Bloody dreams of you

Zane stood in his room with his bond arguing with Harriet. "No just because she possibly has magic and you can't get your coven to come doesn't mean we should let her come up here. Once she meets you then he will want to come and Rose isn't up to that. She needs rest not a hundred questions." Zane said clearly panicked about a complication with the pregnancy. "I told you not to push yourself." he said turning to Rosemarie. Celtin chimed in. "Zane I get it. This is scary but I have been around Cassia a lot recently and she speaks very highly of Thibault and I am almost certain she is a witch. She must be powerful for Thibault to have allowed her to come and move around the mansion freely anyways. "At least let her come meet them. It will show we are allowing progress and you can ask Thibault to go on a supply run for the nursery anyways to get him out of the house. I am sure once Cassia meets the girls and they ask her not to push the meeting with Thibault that it will all work out. She is understanding." Celtin said and Zane sighed shaking his head looking at Harriet and Rosemarie seeing he was outnumbered. "You really want me to let Cassia come up here?" he asked them both.

@ Jinx...

"She has been resting. It's the stress of having not met either of them after however many weeks that's freaking her out." Harriet argued back, arms crossed over her chest as she frowned up at Zane. Rosemarie had begun to develop complications over the past few days, and while Harriet had been able to handle it on her own at first, she was now out of her depth and needed help from another witch. "The baby is in distress because her blood pressure is all over the place and she's having false labor contractions, but if she remains in this state I'll have to induce labor and get the baby out of her to try to save her life, and I would really rather have the baby stay in for another week or two." Harriet frowned, looking at Celtin gratefully as he chimed in before turning to Rosemarie as the poor woman whimpered in pain, helping her sip some water and take some herbs before helping her to get more comfortable, knowing she was in a decent amount of pain and feeling awful because of her fever and complications. "Zane.. Please.." Rosemarie murmured, looking up at him with teary eyes. She knew he was scared, but she was scared too, but recognized that Harriet wouldn't put her in unnecessary danger.

@ katahdin
Zane moved over to Rosemarie and kissed her head. "Shhh rest now love. I will make it all better." he said and caressed her hair. He silently cursed because this was exactly what he had been wanting to avoid when he found out she was pregnant to begin with. "Celtin..." he said and nodded to the door. It was moments later and Celtin was leading Thibault to the nursery with some kind of a plan to try to get him out of the house here soon while Zane talked to Cassia before taking Thibault out of the house.

Cassia had assured Thibault she would be fine. He was starting to get comfortable leaving her around the others. So when he left she finished her breakfast and looked up seeing Zane. She grinned. "Zane how are you this morning?" she asked seeing the worry on his face. She had been feeling the increase in magic, the random witches and the wavering of Rosemarie's energy. she had a feeling they would be reaching out soon to see if she might be able to help. Zane sat down. "Cassia." he said and looked at her seriously. She crossed her legs leaning forward. "Yes Zane?" she asked. "Are you a witch?" he asked and Cassia chuckled. "That is a very straightforward way to ask a very personal question." she grinned. "I posses some magical ability yes." she answered his question and he nodded. "Thank you. I..." he looked down and she could feel the fear radiating off of him. "I need your help." he looked up at her and Cassia grinned. "My abilities are at your disposal." she offered and he stood. "It's time to meet Rosemarie." Cassia stood and smiled. "You want me to wait until you distract Thibault." she said and he looked at her surprised. Her eyes twinkled. "I know my bond well and you two are not very different at all." she said standing. "I'll walk with you to the nursery." she said and moved through the house with Zane.

Just as Cassia had been working on becoming trustworthy to Zane and the group, Celtin had been working to become trustworthy to Thibault and Cassia. She believed that he had nearly befriended Thibault by now and hope that he would trust Celtin alone with herself and the others. When they walked into the nursery Celtin was up on a ladder. "You see I was thinking in case the baby had sun sensitivity we would need more protection here." he said and looked at Zane and Cassia as they walked in. "Oh hey guys." he said and looked back at Thibault. "What do you think?" he asked.

@ Jinx...

Harriet made sure that Rosemarie was comfortable and resting as Celtin and Zane left, knowing she didn't have much time left before things got more serious.

