Mikaelson Compound - Hope's Bedroom

Who was next? Aurora de Martel's name was scratched off my list, but not by my own hand; Klaus saw to her demise personally. Aya Al-Rashed had also met her end in my absence. Did I feel an ounce of bitterness at missing that one? Perhaps. Takahashi Fukuda, Arthur Bailey, Cadence Flynn, Isaac Pack, Claire- I froze and crumpled up the list inside my hand. Elijah walked into the bedroom, looking for me.

He found me perched on the ottoman at the end of the four-poster bed, and asked, "where did you disappear to this morning?"

I put a silent finger to my lips and gestured at Hope sleeping soundly in her crib. I whispered back, "shh. Bayou. I just came home to feed Hope, put her down for a nap. I'm heading back out soon."

I surreptitiously slid the crumpled paper into my back pocket, and suggested we speak outside, away from the sleeping tot.

Elijah noticed something as I passed by, and he frowned deeply. He took my arm and asked, "stop. What is this?"

He wiped away a trickle of blood from my forehead with his thumb, and I pulled away from him, uttering, evasively, "nothing. I just got caught on a thorn."

I purposely did not look him in the eyes and lead us out of the room. I didn't have to look at him to know that he was skeptical of my claims; I wasn't exactly doing my finest work here.

"You've been spending a lot of time with the Crescents lately," Elijah said, closing the bedroom door behind him.

"Well, they need me. Ever since Jackson..." I said, but his name got caught in my throat. I cleared it, and finished my point, "Mary is tiding them over for now, but they are scattered, and lost, and they need help-"

"That responsibility does not fall to you-" Elijah implored.

I looked away, suddenly growing emotional, for the first time in a while. I didn't want to talk about this. I wanted to focus, to still my mind, and get back out there. I grew impatient and resentful that he hadn't let me slip out quietly. And maybe a little scared that he was the one person with the power to stop me. I picked up my coat that was resting over the railing and I asked him, shortly, "do you need something, Elijah?"

Elijah was clearly not buying my act, but he made a choice to play along and he admitted, "I came to check on Hope. Niklaus is a little overwhelmed with everything."

"Well, maybe he's right in being paranoid. It seems like every time we pause to catch our breath, someone ends up dead," I countered, monotonously, and caught the concerned look he was giving me. I hesitated, cut the doom and gloom monologue there, and requested, "she'll be asleep for another hour. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," he said.

"Thank you."

Warehouse District

"We...we were-were just following orders," she whimpered, painfully.

I circled around the bound vampire once more, and I leant in closer. Her face contorted into her vampire form and she hissed back at me. I merely scoffed back at her futile display, and picked up the ax. I readied my swing just as Elijah arrived to rain on my parade.

"ROSANNA!" He bellowed out, "what do you think you're doing?!"

I glanced over my shoulder once, and saw he looked appalled by what he'd found, appalled at me. I turned back to the vampire, and swung the ax as hard as I could. Blood splattered across my face; the desiccated head tumbled across the warehouse floor.

Elijah flashed into me, ripping the ax from my hands, and gripping on to my wrist as I tried to brush past him. He implored, "this has to stop!"

"Why are you defending these people, Elijah?!" I scorned back, pulling against his tight grip, to no avail, "oh, that's right, because they're the only ones that can protect you from the white oak. Well, guess what? I don't need their protection."

He glared back at me, and then reached around, dipping his hand into my back pocket. He released his squirming captive and unfolded the crumpled paper. He surveyed the list of names and then looked back at me sternly.

"It's a list...of anyone who had a hand in it," I told him, through watery eyes, "the ones that forced Hayley to watch Jackson's heart get ripped out...right in front of her...left her to stew in that horror, and then-only then did the same to her!"

"This...this is bigger than you, bigger than your vendetta. The Strix will consider this an act of war, Rosanna," Elijah implored, gesturing to the decapitated body beside us.

"We are already there," I assured him, darkly.

"I beseech you to think of Hope-"

I snapped and shouted back at him, "do not use Hope in an attempt to tame me, Elijah!"

"THIS IS NOT YOU!" Elijah barked back, "you don't do this!"

"No. I don't sit by and let my friend's murders go unavenged! They took her from me! From Hope! For what?! To get a rise out of Klaus?!" I shouted back at him, "This is my last chance to do right by Hayley, and I'm sorry if that inconveniences your plans, Elijah. I have to do this."

"I hate what this family is doing to you," Elijah said, through gritted teeth.

I stormed away to his deep frustrated sigh.

Mikaelson Compound - Elijah's Bedroom

I curled up in front of the crackling fire in Elijah's bedroom, my eyes red and wet with tears. Elijah, undoubtedly finding me in the last place he expected to after our explosive argument earlier, walked into his room, slowly. He stopped right before me and held out a list. I took it, silently, and opened it up: all of the names were crossed off. It was taken care of. It was done.

He sat down next to me on the couch. I crushed up the list in my hands and tossed it into the flames. We watched the crumpled up paper ball burn and disintegrate into ash.

"I don't feel any better," I muttered.

"I didn't think you would," Elijah said. The silence between us hung heavy for a moment more before he said, "I didn't want you to have any unfinished business before you went on your next little excursion."

I turned to face him, finally, and implored, "don't do that."

He looked to me, and he asked, "do what?"

I sighed heavily as I rose up and said, "don't imply that I'm doing this for any other reason than to protect Hope from the army of Klaus-haters knocking down our door."

"It's time," Freya whispered to me from the doorway, "Klaus is headed to downstairs, with Hope."

I rose up, nodding to Freya, and she disappeared to give us some privacy. I gestured weakly back to the fireplace and I whispered, "um...thank you...for what you did."

He nodded in response, and started to walk out of the room.

I looked up at the ceiling to stop myself from crying, and I took one staggering breath in, and uttered, "wait."

He stopped, and he turned back. He waited. I wanted the words to burst out, but they couldn't. I choked on them: your family didn't take Hayley from me. You gave her everything she ever wanted. Answers. Peace. Family. You helped her find Jackson, find true love. Your family is not to blame, Elijah. This is me! This is me without the guiding light of the phoenix, without the people who became my family. This is me, hurting, struggling to make sense of anything I once held as gospel. Your family didn't do this to me. Not this.

"I love you, Rosanna. I always will," Elijah said, and stopped my heart in its tracks, "and I am on your side...always. There is nothing that you could ever do, nor I, to turn my path away from yours. Be safe out there."

He kissed me sweetly on the forehead, took one last look at the fire and then walked away without another word.

Mikaelson Compound - Exterior

Klaus waited until I had buckled Hope securely into her car seat and closed the door, then he parked himself right in front of the passenger door. I stood back and waited for it.

"Rosanna..." he began, "I realise that Hayley was your dear friend, and she expressed a wish for you to fulfill the role of godmother, in the event of her untimely passing, but...Hope is my child, my responsibility, and she will always be safe and protected-"

"-and I will ensure that, for the rest of my days. It's not a half-in, half-out deal to me, Klaus. I'm in for the long haul; I'm not going anywhere," I cut him off, abruptly, "is that all? Can we go now?"

"...yes. Okay. I trust you've said your goodbyes," Klaus rasped.

"Something like that," I muttered.

"We may be gone for quite some time," Klaus said, and tilted his head towards the audience on the balcony overlooking us.

"It's worth it to keep Hope from what's coming," I told him, devoid of emotion.