Finally Home
"Life is all about timing...the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience, wait it out. It's all about timing." - Stacey Charter
Hope paced in front of the door, giving it sparing looks as she went by. It was the same thing she had been doing for the past five minutes and if she hadn't been so distracted, she would have realized that someone would notice her doing it.
"You know, you can go in there," said an unfamiliar voice with a hint of laughter.
Her head snapped up to see a woman in uniform and a sympathetic but amused expression on her face. She tried to smile weakly at her, but it quickly escaped her lips as she continued down the hall. Hope knew she must look absolutely terrified because, for once in her life, she was completely unable to hide how she felt. She had dreamed of this moment over and over again, and she feared that now that she was here it would end like all her other dreams, she would wake up without them.
She looked down and caught the silver glint of her wedding ring, the smile coming naturally now. She had married Josie Saltzman. Some days she was still shocked to see the ring on her hand, unable to really believe that the brunette had married her. In the four years since she had put it on her finger, she had only removed it when she shifted on her wolf and even then, she wore it on a chain around her neck.
Josie had told her that she understood if she didn't want to wear one, because it would be less annoying if she had to shift on her wolf suddenly, and that she knew she loved her and only her. But she couldn't take it off. To the tribrid, that ring was a symbol of the promises they had made to each other at their wedding, promises she could remember as clearly as if they had been said yesterday.
"Hope and Josie have written their own vows, which they will now say to each other," declared her Uncle Kol with a smile to the congregation. She turned to the tribrid, nodding. "Hope"
Hope turned to her best man and took the ring from MG. The brunette gave her a firm nod of encouragement, a small smile playing on her lips. Hope returned the gesture and turned to her bride. Her bride. She stopped for a moment and stared at her. She was breathtaking. The simple off-the-shoulder white dress she wore only emphasized her beauty and the second she'd seen her walk down the aisle to her, it had taken everything she had to don’t shift on her wolf because the excitement. The tribrid took a deep breath, reaching for her hands. She looked into her eyes and said the vows that she had been practicing for the past two weeks.
"Josie, in a life that has been filled with the unexpected, you were the one surprise that I was completely unprepared for"
Josie laughed and Hope smiled at her, forgetting that there was anyone else there as she got lost in those loving brown eyes.
Her smile softened as she shook her head in amazement.
"You came into my life like a storm, stripping away all my defences and exposing truths that I wasn't sure I could handle. But you made me see that I could and believed you, because being close to you has always made me stronger. I don't know anyone who loves as fiercely and freely as you. You give so much of yourself to those you love and don't even realize how much it means to them to have your support. Especially me, because you’re everything to me. You’re my best friend, my partner, my epic love and today, you become my wife" She raised her hand and kissed it. "Thank you, Josie, for being my salvation, because I don't know what my life would have been without you. And so, I promise to always be there when you need me, to never leave you behind, to protect you, to love you, to be your wife, always and forever."
She slipped the silver ring onto her finger. She saw a tear fall from the corner of her eye and gently wiped it away. Josie turned her face to her palm and kissed it. Then she shook her head ruefully and whispered so low that only Hope could hear her: "Show off."
The tribrid chuckled softly when her Uncle Kol looked at her and nodded. "Josie"
She turned to Lizzie and took the silver band her sister offered her with a smile. Then she looked at her, inhaling deeply, and Hope could feel the fine tremble of her hand inside hers and squeezed. She looked at her, her eyes so serious and dark.
"Hope, from the very first time we met, you took me completely by surprise" She smiled at her and Hope shook her head, knowing she was thinking about their first meeting in the schoolyard. Then the humour faded from her face, leaving only love there. "And all these years later, that’s never changed. You still surprise me every day. You make me believe in things I never thought I could. You make me believe that there are good people in this world, people who will do what is right, no matter what. And people who will always love you and never leave "
She knew exactly what she meant and tried to let her know with her eyes that she understood. The brunette smiled at her, telling her that she knew and that she could see the sheen of tears in her eyes.
