#romitribaby

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 13/?

Everyone always talks about how wonderful pregnancy is, but no one ever told me the truth about pregnancy. No one ever mentioned the hot dog and Cheerios craving that hits at 2:45 am with little to no warning. They never brought up just how many damn times you pee in one day. And they certainly never said anything about how awkward your belly becomes after 33 weeks.

My only consolation was that the twins now had an amazing chance of survival as long as nothing happened during delivery. Their little heartbeats chugged away and brought a smile to my face every time I listened to them, but honestly I was ready for Evanna and Adelaida to be out of my belly.

After what seemed like an eternity of bickering, Lissa and Christian had finally settled on a name for their little boy. Initially Lissa had opted for Lucas Aaron Dragomir, but Christian was adamant against it. He thought that naming the baby after his father would set a few people off in court, which it no doubt would. He countered with Eric Aaron, but Lissa shot that down pretty fast.

“I want him named for both sides of the family!” she whimpered. “If he has to take my last name, you should at least have some part in his name.”

Though I’m sure he still wasn’t entirely convinced, Christian agreed to Aaron Lucas Dragomir. He told Lissa that people wouldn’t be as upset if Lucas was the prince’s middle name, although I knew that was bullshit.

They’d still be upset. I knew that. Christian knew that. But he wanted to make her happy, and deep down he was still Christian, always prepared to tell people to go to hell when they disagreed with something that made Lissa happy.

“Roza, you home?” I heard Dimitri call from the front door.

“Yeah! I’m in the living room,” I called back.

He peeked his head around the corner and smiled. “There’s someone here to see you.”

Suddenly, I was being scooped up in the arms of none other than Olena Belikova. She kissed my cheeks warmly and smiled at me with those golden brown eyes. “Rose, it is so nice to see you again!”

“Olena! It’s so great to see you! How have you been?”

“I would be better, but I had to listen to мама complain the entire flight here,” she joked.

Slightly surprised, I interjected, “Yeva is here?”

Then, a snarky voice sounded from the kitchen, “Она думает, что я хотел бы остаться позади, Тьфу!” I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I could say with absolute certainty that it wasn’t “nice to see you.”

“The others had to stay, but Karolina, Sonja and Viktoria send their love. They’d have given anything to be here.” Gingerly, she reached out and touched my belly. In protest, the girls kicked at her hand. “My, my…feisty one I see! So tell me, am I getting a granddaughter or a grandson?”

I looked quizzically up at Dimitri. “You didn’t tell her?”

Shrugging, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought it was something she should hear from both of us.” Sitting Olena down on the couch, he moved a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “мама, you’re going to have granddaughters.”

Tears filled her eyes and she pulled him into a hug. “Twins?!”

“It’s go big or go home in this family,” I teased.

Suddenly appearing beside us, Yeva mused, “Вы очень благословил.”

Noticing the quizzical look on my face, Dimitri translated, “You are very blessed.”

“We are, aren’t we?” I chimed, smoothing out my shirt over my belly.

“May I?” Yeva inquired pointing to my stomach. Before I could nod, she placed her hand delicately on either side. “Their lives will be full of beauty and love and…” She trailed off, making a face that quite honestly scared me.

“Yeva?” I asked cautiously.

“I am tired,” she announced.

Jumping up immediately, Dimitri led her to the bedroom for a nap. I looked at Olena and recognized the worry in her eyes that I’d so often found in Dimitri’s. “What was that about?”

Shaking it off, Olena answered, “Oh, you know Yeva. She’s always so dramatic. I’m sure this was just her being…well, being Yeva.”

I could tell that she didn’t believe that, but it honestly scared me too much to call her out. Anxiety had haunted me for the entire pregnancy, and for once, I just wanted to be sure of myself. She said their lives would be full of beauty and love, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to question things further.

“So Rose, what crazy things have you eaten?” Olena queried perking up a bit.

I listed off a few of the best combinations while Dimitri gagged on the couch. At one point, Olena smacked him. “You want to know what I ate while I was pregnant with you, Dimka? Borscht and syrniki. Constantly.”

Placing his hand over his mouth, he stood up and said, “On that note, why don’t I go and make us some dinner. Any requests?”

I piped up. “Well I have no idea what syrniki is but I’ll have that.”

“Dimka!” Olena chided. “You’ve never made her syrniki?”

“We’re always working, Mom,” he explained.

“Well you aren’t working now. I assume you still remember how to make it,” she supposed.

Giving her a look, he disappeared into the kitchen. She grinned. “He has a good heart, a доброе сердце.”

“Because of you,” I said.

“No, it’s more than that.” She leaned back into the couch. “He’s always been about duty and doing what is right, but Rose, you’ve changed him. He’s…softer now. I don’t mean that in a bad way. Don’t mistake me. I just mean, he’s always done his duty for duty’s sake, but now he does it for so much more.” She paused for a moment, smiling. “Love.”

Not sure what to say, I rested my hands on my stomach and whispered, “Thank you.”

“No, Rose, thank you. You took my boy and made him into a man. You gave him life and love and now a family. I couldn’t ask for a better daughter-in-law.”

The curious smell of smoke wafted its way into the living room. Soon after, Dimitri poked his head in and said, “Not that everything isn’t under control, because it is, but umm…could you come help me, Mom?”

Laughing wholeheartedly, she shrugged. “There is only so much we can do, Rose.” Then she joined him in the kitchen.

In the meantime, after scooching my way out of my chair, I peeked my head into the bedroom to check on Yeva. To my utter surprise, she was not only awake, but waiting for me.

Pulling me in by my shirt collar, she looked me up and down. “How far?”

“I’ll be at 34 weeks tomorrow,” I answered. Curiosity was killing me. “Hey Yeva, what was that about earl–”

“Too close,” she murmered. “Two girls?”

“That’s right…?” I watched as her brows sank down closer together. “Should I be worried about the girls?”

“No. No,” she muttered. “Everything is fine. I sleep now.” Then, against my will, I was shooed from the room.

“Wait, Yeva, what is going on?” I wasn’t going to let her just blow this off like this.

“Don’t know what you are talking about…” Avoiding eye contact she mumbled, “Она понятия не имеет, и я не буду, чтобы сказать ей.”

