Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

189. Chapter 189

Chapter 189

After that first introduction with Freida's parents, Tristan left the park seeing red. He tossed out the flowers he'd bought her and went back to the base fuming. A bunch of the guys on base had known he was meeting Freida's parents so when they saw him come back in a huff, they couldn't resist teasing him but Tristan ignored all of them. He didn't call Freida the rest of the week and she didn't call him either. She was by no means in better spirits and was fuming just as much as him. Unbeknownst to her, after the meeting, Helen had chewed Freidrick out for being so rude.

"I can't believe you spoke that way to that boy," Helen said as they'd left the park.

"Excuse me? That little shit mocked me and made me out to be the bad guy!"

"You were threatening to shoot the poor kid, Freidrick; of course he got defensive! I'm not happy about this anymore than you are but that boy is your grandchild's father and you shouldn't have spoken to him that way."

"Well, he shouldn't have taunted me," Freidrick bit back. "For that matter, he shouldn't have knocked up my daughter."

"He only taunted you after you began threatening him," Helen said. "And I'll remind you it takes two to tango. Freida's just as liable for this whole thing as he is but unlike him, SHE can't just walk away from this! He very well could leave Freida to deal with this alone because of the way you spoke to him."

"To hell with him then."

"No, not 'to hell with him'; our grandchild is who matters here and he or she doesn't deserve to have their father walk out because you snapped at him. As far as I'm concerned, Freidrick, when things cool down, you need to apologize to him."

"I'm not fucking apologizing to that little shit!"

"Oh yes you are Freidrick Hoffman and if you do not, you can be locked out of our apartment howling at the moon until you decide to be the bigger person."

"I can break into the apartment, Helen."

"And I can forcibly remove you," Helen answered back and the two of them were dead silent the remainder of the walk back home.

Freidrick continued to stubbornly refuse for a few days but he did eventually, and begrudgingly, agree he would make things right with Tristan after a visit with Freida showed how upset over this whole thing she was. As time went on, Freida regretted telling him not to come to the ultrasound. She'd gotten lucky that Tristan had been willing to be a father and help her but she feared she may have thrown that all away with a single sentence. Yet, deep down, there was something else bothering her about the way she and Tristan left things. After just 24 hours of stewing, Tristan felt horrible about that Friday too. No matter how Freidrick was talking to him, he shouldn't have gotten defensive like that and he certainly shouldn't have thrown her father's past in his face.

When Freidrick had told Tristan marrying Freida was fully expected, Tristan was ready to agree in a heartbeat so when she so adamantly refused that as a possibility, his heart sank a little. And he'd definitely not made things better by the way he'd handled things. He resolved to call her and apologize every day but every time he was on his way to the admin office, he'd stop in his tracks and go to the mess hall or to his bunk instead and he felt like shit every time. Then the day of her appointment finally came. Tristan still had the date, time and location marked down and when he looked at his note again after getting up for the day, he decided he wasn't about to miss his child's first ultrasound. He reminded his commanding officer of the appointment and was able to leave an hour before the scheduled time to make his way to the hospital. He followed the directions he'd been given until he made it to the OBGYN office on the fifth floor. It wasn't Dr. Meyer they would be seeing. Instead, there were two doctor's and a nurse's names listed on the sign:

Olivia Weber GuKP

Oskar Braun

Leopold Schmidt

He walked into the doctor's office and was greeted by a receptionist who wore a big, inviting smile as she asked him how she could assist. Tristan asked if Freida Hoffman had arrived yet or was being seen and after an exchange of necessary information, she directed Tristan to go into the back and what room she was presently in. Once Tristan found the room, he knocked on the door and waited for Freida to grant access before entering the room. She was sitting on the examining table naked from the waist down with a flimsy blue paper towel covering her bottom half and when Freida saw Tristan come in, she was clearly shocked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked weakly.

"I'm here for the ultrasound," Tristan replied. "I know before you said not to come, but I didn't want to miss our baby's first ultrasound." Tristan closed the door and approached the chair off to the side moving aside her purse and clothes so he could sit. "Has the doctor been in yet?"

"Not yet. I'm waiting for the ultrasound tech," Freida replied. The silence that followed between them was deafening. Freida avoided looking at him by staring at her hands while Tristan kept staring between her and the floor.

"I'm sorry about Friday," Tristan finally broke the silence. "I shouldn't have spoken that way to your dad. He has every reason to be angry with me and I shouldn't have fueled the fire."

After another brief silence, Freida replied, "I appreciate that." Then after another silence she said, "And I'm sorry for how papa spoke to you too. He was out of line."

"We both were," Tristan added. "All the same, I'm sorry. Whenever they're open to meeting again, I'd really like a chance to start over."

"I'll talk to them about it," Freida said.

"Freida," Tristan started after yet another silence, "Can we talk? Not right now but after the appointment?"

Anxiously, Freida asked, "About what?"

"Christ," Tristan said and rubbed the back of his head, "I don't even know where to begin." Freida didn't respond. She wasn't sure what he was alluding to and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Just then, the ultrasound tech came in smiling at them both.

"Hallo. Mein Name ist Chelsea; Ich werde Ihr Ultraschalltechniker sein. Ihr Name ist Freida Hoffman, ja?" (Hello. My name is Chelsea; I will be your ultrasound tech. Your name is Freida Hoffman, yes?)

"Ja," Freida answered.

"Und Sie müssen ihr Ehemann sein," (And you must be her husband) the tech said.

"Wir sind nicht verheiratet, aber er ist der Vater," (We're not married but he is the father) Freida interrupted and suddenly the tech felt really awkward.

"Oh," she finally added, "Entschuldigen Sie. Auf jeden Fall herzlich willkommen." (My apologies. In any case, welcome) she said to Tristan still making sure she smiled pleasantly. Tristan responded with a minimal wave and a passing smile before the tech came to the machine and began explaining what she was going to do.

Once Freida was lying back on the exam table, the tech tucked some flimsy paper towels under Freida's panties to protect them and applied a cold gel to her lower stomach. The tech moved the wand around with the screen facing her until she found what she was looking for. Freida and Tristan couldn't see anything yet but once the tech saw a heartbeat, she smiled and turned the screen so Freida and Tristan could see.

"Es ist schwer zu sehen," (It's hard to see) the tech said as she pointed out a small little dot on the screen, "aber das ist dein Baby. Das Baby ist im Moment so groß wie ein Mohnsamen." (but this is your baby. Baby is the size of a poppy seed right now.) They looked closely at the screen and were able to see something tiny within the little dot pulsing.

"Is that the baby's heart?" Tristan asked the tech in English without thinking.

"Yes, it is," the tech said in a very thick accent. "I'm sorry, I did not realize you were American."

"Ich spreche Deutsch; Das ist gut," (I speak German; it's fine) Tristan said absently. He was focused on the imagine on the screen.

The positive paternity test had been a punch to the gut at the time but now that he was looking at his child, it all felt surreal. Freida was just as taken aback. It was the first time since finding out she was pregnant that she wasn't consumed with the existential dread she was going to be a mother. It was the first time she'd felt any true affection for the little baby and she even teared up a little. Though she made a point to rub her eye so any tear wouldn't fall down her cheek. All the while, the tech was doing her measurements of the baby and taking notes as needed and when she was finally done, she took away the wand cleaning it and Freida's belly then printing out the pictures.

"Hier ist das erste Bild des Babys," (Here is baby's first picture) the tech said as she handed the pictures over to Freida. "Sobald Sie angezogen und bereit sind, können Sie in den Untersuchungsraum fünf gehen und die Krankenschwester wird direkt bei Ihnen sein." (Once you're dressed and ready, you can go to exam room five and the nurse will be right with you.)

"Danke," (Thank you) Freida said and the tech walked out of the room to give them some privacy.

"Can I see them?" Tristan asked Freida after a moment and she handed them over so she could hop off the exam table and get herself redressed while Tristan was otherwise occupied. "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Tristan finally asked in a muted voice as he continued to stare at the pictures.

"I think it's a girl," Freida answered going off her gut instinct. "Something in me says it's a girl."

"Maybe the baby's announcing it to you," Tristan joked with a light smile but he never took his eyes off the pictures.

"Maybe," Freida replied, smiling for the first time in several days. "Come on. We need to get to the exam room. I don't want to hold this room up for another mom."

"Sorry," Tristan said and stood while grabbing Freida's purse for her. He handed that over and the two of them left the ultrasound room. One of the nurses stopped Freida to check her weight and then directed them to Exam Room 5 so she could take Freida's vitals starting with her blood pressure.

"Einhundertdreißig über zweiundachtzig," (130 over 82) the nurse announced once she'd fully released the pressure of the cuff.

After that, the nurse asked Freida some general questions such as whether she smokes, drinks, does any drugs and if so, what, she asked Freida about any medications she takes and double checked the name of her preferred pharmacy. Once she had all the answers she needed, she left the room and let her know Dr. Braun would be in momentarily. They waited in relative silence. Tristan was rocking back and forth in the chair while Freida sat on the exam table doing the same. When Dr. Braun came in, he was in blue scrubs and still wearing a face mask indicating he may have perhaps just come from surgery or something.

"Good afternoon," Dr. Braun said with what seemed to be an inviting smile based on the lines that formed on his face from the gesture. "I heard from the Tech we have an American – I couldn't resist the opportunity to practice my English."

"Practice away," Tristan said, "but if there's something you need to say in German that's fine too. I speak German."

"Of course," Dr. Braun said. "Now, as for the baby, so far everything looks good. The heartbeat the ultrasound tech detected was strong and just what we like to see. One thing, Miss Hoffman, do you typically get anxious when at the doctor?"

"No. Why?" Freida asked.

"Your blood pressure's elevated," the doctor said. "It could just be a onetime thing, but we'll continue to keep a close eye on it. Otherwise, did you have any questions for me?"

"Freida's family doctor estimated the baby would come around March. Does that sound right?" Tristan asked.

"Based on how far the baby's measuring, that would be a good estimation however I must stress that is an estimation," Dr. Braun said. "Baby's typically arrive when they want to, not when we plan for them to. I've been delivering babies for 35 years and I can count the number of mothers who delivered right on their due date on one hand."

"She'd have the baby at 40 weeks though wouldn't she? How many weeks is she now?" Tristan asked.

"The baby's measuring around 9 weeks," Dr. Braun replied, "and we'd like the baby to come around 40 weeks but if the baby is born, say, around 37 weeks he or she will be alright however at that gestational age, we do often see babies struggle with latching. Now, Miss Hoffman, you've begun taking prenatal vitamins correct?"

"Yes, I started taking them a few weeks ago," she replied.

"Good, that will help with baby's development," Dr. Braun said.

Tristan used the brief silence as an opportunity to ask, "Is there anything I can do to make this easier? I mean, I live on base right now so I'm not around very often but I still want to help."

"Honestly, if there's anything she needs, she'll tell you," Dr. Braun said. "Every woman experiences pregnancy differently so what she needs may be different from what another woman would need. I would recommend mutual communication. So, Miss Hoffman, if there's anything you need, make sure you tell him."

"I will," Freida said with a light sigh. "You really don't have to worry so much, Tristan."

"It's only normal to worry; you can hardly fault him," Dr. Braun said. "Did either of you have anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Is there anything I need to look out for if there's a problem?" Freida asked. "I've heard bleeding's normal and I've heard it's a sign something's wrong so I was hoping I could get a definitive answer."

"I can give a clearer answer at the very least," Dr. Braun replied. "What you want to look for is the severity of bleeding. If it's only spotting, it's not likely anything you need to worry about. Sometimes the cervix can have a tear – it's generally painless and barely noticeable. However, if you're experiencing bleeding akin to your period or what you'd expect from a period and you're experiencing a lot of pain, that's when we get concerned. But if anything happens that you're worried about, you're welcome to call us and we'll get you in for an appointment."

"Alright," Freida answered with a nod.

"Did either of you have anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Not right now," Freida said.

"I'm good," Tristan agreed.

"Perfect. Then I'll send the nurse in to draw some blood and once she's done, just go to the front desk and schedule yourself for your next appointment. I'll want to see you again in two weeks."

"Thank you," Freida and Tristan both said and Dr. Braun left the room while Freida and Tristan waited for the nurse. Freida's feet began to fidget while they waited which Tristan noticed.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," Freida said, "I just hate needles."

"You do?"

"Yeah," she said, "they make me anxious. I know they're never as bad as I imagine but I can't help it."

