When Dimitri and I first moved to Russia, I was more than a little skeptical as to whether or not it would work out. Vika and Adrian had already been living at the compound for quite a while—for all intents and purposes, they'd made it their home, which made me feel out of place. I mean… it was bad enough that I'd be living in the same house where I'd been held captive—but to share it with my ex? Yeah, that bothered me—a lot. Of course, at the time, I was extremely moody and hormonal—pregnancy tends to do that to a woman.

The one time we'd flown over to check up on Lissa, it had been pretty clear that Vika had taken control of the house; she handled all the domestic duties on top of guarding her charge, so I thought that a power struggle between us was bound to eventually occur. Technically, the property belonged to Dimitri—but Vik and Adrian sort of had squatters rights, since they'd been living there first. Getting into a pissing contest over who was the woman of the house was the last thing I wanted to do—but I was pretty sure it was inevitable, since Vika and I both have such strong, dominant personalities.

Thankfully, my worries were completely in vain; with all the spirit users and all the guardians that were living there, the atmosphere was almost like a dorm—and the fact that I'd grown up surrounded by the same people at Saint Vladimir's helped contribute to that feeling. I kind of liked it—somehow, it made it seem familiar and comfortable… like I'd finally come home. I guess I was in nesting mode, wanting a safe environment for our baby—having so many people there made me feel secure, so I adapted pretty fast.

Adjusting to Vika and Adrian as a couple? Well… that was a little harder to get used to.

Viktoria and Adrian can be a little loud—if you catch my drift. So loud that Dimitri and I could hear them all the way down the hall. It made it kind of hard to face them over the breakfast table—and judging by the look on their faces, we weren't exactly quite either. Moving to a bedroom further away helped, but even after that, we had a couple awkward moments; they were used to being able to indulge whenever the mood hit them—never realizing that probably wasn't the best idea with her over protective older brother living in the house. All it took was Dimitri accidentally walking in on Adrian feeding from his baby sister to open our eyes to the problem; it took four guardians on top of me and Vik to pull him off the Moroi—thank God Sonya was there to heal away the worst of Adrian's injuries.

Ground rules were quickly put in place; any kind of serious romantic activities—including Adrian's feedings—were confined to our bedrooms. For a while, it helped; there were no more 'misunderstandings, and everyone got along fine. Dimitri and I quickly realized that when Vika and Adrian disappeared to his studio, there was more than just modeling and painting going on; they'd come back with their hair all rumpled and their buttons fastened wrong, but that was easy enough to overlook.

Or rather… I should say it was easy to overlook right up until a few years later when the kiddos walked in on them. Even though all three of the children were extremely precocious, it was pretty easy to explain away why Adrian and Vika had been 'wrestling' without their clothes on. Anya and Issac were five and Ivan was four—at that age, kids tend to pretty much believe whatever their parents tell them. We installed a lock on the studio door and thought that was the end of it.

Yeah… guess what? That was a big mistake—one that came back to bite us on our collective asses three years later.

Growing up, I'd always assumed that keeping Lissa safe was the hardest job I'd ever have to do. For starters, it required years of intense training—physically pushing me beyond my threshold, time and time again. When we graduated, I would have to always be intensely vigilant and prepared for an attack at all times—and I had to be ready to die for her, if need be. As a teenager, it was hard for me to imagine anything ever being more difficult than those things—but now that I'm older and wiser… I know that I was wrong.

Sometimes, being a parent is a hundred times harder and more challenging than anything I've come up against—hell… at times like this? I'd say that it's even more difficult than fighting off an army of Strigoi.

I stopped pacing, glancing over at the three little bodies that were huddled together on the couch; mind you, only two of them were in trouble—but Ivan refused to leave his sister's side.

"Mama," Anya began.

I cut her off. "We are not discussing it until your father gets home—until then… you just sit there and think about what you've done."

It was a complete cop out and I knew it—but in all honesty, I was at a complete loss; I had no idea how to handle the situation. She was almost eight years old—big enough to understand that there were some things you just weren't supposed to do. I'd already tried explaining it the last time she'd pulled a similar stunt, but obviously my talk had fallen on deaf ears and hadn't done a single bit of good.

