Mystic Falls, 2013

FS*FS*FS

Felicity splashed cold water on face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She knew that Rebekah was waiting for her and she was eager to go to her little sister. But it means that there also a lot of questions waiting for her too. And of course Nik. It was a long time since she saw her temperamental brother. They did talk over the phone two years ago but it was more out of the emergency than sibling bonding. Only brother she contacted on semi-regularly was Elijah. He was the one to inform her about of Fin and Kol's death. But she was in hiding from her mother at the time and the less she knew the better.

She couldn't believe how much happened in the span of few years. Right now she needed to go grab few bags of blood for herself and Damon and then to face the ever growing group in the sitting room.

After Felicity came back she found everybody in the room sitting in tense silence. She knew that she needed to talk to them. Not only answer their questions but tell them about Katherine. But to do so she needed all her strength so she walked to the cabinet where Salvatore's kept their glassware as if she owned the house and picked up glass and filled it with blood from the bag. If she needed to drink it bagged at least she would drink it from the glass. To top it off she added the splash of red wine to spice it up. She really didn't like drinking cold blood from the bag.

She felt as everyone was following her with their eyes, except Caroline. She must have come back while Felicity was freshening up and brought some blood for Damon and herself. Baby vampire was staring into distance. Her appearance was disheveled; her jacket zipped up fully and was it a leaf in her hair? Something happened to her while in the woods to occupy her mind fully. This was another mystery and her mind was already trying to solve it. She never could leave any puzzle unsolved.

Before anyone could say anything Rebekah jumped up and went to Felicity's side wine glass in her outstretched hand. "I'll have one too, Lis." Tears were gone, only happiness left in her eyes. They smiled at each other as Felicity filled her sister's glass. She knew that Rebekah was not patient one and would demand answers soon. And she was right as soon as the glass was back in Rebekah's hand she started talking again. "So Lis, what are you doing here?" Their eyes met for a second and Felicity was able to pin point the moment when something clicked in Rebekah's mind. "Mrs. Salvatore." She whispered under her breathe and looked at Stefan for confirmation. He nodded and original vampire's eyes went unbelievable wide. "What?.. When?" She spluttered.

"Bekah, full sentences." Felicity said calmly. She was resigned that truth is coming out and now just wanted to be over with interrogation.

"You married Damon Salvatore?" Felicity nodded. "When?"

"33 years ago." She answered shortly. Felicity knew everyone was listening intently wanting to know more.

"Tell me it was just spur of the moment thing in the nearest Vegas chapel while you both were very, very drunk."

Felicity actually blushed. Not only because she knew she had to tell truth to Rebekah, and what it would reveal to her, but also from the memories of the time she and Damon did spent in Sin City. It was called that for the reason.

"No. It was Celtic Knot ceremony." Felicity said to Rebekah, implications not lost on the younger sister.

"Bloody hell, Lis." Mischievous spark changed surprise in her eyes. "Can't wait to see Nik's reaction when he'd found out about this."

"Nik found out what, sweetheart?" asked the voice with the thick British accent. Everyone was too emerged in Felicity and Rebekah's conversation to notice Niklaus Mikaelson coming inside.

NM*NM*NM

It was supposed to have been simple day. All he had planned was to paint for sometime in the morning when the natural sunlight hit his studio on just the right angle, when after he would have gone to the bar where he would have worked on the plan to infiltrate Marcel's ranks. He already had Josh and bartender Camille was promising too.

But it all changed with one phone call from his least favorite Salvatore. He fully expected that Damon wanted his blood because another one from their reckless gang was bitten by the werewolf. Klaus only answered because it could have been Caroline. But Damon surprised him.

Katarina Petrova was dying. And he couldn't let opportunity like this slide. She evaded him for more than five hundred years and it was his last chance to taunt her before she perished. Of course it was not the only reason why he wanted to visit Mystic Falls.

Caroline Forbes.

She still lived there and with Katarina dying she was bound to be somewhere near Salvatore's house. They always gathered for such occasions.

