Hi guys! I wanted to have this chapter be a Christmas chapter in the spirit of the holidays…well, I obviously changed my mind because my winter vacation got the best of me and I neglected to write more than 200 words and now the holidays are far far over. I think this chapter will suffice more.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters under the age of 12.
*January 9th, 2016*
"I cannot wait until the end of March," Liv groaned as she waddled into the Salvatore boarding house. Today was the joint baby shower for Liv, Anna, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena. "These babies keep wrestling on my bladder, and I have to pee every five minutes… Speaking of, where is your bathroom?" Olivia Parker turned to her friend Elena Gilbert. Elena giggled and lead the blonde down the hall towards the bathroom.
Yes, you heard correctly. Liv and Tyler were having twins. A boy and a girl. Liv was a twin herself and her family has a history of twins. In her pool of siblings alone there were three sets of twins, plus her dad was a twin and so was her grandmother. Usually it skips generations, but not with the Parkers.
Meanwhile, Caroline and Bonnie were in the kitchen sampling all of the appetizers that Damon was slaving away to make. He had to keep yelling at them to stop eating all of the food before their friends got there, to which Caroline would tell him, "Don't yell at us, we are pregnant!"
Katherine and Jenna were hanging up some streamers, while Elijah, Klaus, Kol and Alaric were rearranging furniture and setting up tables.
"Tyler!" Caroline waved to her childhood friend and ex-boyfriend. "Come here, you have to try this soup!" It was a sort of butternut bisque with curry. Weird combination but delicious.
"Do not come near this kitchen, Lockwood," Damon glared at Tyler.
Tyler put his hands up and laughed. "I think I'll go help the other guys with decorations."
"I'll help too," came a voice from the front door. Caroline gasped and dropped her spoon, splattering butternut bisque across the floor and the cabinets.
"Stefan!" Bonnie greeted to cover up Caroline's spill.
Caroline may have heard the shocking Stefan and Katherine love child news four months ago, but that does not stop her from acting weird when she sees her best friend. Well, she can't really call her his best friend anymore considering she's turned down hanging out with him since she turns into a complete and utter mess. How can you go to the movies or invite him over for dinner when all you can think about is that he has a child out there that he doesn't know about? She understands why the Mikaelsons' old friends didn't talk to them for so long. Of course, Esther was a big threat, but she'd be way too afraid she'd slip up and mention Hope.
"Hey Bon, hey Care," Stefan smiled as he made his way towards the kitchen. "Damon," the brunette greeted his older brother.
"Oh my goodness, Bonnie—" Caroline grabbed her best friend's arm. "We need to go do the thing—"
"What thing?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
"The thing—" she started laughing awkwardly, to which everyone was now looking at her weirdly. "Uh, GIRL MEETING!"
Katherine rolled her eyes. She knew exactly why Caroline was acting like a complete spaz. Elena, Liv, Bonnie and Jenna all shared looks.
"Dude, your wife is crazy," Tyler told Klaus as the six girls made their way outside to the backyard.
"You proposed to her first," Klaus shrugged before he ripped open a plastic wrap with his teeth.
"Touché," Tyler nodded.
…
"Caroline, why did you call a meeting?" Jenna asked when the doors to inside were closed behind them. "Also, you four should be inside—it is freezing out here!"
"I can't look at Stefan," Caroline admitted. She turned to Katherine and Elena and said, "I don't know how you two could look at him all these years and not tell him the truth."
"It's easy," Katherine began. "He doesn't need to know. It doesn't concern him."
"I mean, it kind of does…" Elena muttered. "I don't know. I never told him because it wasn't my news to tell."
"Caroline, you need to chill out," Bonnie said. "Like seriously."
The pregnant blonde nodded. "Kat, can you please tell him?"
Katherine sighed. "He's gonna hate me."
"Maybe not?" Caroline suggested.
"Care, it's been 13 years. He's gonna hate me. I can't. But I mean if it's really killing you, then I frankly don't care if you tell him."
Caroline looked shocked for a second but then sobered up. "Okay, great!"
"Caroline, don't," Elena grabbed her best friend's hand. "Not today. Please? This day is about you, me, Bonnie, Liv and Anna. Don't make it about drama."
"You're right. Absolutely right," Caroline nodded. "I'm really sorry. I need to be better. I haven't talked to him in months, really. He must hate me, too."
"He could never hate you," Elena smiled as she led her friends back into her house.
…
"Hey guys," Jeremy greeted as he opened the door to the Salvatore Boarding House. Him and Anna were the next people to arrive, and the last guests of honor to arrive.
"Hey Jer! Anna!" Jenna and Elena waved.
"Hi," Anna smiled at her friends. "I've gotta say, I've never heard of a baby shower that is co-ed."
"Well, it happens!" Katherine exclaims. Everyone turned to her with weird looks on their faces. "What? It does." She shrugged and tossed some pretzels into her mouth.
