The next few days until Christmas went by quickly and well for everyone.
Matt had taken the time to go over the file that Bella had gotten him and, after reading it, decided not to think too much about it. His mother had left him and even if she was a supernatural creature, she could have found a way to take care of him from afar. She could have sent him some money or let someone else take care of him and his sister. She could have made different choices, she didn't deserve him spending any more time worrying about her whereabouts. It was time for him to move on, to concentrate on his future instead of his past.
When Christmas Eve arrived, Matt, Bella and Charlie went to the Mickealson's house with an overnight bag so they could spend the night in the large house and wouldn't have to drive back in the middle of the night. Bella also had another bag, much larger, with her Christmas presents she had gotten for everyone.
Charlie had had reservations about coming over to the Mickealson's, mainly because he didn't want to have to spend the holidays with Carlisle Cullen and his wife, especially after learning what they were but Bella reassured him that they went back to Alaska to celebrate Christmas and that they wouldn't be back until January the 10th, unless Bella and the babies had a problem.
"Thank God you're finally here Bella! You can break the debate." Sage exclaimed when she opened the door to let them in.
"What debate?" Bella asked, hearing arguing in the living room.
"They're arguing about what to place on top of the Christmas Tree. A Star, an Angel, nothing or a picture of the family in a special glass bubble." Sage explained while they all made their way to the beautifully decorated living room.
"So Bella, what do you choose?" Kol asked her as soon as she entered the room while Klaus and Finn presented her with the propositions.
"They're all very pretty but given the rest of the tree, I guess I'd choose the golden star. You can always save the others for next year and place the picture over there." Bella replied with a blush, unwilling to disappoint anyone.
"See, I told you!" Elijah told Finn.
"Fine, I guess the star isn't that bad. I'll save the angel for next year." Finn accepted.
"And how are you and the babies doing?" Klaus asked her.
"I'm fine but they are very excited. They've spent the entire day moving around." Bella replied.
"They want to open their gifts." Kol guessed.
"Next year." Bella nodded.
She was about to bend down in order to place her presents under the tree, where a bunch of others already were, when Matt offered to do it for her so she didn't have to over work herself.
Charlie quickly got into a discussion about the supernatural world with Finn. Now that they were all aware that he knew, they wanted him to know as much as possible in case he needed the information later on. Finn even offered to come and visit Charlie later on, with Sage. It would allow them to spend some time away from Mystic Fall's just to two of them and in the same time, they would be able to help Charlie learn to fight, just in case.
Bella was sitting in a very large and comfortable antique armchair that used to belong to a Queen. The last thing she wanted was to stand up and she was happy that she didn't have to. All she had to do was mention that she wanted something and someone would go and get it for her, mainly Klaus or Elijah.
They all had fun, playing funny games, eating great food and telling each other Christmas stories and memories.
"I have to say that I like this tradition of yours." Charlie replied after Elijah explained that they used to write down wishes for the people they loved and burn them in a bonfire at the end of the night.
"Why don't we do it then?" Bella asked.
"We thought you'd want a normal Christmas." Klaus replied.
"We're far from being a normal family though, so why the normal holidays?" Bella reminded him.
"Let's do it then. Where are we setting this bonfire?" Charlie asked enthusiastically.
"I know the perfect place in the yard." Finn nodded and soon, he was followed out by Matt, Charlie, Kol and Elijah.
"I'll prepare the papers and pens for our wishes." Klaus told them before he rushed upstairs.
Bella smiled, watching her family work together so they'd have great holidays and, for the rest of the night, her smile didn't leave her face. They exchanged wishes, jokes and memories before finally going to bed, planning on opening presents in the morning.
"Did you have a good night Bella?" Elijah asked her as he walked her to her bedroom.
"I did, yes. Thank you. I know that you all worked very hard to make sure I had a good time. I'm grateful." She replied with a tired smile, her hands on her belly, trying to convince her babies that it was time to sleep.
"The babies moving too much?" He asked her when he realized how tired she looked and where her hands were.
"Yes, I think they're waiting for their father to wish them a good night." She replied.
"He should be back from Caroline's soon."
"I know. It's sweet that he wants to drop her gift off in the middle of the night to make sure it's here when she wakes up." Bella nodded.
"Will you be alright until he gets here?" Elijah asked her.
"Yes, don't worry, you can go ahead and go to bed now. I know you've had a long day. Did you even get some sleep last night?" She asked him.
"Not really, Klaus, Finn, Kol and I spent all night wrapping gifts Rebekah and Sage bought and dropping them off in poor kid's homes."
"That was kind of you, but I think Caroline asking Klaus to do it meant that you didn't have much of a choice. She can be very persuasive." Bella chuckled.
"True. Good night Bella." Elijah told her before he kissed her softly.
"Good night."
"You're sure you'll be fine until Klaus comes back?" Elijah asked her before he left the corridor to go in his own bedroom.
"I'm sure." She nodded.
Her father and Matt were already in bed and Bella was now alone, waiting for Klaus to come back because she knew that her babies wouldn't let her sleep until he had spoken to them. It was something she found cute, that her unborn children waited to hear their father's voice before calming down in her belly. They wanted to hear both of their voices and Bella loved it.
