Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

Author's Note: Next chapter! We are already almost halfway through this season!

Enjoy!


One night somehow turned into a few nights, and eventually Niklaus managed to convince me to overlook the preparation of the compound for Christmas, just for something to do.

I sat in an armchair in the courtyard, which had been completely made over with Christmas decorations, including a huge tree in the middle of the room that was adorned with white light and gold and red baubles.

A compelled woman cut her wrist with a knife and poured some blood into two glasses. I made a face as she offered one to me. "I certainly hope Niklaus pays you," I said to her as I accepted it.

"Handsomely!" Niklaus confirmed. I looked up to see him waltzing down the stairs. "And with a generous Christmas bonus."

He looked over at the woman, who handed him the glass of her blood. "Isn't that right?"

The woman smiled weakly and nodded before she left. Niklaus looked back over at me and smirked. I found it in my to smile back.

I took a sip of the blood, and Niklaus sat down in the chair next to me. "Not a bad breakfast," I commented, looking down in the glass. I glanced up at Niklaus. "Though I miss the meal replacement drinks I used to have for breakfast."

"Blood tastes way better than that garbage," Niklaus retorted, taking a sip of his. "Even when you're a human."

I chuckled, though quickly regained my composure. These past few days being with Niklaus was bringing me back to the time when we were together, and I was finding it harder and harder to resist him with each passing day but... I wasn't ready to forgive him just yet. He hadn't even formally apologized yet.

It was silent for a moment until Niklaus said, "You seem better."

I nodded with a smile. "I feel better. And I gotta admit, it's nice being in a place with so many people. Having only an 18 month old child to talk to can be so boring. Sometimes I crave intelligent conversation so much it hurts."

Niklaus smiled. "Well, that's still debatable."

I laughed again. I forgot how easy it was to laugh with Niklaus. I sobered up a bit as I thought back to something that had been eating at me for the past few days. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, love," he said, and the "love" added at the end made us both pause. It used to be a cute, affectionate pet name that I loved. He hadn't used it since before I was cursed.

I decided to ignore the awkward silence and asked, "What did Aurora mean? When she said that Elijah came in between you two?"

Niklaus froze, then sighed and looked down into his glass, looking like he wanted to drown in it. I backpedaled. "I'm sorry I asked. I should've figured it was a sore subject, you don't have to answer-"

"It's alright," he nodded. He took another swig from the glass and lowered it. He clutched it tightly in his hands. "You know that Elijah, Rebekah and I had to run to avoid Mikael when we stayed with the de Martels, correct?"

When I nodded, he went on. "Well, when Elijah told Aurora that we were leaving, she wanted to come with us," he continued. "He refused, and she mentioned knowing something about our family that even Elijah didn't know. Elijah compelled her to tell him. It was about how I had killed Esther."

"And?" I prompted.

"Elijah didn't take too kindly to that," Niklaus said. "He compelled Aurora to believe that I was a monster, and to break up with me."

"Oh, Niklaus," I whispered. Without thinking, I reached over and put my hand on top of his. When I realized what I'd done, I still made no move to remove my hand. Niklaus looked down at my hand to my face. "What did Aurora say?" I asked.

Niklaus' voice became smaller as he said, "Basically everything I've ever feared someone that I loved saying to me. For centuries, I couldn't even bear her name being mentioned. I really loved her." He looked up at me and smiled slightly. "And then I met you. And in the days I spent with you, the hurt became less and less until I didn't even remember that it existed, because I was so happy with you."

I felt a lump grow in my throat, and I pulled my hand away from Niklaus. He watched me move my hand in confusion, and I pointedly ignored his look as I wrapped my blanket around me tighter.

Before Niklaus could say anything, his phone buzzed. He looked annoyed at the interruption, but he pulled it out of his pocket. I eventually risked a glance at him. He had a torn expression on his face as he looked from the phone up to me.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" I wondered.

He finally looked up at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him. Eventually he said, "It's Camille. She's going to be confronting this Detective Kinney she's been helping."

I nodded, pursing my lips. "You don't want her to go alone."

