WARNING: Phoebe sees visions of future events in the story. If you don't want any spoilers, then skip to the next section of the story, after she gets in the swimming pool. And don't read my author notes at the end.

Chapter 79: Nice Dream

When his brother found him on the cell floor, Stefan was in tears. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move; he was frozen in place, desperately trying to sort through all the things he was feeling. Damon tried to help him up, but his touch only made it worse for Stefan, and he couldn't figure out why.

It was clear that Phoebe was gone, that much he knew, but where had she gone? What had happened here? Had Stefan caught Elijah trying to sneak Phoebe out of there? Maybe it was Hayley. She was a werewolf, she couldn't understand how this all worked, what needed to be done to save their Phoebe from herself.

Damon took out his phone and called Elijah and Hayley first. He needed answers, and if not answers then help in finding her...again.

There was still no sign of Phoebe, by the next morning. Had they actually taken Phoebe's daylight ring from her, the sunrise would have been a beacon of hope, narrowing down their search area. But she still had her piece of lapis lazuli on her finger, giving her protection from the sun's rays.

The only good news was the emotional heap that was Stefan was now able to pull himself together and tell them what had happened. He only told them what they needed to know, and filled in any blanks with lies, but it was still something to help satiate their curiosity and save time.

He told them that he'd gone down there to talk to her alone. He was trying to trick her into thinking he had a potion from Agnes and Zoie that would force her humanity back on. She was starting to come around, he could feel it; but when she tried to suppress her feelings again, she accidentally displaced them onto Stefan.

Having already searched the entire town, everyone decided to split up and search the places outside of town that Phoebe might go. Hayley and Elijah went to the house in Reidsville, Jenna and Elena went to Grove Hill, Rebekah and Caroline went to see Slater in Richmond, and Stefan and Damon went to see Phoebe's two favorite witches. Klaus, just as before, declined to participate. The most he offered was to call if she showed up in Mystic Falls.

"Not a very astute bunch," said Klaus, returning his phone to his pocket. "I can see why they need you to solve all their problems."

Phoebe sat on the couch, still drying her hair with a towel. "In their defense, they really believe you'd hand me over, if you knew where I was. Hell, even I know you want me back to normal."

"Then why come to me? Why trust me to help hide you, instead of just taking off again?" He handed her a drink, and sat on the couch opposite her.

Phoebe stared into her drink. "Stefan told me they were looking for another empath to force me to feel again. But he took a shortcut and had some witches make him a potion to turn himself into a temporary empath. I only got away, because he didn't realize just how overwhelming it is to be an empath."

"Ah, I see. So you don't want them to know you can already feel again. The question is why?" Klaus asked. "You have to know they're going to proceed with their torturous methods, despite what my brother says."

Phoebe held up her glass in a toast. "Here's to hoping."

Now it clicked, now he understood. "You blame yourself for your friend's death. You think you deserve to suffer for it."

"I've tried blaming Katherine, but-"

"But it is her fault! Phoebe, even if I had never said a word about the cure, this all would have happened." Klaus sat up and leaned forward to stress the importance of what he was saying to Phoebe. "Atticus Shane would still have sent Connor Jordan to our town, still recruited Bonnie's help, and still would have drug you all along for the ride. Matt Donovan was still destined to be a Hunter of the Five; and no matter what you did, he'd have still ended up on that island. None of this was because of anything you did or did not do."

Phoebe stared into her drink, saying nothing.

Klaus sighed. "You and I are a lot more alike than you realize, love. But you will have to deal with these feelings of loss sooner rather than later. You've already drug this out long enough."

"I know, I'm just...I'm not ready. I'm not ready to face their judgments for running from my problems, instead of facing them. I'm not ready to start apologizing for my behavior, for making a tragic loss for everyone about me. But more than that, I'm not ready to face life without Matt."

"No amount of time will ever heal those wounds, love. But it definitely won't get any easier to bear, until you stop running," said Klaus.

"I know I'm only delaying the inevitable. But none of you know what it's like to be an empath, to not only feel my own grief, but everyone else's. To feel their desperation for me to be okay, their concern for my well-being...it's all maddening!"

"And being locked in a cell, everyday feeling their desperation and concern; how is that any better? Or are you hoping their torture will make it all worth it?"

Phoebe said nothing.

Klaus rose to his feet in frustration. "You said it yourself, that for over a month now, you've made a tragic loss to be about you. How much longer are you going to drag this out?"

Phoebe sat there, as she watched Klaus walk away. She was confused and angry at his judgment. Only earlier, he'd said they were a lot alike, and now he was looking down on her decisions. But then she knew he was right, she'd said it herself. And of course her actions were hard on everyone else, along with losing Matt. Phoebe was more loved than she ever really noticed, and she was taking it for granted right now.

Now came the embarrassment. Phoebe had never been so self-centered. Being selfish was one thing, but making everything about her? This wasn't her. This wasn't her at all.

Later that afternoon, Klaus called Rebekah for an update on their search. It wasn't suspicious for him to do, given how he'd kept tabs on her last time. Still, Rebekah tried to convince him to lend a more active hand this time. He still maintained that, when Phoebe was ready to come back, she would. Forcing her wouldn't do anyone any good, especially Phoebe.

After his call, Klaus went looking for Phoebe. He wasn't sorry for the things he'd said, he'd meant them; but he didn't want it to seem like he didn't want her there, or force her to leave.

She was in his studio, when he found her. He'd hardly entered the room, when she threw the canvas she'd been painting on, in frustration.

Klaus bent down and picked it up. "Interesting use of colors."

"It's crap," said Phoebe.

"It's chaotic," he corrected.

"I can't even paint right, I'm so out of touch with my emotions...I'm broken..."

"You're not broken."

Phoebe's eyes were dry, but they were still filled with sadness. "I can't even cry, Klaus. I've tried and I can't do it. I'm trying to do what you said and embrace my grief, but-"

"Grief comes in many forms," he interrupted. "Just because you aren't crying, doesn't mean you're broken or incapable of grieving. You cried quite a bit for your friend, when you first lost him."

"But why can't I cry now?"

Klaus put down the canvas and walked over to Phoebe. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye. "Nearly a century ago, my father killed a dear friend of mine. I'd known him since he was a boy, I raised him, I turned him...he was like a son to me. Thinking about it to this day still saddens me, and it was years before I could even speak Marcellus' name...But I only cried for him once. It wasn't because I was incapable of grieving for him, it was because I had shed all the tears my body felt I needed to."

Phoebe didn't know what to say. She knew Klaus was old, and there were countless things she didn't know about him; but it still felt like every time she'd figured him out, or thought she understood him, there was another tragedy he'd lived through making her realize how wrong she was.

"So, you see, you aren't broken, Phoebe. You've just shed all the tears you need to shed for Matt. And the sooner you accept that, and stop trying to force yourself to cry, you'll be able to begin moving on."

Phoebe thought about all the people she'd lost in her life. She'd grieved and moved on, in her own time and her own way; but she'd only ever cried for them once. She'd never noticed before, but it seemed Klaus was right: they were a lot more alike than she thought.

Phoebe wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you."

"Anytime, love. Anytime."

Phoebe pulled away slightly to look at his face, but kept her hands on his shoulders. It hadn't been her intention, it wasn't even something she'd been thinking about; but just like the night Stefan had kissed her to fool Klaus, Phoebe found herself kissing Klaus. And it didn't stop there.

Her hands had minds of their own, as they utilized her vampire strength to tear Klaus' shirt from his body. That's when she saw it – the tattoo. It was the same feather they had drawn together the night of the Mikaelson Ball.

Phoebe ran her fingers over it, as she remembered the night.

Klaus' body broke out in goosebumps at her touch.

Phoebe looked up into his eyes, and their lips met again...

Phoebe sat on the patio chair, bed sheet still wrapped around her, as she stared out at the water in the swimming pool. She felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

"I forgot you were a cover thief," said Klaus.

She smiled in amusement.

Klaus, who was once again dressed, sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table. "How are you not cold, right now? You're in nothing but a sheet!"

Phoebe let out a small laugh. "It's not that cold."

Klaus gave her a look that said he disagreed.

"I like the cold. Matt calls me a frost giant."

Phoebe's face fell as she realized what she'd just said. She'd used the present tense, as though Matt was still around to call her anything. It was an understandable slip, she hadn't really said much about Matt since he died, especially not casual conversation pieces.

"Can I ask you what it was?" said Klaus, pulling her away from her thoughts. "What got you to feel again?"

She wasn't sure why she did it, maybe because she trusted that he wouldn't react as negatively as others would; but she decided to tell him the truth.

Phoebe took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye. "Nothing."

"I don't understand."

"I wanted to turn it off, I tried so hard; but I couldn't. I'm an empath. We don't come with an 'off' switch."

Klaus thought back over her behavior since she'd supposedly turned her humanity off. She'd been less cruel than most, she'd never killed anyone, and the most she'd ever physically harmed anyone was a snapped neck to get away.

