Even in her sleep-fogged state, Bonnie's ears could capture the sounds around her. Birds chirping outside the window, some faint classical music being played downstairs, and pages being flipped at a rapid pace are some of the things she was able to distinguish. Clad in nothing but Klaus' black shirt and boyshort panties, Bonnie was toasty and comfortable on her place under the covers. With no plans for the day, the witch hoped to spend the entire morning in bed, doing nothing but fooling around with Klaus. Their night had been intense, hot, and fun, proving to Bonnie that their little two-month hiatus had no effect on their chemistry. She thought that all of the drama between them mixed with the pregnancy would make their relationship awkward, but it was the complete opposite. All of the drama had actually pushed them to start working on their issues, and while they still had a long way to go, Bonnie finally felt like she could trust Klaus with her emotional safety. And unlike Bonnie had imagined, the changes in her body due to the pregnancy did not hold Klaus back at all. It seemed that the accentuated flare of her hips and her enlarged breasts did nothing but compel him to worship her even more.
"Hmmm," she purred, feeling like a lazy kitten, stretching her right arm to the side and hoping to find a warm, well defined torso to cuddle with. Her eyes flew open when all she could feel was the cold sheet that covered the bed.
Hearing Bonnie's sharp intake of breath when she patted the bed and noticed his absence, Klaus cleared his throat. In that slow, sleepy motion, Bonnie turned around to look at him. With dark brown hair all tousled from their night activities and lips stretched in a small smile, she looked good enough for him to forget everything he was about to say. If it was any other matter, Klaus would probably let go and join her in bed. This one couldn't be ignored, though.
"So, when were you planning on telling me about this?" Klaus wondered, holding up the book so Bonnie could see what he was talking about. The way her body tensed up let him know that he wasn't the first one to stumble into the journal.
Bonnie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was too early to discuss this matter. Nobody should be talking about magic and spells twenty seconds after waking up. Besides, she had planned on the right moment to approach him with that sensitive information. Reading about Ayana and flashbacking to that fateful and traumatic night of his parents killing him was probably gruesome, even for Klaus.
"Nik, come here," Bonnie pleaded in the softest voice she could muster, patting the empty spot next to her. In some situations, the best way to disarm him was by being sweet; and that moment called for a gentler demeanor from her. Klaus was so used to hatred towards him that kindness left him at a loss.
Sure enough, he got up from the bergere at the corner of the room and walked toward her. He did it with a scowl on his face, but obeyed her nonetheless. Sitting on the left edge of the bed, Klaus turned to her, cocking his head to the side as if to ask 'what do you want now?'
"Good morning," she greeted, showing a row of pearly white teeth. In response, Klaus let out a somewhat frustrated breath. How was he supposed to let her have it when she was being this charming?
"Morning. Now-" Klaus started to say, but was interrupted by Bonnie's lips covering his. Not expecting the move, he stood motionless for a few seconds. With his hand cupping her warm cheek, Klaus responded to the kiss, setting a lazy and sweet pace, their parted lips brushing against each other.
"We had a great night, don't ruin it," Bonnie urged, her thumb stroking the hand that was still against her cheek. "And I was going to tell you, as soon as you got your shit together."
Klaus' raised eyebrow displayed the surprise he felt at hearing her blunt words, but Bonnie only shrugged her shoulders. If he didn't want to get called out on his childish behavior, he shouldn't act like a ten year old with a temper tantrum.
"This is Ayana's. How did you get this?"
"The library, but I have no idea how it got there. I was hoping you could tell me," Bonnie said, beginning to tense up. Shit, she was counting on him to have some answers, but it seemed like he was just surprised and confused as she was. "You don't know either, do you?"
"As much as I don't like to admit to being in the dark, no I didn't know about this," Klaus answered with a grimace, irked that he had to acknowledge his ignorance on that matter. He was supposed to know everything that could affect him and his family, and he had failed.
"It doesn't matter," Bonnie said, noticing the way his muscles stiffened. Knowing him, he could shut off because of his perceived failure, and Bonnie did not want that. "As a matter of fact, this journal only told us what we already suspected. We knew that magic had to be involved somehow. I was surprised that Ayana would do something so drastic, but…"
"She loved us, all of us," Klaus whispered; the memories of his childhood coming back to him as if they were just a few years old.
Ayana was his mother's best friend, and as such, she had loved him and his siblings as she much she did her own daughters. Klaus could remember her drying his tears and wrapping him in a comforting embrace as he had sobbed after enduring another one of Mikael's vicious tortures. For most of his human life, Ayana's home was synonymous to love and comfort, something that was severely lacking in the Mikaelson household.
"I don't think she ever expected Esther to go through with it," Bonnie said, watching as his face contorted into a pained expression. He was trying to put up a strong front, and pretend that being assaulted with memories of his fucked up childhood didn't hurt him, Bonnie could see that. At that moment, she wanted to take him into her arms and soothe his pain. Knowing him, doing that would only make things worse, so she settled for holding his hand instead. As if Klaus could tell her intentions behind that small action, he brought her hand to his lips and dropped a small kiss on the palm of her hand. "Did you read everything?"
"All of the important parts, yes," he answered while nodding. Noticing the way she kept biting her bottom lip, Klaus knew she was worried or at least, she had something more to say. His witch was a rare one. She was never afraid to call him out on his shit, but she always tried to protect him, even in the smallest of ways. Bonnie didn't want to hurt him by discussing his childhood, and for that, he appreciated her even more. "What's your take on all of that, love?"
"Some of the things she wrote stuck to me," Bonnie said, reaching to grab the journal so she could show Klaus exactly what was bothering her. She flipped the pages at a furious pace until she got to the right section. "This child will come from the most powerful of Esther's children and the most powerful amongst my descendants and it shall be as powerful as its parents, inheriting their virtues," she read the passage that had been echoing in her mind for the last couple of days.
As much as Bonnie wanted to fool herself into thinking this didn't mean anything, she knew better than that. Her child wasn't going to be just a baby; it was going to be embroiled in this political web that involved all of the supernatural creatures in New Orleans. Bonnie was aware of the dangers that Klaus' many enemies posed, but this was in some other level. If she was interpreting this correctly, it meant that the child would have power, and that made everything worse. On top of the people that wanted to hurt the baby because of Klaus, there would be those interested in using her child because of its abilities. Perhaps Ayana had never envisioned them living amongst such violence and hatred, so she couldn't have imagined the risk of a child having powers.
"You know what that means as well as I do. What do you think will happen if someone finds out about this? We'll never have peace again," Bonnie stated, feeling dread running through her body.
"Nobody will hurt either of you, witch, I'll make sure of that."
Klaus' tone was confident, but not even that could assuage Bonnie's fears. She knew Klaus would fight tooth and nail to keep them safe, but what kind of life would they live? Besides, they had no idea how the journal had made its way from Mystic Falls to their library at the plantation in New Orleans. So as far as they knew, someone could be out there, armed with knowledge and just waiting for the right time to strike.
"I know, Nik. I just don't want to become a hostage and spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder in fear. We need to know if somebody read this journal and then we need to burn it. We can't take any more chances."
As much as he hated to have someone telling him what to do, Klaus had to admit that seeing his witch plotting like the best of them was simply alluring.
"We won't. I'll make this right, little witch," Klaus promised, moving closer to her until his nose was buried in her curls. The pear and jasmine fragrance from her shampoo almost made him forget all of their troubles for a moment. "Now, why don't you let me take your mind off these problems just for a few hours?"
Bonnie was about to shake her head no, and say that they needed to focus on the matter at hand. His lips; hot on the spot where her neck met her shoulders, made her agree to anything he had to say at that moment.
Located on the outskirts of town, next to a major highway, the warehouse was nothing short of disgusting. The space had a unique smell of mold, trash and death all together, making Bonnie gag when she first stepped into the place. After conquering the ever present nausea, Bonnie started to regret agreeing to come there. That smell would stick to her for at least the next two weeks.