Niklaus didn't have to say anything, so I nodded again. "If you have to go, go. I'll be fine here."

"Juliet-" he started.

I cut him off. "I can take care of myself, really, Niklaus. Your friend needs you."

He bounced his phone in his hand. "Thanks. Will you look after everything here?"

I nodded. "Go. Help Cami."

With a final hesitant smile, Niklaus vamp sped out of the courtyard. I heaved a sigh and flopped against the chair.


I was walking back from the bathroom when I heard calls of my name. "Juliet!" Jackson's voice rang out.

I immediately vamp-sped to where his voice was coming. Jackson was laying a weak Freya against the couch. Her arm was done up in a makeshift sling with Jackson's button down shirt. "Where's Hayley?" he asked.

"She took Charlotte to go see the reindeer," I stammered. "What happened?" I demanded when I got down there.

"She got jumped," Jackson replied. I sat down next to Freya on the couch. "Three vampires, all dressed like yuppies."

"Let me guess," I huffed, taking a peek at Freya's arm. It was definitely broken. "The Strix?"

Jackson nodded. "Yeah. She needs your blood."

I bit into my wrist and held it out to Freya. She carefully latched her mouth onto my open wound. After a few gulps, she stopped drinking and sighed in relief. She rested back against the couch, and the wound on my wrist closed up.

"Are you okay?" I asked Jackson.

He nodded. "I'm fine."

Freya released her mouth from my wrist, but she had a horrified expression on her face. "They took it," she moaned. "The Serratura."

I scrunched up my eyebrows. "You mean that stupid medallion?"

She nodded. She bit back her groan of pain and pushed herself up into a seated position. "I was meeting with a witch from the bloodline who built the lock. I was hoping she could help me destroy it, but it's not possible," she continued. "She said the only way to get rid of it is to use it. We have to get it back and lock something else away. Anything but my family."

I growled under my breath. "Great. I suppose we're paying a visit to Tristan de Martel, then?"

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the courtyard, and we all turned our heads to see Elijah strolling into the courtyard wearing a very somber expression. "I'm afraid we have a far more urgent problem," he revealed.

He stepped to the side and looked over to the entrance, revealing Rebekah Mikaelson in her own body. She looked pale and very very tired, but she still had a smile on her face as she greeted us. "Well, to be fair, I am the prettiest urgent problem you have ever seen."


After our initial hellos, Freya and Rebekah got right to business. They sat down on the couch, and Freya examined the skull-shaped weal on her wrist. It was ugly, red, swollen, and, according to Rebekah, even worse than it was before.

Elijah paced worriedly around us. Rebekah sighed in frustration and turned to her sister. "Give me the bad news, Doc."

Freya sighed. "Aya's stake was cursed. It infected you. As this mark grows, you will go mad. Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable Ripper."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Aya always was thorough."

"The Strix always employ a safeguard," Elijah began. "In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt." He turned to Freya specifically. "Can you fix this?"

Freya picked up the stake and examined it, then nodded weakly at the runes on the stake. "The spell is carved here. I can... I can reverse it." She quickly stood to her feet, but the way she stood with a slight sway told us that there was something wrong. "I just... need some time... and a hell of a lot of magic.

Just then, Freya's eyes rolled back into her head. She collapsed to the ground, but before she could hit the floor, Elijah managed to stumble forward and catch her.

"She was fine. Jules healed her," Jackson said in confusion, shaking his head.

Elijah looked down at Freya, and we followed his gaze to see a bleeding and gaping wound in her neck. "This scratch is not healed." All of a sudden, he looked up. "This is poison. This is an assassination attempt."


We had to wait for Freya to wake up. When she did, Elijah held his hand out to his sister. She smiled and took it, squeezing it tightly as she sat herself up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I feel weak," she panted.

Jackson's face filled with realization. "Those vampires must have stabbed her with something."

"So, the Strix are fond of this slow-acting poison," Elijah drawled. "There is an antidote... If I can get my hands on it." He pulled his phone out and stepped away.

