1x1 with x_fire

Kristen looked over the beach thoughtfully. That would be nice...just at sunset like now. Beautiful, absouletly beautiful.
"That would be..." Kristen smiled and sighed, she couldn't even think of a word for it.
"No, in the end of July. The 29th..." Kristen murmured as Maddie was too engrossed in drawing things into the sand with her fingers.
"Yes. Shower." Kristen said, looking pointedly at Maddie, expecting protest. Maddie simply shrugged, practicing her name now in the sand.
"Ok.." Maddie sighed, looking up at the sky then with a light smile.


Alayna winced. "Worse?" she murmured, sucking in a breath as she burned her tonuge from her soup. "Ok, at least better than yesterday. You were burning up..." Alayna said, taking another spoonful of soup.
"Is it your side? Or just overall?" Alayna asked, wondering if Keith's side needed any treatement to work against the infection.

Demitri smiled.
"Yes, I suppose this place is just, well, indescriable" he smiled at Kirsten teasingly, before standing up and brushing the sand off of himself. He glanced at the water, that would be the quickest way to get the sand off of him. He smirked at Kristen, before streaking towards the water and diving in once he was deep enough. He stayed under for awhile, he had no fear of ocean creatures, he was the most deadly predator out there anyway. Surfacing a ways out, he glanced back, chuckling at how far he swam.

Keith sighed. "Well, everything's sore, but my side aches, and it's itchy" He murmured, finishing off his soup and setting the bowl down.
"Thanks for the soup" he murmrued, smiling at her happily.

Kristen rolled her eyes, watching Demitri leave.
"Where's he going?" Maddie murmured, sitting on the sand now. Kristen smirked.
"Going to wash off..." Kristen said, nodding in approval. That would be a quick way to get the majority of sand off of Madison.
"Oh."
"Come on sandy." Kristen said, standing up and scooping Maddie up as well. She waded into the water, shivering at how cool it was. She went in enough that Maddie could stand up on her own.
The child giggled at how cold the water was, but she rubbed the sand from her arms and legs under the water before Kristen picked her back up and walked back up the beach.
Kristen glanced back as Demitri surface, shaking her head at him. "Dork!" she called, mocking him before stepping into the house and letting Maddie tell her where the bathroom was.


Alayna nodded to herself. "What was Sven doing when he checked out your side? I know he said he'd been checking everyday and whatnot. He asked me to keep up with it for him..." she murmured. Alayna smirked, seeing that he was finished with the bowl.
"Done or do you want seconds?" she asked, still milking her own soup.

Demitri rolled his eyes, ducking under the water and swimming until he felt the sand on his fingers and he surfaced. He shook his head, walking inside and looking around.
"Hey" he called to the house, he heard splashing and arguing and figured Kristen was trying to convince Maddie to shower, which was always fun, despite Maddie agreeing on the beach to shower, once in the washroom, she'd protest. He wiped his feet off, making sure not to track sand inside, and went upstairs, knocking once on the door before walking in.
"Hey" He winced, seeing how soaked the washroom was, and how pissed off Kristen looked.

Keith shrugged, "I was pretty out of it when he was poking around" Keith admitted, shaking his head and shrugging.
"I'm good, thanks though" He murmrued, smiling at her and yawning.

Kristen had turned on the water, leaving Maddie in her swimsuit so she could wash the sand out completely. Maddie had closed the drain, letting it fill up while Kristen went to get a towel.
"Madison!" Kristen said when she came back, reaching to uncap the drain.
"Aww.."
"Aw nothing. You've got to wash all the sand out." Kristen said, reaching up for the shower head and bringing it down, clicking the water up on the faucet. Maddie pointed to the sand going down the drain.
"See? Sand." Maddie grumbled as the water sprayed out from the showerhead and Kristen directed it. Soon the scracthy feeling of sand was gone, and Kristen pulled off her wet suit, putting it over the shower curtain to dry.
Maddie swiftly closed the cap again and pushed the water back into the facuet to fill the tub. Kristen growled a warning, reversing everything Maddie did again.
She glanced up at Demitri with a light smile. "Hey." she murmured, reaching over to pull Maddie's hair gently and scrubbing the sand from her hair as she worked the shampoo into it.


Alayna sighed. "I'll ask Sven then. Though I think he's getting frustrated with my questions.." Alayna murmured, smirking lightly. She stood up, taking Keith's empty bowl and her slightly empty bowl and taking them down to the kicthen.

