Days continued along to weeks. Weeks turned into months. It was looming closer and closer to Ericka's projected due date, and Drac made sure to eagerly mark off the rapidly approaching days on a calendar in the same way he had when his daughter was pregnant.

In order to fully prepare for the baby's arrival, the wives and female monsters of the hotel had decided to arrange a special little baby shower for the expecting mother only a month before the projected arrival.

They had all whisked her away that fresh spring morning to the hotel's grand ballroom for the event. Ericka entered, wearing a new loose-fitting white maternity dress that had some cute sunflower patterns on it. The women gushed as she carefully hobbled her way over to take a seat with them.

"Look at you!" cried Eunice.

"Wow!" cheered Crystal.

"Oh, honey," Wanda cooed, "you're looking so big these days!"

Ericka chuckled and took a glance at Wanda's own pregnant belly. "I could say the same to you, Wanda."

Mavis then entered the room wearing a bright smile. "It's present time!" she said cheerily as she approached Ericka and gave her a brief side hug. The ladies all gathered closer to the seat that she was situated in.

Wanda pointed an excited front paw at the large pile of gifts on the nearby table. "Open mine first, sweetie, it's the one right in the front."

Ericka nodded and read the card that was attached to the box: "Congratulations, Ericka, on your new little mess-maker. I hope this will help!'"

She unwrapped the packaging and pulled out a plastic bag and a little shovel with a pail.

"Oh! Uh…" she began a little unsurely.

"It's for the accidents, you know, in case you can't get to a diaper in time?" Wanda explained.

"Ah, right."

The next present was wrapped in a beautiful shimmering skull-patterned paper, and she tore it open to reveal a guillotine playset. "It's my favorite present to give!" Eunice gushed as she sat back in satisfaction. "I gave Dennis one too, remember that Mavis?"

"Oh yes, I do," Mavis replied, not telling her Aunt that he had never actually used it for fear of cutting off a finger or even a limb.

Next, Ericka opened up a box set of various little baby clothing that had little phrases on it, like 'Daddy's little monster' or 'Mommy's little demon.' She thanked Mavis for the gift, and put it aside. More gifts were opened in the same way, and by the time Ericka was done, she had various teething toys, bottles, a crib, blankets, and dozens upon dozens of diaper packs. The expecting mother was grateful for all her presents and touched by their generosity. She felt even more at ease when they all joined in playing games, such as guessing the diameter of her pronounced belly.

"It's just enormous!" Eunice commented.

"Yeah, I heard that having a bigger belly means you're going to have a boy," Crystal said.

"I thought that carrying low meant that you were having a boy," Wanda said. "That was the case for me in all of my pregnancies, and look how many boy wolf pups I have running around now! I have no doubts on this litter, either," she said, patting her own belly.

"Hey, how come ya haven't checked it out for sure?" Euince asked Ericka. "I think you're more than enough weeks in for the doctor to be able to tell."

Ericka shrugged. "Oh, I just want to be a surprise, you know? I think it'll be more exciting that way."

"And more mysterious," Eunice muttered, and Wanda gently elbowed her.

"I understand, Ericka," Mavis said. "Johnny and I did the same with Dennis, and it turned out to be a pretty exciting wait. You should have seen how psyched he was when we finally did get the news!"

"Heh heh," Ericka chuckled. "I can't quite say the same for your dad," she told Mavis. "He respects my decision, but he has tried a couple of times to get me to change my mind. It's not going to happen though."

"Oh, he'll love the baby whether it's a daughter or a son," Wanda said confidently with a nod of her head. "Why, I remember it like it was yesterday when little Mavis came into our lives. Drac was simply gushing about her all the time!"

"Aunt Wandaaa," Mavis said, turning her head away a little as she was a little embarrassed at the attention.

"Oh yes, it's true!" Eunice agreed. "You had better keep a good eye out for the Count, there. From what we were told, he would always wake up in the middle of the day to try and play with Mavis. He tried to do the same with Dennis when he was a baby, but Mavis or Johnny would always catch him before it ended up happening. I tell you, Drac is a real pushover when it comes to the little ones. How do you think Dennis was able to get his puppy?"

Mavis groaned. "Auntie Eunice, don't remind me. You don't know how many times I've had to change the carpet in my living room after Tinkles has had one of his infamous accidents."

Eunice scoffed and played it off. "Ah well, regardless, Drac really is great with kids… well, aside from trying to throw them off of towers, I suppose."

This made the women laugh. As Mavis giggled along, she noticed a little recognizable face shyly peeking from around the corner of the doorway.

"Dennis?" she called.

"Hi Momma," he answered, making his presence known to everyone. He skittered over to her, and she picked him up to give him a hug.

"Hey buddy," she said, "What brings you here? Does Tinkles need to go for a walk again?"

Dennis shook his head. "No. I have a present for Ericka, too!"

