NOTE: Just thought I'd drop a note and let everyone know that I've started a Tumblr. I thought I'd use it to flesh out my stories a bit. I'll be adding pictures (of Jessa's house, her engagement dress, bridesmaids gowns, her wedding dress, and the like). Also I'll be adding things for some of my other stories there. If I think it works, I'll post there and here. We'll see. Thanks so much if you like what I'm doing here. And if not, sorry? My Tumblr is same as here PastPresentFiction and the link is on my profile here. Thanks a bunch for your support!
Jessa was surrounded by ingredients when Bonnie and Ric showed up carrying totes of more ingredients. She and Damon hadn't checked the recipe cards prior to their shopping trip, so they hadn't realized that there were some pretty strange things that were included in what constituted a traditional family meal from their past.
Technically, Thanksgiving dinner wasn't celebrated until right before the war of Southern aggression began, but large family meals were had for many reasons. Jessa was putting together a fully dressed turkey that they'd usually eaten for any number of reasons, either because one of their fathers had been given some boon of a financial success or because one of their mothers felt like celebrating for no apparent reason. The sides that would accompany this massive bird was dependent upon the season, so she and Damon rummaged through the cards and played a mix and match of their favorites.
Now Bonnie and Ric was joining the newlyweds in the kitchen, chopping and reading the recipe cards that they'd carefully encased in laminate. Soft music was playing in the background, and the scent of herb encrusted turkey baking was carrying them through the rest of their dinner preparations. They were laughing as Damon opened a bottle of wine and Jessa went to let Caroline and Liz in the front door.
Damon had been correct in his belief that their first Thanksgiving wasn't going to be lonely. The Forbes had been the first to check in with the newlyweds. Damon had asked the sheriff and her wayward daughter to join them for dinner. Liz careful to offer a side and dessert. Next had been the mayor, who was coming up the steps as Jessa was showing Liz where to hang her coat. She stood aside while Tyler and his mother came inside, carrying a bottle of wine and a lovely bouquet to add to the centerpiece on their growing table. Matt Donovan, Tyler assured her, would be by later. He had to close the Grille and make sure everything was locked up before he'd head over.
They all made their way back to the kitchen, and everyone was making appreciative noises about the appetizing scent of the turkey and the accompanying sides. Jessa was smiling as they entered the open space of the kitchen and saw her husband with Bonnie and Ric, holding court as the pots on the stove were bubbling perfectly, and the oven was right on schedule. Damon filled glasses with wine, eyeing Liz and Tyler's mother in case anyone wanted to point out the ages of Bonnie, Tyler, and Caroline. Luckily, the holiday spirit was with everyone, and aside from Jessa, everyone took a glass.
"To our first official holiday," Damon said, holding his glass high. "In our house, among our friends and family." He knew that they noticed Jessa's parents were missing, as were Stefan and Elena, but no one mentioned it. "To many more."
"Here, here." Ric said, getting an echo. "How long until we eat?" He said, with wide eyes.
At that, Jessa's stomach gave a loud rumble. Everyone laughed as her face burnt. She glanced at her feet for a beat, until Damon raised her chin for a kiss. "Our little one wants to be announced, baby." He whispered, with a chuckle.
"Not yet," she answered. "Let's have dinner first." She kissed him back, then motioned for him to let her finish getting dinner together. "Let me have a look," she told the room.
She started flitting around the room, checking the turkey first, she saw it was finished. Turning the oven off, she asked Liz if the rolls needed warming. Liz confirmed that they'd probably taste better with a little heat, so Jessa tossed them onto a pan and put them in the still warm oven. She then checked and then plated or dished up each side dish as they finished. Carefully handing each to a waiting guest. Telling each person where on the table to sit each dish, she then asked her husband, and Ric to pull out the turkey. It would be up to them to make sure the turkey made it onto the platter safely. Then onto the table, so Damon could carve the bird for dinner. Lastly she removed the now warm rolls and put them in a napkin lined basket, and out they went to a linen prepared table in the dining room.
Before everyone could sit, the doorbell rang. Jessa smiled. "Tyler, Matt's here. Could you go let him in?" She asked, as she asked everyone to have a seat. They weren't going to be formal with Damon at the head of the table and she at the foot. She took the seat next to her husband, and watched with pride as he took the knife and started to carve Hattie's fully dressed turkey, while Matt took his spot. She smiled as Matt nodded his apology for his lateness. Their family, this ragtag group of people, none of whom shared a drop of blood or genetic with them, sat together and ate a meal almost entirely of recipes that came from Jessa and Damon's past lives. Lives that neither of them would have guessed would ever have intersected again.
