Penelope and Josie were still fighting.

Well, 'fighting' was probably an inaccurate description - they weren't actually talking to each other, and it was driving Hope up the wall, not least because it meant that finding time alone with Lizzie was getting increasingly difficult.

Finally, they found themselves alone in Lizzie's dorm room. Hope was supposed to be doing some research on regression, and Lizzie was supposed to be doing homework, but all books had been discarded in favour of studying each other.

Hope trailed kisses down Lizzie's throat, smirking against her skin as her girlfriend arched up into her, letting out a low moan.

"Hope …"

"Nope," Hope said, nipping at her collarbone. "Stay still or I'm have to make you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Lizzie asked, her eyes sparkling.

The door flew open. "How the hell can someone be so frustrating without even speaking to you?!"

Hope groaned. "Josie, why?"

Josie pulled a face. "I don't need to see that."

"Then knock," Hope grumbled. "What's she done now?"

"I swear she's stalking me," Josie said. "She's not talking to me but she won't leave me alone, presumably in case I decide to elope with Jade while she's not looking. And I keep telling her that I'm over that crush - she didn't act like this about Hope!"

"No, she didn't," Hope said, "which suggests that it's not really about Jade."

"Then she can tell me that," Josie said churlishly. "I'm not chasing her."

"Oh, for the love of …" Hope stood up. "Lizzie, don't move; I'll be right back." She seized Josie by the hand and dragged her out of the dorm.

"Hope!"

"Two weeks," Hope said. "It's been two weeks, and Lizzie and I haven't had five minutes privacy."

Josie had the decency to look a little ashamed. "Sorry."

"I get it," Hope said. "You're mad. And I want to be the supportive friend, Josie, I do, but you're both being idiots." She rapped sharply on Penelope's door and did not wait for an answer before pushing it open.

"Hope?" Penelope asked, before freezing. "Josie."

"Here's what's going to happen," Hope announced, letting go of Josie's hand. "Penelope, you're going to tell Josie why you're really upset. Josie, you're going to listen. I am going to go back to my girlfriend and lock the door!"

Josie pulled another face. "I did not need that mental image, Hope."

"Then start knocking," Hope said, almost (but not quite) slamming the door behind her.

In the silence that remained, Josie folded her arms. "Alright, why are you really upset?"

"What makes you think there's another reason?" Penelope asked.

"Because Hope's right," Josie said. "You didn't act like this when you found out I had a crush on Hope. So there's something about Jade, and it's not that she's flirting with me, because she's not. She still sees me as a ten-year-old and - even if she didn't - I love you."

Penelope sighed, sinking on to her bed. "I'm sorry, Jo-Jo. I know I'm being ridiculous."

"What's really going on?" Josie asked again.

"Lizzie's a vampire," Penelope said quietly. "And I might not understand the whole sibling bond thing, but … You can't tell me you haven't thought about the future."

"You mean the fact that I'm ageing and Lizzie isn't?" Josie asked.

"Yeah," Penelope said. "That. Sometimes … Sometimes I worry that you'll panic about leaving her alone and become a vampire as well. You're a siphoner; you'd be fine. I don't have that option."

"I wouldn't be leaving her alone," Josie said gently. "I'd be leaving her with Hope."

"And what if Hope doesn't turn?" Penelope asked.

"She will," Josie said with certainty. "She …" she hesitated. "Look, this is a big secret."

"Of course," Penelope said.

Josie took her hand, siphoning enough magic to cast a silencing spell on the door. "Hope's blood can sire hybrids. When she dies, she's going to sire herself."

"Seriously?" Penelope asked.

Josie nodded. "Yeah. So she'll have Hope. And she'll have Jenna. She won't need me. I can't say that I'd never become a vampire, because I'm fairly sure if you'd asked Lizzie, she'd have said the same thing. Anything could happen. But even if I did, I can say two things: first of all, I would never expect you to turn, and second of all, I still wouldn't leave you." She squeezed her hand. "I would be holding your hand on your deathbed."

"God, that's morbid," Penelope said with a watery laugh.

"You started it," Josie said with a smile.

Penelope sighed, freeing her hand to wrap an arm around Josie's waist. "I'm sorry I was irrational."

Josie rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to what you were really trying to say."

Landon's two weeks were up.

For his sake, Hope wanted the episodes to be getting better.

When she left her dorm that morning, Rafael was leaning against the opposite wall.

"Oh no."

"Good morning to you too," Rafael said. "They're getting worse."

Hope sighed. "Dammit."

"He told me everything," Rafael said. "Would it really be so bad for your family to find out?"

"No," Hope answered. "But Landon's not ready for that."

