CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

It's been a couple weeks since Liz's funeral, and things have been pretty quiet in Mystic Falls. They haven't been bothered by the angels since they pointlessly made Dean torture Alistair.

Right now, everyone's at the Boarding House, enjoying another normal day. They all feel like soon their sense of normalcy will come to an end. Although nothing's currently normal for Damon. He decided to take the cure, wanting to live a human life alongside his brother and their friends. Needless to say, he's still adjusting.

"Boo!" Jess throws another chip at Tyler. They're currently discussing baby names, and it's entertaining for everyone else because she hasn't liked a single one that he's suggested so far.

"Okay. Why don't you come up with something then?" He asks, and she smiles.

"Macy for our baby girl." The blonde says. "Short for Masen."

"After my uncle?" He asks, surprised, and she nods.

"Nyx told me about him. She said he had a hard time after he triggered the curse, but he helped when he could while he was on the Other Side." She says. "That he helped Damon with something related to the originals, after he got his revenge for being tortured, of course. And she said that he's part of the reason so many of you guys came back before the Other Side collapsed, including you."

"Oh, yeah." Bonnie nods. "He fought off a bunch of the Travelers that were trying to get through. That's when I got Lexi and Ric back through to this side."

Tyler looks back at Jess. "You really want to name her after him?" He asks, and she smiles.

"Absolutely."

He wraps his arm around her and pulls her closer to him, kissing the side of her head. "I think it's great." He says, and her smile widens.

"Aw, how cute." Nyx smirks at them and then continues throwing popcorn into the air, catching it in her mouth.

"Have you guys thought of any names yet?"

"Nope." She glares when a piece of popcorn bounces off her forehead.

"She wants to know the gender before talking about names." Stefan tells him.

"When do you find that out?" Jenna asks.

"Next month."

"You're making a mess." Bonnie says.

"Sorry, Mom." Nyx mutters.

"Well, you're practically sitting on me. I'm gonna be covered in salt."

"Oh, no. If only there was this machine that could wash your clothes." She says sarcastically as she throws another piece of popcorn up into the air. Bonnie smacks it, and ends up on the floor. "Hey!"

Everyone starts laughing and then the front door opens. "What the hell is he doing here?" Matt questions.

"I invited him."

"Why?"

"Hey now, grumpy-pants, calm down." Nyx glances at Matt.

"What can I do for you, love?" Enzo asks.

"Well, for starters, you can stop calling me that." She says, and he nods.

"Right, my apologies. I forgot you're sensitive to certain things about me. Like my accent."

"I may be human, but I can still kick your ass." She says as she stands up.

"You and Papa-Bear over there?" He looks at Ric, and Nyx smiles as she looks at him.

"That was a fun fight." She says, and Ric chuckles. "I especially liked when Ric threw you across the room."

"I liked the part when you were under me on the floor." He smirks. "And then when we were pressed up against the tree, and your arm was around me."

"You think you're cute, don't you?"

"Actually, I was just curious who that would piss off." He looks between Dean and Stefan with a smug look. "Question answered."

"Back to the point, I asked you to come here for Damon." She tells him, and he looks at his friend.

"You mean because he's human, and after he's dead I'll have no friends left." He nods as he looks back at her. "I'm aware. Were you just rubbing it in my face because you still don't like me?"

"Actually, I don't really have a problem with you, Enzo." She says, and he looks somewhat surprised. "I mean, drowning a vampire doesn't kill them, and you didn't even try to stop Ric and Vicki from saving Stefan and Luke from the fire. And we both know you wouldn't really have killed Damon. So, why waste my energy hating you?"

"If you're not gloating, then why I am here?"

"Bonnie and Nyx are working on a way to cure Lexi." Damon says as her phone rings, and she pulls it out of her pocket. "They can cure you too, if you want."

"You two discuss that, I'm gonna take this into the kitchen." She says as she holds up her phone. "Hey, Jer." She smiles as she answers the call, walking out of the room.

