Chapter 21: A Monstrous Thanksgiving

Somewhere in the Transylvanian village on a chilly November evening a couple hours before sunset, a familiar couple had an appointment to visit a doctor, who turned out to be an old friend and doctor of the Nick and Marilyn in the village Ericka used to live in, to discuss their potential future.

"You see, Doctor," Ericka explained to a middle aged doctor in his office. "It's been a few months and as you can see nothing."

The doctor, a village physician named Doctor Ludwig, listened with patient professionalism to Ericka's story and the couple's concern.

"Whenever we uh... snuggle, it's great and all, but I'm starting to worry that my husband might uh... well, we wanted to check if he's got any stuntmen still working in his cannon, if you know what I mean."

Dracula looked at her puzzled by her words 'stuntmen' and 'cannon' so Ericka leaned over to him and whispered in his ear to explain what those words really meant. The vampire's eyes grew so wide as he mouthed, "Oh."

"Well, Ms. Van Helsing -" the doctor began in a Romanian accent, until he noticed Dracula shooting him a dark scowl so he quickly corrected her last name. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Dracula. From what you told me, it may be any number of reasons you haven't been able to get pregnant yet. Anything from ovarium problems or something blocking the fallopian tubes such as inflammatory disease or erratic menstruation cycles for women. While for men the most common problem is impotency or a small count. Sometimes it may be due to too much sex that'll prevent a couple from conceiving. However, it may also may be... ahem..." An air of awkwardness came over the doctor as he tried to choose his words carefully. "The other differences between you and your husband."

The married couple of a human and a vampire had stone cold expressions, knowing exactly what the doctor was trying to say without being insulting with limited success.

Dracula leaned forward and asked in a bitter voice, "Are you saying because I'm a vampire, it's my fault?"

"No, of course not," Dr. Ludwig responded nervously. "I'm saying that because you're a... uh... a mixed couple, maybe even a very interracial couple, it may be those differences that might make you... incompatible."

"INCOMPATIBLE?!" Dracula repeated, feeling insulted. "For your information, Doctor, there have been plenty of humans and vampires conceiving hybrid children for centuries!"

"And how would you know?" Ericka asked suspiciously.

Suddenly Dracula looked incredibly nervous as he stammered, "Oh, eh, not with me, Honeydeath. I um, eh, heard stories about male vampires lusting after human women, or female vampires lusting after human men." He cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat. His face paled and his eyes darted around the doctor's office. Ericka eyed him suspiciously, but decided to let it go for now.

"If you say so, Count." Dr. Ludwig cleared his throat and took some papers out of the drawer in his desk. "I'll see what we can do. These are forms for you to fill out, and then I'll start your health checks and run some tests."

Half an hour later, after they were given some measuring cups for the doctor to study, Ericka helped Dracula with getting his 'stuntmen' in the tube (despite turning him on, Dracula was forced to relent due to being in a public bathroom and people would hear them), the doctor came back with some results. Ericka womanly fluids was physically fine and Dracula's seed was also fine, and both were glad at the good news.

In the meantime, Dr. Ludwig told them it will take a little longer to run some tests and he will call them with the results in a few days. So, Ericka and Dracula decided to return home to the hotel and wait, but what they saw in the lobby had only the Count taken aback.

Mavis, Johnny, Hank,Billy, Cindy,Pedro and Wendy were playing a rather eccentric game together. Pedro, Johnny and Hank pretended to shoot at Mavis and Wendy with 18th century pistol toys and they wore black top hats with buckles. Mavis and Wendy had toy bows and arrows they used to shoot at the boys, without hurting him, while they wore colorful head bands with feathers at the back of their heads.

"What the are you kids doing?!" Dracula bellowed, but nobody answered him.

Hank pretended to shoot at Mavis, his mouth mimicking gun shot noises. Mavis made strange warbling noises as she held her hand over her mouth and she pretended to shoot back at the boys with her toy bow and arrows.

This worried Dracula as he bellowed in fatherly authority, "Don't break anything!"

But then one of Wendy's toy arrows went flying through the air. It missed Pedro just as he ducked out the way in time. The arrow hit a large and expensive Ming vase. It wobbled precariously on its stand and started to fall over. Luckily, Dracula caught it in time in a cloud of blue mist and turned his attention to the stunned kids with a stone hard look as they stopped their playing when they had seen the vase almost fall.

