Ericka awoke first the following morning, grinning at the feel of her husband's arms around her waist. She stirred him from sleep with a gentle shake, and his drowsy eyes landed upon her.
"Good morning," he mumbled, giving her a gentle kiss.
"Morning," she whispered back as he pulled away. "So… any plans for today?"
"Well…" Drac began, "I was hoping to maybe take a bath with my wife?" he asked, putting a proud emphasis on the word 'wife.' It had the effect he wanted, and she smiled at the new role she played in his life.
"I would love to share the tub with my husband," she replied cheekily. Her heart leapt with desire as he helped her rise from the bed and then made their way to the restroom.
The bathtub itself is a white porcelain, deep and rounded well with enough room to easily fit two lovers. Dracula used his magic to turn the knobs of the faucet and fill it with warm water. He then grabbed a bottle of soap and poured most of the content into it, allowing the water to foam with suds that smelled like a sweet vanilla fragrance.
"So the Lord of Darkness likes bubble baths," Ericka giggled as she watched him. "Who knew!"
Dracula chuckled. "Yes. And it will be an even better experience with you, my love."
Turning to her, he gathered up the hems of her loose nightshirt and lifted the thin garment over her head, tossing it to the side so that she was now as nude as he was.
He sat down in the tub first, water sloshing around him as he allowed himself to sink into the frothy mixture. Ericka climbed in next, adjusting herself so that her back was against Drac's lean frame, body pressing into him and making herself comfortable. He let out a small groan of approval, wrapping his arms so they held her close to him, the only sounds being that of their breathing. The warm water was soothing to the muscles, and Ericka let out a content sigh.
"I'm going to miss this," he said.
She turned her head slightly toward him. "Miss what?"
"Oh, moments like this, with just us. Together." He sighed. "It's a lot of work to run the hotel, and throwing a baby into the mix is going to be no easy feat. Especially for a new mother."
She interlaced their hands underneath the soapy water and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles "Well, at least I've got the benefit of having an experienced father on my side. I'm sure things will work out fine."
Drac nodded slowly. "Yes, of course they will. With my zing by my side, I know it will." He brought his fingers to rest on her stomach, lightly stroking. It tickled her and she let loose a small giggle in response.
"Are you washing me now?" she asked.
He leaned down, resting his chin in the crook of her neck. "Of course, I love to touch your body. Plus, we are in the bath."
"Yeah," she breathed. "I guess that's true."
They spent another half hour or so in the comfortable relaxation of each other's company, Ericka enjoying every moment that he gave her without complaint. Once the last bit of the bubbles had disappeared, she began to sit up from the warm waters and reach to dry herself off. She stood up shakily, and Drac followed suit, standing and holding out a hand to steady her. Ericka took it with a grateful smile and did not waste any time in drying off with one of the white towels. They were going to need to utilize all the time they could get to accomplish everything they wanted to do on their honeymoon agenda. She slid on a simple cream tunic dress, while Drac took up a more casual appearance with a flowery Hawaiian shirt and some white slacks.
Once dressed, Drac offered his arm out to her with a rather coy smile.
"Shall we?"
Ericka nodded and linked arms with him.
"We shall."
An active day followed for the pair of newlyweds. Dracula had resorted to taking her all over Transylvania, exploring the sights and enjoying all that it had to offer. They visited the Dark forest of Slobozia, which of course wasn't as dark or spooky as it once had been, where they were stopped by some joggers who wanted to take selfies with Drac. The joggers were disappointed to find that he did not show up in the pictures, but by the time they turned around to ask him for a retake, the pair were gone. Dracula had whisked Ericka away to show her Camp Winnepecaca from a distance, as the count had been given a restraining order from returning to the place after the destruction that happened when Dennis was brought. A short time later, Ericka's stomach began to growl, and Dracula drove in through the town square to grab some food for the two. It was around the same time of year of the annual Monster Festival, and he was greeted by the sight of many folks dressed down in lots of different creature costumes. One of them was the Dracula who had helped them get to Johnny at the airport, and he immediately recognized the Count.
"Fellow Dracula! How are you doing today, bleh-bleh-bleh?"
Dracula groaned. "I don't say 'bleh-bleh-bleh.' But, it is going well. Just taking my wife around to see if we can grab something to eat."
