1x1 with x_fire

Serena smiled, "Um.." She trailed off, glancing around, before going over to a box and opening it up.
"Here we go" She said, pulling the matchbox cars out and dumping them on the floor.
"Serena, Uncle Sven's here" Alexi called out, "Coming Daddy" She called, "I'll be right back" She told her twin, standing up and running down the hall.

Serena sat as still as she could manage as her Uncle prodded the bump on her head.
"Hmm, swelling should have gone down" Sven said, "Has she had any headaches?" He asked, "One, friday at lunch" Alexi said, "Might be a mild concussion then, just have her take it easy" Sven said, standing up.
"Go play" He said, Serena smiled and ran back to her brother.
"Im back" She said with a grin.

Demitri frowned, sighing and letting Kristen handle this as he cleaned up.
"Taylor's mom made Taylor some weird soup, and she made me try some" Zach muttered, rubbing his tummy and yawning.
"Mommy, I don't feel good" He groaned, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Nick glanced up sharply as Alexi called Serena down. He stood up, a car in his hands as he walked down the hallway. He couldn't just wait patiently and play on a track that him and his sister made without her. He listened intently, forcing his sense into a working fashion in order to hear what was going on. Nick frowned, rubbing his forehead softly as he heard Sven talking to Alexi as Serena pattered back up to him.
"What did Sven say?" Nick murmured softly as they walked back into the den.

"She made you try some?" Maddie asked sounding extremely defensive. Kristen glanced up at Maddie with a slight warning. "She should know Zach can't always eat human food." Maddie growled softly and jumped down from her stool, leaving the kicthen.
Kristen sighed, shaking her head as Maddie left before looking back at Zach as she sat down next to him. "Do you feel like you're going to be sick or you're just tired?" Kristen asked curiously.

Serena sighed, "That I have a con-can-concussion" She finally pronounced, "I don't even know what that is" She said, sitting back down on the floor.
"And that I'm supposed to take it easy, though he told Mom that, not me" She said, looking at him curiously, shrugging.
"I'm sure it's fine" She said, digging through the cars.
"Which one do you want?" She asked, knowing her brother had a few select cars that he liked the best, so she didn't want to take one of them.

Zach frowned, "She made some special soup, and told me to try it, that I'd like it" He said, watching Maddie go curiously. He frowned, glancing at his mom.
"I don't know" He said, though he started to heave a bit. Demitri grabbed a bowl, and using his superspeed, dashed across the room, setting the bowl in front of his son, just in time too.
"I think someone should remind Taylor's mom about how sensitive Zach's stomach is" He growled, looking mildly pissed off as he made sure Zach was done being sick, before cleaning the bowl out.

Nick frowned at the word his sister stumbled over. "Uh huh..." he said slowly with a nod. Though hearing what Sven had said afterwards, Nick wasn't too worried. He walked over to the basket of cars, pulling some ou and putting them aside in a systematic way known only to him.
"Ahha." Nick exclaimed, finding the one he was looking for. He grinned, nodding for his sister to pick any car that was still in the basket as he rushed over to the start of the track.

Serena had just won another race when Maria walked over.
"Ah, you created another track, impressive." Maria said, grinning at the twins. Nick glanced up with a smile, tilting his head curiously as he heard the door open downstairs. "Is Uncle Vlad here?" He asked curiously, his face lightening up.


"Yes, I will." Kristen said, cringing as Zach proceeded to vomit the soup he had ingested. "Well, at least it'll pass." Kristen murmured, knowing that once the food was out of Zach's system, he would be feeling fine and back to normal. Kristen ran her fingers through Zach's hair, finding a bottle of blood and handing it to him.
"A little better?" Kristen asked softly.

Serena smiled at Nick, laughing gleefully as she won.
"Hah" She teased, glancing up as her mother came in.
"Yea, Nick picked the pattern" She said, nodding her head seriously, though a grin broke onto her face as she heard the door open.
"Yupp, he sure is" Alexi said, leading their uncle into the room.
"Hey" Vlad said with an easy grin, bending to scoop up the twins. "How are my favorite twins?" He asked, kissing Serena's forhead.
"I heard about your accident missy, you gotta be more careful" He said, chuckling as she laughed and hugged him.
"Anything I need to know?" He asked Maria.

