Chapter Text
If there was one thing most folks could agree on, it was that babies were life-changing. They bring joy, happiness, and love, for humans and monsters alike.
But not for Abraham Van Helsing.
He had never been one akin to children. Raising Ericka had been a nightmare of its own until she finally reached of age to care for herself. He'd heard the news loud and clear about her pregnancy, and made sure to stay out of the way during the months she spent carrying her kids. He hadn't bothered to see them yet. Perhaps he would have, had the situation been different - had she chosen a different man - but the fact of the matter was that the father of those children had been his greatest rival for over a century.
Dracula.
He had been right when he’d said that the last night on the Monster Cruise would be a night to remember, though not for what had actually ended up happening. He was taken aback when Ericka had declared that she’d fallen in love with the vampire, and had willingly gone out of her way to decimate the plan they had worked so hard to enact. It was all a downward spiral from there - the engagement; the wedding; the half-vampire kids. The mere thought of being related to monsters made him feel disgusted.
It was wrong and it was dangerous. Why, they’d probably grow up and prey on him! It was difficult for Van Helsing to believe that Dracula only drank a so-called blood substitute instead of the real thing. And now, that devil of a man had turned her into a vampire as well!
It was a fix for the former monster-hunter, and so, Van Helsing had taken it upon himself to resolve the problem in the way he knew how - a well-developed plan.
At first, he wasn’t quite sure how to resolve the problem, until he began sifting through his old equipment that was now stored in the hotel’s basement. There were many little gadgets and gizmos that he had made use of in his monster-hunting youth - bazookas, grenade launchers, crossbows, and various swords of the like were all stashed there. But he grew happy when he found the one item that he had completely forgotten that he was even in possession of anymore. It was the monsterfication ray, a gadget that was a long staff with a brilliant red gem attached to its end that he had excavated during an Amazonian expedition years ago. As he had discovered years ago when zapping it on a couple of guinea pigs, the powerful ray had the power to transform any creature from a monster to a human and back again. As he stood gazing at the tool, a grin spread over his face. Why, what would be the problem with trying to use it on Ericka and his great-great grandchildren? The monsterfication ray could no doubt easily change them from being monster to being fully human. He had never experimented the ray on actual monsters before, but he would have to try. For the sake of saving his family legacy, after all.
Gripping the ray in his elderly hands, Van Helsing wheeled out of the basement and took the tool with him upstairs. Being that it was daytime, there weren’t that many monsters awake, so there was no one to pay him any mind as he made continued to make his way toward Dracula and Ericka’s chambers up on the 13th floor. As he rolled through the hallways, a note underneath the door of the Count’s eldest daughter caught his eye. Van Helsing bent down to slip it out so that he could read it.
Mavy,
Mr. Bigfoot’s suite has another clogged toilet. The pipes have burst, so I had to make an emergency pickup. If I am not back by nightfall, please let Ericka know where I have gone and that I will be back soon. Thanks, sweetfangs!
Dracula.
If Van Helsing could have cheered aloud, he would have. Dracula was gone for now! He would have the room all to himself with his descendants only and no interruptions from the vampire. It was great! He went down the hallway at a quicker pace, reaching the Dracula chambers at last. Oiling the wheels of his mechanical body once more, he was able to slip into the nursery without a sound, quietly closing the door behind him. His sights landed on Ericka, who sat on a comfy chair in the middle of the room. Both babies snoozed contently upon her lap, as was she. He grinned. This was almost too perfect.
Van Helsing’s thumb flicked the switch of the monsterfication ray, the gadget firing up easily. It whizzed for a bit, and with a startlement he quickly looked up to see if the noise had awakened any one of the sleeping family members. Thankfully, it did not.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Van Helsing approached the three and stared down at the children he had avoided meeting. In Ericka’s right arm was a girl, dressed down in a little pink and black nightdress, her hair as curled as Ericka’s but as jet black as Dracula’s. In Ericka’s left arm was a boy with blue and black pajamas and hair that was as brilliantly white as his mother’s. They dozed contently, a little dribble of drool dripping out of the girl’s mouth while a bubble of snot formulated in the boy’s nostril. Flashbacks of all the times Van Helsing was forced to change Ericka’s diapers as a baby soon flooded his mind, and with a wrinkled nose he raised the monsterfication ray up to them, switching the setting from ‘monster’ to ‘human.’
At that instant, the baby girl opened one drowsy eye and then the other. She blinked a couple of times, attempting to get an understanding of her surroundings for a moment, looking up her her mother, then to her brother, until finally landing her gaze upon him. The girl’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of the strange half-human half-robot old man before her. The little brow furrowed for a second as though she were trying to understand just what he was, and why he was here. And then, she did the unexpected. She smiled.
Van Helsing was so taken aback by the innocent little grin that he wheeled back a little in surprise and nearly dropped the monsterfication ray. He caught it just before it could clatter to the ground, his chaotic movements making the little baby laugh - a light, musical sound. Van Helsing brought a bony finger up to his lips.
“Shhh!” he hissed. “Silence, child! We mustn’t let anyone know you’re awake!” He looked about anxiously again to the boy and to Ericka, who were still asleep. He breathed another sigh of relief when nothing had awoken them. Yet.
Straightening himself up, he lifted the monsterfication ray back up. "Now, allow me to do my work in peace. It may tickle a little when it strikes you, but it shouldn't be anything too bad... I hope."
