1x1 with x_fire

Kristen smiled in slight understanding before walking back inside. While Vlad went downstairs, Kristen slipped into the kitchen. Like Demitri, Kristen honestly hated the bottled blood, but at the moment, a little was better then nothing. She found the bottle Zach hadn't finished and took a small sip. She flushed the taste out with a small cup of jucie that she carried with her out of the kicthen. She could hear Sven and Demitri bickering, and frowned slightly. She walked up the stairs and peeked into the room.
"He giving you a hard time Sven?" Kristen asked, tossing Demitri a slightly teasing and warning glance before sipping danitly from her juice.

Maddie glanced up with a genuine smile as Vlad walked into the room. She kept herself planted on the couch, clutching at the small blanket wrapped around her as Vlad came to sit between them.
"Cars." Maddie said quietly, pulling the blanket around her slightly and leaning gently against Vlad.

------------------------

Nick looked up at Serena with a small smile. "Did we bring the tracks?" he murmured, having thought he'd only packed a few cars.
"You guys have tracks too?" Carlos asked with a raised eyebrow. Nick nodded gently. "That's really cool. Guess I really have to come visit huh?" Carlos asked, to which Nick chuckled and merely nodded again.

Maria smiled, reassured by Alexi. She nodded, and hugged him tightly for a moment. "What would I do without you?" she murmured, tapping his nose softly before kissing him. It all made sense, and he was right, so there wasn't much to be worrying about right now. This was just part of the healing process, she told herself. The twins would pull through, and everything would be fine.

Demitri stuck his tounge out at Kristen.
"We're fine" Sven replied, smiling softly, despite Sven being the resident doctor, he was also Demitri's older brother, and they bickered all the time, just for the hell of it.
"Come on" He tugged Demitri's arm.
"We're gonna go in the washroom, some of this stuffs messy and bloody, and I don't want it ruining the sheets and what not" He explained as Demitri meekly followed Sven into the washroom and shut the door.

Vlad nodded, "Ah, the one about the cars?" He teased, shaking his head softly and chuckling. He wrapped an arm around Maddie and another arm around Zach. It was an honest relief to be back at Maddie, but it also stressed him out. He shook his head, sighing softly and closing his eyes as Zach cuddled closer.

---

Serena shrugged, "We can always make a track" She said, pointing to some of the things in the room.
"Use books and stuff, and make them off of the bed" She murmured, digging in their toys to see what they had brought.
"Dad or mom packed the one track" She said, pulling the box free.

Alexi sighed, "Hmm, die?" He teased, "I dunno love, I can't imagine being without you" He sighed, "Strange that it took us so long, but now I can't imagine the future wihtout you here. Once, before we were together, I could, but now..." He trailed off, shrugging.

Kristen smiled, glad that Demitri was being so passive this time around about his injuries. She sighed, looking down at the juice in her cup as she stood in the hallway. Closing the door to her bedroom, Kristen took another small sip before heading down to Alayna and Keith's room.
"Hello?" she asked quietly, knocking gently on the door.

Maddie giggled softly. "It's about the race-car Lightening McQueen." she explained softly, glancing back at the screen for a moment. She glanced down as Vlad's arm came around her, and she sighed in relief before she could think about it. Maddie rubbed her lips, moving a bit closer to Vlad, resting her head gently on his chest though she looked back at the screen. She felt...off...usually it was a joyous relief to have Vlad come over. Ever since the whole bonding thing...Vlad just hadn't seemed himself. And for the life of her, Maddie couldn't understand why.

--------------------

Nick glanced over at all the things Serena pointed to.
"Hmm, that could work." Carlos agreed with a small nod. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, with a smile. Nick smirked.
"Duh." he told Carlos before standing up and helping Serena with the one track they did have. "We can use them for the ramp down from the bed..." Nick murmured, glancing at the matrice as if to gage the distance from the top to the floor.

Maria laughed lightly, though it sounded a bit nervous as well. "Die...probably." she murmured, scratching the back of her head lightly as she looked down at the space between them. Alexi's words made her grin, and she was once again beyond happy that vampires didn't blush. She was almost certain that if she could, she would be. Sighing, Maria reached up to kiss him again.
"I can't image it any other way either." Maria murmured, linking her arms around his neck with a smile.

Keith glanced up as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in" He called, shaking his head as he closed the book he had been reading and sat up. He smiled softly at Kristen, before pointing at Alayna, whom was drawing with her headphones in, which she did a lot.
"Whats up?" He asked, Kristen looked worried and a bit serious, and he wondered if something had happened.

Vlad nodded, smiling lightly.
"Ah, sounds interesting" He murmured, shaking his head and rubbing a hand over his face. He was a bit exahusted, just from everything, and he still stressed being around Maddie. He knew he was cutting himself off from everyone, he hated being here, and he hated being away. He shook his head, trying to focus on the movie for a moment.

---

Serena nodded, "Sounds cool" She said, glancing at Carlos and nodding shyly. She was okay with Carlos helping, and she liked spending time with her Uncle. She already knew she'd miss him a lot when they went back home.
"What do you wanna do?" She asked her brother, since this was more his domain.

Alexi sighed, shaking his head as she kissed him.
"Come on, lets head inside' He said, "Check on the kids, make sure they are ready for bed. Despite everything, we shouldn't mess with their routine"

Kristen smiled, opening the door gently and standing slightly inside the room. "Hiya." she murmured. "Juice?" she offered, since taking one more sip would make her sick to her stomach. Kristen chuckled, seeing Alayna bobbing lightly to the beats in her ears. She hardly noticed that Kristen was in the room, which was fine for now.
Glancing at Keith again, Kristen sighed lightly and brushed her hair from her face. "Um...I kinda have to talk to Alayna about something..." she murmured before frowning and looking up at Keith. "You don't remember her ever talking about a sister or mother do you?" Kristen asked, wondering if maybe she was wrong about that fact.

"It's kinda funny." Maddie murmured, falling silent after that. She could tell almost, just from the tone of his voice that Vlad didn't exactly care for the movie, or wanna talk for that matter. She pulled herself tighter together, slightly drawing away from Vlad. She tugged the blankets around her tighter, suddenly cold. Yawning quietly, Maddie drew her attention back to the screen, though now, she wasn't exactly watching.

--------------------------------

Nick looked thought from the tracks they had to the bed again. He pulled out a few peices and slowly assembled them, showing Serena so she understood somewhat of what he wanted to do. They could make a ramp that would lead down from the matrice onto the hardwood floor, and let the cars roll of from there.
Carlos watched in slight fascination as the twins worked, virtually silent, though entirely on the same page as the other. Now and then, he handed a peice one of the children was reaching for before the final product was done.
"Wow, very nice." Carlos said with a nod of approval, having lined the cars up on the bed for when they were ready to race.

Maria sighed and nodded in agreement. She drew her arms away from him, though took his hand as she lead Alexi back inside. Tilting her head curiously as they walked towards the stairs, Maria chuckled. "I think the twins have dragged Carlos into one of their racing sessions." Maria murmured. "I'll go get the kids their dinner." she said, before darting aside to the kicthen.

Keith smiled and nodded, "I'm good" He grinned, "Yea, I was just getting ready to head out anyway" He said, shrugging, before he paused, "A sister or mother? Nope, she hasn't mentioned anything to me" He kissed Alayna's cheek, knowing she would understand that h was leaving.
"See you in the moring" He called to Kristen, tossing his bag over one shoulder before he headed out the door.

Vlad sighed, nodding his head, he was worn out, it had been a hellish few days, and with everyone so stressed out, he was doing his best to pretend otherwise.
"Sorry I'm so boring guys" He murmured. Zach shrugged, "You're not boring" He replied, still caught up in the movie.

----

Serena nodded, seeing exactly what Nick wanted and began to help him build the track.
"Done" She said in a soft, sing song voice. "I like it, it even has three tracks so we can all race" She pointed out, as Carlos lined up the cars.
"Who do you wanna be?" She asked Nick, though she was already handing him the lime green car that she knew was his favorite.

Alexi nodded, "Sounds good" He said, poking his head into the room.
"Who's winning?" He asked, sitting on the couch and watching.
"No one, we haven't started yet" Serena muttered, smiling at her father.

