A/N 1.0: Hey all- nothing new, just some more profile house keeping to clean things up a bit:) But if you're a new reader, welcome and I hope you enjoy!

*Spoilers for 3x18: The Murder of One!*

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries. All dialogue is directly from the show and it is not mine. I did add the slap, however.

3x18

"I can't believe Finn is dead," Rebekah said, somberly staring into the fire. She watched the flames and imagined them consuming her eldest brother.

"Good riddance. He was an embarrassment, Rebekah."

She turned to look at her brother, "He was still your brother, mind your tongue," she said sharply. She was through with Nik's disrespect.

"Fine," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm and no regret. "Let's all say a prayer for Finn who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man. He was a lovesick fool and he's better off in death."

As she turned to face Nik completely, Rebekah swore he had a small smile on his lips. She looked at him in disbelief. Who was this man standing before her? Surely, it was not the same one who had, once upon a time, talked so much about his love and desire for their family. Rebekah walked over to get a better look at her big brother, he looked right back at her, his eyes filled with annoyance.

"Is that how you would speak of me if I died?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Well you let the Salvatores loose with two stakes that can kill us, so I guess we'll find out soon enough," he stated evenly, his intense eyes never leaving her face. "And, since when did you have a soft spot for them?"

Rebekah could not believe her ears. In a movement that surprised even herself, the second youngest Original raised her hand and swept it across Nik's face at lightening speed. It looked as if it took all of Nik's self control to keep from ripping her heart out on the spot. He gave her the most feral growl he could muster, summoning his inner wolf.

"The Salvatores may fight like dogs but they would die for eachother," she said, struggling to keep the tears from falling. Rebekah would not give Nik that satisfaction. He didn't deserve it, not anymore. "At least they know what family means. You destroyed us," she said with a slight shake of her head.

Nik looked at his baby sister, all signs of anger and frustration and resentment gone from his face. "I wanted a family," he said, almost gently but then the look of defeat and resentment returned. "They just didn't want me," he said. "And now we're unlinked. We are no longer responsible for eachother."

Rebekah could see that he was also fighting to keep his own tears from falling. It was a sign of weakness that she had only seen a few times over the multitude of years she had spent with Nik, and, to be honest, it frightened her to see her brother cry. He was strong and that was something she admired, but to see him give up so easily…

"So are you leaving?" She asked, once again unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

He closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and gave her a short nod. "As soon as I get my stakes, I'm gone," he said quietly, once again trying to keep the tears from falling. Nik drew a deep breathe. "I'm going to take Elena and use her blood to create a new family, of hybrids," he said as if it would impress her, make her jealous. Rebekah could only watch his face in disbelief.

"And if I choose to stay?" she asked, barely able to ask the question.

Nik didn't answer right away, just looked at his sister with the same kind of disbelief that was written in Bekah's features. Would she really abandon him? Of course she would, and he shouldn't care. He was the one who had just said that the Original siblings were no longer responsible for each other. So, he pushed his fear of losing his darling Rebekah aside.

"Then you are just as pathetic as Finn," he whispered before swiftly making his exit, unable to hide his emotions anymore.

Rebekah turned to watch him leave. She made sure she heard his footsteps walk down the large hall before she broke down.

She let the tears fall down her face and she didn't know why. She had no reason to cry for her brother. He had closed himself off, once again, hiding everything he felt, masking it in anger and it wasn't her fault.

Rebekah knows, deep inside her long dead heart, she knows that she should of expected him to leave her one day. But she guessed that she never thought it would be this soon. It didn't make her feel any less betrayed. After everything, she had never left his side and she could not fathom him dismissing her so easily. The thought made her cry even harder.

Once upon a time they had loved each other. They had vowed to stay together: her, Nik, and Elijah. Always and forever.

But sometimes, Rebekah guessed, even forever has to end.

Klaus ran. He ran out of that room. He ran down the elegant staircase and out of his mansion. He ran into the woods where he proceeded to throw a so-called temper tantrum. He yelled and knocked trees over and pulled at his hair before he crumpled to the ground in a pitiful heap, much like the one he fell into when he brought the mutated Henrik back to his family.

Only then did Niklaus Mikaelson, the all-powerful Hybrid, the invincible Original, let his tears fall.

He couldn't hide from pain and betrayal and sadness. Not even he was powerful enough to outrun his emotions in the end, no matter how hard he tried.

At this moment, all he could do was lay there and let the tears fall down his cheeks as thoughts of Rebekah went through his head.

Once upon a time he had loved them. Kol. Rebekah. Elijah. Hell, even Finn. But then Kol and Finn left, damn them. Bekah and Elijah had vowed to never leave his side and, in turn, he had vowed the same, and Klaus was a man of his word.

Sure, he had daggered them, but it was to keep them safe. How could they, how could Rebekah, be so blind to not see that he loved them. How could they not see that he would die for them.

Always and forever. That's what they had said oh so long ago.

But, Klaus thought, as he lay there with a hand covering his cheek where Bekah had struck him, wallowing in the loneliness that he was doomed to encounter his entire damned life, sometimes even forever has to end.