Sorry for the wait guys, I did intent to have this out the Wednesday before Thanksgiving but then some files were deleted on my computer inadvertently and I had to write all of them, five of which being the fan fic chapters for this, 2 excited, and the new series of one-shots. You can imagine how ticked off I was so it took me awhile to recapture what exactly was in those chapters, so again sorry for the wait but lets move on now right? :D melissaturkey

Blood or Chocolate: A New Generation, Part 1

Chapter 2: Responsibilities of All Sorts.

"So have you told him yet?" Understandably this was the first question I asked when I got my friend alone for the first time in days.

Everything had been hectic since the announcement of the attacks, a lot of sleepless nights and planning went into devising a plan to keep everyone safe and out of suspicion. I had never noticed all it took to lead and protect a group of individuals. You would think growing up the daughter of the pack leader that I would already have witnessed all that responsibility and care, but I hadn't. I guess in some ways I was sheltered by the peace the pack experienced when I was younger, and naive enough in Maryland to assume Gabriel had thought up every solution off the top of his head, I was too busy creating extra trouble of my own, falling into different clutches, when I should have been helping him protect our pack.

Now I saw that it meant sacrificing your life, putting everything on hold and coming up with some sort of plan that was flexible enough to bend with however the situation might change. My birthday celebration had been canceled and I had been allowed to drink whatever I please, juice included so I was sober to help Gabriel this time. We had taken to running in shifts all of us in groups trying to catch whoever was doing this. Just like in Maryland. Sometimes my life felt like a vinyl record stuck on a single groove playing the same thread of music over and over, and after four years of perpetual normality, I suppose something had to happen.

Charlotte looked over at me like I was nuts, "He's so stressed right now, worried and everything, this couldn't have happened at a worse time."

"What happened to Miss 'I'm so happy I'm pregnant, this is going to be so wonderful!'" I teased pitching my voice to an octave only a happy Charlotte could reach.

"I do not sound like that!" She put on a look of mock offence.

"You do!" I laughed momentarily forgetting about all we had to worry about.

"You're going to miss the turn-off." Charlotte said suddenly. We had been driving up the highway along the woods looking for an illusive turn-off that led to the last body, one of our own had found it and they were waiting for us to check it out before they turned it over to the authorities. Gabriel and Jacque had went ahead on all-fours while I had opted to ride with Charlotte, who was very tired this week and didn't feel like running.

Just as we turned off onto the old dirt road Philippe and Pierre came running out from the woods, "Viv! Charlie!" I cut the engine and hopped out.

"What?"

"There was another body!" I had hardly known the twins to reply in unison but they did then.

"What? Where?" I had never seen Charlotte look so frantic, not even four years ago when she found out the man who raised her was not her father. That was calm compared to this.

"About a hundred yards from where Rolf found the last one. Gabriel's looking it over now." Philip's eyes were frenzied, he didn't have to say that it was a hundred yards closer to home.

"They were in the same condition as the others." Pierre, who normally seemed so removed from it all, shared the same anxiety we all felt.

Wordlessly they led us to the second body. When we arrived we found Gabriel and Jacque shouting at one another, which would have been laughable considering their state of dress if not for the bloody shredded limps lying about the forest floor around them. Body was a compliment to this gruesome sight. My mind flashed to a hand buried in a backyard somewhere in Maryland.

"There are no rouge wolves from the south that we've made enemy's with that are alive." Gabriel said for the umpteenth time veins pulsing with frustration.

"And none of the loup-garou up here come close to being the size of those bite marks. It has to be one of yours." Jacque insisted shaking.

Before Gabriel's temper could flare up again I jumped in, "Look, at this point it doesn't matter who we're up against. We've just got to find a way to stop it from happening again. If this person," I spit the word out thinking only a monster would be so willing to rat out their own kind like this one seemed to be, "is intentionally trying to lead authorities to Green Mountain Valley than its more than our problem, its yours too."

I looked pointedly at Jacque. "I know things got crazy when we moved here, but its just not our fault, it's time you step up too, you're facing more responsibility than you know."

I felt like I was speaking on Charlotte's behalf as well as for our situation. "Now, are we going to just stand here or are we going to do something?"

"What can we do?" Was Charlotte's response, but I looked to Gabriel, he had a twinkle of pride in his eyes and I couldn't help staring into his face for a long moment.

"There's not much more we can do that we haven't already been doing," Came Gabriel's ready answer not looking away from me, "maybe we should move the patrols closer to home. At the very least it will keep an outsider from coming too close to the valley and if its one of our own well… we can watch out for each other."

"We already have people complaining, asking questions, won't it be more suspicious if a bunch of large hairy wolves start circling town?" Jacque asked.

"No one from town is going to rat us out. We'll close the inn until this is straightened out, not take in any tourists, block the town off like its under investigation by our police. You can get Mike and the sheriff to do that can't you?" Jacque nodded "Then that's what we'll do." Gabriel sounded like an authority, strong and sure. Nothing would get past us this time. We wouldn't let it.

We took a few minutes to examine the bodies trying to sniff out a familiar scent but came up with nothing. The scent we did get was definitely loup-garou, but feral, wild, not like one of us who spent most of our time in our skin.