Tristan remained quiet until the nurse finally came back into the room with a blood drawing kit. She asked Freida if she preferred one arm over the other and Freida stated her left while offering it up. While the nurse rubbed the area with disinfectant prepping her for the blood draw, Freida was looking anywhere but at her arm. Tristan moved his chair closer and took her hand in his taking her by surprise.

"So did anything interesting happen at work today?" Tristan asked, trying to distract her.

"I…..I had to do an interview with a cop earlier," she finally said.

"What for?"

"This guy bought a car from our lot but he wasn't making his payments and the check he'd written for the car bounced. We were able to repossess the car, he went to the police and it's turned into a big thing."

"Make your payments and it won't turn into a big thing," Tristan joked and Freida even smiled a little until she felt the needle poke her skin and she winced. "I wish I could say something interesting happened today but I've got nothing."

"I just assumed anything you have to tell me is confidential," Freida joked making Tristan smile.

"Have you ever watched Airplane!?" Tristan asked.

"No," Freida replied.

"Well shit – I was hoping we could have a moment over a good comedy," Tristan said.

"I'm not a big fan of comedies most of the time," Freida said.

"How German of you," Tristan said and Freida fought a laugh.

"Asshole," she said still trying not to laugh and just like that the nurse was done.

She told Freida they'd run the tests and would go over everything with her during her next doctor visit however they'd call her if there was anything super serious. Tristan and Freida went to the front desk together and Freida got herself scheduled for another visit in two weeks which would not include an ultrasound. Tristan asked if she would mind if he came to all the appointments or if she'd at least be alright with him coming to any appointment that included an ultrasound which Freida agreed to and then they left the hospital together.

"Freida," Tristan said once they'd left the doctor's office and were approaching the elevator together, "Would you mind if I came over to your place so we can talk?"

"I thought we'd already talked," Freida said.

"We apologized but there's more we need to talk about," Tristan said. "We can go somewhere if you'd rather but I figured your place would be more comfortable and private."

"What else do we need to talk about?" Freida pressed.

"Your parents being vampires for starters," Tristan blurted out as he pressed the down button of the elevator while Freida went wide eyed.

"How do you know about that?"

"Like I said: I think we'd be better off talking about this somewhere private," Tristan said. The elevator got to their floor and they stepped in with one other person on the elevator with them. They didn't talk until they reached the ground floor and left the hospital together. Once they were outside, Tristan asked, "Did you take a taxi here? I can drive us back to your place."

"Sure," Freida finally relented and followed Tristan through the parking lot until they found the Jeep he'd driven to the hospital in. Tristan opened the passenger side door for her and closed it once she got in before going around the car to get into the driver's seat. "How did you know my parents are vampires?" Freida demanded once they were in the car and alone.

"Because I have vampires in my family," Tristan said. "My Grandma Renesmee came to Washington as a mail order bride around the turn of the century, she met my grandpa, got married and popped out a few kids – oldest one being my dad. Grandma Renesmee's a half breed but far from the only one. My Aunt Ada María is two thirds vampire, my Aunt Natalie's married to a vampire so my cousin Birdie's more than half too – I won't bore you going over the whole family tree but the point is I come from a big family of vampires and wolves."

"Pardon?" Freida asked at the mentioning of wolves. "What do wolves have to do with anything?"

"I'll show you when we get back to your place," Tristan said. "Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me unless you saw it."

"Hell, I know you have vampires in your family. What wouldn't I believe at this point?"

"I can shift into a wolf," Tristan said.

"You're joking."

"Nope," Tristan said. "Dead serious."

"So I've been knocked up by a werewolf is what you're telling me."

"Not a werewolf: a shapeshifter. There's a difference," Tristan said.

"So you can shift into other things?"

"No, just a wolf."

"So you're a werewolf," she insisted.

Tristan laughed a little, "Fine, if that's what you want to call me, go for it."

"Ich kann das verdammt noch mal nicht glauben," (I can't fucking believe this) Freida mumbled and rubbed her forehead. "So what else did you want to talk about?" Tristan briefly wondered if he should come out and tell Freida he imprinted on her but he quickly realized that was a terrible idea, but he also didn't want there to be any allusion that he thought of her platonically.

"I want us to really talk about how we'll move forward," Tristan finally said, choosing his words carefully.

"What else is there to talk about? You agreed to be present and to help me where you can. There's nothing further to discuss."

"There's plenty to discuss," Tristan said.

"Tristan, if this is about my father insisting you marry me, don't let it bother you. Even if he still says he expects you to marry me, I'll tell my father I refuse so you don't have to worry."

"It's not about your dad," Tristan said. "It's about wanting my child to be raised in a loving home."

"Just because we're not together doesn't mean our child won't be raised in a loving home. You'll be a doting father, I'll be a caring mother and our child will have a happy life."

"All I'm saying," Tristan said, "is I don't want a relationship to be completely off the table."

"Okay," Freida said with an exasperated sigh, "let me make myself clear: I do not want nor will I ever want to marry you. What happened between us was a mistake. We're paying for that mistake and being civil about it. Nothing more. Can we please just agree on that?"

"This doesn't have to be 'just a mistake' Freida," Tristan argued with a gentle voice while keeping his eyes on the road. "I want us to get to know one another. Maybe there could be something meaningful and worthwhile here. And if there's nothing to be had, then we can drop it and just co-parent but I can't just leave this alone without us at least trying."

"Christ, you're stubborn," she mumbled.

"Pot, meet kettle," Tristan answered back in an affectionate tone and when he saw Freida's held back smile in the corner of his eye, he felt hopeful. "Can I take you out to dinner? Or we can go see a movie together. Just say what sounds like fun and we'll do it."

"Tristan," Freida said as she turned her head to look at him. They were at a stop light so Tristan looked her in the eye and what she'd been about to say left her. When she did finally say anything, it was, "I'll think about it."

"Alright, that's fair," Tristan said. "Until that time, did you want to grab anything before I drop you off?"

"No, I'm alright. Just drop me off," Freida replied. Tristan did as she asked and continued through the city until they reached her apartment. When they arrived, Tristan found a spot to park his car but Freida reminded him, "Don't turn off the car. Unless there was something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Not right now I guess," Tristan said but then he remembered what he had in the back seat and reached back to grab a bouquet of flowers and a little present. "The flowers are for you," he said, "the present is for the baby." Freida accepted the gifts gingerly. It was so much more ornate than the flowers he'd given her before. This was red roses, pink chrysanthemums and yellow and white lilies with green buds of flowers that had yet to bloom to tie everything together. "Can I walk you up to your apartment?" Tristan offered.

"Sure," Freida finally answered and he went upstairs to her unit until they made it to her front door. "Thank you for driving me back home."

"No problem," Tristan said. "I'll call you tomorrow to check on you okay? And if you need me to come over or bring you something, just let me know."

"I will," Freida promised. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome," Tristan smiled. "Have a good night, Freida."

"You too," she replied and stepped into her apartment closing the door behind her. She glanced around for a place to put everything down going first to her kitchen table. However it was still a mess from all her scrapbooking material and instead she put everything on her coffee table. She pulled off her purse and was about to get comfortable when there was a knock at her door. She went to answer and it was Tristan. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Tristan reassured. "I just realized I still had the baby's ultrasound pictures. I figured I should give those back to you." He handed those over to Freida which she accepted and she looked at them a moment. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" he said and was about to walk away.

"Tristan," Freida said and he stopped to look at her. She looked at the pictures a moment then tore one off handing it over to him. "I shouldn't be the only one who has a copy." Tristan accepted the copy Freida gave him and was staring at it absently.

"The nurse said the baby's the size of a seed right?"

"A poppy seed I think is what she said," Freida replied.

"That's crazy," he said, still staring at the picture. "You said you think it's a girl?"

"It's just a hunch," Freida said.

"You're probably right honestly," Tristan said. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and folded the little ultrasound photo so he could tuck it inside. "I'll have to make a copy of this and send it to my parents. They'll want to see their grandchild's first picture."

"Most definitely," Freida said. "And I'll talk to my parents and set up a time we can all meet again; start over."

"That'd be great," Tristan said and then added with a smile, "And think about what I said, okay? Worst that can happen is we wind up liking each other." Freida returned his smile and glanced at the floor briefly before looking at him again.

"I will," she said. "You sure there's nothing else?"

"No, that's it for now. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Tristan answered and started walking back down the hall to leave.

Freida returned into her unit and went to sit on her couch staring at the ultrasound pictures. Her tiny little baby; only the size of a seed. It was a girl. She didn't know if it was intuition or what but she knew in her heart it was a girl. She started to imagine what she might look like. Tristan had dark brown hair so naturally so would their daughter. Dark hair and features are dominant after all. She wondered if she'd have long hair or be a bald baby when she was born. She'd have long hair Freida soon determined. With Tristan's genetic makeup, it only made sense their daughter would be born ready for a Loreal commercial. She'd have Tristan's eyes too most certainly: dark brown, inviting eyes.

Freida shook her head when her thoughts started moving to Tristan. This was ridiculous. What happened was a mistake and trying to force it to be anything other than what it was didn't make any sense. Right or wrong, they'd slept together because she wanted to get back at her ex and her former friend. Even if they were going to have a baby, that didn't mean it was worth their time fabricating a deeper relationship between them. All she wanted was for him to be a good father to their child. Freida groaned and let her head fall back on her couch. She was getting agitated so she went to her kitchen table and began scrapbooking to help herself relax. Her first page she did that night was her usual taste: flowers, insects and general wildlife, cards she found especially pretty and magazine clippings that grabbed her attention. She was especially fond of fashion magazines because the men and women in them were often doing unique poses that made her collages look especially interesting. Not often, but sometimes she would even include little diary entries if there was something nice that happened. After finishing that page, she still felt a little on edge so she went to the next page in the large journal she had. She was about to go ahead with how she would normally create a collage but as she was applying a nice backdrop, she looked at the remaining ultrasound photos.

She looked at all her other materials and began working her magic, making the pictures the focal point then surrounding it with flowers, words cut from a magazine that seemed appropriate and anything else that paired well. She looked over her shoulder at the coffee table and saw the ribbon of the present and flowers Tristan got her only now remembering he'd presented that to her. She went to grab the box then took off the pretty white ribbon and cut it up so it could be glued into her journal bringing the entire collage together. She was quite proud of it once it was done. Then she returned her attention to the present, opening it and removing a tiny rattle that was yellow, blue and pink. It was so simple yet it was no less special; their baby's first toy. Then Freida looked at the stunning bouquet of flowers taking a break from her scrapbooking to get the flowers in a glass vase with water. While she was working on the flowers, her phone started ringing and she remembered she'd not called her parents after her appointment.

"Hello?" Freida said once she'd answered the phone.

"Freida, it's mom," Helen said. "How did things go? How's the baby doing?"

"Everything went well," Freida replied. "They were able to do an ultrasound and found the baby's heartbeat but the baby's still really small; about the size of a poppy seed they told me."

"So tiny," Helen said with an affectionate whimper. "Savor it, Freida – the baby won't be that small for long."

"I know," Freida said.

"Did the doctor say when you're due?"

"They said the baby's due around March 26th," Freida replied. "Is daddy at work?"

"Yes, he left an hour ago," Helen said. "We were hoping you'd call before he left but it was getting late."

"I'm sorry, mom, I got distracted," Freida said. "Tristan actually came to the ultrasound."

"Oh, thank God," Helen said. "Are you both back on speaking terms?"

"Yes," Freida said, "In fact he asked if I'd be willing to give a relationship with him a try."

A brief silence passed before Helen said, "Did he?"

"Trust me, I was just as taken by surprise," Freida said. "I told him if this is about what dad said to him that he doesn't have to worry about it but he swears that has nothing to do with it and he wants the baby to grow up in a loving home and to him, that means the two of us giving a relationship a try. I told him I'd think about it."

"Well," Helen responded thoughtfully, "Are you open to that sort of thing? Is there a reason you wouldn't want to give it a try?"

"I can think of a few," Freida replied with a small groan. "For starters, he's just stationed here. Even if he were to work something out where he stays here longer, that doesn't change he's going to go back to the US eventually. If he and I got married, he'd expect me and the baby to go back with him and I'd hardly see you guys."

"True," Helen lamented but then added, "of course, you have to ask yourself what's more important: your father and I being close or that child being with his or her father every day? I would argue being with their father is more important in the long run. Besides, your father and I hardly have any expenses with plenty of savings in the bank so it would be nothing for the two of us to hop on a plane and come visit."

"And is daddy in agreement with that sentiment?"

