There is one chapter left in this story set after another short time jump.
"Is contacting your ex-boyfriend truly necessary?" Kol cradled their daughter in the crook of his arm, gently running a finger down her cheeks.
She stared up, fascinated by the angles of his face.
"Do you have another method for transporting a coffin?" Elena's arm stretched above her head, keeping the phone in the small window of cellular service as she awaited a response.
The return should have been forthcoming since he wasn't at work, but so far she had waited ten minutes. "We would draw some strange looks carrying it."
"Elena?" A muffled voice traveled down the stairs "Are you here?"
"In the basement," she called, pocketing her cell.
"We do not require Matt's assistance, love. I say we leave her where she is." His eyes glittered.
"Leave Freya sealed in a basement?"
"Yes."
"The woman who kept our daughter safe for a thousand years?"
"She lied to me."
"By omission," she nudged his arm. "She kept her safe and brought me back, and you want to leave her here and make her think she failed us?"
"Not forever, my darling," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "We would obviously come and retrieve her after she awakens. Think of it as a small joke: retribution for her lie by omission."
"That's a rather cruel joke," Elena rolled her eyes.
"She'll learn fast: the way of this family."
Elena looked at him a moment. Then she shook her head.
"We're not leaving our babies godmother in a basement."
"Isn't the father usually involved in that decision?" he smirked, conceding defeat.
"You have someone else in mind? I say Freya has more than earned the title."
A clearing throat drew their attention to Matt. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking between them.
"You have a baby now?"
"And a sister," Kol nodded.
"Can you help Kol get the coffin in your truck and drive her to the mansion?" She held out her arms.
"I'm taking her?"
"You've got more strength."
"Mm hmm," he arched an eyebrow. "If you wanted the baby all you have to do is say so."
"I want our baby," she grinned, accepting the infant and a quick kiss.
"Could we go back to the baby for a second?" Matt shifted on his heels, rocking back and then forward to peer closely at the tiny face. Her blue eyes blinked at him when he stood at Elena's elbow and looked down, clouding over with confusion. "Whose child is this?"
She looked at Kol through her lashes, eyebrows raised in silent question. He nodded once, leaving the decision in her hands.
"She's ours," her eyes shifted to Matt. A wicked idea took root in her mind. She gave into the thought, blaming her sense of humour on six centuries of marriage to Kol Mikaelson. "You are currently the only person to know that fact, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention her existence to anyone at the mansion when you drop Freya off."
Matt frowned. "They don't know?"
"Nope," she popped the 'p'. After sealing Esther away she and Kol refrained from revealing every detail to their family because they both feared on some level that they'd never get her back; Katerina had screwed up so much, so who was to say something had gone wrong on Freya's end. Maybe Dahlia caught up, killed Freya and stole their child again.
"Why don't they know?"
"We were going to tell them," Elena watched as Kol moved into the other room. Matt followed closely behind, lifting one end of the coffin. She could tell Kol supported most of the weight by the way his muscles moved under his shirt.
Matt walked backwards, coming to a stop to consider the stairs.
"I guess I got a little scared," she murmured.
"We both did," Kol met her eyes. "Why is it you don't want them to know now, my love?"
"You can't exactly hide her," Matt added, taking the first step. With his foot planted on the stairs he seemed to realize he was only there for steering and balance.
"I don't plan to, but I worship chaos," she smirked. "And it's gonna be a lot more chaotic when we walk through the front door with our baby girl if you don't give them advance warning."
"You're not going back?" He caught her eyes over Kol's shoulder before rounding the first spiral. "And how is she yours?"
"Do we need to have the sex talk, Matt?" She snickered, laughter traveling up the stairs.
"I understand the logistics, Elena," the tips of his ears turned red, "just not these ones. For one thing, somebody would have noticed if you were pregnant, and for another…" she caught a glimpse of him nodding to Kol before he vanished around another corner. "… vampire."
Kol took pity on him, but mirth tinged his voice. "We conceived shortly before our marriage when we were both human; not that our parents were aware of the fact."
"I think your mother knew, and Ayana," Elena mused. "Those two had a way of sensing pregnancy. My father had to have known."
"Elena, love, you're overlooking an obvious fact," Kol levelled off the coffin as they hit the ground floor, "had your father known he would have seen my strung up."
"Don't be ridiculous my father loved you." She cooed, looking down into her arms: "your grandpa liked daddy."
"More than her other grandfather did," he muttered.
"Mikael did stop Esther from turning me, so at least he had some level of attachment to her." Elena murmured. Mikael had never been the overly tender father; if he showed a lick of affection everyone knew he was deep in his cups.
