Mornings, Vivika hadn't ever been a fan of them, even before the Strigoi had taken over she'd preferred the night hours to the sun beaming down on her; probably why she was so pale. So when she found herself waking many hours before her scheduled time she became angry before she'd even opened her eyes. Actually Vivika refused to open her eyes, she didn't want it to be time to get out of her nice and warm bed, not when she had Thomas to heat it for her. Eyes still closed she reached for him but found the bed beside her had started to cool and was void of her beloved and evil husband, that was when the semi-immortal felt eyes on her, that must have been what had awoken her to begin with; sharp eyes which seemingly raked over her naked form. Finally Vivika opened her dazzling green eyes and gazed up to find Thomas stood sans make-up and dressed only in his black, silk robe at the bottom of the bed, he held a fresh glass of crimson in his hand – which Vivika could already smell the iron of – as he watched her shamelessly. After a sinfully satisfying stretch she smiled up at him, silk sheets only just covering her breasts, and let the quiet drift between them a moment before she finally broke it.
"You're mean keeping all your warmth over there instead of wrapped around me, I am having your baby after all." Thomas let his stinger spurt outwards to take a drink; it would have horrified anyone else but not Vivika. "Coming back to bed? Surely you don't ant us to get cold and lonely."
Thomas smirked at her, the sharp danger of his teeth evident without all his prosthetics. Some days he still wondered just which perverse deity had moulded a woman like Vivika together for him, she was depraved, dangerous and utterly stunning when drenched in blood. Humans would have called her 'sick in the head' or 'mentally ill' but humans were idiots and couldn't see the ethereal majesty which shined in her emerald orbs when someone died a bloody and painful death, or notice the change in her intoxicating scent when he ripped someone apart, even just verbally, before her. Eichhorst took another sip, an actual sip this time which left his stinger hidden away inside his throat, then approached his side of the bed and got back in.
"Drink." He insisted once he was settled and offered her the glass.
Vivika glanced at it then breathed out a small laugh. "You did enjoy that, didn't you. My sweet Thomas wanting to fuck me while I taste of blood."
She let out a little hum of delight which he felt vibrate lightly through the bed. After that first time she'd drunk it for him Eichhorst had to wonder why he'd never gotten her to before, he'd tasted her own blood on her lips but never had it occurred to him to smother her with someone else's; oh how short-sighted he'd been.
With a devilish smile she took the proffered glass and without a single second of hesitation she took a sip, not a gulp or downed it, but a ladylike sip which had him bite his lip. Vivika never took her eyes from him, while he got off on seeing her consuming blood she did much the same on the way his already demonic eyes darkened and grew hungry, the way he started to pant with want and even how his sharp nails clawed into the bed unconsciously. When he could take his want no longer Thomas leant in and pressed their lips together, it was a lighter kiss than she'd expected but she adored the way his tongue licked around her mouth to taste both her and his victim at the same time.
"My naughty boy, aren't you, why don't you be good for a change, hmm?"
Thomas' brow furrowed as she threw the covers off her to reveal her naked form to him with her free hand then pointedly wiggled the glass before him, satisfied she had his full attention Vivika drew the glass down past her breasts over the growing bump of their baby and parted her legs so she could drip a little onto her right inner thigh. If Eichhorst had eyebrows he'd have lifted one.
"Go on then." She teased despite the pain of her child having launched his stinger out towards the blood from within her.
The German didn't need telling twice, with a grin he rose up onto his knees and shuffled between her legs to lick away the precious liquid only for Vivika to drip a little more onto her other thigh. Thomas grinned, he could smell her want, her desire, and was fully aware it was his job to sate her now since he'd started all of this. So, with a deep growl, the former Nazi set to work licking, sucking and nibbling at his wife's core while the richly mixed scents of her and blood drove him on. He'd always had a thing for blondes but perfection had come in the form of a woman with hair as black as her soul. Eichhorst had long ago lost the ability to climax like a human but somehow the sounds she made for him, the taste of blood and the chemicals he could lick off of her, the way she wrapped her legs around him and caused his senses to heighten were far better, far longer lasting and far more intense than anything a human male could enjoy. Yes, he'd never be able to experience the pleasure of filling her with his seed but that didn't matter in the least to Thomas, this was more euphoric, more gratifying, regardless.
