˖*°࿐chapter eighteen.
xviii. POWER STRUGGLE
———
janelle
"Hello?" I answered the call without looking at the Caller I.D.
"Hey. I got your text. What's up?" I recognized that as Stefan's voice.
"I told you to come home," I said irritably, "not call me."
"Well, I can't right now. Caroline and I are crazy busy, so you'll just have to settle on this," he explained.
"Fine," I sighed. "Would you like to explain to me why Sarah Salvatore is here in Mystic Falls?"
"Wait. What?" he asked.
"Yeah. I just ran into her this morning at the Grill with Matt. Why is she here and not studying at Duke University as an art major?"
Stefan sighed, "It's gotta be Enzo. He must've brought her down here."
"Well, you better do something before Damon sees her. I didn't have to go through the trouble of finding her that family and getting her out of this town with no questions being asked."
"She's family, Janelle," he reminded me.
"Distant family," I retorted. "Barely counts. We both agreed that she would be your responsibility. Now handle it," I demanded, hanging up.
I finished getting dressed and walked down the stairs. There was no way I was gonna stay in this house all day.
"Where do you think you're going?" a voice asked behind me.
I gasped, turning to face Chris, "All right. You gotta stop doing that. It's creepy."
"Janelle, you can't just leave without telling me," he told me. "You're under strict orders to stay in this house."
I rolled my eyes, "Oh, would you relax, Chris? I'm just going to a doctor's appointment."
"Then, let me take you," he offered.
"Yeah, no," I refused. "It's for the baby and there's no way in hell I'm letting you tag along for that. I already have a friend taking me. So, bye!"
I rushed out the front door without another word and met Jo in her car. Elena suggested that I see her again and when I told her about some of the complications I've been having with the baby, she set up a last minute doctor's appointment for me.
"Ready?" she asked once I buckled my seat belt.
"Yep."
———
"Janelle, this is one of my colleagues, Dr. Brennan," Jo introduced me to the doctor. "He used to work alongside me at Whitmore. He'll be doing your examination today."
"It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand with a small smile.
"You as well," he smiled. "Now, I reviewed your charts from the tests we had you take earlier and it seems that your hormone levels are unusually high for a mother in her eighth week. Have you seen a doctor since you found out you were pregnant, Miss Salvatore?"
"No, I haven't," I shook my head. "I didn't think to book an appointment, until recently."
"Well, you really should've seen a doctor before today," he said setting down his clipboard.
I bit my lip, nervously, "Do you think that there could possibly be something wrong with my baby?"
"We'll just take a peek first. Why don't you lie back and I'm gonna do an ultrasound." He went to the back table a grabbed a small white bottle. "This gel is gonna be a little bit cold," he warned me before squirting some of the gel on my stomach as I laid down.
And just when I thought things were going to be just fine, my head felt as if it had caught on fire. Like I'm not even kidding. I gasped, making Jo and Dr. Brennan turn to me.
"What? What's wrong?" Jo questioned in concern.
"Hot flash. A very, very hot flash," I exclaimed.
"Not a good sign," Dr. Brennan whispered to Jo.
"She's been getting those a lot lately."
"No, not like this one," I disagreed. "I mean, it felt like my head was on fire for real," I emphasized giving Jo a look.
"Let's just have a look, then." He placed the transducer on my stomach and moved it around until there was a slight image up on the screen. "There's your little —"
Suddenly, Dr. Brennan got electrocuted through the probe he was holding and thrown against the wall. My eyes widened as Jo looked at me in a shock. I awkwardly scratched the side of my head as she helped him stand.
Dr. Brennan tried to steady himself up on his feet. "Wha— what happened?" he asked.
"That's a good question," Jo raised an eyebrow and I took that as a sign to freeze the room. "What happened?"
"Whew," I breathed out. "I thought you'd never ask. My head was on fire like a tiki torch a few seconds ago."
"Do not change the subject," she pointed a finger at my stomach. "Did your baby just electrocute the nice doctor man?"
I frowned, "Yeah. I think so. But she was just protecting herself, cause that gel was really cold."
"Protecting herself?" Jo repeated incredulously. "Unborn babies don't perform magic tricks in the first trimester, Janelle."
I grabbed Jo's arm, bringing her closer to me. "What is going on?"
"I don't know," she replied, "but don't panic, okay?" She pulled away from my tight grip. "We'll wrap up here, and we'll go home and panic."
Jo led me towards the bathroom and I quickly changed into my clothes after wiping off the residue from the leftover gel. Once I finished, we bolted out of that hospital before anyone could ask any questions.
Now I get why Cassandra wanted me to restrain from using magic. But none of that was me. It was all the baby. I didn't even get the chance to see it coming; it just did.
"You see, this is exactly why I asked you to look at the baby, so I wouldn't have to go through all this."
Jo glanced at me as she kept her eyes on the road. "There shouldn't have been anything to go through in the first place. That baby is —"
"Don't say it," I sighed in defeat, leaning my head against the window "If my child can electrocute someone from the womb, there's seriously no telling what else she can do."
Jo clearly noticed my distress and held my hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to over-exaggerate things. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"But you don't know that. No one does. Not even me and I'm her mother."
"How about we get you something to eat? You look like your starving."
I weakly nodded my head, "Sure."
Within a few minutes, Jo pulled up to the Scull Bar. The two of us went inside even though she insisted that I stay in the car. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of people because I was feeling a bit queasy.
I found us a table up on the balcony since it was much more quiet place. I laid my head down on the table, taking in a huge breath. I just wanted to rest, but my body wouldn't let me. It's like I have to be on full alert 24/7.
"Janelle?" I looked up to see Elena, sitting down across from me. She noticed the distress on my face and asked, "What's wrong?"
"My baby did magic," I replied.
"And almost killed my doctor," Jo said right after me, just as she came towards us.
"It was self-defense," I lightly argued.
"Well, I guess that's what happens when you breed with an all-powerful, evil hybrid," Elena noted.
"Okay, can we not say breed. I'm not a horse," I said. "And Klaus isn't all evil, he is part good, and I'm all good. So this baby has a lot of good in her." I touched my stomach, rubbing it slightly.
"What if there's not?" Jo questioned warily.
"Then, there will be," I answered firmly. "My love was able to change Klaus. It'll change our daughter, too."
"Let's hope so," Elena whispered.
I shook my head at her, "No, we'll make it so."
"Maybe you should stay at my place for a while," Jo suggested, bringing in my full attention. "Just to monitor your pregnancy and to make sure we don't have another incident."
"But don't you basically live with Ric? I wouldn't want to intrude on you guys."
She laughed, "I have my own apartment, Janelle. There's an extra room if you want it."
It actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. She is a doctor and a witch.
"I'd have to let my brothers know," I mentioned.
"Don't worry about it," Elena smiled. "I'll tell them."
"You sure?" I looked at her. "I mean, I know you got Damon on lock, but Stefan's going to be a bit more reluctant this time."
"I got it," she assured me. "You just go home and pack your things."
And that's when I remembered something important. "Chris is at the house waiting for me. He's under strict orders not to let me go anywhere without his knowledge."
"Then, that's going to have to be a discussion for later," Elena shrugged, helping me stand up. "Now, go. I'll go find Damon and Stefan."
"Wait, don't you have class?" I reminded her.
"I can miss a few lessons," she shrugged.
"Elena, you can't —"
"Yes, I can." She cut me off, clearly not refusing to back down from her offer. I quietly thanked her as Jo wrapped her arm around my shoulder to lead us out.
That's when something weird clicked in me.
"Bitch!"
It was a sudden burst of rage that made me whip around and push Elena off the balcony at full force.
It all happened so quickly that I didn't even realize it. Jo stood there with her mouth open, not knowing what to say. I ran over to the side to see that Elena landed right on the bar. Her eyes landed on me as she vamped back up to the top.
"What the hell was that for?!" She exclaimed, dusting herself off from the broken pieces of wood and glass.
"Uh, I don't know," I mumbled looking down at my stomach. "You'd have to ask her."
"Okay," Jo's eyes widened. "Why did your mommy push Elena off the balcony?"
"No, it's not like that," I disagreed. "It's just, she took over for a split second. I had no control."
"But why me?" Elena still questioned. "I have nothing against that little f-fetus."
"I'm sure she's sorry," I frowned.
"All right. We need to get you out of here," Jo urged as she hurried me out of the back entrance.
There were only about one, or two people that were inside, so I don't think they saw much when Elena fell, or when I pushed her...
Oh, you know what I mean.
I just wanted to get some rest and pretend all of this was some terrible dream. One that I, unfortunately, couldn't wake up from.
———
It didn't take long for me to get settled in at Jo's place. She had just left a few minutes ago to get some groceries. I took about a three-hour nap before then, and I was just now waking up.
My bag was sitting at the edge of the bed with some of my things inside. Just what I thought I needed. It wasn't easy packing though, considering Chris was right downstairs and he had no idea that I was leaving. Jo and I basically threw a bunch of random clothes and things into a duffel bag before heading out.
I searched through all the clothes and found some sweats to sleep in for the night. I threw the bag down onto the floor, only to hear a thud come from it. I furrowed my eyebrows, going over to see what had made the noise.
I pulled out the small box and realized it was the one Bonnie gave me after I brought her home. Jo must have packed in by accident because I kept it hidden in my dresser and we weren't exactly paying attention to specifics.
I crossed my legs on the floor and decided to go through it. There were so many pictures, I never had the chance to look at all of them.
One caught my eye in particular, so I grabbed it to examine it closer. I was covering my face with one hand, laughing at something, while my other one was holding on to Kai.
I seemed genuinely happy.
╔═
𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊
═╝
𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟒
"Kai!" Janelle squealed, hiding her face. "I'm serious. Stop taking pictures of me."
Kai put the camera down and moved her hand away from her face. He was going in to kiss her, only to have Janelle turn her head. He tried again and she stopped him.
"Let me kiss you," he chuckled.
"Let me finish getting ready," she mocked, fixing her hair.
Out of the corner of her eye, Janelle noticed Kai pick up an eyeliner from her makeup bag, twisting it around in his fingers, taking the lid off and inspecting it, then placing it on the bathroom counter before doing the same with a lip gloss.
"Having fun?" she smirked over at him.
"Why do you even need this stuff? It seems painful." he frowned as she laughed at his exaggeration towards her eyelash curler.
"I know I don't need it, but we've already missed two classes, so I might as well try to look presentable for the rest of the day," Janelle said before applying some lipstick.
"Now, how am I supposed to kiss you?" Kai whined, tugging at her hand.
"Aw, my poor baby," she teased, brushing her fingers under his chin. To get Kai to stop pouting, she lightly kissed his cheek, wiping off whatever residue was left. "Better?"
"I guess," he shrugged.
Janelle playfully rolled her eyes and walked out of the bathroom to get her jacket, along with her shoes. "Come on, Kai. Let's go."
What Janelle didn't realize is he was already right behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, startling her. "I want a kiss first," he demanded playfully.
Janelle faced him and briefly pecked his lips, "There."
Kai shook his head, pulling her closer to his body. "A real one."
"Fine," she sighed, connecting their lips.
Kai deepened the kiss as Janelle knotted her fingers into his hair, tugging on it a little and he let out a low growl. Kai's hands traveled down to her thighs and he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Janelle felt his tongue glide over her bottom lip as he asked for entrance, which she gladly granted to him.
He walked over to the bed, setting Janelle down gently and then climbing on top of her. His lips trailed down to her jawline and eventually to her neck, nibbling it a little. Janelle moaned out in pleasure, throwing her head back, which made Kai smirk against her skin.
Let's just say, they didn't make it to class that day.
———
"Whoa," I whispered.
I ran my fingers over my neck, even though I knew there wasn't anything there. It was like whatever I saw happen in that flashback, felt as if it had just happened to me right at this moment.
Like it was real.