I do not own TVD or TO
This chapter has less Elejah in it since their moment was in the last chapter (this one and the last one were meant to be published together), but there's some Kennett and a Klaroline moment as well.
Also some Handon.
He found the majority of his siblings in the sterile exam room.
Freya occupied a carbon copy of the blue chair he vacated for Bonnie Bennett.
Kol flipped through something on his phone and blocked the natural light from the window with his body.
And Rebekah, sweet Rebekah, sat on a narrow hospital bed. Paper crinkled beneath her body with every minuscule motion and twitch, and she appeared incapable of remaining still; her crossed legs jiggled and her hand readjusted the pack of ice held beneath her jaw.
"How do you feel, sister?" He hooked a finger under a thick wire leading from the heart monitor to a clip on her index finger.
She pulled the ice away and cast a dark glower over her shoulder.
"Like my idiot brother stabbed me with a needle."
A large purple bruise marred her flawless skin. It might have been mistaken as the work of an overzealous lover if not for the pinprick.
"We were short on time, so excuse me for missing the vein." Kol examined the boxes of gloves mounted on the wall.
"Other than that I'm fine," she sighed, tugging at the heart monitor. "I don't need a full physical."
"You're the one who said you had a giant pain in the neck." Kol smirked.
"I think she was referring to you," Freya's eyes sparkled, cutting to him.
"How dare you insinuate such a thing," Kol gasped in feigned horror, slapping his hand over his heart. "I am a saint."
"You're a demon," Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"And what does that make you, Bex?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"Obviously I am an angel."
"A thousand years and still you bicker like children," Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose. "How is Hope? Caroline said that she is fine and that Niklaus is with her."
"We got it out with enough time for a quick recovery," Freya said, crossing her arms. "The shift took her a few minutes once she leaned into it."
"And now she's waiting out the full moon in one of the werewolf cells," he nodded, picturing the transition spaces under the school.
His siblings looked away. He listened to them clear their throats before shaking his head. "Explain."
"Those cells seem incapable of holding her," Rebekah hissed, placing the ice to her neck again.
"She took one look at the door and blew it off the hinges." Freya pursed her lips. "Then she took off, made it outside and ran through the woods."
"Alaric made sure all of the vampires were inside, and Nik is tracking her to make sure she doesn't hurt anybody." Kol spun his phone between his fingers. "Less likely since the Hollow is trapped in my pocket and the longer she's a wolf the more self-control she'll regain. She might even turn back early."
"Speaking of early," Rebekah dropped the ice pack on the bed. "How's Elena? Is there a baby yet?"
"Not yet, but the doctor said it would be a matter of hours." He frowned, wondering about the safety of such a speedy delivery.
"The labour's progressing normally though?" Freya stood, stretching her stiff muscles. "Her body's quickly catching up to the lost years."
"Nobody has raised concerns yet," he shook his head, "but I'm sure Caroline will insist on a caesarean at the first sign of distress."
She padded through underbrush on silent paws, lured by the tantalizing smell of fear. It wasn't much, hardly a hint really, little more than trepidation. Still, she weaved between trees, quickly locating the narrow path.
Her muzzle swung left, sniffing. She caught wood smoke and alcohol with the sweat of dozens. The first smell grew stronger on her right.
She followed, stalking her solitary prey.
She found him quickly and made a game of the hunt, deliberately snapping a twig and showing glimpses of her haunch until the fear turned stark and sweet.
So sweet.
Her mouth flooded with saliva.
She stepped into a beam of moonlight on the path. Her ears pricked, catching the audible swallow and 'tha-thump' of a speeding heart.
He turned.
She blinked, owlishly.
Could a wolf blink owlishly?
She did.
Green eyes widened, sending a jolt of recognition through her.
Shit, her forelegs bent, muscles coiling for the pounce. Don't run.
If he ran she would chase.
She shifted a leg back.
He bolted.
Thousands of years of instinct took over and she gave chase, scolding herself but unable to stop until she launched herself into the air.
They went down in a tangle of human limbs.
He got a mouthful of red hair and rolled, scrambling to sit up on hands and knees. His eyes locked on her face.
"Hope?"
She shivered and crossed her arms, blinking to bring the now dark world into focus. His eyes darted all around, frantically searching the shadows beneath trees before coming back to her.
