1x1 with x_fire

Serena rubbed her eyes, looking from her twin to her Uncle. She didn't undersand the concept of people made out of wax, not at all. She rubbed her eyes again.
"That's just weird" She muttered, "Are we going to see them?" She asked, twisting around to look at her dad.
"You betcha" Alexi said, "But first, I think you and Nick need to go clean up" He muttered, shaking his head. Serena glanced down, smiling lightly.
"Okay" She said, hopping up, glancing over her shoulder to double check that Nick was coming. She didn't feel comfortable leaving the room without knowing where he was.

"Well, I think we can safely rule sleepovers out" Alexi muttered, shaking his head and watchig the twins wander off.
"Its fairly intesne, watching them, isn't it?" He asked Carlos, watching his friend and brother in law as he watched the twins.

Demitri sighed, "Maddie..." He knew she was taking all of this the wrong way, to the extreme.
"Well, if Madison will stop starting fights, we can allow her to remain at this school" Professor Knight said softly.
"What about defending herself?" Demitri asked, "I don't want her getting beat up because she doesn't have the permission to defend herself" Demitri asked, looking at him with a small sigh.
"She can defend herself, but she can't start it. We would never deny a student the right to defend themselves" He responed.
"So you're going to allow an obvious dangerous child to remain at this school?" Alice hissed, glowering at Maddie.
"Madison is not dangerous, she did what she believed was right, and I personally, am proud to have a daughter who understand what's right and wrong" Demitri snapped, "She knew what your son was doing was wrong, and stood up to him. I can only hope Zach will follow in his sister's footsteps" He hissed.
"Are we done here?" He glanced at the Principal.
"Yes, I need to speak to the Kent's about Taylor's bullying, and Zach has been effectively moved to a new class"
"What the half-breed can't take a teasing?" Taylor pipped up, smirking at Maddie.

Nick sighed, not exactly wanting to move, but seeing that Alexi wanted them clean and Serena wouldn't leave without him, Nick slid from his mother's lap. He took Serena's hand reassuringly with a soft yawn before leading her back up the stairs where their room and the bathroom was.

Carlos watched with that critcal eye that Maria had always known him to have. He was almost studying the children, though that didn't strike Maria as odd; that was just how Carlos was. He found something intriguing in everything, or everyone.
"It is remarkable for them to have suck a strong connection at such early ages." Carlos mused with a nod. "I can only assume the conneciton with undoubtable strengthen as they do."

"I won't start them." Maddie promised. Kristen smiled lightly, though she glared across the table at the protest of them leaving. Hearing Demitri handle it though, Kristen clamped her mouth shut. If she wasn't careful, she would reveal how Maddie gained such a temper and impulsive reactions.
"I wish you could say the same." Kristen said, standing up as the Principle announced that they were no longer needed in the room. Hearing Taylor pipe up at the last minute, to Kristen, only strengthed Maddie's argument, but could also hurt her. Kristen glanced at the mother with raised eyebrows, before down at Taylor, sideglancing at Maddie.
The girl's jaw clenched for a moment, but Maddie sighed deeply and gave a sardonic smile.
"Friends, tease and a friend you most certaintely are not." Maddie said as she stood up slowly, putting her good hand on the table to help herself. "So that leaves you as an enemy, and a coward for bullying and insulting a good person for absouletly no reason." Maddie said tightly, giving Taylor a triumphant smirk. "You have a nice day." she added before turning from the family and walking towards the door.

Alexi smirked, "Most likely, like I said, it took us forever to get them to sleep in other beds" He said, "Maria, do you wanna go make sure they actually clean up? Or shall I?" He asked, rubbing a hand over his face. The twins could be easily distracted, and it could be fairly problematic to get them to shower and what not.

Serena smiled at Nick, "You don't have to come" She muttered, though she was glad he did. Trotting down the hall, Serena and Nick landed back in their bedroom, "You wanna shower first?" Serena asked, going into the washroom to brush her teeth. She needed to shower, she knew that, but her twin could go first if he wanted.

