Hey guys. It's been so long! I am very sorry for that. I had a tough year completing my course and I had major writer's block for this story. Please forgive me for the lack of updates. I feel terrible! Anyway, I hope this sort of makes up for the long wait.

Let me know what you all think! :) xxx

It was a long moment before Lacy realised that she was still staring angrily at Klaus, and that those around her were calling her name.

"Lacy?"

Caroline's sweet voice called out to Lacy. Finally, tearing her eyes away from Klaus's, she forced herself to ignore the growing sensation of disappointment inside of her and focused her attention on the pregnant woman standing in front of her.

"Huh?"

"I was just saying to Elijah, it'll be good for the baby to have you around. You're the only person I know who can keep Klaus in check, and I know he's been freaking out about becoming a dad since I told him."

"…Yeah…"

Suppressing the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, Lacy made herself smile politely before collecting her bag and jacket from the office desk.

"I'm really sorry. I… I have to go."

Lacy did not look back, even for a single second, as she rushed away from Elijah, Klaus, and Caroline. Her emotions whirled around inside of her and made her brain feel heavy and her mind foggy.

Her only thought was that she needed to put as much distance between herself and Caroline as possible. It wasn't that she hated Caroline. In fact, she happened to like the young woman a lot. But now that Klaus was hers, Caroline and her unborn child were an added complication; a potential threat to the relationship she had been wishing for, for so long.

Reaching the elevator, Lacy sighed with relief when she saw the doors open and reveal an empty space. The last thing she needed, she knew, was to have to make forced small talk with others. Her feet had just passed over the threshold of the mechanical machine, when she felt a hand twist around her arm and pull her back; her feet stumbling over one another clumsily.

"Nik, will you get the hell off -"

Twirling around of the spot to face the man who had so rudely prevented her from leaving, Lacy found herself stopping mid-sentence. She had fully expected to come face to face with Klaus. Instead, standing before her with a look of determination and pleading plastered all over his beautifully symmetrical face, was Elijah.

"Don't go."

"Elijah -"

"Stay. He needs you."

"I can't deal with this. Not right now."

Pursing his lips and frowning slightly, Elijah ignored the level of frustration that was quickly beginning to build up inside of him. As a good man, he could completely understand Lacy's anxiety and apprehension at the bombshell that had been suddenly thrust upon her.

In the many years in which Elijah had known Lacy, he had acquired a number of truths and insights about the young woman; both through experience and observation. He was acutely aware of the fact that, despite her strong, tough exterior and sarcastic manner, Lacy was just as vulnerable as his younger brother. Her childhood, just like that of Klaus's, was filled with tragedy and violence. The sudden appearance of an unborn Mikaelson child, Elijah supposed, was too much of a painful reminder of her past, for Lacy.

"I understand that, Lacy, but Niklaus needs you."

"He's having a baby…"

"He loves you. Right now, he's scared and you are the person that he needs. Without you and your support, I honestly believe he won't be able to handle being a father."

"I just need some time to process all of this. Is that really too much to ask?"

Dropping his hand, Elijah released Lacy from his hold. The two continued to stare at one another for seconds afterwards; a long, meaning filled silence stretching out between them that was laden with common understanding and affection.

The sound of the elevator doors opening up caught both Lacy's and Elijah's attention. Stepping back so as to put more distance between herself and the oldest Mikaelson brother, Lacy gave the man a brief, sad smile before turning her back on him and finally entering the elevator.

"Lacy..." Elijah started, catching the elevator doors with his hand just seconds before they closed. "You make him happy… don't take that away from him."

Without saying a single word back to him, Lacy watched with a mixture of relief and guilt as the shiny, metal doors mercifully closed and blocked out the image of Elijah. Leaning her head against the wall, Lacy allowed herself to enjoy the cooling sensation it provided her and let herself become lost in her thoughts and memories.

