"Could you at least try to drink a little for me?" Alexandre begged, holding the mug forward under my nose. The very smell made me nauseous.
"Listen, if you're taking me to do this thing today, it's not a good time to experiment." I argued.
"Carys, it's been two weeks! And not that I don't enjoy our little arrangement...." He walked over and took me in his arms, running his nose along the crook of my neck. I felt my knees go weak "...but at some point you have to transition back to a normal diet. Just try for me?" He kissed my neck softly. "Please?" His teeth lightly grazed my flesh and I moaned.
"Fine!" I snapped, snatching the cup off the counter where he had placed it and taking a big swallow. "You cheat." My stomach gurgled as the blood made its way down and I grimaced. "But that's all I'm drinking right now. I don't want to throw up everywhere, I'm a little tired of that." I held my rib-cage lightly as the memory of the vomiting made my muscles ache.
"Good enough. We'll wean you slowly." He grinned. I stuck my tongue out at him and then he crouched down in front of me to kiss my stomach happily before downing the rest of the mug himself and rinsing it in the sink.
"Are you ready?" He asked cheerfully, extending a hand. I sighed warily and took it. I wished I could feel his unbridled enthusiasm, but all I felt was dread. Alexandre eagerly tugged me out to the car, got me seated and buckled before I could count to ten. He listened with a frown as my stomach roiled. "Hmm." He commented. "I can't tell if that's nerves, or your food disagreeing with you. Should I offer some of my blood to see if it'll help steady things?" He looked at me through his sunglasses seriously.
"Yes please." I sighed. I guess you could say, for me, drinking Alexandre's blood was like eating saltines for other pregnant women. Alexandre crouched in front of me.
"Wrist or neck?" He offered cheekily and I dug my fingers into his hair, pulling him to me. He willingly turned his head and I heard his breath hitch as I tenderly kissed his neck.
"Thank you." I murmured against the skin, and could feel the muscles in his face twitch as he smiled. I dug my teeth into him and felt him nearly sink to the ground. I used an arm to steady and hold him as he moaned lightly at my touch. A few mouthfuls later I let the wound close, kissing the blood away as it beaded up around the wound. Alexandre braced himself on the door frame and I heard the metal protest lightly. "Careful there boy, or you'll break your car." I laughed against his throat. He groaned in return and wrapped an arm around me tightly as I released him, laying his head in the crook of my neck.
"Carys, if we didn't have to be there within the hour, I would take you back inside this house..." He growled. I laughed lightly and ruffled his hair.
"Horny toad." I commented.
"Tease." He replied.
"Incubus." I shot back rapidly and he pulled back to look at me before bursting out laughing. He laid a gentle hand on my stomach lovingly and rang his fingers over the slight swelling that was already beginning in my lower abdomen. I shivered.
"I guess we should get going." He sighed and got up to leave. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down, kissing him lightly on the lips.
"Love you." I said with a small smile. He returned the grin eagerly.
"Eternally." He replied, gently touching his forehead to mine, and then he was gone, shutting my door and instantly appearing on the driver's side of the vehicle. He giddily started the car, humming a tune to himself and sped out of the drive. He was going to see his baby today, and nothing could dampen his mood. I shook my head with a slight grin. Myself, I was just terrified of what we would discover. I ran my hand along the slight swelling and tuned into the light thumping of the tiny heart. It was easier to locate now that I knew what I was listening for. Alexandre captured my hand and kissed it happily. I smiled at him, hoping my anxiety wasn't showing on my face.
"It'll be fine Carys." Alexandre said comfortingly. "I know it will." He squeezed my hand. I smiled for him, but I knew he could still smell my anxiety. He held my hand the rest of the drive.
I could sense his excitement building as we approached the office. The scent of him like this was intoxicating, and it even buoyed my mood a little. He walked a little too quickly around the car, desperately trying to maintain a human pretense, and pulled me directly into his arms from my seat. He was almost bouncing by the time we reached the doctor's office, and I finally had to smile and pull his arm back to steady him. I kissed him on the mouth with a small smile.
"What was that for?" He asked incredulously.
"I love you." I shrugged. He swept me up in a tight hug and kissed me back.
"Eternally." He murmured against my lips.
