A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

My reason for not posting is in the next chapter, I wanted to get this one finished quickly.

I hope these aren't a disappointment.

Chapter 53: Okay

Erin pulled back from him completely, she looked up at him. "What's the old fashioned way?"

Vlad smiled at her, "The way vampire's find our information – we look through the archives." He stroked her cheek lightly, "We don't rely on Jonno and Mina."

"They'd know more…"

"Erin we don't know whether they'd find anything, your files might be sealed or destroyed when Jonno and Mina took charge." He wasn't saying that they wouldn't find anything he was saying that they shouldn't rely on the slayers for everything.

Erin nodded, Vlad was right they couldn't hope that Mina and Jonno would find the answer. "I just want some answers."

"Me too." He wanted to know how a breather could carry a vampire's child. He wanted to know whether this would affect her and cause her problems and he wanted to know what it meant for them. If Erin ever wanted to become one of them would it kill her or the vampire who bit her? Ingrid had been extremely ill after biting Ryan and he – he was the only one he would allow to bite her – would most likely suffer the same fate. "What's wrong?" Vlad asked quietly, seeing the way Erin shivered in the cool air, she hadn't acted that way for a long time. He reached a hand out to her forehead and brushed his fingers across it lightly. She felt fine, she didn't have a temperature.

Erin smiled up at him, pulling away. "I just feel cold." He nodded, kissing her forehead lightly. She shuffled into his embrace, a limp clear in her step. He looked downwards at the discarded crutches on the floor.

He gave her a reproaching look, "You should be using crutches." He muttered as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, doing his best to support her weight, placing his chin on her hair.

"I'll be fine." She answered, she hated those things – she hated the blisters she had on her hands from using them. Anyway her leg wasn't hurting anywhere near as much as it was when she'd first woken.

"Are you okay?" He whispered into her ear. He felt her nod and closed his eyes enjoying holding her.

"You're going to worry more aren't you?" She teased, not bothering to move but repositioning her head to make herself more comfortable and closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent.

He glanced down at her out of the corners of his eye, a small smile on his face. "I can't help it." It was partly paternal with the new discovery of life inside her but he'd always worried about her.

"I know."

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"Erin?" He asked her softly, making sure he didn't startle her. She pulled back and looked up at him, "Are you okay with this?" He placed a hand on her stomach rubbing it lightly. Erin would have pulled back if it was anyone else but she strangely like him doing it.

She thought about his words, she didn't want to be hasty in her answer. She was seventeen, she'd be a mother at eighteen, and they'd both be parents at eighteen. This was the situation nearly every parent hated: their daughter becoming pregnant before she'd even left school. Vlad had told her she could do whatever she wanted in Transylvania and she believed him, he would never let her options be limited. She didn't know anything about parents, the longest she'd ever been near a parent like figure was Vlad's father and he wasn't the best role model but she knew he loved his children – both of them – even if he didn't show it. She would be going into this knowing practically nothing but Vlad had said he'd be there for her and that's what mattered.

"I think so." She answered, placing her hand over his. "I'm still scared and I don't know what to do but I think it'll be okay."

"I'll be with you the whole time." He promised her again, he leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "I'm sorry I didn't know that…"

Erin placed a finger against his lips, he didn't have anything to apologise for. "It's okay." Erin told him softly, "At least we know now it can happen without me being bitten."

Vlad winced as he thought his next comment over in his head before speaking quietly, she needed to be prepared should anything happen. "You might not be able to carry to term." He stroked her cheek, it was a real possibility. They weren't compatible for a reason.

Erin's heart skipped a beat and she froze completely, "Are you saying that I could lose the baby?" She didn't want to risk losing something that was part of Vlad. She wrapped her arms around her waist holding her stomach tightly.

Vlad closed his eyes, "I don't know." That was the problem with it never happening before – there was nothing to compare it against.

Erin took a deep breath; she needed to think things through more. She needed to remember the baby before acting on anything. "I need to be careful then, just in case I might..."

"Miscarry." He finished and she nodded. He tried to ignore the sensation that that single word brought on him – the sensation of his stomach twisting painfully at the mere thought of it happening. He never wanted her to go through that, he wasn't sure he could.