"Hey, how are things going over there?" He asks, and she goes to the kitchen.

"They're alright. Things seem pretty calm for the time being." She tells him. "How are you doing?"

"Good." He nods. "Chris is really teaching me a lot. I like it with these guys."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear it." She smiles, leaning against the counter by the sink. "Hey, did anyone tell you that Ric and Jo got engaged?" She asks as Dean walks in and heads for the coffee pot.

"Yeah. Yeah, he called me." He says. "When's the wedding gonna be?"

"Uh... June, I think. You're coming, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Jeremy!" A male voice calls from his end.

"I gotta go, I'll talk to you later." Jeremy says, and she nods.

"Alright. Love you, little brother." Nyx says.

"Love you too. Tell everyone that I said hi."

"I will." She then hangs up.

"How's he doing?" Dean asks, and she looks at him.

"Good. He really seems to like that friend of yours." She tells him, and he nods.

"Yeah, he's a good guy." He says as he leans against the counter opposite her, by the stove. "You think the twins will be up soon?"

"Probably." She nods. "And we'll know it because Alex will start screaming. He hates being in the room." She says, and he chuckles.

"He likes a lot of space to run around."

"Yeah, to terrorize everything." She says. "I swear, that boy is a Winchester through and through."

"Hey, don't put all that on me. I've heard plenty of stories about you and Jeremy when you were kids." He argues, and she laughs. "He'd chase you around the house."

"He was an aggressive little brat." She says, and he smiles, watching her laugh. He's really missed hearing her laugh.

"See, you Gilberts are a handful too."

"Maybe." She shrugs. "I still think he's more like you, and Ev's more like me."

"Oh, yeah, right. When have you ever been shy?" He questions. "I tried to ditch your ass in North Carolina, and you stood behind my car so I couldn't pull out of my parking space. Then you took my keys and climbed into the car after I got out to argue with you." He says, and she covers her face as she starts laughing even harder at the memory of the morning after they met.

"God, that feels like so long ago." She says as she looks up at him, and he nods.

"It's been three and a half years."

"I can't believe how much things have changed." She says as she looks down. "We were strangers then, and now..."

"And now I can't live without you." He says, and her eyes meet his again. "Come on, you can't say you didn't see that one coming."

"You're just not usually so blunt with your feelings." She says, and he sets his coffee down on the counter beside him. "Especially when anyone can walk in and hear you."

"It's not a secret. I don't care who hears me."

"I should get back." She stands up straight and starts to walk away from him, but he grabs her hand.

"Wait." He steps away from the counter as she looks up at him again.

"Dean—"

"I know that you still feel the same for me as I do for you." He says as he tucks her hair behind her ear. "And no amount of time apart is ever gonna change that."

He starts to lean down, and she knows that she shouldn't let him kiss her, but she can't bring herself to pull away from him. Just as his lips brush against hers, Jo walks into the kitchen.

"Oh." Her steps falter as Nyx backs away from Dean, and he sighs. "Sorry, I was just coming to get some water." She moves past them to the fridge.

"So, doc?" Nyx clears her throat. "About this whole no coffee thing. Can we renegotiate?"

"There's no negotiation. You want some coffee, have decaf." Jo tells her.

"Ew." She whines. "I want real coffee. I thrive on it."

"It's true." Dean nods. "She can drink a whole pot to herself."

"I drank coffee while I was pregnant with the twins." Nyx tells her.

"Well, that explains Alex." Jo says.

"Hey!"

"Let's remove you from temptation." She grabs Nyx's hand as she walks past her and pulls her out of the kitchen. "And I don't just mean the coffee." She whispers.

"Yeah, tell me about it." She sighs.

The bell rings, and Jo lets go of Nyx so that she can answer it. She smiles when she sees the three standing on the other side of the door.

"I believe you requested that we pull him out of the hole that he climbed into." Ellen says as she nudges Carter into the house.