"He will once he's thought about it rationally and not with a knee jerk reaction," Helen said. "And truth be told, Freida, you've seemed rather down since the two of you argued."

"It's because I thought he was going to retract his promise of being in our baby's life," Freida said only the half-truth.

"I guess that brings me to my next question: do you truly dislike him or are you embarrassed about what happened?" Freida didn't reply but for Helen that was answer enough. "I had a feeling."

"How could I not be embarrassed? We got together because I was mad at Gunner and Emily," Freida answered. She had no intention of mentioning, so many weeks later, she still remembered that night with him vividly and even now it made her tremble. Despite how the night started for them, Tristan had made it a night to remember just like he'd promised he would. It was a shame he didn't remember it. It wasn't just about the sex, though. Something about him made her heart flutter and feel butterflies in her stomach. Instead of telling her mother all that, she said, "If I feel anything, it's just attraction."

"He is a handsome young man to be sure," Helen replied with a tiny laugh.

"He also comes from a family of vampires as it turns out," Freida said and that took her mother by surprise.

"You don't say," Helen said.

"Yeah," Freida said. "He also claims his father's family are…..fuck me – they're basically werewolves. They can turn into wolves so he says."

"That would explain the wet dog smell," Helen mumbled. "I take it he knows your father and I are vampires then?"

"Yes, he figured it out," Freida nodded.

"At least we don't have to bend over backwards trying to be normal around him."

"Silver lining about this whole situation I guess," Freida said.

"If you want my two cents, Freida, I say go on a few dates with him and see how it goes," Helen said. "I say it's better to try figuring this all out before the baby gets here. The last thing you two want to do is put that baby in the middle."

Freida sighed heavily and said, "I suppose it's worth a shot."

"Absolutely," Helen agreed, "and don't worry about your father. If he kicks up a fuss, I'll take care of him."

"Tristan does want to meet up again – start over," Freida said.

"Good, we should," Helen said. "We'll all meet at your apartment Saturday night and I'll make you two dinner."

"Do you even remember how to cook, mom?" Freida asked. "Not bake, I mean cook."

"Yes, I remember how to cook," Helen said firmly. "I swear, you and your father. Is there anything in particular you think he might like?"

"I don't know; what kind of food he likes hasn't really come up," Freida said.

"Tomorrow sounds as good a time as ever to ask," Helen replied. "Figure out what you'd both like for dinner and I'll take care of the rest."

"Alright mom, I'll let you know," Freida said. "Tell daddy I said hi and I'll be sure to show you guys the ultrasound pictures."

"Yes! Please do. We didn't have ultrasounds when I was pregnant with you – I never got that joy."

"You were pregnant for 2 weeks, mom – there wouldn't have been time even if the technology was available."

"I can assure you we could've fit something in," Helen insisted. "Anyway, we'll see you and Tristan on Saturday. Remember to find out what you both want for dinner."

"I will mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Freida," Helen answered and the two disconnected.

Meanwhile, Tristan returned to the base dropping off his commanding officer's Jeep and making his way back to the bunks. The guys were all going down for the night and a bunch were already asleep so Tristan's presence went largely unnoticed. He made it back to his bunk pulling out his wallet to grab the picture before plopping into his bed on the bottom bunk. He still couldn't wrap his brain around it. The size of a poppy seed, eh? She certainly wouldn't be that tiny for long. Even if it was just a hunch, now that Freida had voiced it Tristan decided it had to be true. Maybe it was weird for a guy, but he wanted a girl. She'd look just like her mother and be cute as a button. He started thinking about what her name would be. Would Freida be open to naming their daughter after his mother? If so, her name would be Amber Lynn. Amber for his mother, Lynn because he just really liked the name. If she insisted on her own mother's name, would she be open to Helynn?

What if she was wrong and they were having a boy? He thought 'Anatoli' but there were already two that he knew one of whom he'd found out recently was soon to be his brother-in-law. Not that he minded. He was thrilled with the news. Maybe Isaiah after his middle name? No, Tristan thought. Isaiah Black sounded like a name one might give a Quaker or something. 'John' came to mind but it was only because of Rambo so that was out. He didn't suspect Freida would be open to naming their son after an action hero. Not Freidrick or Fredrick either. Then everyone would call him Fred and that just made Tristan think of Scooby Doo.

"That you, Black?" Tristan's bunk mate above him asked.

"Nah, you just missed him," Tristan joked while his attention was on the picture. His bunk mate started moving around until he was able to hold his head down over his bed so he was staring at Tristan upside down.

"How'd it go?"

"We got to see the baby," Tristan said and presented the picture to his bunk mate. "Baby's the size of a poppy seed."

"We've all got to start somewhere," he said while looking at the picture. "Oh yeah, he looks just like you," he joked.

"Shut up," Tristan chuckled.

"I can see him in his own little Drunkards Cloak now," he continued.

"Stop," Tristan said, still laughing. "I got in a lot of trouble for that you asshole."

"But it was funny huh?" his bunk mate said with a big, shit eater grin.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny," Tristan finally agreed but returned his gaze to the picture. "You think I'll be a good dad?"

"Nope – you'll be terrible. Retched. The worst dad since Abraham to Isaac," his bunk mate said and Tristan gave him a mean look. "Dude, I'm kidding. You'll be fine. It's your first kid so it'll be a lot harder but by the second, it'll be a piece of cake. Me? When my ex-wife and I had our first kid, I was sure we were fucking her up for life. By the time our second daughter was born, we were pros. It just takes patience and practice and you'll be an expert in no time. What about….shit, what's her name? Freida?"

"Yes, Freida," Tristan said.

"Everything better between you and her?"

"Yeah," Tristan said. "I asked her to go on a date with me. I'm hoping she'll agree."

"You want to start going steady with her?"

"I'd like to. I just feel like it's worth a shot since we're expecting," Tristan said, not getting into any reasoning besides that.

"Take it from me, Tristan," his bunkmate said, "a baby together doesn't mean you belong together."

"Just because you and your ex didn't make it work doesn't mean Freida and I can't."

"Didn't say that," his bunkmate said, "but all I'm saying is don't get your hopes up is all I'm saying. Doesn't mean she's not a great gal or anything – Laura's a great mom but her and I just aren't meant to be together. We're better parents now that we've moved on from our relationship. Who knows: maybe the two of you will be better parents when you're apart."

"I feel like Freida and I owe it to our baby to at least try," Tristan insisted.

"No harm in trying," his bunkmate agreed. "Just don't be too proud to admit it's not working out if that's what's going on. That's all I'm saying."

"I appreciate the advice," Tristan finally said.

The next day when Tristan finished working for the day, he went straight to the admin office so he could call Freida to check in on her. When he called, she'd just barely returned to her apartment in time to answer the phone. As they were talking, Freida felt herself getting hungry and when she'd mentioned it, Tristan offered to run out and get her something. She was hesitant for a moment but did eventually accept. Tristan promised to be at her house in about an hour and, true to his word, he was knocking on her door within the hour. He was on his way to place the bag of food on the kitchen table but there was no room to place it anywhere.

"You can put the food on the coffee table," Freida said.

"What's all that on the table?" Tristan asked as he placed the food where Freida had told him.

"It's all my scrapbooking material," Freida said. "It helps me relax."

"I take it you've been scrapbooking a lot lately?"

"Yes, several pages a night," Freida answered, "unless I'm too tired." Tristan walked over to the kitchen table and asked if she minded if he looked at her work. She picked up the notebook that acted as her 'diary' and said he could look at all the other stuff while Freida took their food out of the bag.

"It's really pretty," Tristan eventually said. "This looks like it would be relaxing."

"It is," Freida said. "Papa tried to help me develop an interest in building model planes but I don't like all the tiny parts."

"Your dad builds model planes?"

"Yes," Freida said, "when he was young, he'd wanted to join the Luftwaffe but he was colorblind so he couldn't."

"Your dad's not still colorblind is he?"

"I don't think so," Freida said. "He said his vision is definitely different now than it was when he was human but for all we know, he still sees colors really weird."

"Yeah, if you're colorblind you can't fly a plane and, honestly, if you can't fly a plane then what's even the point of joining the Air Force?" Tristan said and Freida giggled a little.

"My dad's words exactly," she said. "Are you color blind?"

"No, my vision's normal," Tristan said. "In fact, when I enlisted and took the eye exam, they practically begged me to join the Air Force because my vision results were so good, but it just wasn't for me. I wanted to join the army."

"Do you ever regret choosing the army?" Freida asked offhandedly.

"Nope; best decision I ever made," he answered sincerely but didn't elaborate on why. "So anything interesting happen at work today?"

"No, today was dull and routine," Freida said. "Anything interesting happen to you?"

"Nothing special. But I did get a call from my mom a few days ago," Tristan said and then took a seat on the couch beside Freida. "My twin sister's engaged."

"Good for her," Freida said. "Have you met her new fiancé before?"

"Oh yeah, he and I grew up together. He's my best friend," Tristan said and unwrapped his sandwich. "I hadn't realized he was going to propose so soon but I knew it was coming."

"How long have they been dating?"

"It's been about 3 years," Tristan said. "Lee's a year older so he'd just started college and Lilli was finishing her senior year of high school. He flew back home to Washington for mine and Lilli's Senior prom and they've been together ever since."

"I take it a date won't be made official until they've graduated college? Or will they do a civil ceremony?"

"Mom said they haven't decided on a date but they are planning to wait until they can have a wedding," Tristan said. "Lee's set to go Pro in Hockey and I suspect he wants to wait until he's started making good money and can afford a big wedding." Tristan smiled and started chuckling a little. "I can already hear his dad: 'Why bother with all this? Who do you think you fucking are? The Czar?'" he said, mimicking Boris's Russian accent.

"Lee's Russian?"

"Yeah," Tristan said. "His parents are vampires and his sister's half. He's human, though, but that's a really long story."

"Is he adopted?"

"No, he's Boris and Illyana's biological son," Tristan said.

Then he went on to explain everything that happened: Boris and Illyana marrying before the war, how they'd lived in Stalingrad when it was under siege by the Nazis, how Illyana and Sergei were hanged, Boris living all those years mourning their loss and how Anatoli had brought Illyana and Sergei back only to find out Illyana had been pregnant at the time of her death with Lee. Freida listened intently, hardly able to believe what Tristan was telling her especially when he mentioned his brother Anatoli was a necromancer. That shocked her immensely. Then he went on to explain that Illyana became pregnant with their daughter and Boris changed her after Nadeshka was born in order to save her life.

"So their two eldest children are human and their daughter is a half breed?"

"Yes, exactly," Tristan said.

"Did Anatoli's father have a gift that might've alluded to what he'd be capable of?"

"We don't know. Anatoli never knew his father and mom doesn't know anything about him except what he looked like and he was an officer or something of that nature," Tristan said.

"What about your mother?"

"Mom doesn't have any unique power," Tristan said. "She was discovered to be durable with some favorably Aryan traits and that's all the Nazis needed."

"I suppose that would be all they needed," Freida mumbled.

"What about you or your parents? Do any of you have unique gifts?"

"No," Freida said. "We're just run of the mill vampires."

"Nothing wrong with that," Tristan smiled. "I almost forgot to ask: did you like the rattle?"

"I did," Freida smiled gently. "It was really cute."

"Good, I'm glad you liked it. Mom promised to bring us some things for the baby when she and dad come to visit. Fair warning: we might be getting a bunch of mine and my sister's old toys and clothes."

"The baby will be getting plenty of my old toys and clothes, so I wouldn't worry about it. It'll definitely be more than what my parents will pull out of storage though. Hell, if I'm wrong and it's a boy, my parents won't have anything for us to reuse. I was growing so far all I could ever wear for any extended length of time were dresses."

"I'm sure you're right about it being a girl," Tristan said. "I would never second guess mother's intuition."

"Supposedly, years ago when my mom's older cousin was pregnant, she was positive it was a boy and everyone took her word for it but when the baby was born, it was a girl. Mom says she even claimed the doctors had the wrong baby."

"I highly doubt it," Tristan chuckled. Finally, he said, "So Freida…..have you had a chance to think on what we talked about?"

"About us seeing each other you mean?" Freida asked and Tristan nodded. Freida sighed a little putting down her sandwich and sitting back against the couch while Tristan's gaze followed her waiting for a response. "This is a very bizarre situation."

"I don't know if 'bizarre' is the right word; I know it's a touch unconventional," Tristan replied, "but it is our situation all the same."

