Chapter Ten: Welcome, Part Two

Emmalina's first day of school is tomorrow. Donovan can hardly believe it. It feels like it was just yesterday he was teaching her how to walk. Emmalina has decided she wants to take a Ballet class after school so Donovan sits at the desk and fires up the new computer. They've made several new purchases with the left over car money and he's glad this was one of them. He logs on to her school's website to enroll his daughter. I'm gonna miss having her here all day, he thinks as he logs off and shuts the computer down. They all go to bed early that night. Donovan dreading the morning when he has to send his little girl off to school for the first time.



The next morning, Donovan gets up to cook them all breakfast. He insists that Amelia should remain in bed and rest and assures her he will take care of everything. After breakfast, they hear a honk, the school bus is here. Damn. "Do you have everything? Your book bag? Lunchbox?" Donovan asks with worry in his eyes.

"Yes, Daddy. I have everything. I'll be fine, don't worry."

He smiles at Emmalina and brings her in for a quick hug. "I know you will. Have a good first day, okay? I love you."

"I love you too. Bye!" She races out the door to meet the school bus.



Emmalina gets on the bus and sits down. She's just as nervous as Donovan is about her first day of school, but for different reasons. Will I make good grades? Will I make friends? What if no one wants to be my friend? Emmalina's thoughts take over as the bus continues to take her to school.



Back at home, Amelia's cell phone rings, forcing her out of bed. She glances at the Caller ID and takes Romeo's call. "Hello?"

"Amelia, Guess what?! I just got married."

"You did WHAT!?" Amelia exclaims into the phone, utter shock on her face.

"What? Is that so hard to believe? Did you not think I could find a woman to marry me?"

"No, that's not what I meant. It's just, you didn't even have a girlfriend the last time I talked to you. I haven't seen you with any women either."

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We met at a club and she came home with me that night. When we woke up, we decided to get married. Why does everyone seem to think that's a bad thing? You sound like my mother when I told her."

"Well, it's just all so sudden. What's her name?"

"Marina. She's absolutely perfect. One day I'll bring her by here so you can meet her one day, whenever I have the time. Which is usually never these days though."

"Alright then. Congratulations, I guess. If you are happy and in love, that's all that matters. I actually have some news of my own, I'm pregnant!"

"Thanks, and I knew it would only be a matter of time. Congratulations to the both of you. Do you know what you're having yet?

"No, we don't want to know. We did the nursery in green, I think it would be okay for a girl or boy. Don't you think?

"Yeah, I would say so."

"So how is the hunting going?"

"Bad. We've got two rouges running around the city. William has been helping more than anyone. We're actually going out in a few days to try and bring the bastards down. Vlad is....well Vlad is Vlad. Who knows what he's up to. I'm trying to find more vampires for the team but It isn't looking very promising. I tried to get Renee to come back but she refuses. Bianca has all but quit since her baby has been born. If I don't get this under control soon, the rest of the population will find out about vampires and all hell will break loss. There will be stakes, daggers and probably garlic and crosses, thanks to folklore, flying all over the place. Which will do nothing except get people killed."

"Shit. I'm sorry Romeo. But I PROMISE after this baby is born and old enough to get around a bit, I'll be back to help. I won't quit on you or let you down."

"I know you won't. I'm looking forward to having more back up, I can tell you that." He pauses for a second. "Amelia that's Vlad on the other line. I need to find out where the hell he's been for the last 3 damn meetings. I'll talk to you later."

She goes to say bye but he's already switched over. Damn, I feel sorry for Vlad....No I don't. She thinks and smiles at the idea of Romeo cussing Vlad out. Hehehehe.



Emmalina also had her first ballet class after school today and can't wait to show her father what she's learned. "See Daddy, it's called a plie. I learned it today in ballet class."

"Great job, Emmalina. So I take it you had a good first day of school?"

"It was amazing! I made a lot of new friends and my teacher is really nice."

"I'm glad you had a great first day. So are you ready to go back tomorrow?"

"YES!"



Donovan laughs at her enthusiasm and gives her a hug. "What was that for?"

"For giving me just a lovely performance of your dance moves."

"PLIE Daddy. It's called a plie."

"I'm sorry, yes. It was the best plie I've ever seen.

She gives him another hug and starts to run off. "Where are you going?"

"To do my homework, silly."

Emmalina goes into her room and works on her homework. After she struggles with it she decides she needs to gain more logic if she wants this homework business to get any easier.