"And no Matt," she walked ahead to open the back door, holding it with her hip as she used her free hand to shield her daughter's face from the sunlight she hadn't felt in a millennia. "We're not going back yet."
His pickup truck had been backed into the alley between buildings. The back opened with a word from Kol as they maneuvered Freya into the truck bed.
"She was born a thousand years ago, and early after a particularly stressful pregnancy," his eyes focused on the coffin, "we are going to take her directly to the hospital where I shall compel the finest doctors to ensure her health."
"One doctor will do, babe," Elena sighed, sensing the place his mind retreated to. "She seems to be fine. And I seem to recall telling you a thousand years ago that what happened was not your fault."
Matt lifted the tailgate, and wisely refrained from asking what he wanted to.
"How exactly am I supposed to explain the long lost sister without the two of you?" He asked instead, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
"Just get Finn, and tell him it's Freya," Elena tugged the scarf off her neck, using it as a makeshift blanket. "He was old enough to remember her."
"You sure about that?"
"Freya clearly remembered being taken, and Finn was only a year younger. He knows she didn't die of plague."
Elena hated the hospital. She despised the pale walls and florescent lights. She loathed the constant woosh of automatic doors. She retched at the smell of antibacterial soaps and disinfectants meant to conceal the sickness around every corner.
Even in one of the private suites of the paediatric ward she couldn't escape. Through the blinds, across from the nurses station, a child no more than four laid in bed. Dozens of wires protruded from the small lump on the bed, shifting with each listless touch to a small teddy bear.
The blinds snapped shut.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, shifting her attention to Kol as he moved away from the window.
"I'm okay," her fingers trembled. Wilhelmina Maxwell, better known to her friends and family as Mina, born with a rare heart condition. She remembered her father mentioning the little girl years ago, a few weeks before the car went off the bridge. He had been optimistic about the then baby's speedy recovery if only he could be put on her case.
In retrospect, Greyson Gilbert was probably the root of her optimism in early life.
Kol took a seat beside her in the second chair, reached out and held her shaking hand.
"Do you know the girl?" He asked softly, eyes flickering toward the door and steady beep he could still hear.
"Mina," she nodded once. "She… she's dying."
Greyson Gilbert was also responsible for the mess of medical information in her head. Her mind kept flashing to the case files, neatly organized in his office: childhood diseases, infant deaths, and complications of preterm delivery.
"My, uh, my dad was supposed to take over her case. He said she'd be better in no time, but then he died" she sniffled. A hysterical laugh bubbled up in her throat, escaping as a squeak. "I guess he… he never told anyone about his treatment plan because Maggie's just gotten steadily worse. Without a transplant she's got a couple months?"
"Transplant?" Kol's brows lowered.
Sadness tinged her fond smile as she remembered how long he had so recently spent 'sleeping'.
"Heart transplant," she nodded once. "They take the heart out of someone recently deceased, keeping them alive long enough to remove the organs, and give it to someone who needs it. There are a lot of things that can be transplanted."
"There are people walking around with the internal organs of other people?" He tilted his head.
"Transplants save a lot of lives," she chewed her bottom lip. Her free hand remained in the incubator, carefully rubbing the knuckles of her baby girl's fist. Several monitors beeped behind her, keeping track of heart rate and a bunch of other stuff she couldn't remember the technical name for.
"I can't imagine playing host to another would be easy."
"People who have transplants have to take anti-rejection medication," she nodded. The process wasn't foolproof, but taking medication everyday was a hell of a lot better than dying at the tender age of four when a child should have been running, jumping and climbing trees.
"Surely a little blood would be simpler," he fidgeted with her bracelet, "especially for children. I can't imagine people always remember to take their 'medication'."
Elena laughed softly, eyes drifting from the incubator to him.
"It would be easier, but unfortunately the vast majority of the world doesn't know about the existence of the supernatural. They put their faith in medical professionals who know nothing about vampires or their blo…"
"Darling?"
"It's a new treatment I'm developing. Highly experimental, but with a 100% success rate."
"Are you alright, love?"
Stefan broke their steamy make out session. As the fog cleared from her eyes she found him staring at the closet wall behind; vaguely she heard their conversation before he removed panels and opened the secret door behind on a room full of weapons.
"Oh my God," she breathed.
"Elena?" Kol straightened up. He kept one ear on the mesh of sounds outside their room, but the rest of his focus rested on her.
"He knew…" her heart began to race. "My dad was on the council. He knew about vampires, and he had a 'highly experimental' treatment plan…"
Her mouth feel open.