"A Countess?" the man answered with a pleasantly surprised glance at Ericka. "Well, congratulations, bleh-bleh-bleh! I will not disturb you or your bride, but perhaps we shall cross paths another time, bleh-bleh-bleh!"
"Heh heh, yes. See you around," Drac said as politely as he could, but the whole 'bleh-bleh-bleh' bit was getting under his skin.
Instead, Drac focused on his original mission to get them both something to eat. He vouched to grab her some more of the traditional human food that was being offered at stands - hot dogs, a burger, pizza - but she surprised him when she refused, and instead requested something else.
"I'm craving some monster foods," Ericka said. "What have they got?"
"Well," Dracula thought as he looked around. A few yards away there were some stands that had food similar to what he sold at the hotel. He ended up grabbing an entire pallet of edibles: bagels with scream cheese, scorpions in cockroach paste, pickled rat eyeballs, wormcakes with Blood Beater syrup; It was all delicious choices… for a monster that is. But Drac wasn't so sure that Ericka would take to the food the same way he did. Once again, he was proven wrong.
"I've eaten plenty of ecotic food before," she assured him. "This will be a piece of cake!"
And with that, she started digging in. He watched her for a moment to see if she would complain about the sentient cream cheese that was yelling its head off, or the slimy nature of the worms, or even the tart flavor of the cockroach paste, but he was impressed to see that she paid no mind whatsoever. He watched, enthralled and amused to see her so content that he almost forgot to eat some himself.
That is until she shoved some scorpion into his mouth nearly the same way she had with the guacamole chips on the cruise.
"Mmm," she said. "And to think you'd believe that I wouldn't like it!"
"Mmm hhhm hmmm mmm," Drac agreed, swallowing hard. "I just didn't know how you'd take to it."
"It's alright," she replied. "But what I'm really curious about is that." She pointed to his cup of Blood Beater on the small table they were at.
"Be my guest," he said, handing it to her. She took a quick sniff of the red substance before her and then took a large sip. He saw her grimace a little, but then her expression relaxed.
"It's not bad either," she said. "A little bitter, kind of strange, but still alright. Kind of like wine in a way, just, you know, hemoglobin." She swallowed down some more and then paused, smacking her lips with a face of disgust. "Okay, but about that aftertaste though..."
Dracula laughed. "I knew there would be something you didn't like!" he said as he gulped down the rest of the drink. Ericka swatted him playfully on the arm before wiping her mouth with a napkin. Dumping the empty tray, he helped her rise and together they headed for the exit.
That evening, the two laid atop the bed, Ericka propped up by some pillows and Dracula curled up next to her, his focus on her belly. With slow, careful movements, he took a hand and gently traced the swell, singing a soft tune that he used to sing when Mavis was a baby.
Because you're Daddy's girl… or boy,
Daddy's girl… or boy,
And I'm your Vlad-y Daddy…
Ericka smiled at the sweet little tune and stroked a hand through Drac's silky hair in a petting manner.
"I never imagined in a hundred years that I'd be a father again," Dracula sighed, gently caressing the bump and leaning into Ericka's touch.
Ericka snorted. "You think that's crazy? I never imagined becoming a mother at all… much less to the children of the man I'd been trained to kill my whole life," she added with a laugh. Then her smile fell. "I-I'd be a terrible mom…"
Dracula turned to look at her, a bewildered expression clear on his face. "What?" he said, astonished. "Sweet fangs, what in the world would make you say that?"
Ericka gave him a dry look. "Need I remind you of my upbringing?" she asked. "I hardly learned anything on that ship with great-grandfather Van Helsing. He was always so focused on monster-hunting and killing vampires… I mean, do you really think he cared about showing affection? He wanted me to be cold, hard, and uncaring…" She paused, a lump suddenly forming in her throat. "How could you ever want someone like that to raise your kids?"
Her voice broke slightly on the last word, causing Ericka's eyes to fill with tears. Drac could only stare at her, appalled. "What? Ericka, where is this all coming from?"
She sniffed, looking up at him with a quivering lip as fat tears began to roll down her cheeks. He quickly moved over to hold her, gently rubbing circles on her back and pressing soft kisses to her temple.
"Oh, no, no, no, honeybadger, please do not cry…" He gently wiped her tears away with a thumb. These mood swings were getting more and more common as of late, and it always baffled him how quickly she could go from cheerful to sad in such a short span of time. Nevertheless, he offered her comfort, doing his best to gently hush her sobs. She was able to calm down, the crying hushing to some soft sniffles.
"Sorry," she mumbled after a while.
Dracula handed her a tissue to blow her nose with. "It's okay," he whispered. "I understand how nervous it can make you to become a parent. My father raised me no different from you, really. He just wanted me to prey on, kill, and steal souls from humans. But I knew I was more than that. And when my little Mavy finally did come, I felt all that worry melt away. I had a new purpose in being her father, and it made me feel good."
He pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head and looked down at her. Ericka's eyes were red and puffy, but there was still no sign of any additional sobbing. "I know you're going to feel good, too, when you become a mother and hold your baby for the first time."
"You mean our baby," she corrected with a smile.
"Yes. Our baby," Drac happily agreed.
Talking of the baby seemed to lift her spirits and Ericka sat up straighter to speak a bit more enthusiastically.
"So, do you want it to be a boy or girl?" she asked.
Dracula paused and thought for a second. "Weelll, I'll be happy either way, honeybat. As long as they are healthy and strong." He paused for a second and then thought it over. "Buuut… I have always wanted to have a little boy. A son that I can teach how to fly and catch mice, and do all sorts of vampire things!"
Ericka chuckled. "But you know, he may not even be a vampire with all the powers and stuff. He's half-human. Need I remind you of the little incident you had with your Dennis?"
Dracula groaned. Ever since he had admitted what had occurred when he tried to get his grandson's fangs to pop out, she hadn't failed to remind him.
"No, you don't need to remind me sweetfangs. I have promised you that I will not do that sort of thing to our children, my love, do you not believe me?"
She caressed his cheek in reassurance. "Yes, I trust you to your word."
Dracula breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Now, what do you want the baby to be?"
Ericka's eyes lit up. "I haven't really given it too much thought, but I really think I would like a girl. It would be so much fun to spoil her in ways that I didn't get when I was young."
"Heh, heh, and I'll be helping you along with that," Drac laughed.
Ericks giggled and the Count sighed fondly. "Ah, but why wait, my love? We can easily get you checked out at the medical bay sometime this week. The doctor at the infirmary has just the right equipment for an 'ultrasound,' or whatever they call it that lets you see the baby."
Ericka bit her lip. "Actually, um… I don't want to find out."
Dracula stared at her. "You don't?"
"I want it to be a surprise," Ericka explained. "I know we have all the tech nowadays that we need to see whether it will be a little girl or boy, but I just want to see for myself on their birthday." She smiled, looking wistfully at her belly then back at him.
"Well, alright," the count conceded. "How can I say no to such an adorable face like yours?"
Ericka blushed, her smile widening. "Oh, please…" she said playfully, pushing his shoulder gently.
The count chuckled and moved his hand from hers, placing it against her stomach again.
"Ah well, whether you're Bram or Martha, I'll still love you all the same."
Dracula's face lit up when he felt a sort of growl in response. "The baby answered me!" he said excitedly.
Ericka laughed and shook her head. "No honey, that was me. I'm starting to get a little hungry again. Do you mind grabbing me some anchovies with ice cream, please?"
The vampire chuckled. "What is with that food? Mavis was asking for that same exact combination all the time when she was pregnant."
"Who knows," Ericka said with a shrug. "Must be a Dracula thing."
Drac curiously thought about it as he went down into the kitchen and then came back upstairs with the dessert. Did the Dracula side of the family have a taste for this oddly-flavored ice cream? Before he came back into the room, he took a quick lick of it.
And instantly regretted it.
"Pppwwahh! Pwwafftt pwwah!" he spluttered in disgust, nearly gagging as he thrust the treat into Ericka's waiting hands. "Take it, it's all yours!"
He then rushed into the bathroom to rinse out the flavor with a few gargles of Blood Beater mouthwash. Ericka could only watch her husband and giggle at his antics.
Such as life with the Count, she mused, dipping in to the ice cream and humming contently as she ate.