I didn't know what woke me. I didn't need to go to the bathroom, I wasn't hot, I wasn't cold. I was perfectly comfortable. I could hear Dimitri's steady breath behind me and felt his body shift in bed, rolling and resting his hand on my shoulder. I reached for it and kissed it softly before getting up, grabbing the sweater I had thrown on the chair before bed.

I walked quietly to the door so I wouldn't wake Dimitri but it was opened just a crack. I stepped closer and peered through the crack.

"I left you here to keep her safe, not to defy me and bring him here!" Abe hissed. I could just see Pavel just off to the side, between Abe in the door.

"You have no idea how much she needed this!" Pavel exclaimed in a whisper, "She needs him. She is approaching motherhood and while trying to protect her, you have stolen something from both of them! You have stolen precious moments. You don't hear her crying at night because she misses him, and you don't hear how she sounds every time she hangs up the phone!"

"For all we know, he could be the mole!"

"For God's sake, Abe! Get a fucking grip on yourself! The only thing you are going to achieve by going in there is ruining the glimpse of a relationship you have with your daughter! She won't admit it out loud, she views you as her father. She loves you because you are a part of her! If you go in there, all that will be left is the girl who threatened to kill you, and she might do it! And I might let her," Pavel growled.

I bit my lip and rested my hand on the door frame. Abe glowered at Pavel, and I opened the door enough for them to see me. Pavel turned and gave me a sympathetic look. Abe straightened up and I raised my brows.

"Are you done?"

Abe gapped at me, and I jutted my chin out at him and bugged my eyes at him.

"I said are you done? Because I'm not going to put up with this. Today has been the first time I've been here that I've been genuinely happy. If you take that away, I'm gone. I know at least six ways out of this house, and I've stayed because it was important to you. But if your hate for a man that you don't know, or will even hear out, is too strong for you to put aside, I'm gone," I said before closing the door and turning the lock. I leaned against the door with a sigh before going to my bathroom and closing the door behind me. I splashed cold water over my face and then went back to bed, climbing back beside Dimitri.

When I pulled the blankets up he opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake me," I whispered as I stroked his cheek softly, laying on my side facing him.

"You didn't wake me," he said quietly, reaching for my hand. I laced my fingers into his and scooted closer to him, rubbing my foot against his leg.

"What woke you?"

"The same thing that woke you."

I frowned and let go of his hand, cuddling against him instead the best I could. I lifted my shirt so my belly would press against his skin and rested my face on my shoulder.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Always, Roza," Dimitri said.

"When you were a novice, did you break into someone's house with other novices?"

Dimitri's hand had been drawing idle shapes on my shoulder when it stopped.

"How did you know that?"

I looked up at him and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw. "I need you to be honest with me, comrade. What did you do while you were there?"

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "Honestly? I found a library in the house and spent an hour in there. I'm not sure about the others. Why?"

"Did you know that there was someone in the house?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Not until after we left. How do you know this?"

I licked my lips. "The house was Abe's. That's why he threatened you. He doesn't know who raped his assistant. He thought it might have been you," I explained. Dimitri's eyes widen and he shook his head, mouth working but I shushed him and rest my hand on his chest.

"I know you didn't," I whispered, "I defended you. But you need to tell him that."

Dimitri nodded and kissed my forehead. I hummed quietly and ran my hand over his arm, letting my nails run over his skin. I lay there for a few minutes before I had to roll over.

"I'm not moving because I don't believe you, I just can't lay on this side anymore," I said seriously, turning over and backing myself to his chest. Dimitri wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the back of my head. I smiled to myself and moved his hand to my stomach, knowing that it would make him feel better.

He didn't like to touch it all the time, probably because he didn't want me to feel like a human incubator, but I liked it when he did. I touched it all the time myself, and his big, warm hand felt good on it.

"We'll do it together in the morning," I whispered.

When I woke up I felt light and well-rested. I sighed and smirked when the hand that was on my stomach crept higher and under my shirt, Dimitri's thumb brushing the underside of my breast. They felt heavy and sore, but feeling him touch me made me shiver.

