Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything pertaining to Hellsing and I am not making any money off of this.

AN: *gasp, shock* I've updated! And a longer chapter too! (about three times longer!)

And a warning: blood, gore and a bit of crude language follow. It's Hellsing, what do you expect? :) Also, please note the following:

"Speech." "Past or remembered speech." 'Internal thoughts.'

Integra couldn't begin to describe how badly she wanted a cigar; there weren't any words that could accurately describe the feeling. However that didn't stop her from slowly twirling one in her fingers in a paltry effort to ease the longing. With most of Europe passing emergency shipping embargoes on the UK, in fear that vampirism could some way be passed through the goods, her precious vice was now a scarcity. Of course their allies were kind enough to drop relief aid from military planes every now and again, and with winter coming on, there were far more needed supplies than quality cigars. So, she had to make her dwindling supply last as long as she possibly could.

She walked stoically through one of the sectors housing quarantined civilians while the new team of soldiers she was training, at the crown's request, assisted with the daily medical checks. They were a hodgepodge group made up of members of various military and civilian armed forces; all of them more than willing to serve and protect their country and its people in this desperate hour. Integra didn't bother to quell her scoff of disbelief; if bravery was all it took, then Hellsing would have never wanted for soldiers. There was no glory or honor to be found in this line of work. Just reality; bloody, dirty reality that usually involved far too many innocent, but sadly unavoidable, corpses. She had done her best to explain this to them; to truly clarify what they were up against and the things that would be required of them to protect people. She knew that deep down, they did not believe her; they thought she was over-exaggerating just how much death and violence there would be. No doubt some of them believed that people who had been bitten, either by a vampire or ghoul, would have enough decency to not risk the lives of others by trying to escape the quarantine; that they would just hide away in some basement and let their lives end, alone. It was a very idealistic way to look at things and undoubtedly in the future, tales would be spun about such things in an effort to dress up the gruesome past, to hide the true nature of desperate people. However Integra had never been one to live with an idealistic mentality, she lived in reality. And she knew that these people wouldn't believe her until cold, rotting breath was puffing down on their necks as they fumbled with broken limbs to draw their weapons. Only then would Integra and their superiors find out who in this motley group would last; who would fight, and who would break.

Integra shrugged deeper into her peat coat and listened absently to the doctors as they spoke with those quarantined. She made sure to keep an eye on the soldiers, making sure they were staying on task; the last thing she wanted was for her last night of training to go awry because one person got lax. Not that she really expected anyone in her group to have such poor judgment, they were with the division's Lieutenant Colonel after all. Still, Integra just wanted this evening's rounds to be over and done with so she could head back to Hellsing's temporary HQ and try and get some rest.

It had been two weeks since her check-up with Dr. Travailian; she had yet to hear back about any results, much to the annoyance of Seras who was concerned about her. "You smell different." the vampiress had said one day while discussing the lack of response from the doctor. Integra remembered blinking at her for a moment before responding, "My smell?" Seras had managed to look embarrassed, "It's not an obvious thing," she had stated, "but something is different." Disconcerting as that was, Integra had assured her that she was fine, and changed the subject. However Integra knew she wasn't getting any better. In fact, she felt worse; she hadn't been able to properly eat anything for weeks due to nausea and what she did manage to choke down usually didn't stay there long. And with all the stress of trainings, trying to keep the undead contained and monitoring Seras's nightly raids on London proper to bring down their numbers, sleep was quickly becoming as scare as her cigars. Integra was certain by people's concerned glances that she resembled death warmed over.

Which was also an accurate description of the Private running towards them; panicked would also be an apt term. They were another member of the group Integra was training, however as the overall group was rather large, they had split up to cover the two different active sectors. Private Taylor was puffing for breath when she reached them, not bothering with the proper salute before she began speaking,

"Sirs, we have a problem."

'Oh, of course there is.' Integra wanted to snarl. She also wanted to light her cigar. Badly. Lieutenant Colonel Robinson stepped forward, a scowl twisting his usually jovial expression. He was a good man from what Integra knew of him; in his early 40's with silver streaking his dark brown hair, he had turned down promotion several times, claiming that he wanted to be on the field, not stuck in an office managing logistics. Integra liked him for that.

"What's going on Private?" The stocky officer demanded, approaching the Private.

"Sir, we've found some bodies, Sir." Everyone within hearing distance stiffen at those dreaded words.

