Hope pulled her pants up over her belly, thankful for the stretch in her maternity pants. At five months along, she was very visibly pregnant and could no longer even attempt to squeeze into her regular jeans. She twisted, examining her reflection in the mirror.

Almost by reflex, she looked at the bed in the reflection, but Ryan wasn't there. It was a strange thing to wake up alone. But, as long as no one ran into the room, screaming, she knew that he probably had something he needed to take care of that couldn't wait until she woke up.

As if drawn by her thoughts, Ryan opened the door and entered the room.

"You slept late." Ryan wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. "You didn't even notice when I left."

"What happened?"

"Seylah called and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. She's been keeping track of Triad and wanted to know what we'd done to make them fall apart the way they did."

"So, she's okay?"

"She and the boys are settling in nicely. Surprisingly, she said she missed me, but she knows I'm happy with you and that your home is here, so she doesn't want me to leave and join them. Though she hinted that she wants to visit after the baby is born."

"Why was it such a surprise?" Hope pulled out of his embrace so she could look him in the eye.

"Because I-" he cut himself off, his brows furrowing. "I don't know. I'm just not used to being wanted or missed."

"You're a good man. You took care of her and Landon, protecting them, when they had no one else. Why wouldn't she miss you?" Hope cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb gently across his skin. "And to think I met you because I saw a gas station and an excuse to get away from Burr."

Ryan's lips pulled into a lopsided grin and he kissed her palm.

"You are a good man, and meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me."

"I'm glad you believe that, because I don't know how I can be."

"You've done nothing but help and protect the people you care about. So yes, you are a good man."

Hope's stomach growled then, and Ryan started laughing.

"I think it's time we got you something to eat."

"I'm surprised my stomach started growling before yours did, unless you got something to eat already."

"I may have gotten a little bit to eat before coming back upstairs," Ryan admitted.

"Of course you did." Hope poked him lightly in the stomach.

"Hey!" he protested, playfully grabbing at her hand.

Laughing, she ducked out of the way, then grabbed her shirt off the nearby chair and pulled it over her head, still trying to dodge him.

Before she could make it to the door, Ryan caught her, pulling her against his chest, one hand cradling the swell of her belly. The teasing light in his eyes faded and his dark eyes grew intense.

"Another four or so months and she'll be here," Hope whispered.

"No one will harm her. I'll kill them first," he vowed fiercely.

"If my parents and aunts and uncles don't beat you to it."

"You do have very protective relatives."

"So do you, since my family is your family."

He ducked his head, then led her towards the door.

"One day, Ryan Clarke, you'll accept that I'm telling you the truth."

Hope caught Ryan's hand and he linked their fingers together.

When they crossed the hall, they nearly ran into a frazzled Freya.

"What's wrong?"

"Greta tried causing problems."

Ryan's grip on Hope's hand tightened and he inhaled deeply.

"There's a fight?" Hope asked, terrified.

Had she screwed up somehow? Did she do something that enraged Madam Laveau? Her mind raced with the possibilities of what may have infuriated the voodoo queen. Was it her refusal to join the New Orleans witches? But she knew already that Hope didn't want to be loyal to anyone except for her family before she agreed to help. So it couldn't be that? Could it be?

"Don't worry. Your spell is holding, but she can still cause trouble even if her influence has all but disappeared."

"Okay. Go, keep the city safe." Hope rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, trying to convey without words that she would stay out of the fight unless the fight came to her.

"Ryan, here." Freya pulled a gun from behind her back. "It's got wooden bullets. Keep her safe."

"You know I will." He took the gun from Freya and tucked it in the back of his pants, his dark eyes fierce.

With a nod, Freya darted away towards her lair.

"Greta. Ugh." Hope rested her forehead against Ryan's upper arm.

"I think with your spell, they should easily be able to take care of her."

"Yeah. I just hate her. Her and her 'purity' bull crap." Hope snarled. "I mean, does she not realize that witches created both vampires and werewolves? You'd think that with the Original vampires being so accepting of werewolves, Mikael aside, but he's dead, that other vampires would follow along."

"Humans are always looking for ways to set themselves up as superior to each other. So it'd make sense that supernatural people would do the same."

They reached the kitchen by this point and Ryan immediately set about making her breakfast.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Waffles."

"Fruit? Syrup?"

"Fruit and whipped cream."

"As my lady wishes." He grinned at her.

When he turned his back to her, Hope sat at the island, settling in to watch him work.

With the morning light streaming through the window, he seemed almost ethereal, like a being from another realm. No one that beautiful could be from this world. And yet, somehow he was. And he was especially beautiful in this moment with him being so focused on the task he'd set for himself.

For all her hatred for the monster who created him, Malivore certainly had a gift for fashioning the perfect male specimen. Though it wasn't just the features that he'd been given that made Ryan beautiful. It was the man behind the face, the one who protected Seylah during the worst time in her life, the father of the child she herself carried.

"You're staring," Ryan commented.

"Why wouldn't I stare?" Hope climbed off the stool and sneaked up behind him to steal a blueberry.

At least she couldn't think about the potential danger the city was in if she was focused on the man she loved. If she couldn't think about the danger, then she wouldn't be tempted to join the fight, even though she couldn't break her word to stay out of danger.

"I love you." Hope wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his back.

"I love you too." He caressed the back of her hand with his fingertips, then returned his focus to measuring out ingredients for the batter.

Unable to resist the urge, Hope pressed her lips to his spine, once, twice, three times.

"Do you want me to finish this? Or should I just stop and take you back up stairs?" His tone turned suggestive.

Hope's stomach growled again and they both started laughing.

"I guess that answers that question."

"Okay, I'll stop." Hope released him reluctantly, pressing one more kiss to his back before returning to her seat.

