A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  “I’ll come back for your bike, and I’ll make sure the car disappears,” Jordan promised him, holding two bags of blood. Her van had a built-in refrigerator to store an emergency stash of blood, and she had never been gladder about having planned for any circumstance.

  In no time at all, the van had arrived at the nearest manhole entrance to their underground development. Once stopped, she wasted no time in jumping out and opening the back doors to her van.

  “Hand her over to me, Kevin. You are still weak, and I don’t want you to take any chances of dropping her when we jump down the manhole.”

  Kevin frowned but realized she was correct. He lifted his wife and handed her into Jordan’s waiting arms. She turned and kicked the manhole cover off, jumping down immediately. From above he heard her call, “Close and lock the van, please!”

  Kevin hit the lock button and closed the door, jumping down the manhole immediately after. Dr. Carlson was there and already had Erica on a stretcher as he began looking over some of her injuries. He glanced up at Kevin as he landed.

  “Okay, let’s get her over to the hospital quickly so we can see what we are dealing with.”

  Jordan had stayed behind to clean up the accident scene, but Dr. Carlson and Kevin each picked up one end of the stretcher and took off at vampire speed toward the hospital. Kevin may have saved her by starting the change, but he knew they still had a ways to go.

  Dr. Carlson shook his head and frowned. “Her left pelvis is crushed, along with most of her other bones on her left side.” He glanced up at Kevin. “It looks like you started the turning process just in time. Now, let’s get this baby out so she can heal properly.”

  “Can you tell if I gave her enough of my blood to turn her?” Kevin questioned, anxious. He had never turned another soul in his life and didn’t know the exact amount of blood that had to transfer in order to turn someone into a vampire successfully.

  The doctor started the preparations for removing the baby as he answered the nervous father-to-be. “Jordan said you reopened your wrist twice, and she had at least two mouthfuls. That should be more than sufficient.” The doctor made an incision low on her abdomen, but with all the other injuries still glaringly obvious, this one seemed almost innocent. Once opened, Kevin stood silently in horrified fascination as the doctor began to remove his wife’s insides out, placing them neatly on a clean surgical cloth that had been draped across her belly. He noticed that everything was still attached; it had just been pulled out of the way in order to retrieve the baby.

  The doctor made another incision, cutting the womb open. He removed the baby immediately, then clamped the umbilical cord twice, cut between the clamps, and handed the baby to a nurse to be cleaned and weighed. He stitched the womb back up, then placed everything back inside her abdomen where it belonged. As he went to stitch her closed, he called Kevin over to his side. “Look, her skin is already starting to knit back together. The change is working. She is going to be fine.”

  The nurse walked back over with the baby. “Congratulations, Mr. O’Rourke, you have a healthy eight-and–a-half-pound baby girl.”

  Now that he was assured the turning had taken, he took a moment to stare at the blanket-wrapped wonder staring back at him with wide eyes. Then that little wonder scrunched up her face and let out a scream that had his ears hurting.

  “Well, we can rest assured her lungs are fully developed,” Dr. Carlson chuckled. He walked over to Kevin and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I feel certain your vampire blood will heal all of Erica’s injuries, Kevin. I fully believe she will be perfect once she wakes up. Now, you know the standard procedure. She will go to the isolation unit for three days. As long as she can control herself, then we will introduce her to the baby.”

  *****

  Kevin bounced between visiting the baby in the nursery and sitting at his wife’s side, waiting for her to wake up. Their baby was precious and beautiful, just like her mama. Stephanie had hair close to Erica’s color, although it was more a dark brown with auburn highlights running through it. Her eyes were a gorgeous greenish-blue, reminding her father of the ocean her mother seemed to love so very much. She also had been born with almost a mouth full of teeth. This was quite unusual, as it generally took several months for teeth to come in, especially for half-vamp children.

