Rose's POV

"Do you know a Dr Franke?" I asked Dimitri. He shook his head, "Does he work at Court?" he asked. I shrugged, "I don't know, Lissa was on the phone with Christian. They're waiting to hear from this guy." Dimitri raised one eyebrow at me, "Waiting to hear what?" I blew out air in frustration. Don't even think it, Rose. There's no way Lissa is…

"I don't know Dimitri, what kind of news do people wait to hear from a doctor?" I snapped. The thought of Lissa being pregnant or sick crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed the idea. She would have told me something like that. I'm sure of it. Dimitri held his hands up in a defensive gesture, though he gave me a sharp look.

"Don't get mad at me, I'm trying to help here." I rolled my eyes at him, which made him narrow his eyes at me. "Alright. Let's go home. I need to look this guy up, see what kind of work he does. Apparently he's finding something out at 5am that Lissa's interested in," I looked at the clock hanging in the courtroom, "We have three hours to find out who he is, or for Lissa to let me back into her head, whichever happens first…"

Dimitri shook his head, "She's going to have to tell you sooner or later. Probably sooner, knowing her. Why stress yourself out about it now? Lissa knows what she's doing, I hope. Let's forget about this for now," Dimitri stood with a determined look on his face and took the two steps to where I was, bringing his mouth close to my ear and lowering his voice, "and celebrate our anniversary."

I blushed slightly, letting myself get distracted by his voice. Getting into bed with Dimitri right now sounded so enticing; I was almost too eager to put my concern for Lissa in the back of my head; at least for now. He was right, there was nothing I could do in three hours - except be here with Dimitri.

I took in Dimitri's now smoldering gaze and started to feel almost dizzy with the thoughts of what he could do to me in private. "We've only been together six months, we don't have to celebrate anything until we make it to a year," I pointed out in a soft voice. Dimitri smiled dangerously and reached for my hand. He brought my hand up to cup his face and leaned down so that his forehead was touching mine. "I think we have every reason to celebrate now. You and I were never supposed to work out, but we did it. Even after I had been turned into a Strigoi, even after you became princess. We've been fighting to be together for a long time now, and we finally got six amazing months together. And this is just the start of our lives together. Roza -"

I brought my lips to his before he could finish his thought. I didn't want him to bring me to happy tears, and it was quickly going in that direction with his sweet words. The kiss was full of fire and promised much more than just our lips touching. The hand that was cupping his face tangled itself in Dimitri's hair while my other hand gripped the front of his shirt, bringing him closer to me. Dimitri didn't hesitate to reciprocate. His hands were on my hips in an instant, pulling my hips as close as possible to his. I stood on my toes so that my hips could grind on his, making him moan in my mouth. If we didn't stop now, we weren't going to make it back to the suite.

He picked me up by the waist and quickly sat me down on the council table; I scooted to the very edge so that I could continue giving Dimitri friction from my body. He pulled his lips away from mine just enough to speak, "Roza… there are cameras in here." I could see him considering the consequences of what would soon become a very incriminating act. I smiled, feeling more brazen than I had even when I threatened Rufus. "I'll have Mikhail delete the footage."

With that, there was nothing else to be considered. Dimitri gave me a wicked smile before his lips were on mine again. Has it really only been half a year with this man? Every time we're together, it feels so familiar yet so achingly new and foreign. Apparently Dimitri still has much to show me.

It wasn't very long before I was yanking our clothes off, desperate to feel his body on mine. I managed to get my shirt off and his duster off. Dimitri wasn't having that though. His hand gripped my wrist as I was in the process of unzipping his jeans. "Not yet, Roza. We can take it slow," he whispered huskily. I was nearly panting from the kisses and my own anticipation at this point.

"Are you kidding me? Someone could walk in any second, we need to be quick. Get your damn clothes off!" I demanded.

Dimitri just laughed at me, "No, I don't think I will quite yet." He kissed down my neck teasingly, making me gasp in pleasure, I had never seen him so brazzen. "Lay down, princess" he ordered.

I did as he said and scooted back on the table. Dimitri climbed on so that he was hovering over me now. His elbow supported most of his weight while his other hand was free to roam my body. His hand ran up my thigh, pushing the material of my skirt up as his hand came closer to my waist. Just before his hand reached its destination, he changed course and wrapped my leg around his waist. I bit my lip, remembering the same move from our first time together. Dimitri's hand was travelling back to its original place at an agonizingly slow pace, and I could see the desire for me burning in his eyes. "Roza," he breathed, "did you wear these just for me?" His fingers plucked at the material of my nylons. I giggled and nodded, "I thought you'd like it."

Dimitri kissed my jawbone and then my neck, starting a trail of kisses that kept getting lower on my body. "I do like it. I love it." He looked up from where he had just kissed below my belly button. "Now let me show you how much I love you, Roza."

