A/N: You'll notice the title of this chapter isn't from the show. Given nothing in canon is currently happening in this story (Alaric going crazy, Rebekah looking for the white oak tree), keeping titles of episodes for chapters just didn't make sense. We're not completely AU of course, and some canon events will still be happening, but not enough to keep episode titles, I think (which sucks 'cause I'm not very good at naming chapters apparently).
The next morning Josie woke up wrapped in Klaus' arms. It was already late, so she wrestled out of his embrace and jumped into the shower. She'd just finished washing her hair when he joined her. He kissed her as he grabbed the soap, washing her body thoroughly.
He let her return the favor, but when she spent a little extra time on his groin, he growled, lifting her up against the wall and thrusting into her. He captured her mouth to muffle her screams as she came around him before he spilled himself inside her.
She quickly finished getting ready before heading to The Tipping Pot to meet Elijah for brunch.
"Josie, my dear," said Elijah, rising from his chair when she approached.
"Hey Elijah," she smiled. "It's busy today."
Elijah smiled back. "Nothing a little compulsion can't fix."
Josie laughed.
"I took the liberty of ordering your usual," he said, as the waitress appeared with her drink.
She smiled. "Thanks."
"I trust my brother filled you in on our plans?" asked Elijah, sipping his coffee.
Josie nodded. "Yes. All of them."
Her eyes slid to the two hybrids standing outside the restaurant. Elijah followed her gaze and sighed.
"It's merely…"
"For our protection," finished Josie, nodding. "I know. I know. Makes me tempted to take him up on his offer, though."
Elijah tilted his head in confusion.
"Oh nothing," said Josie, dismissively. "We talked about turning me last night. It wasn't serious."
Elijah nearly spit out his drink. "Niklaus offered to turn you?"
"Well, yeah," shrugged Josie. "I was saying how my visions are a mixed blessing. How I don't like deciding who lives and who dies. We don't know that my visions will go away if I turn, but it's a possibility. Why are you surprised? I didn't say yes or anything…"
Elijah looked at her with a thoughtful expression before smiling.
"What is it?" asked Josie, tilting her head in confusion.
"Niklaus has turned many in his time as a vampire. At times it was for revenge, for amusement or simply because he needed someone to do his bidding. I can recall only one other time he turned someone out of… I suppose it can be called affection, even love."
Josie knew who Elijah was referring to: his adopted son, Marcel.
"In any case, I think it's best you remain human," said Elijah. "You are still quite young."
Josie nodded. "Yeah... So I heard you're headed to Toronto?"
"The last known residence of Sage," he said, nodding. "Of all my siblings, I am the one she will most likely receive willingly."
"Good luck," smiled Josie. "I wish I were going. I've never been to Canada."
"It's not the best time of year to visit," said Elijah, shaking his head.
October in Canada was probably pretty cold, even if the weather was still fairly nice in Mystic Falls.
"Well, don't forget to pack your scarf and earmuffs," teased Josie.
Elijah smiled, shaking his head.
"Which reminds me," said Josie, reaching down to pull a package from her purse. "Happy Early Birthday. Klaus told me your birthday is tomorrow. He just told me yesterday, so I didn't really have time to shop. It's not much…"
"Is it your birthday, honey?" asked the waitress, who'd stopped by their table to refill the coffee. "I'll have to get you a special slice of our apple pie."
"It's really not necessary…" began Elijah.
"Oh, don't be silly," continued the waitress. "Only get so many…"
Before Elijah could stop her, she'd already shouted to the guy behind the counter that they had a birthday at table four. Elijah frowned as he couldn't compel the whole restaurant and didn't want to make a scene.
"Sorry," said Josie, biting her lip. "But hey, free pie, right?"
Elijah just raised his eyebrows.
"Why don't you open it?" asked Josie.
Elijah picked up the package Josie had given him and opened it. He smiled when he saw what it was.
"I remember you liked Mary Higgins Clark," said Josie. "This one came out during the summer when you were daggered. I thought maybe you needed something to read on the plane to Toronto."