I rolled a bit and reach behind me, cupping the back of Dimitri's head. He was awake already, pressing kisses to my neck. When he lifted his head I captured his lips with mine, moaning quietly. Dimitri's hand started to move down but I stopped him, bringing his hand back up.

I pulled back for a moment and licked my lips, smiling at him with half-open eyes. Dimitri leaned in and kissed me again.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Morning," I said back with a yawn.

"Is there something you'd like me to do with this hand, or do you just want me to grope you?"

I wagged my brows at him and licked my lips.

"Maybe. I mean, the hormones are just running rampant and all I can think about is how hot you look in the morning," I chirped. Dimitri hummed deep in his throat and cupped my breast in his palm. I sighed and ran my fingers through the back of his hair.

He squeezed gently and I took a sharp breath in through my nose. He let go immediately and I rolled over, pushing him onto his back and climbing over him.

"It didn't hurt exactly," I whispered as I pressed a kiss over his neck, nipping at his ear. Dimitri grunted and rested his hands on my hips, guiding me slowly as I rolled my hips against him. I pulled back from kissing his neck and cupped his neck, moving my lips against his.

I could feel him starting to thicken under me and I tried to find the right spot to rub, moaning into his mouth when I did. I didn't realize that I needed a release so badly until now. I caught his lip between my teeth and tugged gently, letting go of it when his hands moved up my back.

"Roza, as much as I would love this right now, I can't."

I sat up and pouted. "Why?"

Dimitri stroked my lip with his thumb tenderly. "Because your father is somewhere in this house plotting my death."

I bit my lip and toyed with the strings on his pants. "It's not 'cause I'm not thin anymore?"

Dimitri pressed his lips together like he was trying not to laugh. "Roza, I think you look fantastic, and I think you're sexy. It has nothing to do with you."

I licked my lips and nodded, climbing off his lap and sitting on the bed next to him.

"Well, I did lock the door. How about a nice shower?" I asked leadingly, "I promise I'll behave."

Dimitri eyed me for a moment before getting up, rolling out of bed and cracking his neck as he came around the bed. I watched him head for the bathroom and I scrambled to my feet following him.

After our shower, we headed downstairs. I opted for something light, a simple sundress that flattered my stomach. I gestured for Dimitri to sit down. Abe was already at the table with his newspaper, eyeing Dimitri over the top of it while Pavel nursed a cup of coffee, watching the two of them carefully.

I shook my head as I poured two cups of coffee, putting a little bit of sugar into mine and walked back, setting one on the table in front of Dimitri. Dimitri looked at me and whispered a thank you. I didn't respond verbally but leaned down and kissed him softly.

"Shouldn't he be getting you coffee?" Abe muttered from behind his paper.

"As a matter of fact, I like getting him his first cup of coffee of the day. He spends the rest of his day making sure I'm cared for. Don't look for a problem where there isn't one," I stated as I walked to the other side of Dimitri, my fingers brushing over his shoulder as I sat down. I angled myself on the chair and put my feet on Dimitri's lap. Dimitri smiled at me tenderly and ran his hand over the top of my feet, moving up my shin and then back down.

"How did you sleep?" Pavel asked.

I smiled and sipped my coffee. "I slept perfectly. How about you?"

Pavel smirked. "Fine. Sorry that we woke you," he said. I shrugged and took another sip of my coffee, tilting my head back and with a small smile. Dimitri was relaxed in his chair too, one hand on his cup while the other kneaded my foot.

I sighed when Dimitri found the right stop in my foot. I groaned and rested my head against the back of the chair.

"More?" Dimitri asked.

I nodded and Dimitri chuckled quietly, adding his other hand to my foot and working the tension from my foot before switching to the other one. I lifted my head and smiled tiredly at him before catching Abe watching the two of us closely.

"Have something to say?" I asked and looked at him pointedly.

Abe cleared his throat and set his paper on the table and looked at us pointedly. "There are some things I'd like to know."

"You may ask, but you may not get answers," Dimitri said dryly as he rubbed the top of my feet for a moment and then took a sip of his coffee.

"You broke into my house when you were a novice. Why?"

Dimitri shook his head with a sigh. "One of the novices convinced us that it was his biological father's house. When we got there I found your library and stayed there until they left. I even found a picture in one of the books and I remembered thinking that it was a cute kid. Now I have an idea of what our girl will look like," Dimitri said to Abe before directing his words at me, resting a hand on my stomach.