"Where did you come from? Did you see the wolf? There was a wolf, an actual wolf! I thought you had a curfew. Why are you naked in the woods?" His eyes widened. Colour flooded his cheeks. "Oh God, you're naked."
The words poured out of him so fast she could hardly understand them until he came to the end with a deep flush.
He struggled with the sleeves as he ripped off his jacket.
"Why are you naked?" He stared at a point over her head until he heard the zip close. "Did someone… did someone hurt you?"
She burst into a fit of laughter, unable to help herself. She had attacked him, she could have killed him, and he thought someone had hurt her.
"Hope?" He hesitated, plucking a twig from her hair. "We should go before the wolf comes back."
She laughed harder and he looked at her like she had grown a second head. She managed to fold her legs under her, making up for the deficiency of his jacket; it would probably cover to mid thigh when she stood.
If she could stop laughing.
Slowly her ill-advised glee wore down as horror flooded her body; it manifested in rage.
She shoved his chest.
He tumbled to the ground.
"Why the hell did you run?" She shoved up the too long sleeves. He would have to be compelled anyway. "I could have killed you!"
"You…" his elbows ground into the dirt, crushing dead leaves. "You could have killed me? How could you… why… there was a freaking wolf!"
Her eyes flashed gold, burning with the power that commanded a change. She clenched her fists, digging claw-like nails into his sleeves.
"Your eyes," he murmured.
She blinked, felt them shift to human and looked up. Her gaze, directed at the sky, ignored the realization and denial flashing through his green eyes.
She pursed her lips around a sob.
"You were the wolf?"
A human would have denied it, but dirt decorated her naked body and he had seen her eyes flash with magic.
And he would have to be compelled anyway.
She nodded.
Wind announced the arrival of a vampire and she swallowed, glancing over her shoulder.
"Hi dad," she shoved at her hair. "This is Landon. Landon… this is my dad."
Landon's mouth gaped. He managed to get out a denial of anything happening at the same moment Hope announced she had pounced him.
"Is raiding the freezer a normal facet of labour and delivery?"
"Its the most important part," Bonnie quipped. Her fingers protested the bite of cold, but she persisted in filling the cup. "Every labouring mom needs ice chips."
Kol peered into the freezer. A deep frown turned the corners of his mouth.
"Why?"
"Cools down heated skin, minimizes risk of aspiration in case she's gotta go under anesthesia, and my personal favourite," she plucked a small cube from the cup and whipped it at him, "pelting annoying vampires with frozen water."
He caught the chip between thumb and forefinger.
"Had I slower reflexes you might have succeeded in sending this down my collar," a bead of cold water trickled over his thumb; it hung for a precarious second in the joint and then dropped the rest of the way to soak into the soft material of his sleeve.
"I figured they might be slower in public," she tossed another.
He caught the cube with his free hand, utilizing the last of his luck; the third chip fell into his sleeve. By the time it reached the crook of his elbow it had melted, leaving a wet line that ran more or less straight through the green fabric.
He stared for a long moment before looking up. A dangerous gleam entered his eyes.
"You're going to pay for that, darling."
"Do your worst," she cocked her head, smirking in challenge. For a brief moment she felt the childish urge to gesture with her fingers and say 'bring it', but her teenage years laid behind and somehow 'bring it' felt more aggressive.
Kol's form blurred before her eyes, seeming to only move an inch or so to the right. She started to frown in confusion.
Then she felt it.
Burning cold raced from the nape of her neck to the small of her back; it caught where her blouse tucked into her jeans.
She dropped the cup.
Dozens of ice chips scattered.
She squealed, dancing from foot to foot. Her clumsy fingers tugged, yanking inch after inch of silk until the bottom of her wrinkled shirt hung around the top of her thighs.
Two tiny chunks of ice hit the floor.
She snatched a square of paper towel from the silver dispenser and swiped at her spine, glaring at the snickering Original.
"That's cheating," she knelt.
"Did you think I would play fair?" He smirked, dropping gracefully to help her clean. He scooped up a handful of ice and dumped it in the small kitchen sink.
"I shouldn't have," she rolled her eyes. Damp fabric brushed her back when she bent to catch the ice beneath the counter. A hot gaze settled on her. "Stop starring at my ass."
"I was looking at your shirt," he protested.
She got a handful of ice.
"It has a very nice drape," he went on, "and that darker patch only accentuates it."