He noticed the way her head dropped to look at her stomach, "Maybe it was why they did this to me." She whispered, "To get what they wanted – a half vampire child – try and breed the blood lust out of you." She didn't like the thought that she was a test subject; it was something she couldn't comprehend. It was cruel and barbaric they were messing with her DNA, her future and the future of Vlad's kind. Nothing could be achieved through genetic manipulation.

Vlad tipped her chin upwards; he needed to look her in the eye to make her understand. "They couldn't have known that you'd choose to live with me." There was no way the Guild could have known she'd ever fall for a vampire. Of course there were other ways that… he shook his head ignoring the thought that came into his head. He wouldn't think of that. She was with him and that's what mattered now.

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Erin realised something, she hadn't asked him for his point of view on her current condition. She'd heard what he'd said but she was terrified that he was only doing this because he was honourable. He was the most honourable vampire and breather out there. "I never asked how you felt about this." Erin whispered, "I don't want you to think you have to be with me because of this… I didn't do this to trap you."

If he wanted to walk away from her completely she wouldn't hold him to it. It was his unlife and he could do what he wanted with it, she didn't expect anything from him. It would hurt but she would accept it.

Vlad shook his head at her words; it was fear and love that was speaking. She loved him enough to let him go if he wanted to walk away. She didn't want herself to be hurt in the long run if he was only being with her because of the baby.

He brought Erin's face in line with his, "You couldn't do a thing like that on purpose." She closed her eyes trying and failing to stop the treacherous tears from leaking from them. He kissed them away, instantly feeling the salty taste on his lips. "I want to be with you because I can't imagine not being with you." He stroked her jaw, "I've never wanted to be with anyone else and it's not going to change because you're pregnant. You're the first girl I've ever been with and I want you to be the last."

His eyes held the intensity he couldn't fit into his words. It felt right being with her, they fit together perfectly and he loved her with his whole heart. A vampire shouldn't love but he did. The fact they'd created the impossible only added to that. Yes it had been an accident but he wouldn't trade that accident for anything.

"You're seventeen…" She began the words he'd spoken affecting her too much. She wanted them to be true with her whole heart but he had centuries ahead of him, she had fifty years if she didn't ask him to transform her.

Vlad shook his head, cutting her off before speaking. "I don't care." He didn't care about their ages. They were old enough to make their own decisions, granted his weren't as legal in his world as hers yet, he knew what he wanted. "I won't lie, the baby changes things and it will always change things but I don't care. It's a child with you, a child that shouldn't be possible. I'm not going to lose this chance with you. I told you I'll be there with you ever step of the way and that's not going to change." There was no way he was losing this with her, he'd come far too close when he'd forced her to leave before and when he'd been jealous of himself. He couldn't go through those weeks without her again.

He pressed his forehead to hers, holding it there. He felt her forehead trembling under his and knew her whole body must be quivering. He lowered his lips to hers, capturing them sweetly.

"I go into my rule with you at my side and at least some future in place, I don't want anything else. I can't escape what I'm supposed to become but I can have a life with you and our son or daughter." He saw a question on her lips at the mention of gender, "The Council and Dad will want a boy," He didn't deny that, he'd practically been lectured on the fact his heir should be a boy from the day he'd worn that crown for the very first time. "I just want a healthy child; I don't care about whether it's a boy or a girl."

Erin looked at him with glistening eyes, "It might not be born." She reminded him.

He pulled her hands to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly, "If anything happens," He stopped feeling winded even though he didn't need air. "We'll deal with it together.

She nodded, "Love you." She spoke softly, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Me too." He answered.

"What are you two talking about?" A voice asked from behind them.

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Erin jumped away from Vlad grimacing as she came down on her foot hard, she turned to see her brother watching them curiously. "We were talking about Mum and Dad." She lied, Vlad watched as her eyes pulled to the side and he wondered if Ryan would notice. Ryan clearly didn't, "I want to know why we were lied to all those years." Erin told Ryan seriously.

"We got away from them Erin. They can't lie to us anymore," Erin let out a scoff, "What?" He narrowed his gaze at his sister.

Vlad knew Erin's hormones would feed off what Ryan was saying but he didn't really want to risk the wrath of the two former slayers. "You always wanted to be a slayer; I don't ever remember you trying to get away from them." Erin snapped at him. She'd tried to run away from them more than once but she'd always been caught before she got very far.

"What choices did we have Erin? We were born to slayers and the Guild looked after us, mum and dad would have wanted us to become slayers…"

Erin shot forward and hit Ryan hard making him blink rapidly in complete confusion as he looked at his sister, Vlad would have sworn she had the speed of a vampire if he didn't know better. "Don't you dare think you know what they would have wanted." She'd only slapped him because she knew it would hurt him more than a punch – it would sting far more. She only hoped he'd feel it as a vampire.

Ryan didn't let her slap stop him though, "You've always had the romantic idea that they'd let you become what you wanted – do you still want to be a princess?" He asked sarcastically. Vlad blinked as he looked down at Erin, she looked up at him seeing that he was trying to picture it in his mind.

"A princess?" Vlad asked, he couldn't imagine Erin ever wanting to be that. It was something that he'd consider too girly for her.

She flushed as she remembered the innocence of childhood, "I was five." She defended herself, her imagination had been her refuge when she was younger. "Didn't you ever want to be anything when you were five?"

"Human." He answered quick as a flash, he didn't even need to consider it. Erin's face softened as she saw the despair in his eyes of something he could never be. She reached up and brushed his cheek lightly. He leaned into her touch, Ryan rolled his eyes he still didn't like his sister being affectionate towards the vampire at least not where he could see it.

He didn't want her reopening old wounds, "They're dead Erin!" Ryan shouted at her, "No matter how much digging you do you'll never change that! They chose to be killed by a vampire after having us. If they loved us they wouldn't have gone after the vampire." There was no other way they could have been killed by a vampire other than going after it to slay it.

"I know!" She yelled back at him. She knew their parents had chosen a vampire over them. "But aren't you curious? Curious to know what they did to us and why?" She growled at him, anger taking over her.

"You didn't care about any of this until you met him."

Erin was shaking once more, but this time with anger towards her brother. "Because I didn't know about it. I want to know why we were experimented on."

"I don't think we were experimented on…"

"My blood is different Ryan." Erin snapped at him, letting him know for the first time. "I can't accept human blood transfusions; something in my blood breaks it down making it useless. They changed me Ryan, they changed me DNA. I don't even know whether I'm human or just a freak. We were born slayers Ryan we weren't any different until the Guild took us on."

Vlad stepped closer and placed a hand on the centre of her back. "Don't stress yourself." Vlad muttered to her and she nodded. She was at the very early stages of her pregnancy she couldn't risk stress getting to her.

Ryan looked between the suspiciously, he didn't understand what they were talking about. Erin was still injured so Vlad was probably talking about that. "Ask Renfield to check our DNA then."

Erin looked to Vlad hope in her eyes, she hadn't considered that. Vlad's eyes blackened visibly, clearly angry at the suggestion. "Renfield's not good with DNA." His words came out clipped and heavily accented. Ryan looked shocked at Vlad's intense hostility at the suggestion. Erin nodded, not understanding his reaction but she was willing to leave it if he reacted this way. "Please Ryan, I can't not know. If I want a future with Vlad I have to know."

Ryan looked at her, "Children?" Erin nodded, trying not to blush or look at her stomach. "You know that you'll have to…" She nodded, pretending that it was what had to happen.

"I need to know if my blood will kill Vlad or if what they did has changed things. Maybe I could carry his children as a breather…" She tested the waters a little,

Ryan's eyes flashed dangerously, immediately fixing on Vlad. "If it happens he'll be nothing but a pile of dust."

"Ryan…" She began, horrified. She knew she'd get this reaction from him but it didn't make it any less painful on her.

"I'm serious Erin. I won't let it happen." She nodded trying not to gulp, Ryan was perfectly serious. She was his little sister (by ten minutes) he wouldn't let her throw her life away.

"I don't care what you think about your parents or yourself." Vlad told him firmly, "I know Erin's been changed somehow, we're asking if you want to help." Vlad spoke, ignoring Ryan's promise of his upcoming fate. "Or don't you care about your sister at all?"

Ryan hissed at Vlad, Erin jumped grabbing her boyfriend's arm instinctively. She growled as her leg throbbed again as gravity took over once more. Ryan's two fangs glistened.

Vlad opened his mouth to reveal his four before hissing back at him. Ryan pulled back quickly; he hadn't expected that at all. Erin knew Vlad was reacting instinctively; he wanted to keep her safe as well as put Ryan in his place.

"What's your answer Ryan?" Vlad asked angrily.

"I'll help."

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading.