A/N: Hello dearies,

Please forgive me my lack for updates. My new graduation assignment has started and things are hectic. Also imposter syndrom has been nagging at me every time I felt like writing. After a lot of editing, writing and rewriting, here we have it, chapter 5!

I hope you enjoy it and please let me know your thoughts :)

Lots of love,

"Are you going to be good for Grams, honey?" Maggie leans over to unbuckle her daughter from the car seat, making sure the strap would not snap back into Emma's face. It was Wednesday morning and Maggie had driven to Evelyn's home. Her daughter would spend some time with her grandmother, away from Mystic Falls. A sinking feeling emerges in Maggie's stomach when she thinks of the upcoming few days.

Maggie had been hesitant about sending her daughter out of town, but Jenna had convinced her to agree to Stefan's proposal. The Salvatores had been planning and plotting heavily to deal with both Elijah and 'Klaus', the other Original that was also looking for Elena. All of them believed it's best to keep Emma safely away when the confrontation would take place. Her friends were right, of course, but Maggie still found it difficult to part with her daughter. A small part of her even believed her to be weak for sending Emma away instead of protecting her as she should, but the rational part of her brain knew there was no way she could protect her daughter from two ancient vampires.

"I'm always good." Emma mumbles, gaze lifting from her stuffed animal to look at her mother. "But I promise to be extra, super good!"

"Wow, I'm sure grandma will be delighted with you. Maybe she will even bake those raspberry cookies with you again." Maggie smiles and presses a kiss to her daughter's temple. She knew Emma had noticed her tense mood these past few days and hoped this weekend away would cheer her daughter up. Besides that, it would allow Maggie some time to process all that has changed in the past week.

"Cookies!" Emma cheers, now fully enthused. She spreads her arms, allowing her mother to lift her out of her car seat.

"Is that Emma I hear?" Evelyn calls upon opening the door and taking in the sight of her daughter-in-law and grandchild. Her hands clap together in delight, and she smiles brightly at the little girl.

"Grams!" Emma wriggles in her mother's arms, impatient to get to her grandmother.

Maggie laughs and puts her daughter down, who immediately runs off, into the waiting arms of the older woman.

• • •

Niklaus clears his throat, successfully breaking the silence that had risen whilst he and Elijah had watched the woman, Elijah's mate, enter the hotel across the street.

He had agreed to Elijah's proposal to meet in a public setting for their reunion. He now also understood his brother's motive for this location. His brother most likely wanted Niklaus to witness the truth of Elijah's connection to the human.

Of course, Elijah's pathetic attempt at finding love wasn't the only reason Niklaus had agreed to meet. Elijah had promised to help Niklaus in his quest to unlock his wolf side after failing to do so five hundred years ago, which is why he had returned to the infamous town they had once resided in as humans.

Niklaus's gaze briefly flits to Elijah's face before looking at the hotel entrance again. His mind races and he attempts to calm his heartbeat, knowing Elijah would detect any change in demeanor. He could not speak up about the short but undeniable pull he had felt towards the woman, even from this distance.

Maggie is her name; Elijah had mumbled it when she got out of her car, which she had parked haphazardly a few feet away from the hotel. Their conversation, which had consisted of polite but distant small talk up till then, had abruptly halted and Niklaus had followed Elijah's gaze.

Her name is Maggie, and Niklaus believed it to be the prettiest name he could imagine. He sniffs, shaking himself out of his ridiculous train of thought. It had been quite some time since he had allowed himself feelings of affection, seeing as love and attraction only weakened a man. He needed to focus on breaking his curse and releasing his true self before even imagining scenarios of finding a love partner, but he feared that the strange longing he suddenly experienced didn't bode well for his plans.

In an effort to appear unaffected, Niklaus tears his gaze away from the entrance and looks down to stir his beverage. "She's not exactly properly fed." He wants to pat himself on the back, he had managed to sound both distant and uninterested.

"Do you think I haven't noticed that?" Elijah grumbles, eyes still glued to the hotel entrance. A small part of him hoped his mate would reappear just so he could look at her again.

