It was the most surreal experience. Oddly domestic, a kind of family outing, with the Mikaelson siblings all fighting about who was going to drive and who was going to ride, as the American's called it, 'shotgun'.
Hailey and I had stood back, not wanting to interfere for fear of getting our necks ripped out for even suggesting that we might be the ones to ride in the front.
In the end, it was decided that Klaus would drive with Elijah riding shotgun, whilst Rebekah was to sit back with Hailey and I in order to stop either of us doing something we might regret. I snorted slightly. Please. If I was going to do something I regretted, I would have done it by now. In fact, I had done it by now. I patted my stomach affectionately. A lovely regret, but a regret non-the-less.
"Are you not talking to any of us, luv?" Klaus smirked at me in the rear view mirror whilst next to me Hailey and Rebekah squabbled over god only knew what. They were good friends, that much I knew, but they fought like sisters.
I'd listened to their arguments and the various interactions with my forehead pressed up against the cool window pane, amazed that Hailey had managed to so completely integrate herself within this family. I doubted I'd ever achieve that so entirely. To them, I had a feeling, I was only a walking incubator.
"She's probably not talking to you Nicklaus because I have no doubt you've been as brutish as always in my absence." Elijah interjected when I said nothing, his cool, calm voice the voice of reason. I suspected it was always like this.
"I think she's just sulking about having to go to this doctors appointment." Rebekah interjected, turning away from Hailey (who maturely stuck her tongue out at Rebekah's back) and to face me. "I doubt the witches do doctors appointments. What do they do, magic the child out of the womb to check on it?"
I bared my teeth at her and hissed like I used to do when play fighting with my sister.
Rebekah rolled her eyes and nodded her head.
"Oh, very mature. And I thought we had enough animalistic behaviour with the pregnant werewolf and my brothers."
I still stayed silent, and both men in the front glanced up at me, Klaus in the rear view mirror and Elijah over his shoulder.
"Got nothing to say to that, darling?" Klaus asked mockingly, trying to goad me into speaking. I turned my head away from him and lent it back against the window pane. No way was I talking to him for all the tea in china.
"At the risk of saying something offence to somebody and ending up daggered in a box somewhere, may I make a suggestion?" Hailey ventured, not sounding at all scared of anybody. Instantly, the eyes were on her, and I felt eternally grateful that she had taken their questioning away from me— for now.
"Okay, luv, A) we can't dagger you because you're a werewolf and pregnant." Klaus started. His voice had an undercurrent of a threat, and I sensed Elijah's annoyance and protectiveness rouse, automatically his magical energy was reaching out to Hailey as if it could protect her.
"Don't talk to her like that." He snapped, the harshest I'd ever heard him.
Klaus continued like he hadn't heard his brother.
"And B) No, you may not make a suggestion." He now started glaring at me through the rear view mirror, not even looking at the road as he started to turn onto a dirt track that led into the woods.
"See what you've done now, Katie? Got us fighting and you've not even said a word." His eyes gleamed as if he was pleased, then he yelped as I zapped him with a little magic.
I flipped him off when he looked at me in surprise, before turning and blocking them all out. I imagined the trees were the woods outside my house. I could almost hear my sister laughing as she tried to navigate her way through them.
"Leave her alone, Nicklaus." Elijah murmured in that soothing, slightly bored tone of his. I snapped my neck around to see that both he and Rebekah were watching me carefully.
Their eyes were penetrating, searching to see what I would do, what I would say. I felt my eyes burn, the ground around the car begin to shake.
None of them, apart from Hailey, looked out of the window. Klaus watched me through the rear view mirror and his siblings continued to stare at me.
"Silence won't get you what you want, Katie." Klaus warned with a chuckle, as the car stopped shaking. He had continued driving, and now we drew up outside an old building that sat in the middle of nowhere. He cut the engine but said nothing. None of them did.
I took a deep breath.
"Unlike some people, I don't need tactics to get what I want." I finally snapped back at him, shoving the car door open and sliding out. "When I want something, I just take it."
-0-
Inside, Rebekah volunteered that I went first for the baby scan. My hand dropped to my stomach, massaging it, as I stared with deep suspicion at the woman who emerged from an office. She gave me a bright smile despite my unfriendly expression.
"Right then, are you ready to go inside?" She asked, her tone deliberately friendly. Her aura pulsed, orange and kind. She was mortal. No, wait, was there a bit of witch inside her? Yes, there was. I could sense it. Just that little bit of witch blood set me at ease.
I proceeded her into the room, which was crisp and clean despite what the outside of the building might have suggested. Elijah and Klaus followed me in, and I gave them a look.
"Do you both seriously have to be here?" I demanded with a raised eyebrow as the doctor turned to fiddle with something. "Go deal with the other pregnant one. I am alright in here."