A grimace appeared on Bonnie's face as she felt something on the sole of her black leather boots. Next time she helped Klaus with his hostage problems, she would have it done at a least disgusting place.
"There he is, love. Our guest of honor!" Klaus announced as they got closer to the corner where their so called guest of honor was shackled. Judging by the way his wrists were bright red with burn marks, Bonnie could tell those shackles were soaked with vervain.
The vampire's appearance surprised her a bit. Looking like a human in his late twenties and boasting a head full of jet black hair and green eyes, this guy could be considered handsome. Then again, the pretty ones were those with a sociopathic predisposition, so Bonnie didn't even know why she was surprised.
His v-neck t-shirt was ripped and so dirty with blood and mud that it was hard to see that the piece of clothing was white in the first place. Letting out slow, labored breathes, the guy raised his head to look at Bonnie straight in the eye. A chill went through Bonnie when their eyes met and he gave her a little grin , but she tried her best to keep cool. She refused to get rattled by this piece of shit.
"This unfortunate bastard's name is Gael Lawson. So far, he hasn't divulged the reason for trying to threaten me, but that's going to change, isn't it?" Klaus asked, retrieving a stake that was stashed in his black leather jacket.
If the stake was supposed to be a threat, it didn't work. Gael just looked at the wooden object and gave Klaus a sarcastic smile.
"You think I'll be scared of that, hybrid? I know you see yourself as the big bad Original Hybrid, but you're not shit to me!"
Filled with white fury by Gael's comment, Klaus grips the stake so tight that his knuckles become pale. Noticing that Klaus could be about to lash out, Bonnie rested a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Okay, you've had your time with Klaus for the past few days. I know you love playing defiant, but it's our time to have some fun now," Bonnie said, flipping her hair. To Klaus, she seemed like a whole new person with the diabolical smile on her red lips.
"I feel sorry for you; you're nothing more than this hybrid's whore!" Gael accused after spitting on the floor.
With a nonplussed expression, Bonnie stared back at him as if to say 'is that all you've got?' She then proceeded to chant a spell, one that would hurt him enough to keep his cockiness at bay. His limbs began to twist and crack in odd directions, and finally Gael let out a pained scream.
"I may be his whore, but you do know that I'm a witch. Is that why you were following me, huh?" Bonnie asked, waving a hand as his arm bent in an unnatural angle. Gael had sweat dripping from him as he fought against the shackles and tried not to scream anymore.
Not one with much experience in torture, Bonnie almost felt like she was having an outer body experience. The words that came out of her mouth and the pleasure she was getting from watching him suffer made her feel like a different person. But then again, this guy was had threatened her and her child. He was a risk to them and had to be destroyed.
"I see you're going to play tough. I'm not surprised. You did survive all of this time with Klaus," Bonnie commented as she walked back and forth, feeling both pair of eyes fixed on her. Gael looked at her with terrified hesitation, while Klaus looked like he had seen a goddess being born.
Bonnie began to chant again; this time evoking a powerful and rare spell. If she wanted to get something out of him, it was time to use the big guns. Her parlor tricks, while useful in some other time, were not going to cut it in this situation.
Latin words flowed out of her mouth, Gael started to contort himself in pure agony s few seconds later. With both hands covering his ears, he started to yell again, but this time his pain wasn't just physical.
Simply entitled as 'Fountain of Sorrows' on her grimoire, this spell gave Bonnie the power to manipulate his memories as she pleased. Probing his mind for some buried memories, Bonnie played with his head and conjured painful illusions.
"No, Amina! Don't!" Gael screamed, the physical pain mixed with the psychological torment too much to bear. He started to sob, and not even then did Bonnie let up. As heartless as it might sound, Bonnie wanted him to at the point of madness. An old vampire like him was used to the physical pain, but confronting his emotions and fears was probably not his forte.
