MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Blake gently squeezed Rose's hand, relishing the feeling of her soft skin against his. After so much turmoil and separation, just being able to hold her again filled him with an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment.

"Dr. Martina mentioned you would need some time to fully recover," he said softly, studying Rose's face with tender concern. "Not because of what Damien did by freezing you, but some kind of lingering effects from medications you were taking?"

Rose nodded slowly, a weary yet resolute look flickering across her delicate features. "Yes, there were...precautions I had to take. Measures to ensure our daughter's safety above all else."

Blake furrowed his brow slightly. "What kind of medications were you on? What happened, Rose?"

A heavy sigh slipped from between her lips as Rose seemed to weigh how much to divulge. "My plan was...risky, to say the least," she admitted. "I knew the odds of actually finding you again were slim. So I had to take steps, make contingencies in case the worst occurred."

Her free hand drifted absentmindedly to rest against her still-swollen abdomen – a protective, maternal gesture. "I knew that in giving birth, both myself and the baby would be rendered incredibly vulnerable. I needed to find a way to hide that vulnerability from Damien at all costs."

Blake felt his throat constrict at the implication behind Rose's words – just how far had she been willing to go to protect their child from Damien's malice? Instinctively, his other hand came up to cradle her face with infinite tenderness.

"What did you do, love?" he murmured, the endearment slipping out unbidden yet feeling so natural.

Rose leaned into his touch for a long moment, seeming to draw strength from his presence before continuing in a low, measured tone.

"I knew Damien would be away when I finally went into labor. So I instructed Dr. Martina on how to proceed - coaching her to administer an injection that would...paralyze me in a near-vegetative state soon after the birth."

Blake felt his eyes widen fractionally at her words, the implications sending an icy frisson of trepidation down his spine. Rose merely nodded, as if reading his thoughts.

"It was the only way to keep both myself and the baby safe. By feigning such a thoroughly debilitated condition, Damien would be led to believe my powers were utterly drained - that I posed no threat. And by default, he would find me uninteresting to..." Her gaze drifted away momentarily, jaw tightening.

"He would think I was an empty husk...and thus have no reason to harm our daughter while she remained in Dr. Martina's care."

A tremulous exhale slipped from Blake's lips as the full extent of Rose's desperate gambit began sinking in. To willingly subject herself to a drugged, vegetative prison – leaving both her life and their newborn's in Dr. Martina's hands – all while blind to whether he would ever return...

"Rose..." he breathed, voice catching with the swell of emotions battering his soul. "Why...why go to such drastic lengths? Couldn't you have simply pretended to be bedridden? This seems...far too extreme, too dangerous!"

The look she turned on him then was one of profound solemnity intermingled with the faintest glimmers of dark amusement. "You really don't give Damien enough credit, do you Blake?"

She shook her head slowly, raven tresses whispering across the pillows. "I know precisely the sort of cunning, wicked mind we're dealing with. He's not the type to simply take appearances at face value – I knew he would test the authenticity of any 'frail condition' I feigned."

A muscle ticked along Blake's clenched jaw at her ominous words, but he remained silent – allowing Rose to continue unabated.

"On one of the first occasions he visited after I promised, Damien did indeed put my condition to the test." Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper as she seemed to relive the memory. "He pierced his fingers between my legs in a cruel facsimile of violation, clearly expecting a reaction of some kind."

Blake instinctively pulled Rose closer, a low growl rumbling up from somewhere primal and protective. She pressed on in a miraculously level tone.

"Of course, I gave no response – the drugs left me completely insensate, unable to even feel pain or distress. Only my eyes remained partially open so I could actually witness his depravity." Rose closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly composing herself.

"If I had simply been feigning illness rather than taking the injections, he would have seen through the deception in an instant. I would have reacted, if only on basest reflex." She reopened her gaze to meet Blake's, shining with a strange combination of resolution and sorrow.

"I could not allow that to occur. Not when our daughter's life hung in the balance...so I remained utterly still, content to let that monster believe me an empty husk if it preserved her safety."

Blake was silent for a long span, processing the harrowing account as a storm of conflicting emotions battered his soul. Horror and disgust at the depravity Rose had faced...awe and gratitude at the lengths she was willing to go to protect their child...regret and self-loathing that he had not been there for her...

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he exhaled a shuddering breath and pulled Rose's trembling form fully against him – enfolding her in the protective circle of his arms. He rested his cheek atop her raven tresses, inhaling the beloved floral scent he'd missed so achingly.

"I'm so sorry, my love," he rasped in a voice tinged with devotion and regret. "Sorry that you had to suffer so much darkness while I was...indisposed."

Blake's arms tightened around Rose's slender frame, as if to shield her from any further hurt or turmoil forevermore. "But I swear to you, those days are over. We'll never be apart like that again – you, me and our little girl."

Rose melted into his embrace, allowing the tension and pent up fear of the past to bleed from her in cathartic waves. They simply held one another for long, silent moments – drawing strength from their reunion, their combined will to put the shadows behind them once and for all.