Alexandre and I were sitting at the kitchen table drinking donor blood from mugs, something he had insisted on after our bedroom activities. I smiled to myself. It might take a while, but I'd eventually convince him I wasn't made of glass.
"What's the secret grin for?" Alexandre asked me mischievously. I ran a hand up his arm.
"Oh you know, just thinking about the bedroom..." I felt his arm tense and could smell the shift in his hormones. I giggled.
"All of that wasn't enough for you?" He growled and I laughed.
"Says mister hormone over there. I can smell you, you know." I replied, tapping my nose. He really had given me quite the workout, but apparently my body's hormones were in overdrive. Alexandre's nostril's flared.
"Carys..." He cautioned.
"Relax, I'm not gonna jump your bones." I laughed. Although the idea was tempting. I sighed. "I think baby and I are going to get some more sleep, I'm feeling kind of useless right now." I was referring to the fact that my search for my serial killer had stalled indefinitely.
"You're not useless, you're creating new life. What could be more important that that?" Alexandre leaned over the table and kissed me.
"You make me sound like some kind of..." I fumbled for the word "livestock? or something..." I griped. Alexandre's face fell.
"That's not what I meant Carys. You should prioritize your health more, with or without the pregnancy. But you're doing something we thought impossible and I apologize if I seem overly excited about the process..." I silenced Alexandre with a finger to his lips.
"It's not that. I'm just irritable and hormonal and everyone treats pregnant women like the fetus is more important than she is." I burst out, then took several deep calming breaths. "Even you, Alexandre, sometimes act like I'm just a walking incubator." Alexandre's eyes widened and he gripped my hand.
"Oh Carys, no! I never intended to...I mean, I do desperately worry about the child since you decided to keep it, but I would never place one of your lives over the other like that. You are are both infinitely important to me, there are just so many unknown variables that I worry about you both all the time!" He said with an anguished cry "I don't know how this pregnancy is affecting you, and for a while I was terrified I was going to watch the two of you starve to death before my very eyes. I'm constantly checking you for any signs of decay or unusual odors that might indicate a chemical imbalance..." His face flushed and I realized he had outed himself. All that sniffing at my neck he'd been doing. I thought he'd been doing it because he liked the smell of me while pregnant. Turns out, he'd been secretly monitoring me like a service dog trained to sniff out changes in a diabetic or epileptic patient. My mouth fell open.
"Alexandre...I..." I stammered.
"I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I try to monitor the baby as best I can too, I've been keeping track of its heartbeat and we'll start measuring soon to track growth. Your heart-rate is a lot easier to track of course. There wasn't anything particularly odd about your blood earlier, of course, I've never tasted pregnant vampire before, so I have nothing to compare it too, and one bearing my own child at that...but the balance seemed ok... I ordered some testing equipment and would like to start doing some blood draws when it arrives just to be safe. I'm trying to cover all my bases here Carys, I...I don't want to lose either of you, but I really can't lose you..." Alexandre's face looked so haunted that I had no choice but to fall into his arms.
"Alexandre! I had no idea you were doing all that. How are you not exhausted with everything else you're handling? Plus the birthing classes?" Tears were threatening to strangle me.
"Birthing a baby is easy Carys-you'll do all the work. I just have to be prepared for the paranormal parts, in case we need to do a c-section or something drastic." Alexandre ran a hand down my hair. "Just please, please don't get the idea I no longer care for you because you're pregnant or will discard you after the baby's born. You are my life Carys. The pull I feel towards you has only intensified with time, and now I feel like a moon being pulled in the gravity of a planet. I could not escape you now if I wanted. Our child is a part of your pull, yes, but if I should try to choose between you, I would simply tear myself apart." He stopped. "I'm not making myself clear."
"No, you love us both, I get it." I sighed and leaned my forehead against his. "I didn't mean it to sound like a jealous sibling either." I laughed lightly. "I guess I just needed to be reminded that you saw me." I shrugged.
"I more than see you, love." He kissed me gently. "Now, how's your tummy? Any sign of nausea? Do you need me to give you a little to settle you?" He placed a hand on my forehead and I giggled helplessly. I guess if I'd really been paying attention, the signs were there all along, he'd been watching over me the whole time, like a guardian angel, in the background. I shook my head at him and pulled his hand to my lips.
"Why don't you come take a nap with me?" I requested.
"I do have some work to do..." He hedged.
"Rest..with me." I pleaded. "Let me take care of you, even if it's just a nap. Everyone deserves a break once in a while."
"Well, I guess nothing's really that pressing." He quietly replied. I stood and led him by the hand to our bedroom, laying him down gently and curling around him to run my fingers in his hair until he fell asleep. Then I laid my head on his shoulder, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat and drifted off myself.
I eyed the small round bump jutting from my midriff in the mirror. Alexandre laid a hand on it and his eyes twinkled over my left shoulder.
"Yes, you're getting fat." He reported solemnly.
"Rude!" I swatted at him. "I was actually just wondering if it had developed a gender yet. I can't smell any changes on me, but I live with my own scent soo...I guess that's like a skunk smelling itself."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Alexandre laughed.
"Hey, I lived in a rural community, remember, they had weird sayings..." I replied defensively, still not explaining.
"I'm still not sure that makes sense Carys." Alexandre chuckled.
"It doesn't have to. Smell me." I demanded. He rolled his eyes, but complied, sniffing along my neck as though I was a bouquet of flowers. I felt my knees go weak, and he chuckled again.
"Sorry Carys, still the delightful island paradise, nothing else so far." Alexandre reported. I sighed.
"Ah well, it was just a silly idea anyway. It may never work." I shrugged and Alexandre kissed my neck.
"You never know, might be too early yet. We're only guessing at the timeline now, and by my count you're about fourteen weeks in." He smoothed my hair. "Don't be so impatient." I scoffed at him.
"I'm going to remind you of that when it's crying uncontrollably all through the night." I retorted.
"We're vampires love, I'm up all night anyway." He kissed my neck and left the room while I gaped after him in the mirror. "Blasted incubus." I grumbled and heard him laughing lightly from his study. I ran a hand over the bump and contemplated it in the mirror again. I was anxiously awaiting the first movements. Although Alexandre's constant positive attitude had brought me closer to anticipating this baby's arrival more happily, I still couldn't completely dispense with the dread of the thing within me. Every normal milestone it reached was one more breath of relief for me. One more sign screaming 'normal', even it was a product of paranormal parents.
I floated from the room toward the kitchen for a snack. Luckily, my stomach had been much more settled lately, which meant eating was becoming easier. I heard the phone ring in Alexandre's study and the low murmur of his voice as he answered as I neared the foyer. There was a sudden crash as something fell and I froze mid-step, then turned on a heel and raced back to him. He stared at me open-mouthed when I entered the room, the receiver still clutched to his ear. I raced to his side and nearly tripped on the chair he had knocked over. As I gripped him by the shoulder, hearing his heart jackhammer away in his chest, he dropped the receiver to the desk and blinked slowly.
"They found her." He whispered to me, eyes and mouth still wide.