Elijah had been a little fearful of letting Niklaus see Maggie. He didn't believe Niklaus would take her from him, seeing as his brother needed his help with the ritual, but then again, his brother could act impulsively when driven into a corner. No, sharing the very existence of his mate with his brother is an act of blind faith. He wanted to expose this precious piece of his soul to guarantee Niklaus his sincerity in this reunion.

"I'm not sure, Elijah. Perhaps you were too caught up with other matters, like the latest doppelgänger, a very vivid reminder of both Tatia and Katerina." Niklaus taunts. He had not yet laid eyes on Elena but believed he would make her acquaintance soon.

Elijah contemplates if it would be ill-mannered of him to wring Niklaus's neck for the mere suggestion but decides not to entertain this thought further. Despite still harboring ill will against his brother for hurting their siblings, he needed his help more. He needed his mate, and Niklaus was the only one he knew capable of helping him.

"While I greatly appreciate your involvement and your concern, Niklaus, she is my mate. I will see to it that she will be taken care of, once she is in my possession." Elijah's tone is clipped and dismissive. He wanted to steer the conversation away from his mate when the existing peace between them was still fragile. Both brothers were still testing the waters.

Niklaus narrows his eyes, unsure how to feel about his brother's territorial comment. He also didn't appreciate the tight lipped smile his brother gave him. "You must be a bit behind on times if you believe women like to be 'owned' nowadays."

"Since when do you care for abiding by society's rules and expectations?"

Niklaus lets out a laugh. "Ah, right you are, brother." He agrees to Elijah's attempt at lightening the atmosphere.

One of the corners of Elijah's mouth twitches slightly upon hearing the affectionate term. Niklaus would never admit it, but Elijah knew this was his brother's attempt at offering a smidge of atonement.

"Now, you've told me of the doppelgänger, and a very able warlock who can perform the ritual. Mystic Falls is overrun with both vampires and werewolves, as usual, which means, you must have also found the moonstone." Niklaus trails off, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

"It is in my possession," Elijah confirms.

"I want to see it." Niklaus demands. He puts his cup on the side table and straightens up, wishing to leave immediately. The younger brother knew Elijah wouldn't be so reckless by bringing it with him.

Elijah lets out a humorless chuckle. "You will have to be patient."

"What's stopping me from temporarily killing you, searching your residency for the stone, and stealing the doppelgänger away? After all, I don't have to be in Mystic Falls to break the curse." Niklaus jeers, eyes narrowed and his posture becoming wary. He didn't like it when Elijah held things back from him.

Elijah snarls at the less-than-subtle threat. It was very like his brother to act upon his impulse. "Very little, except for the fact that you will not find the stone without my help. Besides that, this is the last opportunity I offer for you to repair our once close relationship."

A muscle in Niklaus's jaw twitches. Both feelings of hope and disbelief rise in his chest, but he does well to repress them. "You can overlook the fact that I have thrown our siblings into the ocean?"

"I cannot. But I can try to mend my relationship with you, my only remaining sibling. We once vowed always and forever, I still wish to honor it." Throughout the years, Elijah has hired multiple companies to scan the various locations his brother might have dumped them, places that were significant to Niklaus, but he always came up short.

Niklaus tilts his head a little to look at his brother, who wore a pensive expression. "Well," He clears his throat, trying to rid himself of the uncomfortable tightness in his chest. Elijah's willingness to forgive, even after his many atrocious acts, made Niklaus suspect that Elijah's judgment had certainly been damaged during the many centuries of violence and pain. Niklaus knew he was to blame for this. He was the main reason Elijah bent his morals again and again.

"I am simply astonished that the young lady did not succumb to your charm." Niklaus wasn't proud of himself for changing the subject, but he simply couldn't bare Elijah's heartfelt offer of a family reunion.

"I see your sense of humor has not abandoned you during our time apart," Elijah comments dryly, before allowing an exhausted sigh to escape. "As I told you before, she is married."

Niklaus raises a brow in disbelief, unimpressed by the tiny obstacle that stood in the way of his brother's happiness. "What do you know of this husband?"

"Not very much. I believe he is a high school teacher." Elijah mumbles. He wasn't too sure about any of this. In between sleepless nights and worries about the pending visit from Niklaus, he hadn't bothered to weed out the possible spouse of his mate.

