Okay, first off, sorry for the really late update. I needed the convo with Elizabeta and Gilbert to do this chapter and my friend, Blackrose0127 who writes Puttana, and I just took a long time to get around to it. So, here's a late last chapter. The next chapter will simply be the epilogue. This was a good run, I had fun.

Chapter 11: Departure

Nikolaus paced Nina and Daemon's small bathroom, the edge of his cell pressed to his lips. His lips were a thin line of anxiety. He really, really didn't want to call his mom, not after almost burning her house down, then again, he also didn't want to run off and leave her wondering where the hell he'd disappeared to. That would surely earn him a death warrant. At the moment he had an arrest warrant out on him.

Finally, after a long thirty minutes of deliberation, he dialed Elizabeta's number. The first ring came, and he knew he couldn't turn back. He was in for the long haul. His pacing became that much more agitated as the phone continued to ring on and on without any answer. "Pick up the fucking phone, Mom," he hissed irately.

As the words left his mouth, the ringing ceased and Elizabeta's voice greeted him. 'Yes, bane of my existence? What do you want?' she asked, her voice sickly sweet.

"Oh, hi Mom," Klaus said, and after a pause, "I love you?"

'Alright, what did you break or steal?'

Klaus scoffed. "Why do you immediately suspect that I broke or stole something?" he asked indignantly, pursing his lips. He paused in his pacing, staring into the bathtub without really seeing it. He could clearly see her beautiful green eyes as she was undoubtedly rolling them towards the ceiling.

'Because that's what your father and you do,' she explained.

"Nuh uh," Klaus sang back childishly.

'How is your father, anyway?'

It was Klaus' turn to roll his eyes. "I don't know, good the last time I saw him, but I thought he'd headed over there," he told her, picking up one of Nina's frilly purple bras off the floor and tossing it in the dirty hamper.

'You say that like I've seen him…' Her voice trailed off for a moment before coming back. 'I think I found him.'

'Oh good,' Klaus thought sarcastically, sighing inwardly. Really, sometimes his parents were just… well, his parents. There weren't exactly words to describe what they were. "Well, I figured you had. Does that last statement mean you found him? 'Cause I want to talk to you two."

'Unfortunately,' Elizabeta replied dryly, 'Here, you're on speaker.'

'Sup' fag,' came his father's ever derisive tone.

Once more, Klaus just had to roll his eyes. "Dad, you are gayer than I am, so don't go calling me a fag. I do have a girlfriend, you know." He pawed through a pile of towels in the linen closet by the tub, wondering if there were any hidden objects. There was a bottle of lube and a box of condoms. If they weren't Daemon's, he'd be utterly surprised. He slipped a few of the condoms into his back pocket to later hide in his wallet.

'Riiiight, girlfriend. I gotchu,' Gilbert teased, snickering, just as Elizabeta said in the same teasing tone, 'Girlfriend? What girlfriend~?'

"Mom, Dad, please," Klaus whined, rubbing at his forehead, "She's not why I called."

'Why the hell did you call?' Elizabeta asked.

Klaus took a long moment, sorting through what he'd been planning on saying to them. "…okay. I guess that was kind of a lie. It has a little to do with Nina," he told them, running a hand through his hair. He pulled open the medicine cabinet, not really looking at the contents, but more just needing something for his hands to do. Outside the door came Nina's high laughter.

'Then tell me, boy!' his father shouted.

'Us,' Elizabeta corrected, 'Tell us.'

Klaus' sigh filled the tiny bathroom. "Okay, well, um," he began, starting up his pacing once more as he let the cabinet door close on empty shelves, "Amelia and Marguerite's grandfather turned up, right? He said he'd take Nina, Daemon, and I to America. I'd really like to go."

'…to America?' Elizabeta asked.

"Yeah… are you pissed?" he asked slowly, nervously running his thumb over his bottom lip.

'No, at least you asked first,' she told him.

Gilbert interjected loudly, 'I think you should go! You only live once right!'

A sigh of relief that Klaus didn't know he'd been holding in escaped his lungs, making his chest deflate significantly. "Thank the devil. You know, I was going to go even if you said no, right? I just thought you'd be more appreciative if I asked first," he confessed, grinning teasingly though she couldn't see it.

'You know I'm glaring at you through the phone, right?' Elizabeta asked scathingly.

"I can feel it burning a hole in my soul," he told her dramatically with a laugh. Holding the phone away from his ear, he shouted in the direction of the door, "Nina! Nina, guess what?!"

'Hang up the phone, you little shit! Love you~!' Elizabeta called from the other end.

"No!" Klaus shouted, but started laughing giddy with excitement, "Love you too, Mom. Love you, Dad. I'll call when we land."

'Bye son!' Elizabeta called in a last goodbye.

