A/N: Gotta be honest, I have no idea where this idea came from. I wanted to write something for Lucian and Sonja and then this little thing just kept flowing out of me. It's kind of a supernatural concept, but you know what, in a world of vampires and werewolves, I don't think that's too much of a stretch. Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

If Lucian was being honest with himself, he couldn't tell if this was a vision, a dream, or if he'd just gone plain mad. But who was he to turn away such a precious gift?

He stood by the edge of the doorway, unwilling to make his presence known for fear this would all disappear right before his eyes. He could see her. She was smiling. So very opposite the look of terror he'd last seen as she waited for the deadly rays of sun to take her soul away. And she wasn't just smiling at nothing, her gaze turned down at the tiny bundle cradled gently in her arms.

His breath caught in his throat as Sonja finally looked up at him, those ever so familiar eyes shining with adoration.

"Lucian, my love, you can come in."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "I'm afraid if I do, you'll leave me again."

"Not right now," she held out a hand beckoning him to come closer. "Come, see your daughter."

His feet, having a mind of their own, carried him over to where she sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her and stared reverently down at the baby whose little mouth was pursed in her sleep. He stroked a finger down on of her chubby cheeks and grinned when she cooed in response.

"She's…perfect. She's everything I imagined our child would be."

"Would you like to hold her?"

He barely had time to nod before Sonja carefully handed the baby over to him, making sure his arms were in the right position to support her head. However careful they were, the slight jostling still managed to wake her up and Lucian found himself gazing into the innocent eyes of his daughter, the deep blue shade matching his.

"She has your eyes," Sonja remarked, leaning her chin on his shoulder. "Whenever I want to feel close to you, I just look into her eyes and it's like I'm with you again."

The pain in Lucian's heart was indescribable. She missed him just as much as he missed her and with every fiber of his being, he wished they had never been separated.

"Sonja…" He turned his head to look at her and couldn't help himself. He captured her lips with his, feeling the desperation, the ache, the love that was shared between them. If this was a dream, hell, he never wanted to wake up. If this was him going crazy, then he never wanted to be sane—never wanted reality to come crashing back to him. He wanted to stay right here—wherever here was—with the family that had been viciously ripped from his grasp so very long ago.

Sonja gently nipped his bottom lip before pulling away, her hands cupping his cheeks as she pressed their foreheads together.

"I miss you more than I can ever think to describe," he whispered.

She sniffled and sighed. "As do I, my love."

Lucian pulled away in order to glance down at his daughter. "It's not fair. I didn't care about power or wealth, I just wanted to be free—free with you, with our child. We could've been a family—we could've been happy. But Viktor—"

"Shh," she said, "don't speak his name. While you're here, forget about him."

As if she could sense the change in the room, the baby in his arms began to squirm, one tiny arm wiggling free to flail about in distress. Lucian's attention quickly snapped back to her and he instinctively began to rock her and making gentle shushing noises.

"Hey, hey, none of that now. It's alright, sweetheart." He grabbed her moving hand and was startled at how strong the grip she formed around his thumb was.

Sonja laughed at his surprise. "She has an iron tight grip when she wants to. Make sure to keep your hair away from her or she'll rip it straight out of your head."

"Know that from experience, huh?" he said cheekily.

Sonja hummed. "She started doing it not too long ago. Probably gets it from her father." She shot him a suggestive look and he grinned crookedly in response. Yeah he used to be rather fond of that.

"I don't suppose we have time for a repeat of that?" he asked.

Sonja's demeanor suddenly became more guarded as tension filled her body. Her back stiffened and she moved so there was a few inches of space between them. "I'm afraid we don't have time for much of anything, Lucian. It's time for you to go back."

Lucian's heart sank and he looked at his daughter in despair. He didn't want to leave. How could he? How could he abandon the only moment of peace he'd known since Sonja's death?

"Don't make me do this, Sonja. Please don't make me leave."

She smiled at him sadly and shook her head. "There's nothing I can do. You don't belong here. Not yet anyway. If you stay much longer, you'll never leave."

"Would that be so bad?" he pleaded. "What life can I live that doesn't have you in it? Either of you?"

