EIGHT YEARS LATER

Rose is practically purring in contentment under my hand. The headaches she's been having are horrid, but the scalp massages seem to be helping. This final pregnancy seems to be really taking a toll on her, but she's still taking it in stride. A smile on her face…most of the time. I was enjoying the few moments of silence too, that is until Lissa barges in.

"Have you kept this from me all these years!?" Lissa cried, startling Rose. I give Lissa a look to keep her voice down, but she ignores it as she comes and sits in front of us on the coffee table, her face distraught.

"Kept what?" Rose asks, shifting on the couch beside me. I stop the massage but run my fingers through her hair.

Lissa sighs. "The program. The fact that there never was a donor! That Toby, Luka, Ivan and now Vanya, are biologically yours and Dimitri's!" Lissa exclaim, her arms coming out to the sides. Rose looks to me and presses her lips into a thin line before looking back at Lissa. I return the look and sit forward on the couch.

"We weren't allowed to tell anyone, Lissa. The only person alive that knows is Abe, and that's because he was funding the program. We were swore to secrecy about participating," Rose explains, taking Lissa's hand in hers. I can see Lissa think the last ten years over and the tears start to well in her eyes.

"All this time," Lissa starts, "You've had to keep the truth about your kids a secret." Lissa shakes her head and rubs her hand over her face. I know that things have not been easy for Lissa lately. Tatiana passed only six months ago after grooming Lissa, plus Lydia has been going through a phase of defiance. Add that to the terrible three Erica and George and Lissa and Christian are at their wits end with the never ending list of things to do.

"I know it's a lot to take in," I say but Lissa laughs. "Oh it's a lot to take in, but I feel horrible for not knowing, you know? I should have figured it out too. I mean Toby looks so so much like Rose, and Ivan is a spitting image of you, but Luka. He is a perfect combination of the two of you. No donor genes could replicate that."

Rose snorts a laugh and stands up while pulling her shirt down over her stomach. Not that I would ever admit this out loud but with every pregnancy Rose gets a bigger belly, and I love it. Rose look much further along at her five months then she did with her first pregnancy.

"Do you want something to drink? You look like you're going to pass out."

Lissa smirks and shakes her head. "No, I'll be fine. DO you need a drink? You look exhausted."

Rose rolls her eyes and heads into the kitchen and I watch her as long as I can before she turns the corner. Looking back to Lissa she raises her eyebrows at me and slips a box out of her pocket, handing me the distinctive blue box.

"I like your choice by the way," Lissa whispers. I smile and hid the box in my own pocket. Between the kids and started a new job at a prestigious office as daytime security, I haven't been able to go and get an anniversary gift for Rose. Speaking of kids, the pounding of feet overhead alert me that two of our boys are out of bed when they shouldn't be.

"AUNTIE LISSA!" Toby screams as he comes down the stairs, heading straight for Lissa. I get up to intercept him but Lissa waves me off, opening her arms for Toby, rocking backwards on the coffee table. Luka not being far behind him jumps up onto the table and wraps himself around his aunt. I listen closely for the following footsteps of Ivan, but it seems his brothers managed not to wake him.

"I thought you two were supposed to be in bed," I hear Rose call out from the kitchen. I watch the two boys freeze and look up to their aunt before looking to me. Rose and I both parent fairly, but when Rose pulls out the "Mom" voice, the boys always look to me.

"Give your Auntie a hug and kiss and back up to bed," I say quietly with a small smile. I can't blame them for wanting to see Lissa. They do as I ask and say goodnight before running into the kitchen and doing the same, again for the third time tonight, with Rose before coming to me. Luka gives me a look that reminds me far too much of his mother, but it works on me just the same. I scoop him up and bring him upstairs, tucking both of them into bed and kissing their head.

"Go to sleep. Grandma and Grandpa will be here tomorrow," I promise, brushing curls away from Toby's face as I turn out the lamp beside his bed. Their only response is excited giggles. I go back downstairs to find Lissa has now taken my spot next to Rose on the couch, Rose's feet in her lap. I give the two a smile and step out of the living room to give them time to catch up, pulling my phone out to confirm reservations at Rose's favourite restaurant.


"How do I not own a single pair of nice earrings?" Rose huffs in our bedroom. I chuckle and put my cologne back in the cabinet, going into the bedroom. I make my way to Rose and place my hands on her hips, looking over her shoulder into her jewelry box.

"Maybe you'll want to open this now," I say, pulling the gift box from my pocket. Rose looks at it and I watch her eyes go wide before looking at me.

"Please tell me that you did not drop a fortune on these," she pleads while I smirk at her. "I promise I didn't. Just open it."

Rose raises her brows at me and opens the box, a small smile gracing her lips. Simple white gold pearl earrings. I caught her looking at them in the window display last week three times while we were out, every time we passed the window she looked at them.