Zach nodded, though he still looked tired. He looked at the blood, shaking his head.
"No?" Demitri asked, frowning, "Come on kiddo, I think you should go back to bed for a bit, while your mom makes a quick phone call" He could see how livid Kristen was, and he didn't want Zach in the room when she spoke to Taylor's mom.
Zach nodded, letting his dad pick him up, "Maybe Maddie will watch another movie with you, if we set it up in your bedroom?" Zach nodded, smiling lightly.
"Maddie?" Demitri called, looking around for the little girl.

Nick grinned, jumping up at the sight of his uncle, though he waited as Serena was given a hug first. Nick rolled his eyes gently at the mention of Serenas accident though he looked at her with a small smirk.
"Whatddaya think of the track?" Nick asked, slurring his words together, as he always did in his excitement.
"Nicholas, that wasn't even English." Maria said, laughing and shaking her head.
Nick sighed. "What do you think? There, better?" Nick asked, speaking much slower and clearer.
"Much." Maria said before turning her attention to Vlad. "Suppers in the fridge, don't let Serena run down the stairs again, and bedtime no later then 8:30." Maria said, though the second order was more of a joke then anything.
"Aww, 8:30?" Nick grumbled.
Maria rolled her eyes at the dramatic anticts of her son. "Be strong Vlad, they're enchanters as well as vampires." She teased, kissing Serena and Nicks heads gently. "Be good for your Uncle." She told them before letting Alexi say goodbye and goodnight, since they wouldn't be returning until well early in the morning.


"Yes?" Maddie called, poking her head out from the playroom. Seeing Demitri going upstairs, Maddie sighed. Her puzzle could wait. Even if she only had three more pieces left. Going up the stairs, Maddie winced as she heard Kristen on the phone. Her mother wasn't loud, but there was no missing the slightly threathening and forceful tone in her voice.
"You called me?" Maddie asked as she stood in Zachs bedroom doorway.

Serena sighed, "Mommy, its the weekend" She whined, watching her parents leave, her Uncle still holding her.
"Also, make sure Serena takes it easy tonight, no jumping around like a crazy person" Alexi called as an after thought, "Sven's orders" He added, kissing his kids goodbye before disappearing outside.

Vlad smiled, watching them leave, and setting Serena down. "It's a pretty cool track" He agreed, smiling at Nick.
"Who's winning?" He asked.
"Me" Serena said, clapping her hands excitedly. "Good job" Vlad responded, sitting down on the floor, "Can I play too?"

"Zach was wondering if you'd come watch a movie with him, he still doesn't feel great" Demitri said, setting Zach down on his bed and turning on the TV, setting up a disk that had four disney movies on it.
"Your mom and I are gonna be downstairs, which means we need you to keep an eye on him" He added, knowing that would be reason enough for Maddie.

"How'd it go?" Demitri asked Kristen, having the kids set up in Zach's bedroom. Maddie already being the perfect big sister and fussing over her little brother.

"Only by one race." Nick said, as if to clarify and defend his dignity. He looked back at the track curiously before he heard Vlad's question. He grinned and nodded.
"Sure!" He exclaimed, handing over the basket of toy cars from Vlad to choose from. Once he did, Nick started bouncing in anticipation. This afternoon was going to be fun.


"Oh. Alright." Maddie said with a soft nod. She sat up on Zachs small bed, letting him curl up next to her like he'd done so earlier. She stared at the screen as the first movie started. Sighing deeply, Maddie rubbed her eyes before focusing to watch the movie.

Kristen sighed, having hung the phone as Demitri walked into the room. She gave him a less then happy smirk and shook her head.
"How that woman became a mother I'll never know." Kristen muttered, shaking her head as she ran her fingers through her hair. "If Zach wants to go over there again I'm packing him an extra lunch box." She muttered as her final statement.

