Previously, in "Oh, Baby!," Evelyn and Robert get married and Isobel revealed a secret she had been keeping for years.
Chapter 20
Gilbert House - 2 Weeks Later...
Elena pulled up to her childhood home, where she was greeted by Grayson. Before he could speak, she said, "Daddy, I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Come in, sweetheart," he said, stepping back to let her inside the house.
Elena walked into the living room, Grayson following her. When she turned around, he noticed the expression on her face. "Elena, what's the matter?"
A sob escaped her throat as she said, "I found out I'm not your daughter. Aunt Isobel showed up with the birth certificate and everything. She and Uncle John are my parents" She sobbed some more and added, "Daddy, tell me that it's not true."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I can't do that," Grayson told her softly.
"What do you mean you can't do that?" said Elena. "Daddy, please, I need to know."
"I can't do that, because John and Isobel are telling you the truth, sweetheart," Grayson said as he tried to not cry himself. His own heart was breaking over finally letting one of his daughters know the truth about her paternity.
Elena growled at what he was telling her and grabbing a vase off the table, she threw it against the wall, hearing it shatter into a thousand pieces. "No, I don't believe you! I don't believe them either! If I don't belong to you, who the hell do I belong to then? You might as well tell me that my whole life hae been a lie, that I'm just some nameless nobody that lived under your roof all these years!"
Grayson jumped when the vase shattered against the wall, before grabbing a hold of his daughter's arms in a firm grasp. "Elena, first of all, you need to calm down, and second of all, your mother and I have Jeremy still, and even though we couldn't have daughters, you and Katherine are still very much our daughters," he told her with a firm voice.
Elena listened to this and fresh tears stung her eyes. "Oh, Daddy."
That being said, she threw herself against him, sobbing into his chest.
Grayson held her close and stroked her dark hair before turning when he heard the knock on the front door.
Grayson saw who it was and said, "Come in, John. It's open."
Elena pulled back at the mention of her uncle before turning a puffy gaze to the sandy-haired man who entered. Her gaze turned to one filled with hatred when Isobel appeared behind John. But then an unexpected face appeared behind the two of them, and Elena was surprised to see Dr. Meredith Fell holding hands with two small children that had John's lighter hair and Meredith's brown eyes.
John saw the look on Elena's face and said, "Elena, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that you had to find out the truth the way you did."
"It's not you I'm angry at, Uncle John, it's Aunt Isobel who's to blame," she told him as she ran over to give him a tight hug.
John nodded as he hugged her. "I know, sweetheart. I'm not exactly thrilled with her either."
Elena pulled back a little bit then glanced at the two children still clinging to Meredith. "And who are these guys?" she asked as she kneeled down in front of them.
John smiled as he picked the little girl up. "Elena, this is your half-sister, Savannah Grace Gilbert, and the little boy is your half-brother, Christopher Adam Gilbert," he told her.
Elena smiled. "They're so cute."
Meredith smiled as well. "They are, aren't they?"
"They really are. I am going to call Katherine over here so she can meet them as well," Elena said before dialing the number belonging to Katherine.
When Katherine picked up, Elena said, "Kitty Kat, we have half siblings to meet."
"I'll be right there, Lena," Katherine said before ending the call. She glanced at a skeptical Elijah. "I have to, Elijah. He is my biological father. I cannot reject him even though Isobel is another story."
Elijah nodded. "All right, Katerina. This is your decision and I've always respected your wishes."
"Come with me," she pleaded as she sat on his lap to kiss him softly on the lips. "Please?"
Elijah smiled at her as he returned her kiss. "Of course I'll come with you, love."
"Okay, let's go," she said, kissing him one more time before getting up from his lap to tug him off of the arm chair and out of the house.
They arrived at the Gilbert house after a few minutes and Elena smiled at her sister. "Kitty Kat, these are Christopher and Savannah, our half siblings."
"Hello," Savannah said with an excited smile. Meredith and John both smiled when she reached her arms out for the elder of the identical twins and Katherine happily took her.
Katherine laughed as she took Savannah into her arms. "Hi, sweetie. I'm your big sister, Katherine." She kissed her little cheek. "I am so happy to finally meet you. You remind me of your Aunt Maria when she was your age."
"Who is Aunt Maria?" Savannah asked slowly as she tilted her head of dark blonde curls.
She's my daughter," said Katherine. "She's sixteen years old and very pretty, just like you."
Savannah nodded. "Okay." She looked over and saw Elijah. "Who is that?"
"I am your sister's husband," he replied. "And it's an honor to finally meet you, Miss Savannah."
"Nice to meet you too!" she said excitedly again, bouncing up and down with her enthusiasm.
"Okay, I think someone had too much sugar this morning, so nap time!" Meredith declared before taking Savannah from Katherine.
Katherine smiled as she watched Meredith carry Savannah away. "She's quite an adorable little girl."
Elijah smiled as well. "She definitely is. And you're right, she does look like Maria when she was little."
"Except for the curls, and the color of her hair," John reminded them as he tossed Christopher into the air.
"Maria had curls too," said Elena. "They were just darker than Savannah's."
Just then, the front door opened to reveal Miranda and the youngest of the triplets, Tatiana, dressed as if she'd just come from somewhere cold. "Well, well…look at what the cat dragged in," Katherine said with a few clicks of her tongue.
"Katherine Mackenzie Gilbert Mikaelson, you will apologize to your sister right now!" Miranda admonished her eldest daughter.
Katherine scowled. "Why should I apologize to her? She hasn't called me in months. If anything, she should apologize to me."
"Go sit down, and I'll explain why she hasn't called, okay?" Miranda demanded in a softer tone.
Katherine reluctantly nodded. "Okay."
Miranda looked at her other child. "The same goes for you, Elena Michelle," she told Elena, who nodded and followed Katherine into the living room. The four of them sat down opposite each other, with Miranda and Tatia taking the couch and Elena and Katherine sat in the matching arm chairs.
It was quiet until Miranda said, "The reason she hasn't called is because she's been on the run for a while."
"And Mason hasn't tried to help her?"
"Mason…left me," Tatia said and her sisters looked over to see that she was near tears.
Elena went over to Tatia and hugged her. "Oh, Tatia, I'm so sorry. "
Katherine nodded. "I'm glad sorry too, Tatia. Not only because of this, but also for speaking to you the way I did before."
Their younger sister nodded and hugged Elena back. "Mason and I had a falling out before I went on the run, and it…hurt deeply," she told her mother and sisters.
Miranda nodded. "Well, you're home now, and everything is going to be okay."
Tatia looked at her mother. "Really?"
"Yes," said Miranda. Your father and I are here for you and so are your sisters."
Elena and Katherine both nodded in agreement with their mom before turning their attention to Christopher when he came up to Katherine and held his arms out. Katherine laughed then picked him up and set him on her lap.
Tatia looked at Christopher. "Who's that little cutie?"
Katherine smiled. "This is Christopher, our half brother."
"Our...what?" Tatia asks softly, her face full of shock.
"Our half brother," said Katherine. "You see, Tatia, we recently found out that we were actually born to Uncle John and Aunt Isobel. Christopher and his sister, Savannah, are Uncle John's children with Meredith Fell."
"You mean we were adopted?" Tatia was still confused.
"Exactly," said Elena. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but I'm slowly coming to grips with it, even if I'm still angry at Aunt Isobel for choosing the most inappropriate time to drop the bomb, which was at Evelyn's wedding two weeks ago."
Tatia turned to their mother, who nodded in confirmation before turning to glance at John, who lingered in the doorway.
John smiled at her. "Everything you heard is true, Tatiana. I gave you and your sisters to Grayson and Miranda because we weren't emotionally ready for children. Isobel got pregnant unexpectedly and we didn't want to have an abortion, so we talked it over and decided to go with adoption." He felt tears sting his eyes. "That didn't mean I didn't love you, so don't think that. I did love you. That's why I did what I did."
