Hello, my lovely readers. More mysteries unfold in this chap. On with the show….
Chapter 11: I'm Not a Mother
Staring in horror at her bump, Caroline Forbes couldn't, she just could not handle this…this…whatever it was. Others fussed over her while she tried to not have a complete mental breakdown about what had been done to her. She'd only seen this kind of thing on TV, and in movies, really bad, gimmick-driven stories. So, now, she got to be the mommy, to a possible, whatever was growing inside her.
Freya Mikaelson strode into the room. Her arms were filled with heavy-looking books, with varying bits of dust on them. Stefan, in Klaus' body— which was still giving Caroline goose bumps—carried in another load of books.
"How are you feeling, Caroline?" Freya asked. Her tone came out sharply, and Caroline smothered the instinct to flinch. The Mikaelson sister's eyes lifted to stare into Caroline's. Caroline thought she saw a number of emotions warring inside Freya, but as each of them flickered in and out of the woman's eyes, she seemed to close a shutter, locking them away from sight.
"I'm pregnant." Caroline could kick herself for lameness of her reply. Her hands cupped her new bump. She felt tears of fear and confusion filling her eyes.
If Caroline were still human—she might be celebrating—although she would have had a million plans. None of them would have included having a baby before she graduated from college. So, she'd have some regrets, about not having waited a little bit longer. But at least she would know who the daddy was.
"Everything will be alright, love," Klaus said. He came in bearing a tray of snacks.
Suddenly, Caroline realized that she was starving. Getting up, she reached for a jar of peanut butter and a banana. "Thank you," she muttered to Klaus before sitting back down, and twisted the lid off the jar, placing it between her legs so she could peel the banana. Once the banana was free, she took her fingers, to dig out the peanut butter and to spread it over the banana before taking a big bite.
"Ew," Damon said, entering the room to look at Caroline.
"Get out," Klaus snapped, pointing a finger at the doorway.
"Hey, I only came in here to check on Caroline," Damon snapped.
"And you think she wants you here: Why?" Klaus demanded.
"Guys, not helping!" Caroline yelled at them. She felt something moving around inside her and rubbed her bump. Then another something began to move about. Listening closely, she looked to Klaus. "Can you hear them?"
Klaus turned to look down at her. Stefan's green eyes flicked down to her and Klaus sat down beside her. He placed Stefan's hand on her middle. "There are two heartbeats," he said. His eyes lifted to meet hers, and she grinned, taking another bite of the banana.
Freya let out an annoyed sound. "Nothing," she hissed and slammed a book closed.
"What do you mean nothing?" Klaus demanded. He stood up and moved to stand in front of his sister. "There must be something on how this…" He stopped himself, glancing over Stefan's shoulder, and Caroline stared at him, feeling more vulnerable than she'd felt since she was human. "Caroline needs answers."
"I know, brother," Freya groaned. She ran her hands through her hair. "Give me time. I will find an answer." She offered everyone in the room a tight smile. "I've only been around for a thousand years, and have never seen something like this before. It shouldn't be hard to find out more." Her smile dropped and she gathered her books, leaving, with Stefan right behind her.
"Go," Klaus snapped at Damon.
Damon looked at Caroline. "If it's evil, we'll get rid of it, Blondie."
Caroline opened her mouth, to protest, but Damon had already left her alone with Klaus.
Curling her legs underneath her, Caroline continued to eat, and think about how she would feel if her friends decided that these babies were evil. They did not feel evil to her. Yes, she'd only be carrying them around for less than two hours, but she was beginning to feel…attached to them, like she needed to protect them.
"Klaus," Caroline said.
"Yes, love," Klaus took a seat on the bed, his borrowed hand on her knee. He watched as she licked the last of the peanut butter off her fingers. Caroline was wasting time, trying to figure out the best question to ask him, or find the best way to phrase it. "Do you think the babies are evil?" she asked him.
Klaus frowned deeply. She really, really wished he was in his own body. She wanted to be looking into his eyes, not Stefan's, while they had this discussion. And she did not want to get into why she felt that way. Probably the new hormones were making her stupid.
"If they are, we will deal with it, when the times comes," Klaus said, her tone soothing as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Deal with it?" Caroline wrapped her arms around her middle. "Like kill them? You sound just like Damon!" she snarled. She could feel an uncontrollable anger rushing through her. "You want to kill my babies!"