"Where?" Robinson demanded, practically in the girl's face, "Was it self-inflicted?" There had been an alarmingly high number of suicides in the quarantine sectors since their beginning; whether people just couldn't live with that they had seen or they decided that there was no future worth living for, Integra wasn't sure. She couldn't blame him for hoping for that outcome, no matter how grim; however Taylor wouldn't have rushed to them if that were the case. The Private was shaking her head almost before Robinson finished the question,

"Sector Two, sir. And not possible. One of the bodies is mutilated, most of the blood is gone and in the…the smears that are left there is-" she paused, looking sick, "what appears to be lick marks, sir."

"Damn it," Robinson growled before turning to their squad, "Brown, Wrights and Edwards with me, the rest of you finish this sweep and be on your guard." He locked gazes with her, "And Sir Hellsing, with me, if you please?"

Integra nodded curtly and made a sweeping gesture with her hand, "After you Lieutenant Colonel."

Integra went over facts in her head as they ran to the appropriate sector; the quarantine for sector two was set to end in almost 24 hours. So, how had a bitten individual managed to get through the health checks in the first place? The medics were all well trained in what to look for; the obvious bite marks of course, but also the less obvious sweeping bites that took out chunks of flesh, leaving little evidence of a proper bite. Still, it was always possible something had been missed; hence the need for the quarantines. The fact that something had not only made it through the health checks, but had almost made it through the quarantine period as well worried Integra. Had they missed others that had managed to make it through the quarantine?

Each quarantine section was made up of approximately 10 housing units, which were single room pop-up plastic structures that did little more than provide shelter and privacy for the occupants.* Immediately after the devastation, the UN had dropped enough units for 6 sections, all of which had been in use due to the surprisingly large amount of survivors that managed to crawl out of London's rubble. Now, only two sections remain active, and with no new stragglers it seemed that shortly their usage would end as well. The large group of frantic officers made it easy to locate the scene when Integra and the others arrived in Sector Two. As the others pushed their way through the crowd and to the scene Integra stopped just outside and waited for the world to stop spinning. 'Running shouldn't make me dizzy…' she thought to herself as she took a couple of deep breaths to try and settle herself. She used the moment to survey the group crowded outside and making note of different bits of information she could glean from the conversations going on around her. Spying two specific individuals, Integra made her way over to them almost having to elbow her way through the small throng.

Two doctors, clearly marked by the badges on their left shoulders, stood off to the side of the housing unit, one of them doubled over and looked moments away from relieving his stomach of its contents. The other stood leaning against the building, pale but upright with a comforting hand on his companion's shoulder. He straightened when he saw Integra approaching them and said something to his fellow who merely shook his head in response.

"Sir Hellsing," the man started, licking his lips nervously, "we found…that is, inside there-" he gestured with a shaking hand towards the doorway. Integra cut him off with a gesture of her own,

"I can well imagine what you found inside." Flashes of mutilated bodies on the floor and a man screaming as he clutched his mangled hand to him rippled up from her memory. She knew first-hand what it was like to see for yourself the damage a vampire can do for the first time. She grimaced before continuing on,

"Do you have the files for the people in this unit?" The man looked at her questioningly before digging in a rolling file tote at his feet. After a moment of digging she was presented with a pronged manila folder with Sector Two, Unit 3 stamped on the front. Promising to return it when she was done, Integra opened the file and began skimming the notes as she walked into the housing unit.

Private Taylor had not been remiss in her brief description of the scene and despite the low quantity of blood, the scent of copper and gore hit Integra before anything else, making her already queasy stomach roll. Pressing it down with a hard swallow and shaky breath, Integra studied the two bodies in the unit. A man's corpse was laying on one cot, the entire front half of his throat missing with visible chew marks around the ragged edges of tissue. His abdomen was also torn open, with his intestines and what looked to be a couple other organs spilling out, almost as if the vampire were looking for something. 'No doubt it was,' Integra thought to herself, 'if the vampire has been starving itself, it would have gone for the most blood saturated organs, and the liver and kidneys have the most.' She was aware of others talking around her but Integra continued her examination of the body, noting in particular the body's positioning on the cot and the bottle of pills next to it. Picking the bottle up in her gloved hand, Integra read the label with a frown before placing it back down and moving to another area of the room.

Another and tragically much smaller body lay in an open area next the cots; a young girl, 9 years old according to the file, lay among a small smattering of toys and coloring books, given to all children upon entering quarantine, on the floor as if she had been caught mid-play. Her body didn't bare the same signs of brutality as the man's, only the distinct twin punctures on her neck. She lay on her back as a member of the Medical Examiner's office knelt next to her, pulling a liver probe out of a kit at his side as her blank, milky eyes stared at the ceiling. Integra swore under her breath even as her stomach heaved again; bitten that young, they were going to have to put a bullet through her heart to ensure she didn't rise. A loud bellow interrupted Integra's thoughts, bringing her attention to the conversation that had been going on.