"I do," he said, smiling. "Thank you, my dear."
"You're welcome," she said, smiling back.
At that moment, the waitress came back with the slice of pie that had a burning candle in the center. Josie grimaced when the waitress (along with the other servers and many of the customers) started singing.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…"
"It was Niklaus who informed you it was my birthday?" asked Elijah, looking uncomfortable.
Josie nodded, quietly singing along.
"Happy Birthday dear Elijah…"
"Tell him I shall not forget this," said Elijah, tugging at his tie.
Josie had to suppress the urge to laugh.
"Happy Birthday to you," the servers finished.
"Come on, honey," said the waitress. "Make a wish."
Josie tilted her head at Elijah, silently telling him to just blow out the candle.
Elijah sighed and blew. Everyone cheered and soon the servers had dispersed.
"So what did you wish for?" asked Josie, still trying to contain her laughter.
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Isn't there a superstition that if I share my wish, it will not come true?"
"Maybe," smirked Josie. "Are you saying you believe in the power of birthday wishes?"
"Of course not," he said with a slight smile. "But one does not live for over a thousand years without being somewhat cautious."
Josie laughed. "Fair enough."
Soon the waitress came over with their food and Josie and Elijah talked and ate, lingering over their coffee. They were just discussing another one of Elijah's favorite authors when they were interrupted by Josie's phone ringing. Several times.
"It's Klaus," said Josie, frowning.
Klaus knew she was having brunch with Elijah.
"It may be important," said Elijah.
"Hey," said Josie, answering the phone.
"Hello, love. Enjoying brunch?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"I'm looking for your sister," Klaus said.
"I thought she had her own two shadows looking after her."
Klaus growled. "My hybrids had their necks snapped and she vanished. I'm waiting for them to wake up."
Josie gasped. "Oh my god. You don't think… Finn? I'll call Bonnie. Maybe she can do a locator spell before Esther has a chance to cloak her."
Josie hung up without another word.
Elijah's face was the picture of worry.
Josie quickly pulled up Bonnie's number, but before she could press send, and there was an incoming call from Elena.
"Hello?" answered Josie.
"Hey, Jo," said Elena.
"Elena!" exclaimed Josie. "What happened? Klaus said you disappeared."
"I'm fine," said Elena. "I'm at the Boarding House. Damon and Stefan got into a fight with the hybrids following me."
Josie sighed. "I'm glad you're okay. Klaus is going to kill them. I'm coming over."
"I don't need bodyguards, Jo," said Elena.
"It's just until Esther and Finn are found. She will take you for your blood, Elena. I've seen it."
Josie remembered how Esther had forced Elena to give her blood to make Alaric an Original Vampire.
"Klaus didn't even explain," continued Elena. "The hybrids just showed up and wouldn't stop following me."
Josie sighed. "I'm sorry, Elena. He's not very considerate or tactful sometimes. I should have explained this morning. That's my fault."
"It's not your fault Klaus is an overbearing control freak," came Stefan's voice from the phone.
Josie tilted her head. Stefan wasn't wrong. But it couldn't hurt to be cautious in this case.
"Would you rather Esther abduct Elena and use her blood to end the vampire species?" countered Josie.
"We can protect her," said Stefan. "We're stronger than the hybrids. Older."
Josie rolled her eyes. "You don't have to convince me. I'm on my way."
She hung up.
"Sorry, Elijah," she said. "I should go before Klaus kills the Salvatore Brothers."
Elijah frowned. "I cannot say I blame him if he does. His list of grievances with them is long."
Josie sighed. "I know. First they dagger him, then steal your family. Then, they kill two of his hybrids and raise your homicidal mother in the hopes of killing him. Not that Klaus is innocent or anything, but still…"
"They are your friends," said Elijah, nodding. "I understand."
"I have to at least try and keep this from imploding," said Josie, getting up from the table.
She said good-bye to Elijah and left the café quickly. She arrived at the Boarding House ten minutes later. She was sure either the hybrids who were protecting her or Elijah had already tipped Klaus off as to where Elena was.
