Note: sorry this has been a while coming I lost track of the thread of the story and then my driving instructor turned round the other week and said "I hope your studying for your theory test!" argh the world is a demanding place!

Ledae Aria: thanx for the review caffine? Nothing is as good as caffine lol

HughJackmanFan: will reveal all in time and Van Helsings goin to pop up eventually it's all part of my master plan (Insert evil laugh)

Christine Marquez ; lol I had to go for zombies was the natural step up from vamps and werewolves…miss talking to you get your ass online!

Lucy Wanabe : glad you liked carl and the car that chapter was really hard and hailed the start of my bad writers bloke lol I think my muse abandoned me for karmic reasons but we're back and going strong now so hopefully im over that.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 8

Sarah grinned at the baby nestled in her arms, two chubby hands rose to cling to the loose strands of hair that fell closest to them. The wide brown eyes creased at the edges as he gave a squeal of laughter, his hands tugging relentlessly at the golden locks.

Sarah giggled her heart melting for him. "He's so beautiful! Look he has Van Helsing's eyes!"

The baby blinked up at the spiky light brown head peering at him over her shoulder.

"Actually if you look at him this way he sorta looks like Dracula!"

"Marston!"

Jory and Marston broke into evil grins "Seriously Van Helsing and Drac both had Brown eyes and dark hair 'cept Drac's nose was bigger, this kid has a big nose!"

Sarah glared at them, "He has a cute nose, it's not big, its cute nose sized!" she exclaimed tickling it for good measure and electing a giggle from the baby.

Marston chuckled "Honestly Drac had the princess for a whole day! No guy with her like that would be able to resist dressing her up in that hot little brides outfit and having his wicked way with her…" he trailed off seeing the look on Sarah's face.

"That is so wrong." she said scowling at him.

Jory was giggling madly. "Golden metal bikini off return of the Jedi!" he exclaimed.

"Way to lower the tone guys." she sighed annoyed as Dracula grinned devilishly at her from her sofa.

His legs were crossed at the ankle and his arms were clasped tightly over his chest as if he owned the place.

"They do have an intriguing point." he said in amusement.

Sarah ignored him pointedly still disturbed by his presence, when she glanced back he'd gone and she breathed a sigh of relief.

The drive back had been a silent and worrying one, Carl was shaking in an exhausted and speechless heap beside the sleeping Princess staring in wide eyed amazement at the assortment of vehicles and houses they past.

He'd actually screamed when they finally arrived at Sarah's house and a low flying aeroplane past over head. It would have been funny if the boys weren't struggling with the unconscious Princess and Sarah wasn't trying to calm a hysterical baby.

It didn't help when she unlooked the door and an excited mass of black fur leapt at him. Apparently Carl was not a dog person.

It had been all they could do to get Sarah's unusual guests into the house before her annoyingly nosey neighbours came out to see what all the commotion was. She could just imagine the lady in number 36 immediately snatching the phone up and calling her mother.

"Viv, now I don't want to worry you but I think Sarah is alone in the house with three boys and an unconscious woman! I think she's brought her coven home!"

She'd been dreading a call from her concerned mother but thankfully so far, the phone had remained silent.

"Shouldn't we call everyone? They'll want to know about this." Marston asked looking at the kitchen door where the Friar had disappeared.

A loud crash in the kitchen made them all jump.

"Damnit Carl, I told you not to touch anything!" Sarah yelled passing Jory the baby and standing up.

"It's a baby Jory, not a football." she said when he struggled to position him in his arms.

She made her way to the kitchen door, bracing herself for what she would see beyond it.

Sure enough Carl stood sheepishly with the remains of her toaster in his hands, the plastic outer casing having dropped and smashed on the hard floor while he was trying to remove it quietly so she wouldn't hear.

"Sorry…but it's amazing! The whole things so compact!" he said eagerly.

Sarah groaned "My mums gonna kill me." she whimpered. "Ok since it's already broken you can play with it…just for god's sake don't plug it in now the wires exposed."

Carl's eyes widened in interest "Plug it in you say? Err…how would I go about doing that…hypothetically."

Jory stepped up behind her his arms baby free. ""Marston has him." he explained at Sarah's raised eyebrow.

