1x1 with x_fire

Alexi sighed, "We'll just have to keep an eye on her, the bump is still there, and still hurts, we don't need her to smack her head again" He said, listening to the twins talk.
"Think she'll listen to Nick?" He asked, a bit confused by Maria's statement.
Serena sighed, "I think this part is creepy, but the only person who dies is Gaston, and he's a bad guy" She said, "In Bambi, Bambi's mommy dies, and in Lion King, Simba's daddy dies, they're good guys. And the shadow guy in Princess and the Frog is a bad guy, who does creepy things" She said stubbornly.
"But, the part with the rose in this movie scares me. When Beast gets mad at Belle" She admitted to her twin.

"Morning" Demitri said, placing the bowl of fruit in front of Zach.
"That okay?" He asked his son, who nodded eagerly and began to eat.
"Dad, can I have something to drink?" He asked quietly.
"Sure" Demitri handed him a bottle of blood, leaning back to watch Keith and Alayna.
"Morning" Keith said smiling at Alayna. "Sleep okay?"

"I think he'll keep an eye on her, and prevent her from doing anything that will undoubtably end in her bumping her head again." Maria said with a nod. "He's getting a bit protective over her." she murmured, and yesterday morning had been a perfect example. Even though they had been playing around, Nick had actually bitten Alexi in order to get to his sister; something Nick almost never did. Overall, Maria knew so far that Nick's bark was definitely more then his bite.
Nick nodded slowly as his sister tried to explain her reasoning to him. "Overall this movie is kinda scarry." Nick murmured. The only part he really like was when there was music, and the things in the house would start dancing around.

"Hmm, fruit and blood. Interesting combination." Alayna said softly, winking to show she was only teasing as she drew her hot water out from the microwave and dunked her teabag.
"Mmhm." Alayna said with a nod to Keith, glancing back at Zach with a soft smile. "I see your feeling much better now." Alayna said, having missed Demitri and Keith's earlier conversation.

Alayna was surprised when Kristen came down, hair done up in a wet bun, a regular tank top and denim shorts on. It was early for the shifter to be awake.
"Morning." Kristen murmured, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Morning early bird." Alayna said, to which Kristen chuckled and rolled her eyes.

Alexi sighed, "You noticed that too?" He asked, shrugging, "Oh well, it's only natural, and Friday was the first time Serena's ever gotten hurt" He said, shrugging lightly.
"I'd rather he was protective then not interested in her at all, at least we know she's safe" He said, smiing at Maria. "Are you worried about it?" He asked her, curious. He wasn't, but then again, he'd never had biological siblings. Carlos was very overprotective of Maria, and he was wondering if she was worried about Nick.
"Hey, is Carlos coming to visit, he still hasn't met the twins?" He asked suddenly, Carlos hadn't been around since Demitri and Kristen's wedding, and had yet to actually meet his niece and nephew.
Serena reached over, taking Nick's hand, "Don't worry, if you can protect me from creepy shadowmen, I can protect you from this" She said, her voice light, though very serious.

"Yea, lots better" Zach said, smiling as his mother came downstairs.
"Daddy said the twins are coming over, does that mean Serena's better?" He asked his mom, smiling brightly as he ate a piece of apple.

Maria smiled softly and nodded. Of course she had noticed. Was she worried though was an excellent question.
"Its not time to worry yet." Maria mused wisely. "They're still young. It shouldn't get worse." Maria said, knowing Alexi was talking about her and Carlos. The only thing that made things difficult between Maria and her brother was the age difference. He had always been older, always protective. With Nick though, he was hardly older then Serena, and he understood her more then any other brother would his sister.
at the mention of her own brother, Maria sighed. "He hasn't been answering my phone calls." Maria murmured softly. "No one from London has. I don't know if I have wrong numbers but..." Maria trailed off, shaking her head gently with another soft sigh.
Nick smiled, not exactly wanting to look weak, though he didn't want to lie to his sister either. He glanced up, seeing the Beast and he shuddered lightly before laughing nerviously. If the movie didn't have a happy ending, Nick probably would have never bothered to watch it.


"According to Uncle Sven..." Kristen mused as she sipped her coffee. "Serena stil has a small bump on her head, but other then that she's perfectly fine." She said, to which Alayna sighed in relief.
"All the same," Kristen said, taking on that motherly tone. "Any toys you guys play with today needs to be put away once your done. I don't want anyone else getting hurt fair enough?"

