THINK OF THE CHILDREN

    'All you have to do is just dial her number.'

    Sadie took a deep breath, staring down at her cellphone as she contemplated whether or not this was a good idea. She hadn't talked to her sister in almost a year. It's not like they were on bad terms or anything, but she'd found it hard to keep up with her with everything going on in her life. No, she was just nervous over the topic that she wanted to bring up to Marissa.

    'Yeah, that and everything leading up to it.' the redhead thought with a sigh, absentmindedly rubbing the bite-mark on her neck. She knew Marissa would be cool about her being a vampire, seeing as how her sister was a half-vamp herself, but there was definitely going to be plenty of teasing. 'I'm never going to hear the end of it.'

     Sadie gently chewed on her lip as she paced back and forth in the kitchen, trying to work up the nerve. She had entered her sister's number and now all she had to do was hit the call button, but she instead tucked the phone back in her pocket and paced some more. The vampire ran a hand through her red hair in exasperation, heading into the living room where Caleb was sprawled across the couch, watching TV. He quickly sat up, making room for her, and watched with a small smile as she plopped down next to him and leaned into his chest. A bit of her anxiety melted away as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

     “I can't do it. I'm too nervous.” Sadie said with another sigh, glancing up at her husband and sticking her lip out in a pout. The blonde chuckled and rubbed her arm comfortingly.

     “Hey, I would be too. This is a big deal.” Caleb said, studying her with a soft look in his crimson eyes. Sadie frowned slightly, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking down at her clasped hands.

     “I wish we didn't have to ask anyone to do this for us.” she said quietly. “I wish I could just do it.” Caleb's smile dropped into a frown.

     “I know... I'm sorry, Sadie.”

     “Dammit, I told you to stop apologizing already.” the redhead said sternly, looking back up at him. “You know I've come to terms with this whole thing.” A smirk made it's way to her face as she leaned in closer to him, lingering inches away from his lips. “And better yet, I get to spend an eternity with you. I'm only saying, I wish there was a way for a vampire to have a baby.”

     Caleb shot her a half grin, closing the distance between them with a quick kiss. She relaxed into him and pulled away gently with a smile. Pulling her phone back out, she looked down at the number she had on the screen, waiting to be called.

     “I suppose we're lucky enough that my dad was a sick weirdo who wanted to 'maintain the purity of our bloodline' and kept my eggs cryogenically frozen.” She snorted and shook her head. “Now we just have to hope Marissa's willing to be our surrogate.” Caleb fell silent, studying his wife as she toyed with the cellphone in her hands.

     “You're sure about this?” he asked slowly, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I mean, you know I'm okay with adoption if that's what you're concerned about.”

     “I know.” Sadie replied, smiling at him. “But I want it to be our child. Besides, finding a kid we won't outlive would probably be a bit of a problem.”

     “Right, the aging thing...” he said, nodding. “Alright. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your sister is as cool as you say she is.”

     “When am I ever wrong?” Sadie teased. Her smirk widened as Caleb went to reply and she shoved a hand over his mouth. “Don't answer that.” Caleb let out a snicker and swatted her hand away. The redhead looked down at her phone and inhaled deeply before finally pressing call and putting the phone to her ear. Her anxiety only continued to build as it rang four times over.

     “Probably going to go to voicem-” Sadie began to say, but her words were cut off as the other end was picked up.

     “Hello?”

     “M-Marissa?” She felt so stupid as she nervously stuttered her sister's name. “Um, hey. It's Sadie.”

     “Oh. My. God.” her sister breathed. “Long time, no talk! I thought you died!”

     “Heh, nope, still... still living.” Sadie chuckled, glancing at Caleb, who was stifling laughter.

     “How've you been?” Marissa asked excitedly. “I've missed talking to you! You caught me at a good time, too. I just put the kids down for a nap.” Sadie smiled, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

     “I've missed you too, Riss.” the redhead replied. “I'm sorry I haven't called in a while... things have been really hectic.”