Thibault had been happy to accompany Celtin to the nursery when he'd asked, standing with his arms crossed across from the window where Celtin stood. "Hm.. I think you might be right. A sun sensitivity at such a young age would be lethal, and you don't want the baby burning alive in their crib." He explained, looking over at Cassia and Zane as they arrived too, pressing a kiss to his bonds cheek. "How was breakfast? I believe Celtin and I are going to have to run to the store, do you need anything?" He wasn't a fool, he knew Zane was getting him out of the house so that Cassia could meet the witch and his bond, and he'd allow it, even if leaving her alone still made him a bit nervous.

@ katahdin
Cassia smiled at Thibault as he kissed her cheek and leaned into him. She knew he knew but he was being very good about letting them keep their rouse. "Breakfast was good." She thought for a moment. "No nothing I can think of. Thanks love." she said and kissed him sweetly. Zane shook his head. "I'll go with you Thibault. I'm footing the bill anyways." he chuckled and took the paper Celtin had taken measurements on. "Thanks man." he said and Celtin grinned. "Yeah." Celtin said. Cassia grinned and let Zane take her bond away. She knew part of him going was for the bill, the other part was that he knew his emotions where most concerning for Thibault around Cassia so he was making it easier to leave Cassia alone. Once they where gone Cassia looked at Celtin. "Shall we see what I can help with?" she asked and walked with Celtin to Thibault's room. He knocked before going in. Cassia walked in and smiled softly. She looked at Rosemarie evaluating how she was. "Hello Rosemarie." She walked over to Harriet and looked her over testing her magic and smiled. "I had been hoping to meet you sooner Ms. Harriet but Thibault is very protective of you too." she said smiling softly and held out her hand to Harriet.

@ Jinx...

Thibault was glad to hear that Cassia had had a good breakfast, although he was surprised when Zane offered to go to the store with him instead of Celtin. His explanation made sense, but he would have assumed that the other vampire would want to be here when his bond was going through something serious, although he also figured he was doing it to keep himself levelheaded. Once they'd left the house he offered Zane a reassuring smile. "I'm sure your bond will be just fine." He soothed, wanting him to know that he was on his side.

---

Harriet looked up in relief as Celtin brought Cassia in, having been pressing a cool towel to Rosemaries forehead to try to help lower her fever and make her more comfortable. "Zane's just trying to keep everything under his control, but once this baby is born I think he'll very quickly learn that things can't always go the way you want them to." She explained, shaking Cassia's hand before looking to Celtin. "Will you go get Rosemarie some more water? I want to keep her hydrated." She said before turning back to her patient. "Her blood pressure is all over the place and she's got a fever from the stress of everything, which has in turn caused the baby to distress, on top of the false labor contractions she's been having. I've tried to get her out of it on my own, but I need another witch to perform the spell I think will do the trick." She explained, grabbing one of her spell books and flipping it to the page she had in mind before passing it to Cassia. "I want to use our magic and auras to act as a counterbalance to bring hers to a lower level, sort of like doing breathing exercises with someone having a panic attack. We sync up ourselves with her, and everything should be fine." She explained, hoping Cassia was up for it. "And if it doesn't work, Rosemarie is going to have her baby today."

"No, I don't want to have it today. She's not ready." Rosemarie protested, looking up at Cassia nervously. "I'm sorry Zane has kept you away for so long.. I wish he'd listened to me and let me meet you right away, all this waiting has made things so much worse."

@ katahdin
Cassia grinned and nodded. "He just wants to keep you all safe and that is hard to do." she said and moved over to Rosemarie with Harriet looking at her. Celtin left the room quietly to let them work and get the water. When Harriet handed her a spell book Cassia grinned and looked it over nodding. "Simple enough." she said shook her head. "I'm sure everything will be just fine." she soothed as Rosemarie panicked. Cassia leaned in and gently squeezed Rosemarie's arm. "He was just doing his best I understand. My bond is very protective too. Honestly I'm not sure he would have left me a lone to meet you before now either." she soothed and then looked back at the book. "Okay I've got it let's do this." she said and set the book down. She knew she was about to release her block on her magic which would reveal just how powerful she was to Harriet.

