Now two years into my college education, I found myself allowing more and more visions to come to me as my powers continually grew. I could handle them much better now without become overcome, controlling when and where I saw things, and sometimes using them to help others. Unfortunately, I couldn't use them to cheat on tests since it didn't work like that, but I at least got the satisfaction of doing good deeds for others. I even got back in touch with Matt, who had gone down the law enforcement route and made a career for himself in Mystic Falls where I visited him from time to time.
There was a complete ban on vampires which I admired, hearing all about how he had taken charge and was now even seeing someone he worked with, Penny. I could tell just how deeply in love they were and I was happy for Mattie, who planned to ask Penny to marry him. He told me that he expected me to be there for the wedding if she said yes, and I vowed I would be there with the biggest bottle of bourbon he had ever seen in his life. I called to warn him, however, when I received a vision of Penny dying from being shot, so I told him what I had seen and told him that I had seen it happen in the cemetery, so if he had a patrol there to be careful in case she got attacked. The vision was not clear until the night it actually happened, where Penny was shot by Matt himself after he saw a vampire, who turned out to be Stefan.
She nearly died from the injury, however me being worried about the warnings of my visions, I had been keeping an eye on the cemetery and before she could bleed out, I used my magic spiritually to heal her. It was a close call and Matt was overcome with guilt whilst Penny assured him it was just an accident, Stefan having lingered long enough to make sure that Penny was alright before disappearing himself. Matt knew that it was because of me looking out for him that Penny was okay, and called me immediately in order to thank me. "It's fine Mattie, you know I've always had a soft spot for you. Maybe now you owe me that big bottle of bourbon. I'll hold you to it next time I see you." He laughed, and Penny promised that I could have all the drinks I wanted on the house for saving her neck, quite literally too.
I left them to it, glad that Mattie still had his fiancée at the end of the night, and looked instead to my own life and fiancé who had recently asked me to marry him. Owen and I were still going strong after two years together, and although we weren't in a rush to actually have the wedding itself, we wanted to wait until at least after my graduation. My parents were thrilled to have a son-in-law and absolutely loved Owen, so I considered myself lucky to be able to find my own happiness just like Mattie. He and Owen had also met and got along famously, a cop and a fireman, they were pretty much best buddies which I liked. I'd felt bad for not really being in contact with Matt for a couple of years, be he understood that I had needed to get out of Mystic Falls and everything that went on there, and was just glad that me and my parents were okay.
So I faced my final year of school, graduated, then began planning our wedding and future together. I decided to go to vet school after all, which would take another four years since I was now a postgraduate, and with a biology degree on the side, I was well on my way to setting myself up with a good career. With no financial issues too, I was completely happy with Owen, who remained as sappy and romantic as the day I had met him. He was good to me, and when I had discovered that I was pregnant, he had cried these big manly tears which had me laughing like there was no tomorrow. I thought that nothing could top just how content and fulfilled I was with my life, and as I carried our child it was only then how much I realised I wanted this. My own family.
I stayed closer to my parents whilst attending vet school, juggling everything in my life as an expectant mother with a fiancé but also checking in on Hayley. She and I stayed in contact, and I was glad that she never once asked me to intervene and cure everybody of their ailments. I was still angry about the whole Davina thing, and refused to help them until Davina was alive and walking once again. Still, I came and visited her and Hope in their home, where Hope would always brighten and cheer whenever I walked in through the door, calling me 'Auntie Lia' in her sweet, lisping voice whilst running towards me. We were close, and as she grew older I taught her about her magic, helping her to control it and use it productively instead of allowing it to build up and cause an imbalance which could potentially expose Hope to some severe dangers and problems later on in life.
She would sit on my knee as we grew flowers in the garden, or move pebbles and stones in a game we made up, and sometimes even teach her how to heal things that were sick or injured. Hope was bright and had a clear natural talent and power for magic, which meant that I had to visit several times a month just to check in on her and make sure that she wasn't overflowing with magic which sometimes made her sick and feverish. I'd always leave Hayley with herbal medicines and remedies to help, but coaching Hope to manage her own magic was the best way to ensure that she wouldn't be overcome by it.
