Chapter 15
Kol found it strange now that Bella knew what was going on, her mood significantly improved and she knew how to deal with it a lot better. They talked about their little problem for a day or two, not leaving the apartment and only ordering food in. Getting rid of the mass of cornucopias in their bedroom was hell, but bringing some over to Nik’s house and donating the rest to a nursing home – upon Bella’s request, worked out well enough.
They decided to deal with this new situation the only way they knew how; face it head on and try to embrace this gift, because vampires simply were not able to conceive. Kol did want to share this with the rest of the family as soon as possible, but Bella wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for that just yet.
When they did leave their bubble, they went out to buy two kindles so they could buy books on pregnancy and read from those, brought them back to the house and joined the family for lunch. Much to Kol’s dismay, Lucien Castle was there as well. “Oh, great,” Kol muttered as he protectively put an arm around Bella.
“Aha, the loon! I’m surprised that you’re still out of your box!”
“Lucien, always a pleasure,” he said as he made sure Bella had a seat as far away from Nik’s first sire as possible before sitting down himself. “Bella, meet Lucien, Nik’s little accident after we were first turned.”
“Hi,” Bella said as she reached for a roll and some toppings before she started to build her sandwich. “Uhm, I am sorry for my mood a couple of days ago. Must have been the jetlag or something, I don’t know.” She was still not happy to be at the Compound because it was obvious that most of the Mikaelsons were even more wary of her now. For the moment, at least, she believed that Cami and Myriam were on her side with this. Which was good.
“That’s alright, love,” Klaus mused. “Did you and Kol have fun playing human the last couple of days?”
Bella blinked in surprise and looked at Kol for an answer.
“Yes, Nik, thank you for that question,” Kol quipped as he took his glass of blood and drank from it. “It was quite the experience for her, but I already told you this, no need to bring it up again.”
“I for one, thought it was cute,” Cami piped up. “Hey, you guys should come to Rousseau’s tonight, we’re having a live band playing and it’s going to be great.”
“Sure,” Kol smiled. “Bella and I could use some fun.”
“Great! I have this new cocktail I want you guys’ approval on, seeing as you’ve been all over the world lately, likely tasting so many different things, I could use your tastebuds!”
Bella took a bite out of her sandwich and nodded. Good music was always fun, and bars did serve soda and water, she was going to be alright.
“I’m a bit worried about Bella’s taste buds though,” Myriam laughed as she nodded to Bella’s sandwich. “Jelly and bacon?”
“It’s delicious,” Bella blinked at her friend. “Seriously, you need to try it. It’s salty and sweet!” She held out her sandwich for Myriam to take, but she scrunched up her nose. “Your loss,” she shrugged as she took another bite.
“I thought you wanted to lose weight?”
“I was just bloated… I still am. Who cares? Kol loves me in any shape or form.”
“I must say, Niklaus,” Lucien nearly purred as he sat next to his sire. Bella thought he sounded like a stuck up asshole with marbles in his mouth. “I never believed that your family would be this expansive or this varied. You’ve got your vampire mate, Elijah has a human toy and I don’t know what Bella is, but she’s quite something, too.”
“And mine,” Kol growled. “If you come anywhere near her, I swear I will end you.”
Lucien simply smiled at Kol. “You see, Nik? It’s a good thing that I am here because that lunatic still hasn’t learned to control himself and behave. I’m here to protect you, remember? I’d just box him just to be sure of your safety.”
“Oh, I can’t do that, Lucien.”
“Why not?”
“Because of various reasons; one being that I don’t own any of the stakes at this point in time; Finn’s got lost, Elijah’s destroyed and Rebekah has hers on her person. I don’t know what Bella did with Kol’s, but she’s keeping it well hidden,” Klaus said amused. “Don’t fret, Lucien. Kol won’t hurt you.”
“Speak for yourself, Nik,” Kol scowled as he drained his glass of blood. “If he lays a finger on her, he’s mine.”
“Kol and Bella are quite territorial over each other,” Elijah mused. “Best not to poke the proverbial bear.”
When Freya walked in, Bella scooted her chair closer to Kol’s and made herself another sandwich. The oldest Mikaelson meant well and all, Bella knew that, but it still hurt that she believed that Bella would have something to do with the prophecy – Kol didn’t even believe it was real, and neither did she. It was merely something to mess with people’s heads, for sure.
