I ran my fingers over the white wooden bars of the new crib, holding the bottom of my stomach. Our nursery was now painted a baby blue and had everything that we needed. I was excited to see my baby boy soon, but I was also nervous. Dimitri promised to stay with me in the delivery room when the time came, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to experience the pain my body was going to go through.

"Do you like it?" Dimitri stepped into the room and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I love it. Thanks for...well, everything," I whispered. I turned around in his arms and looked up into his caring eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm so nervous. It's going to happen soon."

"I know. Remember, I'll be right by your side and I'll do my best to take your pain away."

"But won't you feel pain too then?" We had discovered that not only could we soothe each other's emotions, but we could also take away physical pain to a certain extent through our bond. The only thing that worried me was that he would feel the pain too.

"Don't you worry," he reassured me. "If it's shared between us, it won't be unbearable. We're in this together, Roza, I promise."

That, at least, made me feel a little bit better. I had considered getting an epidural, but sharing the pain with him—at strange as it sounded—would be okay too.

"I think I want my mom there too," I admitted. Although we had been distant for the first few weeks after we told her about the pregnancy, we had rebuilt our relationship throughout the last seven or eight months. I needed her to be there.

Dimitri wrapped his hands around my cheeks. "You know what'll take your mind off of things?"

"What?"

"Doughnuts. They're on the counter. Lissa brought them—" Before he could finish, I bolted downstairs. Lissa was talking to Adrian in the kitchen while Nev ate a vanilla doughnut with rainbow sprinkles on top. She was sitting on one of the booths at the kitchen counter.

"Give me that!" I said greedily, pulling the box out of Lissa's hands. She didn't even look remotely surprised when I took a chocolate doughnut out and shoved it into my mouth.

"And there she goes," Adrian laughed. "Aren't you supposed to be a good role model for your daughter? What happened to not being greedy?"

"You're naive if you think you can bring doughnuts into my house without sharing them with me."

"The rest is yours," Lissa said, taking her last bite. "I can't believe how big your tummy is now!"

"Yeah, yeah. I look like a balloon." Not only was my abdomen huge, but my breasts were too. It might have been nice for Dimitri to play with them in bed, but it was quite exhausting with all the added weight in the front. I sat more often now because of the back pain I experienced.

After finishing my doughnut, I sat on the couch again. Nevaeh followed me into the room and raised my shirt, and I laughed at her eagerness.

"It's so big," she said, rubbing her little hand in circles again. "He'll come out, right?"

"He should in a few weeks," I told her. "You have to be very careful with him on the day we take him home, okay? Babies are very fragile, so you can't squeeze him like one of your toys."

"I'll be careful," she said, kissing my stomach again.

Despite everyone's protests, I hadn't taken my maternity leave just yet. I was set on going to work and finding out as much information as I could on the cases I was working on. I was feeling particularly antsy today as it was getting harder to sleep with my belly being so big.

My dad walked into the office and walked up to my desk, looking down at a file in his hands. "We've got an update on that case involving the five girls in California."

"What's up?" I asked, rolling away from my computer screen. Dimitri had been leaning over the wall of my cubicle, but he was focussing on Abe now.

"One of the girls was spotted in a club in Las Vegas. The outdoor security footage of a building showed her being dragged out of a car."

"And? Why haven't we sent out a rescue team?"

"This just came in a few hours ago and the girl is no longer there," Abe explained, sensing my anger. "She was taken out about two hours after she was brought in. Nobody in the area will say anything."

"They were probably paid to keep their mouths shut," I muttered. "When I was stuck in the business, nobody said anything. Even the locals who knew what was going on were usually paid or threatened to stay quiet."

"That doesn't help us. I've contacted some people, but we were wondering if you had any numbers too."

"You want her to contact the people who tormented her?" Dimitri asked in annoyance.

"No, I'm asking if she has contact information that we don't know about." This didn't do much to alleviate Dimitri's agitation and they soon started getting into a dispute. I couldn't even pay attention, because halfway through, I started to feel hot wetness start to pool in between my legs—and no, I wasn't pissing myself. I hadn't expected it since I was supposed to have another week, but it happened anyway.

"...look, I want to help as much as you do, but she's about to give birth. Now is really not the time to stress her out."

"Guys..."

"You want to find these girls? This might help," Abe went on.

"Can't you find more contacts yourself? You have more connections than her, don't you?"

"Guys—"

"She doesn't have to talk to anyone. In case you've forgotten, Belikov, the mafia is—"

"Oh, fuck!" I shouted, jumping out of my chair. Some of the other people in the room looked at us and I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. "You idiots are really starting to piss me off!"

Dimitri and Abe looked at each other, shutting their mouths.

"Listen, my water just broke, so if you two could stop acting like lunatics and help me get to the hospital, that'd be great."

Dimitri looked down at the wet spot in between my legs and gasped.

"I'll tell your boss you have to leave," Abe said in a hurry. "Take care of her. I'll call Janine."

Dimitri didn't waste another second and took my arm, rushing me towards the elevators. I kept a hand on my stomach for support and gripped the bars once we got into the small space.

"Here we go," I murmured to myself.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled as another contraction hit. Dimitri grabbed my hands and took as much pain as he could and I immediately relaxed. Things were bearable with his help, but I felt so guilty when I saw the pain in his eyes.

"Dimitri, I feel horrible. You don't have to do this."

"I don't care. I promised you we were in this together. I got you pregnant and you've had to carry this baby for nine months. The least I could do is ease your pain."

I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to change his mind anytime soon. This had been going on for hours and we were both suffering. Although I felt guilty that Dimitri was taking half of my pain, I had to admire him for being so supportive and willing to go this far. The contractions got worse over time, but Dimitri kept taking it all with me.

My mom was in the room with us and was trying her best to comfort me. She had left her work shift to come here and help, but the most she could do was offer me advice.

"Why don't you try to lean forward? That helped me a little bit," she said. I nodded and bent over the bed, rocking back and forth and breathing in deeply. While my pain was mostly compressed in my lower back and pelvis, Dimitri's pain was distributed all over the place. Well, at least that was how he had described it. Our pain felt different, but it was still difficult nonetheless.

"Do you want to walk around?" Dimitri asked. I moaned uncomfortably and nodded, letting him take me out of the room.

"We'll just be in this hallway," he said to my mom. He held my hand tightly and guided me through the small corridor.

"I don't know if I'm ready," I uttered. "What if I tear my vagina? What if...what if I get some crazy laceration and have to do surgery? Did you know some women die during childbirth? What if the baby comes out wrong? What if he's—"

Dimitri stepped in front of me and pulled me aside. "You will be fine. Your pregnancy has had no issues and our baby is fine as far as I know. You'll get through this, okay?"

"But...what about you?" I asked, feeling hot tears start to pool in my eyes. I was so emotional and all I could think about was my poor Dimitri being in pain. "Can you handle it? I don't want you to hurt like that. I-I'm worried about you, and I can't stop crying."

"Roza, baby, I understand you're anxious but I promise you I'm okay. Come here." Dimitri pulled me into a side hug since my stomach was in the way and wrapped his arm around my head. I wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't here. He was helping me physically and emotionally and I'd probably be going insane if it weren't for his constant support.

"Thank you for being here for me," I choked as he caressed my arm. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, kissing all my tears away. "You've still got a while. Are you ready to go back inside?"

"I think so..." I eyed the room where my mom was pacing on the phone. She must have been talking to Abe. I wasn't sure if I should have given her privacy or not.

"Looks like your friends are finally here."

"Huh?" I blinked the rest of my tears away and looked around the hallway. Lissa was coming around the corner followed by Adrian and Abe.

"Sorry I took so long," Lissa said, running up to me with a toy in her hands. I realized it was mine. She must have gone into my house to grab a few things as she had a full backpack with her.

"I thought you might want this," she said, holding the toy's arms up playfully.

"Thanks, Liss. Are Eddie and Christian with Nev?"

"Yes. They're still babysitting and she's doing fine. I stopped by and brought your laptop. Maybe we could watch movies and distract you guys a little bit?"

"That sounds great. I think I want to sit down again."

Dimitri walked me back into the room and had me sit on the bed. I watched as Mom walked up to Abe and wrapped her arms around him a little tighter than I expected her to.

"You know," Adrian began, "your stomach is so big, sometimes I just want to pop that thing like a balloon—"

"Adrian!" Lissa slapped the back of his head.

"What? It's so round." He tried to poke it with his finger, but I smacked his hand away.

"Can everyone just keep their damn hands off?" Dimitri demanded, wrapping his arms around me protectively. My agitation must have been rubbing off on him. He had been pretty protective today and had even given some of the people in the hospital death stares if they gave me weird looks.

"What do you want to watch?" Lissa asked. "How about something with babies since you're—"

The familiar cramping started in my lower stomach again and I moaned, clutching Dimitri's shirt again. He held me against him and took half of my pain once more.

"Why does Dimitri look like he's in pain too? If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure it's the woman who's in labour," Adrian remarked, not hiding his sarcasm in the slightest.

"He's taking my pain through our bond, you asshole," I retorted, feeling Dimitri grip me so tightly his knuckles were almost white.