"When did you have time to get these?" she gasps. I press a kiss behind her ear before whispering, "Guardian secrets."

Rose laughs and playfully smacks me before taking the pearls out and fastening them in her ears. They are large enough to grab attention up close but small enough that Ivan won't be able to grab onto them. I step back and wait for Rose to finish up, picking up her clutch and handing it to her. Rose adjusts the cinching of her shirt when she stops and grabs my hand, quickly placing it on her stomach.

"Oh, maybe you'll be able to feel this one!" Rose says excitedly while pressing my hand down. She's been feeling movement for a bit but I haven't been able to yet. Vanya seems to be stubborn like her mother. I smile to myself and gently push my hand down, trying to elicit movement within. And there it is, so minimal that if I didn't know what to expect, I wouldn't know it happened. It is small but it's there.

"Did you feel it?!" Rose exclaims and I nod, kissing her temple. "I felt it, Roza. But she's stubborn like you, I probably won't feel her again for a while," I joke, tickling her side gently. Rose rolls her eyes at me and steps away heading towards the stairs. I follow behind her and reach the bottom of the stairs, turning into the living room where my sons are loudly playing with their grandfather. It's always surprising to see him rough house with the boys. At the moment he currently is hugging both Ivan and Luka upside down with Toby wrapped around his leg. A laugh escapes my lips and four sets of eyes turn to me.

"What?" Abe asks.

I shake my head, "Nothing. Having fun with grandpa?" I reply. The boys all nod their heads while Abe smirks at me triumphantly. Anything to please his 'little men'. I rest against the frame in the living room when Janine comes in and looks at the scene in front of her before rolling her eyes and sighs heavily.

"For God's sakes Abe! Put the boys down before the blood rushes to their heads!" Janine exclaims, patting my shoulder as she passes. Abe chuckles and flips the boys up before setting them on their feet. Janine sits on the couch and the boys join her, climbing beside her or into her lap for cuddles before bed.

"My goodness, Ivan, you need a haircut," Janine says, brushing his hair out of his face. Ivan pouts and shakes his head, making the wavy hair fall back in his face. Ivan hates cutting his hair. At five years old he'll scream the building down whenever we take him. So for now, we are letting him grow it out. It makes his spitting image of me even more so.

"Hey, if you can get him to stay calm long enough, go for it!" Rose says coming in, slipping her feet into her shoes.

"I figured you would have worn that pretty dress you bought," Janine pipes up making Rose roll her eyes. "No. If I can still wear pants comfortably, I will wear them! I will keep the pants, thank you."

Janine shrugs and turns her attention back to the boys when Abe sits with them. To be honest, he looks a little winded. Rose steps past me to say goodbye to the kids and wraps her arm around my waist and pulling me towards the door.

"How long do you think until they tire my parents out?" Rose snickers as we get into the car. I quirk my eyebrow at her and laugh. It won't take long.


I enjoy the moment after when it just the sound of our breathing with our hands intertwined. Maybe I enjoy the moment when Rose rests her head against my shoulder or my chest more, but either way, I love this moment.

"Do you think it will always be like this?" Rose asks, her fingers drawing across my chest. I tilt my head down and kiss her hair. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Rose says pushing herself up to look at me, "The fire. Can you really see us making love like this when we're seventy?"

I smirk and slide my arm around her waist, pulling her so close that her stomach is flush against my side. The post-orgasm glow has mixed in with her pregnancy glow and it's like her skin is made of gold.

"If I can, I plan on loving you like this for the rest of our lives. Even when you're old and gray and complain that your hip hurts," I say kissing her nose affectionately. Rose grins and shuffles around to straddle my lap, her hands resting on my chest. I slide my hands down to her hips and squeeze her soft flesh there before moving my hands to her round stomach.

"I can promise you that you will be old and gray way before I am. And, you're the one who complains about their hip hurting," Rose quips, running her nails over my skin gently. I chuckle and rub my thumb along the darkening line below her bellybutton.

"That was one time, Roza. I fell on the ice and you laughed at me for twenty minutes," I reply dryly. Rose snickers and rubs her foot against my leg before wedging her cold toes under it.

Correction. This is my favourite part. The part where we just talk about whatever and don't feel the weight of parenthood on our shoulders. The part where Rose smiles at nothing and has a light in her eye that reminds me of the seventeen-year-old I met all those years ago. I pull one of my hands away and link it with hers, bringing it to my lips. Rose hums quietly and leans forward, balancing her weight on my chest before giving me a gentle kiss. I cup the back of her neck with my other hand and deepen the kiss.

"You know," Rose says between kisses, "If you keep kissing me like this, you're going to have to give a little bit more."

I chuckle quietly against her lips. "I can promise you'll get more," I say sitting up with her.


