"I am SO sorry about this, Captain, but I can't find Roshan anywhere!" Henry apologized profusely as he and Nemo darted (well, Henry darted, Nemo was gracefully collecting items from around the room, looking far more composed than Jekyll thought he would in the circumstances)
They had arrived back at the headquarters only to find Victor was much further along than expected, and Roshan, not to mention the staff, was nowhere in sight, which was worrying, as it was Roshan who had informed them of the labor, so why was he missing?
But they would need to worry about it later; they had more pressing matters right now, so Jekyll found himself forced to enlist Nemo's help. Skinner was in the infirmary resting from his broken ribs. He had offered to help, but the gentleman thief needed rest and to heal.
Nemo just shrugged as he washed his hands as Jekyll put on gloves, having already done so. "It is alright, my friend. I am more upset my crew seems to have shirked their duties in having to assist you."
The Indian knew something had to be seriously wrong for his crew to be absent, but the events in the next room forced his priorities elsewhere for the moment. No need to cause further panic.
"Doctor! Captain!" Victor's voice cried out from inside the bedroom, and Henry went to rush back out the door, only for Nemo to beat him to the frame.
"Keep setting up; I'll check on him," The Captain said and moved towards the room.
Victor lay on the bed, panting and red-faced, fear and anxiety filling him like air in a balloon, ready to pop.
"You are making your pain worse by panicking," Nemo informed as he entered, "You think it's going to be agony, so it is."
Victor still had enough vinegar left in him to glare at the unwanted and, in Frankenstein's opinion, unneeded advice.
Nemo just made his way over to the bed and started to help Frankenstein sit up, stuffing the pillows behind him, which had become strewn about the bed and floor.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"You are curled up, and laying on your back like a beached whale, it's not helping you breathe, and it most certainly won't help your child enter the world, just because English and their like see fit to make things more difficult for all involved does not mean I will allow it," Nemo said, pushing some pillows further up so the life-weaver could lean into them without feeling squished.
"But...I thought-"
Jekyll entered the room, looking a bit puzzled at the scene. "Shouldn't he be lying down?" Henry asked, hating how he knew so little about how to help Victor. "Or would he like to sit for now?"
"I was under the impression both of you knew the nature of gravity," Nemo quipped and received a duel glare in his direction "his current position will allow both Victor and the child an easier time."
"I suppose that makes sense, but how will one of us catch it?"
"Would you prefer it if you caught your child, Victor? Or I can help you stand up, and Jekyll can catch," Nemo questioned.
Victor looked at the Captain like he had suddenly sprouted feathers. "I...don't know.." was all he could say as he all but ignored the next contraction with his confusion.
"How do you know what to do?" Jekyll asked; A bit unnerved by the overly collected Nemo, he was far too calm for the chaos around them.
"I watched a birth when I was younger," the Captain stated simply as he sat in a chair nearby, things not yet requiring his direct attention as he was sure it would just be a lot of talking and waiting for hours to come.
"How? How were you allowed to do that?" Jekyll asked; he had accidentally walked in on a birth before well looking for a skittish patient that had wandered away...and got a vomit-filled bedpan thrown at his head by a midwife.
"Well, I was not exactly allowed" Nemo almost appeared bashful if the man possessed the ability to feel embarrassed.
"I was walking near a stream, saw a heavily pregnant woman getting in with obvious intentions, first instincts said to go fetch her a proper midwife, but she looked perfectly calm, and that made me curious, she panted and groaned, but smiled at several points, till eventually, she pulled her child from the waters and onto her breast, I was not sure how much time had passed, but it seemed like only moments."
"She did it all by herself?" Victor asked, looking amazed; suddenly, the twinges in his abdomen did not feel as harsh as they did.
"Is such a concept so odd? She did things her way and how she wanted them to go," Nemo said; he always appreciated moments where he could just observe someone, all those little tics, and eccentricities that made up a body. "I even heard a story once of a woman giving birth to her child in a tree of all things during a flood."
"A TREE!?"
"FLOOD!?"
Nemo briefly wondered if he should have stopped at the 'birth is a normal and interesting process' anecdote and perhaps brought up that the only reason he went by that stream in the first place was to catch his pet ferret.
But, it did stop the screaming and running about like a headless chicken, and Victor even looked like he was going to fall into a light sleep; he would need it.
"Is the best thing we can do is talk to him?" Henry whispered next to Nemo's side, his fingers twitching, clenching, and unclenching, wanting to do something to help.
"I know you hate not being able to be of assistance, but yes, there is nothing much we can do other than offer encouragement unless something goes wrong, which I hope it does not; this is his battle, not ours," Nemo said, a bit amused at seeing the Doctor of the group so panicked, they both were out of their elements.
Though the sea Captain could at least keep his friend from rubbing the skin off his bones from his fidgeting.