"I need a feeder. Or a blood bag," he gasped out. The doctors weren't letting me drink any blood right now, but I still wanted Dimitri to have a supply for himself to keep his energy up. The effort it took for him to take everything from me must have been exhausting.

"I'll go get something," Abe insisted. I scratched Dimitri's scalp to soothe him while we waited. When Abe came back with three bags, he let out a sigh of relief and started drinking in no time. I wanted to drink some too, but all I could have was water.

"Is there anything else we can get for you guys?" Mom asked us. Dimitri shook his head and waved her off, still sipping from the tube.

"Keep holding each other," Adrian told us. "I can see from your auras that it helps."

"A few kisses won't hurt either," I murmured, draping an arm around Dimitri's neck. Forgetting that my parents were in the same room, he kissed me softly. The action soothed us a ton, so as several hours passed throughout the night, we kept going through the motions like a routine. Every time a contraction hit, we shared the pain, and then we would hold each other and kiss. I wanted nothing more than to bond with him, but we had to share blood to do that and it wasn't an option in my current state. The constant cuddles and kisses, however, did a wonderful job and eased all my anxiety. It wasn't until the baby was ready to come out that all my panic came rushing back.

"I can't do this. I can't fucking do this!" I cried, throwing my head back into the pillows. My hair was a sweating mess around my head and my legs were spread with Dr. Lee sitting in the middle. Dimitri held my hand tightly while Lissa held the other. Adrian was close by, wiping my wet hair away while trying to soothe me. Having everyone here helped, but I felt so insecure being in the bed by myself while everyone else was towering over me. I didn't just want Dimitri to hold my hand. I wanted his whole body around me. I was scared and anxious.

"Dimitri, she really needs you," Adrian said urgently, inconspicuously reading my aura again. Anyone with working eyes would be able to tell how scared and nervous I was. My tears and wide eyes gave all of that away.

"Dr. Lee, can I sit behind her? She has anxiety," Dimitri said.

"Yes. Wrap your legs around her. Be careful."

Dimitri took his shoes off and I leaned forward, making space for him. He crawled in behind me and put his legs on either side of my body.

"Is this better?" he asked me. I nodded and felt his arms wrap around me, holding me with my back against his chest. Lissa let me go and Dimitri wrapped his big hands around my small ones.

"Deep breaths," he said into my ear, kissing my cheek when a tear leaked out. I followed his lead and mimicked his breathing. Now that he was holding me again, I felt so much better. I wasn't sure why I had felt the need to be so intimate with him throughout all my hours of labour, but it seriously helped.

Dr. Lee told me to push again, so I squeezed Dimitri's hands and pushed as hard as I could. The pain was only half as bad as it should have been as Dimitri took it again.

"Keep going. You can do it!" the doctor said. I shut my eyes and let out another cry as I pushed. I wondered how Dimitri's hands didn't break from how hard I was squeezing them, but I didn't have time to think about it as I heard what sounded like a baby's cry. I sagged against Dimitri in relief and we both took a few seconds to calm down and catch our breaths.

"You've got a beautiful baby boy, Rose." Dr. Lee held the baby and carefully laid him down near my chest. He was wailing profusely with his fingers curled in, but dear god, he was beautiful. All the anxiety I felt earlier was replaced with joy as I looked down at my boy.

"He's so beautiful," Dimitri said in awe. The position we were in was perfect for us. He had a clear view and I could feel fresh tears dripping onto my shoulder. These were tears of happiness.

Dimitri cut the umbilical cord from where he was and the nurses gently took our baby away to get him cleaned up. I had the strong urge to just hold him, but I knew he needed to be taken care of and I was also exhausted.

"You did it," Dimitri whispered proudly. He was tired too. All his effort to help me with the physical effects had drained him.

"No." I shook my head and turned my head around, sealing another loving kiss on his lips before nuzzling my face into his neck. "We did it."

After my delivery, we were given some time to sleep and recover. The nurses let Dimitri sleep right next to me, but at some point, he moved away and crawled out. I stirred in bed and opened my eyes, looking around the dim room. Dimitri was reaching into the bassinet beside us where our little Noah had been sleeping. His cries must have woken Dimitri up.

"I think he wants his mama," he whispered. He gently placed him in my arms and adjusted the bed so that I could sit up. Dimitri sat beside me again, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheekbone. As soon as I wrapped his little body up in my arms, I pulled down the sheet and gave him contact with my bare skin. He latched onto my breast and sucked instinctively on my nipple, and his cries immediately ceased as he relaxed against me.

Like us, Noah was half-human, half-strigoi. Dimitri and I decided to only donate our blood to him while he was a baby so that he could get the nutrients he needed. It meant we would have to keep going back to the hospital, but it was worth it.