Serena scrambled into Vlad's lap, after he handed Nick his chosen car.
"Well, maybe I can try my hand at winning" Their Uncle said, smiling at Serena.
"So what have you kids been doing in school?" He asked, looking at the twins curiously.

Zach smiled at his sister, "Thanks Maddie" He said, curling up against her tiredly. He felt awful, and was glad his sister was there.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, "Are you mad at Taylor's mom too?" He asked softly.

"What did she say?" Demitri asked, looking worried. He wanted to hear what had happened, especially now that Kristen was so upset.
"I've never met the woman" He said, looking at her seriously, "I could hear how pissed you were with her though, fill me in?" He said, stroking her face, obviously worried about his son.

Nick grinned as his and Vlad's cars raced around the track. Nick had come up with the design so that the cars wouldn't loose their speed too fast after they were pushed down the starting hill. This time, Nick's car hit the finish line first.
"Yes!" Nick said, picking up his car. "I never loose with this one." He said, showing Vlad the car. When he asked about school, Nick merely shrugged.
"We learn Russian and English. Moms teaching us some spanish..." Nick said, since writting and reading were the only times of the day he would actually sit and focus too.


"Of course I'm upset." Maddie muttered. "Taylor should have known if his mom didn't. And if he didn't know, he's gonna on Monday." Maddie murmured, shaking her head gently, starring down the t.v. screen slightly. She sighed, realizing she was homing in on Kristens anger and frustration. Taking a deep breath, Maddie rubbed her forehead, pushing the emotions away.

"She's an ignorant bitch." Kristen muttered softly as she cursed. "From the way Zach said it, the mom was pretty strong about him trying to soup, and apparently it was he first time she had made it, and if Zach and a problem with her cooking all he had to do was say so." Kristen half rambled, though she kept her voice quiet and she calmed under Demitri's touch.
"You think I'm pushy and stubborn about things, you really should meet her." Kristen said, her last part of the statment being completely sarcastic.

"Good job kiddo" Vlad said, "Wow, so do you guys know a lot of Russian?" He asked.
"Yea, Daddy speaks it to us a lot, he said my first words were in Russian" Serena said, smiling lightly.
"But, we can't use Russian at Uncle Demitri's, since Zach and Maddie don't know it that well, and it's rude to talk in a languge people don't understand" She said seriously.
"Well that's very nice of you two" Vlad said, smiling down at Serena.

Zach sighed, "Don't be mad at my friend" He grumbled to his sister, green eyes sleepy as he cuddled up to her.
"B-besides" He yawned, "It was his mom, not him" He said, shaking his head.

"Ah, so apparently this is all our son's fault" Demitri clarifyed, looking annoyed. He sighed, "I guess I might just bump into her at school" He said, shrugging a bit.
"Did she happen to say what was in the soup? Cause he's not at all hungry, and still looks pretty ill" He said, frowning.

Nick chuckled at his sister, though he nodded in agreement to what she said. Of the two of them, Serena was the one to takes things literally and Nick was the one who could roll with the jokes. He set a few more races up as Vlad was entertained by his sister, wondering which of his cars were the fastest on this track.
"Zachs learning though, so is Maddie..." Nick said shrugging his shoulders then as he watched the cars racing carefully.


"You would be mad too if it were me." Maddie mumbled softly as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Zach go to sleep." She said, knowing he was tired and could probably use the rest.

"Basically yea." Kristen said, clutching the kitchen counter with white knuckles. "Because you know, her son is perfectly fine, so obviously there was nothing wrong with the soup." Kristen murmured; more sarcasim.
"No, I ended the call after she said that. I couldn't listen to her stupid voice anymore." Kristen said, shaking her head gently.

Serena frowned as Nick laughed at her, "Dork" She grumbled, watching his cars race around the track.
"I'm bored" She anounced, standing up and wandering away from her Uncle and twin, towards her bedroom.
"Okay..." Vlad said, watching her go, before looking at Nick curiously, wondering if they were to stay here, or follow the imposing little girl.

Zach grumbled, "I'm sure I would be, but your the oldest and I'm the youngest, and nothing's gonna change that" He said, echoing their mother. Yawning, he did as he was bid, and soon fell asleep.