     “Hey, it's no problem. It's been crazy down here too. Hope just started kindergarten and Robbie's teething and causing mass chaos as a baby half-vamp should.” She sighed but there was a hint of amusement in it. “I'm sorry to hear that though. Do you need to talk about it?”

     Sadie's breath caught in her throat as she tried to figure out how to explain.

     “Ah, well... There is something I need to talk about, but...”

     “So shoot! You know you can tell me anything.” Marissa said. Her end fell silent for a moment before she asked carefully, “Is it your dad?”

     Sadie bit her lip. Where to begin?

     'Well, Riss, my dad's dead, I'm married to a vampire, I am a vampire, and we were wondering if you could have our baby.' the redhead thought, suppressing a sigh. She let out a nervous chuckle.

     “Not exactly... You'll probably be happy to know that he's kind of... dead.”

     “What? Oh my God! That's great- I mean, I'm so sorry, Sadie. You must be devastated.”

     “You don't have to hide it.” Sadie snorted, rolling her eyes. “I'm honestly glad too. I'm finally away from all his bullshit.”

     “Oh, I'm so glad. He didn't deserve such a great daughter. He put you through so much with that whole Hunter business.”

     “Yeah... That all fell apart too.” Sadie said with a frown. She should have gone with her mother and Marissa when they'd left her father. It was odd to think about where she'd be if she had. She never would have become a Hunter for one, never would have been conflicted over whether or not to hate vampires. Her mother certainly hadn't hated vampires; Marissa was only Sadie's half sister after all. Their mother had had a relationship on the side and somehow passed Marissa off as a human child for years, until Sadie's father finally found out and became enraged. Sadie wished she could go back and relive her life with them from that point on, but in thinking about it, it was possible she would've never met Caleb. That was certainly one thing she would never want to rewrite.

     “Really? Huh, I figured it wasn't that strong of an organization, but damn.” Marissa commented. “So what are you doing now?” Sadie could practically hear her sister grinning as she inquired, “Seeing anyone?”

     “Ha, well, um-”

     “She sure is.” Caleb suddenly blurted out, laughing as Sadie hit him in the chest. Marissa let out a gasp and the grinding sound of a chair sliding across a wooden floor could be heard, as if she had stood up in shock.

     “No way, oh my god, Sadie! You're supposed to tell me these things! Hi, whatever-your-name-is! I hope you're being good to my sister!”

     “You know what, you can take the phone.” Sadie shoved it at him and threw her arms up in the air before folding them across her chest with a huff. So much for breaking it to her slowly. Caleb let out another laugh and put the phone to his ear with a grin.

     “Name's Caleb. It's nice to meet- well, talk to you.”

     “Well, you're damn well gonna meet me!” Marissa exclaimed. “I need to see if she scored.”

     “I have a pretty cute butt, if I do say so myself.” Caleb said with a smirk, watching Sadie bury her face in his chest. Marissa's loud laughter sounded from the other end.

     “I like you already. Hey, tell Sadie that Nelson's takin' the kids to his mom's house this weekend. You guys should come down and visit!”

     “Sure! We'd love to. Sadie actually has something she needs to discuss with you anyway. It'd probably be better to do so in person, but I'll let her explain.”

     “Does she now? Along the lines of what, if I may ask?”

     “I think it's better if she tells you.” Caleb replied, handing the phone back to his wife. She shot him a slight glare and took it from him, greeting Marissa again. He held his hands up, grinning at her. Sadie sighed deeply, fishing for words.

     “Okay. This is kind of big, the thing I have to tell you. Are you sitting down?”

     “Oo, wow, that big, huh? What, did he knock ya up or something?”

     “Wh- No! Marissa, we-” Sadie pinched the bridge of her nose and held back a frustrated grumble. “Okay, well, it does involve children... Caleb and I... We want to have a baby.”

