Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 48

Hilda let out a nervous laugh, looking at the screen.

"What on Earth were they thinking?" she said quietly, putting a hand tentatively on her tummy. "Do they not know how much Mikaelson drama there is?"

"I don't think they were thinking of that when they cast the spell," said Valerie, giving her a reassuring smile.

Tristan was clearly having trouble grasping the reality. "This is impossible, Hilda," he said. "You couldn't possibly be pregnant. You've been a vampire for one thousand years."

"And that's what made her the perfect host," explained Valerie. "She's incredibly resistant. Not to mention she's a twin who's good with magic. The babies will need that."

"You can't go through with this," said Tristan firmly. Hilda knew he had never liked the idea of children. And in the past, neither had she. "You ought to get them transferred to another surrogate— a real witch, perhaps? You won't be able to do many of the things you love. And you despise children, Hilda, you can't possibly think this will bring you benefit. No... you cannot do this."

Hilda frowned. This was certainly not the reaction she expected. "Tristan, it's my choice, not yours," she said pointedly. Noticing the obvious tension between Tristan and Alaric, she looked over at the vampire. "I think this adds something to the matter of Rebekah."

"What?" he said in disbelief. "How could you possibly be thinking of your sister at a time like this?"

"She loves babies! I'd very much like to go through this process with her at my side."

Tristan looked visibly uncomfortable with this. "I will see what has happened with her body," he said awkwardly, as though Hilda had mentioned something bad.

She pursed her lips. "Well, then, can you please wait for me in your room? I'd like to talk to them about everything. Feel free to go find your sister, too, I know she's lurking about."

Tristan did not seem chuffed at the idea of leaving Hilda with Alaric and the other two women, but he left. Alaric let out a loud huff. "Well, he looks pleasant."

"Tristan hates kids," she mumbled, turning back to the ultrasound, and listening to the projected heartbeats. "It's... it's true then? I'm... pregnant."

Caroline and Valerie nodded. Alaric came to sit on the bed beside her. "Listen," he said softly, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I know it's a lot to ask. You'd have to sacrifice your happiness and lead a life that you never wanted. I can't ask you to do that for me. If you want, Valerie can transfer the twins into someone else."

"Ric," she murmured, taking his hand. "Who am I to deny you the twins you thought you lost? I may not have liked the idea of having kids before but now..."

How could she say in that moment that he was the reason she had grown so open to the idea of family? That he, so gentle and kind, made her want to be human? She knew Tristan was likely eavesdropping from the other room, and she didn't want to cause conflict between the two. But the reality was, that after so many months of raising Hope, and all this time that Hilda had spent, quite nearly in love with Alaric, she didn't mind the idea of being a mother. In fact, it excited her. To be able to bring life to two children who had lost their parent, to be able to help a father recover the family he thought he lost, to have that chance to teach a set of twins about magic... to be the mother Esther never was... she saw it as a challenge, and that thrilled her more than anything.

"The point is," she said softly, "I don't need to spend all this time making a decision. I know it might seem rash but... I want to do this. It's the right thing to do."