1x1 with x_fire

Maria sighed in content. Two winks from Alexi...wow. She laughed to herself and shook her head gently. "Yes yes, Mister high-end surrond sound, we will put the system to good use tonight." Maria said with a nod as if that was final. She rolled her eyes, laughing as she rubbed her forehead gently. She definatly needed to hunt first though. She could feel it.
Alexi's words brought her out of her thoughts and Maria grinned. "I love you too." Maria said, glancing over at him. "And I think you need a haircut.." Maria added with a soft laugh.


Kristen's heart thudded in relief and she fell back against her seat. "God love don't scare me like that..." Kristen murmured, though she was smiling. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, shaking her head gently. It was just the utilities in the house, she told herself, nothing else. They would be fine by the time they got to the house. They still had a decent ride there.

Alexi grinned, "We better" He said childishly, though his eyes were shining. He shook his hair away from him.
"Probably, but I have no desire to go and get one" He admitted, chuckling softly and looking at her with a small half smile. He glanced up, almost home, he could see the buildings of the city now.
"Finally" He breathed, his grin coming out in full now.

Demitri rolled his eyes.
"Not every little thing is an emergency love" He teased, "And I'm sorry I freaked you out, but house hold utilities are important, especially with our lot" He nodded at the kids.
"I don't think we could survive without heat and water for very long" He frowned, "Or groceries" He sighed, "We can stop on the way and pick some up" He offered, looking at her curiously.

Maria laughed, turning off the main highway as the city grew closer. She drove on the main roads, remembering almost instantly where she had to turn in order to get to their aparement. She glanced at Alexi and chuckled softly. He looked like a little kid, waiting somewhat impatiently to get home, though, Maria knew he was more than happy to be here. She was forced to slow down to accomidate the speed limit but pulled into their parking garage as quickly as possible.
"Home sweet home." Maria said, turning off the car and walking around to let Alexi out, knowing he'd probably dash upstiars in an instant.


"Well..." Kristen trailed off and shrugged. She didn't want to jinx anything. Glancing back at Maddie and Zach, Kristen chewed her lip.
"Yea, groceries might be a good idea." Kristen said with a soft nod, settling back against her chair contently. "Hmm...what do you feel like having for dinner Maddie?" Kristen asked curiously.
Maddie thought for a moment, tapping her lip softly. "Pasta?" she asked. Kristen grimanced.
"I think we've had enough pasta..." Kristen murmured, since they had just left the Pasta captial of the world.
"How about chicken noddle soup?" Kristen asked instead.
"Ooh yea!" Maddie said and Kristen nodded, making a mental list of things to get in her mind.

Alexi was practically squirming as the drove through the city, though he knew he'd be home in a few moments. A small smile lit his face as they pulled into the familiar garage, and soon enough he was free. Snagging the keys, he realized he'd never been able to open the door without Maria's help.
"Damn" He said, tossing the keys to her, looking aggrivated, "I can't open it, you have to" He admitted, looking away akwardly.

Demitri sighed, pulling into a large grocery store.
"Pasta? You want more pasta?" He teased Maddie, though smiled as Kristen gave an allternative.
"Alright, lets go" He said, sliding from the car and going around back to grab Zach. He figured Kristen could shop, and he could keep an eye on the kids.

Maria laughed as Alexi snatched the keys from her but then he stopped at the door. Maria sighed, realizing he couldn't open it at the same time he did. She caught the keys and gave him a sympathetic smile. Kissing his forehead, Maria unlocked the door quickly so that Alexi wouldn't have to wait much longer to get inside. The stairs case didn't have a door, so it was straight up to their apparement from here.
Maria headed up the stairs slightly ahead, just wanting to get a look around once before heading out again. She smiled, stretching as her eyes looked over the livingroom, and up the stairs to the bedroom and all other places. "You'll be alright for an hour or so?" Maria asked. "Or do you want to come along?" she asked. She could hunt for Alexi, it wasn't that difficult for her.

Kristen and Maddie both laughed as they walked into the store. It was a simple ordeal, since Kristen only wanted to get what they would absouletely need until morning. She'd have to make up a whole list of extras to get while Maddie was at school. School...that reminded Kristen that Maddie might need lunch. That added a few more things to the cart.
"There, I think that's the last of it..." Kristen murmured, putting a gallon of milk into the cart which was close to full since Kristen was assuming there was no food at all in the house. They had been gone for two weeks. If there was any food, it probably wasn't any good.

