"So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family? Vampire book club?" I heard Bekah ask from the living room. I followed her voice to see both Elijah and Nik reading books with a dead girl laying on the coffee table between them.
"Reading edifies the mind, sister. Isn't that right, Elijah?" Nik asked his older brother.
"Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus." Elijah agreed.
"And what about the dead girl? That "edify the mind" too?" I asked them.
"This is a..." Elijah gestured as though he was searching for the right word. "...peace offering."
"I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish." Nik said.
"And I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth." Elijah finished saying. Nik rolled his eyes guiltily and Elijah gestured to the girl on the table. "Not this nonsense."
"Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?" Nik asked smirking.
"Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin, because she's staining a two hundred-year-old carpet." Bekah said making Elijah look up from his book to see the girl bleeding out onto the table and the blood dripping onto the floor.
"Ah, yes." Elijah said and I shook my head before walking into the kitchen my hand resting on my pregnant belly drawing small circles. I was rooting through the fridge looking for milk and getting irritated that I couldn't find it.
"Good morning." Elijah said and I peeked around the fridge to see Hayley enter the kitchen.
"Hey." She said smiling. Bekah entered through the back door, dragging a trashcan behind her.
Hey, so, I know I'm the only one of two people in this house that actually drinks milk, but would it kill anyone to make sure it's on the grocery list?" I asked looking through the fridge again.
"Speaking of, add bleach." Bekah said and I watched her stomp through the kitchen and into the living room to clean up after the boys. I closed the fridge and opened the freezer pulling out ice cream and dug out a spoon from the drawer and was about to move to the table when Elijah took them from me and put them away.
"You know, I do hope my siblings were hospitable to the two of you in my absence." Elijah said.
"In your absence, as you like to call it- which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart—" she said as Elijah brought out a couple bowls, another spoon, and a bag of cereal to the counter. "We have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, we've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and Nikky was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced her baby is Lucifer." Elijah smiled at her sympathetically as he pulled out orange juice and milk from the fridge and made us a bowl of cereal. I smiled embarrassed and took a bowl from him.
"Milk." I said. "We've been fine. Your siblings are very protective of us."
"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece. Both of you." He said smiling at her, handing her the cereal. "So, back to the murderous witches. I have some concerns."
"They're evil. And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is still not very comforting to me." I told him.
"Yes, I think it's time we took care of that little problem." Elijah told me. Bekah suddenly re-entered the kitchen, dragging the corpse of the girl Nik killed behind her.
"I am all for it. As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town. Who do we have to kill?" Bekah asked him.
"Probably no one." Elijah said. Hayley gave him a significant look of disbelief.
"This family not kill anyone?" I asked looking at the dead girl.
"Alright, potentially everyone." Elijah corrected before I moved back into the living room where Nik was still reading. I sat in the chair Elijah had vacated sitting cross legged and began to eat the cereal Elijah made me as Bekah began to scrub at the bloodstained carpet.
"Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees. Looks like someone's worried about daddy-hood again." Bekah said with a smirk on her face.
"Nonsense. Elijah's back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie-dust and float away!" Nik said making Bekah grin at him which he returned.
"Strange, I don't recall any pixie-dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure." Elijah told him as he opened an old book and began to flip through it.
"What are you doing with Mother's spellbook?" Bekah asked her.
"Well, in exchange for my freedom, I promised the witch Davina that I would share a few pages from Mother's grimoire to help her learn to control her magic. I thought we'd begin with a little un-linking spell." Elijah explained and the three of us shared a look of confusion.
"Wait, you want to use her to un-link Nikky from Sophie Deveraux?" Bekah asked him.
"Sophie brought us here under false pretenses! She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions, she wants to take Davina back. So, she yolked her own cause to ours with magic threats and half-truths! Well, no more. As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void." Elijah explained to us. Nik and Bekah smiled wryly at each other. "Niklaus, I need you to come with me. I need five minutes alone with Davina. You need to make certain that I am not interrupted." Elijah then pointed to Bekah. "You stay here and watch Nicole and Hayley." He then turned and left the house.
"How did I get elected super-nanny?" Bekah asked annoyed.
"More importantly, who put him in charge?" Nik asked before he reluctantly followed Elijah out of the house.
