Another addition to the litter.

The doors of St. Mungo's opened just as Sadie was packing up her things to go home. The last thing she'd honestly been expecting was Elijah Krum holding his extremely pregnant other half in his arms while she rode out another contraction. That scene was truly the highlight of her evening. Elijah on the other hand didn't seem to think so.

"Sadie, you know you love me, do us a favour and call Dad will you?" Elijah gave her a pleading look and Sadie pursed her lips, half tempted to tell him no. The look on his face melted her heart a little though and she nodded, picking up the jar of Floo Powder to show him she'd do as she was told. Elijah's face brightened and he disappeared off into the lifts.

Sadie didn't honestly know why the boy was asking for his father. If he wanted Viktor then the invitation extended to everyone else and the last thing Sadie wanted was for the hallway outside the labour ward to be filled with Krums. It would be unavoidable though, completely and utterly. No doubt even the Angelovas would be forced to attend the event because this was Viktor's heir and it was his heir gaining one of his own.

Tossing some Floo powder into the fireplace, Sadie waited for Viktor's sleeping form to come into view.

"Krum, first tell me why sleep naked and make it short. Second, round up your motley crew and bring them to St. Mungo's. Your baby boy is about to gain a baby of his own. Congrats by the way..."


The Healers were firm and Elijah was hysterical. They needed to check Chase over apparently, as if they assumed he'd hurt her or the baby. They suggested he buy some coffee and calm down, otherwise he wasn't going to be let in period. That was the worst news Elijah could possibly hear so he relented, gave up his fiancée to them and left her with the promise of returning swiftly.

The walk down the corridor and back again had calmed Elijah to the point of him almost falling through the floor. He'd sat himself down on a bench outside the room they'd given Chase and he let his head tip back against the wall as he waited.

A clatter of feet against the tiles made Elijah look to the right. His eyes connected with the dark, oh so familiar orbs that belonged to his daughter, and he shot out of his seat, discarding the coffee as he did so. Elijah dropped himself to the floor and wrapped his arms around his pretty little Fauve. He kissed her cheeks, her hair, her eyelids, her hands - every piece of skin he could find he kissed and he hugged her as tightly as he could without breaking her.

"I've missed you so much!" He murmured into her shoulder. Fauve giggled gently and he felt her pat him on the head. Elijah released his daughter and looked up to see Thierry, looking rugged, older and unkempt complete with his arm back in a cast and a sling. Eli smiled and pulled his son into a hug, kissing the boy's temple and rubbing his back. "You stupid, stupid boy. What on earth did you do this time?"

It was at that point that Andres came down the corridor, swiftly followed by Viktor and nearly everyone else. He smiled and knelt down beside Fauve, producing a flower for her out of thin air. She giggled and he tucked it behind her ear before kissing her cheek.

"He got into a fight. Interesting little fight too from what I heard. Battered the poor boy, and himself in the process." Andres filled in the blanks but not by much.

"I tried to stop him papa, honest!" Fauve told Eli. That didn't ease her father's worry much but what she said next did by far. "When do we get to see mama and Kitty, papa?"

"Do we get to see-"

"That feisty little thing-"

"Too?"

The twins popped up beside Elijah and he swatted them away, immediately telling them "No." The two pouted and sat down on the bench side by side. They had a strange form of affection for Chase. Eli didn't understand it. Finn had let him know though, that all they wanted to do was provoke her until she hexed them.

"Ah! Mr. Krum, I see you're with your family now but would you like to see your wife?"

Wife? Elijah's facial features softened at the mistake and he felt Thierry grow a little beside him. It seemed as if he wanted to see Chase too. Eli nodded and got to his feet. He picked Thierry up and placed him on the twins' laps, telling him to stay, before walking into the room they'd set up for Chase.

"I think my grandmother has brought food if you're hungry?" Eli offered with a smile, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Are you alright, beautiful?"

Chase was dying, Elijah had disappeared, and the actual labor part had set in, and the pain was incredible. The people in the room were all bustling around, getting her and the stuff for the baby ready and set for when Kitty was born. Chase yelled out, and felt a hand grip hers, a nurse who knew they weren't letting in Elijah yet, and she needed something to hold onto. It was all happening so quickly already. Sure she had been spirited away from Hogwarts in the middle of the night, in the arms of Elijah Krum, after a peaceful night of nothing, and now? Well now she was having a baby! And Merlin did it hurt! It felt like her entire lower abdomen was expanding and the pressure was building inside of her. Though she knew it would still be hours before the baby came.

