Vampire pregnancy was far different from a human one than anyone had been able to explain to you before. The timing stayed the same, doctor appointments, vitamins, tests, and supplements looked almost identical, but the body handled it differently — harder, more intensely, as if your system was constantly fighting something stronger than itself. You were exhausted almost all the time. Not normal exhaustion after a sleepless night, but the kind that settled deep beneath your skin and made even getting out of bed feel draining.

Fifth month.

Your stomach was already noticeably rounded, harder and harder to hide beneath Damon’s oversized sweaters and shirts you kept stealing. Your body was changing faster than it should, your appetite shifted constantly, migraines came back more often, and your senses had become so heightened that even ordinary light or the smell of perfume could irritate you beyond reason. Some days you barely left the couch, too drained to do anything except curl into the pillows and survive the next few hours.

Damon practically never left your side, though of course he never said it directly. He was just suddenly always there. Keeping track of your medication, canceling his own plans whenever you had a worse day, and sitting beside you in the evenings with his hand instinctively resting against your stomach, like he couldn’t stop himself.

The warmer days were starting to become exhausting. One morning you stood half asleep in front of the open refrigerator wearing one of his oversized shirts, frowning while searching for something cold to drink when Damon walked into the kitchen, casually leaning against the doorway. For a moment he only watched you with that amused calmness of his before lazily muttering:

“The blood bags are in the freezer, sweetheart. It’s May. I’m not cleaning spoiled blood out of the fridge again.”