Though often quite delicate-looking, dancers are made of sterner stuff than most people think, and ballet dancers even more so. It wasn't uncommon for a dancer to continue dancing through a sprain or strain, or even a broken limb - anything not to lose the suppleness of their bodies during the convalescence. Thankfully, Anya hadn't broken an ankle or a leg. She had, however, broken the big toe of her right foot, and when you're dancing the Queen of the Fairies, with a lot of solo work as well as lifts in partnership, that does not bode well.

In the dressing room she shared with her husband beneath the Shanachie, she very carefully removed toe-shoes and tights, and quickly put her injured foot into an ice bath with a hiss and a sigh of relief. "What possessed me to try and move that awful bureau in the first place" What possessed you to let me?"

"As I recall, I told you I'd do it as soon as I got home from the theater, and you couldn't wait," Tony replied as he lifted the fake crown from his head that declared him Oberon, King of the Fairies. He set the crown on his dressing table and went down on one knee to examine his wife's injured toe, very carefully and gently. "Do you want your understudy to dance it' Melissa has been badgering me for a lead role for months."

The look Anya gave him was half-exasperated, and half deeply amused. "Since when has a broken toe ever stopped me from dancing?" she pointed out with a smile, before that smile faded with worry. "Unless my performance was lacking. Did I favor the foot too much' Was it obvious that I am carrying an injury' I do not want to bring the ballet down with a poor showing."

"No, of course not, cara. You danced brilliantly, as always, but I don't want this injury to get worse. You're a ballerina, Anya. Your feet are your life. It's just one ballet. There will be others, but not if you do not give yourself time to heal." He very carefully examined her foot before replacing it in the cool water and leaning back on his heels with a heavy sigh. "How badly does it hurt?"

She sighed softly. "But I love Titania," was her slightly childish complaint at his infuriatingly reasonable advice. Leaning back in her seat, she bit her lip as he lowered her foot back into the iced water. "It is fine, most of the time," she told him, that lilting Russian accent of hers thick in the aftermath of a successful performance. "But en pointe, and some of the heavy landings with Jamie ....I would say agony. It is not his fault; if I was not hurt, I would not notice how heavily he is setting me down. Though he should learn to be gentler, or he may break a few toes of his own in the corps."

"What do you want to do, Anya?" he asked, looking up at her, hands folded in his lap, ever patient. If it was up to him, he'd have her sit this one out or give her a role that wouldn't put so much pressure on her toes. It was his company and he could make the decision for her, but he knew how much she loved dancing Titania and he didn't want to take it away from her if he didn't have to. "Do you want me to talk to Jamie?"

She was torn for a long moment, caught between wanting to soldier on through and the understanding that she didn't have to do that. She would still have a place in the company if she chose to sit this one out. She leaned forward, curling her fingers about his hand as she smiled softly. "I will step back, lyubimaya," she told him reluctantly. "Melissa deserves a chance to shine a little, and I will have other chances to dance Titania again. I don't need to break my body for the ballet any more. And I don't think you would be very happy with me if I did."

"I don't know why you won't just see a healer," Tony remarked with a heavy sigh. He was no more a native of Rhy'Din than she was, but if there was a way to heal an injury without suffering through weeks of pain, following by physical therapy, he saw nothing wrong with it. He moved to his feet and over to the dressing table to finish removing his costume and makeup, so that he looked less Oberon and more Tony.

"Because it is unnatural, Tony," Anya informed him as she, too, turned to the task of removing the thick layer of greasy makeup that had transformed her into Titania. She'd take off the costume when that was done, when her toe felt less like it was about to drop off. "You know what I mean. I know how my body heals, and I trust it. Taking shortcuts, it does not feel right. And I am hardly going to die of a broken toe."

"No, I suppose not," he replied, a little moodily. While he understood her point of view, he couldn't guarantee when she'd have a chance to dance the part of Titania again, and he enjoyed every chance he got dancing with her, no matter how large or small the role. "I'll give Melissa the good news tomorrow and have the programs changed."

"Oh, do not be like that," Anya commented mildly, limping to her feet to strip out of the skin-tight leotard and tutu, utterly shameless when it came to being nude in front of her husband. "I would have to stop dancing after this ballet anyway, at least for a while. Probably a year." She flashed him a grin, wondering if he was going to work it out from just that, or if he needed a little more to go on.

Tony was an intelligent man - very intelligent man - but when it came to Anya, he didn't always think with his head. He swung his head at her, his stage make-up only half removed, brows furrowed in confusion. The fact that she was smiling was probably a good thing, but the first thought that popped into his head was that she was leaving him again to go off on her own. That didn't make sense though. They were married now, and she was grinning far too prettily to be giving him bad news. "Why do you have to stop..." He trailed off, as a thought occurred to him, the only thought that made any sense. "Anya..." He started, giving her a sharp look. "You're aren't....are you?"