Emmalina walks into her parent's room to learn how to play chess on the computer. Amelia walks in and says, "What are you doing sweety?"

"Trying to learn how to be smart."

Amelia laughs, "You're already smart."

"No, I need to be smarter. This school stuff is kind of hard and I want to be really smart so I can make all A's. "

"Do you want some help? You know I use to read a lot of logic books. In fact, I've read them all."

"You wanted to be smarter too?"

"Err...yes, I did." Well actually I didn't want vampires controlling me but I can't exactly tell her that. Actually this might be a good idea. Just in case.... "Sweety I think it's a wonderful idea that you want to learn so much. I want you to keep doing it okay?"

"Okay. You want me to be smart too?"

"Yes, Emmalina. I want you to be very, very smart."



Later that evening Donovan and Amelia have planned to go out to eat at the a local restaurant to have some alone time. But their baby has other plans for them tonight. "Donovan! The baby's coming!" she screams for him. He rushes out of the bathroom and takes her hand. They quickly go to the elevator and down to the first floor.



Amelia gets into the driver's side of her police cruiser. "What do you think you're doing?" Donovan asks.

"I'm driving, you drive too slow and we need to get there fast, unless you want to test your skills at delivering a baby?"

Donovan shuts up on that note and hops into the passenger side. Amelia flips on the sirens and speeds towards the hospital calling her doctor on the way. When they arrive, they both rush through the hospital doors and find Dr. Richardson waiting for them. They've already prepped the deliver room and everyone is standing by. After hours of pushing, there's nothing. "What's wrong, why isn't the baby coming out!?" Donovan frantically asks the doctor. "I think the baby is positioned wrong, we need to do an emergency c-section or we might lose the baby. "What!?" Amelia cries. "Comes on Mrs. Burkhart, let's wheel you into surgery." After an hour of surgery, the doctor successfully and safely delivers the baby. "Congratulations, you have a son." the doctor says as he hands the baby over to the nurse to be cleaned. Both Amelia and Donovan look at their son with tear streaked faces, so relieved that their son is safe. " "You were amazing and so brave." he says as he wipes the sweat off her forehead. He kisses her as they bring their son to them. Smiling, laughing, and crying as they see their son for the first time.



After a few hours in the hospital, Amelia and Mason get a clean bill of health and are ready to go home. Donovan and Amelia are so exhausted they have to take a cab back to the apartment.



When they get back home Amelia takes Mason to the nursery. She hugs him tight, thinking about what could have happened tonight. We could have lost you sweet baby. She tears up just thinking about it. Donovan walks in and Amelia let's him hold Mason.



Amelia walks out to give Donovan some alone time with his son. He gently holds him as he sways back and forth. "Hey little guy. You gave us a scare today. I don't know what we would have done if we lost you." His voice threatens to break and he clears his throat. "You, your sister and your Mom mean the world to me." He says softly. Mason has fallen asleep, content in his father's arms. Donovan carefully places him in the crib and then sits down in the chair beside his crib, where he soon falls asleep too.



A couple of days later, Amelia gets a frantic call from Romeo. "Amelia, are you home?"

"Yes, why? You sound upset. Is everything okay?"

"No, but I don't want to explain it over the phone. I'll be there within the hour." and he hangs up. Amelia tries to wait patiently but her worry starts to get the best of her. She hears the buzz and jumps off the couch to let Romeo up.



He bursts through the door. "Do you have a quiet place we can talk?"

"Yeah, let's go to my bedroom."

Amelia leads the way into the bed room. "What's this about Romeo? You're starting to scare me."

Romeo lets out a sigh, "Firstly I want to say that this changes nothing for you. You will still have the rest of your time off. You need to be here with your family.

"Okay. Now tell me what's going on."

"William died last night."

"Oh my God! What happened?"

"It was an ambush. We thought there were only two rouges. We were wrong, there's five. William, Vlad and I followed two of them into an ally. The other three jumped out. Two went after Vlad, which left one each for me and William. The one William was fighting was a lot older than he was and he just wasn't strong or quick enough. I watched as that rouge ripped his head clean off his shoulders."

"Oh my God." Amelia said again. "I'm so sorry Romeo. I only met him once but he seemed like one of the decent ones."

"He was. A damn good friend. Actually so is Vlad, because if it wasn't for him I'd be dead now too."

"I think I need to come back, Donovan can probably handle the kids on his own."

"No. Amelia you need to spend as much time with them as you can. Especially now when they're little. You need more training, hell we all do. We got cocky, I know I have since Brams was created but what has that gotten us? We can have all the strength in the world but if we don't know how to use it, it's useless."