Freya reached over and took Rebekah's injured wrist into her hands. She turned to address us. "For this, I'll need a pure silver knife, some white muskroot..."

I nodded at Jackson. "I got the knife."

"I'll track down the root," he said. "And you should call Hayley. I don't want her and Charlotte wandering the streets with the Strix out for blood.

"Good idea," I praised. I turned back to Freya, a concerned expression on my face. "But Freya, you can barely float a feather right now. How are you supposed to help Rebekah when you're a dead battery?"

Freya, who was still panting, shook her head. "I'll channel Finn."

Rebekah scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, lovely! My fate rests in the hands of our black sheep of a brother that we have trapped in a necklace! I'm sure he's just leaping to help."

The eldest Mikaelson sighed and turned to face Rebekah. "Well, he's the only other powerful witch here, and you and I are out of options, sister." She weakly got to her feet, and I held my hands out to make sure she didn't fall over. She steadied herself and then walked up the stairs as Rebekah and I watched worriedly after her.

I fished my phone out of my pocket and texted Hayley to come home. I then went to go find the knife that Freya needed. I gave it to her, and by the time I got back, Hayley had arrived with Charlotte. I sighed in relief when I saw them. "Thank God you two are okay," I breathed. I hugged Hayley with one arm and then grabbed my baby girl from her arms.

"You're going to be so excited!" Hayley gushed, readjusting the baby bag on her shoulder. She clapped her hands together. "She's been trying to say 'mama'."

My jaw dropped. "No!" I looked down at her, and she stared back up at me. Drool dribbled past her lips, but she had a smile on her face.

"Well, she hasn't said it yet," she said, but she smiled again. "But she's been going 'mmmm' all morning. I think she's getting really close!"

"Oh my God!" I giggled, and Hayley and I both squealed before looking back down at Charlotte.

"Say 'Mama'," I prompted. I bounced her a bit, but still no response. I tried again. "Come on, sweetie. 'Mama'."

Hayley frowned a bit. "I don't think she's going to say it on command."

I huffed, swaying her a bit from side to side. "You're right," I nodded, and I held my hand out. "Baby bag? I'm going to go give her a change."


After I changed Charlotte and put her down for a quick nap, I quietly stepped into my old room that was connected to her nursery, shutting the door behind me. I turned around and paused when I saw Rebekah sitting on the bed.

She smirked when she saw my hesitation. "Don't fret! I haven't gone full hellion yet." She shrugged. "No more than usual."

I chuckled and walked over to her. "Good," I nodded. "It's Christmas, and I don't want to get into a fight against you today that I would surely lose."

We both laughed as we met in the middle for a tight hug. After we pulled back, she took a good look around the room. "This place is vacant." She lifted her shoulders. "Where's all of your stuff?"

I toyed with my fingers and rocked back and forth on my heels. "Actually... Charlotte and I have our own place. It's in the apartment building just down the road from here. After we came back, I couldn't stand the thought of living under the same room as Niklaus. I wanted to stay out of Mikaelson family drama for at least a little while, but here I am again." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Suddenly, Rebekah's face grew cold. "You don't seem to mind the family drama when you need something from us, like a decent dress or a babysitter..."

My smile fell. "Come again?"

"But when you're looking for someone to blame for your unhappiness, we seem to be the enemy," Rebekah continued, a snarl crossing her face.

"Rebekah..." I stammered, shaking my head. "You're wrong."

"I am wrong," Rebekah agreed. "I believed we were friends. Nearly sisters. But, the last time we spoke, you were planning on taking Charotte away from this family forever."

"What?" I blurted. "N-"

I cut myself off when Rebekah started to take a few steps toward me. I automatically began leaning backward. "So where do you stand, Juliet? Are you a friend? Are you family? Or perhaps..."

She vamp-sped toward me. She pinned me against the far well in a choke hold, and I gasped. I continued to gasp and cough as Rebekah let her vampire face flare out. "...You've been a foe all along." She sneered at me. "Be honest- you want Klaus dead, don't you?"

