A/N: Hello, readers! This is my first Shadow Falls fic. I got the idea after reading Chosen at Nightfall, and couldn't get it out of my head. So, I had to share it with everyone! I hope you like it... as always, read and review!

Kylie's PoV

"Push, Holiday!" the doctor encouraged. "You're almost there, just a little bit more!"

Holiday James lay on her back, red hair plastered to her sweat drenched forehead. A long, low cry of pain tore from her throat, making her husband wince. Burnett was uncomfortable seeing Holiday in so much pain, but the poor vampire wasn't very adept at offering verbal support in situations like these. So, that fell upon me.

"You're doing great, Holiday," I murmured, petting her hand. "She's almost out. Just a little more." Holiday's green eyes slid to my face, and she nodded. Taking a deep breath, she gave one last push, gritting her teeth and trying not to shout, for Burnett's sake.

Finally, a strangled cry sounded, and the doctor held Holiday's baby girl up for her mother to see.

"Congratulations, it's a girl!" he said, smiling as he handed the screaming newborn to the nurse. Holiday collapsed back onto the bed, her breathing coming hard and fast. Burnett moved to sit beside her, brushing her hair back.

"You did fantastic," he whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. The nurse, smiling, handed the freshly swaddled newborn to her mother.

"Do you have a name picked out?" she asked. Holiday nodded, smiling up at me.

"Hannah Kylie," she answered without hesitation. "After her aunt and her god mother."

A knot of emotion rose in my throat, and I smiled down at her, tears forming in my eyes. Holiday reached for my hand, and gave it a squeeze.

"After all," she continued. "If it weren't for Kylie's persistence, she may never have been born."

I looked up, to find Burnett smiling at me. Emotion continued to build in my chest, and I smiled back. The nurse smiled at me politely.

"If you don't mind, can I ask you to wait out in the waiting room?" she asked. "I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. James would like some time with their baby."

"She can stay," Holiday and Burnett said at the same time. I smiled at them, shaking my head and wiping my eyes.

"Thank you, but I think I'll go let everyone know. Miranda and Della have been dying to know what you were having."

Holiday nodded, and I left the room. She had only told me the gender of the baby. It had been brutal keeping that from my two best friends, but Holiday had made me swear to keep it a secret. I smiled wearily as I went through the doors into the waiting room, my eyes quickly finding my friends. Miranda, Della, Lucas, and Derek shot to their feet when they saw me, and surged forward.

"Well?" Della asked, eyes bright.

"What did she have?" Miranda asked, nearly vibrating with excitement. Lucas chuckled, taking me into his arms.

"Calm down, you two. Let her sit down, before you bombard her with questions."

I smiled up at him, grateful, and he returned it. He gently led me to one of the nearby chairs, where I sat down heavily. Perry, Jenny, and Steven came into the room, arms full of snacks. When they saw me, however, they rushed forward.

"She had a girl," I said when they got close enough. "Hannah Kylie. She weighs seven pounds, three ounces, and is seventeen inches long."

Della let out a low whistle, as Steven came to stand next to her.

"Tiny baby," she commented. I smiled.

"I know. I was surprised, too." Glancing at the clock, I sighed. "Visiting hours are way past over. I'm going to go let Holiday and Burnett know that we'll all come see them tomorrow afternoon."

"But..." Miranda said, her lower lip sticking out. Perry smirked, kissing his girlfriend on the temple.

"Relax. We'll see them tomorrow." The witch sighed.

"Fine..." she muttered.

Smirking and shaking my head, I got to my feet, and headed back towards the delivery room, Lucas at my heels.

"You know," he said in a low voice. "You look amazing in hospital scrubs."

I rolled my eyes, looking down at the generic mint green outfit I had been made to wear.

"Oh, yeah." I muttered. "I must look so hot."

Lucas grinned at me, and then nodded towards the closed delivery room door a few feet away.

"I'm assuming Hannah is a supernatural?" he asked. I nodded.

"She was born at midnight, on the dot." When we got closer, I turned to him. "I'm just going to peak in. If she's asleep, I'll let them be, but if not, she may ask me to come in."

