Twenty years later

Rebekah

Five years it took for the stem to grow and another fifteen years for nothing. We sat around like this every other day waiting for the bud to bloom, for it to reignite our hope. A soft crack. My head cocked to the side. Another crack. My eyes enlarged and my breathing accelerated. "Nik Nik...Nik!" I yammered, prying the attention of everyone. They raised their lowered heads and followed my gaze and pointed finger. It finally happened. What we waited twenty years for, finally occurred. A sense of breathlessness washed over us as our eyes landed on the glass dome.

"She's..." Elijah and Freya began.

"She's alive!" Nik was fast on his feet, no hesitation as he scooped up the glass dome in his hand and gazed at the bud that slowly began to open up. I never saw him filled with so much joy and hope. He was a new man, and he radiated greatness. Closing my eyes, I savoured the moment. So much light, I reopened them. Freya held her hand out for the domed jar. Reluctant at first, he handed it over. Beaming wide, she inspected it, brushing her fingers over the smooth surface. There was a drastic change in the atmosphere; it was brighter and warmer. Of course, it would be! Sophia had returned and all was right again in our world.

"Rebekah love, call the Salvatores! We need to let them know!" Nik ordered gleaming as he grinned from ear to ear.

"On it!" I fished out my phone and pressed on Stefan. I waited but the call did not go through. Frowning, I tried another couple of times. "It's not going through..." I lamented.

Nik paused and turned around. "Right, Damon turned it off and they must be preoccupied with tracking him down...leave a message and urge they get down here ASAP!"

Doing as told, I left both Stefan and Caroline several urgent messages and voicemails. One way or the other, they needed to get the message. Freya placed the dome back down and started her chanting. The spell was to locate where she was. "She's in the womb and the due date is soon. I can see the mother...she's already having her contractions and they're very close!" Her eyes lit up and the light spread all around us. I threw my arms around Marcel and squeezed him tight, expressing my joy, sharing it with him. He chuckled, holding me to his chest.

"The littlest one is back!"

"I know! My best friend is back!" I exclaimed. I didn't feel like I was a vampire over a thousand years old, I was a normal girl who was getting her best friend back and nothing else mattered in the world. Qetsiyah's spell was a success and the darkness that clouded us, cleared, leaving us with a newfound hope and sense of fulfilment. Telling everyone how happy I was, wasn't enough. Words failed to convey what we felt, what Nik felt and how at ease he was at now. How relaxed his body became and every step he took, it was lively. We all forgot what Freya warned us on.

Stefan

I sat on her bed in what was once her room. It was just as she had left it; everything in its place, nothing touched. Twenty years and the pain still fresh in my mind, in my heart and in my soul. Living everyday with this hole in my heart where she had been, where she could only fill. She needed me to be strong, but I couldn't when missing her was stronger than anything else. I let the tears slide down my cheek, sitting amongst her things and clutching her favourite cushion to my heart. The search for Damon continued. Shockingly, he did not leave a trail of dead bodies behind. He was going from state to state. It was Caroline who joined the dots; he was going back to every place he had ever went with her-with our sister. His motive was unclear, but the little clues and evidence left behind was enough for us to pin down and use against him.

It took me several years to come to terms with him abandoning me; he lost everything, and I at least had Caroline. For that I was grateful. "I'm not doing so great without you...without either of you." I confessed to the photo frame of the three of us. "I don't know what to do! I've been trying to start life over and over again, but I keep failing. Tracking you down Damon, it's supposed to keep my mind off our sister, but I'm lost without you both!" There was no response from either of them. It was foolish to believe I would get one. I scoffed to myself. I was speaking to a picture frame after all.

"Stefan!" Caroline gushed over and over as she pattered up the stairs, running into the room and waving her phone around.

"What is it?" I asked, raising a brow at her. Perhaps she found Damon or a strong lead.

