One Good Man

Tyler's back slams against the forest floor and he struggles against Klaus's weight pinning his shoulder down. The wolves surround them in a semi-circle around the disturbed campfire and Tyler looks to them for help, but he isn't one of them anymore. They are outsiders and the wolves have yet to form an opinion on the hybrids. After tonight, they will.

Power is impressive, but Tyler is old enough now to know that control is even more striking to those that matter. He sputters under Klaus, but focuses entirely on the feeling of transformation and letting the sensation consume him until he redirects the energy down his arm. It's a long shot and a risk that pays off when the delicate bones in his hand snap and his fingers elongate into claws. He raises his hand long enough for the gathering crowd to register what he's just done – partial transformation – before he plunges his claws into Klaus's side, between his ribs until he's scratching at his beating heart.

Hot blood gushes down Tyler's arm, Klaus's right lung is punctured and he scrambles to his feet, fighting to breathe while his body heals itself. Tyler glances to the crowd and then back to Klaus. There are a hundred things he considers before he reaches up to Klaus for help getting to this feet. The need for community, the desire to run in a pack of hybrids and the frustrating urge to help Klaus all swirl in his head. Underneath it all though, the motivation to protect Elena. And what a better way to accomplish that than an army of dedicated hybrids?

Klaus eyes him warily but moves to help him and Tyler brushes himself off before addressing the group. "You've been asking about our intentions. Who we are and what do we want. This." He holds out his hand, covered in blood and the claws receding back into human hands. "We have been cursed to change only with the moon and it leaves us vulnerable. But not if you can choose to change. We offer you protection and evolution."

"How do we do that?" An older man named Andrew steps forward, scars etched from his cheek into his hair.

"His blood will change you and his…another's blood will sustain you in your new life." Klaus shoots an irritated look to Tyler who ignores him. There was no better way to explain it to the wolves.

"He is no leader," Andrew scoffs but behind that mask of indifference, he is impressed.

"Not that you've seen." Tyler raises his voice in an attempt to cover up Klaus's growling. "Give us time. A month. Give us a month and if anyone chooses to follow and accept this," he hesitates slightly before committing to the word, "gift, then you do so of your own free will."

The wolves nod in agreement and return to their tents in small groups until the two men are left alone in the clearing. Once everyone is settled and their prying eyes closed, Klaus storms to Tyler. "It isn't your place to offer them a deal. I take what is mine. You had no right," he seethes through clenched teeth. Tyler sighs and his shoulders hunch in exhaustion for a moment before he pivots on his feet and cold cocks Klaus squarely on the edge of his jaw sending him sprawling to the ground.

Elena squeals and runs out of the kitchen to find the rest of the family. She catches Elijah first and excitedly yanks his hand so hard his book tumbles to the ground. "He kicked! The baby kicked. I felt him. Here," she says, guiding him to her belly. He jumps back and tries to reach down for his book, but then his face melts when he feels the kick.

"He's powerful."

"And he's here!" she leans down and holds her belly, waiting to feel her son again. Soon the rest of the family surrounds her. Kol and Rebekah shove each other trying to get past Elijah to her while Finn waits patiently in the back for his turn.

They've settled back into normality after her threat which she hopes means they have taken her seriously. She would hate to leave this home and would miss the easy way she's fit in with everyone. Quiet coffee mornings with Elijah and his papers. Movie nights with Rebekah and Kol, blushing when he flirts with her and laughing with Rebekah calls him out. The way Finn keeps a slow pace for her on their walks. All things she would desperately miss, but is more than willing to give up if it came to it.

She splits her time between the family and Bonnie, often accompanied by Finn. Today though, she's left him behind to meet her for their weekly brunch date. The sun is shining with the promise of heat later in the day but for now the breeze is cool enough for them to sit outside. They catch up and talk about Bonnie's research for Finn and setting up her syllabus for her classes at Whitmore in the fall. Elena feels self-centered in comparison. All her projects revolve around her in one way or another, either setting up the nursery or building a history for the doppelgängers.

