It's Baby Time

[Capricia Varekova]

Capricia had stopped by the Hollow after her chat with Andrew, not for a drink so much as to avoid going directly home. She couldn't even believe she'd gone to church in the first place. She was Catholic, but obviously her lifestyle dictated where she was going when she died. She wasn't even sure what she believed anymore, honestly. She put her chin in her hand and sighed a little, counting her fingers on her other hand. The baby was due soon, and she'd made zero preparations - not mentally, anyways. She was just beginning to wonder if she'd even made the right choice when pain sprang across her body, causing her to gasp and jerk away from the bar so hard she nearly tipped her chair over.

She felt a rush - and that was the only way she could describe it - and she looked up and realized Dave was staring at her, open-mouthed. She looked down and gawked at the sight before her - it appeared as though she'd wet herself, although Capricia had been reading up enough to know what was happening.

"My water just broke!" she screamed angrily. "NO, baby! Go back in! Not for another 18 years!" she protested, flailing her hands down at her round stomach.

[Ash Leone]

There was something about having a pregnant hunter, one who was usually violent and short-tempered, sitting at his bar that should have set off the warning bells in Dave's head.  She wasn't drinking, so that wasn't an issue, but when she suddenly seemed to wet herself, which was his first thought, he knew there was going to be trouble. 

Any animal knows the smell of 'baby time', and Dave wasn't interested in being around for it.  "Oh, shit, girlie.  ASH!" he hollered suddenly, leaning into the stairway leading up to the triste's office and quarters.  They were going to have to get her up there and away from customers if there was going to be baby time.  "ASH, NOW!"

"What, Dave?!" the triste snapped when he rushed down the stairs to find that they weren't under attack, though the momentary ire vanished immediately in his mental and metaphysical sweep of the room.  Dave wasn't the only one panicking, and it was rather obvious to Ash in about 3.5 seconds what was going on.  "Oh.  Lovely.  Dave, let's get her upstairs.  Capricia, it would be very good for everyone if you would stay calm, okay?" he told her, already tweaking at her auras to calm her down some.  Her panicking would only make things worse, especially if they wanted to avoid the baby being born on the stairs. 

Ash had to wonder what Dani would think of another woman's baby being born on his bed.  That'd be an interesting conversation later.

[Capricia Varekova]

"I am trying to be calm, but you put yourself in my shoes!" she protested, grabbing onto the bar as she nearly passed out from the sudden rush of commotion. It was probably a good thing Ash was there, because without severe painkillers, Capricia was going to be very hard to... maintain.

"I need to get to Doctor Mitchell," she said finally, trying to avoid the hands as they helped her stand upright. She straightened out on her own. "He's got all my information, allergies, dosages," she explained. "He said the last time we might have to do a c-section, so it isn't that I don't respect you and all, but -AH!" she blurted, white-knuckling the back of a chair.

[Stormy Quattrone]

Generally, Valerie made a habit of not frequenting places that were populated. For that matter, he made a habit of not freqenting places, period, unless he was looking for a meal. He didn't know what had possessed him to have come in here, sit down, and ordered an actual drink. It had been a while since he had had real alcohol. There was a time when drinking had been an art form he excelled at, and making and tasting the drinks a real pleasure.

The voldka at Hellcat's Hollow wasn't REAL Russian vodka the way Val remembered it, but it was close enough that he enjoyed the half hour it took to drink about half. As a vampire with few hobbies, no need for cash and a lot of time, he could afford to be spendthrift and wasteful with his day. Recent events had given him a lot to think about, anyway. Connor and the bond, mostly, but also the human girl who took up more time and thought than he believed she had any right to. Val thought it ironic that just as his issues with Connor were working themselves out, Heather loaded up with drama. It would have been easier to work out if there weren't so many things to consider. Sure, Val could just vanish from her life - it wouldn't be hard - but that didn't mean she would automatically be safe. It didn't even garuntee her ignorance of his world, either, not with her best friend April dating a shifter. It would only be a matter of time before April finally told her, leaving Heather with insights she would in turn share with April, who would work out the Val mystery in a matter of minutes. That kid was too damn smart. And, of course, Val had Connor's words to consider. He hadn't yet forgotten that sentence from a few weeks ago, tossed out so carelessly yet hitting Val dead in the heart: "You can't possibly tell me that your girlfriend isn't ever going to know."