When Elijah finally walked in, the nurse let go of her hand, and Chase let her head fall back on the pillow. The contractions were horrible, and she was sweating profusely. "Hungry? Yeah right." She said with a soft laugh, that sounded weak even to her ears. "Thanks for coming.." She whispered and reached out her hand to him, already exhausted and it hadn't even started yet. The contractions had died down, and she knew that there was a possibility that they would go down for a while before they really started up.

Chase smiled up at Elijah and sat up a bit carefully, watching the hustle and bustle going on. The nurses knew that the baby wouldn't come for a while yet, so they had set her up in a temporary room, made of curtains and her rolling bed. She smiled at him and then winced as another contraction hit her. "Seriously why do people have children when it hurts this bad?" She gasped shaking her head as her hand nearly crushed his in her iron grip. "I haven't even started to have her yet and I'm dying.." She said shaking her head and attempting to relax against her pillows. "I guess I should try and get some sleep while I can.." She said softly, her eyelids already heavy, her grip loosening on his hand. "Get used to that.." She said indicating his hand, and smiling slightly at him. "You won't be able to feel your hand for a week." She said with a soft shakey laugh, and in seconds she was asleep.

There was no such protocol for this family's arrival. Viktor had taken Sadie seriously. The motley crew was everyone. No one had really left since the funeral and they still felt the bite of it. The only one that wasn't there was Cecilia but her absence was understandable at best. Everyone else wanted to be there either for moral support (of some kind) or just to be nosy. The Angelovas had to be there because Viktor had ordered them so. Not one of them looked happy. It was understandable but no one had any room for compassion where they were concerned. Everyone's minds were focused either on the two three people in the next room or on the two little ones that were alert but really needed to go home and go to bed.

Viktor knew that after tonight he'd be back to visiting the children he'd grown to adore. The house was a million (or felt like) away from Sofia. He was half tempted to call in a favour so he could have one of the islands off of the top bought up and built on. He knew Elijah would need his space though, away from him, away from the family (for at least until the twins found out where he lived) so he could concentrate on bringing up his.

"Viktor," the dark-haired, older version of his son looked up from where he'd sat down and met the soft, understanding gaze that reminded him so much of his late wife, achingly so. Iskra stood before him, her beauty as pronounced as ever, with her daughters lingering further down the hallway. Viktor managed a small smile for her benefit and she lean down, brushing her lips against his forehead.

"All will be well," she told him, a wise tone in her voice. She rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone and smiled gently. "Don't fret. Nothing bad will happen to your бебе." She leaned down and placed a kiss to the side of Viktor's mouth and he leaned into the embrace she took him into.

His fear was perhaps unwarranted but he could recall Mira's birth of Eli. He could remember the way she got up after regaining her strength and told him personally that they'd had a son. He could remember Stelladora holding the wailing child, unsure as to what to do. And of course, he could remember sitting in the nursery, watching his newborn as he slept among the toys that were in his cot. He could remember their bond. He remembered the boy's eyes, filled with love even then, as he woke that morning, content to stay where he was for the rest of the day.

Viktor knew his son would be to his child what he hadn't been to him: a father. He had nothing to worry over.

On the other hand, Eli had everything to worry about as his other half squeezed the feeling out of his hand. Winching, Elijah brought his other hand up and placed it over Chase's, hoping to pry some of the force out of her grip. He had no such luck though. The contraction was over swiftly and he couldn't help but smile as she fell back against the pillows, already exhausted when there was so much she needed to do. Kitty wanted to meet them and Elijah was rather anxious to meet his daughter.

"I love you." Eli told her, kissing her knuckles and giving her hand a squeeze of encouragement. He swept some of her hair back out of her eyes and smiled. "You can't die. What would I do then? There are three children that need her mother, Chase. And then...and then there's me, who needs his wife-to-be. Don't go dying on any of us."

He decided that it was best to let her get some sleep. She drifted off before he could say another word and he shook his hand out, leaning back into the chair. One of the healers bustled over with a cup of coffee and he took it from her, smiling in thanks. When the healers left the room, no doubt to prepare everything for the eventual birth, the door opened.

Elijah raised an eyebrow over the rim of his cup and watched as four heads poked around the door. One was Thierry's, one was Fauve's, one was Euan's and the other one was Finn's. The latter two had grins on their faces, the former two were just curious. Elijah ushered Fauve and Thierry in but swore over their heads at Finn and Euan who poked out their tongues in response before ducking out once more.

"She's asleep!" Fauve exclaimed, throwing herself up onto Elijah's lap so she could peer at Chase. "Papa...is Kitty in there?" Fauve pointed to Chase's stomach and Eli nodded, leaning over to ruffle Thierry's hair. "And Kitty will come out soon?" Fauve queried again. Eli chuckled this time and nodded once more. "Grandpapa is worried about Mama, Papa."

Eli's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Now why would he be worried? Everything is under control baby."

