A/N: I'm borrowing a term from another FF writer, the awesome EricIz Mine. The 'Fae-pire' babies make their debut in this chapter. I'll let you read and see you below.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or anything else here. I'm writing purely for shits and giggle purposes. Please don't sue.
One last thing, big shout out too my totally awesome Beta, slcurwin, for putting up with me. She laughs and all the right places and makes me feel so smart. Thanks! Also let's not forget my growing number of helpful interpreters, 94larkla for the Swedish and my Scottish sweetie Senga!
Chapter 26
"We're lucky that little girl didn't spring a leak downstairs." To be honest Ludwig thought it was even luckier that she'd been able to get to Adele when she did. That fiery red-headed Scott had just grabbed Adele by the shoulders, when Ludwig was able to scoot between her legs and touch the human's calf. The physical contact allowed her to teleport them both a few feet to the left. This kept them safe for the moment locked inside the Ancient Pythoness' room but it had physically drained Amy. She normally could transport herself short distances with no problem, taking an extra person even a few feet was not something she would be able to do again.
"We should be safe in here for the moment, although I don't know how long that door's going to last." She had one ear against the door, listening intently to the commotion on the other side. "Sounds like that Senga girl has the others distracted for now but we won't be safe in here for long and I can't pop us both to safety. It's just too far."
While Adele fumbled around looking for the light switch in order to examine her surroundings, Amy grabbed the cell phone from her pocket and dialed her assistant. She'd brought her and a few of the study participants with her from Louisiana. There'd been no rooms available at the Gizeh when they arrived so they found rooms at another hotel a few blocks away. This was completely fine with her. Vampires were annoying to begin with. It was times like these she was thankful for the small amount of Dae blood in her biology that helped offset the smell of Fae that was also part of her makeup.
"Hello?" A groggy voice slurred on the other end of the line.
Amy was perturbed enough by her current circumstances, not to mention she'd been up for close to sixteen hours, so that she nearly barked into the phone. "It's so nice that one of us has been able to sleep. I need you to get my bag and the kit of emergency supplies from the luggage and meet me at the Gizeh."
"Now?" The winy tone on the other end almost made Ludwig forget why she'd hired the young woman in the first place.
"Yes, now! I did not bring you on a vacation! You are here to work and I have a feeling it's going to be a very busy day. Northman's mate has gone into labor. Her water broke in a room full of vamps and I'm now stuck in the suite until sunrise, at the earliest." There was no way to know if some of the older vampires would remain alert after dawn due to the fairy laced amniotic fluid. She hoped that it would not be strong enough to make that happen the way fairy blood had been rumored to do.
"Oh crap! I mean…I'm up…I'm getting the stuff now and….."
"Wait." Ludwig put the phone on hold for a moment.
-xoxoxo-
While Mckenna waited for Ludwig to get back on the phone with her she took a burner phone from her suitcase and a business card. She dialed the number.
"Yes?"
"Tell the Prince its happening. I'll contact back as soon as I have an address."
She ended the call and began dressing. Within a few minutes Ludwig was back on the line.
-xoxoxo-
Amy popped down to the waiting Pam and managed to startle the obviously irritated vamp. "Holy fuck! Don't DO that you diminutive little dwarf!"
Amy just laughed at her. She put the phone back to her ear and told her waiting assistant to make tracks to the address Bubba had given her. "Be quick Mckenna, these babies aren't waiting. Don't forget the supplies and the emergency kit. Bring the yellow bag as well. I'll meet you there shortly."
By the time she ended the call she could make out the outline of Bubba leaping from the building with Adele and she was just grateful the AP's suite had not been facing the street. Once Adele was in the car and they were waiting for Bubba to get the human, Amy gave Adele a brief examine.
"Oh stop, I'm fine."
"That heart attack you had two months ago says differently. Pam can't give you blood again without forming a bond and I'm sure your new Mistress would not be pleased about that or finding her new-found prodigy dead from heart failure. Now humor me while we wait."
Adele grumped a bit making Pam liken her to Sarah when she's "forced" to eat her broccoli. Once Bubba returned and tossed an unconscious Newlin in the trunk, they sped towards the house.
Back at the house….
Sookie tried desperately to remember the breathing exercises she'd learned with Gran in Lamaze class but without her there Sookie was having a hard time focusing and Eric was NOT helping.
"Lover what is wrong? Why are you breathing oddly? Do you need something to drink?" He had no idea what to do but the irritated look Sookie was giving him made him even more nervous.
