The accident & the snowstorm (A VA fanfic)

Eighteen

DPOV
"No," Rose repeated for what felt like the millionth time. At this rate, James would cry 'no' the second he came into our world. Lissa had been on Rose's case for this Lehigh trip and royal birthday dinner for over a fortnight now.
Lissa pouted. "Please, Rose?" she begged yet again. "Don't abandon me to the boring and judging royals!"
"I'm eight months pregnant and on maternity leave already, Lissa. So, no. Take your own fiancé as well as mine. I'm not going to be of any use anyway." Rose's expression shifted for half a second and I knew she was checking the bond. "Fine. Okay. I'll have you know it's a damn dangerous idea, but fine, I'll come as well as Christian if Tatiana let's you take us both," Rose reneged.

Honestly, when it came to Lissa, Roza was a pushover. Anything for her Moroi and anything for her best friend, plus the bond, added up to Rose wrapped around Lissa's littlest finger. It's not as though Rose didn't stick up for herself, she did, but Lissa's desires were far more important and her sense of duty was unparalleled. I fell in love with Rose Hathaway just a little bit more as I watched this interaction play out. She had clearly thought of James' safety, then how being so heavily pregnant with him would impact Lissa's safety- her top priority as a guardian- and how having me present would also impact the balance and my capability to carry out my duty should the need arise. This was the type of situation we'd been in while Rose was a novice, my novice (just my novice, my ass), and my love interest back at the Academy when it came to Missoula trips and such like. I was on Rose's side. My duty made me protect the pregnant Princess, but my heart told me to protect my pregnant fiancée. I just hoped it wouldn't come down to it.

"Ugh," Rose groaned Thursday the following week as I joined her in bed after my shift. I wrapped a protective arm around my family.
"I know, Roza, I know," I murmured lovingly in her ear. "I tried to discourage her myself. She was adamant, as you well know. I know how stressful a position this puts you in and I was trying to avoid it."
Rose chuckled humourlessly. "But what Lissa wants Lissa gets." She sighed. "It should be enjoyable... for a non-eight-month-pregnant woman who actually wants to go to a prestigious college that is."
I chuckled. "In other words: Lissa."
"She hasn't even consulted Christian about this yet, but she's thinking of taking second and third semesters by distance." Rose beamed with the possibility of Lissa spending a year at Court, and I understood why.
"Mommy buddies, huh?"
Rose laughed. "We're already baby besties."
"I guess our baby is going to be as committed to the Dragomirs as we are. That's a scary thought."
"No, what's scary is the possibility Lissa's baby specialise's in spirit and shadow-kiss' James. That possibility is terrifying both me and Lissa."

I thought about it for a moment. Yeah, our children facing the same issues Lissa and Rose have is a confronting possibility. Especially since both mothers will only be thirty when the signs of specialisation start showing. Both are so young, but so mature at the same time. They're ready... well, as ready as ever possible.

Call me biased, but out of their grade I only considered Roza, Lissa and Christian the most ready for children straight out of school. All three had been through so much more than anyone their age should and grown from it. They'd grown so much this year particularly. Those three in particular with the addition of Eddie and Mason, as well as ex-arch-enemy Mia Rinaldi, made a formidable friendship group; one that was so much more like a family and I felt my chest swell with pride, honour and humility to be included and accepted as one of their own, not just as Lissa's guardian but also as Rose's lover, her soon to be husband, their soon to be brother in-law. I was in one of our generation's most influential and powerful cliques, a Moroi and dhampir force of nature and for change, and I doubted they realised their potential future power. What was the icing on the cake and brought a smile to my face at the thought of it, was how our children would likely be just as tight-knit and influential. So much could change because of Lissa's standing and the others' drive.