Alexi smiled as Maria let him in. Following her up the stairs, he let out a sigh of relief. "I'll be fine here, just gonna jump in the hot tub" He murmured, "So, if you wouldn't mind helping me out of my stuff, I'll be fine till you get back" He said with an adorable puppy dog face. He was getting better at asking Maria for help, but it was still difficult.

Demitri sighed, carrying Zach as they walked into the store, and just trailing behind Maddie and Kristen as they shopped.
"Just about" He echoed hollowly, looking at the cart apprehensively, "That's a lot of food" He teased, shifting Zach so the baby was resting on his shoulder. He smiled, glancing towards the cashiers counters and slid his wallet from his pocket.
"Here" He said to Kristen, he'd help carry, but she and Maddie could unload and pay.

Maria grinned, though she tried to keep the mischeif out of her eyes as she walked over to Alexi to help him out of his regular clothes and into the swim suit she'd found upstairs. "I'll be back before you know it." Maria promised, leaning forward to press her lips to Alexi's softly, chuckling to herself before vanishing from the aparement.

"Well..think about it." Kristen murmured, unloading the food from the cart onto the belt for the cashier. "There's me, Maddie, Alayna, and Keith." she said. "Any food that was left in the house, is probably nasty, so there is nothing." she said softly with a shrug as Maddie handed her a few things. "Plus, I can almost guarentee this one," Kristen murmured, exceedingly quiet as she looked up at the baby in Demitri's arms. "Will be running around by the end of the week, and needing a bit more then the occasional bottle to feed him." Kristen said, as the last things were scanned onto the grocery list and Maddie pushed the cart forward so the nurmerous bags could be piled back in. There was no way they could carry all the bags out themselves without making a scene.
Kristen quickly payed for everything with the card Demitri had handed her, giving it back to him along with the reciet incase he needed it before helping Maddie push the cart back out to the car.

Demitri laughed, "I will never, ever understand food" He said, "Grocery stores still amaze me" He shifted Zach, glancing at the baby, "Probably" He agreed, watching her pay for everything, and hand the card back to him.
"Keep it, that one's for you, I just got it actually" He pointed to the name on it, though snagged the recipt, sliding it into his pocket as he and Zach headed outside. Getting the baby settled again was easy, and then with efficency, he quickly helped unload the cart into the back of the SUV.

Finishing up, he pushed the cart back to where it belonged and slid into the driver's seat, "Almost home" He said in a singsong voice, a small smile on his face as he looked around the parking lot, before backing out of his spot.

Kristen blinked, glancing at the card and not noticing that Demitri had snatched the reciet. "Oh alright." she said, quickly sliding it into her front pocket as they walked outside. It was getting colder, and Kristen realized, later in the day. She seriously hoped someone had turned on the heat and blasted it because she did not want to be froozen tonight.
"Oh shoot...Sven's ahead of us now. I hope the house is warm enough for Keith and Alayna." Kristen murmured.

Maddie giggled as she watched Demitri load up the car. Actually she had a hard time completely following, and it only made her laugh more at the dizzyness she was feeling from watching. Kristen sighed, shaking her head as she helped Maddie back into her seat before getting back into hers as well.
Kristen laughed at Demitri. "Yes love, and we all know now." Kristen teased, rolling her eyes gently, though Maddie was bouncing impatiently in the back seat.

Demitri sighed, "Yea me too" He agreed, turning the wheel and turning back onto the main highway. He really did hope so, cause the house would be freezing unless the heat was on.
He rolled his eyes at Kristen, "Am I not allowed to be excited?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

He pulled into the driveway, and soon was pulled up in front of the house. Sven's vehicle was gone, but their were fresh tracks in the snow, indicating he had came and went. Demitri wasn't worried, he'd be back later that night or early tomorrow.
"Here we are" He said, relieved that Sven had taken the bags and he didn't have to worry about them just yet.

Kristen chuckled. "Even though you won't let my grin be happy, I'll let you be excited." Kristen said, sighing deeply as he pushed the car forward towards home. As soon as they hit areas that started to look familiar, Kristen grew anxious and relaxed at the same time. They were finally home...finally back to their own house...
As Demitri pulled up, Maddie jumped out of the car with a "Yay!" of excitement, running up to the front door and walking inside.

