Sorry it took a while my amazing readers and reviewers! All I've been able to write were chapters for the sequel and for my new Infernal Devices fic. BUUUUT here's a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I promise that things are going to start picking up after this chapter :D Like, it's starting to look like I'm going to have a 40 chapter fic here.

Without further ado!

Three weeks later…

"Push, woman! PUSH!" Steve was yelling at me as Darren held my hand. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT THE HELL TO DO! IT'S MY BABY, DAMNIT! NOT YOURS!" I shouted in response. "Just a few more pushes Vanessa!" Merla said soothingly, giving Steve a death glare for getting me riled up.

This went on for another twenty minutes or so before I collapsed on the bed, panting. I smiled when I heard crying. Within a few moments, I was holding my baby for the first time. I smiled at her. "Hello, little one." I said gently, rubbing circles into her back with my thumb. "She's beautiful." Darren murmured, smiling at me. I smiled back. "Have you decided upon a name?" Mr. Tall asked. I looked at Darren and he nodded. I smiled.

"Yes, her name is Jane. Jane Kallistê Shan."*

"Isn't it kind of weird that she's human?" Steve asked suddenly, sniffing the baby. I froze and sniffed her as well. "Wow…that is kind of weird." I murmured curiously. I looked to Darren. "Maybe it's because you're a half vampire still?" I wondered. He shrugged. "Maybe." He said as I handed Jane to him. He smiled at her. "Gods, she's so precious." He whispered. I sat up slowly, my head dizzy. I frowned.

"I don't feel so good." I said, queasy. "You just need blood." Mr. Tall reassured me. I nodded slowly and sat up a little more, taking a sip of the water that Merla had handed me. Steve walked over and pushed his sleeve up and made a small cut on his arm, thrusting it in my face. "Here." He said. I smiled thankfully and sucked some of his blood.

"Thanks." I replied after I rubbed spit onto the cut. He smiled softly. "It's the least I can do." He replied. I smiled back up at him. I looked to Merla. She smiled, already knowing what I was going to say. "I know, I was just about to go off and get him and the kids." She grinned as she stepped out of my father's trailer and off towards the tent she shared with her family and husband, Evra.

I turned to Mr. Tall and smiled. "Want to hold her? She's practically your grandchild after all." Mr. Tall offered me a small but warm smile as he nodded and Darren gave Jane to him. I watched him as his black eyes grew warmer when he looked at Jane's face. He gave her a barely perceptible smile as he rocked her back and forth, singing to her softly to keep her from crying.

I smiled. So this must've been what it was like when he was raising me. I thought as Evra walked in. He grinned. "Oh, is that my niece? She's so…chubby." He said, snickering when Merla threw one of her ears at the side of his face. I rolled my eyes at him, a smile on my face. "Well, duh! She's a baby! A lot of babies are a little chubby when they're born." I said, defending my little child. Evra grinned in response.

Mr. Tall then passed along Jane to Evra and Merla, who bent down to let their kids see her. I looked at Steve and saw him staring at everyone else as they crooned over Jane. Soon, Jane was returned to me and I held her, smiling. I looked up at Steve. "Do you want to hold her?" I asked quietly as Evra and his family and Mr. Tall left to let me relax. He hesitated before slowly nodding, stretching his arms out for her.

"Don't drop her." Darren muttered, annoyed that I had forgiven Steve so easily. I rolled my eyes at him. "He won't, Darren." Steve sat in the chair next to the bed Mr. Tall temporarily put into the trailer for my pregnancy. Steve smiled and bounced her lightly, making shushing noises at her until she finally fell asleep in his arms.

Steve smiled and gave her back to me. "She's beautiful, you guys…she really is." He said, looking at me and Darren's faces. Darren smiled a little. "She is, isn't she?" he asked, petting the peach fuzz on her head. Steve then excused himself and Darren and I were alone together with Jane.

"I wonder what she'll look like when she's older…" I mused. Darren smiled. "I hope she has your eyes." Darren said to me. I smiled. "I don't know, I think if she had the same golden brown ones like yours it would be just as lovely." I said, smiling up at him. He grinned and gave me a peck on the lips before giving Jane one on her forehead.

"This is so exciting! Maybe, after the war, we can settle down in the Cirque, like Evra and Merla, and we could have a family, give Jane a little brother or two." I said enthusiastically to Darren. His smile faltered then. "The war…" he murmured, his eyebrows knitting together. "I'm happy we have her, don't get me wrong, but this is the worst time to start a family." He sighed, laying his head down on my chest, right above my heart.

I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair. "its okay, Darren. She'll be safe, Mr. Tall will protect her, I know he will. And…I know we'll win the war, I just have this feeling…" I murmured. He sighed and rolled his head over a little so he could look at me. "How do you know? Mr. Tiny could just be luring us into a false sense of security." He said depressingly. I shook my head.

"There's something wrong, Darren. The balance…it's starting to tilt, but for the better." I told him, choosing my words raised a brow, clearly not understanding me. I sighed. "Mr. Tiny is slipping; he doesn't have that constant control anymore. We were his biggest, most important puppets of them all, and now we're turning against him. He lost control of me long ago, and he lost control of everyone else when Steve killed my father." I said, trying to get him to understand.

"I don't know…." He said, sitting up. I shook my head. "Darren, I do though! Mr. Tall, he can't see what lies ahead of us, he said that the course of the future has changed and he doesn't know what it contains. That must mean that Mr. Tiny doesn't either, which keeps everyone in the dark. This gives us a huge advantage, don't you see?" I urged.

We were silent for a while after that before Darren nodded slowly. "Yes…yes, I see now, but Vanessa…" he looked at me uneasily. I frowned. "Yeah…?" I asked, confused. He frowned. "Why did we fight back? How and why did he lose his grip on you?" he asked me. I frowned.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I know that someone freed me…someone who has had enough of Desmond's antics. They said it was time to put his evil and hurtful schemes to an end and bring peace to the world once again." I said.

"Who are 'they'?" Darren asked. "The Spirits of the Earth, the cosmos." I said. If there was anything that I was sure of, it was that. They had come to me in a dream and had told me exactly what I had to do—get rid of Mr. Tiny.

"When did all this happen?" he asked me. I looked at my feet. "After dad saved me and Evra from Murlough." I answered quietly. Darren nodded, letting this all soak in. A bit later, he stood up. I looked up at him.

"I'm going to get us some food, and then you need to sleep. The battle is bound to happen soon and there's no way I'm going to let you fight in this condition." Darren said. I smiled weakly at him, exhaustion setting deep in my bones. "Okay, sounds good to me." I said quietly before he smiled and left. I sighed then.

If only he knew how soon we'd fight for our lives; for our clans; for the Cirque; for Jane; for the world; for the universe.

If only he knew…

* Greek; pronounced Kuh-lee-sta