I'm sorry I've been gone so long (almost 3 years!) with the current season though and the time that has passed it seems appropriate for a time jump! I'm going to jump to the current season. In this story the first and second season happened as well as the 4th but not the third season with lucien/marcel turning into what he is, etc. hope you enjoy!

When We Were Young

"Mason's going to be a really good dad," Damon remembered Jade saying the day that they got engaged. "I think that Hope is going to need you both in her life."

Glancing over to where Jade was sleeping, Damon was reflecting a lot on their lives together over the last fifteen years. Things had changed pretty dramatically, and these days he rarely saw her. Though, that beat never seeing her.

After the defeat of Dahlia things went back to normal, at least as normal as they could be for the unconventional family. Damon and Jade were married shortly after Hope was reunited with the family as things seemed whole again. After Hope was back all the drama between him, Jade, and Mason seemed to disappear; all that mattered to them was that little girl. The three of them lived in New Orleans with Hope along with the rest of the family. Klaus and Elijah were always there, with Rebekah coming intermittently; Kol was around even less. Marcel and Vicki were still together and were married not long after Hope's fifth birthday.

Around the time Hope was seven though, their lives and the peace that they had found changed. The Hollow, the returned spirit of a long dead witch, craved power and set it's sights on Hope. While the family tried to stop her, she still managed to possess Hope. It wasn't going to be long until she completely took over Hope's body, the little girl disappearing forever; they were running out of options.

Flashback

"Where the hell are Kol and Rebekah?!" Damon was snapping as he paced the compound. They only had one option in order to save Hope; they had to pull the Hollow from her, dividing the magic into four pieces before placing them into other individuals. Vincent told them that it had to be a blood relatives of Hope in order for the transfer to work. He also told them that, unfortunately, whoever held the pieces of the Hollow would never be able to be around Hope, or each other, again. Right now, the only blood relatives around were her parents, grandfather, and great uncle.

"I told you," Vicki was arguing with Jade in the back. "I'm her aunt! I can do this if they don't show, all right? Hope shouldn't be without both her parents."

"You saw what happened to that other vampire," Jade argued back, referencing Sofya. "It completely wrecked her."

"She had the whole thing, this would just be one part-"

"I'm not going to risk losing you!" Jade stopped her. By no means did she want to be away from her daughter. She knew what it was like not to have her dad around and her mom disappeared on her enough. This was the last thing that she ever wanted for Hope, but it was better than losing her completely.

"Hybrids are stronger," Vincent cut into their fight now. He had said before that the originals would be the best for this, but if Rebekah and Kol couldn't be reached Jade and Mason would be the only other options. "You're a young vampire Vicki, we don't know if you'll be able to contain that magic. And if you die, who knows where that magic is going to go."

"Did he answer you?" Damon asked as Klaus came back into the room with Elijah.

"Nothing from either of them," Klaus said, a combination of anger and sadness in his voice. Not only would Jade never be around her daughter again, but he wouldn't be around his either.

"We're running out of time," Vincent told them. "If we're going to do this we're going to do this now." Jade and Mason exchanged a nervous look.

"Ok," Jade finally nodded.

"I need everyone in the next room," Vincent was instructing them. "Damon, get Hope from her room. I'll let you know when to take the manacles off." Damon nodded, turning to go towards the stairs for Hope's room. He stopped when he felt someone catch his arm; Mason.

"Mason," Damon started off. He was worried this was going to reignite issues long buried between them.

"Watch out for our girl, all right?" Mason said; Damon took note how Mason specifically said our girl. "I trust you."

Damon looked over at Jade again when he felt her stirring that morning. He sighed, knowing she was probably dreaming of that night too.

Flashback

Jade could hear the awful whispers, it was the first thing she noticed when her part of the magic was transferred to her. She couldn't believe this thing had taken possession of her baby. After the spell was over all she could do was stare at Hope laying in Damon's arms. Elijah took off first, though he had a plan of his own to meet with Vincent later to have his memory magically wiped away. Otherwise, he would never be able to stay away from his family.

Klaus was next to leave, locking eyes with his daughter for a moment.

"I love you Jade," he promised before taking off.

"Jade," Mason was trying to get her attention, though he didn't want to leave Hope either. She was starting to wake up.