They stand there starring at each other as they realize what this job could really mean in the end....their deaths. "Are you sure you don't need any help with anything? Will there be a funeral?"

"I don't know. Vampires without eternal mates don't have funerals. They're usually alone."

"Well what about you and Vlad. Weren't you all friends?"

"I was. Vlad really doesn't have friends. He just has acquaintances, and that's just with vampires. He usually ignores humans all together because he said we die too quickly and it's a morbid thing to befriend a being who will barely live 1/10 of your own life. Before these past 5 years, Vlad hasn't even been around humans for at least a hundred years. But, you're right. I was his friend and he was mine. I think I'll do something small for him. Try and make peace with this by myself."

"Call me if you need me. Even if it's a shoulder and I'll be there."

"Thanks Amelia. I need to go, I'll show myself out. He pats her on the shoulder and walks out the door.



Amelia walks out of the bedroom and heads towards the living room. I need a drink...or ten. She mixes a few drinks and starts throwing them back. If a vampire can die on this job, then killing me will be a piece of cake. She chugs another drink. I can't tell Donovan this. He'll never let me go back. No way in hell. Is it lying to him if I don't tell him? She drinks another. No, not really. It's just withholding information. That's not the same as lying, is it?. She's trying to convince herself not to feel guilty as her blood alcohol level rises. Nah, definitely not lying. Amelia stumbles across the living room. Whoa, who put that couch there? She makes it to the bathroom to soak in the tub as she contemplates whether to lie to husband or not.



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NOTES:

I now have 2/2 children. Everyone's room is decorated in their favorite colors and they own 1/3 properties. Donovan is almost finished with job #3 and Amelia is still working to reach the top of her career.

You guys, Romeo trips me out so much. He had a girlfriend, then SP informed me he got married to someone completely different than his girlfriend and he constantly tries to flirt with Amelia and gives her flowers all the time. Ugh, I don't know what I'm going to do with him. I decided to include his marriage in the story because I think he just doesn't want to die alone. Also, I'm not sure if you guys remember William or not but he was the other vampire Amelia met when she was training with Vlad. Also Vlad will be making an appearance sometime soon-ish but he will look very different than before. I wanted to make him more attractive, I didn't plan on loving his character so much so he is getting a total makeover, ie a whole new Sim. =]

Chapter Nine: Sweet Child Of Mine

After the movers have placed all the furniture and Amelia has rearranged it several times, she walks abround the apartment taking it all in. Everything is perfect. It's just what we needed. Donovan walks up to her and asks, "So what do you think if the new place? Did I do a good job or what?"

Cocky are we? "Meh, it's alright." she says as she hides a smile.

He looks at her in disbelief. "You don't like it?"

"I do, it's perfect. But next time how about you pick up a phone and call a person before you make such a huge decision on your own okay?

He relaxes a little. "Okay maybe I should have called but the look on your face when I told you made it worth it."

"Mmm, I bet." she says as she squints her eyes at him.

Just then they hear sounds coming from Emmalina's room. "I'll go check on her." Donovan says and starts to walk down the hallway.



Donovan walks into her room to see her playing with her toy xylophone. He sits down in front of her. "What are you doing baby?"

"Play, play, play." she says as she bangs the little toy. She likes the sound it makes. She then brings her attention to the sticks and begins to chew on it.

"No, no. Don't put that in your mouth." Donovan says as he grabs it from her and hits the notes playing a little tune. "See?"

She giggles. "Yay, Daddy!" she says as she claps. He hands her back the stick and she begins to hit the notes in amazement.

Donovan sits there smiling as he watches his daughter's fascination with her toy. He kisses her on her head. "Okay kiddo, it's time for bed." He lifts her up and puts her in the crib. "Goodnight, I love you."

She yawns as she says, "Night night, Daddy. Wuvs you." He stands there and watches her fall asleep. When she's drifts off to sleep he walks out to find Amelia.



Donovan finds her in the kitchen, cleaning the stove. "What was she doing?" she asks as he walks up to her.

"Playing with her toys. She seems to really like that xylophone."

"I figured she would. But by the time she grows out of it, we'll probably be ready to throw it out the window." she says as she laughs.

He smiles at her and reaches he hand to rub across her cheek. "I want to have another baby."

Amelia is a little shocked at first. "Are....are you sure about this?"