The way Connor had said it... and having it come from Connor, of all people, a man whom Val had long since pegged as honest and loyal to a fault... That Val was even considering keeping Heather in the dark felt suddenly, monstrously wrong.

He was deep enough in thought that it scared the shit out of him when a woman across the bar suddenly screeched. Listening to her, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Val watched with vague interest as the bartender came to help her, relieved to be observing someone else's troubles for a change. It surprised him when the owner himself descended from on high to assist the woman, but the reality of the situation didn't sink in until he heard Ash say the woman's name.

Caprecia. Merde sur un bâton sur le feu.

Val wished he could go back to not knowing. He gulped the remainder of his vodka and wished to almighty god that he could still get drunk. It would really have made him feel better as he pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket and dialed the number of one Daddy-to-be.

[Ash Leone]

Ash's lips quirked into the slightest of smiles, but he really didn't have the time to worry about her concerns.  They could all be handled in good time.  "Excuse me if I'd really rather not put myself there.  It would be slightly awkward," he teased, playing more with her aura in an attempt to soothe the panic and pain she was feeling rather than numb it.  Distracting her with teasing could perhaps help distract her from reminding herself that she was supposed to be panicking and in pain, as the subconscious was wont to do. 

"Dave, please call the guilds and send for Doctor Mitchell.  Tell him what's happened," he told the bartender calmly, also giving the werewolf the out he wanted, and Ash himself scooped Capricia up into his arms as gently as he could.  He seemed oblivious of her more uncomfortable issues, particularly the fact that her water had broken.  Naturally, he was aware of it, but he ignored it in favor of getting her upstairs as comfortably and quickly as possible.  If he had to smell of 'baby time' to any shifter that ran into him for the rest of the day, he could handle it.

"Let's get you comfortable while everyone else arrives," he told her, his tone smooth and about as reassuring as he knew how.  Spooking her would only upset her, which was also part of the reason he wasn't saying anything about the vampire's reaction and sudden need to make a phone call.  Ash wasn't up to date on everything that happened, but he wasn't stupid.  It was too strange that the vampire had reacted that way for it to be a coincidence.  He didn't know not to mention the father, though he fortunately hadn't gotten the chance to even ask.

Connor had just received the last phone call he'd ever expected to get from Valerie, of all people, and really, he didn't know what to do for an instant.  He WANTED to rush over there, but Capricia wasn't likely to accept his presence well if she wasn't the one who'd wanted him there.

Screw it, that was Capri and his daughter.  He was going to be there, as quickly as possible.

[Capricia Varekova]

It was fortunate that Capricia did not know who Valerie was, or she'd have forgone any tending to herself for the moment in a fit of blind rage. As it was, she had enough stacked against her to worry about random clientele.

She tried to shove off of Ash, but the pain was coming in heavy waves, and she was having a hard time standing on her own. She wanted to crawl into a cave at the moment, really, and just be rid of this entire ordeal. It wouldn't have been so bad until Ash began talking - she had begun to relax as much as was possible, but something he'd said stuck out.

"Everyone else? NO. No EVERYONE ELSE. Doc Mitchell is one person, and no offense to you, but there are already too many people involved in this," she exclaimed with a definite shake of her head. She still had too much to think about, too many decisions to make. The more people involved, the worse it was going to be. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She wanted to talk to Andrew suddenly, but hesitated to even dare disturb him with this of all things.