"What time is everyone arriving?" Jeremy asked as he sat down next Tyler.
Bonnie checked her watch and then answered, "The shower starts at noon, so in 23 minutes."
"Where are the kids?" Anna asked as she noticed that Hayden and Sophia weren't walking around on their chubby little legs, and Emma and Chris weren't running around screaming at each other.
"Finn and Rebekah have them. They got a handful," Klaus grinned. "Well, Finn and Sage have the twins. Matt and Rebekah have Chris, and then Emma is with Hope, Hayley and Jackson."
"Fun," Anna nodded. She feels a little bit weird being here. Yes, she is also having a baby.
At least, she should be.
A couple of weeks ago Anna and Jeremy had a doctor's appointment and received the news that Anna has a condition called placenta previa. It is an extremely rare condition, especially for someone as young as her. It is when the placenta sits very low in the uterus and blocks the cervix, aka the exit for the baby. It causes a lot of bleeding. The problem could fix itself over the course of the pregnancy, but in the case that it doesn't the idea is to have her lay low and get her close to the due date as possible, at which point she will most likely need to have a caesarean section.
Anna and Jeremy haven't told anybody yet. Well, Jeremy is worried sick and would love to talk to his friends and family about what is happening—but Anna refuses to let anyone worry about her. She is confident that she will be fine. This baby shower is the most excitement she's had in her life in weeks.
"Anna?" Liv sat down next to her friend. Anna was in such a trance that ten minutes had passed without her realizing. "You've been staring at the floor. Everything okay?" The rest of the party was mingling. More guests had shown up. Finn, Sage, Freya, Tate, Sophia, Hayden and Lydia.
The newest arrival to the Mikaelson Family was Lydia Marie Mikaelson, born on December 8th, 2015. She is only four and a half weeks old, but she has certainly stolen her parent's hearts. Finn and Sage could not be happier with their little family.
Matt, Rebekah, and Jonathan with Christian.
Jonathan is now four months old and is a little chubster, but he is the light and joy of Matt and Rebekah's life. The two of them have wanted a family for so long and their son is only the beginning.
Hope, Emma, Hayley and Jackson. Lexi, Rose and Enzo. Kaleb, Davina, Marcel and Camille. Liz and Bill Forbes, Bill's new husband, Carol Lockwood, and all the remaining Parkers. Anna smiled when she saw her mom enter the house.
"I am fine," Anna told her friend. "I've just been tired. I got a lot on my mind."
"Okay," Liv said but didn't really believe it. She decided to not push it today and go spend some time with her dad and cousins and grandmother. They flew all the way from Portland, and they'll be doing it again when the twins are born.
"Hey honey," Pearl greeted her daughter. "How have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."
Anna nodded, trying not to burst into tears now that she sees her mom. She hasn't talked to her because she knew she couldn't keep this secret from her. "I am great," she said with confidence. She could see in her mom's eyes that Pearl didn't quite believe her, but they both knew to push through today. They would talk later.
"The house looks great," Pearl admired all of the decorations and the setup of the Boarding House.
Anna had been so off into her own world she didn't even get a chance to look around Elena and Damon's home. There were five tables set around the back wall, set up in order of the due dates with pink and blue balloons on the respective tables.
It's a girl.
Elena and Damon's.
It's a girl.
Caroline and Klaus'.
It's a boy.
Bonnie and Kol's.
It's a boy. It's a girl.
Tyler and Liv's.
It's a girl.
Jeremy and Anna's.
Gifts were already set upon the tables. Presents piled high. Pink and blue streamers.
The table in the front held all of the food that people were already munching on. Anna could see Damon's annoyed face because he spent all morning cooking and baking and preparing it all. She remembered his face after Thanksgiving, at which he called everyone "monsters." She laughed at the memory.
There was a tie-dye station for onesies, a poster with "baby word scramble" which Anna assumes will be a game for later, and posters that each say "who knows the daddy-to-be the best" and "who knows the mommy-to-be the best?" There were so many other games that Caroline set up. The house looked amazing.
…
"Bonnie, are your parents coming?" Rebekah asked her future sister-in-law.
Bonnie started cackling. "I doubt it."
"Don't say that," Elena said. "Rudy seemed really sorry about what happened. Abby, too."
"But mostly Rudy," Caroline chimed in.
"Sorry doesn't make me forget how hateful they can be," Bonnie said bitterly. She caught Kol's gaze from across the room and smiled. He gave her a thumbs up before he went back to listening to Finn and Kaleb's conversation.
"Nothing can make up for some of the really horrible things they said," Rebekah agreed. "But, if I'm being honest, if those words they said to you were the worst things they ever did as parents then I'd forgive them and let them back in. Believe me, I've had worse. Way worse. And despite how awful my mother was, I really wish she could be alive so I could ask her for some advice. Not that it'd be any good, but you understand what I'm trying to get at."
