Chapter Forty-Two

'Surely you can see this from our point of view, bestie!' I complained, staring at his face on the laptop screen.

We were currently in a group Skype chat—Elijah was talking to Genevieve about the moonlight rings and Klaus was in the shower. It was still pretty early in the morning—the sun hadn't even risen yet, but with everyone being in different time zones we needed to be awake. Bekah, Elena and Kol were in the chat, but Finn was nowhere to be found, which was concerning in itself and I made a mental note to check up on him later.

'Of course we can,' Elena said, her voice understanding.

'Bestie-,' Kol paused, but I was glad he was calling me that, 'I do understand where you're coming from and honestly I'm glad that we weren't daggered to be protected, which I'm sure we would have been if it was left to Nik.'

'That's not true, Kol,' Nik disagreed as he entered the room, a white towel wrapped around his waist, while his chest still glistened with moisture.

'I'll take it from the look on Kimmie's face you're either naked or close to it.' Bekah commented.

I was sat on the bed, my back against the headboard, so when Nik walked in, I had a clear view of his sculpted body while those on the chat could just see my face. I hadn't realised I had been following the progression of the water droplets flowing steadily down his chest until Bekah commented on it. My gaze snapped back to the laptop, my cheeks flushing as everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes at Nik's devilish smirk as he dried off and dressed in a flash. In the next moment he was sitting beside me on the bed and I adjusted the laptop so everyone could see us both.

'Anyway…' I muttered, my head leaning on Nik's shoulder, 'what were we talking about?'

'It's nice to see that you two are still massively infatuated with each other,' Elena teased, but I could tell she was genuinely pleased.

'Of course they are,' Bekah rolled her eyes with a smile.

'Anyway,' Kol said, rolling his eyes, 'so my Bestie is about to pop and I'm only just now finding out about it?'

'Well… yes.' I avoided Elena and Kol's eyes, feeling a little guilty. Nik took my hand in his, entwining our fingers and offering a little squeeze for support.

'The night Genevieve captured us, after Bekah and I sorted out the whole Marcel business—,' Nik started to explain, but was interrupted.

'Wait, you sorted it out? Then what was the banishing about?' Kol asked.

'If you'd resist interrupting me for a moment, brother I could tell you,' Nik rolled his eyes and I smirked—I'd missed seeing them interact.

'As I was saying, we sorted it out, but knew we'd be stuck in there until morning thanks to the boundary spell Celeste had gifted us with. So we were just getting comfy and waiting for the supplies that Hayley was bringing when Kim had a vision.' Nik looked over to me, silently asking me if I wanted to continue, I squeezed his hand and took over.

'I saw Genevieve. She cast a spell to search for pregnancy, but altered it so that if there was any magic protecting it then it would be rendered void.' I said, my gaze becoming unfocused as I remembered, 'after that she spoke to the ancestors. She said she didn't want to do it, but after they threatened her she said she would kill our baby.'

'Bitch,' Kol and Elena said at the same time, startling a laugh out of Bekah and I.

'Indeed,' Nik agreed, bringing his arm to rest around my waist and allowing me to lean against him more heavily.

'When I came out of the vision, we could hear the babies heart beat, and assumed she had cast the spell in the present.' I explained.

'And seeing as the ancestors had demanded it, we knew that our mother was the one who was behind the request.' Nik carried on, picking up where I left off as his hand moved to rub my lower back, 'and naturally, we assumed that it wasn't just the baby that was in danger, seeing as every time she pops up, she wants us all dead.'

'Mother of the year award right there,' Bekah commented with a roll of her eyes, but I could tell that the fact her mother wanted her dead hurt her more than she let on.

'Seeing as Genevieve expected Nik to be pissed off with Bekah, we used it to our advantage and convinced you guys that was the case too.' I said quietly, knowing they weren't going to like that we had manipulated them.

'You knew that if we thought you were banishing her we would leave too,' Kol realised, looking a mixture of hurt and impressed.

'We just wanted to protect you, and we knew it would be harder for her to hurt you all if you were spread out over the world and protected with magic,' I said, hoping that they would understand.