"Bitch" Demitri said, shaking his head.
"Did you attempt to explain the half vampire thing? Or was that just a complete and utter loss?" He asked her, rubbing his eyes and frowning. He figured the woman was a total dunce, "I think it's safe to say, Zach and Taylor can still play, just over here. We don't need another soup incident" He said, wondering if he should call and try and find out what was in the soup.
"Well, if he's still off in the morning, we can have Sven take a look at him" He finally said, shaking his head again.

Nick glanced up as his sister left. He rolled his eyes. "She probably went to go color." He explained with a soft shrug. That reminded him of the few drawings and pictures he had made since the last time Vlad visited.
"Alaynas been teaching me to draw. Wanna see?" Nick asked, looking excited as he jumped up and waved for Vlad to follow. He lead his uncle down the hall to the bedroom him and Serena shared. A few of his older artwork were tapped to the wall around his best. Most her crayons doodles he'd made up in class. Going over to his backpack, Nick pulled out the cartoon drawings he'd forgotten to take of yesterday.


Maddie sighed deeply as she toyed with the silver feather at her neck. "Yes, I know." She mumbled softly. Vlad had told her long before her mother and father what it meant to be the oldest, and Maddie had been ready. She could watch out for her brother, and she would have his back when he needed her. Maddie glanced down at Zachs wrist before sharply around the room. Ah, there it was. Maddie reached over gently, finding the soft stainless steel bracelet Maddie had bought for her brother, gently putting it on his wrist, smiling that it was still a bit big for him. It was her way of saying she'd be there for him.

Kristen sighed and rolled her eyes with a frustrated shake of her head. "You can try, I'm not talking to that woman again." She murmured, massaging her forehead gently. She hoped Zach would be alright by the morning. She nodded though, sitting down at the counter and resting her head in her hands. Slowly, the anger was leaving her, and she realized the whole house was quiet save for the t.v.s that were on. "I'm guessing he's asleep again." Kristen murmured, which was the sole tribute that told Kristen how ill he was. Zach never slept through the day.

Serena was sitting in the bedroom, though she wasn't colouring like Nick had thought. Instead, she had pulled out all her toy horses, and was making a stable in order to play with them. Serena adored horses, and had wanted one for as long as she could remember, so she was often found sitting and playing with the minature toys her parents often got for her.

Vlad smiled, "Wow, lucky guy" He said, following Nick in order to see his drawings.
"What's your favorite thing to draw?" He asked, sitting on Serena's bed, watching both children. He smiled, he knew the twins were incredibly close, but he had often forgot what it was like to see them in action. Nick automatically orintated himself so he didn't wreck his sister's set up, and she shifted about in order for him to get by, all without a single word passing between them.

Demitri sighed. "Maddie put him to bed" He said with a small chuckle.
"Whatever it is, it probably just needs to work out of his system, being sick takes a lot out of kids" He said, shrugging, "Are you and Maddie still gonna go out? I can handle Zach no problem, we'll watch movies, and if he's up to it, I'll try to get him to eat something" He said, smiling at Kristen.

Nick sat back down on his bed that was across from Serena's. He glanced at his sister with a small smirk, watching her play for a moment before reaching down under his bed. He pulled out the sketchbook Alayna had gotten him for last christmas and his colored pencils.
"I like drawing characters. Wall-E I drew the other day when we were at Uncle Demitri's..." Nick explained. "Before Serena fell down the stairs." Nick said, teasing lightly before looking back at the papers in Vlad's hands.


Kristen sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead gently. "If Maddie's upstairs with Zach, I doubt she'll want to leave." Kristen murmured softly. She looked up at Demitri with a soft smile before glancing up at the celing.
"Is she still acting odd?" Kristen asked softly, brushing a wavy strand from her face.

Serena stuck her tounge out at Nick, glancing up as she heard pages ruffling and saw her uncle looking through the sketches.
"He's really good" She said, smiling proudly at her twin. She was always impressed with Nick's drawings, she didn't draw very well, which was why she always used colouring books.
"Yea, these are really good Nick" Vlad said, closing the book and watching the twins.
"What do you two wanna do now? Are we done with the race cars?" He asked, if they were, then it was time to clean them up before the next mess started.

