Chapter Text
Dracula entered the delivery room with a sense of foreboding pitted in his stomach. The last time he was there, the horrific sight of Ericka bloodied and falling out of consciousness had been etched into his memory. Now, however, it seemed that the room had been cleaned and sanitized, and the rank stench of blood that had filled it before was now long gone. He quietly made his way over to the bed where Ericka lay among clean sheets and in a new hospital gown. She carefully turned her head to him as he approached.
“Drac,” she breathed.
At the sound of her soft voice, Dracula immediately wasted no time in sweeping over and enveloping her in a hug. “Ericka,” he mumbled. “Oh, you don’t know how scared I was. I thought I would never see you again…”
She hugged him back tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. “I don’t even remember what happened,” she said, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. “One moment I’m having the baby and the next…” she trailed off.
“It’s probably for the best that you don’t remember,” Dracula murmured, squeezing her tighter.
Ericka nodded. “When I awoke, they told me that I had had a hemorrhage. They needed to give me an emergency transfusion to make up for the blood that I had lost…”
Dracula nodded, feeling sick just listening to it, though he was glad it had ended up saving her life. The last thing he wanted was to lose her.
"I was so afraid," the Count admitted with a tremble. "I thought that you were going to die. That I was going to lose my zing!"
He held on to Ericka, tears threatening at the corners of his eyes as the memory came back to him all over again. He was almost certain that if he opened his eyes now, she would be gone in a flash, like a mirage. But her soothing hand gently combed through the back of his head, confirming that she was indeed there. Her touch made that former pain recede a fraction.
"There's no need to worry any more," Ericka whispered. "I'm okay."
She pulled him back enough to look him in the eyes. They were wet with tears of sadness. But then they changed into something else; a look of affection and gratitude for her being there. He sobbed out in happiness and wrapped her in his embrace again, crying into her petite shoulder.
"Alright, alright,” she said after a moment. “Now stop your babbling. I've already got two babies to deal with, and I don’t need a third at the moment," she giggled.
Dracula laughed in response and kissed her gently on the lips. "Sorry, love." They stared at each other tenderly for a moment before he spoke up again.
"Sooo… twins," he said.
Ericka shrugged. "I didn't know I had it in me. Literally. As far as I know, the Van Helsing family line has never had a history of having any twins or triplets or whatnot. What about the Draculas?"
Dracula shook his head. "Nope. Not that I know of. They were always just one baby at a time."
Ericka shrugged again. "Huh. Strange, but I have no complaints. Now I have two beautiful babies in my life!" She smiled wider and pried Drac."What do they look like? I hardly got a glance at them."
"Oh, they're wonderful," Dracula said with a swoon. "The girl is small, black curls and big round cheeks. The boy is a little bigger, with straight hair that’s as white as yours. They’re amazing, my love. Just simply amazing."
"They do sound lovely…” Ericka agreed. “I wish I could see them."
Dracula rose up. "Say no more, my love, I'm on it." Walking over to the little crib they had been placed in, he carefully picked them up in each arm and brought them over, bundled in their little pink and blue blankets. Ericka gasped as he held them in front of her. “Wow,” she breathed, getting misty-eyed. They were her children… hers and Dracula’s. She reached out to touch the girl’s cheek and she opened her eyes - deep blue eyes that resembled her father’s. “Hi sweetheart,” she cooed softly. “I’m your mommy.”
The baby gurgled happily and reached out for Ericka with her little arms. Dracula transferred her to his wife’s arms and she rocked her gently. Ericka was beaming, the look of a proud mother taking hold of her features as tears of happiness began to pool in her eyes. “I love you so much,” she whispered into the baby’s hair, nuzzling her nose against the soft locks.
In Drac’s arms, Bram babbled something unintelligible before making grabby hands at Ericka. Dracula chuckled. “Looks like someone else wants their mommy's attention," he joked.
“Aww…” Ericka cooed. “Bring him over, there’s room.”
Dracula did as instructed and positioned the baby in her other arm so that he rested comfortably near her bosom. Ericka pressed soft kisses to the top of his head, making the baby squirm happily in reply. Dracula stared fondly at them. “He looks like you, you know," he said softly, not wanting to break the moment.
"And Martha's all you," she remarked in reply.
"Yeah, but she definitely has your cheekbones," he teased. Ericka laughed and placed a kiss atop her daughter's head. They stayed in her arms for a moment longer when both began to grow drowsy-eyed and sleepy. Ericka handed them off to Dracula to place back in the crib and he returned to sit alongside her on the bed. A pensive quietness came over Ericka, and Drac took notice.
"Honeybat, what are you thinking of?"
Ericka hummed thoughtfully and peered up at him. "Drac... you love me don't you?"
Drac was taken aback by the question, but he didn't hesitate to answer. "More than anything in this world." He looked down to see her nodding her head in approval.
“You’re my everything, Dracula,” she said in response. "And that's why I want to ask you to do something for me.”
