disclaimer:i have read the books and as this is a fanfiction most events will not be identical to the stories originally written by leigh bardugo.

Alina was talking with Genya one day after her ball with the duchess of Balakirev and her husband,and came across the troubles of her constant sickness of late.Having just of given birth,Genya was immediately worried for her friend,"Have you ever-i mean i know that the General (Genya had never stopped calling him that) has um...and well,there's Mal too...and then there was Nikolai of course-sorry,it's just.,have you considered you might be...pregnant"she said it with such a fragile voice,Alina thought it may snap.She looked up at her friend's face and then down at the small girl she was holding in her arms,and replied "No.It wouldn't be possible.The Darkling reaches for me with our connection,and well Mal and me,we use protection.Nikolai is rare and only really when people expect us to.Like it simply isn't possible."But Genya still looked at her with unsure eyes,and got up "You can hold her for a second,i am going to get something." though there was confidence in her voice,it was not echoed in her manner.She stood up with shaky legs and handed the small giggling girl to Alina,sweeping her auburn hair across her eyes as she did so.

Genya came back holding  a slim cardboard box labeled 'clearblue easy pregnancy test'.Reading the box,she looked up at her friend,and was about to start rebeling against the idea when Genya placed a firm hand on her shoulder,"you need to do it,please.".Alina sighed and passed the now sleeping baby to her mother and took the box out of Genya's grasp.