KLAUS helped Valentina walk down the stairs following the news that she was in labor with their twins. One hand was placed on the small of her back while the other held into hers.

"Brother, stay with the witch. The spell will happen as planned. Nobody leaves." He delegated orders to Elijah, who watched them in sincere worry.

"Wait!" Genevieve yelled after she frantically emerged from the study, standing on the balcony and looking down at the couple. "I need the blood of a werewolf who doesn't turn on a full moon."

Rolling his light blue eyes, Klaus requested for Valentina to stop in place, then approached the courtyard bar, bit into his palm, and dribbled a steady stream of his blood into a glass. Once he was sure it was enough, he unclenched his fist and set the cup down on a nearby table. Shooting the witch a passive-aggressive smile, he urged his wife toward the door again.

"The bags, Nik." Valentina suddenly recalled and stopped walking again.

"I put them in the car a few weeks ago." He assured her and smiled widely when she seemed instantly relieved. "Let's go have our babies."

When they arrived at the hospital, he checked her in at the front desk while someone from triage rushed over to seat her in one of the wheelchairs. She gave them a small, appreciative smile and lowered herself into the plastic cushion.

After explaining the situation and some heavy compulsion on Klaus' end, Valentina was admitted to a room upstairs almost immediately. The labor and delivery team assessed her, and exactly as she had assumed, Valentina was in labor, measuring at about three centimeters dilated.

They got her changed, started an IV catheter in her hand, and drew a blood sample from her before leaving her alone with Klaus to endure the long process of early labor.

For over ten hours, Valentina did anything she could to progress her labor further, but when the doctor came to check, she was only five centimeters along with contractions at six minutes apart.

Bending down at the waist, Valentina leaned her upper body against the stretcher and let out slow, deep exhales as Klaus soothingly rubbed her back and whispered encouraging words of affirmation

She complained in a small whimper. "It's taking too long. Why's it taking so long? Make it stop. Please."

"They're Mikaelsons, love. They're dragging it out and being overdramatic. It's what we do." He joked, attempting to make her smile but earned an unamused scowl in response.

"Have you heard from my brothers?" She asked curiously, trying to change the subject to keep herself distracted.

Klaus removed his phone from his pocket and held it up so he could read the text message out loud for her. "Stefan relied: "On the way." and nothing else."

"Damon?" She inquired anxiously and pushed off the bed, standing straight up on her feet. She sighed loudly in disappointment when he shook his head.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing the couple to turn around to see the doctor entering the room with a grim expression. "Hello. I'm here to measure your dilation. If you don't mind."

Valentina climbed back into the bed, positioning herself with her feet in the stirrups. Between the odd silence and her doctor's mood, Valentina felt her heart picking up in pace from anxiety. The heart monitor beeped louder as her heart rate and blood pressure rapidly rose.

Dr. Miller discretely checked Valentina's cervix, backed away from the laboring woman, and removed her gloves with a heavy sigh. "Six. You've officially entered active labor. I want to warn you that you may start to experience some discomfort."

"More than this?" Valentina asked incredulously, then threw her head back and groaned unhappily when her doctor nodded with an apologetic expression.

"If the pain becomes too much, we can give you some medication or an epidural if that's what you want. How far apart are her contractions right now?" Dr. Miller asked Klaus, who was anxiously standing nearby.

"Five minutes. Lasting thirty seconds." He gave the answer in a factual tone.

"Okay. We are looking for every three to minutes and lasting roughly for sixty seconds." She explained simply with a nod before taking a deep breath and steadying herself to deliver the news. "Everything looks good except... your blood pressure is high. Higher than we want. Also, the babies' oxygen has started to decline."

"What does that mean?" Klaus asked slowly, panic written all over his face.

"It could mean many things." Dr. Miller responded vaguely as she rubbed sanitizer into her hands. "It could be the babies just pressing on each other. You are only thirty-six weeks, so you are considered to be in premature labor. So they're more at risk for respiratory distress syndrome. Right now, it's not urgent. They aren't being deprived, and it's still in a sufficient range just on the lower end. We'll continue to monitor it. Best case scenario, we increase your oxygen and give you some oxytocin. Worst case... we may have to start discussing the possibility of an emergency c-section."

