Chapter 9
Two months had passed since Integra and Seras learned they were both expecting. The two women were quickly learning how pregancy presented challenges to both their bodies and their sanity. The changing hormones made life, or unlife in Seras's case, sometimes very tedious for both the mothers to be and their respective mates. And the trials the mothers went through were only compounded by sometimes over protective spouses.
"Integra dear, don't you think you're working too hard lately?" Kenneth asked watching his wife thumbing through a huge stack of papers.
"Kenneth, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me dear. And if you must know I am not working too hard. I may be pregnant but until it gets to the point where I cannot get out of bed I am going to run this organization as usual." Integra answered with an annoyed tone.
"But the doctor said you should minimize your stress. Working at the rate you're going right now will put too much stress on your body and that's not good for the baby." Kenneth protested.
"The only thing that is stressing me out at this moment is you Kenneth. You know I have to keep this organization running and that is what I intend to do. The work I do is not dangerous to the baby. I'm sitting here going through paper work. It's not bad enough that Alucard and Walter nearly smother me to death. Must you do the same?"
"I'm only being concerned about you and the baby. You don't have to be so bloody obstanate about it." Kenneth said.
"I'm not being obstante. I'm being irritated because everyone keeps lecturing me on how I should run this organization while I'm pregnant. I've been running this operation since I was thirteen. I think I bloody well know what I'm doing." Integra replied. Her tone became noticably more tacitern.
"You don't have to shout. I can hear just fine." Kenneth responded trying to keep his own composure in check.
"I'm not shouting! Now will you just get out of here and let me finish this!"
"You are too shouting. The whole mansion can hear you." Kenneth said putting his finger to his mouth.
"Don't tell me to be quiet!" Integra barked.
"I didn't tell you to be quiet. For heaven's sake will you just calm down?" Kenneth asked begging his wife to watch her temper.
"I AM CALM!"
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Seras sat on her bed downing her third pack of blood for the evening. Alucard materialized into her room. "Putting away a lot tonight aren't you?" He asked.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Seras questioned feeling slightly insulted by the inquiry.
"Nothing. It just seems funny you're drinking so much so early in the evening." Alucard replied.
"Funny, what's so funny about me drinking this much so early in the evening?" Seras asked with a very irritated look on her face.
"I wasn't implying anything was funny. I just thought it a little odd for you to feed so much before..."
"Feed so much? What are you saying? Are you saying that I'm making a pig out of myself? Is that what you're saying?" Seras demanded.
"No. I didn't say that at all. I didn't say you were making a pig out of yourself. Where in the world did you get such an idea?"
"Oh I don't know. You just seem to think it's either odd or funny that I'm trying to provide nurishment for myself and the baby. You think I'm feeding to much don't you? You're thinking I'm going to drink so much blood that I or this baby or perhaps us both are just going to turn into two huge red blobs don't you?!" Seras snapped.
"Now just a minute. I never said any of that. I just said..."
"Oh I know what you said! You think I'm eating too much! You think I'm going to go on some feeding frenzy and take all the rations up so you don't have any for yourself! How can you be so selfish when I'm trying to take care of our child!"
"Hold on! Where in the world are you getting such ridiculous ideas?" Alucard retorted sternly.
"Oh so now I'm being ridiculous!"
"Will you pipe down? I didn't say you were being ridiculous. I just said your ideas were ridiculous."
"What???? I can't believe you said that about me!" Seras yelled bursting into tears.
"I didn't say that about you!" Alucard barked.
"Don't yell at me! It's not my fault I have to feed so much!"
From the moment he opened his mouth, Alucard just seemed to be sink deeper and deeper. Now Seras was crying, and he didn't have the faintest idea what he'd done to cause such a reaction. He just stood there shaking his head knowing he wasn't going to win this battle.
"What did I do wrong????" Alucard asked himself.
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Later that evening...
Seras knocked at the door of Integra's office. "Who is it?" Integra asked wearily.
"Seras." She answered.
"Come in." Integra said. "Do you need something?" She asked.
"I was looking for Alucard. We...sort of had a fight, and I was wondering if you'd seen him." Seras answered.
"You and Alucard had a fight?" Integra asked.
"Yes. I...kind of got annoyed with him when he asked me something and well...I sort of bit his head off about it."
"Are we talking figuritively or literally?"
"Figuritively. I know he didn't mean anything by what he asked. I couldn't help it. I just got so emotional." Seras answered.
"Well, then we are both in the same boat then. Kenneth was concerned about how much I've been working, and I lost my temper with him. I know he's concerned about the baby and I, but I just wish he'd give me some space. I already have Alucard and Walter breathing down my neck about how much I work. But I suppose I was perhaps a bit too harsh on him. He's only trying to be a good husband. I can't really fault him for that." Integra replied.
"Alucard made a remark about how much blood I'd been drinking so early in the evening. I took it the wrong way and before I knew it we were yelling at each other and completely forgot why the argument started in the first place." Seras said.