Bonnie smiled sadly at Rebekah. Then she noticed Caroline's face and felt even worse. Liz's time is limited, and everyone knows this.
"I agree. Although my mom was amazing so of course I miss her, I really wish she and my dad could've lived to meet their grandchildren," Elena added. The brunette looked at the door and saw John enter. He smiled at her and waved. She waved back. She's got to say that John really stepped up as a father when her and Katherine realized who he was. He's been making a true effort the last few years. He's been great to Jeremy and Emma, too. But to Jeremy and Elena, their true guardians after their parents died were Jenna and Alaric. They're who they owe it to for surviving the last of their teen years and every day after that.
Bonnie nodded. "I did invite them. I just don't know if they're coming."
"I think they are," Caroline said as she nodded towards the door where Rudy and Abby came in behind John, who greeted his old friends.
"Did they just… show up… together?" Bonnie stared dumbfoundedly at the door.
"I suppose they did," Elena laughed. She hooked her arm with Bonnie's. "Let's go say hi to our parents, shall we?"
…
"Hey Klaus," Marcel greeted his old friend as him and Camille walked over to Klaus.
"Hey," Klaus responded as he reached out to hug Cami.
"Congratulations," the blonde hugged her old crush tightly. "You and Caroline must be ecstatic," she chuckled.
"Yeah, of course," Klaus smiled. "Hope is really excited, too."
"Well, we're glad," Marcel patted Klaus' left shoulder. "We actually needed to tell you something that we thought was strange…"
"What is it?" Klaus asked.
"Well… Esther and Mikael are dead, right?" Camille asked.
"Yes, I buried both of them myself," Klaus responded.
"Hmm…" Marcel trailed off. "Because there is this couple in New Orleans that look exactly like your parents."
Klaus didn't really know what to say. Camille took out her phone and showed him the picture. There was no mistaking it.
Esther and Mikael were alive.
…
"Good afternoon, everyone!" The clinking of a knife on a wine glass turned everyone's attention towards Rebekah.
Murmurs of "hello"s greeted the blonde in return.
Rebekah was able to be happy when hosting the baby shower because Klaus didn't tell her about Mikael and Esther. He wasn't going to tell any of his siblings until tomorrow at family dinner. He had Camille forward him the photo. Apparently, they come into the bar that Marcel owns all the time. He caught them looking at the pictures of Hope, Sophia, Hayden and Jonathan he has hanging on the wall.
"Now, we are in a little town called Mystic Falls and there is a little group of kids who are the beginning of this now fairly large friend group. They are apparently called the 'OG's, whatever that means—" everyone started laughing. "Six friends who are now all having a baby at the same time—well, my husband Matt already had his baby this year, so I think that gives me the right to host this baby shower. The other five 'OG's if you didn't know are Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy and Tyler. The fact that they've stayed friends for the past twenty-seven years and have just added the love to the rest of us along the way really shows how much friendship means to them. And I hope our kids are the same way." Everyone applauded what Rebekah had to say, because it was true.
"Excuse me, but we haven't been friends for twenty-seven years because the only person alive twenty-seven years ago was Caroline," Jeremy interrupted. "The rest of us weren't born yet!"
"Pish posh, potato potahto," Rebekah waved her hands. "Let's start with a couple of games. We've got 'Which guest knows baby best,' 'who know the mommy-to-be the best,' 'who knows the daddy-to-be the best,' 'guess who: mommy or daddy,' and then the rest of the games will be after gifts."
"Let's do who knows the baby the best," Lexi suggested.
"Okay, so if you would like to participate, you may put your guesses to each baby's name, delivery date, delivery time, weight, length and hair and eye color on the poster. Obviously, the only thing we may be able to know today are the babies' names. Do you guys know?" All five couples nodded. "Do you guys want to reveal the names today?"
"Sure," Caroline shrugged. "I think everyone already knows mine," she smiled at her mother.
Ten minutes passed before the six posters were filled out. Rebekah had laid the posters across the counter for people to write on.
"Okay, so name guesses for Elena and Damon's daughter are Miranda… wow, there's a lot of Mirandas, there's a Katherine," Rebekah glared at Katherine while Elena and Damon laughed, and Kat waved. "Ariana, Michelle, Eve, and Nina. Damon and Elena, what is the name?"
Elena began, "Well, a lot of you were on the right track with Miranda; however, that is the middle name."
"Her first name is Stefanie," Damon finished. Everyone turned to Stefan to see his reaction.
"Wow," Stefan breathed. "I'm honored." Lexi and Valerie patted his back. "Thank you. I don't really know what to say."
"Beautiful," Katherine said dryly. "I'm just saying that Katherine is a great name." Elijah patted his wife on the back and pulled her into him so he could kiss her forehead. "Your next kid you have to name after me, it's only fair. His brother and then your sister."