"Dad? Mom?" she asked. "Damon, what happened?" she asked more urgently now.

"Baby," Jade tried to start off; that's when they noticed the plants in the room dying.

"Jade, we gotta go," Mason said, grabbing her arm and yanking her out of the room before shoving her in the opposite direction from him once they hit the street. They could still hear Hope yelling for them as they sped down the street, leaving her to save her.

Jade sat up gasping from her nightmare.

"Easy," Damon was assuring her, bringing her back to where they were. They were together, one of their few weekends alone. They were still able to see each other whenever they wanted, but with Hope unable to see her parents and Damon being her only guardian he tried not to leave to see Jade too much. It was like salt in a wound.

"Ugh, I think it's tormenting me," Jade said of the dark magic inside of her. It knew just how to twist the knife.

"Do you want to call her?" Damon offered, though almost as soon as he said that her phone started ringing. It wasn't her fifteen year old though; it was her school.

"Yes Alaric?" Jade sighed into her phone. Alaric had his own unconventional family, sharing twin daughters with Caroline though she was married to Stefan. Things in Mystic Falls had settled to where they were able to start a school at the Salvatore boarding house. Hope had started at the Salvatore School shortly after her parents left. She had been doing great there, but since she hit her teen years she had become a little more of a handful.

"Hey Jade, I know Damon came up to see you," Alaric said, knowing Damon had gone to New York to see his wife. "But, I need him to come pick up Hope." Jade groaned.

"What did she do?" Jade sighed, rubbing her forehead. "She's not expelled is she?"

"Suspended, for a week," Alaric clarified. "There, ah, was an incident with another student."

"A magic related one?" Jade asked fearfully.

"A hybrid turning one," Alaric informed her.

"Ok," Jade said, defeat in her voice. It was hard to parent when you couldn't actually be in the same area as your child. "Damon is on his way," she said as she hung up.

"She made a hybrid?" Damon asked in surprise. This was a new one. "Takes after her grandfather?" he offered as a light joke and Jade looked at him unamused as she got up to get dressed.

"She can't be getting kicked out of school like this Damon," Jade said seriously. "No one can know she's a Mikaelson."

"I know," Damon assured her, getting up now as well. "I'll go get her, all right? Take her back to New Orleans." He shrugged. "She usually does better after some time with her Aunt Vic."

"I don't know what would possess her to-" Jade started off.

"I can think of a reason," Damon stopped her. "One pretty specific reason actually, why she would be making a hybrid of her own." His emphasis on making made Jade realize what he was talking about.

"Mason's news," Jade sighed, running a hand through her hair. Mason had called two days before from where he was living in Costa Rica with the news that he was going to get married. Jade figured it wasn't getting a step mom that was bothering Hope; after all, she had had a step dad since she was a baby. No, it was the reason for the marriage that Jade figured was what upset Hope so badly.

"Dad's getting married, having another kid," Damon finished her train of thought.

"She can't possibly thing Mason is trying to replace her," Jade defended him.

"She's fifteen," Damon defended his step daughter now. "And she hasn't seen him since she was eight." He shrugged. "It's gonna feel like that." He kissed Jade once. "I'll go get her, all right?"

"Have her call me, please?" Jade asked him and he nodded, heading out the door. He stopped, peeking his head back in.

"Speaking of dads," he said now. "When was the last time you talked to yours?"

"I thought we were going to go a visit without bringing that up," she rolled her eyes at him.

"Call your dad," Damon told her.

"I'll start with Hope's!" she called after him as he left.

The ride back to Louisiana started off long and silent. It had only be an hour but it felt like many as Hope wouldn't even look in Damon's direction. Unfortunately as she grew into more of a handful as a teenager she took out a lot of her angst towards him.

"You wanna drive?" he asked as they crossed the North Carolina border. That usually got her attention but she continued to stare out the window. "You wanna tell me what you were thinking?" he asked now. He had let her sulk long enough.

"I guess I wasn't," she muttered, shifting in her seat, facing forward now.

"Pretty bad when Hope Salvatore gets suspended from the Salvatore School," Damon informed her.

"But I'm not a Salvatore!" Hope exploded now. She had things pretty bottled up since she talked to her dad a few days ago. Damon knew he pushed the wrong button.

