A/N: Sorry that it took so long, but the end of senior year was tough. I didn't have time to have it edited because I wanted to get it out as soon as I finished, so I'd like to apologize to my beta : Bassdogg2006. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"You're pregnant. Again."

Dyania felt her heart stop. "You're joking, right? Because this isn't funny. It really isn't."

"I am serious. You're pregnant" the doctor said.

"No no no no no! This can't be happening!" Dyania shrieked. The doctor winced slightly.

He cleared his throat. "Um, while you digest that information, I'm going to set up a follow-up appointment next week. Any particular day or time?"

Dyania plopped down onto a chair, still dazed by the information.

"I'll just put you down for next Friday at 10am. Is that okay?" Dr. Harrison asked.

Dyania just nodded. She was barely listening. Her eyes drifted to her stomach. She was having another baby. Crap.

"Did you hear me?" Dr. Harrison asked.

"Yeah, next Friday at 10am. I got it. I have to go," Dyania said grabbing her purse. She left the room and found Blade and Ericka waiting for her.

Blade could immediately tell that something was wrong. "What did the doctor say? You look like you saw a ghost."

Dyania took a minute to compose herself. She forced a smile. "Um, nothing. I'm fine. Let's go."

Blade pulled Dyania up against him and whispered in her ear, "I know you're lying. We'll talk later." He let her go. She shot him a glare and scooped Ericka into her arms.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go home," she said kissing her daughters cheek, trying not to think about the fact that Ericka was going to be a big sister in nine to ten months.

"Okay, mommy!" Ericka chirped.

The drive home was tense and awkward. Dyania kept deflecting Blade's questions, and it was really starting to annoy him.

Once they got back to her condo, Blade sent Ericka to her room so he could talk o Dyania.

"What is up with you?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said nonchalantly.

"Bullshit. I know you're lying. Something is bothering you, and I can tell it's something big because you even blocked off your mind."

Dyania took a deep breath. "I don't know what you're talking about. Shouldn't you be preparing to leave? Your flight is in three hours."

"Forget the flight. I want to know what's bothering you," he said.

"Forget the flight? Hmm, you must not be excited to explain to Whistler how you ended up with a bastard child."

Blade growled. His patience went out the window. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Don't you ever call her that!"

"Why not? It's the truth. She's a bastard. I'm a bastard, and so is my brother."

"And what's wrong with that? Ericka being born outside of a marriage is your fault. I proposed and you rejected me. Don't you forget that," he snarled.

"Of course I turned down your proposal. I wanted to marry for love not because you knocked me up!" she shouted.

"So what? Don't blame me for Ericka being born outside of marriage. That's all on you. What has gotten into you?"

"This is all your fault, you know! I wouldn't be acting like this if it weren't for you!"

Blade suppressed a growl. "Why is it my fault?" he asked through clenched teeth. She was really starting to piss him off.

"Because you knocked me up!"

"That was years ago, get over it," he scoffed.

"I'm talking about now!" she screamed then covered her mouth in shock.

"What are you talking abo…Oh my god," he said sitting down on a couch. He looked up at her. His face had mixed emotions.

Dyania sat next to him. "I'm so sorry. This isn't how I wanted to tell you, but you kept bugging me and-"

"Di, stop talking," he said calmly. She kept her mouth shut and studied him. He was so hard to read at times, and this was one of those times where she wished he wasn't. She wished that he would say something.

Blade took in a deep breath. "Wow, another kid. What are the odds of that?"

"Very high if you don't use protection. Didn't you use a condom?" Dyania asked.

"No, I thought you were on birth control."

"Why would I be on birth control? It's not as if I was screwing other guys in the last three years," she countered defensively.

"You haven't been with any other guy except me in the last few years?" he asked.

"No! Raising a child doesn't exactly give me free time. Not to mention that I have a business to run and a race of vampires. I don't get personal time, especially since I'm a single mom."