"Thomas." She purred wantonly; his name on her tongue as sweet as the blood on his.
She was close and he knew it, her skin grew hot under his fingers, her breath came in shorter pants. Vivika's needy mews turned to moans her hips started to thrust wantonly to the point he had to pin them down with his considerable strength. Gods she wanted this, needed this. If he was going to wake her up then she sure as shit was going to get something amazing out of it! Her fingers clawed at his head wishing he'd been wearing his wig so she'd have something to cling to. So close, so close, so... close. And then nothing, Thomas just stopped dead.
Vivika peered down at her monster of a husband to find him in that paused, statue-like pose he often took on when The Master spoke to him. Vivika sighed and let her head hit the pillow, this wasn't the first time this had happened but in that moment she really wished their Lord worked on his timing. I was so fucking close!
Thomas pulled his head up then and pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to the swell of her belly.
"Forgive me, liebe, but I have been summoned."
She dug her fingers into his shoulders so hard he bled when he dared move from between her legs.
"Thomas, so help me God, I will personally explain to our master why I had to kill you if you leave without finishing."
That made him breathe out a laugh as the sting of pain from her nails set in. There was no denying that if he really wanted to he could easily disentangle himself from his wife and leave to serve his master, he was ten times stronger after all and equally speedier but she was still his wife and would find a way to hurt him just to get her point across; besides, how could he resist her all spread out for him?
"Well we wouldn't wish to inconvenience our Lord, now would we." Thomas purred before he turned his attention back to making his wife scream out his name.
~X~
While Vivika wouldn't trade her baby for the world the weight on her bladder had gone for mildly annoying to somebody was going to get stabbed with the largest blade she could find. At least she'd not have to suffer as long as human pregnant women so that was something. The fact she'd started lactating the night before didn't help either. Still, Vivika couldn't get caught up in such things, not on that day, not when Thomas had been so kind as to plan an outing for them. Maybe outing was the wrong word and 'inspection' would have been better because that was exactly what they'd be doing. Though Vivika had been essential in transferring people out of the city and into the blood farms she'd never actually been to one, seen it up and running; and to say she was excited was putting it mildly.
She'd donned her favorite white dress for the occasion, or at least her favorite of her maternity dresses, and made sure her make up was utterly perfect as it was her job to look perfect beside her husband. That was how Thomas found her, sat at her vanity table giving practically trademark purple lipstick that final blot.
"Ready, Vivika?" He asked from the closet doorway with a blood-red time over his handless arm. "We really should be leaving."
A little awkwardly she stood and crossed to her husband which she easily made quick work of lifting his collar up and helping with his tie as always.
"Of course I'm ready, I've been looking forward to this all week." She gave him a quick kiss. "Such a perfect husband."
That got a small smirk out of Thomas, one of the loving ones which only Vivika was ever privy to. With the Blood Farms practically at capacity it was, of course, Eichhorst's job to keep everything running smoothly and bureaucracy was where Thomas came into his own; everybody had a knack, a skill they excelled at above all others, and over complicated administration procedure was certainly his, Vivika could manipulate the most stubborn of people but she couldn't Baelish the system quite like her husband.
Little to no conversation passed between the Eichhorst as they made the roughly to hour drive to just outside of Philadelphia to view Thomas' masterpiece. Reds and oranges dominated the damaged sky just as they had ever since Illumination day and the scent of burning still lingered in areas. It was one of the rare occasions where the suit-clad Strigoi had opted to drive so while he stared at the dusty roads Vivika was left with little to do but stare out the passenger window and rub her belly. Maybe it had been a little silly for it to just be the two of them on the trip what with them being The Master's left and right hands but no one knew of the trip and both Thomas and his bride were exceptionally hard to kill; ambush was remarkably unlikely even if they were attacked they'd survive.
For a time the twenty-two-year-old pondered if she'd left Becket with enough to do while she was gone. After taking a shine to the tall, handsome man she'd watched him and happily learnt he was actually rather efficient nor did he complain, Becket was everything she'd hoped Sanjay to be. Vivika had kept Becket out of the Blood Farms along with his five year old to selfishly use him as her assistant, her new Sanjay vastly improved. The fact Becket had a daughter was nice as well, little Nyla would be a wondrous piece of leverage should her daddy dearest ever get ideas above his station.