  On one of Kevin’s trips to the nursery to check on Stephanie, he passed the main waiting room and found it full of elderly vampires. He wondered briefly why so many elderly were there at the same time. Mr. Atkins waved, and Kevin stuck his head in the doorway to say a quick hello. He soon learned that all of them were there to support him and Erica. This should not have surprised him. Erica had a very close relationship with almost all the elderly vamps, and now that she was down, they wanted to make sure that she and the baby were okay.

  Even though he was only planning a quick stop into the nursery before heading back to Erica, he owed these elderly vamps a bit of his time. After all, they were there out of concern for his family. When he sat down in one of the empty chairs in the waiting room, he was immediately surrounded.

  He started at the beginning, telling them everything that had happened up until that point.

  “So, is the baby okay?” Ms. Rita asked.

  “Yes, the baby is fine. Erica and I have a baby girl. We are naming her Stephanie Rose O’Rourke,” Kevin replied with a wide grin.

  “How about Erica? What is going on with her?” Mr. Atkins inquired with concern in his eyes.

  Kevin sighed and gave a short smile. “After almost losing her completely, I’m happy to say that Dr. Carlson assures me that she will be just fine once she wakes up from the changeover.”

  “Erica is one of us now?” Mrs. Clarkson and Mrs. Jenkins verified in unison, and Kevin noticed the gleam in both of their eyes as they immediately grasped each other’s hand.

  “Yes, she is being transformed as we speak. She will be in the isolation unit for three days, and then everyone can see her. In the meantime, I am heading to the nursery. You all are more than welcome to come see the baby, but the nurses will only allow two or three visitors in the nursery at once.”

  “Kevin, thank you for keeping us informed. If you need anything, please call me. I’ll be here to help with anything you need,” Mr. Atkins said as he shook Kevin’s hand. As he clasped his free hand on top of Kevin’s, he continued, “You look like you have had a long, hard day, son.”

  *****

  Erica slowly started to wake up from her very deep sleep. She was groggy at first, not sure of her surroundings. The first thing she recognized upon opening her eyes was her husband’s face. He was sitting next to her holding her hand, looking anxious. Now why would he be anxious?

  “Hello, beautiful, how are you feeling?” he inquired softly as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Her hair had an extra healthy shine to it, and her skin was so smooth it reminded him of a fine porcelain doll. Her eyes, which had always been a beautiful green, were now slightly brighter. One could get lost in their depths. Her eyelashes were so long and thick she would have been the envy of many models.

  “Okay…I think.” He was acting strangely. Something wasn’t quite right, very different indeed. She just couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

  Kevin kept skin contact, reading Erica’s every feeling and thought. He kept silent for a moment as she tried to process everything. It was not uncommon for a newly-turned vampire’s mind to be foggy and blurry, unable to put anything together. Sometimes, as in his case, the trauma of turning was too much, and the brain simply blocked it. He hoped that would be the case for her also, he didn’t want her to relive the nightmare of the car accident.

  Finally with a frown she gave up trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and looked over to her husband for answers. She realized she didn’t even know where she was. A quick glance down revealed a now flat stomach, and that sent her into an immediate panic. As it threatened to consume her, she seized Kevin’s hand tightly.


  “The baby! Oh, God, what happened to my baby?” Waves of intense grief like she had never felt before hit her. “No, no, not my baby, please, not my baby!” she cried out, her body trembling as her mind began to reel. How had this happened? How was she to go on living without her baby, such a part of her for so many months? Intense pain settled in her chest. No, not the baby. What had she possibly done wrong in her life to deserve losing such a precious gift?

  Concerned over how quickly she seemed to be falling apart, Kevin reassured her that Stephanie was perfectly healthy. “Erica, you have to calm down, the baby is fine. She’s right down the hall in the nursery.” He waited a moment until she calmed, not really wanting to ask her what, if anything, she remembered of the accident. It was never a good idea to rile up a newly-turned vampire. Actually, now that he considered it, he was a bit surprised she had herself under such great control. Yes, she had started flipping out when she realized she was no longer pregnant, but she brought herself right back under control very quickly, something very few, if any, newly-turned vamps were able to accomplish. “Do you remember getting into a car accident?”