Demitri snapped his mouth shut. "Personally, I think that your mouth is going to get you in a lot of trouble one day Taylor, trouble that your parents will not be able to protect you from" He said, shaking his head and resting a hand on Maddie's shoulder, though he smiled at her lightly.
"Are you threatening my son?" Mark asked, "No, I'm cautioning him" Demitri said, his eyes arched, "But, you sir, I can threaten, so, please don't forget who owns the company you currently work at" He said, shaking his head and following Kristen and Maddie out of the room.
"Shall we go home? Maddie, I think that you deserve to pick where we're going to grab lunch" He said, picking the little girl up and setting her on his shoulders. He knew that she was grounded, but she had done good, and he was proud of her.

"Huh...very curious." Carlos murmured softly, nodding gently in agreement to Alexi. "And Maria told me over the phone that they've already shown strong personality traits." Carlos said with a small smirk.
"I'll go love." Maria said, seeing that the men were talking. She stood up gracefully and left the room, going up the stairs effortlessly and rounding the corner towards the childrens room. Hearing the water running in the bathroom, Maria nodded before peeking into the room. Seeing Nick sleeping on the bed, she frowned, but didn't bother him; it was probably just jet lag from the plane trip.

"You can go." Nick mumbled, yawning again as he reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste. It seemed that while they were asleep, their parents had unpacked most of their things already. He brushed his teeth quickly before spitting the froth into the sink, rinsing his mouth and drying his face. He then walked back towards their room, wanting to get another quick cat nap while Serena showered.

Kristen nodded thankfully to the Principle before following Maddie out of the room. She shook her head as she closed the door again, a somewhat sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. If she ever saw that man or woman out on the streets...
Maddie growled once they were out in the open. "I can still 'defend' myself if I see Taylor outside of school right?" she asked, blue eyes flashing dangerously as she allowed herself to deal with all the emotions she had just been forced to swallow like a bad dose of medicine.
"Maddie, baby steps." Kristen murmured, though she wouldn't put it past her daughter--or herself really--if they ran into Taylor and his parents outside of school. Maddie sighed deeply, rubbing her face with her good hand before looking down at Demitri. She smiled, his pride hepling her mood greatily. Maddie chewed her lip thoughtfully at the mention of lunch.
"Can Vlad come over for lunch if he's not too busy. I need to talk to him, and I'm not that hungry..." Maddie said carefully and somewhat quietly. Kristen sighed, glancing at Demitri; it was his call on this one, and judging on how well Maddie handled herself just now, Kristen guessed Demitri would be making a phone call.

Alexi smirked, "Very much so" He sighed, "Serena's a bit OCD actually, and Nick's extremely protective over her, almost to the point of us needing to sit him down and explain that not everyone is going to attack her" He said, watching Maria go, and laughing a bit.
"Any more questions? You'll figure out them pretty quick, though, don't be to surprised if Nick does bite you, he tends to do that if you grab Serena" He held up his own hand, chuckling at the tiny fang marks.

Serena nodded, "Okay" She said, rubbing her eyes and slipping into the washroom to shower quickly. She slipped out, seeing her mother, "Hey" She said, glancing at Nick and seeing he was asleep.
"Are you gonna do my hair?" She asked her mom, dressing quickly in a pair of jeans, some tiny Uggs her mother had gotten her and a black longsleeve shirt with a white zip up hoodie over top.

Demitri sighed, "I'll call him Madison, but he's very busy" He muttered, it was true, he was extremely busy lately, him and Sven, trying to sort out this bonding thing.
"Where do you want to go for lunch, or should we go pick up Zach first?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at his daughter and setting her down. He was trying to be nice here, but it seemed neither Maddie nor Kristen were in the mood to return the favor. He glanced at Kristen, "I have to go to work tonight" He grumbled, sliding into the car, his expression bleak. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he started the SUV, texting his brother. He didnt want to call him, not when Maddie could overhear.

Carlos laughed softly and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ah, that comes from Maria's side of the family I'm afraid." he murmured. "Being overprotective and whatnot. I would assure you that it gets better, but that would be lieing and then what kind of brother-in-law would that make me?" Carlos asked, laughing softly at the small bite marks on Alexi's hand. He stood up slowly then to stretch and sighed.
"At least you'll know she'll never get into trouble." Carlos said with a small smirk.


"Nicholas darling, wake up." Maria murmured softly, shaking the boy as Serena came out from the shower.
"Hmm?" Nick grumbled, gasping as he was woken up. Opening his eyes, he yawned before seeing Serena. Right. Shower. Getting up slowly, Nick slid from the bed and strugged off towards the bathroom.
"Yes mi amor. Come here." Maria murmured in soft spanish, finding Serena's brush with her clothes and siting on her bed. Maria patted the coushin in front of her for Serena to sit down so she could brush her daughter's hair.

