Hi everyone. This is a short chapter that was created as a result of coffee and a lack of sleep. A bit fluffy, but I hope not too much. I promise the next chapter will be a long one, and much more eventful than this one was. Enjoy!


"It's all so…."

This was one of the few moments that Integra Hellsing was at a loss for words at what now stood before her.

"…Pink."

She finished the sentence in a rather disgruntled way. Integra looked about the small, London boutique with a disdainful eye. She didn't see why she had to pick out baubles and gadgets for her child so early… It had only been a week since she had officially found out the news. Two days after her fist visit to the clinic, she had gone back to run some tests, and they confirmed what Alucard had already informed her of. She was, indeed, with child. And now she had to suffer for it. Time to outfit the nursery.

The shop she was currently mulling though was an upper end, expensive sort of place that specialized in stupid and frivolous things for babies. Integra was almost appalled at the lack of taste… little booties with bear ears on them, onesies with rubber ducky floral print… honestly! Didn't they have anything plain? She turned to Walter, her eyes almost pleading for help. Integra was made to ruthlessly run a powerful organization… not pick out baby clothes.

"Walter… Can't you do this? I don't think picking out clothes for a baby that hasn't even arrived is a very reasonable way to ration my time. I mean, I should be at the manor, doing…"

There really wasn't much to be done at the Hellsing manor. Paper piles grew ever thinner; dwindling down as the commotion caused by Millennium came to a slow, but steady halt. There hadn't been much to do, really. Just a few incidents with low class vampires going on pointless killing sprees… nothing that couldn't single handedly be controlled by Alucard… or even Seras for that matter. So there really wasn't much to do… but Integra figured that there had to be more practical ways to spend her time than buying silly looking outfits. Her sentence still hung in the air.

"Sir Integra… it will have to be done sooner or later. Better do it now while you still have time. A lot of gossip will spread about you in the next few months, and undoubtedly all the propaganda you will be the subject of will somehow find a way to interfere with your life." Walter smiled in a gentle, coaxing way.

"Be a big girl, Integra, and just get it over with."

Integra sighed, and pursed her lips, starting to sift through the tiny articles of clothing once more. She guessed he was right… if she did it now, she wouldn't have to suffer any more later. But why did everything have to be so muted in color? Everything in the shop was pale pink, pale blue or pale purple. The light colors, though soothing had absolutely no charms for her. She scowled.

"Why does everything have to be so…" Integra held up a little nightie, the tiny outfit pink and embroidered with the images of little puppies and kitties on it, holding it at arm's length as if the thing were contaminated.

"…gaudy?"

Walter pretended to be inspecting a crib, not feeling the need to justify her with an answer. Complain as she might, she would have to face the fact sooner or later. Her child would have to wear cute things… at least for the first few years of its life.

Integra and Walter stood in the doorway of a spacey chamber, inspecting the fruits of their labor. Integra's old nursery had been given a complete makeover. The room had been in shambles for quite a long time, but everything had been taken out, painted over and replaced. It was positively a new room. The walls were painted a nice color… a soft, muted sort of green. The color appeased both Integra and Walter, because it was a practical sort of hue, but gentle enough to make a nice nursery. Curtains were draped in a soft brocade fabric of a darker green, and the carpet, soft and bumpy beneath the feet was a shade to match the curtains. A crib, changing table, and chest of drawers, all matching, were situated in various places about the room. Toys had been put on newly applied shelves, and soft blankets lined the crib. It was a good room to be sure, emanating comfort and peace. So few rooms in the house were this cozy.

"You did well, Sir Integra."

"Yes… I believe I did." She congratulated herself in a mild way on her good taste in interior design, her choices having been influenced only slightly by Walter's expertise in such matters.

Walter sloped away from the room silently, stalking off to wash linens or re organize the armory… whichever task was in more dire need of being done. Integra still stood there, slouching over so that her slight body rested against the doorframe. She was almost beginning to come to terms with the idea… Nine months until she would actually have someone to occupy this room. It was almost jarring, but at the same time, a wave of excitement lurched within her. She didn't know what provoked such enthusiasm. She shrugged it off. Maternal instinct. As much as she would like to deny it, she was in fact, a woman, and was not a total anomaly as one of the fairer sex. Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach, before she recoiled it, almost in self-disgust. No… this was stupid! There wasn't even any lump around her middle as proof of a child. Why was she so quick to accept this?

Alucard had now taken Walter's place at her side, scrutinizing the new chamber of the household. But his eyes quickly averted from the room, to Integra. Her head was tilted to the side, her silky hair falling gently about her shoulders and neck as she leaned so placidly against the door frame. Her eyes stared so blankly ahead, it was almost hypnotizing to see her this deep in thought. She was a naturally pensive woman, but she was most certainly contemplating something very grave at the moment.

Her ice blue eyes flickered as she returned to the world out of her little cocoon of thought. The red of a familiar jacket caught her eye, and she propped herself straight, turning slightly to face Alucard, who dipped his head in a slight bow.

"Have the incidents in Kent been taken care of?"

"Yes, Master. The creatures there were weak… you should have seen how they squirmed as I drove my hand through their chests."

Integra turned her head away for a moment, slightly annoyed. Here, she had just been musing over pleasant, but delicate issues, and now she had the mental image of vampires writhing as Alucard's arm impaled them like a skewer. Such was life at the Hellsing manor. As if sensing the displeasure she drew from the sudden jump of thought, Alucard grinned deviantly, and Integra searched to change the subject.

"What do you think of the room, Alucard?"

"It will serve its purpose well. What do you think of it?"

"It's… special."

She looked at the room again. The room itself wasn't particularly magnificent. It was nice, but not extraordinary. What made the place special was what she knew was going to occupy it, given due course for gestation.

Alucard nodded knowingly satisfied with her answer. Despite the lack of detail she gave her few words spoke volumes. He couldn't quite put his finger on why this occurrence brought such sentimentality out of the cold, seemingly unfeeling Integra, but it wasn't an unwelcome change in her. She was still the same woman he had seen grow from child to adult, the same iron maiden, the same Integra.

"Goodbye, Master." He said simply, continuing his along his way down the hall.

Integra stood there for a while longer, before turning off the light and shutting the door. It was time to leave the small, but magical sanctuary, and get back to the real world. A world where she was sure that there was work that needed to be done in.


Yep That's all, folks.

I still don't own Hellsing... yadda yadda yadda...

Happy Campin', kids!

Rewiew please! I find them terribly helpful, so please keep 'em comin'.

Kimi-Taco