Amelie
Summary:"You have loved and you have lost, all while I have succumbed to: the darkness, the light, to my wildest dreams and deepest fears. I have loved you while you have lived your life to its fullest, now I must live mine." Klaus kept his last love a secret for a lifetime but now it's time to reintroduce her to the world.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The run down building that Amelie had been spending her time in was a shock to Klaus; when she said she was in New York, he expected her to be in a high-rise penthouse overlooking Central Park. Alexander looked like he was having a heart attack, he was mortified to be in a dirty looking building, though he couldn't judge; he had spent the past couple of months living in squalor himself. Amelie stopped by the landlord's desk and told him to invite Klaus in before heading up to the fourth floor.
"I would offer you something to eat," she glanced at Alexander and then to Klaus, "but I haven't really got much of anything."
When she opened the door, and let the two men see her apartment for themselves, they looked at each other and Alexander laughed out a response. "It's okay, Amelie I can see that for myself."
"You've been staying here?" Klaus stepped into the middle of the room and looked at her in horror; there was absolutely nothing. No furniture or shelter from the light. She didn't even have a proper bed; it was a single bed with a tattered mattress. "How can you even sleep on that thing?"
"I must admit that I haven't really slept much since I left New Orleans." She walked towards the window and sat on the frame. "Anytime I put my head down, my mind comes alive."
"At least you'll have a decent bed to sleep in when you come back home." Klaus mumbled under his breath, but Amelie caught his comment.
"So, where's the vampire that was helping you?" Alexander said as he placed his hands on his hips. He noticed the blood stain on the floor that was barely removed and grimaced.
She shrugged and looked down to the busy street below them. "Probably on his way home, he knew you were coming so he must've assumed that he wasn't needed anymore."
"That's a shame, I wanted to meet the man that helped you. You know, give him a pat on the back." Klaus said as he examined the apartment further, taking in every damning detail.
"You would've liked him, he was very kind to me; taking time out of his own relationship to better mine." When Klaus turned his attention to Amelie, she got up and clasped her hands, playing with her beloved ring on her finger. "I'll go get my things and then we'll head off."
"The sooner the better, I feel dirty by just standing here." Alexander's comment made Amelie smile as she stepped into the tiny box room that she called her bedroom.
"Do you think we should stick around a little longer and see who this vampire was?" Klaus said quietly as soon as Amelie was out of ear shot.
"Do I detect jealousy?" Alexander teased.
"I've no reason to be jealous," Klaus lied as he glanced into Amelie's bedroom, "it's just curiosity."
Alexander rolled his eyes and shifted his weight as he watched Amelie throw a small bag over her shoulder. "That was quick."
"I only brought a few things." She stepped towards the door and nodded towards the hallway. "Let's get out of here."
"I really missed you," she said as she slid her hand into his. Alexander was in front of them which gave them the chance to talk things over before the long drive home, "everything I did, the month away… It was for us. I couldn't be a burden or a liability."
He stared down at her and squeezed her hand gently. "You'll never be a burden but you should've let me help you."
"And risk hurting you or Hope in the process? It was a risk I wasn't willing to take." She hung her head and let out a deep breath. "Especially after I attacked Elijah. You know, I'm really worried about what your family will think of me now. I've ruined the trust I built with them."
"You haven't, everyone has been working mercilessly to insure your safe return. None of this is your fault, I told you that."
"I'm partly to blame, I should've saw the signs that Jacques was planning something." She made a noise and shook her head. "He had to of calculated a plan as soon as he found out about me, it just makes me a fool for trusting him."
"It doesn't make you a fool, it makes you caring and kind." He pulled her hand up to his face and kissed the back of her hand tenderly. "It's those qualities about you that assure me that you're going to be an amazing mother."
She smiled ever so slightly but the betrayal that was thrown at her derailed any happiness that she should've been feeling. Amelie knew that once she arrived back to New Orleans, she'd have to face her brother once more and that made her feel physically sick. She leaned on Klaus' car and bent over, keeping her face as close to the ground as her body would let her. Klaus gripped onto her and ran his hand along her back as Alexander darted around the side of the jeep with concern written all over his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing at Klaus' nervous face.
"I'm fine, I just feel a little queasy." When the sickness passed, she stood upright and placed her hand over Klaus'. "Everything's okay." She reminded him as she threw her bag into the boot of the car.
"Amelie!"
When they heard her name being called, all of them turned to the man that was running towards them.
"Jay, I thought you left." She said as she took a couple of steps towards him.
"I wouldn't leave without seeing you off." He put his arms around her, taking a glimpse of Klaus from over her shoulder. "Take care of yourself and remember everything I told you."
She let go of him and nodded with a small smirk. "I'll do my breathing exercises and keep on top of my cravings." She waved Jay over and placed her hands on her hips. "Jay, this is my fiancé, Klaus and my old friend Alexander."
Jay extended his hand towards Klaus and raised his brows. "I know who he is, I don't think there's any vampire around that hasn't heard of him."
Klaus glared down at his hand before softening his expression and taking his hand, shaking it as sociably as he could. "My reputation surpasses me I see."
"The only opinion I have on you is the opinion that Amelie told me. She always spoke about you so fondly." He let go of his hand and shook Alexander's briefly. "I should let you get going, I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."
"If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, visit me." She said as she slammed the boot shut. "I'd love for you to meet the baby when it's born."
Jay nodded and placed his hand on the back of his neck. "I might take you up on that offer. Look after yourself, all of you. I'm glad everything worked out."
As they got into the car, Amelie glanced out of the back window and waved goodbye to her new friend. He held his hand up until the car disappeared around the corner. He knew that he'd find himself back on Amelie's path, he just hoped it was for a good reason.