"It's a breathing technique. It supposed to help reduce stress and help with focus during labor," Lafayette answered for her as he came in the room to get the children. He'd been awoken by the phone and noticed that they weren't in bed and Bubba was gone.
"Come on sweet babies, you don't need to be here when da little wigglers make their debut. Eric, try holding her hand. Keep 'er focused and don't let her push yet. I gots a call from Pam a few minutes ago an' she say dey is on da way. Girlfriend is outside the door keeping everyones out so holler if ya need somethin'."
Eric gave Lafayette a panicked look and zipped in front of him before he left the room. "No, stay and help…please!" Eric had never experienced this before. When he was human the women tended to such things and the men folk were not allowed near until afterward for fear of getting in the way. He'd been gone for four of his children's births and gotten very drunk with the other men during the last two. He had planned to be here for this but not as an actual participant! Fuck!
Lala gave Eric an incredulous look and said, "Bitch please, do I look like a Mammy? I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!" Laff left the room with Hunter and Sarah in tow promising to send Octavia up to help.
Eric kneeled beside the bed and gave Sookie his hand to squeeze. He was trying his best to block the pain he was receiving through the bond and he thought he'd been successful until the grip on his hand had his eyes bulging. Had he been human, he was sure she could have broken every bone in his hand. As it was, he found himself staring in her eyes and breathing along to the rhythm, with hope of relieving the pressure in his hand.
"Eric, I need to push!" Sookie cried out, this had to be worse than dying, and she felt like something was ripping its way out of her.
"Not yet, Lover, Ludwig is on the way. You can push then. Just wait a few more minutes."
"Damn it Eric! It isn't like I can stop it by tying my legs shut! Fuck! It's…*pant* … coming…*more panting*…NOW!"
Sure enough when Eric looked between her legs he saw a small cap of bloody hair. This was sooooo far out of his experience. He barely had time to put his hands under it when the head popped its way out then stopped. He didn't know how to get the child out but he noticed there was something around its neck. That couldn't be good. "Sookie I…..I can see… stop pushing. Amelia!" When Ames stuck her head in the door her eyes bulged. "Bring me something to cut with!" She disappeared almost instantly.
"Eric what's happening?" She was breathing more difficultly and her vision was blurred.
The infant already had a blue tinge around its lips and it wasn't making any noise at all. He noticed that there seemed to be more blood coming from the birth canal than he thought there should have been.
Suddenly, Ludwig was right next to him on the bed. "Little girl, when I tell you to push you do so as hard as you can understand?!"
Eric moved out of the way but instead of leaving the bed altogether, Ludwig grabbed his arm and said softly enough Sookie couldn't hear, "Stay put. There's been tearing and I need to get this baby out quickly before I can treat her. You need to cut the cord from its neck as soon as I hand the child to you, understand?" Eric nodded as the small doctor wedged herself between Sookie's legs, a position that in other circumstances would have had Eric snarling. Amy told Sookie to grab her own thighs take a deep breath and as soon as the next contraction began, push like hell.
It did not take long. Within seconds the doctor helped work the child's shoulders free as the rest of the body slipped loose. Eric was very aware of how large his hands were once that small child was placed in them. Since Amelia had yet to appear with scissors, Eric did the only thing that came to mind and sliced through the umbilical cord with his fangs. The taste of the blood from the child shocked the hell out of him. He tasted predominately of vampire.
Neither of them noticed Adele enter the room as Eric followed Ludwig's instructions to the letter. After removing the cord from the infant's throat, color suddenly rushed into the baby's face as he screamed his protest of having to enter the world in such an undignified way. Meanwhile, Gran had rushed to Sookie's side and was gently slapping her cheeks trying to elicit a response.
Sookie was beyond exhausted and she was pale and dizzy from the blood loss. Ludwig ordered Adele to take the baby and wrap him warmly in a towel. She then told Eric to get his ancient ass on the bed behind Sookie's back to help support her during the 'next round'. Once settled behind her he bit his own wrist and held it to Sookie's mouth as she latched on, weakly suckling the wound. Her body would take time to heal but at least the bleeding had stopped.
A loud argument erupted from downstairs and before Eric could even find it in him to notice, Ludwig said, "Would you please tell your hired thugs to allow my assistant through." She had one hand pushing on Sookie swollen belly and another had disappeared between her legs. "I'm going to need her help for this next one unless you want a breech on your hands!"
