Part III: Family Matters

Chapter: The Next Generation

"I look like a whale." Margot complained. "A fricking beluga whale."

"No you don't." Myers replied, for a thousandth time. "You look beautiful."

But Margot wasn't easily convinced. She looked at her image in the mirror, and felt disgusted. With nothing but her underwear on (and gone were the skimpy, bright colored underwear she had used to wear), she could clearly see all the effects pregnancy had already had on her.

Gone was her slender figure, her tiny waist and the high arcs of her hipbones. They were replaced with something so different, that she felt like she was a prisoner inside someone else's body. A lot like when she had been 'enhanced' by the Goddess, except that then she had at least been beautiful. Now she was a whale.

"A beluga whale." she stated, resigned. "White, fat and enormous."

"Come one." Myers sighed, and walked to her. He wrapped his arms around her, laid his hands on the bare skin of her belly and kissed her neck. "I think you look sexy as hell."

"That's because you're a pervert." Margot snapped, but could not help but to smile.

"Yeah, but I'm your pervert."

"Damn you John Myers for being like this. For wanting me even when I look-"

"-hot as hell?"

"That's not what I was going to say."

Margot rolled her eyes at him, but then turned around, to face him, and tiptoed to give him a small kiss. "Your innocent boy scout looks hide one hell of a sex maniac."

"Sex maniac?" Myers murmured, his lips brushing hers. "So, what do you say, I help you off those super hot, gigantic maternity panties, and give you something else to think about?"

"You are a pervert." Margot laughed, but didn't resist as he pulled her into a kiss, his lips opening hers, his hands gently resting on the curves of her hips.

The kiss was long, deep and hungry, and it left Margot so high headed that she had to lean on Myers to be able to stay on her feet.

"To my defense-" Myers breathed. "-it's not the maternity underwear that turns me on, it's you."

"That's a relief." Margot muttered, and kissed him again, sending the next thought into his mind. "For I'm going to burn these damn things as soon as the babies are born!"

"Still about four months to go." he murmured, and his hand found her belly. Gently he caressed it, followed the weird, round shape of it, feeling the tight, stretched skin - and under it, the movements of two, living beings. Their children.

The babies instantly reacted to Myers' touch, and began to kick, which made Margot gasp and frown.

"Ouch!" Myers exhaled as well, feeling the sharp pain in her mind.

"Yeah, they're getting stronger by the day." Margot replied and rubbed her tummy, sending calming thoughts to her infants. "I have no idea how they'll fit inside of me for four more months! If I'm not whale now, I most certainly will be by the end of this."

But Myers didn't reply. His hand was still on her belly, and the movements of the babies turned slower and calmer. Margot stopped talking too, and closed her eyes.

It was the weirdest feeling. All of their minds combined, merged, together as one. John's mind so strong and stable, and full of awe, amazement and love. Her own thoughts, still a mess, like a puzzle with too many missing pieces. And the babies, their tiny, little consciousnesses that were still forming, still incomplete. They were like flickering will-o'-the-wisps in the night, sometimes burning so bright that Margot could almost make out the shape of them, but sometimes almost fading into the darkness.

"It's not just their kicks that are getting stronger by the day." noted Myers, and Margot opened her eyes to look at him. "They seem somehow… more awake now. Don't they?"

"Yeah." Margot replied. "You're right. God, it's so weird! Sometimes I can feel their minds buzzing inside of me like a beehive, and of course it's always on the night time, and I can't sleep…"

"I know." Myers moved his hands to her hips, to the small of her back. "And I'm sorry that I can't help you more. Once they are born, I can take care of them, and you'll get some sleep."

"Yeah." Margot rolled her eyes. "I'll get to sleep in four months. Yay!"

He didn't answer, but instead kissed her again, and feeling his lips on hers, Margot could not help but to succumb to the amazing weakness that washed over her.

It's more than two years now, since we first met, and still he makes me feel like this. I hope it never ends!

His fingers were gripping tight on her hips, and Margot felt his breathing turning fast and shallow. She loved it, the way her closeness turned him on, even now, even if she looked like a hippopotamus. He didn't seem to mind the fact that she'd put on some weight, that her waist was gone and she looked like she had swallowed a basketball. He still looked at her like she was something amazing, touched her like she was the only thing he had ever wanted, pulled her near and kissed her so that it made her lose her balance.

