I'm back! Roughly twelve hours later, it's a miracle! So now we're done with the fluffy family scenes (well, not completely) and we've brought in some drama. I have no other news as nothing has happened since I went to bed at one and woke up at eleven and have been writing since then. So enjoy the chapter :)

Disclaimer: Why do I do this to myself? I honestly give up on these shows. I don't own them.

Rebekah awoke from a deep slumber as she felt the weight of the bed shift. She groaned and buried her head under the pillows.

"I don't want to get up," she mumbled.

Matt chuckled and leaned over to kiss her shoulder. "You don't have to. It's your day off."

Rebekah sighed in relief. "That's right." She then lifted the pillow off of her. She opened one eye to glower at her husband. "Wait, why are you up so early?"

"It's not early, it's nine o'clock."

She jumped up, which gave her a head rush. "Oh god... That hurt."

Matt rubbed her arm and advised her to lay back down. "Slow down, babe. Want me to make you some pancakes?"

Rebekah perked up at the mention of food. "With strawberries, peanut butter, whipped cream?" He nodded. "And bacon?" He chucked and nodded.

"You got it-"

"And a pickle!"

Matt's face scrunched up in disgust but quickly dismissed the pregnancy cravings. He's gotten used to it. Rebekah has been obsessed with dried mango slices with hummus.

"I'll be right back," he told her as he kissed her forehead. He then disappeared from their room.

Rebekah leaned back against her pillow and reached over to pick up her phone. No missed calls or messages. She wanted to go back to sleep, but her bladder suddenly felt like it was about to combust. This baby has been acting as if her bladder was some sort of jungle gym.

As Rebekah made her way to the bathroom, she thought about how soon she will get to meet her and Matt's unborn child. Three months have passed since they found out about her pregnancy. When they had their first ultrasound after they returned from Barcelona (they obviously had to finish their honeymoon before settling back to Mystic Falls), they discovered she had been five weeks pregnant. Now she was twenty weeks pregnant, and the young couple had an ultrasound revealing the gender of their baby later this week. Rebekah was getting more excited for their child each day. Granted, more nervous each day, too. But the happiness and giddiness overpowered her nerves.

After she washed her hands, she made the habit of lifting her shirt and admiring her stomach. She gasped when she noticed how bloated her stomach became over just one night. It wasn't this big last night!

"Matt!" Rebekah screamed.

She heard footsteps running up the stairs and then the bedroom door barged open.

"What's wrong?" Matt breathed, a spatula in his hand.

"I'm fat," Rebekah pouted.

Matt sighed. "No you're not. You're beautiful."

"You're just saying that."

Matt walked over to his wife and kissed her forehead. "No, I'm not. You're carrying our child, and you look magnificent. I promise. You're not even that big."

She gave him a pointed look.

"Honest!"

She rolled her eyes.

"I got to go finish your breakfast before the house burns down-"

"I change my mind, I want fruit and bread for breakfast."

"We're not in Paris anymore, and you. are. not. fat."

Rebekah plopped back down on the bed. "Whatever."

Matt shook his head and laughed.

...

Caroline knocked on the front door to her childhood home. When no one answered, she took out her key and let herself inside.

"Mom?" Caroline called.

"In here," she heard her mom's voice croak from the bedroom.

Caroline couldn't feel her toes as her feet dragged her down the hall to her mother's bedroom. Her heart broke as she entered the room and saw her mom lying in bed, buried in blankets and books and food wrappers.

"Mom, you can't be eating this junk..." Caroline said sadly.

"What's the big deal? I'm dying anyway," Liz answered.

"No, that's not okay. Don't say that," Caroline scolded. The young blonde felt tears brim her eyes. "You're not allowed to say that, do you hear me?" She sat on the edge of her mother's bed. "Don't leave me."

Liz cradled her daughter's cheek. "I'm not going anywhere, yet. I still have some time."

"Not a lot. It's a miracle we've gotten this much."

"And I have enjoyed every minute of it," Liz smiled. "You took me to New York, to Broadway, to the beach down in Florida, to many places, you've taken me to your favorite childhood places. Honey, every moment you're not at school or planning your wedding, you're with me. And I love you for that. But live your life."

"I am living my life. I went out with my friends last night, like you told me to."

"That's great, honey. What'd you guys do?"

"Bonnie, Elena, and I went out for drinks and then we saw a movie."

"That's nice. What movie did you see?"

"The Avengers."

Liz laughed. "No romance movies for you girls? That's all you kids watched during your movie slumber parties."

Caroline broke out a smile. "Yeah, we grew up. Romance movies are great from time to time, but action is great, too. Not to mention; the Avengers are hot."

Liz laughed again. She patted her daughter's hand. "That's my girl. So, how's your wedding coming?"

Caroline nodded. She reached into her purse and pulled out a big book. "That's actually why I came over. Nik and I have finished planning everything, from bridesmaids to flower arrangements to wedding cakes. I would like you to look through it and tell me what you think. If you have any changes, or if your think it's perfect. We would really love your input, Nik really wants your input."

"That's so sweet, Care. Of course, I will look through it. Do you guys have a date?"

"The end of June."

Liz nodded. "I will definitely be there."

Caroline observed her mother's fragile state and wished she wouldn't make promises she can't keep. She had to stop herself from bursting into tears or else she would get another lecture from her mother about how death is a part of life and how Caroline was going to have to say goodbye sometime and not to get too upset about it. Well, excuse her for being upset about her mom dying. It's a hard thing to process, and no matter how much time she's been given to prepare, she doesn't think she'll ever be ready.

"Good," Caroline finally said. "You and Daddy will give me away."

"Where is your father anyway? Isn't he coming down soon?"

"Yes," Caroline answered. "My graduation is in two weeks, so he's coming down for that and then staying until the wedding."

"That's great that you'll have him around. I know you miss him."

Caroline nodded. She does miss her dad. Of course she does. But him leaving gave her a chance to become closer to her mom. At this point, she'll miss her mom more than she misses her dad. But then again, her dad isn't dead. He just lives out of state.

"So, what's up with the angel spawn?"

"Mom!" Caroline exasperated.

Liz wasn't the most acceptive person of Klaus's long-lost child, which was super confusing for Caroline. Hope was the sweetest little girl, and fell in love with Caroline instantly, and vice versa. Caroline has honestly felt like a second mother to Hope, and is glad the young girl sees her that way, too. But Liz was skeptical about Hayley and Hope, for reasons Caroline couldn't muster. Liz did have to admit; Hope was a sweet and smart and talented child. But she wasn't her granddaughter. She liked Hope, don't get her wrong, and all of this time getting to know her and hearing Caroline's stories had helped her case, but she still makes these kind of jokes, which annoys Caroline to no end.

"I'm kidding. How is Hope?"

Caroline sighed. "She's good. She slept over last night. Nik took her bowling and out for ice cream."

"And the mother?"

"You know Hayley and Jackson moved here."

Hayley and Jackson got all of their shit together around the end of February, completing the move to Mystic Falls shortly after. Jackson found a job as a landscaper, and Matt agreed to hire Hayley as a bartender until she could find something better. She hasn't.

But Klaus and Caroline have been generous with Hope. They take her every weekend, even some weekdays. The other Mikaelsons even take her for a night or two sometimes.

Hayley has blended right back in with the Mikaelsons, her and Rebekah becoming close friends once again. April and her have even become good friends. So have her and Katherine, for reasons no one will ever understand.

Klaus realized Hayley was telling the truth when she said they had nothing back in London. They lived in a shabby old apartment- Hope had spent most of her time at Marcel's or Cami's. Hayley's boss was a creep, she was happy to quit and leave. Jackson had lost his job shortly before the wedding, and Hope's school wasn't providing the special attention Hope needed. Hope was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago, and the school that she is enrolled in now- a prestigious school outside the border of Mystic Falls that Klaus pays for with the help of Elijah and Caroline- is aware and extremely helpful to kids like her.

The only thing that could have kept that small family back, was the larger family they had there. No, not Hayley nor Jackson's family- who were either dead or deadbeat- but the group of people that were all brought together by the Mikaelsons all those years ago. But they all agreed that moving Hope closer to Klaus was the best thing for her. Except, maybe, Jackson. But the dude needs to get over it. He's working on it.

But it's not an entire loss. Davina, Kaleb, Cami, and Marcel recently moved to New Orleans. It's not right around the corner, but it's not too far.

