A/N: This chapter was delayed by me spending Friday night running around London dressed as a 19th century French prostitute and spending today a) recovering from previous activity and b) attempting to be a good student and actually do coursework.

Elijah stayed away from me for the next few days. I didn't care, I was too busy setting stuff up for my dinner party and working on my werewolf cure. Kol gave me access to the Mikaelson accounts so that I could book some hotel rooms for my friend (I realised that given the time it took to get to the city that they'd probably need to stay overnight and I wasn't sure they'd feel comfortable staying with me).

I got a text on the day of the dinner party from Jeremy telling me that they'd arrived a little early and were going to spend some time at their hotel freshening up. He didn't say who had come with him but I kept my fingers crossed that everyone had accepted my invitation. Kol appeared about an hour before they were due to arrive. He gathered the security team, which seemed to have doubled suddenly, and directed them to their positions. I finished setting up and sat on the steps that lead up to the balcony. The courtyard looked beautiful with candles set around, illuminating the ivy in a pale glow. I'd put the table in the centre and had set the places, even though Rebekah had hired staff for the evening.

Kol came over to me and perched on the step above, reaching over and gently squeezing my shoulder.

"You okay darling?"

"I'll be fine… just nervous. I'm not sure if they're all going to come… and I'm not actually sure if that's a bad thing anymore."

I heard loud voices from outside, shouting and arguing. Kol raised an eyebrow.

"You might be right."

"I think our guests are here…" I said softly, recognizing the angry voice. Jeremy came in, his face breaking into a bright smile when he saw me.

"Hey Elena." He came over and hugged me carefully. I was surprised how much he'd changed. I mean, he didn't look that different, but something felt different around him.

"Jer! You've got so much taller!"

"You've got so big!" He nodded at my stomach. I covered myself with my arms, feeling embarrassed.

"Well… that's to be expected considering… you know, twins. What's going on out there?"

"Oh your security team were searching us for weapons. Damon got a bit pissed about it."

On cue, Damon strolled into the courtyard with the rest of my friends behind him. He was talking loudly, glaring over his shoulder at the guards hovering in the doorway.

"Here I was thinking we were just coming to visit Elena, not the vampire queen of New Orleans!"

"I'm not the vampire queen…" I muttered. Kol leaned down.

"You kinda are, darling." I grimaced and got to my feet, Kol helping me. As I stood, my friends let out a collective gasp.

"Alright, everyone have a good look. I am pregnant, it's twins, that's why I didn't come back. I will answer all questions about it now and then I would rather not discuss the awkward parts of it for the rest of the evening."

"Well I think we're all wondering who the father is?" Oh god, they were all going to judge me so badly. Saying that it was an original vampire was bad enough but saying it could be any of three vampires, including one who betrayed us and one who actively tried to murder us was going to get me so much hate. Before I could speak, Kol stepped forward.

"I'll take credit for that one." He smiled. "I'm not sure I've been officially introduced to all of you. I'm Kol Mikaelson. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"So… you're dating one of the original vampires?" Matt asked.

"No, not exactly. It's weird and complicated and nobody's business except ours. However, I will say that I am friends with… four fifths of them. And I am living with them and anyone who cannot accept that should probably leave now." Damon turned to leave, Jeremy grabbed his arm.

"Elena, I care about you and while I obviously have reservations about this, you don't get many chances to be happy. If these guys make you happy, then I say you deserve it. I'm sure everyone else would agree."

"Thank you Jeremy." I smiled. "Any other questions about my mythical super vampire pregnancy?"

"How is this possible?" Bonnie asked. She was staring at my stomach, her expression making it seem like the very sight of it was going to make her vomit. I self-consciously wrapped my arms around myself.

"The witches said that the spell that was performed on me linking me to the originals made them human enough to conceive. And then my body didn't reject the pregnancy because of being a doppelgänger. I am nature's perfect loophole."

"That's so stupid…" said Damon. "That sounds like the desperate attempt of some terrible supernatural romance writer to justify and pad out their story."

