Family Above All
Josie walked into her room, hoping to find her sister.
"Lizzie?"
"She is not here" informed Hope's voice who was sitting on the side of her bed, she jumped when she heard it. The memory of their last conversation sent butterflies to her stomach. "She went out with MG to see a movie if you want to join them"
Just thinking of the smell of her sister's perfume combined with the smell of cheese fries that MG loved made her stomach turn.
"No thanks, how did you get in?"
"Magic"
Josie rolled her eyes.
"Of course"
When she took off her jacket, a couple of brochures fell off. She leaned over to pick them up, but found that a pair of hands were faster.
Hope's eyebrows rise when she read the title of a pamphlet . You and your baby. Josie gently took it from her hands and placed the papers on her nightstand.
"I just came from the doctor"
Hope straightened at her reserved tone.
"what did they tell you?"
She avoided her eyes.
"I have all the signs of a high risk pregnancy"
"what does that mean?" Hope asked fearfully. What if it had to do with being a tribrid? Had her genes doomed her child from the beginning? Her wolf squirmed inside her, it had already accepted Josie's baby as its own, part of its pack. It was not going to allow any harm to the girl and their future pup.
She silently hands her one of the pamphlet titled "High Risk Pregnancy". She watched as fear covered her face and was a bit hesitant to tell her the next part, but she knew Hope deserved the truth.
"She also told me that if I wanted to interrupt the pregnancy now would be the right time"
Hope froze looking up at her. From the moment she had accepted what Josie said, a million scenarios of how this could work had crossed her mind. Some terrified her, while others made her happier than she had been in a long time. But she had never considered the possibility that Josie didn't want the baby. Suddenly the idea of her baby seemed out of reach and she wondered if the brunette had already done it. Had her child left before she was sure that she was ready for it? Fear washed over her.
"What do you want?" she forced herself to ask.
"It would be ... easier" she admitted looking down. Then she smiled "but when did you know that I do something the easy way?"
The tightness in the tribrid's chest eased and she was able to breathe again.
Josie wasn't sure what to do until her Aunt Elena had said about terminating the pregnancy, a cold, clinical way of saying that she would kill her baby.
In that moment, the baby had been real to her. Not a mistake in lab results or a problem she didn't know how to handle, but something real, a part of her. And a ferocity had invaded her, a certainty that this baby was hers and she would not let anything harm it.
“You know, my family has a sacred vow, as sacred as always and forever. The family above all, we all honour it, it’s part of being a Mikaelson, it’s part of being my family” Hope shrugged “this baby… is my family”
Hope's hand reached out to where the baby rested.
"Does that mean you believe me?"
Hope nodded.
"I believe you, Josie, my wolf feels it"
"So I guess that makes us family too" she said covering Hope's with her hand.
Josie had meant that as a statement, but it had sounded like a question.
Hope nodded calmly with a soft smile on her lips.
“A weird, strange, and dysfunctional, but family nonetheless. So why don't we agree on that for now? Family above all. The rest can wait "
Josie wondered how she had known she was concerned about that, the shifting lines of their barely nascent friendship. What would this pregnancy do to them? How are they supposed to act? What did they expect of them? All those questions had plagued her mind and then with a simple statement, she would have managed to calm all her doubts. She nodded.
"Family above all"
Hope found herself looking into her eyes, losing herself in the brown there. Her hand tightened on hers and Josie moved away.
"Well in that case you should catch up" she said taking out the pamphlets.
Josie sat on the bed, Hope stand up from the chair and sat next to Josie on the bed. She could feel the heat radiating from the tribrid, it was unexpected how comforting it was.
"Let's start with this one" Hope said taking the one that said high risk.
"Hope" Josie sighed taking her hand. Hope looked at their clasped hands "I only have indications of one, that does not mean I have a high risk pregnancy"
"So why did your aunt think that?" She demands.
"Because I passed out and my blood pressure is higher than normal." When Hope simply looked at her, she relented. “And I have a high level of hormones. But my aunt said, women can have that and still have a healthy pregnancy"
But no human has ever carrying a baby tribrid, Hope thought. What if Josie's body was unable to carry the baby to term? Her mother had done it with her, but Hayley was a werewolf with accelerated healing.
"Josie, did your aunt tell you if there was something ... different with the baby, if it was like me?"
"She didn't say anything, although we should ask her to do some tests" Josie commented, when worry continued to darken Hope's blue eyes, she tried to talk to her with the same argument she used for herself "Hope, I'm healthy, I'm strong, the baby has many possibilities "
"You are not afraid?" asked the tribrid.
"Terrified but worrying about it won't keep my blood pressure low"
Hope nodded and followed her example, not dwelling on what frightened both of them. She knew she had to tell her family, but she didn't feel ready to break the news yet, not when Josie was having problems with the baby. It wouldn't increase the pressure on Josie by forcing her to confront her family.
For tonight it was enough that they were here, facing this together. Her gaze strayed from over the pamphlets and she noticed a picture of a baby on the front of one, and she found herself suddenly eager to know everything.