"What did I just say?!" he scolded them, while he returned the vase to its proper position.

"Sorry Dad," Mavis apologized and then explained their actions. "I was playing with Johnny and my friends at this new game he's shown us, it's called Pilgrims and Indians."

Ericka knew what she was talking about. "That's nice, honey." And then sternly warned her. "But don't play in the lobby, you almost broke a vase."

Dracula raised a confused eyebrow, asking, "How do you play this game?"

Johnny grinned excitedly as he spoke, "It's Thanksgiving back home, or it will be in a couple of weeks. My folks called again and asked if I could make it back home to celebrate, and they even invited Mavis."

Dracula had a facial expression that told of confusion underlined with deep nervousness at the thought of his little girl leaving again, even for only a few days, and he voiced his thoughts in a worried voice, "You mean leave the hotel again?"

"Sure," Johnny replied. "We'll only be gone a week."

Dracula was still frozen in dread silence, but on the inside he was close to panicking.

However, it evaporated once Johnny continued, "But then I suggested why not come over here for Thanksgiving. It'll be awesome and we could start some new traditions."

Dracula calmed down on the inside, but he wasn't so sure about the idea of Johnny's family coming back to the hotel again. And what the bat blazes were they talking about anyway?

"That's a good idea, Johnny," Ericka agreed. "We don't really celebrate the American Thanksgiving here, but I used to celebrate it with my family back in New York. I remember learning about it from history back in school and it's a really special holiday."

Escaping from his frozen shock at the possibility of Mavis leaving again, even for a few days, Dracula spoke up, "Wait, wait, wait, what are you talking about? What is this Thanksgiving you speak of?"

"It's another holiday, Drac," Johnny explained. "It's about celebrating with your family and thankful for the things we have or the people we have met, because the Pilgrims were helped by the Indians to make it through their first tough winter and had their first successful harvest the next year."

"That explains the Indian and Pilgrim game," muttered Dracula, but still confused about it than ever.

Ericka decided to explain like a teacher to her student. "Back in the 1600s, there was a group of people called Puritans, who were discriminated because of their beliefs. So the Pilgrims emigrated to the New World, what is now called the United States, for religious freedom. The most famous ship to take Pilgrims away was the Mayflower and the most famous place the first Thanksgiving may have taken place is Plymouth, Massachusetts. Winters there had been difficult for them and they had problems growing crops to harvest and a lot of people didn't survive for long, until they befriended and were helped by the Native Americans living there. I forget the name of the tribe though, but I do remember a Native warrior named Squanto played an important role. Squanto and the other Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to survive better through the winter and better ways to grow food in the land. Together the Pilgrims and the Indians had a great feast to give thanks for the blessings of the harvest, the good times that happened throughout the year, and the good people who helped them survive in the New World."

"And the best part is," Johnny added with a grin. "There's a lot of tasty foods to eat like roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, pumpkin pie..." As he named the list of traditional Thanksgiving foods, he a got far off stare on his face and his mouth started to water,

It was then Dracula needed to interrupt him. "Yes, that's great, Johnny. A lot of food on another human holiday about food. I believe I remember hearing such a story about this ship departing to a new world centuries ago. We once believed the humans fled because of us. Isn't it a little soon to be leaving again?"

"That's why I invited my family to come here for Thanksgiving!" announced Johnny.

As if wanting to get out of it, Dracula suddenly remembered their plans, so he announced firmly with refusal, "I don't know if that's such a good idea. We already survived that deadly Halloween last month. How do I know this Thanksgiving won't be insulting or dangerous?"

Ericka and Mavis shook their heads at the vampire's stubborn reluctance to accept the holidays, especially if its human style.

"It's not like that, Dad," Mavis cut in softly. "It's about more than the food. It's about spending time with family and friends, and appreciating what we have. It's about accepting difference, and how they bring everyone together." Dracula seemed to give a thoughtful look at this, knowing what his daughter was trying to say. "And it sounds so delicious with the tur-kay and crum-berry sauce."

"Uh, turkey and cranberry sauce," Johnny corrected for her.

"I want to celebrate it and see what it's like. We've only celebrated birthdays and monster holidays here. I want to try more human holidays, and this one sounds really sweet."

