A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

I didn't realise how long the last chapter was. I just couldn't help myself. I can be cruel I know. Sorry for that.

I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint…

Please let me know what you think about it.

Chapter 63: Mist

Mina didn't know what to do or what to say to them. She simply stood watching them. She turned away from them, not wanting to prolong their pain. Mina lowered the two infants onto the small trolley that had held the equipment. There was nothing that could be done now.

With both hands she gripped the handles of the medical trolley until her knuckles were white under the strain.

Erin heard the squeak of the trolley and knew what was happening. "Let us see them." Erin begged, her voice muffled as she simply turned her head from Vlad's shirt.

"I don't think it's a good idea…" Mina began, she didn't know the effect that seeing the children would have on them. Especially Vlad considering how he'd reacted when he thought Erin was dead.

"Please!" Vlad snapped. Mina looked at the others, trying to decide whether it was the right thing to do. They seemed to consider it before nodding towards her.

"What were they?" Erin whispered, she had to know.

"One of each." Mina watched as Vlad and Erin's shoulders slumped lower if it was possible. Erin wiped away her tears with her left hand before placing it into her lap and gripping the bed sheets tightly. Erin looked down but Vlad grasped her hand pulling it back into his.

Mina looked unsure before carefully handing the twins to them. They were so small, they could both fit in one of Vlad's arms if he had to hold both of them. "I'll let you say your goodbyes then we need to deal with the afterbirth."

With that Mina left them alone. Vlad sat down heavily on the bed, unable to believe how everything could have been so shattered in a day.

Erin carefully pulled back the blanket from the child's face. A sorrow filled wail erupted from her as she gazed down on the perfect face of her child. This was her fault, at least that's what she believed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Erin sobbed turning away. Vlad pulled her to him roughly and kissed her hair letting his tears slips down his cheeks to mix in with her golden hair.

"Its not your fault." He told her, he believed that. It could never have been Erin's fault. Erin shook her head not believing him.

Vlad didn't understand. She'd failed in her most basic duty as his Queen. "The vampire world…"

"Can think what they want to." He told her seriously, "You were thrown against the wall in that explosion, you wouldn't have gone into labour if it hadn't happened. You didn't have control over what happened. Please believe me Erin." He pleaded with her.

Erin looked down, hugging her child closer to her until it rested against her chest. "What do we do now?"

"We…" He choked out, fixing his gaze on her chest unable to meet her eyes as he spoke. "We say goodbye and…" He froze unable to say anymore as something caught his eye.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Ingrid had been blissfully unaware of the drama that had been playing out in the medical bay. She'd been pacing back and forwards almost as if she were the expectant father.

"Stop pacing." Bertrand told her with a small smile. He'd never seen this side of Ingrid before. "Is this how you'll be with our children? Pacing during labour?"

Ingrid froze turning to him, "You're considering it?" She didn't dare hope that he'd come around to it again.

"*If* it happens." He finished his statement hastily. Ingrid nodded, 'if' was far better than it had been a month before, back then it had been 'no'.

Bertrand stood to his full height. She glanced up at him, her eyes fixing on his. Her hand rested delicately on his chest.

The door slammed open forcing them to jump apart from each other. Ingrid turned towards the sound, not taking in Mina's appearance only one question on her mind. "What did they have?" Ingrid asked her with a smile.

Mina shook her head, unsure what to tell Ingrid. "I'm sorry."

Ingrid felt her stomach turn to lead; she wasn't sure what to think. There was no way Vlad and Erin would let their children be taken from them, not while they were still immortal. She saw the sorrow she felt reflected in her fiancé's eyes. Even in his current state he couldn't help but feel remorseful towards them.

She staggered back from Mina, her thoughts firmly fixed on her family. "They need you." Mina told her quietly.

Ingrid looked at Bertrand, unsure that it was a good idea to leave him. "Go." He whispered to her. He wasn't going to be the thing that kept her away when her family needed her most. Bertrand grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to where her pulse point had been. It made her shiver.

"You'll be okay?" She needed to make sure.

"I'll be fine." He assured her, nodding as he said the words. "They need you."

With a final glance Ingrid turned on her heel and left the room.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Erin looked at Vlad, unsure as to why he'd frozen and was staring at her.

Her voice came out hoarse as she asked, "What's wrong?"

Vlad lowered his hand to look at the signet ring around her neck more carefully. "There's mist on the ring." He whispered. Well not mist, condensation. He gripped the ring in his hand looking for her permission. Erin nodded. Vlad yanked the ring from around her neck not bothering with the clasp – he didn't have time for it.

He held it carefully over his son's mouth. He let out a bark of laughter as the surface of the ring began to show signs of condensation. He repeated the action with his daughter, the same thing happened.

Erin pushed herself higher in the bed as he performed the action on their daughter in her arms. "Are you sure?" She knew the significance of what had just happened, she'd covered it more than enough in science.

He brushed his hand across his daughter's cheek, then his son's before nodding he was sure.

His wife tried to copy his actions but couldn't bring herself to, her hand hovering in the air above their daughter.

"I know what a corpse feels like." He'd had more experience of it in Transylvania when he was growing up than he'd care to admit. "Trust me."