"Oh right. The club...say Hi to Mitch and Jason for me." Kristen said, putting down her juice before looking over at Alayna.
The artist had glanced up when Keith kissed her cheek, and therefore noticed Kristen standing in the doorway. Pressing pause on her music, Alayna pulled out her headphones and smiled at her friend.
"Hey." Alayna said as Kristen closed the door quietly. "What's up?"
Kristen sighed and rubbed her face gently. "I gotta talk to you about something..." she murmured, sitting down when Alayna made room on the sofa and beckoned her over.

"Kristen that's impossible...my mother was never in the picture. You can ask Nicko. I think she died or something. Our father never talked about it." Alayna murmured, a hard frown set into her expression. Occasionally, she rubbed her temples, as she had been throughout Kristen's explination.
"No sisters?" Kristen asked.
"None that I know of at least. It was just me Nicko...and...Jerry." Alayna sighed, looking away slightly. Kristen sighed and nodded gently as she stood up.
"Alright. I just wanted to know if you knew anything." Krsiten murmured with a soft smile before turning and leaving.

Maddie rubbed her lips, fighting the tempation to suck her thumb, which happened on occasions when she was seriously tired or stressed. She gave a weak smile at Vlad's statement, and settled for shaking her head in protest.
"It's ok." she murmured, knowing more then Zach did as to why Vlad was so anti-social.

----------------------

Carlos smiled with a nod of approval. "This is fablous." he said, kneeling back a bit to look at the track from a distance. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded, knowing the cars would probably hit the door or continue out to the hallway.
Hearing Alexi come in, Carlos smirked. "I'm guessing this isn't a new game?" he asked, before looking at the cars he could choose from, and picking one at random.

"Nuh-uh. We do this back home too." Nick said, accepting the green car from Serena and gently climbing onto the bed to get his car ready. "We have more tracks at home though." He said, positioning his car before motioning for Carlos to do the same. Once the three cars were aligned, Nick counted down for them all to let go of there cars.

Vlad sighed, "Well as long as you two are okay with it" He muttered, shaking his head as he heard Kristen coming out of the bedroom.
"I have to talk to your mom..." He said, slipping away from the siblings, though he kissed both their forheads.

"Hey" He said, once him and Kristen were out in the hall.
"So?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame, a small frown on his face. The vampire, devestatingly handsom like the rest of his family, looked exahusted, mentally and physically worn out.

----

Alexi chuckled, "Nope, this is Nick's favorite thing, he and Serena can play for hours" He murmured, "We have all sorts of sets, though she's more into the minature horse sets, they take turns. Sometimes Nick plays horses, sometimes Serena plays cars" He said, shrugging lightly as he watched his kids closely.
"It's a good game, Nick has some elaborate designs to, it's pretty cool actually" He said, grinning.

Serena smiled at her brother, setting her car up along side his. As he counted down, she prepared herself, before releasing her car as directed. She giggled as the vehicles shot out into the hallway, hitting the wall.
"Who won?" She asked, sliding free from the bed and looking curiously.

Maddie nodded, watching as Vlad stood up and left the room. She sighed softly, rubbing the blanket against her lips softly. She pulled it around her tighter before settling back down in the sofa to watch the movie, though she'd steadily lost interest in the film.

Kristen glanced up, not at all surprised to see Vlad waiting for her outside the hallway. She chewed her lip slightly, rubbing her forehead gently.
"I didn't want to stress Alayna out, but there's a possibility Cassandra's her mother." Kristen murmured softly. "She has no sisters, and she believed her mother was dead, the woman was never part of her life. Since she's the youngest though, we should call Nicko...ask him if he knows anything." Kristen murmured, giving Vlad a small shrug to say that was all she knew.

--------------------

Carlos nodded to show that he was listening to Alexi as he too set up his car for launch. He chuckled as the twins scrambled quickly to the doorway to see who had one.
"That's wonderful." Carlos murmured, glancing over the track once more. "If he can come up with tracks like this now, I'm curious to see what he'll come up with once he's older." Carlos said, standing up as well to follow the twins, curious to see who had won the race.

