Work Text:
It had been two hours since the first cramps began and Annette had taken the heavily pregnant Maria to lie in the Belmonts' guest bedroom. Two hours since Alucard had summoned his fairy to help with the birth. Two hours since Annette had shooed both Richter and Alucard away, insisting that men had no place in a birthing room.
How Alucard wished he could be with Maria right now, even though he knew he could offer no more help and would only be in the way. At least the potions his fairy could provide would keep Maria from any undue pain.
Richter tried to comfort Alucard in the only way the dhampire's emotional reserve would allow: he brewed him some tea. Alucard took the cup gratefully but could not hide the slight trembling of his hand. "This was a mistake," he said. Stress made his voice flat and lifeless. "The union of vampire and human is fraught with danger. The baby will almost certainly..." Not survive. Alucard couldn't bear to finish that sentence. "I fear I have caused Maria an unforgivable sorrow." Richter could only shake his head. This was so like Alucard, to assume that the suffering of his loved ones was somehow his own fault.
"Maria is a smart woman," he tried to reason with his friend. "She knew the risks when she married you. Besides, you don't know that anything bad will happen."
Alucard was about to reply when the both of them heard Annette call from the top of the stairs. "Alucard, come up. Maria wants to see you." The dhampire set down his teacup and hurried up the stairs, Richter following close behind.
Alucard's first sight upon entering the room was of Maria. Her usually golden hair was stained dark with sweat and was plastered to her forehead. Annette was positioning pillows behind her, but it still looked as if Maria could scarcely hold her head up through her exhaustion. Even so, she sat up a little straighter when she saw him, and her gaze held something he had never seen before. Something fierce and triumphant. "Alucard," she said with a smile. "Come and meet your son." It was only then that he noticed the tightly wrapped bundle in Maria's lap.
The dhampire was at the bedside in an instant. His newborn child stared up at him with an intensity no human child could ever have. His eyes were the same molten gold as Alucard's own. This truly is my son, Alucard thought with wonder as he reached out to touch the child's cheek. His skin was smooth and slightly warmer than Alucard's. How is it possible that a cursed being such as I could ever make anything so beautiful?
Alucard looked to Maria, and as she beamed back at him, he felt as though he were seeing her for the first time. This changes everything, he realized. No longer would Maria simply be his friend and wife. Now she was the mother of his child. He had treasured her before, but now she was even more precious in his sight. His wife, his son, his family. Alucard had never believed that his half dead heart could feel such a love as this, and he was left nearly breathless with the intensity of it all. For the first time in his life, he did not feel half dead. He felt completely alive and so very, very human.
"Congratulations," Richter said as he squeezed Alucard's shoulder. "You're a father." A father. And suddenly he remembered his parents and the love they had shared. Is this how Father felt when I was born, Alucard wondered. Nearly human again after so many centuries? He struggled to keep the worry from his face as he gazed at his son.
"And you and Maria will have to think of a name for him soon," Annette chimed in, but Alucard was too lost in thought to pay any attention. What would I do if someone tried to take my family from me? The mere thought made him sick.
"I think it's going to take him awhile to get used to fatherhood," Maria teased. "He seems more that a little out of it." Alucard didn't hear her.
Finally after three centuries of conflict, Alucard understood what his father had felt. If anyone dares hurt them, I'll burn the world down myself, he realized.