There were goblins waiting outside the door. Nikola had no idea what to do with them. Still, he welcomed them inside the cabin.
"Sorry to bother you," Nikola had fed the creatures more of the mushrooms. Their iron stomachs protected them from being dissolved.
And the mushrooms were making the beings smarter, somehow. Nikola wasn't really certain if it was something he could account for or not.
"But we have run out of space to pile up the mana crystals. What are we supposed to do?"
Nikola scratched himself behind the head. With all the excitement with the new baby, he had forgotten about his little mining operation.
"You can have today and tomorrow off," Nikola told them, as he tried to think up a way to get all the mana stones out of the way, but he came up blank.
Andrew, the siren he had hired to sell them, had not called back with news.
Not to mention that the man had turned off his phone.
If Nikola had to guess, then the siren simply didn't want to be bothered while negotiating.
But the crystals had to go.
"I'll think of something."
The nearest shop was Emily's. He already could hear her as she tried to fleece him for everything he owned.
But needs must.
As soon as the goblin was gone, Nikola went to Jack's tent.
"Hi," Nikola began. He had no idea how to rope the ghoul into becoming his babysitter, but he didn't want to leave the baby alone. Or worse yet, with Jean, who was young and might not be able to control himself.
"What do you want?" Jack asked, not looking up from his book.
"I was wondering if you would like to look after Timmy this afternoon?"
Nikola sat by Jack, looking at the book cover. "Dracula?"
Jack nodded.
"I just wanted to see just how accurate the book was," Jack said, as he sighed. "So far, the verdict is not at all."
"Yes. Dimitri does have a reflection in the mirror," Nikola added, as he looked at the lake.
The water was still, but he had no idea if there wouldn't be a monster coming out of it soon.
"I will look after Timmy," Jack said, finally putting down the book. "If you let Jean help me with that."
Nikola sighed.
"He is still afraid of you, you know? It won't be fair to the kid," Nikola looked at the water again. He could swear that he saw a horse's head poking out of the water and then delving right back in.
The Selkie had really gotten smarter.
Nikola missed their meat.
"Take it or leave it. I need a wingman. Timmy is perfect for that," Jack stood up, looking at Nikola expectantly.
"Fine," Nikola was just going to give Jean a raise.
And hope that he and Jack would not set the house on fire with their strange mating ritual of push and run.
****
Jean was looking at the baby as if it were going to bite him.
Jack was sitting on the couch by the small baby. Running his fingers over the child's small tuff of red hair.
Jean sat down finally.
"How does one take care of a baby?" The vampire asked.
Jack snorted.
"You have three cats, and you don't think you can give milk from a bottle to a tiny human?" Jack teased.
The problem with all of his former attempts to woo Jean was the fact that he had tried to pretend to be someone else.
His snark had gotten him Nikola as a brother and Dimitri as an ally.
He was certain that if he didn't try to pretend now, he was going to get Jean to at least consider him as a friend, if not a lover.
"Cats are easy to look after. You just load up their feeder, change their water every morning, and scoop up their feces from the cat toilet," Jean muttered.
"Would you like to hold the baby?" Jack finally offered. What was with these people and their fear of a child?
Jean nodded, sitting down. Soon, Timmy exchanged hands.
"Support the head. Yes, just like that," Jack praised, when Jean began to stare in the baby's blue eyes.
Timmy gave him a smile.
Jean melted.
"You know, Timmy is a pretty name. But I don't imagine that he is going to have an easy time when he grows up," Jean said, who knew from experience what that felt like.
"I am sure that Dimitri and Nikola will rename him to Tim when the time comes. This is the name his parents gave him."
Jean nodded, as he hugged Timmy closer to himself.
The baby let out a giggle and then began to swat the man with his tiny hands.
Jean relaxed. He just held the baby and petted him on the head with his thumb.
"How could something this precious exist?" Jean muttered finally. "He is a little angel."
Little Timmy let out a giggle.
"He is a born again necromancer. A natural," Jack said, trying to use the baby as an example for the fight of good vs. evil.
Jean stiffened. He looked into Timmy's eyes. But the baby was still looking at him with a soft smile. So, as if he had complete trust in him.
"And yet, he is this adorable?" Jean asked.
Jack nodded.
"We can't do much against our nature. You need blood, I need raw meat," Jack began. He had this argument many a time. Even with his father.
But the man was gone. Had not even wanted to see his ghoul of a son on his deathbed.
Jack would stop trying with Jean if the man didn't listen. Just like he had stopped trying with Aaron.
But a part of him wanted what Dimitri and Nikola had. A part of him wanted to build a cabin by the lake.
One where Jean would feel at home.
"But that doesn't make us any less human."
Jean hummed.
He had a lot to think about.