Merry Christmas! Sorry again for the wait. I do try my best to update. Be sure to let me know what you think and since we're so close to 100 reviews, whoever is one 100th reviewer will get a treat ️ much love xx

Elijah Mikaelson sat in the bar staring at the glass of whiskey he had ordered over an hour ago but had to yet. Self-loathing consumed him and Lacy's words played constantly like a record in his head. He loved Haley. He was completely certain of that now. But Katherine… Katherine had sucked him into her vortex and he had been helpless to resist. She was a succubus of his happiness. The anger he felt towards her was only made worse every time his mind wandered to the daughter he had never met. What did she look like? What did she like? Hate? What was her favourite colour? Did she like to sing or dance? It was heartbreaking. Would he ever know her? How could he? To reveal himself to the little girl meant destroying her reality - the happy, stable family she was in - and Elijah knew that he was too honourable a man to do such a terrible thing. The best thing he could do as a father was to keep his distance… and it broke him.

He needed to return home but he did not know how to face Haley knowing that the truth would hurt her but that a lie would eat him alive. Lamenting on his limited options, Elijah lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip. A sudden vibration in his jacket pocket stopped him from drinking the rest and he fished out the phone only to frown when he saw the caller ID.

"Lacy, what's wrong?"

"Can you come back? Please."

Something in her voice spoke to him and immediately Elijah was on his feet, running out of the bar and to his car. On the other end of the call he could hear Lacy sniffling and he suspected she had been crying. Concern flooded him and he forgot all about Katherine.

"I'm coming. What happened?"

He was behind the wheel, keys in the ignition and placing the car into 'drive'.

"I want to come home. Take me home, please."

"I'll be there soon. Don't go anywhere."

The call ended without a goodbye and he threw the phone into the passenger seat, reversing out of the parking lot and cutting off traffic; an action that earned him a number of beeping horns from angry drivers. He was certain he had broken the speed limit and when he arrived at Katherine's home, he found Lacy sat outside the entrance of the building, a large bag beside her on the ground, and a glum expression on her face. He helped her to her feet and crushed her with an understanding hug.

"What changed your mind?"

"I got into an argument with Katherine. She told me to leave." Lacy explained briefly as she settled into the passenger seat and clipped in her seat belt.

Her eyes were still vacant of light and Elijah couldn't look at her for too long without wanting to scream at the universe for putting one soul through so much in such a short lifetime. They idled in the car as the morning's conversation whirled around in Elijah's head.

"What did you argue about?"

Sighing at the genuine worry in Elijah's voice, Lacy pressed her fingers to her temples and tried to massage away the oncoming stress headache.

"You… Nik… Kol… I just - Jesus, I don't even have anywhere to live, Elijah. I can't face Nik right now."

Prying her hands away from her face and clasping them inside his own larger ones, the oldest of the Mikaelson brothers assured Lacy that she would never be without a home and invited her to stay with him. She argued against it; believing he was being overly polite and not wanting to impose anymore drama onto him when he had his own issues to deal with once they returned home.

"It's not up for discussion, Lacy."

His tone was authoritative and left no room for arguing. Reluctantly, and with great relief and gratitude, Lacy nodded her head before reclining back against the plush seat and turning to stare out of the window. They travelled in relative silence with Elijah trying on a number of occasions to engage her in casual conversation. When none of his attempts had worked he left the traumatised woman to her own thoughts and tried not to dwell on his too much. If was only as they neared the town limits of Mystic Falls that Lacy finally spoke, staring intensely at Elijah.

"Are you going to tell her?"

With a gulp, he glanced quickly as his passenger. His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as he shrugged his heavy shoulders.

"I don't know." He admitted truthfully.

"Do you love her?"

It took a moment for him to answer. "Yes."

Biting her bottom lip until it began to hurt, Lacy opened her mouth twice and shut it each time without saying a word. Elijah had always been reserved but she was adept at interpreting his moods. She could see the guilt eating away at him. He wore the same expression she had worn every time she had ended up in Kol Mikaelson's bed.

Kol.

Her heart ached. He was an innocent victim of her romantic life.

"Don't tell her. She's a good person and she doesn't deserve to be hurt."

