Stephanie makes her grand entrance into the world … heart to hearts abound … and we find out more about baby number 2! But, another threat leans on the horizon – and if the terror sisters have their way, all heck will soon break loose!

Disclaimer: Characters, places, and the like from the Vampire Diaries are the property of LJ Smith. I'm just borrowing them to create this tale. All other characters that have no ties to any other fics belong to me!

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Chapter Ten

~I scared momma! Dada I's being pushed again!~ Stephanie cried out in fear.

Damon pulled his wife up until she was completely rested against his chest, ignoring the shattering pain this brought his still healing wounds. All he worried about was how he could help his Bonnie and their daughter. ~Don't worry baby girl. Soon you will be in momma's arms. You're going to be born today.~

"Goddess … this hurts so bad! Ow, I can't take this now! It's too soon for her to come out!" Bonnie screamed as she felt a contraction tear through her body again.

The worse part being that as fast as the pains were coming there was no way for the family to make their way back to the cabin before the baby would pop out. A rustling in the near by bushes sent fear through all of them.

~Calm down everyone. Bonnie was strong enough to summon the protection we need.~ Sabrina sent out as she and Margaret tromped into the clearing.

Margaret pulled something off of her shoulder with a look of pride for herself. "Good thing I grabbed up some things for the baby!"

The spunky nine year old had tossed a bag together all the while she and Nana were forced to wait. It had helped the girl keep her promise to Bonnie.

In the bag were a towel, washcloths, and some warm water. Then out came a couple of blankets, thread, scissors, and a small pink hat. Sabrina somehow created an oversized pillow out of nothing and laid it next to the expecting parents. Then she took one of the blankets and covered Bonnie's belly and legs with it. Only then did she check how far the young mother to be was into the delivery.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, she rummaged through the bag and pulled out a canteen. "Bonnie … child, listen to me. The baby isn't developed enough to be birthed yet. This potion will accelerate her growth, but it will cause you worse pain for twenty minutes or so. Quick child, or we will lose your girl."

Without question, Bonnie gulped down the awful drink. The second she swallowed the last mouthful, she sent up louder and more ragged screams into the sky. It felt as if she was engulfed by fire, being torn apart, and pulled away by a raging current. More tears pored down her agony frozen face, and she barely gasped between shill cries of pain. And then a contraction hit, shattering every other level of horrid pain Bonnie had ever imagined! One heart ripping scream later, she went unconscious from the throbbing ache – though she continued to moan and gasp.

Sabrina began to pull away the blanket, "child, help me get her onto the pillow. Lay her on her side … that's right. Now rub her back hard – that is all you can do to help her right now. It will still be some time before the baby comes, but we cannot move her back to the cabin until after because of the magic being used that I summoned on the way here and with that potion."

And with that she covered her birthing child, and allowed the pair to recover.

The pillow molded itself to Bonnie's form, and cradled her every curve. While massaging her back, Damon could feel that it also warmed her body, helping to sooth her aching muscles. He felt her relax as much as her condition would allow her to, and soon she was leaning into his touches as if enjoying the feel of his slightly cool hands softly grinding into the muscles of her back.

Stephanie softly whimpered, ~Dada, I feel funny. Why momma stop yelling?~

~Momma was hurting so bad she blacked out sweetheart. It will be all right soon. See, we had to make you grow a little faster so you would be developed enough to be born. Don't worry she'll wake up before you know it.~

~Okay. I love you dada. I was scared and thought you and momma didn't want me anymore.~

Damon winced at that thought. He knew that the battle had taken a toll on his wife's mind, but hadn't taken account of how their daughter had gone through it as well. ~Baby, momma and I love you so much. I can't remember how my life felt complete before I met your momma, and now I can't see how our family would be whole without you in it. Neither of us wants to lose you, Stephanie. Rest and let whatever happens happen … all right?~

~All right, dada. Love dada. Love momma.~

It was actually twenty-five minutes before Bonnie moaned as she forced herself to wake up. She shifted until she was on her back, looking up into her husband's dark eyes. "Hey."

