"A baby?" I whispered through my fingers.
Instantly, the door to the room burst open. I didn't even care that three, crying, eager women were staring at Teren and me, half-dressed in our bedroom, with both of our jeans undone and his hand still caressing my stomach. A baby...
Teren held out a hand to hold back his family and surprisingly, they gave us space. The room buzzed with excited energy though and my heart raced even higher. Teren brought his hands to my cheeks.
"Emma...I need you to calm down, so I can hear the heartbeat again. It's too faint to separate from yours, when you're so worked up. Can you try and relax for me?" Instantly, the light was shut off and the fire was doused. Engulfed in darkness, Teren's eyes glowed at me intensely, and I allowed myself to relax into his gaze, allowed his soft light to ease my surging heart and calm my breath.
"Good...that's good, Emma."
Someone flicked a light back on and I watched him drop to his knees again and put his ear against my stomach. He looked up at me and frowned, before returning his head to my belly. Whatever he could hear, it was too quiet for the others to hear without skin-to-skin contact. They held hands and silently watched Teren. None of them were even breathing.
Suddenly, he sat back on his heels and gazed at me in adoration. He slowly shook his head. "You may want to sit down."
A grin spread on my face at the relaxed look on his. "Why? Aren't I pregnant?"
His corresponding smile lit up his entire beautiful, dead face. "Oh yes, you definitely are...but..."
My grin faltered slightly. "But?"
He smirked at me. "I hear two separate heartbeats."
I didn't sit so much as fall.
There was a mad rush of crying, excited women swarming around my body, like I was suddenly sacred to them. Not bothered one tiny bit that we were still half-naked, they hovered around us, congratulating and offering advice, for a good twenty minutes before exiting our bedroom. I think the only reason they left us at all, was the fact that Jack had tromped into the room and kicked them all out, after giving me a warm, congratulatory hug, of course.
Finally able to stretch out on our bed alone, I snuggled into the crook of Teren's cool embrace. Our bodies entwined, and I smiled as Teren's finger drew lazy circles around my bare abdomen. "I can't believe we're really going to have a baby. I can't believe we're going to have twins, Teren." I smiled up at him. "You don't do anything halfway, do you?"
Laughing, he kissed my head. "I hope you were sure that you wanted this. Raising vampires isn't exactly the simplest job."
I smirked at him. "Raising any sort of child isn't a simple job...and yes, I've never been surer." I kissed him and then pulled back with a frown on my face. "There is one thing we should talk about now."
"Oh?" He smiled peacefully at me.
I propped myself up on an elbow; my hair brushed over his shoulder. "Well, besides the fact that I'm taking over your closet when we move in together..." he smiled wider at that, but didn't argue, "are you finally going to ask me to marry you?"
He snuggled into the pillows and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Emma..." he started chuckling, "that's a pretty big commitment."
I smacked his chest. Smartass. I raised my own eyebrow in a very clear indication that he didn't have much choice on the subject-he was marrying me. If I was going to be having his vampire twins...then my dead boyfriend could at least make an honest woman of me.
He kissed my hand on his chest. "Whenever you want a ceremony, you just let me know, but in my eyes, we were married the day I died. The day I somehow managed to refuse your sweet, intoxicating blood...and even turned down that psychopath's vile stuff." He paused and looked at me. A thoughtful expression was in his eyes as they roamed between mine. "Even though the memory of taking his life will haunt me, I've found that I'm...grateful." He smiled with one corner of his mouth and reached up to cup my cheek with his cool palm. "I'm grateful to you, for not allowing my stubborn conscience to ruin our chance at a life together."
His smile suddenly switched to a frown and his hand dropped from my face to trail down my arm; a line of goose bumps followed it. "I put you in a position I never should have." I started to object, but he cut me off. His small smile returned. "But you...you saw to the heart of the matter, and did what you had to do, to save us both, and I love you so much for that, Emma." He rolled me on top of him and brought both cool palms to my cheeks, firmly holding me. His eyes were suddenly intense. "The moment you spilt his blood for me, to save me, you became my wife."
I blinked back the tears several times. Darn romantic vampire. "Teren, that was beautiful...and a touch creepy." We both softly laughed and the intense mood around us, lightened. His palms trailed down both of my arms, coming to my hands resting upon his chest, where he lovingly stroked my fingers. I smiled as I watched his content face absorb me.
"I love you endlessly, Teren...but, I want the whole kit and caboodle." I looked down at his chest as I interlaced our fingers together. "I want to spend the rest of whatever life I have left with you, and I want it official. I want the cheesy music and the horrid bridesmaid dresses and a sea of flowers and my mother crying hysterically and my sister standing beside me..." I looked up at his calm face, his small smile matching mine. "I want the whole thing...and I want it here, at your amazing family's amazing home."
He was starting to nod, when as an afterthought I added, "Plus...and this is almost just as important to me..." I looked him squarely in the eye as he cocked his head in question. "I know we've kind of done things backwards, but I really have no desire to be an unwed mother." He grinned and softly laughed as his eyes drifted down to my bare stomach pressed against his. I laughed as well and added, "I also have no interest in getting married in a dress from a store called 'Just in Time', so let's do this quick, okay? How does a December wedding sound to you?"
He laughed in earnest, swept his cool arms around to my back, and pulled me down to his chest. "It sounds perfect." He brought me all the way down to his lips and the word "perfect" echoed in my head as we kissed.
Yes, somehow we'd made it through and we were going to have everything we'd dreamed about having-a home together, a strong marriage, two wonderful families...two children. I was sure there would be some difficulties ahead of us, and more "big" issues for us to tackle. We'd have to hide his secrets from our friends, coworkers, and my mom. We would all be on constant alert now, watching out for anymore psychos who might wish Teren and the rest of his family...my family...harm. Plus, someday, Teren would have to come to terms with the looming threat of my mortality; I would be separated from him one day, that was just life. And on top of all of that, was the unknown element of carrying, birthing and raising mini-vampires.
But for now, for this one moment, none of that mattered, because everything was indeed as he'd said...perfect.
***The End***