"You're a powerful witch, luv." Klaus pointed out. "How do we know you won't kill this one and make a run for it?"
"Because I don't kill people." I retorted sharply. "Unlike you, I have morals. But if it sets you at ease, have Hailey come in here and sit with me. She's loyal to you, is she not? Surely she could be trusted to keep me here?"
Elijah glowered at me, watching me warily.
"Hailey is heavily pregnant." He growled at me. "We both know you could easily take her out."
I rolled my eyes in exasperation, backing towards the raised seat/bed that I was meant to sit on for the scan. Klaus, almost without thinking, wrapped his hands around my waist and effortlessly lifted me onto it, even though it wasn't that high up.
"I'm not going to. We're friends now. She's my ally, as you'd put it. I wouldn't kill her. And besides, she's the one I like best out of the four of you."
"Rude." Rebekah put in but we ignored her.
Both brothers glowered at me some more, but when they saw that I was still refusing to back down they turned their heads away in the same arrogant manner.
"Very well, luv." Klaus turned back to me, quirked his lips in his wicked grin. Despite myself, my stomach flip flopped. I pressed my hand to it, trying to look as calm and neutral as possible— completely innocent. "The little wolf will come and sit with you." He now spun on his heel and stabbed a finger at the doctor. Unsurprisingly, she looked a little scared.
"I've had doctors before who cause my baby and it's mother to almost be killed. Now there are two babies, and two mothers. If either of them get even a scratch that is not for medical purposes, your head will be on one side of the room, your heart on the other and your body collapsed in the middle, am I making myself clear?"
I reached out and shoved his shoulder. Both men looked back at me, startled.
"Stop scaring the nice doctor woman. Its not her fault Rebekah decided that I needed a check-up."
"Finally." Rebekah threw her hands up in the air. "Jesus, I'm the one who's trying to do the best for this family! My little niece or nephew hasn't been checked out by a professional doctor yet and I call that bad parenting."
My anger flashed. I glared at her. She hit the wall behind her.
"Don't ever call me a bad mother!" I shouted angrily, scared that I actually was, clutching my stomach.
Rebekah was on her feet before I could blink, but she didn't look harmed or offended. She straightened herself off, and flashed me a brief grin.
"There. I knew you had it in you." She turned to the doctor. "Ignore the beasts that I am forced to call brothers. Please, won't you take care of my nephew or niece?"
-0-
Hailey stood behind me, and because I was scared and needed somebody I clutched her hand. I wished Laura was there with me..or my mother. Especially my sister. How would my sister feel, being an aunt? Would her face light up? Would she help me pick names? What type of an aunt would she be?
"Okay, here we go." The Doctor, Orla, smiled at me as she approached. "The jelly may be a bit cold so—" She started rubbing it on my stomach, and I yelped in surprise.
The door to the room banged open as three immortal siblings appeared in the doorway.
"What is it?" Klaus demanded in a roar. "What has she done to you?"
"Klaus, you can't kill her inside the room, allow me to remove her." Elijah said in a surprisingly reasonable voice.
Rebekah also looked furious.
"I bloody trusted you!" She yelled at the doctor, who was rapidly backing into a corner.
"Guys, stop." Hailey jumped in front of the doctor and I scrambled to get up. Klaus and Elijah were there immediately, pushing me back down
"What do you mean, stop?" Elijah asked calmly as Klaus scoured my form.
"Did she hurt you? Where did you hurt you?" He demanded of me. "What is this?" He jabbed a finger at the jelly on my stomach.
I rolled my eyes.
"This is for the ultrasound, so we can see our baby." I explained to him with a remarkable amount of patience.
All siblings stopped, and turned to face with with raised eyebrows.
"Then why did you yelp?" Elijah asked, moving closer to me. Hailey followed him, grinning down on me.
I flushed to the roots of my hair, embarrassed, then looked down awkwardly on my jellied stomach.
"It...it was cold." I confessed. "It was a shock."
Both siblings looked down at me.
Rebekah laughed.
"Brilliant. The little witch doesn't like the cold."
"Fuck off." I shot back at her.
Hailey, luckily, intervened before we could start properly squabbling.
"Could you come do the ultrasound please?" She asked the doctor in a slightly strained voice. "Quickly?"
Cautiously, shaking slightly, the doctor advanced on us. She skirted around the Originals, and Rebekah smiled menacingly at her— teasing her. I laughed slightly.
The doctor now put another thing on my stomach, not making eye contact with Elijah or Klaus, and pointed to the monitor.
"Do you see here?" She showed me an outline. I watched the little outline, the imagined hearing the thumping of my babies heartbeat.
"Is that my baby?" I breathed out. "That, there, is that little thing my baby?"
Orla forced a smile onto her face at me.
