Author's note: The reactions to this story have been amazing. I'm glad so many of you seem to like it. I'm trying to keep these characters as close to the originals as possible, but there will be a few tweaks. Please feel free to let me know what you think. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Happy reading!

Chapter Three

"So that's it, eh? The Eiffel Tower?" Jill said, shading her eyes and looking up into the sky at the large metal structure.

Adrian grinned. "Yeah, that's it. Isn't it amazing?"

"It's tall." She agreed. "I don't know how I feel about it."

"I know how I feel. And I'm glad I brought my sketchbook with me." He examined the building and the surrounding area, trying to find the best angle.

"You'll excuse me if I don't sit around to watch you. I'd like to do some shopping."

He smiled and kissed her hand. "Be my guest. I'll meet you back at the hotel for lunch?"

"What if we meet at that little bistro over there?" She pointed. "It looks lovely. And if you get caught up in your art, I can just come get you."

He nodded. "You're a smart one. Good thing I was forced into marrying you."

She smiled. "Yeah, me too."

He nodded to the guardians flanking her. "Keep a good eye out, will you?"

Eddie assured him, "You know I will."

"And don't spend all my money, Jill." He warned with a grin.

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'll just spend half of it today." She winked before she walked off, her reticule swinging as she went.

Adrian found a spot under a tree and started drawing the new Tour Eiffel. A guardian stood a few feet away, looking inconspicuous, but he was watching the other people in the park. It wasn't a large threat to be out in the middle of the day since no Strigoi could be out in the daylight, but one never knew when something dangerous could happen.

He drew several pictures in quick succession. Some of them focused on children playing or people strolling past, all with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. He was enchanted by a young couple sitting on a bench and whispering to each other. The young man leaned close to the woman, taking in everything she said and did. The young woman laughed and touched his hand where it rested on the bench between them.

He sketched furiously, taking in every detail of the pair. He sat back and admired his work.

"That's beautiful." Jill said from behind him.

He looked up. "I missed lunch, didn't I?"

She shook her head and sat down beside him. She handed him a sandwich. "I brought lunch to you. It was Eddie's idea."

The guardian in question sat down beside her with a bottle of wine and a basket containing glasses and some fruit. "I thought it was such a nice day, we should enjoy it. Also, your wife was getting a little too much sun, so I thought it would be smart to get back here."

"I was fine." She argued.

Adrian looked her over and asked, "Did you stop at the feeder?"

She nodded. "But I was fine."

"She's better now." Eddie said, taking a sip from the glass of wine he held.

Jill picked up the sketchbook. "May I have a look?"

"Yes." He watched as she slowly leafed through the drawings. "Needs improvement, right?"

She shook her head. "No. You're great. I like this last one." She held it up. "The one you were just working on. It's enchanting. You capture the spirit of all the people you draw. I feel the moment in all of these. And if this is just graphite, I can only imagine how the paintings look."

He smirked. "I'll show you a few." He looked at her. "I think I should paint your official portrait."

She smiled sweetly. "I think you should."

They relaxed in the shade for a short time more, but the sun was getting to be too much for the Moroi pair and they eventually made their way back to the hotel.

Eddie climbed into the bed with Jill in the early hours of the morning. He'd been on patrol through the hotel for several hours and had finally given up control to Shane and Petrov.

His lover rolled into him. "I was wondering when you'd join me."

"Taking a long look around the place." He assured her as he kissed her. "I've been contemplating something."

"What?" She kissed his jaw.

He asked tentatively, "Are you attracted to Adrian?"

She stared at him in shock. "What makes you think that?"

"The way you act around him, even when you know no one is looking...it just seems like there's something more there."

"There is. We love each other. But it's not a romantic love. It's hard to explain the bond, but it's brought us closer than most people will ever be." She stroked his cheek. "The prospect of sleeping with him makes me uncomfortable. I've been in his head when he's making love to other people and I know how he thinks during the act. You shouldn't know entirely what's happening. I like it with you because you surprise me every time. It's the same, but it's not the same. Does that make sense?"

He examined her with his eyes and his hands. "I guess it does. And as long as you don't stop loving me in favor of him, I'll be all right."

"I have to have a few babies with him. Otherwise, my body—my everything—belongs to you." She kissed him hard and rolled him onto his back. "Now, let's get on with this. I've been wanting you all day."

