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. Thank you.
Writer's Notes: Thank you Guest, munzke11, and kouga's older woman for your reviews! Closure is always good!
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~Mikaelson Manor~
October 29th Violet~ 19 weeks
Violet poked at the small little bulge that was starting to show itself on her belly. She was still so little, but literally halfway through the pregnancy already. Carlisle insisted that Hope was okay and growing perfectly fine. In fact, her growth was accelerated like Bella's twins she was carrying. While she was only 19 weeks pregnant, Carlisle said that Hope was more like 23 weeks. That was a whole four-week difference and it worried Klaus, but Carlisle said that as long as she didn't just start accelerating every day, she would be fine.
Klaus found Violet staring in the mirror at herself when he came into the bedroom. "You look perfect."
She turned to look at him, dropping her shirt to cover her belly. "Oh. It's not that. I'm just not showing very much is all."
He leaned in and kissed her softly. "Hmm, well I believe the doctor said that everything is normal, and all the tests came back normal. You're not even anemic," he rubbed his hand over her belly.
"I know! I didn't get any pregnancy symptoms like Bella did," she pouted.
"You're complaining about not getting morning sickness?" He raised a brow.
"I know that sounds stupid, but…I wanted to experience it all. I guess it doesn't really make sense." She muttered.
He laughed. "Well, nothing ever makes sense in this world anymore. Just trust the ultrasounds and the doctor. There's nothing to stress or worry about other than what color the other nursery is going to be."
"You don't want to just use the same nursery that we made here for the twins?"
"Of course not. Hope will have her own room. The other nursery is more like…a playroom really for Jai and Nessie when they come over, and whenever the girls come over as well." Klaus said and moved over to the nightstand by the bed and picked up the color swatches and handed them to her. "Pick a color, design it however you want. If you want her to be a princess, we'll go all out. If you want me to hire an interior designer, I will do that as well."
Violet snorted. "Klaus, she's a baby, she's not going to care about what her room looks like until she's like a teenager."
A smile played on his lips. "Yes, but you care. I love you," he said and stepped to her and kissed her again softly. "I've got some errands to run in New Orleans for next week. You'll be here alone. Why don't you go and stay with Bella while I'm gone?"
"I can come with you?"
"I rather you stay here. New Orleans isn't exactly the safest place right now. Marcell is having a hard time with some of the witches there. Freya is going to come and help smooth things over, but I would much rather you stay here. I promise I'll be back before you know it," he said and kissed her again.
She sighed and looked down at the swatches that she held in her hands. "Okay. Well, I'm going to get the nursery done then next week. I'll probably spend thousands of dollars and all of that jazz," she teased.
"You have a credit card in your name love. Spend whatever you want," he said, even though he knew that she wouldn't spend crazily like she tried to suggest.
"I'll just have Elena come over and stay with me for the week. I'm sure she'll have fun helping with the nursery while you and your siblings are gone."
He smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. Invite Caroline and Lexi too." He kissed her one last time before leaving her alone.
She sighed and sat down on the side of the bed. Klaus being gone for a whole week was going to kill her. She plopped backwards on the bed with another sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She felt a little flutter on the inside that made her jolt back up.
"Was that you Hope?" She said out loud, with a wide grin on her face. She felt some more fluttering and she placed both her hands on her belly and smiled. She could feel Hope fluttering around inside her now and that was good enough to replace her envy of Bella's pregnancy symptoms.
####
~Salvatore Boarding House~
[October 29th]
Bella 31 weeks, baby's growth 33 weeks ~Jai and Ness 17 ½ weeks~
Bella lay on the couch in the parlor with a blanket pulled around her. October was getting colder out, and her favorite place was now in the parlor in front of the fireplace. Carlisle told her that she had to stay off her feet now until the twins came. He said that they might make their appearance in a few weeks. Twins usually came early, and it was rare to carry full term, but he was determined to make sure they wouldn't come just yet. He had checked her earlier last week to make sure she wasn't dilating yet, and she wasn't so the worry was cast aside for now. Halloween was in two days and naturally Caroline was throwing a big event down at the Grille. She wouldn't be able to make it, but Damon could bring Jaison and Renesmee out so they wouldn't miss their first Halloween.