Nick grinned, dashing after the cars to the doorway, watching the little matchbox cars glide across the wooden floor.
"You did." Nick said, glancing at Serena with a laugh. He looked up when Maria rounded the corner from the stairs, two bottles in her hand.
"Ah you made a track." Maria said, smiling at the cars before looking at Nick and Serena. "Who won this race?" she asked curiously.

Vlad let out a frusturated groan. "Tomorrow Sven and I will go talk to Nicko" He said, shaking his head in mild annoyance.
"This problem is getting annoying, and we have to be prepared in case Cassandra does decide to show up" He growled, "She's already shown us what she's capable of, and I don't want anyone to get hurt' He muttered, rubbing a tired hand over his face. He was exahusted, stressed out, and pissed off, not the greatest of combonations, especially when he was working his ass off to keep his emotional status hidden from Maddie.

---

"I know what you mean" Alexi said, "I'm betting he'll be into architectural design or engineering" He murmured, "Although, you never know, he might want to go into sports like Demitri" He chuckled, "He always go to soccer practice with him, well when he gets the chance" Demitri was still on the Russian 'Vampire' soccer team, and often brought the children along to games and practices. He glanced up as Maria came in, a small smile on his face.

Serena grinned as Nick told her the good news, and she helped him collect the cars in order to set them up again for another race.
"Me" She said with a small smile as she answered her mother.
"Wanna race again?" She asked Nick, knowing that he loved doing this.

Kristen merely nodded gently in understanding. She could see how stressed Vlad really was about all of this, and she could only but agree. "Sounds good." she murmured in agreement, knowing he was right.
"Are the kids alright? It's getting late..." Kristen murmured quietly, guessing Vlad had just been in the game room with Maddie and Zach. She guessed that Zach wouldn't be going to school in the morning since he still wasn't a hundred percent, but Maddie was fine, and shouldn't be missing school anymore.

----------------

Carlos chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something." he murmured. "The architecture I mean...since Romans bult structures that lasted millions of lifetimes." Carlos said with a small smirk before glancing up over at the children.

Nick took the bottle his mother was offering him and took a small swig before smiling at Serena. "Ya!" he said, grabbing the cars and heading back into the room. He stood near one of the ramps, holding his car delicately as to not start before hand, Nick waited patiently for Serena, only letting go whne she had her car in place as well.

Maria laughed, watching the little cars go by as she walked into the room and promptly sat in Alexi's lap. She smiled, looking at Carlos, who had been watching the race intently.

"Fine. Maddie's a bit distant, probably my fault" Vlad said, waving a hand, "Zach's pretty into the movie, though he's still a bit off" He sighed, "I think I'm gonna go lie down Kristen, its been a hellish few days" He was beyond wrecked at this point, and needed some time to just lie down and think.
"I'll stay the night, and what not, I could use the time off" He said, yawning softly, before poking his head back into the playroom.
"Night guys, I'm going to bed" He smiled tiredly and hugged the siblings, before slipping out of the room and down to the guest room he normally used.

---

Alexi smiled, "Maybe he'll be the person to revive architecture, create the structures for future generations to re-call and dream about" He sighed, glancing up as Maria sat down on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, listening to the cars zoom down the track and the joint laughter of the twins.

Serena accepted the bottle of blood from her mother, though made no move to open it. She still hadn't fed since the incident, though she was a bit hungry. She shuddered, though was soon distracted by Nick, and set the bottle down on the bed, releasing her car when she was instructed. She sat back, letting Nick run into the hall, smiling lightly, though she was tired, and trying to hide it.

Kristen nodded gently in agreement again. As Vlad went off to say goodnight, Kristen paced about the house. Her mind was racing, and she felt a bit restless after everything that had just happened. Ideas and thoughts flew into her mind as Kristen ran her fingers through her hair and paced around the kitchen. Something was adding up...but slowly...she needed it on paper...the kids needed to be put to bed first though.
Closing her thoughts for a moment, Kristen walked into the playroom where Maddie was already half asleep. "Alright you two, its been a long day and now its time for bed." Kristen murmured, grabbing the remote and hitting stop on the movie which was nearly finished.
Maddie sighed a deep inhale as she rubbed her eyes and looked around. Almost like she didn't quite understand where she was. Yawning, Maddie stood up and hugged Kristen before wandering upstairs to her room.
Glancing back down at Zach, Kristen walked over and sat down on the couch beside him. "How you feeling?" She asked curiously, wondering he would try to tough the night out in his own bed.

