CHAPTER TWELVE

"Sorry I missed the stripper." Nyx chuckles as she sits down next to her sister at the diner that all of the girls are in — they're at Jo's bachelorette party. "Dean was stalling. You think it was intentional?" She asks.

"No."

"No way."

"Uh-uh." Most of them shake their heads, none of them at all convincing as they try to defend him.

"Absolutely." Vicki nods, and Nyx laughs as she looks over at her.

"Oh, yeah." She agrees, and they all start laughing at Dean's actions.

Jo smiles as she puts another fry in her mouth. "An entire diner to ourselves. Actual heaven." She says, and Nyx and Elena smirk as they look at each other.

"I wanted a spa day, but the twins here wanted to stuff their faces." Caroline says.

"You're geniuses." Jo says, and they both smile at her.

"Except, aren't you a vegetarian?" Jess asks as she looks at the burger in front of Jo.

"Jess, leave her alone." Jenna says.

"I'm just saying, that's not exactly a gardenburger."

"The baby is not okay with the no-meat thing." Jo says defensively. "Besides, it's my party, and I'll eat what I want to."

"Yeah, Jess." Bonnie says, and the blonde narrows her eyes at her, then they both smile as they continue eating.

"I do wish this was vodka though." She says, and they all chuckle as they look at the bride-to-be.

"You know, I haven't officially welcomed you to the club." Nyx chuckles as she leans over and wraps her arm around Jo. "Hm... I was gonna give you a hard time about birth control like you were doing to us, but then it occurred to me that I don't want to touch that subject where Ric's concerned." She says, and they all start laughing.

"I never really had many human friends before now. Is this what it's like?" Lexi asks.

"What? Everyone having babies at the same time?" Caroline asks, and she nods.

"I guess once you hit a certain age." Jenna shrugs. "Though it's usually a little older than twenty and twenty-one."

"Certainly older than eighteen." Vicki mumbles, and Nyx kicks her under the table.

"My babies are perfect, you shut up." Nycole tells her, and she smiles.

"Who's watching them anyway?" Jenna asks as she goes to get herself some more to drink.

"Ellen and Jo." She says as she looks over at her. "Dean refused to leave them with anyone that we don't know. And, honestly, after the whole demon attack thing, I really don't blame him."

"Hey, we should invite Ellen and Jo to the wedding." Jo says. "I didn't really know them very well when we first started planning, but they've been around more. They should be there too."

"I like that idea, that's really sweet." Nyx says.

"Hey, I don't want to know what Ric's doing, do I?" She asks as she looks around at each of the girls.

"They're probably just at the movies." Jenna says.

"Yeah, or mini golf." Elena suggests.

"Uh-huh." Jo nods, unconvinced, and they all laugh.

"Sam and Dean at a mini golf bachelor party." Caroline laughs. "I'd pay to see that."

"Me too." Nyx smiles as she looks up at her.

"I need ketchup." Jo says and then gets up and walks away from the table.

"So, Lexi..." The brunette looks up at the only vampire in the room. "Bonnie and I are still working on the cure for you and Enzo. You sure that you want it?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Lexi asks.

"Well, you've been a vampire for a long time. I mean, aren't you gonna miss the perks?"

"Yeah, like compelling the owner of a diner to close early." Vicki adds. "Or never getting sick. The speed, the hearing — any of it."

Lexi takes a deep breath as she then looks at each of the girls in the room who used to be vampires. "Do any of you guys miss it?" She asks, and they all look at each other. "I mean, Nyx and Caroline both have kids on the way. As well as Stefan, Tyler, and Ric." Her eyes land on Jo and Jess for a second before she continues. "Vicki doesn't have to worry about being around her brother. Elena gets to go back to school to become a doctor and not have to worry about the bloodlust when she sees any of her patients. Damon has the chance to start his own family."

"No, I don't miss it." Nyx says, shaking her head. "But I wasn't a vampire nearly as long as you were. None of us were. And Stefan hated being a vampire because he was a ripper for so long; so did Ric. And Damon chose his family."

"And I'm choosing mine." Lexi says, and they all smile at her.

"Aw!" A few of the girls walk over and hug her, including Nyx, and Lexi chuckles.

—

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Dean calls over the music at the Boarding House, and he and Ric head out to the front porch.

