Chapter Eight
I glanced at Bonnie, both of us just got a text in a group chat with Enzo. He found Oscar's car that Julian has been looking for. He invited us to join him. I gave Bonnie a nod, slipping my phone away while she typed a response on our behalf. "Hey to cut this thing short but Bon and I have an errand to run," I smiled curtly.
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows, "What errand?"
"I'll explain later. You need to clean some of this up and talk to Damon before you know who gets here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone," I said.
I hugged Ric and Matt goodbye before kissing my husband. "Who else is coming over?" Damon asked as I waved. Maverick was sleeping upstairs in my bed so I didn't want to wake him just yet. Stefan would have to clear everyone out before Lily was expected to be here in about an hour.
Bonnie offered to drive as we headed to some junkyard to meet Enzo. It wasn't far thankfully. And my British friend was already there when we arrived, waiting for us. "Don't you just look divine," he smirked at me.
"Don't I always," I gasped dramatically, throwing a hand over my chest and fluttering my eyelashes bashfully. "Hey, stranger."
He chuckled and gave me a tight hug, kissing my cheek, "Hey, beautiful." Then he let me go and his lips pursed as he looked around me at my friend. "Bonnie."
"Enzo," she sniped back.
"You invited her," I pointed out to Enzo.
He rolled his eyes and handed me a piece of paper, "This is what we're looking for."
I read over the car description and tried to memorize the license plate before handing it to Bonnie. "Let's walk," I said. There was a dozen rows of abandoned cars. Some still in good shape and others, literal junk. And we were looking for a car about 10 years old and yellow. Ew.
"Why would a centuries-old vampire with a bunch of witch groupies be so desperate to find anything collecting dust in the Midlothian County impound? Seems a little beneath him," Bonnie commented, befuddled.
Enzo shrugged, "Well, if Julian wants it, then so do I."
I snorted, "Are we talking about Oscar's car, or Lily?"
Bonnie tsked as Enzo fell silent at my words. "You're not doing this to stop a psychopath. You just want the girl," Bonnie stated.
Enzo scoffed then, sarcastically telling us both, "Congratulations. You've just unlocked every man's true motivation in life."
"Let me give you some advice. Stop treating Lily like some prize to be won," Bonnie said.
I nodded in agreement. I was ready to make a comment on how he deserved better than Lily but he responded too quickly to Bonnie, "Spoken like somebody who's never been fought over."
Bonnie frowned. I chimed in then, rolling my eyes, " It's not the turn-on you think it is, bud."
"Try flowers. A quiet dinner. Listening," Bonnie added with a sarcastic smile. Enzo chuckled in amusement then. I took the paper from Bonnie as I spotted a yellow car with the back windshield totally shattered.
"Found it," I declared, looking it over to see the license plate matched.
"Well, I'm assuming Julian doesn't want it for it's Bluebook value," Enzo grumbled, scrunching his face in disgust at the piece of junk. He walked towards the trunk of the car and ripped it open to reveal a bunch of empty bottles of beer and motor oil.
"Charming," Bonnie uttered under her breath.
I stepped up beside the hunk, digging around to lift the covering of the trunk. As expected there wasn't a spare tire. "This is where I would hide something," I said as I saw a thinly wrapped object. Enzo grinned as he reached into grab it.
"What is it?" Bonnie asked.
Enzo unwrapped it slowly to reveal a medium length silver sword, "I'll wager this is what Julian's looking for. Wonder what makes it so special?"
Bonnie gasped, her eyes wide, "I think I've seen that before... when I was doing research on the stone." We both looked at her for a moment. "Let me see what I can dig up."
Bonnie took it from Enzo's hands for a brief second before he yanked it back, both reaching in front of me in the middle of them. "No. I don't need research to tell me which one's the pointy end," Enzo commented, scoffing in disbelief. "What do we need to know?"
"If he wants to kill someone with it, or he's worried about being killed by it," I told him, giving him a pointed look.
"Well, there's one way to find out: ram it through his chest. See what happens," Enzo replied with a shrug.
Bonnie gave him a fake smile, "We know what's not gonna happen. Lily falling hopelessly in love with the person who murdered her sweetheart."
"Not if I make it look like self-defense," Enzo mused, looking the sword over.
I sighed, shaking my head, "Good idea! Go pick a fight with an extremely powerful, unhinged ancient vampire! Should work out great. My husband tried it," I said sarcastically. "I almost died in the process. But maybe you'll have better luck alone."
