6. Chapter 6 (1/1)
sorry for the delay! lost the muse for this fic for a long while, but here we are. hopefully some of my wips will be continued in the next few weeks - at least until uni work really picks up.
reviews, as ever, would be appreciated but are not mandatory.
disclaimer: the show is not mine.
mina insisted that she see a doctor as soon as possible, appalled that she hadn't seen one already."it's really important that you get the right support and check everything's ok. i'm making you an appointment with – would you prefer the local gp, or a guild medic?"
erin shrugged; honestly, she'd probably have preferred to go to the slayer's guild, but jonno had gone a funny pale colour and she realised that if the guild found out his part in this... well, she didn't know what would happen but she was pretty sure that at the very least he'd never hear the end of it."i'll go to the local doctor, if that's alright with you.""it's fine – i'll ring now and ask them to squeeze you in and register you. susan, the receptionist, she's in my book club so she'll sort it out." she'd already dialed a few numbers when she suddenly stopped, putting the phone down for a second to cancel the call. "you're absolutely sure it's not part-vampire? i'm not judging, i just- we can't afford to expose-""sorry, still jonno's." she tried to be glib about it, but she could tell she hadn't quite managed it as jonno's hand reached for hers under the
eakfast table and squeezed firmly before letting go.
it had been a week since erin had arrived and jonno had continued to be a solid, reassuring presence both physically and emotionally. she'd almost walked in on him hyperventilating in the kitchen, telling his mother he was out of his depth, but she'd stopped herself just in time. it had been habit, really, after living for so long with the draculas, that kept her close to the door, listening."i'm trying to look after her, mum, i just- i don't know anything either, what if i mess up? what if something goes wrong? what if i can't do this?""jonno, if this isn't something you want, you have to talk to er-""no, i do. i want... whatever happens, i want to be there for her. i mean, the baby, it's going to happen. even if we wanted to stop it, we couldn't now. so... i'm not leaving her to it, mum, it's my fault too.""then i think you'll do fine. as long as you look after one another, you don't have to go through any of it alone. besides, you've got me to help you both out.""supergran," jonno managed weakly, and there was a sharp intake of
eath from inside the kitchen."oh, no," mina laughed, "i can't be gran, i'm not old enough to be gran. i suppose i'll have to start working out what i want the baby to call me.""you'll... you'll have a while before it can talk... oh, god, it's going to talk. and walk-""-and cry, and smell-" mina sounded sympathetic, but her tone was a little teasing, as if she was trying not to overwhelm her son. it didn't matter; jonno didn't seem to be listening."-and be a person, mum. i'm- me and erin, we're going to have, like, a pet person."erin had crept back up to her temporary room, fighting the panic that had risen up inside her, and when she'd ventured back down an hour later all had been calm again.
now mina was gone, already on her way to guild hq for her first meeting of the day, and jonno was sitting beside her on a bus with squeaky
akes."you nervous?" he asked her, and she nodded anxiously. "don't be, it'll be fine.""you're not?" he grinned sheepishly at that."i'm bloody terrified. but it really will be ok." he reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and even when they finally got off the bus and were sitting in a crowded waiting room, he didn't let go.
"alright, well, you seem healthy enough and it sounds like you've been taking care of yourself – obviously, we'll let you know if the blood test comes back with anything notable, but you've already begun to address the problems you've been having with your stress levels and other than that all seems in order. now... are you ready to see your baby?" erin's hand shot out to grab jonno's without a conscious decision on her part as the doctor smiled encouragingly at them."can we? i mean, isn't it way too early?" the doctor shook her head in answer to the boy's question."not at all. in fact, we'd usually have liked to have erin in a little earlier for a scan, but better late than never."
the gel applied to her stomach was cold, despite her doctor's obvious efforts to warm it up as she made casual enquiries about mina's health. it seemed there weren't many doctors in stokely; the van helsings had known this one ever since they'd moved here."alright, now, let me just find..." for a heart-stopping second, as erin watched the device move across her body, the doctor's concentrated frown, the blurry shapes on the screen, she thought there wasn't going to be anything there. she'd got flu, or something, not morning sickness, and the pregnancy tests had lied to her, and there wasn't a baby at all... she wasn't sure if she'd be relieved or devastated, if that was the case. "there." suddenly, that wasn't a question any more, because erin could see it.
"woah," she heard jonno blurt out beside her, and he squeezed her hand. she squeezed back, staring at the indistinct shape on the screen as the doctor pointed out various body parts; head, feet, the curve of a back."i'll do you a printout, so you can show your parents," she offered, and neither jonno nor erin bothered to correct her – they only had one parent between them – too busy trying to process what they were seeing. that was their baby, and it had never seemed so real.
"can i go?" erin asked a
uptly, the moment the gel was cleaned off of her stomach. "i mean- do you- can you sort the photos and stuff out, jonno? i need- i'd be right outside-""there are a few vitamins i want to prescribe," the doctor interjected, "but i'm happy to write down the instructions for you if you need some air.""air," she repeated, stupidly, "yes. please. thanks." and she rushed from the room.
outside, she crossed the car park and settled on a low wall, fixing her eyes on the floor in an attempt to calm herself down."are you alright?" she looked up to see a girl with long, blonde hair peering anxiously down at her. she seemed familiar; it took a while to place her as the girl she'd seen when she'd first arrived in stokely. she nodded weakly, and the girl held out a hand. "i'm chloe. chloe
anagh. you're staying with the van helsings, aren't you?""yeah, i'm erin." chloe didn't seem put off in the slightest by erin's reticence, and perched on the wall next to her."you don't look alright, erin. you look like you're freaking out. is there anything i can do?"
of course, that was when jonno chose to emerge from the surgery, photos in hand."you alright? i can't believe we're really- chloe." the sight of the other girl
ought him up short, but her eyes had already darted from the photos to erin and it was obvious that she'd put two and two together."you're having a-?" she cut herself off, glancing around to check that she hadn't been heard. apparently satisfied, she turned back to look at them both. "well, congratulations, i suppose. it is good news, is it?" the question took a while to penetrate erin's whirling mind, but once it did the answer seemed clear to her."yeah. yeah, good news.""it's a lot to take in, that's all," jonno told her, and erin remembered with a jolt that he'd only known about the baby's existence for a week. "i should call mum, let her know everything's ok." he waved his mobile and retreated a little for privacy, leaving the two girls to sit in awkward silence.
"so, are you staying in stokely?" erin nodded."i think... mina said i could, and there's nowhere else, so...""well, first thing i should tell you; there are no secrets. i'll keep quiet if you like, of course, but there's bound to be gossip from someone or other-""it's not- i mean, it's up to jonno, but i don't really think it's worth trying to keep it a secret now." chloe nodded thoughtfully, watching jonno gesticulate wildly as he talked on the phone."mina's not at home, then?" erin shook her head. "can't have you going home to an empty house in that state, both of you. nice cup of tea'll do you. come on, you can come round ours."