Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight or Vampire Diaries. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and L.J. Smith. I do own the original characters made up for this storyline. Thank you.
Writer's Notes: Thank you pozemom, Siobhan Whitlock, and armywife1979 for your reviews! Vegas weddings was a twist! I'm happy that they're all getting back to being happy. They've all been through so much, and I hope that you all have enjoyed watching these characters grow. I know I had tons of fun writing this story. This is the final chapter, but the epilogue is following soon. I'll announce there what the next fic is, and I hope to see everyone there! Cheers!
[Mystic Falls General]
Bella waited outside the OR. Waiting for some news on her husband. Her tears were dry now, as she cried everything that was in her. "Why is it taking so long? It's been seven hours." She said, her voice hoarse.
Mary handed her some decaf coffee. "Here's something warm. It's decaf. Safe for the baby," she murmured.
Bella took the coffee and held it in her hands. She hadn't realized how ice cold her fingers were. She welcomed the warmth, and then she sipped it a little. "Thank you."
Mary smiled. "Of course."
Damon returned. He washed up, and Stefan brought him new clothes to change in to. He went to Mary and hugged her, kissed her softly. "Hey, I'm sorry for not explaining everything. I was just- "
"It's okay. I understand." Mary said with a nod and kissed him. She took his hand and put it to her belly, and he rubbed gently. She was pregnant too, she told Damon yesterday, and he had been so attuned with her. He leaned in and kissed her softly before moving to Bella.
"Bella, why don't you sit down?" Damon said gently.
Bella looked at him and nodded and she eased down in a chair. He sat next to her. "What happened?" Her voice creaked.
Damon sighed. "I'm not sure exactly. He was shot from a long distance. It was planned. Edward is in custody and is in jail. He's signing a confession right now. He's going to jail for a long time this time. You don't have to worry about that."
"I'm worried about Klaus. It's been seven hours, and the doctor still hasn't come and I just…he has to be okay."
"He's going to be fine. Bella, listen to me. Klaus is strong. He's going to pull through this." Damon said, his voice calming. He leaned her head against his shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. "You need to stay calm for the baby. You must be calm Bella. Please."
Bella took a deep breath. Damon was right, she had to calm her nerves. She was carrying a life inside her and she couldn't let anything happen to it now. It was part of Klaus.
The doors opened, and Bella got to her feet almost instantly, Damon right with here. "Mrs. Mikaelson?" The doctor asked. He was a younger doctor, Bella didn't know his face, so he had to be new there in Mystic Falls.
"That's me," Bella said, her eyes searching the doctor's.
"I'm Dr. Jackson. I repaired your husband's chest. He's in recovery right now. He was really lucky. The bullet didn't pierce his heart, but it nicked one of his lungs. I repaired the lung, and he should be okay. He's going to need a lot of rest." Bella was hugging the doctor, crying.
"Thank you." She sobbed.
Dr. Jackson smiled and hugged her back. "It's okay. You can go back and see him in a little bit." He said and left her there with Mary and Damon.
Bella turned and looked at Damon. "He's okay." She breathed.
Damon nodded. "He's okay." He smiled.
[December 24th: Mikaelson Manor]
Bella looked at the Christmas tree, the stacks of presents around the tree, mostly for the kids. She was twelve weeks pregnant, and so far, morning sickness was the only thing she was experiencing, but she was thankful for just that. Poor Mary was just tired, and morning sickness so bad, she couldn't hold anything down. The pregnancy was a surprise for her and Damon because she had the IUD, but apparently, it had become dislodged somehow, and didn't work the way it was supposed to. She was fourteen weeks pregnant, so she was a head of Bella by a couple weeks.
Klaus walked into the front room, where Bella was sitting by the fire, watching the flames dance. "How are you feeling love?" Klaus said, as he walked over to her and sat next to her.
"I'm okay," She smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was clingier than normal because of what happened two and half months ago. She was afraid to let him go, or he would disappear from beside her. He was completely healed now, but he did have some struggles with breathing from time to time.
Klaus leaned in and kissed her on her lips, softly, but full of passion. His hand rested on her swollen belly. It was just a small pouch, but it was there, their child. He was excited to become a father and knew that Bella would make the best mother. "When is everyone coming over?"
"They should be here soon. Mary and Damon don't want to stay too late because the kids need to be back and in bed for when Santa comes." Bella said with a smile.
Klaus nodded, smiling at her. "Soon we'll get to do all of that fun."
"We will." She said and put a hand over his. So far, they had two ultrasounds done, and their baby was just growing perfect. They did a blood draw to see the gender, and the results had come back girl, but they were waiting for the ultrasound to confirm to be sure before they made an announcement.