Heaven help me, I need him so bad! I need him like he's the air I breath!

She felt clumsy, and fat, and ugly, but the at the same time the pregnancy had made her skin hypersensitive to touch, her breasts aching to be caressed, and she wanted Myers on a way she had never done before. It was somehow a lot more primitive, more animal than ever, an urge she found impossible to resist. He had made her pregnant, and it was like her body couldn't get enough of him now. As if it needed reassurance, that he was still there for her, that he wouldn't leave her now that the job was done.

Whatever the reason, the need she felt every time he touched her, was enough to shake her whole world, to make her head spin and her heart race.

Myers knew that, alright, and made a low chuckle as Margot buried her fingers into his hair, and kissed him. He pulled her near, and she felt the evident bulge of his boxers pressing on her belly, and she gasped.

His rock hard erection, begging to be touched, to be caressed by her hands, kissed by her lips on the ways she knew would make him go mad with lust. Her mouth watered on the thought of it, and she let her fingers slide into his underwear, to find the wonder of his shaft, oh so hard, and yet so silky soft to touch.

He groaned, and bit his lip, as Margot's fingers gripped on him, but he didn't let her caress him for long. Determinedly he pulled her hand out of his underwear, entwining his fingers with hers.

"You sure you want to start this?" he asked, his voice hoarse and low, and just the sound of it was enough to send shivers down her spine. "There's a wedding to catch."

"The wedding can bloody well wait." Margot snapped.

God, if she'd have to stop now, she'd burst!

"Kat's gonna go berserk if we're not there. We are the witnesses."

"Fuck, I hate it when you are right!" Margot swore. "Let's be real quick, okay?"

He laughed. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"Just stop talking and get on with it."

She let him guide her back to the bed, and by the time he removed her (gigantic) maternity panties, she was so ready, that it felt like fire inside his bloodstream.

"Christ, John!" she panted, as his fingers slid inside of her, his lips found her breasts that were hypersensitive to his touch. She felt his hot breathing on her nipples - a sensation that made her groan.

"Tell me you want me." he commanded, filling her with his fingers, her tight, swollen heat that begged him to have her, that was somehow even more sensitive to his touch than ever before. His caresses made her forget her clumsiness and her insecurity. All that mattered was the way he touched her, his thoughts on her, his need that equaled her own.

"Ah! I want you, oh please-"

She moaned as he sucked on her nipple, sending a wave of pleasure through her core. His arms were strong, his hands rough on her hips, as he turned her to her side, and spooning her, wrapping his arms around her, he pushed inside.

She saw stars already when he began to move. His every thrust was deep and hard, she felt so tight around him, so aware of every inch that entered her, like there was nothing else than this, nothing else but the way he opened her, slid inside of her, like her whole soul and her being was shrank into the small area between her thighs, and she had lost her will to speak, to think, to do anything but to succumb to this mind blowing pleasure that he was giving her.

The stars exploded in her mind as she came, screaming out loud. With some part of her conscious mind, she knew that John came with her, she heard his low growls, felt his fingers gripping onto her skin, the sweet, primitive pulse of his throbbing shaft deep, oh so deep inside of her.

Their minds joined in the climax, in the abyss of their pleasure, that became one.

Slowly she came to, her breathing steadied and her heart rate returned to normal.

His arms were still around her, and she felt him, still hard, inside of her.

Their heart beats had synchronized. She loved that feeling, and also the soft, heavenly afterglow of their lovemaking. It was like floating on a cloud of pleasure and happiness, so deep and profound, that she knew it had to be real love.

It didn't scare her anymore.

She had lost him, lost everything - including her will to live - the past summer. And she had overcome that, she had survived, and nothing scared her anymore.

They were together, and that was all that mattered.

"I love you." Myers said, reading her thoughts.

"And I love you, sex maniac." Margot sighed, contently.

Myers laughed.

"You're one to talk!"

"Mmmh." Margot cuddled even closer to him. "You'll miss my sex drive when I've given birth, my womanly parts are ruined for life, and I'm too tired and sore to ever even think about sex anymore."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Myers said. "I bet you can't resist me for long."