As way of reply, Gilbert shouted, 'Have lots of sex!'

This only prompted Elizabeta to hiss, 'Gilbert!'

Klaus grinned. "I'll get back to you on that one, bye." As he flung the bathroom door open, singing, "Nina!" he hung up the phone.

Nina flung herself into Klaus's open arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him full on the mouth. Behind her, Daemon grinned happily. "Yeah, what's that?" she asked in a voice that said she already knew what he was going to tell them. She'd probably had a cup pressed up to the door for the entire conversation, but he didn't mind.

Grinning, he kissed her back enthusiastically. "Mom and Dad said I could go. Do you know what that means?" he asked, his grin stretching until it felt like he lips would split with just the slightest amount of pressure.

In unison, all three of the teens shouted, "We're going to America!" They let out howls of excitement and howls of triumph, wrapping strong, crushing arms around each other, pressing close.

Klaus pressed his forehead to the twin's, his two best friends. They stared at each other for a long moment, their smiles untouchable. "We're going to make the best of this time. When we come back, we'll be something our parents can be even prouder of."

"Yes," the twins breathed, excitement curling on their tongues, tangy and sweet.

"No matter what happens while we're there, we will never regret making this decision, agreed?" Daemon asked, pulling back enough to wedge his hand in between them. They followed suit, placing their hands over his.

"Agreed," Nina and Klaus said together.

Without needing a countdown or rehearsal, the three dropped their hands and threw them above their head, yelling, "America!" They flopped down on the full size mattress, laughing breathless laughter. This would be an adventure they'd never forget, and they all knew it.

…..

"I'm going to miss you two so much," Amelia blubbered into her children's shoulders, clutching the pair to her chest hard, refusing to release them. They hugged her back tightly, their noses buried in her soft, sandy blonde hair. "Promise me you'll be careful. Don't talk to any questionable looking strangers. Stay together. Don't fight. If anything bad happens, just call me and your dad, and we'll buy you plane tickets back. I love you both so much." She didn't pull back, holding them closer to her.

"Thank you for giving our children this opportunity," Ivan said to Amelia and Marguerite's father standing near the boarding area, "Keep an eye on them. If anything happens to any of the three of them-"

The old cowboy cut him off, "You'll castrate or kill me or something equally as horrible. Don't worry. I remember what it's like raising children of my own seeing as I'm still raising the quadruplets I adopted several years back."

"You still have children in your home?" Ivan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion, "Who is watching them?"

"My wife. Usually, they all come with me on my escapades, but this one happened in the middle of the school year, so we decided it would be best for them to stay home," the old cowboy explained, smiling widely as the twins, Klaus, Amelia and Marguerite walked up.

Amelia sniffled, still clutching the hands of her children, wishing they were three years old again when they looked to her for everything instead of coming to their own decisions. She missed those days now. She wished she could have them back.

Klaus had his fingers wrapped securely in Nina's unoccupied hand, their fingers intertwined until it was nearly impossible to tell whose hand was whose. He had his blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder along with Nina's purple backpack. He smiled happily.

"Are we all ready to go yet?" Amelia and Maggie's father asked, his gentle smile wide across his face.

"Not yet," Amelia whined, hugging Nina and Daemon in turn before pulling a surprised Klaus into her arms. "Since Elizabeta isn't here to cry over you leaving, I'll be her substitute. Just like I told them, I'm telling you the same thing. Don't fight. Stay together. Don't talk to strangers. And just call us if you need anything. We're here for you." She pulled him into another bone crushing hug that had him gasping for breath. "Treat my daughter kindly, you hear," she whispered in his ear for only him to hear. When she pulled back, she was still grinning, "I love you, darling, just like I love my own blood children."

Klaus smiled down at her. "Thank you, I love you all too. I had a fantastic time at the Devil's Associates. You are all so kind and funny. I hope I'll get to see everyone again someday."

"If you come home with my children, then you certainly will. Make no doubt about that."

Maggie pulled the trio into a hug that was stronger than you'd expect from her. Ivan engulfed the twins in a bear hug and shook Klaus' had vigorously, leaving him with the same unsaid warning as Amelia had given. His smile was easy and terrifying all at the same time. Out of everyone he knew, this man had to be the scariest, though he seemed to be tied with Elizabeta.

"Okay, now they're ready to go," Amelia finally said, smiling widely as she released Nina and Daemon's hands.

Following the old cowboy as he turned and disappeared into the tube leading into the play, the trio smiled back at the two women and the man seeing them off before turning and disappearing around a corner.

Nina, voice void of fear, said with more certainty than she'd ever had before. "This is where it all begins. This is where our lives really begin."

Well, there you go. The last chapter not counting the Epilogue which will be next. I hope it wasn't complete crap. I hope you liked it as much as I did. See you at the very end in the next chapter.