"They're here." Alayna said, laughing as she heard Maddie's voice calling them. The house was still a bit chilly, but Alayna and turned up the heat, and it had gotten warmer since they had arrived. Walking out of the room, Alayna glanced over the banaster as Maddie walked inside and spun around in her blanket.

"I'll take Zach if you can get the groceries." Kristen said, with a happy expression on her face. She stepped out of the warm car, shuddering instantly in the cold. Walking around to the side of the car, Kristen opened the door, pulling the whole seat out gently, not wanting to disturb the little boy who seemed to still be sleeping. Gently, she walked inside the house, sighing that it was warmer then outside but frowning since it could be a bit warmer.
"Don't worry, I already boosted the heat." Alayna said, grinning. "It was a lot cold half an hour ago when we got here."

Demitri nodded in agreement and began to grab groceries and what not, carrying them all in at once, thanks to his vampiric strength. He smiled as he saw Keith, bent over the fire place, starting a fire it seemed. He really couldn't tell if the house was all that cold, but everyone else seemed to think it was. He smiled to himself, still just wearing a t-shirt as he headed towards the kitchen to unload.

Keith glanced up at Maddie, smiling lightly before grinning at Kristen.
"I'm gonna get a fire going, should warm it up in here" He said, smiling at her.
"But, Alayna's right, it was a lot worse" He chuckled, finally succeeding in getting the blaze going. Smiling at his handiwork, he stretched his hands over the small flames, warming them before he added more wood.

"Should probably invest in putting fireplaces in the bedrooms too..." Kristen murmured, watching as Keith built a fire. She saw Demitri wander into the kitchen with all the bags, and figured he could use a hand putting the items away. She was almost certain that the rooms would still be cold. Seeing that Keith had a fire going, Kristen smiled, leaving the baby under Keith's capable care before peeking her head into the kitchen.
"Need a hand love?" she asked softly.

As soon as Keith had come down, Maddie had trailed after him, sitting down in front of the fire with a content sigh. The blaze was warm, and Maddie was glad since she didn't like to be freezing cold, though she didn't mind the chill. She glanced up as Kristen set the baby carrier on Keith's other side, and she crawled around Keith to look at her brother with a soft smile.

Alayna smiled, glad that Keith got a fire going. She walked down the stairs, sitting down next to Keith in the warmth of the fire, stretching her hands out to the flames with a content sigh. "Nice job." she said with a nod, leaning her head against his shoulder softly.

Demitri glanced up, "I'm perfectly content without a roaring death trap in our room" He grumbled, fire was one of the few things that could kill vampires, though, in all fairness, there had to be a lot of it.
Sighing, he smiled and nodded, "I don't know where most of this stuff goes, just the refridgerated stuff really" He said with a bashful grin.

Keith smiled as Zach was set down near him, then Maddie joined them, and finally Alayna.
"I'm quiet the pro" He teased, putting a larger log on the fire before closing the grate, to avoid sparks jumping out.
"Did you turn up the heat in the bedrooms?" He asked her, figuring that the other rooms would be awful to stay in.

Kristen rolled her eyesw with a soft chuckle. "A roaring death trap huh?" she asked, walking into the kicthen and taking things out of the plastic bags, sorting them slightly on the counter. She was going to show Demitri where everything went, so that in the occassion that she couldn't unload groceries, he could.
"Things in boxes..." Kristen said, since explaining the differences in foods would take her all afternoon. "Go in the pantry, mostly on the top and middle shelf." she explained, grabbing the ceral boxes and a few snacks to put them away. "So do cans, just on the lower shelf. Unless the have to be put in the frige for some reason. Simple enough right?" Kristen asked, smirking as she unloaded the last few bags onto the counter, gathering them up to stuff into one big bag.


"I can see that." Alayna murmured with a soft laugh. She nodded as an answer to Keith's question. "They might take a little longer though." she said with a soft shrug, rubbing her hands gently. She glanced over at Maddie with a soft smile.
"Glad to be home Maddie?" she asked quietly. Maddie smiled and nodded gently with a soft yawn.

