1x1 with x_fire

Demitri groaned, "I don't think she'll be getting a car, not a nice one" She said, "An old clunker" He said, laughing softly. He sighed, standing up as the two of them walked out of the room, watching as Maddie dragged Keith and Alayna out of their bedroom.
"Morning' He teased Keith, whom smiled tiredly. He glanced down at Maddie, "C'mon guys, I suppose we have some shopping to do, though, not to much if Kristen get's her way" He teased.

Keith chuckled, "Well of course you're having a party for your birthday. Birthdays are a big deal in this family" He said, especially the first time around. For the vampires, birthday's meant nothing, but he knew that Alayna's, Kristen's, and Maddie's would be a big deal, at last for awhile.

Kristen laughed. She only hoped Demitri would keep to that statement, and she wouldn't have to remind him when the time came around. Though, looking at Maddie as she tugged and pulled at Alayna and Keith, Kristen hoped that wouldn't come any time soon.

Maddie laughed and let go of the couple as she turned around to see Demitri and Kristen. Her mother rolled her eyes and shoved Demitri playfully.
"You don't need a thousand things to have a good party." Kristen said. Alayna chuckled and then sighed. Everything was back to normal, she thought silently, reaching for Keith's hand.

"Lets go!!" Maddie said excitedly, obviously wanting to shop. Kristen glanced at Demitri and laughed, shaking her head as the little girl made her way over to the front door.

Demitri chuckled as he was shoved, lightly, by Kristen. He smiled, stretching his arms above his head and watchng Maddie with a small smile. He slung the jacket he had brought for her over his shoulder, walking over to the door and grabbing the keys for Kristen's SUV.
"Do you wanna drive? Or should I?" He asked her, watching Maddie with a small smile. He didn't mind either way, it was her car after all.

Keith let Maddie tug him along, though his hand gripped Alayna's loosely as Maddie released his hand and dashed to the door. He watched Demitri and Kristen, he sghed, everything was getting back to normal, well, sort of. He was still sick, tired, sore, but he was thousands of times better then before.

"You can drive." Kristen said. Mostly because Demitri knew his way around better then she did. Maddie skipped outside, glad to be out of the house for a little while. It was summer after all, and the weather wasn't all to bad. Not as warm as back in Italy, but not as cold as the winter had gotten this year either. Maddie stopped and looked back at the house, wondering if she would ever go back to her old home. Back with her grandfather, and the playground, and the day care she used to go to. A small frown came to her face, but when the rest of her family came outside, she quickly dismissed it and replaced it with a smile.

Alayna smiled as Keith took her head and she squeezed his fingers lightly. Walking outside, Alayna took a deep breath and sighed. She liked Russia. It was different from what she was used to, and the property Demitri had made excellent landscape paintings. Though, with Keith being sick, Alayna hadn't much time to paint.
Looking back at Keith, Alayna smiled lightly. "Sure you're alright?" she asked.

Demitri smiled, "Sounds good to me" He said, twirling the keys and heading for the SUV.
"You know, you do have a GPS system? Or do you know how to work it?" He teased Kristen, walking over and scooping Maddie up.
"Ready to go?" He asked, opening the back seat and helping her buckle up. He really enjoyed having a daughter, and he would do anything for the little girl. Like Maddie, he wondered if she'd ever get a chance to re-connect with her grandfather, he knew Kristen was dead set against it, but unlike her own experiences with her father, Maddie's weren't awful. He shrugged, legally Maddie was under their care, he had worked that out for Kristen's peace of mind. He also had legally adopted Maddie, just in case, Kristen had asked him to do that as well, not that he minded at all. He smiled, kissing Maddie's forhead, before sliding into the front seat.

Keith smiled at Alayna, "Alayna, I'm fine" He said, walking over to the backseat and sliding in next to Maddie.
"Can I sit with you?" He asked the little girl, supressing a yawn.

Kristen rolled her eyes. "I'm still working out the kinks..." she murmured, slidding into the passanger seat as Demitri tended to Maddie behind her. The little girl bounced a bit as Demitri buckled her, and then evenutally settled in. She grinned at Keith and nodded, as if bestowing him with an otherwise impossible privaledge.

Alayna laughed, slidding next to Keith and closing the door. She buckled herself before staring at the window, her hand still laced with Keith's lightly.
"Hey, did Alexi and Maria move into their own place yet?" she asked, the thought coming to her as she stared out towards the moutains.

Kristen nodded as Demitri started the SUV. "Yea. At least, the one in the city I think." she murmured. "They were talking about having a summer home up in the moutains too."

