Okay, I think this is one of my most favorite things that I have ever written. I think it is original? Haven't seen anything quite like it before. I might continue it but I'm not sure as I have 2 other fics I am working on. This might just be a one-shot or I might write more down the road.

I really hope you like it too :)

Unbeta'd and I own nothing...

The Gift

I pulled on a tank top and shorts in my preparations for bed. I then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I took the cool rag I had used and ran cold water through it before wiping the thin layer of sweat off the back of my neck and forehead before climbing into my king size bed.

Dimitri had slipped in just before me wearing only his boxers. It was abnormally hot for a Pennsylvania summer and sleeping during the daylight hours since we were on Moroi time helped the days but made the nights unbearable.

We didn't cuddle as we normally did because the body head was just too much for either of us. The thin layer of clothing that covered our bodies added to the light sheet was even too much and both the sheet and the comforter was kicked to the bottom of the bed as we lay beside each other.

"I know I said I hated winter but this is ridiculous. At least during the winter I can snuggle up to you to keep warm." I complained as I pulled my hair up into a pony tail to try and keep it off of my already over heated neck.

"I will turn the AC up more. It has to cool off soon." Dimitri stepped out of bed after giving me a quick kiss on the nose and went into the hallway of our two-story home to turn the air conditioner down even lower.

He huffed and plopped back down next to me. I knew he wished he could pull me up close to him but at this point it was an impossibility. I was all up for getting sweaty in our bed but only when that would result from having fun, not from the weather killing us.

"I love you Roza. Sweet dreams." He kissed me on the lips this time, making sure not to linger to long. If we tried to make love, we were both sure we would die of heat exhaustion.

I smiled, "Love you too Comrade." Then I settled into the dark, happy that huge blood red curtains covered the windows, blocking out any chance of sunlight from getting into our room and waited for sleep to take me. I really was exhausted from our hike earlier in the day. We had gone on a nature walk through the forests in Pennsylvania that stretched for miles behind our house and ended up walking about 40 miles before the day was done. We had done this during the day which was when there was no sun in the sky. We really hadn't been able to do anything together for the past few months with as much as we were both working so we decided to walk through the nearby forests. The trails went on for miles and we had had a picnic under the stars when we reached the small lake that had been our destination.

It really was a magical day but now I was so tired, I closed my eyes and let sleep overcome me.

Soon I found myself by the very lake that I had visited with Dimitri earlier. I looked around and could have sworn I was in one of Adrian's sleep-stalker dreams. I knew this was weird though as Adrian hadn't visited my dreams in the past three years.

I still saw him almost every day but fortunately after Dimitri and I had gotten married three years ago, he stopped visiting me in while I was unconscious. He had tried to visit me on our wedding night and I had arrived naked in his dream since that was what I went to sleep wearing.

I demanded he put some clothing on me to which he put a skimpy piece of lingerie that really didn't cover much more that I had been wearing before. He told me that he wanted to give me one last chance to annul my marriage so that I could be with him instead of with Dimitri. I ended up punching him in the face before he finally let me go back into my own head.

My relationship with Adrian had ended on amicable terms but it had taken him years to get over me. He had pretty much reminded me every single day that I could be with him instead of Dimitri. His comments were usually flirty and never serious but underneath his joking bravado, you could tell he really meant what he was saying.

I felt bad for not wanting him the same way he wanted me but I knew in my heart that Dimitri and I belonged together. We were soul mates and my love for Adrian just wasn't enough to keep me away from my destiny.

Dimitri and I had finally gotten back together while I was awaiting my trial for killing the queen. He had realized that my death might very well come at any time and we both had known we couldn't live without each other. My family stood by me the entire time but Dimitri really was my rock. I couldn't have gotten though everything without him being there.

After I was acquitted, Dimitri and I had pretty much picked up our relationship from where we had left it. He had been assigned to another Moroi at court while I finally got go guard Lissa and everything was perfect. Just like I had imagined it could be.

We were met with opposition from both Dhampirs and Moroi alike but after a while, the newness wore off and everyone came to terms with the fact that we were going to be together whether they liked it or not. When our relationship didn't interfere with our duties, people actually began to accept the fact.