Demitri nodded, "Yupp" He said, chuckling as he listened to her explain.
"Am I ever going to be in a situation where you can't do this? I mean, even if you're not here, I have Alayna, Keith and even Maddie" He winked, stretching his arms out and checking the time.
"You wanna make dinner while I unpack, I'm guessing tonight's gonna be an early one" He said, smiling lightly, before walking back out into the main living room.
"Mind keeping an eye on the kids? I'm gonna go get the rooms ready" He asked Keith and Alayna.

Keith glanced up as Demitri came in.
"We can handle the kids" He responded, smiling at Maddie. "Kristen's making dinner" The vampire called over his shoulder.
"Cool" Keith said, reaching down and carefully lifting Zach out of his carrier.
"Hey big guy" He murmured, smirking at the baby's wide green eyes.

Kristen chewed her lip thoughtfully. "You never know Demitri." she said with a shrug. She walked about the kicthen, getting a few things from various places to start making dinner. She glanced back at him while she filled a pot of bowling water.
"Alright my love." Kristen said with a small nod, busing herself for the time while Demitri left.

Maddie had scrambled over to Alayna's lap, laying her head down on Alayna's leg, and pulling her blanket comfortably around her. Alayna glanced up as Demitri came in and she nodded gently. Hearing that Kristen was making dinner, Alayna smirked.
"Hopefully she won't burn it this time." Alayna murmured.
"I heard that!" Kristen called from the kicthen. Maddie laughed and Alayna was a bit surprised; she was constantly forgetting that Kristen had vampire-like hearing now.

Maddie picked her head up, looking back at Keith, seeing that her brother was awake. She grinned, pulling her thumb from her mouth, sitting up to look at Little Zach. "He's awake." Maddie said with a smile at the boy.

Keith grinned at Maddie, "Sure is" He said, bouncing the baby lightly, chuckling as Zach squirmed and laughed.
"Good thing too, or else he'd probably keep your mom and dad up all night" He teased, sitting down on the couch next to Alayna, and settling Zach in his lap. The baby looked around, seeming to take everything in with huge green eyes.
"He's getting really big" He murmured, shaking his head, it was nearly impossible to place Zach's age, but he was definately close to six months.

"I agree with Alayna, last time you burnt dinner, the house reeked, still does" Demitri called teasingly from the top of the stairs, before he disappeared, unpacking in the various rooms.
Zach had his crib set up in their room, for now. In a few weeks, or months, or even days he'd be down the hall, in his own room.

Maddie sat between Alayna and Keith, wanting to watch her brother curiously for a little while. She smiled at him, rubbing his little hands gently. He was definatly bigger now then he had been a few days ago. Maddie noticed that. His hands were itty bitty anymore. Maddie smiled, looking back at him, seeing the curiously look in his eyes.
"This is our home." Maddie explained gently.

Alayna chuckled, thinking Maddie was the cutest at the moment, taking a older sibiling role almost instantly. She glanced at the little baby with a soft smile before looking back at Maddie.
"Sven did say he would grow pretty fast until he pretty much caught up with Maddie." Alayna murmured.

"Well, if it's that bad, maybe you should cook forever." Kristen said, still rummaging around the kicthen. Chicken nooddle soup was an easy fix. The dinner she had been trying to make last time however was the first time she had ever cooked that.

Keith grinned, "You wanna hold him?" He asked Maddie, "You can show him all the other stuff in the house" The little girl had been taking a lot of responsibilty for her brother lately, and had even played with him on the beach back in Italy. Keith remembered that clearly because Maddie had showed Zach all the beach toys and shells she could find. It had been adorable.

"Yea, I remember him mentioning that" Keith said, smiling at Alayna. "Grows like a weed, then he'll slow right down. Thankfully, it'd be awful to be the big sister, but have an older little brother" He chuckled.

"Ah, but if we remember last time I cooked, everything was over cooked or under cooked" Demitri said, sticking his head into the kitchen.
"Crib's set up, Maddie's room is all put together, and the heat is blasting"

"Ya!" Maddie said, grinning as she held her little brother. Alayna was amazed at the confidence and strength the little girl had. It was almost like Zach was nothing more then a stuffed animal, though Alayna could see that Maddie was being careful and cautious too. "He'll never be that much older then me here." Maddie said wistfully, looking back at Keith as she walked around the room with Zach in her arms. She gently tapped her forehead before resuming the lesiure tour of the ground floor.