"I know," Damon tried to say.

Her last name had been a hot topic for debate before she was born. Mason wanted his last name, Jade wanted her married name. Damon suggested her maiden name as a compromise, but while she loved Matt and Vicki, Jade wasn't crazy about where the name Donovan came from. They finally went with Mikaelson, what her maiden name would have been as well as the larger family they were all a part of. Once Hope started at the school though and they wanted to hide her identity, she started going by Salvatore.

"I'm a Mikaelson, a Lockwood," she listed off angrily. "But not a Salvatore."

"Hope," Damon tried to calm her.

"Everyone at school thinks I'm some kind of freak," Hope continued. "That Stefan and Caroline just adopted because they felt bad," she continued to rant. "Josie and Lizzie don't make it any better." She turned to him. "Then you," she started to accuse. At this point, Damon slammed on the brakes, much to Hope's surprise. Her step dad didn't yell at her often.

"I am not the bad guy Hope!" he snapped at her, much more than he meant to. He had learned pretty early on that arguing back with her never worked, she was a teenager after all, but they were really getting under each other's skin that afternoon. "I never wanted this for you," he continued, this time with a more even and calm voice.

"...I know," Hope admitted softly.

"I would switch spots with your mom in a second, and you know that," he told her now. She was quiet now. "If this is about your dad-"

"I don't want to talk about my dad," Hope cut him off seriously.

"All right," Damon gave in. He dug her confiscated phone out of his jacket pocket before handing it to her. "Your mom wants you to call her."

"I'm sorry I ruined your weekend with my mom," Hope gave him like a peace offering.

"I'm sorry I get to be the one to have weekends with her," Damon offered back, starting down the road again as Hope dialed her mom. The conversation started off innocently enough, though it took a pretty quick turn when Hope brought up an unwanted subject.

"But mom," Hope was protesting now. "I don't understand how you could just not have it." It, of course, was the Mikaelson magic. After all, Jade was a first born Mikaelson. They had all pondered this as Dahlia had come for Hope. Why had she never come for Jade? Jade insisted that she never had magic for her to come for. Hope's thoughts were that her magic was hidden by her fear of her step father, never allowing itself to manifest.

"Honey, even if I ever had my magic," Jade sighed as this was a very long had argument. "I turned. Witches that turn into vampires don't get to keep their magic."

"But you're a hybrid," Hope argued. "The rules are different with our family mom." She could practically see Jade's head falling into her hands as she sat at the table to talk to her daughter. "Look, Aunt Freya and Aunt Vicki let me go through Esther's grimoires-"

"You're not supposed to be in those," Jade cut her off. They agreed that she had to be eighteen before she could get into her great-grandmother's spells.

"But they want us reunited too!" Hope continued. "Mom, with you, me, and Aunt Freya? All first born Mikaelsons? We would be strong enough to beat it!"

"Hope," Jade stopped her. Her tone told Hope that enough was enough. "I've read those books, all right? To reawaken magic in someone that's turned takes a very special, unspecific set of circumstances. But it always involves a major trauma, and this family can't take anymore of that."

"Mom," Hope tried to insist.

"Hope Andrea, I said no," Jade told her.

"Ugh!" Hope exclaimed as she hung up on her mother, throwing her phone at the dashboard of the car. Damon sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Only ten more hours to go.

Once they were back in New Orleans and settled Damon gave Hope her phone again to go upstairs and call her dad. She wasn't overly enthused about it, but she figured she would call him before her mom got him to call her. At least this way she could save herself another lecture on trying to get her mom's magic back. Down the hall, Damon was calling Jade back.

"How much does she hate me?" Jade sighed, collapsing on her couch.

"She's fifteen, she's not overly fond of anyone," Damon told her, though it didn't make her feel any better.

"Has she talked to her dad yet?" she asked now.

"Have you talked to yours?" he asked back and she rolled her eyes.

"Matter of fact, no," she informed him sarcastically. "He's not answering because, from what I hear, he's on a bender in France."

"Isn't amnesia Elijah in France?" Damon asked. He obviously didn't remember who any of them were in order to keep in touch with them, but Freya kept an eye on the family's movements to make sure they never got too close to each other.

"That's why I called Marcel, to go figure out what he's thinking," Jade sighed.