"Is that a hint of concern for me I detect in your voice?" Enzo cooed, pinching my cheek.
"I say, go ahead and kill each other. Win-win for me!" Bonnie teased. Enzo gave her a dirty look before slamming the trunk shut. "I'll do some research anyways."
"Well, this was uneventful. Drop me off at the Lockwoods?" I asked her. Bonnie nodded.
"I'll let you know how it goes," Enzo called out to us as we walked away.
"Please just wait. Stefan has a plan," I told him. Enzo shrugged but didn't respond. I sighed, shaking my head as I was sure he was definitely going to do something stupid. "Call me tonight! Or I'll assume you're dead!"
***
When I got home, Lily hadn't arrived. But seems Stefan was filling Damon in. "Whatever happened to taking out Julian? Remember him? Killed what would have been your firstborn? You know, I cleared out my entire schedule so we could make that guy count worms... Unless you're too busy baking," the older brother was rambling.
Stefan sighed, "Julian knows that I want him dead, so our next move needs to be smart. We're probably only gonna have one more shot at this."
Not quite following the whole Martha Stewart strategy, to be honest... I mean, we had a thanksgiving brunch. Now a thanksgiving dinner? For who? I get your wife eats a lot, Stefan, but did you have to make more food?" Damon scoffed while I shot him a dirty look.
"Stop talking about my eating habits you fucking prick," I spat.
"Kitten, you're home," Damon mumbled, wincing.
Stefan smiled, "Hi, wife."
"Hello, handsome," I grinned back, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to kiss his cheek.
The doorbell went off then. "I'll get that," Damon said, happy to excuse himsel.
Stefan hurried after him, "I am planning on recruiting an ally tonight."
Damon froze to glance at us in confusion. He continues down the foyer with us following him as he answered the door to find Lily with a glass dish, smiling timidly, "I brought cranberries!" She said, looking around at the three of us.
Damon's jaw dropped as he looked at us in utter shock. The 'what the fuck?' look clear on his face. I shrugged, "Stefan's idea. Come in, Lily."
"Thanks for having me," she smiled as she entered. I smiled back, holding down a wave of nausea as I took the Tupperware from her.
"Right this way," Stefan told his mom, gesturing the way to Richard Lockwood's old study. The two went that way and Damon shared a look with me. I shrugged hopelessly again as I went o drop the tray off in the dining room where the rest of the food was wrapped up. When I joined the three Salvatores, they were are gathered around the coffee table.
Lily was sitting in an arm chair across from her boys. Damon stood with his arms crossed and Stefan was pouring tall glasses with bourbon. Lily looked nervous as she watched them both. No one had spoken. I sat down in the other arm chair, giving her another fake smile. "I invited you over here because we can't keep doing this," Stefan finally spoke up. "I mean, I... I want us all to start over. The four of us. A family."
Lily wearily glanced at me before smiling kindly and happily back at her youngest son, speaking gently as usual, "Well, uh, if the Pilgrims and Indians could do it, I'm sure there's hope for us."
"We call them Native Americans now, but we didn't bring you here to correct your outdated racial slurs," Damon said, pursing his lips as he glared at Stefan. "Did we, Stefan?"
"I want to convince you of all the reasons that you need to help us get rid of Julian," Stefan admitted to her as he and Damon settle into their seats.
Lily chuckled uneasily, raising a brow, "I'm sorry. Is this some kind of set-up?"
Stefan stayed on agenda, his voice insisting she listen, "Just hear me out for a second. In 1863... I got Valerie pregnant." He paused to wait for Lily's reaction. Nothing more than wide blue eyes. Her eldest really did resemble her. "She kept it a secret from me, from you, from everyone. And Julian found out about it somehow, and he felt threatened by it. He beat her until the baby was no longer alive."
I squirmed in my seat as Stefan said this with as little emotion as possible. His eyes however though, genuine and honest. It was hard not to believe him. Yet, Lily was blinking quickly, her head tilted to side. She didn't seem convinced.
"Her child, your grandchild, was murdered by Julian. She swore me to secrecy, but the truth is too important. You need to know what kind of man he is," Stefan said, his voice filled with more urgency now as he was desperate to convince her.
I winced, worried about his mental health. He had a lot more grieving to do. Damon's eyes met mine. He gulped then, "What I think Stefan's trying to say is... you have really crappy taste."