She was reading a book when Jasper walked in. He smiled at her. "I know I'm supposed to say nice things like you look beautiful and all of that, but darlin you look miserable."
Bella laughed. "Well, I'm ready to explode, it's freezing, and I can't stop peeing every twenty minutes. I'm ready for the girls to be here, but I know it's not time." She tried to sit up on the couch but was struggling. Jasper moved to her and helped her slide up carefully and repositioned her pillow.
"Carlisle have you on bed rest still?" He asked as he sat down in the armchair across from her.
"Yeah. I'm not supposed to be on my feet until after the girls get here now, which he says could be a few more weeks," she set her book aside after placing her bookmark to keep her page.
Jasper nodded. "Well, Lexi and I are hanging around until after the girls are born and then we're gonna head out to Texas. I still own a ranch out there that Pete and Char live on now. I figured I'd go back for a while. I just wanted to let you know what the plan was. I'm always a phone call away, and I'll be here if ya ever need me."
Bella smiled. "Thank you, Jazz. I'm so happy for you and Lexi. I know things got weird before with us in the past, but I'm glad that you're still here and part of my family."
"Of course, darlin." He stood and leaned over and kissed the top of her head before ruffling her hair like Emmett does. Bella laughed. He left her alone again, grabbing his keys off the hook by the front door and left the house to head to the Grille to help Caroline like he promised.
Bella wasn't alone long because Damon wandered into the parlor holding Renesmee. She was bright eyes and alert, looking around. She could sit up better than Jaison could, and she was actually bigger than her brother by a few pounds. Bella smiled and reached up for Damon to hand her to her.
"Nessie!" Bella's voice sang and gathered her in her arms. Renesmee cooed and blew bubbles for her. "You're so beautiful, yes you are!" Bella used her finger and tapped on her cheek, making Renesmee grin. "Oh! Damon, there's a tooth!"
Damon grinned. "Yep. Jai has one coming in too, but his is on top."
"Is Jai still sleeping?" Bella said and rocked Renesmee a little.
"Oh no, Rose is changing his clothes. He spit up a lot the last feeding. He's not feeling well I don't think. I took his temperature and its low grade. I called Carlisle and he said he's on his way over to take a look at him."
Bella frowned. "I wonder what it could be. He just had his vaccinations last week."
"Carlisle said that it might just be the teething thing, but he's going to check him just in case. Nessie is fine though, no fever or anything. She's just a happy little girl." He said and leaned down and kissed Bella softly and then kissed the top of Renesmee's head.
"Your dad is coming by later after work. Caroline is in full party planning mode. Since Jake has recovered, she's back to her old self. I believe she's dropping off wedding stuff for you to look through as well," he said and lifted Renesmee back into his arms.
"Sounds like Caroline. She's driving me crazy with a date. You know I don't really need a big wedding. I also don't want to look like a whale either," she pouted.
Damon laughed. "Well you look beautiful and you glow so pretty."
"Nice try, Jazz already told me I look miserable."
"Thanks Jasper," he muttered with a smile. "You are beautiful though, and I'll do whatever you want to do. I just know that this is really Caroline's wedding and if we don't go along with what she says, she'll get really scary," he teased.
Bella laughed. "Isn't that the truth," she shook her head.
Carlisle opened the front door and found Damon, Bella and Renesmee in the parlor. "Oh, hello Bella. You're still laying down, so that's good. I'll come back down and check on you after I finish with Jaison." He walked over and smiled at Renesmee. Damon handed her to Carlisle, who gladly took her and walked out of the parlor with her and upstairs to the twin's nursery.
"I love you, I'll go up with doc and see what's going on with Jai," Damon said and leaned over and kissed Bella again before disappearing.
Upstairs, Carlisle had Renesmee on the little changing table, listening to her chest, and taking her temperature. She gripped his finger tightly and Carlisle smiled. "Well, she's perfectly fine. I see she's getting a tooth. That's great progress. She's already half a pound heavier from last week, so she's growing really good." He zipped her footed pajama back up and switched her with Jaison. He went through the same motions.
"Yeah. Low grade. He doesn't seem to be afflicted from it. It's most likely the teething or the vaccinations from last week. I'm going to give him some infant Tylenol. You can give him the Motrin again in six hours. I'd switch them on and off every six hours. If his fever rises, call me immediately. Anything over 101, you should take him in to the hospital," he zipped him up too after giving him a dropper of the medicine.
