EMERGENCY BROADCASTING: Iris was wrong okay! You hear me! Wrong! Please no one virtually kick and or punch me, alright ? Thanks. {Phew}

NessaNarmolanya this chapter is for you. It is so special to me for two reasons. It involves the birth and with this one we begin the countdown to the end of this story and the series. Again I am beginning to get that bitter sweet feeling. It is almost over. We have seen our favorite characters; grow; suffer; fight and bleed. In the end we have to say goodbye to some people that have been with us since the beginning…

Eric

Letting Go

Chapter 30

It was not Erah that answered to her name but her father. Promptly he laid his hands on Sookie much like his daughter had done. I could feel the difference. His influence was stronger. No time lapsed from the instant he touched her to the diminution of her pain. Where the sensation had felt cool when Erah performed the procedure it now felt cold. He had no need to ask Sookie to take in a deep breath he did it for her. Lyra and I watched in amazement as Sookie relaxed her tense posture and the grip she had on my hand loosened. She could still feel some discomfort but it was nothing like she had been going through.

"Thank you" Sookie said. "But where's Eráh"

"I worried for her safety" Cohan replied with a sheepish grin. With good reason Sookie had broken my little finger a few times and it had set wrong. It was now was protruding at an awkward angle from my other fingers. Being able to heal quickly did not free you of the pain that came with injuries. I had to re-break it to correct the positioning I did not want her to see me do this. I began pulling away from Sookie for the first time in hours. Cohan saw my intent and stopped me.

"I can help if you permit" I nodded. It was close I could feel it. My children would be here soon. I did not want to leave so I took his help.

"Sorry" Sookie said. She reached her hand out and stroked my face. I held it there with my uninjured hand.

"It stopped being painful after the third time" I said. It was true mostly because her pain was all consuming I stopped registering my own.

"Some of your curse words I do not think I have ever heard on land or sea" Cohan said in disbelief. I laughed. Sookie was unabashed.

"I thought I was prepared for pain but nothing can prepare a person for THAT" she shook her head as if she still couldn't believe its magnitude. I rolled my eyes. She has endured more physical agony than anyone human should have. Child birth couldn't be the worse she had endured.

"That couldn't have been worse than getting staked?" I said.

"I had the luxury of unconsciousness" She reminded me. I laughed

"What of the beating that followed?" She shook her head.

"It was short lived" she said. I laughed at the expression on her face. I knew if given the choice she would take that encounter eagerly over the past few hours.

"Okay, but it couldn't have been worse than a gunshot" she snorted delicately and made no other response.

We had gotten lost in our banter and forgotten about Cohan and Lyra. Lyra looked impressed. Cohan looked afraid. He still had my wounded hand in both of his. He had stopped whatever he was going to do to correct the injury. He was staring at both Sookie and I with great concern.

"That is not as bad as it seemed" Sookie said with a reassuring smile that somehow displayed her discomfiture of the topic. I made a small noise to disagree. She elbowed me.

"It does not sound bad little one, it sounds calamitous" Cohan said. He focused on my hand again. The placement of his palms were completely symmetrical; both index fingers were curled in. I felt a surge of warmth going through my hand but the sensation was strongest at my damaged finger. I felt the bones within it unravel like a ribbon being pulled loose. There was no pain but still I had to fight the urge to recoil. The feeling was completely alien. Just as suddenly as the feeling of warmth came it subsided. He released me and my finger was whole again.

"I need another pair of hands" Lyra said. "I can see a head"

"Pam" I called. She appeared just as Cohan was leaving. Her eyes went over to Sookie and grin was threatening to break free on her face.

"Sookie…" She began.

"Pam, don't you say it" Sookie interrupted her. Pam kept her grin but said nothing else. I was excited and Sookie was anxious.

"What's wrong" I asked. "The hard part is over"

"This is really happening" she said in an unsteady voice. I smiled and nodded. I did not understand why that would make her anxious. "We are going to be parents" I smiled at her stating another obvious point.

"This worries you?" She nodded.

"I have no idea what to do as a mom" I shrugged calmly. I have had this thought months ago.

"Me either" I admitted. "Instinct will guide us and we will learn quickly" The roles of fathers have changed over time. This was going to be as foreign to me as it was to her. Sookie has always been able to compliment me in the best way. Where I was weak she was strong. Our children will be benevolent with her influence but with my leadership they will be mighty in their own right. I knew any child will be lucky to have us. My words reassured her.

No matter the progress of her body or the fact that she was so close she still had to work for it. Instead of simply enduring the force of each contraction she used them. Lyra would give her mark and Sookie would have to bare down on her body and push. Sweat covered her body and she gave what little she had every time. Her will was strong but her body was long enervated. Still she continued and she was rewarded not too long after.

Sookie and I had not yet settled on names but I knew his name the moment my son entered the world. That memory was ingrained into the very tapestry of my being. It was now a part of me like him and his mother. Lyra wrapped helped him out and wiped him with a damp towel. All I could see from my angle was blonde locks. They were fairer than mine. His skin was lacteal, pale as all vampires but there was a flush that colored him that indicated something other. His pulse was sluggish and lazy but strong. The room was completely still as we waited for him to cry as expected. He didn't. Instead he yawned and stretched his body with his tiny body fists balled.

Claude who had been standing by took him from Lyra and checked for any signs of damage. I knew there were none. This day had been just as exhausting for him he simply wanted to sleep. I smiled.

Alrick was born six minutes before his sister. She cried and flailed her limbs in protest of Lyra cleaning her; in a word fiery. She was slightly bigger than her brother. I was absorbed in the moment. So much so I did not notice Sookie was failing. She had released me and her hand was lying limply on the bed but she was beckoning Pam towards her so she could hold Alrick. Pam did not move. Her eyes came to me.

"Something is wrong" she said. I took Sookie's face in my hands. Her pulse was weakening. It appeared she was keeping her eyes open through sheer stubbornness alone. Claude gave our daughter to Lyra and appeared on the other side of his cousin. He ran his eyes over her body and touched her arms.

"Sookie" I didn't know what was wrong or what to do. She had not lost threatening amounts of blood. I slapped her cheek lightly. "Lover, open your eyes"

"What's wrong with her" I asked Claude.

"Nothing" He shook his head and was clearly baffled; useless, utterly and completely, useless.

Both children had begun wailing; their cries were high pitched and demanding as if they knew what they were in danger of losing.

"Pam, get them out of here" I couldn't think. She vanished from the room instantly taking both children with her. Claude followed after her.

I arranged myself around Sookie so I could give her blood when I did nothing happened. The fairy was right nothing was wrong with her body. It simply seemed to be failing her.

"Stop" Lyra called. "Someone calls her from the Summerlands"

"What the fuck does that mean?" I growled at her. I was tearing into my wrist again despite what I knew.

Nothing explained why Lyra leapt over the bed and knocked my hand away from Sookie's lips. She kicked me backwards with both feet. I staggered and snarled. Lyra was now between my dying wife and me. Her posture was protective but it would do her no good. I would tear her heart out.

"If you force me I will kill you. Move" I was not going to ask again and she knew it. She was already assuming a fighting stance.

"You are going to kill her" She shouted at me. I was already stepping her direction when Anthony appeared in the room between us.

"Stop him" Lyra protested. "She goes to answer a call. Anymore of his blood will kill her" Anthony stepped slowly from my path pulling Lyra with him consequently saving her life. His gaze was on me. There was something there made me stand stock still.

"Eric, listen to me" I shook my head.

"I know what you are going to say I will not let her go" I said flatly.

"You must" I shook my head again with my teary eyes on my wife. I was now on the bed with her gathered in my arms. I trusted him but the physical evidence that she was in mortal peril was screaming for me to act. She appeared so peaceful almost as if she were asleep. Behind her lids her eyes moved as if she were dreaming except her pulse was telling me otherwise.

"I won't lose her" I whispered more to myself than Anthony. I was bringing my wrist to my lips. Sookie has not suffered and endured all that has to die now; not when she had so much to live for. She could hate me for the remainder of time but I would turn her to save her. I would not live without her and neither would our children. I simply refuse.

"No one said that" Lyra interjected heatedly. I had already bitten into my wrist.

"Eric with your current path her life ends in approximately two minutes" His voice was cold. It was like having water splashed in my face. It returned me to my senses. "Leave her and you may have forever" I withdrew my wrist. I laid her back gently upon the pillow and brushed some stray hairs from her face. I found a small towel and began cleaning her face.

Anthony came and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You should go" he said. I shook my head and kept my eyes fixed on Sookie's face as if it would return her to me. "Your children await you" he said. He was right. Sookie alone was no longer the center of existence. I knew she would not want me to leave our children to sit by her bed side in fact she would hate it.

"I don't want to leave her alone" I said. He nodded and took a seat in the empty chair by the bed.

I went home where my children were. I wanted to go to them but I did not want grief in my eyes the first time I held them. Instead I showered to wash my worries away. Pam was with them but so was Atéyo. I could feel she wanted to care for the newest members of our family as was her duty but she did not know how. Children had been foreign to her entire existence so the presence of Atéyo was a blessing.

I was on my way to the nursery when I heard Pam. "Perhaps a different hat that one is truly hideous" She said.

Ateyo laughed. "Nothing could diminish her beauty" He replied.

I was in the door way and I saw the hat in question. It was one Sookie made herself. I respected my wife's interest in needle arts but the hat was indeed offensive to the eyes mainly because it was somewhat oblong in structure instead of round. She was proud of it and so my daughter was condemned to wear it. In any case she seemed content now. Ateyo cooed and murmured to her. He maneuvered her expertly in his hands and she was not objecting to his attentions. Again I found myself grateful for the presence of the Koválls. I also felt he was giving us an honor because his usual cumbersome mane was pulled into a messy bun high atop his head. There was a towel draped over one of his shoulders and he had a smaller one hanging from his back pocket.

Pam however looked as uncomfortable as I have ever seen her in all our years together. She was standing off awkwardly in a corner watching with both interest and anxiety as Ateyo saw to my child. I knew she would rather fight in their defense than provide maternal care. In her opinion the former was a much easier feat no matter the advisory. I smiled. Relief colored her face when she saw me. It was marred with concern as well but she said nothing and hurried from the room brushing her hand on my arm lightly as she went. It was a small comfort that was much needed

I sat and held my son and examined him in greater detail. Though they were twins I could already see they were not identical. The differences were slight and weaker senses may make the mistake. They shared the same hair color and of course the tone of their skin was the same but their facial features differed. Alrick favored his mother. He had her nose and the shape of her eyes but the coloring of his was a darker blue that both hers and mine; a sparkling deep cerulean. His sister resembled me from the same blue of my eyes to the shape of her lips.

Ateyo was handing me my daughter and I was giving him Alrick. He was not completely clean nor was he clothed. I was sure there was an ugly hat for him as well. I followed Ateyo to the bathroom that was adjoined to the nursery. He had gathered all the necessary things to bathe him. Half of these things I did not know were in the house. There was a small portable tub within the larger one. He filled it with warm water. I took a seat close to the tub and watched closely.

"He is an easy baby" Ateyo said with a smile. "Very calm" I nodded.

"That is the meaning of his name. Alrick means peaceful in Dutch"

He smiled and nodded. "It is most befitting" Never would I have thought this moment possible. Holding my child and discussing the topic of infants with a child of Kováll.

It had been my hope that I would be able to feel my children with in to a certain degree but I felt nothing. My blood recognized theirs but that was the extent. It left me guessing blindly at their needs. Even now as I held her close my daughter was becoming agitated. Her hands were breaking free of the blanket and she reaching for her head apparently taking exception to the hat. I looked down as her distress continued to build. I removed the hat but that was not the cause. I was unsure how to proceed.

"They like movement" Atéyo called over his shoulder. I stood and began pacing the small space. It pacified her. By the time Alrick was finished with his bath she was asleep.

Still every two minutes without fail my eyes drifted to the house where Sookie still lay. I could feel her within me still but it was weak. It was as though she was very, very far away. I began a conversation as a means to distract myself. I asked about different devices and their uses and Ateyo explained it all to me.

I lay my daughter down and attempted to dress her brother. His eyes followed my movements with a focus that should have been beyond him given that he was not even an hour old. Like I suspected there was an ugly hat for Alrick but he did not seem to mind the affliction. He did not demand I walk for him to sleep. I held him familiarizing myself with his scent; the texture of his skin; the weight of him in my arms like I had done with his sister. When he succumbed to sleep I laid him next to herr. There were two cribs but they should not be apart.

Despite my protest Atéyo put all things back in order. He even warmed a bottle of blood for me. He put soiled clothes in the washer and cleaned bottles to prepare them for use. In the absence of their mother's milk my children had been given synthetic blood. It agreed with their system and they would not go hungry. I watched them as they slept thinking about my long, long life.

Had I been younger I would not have the acumen to see what my children were. They were so very small and depended entirely on me or their mother. On the surface there was no purpose to having them but I could see their value lay in the caliber of a person they made me. With their birth I became something else; something more than vampire or less depending on whom you asked.

"I will leave you now if you wish" Atéyo said pulling me from my musing. I shook my head. His company was comforting. I offered him the only chair in the room but he waved me away and sat on the floor across from me. He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around himself. It was a very human pose.

"It is frightening is not?" Atéyo said following my eyes to the crib. "To love something so fragile" I nodded.

"Tell me something" I asked. He nodded.

"Has it always been like this" I gestured towards the crib then to myself "Were we always so different" I was not entirely sure what I was asking or why, maybe I just wanted to fill my mind with something trivial what I got in response was anything but. In the time I spent with him I learned about all that I thought I was but wasn't.

Atéyo smiled and shook his head. "All you know of vampire origin is false" He told me calmly. I said nothing and waited for him to continue while thinking of what was the common legend of vampire origin. It was said that a powerful voodoo priest in the dawn of time had lost his wife and tried to bring her back. In spilling blood to revive her she required blood to continue to living. The sun, the affliction to silver and lethality of a stake in the heart was his way to control his creation.

"You are a child of Khan so is every vampire younger than my father that is not of his blood" He continued. Doubt weighed heavily as I tried to disregard all that I knew of my species. He nodded but otherwise remained a still glowing compact figure before me. His eyes appeared eons away as he traveled through time. "Seven Deities were born into this world as gifts to humanity; to guide them through the darkness; to aide them in their hour of need; to keep them from self-destruction but most importantly to maintain and protect the balance of life. These seven beings were worshiped and loved as gods but over time humans evolved. The deities were forgotten; the old ways lost. Soon those who once; revered and loved them turned on them" One of his tattooed hands went through his hair and he suddenly looked aged as if having to speak of this weighed on his very soul. "In a fire set by those they trusted two; Corren and Kiva perished but even as they were demonized and hunted they could not change so they fled. Knox took with him his wife Kana; their children and all humans who sought new beginnings. Upon a ship they sailed to the lands eternal; away from the horrors of this world. They became the Fairies. Caleb shifted into a wolf to take refuge and he became the father of werewolves and shape shifters" The origins of either species was never something I knew or ever wondered about but now I was curious as to whether or not they knew this part of their history or did they like vampires rewrite it in the way that was favorable and easiest for them. It left me questioning many things.

"Two remained Cohan and Khan. My father looked and saw a species; misguided and nascent and took pity. He forgave the murders of his comrade and his mate Kiva. With clean hands and a broken heart he gave his powers back to the source. He vowed on the life of his son and all his children henceforth that he had no more lives to sacrifice for the ignorance of humans but his own. His bargain was accepted and he left humanity to their own devices" I was enthralled.

"Who was the source?" I asked.

"It has many names God is the most popular" I nodded for him to continue.

"Khan was the last remaining and his heart became filled with so much rage and hate at the injustice. He wanted to fight and in raising his hand to his charge he tainted his purpose. For it was not justice he sought but vengeance. He embraced barbarism as the humans did but unlike humans his hate became his damnation and that of all his children" Atéyo waved his hand towards the window. "Over time it poisoned his blood making him weaker; susceptible until a plain arrow pierced his chest and ended him. Humans had chased him into the shadows but he bound himself to the night. They had taken silver to him but he caused his body to forbid it" He concluded. "This is all that is left of siblings who were born of Gods" A look of sadness glazed his eyes. I looked at him seeing a day walker who was immune to Sino-AIDS; whose body was immune to silver. Another vampire would have used that power to dominate those around him. None of them had interest in conquest.

In all my years I have never heard a vampire question their origin, myself included. It was of no value to us. I have never questioned our connection to other species or other worlds. Once our human life ended humans were no longer of consequence to us out side of what services they could provide. That was how we were trained to regard everyone. I did not have the imagination to wonder what the vampire world would be like if our all father was Cohan. Compassion would have been the norm and not the exception to the rule. Then a question occurred to me.

"There were other children like mine in that time" Atéyo smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Kiva was my mother. Knox and Kana had many children together and with other humans. " He responded.

"What stopped it?" I asked.