"I know they moved here," Liz laughed. "I was just asking how Hattie was."

"Her name is Hayley. Why don't you like her? I like her."

"I don't know, to be honest. She just kept Klaus's child from him for eight years, and I guess from your mother's point of view: I just don't want you to be hurt."

"Why would I be hurt?"

"She's your fiancé's ex-"

"Mom, we've been over this. They didn't have any feelings for each other. They were not together. They hated each other most of the time."

"Oh yeah, hate. That's how that little girl was born."

Caroline shot a glare at her mother. "They're just friends now. Hayley is happy with Jackson. And Klaus is happy with me. Why can't you just leave it alone?"

"I'm just a concerned mother whose cancer has made her irritable, I'm sorry. And maybe... I just like to get under your skin." Liz laughed while Caroline stared at her mother. "I like teasing you. You're so defensive about Hope and Hayley. They're both sweet girls. I mean, to be honest, I didn't trust Hayley that much at first, but who did?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Whatever, mom. I have to go. I'll be back later," she kissed her mother's cheek. "Don't forget to look over the book!"

"I won't! Love you."

"Love you, too." And then a flash of blonde hair exited the bedroom.

...

Stefan walked along the streets under the bright May sun. He was stressed about his upcoming surgery- his first surgery that he was performing by himself. He wasn't nervous, per say, just anxious. Once he gets this over with, he will be able to go into these type things no problem. He's participated in many heart surgeries, but he was just an apprentice. The other doctors agree that he is ready. He feels ready. He just needs a quiet walk along the streets of his town to clear his mind. He performs the surgery tomorrow. But today? Today, he's going to relax. He's going to breathe.

He finds himself stopping at his favorite bench. Although a girl already occupied a seat, he sat beside her and closed his eyes. The sun beat down on his face, his body, embracing him with warmth. He's so glad how nice it's been lately. This past winter was horrible. He thought he'd never feel a temperature of above forty degrees again.

"You seem worried, are you alright?" The girl beside him woke him from his trance. "Either that, or you're relaxed and calm. Or maybe both."

Stefan turned his head and raised his eyebrows.

"Both," she decided. Seeing his face, she apologized, "Sorry. I'm studying psychology, although I don't want to. I just need to get a good grade on this report, which is reading the emotions of people around me. Sorry if I was weird, or scary-"

"No, it's fine," Stefan chuckled. "You were actually spot on. I am worried about something- although, not worried. I'm not sure what I'd call it.. I can't be worried. But this beautiful day helped me relax. So, no; you weren't wrong."

"Oh, well, awesome!" The girl laughed, which for some reason made Stefan's heart skip a beat. Her laugh was like a simple song, one that he spent his whole life searching for. Now that he's getting a better look at this girl, he noticed her long brown hair cascading around her shoulders in waves like the ocean. Her soft brown eyes sparkling in the sun, her pale white skin soft and young. Her nose straight, and her lips pink. She wasn't the most attractive girl in the world; more simple looking, but still beautiful. The fact that she wasn't exceptionally beautiful made her more alluring. Her intelligence and her laughter and, from what he's seen in the past two minutes, kindness made her more beautiful than her exterior.

Her smile faded as she noticed him staring at her. "I mean, not awesome that you're worried about something. That can't be good."

Stefan nodded. "Eh. I'm just performing my first independent heart surgery tomorrow. No big deal."

"Wow, you're a doctor? That's amazing. Hard work, huh?"

"Yeah. But it's worth it. What about you? You said you don't want to study your major?"

The girl shrugged. "My step father chose this career path for me. I didn't know what I wanted to be and I was running out of time. Not that if I did have a career path in mind would I have been able to pursue it: my step father wants me to follow his footsteps. He's so controlling." She glanced at Stefan. "Sorry. Too much information."

"No, it's okay. I like talking to people. I like talking to you."

"You just met me. We don't even know each others' names."

Stefan took a deep breath. "Then let's start over. My name is Stefan Salvatore."

The girl smiled and hooked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Valerie. I'm Valerie."

Stefan held out his hand. She shook it. "Nice to meet you, Valerie."

...

Sage sat on the bathroom tiles, puking her guts out. Not the most pleasant part of her day, or her week.