Alexi shrugged, "Ah, but because he understands her so well, and feels what she feels, he'll be even more protective" He said, glancing back at the twins, listening to them to discuss the movies they watched, and what was scary about them and what not.
Serena smiled, squeezing Nick's hand, "Its okay, you're not scared by the lion king, and I am" She said, trying to reassure him. She knew that Nick didn't like looking weak or anything, and him and Zach always had some macho contests going on.

Zach frowned, "That's not good" He said, "Okay, we will mom, I promise" He said, sipping his drink.
"Do you think that Nick will play video games with me?" He asked, wondering if that would exclude Serena, since she didn't seem to like them. He always figured Serena and Maddie would play together, but if Uncle Vlad was here, then Serena would be all by herself, since whenever Uncle Vlad was here, all Maddie did was stick by him, and even get mad at the others if they tried to 'monopolize' him as she put it.

"In the same sense, he'll be understanding." Maria said with a soft chuckle. Only time would truely tell. She chuckled, hearing what the two were saying, even in their House tones.
"They're adorable." Maria said smiling proudly as she looked out the window.
Nick smiled softly, deeply reassured, though he would never admitt it. "I still don't know why." He murmured quietly. "Lions aren't as scary as him." Nick muttered, nodding his head towards the screen as the beast appeared again.

Kristen finished her coffee, washing the mug and Alaynas as she though over Zachs question. "I guess you can for a little while." She said with a soft nod. She glanced out the window with a small smile.
"Its nice outside for a change though. Maybe we'll all go out later." Kristen said before glancing over at the clock.
"Alexi should be here soon...when was Vlad coming?" Kristen asked, looking over her shoulder at Demitri.

Alexi sighed, "If it's reassuring, Vlad's heard from Keith, they've sort of gone underground, some territory shit" He explained, "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, he didn't mention Carlos though, but knowing your brother, he'll probably turn up on our doorstep one of these days" He said, smiling reassuringly at her.
Serena smiled, "Don't worry" She said, smiling brightly at her twin, "I don't think the Lions are scary, well, maybe Scar, it's the Hyena's that are scary to me" She said, rubbing his hand as she watched the Beast storm around the castle in a fit.

Zach clapped his hands, "Thanks Mom" He said, putting his bowl in the sink and rushing off to go set up the game.
"Vlad? A bit later, he had some errands to run" Demitri said, washing out Zach's bowl.
"You think Nick will even want to play video games if Serena doesn't?" Keith asked, chuckling.

Maria's head shot up as she heard what Alexi was saying. She cursed silently, rubbing her forehead softly, though she was still frowning. "How long?" Maria asked, still looking out the window. She couldn't believe this was happening...part of her wanted to be in London, the sensible part said that would be stupid and irrational, and won the battle.
"The Hyennas are funny." Nick murmured, still content that Serena was holding his hand while they watched this movie. "Heu Dad, on the way home can we watch Wall-E?" He asked curiously, not exactly wanting to watch this movie again.

"Oh alright." Kristen said with a soft nod. Alayna and Kristen chuckled.
"I doubt they do everything together Keith." Alayna said with a shrug. Alayna looed at Kristen for a moment with a frown. "Is Maddie still sleeping?" She asked.

Ba-dum. Maddie winced and surpressed the urge to cough. It wouldn't help. Slowly, she opened her eyes, looking around her room. How had she gotten back into her room? Sitting up slowly, Maddie rubbed her head. She couldn't remember. Sighing, Maddie brushed the tears from her face. She looked at her door and frowned. She didn't want to get up, and so gently laid back down, though she couldn't sleep any longer.

"Just a week or two, that's where Vlad was last weekend, he said the situation's under control love" He sighed, "But if you want to go to London, I wont stop you" He knew that she'd want to, make sure her family was okay, he could handle the twins for a few days, especially since he knew everyone would chip in and help out.
Glancing back at Nick, Alexi smiled, "Sure thing kiddo" He said, nodding his head.
"Oo, I like Wall-E" Serena said, though it had been forever since she last saw it.
"You were watching it with Alayna the other day" She said, smiling at her twin, "And the Hyennas are scary" She grumbled, tempted to cross her arms, but that would mean letting go of Nick's hand.

"Ah, yes, but they prefer to do things together" Keith pointed out, smiling lightly. He rubbed his eyes, glancing up at Kristen with a small frown.
"Wow, I've never seen you awake before Maddie" He teased her, though like everyone else, he was worried about the little girl.

