Prompt: Promise
When Rose found out she was pregnant, she went through a vast range of emotions. First was shock and disbelief, because she knew—without a doubt—it was completely impossible. Dimitri was the only man she had ever had sex with, and dhampires can't procreate together. Those fleeting thoughts and feelings quickly turned into anger; it was obvious the hospital had made a mistake—an extremely cruel one at that. She fought against the urge to lash out—wanting nothing more than to punch the nurse in her smug, smiling face—as the woman insisted there was no mix up.
That was when the deep, gut wrenching sorrow hit her, draining away her anger in an instant. Because she wanted it to be true, more than anything. She wanted to have Dimitri's baby—to feel a life that they created together out of love growing inside her; to watch her body change and swell as the baby matured. She wanted to prepare a nursery for their child, and to go shopping with Lissa fortiny baby clothes—and it would never, ever happen.
When they drew more blood and ran the tests again—this time under Dimitri's watchful eye to insure there were no further mix ups—and they came back positive, she felt the first faint flickers of hope deep inside her heart, but at the same time, it was mixed with a considerable amount of… well, terror. As much as she wanted a baby, she had absolutely no idea how to be a mother, and the more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.
Dimitri—as always—calmed her down, reassuring her with soft words, stressing that there was nothing to be afraid of—that she would be a wonderful mother, and he would be right there beside her, helping her every step of the way. It went a long way to alleviating her fears—although it didn't completely banish them—because he did have the best mother in the world and she figured that was enough to counter her own parentless childhood.
Lying there, watching as he dropped his head to whisper to her stomach in soft, barely audible Russian, Rose made a silent promise to the tiny miracle inside her. She would do everything in her power to make sure it had the most perfect childhood imaginable. She vowed that she would always be there for it—no matter what—and that it would never, ever feel unloved or unwanted. Because she knew firsthand how painful it was to be abandoned—not to mention, how long it took to get over the years of resentment that built up. She would make damned sure that her child knew how much it was cherished, each and every day of its life.