Due to the strength of the spell, Bonnie could feel herself getting a little weaker by the minute. Her mouth went dry, and she felt her heartbeat become erratic. With all of the personal drama in her life, there was little time left to practice, so Bonnie was a little rusty.
Even with her diminishing strength, Bonnie gave all she got; turning Gael into a mess. Sprawled out on the dirty concrete floor and sobbing as loud as he could.
The minutes went by slowly, and Bonnie reached a point where she couldn't hold the spell anymore. Her voice was weak, unable to properly say the words and her head was killing her. She was lightheaded and hurting.
"Bonnie!" Klaus called out, moving to her side as soon as he realized what was happening. "Are you okay?"
As if she was caught up in a trance, Bonnie turned to look at him with a confused expression on her face. Fuck, she was bleeding. It was a nosebleed, but still. Klaus mentally cursed himself for agreeing to let her take the reins in their little project.
"Something doesn't feel right," Bonnie muttered; her hand going to her belly.
"You!" Gael roared as soon as he regained his senses. The spell was broken as soon as Bonnie ceased her chanting, allowing him to slowly, but surely go back to his normal state. Gael seemed to be shaken up, but he could understand the scene playing before his eyes perfectly.
"Johann was right, it is you!" The vampire cried out with effort. His voice showed the astonishment he was feeling.
Even though Bonnie was not well, Gael's declaration was enough to stir her out of her daze. Both Klaus' and Bonnie's heads turned to look at him.
"What did you say? Who is Johann, and what is he right about?" Bonnie asked, desperate to have answers.
Gael blanched and a terrified expression covered his face as he realized what he'd said.
"Fuck!" Gael yelled as hard as he could, ripping his black hair out with his bare hands. "I can't…" he started to babble.
"Tell me, who is Johann?" Klaus demanded; inches from the vampire's face and holding the stake close as a threat.
In an unpredictable and rashmove, Gael reached for the stake in Klaus' hand and without hesitation, drove it through his own chest.
"No!" Bonnie gasped as she saw the vampire gurgle a mouthful of his blood before falling on the floor, desiccated.
What just had happened? Why on earth would a vampire that had gone through days of torture by Klaus kill himself so easily?
The shock of everything coupled with her throbbing head and dwindling strength proved to be too much for Bonnie to take, and she collapsed on the floor.
When Bonnie regained consciousness, she realized she wasn't in that dingy warehouse anymore. She was actually lying on what seemed to be a hospital bed, an I.V. hooked on her arm. The room was unfamiliar to Bonnie, but the elegant all white decoration with some colorful accents and the freshly cut hydrangeas indicated that she wasn't actually in a hospital.
"There you are, love. Are you feeling better?" Klaus asked, coming to stand by her side.
Bonnie looked up at him, taking in his state. If he wasn't a hybrid, he would look much worse. His sandy blonde hair was mussed from running his hands through it, and his eyes had an exhausted expression.
"Sorry," Bonnie said with some difficulty, as her throat was still sore. Physically, she was feeling better. There was no pain anymore, but she was still in shock from the earlier events. "Is everything okay? I was in a lot of pain, and…" Bonnie trailed off, gingerly touching her stomach. Nothing felt wrong, but she couldn't be sure. And she was terrified of asking if she had suffered a miscarriage.
"You and the baby are okay, Bonnie," Lydia assured Bonnie as soon as entered the room, looking up from a chart. "Klaus did the right thing in bringing you here as fast as he could. It turned out that you were severely dehydrated, not to mention-" Lydia started to say, but hesitated. This matter was a delicate one, and she didn't want to spring it up on them.
"Not to mention what?" Bonnie prodded, sitting up in a haste. Her heartbeat sped up as anxiety took over her body.
"We would have to consult with another witch to be completely certain, but I believe you and the little one share a magical core. The magic seems to be strong for a fetus, but it's still developing. The spell you were doing was probably so strong that you had to tap into your magical core, which distressed the baby," Lydia explained as she checked Bonnie's blood pressure. It was a little high, but that could be chalked up to the information given. Lydia could not help noticing the way Bonnie flinched with guilt.