Demitri sighed, "I was just gonna go get her up" He said, darting up the stairs and into his daughter's room.
"Madison?" He said softly, sitting down on the bed, and gently shaking her shoulder, before he realized she was awake.
"It's time to get up kiddo, your cousins, Alexi and Maria will be here soon, and Uncle Vlad will be here this afternoon"

Maria shook her head gently. "I can't got without you love." She murmured softly. They had goten a bit better when it came to the sepereation pain, but Maria couldn't fathom the idea of going all the way to London.
"Maybe we can take a trip in the summer, once the children are done with school." She suggested softly.
Nick grinned, settleing back in his chair contently. He nodded gently to his sister. "Yea, but we didn't finish.." he said, glancing at the screen and smiling at the music now playing.

Kristen smirked lightly at the mention of her early wake up call. "Yes well, Maddie still isn't a hundred perecent." She murmured into her coffee cup.
alayna started at the mention of Maddie. "Was that her this morning?" She asked softly to which Kristen nodded sadily.

"I'm awake." Maddie mumbled softly as Demitri called her. She pushed the blankets away, rubbing her face gently. She nodded to Demitri and sat up in the bed.
"I'll go shower." Maddie said, sighing softly.

Alexi shrugged, "If you're really concerned love, we can go to London, the kids can miss a few days of school, it's only first grade" Alexi said reassuringly. He kissed her fingers, after rising them to his lips.
"We're here" He said in a singsong voice, pulling into Demitri's long driveway.
Serena smiled, looking at her twin, "We're here" She said, glancing up as her parents mentioned London.
"Can we?" She asked, eyes going wide as she overheard her parents.
"Maybe" Alexi responded, turning the car off as the pulled into a parking spot.

Keith sighed, "That sucks" He said softly to Kristen, glancing up as he heard a car in the driveway, "I think that we have some company" He said, laughing as he heard the familiar, excited chatting of Serena and Nick.

"Okay Maddie, hurry though, your cousins are here" Demitri called, heading back downstairs.
"She's in the shower" He said gently to Kristen.

((I'll post in like twenty minutes after a quick shower))

OOC: Okay =]

Maria chewed her lip softly to hide a smile. She loved being a vampire...Jason could handle the business, and between her and Alexi, they had plenty of money to afford an luxury they needed. Especially if that luxury was a dire need to travel to London. "That might be a good idea love." Maria murmured with a nod, smiling as they pulled up to Demitri and Kristen's house.
"Where are we going?" Nick asked, blinking as Serena snapped his attention by jumping out of the car. He unbuckled himself and jumped out after her, grinning as he looked up at the house, linking his hands behind his head.

Kristen glanced up as there was a knock on the door at the same time that the water rushed through the house upstairs. Kristen glance das Demitri came down and told her that Maddie was in the shower. "Alright." she said, going to open the door. "Zachery! Guess who's here!" Kristen called as she walked up to the front door and opened it with a grin.

Maddie sighed, rushing out of her room after Demitri and ducking into the shower. She turned on the water and instantly jumped under it, though at first, it was cold. The water eventually warmed up, and it helped Maddie relax a degree. She heard the voices downstairs...Alexi...Maria...Serena and Nick. They were here...Maddie sighed deeply, brushing her fingers through her hair before starting to wash up.

Alexi smiled, "I'll make some arrangements, we can leave by Tuesday hopefully" He said, glancing at the twins as they looked expectantly at their parents.
"We're going to London, where you're mommy used to live" Alexi said, grabbing the bag as Demitri opened the front door.
"Hey" Alexi's youngest brother called, hugging each of the twins. "How's it going?"
"Well, Maria has some exciting news" Alexi replied, winking at Maria and trailing after the twins.

Serena grinned, rocking back and forth and taking her twin's hand. "London?" She asked, looking at her dad, she had no idea where that was, just that Mommy talked about it a lot. She grinned, hugging her Uncle, "Hey" She said with a small grin, wincing as he scooped her up, causing her head to rush. "No more falling down the stairs?" Her Uncle asked, "No, no more falling" Serena agreed, laughing as her Uncle handed her to his father.

Demitri sighed, wandering back inside as Zach came running down the stairs, "Hey" Zach called out.
"Nick, wanna play video games? Mom said we could" He immediately asked his cousin, looking up at Serena as Alexi set her down. Serena made a face, tugging on her mother's shirt lightly.
"I don't like video games" She whispered in her mom's ear.

"Tuesday? Alexi, I need to talk to Carlos first." Maria murmured, looking up at him worriedly. If there were territoy issues that made Vlad leave the country, then it was a little more then serious. Keith was a strong vampire, not just in influence but overall. Him are Carlos alone were a force to be reckoned with, not to include the few younger vampires they had working under them.
She smiled as Demitri opened the front door and she rolled her eyes at Alexi. "Does a potiential plan to visit London count as exciting?" Maria asked, walking into the house. She looked down as Serena tugged her hand and she sighed.
"I know Mia, why don't you wait and see if Maddie will play with you?" Maria asked softly.

