Vlad had finally gotten a tree. Erin had been reminding him for the best part of two weeks and he was just slipping it into the holder as Erin walked through their front door. "Hey" Vlad greeted her as he stepped back to admire his handy work. "Hey" Erin replied walking through the door of their family room then stopped short of Vlad as she caught sight of the tree. At first she was completely expressionless then she smiled and walked up to Vlad wrapping one of her arms around his torso. "You finally got a tree!" She said looking up at the enormous tree he had picked. Vlad had spent hours deciding where to put it and eventually settled on the corner of the huge ballroom in Vlad and Erin's estate. Vlad smiled himself and looked down at his wife. "What do you say we decorate it?" He asked. "Do you even have to ask?" Erin replied
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Half and hour later Vlad had brought down the Christmas decorations from the loft and Erin had started up some Christmas music. They started with the lower branches then they moved their way upwards but soon Erin's shortness got the better of her and she couldn't reach anymore. It didn't seem to be much of a problem to the young couple though, it only made it more romantic when Vlad started lifting her up so she could hang more baubles into the higher branches. Soon they were having the time if their lives laughing and kissing each other's cheeks.
"Oh" Erin breathed "Do you remember when we got this one?" She said turning to Vlad. Vlad turned from the bauble he was hanging on the tree to look at Erin holding the beautiful glass bauble they got just after their wedding. It had been near Christmas and for their honey moon they went to New York. Known for its ice skating and love of Christmas decorations. Vlad smiled and walked up to Erin. "We got that on our honeymoon" he said pointing at the decoration and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. Slowly both of the two leaned in and kissed each other softly. Vlad pulled Erin close to his body savouring the moment. He and Erin hadn't had a proper moment together for months. The past year had been a hard one. The cease fire was falling apart and Vlad had been working hard to repair it when Malik had gone on a feeding frenzy starting from London stretching to the other side of Europe. Malik had been recruiting and has declared war against Vlad. Soon Vlad would have to leave his beloved wife to fight his newly established 'army' of sorts. Erin knew but she wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to her husband. She knew that Vlad would be top of their hit list and it could well be the last Christmas they spend together but she also knew that any of Vlad's family would be in danger. Just as the two were going to return to their decorating the landline phone rang. The Count was completely against his son having any sort of modern technology in his house but Vlad wasn't going to be bossed about anymore. His home, his choice.
Erin smiled as she pulled away and went to the phone. "Hello?" Erin said brightly as Vlad returned to the tree with another decoration. "Yes this her speaking" Suddenly the sound of smashing glass rang out echoes bouncing off the walls of the ballroom. Vlad whirled around quicker than any human could ever manage to. Standing over the smashed glass was a shocked looking Erin unable to remove the phone from her ear.
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Vlad wasn't entirely sure what to do. Erin managed to stammer four words into the phone before hanging up and flopping onto the sofa. "Ok thank you. Goodbye" Vlad watched her cover her mouth and tears fill her eyes as she started muttering things to herself "No this can't be happening. Not NOW" Erin shook her head unable to believe what she had just heard. "Erin what is it? Vlad said sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Erin looked up at him tears streaming down her face. This is something she had been dreaming about since she was a little girl but it can't be happening now it was too dangerous. "Was it the doctor you saw this morning?" Vlad asked. Erin nodded wiping away her tears and trying to stem the flow. "They did some tests and the results just came" Erin said then her voice cracked again "Vlad. I'm four months pregnant"
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For the first time in his life Vlad hadn't seen it coming. He was beyond shocked. Erin was pregnant. Four months pregnant. Erin watched him nervously as he opened his mouth only to close it when he realised he didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well say this is a disaster, that would imply he didn't want a child and Vlad was overjoyed at the fact he was going to be a father but the timing was so atrocious it was hard to think straight. They had a baby due in five months just before Vlad was going to war where he's going to be wanted dead by every member of the opposition and he was going to leave his pregnant wife alone, vulnerable to attacks planned and carried out by the enemy. It was, in short, a catastrophe. Vlad lifted his hand and rubbed his face as he leant forward on his knees. "Erin I am so sorry" Vlad said unable to think of anything else. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to think what to do next. Suddenly there was a sniffle from Erin. Now this was far from a perfect situation but one thing Vlad would not stand for is Erin upset about what should be happy news. "What are we going to do?" She sobbed into his chest as he pulled her into his arms. "Are we going to have to give the baby up?" Vlad knew as soon as this baby was born he or she was going to be in a lot of danger but he was prepared to protect his family with his unlife if needs be. "No" Vlad replied firmly. He was determined to keep his family together and safe. This is going to be good news. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry we'll get through this." He kissed Erin's hair as she looked up at him "Together" He said rubbing her shoulder "Hey. This is good news. Yeah?" Erin smiled sadly and nodded half-heartedly.