"Auntie Rose?" This time it was the angelic looking green eyes blonde on her left. He was only three months older than my daughter—and right from the start, she had him wrapped around her little finger. I didn't look over at him—if I did, I knew there was a good chance that I'd cave. Zach had inherited his father's charm and his biological mother's brain—which could be a very deadly combination.

"No. Whatever it is—no." I started pacing again.

As luck would have it, something like this could only happen on the one day I'd been left alone with the terrible trio. Dimitri and Adrian had driven in to Novosibirsk for supplies, and Vika was visiting Olena—leaving me alone to watch over our little angels… who'd immediately decided it was the perfect opportunity to get into trouble.

"Mama," Ivan shot me a pleading look as he reached over and grabbed his big sister's hand. "Anka is sorry—"

I snorted. "I'm sure she is—sorry she got caught."

Unfortunately, the frustration I was feeling leaked out into my voice; it came out harsher than I'd intended—and my son happens to be a very sensitive child. His lower lip immediately started trembling—his big brown eyes filling up with tears.

Shit.

"I'm sorry sweetheart—Mama's not mad at you, okay? You're sister has just been really, really naughty and—" the sound of the front door opening jerked my head around. Dimitri and Adrian were laughing about something as they came in, stomping their snow off their boots in the entryway—though as soon as they saw my face, their amusement dimmed pretty damn quick.

"Roza? What's wrong?" My husband moved to covered the distance between us—my words stopped him as soon as he entered the room.

I pointed to the couch. "Ask your daughter and your nephew what they were doing this afternoon."

Dimitri frowned, his eyes flicking to Anya as he shrugged off his duster and tossed it over a chair. "Utochka… ?"

"We were playing Papa," Anya shot him an angelic smile, her voice innocent and sweet.

Oh yeah—my daughter definitely takes after me.

Adrian was eyeing me like I was a lit stick of dynamite; in the almost eleven years since the night we met at the lodge, he's learned to read me pretty well. "Little dhampir—"

"Don't 'little dhampir' me," I snapped. "That damned Ivashkov charm isn't going to calm me down this time!"

"Rose—language!" Dimitri gave me the look—the one that propelled me back to the days when he was my mentor and I was his student. His hand closed around my arm and he steered me out of the living room towards the foyer—far enough away that we could talk without little ears overhearing, but still close enough that we could watch them through the large open archway.

"I take it they weren't playing?" Adrian followed after us, leaning against the wall.

"Oh they were playing all right—playing what I'm guessing was doctor… without any clothes on."

Dimitri tensed beside me. "What?"

"They were in her room. Naked."

"Come on guys… they're kids. You bathed them together for years, for Christ's sake—they've seen each other naked a million times." Adrian peeked his head around the corner, checking on the kids. "It isn't like we raised them to be prudish or overly concerned with modesty—"

"I don't give a shit about them being naked Adrian—they were touching each other. Hell— Olendzki would be proud of how damned thorough their examination techniques are." Dimitri—who looked like he was struggling not to lose control—tensed even more beside me; Adrian started laughing. I scowled.

"You're making a big deal out of nothing Rose—"

"You keep out of this," I snapped. "This isn't the first time I've caught them doing it and reprimanded them—the last time they said they were playing 'artist'. Wonder where they got that idea."

"Artist? What?" Adrian glanced over at me, his brow wrinkled with confusion.

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "Go ask your son to explain."

He shot me a puzzled look as he pushed away from the wall. "Fine—I will. And I'll enjoy proving that you're making a mountain out of a damn molehill."

Dimitri finally snapped out of his daze, moving to hover in the doorway; I moved up beside him, watching as my brother in law approached the couch. For a moment, I envied Adrian's ability to be so at ease when it came to dealing with the kids—but then again, he wasn't the one who'd actually had to witness their little game first hand. I was willing to bet if he'd been in my shoes, he'd be having a conniption too.

Zach sat up straighter, shooting his father a bright smile. "Can we get up now?"

"In a minute, kiddo." Adrian crouched down, looking him in the eye. "What's this I hear about you playing artist?"