The baby giggled again and clapped her hands in excitement at the ray. Van Helsing couldn’t help but smirk. He knew she didn’t know about what the monsterfication ray was or the great miracle that was about to happen when he turned her into a human. But there was just something about the innocence of her smile, the trust in her big blue eyes, and the way she looked up at him with complete adoration that made his heart feel lighter than it had ever been before.
Suddenly, another memory filled his mind. Flashbacks of Ericka as a baby once more, but this time not as terrifying as changing horrendous-smelling diapers. No, instead he recalled the times when he’d held her as a little girl, singing old songs to lull her to sleep, rocking her gently and stroking her soft curled hair. He was surprised to find how much he actually missed those moments. And now she was here, with children of her own. He paused and looked down at the ray. Then he looked out the window. It was still light, and the other two would probably be asleep for at least another ten minutes or so. He still had time.
Against his better judgement, he set the ray down and reached forward to pick the girl up. She stared wide-eyed at him, but then she relaxed against him, babbling incoherently.
“I suppose you’re not so bad, yourself,” he whispered to her, grinning.
The child just continued to babble happily.
He stood there, cradling her in one arm and stroking the soft black curls with the other hand, feeling every bit like an idiot. He wasn’t used to this type of interaction with kids. It had been years and years since raising Ericka. It felt weird, but oddly familiar. In fact, it felt almost... right.
The thought gave him pause for a moment, but before he could think any more about what it could mean, he heard the sound of another baby's coo. Whipping around, he saw that the boy in Ericka's arms had awoken. When, he had no idea, but no doubt the boy had seen him with his sister. And now, he too was looking at the newcomer curiously. A grin graced his little face, not as wide as his sister's, but still all the heartwarming. Van Helsing peered down at the little girl and shrugged. Well, if he was holding one, he may as well tote the other along for a moment too.
“Hello there,” he said, approaching Ericka and easily grabbing the baby boy from her sleeping figure. The boy gave a quick greeting to his sister - a simple coo and smile - before reaching up to place his tiny hand on Van Helsing's metallic chest. He looked down with confusion at the old man's robotic body and then curiously hit his hand a couple of times on it, making a CLANG CLANG noise. Van Helsing yelped when the reverberating sound made Ericka stir a little. He quickly wheeled them away from her in haste. But, being as young as they were, the babies were not accustomed to being at such a distance from their mother. The boy began to whimper first, and it didn't take long for his sister to follow suit. Van Helsing felt himself grow frantic as the whimpering turned into crying. Panic started to fill Van Helsing's head. “No! No no no please don't cry. Don't you cry! You'll wake your mama up. You're fine, just stay calm…” He was talking more to reassure himself than the crying babies. He tried to think of what he could do to silence them both. But what? He tried to bounce them up and down in his arms, but it only succeeded in setting off more crying. He tried to sing softly, but his voice had not been what it was almost 35 years ago, and it came out gravelly and off-key rather than melodic. The babies cried louder.
Van Helsing was starting to get desperate, his mind whirling faster than ever before. There had to be something; anything! His eyes scanned the room, and then his sights landed on an old record-player that was against the far wall. An idea came to mind. He knew exactly how to stop the crying. Setting the two children down on the floor, he quickly wheeled over to the player and carefully placed the needle on the record. A bouncy tune began to play, and though both babies continued to wail, their cries soon faded into a distant hum, and smiles began to form on their faces. Not quite at the music so much as the sight of their great-great-grandfather jigging about in a comical display of dancing. He twisted and twirled on his wheels, shaking his arms and bouncing his head to the beat. They were laughing now; giggling and clapping their hands together. He beamed back at them, pleased at how it was working and at how happy he was making them. All the while, the monsterfication ray lay tossed aside on the floor, completely forgotten about.
Ericka stirred awake to the sound of laughter echoing throughout the room.
She groaned, opening a drowsy eye and slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. What she found was not at all what she expected.
For one, the babies that had been in her arms when falling asleep were no longer there. Dracula was not there either. But her great-grandfather was.
She had to sit up and rub her eyes just to make sure she wasn’t imagining it. But no doubt there he was. And he was… dancing? Sure enough, he was spinning about to music that was playing from the record player, and right on the floor in front of him were her children, thoroughly entertained.
"Great-grandfather?" she asked, confused, "What are you doing?"
Van Helsing jolted out of his dancing frenzy and turned to look at her, his expression a little sheepish.
"Oh! Ericka!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry if I woke you." He gestured down to the babies. "I stopped by to drop something off and saw that the little ones were awake. They seemed a little bored, so I decided to give them a little show! And let me tell you, they know a good performance when they see one!"
As if on cue, the twins clapped and Van Helsing did a little bow. Ericka raised her eyebrows.
"Um... okay... do you know where Drac is?"
"Oh, uh, I think he went out to fix some piping or something, but he should be back soon! But now, if you don't mind, I need to do my encore!" He switched the needle on the record and a new song began to play, the dancing picking up where it had left off.
Ericka could only sit there and watch in amusement at the bizarre scene. How this change of heart had occurred in regards to her half-vampire children, she wasn't sure, but it had, and she was touched to see how enthusiastic her great-grandfather was taking his new role with his great-great-grandchildren.