Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Oh, and yes I realize that the plot of this (the baby and stuff) is sort of similar to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn but… I don't know; maybe it did influence the story lol! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Review, please! ;)

Chapter 14

"Dmitri is a perfectly suitable name!" Oliver protested as Amelie and Myrnin reentered the hidden room. After celebrating their child, Oliver and Athena had launched into a debate over names.

"But it's just so…boring," countered Athena. She was gazing thoughtfully at the sloping ceiling while she rested on the couch. Oliver sat beside her but looked far less relaxed. He was bent forward with his elbows digging into his thighs while his hands covered his face.

"So you feel Constantine is exciting, then?" Oliver growled through his fingers.

"Pope Constantine was an inspiring figure in his day!"

"Yeah guess you'd know, wouldn't you?" Oliver muttered.

Athena's black eyes narrowed as she lifted her head to look at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Before things could get any more heated, Amelie cleared her throat loudly. Oliver straightened up quickly; he evidently hadn't known they'd come back. However, Athena crossed her arms like a stubborn child and gazed calmly—yet coldly—at Myrnin and Amelie. A short silence ensued before Myrnin blurted to fill the silence, "I suspect you won't mind that I informed the rest of household of your situation."

Oliver shot him his signature death glare. "No. Of course we don't mind you blabbing our personal business to a bunch of humans."

Myrnin hopped up and down a couple of times, clapping his hands together in sarcastic excitement. "Excellent! Then you won't mind…" He twisted around to face the stairs, positioned his fingers, and then let out a loud, high wolf whistle. Several sets of clomping footsteps sounded at the door. Loudest of all were Eve's heavy platform shoes at the head of the group. She had tears in her eyes and a gleeful smile plastered to her face. Michael, Claire, Shane, and Thomas crowded in behind her. Myrnin twirled fancily back around to face Athena and Oliver. "Ta-da!"

If looks could kill, Myrnin would have been incinerated. Oliver's eyes burned with fury like coals from hell. Seeing his expression, Athena smiled fondly and pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes warm, Athena started to take a step toward the group who'd just entered. "Come now, Ollie, they just want to celebrate with—" She broke off, her eyes widening, as her knees buckled and she crashed to the ground—though she didn't really reach the floor. Oliver caught her and swung her into his arms before her knees even touched the wood.

"Athena?" Oliver choked, his dark eyes full of fear. Athena's eyelids fluttered rapidly.

"I-I feel a little weak," she stuttered. Admittedly, she did look slightly gaunt. Her cheekbones protruded a bit more harshly than they should and though her belly had swollen quite a bit, the rest of her body seemed to be gradually deflating.

"It's the baby. The rapid growth rate has drained her of nutrients," Myrnin surmised.

"Then she needs blood," concluded Oliver. He started for the stairs, Athena drooped like a wilted flower in his arms. Once he was past the group blocking the exit, Oliver sped out and downstairs to the kitchen not bothering to disguise his vampire abilities. Amelie was the first to follow after him, but she kept her pace at a normal, human gait.

When they reached the kitchen, Oliver had already placed one of Michael's bottles in her hand. She picked it up slowly and brought it to her lips. But then she cringed away, wrinkling her nose. Sticking her tongue out, she murmured, "Blegh," before scooting it far across the table.

"What? It's B positive, your favorite," Oliver insisted.

Claire grimaced. "Oh, that's… Ew," she said. Athena, however, looked to be in some sort of daze and wouldn't respond to Oliver's attempts to make her drink. Then, Michael's eyes lit up.

"What about food?" he suggested.

"What?" Oliver hissed.

"Well, before she was able to eat mortal food. She even said it tasted good. Maybe the baby wants human food."

But Oliver, being a typical man, focused on a single detail. "What do you mean before? When did she eat mortal food?" Eve rolled her eyes and stepped over to the cabinet. As she pulled out a loaf of whole wheat bread, she scolded,

"Should you really be bickering over something like that while your girlfriend is slowly decaying?" That seemed to catch Oliver's attention because his full focus transferred back to Athena. Eve separated a slice of bread from the loaf and held it out to Athena. "So?"

For a moment it looked like Athena was going to remain unresponsive, but then her black eyes focused and she snatched the bread from Eve's hand. She gobbled the portion of bread in record time then yanked the bag from Eve's grasp. When she'd devoured several more bread slices, Athena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I apologize. I seemed to have lost control for a bit there. But thank you for reviving me," she said.

Oliver crouched beside her chair and laid a hand on her forearm. "Are you alright now?" he asked. Athena smiled at him for a moment before saying,

"We're not naming him Dmitri." Oliver looked surprised for a moment. Then he started to laugh. It was such a strange sound because Oliver hardly ever laughed. But it was a good kind of strange. His hearty chuckles were full of relief and joy. When he finally regained control of himself, Oliver laughed,

"As long as you at least consider something else besides Constantine."

Then everybody laughed along with the couple.

But Athena's mirth was underlined with anxiety. The entire Darkling family had entered the room, and Meresna was gazing sadly at Athena. Wrapping her arm protectively over her stomach, Athena forced herself to think of happier things than the fact that loomed over her head like a dark storm cloud. It wasn't hard to let herself become distracted by Oliver's cheer. He was spouting different names he considered worthy, though Athena wasn't really listening. She was watching him, thinking of how excited he was. She'd never seen him like this before.

"Now, I know you said you felt certain it's going to be a boy, but I wanted to suggest some girl names," Oliver was saying when Athena tuned back into what was being said.

