When Nikola woke, he was pleased to find half a bottle of good wine at hand and poured himself a glass for breakfast. Then he remembered what he had been doing before he fell asleep.
Helen was not going to be pleased. In fact everyone at the Sanctuary would be angry when they found out he'd started the vampires preparing for World War III. And whichever High Lord he'd just dispossessed of his or her house wasn't going to be very happy either. He finished his glass of wine and poured another.
He couldn't very well recant; that would make him look weak and invite attack. He got up and checked through the gate controller components, but he was still missing a couple of pieces. It wasn't a good idea to go anywhere anyway. He checked his computer and found that he had data waiting for him on vampire numbers, training, and available armament as well as a tentative thirty-year timeline. There was also a set of digital photos of his new residence; the interior was being cleared and Ana had included photos of possible furnishings for him to choose from; the old vampire was frighteningly efficient.
Nikola clicked on the furniture he liked, but printed out the war prep data to go over more carefully. With a little luck he could find excuses to extend the timeline out decades beyond the thirty years he'd proposed. And in the meantime there were other things he could organize the vampires to do. They were nearly invulnerable to human disease or attack, so they would make excellent relief workers, although he wasn't sure how he could sell that idea to Ana.
Helen had given him a double dose of vampire control medication yesterday but he didn't have any more with him. It wasn't morning yet there, but he would call her when it was to get a supply; the heavier dose seemed to help. And hopefully Ana had carried out the HAP quarter cleaning with her same efficiency, which would lower the likelihood of having another Vampire King session triggered.
And oh yes, Helen had undoubtedly heard the other women in his room when he'd talked to her; something else to apologize for. It seemed that was all he did lately, apologize for his alter ego. Well maybe his idea of vampire relief workers would earn him some praise instead. He hated having to please someone else all the time, but he hated it even more when Helen was angry at him.
Nikola was feeling normal so he decided to stay in his rooms and hope Ana didn't show up; if she saw he'd reverted again she might start putting two and two together and figure out his unpleasant relationship with HAPs. He spent hours doing a detailed analysis of the invasion plans and occasionally answering questions on his computer about colors and décor for his new home.
Helen finally called and they agreed to meet in the gate room again. That meant going into Ana's hallway, but Nikola didn't intend to stay out where she might find him very long. He walked quickly and went into the gate room without encountering anyone.
Helen was waiting for him, hypodermics in hand. He grinned when he saw her and quickly shucked off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.
"Do you really think it's wise to give me another anti-HAP shot so soon?" Nikola asked. Helen just stuck the needles in and injected him.
"Yes, I'm going to push your immune system as fast as I can. If you start to change from the injections let me know and we'll slow down. Now here is a bottle of your vampire control pills, I would recommend three a day starting this evening."
"Three? I usually only take one."
"Nikola, have you ever had a negative reaction to them no matter how many you took?"
"Well no, but it seems excessive along with the injections."
"Don't think about it. I'm the doctor, remember? If we can keep you normal while undergoing intensive HAP sensitivity therapy, I would say you could come home in two weeks."
Nikola got dressed and looked at the large bottle of pills she had given him. "Well . . . okay, two weeks sounds good."
"By the way, last night Henry said he would kill you if you came around him and his family ever again. He didn't mean it, but you're going to need to play very nice for a while. And perhaps you'd like to explain the females that were with you yesterday?"
"Ay, Chihuahua. They were just girls; nothing happened, I tossed them out after we hung up. You can't hold me responsible for what the Vampire King does, you know that."
"I'm not so sure. He acts on your baser instincts, but they're still your instincts Nikola."
"Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That should cover yesterday and the rest of today I hope."
"Saying the words doesn't count unless you mean them."
Nikola put the pills in his pocket and put his arms around her. "You know I mean them. I don't want you to be angry or upset, Helen. The Vampire King is not me; I love you, he doesn't love anyone but himself. So yeah, he's kind of based on part of me, but not really, see?"
"I see you're just as good at wheedling your way back into my good graces as you've always been."
Nikola gave her a crooked smile and leaned in and kissed her. After the kiss Helen added "And that always seems to work too."
They kissed again, and then Helen stepped back. "I'd better go. I've got a crew cleaning your rooms, my rooms, and your lab and I probably should keep an eye on things. By the way these injections are for sensitivity to Henry and family; I'll develop shots for other HAPs, but we can take our time with them since there aren't any others at the Sanctuary, although if possible I'd like to get it all done at once."
"Fine. Tell your elves not to forget the wine cellar and the library and anywhere else you want me to be able to go."
"Like the infirmary?"