Miranda stood up then gestured for Katherine to sit down with her sisters before gesturing at John to sit down with them. "You four deserve to talk. I'm going to talk to Isobel for right now."
John sat down with his girls, taking Christopher from Katherine. "I know that you have questions for me, and I'll try to answer them as best I can. Though, I think the important question you probably have for me is why I didn't come forward sooner with this."
Elena nodded. "Yeah, Damon asked Isobel that question two weeks ago. Why didn't you come forward sooner?"
"Believe me, Elena, I wanted to," said John. "The truth is, I wasn't sure if you were ready to hear it. I wanted to wait until you were old enough. That was why I thought I could trust Isobel with keeping the secret. But, I guess that was too much to hope for, because she disobeyed me by intruding upon you while you were enjoying the most important event in your stepniece's life. I could only imagine how embarrassed you must've felt and believe me, I was just as embarrassed. To think I once had FEELINGS for that woman!"
"Are you happy with…Meredith? I mean, does she make you happy?" Tatia asked as she smiled at Christopher when he began to snuggle up with John, his head nestled within John's shoulder.
John nodded at Tatia's question. "I'm deliriously happy with Meredith. In fact, I'm planning to divorce Isobel so that I can marry her."
Meredith was just coming down the stairs when she heard the answer to his daughter's question. She caught his eye as she sat down on the last few steps and John set Christopher back into Katherine's arms as he drifted over to kneel in front of her. "Yes, John, I'd love to marry you," she said before he could ask the question.
John smiled at Meredith, kissing her. "I love you so much, Meredith. You're making me the happiest man in the world right now."
"I love you more, John Gilbert," she said as she stood up and locked her arms around his neck.
Katherine watched the happy couple and smiled. They reminded her of herself and Elijah when they got engaged.
Later…
Katherine, Elena and Tatia kept an eye on Savannah and Christopher while Meredith paced outside the courtroom and John and Isobel went through divorce proceedings.
Elena looked at Meredith. "I don't blame you for being nervous. I'm just as nervous."
"I'm only nervous because I'm going to get to go through a quickie wedding with the man I've loved for 20+ years, but knew I never had a chance to be with," Meredith said with a smile.
Elena went over to Meredith and took her hands in hers. "You're getting the man you were meant to be with today. That's all that matters."
Meredith nodded then hugged Elena in a loose embrace. They both turned when the door to the judge's chambers opened and John came out, Isobel right behind him. Isobel glanced once at her three daughters before she turned and walked away.
John approached Meredith and embraced her. "Ready to marry me, my love?"
She nodded and smiled, kissing him softly. "I've been ready my entire life," she replied.
"I hope I'm not too late."
Elena turned and saw Damon coming toward them. "Damon, what are you doing here?"
"Elijah called me and told me where you were," he replied. "So, I decided to come here and see what was going on." He looked at John. "Hey, John."
John smiled. "Hello, Damon. You're just in time for my wedding."
Damon turned to Elena. "What wedding is he talking about? I thought he was here to get a divorce from Isobel," he told her.
"He is, but he's also getting married. He asked Meredith to marry him a few days ago and she said yes," Elena explained with a smile.
Damon smiled as well. "Well then, I guess we have a wedding to attend."
A few minutes later, the engaged couple emerged with his three daughters, his son-in-law and their children trailing behind them.
Damon held Elena's hand as they went toward the office of the Justice of the Peace. Today was definitely a happy day, especially since Elena and her sisters were getting a whole new family.
A few minutes later, Meredith came back into the office of the Justice of the Peace, this time wearing a beautiful white skirt suit, her hair swept up and away from her face.
Katherine smiled at how beautiful Meredith looked in her outfit. "Meredith, you look so beautiful."
Meredith smiled as well. "Thank you, Katherine. I feel beautiful."
Tatia came over to them, holding a big flower barrette that she clipped up into Meredith's dark hair. "There, now you're even more beautiful."