She felt him bend further, reaching for more ice, and moved, slowly straightening. She twisted to the side, ready to stand and struck when he began to get up. All of the ice in her hand went down his collar, save three she clamped to the back of his neck.
He yelped, grappling for her hands.
She went down with a shriek, gasping when he settled on top of her. Strong hands held her wrists above her head.
"Did you think that wise?" He arched an eyebrow.
"No," she grinned, "but it was fun." Her calve hooked around his waist, trapping the ice beneath the fabric. She pulled him closer. "If I have to walk around in a wet shirt then so do you."
"How exactly is that fair?" His warm breath fanned over her chin.
"All's fair in love and war," she breathed, lifting her chin.
"And which is this?" His eyes flickered to her parted lips.
"Well," she twisted her mouth and gazed at the cupboard above her head in feigned thought. "Witch… vampire… I think that makes the answer pretty clear."
"The answer is never clear, darling," his nose touched her cheek on the path to her ear.
She braced herself for the brush of his lips, but he had barely grazed the shell of her ear when an amused voice broke through the gathering haze.
"This is a maternity ward," the nurse scolded. She had a grandmotherly face and an exasperated smile. "That means the babies come out; they don't go in."
"Sorry, love," Kol flashed a smirk over his shoulder. He stood and offered Bonnie a hand, watching the flush along her neck as she filled a second cup with ice and snatched a couple of white tubs.
"Hold this," she gave him the cup, "and don't even think about dumping it down my back."
"Very well."
She shut the freezer and pocketed a wrapped package. Her fingers tore into another and popped a stick between her teeth.
"What's the purpose of the ice cream?" He eyed the tub when she opened it. Roughly a large scoop sat inside.
"It's delicious," she shrugged, "and the spell took a lot out of me, so I'm hungry."
"Empty calories," he followed her down a bright corridor.
"Shut up," she mumbled around a mouthful. "It's the best in town." She savoured the taste and swallowed. "Can I ask you a question?"
He gave her a sidelong look. "I suppose."
She took a deep breath and stared at her ice cream, studying the grooves caused by her stick. "Why did Rebekah hesitate?"
"I'm afraid I don't follow your meaning." He tipped the cup, listening to the rattle of ice.
"You see, I might have bought that," she stabbed at her ice cream, scooping a lump of chocolate onto the stick, "if you hadn't given the most exasperated big brother sigh of all time and then stabbed her in the neck."
"You should spend more time with Elijah," he snorted, rattling the cup, "and then you'll know what an exasperated brother sounds like."
"Strangely enough I have no desire to spend time with Elijah," she smiled, sickeningly sweet, and licked chocolate form her lip.
"I guess I'm the only vampire whose presence you revel in." His smirk lit up his eyes and sent a wicked tingle down her spine.
"Do you remember that psychotic maniac who wanted to unleash hell on earth and kill us all at graduation?" She scraped down the sides of the container.
"Yes," he nodded, tilting his head, "I believe he was a devilishly handsome lad who had a habit of making your heart thump out of your chest."
"Strange," she savoured the last bit, "I remember him being an egomaniac and a narcissist."
"Darling, you wound me," he held a hand to his heart. Bonnie continued as if he hadn't spoken.
"But at least the narcissistic egomaniac gave me straight answers."
He traced a finger around the rim of her cup, watching the chips glisten under the glare of florescent lights. "The last time I gave you straight answers I was attempting to save you all, and you rewarded the kindness with death; twice over, I might add."
"How lucky for you that I'm fresh out of white oak, and you need to be dead to be shoved behind the veil," she drawled, tossing her garbage in a bin as they passed. With a quick step she took his arm and blocked his path.
"Kol…" his gaze focused first on her hand touching his sleeve and then her eyes, impossibly green, "… for what it's worth, I am sorry about what happened, and I know Elena is too."
"You're sorry for killing me?" His brows lowered.
"I never said that, because you had that push coming." She blinked once, leaving her lids half closed. "I did what I had to do so I could protect the people I love from a vengeful vampire, and I would do it again in a heartbeat." Bonnie paused, giving him time to listen to the truth in her heart and digest the veiled threat in her words.
"I am, however, sorry that you died in the first place, and so is she."
"And why am I not hearing this from her lips?" He inhaled a sharp breath.
"Why hasn't she told the maniac who wanted to chop her brother's arms off how she still has nightmares about killing him and a thousand faceless vampires? Why hasn't she said how horrible she feels, and how haunted she's been to someone who can literally rip her heart out?"