Kristen gave Demitri a light smile, leaning over as he put Maddie down to kiss his cheek gently. Hearing that he would be going into work tonight, Kristen sighed but nodded as she climbed into the car, Maddie going into the back seat.
"We should probably get Zach." Maddie said as she buckled herself in. Looking at Demitri, Maddie gave a light smile. "Can we go to A&W?" she asked quietly, kicking her feet lightly while she was in the car.

Alexi smirked, "Knowing Serena, and Maria, I'm positive that she'll still get into a enough trouble to drive her brother nuts" He teased, shaking his head.
"It's more so with them though, Nick and Serena feel eachothers' pain, it's not pleasent. Serena had, well still has, a concussion, and Nick was sick because of it" He said, running his fingers through his hair, looking mildly exahusted.

Serena sighed, and sat down in front of her mother, shaking her head and immediately grabbing her horse stuffie, she hated having her hair brushed, but she knew her mother had to do it. She sighed, glancing at her mother lightly, "When are we leaving?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and sighing, "To go downtown I mean"

Demitri sighed, "Sure, I suppose so, if Zach can have A&W" He said, glancing at Kristen, "Sorry, but I had to postpone some meetings till tonight, due to this school thing" He said to Kristen, taking off towards the house.
"Maddie, Vlad can't come for lunch, but he said he'll come over to the house later tonight, okay?" He asked, reading the text as he started towards the house. He texted Keith as well, letting him know they were coming home to pick up Zach.

Carlos looked over Alexi thoughtfully. "Could slay lions and tigers, never thought anything else in the world would be so trying huh?" Carlos asked, noticing how tired Alexi was and knowing it came from parenting. The fact that Alexi and two unique children only added to the fact.
"Oh right, the trip and fall down the stairs, Maria told me. She seems much better though now. Guess they've picked up the fast healing somewhat?" Carlos asked curiously.

Maria gently ran the brush from the bottom of Serena's curly hair. She gather the blonde locks into her hand to minimize the straing on her daughters scalp as she worked out the knots that never ceased to accumulate in Serena's hair.
"As soon as your brother is ready to leave." Maria said, wondering if she should attempt to tame Serena's hair into a braid for the day.

Kristen chewed her lip thoughtfully. "A&W..." she murmured, rubbing her lips. "He might be able to stomach a chicken sandwhich, that's not as greasy as the kids burgers...." she said quietly, almost thinking out loud.
Maddie sighed gently, leaning back against the seat. Taking a deep breath, Maddie closed her eyes visualizing the project she had been working on.
can we block other people from feeling out emotions?
Well, that depends...are they emotion readers?
...sort of..
That makes it a bit more difficult. You'd have to focus all your ties into a net a tight one that wont let any of your emotions through. And you'd have to concentrate all the time...
Maddie's eyes opened at the mention of Vlad. Hearing that he would be over later tonight, Maddie chewed her lip. So he wasn't completely avoding her..."Ok. Thank you." Maddie mumbled.

Alexi smirked, "Who would have thunk it, lions, tigers, and legions of insane romans" He chuckled, "And two six year olds wear me out" He chuckled, shaking his head and glancing at Carlos.
"Yea, a bit, nothing close to the speed of a normal vampire, but not human healing" He said, "She's still got a bit of a bump, and if she hits her head again, she'll be sick again" He said, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes.

Serena nodded, wincing a bit, though she tired her best to sit still. She glanced at her mother again, "What are you gonna do?" She asked, her mother loved doing people's hair, and Maddie always let her, Serena, she preferred a ponytail, though Maria insisted on braids a lot of the time. She shifted a bit, beginning to grow a bit anxious, she sucked at sitting still for long periods.

Demitri sighed, "Lovely" Fast food was never good for Zach, and it was a constant struggle between the kids. Whenever Maddie got to choose lunch, it was fast food, and Zach always got sick from it, and then they would fight.
"Well, we can give it a go" He said, smiling lightly as he turned into the driveway. Keith and Zach were outside which meant no one had to get out of the car. Sighing, Zach ran over, hopping in the backseat.
"Where are we going?" He asked.

