Heirot

Tenele shook her head against his chest. "No," she muttered. "He did not say when." That didn't make it any better for Tenele. A year, was a year, no matter when it occurred.

Vlad bent his neck to kiss her shoulder. "A year is a year," he acknowledged. "But I will not have you with me forever, Tenele." He left it at that, not wanting to pick at a difficult subject. "Whatever the case, I promise you I would not be changed by one more year of research. I have already had many hundreds to shape me, and I am not so easily molded. It would be a simple price to pay for the assurance of your health and our child's safety. I will not do it without your permission, but I think his offer is fair."

Tenele nodded, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck. "Okay," she relinquished in a tight voice, her arms tightening around him. "I will accept his help." She knew the monster had pitted those two choices together, her child or her husband, because he knew she would never let her child go with him. Which would mean that he got exactly what he wanted, and it made her so angry. She knew, deep down, it was a grave possibility that they needed his help and he knew that too. "I will try not to kill him."

Atul put his fingers to his temple, feeling his insides wash with guilt. If it wasn't for the blood running through his veins this wouldn't have happened. And yet, if it wasn't for who he was Knight would have never been created in the first place, and the two of them would never get their family.

Vlad stroked cool fingers along her back. "I love you. It will all be fine. I love you, Tenele," he soothed, his voice warm and low. "I am so excited. I've never been so happy, my love. Don't let this ruin it. Don't let anything tarnish this miracle we've been given."

Tenele nodded, feeling the tightness of her muscles relax as his fingers stroked gently down her back. She let out the breath she'd been holding and relaxed in his arms. "I love you," she whispered to him, placing a kiss on his neck. "I'm glad your happy, I am happy too. So very happy. I'm sorry I panicked. I'll be better at this."

Atul stood up slowly, wanting to give the two of them time alone. "I'm going to take a shower." He clapped a hand on Vlad's shoulder in passing, heading off to wash the night off of him.

Vlad glanced up at Atul as he passed, but couldn't quite catch the man's eye. He made a mental note that he'd need to smooth things out a bit with the king later. For now, he held his wife tight and repressed the budding terror inside of him. He hated it. Maxwell would have told him fear was pointless. Stop thinking unnecessary thoughts. He cringed at the idea of the doc as a mentor and wrapped himself a little snugger around his wife's smaller form. "What will we name her," he whispered, knowing that just speaking the words would raise his spirits and bring his heart bounding to a strong, lifting beat.

Tenele smiled against her husband. She leaned back to force him backwards across Atul's bed comfortably. "I don't know," she whispered. "Are there any names you like for girls? What about boys?" She pressed another gentle kiss to his neck. "I always liked the name Aria for a girl... for a boy I'm not sure. Maybe Callen?"

Vlad slid down into the pillows with her and coiled around her lovingly, never mind that he was still undressed from his adventures with Atul. "Neither feels good enough for her. And I really think she'll be a girl," he pointed out. He pushed his face into the warm spot at the base of her shoulder and kissed her there. "Then again, I'm no good at naming things."

Tenele laughed. "I'm not any better," she reminded him, running fingers through his hair. "I mean, I did name your Hell Hound, Stalker... Its okay, we have nine months to decide on a name. I hope you get the girl you want. I kind of want a girl too. But, I'll be happy either way. Though, a girl I can dress up in cute clothes, play with her hair, and I'm a girl... I think it would be easier to raise one."

Vlad cuddled her tight, thinking of the young one he wouldn't meet for another 9 months. His thoughts flowed together like paints let loose in a waterpail as he went from one scenario to another, thinking of everything from nurseries to children's rhymes to laying across from his wife late at night, staring into each other's eyes while their child slept between them. He was almost giddy with dreams. Maxwell didn't scratch the surface of his priorities at the moment. Her safety, and the chance to meet his child, their child...those were what counted. That brought his thoughts to their other lover.

"I'm a bit concerned for Atul," he murmured, as if half an hour hadn't just passed in thoughtful silence. "We've put him in an odd position. He is peripheral to our relationship, which isn't likely to be enough forever. The child is equally his. It may be our responsibility to help him understand what his role is to be." He paused, remembering the pain he'd thought he saw in the other man's eyes the night before. "What is he to be to the child. And to us?"

Tenele watched her husband as he spoke, and then she glanced passed him at the wall where Atul had gone to wash. She thought her words out as carefully as she could, but she didn't feel the need to restrain them. She could tell, as she'd felt her husband's soul enough while they were with Atul, to know that he cared for the man. "I know that people will not understand this, what we have. I know that it would be hard to make them see how special this is for all of us, or how we've made this very unconventional family. But, I know that he loves me. He loves you. He loves this child. I see it in his eyes, and feel it in the tender kiss he leaves on my cheek. I've never been one to care about what people think, else I would have heeded Sinead's advice and not let myself be involved with you, so I don't care what they think now. In my mind, the child has two fathers..." Tenele squeezed Vlad's hands. "I love you," she whispered to him. She planted a kiss on his lips. "Please, do not think that I love you any less for what I'm about to say. I love you to the stars and further, until eternity ends and far after. I will always, no matter what, love you... But, I care very deeply for Atul, I love him. And as I see it, in my eyes and in my heart... in a way, while my child has gained a second father, I have also gained a second husband." She kissed his nose. "And you have gained your first."

Vlad's expression knit tight and still. "You don't-...I mean, are you proposing..." he drifted off, studying the weave of the blanket under them. "Proposing that we propose..."

Tenele smiled at the way her husband stumbled over his words. "It doesn't have to be anything official... I'm not sure he'd be allowed to. Sinead would be furious with us... but, maybe privately. Maybe secretly. Like you and I have these rings that bind us," she took his hand in hers and pressed her lips to his fingers. "Maybe we could have a symbol of our union with him. Something he could have as a reminder, as a signal that what we've made isn't just fleeting, something he can hide away from judgemental eyes. Like a necklace... That is to say if he would want to... with us. Maybe, if we made the option available to him, he would finally understand his place with us. How important he is to us. That is, if it is okay with you, and him of course. But, you at least know my feelings on the matter."

Vlad's expression soured. He might have even looked nervous. The vampire's gaze flicked to the closed bathroom door with a mix of longing and frustration. "He won't do it. He plans to end this eventually. He will need a wife of his own," he murmured.

Tenele's face fell. "Oh," she whispered. "That's understandable. I can see why he would want those things... When the time comes, however hard it might be, we will let him have his happiness." She drummed her fingers along her husband's skin. "How should we explain to him where he stands in our life, so that he knows that we care for him and want him there." A part of her wanted to propose the idea anyway, just to gauge his reaction. But, another part of her was afraid to be disappointed by his inevitable answer.