A/N - Well, how about that? I finally updated this fic. Sorry for taking so long, but I've had a lot going on recently. The three facets of my author personality all decided to go in twenty different directions at once. Anyway, please read and review. I still don't own the rights to this series, and I doubt I ever will. For anyone still recovering from the angst level in the last chapter, I promise you that this chapter is fluffier. Well, that's enough from me.

Raziel sighed and glanced around, trying to discern shapes in the darkness around him. He and Turel had been given watch duty in the village of Uschtenheim every night for the past week. That was an entire week of nervously avoiding Melina and silently hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Her sister had kept her well hidden.

Turel snored softly, drawing Raziel's attention. He lightly kicked Turel until his eyes opened and he sat up. Turel blinked at the wind and snow as he slowly regained his feet.

"Enjoy your nap?" Raziel questioned him sarcastically.

"There's no need to be angry. I'm exhausted."

"How can you be exhausted? You spent the entire day in your chambers."

"That doesn't mean that I was sleeping," Turel commented with a wolfish grin.

Raziel looked at Turel with disgust and shook his head. He shivered, noticing the steadily increasing strength of the wind. The snow had been getting heavier all night, piling up in large drifts.

"What about that serving lass in the Keep?"

"What about her? She's not my wife."

"Turel," Raziel admonished, "you can't continue living like this. One day you're going to end up with about five girls all claiming that you're the father of their children."

Turel shrugged at Raziel's comment. "I don't think there'll be any vampires out tonight," he mused, pointedly changing the subject. "Why don't we just head back to the inn for the rest of the night? We're stuck in the village anyway."

"You go ahead," Raziel answered. "I'm going to stay here a while longer."

Turel laughed as he turned to go. "Your dedication to your work will be the death of you Raziel. Learn to enjoy your life."

Raziel waited until Turel was gone before abandoning his post and turning his steps toward the village. If Turel didn't pass out for the night upon returning, he'd spend it in drunken revelry, amorous pastimes, or both. He'd never notice if Raziel wasn't there. Quietly, carefully, he made his way to Leda's house. By the time he reached the door, he was shivering violently with cold. It took Leda several moments to open the door, since she had been sleeping. She saw and recognized the Sarafan armor before she recognized his face and tensed briefly. After a second look, she recognized him and allowed him to enter.

"Please, try not to disturb Melina," Leda commented softly as she led him to her sister's room. "This should only be a short visit."

Raziel watched Leda go to her own room and shut the door, leaving him in the dark. He knocked softly on the door. Melina opened it and smiled when she saw him. She had gained only a small amount of weight considering how advanced her pregnancy was, but she was still moving gracefully.

"Well," she murmured sleepily, "I guess dreams do come true."

Raziel followed her into the room and soundlessly closed the door behind him. Despite the strong desire he had to kiss her, the need for warmth forced him over to the small hearth. Melina chuckled and began unbuckling his armor. She brushed the snow off his hair and stood beside him as he shed the damp outer layers of his clothing. When only an undershirt and a pair of breeches remained, she wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

Raziel caught her arms and turned her to face him. With all due gentleness, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Melina slowly melted against him, reaching up to cradle his cheeks in her palms. Raziel allowed one hand to rest on Melina's abdomen. With a sigh, he seated himself on the floor, leaving Melina to join him.

"Oh no you don't," she whispered, "I refuse to sit on that cold floor. You do whate'er you wish, my lord, but I am sleeping on the bed."

Raziel followed Melina and snuggled close beside her. As odd as it may have seemed, he missed the simple pleasure of lying next to her and feeling her pressed against his side. Raziel sat up to gaze into her eyes.

"Melina," he began tenuously, "do you truly forgive me?"

She smiled faintly, though her eyes did not. "Raziel, love, if I hadn't forgiven you, you wouldn't be here right now."

"I can't express how sorry I . . ."

Melina reached up to press a finger against his lips and shook her head dismissively. Raziel moved closer, bending down to kiss her lips and then her stomach. For a few moments, he remained that way: his cheek pressed against her abdomen. Finally he lied back down beside her, still holding a hand to her swollen belly.

"Here now Mel, we haven't even though of names yet. What should we name our child if it's a girl?"

Melina smiled, obviously on the verge of falling asleep. "It's a boy," she muttered.

"Oh, is it now? Well, I guess we'll have to name him after my father."

"Oh no you're not."

Raziel was more than a little surprised by this comment. "You don't mean to name the child after your father, do you?"

"Of course not, but I'm not naming him for your father either. The child's name is Kain and that's the end of it."

"No one in your family or mine has that name."

"I like it, and you can't change my mind. His name is Kain."

Even as Melina said this, Raziel felt the skin of her abdomen jump. Melina smiled victoriously. "See? Even he agrees."

"Fine, fine, have it your way."

Melina grinned but said nothing, even as her child kicked against its father's hand. After five minutes of Raziel entertaining himself by trailing his finger across her stomach so that the child would follow his movements, Melina responded.

"Raziel, stop that and go to sleep. I've been carrying your child around all day, and I'd like the chance to rest."

Raziel blushed slightly and laid down beside her, his arms wrapped lightly about her. He fell asleep with his face buried in her hair. The sun had not yet risen when he awoke and sat up. The next set of guards would be arriving for their duty soon. With a soft kiss on Melina's cheek, he climbed out of the bed and began to dress himself. He turned back to gaze at her one last time and shut the door behind him. How she had done that every morning she spent with him, he didn't know. He reached his post long before Turel, and as a result, his companion assumed he had spent the nigh there. The two waited until their replacements came and then headed for the Sarafan Keep. However long it took, Raziel wanted to return before the birth of his child.