She hadn't spoken to her father in years, though not by her choice. At some point, he just stopped answering her calls. She knew it was hard, after all she was away from her daughter as well. She thought they could at least lean on each other in that. It was like her father once told her though: he never had to answer to anyone before she was in his life, that's why it took some getting used to once they were together. After the family split apart though he fell back into his old ways.

Down the hall, Hope was in the middle of a video chat with her dad.

"Your mom called me this morning," Mason told her, cautiously approaching the subject. It didn't take him long either to figure out why she was acting out. "Told me you got into some trouble at school." Hope didn't say anything. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Can I come see you?" Hope blurted out. She felt like she was going crazy. She was fighting with her mom, she was furious with her dad; she hadn't seen either of them in seven years. All the while her step dad and aunts were trying to parent her. It was all too much.

"Hope," Mason sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Why does everyone keep saying my name like that today?" Hope yelled at him. "Like I'm the one being ridiculous. I'm the only one being sane!" As Damon heard Hope starting to raise her voice he started down the hall towards her room. It only took a second for her temper to flare and the magic to explode.

"You know it's too dangerous," Mason reasoned with her.

"I don't care!" she continued to shout. "Just for a few minutes," she lowered her voice now, her voice trembling with the threat of tears. "Daddy, please." Mason opened his mouth to say something, but just then they both noticed the door behind him open.

"I'm home," his fiancee, Olivia, was saying. "Oh, are you talking to Hope?" she asked excitedly.

"Just forget it," Hope told her father before hanging her phone up; she couldn't contain it anymore. "AHHHHHHH!"

"What was that?" Jade asked in panic as she heard the scream.

"I gotta go Jade," Damon said, dropping the phone and barging into Hope's room after forcing the locked door open.

He thought he had hung up, but unfortunately Jade was still there and could hear everything. She could hear Hope screaming and crying as well as things flying around the room. Jade knew that Hope would sometimes have episodes like this, ones where her feelings overwhelmed her and the magic took over. Freya had warned them about them, having experienced them herself as a child and young woman. And while Jade knew that they happened and that Damon knew how to handle it, she had never heard them happen before; it shattered her heart.

"Hope, Hope, hey!" Damon was saying, loudly though still calm, taking her arms. "Hey, look at me."

"I can't Damon," she said, breathing hard like a panic attack. "I-"

"Hey, hey, it's ok," he assured her. "Look at me, right here," he got her to lock eyes with him. "Good, ok breathe. Slow, slow down." The stuff flying around the room started to drop and everything calmed down. "Good, ok," he breathed out a sigh of relief. "You're ok." Though her breathing was back to normal the tears threatened her eyes again.

"I just want to see them," she started sobbing, latching onto him.

"I know kiddo," Damon assured her, kissing her head as he held her. "I know." She just kept crying. "Shhh,shhh," he tried soothing her. Out in the hall you could faintly hear Jade sobbing as she hung up the phone, having witnessed her daughter's meltdown.

The next morning at breakfast Hope wasn't in the mood for anything, other than sharing a coffee with her stepdad. Frey sat at the table, concerned but not saying much. Damon got up to clear the coffee mugs, nodding for Freya to take the lead in talking to her.

"Damon told me what happened last night," Freya commented as she had been out seeing her girlfriend Keelin. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Hope didn't say anything. "I know how scary those panic attacks can be," she said gently now. Still nothing from Hope. Vicki decided to intervene now.

"What if we went out?" Vicki offered now as she came into the main room with them. She usually tried to play the fun aunt since most of the time she had people hovering over her. "Your Uncle Marcel is on his way back from the airport and he promised beignets," she smiled. Hope offered a small smile. It was at least something from their teen niece.

"Probably him," Vicki commented, expecting her husband anytime now from his trip to see Klaus as they heard someone come through the door though no one looked.

"Ah," they heard Jade's familiar voice. Hope whipped around in her seat. "I at least have the beignets?" she offered.

"MOM!" Hope shrieked, taking off in her direction and almost knocking her mom over.

"Jade?" Damon asked having returned to the room.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed out to him though she continued to squeeze her daughter tight.

thanks for reading and i really hope you liked it! i hope to update more soon, please review it'll help me continue!