What a way to reconcile, eh?

Christmas was characteristically a difficult time of year for parents. First they had to deal with the struggles of hiding their gifts from their children. Then they somehow had to wrap them without them noticing. Elijah had allocated the gift wrapping to Cherie. She was the youngest and the only one of the three girls that actually strove for a career outside of chocolate shops and nudity. She also didn’t know Fauve and Thierry so well which put her in a position where she was allowed some peace. Elijah was just grateful he could have some too. Jen and Rob were enamoured with his children and were more than happy to play with them in the snow.

Elijah was just worried about Chris who seemed determined to throw everyone into the mound of snow that had built up overnight. To Elijah’s’ knowledge, David had been pushed in a fair number of times already. They were all fighting over the children so they didn’t get pushed in. No one wanted the babies to freeze but they didn’t particularly care about each other. Elijah had no intention of going outside.

Ever since St. Mungo’s and his bath escapade he’d remembered how much he liked them. After using nearly all of the bath salts that Khaat and Brian had stocked, just because he could, Elijah emerged from his en suite with a towel wrapped around his waist. He’d bypassed shaving, deciding he preferred the beard. Nachash was back again, having returned not long before they started packing. She returned with something else brewing, though. It seemed as if she’d had her own beau and was now guarding the eggs to prove it. Elijah just couldn’t understand why she had to guard them on his body. The ruddy snake could have hold up somewhere, anywhere, else. He supposed he was warm.

At present though she wasn’t with him having found Camille and Cassidy’s room much more comfortable than Eli’s. He’d been painting and things had gotten messy as they usually did. The room retained order for the most part. There were no clothes strewn around or anything of the like but there were various wine glasses and packets of biscuits which Thierry and Fauve had consumed while they sat with him. They were biscuit eaters. It was so weird. Apart from that minor mess which was mostly on the windowsill by the easel he’d set up, the room was clean and tidy.

He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. He fiddled with the rune necklace around his neck and hummed thoughtfully to himself. He turned and looked at the easel. He’d been working on Chase’s Christmas present. It was going well enough. It was his idea of her. It was her. There was nothing else to it. He knew how she saw herself and it wasn’t clearly. She had this blurred vision of herself and he wanted to show her that she was beautiful and that he saw that. It wasn’t her beauty that made him fall in love with her though. There was always more. But he did say to her once before that he did only paint beautiful things.

Elijah picked a sheet up and covered Chase for the moment. He didn’t need her painting at present. What he needed was her company. They’d reconciled but had they really? The presence of Viktor in his life had changed a lot of things. The man seemed confused but genuinely happy to have another grandchild on the way even if, he admitted, it made him feel old. Elijah smiled to himself and shook his head. He scratched his shoulder and made his way over to the chest of drawers he’d put his things in, in search of some underwear. This was the problem with packing and unpacking, you could never remember where you put your stuff.

Chase had done her wrapping, the presents were hidden away in her closet. And now she sat in front of her mirror, brushing her hair slowly, her mind a million miles away. Her and Elijah had made up, well sorta.. he had embarrassed her pretty badly in front of the Minister of Magic.. Chase glanced over to the closet, where there was a present for him as well. Christmas was getting so near, and she was just happy that the whole Barker business was dealt with. Khaat was doing better, and so was Elijah. Chase was happy, and yet she was still confused.

Chase started to carefully braid her hair, but got bored and pulled it out again, deciding on a yellow ribbon for her hair instead, pulling it back into a high messy ponytail. Chase glanced at the door to her bedroom, half wondering why she and Eli had been given separate rooms, but sort of happy they had. She wasn't quite sure where they stood, but she knew it was somewhere in a middle ground. He had admitted that he shouldn't have let her go, and she believed him.. It was just so hard to tell though.

Chase bit her lower lip and put on a bit of makeup before standing up and pacing her room. Should she go to his room? Should she talk to him? Chase walked to the door to her room, and then stopped, turning back around and pacing again before finally heading to the door and pulling it open. She didn't hesitate after that, closing it again and making her way towards Elijah's room. But just before she opened it, she froze, and then decided to be safe and she knocked carefully. "Hey Elijah? It's me... is it okay if I come in?" She asked softly to the crack in the door.