"That's low, Nycole." He glares at her.

"You've been moping for two months. I thought it was time to call in the big guns." She smiles, and he goes to sit down next to her sister. "I knew there was a reason I liked you so much."

"It's good to see you too, kid." Ellen says, and she hugs her.

"Hi, Jo." Nyx hugs the blonde. "Come on in."

"Why are you filling my house with more people?" Damon questions.

"Mi casa es tu casa. Remember?" She smiles at him. "Guys, this is Ellen and Jo. Ellen, Jo, this is my incredibly dysfunctional family."

"Mommy!" Alex yells, and Nyx turns to see the twins racing down the hall with Lexi right behind them. "Mine!" He slams into her leg.

"No! Mine!" Everly argues, wrapping her arms around Nyx's other leg.

"So, these are the Gremlins?" Jo asks, and she chuckles as she looks back at her.

"Hey!" Dean walks back into the room. "It wasn't okay when she said it, and it's not okay now."

"Sensitive." The blonde mutters, and Nyx laughs.

"Who wants Daddy?" He asks as he looks down at the twins.

"Mommy!" They both yell, and a smile spreads across Nyx's face as she sticks her tongue out at him.

"So, they've got a favorite?" Ellen asks as he glares at the younger brunette.

"No." Nyx shakes her head as she turns her attention away from Dean. "They go back and forth all the time. They were just fighting over him this morning."

"They like to fight." Dean says.

"That's not entirely true." Ric interjects. "Ev wants whatever Alex has, and he doesn't like to share." He says, and Nyx nods.

"Pretty much, yeah." She says and then drags her feet over to the others. The twins are now sitting on her feet. "Can Mommy sit down, please?"

"No." Alex says, and Everly stands up and holds her arms out. Nyx picks her up and then looks at Alex.

"Mommy's foot is falling asleep." She says, and he bounces. She groans. "You are your father's son."

"Knock it off." Dean says as he walks over to them. "Get off of her foot. Now."

"No." Alex argues.

"Get off." He grabs the toddler's hands and unwinds his arms from Nyx's leg before picking him up.

"So, what were we talking about before the two-year-old decided to be a brat?" Nyx asks as she sits down between Jess and Matt.

"Ric and Jo's wedding." Elena tells her.

"Ooh, is Caroline planning it?" She smiles.

"Well, duh." The blonde smiles.

"Using it as practice for your own?"

"No, that's what yours will be for." Caroline says, and she nods.

"And if you get married first?" Nyx asks.

"Something tells me you'll be getting a proposal before I do."

"Why? You know something that I don't?" She asks as she plays with Everly. "You're the one with a boyfriend." She says, and Sam clears his throat as he looks down awkwardly, causing Nyx to laugh.

"That may be, but you're the one with two suitors who've fathered your children." Care says, and she nods, not looking away from her daughter.

"Auntie Caroline's mean." Nyx says.

"Um... What did I miss?" Ellen asks, and she looks up at her. "Are you and Dean not..."

"Together? No, we're not." She shakes her head

"Wow." Jo's eyes widen. "I wasn't expecting that one. The last time I saw you guys—"

"I was pregnant with the twins, that was a long time ago." She cuts the blonde off.

"Sorry."

"And you have another kid?" Ellen asks.

"Um... Well, I'm— I'm pregnant." Nyx tells her, and she nods. "Three months, if you're wondering why you can't really tell yet."

"Mommy, whas dat?" Everly asks.

"What, my love?" She asks as she looks back at her daughter.

"Pr... P—"

"Pregnant?" She asks, and the toddler nods as she looks at her. "That means there's a baby in Mommy's tummy."

"A baby?" She asks with wide eyes.

"Yeah." She chuckles. "Like Auntie Jess." She points at her bump.

Ever touches Jess' stomach, and both women smile at the mesmerized look on her face. "Baby?"