"Grandpapa says that Mama is like his fille. He doesn't want to lose her or Kitty," Thierry answered, fiddling with his sling. Elijah tapped his hand away and leaned forward to adjust it so the boy was more comfortable. "Are you worried about her, Papa?" he asked quietly.

Elijah met Thierry's gaze and sighed, patting the boy on the head. "I am." He admitted before smiling. "But everything will be alright, I promise. I'll have your Grandpapa take you home soon. You'll get to sleep in your nice new beds before the rest of us get to sleep in ours."

"Is it all ready!?" Fauve exclaimed, gripping her father's arm with excitement. Elijah laughed and kissed her cheek.

"Of course it is. Now go before you wake your mother up."

Chase could hear people moving in the room, and talking, but she was to tired to actually get up. It went quiet after a while, and she was lulled into a fitful sleep, one filled with a lot of tossing and turning, her hand often going to her stomach as the contractions pulled her into different levels of sleep. Finally however, her mind could not stay asleep, and she forced herself awake in the middle of a rather hard contraction. It had been a few hours, and she knew that by this time, they would be getting worse as her body tried to forcibly remove the baby inside.

Chase gasped and sat up, clutching at her stomach, and at that moment, her water broke. "Oh damn.." She whispered staring at the wet spot that was spreading on the sheets. "Looks as though she's ready to come out." she whispered weakly. Her eyes darting around the room to find Elijah. Her hand fumbled for the nurse call button, and she pressed it carefully. "Oh Merlin!" She gasped and cried out in pain, her forehead wet with sweat. The sudden pain in her body was filling her mind, and all she could do was gasp with it.

She could hear nurses bustling around her, getting her moved to another room for the baby to be born in. One that was all set up for her, but her eyes were only on one thing. "Elijah." She whispered and held out her hand, searching his for how he felt about this. The baby was coming, a baby that was a surprise, a baby, that in the end, had led her to her dream man. He may be a bit eccentric, and his family was insane, but she loved him dearly, like no one she had ever loved before. He could infuriate her, love her, and she could hate him, but love him back, it was an odd relationship, but it worked.

Pain overtook her, and she grabbed for the nearest hand to hold onto, anyone's would do at that moment, and she could feel the sweat beading on her forehead, dripping down her neck, a nurse sponged off her forehead, and there was obvious discontent within the hospital staff, Chase was reacting badly, and they all knew that they would have to be extremely careful with this birth, For Chase wasn't as strong as she looked, and was already having troubles in the first few minutes of labor.

As prepared as Elijah was to sit there all night, the family had another idea. They wanted him to be alert so he was thrown out, kids in tow, and Georgio came in to replace him. The twenty-two-year-old Bulgarian wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to handle a pregnant woman due to give birth. Satisfied knowing Elijah wouldn't belong, Georgio tugged his hoodie off and chucked it over the back of the chair. He sat down and cocked his head to the right, observing the redhead who looked fitful in her slumber.

Groaning quietly to himself, Georgio rubbed his hands across his face. A yawn escaped his mouth and he looked over at the clock ticking to itself on the wall opposite her bed. It was coming up for twenty to two now. He should have been in bed. Everyone should have been in bed. Just like the rest of those outside though, Georgio was more concerned about Elijah's other children, the ones that were young enough to still flake out on a surface or whoever was nearest them. Georgio had heard something about someone taking them up to Scotland and putting them to bed but Georgio was fairly sure no one wanted to miss this. They'd send the Angelovas but no one would trust them with something as precious as Elijah's children.

Snorting in disbelief, Georgio looked over at Chase again. He didn't understand why she'd go for someone as selfish and hedonistic as Elijah. It baffled Georgio who sought a nice sensible marriage with a good girl who wouldn't cause him too much grief. He didn't ask for much at all, not really. He was a Krum though. If Elijah's example was one to follow, nothing was ever going to be missing grief and heartache. Everything was one big drama for him. That was what annoyed Georgio the most. Still, he loved his cousin. He couldn't begrudge his taste in women. She was rather lovely, even if Georgio's taste did not usually extend to redheads.

As his mind began to delve into an area he knew it ought not go, the young woman bolted up, emerging from her sleep clutching her stomach. Georgio reached out and placed his hand on her back, supporting her if her energy depleted. He looked towards the doorway, half expecting Elijah to walk through the door, drop the coffee and rush over. When he didn't, Georgio was sorely disappointed. He found himself mentally urging Viktor's heir to hurry up. He couldn't deal with this. He wasn't prepared to sit and watch his cousin-in-law give birth, neither was he prepared to leave her.

"I am Georgio. I am one of Elijah's cousins. It is alright Chase. I am not going to let anything happen to you."