He tried to cut the tension. It didn't work. Lily leaned forward, opening her mouth and then closing it a second later. We all waited for a moment. Eventually she spoke up, speaking directly to Stefan, their eyes locked, "My son," she said softly, full of affection. "Valerie lied to me for over a century about you. Then she tried to kill a member of my family in cold blood and tried to incinerate the love of my life. Do yourself a favor. Don't lose any more sleep over the words that come out of that poor girl's mouth."
Stefan's lips turned downwards as he looked down at his glass on the table. He nodded slowly, pushing the drink towards Lily. "Wow. I guess the joke's on me then, right? I mean, I was the idiot who believed her," Stefan said as he handed us all drinks.
Lily smiled sadly, nodding in agreement, "I did, too... about many things. But I will not make that same mistake again."
"Here's to moving on then, right?" Stefan smiled, standing up. She did as well so I followed suit. Damon rolled his eyes before standing then.
"To moving on," Lily said as we all clinked our glasses together. She was the first to drink while I held my glass close to my mouth and Stefan went to drink his as well. Damon eyed his glass, seemingly disappointed with the way this evening was going.
"Ugh!" Lily groaned, gasping a second later from the sizzling sound of vervain running through her body all in seconds until she fell in an unconscious heap.
"Concentrated vervain," Stefan said, putting his glass down.
Damon winced, putting his drink on the table, relieved he didn't drink it. I chuckled, ditching my glass as well. "Wow! Did I ever mention I like your style?"
"I had a feeling we were gonna have to do this the hard way," Stefan commented as he stood over his mother's body.
"Best. Thanksgiving. Ever!" Damon cheered.
He held up his hand for a high five, I laughed as I raised my arm to meet his hand. "Cut it out, you two. And help me tied her to that chair."
I moved the chair into the open while the boys brought her to it. While Damon joyfully tied her up, I moved the coffee table to give us some room. "While we wait I'm going to make myself a plate. Think her cranberries are poisonous?" I asked them.
"Yes," Damon scoffed.
"No," Stefan frowned, giving us both looks of disbelief. I took my husband by the hand and led him to the dining room with food. "I'm not hungry, Kenz."
I rolled my eyes, "You never are. But I am, a lot, lately."
He shrugged, "Not new news."
I chuckled, "Whatever. Pour me a glass of blood, huh?"
He smiled, nodding. While he did that, I made myself a plate. Then we sat down together at the table. "So where'd you run off to earlier?" He questioned me, rubbing my thigh under the table.
"Enzo texted. He found what Julian was looking for. A sword."
Stefan raised a brow, "A sword?"
"I don't know, it was in the trunk of Oscar's car, which Enzo overheard Julian was looking for. Enzo kept the sword. Bonnie thinks she saw it in a book somewhere so she's going to do some research to see why Julian wants the damn thing."
My husband nodded, "Okay."
"Okay? That's it."
He shrugged, "Enzo's been a good friend to you."
"He has," I agreed then I leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "Plus we may need his help with getting rid of Julian. He's on our side."
"Our side? Or your side?" He teased.
I rolled my eyes, "I'm on your side, always. So they're one and the same."
He smiled, "Well—" he paused as we heard groaning from the next room. Followed by Damon saying, "she's waking up."
Stefan and I stood then. I hurried and downed my glass of blood. Carrying my plate I walked behind Stefan back to the study to find his mother waking up disoriented. "What are you doing?" Lily mumbled as Stefan leaned in her face to see her.
"Julian's practically brainwashed you, like Giuseppe did way-back when," Stefan told her, getting right to the point. He was so sexy when he was large and in charge. His jaw was always sharp and his eyes were focused. His muscles were tense—maybe bad for him but delicious for me to stare at.
Lily groaned in discomfort, trying to adjust in her seat against her rope restraints, "What does G-Giu-Giuseppe have to do with this?"
"Well, you didn't think Dad was a monster at first. But, somewhere along the way, this little warning-light started blinking "Psycho! Psycho!" You just need that little light to blink again," Damon said as I plopped next to him on the couch. He then plucked a cranberry off my plate with a grin.
"Hey, hands off," I snapped, smacking his hand. Was he insane? I didn't share food. The exceptions were Maverick and Jeremy.
"What are you talking about?" Lily frowned.