"Are you still just getting to know Finn? He's been over at your place more times this week than he's been home."

"He's sweet and I like him, but…" Bonnie trails off, uncertain of how to finish the sentence.

"Damon," Elena offers her friend.

"I thought you never wanted to talk about him again?" Elena rolls her shoulders back in a shrug.

"Never isn't so long between friends."

"I like Finn. I really do. He's considerate and smart and kind. But it's like these feelings are a betrayal to Damon. Even with all the terrible things that happened, I know he never meant for any of it to turn out the way it did. He was just hoping to take this cure and find another way to kill Silas. We've always found other ways to deal with things. Together. But not this time." Bonnie's hand is tight around her napkin and the edges begin to smolder.

"Are you any close to figuring it out?" Elena asks, reaching across the table to grab the napkin out of Bonnie's hand before she lights it on fire

"No and that's another thing. I should be spending all my time focused on this, but I can't!" Both of Bonnie's hands are in the air now, frantically gesturing her anxiety in motion.

"All your time seems a little extreme. You are allowed to have a life."

"How do I move on when the person I love is desiccating underground?" It's a hard question and Elena doesn't think you ever do move on from a love that intense. She worries that losing a love means relinquishing a piece of your heart and learning to live without it, but that isn't what her friend needs from her now.

"Bon, I think it's less moving on and more about enjoying your life while you can. We know how fragile it can be and you seem happy right now. I'm not suggesting you stop researching, but don't beat yourself up for not spending every waking moment pouring over those books. I'm just suggesting that maybe you don't need to feel guilty for having fun or being happy."

"Damon is fading, Elena. Every time I visit him, there's less of what makes him…him there. He just keeps mumbling and I can barely hear him now. And I feel so awful." Bonnie bites the inside of her lip and looks at practically everything except Elena.

"Hey, you'll figure this out. I'll help too. Let me bear some of the load. You don't have to do it all alone."

"No, I know I will and thanks for the offer. I just feel awful every time Finn makes me laugh or any time I want to lean into him over books." Bonnie moves over a few inches as Elena slides in to the booth next to her.

"Listen, Bonnie. You are allowed to feel whatever you want."

"Damon hasn't even been gone that long. I shouldn't have a crush."

"It's nice, being pursued."

"He asked me out. Well, he really asked if he could court me," Bonnie snorts a laugh like it is ridiculous but her smile shows how flattered she is.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." Elena stays silent, prompting Bonnie to continue. "I would like to go on a date. I would like my life to not be consumed with research. I do want to have fun and… I want to go out with him."

"Ok, so go. Figure out what makes you comfortable and go for it, Ms. Bennett." She encourages using Finn's affectation. "You deserve to be pursued and you don't have to wait forever for it. Damon wouldn't want you to make yourself miserable for him."

That afternoon, Elena wanders between the stalls at the farmer's market. She's deciding between jam and fresh fruit when Bonnie texts her letting her know that she has a date with Finn. Classic movie night at the theater. Casablanca. Elena is elated, giddy with the new romance even if it isn't her own. She slips her phone back in her purse and is about to make a decision when she hears someone call her name, jumping at the tap on her shoulder.

"Ms. Gilbert?"

"Oh. Oh! Dr. Davis. How are you?" She smiles, but inside she dreads him confronting her about switching doctors.

"I'm good. You know, you can call me Liam now. You're not my patient anymore." His hands are in his pockets and the juxtaposition between his cocky eyebrow and the insecurity of his body language tickles her.

"Right. Yeah, sorry about that it's just…" she hesitates and his grin widens. "You're kind of an ass. Condescending. Arrogant."

"You're conveniently leaving out all my good traits." His shoulders relax and his hands slip out of his pockets.

"Which are?"

"Charismatic. Smart. Impossibly handsome." His boyish confidence rivals even Kol's though without the finesse of several hundred years to perfect it.