It had started last week and it had happened every evening since. She just hoped that he didn't take much longer because she, too, needed some sleep.
"Sorry Love, I lost track of time. How are the little ones?" Klaus asked her, coming in her room.
"The little ones are restless. I can't wait for them to fall asleep so I can fall asleep too." Bella smiled.
"Well, fear not Sweet Bella, I'm here, to your rescue." Klaus replied, a large smile on his face, as he bowed down.
"I wish there was a way for you to carry them, just for a day. I bet you'd lose that smile of yours." She teased him.
"Oh come on Bells, you can't blame me for being happy, can you? I'm in love, my family is united, soon our children will be completely safe. I'm happy." He replied, still smiling while he put both of his hands over her round belly.
"I know, don't worry. Come on now, tell your children to go to sleep or mummy will ground them." Bella told him with a smile.
"And I thought I was supposed to be the hard parent." He chuckled before softly speaking to the babies, wishing them a Merry Christmas and a good night.
After a few minutes, the babies were calm and Bella was able to lie down in bed, fall asleep and enjoy a complete night of rest.
.
The next morning, Bella was the last one to wake up and when she arrived in the living room, everyone was already sitting around the breakfast table.
"Ha, Bella, come, sit down next to Elijah, everything is already prepared." Klaus exclaimed when she appeared.
She smiled and sat down, loving that they had served her all of her favorites. She was happy to learn that they knew her that well already. She also smiled when she realized how at ease her father was with the Mickealson's.
"So, is it present time yet?" Kol asked as soon as Bella took her last bite.
"Why are you looking at me?" Bella asked him.
"Because Klaus and Elijah decided that we'd wait for you to want to open the presents to open ours." Rebekah explained.
"Oh, well, you didn't have to. Let's go. I want to see what you all got for me and the babies." She smiled.
"Before you come in and see all the presents we got for you Bella, you need to keep in mind that we did try to hold back and to be reasonable…" Klaus started to say, blocking Bella's way.
"…but we do love you a lot and we had a hard time not spending too much money on you." Rebekah added.
"You really should take this the right way, I mean, we love you, and that's why it was hard not to go overboard." Kol added.
"Come on guys, it can't be that bad! I saw the tree yesterday when we arrived, there wasn't that many presents underneath it." Bella rolled her eyes.
"You haven't seen it this morning, have you?" Charlie chuckled.
By that time, Bella had managed to make her way into the living room and realized that the pile of presents had tripled over night.
"They reproduced." Bella whispered, making them all chuckle.
"I assure you Bella, most of it is for the babies." Elijah told her.
"It better be."
"Well, let's get to it then." Kol exclaimed, going straight to the pile of perfectly wrapped gifts.
Bella sat down once more while her father and everyone else brought her her presents and went to get theirs. She had gotten for Matt a key to the room that was on the floor above her apartment, the one Rebekah had recently left and he was more than happy to accept her offer and to have someone to live with, not to be alone anymore.
In the end, Bella had received a lot of things for the babies, including 2 very pretty paintings from Klaus. Elijah had gotten her a very pretty (and expensive looking) necklace with the Mickealson coat of harms with, inside, a small picture of him and his siblings (and Sage) and on the other side an empty space to put in a picture of her and the babies. She was very touched by this gesture and so she didn't complain as much as she would have when she realized that they had also given her a castle in France and a house in Louisiana.
They all had presents they loved but the one Bella loved most was this moment, seeing them all happy around her and knowing that it was because of her that they were together and at peace. She finally had the large family she had always wanted. She had 2 sisters, brothers, babies on the way and a boyfriend she loved and who loved her back. Elijah understood her need not to be too serious with him until the babies were here and he still stayed by her side, he was there for her and supported her decisions.
She knew that he had had a bad romantic past and that this was a second chance for him. He had found in her someone who could do what he had always wanted to do: unite his siblings into a strong family. She felt like the two of them were perfect together, like they were only at the beginning of a very long story and that's what she told him when she gave him the new journal. Obviously he agreed because she was rewarded by a very passionate and loving kiss.
.
The next day, once all the presents were put away, Charlie, Finn, Elijah and Klaus helped Matt moving in the floor above Bella's while she made them all some well deserved lunch.
"I know that I've said it before Bells, but I'm proud of you." Charlie told his daughter once everyone had left and Matt had gone to work.
"Thanks dad." She replied with a blush.
"I invited Matt to come to Forks this summer." He informed her.
"I knew you would. You feel a connection with him too, don't you?" She asked him.
"I do. I don't know why, I'm not one to worry about things like this but I like the kid. If I can help him have a better life, I will." Charlie told her.
"I knew you would like him." Bella nodded.
"Who knows, maybe we have common ancestors or something like that." He shrugged his shoulders before turning the TV on to catch the next game until Matt finished work and he could go and spend some "man time" with him.
Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know that this chapter sucks but it's very hard to write a Christmas chapter when it's not Christmas and you're not in the Christmas spirit...
I'll rewrite it later, when the Christmas mood comes to me.
I wanted to take some time to get my inspiration back but it seems gone for good so you have this chapter and the next one that will end the story. Maybe I'll pick it back up again some day, we'll see. Thank you for your understanding and for the love you've given this story.
Please review and tell me what you think will happen next.
Lorelei Candice Black