“Pants, pants, pants...where art thou?” Elijah spoke aloud although whether it was to himself or to his underwear no one really knew. He was losing his mind all over again. Speaking to one’s self is the first sign of madness after all. It seemed as if he’d neglected to unpack everything. He had been in the process of it the other day but had only gotten half way through. Then he’d been hit by the inspiration for Chase. It definitely didn’t show virginity or purity or any of that bollocks. No, the bump was there. It did show motherhood though. She was going to be a fantastic mother. He just felt guilty that he’d burdened her with it so early in life. They were hardly underprepared though. But still, it was ridiculous.

Elijah closed the drawer, deciding to forgo getting dressed for a while. He walked back over to the easel and took the sheet off. He leaned over and grabbed the half full bottle of wine that was on the windowsill. He put the bottle to his lips and took a swig, keeping his eyes on the painting as he did so. He put the bottle down and licked his lips. He pressed his thumb against the painting and ran along the curve of the swollen stomach in the painting. It was reminiscent of the painting he did the first time but it was so different. It was a completely different room, a bedroom this one and she was peering out onto a field where distant, blurred and indistinguishable figures were playing some sort of ball game.

She looked older too. He’d aged her about four years. Twenty-one and swollen with yet another child. Was it selfish of him to want that? Motherhood was becoming of Chase but surely not another child. Elijah smiled and closed his eyes for a few moments. Three would most definitely never be enough. Neither would four, or five, or six. He wanted a family, one to rival the Weasleys in size. It wasn’t a need to better them but it was a need to surround himself with family. Little miniature versions of himself wouldn’t hurt either although he’d need to fix some of their traits so they weren’t exactly like their drunk of a father. Elijah shook his head, still smiling. Some things never changed. He could kick the cigarettes but not his wine. No, not that.

There was a knock at the door and Elijah jumped. He heard Chase’s voice and hastily threw the sheet over the painting. He walked over to the door, gripping the side of his towel and opened it up. He bowed, a smirk-like smile on his face and gestured for her to come in. He closed the door behind her and asked, “To what do I owe this immense pleasure, dear lady?”

Chase smirked and found herself looking Elijah up and down. "Enjoy getting dressed eh?" She asked softly, a small evil grin on her face as she walked into the room and looked around carefully. She saw a picture by the window with a sheet over it, and she had a feeling he was painting something new he din't want her to see. She turned her attention away from the picture and looked back at him when he shut the door behind her. "Is it a crime to want to come and see the father of my child?" She asked softly, a smile playing across her lips. "Or to want to spend time with the man I love?" She said again smiling as she moved over to his bed and sat down on it happily.

She kicked her feet out and let her eyes wander around the neat and tidy room. She wore a simple dress today, of light yellow that matched the ribbon she had pulled her hair back with. The yellow dress was loose, and came to just over her knees, clamping around her middle, just over her stomach. It was a maternity dress, and it showed off her little mound more then anything else could have. Seeing as her stomach wasn't quite that large yet, but it sure looked like it was in that dress.

"So what ya been up to? Besides wandering around your room in a towel?" She asked, looking him over suggestively again before smiling slyly and turning her attention to the covered up picture again. The sheet must have been hastily thrown over, because it was drooping in one corner and she could see apart of the picture, it seemed to only be a wall however, and she couldn't make out the rest of it. "Been busy with Fauve and Thierry? Me and Fauve were playing outside the other day. She showed me that charming bracelet that you're father gave to her.." She said glancing at Elijah carefully before continuing. "You know.. I think Fauve is really starting to like me Elijah.. she's such an angel... she has so much life.. so much.. spirit..you've done right in her." She said with a nod.