"I’ve fought with you, I’ve laughed with you, I’ve cried over you and I’ve loved you. You make me feel more than I’ve ever felt before and each day with you only gets better. You’ve given me everything, things I never thought I could have. things I never wanted to admit that I needed, and you gave them effortlessly. So today, I vow to give you everything I can. I promise to give you my friendship, my understanding and my love. I promise to always be your wife, and to do my best to give you all your dreams, because you have given me mine "
She pushed the silver ring down her finger. They looked at each other when Kol announced with a big smile that they were married.
Hope smiled at the memory. All the dreams she had wished for had come true. Except for one. She turned and looked at the door, a part of her still scared, despite everything. Finally, with a shaking hand, she pushed the door.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the three people inside and her knees gave out, causing her to stumble as entering the room.
Her soft laugh reached her first, a soothing balm for her troubled soul.
"She's always like that" Josie confided to the other two people in the room. Then she looked at her wife and said softly, "But we'll give her a break. she's been waiting a long time to see you"
Hope had been waiting eight years to see these people. There were times when she had stopped believing that she would ever get a chance. Gingerly, she sat down next to Josie on the bed and the brunette smiled, that smile she kept just for her
"Hope Mikaelson, there are some people I would like you to meet" she twisted on the pillows that were propped around her, so that face her fully and held out one of the small bundles of squirming blankets, "your children"
My children.
Her hands shook when she reached for the little baby. He looked so perfect, just as Hope remembered it. A part of her knew it should be impossible that they could have the same children they had in another life, she thought as she brushed her thumb against Andy's soft skin and looked at Luke in Josie's arms. But somehow, they had. She had seen enough miracles in her life to know that sometimes the impossible happened, and now, they had the greatest one in their arms.
The baby reached out, his tiny hand automatically wrapping around Hope's thumb. Her heart constricted at the touch. Sleepy dark blue eyes opened up to stare at the disturbance to his rest, eyes that Hope knew would turn lighter and greenish in a few weeks. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, inhaling that familiar scent.
The baby complained at this, frowned and started crying. Hope laughed and switched babies with Josie, inspected Luke carefully, it was just how she remembered him, relief filled what had been so afraid moments before. She was holding her son. This time he wasn't going to disappear into a dream. She whispered reverently, "Luke."
the tribrid looked quickly at Josie and she nodded, the tears matching the ones in her eyes and answered her unspoken question: "Yes, it's Luke, Hope. And this is Andy" she indicated the baby in her arms “they were always meant to be Andy and Luke "
Hope's gaze returned to her children, adoration so strong in her eyes that it took her breath away. She had looked at her that way since she first told her she was pregnant. Josie wiped away the tear that was escaping from the corner of her eye, remembering that night.
She had been working long hours at the hospital for over a month. Josie had spent the day between surgeries.
It had been when she was talking to the relatives of a patient that she passed out. It hadn't been the first time either. She had done it the day before as well, but hadn't told Hope, knowing how overprotective she could be. They had been so busy that she simply thought she had forgotten to eat. But when the nurses helped her up, she recalled a conversation she and Hope had had one summer night almost eight years earlier. So she walked straight to the lab and asked for some blood tests, which confirmed what she had thought: she was pregnant.
She wanted so badly to go to Hope right now and tell her, but she knew that the Salvatore school principal was dealing with a little prank war between the wolves and the vampires. So instead, she'd returned to work with a smile that hadn't wavered all day. She'd done her rounds, barely able to focus on anything other than the secret inside her.
She walked through the house, waiting for Hope to return. When the front door opened, the tribrid entered with weariness etched on her face. She took off her jacket and tossed it on the couch.
She went into their room, took off her work clothes, put on shorts and an old T-shirt. She walked over to her, leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the neck. "Hi Jo"
She held her head against hers for a moment, closing her eyes. Then she released her and watched her move to the bed, stretching out across it with a sigh.
For a few minutes she stared at her, wondering if they were ready for this, if she could do this, wondering so many things. But even while she was worried, a hand slid down and pressed against her belly.
"Hope?"
"Mmm?"
She leaned against their bedroom wall and asked in a low voice.
"Do you remember our vows?"
She laughed wearily, her eyes still closed.
"Of course I do, Jo"
"Do you remember the part where I told you that I would do my best to give you all your dreams?"
