Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by Stephenie Meyer. The content, ideas and intellectual property of this story and the 'American Vampire Series' in its entirety are owned by Just4ALE.

Chapter 5: Edward Cullen and the Tale of the Half-Vampire

EPOV

We left on Monday morning to return to Chicago. On the flight home, Bella was lost in her own head and unfortunately had to get up on occasion to throw-up. I held her hand as she just sat there – not listening to her iPod or doing puzzles in her GAMES magazine or reading. She just stared outward, her eyes shifting around: her thinking look. I was desperate to hear her and talk to her, but something told me that she didn't want to have this conversation around my family, who were also on the plane.

Once home, Carlisle quickly got the materials needed to do the blood tests on Bella. Bella looked panicked but said nothing throughout the exam. Then Carlisle left to go to my lab to run some tests on the blood.

She did surprisingly well with her blood cravings. When she was hungry and felt that she could keep something down, she drank a very small cordial of blood in addition to whatever food she felt like, but then was completely self-conscious and turned pink as my family stared at her in amazement.

That night she asked to stay at her apartment with me, for some privacy from my family. When we got there, her eyes were big and scared. "Edward, Carlisle isn't going to have to do any other types of exams on me, is he? I mean, you're a doctor too, no? Is there any chance that you had OB/GYN training and could control yourself 'down there' while doing an exam when or if I need one?"

My heart melted. I'm not sure if I remembered seeing her this afraid before… not with James nor Victoria. Vulcan Bella was actually extremely vulnerable Bella below that tough exterior. My poor sweet girl.

"Bella, love, when I return, I'll make sure that I take care of you." I held her tightly in my arms, her head resting on my chest as we lay in her bed. Her heart was beating a little faster than normal as she held on to my shirt, the cloth clenched in her fists.

"Sweetness, are you nervous?"

She nodded, not looking at me.

"Why?" I asked, putting my fingers under her chin to raise her face toward mine. She looked at me but remained silent.

"Bella, please, talk to me. I can't hear you right now."

She took a deep breath. "How do you feel about this, Edward? Do you want a baby?"

Did I want a baby? The truth was I'd never thought about it. I was only 17 when I left my human life behind. At the time, the war was all I thought about. I had no girl to come home to or dream of. I'd never been in a serious relationship until Bella, and I never thought I would be. And who would have thought it possible even if I had? Vampires didn't have babies.

I looked into her eyes. I didn't know what answer she wanted to hear.

"I want to hear the truth," she said.

"What?"

"It sounded like you weren't necessarily going tell me that..."

I was surprised. Her energy level was at about a two. "Did you hear me Bella?"

"Yes."

"Really? But how..."

"I don't know how… but I did. So what is the truth?"

"Okay…" I took her hand in mine and kissed it. Then I looked at it as I spoke. "The truth is that I want you. You are my heart and soul Bella and I'm scared to lose you. I want to keep you safe. I don't want this… whatever it is… to harm you. If I can be assured that you'll be okay, then I welcome having a little us. If not, well…" I looked back at her. "And you?"

Her eyes were sad. "Is it wrong for me to say that I don't know?" she asked guiltily. "I'm scared of the whole thing. And, more importantly, I just found you Edward and I feel that I haven't had enough time with YOU yet. I'd always imagined that I'd have a few years with my husband, getting to grow with him before a baby came along. My parents were mommy-daddy- baby instantly and look where they ended up. I didn't want to do it that way, and over the past several months, I realized that I was okay with never having children. If that was the way it was to be in order for me to end up with you, so be it."

She gently removed her hand from mine and touched my cheek. "But I love you Edward and I want to give you what you want, and if you want this… well I'd do it for you even if I wasn't sure."

"My love, you've already given me what I want. You," I said, kissing her softly.

"I'm yours," she said smiling, "Always."

Sometimes, those words alone were all I needed to get me going. She was mine.

"You're mine alright," I said, as I pulled her on top of me and began to unbutton her pajama top…

Mine.

~#~

Two days later, we were in Paris. As Jasper, Emmett and I sat in the taxi on the way to our apartment in the 6th arrondissement, I was lost in thought remembering my conversation with Carlisle before we left.