Our first two years as a real couple had been hard. We were separated most of the time as Lissa had been crowned the new Queen and had duties both inside and outside of the court. The Moroi that Dimitri was assigned to was a Royal Dashkov and would often travel around the globe at his leisure. Lissa and I also travelled quite a bit outside of court but it was definitely not for leisure.

Dimitri had asked to be assigned to someone who stayed around the court more often but I think they assigned him to Dashkov as a way to punish me and him for our "inappropriate" affair. We really didn't have a choice and made it work the best we could.

Lissa however, was very understanding of the situation and had not only me but a entire crew of guardians so she would often let me off so that I could spend as much time with Dimitri as was possible while we were both at court.

Those first two years were very hard on both of us but we made it work. Adrian had continually reminded me that he could be anywhere in the world that I was at any time in hopes that I might come back to him but I refused. Dimitri really was my one true love.

I was immediately brought back to my reality in the 'dream' I was in. That last dream that Adrian had pulled me into, had actually made me punch Dimitri in my sleep while dreaming me punched Adrian. Dimitri could guess that it was Adrian who I was fighting and went the next day to speak with him. Adrian had finally stopped visiting my dreams after Dimitri had 'politely' (or so he told me) asked him not to ever do it again. I got the feeling that he threatened Adrian with death but neither of them would actually confirm my suspicions.

That was why the dream tonight was not only strange but confusing. I looked around for Adrian since he was the only one who had ever visited my dreams. Unfortunately dream walking was something that Lissa just couldn't ever pick up.

I walked around the lake but found no one in sight. I was just turning around when before me stood Dimitri. This confused me even more. I had never been pulled into a dream with another person that had no magic abilities, at least not magic as in Spirit, Earth, Fire, Water, or Air. Dimitri definitely had magic, just in other areas of his life.

"I'm confused. This is like a sleep walking dream. How are you here? And who pulled us into it?" I asked Dimitri.

"What do you mean a sleep walking dream? Like that crap Adrian used to do?"

"Yeah, see how it feels like you are awake, it's different from your other dreams. It's like a tangible feeling around you."

"You are always a tangible feeling around me Roza." He smiled a real smile that I swore I would never tire of seeing and pulled me into a hug.

We walked around the lake with our arms wrapped around each other's waists. It was a sunny day but it wasn't deathly hot like the actual days had been.

"Who could have pulled us here? Adrian hasn't mentioned being able to pull more than one person into a dream and I am not seeing anyone else." I asked, looking out over the beautiful body of water before me.

"We are here Rose." A soft melodic voice came from behind us and Dimitri and I turned to face a woman and a man.

The woman was almost as tall as me and had dark skin. Her long black hair hung down her back and her chestnut eyes reminded me of Dimitri's, only a few shades lighter. She wore a baby blue gown that flowed to her feet. She had on white sandals and her entire body seemed to be glowing as if a white aura had encased her.

The man was just as tall as Dimitri with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He had on a white button down shirt that was un-tucked and wore brown linen pants. His feet had brown sandals and his aura was similar to the woman's but had more gold in it.

From the look of the pair, the woman had been a dhampir and the man a Moroi. I was confused as I looked at them because I knew I had never seen them before but something seemed oddly familiar, like I should know who they were.

They were standing beside each other but neither was touching. They both had a smile on their face as they looked at me and Dimitri. From the close contact you could tell they were friends but nothing more as the space between them sent off more of a brother/sister vibe than a lover vibe.

I know I looked confused because the woman just laughed and spoke again. "We are the ones that brought you here Rose. We have a gift to bestow upon you. You have done so much for our people that we would like to give you what your heart desires the most."

"Who are you? And what kind of gift? My heart desires Dimitri the most and I already have him." I tightened my grip around his waist.

This time it was the man who spoke. "Yes, your hearts are as one but they both wish for something more. That is why we are here. I am sure you know who I am. I am Vladimir. You probably have heard people refer to me as Saint Vladimir but I am not a Saint by any means."

"Saint Vladimir? The Saint Vladimir? Like the one from the legends that healed people? But you are dead." I asked, almost in shock at hearing this.

It seemed Dimitri was in shock at all that was going on as he just stared at the pair in front of us with a blank expression. His eyes however showed me that he was curious and worried at the same time. He didn't know who these people really were or what they wanted.

