Van Helsing was lying down on Anna's bed while she walked around her room. She hadn't been up in so long, and her muscles ached with every step she took. So, she wanted to loosen her muscles back up by walking around, even if it meant having to endure burning sensation that accompanied it. She looked over to Van Helsing. "In my visions, I saw that Madeline is also pregnant."
Van Helsing leaned up on his elbows. He said, "You will not believe who the father is."
Anna shrugged and didn't guess. She really didn't know much about Madeline, so she wouldn't know who Madeline would have given herself over to. "I don't know, Gabriel, so please enlighten me." Anna replied, her voice thick with her accent.
Van Helsing couldn't hide his grin as he stood up. He held his hand next to the top of his right ear. "He stands this high and has blonde hair."
Anna's mouth fell open, but no words came out. Van Helsing laughed and nodded, knowing Anna had guessed correctly. Anna shook her head. "Carl," she asked sounding very shocked.
Van Helsing nodded. "I was just as shocked as you were."
Anna raised her eyebrows and said, "He has been a naughty boy, now hasn't he?"
Van Helsing laughed in response and crossed his arms over his chest. "I believe that is so." Van Helsing's expression went serious in an instant. "We almost lost Madeline, though."
Anna nodded. "I saw that in my visions. You were brave and went into the water to save her."
Van Helsing shrugged. "She had done so much to help me get to you, I did not accept standing there and doing nothing to help her."
Anna was quiet for a moment then said, "Let us go out of this room. I cannot remember the last time I left this room."
Van Helsing followed Anna out of the room and found everyone else in the sitting room. Carl told Anna, "Hello." Anna could not help but think about what she'd just learned about him. "Hello," she replied to him. "I would like to hear about what happened during your trip here. I have had these visions and saw everything. But, I would like to hear first hand accounts."
Before Carl could reply to her, the entrance door was shoved open. Victoria strolled in and laughed evilly. "Surprised to see me," she asked after seeing the shocked faces of the group.
Van Helsing shouted, "I killed you!"
Victoria replied, "No, dear boy, you didn't. You wounded my body, but my spirit is what rules over my body. Your attack only put my body out of commission for a few minutes."
Adam stood up and felt his fangs sharpen. "Victoria, there is no need to play games. Let us get down to business. You want a fight with me."
"No." Victoria told him. "I want to make you suffer, and I will do this."
Adam was about to lunge for Victoria's neck when her coven came bursting through the front door. He spun around to face Van Helsing. "Get them all somewhere safe," he ordered. Adam was surprised that Van Helsing immediately went into action and herded the group out the door in the back of the sitting room.
Once out of the sitting room, Van Helsing didn't know where to go. "Anna, where should we go?"
Anna thought for a moment. "The bar," she replied. "It has an exit. We could get out until everything is under control." Van Helsing nodded, as did everyone. It was Anna's home, so she knew the best route of escape.

Halfway to the bar, Anna felt a sharp pain surge through her, and she leaned against the wall for support. Van Helsing touched her arm, but she did not move on. She did not move until the pain had ebbed. Anna had the terrible pains several times before she dropped to her knees on the stone floor. Van Helsing quickly rushed to Anna's side, but Anna didn't really notice anything other than the gush warm fluid from her body. 'Why is this happening now,' her mind cried out. 'It is not safe here right now.'
Van Helsing saw the fluid that had soaked the bottom of Anna's dress. He showed as much fear in his expression as Anna felt. It wasn't safe for them to be in the manor while Victoria was there, and it definitely was not safe for Anna to give birth there. But, that was what happened.
Mae said, "We need to get her to the bathing room. We can lock that door, and I'll use magic to back up the lock."
Mae helped Van Helsing lift Anna up off of the stone floor. Mae used magic to help ease the pain of Anna's contractions for the time being. They had to get her to the bathing room soon because Victoria's coven would be there soon. Mae feared that the coven would be right behind them, and she was not wrong. As they entered the hallway that contained the bathing room, Victoria's coven came rushing around the corner. Mae knew that she had to keep them at bay.
"I have to stop supporting you, Anna. Victoria's coven plans on attacking." Mae said, and Anna nodded in response. Mae rushed away and used her magic cause an invisible force field to stop the witches from coming any closer.
Mae saw Van Helsing and Anna disappear into the bathing room, and she quickly ran in that direction. Her force field held up long enough for her to get to the bathing room and barricade the door with magic. "And, they said I was a pathetic witch," she breathed.
Anna's contractions were only minutes apart, and her body stiffened up each time because of the overwhelming pain. Van Helsing sat beside her and endured the times she grabbed hold of his shoulder during the contractions. He really did not feel the pain that should have been there when Anna's hand squeezed on his shoulder, but he didn't give it any thought because he was still too worried that the witches would get in the room. The witches rattled the door vigorously, but Mae's barricades held. Van Helsing was glad for that, but he didn't know how long the barricades would hold.
Carl was overwhelmed by everything and stood by the window, which he had opened and was breathing in fresh air. No one could tell but he was shaking, partly because he knew that they were in great danger, but partly because he knew that Madeline was soon due to give birth. The thought frightened Carl, and he leaned against the wall by the window. The air was chilly because of the heavy rain falling outside.