Oh, she knew that family came first, and family was the reason why they were back in New Orleans, so that Klaus could keep his family safe, and for Kol to help out anyway that he could, but right now, Bella wanted to leave until all of this was over. She knew that Kol wouldn’t leave, so she had to stay. She wasn’t going anywhere without him. Not anymore. Not again. So she kept her mouth shut, and she was going to keep her head down. Nothing was going to compromise the safety of the worms inside of her now and she was safe with Kol.
It was best to check herself again now that things in the family had yet again shifted and not in her favor. Quiet and observing in their presence, but herself when home with Kol. They were supposed to go shopping that afternoon for clothes that would fit her more easily and could grow with her. It was a stupid grown up thing to do, they had both agreed while pledging at the same time not to become boring. No, boring was just that.
“Brother,” Freya addressed Kol in her most pleasant voice. “I think it’s time for you to stop playing house. Could you help me with unraveling this prophecy? Perhaps teach me a spell to speed up the process?”
It was almost as if Freya had somehow known that he and Bella had plans that afternoon. Bella understood why they needed Kol’s help, but she wasn’t happy about it.
“Well, actually… Bella and I—”
“Kol, she could really use your help,” Elijah implored him. “Think of it this way; the sooner we are able to debunk this so-called prophecy, the sooner we can all go back to our lives.”
Kol knew this. But he had plans with Bella. Damnit. Turning to her, he gently rubbed her back. “What do you think? Shall we help Freya this afternoon instead? I mean, it’s not as if what we need is that pressing right now, is it?”
“Actually, I’d prefer it if she’d stay clear of our process,” Freya piped up, worriedly. “Perhaps it would be wise if, for now, our extended family stays clear of these meetings. Just in case.”
“Over my dead body,” Myriam said as she slammed her hand on the table before pointing it at Freya. “Get your fucking head out of your ass, Freya Mikaelson. Blood related or not, now that you’re not connected to your stupid crazy aunt, I can kill you with my pinkie. We are not second ranked citizens here, get that through your thick skull.” Myriam then wickedly smiled. “For all we know you’re the architect of this prophecy and the cause of the end result, should it be real, of course.”
“I am not!” Freya breezed.
“And why would I believe you? After all, you are a Mikaelson, very capable of deception and deceit. Who knows? You might be hiding in plain sight!”
“Enough,” Klaus said annoyed. “You’ve made your point, Myriam.”
“Have I?” Myriam huffed before she looked at Kol and Bella. “Kol, don’t you worry about Bella, she and I will do whatever needs to be done today for you guys. I’m due for a nice, relaxed afternoon anyway. I’m not even in the mood right now to go to work! I need retail therapy.”
“Oh bollocks,” Klaus sighed as he fell back in his chair. This therapy was going to cost him.
“Come on, Bella,” Myriam said as she pulled Bella out of her chair. “We’re going shopping. Sorry Cami, we would have invited you but you’re on your way to work anyway, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” Cami nodded before she pecked Elijah’s cheek and followed the other two girls out. “So I’ll see you tonight?”
“Oh, yes,” Myriam smirked as she put an arm around Bella and pulled her closer to her. “Fuck the men, really. Us girls need to stick together.” Cami waved them goodbye and once Myriam was certain that the woman was out of earshot, she turned to Bella with a smirk. “You have a secret.”
“No, I don’t,” Bella shook her head as she looked at her friend. “And it’s fine, Kol and I can go shopping another day, it’s not that important.”
“Tough. I want to shop and I need an accomplice,” the vampire replied before she dragged Bella off into the direction of the shops. “I’ll find out your secret anyway.”
Bella decided to humor Myriam and go shopping with her, but refraining from buying anything herself; she was merely along for the ride and company. It was a shame that Myriam wanted to stay in the Quarter, but on the other hand it was a good thing; Bella and Kol had wanted to go to a promising store in the Garden District, according to the internet it was a hip and cool store for maternity wear; something Bella was going to need by the buckets and she wasn’t going to go for the obvious mother look. No way. Perhaps it was too soon to look for maternity clothes, but the website looked amazing and it was best to buy some now, so she could grow into them as she’d get bigger. It would be less conspicuous that she was pregnant, too. Or, that’s what Bella’s mind told her. She didn’t want to buy bigger normal jeans. She refused. Parading around in a pair of Kol’s pants wouldn’t be an option either.