"Let her through," Eric said a little louder than necessary. With a 'two-natured's' superior senses, the guards downstairs should have heard Dr. Ludwig's explanation themselves. Apparently they did, because a few minutes later Bear entered the room followed by a woman so petite she could have been mistaken for a child of ten if not for her ample breasts. She was only slightly taller than Ludwig but much slimmer and graceful looking. She had long chestnut brown hair and green eyes that dominated her face. She was not human.
Bear eyed the woman suspiciously. She was obviously Fae, but then so was Ludwig. She was too short to be fairy, possibly a sprite. As he ran the list of suspects through his head, he stood by the door watching every move she made.
Ludwig began barking orders again. Octavia had slipped in finally with a pair of sewing shears, and was helping Adele on the other side of the room, clean up the boy child. She got another towel ready as Sookie began pushing again. While Sookie panted and screamed her way through baby number two, nobody seemed to notice that dawn had come. In fact, by the time the little girl made her way into the world after her very impatient brother, it was already well into morning. Thankfully the room had been properly light-proofed for vampires, which was a selling point for the house.
Sookie was beyond exhausted. She passed out shortly after her daughter was born. Eric finally feeling the effects of the sun, ordered everyone except Ludwig, Adele and the babies out.
"I must rest…..the sun…." He barely had enough energy to say that much. Adele kissed his forehead along with Sookie explaining that they would finish cleaning up Sookie and tend to the babies while they rested. It was the last thing he heard before his awareness was gone.
-oxoxoxo-
It was quiet in the house by lunch time. Because of the late night and early morning activities, the majority of the occupants in the house were resting. The television was set to the afternoon news with the volume on low. It didn't need to be loud with most everyone asleep and the two-natured on guard around the house could hear it just fine. The local meteorologist was explaining how the latest tropical depression had been upgraded to a tropical storm. Bull missed the name he gave the storm when one of the babies began crying upstairs. He could 'hear' Sookie regain consciousness long enough to take to little one to teat. He knew one of the daemon girls had taken over for Adele and Dr. Ludwig so that the women could have a rest. He could hear the low murmur of voices as Gladiola helped Sookie feed one, then the other infant. Bull chuckled because by the sound of her mind he was quite sure she was dozing as they ate and it was Glad that was doing most of the 'work'.
Bull's attention had wandered back to the news, when a very loud and panicked voice sounded through the head of every telepath in the house.
'Sookie! Sookie Stackhouse! Oh God, please let her hear me!' Bull recognized the voice as that of Barry who was with the Texas delegation.
It was a true testament to the depth of Sookie's exhaustion when she remained dead to the world. 'Sookie? There's something happening. You need to get out of the hotel, NOW!'
Bull could hear what sounded like a stampede overhead. The children split up at the stairs when Hunter came down to tell the guards what they heard and Sarah ran straight into Adele's room, waking Dr. Ludwig who had crashed in there instead of returning to her hotel room with her assistant.
"Gwan! Bawry says somethin' bad's happenin' at the hotel!" Bull could hear her say at top volume.
"I know baby doll, he woke me up. Where's Sookie?" Hunter ran right past Bull to find Bear and tell him the same news. Bull headed upstairs and had just reached the landing when he heard a very grumpy Ludwig ask what was happening.
Before anyone had the chance to illuminate the good doctor, there was a faint rumble and slight shake to the house. It was barely enough to upset the glass of water on the night stand but it put every Supe in the house on high alert.
Bull was filling in Ludwig and Adele on what he knew as the group went down stairs to the living room. There was another rumble through the house that felt strong enough for even Adele to feel that time. While Bear and Bull discussed the possibility of evacuating with Trey and Charlie, the other 'day-walkers' in the house began to gather in the room.
Unexpectedly, Amelia made an abrupt dash for the T.V. remote as she the last one to enter. She turned up the volume up to satisfy human hearing. The room froze as everyone in attendance gawked at the 'Breaking News Report'.
"This just in; there appears to be a disturbance at the Gizeh Hotel downtown. Our very own Nickie Evers is on scene now. Nickie?" The anchorman at the studio had a smile on his perfectly groomed face while still managing to look disturbed and concerned. Bull thought he looked constipated.
"Thanks Jon. I'm standing outside the new Vampire hotel looking at what appears to be trails of smoke coming from several of the floors. It is unclear as to what has caused this damage but the activity has certainly picked up. Firefighters on scene are attempting to remove the human guests and employees, but as you may be aware Jon, there are several floors dedicated solely to vampires and the concern of daylight exposure is making the evacuation slow." The field reporter looked more concerned for her hair blowing out of place in the wind than for the inhabitants of the building behind her. She continued to drone on about the owner, Christian Baruch and his vampiric status, in an annoyingly perky and saccharine tone.