Zach's forehead wrinkled up; he glanced over at Anya, then returned his gaze to his father. "I was drawin' an stuff… like you do."

Adrian reached out, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of his son's face. "What were you drawing, Zach?"

"Annie. She was modelin' for me—like Mama does for you."

Dimitri made a strangled sound beside me; I shot him a pointed look, glad he finally seemed to be catching on to why I was upset. "Yeah—guess what the drawing led to? Naked wrestling."

The back of Adrian's neck turned blood red—proof he overheard my whisper. I was willing to bet he was wishing he and Dimitri had stayed in town instead of coming home. "Issac… what were you doing besides drawing?"

Zach bit his lip, then giggled. "We wrestled—it was fun."

Adrian groaned, burying his head in his hands. "Issac… that kind of fun needs to wait until you're older, son. It's for grownups—not children."

"But I like it—it felt good…and Annie likes it too."

Dimitri brushed past me—moving so fast he was almost a blur; he shouldered Adrian out of the way, leaning down to fix a piercing glare on his precious little Utochka and his nephew. "There will be no more naked wrestling in this house. Ever. Do you understand me? No more games involving that sort of thing—if you are caught doing anything like this again, you will not be allowed to play together without supervision. Am I understood?"

They both stared up at him, eyes wide as they nodded in unison. His shoulders relaxed—just a little. "I am very, very disappointed in you Anya—what you did was very naughty. When your Mother tells you not to do something, I expect you to listen to her—especially when it involves something like this."

Anya's lower lip trembled; a tear slid down her cheek. All the defiance she'd worn when I tried to discipline her faded away in the wake of hearing her father talk so sternly to her. "I'm sorry Papa. I'll be good. Promise."

I groaned—my eyes drilling holes in Dimitri's back as I waited for the inevitable.

The anger in his face faded; he reached down, pulling her up off the couch and into a tight bear hug. "Papa is sorry for speaking to you harshly… but it is important for you to be a modest little girl and not to play naughty games with little boys. Now give me one of our special kissed to show me you forgive me… and we will forget all about this unpleasantness, yes?"

She sniffled, nodding her head as she placed her hands on his cheeks and brushed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss; it was an adorable sight, but I refused to let it soften me. One of us had to be the stern one, and since Dimitri melted at the sight of her tears, that meant it had to be me.

He set her down, then reached over to ruffle Zach's hair. "I am trusting you to behave properly, little man. Don't make me regret it."

"Can we go now Papa?" Anya clung to his leg, her head tipped back as she stared up at him.

"Of course—Vanya, I expect you to keep an eye on them. Be a good guardian and come report to me if they misbehave." Dimitri arched a brow, giving our son a solemn look.

Ivan's face immediately lit up; if there was one thing he loved more than his sister, it was pretending to be a guardian like his big, strong father. He jumped to his feet and actually saluted Dimitri like a little soldier. "Yes sir!"

"Come on Zachy," Anya released her father, immediately moving to tug Zach up. "We can play Sleepin' Beauty. I'll be the princess and you can be the prince—Detenysh, you get to be the prince's faithful horse sidekick, okay?"

Dimitri watched them hurry off with a smug little smile on his face—obviously completely oblivious to what the new game might entail. Adrian, on the other hand, looked like he was about to laugh. I cleared my throat, smiling sweetly when my husband turned to face me. "Comrade—"

"You see? That wasn't so hard. It's all a matter of being firm and letting them know their guidelines."

"Mhmmm. Yeah. About that… I take it you don't remember watching Sleeping Beauty with Lissa?" Adrian laughed, quickly covering it with a fake sounding cough. I shot him a dark look.

"Of course I do—that is the one with the glass slipper and the pumpkin turning into a coach."

"Nope—that's Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty is the one where the princess pricks her finger and falls into an enchanted sleep."

He stared at me for a minute.

A muscle in his cheek twitched.

"Do you remember how the spell gets broken?"

He spun around, shouting out as he hurried after the children. "No kissing games Anya Vasilisa Belikova! Do you hear me young lady?"