Chase found her mind slowly heading back to the point in her life that she had yelled at Elijah. Not that he hadn't warranted it. And someone had needed to tell him the truth, but still.. if they hadn't spoken again... she would never have gotten to know Fauve and Thierry as well as she did now. And somehow she found she didn't think she could handle leaving them now. They were like a blast of fresh air in a life that kind of hated her. She needed their life force to help her own somehow. "Elijah.. I think we need to talk about more serious stuff though.. where do we stand?" She asked, looking at him in the eyes for a long moment.

Dressing was now at the bottom of the list of things Elijah was going to do that morning. They weren’t in any particular order, instead they were bullet pointed, but either way, dressing was at the bottom. Ravishing the beautiful woman was definitely close to the top. Kissing her came first. He watched her carefully, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement as she sat down on his bed. His eyes fell to the bump that the pretty yellow number was showing off and he smiled. His feet definitely wanted to move. He wanted to be as close to Chase as humanly possible. “It’s not a crime until the law gets passed, Fen. I doubt it ever will...think of all these women that miss the men who adore them so,”

Elijah closed the distance between them and leaned down. He kissed her gently on the mouth and looked at her with a lazy smile, “The men that worship them so...” he added to his previous statement. “How are you this morning, darlin’?”

The Bulgarian Wizard moved around to the side of the bed and pulled a pillow over from the other side. He put it on top of the other one and sat down on the bed, leaning against the pillows. He put his arms behind his head and smirked at Chase. She was truly a vixen. Elijah quirked an eyebrow at her and crossed his ankles. “I don’t know...” He sighed dramatically. “The towel is a new thing. I thought I’d try a change you know? Walking around naked seems improper especially when the house is full of people that forget to knock.” Chris was the devil. It was mostly him bursting in at ridiculous times; specifically when Elijah was naked. He was sure Chris had a nudity meter. “I have been painting...” He added after a moment, “And working my way through the stock of wine and bath salts. Oh and of course, entertaining the little monsters.” He smiled fondly.

Fauve liked Chase. This wasn’t news to Elijah. He knew that from the start. Thierry was warming to the redhead as well although he’d never admit it. He liked the fact that she’d dumped Elijah and not the other way around. As pleased as he was that they were back together, he liked her incentive. Elijah definitely knew why he preferred Fauve. Thierry was a mummy’s boy already and he hadn’t even formulated areal opinion of Chase. He didn’t usually formulate opinions until after his decision though. “She loves you, Chase.” Elijah said, sitting up and moving further down the bed. He ran his fingers down her spine and smiled softly. “And so does Thierry although he is not quite willing to admit that yet. He would not be pleased if I told you either. It’s our secret.”

He leaned forward and kissed her neck. Her hair was swept away, giving a lot more access. He gently nipped the skin with his teeth and hummed in response when she spoke again. Elijah lifted his head and looked at Chase seriously, “If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d be butchered then I’d have married you by now, Chase. Not that I expect the idea would be unwelcomed by my father. I’m sure he’d encourage it actually. I love you so much. I think the only reason I’d be butchered is because I’d skip the big white business and just get it done to be honest,” Elijah grinned. “We are together and we’re never going to split off again alright? I’m not going anywhere and you know what? Nothing you can say or do will make me and I don’t think Fauve or Thierry will be willing to let you go either. I need you, they need you...we all do. Even Christophe needs you because you’re just another bloody doll for him to play dress up with.”

Elijah leaned back to Chase’s neck and nipped the skin once more. He placed butterfly kisses down on her skin and tugged at the yellow monstrosity of a dress she was wearing. “Did I ever tell you...” he mumbled in her ear, “That you look better without clothes on? This in particular would look fabulous on the floor. It’s rather...hideous. As much as you compliment it, darling, there’s nothing that can be done to help the dress. We’ll just have to find you something better later won’t we? I have plans for you, my love, and they might last the whole day,” Elijah called his wand to him and flicked it at the door. He threw it to the side and smiled. “Thank Merlin for the person that invented the locking charm.”