'I don't like it,' Kol said, his declaration was followed by a grunt of pain and I assumed that Elena had just elbowed him in the ribs, 'but I understand and I appreciate you wanting to protect us, but it should have been our decision to make, Bestie.'

'I know,' my eyes fell to my lap guiltily, 'I'm sorry.'

'We know.' Elena smiled kindly, 'and I forgive you.'

'Me too,' Kol smiled when he noticed the surprise on my face, 'you see, Nik this is what happens when you keep us in the loop and don't dagger us for protection.'

Nik rolled his eyes, recognising the teasing in Kol's voice.

'Yes, well I'm glad we've reached this point, brother.' Nik said, his voice sincere.

Kol's eye brows shot up in surprise before he smiled, 'me too, Nik.'

'So can we come back now, or what?' Bekah asked impatiently.

I shared a look with Nik, and saw that neither of us knew what would be best. Ester was still a threat, but the babies were due any day now and they would need to be protected; I just knew they would.

'Ugh, I have not missed their freaky silent conversations,' Bekah mock shuddered, drawing our attention back to them.

'Me neither,' Elena agreed.

'Oh, shush,' I rolled my eyes with a smile, 'Ester is still a threat. As long as she's with the ancestors, witches are going to keep coming after the babies and if Ester's track record is anything to go by, she'll be coming for you guys as well.'

'I don't care. I'm not going to run and hide while some old coots threaten our family, I'll be in New Orleans later tonight.' Bekah promised, and I knew that nothing would change her mind, but she signed off before we could try.

'We'll be there too,' Elena said after sharing a look with Kol, 'we'll be there by tonight or early tomorrow morning.'

'Okay,' I bit my lip with worry before I asked, 'have you heard from Finn?'

'Not since we parted ways in New Orleans.' Kol said after thinking for a moment, 'why? Do you think something happened to him?'

'I have a bad feeling, which is never good.' I shook my head.

'We'll look for Finn after we've dealt with everything, love. If his reputation is anything to go by, he probably doesn't want to be found.' Nik murmured, placing a kiss to my temple.

'You're probably right,' I admitted, knowing we hadn't left things in the best place.

'Right we're going to go, we need to back and get tickets…' Elena trailed off; I could practically see the wheels turning in her head already.

'I'll see you both soon, love you,' I said before closing the laptop and inevitably ending the chat.

'Well that just happened.' I mumbled, the bad feeling in my gut growing a little more, but I knew it wasn't to do with our family coming back to town; something bad was going to happen today and it was to do with the babies.

'What's wrong, love?' He could probably feel my dread.

'Something terrible is going to happen today and it's to do with the babies. I think they're going to be born and the witches are going to try and kill them.' I murmured, my hand rubbing my belly.

'I will do everything I can to protect you and our children.' Nik promised me and I believed him.

'I know you will,' I bought my free hand to caress the side of his face, when he leaned into my touch I smiled softly, 'I need you to trust me, Nik.'

'I trust you more than anyone,' he said without hesitation.

'Genevieve is going to do something to mess with the moonlight rings and it's to do with me. I think she's made a deal with some wolves, but I have no idea who because Hayley and Jackson wouldn't do that,' I frowned as I thought.

'Actually Elijah texted me about an issue while I was in the shower.' Nik said, pulling out his phone and handing it to me.

It appears Marcellus got wind of our plan with the moonlight rings. He interrupted Jackson and Oliver, took the rings and set them up in a warehouse rigged to explode. I got them both out alive, but the stones are gone.

I rolled my eyes after reading the message and handed the phone back to Nik.

'Marcel keeps sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.' I sighed in frustration.

'I was planning on asking Francesca for help securing more kyanite stones,' his tone was casual, but I could tell he was concerned about my reaction.

'I don't trust her as far as I could throw her. I actually have an idea. I told Davina about the rings and she has heard of the stone before. I think she might know where we could get some.' I looked up to Nik, reading his expression and focusing on his emotions.

'That's a better idea. Davina is far less likely to screw us over with her fondness for you.' Nik agreed and I could feel he was actually a little relived by my suggestion.