Nick glanced up as Zach came in and he grinned at the thought of video games. "Yea!" he said eagerly, about to run off with his cousin before he realized Serena wasn't following. "You sure you don't wanna try?" he asked. Whenever they were allowed to play video games, it was usually on the Wii, and the games were designed for multipler players.

"Serena you can go in the playroom if you want." Kristen said. "Maddie's in the shower, so she'll be a few minutes." Kristen explained softly. Alayna walked out from the kicthen then, smiling lightly at Maria and Alexi.
"Layna!" Nick greeted, smiling. "Can we draw later?" he asked.
"Of course." Alayna said with a nod.

"London?" Demitri asked, arching an eyebrow and glancing at Serena with a small smile.
"Sounds very exciting" He said, grinning at Maria, "When?" He asked, glancing at Alexi.
"Soon, Carlos still hasn't met the twins, and we figured that they can always catch up in school" He said with a casual shrug, glancing down at the still hesitant Serena.
"Don't worry kiddo, they won't play long" He reassured his daughter.

Serena shook her head at Zach and Nick, "No, I don't like them" She insisted stubbornly, glancing at Kristen before nodding quietly. She frowned, but wandered down the hall, heading for the playroom. Sitting down on the floor, she picked up an easier puzzle of Maddie's, and dumped the pieces on the floor, before beginning to attempt to put it together.

Alexi sighed, "We'll figure it out love, the issues aren't that bad. By underground, I ment caught up in what's going on, not in hiding" He said, smiling at Keith and Alayna as he dropped the twins' bag on the couch.
"So, how's everyone here?" He asked, arching an eyebrow, Kristen looked tired, Demitri stressed, and that in itself, was never a good sign.

Maria sighed deeply as Alexi explained the context of the term 'underground.' "You Europeans, using the same words with a different meaning." Maria murmured softly, shaking his head, though she looked greatly relieved. She watched as the boys ran off with Serena, and Maria glanced back at Kristen and Demitri when Alexi asked how everyone was.
"Somethings amiss..." Maria murmured. "Where's our bouncing ball of sunshine?" Maria asked softly, referring to Maddie usually positive disposition and botomless enegery.

Kristen heard the water shutting off as she flopped down onto a couch. "Just getting out of the shower..." she murmured with a half smile that meant Maddie wasn't her usual self. Maria glanced at Alayna and Keith was a small nod.
"Maddie still out of sorts?" Maria asked as she sat down across from Kristen.
"Out of sorts is putting it mildly..." Kristen murmured, glancing up at Demitri, wondering if they should explain what Zach had told them this morning.

Demitri caught Kristen's eye and shrugged, she could tell if she wanted to. Rubbing his eyes, he flopped down on the couch, "Not a whole has been going on, Zach was sick the other day, thanks to one of his friend's mothers" Demitri said, watching Alexi grimace.
"Yea? That's awful" Alexi said, shaking his head and shrugging, "Yea, but obviously he's much better now" Demitri said, listening to the boy's, who were in Zach's bedroom where the Wii was set up from when he was sick.
"Serena doing better?"

Serena sighed, rubbing her face, slightly frusturated. She was annoyed, beyond annoyed, she didn't like puzzles, but she didn't know where Maddie was, and she hated video games. Sighing, the little girl put the puzzle away, before wandering off, thinking that she might have more fun on the small playset outside. She pushed open the backdoor, after telling her mother where she was going, and climbed the ladder for the slide. Sitting at the top, she pushed off, laughing as she went down. Yes, this was much more fun.

Maria frowned, looking between Kristen and Demitri, seeing the look they shared, but not knowing what they meant by it. Hearing what Demitri was saying about Zach, Maria shook her head.
"Didn't the woman know about Zach's sensistive stomach?" Maria asked.
"Oh she did. But apparently she had been under the impression that her homemade soup wouldn't upset him." Kristen said, shaking her head. "The woman wasn't exactly open to suggestions about that opinion. But yea, he's better now." Kristen said.

Alayna glanced up as she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. Maddie emerged, blonde hair still wet, but curly. Half was up out of her face while the rest curled at her back. She had pulled on a loose pair of jeans and a blue tank top which made her eyes look all the more dark and gray. As she stopped at the last step, she looked up at Maria and Alexi with a small smile.
"Hi." she said softly, looking like that lost child that Maria and Alexi had saved three years ago.

Kristen nodded at the backdoor when she saw Maddie. "Serena's outside. She's been waiting for you. Why don't you go play for a bit?" Kristen asked. Maddie simply nodded and turned to walk outside.
"Hey Serena." Maddie called as she walked down the steps of the back patio towards the playground.

