All the cards

44

Amity went back home, only to find her brothers restless.
"What could possibly have gone wrong in the few hours I was out for a walk?" She sighed, unbuckling Hope. She walked up to put the child in her room and Klaus followed.
"Let's see, we found out what the last piece of the white oak stake was, but then Cami stole it and is demanding back the dark objects I confiscated from her."
"You took away her toys?"
"Sister, if you're going to scold me on the rights of property and privacy, perhaps you can wait until we destroy the one thing that can kill us."
"I'm not disappointed, Nik. I'm surprised. I would have thought you'd support Cami's endeavour for revenge." Klaus rolled his eyes as his phone buzzed. He looked at it.
"I gotta go, it's Cami."
"Let me-"
"I have to do this." He cut her off and Amity looked at him sympathetically. She nodded and he left. She placed Hope in her cot, and looked to see Izzy in his. She sighed and walked away.

In accordance to her brother's wishes, Amity stayed out of sight. She decided to call Caroline and check in.
"Amity?"
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"I'm doing good."
"The babies?"
"Apart from majorly weird cravings, we're fine."
"Yeah, they're annoying." She laughed remembering her own. "You are taking care of yourself, though, aren't you?"
"I am. I'm- I'm fine. I promise."
"Good. Don't let whatever drama's happening in Mystic Falls affect those children, okay?"
"Sure." She sighed. "And how are you... and your son?"
"Fine." Amity said curtly, not wanting to talk about Isaiah with Caroline.
"Right."
"Hey..." Amity heard Stefan greet as he walked in to Caroline room.
"Shh!" She heard Caroline frantically try to silence him.
"I'll call you back tomorrow." Amity said.
"No, no, wait!" She protested, and Amity hesitated. "I'm sorry, please don't hang up."
"He's your boyfriend, Caroline. I'm not here for conversation, I'm just checking on the babies. So, I will call you tomorrow." Amity said.
"Oh, okay." She said in a small voice.
"Okay then." Amity said.
"Wait- um, that tea you gave me. What kind was it?"
"Why? Did you run out?"
"Yeah."
"When?" Amity sounded concerned.
"I don't know, I think last week."
"Oh god." Amity said and hung up. Disappearing, she reappeared in Caroline's dorm. Caroline looked at her phone and up at Amity.
"I thought you didn't want conversation?"
"Well, this is about your kids, so.." Amity rolled her eyes, holding out her hand as a cup of tea appeared, ignoring Stefan who stepped to the back of the room, not wanting to anger the original. "Drink." She said, firmly. Her eyes were sharp and urgent, glaring so harshly that Caroline was afraid to ask where it came from and how she'd materialised a cup of tea from midair. Caroline reached out, grabbing the mug and pulled it close. She caught a whiff of it and the twins began to kick and squirm in her womb. She almost dropped it but Amity moved closer holding it up. "Yeah, they're not going to want it, but you have to drink, Caroline. If you want to survive." Caroline frowned at this but nodded and Amity helped her. Caroline took a sip and almost heaved, turning away.
"I can't drink that."
"Caroline, I told you, those kids are siphoners. This tea was muting their abilities, stopping them from siphoning from this huge ball of magic they live in."
"What?"
"Okay, think of it like this. You're a vampire. You're starving but everything around you is made of yummy blood. That's what it's like for them. They're siphoners. Their power is drawing magic from any source. You're a vampire. You are literally made of magic, and all they want is to drink your magic. It's instinctual. They don't know any better. This herbal tea was in their system. It suppressed their siphoning abilities to get rid of temptation."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it would stress you out. In my experience, the stress a pregnant mother feels affects her babies. Besides how do you tell someone their babies could potentially kill them?"
"So what about after I give birth? Is Alaric supposed to feed them the tea. Can babies even have tea?"
"Some are okay but not all. You have to be careful, but you absolutely cannot feed them this. You can't suppress their powers after birth. This is just to ensure all of your survivals right now."
"What kind of tea is it?"
"Rare." Amity said, pushing the cup towards Caroline once more. "It's from a kingdom you never have and probably never will hear of, so drink." Caroline looked curious but plugged her nose, attempting to drink it. A second later she pushed it away, throwing up. Amity sighed and waved her hand on the bed beside Caroline, vanishing the sick off the bed. "You have to keep it down, Caroline. If you die, then so do your children."
"I can't." Caroline shook her head. Stefan made a move to come forward- to help his girlfriend but Amity simply held up her hand and he was pushed back against the wall, unable to move. Amity caught sight of Caroline's desiccating hand, and grabbed it, holding it up to show Caroline.
"Look, you're already desiccating." Amity told her, her tone rather harsh. Rolling her eyes, she gave up, and closed her eyes. A golden glow flowed through her arm and into Caroline. Her hand began to regain colour. "Let's try this again shall we?"