"Let it go," Elijah whispered. Katherine rolled her eyes.
"For Caroline and Klaus… well, it's a unanimous Elizabeth," Rebekah changed the subject back to the game.
"That is correct," Klaus clarified. Caroline shared a smile with her mother.
"For Kol and Bonnie, there is Matthew, Jeremy, Tyler, Finn, Elijah, Nikalus, Kaleb— are you guys serious?" Rebekah turned to her brothers and her husband and her friends.
"We don't know any names!" Finn exclaimed.
"Then how did you name Tate?" Rebekah asked.
"Easy. Sage picked out both Tate and Lydia's names," Finn responded.
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "There's Nathan, Daniel, Joseph, Ethan, hell no on Michael, Nicholas, James, oh there's a couple of Nathaniels…"
"Nathaniel is the winner!" Kol exclaimed. "I don't need to hear a list of names. We decided on Nathaniel Nikolas."
"I knew it," Klaus whispered to his wife, while Caroline and Bonnie both rolled their eyes.
Rebekah continued to read off the names for Tyler and Liv's babies, which will be Lukas—who a handful people had guessed—and Maya—who no one had guessed. Jeremy and Anna's daughter will be named Brooke.
The next game is "Guess Who: Mommy or Daddy?"
"There are 10 questions and 5 couples so we will alternate so each couple gets two questions," Rebekah explained. "Damon and Elena, your question is who made the first move?"
A chorus of "Damon"s echoed across the room.
"While she was dating me…" Stefan whispered.
"Get over it, we're naming our daughter after you as an apology!" Damon teased.
"Klaus and Caroline, who is better… in the kitchen?"
"Phew, I didn't think it'd be the kitchen," Klaus muttered, which resulted in Caroline slapping the back of his head.
"Klaus," the Mikaelsons answered unanimously.
"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed.
"Honey, we've eaten what you've cooked, and what Klaus has cooked…" Sage said. Caroline's mouth dropped as she was offended.
"Bonnie and Kol, who keeps the car cleaner?"
"BONNIE," Caroline screamed, while everyone else agreed.
"Tyler and Liv, who is the best gift giver?"
"Olivia, hands down," Matt said, and everyone agreed.
"He never bought us gifts before you. We just got money or gift cards," Jeremy added.
"It's funny because at Christmas I asked him what do your friends like and he's like 'I don't know,' and I laugh at him because these are his friends that he's known forever," Liv explained. Tyler rolled his eyes and just commented that he hates buying gifts for people, and claims that his friends are hard to shop for.
"Anna and Jeremy, who is more stubborn?"
Most people said "Jeremy," but a few people said "Anna."
"I honestly think it's more Anna," Jeremy said. "If we're being honest," he raised his eyebrows at her. He's referring to her not wanting anyone to know that she could possibly die. It wasn't fair, but Anna laughed it off.
"Damon and Elena, who is the first to admit they are wrong?"
"That's a trick question!" Jenna answered. "On paper, I would have to say Elena because that is the kind of person that she is, and Damon is not that person. However, when is Elena ever wrong? Damon would be the first to admit that he's wrong because he is always wrong."
Everyone laughed, especially Elena. "That is very true," the brunette laughed.
"Fine, it's me," Damon sighed.
"Caroline and Klaus, who typically drives?"
"Caroline!" All the girls cheered, while the blonde raised her hand.
"Kol and Bonnie, who has more pairs of shoes?"
"Bonnie?"
"KOL!" Bonnie revealed. "He has a collection of converse in basically every color! It drives me up the walls because he leaves his shoes everywhere."
"Sorry," Kol laughed. "Guilty."
"Tyler and Liv, who said 'I love you' first?"
"I'm gonna guess Tyler," Lexi said.
"Actually, it was Liv," Tyler admitted.
"Anna and Jeremy, who loves to watch Harry Potter?"
"Anna!"
Anna laughed.
"Okay, let's take a break from the games and do gifts!" Rebekah squealed. "Gifts are my favorite part of anything."
Elena and Damon kept some of their baby furniture from Christian, but they did receive plenty of pink toys and clothes. It worked out for Bonnie and Jeremy that they donated all of Emma's things to a coworker of Jeremy's who was having a tough time providing for his baby since they are now having children with other people. That would've been awkward deciding who got the crib and stroller and all of her clothes.
Everyone received the typical baby shower gifts: diapers, clothes, toys, teething rings, stuffed animals, towels, pacifiers, burp cloths, diaper bags. The Parkers got Liv and Tyler a crib and rocking chair, while Carol Lockwood got them a double stroller.
Caroline's parents got their grandchild a crib and stroller. Katherine and Elijah got Kol and Bonnie one, while Jenna and Alaric got Jeremy and Anna them as well.