"He couldn't speak English when he woke up," Rafael said.

Hope grimaced. "Alright. I'll call Freya and see if there's anything that I can do from here."

"Thanks," Rafael said. "Because I need to go and get Miss Sommers; he's locked himself in the bathroom because it's a full moon tonight and he's having a panic attack."

"Next time," Hope said tiredly, "get her first and lead with that."

She had classes that morning, but thankfully the school gave the wolves a free pass the day before and after the full moon if they needed it.

So after breakfast she sent Jade to math class without her to make her excuses, and took herself outside to the flower garden to make a call.

Maybe she didn't call home enough, but Freya answered the phone with the words: "Hope? What's wrong?"

Despite her worry, Hope couldn't help smiling. "Nothing, Aunt Freya. Well, nothing with me, anyway. Landon's started getting memories of previous incarnation and he's regressing."

"Oh dear. Is it bad?"

"He keeps forgetting English," Hope answered. "And he gave himself a panic attack this morning. I think Aunt Jenna's still trying to calm him down."

"Okay," Freya said. "I'll clear my schedule this Saturday; bring him over."

Hope hesitated, unsure how to try and get out of that without hurting her aunt's feelings or letting something slip. "There's nothing I can do from here?"

"I don't think so, sweetheart," Freya said. "I can think of a few solutions, but they all require spells that could seriously harm him if something goes wrong. I could teach them to you, but it sounds like he needs help now, rather than a few months."

Hope grimaced, glad her aunt couldn't see her. "Okay, then - I'll let him know and we'll come down on Saturday."

Landon met her in the foyer. "Raf said you were going to call home."

"I did," Hope said. "I can't do anything from here - it would take too long for Aunt Freya to teach me the spells properly, so we're going to see her on Saturday."

"Hope …" Landon began.

"I know," Hope said. "I didn't tell her. Just … We might not need to tell her."

Landon nodded. "I suppose."

"And if we do," Hope said quietly, "she'll be fine. Freya's the one without any prior experience."

Landon managed a small smile. "I guess. Aren't you going home today though?"

"No, I'm spending this full moon at school," Hope answered. "So I'll be down in the basement with the others tonight. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Landon said. "I've got to go; I'll be late."

"Miss Sommers didn't give you a note?" Hope asked.

"She did," Landon said. "I'd just rather not use it."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Listen, if you do have a problem tonight, just swing by my dorm - Jade won't mind, and she already knows."

"Bit unfair on her," Landon said. "But I'll keep it in mind."

The following morning, Hope woke on the cold stone floor of the basement, her whole body aching.

"Home was more fun."

"It always is," Mariella said from beside her.

Because the wolves at the school were not technically a true pack, there was no guarantee that they would be fully safe with each other on the full moon, and it was far too awkward for them to wake the next morning fully naked in each other's company.

So there were two separate parts of the basement for the full moon - one for the boys and one for the girls.

The whole thing had been designed by the Crescent wolves, and tested by quite a few of their children.

However, there was a big difference between her first full moon and this one - mainly the level of discomfort she was in.

"It's because you don't get to stretch as much after you turn in here," Mariella said, stretching out her back. "Can you pass me my pack?"

Hope got to her feet, grabbing the two packs with their names on from the shelf and tossing Mariella's to her.

She pulled out her own change of clothes and pulled them on, yawning widely. "Okay, I'm going to bed. Is that bad?"

"We're all going to bed," Mariella said. "I'll walk the younger girls back."

Hope smiled weakly and slipped out of the door, meeting Rafael in the hallway. "Hey."

"You okay?" Rafael asked.

"I spent the last full moon running through a forest," Hope said flatly. "I spent this one cramped in a room."

"Yeah, okay," Rafael said. "I've never gone running on the full moon."

"We'll take you one day," Hope said, stifling another yawn. "Where are the others?"

"Jed and the guys just take their naps there," Rafael said. "I wanted to check on Landon."

"I told him to swing by my dorm if he needs to," Hope said. "I'll text you if he's there."

They parted at the top of the stairs, making their way to their dorms.

Hope almost stumbled through her door, half-asleep already.

That didn't mean that she missed the fact that there was an extra person in her dorm. She had just enough energy to text Rafael to let him know, before she fell face-first onto her bed and fell asleep.

She woke again several hours later, the scent of coffee drifting past her. It took a few blinks but she finally focused on her bedside unit, where a thermos and pastry were sitting waiting for her, along with a folded piece of paper.

Morning babe - brought you breakfast. Not sure what's going on with your new room-mates but Jenna's given Landon a pass for the rest of the week due to 'personal reasons' (I didn't ask) and Jade doesn't have a class until 11am today. Love you - Lizzie xx

Taking a few sips of coffee, she eventually woke up enough to properly assess the scene across the room.

