A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.
The fourth of the four chapters I'm uploading tonight. I so hope this isn't a disappointment.
Please let me know what you think.
Chapter 52: Impossible
Vlad stumbled backwards, tearing his hand from hers. He twisted around trying to understand what he'd just found out. He glanced towards the tests, thinking that maybe she'd misread it but it was clear for him to see that they were both positive. There couldn't be two mistakes.
Erin felt her shoulders begin to heave. "I knew you'd hate me." She whispered. Vlad let out a sigh and rushed towards her, bringing her into his arms. He twisted himself so he sat next to her, making sure she didn't put any extra pressure on her leg. She fought at first but eventually relaxed seeing Vlad wasn't going to let go.
"I don't hate you." He whispered, "I can't hate you." He could never hate her.
She half collapsed sobbing in defeat in his arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." She repeated over and over into his chest. He rested his chin on her hair rocking her gently.
He couldn't get his head around it. It was impossible; no human could carry a vampire's child. There had been genuine attempts, trials and experiments but they just weren't compatible. Erin hadn't been with anyone else, he knew that without a doubt she would never cheat on him.
Vlad gently pushed her back but Erin wouldn't look at him. He brought her face up to his. "Look at me." He spoke softly, she still didn't look, "Look at me." He commanded, his tone immediately drew her eyes to his. They were filled with so many apologies. He tried to speak but she got there first.
"This is all my fault." She whispered,
Vlad was surprised, he couldn't understand her words. "Why is it your fault?"
Erin looked downwards, "I should have been more careful."
"Erin we had no reason to be careful." Vlad ran his hands through his hair, "It should be impossible."
"I know."
"Then how?" He yelled angrily more at himself than anyone else.
Erin jumped, "I swear Vlad, I've never been with anyone else."
He looked at her, surprised that she felt she the need to justify herself to him. "I know." He pulled her to him once more and she rested her chin on his shoulder. He felt her take a shaky breath. "I wasn't blaming you." He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "I was just trying to figure out why it happened."
"I shouldn't have told you. I should have just let you go back without me." She whispered.
"I have a right to know." He shouted angrily. "And I wanted to know." He couldn't believe she'd consider keeping it a secret from him.
"I've just ruined your unlife Vlad!" She yelled at him.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad blinked, she seemed so sure in her words. She looked away her hand coming to rest on her stomach. He looked at her in complete shock, "Is that what you really think?"
Erin nodded, she'd destroyed his future. He would be scorned and ridiculed especially someone of his future position. "I can't even do this right. I can't stick to impossible." She whispered.
"You haven't ruined anything." He promised her, this wasn't done intentionally. Things would be different but he didn't think they would be 'ruined'.
"How can you say that Vlad?" She spoke angrily, "I'm pregnant with your child. Your reputation…"
He kissed her quickly stopping her, "Has been ruined for years." He finished with a smile, he was sure his reputation could take another beating. He was already a disgrace in his world but he would be in control. No one would dare say anything against her in his presence. "I don't drink blood, I like breathers, I want peace, I'm not evil and I love a slayer. I don't think much else will shock them."
"You're not of age and you're going to be the Grand High Vampire…"
His answer was simple as he shrugged, his rule wasn't as important as her. "Then I go into my rule with a child on the way," He stroked her jaw, "Erin you won't be blamed I will." He assured her. Erin couldn't bear the thought of him being blamed. She shook her head, opening her mouth to speak but he pressed a finger to her lips to explain. "By my culture you're of age, I'm not. It will be my fault because I should have known better and held more respect for you for what could happen. I only care that you won't be blamed." It was one of those times that the lack of women's rights would work for them; Erin wouldn't have had the power to say no if he sighted their customs when asked.
Erin brushed her fingers over his lips, caressing them lightly. "I'm not having you blamed for this Vlad."
Vlad just wanted her safe, "I don't care about blame. I care about you." A thought crossed his mind, "Were you thinking about getting rid of it?" He asked, half in fear of her answer.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Erin blinked slowly, unable to believe he'd just asked that. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, she clenched her fists resisting hitting him for even suggesting that she was thinking that.
"It's part of you!" She immediately spoke, not hiding the outrage at his question. "I couldn't get rid of half of you and I can't get rid of this baby. I never even thought about it." It had never crossed her mind, she was more concerned about his place in his world. Her voice lowered, "Do you want me to?" Fear was in her eyes, she didn't want to lose this baby. She'd only known for certain for fifteen minutes at most but she wasn't going to lose what could be her last link to him if his kind got their way.
"No!" He answered immediately, "I would never make you do something like that. I know I don't want to lose you either." Her eyes flickered up to his; Vlad knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his and kissing the backs of them lightly. "Erin I still want you to come with me. I love you. I want to be with you and if there's a baby then we'll manage. It'll be hard at first but we can do this."