"Ah, we're not done with that?"
"Not until you're able to walk into the operating room without having a negative reaction."
"Didn't I do that?"
"As the Vampire King, but not as yourself Nikola."
The vampire sighed. "Okay, so scrub that down too, although come to think of it, the infirmary and the operating room should already be clean."
"They are, but Henry and Erica have both been there lately, so I'll see that it gets a thorough going over. Nikola, I want you home, so take your medication, all right?"
"I will. And I ordered every place that housed HAPs here be cleaned too, so hopefully there isn't anything around that will trigger my Hyde."
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, and if there's anything you need you can call me."
"Well there is that 1937 Chablis you've been hiding . . ."
Helen laughed. "You can have it when you come home." She gave him one last little kiss and went back to the Sanctuary through the gate.
Nikola hurried back to his rooms. At least when he had his own place he wouldn't have to worry about accidently running into Queen Ana or Rene. He hoped he was out of here before Rene was fully healed; the High Lord was going to be very angry at him, although perhaps he would be more cautious around King Teslat in the future.
Of course the gate would have to be moved too. That would be a project, but he could do it, he'd set it up by himself he could certainly take it down, move it, and set it back up. In fact since he was stuck here two weeks it might be a good time to get that taken care of.
In his quarters Nikola used his computer to find the location of his new home. It wasn't very far from Ana's which didn't surprise him at all. She would want to stay in close touch with him and keep track of his visitors and such, and why make her spies travel a long way?
He went out and strolled over to his new place. It only took ten minutes at a leisurely walk. Nikola went in the front door amid others going in and out. The entryway was certainly impressive with a high ceiling and double staircase coming down on either side. Before him was an ornate arch so he went straight ahead.
There were voices to the right; he followed them into a room that was large enough to hold a convention in, with eight highly decorated pillars, a marble floor and a raised dais. Five people were lugging up a huge chair- no, throne to the top. Nikola watched for a moment, and then turned away. The Vampire King, if he ever came back, would certainly be pleased, and Nikola knew in the vampire society ostentation had its place.
He explored for a while and found a small room that would do for a gate room, and another large space that he could use as a lab. The master suite upstairs was huge, but that mattered little to him. He liked the furniture in the bedroom and the hot tub in the bathroom. The basement was mostly cobwebs, but there was plenty of room for wine racks or whatever he wished to store. Nikola was quite pleased, although he felt a little guilty for tossing out whoever had owned the place. He would have to see that the treasury paid them well.
Nikola found the work crew foreman at last and gave instructions for the gate room, lab, and wine racks for the cellar. The electrical wiring for the gate room was the most critical part and he just gave the foreman a list of what he needed; he would do the work himself, he didn't want the gate shorting out while he was going through, or even worse, while Helen was going through.
There were a number of ATVs out in front of his new house, so he took one and drove over to the lab and picked up the rest of the components for his gate controller. He left the small vehicle where he'd found it and walked back to Ana's with his package.
He spent the rest of the day working on the controller, and by evening had it finished. He was contemplating a trip to a wine and blood bar when there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find the three women from the night before carrying wine and baggies of blood.
There were two blonds and a brunette. The brunette was the one who had rubbed up against him last night, and it was she who said "We were interrupted last night, so Ana sent us back."
They would undoubtedly report back to her too. Nikola smiled and said "Well, well, well, do come in. You can put everything down right there on the table."
They set down their burdens and went to him, running their hands over his body and through his hair. Nikola thought fast; he had to act like the Vampire King but still get rid of them.
He grabbed a hand that was headed for his crotch and said "It was nice . . . I appreciate . . ." no, no that wasn't right at all.
He said harshly "I didn't invite you. When I want you I call, and you come running." He pushed them away. "And I initiate what we're going to do, not you. Now get out; and no, leave everything I am getting a little hungry."
The three female vampires pouted, but left. Nikola was relieved to shut the door and lock it behind them.
Of course he didn't have to go out to get whatever he wanted, he could just order it and a servant could run fetch. Nikola just wasn't used to having servants, although he thought he could manage to get used to it if he really tried. He drank what he wished, put some more barriers into the vampire invasion plan, and went to bed.
The days passed slowly. Nikola got the new gate room wired and his new lab set up. The day after he moved to his new residence he moved the gate, much to Helen's surprise when she arrived in an entirely new location.
"Where am I, what have you done?" she demanded.
"You are in my house now, instead of Ana's. The previous gate location is about ten minutes that way" he said and pointed.
"Oh. Why didn't you warn me?"
"Like you warned me you were going to blow up the old Sanctuary and set up in hollow earth? At least I didn't destroy anything."
