I love Oleander's hair. That's going to be one pretty, creepy baby.
Me too. I love that dark blue/purple shade. I'm considering relaxing my usual rules and giving the baby his hair colour even if he/she doesn't inherit it naturally.
Poor Oleander...I think he knows what his future holds... 
I think he's just trying to make me feel guilty. Guiltier.
I'm planning to revive/rejuvenate some of the kids after the end of the challenge and let Ally have grandchildren. Iris will definitely be in that group.
That sounds great! Please consider including Fluellen. He's getting more hilariously adorable with every update. 
Oh, I already am
. He's really grown on me recently. I rather regret the unkind remarks about being a weird-looking toddler
even though he was.
Vampire LoverI said a couple of chapters back that I had two Bridgeport men in mind as future fathers. Sadly, one of them died of old age before there was space in the house for the next child. On the other hand, maybe it’s just as well – I was beginning to think this story should be renamed ‘All the Als’. As well as Alison herself, we’ve already had Alec, Alan and Al. Alexy Fresco as Culinary Dad would just have added to the confusion.
There have been a lot of deaths recently. Fluellen and Lotus lost their fathers to old age on the same day. In fact, Grim must have been insanely busy that day – the pop-up notifications seemed to include half the population of Al Simhara.
The other potential father, however, was still going strong, as undead as ever. I’d originally favoured Wogan Hemlock as Vampire Dad, because he’s nice-looking and has decent traits, even though it would have meant temporarily dissolving his marriage to Morrigan. That became an even more uncomfortable prospect when the Hemlocks became close family friends of the Flowers'. However, by then another candidate had put himself forward. He’d first visited the family soon after their arrival in Bridgeport, when Billy invited all of his criminal colleagues over.
Like everyone else, Vladimir was attracted to Ally. (Incidentally, I love the way his speech bubble’s moved up to clear his umbrella.)
A real character, this one. He’d only been in the house a few minutes when this happened:
“Look into my eyes. Your bladder is filling. You have to go… right now.”
(Seriously, what is that interaction? I assume Ally’s need to pee was entirely coincidental.)
While she was busy in the bathroom, he went into the sauna and made himself at home.
He hung around for ages after the other guests had left, wandering around the house and trying everything out.
He even got out a screwdriver and looked as though he was about to sabotage the science station, until I sent Billy to interrupt him. Someone so determined to barge his way into the story really deserved to contribute to the family gene pool, even without considering his astonishing muscle definition.
What?! I’m not leering, just admiring him as an anatomical specimen. Honest
.
After Edelweiss had moved out and the other kids had gone to school, Ally invited Vladimir over. This time,
she’d be the one doing the hypnotising.
Aw! He may be evil and a professional thug but Vladimir obviously has a soft centre.
He didn’t take much persuading…
…and the heart bed again lived up to its reputation. Well, mostly. There weren’t any chimes but the option to ‘Try for Baby’ was greyed out after the first attempt, which seemed like a good sign.
They parted amicably and Ally went back to housework, gardening and helping children with their homework – until the nausea struck. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.
Or maybe it wasn’t just that.
“Watcher? Are you still there?”
“Yes, of course. It’s kind of implied by the term ‘watcher’, really.”
“Don’t you get sarcastic with me! I’m having pregnancy mood swings, I’m throwing up every two hours and now I’ve realised this baby might be a vampire.”
Almost certainly, judging from what I’ve read.“And you know what happens to mortals who have vampire babies, don’t you?
Horrible things. I’ll end up having to become a vampire myself just to survive. What about your precious challenge then?”
Oh dear. I ought to have guessed she wouldn’t go in for Serious Literature.“Erm, I’m not so sure you should rely on fiction. It’s probably nothing like that really. Tell you what, why don’t you go and have a chat with Morrigan? I think she was probably already a vampire when she had Belisama but she used to be human…”
And thank goodness that baby you’re carrying isn’t her husband’s after all.“…And I happen to know that she’s BFFs with Elvira Slayer, the senior consultant at Sacred Spleen, who must be an expert in vampire obstetrics.”
Panic and upchucking over, Ally settled into her usual late-pregnancy routine of flirting with Billy.
Once again, she went into labour while gardening. Giving birth under the sprinklers didn’t seem like such a good idea this time, though.
She insisted on driving to the hospital. Well, the Speedster had been her celebrity gift, not Billy’s. And she probably didn’t want to give him a chance to escape. I wasn’t watching the traffic lights but I’m prepared to bet she wasn’t letting little things like red lights stop her.
She turned around as they reached the entrance, just daring Billy to run off and desert her again.
The glare must have been effective. He followed her meekly into the hospital.
Vladimir arrived soon after. It appears that vampires are as conscientious as fairies when it comes to paternal duties.
He stood outside the door for a while, repeatedly opening and closing his umbrella. Well, attending the birth of your child together with your best friend, who just happens to be married to the mother, is an awkward enough social situation to make anyone hesitate. As he put up his brolly for the last time and headed indoors, Jun Xu appeared behind him. She was in a tearing hurry. Was she late for her shift?
Then Elvira Slayer came running up behind her. Maybe they’d both been caught in the same traffic jam.
But if the staff were only just arriving, who was looking after Ally?
Either she managed on her own or the hospital had other members of staff who were never seen around town. Ally emerged with her newborn baby before Elvira had reached the doors.
If looks could kill the undead…
As she carried her son out to the car, she yelled out her frustration with the medical profession (and possibly watchers. I didn't like to ask).
The next baby was
definitely going to be born at home.
Another uncomfortable ride in the limo followed…
…but at last she was home and could give baby Nightshade his first cuddle.
My first vampboo. Yay! And his favourite colour is red – although I’m not at all sure about Beach Party as his favourite music
.
I’ve never seen Ally look as furious as she did on her way out of the hospital, even when dealing with truanting children
. I choose to think that it was connected with Xun and Elvira’s late arrival.
