with a subtle nod of his head to me, he was gone. Tasha seems to be resisting but the Guardians pull her away quickly and I squeeze Rose's hand. It's over, for now.

The four of us wait for the courtroom to file out and I nod to Adrian as he heads out the back, a pack of cigarettes already in his hand. Christian nods and gets up, offering his hand to Lissa.

"I need a drink, you two down?"

Rose and I get up and agree to join him before being intercepted by a Queen's Guardian.

"Pardon the interruption, but Her Majesty would like to see you," he said, giving me a curt nod. I look to Rose and she nods. I tell Christian that we'll meet up with them after and follow the Guardian.

"Did you bring your son to court?" the Guardian asks.

"Yes, he is with a sitter right now," Rose replies.

"Her Majesty would also like to see him."

There is no way around that, so we stop by Mia's house and pick up Toby. My screaming son stopped his wailing the moment he saw us and reached out to me. The cranky boy curled into me and wrapped his arms around my neck, resting his face against my neck as we walk to the palace. Rose walks a step behind us, playing peek a boo with Toby when his little head comes up. Tatiana's secretary waves us in and we seat ourselves.

I set Toby down in my lap and hold him under his arms as he tries to bounce himself on my lap. It's quite adorable when he does it, and always has a smile on his face. Rose sighs and leans back into the couch.

"You ok?" I ask, turning to look at her before making a face at Toby.

"Yes," Rose says through a yawn, "I'm just tired."

I nod in understanding because I do understand. I'm exhausted too. I feel like I work more now than I did as a Guardian, but that just may be because I have a very grouchy baby at home lately. The side door opens and Rose and I look towards it as Tatiana waltzes in. While she was dressed formally for the trail, she now is wearing casual clothing. And it's very shocking to see her in. Rose and I both stand as Tatiana comes towards us and she gestures for us to sit down.

"I appreciate you two taking time out of your day to see me," Tatiana says as she seats herself on the couch across from us. We didn't have a choice in seeing her, but it was common manners for a monarchy to say such a thing.

"Your little one is so sweet. Is he progressing well?"

"Yes, he is. We had his check up last week and he is hitting his milestones. He's currently teething so if he starts screaming, I apologize," Rose says with a small smile. Any time she talks about Toby that small smile appears. I love seeing that smile. Tatiana smiles too and its not a fake forced smile, it's a genuine smile as she looks at Toby.

"I'm glad to hear that. May I?" Tatiana says, holding her hands out towards us. I look to Rose and raise a brow as to say it's up to you. Rose nods and I kiss Toby's cheek before passing him over, my brows knitting together as he starts to fuss and whimper. Tatiana takes him and makes a shushing noise, turning Toby to face her and cuddles him against her. Rose pulls out a soother and hands it to her and I can practically hear her praying that he'll take it. Surprisingly he does and she bounces him gently, patting his back. It is odd seeing Tatiana do that.

"Now, aside from checking up on Toby, there are some things I want to discuss with you."

I nod and make myself a little more comfortable, slipping my hand into Rose's as she rest our hands in her lap.

"Do you intend on having another child?"

"Yes, we do," Rose replies with a smile, squeezing my hand. Only having one was not something we want. We want to have a few more and I hope to spread them out, but not far enough that Rose won't be able to go back to being a Guardian.

"When do you think you'd want to do that?" Tatiana asks shifting Toby in her grasp. I tilt my head to find that he fell asleep.

"We were thinking a few years. What's the process with the drug? How far in advance do we need to let you know before we can try for another?" I ask.

Tatiana knits her brows together and tilts her head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

Rose coughs and leans forward a bit. "Well is it the same as last time? Do the week's worth of injections or do we need to do a shorter amount before trying again?"

Tatiana's eyes widen a little bit. "I thought the doctors explained to you how the drugs worked."

Rose and I look at each other before looking back at her. "They did, they said that I had to come in every day, twice a day for the injections and explained all of the side effects."

Tatiana tsked and shook her head, "Rose, Dimitri, the drug was a one-time session. You only need one treatment. You could have another child as soon as you wanted to."