She groans as her brain wracks through possibilities of her illness. A part of her hopes it's a stomach bug, but another part of her hopes it's something else. That something else is what is causing a dark hole in her stomach. She is pretty positive that something else is what's going on.

That something else? She's pregnant. Again.

She knows it. She's been pregnant before. She knows how this feels, she knows how this goes.

She's pregnant.

Sage stood up, wiped her mouth, and brushed her teeth. She looked into the mirror at her pale face. Auburn hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. Why was she being so worked up about this? Finn will be ecstatic. Tate will be thrilled to be a big brother.

Is she excited to be a mother again?

The mirror was big enough to see her stomach. The turned sideways and lifted her shirt. She rested her hands on her flat stomach. She pressed into it and arched her back. It was a tiny bit swollen. She smiled as she rubbed tiny circles on her stomach. Another baby was in there. She was going to be a mother again.

She was happy.

But her smile faded as she realized she wasn't positive. Her brain could only be making stuff up. With Rebekah's baby coming, and Elijah's twins growing up so quickly, it made Sage enter baby fever. She wants another child. She hadn't spoken with Finn about it, but the way he looks at Hayden and Sophia, Sage knows he wants another one too.

Sage sighed and bent down, breaking into the cabinet beneath their sink. Don't ask her why she already has a box of pregnancy tests sitting under the sink. You're never too sure when you might need one.

Five minutes later, Sage was sitting on top of the toilet seat, anxiously waiting for the results of the pregnancy test. Will it be positive? She wishes it will be.

She hopes she has a little girl this time.

Despite Tate being a monster- although, he has cooled down since he turned three- she knows he will make a great big brother.

Ding.

Her phone timer beeped. The results are in.

Should she look before Finn gets home? He should be home any minute. It would be unfair to find out without him.

No, it's actually not.

She braced herself as she picked up the test.

Positive.

A smile broke out on her face. Tears of joy clouded her vision. She wiped them away.

She was pregnant again. Finn and Sage were having another child.

Her happiness surged when she heard the front door of their house open and her husband announce he was home. She threw the pregnancy test in the trash and ran down the stairs. Finn had just set his bag down on the couch so he could take off his coat. He barely got one arm out when she jumped into his arms.

"What-" Before he could finish his question, Sage shut him up with a kiss. The kiss was abrupt and quick, but passionate and full of love. Finn had tried to back her against the door, but Sage had patted her hands on his chest, a signal they had worked out that meant no.

She pulled away from the kiss with a smile on her face.

"Not that I'm complaining..." Finn started. "But what was that about?"

She took a moment to catch her breath. Her anxiety, her running down the stairs, and then the kiss all worked together to escape air from her lungs in the past few minutes.

"I'm pregnant."

Finn took a moment to comprehend what his wife just told him. "You're pregnant? Again?" A smile spread across his face.

She nodded.

He made a noise of excitement as he picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh and squeal. "This is great news!"

He set her down and they kissed again, this time slower and sweeter. They were interrupted when they heard light footsteps tip toe down the stairs. They looked over their shoulders and saw Tate at the bottom of the stairs.

"What's all the excitement?" The three year old asked.

"Tate, you're supposed to be in bed. You're sick," Sage said. She didn't have the heart to scold her son at the moment.

"I heard screaming and squealing. What's going on?"

Finn and Sage shared a smile.

Sage stepped forward and bent down so she was eye level with her son. "Sweetie... Daddy and I have exciting news."

"Am I getting a puppy?"

Finn shook his head and laughed. "Even better."

"A car?"

Sage chuckled. "No. Mommy's pregnant. You're having a little brother or sister."

Tate's bright blue eyes widened. "Really?" His parents nodded, both smiling like idiots. "Wow, that's so cool!"

Sage laughed as Finn picked up their son and tossed him in the air. The little family forgot about Tate's illness as they celebrated a new addition to their family.

...

Katherine admired the final product of her very own masterpiece. Her store.

After firing her manager three months ago, all of her employees agreed to stay with Katherine. Although Katherine was scary and some people hated her, their manager was even scarier and everyone hated her. They found resources and sponsors in order to expand the company; Katherine broke out her lines of maternity clothes, children's clothes, and men clothes and they turned out to be a hit. She used her family's money to hire a new branch of employees and start their very own magazine, which released its first issue last week. They already made twice as much as it cost to put it out there.