She paused in the act of hanging up her costume to meet that sharp look of his with shy mischief. "I was going to wait until this run was over before telling you, but since I injured myself, I thought perhaps you would like to know sooner," she said softly. "You are going to be a father, lyubimaya."

His eyes widened and for a moment, he thought she was only teasing him, but Anya wasn't the type to tease about such things, nor was she the type to share such serious news unless she was certain. If Anya was saying she was with child, then she was with child. "Cara mia, are you certain?" he asked, obviously shocked by this news, but needing to know for certain before he allowed himself to react.

"Well, I am talking about Elena Donnelly," Anya corrected him with a small snicker, sitting down with a groan of relief before turning her attention to the task of getting a sock and her sneaker on over her now throbbing toe. "Besides, she was full of her own plans, and you know she will tell Mischa. And he will find a way to make her keep her mouth shut for a little while."

"Donnelly, right. Minor detail!" Tony teased back. He had been thinking about a slow walk home, but not anymore. He frowned at her, knowing her well enough to see the pain on her face, and crouched down in front of her to examine her toe again and help her with her sock and sneaker. "Her own plans" What kind of plans?" he asked as he took the sock from her and very carefully drew it over her foot.

The offending digit was already a lovely shade of mottled purple and green, but swollen after the evening's performance. It wouldn't take long to heal; toes rarely did. Anya smiled as Tony eased her sock carefully onto her foot. "I was sworn to secrecy," she admitted with a small chuckle, "but since she is bound to have told her husband my secret, I will tell my husband her secret." She grinned, swallowing a couple of painkillers dry before continuing. "You know the little cafe just around the corner, the one everyone goes to for the coffee, and everyone complains about the food" The owner is thinking of selling, and Elena is thinking of buying."

Once the sock was on, he followed up with the sneaker, just as careful as he had been with the sock. "Is she?" he asked, lifting his gaze a moment and smiling. "Should I pretend to be surprised when she tells me?" It was no big secret that Elena was his favorite. She was his baby sister, after all, and after all she had been through, he was proud of the young woman she had become.

"Of course you should!" She laughed again, leaning down to poke his shoulder playfully. "She has grown up a lot, and I think that this is a good idea for her. Most of that cafe's business comes from the players and the dancers and the crew from here, so she already knows who she is catering to. She can take it over quietly, keeping on the staff, and no one need know that she owns it, or that she is cooking up the wonderful smells that will be coming from the kitchen."

"Why wouldn't they need to know" She should be proud of herself. I'm proud of her, and I'm glad she's finally decided what she wants to do. She's been thinking about a restaurant or a catering service for a while. Do you think people won't go there if they know it's owned by my sister?" he asked curiously, wondering why it should be kept a secret. Once he had her sneaker on, he moved to his feet and grabbed his jacket before tugging it on of his arms.

"People won't care," Anya predicted gently, tugging herself onto her own feet as he moved away. "In fact, they will be more likely to go there knowing that it is in the family. But you know Elena, and you know what she has been struggling with. She is so very afraid of being rejected, she thinks that hiding and not putting herself forward is the only way she can have what she wants. I don't know how to convince her otherwise."

"I'll talk to her," he said, though he wasn't sure if he should butt in or not. After all, Elena had Michael now, though Tony would always be her big brother. He knew his sister and knew Anya was right in her assessment, but he wished Elena had more faith in herself. "Maybe this will be good for her," he added. If the restaurant succeeded, it would do wonders for her self-esteem. He picked up his cell phone, and punched in a number. "I'm going to call us a cab. You're not walking on that toe."

"I walked on it to get here," she objected mildly, but didn't press the point. Anya knew how to pick her battles with Tony, and this wasn't worth fighting over. "So when is Elena going to cook for us properly, do you think?" she asked impishly. "I offered us up as test subjects, I did not think you would mind. She wants to ask Rosita to taste test, but she is worried that your mama will not like what she is given."

"Good question," he admitted, lifting a finger to ask her to wait a moment while he spoke into the phone to order them a cab. Once that was done, he slipped the phone into his jacket pocket, along with his wallet. "Why don't you call her and ask her?" he suggested, now that his sister and wife seemed to have become such fast friends. "I'm going to be busy until the ballet is over, but after that, perhaps?"

"I can do that," she agreed cheerfully. "Don't think that just because I'm not dancing Titania any longer I will not be right here every night. I have a husband to support when he dances, you know. He takes my breath away."

Now that they were both dressed, he circled an arm around her slender waist, wondering what she would look like when she started to blossom with child. There was no doubt he would find her even more beautiful than ever. "I will miss dancing with you, but we're going to have a baby, Anya. A child of our own." He smiled softly, having trouble keeping the tears from his eyes.