"Yes, it is," Freida said. "I have to be frank with you: I'm extremely embarrassed by this whole thing. My intent was to tell you Emily was cheating on you and watch her experience the consequences of her actions but instead, you and I slept together and now I'm pregnant. When I found out, I went to Gunner. He was the most reasonable suspect but what does he tell me? That he's had a vasectomy and there's no way he could be the father. So on top of this being an already extremely embarrassing situation as it is, I now have the added benefit of my ex almost certainly laughing at me."

"To hell with Gunner," Tristan said. "As for Emily, take it from me: Emily was a cheap floosy."

"Cheap floosy or not, she's not the one pregnant out of wedlock," Freida said. "You and I slept together to get back at her and Gunner and at this point, the only ones laughing are them."

"Freida, I don't give a shit if Emily's 'laughing' or not. She can laugh all she fucking wants and so can Gunner for that matter."

"That's easy for you to say," Freida muttered. "You don't have to live with the embarrassment of this whole situation."

"Are you kidding?" Tristan demanded, beginning to raise his voice but he managed to catch himself and took a deep breath. "Freida, my mother's furious with me right now. My mother's furious, my dad's just relieved I didn't somehow manage to start World War III or something and my siblings seem to have just resigned themselves to thinking this whole situation 'sounds like something I'd do'. Trust me, there's plenty for me to be embarrassed about. Just because I'm not the one actually carrying it doesn't mean I haven't had my fair share of shame thrown at me."

"The difference is you can walk away. I can't," Freida said. "I can't even entertain adoption because for all I know, this baby could be like me."

"So you think I'm going to walk out on you? Is that it?" Freida's shoulders slumped a little and she stared at the floor weakly nodding her head. "Freida, I already told you I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well, Gunner said he loved me and swore he was faithful to me, yet here we are," she spat back.

"So I'm being punished for that asshole's mistake; got it," Tristan blurted out, getting agitated. "Look, I.." he began but he stopped himself. 'I love you' was not going to go over well right now. Instead he said after a brief pause, "Gunner's a dick, alright? I get you being hesitant and I'm not trying to be insensitive to what you've been through with him."

"You just want the opportunity to prove you're better; is that it?"

"Don't get snarky," Tristan said as calmly as he could manage. "Let's just drop it. We're not getting anywhere right now." Tristan turned his attention to his sandwich and the two of them proceeded to eat in silence. Of course, he couldn't stand leaving the conversation like that so, several minutes after saying to drop it, he said, "I really do get where you're coming from."

"Do you?"

"I do," Tristan assured, "but I want you to get where I'm coming from too. I realize under the circumstances it's a tall order, but I don't want to be compared to your ex. And while I realize you said this in a snarky way, I do want a chance to prove that I wouldn't do that to you. Scout's honor: if I'm ever unfaithful to you, you have my full support in bitch slapping me into the English Channel."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Get me a pen and paper and consider it done," Tristan said and this time, Freida smiled and rolled her eyes a little. "I'm serious. If it'll make you feel better, I'll write it down and sign my name."

"I was being facetious," Freida said.

"I wasn't," Tristan insisted. "I'll level with you Freida: I like you. All bullshit aside, after we met at the party, the fact I couldn't remember your name and didn't know how to find you drove me insane."

"So when I call you, your first instinct was to insinuate I'm a whore and you can't possibly be the father?"

"I wasn't thinking straight," Tristan defended. "I had hoped…I guess assumed…never mind. The point is I didn't realize you were the same woman I'd met at the party. I thought you might have been someone else."

"Oh my God," Freida sighed heavily.

"When I realized you were the same woman I'd met at the party, I wanted to make things right with you."

"So if I hadn't been the same woman from the party, you wouldn't have bothered making things right with me?"

God damn it, Tristan thought. "Okay, just forget I said anything," he said but then almost immediately, he added, "You know what, no. I admit it: I don't know what I would've done but it's a moot point."

"This entire discussion is a moot point," Freida said. "You're asking me to start a relationship with you for the sake of a baby-"

"That's a damn good reason if you ask me."

"Tristan, I am not marrying you only to get a divorce once this child's 18."

"That's just a stupid suggestion your dad made – I never even alluded to that. When you walk down that aisle, it'll be for the long haul!"

"'When' I walk down the aisle?" Freida demanded.

"Yeah, 'when'," Tristan added but he realized, once again, he let his temper and big mouth get the better of him and Freida was clearly pissed.

"You need to leave," she said.

"Not like this," Tristan said.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not leaving after we've had an argument. Last time that happened, I almost missed my child's first ultrasound," Tristan said.

"I didn't actually mean you weren't allowed to come," Freida said in a muted, guilty sounded tone.

"Sure you did otherwise you wouldn't be surprised to see me there," Tristan said and then added in an exasperated tone, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry this whole situation has made you feel embarrassed. I realize anything I'm going through isn't a fraction of what you're going through but I don't want you to think I feel obligated to be with you for our child. I really do just like you." Freida didn't respond to him but she at least appeared to be calming down. He decided to change the subject and asked, "What do you think of Amber Lynn?"

"Who?"

"As a name I mean," Tristan said. "My mom's name is Amber. Lynn's just a pretty name in my opinion. So Amber Lynn."

"Its…..It's pretty," she finally said though it took her a moment to get back into the discussion after such a random curveball. "Lynn was actually my paternal grandmother's name."

"No shit?"

"No shit," she replied. "Lynn Müller Hoffman. Grandpa was Wilhelm Hoffman."

"We can't do Wilhelm for a boy – my nephew's name is William."

"Right," Freida replied absently. "My maternal grandfather's name was Maximillian Becker. Maternal grandmother was Emilia Becker."

"Maximillian," Tristan repeated then smiled. "I like it. It's a big name to grow into. What would his middle name be?"

"Does he have to have a middle name?"

"Of course he or she needs a middle name. All of us do," Tristan said. "What about Maximillian Levi? Levi was my grandpa's name and it's my older brother's name."

"Eh," Freida was clearly not sold. "I'd rather Maximillian Wilhelm."

"Hey, you get one name and I get a name. It's only fair. What about Maximillian Kevin?"

Freida shook her head, "It doesn't go together. I like Maximillian Freidrick."

"Nope. Can't do Freidrick."

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me think of Young Frankenstein. He'll just wind up being Frodrick."

"That's stupid," Freida muttered.

"Of course it is – that's the point of a comedy." Freida seemed like she was about to say something in irritation but thought the better of it.

"Can it just be my last name? Maximillian Hoffman Black?"

"So long as we aren't hyphening it or something."

"They'll be firmly separate," Freida promised.

"Good. So a girl will be Amber Lynn Black and a boy will be Maximillian Hoffman Black. Agreed?" Tristan asked and offered his hand. She smiled a little and accepted to shake his hand.

"Agreed," she replied.

However once Tristan was holding her hand, she didn't want to let go. Neither did Tristan for that matter. She looked into his eyes – brown with an affectionate gaze. It made her heart race. Any rational objections or feelings of shame and embarrassment at their situation melted away. She licked her lips a little. They felt so dry suddenly. Tristan's eyes darted to her lips then returned his gaze to her own. Freida trembled all over and a sensual ache was building within her. From that instant on, Tristan was acting on instinct. He sensed the longing radiate off her body and the look in those breathtaking blue eyes was all he needed.

Tristan leaned forward rather suddenly, pulling her forward the rest of the way, and pressed a kiss to her lips. With this kiss, memories of that night finally started coming back to him. In retrospect, it was a miracle he'd been able to show her even a fraction of a decent time that night but he resolved to show her an even better time now that he was actually sober. Freida was briefly surprised by Tristan pulling her to him but once their lips met, she just fell right into the kiss. He tasted so much better than she remembered. Before, he'd tasted like toothpaste and beer. Now he just tasted like him. He smelled like himself and tasted like himself. Tristan guided Freida's hand over his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist to bring her closer. Freida wrapped her arms around Tristan's neck falling back onto the couch lost in their kiss.

Tristan trailed his hands down her body to her hips then grabbing a hold of her legs to bring them up around his waist. Once their hips were pressed against one another, Tristan thrust his hips against hers in a gentle but firm rhythm bringing one hand up to press against the arm of the couch so he had more control. Freida's body responded to his lifting her hips against his to increase the pleasure. She quickly realized, though, that she'd gotten distracted and needed to put a stop to this. She'd gotten swept up in the heat of the moment. She tore her lips from his and at first Tristan started kissing her cheek making his way to her neck. She trembled and nearly allowed herself to become lost yet again but she maintained control and brought her hands to his chest, forcing Tristan back. He stopped but when he did, he was dazed and confused.

"What? What did I do?" Tristan asked. Freida pushed Tristan off her so she could escape the couch and start pacing.

"This is going way too fast," Freida mumbled. For a moment, Tristan was at a total loss but he quickly composed himself and sat up straight on the couch. "Saturday."

"What about Saturday?" Tristan asked, confused.

"Mom's making dinner and you're coming to my place Saturday. Remember?"

"I remember but what brought that up at a time like this," Tristan said.

"I'm saying don't forget to come here Saturday for dinner with my parents. I'll tell my dad the same but no mention of his previous military career. Also, I have no idea what to tell her so you pick: what are we having for dinner that day?"

"I…" Tristan was extremely confused. One moment they were agreeing on names for their baby then making out on her couch then the next she's pushing him off her and talking about Saturday completely out of the blue. "I mean….what does your mom like cooking? Does she even know how to cook?"

"Yes, she knows how to cook," Freida said.

"Anything with pork is fine I guess." At his answer, Freida gently shook her head with confusion.

"I thought you were Jewish," Freida said.

"I am."

"Then why are you eating pork?"

"I never said I was Kosher, Freida," Tristan said. She still looked extremely confused so he took advantage of the silence to stand up from the couch and say, "Is something wrong? We were having a moment on the couch and suddenly you're pushing me away and talking about Saturday with your parents."

"Everything's fine," Freida insisted. "I'll just tell my mom to make a roast chicken and be done with it. I'll ask mom to make a dessert too. Any preferences I can send her way?"

"Whatever she wants to make; she's the pastry chef," Tristan said. "Seriously, Freida, what's wrong? And don't tell me 'nothing'; I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were," Freida defended.

"Then can you please tell me what's wrong? If I did something, then say so and I won't ever do it again." Freida was about to tell him again that nothing was wrong but she realized Tristan looked genuinely concerned so she decided to just be honest with him.

"We both got lost for a moment," Freida said. "I haven't decided on anything yet so I don't want," Freida paused awkwardly for a moment then shook her head a little before saying, "No kissing. No kissing, no fondling, no thrusting on me: no sex. We can hug and once I start showing you can touch my belly but that's it."

"Okay," Tristan said with a reassuring nod, "We can do that. If I'm ever making you uncomfortable, just tell me and whatever we're doing or whatever I'm doing stops. Scout's honor." For added affect, Tristan lifted his left hand and placed his hand over his heart.

"Okay," Freida responded. "And please, no further discussion about us being together. If I want us to start a romantic relationship, then I'll tell you."

Tristan's smile became hopeful and he said, "So it's not totally off the table?"

"If you want to look at it that way than no, it's not totally off the table," Freida replied with just a hint of a blush though she was trying to make herself appear annoyed.

Tristan stayed at Freida's apartment another hour finishing his sandwich before she finally kicked him out citing she was really tired. Once Tristan left and she'd finished brushing her teeth, Freida plopped into bed forgetting to set her alarm and went right to sleep. Thankfully she was up in time to get to work however the issue was she woke up at 5 in the morning still feeling exhausted and sick to her stomach. She was very nearly late to work anyway from being stuck in the bathroom dry heaving until her stomach had somehow finally settled enough that she could stand. It was maddening! On a rare occasion something would actually come up but most of the time is was just dry heaving or phlegm which she could not for the life of her figure out what was producing it.

Tristan didn't come to her apartment the rest of the week although it wasn't for lack of desire to. He called her every day to make sure she was doing alright and would offer to bring her something but she always told him no. She admitted she just wanted to try getting to sleep as early as possible so there might be a hope she could feel well rested the next day but it never seemed to work. One day she returned home from work and went right to bed. She answered Tristan's call that night but only told him she was sleeping and to please leave her be until tomorrow and she returned to sleep near instantly. She woke the next morning at 5:30 a.m. on the dot – 12 hours almost exactly – and she was STILL tired. She felt really woozy that morning but thankfully she'd managed to get herself ready without any dry heaving. On top of that, she was hungry. She still struggled with that sensation. Her entire life, her 'hunger' was always thirst and it was as simple as drinking a pint or two of blood and she was good for the rest of the month. Now she would feel hunger several times a day and sometimes the sensation would make her feel sick to her stomach which never helped.

That morning, Freida decided to go to a bakery before work. The bakery her mother worked at was a little out of the way but Freida didn't care. Her mother would still be there and she wanted to visit with her really quick before going to work. The line at the bakery was insane. There was a line forming out the door and she knew if she waited in this line she'd be extremely late to work. So Freida went around to the back entrance of the bakery and knocked. The door said 'Nur Mitarbeiterzugang' (Employee Entrance Only) but Freida let herself in. The staff already knew who she was anyway. When she stepped in, one of the bakers was walking past with a tray of buns about to be put in the oven. It seemed like he was about to tell her she wasn't supposed to be back there but he quickly realized who she was.

"Ah, Freida – I almost didn't recognize you. Are you looking for Helen?"

"Yes; is she available?"

"I'm back here, Freida," Helen called out to her from another part of the bakery.

"Woman could hear a mouse fart in Switzerland I swear," the baker mumbled and walked away with the tray while Freida looked for her mom. Helen was pouring ingredients into a giant stand mixer with several recipes above it that were framed but she already had all those recipes memorized. Right now, she was making the dough for donuts.

"Morning Freida," Helen said, "is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," Freida said. "I'm really hungry so I thought I'd stop by and get something but then I saw that line."

"I taught you better than to cut in line," Helen teased with a smile. "I'll get you something once I have everything in the mixer. Was there anything in particular you wanted?"

"I wouldn't know – so surprise me," Freida replied and watched her mother work.

There were other bakers so her mother worked at normal speed although she always took advantage of the early mornings to work faster when there were fewer employees. Helen turned on the mixer once everything was poured in and then went up front to grab a pastry from the back of the display then brought it to Freida in a little bag.

"It's a donut with a Bavarian Cream filling," Helen said. "Would you like me to bring you lunch at work later?"

"Mom, you don't have to; I'm not in primary school," Freida said with an embarrassed tone in her voice.

"Oh Freida, don't be embarrassed," Helen said. "I'll make you something healthy. We can experiment and figure out what you like but unless something's making you sick I want you to finish it even if you don't like it. If I've made it for you, it's at least good for you and the baby."

"Shh," Freida shushed harshly and glanced at another baker in the room but they didn't appear to hear. "Mom, please. I don't want anyone knowing. Not now at least."

"Alright, I'll be quiet," Helen said. "Don't worry: I haven't told anyone here."

"Good," Freida said. "How much do I owe you for the donut?"

"Don't worry about it, Freida."

"I will worry about it mom. How much do I owe you?"

Helen sighed a little but was still smiling. "3.85 Deutsche Marks for the donut."

"Okay, thank you mom," Freida said and reached into her purse to get the money and handed it over to Helen. "I promise, I won't make a habit of this. I've never heard of people feeling sick if they're hungry but leave it to me to have weird reactions to new things."

"It's not so weird as you think. When I was hu-" Helen stopped and checked again to see if the other baker was listening but just to be safe, instead she said, "When I was your age, if I went too long without eating something, I'd feel like I had to throw up. If I was in a car and hungry it was even worse. So trust me, Freida, it's pretty normal."

"At least I'm not too much of a basket case," Freida said. "Thank you for the donut mom. I'll talk to you later."

"Have a good day at work, Freida," Helen said and gave Freida a kiss on the cheek before sending her off.

Freida barely managed to make it to work on time but once she was at her desk, she scarfed down the donut in no time before getting herself into her work. Freida felt a little better in the morning at first but she quickly started to feel really tired again. She had half a mind to make herself coffee for the first time in an effort to keep herself awake but she resisted the urge. She and the other people in her department had a meeting that morning to go over a new policy that was being imposed in light of the recent incident where the customer had given them a bad check and police needing to get involved so when it was time, they all went into a conference room together with pens and notepads and they started once all parties were in the room including the financing team and the sales team. The instant Freida was in that comfy chair in the executive conference room, she was struggling to stay awake.

"Good morning everyone," Freida's boss said once both teams were there and the door was closed. "Thank you for joining me today. George, thank you for making yourself and your team available for this. As you're all aware, not too long ago a car was sold to a man that gave us a bounced check and the whole situation ended up causing the police to be involved. That investigation is presently still ongoing but we need to reiterate our current policies as well as go over a new policy, effective immediately."

"If I may briefly interject, Jonas: everyone rest assured no one's in trouble," said George. "This was simply an extremely unusual set of circumstances and we're trying to make sure this doesn't become an issue again in the future." Jonas was, meanwhile, glancing at his notes while George gave everyone his reassurances but once that was done, Jonas went right into it. This whole situation had left him fuming for all their time and effort it had wasted.

"To begin with, moving forward, we will no longer be accepting checks," Jonas jumped right in. "We will only accept either card or Cashier's Checks." One of Freida's teammates raised his hand. "Yes, Luka?"

"Just to verify, sir, we're not to accept checks even if they come directly from the consumer's insurance company?"

"Correct," Jonas said. "The consumer is to deposit that check on their own and come in with a Cashier's Check or they need to pay with card."

"What if the Credit Card doesn't go through?"

"Then they don't leave the lot with a car," Jonas said bluntly.

"The machine will tell you if the card's been denied," Yasmine, Freida's coworker, said to the guy who'd asked the question. He was relatively new to the team and was also very new to the corporate world in general.

"Exactly," Jonas said.

"But won't this new policy negatively impact sales?" someone from George's team inquired. "It's already difficult for a majority of people to afford purchasing a luxury car – now we're actively preventing a method of payment."

"Seeing as we received none of that money anyway and now have a 'used' Mercedes-Benz we need to sell at decreased value after spending hundreds of Deutsche Marks on inspections and repairs, I'd say that's a risk we should all be willing to take," Jonas answered.

Jonas continued on with the change that was made to a pre-existing policy but Freida continued to struggle. Her eyelids were unbearably heavy and she simply couldn't focus but she was trying so hard. She didn't notice when a few of her coworkers noticed she was falling asleep and looked at one another not sure what to do. George was the next to notice and he wasn't pleased when he did.

"Jonas," George said, interrupting Jonas's train of thought and pointed at Freida.

"Freida," Jonas said and hearing her voice startled her awake.

"Yes sir?" Freida asked.

"I need you to stay awake please," Jonas said but it wasn't with as much authority as George was expecting or hoped for.

"My apologies, sir," Freida replied.

"I know you think this is boring, but it's actually quite important," George said in a frustrated tone.

"Leave her be, George. She's sleeping for two," Jonas said without thinking and just like that, everyone in the conference room was staring at her. George's team smiled pleasantly at her and offered their impromptu congratulations while Jonas's team, who knew Freida wasn't married, stared at her surprised and Freida was simply mortified. Jonas realized he'd just spilled the beans and was visibly embarrassed though it did not compare to Freida's present embarrassment.

"My apologies, Freida. I was not aware you're pregnant," George said pleasantly, feeling guilty for giving her a hard time.

"You're pregnant?" Yasmine asked Freida in a whisper.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand, everyone," Jonas said and made everyone return their attention to the new policy. Freida managed to stay awake the rest of the meeting but she was barely listening. She felt like all her coworkers were staring at her. "Freida, can you stay behind for a minute?" Jonas asked as everyone was leaving after the meeting. Freida stayed behind and he closed the door once they had the room to themselves. "I'm sorry about earlier," Jonas said. "I didn't mean to let it slip you're pregnant."

"It was bound to come out eventually I guess. No point in getting mad about it at this point," Freida said. "I'm sorry I was dozing off earlier."

"It's alright. My wife was the same way when she was pregnant so I get it," Jonas said. "Don't let anyone's reaction bother you. It's no one's business. If anyone starts giving you problems let me know and I'll shut it down."

"Okay," was all Freida could say.

The remainder of the work day was extremely awkward. Some of her coworkers moved on from that morning's revelation rather effortlessly but there were some who either felt like they should say something but didn't know what and others who were silently judging Freida for being an unwed mother. Her coworker Yasmine was the first to actually say anything to her and it was to tell her congratulations for starters and then to ask when she was due, what were the plans for the baby shower, had she decided on a name – mercifully, the question "Who's the father?" never came out of her mouth. The work day could not end fast enough and Freida rushed back home as though it would undo the whole day. Not long after she got home, her phone started ringing as if on cue and when she went to answer it, the last voice she thought she needed came through the receiver.

"Hey Freida," Tristan said.

"Afternoon, Tristan," Freida replied. She took a deep breath and grabbed at one of her dining chairs pulling it closer to the wall so she could sit as she talked to Tristan. "How has your day been?"

"I finally had a chance to fax my parents a copy of the ultrasound," Tristan announced. "I spoke with my parents this morning and they confirmed they got it."

"Are they still upset with you or have they cooled off?"

"Mom's still aggravated with me but she's happy about the baby," Tristan said. "Honestly, so far my big sister's only given her one grandchild and has no intention of having more kids, my big brother Anatoli and his wife have no desire to have kids, Lilliana and Lee aren't planning to have kids for a while and my brother Levi and his wife keep saying they'll have kids eventually but 'life keeps happening' as my brother says it and it still hasn't happened."

"So you're the only one giving her a grandchild in quite a while?" Freida smiled.

"Yeah," Tristan said, "of course now it's 'you couldn't have had a baby with a local girl?' At least that's what I imagine she's thinking. Enough about me, though. How was your day? How're you feeling?"

"My boss let it slip I'm pregnant," Freida said in an irritated mumble. "I was falling asleep during a meeting and the Sales Department Supervisor got mad at me but my boss told him I was 'sleeping for 2' and to leave me be."

Tristan chuckled just a little, "I like that. 'Sleeping for two'."

"I can assure you, Tristan, it's not at all a good thing."

"No, I know – I'm just saying I like the phrase 'sleeping for 2'. No one's treating you different or anything are they?"

"Not to my face," Freida said. "The only one who's really talked to me about it afterwards was my coworker Yasmine. She's really sweet but I feel like she's trying to force pleasantries."

"Or maybe she's genuinely trying to be supportive," Tristan said, giving Yasmine the benefit of the doubt. "But she's the only one who's talked to you about it?"

"Yeah," Freida said. "I can feel Sonja's judging gaze on me," she muttered.

"Who's Sonja?"

"She's this older woman in the department. And I mean old. She's certainly no one to judge me, though. If she ever says anything, I'll just ask her how her Aryan baby is doing and that'll shut her right up," Freida replied in a hostile tone.

"I'm sorry, Freida, you lost me," Tristan said.

"Okay, do not ask me how she found this out – I haven't the vaguest idea – but Yasmine found out Sonja had a baby back in '38 through the Lebensborn program. As to whether Sonja had this baby intentionally for the perpetuation of the master race or if she was an unwed mother that needed a place to drop off her unwanted baby, that I don't know. Point is, she's no one to judge."

"Sometimes, Freida, the ones who have no place to be judgmental are the judgiest of all," Tristan said. "I take it going to bed earlier hasn't helped with the drowsiness?"

"No," Freida said. "I think it just got worse."

"Drowsiness may just be your new normal for a while," Tristan replied sympathetically. "You still planning to go to bed early? I can bring you something if you're hungry."

"That's alright; I'm fine. I've got a few things in the fridge I can whip together. Mom's telling me she's going to start making me lunch and dinner to make sure I'm eating healthy."

"Not a bad idea," Tristan said. "That deli's really good but it's not the same as something cooked at home. Take it from a guy who hasn't enjoyed his mom's home cooking since last he visited during Hanukah and Christmas."

"So you celebrate Christmas too?"

"Well yeah. My dad's Catholic and the rest of the family's Catholic or some Christian denomination. Honestly, the only other family members who aren't Catholic are my cousin Jaedynn's husband Roshad and their kids but they still celebrate. And honestly, my dad jokingly calls himself a Stormy Weather Catholic so he's not super serious on his end anyway."

"So if I were to tell you I don't want to raise our child in a religion, you'd be alright with that?"

"Of course," Tristan reassured. "I'm hardly religious and mom's not pushy about it either. I might still want to do some sort of coming of age party for the baby once he or she's 13 but it can just be a big birthday party. Doesn't have to be anything grandiose."

"Did you and your siblings have 'grandiose'…what are they called again?"

"Bar and Bot Mitzvahs. Bar is for boys, Bot is for girls. And yes, we had some pretty nutso parties. My dad actually managed to get Frank Sinatra to sing at my big sister Heather's Bot Mitzvah. One of dad's clients owed him a big favor I guess and he just so happened to be good friends with Sinatra."

"Sinatra was a jazz singer or something, right?"

"Yeah, he was," Tristan said. "Lilli and I didn't have a famous singer at our Mitzvah but we did get to come to France and Germany as our birthday trip. Anyway, I don't know how crazy our baby's Mitzvah can be but I'll put together something special for them."

"We can worry about that later," Freida said. "I want to enjoy the early years before we start worrying about their 13th birthday."

Tristan smiled, "We'll still enjoy the early years, don't worry." Freida smiled on her end of the line and after a moment, Tristan said, "Are you sure you don't want me to bring you something? Or I can come over and make you something."

"You know how to cook?"

"I can make you something edible," Tristan offered and Freida giggled.

"I'll pass but thank you for offering. I'll make myself something," Freida said. "Speaking of, I'd better start working on that so I don't get to bed too late."

"Alright, I'll let you go then. I'll talk to you tomorrow Freida."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Freida said and they ended their call.

In spite of its brevity, Freida felt a lot better after talking to Tristan even if she didn't want to admit it to herself. She made herself something from what her mother had bought and put in her fridge and then went right to bed. The remainder of the week, things were still rather awkward for her at work. A few of Freida's younger coworkers were becoming less frosty with Freida thanks to Yasmine and one of her coworkers, Linda, had even suggested throwing an office baby shower for Freida.

"So are you and the baby's father engaged?" one of her coworkers asked while they were all taking a lunch break. "What's his name?" Freida hesitated but did eventually answer.

"No, we're not engaged but he is really excited. If we have a girl, we want to name her Amber Lynn and if it's a boy, Maximillian."

"I swear I've heard the name Amber Lynn before," one coworker mumbled thoughtfully but it was on the tip of her tongue.

"His mother's name is Amber and one of my grandmothers was named Lynn," Freida explained.

"Maximillian's a good name," another coworker said. "Is that the father's name? I beg you, do not make this poor child a 'junior'. This child and his father will be getting each other's mail until the end of time."

"So long as father and son live in the same city, it's really not that big a deal," Linda said. "My little brother is a junior and if he or daddy get each other's mail, they just switch it when we all meet to have dinner together."

"He won't be a junior if it's a boy," Frieda clarified, breaking up the argument.

"What is your boyfriend's name? It's Gunner isn't it?" Yasmine asked, vaguely remembering Freida mentioning Gunner off hand some time ago.

"No, Gunner and I broke up some time ago," Freida said, keeping it vague. It was bad enough everyone knew she was pregnant and unmarried. She didn't need the ladies knowing she was pregnant and unwed by a man she'd slept with once in an act of petty payback. "His name is Tristan, actually. We met at a party a few months ago."

"Tristan? Is he French?"

"No, he's an American," Freida said. "He's a Corporal." There was a sigh from Sonja who was standing at the vending machine.

"I remember when I fancied myself in love with a soldier," Sonja said. "Henrick Litz was his name. But it wasn't meant to be."

"What's he like?" Yasmine asked, the ladies quickly ignoring Sonja's input.

"Um," Freida was at a loss of where to start. Not necessarily because she didn't know very much about him but more because she couldn't describe what little she did know about him without blushing and with a flame of affection. "He has brown hair and brown eyes. He's pretty tall. He joined the army right out of high school. He's got a twin sister, an older sister and two older brothers."

"Yeah, that's great, but what is he like?" Linda pressed impatiently.

Now Freida really wasn't sure what to say except, "He's a little rough around the edges." All her coworkers were staring at her on the edge of their seats, so she continued. "But he's got a good heart I guess."

"He's got a good heart 'you guess'?" Sonja asked indignantly.

"Shh, let her talk," Yasmine shushed Sonja waving her hand at her but still looking at Freida.

"He…um," Freida paused again trying to think what else she could say. "He has a really nice smile."

"The kind of smile that makes you weak at the knees?" another coworker asked with daydreamy eyes. Sonja mumbled, "Oh Lord," and walked out of the lunch room leaving the other ladies relieved at her absence.

"Yeah," Freida admitted bashfully, "that kind of smile."

"What else?" that same coworker pressed. "How's he been since you told him you're pregnant? Has he taken good care of you?" Freida almost laughed at the woman's question.

"He's been extremely attentive," Freida said. "He was really shocked at first but once we'd both gotten used to the idea and had a chance to really talk, he's been there for me any time I've needed him."

"He sounds like a great guy," Linda swooned. "Have you introduced him to your parents? Have you met his parents?"

"No," Freida said, half lying and half telling the truth. "He's working on setting a date for his parents to visit Germany so I can meet them and he meets my parents Saturday."

"Were they mad when they found out?" one of her coworkers asked.

"What a stupid question; of course they were mad!" another coworker interjected.

"Excuse me, I was asking Freida," she responded back.

"Let's change the subject," Yasmine said and returned her attention to Freida but then a thought seemed to occur to her. "You said he's American? How long is he in West Berlin?"

"I don't know," Freida said. "He said given the circumstances he can make West Berlin his main hub but that doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't be shipped off somewhere as needed."

"Oh God," Yasmine said nervously.

"Don't say it that way," Linda scolded Yasmine. "I know you said you two aren't engaged but do you think he'll propose?" Freida only shrugged but she knew if Tristan got even a whiff of an inkling she'd accept, he'd propose in a heartbeat. "Well, if he has any decency and sense of responsibility, he'll propose. You can count on it," Linda said encouragingly and all the other ladies nodded their hopeful affirmations.

When their lunch hour was over, Freida rushed back to her desk to get back to work. Her cheeks were still burning from the conversations he'd had with her coworkers. She started getting more anxious than before about Tristan and her parents meeting again. What if this time was just as explosive as the last? What if she was put in a situation where the father of her child and her parents simply wouldn't get along? Perhaps if she and Tristan were on bad terms too, it wouldn't make her so anxious but her feelings for Tristan were complicated.

She ended up taking much longer to get back home than she normally would. She had a lot of thinking she needed to do. If she were being totally and completely honest with herself, she liked Tristan. She liked him a lot in fact. Their first reconnection aside, he'd bent over backwards to be there for her so far. Maybe it was too soon to start issuing praise but the complete 180 from his attitude when she told him compared to when they'd met up and started working things out made Freida think otherwise. She kept thinking of reasons why they shouldn't be together but each rational opposition was opposed in her brain by Tristan's attentiveness to her, his genuine efforts to make things right with her and be there for her and their child – but her kryptonite was his smile. When Tristan smiled at her she felt as though it were speaking to her soul.

When Freida finally returned home, there was a message on her phone from Tristan. He sounded worried that she hadn't answered and requested she call him back as soon as she was home so he'd know she was alright. She started dialing the callback number just planning to talk to him the way they normally did. She even pulled a chair to the wall so she could be comfortable while they talked. Klaudia answered and the two briefly exchanged pleasantries before she confirmed she'd get Tristan to answer the phone. It took a few minutes for Tristan to answer and while Freida was on hold, her eyes darted to the rattle he'd bought for their baby and the site of it warmed her heart.

"Freida?" Tristan's voice sounded after the hold music abruptly ended and it started Freida. "How're you doing? Did you get held up at work?"

"Are you hungry?" Freida asked, ignoring his questions entirely.

"Yeah," Tristan eventually said after a brief stunned silence, "I was about to eat at the mess hall but I can go get us something and bring it over it you want."

"Why don't we go out somewhere?" Freida suggested.

"Yeah," Tristan said quickly and then his smile broadened, "Yeah, let's go somewhere. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

"There's a Bistro a few blocks away from my apartment we can go to," Freida said. "Have you ever had French food?"

"Only whatever mom would make from Julia Child's book," Tristan said. "Although mom always made Coq au Vin Blanc. She made it with red wine like the recipe calls for once and we all agreed the red wine was overpowering the chicken. After that, she made it with white wine and cream and it's been a favorite since."

"Maybe there's still time for me to tell mom to make that for dinner tomorrow. She loves French cooking," Freida said.

"That'd be amazing," Tristan said, "But anyway – dinner tonight. I just need to get permission to take the Jeep and I'll pick you up."

"Alright," Freida said. "I'll be waiting."

They disconnected and Freida went to get changed into something more comfortable: just jeans and a sweater. Normally about this time she'd be really tired and while she was a little tired, the jittery feeling she was getting was enough to keep her awake. It took Tristan a while to come by but once he had, he knocked at her door and Freida went to answer it, quickly grabbing her purse as she did so. When she opened the door, Tristan was standing there and smiled at her when their eyes met.

"You ready to get going?" Tristan asked when she was standing in the doorway for a prolonged moment.

"Ja," Freida finally said and closed the door behind her locking it before following Tristan downstairs.

He was about to get into the jeep but Freida told him it would be faster if they just walked and she led the way through the streets until they reached the restaurant a few blocks away. When they arrived, it was definitely busy but they were able to get a seat towards the back. The walls were plastered with French paraphernalia and the wall they were seated against was a large painting of the Eifel Tower and the surrounding area.

"Lilli really liked Paris when we went for our Mitzvah," Tristan said offhandedly once they'd been seated. "Honestly, I just wanted to come to Berlin."

"Mom says Paris is lovely," Freida said. "I confess, I would love to go one day."

"Just let me know when you and your parents are ready and we'll take a long weekend there," Tristan said, "That way I can let my parents know and they can make the arrangements."

"Ah yes, you'd mentioned your mother didn't want to meet in Germany," Freida recollected. "Your mother's French isn't she?"

"We assume mom's French and German. She was born in Chateau Thierry."

"So a town on the Western Front," Freida nodded in acknowledgement. A waiter came by with bread and asked if they could get Tristan and Freida anything to drink. They both said just water was fine and the waiter confirmed he'd give them a chance to look at the menu and come back in a few minutes.

"You were born in West Berlin right?" Tristan asked and Freida nodded. "Are your paternal and maternal grandparents here? Do they know about your parents?"

"My father's parents died during the war," Freida said. "Mom's parents moved to Hamburg a few years ago but they're alive and well."

"Do you ever visit them?"

"They usually visit us in West Berlin," Freida said.

"And what about your parents being vampires and you a half breed? Do they know about it?"

"No," Freida said. "They think I have a rare medical condition."

"That's a reliable excuse," Tristan said. "I think my grandparents used the same excuse for my mom."

"Are your grandparents still alive? I know you said your dad's parents are half breeds but what about your mom's parents?"

"Only my grandma is a half breed," Tristan said. "My dad's a wolf but as long as he keeps hold of his wolf spirit he's immortal. My mom's parents were human but they passed away years ago."

"I'm sorry," Freida said. "It wasn't in the camps though, right?"

"No, they died years after," Tristan said. "My Grandpa Levi died of a heart attack while he was playing with me and Lilli in the backyard." Tristan went quiet as he thought back to that day. "I didn't get what was happening at the time. The paramedics came and took him to the hospital while a family member watched us and when mom and dad came home, they told us grandpa had died."

"I'm so sorry, Tristan," Freida said sympathetically.

"Honestly, in retrospect, grandpa at least died quickly," Tristan said. "Grandma died slowly. She suffered several strokes and needed constant care but she was too stubborn to move in with my parents or sell the house so my parents hired a nurse to help her. By the end, she wasn't speaking English and she started forgetting about me and my siblings. She thought mom was a little girl most of the time and she'd talk to my brother Levi as though she were talking to grandpa. The day she died, she'd been coming down the stairs when she suffered another stroke and fell. Her nurse called an ambulance but by the time she made it to the hospital, she'd already passed away. This is going to sound terrible, but it was almost a relief. She'd been suffering so much so when she died, at least she wasn't suffering anymore."

"I can understand that," Freida said. "But your dad's parents are alive?"

"Yeah – my grandpa's still pack leader and chief but we know he's wanting to retire so when he does, my dad will be chief and pack leader. Then when dad wants to retire, it'll be my brother Levi's turn."

"So is your tribe a sovereign nation or something?"

"The tribe has sovereignty, yes," Tristan nodded. "We have our own school, police force, we have a small fire department attached to the police, my dad has a practice in Seattle but any time the tribe needs legal council dad's there to help and does it pro-bono, we have our own hospital and we have our own legal system in place for matters within the tribe – usually petty stuff but we did have one super serious crime happen a couple years ago."

"How serious?"

"Murder."