"He has your eyes," I remarked. "Looks like Eddie's not the only mini-Dimitri around."

Dimitri laughed as a happy smile stretched on his lips. "Look at his little hands. He's so precious."

"Yeah," I agreed. "He is."

We laid there comfortably, refusing to take our eyes off of our little boy. Every time someone entered the room, whether it was a nurse or just a friend, Dimitri would tense up and tighten his arms around us. It was just his instincts, but I had to remind him there were no threats here.

About an hour later, Dr. Lee came in to check on how I was doing. There was no more bleeding or pain left as everything had healed within the last few hours.

"You're very lucky with your fast-healing capabilities. We can probably discharge you by tomorrow."

"Really?" I gasped.

"Yes. Noah's diet will be a lot like a moroi, so we've packed you enough blood bags but you'll need to keep coming back. He'll only be drinking from the two of you, but after three or four months, he can start to drink from other donors if everything is going well."

The thought of him feeding on anyone else other than me and Dimitri made me a little uneasy. I would let him do that eventually, but I just didn't trust other people.

"There's something else you should know," Dr. Lee continued.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

"Nothing's wrong, but we've been running some tests and with some of the research we have on your species, you should know that the ageing process will be slower for you. Noah will age like everyone else, but at a certain point between his teen years and his twenties, the ageing will most likely slow down."

"Wait, does this mean we'll be like this forever? We're still half-mortal," Dimitri said. "I thought our kind still died of old age."

"Yes, they do. It's not something you should worry too much about. You'll still age like the rest of us. It'll just be a little slower and you'll probably look younger than your actual age as the years go by."

"Great," I muttered. "By the time Nevaeh's a teenager, people will probably think we're friends or something."

"Not necessarily. As I said, you will still age. You'll just look a bit younger."

"By how many years?" I asked her. She shrugged and slipped her hands into her pockets, looking up thoughtfully.

"Maybe...five to ten years?" she guessed.

"Oh. That's not too bad," I said. "I was scared it was going to be like, twenty or thirty years."

Dr. Lee chuckled. "No, no. That definitely shouldn't happen. You'll be fine."

"Thank you, Dr. Lee," Dimitri said gratefully. The whole slow-ageing thing wasn't that much of a concern to us as we had other things to worry about. If our looks were slowed down by five to ten years, it hopefully wouldn't concern other people too much.

"You should get some more rest before we send you home. I wish you two the best," she said, flashing us another smile before she quietly left us alone.

I stepped into the fresh comfort of our home, holding Noah against my chest as he slept. It felt nice to finally be home again after being in the hospital for so long. Christian had gone back to his place with Lissa, but Eddie had offered to babysit Nevaeh until we got back.

"Hey! How's the—"

"Shh!" Dimitri held a finger up to his mouth, shutting Eddie up instantly. "He's sleeping."

"Sorry," he mouthed, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Nevaeh's been dying to see him. She's in the living room."

"Let's introduce you to your big sister," I mumbled, kissing Noah's soft forehead. I held him steadily, taking small steps in the house to avoid waking him up. Nevaeh went crazy when she saw us, but Dimitri quickly put a finger on his lips again to tell her to keep her voice down.

"Can I please hold him?" she asked me, holding her arms out.

"You have to be very careful, okay? He's fragile," Dimitri said cautiously.

"I promise," she said, reaching for him greedily. I placed him in her lap and helped her position her arms properly to support his head. Dimitri and I sat on either side of her, making sure she was gentle while watching her reaction. The sight of her holding Noah's small, sleeping body in her arms had to be the more precious and wholesome thing I'd ever seen in my life. The more she looked at him, the quieter she became and I thought I could smell fresh tears.

"Why are you crying?" I asked her, suddenly becoming worried. I was hoping for her to be happy when she saw him. Was she jealous? Upset? Overwhelmed? It was hard to tell when all her attention was on him.

"Are you sad?" Dimitri asked. Nevaeh sniffled and shook her head.

"No. He's just so cute," she replied. A sigh of relief escaped my throat and I started to laugh.

"He's very cute," Dimitri agreed. He pinched her cheek and wiped a stray tear. "And so are you."

Nevaeh giggled and curled her arms around Noah's body. She pressed a very gentle, feather-light kiss to his forehead and smiled at us. "I love him already."

I know it might be a little cheesy to name their baby Noah (because it sounds a lot like Nevaeh) but I couldn't help myself. I thought it'd be cute if their names were similar.

I'm so sorry for any inaccuracies with the labour/delivery (except for Dimitri taking Rose's pain, that was just part of their bond in the story). I have no idea what it's like to give birth.