1x1 with x_fire

Demitri listened thoughtfully, his head tilted to one side, his lips pursed as he examined the paper.
"Makes sense.." He trailed off, seeing Keith's name scrawled in the corner. "Does Keith have anything to do with this? Or were you just trying to see if there was some unnoticed connection?" He asked her curiously, his dark brown eyes worried. The angel was important to him, to all of them, but him and Keith had a history, one he had yet to share with anyone, at Keith's request. As far as he knew, even Alayna didn't know what had happened to the angel before he had gone to Forbidden High. He sighed, shaking his head and returned his attention to his wife.

----

Alexi sighed, noting how exahusted Maria was, he, on the other hand, was wired. He was used to stress, and with stress came adrenaline, it was a by-product of the fighting he had done over the years. He smiled, kissing her forhead, "G'd night love, sleep tight" He murmured, before slipping out of the room and wandering aimlessly around the castle. Shaye and Keith were awake in their bedroom, and Carlos, well he had no idea. Shrugging, he continued to poke about, willing his body into a forced sense of calm.

Kristen chewed her lip. If Demitri thought it made sense, then she wasn't going crazy. "She's using her children to her advantage." Kristen muttered with distate, shaking her head suddenly. Kristen blinked when Demitri saw that Keith's name had been scribbed at the bottom.
"Oh, I don't know." Kristen murmured honestly. "I wrote his name down to see if it would jog anything in my memory...so far, nothing." she sighed deeply and fell back against the bed, drawing her knees up and letting the notepad rest against her. Her eyes darted over the page and Kristen sighed, rubbing her face.
"Here's what doesn't add up..." Kristen muttered. "If Cassandra walked out...why does she suddenly want them back?" Kristen asked, rubbing her eyes. "And if that attack at Alayna and Nicko's house was because of their mother...what other enemy does she have? Because if they find out Alayna is here..." Kristen trailed off, lowering her hands and looking over at Demitri with a worried expression.

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

Maria sighed and nodded. She pulled the blanket around her softly, rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. It took her a few minutes before her body relaxed enough for her to completely zone out.

"Roaming around aimlessly in the middle of the night part of your daily rituals?" Carlos asked. He was sitting on the banaster, reading one of his favorite books from Keith's library. Like Alexi, Carlos had too much energy to rest for the night. Sitting nearly a story high, overlooking the ground floor, was somewhat of a habbit for Carlos. He smirked, marking his place in the book before looking over at Alexi with a teasing and questioning expression.

Demitri nodded, shrugging lightly. "I can understand why she left" He murmured, "She would have been changed into a vampire right around that time, she would have been a newborn Kristen, bloodthirsty and dangerous, she didn't want to accidently kill her children" He said, "If I was a newborn vampire, I would never stay around those I cared for" He smiled sadly at her, "Or else something like Adrian happens, and the rest of your family is dead" He shuddered, shaking his head, "As for the house, I have no idea what's going on, nor do I comprehend the rest of what happened, but I can tell you that if Cassandra is Nicko and Alayna's mother, she wants them back" He said, shuddering.
"Ah" He nodded in agreement to her statement on Keith, always have to look for the angelic connection.

----

Alexi glanced up, seeing Carlos, "Perhaps" He said, shrugging, "I'm just a bit to wound up to sleep" He said, shrugging slender shoulders.
"Figured I'd let Maria sleep, since she's stressing herself into exhaustion" He muttered, shaking his head in annoyance. He wiped a hand over his face, "What about you? Can't sleep?" He teased, stretching lightly, he was debating going hunting actually, but he hadn't decided yet.

Kristen chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Yea..." she murmured with a small nod. She had taken that into consideration...leaving the family for their on protection.
"Still...to stay away so long?" Kristen asked. "And suddenly want them back now? Plus, if she was trying to send that message by kiddnapping Maria's children...that doesn't make sense." Kristen sighed, obviously slightly frustrated with the lack of answers to her questions. She was obviously worried and concered, growling as she tossed the notepad off her lap, onto the floor.
Raking her fingers through her hair, Kristen glanced at the clock and groaned. It was nearly two a.m. Standing up, Kristen pulled off her shorts, and bra, leaving her tank top on before slidding back under the covers and curling up next to Demitri.
"Sometimes, I just don't understand..." Kristen said, shaking her head and closing her eyes.