"Wow. I haven't seen you dressed like that in a very long time."

I turn and smirk at Rose, fastening the last button on my shirt. Lissa's coronation is today and Christian asked if I would be here before him as a Guardian, regardless of him having a replacement while I'm in Portland.

Rose steps closer and straightens my collar. "The uniform is turning me on, Comrade," Rose whispers with a cheeky grin. I chuckle and squeeze her arms while kissing her cheek

"Maybe you should look away. We both know that you aren't in any position for sex right now," I quip, knowing that she'll still see the joke in the very true statement. One week from her due date and Rose is barely comfortable standing or sitting. Sex is completely out of the question.

Rose rolls her eyes and smacks me playfully. "Alright. I'm going to find Lissa. She wants me to stay with her until the ceremony."

"Ok. I love you," I say kissing her quickly. She returns the sentiment and waddles out to find Lissa just as Christian slips into the room with his Guardian hot on his heels.

"I'm fine! Dimitri was my Guardian, he isn't going to cause me any harm," Christian sighs, but looking at his Guardian I can tell he won't be leaving. I shake my head and sit on the couch waiting for Christian to erupt in his high stress. He paces a few times before throwing his hands up in the air.

"I haven't been this nervous since Lydia was born," he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. I hum and raise a brow at him, waiting for him to continue. I look over to the Guardian standing near the door and he makes eye contact with me. With a simple look, he tells me that this isn't the first meltdown Christian has had.

"I just…I don't know if I'll ever be able to handle being Prince Consort. I mean, I could handle being a Lord married to the Dragomir Princess. But Prince Consort?! I mean, I never would have seen this coming if you told me this when I was seventeen."

Christian looks to me and scowls when he sees the smirk on my face. "Christian, you need to take a deep breath. Nothing is really changing compared to the last six months. You've been preparing for a while and the only thing changing here is you and Lissa's titles. Lissa has practically been doing the job as Queen since Tatiana passed and you have stepped into the role. This just makes it official. Sure you'll have more Guardians now but it's not new to you."

Christian sighs and flops down on the couch across from me, rolling his head to look at me. "Thanks for the speech. I needed that," he says rubbing his hands over his face.

"Lord Ozera, it's time," Christian's Guardian says and I watch Christian roll his eyes. Maybe this Guardian is more uptight than I was. I stand and gesture for Christian to go ahead of me but he scowls and I snicker. It feels weird being back at Court, especially while wearing Guardian black and whites. But we make it to the palace and get situated. I poke my head into the main room and spot the back of Rose at the front of the room speaking to Guardian Croft while leaning against her mother.

"Ready?" I ask Christian. He sighs and nods his head, crossing the room and knocking on the adjoining door that connects us to where Lissa is. She steps out and the ceremony begins. Maybe it's my ability to slip back into my role as a Guardian, but the whole thing goes by relatively quickly and I give Lissa a large smile after she tells ever people to rise. Christian walks out with Lissa and I can see from here that his earlier worries have dissipated entirely.


By the time the crowds have dissipated I find Rose sitting awkwardly in a chair in Lissa's personal chambers. Looking at her gives cause for concern with her lips pinched together and eyebrows narrowed.

I stop in front of her and brush her hair back from her face. "Is everything alright?" I ask.

Rose makes a squeaking noise and she tenses up. The look on her face I've seen two times in my life, and it's both good and bad.

"I'm in labour. So I guess I'm alright," she says a moment later heaving a large sigh. I crouch down to look her in the eyes as Lissa comes in with a concerned face.

"How long?"

"Well, the first contraction was when I got here before the ceremony so…maybe four hours? There's about fifteen minutes apart."

Lissa rolls her eyes and rushes back into her bedroom only to return moments later in a pair of jeans and a sweater and a bag slung over her shoulder. "I was worried this might happen. I was prepared," Lissa explains setting the bag down on the floor.

"That bag is from our house," I say but Rose rolls her eyes. "Yes, Lissa all but commanded that I bring it with us. I guess it was with good reason," she says, stretching out in the chair. I give Rose a sympathetic smile and she returns it, but it's tight-lipped. I squeeze her knee and stand up, looking through the baby bag to find something that might help her feel better, but come up empty. I look back at her and find a strange look on her face.

"Lissa?"

"Yeah?"

"My water just broke all over your nice chair," Rose says bluntly.


"I think I prefer the c-section!" Rose groans squeezing my hand. I try not to laugh and kiss her head.

"You said that with Ivan, and yet, you said you wanted to do it 'naturally' this time too."

Rose glares at me before crying out in pain, squeezing my hand again to the point of breaking. But I don't mind, if it makes her feel a little bit better I can handle it. Rose glares at the doctor when he tells her that she needs to push again. I simply just look at him and shrug, saying what can you do? Rose buckles down and squeezes my hand again with a grunt of pain mixed with a shriek. Slumping back when she's told to rest, I wipe a cloth over her forehead, but she waves me off.