Of course, there were some personalized gifts thrown in there. Finn found a picture of him and his siblings when they were young kids. Finn would've been ten, Elijah eight, Klaus six, Kol four, Rebekah three, and Henrik four months old. The three oldest kids were holding the younger three. He got the picture framed. He also got copies for Elijah and Rebekah.
"Oh, my goodness!" Caroline laughed as she opened the gift. "Is that the five of you?"
"Oh god," Klaus groaned.
"Oh no," Kol laughed as Bonnie opened up their photo. "We were so young, where did you find this?" He asked his eldest brother.
"Finally going through some boxes I've neglected to unpack in the past 10 years," Finn answered.
"Woah let me see this," Rebekah made her way to Caroline and Klaus to look at the picture.
"How old are you guys here?" Bonnie asked.
"I was ten, Elijah was eight, Klaus six, Kol four, Rebekah three, and Henrik was four months old," the eldest Mikaelson responded.
Elijah walked over to look at Kol and Bonnie's copy.
"I got copies for Rebekah and Elijah in my car," Finn said. "Thought it'd be nice for all of our kids to see, now that we're all starting families. See us as their ages and how close we've always been."
The four other Mikaelson siblings thanked Finn.
"Oh, almost forgot the best part," Finn said as he took out a couple copies of Freya's school picture. The tiny size that you can stick in the corner of a photo frame. Which is what he did. Freya smiled from her spot on the couch.
"It's perfect," Caroline smiled. "You guys were all blonde! Finn's was starting to fade, though."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. A knock on the door occurred and she yelled, "Come in!"
The door opened and in came Kai Parker. The talking went silent. Liv looked over and shot her brother a small smile and waved.
"Hi… I'm sorry to interrupt, but I brought a couple of gifts for my sister. And the rest of you," he acknowledged Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and Anna. "I just came to drop these off, and I'll leave."
"You should… stay," Bonnie said. Kol, Damon and Jeremy all gave her weird looks.
"Yeah," Elena agreed. "Take a seat with your family." Now it was Elena's turn to get strange looks. Elena was just looking at Liv.
"Thank you," Kai said. He felt all eyes on him as he went to take a seat next to Luke. Liv didn't even know he was coming. She didn't invite him. Luke did. Kai told him that it'd be difficult considering that Olivia's friends were a few of the people he had hurt. Luke told him to just drop off some gifts. Liv would appreciate the effort. Liv hasn't talked to Kai much at all in the past year. Neither of them was expecting Bonnie and Elena, out of all the people, to let him stay. Kai could see that Damon, Kol and Jeremy weren't too happy.
"Okay…" Rebekah sang to break this awkward silence. "We've got a couple more gifts to open."
Eventually they opened Kai's gifts. He got Liv's babies some outfits and a couple of stuffed animals. He got them all a stuffed animal. Stefanie got an orange kitten, Lizzie got a puppy, Nate got a lion, Lukas got a wolf, Maya got a bunny, and Brooke got a goat.
"And there's two more gifts! For Anna, from her mom, and for Caroline, from her mom," Rebekah handed Anna and Caroline the last gifts.
Caroline opened hers up and was immediately brought to tears. It was a photo of Liz who had just given birth to Caroline and was holding her newborn daughter in her arms.
"I don't think I've ever seen this picture…" Caroline stated.
"I found it buried within all of the pictures I've accumulated throughout the years," Liz answered.
"Thank you, I love it so much," Caroline told her mom as she held the photo close to her heart.
Anna smiled at Caroline and Liz and was eager to know what her mom got her. When she opened the gift, it was an empty scrapbook.
"It's for you to document every milestone with the baby," Peal smiled. "I had one with you and it kept me sane. It was a nice, quiet project to do while you were sleeping. I love looking at it all these years later."
Anna couldn't look up because her face was covered in tears. Liv heard her take a deep breath, which sounded identical to a silent sob.
"Are you okay?" Liv asked her friend.
Anna nodded and wiped her face. She stood up when she realized she tears wouldn't stop. "I need a moment, please. Excuse me," she said before she ran to the bathroom.
"What's wrong with her, Jeremy?" Pearl asked.
"She's been acting so weird," Jenna added.
Jeremy had tears pooling in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. "Uhm… A few weeks ago, the doctor told us she has a condition called placenta previa. It's when the placenta sits too low in the uterus and blocks the cervix—"
"She'll be okay though?" Elena asked.
"Her or the baby could die. It's a higher chance that Anna would die." The room went silent.
Pearl stood up immediately and followed her daughter to the bathroom.
No one else knew what to say or how to react. Well, except for Jeremy.
He broke down crying.
…
Most of the party had moved outside to play some bag toss or mingle. The news of Anna's fate killed the mood.
Jenna, Elena, Katherine and Bonnie stayed inside to talk to Jeremy. He explained to them that the doctor was certain that she would survive as long as she stayed on bedrest until the baby comes. He approved her outing to the baby shower. He said it'd be good for her to socialize.