"Listen to me, darling," Ericka spoke. "It'll be nice, and it's a good way to see how our families will get along in the future when Johnny and Mavis get married, because they haven't met each other yet. And if it will help, we can even invite all our friends. So, what do you say?"

Dracula still looked reluctant and uncertain, but seeing he was outnumbered and if it will make his family happy, he cave in. "Oh, alright, we'll give this Thanksgiving a shot."

Johnny pumped a fist in the air.

Mavis cheered "Holy Rabies!"

"I want to try me some of that turkey!" Pedro added, his mouth watering at the thought of that delicious cooked bird.

Ericka embraced him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Dracula smiled as the idea was slowly warming to him, even though he didn't want to, it would make the ones he loved happy.

"Maybe I can have the kitchen staff whip up a few of our favorite food for the feast. Right, my wormbuns?" Dracula suggested.

Ericka didn't seem to like that idea, but lucky for her Mavis stepped in. "I want to try the turkey, Dad. I don't want our usual foods because we've had the same stuff for the last century."

Dracula felt slightly hurt by that comment.

"No worries, Mavey," Johnny reassured her. "A lot of families have their own traditional foods that go along with the stuff named, because those are the most popular. Besides, I told you there's more to Thanksgiving than the food. There's the football game, and the parade..."

"A parade?" Hank, Alex interrupted, confused. "What's a parade?" Even his friends didn't seem to understand the word.

"It's a public procession, celebrating a special day or event that includes marching bands and moving floats and giant balloons," explained Ericka .

"We'll talk more later," Johnny cut in. "Let's get started planning a feast. There's a lot to do."

The kids left while explaining the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"I'm going to call my boss and his family," Ericka said excitedly. "I just know they'll want to come, and they'll bring the most tasty treats you'll love. Thank you so much for allowing us to celebrate Thanksgiving, honey."

Before dialing the number of her brother 'phone number, Ericka quickly gave Dracula another kiss on the cheek. To leave her in privacy while communicating with her friends, Dracula decided to go see the kitchen staff and think about what kinds of food the gargoyles could whip up for the feast, despite having been told not to make monster foods by Mavis.

A couple days later, the entire Loughran family had arrived at the airport by Air Transylvania for another visit with Johnny and their future vampire in-laws. They even brought three young boys, their grandsons or nephews, with them. Troy, the eldest, was a little boy. Parker was chubby little toddler. Connor was a cute little baby.

Walking though the airport, Linda said out-loud with what she hoped was an optimistic voice, "Oooh, Thanksgiving in Transylvania. This is going to be very interesting. Just as long as sharing it with monsters will hopefully make it a little more exciting than at home, things won't go wrong."

"I wouldn't get my expectations up too high, Linda," Mike said in a doubtful monotone voice. "Things usually go wrong."

"Don't think the negative, Dad," Melissa scolded her dad, trying to be optimistic.

Right after they got their luggage from the airport baggage carousel, they were waved down by someone they recognized but not who they had expected to pick them up. It was Ericka , and she was with three other people.

"Hello, everybody!" Ericka greeted happily, shaking their hands one at a time.

"Hello, Ericka ," Linda greeted. "Where's Johnny?"

"Back at the hotel helping to get things ready. So I volunteered to pick you all up." Ericka gestured her head to the people inside the hearse. "This is my brother and his family; Nick and Marilyn, and their brother Sam ."

Introductions and more handshakes followed afterward. The Loughrans boarded the hearse, which they had a hard time squeezing themselves to fit in the very back row. Nick and Marilyn sat up front with Ericka , and Mike and Linda sat in the back seat with Sam. She drove the hearse at a steady pace to the hotel. For a few minutes no one said anything to start up a conversation while they drove through town and soon entered the haunted forest.

"So, Nick," Linda began, feeling a need to strike up small talk. "I'll bet this is your first Thanksgiving with the monsters.

"Yes, it is," replied Nick .

"I can tell you there's more to it than turkey and stuffing. I promise you'll love my old family recipes, just wait until everyone tries Mike's father's recipe for a based turkey, it's to die for."

"Speaking of which," Nick sighed reservedly. "I can appreciate what this holiday stands for, but I'm not comfortable with where we're having it."

"Oh, please!" Ericka groaned. "We've been over this, the hotel's the best place to have it because it's where Drac wants to have it and it's big enough for everyone. I still can't believe you suggested inviting my family over when I made it clear not to."

