Rose could barely stand upright as she made her way home from Lissa's. Trying as hard as she could to concentrate on Lissa and what she was saying to her, an overwhelming feeling of dizziness had unexpectedly crept up on her and after many protests from Rose that she was fine, Lissa had sent her home to rest. She had probably not had enough to drink that day, or perhaps there was something wrong with the dinner she had cooked for Dimitri last night. Either way, she knew it was nothing to worry about – it would pass soon enough.

Although as the minutes went by, Rose couldn't ignore the fact that her light-headedness was growing increasingly worse. Lissa had certainly made the right decision in sending her home.

Finally reaching the apartment building, Rose entered through the front door, and immediately a sense of calm and warmth overcame her body. A single bedroom apartment with one bathroom and open plan kitchen and living area, it was relatively small, but it was enough for the two of them. Lissa had insisted the pair take one of the fancier, larger apartments, but Dimitri and Rose both fell in love with the cosiness of the smaller buildings. Rose only had to step across the threshold and she would feel instantly happy – this was their space. The first place that, together, they called home.

Rose couldn't revel in the pleasant feeling for long though - almost as quickly as the dizziness came on, an overwhelming wave of nausea coursed through her, causing her to almost be sick on the spot. Running in the direction of the bathroom, she barely made it in time before crouching by the toilet bowl and releasing the contents of her stomach into it. As she sat there retching and heaving, she was thankful that Dimitri hadn't come home from guarding Christian just yet – he didn't need to see her like this. Sure, Dimitri would love and care for Rose no matter how she looked, but even she knew that right now she was not a pretty sight to behold.

When the front door opened and closed almost an hour later, signalling Dimitri's return, Rose still hadn't moved from her spot on the bathroom floor. Each time she tried to stand, dark shadows would dance around in her eyes and the room would begin to spin. She really was not well.

Knowing Dimitri would only worry if he knew she was ill, Rose tried for the hundredth time to stand and exit the bathroom. Her stomach had other plans though and almost immediately after standing, she found herself with her head inside the basin once more, gagging as her body tried to expel what little was left inside her.

Unfortunately, with Dimitri's acute hearing, he had heard the unpleasant sounds his girlfriend was making from across the apartment.

"Roza?" He questioned from outside the bathroom door.

"Just a second!" She called out, trying to balance herself as she stood up once more from where she sat hunched over the toilet seat. "I'm just cleaning my teeth," she added, reaching for her toothbrush and toothpaste to rid herself from the aftertaste of vomit.

"Roza, I know you're being sick in there. I could hear you."

So much for keeping a secret, she thought.

Guiltily, she opened the door and found herself face to face with her concerned boyfriend. She sighed in defeat as she turned back to the sink and began cleaning her teeth, ignoring Dimitri's worry as he hovered in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" He asked once she was finished.

"Nothing," she lied, but the stern look from Dimitri told her that there wasn't a chance in hell he believed her. "I just feel a bit dizzy, that's all."

Dimitri folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his brow in frustration. He knew she was lying to him, and suddenly it was as though they were transported back to St. Vlad's, mentor and student, scolding her for being late to practice.

"Okay, fine!" Rose exclaimed. When Dimitri gave her that look, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. "Lissa told me to go home because I started feeling really lightheaded, and then when I got here I was sick. Really, I'm fine now; I just want to lie down."

Pushing past her man in the doorway, Rose tried as hard as she possibly could to balance herself as she walked through the apartment and to their bedroom, knowing Dimitri was scrutinising her every move. At any indication Rose was feeling worse than she was letting on, she knew Dimitri would stick to her like glue, fussing over her like a worried mother. At any other time, she would love to be so close to Dimitri, but right now she really did just want to rest.

Stripping out of her clothes and into one of Dimitri's old t-shirts, she curled up on the bed and closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the room from spinning. Not two seconds later, she felt Dimitri's calming presence as he climbed onto the bed next to her.

"Is there anything I can do?" Dimitri asked, gently stroking Rose's hair out of her face. "Maybe we should go to a doctor?"

