A month outside the gates (a VA fanfic)ON HOLD

Chapter 74

DPOV

By the time the twins were crawling, Lissa was delivering the future Dragomir Prince and Holly was looking ready to pop with her and Emil's daughter. There was a flurry of baby activity going on here at St Vladimir's, and that included the new Moroi students and Novices for the pre-kindy intake.

"Rose!" screamed Holly, a week after Lissa had safely delivered little Hunter Ozera Dragomir—and Christian's prompt to immediately return to campus. Yes, Holly had moved in with my new family until she delivered. That was when she was allowed to move into one of the fully renovated Watch Post cabins. Of course, Savannah and Jeremy were awoken by the pain-filled, ear-piercing scream. One look at Rose and we knew who was going to be doing what. Rose would collect our adorable babies while I raced Holly to the clinic. Rose would meet me there with Savannah and Jeremy, where I would take them from her and she'd join Holly's side throughout the labor process. Holly didn't argue, but was indirectly cursing Emil out just as Rose had cussed me out and vowed to never have sex with me again; barely a week later she was somehow coherent enough to be consciously seducing me... like Rose ever needed to try seducing me—she already had me whipped and addicted. I was glad Emil wasn't here throughout this process, he so did not need to hear her right now; just like I hadn't needed to hear Rose's swearing at me. Though, it was kind of endearing in a twisted way, because you know the second your partner holds the baby you both created together, she'll shut up and realise she didn't really mean a syllable, and that you'd known the whole time. Because why else would you allow her to crush your hand? At least, you very much hope that she will come to that realisation.

Once Holly had delivered Katherine, and Emil was by her side after just finishing his rounds, Rose and I slipped away with the twins. Rose did have paperwork to finalise about which dhampir females and their families were to start moving into our available cabins over the coming fourteen days. And help Alberta with yet another new roster system which accounted for the skills and physical conditioning brush-up each of the eager women required to different degrees. Depending on how much re-training was needed, for each family that moved into the Watch Posts at least one, on average two and a maximum of three, guardians were reshuffled back into the field. Well, in the end, it was really just a mass exodus of twenty-five guardians after all the families were settled in when Katherine was a month old.

Rose, Holly, and the majority of the mothers returning to mainstream society got along famously. Many managed to forget Rose's royal status as plenty of play dates occurred and baby-sitting duties were shared. A real subculture was formed within the new Academy framework. Even Lissa was hands-on and intimately included in the workings of the 'mother club'.

"Tatiana's telling me most of the royals at Court are beginning to love this new regime," Rose murmured while we watched our birthday babies sleeping peacefully. How had this year passed by so swiftly? How had it been nearly two years since Rose graduated? And how, much more importantly, had it been a year since the last Moroi was turned Strigoi? Surely something was bound to go extremely horribly wrong sometime soon. Too soon, if the bad feeling in my gut was anything to go by.

"Enough for another merge of Academies?"

Rose twisted in my arms before smiling and nodding into my chest. "Yes. Except..."

"Except what, Roza?" I murmured into her hair while pulling her into our bedroom.

"She wants us to move to the other side of the country to Rothwell's to be there while implementing the change."

"We just got Savannah and Jeremy settled here..." I would move us if we had to, but I really didn't want to upset the balance we'd finally achieved.

"I've told her, she can accept that we're staying here, or she can find herself another dhampir Prince or Princess. She decided she'd let me Skype my meetings with Rothwell's and St Stephen's Guardian Captains." Rose's cheeky grin told me she had a little something extra to add that she felt both smug and guilty about successfully hiding from me. "She didn't want to add moving stress to her pregnant Mazur Princess's list of worries."

"Her what?" Did I seriously hear her right? "You're pregnant?"

She nodded sheepishly. I should be mad about being the second one after her to find out, but her aforementioned sheepish expression was far too cute for both her and my own good.

"How on Earth did you keep it from me?"

"I didn't really, I only found out this morning and we've been busy with separate activities all day. Besides, the twins' birthday was what took priority today." Her innocent look was far more dangerous to my control than her purposely seductive ones.

"How far along?" I growled softly as I gently straddled her in our bed.

"Three weeks, maybe two or maybe four. I did two of those Clearblue approximate progress tests—one came up with two to three weeks, the other with three plus weeks."

And since we'd been at it like rabbits at that time, only half intentionally trying for another child to add to what appeared was becoming our rapidly expanding brood, I wasn't terribly surprised that the test couldn't discern it.

"We'll just have to see after the first ultrasound, won't we?" I teased against her lips before kissing her passionately. To which she responded with a delighted but needy moan; I was helpless to resist her after that sound escaped her and the wondrous news she'd just unveiled. I think a little private adult celebration was in order.