"Oh, you have a family?" Linda inquired with interest.

"Yes, she does," Marilyn smiled before she continued awkwardly. "And there's always been a reason we haven't introduced them to her new vampire relatives... eh, you know..."

"I didn't say it's because of her father," Nick cut her off. "I'm only concerned for their safety."

Ericka came close to a shout but immediately relaxed her voice, "Drac won't hurt my family, if he ever met them, when the time comes for him to meet them. He likes humans. He's been around them before."

"Female humans," Nick continued, grimly. "Who knows how he'll act or what he might do around human children as well."

"He will NEVER hurt them!" Ericka's voice was no longer comfortable when she yelled. "He didn't hurt me when I was a kid!"

"Oh, yes. You told us about that the last time we visited," Linda said, happily. "It's only understandable your ex-boss is looking out for you, it's what friends do. I'm sure everything will be perfect!"

"I certainly hope so." Ericka's smile faded into a frown, hoping nobody in these two families don't jinx everything.

Alongside the traditional turkey, pies, mashed potatoes, and other famous Thanksgiving food the Loughrans and Sam's brother and sisters had brought, there was also a soup with squid tentacles coming out of the green liquid, chocolate deviled eggs with clawed lizard fingers, red sauce with eyeballs and worms to look like a monster version of spaghetti and meatballs, mouse jelly, and several other recipes Dracula had the gargoyles staff to cook up.

As soon as the two human families placed their food on the buffest table, the Drac Pack looked either intrigued or disgusted at the unknown human foods. However, to Mavis it all smelled so good it made her mouth water. She couldn't wait to eat all of this delicious human food. With a proud smile Dracula signaled to some of the awaiting zombie waiters and they carried in a couple of bottles of expensive champagne and wine, which were poured and everyone took their own silver chalices.

Standing up, Dracula raised his chalice. "A toast, to family and a bright future for Mavy and Johnny."

"To family!" everyone at the table echoed back, chalices clinked in contact, and took sips of their drinks.

Now everyone was ready to feast and just as a line began to form, Linda interrupted, "Hold on, everybody! Before eating it's tradition that everyone says what they're thankful to the Lord for."

"How do we do that?" Wanda asked, curiously.

"It's usually at the dinner table, but let's form a circle right. C'mon, everybody, form a circle!"

Steadily the humans and monsters formed a circle, while Dracula leaned forward to Johnny and tensely whispered, "You didn't say anything about this part, thanking the Lord! My kind isn't exactly on the best of terms with the human god!"

Noticing his intense discomfort, Johnny calmly reassured him. "It's okay, even non-religious people celebrate and give thanks. But I know my mom can be old school." He turned to his mother. "Mom, Mavy and Drac and the guys aren't really the religious type. They can still say what they're thankful for, right?"

"Of course, sweetie," Linda nodded, seemingly oblivious to what Johnny was trying to do for his vampire future wife and father-in-law. "Everybody join hands. Now, who'd like to go first?"

The monsters and humans looked at each other awkwardly, waiting for someone to say or do something.

"Okay, I'll go first," Linda began. "I'm thankful to the Lord for a wonderful and healthy family, and for the interesting future they have."

She then took Mike's hand and nodded in his direction, signaling it was his turn to give thanks.

Mike began in content a voice, "I'm thankful to the Lord for my father, because he was such an influence in my life and showed me what kind of man I should be. May he rest in peace."

He then took the hand of one of his sons, Brett, as he said, "I'm thankful to the Lord for my wife and kid and a new job I'm starting next week."

Brett took hands with his twin brother Kent, who said, "I'm thankful to the Lord for my family and all my friends back home who helped me achieve my football dream."

He took hands with his sister Melissa as she said, "I'm thankful to the Lord for a supporting family, and the most gorgeous fiancé at home and to our friends the Kessels back home."

Melissa took hands with Wanda, as she said, "I'm thankful for family and friends, too, especially for all my precious pups that I've brought into the world."

"All ten thousand of Wayne's pups, you mean," Griffin whispered, smugly.

Wayne, who sat next to him, hit the invisible man in the side with his elbow, and Griffin cried a quiet, "Oomph." His glasses expressed an irritated glare.

