CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Look at you." Elena says as she leans against the wall beside her sister; they're standing off to the side of the party that's going on in the living room of the Salvatore Boarding House. "I'm glad that you guys could make it."

"No way was I gonna spend our birthday away from my little sister." Nyx says, and she laughs.

"Yeah, like you're so much older than me." She says sarcastically.

"Hey, older is older." She tells her, and Elena smiles.

"You know, a year ago, if you said that our lives would be what they are now, I probably would've​ had you committed." She says, and her sister laughs. "I mean, I'm looking for my missing vampire boyfriend and you're dating a hunter."

"Two entirely different lives." Nyx nods.

"For two entirely different people."

"With the exact same face." Nyx looks at her. "Kind of ironic."

"No kidding." She agrees. "I'm gonna go say hi to Sam and Dean." Elena tells her when she sees the two boys, and then disappears in their direction.

"You showed up." Damon gets Nycole's attention as he walks over to her.

"I was afraid that Caroline would kill me if I didn't." She tells him, and he nods. "Besides, it is half my party."

"Where's your boyfriend?"

"Beer pong." She points at Dean, Sam, and Elena, and he nods as he looks back at her.

"Did Ric tell you what we found at the house in Memphis?" He asks.

"I haven't seen him yet."

"There were two girls, both dead. It was definitely my brother." He tells her.

"Same ripper M.O. as the others?"

"Yep."

"And Elena?" Nyx asks.

"I haven't told her anything. She still thinks that they're Klaus' victims." He tells her, and she sighs as her eyes briefly close. "You have to tell her, Nyx."

"That her boyfriend's​ on the path to becoming a full blown ripper, and she's probably never gonna see him again?" She questions. "Yeah, let me just casually bring that one up during our next conversation."

"How long are you gonna let her hold onto hope?" He asks, and she looks up at him.

"Hope is the only thing that's keeping her going right now, Damon." She tells him. "After everything and losing Jenna, John, and Stefan in a three day span really messed with her. She's trying to keep a strong front, but not knowing where he is is killing her. I can't tell her that we've been tracking his kills all this time."

"Hope of finding Stefan isn't the only thing keeping her going." He says, and she sighs as she looks at him. "You and Jeremy are a big part of it."

"Not big enough."

"I'm gonna go find Ric. Try to have some fun, Nycole." He tells her, and she nods as he walks away from her.

She watches the teenagers dance to the crappy music that's playing until she can't take it anymore. She then goes outside and sits out on the front porch.

Ric walks over a little while later and looks down at her. "Not enjoying your party?" He asks, and she shrugs.

"I've kinda got other things on my mind right now." She tells him, and he nods.

"And what's Dean say about everything?"

"Not much, just that we'll figure it out as time goes on, and it gets closer to time for them to be born." She tells him. "I don't​ think he knows what to say anymore than I do."

"What do you mean?"

"Our parental history isn't exactly a good one. I've lost four parents and my legal guardian. His mom died when he was four, and his dad..." She sighs, shaking her head. "Well, that's a level of complicated all its own."

"You're scared."

"I'm an eighteen-year-old monster hunter pregnant with twins, of course I'm scared. I'm terrified." She admits. "We're two troubled people with royally screwed up lives. What if we can't give these kids the life that they deserve?" She asks and tears fill her eyes.

"Hey, come here." Ric moves forward and wraps his arms around her. She hugs him as she tries to keep herself from crying​.

—

"Hey." Matt gets Nyx's attention, and she looks up at him. "You look like you're having a blast."

"That obvious?" She asks, and he nods.

"You want me to drive you home?"

"Are you sure you can drive?" She questions as she looks at him.

"Maybe you should drive me home." He says, and she laughs as she shakes her head at him. "Come on." He says, and they walk out to where everybody's parked.

He wanders around, and Nycole watches him for a while. She has no idea where he parked, and apparently neither does he.

"What are you doin'?" Jeremy asks as he makes his way over to the two of them, and they both turn to him. "There you are, I was wondering where you went." He says when he sees his sister.

"Matt was supposed to be showing me the car so that we could go home, but, uh..." She motions toward Matt, and he laughs.