Meredith hugged Tatia. "Thank you, Tatia. I love this barrett."
"I knew you would," she replied. "That's why I bought it."
Meredith nodded then released Tatia before looking at all three girls. "Thank you three for coming today to support your father. I know how much he appreciated you being here for him," she said with a smile.
"He's our biological father," said Elena. "We wanted to make his wedding special for him."
Meanwhile, Damon helped John straighten his tie then turned to Christopher to help him as well. "How do I look, Daddy?" Christopher asked.
"You look great, son," John said as he smoothed down the plain black tuxedo jacket that his son wore.
Damon smiled. "He looks more than great, John. He looks like a little gentleman in his tux."
John laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He smiled. "Thank you for being my best man, Damon. I appreciate it."
"No problem," said Damon. "You're my father-in-law, and you deserve the best. Meredith is a lucky woman to be marrying you."
"I think we're both lucky, actually," John said with another smile as he looked at the watch on his wrist.
Damon saw him looking at his watch. "Showtime."
John nodded and the two of them walked out of the room, Christopher following along after them.
Meanwhile, Meredith was doing the same with her own watch before the music began from the CD player the Justice of the Peace had in the office.
Meredith smiled as she saw John entering, along with Christopher and Damon. He looked absolutely handsome in his suit and she was looking forward to finally becoming his wife. John returned her smile as he saw how she looked in her outfit. This was a big step for them, and they were taking it together.
They faced the Justice of the Peace with Elena and Damon on either side of them, holding hands.
During the ceremony, John held Meredith's hands and said, "Meredith, from the moment I met you, I knew that you were the one for me. I can never be lost without having you to guide me. You're my love, my life, my world, and my best friend. I'm proud to stand here before you and make you my wife. I love you and our children very much and promise to love, cherish, and protect you for the rest of our lives."
Meredith tried not to cry as she said, "John, there is no one else in this world I'd rather be with than you. You make my world a better place and our children are proof of what our love can do. I'm looking forward to spending my life with you and raising our family together."
"I now pronounce that you are man and wife. John, you may kiss your bride," the Justice said to John, who smiled and nodded before pulling Meredith close and kissing her softly but passionately.
Elena watched John and Meredith kiss and then turned to Damon, kissing him passionately. "I love you, Damon."
Damon smiled and returned her kiss. "I love you too, Elena."
Once John and Meredith parted their lips, John looked at Elena. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind asking your sisters to come back in here. I'd like to legally adopt all three of you and Meredith has already agreed that you're like daughters to her, so she wants to adopt you as well."
Elena nodded. "Okay."
She left the Justice's office and found that Katherine and Tatia were still outside, both playing a game on their cell phones. "John wants us inside. He said he's going to adopt all three of us," she told her sisters.
Katherine and Tatia smiled at each other and then looked at Elena before Katherine said with a smile, "Sounds good to me."
They followed Elena into the office, where John and Meredith were now sitting in a chair apiece, each holding their children.
John smiled at the sisters. "Sit down, girls."
Elena, Katherine and Tatia did as he asked, sitting in the three vacant chairs behind their father and his new wife.
Elena held hands with her sisters as the proceedings began.
Elena had to admit that she was a little nervous, because she'd always seen John as her uncle, a second father – one she could go to if she couldn't talk to her dad.
Damon saw how nervous his wife was and took her free hand in his. "It's going to be fine, cara mia. Just relax."
"I know, but this is a big change for me," she replied. "All of my life, I've turned to John for advice whenever there was something I couldn't talk to my dad about."
Damon smiled. "Who says that has to stop when it becomes official? You can still go to John for advice, like you've always done."
Once John had his part of the transitions of the proceedings done, Elena, Katherine and Tatia all came over and signed the documents before Meredith signed. After they were all done, John looked at his wife, his two younger children then looked at his daughters. "It's official," was all he said.
Katherine and Tatia smiled at each other and Elena hugged Damon, resting her head on his shoulder, a smile on her face as well.
Note: Here's another chapter! Come back for the epilogue!