"Cami, what happened to you?"

Cami's mouth was open with shock. Every time she began to speak she found no words could come out. The confusion on Hope's face mirrored her own.

Hayley walked in. "Hope, I thought I told you to wait for me to come up."

"You were on the phone and walking around. I got tired of waiting." Hope put her attention back on Cami. "Mummy something's wrong with Cami, someone hurt her!"

"Oh no!"

That snapped Cami out of her confused spell. She glared at Hayley, the surprise in her voice almost sounded convincing.

"She can't even speak right now!" Hope's face was full of concern.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be alright. I'm going to talk to her right now." She looked at Cami pointedly. "Cami, let's go out in the hallway and have a chat."

Cami got up and followed Hayley into the hallway. After she shut the door she turned on Hayley.

"What the hell is going on?!" she exclaimed, finally able to speak again.

Hayley looked away. "Cami, keep your voice down."

"Don't tell me to keep my voice down, Hope doesn't remember the two of us being attacked!"

"And if we want to keep it that way you need to be quiet!" Hayley hissed.

Cami's eyes settled on Hayley and realized Hayley wasn't surprised. She was biting her lip and fidgeting with her bracelets like she did when she was nervous. Cami felt an unwelcome sense of trepidation come over her.

"What the hell did you do?" Her voice was dangerously low and calm. Hayley sighed. "You took away her memories of what happened? How is that even possible, witches can't be compelled!"

"We didn't compel her!" Hayley snapped back.

"We." Cami said. She shook her head. Of course Klaus was involved, no way would someone do that to Hope without his involvement. It was probably his idea. Had he learned anything from when he did the same thing to her years ago? Cami felt her anger building. "Have the two of you lost your minds?"

Hayley scoffed. "No, we haven't lost our minds. But you know who was losing hers? Hope. I did what was right for my daughter."

"Manipulating her is what's right for her?"

"You'd rather us let her stay in that state of terror, being afraid all of the time?" Hayley heard her voice raising. "What would Hope gain from that?"

"The truth, for one!" Hayley snorted. "Jesus Hayley, how is Hope supposed to learn to deal with anything if you and Klaus swoop in and make her forget every bad thing that happens to her?"

Hayley's patience was wearing thin. "I didn't come over here for a lecture, Cami."

"What did you come for? You thought you could just drop this bomb off and then we'd go watch a movie like everything is okay?"

"Everything is okay! For once in weeks Hope is fine! She's back to her normal self but you're too hung up on your morals to see that!"

"You're trying to control her!" Cami pointed to her door. "That happiness isn't real."

Inside Hope laughed at something on the TV. Hayley looked at Cami. "Seems real to me."

"I can't believe you did this."

"Why not?" Hayley snapped. "Hope is too young to experience something like that and have to live with it. I'm not in the wrong and who are you to judge me? Contrary to what you and Hope believe you are not her mother! I am. I make the decisions for her life. You're no one's mother Cami, so why don't you shut up about things you can't relate to!"

Cami felt like she had been slapped; she felt her fury building. Cami crossed her arms and got in Hayley's face.

"You know what Hayley, you're right. I can't relate to being a mother. But you know what I can relate to? Someone going in my mind—the most private part of me—messing around, taking away my memories and inserting the ones they want me to have." Hayley's face softened slightly but Cami wasn't done. "What's going to happen once Hope finds out the truth? Because we both know she will find out. My "relatable" experience tells me she's going to be furious, vengeful, and hurt. She is going to feel so betrayed and full of wrath and you and Klaus have earned every bit of it."

Hayley stepped closer to Cami, her face like stone. Others would have backed down in fear, but Cami returned Hayley's glare. She knew her words hurt but so did Hayley's, and she wouldn't apologize for them.

After a few tense seconds Hayley walked around her and went back into the apartment. Cami heard some mumblings before she exited with Hope, holding her hand.

Hayley passed by Cami like she didn't exist. "Did you get everything?"

"Yes mum. What about the movies?"

"We're still going." Hayley didn't look down at Hope as they walked away.

Hope looked back at Cami. "Isn't Cami coming with us?"

They were too far away for Cami to hear Hayley's response. She got one last glimpse at Hope before they disappeared down the stairwell.

Cami finally unfroze her anger was suddenly replaced with sadness. She went back into her apartment and locked the door.

Klaus was reading when Hope and Hayley returned from the movies. After putting Hope to bed Hayley angrily stomped her way into the living room where he sat.

"Is Rebekah back yet? I need to talk to her."

