Hello, my lovely readers. This chapter is heavily Freyfan with some Defan and Freya friendship-ish-ness. On with the show…
Chapter 12: Sleepless in Seattle: Part I
"I never thought I'd see my baby brother wearing the face of the scariest hybrid jackass on earth, but I've got to say: There's major upsides." Damon Salvatore stretched his legs in his seat across from Stefan Salvatore who just gave him a blank look.
Stefan's thoughts had been on how much longer it would take for them to arrive in Seattle and how well this trip would actually go. They had little to go on. There being a coven of Gemini did not equal their being able to help in way. And it also did not logically follow that the Gemini Coven would even be willing to help Stefan, even if they could.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Freya inquired, moving toward them, a flute of champagne in her hand. She looked more relaxed since they'd left the Mikaelson homestead, but Stefan could almost sense the anxiety underneath the carefree demeanor.
Taking a seat next to Stefan, Freya offered him a disarming smile. Damon frowned, his eyes shifting from Stefan to Freya. "What's this?"
"Hmm?" Stefan inclined his head toward his brother, Klaus' eyebrows scrunching together. Half of Stefan's attention remained on the up-coming task, the other half following this new conversation.
Damon wagged a finger between Stefan and Freya. "This? You. And her. I smell trouble. And I don't like it." Falling back in his seat, Damon picked up his blood spiked bourbon and titled his head to the side, still examining Stefan and Freya with disapproval.
"Damon, you're crazy," Stefan snapped. Getting to his feet, he stretched Klaus' arms over his head. "I need to take a walk. Stretch Klaus' legs."
Shaking his head, Damon made it quite clear he was not done with Stefan yet. "Don't go too far, brother."
"Wouldn't think of it," Stefan retorted. To be honest, being locked up with Damon, and Freya, on a plane had left Stefan wishing for a parachute. Hell. Maybe he'd just jump anyway. After all, what were the odds he'd fall on a white oak tree branch? Just the thought of Stefan accidently ending Klaus' body made Stefan smirk.
Stefan pulled out his phone. No calls from Caroline. Hopefully that meant she was okay and did not mean that she'd run off and Klaus did not feel the need to call Stefan to let him know. Caroline was his best friend. If something happened to her… It would be like losing Lexi all over again, an experience that Stefan did not feel like repeating in the next century, or a thousand; if he could help it.
"They're fine," Freya said.
Glancing over Klaus' shoulder, Stefan realized he'd been so deep in thought that not only did he miss the sound of her footfalls, he'd missed the now familiar scent of her perfume. "Who?" He meant to be vague. Klaus would be vague. Stefan needed to be more Klaus-like as long as he encountered people he did not know.
"Your friends," Freya said, looking out the window that Stefan stood in front of. "Elijah's been texting me."
"Oh?" Stefan tried to sound nonchalant and felt his failure when Freya let out a low chuckle.
"Your brother seems to think I'm interested in you. Romantically," Freya muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear and glancing away.
"Yeah. I do!" Damon called, from the other side of the plane, waving his empty glass of bourbon at them.
Stefan turned to face Freya. "My brother needs to learn to mind his own business."
"Then don't make it so obvious!" Damon retorted.
"Is he always like this?" Freya asked. She almost looked amused.
"YES!" Stefan and Damon replied. Damon chuckled and Stefan shook his head, slipping his borrowed hands into the pockets of Klaus' jeans, forgetting what an un-Klaus-ian mannerism it was. Removing Klaus' hands from his pockets, Stefan folded Klaus' arms over his chest and tried to look menacing.
This earned a laugh from Freya. "You've got a flirty laugh," Damon called.
"Shut up, Damon!" Stefan and Freya called to Damon who waved his hands at them over the back of the seat.
It was going to be a long ride.
~0~
"Mr. Mikaelson!" a tall, skinny man by the name of François Butler, greeted Stefan, Damon and Freya at the front desk of the Four Seasons Hotel, seemed to be expecting them. "Your usual room has been made up to your particular specifications, sir. And two rooms, one across the hall from your room, for your lovely sister, and one next door for your…traveling companion." For a second the man looked like he expected Klaus to rip his head off.
