Chapter 6

The Gilbert family home hadn't changed much in the last few years. Walking up the porch steps, Alex spotted the porch swing that she had spent a ridiculous amount of time on. There were hours that had gone by with her reading, painting her toenails, talking to friends—the few that she had—about school, talking to Elena, Jeremy, their Mum, but there were also sad moments. She cried about her parents a lot on that swing, James too.

Pushing open the front door, Alex called out as she took in the messy hallway. It seemed that someone's toys had been spread all over the place.

"Jenna?"

A tired-looking Jenna stuck her head out from the kitchen with a wiggling child in her arms. She smiled at me and rested her head on the wall. "Hi."

Alex smiled widely as the little boy in Jenna's arms started to wiggle even more.

She said, "George! Look how big you are!"

Jenna stepped closer and passed George over to Alex.

Little George was born eleven months ago, exactly eight months after Jenna and Alaric tied the knot. The two of them had decided that there was no need to wait, and after Jenna realised about her bun in the oven, they just went for it. The two of them loved each other. Baby George had taken after his cousins and enjoyed causing as much trouble for Jenna as he could. His latest venture was finding objects that he shouldn't have and hiding them to play with later. George also loved to run away. Once he had found that his little legs could help him escape bath time, he made sure to always get a game of tag in before Jenna could wash him.

George giggled as Alex covered him with kisses.

Jenna huffed. "Of course, you are happy to see her." She wiped her forehead with her arm and headed towards the kitchen. "Would you like a coffee?" she asked.

Alex said, "Please." She kissed George's cheek and settled him on her hip. "Have you been giving your mum grief?"

She followed Jenna into the kitchen and stood on the opposite side of the island. She bounced slightly and tickled George's stomach. George giggled and reached out to grab her cheek.

Alex laughed. "You are so much trouble."

Jenna boiled the kettle and placed a bowl of mashed vegetables in front of Alex. "See if you can get him to eat?"

Alex nodded and popped George into his high chair. She grabbed the food and scooped up a spoon full before holding it out to him. George frowned and shook his head.

"Ha," said Jenna.

Alex glanced over her shoulder and look at her aunt.

"What?" asked Jenna.

Alex just shook her head. "Okay, buddy. You have driven your mum crazy."

"Well, if he didn't, I'm sure you would have found a way," said Jenna.

Alex just laughed. "Besides your son refusing to eat his veggies, how are things?"

Jenna pulled two cups from the cupboard and placed them on the counter. She wiggled her hand and said, "Alright. Alaric has been stupidly busy with work, which leaves me here on baby duty all day and most of the evening. By the time he is home, I have put down George and am ready to pass out."

"So, no couple time?" asked Alex.

Jenna nodded. "Yeah. I think we miss being together, and Alaric misses Georgie."

Alaric had become the Principle of Mystic Falls High the year Jeremy had graduated from High School. The hours were long, but the pay was certainly better.

Alex made a farting noise with her mouth, and George giggled. She took the chance of his mouth popping open to slip in the spoon of food. He was too busy giggling to get annoyed.

"Sounds like you need to give mum a break, little man."

Jenna said, "I would love a night off. But who would take the little terror?"

"I'd take him for a few hours, and when Elena finishes college, you'll have a babysitter for a whole week." Alex got George to take another mouthful.

"You want to take him for a whole evening?" asked Jenna.

Alex glared at Jenna. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jenna bit her lip and tried to hide her smirk. "Nothing."

Alex shook her head and gave George another mouthful. "Did you hear that, little man? Mum thinks that I can't take care of you for a whole evening."

"Alright then, after this Kol business is dealt with, you can babysit for a night. You can even bring Elijah with you." Jenna crossed her arms over her chest; a look of amusement filled her eyes.

"Deal, but why wait?" Alex placed down the empty bowl. "And also, you are welcome." She gestured to the empty bowl.

Jenna rolled her eyes as the kettle finished. "I thank you, and I don't want to pull you away from finding Kol." She turned to finish making the coffee.

Alex wiped off George's face and carried him into the living room. Jenna had a whole bunch of toys set out, and as Alex placed him down, George ran straight for his blocks. He dropped onto his bottom and started to stack them. Jenna carried in the coffees and handed one over.

She sat down on the armchair and said, "I still can't believe that Elena is about to graduate."

Alex nodded. "I know. The last five years have gone really quick."

"I'm just glad that she made it through college without any other…incidents."

Alex glanced down at her cup.

