Nikola woke up to crying. A cry so high-pitched, that he wondered if one of his customers weren't in trouble.
Dimitri was still asleep in his arms. It took Nikola a total of two minutes to figure out that it was probably the baby letting its presence known.
The brunette untangled himself from Dimitri, standing up from the bed and following the cries like a guiding light.
He found the baby crying in its crib.
The boy quieted down as soon as Nikola poked his head over him.
There was a list with instructions, but to Nikola, they might as well be some chemistry formula.
"The food for the little guy is in the fridge," the note began. Nikola nodded to himself. He guessed that if he took it all a step at a time, he could get the little guy some food.
Then he sniffed the air.
His nose told him that food was not the problem.
"Ok. You must have diapers here somewhere," Nikola looked around.
There, on the windowsill, was a package of diapers and a container of powder.
There was a packet with wet wipes there as well.
He soon saw the problem.
There were no instructions on how to put the diaper on the baby on the package with the diapers.
Nikola pulled out his phone and googled it.
Little Timmy, now knowing that there was someone willing to take care of him, reduced his cries to fussing and whimpering.
Nikola was soon changing the diapers and cleaning the baby.
"Man, you have it tough," Nikola said, as he tightened the new diaper around Timmy's middle. "You can't speak; you have to cry when you pee yourself…"
Little Timmy giggled. Now probably having his most pressing demand met.
Nikola smiled as he looked into the baby's blue eyes. There was a small turf of red hair on its head. Just enough for people to recognize the color.
Nikola placed a hand over the baby's chest and waited. He felt the small heartbeat so, as if it were a sawmill.
The baby was alive.
He was responsible for the little boy.
He chuckled.
"You know, I can't sleep. It is just too hot," Nikola picked up the baby from the crib and then carried him to the couch. "Do you mind being my therapist?"
Nikola didn't want to be one of those parents who piled up their problems on their kids, but Timmy was still at that stage when he understood human speech with the same success rate as a baked potato.
Nikola didn't think that he was going to harm the baby by spilling out his soul to him.
He sat down, holding Timmy close to his chest. Luxuriating in the baby's heartbeat.
"I don't know what to do, Timmy," Nikola began, as he began to stare out of the window. It was dark outside, but he already knew that Jack was back in his tent. "I am just twenty-five. Besides, I was never meant to be a father. Me being gay and all."
The baby babbled out something, which Nikola took as a prompting for him to continue.
"You are wonderful, make no mistake," Nikola kissed the baby on the forehead. The little boy swatted him on the nose for his trouble.
"And I know that I will grow to love you," Nikola continued, as he kissed the baby once more. "But they didn't give me a choice, you know? Just brought you in here and told me that I am a father."
That irked Nikola more than the fact that the two had dug out a vampire for Jack to eat.
Timmy let out a small whimper.
Nikola blinked. Did that mean that the baby understood more than a normal baby his age?
"And the way they got you out… I am not sorry they did it, but graveyards… some things are sacred," Nikola whispered.
The baby let out another whimper.
Nikola decided that little Timmy must be hungry. He created a barrier with the pillows and went into the kitchen.
There was a note on the fridge:
"Warm the milk, try to see if it is too hot, give to the baby."
Nikola blinked. Did Dimitri think that he was going to be pants at raising a baby to the point he left him with such instructions?
He went through the motions. Soon he had a bottle with warm baby formula.
He went back to the couch, where the baby was kicking its feet and frowning.
"Supreme Overlord," Nikola joked, as he took the baby from its little fort and began to feed it. "Today we have a meal worth at least one raspberry star!"
The baby was soon drinking the milk. Nikola smiled.
"You know, I can get used to this," he murmured, as he watched on as the baby ate. "You don't fuss much."
The baby's blue eyes were locked on the bottle. Nikola allowed himself to relax.
"One day, I will teach you how to make banitsa," Nikola continued, as the baby was slowly emptying the bottle. "And pies. Oh, and chocolate soufflés. Hm… maybe pancakes as well. I love pancakes, but most days I am too lazy to make them."
"Making plans to exploit our son so soon?" Dimitri asked from the doorway.
Nikola looked at him for a second. The man looked one yawn away from falling asleep in the doorway.
"What are parents for, if not to teach their children that the one eating the banitsa is not mad, but the one who gives it?"
Dimitri chuckled.
"I guess you are right. How did you figure out how to feed and change him?"
Nikola blinked. Was this supposed to be a rhetorical question?
"I googled the diaper change. Then I just followed your instructions," Nikola said, as he nodded towards the kitchen. "You left a note on the fridge."
Dimitri chuckled.
"No. That was Jack," the man said, as he went to the couch and sat down. "What are we going to do without him?"
Nikola bowed his head.
"Get up to our ears in dirty diapers?" He asked.
Dimitri chuckled, as he took the baby from him.
"Let me just blurb him, and then we can place him back in his crib."
Nikola didn't ask how Dimitri knew to do so.
The question as to whether the vampire had any children of his own burned on his tongue.
Bravery was one thing he lacked at that moment. He kept his silence.
For now.