Hellsing - Blood Heritage

I am a night owl, so when I'm working on this I'm usually outside in the middle of the night. At the moment, I am at my grandfather's house, surrounded by three cats and a very hyperactive dog. And the dog thinks my hand is it's personal chew toy. It's very late and I'm tired, but can't sleep. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Dude... I yawned like, two seconds ago, and a moth flew right into my mouth. O___O GROSS!!!! I am washing my mouth out with turpentine or something. That was disgusting. ~shivers~ I f-ing hate bugs...

This chapter is pure Pip/Seras, so be prepared for some fluffiness. :)

-------------------------------------

Pip kept himself busy with trivial things until the plane was well on it's way to their destination. However, once they got into the air, he found himself in an uncomfortable place mentally. He had the whole cabin to himself with every available luxury, while the little draculina was stuck in a box in the luggage compartment. If he hadn't been present while they were trying to get her into the damn thing, he might not have thought about it. But he had witnessed the girl's terror at the prospect of being inside. He figured that since they were traveling in the late afternoon, she would be awake the entire time. Two hours was a long time to be locked up in a place that scared the shit out of you. Hell, he didn't even know if he could stand being locked up in a small, dark space for that long without losing his mind. Technically, Seras only had to stay inside the coffin until they made it across the channel, but even then, it was a bit of a wait. She was probably down there scared to death, or worse...'crying'. Pip hated it when women cried. He just couldn't stand it. The draculina was such a sweet girl, and he had helped trick her into that thing...

That was the thought that made the decision for him. He flicked his braid around his neck and got up from his seat to hunt for a way to get into the luggage compartment. He had helped load up this plane more times than he could count. He knew there was a way to get down there from the cabin, but he had never had a need to before now. After a bit of searching he found a small panel in the floor which could be lifted up. Bernadette pried it loose, then climbed down into the dusty belly of the plane.

The coffin was the largest piece of luggage they had on board, so it wasn't difficult to find. It lay against the inside wall of the plane, strapped down with heavy ropes to prevent any shifting during the flight. It was so quiet that Pip wondered if she hadn't fallen asleep. However, as he got closer, he could make out the faint sound of her sniffles.

'Merde.' he swore internally. 'She iz crying.'

"Miss Victoria?" he questioned.

The sniffles came to an abrupt halt, and the draculina's weary voice replied: "What do you want, Captain?"

Pip settled himself down on the floor next to the large wooden box. "Eet iz a long flight for you to be stuck down 'ere with nozhing to do. I zhought you might like some company...to take your mind off zhings."

There was a pregnant pause, and Pip half wondered if she would tell him to go away. However, when she finally broke the silence it was with a quiet: "Thank you."

They did the only thing two people could do when one of them is locked inside of something. They talked. Seras, in an attempt to learn more about where they were going, asked about his family. Pip responded with stories about them. There was his mother and step-father - Brie and Henri, the twin boys Jacques and Remy, who were younger than him by ten years, and his youngest sibling, a girl named Leonelle.

"I never would have thought you had such a large family." Seras commented, her voice starting to become more lively. "How old are the children?"

"Nell iz 14, and zhe twins are 16." he replied.

There was a thoughtful pause before Seras spoke again. "So that means you're... 26?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised at his age. "How long have you been a mercenary?"

Pip stretched out his legs to work out a cramp that had begun to form. "Officially I started taking jobs at 17. But I spent a lot of time wizh my uncles az a teenager. Zhey 'elped me sneak around when I was younger... do some zhings 'ere and zhere. Learning zhe business and such."

"Wow..." The young draculina sounded like she was taken aback by the whole thing. "I'm sorry. I just expected that you would be older than that. Especially with being a captain and all..."

Bernadette felt a rush of satisfaction at hearing that she was impressed. He turned the conversation toward her. He listened in rapt attention as she told him about being a police officer as a human, and how she had encountered Alucard and later joined the Hellsing organization. As he listened to her talk, he realized just how strong a woman she was. It took guts to look at a man who had shot you and choose to go with him. It fostered a new sort of respect for her that hadn't been there before. He could think of few men who could do something like that - so the fact that she was a female with that kind of strength only made it more impressive.

The easy conversation made the time fly by. They both were surprised when the announcement rang out that they had crossed the channel and were now flying over land. Pip dug around in the toolbox strapped next to the coffin and pulled out a hammer to remove the nails. Seras heard the sound of the lid being pried loose and made a sound of shock.