Once they were alone, Valentina allowed herself to break down into a terrified sob. Klaus slid into the hospital bed beside her, consoling the mother of his children the best way he knew how. He held her tight to his body, allowing her to cry into his chest as he stared forward in terror. He was unprepared for that situation and didn't know how to truly put her at ease. He didn't think anything would even if he tried.

The delivery team checked in with Valentina every single hour to run full work ups. At hour three, she measured at eight centimeters. Her contractions had grown more aggressive as they increased with frequency.

Valentina paced around to the room, hoping gravity would assist her children in moving toward the birth canal and increasing their blood flow. When an intense contraction rippled through her uterus, she held onto Klaus as he guided her through her breathing techniques. She yelled in pain and held onto him for dear life.

After it was over, she rested her forehead on his shoulder and panted for air. "I can't... I can't do this, Niklaus."

"Yes, you can. Listen to me. Hey, listen to me." He leaned back so she had to stand completely on her feet. Lifting a hand up, he cupped her cheek and beamed down at Valentina, who was glistening from sweat and visibly fatigued. "You're doing incredible, my sweet. You're the strongest person I have ever known. I am so absolutely proud of you right now. You can do this. You will get through this. I'm right here. For whatever you need. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"It hurts, Nik. It hurts so much." She whispered, her voice wavering.

"Where? Show me where." He politely commanded, then watched her point to her lower back. "Okay." He acknowledged, escorted her to the bed, and motioned for her to get into position before massaging the back of her hips. "I wish I could take this pain from you. If I could trade places with you, I would."

She let out soft moans and relaxed against the mattress of the hospital bed.

Klaus looked at the heart monitor across the room and noticed that her heart rate spiked when he touched her at first before it slowly dipped back down and even lower than it originally was. He smiled widely, happy that he succeeded in soothing his wife during her trying time.

Another contraction happened on schedule, causing Valentina to yell in pain and wrap her hands around the blankets. Klaus counted inside his head while trying his best not to react to her screams of agony.

"Forty-five seconds." He announced once she held a finger up, signaling to him that it had subsided. "Drink some water." He urged, grabbing her cup full of ice water from the table and holding it out to her so she could just wrap her lips around the straw. "Better?"

"Yes. Thank you." She nodded curtly. "It hurts so much, Nik. I want this to stop. Please make it stop."

"Want me to call the nurse?" He offered and brushed the soaked strands of hair away from her face.

"Yes." She hardly breathed out in response.

Klaus kissed her forehead, pulled away, walked around the bed, and grabbed her call bell off the wall. He hit the button and put it back after he heard it ringing at the nurses' station with his supernatural hearing. "What do you want as your first meal after this?" He asked kindly, making more attempts to take her mind away from it.

"Scotch." Valentina hoarsly said, earning a genuine chuckle from her husband. "Double shot on the rocks."

"How may I help, Mrs. Mikaelson?" One of the nurses cheerfully inquired as she strolled into the room.

"What can I have for pain?" Valentina asked, then interrupted the healthcare worker. "Not an epidural. Please. I'm sorry."

"Okay. I can administer some pain meds if you'd like." She offered, which was met with an enthusiastic nod from Valentina. "Okay. I'll be right back." She dismissed herself so she could leave and grab the medications from the pyxis. A few moments later, she returned with an IV bag full of clear liquid. She hung it on the pole, attached tubing to the end of the bag, then to Valentina's catheter. "So these don't provide complete pain relief, but they can take the edge off the pain and make your labor more tolerable." She explained while hitting buttons on the machine and removing the clip from the tube. "I would give it fifteen minutes to kick in, okay? Let me know if you need anything."

Valentina situated herself back in the bed, resting her head back against the pillow and closing her eyes in exhaustion. "I'm so tired."

Klaus' eyes followed the nurse the entire time until she disappeared into the hallway. He pulled a chair up to the side of the bed, sat down, and reached over to grab Valentina's hand in his. "Sleep, love. You deserve it."