Demitri winced, "Oh my" He murmured, shaking his head. The bathroom was a mess, sand and water everywhere. Maddie didn't look to happy, and despite her cheerful hello, Kristen looked annoyed.
"I'm gonna go shower, there's a private washroom in our room" he told Kristen, winking at her, before disappearing down the hallway and into the room he and Kristen would claim as there own. He turned on the water, stepping into the shower and quickly washing the sand out of his hair. Maddie had managed to get some in even his hair.

Keith laughed, shaking his head and shrugging.
"I doubt it, Sven's nice" He said, letting himself zone out while watching the movie.
Sven was lounging in the living room, he glanced up as Alayna came in.
"Hey, what's up?" He asked her curiously.

"Don't. You. Dare." Kristen said as Maddie stepped out of the bath. The little one had developed a bad habbit of shifting once she stepped out from shower. Kristen was holding to wrap Maddie tightly. She nodded to Demitri, using the towel to dry Maddie off quickly. She picked the girl up then, shaking her head and taking her down the hall to her room.
She dressed Maddie in her pajama's, a tank top and pants before towle drying her hair. Kristen handed Maddie the brush. "Comb your hair out alright?" she said, needing to shower herself.
Maddie nodded, sitting on her bed and working the brush through her hair roughly.


Alayna rolled her eyes. She jumped lightly as Sven called her, having not noticed him sitting in the livingroom.
"Sheesh," she teased, shaking her head. She held up the one slightly full bowl of soup. "Maybe Keith some soup, hoping it would help. He keeps spiking a fever, and I wanted him to have something in his system after taking the medicine." She murmured, walking into the kicthen and setting to work on cleaning the dishes she'd used before putting the remaining soup into the fridge. If Keith got hungry again, she could always reheat it.
"He said his side was bothering him again. What should I do for that?" Alayna asked, sounding genually curious.

Demitri was out of the shower, standing on the deck, looking out over the sand and water. He turned, smiling as Kristen came in. A towel was wrapped loosely around his waist, a small smirk on his perfect features.
"Hey" He said, chuckling, she was soaked, and she didn't look to happy.
"I'm guessing you got Maddie sorted" He teased, though he was careful not to push her to far. He knew Maddie tested Kristen's patience on the best of days.

Sven smiled.
"Good idea" He frowned, looking thoughtful.
"For his side? I have some salve made up, but I don't know if it will work" He murmured, holding up the small concotion he had been working on, before Alayna came in.
"Hopefully it'll combat that infection"

"Well, she's clean." Kristen muttered, walking straight into the bathroom. She was wet, and still a bit sandy, and wanted to be clean.
A few minutes later, Kristen had steamed up the bathroom again, but she was feeling much better as she stepped out of the shower. She sighed, twisting her hair up into a small towel, wrapping another around her completely. She opened the door, shivering lightly at the temperature change, her skin breaking out in goosebumpbs as she dug through her suitcase for clean clothes.
She pulled on a pair of loose gray capris, and a plain white tank top. Squeezing as much water from her hair was she could, Kristen tossed the towels back into the bathroom before walking out to Demitri. By now the sun was nearly gone, but the stairs were starting to show up. Smiling, Kristen stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder softly.


Alayna looked at the salve Sven was talking about and nodded to herself. "You're the doc, Doc." she said, shrugging. Sven had more then enough years and experience. Something he put together was bound to work.
"Something's better than nothing." Alayna said, sighing. she swallowed a dose of guilt, realizing that Keith had hardly healed since he'd recieved the wound nearly six months ago.

Demitri smiled, turning to look over his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey, so, do you want to hold the wedding here?" He asked, turning a bit so he could wrap his arms around her. He leaned his back against the railing, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He sighed, "Where's Maddie, in bed?" he doubted it, it was an ordeal putting Madison to bed, and it generally took both of them to do it, and then, no matter waht, half way through the night, Maddie would come crawl in with them.

Sven smiled, shrugging a bit, "Thanks for the vote of confidence" He teased. "I know it seems bad Alayna, his injury, but it's really getting better" He said, handing her the salve, hoping that it would help.
"Call me if you need any help"

Kristen grinned as Demitri wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She thought for a moment, passing her tongue over her lips. "It would be nice. But I don't want to set anything yet..." she murmured quietly, still a little iffy on where to actually have the wedding. She sighed, resting her head on his cold chest for a moment.
"In her room at least..." Kristen murmured quietly, shrugging her shoulder tiredly. She pulled back then, looking him from head to toe, smirking. "You're still in a towel?" she asked, teasing him and laughing.