Demitri started up the vehicle, backing down the drive way, a small sigh escaping him.
"Yea, they're building a summer home, up in the mountains, after they finish the club" He smiled, glancing at Keith, basically checking on him. Everyone was worried about the fallen angel, but he didn't want to voice anything, lest Maddie start worying about Keith more so then she needed to. He pulled onto the main highway, checking his mirrors has he headed downtown.
"We could stop and say hi, check out the new place" He suggested, smiling a bit.

Keith yawned, smiling at Maddie.
"Awesome" He said, resting his head on Alayna's shoulder. He was tired, already, but he had been worse. He shifted, his back was all cramped up, but he'd soak in the hot tub later, and then maybe he'd feel better.

Maddie gasped at the mention of Alexi and Maria. "Lexi!" she gasped and giggled. Kristen chuckled and shook her head. Her daughter seemed to consider it a personal responsibility to check on everyone she ever worried about. And so far over the summer, she'd been protective over Alexi in Italy, and now Keith here in Russia. Kristen couldn't help the proud smile on her face; at the tender age of five, Madison was just as compassionate about her friends as Kristen, even if Kristen didn't always voice her worries and concerns.

"Maybe we should stop for lunch." Kristen agreed, smirking at the thought. Humans, going to a vampires house for lunch. Kristen laughed. Sounded like a horror movie gone wrong.

Alayna smirked. "Kristen was that a pun?" she asked.
"Not intentionally." Kristen laughed and Alayna shook her head.
"What's so funny?" Maddie asked, having clearly missed the joke.
"Nothing Maddie." Alayna said hurriedly, smirking as Keith yawned and rested back against her.

"How about we pick up lunch on the way over, I doubt they have food in their place" He said, looking at the people who ate.
"So, what do you guys want to eat? We'll take it over to Maria and Alexi's before we go shopping" Demitri chuckled, glancing at Maddie much like Kristen did. He was glad she worried about people, but at the same time, at the tender age of five, adult problems shouldn't worry her. He figured that Alexi was pretty much better now, being away from Rome, plus his casts were off, but he also knew how protective Maria was.

Keith sighed, shaking his head head, "I'm up for whatever" He said with a small smile.
"Just drive thru food works" He chuckled at Kristen, "Well, either way, bad pun or joke or whatever" He teased, though he yawned again.

Maddie cheered at the mention of food. "A&W!" she called, laughing quietly to herself. Kristen shook her head and rolled her eyes. Typical Maddie, she was excited about everything now that they were doing something other then relaxing at home.
"They'll have what I'm looking for I'm sure." Kristen murmured, practically silently as she settled back in her seat. The realization that she was sort of craving for a bit of blood shocked her. Then she wondered if Demitri would let her slide for the rest of the day if she just ate a solid breakfast in the morning. She made a silent note to talk to Sven next she saw him.

"Mmm, food sounds good." Alayna agreed, smirking at the entergetic Maddie and the exhausted Keith.
"I never intended for it to be taken as a joke." Kristen growled lightly, and Alayna laughed. Yes, thing were starting to turn back to normal. Alayna sighed in relief and settled back in her chair.
"Are Alexi and Maria gonna be able to come to the party?" Maddie asked.

Demitri glanced at Kristen, but nodded, "A&W it is" He said with a small smile.
"I'm sure they'll come Maddie, Maria wouldn't miss your birthday, and neither would Alexi. But, tell you waht, when we get there, you can invite them, alright?" He adn Kristen had already asked Maria and Alexi, but if Maddie wanted to ask them, it was fine by him. He saw an A&W and pulled into the drive thru lane, "Wat does everyone want?" He asked curiously.

"Just a teen burger" Keith murmured, "And a black coffee" He sighed, rubbing his eyes, maybe he'd jumped the gun on this whole leaving the house thing. He shrugged, he could suck it up for one day, and then sleep when he got home.

"Yay." Maddie said, satifised with Demitri's deal. She sat back and looked out the window as they drove on. When Demitri stopped, Maddie sat up.
"Mommy, what do I always get?" Maddie asked, frowning. She couldn't remember. Kristen sat forward to look at the menu, surprised that the little lettering and words which were once a nuscense to firgure out were clear as day to her.
"The kids chicken burger..." Kristen murmured with a nod to reassure herself. "With fries and a juice. I'm trying to get her off the soda." Kristen added quietly.


"A cheese burger for me." Alayna said. "Though, no mustard please." she said sweetly, having a bit of trouble reading the sign until she realized it was in Russian. Obviously Kristen had either been there before, or her language skills had improved.
"Oh, black coffee..." Alayna murmured. "You must be feeling better." she teased, smirking and laughing quietly to herself.

Demitri smirked and relayed the orders.
"Juice makes sense with me' He said, smiling lightly, pulling over to window where they paid and recieved their food. He handed over his card, accepting the two bags of food and handing them to Kristen, she could hold them till they got to Alexi and Maria's.
"Almost there" He said, pulling into the parking lot at the appartment building. He smiled, stepping out of the car and taking the bags from Kristen, and waiting.

Keith smirked, "A bit" He said, "I mainly need it to stay awake" He admitted, sliding out of the car after Alayna and helping Maddie out. He smiled and followed after Demitri.
"Oh goody" He grumbled, looking inside the building. "What floor?" He asked, knowing Demitri would probably take the stairs.
"Pent house" Demitri said, "Meet you guys up there?" He asked.
"Yupp" Keith responded, letting Maddie hit the elevator buttons.

Kristen nodded, holding the food as Demitri handed it to her. She placed the bags on her lap and settled back in her chair. After a moment, a small frown came to her face. Shouldn't the food be hot? Kristen peeked in the bags, mostly to have the excuse that she was checking their orders were right. She caught a bit of steam leaking out of the bag, and nodded to herself. She couldn't feel the heat, but it was definatly there, she wasn't going crazy.

Alayna let out a low whistle as Demitri pulled up to the apartment building. "You guys always have the coolest stuff." she murmured, meaning vampires in general. Maddie hooked an arm around Keith's neck as he pulled her from the car. Her stomach growled, since her canine senses were acting up and the whole car was starting to smell like a greasy fast-food resturant.
"Ooo, ellalator." Maddie murmured. Kristen smirked. Words that were still new to Maddie were sometimes the only way one remembered how young she was. She couldn't pronounced elevator right.
"Elevator." Alayna corrected. Maddie blinked, and nodded, pointing at the button she'd just pressed.
"Ellalator." Maddie repeated, wondering what the difference was.

Demitri rolled his eyes at Maddie, though he was grinning.
"See you" He said, disappearing up the stairs at top speed, he was waiting for them when the elevator dinged at they all piled up. He held the food lightly in one hand, before reaching out and lacing his fingers with Kristen's.
"C'mon, let's go see what idiot toys my brother has" He said with a small chuckle. He walked over to the door, knocking on it, and waiting expectantly.

Keith smiled, letting Maddie and Alayna play with the words. He leaned against the elevator wall, sipping his coffee. He wasn't at all suprised when Demitri was found waiting for them.
"Alexi buy pointless stuff?" He teased, standing beside Demitri as he knocked on the door.

Alexi glanced up from hooking up the surround sound system as someone knocked on the door.
"Were we expecting someone?" He asked curiously, wondering over to the door and yanking it open.
"Ah, house warming" He teased, hugging his brother and smiling down at Maddie as she came in.
"Hey, welcome to one of our homes" He said, stepping aside so that they could come inside.

Kristen chuckled and watched with admiration as Demitri left. He wasn't here in an instant and gone in the next for her. She saw him as somewhat of a blurr. She frowned and shook her head as Keith and Alayna walked into the elevator with her daughter.
Sighing, Kristen walked in as well. From the time the door closed, so did her eyes and she silently counted, slowly, to ten. She could hear everything...the gears working under the floor, the ropes and pully's, working to keep the elevator moving at a constant speed.
When the door opened, so did her eyes, and Kristen grinned, seeing Demitri. She walked out with the others and sighed when he took her hand in his.

"Don't all vampires?" Alayna added, grinning and watching Maddie bounce impatiently between Demitri and Kristen. She smiled deeply and stared off into her own world, imagining a life like that for herself, a home, family, children...

Maria stood on the terrance of the second floor that over looked where Alexi had just been working. She had been watched him for a little while, having finished the furnishing in both their bedroom and the guest rooms. Ever since Sven had allowed the casts to come off, Alexi had been finding anything and everything to do. Needless to say, Maria liked to watch the vampire work. She frowned, hearing a knock at the door.
"No.." she answered, going over to the stairs. Seeing Demitri and party at the door, Maria grinned and pratically flew down the stairs.
"Ay mi familia!" Maria called as Maddie ran forward and jumped up for a hug. She swung the child around once before putting her back down.
"Goodness, I leave you for a few days and you grow?" Maria teased, patting Maddie's head gently. Maria looked at the others and waved them into the living room, silently grateful that they had brought in the furniture yesterday. "Come in, come in. Make yourselfs a home. I see you brought lunch." Maria said, smirking at the fast food bags in Demitri's hand.