Victoria tried to hit Adam with her magic, but he was just too quick. She was becoming frustrated and resorted to using her pixie dust. Adam knew what the pixie dust was meant for, and he disappeared from sight. Victoria glanced around and saw no sign of Adam anywhere in the room. "Where are you?" Victoria shouted. "There is no time for playing games!"
Adam wasn't playing games with her, he was playing it safe. He knew that the pixie dust was powerful enough to put him unconscious, and he wasn't going to let that happen. "If you don't cheat in a fair fight, then I'll come out." Adam called back.
Victoria turned around to find Adam's from the direction of his voice, but Adam had used one of his tricks on her. She knew it after she found nothing in the direction the voice came from. "Why should I play fair when it is you who is cheating? Your speed is too great. I cannot compete with that."
Adam waited for Victoria to step right under him. He grinned and dropped from the ceiling down on top of her. He bit down in her neck, but she was able to push him away. She stumbled away but hit Adam with bolts of her magic. Adam crashed into the wall behind him, and he growled from the pain. He watched Victoria heal the wounds at her neck. "That won't kill me, remember," she asked.
"No," Adam replied, "But I will worry with your soul after your body is dead." He pushed himself off of the wall and lunged for Victoria again.

Katalena, who'd been quiet thus far, had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. Something wrong with Anna's labor and something wrong with the barricade on the door. She glanced over at the door and saw the witches on the outside were ramming the door. The door was opening a little bit, but it would close back when the witches stopped their pursuit to try again. 'That door won't hold long,' she thought. 'We have to find some way to keep it shut other than the magic on it. That magic is starting to fail.'
After some time and many contractions, Anna realized something was wrong. Her baby seemed to be stuck and not moving from the place it was at. The pain was excruciating each contraction that raged through Anna's body but didn't move the baby. "Something is wrong." Anna said between the pain of her contractions. "The baby's stuck."
Katalena cursed inwardly because she had felt something was wrong. But, she'd hoped she'd been wrong. Mae went over to Anna and used her magic to see what happened. The baby was tangled up in the umbilical cord, and the contractions were only strangling the poor child. Mae opened her eyes and said, "The baby is caught up in the cord. We have to get the cord off of the baby before its strangled."
"Can you use magic to do that?" Van Helsing asked.
Mae shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I don't have anything to do that. It's serious magic, magic that pixie dust or concoctions are used for." Mae shook her head, "We will have to do this without aid of magic."
Anna knew what that meant, and she wasn't keen on having Mae's hands in the birth canal. But, she knew that was the only way her baby could be saved. So, she didn't protest. She couldn't have protested anyway because another contraction ripped through her. There was excruicating pain, and Anna didn't know how much longer she could take that kind of pain. Her body was still weak from being under a spell for so long but was being forced through the labor of her first child.
Mae didn't have time to help Anna's baby, though. The door opened up a foot, and Mae jumped up and used all the power she could to keep the door shut. "I cannot leave the door," she cried out. "I leave this door, and they come in."
"Then stay there, I can handle this." Katalena told Mae. "A woman gave birth on the train once, and her baby was tangled in its cord as well. I watched to doctor save her baby."
Katalena knelt down in front of Anna and said, "Anna, this will feel uncomfortable, but it has to be done."
Anna nodded, and tried to ignore the feeling of Katalena's hand inside of her. Madeline rushed over to Katalena, in case she needed help. But, Katalena had it under control, she had her eyes shut as she felt the baby's head. She moved her fingers down the child's head to its neck, where the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly. Katalena grabbed the cord and pulled it up some to pull it over the baby's head. She succeeded, and she pulled the cord completely off of the baby's neck. She made sure the baby was free and the cord was out of the way before pulling her hand away.

Katalena's hand was covered in blood and mucus, which made Carl nearly pass out--he'd looked over to see if Katalena had solved the situation then wished he hadn't'--, and Van Helsing flinch. 'Some tough men,' Katalena thought. Madeline fetched a cloth for Katalena to wipe her hand off with. She handed it to Katalena. "Thank you." Katalena said, and Madeline nodded.