"Yes, there it is." She turned back to the screen. "See that, thats a little arm, and a little leg..."
"My baby." I breathed again. Then, to my shame and astonishment, a tear started leaking down my cheek.
I tried to dash it away, but Klaus snatched my spare hand up and held it tightly in his own. Scared, I looked towards him. I thought he was going to say he'd seen this all before with Hailey, he didn't need another child, get rid of it, or maybe tell me to get over myself. Maybe he would even make one of his awful retorts that I didn't feel ready to handle.
But, he wasn't. Instead, he was staring at the screen with a neigh on awed expression. His hand was almost crushing mine, but I didn't care because of his wondrous look. He looked like he was seeing this for the first time, through different eyes.
"Wow." Was what he finally said. "My child...right there."
"You must be very proud." Orla forced out through chattering teeth.
Nobody replied. Rebekah, Klaus, Hailey, Elijah and I all stared at the screen. Hailey put her hand to her stomach but squeezed my hand. We smiled at each other— supernatural mums together.
But, I felt a prick of sadness. The last time I had seen a screen like this, my mother had been pregnant with my sister. I'd peeped up over the bed and the doctor had lifted me up so I could see this grainy picture. And I'd fallen in love with her, even then. Promised to look after her.
But, she wasn't here. She wasn't here to witness the miracle of my own baby.
"New Orleans shall be ours." Klaus suddenly declared viciously. We all jerked up to stare at him. I sighed. He had to ruin this by saying that, this power-hungry man?
"What did you say, brother?" Elijah murmured.
"New Orleans shall be ours." He repeated, then hurried on to explain as we all glared at him. "Not just mine. Ours. For these children, we must bring Marcel to justice and take this city back for our descendants. For my children, we must do this."
Oh. So, still power-hungry, but sweetly power hungry. I could live with that. He wanted it for us, his family.
Elijah clapped him on the back.
"Family seems to be becoming more important to you at last, little brother." He congratulated.
Klaus chose not to reply, but an annoyed expression crossed his face at his brothers words.
"Yes, yes." Rebekah sighed impatiently. "Its so good that Klaus is finally becoming reasonable again. But how do you suggest we do this? He has a whole army of vampires who are loyal to him and only him, plus Davina."
Davina?
"Yes." Klaus nodded. His wicked smile came again. Again with the flip-flops in my stomach. "That is true. On the other hand, on our side we have three originals, one royal werewolf and one extremely powerful witch, not to mention a whole British coven of witches, a whole bayou of werewolves and two extraordinary babies." He nodded decisively, once. "I think Marcel's army is extremely outnumbered."
I heard his words— he mentioned my coven.
"We have lunch with Marcel now, don't we?" Hailey asked.
"You don't." Klaus corrected her, but she just rolled her eyes.
"Well, you, Rebekah and Kat do anyway. Isn't there something you three could do..."
I frowned up at her.
"Do what?"
But Klaus was nodding thoughtfully— they all were. That were pretty annoying, that they all knew each other so well that they knew what was happening when, what they each were thinking. I still didn't have a fucking clue.
"Yes, that could work." Elijah murmured. "If Kat could just—"
I raised my eyebrows at them, starting to sit up.
"If Kat knew what was about to happen, Kat may agree to doing what you clearly want to do." I said pointedly.
Rebekah pulled me back down in a lying position as the doctor hastily cleared everything away around me.
"We were just thinking you could use your charms and you magic to get what you want from Marcel." Rebekah explained. "He clearly took a liking to you— and you're so powerful that Davina can't sense you or your magic— we could use that to our advantage."
As the jelly was removed from my stomach, Klaus pressed his hand to were our baby rested.
"For our child, Katie." He murmured, looking into my eyes. I was all at once transported to the night we first met— the night he'd been so genuine and loving. "For our child we could take back New Orleans."
"And Hailey's child." I put in weakly.
Hailey giggled from beside Elijah.
"Me and my child are clearly not as important in this plan as you are." She pointed out.
Elijah turned towards her.
"You are always very important." He assured her softly.
From where I was, I saw Rebekah mime throwing up.
"Okay, barf."
"Little sister, I'd appreciate you keeping your opinions to yourself." Elijah turned towards his sister, his usually placid face tensing.
"Alright, okay!" I said over Rebekah's retort, not wanting to get into yet another Mikaelson family argument. "I'll do it. But on one condition."
Silence in the room. I looked up at Klaus— looked him in the eyes like he'd looked at me.
"I want to see my sister."
-0-
Okay, I know, I've not updated in years/months but I have been very busy preparing for exams (which I should really be preparing for now, actually) but I thought I'd better post this up just in case one of you thought I'd died or something. As usual, please review and I'll post much quicker next time if the reviews keep coming!
Thank you. xxxxx