Claimer: I own Christiana, her two kids, and her second husband. Besides that, everything goes to Hellsing's creator. Oh how I worship him for bringing Integra and Alucard into this world.

"Come on, Teggie, we've got to hurry," the woman's voice shook. A girl scarcely older than three glared exasperatedly up at her, but obliged her request.

The train was late. The sun was going down. Arthur would be back home from his meeting any minute. These three facts ran on tracks like the one they were racing along, heading to collide with one another in a tremendous crash. They had to get on this train, Arthur had to accept her bogus note that she was taking Integra to a movie, and they had to be clear out of London by nightfall.

She felt bad for her daughter as the girl tried her best to keep up. Her backpack wasn't light, threatening to take her down with it with every sway, and her legs were tiny. In her free arm, the one Christiana wasn't dragging her by, she held her favorite stuffed animal close to her. A well-loved black lab pup, Integra had taken a marker and scribbled its marble eyes red.

She had heard Integra giggling when she was supposed to be sound asleep. She had gone in to check on her, to tell her to calm down… But then…

Good. The train was pulling in as they came to the station. She fished the tickets out of her coat's pocket, her clothes personally tailored to her. She had never minded being the wife of a government official, even if it meant days going by without seeing her husband. She had been brought up silver spoon in hand and knew her place (even in the present, nobility still stuck to old traditions when they married internally). She had never cared to ask about the specifics of his work, just that it was military.

Integra let go of her mother's hand, loosening her hold on her pet. She began petting it reassuringly, babbling casually in that primarily self-indulgent toddler way. Christiana wanted to grab that blasted thing and throw it as far away as she could.

She hadn't been prepared to see anyone else in Integra's nursery the other night. Least of all a tall, rail-thin "man" with silver hair hanging in his sunken face, sitting cross-legged on her bed. Both of its hands were holding Integra's arms as she thrashed around, kicking and muffledly screaming. At first she thought it was fear; in hindsight she saw that it was in irritation that the monster wouldn't let her go. Christiana had gasped and the creature had turned towards her, his red eyes glowing in the dim light.

Integra had taken advantage of that opportunity, slipped one of her hands free, and had given him a hard hit to the nose. He didn't even flinch, staring at Christiana as she screamed bloody murder.

She closed her eyes, trying to drive back the memory. Arthur hadn't taken it as seriously as she thought a father should. Sure, he had disciplined the creature, but he repeatedly assured her that this…vampire couldn't harm either her or Integra, especially Integra.

Didn't matter. There was a half-starved vampire living in their basement and too many lies by omission to stomach.

The train had barely finished unloading its passengers before Christiana started towards the coach. An employee barred her path.

"First-class boarding first, ma'am."

"I know, but we've got a bit of an emergency," she glanced towards the sunset. He smirked.

"Don't we all?"

Integra decided she was done wearing her overcoat, shrugging it off. Her short-sleeved summer dress exposed her tanned arms, ugly finger-shaped bruises standing out. The employee's eyes widened.

"I see. Go ahead."

She wanted to correct his assumption. Arthur would die before beating his little angel. As much as she'd love to blame the monster, he hadn't left a single mark on Integra. No, it was actually Walter. She remembered watching him restrain her, his face twisted in effort as he kept his vice hold on her. She screamed, she wailed, she threw herself around like she was possessed, all in an attempt to escape and run down the hall to plead on behalf of her "pet".

Even Walter, the kindly butler, had defended the fiend, saying that he was probably curious about his little master. All they had been doing was "playing".

Playing…right. Maybe to Integra.

They boarded the train and Christiana let Integra pick their seats. She helped herself to the window facing the station before setting her companion in the seat beside her. Christiana went to move him into Integra's lap.

"No!" Integra said venomously, making Christiana jump. Integra set the dog upright, "Card's seat," she insisted.

They had all chalked it up to some imaginary friend she had created; the talking to thin air, the way she spoke about him to others, the cookie jar that had mysteriously floated down from the top of the fridge into her grasp. Card… How the hell had neither Arthur nor Walter picked up on that?

She put her things on the seat across from Integra before crouching down in front of her.

"Mummy's going to go see what's at the snack bar, alright? Is there anything you want, hmmm?" Integra considered it a moment.

"…ap' juice."

"Alright, I'll be right back."

Integra cleared her throat. Christiana stared at her. She tilted her head towards Card. Christiana sighed.

"And what would Card like?" Integra consulted with him briefly before answering.

