Happy Father's Day, Master

Author's Notes: By popular demand, it is returned even if it is a few days too late for Father's Day. Rejoice.

Disclaimer: I only wish that I owned the awesomeness that is Hellsing, especially Seras. Mmm, Seras.

HFDM 2: Happy Father's Day, Walter

The elderly man sighed in resignation as he knocked on his old comrades door, monocle glinting in the dull lighting of the Hellsing manor's sub-level. Normally Walter rather enjoyed the company of his old hunting partner and war buddy, but tonight he was in no mood for Alucard's antics. He'd lost a great deal of mobility and endurance after recovering from the helicopter crash two years ago. He was actually starting to feel his age now, bones aching and muscles creaking just like a normal seventy year olds' body might. Walter absolutely hated feeling at less than his prime and the thought of losing his hard earned skills as his age progressed frightened even the Angel of Death a little bit. Add to that the fact that only now was the Hellsing agency finally getting back to it's former strength and efficiency, the continuing threat of the FREAK chips, the difficulty of finding a steady supply of blessed silver crosses to melt down for ammunition, two master vampires to feed, and Sir Integra's strangely contemplative mood over the last few months that he just couldn't understand or figure out... Well, needless to say it was all weighing down upon the aging retainer and this latest stunt from Alucard did not in any way relieve that weight.

A deep, mocking baritone filtered through the door, even though Walter knew that the room's resident could have just as easily spoken within his mind rather than aloud. "Enter, oh Angel of Death."

Heaving another sigh, Walter pushed the door open, idly noting as most people dealing with the onset of advanced age did that it wasn't as easy to do so as it used to be. Sitting in the center of the room on his throne-like seat, the darkness illuminated by a sole candle set upon an elegant coffee table next to the chair, sat the eternally smirking No Life King. Red eyes sparkling with glee, the red clad vampire graced the retired Hellsing agent with a fanged grin. Oh, Walter just knew that the old bat was deriving untold amounts of amusement from this. The vampire already knew exactly why he was down here, but rather than get to it he was going to drag it out and make Walter say it. Bloody bored vampires and their buggered eccentricities. "Alucard, dare I to ask why, after nearly two years of comfortable silence between Hellsing and the Vatican, that we've just received a letter from Section Thirteen leader Enrico Maxwell ranting about how we're all godless heathens spitting in the face of the one true God and that Iscariot will rid the world of our heretical existence with blessed blades and holy fire? I'd rather like to know the reason for this before passing Father Maxwell's message on to Sir Integra."

If anything, the fanged smile only grew wider, threatening to split Alucard's face in two. "Well Walter, it happened like this. I was patrolling London last night, searching and destroying the trash vampires and other scum as per my Master's orders, when I chanced upon the Judas Priest. I hadn't seen dear Father Anderson in so very long, so I felt the need to go chat. I also happened to have a gift from the Police Girl on hand, and I simply had to show it to him..."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Good evening, Vatican mongrel. What brings you to London?"

"Thas' nun' o' yer business, Hellsing abomination. Ae ken go where Ae... Wait. Whas' that yer wearin'?"

"Oh, you like it? It was a father's day present from my childe. Such a thoughtful mideon, my daughter is."

"Bah, doesn't suit ye. Ye don' seem the type ta' wear modern clothin' like tee-shirts. Wait a tic, there's sumthin' written on 'ere. 'Jesus loves you, but I'm his fav-' WHAT?!"

"Muhwhahahahaha! Truth hurts, doesn't it Father?"

"YE GODLESS HEATHEN HELLSPAWNED MONSTER! I'LL SEND YE RIGHT BACK TA SATAN FER YER HERESY!"

"Aw, does this mean you don't like it? The poor Police Girl will be absolutely crushed."

"DIE!"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"...And then after we'd attracted a bit of a crowd with the ruckus we were creating, I transformed into a young boy and started crying about how the mean priest touched me 'down there'. While Anderson was too shocked to move and was starting to get reamed out by half a dozen irate mothers who were appalled at the thought of a respectable priest behaving in such a manner, I slipped away and came home. You don't think that he was upset by my harmless little prank, do you Walter?"

"...First off Alucard, you can't pull off innocent eyes and have a malicious grin at the same time. Secondly, you just exist to give Sir Integra and I migraines, don't you?"

"Aw, you have no sense of humor Angel of Death."

With an exasperated sigh, Walter brought his right hand up to his face, thumb and pinkie finger pinching the bridge of his nose as the forefinger toyed with the edge of his monocle. Honestly, sometimes with a friend like Alucard one really didn't need enemies to drive themselves to madness.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"And that is the situation, Sir Integra. I've already taken the liberty of sending letters of apology to Father Anderson, Father Maxwell, the majority of the Section Thirteen Iscariot Organization, and the Pope. I made it very clear that the Hellsing Organization does indeed have respect for men of the cloth and that Alucard's opinions and insinuations do not reflect those of the Hellsing family. I've also sent a fine, engraved silver tea set as an olive branch of sorts. Hopefully the treaty between Hellsing and Iscariot won't be at all weakened by this... incident."

Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, Knight of her Majesty's Round Table and latest scion of the old and honorable Hellsing family, clasped her hands together as she stared at her loyal retainer. Her arctic eyes were as cool as ice, refusing to show emotion; this was the leader of the Hellsing Organization, a hardened female warrior who stood alone amongst her peers in a role traditionally held by men. She was relentless, she was ruthless, she was focused, and she was determined in her goals almost to the point of mild fanaticism. Part of that came from losing her innocence at the tender age of twelve when she shot her uncle in self-defense while other parts came from hanging around a half-insane master vampire with a quirky if not downright vicious sense of humor ever since that fateful day when she had been thrust into the position of acting as the Hellsing family head.