Wanda shook her head at this and joined hands with her husband so Wayne can take his turn, saying, "I'm thankful for my family too, especially my sweet little Winnie, an angel among all her rowdy brothers. And I'm thankful for all my friends."

The wolfman joined hands with Griffin's, which took a moment to find, so he frowned at Griffin to be nice as Griffin said, "I'm thankful to be accepted for who I am, not just my friends who like my family and kids, but by fellow humans who love monsters."

Griffin then took hands with Frank who said, "I'm thankful for being accepted by humans now, too, but I'm even more thankful to my dad for helping me to meet Eunice so I wouldn't be lonely anymore like I was when he first brought me to life, and I'm thankful to have a great kids like Hank, Alex,Arianna, Faye in the family."

Frank glanced over toward Eunice with tender love and care while he joined hands with her she gushed, "Oh, Frankie, you're so sweet. I'm thankful for meeting you too, and I mean what else can I say, I've always been thankful for that. Oh, and I'm thankful for having my girlfriends in my life and our kids too."

"Before we continue on what we are thankful for I have something to say." said Eunice

"What is it" asked Frank

"I'm pregnant". said Eunice

"That's wonderful my love " said Frank

Everyone was happy and excited for Eunice,even her kids were excited.

After her announcement, they continued on they were thankful for at the table.

Eunice reached a hand over to Hank, Alex,Arianna, Faye , who blushed, "Aw, thanks Mom and Dad. We're thankful for an amazing family and the best friends in my afterlife."

Hank, Alex, Arianna, Faye took hands with Wendy, who translated for her dad Blobby when he gave his thanks, "I'm thankful to have Mavis as my best friend including Hank and Pedro, Billy and Cindy and I'm thankful for having my dad in my life. And my dad says he's thankful to have me in his blobby life."

"Wendy joined hands with Billy and are thankful for our dad and for our friends" said Billy and Cindy

Wendy joined hands with Pedro, who said, "I'm thankful to have such awesome music and tasty turkey in the hotel, it's been off the chain, dude! And I'm thankful that my main man Murray is there to support in anything I do!"

Pedro took hands with a smiling Murray, who said, "I'm thankful for getting to learn about new celebrations and parties. Even the afterlife can get dull with the same stuff all the time, and I'm a few thousand years old."

Murray didn't notice the insulted glare Dracula shot at him while the mummy joined hands with an uncomfortable Nick , who felt awkward at first, but then he said, "This is my first time celebrating such a unique holiday, but I'm thankful for a lot of things. I'm thankful to the Lord for my family as well, especially my precious foster niece, Ericka . I'm also thankful for the success of my business, and despite my misgivings about whom she's married I'm thankful Ericka has found happiness in her life."

Nick then joined hands with his sister Marilyn , who smiled at him as she said, "I am thankful to the Lord for all the blessing we have in life, no matter how unusual they are, and I'm especially thankful for all the blessings we've receive in the last few months."

Marilyn eached a hand over to Sam, who said, "I'm thankful to the Lord for my brother and sister nd for my friend Ericka . And I hope to meet someone someday and get married."

Sam joined hands with Johnny as he said with the biggest smile he gave to everyone, especially Mavis, "I'm thankful for being able to travel the world and seeing so many awesome places, but I'm especially thankful for finding this place and meeting Drac, Ericka, and all you cool monsters, and especially Mavis, because she's my zing."

He joined hands with Mavis, who had tears nearly welled up in her bright blue eyes, and she said, "I'm thankful for so many things, meeting Johnny because he's my zing, meeting my stepmom Ericka because of the bond we shared, seeing the world at last, all my friends and family in the past, and I'm so thankful for my father for taking care of me."

Mavis joined hands with Ericka , who had small tears of her own. She sniffled to hold them back as she said with deep emotion, "I have so much to be thankful for today, mostly things I never thought I'd have and didn't think I deserved. I'm thankful to the Lord for my husband, Dracula, who's giving me so much the last few months and is the man I never thought I'd have. I'm also thankful for getting to meet Johnny, all my new friends, and for a new daughter who I share so much in common with."

Ericka and Mavis exchanged big tearful loving smiles to each other, and then Ericka joined hands with Dracula, who gave an adorable smile when Mavis's and Ericka's words tugged at his heartstrings. He then realized it was his turn to give thanks, but he hesitated as he looked around the circle when everyone gave him expectant looks.