She went into the house, not bothering to knock. She found Damon, Stefan and Elena in the living room.
"Come right in, Josie," said Damon, sarcastically. "No need to knock."
Josie rolled her eyes. "When was the last time you knocked at our house?"
"She has a point, Damon," said Stefan.
"Whose side are you on?" asked Damon.
"I thought we were done with all this 'side' crap," snapped Josie.
"Stop it!" yelled Elena. "Just stop it, all of you!"
There was a loud slam and Klaus appeared with his hand around Damon's throat.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your heart out right now," growled Klaus.
"Elena was never in any danger," said Josie quickly. "We didn't explain why the hybrids were needed."
"You can't just force me into protective custody," said Elena, crossing her arms.
"I'll do what is necessary to protect my doppelganger," said Klaus.
"We can protect her," said Stefan. "Damon and I."
"No offense, mate," said Klaus. "But I think I'll stick with my hybrids."
"Those rabid dogs couldn't protect anyone," said Damon, rolling his eyes.
Klaus growled and reached his hand up, clearly intending to rip out Damon's heart. Stefan started for Klaus, but was stopped by the two hybrids that were protecting Josie.
Josie couldn't breathe. The look on Klaus' face was terrifying. He was really going to do it. Really kill Damon. He'd clearly had enough and whatever plot armor had been protecting Damon, and possibly Stefan, clearly held no more sway.
"Klaus, please!" said Josie, running over to him and Damon.
"You would ask me to spare them?" growled Klaus. "After they daggered me? Woke Esther? Killed Mindy?"
"I…" Josie bit her lip, the pain of losing Mindy suddenly fresh again.
Klaus looked smug at her hesitation. "I'm going to enjoy this."
"No!" exclaimed Elena, her eyes pleading with Josie to do something.
Elena was right. She couldn't just stand there and watch him kill Damon. She had to try.
"She's right. Please, Klaus," Josie asked. "Don't kill them. They're my friends. You have the dagger and your family. Esther will be found soon. They're no threat."
Klaus didn't look at her for a moment, but kept his hand in place, hovering right above Damon's heart. It felt like time had stopped. Was he really going to do it? Really kill Damon?
Josie reached up and put a hand on Klaus' arm. Klaus looked down at her, his expression softening just a little. He turned back to Damon and growled, throwing him across the room. Stefan sped over to help Damon up.
Klaus addressed the two Salvatore brothers.
"Tell you what," he said. "I'll give you both once chance to live."
"What's that?" asked Damon, eyes narrowed.
Klaus smiled wickedly. "Seeing as how you're the ones responsible for stealing my family, raising my mother and endangering all our lives, I'm going to give you the chance to fix it."
"What?" exclaimed Josie.
Where was he going with this?
"Deliver Esther's heart to me and I shall consider granting you mercy," explained Klaus. "However, if you so much as take one breath in my town without that heart, I shall take yours in payment instead."
Damon frowned. "You've got to be kidding me."
Klaus growled and sped over to Damon, gripping his neck once again.
"This is me being very, very generous," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "I suggest you make yourselves scarce before I start feeling less charitable."
Klaus glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 11.00 a.m. "You have until noon to leave Mystic Falls. Happy packing, gents."
Klaus released Damon roughly and turned to address Elena.
"I should hope we don't need to discuss the importance of letting my hybrids protect you without interference."
Elena just looked at Klaus with a stony expression, clearly pissed he'd just exiled the Salvatores. Josie personally thought they should all be glad they were even alive, but kept her thoughts to herself.
"Don't look so glum, sweetheart," Klaus told Elena. "They're still alive. You can thank your sister for that."
Then he disappeared.
"Guys, I'm sorry…" Josie began.
"Don't. Just don't," said Elena, shaking her head.
"I think you should leave," said Stefan in an even tone.
Damon looked murderous.
Josie nodded. "Yeah."
She grabbed her purse and headed out of the Boarding House.
A few hours later Josie was sitting on the couch with Jeremy and Anna, playing Xbox, when Elena came home. She barely glanced in the living room before heading straight up to her room.