"Oh!" Mavis exclaimed and looked to her. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it is!" Ericka answered, scooting over a little and patting the seat next to her side. "Come on over, little guy!"

Dennis obediently came, hopping up to the seat and giving her a hug. "Hi Nana Ericka!" Then he waved to her belly. "And hi, baby!" Ericka felt a kick within in response to his voice.

"I think the baby likes you," Ericka said, and smiled when she saw Dennis's face light up.

"Really? That's great! I hope he or she likes the present I made you. It's for them, too!"

"Aw, well let me see it, honey," Ericka said gently.

He nodded eagerly and handed Ericka a piece of paper he held in his little hands. "I drew it, and my friend Winnie helped me color it," the boy explained. At the sound of her name, the little werewolf pup popped up from another part of the room and scurried over to Dennis's side. Ericka took a look and grinned at what she saw. It was a crayon drawing piece with stick figures drawn together in a group like a family. She could make out the red curly hair of Johnny and Dennis himself. Next to them was the short black-haired figure of Mavis, complete with little pointed teeth in the mouth for fangs. A big black puppy was alongside them, which she recognized as Tinkles. At the center was her and Dracula, with a little baby in her arms. The baby was smiling out widely, with one tooth and a mop of hair that had been colored both black and white.

"Oh," Ericka gushed. "It's lovely, thank you." Dennis easily accepted her embrace.

"Winnie was trying to tell me that the baby would have gray hair, but I told her she was wrong," Dennis said.

"Yeah, and then I tackled you, like this!" the little wolf pup leaped up upon him and play fought, rolling on the ground and lightly slapping at him as he did the same back to her. It was up to Wanda to step in.

"Okay, okay, you two. Winnie, what have I told you about jumping on top of Dennis like that?" the werewolf mother scolded.

Winnie held her arms behind her back. "Sorry!" she said quietly and ran off.

"See you later, Nana Ericka!" Dennis called as he was about to follow suit. When he reached the door, however, a pair of pale hands swooped him up.

"And where does my little devil dog think he's going off in such a rush after his zing?"

Dennis pouted. "Papa Drac! I've told you before, Winnie is not my zing. I'm too young to be zinging!"

"Are not!" Winnie shouted from below.

"Are too!" he shouted back in response.

"Are not!" Winnie insisted.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Instead of answering back again, Dennis jumped out of Dracula's arms and began to take chase after the werewolf pup, who shrieked in delight at the game. The count gave a laugh at the sight and greeted the women in the room. "Hello ladies, Mavy, and Ericka." He hugged his daughter and kissed his wife. "How is everything going in here?"

"Well, we've got lots of presents here for Ericka," Mavis said, pointing to the table of unwrapped gifts.

"Oh, wonderful!" he exclaimed. "I, eh, have one for my honeyfangs too."

"Oh? Do you?" Ericka asked playfully with hooded eyes.

"Yes… but first…" He abruptly misted himself into her seat, pulled her into his lap, and began peppering her face with sweet kisses. The female monsters cooed in admiration, while Mavis shielded her eyes. She didn't mind them being in love of course, but the whole 'smoochy time' in front of her had to stop.

"Drac," Ericka whined playfully. Dracula finally released her after one final peck on the lips before picking her up bridal style. She gasped, but he held onto her tightly.

"Sorry ladies," the Count apologized the others, "but I'm borrowing my wife for a few minutes," he said as he made his way out of the room.

"Make sure you go somewhere soundproof this time!" Eunice called out behind them.

"Aunt Eunice!" Mavis exclaimed with a look of embarrassment.

"What? It's true. They can be loud sometimes."

Mavis only groaned in response.

"Can I open my eyes yet, Drac?"

"Not quite yet, my love, please be patient."

Ericka scoffed. "I have been patient!" she whined.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled. "You can open them now."

She did as she was told and found that they were outside in the garden area behind the hotel. Ericka let out a startled gasp at what she saw. The middle of the garden had been recreated to be a small little play area for toddlers, complete with a seesaw, a miniature obstacle course, and even a slide. She was stunned to the point of not being able to formulate words.

"The guys helped me put it together while you girls were inside. It's not a hundred percent complete, but it's getting there."

"What more could it need?" she asked breathlessly.

Dracula smiled. "Well, our kid playing in it, for one. And second, a gate. If not, those wolf pups will tear the play area to pieces before I even get a chance to open it!"

Ericka rolled her eyes fondly. "Don't worry about that, Drac," she grinned. "They'll behave themselves."

The count laughed softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down slightly so their foreheads could touch, and she whispered, "Thank you for doing this."

"My pleasure, love," he said admiringly.

Ericka giggled lightly and pressed her lips firmly against his. Dracula returned her kiss with equal fervor and ran his hand down from her waist to encompass the large sphere of her belly. He crouched down after they broke apart, and began whispering gently to it.

"I'll be seeing you soon, my little devil chops. Very, very soon indeed."

A/N: oh yeah, also happy 4th anniversary to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation :3