I heard the doorknob turn and I quickly stood up from the bed, waiting to hear the verdict. The door slowly swung open and Chansey walked toward me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen her wear.
She slowly nodded her head up and down and I felt like I’d been dropkicked in my gut.
“Yes?” I asked.
She nodded again. “Yes!”
“You’re going to have a baby?”
“We are going to have a baby,” she said through her smile.
I picked her up and spun her around. When I was human, I always imagined what it would feel like for my wife to tell me we were going to have a baby, but none of my wildest dreams compared to the high I was currently experiencing.
“How is this possible?” she squealed as we spun.
I put Chansey down and took her face in my hands. “I have no idea, but Emelyn appeared to me this evening and told me I couldn’t turn you. I guess I know why now.”
“Why did she appear to you?”
“I have no idea. The only thing I do know is that you just made me the happiest person in the world. I love you, Chansey Rose Leclaire Brennan. You are absolutely the most amazing person I’ve ever known.” I kissed her on the mouth. “I cannot believe it. You’re going to make me a father.”
I dropped to my knees and placed a kiss on the belly that was housing and nurturing our unborn child. I felt Chansey running her hands through my hair as I kneeled before her and I whispered against her stomach, “I love you in there.”
26 Who Done It?
It couldn’t be more perfect because all of my family had come together to be with Chansey during her transition. When we called them together in the living room, I’m certain they expected to discuss a plan for the following day’s draining of Chansey and her drinking from me, but we were about to blow all of their minds.
We stood before them holding hands as they gave us their undivided attention. “Chansey and I would like to thank all of you for coming to be with us for her transition, but we called all of you together to make an announcement.” I hesitated and looked at Chansey, then back at our family. “I won’t be turning her tomorrow.”
“Shit, I knew you wouldn’t do it,” Sol announced.
“It’s not what you think,” I laughed because I couldn’t contain my joy and Sol stared at me waiting for an explanation.
“I’m pregnant,” Chansey squealed and then silence took over the room. You could have heard a pin drop.
“With who’s baby?” Sol asked. “Because it sure can’t be Curry’s.”
“Stop! Don’t ruin this for them,” Gia told Sol and then looked at Sebastian. “Is it possible?”
“I’ve never known conception to occur between a human and a vampire because they don’t share sexual relationships, with the exception of Agápes. Curry has become very human since he and Chansey married, so that could be a possibility. There are so few documented Agápes that I have no references, but I suppose that anything is possible with the gods and the supernatural events during the eclipses.”
“There was an eclipse the night of your wedding,” Gia announced. “I bet that’s when it happened and that would mean you’d have to be around nine weeks.”
Lairah crossed the room to hug Chansey. “A baby!” she squealed. “That is such wonderful news. Congratulations.” She hugged me next and said, “Way to go, Tiger. Grr.”
Avery slid to the edge of the couch. “Chansey, how did you know to suspect a pregnancy?”
We looked at one another and then she explained, “It started with a dream.”
She spent the next ten minutes explaining her dream/vision of Marsala and everyone looked at Sebastian for his opinion when she finished.
“Well, it sounds like Chansey is safe from Marsala and her Black Magic at least until the baby is born, but you know she is going to be desperate to take this baby because it belongs to Curry. That is one of her psychotic hang-ups. She wants to have a baby with him.”
“She’s not getting my baby,” Chansey vowed as she shook her head hard.
“Of course she won’t, Love. I will protect both of you from her.”
Gia spoke up, “You and this baby are family and we will protect both of you.”
I recognized the concerned look on Sebastian’s face. “What are you thinking, Sebastian?” I asked.
He turned to Chansey with a concerned look on his face. “I think you should see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy as soon as possible and you should have a check up so we can monitor your health.”
Chansey looked up at me and then back to Sebastian. “Monitor my health?” Chansey asked.
Sebastian’s face was covered with concern. “I have to be honest with both of you. I have nothing to compare this to and I’m not certain about the outcome.”
“The outcome?” Chansey said.
“I have no way of knowing if this pregnancy is viable or the dangers it could pose for Chansey. We don’t know that your DNA is compatibility and a human doctor won’t be able to treat you for complications resulting from a pregnancy that is the conception between a human and a vampire.”
≈ ≈ ≈
My happiness was immediately replaced with worry the day Sebastian proposed the potential risks to Chansey. That was a whole week ago.
Waiting for Chansey’s appointment with her Obstetrician was the longest week I had ever experienced in all the days of my existence. A week was the soonest she could be seen by any doctor in the Savannah area if she wasn’t experiencing an imminent problem and we never quite figured out how to tell the receptionist making the appointment that being pregnant by a vampire posed a very significant problem.
As we sat in the waiting room of the Obstetrician, I felt like I could throw up.
“Hey, you look a little green around the gills. Are you having sympathy nausea?” Chansey joked.
Chansey had become nauseated over the past few days and we took that as a good sign since that seem to be the norm for a human pregnancy. “If this is how you have been feeling for the last few days, I feel sorry for you.”
We heard “Chansey Brennan,” announced from a young blonde nurse and she led us back to an examination room. She took vitals and a medical history from Chansey and then told us that the doctor would be in shortly.
She sat on the exam table while I sat in the chair by her side, but neither of us said anything because we were both so afraid of finding out something was wrong. Luckily, the doctor wasn’t running behind or delivering a baby and we didn’t have to wait on her for long.
An attractive woman with dark bobbed hair came into the room with a smile on her face and introduced herself as Dr. Knight. She briefly read over the history the nurse had taken and said, “Okay, Mrs. Brennan. Looks like you’re due for an annual, so we’ll do that first and then we’ll take a look with the ultrasound since you’re uncertain about your last menstrual period.”
An annual? What was that?
The doctor went to the hall and called out. “We’re ready, Kayla.”
Chansey looked at me and asked, “Do you want to step out for this part?”
“I don’t know. What are they going to do to you?”
Before she could answer, the doctor and nurse were putting Chansey’s feet up and telling her to slide to the edge of the table. I couldn’t see anything over the sheet covering her legs and I didn’t try because I had a strong suspicion that I didn’t want to. It was over quickly and then Chansey slid back up the exam table.
“Now for the fun part,” Dr. Knight said as she reached for a wand on the ultrasound machine. “We’ll try doing an abdominal ultrasound first, but don’t be scared if I can’t see anything. Sometimes it’s hard to see the fetus with an abdominal ultrasound if the pregnancy is early.”
I reached for Chansey’s hand and she squeezed it tightly. Our hearts were racing one another to see whose could beat the fastest and I felt her happiness, excitement and fear all wrapped up in a tight ball of emotions in my gut, mirro
ring my own.
Dr. Knight squeezed a glop of gel on Chansey’s stomach and then put the ultrasound wand in the wet goop. She watched the screen as she slid the wand over Chansey’s belly and pushed down against it. “Tell me if I do anything that’s uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine,” Chansey softly answered as she watched the monitor in search of anything that would confirm there was a baby inside of her.
Dr. Knight slid the wand downward and said, “Yes, there it is, as she pointed to the monitor. “That’s your baby and that flashing dot is his or her heartbeat.”
As if my vampire vision couldn’t see it well enough, I stood up from my chair and leaned over for a better view. I was seeing my child for the first time and the only other time I ever felt so fascinated with love was when I found Chansey. I watched the flashing white dot on the screen and knew that was the source of the lub dub I had heard when I put my ear to Chansey’s belly.
I kissed Chansey on the forehead and the combination of my reaction with hers was almost more than either of us could contain. “I love you and I have never been happier than I am right here in this moment.”
She squeezed my hand. “I love you, too, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Dr. Knight began pushing buttons on the ultrasound machine and said, “I’m going to do a crown-to-rump measurement so we can see how far along you are.” I heard the machine beep several times as she took the measurements and then she keyed in the information. “Okay, looks like you’re about ten weeks, so you’ve got a quarter of the pregnancy behind you. That puts your due date on...April 12th.”
We looked at one another and Chansey giggled because that meant this little baby was definitely conceived on our wedding night.
“Do you have any questions or concerns?” Dr. Knight asked.
“Everything looks alright? Chansey and the baby are both healthy?” I asked.
“Everything looks normal for this stage of the pregnancy. You don’t have to change your lifestyle, but you’ll need to get plenty of rest and take your prenatal vitamin everyday so you don’t become anemic. You can get dressed and the nurse will be in to give you your information pack on the dos and don’ts I recommend during your pregnancy. Congratulations and I’ll see you back in four weeks.”
Once the doctor was out of the room, I couldn’t resist taking Chansey in my arms and Chansey started laughing. “Care to let me in the joke?”
“Granna is so going to say, ‘I told you so.”
27 Here’s To Magical Appearances
“Yes, Granna. I will call you with an update after my appointment...I love you, too...Tell Granddaddy I love him...Bye-bye.”
“Is she still saying that she told us so?”
“What do you think? she laughed.
“I think she’s still saying that she told us so.”
“You’d be right about that,” Chansey agreed.
It had been four weeks since our visit with Dr. Knight and Chansey was now fourteen weeks pregnant. I loved the changes in her body and they were happening faster than I expected. Her breasts were becoming fuller and her flat belly was surprisingly bulging more and more with each day’s growth. I loved touching the curve of her stomach and feeling the hard little knot where our growing baby resided inside of her.
Because it had been a month, we had an appointment with Dr. Knight today. I felt Chansey’s anxiety and fear about today being the day we would discover something was wrong and my own fear and anxiety doubled as a result.
Chansey sat on the exam table and I reached for her hand. “I wish you wouldn’t worry so much. It isn’t good for you and the baby.”
“My, my. Aren’t you the pot calling the kettle black? I can feel your anxiety, too, in case you forgot.”
“I can afford to worry enough for both of us since the baby isn’t inside of me.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to turn my worry switch to the off position.”
Dr. Knight knocked and then walked into the room. “Good morning, how are you doing since I saw you last?”
“I’m feeling well.”