"What are you doing Captain? We wont be landing for another hour..."

"You only need to be in zhis zhing while we're over water, oui? Zhe ocean iz long gone, zo I'm getting you out of 'ere."

------------------------------------

Seras had never been to France before. After Pip let her out of the coffin and helped her climb up into the cabin, she spent her time wondering what it would be like. They weren't there to go sight-seeing of course, but surely while they were spending time with his family they would do something interesting. Remembering the mercenary's family made her pause. What on earth was she supposed to wear to meet someone's family for the first time? She hadn't dated much when she was human, and she certainly hadn't thought about it before her master packed her away into her coffin. She was still wearing her uniform for god sakes!

Pip looked at her as if she were crazy and told her not to worry about it until the plane landed. But Seras wasn't willing to wait that long. They were supposed to travel to his family's house tonight, and it wouldn't do to be late because she was changing clothes. No, it would be better to get the whole ordeal sorted out while they were still on the plane.

Seras used her most intimidating of looks to force the captain to go back down into the luggage compartment to search for her suitcase. When he pulled it up for her, she dug around in a mad rush to find something appropriate. She finally settled on a cute pink top and a pair of nice jeans. When she went into the bathroom to change, she found that there was hardly any space to move around in - much less set her things down. Seras wasn't entirely comfortable with putting her clothes on the floor, so she dragged Pip over and made him hand things to her through the small gap in the door. She changed clothes quickly - mostly because being inside the bathroom was almost as bad as the coffin, but she also had a suspicion that Pip was stealing glances at the mirror while she was undressed.

The rest of the flight went by quickly. They landed at a small airport several miles outside of Paris. Pip helped the pilots unload their luggage and pack it into the car they would be using for the duration of their stay. Pip's family lived in a cottage in the countryside, so it was a good 30 minutes before they finally pulled the car into the driveway. The moment Pip stepped out of the car he was tackled to the ground by three forms that had shot off the porch like bolts of lightning.

"Pip! We 'ave been waiting all day!"

"What took zo long? Did you get lost or somezhing?"

"Iz zhat really you? I can't tell wizh all zhat 'air!"

Seras got out of the car in time to see Pip wrestling himself out from under the dog pile of teenagers. The two boys fell back on their arses, but the girl remained firmly latched around his neck. The draculina couldn't help but grin at the sight. It was absolutely 'adorable'. Despite being so much older than them, Bernadette obviously had a great love for his brothers and sister.

It took a moment for them to notice her, but once they did the boys' eyes went wide. One of them whispered something to Pip in French. Seras couldn't understand what he had said, but it must have been bad because Pip popped the boy soundly on the back of the head. He disentangled himself from the girl's arms and stood up as the boys rushed over to introduce themselves.

"Bonjour!" One of them said, thrusting out his hand. "Zhe name's Remy."

His brother, who was a mirror image of him, scowled. "Non! I'm Remy!" He looked back at Seras with an expression that sang of innocence and honesty. "Zhat's Jacques."

"Non, I'm Remy. You're Jacques."

"Shut up you arse!"

"Enough!" Pip exclaimed loudly. The twins argument stopped immediately. Pip hissed something at them in French, then turned to Seras.

"You will 'ave to forgive zhem. Zhey like torturing people." He crooked his finger at the boys and introduced them himself to prevent any further confusion.

"Jacques." he laid his hand on the head of one of the twins. He pointed to the other. "Remy."

Both boys were a couple inches taller than her with sandy colored hair and brown eyes. Seras couldn't see an easy way to tell them apart so she marked them by smell. Even identical twins smelled slightly different. She wondered how the Captain was able to tell them apart so easily. She gave them a friendly smile and took their offered hands.

"Well, I'm Seras. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The twins shared a look before turning back to her. "Non, non. Zhe pleasure is all ours." Jacques said with a grin.

"Oui! If you need 'elp wizh anyzhing..." Remy began.

Jacques looked her up and down. "Anyzhing at all..."

Pip decided to cut the boys off before they said something else he would have to hit them for. "You can get zhe zhings from zhe car."

Both boys' faces fell. That obviously wasn't what they had in mind when they offered to 'help'. Seras cleared her throat at their dejected expressions.

"It would be very helpful, and I would appreciate it a lot." she told them with a sincere nod.

That put the smiles back on their faces. The twins scrambled to get their luggage out of the trunk of the car.

