As we put ourselves back together, I offered some of my blood to help him heal and he accepted on the condition that I didn't kill him. "Why don't you want to be immortal?" I asked. I never could understand why anyone didn't want to be young forever and all-powerful.

"Not ready to give up magic again; not yet," he told me and looked at his watch. "Davina should be home and asleep by now. I need to steal myself a stake."

I let him go and went back to his brother's house. When I get there, Elijah is awake and dressed in a full suit. In my mind, I imagined him waking up in his tshirt and immediately putting on a button down and tie. "Look who's awake," I grinned and hugged him.

"Good to see you upright," Hayley greeted him as well.

Marcellus was there too and I suddenly became concerned that I should have gone with Kol. He was just as infuriating as ever, but I didn't want him to die. "You have some family downstairs," he said to Nik.

We left the room to see what he meant and found Finn restrained with his hands tied above his head. Across the way, Kol was held in the exact same manner and I burst out laughing.

"Kidnapping," he said. "A rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion."

"Oh, wait until you see how we end it," Nik smirked.

In the morning we untied the boys, leaving the dark manacles on them of course, and we all sat down for a family breakfast. Nik sat at the head of the table, I was to his left and Elijah sat next to me. Across from me was Kol and Finn, next to him. Kol reached for a beignet while Nik spoke, but Elijah reached and slid the plate away from him.

"If all you wanted was my allegiance against Mother Dearest, you should have said; save me a night of being shackled to a wall," Kol said.

"Yes, this was Niklaus," Elijah spoke. "It was my recommendation to remove your limbs one by one 'til you comply."

"Bloody hell," Kol breathed, shocked. "How much time have you been spending with Arti?

I grinned. "I know, right? I'm very proud of him, but despite hat Nik thinks; I know we can't turn you, Finn. So: what body part are you most attached to?"

Nik forced a laugh and rose from his chair, standing behind the witches. "We have no desire to torture you, provided you vow to stand beside us, as brothers."

"Brothers?" Finn echoed. "Does that word even apply to us after all these centuries of betrayal and is loyalty to you ever really rewarded? If so, Niklaus, where is our sister Rebekah? She was blindly loyal to you for a thousand years and now, nowhere to be found. Where did our sister go and how did she escape your vile machinations?"

"You think me vile?" Nik avoided his brother's question. "What, then, do you make of the one who cursed us?"

"She was trying to make you mortal again," Finn responded. "And you both refused her. Only proves how fare you've fallen, but I expect Rebekah will have a different response to her proposal. See,

Elijah growled. "Rebekah is off limits to you- pursue her, and you will suffer."

"Do not let him goad you, Elijah," Nik interjected. "Neither he nor Esther will find Rebekah unless she wants to be found and she does not."

"Esther is quite determined," Finn pressed. "She's been searching for Rebekah since the day she returned. I imagine it's only a matter of time."

Completely enraged, Elijah reached across the table, grabbing Finn by his collar and dragging him over to himself where he bit his neck. I had to wrestle him off of the witch and Nik pulled him into the next room.

"That's usually your job," Kol smirked as I fed Finn my blood to heal him.

"I know. I'm kinda pissed." I looked Kol up and down as he reached for the pastry Elijah had denied him moments ago.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, noticing my glance and then looked down at his shackles. "Oh, kinky," he grinned.

Elijah returned, but only for a moment. "Let's go," he growled at me.

I stood and followed, not entirely sure what was going on. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"To see Rebekah."

The meeting spot was a crusty old diner west of the city. We sat in silence with our coffee. Elijah drank his, but I only ordered it because social convention told me to order something. His phone rang and he smiled at the screen; must have been Hayley.

"That old man is staring," I interrupted him, speaking so quietly only another vampire would be able to hear.

Elijah pocketed his phone as the waitress came over with more coffee. "Tell me," he compels her. "Has there been anyone out of the ordinary here today?"

"Just you two," she answered and poured more coffee for him, but accidently spilled it on his wrist. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"It's quite alright," Elijah brushed her off. "Thank you." He wiped the coffee from his shirt cuff, but the stain remained and he kept trying to get it out like Lady Macbeth.

I put my hand on his, breaking him from his trance.

"It's not safe here," he said. "We can compel the waitress, but everyone else is a threat."

He waved over the waitress and told her whatever happened, it was going to be alright and to keep going about her job; not to panic or scream. Then he went for the old man. There was a couple sitting in the corner and I took them out, relishing in the blood. The rest of the staff was next and in moments the waitress was the only person still alive in the diner. We stashed the bodies in the bathroom and for the next several hours, any other customers that walked through were met with the same fate.

After dark, Rebekah arrived with little Hope in her carriage. She put the carriage on the table and then hugged her brother. Elijah picked Hope up out of the carriage and cradled her in his arms.

"Look at you," he cooed. "So big. So perfect. I can't imagine spending every day with her. It's"

"Quite lovely," Rebekah finished for him. "It feels very human."

"Yes, it's one of the most human experiences," Elijah agreed.

I put my head in my hands. Yes, the baby was adorable, but the conversation was killing me. Humans with their morality, with their aches and pains and illnesses, with their bowel movements and sweat. A child did not alleviate all that.

"I know I have to give her back to Hayley when the time is right, but she's made me realize how much I want that child of my own that I know I can't have," Rebekah continued, ignoring my groan.

"It's a lovely dream," Elijah concurred. "Unfortunately, it's one that's just beyond our reach, considering the curse of our existence."

Now, I was really starting to get twitchy. Vampirism is a blessing: I was blessed with angel blood, they were blessed with magic and we all transcended our mortal forms.

"Seems Esther's attacking with her usual fervor," Rebekah commented as the siblings continued to ignore me.

"Yes, Mother tortured me for days with memories I thought I'd buried long ago," Elijah told his sister. "Then she made an offer to make us all mortal again. You see, sister, Mother believes that by placing us in new bodies we could then reclaim some kind of purity, making families of our own again. I have to confess Rebekah, this invitation, no matter how cruel the delivery, had a certain kind of appeal."

Rebekah lowered her eyes and noticed a stain on Elijah's white shirt cuff. It was not the brown of coffee, but the brown of dried blood.

"You needn't worry," Elijah reassured her, pulling his jacket sleeve down to cover the stain. "We're safe."

She stood and lifted Hope, muttering something about changing her diaper. She wasn't in the restroom for a minute before she returned. "Alright, luv. Well, she's all sorted and ready for an adventure. Aren't you, luv?" Rebekah placed the infant back into the carriage.

"It's hard to believe one this innocent; we mustn't let the world ever hurt her," Elijah commented.

"You're right, we mustn't," Rebekah agreed and snapped his neck.

I hissed and stood in a defensive posiotn. "What the hell?"

"He's dangerous," she said. "Are you going to kill me for it?"

"Of course not." I let up.

She called Nik to ask for direction and I tried not to listen to what he was saying. "He's killed an entire restaurant of people. When have you known him to kill when he can otherwise compel? It's the kind of act that will draw our Mother's attention." Pause. "I broke his neck to keep us safe, but I have no clue what to do next." Pause. "You know how she likes killing." Pause. "Of course."

He had hung up and I looked at her expectantly.

"Go back to New Orleans," she said. "Nik will meet me."