She roughly let go of my neck, and I sucked in lungfuls of hair. My hand went to my throat, massaging it gently. I tried to keep my anger in, knowing this wasn't Rebekah but that stupid curse the Strix put her under. "As much trouble as being in this family costs me," I began. "It is still my family. I've been doing everything I can to help stop this stupid prophecy from ruining our lives! At the expense of my own family!"

Rebekah laughed bitterly. "What family, Juliet?" she asked. "You broke Elijah's heart, and then Klaus' heart, and now you're back to being chummy with Elijah. You being unable to pick which Mikaelson brother to be with is killing them."

I snarled at her, the wolf in me getting irritated at her accusations. "I love Elijah," I confirmed. "That's not a lie. But I chose Niklaus. And that decision destroyed me." I tilted my head to the side. "Tell me Rebekah-who is it really killing?"

Rebekah narrowed her eyes at me. "You tore my brothers apart," she said instead. "If they turn on each other, as the prophecy suggests..." She vamped out, her fangs slipping out of her jaw. "It's because of you!"

I prepared to stand my ground when Rebekah lunged for me, but her superior age easily overtook me. She shoved me through the wood and glass doors to the room and out onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. The force with which we broke through the doors caused us both to lose our balance and tumble over the balcony railing and onto the floor of the courtyard below.

My body bounced on the pavement, and I moaned at the dizzying pain. Rebekah recovered faster than me. She growled ferociously as she quickly pulled herself to her feet. Her eyes were pitch black and menacing.

"Raah!" she snarled, lunging for me again.

I let my hybrid eyes show and my fangs come out. I flipped onto my feet and slid my foot back. I growled, low like the wolf I was, and ran for her. I lifted my foot to kick her, but Rebekah grabbed my foot and twisted me around. She then roundhouse kicked me in the stomach. The wind knocked out of me, before I had the time to recover, Rebekah backhanded me across the face. I spun around and landed on a heap on the floor. I felt my forehead rip, and a few trickles of blood came down my face. The wound quickly healed, and I wiped the blood off of my forehead.

I struggled to get back onto my feet. Just as I managed to stand up and it looked like Rebekah was going to attack me again, Elijah suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her roughly by the arms. "Listen to me. Listen to me!" he pleaded.

Rebekah struggled against his hold, her eyes still pure black. When she growled menacingly at me, Elijah shook Rebekah by the arms. "Rebekah, look at me! Rebekah!"

Reluctantly, Rebekah tore her gaze from me and looked over to Elijah. "Control yourself," he ordered.

She sighed reluctantly and closed her eyes. I slowly got to my feet, keeping my eyes on them the entire time. When Rebekah opened her eyes again a moment later, they had returned to their usual white and blue. "Dear brother... I have control."

He sighed in relief. "Good."

All of a sudden, Rebekah's eyes went black again, and she landed such a hard uppercut to Elijah's jaw that it snapped his neck. "Elijah!" the name slipped past my lips as he dropped to the ground.

Rebekah turned her attention to me, and I felt such anger at what she had done to Elijah that I hissed. I ran right for her, rearing my arm back to land a punch.

Rebekah brought her hand back and shoved it deep into my chest. Blood immediately exploded all over my shirt. I gasped loudly and deeply, and my heart tightened when Rebekah squeezed my heart. "Gahh!" I screamed. My body shook and my knees quiverred, threatening to drop me to my knees.

"Rebekah!" a roar erupted through the compound, and I felt simulatenous rush of relief and annoyance that once again Niklaus had to come save me.

He vamp-sped over to us and clenched his hand around Rebekah's wrist. He growled at her, gnashing his teeth. "Not her!"

Niklaus squeezed Rebekah's hand, which caused her to release her grip on my heart. More blood gushed out, and both hands went to my chest. The blood seeping through my fingers quickly trickled to a stop. That didn't stop me from taking gasping breaths.

Niklaus turned around, grabbing me by the arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, dipping his head so that he was looking into my eyes.

I was just about to answer that I was fine when Rebekah recovered. She dashed for us again, and I shrieked, "Niklaus, look out!"

