1x1 with x_fire

Sami grinned, "Why thank you, I've been working on that little presentation for awhile" She teased, running her fingers through her hair.
"It takes awhile to get things sorted out, especially when you're a teenager" She murmured to Maddie. "Your human body is all out whack because of puberty and everything else its going through, so its harder to keep your more animalistic tendancies or instincts buried, you'll get it in time, we've all had lots of problems" She said with a small smile.

Demitri laughed, "I remember those days, you destroyed bottles as well" He murmured to his son, who blushed and chuckled.
"How did we manage? Talent" Demitri said, puffing out his chest playfully.
Alexi laughed, rolling his eyes. "And Alayna, she was really good at calming Zach down when he started pitching a fit, she was a first class babysitter. I kept trying to tempt her to come live with us to help with the twins" He said with a grin.
Demitri chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. "Alayna was a huge help, still is" He murmured, ruffling Zach's hair playfully.

Serena nodded in agreement to her brother, scowling playfully at him as he tickled her side.
"Don't" She whined, shying away from Nick's fingers and towards Maria, not wanting to get tickled anymore.

Kristen laughed. "I did wonder how you managed to say that so quickly." she teased gently before nodding in agreement to Sami. Maddie glanced up somewhat bashfully and smiled gently at Sami's reassurance.
"Glad to know it's slightly normal." She said, smiling gently before looking back at the movie.

"Talent eh?" Carlos asked, smirking gently and rubbing Sami's shoulder softly.
"Talent, luck and a great babysitter." He added as Demitri brought up Alayna.
"She is amazing with children." Kristen said, sighing softly before glancing around the room.
"Where is Layna?" Kristen asked curiously.
"Outside on the porch." Maddie answered gently, rubbing her arms softly.
"Oh." Kristen answered before Serena scurried away from Nick and over to Maria.

"Ay mia!" Maria gasped softly, sensing Serena near by. She chuckled, brushing Serena's hair from her face. "Nicolas." Maria chided, though Nick laughed gently.
"I couldn't resist, she was being too serious." Nick said, smiling.

Demitri shrugged, "She really is fantastic with the kids" He murmured, wondering why Alayna was on the porch, though in all honesty he really didn't need to think hard to figure it out. Sighing, he glanced at Zach, who also looked a bit concerned over Alayna's absence, it pained him sometimes how close the two were, sometimes Zach seeked out Alayna's assurances over his and Kristen's but he also knew he and Kristen had a long ways to go with mending the relationship they had with their son.

Zach sighed, smiling at his Dad in what he hoped was a reassuring manner before chuckling at the antics of the twins.
"Nice to see you two are still the same, despite look like you're eighteen" He groused, he hated being the youngest, and now he was.
Serena laughed, moving so her mother could continue to play with her hair, she loved when Maria did, it was a nice feeling.
"We may be physically eighteen but emotionally Nick's still about five" She said, her face completely serious though her brown eyes danced in amusement.

Alexi snorted, trying to keep a stern expression on his face as he delt with his daughter.
"Be nice" He groused, though he was really trying not to laugh. Serena was extremely good at appearing serious even during the most comedic circumstances, it was an odd talent.

Maddie glanced from Kristen and Demitri to Zach, and took a small breath at the sudden tension. Well that lasted longer than usual at least. She rubbed her bare arms gently and turning her eyes onto the movie.
Kristen sighed softly. "Alayna's probably fine Zach." She said gently, knowing he was worried about his aunt.

"Do we really look eighteen?" Nick groaned, glancing back at his cousin with a puppy dog expression. Maddie nodded gently. "Seveteen going on eighteen at least." She answered.
"Flipping fantastic." Nick muttered before glaring softly at his sister. "If I'm five then you're four since I'm older." He said, sticking his tongue out at his sister.
"You do realize how awkward it's going to be with us going into our first year of highschool looking three years too old?" Nick half groaned.

"I'm so glad this is going to be my last year." Maddie said with a sigh of content.
"Don't remind us." Kristen groaned, shaking her head gently.
"Need I remind you two that you aren't going to an average Highschool so you're appearance doesn't really matter." Maria said, running her fingers through Serena's hair gently, smiling. "One does not judge a book by it's cover."
"At least not out loud." Carlos murmured.
"Carlos." Maria half hissed, glaring at her brother.

"We could homeschool" Alexi said hopefully.
"You know for the kids sake of course" He added when Demitri shot him a look. He was teasing of course, but he was a bit worried about what would happen to his daughter now. She'd been pretty at fourteen now she was gorgeous and he hated the idea of her getting hurt (again) by some idiot boys.

"Daddy we're not getting home schooled" Serena whined, shaking her head, though she stilled under Maria's ministrations.
"Mum's right, its a supernatural high school, us looking a bit different isn't going to be too big of a deal, especially compared to some of the other things that will have happened to people over the summer" She said, nodding her head.
"She's so grown up" Alexi wailed playfully, "Fourteen year old you would never have said that, never!"
"I think you broke him" Zach said, ignoring Maddie's comment, he didn't want to dwell on that right now.
Alexi stuck his tongue out at Zach, ignoring Demitri's rolling eyes along with Vlad's.
"And I'm the youngest" Demitri teased.
"Well, Alexi was always very immature for his age, I think it had to do with the numerous bumps to the head he sustained while human" Vlad said with a smirk.
"Oi!" Alexi whined, sounding british for the moment.

Sami poked Carlos' ribs gently.
"Be nice" She said with a chuckle, "At least you guys skipped four years of puberty, that's pretty lucky" She said with a grin.
"Oh yea" Serena murmured, looking slyly at her brother, "Did you get hair in places where there was no hair before?"

"We're not homeschooling." Maria said, shaking her head gently. "We'd make horrible teachers." She added and Kristen could help but laugh.
"You definitely broke him." Maddie said, her eyes growing eye at Alexi's antics, even though she knew he was only teasing.

"I am being nice." Carlos said softly, laughing as Alexi yelled out Oi. "Maria, I think you're rubbing off on him." He said and even Nick was laughing.
"I can't believe you just said that!" Nick laughed, rolling onto his side.
"He kind of sounded like Carlos." Maddie said, smirking at Zach. Maria rolled her eyes gently.
"I ask myself the same thing every day Demitri, how is it I was born second?" Maria asked, looking at Carlos and then Alexi with a soft smirk.

Nick finally calmed down and glared again at his sister. "Why on earth would I answer that question in front of everyone?" He asked. "Obviously I'm a lot taller, so let's just leave the growth spurt at that." He said, shaking his head at his sister.
"Man if they just had another growth spurt, does that mean you'll have another one soon too?" Maddie asked, turning to look at her brother curiously.

Alexi rolled his eyes, "Not my fault I'm exposed to british people all day" He said teasingly, chuckling at Serena's comment towards her brother.
"Ah, my son is no longer a little boy, he won't be asking me awkward questions about what 'its' for anymore" He teased, though he was smiling at Nick as Demitri disolved into laughter.
"Zach did the same thing" He reassured the dark haired vampire teen, ignoring his son's scathing expression.

"No, I don't think so" Zach murmured to Maddie, "Uncle Sven said I'd probably hit a point where I aged normally until I hit my peak maturity and then freeze" He explained, "So at like twenty or something I'll stop aging" He said for clarity sake.
"Dad" He whined, shaking his head at his father. "I was four" He grumbled, "And I only asked cause I saw you and Mom getting out of the shower one day"
"Oi" Demitri groaned, mimicking Alexi teasingly, "I liked them better when they were little enough to put to bed for the rest of the evening" He said with a small smirk.

Sami was giggling lightly.
"Younger siblings are always the most mature" She said with a chuckle, "Or at least girls are always the most mature" She said, winking at Kristen and Maria.
"Agreed" Serena said, nudging Nick, "Like I said, I'm seventeen going on eighteen and he's five going on two"
Alexi smirked, "Leave Nick alone Serena, he's more mature than five years old, he's always been fairly mature for a Draq anyway, he's way more mature than Demitri"
"Hey" Demitri whined, "My newphew is not more maturen than me" He grumbled.

"Dad!" Nick groaned as Alexi brought up a conversation he had thought would stay between them.
Maria couldn't stop laughing, though she and Kristen were trying to contain themselves entirely.
"Woow." Maddie said, shaking her head gently and rubbing her forehead.
"Oh don't think you're lacking deary. You asked awkward questions too." Kristen said.
"Oh we can just ignore those for now." Maddie said, heat rising to her face suddenly.

Nick's eyes went wide. "Oh my Gods, is Maddie blushing!?" Nick asked, having glanced back quickly, yet he caught the glimpse of red on Maddie's face.
"No, it's just the sunset..." Maddie said, nodding towards the window and covering her face. "And I agree with Sami, girls definitely mature quicker. So that makes Serena older by default now." Maddie said.
"Yea whatever." Nick said, hissing gently at Maddie, to which she replied with a soft growl.