"Thank you," Stefan replied. Not uttering another word, he simply stared at the man who tried not to tremble before François relaxed a fraction.
"Will there be bags that you need taken up?" François inquired.
Damon nodded. "Yup." He'd had the poor cab driver bring their bags in. "Thanks. Here's your tip." Damon held up a fifty between his forefinger and thumb. The cab driver muttered a "Thanks" before leaving them, with their luggage.
François snapped his fingers and a bellboy came to his side. "Please, take Mr. Mikaelson, Ms. Mikaelson and their friend's bags to their rooms and if they need anything, alert me, immediately."
Some part of Stefan felt he would not enjoy working for or with Mr. Butler. The droop to the bellboy's shoulder furthered Stefan's low opinion of the man. However, he might be useful and Stefan needed to get through this without exposing himself as an imposter.
Knowing Klaus, he would not think anything of François' treatment of his employees, given Klaus' opinions on using compulsion on his so-called friends and threatening his family, to keep them in line. For now Stefan would have to keep his own opinions to himself.
"Something wrong?" Freya inquired when they were in the elevator, on their way up to their rooms.
"No…sister," Stefan replied with a smirk. "Just enjoying the ambience of this place, per usual."
"Right," Freya's sarcasm made Stefan stifle an eye roll.
Damon seemed to be unaffected, whistling as the numbers went by. Once they were dislodged onto their floor, the bellboy waited while Stefan, Freya and Damon got off first.
They followed the boy—barely out of his teens—down the hall and the boy slipped a key card into the door. It made a little "Beep," the green light indicating the door unlocked and the boy stood aside for "Klaus" to enter.
Stepping inside, Stefan looked around the room. It was a lot nicer than the dive motels he'd spent many a night in when he'd been on the road. "Look at this place!" Damon exclaimed, entering the room and letting out a low whistle. "Okay. Now, I want to see mine."
The bellboy's eyes snapped to Stefan. "Very well," Stefan forced himself to sound bored and indulgent, waving at the boy to open Damon's rental.
Damon let out another whistle. "Fully stocked mini bar?" he asked the kid.
"Yes, sir. And anything you can't find in your room, call down to the front desk, Mr. Butler will see to your every need as Mr. Mikaelson's guest." The boy kept his eyes on the floor. For a fleeting second Stefan wondered if the boy knew about vampires and if he knew that Stefan and Damon were vampires. The kid looked like he wanted to leave.
"Thank you. That will be all," Stefan said, holding out his hands.
The bellboy extended a set of cards to each of them. "Would you like me to put your bags away?" he inquired, his eyes finally meeting Stefan's. He looked like he'd been compelled. Great. What kind of place was this?
"That would be –" Damon began when Stefan held up a hand.
"We can take of our own luggage. Thank you," Stefan said, with a quick, dark look in Damon's general direction.
"Yes, sir," the boy said before he turned and left the room.
Damon scoffed at Stefan. "Man, Stef, you've got to take advantage of every little thing you've got going on for you here, man."
"I don't like this place," Freya stated.
Stefan nodded. "Neither do I."
"Sucks to be you two then. I'm going to my room to raid the fridge. Call me when ya need me." Damon strode across the hallway and allowed his room door to slam shut behind him.
Left alone, Stefan glanced at Freya. "Well…"
"Should we look up the Gemini Coven today? Or do you think a night's rest will help clear our minds first?" Freya seemed to have her own opinions about how to proceed but was attempting to make a show of politeness. Stefan wondered how often Klaus and his older sister butted heads, both having dominate personalities and grating on each other's nerves.
"I think you look like you could use a night of rest," Stefan said.
Freya's eyebrows rose. "Many women would take that comment the wrong way, Stefan Salvatore."
"You're not like many women I've known, Freya Mikaelson," Stefan retorted.
For a moment, the air stilled and Stefan began to feel a twinge of something. Not the right time, and definitely not the right body to be having those feelings in.
Eyes darting to the floor, Freya seemed to be undergoing an internal battle as well. "Right. Well, you're probably right. I don't know how well I'll sleep though. I'm not used to being around my family, now, after a millennia of separation. It feels…"
"…strange," Stefan offered, hands sliding into Klaus' pockets now that there was no one to notice the peculiarity. "I couldn't imagine being separated from Damon for that length of time. And we've been separated, for decades, before. But that was by our own choice."
"Oh? You fight often with your brother? You two seem rather close." Freya's brows knit together and lips pursed, reminding Stefan of Rebekah for a heartbeat.
"Yes. We don't always get along. Sometimes there are…problems." Stefan shrugged. "But I'd kill for him."
Freya's eyes lit up and she smiled. "As would I. If anyone were to harm my siblings, or my niece."
Rocking on the balls of Klaus' feet, Stefan glanced out the window, at the rain that had begun to pour outside. "Looks like we picked a great time to come."
"Looks like," Freya said, cupping her elbows. "I'm going to bed. If you think of something, I'm a light sleeper."
"Okay." Stefan nodded and watched Freya leave the room.
Deciding he should try to get some shut eye, too, Stefan walked over to the bed and laid down. It was the best bed he'd laid on in his entire life. Expect for the times he'd spent hanging with Klaus and Rebekah. Still, sleep would not come. No matter how many ugly thoughts and fears Stefan attempted to disregard.
Shifted to Klaus' side, Stefan glanced at the clock beside the bed. Three o'clock in the morning. Falling back down, Stefan pondered the paint on the ceiling before he got to Klaus' feet and moved to the window. Rain continued to come down, beating against the glass, making it impossible for someone human to see through the layers of water.
Turning around, Stefan moved to the door to the room. He intended to go to Damon's room. They would find something to do. Play cards. Go downstairs and wander the hotel. Watch crappy TV movies.
Stefan opened the door to find Freya, poised to knock. She looked startled. "Oh, hello," she said.
"Couldn't sleep?" Stefan asked her.
"No. You?" Freya pulled the robe she wore a little more tightly around her.
Nodding, Stefan stood aside. "Did you want to come inside? Or did you want to go somewhere?"
"I think they shut down the bar hours ago," Freya said.
"Good thing I've got a fully stocked mini fridge in here," Stefan said. "Probably because Damon hasn't been in here yet."
Chuckling, Freya entered the room and walked over to the fridge. "Ah, I see they know my brother well." She began to remove snacks that you'd have to travel the world to find. "I don't think I've ever seen these nuts in any place but my own home."
"Why?" Stefan asked.
"It's illegal to bring them here," Freya noted, opening the package and taking one out before offering them to Stefan.
"Illegal? Why?" Stefan took a nut, the thing halfway to his mouth when Freya answered.
"They're a slow acting poison. If you digest too many in a twenty-four hour period." Freya said, popping another nut into her mouth while Stefan gave the nut in his hand a curious look and placed it on the nightstand. "As a witch, I concocted an antidote many years ago to most toxins."
"I think I'll forgo the pleasure for now," Stefan said, taking a seat on the bed. "Up for bad TV movies?"
Shrugging, Freya rounded the bed and took a seat. "Romantic tales involving mistletoe?" she quipped, another nut headed toward her mouth.
"Um. Let's try to stick to something without kissing in it." Hoping that he wasn't being too obvious, Stefan grabbed the TV remote and flipped the TV on.
Of course the first TV movie that came on included a couple kissing in front of a Christmas tree. Flipping the station, Stefan found what looked like a wholesome film until Santa and Mrs. Klaus started taking off their clothes. Trying for a third channel, Stefan found a rerun of Dawson's Creek. After Damon decided to force Stefan to watch an episode and began to refer to Stefan as Dawson Senior, the show lost its meager appeal.
Glancing at Freya, Stefan watched Freya watch the show with some attention. And it looked like he found a winner. How wonderful. "You like this?"
"I have strange taste in TV, or so I've been told," Freya rolled her eyes and smiled. She looked very young when she smiled liked that, the years falling away. Stefan wondered who had hurt her so badly that she had built up a stone wall between herself and the rest of the world. "I also like cartoons. The one with the coyote."
"Looney Tunes?" Stefan watched Freya's smile widen.
"You've heard of it?" Freya folded her legs beneath her and turned her attention to him.
"Have you ever seen The Mutant Ninja Turtles?" Stefan asked her. She shook her head. "I think you'd like it. It's about this group of Turtles who gain superpowers because of the waste in the sewer system they're exposed to. They become a crime fighting team and have a strong female who works with them."
"Oh, so all these Fighting Turtles are males?" Freya gave Stefan a mock offended expression.
Stefan nodded. "We weren't always as progressive a society."
Laughing, Freya leaned back against the head board. "You'd make a terrific father, Stefan."
"You think so?" Stefan felt himself smiling. "The whole being a vampire kind of ruined my chances of that ever becoming a reality."
Smile dimming, Freya nodded. "I understand your loss."
"You do?" Stefan felt like they were delving into more serious waters here.
Freya nodded. "I was once with child. My lover, Mathias and I were very happy to be welcoming a baby boy. However, my aunt, Dahlia, the woman who took me from my family, long ago, became jealous and she wanted my child, for his powers. She killed Mathias." Tears welled in Freya's eyes.
"You don't have to go on," Stefan said, reaching out and wiping a tear off her cheek.
Freya looked up. "I can. I need to tell you… I attempted to end our lives. Taking as deadly a poison as I could, I found that I could not die, but my child could. And I intend to never feel that kind of loss again in this life."
"Freya." Stefan could not find the words to show how sorry he felt for her pain. Holding out his arms, he embraced her and she slid against him, burying her face in Klaus' chest, sobbing. "Hey, you didn't mean to harm your child. You couldn't have known what was being done to you. I would have done the same thing, to protect my child."
It took another ten minutes before Freya calmed herself enough to be able to sit up. "This is why Hope's welfare is very important to me. I would do anything to protect her."
"I know," Stefan said, wiping another tear off her cheek.
Inhaling, Freya sighed. "Do you think we'll be able to find concrete information from the Geminis, to help protect Caroline and these new babies?"
"I don't know," Stefan said, shaking his head. "I wish I had a crystal ball and could predict the future."
"You and me both." Freya let out a light laugh. "Short of that, I suppose we must hope that things will be alright. For your friend's sake and for the sake of more children that would come to harm."
Thinking about it, Stefan closed his eyes and sat back, resting his head against the board behind him. "If we could make the world a better, safer place, for all the future generations of children who come into it, I think we'd have paved our way to Peace, don't you?"
"Becoming philosophical?" Freya inquired, leaning her head against her brother's chest again.
"Maybe," Stefan said, rubbing her back. He thought this must paint an odd mental picture for anyone who might come into the room at that moment.
Without meaning to, Stefan let Freya into his mind. "Hi," he said, standing back in his own living room, hands in his pockets.
"Hello?" Freya looked confused for a second. "Oh. We're in your mind, aren't we?"
"It appears that way." Stefan nodded. "Like what you see?" He glanced at the house. Eyes moving back to Freya, he noted her smiling at him.
"Yes. Actually, I do." Freya crossed the space between them, cupped his face and kissed him on the lips.
Stefan allowed the kiss to last another ten seconds before he broke away, holding her by the elbows. "Freya, you're not kissing your brother, are you?"
"Stefan, what kind of monster do you think I am?" Freya inquired but she was laughing.
"Just checking. I don't want Klaus to kill me." Stefan pulled Freya back and pressed another kiss to her lips.
Pulling back, Freya sighed. "That took a bit longer than I expected it to."
"You thought you were going to kiss me?" Stefan inquired. "I thought you thought I was the enemy."
Freya shook her head. "I still am not a hundred percent sure what I think of you. That does not mean I won't enjoy doing this. Just a little bit longer." Freya's hands curved over Stefan's cheeks and she began to kiss him slowly. "And I will enjoy it more when we can do this when you are in your body."
"Me, too," Stefan muttered. It looked like their trip to Seattle would be full of startling revelations.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answers to guest review:
tiger: You're welcome, and, no, there aren't many out there. :/
Peace,
J