It wasn't long after the medication took effect that Valentina finally fell asleep. Klaus was pleased when the room filled with her snores, and he watched her in awe. He made sure to keep an eye on the monitor, watching for any rapid changes in blood pressure or oxygen for the three of them.

The peaceful silence was interrupted by his phone ringing. To keep it from waking Valentina, he quickly glanced at the caller ID and answered it. "I hope everything is going as planned, brother."

"Marcel requests an audience." Elijah bluntly informed him.

"Tell him it'll have to wait a tick." Klaus snapped with a strained smile.

"That's fine. I'll get straight to the point. I'm gonna offer you one last chance to pack your stuff and get the hell out of my town." Marcel said from the other end of Elijah's call in a threatening tone of voice.

"You'll allow your men to rush to their deaths? Again?" Klaus questioned mockingly.

"Every vampire in the quarter is coming out! They want their city back." Marcel remarked. "No surrender this time. You're gonna have to kill us all."

"Okay!" Klaus accepted, completely unfazed. "I think I'll start with you."

"Fine. Then, come get me." Marcel challenged cockily.

"I'll have to reschedule for a more convenient time." Klaus said sternly, his eyes flashing over to the sleeping woman beside him.

"Okay. I'll just have to come to you." Marcel found an alternative to their dilemma.

"If you don't kill him, I will," Elijah spoke lowly to Klaus.

"Marcellus, should you choose to pursue this right now, I guarantee it'll be the last thing you do." The hybrid slowly threatened in a dark tone before hanging up the call. He gazed over at Valentina, his lips involuntarily twitching up into a wide, admiring smile. He stroked her cheek with the back of her hand, then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead a few times.

She managed to get an hour of sleep before a contraction was strong m enough to wake her up. Klaus immediately rushed to her side upon hearing her groan and counted the seconds as she held her baby bump.

"That was sixty seconds, love. We're nearing the end. You can do this. I believe in you." He affectionately praised her abilities and rubbed her shoulder with his hand.

When the doctor came back in, both of them snapped their heads toward her with different expressions. "Hi!" She greeted Valentina while doing the usual routine to prepare before measuring her for what felt like the thousandth time. "How are you feeling?"

Valentina let out a humorless laugh and jumped slightly after feeling Dr. Miller's cold fingers.

"Ten centimeters!" Dr. Miller announced with a wide, pleased grin. "Alright, Valentina. Are you ready to start pushing?"

"What?" Valentina reacted in astonishment and whipped her head around to look at Klaus, her eyes wide with fear. "What?"

"It's almost time. You haven't crowned yet. That can take anywhere between twenty minutes to several hours. Once you feel the urge to push, call us." Dr. Miller said sternly and pointed at the call bell hanging on the wall beside her. "I'm going to start pulling everything I need for this procedure. I'll be back shortly, okay?"

Only about an hour after the physician took her leave did the monitors start to aggressively beep. An entire team of professionals flooded the room, and because of all the noise, Valentina was unable to decipher who was saying what exactly. She looked at them all in distress and then turned toward her husband, who immediately rose to stand beside her and hold her hand in his.

"The babies are suffocating. They need to be delivered now." Her OB-GYN explained quickly as she gowned up for the procedure. "Chelsea, call OR six and have them reserve it. Tell the anesthesiologist to be on standby. Matt, I want two units ready at the NICU. Order two liters of oxygen per infant." Dr. Miller delegated to the nurses. "Valentina, I need you to put your feet in the stirrups, please."

Valentina did as she was told while taking wavering breaths to calm herself. She looked past her drape covered knees at Dr. Miller, waiting for the next command. Her mind and heart raced rapidly, unable to make sense of anything that was happening around her.

"Okay. Valentina. On the count of three, I want you to push and do not stop until I tell you." She said from underneath the blue drape. "Push."

Valentina beared down on her abdominal muscles, held onto her leg with one hand, and crushed Klaus' hand in the other. She screamed at the top of her lungs while pushing the best she could. Once she was given permission to stop, she threw herself back against the bed and gasped for air.

"I see the head. Another big push, Valentina. Okay, three... two... one. Push!" The doctor coaxed her to keep going.

Valentina repeated her motions from earlier as Klaus pressed his lips to her temple and whispered words of encouragement in a proud tone.

