Parental Intuition

Chapter 6 - The Arrival

A/N: mentions of blood loss near end of chapter

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One week left.

Dracula could hardly believe it, staring at his wife and her swollen belly. Ericka could hardly believe it, that the bump inside her would soon be a little child in her arms that she would feed and dress and love forever to death. Everything in their chambers had been set up to help welcome the little newcomer, from the rocking chair in the far corner of the room to the changing table in the center and the small mobile that hung above the crib. Small sets of clothing were being organized into drawers that consisted of both girl and boy onesies, as the two were still waiting to see which they would be blessed with. The pair were currently in their suite parlor that night, discussing their strategy for when she would begin to go into labor.

"I don't know Ericka, is it really necessary to rehearse?" Drac asked.

Ericka nodded. "Your friends have told me that you were a mess when Mavis was born. I'd like you to be in a calmer mindset for when it happens this time."

Dracula waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, sweetfangs, I will have it all under control. I can be as calm as a sleeping wolf pup when I need to be." He gave her a reassuring smile and she raised an eyebrow. Then, an idea came to her mind.

"Drac?"

He glanced at her. "Yes, my love?"

"It's time."

Dracula froze. "It's time?.... It's time! IT'S TIME!" He jumped about a foot in the air and began to frantically pace around with widened eyes. "Oh my goodness, holy rabies! We have to get going! I don't have a moment to lose!" he shouted, nearly tripping over his own feet trying to make his way towards the door.

"Whoa, easy there, big guy," she said, holding onto his shoulders to keep him from colliding with anything in the room. "Take a breath."

"No, no, no! We are running out of time!!" His eyes looked manic as they darted around the room like he was searching for something. "We don't have time to lose, my darling! Now come on!" He pulled her along with him, and in wheeling around he miscalculated his distance from the door and instead slammed straight against the wall with a hard bang. Drac yelped and clutched at his nose with both hands as he crumpled to the floor.

"Drac!" she exclaimed, coming up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh... I think I broke it," he said nasally while he rose back up.

Ericka shook her head. "This is exactly what I was talking about. We do need to rehearse this a little better so that you know how to behave!"

He blinked at her. "Wait a minute... so you're not having the baby right now?"

"No!" she said. "I was just testing your reaction. And, as I suspected, you didn't react as well as I had hoped." She stared at him pointedly as he gave a sheepish smile.

"So sorry, my love. I will try harder to keep calm. Gee, you really had me worried there for a second - "

"Aaggh!" Ericka suddenly exclaimed, knees buckling some and hands grabbing at her belly.

Dracula however wagged a finger at her. "Oh, no, no, no! I'm not falling for it two times in a row! You might think - "

"Drac!" she cut him off, grabbing his arm desperately. "This is not a joke! It's really, really time! NOW!" He stared at her wide-eyed as she grimaced, holding a hand to her swollen stomach. He blinked quickly, snapping back to the situation at hand.