Chase watched him move closer to her with a certain amount of amusement. He had come and kissed her already, and she had a feeling how the rest of today was going to go. She was now extremely happy she had decided to come to his room instead of finding more ways to spend her day. Even if she did enjoy being with Fauve and Thierry, there was nothing like being with Elijah. Everything he did towards her made her feel special, the way he moved her hair away from her neck and gently kissed the exposed skin, making her shiver and close her eyes at the soft touch.

He had made up a little ledge of pillows, leaning back against them, and Chase felt her need to speak to him decrease rapidly as she looked at his sprawled out body next to her. She felt herself smiling. "Yeah.. people wouldn't want to see all of this now would they?" She asked making a suggestive gesture before smiling widely at him. When he spoke of Fauve and Thierry, Chase shivered as his fingers ran across her spine, smiling at him as he looked at her, knowing her dress probably wouldn't be on to much longer, and it didn't bother her in the slightest. "Our Secret of course." She said wit ha laugh, catching his hand in hers and holding it lightly, running her fingers over his knuckles.

When Elijah answered her seriously, she could practically see the truth radiate from his eyes. Or maybe that was just the light in the room, but whatever it was, it made her very happy. Halfway through his explanation on why Christophe liked her, she had leaned over him and was kissing his lips gently, her hand that was holding his, slowly looped her fingers together with his, her rings hitting his. He wanted to marry her! He wanted her! Her mind was having a party and she couldn't stop smiling. Sure she didn't mind not having a white wedding, but everyone else in his family would put out an outburst of anger and they would be forced. Maybe after Christmas.. or maybe after the baby was born, so that she could look lovely in her wedding dress. Chase could almost see it, her dress flowing behind her, a veil put up in her hair, a tiara, Fauve as her flowergirl, Thierry as her ring bearer. Beside her was Sophia, and maybe if she could.. Jack.. Chase could feel her eyes start to water, so she pushed the thought away before she could even begin to imagine looking at Elijah.

Suddenly Elijah's intentions became crystal clear. She moved closer to him, and felt his kisses upon her neck. She closed her eyes and glanced at the door as he locked it. She felt a mischievous grin cross her face. "I just hope they take the hint and don't try to open it by force." She said with a small laugh, before catching his lips in hers, kissing him more deeply then she had since he had first said he loved her. She pulled his face to hers, kissing him with all her might. Kissing him for her baby, kissing him for his family, kissing him for making her feel so happy. Trying to pour how happy she was into the kiss, just to be with him, just to hear that he loved her, that he wanted to marry her. "I love you Elijah Krum." She whispered, running a hand through his hair gently. "And I always will."

A day spent in bed with Chase was not a wasted day. Elijah was growing impatient as anticipation rose inside of him. He wanted to ravish her. There was time for that though. He would be slow and loving. He wanted to communicate how much he loved her without having to say it. There was a difference between sex and making love to someone. Sex could be anything from a one night stand to a tryst in a bathroom stall during a drunken haze. According to Finn you hadn’t lived until you’d done the latter. Elijah didn’t want to know about his bathroom conquests. Actually he didn’t want to know about any of his cousin’s conquests inside a bathroom or not. Making love was so much different. It was slow, sensual and displayed the true meaning of ‘becoming one’ with someone. Bathroom stall f*cks sort of dampened that.

As much as Elijah wanted to ravish Chase, he wanted to make it about her. She was going to be carrying their child for the months coming and he was going to make her feel better about it. She’d get pissed off with him, blame him at some point and would probably threaten to castrate him while she was giving birth. He didn’t mind as long as she didn’t follow through with it. It would make Khaat’s day but he didn’t want to lose his balls, he was far too attached to them. This would all be worth it in the end, he was sure of it. They could kick and scream until the roof caved in but it didn’t matter because at the end of the day they loved each other. Nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing could come between them. Not now, not ever.

“Wouldn’t they be lucky?” Elijah chuckled, absent mindedly running his hand over one of the criss-cross scars left behind by Barker’s chain. He was glad his face had been spared a scar. Khaat had been adamant about that according to Rob who promptly reminisced about Romania and how his scar had been rudely healed when he hadn’t wanted it to be. Elijah sort of wished his had been. He didn’t like them what so ever. They were ugly, a contradiction to the fact that he only dealt in the beautiful. He’d played his cards. Everyone had scars. He had his own but they were self inflicted. Accidental but self inflicted. These, these weren’t.