Elena had been through a lot; she almost died in the car crash that killed their parents, and she technically died and came back to life so that Klaus could break his curse. Honestly, Elena had somehow come out the other side really well.

"If I have anything to do with it, she will be incident-free until she dies of old age."

Jenna smiled. "Let's hope."

George waddled over to Alex and placed a block in her hand.

"Thanks, Buddy," she said.

"So, how goes the search for Elijah's brother?" asked Jenna.

Alex took a sip of her tea, then said, "It doesn't. I have hit a roadblock."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Hopefully, when Sarah and Bonnie get back, we can find a way around it together."

"You don't sound too confident."

Alex shrugged. "Kol is cloaked. It is never easy getting around such things."

"I think you will find something; you always do."

George took back the block he had handed to Alex and waddled back to his blocks. He stacked three of them before knocking it over and laughing.

"How often do you go chasing after Kol?"

Alex sat down on the floor beside George and took a sip of her drink. "I don't normally go with, and it isn't a constant thing. Elijah has older sibling disease."

She smiled as George clapped as he successfully stacked four blocks.

"Oh yes, the rare disease that forces the eldest child to always keep their siblings in check." Jenna snorted into her cup. "I was always glad that Miranda was the eldest."

Alex laughed. "I'm sure. I suppose it is more for them. They have been alive for a thousand years, and they have only ever really had each other. There was also the fact that Klaus had the nasty habit of putting them to sleep whenever he felt like it."

"Yeah, that is just wrong," said Jenna.

"I know. I think Elijah is just worried that if he doesn't check in that one of them might disappear."

"And since Klaus is technically dead…"

"He doesn't want to lose anyone else," Alex finished.

She never wanted to keep their family apart. Elijah's struggles about Klaus had been something she had seen. They had tried to talk about it, but Alex found it difficult to see past the monster that she had experienced. Elijah had told her stories about human Klaus and the times when he was a good brother, but they seemed rare. Rebekah had also talked about him, Klaus seemed to be her closest brother, and while she thought he deserved to stay in a coffin for a hundred years or so, she missed him too.

"They will wake him up one day, just not when any of us are alive to see it," Alex said.

Jenna looked surprised. "Really?"

Alex nodded. "The spell keeping Klaus locked up will break when I die. At that point, Elijah is free to wake him up, and they can move on with their lives." She took a sip of her drink and grabbed a block that rolled away from George.

Jenna frowned. "Do you often talk about Elijah moving on once you're gone?"

Alex handed the block to George and looked up at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You just brushed over the fact that Elijah will continue to live, and you will die. Is that not an issue for you both?" she asked.

Alex bit down on her bottom lip. "We've talked about it."

And they had. It was never a planned conversation or something either of them had brought up intentionally, but when the subject had turned to Alex's mortality and Elijah's never-ending life, it had never ended well. Elijah seemed unable to acknowledge that one day Alex would die. He seemed to believe that there would be another option, but there wasn't. Alex had tried to tell him that the next seventy years would be amazing, but that was all she wanted. There was not one bit of her that liked the idea of living forever. Alex knew that witches had their ways of slowing down their ageing, and maybe she might do that, but the idea of living on after all of her family had died didn't sound like something she wanted to experience.

"Not a good subject between you too?" Jenna said.

Alex sighed. "No. I have no desire to be immortal. I have always seen myself living a life of adventure, and to be honest, had never considered any sort of possibility of dying of old age."

"You guessed that it would be kicking vampire ass?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, kind of. The Council always seemed like my life. And then, after what happened with Elena, I didn't know where I was going to end up."

She put down her cup as George jumped up and stumbled over to her. She smiled at him and grabbed him as he jumped into her lap.

"I figured that living one day at a time would be a good way to start." She tickled his tummy. "And so far, it's been good."

"Have you asked Elijah what he thinks will happen?" asked Jenna.

"No. Elijah doesn't seem to want to even consider what will happen."

"He's in denial?"

"Yep."

George squirmed in Alex's lap and pointed at a small stuffed fox next to the side table. Alex reached for the stuffed animal and placed it in George's hands. He let out a squeal of delight and hugged it against his chest before he started to suck on the animal's ear.

"Where is Elijah, by the way?" asked Jenna.

"He went to meet someone," sighed Alex. "Apparently, it was best if he went alone." She rolled her eyes at the statement.

Poking George in the stomach, he glanced up at her and smiled.

A small jingle from the kitchen caused Jenna to stand up. She walked over to the island and picked up her phone. Her face turned into a wide grin.