"So the child is a witch?" Klaus asked; curiosity present in his voice. He hadn't given much thought on the actual species of his child, so he was looking forward to knowing what this baby would be.
Lydia's lips stretched into a thin line, and her spine straightened into a perfect posture. The change in her demeanor was enough to send some alarm bells ringing in Bonnie's head. No doctor looked this concerned before giving out good news.
"That's what I was hoping we could talk about," Lydia said, placing the chart on the bedside table.
"Okay, what's going on?" Bonnie asked, fiddling with the white sheet that was covering her.
"I ran some tests with the blood I've collected in the last appointment," Lydia started to say, clasping her hands together. "Considering this unique situation, I figured that every information I got could be useful."
"Doc, I'm really trying not to sound like a bitch, but can you please get to the point?" Bonnie asked. With all of the beating around the bush, Bonnie felt close to passing out from all of the stress.
"I compared the sample of your child's DNA with some other samples I had. DNA from a witch, a vampire and a werewolf. Well-"
"So the child is a hybrid? That much isn't a surprise, considering I'm the father," Klaus interrupted. At that moment, Bonnie realized that he was just as anxious as she was, but he was doing a better job of masking it.
"It's more than that. From what I can tell, this baby is the key to everything hybrid."
"What does that even mean?" Bonnie questioned, even though she had an idea of where this was going.
"We know that when a witch is turned into a vampire, she loses her powers; and it's not possible to create more vampire-werewolf hybrids without a major ingredient. It seems that your child's blood makes all of this possible."
Despite expecting Lydia to say something along these lines, Bonnie was still hit with enough shock to make her lightheaded. This was worse than she expected. Sure, having a baby with enough power to unite the Mikaelsons again was something Bonnie could handle, but this was way more serious. If the child really was the key to making hybrids, all kinds of hybrids on top of that, they could kiss their peace of mind goodbye. The enemies collected by Klaus in the last nine hundred years of his life would be joined by those interested in their child's abilities, and that would be their downfall. As strong as the Mikaelson clan was, they would not be able to fight multiple opponents at once.
"Bonnie, I don't want you to worry too much about this, okay? This theory is a conjecture, based on my work with DNA samples," Lydia said, starting to regret cluing Bonnie in on her recent findings. The young witch was still vulnerable from the recent bout of stress and exhaustion that her body had suffered, and not in the best position to digest this type of information.
Now lying down with her head supported by two pillows, Bonnie slung an arm to cover her face and let out an acerbic laugh. A bomb was dropped in her lap, but she was to stay as calm as a cucumber. Bonnie didn't know if she should laugh or break down in tears. Standing by her side, Klaus looked like a professional poker player. His face was serious as he looked at Lydia, not letting an ounce of emotion show.
"Does this affect the child's health?" Klaus asked, finally speaking up.
"Not from what I saw. All of Bonnie's bloodwork came back normal. So far the only thing that stood out to me was the genetic factor. Discounting that, I could say that this pregnancy is progressing like any other, without a hitch," Lydia answered with a smile as she checked the I.V. on Bonnie's arm.
Klaus nodded, and his shoulders dropped a barely noticeable inch in relief. With her 20/20 vision, the blond doctor was able to detect the change in emotion, but she chose not to comment on it. If her sire had taught her anything, it was not to mess with Klaus. The hybrid might look innocuous at this moment, but Lydia knew his temper could change in the blink of an eye. Her attention turned back to Bonnie, who had her eyes closed in a somewhat pained expression. The poor girl was understandably freaked out about this turn of events, and the nurturing side in Lydia wanted to make it better. Her lips curled in a small smile; she had the perfect idea to cheer Bonnie up.
"Bonnie, I wasn't sure of the baby's sex when I did the sonogram in the last appointment, but I had a test done and the results are back. Now I can tell you for certain what you're having. That is, if you would like to know now. You wanted to wait, so…" Lydia announced, walking back to the table to check the files she had collected on Bonnie. She picked the pastel colored envelope and turned to Bonnie.