"No, Comrade, I'm fine. It's probably just something I ate, maybe the chicken we had last night," she mused.

"Hm..."

"I told you that you should never let me cook for you," she added with a small giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood. Dimitri was still unconvinced, however. If it was the chicken, then surely he would be feeling unwell too? But he was feeling fine - fantastic even. Dhampirs rarely ever got sick – a fact which just added to Dimitri's concern for the woman lying next to him.

"Roza, I really think you should see someone," he insisted.

Rose sighed heavily. "Really, I'm fine. I just want to sleep. I'll feel better in the morning."

Dimitri knew he wouldn't win this debate. Rose was as stubborn as a child refusing to clean her room, and he knew there would be no reasoning with her. If she didn't want to do something, she wouldn't, and not much - if anything - could change her mind.

With a small defeated sigh, he placed a gentle kiss to her temple before moving closer to her on the bed and stroking her thick, silky hair soothingly.

"Sleep, Roza. I'll be here."

When Rose woke the next morning, she was sad to see that she was alone. She sat up and stretched, waking up her body for the day ahead. Fortunately, she was feeling much better this morning – she knew all she needed was a good night's rest. Her nausea had disappeared, and the world had stopped spinning, meaning her head was feeling much more stable also.

Dimitri had left to meet Christian an hour ago, leaving Rose sleeping softly in their bed. She had really worried him last night, and he wished he had the day off today to look after her. He couldn't understand what had brought this sickness on, and he only hoped it would pass quickly. Unfortunately, he was on shift, so he would need to wait until this evening to see if she was feeling better.

Rose loathed when she and Dimitri had different days off. It was a rare occurrence as their shifts were almost always scheduled to coincide with each other, however with Lissa's additional campaigning for Moroi defence programs, Rose had racked up a few extra days off. Without Dimitri there, she wasn't sure what to do with herself.

Deciding that she hadn't had a good workout for a few days, she decided she would start her morning with a long run before heading to the gyms to maintain her skills. Quickly brushing her teeth and throwing her long hair up in a messy bun, she changed into her workout gear before beginning her run across Court.

As she ran, she couldn't help but giggle when she thought back to one of her first training sessions with Dimitri – she hadn't understood just why he was making her run so many laps! She thought he was torturing her when she could barely make it a quarter of a mile without wanting to pass out. Now, she could easily run ten times that without breaking a sweat.

So it was strange when she only made it a mile before needing to stop, her body yelling at her and her head feeling heavy. Perching on a nearby bench, she sat hunched over with her head between her knees, breathing heavily and trying to control her blurring vision.

Why was she feeling like this again? Trying to think of any possible explanation, Rose racked her brain looking for anything that could have caused her to feel this way. She hadn't drunk any alcohol in the last few days so it wasn't some unusual, super-long hangover. She didn't think that she had eaten anything bad – Dimitri would be showing symptoms as well if that was the case since they ate almost every meal together. So what was making her feel so sick? She hadn't had anything to eat so far this morning, maybe that was it? Yes, she probably just needed to get some food into her to replenish her energy.

Once she felt her nausea settle, Rose stood up from the bench and made her way back home, stopping at a little bakery to pick up some donuts for breakfast. If she needed food to feel better, then food she would get – and what better option than half a dozen donuts?

However, after she took a quick shower and began tucking into the delicious treats, she barely made it through two before she could feel them making their way back up. Quickly dumping the plate on the coffee table, Rose abandoned the donuts and ran as fast as she could to the bathroom. In a repeat of yesterday evening, she released the contents of her gut into the toilet, gripping the sides of the ceramic bowl tightly for support. When she was finished, she quickly brushed her teeth to rid herself of the foul taste, and decided to take a nap to sleep off the lingering nausea. Determining that she probably wouldn't make it to the bedroom without the donuts making a further reappearance, she made it as far as the sofa before plonking herself down and closing her eyes.