Sarah began babbling about trying to 'talk' to Barry but she couldn't get him because he was too far away. Adele gave a brief look to Bull then excused herself for some quiet to make her own attempt. Bull followed silently behind as they ended in the kitchen and Adele busied herself making drinks for everyone while Bull sat at the table and began projecting.
Though Sookie and Sarah's ability were not a secret to the group, and Adele's fairly recent acquisition was also known to the majority of their entourage, Bull's telepathy was known only by Eric, Pam, Bubba, Trey and the other telepaths. This enabled him to guard and protect them more effectively from a greater range and also act as a spy in times of necessity. Because of his training from Cataliades when he was young, he was able to hide this aspect of his nature from most all other supes, except other telepaths.
'Barry? This is Bull, Miss Stackhouses' day guard. What is happening where you're at? Are you trapped?'
'What? Who is this? Never mind. Is Sookie safe? She needs to get out of this building. I overheard some weird people looking for her a few minutes ago. Then I ran into that lawyer Mr. Cattitties or something and some punk looking girl he called Diana I think. They said to get out but then headed upstairs! I don't know what's happening but there's a lot of smoke. I'm trying to reach my employer's rooms but the door to their floor is barricaded! I pulled the fire alarm as soon as I saw the smoke and those scary chicks but other than that I don't know what to do.' Bull could see in Barry's mind that they both had long white hair with an almost bluish tinge but it was a female and male. The mistake was understandable considering the siblings looked very similar.
'Exit the building as quickly as you can. Can you picture the faces of the 'weird and scary people'? As soon as Bull saw the image in his mind he stood up abruptly enough to startle Adele, even though she was 'listening in'. 'Barry, if you see or sense those 'other people' again anywhere near you…run. Try your best not to be seen. Once you're out of the building, get to a safe location and call this number. Someone will fetch you.'
Bull quickly relayed Trey's cell number to him and quickly cut off communications. 'Adele, I need you to inform Bear that you saw two fairies in Barry's head that match the description of the Water Princes' executioners. Tell him you caught the name Neave. He'll know what that means. Then take the children with you downstairs to the basement and lock yourselves in with Bubba.'
Adele went back into the other room as Bull headed outside. He was about to shift into a hawk to check out the events at the hotel when a noise caught his ear. It was coming from the trunk of the rental car. When he opened it, he rolled his eyes at the imbecile. He didn't have time for this shit. He mentally told Sarah to remind her Gran about the body in the trunk, shut the lid, and took off once he changed in the shadows of the house's garage.
-xoxoxo-
The house was suspiciously quite when Eric rose for the evening. Sookie's warmth radiated from beside him and the simple fact that she was there beside him with the babies was all he cared about. Once he could, he turned his head to check the time and saw that he'd gained another hour with his family since it was just past three in the afternoon.
He noticed that someone had put the newborns into the large bed with them at some point during the day. They were surrounded by pillows to keep them from rolling or being rolled upon. Since the twins were early they had neglected to bring or purchase any supplies for them. If he knew Pam, she'd have them outfitted in baby couture before the dawn. For now though, they were swaddled in soft bath towels with a knit cap on each head, one blue and one pink. Sookie wasn't asleep. She hummed contentedly as he spooned behind her and reached an arm over her side to lightly caress the soft cheek of each child. Perfect.
"Look what we did," she whispered to the room. Eric could tell she was practically glowing with pride.
"We? Sookie, min älskar, this was entirely your doing. They are perfect just like their Mamma."
"Yes us, Eric. I could not have done this without you, any of it."
"Lover, I…," for probably the first time in a century Eric was speechless. He had no words, in any language that he knew, that could possibly convey the depth of emotion he was currently feeling. Luckily for him, he didn't need words. Sookie already knew. Her strong, brave, ruthless, and cunning vampire was feeling inadequate to the task before them. She'd felt this feeling from him before whenever Sarah or Hunter posed a new parenting challenge for him. It was more intense now than ever before. It was also mixed with a slight feeling of remorse and guilt. She guessed the remorse had to do with the memories of his children, so long since gone and the guilt she knew came from the knowledge of how these little miracles before them came into being.