"I think Khan's will is rooted in the blood of his descendant and will not allow it. My father thinks the ability died with the old ways but he fathered Demetrius with a fairy lover of his" He shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps some fairies and vampires can breed but with the scent..." He trailed off.

Together we sat in silence. My mind was filled with all that I have learned. I had endless amounts of questions but Alrick woke shortly followed by his sister. I held them and Ateyo warmed bloods and showed me how to test the temperature on my wrist. They had just finished their meal when suddenly there was a lot of noise coming from outside.

I called Gideon to me but he was already sliding into the house through the side entrance by the pool. He was followed by Negy who was half pulling and half dragging Demetrius with her.

"Rin is asleep with Erah at the house" Demetrius told Atéyo. He nodded and handed Alrick to Negy.

"Noise came from the main gate" Gideon told us "Don't know what's going on; came straight here" I handed him my daughter.

"Stay with them" I said. I felt he wanted to be by my side but he nodded and took her gently from me. We were heading to the door with Demetrius following behind us.

"Demetri. Stay. Inside" Atéyo gave his younger brother a stern look. Demetrius frowned.

"I suppose I will be fitted for my own diaper when you return" he sank into the closets chair with no grace at all.

Pam was perched on the roof on my house. Her people and all of mine were placed strategically around the surrounding houses. Atéyo and I continued walking towards the end of the cul-de-sac. That held the house of his family, mine and the fairies.

"Téyo tell father" Anthony called. His head was looming out of a window in the room that Sookie was in. "It is only the fairies"

I looked and found Cohan seated on the porch of the same home directly in front of the door. His legs were folded under him and his hands were moving at speeds too rapid for me to follow. Other than that he was eerily still. The same power that he emanated from his eyes was pouring from him in full. I took a step to the side so I was no longer in his line of fire.

"Atan" Atéyo said tapping his shoulder lightly. "Father"

I did not know what sort of hell he was going to unleash it had to have been of an uncharacteristic nature because Anthony sounded afraid as he gave another more pressing warning. "Téyo you must hurry" he called sticking his head further out the window. His eyes were veering to the main gate. "Atéyo!" He called there was now an unmistakable note of panic in his voice.

Atéyo knelt behind his father and wrapped his arms wound his shoulders. He whispered to him and rocked his body against his own. Slowly Cohan's hands stopped moving and he opened his eyes.
"Where are Demetrius and Negy"Cohan asked getting to his feet. Atéyo pointed to my house. He took his son's hand and walked with us to the main gate. We were joined by all the other royals except Pam who was still waiting ready on her perch.

"It is the fairies" I announced to them all. Not a single vampire relaxed.

"Open the gates" I called out. There was a sudden chill in the air as the gates opened.

Through the gate they entered in perfect formation. The form was not militant for it exuded much too much elegance and beauty. It resembled the slow cascading of a water fall or the hurried unfurling of a flower. Some carried swords and bows across their shoulders. Others carried bladed staffs and assorted weapons of choice. They were all dressed in traveling cloaks, some were green others were blue but they all bore the same crest; A white tree. In unison their steps halted and they turned as a single unit to face us. Their numbers poured in. Total there were twenty-nine. They pulled away the hoods of their cloaks as one. Fairies loved a dramatic entrance more than vampires.

A leader stepped forward. I knew their essence was being suppressed but it was not clear how. In these numbers whoever was casting the spell had to be powerful.

"I am Leland Brigant. I request an audience with the master of this house" His eyes ran from me to Cohan to Atéyo. His expression was superior with an overture of hostility. I stepped forward at the same time the fairies that had been residing here came running out to greet them. Claude threw himself at Leland catching him in a tight embrace. Lyra searched the faces of her kind and found who she was looking for. She broke their ranks and pulled one of the few females to her. The woman carried throwing knives and two small battle axes and an infant hidden under her cloak. Lyra's expression indicated she would either begin screaming obscenities or vomit. I interrupted. It would best for her to do either in private.

"You must be weary from your travel. There are houses there" I pointed across the lake. "You may make use of them" Claude and Lyra could help them "Tomorrow you will talk with us all" I turned and walked away without awaiting a response. I had more important things to attend to and dawn was near.

0o0o0o

So NessaNarmolanya what did you think? Did you guys all enjoy child birth from a vampire/male POV? It was particularly tricky.

Like always let me know your question, thoughts concern, likes, dislikes