The Tribrid and Her Reflection {Book Two - - Complete}

Nothing Is Bigger Than Nothing

Was it possible for a heart to explode out of one's chest?

Hope was positive it could.

Peggy gazed up at her with big brown eyes that blinked slowly, and her little lips formed a tiny 'o' as she yawned.

"She's so perfect." Hope murmured while sitting on Queenie and Jacob's apartment couch, holding their little Peggy, who came into the world only weeks ago.

Queenie grinned delightedly as she gazed down at her with more adoration in her eyes than Hope had ever seen. "Isn't she?" She murmured.

Hope couldn't remember the last time she held a baby- had she ever?

One this small?

She wasn't so sure she had.

Everyone from dinner last night was crammed comfortably into the tiny apartment that held the Kolwaslski's life. While last night had been filled with so much talking and laughter, this moment was almost silent as all eyes watched little Peggy bundled in a pale yellow blanket, stretched her arms out, and closed her little fingers around the hair that fell, framing Hope's face.

Tears touched her eyes as warmth filled her soul, holding her so carefully. As if she might shatter from simply holding her. Hope couldn't say she'd never wanted children- in fact, there had been moments in her life where she'd craved the experience desperately.

This was one of those moments.

Holding something so fragile and defenseless brought out a motherly instinct that harbored deep within her soul.

Yes, there were times when Hope ached to love something so innocent, but then she looked in the mirror and reminded herself of who she was.

Hope was not a mother.

She was the Tribrid- a Mikaelson legacy that didn't deserve to bring something like this into the world. Who would want to inherit the life and name she had for herself, and what ignorant man would like to get their child into the world through a woman who had torn out hearts and dismembered bodies on numerous occasions?

No, she'd never be able to have one, but this moment was nice. Being able to embrace something so soft and needing protection and guidance. This moment was everything.

It ended all too soon, but she couldn't complain as she carefully handed Peggy to Newt, who gazed at her with so much fondness it made her heart skip a beat?

Or was that her uterus?

Jacob beamed under his mustache. "Looks just like her mother, don't she?" He sighed as if he were in an ethereal dream.

How Newt and Albus held Peggy sent sharp pangs through Hope's stomach. They two were meant to be fathers; she could just feel it. While Newt held her with a look of wonder, as if he'd walked into Hogwarts for the first time, Albus cradled her with an expression of deep-rooted devotion.

Albus chuckled softly as Peggy stared at him with undivided attention, as many often did. "Such a small being, yet bigger than the whole sky." He murmured, his soft voice slowly putting Peggy to sleep. He continued to rock her slowly.

As Queenie carefully took Peggy to her chest, she swayed out of the room humming softly, likely to put her in her bassinet.

Tina sighed longingly with a small, sad smile. "Maybe someday." She murmured, and Hope didn't miss her eyes that flickered toward Newt and quickly away again.

Hope would let it go for the baby only a wall away, though it did bring on a metallic taste in her mouth that she had to chase down with a sip of coffee.