"Ah Demitri, you forget that Nick is also my nephew, and he can be extremely mature when he wishes." Carlos said. "As can Serena, and I'm sure you're children as well. What is that phrase? You may grow old but never grow up?" He asked, smiling gently.

"Ah Maddie did ask awkward questions" Demitri said with a smirk, "Particularly pertaining to baby Zach. Though she also asked when we could take him back to the hospital, even though he wasn't born in one" Demitri chuckled.
"She liked you at first, but then you kept waking her up. Once you woke her up all bonds of sibling-hood were off and she started trying to sell you to people" Demitri said with a smirk.

"I remember that" Alexi said, chuckling.
"She tried selling him to me, even carried him out to the car and put him in the back seat, we found him sitting there fifteen minutes later, just relaxing" Alexi said, while Demitri nodded and chuckled.
"She tried putting him in my suitcase once when I was leaving for a business trip" Vlad recalled with a grin, "He got into my toothpaste, got it everywhere" He said with a fond sigh.

"You tried to get rid of me?" Zach asked Maddie, trying to loo hurt as he did so. He was chuckling however so the effect of the puppy-dog eyes was lost.
"Multiple times" Demitri murmued, chuckling at Carlos.
"Says the most immature of the group, I think Maria can agree to that" He added with a smirk.

Maddie shook her head victoriously. "I did not put you in Alexi's car, that he's making up." Maddie said, sticking her tongue out at her uncle. She rolled her eyes at her parents, though now the tips of her ears were turning red. The blush had subsided from her cheeks.
Looking at Vlad, Maddie shook her head again.
"As I recall, we were helping you pack, and I was called to do something and Zach crawled into the bag on his own; how he got into your toothpaste is beyond me." Maddie said, though she was starting to laugh as she remembered that day.

Kristen smirked. "Yes, Maddie was upset with you for a little while. Until the day we were all watching a movie and you crawled out of my lap and sat in hers instead." Kristen said, pointing from herself to Maddie. "And you gave her a smile that made her forgive you right on the spot. Then you both fell asleep and it was impossible to separate you two that day."

Maria chuckled shaking her head gently. "Yes I think I remember that. Just before the twins were born." She murmured with a small nod.
Carlos rolled his eyes. "Like I said, one may choose to be mature at any moment. Sometimes, it's just too exhausting." Carlos said, smirking and leaning back against the couch.

Demitri chuckled, "I remember that, she wouldn't let anyone else hold you or touch you, she insisted on doing everything" He said with a grin. Zach blushed, "Well at least she didn't sell me to the circus" He said with a small smirk.
"Not that she didn't try" Alexi pipped up, before chuckling. "No, she was a really good big sister once she adjusted, still is" He added placatingly to the older Draq daughter.

Demitri rolled his eyes at Carlos.
"So clearly you're too exahusted all the time then, since you so rarely show the maturity of an older vampire" He teased, laughing at his children's antics.
Zach was beginning to get tired, he could tell but he didn't bother moving the young teen, if Zach was content with them all in the room having fun, he'd let it go, for now.

Sami chuckled, snuggling against Carlos as Serena laid back, letting her back rest against Maria's shins.
"So how do you all feel about starting school?" She asked curiously.
"Excited yet nervous, like Nick said earlier its our first year of high school. At least Zach and Maddie have gone to high school before" Serena responded.
It would be Zach's second year at the high school and Maddie's last, it was a bit daunting for the twins.
"It'll be fine" Zach mumbled around a yawn, "Everyone already knows you guys and all your friends from your old middle school will be transfering with you" He added, smiling as he thought of seeing his own friends again.

Maddie smiled at Alexi as he mentioned that she was a great older sister. "Yea, I've been doing my best to make up for trying to sell you." She said, looking at Zach with a teasing smile. She sighed softly, leaning back contently as she looked around the room again.
Maria was still running her fingers through Serena's hair, Carlos was rubbing Sami's shoulder, both looking content, Nick was still watching the movie, but Maddie knew he was listening. Vlad seemed to just be enjoying the early evening and Kristen had her head rested against Demitri's shoulder again.
Everything was wonderful right now.

