"Congratulations, Mom and Dad," Anya said. "Your son was born at 12:56 in the morning, and the date is March 27. We'll mark it in your chart, but just in case you wanted the information sooner." She turned to Dimitri. "Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?"

Dimitri nodded, and after making sure I could hold myself up still, he climbed off the bed and took the scissors Anya offered him. He easily snipped the cord, and Anya took our son from me to clean him up and get his vitals while the doctor coached me through the afterbirth and delivering the placenta. Once that was done, Dimitri helped me off the bed and supported me while the nurses removed the pads they had placed underneath me to keep any mess from the hospital bed itself. One of the nurses gave me a pair of maternity underwear to put on, and I laid back on the bed once it was ready again.

Anya brought the baby back over, having put a diaper on him. "Do you want us to swaddle him?"

I shook my head, wanting to have more skin-to-skin time. I knew Dimitri wanted that as well. "No, I'll take him."

She handed him over with a smile, and I held him back to my chest, keeping him propped there. I closed my eyes, a wave of exhaustion going through me.

"You did great, Roza," Dimitri murmured, pulling a chair up beside the bed.

I met his gaze with a smile. "Thank you for being here."

"I don't plan on leaving you – or him – ever again."

We spent a little longer with just the three of us before Dimitri went out to the waiting room to let our families know our son had arrived safely. While he was gone, Anya taught me how to swaddle, and our son was soon wrapped tightly in his blanket.

It was fairly early in the morning, but dhampir stamina meant that most of our family was still wide awake in the waiting room. Abe was an anomaly among Moroi, and his career path had prepared him for enough odd situations that he was also still awake. Dimitri returned a few minutes later with everybody in tow. My mom was the first one through the door, and I saw her pause as she walked in, taking in everything from my appearance to the tiny baby in my arms.

"Oh, Rose," she murmured. I watched as she blinked away tears.

"Do you want to hold him?"

She nodded, her lips pressed together. Something told me she didn't think she could say anything else without starting to cry. She gingerly took the baby from my arms and cradled him in her arms. I heard her murmuring to him softly in Gaelic, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I hadn't heard it consistently since I was young, and everything I had learned had long left my mind.

My father crossed the room and took the seat where Dimitri had been sitting. He placed his hand face up on the bed, giving me the option to take it, and I did. He squeezed it gently.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, but euphoric," I admitted. "Sore."

"Sounds about right. I remember Janine going through similar waves of emotion."

"You were at my birth?"

"Of course," he said. "Your mom and I decided for me not to be in your life as a kid, but that didn't mean that I never saw you."

I nodded. "Thank you for being here now."

Abe nodded. "Thank you for allowing me to be."

We both were stubborn and hard-headed, but despite that, I knew that he would leave in a heartbeat if I asked him to. He was a pain in the ass the last time I was in Russia, but I came to realize that he had only wanted what was best for me, and he would continue doing that now. I glanced up to see the baby being passed to Olena.

"Have you decided on a name?" Karolina asked, looking down at him over her mom's shoulder.

I shared a look with Dimitri, and he nodded.

"Maksim," I said softly. "We named him Maksim Dimitrievich Belikov."

They stayed with the baby for a bit longer before deciding to leave us to get some rest. Their decision to leave was only partially at Dimitri's hinting. Once we had the room to ourselves again, Dimitri handed me back Maksim, and I cradled him in my arms. It was hard to believe that Dimitri and I had been able to create the miracle in my arms.

"I probably should call Lissa, huh?" I asked softly. Maksim had fallen asleep fifteen minutes ago, and I didn't want to wake him. He was too precious.

Dimitri nodded. "It's around five there," he said. "She'll be getting up soon, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you woke her."

I nodded, and Dimitri handed me my phone. With Maksim still cradled in one arm, I used the other hand to pull up FaceTime. The call didn't ring for long before Lissa answered. She was still in bed, and it was clear that I had woken her. Despite that, just as Dimitri predicted, she wasn't upset. I wasn't able to get a word out before she was speaking.

"Did you give birth? How did it go? I want to see him!"

"Breathe, Liss," I said with a smile. "Yes, I gave birth, it went fine, and he's right here. This is Maksim."

I maneuvered the camera to show Lissa. She immediately started cooing over him.

"Rose, he's adorable. I can't wait to meet him," she said. "How soon can I come and visit?"

I laughed. "Technically, I can't stop the queen," I said.

Lissa grinned. "No, you can't."

I heard something unintelligible muttered from out of view of the camera, but Lissa must have understood because she answered Christian, confirming that I had given birth. Lissa shifted the phone, putting Christian in view of the camera. He squinted one eye at the phone, with Maksim still in view.

"Congratulations, Rose," he said.

Before I could say anything, he turned back over, and Lissa returned to view with a grin on her face.

