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, SuperSlyly, and kouga's older woman for your reviews! Drinking Klaus' blood earlier in the morning doesn't work as quickly as it does in the afternoon. Which is why there was more blood at the fall site and not at the hospital, where she didn't require stitches, but should have. I hope that makes sense. I apologize for that confusion.
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~Salvatore Boarding House~
[November 19th, Jai & Ness~ 5 months old, Amaya & Aira 3 weeks, Violet 22 weeks, baby's growth 28 weeks]
"Do they really need a walker?" Damon muttered as he struggled to put together Jaison and Renesmee's new walkers.
"Yes Damon, they need walkers. Jai and Ness are scooting around and are tired of the bouncer. The book says to change it up. They're curious 5-month olds." Bella said as she folded receiving blankets and placed them in a pile. Amaya and Aira were sleeping in their cribs in the neighboring nursery and were the quietest babies compared to Jaison and Renesmee. It had only been 3 weeks but parenting four children under the age of one was definitely a challenge, but they had a lot of help still hanging around. Elena was over at the boarding house with Caroline and Bonnie more since Rosalie and Emmett left for their trip, and Jasper and Lexi left last week.
"Well, maybe Alaric can figure this out," Damon continued to mumble before giving up and standing up, stretching. He smiled over at Bella, who had literally looked like she never had given birth recently. "You're beautiful," he said walking over to her and sliding his hands to her waist.
"Mhm. What do you want?" She teased and turned in his arms and looped her arms around his neck.
Damon kissed her softly. "I can tell you one thing that I want," he said against her lips. She giggled and moved away from him. "Maybe if you get those walkers together, I'll reward you," she said with a wink and he groaned before plopping back down in the floor and stared at the instructions again.
Stefan walked in with his duffle slung over his shoulder. "Hey guys, me and Alice are heading out. We're gonna go backpacking for a week in the Rockies. If you need us, you'll have to call us on the sat phone. I've put the number on the refrigerator." He said and walked over and hugged Bella and kissed the top of her head and then leaned down and patted Damon on the back.
Damon looked up at him and glared. "You get to escape while I'm trying to figure out why we bought two walkers with instructions in German." He complained.
Stefan raised a brow and looked over Damon's shoulder at the instructions. "Ask Callum to help. He speaks German I believe."
"Oh yeah!" Damon beamed, getting to his feet. "That's a great idea. "He ran off to call Callum, leaving his brother standing there shaking his head.
"So how are you feeling?" Stefan asked, setting down his duffle and walking over to the crib where Jaison was sitting up playing with a teething ring. Renesmee was taking a nap. That was one thing those twins were good at. Tag teaming sleep. Stefan reached down and picked up Jaison and bounced him a little, making him giggle.
Bella smiled and sat down in the nursery glider. "Well, I'm tired, but I've healed great. If I could get some more energy I'd be at least back to eighty percent," she said with a light laugh.
"Well you look good. Are you sure you gave birth three weeks ago?" Stefan teased and that made Bella laugh more.
"Thank you, Stefan. Well, you and Alice have fun in the Rockies and of course be careful. Is it just you two going?"
Stefan set Jaison back in his crib and picked his duffle back up. "No, Jazz and Lexi are going to be joining us with Pete and Char. We're renting a cabin and going all the way up. "
Bella nodded. "That sounds like fun. It's cold out, so don't get caught in a blizzard."
Damon returned and stooped and picked the instructions back up and laid them out and took a picture of it and sent it to Callum. "Cal said he's going to translate it and send it back to me." He explained with a grin. He looked at his brother. "Well you guys have fun. Don't forget to be back for Thanksgiving. Caroline is doing a thing."
"Of course, she is," Stefan said and shook his head. "Alright brother, I'll be back in a week." He hugged his brother and hugged Bella again before leaving them to themselves.
Damon smiled and walked over to Bella and pulled her to her feet gently and then pulled her against him. His mouth dipped down and took hers softly at first before taking more. Just then the baby monitor crackled alive with Aira and Amaya's soft cries. Bella smiled against Damon's lips. "The girls are hungry," she said and kissed him lightly before turning and heading next door to the girls' nursery.