If Myriam had wanted to shop in the Garden District, Bella’s secret would have definitely come out.
“Alright, spill,” Myriam said as they were having something to drink at Jackson Square, in the sun, open space and the sun on their faces. “What’s going on? I know you don’t like shopping but today you’re taking the sulk to a new level.”
Bella pouted as she took a sip of her bubble tea. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I… At the moment I’m very upset with one of my cousins… or uncles… or whatever they are to me.”
“How so?”
“In the old days they liked to fuck around with people. Either literally or figuratively. Sometimes even both ways. You know the mess the Greek Gods were,” she said dismissively, waving her hand. “They’ve stopped influencing people for major events, but occasionally, they do smaller things just for kicks. I mean, those who are still paying attention to the world underneath them, I mean. The others could care less.”
“Ah, something like tricksters or sprites, huh?”
“Sort of,” Bella nodded. “Although what this particular God pulled is no small feat. It’s no joke and it’s impacting others as well with this prank. Because it’s not a fucking prank, it’s messing with someone’s life and especially with what’s going on now, it’s not fair.” There was the anger again. Bella didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, or hit something out of frustration. “I feel… violated – which I’m not, by the way. Not in the physical way. A decision that was very personal was taken out of my hands – our hands.”
“You’re not leaving again, are you?”
“Nah,” Bella smiled at her friend. “Don’t worry about that. It’s something else entirely and the reason behind it is because of the way that Kol and I decided to live our lives so we’re fair game like the rest of the people who roam this planet.”
“You’re scaring me now, please tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone else.”
She thought about it. It would be nice to have at least someone else in the now until Kol and her were ready to share it with the family. But Bella also knew that Myriam could be overly excited about things. On the other hand, Myriam was also a very powerful ally right now when it came to Bella’s position in the family now that Freya had it out for her for no reason. “It’s still very fresh, Myr, we’re still trying to get used to the idea ourselves, so please…”
“For God’s sake, CeilingCat,” Myriam rolled her eyes at her. “Spill.”
“Hades isn’t just the God of the Underworld. He’s mostly known for it, because that’s what people fear and they usually connect his softer side with another relative because he barely used it. Hades can make the land fertile; much like Demeter and whatnot. Guess what he did?” Bella sighed as she took another sip of her bubble tea while the cogs in Myriam’s head continued to spin. “He offered me this as a reward, only when I was ready and only when I would ask him to, but instead, he said something along the lines of; ‘You live as a human, you have happy little accidents like a human’.”
“Happy little accidents?” Myriam echoed slowly, a frown on her face before she gasped in horror and shock. “Noooo!”
Bella slowly nodded as she bit her lip. “I’d always imagined that maybe in a couple of years, you know… but not now. Now is like the worst timing. Ever.”
Myriam eyed her over and of course, everything made a whole lot of sense now. Bella’s behaviour; her slight weight gain, the jokes around the compound of Klaus having caught Kol at Walmart to buy tests and condoms under the guise of ‘human experiences’… “Oh Bella, you don’t have to worry about the timing, everyone will love your little bundle of joy as it’ll be a Mikaelson! It’s the one thing the entire family hates, not to be able to create blood related offspring, to expand their family… Sure, Rebekah will be quite envious of you, and I have to admit, I wish I could give Klaus a child of his own but your little baby will be so loved by its Aunts and Uncles!”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Bella let out a breath of relief. She had imagined Myriam to squeal like a girl on steroids and hug her senselessly, but was happy that for now, Myriam refrained from doing so. “There will be plenty of babies to go around…” she said as she pat her belly. “There are two of them inside of me.”
Myriam’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. “You are going to be huge!” She squealed.
“Kol and I have a lot to think about, yes,” Bella blushed. “And we are. The first thing on the agenda is to move because while the apartment is big enough for a small family, there are too many stairs. Like the one you have to take before getting to our place. It’s what we wanted to look at this afternoon. That, and to get some fashionable clothes that I could grow in to…”
“Will they be supernatural babies? Like hybrids?”
“No, thank fuck they’re not going to be some weird hybrid and inherit some of our abilities,” Bella chuckled. “They’re going to be human. Witches.”
“Maybe you and Kol should move back to the compound,” Myriam smiled at her. “At least for the duration of your pregnancy and then until the babies sleep through the night. Being pregnant isn’t easy, let alone with two babies. And when they’re born, you’re going to have to need all the help you can get. You can have the rooms at the back on the ground floor, I’ll have some workers come in and make sure everything is safe for you and your babies and, because I know you guys love your privacy, have them construct something that will hide your rooms from public view.”
“Myr…”
“Discuss this with Kol, please. It’s only temporary and it’ll give you more time to find something you two would love to live in together, or even to buy land and build your own dream home. You’re absolutely right about the stairs being a hazard for you when you get bigger. Or when you have to carry two babies up the stairs. We’ll still leave you alone, give you all the privacy and independence you need, but you’ll be surrounded by family.”
“I don’t want—”
“Bella…”
“Freya.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll keep that wench far away from you,” Myriam snarled. “I’m this close to snapping her neck anyway, but we do need a witch in our family… or at least one who likes us. She’ll pipe down eventually, I promise.” She then hugged Bella. “You know that Klaus will likely say the same thing, you know, once you and Kol tell him what’s cooking.”
Bella sighed and nodded. “Fine, I’ll discuss it with Kol, but only if you promise me all the things you just offered.”
“Of course!” Myriam huffed, finally letting go of Bella. “I’ll steal Elijah’s pocket book and find a good contractor and have a meeting with him once you and Kol decide that it’s the right thing to do and yes. This will be my project. For you.” She planted a big, sloppy kiss on Bella’s cheek, earning her a scowl. “Oh, I can’t wait to find out what’s cooking!”
“Two boys.”
“Ugh, Mikaelson boys are the worst!” Myriam said dramatically.
“Hey! We’re both dating one!” Bella laughed. “I’m sure they won’t be as bad, their parents aren’t maniacs.”
“Says who?” her friend replied innocently. “A demi-Goddess and an Original vampire raising babies sounds pretty insane to me!”
Bella let out a snort and took another sip of her bubble tea. “Kol and I will tell everyone when we’re ready, I promise.”
“Don’t wait too long, the building is old, I want to make sure that whatever the contractor does to it stays in the same style.”
She stuck out her tongue to Myriam and raised her tea. “Here’s to never growing up.”
After her afternoon with Myriam, Bella texted Kol that she was going home and order pizza. She wasn’t in the mood to go to the compound knowing that Freya would be hogging Kol and refusing Bella’s inclusion in whatever they were doing. She figured that despite cancelled plans, Kol was having a blast for being able to work with his sister on some magic things and that was fine.
Kol texted her back that he was going to be a while longer, which she expected, and made herself comfortable on the balcony with her laptop and the pizza and simply started to write on a new story she’d started after finally finishing the other one. It was a one shot where Bella Swan, the cheap copy from Twilight, was a fierce warrior princess in Ancient Norway. She had been taken as a child and raised by a clan of vikings, the Cullens, and fell in love with one of the boys from the villages around them.
This boy had quite the handful of siblings, as was normal for those times, and as their relationship progressed, the long lost sister of the clan returned and she believed that Bella was a great evil that would be the downfall of the family. One night, Bella snuck into the home of the family and abducted the sister; tying her up in her cave and slowly killing her over the course of weeks. It started with peeling off the skin and allowing it to heal enough to form crusts, before chipping those off too. She’d drag the sister off to a salt bath and throw her in it.
She’d take toes, pinkies and ears and leave them at the house while still hanging around with the boy, helping with the efforts of looking for their sister, but of course, she was never to be found. At night, Bella would continue her torture before finally getting bored and ripped out the girl’s heart.
Bella sighed happily and immediately published the story, not even going over it for small mistakes or anything, she just needed to get it out there. Feeling a lot better, she finished off the pizza and relaxed, waiting for the reviews to roll in, no doubt they were going to be hilarious. Almost immediately, she could hear Myriam’s evil cackling coming from across the street and grinned. “You’re welcome!” She shouted from her spot on the balcony.
Myriam appeared on the balcony across from Bella and was still laughing her ass off. “It would have been better with more blood!”
“Next time!”
“I’m going to hold you to that!”
Bella laughed and shook her head as she took a sip of her lemonade and grabbed her kindle to browse the store for books on pregnancy. Better to start early than to freak out later, right? What to do when you’re having two, yeah, that sounded great. She managed to read the first chapter before she got distracted by the reviews that kept pinging on her laptop and they were all amusing as hell. Some demanding more of this warrior Bella, demanding her to slaughter the Cullens and then the Volturi and maybe even the wolf pack in the most gruesome of ways.
Myriam’s cackling could still be heard from across the street, no doubt she was reading the reviews as well.
Bella had a feeling that the coming months would provide so much story ideas that she was going to spam her readers, but that was fine, she still felt she needed to make up for the fact that for them, she had disappeared for two years.
When Kol hadn’t returned by midnight, Bella debated on going over to pull him away from whatever he was doing, but decided not to. She wasn’t a controlling girlfriend. Kol wouldn’t leave her and he’d still be on her side when he returned. Bella packed up her things on the balcony and brought it inside before climbing the stairs to her bedroom, undressing and making herself comfortable in her nest. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.
She woke up to heavy snoring from beside her in the middle of the night and hit Kol with a pillow to stop him before getting out of bed to pee. When she returned, he was wide awake. “Why did you do that?”
“You woke me up,” Bella shrugged. “Did you have fun with your sister?”
Kol huffed as he pulled Bella into his arms and pulled the covers over them. “I must admit, Freya is very powerful but everything we’ve tried to validate this prophecy even further turned to nothing. It’s nothing to worry about, but then again, my siblings always find something to fret about. There has been a lull in conflict, hence why they want to do this themselves, without your help.”
“So it’s boredom?”
“Yes, and no,” he sighed as he ran his fingers through her hair. “The prophecy might simply be a distraction for something different and I suspect it has something to do with my siblings’ first sires.”
“Great,” Bella sighed with a yawn as she shifted a little to be more comfortable.
“How was your afternoon with Myriam?”
Bella huffed. “I’ll tell you in the morning, go back to sleep.”
“Well, I’m awake now.”
“I’m not!”
“But you’re talking,” he laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Tell me.”
She sighed as she shifted a little more, throwing her leg over his for more comfort and warmth. “Myriam noticed something was wrong or different. Usually I get something I like while we’re shopping or I’m more engaging. I was trying hard not to show her anything had changed.”
“She figured it out?”
“Eventually, yes,” Bella looked up at him. “I had to tell her, Kol. She’s my friend and she knows how to keep a secret and—”
“Hey, that’s okay,” Kol softly kissed her. “It’s a good thing you’ve told her, at least that will save me from having to deal with your women issues.”
“You’re such a jerk.”
“And proudly owning that title, thank you very much,” Kol grinned as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I never believed my brother to be this dim, but he still believes that we’re doing a human experiment.”
“Or he already knows but keeps quiet about it, humouring us.”
“Or that,” Kol scowled.
“I told Myriam about our plans for moving out and into something bigger and a ground floor entrance and she…” Bella sighed. “I don’t like the idea, but I think for our sanity and safety, it’s a good idea.”
She didn’t need to use the words to tell him Myriam had suggested they’d move back into the compound, temporarily or not. He had been thinking about this when he was with Freya. Bella was likely good for another few weeks with climbing the stairs, but once she’d start to grow bigger, it’d be a hazard, especially when carrying a bag or something else. Not to mention, once the babies were born. But he also knew that other apartments or houses were likely not in their taste as of right now. And Bella deserved nothing but the best.
Not only would it please Niklaus to have the both of them under his roof for extra safety, the family would be a great help once the babies were born, or even during Bella’s pregnancy. The compound was big enough for the entire family. He didn’t mind living there as his siblings generally left him alone, he moved out because Bella wanted him to. “Wait, you wanted me to move out and move in with you.”
“Yes. Like I said, I don’t like the idea but it’s a great idea,” Bella wasn’t surprised that Kol already knew what she was talking about. Great minds thought alike, after all. “Myriam offered to call in a contractor to make our own little corner of the compound, redo a few of the rooms on the ground floor and likely build a false wall to hide us from plain sight and give us more privacy. We might be in over our heads.”
Kol laughed at that. “Darling, we are in over our heads, but we’re going to be alright. However, I do think it’s a good idea for us to temporarily move back in with Nik. It’ll give us some more time to find a home of our own that we feel good with to raise a family.”
“Yeah, about that…” She lightly touched his chin with her index finger. “I don’t want to raise a family in the Quarter. At least not right here. I want our babies to know what grass is.”
“You’re quite demanding, aren’t you?” He softly kissed her. “We’ll have some time to decide where we’d want to live in New Orleans, there are parks a plenty.” He then let out a snort. “Don’t tell me you wish to move back to Mystic Falls.”
“No!” Bella shook her head. “That’s the worst idea ever. Especially with stupid Elena still walking around. The boys I can handle but Elena? Hell no.”
“Good, because I’ll have you know that once everyone knows we’re going to have babies, they’ll be all over us and they wouldn’t want us to leave New Orleans ever again for a long period of time.”
“Screw them. They’re our kids, not theirs,” Bella replied. “Besides, even if we’d move to Mystic Falls… if Klaus is truly done with messing around with Elena, who’s still a freaking vampire, you can just kill her, can’t you? It would free up my boys as well, to hopefully do something more worthwhile with their lives.”
Kol was surprised to hear that. “You want me to kill Elena?”
“Why not?”
“We could go now and do it,” Kol said excitedly. “Please?”
“We’re in bed,” Bella pointed out.
He sucked in a breath and nodded. “Good point. And we’re awake… I don’t know about you, but I need a little bit of exercise before I can get back to sleep again.”
Giggling, Bella crawled on top of him and straddled his waist as she pushed her hair out of her face. “I think that’s a great idea.”
~o.O.o~
Kol told her to go to the Garden District by herself as he was going to spend more time with Freya and his other siblings, promising Bella to tell her more about what they were doing that evening, because she was included. No, Bella could scout out the store and if it was really that great, he was sure going to return there with her.
Frustrated, Bella stayed at home instead. She wanted to do this with Kol, and not without him. After cleaning the house and making a groceries list, she decided to see if Helios was back and called him. Grandfather or not, he had raised her after all, and she felt like she had to tell him.
“Heya Bells! How are you doing?”
Bella smiled upon hearing his voice, for some reason it made her feel a lot better. “I’m glad to hear you’re back in cellphone range,” she replied. “I still have to thank you for the beautiful apartment.”
“You deserve it, sweetheart. Hades could have handled things differently.”
Bella hummed in agreement. “He’s a jerk and not because of what he did before, but what he’s done now.”
“Do I want to know?”
“I think you’d want to hear this, yeah… I still don’t know how I feel about this.”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll pop over.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
“Five minutes, make sure there’s coffee.” Helios then disconnected the call and Bella looked at the phone for a moment, stunned that Helios was willing to come over like that. Charlie never liked leaving Forks, but then again, Helios was Charlie and likely a character. Plus, if you had a beach in your own house, why leave at all?
Five minutes later, the coffee was still brewing and Helios poofed in right next to Bella, causing her to jump back and look at him in a daze. “I have a front door!”
“I don’t need one,” he retorted, a playful smile on his face.
“Yeah well, I want Charlie, my dad. I don’t want Helios. Go poof out and use the front door!”
Observing Bella’s antics, he merely laughed and did as he was told. After Charlie rung the doorbell, Bella made her way downstairs and opened the door, Charlie grinning in front of her. “Took you long enough, Bells,” he said as he hugged her.
“Thanks for coming,” she muttered in his embrace. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, sweetheart,” he replied as he let go of her and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “You like your new apartment?”
“Oh yes, very much,” Bella said as she followed him up the stairs. “It’s close to everything and it’s safe and beautiful. I love the woody look of it, too.”
“Good job with the fairy lights,” Charlie replied with a snort as he came upstairs. “Oh, coffee!” His attention now directed to the kitchen. “You won’t mind if I pour myself some, right?”
Bella sighed. This still wasn’t Charlie. It was almost as if Helios had given up on being Charlie after her falling into her powers, but right now, she had wished that he was still this stoic person. She sat down on the couch and watched him move around as she waited for him to come and join her.
When he eventually did, she scooted over to him and put her arms around him. “How are things in Forks?”
“Everything’s returning to normal. There were a few cases of missing children, but we’ve found them safe and well. As it turned out, they had found some old tunnels deep in the woods and decided to camp out there. And then the entrance collapsed. They should consider themselves lucky that they were found,” he replied with a shrug. “I’ve been giving lectures on safety and stuff in schools. Quite boring.”
Bella smiled at that and breathed in her father’s scent. It smelled of his brand of detergent and his after shave, something she had really missed. “I should have come to Forks…”
“Nonsense, your life is here,” he said as he put his arm around her. “But perhaps I should try less to be the absentee parent in your life, even though I’m not really your parent?”