It's just scary. And the fact that Anna didn't want to tell anyone made it worse.
"Oh honey, I think she'll be fine," Jenna assured her nephew. "It's scary. But you will not lose Anna or your baby."
"I'm so sorry that you have to go through this," Bonnie rubbed his back. "I really don't know what to say."
"Isn't it good that her doctor approved her coming to the baby shower? It means he thinks she'll be fine," Katherine stated.
Jeremy nodded. "I know. It's just… it keeps me up at night. I can't lose her. I lost mom and dad, I lost Vicky. I don't think I'd survive if I lose Anna and the baby, too."
"Well, you won't." The voice came from Pearl who appeared in the entryway to the hallway with Anna. "My daughter explained to me what her doctor has told her, and if she gets completely bedrest until it is time for delivery then she and the baby will be perfectly healthy."
"That's not how it works," Anna shook her head. "It's what should work, but there's no guarantee."
"Well, it will be guaranteed," Pearl stated. "You've been feeling well?' Anna nodded. "Having a little celebration today is fine and perfectly healthy." Pearl was a pediatric nurse who worked in the maternity section of the hospital. She knew some things about placenta previa. Every patient she's encountered with it has survived. She's seen a 100% survival rate. The only way it can be fatal is if the bleeding is excessive, which usually only happens to people with a family medical history of hemorrhage. Anna does not have that.
"I just worry…" Anna frowned. Jeremy walked over to hug her. Pearl went outside to inform all of the guests that Anna will be fine. She has no history of hemorrhage bleeding, so nothing should go wrong in the delivery. Key word. Should.
Of course, everyone was relieved to hear that news and that it was okay to continue celebrating the six new lives that will be born, but deep down everyone was wondering 'what if?'
…
"Pearl Zhu, what a pleasure," said the voice of John Gilbert.
"John Gilbert," Pearl turned around from the conversation she was having with Jenna.
"Oh John, why don't you get lost?" Jenna rolled her eyes.
"Lovely to see you, too, Jenna," John greeted.
"Let me guess," Pearl began. "Broke your heart, too?"
"No, we used to sleep together," Jenna said. "I think he's such an asshole to compensate for something."
Pearl snickered while John rolled his eyes.
"Jenna, would you mind if I speak to Pearl for a moment?"
Jenna sighed. "I guess. Anything to get away from you," she smirked as she walked over to Elena and Katherine.
"John," Pearl acknowledged.
"I heard from Jeremy that you were highly disapproving of his relationship with Anna because of the fact that he was a Gilbert—"
"That is all water under the bridge. Jeremy is a good man… nothing like you, or your father for that matter."
"God, would you let me apologize?"
Pearl raised her eyebrow.
"I'm sorry. I was young and stupid. I shouldn't have hurt you the way that I did."
"Thank you, John. Now, tell me… How is Isobel?" And with that, Pearl walked away.
…
Olivia Parker, soon to be Olivia Lockwood, made her way to where her two brothers were, ready to snap at them.
"What the hell are you doing here, Kai?"
"Luke invited me," Kai responded as he held his hands up in defense. "I wasn't going to come… I wasn't even going to stay. I'm just as surprised as anyone that Bonnie and Elena asked me to stay!"
"Luke, why would you think it'd be a good idea to invite him when my friends hate him?"
"I just told him to drop off a few gifts. You know, it doesn't help him getting acclimated back into society if everyone treats him like a sociopath."
"Luke!" Liv cried. "I understand that, but now all my friends think I'm the one that invited him. You didn't see the looks that Elena sent me when she saw Kai walk through that door. Damon, Kol and Jeremy are pissed that he's here—"
"I can leave," Kai stated. Liv took a deep breath. She knows that getting Kai upset is not a good idea, so making him leave will not be good. She has to grit through her teeth before going over to Bonnie and Elena and sincerely apologizing.
"No, it's fine. I'm glad you're getting better," Liv said. "But you do know that I don't think any of them are going to feel safe with you here…" Neither am I. You tried to kill our entire family. Which was what Liv wanted to stay, but she didn't.
…
"It's time to announce the winners of… the guess-the-length-of-her-stomach challenge!" Rebekah announced.
"For Elena Salvatore, at 36 weeks, her stomach measures at a length of 46.8cm! The closest was… Liz Forbes at 46.9cm! Come and claim your prize. Our five winners will receive a "sweet pea" scented lotion and soap bundle. Also, everyone is welcome to take up to five of the baby champagne bottles by the door! When you hear the news of a birth, you will be able to celebrate."
Katherine guessed Caroline's stomach length, Jenna guessed Bonnies, Liv's twelve-year-old cousin guessed hers, and Pearl guessed Anna's.
After the commotion of people winning prizes, the guests all scattered once again throughout the Salvatore house. Elena and Bonnie were chatting with Caroline, Damon, Kol, and Jeremy. The exact people Liv wanted to go talk to. Not really.