"I already told Rose that I didn't know about your assistant until afterwards. And collectively, we all beat the shit of Boris for it," Dimitri added after a moment, looking up at Abe.

"A picture?"

Dimitri nodded. "Yeah, it was stuck between the pages of a book. A goldish book with red writing on it," Dimitri explained, "I think was maybe two or three? Actually come to think of it, you were holding Stitch," Dimitri added, teasing me.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Stitch is the bomb."

"That was right before you and your mother left," Abe said quietly, "It was the last photo I had of you."

I frowned sadly to myself and rubbed my finger against the side of my mug. "I'm sorry."

Abe's lips curled inwards for a moment. "It's not your fault."

"I know, but still," I said quietly. I bit my lip and rubbed my feet together in Dimitri's lap. He could tell I was upset and moved his hand to my stomach again, stroking his thumb across the fabric.

"What do you think of Delilah?" Dimitri asked to change the subject.

I chuckled. "Why? So you can sing the song to her?"

Dimitri shrugged.

"I'm vetoing all flora names. I like Hailey and Leia," I said with a small smile.

"Leia is pretty," Pavel pipped up.

"Your mother always liked the name Hailey, but I felt that didn't suit you," Abe said quietly.

I looked at him and smiled. "Any other name ideas your guys had?

Abe blew a breath from his lips. "Many. So many. Aspen oddly enough was a front-runner for a while. Amora, Demetria," Abe explained with a laugh.

"Aspen Hathaway," I mused.

"Aspen Lila Mazur," Abe corrected, "Your birth certificate reads Rosemarie Estelle Mazur. Your mother changed your name when she left."

I raised my brows. "I didn't know I even had a middle name."

"Rosemarie Estelle has a nice ring to it," Dimitri mused with a smile. I nodded and grinned at him, rubbing my hands over my stomach.

"Oh, oww," I hissed, pressing my hand over my rib. Dimitri sat up straight in his chair but I waved my hand at him.

"She's just moving. She kicked me in the ribs," I reassured.

Dimitri relaxed in his chair but kept a careful eye on me. Abe seemed to mull over what Dimitri said earlier.

"You didn't know Lesley was in the house?"

Dimitri shook his head. "No. If I had known, I wouldn't have let that happen to her," Dimitri said after a moment. Abe nodded and picked up his own coffee and sipped it. Pavel raised his brows and looked at me. I raised my brows at him too and shrugged, pinching my face as the baby moved. I was glad the rate of growth was slowing down, but from seeing the ultrasounds, she was a long baby. I could imagine it felt good being cramped inside of me, but it didn't feel good when she stretched out.

"Have you tried yoga?" Pavel asked after a moment, "I've heard it helps."

I snorted a laugh and Dimitri made an odd giggling noise.

"I'd like to see that," Dimitri sputtered into his coffee.

I threw him a look and then looked at Pavel. "I get stuck getting out of bed. Downward dog is not going to help me with much," I chuckled while cuffing Dimitri gently in the back of the head.

"Child's pose would be easy," Dimitri muttered and I rammed the heel of my foot into his knee.

"I'm just teasing," Dimitri laughed and leaned towards me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. I rolled my eyes at him but turned my head, wanting a kiss for repayment instead of one on the cheek. I smiled at him when he pulled away. I knew that Abe was watching us and turned to look at him.

"What?"

Abe shook his head and looked at his paper again. I licked my lips and glanced at Dimitri before looking at Abe again.

"Why did my mom leave and take me with her? Why did she try to hide me?"

Abe sighed and rubbed his brow. Pavel cleared his throat quietly and stood up, leaving the room with his coffee. Dimitri shifted closer to me, his hand moving to rest on my thigh. It was a burning question that I had always had. Who was my father, why wasn't he around, did he even know about me? Once I found out that Abe was my father, the next question I mulled over constantly was what could have done to make Janine feel so strongly about him.

"You obviously know what I do," Abe began and I nodded as I rubbed my now-empty mug between my hand.