Demitri chuckled and watched his brother and what he assumed was going to be his sister-in-law, one day, show his family around their new home.
"Well, I couldn't expect you two to feed this horde" He teased, setting the bag down on a nearby table. He watched Keith sink thankfully down, pulling the bag towards him and liberating his burger from it. He rolled his eyes, "Wow, nice place" He said, admiring the classic living room.
"I'm guessing Alexi had nothing to do with the decorating? It's far to nice looking"

Keith smirked, looking at Alayna, she had a look in her eye he had come to understand. She wanted a family, kids, he sighed. He wasn't sure he'd be able to give that to her, but he'd try his hardest. He sat down, opening his burger and taking a bite.
"Can I have a glass of water?" He asked curiously.
"I'll grab one" Alexi said, walking over to the sink and pouring Keith a glass, before handing it to the tired fallen angel.

Alexi rolled his eyes, watching Maria and Maddie, as well as the others.
"Hey now, I'll have you now I chose the TV and the electronics" He protested, teasing Demitri as he sat back down on the floor, continuing to hook stuff up. Maria had been threatening to stick his hands back in the casts if he didn't slow down, and since Sven had shown her how to make them, he was a bit nervous. He smiled at the others, "So, what brings you to our humble home?" He asked curiuosly.

"Mm." Kristen agreed, nodding at Demitri. She pulled away from him for a moment to look around herself, curious. Maddie sat down next to Keith and fished in the bag for her food as well. She was practically starving at the moment, realizing that breakfast hadn't been all that heavy for her.

Maria smirked. "Por claro," she murmured in spanish, still determined for Alexi to learn. "He got frustrated with all my questions of this or that, so I just went and chose it all myself." she said, laughing as he went back to working on the sound system. "Men and their electronics. Almost as bad as the cars." Maria said, to which Kristen laughed in understanding and agreement.

Alayna laughed, feeling, not for the first time, that she was simply watching some comical fantasy movie. She poked around in the bags from the drive-thru for her food but continued to walk around the aparement. It was nice, nothing less for a penthouse belonging to a vampire.
"We wanted to visit." Kristen said innnocently. "Can't we drop by from time to time?" she asked, smirking to show she was teasing, knowing her daughter would jump into the converstation soon.

"It's my birthday next week!" Maddie said after swallowing another bite of her sandwhich. "Daddy's throwing me a party and I want you guys to come." she proclaimed proudly, looking between Alexi and Maria.
"Oh my goodness. How old will you be?" Maria asked.
"Six!" Maddie said happily. Maria's smile softened. Still so young compared to all of them...

Demitri smirked, "He'll never learn Spanish Maria, you're fighting a losing battle" He teased, watching Maddie proclaim that it was her birthday. He saw the look on Maria's face and nodded. It was strange, Maddie being only six, it seemed like lifetimes ago for them, but they were all enamoured with the small girl. He knew Kristen couldn't understand that, not yet, and it was hard to explain to her that the reason they all cared so deeply for Maddie is that she was so young. He shook his head, re-focusing on everything, smiling lightly.

Keith stretched out, having finished his food, and was now watching everything with an amused expression. Maddie was so excited, like the vampires, he was ancient, but maybe it was time for some children of his own. He looked at Alayna, a small smile curving on his lips. Yes, maybe it was.

Alexi laughed, getting up and sweeping Maddie into his arms.
"Six? That's so old' He teased, "Of course we'll be there" He said, before setting her back down so she could eat. He smiled, looking at Maria. "Of course that means we have to go shopping" He said with a grin.

"If he learned Russian and modern Italian he can learn Spanish." Maria protested, folding her arms over her chest and shooting Demitri a teasing glare that dared him to challenge her. Living nearly as long as Demitri, Maria wasn't one bit afraid of him, and having lived through so much had made Maria headstrong and down right stubborn at the best of times.
Maria broke her glare with Demitri, seeing Alexi pick up the little girl. Her expression softened and she laughed as Maddie giggled, having been caught of guard by Alexi picking her up.

"Nuh-uh!" Maddie protested. She could still count the number on her fingers so she couldn't be that old. She laughed as Alexi held her for a moment before finally putting her back down. She grinned, glad that Alexi and Maria would come. Of all the people Maddie knew from Demitri's side of the family as she saw it, Alexi and Maria were her favorite couple. They had the same realtionship as her parents from what she could see. Looking back at Alexi with bright blue eyes, Maddie was glad to see things weren't so tangled as they had been back in Italy. That had been a bit frightening.

"Oh Alexi, not you too." Kristen groaned, shaking her head and running her fingers through her hair. Alayna laughed, leaning back and looking at each person as they talked. This was rich. She caught Keith grinning at her from the corner of her eye, and felt the heat rise to her face. Why was he looking at her like that? It made her heart race, and she absentmindedly reached for another french frie to munch on.
"Shopping!" Maddie said, bouncing before sitting back down to finish eating.