Later I was sitting in my bedroom with Nikolas on my lap trying to teach him to say mama.
"Say mama." I told him and he just gave me a blank look. "Mama."
"What on earth are you doing?" Bekah asked me.
"I'm trying to get him to say mama before he says dada. Cause Mama's are so much better." I said the last part high pitched making Bekah laugh at me.
"AHH!" I grabbed the side of my neck instinctively, keeping one arm around Nikolas. I pulled my hand away from my neck and saw blood on my fingers.
"What the hell was that?" Bekah asked me as she and Hayley joined me in the room.
"I felt like I was being stabbed." I said and Hayley checked my neck.
"I looks like you were stabbed, but it's healing." Bekah, Hayley and I gave each other a look. Something was happening to me, and it wasn't good.
"Mama." I said hours later trying to convince Nikolas to speak.
"Time for the demon spawn to snack!" Bekah said and I laughed at her.
"I really wish you wouldn't call her that." I told her.
"Oh, sorry, have you picked another name yet?" she asked me.
"Not yet, no." I said as she held out a basket of apples for me.
"Take one, the plantation's lousy with them." I took an apple from her and turned back to Nikolas.
"Aunty Bekah is being a worry wort." I said before looking back up at Bekah. "I feel fine... which is weird. I'm sure it's Sophie-related. Which means it irritates me even more."
"Then, do me a favor, and don't die on my watch. I'll never hear the end of it." She told me and I laughed.
"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a real bitch." Hayley asked her walking into the room.
"What changed your mind?" Bekah asked smiling.
"Oh, I still think you're a bitch!" Hayley asked laughing at her. "I've just grown to like that about you."
"It's one of those things we learn to love about you." I told her.
"Aw, well, that's sweet of you to say." She chuckled before her face became more serious. "Remember it when I'm gone."
"Gone? Where are you going?" I asked her.
"I only came to town to make sure everything was okay with Elijah. He's fine, and he hasn't punished Klaus for daggering him, so... as usual, they'll be thick as thieves, and I'll be left to clean up the mess. It's time for me to fly the coop." she told me.
"Oh..." Hayley said.
"You'll be missed and I hope to see you again." I told her. I went to bite into the apple in my hand, but before I could I nearly leaned back. "Take Nikolas." I said and Hayley took him from my lap and I leaned back in the chair that housed me a good portion of the day.
"What's wrong?" Bekah asked me.
"I'm just a little dizzy." I told her. I felt Bekah place her hand on my forehead and I opened my eyes to see her looking at me worriedly.
"Oh, you're burning up, actually." She told me. "Come, back to bed."
"Why is it so hot in here?" I asked weakly as Bekah blotted sweat from my forehead and chest with a washcloth as Hayley set Nikolas on the bed, him trying to copy his aunt's movements.
"Stop fussing, will you? Klaus will be here any minute." She told me.
"I feel like I've been microwaved." I groaned before smiling at Nikolas.
"Hey! Just because you're carrying a baby doesn't mean you get to act like one! I'm sure my little niece is healing you up as we speak." Bekah told me.
"Or this is affecting her also." I said giving her a small look. I saw Nik run in with Sophie behind him. Bekah stood to greet them as Nik moved to where she was.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Bekah asked appalled.
"I'm trying to help." Sophie sighed.
"Help? You're the reason we're in this bloody mess! Why aren't we unlinked with this witch already, Klaus?" Bekah asked him.
"Rebekah, she will help if she knows what's good for her." Nik said.
"I may know a way to slow the fever down. But, I'm gonna need some special herbs." Sophie said before looking at Bekah. "I'll text you a list." Nik took the washcloth from where Bekah left it and wiped sweat from my exposed skin.
"Fine. Happy to play the fetch girl." Bekah said before stomping out of the room and leaving.
"Never thought I'd see you playing nurse maid." I said to Nik with a smile on my face.
"The things we do for you." He joked making me laugh.
That night I was sitting by the pool with Bekah checking my temperature and Hayley making sure Nikolas stayed out of the way as he played with his toys, but he really wanted to swim in the herb infused pool.
"She's burning up! We need to do this, now!" Nik shouted at her.
"Get her in the water!" Sophie told him. Nik helped me up and into the water with Sophie behind us with a cup in her hand.