Carlos chuckled in agreement with a small nod. "They'll only be this young once though, so enjoy it." Carlos said, patting Alexi's shoulder strongily. Hearing that Serena would get sick again if she hit her head, Carlos sighed and frowned thoughtfully.
"It'll be difficult to keep her away from stairs, or obvious reasons-" Carlos murmured, as there was a staircase in the house. "But I'm certain she'll be fine between you me and her brother." Carlos said.

Nick rubbed his face with the towel once he was done getting dressed in his own jeans and a plain blue shirt that had a lego dude on the front. He walked out of the bathroom barefooted, towel drying his hair as he walked into his and Serenas bedroom.
"Hmm, I'll let you have it up today." Maria murmured softly, pulling Serena's hair effortlessly into a ponytail as Serena always demanded.
"Feeling better?" Maria asked, seeing Nick.
"Yea, a bit." Nick murured with a soft nod.

"If he doesn't want to eat, I'll made him a fruit salad when we get back home." Kristen murmured, knowing Keith would leaving soon, and Kristen didn't like the idea of the children staying home by themselves.
"To get lunch." Maddie murmured quietly, her. Eyes still closed as she leaned back in her chair. Flexing her fingers gently, Maddie winced, though it was getting better.

Alexi laughed, "She'll be fine, a night of throwing up made her consider taking it easy" He said with a small chuckle, glancing up as Serena and Maria came out, closely followed by Nick.
"Well look at this, who took away my grubby kids and replaced them with these?" He teased.
"Daddy" Serena whined, shaking her head, pony tail bouncing, blond bangs falling into her eyes. She had side cut bangs, and though her hair was curly, it was more wavy then insane curls.

Serena smirked, bouncing into the room, and immediately going to sit with her Uncle. SHe made room for Nick, figuring he'd come sit by her anyway.
"Are we going to see the wax people soon?" She asked, looking up at her Uncle.

Zach rubbed his eyes.
"Oh" He muttered, "A&W" Demitri calrifyed. Zach nodded, glancing out the window, wondering why everyone in his family was so grumpy.
"So, you and Keith have fun?" Demitri asked, smiling lightly.
"We had fun, he built Lego with me" He said, looking at Maddie, half wondering if she'd yell at him again.

Carlos chuckled. "That'll teach alright." he agreed with a nod. Seeing Maria come back downstairs with Serena and Nick, Carlos nodded in agreement to Alexi.
"It's like I'm meeting two new children!" he exclaimed, collasping back down into the sofa. When Serena came to sit next to him, Carlos tossed his arm over the back of the chair.
"Aren't you a stunning young lady." Carlos said, tapping Serena's nose playfully.

Nick seemed more awake now and he smirked as Serena moved over to let him sit down. He walked over with a soft yawn and scrambled up onto the couch, leaning agaisnt Serena slightly. Carlos glanced up at Maria with a small curious look at Nick's slight exhaustion.
"Jet leg." Maria said with a shrug.
"Wax people?" Nick asked, looking up then.


Maddie smiled lightly at her brother, seeing the look on her brothers face. She had been in a bad mood earlier, but now she was a bit better. At least she wouldn't be expelled from the school, and she had Demitri and Kristen's approval about the situation. Even though the mention of Taylor would make her blood boil, Maddie considered everything over. She just had to keep her anger down, and she would be fine.
"If you don't want to eat fast food Zach, I'll make you a fruit salad when we get back home." Kristen said softly, glancing over her seat at him with a soft smile.

Serena smiled up at her Uncle, curling against his side as Nick came and leaned against her's. She glanced up as her twin mentioned the wax people. and she nodded, excitedly. She rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit tired from Nick's own exahustion. She smiled, "Are we gonna go see them?" She asked, looking around at everyone.

Alexi smirked, "Yes, yes, we're going" He grumbled, standing up and grinning at the twins.
"Are you gonna come love?" he asked Maria, she had mentioned wanting to see some friends, and he was fine with her going to do that while him and Carlos took the twins to the Wax Museum.

Zach nodded, "Can I just have french fries?" He asked, glancing from his mother to father.
"Sure" Demitri knew Zach would probably have some pop, sprite probably, as well, he seemed to be able to stomach that better then milk, that was for sure.
Demitri sighed, turning the car into the local A&W, sliding from the car to help Zach out while Kristen and Maddie headed inside.

