Hello, readers! Sorry for taking so bloody long to post this 2nd chapter. I've been a tid bit busy. It's roughly 2,000 words shorter than the last chapter but I'm still mapping out how things will go in Mystic Falls for Hope & Rebekah in ch3, so please try to hold out hope for me! Please leave reviews! As much as I love writing this story, hearing words of encouragement to continue really motivates me to shell out chapters faster! I'm more than willing to answer questions and handle criticism as well!

Anyway, here is Chapter Two!

CHAPTER TWO

"And When Your Heart Begins to Bleed..."

FLASHBACK

HOPE, AGE 6

A young Hope sat up in her bed, terrified of an insect flying around in her room. There was a blue hue from her projection lamp, with little sea creatures slowly spinning around the walls.

"Mommy!" The little girl shouted for Rebekah as she lay hunched under her covers. Rebekah quickly entered the room, ready to console the girl, assuming she had another night terror. They were becoming a nightly occurrence.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Rebekah asked as she sat on the bed, rubbing the little girl's belly over her covers.

"There's something flying around!" Hope explained, crying, still holding the covers just below her eyes. Rebekah got up and looked around, only to see a nickel-sized moth fluttering above her lamp.

"Oh, it's just a moth, sweet girl, they're harmless." Rebekah cupped it into her hands and released it out of the opened window, then closed it.

"A moth?" Hope asked curiously, sitting up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes. Think of them as the butterfly's dopey cousin." Rebekah poked Hope's chin, smiling at her. Hope laughed at the comparison.

"So let's make sure next time we don't leave the window open, hmm?" Rebekah stated, raising a brow, but grinning. Hope nodded.

"Can you sleep in my bed tonight?" Hope asked, with a look of worry.

"What's gotten my brave little girl so scared, huh? It can't be a tiny bug, can it?" Rebekah asked as she got under the little girl's purple covers, pulling her in close to her and sweeping the hair out of her face. Hope sighed.

"You're gonna be mad." Hope spoke nervously. Rebekah's eyebrows raised, wondering what could have possibly happened.

"Why would I be mad, love?" Rebekah asked as her mind wandered.

"I saw Daddy." Hope whispered, squeezing her eyes shut, awaiting Rebekah's reaction.

"Where did you see your Daddy, Hope?" Rebekah asked, immediately concerned.

"Today in the woods when I was playing... I... I did a spell to find him." Hope answered in a sullen tone, her eyes still squeezed shut as if she was envisioning the recent memory.

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson, what have I told you about playing in the woods by yourself? AND doing magic without supervision?" Rebekah asked, sternly but didn't yell.

"See, I knew you would be mad." Hope spoke, sounding defeated, with tears in her eyes. Rebekah had realized she should have probably reacted differently, considering she was probably traumatized from whatever she saw her Father doing.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm not mad at you, I promise. I just worry about you getting hurt or putting yourself in danger. What if something would have happened to you and I wasn't there? How would I ever find you?" Rebekah explained in a soft voice as she wiped the tears from the little girl's face.

"I know. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Hope said, sniffling.

"So your Daddy scared you? Did you see something you probably shouldn't have?" Rebekah pried.

"He was hurting people and I yelled at him so he got mad at me and told me to go away. I'm afraid he will hurt me." Hope's eyes welled with more tears.

"Oh, sweet girl. Your Daddy would never hurt you. I'm sorry you saw him doing scary things. He's just... kind of lost right now." Rebekah had absolutely no idea how to explain what was wrong with Niklaus to a 6 year old.

"He's lost?" Hope's eyebrows furrowed. Rebekah sighed and then took a breath.

"You know in the movie, Hook, how Peter went to Neverland and found the lost boys? Remember how he got so consumed by his own imagination that he forgot he was a Father? That's kind of what's happened to your Daddy. He just needs to figure things out and take some time to find his way back to you." Rebekah tried her best, using one of Hope's favorite movies as an explanation. Rebekah was furious on the inside, but held herself together for the little girl.

"Will he hurt you?" Hope asked, putting her small hands on Rebekah's face. The gesture made her heart crumble into tiny pieces.

"Oh, no. He won't hurt me and you don't ever need to worry about that. No one will ever take me away from you, okay?" Rebekah took the girls tiny hands from her face, and held onto them, giving each one a peck.

"You promise?" Hope asked sweetly.

"Yes, I promise." Hope closed her eyes and nuzzled her small body closer into Rebekah's.