'Great. I'll go and see her. Could you go and let Hayley and Jackson know what's going on?' I asked him, placing a kiss to his cheek in thanks after he helped me up off the bed.

'Actually I'd prefer to go with you,' he admitted, I could tell he was determined, 'if the babies are going to be born today, I'm not leaving your side.'

'Okay,' I smiled, knowing how worried he was over the witches.

I texted Davina and asked her if we could meet at her apartment. She agreed and told us she'd be there in an hour, which was fine with me because it gave me chance to get dressed; during the chat I had been in my pyjamas. How Nik had had the energy to get out of bed straight away to shower I would never know. Once I left the bathroom, I felt a little more relaxed thanks to the shower and in a flash I was dressed in a blue body con dress and black flats. I hadn't had to wash my hair so I just pulled it from the bun it had been in for the shower, and let it hang loosely down my back. I grabbed Nik's dark brown leather jacket from the closet and left to find where he had wandered off too.

I was about to call out for him when I remembered I could literally sense where he was. I frowned in confusion when I sensed that he was in the room attached to our bedroom; I had no idea what he could have been doing in there. I opened the door and found him standing in the centre of the room, staring at one of the cribs that were in there. I gasped when I got a proper look at the room; I had known Nik and I were planning to turn it into a nursery for the babies but with everything going on we hadn't had the chance to decorate it. Or so I thought. The room had a fluffy cream carpet that definitely hadn't been there a few weeks ago as well as two dark wooded cribs that sat next to each other with a small bookcase separating them. There was a rocking chair opposite the cribs and there were shelves that sat around the room that either had stuffed animals or books resting on them. There was a chest of draws that had a changing area on top, when I opened the draws it revealed differently coloured clothes for both babies, as well as diapers and creams.

'What do you think?' Nik murmured so quietly that I had to strain to hear him.

He reached up and wiped tears from my cheeks; I hadn't even realised I had been crying.

'Nik… it's wonderful,' I told him honestly, resting my hands on top of his shoulders, 'when did you do this?'

'I've been adding to it ever since we found out. I was going to show it to you when it was finished, but there are a few pieces of artwork I wanted to add first,' he moved out of my hold and held up two of the three paintings he had resting against one of the cribs.

One was a picture of New Orleans. One side was shrouded in blue, the other in red with the moon separating them. The other was a painting of us; he had painted us dancing together at the ball his mother had thrown back in Mystic Falls. It seemed so long ago, and the love and affection that was clearly between us in the painting made me smile.

'They're beautiful. Your eye for detail never fails to amaze me,' I told him, my finger gently traced the strokes of the first painting.

Nik didn't respond, but the bashful smile on his face made me lean forward and place a gentle kiss onto his lips. He hung the first painting in between the cribs and the second over the chest of drawers.

'What about that one?' I asked, gesturing to the third painting that was facing away from me.

'That one isn't finished.' He told me, but he reached down to pick it up anyway, 'it's going to be a family portrait, I just need to wait to add the babies.'

He turned the painting around to show me, and I felt my eyes well up. Nik and I were in the centre of the picture, each of us staring adorably at the floor, which is where I was assuming the babies were going to be. Kol, Elena, Bekah and Finn were stood on either side of us, all smiling and watching the same spot with smiles of wonderment.

'It's perfect.' I whispered.

'It will be when our children are in it.' He agreed, placing the painting back where it was.

I made my way over to the rocking chair and sat down in it, testing the structure. It moved me back and forth gently and the babies must have liked it because they started kicking.

'Are you alright, love?' Nik asked when he noticed me wince from a particularly harsh kick.

'Yes, come here,' I smiled, grabbing his hand and bringing him forward with enough force that he fell to his knees in front of me. He looked confused until I placed his hands over my stomach.

I saw the exact moment that he felt it, because his eyes filled with tears, and his face lit up with a smile reflecting his true happiness. We shared an affectionate smile and seeing as we still had time before we had to meet Davina, we stayed there until we had to leave, savouring the moment.