Bella smiled at that. “I’d like that, but please, no shenanigans. My life is pretty crazy as it is already.”
“You know, if you tell them to stop messing with ya, they will listen,” Charlie said as he took a sip of his coffee. “How many have you encountered so far?”
“How many?” Bella blinked at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“Everyone’s curious about you, aren’t they popping in and out of your life just to see how you’re doing and who you are?”
“Thank God they’re not,” Bella said surprised. “Or if they were, I’m glad they don’t make themselves known! The Ancestors would go crazy if there are more Gods in the city and I don’t want to appease them again after I promised them that nothing would… please please please don’t tell me that they’re already here.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Charlie smirked. “Plausible deniability! Although you should be able to pick up on them.”
“No, because I asked Hades to turn down the whole feeling aspect as it’s connected through seeing and hearing ghosts and moving them on and shit. Don’t want that. Don’t need the extra… no. I don’t want to know and they can all just fuck off, you can tell them that.”
“Alright, sweetheart,” he kissed the top of her head. “Now, why did I come over? You sounded pretty upset on the phone.”
“I’m not upset. Well… maybe I am,” she thought for a moment. “I’m 30 percent in love with this already, 50 percent scared shitless because both Kol and I are totally not equipped to handle this yet but also knowing we can’t do anything about it and hope that whatever comes next won’t end up resenting us for being bad for them and 20 percent extremely pissed off at Hades for violating a deal we had,” Bella rambled, as she kept her arms around Charlie.
“You made a deal with Hades? The same Hades who doesn’t like leaving his little cozy world down below because it’s nice and quiet Hades? The one who you should be pissed at for taking you away from your new family Hades?”
“Yep.”
He sighed deep and tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I may have lost my pull somewhat when it comes to dealings about you… but what the hell did he do now?”
“It wasn’t really a deal, more like a reward and…”
“You negotiated.”
“And he broke it.”
“Alright, what is it? Tell me so I can punch him.”
Bella let out a breath and all of a sudden felt awkward for telling her father that her vampire boyfriend’s seed had been made fertile again and that she was now pregnant without having said boyfriend by her side to tell her dad. “Hold on,” she said as she got up and swung open the doors of the balcony. “KOL!”
Before she knew it, Kol was standing with her on the balcony. “Damn, woman, calm your titties,” he rolled his eyes at her before sensing her father in the livingroom. “Oh, hell no.”
“I called him, I wanted to have my dad’s cuddles…” Bella pouted as she looked at him. “We need to tell him. And then tell your family. I think that’s for the best.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m still emotionally stable enough to handle their craziness and I don’t think I’ll be able to when we wait a few more weeks,” she softly kissed him. “I know we’re both not ready to accept what’s happening and that we’re scared shitless, but maybe telling a parent will help with it all.”
“He’s not your real father.”
“No, but he raised me,” Bella pointed out, rubbing his arm. “Please?”
“Yeah, alright,” Kol followed Bella into the living room and nodded towards Helios. “Good to see you again, Helios.”
Charlie shook Kol’s hand. “Charlie. Bella wanted Charlie.”
“That’s even worse,” Kol scowled as he shot a look at Bella. Charlie had guns, no doubt he’d shoot him if he’d been able to. She was right, he had been given it some thought, especially after her telling Myriam. Telling the family would be so much better, there’d be so much of a support system – after the initial fall out, likely – but they wouldn’t have to do this alone. The whole family would be involved, and he felt safer with his family behind them despite despising them sometimes.
“Now you’re both scaring me,” Charlie said, looking at the two people in front of him. He wasn’t used to unusual pairings, not in his family, but an Original vampire and a Demi-Goddess? He was proud of them for making this work, and work so well even after the crap that his cousin put them through when he took Bella away for training. It’s something he should have done, really, but he liked his little girl being so happy.
“You need to sit down,” Bella said as she gently pushed Charlie back onto the couch. “So basically… after Hades took me for me to fix my own mess and then train me, he admitted that he was a jerk and said that if Kol and I were ever ready to start a family that I should tell him that so he can make ‘the land fertile again’ as in, make Kol’s seeds happy swimmers again.”
“Of course,” Charlie sighed. “People often tend to forget that he could do that. If you can make the land fertile again, why not—-” he stopped dead in his words and then blinked in shock. “He broke his word? You’re expecting?!”
“Surprise?”