"Nyssa," Ryan said suddenly.

"What?" Hope asked, confused.

"For the baby. She needs a name." His brows furrowed and he suddenly seemed uncertain. "It's Greek, and means new beginning and I think it fits."

"Nyssa." Hope allowed her lips and tongue to form the name slowly.

"We don't have to, I mean-"

"I like it. And it fits. She's our new beginning." Hope ran her hand slowly over the swell of her belly. "She needs a middle name, but I can't think of anything right now."

"We can look for names online. We've got time before she'll be here."

Ryan poured the mixture into the heated waffle iron, the sizzling batter sending the scent of cooking waffles through the room, and closed it.

"What about starting right after breakfast?"

"Why so eager?"

"My family is currently fighting a group of people who want hybrids dead and I can't help them because of the baby. I need the distraction."

"I think I can help with that." He smiled over his shoulder.

The iron beeped and Ryan opened it. A cloud of steam rose from it and an involuntary moan rose from Hope's throat. Ryan laughed as he placed the waffle on a plate.

"I'm hungry!" She balled up a paper napkin and threw it at him.

After putting a heaping mound of whipped cream and a large handful of berries on the waffle, Ryan set it in front of her.

"Better make at least one more for me."

"Yes, ma'am." He poured more batter into the iron and closed it.

"Will you make some for yourself?"

"I don't expect you to eat all that." He gestured with his head towards the bowl of batter.

It was then that Hope realized that the large mixing bowl was almost full.

"Bottomless pit," she teased.

Ryan shrugged and Hope suddenly felt guilty. He was feeding her first, even though he probably felt like he was starving.

"If you're that hungry, you eat the next one. I probably won't be finished with this one before you can make two more."

"Thank you, Hope." He ducked his head a little, a soft smile playing around his lips.

Hope dug into her waffle with gusto while Ryan prepared a plate for himself. She couldn't fight her smile when Ryan turned on the oven, then pulled out a package of bacon and set a baking pan out.

"You want any?" he asked, one brow raised.

She held up two fingers.

"Two slices?"

She nodded and he peeled off the requested number of strips.

"I hope whoever does the shopping doesn't mind if I eat the whole pack."

Hope snickered around the mouthful of waffle in her mouth and shook her head.

"Good." He filled the baking sheet with the rest of the package and put it into the oven.

"How'd I get so lucky? Having a man who can cook fall in love with me?"

"I'm no chef."

"But what you do make always tastes good."

"I've had enough practice over the years, since I've never really had anyone to cook for me. Even when I lived with Seylah, I did most of the cooking, though she did some towards the end and learned that she had a knack for baking. Though her early attempts were… less than successful."

"But you ate them anyway?"

"It made her happy, and food's food when you're hungry." He shrugged.

"You're sweet."

"It's what she needed from me, to feel like she was repaying me somehow, even if she wasn't always as good as she is now."

He pulled the completed waffle out of the iron and poured syrup all over it, then filled the iron again. Once the iron was steaming away, he sat across the island from her. With a smile at her, he speared the waffle with his fork and sliced it off.

"How long do you think it will take for them to finish Greta?"

"Depends on how many are still loyal to her."

"But the spell-"

"Even the most powerful spell can't always break the hold of those trapped in a cult. Just ask those who remained loyal to Hitler's ideals even after he killed himself."

Hope sighed, wishing she could go out there and help them. Ryan must have followed her train of thought because his brows furrowed again.

"I won't get involved. I promised."

Ryan made two more waffles before pulling the bacon out of the oven. He added two slices to the last waffle for Hope, then put the rest of the bacon on another plate for himself before rejoining her.

Once they'd eaten, they started cleaning up the kitchen. Ryan washed the dishes while Hope dried them and put them away.

"You know we could use the dishwasher," Hope commented.

"Yes, but where's the fun in that?" He bumped her lightly, with a half grin on his face.

A soft clatter caused Ryan to spin around, gun in hand, all teasing forgotten.

"Woah, woah. it's just me." Josh held his hands up.

Ryan uncocked the gun and set it on the counter beside him.

"It's over. Greta's dead. Her son and daughter have been captured and Elena hopes we can rehabilitate them. Elijah's agreed to help her."

"Can they be?"

"The boy seems willing to learn a different way of life and the woman, apparently, Elijah helped her back in the day to get away from her dad and he hopes he can reach her again Alaric says that once she thinks Roman is ready, to send him to the Salvatore School. I'm pretty sure Klaus will take him."

"Why my dad?"

"Because he's got a thing for the headmistress?"

"Caroline Forbes. Mom mentioned her a few times. He's still in love with her?"

"She's playing hard to get, I swear. I've seen them together and she does have feelings for him, so he's not doing this without encouragement on her end."

"But my dad is the big bad wolf."

"Something like that, yeah. But he takes every opportunity to be around her and she doesn't hate it."

"If Elena can be with Uncle Elijah after everything Dad did to her, it'll only be a matter of time before Caroline comes around."

"Here's hoping. You'd have step-sisters if they got together."

"The siphon twins. Elizabeth and Josette."

"Lizzie and Josie, yeah." Josh turned his head when a woman called his name from the street. "I'd better get going. We've to finish cleaning up the mess. Just wanted to let you know that the fight is over, so you can stop worrying."

"Thank you, Josh."

Ryan wrapped his arms around Hope, burying his face in her hair.

"One less threat against Nyssa," he murmured. "Triad pretty much burned itself out, since they don't have Malivore and they don't have you. So, coupled with the spell, they're done."

"All that's left is Malivore himself."

"We'll handle him, together, in a way that doesn't get either of us killed." Hope reached up, carding her fingers through his curls.

"I like the sound of that."