"She's Alive! She's finally here and we need to go!" She babbled, tugging at my arm, pulling me to the door. I gaped at her, mouth wide and eyes unblinking. I heard her but I needed confirmation.

"Say that again?" I asked her, in desperate need to hear it again. I needed it to sink in because I was in total shock.

"She's alive!" She jumped with joy, squealing to the news. The atmosphere around us became brighter and warmer. I sunk back, releasing a heavy breath, finally free.

"She's alive!" I cried. It began with a tingle in my fingers and then my toes, much like that anxious feeling I had felt not too long ago. It was warm and I let it flow through me, enlightening me. I bolted to my feet, grabbed her hand, and pelted out the room.

•

The whole journey I couldn't sit still without continuously tapping my fingers and feet, on a constant loop of anticipation and apprehension. Caroline held my hand the entire journey, settling my nerves and soothing me. As soon as we landed and reached the airport, we whizzed through the crowds of people and immersed ourselves into the busy streets of London.

A thousand memories raced before me, the moment my foot walked through the Mikaelson home. I knew one day I would return and so would all the memories. It hit me all over again, the wound opened up and stung. I watched it happen for the second most painful time. Sensing the struggle, Caroline laced her fingers with mine, helping me further into the hallway. Twenty years later, and I still missed her.

They waited for us in the new living area. Every face seemed brighter and hopeful. "Where is she?" I asked.

"Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital! We need to leave as soon as!" Freya answered.

"Damon?" Klaus questioned.

With a sad smile I shook my head. He should have been here, I told myself. If he knew, everything would fix itself and he wouldn't feel alone anymore. Keeping the reunion short, we hurried away to the hospital, for the arrival of Sophia.

We stood outside the delivery room of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, peering in through the glass windows. The mother was weak and drenched in her sweat. She had delivered a baby boy and another child was on the way. She cried out, pushing as hard as she could for the baby to come out and the baby girl did. She held her babies to her chest, flooding with tears of joy. She did it, after hours of labour she finally brought her beautiful children into this world. Blinded by jubilation, I pushed the door open and plunged into the delivery room. The mother flinched back, clutching her babies to her chest.

"I won't hurt you." I declared, raising my hands in surrender. "I just—we saw you and couldn't help but...are you okay?" My eyes remained on the crying baby girl. She wouldn't stop crying, she was so unsettled. It was clear the mother was struggling to settle both babies. The boy sensing his sister's distress, wiggled in his mother's arms and began crying. The mother relaxed, beginning to trust me and her instincts.

"I'm sorry...it's just my baby girl she won't stop crying and her twin just won't relax until she does!" She groaned, pushing back the visible tears. "What if it's me she's reacting badly to?"

I chuckled lightly. "Of course not, that's not it-May I?" I slowly held out my hands, as if begging. She hung back, deliberating whether she could go as far as to trust a stranger holding her child. After searching my face, she decided I was worth putting faith in.

"You can give it a go." She blew out air, slowly breaking into giggles as I ever so tenderly lifted the baby girl into my arms. The moment she settled in, the crying ceased, and she cooed. I didn't know what to feel or how to express myself. My heart burst. She gazed at me with big brown eyes, not icy blue as I remembered. Her tiny finger wrapped around my pinkie and smiling, I watched as she continued looking up at me as if she recognised me. She was so peaceful.

Her mother stared, astonished. "How did you manage that?" Came in gasps. "Oh look, my boy has settled too." Her laughter was sweet and pleasant.

"She's angelic." I murmured, peering down at her. Her eyes were now closed, and she gave a tiny smile before drifting off to bliss. The light from her filled me up, surrounded us and spread a warmth I never thought I'd experience ever again. "Both of them are beautiful." I repeated, turning my attention back to her. "Have you thought of names?"