6 years previously

Banging excitedly on the pane of glass, Klaus waited with great impatience for Lacy to open the window and allow him entry into her bedroom. From his position, he could see her sitting on her bed; her back to the window. He could not see what she was doing but he continued to stand there, grateful for the fact that her bedroom was located on the ground floor, and smiling happily to himself.

Hearing the banging, Lacy wiped away the stray tears that still clung to her sodden cheeks. She stood, smoothing down her long, tangled hair and balling up the ruined tissues she held in her hand; depositing them in the bin as she made her way over to the window.

The very second he had caught sight of Lacy's red-rimmed eyes, puffy cheeks, and slumping body, Klaus felt his heart become heavy with worry. Lifting the window carefully, Lacy stepped aside to give Klaus room to climb through. His feet had barely touched the cold wooden flooring of the room, when Klaus enveloped Lacy into a tight hug; his only thought being to comfort his best-friend and uncover the reason behind her sadness.

"Hey… shush…" Klaus soothed, gently stroking Lacy's hair as she clung to him and continued to cry big tears. "What's wrong?"

The words would not form. Instead, they left Lacy's mouth as strangled sobs and muffled groans. Whirling about in her troubled mind was one, single thought: she wasn't ready to be a mother. She would never be ready.

"Lacy, you have to tell me what's wrong. I can't help you if-"

"Help me?!" Lacy half-yelled, pulling away from Klaus's hug. "Unless you have a few hundred dollars, there's nothing you can do to help me."

Puzzled, Klaus followed Lacy as she headed away from the window and back towards her bed; plonking herself down on the soft covers in a state of defeat.

"What do you need money for?"

"I was so close, you know. I only had to get through this year at school and then I'd be off to college. I'd be free… and now…"

"Hey, crazy lady, you're not making any sense."

A small laugh escaped Lacy's mouth. Instead of sounding cheerful or happy as most laughs do, it resonated with anxiety in an almost maniacal way. Lacy let her eyes meet Klaus's blue ones, and she remembered why she was so grateful to have him as her closest friend… and her only family.

"Nik…" Lacy began with a sniff. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be at college."

Having just started his second year of college, Klaus was supposed to be at his college dorm in New York city; many, many miles away from their small, quaint home-town of Mystic Falls. Upon turning graduating from high school, Klaus had enthusiastically made the decision to move far away from his family; a choice his father was as equally ecstatic about. Klaus's only regret, though, was that he had to leave Lacy behind, and at the mercy of her step-mother.

"Don't change the subject."

"Your parents will freak if they find out you're here."

"Lacy…"

"You need to leave. Mikael will beat you senseless if he knows you left New York and my step-mom-"

"Lacy!" Klaus hissed loudly, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and glaring at her in such a manner that she immediately fell silent. "I don't care about Mikael or your step-mom. I care about you. Now, tell me what the hell is going on with you."

With her mouth hanging half-open, Lacy mentally prepared herself for telling Klaus of her unfortunate news. She had to fully admit it to herself, let alone publicly acknowledge it to another human being.

"I'm pregnant."

It was out. Two simple words and suddenly Lacy knew her life would never ever be the same again.

"You're pregnant."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't even really a statement. More so, it was Klaus's attempt to process the realisation that the person he cared for most in the entire world was facing the biggest problem of her life.

Somewhere, not so deep inside of him, an extremely large part of Klaus wanted to hunt down the man who had unintentionally impregnated his best-friend, and cause him a level of harm he had never experienced. His rage was so fierce that he had to use every ounce of his self-control to contain it.

"Yes."

The silence dragged out for minutes on end and the two friends sat together; neither one moved nor spoke a single word. Not even a loud sigh could be heard. For Klaus, he knew that there was only one option. He had managed to escape the pain and violence of his family life. If Lacy became a mother then she never would, and the primal part of Klaus, the part that yearned to protect his friend, refused to ever let that happen.

"You need the money for an abortion." he stated simply.

"Yes."

"…Okay."