Katherine found talented apprentices in her employees to go to the major fashion labels in New York, and to take care of the stores everywhere else. They all call her everyday to give her feedback, all of which have been great news so far.

And now Katherine is able to manage her own shop from home. When she's not managing her store, she's designing new clothes to fax out to the company that makes the clothes. She has to fax out at least one new design for each line every week. She usually designs while she's in her store because she has two exceptional new employees to handle customers.

Because when she's not working, she's spending all of her time with her babies.

Hayden and Sophia are almost six months old. Sophia tried to crawl the other day, but then rolled over like a potato. Hayden loves to giggle nonstop and created a habit of putting his whole fist in his mouth. Katherine is so glad everything with her job has been working out, because this way she's doing everything she wanted to do. She's her own boss, her employees listen to her, her business sales are better than they ever were thanks to her ideas, and there's no raging bitch manager to tell her what to do. Nothing could go wrong.

Ding.

Katherine looked up from her prom dress design and almost dropped her pencil when she saw who entered her store.

Her manager. Ex-manager. Who she hasn't seen in three months. She's been extremely quiet since Katherine began all of these renovations. But now that everything was finished and finally calming down, Katherine was like prey to a lion.

"Katerina," Aurora greeted with a fake smile.

"Aurora," Katherine nodded.

Aurora pranced along the shop, running her fingers through linings and along windowsills, inspecting the store. "Love what you've done with the place."

"No, you don't." Katherine stood. She regretted telling Nadia and Rose they could have the day off. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Why, I'm here just to check up on you. You fired me and made then made all of these renovations to our company-"

"My company!" Katherine growled.

"Our company. It was my money that put you where you are now. I paid for fashion school, I sent your designs to that contest, I helped you start your website in high school-"

"Why are you doing this?" Katherine asked. "You never listened to my ideas and I thought they were great. I got you out of the way, and look at what has happened. My ideas are flourishing. My company is flourishing. Without you."

Aurora huffed.

Aurora and Katherine were best friends growing up. When Katherine hated her parents, she found comfort in Aurora. They were inseparable. Aurora always knew how talented Katherine was and did everything she could to help her friend get noticed. Aurora came from money, and while Katherine did too, Katherine didn't know until she was seventeen. When Katherine got the choice to start her own company, she hired Aurora as her manager to deal with all business things, as long as Aurora agreed to do everything Katherine said. Aurora started out as a great compliance, but then she started going crazy and changing things without permission. She hated everything about Katherine's new life in Mystic Falls. She refused to get to know Elena or Elijah or Caroline. She isolated herself. Katherine and Aurora's friendship blew up in the process, but they had to remain professional and work together. Aurora took this as means to corrupt the company from the inside and not allow any change. Katherine figured out what she was doing and got rid of her.

And no one blames her.

Except Aurora, of course.

"You did this to yourself," Katherine told her old friend. "You didn't even try to be apart of my new life."

"You moved away! You moved away and barely contacted me until you suddenly needed my money to help your company."

"I needed your money? Oh, honey. At that point, I found out I was a Gilbert and entitled to my own money. I called you because you were my best friend and you helped me so much when we were teens that I wanted to share this experience with you. But you took things too far and look at where that got us."

"I took things too far?"

"You were fine and happy one minute and then angry and jealous the next-"

"I have bipolar disorder, dumbass, that happens!"

"Whatever! You didn't even try to be a good person to my friends. You hated my husband from the moment you met him-"

"Because of what his family did to my brother-"

"I don't care what his family did to your brother. I don't even know what you're talking about, I doubt they even know what you're talking about, because you're a lying bitch."

"Did you ever mention my name to the Mikaelsons?" Aurora asked.

Katherine shook her head. "No. At that point, we were no longer friends and you were acknowledged as 'bitch of a manager.'"

Aurora rolled her eyes. "You can see me as the bad guy all you want. But one of these days, I will be back. And I will destroy you."

Katherine laughed. "Destroy me? How did this conversation escalate to that?"

"It doesn't matter how. You abandoned and betrayed me then screwed me over." Aurora turned to leave. Katherine just stood there speechless. "I know things about you Kat. Don't make me use them in court."