Carlos looked at Demitri and simply smirked. "Considering we just completely reconstructed your kitchen, yes I'm a tad bit tired." he said, though he knew Demitri was just teasing.
Glancing at Serena, Maddie chuckled. "You guys'll be fine." she reassured. "Don't think of it as high school, think of it as the next school year." she said with a small shrug.

Nick smiled at his sister. "I like that idea." he said, nodding over to Maddie. He glanced back at the t.v. screen, and smirked to see that the movie was almost over.
"Soo...now what?" He asked, pointing at the t.v. screen.

"Says the girl who had a full blown panic attack her first day of high school" Serena teased Maddie, "Good advice though, we appreciate it" She added, her tone a lot kinder. She smiled, enjoying spending time with her extended family as well as getting some attention from her mother. She had felt weird without her parents being there for her and Nick's growth spurt, it had been a bit sad and uncomfortable to be without them, even though Sami had tried her best and had been really kind.

"Yes, no more home remodling" Alexi pipped up, wrapping an arm around Maria's waist and burying his head in her shoulder.
"High school" He groaned, "I dunno if I can take it" He added with a teasing grin as he resurfaced.
"Its scary" Demitri admitted, "I almost cried when Zach went as well as Maddie, though she was more upset about then he was. He couldn't wait to get away from us" He said, nudging his sleepy son playfully.
"Hey" Zach whined, "I was just excited to be going someplace new, someplace I could harass my big sister" He winked at Maddie before yawning again.

"We could watch another movie, play a game, put Zach to bed.." Vlad trialed off shrugging.
"What would you all like to do? Or is it getting to late?" He asked. Sami glanced at her phone before at Carlos.
"What would you like to do?" She asked curiously, wondering if he wnated to stick around or take off.

"Considering I was only thirteen, it makes perfect sense to have a small panic attack." Maddie said with a small shrug. It wasn't a fun day to begin with, and going to high school for the first time I just stressed her further. Glancing at Nick, Maddie merely shrugged. Hearing Vlad, Maddie smirked.
"Maybe we should do that last one." She agreed, glancing at her brother, who she could tell was getting seriously exhausted.

Kristen glanced over Demitri's shoulder at Zach and nodded gently in agreement with Maddie. "Yea, maybe." she said in small agreement.
"Alright, it's like the middle of summer still, can we not talk about school yet?" Maddie asked as Demitri started getting sentimental about it. She smiled at him though to show that she was teasing him and she glanced back at the screen as the movie ran into the credits.

Carlos yawned, glancing over Sami's shoulder as she checked the time on her phone.
"Holy smokes, flys are fun when you're having time." He murmured.
"What?" Nick said, looking at his uncle with a complete look of confusion.
"Exactly." Carlos said with a nod of agreement. "I say if you don't mind, we'll head home. There's always another day for more family time fun." Carlos said with a deep breath, smiling gently at his neice and nephew.

"We're gonna take off too" Alexi said, nudging Nick with his leg before standing up.
"Sounds good" Demitri murmured, "We've had a rough couple of days, I think we all need to recover" He said, smiling at his extremely tired son.
"We'll see you in a couple of days" Alexi said, herding his family out the door.
"Bye" Serena waved, grabbing her jacket and trailing after the others.
"Bye" Demitri called along with Zach who waved tiredly.

Sami nodded with a grin.
"We're gonna take off" She said with a small smile, leading a tired Carlos out to the vehicles.
"Are you okay to drive?" She asked Carlos curiously, she had driven her car over in order to bring the twins and Carlos had driven over earlier that day.

Demitri watched everyone leave before he carefully scooped up Zach, who mumbled sleepily in protest before settling down.
"I'm going to get him settled and then shower" Demitri murmured as Vlad headed out of the room to go work on some business stuff.
"Maddie maybe you should start getting ready for bed? Or read or something?" Demitri suggested to his daughter once he had Zach in his arms before he headed upstairs, ready to go to sleep himself after the trying last few days.

Nick resisted the urge to kick his father back, and instead stood up and followed his family out of the room.
"Ciao." He murmured, waving his hand and trailing after his sister, stretching as he walked.

Carlos yawned and shrugged to Sami. "I'll be fine. Just coming down from the blood rush I was on earlier. It's always a pain." He said, standing up to follow Alexi and the family out.
"Night all." He said.