"Can I laugh now?" Adrian asked in a hushed voice, once we heard Dimitri's footsteps pounding up the stairs.

"You may." I sank down in the chair, tossing my legs over the arm of it. "And when you're finished, you can go sit your son down and tell him about the birds and the bees—cause if I end up a grandmother before I'm thirty five, I swear to God I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."

"Relax—we've got years before they hit puberty." He brushed off the warning, not realizing it wasn't as farfetched an idea as it seemed.

"Maybe you're right… tell me something—how old were you the first time you played doctor with a girl and started getting curious about… things?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, frowning. I don't know—ten or so I think. Why?"

"Cause I got my first period when I was eleven, Adrian. You do the math. If Anya takes after me…. that's only a little over three years away. If they're already thinking it feels good to wrestle naked at fucking eight, what do you think they'll be experimenting with by then?"

I swear to god he twitched, his pale face going even paler. "Oh…. Shit."

"Yeah. So either you need to sit Zach down and talk to him… or we're gonna end up with a pretty serious problem."

He bristled. "Well what about her? You know I love Anya… but you have to admit she's usually the instigator. You need to talk to her too—"

"In case you haven't figured out the obvious, your goddaughter is a little headstrong—if I tell her not to do something, it's a sure bet she's gonna do it the first chance she gets." I frowned, contemplating the most likely way to get through to Anya; having Dimitri talk to her usually worked—but something like this? I was pretty sure having 'the talk' with our eight year old daughter would fall outside his comfort zone. My mom could do it… but since Anya tended to react to her the same way I did—agreeing to whatever she said, then doing whatever she pleased, it wouldn't really be effective. "Olena—I'll take her to visit Olena and she can do it. Hell—she's a midwife… she's probably got some horror stories that'll scare the hell out of the kid."

"Tell her not to scare Anya too much—I for one want grandkids someday."

"So do I, but not until I'm at least fifty." I stretched like a cat—then froze, processing what he'd said. "Wait a minute—what in the hell does Anya have to do with you having grandkids?"

He stared at me a minute, then his eyes dropped to the floor. "Uh.. .nothing. I meant more god kids. I like being a godfather."

"Bullshit!" I sat up straight, pointing at him. "You've got that sneaky look that means you're hiding something. You've got ten seconds to spill."

"Stop being so overly dramatic, little dhampir—"

"Nine." I narrowed my eyes.

"Seriously Rose—I just misspoke."

"Eight."

"Stop fucking counting at me—"

"Seven." I stood up, moving slowly towards him.

He took a huge step back, bumping into the end table. "Rose. Stop it."

"Six." He turned; I tackled him before he could run. "Five."

"Goddamn it Rosemarie—"

"Four." It came out a hiss.

"Get the fuck off me," he snapped, wiggling around—trying to escape.

He didn't stand a chance. "Three."

"Fine! I'll tell you on one condition—you have to swear you won't say anything to Dimitri." He scowled—still trying to throw me off balance.

"No deal—I tell Dimitri everything." I grabbed his wrists, pinning them under my knees.

"If you tell him this… Issac may not make it to adulthood."

I froze, staring down at him. "Vika… saw something?"

He nodded. "A baby girl with her mother's features and her father's bright green eyes. Hannah Belikova-Ivashkov. Our granddaughter, Rose."

"When?"

"She couldn't tell. She didn't see Anya or Zach in the vision… just the little girl."

I slid to the side, releasing him—flopping on my back and staring up at the ceiling, feeling more than a little off kilter. Over the years, enough of Yeva and Vika's predictions coming true had slowly changed my outright disbelief about their visions into stunned acceptance. "That settles it. She's going on birth control as soon as she hits puberty." Adrian propped himself up on his elbow, staring down at me with the strangest little smile quirking up his lips. I turned my head, scowling at him. "What?"

"Admit it… you're just as happy about the thought of them ending up together as I am." When I didn't answer, he reached over, tickling my side. "Come on… tell the truth."

I scooted further away from him—out of range of his fingers. "I refuse to discuss our eight year olds having children, Adrian."

"Pretend they're twenty." He moved closer, wiggling his finger threateningly.

