"What's wrong with her?"

"She's having a seizure."

Unfamiliar voices. The smell of earth and blood and a deep animal scent.

I vaulted upright, my eyes flying open. Sunlight almost blinded me.

"Keep her still, she'll hurt herself."

Strong hands restrained me, holding me down.

"Sedate her!"

"Won't that hurt it?"

"Just a small dose."

I felt a sharp sting in my arm. I managed to take in the sight of my body, my legs tied to the bed post and my swollen stomach before I passed out.

I didn't realize that I was awake at first. I'd been floating between asleep and awake in a drug filled haze. Slowly the feeling returned to my body and my limbs began to respond to me once again. I sat up, my head spinning as the last of the sedative was still in effect. I paused, taking a moment to adjust and let everything settle down again. My legs were no longer restrained although I could see the ropes attached to the bed frame so I knew that I hadn't imagined it.

I got to my feet and looked around. I was in a small log cabin. I could hear the lazy hum of cicadas and smell that strange animal scent again. The room I was in was sparsely furnished, just the bed that I'd woken in and a small table that had a jug and bowl on it. I went over to the table and found that the jug contained water while the bowl had a small facecloth in it. I poured the water into a bowl and washed my face. The air in the cabin was humid and the cool water was pleasant against my skin.

I took a deep breath, feeling calmer now that sweat wasn't sticking to every inch of me. Now to take stock of myself. I was wearing a loose cotton dress and I pulled it off to get a better idea of my injuries. The moment the fabric was gone, I screamed. Staring back at me was a swollen, clearly pregnant belly. Oh god. What had happened to me while I was unconscious?

My breathing began to spike and my heart raced as panic set in. My body seized up and I started to shake all over. All I could do was stare at my belly, unable to truly comprehend what I was seeing.

The door open and a young blonde woman came in.

"You need to calm down," she said, coming over to me. She took my hands in hers. "Focus on your breathing. In and out. Long slow breaths."

Despite not knowing who she was or whether I could trust her, I forced myself to do as she said. I was no good to anyone, least of all myself, in this kind of state. She guided my breathing, holding my hands gently until it had slowed to a normal speed once again.

"Wh… where am I? What's happened to me?"

"My name is Eve. You're in the bayou. Don't panic, we're trying to help you."

"I… I'm pregnant!"

"Yes." A look of horror appeared on her face. "Oh gosh, you think we…? No. This wasn't us! We found you. You were delirious and bleeding. We brought you back here, you've been in and out of consciousness for a few months now."

"A few months?"

"Yes. Although, given the condition you were in when you were brought in, I'm not surprised. Your body needed to heal."

My hands went to my belly, feeling the curves. I felt like a strange alien had invaded my body and taken me over.

"Wh… what happened to the Mikaelsons?"

"Who?"

"The night I got hurt, I was with a family… four men and a woman. They were fighting with another man. There were wolves… Do you know what happened to them?"

"I haven't seen anyone."

"Oh god… they're all dead…"

"Would I be right in assuming that one of those men would be the father of the child?" I nodded. It could only be one of them. I just didn't know which one… I didn't think it was a possibility for them to get me pregnant. Damon had said that vampires couldn't procreate… "As soon as you're back to your full strength, I'm sure we can help you find them."

"I feel fine…"

"Yes but you've been on very strong sedatives for a while. You'll be feeling a lot worse when they've worn off. And there's the small fact that you've been unconscious for a great deal of time. If you try to do too much you'll make yourself worse. And you risk damaging the baby." I sighed softly and sank onto the bed.

"This is just… insane. Most people get nine months to get used to the idea of a child… I don't know if I can handle this."

"Well it's too late to really do anything about it now… at least until it's born." She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Just stay here for a little bit longer? I don't get much company."

"You live out here alone?" I could have sworn I'd heard other people around here before.

"No… not alone exactly… At least not all of the time."

I nodded absentmindedly.

"Alright, I guess I'll stay. But I really do need to find out what happened to my family…" I looked at her. "Do you think the wolves might have killed them?"

I assumed that the wolves Klaus had called were werewolves. I didn't know if the originals were vulnerable to werewolf bites. But even if they were, Klaus wouldn't be and he could have healed the others… if Mikael hadn't killed him before I stopped him. That was… if I had stopped him. I was alive, maybe he was too. Oh god, I didn't actually know anything about what was true anymore.

"I don't think the wolves would have hurt them… I mean, unless…" I could tell by her tone that she was trying to tread carefully.

"They were vampires," I said. She blinked.

"You know about the vampires?"

"Yes. I've known quite a few. Dated some. Am apparently pregnant with the child of one."

"Vampires can't procreate."

"That's what I thought. Anyway, I assume you know about the werewolves then?"

"I do. I am one. Untriggered."

"If you know the wolves, do you think you could find out about what happened?"

"I can ask but not until the full moon." I frowned. "Oh, the werewolves in the bayou were cursed. Those who have triggered the curse are trapped in animal form and can only take human form on the full moon. And that's about a week away so I can't ask until then."

"Well I guess I have to stay now." She smiled.

"It'll be okay. Come on, I'll show you around." She led me outside. Mosquitos flew lazily around me. There were a few cabins dotted around, a washing line and an RV. "It's not much but it's what we call home."

We sat down on a makeshift dock that looked over the lake. Trees with long dangling tendrils skimmed the surface, stirring gently in the breeze.

"Who cursed you guys?" I asked. "If you don't mind talking about it."

"It's okay, it's a standard question. It was Marcel Gerard, the ruler of the French quarter."

"I know Marcel… How did he curse you? He's a vampire?"

"Yes but he controls all the witches. There was a fight between some of the wolves and he cursed the pack. I'm still not entirely sure how he thought it would help. But we've been hiding out here ever since."

"That's terrible."

"Hopefully one day we'll be free. In the meantime we do what we can."

"So it really is just you?"

"There's a few kids who haven't turned. They tend to just run wild around the area and only really come back when they're hungry."

I nodded and looked out over the water. My hands gently caressed my belly, contemplating the life inside. The thought of a child terrified me. I was only eighteen, I didn't know anything about being a mother. And if the siblings were dead… what would I do? I'd have to go back to Mystic Falls… but I had no friends there anymore. Jeremy had left town. I had no family. And everyone knew me. I could imagine them whispering behind my back. Maybe staying out here wouldn't be too bad. It was peaceful, it was secluded. I could get used to the idea of having a child in this peaceful surrounding and relative safety.

"Are you sure the pack will let me stay?"

"Well I can't see any problem with it. I told them you were here, but they might have expected you to leave once you woke up. Still, since you know about our kind it makes it easier as we won't have to try and protect our secret. As long as you help out, it'll be fine."

"Am I okay to come and go? Marcel know Klaus, I thought I might ask him if he knew what happened…"

"If you go to see Marcel, you can't tell him where you're staying."

"I won't."

"Then it's okay." I nodded. I had a plan in mind now. I would ask Marcel and hope he knew what happened. If he didn't, I'd wait to talk to Eve's pack. I'm sure I'd find out what happened. They'd be fine, they'd tell me what was going on with my mysterious pregnancy and everything would be good. It had to be.