"I'm going to raise him to be a communist!" Marston's voice exclaimed joyfully as he sat with the tiny baby in his lap.

Jory looked from Carl's eager face to the demolished toaster. "Can I tell him how to plug it in? Please, it'll be funny!" Jory begged grinning madly at the possibilities.

Sarah looked at him in horror "Oh god I'm going to have to turn it off at the mains aren't I?"

She headed back into the lounge to be greeted by Marston with the baby on his lap and the history of the Vietnam war on the TV. "Now you see this is called corruption…"

"Oh god turn it off before Carl…"

An exclamation of astonishment cut her off and a brown habit clad blur rushed past her.

"Not the TV!" she yelled rushing after him.

"Hey Carl, me and the kid are watching that!" Marston exclaimed. Twisting to see the screen under the Friar's arm as he ran his hands over the surface looking for a way to get inside it.

"It's incredible! The possibilities are enormous! How do the people get inside? Do you have to feed them?" Carl chatted excitedly.

Sarah pulled him away none too gently and he pouted like a child deprived of a treat.

"Ok Carl ground rules, No destroying my stuff! It costs way too much, now if your good you can sit and watch TV and play with the toaster ok?" She groaned 'I can't believe I'm talking to him like a five year old.'

She was pleasantly surprised as he sat down eagerly and began to tinker with the deceased toaster.

"Ok…that works."

Jory waved her over from across the room. "You have Van Helsing on Dvd right? And X-men and all the Lord of the Rings?" he asked eagerly.

She laughed "You want to freak Carl out?"

"Hell yes!"

"Upstairs in the boxes under my bed, there's underworld too, may as well freak him out more so let him see Anna as a vampire." she giggled excitedly at the thought. "It might stop him from destroying my house."

A loud explosion flashed on to the TV and the teens exploded with laughter when Carl fell back with a startled cry. He stared at the screen in breathless awe and started forwards, the toaster abandoned and his fingers itching to find away to pull the machine apart and see inside.

Marston leapt up and passed Sarah the baby, standing in defence of the television god like any faithful disciple of the media.

"Seriously if you break the TV it's like sacrilege!" he exclaimed.

"I just want to see how it works! I'll put it back exactly as I found it!" Carl pleaded desperately.

Sarah groaned while Jory laughed. "Think you can keep him away from my TV while I go check on Anna?" she asked smiling in cautious amusement.

"Err…no promises." Marston said cutting Carl off as he tried to dodge around him.

She cradled the baby in her arms as Jory followed her up the stairs.

"What do you think his name is?" She asked smiling down at him as he gripped her finger in his tiny hand.

Jory grinned "Igor?" he suggested.

Sarah laughed as they entered the sunlight landing upstairs. She pointed him towards the far door on the right. "Ok that's my room the DVD's are in the pink flowery boxes under the bed, there's six of them."

Jory gaped at her "Six! How many Dvd's do you have?"

She grinned "Last count? At least 163."

She left him to his rummaging and tiptoed to the last room on the landing. The baby began to squirm in her arms almost impatient upon sensing his mother was nearby.

The room was dark, lit only by the outline of light that escaped the drawn curtains. Anna lay still under the effects of the tranquilizer in the double bed, conveniently vacant in her mother's absence. Her dark hair was splayed across the pillow her mouth parted slightly and her expression creased with concern.

Sarah wondered briefly where the Princess would be lying right now if they hadn't dragged her through the portal. Would the undertaker simply have killed her in cold blood, or did he want her alive for some other dark purpose at him master's bidding?

Laying the baby on the pillow near his mother's head she frowned with concern and worry. Whatever the dead had intended to do she was thankful they didn't get the chance. She stood for a moment content to see this touching reunion as the child tangled his strong fingers in the dark locks of Anna's hair "She'll be awake soon little guy I promise." she whispered to him stroking his own hair back lovingly.

She jumped when Dracula melted out of the shadows beside the head board and gazed down at the sleeping princess form the other side of the bed.

"Get away from her." Sarah hissed tensing as he reached out to caress the air above her face.

He looked up at her with a charming smile "I believe I am entitled to watch over my great-great-great-great niece." he said simply.

She glared at him "You have no rights where it comes to Anna!" she hissed angrily.