"Okay—yes! Yes, the thought of them falling in love and living happily ever after here with us makes me happy. Satisfied?"

"Immensely." He leaned over, pressing his lips against my forehead. "Thank you."

I scrunched my face up, wondering if his mind was starting to wander. "For what? Admitting the truth?"

"Well.. that too, but I was thinking more along the lines of you dumping me. If you hadn't… we wouldn't be here like this. I'd have gone insane a long time ago." He stretched out beside me, sliding his arm under my head, pulling me closer to his side.

"Hey—" I said, more than a little indignantly, "—are you saying that being with me would have made you go nuts?"

"Yeah—no offense, but I really think it would have, Rose. Deep down… I think I always sort of felt like I was walking on eggshells around you—like if I did one thing wrong, you'd use it as an excuse to bolt. And the whole not drinking and smoking thing… it made it even harder." He frowned, chewing at his bottom lip with his fang. "If you hadn't cheated on me, I might have spent my whole life trying to be good enough for you—and always falling short. I never would have realized that I was already good enough for a completely different person. You breaking my heart all those years ago was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, next to finding Vika and having Zach. You're a much better best friend than you were a girlfriend."

"I tried to tell you all that at the time—you refused to listen," I pointed out, turning my head and grinning at him.

"Yeah I know… guess I'm a slow learner."

"Is this a private discussion, or can anyone join in?"

"Depends. Are you going to be as smug as she is?" Adrian glanced up at the sound of Dimitri's voice, not bothering to scoot away from me. He didn't need to—Dimitri trusted us both implicitly.

"I would think by now you would have realized that no one can be as smug as Roza," Dimitri said, chuckling as he stepped over us to sink down on the couch.

"I take it you stopped them from the kissing thing?"

"I did—I distracted them with Cowboys and Indians. Ivan is pleased that he still gets to play the horse… and I promised Utochka that Adrian would come up and put war paint on her face."

"Guess that's my cue to get moving, huh?" Adrian pushed himself up off the floor, groaning a little as his knees popped. "I'm getting too old for this shit Rose—next time you tackle me, I'm compelling you into thinking you're a nun."

Dimitri looked pained at the thought. "Bite your tongue."

"Don't worry, Comrade—I'm pretty sure that even with a nun's mentality, I still couldn't resist your charms."

Adrian made a gagging noise as he headed for the door; Dimitri retaliated by grabbing one of the throw pillows and pegging him on the back of the head. "Hey!"

"Your goddaughter is waiting Uncle Ree," I said, rolling over on my stomach and giving him a pointed look. "You better hurry, God only knows what she'll cook up if she gets bored."

I giggled at the expression on his face, but my amusement was pretty short lived; as soon as he disappeared from view, Dimitri was in motion—scooping me up and pulling onto his lap for a cuddle. "What were you two talking about?"

"The kids… Vika… nothing major." I felt a twinge of guilt at not being completely truthful, but I quickly shoved it away. When Anya was older, I'd tell him—for now, he was better off not knowing what the future held.

He studied me a moment, then chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Roza… I can still read you like a book. I know there's something else… I can see it in your eyes."

I bit my lip, averting my eyes, suddenly extremely fascinated by the design of the rug under his feet. "Yeah… but it's not my secret to tell. And it's not something we have to worry about for a long, long time."

He pulled back, arching a brow. "I see. Perhaps we should make a game of it, yes? I will guess… you tell me if I am hot or cold."

"Dimitri—"

"It's about the children—"

"I'm not doing this."

He continued, ignoring my interruption. "More specifically… about Anya and Issac."

My head shot up, eyes wide. "You were eavesdropping!"

He shook his head. "No—I'm observant… and very good at bluffing."

I scowled. "I'm still not talking. I swore I wouldn't."

"You don't have to Roza. I'm not stupid. I've seen Yeva watching them with a sly smile on her face—heard her muttering about the pretty babies they will make together." He smiled, pressing his lips against my temple. "I think that if he is anything like his father… he will make my little girl an excellent husband someday. When she is say… thirty. Perhaps thirty five."