--------------------------------

Carlos chuckled with a nod of agreement. "Wouldn't that be something." He murmured, watching the little boy dart after the cars eagerly. He glanced back at Sara with a small frown, seeing the bottle left carelessly on the bed.
"Serena darling you ought to try drinking a little." Carlos said. "It wont be pretty if you gut hungry." He sighed, glancing at Maria curiously.

His sister quietly shook her head. "We've kept them satisfied." She murmured, looking up at Serena with a somewhat worried expression. The children had never gone too long without eating, and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"Serena you won." Nick said, chuckling as he brought the cars back. "I don't think the green one is lucky anymore." He half joked, taking another sip from his bottle casually. He rubbed his eyes and stifiled a yawn.
"It seems to be getting to that time." Carlos sighed, standing up slowly and kissingthe top of each twins head before leaving the room.

Zach glanced up as his mother came in and Maddie hugged her and left. He shrugged, "I still feel icky" He murmured, he knew she was really asking where he wanted to sleep tonight.
"I can try to sleep in my bed though" He said, crawling into her lap, he didn't really want to, since he was scared he'd be sick, but he also knew that his mom and dad needed some time alone. He rubbed his eyes, yawning lightly as he snuggled up to Kristen.

---

Serena glanced up as Carlos spoke. She looked at the bottle, shrugging her shoulders, she still felt all numb inside, despite the laughing and playing, the little girl didn't really feel much right now, and hunger just wasn't something she was aware of. She sighed, smiling softly as he kissed her head, and wandered off.
"Maybe the purple one is the new lucky one then" She said to Nick, since the car she had been racing was purple.

Alexi sighed, "G'd night" He said to Carlos, gently moving Maria off of his lap. He was worried about Serena, she had never been hungry before, nor had she ever refused to eat before. He had no idea what to do, and he supposed they could only hope at this point.
"One more race then I think it's bed time" He said, his voice soft, since Nick was already getting the cars ready to race again.

Kristen smiled in that loving motherly way as Zach crawled into her lap. She laughed, running her fingers through his hair softly.
"You drank earlier right? You should be feeling better in the morning." Kristen said soothingly. After a few seconds, Kristen picked him up, letting him rest on her shoulder and leading him out of the playroom.
"If you feel like you're going to be sick again, all you have to do is call me." Kristen promised as she set Zach down in his bed and gently tucked him under the covers. "Since you're still feeling icky," Kristen teased lightly, poking his nose. "You won't have school tomorrow, but if you're feeling better by tomorrow night will you try to tough out school for me?" Kristen asked, tilted her head curiously. Zach had been sick for nearly five days, and although two had been weekends, he really needed to catch up with his schoolwork. Plus he seemed much better now, so Kristen figured he'd be fine before the wend of the week.

------------------

Nick glanced up at Alexi after handing Serena her car. "Awww..." he grumbled but quickly smirked at Maria's slight expression of warning. He knew that look more times then not, and even though his mother was being serious, Nick knew it was just a small warning.
"One last race, so make it count." Maria restsated, standing up with Alexi.

"Alright." Nick murmured. He nodded to his twin, placing his car on the track and counting silently before letting the car go. He watched crytically as the cars raced down and out to the hallway. Hearing two solid thuds, Nick smirked. "It was a tie." he said, hopping down from the bed to collect the cars from the hallway.
"Wonderful. If you want to play with the tracks again in the morning, just push it away from the bed for now darling." Maria murmured, picking up some of the extra peices and putting them back in the box while Nick gathered up some of his other cars.

Zach wound his arms around his mother's neck, sighing softly as she settled him into bed.
"I will" He promised, knowing if he called out, both her and his dad would come running. It was a reassuring thought, though at the same time, it was a bit scary. He nodded, "I'll try" He said, hoping he'd feel better, but also not wanting to go back to school. Being home was nice, especially since he didn't get bullied here. He let out a tired sigh, and curled up under the blankets, pulling his teddy bear close.