"What's up?" Ric asks as he turns to look at him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, actually. That's the thing — everything's been good." He nods. "No monsters, so far no demons. The only angel we ever see is Cas, but not because he needs anything. He just stops in to see Nyx and the twins. Nyx and I aren't fighting."

"You're not looking for a fight, are you?"

"No." He chuckles. "The opposite, actually."

"Meaning?" Ric prompts.

Dean reaches into his inside jacket pocket and pulls out the little velvet box before handing it over to Ric. He opens it and sees the engagement ring inside, his eyes widen.

"Wow."

"Nyx knows that I have her mom's wedding ring, that Elena gave it to me at the twins' birthday party last year. And I've been saving up for even longer to get that for her, which she hasn't seen." Dean tells him, and he nods as he looks back at him. "Both of our parental situations have always been complicated, and her parents' approval of our relationship was mentioned a few times, especially in the beginning. As you know."

"Yeah, I remember talking to her about it a couple years ago." Ric nods.

"She's said that you and Jenna like me, and that's just as important to her. I know you think of her as a daughter, just like she's said she's been lucky enough to have you as a father figure in her life. And our kids call you Grandpa." He says. "I don't know, I guess talking to you before asking her just seemed like the right thing to do."

"You and Nyx have talked about getting married before?" Ric asks, and he nods. "And she knows that you're planning to propose at some point?"

"Yeah." He chuckles. "You should've seen the look on her face after she saw that I had her mom's ring."

"Well, whatever you're looking for from me..." He starts as he hands the velvet box back to Dean. "Blessing, approval — you got it. I know there's no one out there who'll take care of her the way that you will."

They talk for a little while longer, and then Dean goes to find someone else that he feels he should talk to. After not finding him downstairs, he heads up to the bedrooms.

Dean knocks on the open door. "Can I talk to you?" He asks, and Stefan turns around.

"Yeah. Come in." He nods, and Dean walks into the bedroom.

"This is a little more awkward than I was anticipating." He clears his throat as he rubs the back of his head. "Look, I'm sorry. The way that I acted before — it wasn't right. You're a good guy, and I know that. It's just, when it comes to Nyx — I know that I can get a little..." He sighs as he shakes his head. "I was a dick to you because I could see that you made her happy, and I'm sorry for the way that I handled things."

"I understand." Stefan says. "Honestly, I think we should just put that day — that fight — behind us." He says, and Dean nods.

"I'm hoping to. 'Cause your daughter is my kids' sister, and I don't want any of them to suffer because of us." He says. "They deserve better, and we owe it to them, and to Nyx, to give them the best life that we can."

"I couldn't agree more."

"And, uh..." Dean clears his throat again. "I'm not trying to be a dick now, or anything, I just don't want you to end up blindsided or—"

"You're gonna ask her to marry you." Stefan says, and he nods. "You'd be an idiot not to."

"I don't have the details ironed out or anything, and I'm not entirely sure when I'm gonna do it, I just..." He sighs, having a hard time putting his thoughts into words. "You and I are kinda stuck with each other, so I want things to be okay with us. For the kids, for Nyx. So, I'm trying to avoid any fights and too much awkwardness in the future."

"I meant what I said before, I'm not in love with her. I never was, just like she was never in love with me." He tells him. "All I care about is that she and my daughter are both happy and healthy and taken care of. Nyx loves you, it was always gonna be you and her. I know it. And I'm happy for you both. Nycole is one of my best friends, and I'm gonna be there for her — like I always have been — and I'm gonna be present for my daughter. That's all that matters to me. As far as I'm concerned, you and I have no bad blood."

"Yeah?"

Stefan chuckles. "How much did she tell you about our relationship when the angels messed with our heads?" He asks.

"Uh... You were angry a lot and you punched your boss." He says. "You came home drunk before you guys broke up."

"It was nothing like when she and I dated before we broke up as ourselves, after you and I got into that fight, but it felt like..." He shakes his head. "Like either way, the end result would always be the same. Maybe not me getting drunk and storming off, but us ending things. Nyx and I are good as friends, and that's exactly how it should stay. I know it as well as she does. I just want to ask one thing of you."

"Okay..." Dean nods, a little uncertain.

"Don't hurt her. 'Cause she will always be one of my best friends, and I will kick your ass." Stefan says, and he smiles as he nods.

"I can promise you that one." He says as he holds his hand out toward him. Stefan nods as he reaches forward and shakes his hand.