[Ash Leone]

Well, Ash had certainly used the wrong turn of phrase, and so he sighed and continued trying to make her comfortable.  "I assure you, Capricia, that Dave is only calling Doctor Mitchell.  Dave doesn't want to be in here unless we need him to run get anything, and I'm afraid you being in my bed and my building requires my presence," he told her softly, keeping his voice in tune with the tweaking he was going to keep doing.  As long as she wasn't calm, or was in danger of losing her calm, he was going to have to be there, or she'd cause more damage than even the doctor would likely be able to fix.  Telling her that he was manipulating her auras probably wasn't a good thing, though.

"What about the father?  Would you like to call him, or have one of us call him for you?" he asked, not aware that she wasn't speaking to the guy.  Ash's intuition was good, but not infallible.  He should have known not to ask about the father if she hadn't said anything yet, but perhaps he was being stubborn and refusing to believe that she'd refuse the man this memory.  Besides, if he got her talking about something, maybe she'd relax just a touch.  Until the doctor arrived with his supplies, Ash was all she had as a painkiller and sedative.

[Capricia Varekova]

"No," Capri said firmly. "No, I don't want him anywhere near me right now!" The thought of Connor being within 100 feet of her just made the situation even worse. She was so pissed off at him, so... she couldn't even put it into words. She felt like she was just projecting bullshit slag from her own issues on one hand, but on the other hand, this had happened a while ago and she'd never known. And now, well - she didn't even know. She just didn't know HOW to feel, and angry was a good default feeling.

"I want to go to the hospital!" she shrieked.

[Ash Leone]

Ash nodded at her decision regarding the father, not really liking it, but it wasn't his place to say anything on the subject.  There were other concerns.  "Capricia, if I try to take you to the hospital right now, you will probably have the baby on the way.  I don't know what your preference is, but I'm the only one who will drive you, and I am not delivering a baby from the passenger seat of my Aston Martin."

Dave sure as hell wouldn't drive her and take that risk, Ash knew, so it'd fall on him, and he was pretty fond of that car.  It had been Danielle who'd talked him into looking into something nice, instead of the old piece of junk he'd had before, and he'd finally settled on that one.  Having a woman give birth from the front seat didn't sound like something he wanted.

Of course, not everyone got what they wanted, and that seemed obvious to him as soon as he heard new voices downstairs.  Two new ones, actually, one of them loud.  He glanced briefly at Capricia.

Connor had probably broken some speeding laws on the way over there, but he'd been fortunate not to run into any cops.  Darren was in the front seat clutching the 'Oh Shit!' handle above the passenger side window.  Why was his cousin there?  Because Connor had just finished kicking his ass in a training session, because he was tired of his cousin getting pwned by vampires.  He was going to have to look into a bodyguard or something to help him, though.  Someone who would help train him, and watch his back until he was able to take care of himself.

Later, though.  His daughter was being born, and he didn't want to miss it.  Ironic that it was happening at the Hollow, though.  Considering the last time he, Val and Darren had been there together, Connor was almost...worried.  That last experience hadn't been too comforting.

He parked quickly in the back, not caring if he was crooked, and shot out of the car leaving Darren to follow.  He jumped Val first, though the experience was already proving better than last time when he didn't freak out on the guy.  "Val!  Where is she?  Upstairs?"

Naturally, she wasn't anywhere he could see her, and there was enough mess that he figured out the basics of what had happened.  There was a slightly wet print on the stairs, as though someone had stepped in water and tracked a little along with them.  It wasn't pretty, but he wasn't stupid.  He practically ran up the stairs, regardless of what had been going on between him and Capri.

"You said you didn't want him here?" he repeated, though he wasn't really asking.  He'd heard her right, and they didn't have time to discuss it if she was going to stand by her decision.  His power had already been spread throughout the place, watching auras and who arrived, and he could tell that it was Connor, but the aura didn't match what he recognized as Batten's.  He had to hit the man with more than what he'd have used on a human when he shot off a blast of power, or he'd have bet the determined hunter would have just plowed right through it.  It was intriguing, this change.  He'd have to ask someone about it later.

