Forever After

Well...Shit

An: Pregnancy talk.

You were a month into the European leg of your honeymoon with Hellboy, touring all the rich cuisines the continent had to offer. Next, when you had finished with Germany and Italy, you'd be off to check out Asia. Except...you were feeling sick. Every morning you'd wake up and puke your guts out for about two or three hours, crawl back in bed for another four and only then wake up ready to go. "Maybe we should head back to the Quarter." Hellboy said, brow wrinkled in worry as you finally rolled out of bed at two in the afternoon.

     You shook your head. "I'm fine. I'd like to finish up Germany today. Get on a plane to Italy already." So you continued on with what was left of your day.

     The lady in the old timey German get up serving a lager to Hellboy and your third basket of pretzels to you winked at him and said something you picked up the barest bits of. You were still learning German, and only knew enough to realize that she was...Congratulating him? You relaxed. The wedding rings were pretty obvious. Hellboy however spit out his drink in shock, choking a bit as he went. She left, presumably to get a towel and Hellboy just stared at you. Stared holes through you. You reached for your wine only for Hellboy to swipe it off the table and onto the floor in a movement quicker than you'd ever seen him use before.

     "What the fuck, Big Red? I was drinking that!" You protested his odd behavior, only becoming worried when he took both your hands and braced them in his much larger ones, the two of you resting your elbows on the table.

     He hesitated. "Did you notice anything about our barmaid?"

     "She smells a little off, but that's probably just because someone dumped a vodka on her dress not long ago." You wrinkled your nose.

     Hellboy shook his head. "She is a practicer of magic. A witch of Freyr. German fertility goddess." You began to feel alarm.

     "A witch? I don't sense anything-"

     "Closer to a wiccan I suppose. They only practice nature and life related magic. And more on the symbolic side at that. At least, these ones do." He squeezed your hands. "That's not the point." He hesitated. It was very unlike his normally blunt self. You waited patiently for him to find his words. "(Y/n), she congratulated me on our pregnancy. Said that she hadn't seen so fertile a couple since Freyr and her lover. (Y/n)?" You had gone silent. The world was spinning in circles. You blinked, opened and closed your mouth like a fish, and promptly fainted.

X

     You weren't sure what to do. The baby was a special case. For all you knew, flying back even as early as you were in pregnancy, could be a bad idea. Were you...stuck here until the birth? You snorted at the idea of showing up in the quarter with a baby at your hip. Klaus would have a cow while Hayley laughed at his stress. A thought suddenly occurred. "Fuck! Hellboy, what if the baby has horns and a really big stone hand? Taking your battering ram was about all the abuse I can handle. Pretty sure I can't pass something like that."

Hellboy looked up from the ancient text he was reading. "Yeah well I wasn't born with those things. They formed a couple hours after my birth."

     You sat heavily on the big bed in the center of the room. Hellboy joined you in the bed, pulling you to his chest and cradling your much smaller form. "C'mon babe. You'll be fine. It's hardly the first part demon to be born of a non-demon mother." He kissed the top of your head. "Get some rest. You wanted to get to Italy in the morning, remember?"

X

     After Italy you cut your losses and went home to the quarter. No one was home so you went straight to bed. It was the sound of gentle arguing in the hallway that woke you a couple hours later. "I already checked her room top to bottom. There's just the two of them in there. And yet, I hear an extra heart somewhere. I can't smell anything out of the ordinary. Elijah, something's not right."

     "Niklaus, if she isn't worried, you shouldn't be either." Elijah seemed amused. Had he already figured it out? You waited until you were sure they had left the compound before extricating yourself from Hellboy's arms and venturing down into the kitchen. A sudden, primal urge had seized you and you needed...Well, you weren't really sure. Sometimes you got cravings for your husband's blood really deep, but this was different. You dug around in the fridge, then the freezer, and finally the deep freeze, growing increasingly frustrated. Tears threatened and you felt alarm. Were you really going to cry over something when you didn't even know what you were seeking in the first place?

     A sudden rage rose in you and you angrily swiped a hand across the shelf in the fridge you had left standing open, only it must have been harder than you realized because the whole shelf just shattered, sending glass in all directions. Then the tears did spill, great ugly sobs that shook you. It was all so upsetting. Nothing here seemed like the right answer to the hunger in your gut. "Whoa, whoa, hey, what's going on?" Marcel crouched in front of you looking up into your tearful face while Rebekah stood ready at the door to call for help.

     It struck you. "I just...really want fried tomatoes with frosting. And maybe some ice cream with barbecue pulled pork in it."

     Marcel started laughing. "Alright Rebekah, pay up." You looked between the two of them inquisitively as she pressed a twenty into his hands grumbling something about "damn super vamp hearing". Marcel smiled. "I'll go get it. I've got some contacts who stay open pretty late for members of the supernatural community. Why don't you go sit in the courtyard with your aunt? She'll keep you company."

     You were sitting there sipping a chamomile and making small talk about your honeymoon when Marcel returned with your father, mother, and Elijah. He just winked and you knew. He wasn't saying anything to them. Or hadn't yet. You accepted the covered containers of food from him gratefully. "Nik, I'm going to need you to order a new shelf for the fridge. I got mad and ripped it out." Your aunt covered with smooth fib. Your father scowled.

     "Why is it always my place you wreck, dear sister?"

     She shrugged. "I enjoy giving you minor inconveniences." And the whole thing devolved into a petty sibling squabble that allowed you to slip away with your dinner, back to your room. You felt a warm glow at the love your family and friends had displayed for you, willingness to cover for you and let you come clean on your own and all. Hellboy stirred and sat up to look at you, trying not to wrinkle his nose.

     "Babe is that... barbecue sauce in your ice cream?" He had to make an apparent effort not to gag.

     You didn't mind. "Yeah!" You said cheerfully. "With pulled pork." He chuckled quietly.

     Pulling you close, he kissed the tip of your nose. "Wake me up next time. I've always kind of wondered what sort of looks these dads get at the store and restaurants, ordering these types of things." He fed you then, taking great care with his movements and stopping to kiss you tenderly every few bites. When you were done he got some wet wipes and mopped the sauce off your face. Then he tucked you in, pressing your face into the crook of his neck and wrapping his warm, thick embrace around you like a safety blanket made of utter devotion. His tail curled around your leg and pulled it close to his so he could keep your feet warm between the meat of his legs. "Sleep, (Y/n)." And you did, in total peace and true serenity.