Everyone had assumed Phoebe made Rebekah prom queen and lured Tyler back to town as pawns in some scheme. But what if she had done those things to be nice, to make Rebekah and Caroline's night even more magical?

"Everyone seems to assume that I'm a vampire first and an empath second," Phoebe went on. "I guess that's why it's never occurred to them that I've never stopped feeling."

"You threw yourself into your anger and suppressed everything else," Klaus guessed.

Phoebe nodded. "Are you mad? That I faked not feeling?"

"As long as that was the only thing you faked," Klaus teased.

Phoebe exhaled sharply, as she rolled her eyes and smiled.

"No, I'm not mad," said Klaus. "I told you, you and I are a lot alike."

She was relieved. At least she had one person who would understand and not hate her for it. Still, she wondered, "Is this what I'm in for? An eternity of losing people, going through all of this again and again?"

"An eternity? No. the next hundred years or so? Probably," he answered honestly. "You have a lot of mortals in your life that you care about, and losing them is going to be hard. But you're strong. Strong enough to survive it."

Phoebe didn't seem to agree. "What if I'm not? What if someday I decide it's all too much, and I can't do it anymore? What if someday I decide to shut it all off in the only way I can?"

Klaus shifted uncomfortably at the thought. He swallowed nervously. "Then that will be your decision. But things won't always be so dark. If my time with you has taught me anything, it's that there are always good things just lurking around the corner."

"I wish I still believed that."

"Then I'll just have to show you."

Klaus rose to his feet and disappeared into the house for a few minutes. When he came back, he was holding a small jewelry box.

"Elijah had this made for you, while he was away. He got the idea from you, when you tried to make me believe that you needed that silly necklace to use your powers."

"I don't understand," said Phoebe.

Klaus handed her the box. "Elijah wanted to give this to you himself, but I think he'll understand, given the circumstances."

Phoebe opened the box to find a long-chained necklace. A simple ornate, metal frame surrounded a smoothly-shaped piece of moonstone, about half the size of the one Esther had used to bind Klaus' werewolf side. However, unlike Klaus' moonstone, hers wasn't the pretty polished kind that you would find in shops; it was raw. Looking at it as a whole, it reminded Phoebe of Emily Bennett's talisman that she'd used to seal the tomb in 1864.

"It's a talisman," said Klaus. "It's supposed to help you focus your powers to do what you want, since they'll be more chaotic now, because of your heightened vampire emotions."

"How did he...I never told him about the lights the night Kol...And no one told him about the night Matt died."

"He suspected you might have retained at least your water abilities, since you still had your empathy."

Phoebe smiled. "Moonstone?"

"I thought it ironic as well, but it's a powerful stone, which is why my mother used it for my curse. It's especially strong in its raw form."

Klaus took the necklace out of the box, and draped it around Phoebe's neck. "The reason I'm giving you this now is because there's something I want you to do with it."

He held a hand out for Phoebe. She eyed him curiously, but still took his hand and followed him to the edge of the pool.

"You once looked into the past to see my family's origins. Now I want you to look into your own future and see what good things await you."

Phoebe was surprised. "Klaus...I-I can't do that. You can't just pick and choose what kind of things you get to see. And I could end up seeing something twenty times worse than what I've lived through already!"

"I may not be as knowledgeable as my brother in these matters, but I do believe you could at least narrow down the scope," Klaus argued.

"Even if that were true, Elijah said that looking into the future was hard, that it required a lot of power, because the future is always changing."

Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but Phoebe cut him off. "I know I have that extra power now, but I've never even used this thing before! I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"All you have to do is the same thing you do when you look into the past," said Klaus. "So how do you look into the past?"

Phoebe decided to humor him and answer. "Well, firstly, I surround myself with a lot of water to draw from."

Klaus gestured to the swimming pool. "What else?"

"I use something to connect me to the person I'm trying to look into, preferably something that was there at the time," Phoebe sighed. "For your family's origin story, I had your daylight ring and the bracelet Elijah gave me."

He took Phoebe's hand and showed her her own daylight ring. "Next."

"I just clear my mind of all distractions, and focus on what I want to know."

"Then clear your mind of all negative things, and focus on seeing yourself smile again. Think of what good things are still there for you to look forward to," he encouraged.

Phoebe could see it in his eyes, that he wasn't going to give up until she at least tried, really tried. He wasn't desperate, like all the others; but he strongly wanted for her to find that spark, that life, that she used to have.

She unwrapped the sheet she wore, and dropped it to the ground. Klaus smiled as he watched her step into the cold water of the pool. How she was able to handle it, he'd never know, but at least she was trying.