"No." he answered without looking up. "How was the movie?"

Hayley poured herself a drink. She could tell her daughter was put out that Cami didn't join them. Once the movie started Hope got sucked into it but afterward Hayley could still tell she was a little down. Hayley let out a sigh.

This was Cami's fault. What was her problem? It's like she was hardwired to find the flaws and down sides to everything. Hope was better, she was sleeping and they didn't have to walk on eggshells around her anymore. Yes they took away her memories, but only the worst ones. Who would want to keep memories like that? Hayley wished she could forget some of her past experiences. If Hope did find out it would be sometime in the future, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it. Was it so hard for Cami to just enjoy the moment?

"Something on your mind little wolf?"

"Nothing I want to talk about." She downed the rest of her drink. "When Rebekah gets home tell her to call me."

"You might as well tell me what's going on." He said absently. "If Rebekah doesn't tell me herself I'll just listen in on the conversation."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Goodbye Klaus."

After she left Klaus went up to check on Hope. She was sound asleep, snoring. That put a small smile on his face. A few nights ago it was completely opposite.

~A few nights ago~

Hope's parents watched as Rebekah tucked her in.

Hayley looked at Klaus. "If I know anything about you, it's that you always have a plan. I'm telling you now's the time to put into action."

"I do have a plan in mind little wolf, and I'm going to need your help."

"If it's going to help Hope I'm on board."

They took Hope and brought her to one of the New Orleans coven's sacred meeting sites. It was a greenhouse, Klaus remembered finding Davina there sometimes.

A new voice echoed behind them. "How clandestine. Who says you can't have fun sneaking around at my age?"

Diana, the high priestess of the nine covens threw her hood back on her head. Her long raven hair had a few streaks of gray.

"No one may know about this meeting Diana." Klaus replied.

She walked past him. "Oh I know Klaus Mikaelson, I am well aware. However when I said I'd help you I didn't think I'd receive a call in the middle of the night."

Hayley spoke up and bounced Hope on her hip as she held her. "It couldn't wait any longer. Her nightmares were getting out of control."

"Yes werewolf queen I believe you. The little princess is very powerful. Do you have what I desire?"

Klaus brought out some old magic relics and placed them on the table.

Diana's eyes lit up and grabbed a fine tooth hair clip with a deep blue butterfly on it. "This was a family heirloom."

"It possesses some sort of witchery I assume." Klaus said.

"It doesn't in fact, this is simply a hair clip. It was passed down from mother to daughter in my ancestry." Diana put it in her hair. "No member of my family thought we'd ever see those again. Where did you get them?"

Klaus smirked, telling her in no uncertain terms that that was his secret.

"I see the O'Connells aren't the only ones who stashed away secret mystical items." She said flippantly.

At the sound of the name Klaus' mind was instantly distracted; his smirk diminished slightly but no one noticed. "Shall we get on with it?"

Diana began drawing the necessary circle for the spell on the table. After she was done preparing everything she instructed Hayley to lay Hope in the middle.

The spell seemed easy enough. All they had to do was go into Hope's mind to see exactly which memories to take and remove them. As Diana said when Klaus first approached her, the first problem would be getting into Hope's head and accessing her memories. That would take power Diana didn't have. To bypass this Klaus would allow her to channel him. They pushed another table next to the one Hope was on and Klaus laid down, holding Hope's hand. Hayley cast a doubtful look at Klaus.

He perceived it said cheerily. "Oh Diana, if you try to betray me, or if anything seems untoward Hayley will snap your neck without a moment's hesitation."

"I have nothing to gain from betraying you." Diana said calmly and began chanting. Klaus felt himself slip away as she channeled him.

The second problem would be Hope's mind itself. As a powerful witch Hope would most likely be able to sense a foreign presence and her first instinct would be to go on the defensive and attack. That is, unless she trusted the foreign presence.

"Nick!" Hope looked around. She found herself in a sunny meadow with Nick across from her.

"Hello Hope."

She smiled at him. "What'll it be? Shall I beat you in another horse race?"

Nik laughed. "Do you suffer from memory loss? I won that race remember?"

Hope rolled her eyes and spun around in her nightgown. "So what are we doing: swimming, a stroll in the meadow?"

Klaus looked at her, she was so carefree. He would be sure to keep that grin on her face. At first it was odd for him to appear to her, he had forgotten what it was like to be Hope's age. It seemed so long ago. But here he was, and he was there for one reason.

"The time for playing is over Hope." His own voice sounded so foreign to him, so young.

The grin disappeared from her face. Klaus walked towards her.