Niklaus had just enough time to spin around and grab Rebekah by the arms. He shoved her back away from us. "I said not her!" he snapped. He picked up a black briefcase that he had dropped in his struggle against Rebekah and shoved it at me. "Take it to Freya. Make sure it goes into her heart."

"Jules!" I heard, and I looked over my shoulder to see Hayley running over to me. "Are you-"

"I'm fine," I assured her. I held out the briefcase to Hayley. "Take this to Freya. Put it directly into her heart."

Hayley wanted to argue, but she could tell I wasn't in the mood by the look on my face. Instead, she grabbed the briefcase and ran back to where Freya was doing the spell.

I turned back to Niklaus and Rebekah's fight. Niklaus had vamp-sped himself and his sister backward until he slammed her onto the nearby dinner table, smashing all of the glass plates on top of it.

"Aah! Dear, sweet Juliet!" Rebekah hissed. "Despite everything she's done to hurt you, you are still a slave to your affections for her."

I frowned a bit, and Niklaus glanced over his shoulder at me. He quickly returned his attention back to Rebekah who continued her verbal assault, "It turns out she's not as sweet and innocent as you thought, Nik! The more time she spends with you, the more toxic she becomes!"

Niklaus, surprised by Rebekah's words, actually let her shove him off of her. He wasn't thrown back very far, however. Elijah stirred awake on the ground before quickly getting back to his feet. One look between the three of us and we all knew what to do.

When Rebekah lunged for us again, the three of us charged her. Niklaus and Elijah each grabbed an arm, and I grabbed her throat. Using our combined strength, we threw Rebekah back onto the dinner table. She struggled against our hold. "No! No! Aah!"

Footsteps alerted us to someone coming over, and a weak and bloodied Freya rushed toward us as fast as she could. She held a blade in her hands. "Hold her!" she ordered.

We nodded and pinned Rebekah down as hard as we could. Freya grabbed Rebekah's arm and sliced the patch of skin with the cursed skull weal on it off of Rebekah's wrist. She chanted the spell, and Rebekah screamed so loudly Freya's words were drowned out.

Finally, once it was done, Rebekah went limp. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. Elijah, Niklaus and I let go of her and stepped back slowly. Rebekah groaned as she came to and sat up.

Niklaus, Elijah, Freya and I stared at Rebekah, filled with concern but still ready to fight her in case she fought back. However, her eyes were blissfully blue again. Rebekah sighed.

"Well, that was annoying."


I hummed while I watched Charlotte play with the little toy horse that Niklahs had carved for Rebekah so many centuries ago. After the disaster of the night, I went back up to my room. I changed into fresh clothes, and by the time I was changed Charlotte was awake.

I heard footsteps, and I looked to the door to see Niklaus walking over. I smiled at him. "Hey," I greeted. I looked back down at Charlotte when I saw Niklaus eye the wooden horse. "I wanted to take it from her, but she loves the thing so damn much."

He chuckled a bit. "Well, I'd say this Christmas is officially the worst."

"I don't know. Blood. Magic. Fighting. Brushes with death," I rattled off. I smirked. "Sounds like a Mikaelson family Christmas to me."

Niklaus laughed, kneeling down next to Charlotte. She grinned up at her father and held the toy horse up. "Bahhh," she babbled.

"That's a sheep, dearest," he gently corrected. He pointed to the horse. "This is a horse." He looked up at me. "What are you teaching her?"

I laughed this time. "We're slowly getting there, trust me. Hayley said she's getting close to saying 'Mama'."

Niklaus nodded, running ..a hand along her head. Not quite meeting my gaze, he said, "You know, this Mikaelson family Christmas wouldn't be complete if you and Charlotte aren't there."

I paused. My mouth opened and closed like a fish. He still considered me family. Even after everything that had happened between us... he still considered me family.

As much as I wanted to accept, I couldn't. "Because I missed Thanksgiving with them, Jackson and Hayley invited Charlotte and I over for Christmas dinner. We are going to watch 'Elf' and I'm going to eat turkey that Hayley's going to say she cooked but we all know Jackson cooked and apple pie that I know Hayley baked but that tastes awful."

