Chapter 21: Chapter 21 NEW FAMILY ADDITION

“No. I would love it if you called me mom.” Kayla struggled with the emotion bubbling inside her.

“It would be an honor to be your dad.”

“Thanks, Mom, Dad.” Jade was happy. She could feel their excitement and it contributed heavily to her own. “I guess we should go downstairs now.” She slid between the door and her parents as they stared at her motionless.

“What is it with you two?” Scarlet lay stretched out on the living room sofa. She watched as Solara and Kayla approached her with blessed out looks on their faces.

“I’m a mom.” Kayla squealed giddily.

“I don’t get it.”

“I am now officially a mom.”

“I still don’t get it.” Scarlet shook her head.

“Jade asked if she could call me mom.”

“That’s great.” Scarlet tried to rise into a sitting position but lay back down when the pain gripped her again. “Bad idea.”

The pain wasn’t as bad as before it was more like a dull ache. But it still hurt to move around.

Kayla sat on the coffee table and leaned towards her friend. “What’s going on with you? You shouldn’t be getting sick.”

“I know right. And yet here I am.” Scarlet lay her hand over her belly.

“How are you feeling?” Stephan walked in a mug of blood in his hand.

“Strange. I don’t think blood will cure me.” She took the mug from him, doubtful it would do any good but she just took it to ease his mind.

“Just drink it.” Stephan smiled at her, while his eyes revealed how he felt. He was worried. This wasn’t normal not even for the abnormal.

“I feel fine.” Scarlet lied.

“You do. Jade honey.” Kayla called out, finally she had a lie detector at her disposal.

“Mom?” Jade walked into the living room, with SJ and Eric with her.

“Check how Scarlet is feeling?”

“Why what’s wrong with my mom?” in a fluid second SJ moved from where he stood and knelt beside his mother.

“It’s nothing, they are just exaggerating. I’m fine baby.” Scarlet combed her fingers through her son’s hair.

“She is feeling fine, but she is...aah...she is. Mom can’t you just get it from my head. I’m not comfortable saying it out loud.” Jade twiddled her thumbs.

“Oh, ok.” Kayla’s eyes were wide with amusement.

“I can tell you this much, whatever must be going on with you is up to Stephan.” Solara snickered.

“What are you talking about?” Stephan was confused.

“Scarlet is hormonal.” Kayla laughed.

“T.M.I,” SJ yelled as he brought his hands over his ears.

“Can’t you smell that?” Eric added.

“Smell what?”

“The vampire side of you must have killed all your beast senses. Scarlet is pregnant and her hormones are raging.” He added.

“Excuse me?” Scarlet pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

Eric felt uncomfortable when everyone’s gaze shifted from Scarlet to him. He didn’t understand the shocked looks on their faces. “My best friend’s mom asked me to smell her. I know we live in a crazy world, but seriously? Your hormones are just crazy at the moment.”

“Eew!” SJ moaned.

“Dude! You are going to be a big brother.” Eric chimed.

“Uh-huh. What makes you think I’m...that?” Scarlet couldn’t say out the words, without fearing that saying it would make it come true. “You are not a doctor, and there isn’t any indication to prove that I am...”

“Just the way I knew you were pregnant with SJ. I’m a beast I can smell these things. What’s wrong with you guys it’s like you didn’t know? ...uh... You didn’t know, did you?” It finally dawned on him.

“I can’t be...that. I’m a vampire.” She was determined not to say the ‘P’ word.

“You are a part vampire.” Eric corrected.

“Still I should not be able to...”

“I wouldn’t use that line of reasoning if I were you, because SJ’s existence will just dispute it.” Eric pointed out once more.

SJ was conceived by a half-vampire father but with a human mother, which was much more understandable. But a child conceived by two half vampires wasn’t. Especially since Scarlet hadn’t had her menstrual cycle ever since she got pregnant with SJ.

“Sweetheart this is the supernatural world. The rules are different. Your cycle doesn’t count.” Kayla could see the confusing thoughts running through Scarlet’s head.

“Stay out of my head Kayla.” Scarlet ran out and headed for her room.

Stephan ran after her, “Scarlet we need to talk about this.”

“Stop. Don’t follow me.” Scarlet threatened, her eyes glistening with tears. “I think you have done enough.”

“Don’t worry about that. She’s just having mood swings.” Jade informed him.

“Another baby.” Stephan sank into the sofa.

“What’s wrong with that? I’m looking forward to a little brother or sister.” SJ beamed.

“It’s not that simple SJ. Your mother went through a lot when she was pregnant with you. A lot of scary stuff.”

“Keep something in mind Stephan, with SJ she went at it alone. Now she has all of us to watch over her.” Kayla tried to put his mind at ease.