“What does that even mean?” I leaned down to force her to make eye contact. “What did you see? What do you know that you don’t want to tell me?”

Throwing her hands into the kitchen, she said, “You ask too much! I sleep now. You go.” She rushed over to the bed and got under the covers quickly. The whole thing had my anxiety racing. Was there something wrong with the twins? Were they not quite as healthy as the last doctor’s visit had suggested? Why wouldn’t she just tell me?

Giving up on her, I sighed and closed the door behind me. As I made my way to the kitchen, rather than smoke, my noise was met with a much more pleasant smell. I couldn’t quite place it, but it smelled a bit like crepes. Quite honestly, it was making my mouth water.

“God that smells divine…” I said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

Olena perked up, giggling. “One of my favorite Russian dishes! Is there any powdered sugar?”

“Yeah! It’s the third cabinet, second shelf,” I replied, pointing.

Scolding Dimitri for taking his eyes off of the pan, she followed my directions. She searched for a bit before looking pathetically back at me. “Are you sure?”

“Here, I’ll get it,” Dimitri offered, but after a glare from Olena, he promptly went back to cooking.

Laughing, I stood up to take a look. The cabinet was a bit tall for me and usually I’d just have Dimitri reach up and grab whatever I needed. Since he was a bit occupied, I pushed up to my tiptoes and reached for the bag. Inadvertently, I knocked the vanilla extract off the shelf.

“Crap.” Leaning down ever so carefully, I reached for the stupid little brown bottle.

Suddenly, I felt wet running down my leg.

“Shit…I know bladder control is out the window, but are you kidding me?” Even as I said the words, I knew they were wrong. The intense pressure told me a much different story.

“Rose?” Dimitri asked, slightly concerned.

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 12/?

Groggily, I stretched and tried in vain to wipe the sleep from my eyes. The girls had kept me up all night with their “training” and even though I longed for just a few more hours of sleep, I knew I only had a couple of hours to get ready for Lissa’s appointment.

I rolled onto my side and shifted my weight under me. Then, steadying myself on the nightstand, pulled myself up. It took skill to do anything around my belly these days, and although I was sure it never looked graceful, I always found a way around it.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Dimitri chuckled.

Flipping him off, I sauntered into the bathroom. It really annoyed me just how happy he was in the morning. He was the type of person that got up at three hours early to go on a jog just for the fun of it. I’d sleep in a few hours every day if the world would let me, but alas, the world was a cruel place.

After a refreshing shower, I threw my hair into a semi-presentable bun and met Dimitri in the kitchen.

“I made pancakes,” he chimed, handing me a stack covered in butter and soaked in syrup. “Just like you like them.”

“Oh God, I love you,” I breathed, reaching up to kiss him.

“You tossed and turned a bunch last night,” he said nonchalantly.

“Yeah,” I said, stuffing a forkful of pancakes in my mouth. “That’s what happens when the girls are up all night kicking my bladder.”

“Are they kicking right now?” he asked, a tinge of hope in his voice.

Scoffing, I stared at him. “No. Now that I’m awake, they’re both perfectly still, probably asleep since they sure didn’t sleep last night.” Shoving another forkful into my mouth, I was suddenly craving Doritos. “Comrade…?”

Looking up from his coffee, he nodded. “What, Roza?”

“First of all, these pancakes are amazing. But umm…do we have any Doritos by chance?”

Laughing, he got up and searched the cabinets. Finally, he found a bag and poured me a bowl. As he handed me the bowl, he paused for just a second, “Just promise me one thing?”

“Hmm?” I mumbled, mouth full of food.

“Don’t put them on your pancakes. I might just throw up at that one.”

Grabbing the bowl from him quickly, I smiled. “I’m not promising anything, Comrade. The girls are hungry, and we will do as we please.”

“Well then I’m evacuating before it gets too…interesting,” he said, scrunching his face. “Я люблю тебя, Роуз.”

Crumbling the Doritos onto my pancakes, I kissed his cheek. “Love you too, Comrade.”

With a gagging noise, he was gone. Shrugging, I stuffed the concoction into my mouth. I’m not sure exactly why, but these were honestly the best pancakes I’d ever eaten. After successfully shoving all of the pancakes down my throat, I took the syrup and made a nice Dorito cereal. It also turned out better than expected, and by the end of it the girls were going crazy.

“You two are your mother’s daughters,” I assumed, licking the last bit of sugar from my lips.

After washing all of the evidence down the sink, I grabbed my purse and went to meet Lissa. She was sitting apprehensively on the edge of the couch in the most uncomfortable looking position.

“You okay?” I asked wandering into the living room.

Looking a bit distracted, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Pulling my eyebrows down over my eyes, I sat on the chair beside her. “That’s not exactly what I asked, Liss.”

“Huh?” she muttered, finally meeting my eyes. “Oh sorry, I’m a bit…”

Taking her hand, I squeezed it gently. “Don’t worry, Liss. Christian and I will be right there, and it’ll be perfect.”

“They’re taking bets,” she whispered simply. Upon noticing my confusion, Lissa explained, “The royal families. They’re taking bets.”

“Who the fuck cares what they think?!” I practically shouted.

“That’s what I said.” Christian emerged from the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. Looking down, he shrugged and retreated to the bedroom.

“Lissa, look,” I pulled her chin to make her look at me. “It doesn’t matter what they think. This is your baby. What do you want?”

“I want this baby to be healthy, Rose. I want it to not have to deal with the pressures that I do. And for the love on St. Vladimir, I want fire magic to be dominant.”

There it was, the real source of her apprehension. She was scared of passing on the biggest curse she’d had to deal with.

“Rose, I can’t watch my child go crazy like I did. I can’t watch them sink into depression. I can’t pretend to ignore the red marks on their wrist or the dark circles under their eyes from nights occupied by nightmares and fear of things that don’t really matter.”

“Oh, Liss,” I pulled her into my chest, feeling her sobs shake her body. “It won’t happen. You know why? They won’t be along in this. They will have you and Christian, and Dimitri and me. Hell the whole royal court already loves this baby. So even if they’re a spirit user, they won’t be alone in their fight. Look at all the advances we’ve already achieved when it comes to spirit. We will only get better at understanding it and controlling the negative effects. Your baby will have a beautiful life. I promise.” I planted a light kiss to her cheek and wiped away the tear streaks that stained them.