"Think she's okay?" asked Anna, glancing nervously up the stairs.
"She'll be fine," said Jeremy. "If you ask me, she could use some Salvatore-free time."
"I'm going to go talk to her," said Josie.
She got off the couch and went to Elena's room, knocking softly.
"Elena, it's me."
Silence.
She knocked again.
She heard a loud sigh, then Elena opened the door.
"What do you want, Jo?"
Josie frowned. "I'm sorry for what happened. Are you okay?"
It was a stupid question, but she didn't know what else to say. Elena's eyes were red-rimmed. It was obvious she'd been crying.
"Stefan and Damon are gone."
"I know. At least they're still alive," offered Josie. "Maybe once Esther is dead, Klaus won't be so angry and they can come back."
"Maybe," said Elena. "How can you…? With him? He…"
Elena burst into tears.
"Oh, Elena," said Josie, stepping into her room and giving her a hug.
She was glad when Elena didn't push her away.
"It'll be okay," said Josie. "I'll do what I can to convince Klaus. You'll see them again."
Elena nodded sadly. Josie led Elena over to her bed and they sat down together.
"I know," said Elena. "It's just… it's going to be weird not seeing them everyday. I'll always love Stefan and Damon… they're vampires, I just thought they'd always be around, you know?"
Josie nodded. "I know. Mystic Falls without the Salvatore brothers. Feels strange."
"Part of me is worried about Stefan," said Elena.
"Stefan?" repeated Josie, confused.
Elena sighed. "I caught Damon trying to get him to feed on a human the other day. He thinks Stefan needs to learn to catch and release."
"Hasn't he been on animal blood ever since Elijah flipped his switch back?"
Elena nodded. "Yeah, but who knows how long that'll last if he's spending 24/7 with Damon?"
"Stefan is strong," said Josie. "Have you heard from Lexi lately? Is her switch back on?"
"I left her a few messages when Stefan got his switch flipped, but didn't hear back."
"Probably not a bad idea to let her know what happened today."
Elena nodded.
"I know this is hard," said Josie, rubbing Elena's back. "If you need anything, let me know. I'm sorry. I wish things were different."
"You tried, Jo," said Elena. "Klaus was going to kill Damon. Maybe Stefan too."
Josie bit her lip. "So you don't hate me?"
"Of course not," said Elena. "I can't stand your boyfriend, but I can't pretend Damon and Stefan were innocent either. Elijah called me earlier to tell me he'd make sure Klaus didn't change his mind and go after Damon and Stefan."
Josie smiled. "That's Elijah."
They sat there in comforting silence for a while.
"I'm headed to the Grill with Bonnie and Care," said Elena after a while. "You want to come?"
Josie shook her head. "I still have a lot of make-up work from the first few weeks of school. I can't put it off anymore."
Elena nodded and Josie hugged her one last time before wishing her goodnight.
Josie was lying on her bed, doing her homework, when she felt a slight breeze and Klaus appeared in her room.
"Do you think you'll ever use the front door?" she teased.
"Why would I do that?" he asked. "What I want is right here."
He leaned down and started kissing her as she sat on her bed. He started to back her down, throwing her school materials to the side.
"Hey, I need that," she said, tearing her mouth away from him. "That's my essay on Pride and Prejudice for Ms. Flemming."
Klaus just continued kissing her neck, running his hands over her.
"I'll compel her," he said, breaking away to remove her shirt and his own.
"You're such a bad influence," she said, biting her lip to suppress her moan as he started kissing her chest.
"The worst," he whispered as his hands travelled southward.
He quickly removed the rest of her clothes and she had no more objections after that.
The next week went by slowly. Klaus was gone a lot, so Josie only saw him a few times. Elijah and Kol too. Kol, with his witch connections, was trying to find news of his mother, while Elijah was tracking Sage. When he finally found her, she readily agreed to help and together they searched for Finn, albeit without much luck.