"I want to show you something." Sookie shifted into a sitting position, leaning against the many pillows behind her, as Eric mimicked her movement almost unconsciously. She reached over and gently scooped the little girl up then turned toward Eric and handed the infant to him. He looked very uncomfortable at first until Sookie did the same for the boy and cradled him in her arms. Eric followed the unspoken directions well. "Remove the cap," she murmured.
Eric did as he was told and was mildly surprised to see that the children had a head full of white blonde hair and a distinct lack of pointed ears. Sookie was naturally blonde as was most of her immediate family so that was no shock. What was interesting was he remembered that flea-bitten fairy having dark brown hair. "Now, check this out." Sookie pulled the loose night dress she was wearing down low enough to expose a breast and positioned the sleeping baby in her arms just below the nipple. She softly rubbed the teat on the boy's lips, which left a small amount of milk behind. Then she waited a moment until a tiny tongue darted out to taste the liquid and the mouth opened wide. Eric was stunned.
Nested in the upper gum, were two sharp white points just barely jetting out of the mandibular bone. She allowed the now hungry infant to feed before he began to cry. "Now look in her mouth." Eric carefully pulled up the lip of the child in his arms and saw no points. "Okay, put your pinky just inside and rub the upper gum."
A sharp sting, almost like a needle prick, pierced his skin and he could feel her sucking on his finger. Eric was about to pull the digit out in astonished panic when Sookie said, "Give her a minute. She'll realize you're not momma soon." Sure enough about a minute later the teeth withdrew back inside the gum and he found himself staring into eyes the exact match to his own.
"How?" It was all he could get to form and even that came out in a hoarse, emotional murmur.
Sookie shrugged as she kissed his cheek. "Ludwig says it might have something to do with all the blood you've given me over the years and throughout this pregnancy. I call it a miracle or possibly an answered prayer. God knows I did enough of it the first few weeks. This little man here, has got my eyes," which were a deeper more piercing sapphire than Eric's ice blue.
"Amy said that human babies' eyes tend to start blue and slowly change over time as they age but she suspects that these little boogers are liable to keep the colors they have. So, Mr. Northman do you have any more doubt on the parentage of OUR little 'fae-pires'?"
Eric shook his head numbly just letting the reality of the moment sink in. They sat in silence for another half hour, trading the tiny tots around once the boy was finished feeding. After the babies began dozing off again, Eric said, "We are going to require names now, my Lover. No more time to procrastinate, any suggestions?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure Pam's got a list already made somewhere." After a few more moments of comfortable silence, "Where do you suppose everyone is? It's just too quite out there."
Eric was wondering the same thing. He was about to get up to check, when there was a small knock on the door. Charlie stuck her head in the room and smiled though it came across as forced. She only seemed mildly surprised that Eric was up so early. "Hey, good you're up. I heard your voices and came to check on you and give you an update." At Eric's nod, Charlie entered the room entirely but stayed next to the door. Sookie and Eric both knew they weren't going to like this news. "Okay, I don't want to drag this out so I'll just tell you. Just remember not to shoot the messenger. The Gizeh Hotel was destroyed earlier and everybody but Trey and I went to help. There's also some older man outside on the sidewalk. He says he needs to speak to Sookie but he won't come any closer to the house. He says to show you this." She pulled out a walking stick from behind her back; it had the head of a unicorn as the handle. "He also said it's a matter of life and death."
A/N: I was actually trying not to leave this chapter on as much of a cliffy as the last few, but I'm sure you'll disagree. I'm going to be taking a SHORT break, possibly few two maybe three weeks. I'm not really sure how long. My brain needs a rest as does my fingers since I've been churning out chapters like a machine for over a month now. I, unfortunately, just can't think or type as fact as some of the other wonderful authors on this site. I just want to assure you of two things. #1 Just because I'm not posting doesn't mean I'm not writing or giving up on this story! #2 Every single one of your reviews have given me something to think about. Some have helped me write better, others just give me a hearty belly laugh. Some make me giggle like a school girl and a few have inspired me to add or change a few ideas in the story.
One such reviewer, Honulvr (yes, she rocks hard!), inspired me to write the last section of the above chapter. My Beta got both the before and after version of the addition and she thought it helped complete the chapter. So everybody get up and give Honulvr a standing 'O' (clap for her too)! Thank you so much for believing in my story enough to give me such amusing, entertaining, and touching reviews and PM's. This goes for the rest of you too.
I wiill be back soon and as soon as I have a tease...I'll send it to those who actually SIGN IN (FF Still won't let me respond to guest)! Oh! One last request...anyone got any baby name suggestions?