"A bit, when I said Vlad was swinging by tomorrow, she nearly choked on her food" He said, "I mean, she's normally excited to see him, but not like that" He shrugged, "It'd be worth a try, she was up super early this morning, woke Zach up in fact" He chuckled, "Maybe ask her if she wants to go get lunch at her favorite restaurant. She might be tempted" He said, shrugging lightly.

Nick grinned softly, looking down at his papers before up at his sister and Vlad. He smiled at Serena before opening his sketchbook. He was about to start another drawing when Vlad reminded him of the track.
"Oh...right." Nick said, looking up at Serena with a silent calling before jumping down from his bed and going back to the den to clean up.

Kristen frowned softly as she listened to Demitri. Something really was up with Maddie now...the little girl wasn't exactly an early bird...so to hear that she was waking up extremely early was a bit unsetteling.
"I'll go see if she wants to go out." Kristen said with a soft nod. She stood up from her chair, going up the steps quickly and quietly poking her head into the room.

She smiled gently at the scene she saw; Maddie, with Zach curcled up in her lap, sound asleep. The movie Demitri had put in earlier was still playing, and Maddie was watching with half closed eyes. When Kristen opened the door wider though, Maddie's eyes opened and she looked up at her mother. Kristen gasped softly in surprise at the depth and intensity of the emotions in Maddie's eyes. She had tried to get used to Maddie occassional mature expression, but those were nothing compared to what Kristen just saw. It was gone in a blink of an eye though.
"Hey...wanna go get something for lunch and maybe some milkshakes?" Kristen asked softly. "Just you and me?" Kristen asked softly. Maddie glanced down at Zach wordlessly. Kristen smiled, walking into the room and gently moving the little boy so Maddie could crawl out from underneath him. "Go shower up." Kristen murmured, gently tucking her son back into bed.

Serena let her current favorite horse, a black one her mom and dad had gotten her, which she had named Pirate, fall from her fingers. Leaping up, she followed her twin to the Den, Vlad following behind.
"As soon as we finish cleaning up, you guys can go play again" He said, helping Serena dismantle the track and begin to put toys away. He checked the time, "Or did you guys want to help me with something?" He asked, brown eyes sparkling with amusmant.

Zach whined as his source of warmth was moved away from him, and his eyes flickered open.
"Mommy?" The little boy muttered, rubbing his eyes, and blinking blurrily. He sat up a bit, frowning as he felt something cold on his wrist. Glancing down, he saw the bracelet Maddie had gotten him, and smiled lightly.
"Whats going on?" He asked, looking better then he had that morning, though still tired.

Nick methodically took apart the track they had assemebled, as if he was committing to memory where each and every peice had been. He'd liked how this track had come out; it was one of the few that actually used up all of the track sets they had. He glanced up at Vlad with a curious expression on his face.
"Help you with what?" Nick asked as he put the last of his side of the track away and went around the room to collect his toy cars.

"Hey baby..." Kristen murmured softly as she brushed Zach's hair from his face. "Maddie and I are going to get some lunch. Dad'll be here if you need him alright?" she asked quietly, hearing the water running, signally that Maddie was taking a shower and she needed to get dressed herself. "Just take it easy for today. We think the soup was what made you sick, so you should feel better soon ok?" Kristen asked with a small smile.

Serena glanced up at Vlad, a car still in her hand as she looked at him with big, curious eyes.
"Yea, help you with what?" She asked, eyeing her Uncle with intensity.
"Hmm, tell you what, after you're done cleaning up, you two go get your PJs on, and when you come out, I'll have a surprise for you" He said, winking at the two of them.
"Oh, okay" Serena agreed hesitantly, she knew it wasn't close to bed time, but her mom and dad usually had the twins in PJs right after supper, she didn't know why.