"Hey guys," Liv said as she walked up to the six of them.
Before she could get a word out, Damon immediately snapped at her. "What the hell is your brother doing here?"
"I have no idea! I didn't know he was coming. I didn't even invite him. Luke did," Liv explained.
"Great namesake for your child," Kol muttered.
"Listen. Luke is my twin; he has been my best friend from day 1. The fact that he wants to give Kai a second chance doesn't make him any less deserving of being my son's namesake. Also, I don't know why he's so eager to include Kai in my life. I don't want him there. Luke claims that refusing to acclimate Kai back into society won't do him any good—"
"But does it have to be our society?" Jeremy asked. "Liv, you're Tyler's fiancé and I love you. But I do not have to accept Kai anywhere near Anna or Emma or Elena or Bonnie. Does that make sense to you?"
"Of course, it makes sense to me. I don't want him anywhere near—"
"Do you people think Elena and I are children?" Bonnie snapped. Her friends were taken aback by her outburst. "If I didn't feel comfortable with Kai being here, I wouldn't have let him stay. He seems to be on the progress of change, and I can't continue to hold his past against him. He's got psychological issues and I will not forbid him to change because it makes me uncomfortable. I will never be his friend because of what he's done, and I understand that my feelings about him are valid and he knows exactly how I feel about him and he hasn't tried to talk to me other than saying sorry. Sometimes it's not about forgiving people but letting all those negative feelings go and being free. He's one of my good friend's brother, I don't have to like him, but I can tolerate his presence. I am not mad Liv," Bonnie touched her friend's shoulder. "However, I do not like the three of you speaking for me," she addressed Damon, Kol and Jeremy.
"Or me," Elena agreed. "Maybe it's a Bonnie-Elena thing, but we're pretty big on forgiving and forgetting. Me forgiving and Bonnie forgetting. Unlike some people think, we are always not damsel in distress that need to be protected," she gave pointed looks to the boys.
"Okay, but this is Kai Parker—" Damon started.
"I know who this is. I don't have to talk to him, but I have to accept that he lives in Mystic Falls now and that he's Liv's brother," Bonnie stated.
"I appreciate that, Bonnie," Liv said. "But you don't have to accept him being around because I haven't found the courage to do it myself."
"That's okay. I just don't want you to do things or not do things because of me, because I am your friend and I will always be your friend," Bonnie took Liv's friend.
"Me too," Elena took Liv's other hand.
"Me three!" Caroline grabbed Bonnie and Elena's hands. "I felt left out," she laughed.
"We're sorry," Kol said. "We just love the two of you," he addressed Elena and Bonnie, "And of course Caroline and Liv, so it's just us wanting to protect you."
"We are able to hold our own," Elena smiled as she accepted Damon's arms around her and hugged his torso. He kissed the top of her head and whispered 'sorry' against her ear.
Ding Dong
As the door rang, Caroline walked away from her group of friends and headed towards the front door.
She opened the door and was greeted by this older couple in their late forties and their daughter who looked to be about 12 years old.
"Hi," Caroline greeted. She was thrown off by these faces, because she did not know who they were. Granted, this was a five-way baby shower, but she had met almost every guest to this shower before. The only people she didn't know was Liv's family and Pearl, but she knew who they were from pictures her friends had shown her. "Who are you here for?" Caroline asked.
The mother made a weird face when Caroline asked that. "Uhm… We're here for Katherine Pierce?" She said it almost like a question.
"Katherine? But Kat isn't pr…" Caroline's words stopped in their tracks as she connected the dots in her head. The girl looked around 12 years old. 12 years ago, it was Freshman year, aka the year Katherine put up a baby she had with Stefan Salvatore for adoption. It also helped that they had no gift and look confused when she asked who they were here for.
"Hey, Care, who are these people?" Elena's voice rang as she came from behind the door. When she reached the door and stood next to Caroline, the parent's faces held recognition.
"Katherine," the father greeted.
"Oh, I'm not Katherine, I'm her twin sister Elena…" the brunette's voice trailed off as she too connected the dots in her head.
Parents with a twelve-year-old looking for Katherine.
12 years old.
"That's the baby Kat gave up for adoption," Caroline whispered to her friend.
"I got that part," Elena whispered back. "Could you go get Katherine?"
"Sure," the blonde nodded and went to search for the brunette in question.
"Hi, I am Elena Salvatore, Katherine's twin sister and ironically married to Stefan Salvatore's brother Damon."
"I was going to say that the name Salvatore seemed familiar," the father laughed.
"I assume Katherine has told you about us," the mother added. Elena nodded.
"We are Marcus and Amelia Hebert, and this is Maria," Marcus introduced his family.
"Hi," Maria waved. "I am sorry, it looks like you are having a party."