Tears and sweat poured down her face as all she felt was seering pain. The sudden sound of a newborn crying caused her to pause and look at her OB-GYN in worry.

"It's a boy." Dr. Miller announced enthusiastically and handed the child off to one of the nurses standing nearby.

Both Valentina and Klaus gaped at the small, blood covered infant in absolute awe as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"In a moment, I'm going to need you to do that all over again."

Valentina lied flat down again and glanced up at Klaus through blurry, watery vision. "I can't. I can't. I can't."

"Yes. You can." He argued sternly and stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I know you can. It'll be quick, and then all of this will be over. You'll never have to do this ever again."

"Promise?" She questioned breathlessly.

"Promise. You're so close to meeting our daughter." Klaus whispered emotionally, tears burning in his own eyes. "You've done beautifully so far. I need you to finish off strong like I know you can. I love you so much, and I am right here. Now, take a deep breath."

She exhaled deeply then inhaled at a steady rate to calm her nerves. Sitting up again in the upright position, she started contracting her muscles and pushed with all of the last bit of energy she had. She immediately stopped after another set of cries broke through the commotion, and she smiled warmly at the baby in her physician's arms.

"It's a girl. Congratulations." Dr. Miller said politely and handed the Mikaelson daughter to another nurse.

"Oh, they're so..." Valentina stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence when she started to pale.

"Valentine?" Klaus called out to his wife, immediately picking up on the shift, and cradled her face in his hand. "Valentina!"

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she slumped down onto the mattress. The heart monitor went off so everyone looked to see Valentina's blood pressure dropping rapidly while her heart rate sky rocketed.

"She's hemorrhaging!" The doctor said in alarm at the rate at which Valentina was bleeding. "I need an IV started, one milliliter of oxygen administered, and one unit of A positive blood."

The team jumped into action but before anyone could get what was requested, Valentina flatlined.

Klaus used his vampiric hearing to single out the sound of her heartbeat but couldn't hear it. He placed a finger to the carotid artery in the side of her neck, feeling nothing pulsing under his touch. "She's not breathing!"

"Run a full code!" Dr. Miller shouted over the noise while she attempted to remove any remaining tissue from Valentina's uterus and suture her shut.

The nurses lied Valentina's bed flat, pushed Klaus out of the way, and began administering CPR. Klaus stumbled back as he was too in shock to fight it. He watched with wide, watery eyes and almost held his breath in anticipation, waiting for his wife to return to the land of the living.

Over the intercom, a robotic voice started to repeat two different phrases for the entire hospital to hear.

Code blue. Labor and Delivery room 4009.

Code pink. NICU room 4230.

"What is that?" Klaus demanded to know but no one answered him. Grabbing the closest person to him, he held them up and compelled them to reply. "What is a code pink?"

"Missing child under twelve months." They replied monotonously while staring at him in horror.

"Who's room is that?" The hybrid frantically asked then shook them aggressively when they didn't respond right away. "Whose baby?"

"Yours!" The poor soul whimpered fearfully. "That's the room we assigned to your twins."

Klaus dropped them to the ground and started toward the door only to stop halfway and look at Valentina in confliction. He didn't want to leave her while they tried to resuscitate her but their children had been stolen mere moments after entering the world. Closing his eyes, he shook his head, turned back on his heels, and rushed to Valentina's side. He kissed her limp hand for a long moment as tears streamed down his cheeks before leaving the room, following the crowd of frantic employees. He walked into his children's room to find both incubators missing along with their oxygen tanks.

He searched for the closest exit then spotted a head of familiar red hair running away. Scowling furiously, Klaus began to follow her tracks. He pushed his way through the sea of people and pulled out his phone. He impatiently listened to it ringing. Once it stopped and he heard noises from the other end, he frantically started talking. "They took the babies. They took my babies."

"Who?" Elijah questioned slowly, anger rising inside of him with this news.

"Genevieve and her acolytes." Klaus snarled furiously and slammed the stairwell doors wide open. His voice echoed against the walls of the empty stairwell as he jogged to the bottom. "I know where they've taken them. We still have time. We can save them."

---
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-the1andonlytifftiff