At Davina's Apartment

'When you mentioned it to me I started looking into it. I knew Marcel wasn't going to be happy when he got word of it and I had a feeling you might need some spare.' Davina smiled, disappearing into her room for a moment and returning with a shoebox containing enough stones to accommodate the entire Crescent moon pack.

'Wow. Where did you get all of these?' I asked, amazed.

'It took some doing but I managed to track them down in Pennsylvania; there is a small coven there that had them stocked. They sent them over without asking any questions.' Davina shrugged, seeming confused about that herself.

'You are amazing.' I told her, meaning every word.

'It is impressive,' Nik agreed, accepting the box from me so I could give Davina a hug.

'It's the least I could do, unlike Marcel I understand why you're doing this and I believe that nothing will change,' she shrugged.

'Have you told anyone?' I asked, knowing the answer as soon as I asked the question.

'No, I don't need to. I've figured out how to tap into my magic, so I don't need the coven anymore. I've left.' She grinned excitedly.

'I'm happy for you honey,' I smiled, her happiness contagious.

'We need to be going, love.' Nik reminded me, his hand rubbing my lower back.

'I know,' I sighed giving Davina an apologetic look, 'sorry, D, but we need to go out to the bayou and then talk to Genevieve about this spell.'

'Sure. I'm sorry I can't help with that. You'll need power and she has access to the ancestors while I don't.' She looked guilty.

'Don't apologise. You've done more than enough.' I assured her.

With a parting hug we were on our way to the Bayou in the Range Rover. I had the stones on my lap, with my left hand entwined with Nik's as he drove.

I couldn't help but think about what the day was going to bring. I wish I knew more; all I knew was that something bad was going to happen that involved the babies. We didn't trust Genevieve, which was justified, but there was more to it. There had to be. I sighed, opening the box with my free hand and picking up one of the stones. Whatever was going to happen was because of this spell, maybe she was going to use the spell as a distraction, maybe she wasn't going to do the spell at all—

My thoughts cut off as my vision disappeared and I felt the beginning of a vision. I took the hand that was entwined with Nik's and lifted it to my face.

'I need the blood of someone who doesn't have to change with the full moon.' Genevieve said, looking over to Nik expectantly, 'I could ask Kimberly.'

'No, you can use mine,' Nik said, biting into his wrist and allowing his blood to drip into the stone bowl in front of the red head.

'Very well,' she said, and I could swear she was smirking a little.

I looked over to see myself enter the room with Hayley and Elijah, when Francesca Correa entered with us I frowned in confusion.

'Who invited her?' Future me asked, gesturing to the black haired woman.

'I heard you needed more stones.' She explained, 'I simply came to offer my assistance.'

'Well you heard wrong,' Hayley snapped, apparently not trusting her either.

'You can leave now.' I smiled sweetly, holding the door open.

She left with a glare over to Nik who was chuckling in amusement. I was happy to see her go. Everyone turned to watch Genevieve as she progressed with the spell, when she was finished; there was an eerie silence.

'Is it finished?' Elijah asked.

'Yes.' The witch answered reluctantly.

It was almost as if she was expecting something. Eventually, she just handed the rings over to Hayley but she didn't turn to leave. Hayley breezed from the room, probably eager to get the rings to the Bayou.

'You should go with her, Elijah.' I said, referring to Hayley, 'make sure she doesn't run into any Marcel shaped issues.'

'Very well,' the elder Mikaelson left the room, leaving us alone with the witch.

'I'm sorry,' Genevieve whispered.

'What for?' Nik asked, discretely moving me to stand behind him.

'This,' she lifted her hand up forming a fist and twisting it. In the next moment, Nik fell to the floor, temporarily dead.

'I'm warning you, if you take another step or make another movement you will regret it.' I growled, my eyes flashing amber, the wolf in me coming flaring up protectively.

I gasped as my vision returned me to the present. I looked over to Nik who seemed to be considerably paler than he had been before.

'What are we going to do?' I whispered, concerned.

'Did it feel absolute?' Nik asked, elaborating when he noticed my confused frown, 'you're part prophet, but remember that the empathetic side of you triggers visions too. Did it feel like a prophet vision or empathetic?'

