AN: Okay this chapter is a little bit different. The beginning is some stuff that should've been at the end of the last chapter. The break will be obvious. I'm sorry about this, but it was the only way I could see to do what I wanted.

Chapter Three: Halfling

As Seras suggested to her boss that they take the small boy back to the mansion, a medic came over to examine the soul survivor. The medic was an older man with crow's feet around his eyes, and his small beard was nearly as white as his thinning hair. However, there was an aura of kindness about him; and if one were to look very hard, they might just catch a small sparkle in his eyes.

Perhaps it was these qualities that convinced the traumatized boy not to fight against the medic's quick examination. Although, it could've simply been the fact that the medic came over to the boy and examined him next to Seras Victoria, instead of trying to take the boy away from her.

While the medic was examining the boy, Integra responded to Seras's suggestion. "The Hellsing organization is dedicated to the eradication of the unholy creatures that infest our world. It is not a babysitting service. We can't just start taking in wayward children. There are already branches of government to deal with orphans and runaways. This is not our concern."

Seras summoned up her courage again and was about to reply, but it wasn't necessary. The medic had found something that would peek Integra's curiosity. "Sir Integra, I think you should take a look at this."

Integra's eyes shifted from her Draculina to the small boy's shoulder. The medic was holding the collar of the boy's T-shirt to one side, exposing a bite mark. Integra bent down and examined the mark.

The bite mark was not made by a human or a vampire. It bore the disaligned pattern of ghoul teeth. The fact that the boy had been bitten wasn't that big a surprise. The whole town was infected. What was a shock was that the boy wasn't showing any signs of infection. Some stouter individuals could stave off infection for hours, but the bite didn't seem that resent. It was already scarred over. There was no way that the boy should still be a human.

Integra ran a finger over the scar tissue as her mind tried to grasp the impossibility of what she was seeing. As Integra scrutinized the boy's scar, he began to whimper slightly. Seras rubbed his head and tried to reassure him. "It's okay. Don't worry. You're safe. Everything's okay."

Integra stood back up and turned to Seras. "Are you sure the boy's not a vampire?"

"Yes, I can sense when someone's a vampire." Integra seemed unsure. Seras added. "And I saw him spit out blood. No vampire would do that."

Seras instantly regretted her addition, for Integra's expression changed from one of curiosity to one of outrage. "And how, exactly, did he get blood in his mouth to begin with?"

Seras shrank back a little as she replied, "He bit one of the soldiers." Seras saw her boss's expression and was quick to add. "But he only did it out of fear. He was terrified when we found him, and he spit the blood out immediately."

Integra pulled out her pistol. Seras exclaimed, "You're not going to shoot him!" Integra shot her a look that would've made Medusa writhe in envy, and Seras meekly added, "Are you?"

Integra ejected her ammo clip. "Not yet." She removed one of the blessed silver bullets and squatted down next to the child. She held her hand out. "Take it." The child hesitated for a moment then extended his hand, palm up. Integra dropped the bullet into the boy's open hand. There was no reaction. She turned back to Seras. "It seems you were right. The kid's not a vampire. And it looks like you're going to get your wish. We'll take him back to the mansion until we can find out why he hasn't turned."

Two hours later:

The room was lavishly decorated. It had a high ceiling, eighteenth century hand carved furniture, long embroidered curtains and a Louie the Sixteenth bed. Nothing but the best for the Hellsing family. Although, it wasn't like they didn't earn their luxuries. The boy of course cared little about the guest room's décor. He had fallen asleep almost as soon as Seras laid him on the bed.

The kid had been exhausted. He'd even managed a short nap on the ride to the mansion, which was no easy feet. The Hellsing organization's vehicles, unlike its mansion, were not designed for comfort. They were designed to quickly transport its soldiers through virtually any environment.

Seras had regretted the need to wake the child, once they reached the mansion, but Integra insisted on obtaining a blood sample for analyses. They still had no idea who the young boy was, but DNA testing might tell them exactly what he was. As soon as the Hellsing scientists extracted the blood, Integra allowed Seras to place the child in one of the guest rooms.

After placing the young boy in the guest room, Seras went to the underground levels to shower, change her clothes and go to bed. The sun would be rising soon. In fact it was just rearing its head.

The first beam of sunlight came through the room's large window and slowly made its way across the floor then up the Louie the Sixteenth bed. It came to rest on the young boy. He stirred and twisted ever so slightly, then he got up and slowly drew near the window.

It was not a conscious thought that motivated the child. He was still asleep. No, not a conscious thought, but an instinctive drive. Much like the drive that causes plants to bend their growth in order to maximize exposure to light.

The boy stood in front of the window. His arms stretched out towards the sun, as if he would grab it and pull it into himself. However such a thing was, of course, impossible. So instead the still sleeping boy just stood there, bathing in the radiance of sunrise.

The boy was not the only one in the room. If one were truly observant they would've noticed a small movement in one of the room's shadows. It pulled upon itself, and a face slowly began to form. The face observed the boy with a detached interest and regarded the sunlight with a slightly annoyed expression. It watched the boy for a few moments then, with a barely audible huff, slithered through the floor.

