'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove

Haley was missing and with Marcel as the prime suspect, Elijah and Klaus were determined to confront him and get Haley back. "You need to stay here where it's safe," Elijah told Talia when she voiced her desire to go as well.

"It wasn't so safe earlier when Marcel attacked us," Talia argued.

Elijah sighed a bit, "Talia, Marcel's vampires will mostly likely attack and your powers are useless against them. Not to mention you have my blood in your system and if you die-"

Talia cut him off angrily, "I'll come back in transition which you don't want." Elijah caressed her cheek lightly but Talia recoiled indignantly.

"We shall return soon with Haley. Stay safe and be on your guard," the Original said as he left. A second later Talia stole out of the house, jumped in one of the many cars, and drove to the Quarter. Inside she knew she was being reckless, especially because she didn't drive often, but more so because she knew the risks. Still she felt responsible. She was supposed to protect Haley and now Haley was in trouble.

By the time she arrived, Elijah and Klaus had already interrupted some sort of twisted vampire UFC tournament. "What do you think you're doing?" Marcel demanded icily of the brothers.

"Well it appears we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs," Elijah announced as he entered the center of the circle and glared up at Marcel. "We've come for the girl. Give her to us, or we'll kill everyone here. Starting with you."

Marcel didn't seem intimidated by Elijah's threat. "You two got a lot of nerve coming into my home and making demands."

"Your home, is it?" Klaus snarled.

"The girl!" Elijah interrupted to get them back on point. "I will not ask again."

"I assume you're talking about Haley. Yea high, dark hair, bitchy attitude?" Marcel question sarcastically. "Who is she anyway?"

"She's an old friend," Klaus lied smoothly. "You know how sentimental I am about old friends."

That didn't deter Marcel in the slightest, "Well I ain't got her. And before you start whining, I did pay her a little visit earlier tonight. I was feeling nostalgic, so I took a trip out to the plantation where I used to be a slave. And imagine my surprise when I realized the Original Family of vampires had taken up residence. The girl Haley answered the door while your little girlfriend was in the shower. We exchanged hellos, that was it. You don't believe me, look around. Hell, I'll even help you find her but the question that I'd ask is if Haley isn't here, then where is she?"

Marcel quickly ordered all of the nightwalkers to disband so he could talk to Elijah and Klaus. In order to avoid detection, Talia snuck along, trying to stay out of sight. She found a place upstairs, out of sight but also out of hearing range. Still she could at least see Elijah and Klaus sitting at a candle lit table as Marcel approached them. A few of Marcel's vampires then brought Sabine to them. Talia idly wondered what for; maybe she knew a way to find Haley. However, someone suddenly grabbed her and blurred down to the courtyard.

"…a city to run. I'll leave you to track down your lost sheep," Marcel told the brothers as the vampire that had grabbed Talia. "Oh, and one more thing. Tell your girlfriend it's not nice to sneak around."

Elijah stood up as the vampire let go of Talia, "Talia, I told you to stay home."

She did not respond to him but turned to Sabine, "Can you find Haley?"

"I can try," the witch told them. As the sun began to rise Sabine used Klaus' blood to do a locator spell since his blood was in Haley's child's veins. The blood flowed on the map out to the bayou. "She's in the back country, way out past Houma, deep in the bayou."

"I don't suppose you could be more precise," Elijah requested.

Klaus, ever the one to comment, asked, "What's the matter, Elijah? Are you worried a bit of splashing around in the bog might ruin your expensive shoes?"

"As a matter of fact, after my recent confinement, I could use a decent stroll through the countryside," Elijah replied and despite her irritation with the elder Original, Talia smiled just a little.

"There are stories of exiled werewolves, in camps," Sabine informed them. "If Haley went out that far, chances are she went to find them."

"Clearly she hopes to make the acquaintance of more like herself, I suppose our company wasn't good enough for her," Klaus assumed a little too cheekily.

