The Bartender's Vampire [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seventeen - SIX

**Sorry it's been so long! I was writing six (?) books in November on my other profile. BUT I wrote over 300,000 words last month, so I'm still feeling pretty great about that. Anyway, onto the chapter :) **

Nicole's third birthday party is in full swing. Cake on the table, presents in the living room, a group of twenty or thirty children playing in the yard. Some of the kids are Nicole's siblings, others are her friends, neighbors. 

Just a little over three years into their marriage, Clawd and Draculaura have brought up quite a family. With four children and a fifth on the way, they're both more than proud of what they've created together. 

Two girls and two boys. Nicole, Graham, Ethan, and Brooke. The sex of the fifth child is unknown, and will be until the baby's birth in another month. While Draculaura's hoping for another little boy, Clawd could go either way. All he cares about is that his wife and kids are healthy, and that they stay that way. 

Clawd wraps an arm around Draculaura's shoulders, pulling her against his side. He presses a kiss to the top of her head, his golden eyes dancing with happiness as they scan the crowd of running children in the yard. "Six," he says softly. 

Draculaura tilts her head back to look up at her husband. "Six what?" she asks. 

He clears his throat. "After six pups, we'll stop, and your father can turn me into a vampire. Immortality," he says. 

She blinks, surprise filling her eyes. "Are you sure, Clawd?" she asks. "Because... I-I want you to be sure." 

He squeezes his shoulder. "More than sure, Laura. I've got all I need here, I do. And six pups... that'll be good enough for me. More than good enough for me," he says. 

"I just... don't want you to make a decision and then regret it when there's nothing we can do about it," she says softly. 

"Laura, the best decision of my life was the day that I made Heath Burns keep all the other guys away from you at my dad's bar. I haven't regretted a single decision I've made since then," Clawd says. "I assure you that that's not changing any time soon. I promise you that." 

***

Clawd and Draculaura's fifth pup, a boy named William--Willie for short--is born a month and a half after Nicole's birthday. He looks much like his father. Pointed ears, dark skin, golden eyes. Clawd lies beside Draculaura on the hospital bed, tracing a knuckle over the baby's cheek. 

"He's beautiful," Draculaura whispers. 

"Yes," Clawd whispers back. "All of our babies are," he says. "Each and every one of them is just... perfect," he says. 

Draculaura smiles, threading the fingers of her free hand through her husband's hair. "I love you, Clawd." 

He tilts his head back against her shoulder and smiles broadly at the vampire he's fallen in love with. "I love you more, Laura," he says softly. He leans up and presses a kiss to the gentle curve of her jawline. "More than anything else in this world," he adds. 

"I know, sweetheart," she says, her voice soft. Clawd lays his head against his wife's chest as William wraps his tiny hand around his father's index finger. Clawd smiles as Draculaura presses a kiss to his forehead. "I hope you know that our children have the best father in the world," she whispers. 

Clawd chuckles, the sound vibrating against Draculaura's chest. "They've got the best mom they could ever hope for, too," he says quietly. "We make a damn good pair, Laura," he adds. 

"I know," she says softly. "We always have."