Lucas smiled, leaning down to kiss me briefly.

"I'll wait here," he promised.

I walked over, and gently eased the door open. Sure enough, Holiday was sound asleep. Burnett, however, looked up from his sleeping daughter, and offered a small smile.

"We're leaving," I whispered softly, knowing that his sensitive vampire hearing would pick up what I'd said. "We'll all be back tomorrow after classes to see Hannah."

Burnett nodded, but said nothing as he returned his gaze to his child. I smiled, backing out, and closing the door.

"Sound asleep?" Lucas asked, putting his arm around me the instant I returned to his side.

"Oh, yeah." I replied with a yawn. "I told Burnett that we'd all be back tomorrow after school. He seems enthralled by Hannah." Lucas laughed softly.

"I almost feel bad for anyone who looks at her for too long when she grows up," he murmured. "If we thought he overreacted when it came to keeping you safe, imagine how he'll behave with his daughter."

I thought about that for a few moments, and then shuddered.

"Poor Hannah is going to be thirty by the time she has her first kiss." We were both laughing by the time we'd returned to the waiting room. After changing out of the hospital scrubs, and putting them into the special waste unit the nurse at the station had directed me to, we all headed outside to the parking lot. The muggy Texas air was thick, and curled around me, chasing away the cold chill that had clung to my skin from spending hours in the hospital.

Piling into the Shadow Falls van we had arrived in, Lucas began heading back in the direction of the camp that had quickly become like our home.

"Can we stop for food?" Perry asked, his stomach growling loudly. Derek glanced over at him.

"Dude, what do you think is going to be open this late?" he asked. Perry thought for a moment.

"McDonald's, probably."

"It's up to Kylie," Lucas said. I glanced over my shoulder, to find six pairs of eyes looking back at me.

"Is everyone hungry?" I asked.

"I'm not," Della said needlessly, and Miranda elbowed her in the ribs.

"Well, I'm starving." she all but whined. I smiled, yawning a little bit.

"McDonald's, it is."

"Drive thru, only." Lucas said. "There is no way we're dragging Kylie into McDonald's after the night she's had." I frowned.

"I didn't really do much," I admitted. Lucas shot me a look that silenced all other arguments I might have had.

He pulled up to the speaker, and placed our order. The woman on the other end seemed a little annoyed at the amount of food being ordered at such a late hour.

"That will be $51.19, drive up to first window please." she said, sounding bored. I pulled out my wallet, but Lucas shook his head at me.

"I've got it," he murmured gently.

"But..." Lucas shook his head again.

"No buts." he insisted.

"Aww, how cute." Della said, following that up with a gagging noise. I shot her a glare over my shoulder, sticking my tongue out at her. She grinned, eyes twinkling.

"Don't be a bitch, Della." Miranda said tiredly, leaning against Perry. "It's too late for bitchiness."

Della was about to retort, but Derek put a calming hand on her wrist. From the annoyed glare she cut him, I knew the touch had worked.

By the time we got back to camp, it was nearly one thirty. Lucas took me aside after we'd all climbed out of the car, handing me the bag with mine and Miranda's food in it.

"I'll stop by after dinner," he promised, leaning down and giving me a kiss that made my toes curl.

"You'd better," I replied, to which he grinned.

When we finally got to our cabin, Della went straight for the fridge. Miranda and I sat down at the round table, and dug into the bag. Socks shot out of my room, and hopped up onto my lap, rubbing his face against my chest. I smiled down at my cat, scratching him behind the ears as I munched on my fries.

When Della sat down at the table, it was with a glass of blood, and two Diet Cokes. Miranda had refused to get a drink at McDonald's, saying that fountain soda was weird, and so we had all decided that we'd just get a drink at home.

"So, what d'you think Hannah will turn out to be?" Miranda asked, popping the top on her can and taking a long drink. Della looked at her.

"Half fae, half vampire." she replied. "Duh." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"I mean, which half do you think will be the strongest?"

"Probably the vampire side. She'll turn quickly, what with Burnett being there all the time." Della answered.