That last statement hurt Blade a bit. He knew she was struggling with raising Ericka by herself. He tried to help out as much as he could, but hunting vampires had him constantly hopping from one country to the next.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm keeping it." There was no doubt in her mind.

"Good."

"What did you expect me to do? Abort it because it might be too hard to raise two kids on my own?" she asked defensively.

"No, never. How could you even ask me that? I love you and I love Ericka, and I love this baby," he replied.

"How could you love this baby? You just found out about its existence."

"So did you, and you love this baby too. You won't be alone on this," he said trying to placate her.

"That's what you said when I was pregnant with Ericka, and yet three months after she was born, you left."

"To do my job."

"I have a job too, but you don't see me abandoning Ericka to do it. I take her with me and make it work. We had to rebuild the security system so I could take her council meetings."

"You know what my job is and what it calls for."

"That's your excuse? Wow, that is a terrible one. I don't even know why I bother with you anymore. You leave whenever you feel like it and I'm left with all the work." She moved away from him. She could barely even look at him.

"I helped out-"

"For three fucking months! Then you left. You can never understand what I went through. You weren't even there for most of the pregnancy. I was alone, pregnant, and terrified, and I had no one to lean on."

"What are you talking about? You had your mom and your sister!"

"They have their own lives. They couldn't be with me all the time. I was alone. I had no clue what to do. The books and the classes can only prepare you for so much. They don't prepare you for being left behind when your child's father decides that he did enough."

"If you felt so alone and scared then why didn't you tell me?" This was the first time Blade had heard this. "You could have told me."

"And then what? What would you have done? Shrugged and told me to get over it?"

"No, I would have helped out more."

"You should have done that anyway. Ericka is your daughter too. Do you know how many sleepless nights I had because I had nobody else to help me with Ericka? Or how long I was exhausted because I was doing everything for her while you were off traveling? I'm still exhausted."

"You should have told me that you were stressed out and I would have stayed," Blade said.

"And why do I find that so hard to believe? I don't think you would have stayed if I asked. That's not your style. Job first, family second. Or does Ericka even count as family to you?"

Blade's temper came back with a vengeance. "How dare you even ask that?! I love my daughter!"

"You could have fooled me."

"Do you know how hard it was for me to leave?"

"Obviously not hard enough because you did. I don't even know why I was surprised. It's how you are. You don't know what family is because you've never had one."

"You are treading on dangerous territory," he snarled.

"Oh, am I? I'm sorry. I'm sorry that your childhood was so screwed up that you became a sorry excuse for a father who thinks it's perfectly okay to only see his kid once a month. I'm really sorry."

"Shut the fuck up right now," he said trying keep from yelling.

"Did I hit a nerve?"

"You know damn well what you're saying."

"Yes, I do. It's about time that I said it, or you would still behave the same. And I'm not going to let you be in and out on this baby that I'm carrying. You know what, I don't even know why I bother. You're not going to change your ways. I'm done."

Fear went through Blade. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want you apart of this kid's life. As a matter of fact, I don't want to be apart of mine or Ericka's life anymore. She's young enough so she'll eventually forget about you. And me, well I was going to be raising the kids on my own regardless if you are here or not. Atleast, this way I don't have to expect anything from you, so I won't be disappointed in the future.

"You can't be serious. I'm not leaving," Blade said. She couldn't do this to him. There's no way in hell he would abandon them.

"You have to leave in 30 minutes for your flight. I suggest you start packing."

"You're serious. You can't do this."

"Yes, I can. I have the power and the wealth to disappear if I choose to. Why don't you make things easier by leaving?" she said standing up. Her mind was made up. "Our lives will be better without you. Why don't you want to leave? By your behavior, it's not going to be that different for you. Think about it this way, I'm freeing you of your responsibilities that you didn't even take seriously in the first place. Not that you were even much of a father to Ericka, you were more of a distant friend."

Blade felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. All his fears had been confirmed. He was a terrible father and now he was paying the price.

"Please don't take Ericka from me. I need her. She's one of the things keeping my going in life," Blade begged. He couldn't lose his daughter. She was his world.