Klaus had decided to make Mason Lockwood his Beta, so on Wednesday night, Josie and Rebekah threw an impromptu celebration at the Mikaelson house. Josie talked to James, one of the hybrids who knew a lot about werewolf customs, and convinced Klaus to do a formal werewolf ceremony to officially make Mason his Beta. The hybrids loved it and, according to Klaus, drank and danced until sunrise the next morning.
Elena was visibly sad with the loss of the Salvatores, but Jeremy, Josie and Elena's friends did their best to cheer her up. At times, it seemed to be working. Elena even said it was nice how normal it all felt.
Finally, Friday arrived. Josie was happy, not just because it was Friday, but because tonight was their official date, complete with a beautiful red silk dress that Josie's friends had picked out the day before. She was just finishing her make-up when Klaus appeared in her room.
Josie smile turned to a frown when she saw he was in his usual clothes.
"You're dressed pretty casually," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Klaus looked uncomfortable. "I just received word that Esther may be in Minneapolis."
"That's good," said Josie, smiling. Then she understood. "You're leaving again?"
"I am sorry," said Klaus, bending down to give her a kiss.
"If there's even the slightest chance Esther's there," said Josie, sighing. "I understand."
"I'll make it up to you," he said, running his hands down her arms. "I promise."
Josie bit her lip. "Yeah? How?"
He reached down and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Instead of an evening… Would you consider a weekend away?"
Josie smiled. "Really?"
"Where would you like to go, my love?" he asked, kissing her jaw. "Back to New York? Or perhaps someplace further afield? Paris? London?"
"They all sound great," she murmured, distracted by his kisses. "How long until you leave?"
"Twenty minutes," he said.
"Hmm… can you be quick?"
He growled and sped them to her bed.
Josie spent the weekend with her friends and family. Jenna and Alaric were gone on their romantic getaway weekend, so Elena, Jeremy and Josie all invited their friends over Saturday night and had some normal, teenage fun.
Klaus was gone until Wednesday night. He came to Josie's room where she welcomed him back to Mystic Falls. While Esther had definitely been in Minneapolis, she had left before Klaus and his hybrids even got there. They tried to track her through several states before the trail went cold.
Josie had been trying to help as she had gotten a few visions of Finn, but he never stayed in the same place for more than a day or two. She only saw Esther once and then it wasn't clear where she was, just that she was looking for someone, probably a witch.
It was Thursday morning and Josie was on her way to Math class when she ran into Rebekah.
"Hey," said Josie. "How's it going?"
She didn't want to be nosey, but Klaus had told her last night that Rebekah and Mason had broken up. Rebekah was annoyed with how much Klaus interfered in their relationship (and how much Mason let him). She told Mason she thought Klaus had made Mason the Beta just to spite her. Mason, of course, didn't take that opinion well and they'd broken up.
"I've been better," said Rebekah without a smile. "I assume you heard?"
Josie nodded, frowning. "I'm sorry. It's a good weekend to be single though!"
"It is?"
Josie smiled. "It's Halloween! Where you can dress up like a slutty whatever and make your ex-boyfriend jealous as hell and find a new one."
Rebekah smiled back. "All Hallows Eve has certainly changed."
"So… you know what you're going to be for Halloween?"
Rebekah shrugged. "I don't know. The school party sounds a bit lame. No drinking."
"It is," Josie admitted. "The haunted house is okay though. More funny than scary, but…"
"A funny haunted house?" asked Rebekah, eyebrow raised. "I think we can do better than that."
Josie tilted her head. "We?"
"That's right," said Rebekah, linking her arm with Josie's. "We're going to throw the best Halloween party this town has ever seen. And when Mason Lockwood sees me in my costume, he's going to tear his own heart out."
A/N: As far as I know, none of the Original Family have confirmed birthdays, so I just made up when Elijah's was (mid-October). I thought birthdays could be fun as the backdrop for some chapters. Holidays too ;-)
Also, one of the things that irritated me was how they portrayed Klaus as this really vengeful guy, except when it came to the Scooby Gang. Like they killed Finn and Kol, and the Originals did… nothing? So yeah, Josie technically managed to save them, but now they've been exiled from Mystic Falls.