They made love rather vocally. In the back of her mind, Jill hoped that the neighbors couldn't hear. Though the room was expensive enough that she knew there had to be some sort of sound-proofing.

She rolled away with a satisfied sigh, panting heavily. She grinned at the ceiling. "I don't know how I was able to go all that time without this."

He smiled and kissed her hand. "Me neither. It's been wonderful learning with you. I look forward to many more years of it."

She smiled and rolled into Eddie's side. "Now sleep. Adrian wants to drag me to museums for most of this trip. I don't know what all he's planning for tomorrow. He's hiding most of his thoughts pretty well these days."

"I know it won't be as big a hardship to go the museums as you're pretending. You like hearing about the artists and their work from someone more knowledgeable than you." He kissed her head. "I do too, actually."

"I'm looking forward to sitting for the portrait." She said sleepily.

He combed his fingers through her hair. "I look forward to seeing it."

She yawned. "Hold me tighter, Eddie."

He rolled to his side and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I'll always be here for you, Jill. I love you."

She snored softly. He smiled and brushed a kiss across her lips before falling asleep himself.

"I miss you, my love." Adrian said, cupping Sydney's cheeks. "I wish you could be here with me."

"Me too." She pressed herself up on her toes and kissed him. "I'm close, though. They sent me across the ocean the day after you."

"Where? Can you tell me?"

"Rome." She smiled. "All the architecture…" She sighed.

He smiled, happy for her. He kissed her again. "Come and sit." He pulled her beneath the tree he'd sat under to draw earlier that day.

"It's beautiful." Sydney said, leaning against him.

"I'll send you something." He kissed her cheek. He trailed his lips down her neck and across her exposed shoulder.

"It would be better if you didn't."
He sighed and kissed her neck once more. "I want to actually see you."

"I know. But not for a while." She turned in his arms. "Could you give me more comfortable attire?"

He smirked. "You know how to do it."

She closed her eyes and relaxed. Her stuffy gown and corset changed to a shift. She relaxed into him. "Much better."

"Hey, me too." He altered his own clothing to something more comfortable. "You know, if we're dressed like this, we might as well be somewhere else." The scene shifted to the bedroom at his hotel.

"I like this." She stretched out on the bed and Adrian joined her.

"Yes."

"You should move somewhere close to the sea. For Jill. And to stay away from the eyes of Court. You could take your time with having children."

"We're going to try once we're on our way back home in a few months." He averted his eyes. "Not looking forward to it. I don't want to betray you."

"It's not betraying me."

"Of course it is." He rubbed his eyes. "I don't like this."

"Stop it." She pulled his hand away from his face. "I don't like it either, but it's the way it is. I can't be with you."

"Not yet."

"Probably not ever. I like being an Alchemist. And they will never change their opinions about you."

He rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand. He placed a hand on her stomach. "Do you want children?"

She put her hand on top of his and rubbed her thumb over the back of it. "With you or at all?"

"Both."

She rolled into him and kissed him softly. "Yes. To both."

He kissed her. "So let's make a deal."

"What deal?" She gave him another kiss.

He rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. "Five years. In five years we have a baby."

"What if I'm not around?" She asked desperately.

He shrugged. "Make it so you are."

She snorted. "I can't just do that."

He sighed.

She gently scratched his chest. "Look, I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to buy Jill that house on the beach as far away from Court as I can get. She and Eddie will start their branch of our odd family tree there after she and I have a few. And then you and I…if you want…"

She rested her head on his chest. "I don't know, Adrian. Just because I'd like to have children doesn't mean it's a good idea. Not really. And I'm not making excuses, but…" She sighed and rolled away. "How would it all work? All our children in one house? One nursery? No one knowing who belongs to whom with the exception of the Moroi children?"

"You'll have your own home. I'd see to it. But the children I have with you and the children I have with her will know they are siblings."

She shook her head. "They'd take away my babies."

"No, they wouldn't." He assured her. "There are perks to being married to the queen's sister. I'd never allow it."

"You wouldn't have a choice. Unless we have daughters. They don't seem to want girls as much."

"They'd have none of them if you don't want them to train. That would be your right as their mother." He pulled her close once more. "We don't have to have them. I'll be father enough to the two or three Jill and I have."

"But you want them." She said simply, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Yes."