"You took her for granted. You brought this on yourself," Dyania said trying to maintain a strong voice. Seeing Blade weaken was tearing her apart, but she needed to do this.

"Please, don't." His voice weakened.

"Ericka, come out! You and I are going out for ice cream!" Dyania yelled. Ericka came bouncing out of her room. "Say bye to your dad."

"Bye Daddy! Come back soon!" Ericka said happily. Blade grabbed Ericka in a big hug. He just held onto her for several moments.

"Daddy, let go. I want ice cream!" Ericka said while squirming. Blade finally let her go, and kissed her forehead. A tear leaked from his eye as he realized that this might be the last time that he would see his daughter.

"Let's go Ericka," Dyania said.

"Good bye, my Little One. I hope that I'll see you again soon," Blade said to Ericka. She just smiled and gave him hug. Then she practically ran out the door.

"You better be gone by the time we get back," Dyania said and closed the door behind her.

As the door shut, Blade did something he hadn't done in years. He cried.

Seven months later

Dyania waddled into her new house carrying grocery bags with Ericka and Nenet following right behind her.

"Honey, let me take some of those. The doctor said you should be taking it easy," Nenet offered.

"Thanks Mom, but I'm fine. You're not always going to be here to help me, so I need to do this on my own," Dyania said.

"Alright, Miss Independent. This place still has the new house smell," Nenet commented.

"Well, I just moved a few months ago, and I only have the necessities unpacked. As you can see, I'm not able to do much," Dyania said gesturing towards her big belly.

"Di, it's okay to ask for help. You can't do everything on your own."

"I know that, but I'm not going to lean on others for support constantly. I'll be fine," Di said taking the bags to the kitchen.

"Mommy, let me help!" Ericka said putting her bags down on the floor. She forcibly took her mother's bags and put them on the floor. Then she left the kitchen and came back with a step ladder.

"Wow, sometimes I forgot that she's really strong," Nenet said as she watched Ericka put away the groceries.

"I'm more shocked by her taking the bags from me and helping out," Dyania said while keeping an eye on Ericka. She went to work putting away the lighter objects.

"Well, you did raise her right. Plus, she's really excited about becoming big sister," Nenet said. "I guess she wants to help out as much as she can. Does she know about what happened seven months ago?"

"No. Whenever she asks about him, I tell her that he's in another country."

"That brings me to another question; did you move out of the condo because of that?" Nenet asked.

Dyania nodded. "Yeah, I've had too many memories with him there. I needed to start fresh."

"Tell me how that works out for you."

Dyania got defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"How exactly are you going to start fresh? You're pregnant with his kid. His second kid. Every time you look at the kid you're going to see some of Blade's traits."

"Don't you think I know that? I always see him in Ericka, and not just the looks. She has picked up some of his habits." Dyania sighed. "Could we not talk about this? It just reminds me of that day."

"Fine, but we'll pick up this conversation again. I'm only letting you off the hook because you're pregnant," Nenet said. "I wonder what's on television."

Dyania turned on the TV and took out some food for dinner. "Ericka, get started on your homework."

"Okay, Mommy!" She skipped out the kitchen.

"I wonder what's going on in the news," Nenet said while changing the channel.

She studied the news headline and frowned. "Oh shit. We have a huge problem, Di."

Dyania turned around. "What? What's wrong?"

"Check it out," Nenet said motioning to the TV.

Dyania read it aloud. "Blade, the pyscopathic killer, caught killing someone on tape. Shit! Double motherfucking shit!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And like clockwork, Dyania's cell phone rang. She answered it.

"Fix it!" Meneus's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"So I guess you heard the news."

"This is not funny, Di. He started getting careless because of you. You better fix this."

"Why?"

"Because if he is found connected to you or the council, we all will be in trouble. Not to mention, we'll have to eliminate him. If the vampires get a hold of him, they could trace him back to you and Ericka. Fix it before it gets worse." Meneus hung up.

