"Are you okay, Vicki? You don't look so good." David questioned.
"What, me?" Victoria said, trying to keep her balance. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. Never better."
"Are you sure? Because you seem a little—"
Before David could say anything else, Carolyn came out of the motel bathroom, fresh from a hot shower wearing a bathrobe and a towel wrapped her head. She gave them a look neither of them could really identify.
"What are you two chattering about?" She asked, sounding sarcastic.
David remained silent and rolled his eyes in annoyance before Victoria's stomach suddenly lurched for no reason. She sat up and quickly headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Carolyn smirked as she and her young cousin heard the sound of their former governess emptying her stomach into the toilet. David winced and tried his best to ignore it.
"That's the third time today." He commented.
"And the twenty-seventh time this week." Carolyn added.
"I think something is seriously wrong with Vicki."
"Barnabas turned her into a vampire. Maybe she's just having a hard time adjusting. It's probably just a monster thing."
"But that was weeks ago. Maybe it's something else. But whatever's wrong, I'm gonna find out what it is."
"Good luck with that."
The door opened and Elizabeth and Barnabas came in; they took off their coats.
"Hey, mom. Hey, Barnabas." Carolyn said casually.
"Any news on the house?" David asked.
"Yes." Elizabeth answered with a smile. "Barnabas and I just talked with the head of construction and he said that we should all be able to move back in by next week if everything goes as planned."
"That's good." David said.
"Yes, master David. It truly is." Barnabas said before he noticed something. "Where is Victoria?"
"Vicki? She's in the bathroom, emptying what was left of her lunch into the toilet." Carolyn replied, pointing a finger at the closed bathroom door.
"Oh dear." Barnabas said, heading towards the bathroom. He knocked on the door. "Victoria?"
"Barnabas? Ugh, please go away." Victoria moaned form the behind the door.
"My sweet, whatever is the matter?"
"I'm just… a little under the weather, that's all. I'm fine."
"You call vomiting four times a day almost every day for the past week 'fine'?" Carolyn whispered to her mother.
"Oh my." Elizabeth muttered.
"Please let me in. I wish to help."
"I don't think there's much you can—" Victoria vomited again.
"I think it's getting worse." David said worriedly.
"Very well, I shall leave you be… for now." Barnabas said, reluctantly walking away from the door; he turned to Elizabeth and gave her a pleading look, hoping for some sort of answer to what's going on.
Elizabeth turned to David and said, "Has Victoria been doing anything else this past week?"
"Well, Vicki's been pretty tired lately; she's been taking naps more often. She also seemed a little off balance, too." The boy replied.
"She's also been a little moody, too." Carolyn added. "Mostly yelling episodes or crying spells, though."
Elizabeth thought and thought before she came to a conclusion. Her eyes widened as she headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Carolyn asked.
"Just to the pharmacy. I'll be right back." Elizabeth answered before grabbing her coat and heading out the door.
"What was that all about?" David asked.
"I know not, master David." Barnabas replied, staring at the bathroom door worriedly.
In less than an hour and a half later, Elizabeth returned with a small plastic bag in her hand. Carolyn was fully clothed and listening to some music, Barnabas and David were playing a card game in another corner, and Victoria was sitting on the bed and reading a book.
"Ah, Victoria." Elizabeth said, approaching her. "I'm glad to see you feeling better now."
"Just a little, but I think I'll be okay." Victoria casually replied. "What's wrong?"
"Can I speak with you for a moment? In private?"
"Um, sure."
And with that Elizabeth and Victoria went outside. After a few moments of awkward silence, Barnabas and David looked at Carolyn who gave them a smirk, and then back at each other.
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" David demanded, setting his cards down.
"Do not fret, master David. Everything will be alright." Barnabas replied.
"Oh, really?" Carolyn said sarcastically.
"Carolyn, there's no need for sarcasm." David commented.
She kept quiet and went back to her music before all three of them heard yelling coming from outside. Victoria and Elizabeth's conversation turned from a casual chat to a heated argument on a dime. Carolyn, David, and Barnabas couldn't make out what they were saying, but Barnabas could've sworn he just heard the word 'pregnant'. His eyes widened and he froze. Could it be? How is this…?
'No, no it is not possible. It couldn't be.' He thought. 'Victoria and I cannot possibly have a child of our own… can we?'
The door suddenly opened and Elizabeth came back into the room, breathing heavily. David, Carolyn, and Barnabas each gave her a deer in the headlights look, waiting and hoping for an explanation as to what had just transpired outside. But none came.
"Where's Vicki?" David asked.
"Oh, she just went out for a walk. Down by the ocean." Elizabeth replied. "She probably wanted some fresh air."
Barnabas dropped his set of cards and stood up before heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Carolyn asked.
"…Out." Barnabas replied.
But before anyone could say anything else, he was already out the door.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Victoria sighed as she sat on the edge of the dock, looking out towards the ocean. The night sky was clear and the light from the waxing moon reflecting on the water; it was beautiful, but she didn't seem to even notice.
'I can't believe Elizabeth… Am I pregnant?' She thought. 'No, I'm not. Am I? I can't be. It's impossible. Vampires can't conceive. Am I okay with this?'
The truth was that Victoria didn't give much thought to being a mother. Yes, she knew she wanted children… at some point. But she didn't think something like this would happen so fast. She stared at a pregnancy test in her hand; it read positive. Her other hand went down to her stomach; she didn't feel pregnant.
"Do I even look pregnant? I could always ask Barnabas, though he'd probably only say I look beautiful and nothing else." She said to herself.
'Barnabas… Oh god. Will Barnabas be okay with this?'
How would she tell him? How would he react? He'd probably be happy, of course. She knew he wanted to be a father. But now? Right now? When they were married for just a little over a month and they were still waiting for Collinwood to be completely rebuilt? Victoria remembered Elizabeth telling her before she left.
"Babies happen at the most inconvenient of times. Be prepared. A lot of things change after you find out that you're pregnant."
"No kidding." Victoria rolled her eyes and clutched the test tighter. "What am I going to tell Barnabas?"
"You could start with telling him that you are with child." She jumped at the sound of another voice and turned to see her husband walking towards her.
Her eyes widened with fear.
"So… are you pregnant?"