Alayna gasped as another nightmare shook her from sleep. She sat up in the bed and looked around quickly. Tears came to her eyes but she quickly brushed them away. Glancing down at the bed, Alayna frowned at the emptiness. Oh...Keith was helping at the club...Alayna looked over at her digital clock as she rubbed her face. Nearly two-thirty...Alayna groaned. Her eyes turned to the empty half of the bed. She missed him...the feeling hit Alayna so hard she nearly choked on her breath. He would be back soon, she told herself, rubbing her arms gently. Laying back in the bed, Alayna knew it was more to be comfortable; she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

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

Carlos chuckled. "Sleeping is something I forgo a long time ago." he said. Closing the book, Carlos sighed as he slipped off the banaster. For a normal person, falling from such a height would be close to suicide. Carlos was less then concerned, as was aparent in his descent. He made it look easy. Like it was jumping down two or three steps rather than a full story.
"Ha, Keith'll be happy." Carlos said when he landed, stepping back to look at the tile. "Hardly made a dent that time. First attempt at that I broke a few dozen tiles." Carlos said, shaking his head at the memory. "It was a bloody rush back then." He mused, glancing up at his previous post.
"So, Maria's out like a light and left you with all the energy I see." Carlos said with a smirk. "Does that happen often?" he teased. "Wouldn't be able to have that good of a time if she's always exhausted while your energetic." Carlos said, chuckling softly to show he was only joking.

Demitri shrugged, "Well she's obviously nuts" He pointed out, "So who knows how she thinks, plus, as sad as it sound, a couple years fly by when you're a young vampire" He murmured, "Twenty Five years when you live forever doesn't seem like a lot" He shrugged, "It's frusturating, but all we can do now is keep an eye on things" He kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her contently. He hoped Kristen would get some sleep, he wasn't feeling it anymore, but he could go years without sleep, in fact, he didn't need to sleep, it was more of an attempt to make time pass then to get any real rest. He smiled lightly, kissing her temple, and then wrapped the covers around them both.
"Maddie going to school tomorrow?" He asked curiously.

Keith sighed, pulling into the driveway and checked the time. It was about three in the morning, ick. He shrugged, slipping from the vehicle, and running his fingers through his hair. He was really enjoying bartending at the club, and was considered asking Alexi if he could do it more often once they were home. He was sure it'd be fine, since Maria offered him a job at least every time they spoke.
Wandering inside, he locked the door behind him, before heading into his and Alayna's room.

----

Alexi rolled his eyes, "Sheesh, you're ridiciulous, denting floors over a little jump like that?" He teased. Alexi liked being high up, much like Carlos, and he was very good at the moving quietly and jumping around aspects, byproducts of war and being a vampire during war times.
He rolled his eyes at the Maria comment, "Not my fault we both react to stress so differently" He muttered, chuckling to show he wasn't annoyed.

Kristen sighed contently as Demitri wrapped his arms around her. She always felt better and more releved in his arms. Kristen merely nodded in subtle agreement to Demitri, not exactly able to comprehend the idea of how it would be to live that long. Although Demitri had "changed" her, they still weren't sure if she'd gain immortality with her enhanced healing and hearing. That reminded Kristen of her slight thirst and she growled softly. She would tell Demitri in the morning if he was feeling better...maybe she'd talk to Sven first...
"If she doesn't have a fever she can go to school." Kristen mumbled quietly. She shook her head and rubbed her face before settling carefully in Demitri's arms.

Alayna yawned and rolled onto her side. She was laying sprawled out on the bed, and when she sat up to look at the clock, Alayna groaned and collasped back on the bed. She had tried to roll over and go back to sleep. What felt like hours of sleep, and turned out to be fifteen minutes in reality. She really wasn't getting any sleep tonight. Sitting up slowly, Alayna pushed the covers away as she stood up, running her fingers through her hair. She heard the front door click shut, and guessed that Keith was finally home. She smiled, going into the bathroom quickly and then slipping back into bed quietly.