Elena and Stefan were the first to arrive with Emelia. She was growing so fast it seemed. She was three months old and already teething. "Everything looks amazing Bells." Elena commented when she saw her sister. She hugged her. "Jeremy is bringing presents in," she said, before Bella could ask were Jeremy was.
Alaric and Jenna were next to arrive, Alaric was carrying a box of presents. Jenna hugged Bella and kissed her cheek. "Look at you, glowing beautifully."
"Thanks aunt Jenna." Bella smiled, and then Damon and Mary arrived with the kids, with Jasper and Rebekah right behind them, Jasper carrying Lola because her legs were tired.
Mary hugged Bella, kissing her cheek. "Merry Christmas." She said and they all settled in the front room.
The doorbell rang, and Jeremy got up to go get the door, he answered it, smiling big to see Alice standing there. He grabbed her hand and drug her inside, his fingers laced with hers. "Hey everyone, Alice is here." Jeremy said, smiling.
Bella smiled at Alice. "Hey Alice, welcome!" She knew that Jeremy and Alice had started dating. Alice told her and then Jeremy had told her. She was happy for them, and wanted nothing but the best for Jeremy, and Alice was that.
Elijah and Kol were the odd ones out, with not having a special somebody on Christmas, but they didn't seem to mind. Finn and Sage were still engaged to be married, and it seemed like they would take forever to get married. Freya was there with her husband Marcel Gerard, and Henrich was back from London from the private school he was attending. It was a large family. One that Bella loved being a part of.
Presents were passed around, most of them were for the kids, but that was the consensus among everyone, the kids were spoiled with presents on Christmas. Annabeth and Lola were old enough to open their own presents, but Emelia and Matthew couldn't so Stefan opened Emelia's for her, and Damon helped Matthew.
Annabeth was excited about the roller skates that Klaus got her. "You did listen when I was talking!"
Klaus laughed. "Of course. You said you wanted roller skates, and I always listen to you." He smiled.
Annabeth went and hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Klaus."
He kissed the top of her head, ruffling her hair. "You're very welcome Princess Annabeth."
When presents were all opened, dinner was served. Everyone sat around the table, eating and talking, and laughing. The holidays were always a great time to rejoice and spend time with family. Bella looked around at all her friends and family. Everyone fit with each other perfectly. She was truly happy that they were all in her life. It was officially a year since Mary came into her life with her three adorable children. It seemed like fate last year that she met them, and now she was married to Damon, one of her best friends, who was Klaus' best friend.
Damon and Klaus were close like brothers, and Bella loved that about the pair. They were inseparable, which made Bella happy. Stefan and Elena were talking plans of a wedding. They wouldn't be as daring as to run off to Vegas and elope, but they planned a small ceremony for friends and family to attend sometime next year in the summer.
"Aunt Bella," Annabeth yawned, as she hugged Bella. "Thank you for all my presents. I hope you like yours."
Bella smiled, hugging Annabeth back. "Your drawing is beautiful Annabeth. I love it. I'm going to frame it and put it in the gallery."
Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yes, of course. You'll be the first child artist to be in the grand opening of the children's corner of the Mikaelson Gallery." Bella announced proudly.
Annabeth hugged her again. "Thank you thank you!" She was alive with excitement now.
Bella bent and kissed her head. "Now, you go home and get tucked in tight so Santa can visit." She said and then she hugged Mary, and Damon. Lola was passed out already, and Damon carried her, her head snuggled on his shoulder. Mary carried Matthew out to the car. The snow had started to fall lightly, and luckily the Salvatore Estate wasn't too far away.
Bella sighed as the last bit of their guest left for the night. She couldn't believe that an entire year was already almost over. She yawned, feeling a bit sleepy herself.
"Tired?" Klaus asked with a smile.
"Mmm. Yeah. I think I should go and lay down. It's been a long day." She said and he kissed her softly.
"Let's go lay down, love." He said softly, and he walked with her up the stairs to their room, where they could get some sleep, putting Christmas behind them.
[March 6th: Mikaelson Gallery]
Bella was 22 weeks pregnant now, and they were most definitely having a girl. Damon and Mary were also having a girl, so it was a year for girls it seemed. Bella fixed some of the displays in the gallery, making sure everything looked perfect for the show in three weeks.
"Bella?"
Bella turned to her name being called. It was Jake she smiled wide. "Jake!"
Jake smiled brightly. "You're pregnant. The magazines were right."
She laughed. "Yes. I am. How are you!" She said and hugged him.
"I'm just dropping in and checking on you. I graduate in two months. I know you've been busy lately. Being a Mikaelson and all," He said with a grin.
"Well, it was spontaneous. We got married in Vegas."