"Caroline, darling, calm yourself." Klaus began when Caroline moved to stand up. "Your body is changing. Apparently, at a drastic rate. You are not in control."
"And who is? The babies?" Caroline scowled at Klaus. "Are the evil babies in control of me, Klaus?" She let out a bitter laugh. "You should know if they're evil. They're probably some kind of revenge that the witches performed on me, to get to you. And now my babies are going to suffer because their father is a homicidal maniac that I was once stupid enough to sleep with!" She was shouting now. Her entire body shook with rage.
"Caroline!" Klaus paused. "It is almost impossible for those babies to be mine. We were together…some time ago. The timing. It does not make sense."
"What about any of our lives makes sense?" Caroline demanded. "Being vampires? Does that makes sense? Or there being werewolves? Or witches? Or ghosts? Or…or you? You don't make sense. Hope does not make sense! Nothing makes sense anymore!"
Turning away from Klaus, Caroline could not stop herself feeling the urge to throw him across the room. This had to be his fault.
"Caroline," Klaus' placed Stefan's hand on her arm. Caroline whirled around, backhanding him and sent him crashing into a wall.
"Leave me alone!" Caroline hissed. Hurrying out of the room. Caroline went speeding past Damon's guest room. She went right past Bonnie, who came up the stairs, with a steaming cup of tea, and who looked startled as Caroline went whizzing past her.
Caroline just needed to leave. She needed to be somewhere, where no one would judge her or the babies. Or ask her stupid questions about them. Or make her feel the need to kill them all, to protect the tiny lives growing inside her.
Making her way toward the gate, Stefan, in Klaus' body called from up above. "Don't allow her to leave the premises!" Klaus stood right beside Stefan. Obviously, those were Klaus' words. Great. Now, it would be like having two Klaus around.
A group of vampires stopped in front of Caroline, who let out a hiss, and began to punch them. "Get off of me!" she snarled at a vampire, who slipped his arms around her shoulders. She threw him over her head and into his friends. They fell over like bowling balls.
Grinning, Caroline would have made it through the gate, if were not for Hayley standing in her way. "Stop, Caroline!" Hayley said, holding up her hands.
"Why the hell would I do anything you told me to do?" Caroline replied with a sneer. "Are you going to snap my neck again?"
Hayley shook her head. "You're scared. I was, too. When I got pregnant with Hope. I had no idea what was inside me. I wanted answers. And if you stay, we'll help you. And if anyone tries to hurt your babies, they'll have to go through me to do it." Hayley's eyes darted up toward the balcony, where the others were standing. Placing her hands on her hips, Hayley stared up at them. "Did all of you hear me, or do I need to shout? No one touches Caroline, or her kids!" she shouted at them.
Bonnie's brows furrowed and she looked at Damon who had the decency to look a tiny bit guilty. "Hey! I don't know what they are," Damon cried, shrugging. "Could be the next big threat to everyone."
"Or they could just be babies!" Hayley shouted back. She moved to wrap an arm around Caroline's shoulders.
Elijah strode into the courtyard. The Original vampire stood between those who stood on the balconies and Caroline. He lifted a finger, and pointed it at those above. "You will also have to come through me."
"Brother," Klaus began, when Elijah shook his head.
"Until we know more, there will be no more talk of harming Ms. Forbes' offspring," Elijah shouted, his head turning to take in the vampires downstairs. "Now, please, go!" He waved a dismissive hand at the vampires in the courtyard.
With the vampires downstairs gone, Hayley and Elijah escorted Caroline back inside the house. "How are you feeling?" Hayley asked Caroline.
Caroline thought about it. "Still hungry."
"Ice cream? Pickles?" Hayley inquired with a grin.
"Sounds good," Caroline replied.
"I will get Hope," Elijah said, and he disappeared.
"Welcome to Momma's of Miracle Babies Club," Hayley said, moving around the kitchen. She gathered together bowls, spoons, ice cream and a jar of pickles.
"Thanks." Caroline never thought she and Hayley Marshall would ever have a civilized conversation. Then again, she never expected to be in New Orleans. No. That was not true. She planned on taking Klaus up on his offer, one day. Probably when Hope was college age.
"You're welcome," Hayley opened a container of vanilla bean and scooped out generous amounts into the bowls.