"Mom?" Nick asked quietly as Carlos stood up with Alexi, picking up Serena in the process with a soft laugh.
"It's intriguing really; to see that the humans have shaped these life-sized people completely out of wax." Carlos explained in his soft accent.
Maria smiled at Nick, kissing his forehead gently. "Go have fun with your uncle and father. I'll be here when you get back." she promised. Nick sighed and nodded before following after Carlos, who was walking out to the car with his sister.

Maddie jumped out from the car eagerily as Demitri pulled up into the fast-food parking lot. Kristen chuckled and followed after her daughter while Demitri helped Zach. Pushing the door aside, Kristen sighed as Maddie bounced in line to order.
"So what do you want?" Kristen asked, patting Maddie's curly hair down as she glanced up at the menu.
"Cheese burger and fries?" Maddie asked softly.
"What to drink?" Kristen murmured as they stepped forward.
"Is there apple juice? I don't like soda..." Maddie mumbled; Zach liked the fizzy drinks, but Maddie didn't like the bubbles.
"How about lemonaid?" Kristen asked, and Maddie nodded in agreement. So Kristen stepped forward to put forth the order; her russian was getting better the more she worked at it, so ordering wasn't too difficult without Demitri.

Serena gasped, wrapping her arms aroung Carlos' neck as he picked her up. She glanced at their mother, a bit surprised that she wasn't coming, but nodded and rested her head on Carlos' shoulder.
"Bye Mommy" She said, smiling as she let Carlos carry her, enjoying being close to her Uncle. Like Nick, she instantly liked him, and it was nice getting to know someone who was just for her and Nick. She always saw Alexi's brothers, her other Uncles as being shared, and often she didn't get a lot of time with them, with Carlos, it seemed different.

Demitri smiled, sliding in as Zach whispered to his mother that he wanted a sprite and some fries.
"Come on, lets get a table" Demitri said to the kids, scooping Maddie up and Zach as well, and carrying them over to the table.
"Hows this?" He asked, both kids loved booths for some reason, so he had picked one near the window, a small smile on his face.

"Bye mommy." Carlos echoed with a soft laugh as Maria rolled her eyes and saw them to the door. She watched them as Alexi settled Nick and Serena into the back seat of the truck. She seemed to be reminded of something, and held up a hand for Carlos to wait from starting the car. Carlos frowned, glancing at Alexi with a raised eyebrow of a question as Maria darted back into the house.
She came back then with a bag for Alexi. She merely nodded to the children in the backseat as an explination.
"They'll get hungry soon." Maria murmured before kissing Alexi's cheek softly, smiling and walking back into the house.

"Are the wax people far?" Nick asked as Carlos got into the car. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, smiling apologetically to his twin before out the window.


"Sure thing buddy." Kristen said, also ordering Zach fries and a sprite, handing over her card while Demitri took the kids to find a booth.
Maddie laughed in surprised excitement as Demitri picked her up. She hugged him gently before being put down in a booth, slidding all the way over to the inside. She bounced lightly on the coushins as she looked around curiously.
"It's good." Maddie said with a soft smile.
A few minutes later, Kristen came around with the tray of food. She handed Maddie her meal, and Zach his fries and spirte before sitting down with her own small meal. "Need anything?" Kristen murmured, since she had grabbed ketchup. Maddie nodded and took a small packet to put on her cheeseburger.

Alexi smirked, "Think of them as newborns when it comes to food" He muttered to Carlos, smiling as Maria kissed him.
"See you later love" He muttered, sliding into the passanger seat and checking on the twins.
"It's not to far" He reassured, rubbing a hand over his face and glancing at Carlos.
"Anywhere else you want to show them?" He asked, rubbing his eyes lightly, before looking out the window, admiring London, he hadn't been here in nearly two hundred years, and was amazed at how much it had changed.

Serena glanced at her twin, "How far?" She asked, neither twin looked up to spending hours in the car again, especially after the extremely long plane ride. Serena kicked her feet, smiling lightly and glancing around, trying to take in all the sights.

Demitri smiled, sliding into the booth next to Maddie, Zach and Kristen on the other side.
"Thanks Mom" Zach said, opening the ketchup and putting some down next to his fries. He tentitively picked one up, dipping it in hte ketchup and took a bite.
Demitri sat back, shaking his head and glancing around, hs arm draped loosely over the back of the chair, his fingers gently trailing Maddie's shoulder, though he was to zoned out to really notice.