Her strategy had worked. The instant demeanor change in Bonnie was obvious; she was now sitting up propped against the pillows and a hint of curiosity was shining through her green eyes. Bonnie looked at Klaus and then back at Lydia and the envelope in her hands. The hybrid cocked his head as if to say 'do what you think is better'. She sure needed something to lighten up this shit day, and maybe this was the perfect thing to turn it all around. Last appointment, she didn't want to find out because Klaus wasn't there. Now, he was right by her side and it felt right to do this together.
"I want to find out," Bonnie said, reaching out for the object without even realizing it. As if she was getting her college application results, Bonnie ripped the side of the envelope open with trembling hands.
"What's the verdict, love?" Klaus asked, trying to take a peek at what was written, but Bonnie maneuvered the paper so he wouldn't be able to see anything. Her eyes narrowed as she interpreted all of the medical terms, finally displaying a big ear-to-ear grin.
"I've always felt that all fathers should have a little girl to dote upon," she stated as her answer, handing him the results so he could see it for himself. "You know what that means? I was right, after all. I just hope she's not too much of a daddy's little girl."
The realization that this was more than a fetus, that it would be a little Bonnie in the near future, almost knocked the air out of Klaus' lungs. As much as he would like to keep the façade of a dangerous, unfeeling bastard, there was no denying that he was already attached to this child. Who could ever imagine that the Original Hybrid could have a hand in making such a pure and innocent creature? And a girl, on top of it all. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that this child would be a girl. He had one sister and four brothers, so the odds for another female Mikaelson were low. But then again, the Bennett line was known for its powerful women and witches, so it was possible that Bonnie's genes edged his out.
"That's good, isn't it?" Bonnie asked as she bit her lower lip in apparent apprehension. She didn't think Klaus would be angry at their baby's sex, something he was ultimately responsible for, but he could be unpredictable sometimes. Besides, the way he looked; face contorted in a startled expression did not make Bonnie feel good.
"It's great, love," Klaus assured her as soon as he snapped out of his trance. He had been so focused on his own thoughts as he tried to process this life changing information that he didn't even notice Bonnie's furrowed eyebrows. Bending down, he moved to brush his lips against her warm forehead. "Of course you would be the one to prove me wrong."
"Someone up there knows I wouldn't be able to handle two of you at the same time," Bonnie said with a small laughter, playing with the buttons on his shirt in a lazy manner. So far this day had been the definition of a roller coaster, leaving her in a bit of a daze.
"No need to worry, little witch. I will make sure that the next one is a boy," Klaus declared with a wink, stealing a quick kiss.
"Next one, right," Bonnie snorted, but paused when she looked at him. He seemed to be dead serious, which confused the hell out of Bonnie. "Are you being serious right now?"
Much to Bonnie's surprise, Klaus didn't outright deny this ludicrous idea of having more babies. He just shrugged, bearing a mischievous grin.
Striving not to let her gossipy side show, Lydia pretended to shuffle with the papers that were sprawled on her desk. After decades of hearing Rebekah complain about her brother and then knowing that he had daggered her sire, it was hard to believe that the scene in front of her was actually happening.
But then again, babies had a way of changing a person. Even a thousand year old hybrid with a penchant for keeping his family members in coffins. For Bonnie and Rebekah's sake, Lydia could only hope that Klaus continued acting like this for the rest of the times.
A/N: There you have it, folks! Baby Bennett-Mikaelson is a little girl. I thought about Bonnie having a boy, but I wanted to make sure the Bennett lineage of strong witches would continue. This baby won't be Hope, she'll be her own person, even though she's also special. The plot is moving along, but don't worry. There will be plenty of fluffy and family moments, which I love to write! Thanks so much for your reviews and I hope to hear what you think about this chapter! School is coming back this week so I probably won't have the time to update very week, but I'll try to update regularly on Mondays.