The corners of her mouth tugged up slightly and she sighed loudly. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now let’s get you to your appointment. Where’s Christian?”

After he finally got dressed, we walked to the clinic. We signed in and, yet again, I was stuck playing the waiting game. Lissa remained pretty quiet and I knew she was thinking about everything again.

Lately, I’d been so wrapped up in my own problems and being jealous of Liss’s “easy” pregnancy, that I hadn’t even considered the pressures it was placing on her. Even Christian looked to be feeling the effects. The dark circles under his eyes told me that he’d spent a few nights up with her soothing her fears. I was thankful for him. He loved her more than anything in the whole world and I couldn’t ask for anyone better for her.

“You’re looking a bit tired, Rose,” Christian pointed out.

“Yeah well it’s morning,” I joked. Giving me a look, he raised his eyebrows.  “The girls kept me up all night kicking.”

“Oh! Are they kicking right now?” Lissa perked up, thankful for the distraction.

“A bit, yeah.” I took her hand and placed it where one of the girls was going after some organ that I’m sure I really didn’t need anyway.”

“Oh wow!” Lissa placed her other hand aside of the first. I guess the twins didn’t appreciate the intrusion much as they began to kick violently at her hand. “Christian, come here! You have to feel this.”

With a quick glance around, he gingerly placed a hand on my stomach. I moved it a bit as the girls continued to kick away. “Well they definitely are you and Belikov’s,” he chuckled.

“Queen Dragomir,” the nurse called quietly. The three of us stood up and followed her into the back. It was the usual process with the usual questions, and honestly I had to physically stop myself from answering them myself. I’d answered them so often in the last four months that it was almost second nature to me now.

“Your sonogram will be ready in just a minute, Your Highness. Do you need anything to drink?”

“No. Trust me, I’ve had plenty.” She shifted uncomfortably for good measure.

Minutes later, we were taken back. Apparently things were faster when you had the queen with you. “Now who’s ready to find out the gender?”  the doctor asked encouragingly.

“We are!” Christian joked.

“Great enthusiasm!” the doctor said, clearly not picking up on sarcasm that literally dripped from Christian’s words. “So what are we hoping for? Anything in mind?”

With true grace that only Lissa could’ve mustered, she said, “I’m sure the people will love him or her either way.”

Not wanting to contradict her, the doctor simply agreed. Slathering what I’d come to refer to as Sonagoo on her belly, he began searching for the baby. “There we are,” he said, revealing a small little figure sucking its thumb.

“Oh, Liss,” I said, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen.

“Any guesses for the gender?” the doctor asked cautiously.

“A little girl?” Christian suggested.

“Nah, I bet it’s a boy,” I countered.

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 11/?

Scooting back towards the wall, I winced in pain. I took a quick inventory of my pain wrapping my right arm around my stomach furiously hoping the twins were alright. Luckily, the pain was coming from my left arm rather than anywhere near my abdomen.

When I glanced over at Dimitri, all I could see was blood and fists. He was going to kill the Moroi, despite the two guardians trying to tear him away. In an attempt to stop him, I called out to him. Finally I got through, and as soon as he saw me on the ground, he jumped up and rushed toward me. With one good punch to the smaller Moroi’s face, he leaned down next to me.

“Are you okay?” his voice filled with panic.

“Yeah, it’s just my arm. It’s killing me,” I said as three nurses and two more guardians rushed toward us. They tried to get me up off of the floor, but before I could even move, Dimitri scooped me up in his arms, careful to avoid my left side.

Following the nurse, he carried me back to an exam room where she began to poke and prod and ask me a million times. After listening to the twins, she assured us that they were both fine and that my arm had taken the brunt of the fall. Murmuring something about an x-ray, she practically sprinted out of the room.

Almost as soon as she left, the two guardians were at the door. “Guardian Belikov, we need to speak with you.”

“отвяжись,” he said curtly. This was met with shocked and disapproving looks. “You heard me!” Dimitri shouted at them. “Your asshole assignments deserved exactly what they got. Honestly, they got off easy. Now get the hell out of our room.”

The look on his face gave even me the chills. I couldn’t imagine being on the other side of those eyes. Wrapping my fingers around his wrist, I pulled him towards me. “Comrade, stop.” His shoulders softened slightly, and I looked up at the guardians. “Please leave.”

Looking rather torn, they conceded. As soon as the door closed, Dimitri took me into his arms. Kissing me softly on the forehead, he whispered, “Я извиняюсь, Роза.”

“What are you sorry about?” I asked, placing my right hand on the side of his face.

“I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry that you probably hear these things on a daily basis. I’m sorry I can’t protect you from it. I’m sorry, so, so very sorry.”

“Stop.” I shook my head at him. “This isn’t your fault. I knew that this was going to happen eventually. But look, you can’t just go beating up people like that. You could’ve killed him.”

With fire in his eyes, he said, “That’s the one thing I’m not sorry for. I should’ve killed him. He deserved it.”

“Comrade, if you had, you’d never see Evanna and Adelaida,” I said simply, knowing this was the only thing that would get through to him. “They come first. Just because Lissa would side with us doesn’t mean we can get away with murder. Literally.”

“He could’ve hurt them,” he said blankly. His eyes welled up and he placed his hands on my stomach. Gently, he placed a kiss to both sides before glancing up at me. “How bad is your arm?”

“Broken,” I said flatly. No use in dancing around it. Something was definitely broken, but it wasn’t the first time and definitely wouldn’t be the last.

Seconds later the nurse burst in to lead us for the x-ray. Despite my fervent assurances that I could walk perfectly fine, Dimitri scooped me up once again.

Once the x-rays were taken, we had nothing to do but wait for the doctor. It seemed like that was all we did lately, and even though we’d had plenty of practice, neither of us had gotten any better at it. It wasn’t long before Dimitri was pacing the room.

Finally, the doctor walked in. “Five broken ribs, broken nose, broken collarbone, three broken wrist bones, fractured tibia and a slight concussion,” he read from his laptop.

“I think you have the wrong room,” I said in a small voice.

“No, this is the right room,” he said as he looked at Dimitri pointedly. “Thanks to Lord Szelsky’s actions against you,” he nodded at me, “Prince Lazar won’t be pressing charges.”