When Phoebe looked back around towards Klaus, he was already back inside. He wanted to give her space to do what she needed, without hovering and making her feel pressured.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reclined to float on her back. Her right hand gripped her new necklace, part of her hoping that her daylight ring being closer to the talisman would somehow help, even though she knew it likely wouldn't matter.

In trying to think of something positive to look forward to, she let her mind think of why she even needed to do this in the first place. Images of Matt's dead body flashed into her mind. Her eyes shot open to stop from seeing the horrifying images.

She was ready to give up right there, but then she heard Elijah's voice in her head. It told her the only way to fight off the bad memories was with good ones. So that's what she did. And those memories lead to more happy memories, putting her into a good enough mental state to help her do what she was here to do.

A ripple emanated from Phoebe's body, flowing across the surface of the pool.

The visions came in no clear order, nor had any context, they weren't long enough. The first handful seemed to morph and flow into each other , like some dream sequence from a movie; but the rest were a jumbled mess, like the tail end of her trip into the Mikaelson's past.

The first vision involved Klaus. He was painting in a courtyard with a little girl, about 3 years old. She saw Phoebe and immediately ran to her. Phoebe let go of Elijah's hand and lifted the girl into the air, and spun her around. They both looked so happy. But the beautiful moment soon turned dark.

The little girl was suddenly replace by a newborn infant in Phoebe's arms. Phoebe looked tired and sweaty, as she held the child. She looked on the verge of tears, just before a stake pierced Phoebe's heart. Phoebe couldn't see who had done it, only that someone else took the baby from her now desiccating arms.

As the baby was passed off, the vision changed again. There was a teenage girl that Phoebe had never seen before, holding a different baby. Stefan was there, too. Phoebe wasn't sure what this vision had to do with her, but maybe she was just somewhere else nearby that she couldn't quite see. Either way, she was happy to see Stefan would someday have the life he deserved.

As Phoebe focused on the baby, she suddenly transformed into a teenager herself. She was sitting in a classroom with only a handful of other students, and two teachers. Phoebe was one of the teachers, but the man standing next to her was unfamiliar to her. He looked to be in his late 30s, early 40s, he had a slight beard, and wore a ring on his right middle finger. It wasn't lapis lazuli, so he wasn't a vampire. And his smile...it was pleasant, yet somehow still unnerving, like a Disney villain.

There were no more smooth transitions after that. The rest of the visions were a jumbled mess that were datadumped into Phoebe's brain. It was like watching Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation read. But the final vision, the last thing she saw, was more clear than anything else she'd seen so far.

In the vision, Phoebe stood in a white wedding gown, looking more beautiful than she'd ever remembered looking in her entire life. She didn't see who the groom was, or anyone else besides herself, but she looked so happy. One day she'd be married. Married to a man who would know her quirks enough to propose with the blue raspberry ringpop on her left ring finger.

Phoebe's eyes shot open with a gasp, as she shot straight up. Klaus had just returned with a towel for her as she did it. They stared at one another for several moments, but neither of them said a word.

It had worked. Phoebe had seen her future...

Elijah didn't know what to expect, when he returned home the next morning. It was early, so early that the sun hadn't even come up yet; but when his younger brother called to tell him that Phoebe was there and wanted to see him, he came home as fast as he could.

He'd told only Hayley the news, since they were together searching the house in Reidsville and the surrounding area. She agreed to give him some time with Phoebe, before telling everyone else, to avoid having them all flock to the Mikaelson Mansion.

Before letting his brother up to see Phoebe, Klaus filled his brother in on a few of the details. He told him how she had come to him, because she felt he would understand her decisions better than anyone else. That she had given up on happiness and life, and how he had convinced her otherwise.

Elijah was a little hurt and jealous that she felt she could confide in Klaus over himself. But it made it a little better to hear that, since her vision quest into the future, she'd only asked to see Elijah. Then again, what if this was her wanting to say goodbye to him, before she decided to end it all? What if she'd seen something more horrible than losing Matt, and decided she couldn't take it anymore?

He tried not to let these thoughts get the better of him, but it was hard. He took a breath to steady himself as he opened the door to Phoebe's room. In the blink of an eye, Phoebe was in his arms.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," said Elijah. "I should have been here, I should have come back sooner. I just became so lost in my research...it was the only thing that kept me from missing you so much."

Phoebe shook her head, and pulled away from him. "No, Elijah, I...I never turned off my humanity. I've just been pretending this whole time."

Elijah wiped away some of her tears. "I suspected as much."