Talia glared at him, "Then why knock me out and leave me bleeding to death on the floor?" Elijah stiffened noticeably but Talia ignored him. "If she had told me where she was going I probably would've let her go, hell I would've gone with her! Something just doesn't add up."

"Then let's take a trip," Klaus suggested and the trio jumped in the car Talia had brought and drove to the bayou.

Upon arrival Elijah advised, "We should head toward the water."

"You two seem quite determined to find the little wolf," Klaus observed as they weaved among the trees and mushy soil.

"If we're moving too fast for you Niklaus you're welcome to wait in the car," Elijah told him. Talia stifled a chuckle as they continued to trudge through the marsh. "Do be certain to leave the windows down."
"And in case you've forgotten, Haley is carrying your child. One would assume you'd want to know why she is here." Talia spoke up.

"Ah, so I've touched a nerve," Klaus pieced together. "You two have begun to care for this girl. Perhaps that's why Elijah's been barking orders since his return, taking his rightful place as head of the family patriarch."

Talia paused and turned back to glare at the hybrid despite the fact that he could easily kill her. "If you want to insist on treating her like a walking incubator then that's your fault. If you had actually taken the time to care about her rather than just your freaky hybrid baby maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Klaus glared at her for a moment before sniffing the air. "Have you caught her scent?" Elijah questioned.

"No," Klaus replied his face stony. "But I found someone else's." Talia and Elijah followed Klaus to an abandoned car. Klaus proceeded to riffle through the contents of the car. "This vehicle reeks of someone I thought I was rid of."

"Who?" Talia asked.

Klaus slammed the car door, "Tyler Lockwood."

"Why is that douchebag hybrid here?" Talia demanded.

"And why would your little hybrid sidekick be interested in Haley?" Elijah wondered.

"He wants revenge because I went after his girl," Klaus explained.

Elijah gave Klaus an exasperated look, "Why do I suspect this is the least of your offenses?"

"Back when I had the means to sire hybrids, he was my first, although I didn't give him much choice in the matter." Klaus jumped in the back of the open trunk and inhaled a blanket. "He was loyal in the beginning but grew insubordinate, turned my other hybrids against me. I couldn't have that, so I massacred the lot of them." Talia gasped in repulsion of Klaus killing so many despite knowing his temper and tendency to kill those who betrayed him. "Tyler ran like a coward before I could finish him off."

"Anything else you'd like to share?" Elijah asked giving his brother a look of repugnance.

Klaus shrugged, "Well there was this business with his mom."

"You killed his mother," Talia stated slightly flabbergasted. Elijah's expression mirrored her thoughts. "Wonderful."

"He needed to be taught a lesson," Klaus insisted like a five year-old pointing the finger at someone else.

"And what lesson will you be taught if he retaliates by harming Haley?" Elijah pointed out.

Klaus pointed at Elijah and Talia, "So you two do care about her? Quite the pair of mother hens you are. Well go on then, go rescue your little chicklet."

"So help me Nicklaus-" Elijah began but Klaus cut him off.

"Enough! I will kill Tyler Lockwood myself." Klaus blurred away.

Talia sighed, "Come on, we need to find Haley."

"I told you, you should've stayed home. Now you're going to rush off when you know there is a vengeful hybrid out here that could harm you," Elijah said as he grabbed her shoulder and forced her to face him.

"Look Elijah, I love that you want to protect me. I do. But I promised I was going to protect Haley and her child and I failed," Talia contended sadly. "I won't fail again. Whatever it takes." She turned away and started off again with Elijah right behind her.

They walked around the seemingly endless bayou for a while. Elijah suddenly stiffened and put a hand on Talia's stomach to warn her that he heard something. Slowly they took a few steps before Haley suddenly popped out from behind a tree wielding a knife. Elijah managed to catch her wrist before she stabbed either one of them. "Forgive me; I thought you were in danger. It appears I was mistaken," Elijah said as Haley's eyes widened at the sight of them.