His promise was honest enough. He knew Elijah would blame him if anything happened to her.

Georgio's hand found hers and he let her grip it. He winced as her grip tightened and he took his other hand off of her back so he could sweep his hair out of his eyes. Georgio watched as the healers bustled in, attending to Chase where need be. They seemed agitated though, as if something was wrong. Georgio had never had to be present at a birth before so he couldn't give his mental two cents like Elijah no doubt would have been able to.

"What is wrong with her?" Georgio demanded, his deep voice mixing horribly with the heavy Bulgarian accent. One of the healers looked quizzically at him and he bit down on his lip as Chase's grip tightened once more.

It was at that moment that Elijah chose to walk through the door, coffee in hand. Georgio's gaze hardened and he reached over, pulling some hair out of the way as the Healers dabbed at Chase's head again. Elijah looked, at another glance, stunned. He spurred into action though, trading the coffee for Chase's hand and knocking Georgio's away. Pursing his lips, Georgio rose from the chair.

He heard Elijah whisper clichés to her as he left and it made his blood boil. The prat reeked of sex, although in fairness that was probably engrained into his skin now, and for the best part of the pregnancy he most likely hadn't been faithful to her. This was a woman besotted with him, giving birth to his baby against her better judgement and he had the nerve to sit there and pretend he honestly cared. It made Georgio want to be sick.

"What's going on?" Georgio recognised Henry, one of the Harrow boys, and his eyes fell to the joined hands. Then, his eyes went to the elder man's companion. The sides of Georgio's lips twitched and he waved them away, stalking down the corridor, muttering something in Bulgarian to his mother about going to have a cigarette.

"Do you think Elijah has upset Georgio?" Kalina asked her husband, half tempted to go after the hot-headed young man. Stefan merely smiled, gave her a nod and nudged her out of the chair. He watched with appraisal as his wife scuttled down the hall after their son and he rose to his feet. He crossed the hall to where his brother was stood and held out a canteen of Firewhisky to the man. Viktor barely regarded it.

"We will be here a while, Viki. Have a drink. Calm yourself. You look like someone is pulling your bollocks through the floor. It is not you that is having the child, Viktor, remember that. And who knows, perhaps we won't even see it. Perhaps your boy will muck up and the mother will do the right thing and take the child away. Take Georgio for example. What disdain did Elijah treat him with I wonder? It takes much to get my son riled.

For some reason, Stefan's calm exterior got to Viktor in that moment. The jabs directed at his son touched him in places that ought to have been left alone. The baiting made Viktor react in kind and he swung around, fist clenched ready for impact. He didn't miss. The sickening crunch made everyone in the hall stop to watch Stefan collapse. Lorelei, dismayed, jumped to her feet to attend to her 'papa'. A daddy's girl to the end. Interestingly, Stefan's youngest, the disgraced Gustav, remained seated and stoic.

"My son is my business. Remember who is head of the family, Stefan. You cannot dictate to anyone. That is my grandchild in there! Your son was no doubt only trying to help her but it does not take much for him to become angry. He is impossible, just like his father!"

Stefan had the nerve to laugh and Viktor started for him once more, only to be calmed by Iskra who stepped in front of him, her hands going to his shoulders. His eyes softened and he watched as she smiled gently, moving her hand to his cheek as she did so.

"Calm down, Viktor. You are looking after your pack, papa-wolf -- I know -- but you need to stay calm. I know he makes the Angelovas look like angels but you have to keep calm, for 'Lijah's sake." Viktor nodded and Iskra leaned up to place a chaste kiss on his mouth.

Elijah had remained ignorant to the goings on outside the room. His gaze was focused on Chase. His every thought was being lent to her because he could tell something was wrong. Georgio hadn't been wrong when he'd suggested within his own mind that Elijah could lend two-cents towards the nature of the impending birth. Elijah had attended many births. He'd no doubt fathered many a bastard child but he'd never attended the birth of one of them - or known about one. What he'd experienced was something different. Chase was in good hands here. She wasn't in a four room flat with no electricity and only clean towels and blankets to ensure the survival of the child. She was in safe, safe hands. Not necessarily Elijah's, never Elijah's, but the healer's.

"You're going to be alright, Chase. I'm going to make sure you'll be alright."

(I got carried away? xD)

Was this normal? It felt like it was trying to claw it's way out, and it hurt so badly. She was breathing heavily, and she could tell tensions everywhere was high. At that moment, she knew there was a lot going on, but she could only focus on the pain, and the presence of someone next to her. Whoever it was, it wasn't Elijah, that was for sure, because his hand was different. Chase knew Elijah's hand, and this wasn't his. Somewhere in the back of her clouded mind, she heard someone say something.. a voice she didn't recognize. But suddenly that hand was pulled away, and replaced with a hand she knew.