"I think it's time you told me the truth. What are you afraid of?"

Hope looked frightened, the same way she was when he appeared to her the first time. She shook her head, her voice frantic. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright." Klaus held his hands up in surrender. "You don't have to tell me."

The final obstacle would be navigating through Hope's mind. Instead of forcing their way through Klaus suggested a tenderer route.

"Why don't you show me?" He came to a stop in front of her. They were eye to eye, Klaus marveled at how short he once was. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Hope had his same intense blue eyes and they scrutinized him.

"I don't understand how this could help me." Her eyes narrowed. "And I still don't know exactly who you are. Why do you care so much?"

"I told you before, I'm your friend." The look of skepticism remained on her face. Klaus reached out his hand. "Do you trust me Hope?"

"You give me no reason to."

"If you show me your fears you'll feel better I promise you. I'm a man of my word." Klaus kept a tone of patience. He wanted to take his time but he didn't know how long Diana could keep the spell going, she still had to take time to erase the memories. "You still haven't answered the question."

"I do." She said uncertainly. She said it again with more confidence, taking his hand. "I trust you, Nick."

She didn't know it but she had just given him what he wanted most. Klaus smiled, and Hope returned it. "Then show me. Show me everything."

Diana was connected to Klaus who was connected to Hope. Through him she was able to gain access to Hope's memories and take out the ones Klaus told her to.

It took a little over an hour to be done. Diana was drained, Klaus woke up famished, and Hope didn't wake up until hours later. When she did she bore no memories of the night of the attack. While she slept Hayley, Klaus, and Rebekah worked diligently to clean her room and rid any evidence of her trauma.

Klaus went back to his reading and smiled. His plan was a success.

Cami sat on her couch reviewing the notes she took from work earlier. She was in a melancholy mood and felt alone. Rebekah hadn't been in contact. Cami wanted to call Davina but didn't want to disturb her since it was the middle of the semester. She and Hayley hadn't talked since their fallout Friday. Cami wanted to check on Hope but couldn't because now she was estranged from both of her parents.

She replayed every word Hayley said. They still hurt like hell. Was she being too judgmental? Cami wanted to support her but couldn't bring herself to agree with their methods. Messing with Hope's memories hit too close to home. Cami debated calling Hayley but never did. If she did call what would she say? She wouldn't apologize for her opinion.

Why couldn't Hayley call her anyway? Did she even want to repair their friendship? Cami missed her. She loved Rebekah but she had more in common with Hayley. They were both low maintenance and liked things simple. Cami related to Hayley slightly better than Rebekah. Then again maybe Hayley wouldn't want to remain Cami's friend. Why would she when she had Rebekah? Now that Cami thought of it they had more in common with each other than they did with Cami. Both supernaturals, both powerful and dangerous. What would they need her?

Cami groaned and felt a slight tingle, like someone was with her. She gripped her pin and threw it in the direction of the foreign presence.

Elijah caught the pen before it hit it his chest. "Very good. You took slightly too long in throwing the pen but your reflexes have improved." He absently twirled the pen between his fingers. "Of course to avoid them getting profoundly subpar you should keep practicing like we did earlier today. Oh wait, now I remember. We did not practice today because you never came."

Cami ignored him and shuffled her papers.

"Last week you came to my abode throwing yourself into your training after I expressly told you to hold off on it. This week you decide to play hooky not once, not twice but three times. You're sending me mixed signals Camille and I do wish you'd make up your mind on what you want to do."

Cami felt sorry. Elijah kept getting the brunt of her dealing with her issues. She was surprised he didn't show up the first time she skipped out on him.

"I'm sorry Elijah I should have communicated with you."

"It's not just me Camille. You haven't talked to Rebekah, Hayley, Davina, nor to my knowledge Marcel. If you're trying to alienate yourself from your friends you're doing a tremendous job."

"I'm not trying to alienate myself I just…I need some time to get some things straight."

Elijah sat down on the arm of the couch. "Things such as?"

"Me, myself. I feel like I'm losing sight of who I really am, and when I do what I think is right I get called a holier than thou judgmental bitch."

"Are those the exact words Hayley called you?"

Cami looked at him. Of course he knew about their fight. "No, but she might as well have. Did you know what they planned to do?"

"No, I found out when I visited the compound. Niklaus met me outside and told me. Better that than me finding out by accident like you did."

"Do you agree with what they did?" She faced him and put the papers on the table. Cami knew she and Elijah were cut from the same cloth. They had similar mindsets on many issues.