"I'll concede your point," his jaw ticked, "though your threat was not required."
"I think it was," she flexed her fingers, letting his sleeve slip from her hand.
"She just saved my niece's life, and is delivering a child as we speak," he waved with the cup down the hall where her voice drifted out, "killing her now would be poor manners. Killing her anywhere in Elijah's vicinity would be suicidal."
"And Jeremy?"
"Are you back with the brother then?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"He's my friend and Elena's brother," she rolled her eyes.
"I suppose I've made it fourteen years without seeking revenge," he heaved a sigh.
"Good," she nodded, "now about my straight answer…"
"Elena's ice is melting," he looked down.
She took the cup and walked backwards. He found himself powerless to remain and stepped with her to stay in her orbit.
"Rebekah had the cure in her hand, but she hesitated. She looked at you."
He stopped outside the room, catching sight of Elena through the window blinds. "Is there a question there?"
"There's a story there," she poked her head in the labour room. "Are you done being checked out?"
"Yes, Bon," Elena sighed, dazedly, "you're in no immediate danger of seeing my dilating vagina."
"Lovely," Kol's nose wrinkled.
"Oh, hi," her hand swiped at her nose. She missed and giggled, struggling to focus. "I know you."
"I should think so," he leaned in the open door and crossed his arms, "you did help murder me." He ignored Bonnie's half-hearted glare.
"I did?" Her eyes clouded over, struggling to focus.
"Yes, darling, you did." He spoke slowly, a modicum of concern leaking through his voice.
Dark eyes darted to Caroline, brows raised in silent question.
"Oh," Elena hummed, wiggling her upper lip. "I'm sorry…" Her eyes widened. "Are you a ghost?"
"He's alive, sweetie," Caroline patted her hand. "Don't mind her Kol. The doctor got her to admit she was still in a tremendous amount of pain and administered entonox; it's making her a little loopy."
"That's with the epidural?" Bonnie frowned.
"It's a very fast, painful labour," Caroline shrugged.
"I'm fine," Elena yawned, waving a mask on the path to her face, "it doesn't hurt."
"That's because you're high," Caroline gently pried the oxygen mask from her fingers. "You'll probably feel something soon since you're nine centimetres."
Elena frowned and tilted her head on the pillow. "I think…" she spoke slowly, "… that I need to push?"
"You don't need to push," Caroline shook her head.
"Yes, I do," she nodded, gaining lucidity.
"No, you don't," she sighed, but peeked under the sheet anyway. All of the colour drained from her face. "Yes, you do. You're crowning."
"Told you so," Elena's tongue poked out.
"I… I'll get the doctor," Bonnie stammered, making a beeline around Kol.
He followed, raising an eyebrow when a woman in scrubs ran into the room and Bonnie hovered near an empty space on the wall.
"You're not going back in?" He approached with his hands in his pockets. "Why?"
She chewed her bottom lip.
"How about this?" He hummed. "You answer my question, and I'll answer yours."
"The full story?" She tilted her head, looking him up and down.
"You have my word," he swore.
She nodded to the empty waiting room and they sat side by side.
"I will be the greatest aunt that baby has, and I'm gonna love her to bits once she's out and clean, but the thought of seeing her coming out makes me want to hurl," she admitted, leg jiggling. "Birth freaks me out, and they both know it."
"What are you going to do when you have one? Sit in the waiting room?" He chuckled.
"I'm not having kids," she ran her tongue over her teeth. "Your turn."
He nodded and studied the startling blue eyes of a model on an outdated magazine.
"My ex-girlfriend brought me back," he rubbed his hands over his thighs. "A few months ago we reached an impasse. She swore up and down she would never be a vampire."
"And you broke up," Bonnie filled in the silence. "Rebekah was offering it to you?"
He nodded.
"Why didn't you take it?" She inhaled slowly. "She's waited a millennia; what's a few more decades?"
"My sister shouldn't have to wait any longer to have happiness." He twisted to meet her eyes. "And I knew where the cure was. I could have had it any time."
"You didn't want it?"
"I miss being a witch," he sighed, sitting back, "I feel that loss in my bones, but I like being a vampire. And the cure comes with risks I have no intention of taking; Rebekah will have all of us looking out for her."
"The cure almost wasn't in Elena," she whispered, "before they died, Stefan and Damon got caught in deals with this guy named Cade. I was going to take the cure from her while she slept and give it to Enzo; he offered to change before I could even think of transitioning."