The conversations that flowed around them never seemed odd or awkward. None of it, not even when Caroline and Bonnie discussed the differences between how the food tasted different now that Caroline wasn't a vampire any longer. Not weird when Tyler openly talked about how happy he was now that he didn't have to worry about buying new chains each full moon, in front of his mother, a widow because of the moon curse. Jessa caught Damon's eye and saw that even he thought their new reality was pretty amazing. As the dinner was coming to an end, even when dessert was served, and Liz and Caroline had truly outdone themselves with the pies. Jessa sent Damon a message asking if he was ready to tell them their news?
His blinding smile was all the confirmation she needed. Sitting back in her chair, she was content to allow him the joy of getting to tell everyone. She nodded to him, and let her hands fall to her small bump, cradling it. He sighed slightly, and she could see his eyes light up even more.
He stood up and grabbed his wine glass again. "I know I already toasted once this evening. To our first real holiday in our house." He looked down at his beautiful wife. "But I have one more thing to give thanks for, it's a big one." Smiling, he reached down for her hand. She gladly gave him one. He kissed her knuckles and looked up to see their friends, more like family watching him. "We wanted to invite you here, to celebrate Thanksgiving and to let you know that our family is growing. Jessa is giving me even more to love. We're having a baby!" He smiled, even though from where Jessa was sitting she could see the glassiness of his eyes. Big softie.
Everyone erupted. They were so happy.
"I KNEW IT!" Bonnie said, leaning over in her seat next to Jessa. "I felt something different when I hugged you earlier." She whispered in her ear. "I just felt something. It's not bad, of course, just different, again."
Ric was grinning like an idiot, and everyone was clapping and happy. Seeing everyone so happy was like icing on the proverbial cake. Jessa, and Damon when he sat back down, accept their well wishes, and enjoyed knowing that they were as happy as the couple. Knowing that others were as excited helped, even though they didn't need them to be.
After a bit, they all got together and put away the leftovers, sharing with Matt since he was on his own and Bonnie since her dad was here and there. Ric was usually over when he was hungry, so his leftovers lived in their fridge.
Then the decorating for Christmas began, aside from the tree. The tree had to be picked out by the men of the family, which meant that Damon, Ric, Tyler, and Matt made a man date for the next afternoon to go fetch one. Until then, they chose to put up the other things that Jessa and Damon had purchased. Stockings, lights for the windows, and other decorations like lighted presents and cutouts. The house started to look more festive by the minute. And everyone agreed to come back the following evening to decorate the tree.
New traditions were mingling with the old, and Jessa couldn't be happier. By late evening, everyone was saying their goodbyes. As Damon waved everyone off, Jessa was snuggled on the sofa in the library, a warm tea in her hands watching the flames of a fire in the fireplace. She was thinking hard about a phone call she didn't want to make, but knew that she needed to regardless.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Damon asked, crawling onto the sofa behind her. A feat she'd never get used to or tired of, she snuggled against him.
"Just thinking about calling my mother." She answered, sitting her teacup down on the side table. She laid her head back against his arm and looked up into his clear blue eyes. The calmness that always settled over her when she focused on him allowed her to think about what she had to do. "I'm going to need to talk to her. And I'm sure Papa is waiting to hear from me." She contemplated the call. "I'm not as angry as I was, I guess the excitement is building." She smiled up at him.
He leaned down for a kiss. "Well, of course it is." After briefly allowing their lips to touch, he pulled back. "Our baby will be amazing. A mixture of you and me? I can't wait."
TWO WEEKS AFTER THANKSGIVING
"Stop fussing with the tree," Damon said, barely looking up from the magazine he was flipping through.
Jessa was looking at the ornaments that Damon and the others had decorated the massive tree with the boys had found and placed in the corner of the library. She was waiting for her parents. They were due any moment and she was fussing. She couldn't help it. Nervousness was new for her, but there it was.
In two weeks, her bump had grown a little. She was thankful that she'd shopped for as much of her pregnancy as she could predict ahead of time, because she really couldn't think of a torture worse than shopping during the holidays. She and Damon had taken to having their groceries delivered and she was doing her gift shopping online.
After waiting a few days after Thanksgiving to call her parents, her mother had told her that they were travelling, but they'd be coming back to the US in two weeks. So now she was on pins and needles and waiting for them to ring the bell. She knew that her pregnancy was healthy, but she was still worried. She was only the second in the line of whatever she and her mother were, and even then she was different.
"Do you think I should call Bonnie?" Jessa asked, worried that maybe she should have someone else to chime in for help. "I mean, my mother might need backup during the delivery, right?"
Damon finally tossed the magazine aside. "Babe," he said, reaching for her as she came too close, and pulling her onto his lap. "You're nowhere near delivery. Let's just talk to your mother first. Then, we'll see what comes next, OK?" He kissed the side of her head. "Calm down, love. You're driving yourself crazy, and worrying for nothing." He held on to her and forced her to focus on him for a moment, calming her down again. "Remember, you and me, we've got this."