  Erica cocked her head to the side as she searched her memory bank again. Yes, there seemed to be something she couldn’t quite access, more like a bad dream she couldn’t remember. As blurry and distorted as her memory was, she would have thought the car accident Kevin was speaking of happened years ago. “Yes, I think I do. Did a car hit me in the driver's door? Wait, how long ago was I in this accident?” It was frustrating not to be able to remember things, especially when they were so important.

  “You were on your way to meet me for a dinner party,” he paused and looked down at his watch. Had it only been twenty-four hours since the accident? As emotionally draining as it had been, it felt like it had been twenty-four days. “It was last night when the accident occurred. You were hurt very badly. Jordan happened to be in the right spot at the right time and saw everything. Thank goodness I hadn’t left for the party myself yet.”

  “And the baby?” Erica questioned again. Yes, she had heard him tell her the baby was okay, but surely the emergency surgery would cause some type of problem, wouldn’t it? And it was too early, the baby wasn’t finished developing. How could she be okay? Kevin could assure her all he wanted, but until she was able to see for herself, she knew her fears wouldn’t rest.

  Kevin took her hand and leaned down until his face was only inches from hers. Looking into her eyes, he reiterated, “The baby is fine. We have been blessed with a very perfect, healthy, spunky baby girl.”

  “You are sure the baby is healthy?” she verified.

  “Yes, she is fine, I promise,” Kevin assured her with a chuckle.

  Erica looked down at herself. Something else was bothering her. “Wait, you said that I had been hurt badly. Why am I not in any pain? Am I on some type of pain medication? How badly was I injured?” Nothing about this situation made any sense. This must be what it feels like to fall into the proverbial rabbit hole.

  Here comes the not-so-fun part, Kevin thought. “No, you are not on any type of medication.” He stopped there and brought her hand up to his lips, gently kissing the back of her hand. “What I am about to tell you is not easy for me, but please listen to everything I have to say before responding, okay?”

  “Kevin, you are starting to freak me out. Whatever it is, just say it. I am alive and according to you, our baby girl is alive and happy. How bad can it be?”

  “Well, I know we never had the chance to talk about this, but Erica, baby, I had to save you. When I reached the accident scene, you were in critical condition and the baby’s heartbeat was weakening. Jordan was on the scene also, and we felt the best way to save both you and the baby was for me to change you. I started the process right there, which bought us enough time to get you down to Dr. Carlson, so he could remove the baby.”

  Erica stared at him as if he had grown an extra head. “Am I hearing things, or did you just inform me you changed me into a vampire?” Yep, she had definitely fallen down the rabbit hole. She did another quick inventory of her body. Ten toes, two legs, ten fingers, and two arms were all attached to her body. Her boobs felt smaller, but she assumed if Kevin had truly changed her over she wouldn’t be breastfeeding their baby. She looked up into her husband’s mirth-filled eyes.

  “I can assure you all body parts are attached and accounted for, and yes, you heard correctly. You are now a vampire.” He snickered as he watched her with avid interest.

  “Huh, I don’t really feel different.” She glanced back up to her husband as she cocked her head to the side. “Should I feel different?” she asked.

  Kevin smiled indulgently at his wife. “Many newly-turned vampires do feel very different; some even describe it as “losing their minds”. Maybe the fact that you had a touch of vampire blood already in your system helped in this matter. Whatever the case, I am just glad that you are okay.” He paused and ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “You turned out even more beautiful than anyone has a right to be.” He reached down and picked up her arm. “Look, baby, all of your scarring is gone.” Both of her arms had previously been full of scars. Her ex-husband had fed from her brutally, and hadn’t bothered to heal the wounds properly afterward.