"B'ood." Of course.

"I'll be right back. Stay here, okay?" She kissed Integra's forehead, "I love you, baby."

She straightened and turned away.

"Where Daddy?" Integra asked. Christiana sighed.

"Daddy's…not coming with us. It's a vacation, just for mum-and-daughter," she explained.

"An' Card?"

"…and Card."

Not looking too satisfied with her answer, she turned towards the window, staring out at the platform. Christiana briskly walked towards the dining cart, glancing back at Integra every so often to make sure she didn't go anywhere.

She was insanely intelligent for a three-year-old…but she was still a three-year-old nonetheless. Hopefully she'd get over this phase soon and forget all about Card. They could start fresh in the states, unmolested by talk of vampires or the undead. She glanced out the window. There was still some light on the horizon, and the train was about to depart.

Hopefully red Kool-Aid would satiated the bloodthirsty puppy, Christiana mused as she made her way back to her seat.

"CARD!" She heard Integra shout gleefully. She felt the embarrassment of a mother, praying that the other passengers would understand if her child's imagination ran a little wild.

She returned to the cart, Card slumped down in his new seat next to the window. Integra was nowhere to be seen.

"Integra!" She dropped the beverages and snacks as she caught sight of a small heel disappearing around a corner.

Employees were yelling, grabbing for the girl or the door that had been flung open on its own.

The scene suddenly moved in slow motion as Christiana caught up with her. Integra's long blonde hair billowed in the wind as the train started to pick up speed, grinning and watching the platform. A man followed alongside the tracks, his silver hair hiding all but those demonic eyes. He extended his spidery arms towards her.

"Jump, Integra!" He shouted over the noise of the train.

"NO!"

Christiana reached, feeling for an instant her only child's soft, warm skin before she lurched away, vaulting herself off the train and towards the vampire's waiting arms.

"INTEGRA!"

A vision of her precious baby's skull splitting as she fell on the concrete crossed her mind as she watched her fly through the air, seeming to just drift in the gap like dust in the light. Then, with almost practiced ease, she slipped into his arms, which hardly bowed under the weight.

"INTEGRA!"

But the pair were already slipping away as the train continued, unaware of the lost passenger. Christiana bolted to the next cart, sprinting through as her eyes watched the windows for a glimpse of Integra.

She didn't know how many carts it took, nor how many stares she received as she screamed bloody horror. But eventually she ran out of carts, throwing open the door to the caboose.

Integra's eyes were still looking for her as she ran into the railing.

"INTEGRA!"

Her gaze locked on her mother, leaning over the edge of the railing and looking half mad. She beamed, waving happily to her.

"Bye bye, mummy!"

Christiana continued to scream at the top of her lungs. Her little one was cradled in his arms, resting on one hip. Those red glowing eyes and smirk taunted her, lording over her the fact that he had caught her in the act and had corrected her by taking away the only thing that ever meant anything.

Integra had one arm holding onto his shoulder, the other waving enthusiastically at her screeching mother. The platform was disappearing quickly, and there was nothing Christiana could do about it.

The train whistle wailed, drowning out the sounds of her sobs. Integra straightened up, looking as happy as a clam in her ignorance.

"CHOO CHOO!" She responded to the rushing train.

Twenty Years Later

"She wears high heels, I wear sneee-kers. She's cheer capt'n and I'm on the bleeeachers~"

Seras knew what was to blame for her cheery mood, even if she didn't want to admit it. Drinking microwaved donated blood was still too macabre for her pleasure, but the side effects weren't too bad.

She strolled out of the Hellsing mansion, pausing at the steps. She'd best them this time… With a grunt and a great deal of concentration, she managed to make herself float over the stairs and onto the sidewalk. She smirked in satisfaction. Improvement, but still nothing to gloat to Master about. She practiced a few more times on her flitting (he called it hovering, but that sounded a bit sinister for lazy flying), not noticing the taxi cab slow down and stop in front of Hellsing's gates. Nor did she notice the woman step out, staring up at the mansion with trepidation.

Oh god, she was running late. She scooped up her Harkonnen case with ease, swinging it as easily as a purse as she jogged towards the training fields.

She glanced up and stopped at the gates, curiously staring at the woman.

"Hello there. Can I help you?" She asked.

She glanced into Seras's eyes. Suddenly, the powerful stench of fear came off of her, making Seras's eyes widen in surprise. Usually guests were either used to the unorthodox employees or didn't know any better. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"…Teggie?" She asked.

