It was around the sixth month of her pregnancy when Rose began to show, like really show her pregnancy. She waddled from place to place, her baby bump on full display, doing her duties-much restricted now, thanks to Lissa's interventions.

They'd made the announcement to their guardian colleagues last month, and Lissa to some of her friends, and from there, the word had spread like wildfire throughout Court and beyond...

At first people had been skeptic whether the baby was really Dimitri's, which was kind of understandable because dhampir-dhampir fertility was almost unheard of, and they spread hurtful and vicious rumors about Rose-calling her various derogatory names-which when they reached her ears, managed to move her to tears, on more than one occasion. Dimitri did his best to console her and soothe her, telling her that others' opinions didn't matter, that he loved her to bits and their loved ones were beyond ecstatic, and that should be enough.

Seeing Dimitri and Lissa stand by and support Rose full-heartedly convinced most people about the pregnancy eventually, but when Rose's doctor-a very respected Moroi-verified the news, and random documents of previous dhampir-dhampir pregnancies began to circulate around Court (Christian might or might not have something to do with that, and Sydney might or might not have hacked the Moroi history database for the info), people began to see the truth…and accept it. Their attitude towards Rose changed again, and the trash-talking stopped.

After that, as Rose went about her day, some people always approached her to ask questions about her pregnancy (how far along was she? Was she suffering from morning sickness? Was she eating and sleeping properly?...) and to wish her a good day. Some even volunteered to help carry her groceries or to drive her to her destinations (and you'd be an idiot if you believe Rose didn't take full advantage of that).

Rose's daily routine nowadays consisted of waking up and dashing to the washroom almost every dawn to vomit. Dimitri would be one mere step behind, holding her while she puked, soothing her with caresses while she cursed his existence and gurgled and drank water, and carrying her back to bed when she fell asleep against him. When she'd wake up finally, he'd be prepared with her breakfast, always consisting of at least 2 chocolate cookies (her latest-and thankfully most normal-craving) but no coffee. After that, they'd walk to the guardian HQ together, almost always hand in hand, and check in.

Hans took it easy on her, adopting an almost mild fatherly voice when addressing her, and he always made sure she had a seat. Lissa was the same, insisting that Rose sit down while she guarded Lissa, and supplying her with water and food throughout the day.

Olena would call to check in at least once during the day, and so would Abe, though that was mostly to make sure that people were behaving themselves well and that Dimitri was taking 'proper' care of her.

When Rose returned home for dinner, she would rant about her day to Dimitri while he would massage her shoulders or her feet and then he'd take his turn lying on her lap and baby talking to their unborn child. These moments would more often than not bring Rose to tears, whose emotions were now on overdrive, courtesy of her pregnancy hormones and Dimitri would go into a panic trying to make her stop crying. She just couldn't help herself, there was something so poignant about watching the love of her life stare with wonder and devotion at her tummy, murmuring sweet words of love and hope for their baby while holding her hands in a tight grip, almost as if to assure himself that this was reality, not a dream. Sometimes, she needed the reassurance too…

For so long Dimitri had wanted a child, someone to love and take care of, but he'd thought he'd never get that blessing, as he was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with another dhampir. When Yeva had foretold Roza's pregnancy, he'd been too afraid to hope, but that didn't stop him from dreaming of chocolate-eyed brown haired babies snuggling into his chest as they drifted off to dreamland, or watching a toddler-his own progeny-run happily while he and his Roza watched.

When Rose had told him that she was expecting, he had been over the moon. He had actually cried after watching the first ultrasound image of their baby. Roza had cried too, and they had held each other close as they thanked any and every deity they could think up.

Dimitri learned to cherish each and every facet of her pregnancy, from her gradually swelling belly to her pregnancy hormones, which sometimes reduced her to tears at the sight of a homeless puppy or a bad rom-com. He tolerated her hormone-fueled rants well enough, and indulged her cravings, which had included everything from fresh-made cottage cheese to half-baked pizza dough to having gourd juice with vanilla icecream. He had even once driven to a patisserie at 5am because she wanted to have some fresh-baked apple pie (with aforementioned cottage-cheese). He stood by her, but he also gave her breathing room, and he was (don't tell Roza) always, always, in contact with someone who was near her when she was on guard duty…just in case.

As for Rose, the months she'd been pregnant taught her loads. She began to walk more cautiously, and train with abdomen protection bands; not to mention she had started to make a Herculian attempt to control her potty mouth, not wanting her child to develop the vocabulary of a sailor, even before birth.