"Am I close?" she pleads and the doctor nods. "You're almost there Guardian Belikova. Few more pushes and it's all over."

Rose nods and grips my hands again pushing again and for a moment I really admire her. She's been through this already and yet she wanted to do it all over again. She's a lot stronger than I am. But it's all worth it when Rose gasps in relief and all the tension leaves her body.

"Congratulations, you have a little girl," the doctor says holding our baby up for us to see. Quickly Rose pulls her hospital gown down and the doctor places our baby onto her chest before cutting the cord. We get to look at our little girl for a moment before she is whisked away to be cleaned up.

"Do you want to hold her first?" The nurse asks approaching me with a small bundle. I open my mouth to tell her that Rose should but Rose interrupts me.

"Yes, he does. I got to hold all of our boys first, he can hold our last first."

I smile and hold my hands out and the nurse carefully places my girl in my arms and I hold her close to me, sitting down on the bed next to Rose. She's so much smaller than the boys were and her eyes are shut, but her lashes are so long.

"She's beautiful, isn't she," Rose says in awe. I nod and stroke the baby's cheek. "Yes, she is. Our own little gift from God," I reply, making reference to the meaning of Vanya's name.


TEN YEARS LATER

"Is this everything?" I ask loading the last box into the taxi. Toby gives me a nod and rocks back on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. I give him a small smile and walk closer to him, wrapping him up in a hug.

"You're allowed to be sad to leave, Toby. Yes, this is exciting but you're leaving home. When I left Baia I was upset too," I say as Toby returns my hug. While Toby isn't the same height as me, he's reached 6'3 and still towers over his mother. To be honest, all our children are taller than their mother aside from Vanya.

"I know but I don't want to be sad about it anymore," Toby says. I sigh and pull away, squeezing his shoulders. Toby nods and sniffs before straightening up when the front door opens again. I look over to find the rest of our family coming out, Vanya running straight for her big brother. Toby crouches down just in time to catch her, picking her up and hugging her tightly. Out of all of the bonds our children have, those two have the strongest.

"Ready to start your first term at Alabama?" Rose says with a fond smile. Toby nods and lets go of Vanya before hugging Rose. She hugs him tightly and strokes the back of his head with a teary smile. Luka slaps Toby's back and gives him a hug as well.

"You'll have to keep me updated about the school, I want to know all the details for when I start there too next year."

Toby chuckles and nods his head. This normal 'American' life was not expected. In the end Lissa gave us an even bigger role in the dhampir fertility program. We work as a support house for other dhampir families and we ended up letting our kids going to school in the human world. Toby took a love for football and when scouts started coming out to see him play, we knew that we would do anything we could to let our kids experience a normal life. So when a scout for the University of Alabama approached Toby with a scholarship opportunity, he jumped on it. When we went to tour the campus Luka fell in love with it and decided that he wanted to go there too next year.

"As soon as you know when your first game is, we will be there," Rose promises, stroking Toby's cheek. He nods and clears his throat before hugging Ivan goodbye and putting his bag in the trunk before shutting the lid.

"And let us know when you land," I say when Toby turns to face us again.

"I will. I promise," Toby says with a small smile. He walks towards me and gives me another hug so tight that it feels like he's trying to squeeze me to death.

"I am so proud of you," I whisper kissing the side of his head. He nods and pulls away. "Thanks, Papa."

I sigh heavily and let go of him. "Alright, you don't want to miss your flight," I say thickly. Toby nods and waves goodbye before getting into the taxi, waving to us as he drives down the road. Rose comes up beside me and wraps her arms around my waist, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Are you crying?" she asks softly, but by the wetness on my shoulder, I know she is. I shake my head and wrap my arm around her as Vanya snuggles into my other side.

"No. Are you?"

Rose smacks my chest softly and gives me a watery laugh. "There's no reason to. Another chapter of our lives is starting," I say softly.

Rose chuckles and lets go of me before heading back towards the house. "Alright, you lot! Everyone is helping me with dinner tonight!"

The boys groan while Vanya runs after her mother. I laugh and wrap an arm around each of my sons, simultaneously ruffling their hair.

"C'mon, let's go help your mother," I chuckle pulling them both into the house.

The End.


And that's a wrap! I remember getting the inspiration for this story and sitting down, writing multiple chapters out in just under two hours, and now we've come to an end!

I want to give a massive thank you to TheLittleSubmissive for always being there to help me work out the roadblocks and taking time to look over my chapters. You always help me sort out my ideas and I am forever grateful!

I hope that the ending satisfies everyone and if you are looking for any other stories to read, I am currently writing Moving Objects!