"So, you're egotistical too." He laughs deep in his chest and she considers the opportunity in front of her to test out her theories about what it means to be a doppelgänger. "Have you considered switching to a specialty that doesn't involve as much face to face interaction with patients? Surgery maybe? You could use the mask as an excuse to never subject anyone to your personality again."

"Clever idea. You sound like you know a lot."

"Well, my dad was a doctor. That was kind of my path initially." She doesn't know why she's inviting him in like this with that detail about her dad, but like she said to Bonnie earlier, it is nice to feel pursued.

"I'd like to hear about it if you have time." With no other plans for the day, she agrees and they sit in the shade of an awning while she sips her lemonade to keep cool. She tells him the abbreviated version of her life; how her parents died and she moved around a lot. College didn't seem like an option though she doesn't tell him why. She weaves appropriate stories for him about the different places she's lived and it sounds so much more bohemian that it really was. In a way, she's envious of the woman she's describing for him.

He's impressed and regards her so differently than he had when he was her doctor. He's kinder and much more interested in her as a person than he had been before and she wonders how much of this is because of who she is or what she is.

"How is your new doctor? Not as nice to look at as your old one, I'm guessing."

"She's great." She smiles and tries to keep her words casual even as he flirts relentlessly.

"She hates my guts," he says, still being playful though Elena wonders how much truth was behind it.

"That's why I like her." She can't herself now, but to flirt back just a little. "We get to bond over mutual disdain for you."

"And the dad? Is he still away?"

"He's more away than he was before." She reaches up to her neck suddenly uncomfortable with the direction and wipes away perspiration.

"Great. Then you are free to go out with me."

"No, that's not…"

"Think about it, Elena. It can't hurt. Besides, you fired me. It's the least you could do."

"I'm pregnant."

"I had actually noticed contrary to your opinion of me as a doctor. I'm telling you I'm interested." He drops it and turns the conversation back to light banter but his comment lingers in her head. Eventually, he's called away on an emergency leaving her alone at the market. Ultimately, she goes back to the booth and chooses everything she wants in excess.

Without Elena's blood, he's operating on the promise of transition with the wolf pack. Their trust in him is a guitar string pulled too tight threatening to break at any moment and his temper is a weakness that even Klaus can see clearly with every interaction he has with the pack members.

After one near explosion with their leader, the grizzled older man who was the first to doubt, Klaus retreats into the depths of the forest away from camp. Tyler is quick on his heels and Klaus is mildly confused with the way the younger wolf seems to care. A sire bond would only dictate actions, not intuitions like Tyler has been displaying.

"What's wrong? Can't hack it?"

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be easy." Klaus runs his frustrated hands through his growing curls until they frizz out.

"You thought you'd come in as the impressive hybrid and they would beg for salvation at your feet? Or you'd come in and take them by force? Wolves don't operate like that, man. Strength and power are obviously important, but true leadership requires more." Tyler's tone sounds somewhere between the Elijah's patient counsel and Kol's sharp wit and it annoys Klaus as much as it sinks into his skin.

"There is only power and who wields it the best."

"You think too much like a vampire. That's how they are, but werewolves thrive in a group. We don't have singular instincts. We aren't individualistic, we take care of each other. That's what is important. You may be both, but you have lived all your life as a vampire and it shows. You have a lot to learn, but I can teach you." Tyler leans against a try, watching closely as Klaus paces in front of him.

"Is this some kind of school boy locker room pep talk?"

"Dude! I'm trying to help you." Tyler kicks off the tree. As long as he's had to work on his temper, it always feels like a coiled snake waiting for the right person to stick a hand too close. "Why can't you see that? Your pack is your family. If you want to create hybrids you need to understand that. You can't fight your way to dominance with them. You need to win them over. Earn their loyalty."

"I don't need to earn anything!" Klaus turns on him and Tyler has to steel his nerves to meet the gaze head on.