@ Jinx...

Rosemarie gave a little nod as Cassia reassured her, looking between her and Harriet, sniffling a little as the two witches moved into position to perform the spell, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to calm herself down. Harriet nodded a bit as Cassia moved into position, giving Rosemarie a reassuring smile before turning back to the other witch. "Alright, ready?" She asked, before she placed a hand on Rosemarie's arm as she began to recite the spell.

It took nearly an hour to get Rosemaire stable, and Harriet was absolutely exhausted after, nearly collapsing into a nearby chair, running a hand through her hair tiredly as she looked at Rosemaire, who was sleeping peacefully. "Thank the goddess.. I was so worried I'd have to... Thank goodness she's alright." She murmured, rubbing her hands over her face as she let out a tired sigh.

@ katahdin
Cassia released her cap on her magic looking at Harriet as she placed her hand on Rosemarie seeing the surprise on the woman's face. They began the spell and she focused on Rosemarie. It took awhile but Rosemarie finally stabilized. Cassia sat in one of the chairs with a smile and a small sigh. She listened to Harriet and grinned softly. "She'll be fine. You're a good midwife." she smiled reassuringly. Cassia was so curious about Harriet, her magic and her coven. "How long have you been practicing magic?" she asked knowing she had to start somewhere and though she had a feeling she already knew she still wanted to ask.

@ Jinx...

Harriet was a bit surprised by how powerful Cassia was, but at the same time not, since she'd expected her to be powerful. She was thankful for it, though, especially since Rosemarie was in such a bad way. She offered the other witch a little smile as she complimented her, running her hands through her hair. "Thank you.. I've been practicing magic since I was a child. My mom is also a witch, so are all of my sisters, so we all got taught from a young age." She looked over at Rosemarie with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm sure that you're exhausted after that, so you should go rest. I'll stay with Rosemarie until Zane returns, which should be soon, and I'll make sure that Zane lets you join us for dinner tonight so you can actually talk to both of us."

@ katahdin
Cassia smiled and looked at Harriet. "I would love to meet your coven." she said and smiled nodding. It made her want a nap to se that much magic at once. She stretched and smiled as Harriet said she would make time for them to talk. "Thank you Harriet. If you would tell me one thing before I go though." she said and looked at her seriously. "Why did you decide to help Rosemarie and Zane?" she asked her. Cassia couldn't tell if Harriet was just that kind or if there was some other reason. Part of her worried the coven was going to try to use the vampire halfling for some kind of magic. She didn't think so but she knew it was a rare being that this baby would be so the magic would be strong.

@ Jinx...

"Of course. It'll likely have to be after the baby is delivered, since I've been living here, but I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you." Harriet smiled, standing and stretching tiredly. She wanted to head back to her room and take a nap, but knew someone would have to watch Rosemaire while Zane was gone. "I wanted to help her because my mother taught me that every mother deserved a chance to hold their child in their arms." She explained with a little shrug as she began to tidy up. "Helping her was the right thing to do, and learning more about this kind of pregnancy may help more women int he future." She explained simply, glancing over at the door. "When you leave you can tell Celtin he can come in, I know he's been lingering outside for a while waiting for us to finish up."

@ katahdin
Cassia nodded wondering why she would do it knowing that she could be in real trouble and put her entire coven in danger with the way they had done it. She didn't ask but instead nodded again. "Yeah. Try to rest." she said and walked out of the room and moved over to Celtin who paced down the hall. she chuckled. "They are both fine." she said and he nearly melted with relief. "You should see if you can convince Harriet to go take a nap and watch Rosemarie for her. That took a lot out of her." she said and smiled as he nodded quickly moving into the room. Cassia moved back to her room and crawled into the bed taking the extra effort to kick off her shoes then she was fast asleep hugging a pillow.

---

Zane carried a board into the house anxious to go see his bond. He could smell the left over magic as soon as they walked inside. "Wow." he said and looked at Thibault. "Just how powerful is your bond?" he asked. Zane hadn't spent much time a lone with Cassia mostly because it made Thibault jumpy but what he did know of her was that she was clever. He hadn't sensed the power from her then like he did now. He guessed she had spent a good deal of her powers in helping his bond and had no more energy for the masking on her abilities at the moment.