The shadow sank down to Seras's room, where the Draculina was just exiting her bathroom. Seras had just finished her shower. She was about to slip into her night gown and go to bed, or coffin, since that was what she actually slept in. Just as she loosened the towel that was wrapped around her body, revealing the curvature of her bare back, Seras felt a presence behind her. She quickly pulled the towel back up and wrapped it around her again. She turned around.

"Don't mind me, Police Girl."

Seras eepped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The shadow contorted itself into the image of her master. He spoke in an arrogant and mocking tone, just as he always did when talking to anyone but his own master. "Oh, did I startle the little Police Girl?"

"What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"But you can't just appear in my room. I was changing!"

"You can continue. I don't mind."

I'll just bet he doesn't. Seras crossed her arms. "I don't think so." Alucard just stood in the corner. It was obvious he had no intension of leaving until they had talked. Seras sighed. "Fine, lets just get this over with. What is so important that you needed to spy on me, while I was changing."

"I was able to pull a word from the mind of the last faker before he met his end. And I wasn't spying. You're my fledgling. You have to be available whenever I need you."

Sears walked up to her master and pointed at him. She was careful to not actually stick her finger in his face. He was her master, and he had a point about her being at his disposal. However, she needed to make it clear that she wasn't going to accept him coming in while she was undressing. He had a right to expect her help, but she was not going to become his plaything. "That doesn't give you the right to barge into a girl's room while she's changing! You could've waited five minutes."

Alucard smirked. "I could've, but I didn't want to. And you're not a 'girl' any longer. You're a Draculina. You've got to learn that. This misplaced sense of modesty has no place in our line of work. When I need you, you have to be available no matter what. Suppose that the mansion was under attack. How many soldiers would we lose while you put on your pants and buttoned up your shirt. Or would you intend to fight the enemy while holding up your towel?"

"Those were not the circumstances."

"Not this time, but someday they very well could be."

Seras sighed again and switched topics. She wasn't going to get pulled into a debate on what might happen, someday. "What was the word?"

"Millennium. They were a group of Nazis with supernatural powers. We thought we put them down during the second world war, but they seem to be rearing their ugly heads again. Integra and I both agree that they're most likely the ones behind the freak chips."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait. Integra has her new tech department trying to track down one of there cells. As soon as they find one, we deploy and see if we can't get some more information about what they're planning."

"So the reason that you had to talk to me immediately, was to tell me that we are waiting?"

"No. I wanted to talk about the child. He's not human."

At this Seras's attitude softened somewhat. Although she felt a strange compulsion to watch over the young boy, he was still a mystery to her. "If he's not human, then what is he?"

"I'm not sure." That statement was quite a surprise to Seras. She'd never known her master to be unsure of anything. Alucard continued. "He's not a vampire or ghoul. He likes the sun too much, seems drawn to it. But there are more things in the universe than humans, vampires and ghouls. Whatever he is, his blood isn't pure. He's a halfling of some kind, and the mixture makes it difficult to get a clear sense of what he is."

"So you wanted to tell me that you don't know what he is?"

"I wanted to warn you. When you're around him, watch him carefully. I don't know what he is. He could be a danger, possibly even to our kind."

"He's not dangerous. If you saw how scared he was when we found him, you'd know that."

"You've developed an attachment to the boy?" Alucard sighed. "Such is the way of females. Their maternal instinct drives them to care for things they see as helpless. But remember, things are not always as they seem, especially in our world."

Seras seemed to consider that statement for a moment. She could see the truth behind it. Alucard huffed. "Whatever you do don't drink his blood."

That statement enraged Seras, which was Alucard's intension. He didn't want to seem too caring for his fledgling, and he liked to annoy people. Alucard found annoying Seras particularly entertaining. Seras yelled, "I would never do that!"

"Of course not." The tone of Alucard's response made it impossible for Seras to determine if her master meant to be sarcastic, genuine or insulting.

After waiting a moment and failing to get a rise out of Seras, Alucard switched topics. "You know, I do believe they've grown since you started drinking your blood." The expression on Seras's face made it clear that she didn't understand what her master was talking about.

For the first time, since Seras turned around, her master shifted his gaze from her face. He looked down and her eyes followed his. They came to rest on her breast, and Seras knew what the statement meant. The towel covered up her nipples, but her bust line was clearly visible. Before Seras had a chance to think about what she was doing, she drew her arm back and gave Alucard a swift slap in the face.

Immediately after the action, Seras's mind registered that she had just struck her master and she regretted it. It wasn't the kind of thing a good fledgling should do, even if her master did have it coming. Alucard didn't seem to mind though. He emitted a dark chuckle as he reverted back to his shadow form and left her room.

(Well I hope that you enjoyed the third chapter. Please review. Thanks.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.)

(To SakuU: Thanks for review my second chapter. I'm glad that you're still interested in the story. I hope you liked the third chapter and enjoy the rest as well. And don't worry about your first review. It didn't seem like a demand, just a request for something that you really wanted. I tried to add some Seras\Alucard into this chapter, but I'm not sure if it's any good. I never gave much thought to Seras\Alucard before. When I was watching the series, I always figured that he'd end up with Integra, if anyone. Anyway, I wasn't sure quite how to write Seras\Alacurd. I hope that I didn't mess up too badly.)