"I guess we should both swallow our pride and go apologize to them. They meant no harm against us. And we both treated them rather harshly." Integra responded.
"I guess so." Seras replied.
"Well, let's go find them and get this over with." Integra stated.
As they both exited her office they saw Walter walking toward them. "Walter, have you seen Kenneth or Alucard?" Integra asked.
"I think I saw Kenneth enter his private study. I haven't seen Alucard since I delivered his dinner to him." Walter answered.
"Well, we can at least find Kenneth then." Integra said.
"Is there a problem Sir Integra?" Walter asked.
"No. I just need to talk to him about something that's all." Integra answered.
Walter headed on his way leaving Integra and Seras to go find Kenneth.
"He's probably just staying in his study waiting for me to cool off." The Hellsing leader commented.
"I hope Alucard hasn't run off somewhere. I was really hard on him." Seras said with concern.
"He's used to it. It isn't the first time he's had a woman blow her top at him. He gets enough of it from me. He's probably back in his chamber waiting for things between you two to settle down." Integra replied.
"Wait..." Seras said. "I can hear voices coming from down the hall."
"Which room?" Integra asked.
"Last door on the left." Seras answered.
"Can you recognize the voices?"
"Yes. One of them is Kenneth and the other is...Alucard?"
"Oh no! You don't think...."
"He better not have!" Integra exclaimed as the two women rushed toward Kenneth's study.
They got to Kenneth's room and hurried to open the door. There they saw Alucard and Kenneth sitting together at a table. A decanter of brandy and a bottle of Alucard's bloodwine on the table top. Kenneth wearily raised his head.
"Oh Integra...hiccup."
"So nice to...hiccup, see you. All three of you." Kenneth slurred as he slumped over in the chair.
"Master...hiccup, you never told me...hiccup, you had...hiccup, sisters." Alucard muttered as his head hit the table in a stooper.
"Good lord. They're both drunk out of their heads." Seras said.
"We're not...hiccup, drunk. We're perfectly...hiccup, sober." Alucard said verbally stumbling over himself. He attempted to sit up.
"See. I'll show you were...hiccup, sober." He said as he tried to stand on unsteady legs. He took one step foward and successfully toppled foward falling flat on his face.
"Ohhhhhhh." He groaned feeling his head smack against the hard floor. A small pool of blood began to form where he had effectively broken his nose.
"Damnit. Walter is not going to be happy about that. It's going to be murder getting the blood out of the cracks in the wood." Integra said.
"I guess we better call him in here to help get Kenneth to bed." Seras replied.
"Do you think you can help Alucard?" Integra asked.
"I think so." Seras said. She stood beside her mate who was still passed out on the floor. A black portal opened beneath them both. They began to decend into the void.
"Men." She said to herself as she went to find Walter.
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The next night Alucard awoke to find himself in Seras's coffin bed with her sitting beside him. She'd placed an ice pack on his head to try to soothe the headache he suffered as a result of his raging hangover.
"Ohhhhh, being tortured by the Sultan was merciful compared to this." He moaned rubbing his throbbing temple.
"Well, that's what you get for getting drunk Alucard." Walter scolded as he entered Seras's room with rations for the two vampires.
"You're one to talk. I can recall many a night when you ended up getting wasted." Alucard retorted with a grumble of pain.
"Yes. I was also fifteen and didn't know a bloody thing about what I was doing." Walter replied.
"All right, both of you." Seras chided.
She looked at Alucard and her expression softened. "Look, I'm sorry I got so upset with you last night. I don't know what came over me. I know you weren't trying to be mean. I don't know why I acted the way I did." Seras apologized.
"Forget about it Seras. You couldn't help it. I forget women tend to get very emotional when they're pregnant." Alucard replied.
"If you need any more Miss Victoria, please let me know." Walter said as he left.
"Thank you Walter."
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A few nights passed. Seras put on a pair of comfortable jeans and a tee shirt. She went up to Zoey's room. "I'm ready whenever you are." The young vampiress said.
"I'll be ready in just a minute Seras." Zoey called from her bathroom.
Soon afterwards she emerged. "Ok, I'm ready." She said. She wore tight black leggings and a deep red cotton tunic.
"We'll have to go by Integra's office first." Seras replied as they left Zoey's room.
They headed toward Integra's office. The door was already open as Seras gave a soft knock at the doorway railing.
"I suppose you two are ready." Integra said while looking through her paper work.
"Yes Sir." Seras replied.
"Very well. My driver is waiting on you both. Here, you'll need this." Integra said taking a card out of her desk.
"Please use it responcibly. Don't make any unneccessary charges if you don't have to. And you'll need these as well."
"Contacts?" Seras asked.
"Yes. They've been specially crafted to hide the red of your eyes. They should be comfortable for you to wear at least for a few hours." Integra answered.
"I guess I better put them on before we leave then." Seras said.
"That would be advisable. And don't be gone all night. While you're on maternity leave, Zoey is not. I'll need her to get her sleep so she can work the next day. I want you both back at midnight, understood?"
"Yes Sir."