She continued to lay there in the quiet room, listening to Hope's heartbeat and quiet breaths, thinking of what Klaus had looked like when Hope saw him. Probably stark raving mad and ripping hearts out of men's chests, covered in blood from tip to toe. She wanted to find him and slap him in his bloodied face and tell him that he could never see Hope, but despite their differences, she could never actually do that to her brother. She wondered how long it would take for him to come to his senses and finally be there for his daughter, but she felt he was too far gone. She hated that she practically lied to Hope when she said he just needed to take his time to come back to her. She had that feeling in the pit of her stomach that it was going to be just her and Hope for a long time. She couldn't lie, she loved it and how it was the most human she's ever felt in all her centuries of living. She loved that Hope called her "Mommy" even though she knew she wasn't, but it didn't matter. Hope knew who Hayley was and she would always love her and never forget that she was the one who brought her into this messy world and fought with all her might to keep her alive and safe. That, she would always know.

PRESENT DAY

Hope had showered all the filth off of her body and while it did make her feel better for just a little bit, it wasn't long enough. She still felt very weak and disoriented, so Freya made her a tea with special herbs to soothe her aches and pains and help her fall asleep.

Rebekah was somewhat relieved, but still cautious about Hope being resurrected because there are usually always dangerous side effects. She finally lay in bed next to Hope trying to get some sleep herself. She had also finally drank after almost an entire day without it, so she was feeling more like herself than beforehand.

It was in the middle of the night, when Hope jolted up and screamed, causing Rebekah to stir and grab onto her to calm her down. Hope was swatting Rebekah's hands away from her, scratching at her and crying.

"Hope! Hope, it's okay! Wake up! You're having a night terror!" Rebekah shouted at Hope. She finally came to, seeing the bloody scratches she left on Rebekah's arms. She was panting heavily as if she had just ran a marathon.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Hope cried. Rebekah didn't even realize her arms had been scratched and bleeding, until she saw Hope looking down at them. She wasn't going to make a fuss about it.

"It's okay, love. Look, they're healing. It's okay." Rebekah reassured her in a chipper like voice as she rubbed the scared girl's back like she used to when she was little.

"There were moths everywhere. They were flying around my old bedroom. There were thousands of them. And... and Dad was there... he ripped my heart out. It felt so real. It..." Hope trailed off, and looked back at Rebekah, who was staring back at her with pain in her eyes. A pain only she felt when Hope was hurting. It was as if it would manifest inside of her.

"It wasn't real, Hope. Look at me. Your Father is here and he loves you. It's okay if you don't feel the same way right now and if you don't want to see him or talk him, you don't have to." Rebekah explained as she rested her hands on top of Hope's shoulders.

"I just... I don't feel like myself. I feel like a piece of me is missing and I keep having all of these horrible memories that show up in my dreams." Hope spoke, her voice sounding empty.

"Well, sweetheart, you died and came back to life. You're not going to feel right for quite some time. But I will help you get through it. We all will." Rebekah reassured the girl.

Hope lay her head back down on the pillow, feeling heavily defeated. She died, was resurrected by powerful black magic, her powers were gone and now she can barely move around cause the pain was taking ages to ware off.

As the days went by, she felt her mind twisting and turning, her emotions were going haywire, much like someone with a bipolar disorder. She would be happy she was alive and then 3 minutes later, feel nothing but doom and dread which would eventually leave her to cry for hours causing Rebekah to become ill with worry. Klaus had talked to Caroline, who was in Mystic Falls, and she agreed to have Rebekah and Hope stay with them until Hope started school. Hope was less than thrilled and Rebekah felt the same way, being that Mystic Falls brought back painful unwanted memories.

Rebekah was sitting in the courtyard with Elijah when Marcel showed up, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Already trying to coax your back into my heart, I see." Rebekah spoke in a cheeky tone. Marcel grinned.

"These... are not for you. They're for Hope. How is she feeling?" That gesture from Marcel made Rebekah feel more feelings than she ever had for him, seeing how sweet he was for caring about Hope, but she knew she needed to hold herself back from him. She didn't have time for distractions.

"She's not herself. She's very irritable and constantly upset. Her emotions are that of a bipolar person. I'm trying my best to be there for her, but she won't let me in. She's never kept things from me." Rebekah spoke in defeat. She loved Hope dearly, but lately she was having a hard time connecting with her.

"I have every reason to believe that her Father has something to do with that. Not just being brought back to life." Elijah spoke in his normal, yet serious voice.

"She's also pissed off that we have to pack up again and move in with former Miss Mystic Falls and the Gemini twins. I don't blame her there." Rebekah rolled her eyes, sipping her white wine-blood cocktail.

Her and Caroline weren't the fondest of friends, but she was trying her best to set the past aside. After all, it had been 16 years since they'd seen each other. They were both Mother's now, to children that weren't even biologically theirs. So she secretly hoped that would be something they could possibly bond over, instead of trying to tear each other's throats out.

"Where is the little moody wolf, anyway?" Marcel squinted his small dark brown eyes, looking around the courtyard to see if she was anywhere in sight.

"I'm right here, jerks. I can hear you guys, you know?" Hope was hanging her head over the balcony, waving, sarcastically.