"Elijah.." She whispered, and her tired eyes managed to find his. She gave a weak, shaky laugh, and smiled at him. "She... sure wants out... I think she wants to beat up her daddy though.. for annoying her.." She said with a small wince and then she cried out in pain and clutched his hand again. They were wheeling her down a hall, and to a birthing room, a room set up with special equipment, she had fluids being pumped into her, healers were all around, but there was an obvious tension in the air that even Chase didn't miss.

Her eyes fell on a group of healers who were talking quickly. Much to quickly, throwing glances at her charts, and ordering others around. "Is something wrong?" She whispered, and could tell all of a sudden that there was. Her heart was hammering, and the sweat that was prickling her skin went cold. Her body seized up, and she lay on the bed quivering. It was one of her scar attacks, the thing always showed up in the worst places, like giving birth, or something like that. It filled her mind with pain, the flash of a light, laughter, high, maniacal laughter. "Kill him.." The words whispered over and over in her head.

Chase groaned and was vaguely aware that someone was talking to Elijah, there were panicked voices, and sounds everywhere. Something was wrong, her vision was clouding, and she couldn't see anything. Everything became tunnel vision and in extremely slow motion, she watched as though from a far way away, as some doctors ushered Elijah out of the room. "No.." She whispered, reaching out her hand to him, but suddenly a nurse was there, holding her hand, and whispering that it would be alright. "Elijah.." She said and a few tears fell down her face.

"What's going on?" She whispered, her head falling back against the pillow. "It hurts.." The last thing she saw was a group of extremely worried doctors shining lights into her eyes, and an odd frantic beeping that was suddenly stopped and all there was was one extremely long.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP....

"Chase?"

Chase turned around and blinked in the sudden white light. "Chase honey? What.. what are you doing here?" Chase let her eyes adjust, and finally, she was able to make out a familiar figure.

"Mother?"

Chase ran and hugged her mom hard, tears flowing freely. "But.. you're dead! How... what?" She whispered and stared around, suddenly out of the light came her entire family. Her father, who looked as handsome as ever, little Clara and darling Max. Even her dog Dragon was there, in Max's arms, yipping excitedly to see her.

"What's going on mom? I don't get it.. I'm not dead am I?" She asked softly, looking around at her family.

Her mother and father exchanged a glance, and then her father said calmly. "Not yet Chastity... But you are very close... There were.. complications..." he said carefully and then bit his lip.

Chase stared at him, her mouth open, unable to speak. "But... what kind of complications? I was giving birth! I was having your granddaughter! Tell me! What happened?!" She cried out, staring at her family.

Her mother took Chase's hand and said calmly. "Dear... you aren't completely dead, alright? You have a choice... your heart gave out for a moment in labor... if you go back... then you will wake up.. and have a life with your husband... and children... or..." She stopped at this and looked at her father. Then Max spoke up. "Or you can stay with us! It's so nice here Chase!! I love it! Birds, and animals, and people! I've met so many famous people! Why even Harry Potter is here Chase! Isn't it wonderful!" He said excitedly. Dragon struggled free of his arms, and ran to Chase.

Chase picked him up and snuggled him to her chest, feeling his light licks against her cheek as she looked around at her family. "But if.. if I stay.. Kitty.. Elijah.. he told me not to die..." She said softly, her eyes shining with tears, that slowly started to drip into Dragon's fur. "He told me not to die... I can't die! I miss you all so much! I will miss you forever and ever, and I love you! I'm so sorry I couldn't protect.. I'm sorry you couldn't see your granddaughter... Max.. you could have been an Uncle.. and Clara.. an aunt.. but.. I have to go back... Elijah needs me... He needs me more then he realizes.. and I need him.." She looked around at her family, and Dragon, whined softly, and Chase set him down.

Dragon ran back over to Max, and Chase blinked away tears. "We will miss you Chastity." Her father said. "But it is your choice... We will see you when it is your time to come... Goodbye Chastity, we love you!"

There was a flash of white light, and then they were gone.

Chase woke with a start, to the sound of a soft Beep, Beep, Beep. There was a chorus of cheers, and a loud wailing in the distance. Chase opened her eyes, and felt tears rush down her cheeks. Her tongue felt like it was twice its normal size, and her whole body was stiff and drenched with sweat. "My baby.." She whispered and her eyes opened more fully, seeing the room around her. "My baby.. I want my baby.." She said and suddenly there was a tiny child being placed in her arms. A nurse helped her position her so that she wouldn't fall, and Chase stared down at her darling baby girl, not even wrapped in a blanket yet. "She's mine?" She asked softly, looking up at the room, and saw a bunch of nods.

