A/N: Here it is…Chapter 5. And the long awaited scene…the birth of Darrin and Dana's children. Are you all ready to see them? I hope you approve :)
Chapter Five
Two Weeks Later
I was woken up by Dana's body jerking upward. A pained gasp followed and my eyes flew open. Dana was hunched over clutching at her stomach. She was panting and her eyes were screwed shut in pain. I sat up and rubbed her back, not quite knowing what was happening.
"The babies," she gasped her eyes opening to look at me. "I think they're coming."
I nodded and quickly jumped out of bed, careful not to jolt Dana too much. She leaned back against the pillows still wearing a pained expression. I ran from our room and down the hall to where we had put my mother and father. I banged on the door my heart hammering in my chest. My father opened the door, his hair still ruffled from sleep. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he looked at me.
"Dana's gone into labor," I said hurriedly.
Mother was by my father's side in an instant. She shoved me out of the way and ran down the hall to our room where a scream of pain sounded from. I started to follow my mother when a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned to look at my father to see him quickly shake his head.
"Trust me when I say that you do not want to go in there," he said in a grave voice. He pointed to a faint jagged scar on his neck. I had seen it several times in my youth but never questioned where he might have gotten it. "Your mother gave me this when I tried to be there for your birth. When female vampires go into labor, things get very messy."
I felt the color drain from my face as the rest of the house woke up with Dana's screams. Abel clung to his brother and looked towards our room with terror. Chris was on the phone trying to get a hold of Harrison. Mother came out of the room, her hands bloodstained. She looked at Raven and pulled her into the room slamming the door behind them. Davian walked over to me and squeezed my shoulder.
"She'll be fine," he told me with a smirk.
I only nodded and went to sit by the door. After about an hour Harrison came running down the hall and into the room, shutting the door. I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them…and waited…and waited…and waited. Raven came out of the room a few hours later and ran down the hall. I watched her leave and peeked around the door frame into the room. Dana was propped up against the head board, her hair dark with sweat. Her eyes were screwed shut and her breath came out in short pants. I was startled by the large amount of blood on the sheets and Harrison's hands. Raven came back a minute later with a pot of hot water and some towels. The door was shut again leaving me and everyone else sitting in the hall in anticipation.
X X X
"Darrin," my mother whispered poking her head out of the room.
My head snapped up as I looked at her with hope. She smiled at me tiredly and motioned for me to come into the room. I stood quickly to my feet and rushed to follow her. Harrison was washing his hands off in the pot of water Raven brought and smiled warmly at me. I looked from him and over to the bed. Dana was nestled back against the many pillows propping her up. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, some strands escaping the hair band and falling around her face. In her arms was a bundle of blankets which she was cooing softly down at. She glanced up and smiled at me, a strange warm glow emanating from her. She nodded for me to come closer and I moved to her side.
I glanced down at the bundle in her arms and felt my heart swell with pride. Three small pink babies all opened their eyes and blinked up at me: two sets of bright red and one green pair. All three of them had a light dusting of pitch black hair. My mother came over and took one of the babies from Dana's arms. She carefully handed the small child to me, showing me the proper way to support the head. Green eyes met mine and I smiled softly down at the newborn.
"This is your son," Mother whispered at me tears swimming in her eyes.
"Hello there," I cooed gently stroking my son's face with my knuckle.
He blinked up at me his small hand curling around my finger. I looked over at Dana to see her crying, a bright smile on her face. Harrison informed me that the other two were my daughters and I moved closer to look down at my two beautiful girls. I kissed the top of each of their heads and kissed Dana softly on the mouth. She kissed me back gently as she gazed lovingly at our children. Dana let out a soft chuckle as one of our girls opened her mouth and yawned. The other two followed her shortly after both yawning.
"Alright," Harrison said clapping his hands together softly, "these kids need names."
"What do you think?" Dana asked looking up at me with a tired smile.
"I don't know," I looked down at one of the girls. "I like the name Autumn for one of the girls."
"Autumn Marie," Dana said after a minute. "And Victoria Rose for the other. Now what about our son?"
"Lucian," I said automatically before I had a chance to think.
Dana tilted her head to the side as she pondered over the name. Slowly she nodded before looking back at me.
"Lucian Sterling," she said and I smiled and nodded.
I looked down at the small infant in my arms. His green eyes began to close as sleep claimed him, his sisters already snoozing in their mother's arms. His hand still held tightly to my finger even after his breathing slowed and he fell to sleep nestled in my arms.
X X X
Dana and I quickly learned that three children were more than a handful. If one of them started crying the other two would start crying shortly after. We learned that the three hated being separated, especially Autumn and Victoria. Those two had to have to other in their sight at all times. Lucian was proving to be the quiet one. He was always the last one to start crying and didn't cry much if his sisters weren't around. However, when it came to bedtime all of the kids had to be in the same crib. All three of them would snuggle up close and if you dared tried to move even one of them an inch the other two would cling tightly to them. It was rather cute.
Despite all of my protests my family had moved in with both mine and Dana's clans. I still growled and snarled whenever he came near the children but Dana would glare at me, cutting off anything I was about to say. He would stand looming over my mother's or Dana's shoulder looking down at the triplets with kind eyes, a look I had never seen before crossing his face. Still, he had enough sense to deny holding any of them when offered. He came in to the nursery now while I held Victoria feeding her from a bottle. I looked over at him trying not to growl for fear of scaring my daughter.
"She's beautiful," my father said looking softly down at Victoria.
"She looks like her mother," I replied smiling down at her.
"I see a lot of you in her," my father chuckled coming to stand closer to me. "She has your eyes."
"She still looks like Dana," I argued kissing her forehead gently.
Dana came back in holding both Lucian and Autumn. She glanced warily at my father before coming to stand beside me. She smiled and pursed her lips for a kiss. I chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. Father cleared his throat once before turning to leave.
"Wait Stephan," Dana called using my father's name for the first time.
"Yes?" he replied turning back to face her.
Dana said nothing as she walked towards him. Carefully she juggled the two sleeping babies in her arms, gesturing for my father to take Lucian. He hesitate glancing over at me before taking him and cradling him to his chest. Dana smiled softly up at him before looking down at our son. My father glanced down at Lucian, a strange expression crossing his face. I was shocked when I saw tears streaming down my father's face. He looked up at me with a broken smile.
"He's beautiful," he whispered.
"He looks just like his father," Dana agreed, "which means he looks like you."
My father slowly shook his head and looked back down at Lucian. He gently kissed his forehead before handing him back to Dana. Without another word, he walked from the nursery and closed the door gently. I looked at Dana with shock written all over my face. She just smirked at me as she placed Autumn and Lucian down into the crib motioning me to place Victoria down as well. After I laid her gently next to her brother and sister I wrapped an arm around Dana's waist. She leaned against me as we looked down at our children, a warm motherly smile on her face.
"What was that all about?" I asked her in a quiet voice.
"I'm not sure," she said. "I was listening to his thoughts and all he was thinking about was holding one of them, just once. When I handed him Lucian his thoughts changed. All he could think about was how much Lucian looked like you when you were little and all the terrible things he did to you. You may not want to hear this or even believe it but he feels guilty for what he did."
"He proved that," I said rolling my eyes. "I mean having you kidnapped and put in mortal danger really shows me he's ready to be the father he never was with me."
"He loves you," she whispered looking away from me. "He may not show it or anything but he really does love you. He's so proud of you Darrin."
I didn't say anything, choosing to watch over the sleeping babies in silence. Dana sighed and gently kissed my neck before pulling me towards our room which was attached to the nursery. I followed her and flopped on the bed. Dana sat down on the bed beside me, gently threading her fingers through my hair. I hummed in approval smiling over at her.
"Now back to business," she said clapping her hands together. "We need to pick a date for the wedding."
"More wedding stuff?" I groaned burying my face into the pillows.
"Yes more wedding stuff," Dana said pouting. "There is so much stuff to decide on. Like the date and the location and the reception and flowers."
"Please stop," I begged tugging her down to lay beside me. "This stuff makes my head hurt."
"Well whether you like it or not this is something we have to discuss," Dana said struggling to get out of my arms. "Come on, we have to meet your mother in the library before the kids wake up from their nap."
I sighed and released her. She kissed my forehead gently before hopping off of the bed and towards the door. Dana looked over her shoulder at me motioning for me to follow her. I groaned and roll off of the bed and to my feet. I trudged along behind her, trying to block out any and all wedding talk from my mind.
A/N: And there you have it, three beautiful babies. And Darrin got a son! What do you all think of his name? Pretty sweet huh? Well there is to be only a few more chapters…one of which contains the wedding. And one of which contains clues towards another installment to this little series I've created. Curious to see what it is? Well you'll just have to wait till next time! This is a healthy reminder for you all to review. Reviews make authors happy which makes them work faster and harder to please their readers….so review and we all win!