"Bring them too," Niklaus simply said. He stood up. "After everything that they've done for you and for this family, especially Hayley... They're Mikaelsons too."

I smiled. "I don't know how much they're going to appreciate the sentiment, especially because it connects them to a family that always has someone coming after them, but thank you. I'll ask them."

He nodded, glanced down at Charlotte and flashed her a smile, then walked toward the door. He stopped in the doorway. "I know you miss your family in Mystic Falls," he said quietly. "And I know that you would probably rather spend this holiday with them, but... We're your family too. And we're grateful that you're a part of our family."

With that, he vamp-sped out of the room, leaving me very confused as to what I wanted.


Eventually I got up. I texted Hayley to come over to the compound, and she messaged back saying that she and Jackson would be right over. I changed Charlotte into some fancier clothes and then walked down the stairs to the courtyard. Elijah, Freya, Niklaus, Rebekah and Hayley and Jackson surrounded the lit Christmas tree. Hayley and Jackson had changed too, and I smiled down at my family. My two families coming together. For once, I didn't have to choose.

I caught Niklaus' eye when I stopped at the of the stairs. Instead of looking away, I smiled at him. I walked over to him, turning Charlotte in my arms so that he could see her more.

"Merry Christmas," he cooed to her, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. He automatically leaned forward to kiss my forehead, but then stopped halfway when he caught my gaze. He quickly turned away, and I went over to Jackson and Hayley to prevent an awkward moment.

"Merry Christmas," I said to them, giving them each a one armed hug. "This is our first Christmas together. I'm glad that we're here."

"It's all thanks to you, Jules," Hayley pointed out. "If you hadn't done everything in your power to help our pack, then we wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Juliet Gilbert," Elijah declared, walking over to us. "Saving one family at a time."

We laughed, and Elijah leaned down to kiss Charlotte on the head. "Merry Christmas, little one."

Niklaus handed Jackson a glass of wine. "Thank you for helping Freya," he said kindly.

Hayley and I exchanged surprised looks at Niklaus' uncharacteristic kindness, especially toward Jackson, but Jackson swallowed his own surprise and accepted the glass. "Unfortunately, we're all out of mason-jar moonshine," Niklaus finished, chuckling at his own joke.

"Well, Nik, you are positively merry tonight!" Rebekah's voice boomed, and she walked in wearing a berry coloured cocktail dress.

Suddenly, Niklaus' face turned into one of horror as he noticed a very large metal bowl full of burning wood on the other side of the room. "Oh, no!"

I giggled as I thought back to the bonfire that we had last year. Things were so different back then. So much had happened between now and then.

Rebekah grinned. "Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire, but I improvised." Noticing her brother's hesitation, she groaned. "Come on. It's tradition!"

"...Tradition?" Jackson asked, looking between all of us.

Niklaus sighed. "We write our wishes and then burn them for luck." He shook his head. "Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year..."

Elijah smirked, sipping on his wine. "How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty-list."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I wondered. I looked all around at my family. "Let's get the first Gilbert-Mikaelson-Marshall-Kenner Christmas started!"


"What's that?" I asked Charlotte. I sat next to Elijah on the ground, and Charlotte was attempting to ring the bell on the new tricycle that he bought for her. He rang the bell, and she tried to again. When she failed again, she simply squealed and giggled before looking over to her uncle Elijah. "What is it?"

Rebekah suddenly walked into the room, wearing a coat and carrying a suitcase. A somber expression was on her face as she stopped in front of us.

Freya frowned. "Oh, Rebekah. So soon?"

"Take care of our brothers, Freya," Rebekah said instead, leaning over and hugging her sister. "God knows they need it."

She pulled away and turned to Elijah. She pecked him on the cheek. "Be good to Nik," she advised him. "No matter what he does, he's still family."

Elijah nodded, looking over at Niklaus. "Yes. He is."

She smiled at Elijah before turning to me. Her smile disappeared as she gave me an apologetic and guilty look. "I'm so sorry about what I said, Juliet," she said.

