The next morning was crazy pandemonium as every curling iron, blow dryer and straightener in possession was plugged in somewhere. Taylor had gone for an extra hard run with Eva and Will that morning, gotten a shower and now had her hair in perfect curls. Gemma was in the process of getting her hair straightened and Luna was curling her hair even though she declared no one would notice. Eva and Mia were helping out where they could meanwhile the mothers had gotten themselves ready and were just trying to stay out of the way in the living room. The plane had long since left and they expected it back anytime.
The front door opened forty minutes later leaving Bonnie and Elena laughing gently as the girls all tried to pretend it was of no consequence to them. Elijah and Kol entered with a vampire that appeared to be almost thirty, his hair a rich brown he was tall and handsome. The three of them were talking animatedly about something. Two younger male vampires entered behind them. They quickly surveyed the scene; their noses sorting dozens of smells for them as they inhaled. The brown-haired one turned his gaze dead-set on Taylor very quickly. Meanwhile the blonde found Gemma and Luna offering Gemma a quick smile. Neither left their father's side yet.
"Elijah, Kol this is another beautiful home you have and unless you've set up a harem I believe I'm quite behind on the introductions. Elijah motioned to Elena and Kol to Bonnie.
"Aaron allow me to introduce my lovely wife Elena."
"Enchanting and... pregnant. Elijah?"
"Original remember my friend?"
"Pleasure to meet you Elena."
"This is my darling wife Bonnie," Kol introduced.
"Finally got yourself a witch," Aaron smiled, "an extremely powerful one at that. I look forward to speaking with the women who managed to tie these two down finally." Bonnie and Elena were quickly at ease.
"Without a doubt that must be your daughter Taylor," Aaron looked at the young lady his son Ryan was staring at, "my sons are master hunters by their sense of smell. They could likely sort all of your family members given the chance."
Will watched the boy staring at Gemma and wanted to place himself in between them but as his father caught his eye, he stayed behind, knowing that they needed to meet. He would stay back and it worked well until Daniel came running right to Elijah. Daniel - that morning - had wanted to be dressed like his father. He smiled up at Elijah who caught him in his arms.
"This is my son Daniel. Daniel Elijah Mikaelson."
Aaron looked around the room, "and the young lady standing next to Gemma is also your daughter as well as the young man back there; who is the spitting image of you. Then let's see the young lady in the mint colored sundress is your Taylor, Kol. The young man there is your son," he indicated Mason, "as well as the brunette back there," he pointed out Mia, "and this adorable little bunny." Brenna went right to him with her white sundress on and little bunny ears atop her head.
"These children are biological Elijah," Aaron Westin looked to his friend.
Meanwhile the brunette young man approached Taylor, "you are beautiful. I'm Ryan Westin."
"I'm Taylor Mikaelson," Taylor smiled. Ryan looked like he wanted to get closer to Taylor but he didn't dare. Nathaniel was bolder. He kissed Gemma's hand and smiled at her.
"I'm Nathaniel and you must be Aphroditie." Gemma and Luna got the giggles.
"They've been anxious since yesterday afternoon," Aaron said. Daniel pulled on his father's arm.
"Daddy I'm hungry." He said and gave him the same puppy dog look that his mother has done. Alaric, who was still on the island, was awake and heard Daniel say that. He took him in his arms and had him in the kitchen.
"Luna and Mia-go help your grandfather." Kol said and both scrambled into the kitchen to make brunch for everyone. Gemma, on the other hand, was red in the cheeks as he called her Aphrodite. Brenna was in Kol's arms and running her hands over his face - her bunny ears tickling her father.
"Alright little bunny stop wiggling," Kol laughed.
"You seem happy Kol and you too Elijah," Aaron smiled. "It's good to see. So shall we let them to it? I thought I'd stay a week and if it's acceptable to you I'll leave them with you for about six months." Will appeared in something close to what his father was in. His eyes were on Nathaniel Westin.
"I'll watch over them." He said with a grumble. "You two get into the kitchen and help granddad." After ushering all of the children into the kitchen, Elena turned to Aaron and answered his question.
"I think that would be acceptable." Elena said before Elijah could say anything about it. "I believe that it would be very acceptable." Aaron smiled at her.
"Excellent Mrs. Mikaelson," She smiled at the man. "Do you know what you are having?" Aaron asked as he gestured to her bump.
"A little girl." Elijah said happily. "Her name is Ella Isobel Mikaelson."
"That's very beautiful. My wife Sheila, who is going to be furious I didn't bring her now, has always regretted not being able to have a child of her own. We love Ryan and Nathaniel. They're my sons but there's something about going through the whole process. She would envy all of you."
Will and Eva were the only ones still in the living room with Ryan, Nathaniel, Gemma and Taylor.
"He's staring at me," Taylor said to Gemma.
"He'd like to be kissing you senseless," Will said bluntly.
"He can hear everything you're saying," Ryan smirked. Taylor blushed. Eva decided the girls needed a little slack and plopped on Will's lap in the club chair. The girls took a seat on each of the couches and the boys joined them.
"So what do you like to do?" Eva asked.
"Lots of things," Ryan said, "I play piano and guitar but I also like sleek fast cars."
"I like books and movies. Plus I enjoy honing my skills," Nathaniel replied.
"What are your favorite books? I'm a lover of the fantasy and supernatural things like Harry Potter and Amanda Hocking's books - I just started reading Wake." Gemma said when Taylor gave her a look.
"You're 'fan-girling' again." Nathaniel smiled.
"My Aphrodite, you are beautiful." He told her. Elena had taken a peak into the room and saw how Gemma was acting. It reminded her of when she and Elijah spent one day together - before the sacrifice.
"I like the classics. I recently finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. I'm a fan of The Harry Potter series myself although I try to stay away from anything supernatural because I just feel so sorry for the people. They just can't get it right," he laughed.
"So when did you transition?" Taylor asked.
"Mum and Dad gave each of us the choice on our eighteenth; turn or be compelled when we get ready to go out in the world. Of course it was the kind of offer you don't refuse," Ryan said and both he and Nathan smiled.
"Are you going to choose to turn?" Ryan asked Will.
"No choice I was born a vampire." Both boys looked at him. "When I'm finished growing I'll just transition into full-on vampirism. My cousin Mia has already done so."
"Wow," Ryan remarked, "Dad has been telling us about your dads almost our whole life but...you're like really special vampires." Ryan leaned in, got a good whiff of Taylor and groaned. Just smelling her was calling to him like the bloodlust he had experienced when he first turned only ten times worse.
Gemma shook her head at her big brother. With the way her hair moved near Nathaniel, he got a good whiff of her lilac scent that drove him crazy. He started doing those breathing exercises that he learned while in sports but even that was making him pant.
"You may as well kiss them and get it started," Eva pointed out, "it's not going to go away...of course the more you do the stronger it gets."
Ryan didn't need any more persuading and boldly kissed Taylor but Nathaniel smiled at Gemma, brushing his lips against hers.
As soon as Ryan's lips met Taylor's she gasped. She had never been kissed before and she was soon seeing stars. Almost immediately they both began to feel an electric current flowing through them. It was like nothing they had experienced before and so addictive that neither wanted it to end. Nathaniel may have started out with a gentler approach but the result was the same. The chaste kiss led to Gemma wrapping her arms about Nathaniel's neck and kissing him deeply wanting more and more of that feeling; of him. Will gave the boys a look that said 'hurt them I hurt you'. Eva saw that and shook her head.
"Behave Will." She said.
"That was...amazing. I'm not vamping out am I?" Taylor began to panic.
"You're perfect Darling," Ryan said gently.
"My Dad calls my mom that," Taylor blushed. She thought her parent's love was epic.
"Wow...you're incredible," Gemma went starry-eyed. Meanwhile Will had his arms tightly around Eva the urge to protect his mate so instinctive he didn't even realize he was doing it.
"You're much more amazing than I am Gemma." Nathaniel told her breathlessly. "You really are angel of mine." She was as scarlet as a cherry.
"I want this," Gemma said in a breathy tone. "I want you for my mate."
Taylor stared at Gemma absolutely wide-eyed, Eva too. Eva took it upon herself to start kissing Will on the neck and wiggling against him.
"Well then angel," Nathaniel said grinning at her. "I've never been so happy to hear that."
"What about you darling?" Ryan asked Taylor. "Do you want this?"
"I'm a little afraid," Taylor confessed.
"I promise I will never hurt you love," Ryan said and his accent made Taylor weak in the knees. Meanwhile Gemma was kissing Nathaniel for all that she was worth.