"He was gonna give that little girl vampire blood."
Before Kol could respond they were rejoined by the doctor.
Dr. Eliza Reyes took a small step back under the intense stares of the young parents, sensing any bad news would be met tears and hostility.
"Your daughter's test results are back in…" she began, pausing when they shared a look loaded with fear. "She has RDS."
"RDS?" Elena frowned, searching her memory for the term. "I'm sorry; I don't know what that is."
Beside her Kol went deathly pale, retreating to that place he had gone in the year after she gave birth. She needed answers fast to keep him from spiralling.
"Neonatal respiratory disease syndrome," she explained, stepping towards the incubator.
Elena watched the shallow breaths lift and lower her daughter's chest.
"Her case is relatively mild, a few days on oxygen and she should be fine, but there are some risks."
"What kind of risks?" Kol rose.
"The treatments for RDS can lead to BPD." Dr. Reyes explained gently. "Most infants recover on their own from BPD, but it can lead to lung problems later in life. From what you told me, I was expecting a lot worse."
"How do you mean?" Elena shoved her hair behind her ear.
"Preterm babies of the time you told me have many more health problems. Are you sure you weren't farther along in your pregnancy, Mrs. Mikaelson?"
Elena blinked back tears. Dozens of images flashed through her head. She had always thought they conceived the day Henrik caught them in the stables, but the harder she thought about it she wasn't so sure. It would the height of kismet if they made their baby during that afternoon on top of the falls when they talked about children as summer drew to a close.
It's not like they'd been inactive.
The falls would lower her preterm status from months to weeks.
"I… it's possible."
"Is there any treatment that doesn't threaten risks for later in life?" Kol slipped his hand into the incubator, gently holding the small fist.
"A doctor here had an experimental treatment a few years ago that did wonders with children, but unfortunately we don't have access to his notes anymore."
"Who is this doctor? I should like his treatment instead."
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Mr. Mikaelson," she shook her head slowly, "Greyson Gilbert took his secrets to the grave."
His head snapped up so suddenly it threatened to give her whiplash, but she watched as the couple exchanged a look, conversing entirely with their eyes. She gave an imperceptible nod and he turned his hypnotic gaze on her.
His pupils dilated, holding her in place.
"I believe you're about to insist of a second round of testing. You're uncertain of your results. False positives happen all the time."
"All the time," she murmured, nodding her agreement in a daze. "I'm gonna order a second round of tests."
"Best run along and get that done, doctor," Kol grinned.
They watched her leave.
Elena unlatched the sides of the incubator and reached in, pulling the baby out. She cradled her to her chest as she stirred and grunted, bleary eyes popping open.
Kol stood with his back to the door, concealing his wife and child from view. He pierced his thumb with a canine and took advantage of her big yawn to let three drops fall into her open mouth.
She grimaced, scrunching up her nose, but her shallow breathing evened out.
He glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of people walking across the hall.
"I'll be back in a moment, my love," he kissed her cheek, vanishing in an instant.
He stopped in a darkened room and watched the little girl in the hospital bed a moment before moving towards the small sink. She opened her eyes as he filled a plastic cup with water.
"Who are you?"
Her rasp tugged at his heart strings as he bit his thumb again and let more blood fall, blending with the water.
"I'm your new doctor, sweetheart," he smiled, reaching down to touch her arm; he felt the bones under her skin.
"You're too young to be a doctor," she whispered.
"I'm a lot older than I look, Mina," he winked, moving his hand to the back of her head. He caught her green eyes and compelled her. "Drink now, and when I leave you'll forget I was ever here."
He raised an eyebrow when he returned, examining Elena's small smile.
"What?"
"You are such a softie." She shook her head slowly, biting her bottom lip.
"How dare you, madam?" He gasped, holding a hand over his heart. "I am a psychotic maniac."
Except when it comes to dying children, Elena thought.
She crossed the empty space and stretched up on her toes, laying a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"I love you."
Gravel crunched under tires. The sound indicated to all of them that the vehicle was heavier than Kol's car.
A look out the window confirmed it, revealing a beat up old truck.
"Have you finally gotten the quarterback to ask you on a date?" Klaus watched Matt hop out of the truck. "Shall I inquire as to his intentions and discuss a dowry?"
"Shut it, Nik!" Rebekah hurled the throw pillow she had been using as an armrest.
"You're right," he smirked, catching the cushion. "He's probably not interested. Clearly he's dropping something off for Elena."
"Mr. Donovan is delivering a coffin?" Elijah peered out the window. His timing meant he was the first to see Matt lower the tailgate and the first to realize what was inside.