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~Mikaelson Manor~
Violet looked at the nursery in its completion. She smiled widely; her hands tucked on her hips. The grey oak round crib sat in the middle of the room and had its own canopy that had sheer light pink curtains that draped around the crib. The crib sheet was pink with little white hearts all over it, and the bumper was a silk white with pink hearts all over it. The grey oak dresser was already full of cutesy pink frilly clothes for Hope, and the closet held even more little frilly dresses, thanks to Rebecca. The walls were painted a soft pink nearly white, and Klaus had the floors redone in a bright white-washed hardwood floor. A soft grey shag rug was in the center under the crib, and all in all, it looked like a little princess' room.
"Everything is very…pink." Kol said from the doorway. Violet turned and grinned at Kol.
"Well, she's going to be the princess," she commented and then Kol walked over to stand next to her.
"She's going to be incredibly spoiled, seeing how Jai and Ness are already spoiled and Aira and Amaya are on their way to being spoiled too," he said and held up a little bag, that was purple. "Klaus sent this. He's still in New Orleans."
Violet frowned. "He's been there for nearly a month now. When is he supposed to be back?" She took the bag from Kol.
Kol sighed. "Well, the witch problem is bigger than he anticipated, and the hybrids are giving him problems. Tyler and Hayley had something to do with it a while back before everyone was all buddy, buddy. Hybrids keep dropping off, and well, Klaus isn't taking it well."
Just then the door slammed in the front of the house downstairs. There was some crashing. Kol frowned. "Well, I take that back. Klaus is back," he said and turned and blipped out of sight. Violet moved quickly downstairs to Klaus' office and saw him covered in blood and Elijah trying to calm him down.
Kol and Finn were standing back, clearly not wanting to be in the line of fire, but Elijah wasn't afraid of his brother and was too close to Klaus for Kol's liking.
"If you would just calm down, we can figure this out," Elijah tried and reasoned.
"Figure it out? They killed Marcell in the quarter, and you want me to calm down and figure it out?" Klaus roared at his brother.
Elijah didn't flinch as Klaus stood face to face with him, his chest heaving and his eyes flashing yellow. "Yes brother. I'm saying to calm down. You just slaughtered half of your hybrids and half of the witch coven. You're in a rage and it's not-"
"They. Killed. Marcell." Klaus bit the words out through grit teeth.
Violet entered the office now, her hand pressed to her aching back and the other on the front of her belly. "Klaus, are you okay?" She heard most of what he had said, but he was still covered in blood and it worried her.
Klaus stopped and looked at his clothes, noting all of the blood and then he looked back at Violet. His eyes flickered back to his stormy blue color and his face softened. "Oh, my love, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"
Violet raised a brow. "Klaus, nothing really scares me, and your angry outburst doesn't scare me. I'm worried about you. You're covered in blood and it's dripping on the Persian rug."
Elijah's mouth twitched in an almost smile, but Kol couldn't stop himself from laughing. "You're throwing a tantrum, storming around all crazed and angry, and she's only concerned about you and the Persian rug," Kol couldn't stop laughing.
"That's not it Kol. I'm worried he was hurt, but I see that is a silly thought or worry because clearly Klaus can't get hurt, but…" she trailed off when Klaus walked to her.
"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I apologize for my outburst," he said softly. "I'll go shower and change," he said and kissed her temple before leaving the office and heading upstairs to their room to shower.
"You know that you and Bella are the only two that can calm him down like that right?" Elijah said, relaxing now that Klaus was upstairs with running water.
Violet smiled and rubbed her belly when Hope started kicking hard. She winced a little when Hope struck upwards into her ribs.
Elijah tensed. "Are you okay?" He had moved to her side without really noticing it. Kol and Finn both made moves to be closer.
She waved a hand. "Yeah I'm fine. Hope is just…. a little strong." She said with a laugh and rubbed her ribs.
"Have you been having any issues?" Elijah asked, reaching a hand out to feel the front of her belly, and felt Hope kick at his hand.
Violet smiled. "Well, other than the usual stuff, no. No issues. Carlisle was here yesterday, and it looks like she's growing about six weeks ahead of her gestation, so really she's like a 28-week-old."
Elijah nodded and moved his hand away. "Well, I know that being here alone has probably been tough. Did the contractors come and redo the floor in the nursery?"
"Oh yeah. They finished up a few days ago. I've got the nursery finished. Caroline was over yesterday and moved the furniture around for me and Bonnie helped me sort some of the clothes into the drawers. I finished it up just before you guys got home. Has Rebecca returned?" Violet said, noticing that Rebecca wasn't there.