@ Jinx...

Harriet smiled faintly at Cassia, knowing she probably thought her reasons weren't odd. "I know that it's hard to believe that I wanted to help her without anything for me in return, but it's the truth. The same for my mother and the coven, we just wanted to help, even if we could get in trouble.. It's not the first time we've helped someone the Council would rather we not help, but I know that Rosemarie and her child are innocent and not a threat to the Council, and Zane would only do something if the Council threatened either of them, so the risks are worth taking." She explained, nodding as Cassia headed out, sinking lower into her chair with a tired sigh. She looked up when Celtin entered the room though, offering him a tired smile. "She's fine. I know you were worried."

---

Thibault wasn't surprised when he smelled the magic once he entered the house, but he couldn't help but be a bit concerned at Cassia using so much magic, knowing she must be exhausted. "She's quite powerful... She's only just started to study magic properly, but it comes to her naturally." He explained softly, helping Zane bring what they had bought to the nursery before offering the man a smile. "You should go check on your bond. I'm sure you're anxious to make sure that she and the baby are alright, just like how I want to go check on mine."

@ katahdin
Celtin smirked. ""I knew you would do it. But I'm not worried about her now. You need to rest. That was a hell of a lot of magic coming out of here." he said and moved over to her and kissed her head. "I'll watch Rose, you go sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens. "I'm sure that Zane will be back shortly and he will want some time with her now that she's better.

---

Cassia rolled over as the door opened and her sleepy eyes met Thibault's. "Hey." she grinned. "She's going to be fine." she said and smiled lazily. "How is it going with Zane. You're spending a lot of time together." she said trying to sit up but too tired to move her eyes hardly staying open. She could feel her magic starting to come back but her body was too tired to move just yet. She hadn't actually let herself push herself with her magic before so it was nice to see part of what she was capable of doing. Truthfully she knew they had a while here yet but she missed being home with Thibault. This was not the vacation she had asked for to travel, this was defiantly work.

---

Zane was glad when Thibault released him to go to his bond. He was thankful to Cassia for helping his bond. He moved through the house and into his room with Rose. "Thank you." he said to everyone in the room and yet at the same time dismissing them because honestly he had been so worried that he just needed some time alone with his bond.

@ Jinx...

Esther smiled up at him tiredly as he came over and kissed her forehead and praised her, closing her eyes as she let out a tired sigh. "It was a lot of work, but I wouldn't have been able to do anything without Cassia's help. Honestly she did most of the work." She admitted tiredly, letting out a yawn before nodding as he suggested that she go sleep. "Alright.. I'll head to bed. But make sure to wake me up if anything changes, right?" She asked, making sure that he promised to come get her before she stood and stretched, giving his arm a pat before she headed out of the room. Celtin's room was closest, so she ended up going there, changing out of her dirty clothes and into one of Celtin's shirts before climbing into bed and promptly falling asleep.

---

Thibault smiled as he saw Cassia in bed sleeping, moving over to press a kiss to her forehead before sliding off his clothes and sliding into bed with her, pulling her into his arms. "I think he's warmed up to me. I understand his hesitance, but I think that with Rosemarie so close to her due date he's even more on edge, and I'm sure it's a miracle that he even allowed you to get near her." He explained, giving her a squeeze. "You need to rest, though. I can tell you're drained."

---

Once everyone else had left Rosemarie stirred a bit, blinking sleepily as her eyes opened to look at Zane, smiling faintly. "You're back.. I was worried about you." She murmured, holding a hand out toward him, wanting to be close to him.

@ katahdin
Once Zane came back Celtin left to go make sure Harriet made it to bed. He moved into his room figuring since it was closer than hers and she was so tired. He grinned as he saw her asleep with his shirt on in his bed. He moved over and pulled the blanket over her. "You did good." he said and kissed her head moving tot he chair to read and watch over her.

---

Cassia hummed as she listed to him sleepily grinning as she snuggled into him. "They weren't entirely sure I was a witch or powerful enough to help." she smirked. "But she needed it. She's better now." Cassia mumbled and hummed as he told her to rest. She nodded and wrapped herself around him. She yawned and was back a sleep in no time.

