RPOV
When we landed we skipped the graduates tour of Court. My group headed straight to Guest Housing. But Dimitri and I didn't stay in our rooms for long. Through the bond Dimitri had called me to the café I'd met Mia at when we'd been here for Victor's trial.

"Hey Roza," he smiled, took my hand and pecked my cheek when we met at the door.
"I saw you like ten minutes ago, but hey to you too, Comrade." I reached up and pecked his cheek.
His hand went to my baby bump. Bubby-B kicked for the first time. Our eyes met and something warm and powerful, and absolutely wonderful flowed between us. We smiled. "That's our baby," Dimitri said in awe and wonder with so much love and tears of absolute joy in his eyes. This was his biggest wish becoming a reality. I couldn't be prouder to give him this gift than I already was.
"That's our baby," I confirmed with just as much love and awe lacing the three tiny but powerful words.
"Let's have lunch? I-"
"I know what you're just dying to do," I murmured seductively. "So let's have lunch then go hunting."

We ignored the odd and disapproving looks we received. We would always receive them. We would learn to ignore them while society learned to accept it and go screw themselves. We were in love and nothing was going to stop us from being together while also doing our jobs. No one was going to be able to ever stop us from being a family. No one was going to stop us, period, because we were too strong.

Dimitri and I walked hand in hand through Court to the business precinct. There was only one real estate agent at Court. I thought it was unfair for them to be allowed to monopolise the housing market, but they did and we'd have to put up with it if we didn't want to be put into a guardian apartment. The guardian apartments were shit, frankly put. Then again, to the Moroi we were lesser than second-class citizens. To too many Moroi we were little more than commodities. It meant we'd struggle to find the type of house or apartment we wanted to raise our children in. Yes, we had decided if we could have one we'd try for another two or three in quick succession. Maybe even another four if I felt I could handle so much time off. But then again, I had agreed that I'd rather work at Court while pregnant and raising my kids, that if I was going to be off for so long with one baby I might as well also be pregnant with another. Besides, I hated being an abandoned only child, while Dimitri had loved being one of four. We had also just agreed that since our kids were going to end up as guardians in training and going to an Academy they might as well have a home, parents, and siblings at Court to return to each break. 

"How may I help you?" asked the female Moroi receptionist. She was red haired and brown eyes and looked to be in her forties. I could see in her hesitance that she was taken by surprise. She didn't appear to be disapproving, simply taken aback that we were a dhampir couple openly admitting and displaying our relationship. She looked especially surprised to find us at her work, intending to enquire after her services. It was a welcome break from the shameless condemning Moroi and dhampir we'd been surrounded by in the last 24 to 36 hours.

"Hi," Dimitri started, "we're looking for a family home." He really could be as upfront as me when he tried.
Dimitri's statement had the receptionist doing a double take and looking at my shamelessly on-display baby bump. If she was judging us she wasn't showing it.
She smiled professionally. "Of course. Please take a seat and Patrick will be with you in a moment." She gestured towards the reception's sofa. We sat. She left through a door to our right to fetch the well-known agent. I hoped he was as accommodating as his receptionist. It was highly unlikely.

To my pleasant surprise he was at least professional and didn't let prejudice stop him from doing his job. He even smiled at us when his receptionist directed his attention towards us. Maybe being young and renowned, lethal guardians meant he was scared to not do business with us. Possibly me being pregnant was also going to work in our favour. A young, pregnant dhampir woman usually attracted the worst attention, but by having an older, respected guardian by my side was clearly making me an exception to the rule of thumb. 
"Welcome, my name's Patrick, what can I do for you two today?" He offered his hand for us to shake.
"I'm Dimitri and this is my partner, Rose. We're looking at investing in a long-term family home." Dimitri shook Patrick's hand first then I did.
Recognition lit his eyes and genuine warmth and respect entered his smile. "Guardians Belikov and Hathaway, what a delightful surprise. Well, please, come this way and let's see what I can find for you."

Dimitri wrapped his arm around my waist while we followed Patrick into his elaborate but practical office. On one wall building plans hung in frames and on the other the pictures of the façades of the types of houses he sold hung in frames. Various certificates were also on display around the place. Dimitri and I sat in the surprisingly comfortable chairs opposite him at his desk. A desktop computer sat in the corner of the desk that was closer to the wall.

"Were you looking at buying or building?"
My eyes met Dimitri's. We both looked down at the bump Bubby-B was creating. We had been looking at buying, but if we could build in time maybe, just maybe, that was the better option. Our home was ours in that case. "How long does building take? And how does the cost compare?"
"It depends on what you include in the house design and what land you buy. There's land on sale closer to the wards and nearer guardian admin that may suit you two. It's too close to guardian admin is the main complaint I receive from Moroi couples. Do you want to see the site photos?"
"Please," Dimitri asked. He didn't even need to look at me to know I wouldn't argue. It was an ideal and preferable location for us. And if it was on sale then why not?
Patrick pulled up the images. We were practically surrounded by forest. It would almost feel like we were back in the cabin.
"What do you think, Comrade?"
"I like it, but how's it priced?"

I knew Dimitri had his land price limit and build price budget. My limit for both was a just a Little bit higher. Lissa had promised since we were... well, I can't actually remember how old we were, that she'd contribute upwards of three hundred grand towards my home. And around fifty grand or more towards the land. On the condition there was at least one room for her. She now said she'd stick to that promise for me and Dimitri because her parents had always wanted me to have a proper house as my home. An escape.

"Two hundred thousand, before the sale price. It's now going for one hundred and fifty thousand."
Dimitri kept his expression neutral but flinched mentally at the expense. I took his hand in mine. He didn't know about my deal with Liss... yet. I guess now was a time to reveal it.
"Comrade, I think we can manage that. In fact, I know we can."
"Rose," he said with pain and disbelief in his voice.
"I know we can because Liss promised me long, long, long ago to put at least fifty towards land and three hundred, upwards for my home. She reiterated it again after I confessed to her I was pregnant and bonded."
This time his emotions played on his face. His shock was unforgettable. He didn't like Lissa gifting her money towards me anymore than I liked accepting it sometimes, but this was an exception.
"Dimitri, I want this land and the best possible home for our family."
"I do too, Roza. But we need to be practical and realistic." Though he really didn't want to be. He wanted to let me put anything and everything into our home that I wanted. He wanted to let me have my way because he wanted to give me the world. He always had.
"Please Comrade?"
Resignation and love flowed through him. He couldn't resist the expression I was wearing. Too innocent and sweet. "Okay," he told both me and the agent. "We'll settle on the land."
Patrick smiled and nodded. "I'll send you over to Steve at the land office a little later. Do you want to me to guide you through a tour of a few display houses? Oh, first I should ask: Single storey or two?"
That at least we'd already considered. Between our master bedroom, a guest room, another guest room for Lissa, up to five bedrooms for the kids, kitchen, bathrooms, living rooms, and at least a dining room our only want was for a two storey.
"Two," I replied.
Patrick nodded. "Well then, follow me and I'll show you a couple of two storey display homes."

"Dimitri? Could we blend all three?"
"We'll see. I liked the upstairs bedrooms of the first house."
I smiled. "So did I. And the first kitchen and living area, but with the second kitchen's appliances' locations."
"And the third's living spaces and bathrooms."
I nodded. "Yeah. I liked them too."

We sat back down with Patrick and worked through what we could manipulate and blend, what upgrades we could include. Air con. Split level prep bench/ breakfast bar. Tiles, Lino, carpets. Wardrobes. Curtains. Skylights, windows, fans. Color schemes. Living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Everything. We worked through everything and agreed on everything that we wanted kept or changed.

"When are you due, Guardian Hathaway?"
"About nineteen or twenty weeks, I think. Why?"
"Hmm. Did you two plan on pushing it and move in before your due date or do you plan on waiting?"
I met Dimitri's eyes. "Either?" I asked my baby's daddy.
"I'd like for us to be moved in and ready before he or she comes. But what do you think, Roza?"
"So would I. I don't want to be moving with a newborn." It would be too much to settle him or her into a routine at one place only to uproot us and have to go through the entire process again. I didn't have it in me.
Dimitri smiled and nodded before turning back to Patrick. "Let's try pushing our luck to have it ready to move in before he or she arrives."
"I'll call Steven in and you can sign off on the land. There is a ten hundred dollar upfront land test fee..."
"Comrade? Can we handle spending that today?"
Dimitri nodded. I'll be able to get that back quick enough, honey, he sent through the bond. "Yes. I want us to have this moving as soon as possible."
I smiled then pecked his cheek. "Thank you, Dimitri." I knew a grand was going to take longer for him to recover than he was letting himself acknowledge. A grand right now was more or less an impulse expenditure. But it was one he was willing and happy to sacrifice... for me, for me and for our baby.

DPOV
What Rose didn't know was that I had been saving more and working extra shifts since Spokane. As guardians we had a weekly pay then a per hour pay. My extended hours training her counted. My extra wards shifts counted. My extra lunch-hour commons shift counted. It had all counted. I had expected to fork out more than a grand as an upfront cost. I had saved enough to fork out two grand or a little more right now. Still, it hurt to now see that money being transferred out of my account and to the land officer's nonetheless.

I wanted the best for my Roza and our baby, and the sacrifice of a grand to get our own future home under way, to secure the land was well worth it. Just seeing the grateful and loving smile on Rose's face was enough to assure me I was doing the right thing. If it made her happy, made her safe, made her better then it was the right thing to do.

"We've got a deposit on a block of land!" Rose squealed at Lissa when we met with her and Christian for dinner. Eddie was doing something with Mia apparently. Adrian, I think, was where he usually would be when at Court- the bar.
Lissa's jaw dropped and Christian offered his hand for a man-shake.
"You work quickly, Belikov. And congratulations, I never thought I'd see the day where Rose Hathaway got excited about buying a dusty, old piece of earth."
"Hey! That 'dusty, old piece of earth' is going to be where the Belikov family home and Lissa is found," Rose defended.
I laughed and pecked Rose's lips. "I think I just fell in love with you all over again."
"Ew! Get a room," Christian interrupted.
Rose smirked at him. "You know what happened the last time we did that. Besides, we're getting a home."

"I'm still getting my own room, aren't I, Rose? Our agreement's still in place?"
Rose nodded. "Yes Liss, you'll get your own room. Our deal is still on."
"Yes! When do you know the total price? And how much is the land? Where is it? Oh! And are you going for a two storey house?"
We all laughed and the girls sat in the lounge, chatting away, while Christian and I started on dinner.
"You know, Belikov, you better treasure that girl. And enjoy this excitement over the house and land while it lasts. Once the building process starts she's going to go mental. If there's one thing I know without a doubt, it's that Rosemarie Hathaway is a perfectionist. I already feel sorry for the workmen she'll be having work around the clock just so she can sleep easier at night knowing she's one hour closer to escaping guardian dorms."
I laughed and shook my head. "She's not one for extravagance, but she is indulging in this. And she deserves it. My Roza deserves the best the world has to offer: itself."