"Actually, I have some girl names in mind as well," Athena told him.

Oliver blinked. "But I thought you were certain that it's male."

"Even so, I don't want to be unprepared to name a daughter."

He grinned softly. "Alright, let's hear yours first."

"I was thinking Leslie."

Oliver seemed taken aback.

"What?"

"Well…it's just that it's such a modern name. I was expecting something older."

"Well, I like Annona as well, if you prefer an older name."

Oliver reached up to stroke her cheek lightly. "Actually, I was thinking of something Greek like your name. What do you think of Panthea?"

Athena's answer was a sweet smile and a swift kiss on his cheek. Then, she removed another slice of bread and began nibbling on it. Thomas wiggled his way closer to her chair and laid his head in her lap. That made her smile. She offered a portion of her bread to him. His coppery-colored tail wagged happily as he swallowed the food.

"I think we should go now," Eve whispered—though that wouldn't have kept the rest of the occupants of the kitchen from hearing—as Oliver grasped Athena's hand in his and they gazed into each other's eyes. Nonetheless, Claire, Shane, Michael, Eve, Amelie, Myrnin, and the Darklings exited the room quietly. When they'd closed the door behind them, Shane glanced at Michael.

"Want to kill some zombies?"

Michael started to reply with an enthusiastic yes, but Myrnin interjected. "I beg your pardon but zombies?" Shane looked a little confused.

"Yeah, you know the living dead? They eat brains?"

"What a ghastly ideal! And quite impossible, might I add. There is no possible way one could live off the nutrients solely provided from a diet of brains. Tell me, why do you wish to kill these things? Although it sounds to me like they're already dead so I don't quite see the point in killing them again…" Before Myrnin could continue rambling, Michael explained,

"It's a videogame, Myrnin. We play it for fun."

Myrnin's top lip gave the slightest twitch. He obviously disliked not understanding. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Videogame?"

Even Michael seemed taken aback at that. But then it dawned on him. "You've been out of commission for the last few decades. Right. Sorry. Why don't we just show you what videogames are?" Shane seemed a little reluctant, but Michael pulled him toward the couch, Myrnin following behind.

Eve and Claire exchanged an amused look. "So I guess it's just us girls," Eve said as she turned to look at Amelie. But the vampire was nowhere to be found. Once again, Eve turned her gaze to Claire. After they stared at each other saying a silent, what the hell? Eve said, "Want to watch the guys?" Claire gave a quick nod and the pair settled on the sofa beside their boyfriends.

Myrnin was seated in the chair and was staring at the TV screen as Michael and Shane began their game. At first, he reacted as expected, disinterested and unimpressed. But then, he started shouting along with the boys when a zombie surprised them. Pretty soon he was cheering whenever zombie guts splattered across the screen. Claire and Eve found it quite hilarious to watch as the testosterone levels in the room excelled normal.

(SPACE)

Digging around in the fridge, Oliver asked over his shoulder, "Do you want to try some meat? They have quite a few ribs in here."

"Sure. That's fine," Athena said distractedly. Oliver wasn't so dense he wouldn't notice the way she was acting, but he didn't feel like he should pry about it. Something just seemed to say he really shouldn't.

Sticking the plate of ribs in the microwave, Oliver sighed. Women truly could be a mystery. Despite her silence, when the plate hit the table, Athena grabbed a rib and began stripping the bone of every fiber of meat. The messy red sauce that covered her lips and fingers could almost look like blood—which sat perfectly well with Oliver. It was how he'd always known her to feed.

As she licked the sauce from her fingers, Oliver glimpsed something out of place. "What is that?" he asked, grabbing for the hand he'd seen it on. But when his fingers brushed her hand, Athena jumped and yanked it toward her chest, her eyes wide.

"What's what?"

"Is that a scar?" Athena stayed silent, clutching her hand. Oliver's usual temper flared. "Athena, I saw it. Now explain. It's impossible for us to scar so how is it you have?"

Athena swallowed her bite of meat hard before shifting her eyes to the table and told him, "It's just a scratch from fighting the Darklings." Slamming his palm onto the table, Oliver growled,

"Don't lie to me, Athena. Even a wound from a Darkling would've healed by now."

Even though Oliver was very intimidating, Athena wasn't fazed a bit. Instead, she turned a fiery, black glare on him and snapped, "That wasn't a lie. Back off; it's none of your business."

It was like she was trying to piss him off. "Yeah, because what happens to the woman I love and who is carrying my child is none of my business."

Scraping her chair back so hard it nearly toppled over, Athena stomped to her feet. "If you're going to—ah!" Athena clutched her stomach with one hand and the table with the other. Bent over, she waited for the searing pains to subside.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, their argument temporarily forgotten.

"I don't think the baby likes it when we fight," Athena laughed hoarsely. She slowly sat back down cradling her ever-swelling abdomen. Sighing, Oliver settled into the chair next to her.

"Look, I need to know how you got that scar. It's not normal, and it could affect the baby somehow, let alone you."

Calmly, Athena finally looked Oliver in the eye. She mentally prepared herself for what she had to tell him. "I got this from Julius."

Oliver's expression went through the emotions of an entire day in less than a minute. First, it changed from calm to shocked then concerned then angry. But then the real understanding dawned on him, and his dark eyes filled with immeasurable grief. "No. You-You can't. It can't be true."

Athena laid her hand on his; she couldn't meet his gaze so she just kept her tear-filled eyes on their hands. "I'm so sorry, but it is. It's true."