"Enzo was a boyfriend?" He laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"He was the love of my life," she exhaled. The pain still echoed in her chest, but after a near decade it had lessened to the point where she'd had a few more boyfriends. "Stefan killed him before we reached Elena, and I desiccated him. He stayed down a few days before Damon woke him up; they were both dead a little while after that."
"I'm sorry," he rubbed a thumb over her sleeve.
"Thanks," she mumbled, eyes straying to the hall where nurses moved between rooms, a doctor checked his pager, and Caroline slipped out of the delivery room with her phone halfway to her ear.
His jaw ticked in annoyance. The white knuckled grip he kept on the phone threatened to break the infernal contraption in three neat pieces.
The boy, Landon, shifted under his glare. He blinked pointedly at the ground, refusing to even look up despite Hope being at his back behind an impressive willow.
He reached the answering machine, hung up and called again.
"Mr. Marshall…"
"Mikaelson," he cut off what was certain to be a rambling speech of how absolutely nothing had happened between him and a very naked Hope. "Marshall was her mother's name. And whatever you were going to say I likely don't want to hear."
"In that case can I go home?" He shoved his hands into his sweater pockets.
"No," he cut a sideways look, silently daring him to run so he could chase. He blamed the full moon; every month his predatory instincts spiked.
"I swear I'm not going to say anything about what happened to her eyes, or wolves or vampires," he stammered, glancing up and then quickly looking back down, "or whatever the hell you are."
"Hybrid," he rolled his eyes, hung up and called again. His daughter's kindness might one day prove dangerous and he would have loved to blame her mother, but he doubted Hayley would have explained the nuances of compulsion to the boy no matter how confused and scared he appeared; her actions had clearly been learned elsewhere.
At school.
He had a decent idea exactly where she got it.
"And I know you won't say anything, because you won't remember. Finally," he sighed as the call connected.
"You vibrated my purse off a table," Caroline's voice filled his ear.
"I've called three times, love."
"Forgive me for being a little distracted by my best friend crowning," he could feel the way she rolled her eyes. "She is pushing a tiny human into the world, alone, as we speak."
"Then I shall keep this short," he promised. "Hope turned back and a boy saw. I'm taking him to the school to be compelled."
"Why? Are you losing your touch grandpa?"
"I just found my daughter naked in the woods with a teenage boy," he snatched Landon's sleeve when he shifted, "don't joke."
"How about I promise not to joke about that for another ten years?" In the background he heard 'push'. "Something to look forward to since you won't be sinking to the bottom of the ocean."
He opened his mouth, almost telling her of his true plan involving the last piece of white oak in the world before deciding it was a confession for another day; a day when the chaos had settled and the wound scabbed over.
"The boy works at the Grille, and has likely consumed vervain there," he sighed. A small smile tipped up his mouth; he knew she would hear the teasing lilt. "Should I bleed him dry instead? Hang him by his toes from one of these branches?"
"What?" Landon paled. Fear spiked in his blood.
Klaus felt the shiver beneath the thin sweatshirt.
"Relax Landon," Hope came around the tree, "he's joking." Landon's jacket hung over her arm; goosebumps covered the exposed skin her pyjama top bared to the night.
"Okay, you're taking him to the school. What do you need in this moment?" Another 'push'.
"A car." If it was just Hope he would have physically carried her to the school. "I'm not leaving my daughter, and I don't trust the boy not to run."
"You don't trust anyone."
"I trust you."
"How's your trust in your siblings at the moment? Because I'm sending Kol."
"Why Kol?" He frowned, listening to yet another sharp order to push.
"He's twenty feet away and has likely heard this entire conversation. Where are you?"
"About a half mile north of the water fall."
"Did you get that?" She spoke away from the receiver. A short pause followed her voice, filled with a faint sob and a distant voice before she returned. "He's on his way, and I've got to go."
"Give Elena my best."
"So you can weasel your way out of saying thank you?"
"I would never dream of it, and I will personally thank her after she finishes pushing a tiny human into the world," he smirked, but the intensity in his eyes softened, "even if I believe you are the one who deserves my thanks."
"For taking over and being a neurotic control freak?"
"For refusing to let me give up."
I always wondered what Klaus would have been like with Landon. And you just know Caroline's going to tease him mercilessly.