"That's pretty serious," Freida said with a straight face and Tristan started chuckling. "Do you know what happened exactly? How did all that get tried?" Before Tristan could proceed to answer, the waiter returned and asked if they knew what they wanted. Truth was they hadn't even looked at the menu so they both hurried to skim through it and pick out something that sounded good. Freida just ordered the same thing Tristan did and the waiter took back their menus letting them know their dinner would be out shortly. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"I'll be totally honest: I don't know the full details. All I know is a guy on the tribe was accused of murdering his wife but he insisted it was suicide. Dad has a small team who's primary focus is tribal legal issues but he assigns other cases to them since we don't see a whole lot of serious cases. So if something like this happens, a lawyer gets assigned to both parties and a trial goes on from there. Grandpa Jacob acts as judge."

"What if the legal issue included your dad or one of your uncles? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?"

"That would probably be handled privately to be honest," Tristan said. "Thankfully, my dad and uncles get along really well so there's no power struggle. Uncle Kyle and Uncle Nathan don't want to be chief so it's not like dad has to keep one eye open or look over his shoulder or anything."

"I mean what if your dad or one of your uncles murdered a spouse or another tribe member?"

"Oh," Tristan said, "I guess it depends on the circumstances. They'd be tried just like anyone else. In my dad's case, it's a little different. So just for argument's sake, if dad murdered mom, he'd be subject to the US legal system rather than our tribe's legal system since mom's not a member of the tribe but a US citizen."

"Are the members of the tribe not US Citizens then?" Freida enquired.

"Yes and no," Tristan answered honestly. "I'll be totally honest: it's a lot of bureaucratic bullshit that I don't really get. I never took an interest in law so outside of the basics, I'm pretty clueless I'm ashamed to say. Hell, I don't even think Levi totally gets it. He's a numbers nerd, not a legal expert. God help us when he inevitably becomes chief. He won't know what the hell he's doing." Tristan said that last part with a light hearted chuckle.

"What would happen if he decided he didn't want to become chief?"

"If Levi decided to abdicate, he'd have to pick a successor and I guarantee you, I'm the last person on his list of people he'd willingly abdicate to and trust me that's for the best. Maybe he'd abdicate to our cousin Caleb but I don't think he'd want to be chief either. Ariel and Gabriel wouldn't want the role either."

"Who're Ariel and Gabriel?"

"They're my Uncle Nathan's sons," Tristan said. "Maybe my little nephew Will but he's just a kid. No telling if he has any leadership qualities – he's a bit of a goof. I say that lovingly but still. He doesn't have much in the way of tact. He's only 8, though, so maybe there's hope."

"You make it sound like your brother doesn't want to be chief."

"He really doesn't if I'm being honest," Tristan said. "It's not really a big topic of discussion right now frankly. Dad hasn't even taken over for grandpa yet so until dad decides its time for him to retire, it's a bit of a moot point."

"Interesting," Freida said. "Okay, so what happens if there's a crime committed by someone outside the tribe or something?" Freida asked.

"That gets complicated," Tristan said. "It's like if you were to commit a crime in France for instance. You're a German citizen but since you committed the crime in a foreign country, you'd be subject to their laws and if Germany wanted to bail you out or subject you to their own punishment there would need to be negotiations. Same applies with the tribe. Years ago back in '75 there'd been this drifter who wandered onto our tribe's land and was causing a disturbance. He was high or drunk or something but he ended up causing some property damage and was arrested by our tribal police. Once he was sober, he demanded a lawyer but it wasn't as easy as just calling a lawyer to come get him and posting bail because his lawyer and one of our lawyers needed to work out a deal in order for him to be released and he needed to be subjected to our legal system."

"Sounds extremely complicated," Freida said.

"Believe me, it is," Tristan said. "So how was your day?"

"It was fine," Freida said. "More of the women on my team started talking to me and asking me about the baby and you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Freida said. "They started asking me about my child's father and I told them your name, a vague explanation of how we met and that you were meeting my parents tomorrow."

"Left out your dad and I having a heated argument in the park?" Tristan said jokingly.

"Yes, and us sleeping together to get back at our exes," Freida said and then rolled her eyes a little and shrugged, "Or my ex at least. You didn't really care too much about Emily."

"Sorry, not really," Tristan said. "Although I do wish I'd remembered you telling me she was sleeping with your ex. I'd have loved to have thrown that one in her face after she called me screaming. Doesn't really matter though."

"I guess not," Freida said.

"What did you tell them about me?"

"I just told them you're a US soldier stationed here, that we met a few months ago and you've been helping me," Freida said.

"All the more they need to know I guess," Tristan said. "Did they say something that made you want to go out tonight? Or you just wanted a change of pace?"

"I just wanted a change of pace," Freida lied and grabbed a piece of bread on the table pulling chunks away to nibble on nervously.

The waiter came with their food a few minutes later and they continued to talk over dinner. She noticed whenever she allowed herself to, she would get really relaxed with Tristan. He made it super easy to relax and just talk. After eating their dinner, Tristan offered to get them dessert and Freida wound up agreeing and telling him to pick something. He picked a bread pudding that came out within ten minutes warmed with a scope of vanilla ice cream and the two shared the dessert continuing to talk. She started to think, 'would it really be so bad to just give Tristan a chance?'. She was still on the fence about it. When they finished, Tristan paid the bill after Freida's attempt to insist she should pay for her own meal but Tristan insisted. As they were walking back to her apartment, they talked more until they reached the steps to the building.

"I'm glad we could do this," Tristan said. "I think we both needed a nice night out."

"Yeah," Freida agreed. "Tonight was really nice. Thank you for buying dinner."

"Hey, think nothing of it," Tristan smiled. "What time should I be here by tomorrow? You said six?"

"Yes, six is good," Freida nodded. "Mom will have dinner ready by then."

"Maybe I can come a little early and help out," Tristan offered.

Freida was about to refuse but then said, "Come by 5. While mom and I make dinner, you and dad can bury the hatchet."

"Good plan," Tristan said. "Well," he began and glanced at the ground then back at her, "have a good night. Sleep in tomorrow. You've earned it."

"I intend to," Freida replied with a light smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Tristan said, "And if anything happens or you need me to come over before 5, I'm just a call away okay?"

"I know," Freida replied and finally went inside. Tristan stayed at the front entrance until he saw the light turn on in Freida's unit. When Freida glanced outside, Tristan was about to get into the Jeep but he spotted her and waved before getting in the car.

Once he was gone, Freida got out all her crafting materials and started scrapbooking. She still felt so conflicted but after thinking about it for several page's worth of designs, she finally knew what she was going to do. She'd make a decision tomorrow after Tristan and her parents met depending on how things went with them. Freida called her mom and asked if it was too late to change the dinner plans to make Coq au Vin Blanc instead of the roast chicken which she'd not figured would be a problem but then her mother asked, "I thought he was Jewish."

"He is," Freida said.

"Then why is he eating Coq au Vin? It has pork."

"Does it? Tristan said he's not always Kosher," Freida said. "You can still make it without pork right?"

"Sure, it just won't have the same taste," Helen said. "Don't worry, Freida – I'll make it work. Since I'm making a French dinner, do you guys want a French dessert?"

"You don't have to go that far," Freida said. "Whatever you already had planned would be great."

"Cheesecake it is then," Helen said. "He'll be at your apartment by 6?"

"I told him to come by five," Freida said. "I think he and dad should have the extra time to talk."

"I'll tell your father," Helen said. "Don't worry, I've told him he's to be nice to Tristan."

"I've told Tristan the same," Freida said.

Once Freida and her mother finished talking, she got herself ready for bed and went straight to sleep. Even though it was the weekend, she was up at five in the morning yet again and was stuck in the bathroom for nearly an hour with a queasy stomach. Once she finally felt better, she went right back to bed and fell back asleep.

"Freida?" she heard her mother say her name and was startled awake. Helen was in her room standing by her bedside. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Freida mumbled and rubbed her head. "What time is it?"

"It's 3," Helen said. "We knocked but you didn't answer so we let ourselves in." Freida groaned as she sat up in her bed.

"I can't believe I've been sleeping all day," Freida said.

"You've been sleeping all day?"

"I woke up around 5 because I felt sick and once I felt better, I went back to bed," Freida said. "Do you mind if I shower? Then I can help you with dinner."

"I can handle dinner Freida. You get ready," Helen encouraged and left the room to start preparing dinner.

Tristan needed to work in the morning but was given leave after noon. Once he received it, he went back to the bunks to shower and get dressed in his formal hunter green uniform with gold buttons and his patches.

"Don't you look mighty handsome," his bunkmate teased him as he was straightening his jacket.

"I already fucked up royally. I need to make a good impression this time," Tristan said, "And this is the nicest thing I have to wear."

"Aren't you worrying about this a little too much, dude? It's not like they're threatening to never let you see your kid or anything, right?"

"No, they're not stopping me, but it's not about that. I want Freida to be open to a relationship and she won't be if her parents and I can't get along."

"And what are you planning to do if a war starts and we have to get shipped off?"

"If that happens, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I want to focus on Freida," Tristan said. His bunkmate sighed heavily.

"Trying to be a regular old romantic hero out of a Sara Craven novel are we?"

"I'm not into dirty girl books, dude," Tristan replied and his bunkmate laughed.

Once Tristan was satisfied with his state of dress, he left the base burrowing the Jeep again and went to a nearby toyshop. He wanted to get something small for the baby and actually found some dolls on display that caught his eye. They were called Cholly and Lolly dolls depending on whether it was pink or blue. Freida had said it was a girl. Even if it was just a hunch, Tristan grabbed the pink Lolly Doll as his present for the baby and when he grabbed it, he realized it rattled. Elsewhere in the store, he found a model plane set and recalled Freida saying her father was into that sort of thing. Hoping to avoid getting him a plane he already had, Tristan consulted a rep as to which model was most recently added to their shelves however the newest they had was added to their shelves a few months ago, so Tristan just picked one and hoped for the best.

Afterwards, Tristen went to another shop to buy flowers for Freida and her mother this time choosing to get both of them white bouquets. He did, however, make Freida's bouquet more elaborate with roses, lilies and white orchids whereas Helen's bouquet was just white roses. Tristan arrived at Freida's apartment at 5 on the dot and he rushed upstairs with everything not wanting to be late again. He could already smell dinner in the hallway as he approached her door and he shifted all his gifts into his left arm and hand so he could knock with his right. He didn't wait more than a few seconds before Freidrick answered the door.

"Afternoon, sir," Tristan said. "My apologies if I'm a little late."

"Relax; you're right on time," Freidrick said and stepped aside so Tristan could come in. "I see you came with gifts again."

"I did," Tristan said and presented the box for the model plane. "I'm sorry if you already have this one but Freida mentioned you like model planes and I wanted to get you something." Freidrick accepted the box and by then Helen was coming around to the door and smiled pleasantly at Tristan.

"Hello again, Corporal. You look so nice," Helen smiled.

"Just Tristan's fine, Mrs. Hoffman, and thank you," Tristan said and presented the flowers to her.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Helen replied, "and I see you got Freidrick another plane to clutter our home with," she teased.

"Hardly," Freidrick said. "They're on display and out of the way." Once Freida made it to the front, Tristan offered her the final bouquet of flowers and the doll.

"I went off your hunch that it's a girl," Tristan said when Freida saw the doll. She shook it and smiled.

"I think she'll love it," Freida said.

"And if it turns out to be a boy, don't stress over it. Babies don't care what color a doll is so long as it makes noise and holds their attention," Helen said. "Now, Freida mentioned you requested Coq au Vin Blanc – that's in the oven right now. I left out the pork so it's Kosher."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hoffman," Tristan smiled.

"You can just call me Helen," she replied. "And I made cheesecake for dessert. I hope that's alright."

"That's great," Tristan said. "I can't remember the last time I had cheesecake so I'm excited."

"Good!" Helen replied. "Freida, how about you and I put the flowers in some water. Freidrick, it's not too sunny out so how about you and Tristan talk on the balcony?"

All Freidrick did was nod and waved his hand for Tristan to follow him outside. Tristan did his best to appear calm although he was extremely nervous. He followed Freidrick outside onto the balcony and took a seat in one of the tiny lawn chairs opposite to his own.

"Oh, Tristan, I forgot to ask. Would you like any beer? Water?" Helen asked from inside.

"Water's fine," Tristan said and Freida came out with that glass of water handing it to him. "Thanks Freida."

"You're welcome," Freida said and stepped back inside. Tristan gulped down his glass of water waiting for Freidrick to say something but the man was silent for a while so once his glass was empty he decided to start first.

"I'm really sorry about what happened in the park," Tristan said. "I should never have spoken that way to you."

