"… and MG says he's fine, but he definitely freaks out around blood bags still - I think he might have trouble with human blood." Hope stopped to take a breath. "Although Penelope says that the crypt was covered in blood and he was fine."

"He might have been distracted," Jenna conceded. "So how about you?"

"Me?" Hope asked.

Jenna smiled. "We've been here for … over an hour," she frowned slightly, "and you've told me all about your friends, but you haven't mentioned yourself at all."

"Oh, I'm fine," Hope said dismissively. "Anyway, you said that the point of this session was just to get to know me."

"It is," Jenna said. "And I know no more about you now than I did when you got here."

Hope sighed. "I'm not very good talking about myself."

"Hope …"

"What was in the package Dad sent?" Hope asked.

Jenna hesitated. "I haven't actually opened it yet."

"He said you wouldn't," Hope said.

Jenna glanced at her watch again, checking that she was right about the time. Hope's appointment had technically finished five minutes ago.

She had scheduled Hope's appointment for the middle of the week, hoping to ease herself in with some of the younger students who might not have as many problems.

So far, everything had been going fine, but she had yet to have an appointment accidentally run over without the next one knocking on the door.

"Tell you what," Jenna said. "You tell me one thing about yourself that I don't know, and I'll open the package."

"Anything?" Hope asked.

"Anything," Jenna agreed.

Hope thought for a second. "Most people think I paint to relax, but I don't. I paint when I'm already relaxed. I bake to relax."

"Yeah?" Jenna asked.

Hope nodded, smiling. "Aunt Davina used to take me to bake cookies when I was little to interrupt tantrums. So now when I'm stressed, I bake."

"I'd love to be able to do that," Jenna admitted. "I can't cook or bake to save my life."

Hope frowned. "Aunt Elena and Uncle Jeremy can't either - how did you cope when it was just the three of you?"

"A lot of take-out," Jenna admitted with a laugh. She got up from her chair and checked outside the door, but her next appointment was not waiting outside. "Okay, let's see what this is."

"Will anything make it better?" Hope asked curiously.

"Probably not," Jenna said, undoing the string. "I do feel better after Sunday, but I don't think anything could completely make up for it."

"You were on my nursery wall," Hope blurted out.

Jenna paused. "Why?"

"Mom asked Dad for a family portrait in the nursery," Hope said, not looking at her. "Dad did a mural. Everyone in the family so they were gathered around my crib, and up in the sky, in the clouds, were people we'd lost. You were in the clouds."

"I see," Jenna said. "That was … nice of him."

"No, it wasn't," Hope said flatly. "It was bad enough hearing all the stories about things that Dad did to strangers. It was worse hearing about things that happened to people I care about. But you weren't just Elena's Aunt Jenna - you were my Aunt Jenna. Mom used to tell me about how you were like a big sister to her, and how much you'd love me, and … He took that away from me."

Jenna had stopped unwrapping the package now and threw professionalism to the wind for a moment, pulling the girl into a hug. "Hope, I'm sorry."

Hope sniffed a little. "It's okay."

"It's not …" Jenna began.

"Not now," Hope said. "I'll make another appointment. This one's finished, you've got another patient, and I really want to know what's in that package."

Jenna hesitated. "Alright. But for the record, if you want, I can still be your Aunt Jenna."

Hope's face lit up in a smile, so much like her mother's that Jenna couldn't help smiling back. "I'd like that."

"Good - now let's see what this is," Jenna said, pulling the last of the paper off. "Oh my …"

It was a painting.

Jenna had guessed as much, from the shape and the size, but she had not really had any idea what if might be.

"He said to tell you that you were right, but that hopefully this might help a bit."

She had told Klaus that he could never give her the last twenty years back.

Clearly he had already known that.

But it hadn't stopped him from trying.

The painting was of Hope, Josie, Lizzie, Mariella, Henrik, Jenna-May and Ariana, but around the edges were images that blurred into each other, each showing a different moment from the last two decades - all of the weddings, Caroline with Hope as a baby, Elena with Jenna-May, a pregnant Elena holding Hope, Jo with the twins, Matt and Rebekah with a younger Mariella, Jeremy and Jeanette …

The more she looked, the more she saw.

"He must have started this as soon as we got back," Hope whispered. "Are you okay?"

Jenna wiped at her eyes. "I swear, I've cried more in the last week than I have in my whole life."

"Vampire emotions," Hope said wisely.