Phoebe looked confused.

"Your actions weren't exactly that of a typical emotionless vampire. Besides," He held up her left wrist. "You never took this off."

Phoebe looked at the hamsa bracelet still around her wrist. He was right. If she had no emotion, she wouldn't still be wearing it, because she wore it for emotional reasons.

"But most of all, you're an empath," said Elijah. "Vampire or not, you have to feel no matter what. It's the burden of every empath."

Phoebe smiled, as she held him close again. It felt so good to know that he not only didn't hate her for it, but he understood and saw her the way no one else seemed to: as an empath first.

"Does anyone else know?" she asked.

"Doubtful."

"Good. I don't want them to know. It'll be easier for them to believe that I really did turn it off," said Phoebe. "I had to tell you, because I'm still sired to you, and it'd be reckless of me not to tell you."

"Agreed. But what reason will you give everyone else for still being sired to me? What will you tell them forced you to feel again?"

"Well," said Phoebe, pulling away again. "Fairy tale love brought us this sirebond, I don't see why it couldn't be why it's still here."

Elijah smiled involuntarily. "If that's what you want to tell them. What about your emotional trigger?"

"Tell them it was the hallucinations. Damon's idea with Klaus' venom worked, but I stayed because I wasn't ready to say so yet." Phoebe nodded in approval to herself. "That should leave it vague enough for me to just say 'I don't want to talk about what I saw'."

Elijah nodded, then grew more serious. "...Do you want to tell me what you saw?"

She wasn't surprised Klaus had told him, but she didn't want to think about the visions right now, much less talk about them. Besides, they were private, for her to know and no one else.

Phoebe shook her head.

"Alright. I'll let your family know that you've chosen to stay here, now that you can feel again. And I'll give them the reasons that you wanted," said Elijah.

He started to take out his phone, but Phoebe stopped him. "Five more minutes?"

Elijah pulled her into his arms once more, and kissed her forehead. "For you, I've got ten."

"May 1, 2011

It's been a long time since I've written anything in here. But I guess it's time to get back to it, especially since Hayley and I are leaving for New Orleans, Louisiana tomorrow. I guess that's where I'll start to catch you up.

So while Elijah was away doing research on me, and having my fancy new talisman made, he was also looking into Hayley's family. All he really had to go on was her weird crescent-shaped birthmark. Apparently, according to Elijah, it's a mark of the crescent wolf pack of New Orleans.

He, Klaus, and Rebekah used to live there about a hundred years ago; but the birthmark wasn't common among the whole pack, it's only found on the pack's alphas. So, not only is Hayley originally from New Orleans, she's some kind of werewolf royalty!

I've kept to myself and made all the apologies I can make for now, so I figure I might as well join her in going to look for her family. I still don't really want to be in Mystic Falls, and I want to get back to a sort of normal with one of the best friends I still have. Going on this trip will hopefully help get me and Hayley back on track.

I know Hayley will always have me, she knows that; but I know she's hoping she finds her family. It isn't just that she wants answers, she wants a pack, she needs a pack. It's a basic wolf instinct, and I want her to have that. She deserves that."

So the first thing I want to say is that, just because Phoebe slept with Klaus, it doesn't mean she doesn't love Elijah or won't be with him still.

1.) She and Elijah aren't together yet, so she didn't cheat on him.
2.) The sirebond doesn't stop the sired from having feelings for someone else or being with someone else. Elena was still with Stefan, before she left him for Damon.
3.) Klaus and Phoebe sleeping together wasn't out of preexisting feelings for one another. Phoebe was going through a hard time, and talking to someone who understood her in a way that even Elijah wouldn't was comforting. It was circumstantial, not because she wants to be with him.

The second thing I want to address are Phoebe's visions. I've as good as said that she'd going to be Hope's mother, and I know some of you aren't going to be happy about that. Part of that reason being that it seems like excess drama, or that it means she'll never be with Elijah just like Hayley.

1.) Phoebe WILL be with Elijah, and it won't take all season or multiple seasons to do it. There isn't going to be a "never the right time" scenario going on, I promise you that. Of course he'll be hurt when he finds out, but he'll get over it in time, and they'll FINALLY be together.
2.) There won't be excess love triangle drama. To me, Klaus feels like he'll be more concerned with being King of New Orleans and crushing the enemies of their daughter, than wanting to be with Phoebe. And I've already put it out there that, while he does still love her, he's accepted that she loves Elijah and wants him. They can easily still co-parent, without being together. And Phoebe will be a lot better at letting him be involved than Hayley ever was.