"Yes, why do you think I wanted this three bedroom apartment so bad? We have the room, we're financially stable and we love each other. I don't see why we can't expand our family just a little more."

"I don't see any reason why we can't either."



He picks her up and heads towards the bedroom. "What are you doing?" she asks through her laughter.

"There's no time like the present to start trying." Amelia couldn't agree more.



Weeks have passed and there's still no luck with Amelia getting pregnant. It sure didn't take this long last time, he thinks. Amelia has a doctor's appointment tomorrow and hopefully they will get some answers. But today is Emmalina's birthday and they need to focus all of their attention on her for her special day. They've decided to have the party at the park. He invited Romeo and Bianca to celebrate. We really need some more friends for occasions like this. He thinks as he hangs up the phone. They leave early to get everything prepared. When they get to the park, Donovan fires up the grill and cooks the weenies for the hot dogs.



When Bianca shows up she has some news of her own. "Congratulations Bianca!" exclaims Amelia. "I'm so happy for you! Do you know what you're having?"

"No, not yet. We want to be surprised."

"Well, I'm sure the baby will be perfect no matter what it is. You know Donovan and I are trying to having another baby too."

"Don't tell Romeo that. He's taking over The Night Hunters as well as Captain at the station when I'm on maturity leave. He's not excited about all his female hunters running off having children."

Amelia laughs, "Romeo will just have to deal with it. We won't be young forever. He might can have kids when he's 60 but we can't."

Bianca agrees, "Exactly, that's what I said."

Donovan calls everyone over to do the cake. Amelia grabs Emmalina out of the sandbox and heads over to the cake.



Everyone gathers around the cake and sings Emmalina "Happy Birthday" and she tries to blow out the candles. She manages it with a little help from Amelia. They all sit down and have cake and ice cream. Romeo is constantly on his cell phone barking orders at some poor person, she can see the stress all over his face. Hmmm, maybe Bianca is right, he's probably going to flip when he finds out I might not be back at work even longer than expected.



After everyone is finished with their cake, Emmalina asks Donovan to swing her. She races to the swing with Donovan right behind her. "Faster, Daddy, Faster!" she yells as he pushes her.



Amelia grins as she watches them. Romeo walks up to her, "When can you be back at work? The station needs you and so does The Night Hunters."

Oh damn. "Uhhh actually Romeo, Donovan and I are trying to have another baby." she says as she winces.

He sighs, "You ladies are killin' me over here. Just killin' me."

"I'm sorry! But I can't put my life on hold. I can't just pick up and have kids when I retire, I'll be too old!"

"I know, I know, I know. I can have kids when I'm old and grey but you can't. Bianca said the same thing. But that still doesn't change the fact that I'm falling apart over here. I'm stressed, over worked. I have no social life and let's not even begin to comment on my love life which is nonexistent."

"I'm sorry Romeo. But please don't make me feel guilty for trying to get pregnant." she says with tears almost in her eyes.



"Dammit Amelia, I'm sorry." He says as he brings her in for a hug. "I'm just so stressed and frustrated and I'm taking it out on you. You don't deserve that. I really hope you and Donovan have another kid. You already have a beautiful little girl and I know your next child will be just as beautiful and loved as Emmalina.

"Thank you Romeo. That means a lot to me. You've been there for me and Donovan through a lot and we really appreciate it."

"I know. Well listen, I've got to run, things to do, people to kill. Let me know how everything turns out and how much time you'll need off again."

"Alright, I will. Thank you for coming. I'll see you later, I guess."

They tell each other bye and Amelia walks over to Donovan and Amelia.



Amelia takes the swing next to her daughter and swings too. She tries to let go of her worry and guilt and just enjoy this time with her family.



This next morning Amelia goes to her doctor's appointment to have blood work and tests done to see why they are having trouble conceiving. Later that day she get's a phone call from her doctor. "Hello?" she asks as she answers her phone.

"Mrs. Burkhart?"

"Yes, this is her."

"Oh Mrs. Burkhart this is Dr. Richardson. I'm calling to inform we got the lab results back on your blood work."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all Mrs. Burkhart. In fact, you're already pregnant. Congratulations!"

"I am!?" Amelia lets out a sign of relief and tears start to well in her eyes. "Thank you Dr. Richardson."

"No problem, just take care of yourself and that baby and we will see you back here for the delivery. Have a good day."

"You too, bye."

She sits on the couch for a minute taking everything in. Donovan walks into the living to see her sitting on the couch. He walks over as she stands up. "What's wrong?" he asks as he sees her tears.