Elijah’s reverie was broken by Chase and he smiled at her. He allowed her to pull his face to hers and smiled into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tipped back down against the pillows, pulling her with him. He moaned in protest when she pulled away and pouted at her. “Look you,” He rolled them over so she was underneath him and he kissed her on the nose. “I am madly in love with you. It is obscene. Look,” he took her hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart. “Whatever’s left of this old thing...it beats for you. It’s thumping away because it has a purpose, because it knows I have something, someone to live for. You are such a gift to me, one I don’t even deserve. I am going to spend the rest of my life making you see how much I love you. If we live until we’re six-hundred-odd by some strange miracle then I will still be showing you how much I love you.”

“What I don’t love on you is this yellow monstrosity so...” Elijah leaned over, his towel dipping precariously lower on his hips and grabbed his knife off of the bedside table. He only really used it to cut pieces of canvas down to size but this would be much more fun. Elijah flicked the knife out of the case and pushed both halves of the case around so they formed the handle. He shimmed a little further down the bed and leaned over Chase. He kissed her quickly on the lips and winked at her. He took the knife to the front of the dress and relished in the sound of the fabric breaking. He scored the knife down the front of the dress before flipping the knife back into the case and chucking it onto the side.

Elijah pulled the front of the dress and it came apart like the front of a bodice. He couldn’t begin to describe how fun they were to get off. Of course it took forever so it was a great opportunity to use a knife there too. Elijah was tempted to ask Chase to buy some just so he could pull them apart. He’d reimburse her of course; it was for his own amusement after all. Elijah tugged the dress off of Chase and threw it over his shoulders. He pouted at the sight of Chase’s underwear. Not that there was anything wrong with it. It was all very pretty but Elijah was picky about that sort of thing. Breasts in particular needed to be, well, free; or at least that’s what he said. Even after having goodness knows how much practice with getting bras off, he was still crap at it. They were a pig. Another reason to use the knife...or, y’know, claws...

“Now...” He purred silkily. “I can’t decide whom to talk to first. There’s you, love, then there’s your breasts and then there’s kitty.” His eyes travelled from each subject as he did so and he couldn’t help but look at Chase’s stomach. There was proof of his child’s life. This beautiful creature lying before him was housing such a wonderful thing. It made Elijah love Chase even more than he already did. Every time he saw the stomach she hid away he noticed a difference, specifically in the size. The hospital had brought attention to the change. She’d grown since then, though. Kitty was growing...living....and she was there’s.

Elijah looked up and met Chase’s eyes. “I truly am undeserving of you,” he murmured.

Chase could tell that Elijah was growing impatient with her, and she had the desire to put him off for as long as possible before finally giving him what he wanted. She smiled at him and then frowned as he ran his hand over his scars. "Hey Elijah.." She said leaning forward and touching his chest lightly, running her fingers over his scars, her fingers traced his scars, and before she could finish, he was talking about how much he loved her, and then her dress was being torn off of her. She held still so that it wouldn't hit her skin.

When her dress was off, she moved forward to him. He was looking her over, but she put her hands on his own scars, and then moved his hands to touch hers. "We match Elijah.. look." She said softly, his hands touching her swollen stomach. "Elijah..." She said looking into his eyes, resting her forehead against his lightly. "You don't deserve me no.." She said her eyes twinkling, as her hands cupped his face, she continued to stare into his eyes. "You deserve better." She said with a small sad smile, before she kissed him again on the lips. "But you're stuck with me forever." She said with a giggle, brushing his hair back, still staring into his eyes. She pressed against him, her stomach being pressed into his hands, and just as it happened, there was a tiny movement from within. A tiny fluttering kick.

Chase gasped and looked down, staring at her bare stomach in his hands. "She moved..." She whispered, and then smiled at him. "She moved! Oh Elijah." She said excitedly and kissed him harder, half pushing him onto the bed, so that she could move the towel away from his body, kissing him with as much feeling as she could possess.