Landon and Jade hadn't moved since she returned. There was a laptop at the end of the bed, still playing movie trailers, and they were both on top of the covers, suggesting that they had drifted off unintentionally.

What surprised Hope was that Jade was apparently a cuddler (she didn't seem the type) - she was curled up on Landon's chest, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

It probably shouldn't, but that made Hope more than a little nervous. She checked the mini-fridge in the corner of the room and found a blood bag, checking the time as she did.

"Jade? You missed breakfast, and you've got Lit in ten minutes."

Jade stretched, freezing as she suddenly realised she wasn't on her own - and more than that, there was an artery inches away from her.

"It's okay," Hope said softly. "You're okay."

Jade's eyes were beginning to change, and Hope was just about to step in, when Landon's eyes opened as well.

"Are you okay?"

Jade took a shaky breath. "No."

Landon rubbed her back. "It's okay. Just take a few calming breaths. Morning, Hope."

"Morning," Hope said cautiously. "How are you feeling?"

"I had an episode last night," Landon said. "I came here, like you said. Jade and I watched a couple of movies and apparently fell asleep."

"And now I'm having an episode," Jade muttered, squeezing her eyes closed.

"No, you're not," Hope said firmly. "You're panicking. That's not the same thing. Now take a breath and come and get the blood bag."

Jade did as she was told, tentatively sitting up, before taking the bag from Hope. "Thanks."

"Did you talk to Miss Sommers about meeting with my mom?" Hope asked.

"I don't want to bother her," Jade mumbled around the straw.

Hope rolled her eyes. "Landon and I are going to the French Quarter on Saturday. You're coming with us."

"Don't argue," Landon advised tiredly, rubbing his eyes. "There is no arguing when she gets like this."

That Saturday morning, Hope pulled up outside the compound in her usual parking space. "Alright, we're here."
"Can you park here?" Jade asked anxiously.

"You can't," Hope said. "I can. Fairly sure this street is private property. My family owns all the buildings on it, anyway."

"I get the feeling you could have so easily ended up as a spoilt princess," Rafael said.

Hope twisted in her seat to smile at him. "If you ask Lizzie and Josie, I was when I was younger. And if Dad had his way I still would be."

Landon had insisted that Rafael come along as his brother, and Hope was perfectly happy to agree, hoping that his presence would make Landon more comfortable.

"Are you sure your mom won't mind me being here?" Jade asked.

"My mom is really far more easygoing that everyone thinks she's going to be," Hope said, getting out of the car.

"Morning Hope."

"Uncle Josh!" Hope's face lit up in a bright smile as she threw her arms around her honorary uncle. "I thought you and Uncle Aiden were still away."

"Just got back this morning," Josh said, pressing a kiss to her head. "I'm heading down to Rousseau's - Sophie wants a hand in the kitchen; she's got a big party coming in this afternoon."

"Do you know if Mom's got any appointments this morning?" Hope asked, before he could leave.

Josh thought for a second. "No. She just met with Jackson - he and Aiden are catching up - but the rest of the day is clear. She said you were coming home; I think she's hoping you're all going to stay for lunch."

"I'm sure we can manage that," Hope said cheerfully, pushing the front door open. "See you later."

"He doesn't look old enough to be your uncle," Jade whispered.

"That's because at least 90 percent of my family are vampires or immortal in some other sense," Hope said. "As of this December, I will officially be physically older than my own mother. She'll be in her office," she added to the boys, "so we'll drop Jade off with her and then go up to Freya's."

"Okay," Landon said, looking a little jittery.

He calmed a second later, and Hope glanced back, unsurprised to see that Jade had taken his hand.

She led the way to her mother's office, tapping on the open door to get her attention.

Caroline looked up from her paperwork, her face breaking into a smile. "Hope! I thought you'd be going straight to Freya."

"We are," Hope said. "Jade needs a bit of help. Aunt Jenna's great, but she's never … There's things that you've experienced that she hasn't."

"If that's okay," Jade said hastily. "I don't want to impose."

"Not at all," Caroline said immediately. "Come on in; I'll put the coffee on."

Hope squeezed Jade's arm with a smile. "Told you so. Come on, boys." She pulled her mother's office door shut and ushered the boys up the stairs.

"Will she be okay?" Landon asked.

"She'll be fine," Hope said. "Mom's good at those kind of talks."

Freya's apartment door was open, and she poked her head out as they approached. "I thought I heard voices."

"Hi Aunt Freya."

Freya hugged her niece, giving Landon a smile. "Nice to see you again, Landon."