We were ushered into the same exam room that now had a rolling table with a complicated machine set up on it with a large screen. I recognized the ultrasound setup at once and swallowed hard, rubbing my stomach. Alexandre captured my hand again and kissed my fingers. Deciding not to delay the inevitable, I sat on the exam table as Dr. Stein entered with a pleasant looking young woman.
"Hello Rivers family!" Dr. Stein announced and Alexandre preened. "This is Dr. Jayce, she's part of my team here and has been for some time. Well, I say she's part of the team, I call her in when we have a special case like yours that we're monitoring. I've informed her of your particular genetic anomaly and it's effects and that it may have an effect on the baby." I glanced at Alexandre quickly, but he didn't seem worried. "Dr. Jayce here specializes in high risk OB-GYN situations." I flinched. "I promise you, you're in the very best hands! Well, I'll leave you to it then!" And with that, Stein flounced from the room. Dr. Jayce smiled at us and shook her long brown ponytail.
"I understand this is your first child, Mrs. Rivers?" She said sweetly in a shockingly girlish voice. I smiled weakly back at her and nodded.
"Oh dear, are you a nervous wreck yet? Or wait, are you?" She asked looking at Alexandre with a laugh as she rolled the machine nearer the table. Alexandre looked offended. I was relieved.
"Oh, I'm the nervous one-he's ecstatic." I confided, motioning with my head. Alexandre grinned and took my hand.
"Ok, I'm going to have to ask you to lay back, lift your shirt and push your waistband down a bit, there you go. I'm going to put these towels here to keep this gel off your clothes. Now this might be a little cold. I did try to warm it, but..." She squirted the slimy liquid onto my abdomen and I could feel Alexandre trembling with excitement beside me. Running the transducer over my skin, Dr, Jayce took several passes before she located what she was looking for. Each pass had me panicking slightly more until I was holding my breath, eyes closed, fearing the worst.
"There we go papa-there's your baby!" Jayce cooed happily.
"Carys look! How tiny!" Alexandre's voice was hushed, I kept my eyes squeezed tight.
"Mmhmm." Dr. Jayce said. "Based on these measurements, I'd say your little bean is about...oh 9 weeks along." Alexandre squeezed my hand.
"Is it...normal?" I asked quietly and I felt Alexandre freeze.
"Oh!" Jayce laughed "Really are the nervous type! Well, we'll have to wait until your second trimester to check for more obvious signs of defects, but at this point, everything looks fine to me." She reported cheerfully. I felt my body relax and I opened my eyes to see Alexandre staring at me with one of his hearbreakingly loving looks that made my heart skip a beat.
"I told you, momma." He murmured and kissed my forehead.
"Would you like to see your baby, mom?" Jayce asked, and I nodded with trepidation. The image on the screen showed me something I didn't quite expect, a tiny vaguely baby shaped blob, surrounded by a grey and black void. Then Jayce made a few adjustments and the sound of the baby's heartbeat came from the machine. "And there's your baby's heartbeat." Dr. Jayce happily reported and Alexandre and I shared a secret smile. "It's a little on the slow side, but it's early yet, and I understand your condition causes a slow heartbeat, so we'll just keep an eye on that. But I'm not worried about anything yet." She smiled brightly at me, and tapped a few more buttons and discussed further with us about the baby. By the end, I was feeling a little better that the being growing within me at least didn't have horns and a tail (yet?), and on our way out the door Alexandre happily accepted a printout of the ultrasound while making the next appointment. He stared at the picture the entire elevator ride, one hand wrapped possessively around my waist. He kissed me long and slow in the car and told me again how happy he was, and I had to admit, I was beginning to relax and felt the first small bud of happiness too. Everything looked normal. I sighed and leaned back in the seat. Alexandre glanced at me and smiled softly, holding my hand and playing with my fingers as he pulled out of the parking lot. As we began the drive home, I felt myself relax enough to start to doze lightly.
I heard the ding of Alexandre's phone notification sound, followed closely by another and a third. Then he huffed as he let go of my hand to take his phone out of his jacket pocket, then the unlock blip sounded and suddenly the atmosphere in the car changed. I could feel the car speed up and the smell of Alexandre's adrenaline and anger hit me hard. His knuckles popped on the steering wheel, which emitted a loud crack under the pressure. My eyes flew open in alarm.