This time the woman began speaking again. "There is an afterworld Rose. One that we both went to when our time on Earth was done. Vladimir still has his magic which allowed us to come here to you today."

"Wait…" I said, the pieces clicking into place, "If you are Vladimir, then that means that you are Anna." I said in astonishment as I looked at the woman before me. The shadow kissed Anna. She was the one who I first looked into about being Shadow Kissed.

"Yes, I am Anna." She replied.

"But wait, didn't you go crazy and kill yourself? Why have you come here for me?"

"I did let the darkness overcome me. We both lived into old age but after he was gone, it went straight into me. I never found a true love to help heal it out of me."

"A true love heals the darkness?" I asked, intrigued. Lissa and I had managed to heal some of the darkness away and neither of us really thought about it much anymore. I had no idea a true love could do the same thing.

"Yes, when your heart was bound to Dimitri's, it started to heal you. The darkness cannot overcome you when you have something as pure as true love coursing through your veins. Lissa can also help you disperse any darkness that might linger but as long as you have them you will be fine. But this isn't why we have come to you Rose."

Vladimir started speaking again. "We have seen the things you have done for both Moroi and Dhampirs alike. You and Dimitri have been brave warriors in the battle against Strigoi and we know that your hearts are in the right place. The change in power and in our world has been hard and dramatic. Had you not be there, it would not have happened. We want to give you the gift of life, something that you might not think possible. We however can bestow this gift upon you."

The Vampire world had drastically changed over the past 5 years, almost as much as my own life had. I was twenty-five years old now. I was married and was able to have a real life of my own. Dimitri and I had started dating again when I was still eighteen. We had been together ever since. He had proposed when I turned twenty and we had tied the knot when I turned twenty-two. I still protected Lissa but I didn't have to put her first anymore. They come first was an ideal of the past. Now both Moroi and Dhampir alike could live their lives however they wanted.

After Dimitri was turned back, Lissa and I got to work on a way to mass reproduce the same affect on other Strigoi. It had taken the first two years after my trial to figure out a way. We didn't have to stake every single Strigoi with a charmed stake. We could send Spirit through my shadow kissed darkness directly into a Strigoi by use of the other elements.

The darkness was drawn into their soul and the spirit that Lissa infused it with had restored it. We had travelled around for years, turning Strigoi back into Moroi, Dhampir, or human. Most of them were turned against their will and were beyond glad to have been restored to their previous state.

There was still an occasional person who chose to turn Strigoi as well as small covens of them that still existed in remote areas of the world but for the most part, we didn't have to live in fear anymore. Dhampirs and Moroi still mixed in an effort to further our kind but Dhampirs now had a chance at a life that they chose. They weren't required to be guardians anymore.

Many guardians, especially those who had grown up with the thought of they come first engrained into their every being remained guardians but future generations had a choice. A choice that I was able to give them with the aid of Lissa and the other spirit users we had crossed in our journey.

The other spirit users and shadow kissed guardians that came forward in our travels had helped to cut down the amount of time we spent away from court. We would still probably be travelling the globe had it not been for people like Mark and Oksana and the others we had found to aid us in out quest.

"There are so many other people that helped us. There is honestly nothing I need. You should help starving children or people in hospitals. I don't know how I could have done anything worthy of a gift from either of you."

Dimitri smiled at me, "I think you have finally learned your place in this world Rose. Humility is a good trait but you really have done so much. You do deserve something. At least see what they want to gift you with before you turn them down."

"This is something you will want to accept Rose." Anna said, her smile mirroring Dimitri's.

"What could you give me that I don't already have?" As I said the words, a small ache fluttered up into my heart and I knew without a doubt the one thing I wanted. It was an impossibility of course, seeing as I was married to another Dhampir but I knew that that was the only thing that could make my life more complete.

Dimitri and I were alone in the world. We had friends of course but it would never be anything other than the two of us. Dhampirs couldn't conceive children with other Dhampirs so as much as Dimitri and I wanted a child of our own, we had known that that would never happen.