     “Holy shit, what? I heard you right, didn't I?” Marissa asked incredulously. “Are you sure you're ready for that? A kid is a lot of work. I mean, you're only dating.”

     “Hm, ah, about that. We're married.”

     There was a shriek from Marissa's end and Sadie had to hold the phone away from her ear, wincing as her sister demanded to know why she wasn't told or invited to the wedding.

     “We didn't have a wedding!” Sadie reasoned. “Trust me, if we had, you would've been my maid-of-honor. It was just a small ceremony. Really, it was nothing.”

     “Thanks, babe, that means a lot.” Caleb teased, earning another smack in the chest from the redhead.

     “Is the anything else you want to tell me?” Marissa asked a tad sternly, although she didn't sound mad.

     “Yeah, actually... The thing is... We can't have a baby. I can't.”

     There was a long pause before her sister spoke again, in what was barely above a whisper.

     “O-Oh my god, Sadie, you... you mean you physically can't? You've seen a doctor?”

     “Yes and no.” Sadie responded, biting her lip. She glanced up as Caleb placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and gave it a pat. She smiled slightly, nodding at him. “You're going to laugh at me.”

     “What? Sadie, what are you talking about? This isn't a laughing matter.”

     “No, I know you, you're going to laugh.” Sadie said. “You see, Caleb and I met through my work... As a Hunter.”

     “Okay? And?”

     “He's not a Hunter. He's a vampire.”

     Marissa fell silent and Sadie knew she was probably speechless. Never in a million years did Sadie, raised to loathe and kill vampires, think she would end up with one, much less become one. Deep down, she never had hated them. How could she? Her sister was a half; she could never hate her. She really had only done so to try and impress her father, and although some of the Hunters' brainwashing had gotten through, she had only been fooling herself. After meeting Caleb, all that the Hunters had built up in her had crumbled. She heard Marissa clear her throat before speaking again.

     “I can actually taste the irony.”

     “Yeah, yeah...”

     “How does that relate to you not having kids though? Vampires can still-”

     “Don't. Finish that sentence.” Sadie interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose again. She hesitated before shaking her head and finally just coming out with it. “I can't have kids because I'm a vampire too. Caleb turned me some time ago.”

     There was another pause before Marissa burst out laughing. Sadie rolled her silver eyes.

     “Called it.”

     “I'm sorry, you? A vampire? That's a good one!” she roared, a thunk coming from her side as if she'd slapped her hand down on the table as she laughed. “Lemme guess, Caleb's just a human right? Man, it's way past April; September is no time for pranks!”

     Sadie let out a sigh, falling back into the couch. She held the phone away from her ear as Marissa continued to laugh. After about a minute, she'd finally died down, and Sadie dared to speak again.

     “Are you done?”

     “Yeah. Yeah, I'm done. God, that was rich. I think I woke Robbie up, crap.”

     “Marissa, I'm being serious.” Sadie said quietly. “If we're still on for the weekend, you can see for yourself.”

     “W-Wait, really?” Marissa asked, hearing the tone in her sister's voice. “Sadie... I'm sorry, oh my God. I just never expected you to...”

     “I know. Me neither.” the redhead agreed, nodding to herself. “But... I'm happier now with Caleb than I ever was before. It took some getting used to, but I think I kind of like being like this. Our only problem is that we can't start a family like we want to... We've talked about adoption but we want it to be ours.”

     “So... you're asking me to have it for you?”

     “Yes. And my dad had that whole pure bloodline obsession, so we do have some of my eggs frozen. I just can't actually carry the kid... We only have the one shot though, and I figured you've had kids before so I just-”

     “Sadie, honey, say no more. I'll do it.”

     “R-Really?”

     “Of course. Anything for my big sis. I better expect to see both of your asses down here this weekend though. That's all I ask. I miss the hell out of you.”

     “Oh my God, Riss...” Sadie put a hand to her mouth, smiling widely. Caleb wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in to smooch her on the cheek. “Thank you. Thank you s-so much.”