Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Twelve

Diana folds some freshly cleaned baby onesies in the nursery as she hums away to the twins in their cribs behind her. Alaric leans against the wall across from her, watching her a soft smile on his face.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high." Diana sings as she moves to stand between the two cribs in the nursery, she waves down at the twins who are attempting to look at her fingers, but it just comes across as more cross-eyed, they're four weeks old, they're still learning. "There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Oh, somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue. Clouds high over the rainbow, make all your dreams come true, ooh. Someday I'll wish upon a star. Wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where trouble melts like lemon drops. High above the chimney top. That's where you'll find me, oh" Diana sings softly down at the twins. Alaric appears behind her and smiles. "You're standing really close again, Ric" she scolds and turns to look straight at him.

"Now that you can see me, you think I'm letting you out of my sight?" he asks her, she smiles at him.

"Don't you mean letting you out of my sight?" She asks him, he shrugs a little.

"Either way...." he offers, and then smiles softly at her. "You're doing great" he whispers warmly. "I'm proud of you"

"I wish you were here to help me" She admits. "More than this" She motions to him. "We were supposed to do this together"

"I know" He agrees. "But you can do this....you have so many friends..." She sighs and then shakes her head.

"Where's Crowley?" she asks.

"Downstairs" He answers. "Watching Gilmore Girls...again" She nods a little. "You're going to be fine" he whispers to her. She pulls out her cell phone as it rings and checks the caller id before answering.

"Connor" She greets as she answers her phone, Alaric frowns at her. "You've been quiet the last couple of weeks, what's going on?"

"Do you have access to werewolf venom?" He asks her. She frowns a little.

"I have it in the form of mace" She answers, Alaric frowns harder at her. "I might have a vial or two...I'll have to dig through my stock....why?"

"Can I have it?" he asks her, she hums a little.

"If you tell me why" She counters, he sighs down the phone and nods before explaining his plan to her, she listens and nods along. "Okay," she tells him. "You can have it, I'll bring it to your trailer later" She hangs up.

"What does he want?" Alaric asks her.

"He wants some werewolf venom," She tells Alaric who shakes his head. "To poison some vampires" She shrugs and turns to the doorway. Alaric disappears and then reappears in the doorway to block her. She lets out a breath.

"Don't" He states slightly. "Don't do this" She looks at him.

"Elena is the reason you died, Ric" She counters. "I can't just let that go"

"So say you kill her" He steps closer to her. "Say you get your revenge or your justice or whatever....then what?" She pauses slightly. "It might feel good.....for all of five seconds" He reaches for her face and then drops his hands when he remembers he can't touch her. "Then you will realize that you killed your own sister" She hangs her head. "And you will have to live with that for the rest of your life, Diana..."

"So what do I do?" She asks him.

"Turn to our friends" He answers. "And if you have to...." he gives her a look. "Infiltrate" She frowns and cocks her head.

"Are you saying that I should be a double agent Connor?" she asks him, he nods.

"He already seems to trust you..." He answers. "Find out what he is doing here, what he wants...."

"Well, I assume he is here to kill the vampires" She points out, he sighs and nods.

"Okay, fine, then...." He shrugs. "Work both sides...." She closes her eyes. "Diana, what you are feeling now, it will pass" She shakes her head. "One day it will" he assures her. "And when it does...if you've killed all your friends" she looks at him. "You'll have no one because you acted in your grief....and it will just be worse" She nods a little because he makes an interesting case, that is why she needs him, he is like her impulse control.

"Then I still need to get that venom" She comments and walks through him, he groans and shoots her a look before following her.

"How are you feeling?" he asks as she moves towards their bedroom.

"I feel...fine" She answers. "As I have been every day for the last two weeks..." she gives him a look, he has asked her every day since she broke open the crystal and unleashed her demon side. "No homicidal tendencies....." He raises an eyebrow. "No more then usual" She corrects herself.

.................

Diana stands behind the couch where Crowley is sat watching tv, the twins settled in baskets on either side of him. Diana pulls on her jacket and sighs a little.

"Crowley" He looks up from the couch. "You remember where the bottles are?" He nods. "Diapers?" he nods again.

"Relax, Princess...I got this" He assures her, Diana purses her lips. This is actually the first time she is leaving the twins in two weeks, it's the first time demon-infested her is going to be leaving them. "You are forgetting that I did do this..."

"How long ago was that?" Alaric asks as he appears behind Diana. Diana looks at him.

"My grandfather," Diana tells him. "Angel"

"Your grandfather was called Angel?" Alaric asks her, she hums and nods. "And he was half-demon?" Diana smirks a little.

"It's called irony" Crowley teases as he picks up Ezra. "Hey, tiny dude" He greets. Diana makes a face and sighs.

"Be careful with him" Diana scolds him. "He's really tiny" Crowley smirks a little.

"I can do this...and I got your pet ghost watching over me" Crowley nods to Alaric who glares at him.

"I can watch them," Alaric tells Diana who sighs and looks at them.

"And when they cry wanting a bottle?" she asks and waves her hand through his ghostly form, he sighs knowing what she means. He can't touch anything, weirdly enough he can lean and sit but he can't grab anything. Meaning he can't feed his children when they need it. They share a sad look. "I'll be back later," She tells Alaric, he nods and glances at Crowley.