"That's your advice? After everything that's happened between you and my brothers?"

"Yeah." Lacy said a little too forcefully. "Hayley is better for you than my sister ever was. She loves you, Elijah. She can give you the family you want."

"My daughter-"

Lacy scoffed and rubbed at her tired eyes. "She's not your daughter. She's somebody else's. Please don't let Katherine take away your chance to be a father. Trust me. Just go and be happy with Hayley."

"And what about you?" Elijah plucked up the courage to ask as they delved further into the town and traversed the familiar roads back to his home.

"I hurt so many people I care about because I was too afraid to tell the truth. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me and honestly, I don't have a clue how to fix any of it."

"He loves you more than you know. He'll just be glad to have you back."

The young woman sighed and rolled her eyes. She was tired of hearing those words.

"Nik isn't as forgiving as you think he is. I hurt him too much this time." She muttered, unaware of the voicemail waiting unheard on her phone.

Staring straight ahead, Elijah kept his face stoic but spoke clearly. "I wasn't talking about Niklaus."

"...You're forgiven. Always and completely forgiven. So I'm bringing you home."

Slowly removing the phone away from her ear, Lacy choked back the scream that was separately clawing for freedom and threw the machine on the floor. It landed with a loud thud. How could he be so forgiving? How could he want her after all the lies? His forgiveness was unearned and unwanted. The hole of self-pity she had dug for herself was her one comfort as she struggled to process all that had happened to her.

A light tapping at the door interrupted her and Lacy scrambled to her feet and stared at the closed door like a deer in headlights.

"Lacy? Are you okay?" Hayley's concerned voice seeped through. "Can I come in?"

Lacy had been witness to the reunion of the Elijah and Hayley; the latter had been waiting for them on the doorstep when they arrived and the kiss they shared, their whispered declarations of love, and even the hug Hayley gave her when they greeted one another, had managed to make her crack her first smile in days. It was dark by the time they had arrived and she had locked herself away at the earliest opportunity, desperate as she was to finally listen to the voicemail that had been mocking her for hours. She had not expected it to make her angry.

"Yes."

She stood rooted to the spot and grimaced even when Hayley tried to throw her a reassuring smile. Turning to pick up her phone when she noticed her friend eyeing it.

"Klaus has gone to get you. He thinks you're still with Katherine."

"I know. I wish you hadn't told him where I was."

Hayley moved further into the room. "He needed to know. He's been a mess without you… and I needed Elijah back."

The two women stood in silence when Lacy refused to contribute further to the conversation. Her hormones were making a fool out of her and she was still reeling from her unexpected reaction to Klaus' love. Gingerly approaching her friend, Hayley made sure the door was shut and kept her voice low.

"I have to ask you something…"

Her eyes meeting those of the woman stood across from her, Lacy knew immediately what question was on the tip of her tongue and without missing a beat, she confidently lied to Hayley.

"Nothing happened between them." She cringed inwardly when she saw relief wash over her companion.

"I know Elijah would never… but they have a past. I guess it's just like you and Kol."

"Excuse me?"

"Klaus hasn't spoken to his brother since you left. I've only seen Kol a couple of times but both of them are miserable without you. I don't know how I'd react if I were Klaus, knowing you had feelings for my brother. It's…"

"I don't have feelings for Kol." Lacy snapped at Hayley. "I love Nik and I ruined everything with him. Please leave me alone."

Hayley opened her mouth to speak again but quickly shut it when Lacy surged forward and opened the door to the guest bedroom she was staying in and held it open for her to leave. Lacy's face was like thunder but her shoulders were hunched and so, putting her friend, Hayley left without another word.

Slamming the door, Lacy let out a frustrated cry and threw herself on the bed. She lay for a long time before finally pulling herself up. Sweeping back her messy locks, she wiped away the tears that had been falling from her eyes and pulled up Klaus' number in her phone. It rang for just seconds before it was answered and for the first time in days, she found herself speaking with the man she had adored for almost two decades.

"Lacy." Klaus' voice caught in his throat and it made Lacy bite down on her hand to keep from comforting him.

"Nik."

She heard him question where she was, worried that he had not found her at Katherine's home.