She grabs his hands and puts them to her stomach and smiles from ear to ear. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asks. As tears of joy fall down her cheeks she nods her head.



He embraces her and grabs her face. "God Amelia, do you know how much I love you?" He kisses her cheeks, her nose, her forehead and finally her lips. He breaks the kiss to panic, "We have so much to do! We need to have a nursery, pick out names and....."

"Donovan, calm down. We will get it all done. As for the names, do you have any in mind?"

"Not really. I'm not that good with things like that. When I was boy I had a black dog. Do you know what I named it? Blacky."

Amelia laughs, "Okay, Well let's see......" Amelia thinks for a minute trying to remember the names she picked out from her previous pregnancy before she decided on Emmalina. "If it's a girl, we could name her Claire and if it's a boy we could name him Mason. How do you like those?"

"They're perfect. A lot better than Blacky." he says as he smiles.

"I'm glad you think so." she grins.

They hold each other for a little while longer. Letting the happiness take them over as they think about what life and love has given them.


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NOTES:

I promise you guys I will get back to The Night Hunters storyline soon. Having kids takes up a lot of the time and I wanted to go ahead and get them out the way. But Amelia WILL eventually go back to work and we'll see more of the vampires. Just bare with me through all these birthdays!

Chapter Eight: Movin' On Up

Donovan walks over to Emmalina's crib and picks her up. He brings her to his chest and sighs. I can't believe it's already her birthday. It feels like we just brought her home from the hospital. She's growing up way too fast, before I know it she'll be graduating high school and making her own way through the world. He puts her back down in the crib and stands to stare at his perfect little girl. He sighs again and pulls out his cell phone to invite Romeo and Bianca over to celebrate Emmalina's birthday.



When they arrive Romeo walks over to Donovan to chat. "How's things been going for the three of you?" Romeo asks.

"Really good. I think Amelia is a bit anxious to get back to work though. She's not exactly the stay at home type."

"No she's not." he agrees. They stand in silence for a moment until Romeo asks, "How is she really doing? Is she back to her old self again? I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately, I've just been so busy with work."

"That's okay, we both understand and yes. She seems to be doing much better. She's smiling again and I think Emmalina had a lot to do with that."

"I would imagine so."



Donovan and Romeo continue to chat and catch up while Bianca goes to say hi to Emmalina. Bianca secretly loves children and can't wait to have some of her own. She and her husband have been trying for awhile with no luck.




Donovan calls everyone into the kitchen and Bianca hands Emmalina over to him. Everyone cheers and claps as Donovan holds Emmalina next to her birthday cake and blows out the candle for her. Amelia walks over to cut the cake and hands everyone a piece. She watches Donovan with Emmalina. She could sit there and watch them for hours. He's a great father and she knows how lucky she is to have him. Donovan sits Emmalina down and everyone watches in awe as she grows up.



Donovan walks over and picks her up. The first thing he notices is that she has Amelia's big blue eyes. After everyone finishes their cake, they say goodbye and leave. Amelia walks over to Donovan and he says, "She has your eyes."

"I noticed that but she has your hair color."

"Yeah, she's like the perfect balance between us. Equal parts of you and I rolled into a perfect little bundle."

Amelia laughs, "I guess you could put it that way. You worry about her though don't you?"

Donovan glances down, not able to slip anything past Amelia. "I do. Amelia, I don't want her to know anything about the world we fight in."

"I don't want her to know about vampires either. It's too dangerous and if she's anything like us, she'll dive in head first wanting to be a part of it."

"I don't know if I could handle that. I don't want her to have that life. I don't want her to have to constantly look over her shoulder at night worrying if this will be the night she'll finally loses the fight."

"I know, I don't want that for her either. But do you think we'll be able to keep this a secret? When she get's older she'll want to know where I go at night."

"We'll just make up something, we still have a little while before she starts asking questions."

"Alright. Give her to me so I can give her bath and put her to bed."



Donovan hands her over and Amelia takes her into the bathroom to give her a quick bath. She dresses Emmalina in her pajamas and heads over to the crib. She lays her down and gives her a kiss goodnight, hoping she and Donovan can pull this off. "Goodnight, Emmalina. Sweet dreams, I love you." She stands in front of the crib and watches Emmalina swiftly fall asleep.



Donovan walks in and says, "There was actually something else I've been thinking about too."

She walks over to him and quietly says, "What's that?"

"I think we need to look for a bigger place. This apartment is too small, Emmalina doesn't even have her own room."