About an hour into the drive Vivika had passed boredom and slipped into a strange sort of dozing depression; I really should have brought a book. Delight surged through her though when their son shifted inside her.
"You're bored as well, aren't you, my little one." She mused aloud. "Don't worry, we'll be there soon." She tilted her head up to Thomas. "Perhaps we can convince Daddy to put his foot down."
"Is this what you call a subtle hint, libelling?" Thomas tilted his head towards her a moment, a teasing smile on his lips before those fake blue eyes back to the road only to accelerate dramatically. "Better?"
"So much better." Vivika beamed only to lean across and press a peck to his cheek.
"Not much longer. However, I shall remind you that this is not just a fun day for you, you are still to conduct yourself appropriately for a servant of our Lord. I may be your husband but-"
She waved him off. "Yes, yes, you're his loyal consigliere before anything else and you will reprimand me – not in a fun way – should I displease either you or The Master while there. I'm not new, Thomas darling, I know what the fuck I'm doing and I also know not to show a single sign of weakness." Vivika rested a hand atop his ever so warm thigh. "I love you but you worry too much."
Thomas just let out a grumble and turned a corner, finally, finally, the Blood Farm came into view, the only structure amidst an ocean of overgrown grass and trees. The raven-haired beauty felt excitement bubble within her. In a way these camps were as close to seeing Thomas human as Vivika would ever get, this was her husband's element and she was delighted to see it. No only had the humans finally learnt their place in the world – at the bottom of the food chain – but to watch her sweet Thomas run it, oh she couldn't wait. Vivika hadn't ever had all that much interest in the Second World War – or the First for that matter – as she thought it little more than yet another overzealous philistine threatening or manipulating others into obeying so they could run the world for a week; another pointless, human waste of time to her. If you're going to take over the world do it properly. However, her lack of interest in who offended who first didn't mean she'd not learnt all she could about Thomas' camp. She'd found book after book full of how the place has been operated, who had gone there and why, but most importantly she'd found such a sweet little photograph of her husband among the officers. Say what you will about Nazi's but Eichhorst had worn the uniform well and proud; then again she suspected it was easy when one's uniform was designed by Hugo Boss.
"Perhaps don't look quite so giddy, sweetling." The German suggested as he rolled the car to a halt by the main gate. "We are here for a reason; to assess this site and ensure everything is up to The Master's standards, not so you can play."
She cast him a loving smile as he rolled the window down for the guard who approached.
"Fine, I lie all the time, I can pretend I'm not enjoying this immensely."
"I very much doubt that, meine süße."
With that Eichhorst turned his attention to the Strigoi watching over the gate while a particularly rabbit Mongrel scurried around the car on a leash with another Strig guard. The raven-haired semi-immortal hardly gave any of them a second glance, too focused on getting in and seeing everything. Thomas however, was far more by the book – bureaucrat, muttered Vivika's mind - and turned to face the Strigoi as it poked its head rather unnecessarily through the open window. It watched them a moment as its head wobbled slightly and then the thing was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. Eichhorst didn't even speak, just rolled the window back up, waited for the gates to be thrown open and drove inside.
Depression and despair practically scented the air as the car rolled forwards, long barracks arranged in sterile rows around the central building and guardhouses dressed in razor wire dotted at every needed point for maximum control over the camp. The place was a fortress and Vivika knew perfectly well that Thomas had gone to great lengths to perfectly design each and every one of them. Menschlager XC03-43 was the name it had been given, rather unimaginative in Vivika's eyes and she still wasn't sure where the 'XC03-43' bit came from but that didn't matter, these were Thomas' masterpiece.
Green eyes caught sight of a set of exercise yards where several men were playing basketball; the exercise program has been improved then. The pregnant woman supposed it was all for the best, healthy humans meant healthy blood after all and that was the primary purpose of these camps; keeping the meat bags rounded up was secondary.
"Remember what I told you, Vivika." He said sternly yet still with a softness reserved only for his bride.