Scoffing, Dimitri threw his hands up. “Oh, that’s rich.”

“Do you think this is a joke, Mr. Belikov?”

“Are you serious? We should be the ones pressing charges,” he said squaring his shoulders up to the doctor.

Shrugging, the doctor set his laptop down. “You think that would be wise?” He put my x-rays up against the light and flipped the switch. “You two may be at the queen’s right hand, but going up against the Szelskys and the Lazars? I suggest being thankful that your little ones are unharmed, developing thick skin, and moving on, Belikov. Not everyone is going to understand your situation, and they will say hateful things. This doesn’t open up the door for you to try to kill them.”

The doctor pulled up a stool and held Dimitri’s stare. “Two centimeters,” he said calmly. “One broken rib was two centimeters away from puncturing his lungs. Two more centimeters and Prince Lazar may have died. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to deal with the Lazar family after killing one of their most respected family members.”

I sobered up and placed a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder when he opened his mouth to speak. “How bad is my arm?”

Focusing his attention on the x-rays, he said, “Luckily, it’s a clean break. It’s in the ulna just above the wrist. It should be pretty easy to set. You’ll have to wear a cast for the next six weeks, but there shouldn’t be any complications or anything.”

Pulling down the x-rays, he glanced over at me. “I do want you to monitor the twins especially closely over the next week. If anything seems off, anything at all, come in immediately. We’re sure they weren’t harmed, but we need to make sure the trauma from the fall doesn’t affect them. Sometimes the stress of a situation like this can be just as harming as the fall itself.”

I nodded. “Of course. The girls are our number one priority.”

“Now, let’s get that arm taken care of, shall we?”

Once the bone was set, he wrapped up my arm up nice and tight and sent us on our way. We set our appointment for the next week and with Dimitri fussing at my side, we finally left the office.

“Dimitri, please, I’m alright. I’ve broken a few bones in my time. You’ve broken my arm before.” He winced at that. “The twins are fine. My arm will heal. Stop fussing!”

“Okay, alright…” he yielded, backing off. “I’m just worried about you.”

I took his hand. “I know you are, but Comrade, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed his cheek. “I had a great teacher, you know.”

“Must’ve been one heck of a mentor…” he sighed.

“Ehhh…he was alright. Bit of a hard ass at times though,” I giggled.

“Mark my words, Roza. When you get out of that cast, I’ll make you pay for that little comment.” He hugged me to his chest. “Should we go share our news with Christian and Lissa?”

“They found out their gender tomorrow! I wonder what she’s having…” I trailed off.

Dimitri chuckled and led me towards the master suite. After explaining what happened to the worried guardians outside her door, I readied myself for the string of questions I was sure Lissa would have. The red cast on my arm was a bit conspicuous, and I wished I’d gone for a calmer color. For now, I tucked my arm behind Dimitri and followed him into the suite.

“Hey guys!” Lissa chimed, holding out a cupcake. “I knew you’d stop by after your appointment to share your news, sooooo we, well Christian, baked cupcakes!”

Christian came from the kitchen, licking icing off a spoon. “They’re damn good cupcakes too, if I do say so myself.” His head crooked sideways when he saw me hiding behind Dimitri. “What’s wrong with you?”

Deciding I couldn’t hide my arm forever, I readied myself and stepped forward.

“Rose! What happened?!” Lissa frantically set the cupcake down and waddled over to me. “You know you aren’t supposed to be getting into fights!”

“This wasn’t her fight actually,” Dimitri said, shame filling his voice. He detailed what had happened with Szelsky and Lazar leaving out the horrible comment that started it all.

“Why on earth would you pick a fight with such powerful people, Belikov?” Christian said, dumbfounded.

“They said I’d cheated on him,” I explained, “with you.”

When I looked up, I found fire in Lissa’s eyes. “Whatever power in government those two thought they had is now gone. I’ll make sure of it.” After seeing the blatant disapproval I’m sure was written all over my face, Lissa countered, “Rose, I won’t have people like that on any sort of council that makes decisions for my people. This is more than just a petty power move because they’re terrible people, although that would be enough of a reason for me. This is about what’s best for all of us. Those two don’t need to have any power.”

“Plus, I mean, I’m flattered, but honestly Rose, you aren’t my type,” Christian added, lightening the mood a bit. “Now how about those cupcakes?”

Suddenly, I felt ravenously hungry as I took the pastry from his hand. He jumped back. “Wow, don’t get in the pregnant ladies’ ways…,” he warned.

This earned a laugh from Dimitri. “You’re just lucky you don’t have any pickles.”

Lissa waved her hand dismissively. “We’re carrying your children. We should be able to eat whatever we want!” Then, smiling at me she asked, “So am I getting nieces or nephews? Or maybe one of each?”

“Nieces,” I said, earning a squeal of joy from Lissa.

“Evanna and Adelaida,” Dimitri announced.

“Oh, those names are gorgeous,” Lissa cooed. Smiling wide, she pulled me into an awkward belly-bumping hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

Holding my shoulders, she pulled me back to look me in the eye. “Promise me something?” I nodded. “Two things actually…”

“Whoa now Liss, let’s not get crazy,” I joked.

“First, no more fist fights.” She looked purposely at Dimitri.

Putting his hands into the air, he agreed, “No more fights.”

“Good,” she said directing her attention to me. “Second, come with me and Christian to our appointment tomorrow?”

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 10/?

“Roza?” Dimitri’s voice shook me from my sleep. Groggily, I moaned and stretched my arms. My hands rested on my stomach as I gathered the energy to sit up.

“Need some help with that?” Dimitri smirked at me. His steady hand supported my back as he helped me to my feet.

“What time is it? Are we late?” I mumbled, remembering the doctor’s appointment we had this afternoon.

“No, but training ran late, so we will be if we don’t leave now.” Grabbing my bag, he slung it over his shoulder and guided me toward the door. I was still pretty dazed, but soon, the twins started kicking again which did quite a bit to wake me up.

“Training already,” I whispered.

Smiling, Dimitri stopped and rested his hand on my belly. “That must’ve been one heck of a nap.”

I sighed. “It really was. This was the first time in a while that they haven’t woken me up…and that I haven’t had to get up to pee.” Almost immediately after the words left my mouth, I regretted them. “Dimitri…”

Sighing, he unlocked the door and let me back inside. Thankfully, he was used to my overactive bladder and treated it as a necessary evil of our new everyday lives.