"I know but can we afford that right now?"

"I don't know, I can look in the newspaper and see what's available for rent."

"Alright, just let me know what you find." She kisses him on the cheek and walks into the bathroom to shower.



When she comes out, dressed to go out, Donovan asks, "You're going to patrol the streets with the Night Hunters? I didn't know you were thinking about going back this soon."

"I wasn't but Romeo mentioned earlier that they are lacking members. Renee quit the team after...what happened. So I'm just going to patrol my section until morning."

"Are you sure you're ready for this? If you're not and Romeo really needs the back up, I'll go."



Amelia takes his hands into hers. "No, you don't have to do that. I can't stay at the apartment forever. I'm ready and I think Romeo knows that too or he wouldn't have mentioned it to me."

"You might be ready but I'm not sure I am. After what happened.....is it bad for me to say I was hoping you'd quit?"

"No, it's not. But I have to do this, It's the only way I'll ever fully get over all of this. Plus the more I train the better I can defend myself."

Donovan wipes his hand across his face. "Alright." He looks at her, letting his eyes take her in. He grabs her close and whispers in her ear. "Have I ever told you how sexy you look in that outfit?"

She smiles and kisses him. "I'm sure Romeo won't mind if I'm a few minutes late." They head into the bedroom and all thoughts of going out tonight are forgotten.



When Amelia wakes up she calls Romeo to tell him she's sorry she couldn't make it last night, leaving out the reason why. After that she get's Emmalina a bottle and sits down to try and teach her how to talk. "Say Ma ma."

"Da da da da da." Of course she would say Da Da first. Donovan will be thrilled.

Amelia continues to say words but all Emmalina seems to want is her daddy. So she gives up and hands her to Donovan.



Donovan grabs her and tickles her. Amelia can't help but laugh. All frustration gone from trying to teach her daughter to talk. She stands at the corner of the room just watching them play.



Donovan throws Emmalina into the air and flies her around the room. She squeals and laughs the entire time. "Donovan see if you can get her to start walking." Amelia says as she goes into the kitchen to make pancakes.



Donovan takes her little hands and stands her up. They start to walk across the room and Donovan gives her words of encouragement. "Come on Emmalina, you can do it. Walk to Daddy."
Slowly put surely Emmalina takes her first steps on her own, towards him.


He picks her up and carries her across the room and then goes back to the other side. She gets up and heads straight for him where he's waiting with his arms wide open. She stumbles a little but finally makes it to him and falls into his arms. He lifts her into the air to celebrate.



She laughs as she's being tossed and says, "Da da da da da."

He immediately stops and looks at her. "What did you say?"

"Da da."

A huge grin spreads across his face. Those are the greatest words he's even heard spoken.



He pulls her in for a hug, he's heart melted in a puddle. "Little girl you've got me wrapped around your finger, do you know that?"

"Da da da da." She says as she giggles.

He laughs and sits her down to play with her toys. "Play with this while Daddy goes to talk to Mommy about your new room."



Donovan walks into the living room where Amelia is. "I found us an apartment."

"Really? Already? When can we go look at it?"

"Actually I already signed the lease."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Just here me out. I didn't have a choice. There was another couple who was there to look at it after me. If I didn't sign it right then, we would have lost it. It's a huge three bedroom apartment. Emmalina will finally have her own room."

"Three bedrooms? Donovan how can we afford that? We don't have the money!"

"Yes we do."

"How?"

"I....I sold my car."

"What?! But you love that car. You've had it before we were even dating."

"I know, but the two of you are more important than a car, Amelia. I'll just take the subway like everyone else. This is what I wanted to do."

"Alright. You're sure you won't regret this later?"

"Absolutely not. This is the right thing for my family. Why would I ever regret that?"

"I know. Anything to make us happy, you'd do it. So, when do we move in?"

"Tonight. I know that doesn't give us a lot of time to pack and the moving trucks will be here in a few hours."

"A few HOURS!?"

Amelia leaves Donovan in he living room and rushes around the apartment gathering things and throwing them in boxes. Donovan finally catches up with her and soon they are taping the last box as someone knocks on the door. The moving crew take all the boxes to load them up. When everything is loaded, Amelia grabs Emmalina and takes one last look at the now empty apartment. There's been a lot of good memories and bad memories here. She decides to take the good memories and leaves the bad memories behind her in the bare apartment she once called home. They all get into the taxi Donovan flagged down and the moving trucks follow them to their new apartment.