Finally the black SUV rolled to a stop just outside the main building and Thomas silenced the engine. Via the mirrors Vivika had easily spotted the glances prisoners gave the car, the questions which came with those glances. She steeled her features, this was going to be so much fun! Thomas slipped out of the SUV while Vivika just continued to watch the humans from behind the chain link fences, her car – because it was hers, Eichhorst drove it very rarely – was flawlessly clean and looked like something from another world since Illumination Day, all perfectly black and shiny without a speck of dust save for what had been picked up by the tires on the drive; quite frankly the raven-haired woman had thought about getting the SUV painted purple but had worried it would end up looking too garish and lurid so she'd shelved the idea. No, this vehicle didn't say new arrivals or more Strigoi troops, it could only mean they were part of the elite, and since almost every human was now in a Menschlager that narrowed their list of visitors considerably.
Thomas straightened his cuffs as soon as he was out the car and Vivika grinned to herself as she spotted a few human faces fall in horror, very few had actually seen the faces of Mister and Missus Eichhorst in the grand scheme of things but the ones who had seen Thomas before made no attempt to hide it. The Master's second-in-command had arrived, the situation was serious.
Like a perfect gentleman the suit-clad Strig rounded the car and opened the passenger door to help his wife out; her white dress a stark contrast to the post-nuclear-bomb world around them and the perfect, sharp lines of her cat eyes were something only one woman would still care about. She cast her husband a kind smile as he pushed the car door shut behind her and looped her arm with the one which still had a hand.
Ignoring the throngs of captive humans the couple headed up to the main building's heavy, metal door only for it to be thrown open a few steps shy of them reaching it. There they were greeted by Randolph Chetwynde, Menschlager XC03-43's disturbingly actuate administrator. Vivika hadn't met him before he'd been made Strigoi and knew next to nothing about his history nor did she care to learn. However, The Master had granted Chetwynde a certain level of control over himself – held the leash ever so slightly harder than he had with Kelly Goodweather – and had set the Strigoi to work running the camp; after all they couldn't have just left it in the hand of base Strigs.
"Welcome." Greeted Chetwynde as he approached them. "Welcome. Please, come inside away from the food."
So they did. Two Strigs closed the heavy door behind the trio and Vivika couldn't help but give Chetwynde a once over as she and her husband followed him up to his office. He hadn't bothered with prosthetics like Thomas and Kelly had, no, it was greenish-white skin for him and dark eyes, he had, however, donned a cheep suit; well, cheep from Vivika's and Thomas' perspective at least. In all honesty the emerald-eyed woman thought his brown suit screamed substitute teacher but alas they hadn't come to critique Randolph Chetwynde's fashion sense or lack thereof, they had arrived to insure everything was running smoothly and edit if needed.
"I didn't realize both of you would be coming." Muttered Chetwynde once they reached his office; he gestured for Thomas and Vivika to take a seat as he slipped into his own chair behind the metal desk. Thomas remained stood though, a small domination of the room. "You are more than welcome though, Missus Eichhorst."
"How can one operate from the top if one hasn't taken the time to understand the cogs?"
Chetwynde just stared at her while she rubbed softly at her belly; the baby must have sensed all the fresh blood around them. Black eyes were soon drawn back to the German though when he rounded the metal desk to gaze out the windows at the barracks below. XC03-43 had been built from and around an old factory just outside of Philadelphia, looked as though it had been designed to be a brewery but the owners had either run out of money or halted things when the Strigoi had first arrived; didn't matter, it was a menschlager now.
"There are exactly fourteen thousand, nine hundred and thirteen prisoners housed here, correct?" Thomas began while he still gazed out the dusty window.
"It's about to be fourteen, sir. Seems two of the humans got rather … intimate." Confessed Chetwynde. "Neither are B Positive of course, such a shame, but I have already made arrangements for the child to be raised here and when it is old enough we will process it just like everybody else here."
The camp administrator paused then and glanced to Vivika then her belly and finally over his shoulder as if he suddenly expected Thomas to threaten him for his complete disregard for a child's life. His discomfort amused Vivika, odd that even a Strigoi could be unnerved by her and her husband.