He sighed looking back at the princess with a longing expression. "You are right of course."

She relaxed slightly when he backed away from the bedside and leant against the windowsill, his eyes still on the mother and baby.

"An idealic scene isn't it? One I never thought I would witness, the last of the Valerius living to continue the line. It's historic."

Sarah moved cautiously around the bed pulling the covers further up Anna's body. "One you tried your best to prevent." she shot back.

The count smiled almost wistfully. "Indeed I did."

Upon the mattress the baby gave a small squeal of laughter and they turned to see him staring straight at Dracula a gummy grin on his tiny face. Sarah blinked as the Count moved around the bed and the babies eyes followed him giggling sweetly when the count gave the little prince an elegant bow.

"He can see you." she whispered breathlessly.

The count chuckled "It would seem so, children are remarkably sensitive to these sort of things." he shot her a meaningful look "They are also a great judge of character."

Sarah frowned looking at the beaming child's reaction to the ghostly count. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

A faint groan made her glance at the princess. Anna began to stir thrashing dangerously among the covers. Alarmed Sarah pulled the baby out of harms way, placing him safely in a basket of clean blankets at the foot of the bed she rushed around and tried to hold the princess still.

"Anna it's ok! Your safe wake up!" she yelled desperately.

She saw Dracula fade away and sighed with relief, one less thing to worry about.

Beneath her arms Anna grappled with nightmarish creatures crying out curses in her native Romanian to her hidden assailants. Sarah held her arms down with difficulty worried that she would hurt herself.

"Anna please! It's Sarah wake up! Anna!"

The Princesses dark eyes shot open glazed and unforced she felt someone holding her down, with a cry of anger and fear she lashed out. Her hand locating the dagger in her belt and drawing it faster that Sarah could react.

As the blade came towards her she cried out and instinctively her hand shot out in defence with reflexes almost inhumanly fast, another side effect of her vampiric history. Her hand closed on Anna's wrist stopping the lightening blow millimetres from her left eye. She gasped in fear as she stared at the sharp tip, her eyelashes brushing it as she blinked.

Anna froze as she heard her attacker cry out in a very familiar voice and her own baby's cry echoed around her. She blinked trying desperately to focus on the figure before her. A girl with long blond hair stared at the blade that had nearly killed her, her hand grasping Anna's wrist painfully, trembling with shock and adrenaline. Recognition sparked in Anna's groggy mind.

"Sarah? Oh my God Sarah." she gasped the blade falling from her fingers on to the mattress between them.

The girl relaxed visibly turning to give her a hesitant smile. "It's a wonder Van Helsing survives sharing a bed with you if he gets that reaction every morning." she grinned as the Princess drew her into a tight hug.

Anna laughed aloud her voice thick with emotion. "At least it wasn't a sword this time."

Sarah grinned laughing herself as she recalled the night Velkan had broken into Valerius Manor and Anna had run her threw with her sword before she realised who she was. Thankfully she had become a vampire by then or that one blow would have killed her.

The Princess pulled away smiling at her as she crossed to the blinds and pulled them up allowing the summer sunshine to enter the room. A baby's cry sounded at the foot of the bed making the Princess tense up with sudden worry.

"Velkan? Carl are they alright?" she asked urgently.

Sarah broke into a wide grin. "Velkan? You called him Velkan after your brother?" she asked picking the agitated little boy up.

Anna sagged with obvious relief as Sarah placed the baby into her arms, holding him close and muttering Romanian prayers of thanks.

"It was Gabriel's decision, we discussed it before…before he left."

Sarah watched as she put the tip of her finger in baby Velkan's mouth and seeing how hungry he obviously was began to breast feed him.

Sarah helped her shuffle back to lean against the head board placing a pillow under her arm to give it some support while the baby suckled hungrily.

They both jumped startled when the bedroom door burst open and Marston, Jory and Carl rushed in .

They froze when they saw Anna was awake. "We heard shouting what?…"

All three stared at the breast feeding baby turning identical shades of pink.

Sarah and Anna laughed as they scrambled to leave the room again with hurried apologies.

"It's perfectly natural." Sarah called after them sniggering.