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NOTES:

Sorry for all the father-daughter picture spam. They were all so cute I couldn't pick which ones to use so I used them all! Also please ignore the pose box in a couple of pictures. I should pay more attention when I'm taking screenshots. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thanks again for reading. =]

Chapter Seven: Welcome

It's been 3 days since Amelia was abducted by Reuben. She's done nothing except sleep and shower. Donovan is a mess. He doesn't know what to say to comfort his wife. She keeps telling him she's fine and not to worry but he knows she's just trying to make him feel better. So Donovan decides to give Romeo a call to see if he can help. He takes out his phone to dials his number. Romeo answers on the first ring.

"Hey Donovan, is everything okay?"

"Not exactly. Romeo I can't get her to talk to me. Amelia has done nothing but sleep since Reuben took her. It's not like I don't understand but I'm worried. She's not eating that well and I'm afraid the baby isn't getting what it needs."

"Probably because you're playing the sympathetic, loving husband. Amelia needs a push. A hard, in your face push and I'm just the man to do it. Did she let that Doctor I sent over examine her face?"

"Yeah she did but not without an argument. I think she feels embarrassed about it but her face looks a lot better. It's still healing though."

"Alright, I'll leave work in a few minutes and then I'll be on my way to your place."

"Thanks, I appreciate this, Romeo."

"Not a problem, she's my friend too."

Donovan hangs up his cell phone and reads a book while he waits on Romeo to come over.



Donovan hears a knock at the door and let's Romeo in. "Why the hell are you in a Chef's uniform?" Donovan asks as they walk into the kitchen.

"I'm working an undercover job. Meth lab at a restaurant. People are getting way too brave these days. But anyways, where is Amelia?"

"She's asleep on the bed...again. I think being that close to death has really shaken her up."

"Let's see if I can't get back the old Amelia." Romeo walks into the bedroom and sees Amelia lying on the bed. "Amelia! Get your ass out of that bed right now!" he yells.

Amelia jumps up, startled by his voice. "I'm up, I'm up. Geez you didn't have to yell."

"Apparently I did. You've done nothing but sulk around this apartment. You haven't been taking care of yourself."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm a little distraught but I was just kidnapped by a vampire who threatened my life."

"I know that, I was there. But Amelia, you're alive. You have your entire life ahead of you. You have a great man who loves you. He's so worried about you. You're pregnant and about to welcome a new life into the world. You have a lot going for you. You have people all around that love you and you need to let go of the bad."

"Don't you think I know this!" Amelia yells, tears streaming down her face. "I just can't get his face out of my head. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is him"



"Come here." Romeo says and Amelia walks over to him. He brings her in for a hug. "I know this is hard, but he can't hurt you anymore. He's dead. He's never coming back. You have to live your life. Where's the strong girl I met who wasn't afraid of anything, including vampires and was ready to kick some ass when I invited her to join a team who hunts them down?"

Amelia gives a little smile. "I'm right here."

"That's my girl. Let go of the pain and fear. Get angry! Use that anger when we fight those son's of bitches. That is if you're still on the team?"

Amelia thinks for a second. I am angry. I'm fucking pissed off. I was ripped from my home, handcuffed, locked in a cage. I was beat on while a leech threatened the life of my child, my husband and my own. "You bet your ass I am." she said with a little anger in her voice just thinking about what she went through, this time in a different light.

"Good. Now go let your husband know that and Amelia, you don't need to keep stuff from him. He's a big boy, he can handle it. He needs to know how you're feeling. Stop trying to protect him. Now I've to get back to work. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Alright, I'll talk to you later." He gives give a finale hug goodbye and leaves.

Donovan walks over to Amelia. "Amelia, I...."

"Wait, before you speak I want to say something. I'm sorry for not telling you how I was feeling. I should have. I didn't want to make you worry but instead I probably made you worry more. I just thought I could deal with this on own. I've always had to deal with everything by myself. What I should have realized was I don't have to anymore because I'm not alone. I have you and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that."

Donovan grabs her in his arms and plants a kiss on her forehead. "You do have me and I'm never going anywhere. I love you and I'm always here if you need me."

She pulls off his shirt and nuzzles her head between his neck and shoulder. Not very subtle but she can't stand it anymore. She hasn't touched him or kissed him in days and she needs his body against hers. She places small kisses around his collar bone and down his chest. "Let's go to bed." she says with a knowing smile. He lifts her up and carries her back to the bedroom.