Alexi was definately shocked by Maddie. "Oh hey kiddo" He said, watching her wander outside.
"She doesn't have to play with Serena if she's not up to it" He protested, "She looks so out of it" He commented, "Yea, we know" Demitri said softly, "Don't worry" He said, "She doesn't have to play with her, she probably wants to" He said, glancing at Kristen.
"Maybe you should see if Maddie's hungry, she hasn't eaten yet" He muttered.

Serena glanced up, "Hey Maddie" She smiled, though it faltered when she saw her cousin.
"You okay? You look like Nick does when mom finds out he didn't do his homework" She teased, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes tiredly.
She climbed onto the swing, going back and forth, before jumping off and stumbling. Laughing, she glanced at Maddie, "Do you wanna play a game?" She asked, eyes curious.

"Did something happen at school?" Maria asked the moment she heard the backdoor close. She knew there were occasions where Maddie had gotten into trouble, and been in a sour mood. Though...they were never this sever.
"No, that's what I had thought at first, but it's nothing to do with school." Kristen murmured. Looking at Alexi, Kristen waved a hand gently. "She just needs some distraction. If she's hungry she'll come back inside." Kristen murmured; their daughter had started growing independent of her parents in some aspects, and choosing when she eated was one of them.


Maddie tried to give a light smile at Serena to reassure her cousin, though it wasn't a hundered percent convincing. "I'll be fine." she said to Serena, walking over to the swings and sitting down for a moment. She cursed quietly as she rubbed her forehead before watching Serena.
"Sure, what kind of game?" Maddie asked, tilting her head curiously.

Alexi sighed, "That's tough" He muttered, shaking his head, "Well, Serena's a bit of a handful" He said, "I mean, if Maddie's not feeling to good, she might be a bit much for her" He muttered, looking at Maria with a small grin. He sighed, shaking his head and glanced around, taking Maria's hand and rubbing her fingers lightly.
"Do you wanna try Carlos again? Vlad should have a number you can reach him at, when he gets here of course" He said softly to her.

Serena sighed, sitting down in the sand and shrugging lightly.
"I dunno" She admitted, "Nick and Zach are playing video games" She said, pulling a face. She looked at her cousin, playing absentmindedly in the sand, a small on her face.
"We could build a castle" She suggested, nodding at Zach and Maddie's sand toys. She sighed, rubbing her head softly, it was starting to hurt again. She bit her lip, not wanting everyone to worry about her, though she was sure that Nick would be rushing out here any second.

Kristen sighed. "Its not that Maddie is ill..." she murmured, sitting forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She ran her finger over her lips as she stared thoughtfully at the table.
"You worry me when you do that Kristen..." Alayna murmured, watching the shifter intently. Kristen glanced at Demitri and sighed; she couldn't find an easy way to say it...
"We think Maddie's bonded with someone..." Kristen said softly.

Maria nodded gently to Alexi. "I'll as him when he arrives." She murmured. Her atention was snapped back to Kristen, hearing the words tumbling forward. Maria's eye went wide and she shifted back a little.
"You...your serious?" Maria asked softly, looking worried now.


Maddie winced as her forehead throbbed again, though for her, it felt ten times worse since it was radiating from Serena and her twin. Maddie had to constantly remind herself of the twins connection. Pushing aside Nick's sudden worry so the boy could enjoy the video games, Maddie smiled lightly at Serena.
"Sure." She said, grabbing a few toys before joining Serena in the sand box. "Your head's still bothering you?" Maddie asked gently as she handed her cousin a bucket. "I'm sory I left my puzzle in the hallway."

Demitri wrapped his arms around Kristen, "Yea, the pain she's describing is exactly like the bonding" He said, looking pointedly at Maria and Alexi.
"Oh gods" Alexi breathed, "That poor little girl, and you have no idea who?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and looking at Maria with wide eyes.
"None" Demitri said softly, "And even if we did, what could we do? Demand they stay here all the time to prevent our child from suffering?"
Alexi sighed, "What a problem" He said, shaking his head and wincing.

Serena glanced at Maddie, "It's okay" She said, "It's not your fault, it's mine. I shouldn't have been running that fast" She muttered, rubbing her head again, almost angrily.
"Uncle Sven says I have a concussion, but I don't even know what that is" She said, beginning to fill the bucket with sand.
"It bugs me a lot, I wish it didn't, or at least, I wish Nick didn't feel it, he gets so worried, and then mom and dad get worried" Serena said, shaking her head and sighing, sounding like an exasperated adult for a moment.