Dracula looked nervous for a moment, but he summoned up his courage to speak from the heart, hoping he got this human ritual right as he cleared his throat, "I'm thankful for uh, a lot, too. I'm thankful for when Martha was in my life and I'll always miss her. But I'm thankful for my little Mavy-Wavy..." Mavis rolled her eyes at the nickname but he smiled about it, "...and I see a lot of Martha in her. I'm also thankful for my hotel, because it's my home where I protect Mavis and all our monster friends. But I'm more thankful than ever because I've fallen in love again and it makes me feel grateful for Ericka in my life now. And yes, I'm thankful for meeting a new friend in Jonathan and seeing the human world isn't so bad anymore."

He smiled as he joined hands with Linda next to him, and she announced loud and clear, "Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!" everyone else resounded gradually as smiles and hugs or handshakes were exchanged.

A line formed in front of the buffet of traditional Thanksgiving human food and monster food as the extended friends and family began to feast. Both monsters and humans only took the food they were most familiar with, except for Johnny, who grew to love the monster food, and Ericka , who wanted to sample everything, as did Mavis as she filled her plate with almost all of the traditional Thanksgiving food such as turkey, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Pedro fell in love with the first bite of a turkey leg, tasting just as delicious as he knew it would be.

All three of them could see what the others were doing and tried to encourage their loved ones to try the unfamiliar foods and dishes, hence it wasn't as bad as they thought. Everyone sat together at the tables that had been pushed together for a big family gathering, right after they finished picking the food they wanted to eat. There were uncomfortable faces of cringing and uncertainty from both humans and monsters, but since this is a time to be with families and friends and trying something new the Steins got the courage to try the turkey and stuffing. Pretty soon the rest of their friends followed afterword. Johnny's and Sam's families felt uncertain, but to humor their loved ones a few of them decided to try the squid soup (commonly known as seafood surprise). Pleasantly, surprised looks came to the faces of the monsters the second that sweet taste of turkey or corn entered their mouths. It was so good. Even though the monster food was gross, some of Johnny's family got used to the seafood surprise and chocolate deviled eggs (except they took out the lizard fingers).

Ericka noticed Dracula was still reluctant to eat his turkey and mashed potatoes. "C'mon, honey, it's delicious," she encouraged him.

Dracula turned his attention toward Mavis, watching her like a hawk to see how the turkey effected her, like he expected it to choke her and he would have to save her.

Mavis, however, could read what he was thinking by studying his expression. Scowling at him, she took her first bite to show him the turkey was perfectly safe and instantly her face lit up at its deliciousness. She felt like she zinged all over again.

Seeing this made Dracula's eyes grow wider, but since he saw Mavis was perfectly fine, he took a few small pieces of turkey and he too was surprised the taste was good and how much he was liking it.

"So, Ericka , how was your visit to the doctor?" Eunice asked.

This piqued the concern of Linda. "Oh, are you feeling okay, Ericka ? Was it a monster doctor you had to see?"

Ericka blushed as she looked over in Dracula's direction, while he blushed, until she responded slowly, "I'm fine, Linda. Drac and I are um... are trying to uh... you know..."

"Oh, right!" Pedro smugly interrupted when the memory came back to him. "Because he loves to screw you all the time and he can't keep his hands off you, Aunt Ericka !"

Pedro and Hank high-fived, but Eunice harshly scolded them. "BOYS! Don't ever speak about such things at dinner, especially at Thanksgiving."

"Drac and I visited a human doctor in the village. We wanted to know why I'm not getting pregnant every time we... you know... and see why we haven't succeeded so far," Ericka explained without any more hesitation.

"If he keeps screwing you too much, you're going to have a large bunch of little vamplets," Murray joked, and his friends chortled in agreement.

Dracula scowled scornfully at the boisterous mummy, causing him to sink lower in his seat.

"Vamplets?" Linda repeated, confused.

"Vampire triplets," Dracula explained. "Or quadruplets, sextuplets, octuplets, you know what I mean."

"And then you'll see how stressful it is to have too many kids like I do," Wayne teased.

Dracula put on the same scornful scowl he gave Murray, but Wayne smirked from his long snout with a sly giggle. He hoped Dracula will no longer find the pain of raising a lot of rowdy kids hilarious.