"Kristen should really have Maddie tested after she's in school for a while." Alayna murmured. It was well known, though sledom remembered of Maddies mature intelligence. In a way, to Alayana she was like a vampire; her appearing age came no where close to her mentally level. There were times where Maddie spoke as if she were ten years older.

Kristen smirked. "Then you have no right to complain about my cooking." She said, pointing the big spoon in her hands at him, having heard Demitri coming into the kitchen. She had just added the noodles and rice to the mix, as well as most of the seasoning. All that was left to add was the chicken, which Kristen had just finished cleaning. She stirred the soup once before adding the peices, a little more seasoning and placing the lid on top with a satisifed nod.

Keith smirked, "Yea, she should, I'm sure they plan on it" He responded, watching Maddie with a small smile. He was of course keeping an eye on Zach as well, just in case.
"Well Maddie, how does it feel to be a big sister?" He asked, smiling at her as she showed Zach all the different things in the room. He could already see how great she'd be at it, especially with how gentle, caring, and even nurturing she was.

Demitri sighed, rolling his eyes, "Do you have any idea how god awful that smells?" He asked her, fanning his in front of his face, being rather dramatic, but he wasn't overly concerned. Smiling lightly, he moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"So, how does it feel to be home? Mrs. Draq?" He teased.

"I hope so." Alayna murmured. She leaned back in the sofa, alternating her gaze from Maddie and Zach to the fire. Eventually, she somehow ended up resting against Keith's shoulder, and then his chest where she was always perfectly comfortable.

Maddie grinned, looking back at Keith. "I like it. Plus he's so cute." Maddie said, kissing Zachs cheek gently. "And when he gets bigger I'm gonna teach him how to play checkers, and all sorts of other games." Maddie said with a soft laugh. "It'll be fun. Right Zachy?"

Kristen laughed, shaking her head. "You should live a day with a human sense of smel. Then you'd realize how nasty your food smells to us." Kristen teased back, knowing the smell of a dead body and blood was not at all appetizing to humans. She sighed contently as Demitri's arms wrapped around her. She shivered at her new name, still trying to get used to that.
"If it wasn't still a bit chilly...and there wasn't a gorgeous baby boy my daughter is currently showing the house to...I would have thought we never left." Kristen chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her face. She growled softly as it fell in her view again.
"Its getting long..." Kristen grumbled with a sigh.

Keith smiled and kissed Alayna's hair.
"You'll have to teach him to do puzzles" He said with a small smile. "I bet he'd like that" He grinned as the baby smiled at Maddie, his arms wrapped comfortably around her neck. He glanced down at Alayna, a small smile playing over his features.
"He's definately a cutie" He agreed, watching Maddie again.
"You're gonna have a ton of stuff to teach him" He said, glancing at the fire, relieved that it was finally warming up inside.

Demitri chuckled, "Your daughter? I was under the impression she was our daughter" He teased, kissing her cheek.
"It's adorable, her showing Zach the house" He said softly, "She's a very good big sister" He sighed, wondering what everyone else was doing. Vlad and Sven would be over in the morning, since he and Kristen had to take Maddie shopping for back to school stuff. He figured the others could watch Zach, since this would be a special day for Maddie.

"Yea, definately puzzles." Maddie agreed, bright blue eyes dancing in her excitement. "Checkers, puzzles, and in the spring Dad can teach us soccer, and Zach can come to practice just like I had." Maddie murmured, her eyes fogging over for a moment at the memory. "It'll be fun." Maddie said again. The smell of Kristen cooking was traveling to her sensitive senses, and Maddies stomach grumbled.
"Let's go see what Mommy's cooking." Maddie said, repositioning Zach on her hip gently before walking out of the living room.

Alayna laughed softly. "That little girl is something else." She said, shaking her head gently in amazement and admiration. Alayna had been the baby of the family. She had little concept of Maddie capability to be so responsible at that age for her younger brother.
"Too cute."

Kristen sighed in exasperation. "Yes Demitri, our daughter, and our son." She murmured. "And your wife." She added, turning in his arms to press her lips to his. She smiled at him for a moment, ducking away to stirr up the soup as Maddie walked in, still carrying Zach.
"Is dinner ready?" Maddie asked curiously.