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

"Well...it wasn't always a little jump." Carlos admitted, glancing up at the banaster again. "Maria used to have a fit whenever I was up there." he said with a sigh, shaking his head. He walked over to one of the decorative tables to place his book down before turning his attention back to Alexi.
"No one said you had to react the same." he challenged, holding his hands up with a small shrug. "Thinking about getting a bite to eat?" Carlos asked with a smirk, pointing with this thumb towards the front door.

Demitri sighed, nodding his head. "She's not really sick though, it's just the seperation from Vlad more then anything" He muttered, he sighed again, a small frown on his face before he glanced back at Kristen, "Try and sleep" He murmured, his ears perking as he heard the door downstairs, Keith must be home.
"I'll drive Maddie to school tomorrow, if she's up for it, you'll never wake up in time" He teased. He stretched out, holding her absentmindedly, not willing to sleep anymore. He was becoming more and more adversed to the whole fake sleeping thing, it didn't do much for him anymore, it seemed pointless.

Keith slid into the bedroom, heading immediately for the washroom and shower. He was tired, but happy, though he definitely need to wash up, he was a mess. Shaking his head, he ran his fingers through his hair was he waited for the water to heat up. Life had been getting more and more confusing lately, and he was beginning to miss the simple-mindedness of his whole, purely angelic existance.

---

Alexi sighed, "Yupp" He murmured, "I'm not one for sitting around, ever" He chuckled as Carlos explained how Maria had flipped everytime he was up high.
"She's not to fond of stuff like that is she?" He teased, "Gives me hell everytime I go up 'to high', despite the explenation of immortality and could jump out of an airplane without anything to slow me down and be perfectly fine. The ground might be worse for wear however"

Kristen sighed deeply. "I know." she murmured quietly. And she felt horrible knowing that. Kristen rubbed her face, moving so that she was closer to Demitri. Hearing that Demitri was going to drive the kids to school, Kristen sighed in defeat.
"Just be careful." she mumbled tiredly before falling asleep at his coaxing.

Alayna glanced over, watching from half opened eyes as Keith went straight to the bathroom. She sighed and rolled onto her back. Rubbing her eyes, Alayna coughed lightly before looking at the clock. Damn it was late...or was it techincally early? Alayna sighed at the thought as she slowly sat up. She couldn't sleep. It was officialy. Glancing at the door, Alayna heard the water running and guessed Keith would be in the bathroom a while...she wrapped her arms around herself with a small sigh.

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

Carlos sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's from an old wound that hasn't healed." Carlos said, a small flash of pain passing his face. He glanced up at the banaster and shrugged the look away before smiling sadily.
"There was this girl we knew, back in the day..." Carlos explained, still looking up, as if the memory were playing over in his mind. "And I'll admitt, I nearly loved her, but...she was like a sister to Maria." Carlos murmured softly, rubbing his neck gently. "We thought about changing her...she took the news of who we really were rather well actually...which was good" Carlos said. "The night I was going to see her...she supposedly commited sucide...jumping from her families villa nearly five hundred feet above the ocean..." Carlos sighed, finally looking back down. "We found out later, that someone had overheard and told her Father who would have wanted her dead a Christian than alive a demon. We came to live with Keith here in London after that." Carlos said, shoving his hands in his pockets with a heavy sigh and a shrug.
"She knows your indestructable." Carlos said with a smirk. "Somethings just don't fade with time." He glanced over his shoulder and sighed. "I'm gonna head out. There's a town about 2 seconds run North if your interested." He said.

Keith finally slipped free from the shower, sighing, he wrapped a towel around his slender waist and wandered into the main part of the bedroom. He was mildly surprised to see Alayna awake, but that was becoming normal for her.
"Hey" He said, resraining a yawn, not wanting her to think he was to tired to talk or whatever she needed.
"What's up?" He asked as he dropped the towel and dressed in a pair of loose shorts. Towel drying his hair, he returned his gaze to Alayna, waiting patiently for her to respond.