I looked down to the stones, remembering how the vision had come when I had touched them. It hadn't been out of the blue, it had been like the cave, but this time I saw the future and not the past.

'Empathetic.' I said, my voice sure.

'Good.' Nik smirked devilishly and proceeded to tell me his plan.

Later that night.

I was in the corridor with Hayley, Jackson and Elijah waiting for our cue. There were a few things that were going to be considerably different from my vision that I had earlier. We had looked into every detail the vision provided. We looked into the spell, more specifically, what would be needed in order to cast it. Nowhere did it mention the blood of a wolf that doesn't have to change during the full moon. Elijah suggested she planned to link the wolves that would end up wearing the rings to Nik, draining him of power. We also didn't understand why Francesca had been there and I had called around asking if anyone knew anything about the human. Cami had looked into the files her uncle had left her and found out that she was descended from a line of werewolves. We deduced that Genevieve was going to make a deal with her—the moonlight rings for me. Nik had made a call to Marcel and asked him to distract the Correa family; surprisingly he had been on board once we told him what they were planning. If everything went to plan, if Genevieve managed to take me anywhere it wouldn't be for long.

'I need the blood of a wolf who doesn't have to transform during a full moon.' The witch said.

'You shouldn't. I've looked into this spell meticulously and nowhere does it state that you need blood. Unless of course you were planning to have the wolves draw from me every full moon to make me weak.' Nik said, his voice was casual but the underlying threat couldn't be mistaken.

'Of course not—I—I'll just get on with the spell.' The witch ensured him, chanting before Nik could respond. I didn't need to be an empath

I was relieved to feel that she wasn't lying and she was in fact going forward with the spell.

'Francesca should be here soon, if she's managed to get away from Marcel.' I murmured and Elijah took that as his cue to intercept her at the door.

'Do you think this is going to work?' Hayley asked, worried.

I sent a wave of comfort to her before responding, 'as long as everything goes according to plan, this should work.'

'Well then, we better make sure it all goes off without a hitch, huh?' the wolf said, forcing her voice to sound cheery but I could sense how concerned she was.

I took her worry and replaced it with calm before talking her hand—it was time for us to walk in. It was timed perfectly; as we entered, she was finished with the spell. Nik looked over to us and smirked, pleased with how things were going so far. I returned his smile, but I would feel better when Hayley and those rings were safely in the Bayou.

'Finished?' Hayley asked.

'Yes,' the witch replied, rather snidely.

'Get them out to the Bayou.' I told her with a smile. I sent one final wave of comfort towards her before she walked out of the door.

'Shouldn't someone go with her?' Genevieve asked as Elijah joined us in the room.

'I am assured that Hayley can handle herself.' Elijah said, his tone indicating there was no room for argument.

'You should get going. I'm sure the girls are wondering where you've gotten to.' Nik said, coming to stand to my right while Elijah stood to my left.

'Yes you're right.' Genevieve said and made her way to the door with a smile, but it was clearly forced.

I knew she wasn't going to leave without a fight though and when she turned around abruptly I wasn't surprised. I was surprised when Monique and the other harvest girl stormed into the room, each of them snapping a Mikaelson's neck. Genevieve grinned evilly at me and stepped forward, I heard her chanting, but the world was becoming unfocused and the last thing I registered before I blacked out was a pain in my abdomen, the same pain that I felt when I was attacked in the Bayou.

Klaus' P.O.V.

I groaned at the pain in the base of my skull as I regained consciousness. I bought my hand to the back of my neck, trying to ease the pain that was there as my body healed. My eyes snapped open as everything came rushing back to the surface. I looked over to my left to see Elijah still unconscious. Kimberly was nowhere to be seen, but I could feel her pain and her fear. I was by my brother's side in a flash, shaking his shoulder until he woke up.

'Get up, brother. We need to move.' I winced as a large wave of pain washed over me.

'Where is she?' Elijah demanded as soon as he opened his eyes.

'They took her.' I ground out, my hand holding my stomach.

'What is it?' The elder Mikaelson asked.

'She's in pain. I think the babies are coming. And she's afraid.' Elijah gripped my forearm to help me stay standing.