For the moment, he was waiting on the doctor.  The sound of footsteps on the stairs stopping and then sounding like a body falling right back down them (which was exactly what it was) didn't phase him in the slightest, and he was hoping it wouldn't bother Capricia.  The doctor was on his way into the Hollow, anyway.

"The doctor will be up in a moment."

[Capricia Varekova]

In response to Ash's firm answer, Capricia just opened her mouth and screamed. She carried that scream all the way until she was set down on the bed, too, because Capri had the natural talent of temper tantrums like a five year old, and a set of lungs to match. It was a bother when she actually had another contraction, and the note of her screaming changed - from angry and frustrated to tinged with tears. She had perfected it, it was an art, and right now her vocal chords were strained with pain.

Andrew had been at the Crimson Guild via Christian, there visiting some of his older acquaintances when he'd popped in on Connor beating the crap out of his young cousin. For a shifter with semi-formal training, Darren had been taking some of Connor's hits hard, and Andrew could sense something in his aura that hadn't been there the last time they'd seen eachother, despite it having been years ago. He'd just been about to ask him what was up when Darren had exited the room for water, but Connor had gotten a phonecall that cut the session short - Capricia's baby was due.

"I saw her less than five hours ago," he said to Christian, brows raised. Evidently whatever had transpired between then was the final straw, or so it seemed, and he parted ways with the guild leader, heading to his own car. The Porsche CGT had been a birthday present to himself - a fat sum of money well spent, thanks to his constant upkeep of the vampire nests in Europe. He wondered idly what Danielle was doing with all of her bounty money as he split through city traffic, hurrying to the Hollow. He was amazed that Connor had beaten him there, but somehow not. A father knows.

He had just opened the door when he saw Connor falling down the stairs, and darted over to him. "Connor?" he asked, voice hurried. "Did she throw you down the stairs?" Of course, he'd blame it on her. He'd known Capricia for as long as Connor had, and that was typical behaviour. When he heard her caterwauling, though, he suddenly didn't believe she was in that state. He reached down to pull him up, confused. There it was again, that twinge in his aura... Andrew, however, was slightly more prioritized, and put it aside. There would be time later to ask, but for now, there were more pressing things.

[Stormy Quattrone]

Val could hear some of the commotion going on upstairs, though he dared not follow. If the mother of Connor's child had been unreceptive to a human bound to a vampire, he shuddered to think what her reaction would be to the vampire himself. Furthermore, the birthing process didn't seem to render her stable, period. Let the Triste deal with her, Val felt safer down here.

Connor burst into the bar not much later at a predictably high speed. Val had felt him coming from a while off; the man was projecting across the bond like no tomorrow, too many feelings to sort through but enough to be a headache. Val could only imagine what it must feel like to be Connor himself.

"Upstairs with the Triste, yes," was as far as he got before Connor blasted by. It would have been funny if Connor weren't so frantic. Val wasn't sure what his place in all this was. As far as he was concerned, his duty - calling Connor - was done. He would stick around for the results, but not get involved himself. Just because he was bonded to Connor didn't mean he had a place in all this. He was just a bystander.

The Hollow's door opened again, this time revealing a face Val knew uncomfortably too well. Now wasn't this just awkward. He'd never really gotten the chance to aplogize to the boy for running him over.  Had Darren been anyone but Connor's kin, Val may not have bothered to be sorry about the accident at all. Had Val not soaked up so many of Connor's frantic feelings at the time, he probably wouldn't still care now. He supposed he could apologize now, although it probably wasn't the best time., what with the baby coming and all. For that matter, he wasn't sure if his apology would be well recieved. Might as well keep his trap shut and let the shifter make the first move.