"I have to go to the States to fix this," Dyania said.

"How are you going to fix this? There are witnesses, and not to mention that you should not be traveling in your state," Nenet said.

"I need to do this. I have to leave now," Dyania pleaded. "Can you please watch over Ericka?"

"Fine. Be safe."

Dyania rushed off to tell Ericka that she was leaving.

Whistler plopped the tabloid down on the table. "Congratulations. You're famous. Somebody nailed us. Your face is all over the papers and television. Media's eating it up."

Blade scoffed. "Like I care."

"Well you should. Something like this. Taking out a human. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you're public enemy number one."

"I didn't know that this was a popularity contest," Blade said. He really didn't give a fuck.

"Damn it, Blade. Don't you see what they're doing? They're waging a goddamn P.R. campaign. Now, it's not just vampires we got to worry about, we're going to have to take on the rest of the world, too."

"You worry too much, old man."

"That's why we're still alive, goddamnit!" Whistler shouted. He was tired of Blade's ignorance and arrogance.

"Not for long," Dyania said stepping out of the shadows.

Blade tensed up when he saw her. Then shock was slowly replaced by anger. What was she doing here? As far as he was concerned, she wanted nothing to do with him. His eyes glanced lower at her swollen stomach, and his expression softened. His baby was in there. He averted his eyes. He knew he shouldn't get attached but that was his kid too. And this might be the only time he would ever lay eyes on the baby.

He tried to keep his emotions in check. "What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

He saw her beautiful silver eyes studying him. She looked gorgeous even though her face showed no emotion. She was glowing.

"I need to talk about your latest scandal," she said curtly. "That was a dangerous move on your part."

"What I do is none of your business," Blade snapped.

"Yes it is because pulling a stunt like this gets you unwanted media attention not to mention that if it gets traced back to me or the council, we're all in trouble."

"How is this related to you?" Whistler asked.

"Ericka and my baby. His name is not on the birth certificate, but if anyone looks hard enough they'll figure out that I got pregnant both times around the time I was with him. And then the council will get blamed for helping him out."

"I told you," Whistler said to Blade.

"You have 24 hours to undo this. If not, the council will send someone to clean up the mess," Dyania warned.

Blade and Whistler both know what she was implying.

"How exactly do I fix this?" Blade asked.

"I currently have people working on discrediting the tape and dealing with the witnesses. What you need to do is lay low until this blows over."

"And why should I listen to you?" Blade asked.

"Because they will go after Ericka if you're not careful and they will kill her!"

"How is she?"

"She's fine. Please lay low." Dyania didn't want to stay any longer than she had to. Seeing Blade was bringing back old feelings. "Uh, I have to go." She turned on her heel and walked out the boathouse.

"I'll be right back," Blade told Whistler and jogged after Dyania. "Di, wait up."

She didn't even look back, so he ran in front of her to stop her. "Please stop and talk to me."

She kept her eyes off him. "I already did." She tried to walk around him but he stopped her.

She sighed. "What do you want?"

"To talk."

"I don't have the time to talk."

"You had enough time to come down here and warn us," Blade countered.

"Whatever, let me go."

"No," he said.

"Fine, talk and make it quick," she said.

"When did you become so cold? I just wanted to know how you're doing," he said touching her arm. She looked down at his hand.

"I'm fine," she said her voice cracking. She knew she should have sent someone else down here. Being around him was making her emotions go haywire.

"No you're not. And I'm not. I miss you and Ericka like crazy. How's the baby?"

"Fine."

"What's the gender?"

"I don't think you should know that. You might get attached," she said stepping back.

"I'm already attached. I love you. I love Ericka, and I love this baby. Now that you're here, I'm not letting you go this time." He pulled her to his body, and her big stomach bumped into him. She didn't resist.

"Our baby's been kicking like crazy ever since I laid eyes on you today," she finally said. His hand snaked between their bodies and rested on her stomach. He felt several kicks from the baby and smiled. He really wanted to be apart of Dyania's life again, but he knew it was up to her.