The girl, whom Seras hadn't gotten a good look at yet, remained behind Pip the entire time. When he gently tugged her out from behind him, Seras saw that she was a cute little thing with golden blonde hair and the same brown eyes as her brothers. She was a bit shorter than Seras. Though you couldn't exactly say she was trying to hide, it was obvious the girl was shy.

"Pleased to meet you miss." she said demurely. "I'm Nell."

Seras grinned. "Pleased to meet you as well." She glanced back to where the twins were struggling with her coffin. "Um... maybe we should help them...?"

Bernadette followed her eyes and instantly caught on to her meaning. The coffin had been wrapped up where no one could tell what it was, but if it were dropped and damaged they would have to answer questions about what they were doing with it. Pip sent Nell off to inform his parents that they had arrived before he went over to help the boys with the luggage.

"Mon deu! Zhis zhing iz 'eavy!" Remy commented as they finally got the large box out onto the lawn. "What iz zhis? A coffin or somezhing?"

Seras froze. She wasn't sure how to handle a reaction like that. Thankfully, Pip thought quickly on his feet.

"You know women always pack everyzhing zhey can get zhier 'ands on." He said smartly. He glanced at Seras sideways. "Right Mignonette?"

The draculina blinked. 'What the hell did he just say?' she wondered. It sounded suspiciously like some sort of pet name. She reminded herself what they were here for and went along with it. She was going to have to get used to it if she was going to pass off being his girlfriend. Still, the young vampire didn't like the implication that women were pack rats. She turned up her nose slightly and reached past them to grab her suitcase.

"Say whatever you want, but I don't pack things I don't need." She looked over to the twins. "Please be careful. There are some... fragile things in there and I don't want them to be broken."

----------------------------------

The inside of the cottage was warm and inviting. Everything in it was cozy looking. Even the furniture seemed to beg to be sat upon. It was neat and clean, but well lived in.

Pip's mother met them in the entrance way. Though the draculina had never seen her before, it was fairly obvious who she was. Pip looked just like her. They had the same reddish brown hair, the same eyes... even their faces had a similar structure to them. The woman was positively thrilled to see her son and wasted no time in lavishing him with affection. Seras stood back a ways and watched, half in amusement, half in longing as the woman hugged and kissed him.

"Phillip! Oh, you 'ave been away too long! I 'ardly recognize you!"

Seras quirked a brow at Pip's pained expression. 'Phillip?' she mouthed where only he could see it. Bernadette made a face and mouthed back a quick 'not a word' before pulling himself out of his mother's arms.

"Mum." he said, pulling Seras over to introduce her. "Zhis iz Seras Victoria." The young vampire had to force herself not to jerk in surprise when he slid an arm around her waist and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Seras, zhis iz my mother."

The draculina smiled warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you ma'am."

Now, Seras hadn't been sure what the meeting with Pip's mother would be like. She thought that they would exchange a few words, shake hands perhaps, and that would be that. So she was completely shocked when the woman pulled her into a gentle hug and kissed both of her cheeks affectionately.

"Non, non. We will not 'ave any of zhat 'ma'am' buisnez 'ere." she said as she pulled away. "Eet iz just Brie."

The woman stepped back and examined them both appraisingly. "My 'usband iz working late tonight, zo 'e cannot be 'ere to greet you, but you will zee 'im in zhe morning." she informed them. " 'ave you eaten yet?"

Seras opened her mouth to tell her that she didn't have to go to the trouble of preparing a meal this late, but Pip beat her to it. Upon hearing that they had eaten before the flight, Brie seemed satisfied enough to let it go.

"Well zhen, you must be exhausted after zhe flight. I zhink zhe boys 'ave taken all your zhings up to your room..."

The room in question was Pip's old bedroom. After he left, they had converted it into a guest room. But there were still a few things lying around that indicated that it had belonged to a teen aged boy at one point. That thought, as well as the realization that they would be sharing the room made Seras slightly uncomfortable. Apparently the French were a lot more open about things than the people in England...

She shook the thought away and tried to focus on the nature of their mission. She and Pip figured it would take a few days - perhaps a week - to find the documents and retrieve them without giving themselves away. That meant that the young vampire would have to be up and about during the day. That in and of itself wasn't a problem. Seras would be alright as long as she didn't expose herself to direct sunlight for long periods of time. The primary concern she had was the issue of food. She couldn't very well go an entire week without eating anything. It would look suspicious.