Haley through down the knife and hugged Elijah before hugging Talia as well. "You will not believe the crap day I'm having," Haley told them.

Talia put her hand on Haley's shoulder, "We'll take you home."

They turned to leave but Haley stopped them "Elijah, Talia, there's something you two need to know about the baby." Haley quickly related to them about Tyler and his experimentation with the baby's blood. Haley hypothesized that that was the reason Klaus had accepted the baby's existence. "It's the only explanation. He could care less about the baby he just wants to be born so that he can make more sired hybrids." Elijah looked down at the marsh land sadly, not wanting to believe his brother's guilt. Talia didn't want to believe it either even though she knew Klaus was capable of such horrendous actions. "Although, the way Dwayne was acting it was more like he was sired to me."

Elijah's face was unreadable but Talia could tell by his eyes the depth of his pain. "I should take you both home."

Haley gave him a dubious look, "Are you serious? Home to what?"

"Regardless of my brothers intentions, mine and Talia's remain the same. We said that we would protect you even if need be from Klaus himself."

"I can take care of myself," Haley claimed as she got to her feet and started walking away. "I've done it for a long time." Elijah and Talia shared a look before following Haley to a little wooden shack on the edge of the water with a body on the front steps.

Just as they arrived, Klaus came out, "There you are. I see you've found our wondering stray. Perhaps she could shed some light on the situation. This," Klaus kicked the body, "would appear to be the body of a hybrid."

"His name was Dwayne," Haley told him rigidly.

"Well whoever he was I didn't sire him. Any idea how that's possible?"

Haley took a step toward the Original hybrid, "As if you didn't know-" Elijah and Talia pulled her back. Elijah stepped in front of the two girls as Talia pushed Haley behind her a bit. If this was going to get ugly she would not let Haley get hurt.

Klaus gazed at them curiously, "Well aren't you three fast friends? Oh come on then, what horrible accusation have you conspired to levy against me?"

Elijah met Klaus' cold blue eyes sternly, "Tyler Lockwood brought Haley here to test a theory, that the blood of her child could be used to sire hybrids. He claims you knew that. Furthermore, you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

The look of disbelief on Klaus' face nearly caused Talia to reconsider Klaus' knowledge of his own child. "And of course you assume it's true. I mean, why else would I show any interest in my own flesh and blood? A heartbroken little crybaby points his finger at me and my own brother falls in line, eager to believe it. How quickly you assume the worst."

"Spare me your indignation, when have you ever demonstrated any kind of concern towards Haley or her child beyond your own selfish pursuits? And what was it you once said to me? 'Every kind needs an heir'?" Elijah questioned doing a rather perfect impression of his younger brother. If the situation weren't so tense Talia might've laughed at Elijah's imitation but this was neither the time nor the place.

Klaus was getting angry now. Talia felt a pang of pity for him when she noticed the hurt in his eyes. "My big brother, so you doubt my intentions, well I can't say I'm surprised. Standing beside the noble Elijah how could I be anything but the lesser brother? A liar, a manipulator, a bastard." Klaus stepped down from the wooden porch and stepped face-to-face with Elijah. "That's all I am to you isn't it? And to Rebekah, and Talia. And judging by the way Haley clings to you and Talia for support, it's clear she feels the same way. No doubt my child will as well."

"Brother-" Elijah began but Klaus grasped his lapel.

"We have said all that needs to be said, brother." He let go of Elijah and stepped away. "I'll play the role I've been given."

Before anyone could react, Klaus flashed forward and bit Elijah's neck. Talia's heart stopped for a second and just as she was about to scream, Klaus dropped Elijah and stabbed a fallen branch through her stomach. Talia's scream caught in her throat as she crumpled to the ground.

She looked up at Klaus incredulously, trying to breathe, as he wiped Elijah's blood from his mouth, "You three enjoy each other's company. You'll have lots to bond over once the hallucinations and dementia set in. Consider that bite my parting gift to you."