"Speaking of vampire emotions," Jenna said, "Jade's my next appointment. Did she say anything this morning about skipping it?"
"No," Hope said. "I mean, she was nervous, but she seemed kind of eager to start again. She's one of those people who acknowledges when they need help."
Jenna raised an eyebrow.

"I said I'd make an appointment," Hope protested.

Jenna chuckled. "Alright. I'll book you in for next week." She sighed, taking one last look at the painting. "I'll get Dr Saltzman to put that up in here. In the meantime, can you help me find Jade?"

"Yeah, of course," Hope said, pulling her phone out.

Jenna scribbled a quick note and stuck it on the door as she pulled it closed, letting Jade know to wait if she arrived in the meantime.

"She's not answering her phone," Hope said.

"Does she answer normally?" Jenna asked.

"Well, I've only known her since Friday night," Hope said. "But she's normally pretty …" She frowned. "It just cut off."

"Battery?" Jenna asked.

"No, she charged it last night," Hope said, dialling again. "Okay … it's now telling me the number is not in service."

"I don't like that," Jenna said, just as Rafael came sprinting past her. "No running in the halls please."

Rafael skidded to a halt. "Ms Sommers, thank God - Diego's missing from the cells."

"Come again?" Jenna asked. "How the hell did that happen?"

"No idea," Rafael said. "Landon and I went down to take him lunch and he was just … gone."

"And Jade's missing too," Hope said, going white. "Do you think …?"

"Possibly," Jenna said grimly, pulling out her own phone. "I'll call Dr Saltzman - Rafael, find Jed and mobilise a search party - Hope, find Wendy and make sure she's safe and then get a tracking spell going."

"On it!" Hope called over her shoulder, hurrying towards the library; it was, at least, a good place to start.

She ran into Penelope and Josie on the way.

"Where's the fire?" Josie asked, startled, as she passed them.

"Diego and Jade are both missing," Hope said over her shoulder, just as Alaric's voice came over the intercom.

"If I can please have your attention. We have a missing student. Jade is a vampire, and she may be in the company of Diego, a werewolf whose conduct has caused serious concern. If you see either of these students, please alert a staff member immediately."

"Do you think Jade's been taken?" Josie asked, hot on Hope's heels.

"Josie …" Penelope began.

"Penny, if you want to get jealous on me, do it when we know she's safe," Josie said sharply. "I can't keep repeating myself."

Thankfully, Wendy appeared out of the library just as Hope arrived, her face white. "He's supposed to be in the cells."

"He was," Hope said. "He's not now. We're not sure what's happened; we need to you to sit tight."

"She's my best friend," Wendy protested.

"I know," Hope said. "But if she is with him …"

"He'll be coming for both of us," Wendy whispered. "He's so angry."

"We'll stay with you," Penelope said firmly. "There's no point in handing you over as well."

"Can you …?" Hope began.

"Start a tracking spell," Penelope finished, taking Wendy by the arm and steering her back into the library. "We're on it."

An alarm began blaring from Hope's phone.

"What's that for?" Josie asked.

"Landon," Hope answered. "He's set off a distress signal."

"He has a distress signal?" Josie asked.

"His powers literally consist of coming back to life," Hope said. "He's got a button on his phone that sends me an alert, just in case. He's in the woods."

"He could be anywhere," Josie said, running after her.

"Not staying with Penelope?" Hope asked.

"She's got this," Josie said. "And I'm mad at her."

"Hope?" Alaric asked, as they passed.

"Landon's in the woods," Hope called back. "Think he's got something."

She burst through the front door, sprinting to the tree line. "I don't see them!"

"I do," Josie said quietly from behind her.

Hope glanced back at her, but she wasn't looking into the trees. Instead, she was staring at the sky.

Hope looked up, and her jaw dropped. A bright light was hovering above the treetops - except, no, it wasn't hovering, it was flying - slowly moving closer and closer and …

"Well, that's new," Alaric murmured from beside her.

As the light came into focus, it became clear that the light was emitting from a pair of flaming wings attached to Landon's back.

"I mean, he did think he could fly," Hope said.

He landed in front of them, setting Jade's motionless body on the ground. "I think he's dead."

"We'll go," Jed said, sprinting past them with Rafael and some of the other wolves.

"I've got her," Hope said, kneeling beside Jade. She was pale, looking rather grey, but was breathing, albeit in a stilted and laboured way.

