Disclaimer: I don't own the Nine Lives of Chloe King. Don't sue me. I'm innocent.

Story Summary: The scrapbook contained stories of lives lost and lives gained, of moments heart-breaking, breath-taking and life-changing, of memories shared with the love of her life. They were snapshots of the lives Chloe King spent with Alek Petrov.

Author's Note: This is basically a series of one-shots, ficlets, perhaps even drabbles centering on our favorite NLOCK couple, Chalek. There won't be much structure or plot here though the stories should be interconnected or semi-continuous. As a little background, in this story/series, I'm assuming that at the time of the show Chloe was 16 and a sophomore, Alek was 19 and a senior.

Also, since there is really no way for me to predict what kind of world we live in two decades from now, don't expect some futuristic thingamabobs or references or whatever.

Anyway, I really just wanted to get this idea off my head and put it in writing. I didn't have much time to proofread and rewrite, so don't expect the writing to be really good, but anyway, I hope you lovelies enjoy reading!

-oiOio-

-Introduction: Mornings with the Petrovs-

Twenty-one years after Beautiful Day.

Mornings at the Petrov household was typically a frenzied mix of yelling, rushing, spilling, breaking, throwing, teasing, more yelling, crying, hugging, kissing and a whole other slew of verbs that when bunched all together to form one word would inevitably spell chaos. This particular summer morning was no exception. In fact, it was bound to get more chaotic than usual, because not only did it involve preparing breakfast for Alek, Chloe and their three children –fifteen-year-old twins, Xander and Claudia, and five-year-old Hannah – it also involved getting the house ready for a bunch of guests who would soon be arriving at the Petrovs' large bungalow to join the family in celebrating the twins' sixteenth birthday the following day.

Chloe wiped a bead of sweat from her brow as she flipped the last of the pancakes over the frying pan. This was her second batch. The last one quickly disappeared after Xander woke up and devoured most of it.

"Mommy!" came Hannah's shrill little voice as she stomped inside the kitchen, her hands planted on her waist, her small face red with anger. "Xander is being such a mean butt! He took my pancake! Again!"

Chloe shifted her eyes from her little daughter to her teenage son, who just strode confidently into the room, a hint of mischief in his eyes as he sat on one of the wooden stools beside the kitchen counter. He was holding a plate containing a half-finished pancake on his hand. He cut a piece from the pancake and shoved a forkful of it inside his mouth.

Chloe raised a brow at him. "Did you steal your sister's food?"

Xander smirked and nodded. "I don't know why, but her food always seems to be more delicious than mine."

"Liar!" Hannah stuck a tongue out at him, her hazelnut brown eyes shooting daggers at her older brother. "You're just being a big, stupid bully villain!"

"Why do you always do this?" Chloe asked her son, transferring the last of the pancakes from the frying pan onto a plate before turning the stove off. "Why do you find pleasure in annoying your little sister?" Kind of like the way your father seemed to enjoy annoying me. On top of Xander being the splitting image of his father – save for getting his mother's blue eyes – there were a bunch of other mannerisms and attitudes he had that reminded Chloe of Alek.

"Come on, ma… you have to admit," Xander narrowed a blue eye at her, "Hannah looks so cute when she gets angry. Her face scrunches up and her cheeks go all red…" The stern look on his mother's face clearly told him that he wasn't coming up with a winning argument for himself. He sighed with resignation before standing up and picking his little sister from the floor, setting her on the stool beside him. "Here…" he said, taking the plate from Chloe's hand and setting it in front of Hannah. "Mom cooked you some more."

"Why eat it if you're going to steal it anyway?" she huffed, staring at the plate of food, her little arms crossed over her chest. Her strawberry blonde curls, lifted in a ponytail, were bouncing with her every move.

Xander chuckled as he looked back at Chloe while pouring maple syrup on his sister's breakfast. "See, mom?" His eyes widened. "Cute…"

Chloe was actually trying to stifle a giggle. The pout on Hannah's face was adorable. Before she could respond to her son, however, she was interrupted by the sight of Claudia striding into the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked, still running a brush through her straight, dark brown hair. "Ooh… pancakes…"

"What are you wearing?" Xander eyed his twin sister. "That dress is way too short."