For the next several days, Amelia is still staying in bed, but for very different reasons this time. One night while they were laying in bed, Amelia started having major pains in her abdomen. She jumps out of bed and sees her gown is wet. "Oh my God, my water just broke!"

"What!? It's not time, right? Is it? Amelia!?" Donovan says as he jumps up too.

"SHIT! No it's time now. NOW DAMMIT, NOW! Holy mother of JESUS!" She screams.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm going to throw on clothes and get the car. Because this time we're going to the hospital. If I have to drag you kicking and screaming you are fucking going."

"YES! Just get the damn car!"



Donovan quickly dresses and runs to bring the car around. When he gets back to the elevator Amelia is there waiting, dressed and ready to go. He leads her carefully to the car. After she is seated he closes the door and gets into the driver's seat and pulls into traffic. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Well, I feel like I'm dying if that helps you understand it better. Step on the gas!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can!"

"Drive faster!"

After 10 minutes of speeding and weaving through traffic they arrive at the hospital. "Stay here and I'll go get you a wheelchair or something." He runs into the hospital to the front desk. "I need a wheelchair for my wife, she's in labor." A nurse grabs one from a room and heads out of the hospital to his car where Amelia is waiting. He opens her door and grabs her hand to gently guide her to the wheelchair and they wheel her back into the hospital so she can deliver the baby.



Eight hours of screaming, cursing and then crying, Donovan and Amelia walk out of the hospital with their daughter. "Wait, we never picked out a name! With everything that's happened, we forgot." Donovan says horrified.

"I actually sort of already picked one out. If that's okay. How do you like the name Emmalina?"

"It's beautiful, it matches her perfectly." he says with a smile. "Let's take her home."

Donovan, Amelia and Emmalina get into the car and start to head home. "Ummm, why are you driving 15 MPH?"

"Because."

Amelia starts to chuckle, "Because why?"

"Because there are a lot of crazy drivers in this city and I want to be fully aware of them all."

"Mmmm." she says has she lifts her eyebrows.




It takes them almost an hour and a half to get back to the apartment. "Go ahead and lay down and rest. I'll feed Emmalina." Donovan says as they walk through the door.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'd like to."

"Alright, that's okay with me, I'm exhausted."

He kisses her quickly before getting a bottle to mix up the formula. "Um, Amelia how do you do this?" She puts a pot of water on the stove and explains everything that needs to be done. He follows her instructions very carefully and fixes the bottle. "See, it's not that hard, I'm going to lay down now."

"Okay, thanks. I've got it from here."

He picks up his daughter and feeds her. She's so beautiful. She's absolutely perfect. She finishes the bottle and he puts it in the sink to boil later. He puts his finger near her hand and Emmalina wraps her little hand around it and looks up at him. In that moment he's never felt anything like this. He feels like his heart is about to explode with the happiness and love he feels from one teeny tiny person.



Emmalina starts to get a little restless so he sits in the rocking chair and rocks her to sleep. When she finally falls asleep he lays her down in the crib. He stands over the crib and reaches down to gently place his hand on her tiny little chest. He makes a silent promise to her as he watches his hand go up and down with every little breath she takes. I promise you, I'll do everything in my power and then some to keep you safe. I'll never let anyone hurt you. You will always be loved and cherished until the day that I die. "I love you, Emmalina." he says out loud. After making sure she's still sound asleep, he walks over to the bed and takes off his clothes and climbs in. He wraps his arms around Amelia and drifts off to sleep as the happiest man in the world.


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NOTES:

YAY! Emmalina is finally here and she will be my heir. I now have 1 of 2 children. Donovan is now on his 2nd job which is none. Amelia has been off work forever because of the baby. (I really hate this maternity leave in the game.) Oh and Romeo, what am I going to do about him showing up in odd outfits. I also, half of the time want to call him Ramone instead of Romeo. But Romeo is his name in the game and he really is Amelia's partner at work. Wish I would have thought about changing it before I started. Oh well. Also you may notice that this format is a bit different than usual and I want to give a special thanks to Cece for giving me some well needed advice at how I've been writing my chapters. Hopefully now everything is easier to read. I also changed my blog layout to suit this story better. The previous one worked very well with my first legacy but not so much with this one. I used my Photoshop skills again to add the blood splatter on a vintage background I found on Google. You still can't see half of the background but I know I resized that thing 10 times so I just gave up. It's looks okay on my laptop and desktop so hopefully it looks the same for everyone else. Thanks again for reading, I can't wait to read your comments!