Quite a few adjustments had been made lately. Weekly doctor appointments, hourly potty breaks, minimal work hours...it was a wonder Dimitri and I hadn’t gone mad. Both of us longed to get back to work, but as the days passed, it became clearer and clearer that our lives would never go back to the way they were.

Once the twins were born, we’d have a full time job raising them. Who knew when I’d finally get back to guardianship? My heart was torn, so my current solution was to completely ignore the problem until I absolutely had to deal with it. Sure it wasn’t the best plan, but damn it was effective.

I found Dimitri patiently waiting outside the suite. “All set?” he asked. Nodding once, I took his hand and we set off for the doctor.

We knew this path far too well at this point. Luckily, aside from the one panicked trip, every doctor’s visit was strictly routine. I felt my heart fly into my throat when I remembered what today’s visit entailed.

“What are you hoping for?” I asked, curiously glancing up at him.

Scoffing, he shrugged. “Roza, we’ve having babies – our own babies – I could care less what the genders are as long as the three of you are healthy.”

“Indulge me,” I urged.

“Okay…” Tilting his head sideways, he said, “Well, I’ve been thinking of them as one boy and one girl. What about you?”

“Boys,” I said as one of them kicked my bladder pretty hard. “Little warriors ready for battle." I walked in silence for a bit, the next question resting on the tip of my tongue. “Have you thought about names?”

At this, his eyebrows raised. “I hadn’t thought that much about it.” He opened the door to the clinic for me, shrugged, and said simply, “Guess we’ll have to start thinking about that.”

Something in his tone told me he had been thinking about it and that he had names in mind. Strangely though, I understood why he was holding back. I’d thought about names for hours on end and never discussed it with him. With how high risk everything about this pregnancy was, I didn’t want to risk naming the twins yet. That made it too real, far too impossible to let them go should anything…

“Guardians Belikov,” the nurse greeted genially. “How is everything?”

“Great,” Dimitri responded immediately. “The twins have started kicking!” He sounded like a little boy who had just won his first baseball game. The pride and enthusiasm in his voice almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Have they??” She stood up and peeked over the counter at my little swollen belly. “May I?”

Nodding, I directed her hand to where the twins where currently kicking the hell out of me. I’m not sure what they were trying to accomplish, but damn they were working hard at it.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed. “They’re quite active.” Smiling at me, she added, “Like they’re parents, I’m sure. How much longer do you have?”

“They’re due the end of December so four more months,” I replied.

Sitting back down, she smiled widely at both of us and finished checking us in. “Well, I wish you both the best of luck.”

With a giddy smile, Dimitri said, “спасибо.”

Laughing quietly at the nurse’s confused face, I said, “He means thank you. Sorry, when he gets too excited, he slips into Russian.”

Four bottles of water later, the doctor finally called us back. He was apologizing for the wait because of something with the sonogram equipment being messed up. Honestly, I didn’t care what his excuse was. All I knew was that I was about to pee on the floor and it was going to be his fault and responsibility to clean up.

When he started pressing on my stomach, I thought for sure my stomach was going to explode. I was about three seconds from cussing him out when I saw the twins up on the screen. Every part of my body softened as I watched them. One was sucking its little thumb and the other was punching away at the sonogram wand. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“That one takes after you,” Dimitri said gently.

The doctor nodded, staring at the screen. “Little fighter just like her mother.”

“Her??” I perked up at the word.

His head bobbed once. “Little girls, both of them.” He pointed out the evidence on the screen.

My heart swelled. When I glanced excitedly at Dimitri, I noticed tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away. “Aделаида.”

“What does that mean?” I laughed. I’d never heard him use that word before.

Shaking his head, he explained. “It’s a name, an old Russian name that my mother always loved. I grew fond of it myself growing up.”

“Adelaida,” I tested the word on my lips. It was quite beautiful. “Adelaida and…Evanna.” Dimitri’s eyebrow raised at that last bit, so I explained, “Mom mentioned once or twice that her mother’s name was Evanna. I never learned much about her, only that she was a guardian that put even my mother to shame with her battle prowess.”

“Evanna and Adelaida,” Dimitri said softly. “I love it.” He planted a small kiss to my cheek before turning his attention back to the screen.

When the doctor managed to pry us from the screen, he wiped my stomach clean and sent us back to the front to make our next appointment. It was then that I noticed two Moroi men. They looked to be about fifty, but I knew they were probably much older. Both of them had their eyes locked on my stomach.

One of them, the shorter one, made eye contact with me as we passed. I flinched as his glare cut into me.

“What’s wrong?” Dimitri asked, noticing the small movement.

“Nothing,” I lied, pushing him toward the front desk in hopes of a quick escape.

The taller of the two began speaking. It was too loud to ignore, too clear as it sliced through the air to be misheard. “I heard she cheated on him…yeah with none other than Lord Ozera.”

Before I could blink, Dimitri had left my side. He picked the guy up out of his chair and threw him to the ground. I watched wide-eyed as fists flew. Then, suddenly felt myself knocked off balance. I grabbed desperately for something to hold myself up, but found nothing nearby. The last thing I saw before hitting the ground was the cold glare of the shorter Moroi man that was too pointed to be misunderstood. He towered over me, smiling maliciously.

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 9/?

“Dimitri! Hurry, come here!”

Almost running into the door frame, Dimitri came sprinting into the bedroom. Panic filled every feature of his face. “Roza, what’s wrong?”

“Come here!” I urged smiling widely at him.

Cautiously, he walked towards me.  I reached eagerly for his hand and placed it on my small swollen stomach. Watching his face, I waited.

After a few seconds, I felt it, a tiny kick, and I watched as Dimitri’s face lit up. He excitedly placed his other hand on my stomach as well and splayed his fingers.

We deserved this little moment of happiness after the two months of apprehensive doctor’s visits that basically left us living our lives on eggshells. Not to mention all of the new rules I had to follow. I couldn’t drink coffee anymore which was a real tragedy, but as I felt the tiny kicks, I decided it was all worth it.

With my stomach clearly showing, I could hear the whispers in the hallways. Not everyone exactly believed our story, but luckily for us, there was bigger news at Court.