----

Serena mimicked her brother's distressed facial expression, before sitting down on the bed and watching the cars race down the track. She smiled softly at Nick as he announced it was a race, that was how most of the 'last' races ended. Neither twin winning over the other. She glanced around, before helping her mother and brother clean up what remained while Alexi set up the bed time stuff.

Alexi sighed, pulling open the covers on the bed and making sure that it was comfortable. He knew Maria wasn't fond of the twins sharing a bed, especially since it had been so hard to seperate them as babies, but right now he was relieved that they'd have that comfort. Setting Serena's bottle of blood on her nightstand, he let out a worried sigh.
"Do you want a movie?" He asked them, knowing they often fell asleep to a movie, which he or Maria would shut off before they went to sleep later that night. Without even glancing at Nick, Serena nodded, "What one?" Alexi asked, "Lion King one and a half?" Serena asked, it was funny, she didn't want anything scary right now.

Kristen smiled and nodded gently. She kissed his forehead before smoothing the covers up and standing to leave. She didn't close his door all the way, as was the usual request, and walked down the hall to Maddie's room. She merely peeked in, and seeing that Maddie as sound asleep in her bed, Kristen sighed before turning back around and heading to her own room.
Pushing the door open, Kristen smiled lightly at Demitri, closing the door quietly behind her. "What a night." she mumbled, pulling her hair from her usualy high ponytail, letting the dark blonde waves and curls tumble to her shoulders. She ruffled her hair, scratching her head as well as she walked over to the bed and sat down softly.

-----------------------

Once the track was set aside, Nick slowly scrambled into bed, bottle in hand. He sipped from his on occassion. Maria guessed he wouldn't drink too much since he'd finished an entire bottle that morning. He smiled lightly at the thought of the movie and nodded slightly in encouragement.
"Alright." Maria said, and as Alexi set up the dvd, Maria walked to each side of the bed, kissing Serena and Nick's forehead before pulling up the covers.

Nick sighed, finally getting bland of the taste of blood and putting the bottle aside. He rubbed his eyes, the tall-tale sign that he was tired and added a yawn as well.
"Mmhm, sleep tight loves." Maria said, as if she had personally one a bet due to Nick's expression of his exhaustion. He hugged her before shifting closer to Serena and slidding under the covers slightly.

Demitri glanced up as Kristen came up, and nodded.
"Well at least they're both settled, and hopefully things will get better" He reassured, stretching out on the bed, exahusted, despite having not done a lot lately. He hurt, and he was tempted to go hunting, though Sven would kill him if he tired. He glanced up at her, opening his arms and letting her slide into him.
"Everything okay love?" He knew Kristen occasionally needed to vent in the evening about the day, the kids, stuff like that.

----

Serena smiled and hugged her parents as Alexi set up the movie.
"Just call if you need anything" He said, kissing her forhead and Nick's. She nodded, yawning as her twin did and snuggled up closer to him. As the DVD began, her eyelids were already beginning to droop, the bottle of blood was forgotten as she drifted to sleep.

Alexi sighed, sitting on the bed and watched Maria.
"Are you okay?" He asked, she looked stressed, and was pacing, which was normal when she was stressed.
"They're going to be okay..." He said offhandedly, knowing instinctively that the twins were the cause of her worry.

Kristen smiled as Demitri opened his arms. She was never one to deny him then. She was cautious of his injuries, however, she rolled over lightly, hardly pressing against him, hoping to cause him the least amount of pain.
"Hopefully." Kristen murmured, though she was a realist at heart rather than an optimistic. She sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments as Demitri held her, which was nice. Hearing his question, Kristen sat up suddenly.
"Yea...I need paper." Kristen said, eyes a bit wide like she had just remembered something. Standing up quickly, Kristen ruffled in one of Demitri's draws, knowing he always had a notepad from the office stashed if he needed it.
Finding a pen, Kristen sat back down on the bed and starting scribbling on the paper. At first, everything seemed short-handed, abbreviated for Kristen's understanding. This was something Kristen did on rare occasions, mostly whenever there was something in her head she couldn't quite say.
"I know there's a link here..." she mumbled, circling a few words. "Vlad wanted me to talk to Alayna..." she distantly explained to Demitri. "Try to find...if she's the reason for the attack..." Kristen said, frowning deeply. "How old would you guess Cassandra was?" Kristen murmured, knowing it was difficult to judge a vampire's age. Though Demitri might somehow know, or give her some idea.

