RPOV
Again, I awoke with morning sickness. Dimitri was by my side in seconds and held my hair out of the way while rubbing soothing circles into my back.
Three hours later, I was in the clinic with Dimitri and getting the results of the Kirova-demanded prenatal DNA test. "Well Belikov," Doctor Olendzki started. Dimitri gripped my hand and I lovingly stroked it with my thumb. "I guess congratulations are in order- you're going to be a dad."
Dimitri beamed. Even though he'd already known it was his, hearing it reconfirmed by the doctor was an overpowering moment.
"Dr Olendzki, could we redo that ultrasound? Please? I want Dimitri to hear what I heard yesterday." I requested. "Wouldn't mind Bubby Belikov's beating heart making me cry again."
"Please Doctor?" Dimitri added.
"Okay. You're both proud, aren't you?" she gently responded.
Dimitri and I gazed lovingly into the other's eyes before replying. "Yes. This is meant to be impossible."
Twenty minutes later and Dimitri was holding my hand through the scan. When the doc switched on the sound, Dimitri gasped then cried at the beautiful heartbeat of our baby Belikov. The sound brought back tears to my eyes.
"Oh, Roza. It's beautiful. Thank you, my love, for doing the impossible. Thank you for giving me everything." Dimitri leaned across and kissed my cheek.
"I love you Dimitri, so much. I know I'm not ready, but I'm excited. Still scared, but excited."
"I love you too, Roza. I'm scared too." Didn't expect him to admit that.
We surprised the hell out of the group at breakfast. We'd walked into the cafeteria hand-in-hand, collected food- Dimitri altering my menu. Then joined my group.
"Rose? Why is Guardian Belikov joining us?" Liss tentatively enquired.
"It's 'Dimitri', Liss. And he's irreversibly joined our group."
"Why?" Shot through the bond seconds before it came out of her mouth.
Here goes. "Because he's my boyfriend." That caused shock, anger, curiosity and betrayal to pulse through the bond. "Check our auras."
"Rose? Really? Him?" Eddie asked while Lissa tuned into the auras. What she saw caused her to gasp.
"There's something else you're hiding, Rose." she commented.
"Oh, yeah. That. Dimitri? Do you want to?"
"Roza, are you sure?"
"Us?"
"Hmm. I like that better, love." He pecked my cheek before we turned back to the group.
"Guys?" Liss, Chris, Adrian, and Eddie asked in unison.
"We're pregnant." Dimitri and I responded together.
"That's impossible." Eddie commented and the Chris nodded his agreement.
"Yet it has happened." Liss beat us to the response. "I can see it in their auras, and I'm not talking about the honesty of their statement. I can see the baby's aura being formed from Dimitri's and Rose's." I snapped into Lissa's head and saw it for myself.
"It's beautiful." I commented when I snapped out.
'Rose!' Lissa chastised. 'You know I hate you being in my head.'
"Sorry Liss, I was curious. And this is my baby's aura we're discussing."
"You have a point. Sorry Rose."
"All good."
Eddie'sPOV
I so wanted to go off at Belikov for falling for his student. It would have been one thing for him to harbour feelings and not act on them. It was another entirely to let her know, start a relationship and sleep with her.
Ugh. I never imagined the antisocial god called 'Guardian Belikov' ever falling for anyone. Let alone Rose Hathaway. Never saw her falling for anyone, either. And, of all the guys after her, she picks a man, a Guardian and her mentor no less, who's seven years older than her. Now they've gone and done the impossible- started their own family. Un-believable.
The only thing stopping me from giving him a right good telling off, was that he was a Guardian, who could get me in trouble because I was a Novice. It was the same issue that was supposed to make Rose and him illegal, it was supposed to be their roadblock. Then again, she'd been eighteen for two months, so she was free enough to be with him. Sorta. Ugh.
Yuk! They were so loved up, it was sickening. "Get a room!" I interrupted their heating-up-far-too-quickly kiss.
"Eddie, you know what happened the last time we did that. We ended up with an impossible baby, which is far too special to risk." Belikov simply paled at the mention of their-ew!- sex life, but beamed at the mention of their baby. He wanted this, to be a father and- more importantly- to be the father of Rose's kid, or kids.
That made me have to ask, "will it ever become plural? As in, 'impossible babies'?" Rose whipped her head to look into Belikov's eyes, and after a few seconds he nodded. And she grinned and snuggled into his side.
"Eventually, Eddie. Eventually." Rose answered.
The bell went and Rose and I walked off to our first class. Of course the parental's hadn't wanted to split.
"So... Belikov couldn't keep it in his pants!" I laughed and cautiously nudge Rose's shoulder.
"It's not like that Eddie. And you know it." she playfully retorted.
"Yeah, I guess I do. I can't believe I was protecting you from everyone who wanted you, while you were sneaking around with your mentor." I sighed. "He really does love you, more than Mase." She flinched at the mention of him. "Sorry."
"No, no. It's not that... exactly."
"I can see the difference, Rose. I can see how Belikov will protect you from yourself, how he's risked everything for you, I can see the power he holds over you."
"He has, you know. He has protected me from myself."
"You've got me, I'm curious and listening."
"You remember the Jesse incident?"
"Yeah."
"Well... I took the dark side of Lissa's magic, and kinda went," flinch, "insane. I shouldn't have been able to pull out of it. He did, he pulled me out of it."
"How?" I gently asked.
"Long story. Basically, he let his guard down. He made himself vulnerable to me, he let me see his pain, and the belief in me. Belief in my own strength, but also lent his strength to mine."
"There's more, isn't there?"
"So much more I can't say, but I can tell you he shattered my perfect image of him. And it was for the better."
I clicked then, she meant he'd let her in to the point they'd had sex before she was eighteen. All because the pain of staying apart was too much. I'd learned a lot in such a short time over breakfast, so I couldn't be mad. A tad disappointed, but I couldn't be and at Belikov because we owed him Rose's sanity. And her skill.
"I'm not mad at him, just so you know. I can tell that he's the best thing that's ever happened to you."
"He is, well, until Bubby."
"I still can't wrap my head around that." I commented as I opened the gym door, letting the pregnant woman through first.
"Neither can I, Eddie. Neither. Can. I." she sighed.
"Says the expecting one!" I teased quietly.
"Rose? Castile?" Alberta called us over.
"Yes Alberta?" we enquired.
"Does he know, Rose?"
"Yeah." Rose responded.
"Okay, good. Castile?"
"Yes, Alberta?"
"Keep Rose up with basic moves, don't push her and you can guess where not to aim."
"Understood. Will do." I agreed to the challenge. This was my little niece or nephew I needed to protect.