Pip frowned thoughtfully when she voiced her concerns about it. "I zhought zhat vampires could eat zome foods? As long as zhey are 'igh in iron..."

Seras blinked at him. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember her Master saying something about that. Vampires couldn't handle large amounts of any type of human food, but things with a high iron content were easier for them to digest. Meat was the best option of course, as long as the blood wasn't cooked out of it.

"How did you know that?" she asked incredulously.

Pip grinned. "We 'ad to sit zhrough zhose awful lectures, remember?" he reminded her. "I took notes."

Seras couldn't help it. The mental image of the Captain sitting amongst the mercenaries in a lecture hall taking notes on the dietary habits of vampires was hilarious. A girlish giggle escaped her lips.

"Honestly Captain." she said, still laughing. "I thought you would be more concerned with how to kill monsters, not how to feed them..."

Pip interrupted her with a raised hand. "You need to stop wizh zhis 'Captain' mess. You can do zhat when we get back to 'ellsing, but for now eet's Pip." He paused half a heartbeat. "And I don't zhink you're a monster."

"Huh?" she said, sputtering in surprise. "But I'm a..."

"Stop eet." he interrupted again. "Vampire or no, you are too cute and sweet to be a monster."

The draculina felt her cheeks warm at the statement. In the back of her mind she could almost hear her Master's snide voice saying something about physical appearances being deceiving. But she honestly didn't care what Alucard might say about it. It was nice to receive a complement for once. And it wasn't hearing that Pip thought she was 'cute' or 'sweet' that touched her so - though she would be lying if she said those words didn't make her insides feel fluttery. It was his admission that he didn't believe she was a monster. It was probably the nicest thing, the greatest compliment she could have asked for.

As they figured out the best way to hide her coffin, Seras thought that maybe pretending to be the captain's (no, 'Pip's' she reminded herself) girlfriend wouldn't be so bad after all. So far he had been nothing but a gentleman. And even though he was perverted sometimes, he was genuinely nice for the most part. If she thought about it, she had to admit he was kind of cute too. The young vampire had never considered that a man with an eye patch and long hair could be 'cute'. She had never had an interest in guys like that before. But there was a sort of...mystique about the captain that reminded her of a pirate. It was an appropriate enough analogy, she figured. Mercenaries and pirates weren't that different after all...

Seras settled into her coffin for the night and Pip shoved it under the bed. There was a lock on the door, but Pip told her that Jacques and Remy were experts at picking locks, so they had to be careful to keep the large box hidden from sight. Seras felt slightly claustrophobic at being under the bed - but the lid was off, and there was enough space between the coffin and the bed to allow light through. Being able to see her surroundings made her feel less caged in. Despite having to sleep under the bed, Seras felt rather... well, she couldn't exactly say she was 'comfortable', but she was content. Right then it was easy to forget about the mission and let herself imagine that she actually was dating Pip, and that they weren't there for underhanded reasons - no matter how necessary it was.

Then Pip had to ruin the whole fantasy that was playing out in her mind.

"You know, when we get back to 'ellsing, I'll 'ave bragging rights 'cause I'll 'ave zpent time on top of you..." Bernadette said, sounding almost wistful.

Seras' eyes narrowed. She aimed carefully and was rewarded with a loud yelp when she kicked the mattress right where his arse would be.

"Zorry! I waz just kidding!!"

-------------------------------------------

AWW!! Cuteness reigns supreme!!

I've heard some people say that no mother in the world would let her son and his girlfriend share a room while they are staying under her roof. To those people I say: some mothers most certainly will! Moms are not stupid. I cannot tell you the number of times I have been to a friend's house and seen their parents not bat an eye at letting their older children share a room with a girl/boyfriend. I can't tell you why exactly, but there you go. Maybe they think they're heading off the whole sneaking through the house at night thing. I honestly don't see why French people would be any different from Americans about that.

Besides, how else would I get Pip and Seras into delicious uncomfortable situations! Though, I really think that it's more uncomfortable for Seras...

~Pip sneaks up behind the author and gives her a big bear hug~

Pip: "Zhank you, zhank you, zhank you!!!! You got mignonette to zpend zhe night in my bedroom!!!"

Rhian: "Um... you're welcome? Please let go of me..."

Reviews are wonderful, beautiful things. Really, if you had to choose between the sun shining and getting a review, there should be no contest. Who the hell needs the sun anyway?