"So sure of yourself, are you?" Margot joked, and turned to see him. With a sigh Myers released his grip of her, and Margot felt how he slid off her.

"Yeah." he said, suddenly serious. "I think it's fair to say that we're crazy about each other. I don't think that even having babies will change that for long."

Margot rolled her eyes.

"I hope you're right." she sighed. "And I hope that Jay and Andu can fix me, if I'm totally ruined!"

"Not something that I want to think about." Myers muttered, and for once Margot did the wise thing to shut up. They had a wedding to catch.

"Who would've thought I'd get married!" exclaimed Kat, after the official ceremony, when they were having drinks in Broom's library.

"Me." said Margot.

"All of us." said Myers.

"About damn time." added Clay.

"What!?" Kat was genuinely surprised. "I still think it's an old-fashioned and silly habit, not much more than a piece of paper-"

Hellboy gave her a look, that did wonders, and she stopped talking mid sentence.

"Well, I'm happy for you." said Margot, and reached to give Kat a hug. "And no matter what you think about marriage - when people are as much in love as you guys are, and as devoted to each other, it's just the right thing to do."

"Besides, weddings are fun. And no one got kidnapped in this one." added Myers. "Though the night is still young. Hold onto your bride, Red. Take it from someone who knows."

"Don't worry boyscout, I will." Red grinned. "Never gonna let her go again."

"You'd better not." Kat stated. "I have no wish to become a single mom."

"Always the romantic." Margot laughed at Kat's remark. "So, how are you doing? HB junior giving you hard time?"

"I have no complaints." Kat shrugged. "Everything goes smoothly, sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant."

"How is that even possible!?" Margot exclaimed. "I feel like I'm fricking exploding, I can hardly walk, and I'm only halfway there!"

"What can I say? I've had no problems so far. I only hope it continues like this, for who knows how long I'll be pregnant. Andu thinks it might be for year and a half."

"Yeah." Margot made a face. "At least I'm done in the normal 9 months."

She took a look at Kat, who did seem like the picture of health. Her blue skin glowed, she smiled the happy, light headed smile of a newlywed, and everything about her spoke of being on top of the moon. Her baby bump was beautifully round and small in her tall figure, she walked and stood with no difficulty. She was still doing field work too, something Red strongly opposed to, but Kat had kept her head, like she always did.

The only thing Margot knew to bug Kat, was the fact that she couldn't change shape during her pregnancy. She had to stay on her blue form, until the baby was born. The beginning of the pregnancy had been a difficult one - until Jay and Andu had told Kat that changing was the source of the problems. So, even if Kat much preferred her human form, in her blue form she stayed.

"You guys getting married, and having kids." Clay spoke up. "Makes me wonder."

"Wonder about what?" Margot, always keen to gossip, asked. "If it's Brexia you're wondering about, I can tell you she's nuts about you. She'll be sure to say yes, if you just ask."

"Yeah?" Clay scratched his hair. "You think so?"

"I know so." Margot winked.

"Margot, just because we got married, doesn't mean everyone needs to do so." Kat reminded. "It's none of our business what Clay does with Brexia."

"Yeah." said Clay, blushing. "Besides, I can't get married! Who's gonna hang out with Abe, if I settle down too?"

"Yes!" said Abe. "I am awfully lonely in my tank these nights. And where are we going to find a bride for me? A damsel in distress, a maiden who's willing to give her heart to someone like me?"

"Don't worry Abe." Margot laughed. "We'll find a beautiful princess for you, I'm sure. Miracles do happen. After all, we did find Brexia for Clay."

"Hey!" Clay protested. "Like me hooking up with a girl is a miracle!"

"Take a beer." Myers said, and reached to get a few bottles from a nearby table. "And you too, Red. It's your wedding day, and I'm happy for you. Congratulations, friend."

"Thanks." Hellboy said. "Life's good."

And it truly was.

Margot leaned her head on Myers' shoulder, and let him wrap his arm around her. She let her glance move from one person to another, go through all her friends. Abe, Clay, Red, Kat, Myers and even old Professor Broom - the only ones Kat had wanted present in the wedding. They were more than friends, Margot knew. They were a family - brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, fathers and sons - and two soon to be mothers.

A family, a weird and extraordinary family.

Margot could hardly wait for the next generation to be born.