“Great. Nausea subsided?”
“It has. I haven’t had any in a couple of weeks.”
“How about yours, Mr. Brennan? I seem to recall you looking a little green the last time you were here.”
“Mine is better, as well,” I laughed.
“Glad to hear it,” she laughed.
Dr. Knight took a brief history of Chansey’s pregnancy over the last month and then lowered the head of the exam table. She measured her belly with what looked like a flexible tape measure and had a peculiar look on her face. “You’re fourteen weeks, right?”
“I should be based on the date you gave me when we did the first ultrasound.”
She picked up her chart and scanned it. “One baby, right?”
“Unless another one magically appeared,” Chansey laughed.
Dr. Knight reached up to lower the head of the exam table. “Fundal height is how we measure the growth of your baby and you are measuring much further than you should be, so I want to scan you again. It’s unlikely, but you could be developing a condition called polyhydramnios. That means you have extra amniotic fluid around the baby. We don’t usually see it significantly increased this early in a pregnancy, but let’s take a look and see if we can tell what’s going on.”
This was it. Something was wrong and I felt our fear unite in my gut as we waited to hear what was happening to our baby. Chansey looked at me and squeezed my hand as I saw tears well in her eyes.
Dr. Knight repeated the same routine with the gel and placed the wand to Chansey’s belly. She scooted it around and shook her head as she studied the screen in front of her. “Impossible,” she whispered.
Chansey paled and I was back to my previously cured nausea episode. “What’s wrong, Dr. Knight.?” Chansey asked.
She didn’t answer, but wheeled over on her stool to retrieve Chansey’s chart. She flipped through and looked at the print off of Chansey’s previous ultrasound. “I don’t have an explanation for this.”
“Please, tell us what is wrong,” Chansey sternly said.
Dr. Knight sighed. “We have two issues. First, the growth I see from your last ultrasound is off the charts. It’s been four weeks since I saw you, so we should see four weeks of growth. I’m seeing about seven weeks of growth, but the more incredible issue is that there isn’t one baby in there. I see two and I can’t fathom how I missed it. I’m looking at your first ultrasound and there is no sign of a second baby. I’m sorry. I’ve never seen this happen and I don’t know how to explain it.”
We looked at one another and I softly said, “Two babies, instead of one?”
Most people would immediately be overjoyed by the discovery, but I immediately thought of Emelyn and of Ella’s twin that died. Was it possible that this magically appearing baby was a Fylgia? Was this baby an Agápe chosen by Anteros for a vampire? The thought of this being a daughter I’d be forced to give over to a vampire killed me. That wasn’t the life I wanted for my child.
“Chansey’s health is fine?” I asked.
“Chansey is the picture of health.”
“Do both of our babies look healthy?” I asked.
“It appears as though they are, other than the bizarre growth spurt and magical appearance of a second baby. I am so sorry. I don’t know how to explain the inconsistencies. Perhaps the ultrasound machine needs some calibrating.”
Chansey was ecstatic about the second baby, but she didn’t know about Fylgias. She smiled at me. “I’m healthy and now I have two healthy babies. I couldn’t be happier.”
“I believe everything is alright, but I’m going to refer you to maternal-fetal specialist to be safe. You can get dressed and Kayla will be in a minute to let you know when your appointment will be.”
“Okay. Thank you, Dr. Knight.”
She didn’t reply and she walked out the door stunned.
We needed to talk about the possibility of this
second baby being a Fylgia, but this wasn’t the place or time and I needed Sebastian’s permission to tell her about Ella. His story wasn’t mine to tell.
≈ ≈ ≈
Chansey was so happy about the second baby, but I couldn’t find the same joy. I tried to hide my concern from her, but the bond we shared made it impossible.
“Pull over,” she ordered.
I looked over at her. “Are you going to be sick?”
“No, but if you’re driving while we talk, you look at the road and not at me. I want you to look at me when we talk.”
I pulled to the shoulder of the road because I knew better than to try to avoid this conversation.
Tears filled her eyes and it broke my heart. “Why are you not happy about the second baby?”
“It’s not that I’m unhappy about the other baby. I’m just very concerned about what is happening. I had hoped this was going to be a normal human pregnancy for us, but that isn’t happening. These aren’t normal babies and I’m scared for them. I’m scared for you. It’s my job to protect you and our children, but I have no control over what’s happening to the three of you.”
“You and I aren’t mundane, so it’s a little unreasonable to think we would have normal human babies, don’t you think?”
Hearing her expectations about our children calmed my nerves a little, but I needed her to know what was possibly happening, so the sooner I spoke with Sebastian, the better.
She leaned over and kissed my mouth. “Okay, I can tell you’re feeling better now, so get us home. I can’t wait to tell everyone we having two babies instead of one.”
She was so excited to share our news about two babies that she forgot the others would be asleep when we got back to the compound. I pulled back onto the road and reminded her, “Are you going to wake sleeping vampires to tell them about the second baby?”
“Oh, shoot,” she groaned. “I forgot about that, so I guess I’ll have to wait until tonight. That’s a real bummer.”