Satin Bruises

"Reilly, say something," Jean-Claude prompted, trying not to laugh. He placed his hands on his lover's shoulders, gently rubbing the taught muscles. He wasn't sure if she was breathing. She exhaled, making a squeaky surprised little noise. Jean-Claude could feel the press of her emotions against the marks, and the shock positively radiating off of her was enough to push him over the edge. He chuckled, pulling her against him and planting a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Jean-Claude, this is Cartier's!" Reilly finally managed to blurt, eyes reflecting the many gleaming diamonds in the room. He laughed harder, taking her face between his hands.

"Reilly," the vampire purred, brushing his lips against hers, "I have something very important to ask you." The witch went still as Jean-Claude dropped to one knee. "You are tied to me for the rest of our lives. Bound by magical contract. I wanted to make you understand that you are so much more to me than a simple power source or council body. Reilly, I want you in my bed, by my side, and with me for the rest of our days. You are everything that I have waited for, for centuries." He paused, eyes searching her face. "Will you marry me, Reilly?" He asked softly. The petite witch gasped, hands flying to her face.

"Darling!" She exclaimed, hands fluttering excitedly down to his shoulders. "Jean-Claude, of course," she whispered, flustered. "But...Asher!" She frowned, cheeks flushing.

"He knows, ma chere. As much as I love you, this is also a PR move. The public wants to see a united front, and Americans still want to know that their public figures are straight," the vampire's face quirked a bit on the last, amused with a hard edge. Reilly laughed, shaking her head.

"I should have known," she said, leaning in to kiss her fiance. Her eyes scanned the hundreds of stones and sparkling bands in the glass cases, wide with wonder and curiousity. Smiling, she pressed the vampire's hand.

"Jean-Claude," she whispered. "This...is Cartier's."

"At your fingertips. For as long as you like."

"Which one have you picked out for me?"

"Whichever one you want," Jean-Claude answered, kissing her hand as she leaned over a long glass case. The vampire smirked when her eyebrow quirked. For a split second, her eyes tore away from the jewels, but she didn't look at anything in particular. Finally, she smiled the tiniest smile imaginable.

"So, you haven't picked one?"

"No..." Jean-Claude sensed she was up to something.

"Well, I guess you better get on that," Reilly retorted, smiling broadly. Jean-Claude stared at her, masking his disbelief as his fiancee stood on the tip of her toes and kissed his cheek.

"In the meantime, I'm going to go look at some necklaces."

Reilly practically floated away to the otherside of the store, leaving the perplexed vampire gracefully leaning against one of the showcases with his arms over his chest. He chuckled, smiling, and turned to find the perfect ring.

"I fly her to France, I buy Cartier's for a night, and somehow I still get wrangled into picking out a ring," he whispered, dazzled at the irony and humor.

On the other side of the jeweler's, Reilly was secretly calling her sister. Now, it was her turn to gush.

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Raleigh was in her office, typing rapidly with one hand and eating peanut butter covered Oreo's with the other when her cellphone began vibrating next to her laptop. She flicked it open and held it between her head and shoulder.

"Hey babycakes," she answered cheerily. "How's France?"

"I'm in Cartier's!" Reilly shrieked. Raleigh flinched, taking the phone away from her ear. When the frequency coming from the phone toned down, she brought it back to her ear.

"Well, aren't you a lucky duck?" Raleigh said, shoving another cookie into her mouth.

"You're just jealous."

"Oh yeah, 'cause it's my dream to be flown out to Cartier's in France by my obscenely gorgeous and fully loaded boyfriend."

"It is?"

"No, duh. If you recall, it's my dream to be proposed to in Germany. I don't care where...but Germany."

Micah entered the office, his arms loaded with Mexican food. Raleigh blew him a kiss, still focused on her sister, who was currently telling her that she had Nazi tendencies. Micah sat gracefully across from her and distributed a vast amount of food as Jason entered with a chair, followed by Nathaniel and Conner.

Reilly finally finished fussing and said cooly. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to pretend to look at necklaces."

"Pretend?"

"Yes, I have cleverly tricked Jean-Claude into picking a ring."