He had considered going to city hall to gain some intel on Maggie and her husband but believed his mate would not appreciate him snooping around. Despite being a vampire and thus being able to compel troubles like little lies away, he didn't wish to play any tricks on Maggie if word ever got out that he had run a background check on her.

"Why do you not simply kill her husband?"

"I do not wish to hurt her like that," Elijah says. "I want her to come to me of her own volition, not because she is grief-stricken and has nowhere else to go."

Niklaus rolls his eyes at the sentimental argument.

• • •

"He's Maggie's mate, we can't kill him." Jenna argues, glaring at both Damon and Alaric. She didn't like how Alaric was taking Damon's side on this. Of course she rather not expose her friend to a very old and very dangerous vampire, but Jenna was also a romantic at heart. Maggie might very well have a change of heart in the future.

"Maggie doesn't want him." Damon grits out in annoyance. He rolls his eyes a little at Jenna's stubbornness. The vampire didn't appreciate the human's unsolicited opinions. Elijah was very much a danger to both Elena and Maggie. Even if the Original was Maggie's soulmate, that didn't guarantee Maggie's safety. Besides that, Elijah's promise of keeping Elena alive could very well be a ruse for all they knew. And on Elijah's part, it took very little to compel Maggie for forgiveness, Damon knew that all too well.

"That doesn't mean we can kill him." Rose snaps. Her motives for keeping Elijah alive were mostly fear, but also the belief it was better to trust Elijah and keep him happy, rather than provoke him into acting ruthlessly.

"Doesn't it?" Damon's tone is skeptical.

"Maggie might change her mind."

"Speaking of, where is Maggie?" Stefan asks, his gaze searching The Grill. They had agreed to all meet up seeing as Damon was eager to share some big news with them.

"She said she's running late, her boss is being a real jerk to her lately because of her absence that one time." Jenna replies whilst pulling a face. She absolutely despised Maggie's boss.

"It does raise an important question; how does one kill an Original?" Alaric asks.

Stefan frowns. "He's a vampire, right? A good old-fashioned stake-to-the-heart should work." He sits up when he sees someone approaching from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, guys." Maggie smiles tiredly and gives a small wave before plopping down onto the empty seat beside Stefan. "What did I miss?"

"Not much, we're discussing the best way to get rid of your boyfriend." Damon shoots Maggie a sarcastic smile before sliding one of the glasses of alcohol in her direction. The woman seemed to have had a long day.

"We're not killing him." Rose corrects before elbowing Damon in his side. He ought to be a bit more congenial toward the situation in her opinion.

Damon frowns at Rose's pestering and scoots a little away. "According to our 'friend' John, an Original can't be killed, not like other vampires can."

Jenna scowls at the mention of John and swiftly downs her drink.

Maggie shoots her friend a sympathetic smile before taking a small sip of the offered drink. She hadn't drunk alcohol in quite some time, seeing as liquor is expensive and she didn't want to drink while caring for Emma, and the liquid unpleasantly burns her throat.

"What do you mean?" Alaric asks eyes narrowed in thought. He had killed plenty of vampires in his time, old and young, and a vampire unkillable by wood seemed infeasible.

"Apparently they don't die unless you have one of these." Damon was making use of the dimly lit corner they were seated in and whips out a silver dagger from his jacket before proudly laying it on the table, for all to see.

"A knife?" Jenna asks, looking unimpressed at the vampire. She was still quite sour about being left in the dark before, and was sure to let the vampire know.

"Not just a knife." Damon sighs. "In combination with ashes of the white oak tree, this can put an Original down."

"Why white oak?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. All I care about is Elijah going down."

"And Klaus." Stefan adds.

Alaric frowns, this all sounded far too easy. "What is the catch?"

"What do you mean?" Damon sighs dramatically before demonstratively tilting his head to look at his friend.

"John gives you a weapon to put down an Original, there must be a catch." Alaric states, not trusting John's sudden interest in becoming helpful.

"Sneaky bastard." Jenna grumbles.

"Perhaps he likes the idea of Elijah and Klaus not sacrificing Elena?" Damon points out in a matter-of-fact tone.

"We will try to do some research before using it." Stefan promises, hoping to ease the rising tension with a compromise. Despite wanting to rid themselves of the two Originals as quickly as possible, they couldn't ignore the possibility of John trying to set them up.