"I'm confused by her blood test, Edward," he said.

"She isn't pregnant?"

"Her hCG levels indicate that she is. But it is her blood cells that are puzzling. Her blood is still human, but your blood has mixed with hers, and I can actually see some instances where some of your cells have mapped themselves onto hers." He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this and I don't know if it is your blood or her blood that is driving this. I wish I had a sample of her blood before she drank yours so that I could test it. Yours alone won't tell me."

"What does this mean for her... and for the fetus?"

"I have to do research, but it is possible that each of your blood cells might 'fight' each other in the womb… and it could be dangerous for Bella. Of course, I'm flying blind here… I'll see what I can find in my studies."

I lowered my voice to ensure Bella could not hear us. "Carlisle, under no circumstances do I want Bella's life to be in danger. Do you understand? Please do everything to eliminate the risk if that happens while we're gone."

Carlisle nodded, "Okay, son."

We dropped our bags off at the apartment and made our way over toward Rue de Seine on the other side of Blvd St-Germain and monitored Victoria's antique shop. As it was Wednesday, it was not scheduled to open until 2 p.m., so we waited to see Laurent.

Around 1:45 p.m., he made his way down the street toward the shop. At first we weren't sure this was the same man; he had the same olive-toned skin and French features, but he looked at least five years older than the man we'd met only four months before. Despite his obvious aging, his eyes were still sharp and he easily spotted the three of us in our separate locations. I walked over to him quickly.

"You!" he spat. "What do you want?"

"I would like to speak with you."

"I do not want to speak with you," he said. "Victoria will be here soon and she was very displeased with me for bringing your bitch into her shop and all the trouble she caused."

I took a step forward, snarling, "Don't you dare speak of her that way!"

He looked around. "Where is your little snack anyway? Did you get carried away and finish off the little troublemaker?"

I started to lunge for him but Emmett and Jasper were on me instantly, holding me back. Jasper sent calming waves all around.

"Thank you Jasper," I whispered. As I was feeling calmer, I spoke again. "Laurent, I am asking you nicely. I would like to speak to you. I would be happy to offer something in return if that is what you require." I hoped that this offer would trigger him to let go and reveal himself. Then I heard him.

What could he possibly offer? Could he free me? Free me from her?

"We may be able to help you be free of her, if that is your wish," I responded.

His body froze and his eyes widened upon the realization that I'd heard his thoughts. "I do not know what you are talking about. I do not wish to be free," he said nervously. Please, yes I do. Can you really help?

I nodded. I looked at Jasper and Emmett. "He won't cooperate. Let's go back to the Hotel La Perle. Tomorrow I'll do my normal 6 a.m. run and then we will leave as planned in three days."

"You are staying at La Perle," Laurent commented. "That is too bad. Hotel Opal in the 8th is much nicer."

"Thank you for the recommendation. Perhaps on our next trip. Bonjour Monsieur. We won't trouble you or your mistress again." Jasper and Emmett nodded and we left.

The next morning, we waited on Rue Tronchet for Laurent to show. We had offered a hotel as a meeting place in case he was followed; we didn't want Victoria or her guards near our apartment. At 6 a.m., he appeared on the street and made his way toward us.

"Are you really able to help me?" he asked.

"If we can. I came to speak to you about your history, and then perhaps you can tell us why you need help leaving."

Emmett was agitated. "Wait, Edward." He stepped closer to Laurent. "Why here? We'd better not be walking into a trap."

Jasper shook his head. "He's nervous Em, but…"

I finished for him. "But not because he's trying to dupe us. He really wants to be free."

"Monsieur," Laurent said, looking at Emmett, "I came to you for help. Clearly he can read my mind. He knows I'm telling the truth." He looked at all of us. "This hotel is one of the newer ones and not under Victoria's clan control. It is non-vampire owned and run. Victoria lives in the 14th, beyond Montparnasse. It is far enough away for now."

"We have a room," I said. "Come upstairs."

We went to the second floor and entered our room.

"Why are you here, uh..." he began, realizing that he didn't know my name.

"Edward."

"Edward. Why did you come all of this way to speak with me?"

"My fiancée," I began, "is pregnant."

His eyes widened. Fiancée?