Or... not. Connor came tumbling back down the stairs not two seconds after he went up. Even when a stranger (to Val at least, the newcomer seemed to know Connor) went to help him up, Val took that as his cue to escape the awkward situation with the shifter. From across the room he gave the upsidown Hunter a very confused, and somewhat suspicious, look.

Was that Triste power I just felt? he demanded. Leone could not possibly have just barred Connor from seeing the birth of his child on purpose, could he?

[Ash Leone]

Just as Valerie could hear the commotion coming from upstairs, Ash could hear all the chaos that was downstairs, and he hoped that mess didn't discourage the doctor.  Or at least, he could 'hear' it through his own power.  He couldn't actually hear a damn thing with Capricia screaming like she was so close to his ears.  She actually got the slightest of flinches when she first started with that volume, quite the feat out of the triste, but he set her on his bed gently and pretended that she wasn't making his head want to explode.  Once he had her settled, he immediately set to pulling and tugging at her auras.  He needed to drop her pain down to a level that didn't involve her shrieking, and preferably control her emotions just as well.  At least for a few minutes, until the doctor could sedate her and load her with painkillers.  Keeping Capricia calm and under control took far more than it should have for any other human.

The fact that he also had to balance keeping Batten out so that the man didn't set her off more didn't help, but he assumed from the reactions and the tumble down the stairs that the Guild Leader wasn't going to make another mad dash too quickly.  "Capricia, if you do not calm down, you are going to cause your body to stress itself out more.  It may cause the birth to come sooner, and I know you don't want that," he pointed out over her noise, trying to get through to her. 

Dave wasn't going to go anywhere near him for the rest of the day, considering the way he smelled, and it would only get worse.

Connor saw STARS.  Really, he didn't even have an idea as to what was even going on until he'd come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, and found himself staring up at Andrew.  How the hell had Andrew gotten there?  He wasn't there a second ago!  And Capri hit him?  No, it hadn't been Capri...though she would if she'd had the chance, he was sure.

"No, it wasn't her," he said, blinking and shaking his head as he started pulling himself up.  Val's question made it obvious what it must have been, and he realized just how much of a blow that triste could manage.  That couldn't have been the worst, either.  Without even seeing him, with a door in the way?  Damn.  "Must have been Leone."

That hurt!  I didn't know tristes could DO that!

Of course, Connor's experience with tristes was VERY limited.  He didn't fight them, and they weren't usually flexing their power around him.  He was developing a healthy respect for them, though not necessarily for their decisions.  "I have to get up there."

Dave, who had been trying to hide in the corner and stay even less involved than Val, especially after Capri tried to blow out his ears long-distance,  was broken out of his silence by that comment, and he shook his head.  "If Ash doesn't want you up there, you're not going up.  I'm sure it's for a reason.  I know him, and he's not the kind to keep you from your baby.  Is Capricia mad at you?"

He didn't need an answer, based on Connor's expression, and he shook his head again, heading around the bar for cleaning supplies.  There was a mess to handle.  "Good to see you, kid.  Here's a rag, you got a mess to clean up."

Darren was already out of his element, dealing with the fact that Connor's baby was being born and that he couldn't hear due to Capri's screaming (which had made him twitch a lot more than Ash or Dave combined), but seeing Valerie made it all worse.  He paled, not having the slightest idea what to say, and just shut up.  It wasn't that he was afraid of that vampire so much, considering how Val had tried to help him afterwards, but it surprised him to see the guy again at that moment.  The color returned even as Connor was tumbling down the stairs, and he also rushed forward, though he didn't push his way over to his cousin.  He knew that if Ash had knocked Connor senseless, it was for a reason.  Besides, Connor had probably deserved it for something.

He was drawn out of his silence by Dave, throwing a rag at him.  "Wait, what?!  I'm not cleaning it up, it's not my mess!"  Ah, distractions.

"You're blood-related to the kid that was swimmin' in that juice!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be my second cousin!  It's not mine!  Make Connor clean it up, if you have to!"

