"It's worse, worse than you think,
If truth be told,
I'll tell you that you're lovesick,
I am sweet, so everybody takes a bite,
Dig in, I'm the catalyst of your demise."

Take Your Breath Away: You Me at Six

This was it. The time had come to make a plan, a real plan. The reunion was over. Storytime was over. We were all acquainted enough that we could understand and agree that strangers or not, we were all on the same side of this fight, which could very easily turn into a full blown war.

I had only been into the Mikaelson mansion once before leaving town, and Kol and I had only been inside briefly. He had swept me off my feet, told me that he loved me, and I had left him behind, heartbroken and completely confused.

In so many ways, I was ready for this to be over. I was ready to have the plan in place, a safe place to raise our children, so I could take time and properly reunite with him. There were so many things I wanted to know, so many questions racing in my mind, but most of all, I just wanted to lay down with him and cuddle, to go back to a time where things were simple.

Everyone involved sat around the cozy den Klaus had built for his family, but it fit far more than that. We were all seated comfortably, with only Sutton and Shea sitting in the floor right next to the fireplace. They weren't uncomfortable; Shea was in his lap, nestled into his arms in the way she most preferred.

My eyes moved around the room, taking a long look at each person inside the room, and what I saw was . . . a room full of vampires, a room full of hybrids, and only one other person that remained human besides myself.

Alaric and Jeremy had both been turned not long after story time was over. I begged them to reconsider, to remember all that they had done as humans, but they were both very insistent that I let them make this choice, reminding me that I actually had no idea what was coming for my kids.

I couldn't stop them, in the same way that I hadn't been able to convince Shea and Prisca to remain human. That left only Bonnie and me, and how long would it be until she decided that it was safer for her to become a vampire, too? She absolutely didn't want that, was completely devastated when it was forced upon her mom, but was that in her future as well?

Prisca and Shea were powerful witches, so powerful that they helped me safely bring my kids into the world thirty weeks before they were supposed to be born.

"Anyone who knows of the existence of little Alastor and Theia must prepare to leave town before dawn."

The room had been quiet, everyone lost in thought about where we might go now, but Klaus' words broke through even the deepest of thoughts.

"We can't do that," Damon spoke up, the corners of his eyes tightening towards Klaus. "Stefan wants nothing to do with this, remember? He's trying to get as far away from this family as he can."

"I hope he's off vervain then," Klaus said, giving Damon a pleasant smile, and his eyes began to shine with an annoying arrogance that locked the muscles in my jaw, ground my teeth together painfully. "I'll remove it from his system one way or another, but anyone who knows of these children must leave town or be forced to forget."

"Why do you suddenly get to call all of the shots?" Caroline scoffed. "I'm all for this, alright? Darcy is my best friend, and of course I'll die to protect those two babies! Seriously. Anyone who would want to hurt them is a monster, but we're four months away from graduating high school."

Rebekah snorted. "Right because in the grand scheme of eternity, that's what matters."

"Just because it doesn't matter to you doesn't mean it doesn't matter to the rest of us," Elena said. "It wasn't just a short run for us. This was our life."

"Yeah, but, guys, come on," Jeremy spoke up. "This is Alastor and Theia we're talking about here. I know it sucks, but we did all agree to do whatever it took, even if it meant becoming a vampire or leaving town."

I rubbed my hand over my eyes. "Does it have to be right now, though? I mean, no one knows we're here. Anyone who might be a threat to us at this current moment thinks we're on the move, constantly running."

"You seem to underestimate the power my mother has even on the Other Side," Klaus snapped.

I stood from the couch, one hip jutting to the side as my eyes narrowed in on his, focusing my gaze within his own to demand his attention. "Let me make this very clear for you. These are my kids, and they're Kol's kids. I made the decision to forget everything horrible you've ever done to me, my family, and my friends. I've made the decision to let bygones be bygones for the sake of my children being surrounded by their family, but we need to get an understanding here. These are my kids, and you don't call the shots when it comes to their lives. I do. Kol does. That's it. I came back to town for the good of my kids because they need their family and a stable home. We're not just leaving."