  Erica stared at the perfectly smooth skin on the arm Kevin was holding up for her to see. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day my arms would be scar-free.” She gazed up at Kevin, bringing her free hand up to cup his cheek. “Thank you, Kevin. Thank you for saving my life and the life of our baby.”

  “So, does this mean you are not mad at me for turning you?” Kevin asked cautiously.

  Erica jumped up and threw herself at her husband. As always, he caught her as if she weighed nothing. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “When you had the choice of me living as a vampire or dying, I would expect you to pick me living anytime, no matter the consequences. Besides,” she whispered in his ear, “I trust you.”

  Dr. Carlson walked in just a few seconds later. “Well, I see my newest vampire patient has awakened. How do you feel, Erica?”

  Erica quickly broke away from her husband, but not before she heard him whisper, “Busted.”

  “Fine, I think. I am really not sure what I am supposed to be feeling at this point,” she replied to the doctor as she sat down on the bed, pulling the sheet over her.

  “Good, good,” Dr. Carlson replied absently as he studied her chart. “I was certain the changeover would take care of all of your injuries.”

  He walked over and sat down on the side of the bed, taking hold of her hand before speaking. “Erica, we need to speak about something very important. Your body has just undergone a huge change. Now, I am glad you are feeling well, and you are welcome to and even encouraged to get up and move around the room however much you need to, but you need to understand something. Just because you feel like you have control of your body and emotions, doesn’t necessarily mean you really do. We have learned our lessons over the years. With that in mind, you will be in this isolation room for three days. This is standard procedure for all newly-turned vampires. It is to protect you as well as others.” Dr. Carlson paused to study his patient closely. “I don’t think for a second you would hurt anyone, sweetie, you have always had a gentle spirit, and that won’t change. However, with newly-turned vamps, we have learned to take a few precautions. Kevin and your family are allowed to see you, but you will need to wait to see the baby until your isolation period is over.”

  Erica immediately began shaking her head, and he knew she was ready to argue this point with him. What new mother wanted to be away from their baby during the first several days? “Erica, I’m not doing this to be mean to you. We just want to make sure you are in total control of yourself before we expose a baby to you. If you are going to have problems, I would much rather it happened with an adult vampire who understands the situation and is strong enough to keep from being harmed, rather than with a helpless baby. We don’
t want you to hurt yourself or anyone else, least of all the baby. Do you understand?”

  Erica realized from the doctor’s demeanor that breaking this news to her was hard on him also. “Yes, I understand.” She sighed, her spirits plummeting. Three days until she could see her baby girl. This baby had been a part of her, and there was an inner yearning to see for herself that she had not been harmed in the accident. She wanted to experience her first touch, her first holding. But she couldn’t just yet, she had to have patience and show self-restraint.

  The good doctor had no more walked out the door when Kevin suddenly realized he was not taking very good care of his newly-turned wife. “I promised the nursing staff I would alert them when you woke up so they could bring you fresh blood.” He stopped and stared at her for a few seconds. “You don’t seem in dire need of it as newly-turned vampires usually are. That is odd. I would have thought you would have taken a chunk out of me by now.”

  Blood had not even entered Erica’s thought process, but now that Kevin suggested it, it was all she could think about. An all-consuming burning need suddenly hit, making Erica wrap an arm around her stomach as she gasped out loud. Her gums began to hurt and burn, and she knew her fangs were dropping into place. Gasping from the cramping in her stomach, she growled, “Well I didn’t, until you mentioned it. Thanks a lot!” She wrapped an arm around her painful midsection and glared up at her husband. “Hell, Kevin. I need blood, and I need it now!”

  She watched as Kevin went to the door and punched in the code for the door to open. Sticking his head out the door, he told someone he needed fresh blood right away, and then was back to his wife’s side in a flash.

  He brushed her hair out of her face. “Sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean for that to happen. Here, go ahead and tap into mine. It will tide you over until the nurse arrives.”