"It's alright," Freidrick said. "I should not have antagonized you." Freidrick paused then added, "Seriously, though, you smell like wet dog."

"Yes, I get that a lot from my dad's side of the family," Tristan said.

"Freida mentioned you were aware Helen and I are vampires."

"Yes, I figured it out when I got a whiff of you two in the park," Tristan said. "I have a lot of half breeds and vampires in my family."

"You said you're from Washington?" Freidrick asked and Tristan nodded. "I believe I heard of your family's coven. The Cullens are they not?"

"Yes, sir. That's my Grandma Renesmee's family," Tristan said. "Most of us don't age so it's about 6 generations of family I want to say. I know Freida mentioned Mrs. Hoffman's parents live in Hamburg now."

"Yes, they do," Freidrick said. "My parents died during the war."

"She mentioned that too," Tristan said. "What happened to them if you don't mind my asking."

"My father died of cancer a year after I enlisted and my mother died during the air raids in 1944. Truthfully, by that time, I'd already been changed so it's a relief my mother never saw me this way."

"How were you changed?"

"A friend of mine from my time as a Hitler youth," Freidrick answered. "Ernst Roth was his name. Ruthless bastard but that's the kind of man the Reich needed. I found out he died summer of '45 not long after he changed me."

"Even after becoming a vampire, he still served the Third Reich?"

"Yes, and passionately," Freidrick said and was staring out onto the streets thoughtfully.

"Based on what my dad told me about the first World War, Nazi Germany seems like it was an inevitability," Tristan observed.

"Your father served in the Great War?" Freidrick asked and Tristan nodded. "Mine did as well. He served on the Eastern Front. Lost his left arm during combat."

"It sounds like he at least lived to return home," Tristan said.

"He did, by some miracle," Freidrick said. "My father was among those who felt the surrender was an embarrassment."

"So when the Nazi party came about, it was super appealing?" Tristan asked knowingly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Freidrick answered. "I don't suppose your mother ever told you stories of playing with coins as a child since they held no buying power."

"Mom and her friends from the synagogue used to use them to play dreidel," Tristan said. "That and candy."

"My friends and I would play with them on the streets," Freidrick said. "What year was your mother born?"

"1918," Tristan said. "You?"

"1924," Freidrick said. "My brother Mark was born 1922."

"Is your brother still alive?"

"No, he died in Russia," Freidrick said. "It's one of the reasons I decided to take Ernst up on his offer and become a vampire. When my brother was killed, I wanted revenge but it never amounted to anything. I'd found out my mother had died earlier that year so by then, my whole family was gone and I felt like I had nothing to live for anymore and I regretted it."

"Even after you met Helen?"

"No, not after I met Helen," Freidrick said. "It's my understanding your father also fought in World War II. Is that why you decided to join the army?"

"I joined the army because it was a job I could do right out of high school that allowed me to see the world and had upward mobility," Tristan answered honestly and to his surprise, Freidrick chuckled a little under his breath.

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any," Freidrick said.

"Dad kept insisting I would go to college but I really didn't want to. I was worried he'd be mad when I told him but he actually wasn't. He just said they'd give me a well deserved kick in the ass and give me some discipline."

Freidrick chuckled again, "Your father would be right about that." Tristan smiled, feeling a lot better now that he and Freidrick were finally able to have a real conversation with one another.

"Listen, Freidrick," Tristan started then added, "is it alright if I call you Freidrick?"

"Yes, that's fine," he answered.

"Okay, good. Anyway, about me marrying Freida-,"

"Don't worry about it," Freidrick interrupted. "All I ask is you help her with the baby and be a good father."

"I will," Tristan promised, "but I would like for Freida and I to give a relationship a try. She told me she'd think about it."

"I'm afraid that's between you and her," Freidrick said. "If it's my blessing to pursue her you're after, then you needn't worry about it. Regardless of how, you and Freida are having a baby together so it seems stupid not to encourage you two to remain together for the baby's sake."

"So long as you're not opposed," Tristan replied.

"Make no mistake, Tristan: I'm furious. No father wants his daughter pregnant by a man who may or may not take care of her. I know you promised you would," Freidrick said, stopping Tristan when he was about to speak in his own defense, "my greatest concern lies in the likelihood you'll be transferred somewhere else or if something happened to you, my daughter and grandchild could be left to fend for themselves."

"I don't want that," Tristan said. "I was fully prepared to marry Freida when you made that demand."

"But Freida shot it down," Freidrick acknowledged.

"Yeah," Tristan replied. "In any case, I've put it out there. I just hope she's willing to give a relationship a chance."

"That's up to her," Freidrick said. "I can't make that decision for her. My demanding you to marry her was a rash demand made in the heat of anger. I've had time to cool down since then."

"That's good," Tristan said. "Thank you to you and Helen for being willing to give me another chance."

"Helen's entirely responsible for that I assure you," Freidrick said. "I must apologies to you Tristan because if Freida's inherited anything from me, it's my stubbornness."

"Sadly, I'm just as stubborn. Probably more so," Tristan replied and Freidrick chuckled.

"You may be in for a rude awakening," Freidrick replied with a smile.

"You want to know something you might find funny?"

"What's that?"

"It's something that makes you laugh, but that's not important right now," Tristan said and Freidrick gave him a strange look. "Sorry, I can never resist quoting Airplane! whenever someone says that."

"It's a movie I take it?"

"A comedy, yes," Tristan said. "Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was Dr. Meyer warned I should prepare myself for some harsh words from you."

"Ah yes," Freidrick said and looked instantly irritable. "I've not spoken to him since giving him a piece of my mind."

"You mean because he didn't tell you Freida was pregnant?"

"He insists he was only doing as Freida requested. I'm sure he did but he should've told us," Freidrick muttered.

"No clue if Germany follows the Hippocratic oath but him telling you would be a violation of that," Tristan said.

"Yes, yes, he gave me the same lecture," Freidrick muttered.

"In his defense, he really cares deeply about you guys. He'd mentioned you and he were good friends and he thought of Freida as a daughter."

"Yes, Cristof is a dear friend," Freidrick said then sighed heavily. "He knows full well I'll forgive him before long. I just like to pretend I won't."

"He sounds like the kind of guy that would happily pander to that at least briefly," Tristan said.

"Not in the least," Freidrick said. "He knows me too well. We've been friends since '38. Cristof, Ernst and I were part of the same Hitler Youth group."

"So a Fascist Boy Scout troop basically?"

"It was a huge time commitment that forced conformity and enforced Nazi ideology. My mother and father encouraged these changes in my brother and I but I knew kids in my group who's parents fought against it. We had to go to rallies and meetings and our Hitler Youth commanders overshadowed all other authority, even our parents."

"So you guys never went on camping trips or group outings?"

"Of course we did," Freidrick said. "We weren't completely void of any fun times. It's just those fun times had insidious ulterior motives that took years for me to break free from."

"Sorry; I was trying to be lighthearted but I see I stumbled onto a negative memory," Tristan said.

"Not really," Freidrick said and stared up at the sky. "I know how hollow it all was now…..but at the time, it was a sense of community. The men I befriended during that time I'd thought I'd be friends with forever. Cristof I'm still friends with but everyone else? They're all dead or they've fled to Argentina. At least I believe it was Argentina."

"Do you miss it?"

"Yes and no," Freidrick said. "I miss when everything made sense and the gravity of the things I've done didn't weigh on my conscience. But once I realized it had all been for nothing, I felt lost."

"I'm sorry you went through all that," Tristan said and was thoughtful a moment. "Did things at least get easier after you and Helen met?"

"It did," Freidrick replied. "I felt like I'd finally been given a second chance. I suppose whether I deserved it or not is a matter of perspective."

"I think what matters is you've faced what happened and done what's within your power to make amends," Tristan said. "That's all anyone can do I'd say."

"Indeed," Freidrick replied and he finally looked at Tristan with a pleasant smile. "You're not half bad, Corporal."

Tristan laughed and said, "Right back at you….what rank did you reach before the war ended?"

"SS-Scharführer," Freidrick said. "I believe in the US military you refer to that as a Staff Sergent."

"Well, right back at you SS-Scharführer," Tristan said and the two of them started laughing a little.

Tristan and Freidrick remained outside talking and getting to know one another. Now that they'd both calmed down and had moved past the previous animosity, Tristan came to discover he really liked Freidrick. They didn't return inside until Helen came out to tell them dinner was on the table. Freida watched Tristan intently as he spoke with her parents. He complimented Helen's cooking of course and asked her about her college years as a culinary student, what made her decide to pursue culinary arts, how did she like studying in Paris, how did she and Freidrick meet – he kept Freida's mother talking for nearly two hours and his interest never seemed to faulter for even a moment. He didn't finally leave until around nine when he realized he needed to return to base. He thanked Helen again for dinner and promised to follow up with his parents about when they could be in Paris so they could all meet and Freidrick assured they'd make it work given enough notice.

"He's a good kid," Freidrick said after Tristan finally left.

"Yes, he's such a sweet boy," Helen agreed. "He'll be a good father. I can tell."

"Yeah," Freida replied softly. "I think so too." Freidrick stared at Freida a moment as she appeared miles away. He recalled what he and Tristan spoke about earlier and figured he'd throw the kid a bone.

"Perhaps it might not be so bad to give him a chance," Freidrick said.

"What?" Freida asked, surprised by the suggestion.

"I'm just saying maybe it'd be worth it to see where things go," Freidrick said.

Freida wasn't sure she'd heard him at first. She wasn't expecting her father's opinion of Tristan to take such a drastic turn for the better. Freida helped her mom clean up and once everything was dried and put away, Helen and Freidrick left so Freida could get to bed. Yet for the first time in weeks, she was restless. While helping her mom, Freida had glanced outside every opportunity she got to see how things were going between her dad and Tristan. She'd been so anxious that something might go wrong or the two of them would start arguing at a moment's notice but they didn't. Instead they seemed to be having a pleasant or at least cordial conversation until Helen brought them inside for dinner where Tristan proceeded to continue talking to her dad and mom until he had to leave. When she finally could fall asleep, she was able to sleep in until around seven the next morning but, of course, she woke up feeling sick to her stomach once again.

When Freida finally felt better, she tried returning to bed and going back to sleep, but she didn't sleep much longer. The rest of her Sunday, she did little more than either read or watch whatever was on TV. There wasn't much on though and she was getting bored and she wasn't in the mood for crafting. Her eyes kept darting to the flowers he'd brought her and the two toys he'd bought were sitting beside her on the couch. She picked up the little pink Lolly Doll and gently shook it a little. He'd already embraced the baby being a girl and was super excited about it. She had to admit he'd managed to take one of the most frightening events of her life and turn it into something she was looking forward to. She enjoyed talking to him and being around him and she knew full well she was attracted to him. She couldn't think back on their night together or their kiss on the couch without blushing and trembling all over.

She checked the time and saw it was only one in the afternoon. She wondered if he would call her and if he did, would he call around the same time or would he call earlier since it was a Sunday. Then she wondered if he was expected to work on Sundays or how that worked. It was a military base so she couldn't imagine operations just stopped on the weekends. She'd already made her decision and now it was burning a hole in her brain. She wanted to talk to him but was worried if she tried to call he might not be available. However, after mulling it over for several minutes, Freida went to her phone holding the Lolly Doll and dialed the number to the base. She'd expected to hear Klaudia's voice but when the phone was answered, it was a man.

"U.S. Army Berlin, may I have your name, rank and reason for calling?" the guy on the phone said.

"Freida Hoffman – no rank. I'm calling for Corporal Tristan Black."

"What's your relationship to Corporal Black?"

"We're having a child together," Freida answered bluntly.

"Ah," the guy replied. "Let me find him for you. Please hold." Freida was placed on hold and she leaned against the wall as she waited. She ended up waiting a few minutes but once Tristan answered, she heard voices in the background with utensils tapping against plates.

"Hey Freida," Tristan said. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Freida said. "I don't suppose you're off or anything today are you?"

"I'm usually free on Sundays," Tristan said. "Did you want to do something?" he asked hopefully. "Maybe we could go to a Museum. My mom's told me about the Altes Museum and said she loved in when she was younger."

"I'm afraid Berlin's museums are all over the wall. Museum Island's in East Berlin."

"Oh," Tristan said forlornly. "In that case, maybe we can see what's playing in theatres."

"I was thinking we do something together that would allow us to talk," Freida said. "I would just as soon rather stay in. I thought maybe you could come to my place for a while."

"We can do that," Tristan agreed. "I can be there in a half hour."

"Alright. I'll see you then," Freida said and they ended their call.