'We need to find her. I know you're feeling her pain right now, which is concerning on it's own, but you need to focus. You share a connection with her, one that means you can sense her, and you can seek her out. She's done it with you before, Niklaus.' Elijah spoke calmly, allowing me to concentrate.

I groaned through the pain but closed my eyes, concentrating on her. Reaching out to the link we shared was… odd. I could literally feel her not just her pain or her fear but her presence. My eyes snapped open, I could feel that they had turned to amber but I didn't care.

'We need to go.' I said, my voice sure.

I flashed from the room straight away, following the connection and my gut. I knew my brother would follow me so when I reached the church I entered immediately. What I saw made me more furious than I could ever remember being. Kimberly was at the front, lying on a mattress. The three witches with her were dressed in white, all standing around her while she screamed in agony. She was in labour-that much was clear and the witches were standing around like sharks looking for their next prey. I growled, my eyes turning amber and Kimberly met my gaze, her own eyes responding in kind. I stepped forward, ripping apart the man who tried to get in my way; his limbs hit the floor with a thud. I reached down and snapped off a shard of wood and threw it at the blonde witch with enough force that it sliced through her abdomen and pinned her to the wall. I roared in outrage and fell to my knees when Genevieve and Monique joined together to make my head explode with magic. My anger grew even more when I saw that Kimberly was also feeling my pain on top of her own. I reached out to the legs of the man I had attacked before and pulled out a knife from his pocket. I pulled myself up off the floor with a scream of agony and threw the knife, hoping the blade mage contact with one of the real versions of the four women I was seeing. I heard someone scream and then the pain from my head was gone. I got to my feet immediately and looked to my right when I felt a rush of air. Elijah had arrived.

We shared a look and he gave an undetectable nod of understanding. I flashed over to Kimberly; he went for Genevieve and snapped her neck.

'Love? Do we have time to move you?' I asked her, gently brushing her hair away from her face and taking her hand in mine.

'No. They're coming, Nik,' she gasped out, sweat glistening on her forehead.

'Elijah what are we going to do? We don't have anyone to deliver the baby!' I rushed out, looking over to my brother who was standing the other side of my mate.

'Brother-,' Elijah tried to calm me, but we were interrupted by a voice that surprised us both.

'Looks like I'm just in time,' a female voice called out.

My head snapped over to the front of the church, and once the surprise had passed a genuine smile formed on my face.

'Hello sister,' I smirked.

'Thank god,' Kimberly sighed, sitting up to meet the blonde's gaze, 'you were a nurse right? Because I kind of need one.'

'I got you covered love,' she grinned, flashing over to us and standing in between Kimberly's legs, 'let's bring my niece and nephew into the world shall we?'

Kimberly's hand tightened in mine and I looked down to her, brushing her hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead.

'You can do this, love.' I whispered.

I saw her fear transform into determination. We had this.

Kimberly's P.O.V.

I screamed, pushing one final time. I was exhausted. I'd been pushing for what felt like forever and the first baby wasn't even out yet.

'I can't do this.' I whispered, leaning back on the mattress.

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of crying filled the room. I sat up with the help of Nik and Elijah and I felt my eyes water when they landed on the small baby in Bekah's arms.

'Congratulations. You have a baby girl,' Bekah sounded emotional herself as she carefully placed the baby on my chest, 'you have a few minutes before the next one comes.'

'She's perfect,' I said, bringing my index finger to gently stroke her cheek.

Nik's eyes were filled with tears as he looked down to our little girl. I squeezed his hand, inevitably snapping him out of his daze. We shared a look of amazement before I handed the baby to him; I felt the tears in my eyes spill over as I watched him hold her. She looked so small encased in his strong arms and so delicate because he was holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

'She's beautiful, Nik,' Bekah said softly, coming to stand next to him and bringing her finger to Hope's hand, making a noise of delight when she held on.

I didn't want to ruin the moment, but I could feel the contractions building again and I squeezed Elijah's hand as the pain grew.

'I believe the next baby is coming.' Elijah announced calmly, squeezing my hand in comfort.

'Brother, can you hold her?' Nik asked, looking from the bundle in his arms to Elijah.