Seras stared at her a minute as she tried to remember a "Teggie"…oh! She wanted to burst out laughing.

"Oh, no, I'm Officer Victoria. Sir Integra's up in her office most likely." That had to be the only time that she had ever been mistaken for her boss… "Should I tell Walter that someone's here to see her?"

"Walter?" The woman smirked, "He's still around, is he? I thought the good died young…"

Seras took a harder look at her. She was of average height, impeccably dressed in a black overcoat and a long wine-colored skirt. Her boots had a small heel to them and her hands were dressed in white gloves, holding a rather large purse. A black hat leaned to one side, her platinum blonde hair pulled up in a bun. Her skin was darker than an average Englishwoman.

Though she wouldn't look her in the eyes after the initial contact, Seras didn't need to look at them again. Behind circular gold-framed glasses, large startling blue eyes gazed out. Eyes that reminded Seras quite a bit of her master's master.

III

"Choo choo," Alucard drolled, having his makeshift pen train crash into Integra's arm.

Glancing at him from behind his own sunglasses, Integra suppressed a sigh. A decade of Alucard had taught her a lot of survival tactics to help deal with his eccentricity. Like any immortal creature who had plenty of free time and plenty of restrictions, he got bored and restless. Regardless of whether or not she was up to her neck in paperwork, he reasoned that her responsibility as his master included keeping him entertained.

Thank god she wasn't busy.

"Could you kindly get off my desk so I can ignore you properly?"

"No. Your pet is feeling neglected."

"I'll show you "neglected" if you don't get your ass off of this desk."

Integra supposed she had the option of simply shoving him off. Two things tended to occur with that action; one, Alucard would choose to be very dense so as to have her put all her strength into trying to get him to move or two, he'd choose to have minimal density, falling off the desk and scattering whatever was on top onto the ground with him. Considering her thousand dollar laptop, cup of hot tea, and irreplaceable top secret documents were all either under or around him, she decided not to brave it.

His hat slid down to her eyebrows, and his sunglasses made the room look like the dead of night, both gifts he had placed on her early in his visit. He was laying face-up, legs casually crossed and hands folded on his stomach. There was a permanent smirk on his face, his eyes watching her reactions in amusement.

"You're absolutely adorable when you threaten, do you realize this?"

"I try not to be. This is why I let you get Seras, so you don't have to bother me whenever the mood strikes you."

"Ah, but Seras doesn't hold a candle to you loosing that carefully kept cool exterior… It's like watching a bath robe fall from the delicate frame of an untouched vir-"

"Keep your metaphors to yourself, you old pervert."

"I almost finished that one. I think you're starting to warm up to my bedroom talk."

Before she could respond, the phone rang. Alucard had answered it before her hand even twitched to reach for it.

"Hello? …yes, she's here… I don't know, should I let you talk to her?" She ripped the phone out of his hand.

"Excuse him," she grumbled.

There was no quip about Alucard's behavior, no brief narrative about how he hadn't changed a bit since the Second World War. Walter's voice was unusually cold and serious.

"Miss Integra, someone's here to see you."

"Who?"

"…Christiana Wingates."

Alucard's demeanor changed instantly. He jerked up to a sitting position, lips curled back and muscles tensed. Integra leaned back, feeling a twinge of fear at his reaction to the name.

That look, that searing anger that burst from the very core of his being, was rare. Whoever garnered that response from Alucard should pray for their very souls before he killed them where they stood.

"A relative?" Integra asked. Alucard's fingers dug into his knees. Walter sighed.

"Yes. She's your…mother."

"My mother?" Integra furrowed her eyebrows, "You told me my mother died."

"I thought she might as well have been," he responded coolly.

III

Because I know some anal fan's going to go say this: "OMGWTFSTFU ALUCARD WAZ IN DEH BASEMENT FUR TWENTY YEARS, DIS STORY IS IMPOSSIBRU!"

My response: "Chill out, it's called an AU. I took a bit of creative license. If you wait around, I'll explain it a bit in a later chapter. If you're still sore, don't bitch to me about it in a review." Even if the majority of my OOC argument about writing against this canon information is "but it would be so cute if she was this little and thought he was an imaginary friend"…

So yeah, I hope I'm not throwing too many people off this early. Also, Random Thought of the Chapter: Crispin Freeman should do a sex line pretending to be Alucard… Because I would pay good money for Alucard to talk dirty to me.