"I don't want to stop..." Taylor said gently. Unfortunately for them, their fathers just walked in and heard what Taylor said. Kol's eye twitched in clear anger while Elijah was trying to rein in his anger. Aaron laughed at their apparent frustrations.
"They don't mean what you think they do," Will growled to his father and then looked at Eva.
"How many mating pairs do you have?" Aaron gasped.
"Do you really want to know that answer?" Elijah asked wearily.
"Well I think I'm going to enjoy my stay here," Aaron said. "Are you expecting more mates?"
"Well there's Will and Eva," Taylor volunteered, "and Mason and Grace - uh sorry Gemma. Then I guess there's Gemma and Nathaniel and uh, us. We did the spell yesterday though and everyone's arm had a name and..." the rest of what she was going to say was lost in Ryan's mouth. Gemma shrugged off what Taylor said about Mason and Grace. Before it hurt-it still does-but not to the extent of her crying a river and singing Adele and those breakup songs Taylor Swift sings.
"Who is Mason?" Nathaniel growled.
"Nate, calm down," Aaron commanded.
"Mason is my brother," Taylor announced.
"So how is everything going?" Elena asked as she and Bonnie joined them.
"Someone just heard about Mason and is jealous." Gemma told her mother. Bonnie looked at Taylor who was snickering at Gemma.
Nate looked at Elena. He smiled with a blush on his cheeks.
"I may have shown my basic vampire trait of being very territorial." He said.
"You're also showing signs of being possessive." Kol told him, "which is perfectly normal for a mated vampire." Elijah nodded as he remembered how he broke Kol's neck.
"She's mine," Nate said surprising even himself. He pulled Gemma onto his lap and a moment later he had bit into her carotid. There were enough pheromones being released into the air that Ryan bit Taylor as well and even Will lost his control but he couldn't yet bite Eva. He growled his frustration.
"Will," Eva murmured to him. "It's okay that you can't bite me yet. I can wait." He buried his head against her neck and then began to kiss her.
"I love you Eva," he murmured against her ear, "and make no mistake - you are mine."
"Well things are progressing nicely," Aaron smiled.
"I can see that." Kol grumbled. Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Oh for goodness sakes! Let our daughter have what we have unless you want to sleep on the couch!" Bonnie snapped.
Elena looked at Elijah the exact same way as Bonnie did Kol and he got the message.
"If you're going to say that she's your daughter again - I'll leave you in the room with my father by yourself and on top of that, you'll be on the couch." Elena's threat worked well with Elijah-having a bit of fear of the hunter. Suddenly Kol realized the blood transfer was going one way.
"Bite back Taylor, Gemma you need to bite too," he urged gently. The girls hesitated a moment but then bit their mates.
"Okay this is working on me," Elena murmured to Elijah.
"I would bite you whenever you want me to." He purred into her ear.
"Can you bite me now?" She moaned softly to him. Not caring at the moment that there was anyone watching because his mate had asked him to Elijah opened his wrist and offered it to her as his fangs sank into her neck. Bonnie bit Kol and he immediately bit her back. Aaron Westin suddenly felt pretty homesick. He also realized he had become the defacto chaperone for three newly mated pairs of vampires.
"Do I even want to know what's going on here?" Alaric asked as he walked into the room. Turning to the vampire next to him, he held his hand out to shake. "Elena's father Alaric Saltzman. You?"
"Aaron Westin; Mating ritual? Blood sharing helps to solidify the bond in new mates. That these two are doing it in front of me just tells me how deeply they're in love with their mates," Aaron told Alaric as they glanced at Elijah and Kol with their mates. Aaron gestured to the two boys in the room, "Those two are my sons."
"I'm beginning to get the picture," Alaric said.
"I'm playing chaperone for all of them at the moment." Aaron told him.
"I've been doing it when I first came here to recover from a mild heart attack." Alaric said with a sigh.
"Why remain mortal when your family is not? Or very soon won't be. I imagine there are going to be a lot of turnings."
"I'm unsure if Jeremy will transition but if he does, so will I." Alaric voiced to the vampire.
"I understand," Aaron nodded. Gemma pulled back and so did Nathaniel. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and then thumbed away a tear. A moment later she buried her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her holding her tenderly.
Taylor pulled away confused and overwhelmed. When Ryan lifted his head she flashed to the other side of the room. Ryan soon had her trapped against the wall. His hands were on either side of her shoulders against the wall and though he wasn't touching her he wanted to because his mate was shaking and it was his duty to protect her.
