EPILOGUE

"Hey." Dean walks over to Nyx in their bedroom, and she looks up at him. "I was clearing out my duffle bag — look at what I found."

"Oh my God." She smiles as she looks at the picture in his hand. "I completely forgot about this."

"I know. It feels like a lifetime ago." He says, and she nods.

"What was this? The first time we went out while we were staying at the lake house?"

"Yeah." He nods. "You were driving me nuts, and I wanted to leave for a while."

"Mm, but no way in hell was I letting you go out and leaving me bored and alone." She chuckles. "That was the first night we ever even got along."

"Well, yeah, we had both been drinking." He reminds her, and she laughs.

"That was a good night." She smiles as she looks up at him. "With you and your Wolverine beard." She says, and he shakes his head.

"You're still a pain in my ass." He says, and she shrugs.

"Just another reason to love me."

"Mm." He chuckles as he leans down and presses his lips to hers.

They go downstairs and find that most of their friends have gathered in the Boarding House living room again. Nyx walks over to the couch and sits down beside Stefan, and Dean sits on the other side of her.

"Where are Jess and Tyler?" Dean asks.

"The babies had them up all night, so Jess wasn't up for going out." Bonnie tells him, and he nods. "And Tyler now refuses to go anywhere without them, so..."

"It's so weird, a fatherly Tyler." Caroline says, and Nyx shakes her head.

"No, I don't think so." The brunette disagrees. "The only reason he never really gave it any thought before was because of his dad, the relationship that they had. And then, you know, he became a hybrid and all, so... Although Klaus has Hope, so maybe he still could've."

"I have no idea." She shrugs.

Everly walks away from Matt and asks her dad to pick her up. She hasn't been feeling well, so she sits facing him in his lap with her head resting lazily on his chest. Dean keeps one hand on her back, trying to soothe her, while his other arm is wrapped around Nyx.

Alex is sitting with Sam and Caroline, but he's in his uncle's lap. He usually sits with his parents, but he has a hard time getting comfortable in Nyx's lap because she's got her eight month pregnant belly. So, it's easier if he just sits with someone else.

Baby S suddenly starts kicking so Nyx grabs Stefan's hand. He watches as she places their hands over where she feels the baby. A huge smile spreads across his face when he feels the baby moving.

"There's nothing like it, is there?" Sam asks, and Stefan simply shakes his head, not taking his attention away from his daughter.

"Yeah, you should feel it from our end." Caroline says, and Nyx starts laughing, which causes the baby to move some more.

Stefan's smile widens as Nyx uses his hand to lightly press on her stomach. He feels the baby kick again, and then he looks at Nyx.

"I swear, it's like she knows whenever you're around." The brunette tells him. "She kicks more, and gets more active."

"She moves around more when you laugh too." He says, and she smiles. "God, she's perfect already."

"So, have you guys thought of any names yet?" Jenna asks, and Dean starts laughing.

"You're an infuriating human being." Nyx narrows her eyes at her fiancé.

"What's​ the matter?" Jo asks.

"We have a few ideas in mind, but I want to wait until we actually see her to decide on a name." Stefan tells them. "Which Nyx isn't too crazy about."

"Just another month, and we can finally stop calling her baby S." Nyx says, and she shoots Stefan a dirty look.

"I happen to like it."

"Speaking of next month," Jo starts, regaining Nyx's attention. "Are you ready for that?"

"It's not exactly my first time." The brunette says, and she nods.

"I know, but I've talked to plenty of expecting mothers, some on their second or third baby. They all say that it's nerve wracking." She says, and Nyx shrugs.

"I'm okay. I mean, the situation's better this time. It's not too soon, and there's less chance of complications." She says. "As long as she's okay, I'll be fine."

Jo nods. "And about that other thing you were asking about... Have you two had that conversation yet?" She motions to Dean.

"What?" He asks, and Nyx looks over at him.

"I was talking about the possibility of having my tubes tied after baby S is born. I asked Jo about the best time and all that, and she said that the best time is after I talk to my fiancé to make sure that we're on the same page." Nyx tells him, and he nods.

"Uh-huh."

"We've never talked about it before." She says, and he shakes his head. "Do you want more kids?"

Dean looks down at Ever, her eyes are closed and she's asleep now. Then he looks over at Alex, who's now sitting on the floor playing with Matt.

"Yeah, I could do this again some day." He says, taking her by surprise.

"Really?"

"I mean, I'm not saying let's try anytime soon, but... After we have our own place, and jobs, and these three are a little older — if we're at a point where we can do it, then..." He shrugs. "...yeah, why not?"

"You are full of surprises." Nyx says, and he smirks before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Then I guess we'll set up a consultation for you to get on birth control." Jo says, and she chuckles as she looks over at her.

"Yeah, I think you might be onto something there, doc." She says, and the raven-haired woman smiles, clearly amused.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink from the kitchen." Ric says as he stands up.

"Ooh, me too." Nyx holds her hands up, and he walks over so that he can help her to her feet.

The two of them go to the kitchen, and Ric looks at her. "Actually, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about." He says, and she looks at him after she grabs a water bottle from the fridge.

"What's up?"

"Well, it turns out... Jo and I are having twins." He tells her, and her eyes widen. "So, she's worried about the future, when they'll have to merge. I want to take her and the kids, and get the hell out of Mystic Falls. I want to do everything that I can to protect them."

"Yeah, of course." She nods. "And hey, I'll, uh... I'll talk to Cas. I'll see if he knows anything that could prevent it or save them from this whole merge thing."

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." He smiles. "But that's not why I'm telling you."

"So, why are you telling me?"

"We're gonna be moving away, sooner rather than later." He tells her. "We're going to California and... And I think you should come with us."

"Me, Dean, the twins, Stefan, baby S..." She shakes her head. "I don't... I don't know. I mean, that could mean Dean and Stefan leaving Sam and Damon, and... And Elena's here." She sighs as she looks down.

"I'm just saying that you should think about it, that coming with us is an option you have." Ric says. "Talk to the boys, all four of 'em. And to Caroline, and Elena."

"Yeah, I will." Nyx nods, and he walks over and kisses the top of her head.

"But whether you choose to come or stay, you'll always have me." He tells her. "I'm here for you, kid. Always." He says, and she smiles.

—

Dean gets the twins to sleep and then he goes back into his and Nyx's room. They've been staying at the Boarding House so that Stefan won't miss anything important that happens with baby S. And it's been much smoother this time, since Dean and Stefan's conversation.

He closes the bedroom door and walks over to their bed. A small smile spreads across his face as he looks down at Nyx, she's already asleep on her side of the bed. She seems to be more tired during this pregnancy than she was with the twins.

He pulls off his t-shirt and then lays down on the bed beside her, still in his gray sweats. Nyx reaches out toward him, and he chuckles as he takes her hand in his. She's still asleep, like she always is when he gets in from getting the twins to bed, but as soon as he climbs into their bed at night Nyx reaches for him. Every night.

The first few times she did it, he was sure that she was awake and just didn't say anything. As the nights went by, he realized that she was still asleep. He said something to her in the morning once, but she had no idea what he was talking about. She does it every night, and he loves it.

He pulls her hand to his lips and presses a quick kiss there before settling to go to sleep. Her grip tightens around his hand for a second, and then she relaxes again.

Nyx already told him what she and Ric talked about in the kitchen, and he could tell that she wants to go. He doesn't care where they live as long as he's with her. The rest is all just details that can be worked out in any way.

As long as he's with her, he'll be happy anywhere.

the end...for now...