Chase looked down at the beautiful baby, red hair already growing on her large head, and small green eyes open and staring at the world. Chase felt tears slip down her cheeks and she kissed the baby's head, before the child was taken from her by the nurse. "Elijah?" She whispered, and looked around, completely unaware of all of the fussing around her, of healers trying to keep her fluids up, and taking every precaution so that her heart didn't give out again. "Where is he?" she demanded up had to lay back as a spell of dizziness overcame her. "Elijah.." she whispered as her eyes closed and she was thrown into a restless, drug induced sleep.

Elijah's fears were promptly realised as he was ushered out of his seat. He lost Chase's hand as the Healers surrounded her and he noted, much to his dismay, the presence of male Healers. Specialists. They'd no doubt been called in by women that looked entirely out of their depth. It was one of the apologetic but firm interns that had to get Elijah out of the room though. It was admirable of him to try really but Elijah had no intention of leaving. He was removed in the end though, by his father and by Adric; his mother's brother.

Goosebumps erupted over Elijah's exposed skin as soon as he was pulled into the hallway. His eyes were wide, spilling with tears, and still he fought against them, desperate to get inside and do something - anything - to help her. He knew he could do nothing, though. His worst fears were being recognised. He was about to lose everything he'd come to love. The woman whom he loved so dearly but left so easily. He was selfish, inexcusably so. He wanted to keep her. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't bear it. Truly, if he lost Chase then he would lose the last desire he had to keep living.

He was yanked from his thoughts as his back was slammed against the wall. They released him and Elijah let himself fall to the floor, having no desire to keep himself standing. His backside numbed with impact and he drew his legs up to his chest. His head dropped to his knees and his body shook with sobs.

Suddenly, Elijah looked very small. Viktor motioned for someone to take the drowsy children home and Andres rose. He lifted the already sleeping Fauve into his arms and, to the surprise of them all, Gavrilo moved from the group of Angelovas huddled further down the corridor. Hackles rose but it was Georgio that picked Thierry up, displaying obvious disdain for the Angelova 'heir.'

"You need to trust me," Gavrilo spoke calmly, his voice strong. He was headstrong and he wanted so badly to be accepted by them for he knew that without their blessing, he could not walk alone. This was an attempt, one of many, to get them to trust him. If Elijah trusted him, the rest would follow suit. Georgio though, was quick to shoot down any attempt to win favour and he strode past the dark-haired Angelova.

Gavrilo closed his eyes and sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and looked over at Elijah. The boy had been pulled into the arms of his mother's sister and Gavrilo watched as he cried into the woman's bosom. From where he was stood he could hear the begging, the prayers falling from the mouth of the young man in every language he knew. Gavrilo was sure Iskra's reassurances that she would be fine went unheard.

Running his hand over his face, Gavrilo stalked back down the hall, accepting the readily given embrace from his mother. She kissed his hair and sat him down. Silence reigned after that. She'd praised him for trying but after that only the sounds of Elijah's sniffles could be heard and that of Viktor's pacing.

The wait felt like hours for everyone. Arlene had gone to check on Andres, Georgio, Fauve and Thierry and soon returned, brushing Floo dust off of her robes as she reported that the four of them had fallen asleep in Elijah's room. She didn't say Elijah and Chase's room as she should have done. She was being delicate.

"Iskra?" Elijah's breath was hot against his aunt's neck as she rubbed soothing circles into his back. "I can't lose her. I've been selfish, I know I have. I just..."

"You never realise quite what you have until you are about to lose it, sweetheart." She murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "She will survive this, I know she will. Just have faith. Don't be scared."

"How can I not be?" He whispered.

Minutes later, the door of the room opened. It was Elijah who shot to his feet first. Viktor stopped pacing and slowly, everyone else untangled themselves from each other and rose to their feet. Elijah stepped forward, finding himself flanked by his father and his aunt, and looked hopefully at the weary looking Healer. The man managed a bright smile and Elijah felt his heart lighten.

"Both girls are fine. Complications arose but were overcome. There was a moment there when things looked bleak but," The Healer looked at Eli, "Mr. Krum you've got fighters. Now, here's a question I hope I will receive a yes to. Would you like to see your daughter? She'd probably enjoy a nice wash...if you'd be so kind?"

Elijah only managed a nod and he left his aunt's embrace. He followed the Healer into the room and his eyes immediately fell on Chase who was unconscious in the bed. He bit his lip and reached out, taking her slightly cold hand in his. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead before resting his against hers. He exhaled shakily and squeezed her hand.

"Mr. Krum?"

"Yes?" Elijah lifted his head and looked over at the Healer who had a faint smile on his lips.

"Congratulations. You've got a healthy baby girl."

Kitty...

