@Aisling "He didn't deserve this..." Dracula sat down next to Toma. "He's just a child..."

@CountDracula

"No child deserves a bad heart or anything else. I don't know why it happens. Maybe genetics is resposible for these kinds of things." Mystique spoke softly.

@Aisling "It's called a genetic defect," the father explained. "A change in the DNA, or in the chromosomes. Sometimes, they are caused by environmental influence, such as radioactivity. Sometimes, they appear randomly. And sometimes, they are inherited."

"I might even be responsible for it," Dracula said. "Alcohol abuse can lead to sperm mutations, which can lead to genetic defects."

@CountDracula

"Alcohol can affect the sperm? You were still a human when your wife had Toma? Or can vampires tolerate alcohol?" Mystique looked at them in surprise.

@Aisling "No..." Dracula answered. "I'm a sober alcoholic. I was addicted to alcohol when I was human, and alcohol can damage sperm cells permanently."

@CountDracula

"I see...... I didn't realize that the sperm cells could stay damaged after a long time. Even it is was 20 or 150 years ago, the sperm might not be good?"

@Aisling Dracula nod. "Yeah. If a cell's DNA is damaged and if your immune system doesn't destroy that cell, all of its progeny - even if it is the 1000th generation - will be mutated."

@CountDracula

"Wow..... A person should always take care of their body and it really doesn't matter if you are a female or male." Mystique spoke thoughtfully.

@Aisling Dracula sighed. "Back then, we didn't know what alcohol can do. Even children drank it, and although it can be harmful, it probably saved our lives.: We didn't know about bacteria and viruses either. The water we drank was dirty water from ponds. But for procedures such as brewing beer, it needed to be boiled..."

@CountDracula

"How long ago was it when the virus and bacteria found? I thought that was known for at least a couple hundred years...." Mystique spoke with surprise.

@Aisling "The first bacterium was discovered in 1676, as far as I know, but back then, nobody knew what they could do," the father answered. "In 1858, Rudolf Virchow published his 'cellular theory', according to which every disease has its origins in a cell.
A few decades later, Louis Pasteur discovered why milk gets rancid: He discovered that microbes - those are really small creatures - are the reason. He experimented a bit and found out that heat could kill them, which is why we say that milk gets pasteurized. He also found out that microbes can be airborne, and thus that diseases can be spread through air.
At about the same time, Robert Koch discovered that those microbes weren't the consequence of diseases - which had previously been discussed - but their cause. He also discovered the pathogens of tuberculosis and cholera.
The one who discovered disinfection, by the way, was Ignaz Semmelweis, and he discovered it without knowing what caused diseases.
The first antibiotic was discovered by Bartolomeo Gosio. He published his papers in 1893 for the first time, but they were barely taken notice of..."

@CountDracula

"SO even though they were found way back then, people didn't realize what they did, correct? The first antibiotic was just over a hundred years ago. Medicine has really been a new field of science!"

@Aisling "Right," the father answered. "And well... medicine itself has existed as long as humans did. It is the fields of bacteriology and virology that are new."

@CountDracula

"What else is new? There are so many fields of science and mediation." Mystique commented.

@Aisling "Quantum physics, for example, is relatively new," Ioan answered. "Speaking of 'relatively'... the theory of relativity is as well. And computer science, of course."

Toma opened his eyes. "Daddy..?"
"Toma!" Dracula hugged his son. "I'm so glad to see you awake!"

@CountDracula

"Toma! I am glad that you are awake. Fiona is still asleep." Mystique spoke softly.

@Aisling "How are you?" Dracula asked.
Toma smiled. "I'm fine, I guess."
Mihnea pet his brother's hair and smiled as well. "Toma, you're a hopeless optimist."

@CountDracula

Mystique smiled at the family who were so well bonded. She barely knew Mihnea and the only thing that she knew was that he was Count Dracula's heir and elder son. She would assume that he too was a vampire since he drank blood at the meal time. Nothing about him personally. What were his interests, hobbies and such. What else did he do? Oh yes! He was a professional dancer! What seems like an eternity ago since she met him on that New Year's Day. So many things had happened since then. Perhaps she should find out more about him.

@Aisling Mihnea pulled out a teddybear. "Look what I've got for you."
Toma smiled and took it. "Thanks. It's great."

@CountDracula

Mystique looked at Fiona who was sleeping peacefully with her wand box in one arm and her baby in the other arm. She had a smile on her face. She sighed softly as she realized how fortunate she was. She didn't need all of the money as long as she had decent clothes, a nice home, food to eat, medical care and of course a few friends. She could be very happy learning so many things in life and being with Fiona. Naureene did not know what she was missing nor did Sean. Who knows about Calli.