There was a nasty wound in her gut that appeared to have nasty burns around the edges.

"Landon, I can't understand what you're saying," Ric said slowly. "Hope?"

Hope glanced up. "Looks like she got staked in the gut."

"Alright, everyone, back inside," Alaric said loudly. "Drama's over."

"You heard the man," Dorian said, beginning to shepherd the other students back towards the school.

Rafael reappeared from the woods. "Diego's dead - crossbow."

"Landon must have grabbed it on the way out," Hope said. "Dr Saltzman, can I borrow your pocket knife?"

"Absolutely not," Ric said. "We can get her a blood bag."

"Whatever he staked her with was tainted," Hope said.

"Tainted with what?" Rafael asked.

Hope hesitated. "Werewolf venom."

"How did he manage that?" Rafael asked.

"Pass," Hope said. "But she needs the cure. Is there any of Dad's blood in the infirmary?"

Ric sighed, eyeing Rafael in concern. "If anyone asks, there was only vervain there," he said firmly, "and you didn't see this." He pulled out his pocket knife from his belt and handed it to Hope. "Be careful."

Rafael took a step towards Landon. "You okay, buddy?"

Landon flinched, saying something in another language that made Hope shiver slightly. "Raf, stay back for a minute." She sliced her palm open and pressed it against Jade's mouth.

A second later, fangs sunk into her skin and she grimaced. "Alright, thank you." Pressing her other hand down on Jade's throat gently, she pulled her hand away, keeping her pinned until the wound had healed.

"Okay, she'll be fine. Swap places?"

"I've got her," Ric said, picking her up. "Can you …?"

"I think so," Hope said, approaching Landon warily. "Landon?"

He shook his head, eyes wide, still speaking in that same ancient language that she had heard in his memories.

"Henrik," she said softly. "Henrik, it's okay."

His breath caught a little and she slowly reached out to touch his arm.

"Henrik, you're safe," she whispered. "Niklaus is safe. You're alright."

"The wolves …" he began.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief that he had at least switched back to English. "It's not the full moon. They're men. It's alright."

"He was going to kill her," Landon whispered.

"I know," Hope said gently, "but you saved her life. She's going to be okay. La - Henrik, I need you to look around and tell me three blue things you can see."

"Your shirt," he said, his eyes darting around them. "That car … The flowers."

"Good," Hope said. "Now tell me who I am."

"Hope," he said.

Hope smiled. "What's your name?"

"Landon Kirby." He blinked several times, before letting out a long breath. "Hope?"

"You back with us?" Hope asked.

"Yeah." Landon managed a small smile. "The wings are pretty cool, admit it."

"They are," Hope said, grinning back. "Take a few deep breaths and see if you can make them go away."

A few seconds later, the wings shimmered and vanished, leaving no sign they'd ever been there in the first place.

Hope ran a hand across his shoulders, checking that there was no damage. "Are you sure you're okay? You were having a regressive episode."

"Is that what they're called?" Rafael asked.

"That's happened before?" Hope asked.

Landon reddened. "Maybe."

"Landon …"

"Sometimes I wake up and I don't know what year it is," Landon admitted. "This one lasted much longer though." He stumbled a bit, and Hope and Rafael both seized him under one arm.

"Alright, come on," Hope said. "Let's get you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine," Landon mumbled.

"You are not fine," Rafael said.

"No, he's not," Hope agreed. "Come on - we'll take you to the infirmary, and we can check on Jade at the same time."

This got at least a little bit of a reaction, and they were able to coax him up to the school.

Thankfully, the infirmary was on the first floor, so they didn't have to try and get him up the stairs.

"Can't you use magic?" Rafael asked, when they were halfway there.

"Not as long as he's conscious," Hope answered. "It's kind of bad practice. Got him back," she added, as the entered the infirmary.

Alaric looked relieved. "Has he told you what happened?"

"He was going to kill her," Hope said, heaving Landon on to one of the beds. "Other than that, not really. He needs to sleep it off."

"Is she okay?" Landon asked.

"She'll be fine," Jenna said. "You look like you could use a nap."

"Landon, I'm going to call Freya," Hope said.

"No," Landon said hastily. "I'm fine, Hope, really."

Hope sighed. "Alright. We'll give it two weeks, but you need to make an appointment with Miss Sommers. If it keeps happening, I'll call her."

Landon sighed, his eyes closing. "Fine."