But what happened when he and Rebekah, who wanted to visit her human quarterback, arrived, he couldn't have dreamed up. As they drove through Salvatore's property Rebekah's hearing picked up Matt's cries of help. And his sister, still enamored with human boy, jumped out and flashed away. Sighting he followed his sister. But not for long. Soon he heard his lovely Caroline calling for Matt. She was going in the opposite direction and it was fine with him. This way he could spent some time with her alone.

Of course she was hostile as always toward him. She fled from him franticly searching for her friend, but after he told her that Rebekah is onto Matt's problem she relaxed a fraction. And it was a sign to him that she not so opposed to his company as she tried to convey. So he made calculated decision to push her just enough that she would at least acknowledge that things she felt toward him were not just hostility and disgust. What happened after her confession was more that he even let himself to dream about.

He was lying on the forest ground, Caroline resting her head on his bare chest. Klaus' fingers running softly on her shoulder drawing invisible patterns. It felt right. Both of them were immersed into their own world not noticing time passing by. Only when Caroline moved to stretch she scrunched her nose looking up the sky. Her brows furrowed trying to remember when did sun disappeared from the sky.

Soon their moment of peace ended and easy atmosphere went away with it. Caroline stiffened and Klaus saw how contentment seeped out of her eyes. He could see that she was thinking about her friends and what they would say. Caroline avoided looking at him as she dressed up.

"Ugh, did you have to rip up my blouse." Baby vampire glared at him before averting her eyes from his naked form.

As she franticly tried to tidy herself up Klaus leisurely picked up his clothes and dressed.

"I need to go. Everyone is probably looking for me by now." Caroline stepped closer to hybrid and looked straight into his eyes. "Goodbye." Her lips ghosted his one last time and whooshed away.

After Caroline was out of his sight Klaus sighted and fished out his phone from his jacket pocket and find quite few missed calls and texts from both Rebekah and Elijah. Both asked him come to Salvatore's Boarding House.

He knew that he promised Caroline not to return, but since he didn't leave yet he technically wasn't breaking it.

Klaus went inside ripper's house not bothering to knock. On his way he thought about why would Elijah want him to visit headquarters of Mystic Fall's gang, but he truly wasn't expecting to see two blonde women talking.

His sisters and their spectators were so immersed in reunion that they didn't notice him walking up to them.

"Bloody hell, Lis." Rebekah exclaimed. "Can't wait to see Nik's reaction when he'd found out about this." Well if that wasn't the perfect line to enter conversation he didn't know which was.

"Nik found out what, sweetheart?" Original hybrid asked with a smirk. Everyone's heads swiveled to look at him.

Klaus saw Caroline's eyes widen in disbelieve and hurt flashed in them as she thought that he was already breaking his promise. He knew that although she confessed her attraction to him in private she was not ready to do that in public, in front of her sometimes judgmental friends. So in spirit of respecting her boundaries vampire-werewolf hybrid sent her apologetic glance before concentrating on his sisters.

"Nik!" Felicity smiled widely as she closed distance between them and hugged him. He stiffened in her embrace but let her get away with it anyway. She was always tactile person, easily showing her affections. "Congratulations, brother!"

He was momentarily confused why she would felt the need to congratulate him. They talked after he broke the curse after long thousand years. Then it dawned at him - miracle baby. He tried not to think about it too much. Not only because he didn't particularly liked his daughter's mother, but also he still didn't truly believe it to be truth. And he was afraid, even if he let himself to think about that when he as alone. Last time he tried his hand in parenting it was with Marcel, and look how that turned out.

But genuine smile and warmth in his older sister's eyes got to him. No one congratulated him until today, witches said something like that but it was more mocking, sarcastic, Elijah talked about obligations and redemption, Rebekah was giddy with prospect of baby, but not one of them said or looked at him like Felicity was looking at him right now.

"Thank you." He whispered. And then composed himself once again - weakness in front of his adversaries were unacceptable. "How did you find out? Rebekah?" Klaus asked shooting look at his younger sister.

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Blonde original vampire answered defensively lifting her hands.

"Kat filled me in on what was happening in last few years. You should have called. Family shares that kind of news. I probably would have found out soon anyway. I was planning to visit New Orleans. Marcel called, said you came home allied yourself with witches and want to wage war? But then Nadia asked for help. And I had to go to this wretched town." Felicity scrunched up her nose making clear to everybody her feelings about Mystic Falls."