Rose makes an odd noise in the back of her throat as Toby makes grunting noises in Tatiana's arms. Rose reaches over and takes him from her, fishing out his bottle from the diaper bag and placing it in his mouth.

"You're saying that we don't need another drug trial?"

"I'm saying that you can conceive like regular Moroi or humans."

Rose nods her head and clears her throat before focusing on Toby, but even sitting beside her I can see in her eyes that she is not really focusing on him.


I couldn't be happier to be home. The week at court was great to see Lissa and Christian, along with Adrian and a few other friends, but I missed our place in Portland. Christian promised that he and Lissa would come down in a few weeks for a weekend, and it made Rose happy, but she still seems…off?

Rose flicks the light off and she walks into the bedroom and gets into bed next to me, shuffling over and laying her head down on the pillow. Usually, she will lay her head on my shoulder or chest, so I turn and mirror her, draping my arm over her waist.

I lean forward and kiss her forehead and it brings a small smile to her face before she looks up at me. She pulls her hand out from under the blanket and strokes my cheek, her small fingers tracing the small creases near my eyes. Rose loves to tease me about them, but I'm reaching thirty, things start to change.

"You want to tell me what's bothering you?"

Rose's fingers stop moving and she rubs her lips together before pulling her hand away, tucking it under her head.

"If we have another baby earlier than we wanted to, would you be mad?"

Alright, she's lost it. Why would I be mad?

I pull her towards me and run my hand up and down her back. "I wouldn't be. Why?"

Rose shrugs and rests her forehead against my shoulder. "I think I might be?"

My brows raise and I let a little sigh out.

"You think you might be pregnant?" I ask, keeping my voice neutral.

Rose nods and lifts her head up to look at me, biting her lip. "I haven't checked yet."

I nod and roll onto my back, pulling her with me. "Do you want another baby right now?"

Rose chuckles and sits up. "I mean, I wouldn't be devastated if we have another one now."

Rose lays back down and snuggles up against me, and the conversation about babies ends. But it's all I can think about now. Could she be pregnant again? I mean, we thought that we needed the injections for it to work so we weren't using protection.


I barely sleep through the night but I wake up before Rose and slip out to the drug store once the opening, picking up a few things before returning home in time for Rose to stumble groggily down the stairs. She rubs at her eyes as she walks into the kitchen and spots the bag on the counter. Her brows raise and she peeks into the bag and looks back at me. Rose chuckles and pulls the rectangular box out and fans herself with it.

"Practical as always, aren't you?" she says.

I shrug and sip my cup of coffee. "I figured we should be prepared for when you want to know."

Rose rolls her eyes and heads towards the small bathroom off the kitchen and appears a few moments later, tossing the pregnancy test onto the counter. I take not of the plastic cap over the test strip and look down at my watch.

"How long?"

"Three minutes," Rose replies as she pulls the orange juice from the fridge.

I watch her pull a cup out of the cupboard and fill it as I finish my coffee. I set it in the sink before circling the island and slip my hands around her waist, pressing my lips against her neck. She makes a strangled giggle over her mouthful of orange juice before spinning around and giving me a kiss.

"Need something?" she asks.

"Nope. Just wanted to kiss my wife."

Rose snorts a laugh and gives me another kiss before hopping up onto the counter and crossing her legs.

"Going to give me any hints about Valentine's Day?" Rose asks, reaching out and poking me in the side with her foot. I shake my head and open the cupboard next to her, pulling out the ingredients to make blini. Rose recognizes the ingredients and I can see her eyes light up in excitement.

"No. You can wait three more days," I laugh. Rose hums and nods her head before pulling up my wrist to look at my watch. She gasps softly before hopping off the counter and walks over to the test, picking it up to look at.

"What does it say?"

Rose looks up and opens her mouth but is cut off by pounding at the front door. I look at her and head for the door, only for it to fly open with a fiery redhead on the other side. Oh boy. It's my mother-in-law.

"Neither of you thought to tell me that my grandson was kidnapped?!"


Hello my lovelies! I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter, I had a pretty busy weekend last weekend and an even busier week. I think that this may be the last chapter before the epilogue, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Let me know what you think of the chapter!