"Where are you, love? I'll come and get you."

"Nik, please listen."

"Just tell me and I'll bring you home. We can get through this. I just want you back."

Slowly sitting back down on the edge of the mattress, a silver bedspread cold and silky beneath her fingertips tips, Lacy let her head hang low and she stared down at her feet, trying hard to detach herself from her emotions.

"I am home. I came home but-"

"Wait for me. I'm on my way."

She could hear him pounding the pavement, his breath shallow and erratic. The sound of a door shutting, the quiet roar of an engine, all of the extraneous noises piling more and more pressure on her.

"You're not listening to me." She argued, an exasperated sigh filling the air.

A beat of silence and then a soft hiss of air. Klaus' tones split the quiet and he mumbled an apology.

"Nik…" Each syllable was searing into her heart a brand of pain that she was sure would never heal. "I came home but my home isn't with you anymore. It can't be. I need to figure out who I am, and what I want, without you."

"You don't mean that-" he stuttered.

"I really do, Nik. I love you, so much… but this is what I need. I need to do this and you need to be there for Caroline and your baby."

"Lacy." His voice was stern and she could sense how he was losing all control.

"Goodbye, Nik."

She cut the call before he could persuade her to change her mind, certain that he could do so with his sweet words and declarations of true love. As much as it had hurt her, everything she had said was true. Katherine's spiteful spewings were playing in her head and she knew her sister, in spite of all her flaws, was wise when it came to love. So much of her life had been wrapped up in her changing relationship with Klaus and now was the time to discover who she was when he wasn't the centre of her universe.

The shrill ring of her phone pierced the air and she didn't even bother to glance at the phone. There was only one person who could be calling her and so, with a heavy heart, she rejected the call and switched off her phone.

At a loss for what to do and how to start her journey of rediscovery, Lacy looked around the place she would be calling home for the foreseeable future and frowned. The walls felt too restrictive and the air in the room was clammy. Making a decision, she left the confines of the bedroom and gave Elijah a quick goodbye when he saw her leaving. She assured him she would be back soon and would be careful not to wake him. She walked to the bar in the centre of town and was not surprised to find it busy. Grateful to find a seat and rest her aching feet from the sizeable distance she had just travelled, she ordered a large glass of wine and slowly sipped on the chilled liquid whilst observing the patrons of the bar. Half way through her glass, she looked up to see a pair of brown eyes staring at her. Eyes that were wide with shock. A smile that outshone the brightest of lights within the building. A face that held hopeful longing.

Kol couldn't have cared less if he tried. The people he barged into as he sped towards her was of no concern to him. Neither was the sound of his sister, Rebekah shouting after him. He had spotted her sitting there, fingering the stem of the wine glass and looking as ethereal and beautiful as ever, even with the tired rings under her eyes and unbrushed hair, and instantly ran to her. The last two days without her had left him in a living hell. They were in limbo but his heart had been in the burning pits of hell. He felt the absence of her presence so violently that he had been left a bitter shell in the short time she had been away. Now, he felt renewed. As if he had been raised from perdition and given a chance at salvation.

He watched her intensely and saw her stand and meet his gaze. Even as he neared her, he did not slow his pace. His lips were the first thing to make contact with her. Then his hands. He wrapped himself tightly around her and kisses her with wild abandonment. A deep, soul branding kiss that possessed them and sang with every desire and fear he had been repressing.

Breaking apart, Kol grinned and went in for another kiss, pleased when Lacy returned it once again. He wanted more. So much more of her.

"Kol…" Lacy whispered, blown away by his reception.

"Hush, love." He muttered, resting his forehead against hers and breathing in her scent as he closed his eyes. "I'm just happy to see you."

He would wait forever for her.

"My brother is lucky to have you."

The conflicted woman gulped but remained where she was. She could see Rebekah glaring at her disapprovingly from the corner of her eye so she shifted her eyeline and followed Kol's example. With her eyes now closed, she shook her head to clear the cloud of fog.

"I didn't come home to be with Nik."

Stunned, Kol held his breath. She had rejected his brother… but she had not confirmed her return was for him. Still, he smiled. The tides were turning.

"That's good enough for me." He said with another kiss.