"Good news?" asked Alex.

Jenna nodded. "Alaric is finishing early. He will be home by four." She put down her coffee cup and started replying.

"In that case, why don't you two go out for dinner?" suggested Alex.

"You want to babysit tonight?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah. I mean, until Bonnie and Sarah come back, there isn't much else to do. I may as well spend time with my little cousin." Alex smiled down at George.

His eyes were starting to droop.

"Let me ask Alaric," said Jenna.

The constant chattering of the humans around him was starting to etch on Elijah's nerves. He had driven from Mystic Falls to Wilson's Edge, which was a thirty-minute trip, to meet with a contact who could possibly help him. Not just with the situation surrounding Kol, but according to this vampire, they had information on the Council too. Elijah had agreed to meet this vampire at a popular café in Wilson's Edge; it was flooded with customers, and Elijah had managed to grab a table that sat in the back and gave him a while view of the place.

Leaving Alex had been difficult that morning. He had woken up first from the constant buzzing of his phone and a perturbed Alex who had shoved his shoulder until he made the phone stop. The missed calls had been from an unknown number; normally, he would have ignored them and laid back down in bed. The sun hadn't risen, and Alex seemed to be in a cuddling mood. However, Elijah always had a text message from the same number.

It said: I have information about your brother and the witch coven; The Council.

Those words were enough for Elijah to sit up and organise to meet this vampire. At least, he was assuming it was a vampire; witches didn't tend to reach out to vampires, and neither did werewolves. Elijah was also aware that this vampire would probably want something in exchange for his information, and depending on how useful he was, would vary what Elijah would be willing to provide.

Elijah was hoping that the lead would turn out useful. It seemed that Kol's disappearance was linked to the Council or at least a witch. With everything that Alex had found from the male witch that had attacked her, the fact that Kol had returned to Mystic Falls, and that he was now cloaked, it all just seemed to be connected.

His concerns weren't only for Kol, however. Everything that had happened to Alex since she had turned on the Council had worried him. The constant stream of witches showing up, trying to kill her, had Elijah always slightly on edge. When Alex had opened Raven's and was constantly making herself vulnerable around supernatural's of all kinds, Elijah had to stop himself from hovering. He knew it was something he tended to do; his own siblings had mentioned his habits often over their long lives. But unlike with his siblings, Alex's life seemed so fragile. Elijah was well aware of how strong Alex was; her magic had never failed her, but Elijah feared that it would or the day that he wouldn't be there to save her if something happened. It was only days ago that he had been in a different state when she was attacked, and yes, Alex had been okay, but that didn't stop his mind from screaming at him.

Elijah just needed something. Anything.

Checking his watch, the time ticked one minute past the agreed-upon time. He let out a sigh and wondered if the vampire had chickened out. It wouldn't be the first time that a vampire had reached out before changing their mind. They always seemed to think at first that making a deal with an Original would solve their problems, but when it came to that point, they ran away scared.

Glancing around the café, Elijah pulled out his phone and dialled Alex's number. She had mentioned visiting Jenna but just wanted to check in with her.

"You last an hour and a half, I'm impressed," answered Alex.

Elijah let out a half-laugh, half sigh. "I just wanted to check-in."

"I know," she said. "I expected it."

"Am I that predictable? I was under the impression that I was a mystery?" he asked.

Alex snorted. "I think you are confused."

"Possibly."

"Have you already wrapped up your meeting?" she asked.

Elijah sighed.

"Oh, I know that sound. They're late, aren't they?"

"Sometimes, it concerns me how well you know me."

Alex laughed. "After spending five years with someone, it's to be expected."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"And yes, this vampire is late."

"Well, if you had let me come, we could have found a way to occupy ourselves."

The teasing tone in her voice brought a smile to Elijah's face.

"If you were still with me, I don't believe I would have ever made it here. You are far too distracting."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"Depends on the day."

The sound of a giggling child caught Elijah's ear through the phone.

"George, that's my boob," said Alex.

Elijah chuckled. "How is the little one?"

"Trouble."

George giggled again.

"But he is so big."

"And your Aunt?" asked Elijah.

"She good, tired because of George, but good. I have offered my babysitting services tonight so that Jenna and Alaric can go out on a date."

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

Alex popped the 'p' loudly, causing George to giggle some more.

"And are you doing this alone?"

"Why?" asked Alex, "Did you want me to sneak you in so we can make out on the couch while the baby is asleep in the other room? That's very high school."