"Yes well I am still pregnant so clearly it makes some sense. Are there any other questions before we move on?" No one spoke. "Great. Let's have a seat."

We went over to the table I'd set up. Rebekah entered the courtyard with Finn and they took their seats.

"You guys know Rebekah. This is Finn."

"No Elijah tonight?" Caroline asked.

"Umm… I don't think he'll be joining us." As I was speaking, a door opened and Elijah came in in his neatly pressed suit. Kol gave me a quick shrug, clearly as surprised as I was by his appearance. He didn't speak, just sat down. Everyone shifted awkwardly in their seats, unsure of what to do. The servers bought out the first course and set the plates in front of us.

"So I'm assuming by the extra security that the vampires of the city are in support of you Elena?" Alaric asked.

"Kind of. They're part of the group run by Marcel, he runs the city."

"You really are the vampire queen," chimed in Matt.

"Well, I am not dating Marcel."

"Oh a vampire you're not dating, that's a surprise." Damon murmured. I glared.

"There's a bit of a divide but most of the local vampires seem happy enough. They agreed to protect us. I'm working on getting the local werewolves on side too and… some of the witches are okay with it."

"Well you can hardly blame the rest for being disturbed by the prospect of bloodsucking monsters being able to have children," said Bonnie. Rebekah growled under her breath and a hand found mine under the table. I wasn't sure who it belonged to but I squeezed gratefully.

"Miss Bennett?" Elijah said, speaking up for the first time. "You consider yourself to be friends with Miss Forbes, correct?"

"Yes…"

"And if I recall, your friend was turned against her wall by Katerina, right?"

"Yes…?"

"So are you saying that if your friend, who essentially had her life stolen from her, found a way to have a child after the opportunity was robbed from her, you wouldn't support her?"

"Of course I'd support her. She's not a…"

"Not a monster? Exactly. Don't tar us all with the same brush Miss Bennett. Many of us had no choice in becoming what we are." Bonnie looked away. Caroline smiled brightly.

"I'm happy for you Elena. I mean, it would have been nice if you hadn't disappeared for months. But I'm still happy for you."

"Technically I was kidnapped and in a coma for most of that time." I said with a slight smile. "But thank you. I was actually hoping that you and Bonnie would be the twins' godmothers. And Jeremy… Damon… would you be their godfathers?" I bit my lip, unsure how they'd react. I'd been thinking about this for a few days. Since I was living with Finn and Rebekah anyway and anything that prevented me from looking after my children would probably stop them too, I decided against picking them. Jeremy was the obvious choice. I just wasn't sure about Damon… or Bonnie come to think of it.

"Of course I'd love to," said Jeremy.

"Me too! And I want to throw you a baby shower!" Caroline said with a bright smile. I smiled back, grateful, before turning to look over at Damon and Bonnie.

"You'd really want me to…?" Damon said, confused.

"Yeah. I know that you can be incredibly determined when it comes to keeping someone you care about safe. I think you'd be perfect." He nodded slowly.

"Okay… yes." I smiled, pleased.

"Bonnie…?"

"I… I don't know." She said, biting her lip. "I need to think about it for a while."

"Okay. I understand." It wasn't a no anyway. We continued with our meals, eating and the conversation around the table slowly became more relaxed. It was kind of amazing to watch Finn chatting with Alaric about history and Kol discussing sports with Jeremy, Tyler and Matt. Rebekah and Caroline remained frosty but I wasn't expecting miracles. We finished our starters and the plates were cleared, being replaced by the mains.

"Are you planning on coming back to Mystic Falls anytime?" Tyler asked.

"Well I kind of like it here. And I'm hoping things have got more peaceful for you all without me around." They exchanged guilty looks which I took as confirmation. "It's okay, you can say it. I know that I'm bad luck."

"You're going to inflict that on the people of New Orleans instead? Haven't they suffered enough?" Damon said.