She peered down at her son then looked up at her daughter who was nestled on my shoulder, bottom lip jutted out. "I don't know...this pregnancy was unexpected but the biggest one yet, her arrival." She pointed, now beaming. Even in her feeble state, the thought of her new-borns illuminated her. "They're a gift—I don't know what name would do them justice." She continued stroking the head of her new-born son. "Maybe...you can help—oh good Lord, I didn't even tell you my name! I'm Athena."

I smiled. "I'm Stefan."

Her smile grew warmer. "So, Stefan, do you have any suggestions?"

I turned and looked out the window, where Caroline stood beaming and nodding her head at me. Turning back to the now spirited mother, my lips tugged into an infectious smile. "Sophia and Wyatt."

She considered the names. "What do they mean?"

"Sophia means purity and divine wisdom, and when I look at her, it's all I see."

Those words melted her and a tear from her right eye shed. "And Wyatt?"

I chuckled. "Little warrior and this fella right here, he will resemble a warrior. He will look after his sister, with his life and will always be there."

She asked for her daughter back and I inclined. "For some reason I trust you and I don't know why it is or how it's possible but thank you." Holding her daughter close to her chest, she kissed the top of her head. The smile of her face seemed to falter as she delved deeper into her memories.

"Athena?" I called out softly. There was no response. "Athena!" I tried again; this time louder.

She jolted, glanced around and out the window. "I-I um-I..."

"Are you alright?"

She grimaced. "I suppose you don't have a surname for me?" My brows furrowed. Reading the confusion on my face, she disclosed. "I can't give them my name nor their father's..." a long pause. "He's a terrible man! In fact, my entire pregnancy, I spent running and hiding from him and his people. After I'm discharged from here, I'm going as far as I can from London to keep them safe."

"Take my name. Salvatore. From today, they'll be part of the Salvatore family." I offered, encouraging her to accept.

"Salvation." Her lit eyes crinkled with her smile. "Saviour...you are the saviour in my story. Thank you, Stefan."

Thoughts of the abusive father plagued my mind. The mere mention of him made her skin crawl. "You can tell me anything Athena, I swear to you I will not judge. I can help you if you just tell me who this man is."

She trembled, clutching her babies closer than I thought possible. "If you believe in monsters, then believe he is one. He's not any human...it doesn't matter what he is but after today, I'm headed off to Kent where he or his kind will not think to look."

"I will not pry but-" taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze, I looked deep into her eyes. "You will accept our help; you and the twins will lead a luxurious life. You will never be short of anything! If there ever is a time you need anything, you'll without hesitation demand we be there."

Staring back into my eyes compelled, she obliged. "Yes."

I stepped away, breaking the hold. Sticking my hand in the pocket of my jacket, I pulled out the pendant, carrying the Salvatore crest. "This is for Sophia. One day, when she's much older than she is now...give it to her." Gladly, she accepted the necklace and expressed her gratitude. As desperately as i wanted to, I knew I couldn't stay and that I had to leave as promised to Freya. I couldn't get too invested, not even with this unknown father and what she meant by monsters. Taking one last glance at my sister, I said my goodbyes and zipped out the room.

September 15th, 2047. The year she—our salvation was reborn.

~

The news of her return soothed him. It was enough to mend the shattered heart of his, to put to rest his worries. Painting is a metaphor for control. Every choice was his. The canvas, the colour. As a child he had neither sense of the world nor his place in it, but art taught him that one's vision could be achieved with sheer force of will. The same was for true life, provided one refuses to let anything stand in ones' way. This was how he gained control, how he focused himself. Locked away in his study, immersed in the art, he worked away on the large canvas before him. Each stroke much gentler than his previous works. Completing the final detail, he set his brush down and stepped back, admiring the piece in its entirety.

"You truly are remarkable..." he whispered, running the back of his hand down the dried paint. Closing his eyes, he visualised what it would feel like to run his fingers through her soft curls. "Sophia." He murmured, almost catching her scent in the air. She gazed back at him with her piercing blue eyes. Eyes that possessed great warmth. God, she was fierce yet delicate.