"Can you already feel the baby?"
Josie laughed, feeling relieved for the first time since she found out. Somehow being alone with Hope in the semi-lit room felt good. As if everything is going to be okay.
"Hope, the baby is only a few weeks old, it’s more of a group of cells than a baby right now"
"Have you had morning sickness or cravings?" she asked remembering her Aunt Freya's comments when Keelin was pregnant with little Nik.
Josie made an adorable face.
“I still have no cravings, but plenty of throwing up. And by the way morning sickness, is just a starting point, I throw up all the time. A lot more when Lizzie wears her favourite perfume "
Hope just smiled as she listened to her complain.
"Your baby hates her aunt's perfume" she rolled her eyes affectionately.
"Your sister uses a lot of perfume" Hope wrinkled her nose and they shared a smile. "Have you already told Lizzie?"
Somehow she knew, that she hadn't done it yet. She had every certainty that the moment the blonde knew, she would appear before her and probably bewitch and torture her for making her sister pregnant.
Josie shook her head and looked down. Trying not to imagine her sister's reaction to the news.
"your family?"
"Not yet, I needed to understand it myself first before deciding to break the news to someone else."
"I get it"
"When will you tell them?" Hope asked.
"I don't know, soon, I guess" she decided halfway, she didn't feel like having that discussion at the time "I don't know how long I can hide this from Lizzie"
She takes out the rest of the pamphlets and hand half to Hope.
"Who knew that having a baby meant more homework?" Hope joked.
"This will make up for the homework you don't do when you hunt monsters" Josie joked back.
They settled into Josie's bed and started reading everything. As time went by Josie began to feel her eyes close and yawn.
"Tired?" Hope's compressive voice asked.
Josie nodded, forcing her eyes open.
“Yes, I have been feeling pretty tired these days. Aunt Elena said I would feel that way until my body adjusted” Her eyes closed.
She felt Hope gently lift her up.
"What are you doing?"
"I remove the blankets so you can lie down better" commented the tribrid, she took off her shoes, covered her with the blankets and watched as she sighed, already asleep. She stood by the bed for a long time, unable to avoid the soft smile on her lips.
She picked up the pamphlets, stuffing them into her jean’s pocket, turned off the light, and opened the door. Closing it carefully, she turned around and nearly collided with Lizzie.
"What were you doing in my room, Mikaelson?" She asks, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
"I was talking to Josie" she said without giving more information.
"my dad is looking for you, something about a Malivore" Lizzie said reluctantly.
"Are they all fine, are there any monsters?"
"No, no monster has shown up" Lizzie replied
"I have to go then, I have something important to do, if your dad asks I'm busy" she said quickly to the blonde in front of the door.
Lizzie was surprised, usually Hope ran to her father when it came to Malivore and potential danger, but the girl seemed distracted.
Hope looked up at the door, thinking on the girl in the other side and the precious cargo inside her.
"Bye, we'll talk tomorrow" she turned and left, leaving the confused blonde behind her.
She entered her room and gathered all the ingredients to do an astral projection, she needed to talk to Freya. She settled into the circle of salt and began to sing the words.
"Hope? What are you doing here, what’s wrong? " Freya asked.
"I need help, aunt Freya"
"Sure, I'm up to anything, just tell me what happens?"
"Josie is pregnant" she announced to her aunt "it might sounds crazy, but the baby is mine"
Freya looked at her for a moment without answering.
“You know when we found out that the three types of species were in you, Keelin and I began to wonder how nature would handle your condition. Keelin thought that it would do the same as with your father, it would find a way to create more like you no matter with whom, that you would adapt in some way to create your own bloodline, it seems that my brilliant wife was right "
"I need answers Aunt Freya, Josie…." She wasn't sure whether to tell her how Josie felt and what the doctor had said.
Family above all, Josie's voice came as clear to her as if she had whispered in her ear.
“Josie has been feeling bad, her aunt who is a doctor thinks something might be wrong. I need to know if this pregnancy could harm Josie. I need your help"
She was not only worried about her baby, but also about Josie. She had to make sure she was safe.
"I'll be there in a few days," Freya said.
"thanks"
With a flash of light, Hope was in her room again, she lay down on the floor, looked around her room, the paintings half started, photos of her family and the books Dr. Saltzman wrote about her family. The terror, the thirst for blood and the evil, but he was not talking about something even more important, the love for the family, the love she now felt for her baby, she thought smiling, that meant much more than anything in the world.
She couldn't explain the tug on her heart since she found out. She had pushed away everything else, even that feeling of sadness at not belonging, being the only one of her kind. All her life, no matter what she did, that feeling was always present, colouring everything she did. Sadness had shaded her happiness, darkened her pain, and intensified her fears. But today that she had sat down with Josie, for the first time there was something more important, something that overshadowed everything. Josie and her baby.
With a sigh she pulled the pamphlets out of her pocket and began to read.