Love me without fear
Trust me without questioning
Need me without demanding
Want me without restrictions
Accept me without change
Desire me without inhibitions
For a love so free....
Will never fly away.
~ By Dick Sutphen ~

22 Years, 10 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days ago….

"Well? Rupert what does it say"

"Errrr nothing there's... erm … just a little blue cross"

"What does that mean?"

"Errrm"

"Rupert! You should know this!"

"And why exactly should I? You're the one that's done all this before!"

"Yes well, believe it or not pregnancy tests have moved on just a little bit since then"

Half of Galvin's mouth twitched upwards and he gave his customary, rusty, chuckle- not hollow, but never quite full.

Mina was standing in the bay window 'looking' out at the purple, green bruise of a storm spreading across the sky, reminding him of the figurehead of a ship. He took the moment capturing it, remembering it drinking her in. The crimson smile playing across her lips, lips that belonged to a Greek goddess in a gilt painting. The rosy flush of impatience flooding her neck. When he wasn't around Mina he always felt oddly thirsty.

"What's wrong?" her voice sounded young, even scared.

Galvin blinked, he thought he'd reacted pretty well considering he'd been greeted by a pregnancy test on the coffee table. He ran his hands through his hair, starting to feel more than a little dizzy, he should have put his head between his knees, but that was not a very Galvinish thing to do. Okay, think, he thought, bloody hell he was having a baby, bloody hell he was having a baby with a freakin vampire…….that was new.

Then he noticed that Mina had her arms folded, tightly as though she was holding herself together and that she wasn't blinking, hardly breathing and that she'd bitten her fingernails to nothing.

She looked shit scared.

After all, Galvin thought, she was the one that was going to have to have the damn thing.

Be a man Rupert.

"Right erm I'll look it up" Galvin said, in his best casual yet muscular voice he picked up the yellow leaflet, then dropped it, then picked it up again.

Mina nodded meekly.

There was silence for a few seconds, apart from the rustling of pages and the pounding of each of their hearts until Mina spoke up, tentatively.

"I… I like Rosalie for a girl…and Jarred for a boy" Mina smiled; strange, unpopular names that it was hard to forget. "Is that alright?"

Galvin walked over, he wrapped his strong arms gently around Mina's waist then, he pressed his lips against her cheek, and then into her neck.

"It's perfect Mina. Congratulations."

* * * * * *

AN: But not for long…..