He flashed outside, taking a small amount of pleasure in making the human jump.
"Jeez," Matt's hands hit the truck bed, "give a guy some warning."
"My apologies," he lifted his chin. "I'm afraid my curiosity was peaked."
He heard Klaus and Rebekah as they came through the mansion door, bickering like children the whole way.
"Why are you driving a coffin around town?" He lifted a brow, eyes drawn to the glass lid: opaque in the daylight. "Who is this woman?"
"Uh…" Matt rubbed the back of his neck. "Is um… is Finn here by any chance?"
"You are here for Finn?" Klaus frowned.
"Not really," Matt shrugged. "It's just that Elena said he's the only one who would believe me."
"What, exactly, am I meant to believe?"
Finn appeared beside Rebekah, drawn from the depths of the mansion by the sound of his name. The redheaded vampire Matt had seen around town the last few days was with him.
"That, uh," he lowered his hand, waving towards the coffin. "That this is your sister."
"Excuse me?"
Amusement flickered in Klaus' eyes. "Rebekah is right here, mate."
"I know that," he snapped, "this is Freya."
Clean bill of health kept repeating in Elena's head as she meticulously filled out form after form.
She had a clean bill of health.
Her eyes strayed to the baby, snuggled against her breast as she worked.
"You are perfectly healthy, baby girl," she cooed, unable to hide her grin.
Kol too had been grinning ear to ear when he left her in the hospital room armed with a list. Divide and conquer was the mantra of the afternoon, and he was a lot more willing to leave their healthy daughter in Elena's hands to gather everything they would need to get them through the twenty-four hours before Rebekah went baby crazy and helped them purchase the bigger items.
"When daddy gets back with the carseat we're gonna take you home. You've got so many uncles, and another auntie who is gonna adore you." She stared down at the final boxes on the form, carefully printing out the first and last name.
"Your daddy picked out your name a thousand years ago," she set down her pen, leaning back to rock in the chair a moment. "Back when you were still growing because he swore that any daughter of ours would be as blessed by the gods. He said you'd be as divinely beautiful as me."
She smiled, shoulders gently shaking. "He's a sweet talker, your dad is. A thousand years ago you were born Astrid Kolsdöttir, but this is the twenty-first century. We don't name babies like that anymore, so now you're Astrid Mikaelson."
Astrid cooed.
"You like that, huh?" Elena turned her attention back to the paper and the glaringly empty box.
"I've got a brother now, I didn't before; he's gonna flip but he'll love you so much and he'll definitely sneak you extra cookies at Christmas. Your uncle Elijah can be a bit uptight sometimes, but you'll make him really smile. And uncle Nik likes to act gruff, like he doesn't care enough, but when we were waiting for you to arrive he made you the most beautiful cradle." She felt a fond smile on her lips as she thought on the cradle Kol built and his brother carved, decorating it with images of the gods.
"Uncle Finn's had it hard lately, but he's getting better. He found Sage again, or rather she found him. I bet you'll grow up calling her auntie too." She reached for the pen, struck with inspiration. "Without him your dad and I might not have been together as long as we were, and I might have never met Freya again. He was so reluctant to turn me; he didn't trust the process back then."
She filled in the middle name carefully, forming each individual letter before she put down the pen.
"Daddy got to pick your first name, so I say that gives me rights to your middle name." She stood up as a figure darkened the door, smiling at her husband as he entered.
Her smile turned bemused when Caroline and Bonnie followed him inside.
"What are you two doing here?"
"We caught Kol fighting to install one of those baby seat bases in his car," Caroline tilted her head.
"So…" Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Obviously we helped, and then tagged along because apparently you've got a baby now."
"We always had her," Elena stood up, nodding as she did. "We just didn't know if we'd get her back."
"Got it," Caroline nodded, accepting the explanation and understanding why they were kept in the dark. "Are you going to introduce us? I can't be an honorary auntie without knowing her name."
"Honorary aunts?" Kol chuckled. "Freya as godmother… I'll just say it now: Rebekah will not be pleased with sharing her title."
"She'll get over it," Elena laughed. "Besides, Bex likes them."
"We all get along great now that we're not trying to kill each other," Bonnie grinned. "So…?"
"This is Astrid," Elena shifted the blanket from around her face so they could see, and giggled when her friends moved in close.
"Astrid Kolfinnia Mikaelson."
Okay, so Kolfinnia is an actual name of Scandinavian origin meaning white, but as Elena points out later to her husband it's less about the meaning and more about the composition that honours both her husband and former sire.