"Okay?" Lacy repeated, perplexed by Klaus's eerie calmness.

"I'll give it to you."

"Nik, you don't have that kind of money." said Lacy, as a matter of fact; following Klaus as he began frantically pacing the length of her bedroom.

Stopping in his tracks, Klaus turned towards Lacy and in one swift moment, had her enclosed in his arms.

"I will get you that money. No matter what it takes."

Hurling through the door of the home he shared with Lacy, Klaus searched the rooms with reckless abandonment. With each empty room he was faced with, his calls for Lacy to reveal her presence grew louder and more urgent.

The sound of someone shouting her name roused Lacy from her slumber. With heavy limbs, sleep-filled eyes, and a groggy mind, she tentatively left the sanctuary of her bed and made her way towards the voice. She had barely made it to the door of her room when it was ripped open and stood before her was Klaus; his eyes wide with a mixture of wildness and joy.

The two stood in front of each other in an awkward manner; neither one knowing what to say to the other about the events that had transpired just mere hours ago. Finally, it was Klaus who spoke first.

"I'm sorry."

Lacy did not respond immediately, much to Klaus's dismay and concern. Instead, she continued to stand and stare at him; her eyes bearing into his and making him feel as if she was staring into his twisted soul. The seconds that passed were pure torture for Klaus, and he began to give up on his hope that his love and years of friendship would be enough to make Lacy forgive him.

"Nik…"

Without another word, Lacy curled her arms around Klaus's neck and embraced him. His recognizable scent of soap filled her nostrils and she inhaled it deeply; finding comfort in its familiarity.

"I should have told you. You deserved better than to find out that way."

"How long have you known?"

"Since Rebekah's party."

"You should have told me, Nik. I'm your friend."

Friend. The word sound wrong to Klaus. Had the previous night meant so little to Lacy? Klaus had been under the impression, that morning, that their friendship had evolved much further. After all, they had declared their love for one another.

Pulling away from her, Klaus rubbed the stubble on his chin before smiling angrily. The unexpected change in Klaus's demeanour shocked and confused Lacy.

"Friend. Friend? Is that all I am to you now?!" Klaus questioned, his voice rising with every word.

"I didn't mean it like that." Lacy defended. "I just meant-"

"That what?! That last night meant absolutely nothing to you?"

"No! Don't be stupid!"

"Then what? Explain it to me, Lacy, because it sounds to me that now I need you to support me - to help me through this - you're running away from me!"

Grabbing at her hair in frustration, Lacy screeched and stomped her foot.

"How dare you! I have always been there for you. Through everything. I was there when Mikael best you so badly you were in hospital for a week! I was there through every nightmare, through every drunken brawl… taking care of you. I have been in love with you for so many years, and I have been there to support you and give you advice even when it killed me to see you with those other girls. I. Was. There."

With each syllable and word that travelled out of Lacy's mouth, Klaus's anger began to fade, and he watched her in amazement as she continued to rant nonsensically.

"…And you have the goddamn nerve to stand there and accuse me of running away! Me! I meant it when I said I love you. I meant it when I told you that I want to be with you. I never once lied about that… but you kept a secret from me, and you never once thought that I deserved to have you tell me. No! I had to find out by Caroline showing up all pregnant and glowing, and looking like the fucking Queen of Sheba!"

"Lacy…"

"You should have told me, Nik. I had a right to know!"

"Lacy. Stop."

"And you know what the worst thing is? I'm jealous. I didn't leave because I was mad at you. I left because I was jealous of Caroline and her baby."

"Stop."

Following Klaus's order, Lacy ceased with her rant. Her breath came out in heavy bursts. Klaus stared at her with longing in his eyes. He could not fathom how Lacy could be jealous of Caroline and the unborn child, when all he wanted in life was her.

Stepping towards her, Klaus felt crushed when Lacy retreated backwards away from him.

"What is it?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can watch her have your child."

Review? :) xxx