The story of Lissa’s pregnancy had spread like wildfire. Court was buzzing with excitement for the Dragomir baby. There were already bets on what gender the baby would be and what Lissa and Christian would name their first child. Lately, the names Rhea and Eric had been floating around quite a bit.

Though Lissa would never let it show, I knew the extra attention added much more unneeded stress to her life, and bless his heart, Christian did his best to shield her from it.

Gingerly, Dimitri leaned his ear up against my stomach. He whispered something in Russian and smiled up at me. “You’re so beautiful.”

Rolling my eyes, I smirked back at him. “Yeah, yeah, help me up, will you?”

Getting out of bed was becoming a daily struggle. My center of gravity was completely off and my once perfect balance now failed me in the simplest of ways. I swear Dimitri caught me from falling over at least once a day. His eyes were always watching me, preparing for my next klutzy moment.

“Hot chocolate?” he offered.

I thought for a second. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

He nodded and went to work heating the water. While he did that, I searched the fridge. I grabbed the dill pickles from the door and put a few in a bowl, completely aware of Dimitri’s eyes on the back of my head.

“Pickles? And hot chocolate?” he asked, making a face like I was the most disgusting person he’d ever met.

Pointing at my stomach, I raised my eyebrows at him. “You did this, Comrade. Now you have to live with the consequences.” He chuckled and shook his head.

Sitting down on the breakfast bar, I rested the bowl on my stomach. Honestly, these were the best pickles I’d ever eaten. I wasn’t going to let him bring me down. Also, it wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d eaten in the last few months. He was on duty the night I decided to put potato chips in my ice cream. It really wasn’t a bad combination to be completely honest.

Slowly and almost reluctantly, he slid a mug of hot chocolate my way. “Double chocolate?”

“What else?” he said shrugging.

Taking a big sip, I smiled blissfully at him. “Dimka, will you grab the oreos while you’re up.”

Scrunching his eyebrows together, he complied. I enthusiastically shoved an oreo in my mouth before chasing it with a pickle and a sip of hot chocolate.

“Alright, I’m going to go before I throw up,” he said simply kissing the top of my head.

“Training again?”

He nodded. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” I said stuffing another oreo in my mouth.

Lately, he’d been training my temporary replacement. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, but Lissa needed someone to help out over the next few months especially since Dimitri was spending less and less time guarding her as he was opting to spend more time with me.

I leaned back and rested my hands on my stomach. The twins were still kicking slightly. “Just five more months guys. Hang in there with me.” They stopped moving at the sound of my voice. “I love you two already.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Groaning, I pushed myself up and made my way to the door. Pushing up to my tiptoes, I glanced out the peephole before opening the door eagerly.

My dad stood there awkwardly holding a present. “Rosemarie.”

“Hey, Dad!” I hugged him…well sort of hugged him trying to maneuver around my belly. “What are you doing here? Where’s Mom?” Now that she’d transferred her guardianship to him, I rarely saw them apart.

“Right here, Sweetie,” she said peeking out from behind him. She kissed my cheek and handed me a bag of In-and-Out.

“Oh my God, Mom. You’re a saint.”

She laughed. “Now I wouldn’t go that far, but I know that I always craved In-and-Out when I was pregnant with you.”

Taking a fry from the bag, I invited them inside. We sat down on the couch, Abe and my mom sitting adorably close together. She laced her fingers with his and nodded to me.

“We got you a little something, dear,” she said as Abe handed me the gift.

Wiping my hands off, I took it. “You guys didn’t have to get me anything. Really the food was enough.”

“Call it making up for the first eighteen years of your life,” Abe said simply. He kissed my mother on the forehead and I had to smile. He’d changed a lot since they got back together. Zmey was gone forever, replaced with a soft, loving father who I could almost, almost see as a grandpa.

Slowly, I removed the tissue paper and glanced inside. Pregnancy products. There was some soothing skin lotion, a couple of bella bands, and some weird walkie-talkie looking thing.

“It’s a fetal doppler,” my mom explained. “Put the wand to your stomach and it’ll let you listen to the babies’ heartbeats.” She moved over towards me and helped me set it up. Within minutes, we were listening to two tiny heartbeats thump-thump-thumping against all odds.

Wiping a few stray tears away, I smiled at my mom. “Thank you so much. You have no idea…”

Hugging me tightly, she whispered, “It’s going to be okay, Rosemarie. I love you.” She wiped a tear away and glanced back at Abe. “Well, Sweetie, we should get going.”

He nodded and stood up. Kissing my cheek lightly, he said, “If you need anything, Rose, you call. Okay? Now that we’re back at Court, we’re never too far away. Alright?”

“Thanks, Dad. I will.”

Helping me up, he guided Mom and I to the door. Lifting my chin up, Mom kissed my nose. “You use that lotion, Rose. Trust me.”

“I will, Mom. Thank you guys. Really.”

“You’re very welcome,” Abe replied. Placing a hand around Mom’s waist, he closed the door behind them.

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 8/?

I remember a story that Lissa’s mother had told us. We were only seven years old, and after begging Rhea to tell us a bedtime story, she’d conceded.

“Once upon a time,” she began, “there lived a beautiful young maiden in a faraway land.”

Though the story began as so many of the others, it quickly turned into something much different. After losing her father, the poor young maiden had to live with her horrid stepmother and equally terrible stepsisters. She was forced to do all of the chores in the house while the others had their fun.

Halfway through the story, Rhea caught a glimpse of my frown. “What’ wrong, dear?”

“It just doesn’t seem fair…” I explained.

Clasping her hands together, she looked at me with such tenderness and compassion. “Oh darling, life isn’t always fair. It won’t always treat you kindly, my dear Rosemarie, but you only lose when you let it kill the love in your heart.”

Laying in the hospital bed now, I recalled those words. My face was wet and my stomach and heart ached. Pain coursed through my body and I searched for an explanation, some terrible thing I’d done to deserve this.

Life isn’t always fair.

I glanced at Dimitri. He was in the hallway talking in hushed tones with the doctor, though I wasn’t sure why they were whispering. I could figure this one out on my own. I’d seen the blood. I’d felt the pain. I knew.

It won’t always treat you kindly.

