Heirot

"I love you," she whispered back to him, kissing his hair as he nestled into her. "I love you so, so much." Her arms tightened around him.

Tenele's gaze lifted to the wall, to the thin gold light that stretched across the marble like a thread. Her throat tightened, and she wanted to tell him that the time to decide on Maxwell's offer was almost up. But, she had no desire to move him, to accept the demon's help. She wanted to lay in Vlad's arms all night, as comfortable and at peace as she felt.

But, Vlad's presence in her mind betrayed her privacy, and even as she thought all of that she shared it with him.

Vlad felt her thoughts as surely as he still felt her heat wrapped around him. "It's time to call him," he spoke as he realized what that thought meant.

Tenele burrowed down against him, beneath him, as if she could hide from it there in the water and surrounded by his flesh. "We don't have too," she whispered. "I'm fine. This baby is fine. We're both healthy. Morning sickness, that's all it is. Its normal. Many women have it..." She took a deep calming breath. "I don't like him. I don't want him hurting you. Even if you can pick the year, and even if its after I'm gone... He'll still hurt you."

Her words filled him with a deep sense of tenderness. "I can survive being hurt," he said protectively. She knew he could, and yet she defended him anyway. "But if something happens to you, I will not survive it. Losing you, let alone our child, would destroy me. Let me ensure the safety of our family," he said. The request was real. He could not make the decision unless she agreed as well.

Tenele felt her eyes well, and her throat grow tight. She was touched by his words, and feared for him. She didn't want him to be destroyed because of her stubbornness. She nodded to him. "Okay," she whispered in a quivering breath. She kissed him gently, lovingly, pouring her life into it. "We will call him."

Vlad's eyes glowed approvingly. "How much time is there?"

"Not much," she muttered with a wince. "I put it off too long. He wanted to know at sundown, or rather... I should light a candle at sundown as my answer..."

Vlad wasn't surprised. The demon's strength tended to be strongest at dusk. "Alright. I'll take care of it." He kissed her on the lips. Vlad reluctantly drew away from the heat of her body and rose to his feet in the water. The vampire grabbed a towel and threw it around his waist before heading out into their bedroom to get a candle started.

Atul was lounging across the bed, with Stalker lying in a grumpy heap by the balcony. The hell hound perked up when Vlad returned, ears at attention.

The King rolled onto his side, smiling at Vlad. "That was a long bath. You can't scold her for not following the doctors orders anymore."

* * *

Tenele waited in the water, watching from over the lip of the tub as he disappeared into their bedroom. She sank back into the now luke-warm water and placed both her hands on her abdomen. After three minutes she dragged herself out of the water and towelled off. Working with Maxwell made her nervous. From what she knew of him, he had an affinity for powerful things... And this child... well, given who the father was... She hoped her disdain for Maxwell was nothing more than a feeling, and she truly hoped he wouldn't try and take their child if it turned out to be a more valuable specimen than Vlad.

Tenele drew a soft cotton robe around her shoulders, tying it tightly around the waist before stepping out into the bed room.

Vlad smirked at Atul. "I'm good medicine for her," he insisted. He felt tempted to drop into the bed with the king, or do mostly anything besides walk to the cabinet and get out a candle. He got it anyway, keeping his emotions on a tight leash to avoid concerning Tenele. "I'm calling him," he alerted the other man calmly as he struck a match.

Atul pursed his lips together as Tenele emerged from the bathroom. He eyed her, trying to find what reason Vlad had for wanting to summon a man who abused him for the sake of science. But, he didn't need to look hard. Vlad didn't need to see a distressed Tenele, he just needed to look at her and love her.

Tenele drew her silver hair to one shoulder as she went to Atul. The King stood out of bed and the two of the watched Vlad light the candle. She took Atul's hand and held it tightly.

Vlad lit the candle with a steady hand and set it in the windowsill. "Maxwell," he said into the flickering plasma, "I'm ready."

There wasn't much flair to the doctor's arrival. On moment they were alone in the room, and the next they weren't. The tall man took a step toward Vlad, as if he'd just walked in from the wall. Eagle-yellow eyes studied him. "You understand my offer?"

"I've been informed. Tell me in your words," Vlad said. He knew Maxwell. The man wasn't the type to play games with technicalities. He said just what he meant, and meant what he said. He didn't negotiate.

"I will see to your wife and child's safety at the birth. In exchange, you will spend one year in my custody and continue the research where Sinead stopped it."

Vlad's mouth tasted vile at the memory; he fought the urge to spit. Sinead had put a stop to Maxwell's development of him for a reason. Instead, he calmly said, "When?"

"Two years."

"Two hundred," Vlad demanded. "Or whenever my family has passed on."

"Three, and it is done."

Vlad recognized the finality in the man's voice. "It is done" was usually a warning that if he pressed further, the terms would grow worse rather than better. "You can guarantee the child's safety? And Tenele's?"

"I am an expert," he said firmly.

"You hold no claim or right over the child. Once it rests in its mother's arms, you will have no contact with it for as long as it lives."

Maxwell hesitated at this. "If you insist," he said, frustration lining his voice.

"I insist," Vlad growled. "And I accept your terms."

The doctor's eyes went to Tenele. "You will agree to meet with me once each month, every week in the last trimester, and to follow my instructions over those of your doctor?"

Tenele hesitated a moment, and Atul squeezed her hand tighter. She nodded slowly. "I agree." Her voice was coarse, like her throat was filled with sand.

Vlad frowned at Maxwell. "Also, you will keep me informed of my family's safety. If they are in danger, I will be allowed to go to them."

Maxwell huffed. "They will be fine. Isn't that what you have him for," he swung his hand flippantly to indicate Atul. "They'll hardly need a second father."

Vlad's thoughts paled inside their link.

Tenele glared at Maxwell. "Do as he asks," she told the Maxwell. "You will let him know if we need help, if we are not able to be helped by someone else." Tenele looked at Vlad and then at Atul. "Or if I need Knight. What will happen in that event?"