"G'night." Maddie added, watching Demitri scoop up Zach and take him upstairs. She blinked a few times at what he said before glancing at Kristen.
"He does know that it's not even ten o'clock yet right?" Maddie asked, glancing at her phone.
Kristen chuckled softly. "Didn't you have a paper due tomorrow?" Kristen asked, standing up slowly.
"Yea, I finished it yesterday." Maddie said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'ma check on Alayna..." Maddie murmured.
"Madison." Kristen said softly, stopping the girl in her tracks. "Let her be this time."
"I'm worried about her Mom..." Maddie said softly.
"As are we all." Kristen said. "She'll get through this just like all the other times."
Maddie chewed her lip and said nothing. After a moment she nodded and decided to just go hang out in her room for now.

Kristen sighed and rubbed the back of her neck as she wandered out of the playroom and down the hall. She stopped to glance out to the porch, where Alayna was still sitting with a small candle, and her sketch book in hand. Kristen rubbed her lips before heading upstairs.

Demitri chuckled, having heard Maddie's comment about the time. He was well aware of the time but it had been a long day and he knew everyone needed some rest.
Chuckling he carefully put Zach in bed, kissing his son's forehead.
"I'll talk to your Uncle Sven tomorrow and get him to check you out" Demitri murmured, "If he gives you the all clear you can start hobbling about on crutches and maybe take a shower" He said with a grin.
"Thanks dad" Zach said with a grin before snuggling deeper down into his blankets and promptly fell asleep.

Alexi sighed, heading out to his truck and loading the children into the back.
"That was a pleasent evening" He murmured, starting the truck and heading down the driveway towards the highway.
"Did you two have a good time with Sami?" Alexi asked the twins.
"It was fun, a bit weird not having you guys around when we had the spurt though" Serena said, carefully pulling her hoodie on and drawing her knees to her chest.

Sami nodded to Carlos, "Drive safe" She said with a grin, heading to her car. She'd stop on the way home and get some coffee, she was bloody worn out. She was exhausted, even though she had just been hanging out with the twins it had just been a long day.

Nick sighed as he sat in the car, and leaned back gently. "I slept all day." Nick said with a shrug. "It was nice that she was there though." He added with a small nod. He glanced at Serena and gave her a small smile before glancing up at his father through the review mirror.
"Think this'll be the last one?" Nick asked curiously.
"There's not honest way to tell darling." Maria said. "Remember you two are a special case. Hardly no vampires are born the way you two were. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Wonderful." Nick said, shaking his head gently.
"Why don't we do some shopping tomorrow?" Maria asked, turning her chair to look at the pair of them. "We'll see what clothes still fit you two and then see what new things we need to buy?" Maria asked, smiling gently at her now full-blown teenaged twins.

Carlos smiled. "I'll be alright love." Carlos said, getting into his car and following his mate down the driveway. He leaned back as he kicked the car into cruse and continued to lead the car onto the freeway.
He blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes gently as he watched the road. What a day. This morning had been great; mostly because he had felt great, and had worked most of it off. Now though, he was exhausted even though he'd hardly extended himself by much.
It had just been a crazy week entirely. What with Keith coming back with absouletely no memory of any of them...and Sven running himself into the ground to heal him...only for Keith to have attacked Zarchary...who was healing nicely, but would still take time for his recovery...and where had Keith gone off to? Would he even come back?

Carlos rubbed his eyes again as he pulled off the high way and onto the street towards the apartment. He yawned, turning the car into his parking spot not just a few minutes later. Stepping out of the car, Carlos locked it behind him and headed up the stairs.


Kristen didn't even realize she was asleep until she woke up. Her heart was pounding and she could feel the sweat rolling down her face and neck. Her hands were clenched in the sheets that had managed to stay on her. Looking around quickly, Kristen realized her breathing was ragged too.
Images flashed in her mind again, but unlike other times, the flashes made complete sense to Kristen. She saw everything clearly.
Swallowing hard, Kristen pushed the sheets away and sat up. Her hands were shaking.
"Shit..." Kristen whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Demitri. He looked like he was out cold, but Kristen knew he could hear her. "Demitri?" she whispered quietly, hearing her own voice so shaking was weird and Kristen sighed roughly.

Serena grinned, nodding her head in agreement to her mother.
"I'd love to go shopping" She said, she loved shopping and she owed Nick a new t-shirt.
"We could make it a family thing" Alexi suggested, "All four of us" He smiled, "Maybe get school supplies at the same time, since we still need to do that" He added. Serena groaned but nodded, "I'd like to go shopping but not for school supplies" She grumbled.
"However we need them" Alexi said with a soft chuckle.