Fatherhood would be a bizarre experience, Elijah was sure. Everything about this had been from scratch. He’d have to learn all over again. He was trying to but the books were so confusing. You weren’t to let them sleep with you because they’d get too used to it. You couldn’t give them this; you couldn’t let them do that. They were little people that couldn’t do anything for themselves and their infancy was being pre-determined. Elijah didn’t care what the books said, what the healers said or even what the midwife said. As long as Kitty didn’t end up breaking then he’d raise her the way he saw fit. It would probably be everything you weren’t supposed to do but Elijah didn’t really care as long as she ended up half-normal without any permanent injuries.

Feeling Kitty move underneath his hands was an experience in itself. Elijah would have been content to stay there and feel his daughter move herself around within her mother. Chase, it seemed, had other ideas – not that he was complaining. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back with as much fervour. His hand went to the back of her bra and he fumbled with the clasp for a few seconds before popping it open. He pushed the straps off of her shoulders and broke the kiss, leaning over to kiss the skin that the straps had been pressed against.

He pulled the bra off and threw it away to join the yellow monstrosity on his floor. Elijah’s hands moved down to Chase’s thighs and he pulled her closer to him. The two moved further down and his breathing hitched as the cool air ghosted over the soft skin of his thighs and his groin. Elijah captured Chase’s lips with his own once more and nipped her bottom lip with his teeth before ghosting his tongue over the surface. Elijah ran his hands through Chase’s hair before sending them down south where they slipped beneath the thin material of her underwear. His hands were oddly warm in comparison to her skin. He partly transfigured his hands, namely his nails, and abruptly sliced off the undies with the claws which did in fact belong to his Animagus. He pulled his lips away from hers and smirked. He held the piece of thin material between them and continued to smirk. “Oops.” He grinned.

Chase was soon completely naked in front of Elijah, and for the first time in her life, she didn't care. She didn't care that he saw her horrible scars that crossed her front and back, she didn't care that she was pregnant and her stomach jutted out, still not quite that big, and probably wouldn't get to be TO big anyway, she was a rather slender person to start with. It was mostly just a bump, that went from just below her breasts, to her naval, and curved gently down, big enough to tell that she was pregnant, not big enough to really have to worry about it to much. But here, with Elijah, holding her panties between them, his hands still half transfigured into claws, she suddenly realized just how much she loved being here.

She loved being able to look at Elijah, his handsome face grinning at her mischievously. The way his hair fell against his forehead, the way his eyes twinkled when he was happy. The way he looked at her when she walked into a room. It made her feel like a star, like she was actually worth something, and she knew that she looked at him the same way, watching his every mood, trying to make him happy whenever she could. Chase slowly unhooked her ruined panties and flung them to the side, her hand reaching up to touch his face lightly, brushing away the hair on his forehead, running her hand over his cheek.

"Elijah... I.. well I have never been happier then I am right now.." She said softly, her eyes staring into his. "Elijah... I love you so much.." She whispered and pulled his face down to hers, getting lost in his kiss.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chase rolled over onto her side a few hours later. Her eyes fluttered open and she reached forward, gently touching Elijah's face. So this is what it was like, to wake up in the morning, and see the face of the one she loved more then anything else. Sure it was probably early afternoon by this point, but she didn't care. She snuggled herself in close to him and ran her fingers over his cheek, brushing a stand of hair out of his eyes. Leaning forward she kissed him lightly and continued to stare into his eyes.

It had been the best morning she had ever had. Bar none. She hadn't realized that something like sex could be so... intimate, so.. amazing, and sensual. It had always just been... sex. Now? She could see it from a whole new prospective. Having done something so intimate, so, loving with the father of her future child. The father.. the person she loved more then anyone else in the world. It wasn't just sex anymore, it wasn't just Elijah, or struggling to make it to the next step. It was being able to wake up every morning, and be able to see him, either awake or asleep next to her. Chase leaned forward gently and ghosted her lips over his, wondering if he was awake or not.