---------------------

Maria managed to hold her composure until she was in the room with Alexi. Then her smiling face fell to one of worry and deep concern. She glanced over her shoulder as Alexi closed the door, but both the twins were already sound asleep. Maria sighed and rubbed her face roughly before automatically pacing in front of their bed.

"Oh, I know." Maria murmured, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. "I know I worry too much, I know they'll be fine in the long run, I know." Maria sighed, pulling her hands away roughly. She wasn't annoyed at Alexi for reiterating the words she needed to hear, she was frustrated with herself for second-guessing their truth.
"Serena has to be hungry. Nick practically inhaled a bottle this morning for breakfast...and he even drank a little tonight." Maria said, almost hopelessly, waving her hand towards the bedroom door.

Demitri listened and watched Kristen curiously, though he sighed. "Cassandra? Fifty maybe" He murmured, "She was a newborn when she ran into Maria the first time, that was about twenty-five years ago. And, she looks to be about twentyfive in age, when she was changed" He explained, shaking his head and leaning back on the bed. His wife confused him immensely sometimes, especially over stuff like this were she rambled and made no sense. He smiled, waiting patiently, she'd explain once she figured it all out.

----

Alexi listened to Maria, "I know love" He reassured, "She probably is hungry" He sighed, he had no idea what was wrong with Serena, but the girl really seemed to have no desire to eat. She wasn't even exhibiting the signs of a starving or hungry vampire.
"She must be hungry, but she's not acting it" He murmured, he was unsure if that was a good sign or a bad one. He didn't know what to say to his wife at all, how to reassure her, not when he, himself, was so concerned.

He stretched out, "Its okay to be worried" He murmured, "They are our children" He didn't want Maria thinking that she wasn't allowed to feel these emotions, especially not when they concerned the kids.

Kristen nodded, writing that down on the paper. She tapped the pen to her lips as her eyes darted about the page.
"Puts Nicko at eight ish...Alayna at three...she wouldn't remember much to being with then..." Kristen mumbled, eyes widening as she wrote down something else and drew a line to something else on the page. Pretty soon, Kristen's note page was starting to look like one of Maddie's intricate puzzles that doesn't seem to start or end.
Blinking a few times, Kristen held the paper at arms length before tearing it off the pad and rewriting a few things neatly.
"Alright...if this is right and makes sense...this Cassandra woman has problems." Kristen murmured. "Some reason, that doesn't surprise me..." Kristen sighed, running her fingers through her hair and bitting her lip as she wrote diligently, soon filling up the page again.

-----------------

Maria turned around with a sigh, letting her head fall to Alexi's shoulder as she stood in front of him. He words reassured her that she wasn't being over-bearing for thinking Serena must be hungry, and only worried her a little more at the notion that Alexi also figured the little girl should have a desire to eat.
She sighed, hearing that it was alright for her to worry. She smiled and chuckled lightly.

"Glad to know I'm not going crazy." Maria sighed, picking her head up and moving aside long locks of hair from her face.
"Maybe in the morning she'll have more of an appetite..." Maria said, nodding to herself, liking that theory since it calmed her nerves.

Demitri sighed, "When you figure out what you're talking about, please be so kind as to fill me in?" He asked, sitting up on the bed and staring at her with a confused expression. She really wasn't making much sense at all, not that he blamed her, that damn peice of paper was covered in Kristen's untidy scrawl. He rubbed a hand over his face, before stretching out and sighing. He wanted a shower, he felt gross, since he hadn't cleaned up since the fight.
"I'm gonna shower love" He said, standing up and kissing Kristen's cheek, before hiding in the wahsroom, since he knew she'd protest.