She combed her fingers through his hair. "We'll just have to see where we all are in a few years. Let's just enjoy what we have now."

He ran his hands over her back and pulled her down for another kiss.

She kissed back lazily, tangling her fingers in his hair. Adrian flipped her onto her back and slipped a hand under her shift. He stroked her upper thigh with his thumb.

"We've never tried anything more than kiss in these dreams." He said against her lips.

"I miss you, Adrian. But not that much yet. Just kiss me."

He complied, locking his mouth on hers. He never wanted it to end, though he knew that he eventually needed to release her from the dream so she could get on with her life. He broke the kiss to look down at her.

Sydney gave him a smile that was a mixture of contentment and hunger. She pulled him back down. "I don't want to, but I need to go. We've been in this dream long enough. I have work tomorrow. They've put me on daylight hours for the first few weeks."

"If we made a quick trip—"

"Don't. It would risk both of us. At least in these dreams, no one other than Jill can hear our conversations and see how we act. Let me go, Adrian. But come back to me in a few days."

"Sage, I…" He leaned down and kissed her hard.

"I love you, too, dearest." She combed her fingers through his hair as he let the dream fade.

He stared up at the dark ceiling of his hotel room. That's when he heard the final exclamations of the lovers across the suite. He shook his head. At least someone was getting some satisfaction.

He rolled over and let out a frustrated sigh. In his previous life, he would have gone out to a brothel. He had heard of several good ones in Paris. But he loved Sydney and had made promises to her. Other than the encounters he'd eventually have to have with Jill, there would be no one else.

"Well, there's no going to sleep for the moment." He sighed and rolled out of the bed. He turned on a lamp and took out his sketchbook. The view from his window was fantastic. He sat and started casually drawing the skyline as the sun rose.

Jill shook him awake sometime later. He looked up at her through squinted eyes. He stretched as he looked out the window at the rising sun. "You didn't have to wake me."

"I know I didn't. But if you sleep like that for too long, your neck will get stiff and then I won't hear the end of your complaining for a week."

"Are you awake for the day?" He asked as he stood, still stretching.

She shrugged. "Eddie just left me."

"But does that mean you're awake yourself?" He threw himself across the bed.

"I'm still rather tired. I don't like being awake when the sun is."

He patted the mattress beside him. "You can join me if you'd like. I suppose that's the reason you came in here."

"Because all women should fall at your feet?" She smirked. "I wanted to check on you. I had never noticed you snoring so loudly."

He smiled. "Come here and sit at least. I want to talk to you."

She perched on the end of the chair he'd just vacated. "What?"

"I have an idea about where we should live."

"Here?" She grinned.

"If you want."

She shook her head. "No. We need to be a little closer to Court." She heaved a sigh.

"Yes, I know. So, what do you say to the sea?"

"In the middle of it?" She said with a small chuckle.

He smiled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"It would be interesting. I'd never have to be away from the water."

"I want you to be comfortable in all of this. I'll give you everything you want." He turned dreamy. "I'll buy you a house on a beach far enough away from Court that we can raise our children how we want, but close enough that we can still attend all the necessary functions." He looked at her. "What do you say?"

She smiled. "I saw you talking about this with Sydney. I think it's perfect. Can we have a large house?"

"Large enough that you can have your very own wing." He assured her. "And a giant nursery full of all the toys our children could ever want."

Her face dropped. "How many?"

"How many what?"

"How many children do you think they expect us to have?"

Adrian sat up and took her hands. "I think two will be fine, don't you?"

Jill nodded. "How closely together?"

"Maybe we'll be lucky and have twins." He smirked. "But if not, I say we can wait a couple years between."

She kissed his knuckles. "I'm going back to bed for a while." She stood and headed toward his door.

"We'll do some shopping today." He called at her back. "I took the liberty of making an appointment with a very prominent designer for you this afternoon. He'll make you as many dresses as you want. Everyday dresses and evening gowns and even a riding habit if you'd like."

She turned. "What about the museums?"

He waved her off. "We have plenty of time to do what I want. Today can be for you. And maybe the entire time."

"I still look forward to the museums." She smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"Sleep well, my princess. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Yes, a few hours." She closed the door after herself.

Adrian could see the light in her eyes had grown even brighter with the prospect of new clothes and a house by the sea.