"What just happened there?" Alexandre whispered.
"Female bonding." I whispered back. He blinked, confused and I laughed. "We shared a moment through a shared form of suffering." I said, running a hand along my stomach. "So we instantly empathized with each other."
"I don't understand, are you in pain?" Alexandre asked with concern.
"Nooo, not particularly, being pregnant is..amazing, especially for me, considering..." I replied waving at my body to insinuate the vampirism and Alexandre nodded, indicating he understood, "But it's also kind of miserable." I laughed. "The mood swings, the new aches and pains, your body changing, the increased need to pee as the baby grows, the nausea..." I shivered. "Plus just feeling kinda, you know, tired... But on the other hand.. look, we've created a brand new creature! I hope it's more 'baby', less creature..." Alexandre nudged me and I laughed. He opened the door to our room I walked in to the large bed, immediately sitting down while Alexandre laid our stuff along the wall. I motioned him over.
"And this, this being, is an actual physical remnant of me and you, proof we've left behind to show the world we were here. That's amazing too. I love that she's part of you Alexandre." I held his hand against my stomach. "I'm still scared, scared I'm going to be a terrible mom, scared there may be something wrong with her, but I'm also excited. I'm excited to share, to teach, to watch her learn and grow. To see what she'll look like, to hold that little warm bundle in my arms." I smiled softly at the bump and when I looked up Alexandre was watching me tenderly. I blushed and stood. "But anyway, I think I'm going to have a shower." I said and walked into the bathroom. Alexandre trailed behind me, standing at the doorway for a moment silently observing until I looked at him in the mirror.
"Mind if I join?" He asked quietly. I walked to him and pulled him into the room, carefully removing his jacket and shirt. I ran my hands along his back, feeling the remnants of the few lights scars that remained, before tracing the scar along his hip with my fingertips. This one was still rough, but fading quickly now. As I made my way around his waist, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms. I let myself relax into his warmth. When he pulled back he helped me out of my shirt as well, placing a hand on the little bump that contained our child. He turned me gently to unhook my bra and I sighed with relief as it came away from my skin. Alexandre kissed my shoulder blade and rubbed my shoulders gently, then hugged me around the waist before once again turning me and kneeling in front of me. He kissed the place where our daughter was moving gently, and, with his eyes never leaving mine, helped me slide out of my pants. He slid his hands back up my legs to retrieve the cotton underwear left behind. Eyes, still on mine, he stood and touched his forehead to mine. I laid my hand on his face and then let it drop to his chest for a moment, before letting my hand fall to his waist where I undid the button and zipper on his denim jeans and slid them over his hips, letting them fall to the floor. I did the same to the waistband of his briefs, sliding them over his hips and he stepped out of them without comment. I pulled him towards the shower and we stepped in together and let the water wash away the cares of the day.
"Room Service!" Came the knock at the door.
"Pillows!" I squealed and raced towards it, making the baby jump in my womb.
"Whoah, where are you going?" Alexandre scooped me up. Water cascaded from my hair, which was still soaked from the shower. "This is a towel." He said plucking at the towel wrapped around me. "Not an article of clothing." He scolded.
"But my pillows..." I pouted.
"I'll get them." He sighed, pulling on a pair of pants. He answered the door shirtless and tipped well, but I think the guy was just curious why a dripping wet man wearing only pants wanted an armful of pillows. Or maybe he really didn't want to be curious. I laughed and Alexandre looked at me funny. I shook my head at him and tried to dry my hair. Alexandre tossed the pillows on the bed and collapsed on it with a groan. I dug through my bag to find a loose shirt and stretchy pants with fresh undies and dressed quickly, eager to get some sleep. Alexandre had already dozed off by the time I reached the bed. I smiled at him and turned off the lights, ruffling his damp curls as I crawled into bed beside him. He murmured my name softly and I snuggled next to him, tucking a few pillows around me to support my back and knees. Alexandre abruptly threw his arms around me and snuggled up next to me, his warm chest pressed against me, warming my face and body better than a blanket. I sighed happily and drifted off to sleep.
I woke first with a strange buzzing anxiety running through my body. Realizing that I was not going to be sleeping any more, I turned on the TV and muted it, watching it soundlessly until I got hungry and then slurped on a bag of blood, allowing Alexandre time to continue sleeping. Since I noticed the ice had almost completely melted, I drained the water from the cooler into the tub and then refilled it with ice from the ice machine. I wandered the hall for a little and then chatted with the friendly receptionist when she looked at me sympathetically and asked if I was having trouble sleeping. I didn't bother to tell her that I was usually up nights.
As hard as Alexandre was sleeping, I realized he must have really pushed himself to the edge of his endurance, so I just tried to keep myself busy while he slept. I tousled his hair again when I returned to the room and kissed him lightly on the temple. He murmured and rolled over towards me. I kept myself occupied with my phone for a while, then recharged it before laying back down beside Alexandre to watch the silent TV. Alexandre wrapped an arm around me immediately and smiled in his sleep. My heart ached and I returned the embrace, running my hands lightly through his hair. The repetitive motion was soothing to me and I found myself beginning to doze.
"Are you finally going to settle down now Carys?" Alexandre whispered and I twitched.
"You jerk!" I lightly smacked his shoulder and he laughed, pulling me with him as he rolled, so that my head and shoulders were on his chest, and I was curled beside him. "How long have you been awake?" I asked.
"In and out. It bothered me when you left the room, so I couldn't sleep until you returned." He ran his fingers along my spine.
"I'm sorry. I was trying not to disturb you. Did you get enough sleep?" I quietly responded, wiggling slightly under his soft touch.
"I should be fine. Again, I don't need as much as you." Alexandre yawned. "A bag of blood ought to help tide me over, and you can drive the next hour or so to let me sleep. How does that sound?" He asked. I nodded. With another yawn, he sat up and stretched. I brought him a bag of blood and he drained it swiftly, then got up to put on a shirt. I held him from behind for a few minutes before we left, my heart racing nervously and then we were checking out and on our way again as the sun slowly rose over the treetops.
"Ok, where are we heading?" I asked Alexandre as I pulled out of the parking lot settling my sunglasses on my nose.
"I don't precisely know. I know they last traced her location to a small town a few hundred miles from here that had a free health fair. They think she was travelling either as part of the fair volunteers, or following it, pretending to be a patient. They think she uses these things to scout out poor, impoverished communities with small populations that have easy prey to target." He looked at me apologetically. I clenched my teeth. "She then transfers them, drugged, to another location, usually another state, where she actually does the deed. I only know where the health even was for sure, but she could have visited any number of the surrounding small towns. I'm hoping whatever her purpose following these events, her scent is not too muddled for me to pick up." He yawned.
"The name, Alexandre-give me the name of the town." I said softly. He paused for three slow heartbeats.
"It's the town you were living in. It seems you're the one who got away. She might be trying to draw you out." He replied quietly. I growled and the car shot forward into the bright sunny morning.