"Hey. I am so proud of you. I love you, Bonnie Salvatore."

Bonnie blushed for a moment, "love you more. I almost gave into those dark thoughts. I almost believed that you were using me. But then, I remembered how you ripped through the house without saying a word to anyone until I was in your arms and safe again. And then all the good surfaced back until I remembered our baby girl, and then I panicked. I don't want to lose her, Damon."

"We won't lose her. And I refuse to ever lose you, my Queen." Damon softly kissed Bonnie's lips, not caring what the others saw or thought.

Suddenly Bonnie's knuckles turn white as a hard contraction slammed into her belly. Sabrina rushed over, and focused her magic to check the child – announcing that the baby's heartbeat was slowing.

~I feel funny momma … dada.~ Stephanie weakly sent out.

"Stephanie!" Bonnie screamed with another contraction.

Shawn rushed off without a word, returning five minutes later with a canister of oxygen. He opened it as Damon settled the mask over Bonnie's face. It took some work, but she was able to calm her pants within a few minutes. After fifteen minutes, Sabrina nodded and said that the baby was stabilizing … but they would have to birth Stephanie quickly.

Bonnie winced and gasped after a few minutes, "I feel a lot of pressure moving towards my hips."

"It means that Stephanie is moving down further. Very soon she'll be in your arms dear child." Sabrina smiles, but Bonnie could see that Nana was worried.

Suddenly the magic pillow began rolling Bonnie over. When Sabrina checked again she gasped in fear, "Bonnie, get on all fours fast! The baby's heart has stopped!"

"No! Goddess … please don't take her from me!" Bonnie screamed as she did as she had been told. Sabrina quickly got Stephanie to move and the child's heart began to beat again – without her turning into the vampire she would one day become.

Once again Bonnie was settled onto the magic pillow, which settled her body into a reclined seated position. Bonnie was relieved when she felt her daughter move down her body again and then heard, ~Momma, that didn't feel good. I want out! Please momma? I want my momma and dada!~

~Don't worry baby girl. You'll be birthed soon, and then momma and dada will be holding you the rest of the night.~ Damon cooed. He had never been as scared as this night had made him.

Bonnie fought to control her breathing as the contractions began coming one on top of another. Sabrina had told her that every scream and held breath in agony cut oxygen off from the baby. The look on her face showed that this was becoming all the harder as time went on.

"Stephanie has finally crowned! I can see her very hairy head coming out." Sabrina called out, bring out Bonnie's first sigh of happy relief that night.

After a few minutes, Bonnie couldn't help but scream as the contractions began hitting harder and she began to loose blood faster. Damon had to hold her up against his chest as the baby's head finally popped out. Someone helped him encourage her to drink deep from a cup that was rubbed against her bottom lip – it was full of blood. Rather than stand around doing nothing, the others had hunted to feed Bonnie and Elena.

Before anyone could react Stephanie's shoulders popped out, one push later and she was screaming about how cold it was! She was healthy, wrapped up warm and protected, and resting in her father's arms. "Oh Bonnie, she is more beautiful than I ever thought would be possible. She has my dark eyes and your smile! Bonnie? … Bonnie? … Bonnie!"

~Dada? Where momma?~ Stephanie whimpered, hearing the agony in her father's voice.

She hadn't said a word because she was unconscious and barely breathing. Her blood level was dangerously low and she was slipping away fast. Although vampires could survive many things and heal quickly, Bonnie had pushed how far she could come back from. Shawn reappeared again with various instruments found in a delivery room.

Shortly he and Sabrina had six bags of blood and two of saline all going through four IVs – two in each arm. Shawn upped the amount of oxygen pouring into her mask. The placenta popped out, but the bleeding that followed was far too heavy for Sabrina's taste. Again she fumbled through her bag to find a vile similar to those in a hospital. She injected a large amount of the dark fluid into one of the IVs.

****

Stephanie whimpered in her father's arms while her big brother carried their mother's barely stable body back to the cabin. The little girl was so scared that her family hated her for killing her mother.

Damon softly brushed his fingers over his child's forehead as he sensed what she was feeling. ~Baby, your momma is fine and we will do whatever we can to keep her that way. Right now she needs us to believe that she is going to pull through; that will give her the courage to fight. ~

~I love momma. I sorry I wished to die dada. I want you and momma happy.~

Damon grinned with sad tears in his eyes. ~What will make us happy is watching you grow up into the beautiful young woman we know that you are going to become. You have your momma's hair and smile, my eyes and hard-headedness. God help the guys you are going to meet up with in the future … because you are going to be a heart breaker just like your momma.~

Bonnie was laid on her and Damon's bed, Stephanie's cradle and her mom's rocking chair sat between the bed and the window, Damon rested in the chair cradling his newborn daughter as she slept. He was wearing his emotionless mask, but the entire family knew that he was ready to break down into tears.

Elena couldn't handle the worry and the strain the attack and birth of her niece had bore onto her now five month pregnant body, it had all begun pushing her into premature labor. The potion that Nana had used on Bonnie was good for only a month's worth of growth, and any more than one dose would be fatal to both mother and child.

"I'm fine Stefan! I just need Bonnie to be okay! I am not going to lie down when my sister-in-law is out cold! Someone has to move for her!" Elena roared as her husband again tried to encourage her to rest.

"Sweetheart, please calm down. Think about our son too. Right now all of this is not making things easier on him." Stefan was at his wits and nerves end. He couldn't see why his love would be so irate.

~Little sister, getting yourself and your son in danger is not going to help Bonnie. Go lay down and do your breathing exercises for a while. I check on you shortly to see if you feel like spoiling your niece. Agreed?~ Damon calmly sent out.

Elena collapsed back into her husband's arms as frustrated tears flooded her eyes. ~Okay. I'm sorry big brother … I'm so sorry, Stefan. I shouldn't have left her!~

"It's alright, my love. Those little brats would have done worse if you and the girls hadn't showed up. I'm proud of you for taking so much of this onto yourself, but right now just worry about taking care of our son and niece. Leave me something to worry about other than protecting my beautiful wife and unborn child." Stefan sighed as he gathered her body into his arms.

Finally, he had his wife rested on their bed – both talking to her swollen belly. Finally they got a magical moment of their own. ~Do anyone hear me now? I hear talking, but no one say they hear me!~

~Son, is that you?~ Stefan gasped.

~Daddy? Hi daddy!~ The little boy happily jumped in his mother's womb.

Elena giggled hard as she rubbed her belly where she saw her son's movements. ~Hi sweetheart! Why did you wait so long to talk to us?~

~Mommy? Mommy! I love you mommy! I have been talking, but no one answered me!~

Damon cleared his throat as he entered the room, carrying his daughter in one arm. "I think that Lareyne and Anastasia might have had a hand in that. Trying to cause us more grief." ~Hello little nephew. How about you and your cousin Stephanie keep your mom and dad busy.~

~Okay uncle! Hi Stephanie!~ The little boy chirped happily.

~Hi Cousin! What your name?~

~I don't know. Mommy … Daddy?~

Stefan and Bonnie grinned at each other as she softly cooed to her belly. "Your name little one is Jeffrey Damon Salvatore."

That startled the elder of the brothers as he sat on the bed next to his sister-in-law. Once his little girl was laid into Elena's gentle arms, Stefan smiled at his older brother, "one good turn for another, dear brother. My middle name and your first."

"Even after all I put the two of you through? I have to say that you do know how to stun me Stefan." Damon grinned for the first time since he saw the state his wife was in.

Stefan swallowed hard before speaking, "just as you continue to stun me, Damon."

No more words were said, as Damon left them alone to bond with the youngest members of their family. Returning to his ill wife.

So, Bonnie is down for the count. Stephanie is born. And Jeffery has his name. How is this so far? Love the responses so far. Shall I continue? Or maybe I'll leave the fic as is. ;-)