"Not modern Italian love" Alexi pointed out, sitting down and stretching out. He sighed, looking at Maria with a small grin.
"I just know some modern Italian" He said, chuckling. "Modern Italian is easy for me, cause my first languge is Italian" He said with a small smile. He glanced at Kristen, "What?" He asked, confused. He looked from her to Demitri, confused.
"I can't buy your daughter a birthday present?"

"No, you can, Kristen's just all put out because she's not used to people spoiling Maddie" He said, smirking.
"It's her birthday though, so she can deal" He blew Kristen a playful kiss.
"Though she has veto on all the stuff, so no cars" He teased his brother.

Keith sighed, shaking his head and dropping his gaze to the table and snagging a french fry. He glanced at Alayna again, chuckling as the heat rose to her face. He sighed, stretching again and sipping his water.
"Well, I mean, as long as it's not a car, we can get her whatever we want right?"

Kristen sighed and fell into a chair. She rubbed her forehead, fighting the urger to laugh, though she was smiling already. She knew she was going to loose this battle in the end. All of Demitri's family members loved Maddie so it was inveitable that she was going to be spoiled. Maybe she should just throw in the towel now while it was still early...

Maria laughed and rubbed Kristen's shoulder. "Don't worry." she said, her British side becoming a bit more noticable. "It'll only be on special occasions. You only turn six once in a lifetime." Maria said, a meaningful look in her eyes. Kristen sighed and nodded, looking Maddie, who was pretending that her lunch was more important that what everyone was talking about.

"I guess." Kristen caved, sighing and shaking her head. Maria laughed, looking at the little girl as she declared that she finished her entire lunch.
"Someone was hungry." Alayna murmured, leaning back against Keith since she was sitting next to him as she looked back at Maddie. The little girl nodded in agreement before balling up her wrappers and putting them back in the bag.

Demitri smiled, "We can all agree with that I suppose, special occasions, and Kristen gets vetos" He said, kissing her forhead.
"It'll be fine love, no one will go overboard, we're just teasing" He said, glancing at Keith and laughing.
"Please no cars, I happen to like my house to much for it to be plowed over" He teased.

Alexi laughed, looking around, "Ah, so I take it you're all getting ready for the party?" He asked, "You gonna go to that cake place where we get company cakes done?" He asked with a small smile.
"Yea, I figured there, since we have some of the kids coming from the company and stuff" He said with a small smile.

Keith sighed, wrapping his arm around Alayna and leaning forward on the table. He sighed, he was tired, already. He wanted another cup of coffee, but he wasn't sure it was such a good idea.

Kristen chuckled and nodded to Alexi. "Yea. Demitri wanted to do some party shopping for next weekend." Kristen murmured. Even though Maddie's actual birthday was on a thrusday, they were throwing the party on the weekend.
"And of course whenever Maddie hears the word shopping, it like throwing a dog a bone." Kristen murmured, smirking when she saw Maddie look up.

Maria laughed, once again fascinated by the little girl and her reactions to certain things. She still couldn't get over how much Maddie had enjoyed ridding the elevator in Italy, much to Demitri's annoyance. "What kind of cake do you like Maddie?" Maria asked, curious.
Maddie looked up at everyone and thought for a second. "Vanilla! But with chocolate frosting, like we used to do with the cupcakes." Maddie said. Kristen smiled and nodded, though listening to Demitri and Alexi, this cake would be a bit more estrentic(sp?) then a bake-at-home-cake.

Alayna glanced at Keith for a moment. She had been listening to the converstation, and just not notcied the drained look on his face. She took his hand gently and squeezed it. She gave him a light smile, for all that she knew her eyes were worried. She didn't want to say anything, knowing the vampires in the room would hear her. Keith would understand the look.

Demitri smirked, "It'll be fine, we're not gonna go overboard" He grumbled, shaking his head and smiling at his fiancee. He smiled, he and Kriste still had to discuss the wedding, and figure all that out. But right now it was all about Maddie, and he wasn;t about to take the attention away from Maddie. He sighed, looking at the time, "We should probably get going" He murmured gently, looking at the others.

Alexi smirked, "Alright, well, we'll start by the house maybe later tonight?" He said, looking from Maria to Demitri.
"Fine by me" Demitri said with a grin.
"Sounds good"

Keith caught the look in Alayna's eye and smiled, trying to be reassuring. He didn't want to worry her, though he knew she was.
"I'm fine" He mouthed, though he yawned and chuckled at himself.