"We shall tour the facility and then I intend to look through your blood records." Thomas stated simply as he finally returned to his wife and rested his remaining hand on the back of her chair.
"Everything is in order, sir, I assure you. I-"
Eichhorst cut him off abruptly, he had neither the time nor the energy to care about whatever Chetwynde intended to say.
"Shall we go? I have other things to attend to and my wife, as you may have noticed, is with child so it's best not to drag things out." With that he helped Vivika to her feet and once again looped their arms.
They started with the exercise yards and a few of the barracks – there was no way in hell they'd strut through every one of them no matter how amusing Vivika though it would be – before they returned inside to take a look at the kitchens. They were clean enough and had a mostly nutritional diet for the humans, at least the vegetables were fresh but that was mostly because the humans were used as labor to grow it all. A few of the people assigned to work in the kitchens had enough courage to glare at the Eichhorsts and Chetwynde when they entered while most of the others lowered their heads and got back to work, not a single one had been brave enough to say anything though; that was humans in the end, all bark and no bite.
Pleased their food supply wouldn't starve to death Thomas and Vivika moved on to the blood processing area which had been set up in the main body of the factory. Again there were humans assigned to cleaning it, maybe ten to fifteen walking about while guard Strigoi and a Mongrel watched them.
Vivika had to pause when they entered, the scent of iron rich blood had the baby stirring in seconds and predictably he bit her again, it hurt but then Thomas was there with a hand on her belly and a comforting smile; instantly their boy calmed with his father's presence and Vivika couldn't help but smile.
"The prisoners clean the equipment four times a day and the needles are cleaned after each person." Began Chetwynde as he moved further into the processing room. "They are split into groups on a cycle to ensure our extraction of blood is continuous and yet provides each human just enough time for them to recover."
Thomas heard every word but totally ignored it in favor of watching over his wife until she'd given him that 'I'm okay' nod of hers, only then did he turn his attention back to Randolph Chetwynde.
"Good. Once I have been through your records I shall determine whether or not improvements can be made."
Her husband and the administrator dove deep into conversation then and Vivika took the opportunity to look around. There were maybe five side rooms one of which she could see straight into and it appeared to be a storage room. Impossibly green eyes couldn't help but notice the muttering between some of the prisoners and curiosity got the better of her and she slowly shuffled closer intent on listening to what passed for prison gossip in this place.
"... the fuck is she? She don't look waxy like him and she's expectin'."
Ah, so I'm the topic of conversation, not overly surprised to be honest, muttered Vivika's mind as she listened in to the people inside the storeroom. And actually my Thomas looks considerably less 'waxy' today. He should have listened to me and changed his foundation months ago.
"How can you not know who she is, Paul?" Responded a woman while things were clearly moved around inside the room. "She's Vivika Eichhorst."
"Yeah," began another woman with an unmistakable Canadian accent. "the crazy bitch who even the human collaborators were fucking scared of. Molly from the kitchens says she once saw her walking down the street when one of those Mongrels got free and she just grabbed it and told it to sit."
"So she ain't human?" Paul questioned. "Why am I not surprised, it's just weird, fuck, all of this is weird."
"Hey, I don't really care." Sighed the first woman. "Still, Lucy is right, Vivika Eichhorst is a crazy bitch and her husband is The Master's right hand man."
"Callie, do you think they know?" Lucy suddenly sounded shy and worried, a little panicked even. "We've been working on this since they brought us in here, we were so careful they can't possibly-"
Callie cut the Canadian off. "Of course they don't know!" She seemed to hiss and whisper all at the same time. "How could they? They've been in New York doing God only knows what while we have been here carefully and quietly planning. Chetwynde doesn't know, the guards certainly don't know or we'd be dead already, so the Eichhorsts can't know. Things will stay that was too as long as you and Paul keep your mouths shut."
Silence lingered between Callie, Paul and Lucy for a few moments then while Vivika grinned to herself, she'd known she'd enjoy their visit to the camp and she was pleased to not be disappointed.
Paul piped up then. "There is one thing I still don't understand though, who's kid is it?"