I nodded. "Yes, fiancée, and we do not know what it means for her. We haven't encountered this before. Yes, we know the stories of the incubi who ravage human women, but we've never heard of any offspring or the mothers surviving. You are the only half-vampire any of my family has met, so we wish to understand how you came to be."

He looked at each of our faces, lingering on mine. Then he turned to face the window and look out, his hands behind his back. "How far along is she?"

"We believe a few weeks."

"And she isn't showing?"

I was puzzled. "Why would she be?"

He took a breath. I inhaled sharply hearing his next thought before he spoke it. "Your mate will die." He turned back to look to me. "If you love her, you should abort that fetus. You'll be doing it a favor," he said sadly. "No one should live like this – stuck between two worlds."

"Please tell us," I whispered.

~#~

"I am Laurent Robespierre Maubius. My last name has no importance as it is the name of my mother, a 16-year old chambermaid for a powerful family: the Robespierre family. Yes, Maximilien Robespierre. He was one of the most influential figures during our Revolution in the late 1700s and he was a hypocrite. Respected by the masses, he was a rapist who took my mother and impregnated her. And he was a vampire. History has never told the true story of the bloodlust that drove the Revolution. Many of the key figures were vampires. What better world to create for themselves? Blood on the streets working them into a frenzy and causing more blood to be spilled."

"I was born in 1770. I participated in and lived through the Reign of Terror. My mother did not live long enough to see me. Her sister, who took care of her through her pregnancy, gave me his name in the hopes that his notoriety would protect me in the future and she raised me after I was born. When she died, trampled by the crowd as they stormed La Bastille, I lived on the streets until 'adopted' by Victoria's clan." Maximilien's family did nothing for me."

"There are two types of halflings – half vampires – and they always kill their mothers, no matter whether they are venomous or harmless, like me. Venomous and harmless halflings are almost complete opposites."

"Venomous halfling babies have accelerated births. They are born within about four weeks of being conceived. They use their sharp teeth to bite their way out. The human mothers don't survive because they bleed out and/or are bitten on the way out and their bodies are too weak to withstand the baby venom."

"Harmless halfling babies have accelerated births as well, but it is more like three-to-four months after conception. As a harmless halfling, we are naturally weaker and we must rely on others to survive, and that includes in the womb. We suck the mother dry from the inside. IF the mother lasts through delivery – and most do not, which is why you do not see many harmless half vampires – she dies anyway due to dehydration and blood loss. Even modern medicine is unable to help her. It looks like a rare form of anemia. Not one mother has ever survived."

"The venomous halflings stop being venomous within minutes of being born; their venomous state goes into dormancy. They look like normal humans and they eat human food as they grow, but they are physically stronger and faster than humans and they grow at an accelerated rate. Within seven years they are physically 18 years old, and at that state of physical adulthood, the venom reactivates and turns them into a vampire almost overnight. As you know, this is an extremely painful process when you are bitten by a vampire. Imagine it consuming your body over one day, instead of three… all from the inside, going everywhere at once. Some do not survive the process."

"Harmless babies, unfortunately, crave blood from childbirth, but we do not have the sharp teeth of the venomous vampires and we never grow fangs, even when old, so we cannot bite and hunt. We are not fast and strong. We must align with a vampire family/clan to take care of us and let us feed on whatever the other vampires eat. We cannot drink blood from the cold dead bodies that we find on the streets or the animal blood that comes with food from the butcher shop: dead blood ages us. Therefore, we must feed on blood that was taken from a live human... and that includes blood bank blood. We age more slowly than the venomous, but it is still at an accelerated rate: after 12 years, we reach a physical age 18, and past that point, we continue to age slowly, although it will accelerate if we have not found a family to care for us, or if we do not feed regularly enough."

"I was lucky to have been born when I was. The bloodshed during the Revolution fed me. I had a front-row seat to watching innocent and guilty French citizens lose their heads… and I drank the warm blood as it flowed freely from their bodies. However, I did not drink my father's blood when they beheaded him 24 years after my birth. Little did the human revolutionaries know that they found the perfect way to kill him. They took his head and corpse and buried it. I went later, dug him up, spit on him and then burned his body."