Elijah arrived with a cooing Hope. The baby seemed to know her mother was present, because she held out her arms the moment they entered the kitchen. "Hi, baby girl," Hayley cried, taking her daughter who laughed and clapped her little hands.
Shoving a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, Caroline watched Hope and wondered what her babies would be like. Would they look like Klaus? Or would they look like Caroline? Taking a pickle, she bit into it and moaned.
"Good?" Hayley smiled at Caroline who nodded gratefully. "I'm going to guess that Klaus did not react well to this whole pregnancy reveal?" She bounced Hope on her hip before looking to Caroline for an answer.
Caroline shook her head. "I didn't expect anything from him. It's not like I thought he would be the father-of-the-year." Her eyes flicked to Hope. "But I was hoping that he wouldn't be such a jerk about it, you know, since he's already a daddy."
Elijah's brows drew together. "Ms. Forbes." He stopped himself before turning to face Caroline. "Niklaus has not been in Mystic Falls, for over a year, correct?"
"Nope," Caroline licked the back of her spoon clean.
"And you have been involved with…someone else…since you were with my brother. Excuse me for being indelicate." Elijah studied Caroline, and she did not like where he was going with this.
"You know, it's bad enough when humans start this 'Who's the daddy thing?' but I expected more from you, Elijah," Hayley snapped, and Caroline nodded, jamming more ice cream into her mouth. "Come on, Caroline!" Hayley grabbed the ice cream and a spoon before leading Caroline out of the room.
They walked back out to the courtyard. Caroline settled on a nice outdoor couch while Hayley took a seat on a chair, Hope balanced on her lap. "Sorry that Elijah and Klaus are being such jerks," Hayley said, stroking Hope's back.
Caroline sighed. "Elijah's right. It doesn't make sense for me to be… What? Five, six months? A year later?" She chewed her bottom lip, before rolling her eyes up to the sky. "I just wish there was a way for us to figure this out, without having to consult, like, every book ever written."
"I hate to admit it, but Freya's pretty good at what she does; she'll probably find an answer for you soon." Hayley said. "In the meantime, you should try to relax. You're going to be a mom. Stress is not good for you, or the baby."
"Babies," Caroline corrected.
"More than one?" Hayley looked intrigued. "Double the trouble."
"Yeah." Caroline nodded, stroking her middle, and then something occurred to her. Something that did not make any sense whatsoever.
"What?" Hayley said, her eyes on Caroline.
"I think I just figured out whose babies these are," Caroline whispered. She shot to her feet and hurried for the staircase. Hayley's footfalls were right behind her. "Freya! Bonnie!" Caroline shouted.
"What?" Bonnie cried, popping out of a bedroom.
Freya came down the stairs from the attic. "Yes?"
"I think I know whose babies these are," Caroline said. She felt excited and scared at the same time. And what she was thinking did not make any sense at all. And, in a weird way, it made all the sense in the world.
"Whose?" Bonnie stared at Caroline, like Caroline might have lost her mind.
"They're Jo's. Jo's and Alaric's." Caroline watched Bonnie frown. Holding up a hand, Caroline continued. "I know it sounds crazy. It is crazy. But hear me out. See, I was talking to Hayley, about having twins. Then I remembered that twins don't run in my family. Or Klaus.'
Klaus came out with Stefan and Klaus shook Stefan's head. "Not that I am aware of."
"Or mine," Stefan added.
Klaus eyed Stefan, but said nothing. "Right," he said drily. "Continue, love."
"Okay. So, then I remembered that Jo was pregnant. With twins. She was six months pregnant with the babies, when Kai…" Caroline stopped, remembering the horror of the wedding. She forced herself to come back to the present. "Well, what if the Gemini Coven knew a way to protect the babies. And that way was me."
"Why would they want to place two little, witchy babies, inside a dead oven?" Damon demanded, leaning against one of the walls in the hallway.
"A vampire's body works almost as well as a human's when you feed," Stefan mused. "She just needs to stay healthy until the due date."
Caroline nodded. "And I'm harder to kill than an ordinary human being."
Klaus shook his head. "I think that you are stretching things a bit, love."
Freya shook her head. "I can make some calls. See if anyone knows the Gemini Coven, and they can tell us more."
"They're dead," Damon retorted.
"What?" Freya looked from Damon to Caroline who nodded.
"Crazy Kai killed the whole lot of them at the wedding," Damon said. "And we really need to make sure that Blondie is not crazy, too. The last thing poor Ric needs is false hope."
For once, Caroline agreed with Damon. They needed irrefutable proof of the babies identity, before someone let slip, and Alaric had to deal with more heartbreak.
"How are we going to get proof?" Klaus demanded. "If the whole coven is dead?"
"We might know a place where there could be some information," Stefan said.
"Where?" Klaus demanded.
"Seattle," Stefan replied. "That's where the Gemini are from."
"And how, pray tell, do you intend on getting to Seattle?" Klaus glowered at Stefan.
"On an airplane, dummy," Damon retorted.
"Damon," Bonnie cried, smacking Damon's arm.
"What's he going to do; talk me to death?" Damon demanded. "He's in Stef's body. I can take him on my worst day."
Klaus moved toward Damon, when Caroline moved between the two. "Klaus, stop. Damon, pack a bag. You're going on a research trip. Freya, can help."
"Are you kidding me?" Damon eyed Freya. "You want me to go on a trip with Witchy-Klaus? I don't think so. No way!"
"Stefan. Go with them," Caroline added.
"No!" Klaus snarled. "Stefan is not leaving the compound. Not as long as he is wearing my face."
"Damon doesn't trust Freya. Freya probably does not trust him either. With Stefan as mediator, they're much more likely to come home, all limbs intact." Caroline reasoned with Klaus, watching him struggle before he gave up. "Bonnie will stay here, with us, and help try to find a way to switch the two of you back to your own bodies."
Bonnie nodded. "Freya showed me where some of the books I'll need to look through are."
"We will be back soon. So I can offer you further aid," Freya said, nodding at Bonnie, who seemed to be the only person, other than her family, and Stefan, Freya could tolerate.
Caroline turned to Klaus. "You have me. Elijah. And Hayley, to protect you, from your many enemies."
Klaus smirked back at her. "Right, love."
"I'm not protecting him," Hayley said, while those who were going to Seattle left the hallway, to get ready for their trip.
"Hayley," Elijah began when Hayley shook her head.
"I will help protect those babies, because they have not done anything to anyone; Klaus is on his own." Striding down the hall, she closed a door. Elijah shook his head and followed her.
"Alone at last," Klaus said with a wicked grin.
Caroline shook her head. "You're in the wrong body. I'm pregnant, with other peoples' babies. Do not try to charm, Klaus." She held up a hand before moving past him and into her own room.
Klaus followed her inside. "Would you settle for a foot rub?"
Rolling her eyes, Caroline kicked off her shoes and flipped her feet onto the bed. Now that he brought it up, her feet were beginning to ache. She contemplated her middle. "I guess being a surrogate is a great thing, but I just wish someone had, you know, asked me, before they put babies in me."
"You're doing a wonderful thing, Caroline," Klaus replied, his fingers wrapping around the soles of her left foot. She sank into the pillows behind her, letting out a loud moan. "That feel good?" he asked her.
"Oh, yes!" Caroline moaned.
"You two better not being having sex in there," Klaus' real voice rang through the room. Klaus chuckled, grinning at her with Stefan's mouth and Caroline thought about how wrong this was.
"No! We're not having sex!" Caroline called. "Klaus is giving me a foot rub."
Stefan popped Klaus' head inside the room. "Good. Try not to while I'm gone." He gave Klaus a look, who offered Stefan an innocent one in return. Both Caroline and Stefan rolled their eyes, or in Caroline's case, she rolled her eyes, and Stefan rolled his borrowed ones.
"What do you want, mate?" Klaus called, returning his attention to Caroline, who tried not to moan.
"Just wanted to say good-bye." Stefan said.
"Good-bye," Klaus waved a hand.
"Be back soon," Caroline said, waving a hand and then falling back, on top of the pillows, she began to moan. She heard the door shut. "You need to get back into your own body, soon."
"Am I to take that as I have something to look forward to when I do?" Klaus retorted.
Caroline did not have to open her eyes to know what kind of look the hybrid was sporting. "After the babies are born. And I recover, we're going on another date."
"I look forward to it," Klaus' reply was drowned out by Caroline's moaning.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Guest: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this one, too.
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Peace,
J