Zach nodded, smiling at his mom.
"Okay" He agreed, "Thanks mom" He murmured, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Can you ask Daddy to come upstairs?" He asked, wanting to know his dad was close by, in case he got sick again.
"No need to ask, I'm right here" Demitri said, sliding into the room. "Daddy" Zach said tiredly, smiling at him.
"Hey kiddo" Demitri said, frowning at Kristen, Zach still looked pretty ill.
"Will you lay with me?" Zach asked, "Sure thing" Demitri said, sliding into the small bed, taking Maddie's place.
"Do you wanna stay in here? Or go lie down in mom and my bed?" Demitri asked.
"Your bed" Zach quickly said, smiling as Demitri picked him up.
"More room" Demitri said with a wink at Kristen.

Nick raised an eyebrow in curiousty. "Uh..huh..." he murmured, putting the track box away along with the basket of cars.
"Come on." Nick said, eager and more then curious now; which was a dangerous combination for Nick. He took his twin's hand and pulled her along gently to their bedroom. He wanted to know what Vlad was talking about. In their room, Nick changed quickly out of his jeans and t-shirt, pulling on his batman pajama pants and plan white shirt that served as his pajamas for the night.


Kristen smiled as Demitri walked into Zach's room and she quickly slipped out to go change. She was pulling on a clean brown tank top as Demitri came into the room with Zach. Kristen chuckled, nonchalantly slidding her pocket knife into her jeans at the same time as she put her cellphone into her front pocket.
Maddie pushed open the door slightly as she knocked softly. Kristen glanced over her shoulder, seeing the quiet girl waiting patiently, dressed in jeans and a plain white shirt, her denim jacket over it, and her hair still wet though it was combed and bouncy.
"Hungry?" Kristen asked, realizing how late in the afternoon it was. Maddie simply nodded. "Come on, lets go." Kristen said, glancing over her shoulder to smile at Demitri and Zach. Maddie waved gently before following her mother out of the room, down the stairs, and out the house.

Serena let Nick tug her down the hallway. In their room, she changed into her favorite, tinkerbell PJ pants, which were a bit long, and a green tank top. Laughing, she ran back out into the Den, eyes huge at what awaited her and Nick.
Vlad had built a massive fort, facing the TV, sleeping bags and pillows were already inside, along with two bottles of blood, and some stuffies he had bought for them earlier that day.
"Woah..." Serena trailed off, suddenly seeing a black horse stuffie. Eyes wide, she grabbed it, immediately flopping down on one of the sleeping bags, a huge smile on her face.

She glanced up at her Uncle.
"Thank you" She squealed, hugging him tightly as she waited for Nick to hurry up and come see the surprise.

Nick realized half way down the hall that his shirt was inside out and backwards. He growled slightly, fumbling with his shirt while Serena headed on without him. Once his shirt was fixed, he ran down the hallway quickly, eager to hear what Serena was gasping and squealing about.
"Oh sweet!" Nick said, grinning and laughing in disbelief at the fort. He zipped around eagerily, sitting on his sleeping back, bouncing on his pillow, finding a bottle of blood....and a lion.
"Ha!" Nick growled, pouncing on his stuffed animal playfully, laughing as he rolled around with his tiger.

Hearing his sister say thankyou, Nick remembered his manners. Sitting up, Nick grinned. "Thanks Uncle Vlad, this is awesome!" he said before glancing at the t.v. as it caught his attention. He reached for his bottle almost instinctively, taking a small sip.
"What are we gonna watch?" Nick asked curiously.

"Whatever you guys want to watch" Vlad said, "And you're welcome, I figured we could spend the night in here" He said, nodding at the sleeping bags. He had three, though he half expected the twins to share one, since, last time he had been here, Alexi and Maria had been struggling to get them to spend the night in different beds.
Serena sat down next to her brother, smiling happily, her new stuffed horse in her lap.
"What do you wanna watch?" She asked Nick, looking at all the DVD's Vlad had laid out for them.
"Princess and the Frog?" She asked, a few parts scared her, but not enough that she didn't want to watch it.

She looked at her twin expectantly, reaching for her bottle of blood and carefully unscrewing the cap. She giggled, drinking the liquid carefully, not wanting to spill on the carpet or something.