---

Alexi listened sadly to Carlos' story, "Seems like we all have stuff like that in our pasts" He murmured, Adrian haunted Demitri, and Alexi had his own horrors he was unwilling to share. Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced up at Carlos.
"I'm down" He agreed, he needed to hunt, especially since, like his brothers, he couldn't tolerate anything less then fresh blood.

Alayna smiled as Keith came out of the bathroom. She wasn't wide awake at the moment, but she wasn't stone dead tired either. She waved gently, rubbing her eyes as he dressed before pushing the covers away gently.
"Another nightmare." Alayna said, walking over to him. She stood in front of him, wearing a simple, short nightgown. Alayna had to tilt her head back to look up at him, and she smiled lightly. "And...I missed you..." Alayna murmured, taking the tiny step that sepereated them and wrapping her arms around him gently.
"Couldn't sleep." Alayna said with a soft laugh, resting her head against his chest.

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

Carlos nodded in agreement and led the way outside. "I try not to think about it." Carlos muttered. "Seeing people fall from tall heights though still bothers Maria a bit." he said with a shrug. He stretched lightly and yawned as they walked out into the cool night. Even though it was close to summer, since they were in the norther part of the country, it still felt like early spring in the evenings.
"Love these nights out here." Carlos said with a toothy smirk before dashing off, quickly putting distance between him and the castle.

Keith sighed, "That sucks love" He murmured, guiding her back to the bed. "I'm sorry you missed me, but I need a job, I'd feel useless if I sat around all day" He murmured, he and Alayna needed to meld with regular society, work, make money, etc. They couldn't continue to live their lives the way they had been. Sighing, the tall angel stretched out on the bed, slipping under the covers and gently pulling her under with him.
"Wanna tell me what your nightmare was about?" He asked, sometimes she wanted to, others she didn't.

---

Alexi nodded in understanding, but didn't respond. He glanced around, smiling softly in agreement, "Reminds me of something, a long time ago, can't really remember though" He said, his voice hushed. Shaking his head free of the cobwebs, he loped easily after Carlos, keeping pace with him as they ran through the British countryside. He had missed it here, but he also knew he belonged in Russia, he shook his head, enjoying the vacation, glad that the drama was over, although he knew it was only temporary.

"I know..." Alayna murmured. She knew how it felt, feeling useless. It had been part of her reasoning of getting the designing job. She sighed, letting Keith steer her effortlessly back to the bed. She pulled the covers back over her and curled up next to Keith.
"It was strange..." Alayna said, rubbing her eyes gently. "I remember feeling confused and lost...I didn't know where I was, and I didn't know where to go. I remember you were there...I could see you. It looked like you were trying to find something...and you were worried. I tried talking to you, tried to help but you couldn't see me. Then...something happened...and you were scarred. I heard you yell and I woke up." Alayna sighed, rubbing her arms gently before looking back at Keith. She knew dreams never made sense, and she shouldn't let them bother her. But her nightmares were always so vivid, they always affected her someway.

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

Carlos slowed as they drew near to the town. He sighed deeply. "The town is growing by the years I swear." he mumbled, shaking his head gently. He put a foot up on a rock, resting his arms on his knees as he overlooked the large town for a moment. "We'll have a full city here soon." Carlos said with a smirk before straightening up and heading down, letting his sense tune in for a lonely person taking an unlucky midnight stroll.

Keith frowned, "Sounds weird" He murmured, "Don't let it bother you though, I'm right here, I'm fine, and I have no immediate plans to go looking for anything in the near future" He said, smiling gently at her. Sighing, he snuggled against her, already beginning to drift off after the long night of work. He was exahusted, and he really needed to sleep, especially since he'd be doing this again tomorrow night. Letting out a soft sigh, the angel flexed lightly, his wings appearing in the darkness, and wrapped around him and Alayna both. Keith often did this after she had a nightmare, knowing the wings comforted her, and also made him feel more secure, knowing she was safe.

---

Alexi nodded, "It was a tiny village last time I was here" He recalled, shaking his head and chuckling.
"That's progress for you" He glanced around, inhaling as he scented a group of young teenage girls not far off.
"Hm, I'll meet you back here in a bit" He said, before the vampire disappeared into the night, heading for his unlucky prey.