"I have two babies." Jess tells her. "Like your Mommy and Daddy have you and Alex."

"You, Mommy?"

"I have one baby. I made the doctor check...three times." Nyx says, and everyone laughs.

"Who's the baby's dad?" Jo asks, and Nyx motions over to him.

"Stefan." She smiles as she looks at him, and he smiles back at her, then she turns her attention back to Everly. "Do you know what this means, princess?"

"What, Mommy?"

"You're gonna have a little brother or sister."

"When do you find out?" Ellen asks.

"In about two weeks." Nyx tells her, and Dean walks over so that he can give Alex to Matt. "Do you want the baby to be a boy or a girl?" She asks Ever.

"Me. Me." Alex moves closer to her.

"Yes, bub, you too." She looks at him. "Do you want another sister?"

"Like Ev?"

"Mhm." She nods.

"Yes." He smiles, and she chuckles.

"Sister?" Everly asks. "I want sister."

"We've reached a consensus." Caroline says with a chuckle. "Baby S has to be a girl."

"Baby S?" Jo asks.

"Baby Salvatore." Nyx tells her, and she nods. "Hey!" She then looks at Caroline.

"What did I do now?"

"You have your own suitor who's fathered your child!" She yells, and Everly covers her ears. "Sorry, gorgeous." Nyx pulls her forward and kisses her head.

"Yes, but mine is less awkward to talk about because I'm still dating him." The blonde smiles as she cuddles closer to Sam, and he smirks as he wraps his arm around her.

Jo starts laughing, and they all look over at her and Ric. "Sorry. I was just thinking about a conversation Ric and I had the other night." The raven-haired woman tells them.

"And what's that?" Nyx asks.

"Well, do any of you know how to use protection? Or was there a big vampire crisis during that part of health class?"

"Okay, first of all, four of the six people involved in your scrutiny used to be vampires, and couldn't have children. So, protection wasn't really necessary for a while there." Nyx reminds her. "And Jess was dead for, like, three years, so I give her a pass. And I don't know what Sam's excuse is."

"Thanks." He says sarcastically, and she smiles at him.

"And what's yours and Dean's excuse from three years ago?" Elena asks, and her sister narrows her eyes at her.

"Well, if you must know, the—" Nyx looks at the twins for a second and then back over at her sister. "We used protection, but it broke."

"And thank God for that. Now, can I have at least one of my kids back?" Dean asks.

"It's not my fault I'm their favorite." She shakes her head as she pulls them both to her. She smiles when he narrows his eyes at her, then she turns her head and whispers in her daughter's ear.

Everly climbs off of the couch and runs over to where Dean's sitting on the floor. She puts her hands on either side of his face and looks at him. "No sad, Daddy." She says.

He smiles as he reaches forward and wraps his arms around her. Dean then pulls the toddler against his chest and starts kissing her cheek. She laughs as he tickles her, and she starts screaming while she's laughing. Alex climbs off the couch and runs over to them and soon enough, Dean's on his back with both of the twins climbing on him. Nyx watches the three of them with a smile on her face.

"Alright, I'm convinced." Tyler says, gaining everyone's attention. "There's nothing that'll top it when we get that."

Jess smiles as she looks at him. He pulls her closer to him, and she stretches to kiss him.

Vicki walks over and squishes between Nyx and Matt. "Okay, I'll take a little brother, please." She says, and Nyx turns Vicki's head so she's looking at Matt. "Matty!" She throws her arms around him, and he laughs.

"I'm a wish granter!" Nyx yells, and they all laugh at the two girls.

"Does that mean Baby S is a girl?" Stefan asks, and she looks at him.

"I kinda hope so." She smiles. "You?"

"Well, I mean, who could handle raising a Salvatore boy?" He asks, and she chuckles, remembering one of their past conversations on the subject. They smile at each other.

For now, all is well. But they all know that the angels are still out there, and they still have plans for Dean and the twin doppelgangers. They know that they'll be back all too soon.