Sighing, she felt herself calm, again. "You're right. I'm just so nervous." Jessa said, agreeing that she was probably freaking out for no reason, but also that she was powerless to stop. "I'm so new to all this. And I'm only the second, Damon."
"I know, baby." He said, looking into her eyes. "But we will make sure it will all be alright. You know I'll make sure of that, right?" She knew he would. And that helped.
The doorbell rang, and she rose from his lap, pulling him to his feet. "Guess Mother is finally here." He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.
"And so is your Papa," he soothed. His hand held hers, and they walked to the door to welcome her parents.
HOURS LATER
Her parents took moments to settle into their rooms, on the opposite side of the house this time. Then her mother did a brief examination of Jessa. It wasn't as invasive as a real medical doctor might have done, and most of it was done with closed eyes and hovering hands. The real shock came when her mother looked at them and asked if they had heard the heartbeats.
"I'm sorry, did you say heartbeats? As in plural?" Jessa asked. Staring at her mother as though she'd grown an extra head, plural.
Damon was staring at Jessa still slight bump, as though it held the answers to the universe. He was concentrating, and she realized that he was attempting to distinguish the beats. She closed her eyes and attempted to as well. It sounded like an echoing horse hoof beating. With her eyes closed, but squinting to try telling if it was a singular beat or more than one, she felt like a failure. Opening her eyes she found Damon staring up at her. Quirking her eyebrow, she asked him if he heard what her mother was inferring about their children? His slight shake told her he was as in the dark as she was and she was thankful for that at least.
"No, Mother," Jessa answered, hoping her exasperation was being kept to a minimum. "We don't hear more than one beat. In fact, we didn't even hear the one." She looked away from Damon and noticed her mother's eye roll. "Guess we were too busy DIGESTING the news that we'd gotten pregnant a bit earlier than EXPECTED."
Let her deal with the fact that she'd caused that little hiccup. Jessa sighed and took Damon's hand in hers. His thumb began making the soothing motion against her skin she was so accustomed to. She waited to calm fully before asking more questions about her current condition.
"You're saying there's more than one baby, obviously. Are we having twins, or are there more, Mother?" Jessa asked, looking closely at her mother, so there'd be no more surprises.
"Twins," Madeline confirmed. "I can't guess sex, although you should be able to confirm it on your own if you choose to as you progress." She smiled, trying to smooth over hurt feelings. "From here on out, your pregnancy will be just as a normal mortal human woman would progress. Aside from our pregnancy being able to be confirmed almost immediately, they move at the same pace. Also, of course you'll be healthy, and you won't have the horrible side effects. No sickness. You may eat more, you will have a heightened sense of scent, yes more than even before, and your libido will grow. Other than that, and the obvious weight gain, sensitivity with your breasts from the milk production, you'll continue as before." She smiled. "You'll be due in late June, early July." She considered, "I'd say summer solstice time."
Jessa thought about everything and smiled, at least she wouldn't be hugely pregnant when it was disgustingly hot. "Will you need help during delivery, Mother? You will be here for my delivery, won't you?" She confirmed, unsure, but hopeful.
"Of course I'll be here," her mother said, looking at her as though she'd lost her mind. "And yes, I'd like to have some help. Perhaps the Bennett witch from your wedding. I shouldn't need her magic, but having someone who could access magic would be nice to have on hand, just in case." She sighed, "Damon will want to be nearby, of course."
Damon's head shot up. "Try in the room with her, Madeline." He snarled, glaring at his mother-in-law. "We're not in the time when you gave birth to Jessa. I'll be right beside Jessa when she gives birth to my children, thank you very much." He was holding tight to Jessa's hands as if daring her to pull him away.
Jessa's papa had been silent until this point and then he choked back a laugh. She shot him a look and saw him staring at his shoes in humorous reflection. "Papa, do you have something to add?"
"I was just thinking about the day you were born, Princess." He said, looking up with mirth marking his face. "I wanted so desperately to be in the room, but the old hens wouldn't allow it." He shot an approving look at Damon. "Good on you, my boy. Stay by my daughter's side. Keep an eye on what's going on. And let me know what the hell happens in there would you?"
He winked, and went to the side board to pour himself a drink as he chuckled at the thought of Damon and his wife in a battle of wills.
Madeline rolled her eyes again. "Yes, yes. Well fine, you'll be in the room, probably in the way, and Bonnie and I will make sure the babies make their entrance." She sat down beside the parents to be. "It'll be fine. All the two of you really have to do is prepare the nursery, pick out the names, and be ready for some sleepless nights when they get here." She shrugged, and Jessa considered the fact that her mother needed to do none of that when she'd been born. After all, she'd had a house full of servants. Looking at Damon, she realized he thought the same thing about his parents and hers.
"Easy," Jessa agreed, trying to hide her smile.
"Simple," Damon said, his smirk plain on his face.
Her papa's laughter rang out from the corner as if he could read both of their minds.