"You're a bitch."

"Don't talk like that in front of my son."

Raleigh smiled at her nephew as she handed him the phone. Connor snatched it out of her hand and began talking rapidly and excitedly about his classes, leaving the were's to their own devices. The witch watched Connor pace the hallway. He had grown up so much since her sister had won custody of him. The boy was taller, slender, his hair was turning the family auburn. Physically, he was nine, but emotionally and mentally...who knew? Raleigh wondered what her boys were going to be like. Would they look like her or Micah? Would they embrace the world they were born into, or shun it like her father? Her eyes drifted to her fiancee, the father of her children. He had dripped a delightful concoction of sour cream and hot sauce on his shirt and was softly cursing under his breath. Nathaniel and Jason met her eyes with amused smirks. The only thing that was certain was this, no matter how these boys turned out, they were going to be loved by the largest family anyone could ask for.

Connor re-entered the room and sat next to Nathaniel, handing his aunt the phone. Raleigh couldn't help but smile as the boy and the long-haired leopard jabbed at each other in light-hearted horse play. She was surrounded by four year olds. Very tall, super natural four year olds.

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Winter melted away into Spring, the mild and short lived season that comes and goes so quickly...nobody noticed until Summer came, hot and sweltering. Dr. Lillian put Reilly and Raleigh on strict bed rest. Neither woman was allowed to work or do any strenuous activity, much to their displeasure. The closer Reilly got to her due date, the more irritated she became. Raleigh, on the other hand, was serene and calm.

The Witch Twins sat in Reilly's ornate living room, watching television while Connor and Jean-Claude poured over the boys French homework. The entire scene was really very heart warming with Asher playing with his favorite Great Dane, Harlon. Reilly watched her boys and smiled. Raleigh nudged her sister with her foot playfully.

"Soon there'll be a little girl running around, shrieking like a banshee," she teased. Reilly glared at her.

"Don't you jinx me," she huffed. Raleigh giggled to herself and turned back to her book. Asher looked up from his puppy.

"Don't listen to her dearest, she's just trying to antagonize you," he said softly before turning his stunning blue eyes on Raleigh. "Quit being a pest, Raleigh."

Once again, Raleigh giggled. "You'll make a great father sweet heart. Great conflict resolution skills."

Asher cast Raleigh a disparaging glance, unsure of whether he liked her new attitude or not. Suddenly, Reilly doubled over, holding her stomach and taking sharp, labored breaths. Jean-Claude was on his feet before anyone could blink. Both vampires took her hands without bothering to mask their worry. Connor stood in the middle of the living room, just as worried as his fathers. Raleigh hauled herself off of the couch and went to her nephew.

"It's okay, Con," she whispered. "Your sister's coming and we should probably get your mom down to Dr. Lillian."

Jean-Claude and Asher snapped back to reality, everything started happening at once. Asher lifted Reilly off of the couch while Jean-Claude found her phone and called Dr. Lillian. When he was incapable of forming a coherent sentence, Raleigh snatched the phone from him and very calmly told the wererat to have a room ready because they were on their way.

"Alright, if you're giving birth or are of the blood-sucking faith, you're riding with me. Anyone else can follow us with Jason," she explained, keeping a level head as she grabbed her jacket and car keys. Connor bolted from the room in search of the werewolf. The rest of the group made their way to the Tundra.

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As soon as they arrived, Dr. Lillian and her assistants wisked Reilly away with Jean-Claude and Asher, leaving Raleigh, Connor, and Jason in the waiting room. Raleigh carefully lowered herself into a vacant chair, sighing heavily and glancing at the clock on the wall.

"It's eight-sixteen," she mumbled. "Who wants to bet she's in there for more than...two hours?"

Jason and Connor stared at her in disbelief. Connor shook his head and focused on the remainder of his homework, much to the surprise of his aunt. Any other normal child would have used this as the perfect excuse to abandon the books, then again, Connor wasn't exactly normal and he actually liked learning. Jason looked around at the empty room before turning to Raleigh.

"You really think she'll be in there that long?" he asked curiously. "I mean, how hard can..."