Hours passed and it was the late hours of the night, and Anna still had not given birth. But, Anna was exhausted, since her contractions were every few minutes, and was fighting to stay conscious. Van Helsing held her hand tighter each time Anna's eyes would shut. He was really worried about her, and he had reason to since women often died during childbirth. But, Van Helsing knew Anna was a fighter and wouldn't let go like that. Still, it was very possible that Anna would pass out from the exhaustion or pain.
Mae was still holding the door shut. Her legs were shaking from the force she was holding back. She had no idea how her magic was withstanding to ten other witches, but it was holding to her satisfaction. But, she knew that she couldn't hold the door much longer because her powers were weakening from constant use. She would have to rest and regain her strength, and that would leave the door free to be opened. 'I cannot allow that to happen.' Mae thought. 'I have to keep the door closed. I will not let Victoria win.'
Anna's breathing was breathing in gasps, and she whimpered as the muscles of her belly constricted again. She was incoherent and would have called for her mother is she hadn't been too tired to speak. She could still sense that the baby was very close to being born, but Anna wasn't sure if she had the strength. 'What if I do not have enough strength left in me,' she thought.
Katalena knew that the baby was about to be born as well, and she knew that Anna had to help the process along. "Anna, you need to use your last strength now to push the child from your body." Anna was groggy, but she leaned forward and pushed with what strength she had left. The excruciating pain worsened and Anna felt like her body was going to split in two. Her muscles tightened up again, and Anna let out a scream because of the burning pain caused as her baby's head crowned. Blood seeped out of her womb and slowly began to collect on the floor in a puddle. Anna held her breath as she kept pushing, she felt like she was going to lose consciousness then.
The baby was born only moments later, and Anna fell back against Van Helsing. He held her in his arms and brushed away the curls that were stuck to Anna's forehead with sweat. Anna was still conscious, but she kept her eyes closed. She was relieved to have gotten through her child's birth, and was glad that the pains of the contractions were fading away. She was about to let her body be consumed by sleep when she felt a sharp pain, not as painful as the contractions but close. Anna had forgotten about the afterbirth, and she cried from being in pain again. She sat up from Van Helsing's arms until the afterbirth was cast out.
Van Helsing removed his leather duster and folded it up on the ground. He leaned Anna back against the duster, and she looked up at him with her tired eyes. He held her hand and smiled down at her, and she gave a weak smile. She was about to close her eyes when she heard her baby's wail. Anna turned her head to see Katalena holding the baby wrapped up in cloths. She had cleaned the child of all the blood and mucus.
Katalena took the baby over to Anna and placed the child in Anna's arms. "A beautiful little boy." Katalena told Anna, who cradled her baby. Van Helsing was lost in thought for a moment. He'd been searching for his past for so long, which Katalena had given him an insight on, but he found that he would rather forget his past and live in the present where he now had a family. He looked down at his son and felt overwhelmed. The baby had a lot of hair to be a newborn, but his hair was dark and curly like Anna's hair. He barely opened his eyes, but his eyes were brown just like his parent's.
Anna smiled and cried joyful tears as she held her infant son. He wasn't crying anymore from just being with his mother. Anna realized that the pain she'd gone through was worth the tiny child in her arms, but she could not fight her exhaustion off any longer. She looked up to Van Helsing, who took their son in his arms without Anna having to ask. Van Helsing knew she was too tired to stay awake, and he watched her shut her eyes. He stared over at Anna then down at his son. 'Victoria and Adam were wrong to torture Anna and me as they have. But this child is far from wrong.' Van Helsing stared at his son in wonder.
Carl had shut the window and stepped closer to see Anna and Van Helsing's son. He was seeing a side of Van Helsing that he'd never really seen before. Van Helsing was actually smiling instead of scowling. 'I never thought I would see Van Helsing smile.' Carl thought. 'After he caused Anna's death all those months ago, I never believed he'd be like himself again. That was the scowling Van Helsing, and this softer side of Van Helsing I'm sorry to say I've never gotten to see. He's never had a reason to be happy in his missions. I see now that is all he's really needed in his life. Something to make him happy.'
Carl stepped up beside Madeline, who was looking up at him. He looked over at her and remembered that they would be parents of an infant very soon. He wasn't sure if he should be completely frightened or excited. Seeing Van Helsing's reaction to his child, Carl didn't fear being a father quite as much. He did fear the wrath of Cardinal Jinette when he learned about both children. The behavior of Van Helsing and Carl would be looked down upon, and Carl didn't have the excuse of being under a spell when he'd made love to Madeline.
The touching moment was soon interrupted by Mae being thrown from the door. She landed hard on the floor, and Madeline went over to her. "Mae," she said trying to wake up the witch, but with no success because Mae was out cold. Her magic had dropped to a very low state, and she lost consciousness. Tabitha and the others burst into the room. They stared to Van Helsing but were focused on the child in his arms more than him. Tabitha let an evil grin spread across her face.

A/N (sorry if this chapter was a little bland. I had trouble finding the right words in places.)