Rosalie picked him up and put him in his crib, smiling down at him. "I'm going to hate leaving for two weeks." She said and sighed.
Carlisle smiled. "You and Emmett need this time. You are not confined by the sun no longer, so enjoy yourselves Rose." He put a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled at him.
"Thank you," she turned and hugged him before leaving downstairs.
####
[October 31st Halloween night 6pm]
~Salvatore Boarding House~
Bella sat in the armchair, her feet propped up on the table and read on her book some more. Everyone was gone in the house, even the twins. Everyone went to the Grille for the Halloween party Caroline put together. She used to enjoy the solitude, but now, it only bored her. She set her book aside and put her feet on the floor. She stood, feeling slightly woozy. She frowned. "I must have stood too quickly," she brushed it off and started for the kitchen to get herself some water. She wobbled a bit and then she got really dizzy. She made it to the foyer by the stairs where she reached out to catch the banister, but she lost her balance and fell on her side. Her vision flickered in and out before darkness overtook her.
Edward walked up to the front door of the boarding house and knocked. He knew that Bella was here alone, and he wanted to stop by and tell her that he was leaving to South America for a while. He knew it was stupid and that she wouldn't care, but he had to do it for himself. It was his own closure. He remembered that she was supposed to be on bedrest, so she probably was laying down. He opened the door and spotted her laying in the floor unconscious at the foot of the stairs.
"Bella!" He rushed inside and knelt by her side. He could hear her heartbeat and it was slow. There was water on the floor around her, and there was blood by her head where she must have hit it while falling. He pulled his phone out and called 911. "Hello, yes. I need to get an ambulance to the Salvatore Boarding house," he spoke quickly, but he was calm. "Pregnant woman, nineteen looks like she fell maybe? She's breathing, but she's got a head wound, and I think her water broke."
The operator dispatched an ambulance and assured Edward that help was on the way. He hung up and then called Damon.
"Edward?" Damon was genuinely confused that Edward would be calling him.
"Damon, Bella is hurt. I've called for an ambulance, but you need to get here right away."
Damon didn't respond, only hung up. He rushed to find Alaric. "Ric. I have to get home. Bella is hurt, call Carlisle and tell him to meet us at the hospital. Can you handle the twins?"
Alaric pulled his phone out. "Yes, I can. Go!" he dialed Carlisle's number and relayed the information.
Damon got to the boarding house right when the ambulance got there. They were loading Bella into the ambulance and closing the door. He stopped the EMS driver. "Is she okay?"
"She's still unconscious, we're going to the hospital in an emergency. Are you the husband?"
"Yes. She's pregnant with twins. Are the babies okay?" Damon was panicking for the first time in his life.
"The babies are okay. Vitals are holding strong, but we're worried about the head wound. Follow us to the hospital," the driver said and hopped in the ambulance.
Damon turned and saw Edward. "What happened?"
"I came by on my way out of town. I knocked and she didn't answer and so I walked in and saw her laying there," Edward pointed to the spot next to the stairs.
"Damn it. I should have stayed home tonight," Damon cursed and got to his car, Edward keeping stride with him. They ducked into the car. It would be faster to go on foot as vampires, but they couldn't just show up at the hospital before the ambulance.
####
~Mystic Falls Hospital~
They rushed Bella into the emergency room, Carlisle was already there to great them. He lifted on of her lids and shined a light. "Pupils are reactive," Carlisle said out loud. "Has she woken up yet?"
"No, she hasn't. She's having contractions, and we tested the water, and it is amniotic fluid. She's in active labor," the EMS drive replied. The nurses took over and moved Bella into a private room. Carlisle washed his hands quickly and put on gloves before having the nurse situate Bella so he could check to see how she was doing. She wasn't completely there yet.
Bella started to mumble and wake up. Carlisle stood and came to her side. "Bella? Come on wake up," Carlisle said and took off his gloves and rubbed his hands over her cheeks.
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. "What? I'm in the hospital?"
"There you are. Bella, you had a fall. Edward found you and called an ambulance." Carlisle explained.
