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.

We woke at 11 in the human morning on Wednesday and set out for the hotel we'd be staying at near Lehigh for a couple of nights. The plan was to visit campus on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday Princess Pricilla Voda was hosting Lissa's 18th birthday dinner, which the guardians and Lissa had only just managed to convince the Moroi council to make an early lunch do. Their Dragomir Princess was pregnant with the only future heir after all.

Lissa and Christian were rooming together in a mini-apartment. Which translated into Rose, Eddie, Mason and me joining them. Eddie had been temporarily assigned as my partner and Mason had been thrown in the mix for Christian. Rose obviously was simply there for moral support. Hans hadn't liked bowing to Lissa's steadfast request for Rose's company, especially given my personal relationship with Roza and the danger it posed, but Lissa had more power in the end.

"Dimitri!" I heard Rose scream ahead of me as we ended our campus visit on Thursday.
"Roza?" I asked, frantic despite my composed facade. She was ready to pop, and we'd both known how risky this trip's timing was.
"God-damn-it! My water broke, what else, you idiot!" she screeched.
I rushed to her side and scooped her up. The other guardians all looked like deer caught in headlights, while Lissa and Christian were watching us avidly and studiously. If they were smart, they'd be at Court when Lissa went into labour. "Ashford, Castile, Ozera and Lissa, come with us to the hospital. I know you're going to want to anyway. The rest of you go back to the hotel." All did as directed, if only because they couldn't think of a better alternative, Eddie and Mason sat beside Rose in the SUV as I sped to the nearest hospital. From their faces, I could tell Rose was testing their pain thresholds with her hand squeezing.

When we arrived at the hospital Eddie helped me carry Rose in. A nurse rushed a wheelchair over and things started moving extremely quickly from there. I followed a screaming, cursing Rose through to the delivery room with the doctors and nurses. An anxious Lissa and Christian stayed in the waiting room with Eddie and Mason guarding.

"I f****** hate you, Dimitri Belikov!" Roza screeched yet again as another contraction hit her. "This is the first and last time I'm having kids!" It was going in one ear and straight out the other. "This is all your damn fault!" I was in no position to argue or reason with her. If I thought her basically paralysing my hand was painful, she had to be in pain a hundred times worse at least. She may think she means it now, but I know later she'll realise it was simply the pain talking.

Before we knew it she was being directed to push.
"Crowning... Nice big push; 3, 2, 1... And again; 3, 2, 1... Head's through. Breath for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Big push now, Rose; 3, 2, 1... Nearly there, Rose... One more big push-"
"I can't!" Roza cried in exhaustion.
"Roza, oh Roza, you can. For James, please, one last push so James can meet his gorgeous and brave and beautiful Mommy. I love you. You can do this, Roza." The whole time I had been running my hand through her sweaty hair and she'd been puffing. Roza squeezed, screamed, cursed, and scrunched up her face as she gave one last push.
"Congratulations, your son safely arrived." I got to cut the umbilical cord and we got to hold him for a few seconds before he gave his first cry. Then he was taken from an exhausted Rose for measuring and check-up. Being three weeks early he was a little undersized and sent to NICU. Let's say, Rose was just the tiniest bit unhappy to have to let James out of our sight. I assured her he was a fighter, our little battler. It was in his blood to survive.

Eddie'sPOV
Mason and I watched on as Lissa and Christian paced the waiting room, sat with twitching knees, hugged and paced again. I was feeling just as nervous and excited. It wasn't everyday Rose Hathaway and Dimitri Belikov the guardian goddess and god became parents.

"Anyone considering calling Janine?" Mason asked out of the blue. "She should know."
"She practically disowned Rose, remember?" I hissed. "She doesn't care. Quite the opposite."
"It's been nine hours already! What if something's gone wrong!" exclaimed Lissa.
"Honey, calm down. Remember our research said it can take over twenty-four hours to deliver," Christian cooed.
"She's three weeks early, but!"
"At least he's not late," I muttered. It was dangerous to James' health to come too early, but dangerous to Rose's to come too late. The last thing we wanted was James being still born, but we were just as scared to lose Rose in childbirth.
"Someone should call Mia," Lissa sighed as she curled into Christian's side again. I pulled my phone out and dialled Mia's cell.

"Yeah?" she answered perkily.
"Mia, Rose is in labour. Has been for ni- ten- hours now."
Mia squealed. "Oh my god! I bet she's in hell, but still! Ahhh!" I could just see her bouncing up and down with a massive grin on her still child-like face.
"You should be in the waiting room. It's torture not knowing how she's going. I feel for Belikov right now."
She laughed. "I bet he's copping it."
"Oh, I know he is. She was cursing him out from second one."
"Call me back when James is here."
"Will do," I chuckled.

"He's in NICU right now," Belikov sighed while running a hand through his hair. Talk about timing, Pricilla and her guardians had come to collect Lissa and Christian for Lehigh tour day two.
"Why?" questioned Pricilla.
An exhausted Dimitri let a tortured look flash across his face. "He's close to a month early. Other than being undersize, he's fine." There was more, I could tell. They'd been in delivery for fifteen hours and I could see in Dimitri's eyes that they'd seen their son more vulnerable than general newborn baby vulnerable.

Janine'sPOV
My phone chimed with a text.
'Your grandson. James Ivan Belikov. Delivered 10:03am, Friday 22/7/14. 1.842kG.' A photo of a tiny baby accompanied Rose's message. The sight broke my heart. He was in an NICU incubator with a breathing aid. He was gorgeous, but tiny. Too tiny.

Just because I didn't approve didn't mean I didn't care. Rose had been late and small, but not small enough to warrant being put in NICU. Right now my heart went out to Rose and Dimitri. Rose had been through many trials, but this was the one that was sure to take its toll on her. She had been so excited, but being a novice and a guardian had evidently impacted James' development, and now they had the most nerve wracking fortnight or few ahead of them. They wouldn't be able to bring him home for a while, but when they could I'd make sure Abe and I were there, ready and waiting. I was transferring to Court and that was all there was to it. I hadn't been ready for Rose, but I would learn by helping her with my grandson.