Barren

Disclaimer: Hellsing belongs people who are not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic; it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Alucard . . . Then he'd be mine.

Rating: PG

Authoress Note: When Seras realises that vampires do not breed as humans do she has to come to terms with what she has lost.

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Barren

"I cannot believe you didn't tell her!" Integra bellowed.

"I thought it was once of the obvious things," Alucard said. "Something well known."

"Vampires are not well known," Integra said sitting back in her chair and putting her hands to her temples. "How on earth could it be, 'well known'?" Alucard took a deep breath through his nose and spoke slowly.

"Have you ever seen a vampire movie? How about a book? Anything where vampires start farting out infants?"

"Don't be crass," Integra snapped. "And yes actually, there are books where they do."

"Name one," Alucard said, then held up his hand when Integra went to speak. "One where it was natural for them to do so, not some plot point."

"What about …" Integra paused. She was quiet for a moment before snorting at him in irritation. "That aside you should have told her."

"When?" Alucard said.

"Before you killed her," Integra snapped.

"The girl was bleeding out at my feet," Alucard said.

"Because you put a bullet in her," Integra said.

"Through actually," Alucard said. "Before that, she had a raving vampire at her throat; it was hardly the time to go over every little detail."

"Little detail," Integra said through her teeth. "You are so thoughtless sometimes; this is not a little detail."

"At that moment it was," Alucard said. "There were more immediate concerns than Seras' future ability to birth infants."

"This is not a little detail for her, for any person really," Integra said. She sighed when Alucard just looked at her blankly, "Alucard, usually human beings want to settle down and have a family."

"So if you don't then that makes you unusual?" Alucard said. Integra pinched her nose as if to prevent a headache.

"That's not what I meant, stop trying to be difficult," she said. "You should have told Seras about this, maybe not at the time of changing her but at some point afterwards. She was in tears." Alucard sighed.

"Why were you talking about children anyway?" he said. Integra's cheeks flushed, and she shook her head.

"Seras was shocked when I told her," she said. "She truly didn't know, not even an inkling." Alucard rolled his eyes. "You can make as many faces as you like but she is your fledgeling, and she is distraught over this, go and talk to her."

"Why me?" Alucard snapped, "I'm not exactly known for my genteel way of putting things."

"Do not make excuses," Integra said. "Besides you've had fledgelings before, they were female I'm sure they got broody at times."

"That assumption makes you sexist," Alucard muttered under his breath getting to his feet "For the record, they were quite happy to escape lives where children were forced upon them, in a time when childbirth was a rather risky business."

"Go talk to her!" Integra glared as he sunk into the floor.

Seras was sitting in the dark, but that didn't matter to him, the dark was not a barrier. It was unusual for her. However, she still clung to the light, filling her room with lamps and candles.

He stepped into her room through the ceiling and landed lightly on the floor. She flinched when he touched the ground but made no move to acknowledge him. Alucard walked over making sure to drag a heal gently across the floor. He sat next to her, and they were silent in the dark together for a time.

"So I'll never be able to have a baby?" she said eventually.

"Why do you think we have fledgelings?" he asked, she rolled over and looked at him. "True they are not 'babies' in the sense that they can be picked up and cuddled, but they are young, inexperienced and completely dependent on the parent, sounds like a baby to me."

"I was never dependent on you," Seras sniffed. Alucard gave her an amused look.

"If I'd have let you, you would have been," he sighed. "That kind of dependence," he swallowed a lump in his throat. " It does no one any good. It forms a needless attachment, and when one dies, it does irrevocable damage."

"You don't want to get attached?" Seras asked

"I've seen it kill sires when fledgelings die," he said. "It hurt me to lose mine but I wasn't overly attached, so it only hurt, it did not destroy me." He shrugged "It was more like losing a dear friend rather than losing a child."

"Doesn't that make you sad?" Seras sat up. "Being that alone all the time?" This was why he hated these little talks people felt he had to have; they always went wrong.

"I'm not alone," he said.

"If I died you wouldn't be sad?" Sears asked.

"I would be sad, Seras." He said using her name for effect. "But I would go on, as I would expect you to, should I die. I would not want to destroy you." She paused thinking that over.

"Well don't be dying anytime soon," Seras said after a few moments. "Because unlike you, I am attached." she leant against him and they were quiet again for a time.

"You are not the first one of our kind to want a baby," He said slowly after a time, "I knew one who wanted one badly enough to turn a mortal tot … it ended badly."

"I don't want a baby master, at least not now, but I would have liked the option," Seras said. "It was something I assumed I would have one day, something I didn't even realise I had lost until Integra pointed it out to me."

"One day when Hellsing falls perhaps I will teach you how to make fledgeling of your own," Alucard smirked. "Fledgelings are a joy; even irritating little ones who refuse to heed wise counsel."

"You were never wise Master."

End ficlet

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