"Hey, the guy who brought you flowers is not a jerk." Marcel smiled, looking up at Hope. Hope ran down the stairs to Marcel and hugged him. She turned around and smelled the vase full of flowers, causing her to smile.

"They're beautiful. Thank you." Hope said.

"It's nice to see that lovely smile again." Rebekah added. Hope's wide grin faded into a small smirk, feeling slightly embarrassed. She knew she had been a terror the past couple of days and after overhearing Rebekah say she was making it hard, she couldn't help but feel bad.

"I'm sorry for being so awful." Hope apologized.

"You're not awful. You're just going through something awful. We all understand how you feel. Trust us." Rebekah replied, referring to being daggered for 90 years and waking up in the 21st century. Elijah had gone through similar incidents and Marcel? Well Marcel's heart was ripped out of his chest and he was thrown off a bridge and left for dead. So yeah, they all knew how she felt.

"So when are we leaving?" Hope asked the dreaded question of the day.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early." Rebekah answered.

"Joy." Hope sarcastically spoke.

Hope trotted back upstairs with the vase of flowers in her hand.

"Thanks again for the flowers, Marcel!" Hope shouted at the top of the stairs.

Rebekah smiled at Marcel and followed him outside as he was about to leave.

"Thank you for doing that. It was really sweet. I think it really made her day just a little bit better." Marcel shot his flirtatious grin at her.

"Well, I wish I could do more. I hate seeing her so sad and you worrying over her. You know, even with a teenager, motherhood looks good on you. I can tell she's kept you grounded." Marcel spoke, truthfully. Rebekah smiled.

"You know, I never thought I'd be so attracted to you giving me Mummy compliments." Rebekah laughed. Marcel moved closer into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rebekah was taken aback at the gesture. She didn't think her words would have swooned him so easily.

"What? It's true. You're a milf, Rebekah Mikaelson." Marcel leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Shortly after, Rebekah pulled away, sighing in sexual frustration.

"Don't do that to me, Marcellus." She complained, though secretly wanted to continue.

"Oh, come on. It's your last night here. Let me wine and dine you. I'm sure it's... been awhile, considering you've been raising a child alone for the past 15 years." Rebekah shot an evil eye at him.

"I'll have you know that I've been rather good at compelling babysitters over the years to get my share of a nice dinner and meaningless sex, Marcel." Rebekah snapped back.

"But our sex isn't meaningless." Marcel flirted back.

"Marcel, it became meaningless the night you decided your vampire orphans were more important than me." Rebekah was serious now and was in no mood for games. Marcel's face was immediately sullen.

"Wow. That escalated quickly. Look, Rebekah, I can't take back the decisions I made 16 years ago. Do I regret it? Yeah, a little. Am I happy to see you after so long? Yeah, a lot. Did a million memories of us start flowing through my mind the minute I found out you were here? Of course. You can't deny that you feel the same way." Marcel argued.

"Marcel, I have a 15 year old child to worry about now. A 15 year old child, who died in my arms 3 days ago, mind you. I have heavier things going on in my head right now. Times have changed. I'm not a sappy girl looking for love anymore. I found all the love I needed the day I brought Hope home. I will always love you, Marcellus and maybe one day we can try again for thousandth time and actually make things work, but right now, my priorities are a terrified and angry teenage girl with Daddy issues. Can you understand that?" Marcel looked defeated. He didn't want to say anything more. He loved Rebekah so much, but he knew he could never leave New Orleans. He was stubborn as hell, just as Rebekah was and he was always going to keep his feet planted.

"Yeah. I understand. Be safe, okay? Give Hope a hug for me." Marcel took one last glance at Rebekah and then he was gone in a flash. Rebekah sighed and went back inside.

"Trouble with the King?" Elijah joked, while adjusting his cuff links. Rebekah was too annoyed to answer, so she activated her defense mechanism, which was a professional list of insults.

"Lijah, would it kill you to have a casual dress day once in awhile?" Rebekah jabbed at Elijah's suit obsession.

"I happen to enjoy wearing suits, little Sister. I would assume having a child might change the fancy dress code, though." Elijah eyed Rebekah's choice of clothing. She was always known for wearing lavish dresses and high heels, with her hair perfectly done along with flawless makeup and painted nails. However, at the moment she was wearing a frilly white t-shirt, black skinny jeans, sandals, and her hair was in a pony tail. No time for make up, though she still managed to somehow look as beautiful as ever.

"Oh, sod off." Rebekah cursed at Elijah and walked off.

"You know I'm just teasing you." Elijah smiled at her.

Just as Rebekah disappeared upstairs, Klaus walked in.

"Ah, Brother. You're back. I must say, I'm quite surprised at how quickly you've managed to return." Elijah spoke sarcastically.