I weakly smiled. "It's okay."

Rebekah gave me a look, glancing over my shoulder. "You know, when I left last, I thought for sure you'd hate Klaus forever."

I peeked over my shoulder at Niklaus, who picked up Charlotte from the ground. I half smiled to myself and looked back over at Rebekah. "I was sure too." I lifted a shoulder. "I don't know what I'm sure of anymore. Niklaus can be absolutely terrible but..." I trailed off.

Rebekah smiled. "He's still Klaus."

I couldn't help but laugh, and I met Rebekah in the middle for a hug. I hugged her tightly, not knowing when I'd see her again, especially in her own body.

Niklaus wandered over to us. He held Charlotte out to me, and I cooed at our daughter as I took her from his arms. He turned to say goodbye to his sister. "You're always leaving," he said sadly.

"And I always come back," she added. She and Niklaus hugged tightly.

Niklaus spoke under his breath, but I could still hear him. However, I made it look like I wasn't paying attention so I could hear what they were saying. "Run far and fast, stay on the move, and-" He pulled back from their hug. "Should you happen to meet some handsome fool-know your weaknesses."

Rebekah laughed happily but still gave him a look. "Haha! Well, perhaps it's time our roles reversed. I'll run away from love if you run toward it."

I felt Rebekah's gaze on me, but I pretended not to notice it. I put my arms under Charlotte's shoulders. "Come on, honey. Say, 'Mama'. Say, say, 'Mama'!"

"...Ma...ma," Charlotte gurgled. My stomach dropped and my eyes widened. I didn't think she'd actually say it!

Everyone immediately crowded around Charlotte. "What did she just say?" Jackson asked in wonder.

"You all heard that, right?" Hayley demanded, looking over to us. "It wasn't just us?"

"It wasn't just you!" I gushed. I bounced Charlotte a bit. "Say, 'Mama'! Say, 'Mama', sweetheart!"

"Mama!" Charlotte eventually exclaimed, and the entire compound went into a flurry of shouts as we all celebrated our newest family member saying her first word.

"It's a Mikaelson family Christmas miracle!" Niklaus declared, raising his wineglass in the air.

We all laughed and echoed, "Merry Christmas!"


Later that night, after Hayley and Jackson had gone home and I had taken Charlotte upstairs, I stood out on the balcony in my old bedroom. I looked behind me at the open doors that led into a dark empty bedroom. I was always leaving this place but somehow...Somehow I always ended up back here.

I had just turned back to just stare at the French Quarter celebrating Christmas when I heard, "I thought I might find you out here."

I looked over my shoulder to see Niklaus stepping out to the balcony. He rested his hands on the gate of the balcony. "Yeah, well, I thought I could use a little fresh air. All that food..." I shook my head. "Dang, I didn't know Jackson could cook like that!"

"I must admit I found myself enjoying his cooking skills as well," Niklaus nodded, then he grimaced. "Though Hayley's..."

I chuckled. "I saw the face you made when you took a bite of the apple pie. But thank you for not saying anything."

He smiled. "Believe it or not, I don't give it to every urge to ruin a family holiday."

"Shocker," I mumbled, resting my chin on my fist. Instead of getting upset, Niklaus smirked. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"What, is that the going rate nowadays?"

"I could charge more, you know," he joked. "The penny is a special family and friends discount."

I smiled but heaved a sigh. "I was thinking about what Rebekah said." I continued despite the alarmed look on his face. "She said despite everything that I've done to you, you're still a slave to your emotions for me." I lifted a shoulder. "That's not true... is it?"

Niklaus sighed deeply and shook his head. "It is," he revealed, and I felt my heart stutter. "I've been trying to figure all of this out... and I've been trying to deny it... but it's the truth." He looked over at me, gazing into my eyes. He grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm still in love with you, Juliet."

My mouth opened and closed, and I ended up looking down at the hand that Niklaus had covered. I silently shook my head. "Unbelievable."

"What?" Niklaus said.