There came forth the sounds of quiet chuckles or tittering from everyone as Dracula scowled at the humiliation.

Ericka patted his hand gently with an amused smile. "The point is Drac and I do hope to have kids some day, when we're ready and if it's even possible. I just want to know why it hasn't happened yet and if it even can happen."

"Ah, so you want to follow in Aunt Wanda's footsteps?" Hank teased, lightly.

Ericka rolled her eyes. "This isn't a contest. A while back after she visited we both took pregnancy tests, and as you know, it turned out she was pregnant and not me. I want to have kids with Dracula, but if we're not ready, I can wait." She smiled back as Dracula and he returned it warmly as they held hands, showing he was thankful for something more now and hoped for the future.

There came a few 'awws' from nearby friends and family while others smiled.

However, Nick just kept his stoic and skeptical expression about the whole subject. While he didn't have anything against Ericka being happy and wanting her own children, heck even he wouldn't mind having a grandchildren if Sam got married, he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of them being partly vampire, and even doubted it was possible. "Well, if it's even possible, Ericka ," he said with a more serious tone as he took a bite of stuffing. "I just worry what such a pregnancy will do to your health. For all we know, you might not survive giving birth to the child if it turns out to be more vampire than human. Or you might have to accept you may never have children at all."

"Of course we can, and we will, Nick," Dracula retorted as he tried to hold back his temper. "In that way, humans and vampires aren't that different, as we can have kids, it's happened before."

"I suppose." Nick had a tense skepticism in his quiet voice. "But from the old stories I remember hearing from, the human mothers weren't always so lucky."

Forgetting the vampire had better hearing than the average human, Nick had no idea Dracula was immediately in his face with a face so filled with rage he would've have murdered him. "I'm sick and tired of your attitude, old man!"

Nick stood up too, in personal self defense, but before anymore blows were traded no one expected that Johnny shot up from his chair and put himself between the two older men to keep this argument from getting ugly. "Stop it, both of you! We don't want any fights. We're all here to celebrate Thanksgiving and be a family."

"I highly doubt this human will ever see us as family, Jonathan!" Dracula snorted.

"If you wanted a family, why don't you deal with the daughters you already have and not impregnate Ericka !" Nick retorted.

"How could you say that?! I want a child!" Ericka gaped in disbelief.

To put an end to this brawl, Mavis had to do the one thing that'll make anyone run for the hills before her. She cleared her throat and then... "RRROOOOOAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Hearing her roar, the two men stopped what they were doing and looked over in her direction. The Loughrans drew back in their seats. This was the first time Mavis had used the roar in front of them.

"We're supposed to be celebrating and all you do is fight!" Mavis yelled, before she addressed to Nick . "And second, I want to have a brother or a sister. Judging by what you said earlier about humans not surviving childbirth because of my kind, I think the reason you're against Mom wanting a baby is because you don't want her to die from childbirth."

"I'm not against it," Nick replied. "I'm worried about how it will effect her, or what the child will be."

Everyone fell silent at his words, before Marilyn put in, "That sounds like you're against it, no matter how you say it."

Nick sighed as he thought about what Mavis and Marilyn said to him. He hated to admit it to himself but he might have a bias or prejudice against the vampire.

"Is that why you don't them to have kids, Nick ?" Linda asked.

Without responding, Nick silently nodded 'yes.'

"You know it sounds crazy, but this is just like the Pilgrims and Indians," said Johnny.

"What do they have to do with this?" questioned Dracula.

"You remember how the Pilgrims came to the New World and struggled through harsh winters, but then were helped by the Native Americans. But there's a lot more to it than that, and that friendship didn't start out so easy. I did some research on the internet and it said the Natives didn't trust the Pilgrims at first because English explorers kidnapped and sold a lot of Indians into slavery by the English. The English only saw them as bloodthirsty savages, which was dead wrong. During their first winter at Plymouth Rock, a lot of the original Pilgrim settlers died and there were fewer people. But two Native Americans called Squanto and Samoset offered an alliance to the Pilgrims, not just helping them and showing them how to survive, but to be allies against common enemies. The short version of it is there were a lot of cultural difference between two different groups of people, but the first Thanksgiving symbolized bettering relations and acceptance of differences between people. That same acceptance should be between us, because not only are more people around the world learning to accept and respect each other, but the same should be said for humans and monsters. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know it's an example from history I want to follow. Not because of me and Mavis, but because of Ericka and Drac."