"Okay, okay," Aaron approached carefully, "Taylor right?" The blonde haired belle nodded. "It's okay I promise and you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid," Taylor trembled, "I felt... I don't understand..."
"You felt what Ryan felt." Aaron told her lightly. "It's okay to be scared of what you felt. It's normal."
Alaric was just watching him talk down Taylor and smiled. There was a reason why he liked this guy and when he saw Elijah pull his fangs from Elena, he just held her.
"That was amazing." She said in a purring voice to Elijah.
"Only with you Elena," he reassured her, "it's because you feel the depth of my love for you."
"I want that for our children," Elena said. She looked over to Kol and Bonnie then. He had her propped against the wall and both of their eyes had gone completely white. Elijah tapped Kol on the shoulder.
"Okay I know you're in nirvana but it's time to come back to earth."
Taylor turned around with Ryan still leaned against the wall. He stared deeply into her eyes. She reached up and touched his cheek and he shivered closing his eyes and inhaling her scent deeply. Taylor blushed as much as she could.
"I... can feel you...I know what you want..." She said on a breathy tone.
"How can I not? You're beautiful in every way imaginable," Ryan said in a husky tone. Suddenly Ryan was crying out in pain and sinking to his knees. He wasn't the only one to feel it though as Taylor's unfocused attack slammed into Kol, Elijah, Eva, Gemma and Nathaniel as well.
"She's a vampire and a witch?" Elena asked, perplexed at Bonnie who was in shock.
"I had no idea." Bonnie admitted.
"The blood," Kol gasped. He whispered into Bonnie's ear, "there's something I've been waiting to tell you...obviously it works." Meanwhile Taylor was shocked.
"She's a witch?" Ryan was shocked. "I love you even more darling."
"Bonnie please do something about her," Elijah requested.
"What would you like me to do?" Bonnie said to her brother in law.
"Taylor knock it off!" Gemma growled.
Bonnie realized she was still giving pain to the vampires in the room. Bonnie began chanting and soon the pain disappeared. Taylor became much more relaxed. She began to slump down and Ryan scooped her up into his arms.
Ryan smiled down at the girl in his arms who was his mate. She apparently was a witch as well as a vampire.
"Your blood is fantastic by the way," he smiled, "but remind me not to get on your bad side. You pack quite a punch."
"I'm sorry. I didn't even know I could do that."
Ryan lowered his head and took her lips in a tender kiss. Meanwhile as no one had been paying them any attention Gemma had slipped her hands under Nathaniel's shirt and was reading his chest like Braille with her fingers. He was breathing harder - though he needn't at all - under her exploratory touch.
"What would it take to make you come undone," Eva whispered in Will's ear before her hands slipped under his shirt as well and her lips were on his.
His self-control was barely on par with his father's but the second she slid her hands under his shirt and kissed him, he lost it. How he managed to stand up with her in his arms he didn't know but as soon as they reached his bedroom door, he was pulled off her by Stefan.
"You need an extremely cold shower Will." He said sternly. His eyes went straight to Eva who was panting and had her face all vamped out.
"Uncle Stefan..." Eva whined. Then she grinned at him. "Can I join him?"
Stefan removed his hands and Eva was in Will's arms again kissing him with everything she felt for him. He had his arms around her and was kissing her back.
"Uncle Stefan..." Eva whined. Then she grinned at him. "Can I join him?"
Stefan removed his hands and Eva was in Will's arms again kissing him with everything she felt for him. He had his arms around her and was kissing her back.
"EVA!" They pulled away quickly when they saw Klaus there. Eva's chest was heaving as she tried to regain control.
"I love him Dad," she said by way of explanation from behind the hand that was feeling her swollen lips from his kisses.
"Oh I know but you are not taking a cold shower or any shower with Will for a while." Klaus told her. "You are still my little girl."
"I'm seventeen and my birthday is in two months," Eva groaned. "Well please don't make me stop holding him. It makes me feel better."
"Well, at the moment, you have to let him go." Stefan said. "You both need to cool off and Will-make sure that your shower feels like ice." Will gave Eva one last brief kiss before heading for his bathroom and the ordered shower.
"This sucks on so many levels," Eva sighed. "You and Mom can be all romantic anytime you please but the second I enjoy my life..." She growled in frustration.