"It's a pattern, Lily! You can't see it with Julian, just like you couldn't see it with Giuseppe," Stefan said, clearly frustrated. Lily simply scowled, narrowing her eyes on her youngest son. My husband then chipper, turned to his older brother beside me, "Hey, do you remember that fun-filled Thanksgiving we had back in 1851?"
Damon made a mocking thoughtful face, tapping his chin, "1851. Hmmm? Jog my memory, brother... was that the year that Father took me out to the farm and made me behead my pet turkey?"
I cringed while Stefan nodded enthusiastically, excited about the horrifying subject, "That would be the year!"
"Oooh. That was a doozy," Damon said.
"I'm going to be sick," I muttered putting the plate on the coffee table as I covered my mouth seconds before Damon told the story.
He skipped the killing part thankfully. The family of four sat down for thanksgiving dinner and Giuseppe got mad at Damon for not eating the turkey on his plate. Stefan asked why he wasn't. Damon explained it was their pet Sami. His father insisted it wasn't a pet, it was sustenance and demanded he eat. Damon turned to Lily for back up but she just told him to listen to his father.
Damon faked a sniffled, "Rest in peace, Sami."
He then grabbed my plate while locking eyes with Lily who squirmed with guilt. We could physically see her trying to shake it off, giving Damon an annoyed look, "I kept you from wasting a perfectly good meal," she argued her defense. Stefan sighed. She glared at him then, saying, "I still don't see what any of this has to do with my current relationship."
"Of course you don't see it, Lily. That's the whole point!" Damon chided, exasperated.
"You're too blind to see it. You're drawn to men who manipulate you into seeing what they want! Men who abuse you," Stefan added.
"Oh, I'm sorry. The vervain ropes searing into my flesh are distracting me from concentrating on your lecture about tolerating abuse," she retorted sarcasticallt.
"Fair point," I said, pouring myself a glass of water as I glared at Damon eating my food.
"This is pointless. Pointless with pumpkin pie, but pointless," Damon said.
"No. We are here to open up her eyes," Stefan argued stubbornly. "You're gonna sit here, and you're gonna listen to every single word I say," he told his mother who rolled her eyes "And by the end of the day, you're gonna help us kill your boyfriend."
"Are these entirely necessary? They're quite painful," Lily complained about the rope.
Damon and I shared another look, he gestured for me to take the lead. I slipped beside her then, forcing my nausea away. "Huh. Does that burn?" I gasped.
"You know it does," she groaned out.
"Let me see if I can fix that," I smiled at her sweetly, slipping behind her and ignoring Stefan's scolding stare. I grabbed the ropes, burning my own hand while I pulled them tighter across her torso, causing her yelp and moan in pain.
"Nope. Guess not," I hissed, shaking my hand as I let go. "But the burn from missing my twin won't go away either. I have you to thank for that so, just returning the favor, you're welcome."
"That's enough, baby," Stefan said softly.
"Try stopping her beforehand," Lily mumbled under her breath.
"What? She thinks this is painful? Try being twelve and helpless," Damon chimed in, taking us back to the story of Thanksgiving 1851.
Damon finished his food reluctantly and then asked to be excused from the table. Giuseppe said in a moment. He sent Lily out to fetch some bourbon and lit a cigar. Then he told the boys he got the cigars for a special occasion before seeing he was missing money. He asks Stefan first, who said no. Then he made a joke about it not just walking off. Then he looked at Damon and demanded one of them confess. The older brother swore neither of them did it. Their father gave him a lecture about being good sons and then Damon confessed to taking the money and Giuseppe burned him with his cigar.
Damon looked upset as he finished telling us about the memory from his eyes. Subconsciously rubbing his arm where his father must have burned him. "I didn't take Giuseppe's money. I only confessed because I was afraid of what he'd do to Stefan," my brother in law informed us.
"It's your pattern, Lily. Julian's a monster. Giuseppe was a monster."
"You don't think I knew that?" Lily snapped at him. "I was married to the man for twenty years! What kind of a fool do you take me for? Do you think I believed you when I caught you digging for ice in the icebox, and you told me you scratched your arm playing? I'm not blind, Damon. I knew exactly what he did to you that night," she said, pausing then as she gulped. Her eyes were teary but her face slowly turned into one of hatred. Not for them. But her ex husband as she told her side of things now. "I had gone to fetch his bourbon like he asked. I was on the stairs when I heard your scream. You ran by me clutching your arm, and you didn't see me through your tears."
"And you did nothing?" I scoffed, wrapping an arm around Stefan's waist. Lily lowered her eyes then. "You did nothing?!" I repeated louder, hurting for the two men I cared for who both looked pain by their my mother's sick confession.
"That is not true!" Lily screamed at me, tears in her eyes. "Everything that I did—" she stopped as she gasped. A cut out of nowhere appearing on the side of her neck, just above her collar bone. She looked at all of us with wide eyes.
"Lily!" Stefan gasped, leaning forward.
"Someone," she whispered breathlessly. "Someone's trying to kill Julian."
"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.
"To protect him from you, we... we did a spell. We bound Julian's life to mine. We're linked. If he dies, so do I," she said.
Damon and Stefan stared in shock. "Huh. That's kind of romantic," I commented as I glanced lovingly at my husband. "We should do that."
He furrowed his brows while Damon scoffed at my suggestion. "I don't think that's such a good idea," Stefan told me gently.
"Why? Think of all the people who would to kill you but not me. And vice versa," I said to him then. "Proof we're a package deal. You die, Stef, and I will to. Linked or not. I won't live without you. Not even for a second."
"You're sick," Damon stated.
"My lovely wife, can we discuss the prospect of risking our lives later?" Stefan asked me.
"Fine," I sighed, pouting. Stefan pecked my lips with a kiss, smiling in amusement. "Fine. Let's focus on this. If someone is attacking Julian. It's going to be Enzo. He's go a sword."
"I'm on it," Damon said seconds before flashing out of the room. I frowned, staring at the spot he stood moments ago. Damon was going to save Lily's life? And I was the one with bad ideas?
"Let me fetch you a towel," Stefan said.
Once he left the room, I leaned down to Lily's eye level. "Damon is hurting. He's been hurting. But Stefan is hopeful. He wants a relationship with you. And that means I want that too. So listen here. They are good men. And my husband, wants children more than anything. I need you to believe me. I'm not Stefan. I'm not being manipulated by Valerie. Trust me, I would love to call her a liar and say she's making it up for attention to steal my man. But she's not. No person—no mother, would lie like that. And that's what she was. A mother. Until Julian beat the living shit out of her. Murdering an innocent fetus. Your grandchild. Stefan's son or daughter. I know you love him, but bad men fall in love too. And just because you think he's good to you doesn't mean he's good to everyone. Take it from me. You think I'm a bitch, right? Good. I like for everyone to think that but I never ever want to do anything but love and protect your son. Even from you. But here he is, and here I am, asking for your help."
Lily gulped, nodding, "I just don't see it."
"Why do you think Valerie killed herself? For kicks?" I retorted. "She didn't want to board for Europe. Julian caught her, heard the heartbeat and stomped on a pregnant woman... Or maybe Valerie just hated Europe and rather die than see the Eiffel Tower. Or maybe you were too blind to see your adopted daughter was suicidal—"
"She wasn't."
"Exactly," I snapped. "I know what the Phoenix stone is. For the worst of the worst. There's a reason Julian was in it. And deep down you know that."
Lily lowered her eyes but said no more. I quickly untied her. She thanked me then and stood to her feet just as Stefan joined us again, handing her a towel. "Here," he said.
"Thank you," she replied, wiping her neck. I moved to my husband to hug him tightly. He held me for a moment. And then Lily spoke up, making us pull apart to listen. "I was the one who took the money...On Thanksgiving. It was me," she told us.
"I don't understand," Stefan frowned.
"Your father never let me have anything. I lived under his complete control. I-I had no means of my own, no access to funds—"
"You stood in the next room as your son was being tortured. You didn't confess, and then you stayed with the man for another five years?" My husband cut her off, appalled.
She moved closer to him, eyes desperate for him to understand. And for the first time I sympathized. Giuseppe was a man who shot his sons in the back. Who abused them their whole life. Who forced Damon to fight in a war, for the side he disagreed with. A man like that was certainly not a good husband. As a child you don't see those things. As a parent, you don't let them. I got that. I wanted to shield Maverick from all the ugly in the world for as long as humanly possible. I didn't even want Stefan and I to argue in front of him. And Stefan was certainly not his father.
As horrible as Julian is. Giuseppe is bad too. And bad men do bad things. Maybe Julian manipulates Lily with love. No one ever accused Giuseppe of the same. Which made me think about his relationship with Lily. If it was loveless and she stayed... there was only one reason. Fear.
"I was trying to save us! We were gonna run away. I was gonna protect you boys. We were... we were never gonna see him again. But your father, even drunk and miserable... He was always one step ahead," she said. "He caught me looking for something. He had taken it. Three train tickets for New York. He hit me and said if I ever took anything from him, money or you two, I would never see any of you again. So yes, I stayed. Giuseppe was a monster. He wasn't manipulating me, I wasn't blind to it. I knew it in my bones. The only thing I cared about more than leaving him was protecting your brother and you. Everything that I did back then... I was doing for you."
I smiled sadly as Stefan took in her words. I rubbed his back and met Lily's eyes. As much as I understood then, I didn't think she wasn't a terrible person. She still faked her death and abandoned her two boys. She became a vampire with the means to save them and she didn't. That's unforgivable in my book.
Lily's knees buckled just as a large blood stain appeared on her shirt at her chest. Stefan caught her before she hit the ground. "You need to go, go help Damon," I said. "Or stop Damon and Enzo. I don't know which is the right wording."
Stefan nodded. Lily woke up quickly, gasping for breath. "Are you coming?" Stefan asked me and I shook my head.
"I think I'm going to be sick," I said, covering my mouth as a wave of nausea hit me hard. I flashed out the room to the nearest bathroom to throw up in the toilet.
"Kenz!"
"I'm f-fine. Go!" I screamed back right before dry heaving. Jesus fucking Christ. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I was panting as I checked to see a text in all caps from Bonnie.
"SWORD DOESNT WORK WITHOUT THE PHOENIX STONE."
Shit. Well, I guess Lily and Julian would both survive today. I hope Stefan and his mother get there before Julian kills one of my best friends. Those morons.
***
"Come on! You can't honestly say you're surprised, can you? You wanted Julian dead, I wanted to punish Mom, and I had a way to kill two birds with one stone!" Damon was yelling as the boys arrived back home.
"Keep it down, my head hurts," I spoke up. I was laying on the couch, playing games on my phone versing Jeremy online.
"You're never gonna stop straining to find one tiny speck of redemption in Lily, and she's never gonna stop disappointing you," Damon said.
"Preach," I mumbled distractedly.
"You're wrong! You don't know the whole story!" My husband shouted back.
"I don't want to know the whole story, Stefan! I don't want to know any more excuses, or lies, or anything that tells me anything other than the way I know it went down: our mother faked her death, left her sons behind, started a new family, and went out of her way to forget us forever! That is the only story that matters, Stefan."
I stood up then, ready to stop them before they made the conversation worse. "She tossed us aside without any concern what would happen to us. As far as I'm concerned, she deserves what she gets," Damon added.
"Okay, enough," I told them both.
"She deserves what she gets," Damon said his blue eyes locking on me. His were full of tremulous emotion. He turned his back to us and left without another word.
I grabbed Stefan by the arm, "Hey, he'll be fine. What happened?" I asked him. "Is everyone still... alive?"
He nodded, wrapping his arms around my waist and looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?" He questioned.
I shook my head, "I feel like shit. I'm nauseous and hungry and my head hurts... There's something really wrong with me, Stefan."
He nodded, "Tomorrow we see a doctor."
"First thing. Please? I just... I think... Valerie is right. I don't know how, but... I think I'm pregnant," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. "And I'm scared to death."
"Valerie insisted Caroline tests again. So I'll call them both and Ric. We'll check again for sure."
I nodded, "If we must take Vampire Barbie and Slutty Buffy."
Stefan laughed, "You're funny."
"Can we take a bath?"
He nodded, wiping my eyes, "Stop crying."
"I'm emotional. I hate it."
He smiled, "You think you're pregnant?"
"Unfortunately," I sighed. "Stop looking at me like that. We all could be wrong and we could break Ric's heart for the third time."
"Then let's hope we're not wrong. And he didn't lose three people on his wedding day."
I nodded, "Let's hope tomorrow. Tonight I just want to get out of this dress and take a hot bath with my husband and... keep our sex streak."
"Not the best way to seduce me but, I'm yours and I'm easy," he joked.
I rolled my eyes, taking him by the hand and leading him to one of the full baths. The one with the large bath tub. "We don't have any bubbles," I whined.
"Kenzie, don't cry," Stefan chuckled.
I sent him a pout and a glare, "I want bubbles."
He nodded, "I will go to the store. Or... we can use shampoo. Damon's. Not mine. Mine is way too expensive to waste. I care about my hair."
"Okay, that works."
Stefan smirked, slipping behind me, "May I unzip you?"
"Please," I replied, holding my short hair up out of the way just in case. Stefan kissed the back of my neck and then trailed kisses down after the zipper. "Stefan," I moaned softly.
"Can I bite you?" He asked.
I giggled, "Always."
His sharp teeth sunk into my lower back, at one of my love handles. I took in a sharp breath. Stefan hands yanked my panties down my thighs before pulling his mouth away. My dress and panties both pooled at my ankles then. I stepped out of them, reaching behind me to undo my bra.
"Beautiful," Stefan whispered as I turned around, fully naked. "My wife, my lover, my best friend... My god you are... everything."
I smiled, "I love you."
"To the moon and back, Kenz," he uttered gently right before he kissed me. Our lips pressed together, our tongues swirling. My hands worked at undoing the buttons on his shirt. His lips tore away from mine to press to the side of my neck and made his way down.
Moans poured from my lips as he brought his attention my chest, one breast and nipples at time before sucking kisses over my torso. A phone ringing loudly gave him pause. "Ignore it," he said.
"It's your phone," I laughed.
He shrugged, "I'll ignore it."
I pushed his chest, "Get naked. Answer the phone, I don't care. Let me start the bath."
***
Stefan and I were in robes, heading to see who was knocking incessantly at the front door. We took our bath. Then we had sex. Then we stayed naked in robes as we had a couple blood bags and ice cream. Now we were being interrupted by a late night guest.
Surprisingly, Damon who I didn't know returned was answering the door. "Did you come back to get your dish?" He asked.
"May I come in?" The person responded. From the voice I could tell it was Lily. Damon shrugged and stepped aside so we could see the woman.
"What's going on?" Stefan asked.
"You were right," Lily stated.
"Pardon me? I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't quite hear what you said," Damon taunted.
She sighed, "You were right about Julian. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. I've traded one monster for another. But I am not going to let him hurt us anymore." She nodded with determination, looking at each of us. "I have a plan. And this time, we won't get caught."
I raised my brows, "I'm going to get dressed." Stefan nodded, kissing me on my temple before I left the room. I wasn't up for plotting tonight. I wanted to eat ice cream and sleep. And try not to fret over my doctor's appointment tomorrow.
***
I laid anxiously in the hospital bed, my shirt pulled up as the doctor, an OBGYN was rubbing a wand over my stomach. She was doing an ultrasound since this morning peeing on a stick came back negative again.
"How far along are you?" The doctor asked.
My eyes were wide as I stared at Stefan, unsure how to answer. It was just my husband, Ric and I inside the room for now. Caroline and Valerie were waiting outside.
"Uh, I'm not really sure how to answer that," I admitted.
The doctor smiled kindly, nodding, "Okay. Let's see what we can see."
I nodded, smiling shakily. Stefan gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Ric stood to the side, watching the screen intently. A few seconds of rubbing the wand over my torso the doctor paused, frowning. "And you're sure you're pregnant?" She asked me.
"Why? What's wrong?" Stefan questioned, worriedly.
"Well, I'm not seeing one baby, let alone two."
I frowned staring at the screen, "And you're absolutely sure?"
"Twins would be hard to miss. I'm not hearing any heartbeats either," the doctor explained. She then stopped with the wand and gave us all apologetic smile. "I'm sorry if you were informed otherwise. I'll give you some time alone," she added then she left the room.
"I'm sorry," I apologized to Alaric.
He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry... that I've been so desperate to believe this was actually possible. I, uh, I, um... I'm really sorry that I put you through all this."
"Honestly? For a second there, I believed it, too," I confessed.
"I wanted this... for you," Stefan said, clasping Ric on the shoulder. "And maybe to see my wife pregnant."
I smiled sadly, feeling like a disappointment to both of them. A knock came to the door then. They didn't wait for a response. Valerie and Caroline slipped into the hospital room. "We saw the doctor leave," Valerie said.
"She just told us you were wrong," Stefan said.
Valerie's furrowed her brows, walking over to us all, "Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," I hissed. "What are you doing?" Stefan went to push her away as her hand glowed red and she aimed it over my belly.
"Oh, my God," I gasped as a thud hit my stomach, from the inside.
"What?" Stefan asked.
"I felt... something... inside me," I mumbled, shocked. I then hurried and reached for the ultrasound wand, lifting my stomach to try once again to see something.
"I'm not sure you're qualified to use that," Ric commented.
"Just let her," Valerie said. I moved the wand around my stomach. "You know, it never made any sense to me. The spell pointed directly at Caroline then stopped at you. But the tests came up negative. And then, it hit me. I cloaked Caroline from Beau to protect you. Alaric's babies are the future of the coven. They would have protected them in any way they could."
I gasped as image came onto the screen. "Wait, wait, how is this all possible?" Alaric asked in shock. I wasn't really listening. I could tear my eyes away from the little blur on the screen. It was clearly a miracle baby.
"They were cloaked," Valerie said.
"I only see one baby," Stefan noted. "Wow, Kenz... Wow." His green eyes locked on my brown ones, full of amazement and wonder. I nodded slowly. "You're pregnant."
I squeezed his hand and he leaned down to give me a sweet kiss. "I love you," I whispered. I then looked around him up at Ric, "You ready to be a dad, old man?"
His eyes filled with tears, nodding. Stefan moved as I sat up. Ric moved to hug me. He was family. "I can never repay you," he said.
Tears were in my eyes then, "You never have to. I'd do anything for you. Even this. My biggest fear... Pregnancy."
"Caroline," Stefan piped up. "Your turn."
My husband helped me out of bed while Valerie did her little spooning over Caroline's torso. Then the two checked with the wand, finding the other twin. "I think this one is a girl," I said, rubbing my belly and giggling as I felt... a kick.
The sound of a heartbeat filled the room after a small click. Stefan hugged me tightly. "I think you deserve a treat. How's pie sound right about now?" He asked me.
"Like not enough to eat. I'm eating for two now," I laughed. Caroline and Ric were hugging when I looked over at them. I glanced at Valerie next, "thank you. For everything."
She gave me a nod. Alaric looked at me and then Caroline, "I got two surrogates."
"Get the doctor. I want to know if it's a boy or a girl," I said. "Because if it's a girl, I'm leaning towards Kenzie Junior."
They all laughed. I frowned, narrowing my eyes. Did I say something funny? "I'll get the doctor," Valerie said.
"And I'll wait my turn," Caroline said.
***
Dear Elena,
I'm pregnant. Yeah, Stefan's ex was right. The Gemini coven transported the babies from Jo's womb as she was dying at the wedding. It wasn't their intention to pick anyone, but what's safer than two immortal bodies? Yes. I have one of the twins and Caroline has the other. Talk about comic fuck up.
Either way. We both are carrying girls. Ric is over the moon as you can imagine. Stefan is excited too. He can't wait to see me all fat. Caroline is freaking out with her usual annoying OCD. I on the other hand... am torn. Between glad to be a surrogate for Ric and giving him his family back. And hating the idea of pregnancy.
I'm also scared of growing attached. I mean, I tried not to be a mother to your son and here we are. I had no choice. Now I was pregnant with... a fetus. Who kicked all night long. It was a beautiful feeling when it didn't hurt. I wasn't ready for all conflicting feelings. I was going to have a baby, see a tiny little face, and hand that baby over to Ric? I love him but... Ric?
He couldn't raise two girls alone. What was he going to do? Maybe he'd let me and Stefan keep a baby. Doubtful, right?
I am worried about Stefan growing attached. He was talking to my belly last night. I rolled my eyes. He had got on my nerves with his baby talk but it was also really sweet. He was so damn kind. And so... dad material. I hated that he wasn't a father. As much as we had Maverick, I think he knew it wasn't the same. Sometimes it bothered me it felt like he was trying not to get attached. Then again, Maverick has Matt.
Anyways, Kenzie Jr. and I have to go eat.
Til next time, twin.
Xoxo,
Your better half.
~Picture: Kenzie in her Thanksgiving dress
How was that chapter? Lily came over for Thanksgiving, and she traded sides! After a trip down memory land and some torture.
There was some sweet moments for Stenzie. And then we ended on a good note. Ric's twins survived. Kenzie has one and Caroline has the other. Two girls on the way. And as expected, Kenzie is both happy and against the idea. Will she come around?
And how is she going to get through this pregnancy? Her and Stefan? Her and Ric? Her and Caroline? Most importantly her and the baby she's carrying?