Jake nodded. "I saw the tabloids. It's cool. When I read you were pregnant, I had to see for myself. Are you excited?"
She nodded. "Yeah, pretty excited to bring her into the world." She rubbed a hand over her belly. "She's so active and kicks a lot. I'm pretty sure she's going to be a dancer or something the way she dances on my bladder," she said with a laugh.
"Well, congrats. You're going to be a great mom," Jake said, smiling, and then looked up at Klaus when he walked out of the office.
"Oh, hi Jacob," Klaus greeted, and walked up, fist bumping Jake. "How was football?"
"We lost all our away games," Jake frowned.
Klaus shrugged. "Can't win them all. Did you get to start?"
"Yeah, a few times. We got a new coach after Tanner stepped down. Jones isn't as great as Tanner is." Jake commented.
Bella smiled. "Well, this is the last year for football for you. Does it make you sad?"
"Actually, I got a scholarship to Whitmore University. I'll be playing football there after graduation." Jake announced.
"Oh! That's great Jake," Bella beamed.
Jake's phone rang. "Oh, sorry. My girlfriend is calling me. Hey, dinner sometime Bells. Call me okay?" He said and left to answer the phone.
Bella smiled. "It was great seeing him. I hate that I've gone so long without talking to him every day. We were best friends in high school. Now my best friend is Mary."
Klaus kissed her cheek. "Well, people grow up, and grow apart. You should go to dinner with him one night. It would be good for you two." He said and smiled. "Annabeth drew some more pictures for the children's corner. She's good. She does pencil art good for her age. I'm really impressed." He said, holding up the drawing.
Bella took it and looked at it. "She is talented. I think getting her some art lessons would help her. If she wants them that is."
Klaus nodded. "I agree." He said and they got the drawing framed and placed on the wall in the children's corner. There was some other art from some fourth through seventh graders in the corner from Mystic Falls, and some drawings from kids in McKinney. It was growing in popularity, and they got several submissions every week, that they had to pick and choose from.
[June 23rd: Mikaelson Manor]
Bella was so ready for their daughter to get here. She was 38 weeks pregnant and was miserable. She was hot, and her back was always hurting, but she knew that all this was worth it in the end. Mary had yet to go into labor, which was frustrating for her. They joked about being in labor at the same time. Bella tried everything to jumpstart labor. She knew that it was safe to deliver at 38 weeks and did not want to go into labor late like her sister. She walked until her feet hurt, and she even ate spicy food, one of the things she didn't care for.
She did some squats and ate a bunch of pineapple. Her and Klaus even had sex, several times, and nothing. She was giving up. Apparently, their daughter would make her debut when she was good and ready. She decided to do some work around the nursery, just putting up some of the baby clothes that Alice had sent her from France. She bent over to pick up one of the dresses she dropped, and a gush of water ran down her leg.
"Oh." She gasped, leaning back up, one hand going to her back and the other to her belly. "Klaus!" She yelled, afraid to move too much.
He came into the nursery, looking around. "What's wrong love?"
"My water just broke."
"Your water broke?" He said and looked at the water puddling at her feet. "Oh. Okay, come on love," he said calmly, going to her and helping her towards the stairs. Then he picked her up, carrying her down the stairs at a calm, and even pace, to the car. They had put their hospital bags in the trunk of the car last week, just in case.
The contractions were minor, and Bella only thought they were mildly irritating, but nothing too bad yet. She knew that it would get worse, but she was remaining calm. She was excited to finally meet their daughter.
Klaus used his steering wheel to call Damon. When Damon answered, Klaus spoke quickly. "Bella's water broke. We're headed to the hospital. Can you call Elena, and Jeremy please?"
"Oh, that's great. Yeah, I'll call them. We'll see you at the hospital man. Good luck," Damon said and hung up.
Klaus reached a hand over and lay it on her belly. He felt how tight it was and heard her groan a little in a bit of pain. "Hang in there love. We're almost there. Don't forget to breathe."
They pulled up at the hospital, and Klaus helped her out of the car, and through the entrance. "My wife is in labor," he said to the nurse. "Doctor Esme Cullen. She's our doctor." He said, and a nurse got a wheelchair for Bella.
The nurse had him sign a few papers and they wheeled Bella back to the labor and delivery suite. It wasn't long before Esme walked in smiling. "Hi Bella. How are you feeling dear?"
"I'm okay. Just a few contractions, my water broke." Bella explained.
Esme rubbed her hands together, sanitizing her hands before pulling gloves on. "I see. Let's see what's going on," she said and had Bella position herself at the edge of the bed. Esme checked to see what was happening. "Hmm, well you're still early in your labor. Your water broke, so it shouldn't take long. Are you feeling any pain?"