Katherine just stared dumbfounded at the door as Aurora left the building. Katherine sat back at her desk and rested her head on her hands. "What the hell was that?"

...

"So how are you settling in New Orleans?" Bonnie asked as she blew on her hot coffee.

Davina smiled and sipped her mocha frappuccino. "Things are pretty good."

Davina and Kaleb came up from New Orleans for the week because Kaleb and Kol made plans to see a baseball game in South Carolina. They'd be gone for a few days, and Davina decided to stay in Mystic Falls instead of waiting in New Orleans. She had enjoyed the quiet town when she was here for Rebekah and Matt's wedding. And she also enjoyed spending time with Bonnie. In fact, Bonnie offered to let Davina stay with her in the condo while the boys were gone. Kol at first argued against it; he was feeling weird about his current and ex-girlfriend having slumber parties while he was out of town, but then he got onboard with it. He just hopes they don't talk about him. But that's pretty much all they've been doing.

"You know, I've really enjoyed staying with you," the blue-eyed brunette told her friend. "I'm sad we live a thousand miles apart."

Bonnie laughed as they strolled down main street. "I know. But you and Kaleb are welcome up here any time. I know Kol misses you guys."

"We've missed him, too," the young girl said sadly. "I just feel guilty about everything-"

"Don't be. He's gotten over it. You guys are fine."

"Then why wasn't I invited to the ballgame?"

"Come on, they wanted a guys' weekend! And we got a girls weekend out of it."

Davina grinned. "True. It's just I was always invited to these things, even if I didn't even like sports."

"Boys are weird, and you guys are all older now. Maybe they've grown out of trying to annoy you."

Davina sipped her coffee. "Maybe." She stopped out front of a store. "Okay, let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"How green is so your color," the younger girl squealed.

Bonnie laughed as her new friend dragged her into the boutique.

...

Caroline ran up to the house she shared with Klaus with a huge grin on her face. As she turned the knob and entered the house, she was greeted by a tiny blonde fur ball.

"Hello Henry!" She cooed as she petted her dog. "You're almost a year old, do you feel old yet?" She teased as the dog attacked her face with kisses. The tiny animal soon got bored with his owner and skidded back to the living room. Caroline stood up and ran straight for the stairs. "Klaus!" She exclaimed as she ran up the stairs and down the hallway down to Klaus's studio.

Klaus turned abruptly when his fiancé barged into his studio. "Caroline!" He exclaimed. He chuckled when he saw the huge smile on her face. "What is it, love?"

She threw her arms around him. "Marry me."

Klaus chuckled again. "Love, I thought I already was."

She rolled her eyes. "I mean tomorrow."

His eyes widened. "I thought we agree on the end of June? That's almost two months away."

"And I can't wait any longer," Caroline shushed him. "My mom loves the book I put together. And I got a call from the officiant an hour ago, he said there's an opening for Saturday at three if we want it."

"That's not tomorrow, love," Nik teased.

"It's a week away, I know. But what do you say? Want to marry me next week?"

Klaus sighed and kissed her nose. "I have wanted to marry you since the moment I met you."

Caroline squealed and kissed him. His hands tangled them in her hair, while her hands brimmed the hem of his shirt. Her cold fingers touched his hot skin, making goosebumps appear on his body. Caroline giggled when he tipped her head back and he kissed her neck, his scruff tickling her skin.

The phone began ringing, but the happy couple ignored it. Then it rang again, and even Henry began barking. Klaus groaned as he stepped away from his fiancé. Caroline sighed as she walked over to her cell phone and picked it up. She answered the unknown number.

"Caroline Forbes cell phone, who's speaking?"

"Hello, this is the hospital. You're mother was admitted fifteen minutes ago."

Oh no! What's wrong with Liz, now? Will she be okay? And what is up with this Aurora chick? Why does she hate the Mikaelsons? What did they do to her brother? What is up with her vendetta against Katherine?

And Sage is pregnant again! And will Stefan finally have a love interest? Will Rebekah and Matt have a boy or a girl? Stay tuned!

Now, I got to go work out and then read my book! I hope I will be able to update one more time this week, so see you guys then :)

Please review your thoughts xx