"She's over at the wolf den," Kol commented. That's what they called the house that the Quileute boys decided to go in and buy together. They were getting tired of imposing on Bella and Damon and wanted to have their own home. So, with Klaus and Damon's help they set them up in a house closer to the outskirts of town, in the woods, with a house the could all crash at.
Violet nodded and a few moments later, Klaus returned to them, all cleaned up now. "So, what happened?" she asked as Klaus' hands went to her belly to feel Hope move around for him.
Klaus closed his eyes, keeping his anger in check. "The witch coven and some of my hybrids tried to start a coup d'état so to speak. They killed Marcell in the quarter, thinking that it would…I'm not sure what they were thinking because I killed them."
Violet nodded and reached a hand up to his face and gently caressed his cheek. Tears were in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Klaus. I know Marcell was like your son," her voice wavered a bit. She had liked Marcell a lot when she visited with Klaus to New Orleans.
Klaus put a hand over hers and with the other, swiped the tears away from her face. "It's okay. I have you, my family and Hope. I loved Marcell…this is true, but…. I handled it, and the only thing I need to figure out now is who is going to replace Marcell in New Orleans. Hayley's brother Casey has stepped up in all the calamity and Tyler and Leah are in New Orleans right now trying to reign in the rest of the hybrids."
"Can Tyler run things in New Orleans?" Violet asked, sniffing.
Klaus thought about this. "It's not a bad idea. Freya is there taking care of the rest of the coven that lead the attack on the quarter. Marcell wasn't the only one killed. There were some other vampires that didn't make it, but the coven is smaller now, and after killing most of them, I believe that the coven won't attack again like that. In all honesty, Marcell did bring a lot on himself with the coup because he was banning magic, and witches don't particularly care for being restricted when it comes to magic. The last time I was there, I advised against it, but Marcell was…."
"Strong willed," Violet said with a smile. "Well, Freya, Tyler, Leah, and Casey can handle things for right now. I'm sure everything will simmer down. For right now, why don't we not think about New Orleans and I show you Hope's nursery. It's done," she said, grabbing his hand in hers.
Klaus smiled. "I like that idea." He turned and looked at Elijah first. "I'm sorry brother," he said and Kol and Finn looked on at him, shocked that those words had come out of Klaus' mouth. Elijah smiled and nodded, acknowledging the apology.
Violet smiled too and pulled Klaus away to show him the nursery that she was in love with.
Elijah shook his head. "She has changed him a lot." He said to his other brothers.
"That she has brother. Having a child is changing him too. He's softer now," Kol agreed.
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[November 26th- Jai & Ness 5 months, Aira & Amaya 4 weeks, Violet 23 weeks, Hope's growth 29 weeks~]
~Salvatore Boarding House~
Caroline had papers laying all around the dinning table and bridal magazines strewn about. She was planning the wedding for Bella and Damon, but she was also planning a Thanksgiving party.
"So, the wedding is going to take place on December 25th, about 4pm," Caroline started as she was looking through different swatch colors for the color theme for the wedding.
Liz sat at the table drinking some hot tea as she watched her daughter flip through the swatches. Elena and Bonnie sat at the table watching their friend in her craziness doing her usual Caroline thing in silence, but big smiles on their faces. Just then Bella walked in holding Renesmee on her hip. She raised a brow as she watched Caroline talk to herself aloud about the wedding plans and the Thanksgiving dinner party.
"Hey Care, slow down," Bella called out and Caroline looked up at Bella and Renesmee and smiled. "Oh, was I doing the crazy talking out loud thing again, but it doesn't make any sense to everyone listening?"
Bella laughed. "Yeah. Just focus on one thing at a time. The Thanksgiving party is in two days, so just do the finishing touches on that."
Caroline let out a big sigh. "I've got most of it done. I'm waiting on Damon to get back with the turkey and ham."
"Breathe Caroline," Elena finally said with a laugh. "It's going to be okay."
Liz smiled at her daughter. "Your friends are right. You just need to slow down and stop stressing out. Thanksgiving will be great, and the wedding will be beautiful. You take a lot on yourself, if you don't slow down, then you'll wear yourself down."
"Listen to mom," Bella said with a smile. Caroline smiled. "Alright. I'm going to try. Thank you, guys," she said and then she walked over to her mom and hugged her. "But for real, Bella I think Sapphire blue and like a soft grey or silver for the wedding colors would be beautiful. Especially for a Christmas wedding."