"I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help." Bekah said getting frustrated.
"Her temperature is sky-high. The water, with the help of the herbs, should cool us down." Sophie said before handing me the cup. "Drink this!" she told me and I downed the drink. "You're going to have to get her heart rate down."
"How?!" Nik asked getting angrier by the moment.
"Hold her. It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure." Sophie told her.
"This is never gonna work." Bekah said getting worried as Nik picked me up and held me bridal-style in the pool.
"Davina will break the link, we just need to give her and Elijah more time." Nik told us as I clung to him groaning and gasping for breath. I suddenly started hyperventilating and my eyes grew wider.
"Nik! I can't breathe!" I told him.
"Okay, long deep breaths, Nicole! Look at me. Long deep breaths, just focus on the sound of my voice." Nik told me and I looked into his eyes. "You'll be okay. You'll be okay." I nodded to him.
"AHHHH! AHHHH!" I thrashed in pain in Nik's arms before curling into a ball. "I'm losing her Nik!"
"No! No you're not! You are stronger than this curse!" he told me and I continued to groan in pain as Sophie gasped behind us. Suddenly I took a deep breath and leaned on Nik's shoulder. "What's happening?"
"I just felt the link lift." Sophie told us. Bekah sighed in relief and I looked up at Nik and smiled at him. He allowed me to stand while I leaned against him, still weak from the spell. Sophie removed one of her earrings and poked her palm with it. I looked at my palm and Nik and I both shared a relieved look when we saw I wasn't injured.
"Come on, let's go." Nik told me while moving out of the pool.
"Klaus... as soon as your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes. I know you don't owe me anything, but please, don't let him kill her." Sophie begged him. "Klaus! She's our only access to the power we need to survive. Promise me that you'll stop him!" Nik ignored her and picked up his phone to call Elijah.
"It's me, where are you?" Nik asked him. "Don't hurt her. I'll be there soon." Nik hung up the phone and turned back to Sophie. "I'll make you one promise. I won't allow my brother kill Agnes." Sophie nodded to him gratefully and I started to make my way out of the pool.
"Sophie, I know you were just using me to save your people, but try it again, and I'll wring your neck. I have all this new werewolf anger management to learn, don't test me." I warned her before leaving the pool.
"Nik." I said stopping him from leaving after we'd changed into dry clothes. "I'm going with you."
"I'd have it no other way." he told me before picking me up and using his vampire speed to get us to the church.
"Leave her to us Elijah." Nik said as he and I walked between the pews towards where Elijah, a priest and Agnes was. "I gave my word. You wouldn't hurt her."
"You gave your word I wouldn't hurt her, brother?" he asked sounding amused.
"We've been doing things your way all day." Nik reminded him. Elijah nodded and motioned to Agnes who looked confident we wouldn't do anything to her.
"Her friends on the other hand we said nothing about." I said and Nik ripped out their hearts and Elijah snapped the neck of the third.
"I swore you would not die by my brother's hand. I said nothing of my own or my wife's." Nik grabbed Agnes in a choke hold and pushed her back. "Nobody hurts my family and lives. No one."
"Wait." I said, stopping him from snapping his neck. I walked behind the alter and grabbed a semicircular blade. I held it up to her neck. "Seems fitting that you die by the same blade that the boy you cursed used." I said before slitting her throat. "I'm going to go back home. You boys have fun." I turned and walked out before grabbing a cab and left home.
After I went home I was about to go upstairs when someone knocked on the door. I sighed before going and answering it to reveal Josh.
"Hey, where's Klaus?" Josh asked me.
"Last I saw he was at the church. By now he's not there." I told him.
"Well where would he be? I've been trying to find him all day. Marcel knows that Klaus lied to him about where he lives." Josh said.
"I'm not his keeper, Josh. I haven't put a gps on him." I told him.
"Fine! Just... tell him to call me, please?" he asked me.
"Okay." I said shutting the door. "Now I'm a messenger." I said before walking away again before someone knocked on the door again. I groaned in annoyance before walking back to it.
"What the hell do you want, Josh?" I asked before opening the door.
"Hello Nicole. Long time no see." He told me with a smile.
"Marcel. What do you want?"
