Salvation of a Salvatore Sister

The Socialite and The Artist

Walking down the hall, I follow the sound of a brush dancing across a canvas into Klaus's art studio. He's hard at work painting a picture for the room we're almost done renovating in our quaint two story home. When Klaus hears me approach, he places his palette and brush down quickly, stepping to my side to wrap his arms around me.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing? You should be in bed." His hands press against the sides of my very pregnant stomach as he frowns at me. "The doctor said you should be resting as much as possible before the baby comes. It could happen in a matter of weeks and-"

I lean in and press a kiss to his lips to silence his worrying. Ever since we found out that I'm pregnant, he's been quite the mother hen, always concerned about me, my comfort, and how I'm feeling. He never complains about accommodating my weird food cravings and always offers to massage my swollen feet. He was the first one to initiate buying baby items and signed us up for lamaze classes before I even had the thought. All the other expecting moms in lamaze tell me how lucky I am to have such a doting husband. They all swoon over Klaus's caring actions.

"I got bored," I tell him as I pull away, "and I wanted to see what you were doing." I step around him to look at his masterpiece. "It's beautiful," I whisper, taking in the clouds and sky set among sunset. Klaus steps up behind me, and gently wraps his arms around my midsection, laying his hand against my belly. The baby reacts, moving to press its self against his touch. I can hear Klaus's joy in his voice.

"Thank you, Love." He presses a kiss to my cheek before gently spinning me around. "Now, why don't we get you back to bed like the doctor ordered."

I pout at his words as he glances at me with a pointed look. "But it's boring."

"And good for you and the baby. Besides, we made a deal."

I sigh dramatically. He's right. I know. I should be in bed resting like the doctor said, not to mention, for our agreed upon deal too. Klaus made me promise to take resting seriously and in exchange, I got him to agree to have a family dinner tonight with everyone. He wasn't too happy about the idea, not because he doesn't love our family, but because he thinks it'll stress me out to have everyone here, which as he always points out, is not good for me and the baby. I told him it'll be fine and good to see all our loved ones before we isolate ourselves in our home to raise the baby for its first few months, as some of the moms in the parenting groups Klaus signed us up for say the first few months leave you with no social life. Also, I got him to agree by reminding him that Jess will be on protective mode just like he is and will defuse any chaos should it erupt. Jess makes Klaus look like a careless partner with her overprotectiveness. I had to explain to her on numerous occasions why we didn't need her at the lamaze class or the parenting classes. Her excitement for the baby almost outshines Klaus's and I's, and I'm worried this baby is not gonna know what hit them when they meet their Auntie Jess.

"Fine," I resign, pursing my lips, "but you should come with me." Klaus smiles at me before his eyes look to his almost-finished work. I watch as the debate springs in his eyes. He hates leaving his artwork when it's almost done like this. If I wasn't here to interfere, he would stay up for nights and days to work on his pieces. I still have no idea how he ever functioned daily before meeting me. When we first started dating, and before I realized how obsessed his art could make him, he'd get so engrossed in his artwork that most of the time he showed up at least ten minutes late to our date with leftover paint on his arms and sometimes his face that he couldn't get to wash away in his rush to make it to me. After a while, I learned to start carrying wipes with me. I shake my head. "Never mind, you stay. I'll go find something to binge." I turn towards the door.