Alayna looked at the salve with a small sigh. She nodded to Sven, giving him a light smile. "Alright. I will." she said quietly. She most definatly would. She smiled again before grabbing a water bottle and heading back towards the bedroom.
She walked in quietly, hearing the t.v. on, but not sure if Keith had fallen asleep or not. The world had grown dark, only the light from the flashing movie lighting up the room enough for Alayna to see where everything was, and where she was going.

Demitri smirked, "No worries, we just need to start planning soon, and by we, I mean you and Maria" He teased lightly. He glanced down, "So I am" He smirked, shaking his head and sighing.
"I didn't really feel like changing" He murmrued, shrugging his shoulders lightly. He sighed, "In her room? Really?" He chuckled, "By the sound of it, she's about to wake up Maria and Alexi" He frowned, wincing as he heard his brother's low groan, and then suprised hiss. "You didn't hear her?" He frowned, he had thought her hearing was louder, though, Maddie had been sneaking.

"Madison?" Alexi exclaimed, growling in suprise. Maria was blinking her eyes rapidly, stunned. alexi sat up, frowning at the little girl, he ahd been so zoned out, it had been nice, and now, well now he was staring at a the bouncing little girl.

Keith sighed, he was half-asleep. He shifted, wincing, and pulling the blankets around himself, barely aware of Alayna.

Kristen rolled her eyes gently. "Yea, me and Maria." she repeated, shaking her head at him. She frowned, rubbing her forehead. It was pounding at the moment, and she was doing her best to ignore it. She rested her head against Demitri, wanting to sleep, still fighting against her headache, feeling a bit dizzy at the effort.
"What?" Kristen slurred, rubbing her forehead as she stood back from Demitri. "What?" she asked again, thinking she might have heard him wrong. What was Maddie doing? "No, I didn't..." Kristen muttered, shaking her head gently.


Madison? What's wrong? Maria murmured, hearing Alexi growling. She rubbed her eyes, pulling away from Alexi and sitting up in the bed.
"Maddie? Why did you wake us?" Maria asked quietly, realizing what time it was. Madison should have been in bed by now.
"You won't believe what Mom and Demitri told me out on the beach." Maddie said, leaning forward on the bed, being quiet, though she looked exicted. Maria had a feeling she knew where this was going. she sighed, slidding off the bed and picking Maddie up.
"I think I will." Maria murmured. Maddie frowned.
"You knew my mom and dad are getting married?" she asked, deflating a bit as Maria nodded and carried her out of the room.
"I'm going to help you Mom plan everything. You can help us later if you'd like. But right now..." Maria murmured, walking into Maddie's room and setting her down on the bed. "You need to get some sleep." Maria said, handing Maddie her stuff tiger as the girl scurried under the covers. Maria smiled, turning the lights off and leaving the door open a smugde.
"You owe me." Maria muttered to Demitri and Kristen, walking back into her's and Alexi's room.

"Thanks Maria" Demitri called, scooping Kristen up.
"You my dear, are thirsty. Stop trying to hide it, I can feel your thirst" He murmured. He was wearing his boxers, and he sat down with Kristen on the bed, cutting his wrist open, holding it up to her.
"Don't argue" He warned, kissing her cheek and letting her feed. He was fine wtih her need for blood, he had managed to slip away and get some feeding done earlier, thanks to Alexi babysitting.

Alexi sighed, flopping back on the bed tiredly. He hated being woken up. He sighed, rubbing his head eyes, smacking himself in the face again in the process. He glanced up as Maria came in.
"Hey" He grumbled, awake now. He knew he wouldn't go back to sleep, he was awake now.

Kristen blinked a few times. She heard Maria that time. She yelped quietly as Demitri picked her up, and then set her back down on the bed. It was soft, and the comforters were as fluffy as the pillows. She blinked again. "But my throats not burning..." she protested weakily, swaying lightly where she sat.
She sucked in a breath as Demitri tore open his wrist. She wondered if she'd ever get used to the sting in her arm from it, or the pull in her as she wacthed him bleed. Kristen groaned, the burning coming to her then. She growled lightly at Demitri, leaning the extra way to his bloodied wrist, needing more than she liked to take since she hadn't fed all day. With the tug in her chest, Kristen had been ignoring everything else her body was telling her, like needing blood.
Kristen sighed as the burning finally went away, and the pounding pressure from her head left. She closed her mouth, pushing away Demitri's arm gently and passing the back of her hand over her lips. There was still the lingering taste of his blood in her mouth, but that much she didn't mind anymore.
"I wonder if I'll ever get used to that..." Kristen murmured, slidding in the bed, rolling onto her stomach and burrying her face into the sheets and pillows.