Hanging his head, Dimitri approached my bedside, but I refused to look at him. Somehow it was all worse now that I’d lost not one, but two of our children, two that we would never have the chance to have again. I had failed. I didn’t deserve him.

“The doctor said that –”

“I know,” I said, cutting him off. I was surprised by the apathy in my voice.

“Rose, you–”

“Just go away.” I wanted to be alone, to pity myself and wallow in the sadness the consumed me. The last thing I wanted was for Dimitri to be here, forgiving me. “Please.”

“You can’t just shut me out, Rose. I’m here,” he said desperately.

“Well you shouldn’t be. I don’t know why you would still want to be with me. I did this Dimitri. We’ll never have children because of me.”

“Rose, you’re being completely irrational. Please just–”

“NO!” I practically screamed. I couldn’t look at him right now. I couldn’t see the tears in his eyes and know that I had put them there.

“Rose! Listen to me!” his voice filled with despair.

“GO AWAY!”

He took my shoulders and began shaking me. “Rose!”

I woke up in a cold sweat, my entire body shaking violently. Dimitri was still holding onto my shoulders. Quickly pushing him away, I threw the blankets off of myself to check for blood, but there was none to be found. Then I lost myself in the tears.

Dimitri held me tight whispering over and over again, “It was just a nightmare, Roza.”

It may have been “just a nightmare,” but it was too real, too…possible. All this time I’d been fooling myself, celebrating this pregnancy rather than worrying about it. Honestly, I’d never felt so helpless. I had very little power to protect these babies, and after so many years of having it drilled into my head that I had to do everything possible to defend those around me, this killed me.

I leaned into Dimitri’s chest and tried to calm myself back down. Getting this upset couldn’t possibly help anything.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” Dimitri whispered, stroking my hair. “I love you. I’m here.”

Still shaking, I wiped the tears from my eyes and took Dimitri’s hand in mine. He leaned back, allowing me to rest on his shoulder. Rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb, Dimitri began singing an old Russian lullaby. Though I had no clue what the words meant, I found great peace in it and allowed myself to imagine him singing it over a crib. The thought made me smile.

Once the song was over, he shifted to get a glimpse of my face. “Roza, are you alright?”

That was a good question. “I...think so…”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked playing with a strand of my hair.

Scoffing, I answered, “No.”

“Okay,” he said simply. Kissing the top of my head, he settled in and wrapped his arm around me.

After several minutes of silence, I whispered, “It’s not fair.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not fair,” I said a bit stronger. “People get pregnant all the time and don’t have to worry about miscarrying. I bet they don’t wake up from terrible nightmares and live in fear.”

“Oh, Roza…who said life is fair? Look at all we’ve been through. None of it was fair, and yet here we are. I love you and I love our two little babies, and that will never change.” He paused for a second before saying, simply, “That’s enough for me.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” I said a bit sleepily.

He laughed soft and deep. “You have no idea how amazing you are. You’re so strong and so full of love. It’s incredible. I always wonder what I did to deserve you.”

Suddenly, I remembered Rhea’s words.

Oh darling, life isn’t always fair. It won’t always treat you kindly, my dear Rosemarie, but you only lose when you let it kill the love in your heart.

Sitting up, I kissed him lightly. “I love you, Dimka.”

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 7/?

“Well I’d love to keep planning the future with the both of you, but shouldn't you two really be getting home?” Christian said casually.

“Christian!” Lissa chastised.

Laughing, Dimitri shook his head. “It’s okay, Liss. Point taken, Ozera.”

Following Dimitri’s lead, I stood up and headed towards the door. “Congrats, guys. You’ll be amazing parents.” I smiled, kissing Lissa on the cheek.

As Lissa and I parted, I noticed that she quickly wiped away the stray tear. Clinging to Christian’s arm, she smiled at me. Christian kissed her forehead lightly before turning to Dimitri, “Take care of that one, will you? Make sure she listens to the doctor. Always been a bit stubborn, you know?”

Dimitri laughed, “Don’t I know it.”

We said our goodbyes and headed back to our suite. When Dimitri entwined his fingers with mine, I snuck a glance at his face. It was good to see him like this, so happy, so light-hearted, so unlike his usual somber disposition. Somehow it made me love him even more if that was even possible.

Squeezing his hand, I leaned into his arm and whispered breathily, “I love you.”

He stopped abruptly and scooped me into his arms. “Я люблю тебя, Розу.”

“Now you know that’s not fair,” I said pointedly, melting into his embrace.

He smirked. Then, leaning down he kissed me softly. Pushing up to my tiptoes, I deepened the kiss. Reaching behind him, he fumbled with the key, desperately trying to unlock our door. After several failed attempts, he broke the embrace and quickly unlocked it before grabbing my waist and pulling me inside with him.

Closing the door, he pushed me up against it, hunger in his eyes. I tangled my hands in his hair, pulling him down to me. Our lips met once again, and before long, my legs found their way around his waist. He broke the kiss, and before I could protest his lips were on my neck. Biting my lip, I moaned and dug my nails into his shoulder.

Then, most inconveniently, my phone went off. “Ignore it,” Dimitri whispered against my skin.

Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled it out and glanced at the name. Mom.

“I can’t. It’s my mom.”

Reluctantly, he set my down on the ground and groaned, “No wonder Christian practically threw us out.”

Giggling, I answered, “Hi, Mo–”

“Rosemarie Belikov. You will tell me what what’s going on. You call me crying and then ignore me for the next twenty-four hours, blowing off all my calls and ignoring my questions? You tell me what’s going on before I come back to Pennsylvania right this second.”

“Mom, it’s okay. I’m okay. I was just in shock the other day because I got some pretty big news, and I didn’t exactly know how to handle it. Mom, I’m pregnant. Dimitri and I are having a baby.”

There was silence on the other end. Eventually, my father said, “Rose, this isn’t funny. Your mother has been worried sick.”

“It’s not supposed to be funny, because for once, I’m not joking. Call it rare, call it a genetic fluke, call it whatever you want, but that won’t change the fact that I’m having a baby.”

“You’re pregnant,” my mother said carefully. I could tell just how shocked she was by the strong Scottish accent that decorated her words.

“Yeah, Mom. You’re going to be a grandmother, and Dad, you’re going to be a grandZmey.” I let that sink in for a minute before dropping the next piece of news.