She trusted him; she knew she did with her whole heart. She closed her eyes and lowered her hand. Beneath her fingertips she could feel the warmth there and it didn't seem to be fading. She let out a bubble of laughter before bringing a trembling hand to her mouth. She focussed her ears and could hear slow heartbeats.

"They're alive." Her voice was filled with wonder. "We need to get them." Vlad nodded, unable to speak. He couldn't leave her like this so he settled for something else. He focussed on the pull cord across the room and telekinetically pulled it.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Ingrid was the one who appeared to answer the call as she stopped right in front of them. Ingrid hadn't been able to bring herself to speed towards them, she needed to walk at a mortal pace so she could consider what she wanted to say. In truth what could she say to parents who'd lost both of their children?

She fixed them with pitying looks, "I'm so sorry…" She trailed off as she saw the smiles on their faces. She didn't get chance to say anymore as she was pushed to one side roughly by Mina and Johnson.

"They're breathing." Vlad told Ingrid, ignoring Mina and the others. If anyone would believe him then it would be Ingrid. "Watch." He repeated the experiment with the signet ring for both children, just like before the surface began to mist as their breath turned to condensation on the surface that was colder than them.

"Vlad that doesn't mean…" Mina tried to discourage him.

"They're alive." Vlad told Mina, "You can feel it…"

"Vlad they're cold to the touch, they're dead." Mina told him bluntly, he needed to accept it.

Vlad's eyes flashed dangerously. "Of course they'd be cold!" Vlad shouted at Mina. "They're vampires! To you they're cold to us they're warm. Even vampire children are colder than breather ones." He lowered his voice. "They're breathing and their hearts are beating, faintly but we can hear it."

"You're hearing what you want to hear not what's actually there." Mina told him softly.

Ingrid twisted her head, trying to hear the sound her brother was referring to. She squinted as she couldn't hear anything at first then she heard it. The small thrumming of a heartbeat or rather two heartbeats.

"Vlad's right." Ingrid told her, "I can hear heartbeats."

Mina let out a sigh, this false hope wasn't doing any of them any good. "Ingrid…"

Ingrid's fangs dropped, "It won't cost you anything to check will it?" Ingrid snarled, she wasn't going to lose her niece and nephew because the Guild refused to check on something.

Johnson stepped forward taking the stethoscope from around his neck. He moved the blankets away from the children's chests and pressed the cold stethoscope to their chests listened one after the other. His brow furrowed in confusion, he hastily repeated their actions.

Vlad raised his eyebrow expectantly. Johnson stared at him before bursting into action.

He darted across the room and grabbed the incubator. They only had one in the Guild but it would do for both of the infants, they weren't large enough to demand one of their own. If they'd had more time then Mina could have sent out for another incubator.

"What's happening?" Mina asked, completely confused.

"They're alive, just." He told them, carefully taking the children from the two vampires and placing them inside the incubator. Erin reached up and gripped Vlad's hand, forgetting about his broken bone. Vlad forgot about it, his attention fixed on the scene before him.

He fiddled with the oxygen canisters, making sure that they were working.

"We need to warm up the incubator." Johnson told Mina.

"Not too warm." Renfield warned them, if it was set to breather temperatures then it wouldn't do the children any good. It would take too long to make it warm up and even the lowest setting would be too high for the twins.

"What do you need?"

"Something warm inside to warm the air that doesn't give off too much heat."

Ingrid offered a suggestion. "A hot water bottle?"

Johnson nodded, "Fetch it."

Ingrid vanished from the room. Vlad could feel Erin trembling; actually it could have been him or even both of them. Fear and hope gripped both of them as they hoped everything would be all right.

In a matter of seconds Ingrid reappeared with two hot water bottles. Johnson gave her a grateful smile before placing them inside the incubator. He closed the incubator before stepping back.

"Turn on the oxygen – slowly." Johnson instructed. Mina slowly twisted the valve. Erin gripped Vlad's hand tightly as the hiss of the oxygen canister being turned on filled the room, echoing off the walls.

They waited for a sign or something as the seconds ticked by. With each movement of the second hand Vlad felt his heart growing heavier and heavier.

Suddenly a movement, a small one but it was a movement none the less. A small cry broke through, followed quickly by another one, making Erin nearly collapse in the bed in utter relief. Vlad let out a chocked laugh.

"Thank god." Mina whispered under her breath while Ingrid looked up to the heavens with a small prayer of thanks.

They were crying out. They were finally crying out. They moved their arms as they tried to reach out towards their parents. Erin gasped as she felt the connection she shared with them strengthen tenfold. It had been so weak before, this was the connection she'd feel for the next sixteen years.

"I can feel them." She whispered to Vlad.

"Me too." He answered with a silly grin on his face. He closed his eyes relishing in the contact. They would need this link more than anything over the next few weeks as the children regained their strength.

Vlad looked at the fragile children in the incubator. He never thought he'd be so glad to see his children move. "Now we need to think of names."

Erin pressed her hand against the incubator, tears of relief slipping down her cheeks. Vlad tried to mimic her actions but winced as he struggled to straighten out his hand.

"Not until Erin's delivered the after birth and you've had your hand checked out." Mina told him firmly.

Erin looked up at Vlad, "They're alive." She felt as if her heart were about to burst from her chest. Those two words meaning everything to her.

He grinned back at her, before pressing his forehead to hers letting all of his sadness wash away.

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading.