CAROLINE'S POV:
"Hello, anyone home?" Mom's voice called into the house a few days later
"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked as I walked down the stairs to greet her
"I had a message from Stefan," she informed me "he said you've been in hospital…"
I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Yeah, I have. There's something I need to tell you, actually."
"You're pregnant." she replied
"How do you know?" I questioned
"Because you're showing already," she informed me "you must be, what, 4 months gone?"
"Try 6." I replied
"Goodness, Caroline," she sighed "is that how you found out? When you were in hospital?"
I nodded my head… "But it's not as simple as it sounds."
"What're you talking about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me
"Can we wait till Stefan gets back?" I inquired "He'll be able to explain things better than me…"
STEFAN'S POV:
"Stefan, is that you?" Caroline called from the kitchen as I arrived back from hunting
"Yeah," I replied "I'm just gonna go and have a shower…"
"Can you come through here first please?" she questioned "Mom's here."
Making my way through to the kitchen, I greeted Liz with a kiss on the cheek, sitting down next to Caroline…
"So now you're here, maybe you can tell me why Caroline's been so sketchy about her pregnancy…" she admitted
"You know?" I inquired
"I noticed as soon as I saw my daughter," she informed me "but Caroline says it's not as simple as it sounds. What's going on, Stefan? Are there going to be complications?"
"Possibly," I replied "Caroline's showing so much already because she's carrying a vampire baby. She'll be giving birth in September."
"Wait a minute, a vampire baby?" she questioned
"We knew we wanted children, and we knew there was a risk it could happen," I explained "but we never expected it to."
"But it has!" she proclaimed "And now both my daughter and grandchild are at risk, because of you!"
"Mom!" Caroline sighed "Please…"
"It's okay," I replied, squeezing Caroline's hand that was entwined with mine "she's right, it is my fault."
"It's not. I was the one who wanted a baby the "natural" way," she admitted "the person you should be blaming for putting herself and your grandchild at risk is me, Mom. And I know this isn't the way you expected it to happen but it's happening, whether you like it or not. As long as I drink Stefan's blood to keep the baby healthy, there's minimal chance of complications and risk."
"You're drinking Stefan's blood? This is like something out of a TV show!" she sighed "I need to go!"
"What?" Caroline inquired "You're just going to leave?"
"I need to," Liz admitted "I need some time to get my head around all of this…"
CAROLINE'S POV:
The front door shut behind Mom a couple of minutes later and I let the tears fall, Stefan pulling me into him, my head falling against his shoulder as he ran his fingers through my hair soothingly…
"She hates me…" I whispered as I pulled away from him
"She doesn't hate you. And if she does hate anyone, it's me, not you." he replied
"Do you think she'll ever come around to the idea of what's happening?" I asked
"I don't know," he admitted "but getting yourself into a state isn't going to help. We need to keep you calm. Why don't you go and have a lay down?"
"Can I have a drink first?" I questioned
"Are you feeling okay?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at me
I nodded my head… "I just need a drink."
"Okay." he replied, moving from the breakfast bar to the other side of the kitchen. Watching him, he bit into his wrist and held it over a mug, moving back to me a couple of minutes later
"Thanks." I sighed as I took the cup from him
"Better?" he asked
"Better." I admitted
Oh dear, so the chat with Liz didn't go very well… Do you think, given time, she'll come around to the idea of having a vampire baby as a grandchild?
