*Chapter Fifty Two* [Expect the Unexpected]

Claire slowly closes the door to Madelyn's room leaving the 6 year old to nap peacefully. She then wanders down the hall to Kaylin's bedroom. She stiffens when she notices that her daughter isn't alone but when the man turns to her she relaxes recognizing him.

"Hi, Ansel," Claire greets walking into the room. He gives her a small smile. "How are you settling in?"

"It's definitely interesting," He mutters. She gives him another smile before looking down at her daughter. "She's beautiful," Claire hums in agreement.

"Looks just like Nik," Claire whispers, watching her daughter twitch in her dream. "Has he talked to you yet?" She asks, glancing up at him. 

"No and I don't blame him. He's angry... conflicted,"

"He's always angry," Claire smiles, glancing over at him. "Just give him some time to process everything," She tells him. "It's been a rough couple of months," She tells him.

"I just want to help," He tells her, pacing around the room a little bit.

"It's New Orleans, something happens all the time, you'll get your chance to help," She assures him. "And when you do, you'll get Nik's trust and things will get better. He's just a bit protective and cautious, after everything we've been through you have to expect that,"

"I understand," Ansel sighs, running his hand through his hair.

"I know you're going through a rough patch right now with the whole 'coming back to life and my son is ignoring me' bit," Ansel arches an eyebrow at Claire. "But we've had our fair share of betrayals and nobody here really knows you so, until we do, stay away from my daughters unless someone else is with you. If you give me a single reason to not trust you or if you work to get in Klaus's good graces only to turn your back on him, I'll make sure you wish you stayed on the Other Side," Claire promises.

"I believe you," Ansel assures. 

"Good," Claire nods. "Now, we should leave and let her rest," Ansel nods slipping out of the room with Claire. 

"I want to thank you for allowing me into your home, even when you don't trust me," Ansel says.

"It's no problem, you're family," Claire smiles, patting his shoulder. "Just remember, I have eyes everywhere. I know what happens in my city, I especially know what happens in my home," She warns him. "Have a nice afternoon," Claire says walking away from him. She doesn't get far when she hears her future sister-in-law shouting.

"Claire!" Rebekah yells, from the front door. "Claire! Where are you!?" She continues to shout.

"I'm right here," Claire says, jogging down the steps. "I just got them to sleep, please stop shouting," Claire pleads.

"We need to talk, right now," Rebekah grabs her wrist and drags her toward the door.

"Rebekah, where are you taking my mate?" Klaus asks, walking down the steps.

"Girls day," Rebekah states, not bothering to elaborate more. "Don't let the city burn down, we'll be back later," Rebekah states dragging Claire out of the house before she can say a word.

"Are you ok?" Claire asks, willingly getting into the car. Rebekah huffs, slamming the car door. She gives Claire an annoyed, yet slightly scared, look before driving away from the plantation. "What is going on, Bekah?"

"We're getting Penny, Davina, and Caroline," Rebekah states.

"Ok, what about Bonnie?" Claire asks.

"She's getting ready to take Jamie and Tiana to Mystic Falls to see her father," Rebekah explains. "Said she texted you,"

"Oh, that's right," Claire sighs, rubbing her head. "Will things ever slow down?"

"No, they're not," Rebekah mutters. Claire glances at her. 

"Is everything ok, Bekah?" She asks, knowing that they're not but hoping for an explanation. The vampire sighs but doesn't answer. She drives to the Abattoir where the other three girls are. Caroline herds them to the car. Once they're all inside, Rebekah takes off again.

"We're leaving New Orleans?" Claire asks, growing more concerned.

"Just outside, I don't want to even risk anyone else hearing what I'm about to tell you," Rebekah mutters. Claire glances at the girls in the back seat. None of them know what Rebekah is freaked out about.

"What is this place?" Penny asks, as Rebekah pulls up to a house in the middle of nowhere.

"It's my secret home with Ash," Rebekah tells them. "We didn't tell anybody because I don't want people bothering me out here,"

"So, why bring us?" Davina asks.

"Because it's the only place where we won't be spied on," Rebekah says, climbing out of the car. "And you're the only ones I can talk to right now," Rebekah tells them. The girls smile a bit and follow her inside.

The house is small and simple. The decorations are beautiful and very modern. They can tell that Rebekah decorated the home and most likely only allowed Asher to have one, maybe two, of the rooms to claim as his own.

"Where is Ash?" Claire wonders, noticing that the house is too quiet for her brother to be here.

"Wreaking havoc with Archie and Kaleb most likely," Rebekah tells her, leading the girls into the living room. The four girls take a seat and watch Rebekah pace in front of them.

"Ok, you brought us here, what's going on?" Caroline asks, crossing her legs. Rebekah looks at the girls, concern on all their faces. "Is something wrong between you and Ash?" Caroline asks, hating not knowing what's happening.