Hope became intrigued by the growing swell of my stomach as my own baby grew, and she'd often insist on sitting on my lap and telling stories to the baby from her own books the bigger she grew. At five years old, I could already see a striking resemblance between her and Hayley. She was truly beautiful, and I loved it when she insisted that the baby I was carrying was going to be her little brother. "Well munchkin, how do you know it's a boy? It could be a girl you know." I teased her whilst braiding her hair on the front porch as Hayley smiled to herself.
"No, it's a boy. It's definitely a boy. I want a little brother, not a little sister."
"Is that so? Well, then I shall do my very best but I can't exactly control these kind of things. Baby will be whatever baby wants to be." Hope sighed deeply and rolled her eyes but begrudgingly said that she guessed she would love her little sibling whether it was a boy or a girl, making Hayley and I laugh before I finished her hair then sent her off to play in the sunshine. I was getting close to my due date now, which meant I'd have to start slowing down soon and Owen was getting anxious, always worrying about me pushing myself too hard.
"So what do you think you're having?" Hayley asked me, bringing me some raspberry lemonade to drink as we both sat and watched Hope play.
"Well my gut tells me a boy which will make Hope happy, but I can't help but tease her. It's adorable the way she scrunches her nose when she's all irritated." I mused whilst rubbing my stomach. Moments like these I couldn't believe just how much my life had changed, and there was no way I would have believed that this was where I'd be back when I was just in high school. Awakening my druid heritage had changed everything but, now that I was here, I wouldn't trade it in for the world. I loved my life, I loved my husband, the child we were having together, and I loved that it was peaceful.
I returned home to Owen after my visit to Hope and Hayley just before my water's broke a little early, whereby he completely freaked out and went into a total panic over what was happening whilst I just remained perfectly at ease until the labour kicked in. At first I was terrified since the first time I had gone through labour it had been a highly traumatic experience where I had also died. The memories came flooding back, and soon enough I was wild with fear which made it difficult to actually go through delivery. But then my mom was there and she was holding my hand, telling me everything was going to be alright and that I had nothing to worry about. She and dad had driven over to our place after Owen told them that my waters had broken, and mom just took charge of the entire situation whilst my dad calmed Owen down.
Soon enough we were all packed into the car and driving to the hospital, where several hours later my son was born at two thirty-six in the morning. If I thought Hope was perfect, then my son was an angel. He was born with a little golden blond fuzz that looked like a halo when the light rested on him, quiet as a lamb as he rested in my arms. I cried. I cried so much that soon I couldn't even see, and then Owen was crying and we were just a blubbering mess. We named him Lucan, after Owen's grandfather who'd raised him. Lucan Williams. When I called to tell Hope that she'd got the little brother that she wanted, she'd squealed with happiness and begged Hayley to bring her to come and see us, and so a couple of days later, Hope appeared on my doorstep whereby she became utterly transfixed with Lucan.
Hayley hugged me and congratulated me on safely having the baby, whereby Owen then shook her hand and proudly introduced himself as my fiancé and Lucan's father. He was great with kids and soon enough was completely adored by Hope as Hayley and I settled to take a little break, letting Owen watch the kids for a while so we could talk. Our visits then became frequent, going back and forth whenever we had the time, and whenever I had to be in school my parents took care of Lucan so that I could focus on my studies and not worry even though I missed him like crazy. It worked. Everything worked. We pulled together to raise Lucan, take care of him as well as manage our jobs and studies. For the next few months, I basked in the glorious feeling of total happiness whilst knowing that soon, I would have to return to Mystic Falls and work to counteract the ending that was swiftly approaching all those who lived within and save them from the fate of a fiery hell being unleashed upon them.