"Do you know ANYTHING?" Lieutenant Colonel Robinson was yelling at a younger officer who looked like he had swallowed nails. Captain Duncan Stewart had been a thorn in Integra's side ever since she started training this group of soldiers. The Scottish soldier had been reassigned to quarantine duty instead of his regular duty station in the Royal Army for undisclosed reasons. Integra had no doubt his personality had caused conflicts with his superiors; an arrogant braggart, Stewart had a knack for rubbing people the wrong way and he knew it. Even though he only possessed average height, Integra had the sneaking suspicion that she was a smidgen taller, and an average build, Stewart could be intimidating towards other soldiers when he tried. Integra had purposefully chosen to walk with the team he was not a part of this evening; she literally was not feeling up to putting up with the man.

"I can't just magically pull information out of the air-" Captain Stewart fired back.

"Good God man, do you even know who they were yet? Where are the doctors?" The Lieutenant Colonel was starting to turn an alarming shade of red as Stewart squirmed. Integra snorted, turning towards them and raising the file in her hand. A vampire was on the loose, they didn't have time for this.

"Michael Nesbit, age 35 and his daughter Emily, 9." Integra's voice carried over the din, drowning it out without competing with its volume. Everyone quieted as she let the file slap onto the single table in the room. "Background information can sometimes make a difference between haphazardly guessing a vampire's next target and finding a pattern of behavior." She addressed the room, eyeing the two men in the center, both of which had failed to attain the file at the beginning. She rolled a cigar in the fingers of her left hand while sliding the right into her pocket.

The Medical Examiner's official stood up, drawing their attention with a discreet cough.

"Judging by her internal temperature, she's been dead for approximately 6 hours. So sometime around," he pushed his sleeve up to reveal a watch, "10 or so this morning." Integra nodded at him before continuing on,

"My guess is that Mr. Nesbit died while sleeping; he's laying too orderly on the cot to have fallen that way. This vampire is young and most likely ravening from trying to fast through the quarantine period, it's not going to take the time to arrange its victim's bodies. However," Integra turned back slightly to glance at the girl's body. "I think the girl may have died first. An accidental slip most likely of the vampire's control, perhaps. And once it realized what it had done, it had to kill the father; but by then its hunger had truly awakened, becoming overwhelming. Hence the mutilation."

"That's barmy!" Stewart scoffed derisively. "How the hell could someone sleep through their daughter's murder?" Integra shot him a cold glance.

"Firstly, I doubt she had time to utter more than a soft cry before the vampire was on her. And if anyone had bothered to search the scene, they would have found a half empty bottle of sleeping pills next to his cot. Although why in God's name the physicians would not ration out pills like that in situation with such a high suicide risk is anyone's guess." Before Captain Stewart could respond, Lieutenant Colonel Robinson stepped in.

"But how did the vampire get in in the first place? There is only one door, which shows no sign of damage, and ventilation slats, no windows."

"That is a good question." Integra responded, looking around and taking stock of the room again. A newly turned vampire from the London attacks wouldn't have the control, nor a sire to show them how, to turn into mist and sneak into the housing unit through the cracks. Integra hummed.

"I'm sorry but Sir Hellsing, you said there was only one child?" The two officers and Integra turned toward the voice; Private Taylor had been helping the Medical Examiner and as such was standing near the body of Emily Nesbit.

"Yes, according to the file there is only her." Integra answered, gesturing towards Emily and wondering where the young woman was going with her line of thought. The Private looked discomforted.

"Well, here on the floor Sir. There are two coloring books open, one across the way from the other and crayons in-between them. Almost as if-" Realization dawn on Integra,

"As if there was another child in here, playing with her. Someone grab those two doctors outside! I want every file for this section in here now."

It was only moments before the table was covered with nine other manila folders with Robinson, Stewart and Integra going through them.

"Look for another child," Integra explained to them, "I don't think there are many in this sector, but I want to see them all." They separate the stack and after a few minutes of searching, Stewart crowed triumphantly, "Here!"

The other two crowded him, looking over his shoulders at the file. Just six units down from the Nesbit's was a mother – Melissa Evans – and her daughter, Lauren, age 12. There were no other children in Section Two.

