In Dreams: Bleed Out

Little Monster

As we walked into the foyer, my stomach voiced its complaint, loudly, and a wave of nausea hit me.  I held a hand to my mouth preparing to bolt for the bathroom, but Alexandre laughed and scooped me up in one arm like a child, tickling my tummy.  I squealed and threw my arms around his neck.

"Are you making mommy's tummy all upset again?"  He cooed at my midriff and bit his own wrist without missing a beat, offering it to me.  "Drink."  He commanded, then went back to babbling at my stomach.  I rolled my eyes, but took a few mouthfuls of his blood to satisfy him as he baby talked to my abdomen.  "You're lucky daddy is here, yes you are, mummy just doesn't take care of you two well enough does she?"  He eyeballed me meaningfully.

"Hey, whaddaya want?"  I asked, nipping his wrist, not hard enough to draw blood, but he yipped and pulled away.  "Stop poisoning the little monster's mind against me."

"Stop calling our baby a little monster."  Alexandre scolded.

"It is literally the love child of two unwed vampires.  It's a monster."  I argued.

"You could always marry me."  Alexandre offered.

"It was still conceived outside of a union."  I countered.  Alexandre snarled lightly and pulled me closer.

"I'm serious about the marriage though Carys.  I would very much adore it if you became my wife."  He whispered against my neck.  I pulled away from him and shook my head sadly.

"All you Dracula types are the same 'be my bride this', 'bride of so and so' that.  Why's a girl gotta fall into a cliche when... oh all right, yes of course I will you absolute sappy goofball."  I said and Alexandre's expression burned brighter than the sun.  We didn't even make it to the bedroom before the clothing started hitting the floor.

The cool marble landing of the grand staircase would have been too cold if it hadn't been for Alexandre throwing his shirt down underneath me.  He lay beside me with his head on my chest just above my breasts, running his fingers across my midriff, a new favorite pastime of his.

"I'm going to end up with grooves there."  I commented wryly.  I could feel his cheek move as he smiled.

"I'm just so in awe.  Every day I wake up and I can't believe this is real.  I used to wonder when I would get tired enough to stop.  When spending more wasn't going to be enough to fill the emptiness in my life, in my heart, anymore.  I was getting bored, and lonely.  And then... I stumbled across you and now..."  His voice hitched.  I placed a hand on his head and sighed a content sigh.  I could stay like this forever.

"Do you think those guys are going to come after us again?"  I asked and Alexandre's fingers abruptly stopped circling.

"I don't know."  He sighed.  "They're still upset with the fact that the cops started poking around once this serial killer thing came up.  I thought once the cops backed off us a bit, they'd do the same for them, but maybe somebody's holding a grudge, either within the police or the criminal faction."  Alexandre's fingers resumed circling and then his palm flattened over the slight rise between my hips.

"I never expected things to get so complicated when I developed these connections.  It was just me then, and I could tear through them, and if I died, so be it, but now..."  He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.  "I fear I have put both your lives in jeopardy with my actions, and I don't know how to remedy it."  I brushed the hair from his forehead gently.

"We'll figure it out."  I whispered, and he dropped his head back to my chest, holding me tight.

"I'm not moving."  I griped.  Alexandre tugged the sheet I held clasped under me and I growled.  I was comfortable, and he wasn't budging me from my spot.

"Carys, the sheets need to changed."  Alexandre sighed.

"Later."  I complained.

"This would be so much easier if you'd allow me to do it now, otherwise I'll have to hire someone to come in and do it."  Alexandre threatened.  I snarled gently.  He knew I would move for staff.

"So rude."  I accused, relinquishing the blanket.  "you know it won't be long and I won't be able to lay on my stomach, and here you go disturbing me."  I rolled off the bed and looked down at my midriff.  The little bump and a little bigger and more noticeable now.  I rubbed my hand down it as if I could smooth it away.  Alexandre came up behind me and trapped my hands in place, kissing me on the neck.  I was nearing the end of my first trimester, and it was beginning to show.  Alexandre had gone out and bought a ridiculous amount of maternity clothes, despite my protests.  I pointed out we couldn't be sure of the time frame of a vampire pregnancy, so they could be worthless.  Alexandre just laughed and told me everything he and his friends had dug up suggested we might be in for a relatively normal(ish) pregnancy and birth.

"That's still too many clothes for any one person, Alexandre."  I pointed out.

"Two."  He said happily, caressing the bump.  I rolled my eyes.

"What are you doing today?"  He asked me as he put a new fitted sheet on the bed.  I helped him tuck in the corners and shrugged.

"Maternity books in the garden."  He answered with me and then flashed a big smile.  I was reading everything I could about pregnancy, childbirth, infant care, everything I could get my hands on.  A lot of the stuff didn't really apply to me (sorry doctors, can't eat a healthy diet or take vitamins) but it was good to get a sort of baseline for human babies anyway, to give us an idea of what to go on.

Meanwhile, Alexandre was learning how to deliver our child himself.  One of the things I learned about him was that over the past one hundred years or so, he had taken medical classes and self-taught as much as he could get his hands on.  Hard to go to a doctor when you're a vampire, somebody's shot you, the bullet's closed up in your body and you heal almost as quickly as they can cut.  Also, accidents happen, and broken bones can sometimes reset themselves wrong.  Alexandre grimaced while telling the story, so I could only imagine.  He was also looking into c-section procedures should my healing ability prevent a normal birth.  We had decided not to trust his doctor's office for the time being.  I was a little uncomfortable with not monitoring the progress, especially for deformities, but...

"Do you mind if I join you?"  Alexandre asked, pulling me from my reverie.  I smiled brightly at him and nodded.

"Sure, that would be nice."  I replied, and bundled up as Alexandre finished the bed.  Alexandre had told me winters here were usually mild, but a storm had dumped three feet of snow on us and I was enchanted.  I would often go out and sit for as long as I could stand the cold, bundled warmly, reading happily and listening to the silence.  Alexandre had cleared a path for me, and even installed a small stove beside one of the stone benches.  He kept firewood stacked neatly beside it, and insisted on leaving a blanket by the door that I should take with me when I went out.  Luckily though, our baby took after their father, and was a little furnace.  I noticed I was often a little warm these days, which made the cold air even more inviting.

Alexandre walked me out to the gardens with a hand at the small of my back, and I was reminded of our earlier visits to the garden.

"What are you smiling about, love?"  Alexandre asked, kissing my cheek.

"You."  I replied and he stared at me for a moment and then his eyes melted into an achingly loving expression.  He kissed my forehead and had me sit on the bench while he started the fire.

"Wrap up tight, love, it's a little bit chilly today."  Alexandre tucked the blankets around me and I rolled my eyes, but when he sat down and pulled me against him, I leaned my head back and hummed quietly, looking at the snow-laden trees.

"This is where we should get married."  I said softly.  I felt Alexandre react, his body temporarily stiffening before relaxing, and a burst of chemical hit the air.  He was happy.  I smiled.  "But in spring, when everything's in bloom.  After the baby's born, so she can be in the pictures in a little white dress."  I murmured dreamily.