Silence fell over the entire room while everybody thought deeply about what Johnny told them. Mavis smiled in admiration for her zing and his calm encouraging speech about the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians.

"I had no idea the Indians were misunderstood like us," said Frank, looking sympathetic.

Ericka stood up and approached her husband and her ex-boss to ask them, "So what do you say, you two? Can you please stop trying to rip each other's necks out and learn to see past your differences?" Her mode changed into a playful yet threatening tone. "Because if you don't, I'll leave you both in Glenn's den."

Dracula and Nick stared at her blankly, but they knew it was an empty threat.

Tensely yet calmly, Nick apologized. "Forgive me. It's hard for me to accept everything, especially who you are. But for Ericka's sake, I'm going to try to let go of my prejudice."

The older man held out his hand to the vampire, who was momentarily taken aback by this gesture, but Dracula smiled tolerantly as he shook Nick hand. "I can accept that, for my Ericka . I know you only speak to protect her. I felt the same thing for Mavis. So, yes, truce. I also hope this means you'll be okay with us having a baby someday."

"It seems I'll have to." Nick shrugged his shoulders.

Having overheard what was said, the rest of the family and friends cooed 'awws' or briefly applauded. Johnny had Mavis in one arm, while she smiled and he gave Dracula a thumbs-up.

Just then, Ericka felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. When she took it out to check and see who's calling, she was surprised to see Dr. Ludwig's phone number. Excusing herself, she walked to a private corner to talk with him alone.

"Hello?"

"You're perfectly healthy, Mrs. Dracula," Dr. Ludwig explained over the phone. "You and your husband are perfectly capable of having a child."

"Oh, that's wonderful. But why hasn't anything happened yet?"

"One diagnosis may be due to too much sex..." to which Ericka scoffed and rolled her eyes before he continued. "It's okay, Mrs. Dracula, this is an infrequent consequence and not the reason you're not pregnant yet. My other diagnosis may be more likely. Do you still have a regular menstrual cycle?"

"Yes," Ericka answered with embarrassed hesitation.

"Well, during a menstrual cycle a woman also goes through ovulation, which is the best time for fertilization of the eggs before a period. And your 'snuggle' time may have been during a period you weren't yet or after having gone through ovulation. Fortunately, there's a way to time it."

"Okay, what do I have to do?" Ericka asked, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"Come by my office at your earliest convenience on Monday, and we'll give you everything you need."

"Thank you, Doctor," she breathed a sigh of relief. "This really is a Happy Thanksgiving."

The doctor was confused for a moment until she told him what was going on before saying good-bye and she'll be at his office first thing tomorrow. When she returned to her table, Dracula asked her what was going on and if she was going to be okay. Ericka explained the doctor called and everything was going to be great. She couldn't be any more thankful for what she had now, and what her future possibly held.

When everyone had finished dinner, it was time for desert. But the humans suddenly felt guilty because they forgot to about bring any pies or cakes. Linda and Marilyn ven accused their sons for being so scuttle brained to forgetting another important family feast tradition, though Mike defended them saying it was another person's job to remember to bring desserts. To try to cool the situation, Dracula offered to have his cooks create the deserts, but it was politely turned down when Melissa and Marilyn volunteered to go to the village and pick up whatever dessert they desired, so everyone could rest their full tummies from the big dinner.

While waiting for the three women to return, Johnny happily suggested they watch the Thanksgiving parade in his and Mavis's future suite. Lucky for them, the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City was still playing on the flat wide screen. This parade spectacle amazed the Drac Pack, watching giant balloons of different characters floating over the huge crowded streets, especially Mavis as she worded her hope to see it in person someday.

A little later, the two women returned to the hotel with at least four square shaped boxes. Two held a freshly baked apple and pumpkin pies, and one chocolate cake and one vanilla ice cream cake. After dessert, the future extended family watched a Thanksgiving movie; the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, which greatly amused the hearts of the monsters.

For many, though a few already knew, people will begin to realize humans and monsters truly had more in common and were more alike than once believed. They loved and laughed, had fears and cried when sad about tragedy, and of course families they loved, worried for, and got on their nerves. But a holiday like this reminds us of how there's nothing more important in the world than family, no matter how different or strange they can be.