"Touche, you have a point. Roll up your sleeve."
"This is my house Helen; we don't have to hide in the gate room. Let's take a walk and I'll give you the tour."
"Fine, but injections first."
"You are a stubborn woman" he said, but took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.
"Since you haven't reacted to the English or German HAPs as yet, I'm starting you on the Hungarian version. There is no point in stretching out your course of treatment since you haven't reacted at all so far. Hopefully this will go well too."
"And I'll be home in two days?"
"With a little luck, but don't count your chickens yet, Nikola."
Helen consented to walk through the house. They saw no one, although there were occasional small sounds in the distance.
"This is an awfully big house, Nikola. You're not here by yourself, are you?"
"I have 152 servants, but they're very discreet."
"Yes, I can see that. Do you have a medical lab?"
"No, I've set aside a small area in my primary lab for compounding my medication, but the vampire society isn't exactly Pharmaceutical Central when it comes to getting the ingredients."
"I'll bring you a supply, in case you're ever stranded here."
Helen just gave him a disbelieving look when they entered the throne room. Nikola held up his hands and shook his head and said "It was the Vampire King, not me."
He guided her to the master suite, through the huge sitting room and into the bedroom with a bed that could swallow two king-sized beds whole. Nikola said suggestively "It's very comfortable, plenty of room for any position or activity at all."
"Uh huh" was all Helen said and kept walking.
Nikola showed her the hot tub. "It's very relaxing after a hard day king-ing, would you like to try it?"
"You could hold an Olympic swim competition in there."
Nikola put his arms around her and nuzzled her. "I had a different sort of sport in mind."
"Well I have missed you and I don't have to be back for a little while."
"Excellent. And I'll be home in just a couple of days . . ." he said as he started to undress her.
"Assuming things keep going well." Helen helped him and unbuttoned his vest and shirt. Nikola devamped, something he never did when in the vampire realm, but it was so much more comfortable being with Helen that way without the claws and fangs. They were very shortly in the hot tub, and after a while Nikola got to prove his statement about the bed being big enough for anything.
Afterwards he tried to get her to stay longer by offering her wine from his new cellar, but Helen refused. "Nikola it's the middle of the day at the Sanctuary, far too early for wine. Besides, everyone will already be suspicious with me being gone so long, there's no point in making it easy for them by showing up with wine breath."
"All right; tomorrow?"
"Sorry, I won't have time tomorrow, there's a large shipment coming."
"Can't William handle it?"
"No, there are creatures he's never seen."
"Well what about the big hairy guy?"
"He's on a mission. Nikola, you just have to be patient. Now walk me back to the gate, I'm totally lost in this ridiculously huge house." Nikola vamped again and escorted her.
He kissed her goodbye at the gate, but then just moped around. He'd started building a small library but didn't have any volumes he hadn't read yet. His gate controller would work to take him to any of the gates, but no, he'd promised to stay put for the entire two weeks.
The following day was worse when Helen just popped in, injected him, and popped out again. He went to his new lab and fussed over exactly where every piece of equipment should be located for a while, but he didn't really care that much and it was hard to concentrate. At least he had no compunction to order up concubines or break things.
In the afternoon he had a guest. High Lord Dramelin came by. Nikola considered what the Vampire King would do, and received him in his throne room. Perched up on the huge red velvet chair trimmed with gold, Nikola looked down at Rene as imperiously as he could manage.
The High Lord bowed low, and then said "Your Majesty, I have come to apologize for my disrespectful behavior."
"By order of the Queen?"
"By her suggestion, not her order. I did not understand the situation fully, and I assure you, Your Majesty, it will not happen again."
Nikola sat and stared at him without speaking, watching Rene grow more and more uneasy in the silence. Finally he growled "I suppose I should let you live as a favor to Queen Ana. I could demote you but she would just promote you again since you are her blood son. But understand this clearly Rene, one more transgression and I will rip you to shreds, far beyond any ability to heal. Now get down on your hands and knees and thank me for your life as you back out of my presence."
King Teslat felt disgusted as he watched the High Lord do as he was told, crawling backwards slowly saying "thank you" the whole way until the servants closed the doors behind his retreating form. Nikola hated degrading another vampire, but his treatment of Rene would ensure Ana would believe him to still be the Vampire King and would do exactly as he said. Although Rene would like him less he would respect him more and that would reduce the chances the High Lord would ever challenge him; and word would get around.
Finally the two weeks were up. Helen came through the gate and gave him his shots, but they both went back to the Sanctuary together. Once through the gate Nikola devamped and they walked through the halls side by side, but then Helen veered off.