"I'm sure he would not be opposed to someone offering a back massage," the Indian suggested; it would keep them both distracted so Nemo could hopefully find a few crew members to prepare the rest of the room for a newborn and its care "I'm going to see if I can find anyone to help, stay with him and lock the door behind me, do you have an elixir in the room?"
Henry nodded, not liking where this was going at all. "You are the one who can help him the most. So you should stay, and I will look for them."
"You need to be more confident in this, my friend; I'm far from experienced in this subject myself; you know what to do if he has trouble; I'll be back soon."
And with that, Nemo walked out of the infirmary, and Jekyll rushed to lock the door, not noticing as something started to seep under and around his feet...
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Nemo slowly walked through the hallways, ears pricked for any sound that signaled danger; there was a feeling in the air, something off, perhaps he should check on skin-
A beastly hand grabbed the back of the Captain's throat and his hands before he could react.
"Where are my mate and pup!?" The monster growled, knowing he had Nemo entirely at his mercy.
The Captain only gave a hiss in response and shook his head even as the grip around his throat tightened, and he couldn't let the monster get into the infirmary; it could do heaven knows what to Jekyll and Frankenstein, even if Victor carried their child, it might be upset that the man had run away.
"You will tell me, or I shall-" Adam began, only to stop, glowing eyes widened as he seemed to hear something, head tilting to the side in almost annoyance, Nemo knowing that look from Jekyll, the face of something else that no one else could hear talking to you, giving orders, demanding things.
"Fine, fine," was all the wretch said, though not to Nemo, and loosened his grip on the man's throat, not enough to where Nemo could get free, but just enough to where the Indian would not suffocate.
Nemo nearly shouted as he was dragged backward, far too helpless for his liking and not wanting to go anywhere with this creature and tried to kick and dig his heels into whatever obstacle came up, even trying to loop his foot around the leg of a hallway table, only to be painfully pulled loose.
High-pitched squeals reached Nemo's ears forcing his futile struggles to a dead stop.
No, not that! Not yet!
Adam paused as well, just outside the door, as if waiting for something; a smile split across the distorted face, the wailing cries of a newborn filling the hallway despite the door between them.
The door swung open
"You both may come in now," came an unfamiliar voice.
More dragging as Victor came into view, and Nemo was flung carelessly to the ground as Adam became more interested in Victor and the bab-babies...one...two...
Three!?
Indeed, three babies, no bigger than loaves of bread, were now contently snuggled into their birth-givers arms, who looked very much like someone who had given life to triplets, hair sticking up as if lightning had struck it and face covered in still drying tears.
"They are beautiful, Victor," Adam spoke in an almost gentle tone.
Nemo tried to get to his feet only to find he could not move from the floor, only able to move his eyes; why couldn't he move!?
"Now, Captain, just relax. Everything is fine," came the voice again, and a man came into Nemo's view.
He was a tall man, looking even bigger than Quartermain, seeming to be six foot four if not taller, black hair long and pulled back, strong features Nemo recognized but could not name at the moment, Romani? Or perhaps a mix? Maybe even a countryman of Nemo's own homeland?
The Captain's eyes burned as he tried to force them to look further than they could for his friend. Where was Jekyll!? He had not said a word, and Nemo did not hear any screaming that signaled he was in trouble.
"Calm yourself, dear Captain Nemo. Your treasured friend is safe and sound, sleeping peacefully in the other bed; I have not harmed him," the man almost cooed, and Nemo felt the strong urge to be sick. His face was grabbed under the chin by a deceptively gentle hand to meet a pair of brown eyes slowly starting to stain red.
Vampire
The man guided over Nemo's head so he could see the other bed, and indeed, Jekyll laid out on it, eyes closed, chest raising and lowering steadily, healthy, from what Nemo could tell from his viewpoint.
"See? Perfectly alright!" the man smiled, releasing Nemo from his hold, making his way over to Henry on the bed. "Unfortunately, it seems we have to head home; we now have to make the nursery suitable to fit triplets; after all, now, with your permission, we shall take our leave" he gave a bow towards Nemo's direction before turning back to Jekyll, smiling wider, exposing sharp teeth.
He wasn't going to-!?
Lips pressed to the Doctor's forehead, not for more than a second, before the man stood tall again.
"Please, don't hurt them; they helped us," Victor finally said from Adam's arms, having been scooped up in several blankets, a baby in his arms as the man collected the other two from the bed.
"Of course not; neither of them nor any of the others will be hurt; in fact, I have great plans for these two."
"Marcus.."
"Shush now, Victor, you all have had a rough night, and I'm sure you and your friends here would love to get some rest tonight."
Nemo watched, still unable to move as Victor, the creature, and the man now known as Marcus disappeared out the door.
The Captain's body finally unfroze