After just barely managing to pull the Saltmans out of the prison world, along with Jade and Wendy, Hope allowed the Ascendant to shatter, along with the hourglass.

"The hourglass is gone?" Josie asked in a small voice.

"It's gone."

"Along with Kai," Alaric added.

Hope stood up, then stumbled. Ryan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I'm going to take her to the Mikaelson house to recover. I don't think being in a school full of people will do her any good until she's back to herself." Ryan scooped Hope into his arms and she buried her face against his neck.

"I'll come by in the morning with some fresh clothes," Lizzie said.

"Thanks, Lizzie," Hope mumbled.

"Get some rest, you just managed to rip apart space and time and everyone we wanted to survive did so, and you managed to detonate a very dangerous bomb without it recoiling on anyone." Alaric had tears in his eyes as he hugged his daughters.

Hope drifted off and knew nothing more for hours.

When she woke up, she found her head pillowed on Ryan's bare chest.

"How long was I out?"

"About eighteen hours."

"K. I'm gonna take a shower."

"We'll talk as soon as you get out. A lot went down while you were asleep." Ryan kissed the top of Hope's head.

Hope went through her morning rituals as quickly as she could, curious to know what happened while she was asleep.

After throwing her dirty clothes into the hamper, Hope returned to the bedroom and sat down beside him.

"So, tell me, what happened?"

"The Necromancer was behind most of the recent events since we were released from the pit. He wanted the dark magic you destroyed and with it gone, he went insane. The twins managed to throw him into the portal he'd created and then used your blood to close it back up."

"What happens now?"

"Malivore will be back, until we find a way to destroy him that doesn't involve you dying, but for now, it seems like it'll be pretty quiet."

"So, we did it. We stopped things."

"For now, yes." His brows furrowed and he swallowed thickly.

"What is it?"

"We found out what the strange part of the prophecy was."

"What was it?"

"You're pregnant and the baby is mine."

"I'm pregnant?" Hope stared at him, trying to process what she'd just heard.

"The school nurse confirmed it. You're carrying my baby."

"I'm too young to be a mom," Hope whispered. "I'm younger than my mom was when she had me."

"Hope-" Ryan cut himself off and looked away.

"You want the baby, don't you?"

"Yes. I do."

Hope studied his face, taking in his vulnerable dark eyes, his face revealing how much he wanted the child even as he kept the words off his lips.

"Um, I um. It'll take me some getting used to, but um, I think I can get used to the idea of being a mom, as long as you're there."

"I'll be there, every step of the way, I promise." He smiled widely and hugged Hope as tightly as he dared.

Hope bit her lower lip for a moment, then threw Ryan onto his back, using magic to tie his hands to the headboard. Ryan grinned up at her, then exhaled heavily when she summoned his knife set.

Pulling out a slim blade, Hope leaned over and outlined his lips with the tip. Then, she trailed the blade down the expanse of his torso, leaving thin red lines on his perfect pale skin. When she reached his navel, she leaned over and followed the lines she'd left behind with her tongue.

This had him throwing his head back, his lips parting.

Smirking, Hope brought the knife back up to his chest, tracing the lines of his collarbones. Every one of his muscle went tense beneath her as she continued to tease him, creating paths of lovely read across his body.

The man lying beneath her had fathered a child that was now growing inside her and, to her surprise, the thought excited her.

"Hope," Ryan whispered, straining against the bindings. "Please."

Hope snapped her fingers and they were both naked.

"Please, don't wait."

Raising herself up on her knees, Hope dropped down, taking him fully inside her, drawing moans from both of them

"I love you," Ryan gasped.

"I love you too." Hope braced herself on his chest and rocked against him.

The rhythm they set was both desperate, yet somehow gentle, and they both climbed faster than she thought possible.

"Harder, Hope. Please."

She loved it when he begged. Nothing turned her on quite like making him so desperate for her that he resorted to pleading with her. Fire coiled in her lower belly and Hope didn't even bother trying to fight it when her climax overtook her.

Moments later, Ryan cried out with his own release and they lay together gasping for breath.

As they recovered, Hope traced her fingertips around his nipples, her mind running a hundred miles a second.

"I think I want this baby. I wasn't sure if I'd ever want a child, but now, that there's going to be one, I want it."

"If you didn't want to carry the baby, I would have asked if you would be willing to transfer it to someone else, because I wouldn't have forced you to go through pregnancy if you didn't want to."

"It's mine. No one carries my baby except me." Hope's hand went to her belly, a fierce protectiveness washing over her.

"I was hoping you'd say that, the woman I love carrying a baby I never thought I'd have."

"Do you think we can do this? Be parents?" Hope tilted her head up so she could look him in the eye.

"I think that we can face whatever comes our way, as long as we face it together."

"Always and forever." Hope kissed him lightly on the lips.