Everything else had come from Walter.

Walter had spent nearly his entire life amongst the forces of Hellsing. He'd first entered into the organization's service during the second world war at the age of fifteen, acting under the orders of Integra's grandfather to foil the supernatural plots and destroy the occult projects envisioned by Hitler. It was during this time that he met and formed his unique friendship with Alucard as the two of them went alone deep behind enemy lines to cause havoc side by side. Long after the war he then served under Integra's father Arthur Hellsing, acting first as the organization's premier field agent and assassin and then in his later years serving as the retainer to the Hellsing family. Never in the family's history had there been an agent who served longer or more loyally than Walter, and it was for that reason that the dying Arthur Hellsing had entrusted the safety and rearing of his only daughter and heir to the Hellsing name to the man formerly known as the "Angel of Death". He'd nearly failed that trust when Richard Hellsing used his absence on a business trip in an attempt to assassinate Integra and claim the organization for himself, but Alucard had been there to save the girl that they both were sworn to serve. It was that near failure that made Walter put all of his heart and soul into turning Integra, the third generation of Hellsings that he'd served, into the greatest leader that the Hellsing agency had since since Abraham himself.

The old man was disturbed from his thoughts by the snort of resigned bemusement coming from his former ward and current employer. "Only Alucard. To think, all this fuss caused over a gag gift given to him by Senior Officer Victoria for Father's Day."

As she mentioned the holiday, Integra's eyes shifted over to the portrait of her father that hung in her office. Walter also turned his gaze to regard his former employer and friend. Arthur Hellsing had been a truly loving father, doting upon young Integra even as he educated her in the family business of hunting and eliminating vampires. His slow decline to cancer followed by his death right before her eyes had been traumatic upon the girl that Integra had been, as her father had always been with her. But he wasn't with her anymore, and hadn't been there in the crucial years where Integra changed from a little girl into a young lady and then eventually into a capable and professional woman. That task had fallen to Walter.

It was Walter who'd been there to hold Integra when she broke down sobbing at nights, the betrayal of her only living blood relative and his death at her hands eating away at her. He'd been the one to teach her algebra, diplomacy, negotiation tactics, military organization, leadership skills, tactics, and fighting skills. He'd been the one standing behind her, silently encouraging as the teenage girl was presented to Her Majesty the Queen as the new head of the Hellsing line. Walter had been the one who got into the Bentley with her and taught Integra how to drive. He'd listened as Integra chattered endlessly about her one and only teenage crush before the little sot had broken her heart and Walter discretely visited him and broke his fingers. When she was missing her father terribly, it was Walter who came to her with a smile and a warm cup of tea. It was the retainer who'd guided her through those first few awkward years of leadership, his deadly glares from his place behind Integra's high backed chair reminding the enlisted men to show her proper respect even if they resented being given orders from a girl not even half of their age. And unfortunately for his sanity, it was Walter who'd gone to the pharmacy for tampons when Integra had her first period and then reluctantly gave her the much dreaded "Talk".

Now the girl had become a woman, self-reliant and capable. Really, she didn't truly need him anymore. But still, he stayed. He stayed because he knew how she liked her tea and when it was necessary to break out the brandy. He stayed because he could tell exactly what sort of mood she was in just by observing how fast or how slowly she puffed away at her cigarillos. He stayed because he was the only one who would dare shoo her off to bed when she was overworking herself. He stayed because if another incident like the Valentine brothers attack or the crashing chopper should occur and he wasn't there to help her, he'd never forgive himself. He stayed because if he didn't she'd have nobody she could trust to help run the organization and thus would work herself into an early grave. He stayed because if she ever married he'd be the one walking her up the aisle and any children would need a babysitter that would gladly give their lives both for them and for their mother. Above all else, he stayed because whenever he saw her hard at work pouring over countless papers at her desk, scoring perfect bullseyes on the gun range, or commanding her troops, he felt a welling of pride for the woman that he'd raised as if she were his own. That's why he was content serving as Sir Integra's retainer and servant.

Again he was snapped out of his musings by the voice of his former ward. "Well Walter, it seems that you've taken the appropriate measures for dealing with the potential fallout from the Vatican. I shall speak with Alucard and remind him who is Master here, and that he would do well not to create more political headaches for me. I'll also speak with Senior Officer Victoria, and inform her that she is NOT in any way, shape, or form to actually ENCORAGE her Sire's demented, so-called sense of humor. Father's Day or not. You may resume your duties, Walter, and I expect my tea sent up within the half hour alongside the expense reports for last week."

He bowed, hand clenched over his heart as he responded. "Of course, Sir Integra."

Turning to leave, he was stopped once more by Integra's voice. "And Walter?"

Angling his head back to look at her, only someone as familiar with the female Hellsing as he was could make out the faint traces of hesitation and controlled emotion on her icy mask. "Yes?"

"...Thank you, Walter."

Smiling at her, he turned his head back and exited the office to prepare Integra's tea. She might not be able to say it like Seras was able to admit it to Alucard. Whether it was because she didn't want to blur the lines of their relationship as employer and subordinate any further than they already were or because she felt that to admit it even to herself would be betraying the cherished memory of Arthur Hellsing, she would never say it. But it didn't matter. She didn't have to say the words. Walter knew, just like he knew that she loved rainy days in summer and hated fog or what her favorite color was. A father, even if it's not by blood, always knows his daughter.

Perhaps he'd make himself a cup of his own personal and much treasured tea stash. Why not treat himself, it was Father's Day after all.

End -