Elijah drifted away from Chase, as if he was in a dream. He looked hesitantly at the healer and down at the cot that they'd put the baby in. Elijah sucked in a breath as his eyes fell on the product of their sexual encounter nine months prior. The child he'd been teasing earlier in the night. The child whom he already loved so. She was there with him, awake and alert despite her obvious sleepiness.

"She doesn't bite." The Healer laughed. "Pick her up."

Elijah shook his head. No, he'd let her stay for a while, so he could memorise her every detail; from her cute little button nose to the very tips of her toes. Much to Elijah's amusement, he noticed she had a shock of red hair on her head. She was a wriggler, though. Elijah could only do but watch as she kicked away the blanket, not quite getting it off of her self and becoming frustrated by it.

"She's not cold." He murmured, moving the blanket to the side. He placed one hand underneath her head and the other under her lower back. Slowly, Elijah lifted her and as he did so she stopped her wriggling. Her eyes, as dark was night but still a visible baby blue, focused on him and Elijah's face lit up.

She was his. His daughter.

He barely noticed the healer slip away. He noticed very little of anything else as he took her in. He continued to try and memorise her without the need of a camera. She was getting cold though and Elijah was hesitant to return her to that god awful blanket.

"You didn't like that at all did you? It was an awful little blanket. We won't be stealing that. I'll buy you a blanket with one of the hats attached so you can pretend to be a bear or a Hippogriff. Those ones have wings." He spoke to her, moving over to the white fluffy towels beside the basin. He laid kitty down on the one that had been rolled out over the others and he wrapped the towel around her. Immediately she began to kick again but Elijah took her back into his arms. She seemed to settle, even if her legs weren't free. Elijah exhaled to himself and sat down. He was exhausted. All he wanted now was to get his girls home and go to sleep.

Kitty seemed to have the right idea because, with a yawn that made Elijah's heart melt, she promptly fell asleep. Elijah leaned back into the chair and lifted her up so she was resting on the top half of his chest, almost curled into his neck. Washing could wait until later. Right now they all needed their forty winks and so with that, Elijah followed suit and fell asleep himself.

It felt like Chase had barely closed her eyes when she awoke again, and found herself staring up at the Hospital ceiling. She felt a million times lighter then just a few hours ago, and she had to go to the bathroom really badly. She could still hear the beep, beep, beep of her heart rate, and she took the little finger thing off, before grabbing the fluid bag, on the pole, and she made her way to the bathroom.

After a little bit of privacy, Chase left the bathroom, and made her way into the hallway, it seemed pretty deserted, and she realized it must have been hours after her actual labor. The labor that had almost killed her. She gulped and went to the nurse's station. "Excuse me.. can I see my baby?" She asked softly, her hair a mess, covered only by the thin nightgown they had dressed her in. The nurse looked up and smiled at her. "of course honey, you gave us quite a scare earlier... come with me, you can see her.. when your husband is awake, you can name her." She said with a smile as she took Chase's elbow and led her to a big window that showed a room full of little cots.

There weren't to many babies in there, and with one glance Chase knew where her baby was. The one with the red tuft of hair sticking up at odd angles. "That's her." The nurse said smiling and nodding towards the baby. At the moment Kitty was asleep, and Chase could feel hear heart beating fast. "Can I hold her?" She asked softly, and looked at the nurse. The nurse smiled and said. "You'll have to be laying down for now... I'll bring her into your room if you go lay down." Chase walked as fast as she dared down the hall and back into her room.

After laying down and arranging her bed sheets, Chase looked over at the other bed in the room. Eli was fast asleep in it, and she smiled. Knowing that he must have been scared out of his wits, it was a good thing he was sleeping while he could. He was going to need it. After a while, the nurse came in holding the little bundle in her arms, the way Chase had seen mother's hold their babies that were newly born. After helping her arrange her arms the right way, the nurse very gently set Kitty in Chase's arms.

Chase stared at the child as though she had never seen one before, her eyes were wide, and without even realizing it, the nurse left the room, leaving the family alone for the moment. "Katherine Evelyn Krum..." Chase said softly, brushing back the baby girl's hair gently. With a small whimper, the baby turned over, and her hand closed on Chase's chest, and Chase smiled, her eyes bright and happy. It was extraordinary, she had felt this baby kick inside of her, felt it grow, change, become a living thing, cried over this little girl, been overjoyed, scared, depressed, and now, here was this little tiny baby, a baby who looked like an angel, who slept in her arms, and Chase knew that this little bundle was HERS. No one was going to take her away.