"I think that my history should provide many of the answers you seek. The reason why you have never seen a halfling is because the venomous ones look like normal children and then become full vampires when they reach adulthood, and the harmless, useless ones like me don't usually survive the birth, and those who do become indentured slaves. I am positive that your coven does not associate in these circles."

"And finally, your mate – if she is not showing yet – is expecting a harmless halfling like me, and she will not survive."

~#~

We were silent for several minutes after Laurent finished his story. I knew what we'd have to do when we got home to Chicago to save Bella. This information was invaluable.

"How can we help you?" I asked.

"I am essentially a slave for blood. I have been serving Victoria for over 200 years. When she is displeased, I am deprived of my food and it causes me to age. I should be physically about 27 right now. As you can see, I look over 50. I was six years younger when you saw me not four months ago! She is not a kind mistress."

He looked at all of us. "I need money to leave and the means to hide. I would happily serve another clan! I would serve you!"

Emmett spoke. "We are a family, not a coven, not a clan. We don't have, need or want servants."

Jasper calmed him. "You shouldn't be a servant anyway!"

"What choice do I have?" Laurent muttered.

"You can't get access to blood through the Parisian blood banks?" Emmett asked.

Laurent shook his head. "Victoria's clan controls that."

"So you must leave Europe." I thought quickly. "I'd suggest relocating to Canada. We can get you hooked up with the Canadian Blood Bank network and your French language skills will be an asset, whether you are in Quebec or not. You'll need to be somewhere a little less populated. My suggestion would be Calgary rather than Vancouver, Edmonton or Toronto. I think you can hide out more easily there. We can help you establish a new identity."

"Wait a sec," Emmett said. "What are you doing, Edward? Why are you throwing this house elf a sock? He almost got Bella killed!"

"And now, he's just saved her life," I said.

We worked fast. Jasper took a photo of Laurent, uploaded it into my computer and sent it to J. Jenks' encrypted account along with a wire transfer. Within two days Jenks had overnighted a Canadian birth certificate and passport – already marked with the appropriate stamps indicating point of origin into France – for Mr. Larry Dobby, new name courtesy of my Harry Potter-loving brother Emmett.

Emmett went out and shopped for clothes so that Laurent would be able to disappear at the designated time and leave everything behind. I contacted my lab to work the connections needed to get Larry a job at the main branch of the Calgary Blood Bank network. In the meantime, Laurent went about his business, reporting to Victoria, fishing for victims and running her errands.

And on the third day, Laurent Robespierre Maubius ceased to exist. He did not show up at the shop. Wanting to avoid leaving from either Charles de Gaulle or Heathrow, Larry Dobby hopped a train to Barcelona to begin his long journey to Canada. We saw him off early that morning.

"Edward, if this should work, I will be eternally grateful. I am grateful for the hope you have given me. I am indebted to you… to you all."

He lowered his voice and stepped in closer. "If Victoria should ever find out that you helped me, it will be trouble for you. I promise never to breathe a word. If they should catch me, well, let them end it for me. I do not want to live knowing that a new life was in my grasp and I missed it."

I nodded. "And we thank you as well. Au revoir, Larry. May your journey be successful. We will see each other again, I am sure of it."

~#~

We landed in Chicago on Sunday late afternoon. As soon as I turned it on, my phone rang. Esme.

"Hello, Esme." I said.

"Edward? You've landed. Good." Her voice sounded a little nervous and I started feeling anxious.

"Is everything okay?"

"Hurry home. Bella…"

I tensed up immediately. "What is wrong? Is Bella safe?"

"She… she miscarried, Edward." she said sadly. "She's fine otherwise… but she lost the baby."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew it was horribly wrong to feel as I did when I heard the news, but I couldn't help it. I allowed myself to speak to God for the second time in 85 years and I hoped that he was listening.

Dear God, thank you for saving her.

A/N: Um, I'm sorry. I know that many of you were excited about a baby. But it is not their time just yet. I said there would be ups and downs in this story. Get ready.

Thanks for reading so far. I hope that you come back to read the rest. Please leave feedback… it helps! (but try not to curse me out too much…)

Post A/N: A big epharisto to my FF bud MrsEdwardCullenP for her ideas on the Laurent/halfling backstory.