"It's gotta be her!" Stewart told them, pointing at the mother's picture in the file. "She brings her daughter over here to play with someone near her age when she loses it! And afterwards she grabs her girl and runs back to their unit." Integra was surprised to see anger clearly etched in Stewart's face as he finished with, "I bet she's been getting through the quarantine by sipping on her daughter's blood!"

It was, to Integra's concern, a half-decent scheme for a vampire to make it through quarantine. However something wasn't sitting quiet right with her; she looked at the pictures again of mother and daughter. While the general rule that only virgins could become vampires existed, there were very rare exceptions; Alucard himself had fathered three children before he turned. Given enough determination, the absolute refusal to die even on the brink of death, sometimes…just sometimes things changed. And what stronger motivation could there be than for a mother to protect her child even as she lay dying?

Still, if the mother was a vampire, how was she passing the daily health checks? Integra picked up the file, reading over the doctor's notes. Melissa Evans had passed every health check without fail and aside from notes about being wain and exhausted, there was little of interest. She had arrived with various burns and a number of major abrasions that all appeared to be healing normally with the exception of one on her forearm that was sluggish to heal and possibly infected. The notes on her daughter however were more troubling; almost every visit, the girl was sleeping so soundly that a thorough examination had not been possible. They only managed to check a deep, ragged cut the girl had sustained on her bicep and noted that it was healing "incredibly well". Alarm bells were ringing in Integra's head; was the child sleeping so deeply because of exhaustion from recent traumatic experiences or because her life was slowly being drained away? Integra felt her temper begin to creep up; she was going to have these imbecile doctors disbarred at the very least; why didn't they insist upon fully examining the child? For the moment, Integra kept these thoughts to herself as she turned back the Captain and Lieutenant Colonel.

"We have to get over there and get her!" Stewart was saying hotly, hand already resting on the firearm at his hip.

"Stand down, Captain." Robinson barked, attempting to put the younger man back in his place. "Yes, why not go charging into a confined area with a ravenous and probably panicking vampire? It wouldn't end too badly, I'm sure." No one could miss the sarcasm in his voice.

"Continue with the health checks," Integra stated, pleased with the Lieutenant Colonel's grasp of the situation but still resisting the urge to fiddle with her cigar again. "Their unit hasn't been checked yet, there are several more been here and there. And we don't know with absolute certainty that they are involved; any sireless fledgling vampire could possibly hypnotize a child into letting them inside. So the other adults aren't ruled out. So we continue with the routine and everyone gets thoroughly examined. I will be inside as well to help spot an irregularities. And when we find the one responsible," Integra couldn't repress the exhausted sigh that escaped her, all the while feeling like she didn't have all the pieces to this puzzle. "We'll deal with this."

Stewart didn't look happy but he nodded and strode for the door calling to his squad to resume their rounds. A special team from the Medical Examiner's office was there now and they filed their way in after the bulk of soldier left. Knowing they were specially trained on the disposal of possibly infected corpses, Integra merely met eyes of the man in charge and nodded slightly towards Emily Nesbit's corpse. The man gave a curt nod in response as he grimly moved toward the girl's body. The muffled, high pitched sound of a silenced pistol followed Integra as she strode out the door as she ensured that her pistol had a bullet already loaded in the chamber.

Despite the extra time taken to extensively examine everyone in all the units leading up to it, it didn't take long to reach Unit 9 with the Evans inside. Integra would have rather waited until Seras could give them proper backup, facing a starving vampire with only two other soldiers in the room was far less than ideal.

Much to her annoyance her phone had started vibrating in her coat pocket during the interim and a quick glance to the caller ID informed her it was Dr. Travailian; she ignored the call, she really didn't need the distraction at the moment. Worryingly, he called twice more before the phone finally stopped buzzing. As the medical staff announced themselves before entering Unit 9, Integra made a mental note to call her doctor back afterwards. If this went a bad as it could go, she'd call him after a shot or two of brandy. And a cigar.

As the other members of the team waited outside to provide backup, Integra, Robinson and Stewart all followed the same two doctors Integra had spoken to earlier into the unit where Melissa Evans sat at the only table in the room, a worn book in front of her. She smiled at them all tiredly.

"Good evening." She said conversationally to the physician closest to her, voice sounding tired. "I heard some commotion earlier, is everything alright?" Integra felt everyone in the room tense and the medic gave a small, forced smile.

"Oh quite." To his credit, his hands were only mildly shaking. "Just a bit of a medical emergency. Allergic reaction or some such." The woman seemed to relax at the news.