"Sorry, he's a bit grumpy when he gets woken early." The frame shook for a moment and tried to refocus as Lissa got out of her bed and left the room. She soon settled on the couch in their living room, and the picture refocused. "How long are you going to be in the hospital?"

I flipped the camera back around so it was on me and shrugged with my free arm. "Not sure. It's still fairly early here, so it could be later today or tomorrow, possibly."

Lissa nodded. "I'll check a few things out and see if I can get a couple of days away to come visit. But for now, you go get some rest. You look like you're three seconds away from crashing out."

I smiled. "That's how I feel."

Lissa laughed. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Liss."

I hung up the phone and placed it on the table just within reach of the hospital bed. I leaned back, closing my eyes.

"Do you want me to take him?" Dimitri asked softly, nearly making me jump. I had forgotten he was there for a moment.

"Sure," I said.

I handed Maksim over and watched as Dimitri supported him. Maksim looked like a doll in his arms, so tiny compared to Dimitri. I watched my boys and couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips.

"Get some sleep, Roza," Dimitri said. "I'll wake you if Maks needs anything."

Dimitri was true to his word, and he woke me ninety minutes later to feed Maksim. The nurses had reassured me that it was normal for my milk to not be in yet and had explained that the act of breastfeeding would help signify to the body that the baby was ready for the milk. In the meantime, Maksim would be getting small amounts of colostrum, which would be enough to sustain him. They also reassured me that there was formula on hand around the hospital if needed and told me a lactation nurse would be by later to assist further.

As I fed Maksim, Dimitri went to the couch where my hospital bag was. "I forgot Karolina gave me this for you earlier," he said. He held up a small container of nipple cream. "She said you're likely to get sore, and this will help."

I could already feel the soreness Karolina mentioned setting in, and I nodded. "I'll use some when he's done."

Maksim continued suckling for another ten minutes – though I wasn't sure if there was anything left at that point. Dimitri took Maksim back when he was done, and I gratefully accepted the container he handed over. I applied a little bit to my nipples, sighing in relief. Dimitri rocked Maksim back to sleep and placed him in his bassinet once he was asleep. I adjusted the bed so I was laying almost flat and watched as Dimitri attempted to stretch out on the couch. It was a little short for him, though, and his feet hung off the end.

I stifled a laugh. "Come here," I murmured.

I didn't have to tell him twice, and he crossed the room, climbing onto the bed next to me. It was a tight fit, but we made it work, and I fell asleep in Dimitri's arms in no time.

We were released the next morning, after staying two nights in the hospital, when counting the night I gave birth. By that point, Olena had managed to get word to Viktoria about Maksim's arrival, and from what I was told, she was eagerly awaiting St. Basil's Easter break so that she could meet him. Lissa made plans to visit around Easter as well since the Council would be on break again. She had been hoping to get away sooner but hadn't been able to arrange it, not with the quorum vote coming up. On top of that, Adrian had been pestering her about trying to find Syndey, something I got to see through the bond. She had been reassigned without warning from Palm Springs, and Adrian was convinced she was being hurt somewhere. Lissa had reached out to the Alchemists, but she hadn't been able to get a concrete answer. When she relayed as much to Adrian, he had simply scoffed.

I eagerly counted down the three and half weeks until Lissa would arrive, with Viktoria arriving home a couple of days before Lissa. Vika immediately commandeered Maksim, as I knew she would, and I let her, only requesting that he be handed back over at feedings and when he became inconsolable in anyone's arms except mine or Dimitri's, which happened a couple of times a day. The only thing I wasn't looking forward to was the fact that Dimitri would be returning to Court with Lissa after Easter. While we both knew Lissa would continue to approve his time away, he couldn't stay away from his duties for long. There couldn't be a gap in the queen's guard for that long.

Except, the first thing Lissa did upon arriving at the Belikovas a couple of days before Easter, was to pull Dimitri aside and inform him that she had a different task for him. He was being sent on a special mission to learn more about dhampir communes in Siberia. We both caught the double meaning in her words, knowing she had to be careful about what was said around others and what might get back to the Council.

"But your guard—"

Lissa cut Dimitri off. "We've been able to temporarily fill the position," she said. "It's more important that you're able to complete this mission instead. We need more guardians, and the communes might hold the key."

We both knew that wasn't true, not really. The women in Baia and other communes didn't want to serve the Moroi or be a guardian, and no manner of pushing or training would convince them to go for more than a year or so. Lord knows I tried my best when I first came here.

"Who's the replacement?" Dimitri asked.

Lissa smiled. "Janine Hathaway. Lord Szelsky is in poor health and will be spending the next several months at Court with his family. He has no need for a guardian at the moment, and he has happily agreed for Guardian Hathaway to be reassigned until he recovers."

Something in Lissa's voice told me that she didn't think he would recover – or at least, he wouldn't recover enough to be able to leave Court again.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Lissa wrapped her arms around me. "He needs to be here. He needs to be with you and Maksim."