Alayna smiled lightly, reassured by Keith's words. "Yea, it was just a dream." she murmured, obviously a bit more tired now that Keith was here, with her. She pulled herself closer, sighing contently and closing her eyes. She woke up slightly, feeling Keith's soft wing against her bare shoulder. Alayna smiled, closing her eyes and running her fingers lightly over the feathers. She felt warm, comfortable and safe. Before Alayna could realize it, she was out cold.

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

"Uh-huh." Carlos said, already half preoccupied with his own dinner. It was so easy something. A smile here, a nod there, and they came willingly. Carlos had the super strength, super speed, super senses. When did he ever need them when it came to hunting? Carlos grinned walking around a corner, knowing the girl was intrigued and following him.
He turned sharply to catch her, fangs barring. She looked up at him and her expression stopped him. She didn't look fazed...Carlos was used to seeing a dazed look before a small light of realization before it was too late...this girl though...she was looking at him curiously almost.
"What?" she asked quietly, laughing softly as she leaned back against the wall, still looking at him. Carlos drew back slowly, tilting his head gently.
"You're surprisingly calm for a girl your age walking the streets at night..." Carlos murmured. The girl blushed lightly and tucked auburn hair behind her ear.
"Yea, I know...my friends call me nocturnal..." she answered with a small shrug. Carlos sighed heavily and forced himself away from her.
"You should get home. Your parents might be worried." Carlos said. Suddenly, he'd lost his appetite.
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" she asked, and Carlos chuckled, shaking his head gently before turning and leaving to meet up with Alexi.

Alexi was waiting for Carlos, blood dripping from still revealed fangs, the front of his shirt was drenched in the stuff. Most of the time, Alexi was a very neat hunter, never leaving a mess, others, he became downright barberic. What was left of his dinner would frighten the whole city, and cause many investigations and a series of confused autopsy reports for the following weeks. Smiling to himself, the vampire looked slightly deranged, unhinged to say the least, another normal thing that happened when he was hunting sometimes. Despite his appearance, education, and family, Alexi was a barbarian, he had grown up a slave, fought in the colisuem of Rome, died, became a vampire, and had gone on to continue to fight, caught up and creating some of the most bloody vampiric battles in history. He was good at death, and often was more involved in the world of crime then most would think.

Turning his head slightly, he grinned bloodily at Carlos.
"What took you?" He teased, his voice slurring slightly as he watched Maria's brother approach. He laughed lightly, the sound was also insane, like looking at a murderer, surrounded by those he killed, laughing. He was like that sometimes, no one knew why, it was just another mystery in the enigma that was Alexi Draq.

Carlos was lost in thought as he walked back to where he was meeting with Alexi. That was half his problem; he was walking to the top of the town. He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head at the thoughts running through his mind. As he rounded the corner, coming up to the meeting spot, Carlos was mildly shocked to see Alexi such a mess.

"Maria won't let me take you anywhere after this." He half grumbled, half teased. "I hope that's not anyone important." Carlos added, which was a long running joke for any vampire that came back a bloody mess (literately).
Carlos glanced over his shoulder, looking back at the town with a soft sigh. "Huh?" he asked, half hearing Alexi's question and laughter. "Um...lost my apetite. Looks like you had enough for three of us." Carlos said, teasing to get off the previous subject. "We should probably get going..." He said, shaking his head at Alexi's current state, though there was a smirk on his face.

Alexi glanced down at his blood soaked person.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've come home like this" Alexi said with a casual shrug. He smiled slightly at Carlos, "Well, I did come across about five slightly drunk teenagers, couldn't leave anyone out now could I?" He smirked, trotting along side his friend.

Maria was used to seeing Alexi come home like this, however, the twins were not. Sighing, he turned on the hose outside Keith's house and turned it on himself, washing the blood off as best he could.
He was still smiling, still had the barbaric gleam in his eye, but at least he was semi-clean. Smirking to himself, he ran his tounge over his fangs, enjoying the remanents of blood from his hunting extravaganza. He had forgotten how good it felt to just let go, release the beast within, so to speak, and was now having a very hard time wrestling it away and returning to the normal, 'sane' Alexi.

