After they left the performance, Elijah took Hope for pizza at Antonio's Pizza Parlor in the Quarter. Since it was Friday night, and since Antonio's had the best pizza in town, the place was packed.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Mikaelson," the hostess apologized. "We're full up right now, but as soon as a table opens -"

"Elijah!"

Elijah looked to see Marcel, sitting in a booth and waving him over.

"We'll join our friends," he told the hostess.

As they approached, Elijah saw that Marcel was not alone - Cami was sitting next to him, and across from them sat Ms. Greyson.

"Hi Uncle Marcel! Hi Dr. Cami! Hi Ms. Greyson!" Hope sang out as she climbed into the booth next to Ms. Greyson. Elijah eased in next to her.

"Marcel," he nodded.

"Cami," he grimaced, still embarrassed about what happened the last time they met.

"Elijah," she grinned. It wasn't often she saw the cool Elijah blush, or look discomforted.

"Ms. Greyson."

"Mr. Mikaelson, it's nice to see you again," she said, smiling.

"We just sat down, haven't ordered yet," Marcel said. "How come -" he said, nodding to Hope. As a rule, he knew Klaus rarely allowed Hope to have pizza, or any type of junk food.

"We just returned from Cajun Vally," Elijah began.

"Oh," Marcel groaned in sympathy. "We tried that yesterday - man, did you see -"

"Unfortunately," Elijah said while Hope giggled.

"It was really bad!" she said.

When Ms. Greyson looked confused, Cami explained. "Cajun Valley hired a murder mystery theater group to entertain while you have dinner - it was awful - we left after the first act."

"So why just you two, where are Klaus and Bekah?" Marcel asked.

"Still there, to my knowledge," Elijah said, starting to peruse the menu.

"What, why?" Marcel laughed.

"Caroline," Elijah said, "is part of the - performance." he said, without looking up from the menu.

"Caroline -" Macel mused.

"Wait, THE Caroline?" Cami asked.

"Yes."

"Who -" Ms. Greyson asked.

"A woman Klaus has been chasing since forever," Cami rolled her eyes. "Wait, which one was she," she asked.

"The blonde," Elijah answered.

"Oh - wow," Cami said, shuddering. "She was the worst one," she began.

"But daddy loved my mommy, didn't he," Hope asked.

"Yes, of course he did, darling," Elijah said. She didn't see him shaking his head in a 'hell no' manner above hers.

Hope turned to Ms. Greyson. "My mommy is dead," she told her.

"Yes, I know," Ms. Greyson said kindly.

"She died when she," Hope continued.

"Hope! That is not an appropriate topic of conversation at the dinner table," Elijah admonished. All he needed was for Hope to tell Ms. Greyson the story they had told Hope about Hayley's death, which most definitely did not involve a gigantic fireball.

Their waitress appeared. "Hi, my name's Ann, I'll be taking care of you tonight."

Amelia unlocked the door and walked into her home - a small, comfy two bedroom house, with a patch of grass her realtor swore was a yard. Her kitchen was massive - she liked to cook - and the living room was crowded with books. Her office was equally crowded with teaching materials, continuing education books, her computer and a boxes of school supplies for the less fortunate kids.

She moved to her bedroom and began to undress. Dinner had been - strange, she thought. It was supposed to be just a simple dinner with Cami and Marcel. She didn't mind being the third wheel when it was Cami and Marcel. She liked them both and seeing them together gave her hope that perhaps one day, she'd be lucky enough to find love, with a man who adored her.

And then he had shown up - Elijah Mikaelson, along with his niece, Hope. Elijah Mikaelson - perfect hair, perfect suit, perfect everything. He was handsome, nice, polite, intelligent, and single, from what she could gather. None of that bothered her.

No, what bothered her was that she was completely uninterested in him.

She sighed as she began to run the water and let her bathtub fill. No, the person she was interested in was his brother - the other Mr. Mikaelson - Klaus.

She smiled when she remembered how bewildered and freaked out he had been facing the committee. It had been endearingly cute.

She had fallen for him the moment he had stepped into her classroom on the first day of school. He had been holding Hope's hand, and as they walked into her room, he scanned the entire room as if looking for ninjas to attack. Her heart beating wildly, she had approached, and introduced herself to him.

"Hi - I'm Ms. Greyson," she said.

"Klaus Mikaelson," he said.

"Ah - and this must be Hope," she said, smiling and stooping to the little girls level. Hope nodded shyly.

"My name is Ms. Greyson and I'm so happy to have you in my class this year, Hope," she continued softly. We're going to have a lot of fun this year, and you're going to learn a lot - I promise."

Hope smiled, and she led the little girl to her cubicle, where she could place her lunchbox and coat, then introduced her to a group of children already playing. She looked back, and saw him still watching.

She walked back to him and smiling gently at him, she said, "She'll be fine, Mr. Mikaelson."

"She - she did not say goodbye," he said,wounded.

"It's best not to," she quickly said. "It's better if you don't make a big deal out of it."

"Mm." He had stood there, and for a brief moment, she wondered if she'd have to push him out the door.

"Right. You - you have my number in case -"

"Of course."

"And you'll call if -"

"Absolutely."

"Right. Well then. I suppose I should be off."

At that moment, Hope looked back at her father and waved. He smiled brightly and waved back, but she had already turned back to her new friends.

His eyes swept the room again, as if to identify hidden danger. And when he apparently found none, he let out his breath slowly. "Right - well - goodbye then, Ms. Greyson."

She saw the love and adoration in his eyes for his daughter and that made her fall for him even harder. When he had smiled at his daughter, his entire face lit up, and her breath caught in her throat and her heart had fallen. She could only nod when he said his final goodbye, and when he walked away, he had taken her heart with him.

She carried on normally. She loved teaching, and she loved all of her kids, even their constant questions and their insatiable curiosity.

She still went out with her friends: shopping, yoga, lattes, drinks, dancing, dinner.

She went on a few dates her friends set up, but nothing ever came of them. She had met no one yet who made her heart pound as Mr. Mikaelson's did. She called him 'Mr. Mikaelson, even in her mind, so that she wouldn't slip up and call him "Klaus" as if they were friends.

She told no one that she had fallen for one of her student's parents. She could only imagine how terribly cliche that would sound. She didn't chase him, or make up excuses to see him. She kept their relationship strictly parent - teacher. On the three occasions he had see her, he made it clear that he only saw her as his daughter's teacher - and someone who could help him navigate the treacherous waters of the Carnival Committee.

And now apparently, a woman he actually wanted to be with was in town. She sighed again as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. The woman was blond, and probably drop-dead gorgeous, while she - she was pretty, in a girl-next-door way. A little curvy. She knew her best features were her eyes and smile. She didn't wear much makeup, and her clothes - well, she was around little kids all day. She went for comfort, she wasn't trying to make a fashion statement.

She could imagine the type of woman Mr. Mikaelson dated, and it wasn't her.