"Is something wrong with Ash?" Claire further questions. Rebekah sighs loudly and begins to pace.

"Bekah?" Caroline asks.

"I think!..." Rebekah shouts but the rest of the words die in her throat. She breathes slowly. "I think that..." Her voice gets softer. "... I'm pregnant,"

"Wait, what?" Caroline asks, shifting to the edge of her seat.

"You're pregnant?" Davina asks, frowning her eyebrows. "You're a vampire, how is that possible?"

"Kol was able to get me pregnant," Claire whispers. Davina sends a small smile to her. "Why do you think you're pregnant?" Claire asks.

"I've been moody-"

"More than usual?" Caroline teases, hoping to lighten the mood but it only agitates Rebekah. The Original growls before continuing.

"And I've been throwing up blood, smartass," Rebekah growls, glaring at Caroline before returning to her slightly panicked look. "I can't get sick and there's no witch brave enough to curse me... I've also been having dreams about being pregnant. They feel so real," She whispers.

"So, how do we figure out if it's true?" Davina asks, wanting to help.

"Bonnie had a spell that could tell if I was pregnant or not," Claire brings up.

"Yeah, this one," Rebekah says reaching for a piece of paper on the table. "I need one of you two to do this," Claire and Davina look at each other. Claire nods for Davina to take the paper. Davina takes a deep breath and takes the spell.

"So, anything I need to know?" Davina asks. 

Claire describes how Bonnie had done it the first time while ignoring the pain of the memory. She briefly wonders if the pain will ever lessen before pushing past the thoughts to help Davina with the spell. They write on a piece of paper the words 'pregnant' and 'not pregnant'.  They then cut into Rebekah's hand and spill a few drops of blood in the center of the paper.

"No matter what happens, we're gonna figure it out," Claire promises, Rebekah. 

"Are you ready?" Davina asks, looking at Rebekah. Rebekah breathes in and out while looking from Claire to Davina to Penny and then Caroline. Her eyes go back to Davina and she slowly nods.

Davina rubs her hand together before holding them out over the paper. She says the incantation a couple of times. Claire, grabs Rebekah's hand, while Penny grabs the other one. Rebekah holds onto them tightly as the blood begins to move on the paper.

"So, are we celebrating  or threatening to castrate Ash?" Caroline asks, wondering what the appropriate reaction is. The girls are silent, watching Rebekah as she stares at the paper.

"Is it real?" Rebekah whispers. Claire slowly nods.

"It's right," Claire assures her. Rebekah slowly lets go of their hands and presses them on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant?" Rebekah whispers, looking at Claire, who's slowly beginning to smile.

"You're pregnant, Bekah," Claire confirms. Rebekah slowly smiles, tears of disbelief collecting in her eyes. Claire pulls her into a hug. "You're going to be a mom, Bekah," Rebekah laughs, holding onto her tightly.

"So, just to make sure we're one the right page, we're all happy about this, right?" Penny asks. Rebekah nods, pulling away from Claire. "Well, then..." Penny mutters, slowly grinning. "Oh my God! You fucking pregnant!" All the girls begin squealing and jumping around. "I'm going to be an aunt! Again!" Penny cheers.

"Oh, God," Caroline groans. "There's going to be two Rebekah's running around now," She teases. Rebekah smirks.

"New Orleans doesn't stand a chance," Claire adds, teasingly. They laugh and continue to tease her but the smiles never leave their faces. 

"How are you going to tell, Ash?" Davina asks.

"I have no idea," Rebekah whispers. "We didn't really talk about it because we didn't think it was possible," Rebekah mutters, collapsing on the couch. "I'm bloody pregnant," She says.

"Yeah, and we're going to figure it out," Claire promises, sitting beside her. "We're family and this is a good thing," She tells her. Rebekah smiles at Claire. 

"Ash is going to be ecstatic, he's always wanted kids," Penny tells her.

"So have I," Rebekah adds. "I've waited to long... All I've wanted was a family. Ash and I got hope when Kol..." Her voice dies off, her eyes glancing at Claire.

"I'm so happy for you," Claire whispers, smiling through the tears. "You deserve this, you deserve all the happiness in the world Bekah," Claire pulls her into another hug. "You and Ash are going to be great parents and this kid is going to be kickass," Rebekah laughs a bit. "They're gonna know all the cheats for video games and all the latest fashion styles. You're going to have your own family and you're going to be happy, truly happy," Claire says, pulling from her.

"I'm bloody pregnant," Rebekah grins, laughing a bit.

"Do you think hormones are worse for pregnant vampires?" Penny asks. The room grows silent.

"Bekah, you might be a single parent by the end of this pregnancy," Caroline jokes.

"Most likely," Rebekah smirks.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top