"Oh God. I hope they weren't too drunk." Carlos muttered. "Otherwise that's going to turn around and bite you in the ass." he warned. When they got back to the castle, Carlos down right laughed as Alexi walked around to the side of the wall where the hose was, and actually washed off. At least the beast still retained some common curtesy.

Carlos turned, glancing over his shoulder for probably the eighth time, looking back towards the town. He sighed and quickly shook his head. Turning his attention to the castle, Carlos smirked.
"I guess she wasn't all that tired..." Carlos murmured, seeing a light on in one of the upstairs bedrooms. "Hang on..." Carlos said, slowly frowning. The window opened, and Maria appeared.

"Alexi. You'd better get up here." she called. Carlos looked surprised at the tone in Maria's voice. He couldn't quite pin point it. She sounded upset...but not angry...concerned...but not entirely worried.
"She's in the twins room..." Carlos realized as he headed back inside.

"Maria? What's up?" Carlos asked, but by then, he was worried because he could smell blood.
"You two have been gone for a while." Maria muttered. She was sitting on the bed with Nick, who was crying, and watching his mother with a horrified look as she gently and diligently wrapped his arm. The other was already bandaged. "Can you go downstairs? Check on Serena...she's with Keith and Shaye." Maria murmured, to which Carlos nodded before rushing downstairs.

Alexi raced upstairs, hurtling into the bedroom at a breakneck pace.
"Oh gods" He breathed, looking confused, "Maria, love what happened?" He asked, sitting down behind Nick and carefully wrapping his arms around the little boy. He was worried, what the hell had happened, he'd only been gone half an hour, if that? He looked at his wife, fear and confusion burning in his eyes. Had someone attacked his children.

Downstairs, Shaye was similarly bandaging Serena's arms, the little girls' face was covered in tears, and Keith was helping her to drink a bottle of blood.
"It's alright kiddo" He said softly, the little girl was still reluctant to eat, but at least she was feeding, finally. Shaye smiled reassuringly at Serena, "Almost done" She murmured, taping off the bandage before starting on the next arm.

"I-I didn't mean to..." Nick half sobbed, breaking slightly at his fathers worried questions. Maria sighed softly.
"Its alright." Maria promised as she finished Nick's second arm. Looking up at Alexi, Marias eyes were dark and her expression blank. "They haven't told me the whole story. But from what Nick just said...he was the one with the nightmare...bit himself, woke up Serena, who tried to stop him and was bit in the process." Maria said with a heavy sigh. "She's downstairs with Keith, Shaye and now Carlos." Maria murmured.
Nick was obviously scarred. He sucked in a breath when he tried to move his fingers. "Ow." He whispered.
"You'll heal darling. It'll hurt for a little while until then." Maria said, giving Nick a reassuring smile.

Carlos frowned at the scene in the living room. "Ay mia, what happened?" He murmured gently, looking deeply concerned at the bandage Shaye was wrapping around Serena's wrist. He stayed standing, not wanting to get in the way of the couple tending to the child. Though, his worry was clearly expressed as he rubbed his lips gently.

"Of course you didn't mean to, it was an accident" Alexi reassured his son, picking him up gently and placing him in his lap.
"Accidents happen" He smiled, wiping Nick's tears away with his thumb. "You're mother's right, you'll be okay, and Serena will be as well" He frowned, wondering what Nick had been dreaming about, although he doubted now was the time to ask such a question. Hugging his son, he glanced at his wife, a small frown on his face, obviously worried about his children.
He already figured the twins would now sleep in his and Maria's bed for the rest of the night, especially if Nick was having such bad nightmares.

"From the sounds of it, Nick was having a nightmare, a bad one, and bit himself, Serena said she tried to wake him up, but he was still caught up in the dream" Keith sighed, "Poor kid panicked and bit her as well" He smiled at Serena as Shaye finished bandaging her up. Sliding away from the table and the bottle of blood, Serena bolted over to her Uncle, scrambling in his arms and burying her face in his shoulder. Silent sobs wracked her body, "H-he didn't me-mean to" She defended her brother, not wanting Nick to get in trouble.