I ate quietly as my roommates argued over which side would be stronger. When the cold crept into the room, my gaze shot up.

Standing in the doorway of my bedroom was a pale woman, with long blonde hair and bruising around her throat. She wore a bloody night dress, and her eye sockets were hollow.

You must leave Shadow Falls, or someone you love will die. The spirit said, her voice pitched high. I frowned.

What do you mean, someone I love will die? I asked.

Della caught me staring, and followed my gaze. She swore.

"We have company, don't we?" she asked, uncomfortable. I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the spirit.

What do you mean? I asked again. The spirit began to fade.

Someone you love will die, she whispered one last time, before fading completely. The cold left the room with her, and I sighed.

"Well, that was helpful." I grumbled.

"What did it say?" Miranda asked, looking around nervously.

"That I have to leave, or someone I love will die." I replied plainly. Della sighed heavily, her hand curling into a fist on the table.

"Why can't we ever have a quiet year?" she muttered.


An hour after dinner, I lay in bed. My mind turned what the spirit had said over and over countless times, and yet I still couldn't seem to figure out what she meant.

"Why are ghosts always so damn cryptic," I muttered out loud.

"Because they like to make life difficult," a voice replied. I sat up, my eyes immediately going to my bedroom window. Lucas smiled at me as he crawled inside, promptly taking off his shirt.

Even though this was not the first time I'd seen him shirtless, I still found myself staring at his sculpted body. He seemed to notice, because he grinned as he slid into bed next to me. I scooted over to make more room, resting my head on his chest once he was comfortable.

"What did this one have to say?" he asked.

Sighing, I relayed the message to him. I also described what she had looked like, at which point Lucas chose to make a face.

"Sounds pleasant," he muttered.

"Oh, it did wonders for my appetite," I replied sarcastically. "At least this one wasn't toting around a severed head." Lucas chuckled, and kissed me on the forehead. I smiled, snuggling into him and relaxing.

After having made the Council, he had begun to instantly implement some much needed changes in the werewolf community. One of them was to lift the law stating that a were could only mate with another were, the very law that had prohibited us from being together, and almost ended our relationship entirely.

He and I had made sleeping together a nightly thing. Della had called us boring after the first week, because that's all that we did – sleep. Lucas had just laughed, saying that some things were meant to be sacred.

As much as we'd wanted to, as Della put it, 'do the dirty' while in Houston the week after Mario had been killed, I had come to the realization that I still wasn't ready.

Lucas, of course, had been patient and understanding about it. I knew that he would never push me, which only made me love him all the more.

"What's on your mind?" he asked softly, interrupting my train of thought.

"You," I replied, smiling at him. Lucas grinned his sexy grin.

"Oh, really now?" he purred, shifting closer. I chuckled, swatting his arm.

"Yes, really." Lucas chuckled.

"You know," he said after a few moments. "Sharing a bed with you this close to a full moon is not a good idea." I sighed.

"You say that every month." I reminded him. He nodded, inching closer, his lips nearly brushing mine.

"And I mean it more and more each time." he responded.

Studying his face, an electric thrill raced through my body when I saw the heated desire in his eyes. The humming that signified the presence of a potential mate buzzed in my ears, and I swallowed nervously. Lucas followed the motion with his eyes.

"It's especially difficult tonight," he whispered finally.

"Trying to sleep, you know!" Della called, her voice sounding amused. Lucas ignored her, shifting his hips closer to mine, and pulling me tighter against his body.

I gasped softly, my breathing coming in short, fast pants. When he finally kissed me, I arched into him, threading my fingers through his dark hair. It was a long, scorching kiss that left me warm in places I didn't want to mention.

"Soon?" he begged, his voice thick with need. I nodded dumbly.

"Soon," I heard myself say, my lips once again finding his.

Lucas held me tightly against him, his hands slipping up the back of my night shirt. His palms were hot against my skin, which made me shiver. When he suddenly pulled away, I frowned.

"If I don't stop now..." He trailed off.

"I know," I whispered.

He held me close, our legs entwined and our fingers laced. We fell asleep like that, just as we did every night, curled up in each others arms.