'Of course.' Elijah managed to pull my hand out of his with great difficulty. Once he was free, Nik carefully placed Hope into his arms and came to stand behind me. I rested my head against his chest and squeezed both of his hands when he entwined our fingers.

'You know this your fault.' I groaned at the tightening feeling in my abdomen.

'Yes it is, he impregnated you, and it's all his fault darling.' My gaze snapped over to the new voice and I smiled when I saw who was coming into the room.

'It's about bloody time you two got here.' Bekah muttered.

In a flash Elena was standing to my right with Kol coming to my left.

'It's so good to see you,' I murmured, resting my head on Nik's chest behind me. My eyes fluttered closed when Nik kissed my hair and whispered comforting words to me.

'Just one more push Kimmie and your son will be here.' Bekah encouraged.

'It's a boy? Why didn't you say anything?' Elena asked, wiping the sweat from my brow with a piece of cloth.

'Not just a boy,' I muttered, looking over to Elijah who was staring at Hope with a look of utter adoration on his face.

'Twins?' Elena and Kol said at the same time.

Before I could say anything they went over to meet her. Hope hadn't been born for ten minutes and she already had everyone wrapped around her finger. Nik and I shared a small smile, before my expression turned into a grimace as the final contraction started.

'Just one more push Kimmie,' Bekah reminded me, her brow furrowed in sympathy.

I didn't even want to think about how much of a mess I must have looked right there and then. I took a deep breath, summoning all of my strength and putting it towards bringing my son into the world. When the sound of crying filled the air, my breath caught. They were both here. I was a mother. Nik and I were parents. Bekah passed Henrik over with a watery smile and I felt my own tears fall down my cheeks as I looked down on my son. Just like his sister, he was perfect. I felt the absence of Nik's presence from behind me, but I needn't have worried because a second later, he was stood next to me with our daughter in his arms.

'I can't believe it.' I whispered, looking at both of my children in complete adoration.

'Me neither.' Nik murmured back, his voice thick with emotion.

I heard the click of a camera and looked over to see Bekah holding up her phone with a smile on her face.

'You'll love it. Trust me.' Bekah promised when she noticed my expression.

'They're perfect.' Elena said softly.

I grinned in agreement sharing a look with Nik and I didn't need our connection to know that he was thinking the same thing. As I looked around me, surrounded by those I cared about the most in the world, I was grateful to have them all there. Despite the bodies of the witches Nik and Elijah had massacred, the room was full of love and adoration. We were a family and we would be always and forever.

A little while later, when I felt that I had completely healed and some of my strength had returned, we made our way back to the compound. I was thankful that the streets were relatively deserted because most of us were covered in blood. But I didn't care. We were all together—sans Finn—and I would be damned if we would ever be separated again.

When we got back to the compound, Nik and I immediately went to take care of the twins, waving off everyone's offers of help. Once they were bathed, dressed, fed and both placed in diapers, we placed them in one of the cots side by side. We had both heard that it was better for twins to remain together as long as possible after birth. It helped them gain a bond and in some cases helped them sleep better.

'I can't believe they're actually here.' I whispered, my head leaning back on Nik's shoulder. We were standing in the doorway to the nursery, just watching them sleep. Nik was standing behind me, his head on my shoulder and his hands resting on my hips.

'Neither can I,' Nik responded, sounding just as amazed as me.

'They're not going to disappear. Now that they're down you have a few hours to shower and change before they wake up for another feed.' Bekah's voice came from behind us, startling us both.

I was reluctant to leave them, and I could feel that Nik was too. The blonde haired vampire sensed it and basically dragged us out of the room and ushered us towards the shower.

'These babies are underneath a roof with five originals and a vampire. I can guarantee that nothing is going to get through us. They are already the most protected babies on earth,' Bekah promised us, blocking the doorway to the nursery and giving us a stern look, 'now go and shower. You're both covered in blood and you're starting to smell.'