His voice tapered off when the witch shot him a venomous glance. Her green eyes flashed beneath a quirked eyebrow. Jason suddenly felt very small and vunerable in her admonishing gaze.

"Were you about to ask how hard it could be?" Raleigh asked softly. "Have you ever passed a kidney stone, Jason? Or pushed something the size of a small melon through a hole the size of a lemon?"

"That's not what I...um...I meant, what could go wrong that would make it take two hours?"

"Well, actually there's quite a bit that could happen, but I think Lillian's team is on top of things."

Down the hall in the delivery room, Reilly felt as if she was being cleaved in half. She wasn't fully dialated and was already covered in a glistening layer of sweat. Her body kept screaming at her to push. Dr. Lillian's soft voice advised her otherwise.

"Reilly, you're not ready to start pushing. Just lay back and breathe," she said firmly. One of the new medical assistants, the only guy in the clinic, came in with the epidural. Reilly's eyes went wide when she saw the needle.

"Oh no. No no no no no," she snapped. "Nuh uh. THAT is not happening! No drugs!"

"Are you sure chere?" Jean-Claude asked.

"I said NO!"

The vampires looked at each other in hopes that one of them would talk some sense into her. Their lover began screaming again. She reached out and grabbed Asher's arm, her fingers tearing into his porcelain skin. He felt her pain shoving against their marks. She let her power flow and wash over everyone in the room, hot and suffocating. Then, she took Jean-Claude's hand in hers.

"Jean-Claude, dearest, I love you. I really do, but you have to leave," she whispered through clenched teeth.

"Beg pardon?"

"Don't fight me, please for the love of all things holy. Don't fight me!"

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Raleigh was checking her nephews homework when she felt the backlash of power creep of her arm. She looked up from the paper just in time to see Jean-Claude shuffle through the swinging doors. The expectant father's face spoke volumes unknown to those who had not been there with him. The very pregnant witch attempted to stand up, but Jason pulled her back into her seat.

"Sit," he said firmly, watching the vampire glide into the waiting room. "What happened boss? Anything wrong?"

"I just don't understand," he whispered softly. "She kicked me out."

"I wouldn't look into it too much," Connor replied. The three adults regarded him and wondered what he could POSSIBLY understand about this situation. The boy simply sat in his chair. Jean-Claude noticed for the first time how tall the boy was. Not freakishly tall, just taller than other boys his age. Maybe...just maybe he had a point. After all, he had been developing his powers at an almost alarming rate.

"Why shouldn't I, mon fils?"

"Because she loves you. What she just did won't change anything. And think of what she's going through."

Jean-Claude watched his son, amazed how incredibly grown up this boy was, and contemplated his theory. What Reilly was going through is extremely painful, and exclusive to women. Men would never be able to understand that pain or the bond of a mother to her child. Maybe...

Raleigh stiffened intensely. Her face screwed up in pain as her hands worked around the metal arms of her chair. A wheezing, hissing breath escaped her lungs. The witch kicked off her shoes and told Connor to find a nurse. Jason leapt to his feet.

"Oh no, not you too!" he whimpered. Raleigh glared at him.

"The hell do you mean 'not you too'?!" she yelped. "Jason! I have no control over this!"

Jean-Claude casually pulled out his cell phone and strolled to the other side of the room, obviously to call his fellow father-to-be.

"I didn't mean that!"

"Swallow the first foot before you stick the other one in your mouth!" Raleigh teased, wincing again.

"I meant we have TWO witches giving birth. One is pretty much a vampire and the other is some weird ass were hybrid! The powers that are going to be slamming through here are going to be...INSANE!"

Connor came flying down the hall with not one or two nurses, but five. Raleigh dropped herself into the wheelchair, refusing the help of the urgent nurses. As they wheeled her away she shouted over her shoulder.

"When Micah gets here, tell him he is more than welcome to come watch...if he can stomach it!"

Jean-Claude and Jason looked at each other. The vampire was confused, the were...amused.

"Was she making a joke?" Jean-Claude asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Jason shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his low-slung, torn jeans.

"Yeah...yeah she was."

"What an odd duck."