Nick shuddered and shut his eyes closed. As Alexi moved him around, Nick opened his eyes again. They were tired, but fearful as Alexi brushed the tears away. The little boy would've done it himself if his hands weren't hurting so bad. Nick swallowed hard and merely nodded distantly, looking back down at his arms. They said he had a nightmare...Nick couldn't remember...he looked from one arm to the other, as if trying to figure when he'd done this...he'd 'woken up' when Serena had screamed.
"I-is S-Serena okay?" Nick mumbled quietly, chocking on the suppressed sobs at the thought of having harmed Serena.
Maria nodded gently, brushing Nick's hair from his face. "Course. She's just fine." Maria said.

Carlos sighed, kneeling to catch Serena as she barreled right to him. He held her tightly as he stood up. He nodded to Keith before Serena's voice caught his attention.
"Of course he didn't." Carlos agreed, shifting Serena so she was looking at him. "We all know Nick would never hurt you. This was just an accident." He promised, though knowing that Nick was lashing out due to nightmares was slightly troublesome.

Alexi nodded, "Your sister's tough Nick" He reassured, he glanced at Maria, the best thing for the twins right now would be to let them see one another, get them back in bed, and probably put on a movie in the hopes that it would distract them from what had just happened. Still holding Nick, Alexi rose slowly, smiling at his son, "Lets go get your sister, something to drink, and then we can all go and stretch out in mom's and my room" He said, his voice sounded cheerful, though it was a bit forced. He was seriously concerned about his children right now, but he couldn't let Nick or Serena know that, he had to be tough. Shaking his head, he wandered down the stairs, spotting Carlos hugging Serena, who looked pretty shaken.
"Hey" He said in a small, soft voice.
"Hey" Keith said, his voice also bright, though it was forced as well. "Shaye just finished up" He nodded at his soulmate whom was washing her hands in the sink.

Serena nodded fiercly, still hiding her face in her Uncle's shoulder, shaking with repressed sobs. She glanced up as her parents and Nick came in, he looked as bad as she felt. She offered her twin a small, watery smile, before hiding her face again. She felt sick, she hurt, and all she wanted to do was sleep, but she was scared to do that.

Maria nodded in agreement to Alexi's idea. "I'll set up to movie." She said, standing up and cleaning the medical supplies from the bed. The sheets and blankets would need to be washed tomorrow since they were stained. Maria sighed deeply as Alexi left. She rested against the bed for a moment before throwing away the garbage and going to hers and Alexi's room to set up a movie.

Carlos sighed. He could feel Serena shaking, but that was all. "Don't hold it back darling," he murmured gently" its alright to cry when you're hurt." Carlos said, swaying lightly to try and soothe the distraught child. He glanced up when Alexi showed up and he nodded gently to the father.

Nick swallowed hard since he could really do no more. As they walked downstairs, Nick kept his head down against Alexi's chest. When Serena looked up, so too did Nick, offering a similar smile back in apology. He felt horrible, seeing Serena so torn up because of him...

Alexi glanced at Carlos, shaking his head softly.
"We're gonna watch a movie upstairs, care to join us?" He asked, Serena was clinging to her Uncle, and he knew the little girl would want her Uncle nearby, she was fairly attatched to him. He sighed, seeing the tears on Serena's face, he felt his heart break a little bit more, it hurt him immensely to see both his children so distraught. He rubbed Nick's back, "Thanks a lot, for cleaning her up" He said to Keith and Shaye, smiling softly.
"No problem at all Alexi, Shaye's all about the medicine" Keith said gently, "Yea, not a problem at all" Shaye said, "Happy to help" She murmured, taking Keith's hand, "We'll be in our room in case you need us" She said softly.

Serena knew Nick was hurting and she wanted to help him, but she was hurt, and sick feeling from the blood, since she hadn't eaten in so long, and she wasn't sure how to help him. She buried her face against Carlos again, sniffling softly, she didn't want to cry right now, because she knew it would only hurt Nick more.