Chloe looked at her daughter from head to foot as Claudia, ignoring her brother, began shuffling around the kitchen to get herself some breakfast. She was wearing a light yellow dress and strappy white heels. The dress wasn't that short as far as Chloe was concerned but its hem was a considerable distance north of the knee.

"Going somewhere, Claud?" Chloe inquired.

Xander narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "She's getting all dolled up for Caleb."

"Ooohhh… Caleb!" Hannah squealed delightedly, clapping her hands together as she sent a teasing glare at her older sister.

Chloe was actually pretty sure that the little girl had no idea who Caleb was. Caleb was Kai's oldest son. Hannah was only two when Kai last visited with his sons and back then, there was no indication of Caleb hitting it off with Claudia.

"When did this happen?" Chloe raised a brow at Claudia. Chloe knew that the leader of the Jackals was coming to visit, but wasn't even aware that his son was tagging along.

Claudia wasn't able to answer her mother. Her mouth was agape and she was glaring at her twin brother. "You promised you wouldn't tell!" She threw her hair brush at him.

"I promised I wouldn't tell dad," Xander cleared up, effectively dodging the object his sister just threw at him.

"Tell me what?" said Alek, taking them all by surprise. After all these years, he still managed to sneak up on everyone without being detected. He took one look at his son as he passed by before going straight to Chloe and planting a kiss on her cheek, his hand grazing her flat stomach. "Good morning, beautiful."

Chloe smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before tearing a piece from Hannah's pancake and tossing it inside her mouth.

"Hey…" Hannah grumbled, furrowing her brows at her mother. "Why is everyone stealing my food?"

"Wow, Hannah…" Chloe teased. "Your brother was right. Your food is more delicious."

Hannah scowled and looked back and forth from Chloe to Xander. It was as if there was a conspiracy being committed against her.

"Told ya…" Xander jibed at his little sister before motioning to get a piece of her pancake for himself.

Chloe slapped his hand away. "How is it that you keep on eating but never seem to gain an ounce of fat from it?"

"You and dad gave me good genes," Xander flicked his brows at her.

All Alek and Chloe could do was chuckle at their son's response before Chloe pulled another piece from Hannah's pancake.

"Mommy..." Hannah growled through gritted teeth, pointing her fork at Chloe, as if threatening to stab her mother with it.

"Dad, Xander likes Bianca…" Claudia suddenly spoke up, while sending a sideward glare at her brother. She was referring to Brian's thirteen-year-old daughter.

Chloe almost choked on her food as he watched her husband's reaction toward what Claudia just said. How strange it would be if Xander actually ended up with Brian's daughter… Alek and Brian were pretty… civil… with each other, but they were still a far way off from being good friends.

Alek seemed unfazed by what their daughter said. His eyes were set on Claudia's dress as he picked a shiny red apple from the fruit basket by the fridge. "Get changed, Claudia," he instructed in his thick British accent. "Dress," he said, waving a finger at her outfit. "Too short."

"Ha!" Xander exclaimed, raising both his hands in the air in triumph. "That's what I said!"

Claudia looked at her mother for support, her blue eyes begging to be told that what she was wearing was okay.

"She looks pretty in the dress," Chloe had to admit, casting a glance at her husband.

Alek looked from Chloe to their daughter. "She'd look gorgeous in rags. She's our daughter after all…"

"Mom, he wants me to wear rags," Claudia groaned, sounding as if her father was making her undergo cruel punishment.

She's as headstrong as Chloe, Alek thought. There were so many things about Claudia's personality that reminded him of his wife. "As long as the rags aren't that short, they're fine with me," he said, taking a bite out of the apple before standing beside Chloe, snaking one arm around her small waist.

"Mom…" Claudia began to plead again.

Before Chloe could react, the sound of glass breaking filled the room.

"Whoops," Hannah blushed. Apparently paying attention to the conversation happening around her, she accidentally knocked over a glass of milk with the back of her hand, spilling the white liquid into the counter top, before the glass rolled onto the hardwood floor.

Chloe sighed as she started to clean up after her daughter. Welcome to mornings with the Petrovs, everyone.

-oiOio-

The chaos of the morning overflowed to the rest of the day as one by one, their guests began to arrive.