"Lijah, I don't have time for your sarcasm. How is Hope?" Klaus asked, in his constant angry tone.

"She's better today. Marcel dropped by with a bouquet of flowers for her. Its the first time we've seen her smile since she awoke. She's still angry though. I wish we could just compel her to forget the horrible things that were done to her. Every night, she dreams of it." Elijah explained with sadness in his voice.

"Do you think I should talk to her?" Klaus asked, sounding nervous for the first time ever in his life.

"Yes, Niklaus, I think you should." Elijah answered.

Niklaus was standing in Hope's doorway as he watched her pack her stuff up in a designer suitcase. He imagined Rebekah picking out the perfect one for her. He started to feel a bit of jealousy, but he knew he didn't have the right to feel that way. He was more jealous for Hayley. That she didn't get to see Hope grow up or have the chance to buy her nice things. Though, he was still grateful for Rebekah stepping in and being the Mother that Hope so desperately needed. He snapped out of his thoughts as Hope spoke at him.

"Do you need something?" Hope asked, rudely. Klaus cleared his throat.

"I was just checking in. I wanted to see how you were feeling." He said, nervously, knowing Hope didn't care.

"I'm great. Thanks for asking." Hope didn't even look up at him as she continued to pile clothes and toiletries into her suitcase.

"I'm not here to try and make up for what I've done. That, I know, is unforgivable. I... I just wanted to tell you that Rebekah has done more for you than I ever will and if there's one thing I could ask of you... it's not to shut her out. If you're not feeling right in the head, like something is taking over you, please, I beg of you, Hope, don't ignore it and pretend everything is okay. I've seen how it ends. Don't let it. For Rebekah's sake and yours." Klaus turned around and walked away before Hope could get another word in. She sat there staring at the empty doorway, taking in what he said, trying to reason with herself.

She thought at first 'what right does he have to ask anything of me?' Then she thought 'Maybe he's right?'

The following morning came too soon. Hope awoke with a start. Another damn night terror. Another pain popping up and radiating inside of her bones. She ignored it all, like she had already been the past few days. She changed into the outfit she left on top of her dresser the night before. Pink Floyd t-shirt, jean shorts so destroyed, the pockets were coming out from under the hemlines right at the top of her skinny, tanned thighs, and some black slip on vans. She wadded her hair up in a messy bun, grabbed her suitcase and made her way downstairs to grab something to eat.

When she reached the kitchen, she saw Elijah, Freya and Rebekah talking. She observed that whatever it was they were talking about, was serious. 'I'm sure it's about me' Hope thought to herself and rolled her eyes. She poured herself a cup of coffee, made some toast, and sat down at the table and started reading the newspaper. She made no eye contact with them whatsoever, letting them be aware that she was in no mood for serious conversation. They all stared at her as she sat and read the paper. Rebekah was honestly happy to see her eating, but was surprised by her reading a newspaper.

"Since when do you this?" Rebekah laughed.

"Since now, I guess." Hope shrugged, following her snarky reply.

"Listen, kid, we have a bit of a journey ahead of us, so if you could brighten up just a tid, that would be exceptional." Rebekah gave her that glaring 'mom eye' that she only shot at her when she was doing something particularly annoying to her. Hope got it. She tried to change her demeanor because she didn't want Rebekah to think anything was wrong. Even though Hope knew that she knew.

"It's morning. I'm always like this. Let me chug this coffee and I'll be whistling a different tune in no time. Promise." Hope replied back as she winked at Rebekah.

Rebekah thought Hope was acting like a totally different person, but it was better than her crying at everything or screaming in her sleep.

"Alright then, well chop chop. We've got 5 minutes." Rebekah ordered.

"Alright, Alright." Hope took a giant gulp of coffee and one last bite of toast before she got up.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye for a little while." Rebekah said as she stared at her siblings.

"No Klaus? Big surprise." Hope said as she walked up to her Uncle Elijah to give him a hug. With his arms wrapped around her, he whispered in her ear.

"Please be careful. And don't be too hard on your Mother. She's trying her best."

"I know." Hope whispered back.

She released herself from Elijah and made her way to her Aunt Freya.

"Bye, baby girl! I'm gonna miss you. Call me if you need to talk or if you have any questions of the witch variety. And I promise I'm gonna get to the bottom of this." Freya squeezed Hope in her grasp and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks, Aunt Freya. I'll call you as soon as we get there. Love you guys. We'll see each other soon."

Rebekah said her goodbyes and then made her way with Hope to the front door.

"Ready, little love?" Rebekah grabbed Hope's hand and together, they walked out of the house and began their journey to Mystic Falls.

Well, folks, that does it for Chapter 2! I know it wasn't as exciting or depressing as the first chapter, but it's got to have some sort of build up before shit hits the fan again! Hope you enjoyed! Please tell me your thoughts!

Much love,

Sal