"My husband's of course." Said Vivika as she stepped into the doorway; a sharp smile on her face. She delighted in the way their faces dropped. "As if he'd let another man fuck me." Vivika chuckled. "No, no, he'd murder him before the idea had fully formed in their stupid head. Kind of how he's going to murder all of you idiots with your little escape attempt. Oh, I knew today would be a good day."
Thomas called her name then and she turned to face him intent on sharing her little discovery, but before she could open her mouth there was the unmistakable sound of glass smashing and then someone grabbed her, a man, Paul, and Vivika found herself hauled backwards as a glass shard was pressed harshly against her throat and cut a little.
Hang on, am I being taken hostage right now? Was the question which flooded through her brain as Thomas registered what was happening and surged forwards at full speed only for Callie and Lucy to slam the door in his face. That didn't stop him glaring through the rounded glass window though.
"Don't even try shoving your hand through that window!" Paul ordered. "You really think you can rip it of the hinges before I cut her throat open?"
He couldn't and they all knew it, so Thomas stayed very, very, still and glared. Vivika could feel where the glass had cut her that, her skin tried to heal around it but the shard kept it from doing so which mean her blood continued to trickle down her neck, over her clavicle and stained her dress. So much for this outfit then.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Paul?!" Callie growled. "Now we're all fucked! So totally fucked!"
"She was going to tell them!" He shouted while Vivika just stood there looking disinterested. "At least this way we have a hostage, we stand a chance."
Neither of the women appeared to see things from Paul's point of view and knew exactly what Vivika did, Paul had just signed their death warrants.
"You're not a very bright one, are you, Paul." Mused Vivika. "Should have left this to the girls, I'm guessing you were only part of this to lift the heavy stuff, right?"
"Shut up!" Paul commanded, his chest pressed against her and his grip on what had probably been a bottle tight. "Now it's your turn to beg for your life. You think you're powerful but you're not, you're going to beg and I'm going to ignore your pleas just like the Strigoi did with my father, my brothers and my niece."
Vivika chuckled, a sound which made the three humans pause and stare at her in horror. What did she know that they didn't? What could she do that they couldn't?
"That's the difference between us, I don't beg for my life." She told them in a hushed whisper.
A pause, small and hardly there, just a moment where their brains needed to reboot.
"And what about your child's?" Questions Paul, his breath was hot on her neck and not in the comforting way Thomas' was.
While Callie and Lucy looked horrified that their cohort would threaten an unborn child, Vivika didn't waver for a single second just let her grin grow larger and larger as her eyes darkened.
"Oh I don't need to... because now you've pissed off Daddy."
Paul snorted offhandedly. "He's on the other side of the door, he can't get in."
Vivika lifted an eyebrow. "Can't he?"
The humans all flicked their eyes to the little, round window Vivika had been staring at the entire time but Thomas Eichhorst wasn't there, just Chetwynde looking as though he were waiting for something.
"He can't get in here, right?" Pleaded Lucy. "There aren't any doors or windows and the walls are all re-enforced concrete."
"No windows, you say." Smirked Vivika. "Then explain to me where the natural light is coming from."
Oh the utter horror that developed on their stupid faces was delectable, for a moment she wished she could bottle it and use it as a salad dressing.
Slowly, ever so damn slowly, they all looked upwards to the small skylight at the top of the room which mostly existed for ventilation purposes, a shadow teased over the glass and then Thomas burst in. He shattered the dirty glass and dropped down between the door and Paul who now had no choice but to use Vivika as a shield.
"Still think you're faster?" Thomas said quietly but before any of the humans could possibly contemplate what to do next Thomas flew around his wife, grabbed Paul by the neck and literally ripped his head from his shoulders. "I didn't think so."
The German dropped Paul's head where it rolled away from his body. Vivika's white dress was far beyond salvage but she didn't care in the least, actually liked the spatters of red all over her. Fake blue eyes snapped to Lucy and Callie where they'd cowered into a corner by the door, one clinging to the other as if it would somehow protect them.
"No one touches my wife. Or you'll suffer the same fate." Thomas snarled, accent thicker than Vivika had ever heard before and damn did she want him.
In seconds Vivika was snared and wrapped up in her husband's arms. She kissed him deeply, everything smelt of blood and her body urge for him.
"I love you, Thomas." She sighed happily into his neck.
