Not my characters!
So, we made it to the birth. I did not expect it to take twenty chapters, but then I write too much I think.
On we go!
-VAI-
By the time George and their mum came back to feed him and check on Erika (and coo over her name), Erin was well enough to get up and about. A moment of her getting her clothes changed showed she did already have Adam's darker hair, and Adam thought he would melt there and then when Erika opened her eyes at last. There wasnt a force in the world strong enough to convince Adam from standing to look at his daughter for hours on end, and when Ingrid returned in the evening to try and convince him to sleep, he argued both girls into Erin going back to clean up and get some rest. "I did this to her, I can't leave her." Ingrid's face softened slightly, and Erin finally agreed. "Ryan is going to want to see you're ok anyway. The nurse said I can charge my phone in the day room, so I can stay in touch. Go. Shower, sleep, clothes. I'll go tomorrow, promise. One thing I can do is go without sleep." Neither of them looked impressed with the reminder, but after they both looked in on Erika (even Ingrid looked a little bit struck with the tiny girl), Adam exchanged goodbyes with them both and they left.
"How old are you son?" Looking up from his seat next to the incubator, Adam found one of the nurses holding out coffee. "Don't worry, nothing you say will surprise us here." "Fifteen. We were careful, it just isn't 100% I guess." That was mostly true, so Adam stuck with that story. "I've seen teen boys leave in minutes, neither your girlfriend or your family could shift you. Got an old head on those young shoulders." "I guess. I loved her the minute Erin told me she was pregnant, out of everyone I was the least anxious and the most excited. I just wish she didn't get my problems, I hate seeing her like this because of my genes." Sipping the rapidly cooling coffee, Adam resumed staring at Erika. A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder, oddly comforting. "You pulled through, and she has got you in her corner. Try to get a map in if you can, I'll wake you if she needs you." Adam knew he wouldn't sleep, he hadn't slept alone in months now, and the last thing he needed was to have one of his nightmares in the hospital. Another coffee later, they offered to let Adam carefully hold her for a few minutes again, so Erika could get her early bonding time in.
"Is she breathing on her own already? I thought she was struggling?" Erika's little chest was rising and falling steadily as she was put back in her warming lights range. "We have oxygen nearby and keeping a close eye on her, but it seems so. Told you, she's a fighter." Erin reappeared an hour before sunrise with Ryan, who wanted to see the baby. "This is Erin's brother" Adam introduced the half fang to the nurse who was his secret caffeine dealer in the night now, who was now amused by Adam's story and the various flavours of family he had, especially between Ingrid and George. Ryan had to leave before light trapped him, and both Nobles said Ingrid was dragging him home to shower and sleep that night because apparently he smelled. Chuckling as he hugged Erin, Adam was sure he would be on first name terms with every nurse on every shift at this rate as he bid the night shift nurses goodbye.
Ingrid did indeed drag him back to the castle that night, throwing him in the shower and making him need a new one when she pinned him to his bed, kissing him to incoherence and digging fangs and nails into his skin until Adam was shaking all over. "I love you" "Love you too. Idiot." smiling to himself at Ingrid's usual form of affection, he clung to her as he slept for a few hours and woke itching to get back to his daughter. "Better?" "Much. Thank you." "Lucky you two have vampires on hand, saves you a hell of a lot of travel time." "Mmm. I think I got more out of the trip home than Erin though." Ingrid smirked as he pressed their bare skin together again, pointing out he needed to shower soon if he wanted 'a lift' back to the hospital. He pulled her with him, making the most of what time he had with her. Dressing and changing his bed covers before Ryan could get suspicious again, Adam kissed Ingrid before letting her flit them to the hospital.
"What would you have called her if she was a he?" "Erin picked, but still Romanian and still both our initials - Adrian or Emil, she said it would depend on seeing him which was a better first name." Ingrid couldn't stay long, and neither she or Ryan could hold Erika while she still needed so much help staying warm, but she did offer her baby niece a smile before she left. "You look much more relaxed?" Erin's smirk told him she knew exactly why, her eyes tracing the torso that was no longer clear of marks. "I was too wired to sleep, she helped?" "Whatever you say. Quietly, before your new best friends come to coo over our little miracle." Adam nodded and shut up, kissing Erin in greeting and resuming staring at their daughter. "She is. I love her. As much as I wish she didn't have my genes, I can't believe she's so perfect. But then she has your genes too." Erin smiled up at him, squeezing his hand that wasn't touching Erika.
"Well I see how this happened, he's quite the charmer." "Morning Jenny." The young, dark haired nurse smiled, somehow translating beeping monitors and lines into information about babies. "Time to weigh her, see if she's big enough to try feeding properly." Adam had never felt such anticipation in his life as Erika was weighed, and then bundled up in a blanket and handed to Erin. "Are we going to have to feed her special stuff when she's back home? I don't remember, being a baby myself." "It'll depend how much weight she gains before she leaves." Nodding, Adam watched as the baby managed to drink by herself. And then vomit on herself, but apparently that was a normal thing. The nurses eventually sent the teen parents to take a walk, so they strolled around the hospital garden holding hands and sat on a bench. "Still not nervous?" "Kind of, mostly about the here and now of it, I just want her to be well enough to come home with us. Man, that sounds weird." Kissing Erin's temple, Adam took a minute to enjoy the contentment he felt with her. "I know, but I imagine your mum was twice as terrified when she didn't know why you were a scrawny little thing. And Erika is getting stronger faster than you did."