She leaned into him, tucked perfectly into the contour of his body as she smiled back to him. "A little boy or girl to dance like their father, or act like their aunt, or perhaps they will be a cook. I do not mind, so long as our children are happy."

"No, it doesn't matter, so long as they are happy, and they will be happy, Anya. We will make sure of it." He touched a kiss to her lips, soft and tender and loving, before resting his forehead against hers. "I love you very much, Anya. I am never losing you again."

"You never truly lost me to begin with," she reassured him quietly. "I just ....went away for a little while. I won't do that again. I made a promise, before God and in front of your mother." There was no disguising the comedy in the way that Rosita had pride of place immediately below God in the hierarchy that existed in Anya's mind. "I love you, my Tony. Without you, I would be nothing."

"You would never be nothing, Anya. You are beautiful, smart, talented, graceful....You are amazing, but most importantly, you are mine, and you always will be. We are going to have the most beautiful children, and you are going to be the most beautiful mother." Yes, he was biased, but in a good way. He had almost lost her once, but not in the way she was thinking. He had almost lost her to thugs back in New York, and it had terrified him. He wasn't ever going to let anything happen to her again, if he could help it.

"It is my duty and privilege as your husband to spoil you, cara," he replied as she settled down beside him. The footman drew a blanket over them both to keep them cozy and warm before closing the door and climbing back into the driver's seat.

"Where to, sir?" the driver asked from the front seat.

Tony turned to Anya, adjusting the blanket over her lap before wrapping an arm around her to draw her close. "Where would you like to go, mi amore?"

She'd laid her head on Tony's shoulder already, relaxing easily into his embrace after a long day. To be asked then where she wanted to go was a little startling. Raising her eyes to Tony's, she hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her for the honest truth. "Home, lyubimaya," she told him softly. "I just want to be at home with you. I am sorry ....we can ride another night, da?"

He smiled back at her, brushing an affectionate kiss against her brow. "We can ride another night," he echoed in agreement, leaning forward to give the driver directions to their home, which wasn't too far from the theater.

Her smile was warmly relieved, glad not to have disappointed him too much with her tired wish just to be at home with her husband to enjoy their news together without witnesses or a need to be on their best behavior. "Spasibo," she murmured softly, kissing his cheek as she nestled into his side. "And I will dress the part for you on that other night."

"Maybe we should take a little vacation, after this run is finished," he mused aloud, presuming there wouldn't be much time for that as time got closer got the baby to be born. "If you could go anywhere you wanted to go, where would it be?"

A quiet giggle escaped her lips at this question. "You have already taken me there, lyubimaya," she pointed out. "You showed me Italy." Though she could have wished to visit her family, she wasn't going to push that on him, knowing he felt more than a little intimidated by her father, not to mention her brothers. "I think you should choose this time."

No, visiting her father and brothers wouldn't have been his first choice on the list of places he wanted to visit, and yet, he also knew that they had to visit sometime and what better excuse than to deliver such good news in person. "I think, perhaps, you are overdue a visit home," he said quietly, wondering what she would think of that.

Her face lit up with a bright, happy smile at his suggestion, touched that he was prepared to brave that discomfort in the presence of her father and his slightly shady "business" for her sake. "Thank you," she smiled, leaning up to kiss him. "I would like that very much. But only for a few days - we should go somewhere warm together. Like the island where Elena and Mischa were married."

"We can go wherever you wish, Anya," he told her quietly, as his fingers caressed her cheek gently, a soft smile on his face. He hoped her father would not break his legs for marrying his daughter, especially once he knew how happy she was and that she was going to give him a grand-baby. He wasn't sure what the man would think if he found out what had happened to her in New York.

Unknown to Tony, Anya's father already knew what had happened in New York, and had taken steps to make sure his displeasure regarding it was well known. There was more than one reason the Nicoletti family business had fallen apart so dramatically following the court case, after all. But Anya couldn't tell him, not unless he asked her directly, and she wouldn't volunteer the hint that would give rise to such a question, believing him better off not knowing what sort of "businessman" her father was. "A few days in Moscow then, and on to somewhere warm where I can ravish you in the sea sometime," she suggested affectionately.

He smiled. It had only been a few months since they'd returned from a honeymoon in Italy, but with the gala in New York and the ballet company in Rhy'Din, they could both use a short break. Besides, he knew they were both well overdue for a visit to Moscow.

The lack of verbal response didn't bother her much, not needing words to be comfortable with her Tony. She sighed contentedly, cuddling into his side as the rhythmic clip-clop of the horses' hooves lulled her on their way home. Unconsciously, her hand curled protectively over the flatness of her stomach where their baby rested, and she smiled. It would be good to tell her parents face to face this wonderful news. Provided she survived telling Rosita De Luca.

((Another baby to make Mama De Luca rocket to the moons on waves of smug joy! Many thanks to Tony's player for allowing me to spring this on him!))