We stayed in the courtroom for what seemed like forever, the whole time Dimitri worshipped my body, barely letting me do any favors for him in return. Needless to say, I had to make a very embarrassing phone call to Mikhail afterwards.

By the time the sun came up Dimitri and I found ourselves in Lissa's gigantic suite so that I could interrogate her. It was past 5am, so I assumed she had already received her news from this mystery doctor. Once I finally came down from the high of being with Dimitri, I decided it was time to get to work. "Lissa, you told me not to ruin the surprise, so I didn't. I waited," I chose not to include just what I was doing while I waited for the news. "Now spill."

Lissa jumped up and down, beaming at me. All of her earlier anxiety and snarkiness were completely gone now. "We just got the results. Come with us," was all she said before grabbing Christian's hand and rushing out of the suite. The four of us, along with four of Lissa's guardians, speed walked through Court's grounds. She went straight to the clinic, walking down endless hallways until we ended up in a more secluded area in the hospital. Lissa walked up to a door labeled PRIVATE and knocked rapidly.

Her hand was already turning the knob before a female voice called out "Come in!" Lissa ushered me, Dimitri and Christian in and asked her guards to wait outside before closing the door. A Moroi man wearing a lab coat stood by the counter, probably Dr Franke. A young dhampir woman and her dhampir boyfriend in their twenties or thirties sat next to each other on the exam table, holding hands and smiling.

They both jumped down at our entrance and bowed their heads. "Your Majesty, Princess Hathaway, Lord Ozera, Guardian Belikov," they said in unison. I was slightly surprised and pleasantly amused that they would include Dimitri in their greeting.

Lissa stepped forward and hugged the dhampir girl, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. "Congratulations! I am so happy for you two." The couple offered wide smiles and the girl laid a hand on her stomach. I almost gaped at the girl in front of me. I must have been wrong about the man being her boyfriend if she's pregnant.

"Thank you. For everything, we don't know how we can repay you!" My confusion continued to grow, threatening to interrupt their moment so that I could ask questions.

Lissa shook her head, "You already have." Dimitri wore his guardian mask, and Christian had a faint hint of a smile on his face. Obviously Lissa didn't see the need to keep her boyfriend in the dark about whatever this was. Finally, seeming to remember that the rest of us were here, Lissa turned around. "Rose, Dimitri, I want you to meet Dr Franke. He and his team have been helping me recently. And this is Taylor and Wade Hernandez. They've been married for five years; both of them work as guards at Alder Academy in California so that they can be close to each oth-"

"Wait, you two are married?" I asked incredulously, staring at Taylor's bare finger where a ring should be. Lissa didn't scold me for the interruption, and Taylor simply smiled, noticing where my gaze was. "I only wear my ring on special occasions, in case I'm caught in a fight or something. And I know it's not conventional for guardians to have serious relationships together, but you and Guardian Belikov are also involved, correct?"

I nodded slowly as I processed this information. Maybe I read too much into her holding her stomach and Lissa's congratulations. There's no way Taylor could be pregnant, not without her husband screaming and cursing about her sleeping with a Moroi.

Lissa cleared her throat, "We just found out that Taylor and Wade are expecting their first child."

Well then.

Everything slowed down in that instant. If this is what I thought it was, my entire life was about to change. I simply stared at Taylor's still flat belly; remembering what Oksana told me so long ago. I had told Lissa immediately about the chances of Dhampirs having children together, but I didn't expect her to do anything about it - I didn't think she could if I was being honest. Dimitri had been kept in the dark.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking between Taylor and Wade. When no one said anything Dimitri turned to Lissa, "That's not possible" he stated firmly. Lissa gave me a confused look, "You didn't tell him?"

Dimitri stepped toward me, "Didn't tell me what?" He looked angry now. Angry and confused. I opened my mouth to speak but the words didn't come out. It shouldn't be possible.

I took a few deep breaths, everyone in the room was waiting for me to speak first. I faced Dimitri, hoping I didn't look too guilty.

"Remember when Viktoria told you that Oksana had a plan for us to have a baby? And I told you that Viktoria was lying, that she misunderstood what Oksana was trying to tell me? And then I told Rufus there would be a dhampir heir, but then I told you that I was just bluffing?" I waited for Dimitri to nod before continuing.

"Well… I lied. About it all... I didn't know if it was possible, it was just a story and I didn't want you to expect a miracle to happen. Oksana told me that dhampirs with large amounts of healing magic coursing through them would be able to reproduce with other dhampirs, because enough healing magic would cure everything. Even infertility."

I paused, gauging Dimitri's reaction as the news sunk in. For once, he didn't have the conscious ability to put up his mask, so all of his emotions were exposed to the entire room. His mouth was agape and his eyebrows were furrowed together in disbelief. His eyes were wide with awe and… pain. I couldn't look at him any longer without causing myself some pain.