Landon smiled shakily. "You too. This is Rafael, my brother."

"Hi," Freya said. "Shall we get started then?" She led them inside and sat them down on the couch, before busying herself making tea. "So, Landon, Hope told me a little bit about the problem - can you tell me what's happening in your own words?"

"I keep forgetting who I am," Landon said. "It's normally when I wake up, either in the morning or the middle of the night. Sometimes I can't speak English. Sometimes I think I'm dying. It's … It's exhausting."

"It sounds it," Freya said sympathetically, bringing over the tea tray. "Now, I've never actually come across this kind of thing before. As you know, we all thought phoenixes were myths until we met you. However, it sounds like these episodes are a cross between amnesia and PTSD flashbacks."

"Can you help them?" Landon asked.

"Well, there is a way to help amnesia and there's a way to help with flashbacks," Freya said. "So there are two choices. Both have their pros and cons. First of all, though - and obviously you know your own mind better than I do - you're not forgetting who you are. Reincarnation is a transfer of the soul. Your body may have changed, your name, your circumstances, but who you are has not. You are, in essence, the same person you were when you first died however many years ago."

Landon nodded. "That makes sense. So what are my choices?"

"Well, if we treat them as flashbacks," Freya said, "we would need to look at each memory individually and help you store them somewhere so they don't keep overwhelming you. Now this would allow you to keep some separation between your … Lives? I'm going to call them lives. However, we would need to look at each and every memory, so it would likely be a recurring thing."

Landon pulled a face. "That sounds like a lot of work."

Freya nodded. "A lot of work, and it's rather invasive. If we treat it like amnesia, what I can do is go in and help you anchor the memories in order, like a timeline. The upside is that we could do that now and it's not nearly as invasive. The downside is that it would unlock all of the memories you have and it would actually get rid of the separation between your lives. Are you getting memories from all of them?"

"It's mostly the first," Landon said hesitantly. "I sometimes get flashes of other times and places, but … that feels different. More like dreams, or like I'm watching a movie."

"Okay, so that would actually make sense," Freya said. "We know that phoenixes are created because they're born in the wrong time, and that your powers are unlocked when you reach the right time, so everything in between are just vessels to get you from point A to point B."

"I still don't fully understand it," Landon admitted. "If I die, I come back, but if I hurt myself, I don't heal. So does that mean I'm still ageing? And if I am, does that mean I'll eventually die of old age and resurrect over and over again? Or would I resurrect at this age or something? And if I'm not ageing, why aren't I healing?"

Freya sighed a little. "I don't know, I'm afraid. I'm as in the dark as you are. Anyway, the amnesia option - if all your memories of the in-between lives are like that, it would be like one continuous life. So you were born in … whenever you were born."

"10th century," Landon answered.

"957," Hope said at the same time.

Freya blinked. "That was … very specific. Okay, so you were born in 957; when you died, you blacked out, watched a few movies, and then woke up in this body, with this name."

"I know you said the other option was more invasive," Landon said. "Would you still see my the memories with this one?"

"I'm afraid so," Freya said. "Of course I would try to be as non-invasive as possible, but I would still see some things."

"I'd like to take that option," Landon said. "I already … I've spent a thousand years trying to get here. I may as well let that person in properly."

Hope squeezed his hand. "Are you sure?"

Landon nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I'd rather not say anything until it's done."

"Okay, I know these two will want to stay," Freya said, "but it would be easier if they didn't. If you'd rather they stay, we can work around that."

Landon took a deep breath. "I'll be okay. I'm sure," he added before Hope or Rafael could say anything. "I've got this."

"Okay," Hope said, a little reluctantly. "Come on, Raf; we'll pop down to Rousseau's and grab a coffee."

Freya waited until they were definitely out of earshot. "So is there something I need to know?"

Landon smiled weakly. "That obvious, huh?"

"You're worried about me seeing your memories from a thousand years ago," Freya said gently. "It shouldn't have any effect, unless there's something I'd recognise. You're Henrik's reincarnation, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Landon asked.

Freya smiled. "Well, first of all, the year Hope gave. Second of all, there's not many people from back then that I'd recognise. And thirdly, once I had that information … there is actually a resemblance."

Landon frowned. "Really?"

"In your eyes," Freya said. "And your energy, actually. I thought I recognised something when I read you last time, but I brushed it off because I figured I was imagining things."

Landon nodded, his gaze dropping to his knees. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew what was going on. I mean, you and I never met, but the others have a brother they remember, and it doesn't seem fair giving that back to them if I'm … not."

"I won't say a word until you're ready," Freya said, taking his hands. "Are you ready?"