Bella tensed and grit her teeth as a wave of pain shot from her back all through her belly as it tightened. Her hands moved to her belly instinctively and she groaned in pain. When the pain subsided, she was panting. "Carlisle, the girls! They can't come yet!" She was starting to panic.
"Listen Bella. They are coming. You're dilated to a seven and your water has broken. I need to take a look at your head okay. You hit your head when you fell. I need to make sure you don't need stitches. Stay calm," Carlisle said in a soothing voice and looked at her head. He was relieved to see that it was a shallow cut and nothing that would require him to stitch it up. "Do you remember what happened?"
Bella nodded and shifted in the bed uncomfortably. "I was in the parlor. I was thirsty. I got up and was a bit woozy. I figured I stood up too quickly, and then I started into the kitchen. I got a bit dizzy, so I reached out to try and steady myself, but I guess my balance isn't great and I fell on my side. I must have hit my head on the bottom stair, because I passed out."
Carlisle nodded. "Okay. Well, it's not uncommon for pregnant women to experience vertigo. You should have sat back down, but I'm not going to scold you. Nurse Howell, please get Bella set up in a gown, and get the fetal monitors on her." He said and smiled at Bella. "We're having the babies today Bella. I promise you that they'll be in great hands. The NICU team here is amazing remember? I'm going to go get Damon."
"Call mom please and Violet? I want them here." Bella's eyes looked scared. She had taken to calling Liz mom because it made Liz happy, and it had made Bella feel happy too.
"I will. Rest for right now before the next contraction hits you," he said and left her room.
Out in the waiting area, Damon was pacing while Edward sat, watching him. When Damon saw Carlisle, he rushed over to him. "Is she okay? Are the girls okay?"
"She's awake now. She's asking for Liz and Violet to be there. Did you call anyone?" Carlisle asked.
Damon shook his head. "I just rushed straight to Bella. Alaric is at the Grille with everyone. He knows," he said and just then Charlie, Liz, Violet, Ezra and Callum burst into the waiting area.
"Damon! Is she okay?" Charlie rushed over to him, hugging him.
"She's awake," Damon said and looked to Liz and Violet. "She's asking for both of you."
"Me?" Liz said, pointing at herself.
Carlisle smiled. "I'll let you three back there. Charlie if she asks for you I'll come get you," he said and lead Damon, Liz, and Violet back to Bella's room, who was in the middle of a contraction, and she was groaning.
Damon rushed to her side, taking her hand in his. "Hey sweetheart. It's okay," he soothed. When the contraction passed and she released Damon's hand, she looked over to Liz and Violet. "I wanted you both here because well mom, you've done this before and Violet you're about to go through this soon," she said with a laugh.
Liz smiled. It always warmed her heart to hear Bella call her mom. She knew that she would never replace Renee, but Bella always told her that she was closer to being a mom to her in a lot of ways that Renee couldn't be. "Thank you, Bella. It means a lot for you to want me here," she said and came to her side.
"Is dad here?" Bella asked.
"He is, and so are your brothers," Liz said with a smile.
Bella smiled and then looked to Damon. "Damon, if something happens for whatever reason, you make sure that the girls are the priority okay?"
Damon frowned. "Nothing bad is going to happen Bella."
"I know. But just in case. The girls are the priority." Her eyes locked on to his. "I have to tell you…" she looked down at her hands. "I talked to Carlisle about this. I asked about ingesting vampire blood. He said it would be okay this late in the pregnancy. So, I asked Klaus to give me his blood. He gave me three vials, and I've put it in my decaf coffee the past few mornings."
Damon stared at her in shock. He wasn't sure what to say. They had discussed their life together, but he never thought that she would want to be a vampire. They had even talked about having another child maybe one day since they knew that they could.
"Don't be mad, but it's just a failsafe. Of course, I'm sure everything will turn out fine and I'll be okay, but I don't want you to have to choose. I will be okay, but the girls are the priority."
Violet and Liz listened in silence. Klaus hadn't said a word about it to her, but she knew that Bella probably wanted it that way.
"You're going to be okay," Damon said and leaned down and kissed her. She groaned as another contraction rippled through her.
The contractions were coming closer and closer together now. Carlisle checked her again and nodded. "Okay Bella, you're ready, we're going to push on the next contraction okay?"