A few days later, Rose was feeling no better. Throughout the day, random bouts of queasiness would overcome her and she'd find herself rushing to the nearest toilet to throw up. To say Dimitri was concerned would be an understatement, but as always, Rose insisted that she was fine and it would pass in time.

"Rose, that's like the tenth time you've yawned in the last five minutes!" Lissa exclaimed, amused. "Wild night with Dimitri last night?" She chuckled with a wink towards her Guardian.

Rose couldn't help it, but she yawned again, earning another giggle from her best friend. "Sorry, Liss," she apologised sincerely. "I'm exhausted. I slept like a baby last night but I still woke up feeling tired this morning."

It was true, Rose had felt queasy again last night, so once again she retired to bed early in an attempt to sleep it off. And despite Dimitri's constant nagging that she go and see a doctor, she managed to fall asleep at 7 am and slept right through until 7 pm.

"You're constantly tired, dizzy and nauseous… maybe you're pregnant!" Lissa mused light-heartedly. She knew full well that a family wasn't on the cards for Rose and Dimitri – a fact that the pair had fully come to terms with and accepted, so Lissa knew Rose wouldn't take offence to her words. Sure, children had been a sore point for them when their relationship first 'properly' begun, with Rose worrying that Dimitri was giving up his lifelong dream for her, but he'd reassured her that,now, she was his lifelong dream. Yes, he wanted kids. He could have kids with someone else if he had really wanted, but if they weren't Rose's children too, he wasn't interested.

Rose couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. It wasn't possible for two Dhampirs to conceive a child together, so the idea that she could be pregnant was ludicrous! Plus, she'd only ever been with Dimitri and there wasn't a chance in hell that she'd go behind his back – she would never do that to the person she loved most in this world.

But as the two friends sat together discussing Lissa's latest campaign, Rose couldn't ignore the sudden niggling feeling she felt in the back of her mind. She couldn't help but think there was something she had needed to do. But then again, that wasn't uncommon - being the Queen's main guardian meant that she always had a long to-do list. She'd gotten used the fact that there'd always be something she'd forget to do!

"Rose, I can't remember, are you scheduled to be with me on Friday?" Lissa asked.

"Yes I think so," Rose said. "But even if I'm not, when am I not with you anyway?"

Lissa chuckled. "True."

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's just that I remembered I need to get my implant replaced. I was supposed to have it done two months ago but it slipped my mind. I've booked in to have it done on Friday so I was hoping you'd come with me?"

Lissa and Rose had decided to get the contraceptive implant during their time on the run from the academy when they were seventeen, just before they had been found and hauled back by a certain Russian in a cowboy duster. Like Lissa, Rose had forgotten all about it. At twenty years old now, Rose had really been meaning to have her implant removed. They needed replacing every three years, but now that she was exclusively dating a Dhampir, there was really no point in having one anymore- she couldn't get pregnant after all. 'Maybe I'll be able to get it sorted on Friday with Lissa', she thought.

Walking back to her apartment from Lissa's, the niggling feeling in Rose's mind was still gnawing at her. But then again, maybe that was the dizziness Rose was starting to feel yet again? No, there was definitely something playing on her mind, although she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

If Rose and Lissa had first had their implant put in a little over three years ago, that would mean she'd been unprotected whenever she had sex with Dimitri in the last few months. And honestly? They'd had sex a lot. But there was absolutely no way she was pregnant!

But when she was sick again almost immediately after stepping through the front door of her apartment, Rose decided that maybe she should take a test, even if it was just to put her mind at rest. There was definitely something wrong with her, she couldn't disagree with that. She'd been feeling unwell for a few days now and she couldn't deny that it was unusual. If she took a pregnancy test just to rule out the unexpected (and impossible), then she'd schedule an appointment with the doctor to find out what was actually wrong with her.

With a few hours to kill before Dimitri came home, Rose quickly grabbed her keys, signed out a Guardian vehicle and drove towards the nearest human town in search of a 24 hour pharmacy. There was no privacy in Court. Rose could barely walk ten feet down the road without hearing some form of gossip, and the Queen's Guardian being seen purchasing a pregnancy test would no doubt fuel hushed conversations for weeks on end.

