CHAPTER NINE

September 18, 2008

"Do not let her tear that book." Bobby says, and Vicki looks over at Everly.

"Come here, sweet girl." She walks over and carefully takes the book from the toddler. "Grandpa doesn't want us having any fun."

"Granpa!" Everly yells, and Bobby chuckles as he looks at the toddler.

"Who's hungry?" Lexi asks as she walks into the living room with the chicken nuggets that she cut up.

"Take that back into the kitchen." Bobby says, and she sits on the floor with the twins.

"I'll clean up their mess."

"Do you two ever listen to a word that I say?"

"I took the book from Ever." Vicki tells him with a smile, and he huffs as he walks into the kitchen. The girls look at each other and laugh.

A while later, the phone rings, and Bobby goes to answer it. "Yeah?"

"Bobby?" A male voice comes through the phone.

"Yeah."

"It's me."

"Who's me?"

"Dean." He says, and Bobby hangs up.

"What's going on?" Lexi asks as she looks over at him.

"Someone's asking to get shot." He tells her, and the girls look at each other, amused.

The phone rings again, and he's angry as he answers it. "Who is this?" He questions.

"Bobby, listen to me—"

"This ain't funny. Call again, and I'll kill you."

"Bobby?" Vicki stands up, she and Lexi both heard the other end this time, not that there was much to hear. "Who was that?"

"Don't matter." He looks at the four of them. "You just keep with the twins." He tells her and then goes back to what he'd been doing before the phone rang.

"So, what's going on in Mystic Falls?" Lexi asks as Vicki sits back down.

"Nothing new." Vicki shrugs. "Elena, Tyler, and Carter have thrown themselves into anything and everything that they can at Whitmore. Ric seems to be doing okay, for the most part. Caroline's actually re-enrolled — so, I guess that's a little new. Enzo is apparently missing, though I'm not entirely sure that we actually care on that one. Jeremy's still not going to school like he's supposed to, and Matt's training to join the police force. Am I forgetting anyone?"

"Stefan."

"So, no, then." She nods. "Perfect."

"You're mad at him too, huh?" She asks.

"He was supposed to be looking for a way to bring them back. Instead, he was playing house in Georgia, making a living as a mechanic." She scoffs. "I would've been looking if I'd known, but I've been a little busy keeping my promise to help raise these adorable little rugrats." She picks Alex up and starts kissing his cheek.

"No!" He yells as he pushes on her face.

"You know, from what I saw, I'd say he is his father's child." She says, and Lexi chuckles as she watches the irritated toddler glare at his aunt.

A few hours later, there's a knock at the front door. Vic gets up off of the couch and goes to answer it. "Lexi, upstairs, now!" She yells, and the blonde immediately disappears from the living room with the twins. "Bobby!"

"Surprise." Dean says as he looks between the vampire and the hunter.

"I don't..." Bobby takes a step back, and so does Vicki.

"Yeah, me neither." He says as he steps into the house. "But here I am."

Bobby picks up the silver knife from the shelf and swings it at him. Dean quickly leans back and grabs his arm, twisting it behind his back. Vicki grabs Dean and pulls him off of Bobby, shoving him into the other room.

"Guys, it's me!"

"My ass." Bobby retorts as he raises the knife again. They move toward him again and he puts a chair between them.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed. You're about the closest thing I have to a father." He looks from him to Vicki. "You're Vicki Donovan — Matt's older sister, and Nycole Gilbert's best friend. I think you're still a vampire, but I don't know how that whole Other Side thing works. You died on Halloween three years ago. Guys, it's me." Dean tells them.

Bobby lets him think that he believes him, but then he goes after him again. But again, Dean gets the upper hand.

"I am not a shapeshifter!"

"Then you're a revenant!" Bobby says, and he takes the knife from him.

Vicki takes the knife and pins Dean against the window behind him. She holds the blade to his throat, and he looks at her. She doesn't know what to do, if she should kill him or not. So, she just holds him there.

"Use the knife and cut my arm." Dean tells her, careful not to move too much. "If I were either, it'll hurt me — like a burn. If I'm not, it'll just be a cut." He tells her. "Come on, Vicki."

She replaces the blade with her hand faster than he could blink, and she cuts his forearm with the silver knife. He inhales sharply, and they look at the cut. Vicki's eyes change when she smells the blood, but she fights off the hunger and backs away from him.

"Dean?" Bobby questions, and he stands up straight.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you two." Dean says as he steps forward.

Bobby hugs him, and Vicki sighs as she looks at the two men. "It's— It's good to see you, boy." The older man says, and Dean sighs.

"You too."

"But... How did you bust out?"

"I don't know." He shakes his head and turns away from him. "I just, uh— Just woke up in a pine bo—" Bobby splashes holy water in his face, and he pauses for a second before turning his head and spitting some of it out of his mouth. "I'm not a demon either, you know."

"Sorry, can't be too careful." Bobby tells him, and then Dean looks at Vicki.

"If you're here, then that means Nyx has to be too, right? Where is she?" He asks. "I tried calling her first, but her number was disconnected. She get a new one?"

"Uh..." Vicki shakes her head. "N-No. No."

"Then what? Where's she at?"

"Dean..." She sighs as she looks at Bobby.

"Dean, Liv was doing the spell to bring everyone back, but it was killing her. So, her brother made her stop." He tells him. "Nyx and Damon didn't make it back from the Other Side. The two of them, and Bonnie... They're gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Dean questions. "You can't be saying what I think you're saying."

"She's dead. I'm sor—"

"No, she isn't. She isn't dead! She is not dead!" He turns away from them and nearly flips Bobby's kitchen table.

Bobby looks at Vicki, and she disappears from the room. Dean puts a hole in the kitchen wall, and he doesn't even register the pain that shoots through his fist. He turns and his back hits the wall behind him, he ends up sitting on the kitchen floor. He's leaning against the wall, his face in his hands.

Vicki and Lexi walk back in, each with a toddler on their hip. "Nycole knew that it was a possibility. So, she made sure that we knew what you guys talked about." Vicki tells him. "Lexi and I have been here with the twins since about the middle of May."

"You remember the pictures?" Lexi asks as she looks at Alex. "Who's in the pictures we show you before bed?"

"Mommy." Alex says, and Dean looks up at them.

"Who else, hm?"

"Daddy."

Lexi kneels down in front of Dean, resting on one knee. "Kinda looks like him, huh?" She says as she points at Dean.

"Daddy." Alex repeats, looking at Dean this time.

"Yeah, that's Daddy." Lexi tells him, and Dean a sad smile tugs at his lips as he looks over at his son. "You wanna sit with Daddy?" She asks, and he nods.

Dean takes Alex, and he hugs him. Alex sits there with him, and he looks at Dean when he hears him sniff. Alex puts his hands on either side of Dean's face and shakes his head.

"No cry." Alex says, and Dean chuckles as he wipes the tears from his face. Lexi stands up and walks out of the room, saying that she's gonna go call Elena and Caroline.

"You wanna sit with Daddy and Alex?" Vicki asks Everly, and the toddler shakes her head. "But he's nice. Alex likes him, see? You wanna sit with Alex?"

"Mm." Everly shakes her head as Dean looks up at her.

"Give her a minute." Vicki tells him as she kneels down like Lexi had. "You like the pictures, remember? Of Mommy and Daddy? We look at them every night. You remember the pictures?" She asks, and Everly nods.

"Pictures." Her pronunciation is a little off, but they can still tell what she's saying.

"It's Daddy in the pictures, right?" She asks, and Everly nods. "That's Daddy." She points at Dean. "Alex likes him, right, Alex? Do you like your daddy?"

"Yes!" He nods.

"See, Alex says he's good." Vicki says as she looks back at the little girl in her arms. "Do you wanna sit with Daddy and Alex now?"

Everly nods, so Vicki sets her on her feet. She takes the few steps to Dean and Alex, and she lets him wrap his arm around her. Dean closes his eyes as he hugs the twins, trying to keep from crying.

—

"Look, she's my best friend, and of course I want to see her, but..." Vicki shakes her head. "If the twins aren't here when Dean gets back, he'll kill you. And then he'll kill me for taking them. We can't not tell him."

"We can't exactly call him and say hey, remember how we told you that Nyx is dead? Well, she's back now. And now Vicki's taking the twins to see her." Lexi quickly argues. "Take them. I can handle Dean and Bobby. Bobby trusts me, he'll understand. Just go."

"Lex..." She sighs. "I can't go there and not tell Nyx that Dean's alive. Did you see him when we told him that she's... Was dead?"

"I'm trusting Stefan to handle this. And I kinda agree with him. Just give her a few hours to be with the twins and simply be a mom." She says. "And then we can complicate her life further with...something dragged Dean out of hell, and we have no idea what is actually going on. I mean, think about it, the man she's been in love with for three years was dead and in hell, and then he was miraculously saved by some mysterious force that could literally be anything. We have no answers, Vic, none, so just... Just let her have a moment to breathe and enjoy being with her kids."

Vicki takes a deep breath and then nods. "Well, I guess when you put it that way..." She sighs as she looks at her. "But I don't have to like it. I hate lying to her, and quite frankly, I've never been very good at it."

"Just go. You'll be fine." Lexi tells her. "She doesn't know that there's anything to question."