"Oh heavens help us." Carlos sighed with a smirk as he slipped into the drivers seat. He started the truck and pulled out of the parking spot, heading down the street. Glancing back at the kids, Carlos smiled lightly in reassurance.
"It's not far at all. Hardly twenty minutes, we just have to pass the bridge." Carlos said with a small wink. Glancing over at Alexi, Carlos looked thoughtfull at the vampires curious gaze around the scenery.
"Ah, that's right...the last time you visted merry little London was when the bridge was being finished wasn't it?" Carlos asked softly with a chuckle.

"Twenty minutes..." Nick murmured softly with a soft nod, looking out the window curiously as well. Nick newminutes were much shorter then hours, so twenty minutes was much shorter than the eight hour flight they had had to endure to get here.
He glanced up as Carlos turned, and the developments seemed to just pull back, revealing the biggest bridge and widest lake that Nick had ever seen. "Whoa!" Nick gasped quietly, sitting up to look out the front window at the bridge.

"Your welcome." Kristen said. "And if you start to feel funny, stop eating." she warned quietly. "I don't want you getting sick again alright?" she asked, kissing the top of his head gently before digging into her own chicken sandwhich and fries.
Maddie shuddered lightly, having been focused on her meal not to realize that it was Demitri's fingers that were cold against her shoulder. She looked at her shoulder, but then seeing Demitri's hand, she relaxed a bit, going back to her meal.

Alexi glanced at Carlos, nodding.
"Two hundred years I believe" He said, rubbing his eyes and grinning at his friend. He glanced back, looking at the twins, laughing lightly.
"It's big huh?" He asked, smirking at the size of their eyes.
"They've never seen anything like this before, a visit to the London Eye might be in order, the view of the River and the Bridge is amazing I here" He said, looking curiously at Carlos.

Serena squrimed, trying to see the bridge better.
"It's huge" She said, looking at her father, rubbing her eyes and glancing at her twin.
She rubbed her eyes, a small smile playing over her features as she began to play with the tip of her pony tail.

Zach glanced at his mom, nodding lightly.
"Okay" He agreed, nibbling the tip of a french fry. He glanced at Maddie, she looked happy, a lot happier then he had seen her in awhile. He took a sip of his drink, enjoying the fizzing of the bubbles on his tounge and as they ran down his throat. Giggling, he looked at his father, who had turned to arch an eyebrow at him.
"What's so funny?" Demitri asked.
"Tickles"

"Mmm, right..." Carlos mused gently, nodding to himself. He slowed down along with the rest of traffic with a calming sigh. Traffic on this bridge was always ridculous due to the tourists who attemped to take pictures while driving.
"The London Eye eh? I'm assuming they don't have the Draq fear of electronic carts and extreme hights then?" Carlos teased with a smirk.

Nick was still gawking at the mammoth bridge. Hearing about a london eye, Nick frowned. "London has an eye?" he asked, wide awake now though slightly confused as he looked between Carlos and Alexi.

"Soda's a carbonated drink." Maddie mummbled.
"So it fizzes." Kristen said with a chuckle at Zach. "You like that huh?" she asked curiously, taking a small sip from her own coke.
Maddie smirked and shook her head, munching on a french fry. She sighed as her head pounded lightly, but she guessed that was from the stress of earlier.
"All finished Maddie?" Kristen asked quietly, since she was and her trash was piled up on the tray. Maddie nodded and put her trash on the tray as well.
"Zach?" Kristen asked as she stepped out from the booth to throw the trash away.

Alexi laughed softly, "No, they don't" He said, "I figure you can take them up, while I sit and watch" He murmured with a small grin. He glanced back at Nick, "No, no, the London Eye is a giant ferris wheel type thing. It's right by the River, and you go up in these big glass globes, and look at everything" He explained to his son.

Serena perked up a bit, though she was ignoring the conversation, caught up in the sight of the huge River and all the traffic. It wasn't like this back home, this crowded.
"Where's mom?" She asked, wondering why her mother hadn't come with them" She curled up, sliding her thumb into her mouth.

