"You didn't do so bad, Mom," Helene said, trying to comfort her mother.
"Yes, I did!" Astrid replied. "I ran out after the first question! What sort of leader does that make me? Maybe Doctor Putnam is right."
"No, he's not!" Helene replied. "No one likes to be ganged up on, and that's what happened to you."
"But I still reacted horribly," Astrid replied.
"I liked when you set him on fire!" Liam said with a grin and a chuckle.
"That wasn't me, dear," Astrid replied. "It was Alistair."
Adrian's eyes widened. "Alistair set someone on fire? He's going back to his dark ways, I think."
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing permanent," Astrid replied. "But it was very sweet."
"So, are you gonna try again?" Helene asked. "Get back on the horse?"
"I don't know," Astrid replied.
"You should," Adrian replied. "And we'll help you."
"Oh?" Astrid asked. "And how do you think you could help me?"
"I don't know," Adrian replied. "But we'll find a way."
Just then, Clarence appeared. "I hear you need help," he said. "And I'm here to provide it. It seems only fair since most of this mess is my doing."
"Who the hell are you?" Adrian asked, frowning at him.
"Adrian, this is Clarence," Astrid said. "He's the reason you and Helene are together."
"And I have to say, those years you two had in New Orleans?" Clarence made a "tsking" noise with his teeth. "Very disappointing for me."
"Why?" Adrian asked. "Why would you care?"
"Because you two are supposed to be together!" Clarence replied irritably. "I understand little bumps in the road because those are natural, like-"
"Like when Alistair and I got separated because of World War II and then found each other again later?" Astrid supplied.
"Exactly!" Clarence agreed. "That is the sort of problem that the two of you are supposed to have. You're not supposed to just cheat on each other!"
"Well, shit happens," Adrian replied. "Sorry for disappointing you. And what about people from other species? Do you control their love lives too? Cause if so, you did a really crappy job with my mother."
"I had no control over your mother," Clarence replied. "Unless...she's not a witch, is she?"
"No," Adrian shook his head.
"Well, that explains why her love life was difficult," Clarence replied. "I was not in a position to be in charge of it!" He paused. "Now, to why I've come: Astrid, how are things going with your campaign?"
"Bad," Astrid replied, pushing her fingers through her blonde hair. "I really messed up!"
"Well, that's not surprising," Clarence replied and put a large hand on her shoulder. "You're not gonna give up, are you?"
"No!" Astrid replied, her voice strong. "Of course not! I just don't know what to do next. Since you're here, I assume you have some ideas, Clarence?"
"Yes," Clarence replied with a grin. "I do. It's unprincipled and sneaky, though. Do you still want me to do it?"
"Sure," Astrid replied. "Go ahead."
"And tomorrow, we'll start talking you up," Adrian replied.
"Thanks," Astrid replied. "I feel better already."
"I can't believe we let that son of a bitch deliver our daughter!" Kol fumed after Margot told him what happened during the debate several days after it happened. "He makes nice to my face and then turns around and shows his true colors! I ought to kill him. That would be a nice surprise for Astrid."
"I'll help," Regina offered.
"No," Margot replied. "No one is killing anyone. We just have to let this play out and hope it goes the right way."
"You're too soft," Kol replied. "That guy deserves to have his ass kicked."
"That's not the way to handle this," Margot replied.
"I don't care," Kol replied. "I'm gonna do it anyway. Regina, you wanna come with me?"
"Yes!" Regina cheered and went to grab her coat.
"See you later," Kol said with a smirk and gave Margot a kiss before picking up his daughter and taking her to go mete justice.
To get to the hospital, they had to go through Astrid and Alistair's closet.
"Why would you want to go, though?" Astrid asked.
"To help you," Kol replied.
"Daddy is kicking his ass for you!" Regina added. "The bad man that made you sad."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Kol," Astrid replied. "But it's very sweet."
"Why don't I have to do it?" Kol asked.
"Because I've already gotten it taken care of by someone else," Astrid replied. "But if you want to see what happened, go ahead and go to the hospital."
"Why?" Kol replied. "Will it make me laugh?"
"No, it's not really funny," Astrid replied. "But it's karma, at least. And I know I should feel bad, but really, I don't."
"Just what happened?" Kol asked.
"Doctor Putnam got his wife back," Astrid replied. "But the condition of her coming back to him was that she had to be turned into a vampire. And you know that unless you're a child born of a witch or warlock and an Original vampire or one of their descendants, you can't be a witch and a vampire at the same time, which means that Doctor Putnam is now in an inter-species marriage."
"Your mom is a vampire?" Savannah asked, feeling shocked. "How did that happen?"
"Well, she's been unwell for quite some time," Jonathan replied. "When I was incarcerated for stealing people's magic, it upset her so much that my father had to lock her away so she wouldn't become a danger to herself or others. We haven't gotten a good word from her since, at least not until yesterday. Father came into her private room to check on her and found her much more aware than she'd been for months, but she was sobbing and begging for him to kill her."
"Because she was a vampire?" Savannah replied. "But that's so silly! What's so bad about being a vampire? I think it's great!"
"As you should," Jonathan replied. "But for a witch or a warlock with traditional ideals like my parents, it's a major step down to become a vampire and lose all your powers."
"So what did your father do?" Marce asked. "Did he kill her like she wanted?"
Jonathan shook his head. "He's still deciding what to do," he said. "And he doesn't have much time."
"Who would turn your mother into a vampire?" Marcel asked.
"I couldn't tell you," Jonathan replied. "There are never vampires in the hospital. I mean, someone mentioned a large, suspicious man in a dark suit and a pink tie entering my mother's room, but he didn't seem like a vampire, so it couldn't have been him. Then again, it wasn't long after he disappeared that my mother's change seems to have happened, so I don't know."
"If your dad decides to make your mom into a vampire, I'll help with her," Savannah volunteered."
"Me too!" Susanna replied.
"Thank you, both of you," Jonathan replied. Then, the phone rang. "I'll get it," Jonathan said, standing up. "It's most likely my father, anyway." He went to pick up the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Jonathan, it's your father," Doctor Putnam replied.
"Father!" Jonathan replied. "Have you decided what you're going to do with Mother?"
There was a silence and Doctor Putnam said, "Having her aware and lucid after so long was a wonderful gift, but it would be selfish of me to let her live in such a state when that's clearly not what she wants. I think, Jonathan, that no matter how much it pains me, I'm going to have to kill your mother."
"No!" Jonathan replied, eyes wide. "Don't do anything rash, at least not until I get there." He then ended the call, running to grab Savannah's hand in one of his, and Susanna's in the other. "Come with me," he said. "I need both of your help, desperately."
"Why?" Susanna asked.
"Cause my mother is sick," Jonathan replied. "And you're gonna help me save her."