I turned to Lissa. "When did you do this?" I asked accusingly, jerking my head in the couple's direction. The tension in the room continued to build, but somehow Lissa kept a smile on her face. "As soon as you told me what Oksana said. I started looking for Dhampir couples across the country. Taylor and Wade were ideal because of their age and good standing with their colleagues. I needed a couple that had been public for a long period of time, so that once the pregnancy becomes public news, there won't be too much doubt about the child's parentage. Of course, because of the situation, there will be some doubt…" She gave a sympathetic look to the couple.

Wade shrugged, "You explained how hard it would be when you reached out to us. I know many people won't believe that I'm the father. I still think it's worth it." Lissa nodded, "Yes, but when the time comes a DNA test will clear all of that up."

I ran my hands through my hair, growing more frustrated by the minute. Dimitri was still standing there with that hurt and frustrated expression which was only making my mood worse. "Wait wait wait. This is happening too fast. You're telling me that, based on Oksana's old wive's tale, you found two dhampirs willing for you to experiment on them with Spirit and have a baby? And what you're saying is that… it actually worked? It's possible for us to have children?" I stared at Taylor for the millionth time today, "You're really having another dhampir's child?" I asked pleadingly.

Taylor smiled at me, "Yes. I am."

After Taylor's reassurance that a dhampir-dhampir couple could produce a baby with some help from Spirit, I started another stream of questions, but Lissa said that there was no reason for me to interrogate the couple. She dismissed the couple and told me and Dimitri she would meet us at our suite tomorrow to explain everything else.

I knew that Dimitri was just as shocked as I was, but he was even more upset about being kept in the dark about it.

The walk back to the suite was the most awkward and possibly heart wrenching fifteen minutes of my life. It didn't help that Dimitri slammed the door when we got there. Suddenly I wished Lissa had come back with us so that Dimitri couldn't yell at me.

"When were you going to tell me?" he demanded, his anger rolling off of him. It was times like these that I was glad I couldn't read auras. I did what I always did when I fought with Dimitri; I stood tall and refused to swallow my pride. "If Lissa hadn't gone and done this experiment, then I wouldn't have mentioned it to you until I decided to look into it myself."

Dimitri flexed his jaw, "And when would you have decided to 'look into it'?" I narrowed my eyes, refusing to cower under his accusing gaze. "Whenever I decided I was ready to have children."

Dimitri threw his arm up in frustration, "You still should have told me! Instead you chose to lie to my face!"

I stepped forward and jabbed a finger at his chest, "I was trying to make sure you didn't get your hopes up! What if I had told you? Hm? I know you want kids, Dimitri, even though you told me you're okay with giving that up to be with me. But what if I told you there was a chance we could have kids together and then it turned out to be a fable, what then? You would have been heart broken. I had no way of knowing it would actually work."

My rant only got Dimitri more worked up. His hands gripped the side of his face like it might explode. He started gesturing wildly as he spoke, pointing at me a lot. "Are you insane! You think that would have hurt more than knowing you lied to me about it?! You fed me some bullshit about Oksana talking nonsense, and you bluffed to Rufus and the court, and I bought it! I can't believe I fucking believed you! God, you still act like such a child, only thinking of yourself. We had a chance to build a family together, a chance to put all of the doubt the court has in your power behind us, and you buried it! You had a chance to make me the happiest man on the earth and you blew it."

I stepped back with the force of his words. It would have hurt less if he had physically slapped me. Instead of the pain and guilt taking over, though, I was filled with more rage. "How. Dare. You." I hissed. He had the audacity to glare at me, which sent me over the edge, screaming at him louder than I've ever screamed at another person.

"HOW DARE YOU! How could I have ruined a chance for a family when we didn't believe we could even have kids! Oksana never gave me a choice! There was no decision to make! The council is forcing me to have a kid whether I want to or not! And here you are acting like you've been wronged because I wanted to take some time and think it through. I am fucking eighteen years old, or have you forgotten?" And with that, the venom drained from my voice, and all that was left of my emotions was agony. Tears welled up in my eyes and my lip quivered, but I wasn't done talking yet, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to fight off the tears if I said anything else.

"Why is it so wrong for me to want to enjoy my adult life for a while before it's ripped away by a child? Why is it so wrong for me to want to have that part of my life completely under my control, instead of everyone else telling what I should do. All I wanted was to wait. I'm glad Lissa made it work, but I never asked her to do it. I want to be older before even thinking about a child... I don't want kids yet."