“Oh?” he said. “And what’s that, sweetheart?”
Ericka began to fiddle with her fingers as she considered what to say next. “Well, as I sat here for a couple of hours gaining back my senses, I was thinking a lot about the hotel, and everyone here - Mavis, Johnny, Dennis, all our monster friends… you and me and the babies…”
Dracula listened attentively. “Yes?”
“Yes, and…” She sighed. “I mean… haven't you ever thought about what's going to happen decades from now? I'll grow old and even more frail. By body will start to fail me… and trust me when I tell you that I do not want to become a cyborg-thing like my great-grandfather is." She paused and almost laughed at the thought of being some kind of weird robot with metallic limbs and such. It sounded ridiculous. And no matter how much her great-grandfather believed that his change was an improvement, she begged to differ. Then she continued on. "I won't be here forever, Drac. I'll die, and then what? You'll be alone again. I won't be in our children's lives. You have to do something about it."
“But what can I possibly do?” he asked with furrowed brows and a worrisome tone.
She took his hands and looked at him intently. “Turn me into a vampire.”
He froze. He expected this conversation to come up at some point... just not exactly now. Ericka intercepted before he could talk again.
“I don’t want you to lose me, and I don’t want to lose you. It’s the best solution, Drac. Trust me when I tell you.”
“But… Ericka…” Drac tried to think of something, anything he could try to say to convince her otherwise from making such a decision so quickly. "Once you turn into a vampire, you can never go back, my love. Never!"
Ericka shrugged. “I think the lack of sunlight and becoming garlic-intolerant is a small price to pay to be with the one you love for eternity.”
"I… I… I just don’t want you to regret your decision," he finished.
"Honeyfangs… why would I? I am telling you for certain what I want. I am ready for the change. It’s not just to make you happy, but it's to make me happy with myself too."
Ericka looked at him with a pleading look. Drac pictured her with the same face if she were to use the 'pouty bat face' on him. The only way that could happen though was if he changed her and saw it for himself. But it was just more than curiosity at stake here for turning Ericka. She was open to the idea and she trusted him.
"Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure?"
"I'm positive, Drac." She tilted her head to the side to expose her neck. "Make me your bride."
Dracula gulped, but listened to her wishes. He took his time moving in toward her neck, approaching almost in slow motion. Then he paused to speak again. "I have to be honest, I haven’t done this before,” he admitted, “but as far as I know, I just have to draw some of your blood and inject venom into your veins."
"Whatever it takes," Ericka replied. “Just don’t make me dinner.”
He laughed nervously. “Heh heh, right.” He briefly licked his lips to ease his nerves and leaned down toward her, first running his nose along the curve of her neck and inhaling deeply. She smelled sweet, like the fragrance of the floral perfume that she always wore mixed with a more natural scent underlying it. She shivered at his touch but stilled as he proceeded to open his mouth, pulling his lips back and exposing the glinting white fangs to their fullest. He moved in so that the sharp teeth lay just atop the flesh, pressed into it but not yet breaking it. The Count breathed in deeply a couple of times, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do and praying that nothing went wrong.
Okay, here we go. One… two… Three!
He bit down into her neck, like a doctor giving a shot.
Her skin easily gave way, and she let out a soft cry at the feel of his fangs sinking into her throat. The scent of her blood once again filled Drac's nose, only this time it was accompanied by the taste.
And what a taste it was.
It was like a mix between syrup and honeysuckle, mixed with a metallic tang of iron. It was so unexpectedly pleasant that he drew in more than what he'd intended to on the first swallow and she slightly whimpered at the strange pull from her body. He didn’t want to stop drinking. His eyes slitted and he felt that primal urge rise back up in him, the urge to want every drop of her life. He had done it before, long ago when he used to feed on humans, and knew that it would be such an easy thing to do. Blood Beaters, after all, could not match the true delicious taste of real human blood. But, he had to keep himself in check. This was his wife, the mother of their children - his zing. Reeling his focus back in, he got into a rhythm, injecting his vampire venom and drawing another stream of blood from her veins for a few more times.
Dracula withdrew from her neck after one last withdrawal of the sweet liquid, savoring the flavor in his mouth for a moment longer before allowing it to slide down his throat. He gave a satisfied hum, retracting his fangs slowly and lapping gently at the fresh puncture wounds until they no longer bled out. Ericka fell back upon the bed with a sigh and closed her eyes, a little lightheaded, but otherwise satisfied with what was soon to be the outcome. To become a vampire, just like him, and be by his side forever.
Dracula carefully took a place next to her atop the bed as her body relaxed into an exhausted sleep. He knew she would need it, and he was more than prepared to be by her side and ensure that she slept well as the transformation would begin to change her body throughout the night in slumber. He leaned over and pressed a light kiss to her lips, lingering slightly for a while before pulling away. "Good night, my sweet, and sleep well. I love you." Ericka smiled softly, turning her head toward him and nuzzling to his side.
With a content sigh, she drifted off to sleep.