Chapter 44
"Thank you," Rebekah said. "Oh look at her she's so beautiful...So Damon and Katherine? Even they seem to have gotten absolution for their many sins..." She sighed and threw away the remainder of her Chinese. She had lost her appetite halfway through.
He sighed. "They're in a delicate situation. Bonnie had done a spell and because Damon's been protecting all the Bennett witches since Emily...Kol's unsure of how to get rid of him but at the same time he doesn't want to upset Bonnie." Running a hand through his hair he started on Katherine. "Elena and Katherine made peace but because of what happened over the last five hundred years, Elijah is unsure of what to do and on top of that, he doesn't want to upset Elena. So your brothers are stuck. So far, none of your brothers have said if they have been absolved of their crimes yet."
"Oh..." Rebekah said. "I like it when you call Stefan. It's so good to hear your voice. You can call any time you want..."
"I'll try my best with calling you as much as I can." He smiled and knew that maybe one day they could be together again.
"I love you Stefan. I love you and I love our Lilly. I do truly love my brothers too even if I couldn't always get along with them. I will try to work through my feelings for the girls. Caroline I'm actually almost okay with."
"But you still hate Elena for daggering you in the back by your father's orders and Bonnie for whatever reason?" Stefan asked.
"Yes." Was the simple answer. "I will try to work out some of my aggression and talk to a therapist."
"Don't compel the therapist to agree with you and it might be a start Bekah."
"I want to get over this Stefan. I don't want to have these feelings anymore," Rebekah said.
"Then talk to the therapist-without compulsion-and figure out why you feel this way." Stefan told her.
"I promise I will."
"I'll hold you to that promise." Stefan said seriously.
She talked to him for another hour until someone entered the room with Lilly and the sounds of her cries were too much for Rebekah. She listened for a little bit but then told Stefan she would go so he could take care of their princess.
"I think she actually loves that baby," Damon marveled, "and you."
"She really does Damon." Stefan took Lilly into his arms and did his best at taking care of her. In the middle of the night Stefan woke and did a double take. Elijah was in Stefan's sitting room rocking a fussing Lilly.
"You know," Stefan said sleepily to the Original. "You didn't need to do this."
"You're tired and this is my niece. There is nowhere else I'd rather be. Bekah was like this when she was born. We didn't know what colic was back then. We practically kept a pot of water heating on the fire." Elijah smiled down at Lilly who had just started sucking his pinkie finger.
"I am sorry your mama isn't here for you little one."
"I'm sorry as well." Stefan sighed. "If you want, you can care for her in your room with Elena." Elijah gave Stefan a gentle smile.
"Get some sleep Stefan," he took Lilly and headed back towards his suite.
By the time Stefan woke in the morning it was to laughter in the courtyard. No one else was out there but Damon who was giving Lilly her first bath in a copper basin. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows but as soon as he cradled her in the water she had started kicking and splashing.
"Are you two having fun?" Stefan teased Damon.
Damon looked up at his brother and shook his head.
"She keeps splashing me in the face with the bubbles." He complained.
"Just wait till it's your son doing that to you." Stefan told him seriously. Damon's smile grew large.
"I can't wait," he smiled.
"Were you there with Rebekah when she was born? Did she have to the baby at a hospital? Who delivered her?"
"I was here with Rebekah when she was born," Stefan said smiling at his brother. "No-she was born here and it was Elijah who delivered her."
"Elijah delivered...oh that's right back in the day the older ones in a family would have learned. That's actually good to know. I was going to compel someone but that could have gotten out of hand. Do you think he'd do it? For Katherine? I know he hates me for Kol and Elena but I have to think of Katherine first."
Stefan couldn't believe the changes in his older brother. Bonnie had really done something.
"Why don't you go and ask him?" Stefan offered. "I'll even go with you when you go and ask him."
VVVVVV
"This is a suicide mission," Damon muttered at the door to Elijah's study. They entered and found Elijah reading. "Elijah I know that I have wronged you and your family. For that I apologize. I know that you loathe me but I ask not for myself but for Katherine's sake that you would deliver her baby when it's time. I had thought of compelling someone but there is so much risk..."
Elijah knew that Damon was afraid but he had courage to ask him to do this-even if it's not for himself. As much as Elijah would love to tell him 'no', he had a great love for children, no matter who their parents were.
"I will do this for you." Elijah said and grinned in satisfaction when Damon sunk to the ground in a faint. "Now make sure that Katerina and Elena know this."
"What do you want me to do with him?" Stefan asked.
"Get him to Katerina." Elijah answered.
Stefan managed to get Damon back to the suite he was sharing with Katherine.
"My brother just did a very brave and thing for you. He got Elijah to consent to deliver your baby when the time comes." Katherine looked surprised by that before Stefan noticed that she and Elena were sitting on the bed, papers strewn all around the two.
"Do I even want to know?" He asked.
"This is Isobel's research and we discovered that someone told her my life story." Katherine looked pretty good about this. "Elena and I have been pouring through them when we came across the name 'Nadia'. A vampire who is around my age and might be my daughter."
"Don't tell me there's another doppelgänger," Damon groaned.
"No she's not," Katherine replied.
"So Nadia is obviously a vampire. Do we know anything else about her?" Stefan asked as he joined them. They were currently easy to tell apart as Katherine was much further along in her pregnancy. Here they were however, two doppelgängers both of them pregnant and the truly amazing thing was that they were both finally happy in love and they had Bonnie to thank for that.
Elena nodded but bit her lower lip.
"She travels around with Travelers." She said nervously.
"Why do I not have a good feeling about this?" Stefan groaned.
"Because Elena's making that face," Damon said.
"Travelers are a type of witch who hate nature magic and if all of them are together in one place nature herself tries to kill them." Katherine and Elena explained at the same time.
"We can't let them anywhere near Bonnie," Elena worried.
"You can't let any other witches find out about that either," Stefan said as he gestured to their pregnancies. Katherine looked at her doppelgänger before nodding.
"Make sure that everyone knows what we discovered." She told them.
"They knew what you were doing?" Damon asked her.
"Yeah." Elena told them smiling. Elena relayed this information to all three of the brothers in Elijah's sitting room. Kol was stroking Petrov and Aqua while she spoke. He was growing increasingly anxious at the thought of any of these traveler witches coming anywhere near Bonnie much less any of the other pregnant vampires. Witches are both notoriously curious and generally opposed to vampires. Procreating vampires would likely be considered an abomination.
"We need to wait before we track her down then." Klaus said with a growl. "Every pregnant female here needs to be protected."
Kol nodded, "if Katherine needs to see her before then let her do it at her own peril. Why was she searching anyhow? Business or personal?"
"Personal." Elena told him. "Ever since she first found out that her daughter was alive and a vampire, she's wanted to know how her life has been."
"Understandable but I won't risk you, Bonnie or Caroline in the process," Elijah said. "Is there anyone opposed to this decision?"
"We all agree." His brothers said in agreement with what he said.
VVVVV