Chase placed a gentle kiss on the baby's head, and smiled leaning back against her pillows. When Elijah woke up, they would sign the birth certificate, saying her name, and time and date of birth.. Chase looked over at Elijah, and felt the need to wake him. So with a small grin, she pulled the hairtie out of her hair, and flicked it at him as hard as she could. "Hey! Wake up sleepy head! I want to see my husband." She said as loudly as she dared for fear of waking up Kitty.

Shattered wasn't a word that was comprehendable in Elijah's mind at this point. He'd fallen asleep before he'd even realised it and at some point during that slumber, one of the healers had moved Kitty. He'd been vaguely aware of that but hadn't paid it much mind. He cared, he was just too tired to really do much about it. He trusted the Healers and, if his eyes didn't deceive him, one of his cousins had hung back or had recently returned to visit. Needless to say, Kitty was going to be well looked after while he was unconscious and while Chase was...wherever she was.

Unfortunately for the sleep-deprived Bulgarian though, he was woken up rather rudely by his redhead. His legs twisted in the sheets that had been pulled over him and he jumped, managing to throw himself off of the side. Elijah tumbled to the floor and groaned as his back hit the tiles. He let his head tip back against the tiles and he sighed, opening his eyes. Elijah rubbed his hands over his face and groaned again before gesturing vaguely to the bed.

"You couldn't just let me sleep?" He whined.

Elijah's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as the voice made sense in his mind and he jumped (or stumbled) to his feet, his eyes wide in alarm. All he could do when he set eyes on her was stare. She was alive! He hadn't believed it before. Well, he had but this was proof enough - unless he was dreaming - that his wife hadn't left the land of the living.

Oh, how Elijah liked the sound of that.

His eyes fell on Kitty and his eyes lit up as a smile -- not his trademark smirk -- took his lips in hand. Elijah stepped out from behind the bed and did all he could to stop himself from picking Chase up and squeezing the life out of her. He settled for draping his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and brought his hands up to push her red hair out of her eyes.

"Good morning, Fen." He whispered, wonder in his voice. "I thought I'd lost you," He admitted, bringing his hands down to cup her face within them. Elijah leaned forward and brushed his lips against Chase's. "Never ever do that again." He chided after pulling away.

Elijah looked down at the sleeping child between them and smiled. She was a lot sweeter asleep -- not that she wasn't when she was awake -- but already she had an air of mischief around her and she seemed to already know she had her father wrapped around her little finger.

"And good morning to you Miss Krum." Elijah chuckled and a wistful expression came over his face. "I can't believe she's actually here." He murmured, bring his gaze up to rest on Chase again. "Just make sure you get that bloody blanket off of her when she wakes up." He smiled.

Chase let out a laugh as he fell off the bed and started to whine, but soon he was jumping up and coming over to her. She grinned at him, as he moved to kiss her forehead. "Good morning.." she said with a smile. "Even if morning is three in the morning.." She muttered with a soft sigh, before her eyes fell onto the sleeping bundle in her arms. "I'm sorry... I guess... I wasn't as strong as I thought I was.." She said slowly. Her thoughts lost, as they ran over what she had seen when her heart had given out. She looked at Elijah and thought it best not to tell him the whole truth.. she had been saved from death.. no one knew what it was like to be dead.. and she had caught a glimpse of it..

She didn't know if it was like that for everyone.. but it sure seemed a nice place to go.. and she had finally been able to tell her family that she was sorry, it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, a giant gash across her memories had somehow healed. They were happy, and watching, and waiting for her time to come. Chase smiled down at the baby, and then looked up at Elijah. "When can we get married?" She asked softly, her cheeks slightly red, small tears pricking her eyes. She had just had her baby, no more needing to hide the giant stomach, no more fear that someone would catch a glimpse and the rumors would spread, oh no.. she'd walk into Hogwarts, with a baby basket, and some sunglasses on. Looking just as cool and wonderful, but this time totting a child around with her.

Chase smiled slightly. Her mind a million miles away, as she looked down at the child. There would be long nights of no or little sleep, having to take the screaming child out of class, but she knew.. that after this year.. she'd be able to move in with Elijah, they would get married.. she would be known as Chase Krum.. instead of Chase Moor.. Chase Krum... she liked the sound of that. Though to be honest, the double Ca sound was a little odd on the ears. Kitty Krum.. Elijah Krum, and Chase Krum... they made quite the team... not to mention Fauve Krum, Thierry Krum.. and all the other Krums that came with it.

She had gone from having no one in the world, to having the biggest family imaginable. She had gone from having no friends, no family, and feeling as though she'd rather kill herself, to having a family who loved her, a family she loved. Friends galore, and a place to call home. It wasn't something she was used to. She quite felt like a plain girl who found out she was a princess. Her would had been turned upside down, and she couldn't be happier. "I love you.." She said looking up at Elijah and smiling slightly, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "Thank you..."