Maria rubbed her face, blinking a few more times as she walked into the bedroom. She closed the door behind her before crawling onto the bed next to him.
"Evening. I would say morning but...early wake-up call.." Maria murmured, rolling her eyes. Her mind was slow to get back into function. She stood in limbo between zoning back out, or actually waking up fully, and being awake for the next day or so.

Demitri smiled, letting himself relax as she took the blood. it was a hard thiing to allow, as he was instinctively protective of his body, but he wasn't about to let his instincts get the best of him. He smiled, wiping the blood of, and watching the injury slowly start to heal. He sighed, no venom, which ment fast healing. He kissed her head lightly, "You will. It took me years to adjust love" He murmured, carefully picking her up and sliding her into his lap. She could lie on her stomach, he just wanted to hold her.
"I love you" He murmured softly, rubbing her back lightly.

Alexi sighed, "Evening" He echoed, yawning. He sat up and sighed, "What was that about" he hadn't ment to growl at Maddie, it was a habit, mainly because, instinctivly, he had been in danger. Sleeping was one of the few times a vampire was in danger. He shook his head and sighed, looking at Maria with a small grin.

"If you say so..." Kristen murmured, rolling her eyes playfully as Demitri picked her up and moved her around. She kept her arms wrapped around her pillow though. She sighed deeply as Demitri started rubbing her back. It felt really good, espically after spending the day away from him.
The events of the day came back to her and Kristen forced herself not to tense or cringe at the memory. She needed to go back to the Vatican...if she wasn't attacthed to Demitri, and he wasn't rubbing her sore back, she'd leave in the middle of the night. Maybe she could convince him to let her go tomorrow by herself...
"Mmm, I love you too..." Kristen whispered, letting herself get caught up in his hands that worked into her back with a light sigh.


"She wanted to tell us about Demitri and Kristen's engagements..." Maria murmured, closing her eyes and rolling so that her head resting in Alexi's lap as he sat up. She curled up next to him, pulling the blankets back over her tightly as well.
"Apparently, they told her, and she got all excited about it.." Maria said, yawning then and shrugging. "Chilrden."

Demitri sighed, "Good" He murmured, smiling and continuing to rub her shoulders lightly. He frowned, she had tensed up, which was confusing.
"Kristen? How was the Vatican?" He asked, wondering if something had upset her. He sighed, maybe he'd ask Maria, he was worried, she had looked awfully stressed when she had come onto the beach, he frowned, he had been meaning to ask her about a lot of things, but Maddie had always interefered.
He sighed, rubbing her shoulders again.

Alexi sighed, "Ah, well, glad she's excited. So what happened at the Vatican today? You and Kristen were all quiet and whisper-y when you came in today" He asked, curiously. Maria generally told him stuff, even if Kristen was attempting to hide stuff from Demitri.

''Mmm...'' Kristen sighed, smiling as Demitri kept rubbing her shoulders. She sighed llightly, knowing the question would comeup eventually and she was ready for it.
''Maria introduced me to the Pope...'' Kristen murmured, her voice light on her breath, enjoying how Demitri was working his hands into her back and shoulders. ''Intersting old fellow...knows a bit about vampires. Offered to perform a wedding service when he found our I was engaged. Then I had to say I was engaged to a vampire who wasn't a Christian like Maria...'' Kristen murmured, laughing at the memory and sucking in a breath as Demitri hit a soft spot in her lower back.

Maria turned in Alexi's lap to look up at him. She arched an eyebrow. ''Whisper-y?'' she murmured, smirking and laughin quietly. ''I thought I told you. We met the Pope, he offered to throw her wedding in the Vatican...'' she murmured, wondering if this would ring a bell to him.

Demitri smiled.
"Ah, and what did he say to that?" He asked, shaking his head and chuckling. He eased up on her lower back, feeling how soft the spot was. She must hurt. He sighed, shaking his head and continuing to rub her shoulders and back, trying to work out all the kinks in her sore body. He frowned, carefully applying a bit more pressure to what felt like a rather bad knot.