When Hope and Rafael returned an hour later, Freya's apartment door was firmly closed, and Hope sat down on the floor opposite it, leaning against the wall.

"Now we wait?" Rafael asked quietly.

"Now we wait," Hope agreed.

A few moments later, Freya opened the door. "Excellent timing," she said with a smile. "We're done."

"It took an hour?" Hope asked, getting to her feet.

Freya hesitated, but Landon answered. "No, it took fifteen minutes, and then I cried for forty-five."

"Not the whole forty-five," Freya said.

Hope did a double-take, looking at Landon. "You look … different."

Landon frowned. "I do?"

"Yeah, man," Rafael said. "I mean, not different, but …"

"Relaxed," Hope finished. "You look like you're at peace with yourself. And I wouldn't have said you didn't before, but … now you do. How do you feel?"

"I feel great," Landon said honestly. "It kind of felt like I had two people's memories warring for space, and now I just have my memories."

"So do we need to start calling you Henrik now?" Hope asked.

"No, then there'd be two of us," Landon said. "That'd just get confusing. Also … I remember my mom. This mom, I mean. She gave me up because she was terminally ill. All I have left of her is my name. I kind of wanna keep that."

"We're going to slip," Freya warned. "Well, the others will."

"That's fine," Landon said. "As long as everyone realises that if someone says 'Henrik,' I will just assume they're talking to him."

"No, you won't," Hope said. "You'll react because it's automatic. It'll be great fun. Mom wants us all to stay for lunch."

"I need to tell them," Landon said.

"Are you sure?" Freya asked. "You said so yourself - you and I never met the first time round; I'm going to be much easier than the others."

"I know," Landon said. "But I need to tell them. Otherwise I'll slip up at some point and make it even more awkward."

Hope pulled out her phone. "I'll call a family meeting."

The whole family - with the exception of Sophie and Josh, who were at Rousseau's - gathered in the living room within minutes of the message going out.

"Couldn't it wait for lunch?" Caroline asked. "It's only ten minutes."

"No," Hope said. "It's important."

"Hope," Klaus said slowly. "Please tell me you're not pregnant."

"Of course I'm not pregnant," Hope said, rolling her eyes. "Quite frankly, if Lizzie had managed that, we'd need to get her a medal."

Caroline chucked. "You have a point, honey, but impossible babies clearly aren't impossible."

Kol sniggered. "Really?"

"Oh shut up," Caroline said. "You know what I mean. Hope, what's the meeting for?"

"Actually, I didn't call it for me," Hope said. "Landon?"

"I don't actually know how to say it," Landon said.

"Like this," Hope said. "He's Henrik."

"Pardon me?" Elijah asked.

"Landon is the reincarnation of Uncle Henrik," Hope elaborated.

"Okay," Caroline said slowly. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Are you sure?" Kol asked bluntly.

"Kol!" Davina chided.

"We're sure," Freya said. "And I'm slightly insulted that you think I'd let them tell you this without being completely sure."

"It's not you, Freya," Landon said. "They never believed me when we were kids; it's not surprising that nothing's changed in that regard."

"Alright," Rebekah said, hope glimmering in her eyes. "Let me just try something. You and Kol were the youngest …"

"You and I were the youngest," Landon interrupted, "but nice try."

Rebekah smiled. "Fair enough. A few days before you … died, you asked me a question. What was it and what did I say?"

"That's not fair, Bekah," Elijah said, frowning. "Henrik asked a hundred questions a minute; how could he possibly know which one you mean?"

"If he's Henrik," Rebekah said quietly, "he'll know."

Landon held her gaze. "I asked you why Father was so much harder on Niklaus than the rest of us. You told me it was because Niklaus was stronger than Father and Father felt threatened, and that if I was ever worried about Father to hide behind you, because you were less likely to be harmed because you were a girl." He grinned. "I said that you weren't a girl, you were my sister."

Rebekah burst into tears, blurring around the table to hug him.

"Bloody hell," Kol muttered, leaping to his feet to follow suit.

"We're still calling him Landon," Hope said. "Otherwise there are two of them and we'll get confused."

"Oh, I'll slip up," Rebekah said beaming, still gripping his hand, even as Kol, then Elijah embraced him.

Klaus stayed where he was, Caroline rubbing soothing circles on his thigh under the table.

"It wasn't your fault," Landon told him. "I know what you're thinking, and it wasn't your fault."

Now Klaus rose to his feet. "Welcome home, little brother."

"It's good to be home," Landon said. "And there's someone I need to introduce you to." He gripped Rafael's shoulder. "This is Rafael. He's my brother."

Rebekah smiled at him. "Then he's our brother too."