"You know they won't let me stay..." She whispered shaking her head. "Your dad will kill me for this happening."
Vlad reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers travel down to her neck and linger there for a few moments. "I can handle Dad, he'll go bats but he'll have to come around to it." Vlad told her. He could handle his father, he didn't care about him handing Erin over to the slayers now he had a bargaining chip of his own. If the slayers, garlic forbid, got their hands on Erin and the baby Vlad's DNA and the future of their kind would be at risk. Vlad didn't want to play that card but he would if it meant keeping Erin with him.
"I can't hide it Vlad, they'll notice eventually and it'll happen before your birthday. You know they won't let me stay." She knew they'd want her to leave, she knew they wouldn't even accept Vlad being the father of the baby. She couldn't blame them it was supposed to be impossible.
He leaned up and pressed his forehead against hers, "There's no way they're taking you from me. Especially not now." He would be there for his child. "We're young but we can do this."
She was quaking inside with terror, "It's a baby Vlad!" Erin hissed, "I don't know anything about babies." She didn't have parents, she'd only been bounced around the Guild foster homes with Ryan. She didn't even know what having a mother was like. She didn't know how to be one.
He placed a hand on her stomach. "I don't either." He lifted up her shirt; his cool hands making her shiver and instinctively pull back. He bit back a smile at her reaction and rubbed his hands together in an attempt to try and make them feel warmer. He felt her stomach; it was a little firmer but only because his attention was drawn to it. Erin closed her eyes at his tender touch; he seemed genuinely amazed as his hands explored her midsection. "I've only ever held Wolfie when he was born." He added a minute or so onwards. "About five weeks then."
"Hmm?" She asked, not understanding him, she was distracted by the sensation of him exploring her stomach.
"You're about five weeks then." He repeated, "Isn't breather pregnancy calculated from your last period?" He remembered listening to that in biology when he was studying his GCSEs. Erin nodded, she couldn't believe he knew that when he could be naïve on other things concerning her physiology.
"What about your future?" Erin asked him quietly. She wanted to know how this would affect him as Grand High Vampire.
He looked her in the eyes, "Do you love me?" He asked, "Me as this Vlad, the mixture?"
Erin scoffed, hardly believing he could ask. "I loved you both when you were separate, I love you more together." God that sounded cheesy, it didn't sound as bad in her head.
"Then I have a future with you and the baby." Erin felt her eyes water at his words, "You can still have one too."
"How?" The only qualification she had was being a slayer.
"In Transylvania you don't need qualifications for a profession; you just have to prove you can do it. You can do anything you want or…" He trailed off,
Erin looked at him, "Or?"
He looked adorably shy, "You can help me." He didn't want to mention being Queen, it was far too soon and that would involve an official union although the child growing inside her bound them together in one way. She could become an advisor to him if she wanted to.
Erin stroked his jaw, it was something she wasn't sure how she felt about, and she didn't want to talk about it now. "It's still two months away." That reminded her of something, something inevitable. "We won't be able to hide it forever Vlad." The fear of what would happen when it began to show was starting to overwhelm her. She'd grow bigger and it wasn't something that could be hidden with baggy clothes.
"I don't want you to hide it." He answered, stroking her cheek, "I have another reason to fight for us, that baby will be my heir – no other child can be." The power the child would wield wouldn't be matched by any other later children. "They know I will protect you and I'll do anything to make sure you're safe."
Erin clutched at his hand, her nails dug into his skin and she was thankful that he was a vampire because her grip was tight enough to draw blood. "I'm scared Vlad. So fogging scared."
He was terrified to but he wasn't going to tell her. He knew his family and his kind wouldn't take it well. His father would be disappointed with him but then again he always disappointed with his son. He didn't know what repercussions there would be for either of them.
"I'm not leaving you, I'm being here with you every step of the way." He wouldn't leave her they were in this together. "The first thing we need to do is to find out how this happened." He kissed her lightly, "And I think the best way to do that is find what the slayers did to you." Erin nodded slowly, he was right. "I think what they did to you made this possible." He was terrified of what else they might have done to her and what repercussions it could have for her.
Jonno and Mina hadn't been able to dig deeper. They might know something but she didn't hold out much hope, they had said they needed to tell them something but she wasn't sure she could wait that long and it would be better to find out their own information rather than relying on the slayers'.
"How?" She asked.
Vlad smirked. "The old fashioned way."
TBC
A/N: What do you think?
I think I know where I'm headed with this idea. It's the final piece of my little puzzle. I just have to pull everything together now.
Thanks for reading.