"The contractions aren't terrible. Just uncomfortable."
Esme nodded. "You're about a three, so we've got some time to go. Get comfortable, and no food past this point. You can have some ice chips if you get thirsty. I'll go ahead and get the wireless monitor put on, and we'll just keep checking in. Sound good?"
Bella nodded, smiling. "Sounds good. Thank you, Esme."
Twenty minutes later Elena, and Jeremy were there, along with Damon and Mary.
Bella smiled at Mary. "Hey, she's going to be here today."
Mary smiled back, and then winced at some twinges in her side, she took a breath. "That's great. I can't wait to see her, oooh." She said and rubbed her hand over her side.
"Mary, maybe you should sit. Are you sure you're not in labor?"
"I don't know. The contractions aren't close together."
Damon spoke up. "Mary, you're having contractions?"
Mary looked at her husband. "Not really? It's not the same feeling. Just not- "She broke off as pain hit her back and went around to the front. "Mmm." She said, closing her eyes. "I'm just going to sit down." She said and eased down into a chair.
Damon's hand went to her belly. "Babe let Esme check you out. You're overdue."
Mary nodded. "Maybe, let her focus on Bella."
Esme returned a few minutes later smiling. "Oh, hello everyone. Hi Mary, oh are you okay?" She frowned, looking at Mary.
"She's having contractions," Bella said before Mary could respond.
Esme nodded. "Okay, I'll have you set up in the room next to Bella's. Damon if you'll help her up please."
Damon nodded, and helped Mary to her feet and when he did, her water broke, gushing out. Mary was in shock. "Bella, we made this happen." She said to her, smiling.
Bella smiled back. "We joked about this for weeks." She said with a small laugh.
Esme smiled. "Well, today is a wonderful day for babies."
They got Mary settled in her own room, and now the waiting game began to see who would make it into the world first.
After fourteen hours of labor, Bella was exhausted. She was trying to do all of it natural, and so far she was holding up. The pain hadn't become too unbearable and she was thankful for that.
"You're doing great love," Klaus said, smiling, wiping sweat off of Bella's forehead.
"Listen to your husband, you're doing amazing," Esme said and then nodded. "Okay Bella, last push, you can do this." She said and Bella pushed with all her might, and all her energy.
Soon cries split the air, beautiful cries, shuddering through the 'awws' and 'yays'. "Beautiful little girl," Esme said, smiling, handing Klaus the scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Klaus did it with ease, and then the nurse set the screaming bundle on Bella's chest. Bella cradled her in her arms, comforting her scared daughter. Her cries abated and then she was calm.
"Beautiful," Klaus said, tears rolling down his face. He was a father, and Bella a mother. It was beautiful, watching Bella hold their daughter for the first time. The instant bond that they shared.
"She's perfect," Bella whispered. Her hair was light brown and so curly. The nurse was by her side.
"Do you mind if we weigh her now, get her cleaned up?" The nurse asked permission, which was nice.
Bella nodded and let the nurse take her daughter and then they were weighing her. She belted out more cries, having been taken away from warmth and comfort.
"Eight pounds, seven ounces. Twenty inches long. Congrats you two." The nurse said with a smile. They cleaned her up quickly, swaddling her up and handing her to Klaus.
Klaus took his daughter for the first time and looked down at her sweet face. Her eyes blinked open and she looked up at him. He gasped. "Oh Bella, her eyes are beautiful." He said, going to her side and leaning the small bundle up for her to see.
"They're almost like violets." Bella murmured.
Esme finished up with Bella when a nurse peaked her head in. "Dr. Cullen, Mary is ready to push." Esme nodded, standing. "Okay Bella, time to deliver your niece. You rest and enjoy her." She said with a smile and she disappeared out the door, taking off her gloves and gown as she did.
Elena smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. "She is beautiful. I can't believe how amazing you are. You barely screamed in pain."
Bella smiled, looking at her sister, tired. "Well, I always had a larger pain tolerance than you."
Klaus smiled. "Well, she needs a name. We talked about a few."
Bella nodded. "Charlotte Esther Mikaelson."
"It's perfect." Klaus said with a smile. He looked at his daughter. "Are you little Charlie?"
Bella closed her eyes, feeling exhausted. "Mmm. Charlie. I love you," she said, opening her eyes and looking at Klaus.
Klaus handed Charlotte over to Elena, and Elena snuggled her close while Klaus went to Bella and kissed her softly. "You were amazing."
Exactly five minutes later, Sarah Genevieve Salvatore was born. Nine pounds, two ounces, twenty-one inches long.
Two families, that somehow was just one, celebrated the birth of two new additions into the Heirs of Dawn.