"Oh good." She sighed, "I mean, it's not good for whomever was in need, but I'm glad it was something manageable." The doctors agreed and began their examination of her injuries and a series of health related questions.

True to the notes on previous days, her daughter, Lauren, was curled up on the second cot in the room with the blankets pulled up around her shoulders with only the girl's light brown hair visible. And, Integra noted, one small bare foot that peeked out from under the covers with what looked like dark smears along the pale skin; was that residue dirt from their flight, possibly bruises or something else? Integra examined the mother again and other than what appeared to be general dirt and mud, she bore no signs of the dark smudging that was on her child. Integra frowned. Something wasn't right here. And her phone was buzzing again, damn him.

"Your blood pressure is a little high today," one of the medics noted, "Have you been feeling alight?" The woman shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm just," she looked over at Captain Stewart who had been staring at her the whole time, with his hand on his firearm again, "Is there- I mean, are you expecting some kind of trouble?"

"Never can be too careful." He responded a little nastily, making the woman flinch.

"Would someone tell me what is going on?" She said shakily, glancing towards her daughter's sleeping form.

"Ms. Evans," Lieutenant Colonel Robinson began, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Have you had a chance to get to know any of the other families here in Section Two?" She appeared taken aback by the seemingly unrelated question.

"Not particularly, no. Most of us have been keeping to ourselves."

"What about your daughter? Has she made friends with any of the other kids?" Robinson again prodded. The woman frowned and again Integra saw her glance at the sleeping girl.

"Lauren? No, she…she hasn't been feeling well so she has been sleeping a lot lately."

"Sleeping so soundly," Integra interjected, "that the doctors can't wake her up to do a full exam? Is that normal for her Ms. Evans?" Integra knew she'd hit a nerve when she saw the other woman's eyes go wild and she stood to slam a hand on the table; the cheap thing shook with a creak but didn't crack. Her sudden move cause the doctors to jump back while Robinson and Stewart raised their pistols. However, Integra merely frowned.

"What the hell is normal anymore?" Melissa Evans was starting to sound a bit shrill, "London on fire, monsters, fucking vampires dropping down from Nazi zeppelins murdering everyone." Her voice went up an octave, "Gunfire everywhere, bombs, shadows skittering and moving on their own, and an army of what looked like medieval soldiers coming out of fucking nowhere-" she collapsed back into the chair, her head in her hands and Integra could see the other woman's nails digging into her own scalp as her shoulders shook. "I just don't even know what to do anymore…" the other woman wailed quietly.

"Ms. Evans what have you been doing today?" Integra asked, puzzle pieces finally fitting together in a way she had hoped they wouldn't; the woman shook her head,

"I've been in here, reading mostly." The woman sounded as broken as she looked, "I haven't been able to sleep well after…after everything. But I was finally able to take a short nap earlier…" And all the pieces clicked,

"Around 10 this morning?" The woman looked at her confusedly.

"Yes actually, how did you-" Integra didn't hear her finish, she already had her gun drawn and was pivoting towards the bed, calling out, "It wasn't her."

The creature that used to be a child flew out of the bed before Integra could squeeze off a shot; the girl now stood behind her seated mother with an arm wrapped around the older woman's shoulders, effectively using her as a shield.

"Get out of here!" the vampire hissed at them, red eyes wild. "Get out or I'll kill her too!" She had her hand curled around her mother's throat from the back, ready to split it open if they didn't obey.

Integra kept her vision sighted down the barrel of her gun, even though she didn't have a clean shot. And she knew Robinson didn't either as both of them had been facing the mother head on. Stewart on the other hand was more to the left; Integra couldn't clearly see him since he was on her blind side, but she could see the muzzle of his gun, shaking. 'Take the shot!' she willed him, 'Take the shot you bloody git!' And her phone was buzzing again! She ignored it and tried to stall for time so Stewart could get it together.

"Lauren, I know you didn't mean to hurt Emily." Integra saw the vampire's eyes go wide.

"You don't know anything!" the girl hurled back at her.

"It was an accident wasn't it?" Integra continued on as if she hadn't spoken, "You two were playing together. It was nice to do something normal wasn't it?" She paused, "But it's hard when you are so very thirsty, all the time. It never stops. The thirst. Even with your mom feeding you from that cut on her arm; reopening the wound every day so you could try and control it. But it wasn't enough." Integra addressed the mother, "How did you hide the bite marks?" Integra asked her, "Was that the cut on her own arm? Did you cut her yourself to hide the bite inside another wound?"