It was Jasmine who arrived first, her seven-year-old son, Zane, in tow. After getting her law degree, she'd gone on to be one of the most renowned advocates for the rights of not only the Mai race, but also most of the other descendants of the other ancient races. After settling down with the family, she brought them news that she was now considering running for congress.

Paul and Amy followed soon after. They'd been mostly residing in Hollywood over the past ten years. Amy was working as a music producer after years of enjoying a rather successful music career. Paul, on the other hand, became a writer and director. He was also the go-to consultant for anyone who wanted to know more about the several ancient races that had gone public over the years. The book he wrote, Mai Best Friend, became a bestseller. They arrived with their two-year-old daughter, Zoe, and Amy was already pregnant with their second child.

Caleb, a freshman in college, was the last to arrive. The Jackal explained that his father, Kai, was going to follow the next day. Apparently, there was some emergency Kai had to handle with their pack.

They expected Brian too, but he called in to say that he had some business to take care of and that he and Bianca would be catching up the next day. After his father's death, Brian inherited Rezza Inc. and all the millions of dollars that came with it. Needless to say, he was one busy man.

It was fun spending the day with friends they've communicated with, but haven't seen in years. Sure… getting lunch and dinner prepared was even more chaotic and had even more mishaps than breakfast, but it was all worth it just for the laughter and the swapping of stories that the rest of the day brought about.

That night, Chloe retired to their bedroom a tad bit exhausted, but eager to face the next day.

Tomorrow was Xander and Claudia's sixteenth birthday, the day that would mark the beginning of their transformation into being Mai. Unlike what Alek and Chloe experienced – going through their transformations with zero knowledge about the Mai – Xander and Claudia grew up knowing exactly what they were. Alek and Chloe made sure to fully prepare them for what was to come.

Chloe sighed, pensive over how fast time went by. It felt like it was only yesterday when she gave birth to the twins. Overcome by a wave of nostalgia, she opened the wooden chest at the end of their large four-post bed and retrieved a leather-bound book. She climbed on the bed, sat cross-legged, laid the scrapbook holding her most precious memories in front of her and began thumbing through the pages.

Alek stepped out of the bathroom, running a hand over his damp blonde hair. He smiled upon seeing Chloe looking through the photos. "Someone's feeling nostalgic…"

She lifted her lovely face to meet his gaze and broke into a smile.

God… she's as stunning as the day I met her. Even after all these years, Chloe still managed to take his breath away. With everything they went through, all the things they survived together, Alek could only cherish every moment he had with her, ever grateful that he was given the precious gift of spending his life with the woman he loved.

Chloe averted her gaze toward the scrapbook and wistfully explained, "I can't help it… Can you believe it? The twins are turning sixteen tomorrow… I could still clearly remember my sixteenth birthday… That's when everything changed."

Alek got on the bed and positioned himself behind her, pulling her back against him and leaning his chin over her shoulder, his strong muscled arms slipping through the spaces between her elbows and her waist before resting on her knees. "I love you, Chloe Petrov."

Chloe had to smile. Chloe Petrov. She never quite got tired of hearing that name. She turned her head toward him and planted a kiss on his lips. He responded passionately – like he always did. By the time their lips parted, her cheeks were flushed pink, her lips swollen red. She bit her lip and smiled at her husband. "I love you too, Alek Petrov."

"Of course," Alek gave his wife that all-too-familiar smirk of his. "What's not to love?"

She responded with her all-too-familiar rolling of those lovely blue eyes. She returned her focus on the scrapbook spread out in front of her and flipped it to a random page.

Alek laughed upon seeing the photo at the center of the page that the scrapbook opened to. "I remember that day."

Glimpses of the day the picture represented flashed through her mind and Chloe found herself blushing. She brushed her fingers against the page. It was a picture of Jasmine, Alek, Chloe and Amy, all wearing sunglasses, lying down in various positions on towels of different bright colors set in a row over shimmering white sand. Chloe was certain that it was Paul who snapped the photo.

The label read Hawaii. Summer 2012.

- to be continued -

-oiOio-

Author's Note: From here, the next chapters will center on random events over the 21 years that led to how they became the way they are on this chapter. The photo at the end of each chapter is a clue on what the next "snapshot" will be about. Anyway, let me know if you're interested enough for me to continue this. And do give me feedback – whether positive or negative – on the chapter. Please keep it constructive though. ;)