Thankfully, her trip was short and she hadn't run into any danger. Although she hadn't expected to, considering it was nearing the Moroi night – the human day – and Strigoi would no doubt be retreating into the darkness as the sun made its way above the horizon. Within the hour, Rose returned home and no one had expected a thing.

Just three minutes. That's all she had to wait for.

Just three agonisingly slow minutes.

She could do this.

After pacing the bathroom for what felt like an eternity, Rose's phone beeped to indicate her wait was finally over.

Her hand was trembling like the flame of a flickering candle as she reached towards the stick lying face down on next to the sink. This was ridiculous! There was no way she could be pregnant – it was biologically impossible! Her nerves were completely unnecessary. She would turn the stick over and once she saw the single line on its own, she would laugh at how silly she was being.

Taking a deep breath, she flipped it over to come face to face with the result.

A tiny blue plus.

Rose sat cross-legged on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, leaning back against the bathtub for what seemed like an eternity, until she heard the front door open and close across the other side of the apartment. She hadn't known what to do with herself once she saw the incriminating 'positive' symbol staring up at her. She didn't know what to think, either. Was she happy? This was something she knew Dimitri had always wanted, so surely this was a good thing? But how was it possible? It shouldn't be - this baby shouldn't exist, it couldn't exist. It was impossible. But then, Rose's whole life seemed impossible.

"Roza?" Dimitri's voice called out, seeking his love out in the emptiness of their home. "Are you here, Milaya?"

Reluctantly, she picked herself up off the floor, grabbing the life-changing stick from the countertop and tucking it into her back pocket before making her way to the bathroom door. Taking a deep, calming breath, she reached for the brass handle and slowly opened the door, heading into the living area just in time to see Dimitri taking off his duster and hanging it delicately on the hooks lining the wall.

He smiled from ear to ear when he turned to greet her, as he always did, but faltered when he saw the worry etched onto her face.

"What's wrong, Roza?" He asked. "Are you still not feeling well?" He took a step in Rose's direction, his arm held out as if to feel her forehead and check for fever, but she held up a hand to stop him. His brows furrowed in confusion and a look of hurt flashed across his face before it was quickly replaced with a look of worry.

Rose swallowed back the encroaching lump in her throat as she gestured to the tall stools hidden underneath the kitchen counter beside them.

"Can you sit down, please?" Rose managed to ask, steadying her voice in an attempt to conceal her obvious anxiety.

Dimitri was now breathing very heavily and Rose could practically hear his heart beating in his chest. Without question, he moved over to the other side of the countertop, pulling out one of the stools before seating himself on it and waiting for her to speak. He could tell that whatever was going on, it was huge, and Rose was clearly worried about whatever it was she wanted to say to him. Dimitri tried to conjure up all sorts of possibilities, but nothing obvious came to the forefront of his mind. Looking longingly at the nervous woman in front of him, he only hoped that whatever was about to happen, they would be able to get through it together. As long as they faced their dangers as a team, nothing would break them. He wouldn't let it.

Tears threatened to spill over Rose's soft cheeks as she reached around to her back pocket, but she used all of her will power to somehow hold them back. Thought after thought buzzed around her frantic mind and she could feel her heart rate elevating, matching the heavy thumping of the man's in front of her. How was he going to react? Would he believe her? Would he think she cheated on him? After all, two Dhampirs couldn't have children together, yet here she was standing with a positive pregnancy test in her hands.

Now or never.

Taking a breath, she decided to just bite the bullet and placed the stick on the marbled counter between them, lowering her gaze as she slid the test over towards the oblivious man sitting across from her.

"Dimitri," she began, "I'm pregnant."

Hi all.

For the purpose of this story, Rose and Dimitri aren't yet aware that two Dhampirs can potentially have children thanks to spirit's side effects.

I've had this idea floating around my head for a few weeks now so I decided to just bite the bullet and write it! For the moment it's just a one shot, but I may continue it further once I've finished 'Primal Desires'.

Please review and let me know what you think!

H x