Sure enough, by the time Erika was a week old they could hold her more often, and even Ryan and Ingrid had tried with her wrapped in a blanket. George couldn't get enough of her, chattering a mile a minute to Erika until someone wrestled the blanket wrapped baby off her. "She might have my hair, and those are Giles' funny earlobes all over. But I think she looks like you." Erin nodded sleepily, not nearly as used to sleepless nights as him. "Go home tonight with Ryan, Ingrid will threaten me until I eat." She must have been tired, as she agreed more easily than he expected and let Ryan flit her back to the castle, leaving Ingrid to make sure Adam didn't fall into his old habits and almost totally burn out. "I should take up smoking, since everyone keeps telling me to go outside. Not like it's going to kill me, my lungs are about to be defunct in under a year." he mused as Ingrid -encouraged- him to leave Erika and get food and a walk. "You would smell so bad I would never come near you again." Adam chuckled as he finished his sandwich, drinking the bottle of water down and tossing his rubbish.
"Ingrid?" She looked up at him, a strange image as she had a straw in a bag of A+ blood she had lifted from the hospital. "What?" "Do you want children yourself?" In hindsight, he should have waited until she didn't have a mouthful of blood to spit over the floor. "What kind of question is that?" "Forget I asked." "Bit late for that." Shaking his head, Adam turned away from her. "I hadn't really thought about it before Erin got pregnant, but then it doesn't matter either way. We might try and pretend otherwise, but there are limits to what we can ignore." "That's why I asked. Looking at Erika, it's like this piece of my heart I didn't know was missing. And because of me, because I couldn't let you go, I'm taking that away from you." Having had a lot of time alone with his thoughts, this had kept coming back to him. "Adam. We are literally teenagers, and immortal. You're assuming a lot about the future." "I guess. But if Valentine's taught me anything, it's that there isn't much that will stop me loving you. Then again I'm not so full of myself to assume that is a mutual thing."
Ingrid's hand dug painfully into his scarred shoulder, turning him to face her. "If you really think that, you don't understand a thing." Ignoring that they were still technically in public, that anyone could see them, Adam didn't fight Ingrid kissing him roughly, nails sharp where she gripped him tightly. "You think" even Ingrid was panting as they broke apart, eyes bright in the moonlight "I would be doing this if I thought for a minute it wasn't going to last? Idiot." She kissed him again before he could answer, eyes fixed on his pulse point as they broke apart and his heart raced. When he tried to speak again, they were interrupted by his phone ringing. "Hello?" "I don't know where you got to, but you need to get back here now." Recognising the nurses voice, Adam cast one look at Ingrid before turning and running up to Erika. "What happened to you?" "What?" "You have blood around your mouth? Or you put lipstick on in the dark." Swiping his mouth, Adam remembered Ingrid spilling her... drink, trying to come up with a lie. "I fell, must have bust my gum. Why did you call me up?"
A tissue was pressed into his hand, and he would know Ingrid behind him anywhere as he wiped blood off his face. With any luck, she had known to not get caught with matching red on her face. Given that he was the one with a reflection, that was a little ridiculous. "Is Erika ok? Why did you call me?" "We can't understand it, she was doing better, off all the tubes but her heart rate keeps rising and her temperature is spiking." Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Adam moved back to Erika's crib side. "What do we do?" "Give her to me." Looking over at Ingrid, Adam's brain didn't quite click. "I run cold, and last I checked contact is good for them anyway." "I'm not sure that's right." Looking up at Naomi, his favourite night time nurse, Adam stopped her talking. "Its a family trait, we run cold. See?" The nurse was visibly surprised by his skin temperature - he had no comparison himself but now he wondered how Robin or Erin had never told him he was that cold. "Ingrid's mother was similar, she's colder than me". Ingrid looked a little lost as they handed Erika to her, especially as the baby was wailing and Ingrid had much more sensitive hearing. The effect was almost instantaneous, Erika calmed down and settled in minutes, and the monitor said her heart rate was lowering to normal. "Well, there's nothing wrong with her lungs." Adam chuckled through his tears now Erika wasn't burning up, taking her from Ingrid and noticing her minute hesitance.
"Thank you." "See, our genes have some uses." "Not what I meant." Ingrid knew what he meant, he was sure. The nurses hovered as Erika went back into her little baby bed, and nothing terrifying happened. He reached out and squeezed Ingrids hand, his heart still pounding with panic. "Impressive. We should hire your family, that was faster than any cool down technique and more effective." Ingrid looked at the nurse with obvious disdain, making Naomi laugh. "I don't like babies thanks, one time deal for my little brother here." Adam felt his heart constrict a little, a little overwhelmed by how much he loved Ingrid in that moment. Keeping his eyes on Erika rather than fix lovestruck eyes on Ingrid in front of everyone, Adam tried to relax. He saw it in Ingrid's eyes when she was holding Erika, not needing to finish their earlier conversation to know Ingrid wanted children, and that was something he couldn't, or at least shouldn't, offer her. Pushing that thought away, he said not to tell Erin until she was at the hospital, so she could see Erika was fine now. Hugging Ingrid goodbye made the guilt resurface, making him drink his coffee still steaming hot to burn the lump from his throat.
-VAI-
I've never used a vampire for it, but I run cold myself and I used to do this for my nephew when he got fevers. And then he would puke on me, babies are gross.