Talia's eyes were beginning to get heavy as Klaus left and Elijah flashed to her side. "Talia stay with me. I have to remove it first." Talia nodded weakly as Elijah pulled the branch out. Talia opened her mouth to scream but found herself incapable of emitting a sound. Elijah bit in to his wrist and, even though the thought repulsed her, Talia drank from him.

Talia's breathing became easier and she looked up into Elijah's brown eyes. "Well that hurt. Should I start keeping track of how many times I almost die in twenty-four hours?" Talia asked trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm so sorry. I should not have assumed such things-" Elijah started to say but Talia interrupted him.

"No. Don't make excuses for him. No matter what you, Rebekah, or anyone else presume about him he should not react like that." Talia reached up and touched the bite on his neck.

Elijah looked at her seriously, "Are you sure you're all right?"

Talia nodded, "I might be a little sore tomorrow but I'll survive."

"Hey, um, if you two don't mind sticking around a little longer, I kind of wanted to go through some of the stuff here to see if there's anything about my family," Haley spoke up.

Talia shrugged as Elijah helped her to her feet, "I don't have a problem. Elijah?" The Original nodded and all three went inside the little shack.

Talia and Elijah set to perusing the little house as Haley did a more thorough search. "You two don't have to help, I can dig through the werewolf antique show on my own. Besides shouldn't you put some ointment or something on that?"

"The bite won't kill me," Elijah announced much to Talia's relief. "Like Niklaus himself it's more of a nuisance than anything else."

"Good because I'm eventually going to need a ride home," Haley said causing Talia to smile as she looked over a few books, mostly literature. "And thanks by the way for staying out here, you guys didn't have to."

"We know," Talia told her. "But you said that the people of this village are all the family you have left, I can relate. I don't have any family but when it was just me and my dad…it felt wonderful to know someone was there for me no matter what." Talia glanced over at Elijah who was wearing his popular thoughtful expression. "You're thinking about Klaus."

Elijah took a deep breath and met Talia and Haley's concerned gazes, "Perhaps I was too willing to condemn him. In the thousand years that we have been together my brother has committed numerous unspeakable acts but then again so has Rebekah, so have I."

"So did I the last time I was in Cabo," Haley stated with a half-shrug. "We all do bad things it's just most people die before the list becomes too embarrassing."

"But don't for a second compare yourself to Klaus," Talia ordered. "He is your brother and you love him, but that does not mean you can control or prevent him from acting out when someone angers him." Elijah stared at her and she stared right back.

"Well, it's like a freaking hot box in here. I'm just gonna step outside and get some air, you two keep staring hungrily at each other," Haley declared as she stepped outside.

That was enough to cause Talia to chuckle; even Elijah cracked a small smile. Talia strode foreword and gently touched Elijah's neck next to the bite. "I know the next few hours aren't going to be pleasant but I'm going to be here every second." Elijah nodded and pressed his lips to hers as his arms wound around her small waist.

"Hey guys, I found something," Haley called effectively ruining the moment. Talia giggled and took Elijah's hand leading him outside. Haley was holding a leather bound book. "Someone left this here."

"What is it?" Elijah asked s Haley started flipping the pages.

"A bible with a family tree that goes back generations," Haley answered quietly.

Talia looked down at the names and dates, "What are all these names? Who's Andrea?"

Haley looked up at them with wide eyes, "I think I am. That's the day that I was born."

*15 years later*

"Hold on, wait up, let me see if I got this right. So, Tyler, Klaus' hybrid from Mystic Falls was mad at Klaus so kidnapped Haley to test a theory if her baby's blood could create more hybrids and Haley thought this meant that Klaus knew this too so when Elijah excused Klaus of using the baby he went nuts and attacked both you and Elijah?"

Talia nodded, "That about sums it up. Klaus tends to be volitile when people betray him and that's what Elijah and I did for believing the worst of him so he retaliated. He knew we wouldn't die; that Elijah's blood would save me and luckily, the mark wouldn't kill Elijah but it wasn't a pleasant experience."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..."