Three months later:

Stefan's due date was merely weeks away, and Caroline had planned a surprise baby shower for him at The Grill.

Well, it was supposed to be a surprise.

Caroline had tasked Klaus with getting Stefan there on time, while she decorated with Matt and organised everything. Klaus had the best of intentions, he truly did, but the youngest Salvatore was just too much effort sometimes.

"We're going out," Klaus had announced, standing in the middle of the living room.

Stefan tilted his head so he could see the television-some mopey soap opera, Klaus supposed. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Klaus took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "Yes," he corrected. "We are."

"I'm not going out, Klaus, okay? I'm fat and I'm emotional and I'm ugly and god, did I mention I'm huge?"

He was, actually. Klaus shrugged. "You misunderstand me, Stefan. This outing of ours is not optional."

It was only a matter of time before Stefan started to cry. Surely enough… "Why don't you ever just listen to me?" He sobbed.

Klaus sighed heavily. He did not have the energy, nor the patience, for this. "Frankly, I don't care if you never leave the house. It would probably work in my favor, actually. I wouldn't have to deal with that incessant brother of yours questioning me about how well I'm taking care of you. However, this is one occasion in which you are required to suck it up and come with me. If not for my sake, for Caroline's."

This made Stefan listen. "Is Caroline okay?"

Klaus stole a quick glance at the clock. They were supposed to be at The Grill ten minutes ago. Time to let the cat out of the bag. "She has gone to an enormous amount of effort to throw you a baby shower."

Stefan seemed genuinely surprised. "That's just…so nice of her," he sniffed.

"Yes. Yes it is. Now get your coat and stop being so petulant."

Stefan started to cry again. "My coat doesn't fit anymore."

Klaus resisted the urge to break the vampire's neck. Really, he thought, he deserved a medal for demonstrating such amazing restraint.

The baby shower went without a hitch. Everyone who was invited showed up-except the Gilbert's, of course. Still, Elena sent some very nice dresses for the baby and a letter assuring Stefan she would be back for the Christening, wishing him all the luck with the delivery and living with what she called Klaroline.

"Everyone was so kind," Stefan said, tearing up a little as he looked at all the gifts everyone had given them, now cluttering up the freshly-painted nursery.

"I think Damon and Elijah really are competing for the best uncle title," Caroline admitted, comparing the expensive pram bought by Damon and the hand-crafted crib given by Elijah.

They had asked both uncles to come back to the house to officially show them the nursery but Elijah had received a mysterious phone call and excused himself-they all suspected it may have been Katherine. Damon, on the other hand, made no secret of the fact he had another date with Aoibheann.

"You still determined we can't meet this girl?" Caroline had asked and Damon had just laughed.

"We'll see," he'd said.

Now, it was just the three of them. They were currently discussing baby names.

"Do you think it would be weird if we called her Aoibheann? I don't want Damon's girlfriend to get freaked out, but I think it's a really cute name," Caroline said.

Klaus considered this. "It's unusual around here. She wouldn't be among five others in her class."

"And it's Irish," Stefan added. "I'm sure between the three of us we have some Irish heritage."

He reached out to position the pink teddy bear from Caroline's mother on a shelf above the crib and immediately regretted it. A breath-stealing pain shot across his stomach; suddenly Stefan was acutely aware of the distance he was from the ground. He took a step back, leaning against the door frame for support.

"What is it?" Caroline demanded, her voice high with panic. "Stefan?"

"I'm f-fine," Stefan said, trying to get his breath back. The second he did, another crippling pain ripped through him. He tried to bite his lip, but he cried out anyway.

The other two were by his side in seconds. "Do you-I mean, is this…" Caroline voice was laced with concern. "Is this it?"

Stefan didn't answer; he didn't need to.

They all looked down in the same moment, and saw his jeans were wet.

They wheeled Stefan in for an emergency caesarean-although Meredith assured him he had nothing to worry about. The scan they'd done when Stefan arrived at the hospital told them the baby was perfectly fine-just not prepared to wait another two weeks before meeting her parents, it seemed.

It was a collective decision that Stefan would be knocked out with anesthetic during the operation-the blood may prove to be too much for him, after all. For this reason, Caroline was also told to wait outside. Once Stefan was asleep, Klaus would join her, but until then, he stood in green scrubs looking so lost Stefan almost pitied him.

"You don't have to be here, you know," Stefan said, over the sound of silver cutting tools hitting a metal tray. His fierce grip on Klaus' grip contradicted his words, but that hardly mattered.

Stefan couldn't remember the last time he had been this scared. What if something went wrong? What if the doctors had made a mistake, and his baby wasn't really ready to be born? What if the three of them, as hard as they tried, just weren't able to be parents? What if they were the ones who weren't ready?

"Okay, Stefan, we're going to put this mask over your mouth. I want you to count backwards from one hundred for me, and I want you to breathe in the gas, alright?"

The surgeon's voice seemed so loud to Stefan, he almost jumped. His entire body felt like it was shaking. Unable to speak, he just nodded.

The mask felt uncomfortable against his skin, and in his utter panic he forgot what came after 87, so he forced himself to start over, although no one else noticed.

He felt Klaus' free hand touching his forehead, his hair. "It'll be alright, love," Klaus whispered, and then Stefan's eyes began to shut and his words began to slur and soon, he felt nothing at all.

They took turns holding her, passing her around like the precious treasure she was.

"She has your nose, Klaus," Caroline commented, quiet so as not to wake the sleeping beauty.

"Poor mite," Klaus whispered, running a finger softly across her tender cheek.

"She doesn't even have a name yet," Stefan said, ignoring the way his head felt dizzy at the sight of Klaus holding the baby.

"I like Agana," Klaus said with a devilish grin. "It means blood in Chamoru."

Caroline just rolled her eyes. "I've never ever heard of that language, let alone the name." She turned to Stefan. "What do you think?"

"Alison," Stefan decided. "After mine and Damon's mother."

Caroline looked over Klaus' shoulder at the child. "Alison. Like Ali for short?"

Stefan nodded. Klaus didn't seem too put off, which was always a good sign.

Caroline smiled hopefully. "Alison Aoibheann?"

Stefan smiled back at her, she was obviously smitten with the name of Damon's new girlfriend. He nodded, giving in. "Okay, okay. Alison Aoibheann."

"Alison Aoibheann Mikealson," Klaus finished, rocking the baby as she began to stir from her sleep.

Caroline seemed horrified. "She is not being given that surname!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Stefan interjected. "Alison Aoibheann Forbs Mikealson Salvatore. Happy?"

Caroline took Stefan's fingers in one hand, Klaus' in the other. Klaus held his other finger out for the baby to grasp, and Stefan did the same.

One circle; one family.

"I think it sounds perfect," Caroline said, and for once, they all agreed.