"Lucian," she sighed. "You belong out there, working to make the world better for your people. You can't stay. This isn't your home—"

"You're my home," he said, one hand pressed to her cheek.

She laid her hand over his and leaned into the touch. "I'll always be your home, my love. Right in here," her other hand settled on his chest, right where his heart was. "But it's not our time yet."

Lucian felt the tears welling up in his eyes as his vision went blurry. He tried to blink them away, wanting to see the faces of his family clearly. If he was being forced to leave them, then he was going to commit every little detail of this to memory. From his daughter's wispy strands of hair to the warmth of Sonja's touch heating up his skin.

Sonja held out her hands, gesturing to the baby.

Lucian took a deep breath and stared down at her—the daughter that was taken away from him only seconds after he knew of her existence. And know the same thing was happening again. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, the soft baby skin brushing against his lips. Reluctantly he handed her over and Sonja put her in the cradle next to the bed.

"I never asked, what's her name?" He didn't just want to know, he needed to. The question would plague him for centuries unless he found out.

"Ilona," Sonja said.

He nodded in understanding. "After your mother."

She nodded and moved to stand closer to him, her body mere inches from his.

Unable to resist, he threw his arms around her and held her close, his arms wrapped around her like a vice. He buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent one last time. She clung to him as well, her arms like steel around him.

"I never want this to end," he murmured, his lips brushing against her skin.

Her hand stroked his hair soothingly. "Nothing lasts forever, Lucian. Everything must come to an end. And when it's your time, we'll be here waiting for you."

Lucian pulled her into a searing kiss, knowing full well that would be the last time he'd ever get to do it. She melted into him just like she used to when they would have their clandestine meetings.

Every inch of him protested when they finally parted. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg for her to let him stay—to keep ahold of him and never let him go.

But he didn't. He remained steadfast, swallowing back emotions too big to handle right now.

"I love you," he told her, his eyes shining.

She smiled softly at him. "I love you too. I always have and I always will." Putting her palm on his chest, she gently pushed him back towards the door.

He forced himself to keep his feet moving, despite the agony that every step caused him. The growing distance felt wrong, but he knew he couldn't stop. She would be so disappointed in him if he did and he couldn't bear to see that. When he reached the doorway, he turned around, facing out. Sparing a look over his shoulder to see Sonja giving him an encouraging nod, he walked forward into darkness.

"-cian…Lucian."

His eyes fluttered open and he automatically brought an arm up to shield them from the bright lights above. Wincing at the throbbing in his side, he settled his arm back down to stop the pain.

"Lucian?"

Glancing to his right, he saw Raze staring at him with a mixture of concern and relief. He tried sitting up, which was incredibly stupid of him, only for a firm hand to settle on his shoulder and hold him down.

"Take it easy, Lucian. You were stabbed with a silver blade. Almost run completely through."

So it was all just a dream. A figment of his pain-induced imagination, craving the only thing that would bring him comfort at a time like that.

Raze kept speaking. "You were half dead when we brought you to the doc. Took a hell of a miracle to save you. At one point we thought you were gone forever. But you weren't. You finally came back to us."

Maybe…maybe it wasn't as fake as he thought it was. Maybe it had all been real—Sonja, his daughter. Maybe he truly saw them.

Lucian could feel the fatigue starting to set in again as his body worked to heal itself back together from the severe trauma that had been inflicted. Despite that, the corner of his mouth ticked up.

"It wasn't my time yet," he whispered.

"We nearly thought it was. You know we don't do that religious bullshit but it was like you had someone watching over you to bring you back. You—"

"Raze."

The bigger Lycan shut his mouth instantly.

"Thanks for saving me, but you can leave now. I need to rest if we're to proceed with our plans."

Raze bowed his head in submission and started backing out of the room. "Of course."

When he was finally alone, he sighed and settled back into his pillow, his thoughts immediately straying to his family. "In time, my love. I'll join you soon enough. But now…now I have work to do. I won't fail you."

As he drifted off to sleep, he could've sworn he felt a phantom hand caress his cheek.