A/N Welcome to season 2!
You're not alone, together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
Talia soon-to-be-Mikealson sighed as she fidgeted with the white fabric clinging to her form. The royal blue sash caused her dark blue eyes to ignite as her long black hair hung down passed her bare shoulders. This was to be the final fitting and she was incredibly excited to wear this dress but she had this nagging feeling something else was going on in the city, her city, her home now.
"You look beautiful," a voice announced from behind her and Talia turned around to find a certain blonde bartender. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I just saw you in the window and thought I'd say hi."
Talia smiled and quickly gave the blonde a short hug, "It's good to see you. How have you been?"
Cami returned her smile, "Good, just learning to adjust, dealing with school. How are you? I mean I know the wedding's in a few weeks, any pre-wedding jitters or cold feet."
The dark haired vampire smirked, "If I had cold feet I would've bolted a long time ago."
Cami looked down at her gown, "This dress is amazing."
"Thank you, it was my mom's. I just altered it a bit."
"Well, I should get going. I'll see you at the wedding," Cami said as she turned to leave the shop.
"Bye," Talia called before turning back to her reflection. "If nothing goes wrong."
The young vampire returned to the compound later that evening after accomplishing various errands for the upcoming wedding. Crossing off a few things from her to do list, she set off up the stairs to finish up the last of one of her papers for college. Her classes had begun two weeks prior and she would not let herself fall behind, Elijah was a large help when it came to her studies but also a terrible distraction.
As she trekked up to her and Elijah's room she passed Haley's, which was empty, as it was often lately, and her heart dropped at the sight of the empty crib just through the adjourning door. Hope was gone. Safe, but gone.
The last few months had been tough for all of them, especially Haley, who was attempting to transition into a Hybrid with much difficulty. After a few weeks of their ruse to fool the city, Talia came upon the idea of having the wedding as soon as possible as to try to continue on as normally as possible and perhaps instill just a bit of joy into their lives. Elijah had agreed after some persuasion and helped her when he could with wedding plans but was often called away to deal with one outbreak or another in the Quarter.
That was another problem. The Quarter was on the brink of chaos constantly with Francesca rallying the wolves, the witches still hell bent on the destructing of their family under Ester's influence, and even Marcel had retreated into his own life, keeping his whereabouts and dealings a secret.
The young woman hung up the garment bag in the back of her closet, hidden from Elijah's prying eyes. She had mentioned she was making some alterations to the dress to the Original and he had been trying to take a peek at the dress ever since, particularly when she tried it on. Just as Talia put the last box in place to conceal the gown, her cell phone rang shrilly.
"Hello," she answered.
"Hey Tal," the voice of a young witch replied.
Talia smiled, "Hey Di, how's my favorite witch today?"
"Frustrated, I'm trying to figure out this spell and I just…"she sighed.
"Hey, you'll figure it out. You're a smart girl," the vampire assured her. "And you should be focusing more on school."
"I know," Davina signed.
"Oh for God sakes," a male muffled voice sounded from the other end of the line.
"Di, is there someone there with you?" Talia asked, barely concealing her concern. Something about that voice seemed familiar.
"No, it's just some strange street guy with a crazy vendetta, probably insane," Davina responded.
"Okay," Talia replied unsure.
"So, did you pick up your dress? How does it look?" Davina demanded.
Talia grinned, "Perfect."
"And I'm sure you look perfect in it," a familiar deep voice added from behind her.
The dark haired vampire turned around to find Elijah casually leaning against the door frame with a slight smirk on his lips. Talia's grin grew at the sight of him. "Hey Di, I'll call you back later, okay?"
"Okay, bye."
"Bye," she hung up and returned the phone to her pocket. "Hey."
"I trust your afternoon errands were fruitful," Elijah said as he studied the room unashamedly.
Talia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Yes, and you will not see the dress until our wedding day." Elijah continued to make his way about the room, eyes scanning everything. Talia grabbed his jaw, forcing him to meet her blue eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"
The Original grinned wickedly, "Perfectly." The elder vampire then took advantage of their proximity and pulled Talia into a deep kiss. He pulled away but Talia's eyes were still closed. "Dinner is nearly ready." With that he disappeared out of the room causing Talia to groan.