"And I you, liebling." Ever so carefully he lifted her bridal style just as one of the guard Strigoi slammed its fist through the round window and hauled the door off it's hinges. "I think you should rest, better for the baby."
"No need to worry about him, Thomas darling, he had fun just like his Mama did."
That got a small smirk out of her husband and he carried her out of the storage room. She'd already known they'd spend the night at the camp and drive back in the morning so it was no surprise when Vivika found herself deposited on a bed not too far from Chetwynde's office. It wasn't nearly as luxurious as her and Thomas' penthouse but it would do for the night. The room was next to empty and the bed was only just big enough for two people – not that she expected Thomas to sleep at all. Everything was depressingly brown as well but the camps weren't for fun and frolic so the raven-haired beauty let it slide.
"Good job I had the foresight to bring two changes of clothes instead of just one." She teased.
The former Nazi bent by the bed to press a loving kiss to her soft lips only for Vivika to grab him by the tie and yank him down so he was forced to brace himself on his hand, stump and with one knee by her hip.
"I have to look through the records for this camp, meine süße."
"But I want you." She complained while fiddling with his tie.
"That I know, I do have a sense of smell." Another kiss. "I shan't be long, I promise and besides, you deserve far better than this pathetic excuse for a bed."
Vivika smiled up at him. "You ripped a man's head off for me. Didn't crush his throat or drain him or even gut him and leave him to bleed out on the ground, you ripped his head off. You really do love me, don't you."
Precariously he lifted his hand from the bed and rested it atop her belly; birth wasn't far away now.
"I love both of you." A comfortable silence settled between them for a few seconds until Eichhorst finally broke it again. "Stay here and rest, I will deal with the paperwork and then tomorrow we'll take the two women back to the penthouse with us if you'd like. Bleed them slowly."
"You say such nice things."
One more kiss and then Thomas departed to deal with all the bureaucracy that Thomas excelled at.
Vivika found herself in silence but she didn't mind, sometimes silence was exactly what one needed. Occasionally she'd hear a scream or shout from the humans outside and if she closed her eyes and thought really hard it was just like the Partnership's early days when the humans were still trying up comprehend that the Statue of Liberty was gone.
After a while the dry blood which had formed a line down from her neck and a now totally healed wound started to itch so she sat herself up and peered around for her handbag, she wasn't quite sure who had put it at the foot of her bed but she was pleased they had. It took a minute to sit up and reach for it, being at the end of a Strigoi pregnancy would do that, and sure enough a spark of pain shot through her.
"Ouch." She grumbled to herself and the baby. "Maybe be nice to your mother for a while, hmm?"
Vivika made quick work of fishing around in her bag and soon pulled out a tissue and set about wiping away the crimson at her throat. Once done she tossed the bloody tissue back down the bed to lay beside her handbag and glanced out the dirty window a moment, the sun would set soon and normality would return.
It wasn't until she lay back down that the pain sparked again, somewhat harsher than before.
"What did Mama just say, baby boy?" The semi-immortal rested both hands on her rounded belly soothingly. It was all the blood, had to be, it had woken her boy up and clearly he'd got an appetite just like his father. "You're supposed to be good for me, remember? What would Daddy say if he knew you were hurting your mother?"
Blissfully the twinges stopped and Vivika settled her head back on the excuse for a pillow; maybe Thomas had been right and she did need some rest. She breathed out a relaxing breath and let her eyes slip shut once again only for them to immediately snap open again at the feeling of wetness between her legs. Slowly a hand reached down and came back wet then the pain returned, full force and angry. The baby was coming.
"Thomas." She hissed quietly. "Thomas!" Vivika screamed unsure of where he had had ended up in the building. In that moment she cursed not having brought her cell phone with her but she'd thought since they'd be together the whole time there wasn't much point; more fool her. "Thomas!"
Even with his hearing there was no way he'd be able to hear her screaming for him, especially not through the metal door of the room. So, slowly and in steadily increasing pain Vivika forced herself to her feet right as the baby's stinger shot out and bit her.
"It's okay, baby boy, you're an Eichhorst and we don't get scared."
Getting to the door felt as though it had taken forever but she made it and threw the door open only to yell at the top of her lungs for her husband.