I finally looked up at him. I wretched my hand away from him. "It's unbelievable that you claim to still love me after everything you've done to me. You never even apologized for what you did!" I shook my head. "I can't just ignore that and move on, Niklaus. I'd be disrespecting myself if I did."

Niklaus grabbed my hand again. "Cursing you was the worst mistake I have ever made in the millennium that I have been alive," he insisted, trying to look into my eyes. "I am so sorry. No apology will ever make up for it, but I want to try. Please."

Tears poked out of the corner of my eyes and slipped down my cheeks. "I'm sorry too. 'Cause...stupidly... I think I might still love you too."

Niklaus grinned, relief flooding his face. When he reached up to cup my face, I pushed his hands away and took a step back. "That's not a good thing, Niklaus. I've been back for a couple of months already and you're only apologizing now. I missed so much." I hiccuped. "I missed the first time she pulled herself up. Her first steps. Her first birthday. I'm never going to get those experiences back! All because you didn't trust me.

"You didn't even trust me enough to know what was best for our daughter! You let your stupid pride get in your own way and you didn't listen to my voicemail." I sucked in a breath. "...And I know that I didn't do any better by not trusting you to know what was best for our daughter too. But Niklaus..." I shook my head. "You were shutting me out. I felt like I didn't have a say in my own child's life. Taking her and getting her to Mystic Falls to wait for her dad to solve everything seemed to be a good solution to me." I lifted my shoulders. "You didn't even let me explain myself that day. You automatically assumed the worst of me." I bit my lip. "And that told me what you really thought of me. And that was what broke me the most that day."

"Juliet-" Niklaus pleaded, taking a step towards me. "I do know who your are. My judgment may have been clouded because of everything that had been going on at the time... but once I knew the truth..." He stammered. "It's been eating me alive. Knowing what the truth actually was. I cursed you. I made it so that the only time you could see your child was once a month for half a year. It was a mistake entirely on my part. So many months we wasted..." He shook his head. "I'll never be able to take back what I did. But I want to get past it."

I sighed. "I want to get past it too, Niklaus," I revealed. But I drew myself to my full height and took a deep breath. "But I'm not ready yet. Someday in the future, I will be. Once I'm confident that I can trust you again...that you can trust me again. But for right now..." I looked across the street to where my home was. "I'm going to live in my apartment with my daughter, and we will continue to switch her between us." I looked back at him. "I will continue to help defeat this prophecy, because it's messing with my family and my future. And you and I..." I shrugged. "We'll grow back together, somehow." I felt guilt settle in the pit of my stomach on the look on his face. "It's just for now, Niklaus. Just until I've had more time."

Niklaus swallowed thickly. It looked like he was trying desperately to keep his tears in. "Alright," he agreed. "I will grant your wish. After everything that I've done, it's the least that I can do. But I do request one thing."

I nodded. "What?"

"Stop calling me 'Niklaus'," he asked. He refrained from shuddering. "Every time I hear you say it I feel like bugs are crawling all over me. It's the name that Mikael gave me, and not the name that I wish to hear my girlfriend call me."

I gave him a look. "I'm not your girlfriend," I reminded him.

Slowly, tentatively, and despite everything that went down tonight, he smiled. "Not yet."


TBC...

Just to clarify, Cami will still be becoming a vampire and have her vampire storyline, it just won't have the romantic stuff with Klaus in it. How am I doing it, you say?

You'll just have to see!

Till next time!

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Next chapter...

A Ghost Along the Mississippi...

A SHOWDOWN WITH THE STRIX — In the aftermath of a horrific plan that left Cami dead, Klaus declares war on Aurora and Tristan with Juliet caught in the middle of his and Cami's fight. Elsewhere, Vincent, who has resumed his role as Regent to the New Orleans witches, is forced to use his magic against his will, while Hayley and Jackson find themselves pawns in Tristan's twisted game. Finally, after learning that Tristan is in possession of a powerful weapon that could take their family down once and for all, Klaus, Elijah and Freya enact a risky plan that leads to a tense showdown with The Strix.