Elijah smiled. "No. I thought I would simply assist you in caring for the child while Jenna and Alaric are out."

"What? So no make out then? Cause that sounds like a missed opportunity."

Elijah sensed another vampire before he locked eyes with him. He could see the fear in his eyes as he entered the café; the vampire self-consciously pulled his cardigan tighter around his chest.

"It seems I haven't been stood up after all," said Elijah.

"That's something," said Alex. "I'll talk to you later. Try to get the information out of him before you shove a stake through his chest."

Elijah frowned. "That wasn't the plan."

"Either way, love you."

"Love you too."

As Elijah placed his phone down on the table, the vampire had crossed the room and stopped behind the chair. The vampire rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat.

"Not many people would have the balls to contact me directly." Elijah clasped his hands together and rested them on the table. "In fact, how did you get my direct number?"

The vampire's jaw clenched. "I found it."

"You found it?"

He nodded. "I'm good with computers."

"Right." Elijah eyed the vampire for a moment before he nodded at the chair opposite him. "Tell me what you know."

The vampire sat. "Before I tell you anything, I wanted to make a deal."

"Is that right?" asked Elijah.

"Yeah."

"What do you want?" Elijah was actually curious. Sometimes what people would ask for surprised him.

"I want a daylight ring."

Elijah paused. The vampire had walked into the café during the morning. Sun was shining.

"Not for me," the vampire added.

That made more sense.

"I believe I can do that," agreed Elijah.

If the information was helpful, he knew Alex would be more than happy to create one.

"What do you know?" Elijah asked.

"How do I know that you will get me the ring?" asked the vampire.

Elijah sighed. "I give you my word."

The vampire seemed to hesitate. But only for a moment. "Alright."

Sitting forward, the vampire pulled out his phone and placed it on the table. He slid it across to Elijah, who picked it up. One the screen was a photo of Finn.

Elijah frowned. Not the brother he had been expecting.

"That's your brother, right?" asked the vampire.

"What's your name?" Elijah asked.

"Eric."

"Eric, yes, that's my brother. Why do you have a photo of him?"

"It's a long story."

"Explain it."

"My sire is a woman named Sage. She turned me around two hundred years ago."

Elijah almost smiled at the name. Sage. Possibly the long lost love that Finn had claimed to go looking for.

"She told me that she was in love with the vampire who turned her but that he was locked away by his family. For years, we have been trying to track him down. Track your family down. Except it seemed that your other brother, the Hybrid…"

"Klaus."

"Yeah, Klaus. He always had witches hiding Finn. He moved so often that it was hard to track him, magically or through records."

"He's paranoid," said Elijah.

"I got that." Eric fiddled with the sleeves of his cardigan. "About five years ago, I got lucky. Sage and I managed to find Finn."

"Once I woke him up."

Eric nodded. "We managed to find him a week after he left Mystic Falls. Sage and Finn were reunited, and I figured that would be our search over." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I left to give Sage and Finn some space. I headed back to my apartment in L.A. for a year before reaching out to Sage to check in on her. She seemed happy. But it was seven months ago when she disappeared completely."

"Finn?"

"Him too. I tried calling Sage, tracking her digitally, tried magic. But it was like she no longer existed. I thought for a while that maybe she was…dead." Eric shifted. "I tried Finn too, and nothing…what I did manage to find was an old friend of Sage's who told me that she had headed to London with Finn to meet a group of witches. I tried to track down who these witches were, but all that I could find was a coven called 'The Council.'"

Elijah frowned. Had the Council taken Finn like he believed they had Kol?

"I take it you have heard of them."

Elijah nodded. "Yes."

"I don't know a lot about them; they keep themselves well hidden. I have learned that they have small groups in every major city; they hunt vampires and recruit witches. They have a large H.Q. somewhere in the U.S., but I couldn't get anything about it or even the witches that work for them."

"Is there something you can tell me that I don't know?" asked Elijah. So far, Eric had told him nothing other than that his other brother was also missing.

"They have a plan that they think will work in eradicating every single vampire on the planet, and your brother, Finn. Is a part of it."

The four walls surround him with buzzing with magic. The longer Kol sat on the ground in his cell, the more aware he became of the magic flowing through the place. It seemed that the witches who had spelled the bars had also laced the brick walls with the same kind of barrier. Anytime he touched the walls, he could feel the prickling sensation through his skin. Even the floor had a similar charge. It wasn't unbearable, though; Kol had grown bored rather quickly after his guard had refused to say anything further.