Zach glanced up, "All done" He said, though he was still sipping his drink. He glanced at his Dad, whom was chuckling. He knew his dad didn't eat, but he still had no concept of how old his dad really was.
"You've never tried it?" He asked, looking at his dad, wide eyed.
"Nope" Demitri said, shaking his head as Zach offered him his drink.
"S'okay Kiddo, I don't like the taste of human food"

Carlos chuckled. "Once again, Lions, Tigers and Legions." he said with a grin, shaking his head gently. He managed to get off the bridge and sighed.
"The Eye first or the Wax musem?" Carlos asked as the traffic slowed down again.

"Oh..." Nick said with a soft sigh, sitting back down in his seat for a moment as the bridge passed by his window.
"Whoa!" Nick gasped, seeing Big Ben framed in his glass window then. "Is everything here so big?!" Nick asked curiously.
Carlos laughed softly at Nick's question. "Just mostly, though not everything. And your mother stayed home to invited some of her girls over for tea." Carlos explained.

Kristen nodded before taking the trash off. Maddie tilted her head curiously at Zach and his drink.
"And that doesn't bother your stomach?" Maddie asked curiously. She glanced at Demitri with a small smile; she knew why Demitri didn't like human food, but they hadn't fully explained the vampire traits to Zach yet. He didn't realize how he could do things other vampires couldn't.
"So we're finished?" Kristen asked, looking from Zach to Maddie and Demitri.

Alexi stuck his tounge out at Carlos, playfully of course.
"I'd say wax museum, it's longer" He murmured, "They're going to get a kick out of the fact that they can touch the statues, and take pictures with them" Maria had handed him the camera, with express orders to take pictures of the twins and pretty much anything they did.

Serena's eyes grew huge as she saw big ben, a small smile on her face. She glanced back at her Uncle, "Mommy doesn't drink tea.." She pointed out, smirking logically at her Uncle. Serena and Nick were fully uptodate on all the vampire stuff, thanks to their parents and Uncles.


Zach glanced at his sister, "No, cause it doesn't have a strong taste, it's just bubbly" He murmured, shaking his head and nodding to his mother.
"I'm ready" He said, sliding off the booth and tossing his now empty drink into the trash.
"Bubbly?" Demitri snorted, "I'm ready" He said, moving out of the way so Maddie could get free.

Carlos nodded in agreement, turning down a side-street as soon as he could to avoid the main roads. "One thing I love about being in this city for so long; I know all the short cuts." Carlos said with a grin. "We'll get there in no time at all." Carlos said. He heard Serena, and glanced back at her through the review mirror.
"Oh? Well fancy that the girl has a smidge of sense." Carlos teased.

"Hey, what about me?" Nick asked, though he had to think a moment through his uncles thick British accent.
Carlos laughed and shook his head. "Of course you're just as brilliant Nicholas." Carlos assured, turning down another side street that the truck seemed to barely fit down before turning back onto a main street. Carlos had completely bypassed most of the Bridge traffic though.

Maddie nodded thoughtfully. She glanced up as Demitri stepped out of the booth, and she followed after him out of her seat and sighed. Strentching, Maddie grumbled something softly, rubbing her shoulder and then her sore hand. It wasn't wrapped, but still bruised and her cut was scabbed and her knuckles were still aching.
Kristen smiled, taking Zach's hand gently, letting him keep his soda in case he wasn't completely finished. Walking out of the resturant, Kristen sighed deeply, looking up at the sky. She tilted her head curiously for a moment. "Looks like it might rain..." Kristen murmured thoughtfully.

Alexi smirked, "Good thing you know the shortcuts" He teased Carlos, glancing back at the twins.
"Well, your mother is just having some old friends over to catch up. Having tea is just a British expression" He explained to Serena, before looking at the twins again.
"Are you two hungry? You have to eat before we can go inside" He said, digging in the bag to see what Maria had packed.

Serena nodded, "Our teacher says Nick and I are the smartest kids in class" She said smugly, glancing at her Uncle, before back at her father.
"Yea" She said, accepting the bottle he handed her and carefully unscrewing the cap. She sipped lightly, wrinkling her nose, it tasted stale.

Zach took his mother's hand, looking a bit zoned out as she led him to the car.
Demitri glanced down, "You okay?" He asked Maddie, smiling lightly at her and wrapping an around her as they walked to the car. Once at the SUV, he unlocked it, sliding into the driver's seat as Kristen helped Zach get settled.
"I'll take my car tonight, in case you have to take them anywhere" He muttered to Kristen, figuring if he wasn't around, she might take the kdis to dinner or the movies, which she did occasionally if he had to work late.