----

Alexi smiled, nodding reassuringly. "She probably will" He said, though he sincerly hoped it, since he didn't want to see his daughter go insane with bloodlust, or become paralyzed due to blood loss. He sighed, shaking the awful thoughts away.
"She might still be in a bit of shock, and not really aware that she's hungry" He suggested, "Its common for people in shock not to be aware of stuff like that, Demitri goes through that with injuries, maybe for Serena it's that she's unaware of her desire to eat" He was grasping at straws, he knew that, but in a sense, this whole theory sounded right.

Kristen glanced up as Demitri stood up slowly from the bed. She watched him as he walked over to the bathroom and merely shook her head.
"Try not to do anymore damage." she murmured affectionately, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop him from taking a shower if he really wanted to. "Didn't Sven just bandaged you back up though?" she asked quietly, looking back at her notes. Kristen tapped her lips thoughtfully with deep expression on her face. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Her body finally relaxed and she stretched her legs out on the bed, the notepad in her lap. She'd wait until Demitri finished his shower to tell him her theories, none of which she even remotely liked.

---------------------

Maria smiled lightly. She walked over to Alexi and sat down next to him, resisting the urge to crawl into his arms for the time being. She listened and nodded gently. Although Alexi may not realize it, he was making perfect sense to Maria, and it was reassuring her greatly.
"Yes...that might be it." Maria murmured with a nod. She rubbed her face, leaning her head on his shoulder with a sigh. She admitted silently that she worried too much as she closed her eyes, letting the comfort of being with Alexi sooth her.

"Yea he did" Demitri responded, chuckling.
"He said he'd fix it tomorrow if I wanted to clean up a bit" He said, shaking his head as he shut the washroom door. About half an hour later, the tall vampire returned, hair dripping wet, a pair of shorts his only clothing.
"Mmm, I feel better" He said, his voice light, content as he crawled onto the bed next to her, burrowing into the blankets.
"What's up?" He asked, nodding at the notepad grasped in her hand. She looked worried and serious, neither was a good sign.

---

Alexi nodded, "Well give it till tomorrow morning, if she doesn't feed by then, we can try and get her to" He said, kissing Maria's forhead and sliding out of the room. The twins; movie was over, and both were sound asleep. Carefully he clicked off the DVD player and tucked them in, before returning to his wife.
"Sound asleep" He said gently, smiling at her in an attempt to reassure her.

Kristen chewed her lip. She glanced up, her expression still showing that she was slightly in thought. Blinking a few times, Kristen sighed and pushed aside the paper. She had half memorized her notes and lines of events anyway. Looking at Demitri, Kristen had a slightly sad expression on her face though she smiled.
"I don't know...somethings add up...something things don't." Kristen said quietly. "Like...Alayna told me her last name was Lorenzano...but her surname is Morriano, which is Cassandra's name. I recognized it on that parchment that Vlad still has. If her name was on the parchment...that means she's gaining power...and fast." Kristen murmured, rubbing her forehead gently. "We've been attacked before because of random things, and things I'm sure has to do with the powers or whatever..." Kristen mumbled, shaking her head.
"Alayna and Nicko were attacked..." Kristen said quietly. "Seeing that this vampire has some kind of connection to Alayna...maybe that attack wasn't an accident like we thought. And Nicko...being possessed by a demon and then attacking us..." Kristen muttered, poking at her paper, and running her fingers from one thought to another.
"Things are connecting but...I don't know why..."

----------------------------

Maria sighed as Alexi left. She fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. She rubbed her face, hearing that Alexi was turning the movie off. The twins were sound asleep then. Maria forced herself to sit up so that she could take off her sundress and pull on a pair of shorts and a loose tank top.
She was pulling the covers away from the bed when Alexi returned. She glanced up, pushing the strap back up on her shoulder.
"Good. I'm glad they're sleeping." Maria sighed with relief, slidding under the covers and falling back heavily on her pillow. She hadn't let it shown, but the past few hours had taken as much out of her as the previous nights entirely. Now, she felt drained and exhausted. It was one of those few times where Maria wished she could sleep decently and soundly through the night.