They were on the road when the pains began.

Alucard's first thought was to keep it a secret, to wait until the next town and perhaps find an inn or church with a decent bed before telling his companions. That way, he could spend the long, boring part of his labor walking in peace, without them fussing over him. Yes, that would have been his preference. Unfortunately, he had to consider the fact that he had no idea how long it would take or how far away the next town was. His companions would never let him hear the end of it if his poor planning resulted in him giving birth on the side of the road.

He spoke up the moment the second pain hit.

"We need to find shelter," he said, stopping in the middle of the road.

Sypha immediately understood, while Trevor spoke before thinking.

"The sun is still high, why would you want to—" he stopped when Sypha gently cuffed the back of his head.

"Hey!" Trevor complained, instinctively reaching for where she'd struck him. He glared at her only to see her pointing, exasperated, at their companion. Alucard met Trevor's eyes, then tilted his chin slightly as his eyes flicked down, then up again.

"Wha? Boots? Do you need new boots?"

Sypha nearly shrieked with laughter while Alucard rolled his eyes, sighing in frustration.

"God damn it, I don't want to play a stupid game, just say what you mean and be done with it," Trevor growled.

Without breaking eye contact, Alucard raised one hand to his belly and repeated himself, more emphatically this time.

"We need to find shelter."

Trevor eyes narrowed, then widened all in the space one second.

"Oh, shit. Fuck. Fuck! This is bad, this is…Early. It's too early!" Trevor looked from Sypha back to Alucard. "Is it? Too early?"

"By a few weeks perhaps, but this is not uncommon for twins," Alucard said, calmly.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me this could happen?"

"Hmm, let's see," Alucard said, holding both hands out as if weighing two items. "On the one hand, you're in a constant state of panic for several weeks. On the other, I only need to listen to you panic for a minute before you come to your senses and start helping me find shelter."

Trevor took a breath as if to retort, but ultimately shut his mouth once he had processed what his lover had said.

"Right then," Alucard said. "I think we should turn around. I saw a farmhouse next to several dead fields a few miles back. Probably abandoned."

"Are you all right to travel that far?" Trevor asked. Alucard glanced at him with a smirk. He disappeared in flash of red and immediately reappeared, tossing an apple at Trevor, which he caught. Alucard pointed to a tree on the hill behind them.

"I may not be at my normal strength, but I'm sure I can travel a couple of miles at human speed for your sakes."

"Then it's settled," Sypha said, grabbing her friends' hands and turning them around with her. "Let's go have some babies."

The farmhouse was indeed abandoned.

Recently, Trevor mused, noting a general lack of dust and cobwebs. "I'll check the rooms. Make sure we're alone here."

"Good idea," Sypha said. "I'll check the kitchen."

"And I'll start a fire. It will be a long evening." Alucard paused when his companions both looked at him. "I mean…I'll sit down and put my feet up?"

Trevor nodded his approval. "Sypha can start the fire after she looks for food. She's much faster at it."

Alucard rolled his eyes as the other two left him alone in the living room. The pains weren't that bad yet, more an annoyance than anything else. He would have preferred to keep himself busy, but he knew the others meant well.

"Damn. Not much food here," Sypha called from kitchen. "A handful of beans, questionable bottle of milk."

"Check again," Trevor called, reentering the living room. He looked at Alucard, who was making himself comfortable on the sofa. "The guest room is in good shape, doesn't hardly look lived in. The bed is pretty big, so that would probably be the best place to…uh…"

"Sorry, love, I'm not in the mood for it right now," Alucard teased. "Labor and all." He gestured toward his rounded middle, shrugging.

It was Trevor's turn to roll his eyes as he stomped up the stairs to check the upper rooms.

"Couldn't resist!" Alucard called after him.

"Just trying to be helpful," Trevor grumbled under his breath, forgetting that Alucard could still hear him.

There were three rooms upstairs; a small office with several shelves of books, and two bedrooms. The first looked like it was probably the master bedroom; there was another large bed, a chair, two oil lamps, and a family portrait on the wall depicting a husband and wife with two golden-haired children. Trevor noted the oil lamps and extra bedding, then headed on to the other bedroom.

"Shit!"

"Everything all right?" Alucard called from downstairs.

"It's fine," Trevor yelled back. "Just tripped over some broken floor boards."

It was a lie.

The truth was that he had no intention of letting Alucard see the horrific scene before him. It was clearly the children's room; two small beds, separated by a bedside table with another lamp. A rocking horse in the corner. Several animal toys stuffed with cotton or feathers, or the like. A stiff, lifeless woman holding her dead children on the bed.

No blood. Good, Trevor thought, Adrian probably won't smell them. Trevor frowned. No, that didn't make sense. Rotting bodies stink. He stepped closer to the bed. They almost looked like they were sleeping but for the deathly stillness, the trails of foam from the children's mouths. They were probably less than 24 hours dead. The mother's hand gripped a small glass vial.

Poison. She had poisoned them. Trevor's mind raced, trying to piece together their story.

No food in the house. The father missing. The fields unplanted. Demons attacking nearby towns.

They had been slowly starving to death. Rather than risk a brutal death at the hands of demons or a slow, painful death from hunger, she chose the end their suffering. Her own children.

Trevor threw a hand over his mouth to suppress an unexpected sob. The tears were already falling from his face.

Pull yourself together, damn it! You've seen hundreds of bodies before, what's different about these?

But he knew what was different. He would be a father in less than a day. A new father in a world increasingly full of dangers, where mothers were forced kill their own children out of love.

He took a few deep breaths, quickly wiping the tears from his face. He wouldn't give Alucard any reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. He took the lamp from the table and grabbed the blanket off the empty bed. He gathered the two lamps from the other bedroom and carefully made his way down the stairs. He set the lamps on the floor and threw the blanket over Alucard.

"Thanks, love," Alucard sighed.

"No jokes at my expense prepared then?" Trevor grumbled, his mood sour.

"No," Alucard responded, reaching for Trevor's hand. "I'm sorry. I haven't been very fair to you today. Being in labor has made me drunk with power."

Trevor smiled, accepting the hand and sitting on the floor beside him. "Nice of you to admit it. How are you feeling?"

"Just fine so far. Contractions are probably about ten minutes apart."

Sypha came back in and threw some wood into the fireplace before setting it ablaze with a quick incantation. She sat down in a huff.

"No food," she grumbled.

"I'm not terribly hungry," Alucard offered.

"And I had an apple earlier," Trevor added.

Sypha sighed. "I suppose one of us can go hunt for something if we're in any danger of starving. I'll go pump some water. We'll need a lot of it," she said, leaving again.

Trevor's stomach turned at that thought. He felt wholly unprepared for dealing with the physical part of his lover's labors. Fortunately, they had decided beforehand that Sypha would be the one to assist with the delivery under Alucard's instruction. Trevor's job would be moral support.

"Hey," Alucard said, noting the anxious look in Trevor's eyes. "Everything's going to be all right. You hear me?"

"Yeah. I hear you."

"Kiss me."

"If I must." Trevor smirked as Alucard grabbed his shirt and violently pulled him in.