"Well so far I've been here for months and I've only been attacked twice. And the first time wasn't my fault because the person wasn't even after me."

"That is quite a record for you,"

"Still," said Caroline. "It's not the same without you."

"I'll come visit," I promised. A server came around with a jug. I caught the scent of the contents and realised that it was blood. I tried to ignore it but I felt a slight rumble in the depths of my belly. I huffed to myself and considered what to do. I didn't want to resist, then suddenly have my cravings overtake me and have me pounce on Matt.

They filled Caroline and Damon's glasses and as they passed me to get to the siblings, I lifted my glass slightly to indicate that I wanted some. I was trying to be as subtle as possible and not draw attention to myself but even as I lifted the glass to my mouth, I could feel eyes turning to me. I sighed and took a decisive gulp of the liquid, wiping my mouth to ensure no traces remained.

"You… drink blood now?" Jeremy asked, hesitantly. Even he seemed weirded out by this. Then again, that didn't surprise me.

"Please don't remind me, if I think about it too much I might throw up." Everyone continued to stare at me. I sighed. "Right, okay, so the vampire, witch elements of my children have some effect on me too. I get cravings for blood. It is horrible."

"Witch?" Bonnie asked.

"Our mother was the original witch," Elijah said. "And before we were turned we were witches."

"Only genetically, not all of us took advantage of our magic." Kol said.

"But this means that Elena's children are part witch as well as part vampire." Rebekah added.

"And what elements of the witch blood to you experience Elena?" Alaric asked, curious.

"Well, the magic. I can do… some magic. My friend Sophie described it as having a nuclear bomb of untapped magical potential in my womb. I mean, I can't do anything crazy with it though."

"You're too modest Elena. You threw Elijah across a room. Twice. And you almost caused a hurricane." Rebekah said. I got the feeling that she was only emphasising my new abilities as a way of getting at Bonnie for her bloodsucking monster comment.

"Hurricane might be going a bit far. A strong breeze seems more accurate," I corrected.

"She also killed our father singlehandedly." Kol said.

"That wasn't my magic though. All I did was stab myself and he died. Not really relevant to this conversation."

"I know it wasn't relevant. I just like talking about how bad ass you are." He gave me an affectionate nudge. "Proud of you."

"But don't worry Bonnie. My magic only lasts until I give birth so I only have a few more months of it. And I don't use it unless I have to. I'm trying not to upset the balance of nature by messing with magic. I mean, any more than I already have." She didn't look very convinced. I guess, given that she was an actual witch who had to struggle to use her power without it draining her, the idea that I had suddenly been given all these powers might be something of a sore spot. "Although, I am trying to do one spell and I'd love your help on it if you're up for it after dinner? I'm clueless about anything more advanced than lighting a candle."

She gave me a tentative smile, sensing the olive branch I was offering her.

"Sure. I'd like that."

We finished our mains without incident and started our dessert. By this point everyone was far more relaxed, having adjusted to the awkwardness and consumed quite a lot of alcohol. Tyler was discussing bars to visit nearby with Kol, seemingly very excited about the prospect of going out into the city with the young vampire. Jeremy was also engaged in the conversation and I resolved to keep an eye on him since I wasn't entirely confident sending him out into the party capital that was filled to the brim with vampires and letting him get drunk with two super strong reckless beings who could compel people was a good idea. I was chatting with the girls about Caroline's baby shower ideas and, after a little prompting, I'd even managed to get Rebekah to join. It was rather amusing how similar she was to Caroline and once they'd both gotten into it, it was fun to just sit back and watch them passionately debate over different types of decorations.

A commotion came from outside and I looked up. I could hear the guards shouting. No one else seemed to have noticed, too caught up in their conversations. The door to the courtyard was pushed open so hard that it slammed into the wall with a loud metallic clang that reverberated around the space.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE DOING IN MY HOUSE?"

A/N: It's 3am and i'm exhausted. I am probably going to try and do more coursework when i wake up so i can't guarantee another update for a little bit.