I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place or the characters from it.

Although Alex hated to admit it, she and Ian were fulfilling Arthur Pendragon's plan perfectly. True, she still missed her family, but Ian had become her family as well. She had everything she wanted, everything she needed. Ian even gave her a Gibson J200 guitar for Christmas just because she said she enjoyed playing.

"That's really beautiful," Ian commented one snowy day by the hearth. Alex had just finished a ballad on the guitar, which happened to be perfectly in tune. Magic was useful for a lot of things.

"Thanks. I wrote it a few years ago. Sounds way better on this than my old Johnson though," Alex responded, running a hand over the fretboard.

"I didn't know you wrote songs," Ian said, smiling. His eyes glowed from the reflection of firelight and the fact that he was looking at Alex.

"Yeah. It beat the video games we could never afford," Alex told him. She gazed off into space for a moment. Her fingers suddenly began moving over the strings, pealing out a haunting melody. Ian, who was instantly captivated, came back to reality with a jolt when the song stopped abruptly. The pick fell out of Alex's hand, and she reached up to rub her forehead.

"You okay?" Ian asked, noting the look on her face.

"Yeah, sure," Alex lied. The entire room had begun to spin, making her feel sick to her stomach.

Ian didn't believe her. He leapt out of his chair just as the guitar slid out of her lap and put an arm behind her back to keep her from falling over.

"Alex, you look ill," he said, worried.

Alex found herself unable to reply. She covered her mouth and ran in the direction of the bathroom.

Ian followed her and held her hair away from her face. Sick didn't particularly bother him right now; he had other concerns at the moment to worry about.

When she was done, Alex gargled mouthwash and then said, "I'm so sorry about that."

"It's fine. I guess it'll be a while until we have shepherd's pie again though," Ian joked, trying to laugh away the fear. Alex did look a little better, although she was leaning against the bathroom sink for support.

"I shouldn't have eaten so much of it, actually. I've just been so hungry lately," Alex said as she and Ian returned to the living room.

"Well you're okay now." Ian grinned and kissed her on the cheek. He still had his doubts, but he kept them quiet.

Little did Ian know that was just the beginning. A few days later when he was at work, Alex got dizzy and threw up again. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't want to worry Ian by telling him about it.

Finally, after a week of similar bouts, usually in the morning, Alex suddenly realized something.

"Ian, is there some sort of store around here?" Alex asked one evening, feeling slightly awkward.

Ian laughed. "We're kind of on the top of a mountain. The nearest village is miles away. Why?"

"Oh I just need a few things," Alex said vaguely.

"Hold on." Ian got up to go look for something. He came back with a charm, on which was suspended a gold coin. "Here," he said, handing her the charm. "Just clasp that with both hands, close your eyes, and make a wish. Whatever you need will appear."

Alex smiled. "Thanks," she said, taking the charm.

The following day, Ian came home to a seemingly empty castle. When he finally found Alex, she was sitting on the bathroom floor, hugging her legs. Her eyes were wide in shock. Lying on the tile beside her was a strip of plastic…

"Alex," Ian said, speechless, when at last he figured it out.

Alex simply stared at him and nodded. She looked small and lost for the first time since Ian had first seen her.

Ian didn't know what to do. He turned and left, letting his feet take him wherever they wished, which ended up being the balcony. The cold air refreshed him a little, allowing him to think. This was exactly what his father had wanted; Ian knew that well. The Pendragons had been in need of an heir for quite some time, to carry on the line. But this wasn't the way Ian wanted it to happen. He had been prepared to wait several years more, when it was safer. How could he have been so stupid?

"It's all my fault."

Ian turned to see Alex standing there, her arms folded across her stomach. She looked so vulnerable that it tore at Ian's heart. "No. The blame's mine. You've been the victim of my family's decisions from the beginning," he said strongly. "We should go back inside now. It's freezing out here."

Ian ushered Alex inside, shut the French doors firmly behind him, and went to the kitchen to make tea. Alex was lying on the couch when he brought her a mug, her hands over her eyes. She sat up and took the tea from him as if nothing had happened, but the redness of her eyes gave it away. Ian sat down next to her.

"Everything's going to be alright, Alex. Really we should be happy about this," Ian said, trying to sound cheerful. After all, he was excited about being a father.

"I'm only seventeen, Ian," Alex reminded him, wrapping her fingers tightly around her mug and staring into it's murky depths.

"I know," Ian sighed. "Sometimes I really hate my dad."

"You realize he's going to be very pleased when he finds out."

"Well we're not going to tell him. At least not yet. The minute he finds out he'll make all sorts of plans to take our child away and raise it the way he wants it to be raised."

Alex's hand flew instinctively to her stomach. "He can't," she said, the panic clear in her voice.

"He won't. Not if I have something to say about it," Ian said firmly. Alex relaxed. "How much longer do we have?"

"Six months, I think."

"Well I'm pretty sure I can get a six-month leave from the university. I'm due for a vacation anyway."

"You can't do that, Ian. If you're suddenly absent from your job for six months, word might get back to your father, and he might come calling to see what's going on. I'll be fine staying here alone."

"Like when Orkney came skulking around? I don't think so."

"Orkney took me by surprise. If I'm prepared…"

"No. Your magic is faulty around this place anyway."

"Then protect the castle somehow."

"I can't. My dad would know how to get right past Pendragon enchantments."

"Ian, I'm not going to let you do this!" Alex was getting angry. The empty mug in her hands shattered. She stood to face Ian.

"I have to, Alex. What if something happens and you can't get what you need, and no one's here to help?"

"I can handle it! I'm not entirely helpless, you know!" Alex yelled. That was the last straw for her body, which had been trying to tell her she had already reached her stress level. Her vision suddenly went black. She felt the world tilt, and then Ian's arms around her.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. Alex, can you hear me?" Ian said, his voice panicked.

Alex found that she couldn't answer him. It was as if all of her motor skills had temporarily shut down in an attempt to allow her body to recover. A few moments later she felt the comfort of the sheets and blankets on her bed. Gradually her eyesight came back to her, and Ian's scared face came into view.

"Okay, now that's new," Alex said, blinking a few times.

Ian exhaled in relief. "Good grief, you scared me to death!" He said. "Do you see what I mean though?"

"I guess so." Alex sat up against the headboard. "So what do we do?"

"I don't know."

All of a sudden, something similar to a gong echoed through the castle.

"What was that?" Alex asked, looking around for the source.

"The doorbell," Ian said, although he seemed to be just as confused.

"But no one ever visits this place," Alex said. Whoever it was busy pounding frantically on the door.

"If it's Orkney again I swear…" Ian muttered, heading towards the entry hall. Alex got out of bed, leaning against the stone wall to steady herself, and followed him.

Bet that little twist surprised you. hmm or maybe you were suspicious it might happen, I don't know lol. Anyway I was reading through fan fictions and I thought, why does the girl always get pregnant and then marry (or in some cases not) the guy? Why can't she be married first, like the way it's supposed to be? So yeah there you go, I mixed it up a little for you. Oh, and I hope you guys are liking Ian. I'm trying to make a sweet gentleman out of him and I think it's going okay so far. ha.

And who could possibly be at the door? Don't worry, you won't have to wait long to find out. Btw, reviews make me a happy person :)