Things she had learned to give up included coffee (though Dimitri made sure she did get her daily allotment of hot chocolate instead; with chocolate cookies, of course) and her spontaneous recklessness. She no longer pulled pranks on people (at least not pranks that required too much or too fast movements on her part) and she learned to accept help, when it was offered.

She also learned that she'd become something of a celebrity/freakshow at Court (where sometimes people ran up to her to take pictures of/with her or offer her little gifts, like chocolates or flowers) and that mass-scale betting was going on, not only at Court, but at St. Vlad's, about the gender of her baby. (No comment on whether she made a bet or not, but she made sure Lissa yelled for Christian for an entire hour after they'd found out he'd betted).

She also learned to appreciate Dimitri more, because of the little ways he patiently tolerated her mood swings and the many ways he showed that he loved her (and their baby), from outright professing his love for her everyday, to reading up tons of pregnancy books because he knew she hated reading. He supported her, even when the morning sickness made her so angry that she told him she'd like to castrate him with a blunt knife; or when he surprised her with a bunch of daisies and she burst into tears, getting snot all over his favorite duster. He held her when she cried and cheered her up when she moped, and loved her when she screamed at him. If that wasn't love, she didn't know what was.

Whenever she had any insecurities about…well, gaining weight and becoming fat and not having her femme fatale body anymore, he always reassured her that he'd love her even if she started to resemble a sumo wrestler (there'd just be more of her to love), and that she shouldn't feel bad, because she was not gaining weight, she was growing a baby-their baby-inside her.
His eyes never drifted away from her, no matter what setting they were in or how many beautiful women they were surrounded by-you bet your ass she observed him, but his eyes never left hers, or his hands their hold on her. He always looked at her like she was the very air that helped him breathe and bragged proudly about her swelling belly and her pregnancy-without-complications to anyone who'd listen.

So, all in all things were going well, and the happy couple was looking forward to their future, from feeling the baby's first kicks, to finally holding it in their hands, to first words and baby steps and birthdays and parties.
Dimitri had let Rose know in no uncertain term that she wasn't allowed to have a baby girl, because he couldn't wrap his head around sending a baby version of him and Rose off to the academy where she'd be surrounded by boys all the time and sometime in the future, fall in love with one.
Rose had laughed at his apprehension over a baby girl-who Dimitri insisted would definitely be stunningly beautiful-and her dating life-which, if Dimitri could help, wouldn't take place for a long, long time. She was also a bit worried about having a baby girl, especially if said child inherited her personality, sure that they would fight often and that each time it would be the clash of the titans. (Dimitri had been duly forewarned to take Rose's side, always, if he wanted to sleep in her bed).

So, things were going great and Rose and Dimitri were adjusting to her pregnancy with time.

This night, they had gone to Lissa's for dinner and had laughed and talked for hours with two of their closest friends. At 10pm Dimitri began to check his watch after every 3 minute interval and it took Christian 15 minutes to deduce that Dimitri wanted Rose home soon for her early bedtime, so he casually suggested that they turn in for the night, packing some leftovers for Rose and handing them over to Dimitri, who was grateful that he hadn't incurred Rose's unpredictable wrath by making the suggestion himself and looking smothering and controlling.

When they had returned home, Dimitri went off to refrigerate the food and fetch Rose a glass of water, after telling her to go to the den and put her feet up. He whistled as he went, already thinking about tucking Rose in bed and going to sleep with his hands around her warm body. He had been in the kitchen just half a minute when Rose let out a scream. Dimitri didn't think, he immediately reacted. Praying that nothing was amiss, he raced towards the living room. When a second scream followed, Dimitri's blood turned to ice…his mind turned over a thousand situations straight out of his nightmare as he dashed through the hallway, almost breaking down the wall as he made the final turn into the den…..and froze.
Rose turned to him with wide, shocked eyes, her mouth opened in an O and her hands clutching her abdomen. When Dimitri saw what had happened, the glass he had been clutching in his hand dropped from hand and shattered to a million pieces on the floor…

I know, I know, I'm a horrible person for stopping here, but before you come after me with pitchforks and stones, let me tell you it's not what you think…most probably :p I'll have the follow-up written and uploaded by this weekend!
But don't forget to share what you think, or any suggestions you have for me, via reviews, if you want. Also thank you Twilight407501 for naming the last chapter.
Don't forget to drop suggestions for this chapter's name!
Also, thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews and support and I'm sorry for the sub-par writing on this chapter because my wonderful beta is taking a well-deserved vacation, and I kinda suck at editing.
(Also, sorry for the mini-rant)
Thank you for reading!
Cheers!