I think I'm getting on track with update schedules and then bam suddenly I'm not!
Also, as we near the end, I confess that while I want to write more Vlad/Ingrid, I'm kinda out of story ideas for them. So if you want future sibling sexy times... hit me. One shots. Story prompts. Anonymous. Via inbox. As many as you can!
-YD-
Ingrid hadn't been kidding. Vlad was woken no less than five times that day, four of which including feeding to silence the wails of his daughter. By nightfall, he was exhausted and she was sleeping soundly at last, looking cherub-like in her innocence as though she hadn't kept him awake through much of daylight hours.
"Is Chia awake?"
Adam pattered into the room, spotted the bassinet resting on the table and lowered his voice as Vlad intermittently poured coffee and soy blood into his body in a vain attempt at cognizance.
"No, she's not long fallen asleep actually. Seems she likes being awake in the day so far. Of course, she's only one day old."
"She's cute though."
Vlad chuckled to himself; she wasn't so cute when she was screaming her little lungs out for a nappy change, but right now fast asleep, she was truly enchanting.
"Yeah, she is."
Ingrid strolled in as Adam dug in to his cereal, poured herself blood in silence and Vlad noted the tension in her shoulders. He wasn't sure if that was because they'd not spent the day together or because of what she had promised that night. Could be both, he supposed.
"Are you ok mum?"
Apparently Adam noticed too. Ingrid schooled her face where their son couldn't see, had her usual soft mothers smile when she turned back to look at Adam.
"Fine son. How is the little monster?"
The second part addressed to Vlad, Ingrid sipped from her goblet as Adam peered over portable baby-holder and smiled, wiping milk off his face with a napkin.
"Oh, she's fine. Healthy appetite, I tell you. And lungs in perfect working order."
"Tired?"
"Do I not look the image of vitality and wakefulness?"
Ingrid rolled her eyes, drained her glass and placed it in the sink. Adam watched the two of them over his tea mug, then went back to watching Daciana sleep peacefully. Wolfie peered around the doorway, spied the baby and moved remarkably softly for the size of him.
"I'm certain she's a pain in the neck - and eardrums - when crying, but hellfire if she isn't the cutest thing sound asleep."
Like Vlad, Wolfie seemed rather taken with his niece. Without Adze weighing down the atmosphere any longer, everybody seemed a little lighter. Ingrid wrinkled her face in distaste as Wolfie ate his raw meat breakfast, but Adam had already gotten used to it and Vlad was too busy mixing up baby formula in preparation for the next time his little girl was hungry to notice much around him.
Even so, he knew tonight was the night.
Adam would know.
"She's about to wake up."
Ingrid gestured, and everyone looked around at her in surprise when Daciana began to wake up not a minute later.
"What?"
"How did you do that?"
"I raised a child. You'll notice he's sitting right there."
Vlad lifted Daciana up, hugging her as the formula bottle warmed up to feed her. Everyone watched her dither and fuss until the bottle appeared. He still couldn't believe how perfect she was, how much love had blossomed anew in his heart. He didn't love Adam any less... he just made more room to fit Daciana in.
"There we go. No crying in the castle of supernatural creatures, thank you."
She couldn't exactly answer, but Daciana suckled away happily on her bottle, burped accordingly when winded and Vlad was happy nobody in the castle expected Grand High Vampire from him. He could just be a dad.
"Can I hold her?"
Adam looked up hopefully, little hands twitching at his sides as he tried to wait for permission. Vlad nodded at his son, turned eyes to Ingrid who visibly tensed.
Then she nodded. Just once. His permission.
"Come sit in the living room, it'll be easier."
Whether they understood or not, everyone else stayed back as Vlad carried Daciana behind an excitable boy. Adam jumped up on the sofa, watching avidly as father and son entered the room together, shifting in his seat with anticipation. Vlad wasn't sure there had ever been such a happy Dracula.
"Can I hold Chia now?"
"Very carefully. You have to support her head like this, and hold your arm under her quite still."
Adam obeyed, holding her very securely and looking enchanted by the little girl. Vlad's throat grew thick watching them together, his children. They didn't look anything like each other really, but he knew in his soul they were part of him.
"Adam, can I talk to you about something?"
"What's wrong Vlad?" suddenly, his face grew fearful "do we have to go now you have a baby?"
"What? Hellfire Adam, no! No, you never have to leave unless you want to."
The boys relief was clear, and he resumed smiling at Daciana before looking back up as he remembered Vlad had said he wanted to talk.
"So what's wrong?"
Vlad wished he had thought this actual moment through. Decided on what he wanted to say. Instead, he was caught short now the moment was here, and ultimately he blurted it out gracelessly.
"I'm your dad."
Adam blinked, then held out Daciana in silence. Vlad took her back, lifted her to his chest and watched for the response of his son.
"Why didn't you want me?"
Vlad felt his heart effectively shatter, looking at the boy who seemed so devastated by the news.
"I didn't know about you Adam. I swear, the first I knew of you existing was when the VHC said you and Ingrid were coming to live here."
"Mum didn't tell you?"
"I don't think she knew. We hadn't seen each other since the day I got bound to Adze. And if she turned up saying you were mine, you would have been at risk. When you got moved here, the VHC agreed to keep you safe."