“She’s pregnant, Abe. We’re going to be grandparents.” Distantly, I heard her kiss him.

“So when can we expect this little bundle of joy?” Abe asked.

“December,” I replied before adding, “but there’s more.”

“More than you being pregnant? Rose, we’ve been gone for a week, not a year. What else could’ve possibly happened?” Mom asked incredulously.

“Well, it’s not just one little bundle of joy. I’m having twins.” Complete silence met this announcement. I gave it a few seconds before saying, “Are you guys still there?”

“Just processing,” came Abe’s shocked response.

When my mom spoke, I could hear the tears in her voice. “I’m so proud of you, Rose. I can’t wait to come home. I’ll take you shopping, okay? We’ll go find everything that you’ll need.”

I swallowed, holding back my own tears. “Thank you, Mom. I love both of you.”

“We love you too, Sweetie,” Abe relied genuinely.

I hung up and joined Dimitri on the couch. He took my hand, tickling my palm. “How did they take it?”

Little Pink Plus Sign - Rose POV - Part 6/?

“T…twins?” I heard myself say incredulously. Beside me, Dimitri’s breathy laugh sounded almost surreal.

Dr. Ashland nodded. “I can’t believe it either, but there they are.” He studied the screen for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “We won’t be sure if they’re identical or not until they’re born. Even then, we may not know right away.” He set everything down and turned to face us. “Your babies don’t share a placenta. That’s good. That means much fewer complications, and in your already high risk pregnancy, we don’t need any more complications added to the mix. This makes them dichorionic diamniotic, or DCDA.”

Removing his gloves, he explained, “All fraternal twins are DCDA, but there’s a 1/3 chance that identical twins will also be DCDA. Basically, if you have a girl and a boy in there, we’ll know for sure they’re fraternal. Otherwise, we’ll have to do blood tests and rely on physical features like eye and hair color to really know if your twins are fraternal or identical.”

Finally Dimitri spoke, “What do we need to do to lower our risks?”

The doctor smiled. “You’re going to have to make sure she doesn’t work, and that she takes those prenatal vitamins I gave her.”

“Done and done,” he smiled before taking my hand in his. “We’re having twins. Twins.”

“I’ll let you two have some time alone,” the doctor said before dismissing himself.

My cheeks grew warm, and my eyes clouded over with tears. “We get to have two babies. I didn’t fail.”

Dimitri pulled me into a hug and buried his face in my hair. “Roza, I love you so much.” Holding my head in his hands, he gently wiped away a tear that managed to escape. “You’re going to be the best mother.” Suddenly his face grew serious. “You heard the doctor. No more working. Can you do that?”

Laughing, I placed a hand on his cheek. “Yes, Mom. I can do that.”

“You be careful, Rosemarie. That tone of voice won’t fly in this house,” he joked.

Giggling, I kissed him softly, warmth making its way through my entire body. His hands found their way to my back and pulled me up into the kiss. I couldn’t help but feel butterflies which made it hard to breathe. I loved him so much.

 After getting dressed, Dimitri and I decided to pay a visit to Liss and Christian to tell them the good news. As we left the doctor, I realized I hadn’t told Dimitri about their amazing news. It’s for the best, I decided. He should hear it from them.

“What’s with the smile?” he asked. “You look like you’re planning something.”

Shaking my head, I avoided his eyes. I knew that he’d see right through any lies I’d try to feed him, so instead I responded truthfully, “I’m just so happy.”

Putting his arm around my shoulders, he pulled me close to him and kissed the top of my head. “What do you think they’ll say?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if Lissa told Christian.”

“Then he’s in for one hell of a surprise.” We took a few steps in silence before he added, “I’m sure she did. I mean if Lissa told you news that big, you’d tell me right?”

Shit. I mustered up all the confidence I had before answering. “I mean probably, but I don’t know…there’s something sort of special about hearing it straight from the source, don’t you think?”

Shrugging, he said, “I guess, but I know you, Rose. You’d be so excited. You couldn’t keep something like that from me. I’m willing to bet Lissa is the same.”

Chocking back laughter, I nodded. “You’re probably right.” Just you wait…, I added silently.

Smiling at the guardian posted at Lissa’s door, I knocked perhaps a bit too vivaciously. It took a bit of time, but eventually Lissa found her way to the door, her hair an absolute mess.

“Were you two making out?” I whispered, trying to tame her wild hair.

“Maybe just a little,” she giggled. “Christian, it’s Rose and Dimitri!” she called, no doubt warning him to put his clothes back on.

Christian emerged from the bedroom, his hair too, a mess. “You two have impeccable timing,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his every word. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

I glanced at Lissa. The sly look on her face told me that Christian knew nothing about our pregnancy, although I’m sure she’d told him about theirs as we’d just interrupted their celebration.

“We should probably sit down,” Lissa suggested, smirking at me. “Can I offer anyone anything?”

“Belikov, you want a beer with me?” Christian offered. Dimitri nodded, taking a seat next to me on the couch. “What about you, Rose?”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

He peeked his head around the corner, looking at me as if I’d grown another head. “Never heard you turn down a beer. What’s going on?”

“That’s what we’re here to talk to you about, actually,” Dimitri said, smiling.

“Oh, I get it. Rose going dry with Lissa?” Christian asked. It took all I had not to burst into laughter.

“What?” Dimitri’s eyebrows furrowed together.

Christian handed the beer to him and shrugging said, “Well I just figured, Rose would’ve told you.”

Dimitri suddenly spun around, searching my face for answers. Winking, I said simply, “Checkmate, Comrade.”

Turning back to Christian, Dimitri asked, “You two are having a baby?”

“Well yeah,” Christian responded, putting his arm around Lissa. “What else would you come here to talk about?”

Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, I folded over in laughter. I could hear Lissa laughing as well. She stroked Christian’s face. “Oh honey…neither of us can drink right now.”

I looked up, meeting Christian’s look of confusion, and explained the situation to him leaving out the latest development. He looked from me to Lissa before his eyes made their way to Dimitri.

“Leave it to these two to be pregnant at the same time,” he said holding up his beer bottle.

Dimitri tapped his against Christian’s and nodded. “Always inseparable and no doubt the kids will be the same way.” He turned to me and smiled.

“Oh, of course!” Lissa interjected enthusiastically. “The two of them will be thick as thieves!”