Alexi sighed, "I know that Maria, what else happened?" He pressed, "I'm not dense Maria, despite my appearance" He teased, "I know you two were talking about something else in the hall. Something that happened. Whispering doens't really stop me from overhearing" He grumbled, stretching out.

Kristen held back a small groan as Demitri hit something in her back. ''Mmm...'' Kristen tired not wince as Demitri pushed harder. It hurt but not enough to outweigh how good it felt.
She forced herself back to their conversation, taking a small breath. ''He didn't ask questions, thankfully but gave us his blessing anyway.'' Kristen said, chuckling at that. ''Even though I'm not exactly a devoted Christian...he was intersting though...in that old wise and slightly crazy grandfather way...''


Maria frowned, playing dumb as best she could. Kristen had made her promise, and she would keep that. ''Nothing. She had wanted to see that catherdal that Michealangelo painted but I couldn't bare being away any longer. Demitri had just sent me the address and I told him we would be here in about twenty minutes...'' she murmured, looking back up at him. She was mixing the truth in with a lie, and seh felt a bit better about it. Maria knew Demitri's hearing was good. If Maria said anything, Demitri would hear, which Kristen didn't want and Maria still didn't know why.

Demitri frowned, catching bits and pieces of Alexi and Maria's conversation. He sighed, shaking his head and frowning again. He sighed, something was up.
"Kristen, what are you keeping from me?" He asked, letting his hands fall from her back. Something was up, it was confusing him, and he wanted to know what was up. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, looking at her with a confused, slightly hurt expression. He wanted to know what she was keeping from him. He sighed, arching an eyebrow at her, confused.

Alexi frowned, "Mhm, sure" He murmrued, slipping out of the bed.
"I really need to clean up" He muttered, slightly annoyed, much like Demitri was. He slipped into the washroom, turning the water on in the sink. He sighed, contemplating how he was going to do this. He sighed, dropping a cloth into the water, wondering how in the hell he was going to pick this up without getting his casts wet.

Kristen frowned as Demitri pulled away. ''Aww...'' she murmured, trying to be cute in acting like Maddie. She hadn't been expecting his question, but she frowned all the same, like she was clueless.
''What are you talking about?'' she asked, glancing at him from over her shoulder. ''Nothing else happened. Maria got your text about where the condo was and we left. You know her and Alexi can't be apart as long as we can. I was hoping she'd be up to going again tomorrow since we had to skip out on the catherdral.''

Maria sighed quietly. ''You can't get the casts wet darling...'' she reminded him gently. She heard the water running and frowned. How was he going to do this himself? Standing up from the bed, Maria walked casually over to the bathroom, just leaning on the doorway. She looked from him to the sink with a quizzicial expression. ''Do you need me?'' she murmured quietly.

Demitri sighed, "Kristen, you've been keeping dreams from me, when you and Maria came back today, you had this stunned, confused expression on your face, you're not telling me something, and don't blame it on Alexi and Maria" He said, shaking his head and sighing. He shifted, moving away from her, pacing around the room now. He glanced at her, "Do you really think you're that talanted at lying. I've been alive for hundreds of years, I've learned how to read people" He said, shaking his head and turning to look at her.

Alexi shook his head.
"I'll figured it out" He grumbled, frowning and shaking his head. He was a bit annoyed at this whole situation, and he was going to wash his face if it killed him.
"I'm fine" He said, a bit harsher then he intended. He was getting fed up with needing help all the time. It was driving him mad.

Kristen sighed lightly. She stayed laying on her stomach, arms wrapped around her pillow as Demitri stood up and walked away. She hadn't been expecting that entirely, and she sighed again.
''You do realize that my dreams don't always come true. Circumstances change...'' Kristen murmured quietly. She knew she was terrble when it came to convincing Demitri of anything, but she needed to now more than ever.
''I know I'm no good at lying, why would I be trying now?'' Kristen murmured, rubbing her shoulder gently, missing the feeling of Demitri's hands on her back.


Maria recoiled, stepping back gently. She purpsed her lips and nodded. ''Very well.'' she murmured, going back into the bedroom. She could hear Kristen and Demitri and shook her head. Tomorrow, Maria was getting answers. It wasn't fair to Alexi to keep this promise to Kristen. She sighed, sitting back up on the bed, crossing her legs and staring over at the blank tv screen.