My chest was heaving up and down but I didn't feel like I was getting enough oxygen to my lungs. Dimitri didn't say anything for a long while. We both stood there, him shaking with anger, me with tears streaming down my face. The only other time Dimitri didn't comfort me when I was about to cry was when he was a Strigoi, but he didn't comfort me now. He seemed less angry as he pinched the bridge of his nose and screwed his eyes shut in concentration.

"You honestly didn't think that I would have supported you?" he asked in a drained voice. I looked at the ground not really knowing what to say. I grasped for the right words, thinking of how I could make things better. Dimitri apparently didn't want to wait for my answer though, so he stalked into the master bedroom and shut the door behind him. At least he didn't slam it this time.

My thoughts wandered back to this morning, how Dimitri told me he loved me, and showed me with his body. How could we have gone from that to having our worst fight ever in less than a day? I sank to my knees as I started full on sobbing. What was wrong with me? I had the best intentions and still managed to make a mess of my relationship. All I could hear was my own sobs and running water. Dimitri was probably taking a shower to avoid me. This was going to be extremely uncomfortable. As angry as he was with me, he's still my guardian and has a duty to stay near me.

The self doubt sank, and I started second guessing my choice to not tell Dimitri. I definitely regretted saying the things I did tonight. I should have just let him yell at me and told him he was right, because he was in this case. Why couldn't I swallow my damn pride?

Suddenly the bedroom door opened and Dimitri walked over to me. Without hesitating he knelt down and scooped me into his arms, carrying me into the bedroom. I didn't protest, secretly pleased that he calmed down enough to be around me. He walked right into the master bathroom where the large tub was filling up with water and set me down on my feet.

He placed both of his hands on my shoulders, looking at me squarely, "We're not done talking about this, but I hate it when I yell at you and when you cry. I want to take a break from fighting, okay?" He looked at me hopefully, there was no way I could have turned this offer down. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"Take your clothes off," he said, none of the earlier anger lacing his voice now. We stripped off our clothes, then I let Dimitri lead me into the tub. I sat with my back to his chest, his arms wrapped around me.

We didn't say anything as we sat there, soaking in the hot water. Sometimes Dimitri would kiss my neck or my head. Eventually I tipped my head back and arched my back just enough to kiss his lips tentatively, still unsure of how calm he was feeling right now. Dimitri kissed me back, but the kiss didn't pick up intensity like our kisses usually did. I relaxed my back and lay against him again, content to not say anything for now.

There was nothing sexual about our bath together, we just enjoyed each other's closeness, and the momentary ceasefire that the water provided us. Dimitri started to trace my body with his hands almost absentmindedly, like he does when we lay in bed together. I wish we could have stayed there all night, but the water got cold after an hour. I got out of the tub first and grabbed a towel for me and Dimitri. I thought the spell would be broken then, but a haze of tense peace still hung between us.

I never thought being naked in the same room as him would be such a sobering moment. Once we were both wrapped in our towels I laced my fingers through his and tugged him to the bed before he could argue or try to sleep in the spare bedroom. I crawled into bed with my towel still wrapped around me despite my hair still dripping water.

I made sure to lay close to him on our sides, both of our heads resting on the same pillow. Dimitri looked like he had a thousand things to say to me right now, but he never opened his mouth. He just studied me, his hand still lazily tracing my body. I looked at his eyes, taking in the color, thinking of how that color is my favorite thing to see before I fall asleep and when I wake up. Looking into his eyes, I knew that I wanted to pacify this fight before anything else was said that we would regret. It didn't matter right now that I was admitting fault, just as long as he forgave me and I felt that love that we were surrounded by when today began.

I lifted a finger to Dimitri's lips so that he knew to let me say it all before he could speak.

"I never had the time to think about if I even wanted to be a mother. Growing up to become a guardian, it was never an issue, but then, all of the sudden the council was making it mandatory for me to provide and heir. Me. Of all people. When Oksana told me that I might be able to have a kid with you, I got so excited and happy. But I was also scared. Nobody would believe us, they would have thought that I'd cheated on you. This baby would be considered a bastard.

"And on top of that, I was terrified to think of myself as a mother. I mean, you saw how I used to be with my mom. I told myself that it was because I'm so young. I decided to wait to tell you, so that I could come to the decision to have kids on my own terms, with no pressure from anyone else. I only told Lissa because I needed to work through the possibilities and see how we could get the council to believe it, plus she's my best friend. I just couldn't tell you. Even before I thought about telling you, I needed the time to consider all the aspects of having a kid. I knew that if I told you, then you would be impatient to make a baby, just like you're impatient to get me to marry you. I'm sorry, Dimitri. I never wanted to hurt you."

Dimitri stopped his tracing on my hip and pulled me into an embrace and rested his head on my collar bone. I ran my fingers through his damp hair, waiting for him to say anything. For a long time we just lay there, and I was already drifting off into sleep when I felt him lift his head and whisper, "I love you Roza."