----

Sami stopped to get a drive-thru coffee before heading home. Yawning tiredly, she pulled into the garage, parking her car next to Carlos' and heading upstairs to the appartment tiredly. Shaking her head she pushed the door open and headed inside, opening the door and shutting the door behind her.

"Hey" She called, putting her coffee down on the table tiredly. She fell into a chair, letting her head flop onto the table.
"What a long day" She grumbled tiredly, though she had a small smile on her face.
"Do you have to work tomorrow?" She asked him curiously. She had the next few days off, but she wasn't sure about Carlos.

----

Demitri sat up in shock and surprise, fisting his eyes tiredly.
"Wha?" He mumbled tiredly to Kristen, looking around confused.
"Is Zach okay?" He asked, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He was way, way to tired to deal with this.

Nick chuckled. "You enjoy shopping too much." He muttered to his sister before glancing out the window. Hearing that tomorrow's adventures of shopping would become a family thing, Nick smiled and nodded gently.
"Yea sure." He said with a shrug, mostly indifferent to the idea. He didn't hate shopping, but it wasn't his favorite thing to to in the world.
Maria smiled at her children before turning back around. "Well, it's something relaxing to do for the day. I'm sure we could all use that." She said, smiling at Alexi gently as he drove on towards their house.

----

Carlos was watching the news intently when Sami came inside.
"Hi." He murmured, though he was frowning at the screen. He glanced over at her as she flopped onto the table and he pulled himself away to go over and hug her. He dropped a kiss on her shoulder gently before standing up straight.
"The twins wear you out today?" He asked softly.

"Yes, unfortunately." Carlos said with a nod. "I have a meeting tomorrow that I can't miss."He said, glancing back at the screen for a moment before back at Sami.
"You took this week off didn't you?" He asked curiously, leaning against the counter so that he could look at Sami when she was talking and still glance at the screen occassionally. He didn't particularly like what he was seeing right now, though part of him thought he was over-reacting entirely. Still, it was somewhat his job to read through the lines of human news to make sure nothing else was at work in the world.

----

Kristen swallowed hard.
"No, Zach is fine." Kristen said, listening again just to check herself. "I thought I heard something outside." Kristen said, which was true. Something had jarred her from her dream other than what was happening. Her dream could wait until morning, whatever she heard was bothering her now.

"It sounded like...something hit the back door." Kristen added, sitting up and trying not to swoon as she stood up.
Shaking her head, Kristen listened again as she wandered out of the room ahead of Demitri.

Alexi pulled into the driveway nodding in agreement.
"We all need some down time" He murmured with a grin as he opened the garage and pulled the car inside.
"You two think you'll sleep at all tonight? Or are you still awake from sleeping all day?" He asked curiously.
"I'm pretty awake" Serena murmured, "I might go through my clothes and see what still fits and what I need to get rid of" Serena murmured thoughtfully.
"Good idea" Alexi murmured, he knew he and Maria were essentially buying the twins complete wardrobes tomorrow and he really had no issue with that.
Sliding from the car Alexi headed inside, wanting a proper shower then just getting sprayed with the hose. Serena followed Alexi inside, heading immediately upstairs to her room to being the arduous task of getting rid of things. She loved shopping and she was excited to replace her wardrobe.

----

Sami looked at Carlos, he seemed distracted by the news.
"Yea I took the week off' She murmured with a small smile. "No the twins didn't wear me out, I'm already worn out" She said, looking at him with a confused expression.
"What's up?" She asked, nodding at the TV curiously. She wasn't really paying much attention to what was going on, just sipping her coffee contently as she tried to wake up a bit.

----

Demitri frowned, shaking his head tiredly as he crawled out of bed.
"I'll check it out, go wake Vlad up" He murmured to his wife as he pulled on his jeans and headed silently downstairs. Listening intently he was surprised that the noise hadn't woken him up.
"What the hell" He growled, approaching the door cautiously. A small growl escaped him as he moved towards the door, wondering what he should do.