"I can't find my truck." He tells him.

"That's probably a sign you shouldn't​ be driving it." Jeremy says, and she nods.

"Yeah." Nyx agrees.

"Need a ride?"

"You're more stoned than I am." Matt says, and she raises her eyebrows as she looks at her brother.

"Thanks, man."

"Sorry."

"Tell me you're not smoking again." His sister says, and he sighs as he looks at her.

"It was a one time thing, I swear." He says, and she nods.

"It better be."

"Get in." He says, and they start walking to his car. She opens the door as she pulls her phone out of her pocket and then she hears​ Jeremy say, "Vicki."

Matt gets into the car next to him, and they both look at her brother. "What'd you just say?" He asks Jeremy.

"Nothing." He says, but he seems on edge.

"Did you just say Vicki? As in my sister, Vicki?"

"What? No. No, I, uh— I didn't say anything." He lies, and they both drop it.

He turns the car on and the headlights come on. "No." He whispers, and Matt and Nyx look at each other.

"Jer, what's wrong?" Nyx asks him.

He turns the car off. "You know what, maybe we should just walk." He says.

"Yeah, or I can drive." She suggests, and they get out to trade places.

Driving Matt and Jeremy home. Meet me at my house when ur done at the party. Nycole quickly sends a text to Dean and then gets back into the car.

They get to the house, and the boys immediately go to the kitchen to get ice cream. She laughs as she watches them eat, clearly experiencing a case of the munchies.

Matt looks at Nyx and laughs. "Alright, I should probably go before Elena and Mr. Saltzman come home and see what a bad example I am." He says, and she chuckles.

"Don't​ worry, your secret's safe with me." She says, and he smiles as he gets up.

"You sure you can walk?" Jeremy asks him.

"Yeah, I can drive you." Nyx says, and he shakes his head.

"I'll be alright." He says. "Can I take the ice cream with me?"

"Knock yourself out." She says, and Jeremy laughs as Matt takes it.

He starts to leave, but then he turns back to them. "What happened in the car, man?" He asks, and they both turn to Jeremy.

"Nothing." He says, and Nyx looks at him skeptically​.

"Come on, man. You said Vicki. Alright, you said my sister's name. Why?"

"I heard it too, Jer. What's going on?" She asks her brother.

"You said you were seeing things?" Matt says.

"What?"

"I've been seeing her." Jeremy says as he looks between the two of them.

"I mean, I think I see her all the time too." Matt says. "It's 'cause I miss her so much, though. You know, like, I wanna see her, so I do."

Jeremy just looks down.

"Look, I know we've got our hands full with all the supernatural stuff in this town, but...ghosts?" Matt asks, and Jeremy​ looks at his sister.

She pauses and looks down at the counter.

"Like I said, my head's all messed up." He says, and Matt starts for the door. Jeremy looks back at his sister once he's gone. "Is it possible that I can actually see her?"

She sighs and looks back up at him. "It's possible in the sense that ghosts do exist." She tells him. "I just don't think that supernatural creatures have ghosts that exist after they die."

"What if it is her?" He asks. "I mean, what if you just don't know that vampires can have ghosts?"

"I don't know, Jer. I've never seen the ghost of a vampire. I don't know if the same principles apply as with humans or not."

"So, what are we gonna do?"

"First, we'll find out if it's really her. If it is, we'll do our research." She tells him, and then hesitates for a second. "Wait, is this why you want to come on the road with me and the guys?"

"It's part of it." He nods. "I want to know what's going on with me, but I don't want to tell Elena or Ric."

"Are you sure that this is what you wanna do?" She asks him.

"I talked to my boss and I already put in my two weeks notice." He tells her.

"When was that?"

"Two weeks ago." He says,​ and she laughs.

"Alright, we'll leave tomorrow." She says. "But Elena's not gonna be happy."

—

"Look at you." Meredith smiles when she walks into the room that Nycole and Dean are waiting for her in. "You're finally getting your bump." She chuckles, and Nyx smiles.

"Yeah, I was starting to wonder if they're really in there." The teenager jokes as she places her hand over her stomach.

"You must be Dad." The doctor smiles as she turns to him.

"Dean." He reaches out to shake her hand.

"I'm Dr. Fell, but you can call me Meredith." She tells him before looking back at Nyx. "So, Miss Mama, how are you feeling?"

"I feel good. Some days are a little more tiring than others, but I'm good. I really haven't had any morning sickness at all, which I'm totally thankful for." Nycole tells her, and she nods.

"Yes, that is definitely one factor that varies for everyone. Some women, like yourself, don't experience any, or very little. Others, unfortunately, are sick throughout their entire pregnancy. I had one patient — she was sick everyday for the first trimester, but it just went away the day that she entered her second. It just depends on the person." She tells her, and Nyx nods. "And how are you doing with your vitamins?"

"I'm taking 'em everyday. The only one that I missed was that one when I called and asked. And yes, I went to a doctor a few hours after we got off the phone." She says, and Meredith smiles.

"Perfect." She says, and Nyx chuckles as she glances at Dean. "And you've been staying away from caffeine?"

"Um... I had one cup of coffee when we were in Texas last week, but that was the first one I had... I'm pretty sure since my first appointment." She tells her. "You said that I could have coffee every now and then, right?"

"Yes, just not too often." Meredith nods.

"I've been...pretty mindful of what I eat and drink." Nyx says. "Like I said before — more water, more salads. Less caffeine, less grease."

"Alright, now, before we do the ultrasound..." She looks between the expecting parents. "You'll be seventeen weeks along this Saturday. And, if you remember, Nycole, I told you that at sixteen weeks you could learn the sex of the babies if you wanted to."

"Oh, yeah..." The teenager looks up at her boyfriend. "We haven't talked about that yet. Do you want to know?"

"I— I don't know." Dean mumbles.

"You don't have to decide now." The doctor tells them. "We can do the ultrasound, and I don't have to tell you just yet. You guys can take as much time as you want, talk about it, decide what you want. Nyx has my number, and she can always call me after you've decided. I can tell you whenever."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Nyx nods, her eyes still on Dean. She can tell that he's not gonna come to a decision today. "Just tell us that they're healthy. That's why we're here." She says as she looks back at Meredith, who smiles.

"Then let's get started. You remember the drill?" She asks, and Nycole nods as she lifts her shirt just enough to reveal the small baby bump.

The teenager lays back and undoes the button and zipper on her jeans. "I'm gonna need bigger pants soon. The little ones are making me fat." She says.

"Hey, don't you talk about my girlfriend like that." Dean says as he leans down and kisses her cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Aw, you're cute." She smiles as she looks at him, and he pecks her lips.

"Are you guys ready?" Meredith asks, and they both look back at her.

"Yeah." Nyx nods, and the doctor reminds her that jelly's cold before she puts some of it on her lower abdomen.

They all look at the screen and then she finds their heartbeats. Nyx looks up at her boyfriend as his eyes widen. She smiles as she reaches for her his hand, and his fingers instantly curl around hers. Nyx chuckles as she watches him.

"That's their hearts?" Dean asks, and she nods as he looks at her.

"Crazy, huh?" Nyx asks, and he nods.

"They sound very strong." Meredith tells them as she continues looking at the screen. "Here we go."

"What?" She asks as she looks at the screen as well.

"Here's baby A." Meredith points. "They are each about the size of a pomegranate, maybe a little smaller since you're not quite seventeen weeks yet, but you're right there."

"That's our baby?" Dean asks, and his voice sounds a little off.

Nyx looks up at him and she sees tears in his eyes. "Aw, babe." She squeezes his hand, and he smiles as he looks at her.

"And now here I've found baby B." The doc gets their attention again. "Have you felt them moving around yet?" She asks as she looks at Nyx.

"Kind of." She nods. "Enough to feel that there's definitely something there, but not really enough for Dean to feel yet."

"That's alright. It takes a little longer in some pregnancies than others." She tells her. "But everything looks alright. You and the twins all seem perfectly healthy. I assume that you two want more pictures from this visit?"

"Yes." Dean nods, and Nyx chuckles as she looks up at him. "Absolutely."