Processing with his little face scrunched up, Adam's lower lip jutted out.
"Why didn't mum tell me?"
Vlad couldn't tell him she had never intended to. That they would maybe never have known they were father and son if not for the boredom of his Council. He wouldn't risk destroying Ingrid and Adam's bond.
"I think she was keeping you safe. If nobody but she knew, nobody else could find out."
His face was still sad and pensive, emotional range well beyond expected for any eight year old. Never mind an eight year old vampire.
"Why has nobody told me til now?"
"Because we couldn't risk Adze finding out."
"Why?"
Vlad quashed the urge to sigh, trying to keep his posture calm so Daciana didn't get upset by tension in the air.
"Because... because me and Ingrid are brother and sister. And, well, most people think us having a baby together isn't right."
He knew that Vlad and Ingrid were siblings, but Vlad suspected that in the shock of information, he hadn't put that with Vlad being his father fully just yet.
" Speaking of brothers and sisters... does this make me Chia's big brother?"
"If you want to be. I'm not asking you to accept everything that way immediately, I don't want you to feel pressured Adam."
The boy shook his head, smiled.
"I wanted you to be my dad remember? Now you are, and I'm a big brother! That's so cool!"
He got a bit loud and Daciana started to fuss, which Adam noticed and immediately quietened down.
"Sorry Chia. I'll be the best big brother for you, promise."
At least Vlad was fairly certain his son was gay, wasn't worried their sibling relationship would emulate he and Ingrid. That was sort of up in the air at the minute, though she had kissed him that morning...
"Are you and my mum going to be together so there's no more Adze's?"
"I... I don't know Adam. That's something we have to talk about, but regardless of what state me and Ingrid are in, we both love you."
Chewing his little lip, Adam nodded, then looked back down at Daciana.
"Can I hold her again now?"
Vlad was about to agree, but the baby had other ideas.
"I'm not sure you'll want to, she needs changing."
Adam laughed, the sound light and happy and infectious. Vlad felt himself warmed by it, by the light of his little boy and the way he openly expressed his feelings.
"Ok, but after?"
"I tell you what... you can come help me bathe her if you want? I could do with an extra set of hands."
"Really? Yeah! Let's go."
They headed along to where Vlad had baby bath stuff set up in his bathroom, and after cleaning her up from her nappy Vlad was preparing a little baby bath. Adam was exceptionally helpful - he had a more accurate read of temperature since his body wasn't corpse-cold, and so he determined bath water safety.
Vlad did the actual bathing, but Adam handed him things and picked out Daciana's outfit; Vlad needed to do more baby shopping, having prepared but only minimally as he tried to comprehend the impending fatherhood. Wrapping the baby in her onesie, Vlad smiled at Adam's choice of purple.
"You're a good little helper Adam."
"And you're a good dad... dad. Can I call you that?"
Taking a second to let his heart turn over in his chest, Vlad beamed.
"Only if you want to."
"I do. Come on, lets go find mum so I can show her what outfit I picked for Chia."
They did indeed go in search of Ingrid, who was sat in the kitchen clearly waiting for them to return. She smirked at the baby powder scattered across Vlad's clothes, then found herself on the receiving end of a fierce little Adam hug.
"I understand why you kept my dad from me, and it's ok. But I'm glad to know now. I'm a big brother! I helped bath Chia and I picked her onesie out."
She blinked before returning Adam's hug, looking over his head at Vlad for confirmation everything was as good as it seemed. Vlad nodded, smiling at their son. Ingrid hugged him properly, then offered the young boy one of her rare smiles, the one reserved for her son and nobody else.
"So you're ok with it?"
"Yep. Vlad's awesome. And I know you were keeping me safe. But now I'm safe here and he can be my dad as well as Chia's."
Having both been expecting far more dramatics, Vlad knew he and Ingrid would both be initially wary that this was the calm before a storm. But so far, so good.
"Does everybody else know?"
"Wolfie and Bertrand know. For now, it needs to stay in the castle until I work out how to deal with Adze being gone and the VHC. But here, here we're good."
"That's ok. I know you have lots of grumpy bats to deal with."
Vlad put Daciana down for her nap, Adam taking himself off to do some reading with impunity now he felt secure in his home and Ingrid followed Vlad to the nursery, then his bedroom.
"Was it all really that easy?"
She quizzed as Vlad sank into his coffin, stretching out to ease a crick in his back.
"Pretty much. Well, apart from one thing."
Ingrid raised an eyebrow in question, watching him squirm in his coffin.
"Which was?"
"He asked if we were going to be together now Adze was gone. I answered him honestly and said I didn't know. He seemed to take that well enough."
"I expect he was already done taking on new information for the night."
Vlad had to agree there.
"Probably. He's brilliant and clever but he is still only eight."
He wanted an answer to the question, for his own sake as much as Adam's but he knew Ingrid wouldn't respond well to such demands, nor did one day of no Adze mean she had decided where their future was going.
Adam called him dad. He could wait.
-YD-
I'm sorry for the lacklustre chapter lengths lately, if anyone can fix my head so mental health issues don't interfere with writing I would appreciate it.