"I'm up." Nick said with a shrug. Which wasn't all that odd to him. He actually like being wide awake during the night sometimes. It was peacefully, and stargazing was always fun. It was something Alayna and Keith had shown him once.
Thinking about Keith, Nick's expression saddened as he got out of the car. Looking up at the sky for a moment, Nick shoved his hands into his pockets. He found a few of his favorite constelations before his mother interrupted him.
"Nick? Aren't you coming inside?" She asked.
Nick wandered towards the house though his neck was still craned upwards. "Do you think he'll ever come back?" Nick asked, looking down to Maria and his father before kicking a pebble along his way towards the front door. Maria chewed her lip and glanced at Alexi gently. She had no idea, and she doubted if Alexi had any idea either.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Maria said.
Nick glanced back at the sky and nodded with a small sigh before going back into the house.

-------

Carlos chewed on his finger nail a moment before glancing back at Sami. He sighed soft and sratched his chin.
"I have a peculiar ability. I can see connections where other people can't see past the event itself. Something the humans lack in servery." Carlos murmured. "Every now and then, I watch the news, just to see what the humans are reporting. Sometimes their stories they claim to have happened for one reason, but really another." Carlos said but realizing that might sound weird he added.
"Like, the train station in central Moscow that suddenly erupted a few years ago. People thought it was a broken pipe line and gas leaked, causing the explosion when really it was Cassandra, bombing the place to kill members of our Coven that were coming to meet us." Carlos explained.
"Today they reported a bombing in Spain, then another in Scotland." Carlos said, rubbing the back of his neck gently.
"Keith has followers in Scotland, and we have connections in Spain...." Carlos trailed off and shook his head, breaking his attention from the screen.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably just being paranoid." Carlos murmured, shaking his head and clicking the t.v. off. He didn't want to watch any more. He walked over to Sami and kissed her cheek.
"Don't worry love, I'm just going crazy." He teased, sounding a bit more like himself.

----------

"Vlad?" Kristen called softly, tapping on his door before glancing over her shoulder down the hallway. All the windows outside were dark. Was it really the middle of the night?
An image flashed into her mind, imposing on her reality for a moment. That window was broken. Cold air was blowing snow inside.
Kristen winced and shook her head, forcing herself back to the present. Oh these were getting worse and worse if she couldn't keep them in her dreams. There was that tap again. It was quiet, just a thump. Where the hell was that coming from?

Walking back down the hallway, Kristen peeked into Maddie's room. She was sound asleep. Closing the door, she checked in on Zach was well. Good, they were both out.
Going back downstairs, Kristen joined Demitri, glancing at the door she sucked in a breath as the image flashed again. There was blood smeared across the sliding glass door...
No...there couldn't be blood, Demitri would have seen that already. Kristen blinked away the image.
"Nothing?" Kristen asked, wondering if maybe now she was hearing things since she was seeing things as well. She rubbed her arms with hands that felt cold and were shaking a bit.

Alexi wrapped an arm around Nick, pulling his son close for a moment, despite him almost being the same size.
"I think he'll come back when he figures everything out" He murmured, "He'll be very upset though and need our support" He added, dropping a kiss on Nick's dark hair. He knew Nick had always been close with Keith, talking to him about all sorts of things, he was sure the boy felt all out of sorts now that he was gone.
Serena glanced at her twin, sending him wordless thoughs of affection and reassurance before she headed inside, a small grin on her face before she opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of blood. She was thirsty after the long, yet relaxing day.

----

Sami shook her head, smiling at Carlos in understanding.
"No love" She murmrued softly snuggling against him. "I understand" She murmured, "Besides, if anyone understands paranoia it woud be me" She said with a small grin. "I spent an entire year on my own, looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone from my family to find me, to catch me" She murmured, "So I understand" She said, kissing his chin affectionately.

"But, don't worry to much about this" She murmured, "If something bad is going to happen we'll deal with it like we always do" She said softly, "Don't let it get you down and don't stress about something that might not happen" She said with a grin.
"Going crazy is fine, normal is only a setting on a washing machine afterall" She said with a wink, chuckling lightly.

----

Vlad made a startled noise as he heard someone knocking on his door.
"Kristen?" He mumbled, opening the door and rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Whats up?" He asked as he headed downstairs realizing that was where his brother and his wife were.

"Shush" Demitri murmured, still staring at the door. "Do you smell that?" He asked Vlad, realizing his brother was there. Vlad inhaled deeply, wrinkling his nose.
"Smells like something rotten, flesh or something" Vlad said looking sickened.
"What's going on?" He asked again, keeping his voice pitched low.
"Kristen heard something down here. I heard it too but when I came down all I noticed was the bloody smell" Demitri murmured to his brother, glancing at his wife with a confused expression.