"He'll be lucky if he can tie his shoes in the next ten minutes.  He has enough to deal with."

"...You have a point.  I'm not clocked in."

"......Damn you."

Ahh, victory.  Even sweeter than a good distraction.

Connor listened to them as they argued, and just stared.  "I think I hate you both," he finally said.  It was sad.  The two people who were currently his favorites happened to be a vampire who was the reason Capri was mad at him, and a hunter who was friends with Capri.  Very sad.

[Capricia Varekova]

Andrew pulled Connor to his feet and then released him reluctantly, making sure he could hold himself up. He glanced back at the vampire, a brow arched, but said nothing. Now was not the time, nor the place. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto a chair. "Why is everything surrounding the two of you always madness?" he asked, his voice jest and mild worry. He took for the stairs, a reassuring squeeze to Connor's shoulder. "I'll get this straightened out, Connor. She can't be that crazy."

Famous last words. If Andrew could get passed Ash now, that would be something.

Capricia stopped screaming the more Ash tried to work on her, and settled for mild flailing and some yelling. She caught sight of Andrew in the doorway, and sat up, only to regret it instantly, and flop back down. "Andrew!" she shouted, before clapping her hands to her face as she felt dulled pain through Ash's magics. "Owwwwwww, God hates me!" she moaned. "Andrew, come here! AnDREW!"

Andrew took a breath and pushed the door open all the way, blatantly trying to ignore the Triste. Now is not the time, he thought, knowing the Triste would hear it. "Capri? Connor's here, you know. Don't you want to see him?" he asked, swiftly grabbing her hand before she could yank her hair out. She had a firm grip on it, so it took some effort on his part.

"NO!" she shouted, and Andrew had to give Ash a sympathetic look then. If the Triste had spent the last thirty minutes dealing with this, perhaps Andrew was willing to relinquish his disdain for a few hours.

"Baby, Connor has to be here. I know you're mad at him, but Capricia, this is only going to happen once if we're lucky, and this means a lot to him, too," he said smoothly, trying to reason with her.

Capricia, however, was never one for the voice of reason. "FUCK YOU, TOO!" she shouted. She sounded possessed, and squeezed down on Andrew's hand so hard it might have otherwise broken. "He did this to me! I HATE HIM!" she screamed.

Andrew looked up at Ash, and then back to Capricia. "Honey, Ash isn't going to let Connor come up here unless you say it's okay," he coaxed. He gritted his teeth as she gripped his hand.

"NO! I HATE HIM!" she screamed again. She started to cry. "I want my mom!" she shouted weakly.

That just about broke Andrew's heart. He took her hands more firmly, and shook her a little. "Capricia, you'll feel better if you let Connor up here. I promise I won't let him upset you, okay? Come on, Capri, he loves you, he's as concerned as I am."

Capri was too busy crying to pay attention to what Andrew said, and a garbled, "Fine, whatever, he can come up," escaped from her overly-emotional lips.

[Stormy Quattrone]

Yes, Val was DEFINITELY out of his element here. It didn't help when he caught sight of Darren glancing his way and going ghostly pale. Damn. Val didn't go out of his way to hurt and/or scare people, okay? He actually tried his best to stay the hell out of everyone else's lives. Both figuratively and literally, people just jumped in front of him on their own. All he could do was slam on the break and hope for the best in the aftermath.

With the other man gone, Val felt better about approaching Connor. Better, not rock-solid safe. There were still plenty of people around here who knew Connor, people who would ask later how he knew the vampire and why the leech felt the need to talk to him just then. If not for that stunt that the triste had just pulled, Val would have been happy to leave Connor alone.

Apparently they can. Or at the very least, Leone can. Val didn't know enough about the relationships between these people to start analyzing the things they did. He did know, however, that the triste hadn't been trying to hurt Connor, only keep him away. If Leone had wanted Connor dead then he would have done it. "I can leave, if you would prefer." Connor seemed to have enough people yelling and screaming around him as it was. Val didn't think the presence of his vampire bloodbond would help the situation any, especially with Darren around.