With a sigh, we both went to the bathroom, deciding to shower together to save time. Even though I didn't want to leave the babies, I had to admit it was nice to spend some relaxed quality time with Nik. He washed my hair with both shampoo and conditioner and I returned the favour for him. Afterwards we washed each other's bodies, more than a little amazed that my stomach had become just as flat as it had been before I had given birth—a benefit of supernatural healing, I supposed. We took our time underneath the hot spray and when we finally left the bathroom, the hot water had turned cold. I was wrapped in a big fluffy white towel, my wet hair hanging down my back, while Nik had a towel wrapped around his waist.

Nik had an arm wrapped around my waist, providing me with the warmth that exuded from him, which I accepted gratefully by leaning into his side. We both got changed, handing each other clothes without needing to ask what was wanted. In the end I was dressed in black high waisted skinny jeans for what felt the first time in forever, a pink lacy crop top with my damp hair hanging down my back to air dry. I didn't bother with shoes seeing as I wasn't expecting to go anywhere outside the compound. Just as Nik was pulling on his dark blue jeans—they were my favourite on him—we heard one of the twins crying. Without even thinking I flashed to the nursery to see Bekah lifting Hope into her arms. Of course her crying had woken up Henrik and I walked over to his crib immediately and cradled him against my chest.

It hadn't been an hour since their last feed yet so I knew they weren't hungry; Henrik was probably just tired and unhappy about being woken up by his sister. Sure enough, after a few minutes of rocking and gentle murmurs he fell back asleep. Hope followed suit after she had her diaper changed by Bekah and they were both soon back in their crib.

'You're good with them.' Nik said from where he was leaning against the doorway, observing the scene with a soft look on his face.

'I'm going to get you both some blood seeing as it's pretty clear neither of you are letting them out of your sight anytime soon.' Bekah announced before breezing past her older brother.

'I was thinking…' I trailed off before I sat in the rocking chair, gently rocking back and forth, 'about middle names. We never decided on those.'

'No we didn't,' Nik smiled, his eyes flickering over the twins before looking over to me.

What do you think of Hope's middle name being Rebekah? I asked him through the mind-link—I didn't want us to be overheard.

I think that would make a certain someone very happy. Nik smirked, but his eyes were soft.

I do too. She's always wanted children; I think it would be a nice gesture. I smiled.

And Henrik?

Do you have any ideas? I asked.

Nik was quiet for a moment as he thought, and honestly I had no idea what he was thinking or what he was going to decide on. But I knew whatever he chose he would have a reason.

What about Elijah? He's my brother and like my sister he has always been there for me despite all of the reasons I have given him to abandon me.

I stood from the chair and wrapped my arms around his waist; my body flush against his as I rested my chin on his chest to look him in the eye.

'I think it's perfect.' I said honestly, because it was, 'we should tell them alone before we announce it to the other residents of the quarter.'

'We will,' Nik said, his hands rubbing my upper arms comfortingly.

We had bought our babies into the world—the witch problem hadn't been completely sorted out as Ester was still on the other side, but we had werewolves and vampires to protect our babies. And protect them we would.

Witches Sacred Ground, Third Person POV

Cassie walked through the graveyard, seeming lost until she came across a particular gravestone. With a small smile, she stole a single rose from another grave and placed it on top.

Another man joined her, and he too looked down to the gravestone.

'May you rest in peace.' He said, glancing over to the younger girl.

'Where's the fun in that?' She said, meeting his eye for the first time, 'come along. We have much to do.'

'Yes mother.' The African-American man replied, giving the gravestone one final glance before he followed after her.

ESTER

OUR BELOVED MOTHER.

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been sooooo long since I updated this story, but this year at university has been so much more stressful than last year. I'm done now until September, so expect more frequent updates! For now, Hope and Henrik are to remain in New Orleans, but that may change with Finn and Ester returning to destroy them. As of now, Ester thinks that the Mikaelson baby is dead—she doesn't know it was twins—but it may be hard to hide that now she has a physical form. I'm hoping to avoid sending them away, but if it needs to happen it shall. I hope you liked this chapter, I hope it wasn't too much all at once. I really wanted the rest of the family to be there for the birth, though Finn wouldn't be. I have plans for him that will be revealed in the coming chapters. See you next time! And please review to let me know what you think!