"Camille…"

She made grumbling noises and stood up. "I don't believe this. You too?"

Elijah's black eyes followed her as she moved. "Do you remember what it was like being a child, having that innocence? It's a beautiful and tragic time in every person's life that is incredibly short. During that time children have no fear, no concept of evil. Everything is good, people are kind, the world is yours, and nothing scares you.

However once you experience fear for the first time that wonderful feeling is gone forever. Children adjust and feel happiness again but it's never on the same level as before. You'll never be that wonderfully unaware again because you've experienced fear and danger and you can never go back. Fear is a powerful thing Camille. You experience it once and it changes you forever.

My niece Hope will have no shortage of enemies. I have no doubt she will be attacked again and her life will be endangered. She'll have to live with this knowledge all her life. Conversely right now in her life she doesn't know that. She is blissfully ignorant. What my brother and Hayley have done is bought her a little more time to keep her that way. That I do not fault them for, can you?"

"No." Cami answered quietly.

"I understand your reservations. But these aren't normal circumstances. Hope is the most powerful creature on earth, even more powerful than Klaus. We're supernatural creatures Cami. When it comes to rules, moralities, ethics, we often don't consider them."

She fixed him with her bright green eyes. "Then maybe I shouldn't be friends with supernatural creatures."

Elijah never thought he'd hear those words from her. He hid his shock. "That's your decision to make."

Elijah visited the compound and found Klaus while he was painting. "Fix it."

"Good evening to you too brother." Klaus said sarcastically. "I don't believe your expertise with art matches mine so don't hold it against me when I ignore your advice."

"Not the painting." Elijah said, clearly annoyed. "Your relationship with Camille."

"I thought I told you that didn't concern you?" There was an edge to his voice.

In an unprecedented move Elijah snatched the paintbrush out of his brother's hand. Klaus turned to him in quiet anger.

"Give me that back or I'll stab you and use your blood for the color red."

Elijah slowly handed the paintbrush over. Klaus continued painting. Not that his brother would know but he believed himself to be giving her the space she needed. He hadn't completely abandoned her. Klaus had been keeping an eye on her apartment, and he watched her a few times as she slept. They just hadn't had direct contact.

"No matter what occurred between you before you took away Hope's memories you should move on. Both of your sulking is grating on my patience."

Klaus didn't bother to hide his interest. "You visited her?"

"Just came from her apartment. She's frustrated, and not just with you. Camille needs you, and you need her."

Cami laughed along with the rest of the family after Bill Turner told another corny joke. He had invited her over for dinner Friday night and Cami took him up on it.

Bill had two kids, a boy and a girl, Christopher and Rachel. His wife Deb was a beautiful brunette in her late thirties. As they sat around the table Cami couldn't help thinking that they were the textbook definition of the perfect family. After Deb sent the children upstairs to get ready for bed Cami turned to Bill.

"Thank you for tonight it was wonderful. I needed a night to sit back and relax and the food was delicious."

It had been a week since her fight with Hayley. She still hadn't had contact from her supernatural friends and she didn't go out of her way to talk to them either. Davina sent her a text but other than that she had nothing. The funny thing was while she was with Bill and his family she didn't miss them. She was able to relax and not worry if any of the Turners would fly off the handle and kill each other, or threaten each other and throw sharp objects across the room. There was no talk of murder, schemes, or betrayal. Maybe this is what Cami needed all along.

"I'm glad I was able to make good on my promise to you."

Deb picked up the plates from the table and shot Cami down when she asked if she could help. "You're our guest Cami I won't have you inconvenience yourself. I can do this in my sleep. I'm happy to see a friend from Bill's uh, other line of work come over. I was starting to think he was making it all up."

When she went in the kitchen Cami turned to her fellow faction member. "She knows? That must be a relief."

Bill wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Deb knows the bare minimum. Witches, werewolves, vampires. She just knows I help keep our species safe in the best way I can. I try to do my best to make my family proud. My wife never asks for the specifics, but if she did I'd tell her. I don't blame her for wanting to stay in the dark. Most days I wish I could."

"Me too." Cami agreed. "So what keeps you going?"

"I know I'm making a difference. And I know someone needs to be there to balance out Boudreaux and his cronies. Now I have more reason to stay since I have a friend on the council. It's nice to have someone who can relate."

Cami smiled at him. She knew how he felt, everything was more bearable when you had a friend around. Cami was happy she had a human friend who worked with her. They both vented to each other and understood the pressure of being in the faction.

She held up her glass and Bill mirrored her movement. "To friends."