Bella shook her head. "No no. I can't. I'm not ready," tears filled her eyes. Liz grabbed her hand in hers and looked down at her, brushing her hair out of her face. "Bella, you are ready. The babies are ready. You can do this; I promise you that you can."
Damon had her other hand in his, stroking it. "Liz is right Bella. You're the strongest woman I know. You're going to do great. I love you."
"Okay Bella, go ahead and push." Carlisle said sternly.
Bella screamed as she pushed like instructed. The pain was almost unbearable, and she wished she would have opted for pain medicine. She had been so against it from the start, but she was starting to regret that decision now.
After about ten more pushed Carlisle smiled brightly. "Okay Bella, I see the head. You're doing great, this next one I want you to push as hard as you can okay?"
On the next contraction, Bella did as she was told and then girl twin number one was born. Her lungs filled with air and she screeched loudly. "Baby girl number one is here," Carlisle said, quickly clamping and cutting the cord and wrapped her up and handed her off to the nurse on standby to help finish clearing the lungs and getting her weight checked.
"Bella, I need you to focus, baby girl number two is right behind her. I need you to push for me," Carlisle instructed. Bella was so tired, but she had to do this. She had to make sure both girls made it into this world. She pushed as the contraction tore through her again. Carlisle caught the second little girl and repeated the process. Her cries were ear splitting as she cried louder than her sister.
"Baby girl A, 5 pounds 7 ounces, 18 inches long," Nurse Howell called out. "Baby girl B, 5 pounds, 14 ounces and 18 inches long," the other nurse called out. Both girls were breathing perfect on their own. Carlisle was afraid that they would need a CPAP at the least, but they surprised him and were healthy weights for being 33 weeks, but it appeared that they were really closer to 35 or 36 weeks.
Bella's breathing calmed, but the sweat remained on her face. She was tired, but she wanted to hold he girls, wanted to look at their tiny faces and see how perfect they were.
Carlisle finished up with Bella and stood from his stool and looking at the monitors. All of her vitals were strong, and other than looking extremely tired, Bella looked fine.
"Okay Bella. You can go ahead and hold your babies," Carlisle said and nodded to the nurses. They brought them over and helped position them in her arms. Liz had tears rolling down her cheeks as did Violet. When Bella looked up at Damon, Damon also had tears rimming his eyes as he smiled down at her and his daughters.
"You did it," he leaned in and whispered, kissing her cheek and then looking at the two, now quiet and warm, twin girls.
Bella smiled tiredly as she looked down at the two little girls. "They're perfect," she whispered.
Violet clasped her hands together and put them to her lips. "This is a beautiful sight. Damon lean in closer, I'll take a picture," she said as she reached in her back pocket and snapped a picture. "Bella for someone who just gave birth, you look beautiful," she said and turned the picture to show them.
Bella smiled. "That's a great picture Vi, thank you." She said and looked to Liz. "Thank you for being here mom. "
Liz smiled and leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so happy to be apart of this experience.
Damon grinned. "I'm going to go get your dad and brothers." He said and Bella nodded.
Damon walked out into the waiting area with a big grin on his face. Everyone seemed to migrate from the Grille to the waiting area and people were dressed in all sorts of costumes. "Both girls are perfectly healthy, and Bella did great. Charlie, Ezra, Cal, Caroline, you guys can go on back to meet the new additions." It was family first, and then Bella would make the decision for everyone else to meet them.
Charlie, Ezra, Cal, and Caroline walked back to Bella's room. Stefan smiled and hugged his brother. "I'm so proud of Bella. She did it without pain meds Stefan. Come on, come meet your new nieces," he said, looping his arm across Stefan's shoulder and they walked back to the room.
Charlie was holding one of the girls while Ezra held the other. Everyone was gushing over them.
"What are their names?" Stefan asked as he peered down at the sleeping bundle in Charlie's arms.
Damon smiled at Bella as they looked at each other. "Dad, you're holding Amaya Lilian Salvatore," Bella said, and Stefan looked back at his brother, a stunned expression on his face. "And Ezra, you're holding Aira Faye," Bella concluded.
Charlie grinned down at his granddaughter. "Welcome to the world Amaya, and Aira."