North American Vampire Council & Past Calling (Hypernaturals 12 & 13)

Partner In All Things

Angel came to the shower, flipped open the curtain, catching us necking. "Hey! You have guests, loving assholes. Get out of the shower."

I reached out and touched Angel's tiny baby bump with my driest hand. I have permission to touch when I want. Angel made it clear once that she would be unhappy if I did not touch. "Hi, baby!" I said.

Angel smiled. "She says 'hi'." Our baby does not have a mouth. Or arms and legs yet. At the same time an Astral telling you that lends it credence.

Morgan reached for a towel. "They are early!"

"No, love-struck baby. It is ten past ten. You have been fucking around in here and have no idea what time it is." Angel scolded Morgan, at the same time laying a hand over mine on her bump. "Always touching my tummy these days! Not only her daddy. Vera. Of course I am touching hers." Angel gave a signature beatific smile. "It's nice when it's people I want to touch me. Not so nice when it's people at the grocery store."

They say that pregnant women have a glow about them. I am not an Astral, but I thought I could see Angel's. Last time she was pregnant, she had gone through that alone, and the entire experience around that marked her for years. Now she is surrounded by family. We are together all the time to remind her she is not alone. As if we have a choice about that with Vera's Vampire bonding, but even if Vera were not pregnant, we would be.

Angel is teaching me what it is like to be a pregnant woman, happy about the child, but not deep in the Vampire bonding. This is actually the first time that part has happened to me. It is interesting in that Angel is still very much interested in sex but it does not have the boiling lust for it that, for example, Morgan did. Or Vera does now. It seems to still be a bonding.

Morgan and I toweled off and dressed. As we worked on our persons, Morgan told Angel about our marriage plan.

"Morgan Diaz. I like it. Jessica will too. She's going to want to be the bridesmaid. Gaia as a bridesmaid. Sounds nice." Angel said.

"Even better: No one to sing our version of 'The Wedding Song' to us!' I said.

"I like that song." Angel told me with a frown.

"Three times in one summer was enough" Morgan supported me.

My office connects to Morgan's because I'm not stupid and Morgan has particular ideas about sex in semi-public places. She likes to have sex on her desk, for example. I would have done it that way anyway, but the extra incentive did not hurt. First, we went into Morgan's office. Then we opened the door to the front office / reception area where Angel sits. We have plenty of room on this floor to create a private office for Angel, but she likes being where she started, she said. It does give her the biggest office.

Morgan readied herself (something I am sure Angel could see as well as I can) and then stepped into the front office. Angel followed, and I took up the rear.

"Sam! Ken!" Here, Morgan paused. Her squared up shoulders relaxed. Angel and I paused behind her. At some level, we both expected the train to stop after it barely got going. Even from the back, it was easy for me to see that Morgan did not expect the emotional impact that arrived with their faces. "Gods! Wow! It is so good to see you guys! I have not seen you in what feels like a lifetime." Morgan said.

It has been a lifetime. The last time she saw them, she was human.

Morgan is not normally a socially effusive person. She is not over the top. She is not fake in any way. She sounded and is, despite her worries about how she left it with both men, genuinely happy to see these two from Houston and her past.

Morgan crossed over to Sam, who stood to meet her from where he and Ken had sat to wait on the reception area couch.

I could see a tense moment in Sam's eyes when he wondered which he should do: hug or shake? Morgan solved that for him by wrapping her old partner in her arms.