We played with our friends children daily though. That was enough for us. As long as we had each other, we would be okay. Lissa had a little boy that was 8 months old. His name was Andre after her late brother. Her and Christian had been married for 5 years and had finally decided that they wanted a child. I had been jealous at first but could honestly not blame them for wanting more. Lissa was of course the last Dragomir and carrying on her blood line was important, especially now that she was queen of the Vampire world. She owed it to our people to help carry on the royal blood line.

Mia and Eddie had also had a baby. Their daughter was just over two years old now and had her mother's gold ringlets that cascaded around her beautiful face. Somehow the look was much more cute on a two year old than it ever had been on Mia. At least Maria looked her age.

Then of course there were Zoya and Paul along with the three other children that were mine and Dimitri's nieces and nephews. Viktoria had had twin boys, Lev and Josif with a Russian Moroi named Fedor. Thank goodness it wasn't with Rolan. Sonya had given birth to a baby girl which she named Nadia. We went to visit Dimitri's family whenever we could and I loved spending time with them.

The most shocking child of my friends was Adrian's daughter. She was eight years old and a complete shock to everyone. Adrian had accidentally gotten a non-royal girl pregnant while he was attending school on the coast. He had had no idea until one day the girl, Stacy, showed up at court with a five year old daughter claiming she was Adrian's. They had the exact same eyes but a blood test was still done to be sure. This confirmed that Adrian was indeed the father. He had surprised me with how he had taken on the role so easily. It was odd to imagine Adrian as a dad but it seemed to suit him. Destiny was absolutely adorable but seemed to have an affinity for smartass comments like her father. Stacy and Adrian had been getting along quite well lately. They weren't 'together' but I had a feeling they were on the road to creating a real family for Destiny.

I was so happy for my friends but my heart ached to have a baby like they did. I had also pushed the thought out of my head as that was an impossibility. If I couldn't have Dimitri's babies, then I didn't want a child at all.

Vladimir walked up to me then. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to me.

"May you what?" I asked, not sure what the heck he was doing.

He placed one of his hands on my shoulder and the other on Dimitri's. A familiar warm then cold then warm feeling shot through my body as I could feel the magic coursing though ever inch of my being.

I had thought that Lissa's power had grown enormously. I thought I knew what spirit felt like healing my body. I was wrong. This was an all-consuming power and Lissa's couldn't hold candle to. No wonder Vladimir could dream walk with three other people. He was like all-powerful spirit dude!

It seemed as though as soon as the sensation started it quit and I felt a loss for the beauty and warmth that had surrounded me moments before.

"What did you just do to us?" Dimitri asked, not sure what was going on.

"I have healed your bodies."

"But nothing was wrong with us." Dimitri continued, still having no clue what had happened.

"He sent spirit though us. But that was a massive amount. Way more than anything I have ever felt with Lissa. What did it do?" I asked, not wanting to hope for what my heart really ached for.

Anna spoke up this time. I had almost forgotten she was there as I was still coming down from my spirit high. "He gave you the gift of life. You are now able to bear children together. We can tell that this is what is in both of your hearts. You deserve this for all you have done."

Dimitri was in awe and I don't think either of us fully believed what Anna had just told us.

"Are you sure this isn't a dream Rose?"

"Nope," I replied, tears streaming down my face. "It just might be, but if it is, it is the most wonderful dream in the world and I don't want to wake up."

"It is no dream, my child. But you must go back soon. You are both about to awaken." Vladimir smiled at both Dimitri and I.

"How can we thank you?" Dimitri asked of the couple that had started flashing before us.

"There is no thanks needed." Anna replied just as Dimitri and I woke up back in our bed.

Dimitri and I looked at each other for a few minutes, not sure if that had happened or not. "Was that real?" he asked, finally breaking the silence as he wiped the dry tears away that were still staining my cheeks.

"I hope so." I smiled and put my hand on his cheek.

"God, me too Roza." With that Dimitri pulled my face to his. He gently kissed me at first but passion rapidly started to grow between us. "We had better start practicing just in case." He replied in a husky voice as his hand reached for the small tank top I still had on. The stifling heat in the room had been completely forgotten as we created our own warmth.

I grinned and leaned back into him, stealing his lips once again. Even if we couldn't have a baby, we could sure as hell have fun trying to make one.

Well that was the longest chapter I have ever written. What'd ya think? I had it stuck in my head and just couldn't put off writing it any longer... Please review :)