A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Sorry it's really late again, I've been having a few choice words with a printer and its cartridges that it keeps rejecting for the last hour or so. I'm afraid I got distracted and didn't realise the time of the post.

Chapter 14: Making Sense

Vlad sat next to Erin; he didn't touch her as he waited for the information to sink in. Vlad didn't know how Erin would react to this new information. She looked completely dumbfounded as he told her.

"Are you sure?" Her voice was quiet. Vlad had expected her to be angry, he was surprised she wasn't…yet.

"Renfield's never wrong…" Vlad tipped his head as he reconsidered that one, "Well once but he did it on purpose." He still hadn't forgiven Renfield for his incorrect DNA test. "I know it seems like I'm giving you too much information…"

"Its okay Vlad." Erin told him gently, "I'd rather know than find out by accident again." Vlad looked sheepish at that one. "I'm not angry."

She was shocked but not angry, he didn't know. She was frightened at first, the thought of something inside her that she didn't know about or even remember how it happened but a voice inside her head was telling her it was okay.

"What does this mean for my memories?"

"We can't risk using the device again." He told her quietly, "Its not designed for pregnant vampires or even pregnant slayers. It would mean a high risk of losing the baby."

He managed to keep his voice calm as he spoke and Erin felt a pang of pain in her chest at his final words she didn't know why though. She placed a hand on her stomach, trying to feel the small life inside her. She felt love for the child the moment Vlad mentioned it. Vlad watched her actions with a small smile on his face.

His words had the opposite effect though as she felt as if she was being crushed from the inside out. "So how will I remember?" For the sake of this baby she needed to remember.

Vlad couldn't answer; his hopes had relied on the slayer device. "I don't know."

"Is there anything I should do? So I don't harm the baby." She watched as something flickered in his eyes but she didn't press him for it.

"Drink plenty of soy blood." Vlad shrugged. Soy blood was the best form of nutrition for the growing child. "Are you okay with this?" He asked her, this had been forced upon her and she didn't really have a choice in her present frame of mind.

"I feel like I've had no choice in it." She told him honestly, but the fact that she was pregnant meant she had a choice at the start. "But I want it." His eyes snapped to hers, relief in them. "I want this child. Losing my memories can't take that feeling away from me." She couldn't help it she didn't feel angry she was happy about it, there must have been a reason for that.

Vlad gave her a curious look, her mind wipe should have removed any feelings she felt as well, she'd lost them towards him but she was remembering feeling love for Ree and this child. Perhaps the device had worked a little.

"I wish this hadn't happened now," He told her quietly. Erin gave him a confused look, "I wish it hadn't happened when you'd lost you memories."

Erin gave him a soft smile, he was wonderful for caring about how she felt. "It's okay Vlad. At least I know why I've been feeling sick." She hadn't mentioned it before because she'd thought it was something to do with the mind wipe but she'd been feeling sick at various times of the day.

Vlad snorted slightly, only Erin could find something positive out of it all. She hadn't forgotten that.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

The laptops blinked and flashed as new information was uploaded onto the system. The walls shimmered as the light from the laptops illuminated the room, no one had had the sense to turn on the lights until Vlad flicked the switch.

Immediately several slayers groaned and winced as the brightness of the electricity forced their eyes to adjust.

"I do have electricity. I don't really use candle light." Vlad informed them shaking his head; he received matching exasperated glances from the slayers. Vlad just brushed them off, they were obviously used to vampires that still lived in the Stone Age.

Vlad moved across to where Jonno and Bertrand were standing, distrust and distain for each other still existing. They kept glancing at each other half expecting the other one to either stake them or bite them.

"Where's Erin?" Jonno asked, trying to think of some form of distraction quickly.

"Resting,"

"I'm sorry," Jonno told him sincerely, he couldn't imagine what Vlad was going through. Vlad gave him a small smile; he knew exactly what Jonno's words meant they had many meanings, every one as sincere as the rest.

"Thanks." Vlad gulped slightly, wanting to change the subject quickly. He gestured with his head towards the now motionless computer screen. "So what are you doing?"

"We're about to go through the archives to see who did this and if there's a way around the wipe."

"There's only one way." Vlad muttered darkly. "That's why they committed suicide afterwards."

Jonno let out a sigh sharing an annoyed glance with Bertrand. Vlad was really being a pessimist at the moment but in his place they suspected they'd be exactly the same. "Another way, it can't be just because you've got more power that you can undo them."

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Vlad rubbed his eyes blearily, staring at the screen was making his eyes water. Vlad dropped his head down trying to stop them hurting. As a vampire he shouldn't look at bright lights, that's why their computers were set at a lower brightness but the slayers couldn't see them without their eyes hurting.

Bertrand seemed to mimic his actions, Bertrand hated looking weak but it was better to show weakness in front of people who knew him than strangers.

They'd spent hours trawling through the data on the portable hard drives; it was quicker than looking through the clan books and a lot more up to date. They'd managed to narrow it down to about ten different factions eliminating the obvious – no women, no official crest and no well-known members (at least in the foreground).

This was more Bertrand's area of expertise, he knew a lot more about vampires and their tricks than anyone else knew, although Vlad was rapidly catching up.

Bertrand fought back a yawn as he pointed to one crest on the screen; it wasn't an official crest, as the Grand High Vampire would have to approve it before it could be widely used. The fact they'd bypassed Vlad spoke volumes but not everyone was on Vlad's side.

It was a simple crest; it was a set of scales. One side had a set of fangs and the other had a breather skull, the scales were tipped so the side that had the advantage was the vampires. It spoke volumes for the notion of fair justice, they thought vampires were blameless.

"They seem the most likely to be the ones who attacked us. The Unsullied."

"There are more than one group with a grudge against me." Vlad reminded him, every decision he made would always cause disagreements in some form amongst his kind. He was used to these small groups but none had made a direct movement on him since the Brotherhood six years ago and Bertrand before that nine years ago.

Never before had anyone directly attacked Erin.

"This group demands 'Purity Above All'. They want a new Queen and a new leader. They think you need to set an example of purity for the rest of them to follow."

"But it doesn't make sense, if they just want a pure race why not just kill Erin." Jonno gave the vampire leader a look a look, adding as an afterthought: "No offence Vlad."

Vlad nodded accepting her apology even though he wasn't offended. Ingrid had made a good point; if they wanted purity then just mind wiping Erin didn't make sense. The only way to ensure a pure future leader was remove the half fang.

Understanding slowly dawned on Vlad, "Erin was just a distraction." Vlad realised, "They knew we'd focus all our energy on her."

"Then…"

Their conversation was interrupted by a high-pitched scream echoing around his home.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Vlad sped as fast as he could down the stretching corridors of his home, desperate to reach the source of the sound as quickly as possible.

The scream was definitely female but it was higher pitched than Erin's, beside Erin didn't scream anymore she'd lost her shock reflex (at least she had before the mind wipe).

The room was dark when he entered slowly. Adria wasn't one to be shy of the darkness but usually there was at least on small light on at this time.

He glanced around his keen eyesight cutting through the darkness; Ree's small figure was standing at an awkward angle, he went to investigate further.

Vlad felt something wrap around his throat, yanking him backwards in the darkness.

Then a sharp tip against his jaw, pressing into the exposed flesh there.

A fraction deeper and he'd be dust.

TBC

A/N: What do you think?

Thanks for reading.