Bella smiled. "I agree." She said and then Damon and Jake were walking in with bags.
"Barbie, I got the turkey and ham, and a bunch of other things that weren't on your list, but Jake was hungry, so." Damon said and set the bags down in the kitchen.
"Don't blame everything on me. You went crazy on baby food." Jake bickered back at Damon.
Caroline rushed to look at the ham and turkey and smiled. "This is great. Thank you," she said and kissed Jake on the mouth hard.
"Hey, I'm the one who went and got all the stuff," Damon pointed out and Caroline laughed and then kissed Damon's cheek.
"Thank you, Damon," Caroline said and started putting everything up that the boys brought back from the grocery store.
"That's more like it," Damon grinned and then turned to Bella and Renesmee. He smiled and leaned in and kissed Bella, which made Renesmee laugh out loud. He then kissed Renesmee on the forehead.
"Dadadadda!" Renesmee squealed.
Jake and Caroline looked at Renesmee shocked. "She talks!" They both said in unison.
Bella nodded. "She's been saying Dada for a few weeks now. She coos most of the time, but whenever she sees Damon she always squeals and says dada. Jai will coo a lot too, but he hasn't really said dada at all."
"How are Aira and Amaya?" Jake asked, moving to take Renesmee from Bella when she reached out towards him. Renesmee liked to play with Jake's hair, which had grown out. He tried to tie it out of his face, but sometimes he let it hang to his shoulders, like now.
Bella handed over Renesmee. "Well, Carlisle said that they are growing at an accelerated rate. He says that since they're hybrids, it was expected. Cal read some more on the history with Jane's help, and it says that by six months, they'll appear to be two years old. Right now, they look to be 3 months old. They are growing fast. We're bottle feeding them now because they are starting to get teeth."
It wouldn't be long before Aira and Amaya surpassed Jai and Ness, Damon thought to himself. The baby monitor that Bella had it her back pocket crackled to life with cries from Aira and Amaya.
"Right on time," Bella said with a smile, and left the kitchen area and went back upstairs.
"Has it been hard with four babies?" Caroline asked, leaning against the bar counter. She had finished putting up all the groceries.
Damon shook his head. "Not really. Bella actually is doing really good with it. At night, I make sure she stays in bed and I handle them when they're hungry. Nessie and Jai have started holding on to their own bottles. I just have to set them up at an angle in their little bouncys and they eat while I feed Aira mostly. Amaya likes to sleep longer. Usually right after Aira finishes her bottle is when Amaya will wake up. So, we're on a good routine."
Caroline shook her head, amazed. "Damon, you've really become…a dad."
"Well, I am a dad," he said with a laugh. "But I know what you really mean. I'm different. I'm not blind, I know that I wasn't the… best person to be around. I've done a lot of terrible things in my past, and I can't change those things, but I want my children to see the good me. I've always wanted to have children. When I became a vampire, that was robbed from me. But with Bella, I was able to find that path again, but even if we didn't have kids, Bella became my light, and I'm really happy now."
Liz rose from the table, carrying her cup over to the kitchen sink. "Damon, you deserve happiness." She said and then looked at her watch. "I've got to get going. I've got to be into office early in the morning. Love you guys," she said and hugged Damon and then hugged Caroline and Jake. She kissed Renesmee's cheek, who was really her granddaughter now if you thought about it.
"When is Alice and Stefan getting back?" Bonnie said, joining them in the kitchen with Elena.
"Oh, they should be getting back tomorrow. Jasper and Lexi are dropping in for Thanksgiving with Pete and Char before heading back out to Texas. They have some stuff for the kids too, so it's really perfect timing," Damon said.
Elena smiled. "I miss Lexi. Her and Jasper are doing good then?"
"As far as I can tell. They fit each other pretty good. Jasper isn't as high strung anymore," Damon said and then Renesmee reached a tiny hand out for Damon and Jake transferred her into Damon's arms.
Elena watched Damon bounce with her in his arms. She was so surprised with how well he took to being a parent. He always lit up whenever Bella entered the room, and equally as so whenever the twins or Aira and Amaya were there. It made her happy that he was able to finally be happy. Now, she was with Elijah, and Stefan was with Alice, and their lives were becoming something that she never would have imagined before now. She wasn't bitter about Stefan anymore, and now they were all about to have a giant Thanksgiving together. Even Klaus had grown on her.