Her eyes opened now and she looked up at her, a love so strong in them that it still took her breath away even after four years of marriage.
"Yes, and you have"
"Well actually, I haven't done it yet." She took a deep breath and smiled. “but in another eight months or so I will”
Hope stilled and her eyes went to her belly, where her hand was still rested. Josie walked toward her as the tribrid sat up and stuttered.
"You ... are you saying that ...?"
Josie nodded, cupping her face.
"We're going to have a baby, Hope"
Her hands went to her hips, pulling her to her. She leaned her forehead against her as she lifted her shirt and kissed her stomach.
"A baby. We're having a baby."
Josie let her fingers caress her hair, enjoying the feel of her lips on her skin. Then she stood up abruptly, a worried look replacing the excited one.
"Hope ...?" said Josie confused
"We have to go to Aunt Freya, right now." She picked her up in her arms and walked to the door.
"Hope wait, Freya isn't even on this continent right now" She stopped at this. She lowered her to the floor and turned to her closet.
"You're right. Josie, pack only what you need" she told her as she looking for their bags.
"Hope, let's wait until tomorrow" Josie said, rolling her eyes and sitting down on the bed.
She stopped her movements at the agitated tone of her voice and leaned in front of her, her expression serious.
"Josie, I saw how sick you were before and I didn't do anything to stop it. I don't want you to have to go through that again, we need Freya to do the spell to see if we have to face that again."
She raised her hand and cupped her jaw.
"Hope, nothing's going to happen to us overnight, right?"
She seemed reluctant when she answered.
"No, but still we shouldn't risk it"
She covered her mouth with a finger and when the tribrid stopped speaking, she began to trace the softness of her lips, which parted under her touch. Her breathing became shallow and her eyes sparkled gold as she looked at her. Josie felt her heart begin to race in response.
"Hope, I want to spend tonight with you, in our bed, celebrating the one thing I always feared I couldn't give you: our family" she whispered
She frowned and she knew the argument the tribrid was about to make.
That she was always enough for her, that the two of them were a family.
"Josie ..."
She slid off the bed, kneeling in front of Hope, her hands reaching up and clasping her shoulders. Josie shook her head, stopping her. She knew she loved her, but those had been her fears and now, now they were over. She smiled at her.
"Make love to me, Hope"
Luke's crying brought her out of her memories and she rolled her eyes, especially considering the fact that she had decided when she was giving birth that she would never let Hope touch her again. She looked at the most important people in her life, and her smile widened to her powerful wife holding their little boy.
As Luke continued to cry, Hope shifted her into the once familiar position against her chest. He quieted at once, listening to the soothing beat of her mom's heart. Not knowing it hadn't beat like that until the second he rested against it, healing the final part that had been broken all these years.
Hope lay down next to Josie, feeling calmer now that the soft, familiar weight of her son rested once again close to her heart. She put an arm around Josie, gently helping her turn to face her. After she was lying against her side, she noticed how quiet the room was and realized they were alone. Hope frowned.
"Where is everybody?"
"They're all out in the waiting room," Josie said, laughing.
She thought of Lizzie, MG, Josie's parents and her family, all of whom had been just as excited to see the babies as her and Josie been.
"You mean they haven't seen the boys yet?"
Josie shook her head with a smile.
"I told them that I promised you that you and I would be the first ones they see"
Hope shook her head in amazement, knowing that only Josie Mikaelson could have made a promise like that and kept it. She also had a suspicion that Josie had demanded this promise during the birth, knowing that way she would get what she wanted.
Josie laughed, thinking of the mulish faces that had been on her family as they had made her promise that the second Hope gotten there, she would have someone tell them.
"Of course, now that you're here, I expect the mob to descend any second."
They heard a tiny yawn and looked down to see Andy closing his eyes, a small snuffling sound escaping him. They smiled at each other. Hope brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled away and said to her wife.
"Thank you"
Josie smiled at her and raised her hand to cover hers as they held their children
"It was my pleasure, Hope"
She rested her head on her shoulder and Hope sighed, pulling them closer to her. Now, finally, she was home.