Nick glanced up at his father and smiled gently in reassurance.
"So long as he comes back, I'll be happy." Nick said. "Even if it's just for a moment. Just to see the old Keith again." He added with a small shrug before wandering into the house after his sister.
He wandered past the kitchen, debating if he wanted more blood. He wasn't really that thristy yet, but he reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle anyway before heading up to his room. Since he was wide awake, Nick figured he could clean out his closet. He was pretty sure than almost none of his clothes fit thanks to the most recently growth spurt.
Maria waited for Alexi before walking inside after their son and closing the front door behind them. She locked it as well before looking over at Alexi with a sad smile.
"Do you really think he'll come back?" Maria asked softly and quietly so that only Alexi could hear her.

-------------------------
Carlos grinned as Sami hugged him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Ah I love you." He said, kissing the top of her head with a grin on his face. He rubbed her back gently and smiled down at her.
"Yes, I know darling. Running from things that you never need run from again." He added, kissing her forehead. Carlos smiled contently as he listened to Sami.

He brushed her hair from her face and lifted her chin up lightly. "How have I survived this years without your voice of reason?" Carlos asked softly, looking a bit worn down though he kissed her gently.
"Only a setting on a washing machine..." Carlos repeated, laughing and shaking his head at Sami. "And I thought I had heard it all. I think I ought to turn in for the night." He added, kissing Sami's head again before drawing his arms from her and heading upstairs.

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

Kristen was looking nervous between the two vampires now. She wasn't sure what she was looking at sometimes either. Things seemed to be normal one minute, and then whatever she was seeing changed. Like the door.
For a moment, it was just the regular slidding glass door, looking out to a dark night. If she blinked, and looked back, it because a cold door, frosted from snow, holding back a mound but there was blood smeared across the glass.
Kristen sucked in a breath and closed her eyes shut a moment. Focus. she told herself. What were the brothers saying? Rotten flesh? A thump every now and then. That sounded like a really bad horror story.
"Oh please tell me zombies are just human fiction." Kristen said, frowning as she opened her eyes again.

"Maybe it's just a wounded animal or something from the woods." Kristen murmured softly, feeling a headache coming on.
"It wouldn't be the first time something like that crept into our...backyard..." Kristen murmured, trailing off a bit as she walked up towards the door.
The blood pooled just outside. The smear across the window lead back down to the floor. Kristen could see it, and she pressed her hand against the door, caught in something of a trance by the image in her mind. The trail lead back down to the ground. Back to the source of it all.
"Alayna." Kristen gasped, shutting her eyes roughly and looking away from the window. "Oh God no...no no she's not out there." Kristen said quickly, knowing Demitri and Vlad would be confused.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kristen looked back out the glass door and along the dark patio. "Maybe it is just an animal..." Kristen muttered, seeing something on the patio that seemed to be breathing, but not moving.

Alexi glanced at Maria before smiling softly.
"I think he will" He murmured. "And I think it will be Keith that comes back, not Castiel. He has to deal with whatever's happened to him but I think in time everything will be fine" He murmured, "Maybe I'm being optimistic, but that's what I'm going to believe" He said with a slight shrug before following the two teenagers inside.
"What do you think of the growth spurt?" He asked curiously, glancing at his wife with intense ice-blue eyes.

-----

Sami grinned, "I have no idea" She murmured, snuggling against him again.
"I know" She murmured, "Its a relief to know I finally have a place to call home" She added, before he drew away heading for bed. Sighing contently she headed back into the kitchen to tidy up before turning in herself. She didn't want to leave a mess when she knew that the smell and everything really bothered Carlos.

About half an hour later Sami closed the dishwasher and set it before heading to the bedroom. Yawning, she quickly changed into her sleep clothes and crawled into bed, curling up against her mate, relishing the feeling of warmth and safety.

---

"Zombies?" Vlad snorted, "No they don't exist, at least not yet" He added with a shrug. Frowning he watched Demitri and Kristen headed for the porch. Neither he nor Demitri smelt blood, just decay so nothing that bad could have happened, right?

Frowning, Demitri followed Kristen, if his heart could beat it would have been pounding in his chest. He was not pleased with what was going on. It all felt like a really bad horror movie.
"Maybe" Demitri murmrued in a doubtful voice. What the hell was going on? Biting his lip, he felt his fangs pierce his flesh before Vlad rested a calming hand on his shouder and he released his lip, feeling blood well up in the wound. He was really not happy about whatever the hell was going on.