Author's note: Working on this makes me happy. I hope reading it makes you just as happy. I only plan on a few more chapters. Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. :)

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Chapter Four

Jackson had given his wholehearted approval at the situation. He wanted the children to have the life they were born into. Actually an even better life since they were currently in the care of a royal, despite her being married to a Dhampir. They lived at Court. They would never have to be sent away to school. And he had requested reassignment to Pennsylvania to be near the children, even if he wasn't the one actually guarding them.

Jill picked Nikolai up when he started crying. She took the bottle the nurse handed her. She sat down and started rocking him.

"I'm Jill." She murmured. "I'm going to take care of you."

Eddie watched from beside Ivanna's bed. "Do you think we can do this? Even if it is just for a short time?"

"I hope it's not a short time." She smiled down at the baby in her arms.

"Me too. What did Adrian say?"

"He's excited for us. But isn't happy that we just stopped by for fifteen minutes."

"We have to go back. Carter is still there and so are all our things."

"Do you think they can come with us? Would that be too much for them?"

"Nikolai's just a baby. It will probably be frightening, but he's so small that he'll adjust quickly. Her, though…" He rubbed her hand and she opened her eyes.

"Mommy?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Hi, my name is Eddie."

"Guardian?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yours."

"Mommy?" She asked again, tears springing to her eyes.

"Honey…" He began. He looked up to see Jackson had re-entered the room.

"Jackson." She sighed. His face was a familiar one and she relaxed as he stepped toward her.

"Ivanna, your mommy and daddy are gone. This man and his wife are going to take you and Nikolai with them."

"You too?" She asked, tears falling from her eyes.

"I'll be around, kiddo." He patted her hand. "Promise."

The girl turned her gaze to the man. "Eddie?"

"Yes. And that's Jill over there with your brother."

She looked over. "Jill. Not a guardian?"

"No." Eddie said. "Do you know about the queen?"

She turned a puzzled look to him once more. He slipped his hand into hers and she let him as he told her about Lissa and Jill like it was a fairy tale. She fell asleep as he spoke.

"I bet you'll be telling her that story again real soon." Jill commented as she lifted the baby to her shoulder and burped him.

"That looks so natural." Eddie commented as he watched her.

She smiled and continued to pat the baby's back. "It feels natural." After a few more seconds, he let out a loud burp. Jill laughed. "Do you feel better?" She held him for a while longer. "You're a natural with little ones, too. She already likes you. Josh and Reggie both cling to you whenever you're around. It's like you give off some sort of signal to little kids that you're cool."

"I am cool." He said, sending a grin her way.

"You're a lot of things." She put Nikolai back in his bed as the nurse came back in to check the children's vital signs.

They sat with the children for the rest of the day. Ivanna woke up a few more times from nightmares that had her screaming at the top of her voice. Eddie and Jill both soothed her at different points in the day.

"Can't we remove some of these wires and things from her?" Jill asked when the doctor came in that afternoon.

He checked her over. Ivanna's eyes watched him. "Yeah, I think so. I still want to monitor them over night and I want the fluids pumped through her, but I think we can safely say that most of this stuff can go. I'll send the nurse in here to get it done."

The little girl turned her face to Jill. "Where do we go?"

"What's that, sweetie?" She leaned forward and smoothed her hair back from her forehead.

"We can't go home." She said forlornly.

"No, you can't. But you're going to come home with Eddie and me. We'll look after you for at least a little while."

"Where do you live?"

"Do you remember that story Eddie told you? About our queen? Well, we live at Court with her. And she has a little girl about your age who will love to play with you."

"No bad guys who bite?" Her voice was small.

"None who bite pretty little girls like you. None that hurt. I promise you, Ivanna, you're safe with us."

"I want my mommy." She said, tears welling up again.

"I know you do." She pulled her close and rubbed her back.

Rose came through the door then, causing everyone's eyes to turn to her. She smiled kindly at the girl who was now sobbing into Jill's shoulder. She walked over and leaned down beside her. "Hi there. I'm Rose. What's your name?"

She sniffed. "Ivanna."

"That's a very pretty name. I understand you were hurt, Ivanna."

"A bad man bit my neck."

"Can I see?"

She nodded. Rose leaned forward and pulled the wrapping away. She examined the wound for a moment before she put it back.

"How do you feel?" She asked gently.

"Fine." She sat back a little and watched the new arrival. "Are you a guardian?"

She smiled. "I am. And I'm here to try to help you and your brother."

"We're going to live with Jill and Eddie."

"You are. But I'm going to make sure no other little girls and boys get hurt." She stood and walked over to examine the baby. "No harm done to him at all?"

"None." Jackson said from the doorway.

"And how old is he?"

"Just turned a month old." Eddie said for him.

Rose smiled at her friend. "When was the last time you slept?"

"It's been a while. But I'm fine." He placed a protective hand on the baby's stomach.

"We've got people at the house. I'll make sure they gather all the important things for them. Go back to Adrian and Sydney's for a while once they're released. We'll all fly back together once we have this sorted out."

"Sounds good."

Rose nodded and then left the room.

Jill took out her phone as soon as she was gone. "Hello, friend." She said to the man on the other line.

"Hi. How's it going?"

"Fine. They'll be released in the morning. Rose and her team are here. She suggested we come back to your place for a couple days, if that's okay."

"That's definitely okay. I want to meet the kids you and Eddie will be spoiling. Or should I say, I'll be spoiling."

"You have your own kids to spoil." Jill combed her fingers through Ivanna's hair. "We'll be there sometime in the morning. I don't know about shifting their schedule. Ivanna's been asleep most of the day."

"We can shift ours a bit for a few days. Marti keeps us up half the night anyway." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "We'll figure it out. I miss you, kid. We don't see each other much anymore."

"I know. I'll make it up to you, Adrian." She promised, locking eyes with her husband across the room. "Too bad the bond doesn't go both ways. But you could visit my dreams sometime. I did okay that."

"You did. I don't want to use Spirit any more than I have to. With the kids…"

"Yeah."

"I'll let you go. I have to chase down Josh to get him into the bath."

She chuckled. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He promised before hanging up.

"She's asleep." Eddie said, nodding to the girl in her arms.

"You should sleep, babe. You haven't in a while."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. That chair leans back. We're guarded. Leah's outside with them. Sleep."

"You have to promise me you'll get some sleep too." He said as he reclined in the chair.

She put Ivanna back in her bed and then walked over to her husband. "I will." She kissed him and then draped a blanket over him. "I love you."

"And I love you."

She watched as he closed his eyes and immediately went to sleep. Nikolai started crying and she picked him up. He stopped as soon as he was in her arms. She kissed his tiny face and whispered promises of love and protection to him until he fell back to sleep.