Dyania burst into tears. She knew she shouldn't be this close to him, but she really didn't care anymore. Blade stroked her cheek.

"Don't cry, baby. I wish I could tell you that it's going to be okay, but that's up to you," he said.

"It's hard. I'm not going to lie. I know it was going to be hard on my own, but still."

"What do you want me to do? Just name it and I'll do it," Blade said.

"Help me. Every time I look at Ericka, I think of you. Every time I picture what our baby will look like, I think of you. I can raise the kids on my own, I know I can. But I would rather you do it with me, even if you're not around much."

"You shouldn't have to compromise with me. If you want me to give up hunting, I will."

"No, you love doing it. I don't want to be the reason why you stop," Dyania said pulling away from him. "Nevermind, I should be going."

"I don't enjoy hunting vampires anymore. Things are getting worse for Whistler and me. It would do everybody some good if I disappeared permanently. It's too dangerous for me to hunt now. What do you think?"

"What do you mean by disappear permanently?" Dyania asked in a panicky voice.

"Calm down. I meant by leaving this hunter life and starting a new life with you. I want to be with you and our kids. I want to be with you thousands of years from now, babysitting our great great great great great great grandkids. I'm done with this lifestyle. I've been searching for you since you left because I wanted to tell you this but I couldn't find you. I love you so much that I'll do anything to make you happy again."

"You still want me? Even after everything I said to you," Dyania wondered.

"I've done worse to you. I think we can both move on if you're willing to try."

"I think we can too," Dyania said. Blade moved in to kiss her but her cell phone rang.

"I have to get this." She answered her phone. The conversation was short, but Blade could tell that it was an important call.

"Um, I have to go," she said to Blade.

"What did you decide?"

"I love you and I want to be with you, but first I need to handle this business. I should be back in a few days."

"How do I know that you're coming back?" Blade asked. Dyania stepped close to him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I hope that answers your question," she turned on her heel and disappeared into the night.

"Please come back," he whispered.

Dyania's driver pulled the car up to the Talos building. She had just gotten word that Drake had been found and the other vampires were housing him in there. Since she was the only council member in the area she had been assigned to investigate. Meneus had already set up the meeting with the Talos'.

She strode into the building not even bothering to pause as the security alarms went off.

A security guard attempted to stop her but the minute he reached out for her she broke his wrist. She took the elevator to the top floor because the stairs would have been too much of a challenge.

By the time she reached the conference room, the Danica and Asher were surrounded by guards.

"Is there really a need for that?" Dyania asked. "I'm pregnant, how could I possibly take on all these men?"

"You don't have to. You are here to see me," a deep voice came from the back. The guards parted immediately as Drake strode towards Dyania.

"Leave us," he commanded. Everybody scrambled out of the room.

"Hello, Dyania. It's been a long time. So many things have changed. I couldn't believe it when they said you were mother. And I heard about your brother. Congratulate him on the twins for me."

"Yes, we're all settling down. Which is more than I could say for you? Why are you back? What are you up to?" Dyania asked.

"Nothing. But I can't say the same for my descendants. They're planning something big, and they want my help with it."

"What are they planning?"

"You know that I cannot give you that information. You are my niece, my flash and blood, but I cannot betray my race. No matter how stupid and foolish they are. Just be prepared for war."

"A lot of people are going to die because you don't want to betray your race. The same race that you abandoned because they disgusted you. Great logic."

"Do not look down on me. I am your elder. I have told you all I can. You must go now," Drake concluded and turned away.

"After two hundred years, that's all you can say?"

"I sense that my time on this planet is going to be ending soon. Do you really want to get attached to me?" Drake's voice echoed throughout the room. He was gone.

Dyania turned only to be faced with Danica, Asher, and their security guards. They were holding shackles.

Danica smiled evilly. "Your boyfriend's been arrested. And you are not leaving this building alive."

A/N: Yay! I updated! Please review! I'm addicted to reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!