Lucy

We were going to have a baby. Somehow, Nick had turned something terrifying and bad into something amazing and magical.

We didn't notice Helena had left and Aunt Hyacinth had snuck in, "Look at you two." We jumped, not realising she was there. Sometimes, just sometimes, living with vampires scared the living hell out of me. She'd snuck down the stairs so noiselessly,

Nick leapt to his feet, dropping me to the floor in the process, "Aunt Hyacinth, what are you doing down here?" I kicked him and held my hand out. He lifted me off the carpet and looked bashful, "Sorry, honey." I kissed him on the cheek and turned to Hyacinth.

"What my insensitive boyfriend is trying to say is how wonderful it is to see you out of your room without the incentive of a crisis, right Nicky?" He nodded and gave me a quick glance that said thanks. Aunt Hyacinth wasn't bothering to acknowledge his existence anyway.

She practically jumped at me, grabbing my hands and towing me towards the tunnel entrance, "Darling, I just heard the good news! I'm so happy for you! Oh my, I'm so proud of you. Of course, in my day, we waited until we were married to have children, but then, in this family, anything is normal." She let go of my hands to lift up the trap door.

Confused, I asked, "I'm so glad you feel that way, but why are we going into the tunnels?" Nick joined my side looking suspiciously at Hyacinth. The Lady's veil caught on a blast of wind exiting the earthy path below, displaying burnt and scarred flesh. I winced and grabbed for Nicholas' hand.

She turned back to us, tucking the veil into her collar and looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry about that. We're going to see Geoffrey." Nick and I exchanged a look.

He cleared his throat and she jumped, as if she'd only just noticed he was there, "Aunt, why would we need to see Geoffrey? And why don't we just use the front door?" He had a point and was asking what I was thinking so I didn't interrupt him, "Even if we do need to see him, for some reason, why can't we do it later? I've just gotten some pretty big news and I think I speak for both of us when I say we would like some time alone" He looked to me for confirmation.

"Actually, Hyacinth, it would be nice if we could have a little time alone. Can't we wait till later?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head, "Time for that later. We need to see Geoffrey to make sure everything is okay," she nodded to my stomach, "and, as he used to work in a hospital, he's the only one of us qualified. If we sent for an outside doctor, well, things could get messy. And we're taking the tunnels to avoid your siblings, who are a bit riled up by the news." She turned to jump down the entrance.

"But-"

"Nicholas Drake, do not question me. I've already spoken to your mother and she's agreed this is the best plan of action, so shut up and lower Lucy down when I tell you to."

I started to protest, "Now, wait a minute. I'm pregnant, not injured. I can still get into the tunnels like I used to."

Nick swept my legs out from underneath me and cradled me in his arms, "Hey Lucky? Shut up." He kissed me to stop me talking back and carried me to the edge of the pit.

"Right, start lowering," called Hyacinth.

Nick gently passed me down to her, muttering, "We really need to get new stairs." I giggled, remembering how Logan had been chasing Mrs. Brown, who had stolen one his lace cuffs off his shirt, tripped and fell through each step. We'd heard Helena shouting at him through the entire house. We suddenly reached another trap door, stairs still intact, and pushed our way into Geoffrey's workshop. He'd shoved all of his experiments into one corner and converted the rest of the space into a mini operating room.

When he heard us enter, he rushed forward to greet us, "Lucy, Nick! What wonderful news! I was so excited to hear it. I finally have a reason to use all my old kit," he turned and gestured to the equipment suffocating his work shop, "Oh and Hyacinth, how lovely to see-" he turned and saw that she was no longer with us. "Oh well," he turned his grin back to us, "Lucy, would you care to have a seat?" He'd gone all out and retrieved an old desk from the storage unit behind his shop. Nicholas and I sat on one side and Geoffrey, on the other. "Right, so, I just need to ask you a few questions to start with."

I felt uncomfortable with the subject and formality, which must've of showed because Nick took hold of my hand and turned to our newly appointed doctor, "Geoffrey, is there any way we could, I don't know, make this less formal? I've only just found out about this, and I'm a bit overwhelmed as it is without all of...this." He gestured to the new decor and waited for a response.

He didn't faze Geoffrey one bit; "Of course, you're right!" he turned to me, "I'm sorry Lucy. I haven't had a patient in quite a while, not since Helena was human, and I'm a bit excited."

I felt bad now, he'd tried so hard, "That's okay, Geff. Just, next time? Could you tone the whole 'Doctor's office' thing down a bit?"

He nodded and went back to his original point; "I really do need these questions answered, though" I nodded as a go-ahead. "Right, so, to begin with, I need to know when the conception happened." He saw my blush and apologised, "Sorry, but it's a valid question. And it might help determine how far along you are."

I nodded, the only action I seemed to be able to complete, and took a deep breath, "Urm, I'd say about five weeks ago." Nicholas sat in silence, leaving me to answer all the awkward questions, something I planned to get him back for later. Geoffrey wrote it down on his pad and asked a few more enquiries that made my cheeks burn.

Eventually, he stood up and said, "Right, I think I've got enough to go on, but I'd like to do an ultrasound to make sure everything's good." Half an hour later, we left his 'office' through the tunnels, with the conclusion that everything was fine and dandy. I started heading towards the house entrance, but Nick held me back.

"Let's stay down here for a while," he begged,

I was confused, "Why would do that?"

He rolled his eyes, "Because if we go up there now, we're going to be surrounded by my family, including Solange," I grimaced; she was going to be so mad that I didn't tell her. "And, if we went up there..." he gently pressed me up against the cavern wall and lowered his lips until they hovered above mine, "I wouldn't feel comfortable about doing this." He pressed his lips against mine with such sweetness and tenderness, my legs felt like rubber. I threw my arms around his shoulders and kissed back, deepening the kiss into something beyond passion, into pure love. The world around me faded away, leaving only us, just Nicholas, me and our baby. Together for eternity.