[Ash Leone]

Ash would have knocked Andrew down the stairs, and probably with a lot more 'oomph', if Capricia didn't want him there.  Naturally, the triste remained completely cool and distanced from the man and his own knowledge of the situation that came with him, but they both knew it would be handled later.  The thought on Andrew's part was hardly necessary.  He backed off enough to let the witch handle Capricia, though he kept his magic working with her.  He probably wouldn't have needed to touch the man if he'd have just let go of her auras right then.

Imagine that.  What, officer?  Assault with a deadly weapon?  Yes, a pregnant woman during childbirth as a deadly weapon.  It had a certain irony to it that, fortunately, didn't appeal to Ash's darker preferences.  He'd leave Andrew alone until they could discuss their disagreement like civilized men.

Then, Ash could squash him, if necessary.

At least the Vida seemed to have a way of handling the woman before them.  Ash had only been as successful as he was because he'd been manipulating her auras, and that may have been the case with Andrew as well, but she was listening better to him.

"This room is about to get crowded.  The doctor is here," he informed them both coolly before opening the door again.  He moved halfway down the stairs before addressing Connor and the man walking in the door at that exact moment.  "Mr. Batten, Dr. Mitchell, you're both requested in the Hell at the top of these stairs," he told them both, a grim smile actually touching his features.  "Enjoy yourselves."

He turned back to the room, but made it a point to stand back and just monitor.  With the doctor here, he shouldn't be needed to stick his hands anywhere he wouldn't prefer to.

Was it wrong that Connor laughed, albeit bitterly, at Andrew's certainty that she couldn't be 'THAT crazy'?  That comment coupled with the one about everything surrounding them being madness was just short of hilarious.  Andrew was apparently stupid.

Hearing all the yelling Capri was doing, including the mention of a lot of hate, didn't make him envy Andrew OR Ash, though he was mad that he wasn't ALLOWED up there.  Since when was some guy she was friends with allowed to be present while Connor's child was born, when he wasn't?  And she was yelling for him.  It made Connor suddenly suspicious, which wasn't a good thing.  If he'd heard Andrew call her 'baby', it'd have been worse.

Remind me not to piss Leone off.  Ever.

Now, he had to deal with Val, which was almost as good as Capri.  No, the vampire wasn't screaming, but Connor was pretty confident in what he thought of Capri.  Val was still a source of confusion.  "You can leave if you'd prefer.  I'm going to try to get up there," he said.  Really, if he was going to be stuck downstairs, he might almost prefer Val's presence.  He certainly felt calmer, less panicked about the whole thing since he'd tumbled down the stairs and Val had walked over.  He didn't even think about Darren right then, and his cousin was keeping quiet, helping Dave clean up anyway.  It gave the two of them something to do, and kept them out of everyone else's hair.  Connor had temporarily forgotten about them.  Val was a good person to have around, but it wouldn't be comfortable for the vampire to be stuck downstairs when Connor figured out how to get upstairs.

Or Ash told him he could.  He hadn't noticed Mitchell arriving, either.

Despite the triste's cheery invitation, Connor suddenly gripped Val's arm, looking somewhat panicked again, and tried to calm down with the vampire's closeness.  He didn't need to be freaking out when he got up there.  So what if his daughter was being born.

Aw, hell, his daughter was being born!  There wasn't going to be any real calmness to that.  "If I don't survive the mother, spoil the hell out of that little girl for me."  Had he ever told Val it was going to be a girl?  He couldn't remember, so he might have, but that didn't matter.  He headed up the stairs just as quickly as before after one last squeeze on Val's arm, and though he hesitated ever so slightly when he saw Capricia, he still approached the bed with the intent of grabbing her hand.  He beat the doctor up by nearly two full minutes, even though they were in the same room.