"Damn him!" She'd have to wait until after dinner to finish that paper.
Klaus and Elijah were already seated at the dining table when Talia entered the room and sat down across from Elijah with Klaus at the head. Since it was just the three of them, or Haley some nights, Talia rotated between sitting next to or across from her fiancée but since she was slightly irritated with him for trying to find her dress and then distracting her with a kiss, she chose the latter.
Dinner was quiet, as it had been lately. Klaus, for a change, hardly spoke a word. He'd been eerily quiet lately, except on full moons when the moonlight rings worn by the Guerra wolves sapped at his strength. Only then did he make a lot of noise. Talia hoped the wedding might lighten his spirits, even if only temporarily.
"I managed to secure a few more properties today," Elijah announced nonchalantly.
"Ever the activist, brother," Klaus grunted as he slurped up his wine. The Original's fiancée rolled her eyes; for the last few weeks Elijah had taken charge of a preservation society for the Quarter and she knew that it was for a much larger reason than simple public good.
Talia ate her dinner silently but nearly jumped when she felt Elijah's foot press into the side of her calf. Her eyes snapped up to his dark brown ones. She glared whilst he tried to hide a smirk. Talia huffed, she'd get her revenge later. Formulating a plan, she quickly finished her plate and rose from her chair, excusing herself.
On the way back up to her room she heard someone down the hall. Quietly she snuck over and found Haley sitting on the floor, holding a blanket from Hope's crib tightly to her chest. Her face and neck was covered in blood but the tears leaking from her brown eyes were slowly washing away the red stains.
"Haley," she said softly causing the new hybrid to look up at her.
Haley frantically began wiping the water from her cheeks and scrambled up to her feet, "Hey, uh, sorry, I just…"
Talia shook her head, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." The vampire led her to a nearby bathroom, gestured for the hybrid to sit on the counter, as Talia wetted a washcloth and began to clean the blood off her friend.
This wasn't the first time Talia had done this for her. It had happened quite frequently within the last few months. Haley's emotions were all over the place and losing her daughter had been a traumatic experience she was still dealing with. "I'm sorry," Haley blubbered.
"Hey," Talia said sternly, "Stop apologizing. Besides, I'd rather I find you like this than Klaus or Elijah."
Haley managed to chuckle a bit, "Yeah, they'd probably go ballistic. I just want to stop feeling so…useless."
The vampire gave her a sympathetic look as she dabbed at the blood on Haley's lips, "We're all kind of useless at the moment." Haley nodded in agreement. Talia gently placed her hand on Haley's shoulder. "We all will get through this."
"I wish I had your optimism," Haley declared as she hopped off the counter.
Talia shrugged as she rung out the cloth in the sink, "After all we've been through in this family, a little optimism can get you pretty far."
"Thanks, I'm gonna go try and get some sleep," Haley announced as she left the room.
"Good night," Talia called after her but received no response. The dark haired vampire sighed and made her way back to her room.
Standing there, in process of shedding the day's clothes, was a half-naked Elijah. He looked up and met her blue eyes, "I had anticipated you would've beaten me in turning in for the night."
"I ran into a small complication, one I don't think will be remedied anytime soon," Talia replied honestly as she began to shrug out of her clothing as well.
She slipped on a nightgown just as Elijah's hands wrapped around her waist. "I do hope this complication is not wedding related. You have been far too stressed these last few weeks," Elijah gently kissed her neck.
Talia turned around to face her fiancée and wrap her arms around his neck, locking her wrists together. "It wasn't. But I can assure you, our wedding will be timeless."
The Original smiled and leaned in to kiss her soundly, "Then I shall wait in anticipation."
Talia grinned and kissed him once more, "As will I."
*15 years later*
"Wow," I breathed, "Losing Hope really messed you guys up."
Talia nodded, "She was family, more than that she was the promise of a renewed family. And losing her, broke us."
"But you and Elijah were getting married, that had to be exciting."
She grinned, "Yes, it was. But it wasn't the easiest road."