"Where are you going? Our suites are this way" Nikola said.
Helen held up the syringes. "I need to dispose of these in medical waste. Why don't you walk with me to the infirmary?"
"You just can't let it go, can you."
"Uh-uh." Nikola joined her and they went into the infirmary, Helen keeping an eye on him. He didn't seem overly distressed so as she tossed out the needles she casually asked "Want to see the operating room?"
"I see you've repaired the door. I would like to see those titanium straps I broke."
They went down the inner hallway and stopped at the room where Nikola had broken the straps, but the chair and straps were gone. "You pretty much wrecked the chair as well as the straps, there really wasn't any reason to keep them" Helen explained at his disappointed expression.
Nikola shrugged, offered his arm and she took it, and they walked down to the operating room. Helen opened the door and went in. Nikola hesitated, but then followed her nervously.
"How are you doing?" she asked him.
"Well it's uncomfortable, but I'm not going to faint or anything."
Helen went over to him and hugged him. "It will get better. We could stay here a while and it could get much better very quickly."
"How about later when we're somewhere we won't be interrupted?"
"Really, you're turning me down? Well that's a first."
"Be glad, if I was the Vampire King I wouldn't even bother using the table."
"The floor? That would be uncomfortable; at least the media room was carpeted. All right, later then. I suppose if you can hold a decent conversation you're pretty much all right."
"I'm better than all right, I'm superb as you well know."
"Yes, you're definitely back to your old form. So I don't need to spend the day coddling you which is a good thing since I do have work to do."
Nikola made a face; he'd made a mistake, he could have gotten her company the whole day if he'd played at being more nervous than he really was.
Helen took his hand and led him out of the operating room and the infirmary. Nikola asked "So where are we going?"
"We're going to your lab so you can work on your dog fence. You may be home, but you are restricted to your lab, your rooms, my rooms, the infirmary, and the library."
"And the wine cellar."
"Sorry, we haven't quite gotten around to cleaning that yet, so no, no wine cellar."
"What . . . but . . ."
"However there is that nice bottle of Chablis waiting in your rooms and I'll see you there this evening."
Nikola went to his lab. The alarm was gone off the door, his drink-making apparatus was no longer in evidence and it did look very clean. He checked in the cupboard underneath and found his containers of inverted nitrogen molecule tequila were still there, thank goodness.
The door opened behind him and he turned to find Henry standing in the hall just outside the lab. The HAP said "Don't worry, I'm not coming in. I just wanted to say I'm not going to kill you, even though I think you deserve it."
Nikola sighed and said "I'm really sorry about the piano . . ."
"It's not that. You jumped on my wife!"
"Well take it as a compliment. She's very beautiful, and besides nothing happened and no one got hurt except me."
"I swear, if you ever do that again . . . "
Nikola took a step forward but stopped himself. "Henry, I'm not like that and you know it. I was celibate for decades, I don't go around jumping on women, and besides I have Helen."
"Well just watch it; I'm keeping an eye on you."
Nikola held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, I'll watch it . . . as long as you don't get too close to me, at least not yet."
"Yeah, well, that said, I'm glad you're back and you're you again." Then Henry muttered "What am I saying?" He shook his head and let the door close behind him.
Nikola smiled a little; it was going to be okay between them. Well, back to trying to reprogram the dog fence.
That evening Nikola found the 1937 Chablis was indeed in his sitting room waiting for him. He opened the bottle and poured himself a glass and had just taken his first sip when the adjoining door opened and Helen came in with another bottle in her hand.
"Why Helen, did you bring me another present?"
"No, this one is for me because I don't actually care for that vintage." She poured a glass of light red from her bottle and they clinked their glasses together.
"To being home" Helen said, and Nikola repeated the words and they both drank.
"To surviving Ginger and the Vampire King" Nikola toasted, and they repeated the process.
They sipped companionably for a while, and then Helen got up and went into the bedroom. Nikola got up to follow her, but finished his wine first. Out of curiosity he poured a little of hers into his glass and tried it; he spit it out in shock.
Helen had come back to see where he was. "What the hell is this?" Nikola asked.
"It's cranberry juice."
"Are you insane?"
"Not at all. Do you remember our unplanned activity in the media room?"
"Sure." Nikola looked puzzled, but then the puzzlement cleared and he began to grin. "You mean you're . . ."
"Pregnant."
A/N: JBB, epichlexi and :Kotah thank you for the reviews. I hope everyone enjoyed the story. There will likely be a follow-on, but not for a while since I have two other non-Sanctuary stories started and I'll be playing with them for some time.