She sat next to Anna on the bed smiling at her. "He's a beautiful baby, you and Van Helsing must be so proud."

Anna sighed "I am…Gabriel…Gabriel never got to see him. We sent messengers out when I went into labour but he couldn't be found and the messengers didn't return…not as they had been in life anyway."

Sarah shivered "They became part of the dead that were after you?" she asked tensing at Anna's nod.

"I don't understand, what's happened Princess? How did everything get so messed up…we killed Dracula I thought that would be the end of it."

"It was for a while, there were other missions of course. A banshee in Ireland, Gargoyles in Poland. I travelled with Gabriel fighting by his side for six months until my pregnancy became to heavy and it was dangerous for me to continue. Carl returned to Transylvania with us as we settled down far from the Vatican…we were happy for a while." She stared at the ceiling dreamily remembering peaceful times.

"Then the Vatican ordered him back." Sarah guessed sadly.

Anna nodded "They needed him for a mission of vital importance, they wouldn't tell him where or how long he would be away…I don't know why he went in the end. He fought against going long into my seventh month but eventually he left. He said we would never have any peace until he was free of them, one final mission and he would resign."

She closed her eyes against sudden tears. "Three months later I entered a difficult labour and Velkan was born…I felt myself dying and he wasn't with me. The first time since we met that I have been in mortal danger and he wasn't there to save me. Velkan is three months old now and he has yet to see his father."

Sarah listened sadly close to tears. 'Where was Van Helsing all this time? He wouldn't abandon Anna and the baby he couldn't.' she thought sadly.

The Princess sat Velkan on her lap patting his back gently after his feed. "Two weeks ago people in the village began to find fresh graves disturbed, it was like the days when Victor Frankenstein was alive robbing fresh bodies for his evil experiments. All over Transylvania reports came in of similar incidents and the Vatican saw fit to inform Carl that it was happening all over the world."

Sarah frowned "They told him that but nothing about Van Helsing?"

The Princess shook her head angrily. "They tell us only what they think we need to know, that is all. Disappearances became more frequent and the night of the full moon a hysterical farmer came into the manor and said he had seen his brother corpse walking as though alive in the woods.
I went to investigate and soon found myself surrounded by the walking dead. hose I knew mocked and called out to me, the Priest's dear mother cackling madly, told me her master, the master of the dead, was coming for me and those I loved. It was all I could do to keep the horse calm as they clambered and grabbed at his legs, trying to pull me from the saddle. I used my sword to clear a path and get away, but when I cleared the rise of the hill I found myself staring into the sunken eyes of the Undertaker."

Sarah shivered remembering the way he'd sneered at her as she'd rushed back for Carl's remote. "If you ask me death hasn't changed him a whole lot in the looks department." she said bitterly.

Anna smiled slightly at that but her face fell again soon after. "The next night…last night. They fell upon the village, most of the villagers got out or managed to arm themselves and protect their homes…those that didn't must still be lying in the streets now. Carl and I managed to leave the manor, their were too many to fight and I had to think of my son."

"So Carl decided to escape into our world." Sarah finished.

Anna nodded looking at her intently "We need Friend's Sarah…Allies, people who have fought beside us, you and your friends are the only ones we can trust to help us find Gabriel and bring an end to all of this."

The girl swallowed hard, unconsciously rubbing the scars on the side of her throat. 'Allies, friends…that's what Dracula said.'

Anna's eyes bore into her, pleading with her to help them. The last few months had taken their toll on the Princess, her spirit had dulled and dwindled with grief and loneliness and the loss of her child's father. The constant questioning of his fate…it must have been torture. She couldn't trust the Vatican, she had no family other than Van Helsing and Carl so it was no wonder she'd come to them.

"Come on I think Jory's putting some films on, I'll talk to the guys about this and call Amie, Bob, Tony and Chris. This isn't something we can rush into." she said quietly feeling like she was betraying her friend.

Anna smiled sadly and raised her chin "Of course I understand."

Quietly the two woman made their way down the stairs to the cheerful sounds coming from the lounge.

Note: ok hopefully that's filled in a few of the blanks next chapter hopefully will be form Van Helsings point of view lol can very well have a Van Helsing fic without him now can I:D Hope to update sooner now I have the story mapped out!
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