“What happened when mom was pregnant with me?” SJ couldn’t understand it. He had never heard any bad stories about when he was a baby, but he had also never heard any story about the time Scarlet was pregnant with him.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Stephan ruffled his hair.

“You need to tell me what I did, that is making mom so freaked out about having another baby.”

“It’s complicated and I don’t think your mom wants us talking about it.”

“But-,”

“SJ not now. Jade could you tell me if she’s calm down.”

Jade closed her eyes and tried to focus. She blocked out everyone in the room and concentrated on Scarlet upstairs.

“She’s calming down. Give it a few more minutes.”

Stephan paced around the room as the others watched him, thinking about what this meant and how terrible timing it was. He had just gotten news of Marquis’s plan to attack and now the news of a new baby was bound to complicate everything.

“Solara we need to talk.” Stephan rushed out of the house with Solara following closely.

“This complicates everything.”

“So what now?”

“Now we come up with a plan and Scarlet can not know about this. If she does she will take both my children and run and I don’t want to lose my family.”

“Stephan, keep your head on, I am sure it will not come to that.”

“I’m not so sure. When she was pregnant with SJ she left me. What will keep her from leaving now?”

“Our foolproof plan.”

“Once you know what that is please fill me in.” Stephan dug his fingers into his hair. “I know I should be happy about the baby and I should be helping Scarlet see how great this is, but I can’t help thinking about how this is the wrong time for a baby.”

“For the next couple of minutes, you need to stop thinking about Marquis and start thinking about Scarlet and the baby, because Scarlet is on her way here. By the way, her thoughts are murderous.”

Solara rushed away when Scarlet appeared around the corner, he gave her a quick wave then vanished into the house.

“What part of let’s not made a baby didn’t you understand.”

“Scarlet-,”

“Do you remember, at the beach on our anniversary? Before we made love in the ocean we said let’s not make a baby.” Scarlet glared at him as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I know we said that but we had no way of knowing that you could still conceive.”

“Well, now we know.” Sobs escaped her throat as the dam in her eyes broke. “What are we going to do now?”

“Scarlet I don’t understand you. We are having another baby, we should be happy and crossing our fingers for a girl.” Stephan reached out for her.

“You are thinking about the sex of the baby. I know you weren’t there, but when I was pregnant with SJ I killed people.”

“You need to stop thinking about that.”

“How? Every time he grows an inch, when he laughs and runs, I think about the lives that were sacrificed for him to eat.”

“That was beyond your control.”

“What says this baby won’t be beyond my control?”

“That is because you have us. And we now know what to expect. It will be fine. Our baby will be fine and perfect and beautiful.”

“I want to be happy about this baby, but I am scared. I am terrified and I don’t think I am ready for the twelve weeks roller coaster.” Scarlet dropped to the ground, “And I feel guilty because I should be happy and grateful. Solara and Kayla can’t have their own and here I am with a second baby, and I can’t help but think about how terrifying the pregnancy will be.”

“I know. I’m scared too.” Stephan knelt before her, pulling her body on top of his that she was now sitting on him her legs wrapped around his waist. “We are going to have another baby, and this time we will be around to raise her. Maybe this baby won’t be such a headache.”

When Scarlet laughed Stephan knew he was on his way to turning the baby disaster into a thing of joy. He hated lying to her about how fine things would be, but what else could he do. Telling her now about Marquis’s plan after implying that she was dead would break her trust in him and in turn destroy their marriage.

“It’s going to be fine honey.” Stephan cradled her, letting her cry on his shoulder. “A new baby. I can’t wait to see you round and huge.”

“That’s not funny Stephan.” She mumbled into his shirt.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. When you were pregnant with SJ you were the most beautiful being on earth.”

“What are you trying to say Jeraldi?” She leaned back and looked in his face.

Stephan realized how wrong his compliment sounded, “What I mean is that you look very beautiful when you are pregnant, especially when I know it’s my kid swimming around in there.”

“You keep putting your foot in your mouth.”

“How are you feeling?” He changed the subject.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. I need to get used to the idea.”

“You better do it fast because I’m sure you are going to start showing soon.”

“I know.”

“So we are having a new baby.”

“It looks like it.”

Scarlet eased into his arms as he carried her back to the house. The ride was about to begin and Scarlet wasn’t sure if she could hold on to it, especially since she knew what to expect.

She gazed at Stephan’s radiant smile and the excitement in his eyes. He was looking forward to this new baby and for him, she was going to try and push her fears away.

Scarlet stared into the face of her first child and the beauty and love in it put her at ease. If she was going to have another child just like him, it was going to be worth it. Just like how worth it the horror she went through to have her little boy was.