"It's not familiar, definitely a stranger." Gabriel pronounced shaping back to skin after going through the first body one last time.

"I don't know, it smells like this forest…sort of familiar" Jacque questioned.

"Cause the body's in this forest idiot." Pierre remarked unthinkingly.

Jacque just growled at him.

"Sorry. God everyone's testy today." Pierre grumbled, Philip proceeded to thump his brother on the back of the head.

Charlie, I noticed had been hanging back a little so I joined her, "What's wrong?"

"Doesn't this bother you, even a little?" Charlotte's calm blue eyes were almost brimming over with tears.

"Of course it does…its just our pack…well we've seen it before. Its not an excuse but after awhile it becomes easier to separate it from your emotions. I mean that person is already dead, there's nothing you can do about it except find who did it and keep it from happening again. Crying over it isn't going to help them."

"That person is someone's son, the other is someone's daughter, they aren't that much older than us. People love them, they have family's, siblings, mothers-" Her voice cracked and I pulled her into a hug leading her away from the group. Tears were not my strong suit I knew how to hug and hold but cheering people up…well I couldn't do that if part of me was worried too.

"If this is about the baby, you have nothing to worry about. No one is going after us yet. We don't even know that they will. If this is going to upset you maybe you shouldn't come when we check out the bodies anymore, Adelaide can stay with you when we do it, you'll be safe-"

"No!" Charlotte's voice came out strong and determined. "I'll come. Its my job, it's my duty, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I have to quit being me." That was the Charlie I knew and loved. But not apparently what we had to worry about.

"You're what?" Jacque came into view looking shocked, appalled and quite frankly scared.

Charlotte had the look of a deer caught in head-lights for a moment then gained her voice, facing Jacque with confidence, "I'm pregnant, we're pregnant: you and I." A small smile peaked through when she said this.

"How long have you known?" If there was a picture of someone in shock it would be of Jacque's face at this very moment I backed up to Gabriel and the twins not wanting to intrude.

"A week but I think I might be about three months along."

"You think?" His eyebrows arched, well at least he looked a little less shocked.

"Well I didn't want to go to a doctor yet, you know how this town talks and I wanted you to know before everyone else."

"Does Vivian not count as everyone else?" I should have known I would be pulled into this somehow. "And if she knows I assume Gabriel does too. Who else? Obviously Adelaide and she would tell Willem. And then there's your parents and Simon. Tell me Charlotte how many other people count before you tell me?" Jacque caught Philip and Pierre exchanged a look . "Oh great, them too!"

"I'm sorry! I was just excited to spread around what's supposed to be happy news! I couldn't find you! And I didn't see you running to tell me first when you found out about the bodies, something that was vitally important to our pack!" Charlotte shouted back, to be damn with the calm rational from moments ago.

Gabriel and I unconsciously took a few more steps back. Pierre and Philip followed.

Jacque stood still for a long while before stepping towards Charlotte in a repentant embrace, the fight over before it even began. "I'm sorry Angel, I shouldn't have yelled. This is great news, fantastic news, the best I've had…ever but especially in these last few weeks. Forgive me?"

Charlotte melted against him serenity falling over her in the calm blanket that was all her own, one that she shared with Jacque even in hot-headed moments. This was the girl I met sitting in the back of a police car while her boyfriend raged through her parents' store, the girl that was content to sit back and wait for her calm influence to push him back to reason, to bring him back to himself.

Jacque stepped back a moment genuine happiness in his voice, "We're really having a baby!"

"Yeah," Charlie laughed kissing him softly, this time Gabriel and I turned around, feeling like intruders in a home that was not ours we slowly walked away the twins leading the way.

"Lets let them take the truck back," I said tossing the keys back in the cab before taking shape to run with my husband.

As we fell into bed later that night Gabriel brought up this afternoon, "How come you didn't tell me about Charlotte? Jacque assumed you did but you hadn't."

"I don't know," I hedged, kicking off my shoes and pealing off my shorts, preparing for a well earned rest. "Just didn't think you'd be interested."

"You know I would be," Gabriel made me look at him. "Come on Viv."

"I'm happy for them, I really am. It's just…they got pregnant without even trying, just by happy accident one day for no other reason than they weren't careful enough. While we've been trying for a year, we haven't ever been careful, and every remedy, concoction and voodoo spell known to man and loup-garou can't get me pregnant."

"That's what this is about?" Gabriel kneeled eye-level with me on the bed. "What happened to you not even being sure you wanted to be a mom? Up until a couple months ago you still had doubts. What happened?" He asked again this time in a voice that demanded an answer.

"Envy? I don't know." I sighed, "It doesn't matter anyway. We don't need pups, we're really happy right?" I wrapped my arms around him.

"Enormously happy," Gabriel paused to give me a delicious kiss. "…but if its still something we both want…we shouldn't give up"

I looked at him for a long moment before deciding, "No, I guess we shouldn't."

This was supposed to be longer it was ten pages before it was accidentally deleted but now…now I think I'll make it into two chapters, this one gives you enough to think about. ;) Tell me what you think (ie review!) And for anyone who's interested I have a little ditty of one shots called Part of A Pack you can check out that I'll be updating soon along with too excited :D melissaturkey