Hey, guys. Hope you're having a good Christmas. :D Hopefully, this will be a long chapter! I hope so, at least…

Disclaimer: Adrienne? Yep. Jeremy? Mhm… Sabrina? Oh, yes. Dimitri? … Crap.


6 Months Later…

I don't know how he did it. I wasn't even sure it was physically possible. Somehow, somewhere, Dimitri had gotten a car. And we were only minutes away from my best friend in the entire world.

The kids had grown up a little. Well, a lot, really. I hated to admit it, though.

Adrienne was turning out to be just like me, while Jeremy was like his father. Sabrina seemed to be a mix of us, both fiery and calm at times.

I was secretly worried. According to Dimitri, he'd been just as fierce and hot-tempered as I was before he had reigned it in. If both of us had fiery personalities, there was no telling how irascible the kids would be. But that would be a different battle for a different time.

We had to worry about how Dimitri would get into the Academy. I knew Lissa would want to meet the kids, and I couldn't hold three kids with two arms. That, and I just didn't want Dimitri wandering around without me.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump, and my grip on Jeremy tightened ever so slightly.

"Rose, calm down," Dimitri soothed. "I wanted to tell you that I can't feel the wards around the Academy." His voice held a hint of confusion in his voice. I could understand that. The Academy was usually very good about keeping the wards up.

Something big must have happened for them to forget about the wards.

"Okay. You want to go for it?"

I felt, rather than saw, his shrug. "If you want to. But are you sure Lissa won't –"

"Freak out and turn us in?" I finished sourly. "Yeah, I'm sure. She won't." Dimitri had worried about this for weeks. It was the one reason he insisted that I couldn't see Liss.

He knew I missed her, and he wanted me to see her. But he was afraid that she wouldn't accept his nature, and, subsequently, turn us in to Kirova.

"If you're sure, Rose," he said unsurely. I sighed. With my free hand, I touched his cheek lightly.

"Don't worry, Dimitri. I know my best friend. She'll worry, yes. But if I ask her not to tell, she won't tell. I promise."

He sighed softly and nodded a little. I smiled encouragingly. "I trust you," he simply murmured, kissing my forehead.

"Let's go, then." We set off for the gates of the Academy. Again, sneaking past the guards was strangely easy.

The Academy is really losing their standards, I thought, heading for Lissa's dorm room. Dimitri was close behind me, and I heard Adrienne giggle. I glanced back, concerned. If she continued, there was a very real chance that we could be discovered. And though Lissa might be lenient toward us, others would not.

But Dimitri was blissfully unaware of anything other than his daughter's joy. I cleared my throat pointedly, and he shot me an apologetic glance but continued to coo and kiss Adrienne.

"Dimitri, want to switch?" I asked quietly. We were only a few hundred yards from Lissa's room.

He looked up and nodded. I handed him Jeremy, and he gave me Sabrina. It was an unspoken agreement between us. Dimitri was to have Adrienne at all times, unless I specifically asked for her.

He was strangely protective of his oldest daughter, and I respected that. I grinned as I came to Lissa's room.

I knocked, and she threw the door open. Dimitri, wisely, had stayed a few yards back, giving Lissa and me our space.

"Rose?" she whispered, her delicate eyebrows dipping. Her eyes widened when she saw Sabrina in my arms. "Rose, what –"

"Lissa, shh. I told you, remember?"

Could she really have forgotten the fact that I had been pregnant?

"Yeah, but – I mean . . ." She trailed off when she spied Adrienne and Jeremy. "What the . . . ?"

"I know, Lissa, I know. Maybe we can go inside and talk about this?" I suggested. Come on, Lissa. Take the bait. We can't wait out here forever.

She nodded, confusion filling her. She knew I was going to have a baby, but triplets confounded her. Dimitri and I followed her inside.

"Okay. Spill," Lissa demanded, her hands instantly moving to her hips, showing me that she meant business.

"Well, um, as it turned out, it wasn't just one baby. It was . . . three," I admitted, cradling Sabrina.

"I can see that," Lissa snapped. I recoiled from her harsh tone, and I heard Dimitri's soft growl of protest. I wasn't mad at Lissa. Through the bond, I felt that she wasn't upset at me. She didn't understand what had happened.

"Dimitri, hush. She's fine," I murmured. "I don't get it, either, Liss. We got triplets."

She exhaled shakily and ran a hand through her hair. "Do I get to know their names?"

"Of course." I ran a finger along Sabrina's cheek. "This is Sabrina Hailey Belikov."

Lissa's mouth opened, then closed. "Belikov?" she questioned. It did not escape my notice that her eyes flicked to my left hand in wonder.

I chuckled. "Not what you're thinking, Lissa. They're his kids. Eventually, somehow, we'll get married, but they need to have his name."

She nodded. "And the others?"

"Dimitri has Adrienne Kourtney Belikov and Jeremy Grant Belikov," I finished, smiling at Dimitri, who was playing and nuzzling his two older children.

Lissa moved forward unconsciously, but Dimitri noticed. He looked up at Lissa and smiled cautiously. Lissa was wary of his red eyes. I felt her shock and mistrust the moment she saw his eyes.

I took a deep breath, silently urging her forward. I knew he would never hurt her, and she needed to realize that as well. After a short moment of hesitation, she moved forward again, and I thanked whatever God was out there.

"Hi," Lissa said quietly. I could hear the reluctance in her tone, and I was sure Dimitri would pick up on it as well. I was hoping that Dimitri wouldn't be upset with Lissa for sounding so hesitant.

"Hello, Princess," Dimitri murmured respectfully. Though he was a Strigoi and no longer an official guardian, he still knew his place.

Lissa rolled her eyes. "Dimitri, seriously. Call me Lissa."

I smiled at her attempt to be casual with him. Dimitri smiled as well. Then he did something that surprised me greatly.

He offered Jeremy to her. Lissa's eyes widened, and shock flowed through me. And then I knew her true feelings. No matter what front she put up, she had a lot of respect for Dimitri.

To be allowed to hold his son was the biggest honor she could have thought up.

"Dimitri . . ." Her voice wavered. "Are you sure?"

"Completely sure." He answered without pausing. Lissa gave him a hesitant smile and took Jeremy.

She smiled at him after a moment. Jeremy grinned back at her, like he knew exactly where he was.

"I like him," she announced after a moment, looking into his eyes. Jeremy laughed a little and clapped his hands, and Lissa's grin grew. "I think he likes me, too."

I chuckled under my breath, and Lissa and Dimitri glanced at me, curious. "Aunt Lissa," I snickered.

Lissa blushed but muttered, "I don't mind Aunt Lissa."

Dimitri and I exchanged a knowing look. She didn't know what she'd gotten herself into. This nickname would stick with her for the rest of her life.

We were in the middle of our lovely meeting that had gone much better than I had anticipated when there was a sharp knock at the door.

Everyone froze. We were caught.


I have updated, now I would love reviews for Christmas!! Please? I got a laptop, so updates will, hopefully, be more frequent. Please review? 90, at least.

- J.C.