"When you were little, it was when my business started to pick up. I had a reputation for my skills and it started to draw a lot of unfavourable attention toward us. Your mother was attacked one day while she was at the park with you. A human park, in the middle of the human day, she was attacked. She had begged me to cut ties with my business and pick up a different career, simply because she was scared for you. I was too arrogant and ignorant, high off the power I held to listen. One day I came home and you were gone, only a note left saying that Janine wasn't going to put you in danger anymore."

I swallowed and gripped Dimitri's fingers. "And now?"

"If I could go back and tell the idiotic twenty-seven-year-old me that his wife and child were more important than any money, I would. In my greed, I lost the thing that I needed the most. Watching you grow up through photographs and gossip is not the way any father wants to go, but I did what I had to. The closest I ever got before now was when you and the Princess ran away."

"Really?"

Abe nodded and looked at Dimitri. "Do you remember the phone call?"

Dimitri stared at Abe for a moment before his head cocked the slightest bit. "It was you."

"It was him what?" I asked looking between them.

"We knew you were in Portland, we just didn't know where," Dimitri stated, "The night we found you I got an anonymous phone call. The man told me the exact address, your apartment number, where you were working, and what classes Lissa was auditing. We were looking near the border when we got the call."

"You turned us in?"

"Nathan was getting too close. I couldn't come out in the open and warn you; you'd recognize a Moroi or Dhampir. At least being in Guardian custody, you had a chance of getting behind wards again," Abe said.

"How did you know where we were living?" I asked.

"I compelled your manager," Abe said plainly. I rolled my eyes at him and stood up.

"Why am I not surprised," I grumbled as I walked back to the kitchen, searching for something else to drink. I had limited myself to one cup of normal coffee a day at Dimitri's request, but I needed a little bit more during the day.

I found a box of tea and grabbed the stovetop kettle, filling it with water and setting it to boil. I poked my head out of the kitchen and let Pavel know that he could come back in. When I turned around, Abe and Dimitri's heads were bent together, talking quietly before noticing my eyes on them. They both sat up straight and looked at me, Dimitri with a small smile on his face.

I headed back to the counter and put the teabag and sugar into a mug and went back to the table, standing behind Dimitri and wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my chin on his head.

"What are the chances I can sweet talk you into going for a swim? Abe doesn't let me run for very long, but swimming has no limit."

Dimitri nodded and I kissed the top of his head.

"Also, Pudge wants chocolate. Really bad," I added.

Dimitri scoffed a laugh and shook his head. "I'll get right on that."

"Who is 'Pudge'? She has said that many times," Abe asked with a sigh.

"The baby," Dimitri said with a smirk, "It was that or spawn, and I was getting tired of that."

Abe made a face of understanding and stood up, collecting his paper and mug as well.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to frequent the house. I can't expect Rose to remain cooperative if I don't let her see you. I'll speak to you later about having a visit with Lissa," Abe said as he headed toward the living room. I smiled but stopped him.

"Do you want a feel too? She's been moving like crazy," I offered kindly. Abe stopped and looked at me with a happy expression and then looked at Dimitri, almost as if asking.

"I've touched it enough for this morning, go for it. It helps calm her," Dimitri said as he got up to refill his mug. Abe smiled and came closer, resting his hand gently on my stomach. It took a moment for him to feel movement, but he smiled softly when he did.

"Thank you," he said quietly. I nodded and watched him walk toward the living room. I smiled at Dimitri when he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Look at that, baby's make everyone happy," I said. Dimitri shook his head and smirked.

"Let's go get ready. I can't wait to see how good you look in a bathing suit," Dimitri whispered in my ear. I snickered and batted his hand playfully but headed for the stairs either way. I spotted Fedir at the bottom of the stairs, spraying something on them from a can.

I raised my brows at him. "What's that?"

"That is so that you don't fall again because of those damn socks," Fedir said.

"To be fair, the socks had nothing to do with it that time. I missed the step," I chuckled.

"Well, better safe than sorry."

I nodded and climbed the stairs, but held onto the railing tight just to be safe.

Here it is!

Just a little update for you all. I do not have another chapter ready for you all. My lovely beta has been sick and I don't want to overwhelm her once she is feeling better. I hope to have another update for you all soon.