"It's okay, sweetheart. We were actually having a quintuple—I guess?—baby shower because myself and my two best friends—one is the perky blonde you just met—are pregnant, as well as my brother's girlfriend and a childhood friend of ours fiancée. And we're all due within the next couple of months, so why not?" Elena laughed.
"Maria was just curious if she could meet her birth parents and she is on school vacation, so we thought it'd be a good time to make the trip," Amelia explained. "We are from Toronto. She wanted to know where she came from. Katherine said to look up Stefan Salvatore first, and we could only find this Salvatore residence on the internet."
"I'm assuming Katherine never expected to ever see Stefan again, let alone that they'd become in-laws one day," Elena continue laughing. How else was she supposed to get through this awkward situation?
Life is funny, sometimes.
"Please, come in," Elena invited the family into her home.
…
"Katherine!" Caroline chased down her sister-in-law. "You have guests!"
Katherine, who was standing with Elijah, Klaus, Matt, and now Damon and Kol, who had joined this group of four after apologizing to Bonnie and Elena—Elena was now dealing with the adopted family, and Bonnie and Liv were having their own conversation.
"What?" Katherine asked. Once she looked over the door, she almost had a mental breakdown. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no—" she continued to murmur as she moved to hide behind Elijah. "Why the fuck now?" she hissed. "I can't, I can't, I can't—" she looked over at Caroline.
"Are you okay?" Klaus asked, a little weird out at seeing his sister-in-law who is always cool and collected just crumble with anxiety before his eyes. What is getting Katherine so nervous?
"Oh, god, where is Stefan? I fucking jinxed myself by telling you, Caroline!" Katherine whispered.
The blonde rolled her eyes. "Something tells me they would've come anyway, Katherine, and you wouldn't have had any additional friends on your side."
"What the hell is going on?" Matt asked.
Damon looked over at the door and saw his wife talking to a family. There was a daughter who looked about twelve years old—wait, twelve years ago was when Katherine and Stefan were together for the first time. He connected the dots with how freaked Katherine is how acting and why she was asking for Stefan.
Elijah connected the dots too.
"Wait a second," Damon stated. "Did you have a baby with Stefan?"
"What?" Kol reiterated.
Katherine shushed them, "Shut up!"
Elijah rubbed his wife's back and kissed her forehead. "Want me to come with you to meet her?"
Katherine shook her head vigorously. "I can't. I never even told Stefan—"
"You're telling me that my brother has no idea that he has a child—" Damon interrupted Katherine, only to be interrupted by Klaus, who surprisingly supported Katherine.
"Hey, there's no need to be angry. She put the baby up for adoption. At a time where she never thought she'd see him again, what was the point saying anything?"
"Damon, I really don't want a lecture right now—"
"And you, blondie," Damon started. "Is this why you've been blowing off Stefan for the past few months?"
Caroline nodded. "I couldn't look him in the eyes and keep this secret."
"Wow," Klaus muttered, in awe of this shocking news. "And Damon, I'd appreciate it if you also didn't point fingers at my wife."
"Your wife knew about this for six years," Katherine said. "Caroline only knew for a couple of months. Check yourself who the real liar is."
"Yeah, it's you," Damon retorted. After seeing the death glare that Elijah gave him, he held his hands up in surrender.
Katherine glanced at the foyer and noticed that Elena invited the Heberts inside. She internally groaned.
"I can't do this…" she whispered to Elijah.
"Who are those people?" Came from a voice belonging to the one and only, Stefan Salvatore.
Katherine screamed bloody murder, which then turned everyone in the entire party's eyes towards her.
"Well, that is Katherine Pierce," Elena muttered dryly. She gave a look to Katherine that read as 'nice going, bigshot.'
All of the girls who had been at the girl's night just a few months ago looked back and forth between the Heberts, Katherine and Stefan. This began to freak Stefan out. All the looks, and not to mention the quick math he did in his head.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Stefan asked.
"Hi…" Maria stepped forward. "My name is Maria Hebert and I was adopted. My birth parents are Katherine Pierce and Stefan Salvatore."
Wow! What a cliffhanger, mwahaha. Believe it or not, I've been writing this chapter on and off for the past two months. I wanted to have it up sooner, but I needed to think of storylines and organic ways to incorporate them.
I am on Spring Break in a couple of weeks and have the next two chapters planned out, so let's see how much I can get published!
So, lots of things happened. Do you believe Esther and Mikael are still alive? What do they want? If they are alive, why did they fake their deaths?
How will Stefan handle the news about Maria? How will Katherine handle it?
Should there be anything to worry about with Kai?
Will Anna and the baby be okay?
Keep a lookout for Bonnie and Kol's wedding chapter-which will end in a few surprises! Happy surprises, don't you worry!
Please review if you want the next chapters sooner rather than later. I'm really disappointed in the lack of reviews. I'm getting a lot of favorites and follows, but zero reviews. Tell me your thoughts!
Until next time xoxoxo