Things had become interesting at one point when the room had started to shake. It had come from nowhere, and it had startled the guard enough that he had fled out of the door and returned a minute later with two other men. Both of them were older.

All three had glared at Kol like he had been responsible for the tremor. But he hadn't moved from where he was lying. He had stretched out across the floor, tucked his hands behind his head and tried to find a way to occupy his mind. Kol had only sat up when his cell had shaken, and dust fell from the ceiling.

The murmured words shared between his guards had alluded to a possible tracking spell. The witches that were containing him had probably cloaked his location, which explained the lack of rescue. Another witch could be trying to locate Kol, most likely Elijah's blonde witch that had the special power boost, but could she have been strong enough to shake the whole room. Probably.

Kol had been hoping that Elijah or Rebekah would come knocking; after all, he hadn't spoken to them in a few weeks, and it was about time for Elijah's usual check-in. Every few months, he would just appear, and after a quick drink and a lecture, he would disappear. Kol knew that Elijah felt responsible for them all, but he wished Elijah would just let them go. But maybe after he had helped Kol out of his little problem.

When the dagger had finally be removed from his chest, Kol had spent enough time watching Elijah to know how happy he was with his blonde witch. He was waisting time constantly worrying about his siblings when he really should focus on her. Kol had been jealous when he had first realised the love his brother had, but he hadn't dared to try and break it—not like he would if it were Klaus. For the first time in a thousand years, Elijah was happy, and he deserved it. Out of all of them, he really did. And even though he would never admit it to his siblings, he had left to try and find his own happiness.

Kol let out a heavy sigh and heard the soft beat of a second heart. The guard that was currently sitting in the corner of the room was sleeping, and the patter of his heart had always put Kol to sleep, but this new heart woke him right up.

He didn't move from his position—he was comfortable for the most part—and listened as the footsteps grew closer. The heartbeat was calm; whoever the stranger was, unlike his guards, they had no fear in coming to face him.

"Kol Mikaelson, I hope you are finding your room comfortable."

Kol opened his eyes and took in the stranger.

He was an older man, dressed in a dark navy blue three-piece suit with a black tie and matching pocket square. His shoes gleamed in the faint light, as did his balding head.

The man said, "And I do hope that your guards have expressed you the proper curtsies for someone such as yourself."

Kol sighed. "No, they have not. I did ask for a pretty blonde to sink my teeth into, but it seemed that they were unwilling or possibly too lazy to bother."

The older man's face didn't falter.

"As for my cell," continued Kol. "It's not the worst I've ever been in."

The man nodded. "I suppose an endless darkness where you can hear everything that is happening around you but unable to do anything would be worse than a damp cellar."

"That is one example, but still not the worst." Kol let out a sigh and rolled his shoulders. "But you aren't here to discuss me, so why are you here?"

The man walked across the room and grabbed the back of one of the chairs. He carried it across the room and placed it beside the bars. He was just out of Kol's reach.

The man said, "I am here for one reason, and that is to ask you a question."

Kol chuckled. "How ominous."

"You can choose to answer. I will not force an answer from you because if you don't answer me, then I can simply find another who will."

Kol rolled his eyes. "If you can find another, then why me? Surely you understand the type of monster I am."

"You were the easiest to lure."

Kol frowned. "I don't know if I should be offended or not."

The man shrugged. "Again, the choice is yours."

Kol leant forward and tried to read the man's features. There was no hint of any sort of emotion other than confidence. Whomever this man was, he was a puzzle.

"Now, to my question."

"Yes, ask away."

"Where is Klaus' body?"

Kol laughed. Of all the things, Klaus' body.

"Is that your answer?"

Kol smirked and pushed himself to stand. He walked towards the bars and grabbed them. The magic tingled against his hands. He said, "No one knows where Klaus' body is."

"So it's true then." The man stood and waved his hand, the chair moved back across the room.

"What's true?"

"The Original vampires allowed the Ravenwood witch to hide their brother's body."

Kol wouldn't exactly agree. Alexandra had told them all after awakening them that Klaus would remain hidden until her final breath. Then only Elijah would be able to find him. At the time, Kol hadn't cared. A century without Klaus seemed like a great vacation.

"The Ravenwood witch didn't exactly give us much of a choice," said Kol.

The man let out a humming noise. "Interesting, I guess we did collect the wrong brother."

Kol frowned. "I wouldn't try going after Elijah."

The man frowned; for the first time, his straight face changed. "Why? I'm not afraid of that traitor."

Kol smirked. "You should be."