"So we make ourselves easy targets?" Rebekah asked, but her voice was soft, definitely not matching the rage that burned in Klaus' eyes brighter than the fire behind Shea and Sutton. "This is your decision, Darcy, but I think you should consider that staying in one place is dangerous."

The fire, the darkness, in Klaus' eyes didn't relent, and it began to burn through my skin, charring every piece of me until only a withered and terrified soul remained. I didn't like being afraid of him, and I wasn't going to back down, but he scared the hell out of me.

He could get whatever he wanted; all he had to do was feed me his blood and kill me, and I would be sired to him until we figured out a way to break that sire bond,

Yet he remained where he stood, simply glaring down at me until I backed down—but he had no idea who I was anymore. Maybe the old Darcy would've backed down, would've submitted and let him do whatever he wanted, but I was a mom now. It wasn't like giving birth just suddenly changed me, but when it came to what was best for my kids, what I had to do for my kids, I wasn't backing down.

"Yes, but how can we constantly live life on the run?" Kol spoke up, and feeling his arm wrap around my waist as he stood up, giving me much needed support, was probably the best thing in the world right then. "Look, right now, we're at an advantage. Anyone who knows about Darcy's pregnancy believes it to be just that—pregnancy. No one is aware the twins are here except for us. That buys us some time, enough that I think four months is perfectly reasonable."

Prisca cleared her throat. "Not to be a downer, but anyone who is looking for Darcy and the twins knows that they've been born. I could get into the long spill about the how and the why, but all that matters is that the power of such an event, such a rare and infrequent occurrence that it's considered miraculous, is able to be channeled. Anyone who knows about the pregnancy knew to keep an eye out for this power to form, which happened the day that the twins were born. We used the power to help us stay cloaked, even after we turned. It put a cloaking spell on us that only Darcy could remove, but they still felt it. They still know that the twins are here."

"The Gemini have probably realized by now that we helped her have them early," Shea agreed. "So they're probably already aware that we didn't side with them in this war, especially if Iris already made it back to Portland."

"Iris?"

Elijah had been relatively quiet on the matter, but hearing Iris' name spoken seemed to catch his attention. His gaze shifted towards Prisca and Shea, where it scattered between the two frequently, before a shaky breath passed between his parted lips.

He was no longer silent, however, and his eyes began to cloud with fear.

"We met a witch named Iris, who bears a striking resemblance to the two of you," he murmured. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but she . . . she came to warn us about something Darcy had that could be our salvation or our downfall, insisting that we find her at once."

Shea stood from Sutton's lap, her phone already in hand, and she began scrolling through it, most likely looking for some picture of her sister. Her face was scrunched, a deep v forming at the base of her nose, but she didn't allow herself to react emotionally just yet, not until she knew for sure.

Elijah glanced at her phone when she held it out to him, and he nodded. "Yes. That was her."

Shea shook her head and tucked her phone back into her pocket, her soft eyes moving back over to find me. "I'm sorry, Darc, but we've gotta go, now."

It was hard to breathe in that moment, much less argue, and the worst part was, I knew that she was right. I couldn't fight to stay here, no matter how badly I wanted to do so. I didn't want to give up everything either. I didn't want to leave in the first place, and I had just gotten home . . . but Iris had made it very clear that she wasn't on the same side as we were. She didn't care if it meant killing a pregnant woman or murdering children. She was going to do what the coven asked of her.

It was why cloaking ourselves had been so important. That must've been why Shea and Prisca decided to use the power from the twins' birth to cloak us, to ensure that no one could have any sort of chance of finding us.

"Why does that mean we have to leave?" Elena asked. "What does your sister have to do with anything?"

"The cloaking spell ensured no one could find us through magic," Prisca said. "That doesn't hide us from being found in conventional ways. Finn was able to find us because he happened to drive past the diner we were at. If Iris wanted you to bring Darcy and the twins here, that means she was setting a trap to lure us here."