---

Zane chuckled. "Worried about me?" he shook his head. "You where the one that needed medical attention." he said and took her hand moving close and kissed her hand then her head. He sighed and caressed her cheek. "How are you feeling now love?"

@ Jinx...

Harriet let out a tired hum as she felt Celtin tuck her into bed and kiss her head, burying her face further into his pillow as she slept. It was only an hour or so before she woke up again, definitely not enough time to get the proper rest she needed, but then again she was barely sleeping most days since Zane wanted her to check on Rosemarie at all hours. She let out a tired groan as she rolled onto her back, rubbing sleepily at her eyes before she looked over at Celtin, offering him a faint smile. "I'm sorry I borrowed your shirt and your bed without asking."

---

Thibault smiled as she spoke, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he tugged her close as she settled against him. "I'm proud of you, my love. You did wonderfully." He praised, pressing another kiss to her head before closing his eyes and letting himself doze as he listened to the steady sound of her breathing and heartbeat.

---

"You were so scared. I don't want you to be scared.." Rosemarie murmured, giving his hand a squeeze. "You've been so scared and worried, I hate that I'm putting you through all this.." She closed her eyes tiredly, giving his hand a little tug as she tried to get him to lay down with her. "I'm feeling better. She keeps kicking, though. I think she's going to come sooner rather than later, even though Harriet doesn't want her to."

@ katahdin
Celtin shook his head. "You're welcome to them anytime Harriet. What is mine is yours but you better ask before borrowing my board." he said with a smirk. His surf board was the one exception. That he didn't want her using alone. It was his precious just like he was sure there was that one thing of hers she didn't want to share. He walked over and leaned over her kissing her head. "You need more sleep Zane needs to cool it. You'll need to be at full strength for the delivery." he sighed. "Maybe Cassia can help out now so you can sleep." he said.

---

Cassia woke a few hours later feeling much better and able to put the cap back on her magic so it didn't draw attention. She sat up and stretched. She needed a shower and some food. Cassia stood and stripped off. She leaned in kissing Thibault before moving to the bathroom to clean up.

---

Zane hushed her. "Rose do not worry yourself. All you have been doing this entire pregnancy is worrying about me. If you worry about yourself then I can have my own pity party but that means you have to take care of yourself and the baby." He grinned. He was glad she was feeling better. He leaned over and placed his hand on her belly grinning at the little kicks. He nodded and frowned. "I'll try and get the nursery done tomorrow then." he said though he knew she was going to be having the baby stay with them at least until she was healed up from giving birth and her new mother fear started to ease.

@ Jinx...

Harriet laughed softly as he mentioned his board, shaking her head. "I wouldn't even dream of taking your board, Celtin. You know how I feel about the ocean." She smiled. He'd taught her the basics of swimming, but she was still reluctant to actually swim, particularly in the ocean. She took his hands as he moved over to her to kiss her head, scooting over in bed to make room for him next to her. "You know Zane wouldn't allow that." She smiled, settling back down against the pillows once he was sitting with her. "Besides, Cassia is powerful, yes, but inexperienced and lacks the control and discipline needed for a lot of my work. Midwifery is tricky, and if you're not careful things can get out of hand very quickly." She explained, shifting to rest her head against his shoulder. "It's nice of you to have stayed to help Zane and Rosemarie.. When do you think you'll go back to traveling?"

---

Thibault stirred a bit as Cassia moved out of his arms, smiling as he returned her kiss before sitting up to watch her strip and head into the bathroom with a chuckle. "When you're done we should think about requesting dinner from the kitchen. Perhaps we can eat outside on the grounds?" He suggested.

---

"I'm your bond, I'm supposed to worry about you." Rosemarie countered, resting her hands over his as he placed his hands on her stomach to feel the kicks. "Our little girl... Harriet says she's strong like you." She nodded when he said he'd finish the nursery the next day, squeezing his hands as she looked up at him. "Can I help you? Please, I'll just sit in the nursing chair, I promise. But I want to help finish our babies nursery, I want to do something useful."