"I would have placed announcement in the papers but since my enemies would jump to opportunity to use it against me I was keeping it a secret. And I don't remember getting invitation to your wedding."

"You knew!" Rebekah shouted, but Felicity's hand on her shoulder calmed her a bit. "You knew and didn't say anything. Is this why you didn't let me kill him?"

"As if you have a place to talk. I have one word - Aurora." Felicity's eyes softened as she glances surreptitiously to Caroline. "But I'm glad that your taste bettered with years."

Klaus glared at his older sister. He had no intention to have that conversation now, so he changed the subject.

"Kat? And you have been talking with Marcellus? Are you cavorting against me with my enemies?" Hybrid ground out his temper flaring.

But Felicity never was the one to run scared when he got into one of his moods.

"Enemies?!" Blonde witch-vampire hybrid indignantly exclaimed. "He's your son! You took him in, gave him his name and raised as your own."

"Until he betrayed me." Niklaus seethed. "He took my city, my home and my title."

"Ha!" Blonde laughed mockingly. "You left your city and your home."

"Mikael..." Klaus tried to interrupt but Felicity didn't let him.

"He waited for you to come back, but vampire's needed a leader. He asked me, but you know that I have no desire to rule. I like it better in the shadows." While explaining Felicity calmed down and her soothing tone helped to relieve some tension from Klaus too. "He waited for his father to come back for him. I was there for him, I wanted to go find you and kick your ass, but he asked me not too. Anyway few decades later, seeing that something was holding Marcel from taking his role as vampires' leader, Crescent wolves revolted. They launched attack on the quarter, killing everyone in their path - vampires, witches, innocent humans - men, women, and children. He couldn't stand by doing nothing. And with you nowhere in the horizon - that was the day he fully embraced his new role. With the help of the witches we defeated them. Council held the court where they decided on the punishment for the crimes wolfs committed."

Klaus and Rebekah were shocked. They spent few months in New Orleans and nobody told them this story.

"So what ruling got to his head? And now he banned witches from using magic, rule breaking punishable by death?"

"What are you talking about?"

"So you don't know that your precious Marcel using some secret weapon, to control New Orleans's witches. And if they don't obey he executes them." Klaus said smugly, he always liked when he managed to come out on top. As Felicity disbelievingly shook her head he elaborated. "The night I arrived I saw him killing a witch in the middle of the street. Her sister Sophie was devastated."

"Sophie Deveraux?" Understanding flooded her eyes when Rebekah and Klaus both nodded. "So the witch who was killed was Jane Anne?" Rebekah and Klaus once again nodded. "Well that completely understandable. She was wanted criminal sentenced to death for her crimes against the witches."

"How do you even know?" Rebekah asked. She stayed silent so long because she always enjoyed her siblings' squabbles. Felicity was one of the few people who could win an argument with temperamental Original.

"I was there. She used four girls in blood sacrifice. One of them was her daughter and Jane Anne was the one to slice open her throat. Girls' deaths fell to the purview of the council. Since Marcel was too involved he asked me to take his place in that meeting." She rubbed the bridge of her nose to try to elevate the pressure she was feeling thinking about atrocious crime witches committed for more power. "I was the one to vote to restrict the usage of witchcraft in the city. It was necessary. Now they banned from using magic unless it was life or death matter."

"Hey, I really want to hear more about all of this. I knew that Sophie was hiding something. But we have a quite an audience right now." Rebekah interrupted just when Klaus opened his mouth to reiterate.

And she was right. While he and Felicity argued Mystic Falls' residents were staring at them with confused expressions. Klaus noticed that Damon was missing from the group.

"Where is my brother-in-law?"

Hearing it Stefan looked around the room as if he just realized Damon was not there.

"He's taking a nap." Felicity answered looking at her phone's clock. "It's getting late and we still have lot things to catch up to. We should get somewhere more private."

"Yeah we should go to our manor." Rebekah offered grabbing their sister's arm practically dragging her through the door not leaving Klaus any other choice just to follow after them.