"If she's luring us here, that can only mean that she is nearby," Shea continued on, when Prisca's eyes began to fall towards the ground. "That means the most powerful witches of the Gemini coven are either here, too, or they will be soon. We have to go. I'm talking no time to pack up. Grab the twins. We need to go now."

I shook my head. "N-No. Look, we'll leave tonight, but we can't just up and go."

"I'll . . . I'll go say goodbye to my mom," Caroline whispered, barely giving me a moment to see the tears that started to fall down her face. "I'll be quick. I'll tell my mom that I'm going to live a good life, that I want her to live hers here until I can come back."

Bonnie nodded. "I guess we should say bye to Matt, right?"

Damon's eyes moved over to the fire, watching with the intensity of a man trying to run from whatever emotions began to stir inside of him. "I'll tell Stefan goodbye."

"Oh, he'll come with us," Klaus disagreed.

It had been the first time that he had said anything since my demand that he shut up and let me take care of my kids, but it was just as infuriating as the last time he had spoken, though in a less obvious and arrogant way.

"Just let him live his life however he wants," I insisted.

Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed. "The last thing Stefan said to you was that Kol's death would be punishment for all the wrong that you had done, and you just want him to be let go? Just like that? What makes you think he's not mad at you, won't side with the other people in this war?"

"Because Stefan's not a bad person," I said. "He was just stuck on revenge, which is something I think that everyone here can relate to in some way. I don't think he would hurt me like that. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but he's not a bad person."

"Do you want to know how our family has survived for all these centuries?" Klaus asked, and I watched his lips purse, his eyes narrow at the corners to focus in on me all over again. "We don't leave loose ends. Now, you call that monstrous because we kill anyone who might pose some sort of threat, but in the end, we're surviving. In the end, we're keeping these children alive, however we have to do that. Since Stefan and I were friends once, I'd hate to kill him, so instead, we'll bring him along for the ride."

"Compelling him—"

"Actually, Darcy, compulsion can be wiped away," Shea interrupted, before I could protest any further. "I've seen it done before. The leader of the Gemini can get into someone's mind and rip the compulsion away as if it was never there to begin with. I'm sure he can do it to a vampire, especially one who doesn't feed on human blood. Stefan's that one, right?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

Prisca shook her head. "The safest thing for everyone is for him to come along with us, at least until the Gemini are off of our backs. We told you that we were going to help you, no matter what it took, and this is what it's gonna take. Anyone who knows anything will be a liability. They have to come with us."

I couldn't take this anymore, couldn't take the things that were quickly making themselves a reality in my life, and I walked out. I didn't look back, didn't let anyone see the way that I had begun to cry.

I ran up the stairs and still didn't look back, even when I heard footsteps following behind me. I ran and ran until I reached the door of the makeshift nursery, but I didn't have the strength to open it anymore.

Holding back tears is draining, and I just couldn't do it anymore.

I fell to my knees, my hands wrapped around my stomach, and I sobbed. It was hard to be silent, with all the vampires downstairs, but I honestly didn't care all that much if they heard me.

They could judge me, call me weak, say whatever they wanted to say, but no one could ever understand how hard this was for me, how hard it was to face the things that everyone had to give up for the sake of my children.

Four people had become vampires for the good of my children. Four. How long would it take for everyone to decide that Bonnie needed to do the same?

How could I do this to the people I called family and friends?

A/N: Well, I'm back on track!

At least for now. I really hope to stay that way.

Every time I get a chapter finished, I'm posting a chapter, so I've decided to do at least one chapter a day, if time and my kid allow of course. He's a very energetic and lively almost two year old, so sometimes, I get a paragraph a day. But it's cool. Fun times. :)

Anyways, the point is, each time I get a chapter, I'll post one for you guys. :) I got one done late last night and then one done again this morning, so two chapters in less than twenty-four hours. As I said, back on track. :D

It might slow down towards the end, however, because I have to start watching the Originals. I've studied the stuff about Dahlia and all that, but there's so much you miss in summaries and things of that nature. I'm just gonna have to watch it.

Read, review, and enjoy. :)