"What is it with you? What are you afraid of? Are you so afraid of trying to win them over and failing that you won't even attempt it?" Tyler searches for an answer in Klaus's face. "Wow. That's it isn't it? That might actually be the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"I am not afraid!" His shirt pulls roughly around his neck as Klaus yanks and drags him down by the loose cotton fabric. Tyler winces and his balance is knocked off center. He takes a steadying step forward and uses the surprise momentum to shoulder check Klaus to the ground.

"Prove it! To Elena. To yourself. To whatever demons you are trying to outrun." Klaus refuses to be made a fool of twice and Tyler doesn't have the pack around to grandstand in front of as a distraction. With more force than he intends, he punches until he can feel the bones in his hand fracturing against Tyler's face. As the adrenaline ebbs, Klaus flashes to his own father punishing him in a similar way over a perceived slight or some other transgression Klaus still doesn't completely understand to this day.

He backs off of Tyler, prone on the forest floor with blood on his face and pine needles sticking to his hair. Maybe it was because it was what he was never offered or because it's what Elena would want, but he reaches a hand out to help Tyler. Intriguingly, Tyler takes it and pulls himself to stand, wiping the dirt off and spitting blood to the ground.

"You're a real piece of work. This healing stuff is impressive though. I hurt, but not as much as I know I would have."

"Why are you here?" The anger has seeped out of his pores and all that's left is authentic curiosity. "Elena begged you not to go and yet…"

"When you told me to come, I couldn't refuse. You brought the transformation like the moon used to and I couldn't stop. But that's not what you really want to know."

"Why are you staying here, with me, Tyler?"

"She wouldn't want me to leave you alone." Seeing the confusion in Klaus's knitted brows, Tyler elaborates. "Oh, Elena is pissed for sure, but she loves you. You can't make her that angry without love being under there somewhere."

"Perhaps anger is just anger."

"No, she still cares. If she didn't, she would have found a way to kill you for what you did to me. I've seen the lengths she goes to for the people she loves. It's kind of stupid but," he chuckles. "I broke some award my dad won once. Something political that I'll never understand, but I was throwing a football around the house trying to show off and knocked it off a shelf. Smashed it to pieces. I mean, completely obliterated. He could get angry so quickly. I thought he might lose it in front of my friends and hit me right there, but then Elena stepped between us. No fear at all and just took the blame like it was nothing. He had a temper, but she was one of few people who actually had the nerve to stand up to him. She could do that for her friends. Muster the strength for us, but hardly ever for herself. Well…mostly." His smile references Elena's firm stance the night she screamed at Klaus to leave forever.

"That's a wonderful story, but you can't know what kind of person she has become in the intervening years since your school days."

"Nah, you don't know her then. Time doesn't matter. That girl sticks with you. She makes you want to be a part of her life." Tyler tilts his head like he's in on some kind of secret with Klaus. In a way, they are. Two hybrids born from her blood. Klaus wants to mull over his suspicions about Elena, but shelves it in favor of the present.

"Your father? He was a difficult man to please?" Tyler's laugh is quick and dismissive, but he indulges Klaus and before either man realizes it they are trading trauma for trauma like trading cards no one wants.

Klaus can talk to Tyler in a way he could never unburden himself with Elijah or Rebekah. Elijah was too guilt-ridden in his complicity to truly be able to listen and with Rebekah he never wanted to show weakness. With Tyler, Klaus could talk without baggage of a shared history but with the benefit of shared experience and in that moment with Tyler, he finally begins to unpack.

Over time, the violence between them lessens though never entirely disappears. It is a language they are both fluent in and one that is hard for Klaus to give up. Though, as the fighting grows fewer and farther between, easier conversations flourish in the open space. And in the rare quiet moments of pack life, he reflects.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what you think. I'll be slowly down to weekly updates for awhile. This AUgust challenge on Tumblr has got my attention and I'd like to give that a try.