"Shut up!" Lauren's hand tightened against her mother's throat, nails drawing small wells of blood. Melissa was crying now, her arms thrown out to provide her child with more cover; the child that was going to kill her.

"What else could I do?" She cried brokenheartedly, "She's my child. She's all I have left!"

"And she's killed at least two others." Integra told her coldly, "And she will continue to do so, uncontrollably without a sire to rein her in." Integra's head was pounding; so many fledgling vampires running around without a clue at how to control themselves or their powers.

"Stewart," Integra hissed, not daring to take her eye off the vampire. To her horror, she saw his pistol lower.

"I..I can't-a child-" And just like that the vampire was moving; she raked her hand across the throat in her grip before shoving the dying form of her mother aside and leaping across the table at Robinson. However the girl truly didn't know how to manage her new abilities; she used too much force and sent them both through the thin wall and outside. They hit the ground, the vampire Lauren landing just past Robinson, momentarily confused by what had just happened, but a moment was all Integra needed. She didn't miss; two bullets barked from her gun in quick succession hitting the center of her chest and with a jerk, the vampire's body to hit the ground with a thud. And for good measure Integra fired a third round into the skull, blood and gore matting the girl's once pretty hair.

Of the soldiers that had been waiting outside some rushed to Robinson, who was pale and coughing but sitting upright, and others rushed into the housing unit with Integra and Stewart. The two doctors that had been huddled in a corner until then shoved their way outside; Integra had no doubt she wouldn't have to see them disbarred, their resignations were as good as tendered. Integra found her eyes drawn to the body of Melissa Owens, her life's blood pooled underneath her. The more she looked at her and listened to Robinson's wet cough, probably due to broken ribs and a punctured lung, the more rage Integra felt coursing through her; she whirled on Stewart.

"That," she gestured towards the woman's cooling body, "is entirely your fault." He was paler than she'd ever seen him, and shaking. "You had a clear shot!" she roared, distantly feeling out of control of herself and she knew the others were staring at them and that damn phone was buzzing again, "You were the only one with a clear shot! You could have killed the vampire and saved that woman and prevented your Commanding Officer's injury! He could very easily have died as well! Why in God's name didn't you take it?"

"I-I…" He stuttered, green eyes wide and looking lost, but Integra cut him off with an angry wave of her hand before digging the phone out of her pocket.

"You know what? I don't bloody care." She told him hotly, "Just know that her death, is on you." She flicked her phone open as she turned her back on Stewart and snarled into the microphone, "And what is SO bloody important Travailian that you can't give me a moment's peace?"

There was stunned silence on the other end which only managed to irritate Integra further as she stalked out of the housing unit, soldiers quickly parting out of her way, and into the cool evening air.

"Sir Hellsing." If her doctor's voice sounded miffed at the greeting Integra didn't notice, "You of all people should know that I don't bother my patients if it isn't important."

"Out with it then!" 'What is wrong with me?' Integra distantly wondered; she hardly ever lost her temper like this…

Travailian paused again. "Sir Hell-, no, Integra. I finally received the results from your bloodwork and quite frankly I'm very concerned. That being said, I have an odd question for you," Here, he coughed slightly, "When did you last have your period?" Integra felt herself jerk to a stop.

"W-what did you just ask me?" Wracking her brain, she tried to come up with dates, "I'm not-, I don't know exactly. With everything…" She hadn't…not since before the battle…but couldn't be, that would make it over two months ago…she'd never been this late… The world was spinning again and Integra sagged against the side of the building. She could barely hear someone asking if she was okay, and Travailian was speaking again.

"Integra, I need you to come in for an exam." His voice was distant and tinny sounding, she knew what he was going to say next even as she fought in her mind to deny the cramping, the dizzy spells, the temper flares, and the fucking morning sickness.

"According to your bloodwork, you appear to be pregnant."

This time she didn't even try to stop it as her stomach heaved again.

AN: I have struggled with this chapter for literally years; I had these scenes in my head (setting up for later things) but there was so much it was very daunting for me. I would start and stop, start and stop. So if it feels a bit disjointed I apologize. I had about 1800 words written for a long time and then made myself sit down last week and write about 4000 words in two days. And then edited the crap out of it.

Also, I have a feeling some people will feel like Integra is out of character, especially near the end. But let me tell you she is under an INSANE amount of stress and her body has basically been hijacked by hormones. No one would act as they normally would; even iron will crack under enough stress.

*This housing unit is a real thing that is a joint effort between IKEA and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The real one also has solar panels.