#Caleb and lilith are not themselves without rings

[melonajuice]

HAD to put this new collection by @sentate & @serenity-cc on lilith vatore.. and then of course I couldn't *not* makeover Caleb after that...

caleb: hair by @wistfulpoltergeist | necklace by @wisteriasims4 | top by @smsims-evekleos | pants (by seze but couldn't find a direct link :( | shoes by @studio-k-creation lilith: hair | jacket by @sentate | pants by @serenity-cc

thank u to creators <33

@ancenth @arethabee @bloodmooncc @crypticsim @helgatisha @kijiko-sims @northernsiberiawinds @obscurus-sims @squea @sims3melancholic @okruee @nesurii @sammi-xox @magic-bot-cc @cubersims @remussirion @pralinesims

[queeniecook]

June 1

Soon, Caleb's first child would be born into the world. The due date is June 21st but babies have a history of doing things on their own time clock.

After paying a quick visit to his sister in Forgotten Hollow, he takes the Vatore private jet to Sulani. He promised Vera he would check in on her brother and his family.

After ringing the doorbell, he hears a voice telling him to come in and that "Mr. Apollo" would be back from the store shortly. The voice sounds oddly familiar to him and he doesn't understand why until he walks into the home.

He hasn't seen her this close since 1846 but he still knows his cousin anywhere. "Lily." He says in shock. He can't believe his eyes yet he knows they never fail him.

Lily freezes. She senses the vampire the moment he walks through the door and hugs the toddler in her arms closer to her. She relaxes only slightly when she hears Caleb's voice. A voice she hadn't heard in so many years. It sounds the same as the last time she actually spoke to him over a game of chess in the living room of the Vatore Mansion before he and Lilith were ripped away from their human lives.

"It's time for his nap. Let me put him down then we shall speak." Lily says before heading upstairs, not glancing at her cousin. She's not quite ready to really look at him.

The clouds have moved in and covered the island by the time Lily gets AJ to go to sleep. She heads outside to find Caleb. She can smell him. Gone is the scent of horses and hay that she used to associate with her cousin Caleb, now it's replaced with the smell of death and expensive cologne.

It's hard for her to look at him, he looks the exact same but he's not the same. She on other hand, has aged. Slower than if she was still human but she's an old woman now.

"I never thought I would see you again this close." Caleb admits, she had always stayed in Moonwood Mill all these years. Every so often he or Lilith would get close to the town to catch a glimpse of their cousin, just to see if she's still living. 

Lily breathes heavy at this words. This close - they must be the vampires that Kristopher worried about sniffing around every so often. She isn't sure what to say. "I didn't want to see my cousins as they monsters they've become."

"I did not choose to become this!" Caleb exclaims with anger. No, it had not be his choice by any means. "Helena changed me without my consent!"

Lily finally looks up at him. She had her suspicions all these years about what had happened. "What about Lilith?"

Caleb frowns, despite his sister and wife both trying to ease his guilt, he still feels responsible for his sister being a vampire. "She asked Count Vladislaus Straud to turn her. She did not want me to be alone."

Lily slowly digests the information. On one hand, she couldn't understand anyone wanting to become a blood drinking creature but on the other, she gets it deep down. Lilith and Caleb had always had a strong bond with each other.

"You two have still drank innocent blood over the years. How many have you two killed?" She asks him. She has to know. 

Caleb thinks of how to answer this. Does turning three people between himself and his sister count as killing? Ciara counts, even though he thought Vera was dead. "I have turned two people. Liberty Lee and Inna Cents. I thought I had killed Liberty but that is another story." Caleb pauses. "Lilith turned her ex-boyfriend, Jackson but he asked her to. As for her killing anyone, that is her story to tell, not mine."

Lily waits for him to continue, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I killed a witch named Ciara Scott. She kidnapped Vera and I thought she had killed Vera." Caleb actually has regret over taking Ciara's life, despite everything she did to Vera - she was still a living being. 

Things grow quite. Both cousins are seemingly hugging themselves in an effort to find calm in the midst of their current emotional situation.

"I regret the bad things I have done." Caleb says truthfully. "I am on a strict plasma fruit and plasma fruit juice diet now. My wife would not put up with me going around and drinking from unwilling people and I really do not want to be that person anymore."

Lily slowly nods. She has heard bits and pieces while working for Apollo and Naya. She doesn't doubt that Vera would put up with that behavior from Caleb. "Lilith?"

Caleb sighs, out of habit and because he doesn't want to answer the question. "She drinks human blood once in awhile but does not kill them."

Things become quiet again and the silence stretches until Lily speaks. "You're going to be a Father."

Caleb smiles for the first time since their encounter started. "Yes. Soon, Vera is due this month."

Lily nods, she was shocked, to say the least, when she learned of the pregnancy. She had to do some digging to find out how it's even possible. It seems magic can do many things. "Are things going okay with the pregnancy? Mr. Apollo says they are."

"They are outside of a warlock named James." Caleb says quietly, the smile fading from his face. "I think he may try something during the birth."

Lily growls low in her throat, if Caleb wasn't a vampire, he may have not heard it. "If you need my help..."Caleb looks at her in surprise but Lily holds up her hand. "The baby is my family. Whether he or she ends up being human, merfolk or...vampire. Still family."

Caleb does something extremely risky for his kind as the rain beings to fall on Sulani. He grabs Lily and hugs her. It's a rare hug between a werewolf and a vampire, but Lily's offer of help means the world to him as does getting to see her again. He knows he's caught her off guard by how her body goes rigid. Lily thinks of throwing him off her briefly but she finds herself hugging him back. It has been over a hundred years since she's gotten to hug one of her family members. She lets everything go for the time being and simply enjoys the moment.