"Do you know what we're having?" Klaus glanced down at Amelie's stomach noting that she wasn't that far along, she wasn't showing any signs of her pregnancy.
"It's too early to tell and to be honest, I haven't really had the chance to enjoy being pregnant." She looked up at Klaus before placing her heavy head on his shoulders. "Admittedly, my mind has been more concerned on how I'm going to control myself around all of you and more importantly, my revenge."
"I thought you didn't want to kill Jacques until you have your baby?" Alexander called from the front seat, taking a glimpse of the couple in the rear-view mirror.
"And I won't, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to plot and scheme until the day I make him take his last breath."
Klaus clenched his jaw as he noticed how stiff her body had become. This vengeful side of Amelie was one that he had never seen. It didn't put him off her, not one bit; it did make him worry, was his attitudes in the past influencing her or was she that hurt by Jacques' actions that it changed her?
"Whatever you decide to do with him, I'm behind you." He said after a moment, looking down at her with a small smile.
She looked up at him and returned his smile. "I need your support, I have to make him think that everything between us is water under the bridge. I can't allow him to see my betrayal coming."
He knotted his fingers into her loose curls and reluctantly nodded. "For now, Jacques is a friend."
"Well you know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer." Alexander chimed as he turned into the city. "Let's see you put that into action, we're home."
She looked up from the protection and comfort of Klaus' body and looked out of her window, sighing as she realised that she was going to have to test herself in more ways than she imagined. "Time to face the music I suppose." She got out of the car and stared at the Mikaelson compound as she gulped back the fear of rejection. "God, have mercy on me." She whispered to herself as she slammed her car door shut.
Everyone was waiting for her arrival cautiously; nobody had no idea how she was going to be and after the attack on Elijah, they had to walk on eggshells around Klaus' fiancée. With her hand on Elijah's shoulder, Hayley was the first to greet Amelie as she sheepishly walked in behind Klaus with her head down. She stepped away from him and stepped towards Amelie with her arms out and lured her into an embrace between friends.
"I'm so sorry, I know your brother had you fooled." She said quietly, muffled by Amelie's hair.
"He had me fooled too." She looked at Hayley with a furrowed brow, she tried to keep her tears in but she was losing her hold on her emotions. "You don't need to apologise, it's me that needs to," she glanced behind Hayley and looked at Elijah for the first time since she sunk her teeth into him, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I couldn't help myself."
Elijah approached her with a sincere look on his face and his hand raised slightly as if to pass off her apology. "There's no need to explain yourself, we know what Jacques did." He put an arm around her and turned to his brother. "I'm happy that you brought her back, she deserves to be here," he looked down at Amelie with a small smile, "you've brought nothing but happiness since you re-entered Klaus' life and for that I'm thankful."
Klaus smirked and looked down at the floor as he set Amelie's suitcase down. "Well there's one thing that we need to tell all of you."
"Please tell me that you stopped by at Jacques' place before you came here and put an end to his miserable life." Hayley said with a glimmer of hope.
Klaus glanced at Amelie and waved towards his family with a raised brow. "Do you want to do the honours, or shall I?"
She ran her fingers through her hair and stepped away from everyone, finding a spot beside Freya to sit on. She crossed a leg over the other and pressed her lips together before blurting out, "We're having a baby."
"What?" Freya said with a grin as she looked between her brother and his love. "This is amazing news."
Elijah placed a hand on Klaus' shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze. "Congratulations, hopefully this will keep you on the straight and narrow."
Klaus watched as Hayley and Freya fawned over Amelie, asking her a million questions with a grin. "I've always been on the straight and narrow, brother; there's just a couple of things missing from this perfect picture."
Elijah furrowed his brows and took a step back. "And what's that?"
"The rest of our family, I think it's time that Rebekah and Kol came home."
"Klaus, you know that Marcel will come back with our sister and he will not hesitate to end you."
"I'd like to see him try, brother. But this is all part of a bigger scheme and at the end of it, our family will be victorious."
Hayley emerged from Hope's bedroom and closed the door softly, trying not to wake the sleeping child. When she noticed the dim light coming from Klaus' seemingly empty bedroom, she stepped towards the light and peered round the door to see Amelie sitting in the middle of the bed with her minuscule bump on show. She knocked on the door and stepped into the room as Amelie moved her shirt over her belly.
"Can't believe you're pregnant, can you?"
"It's just strange," Amelie sighed a little and put her hand on her cheek, "is it weird that I'm not happy about being pregnant?"
Hayley sat on the edge of the bed and chewed the inside of her cheek for a second. "Why aren't you happy? Didn't you once want a family with Klaus?"
"Yes, but these cravings are so hard to control and I assume as this child grows inside me, the cravings will intensify."
"You've a good support team here, we'll do what we can to keep you sane."
Amelie moved her knees close to her chest and made a seemingly pleased face. "I know that I keep harking on about what I'm going through, but I shouldn't be the person that everyone needs to worry about, that's not what I ever wanted."
"Nobody wants to be the person that everyone devotes their time to, but we've all had our spot under the light," Hayley got off the bed and patted Amelie on the knee, "I guess it's just your turn." She stepped towards the door, lingering in the light for a moment. "Hope has been asking for you; she missed you when you were gone."
"Do you mind if I spend the day with her tomorrow? I don't want to tread on your toes."
"You're going to be her step mother, I'd rather have the two of you getting on seen as this family is going to be together for eternity."
Amelie showed a flicker of gratitude as she placed her cold feet under the covers. "Thanks, Hayley. I really needed to hear you say that."
A:N Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you for reading!