I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder. "Yeah… but what do we do in the meantime? We can't monitor them twenty four hours a day."

"We don't have to—while I was upstairs… I pulled Anya aside and spoke with her in private. She will behave from now on—no more naked games or inappropriate behavior. She knows what will happen if she disobeys."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah if you believe that—"

"I told her that if she misbehaved… she would not be allowed to continue attending the same academy as Ivan—and I meant it." He rested his forehead against mine as he sighed. "I love her more than my life, Roza. That means doing what is best for her, no matter how much it might hurt me. Threatening her with that… it was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I saw in her eyes that she understood I was serious. She will behave—she won't risk being separated from her brother. Her devotion towards Ivan means we will always be able to force her to behave."

I was completely floored, to say the least. I never would have thought that Dimitri was capable of dreaming up such a punishment, let alone sitting Anya down and laying it on the line. She was his miracle—and mine too, of course—but bottom line? She's a daddy's girl through and through. "I'm proud of you, Dimitri. She's a very lucky girl to have you for a father."

"I don't particularly feel like a very good one right now," he admitted softly, burying his face in my hair. The look on her face… it killed me."

"I know," I cooed softly, gently stroking his back," but Comrade… she's like me. She needs a firm hand to guide her. Remember how strict you had to be with me when you were my mentor?"

"That killed me too, I just hid it from you, Roza. I hated being harsh like that—it was the exact opposite of what I wanted to do."

"Yeah… but look at how I turned out because of it. Stronger… more disciplines. It was worth it." I pulled back enough to give him a quick kiss, hoping it would help wipe the sadness from his eyes. "You know what? I think you deserve a reward."

"For what? Behaving like an ogre?"

"No—for being a strong, positive influence on our daughter. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Well the way I figure it… the kids will probably be occupied playing for at least an hour or two—so I vote we play a little game of our own."

The corners of his mouth twitched up in a small smile. "I see… and did you have something particular in mind?"

"Mhmmm… I was thinking a little naked wrestling might take your mind off everything—at least for a little while."

"I think you might be right." He moved to grab me, but I anticipated it, dodging to the side.

"Not so fast, Mr. Belikov… you've gotta catch me first!" I spun around, sprinting for the stairs with him in hot pursuit; he caught me almost immediately, tossing me over his shoulder and running for our bedroom, taking the stairs two at a time.

I'll let you in on something I've learned over the last eight years; you don't have to buy a ton of books or take classes to be a good parent—the secret formula to raising children is a hell of a lot simpler than that. Fill your home with love and understanding—and don't forget to add in a good dose of discipline when they need it. Above all else, take advantage of the quiet moments you have alone with your partner. It's up to you as parents to set a good example for your children of what a loving relationship should be.

I don't think it's bragging for me to say that we've shown our children exactly the kind of marriage they should aim for—it's just the plain, simple truth. I love Dimitri as much today as I did the first night in the cabin—and he feels the exact same way I do.

Real love… true love… it doesn't fade.

I promise.

It just gets better and better, growing stronger with time.

A/N Two quick things:

1) From reviews and Private Messages, I've determined that quite a few of you would prefer I keep the 'Next Generation' stories/drabbles in a separate collection, so in the future all drabbles that are told in Anya/Ivan/Issac point of view will be in a new collection entitled VA: The Next Generation. Stories told by Rose/Vika/Dimitri/Adrian about the kids growing up or in the parents POV will still be posted in one of the current collections (One shot or drabble, depending on their length).

2) I've also gotten a lot of comments/messages that it's sometimes hard to remember who the Next Gen kids are referring to or who some of the original characters I include in the drabbles are, so I'm making a separate story (that's not really a story at all) that will serve as a guide. It will have a brief description of all the original characters I weave into the stories and detail how they tie in with canon. It will be called (you guessed it) VA: Who's Who. I've almost got it completed and will post the entire thing in one swoop so when a story goes up in the next week or so with thirty chapters already posted, don't get all excited—it's just the 'companion guide' to my fics, lol.

Hope you enjoy this one, I have many more about Romitri's parenting adventures coming up in the future.

*hugs*

SWS