A/N: Sorry about the delay on this. Real life, blah, blah. Anyway, the chapter ended up being longer than I thought, so The Last Dance will be split into two chapters. Here's the first-

"Hey," smiled Luka. "How'd it go?"

Thea tried for a smile back. "It worked."

"The power of a hundred dead witches, huh?" asked Luka. "How does that feel?"

Thea blinked, trying to put into words how she was feeling.

"Amazing," she said. "Powerful... Scary."

Luka frowned. "What do you mean?"

Thea crossed the room and sat beside him on the couch. "All this power comes at a price. Using it all at once could kill me. Or I could lose control, kill someone else."

At Luka's frightened look, she sought to reassure him. "It won't come to that. I've channeled power before. Not this much, but I'm okay. I can handle it."

"How do you know you won't kill yourself?"

Thea shrugged. "I'll be careful."

Luka frowned. "You're not thinking about going after Klaus before the ritual?"

"I don't know, Luka." She sighed. "If I have the chance to take him out, how can I not?"

"Thea!"

"He wants to take over the world, Luka! You don't understand. You weren't there."

Thea's thoughts drifted back to the conversation she'd overheard between Klaus and one of his vampire minions.

January 2009, Austin

"Are you kidding me?" asked Thea, jaw dropping as her eyes looked at the pieces of paper he was dangling in front of her.

"I'm not one much for joking," Klaus commented, his mouth upturned in a teasing smile.

Thea smiled at him. "Thank you."

She enveloped him in a hug, as uncomfortable as he was with it, he didn't push her away.

"You're welcome," he said, handing her the tickets and the backstage passes. "Though I do not share your affection for country music."

Thea just shook her head. "You haven't lived in Texas long enough. Brad Paisley is a god!"

Klaus frowned. "Is Jeff aware of your obsession with him?"

Thea returned the frown. "Jeff hates country music more than you do."

Jeff was Thea's boyfriend. A sweet, handsome grad student who'd moved to Austin a few month ago to complete his doctorate. He was originally from New York and didn't understand Thea's love of country music.

"So I suppose I'll need to accompany you, then," Klaus said with a smile.

Thea smiled back. "Sure, but no cracks about my Brad. And no supernatural antics."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Even if I wish for a taste of a god?"

Thea narrowed her eyes, even though she knew Klaus was joking.

"No snacking on the talent," she warned. "But thank you. This is amazing."

Klaus shrugged. "It was nothing. I appreciate everything you've done for the past few months."

"I haven't done anything. We're no closer to breaking your curse."

"You've provided some valuable insights," said Klaus. "Things previous witches have overlooked."

Thea raised an eyebrow. "Streamlining the curse breaking ritual seems not that important. Especially as three people still have to die in order for it to happen."

Klaus sighed. "As I've said before, it is regrettable that must happen, but I was not the one who designed the curse in the first place. I have no say in the ritual to undo it."

"And yet you're willing to let three people die in order to unbind yourself."

"I won't object if you find a way to spare them," offered Klaus.

Thea sighed, not wanting to have this discussion again. She knew he was a vampire and that he didn't place the same value on human life as she did.

And yet, there were times, like now, where she could see the guilt in his eyes. The slight horror at what he was and what he had done.

But Klaus was cursed. She saw the pain in his eyes every time he talked about his bound werewolf side. This horrible longing that hadn't abated in however long he'd been alive, which was a very, very long time (though he refused to tell her just how long).

"Saving the doppelganger shouldn't be too difficult," said Thea. "She's human. The vampire and werewolf could be tricky." She looked at him. "Just get a really evil, nasty vampire and werewolf."

"Would that please you?" asked Klaus.

Thea shrugged. "I get that you want to be unbound. That you want to be whole. But don't destroy innocence to do it. There are plenty of sadistic vampires out there who rape and kill. Just like there are wolves who don't bother to lock themselves up or go to the middle of nowhere during the full moon."

"Convinced I'm not one of those sadistic vampires, love?" asked Klaus.

"I know you're not," said Thea, seriously. "I see the good in you, even if you can't."

A smile tugged at Klaus' lips.

"What?" asked Thea.

"You remind me of someone," said Klaus. "Someone I knew long ago. He too, believed there was good in me. That I could be redeemed."

"What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure," said Klaus, his voice full of pain he tried to hide. "We... lost touch over the years."

Thea sensed there was more to the story, but didn't want to pry. Klaus was very secretive about his past.

"Well maybe you'll find him again," said Thea, optimistically. "You could use more friends."

"More?" he inquired with a smirk. "What makes you think I have any?"

Thea just smiled. "You got me two tickets and backstage passes to an artist you dislike and even offered to go with me. Nobody's boss is that nice."

She got up from the chair in Klaus' office.

"I have to go," she said. "Jeff's taking me out tonight."

Klaus smiled. "Have fun. And happy birthday, Thea."

Thea smiled back and exited the office. She was halfway back to the magical library when she realized she'd forgotten to tell Klaus about a thought she'd had about finding the moonstone.

She backtracked to Klaus' office, but Klaus' angry voice made her pause before knocking.

"What do you mean, you lost her?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry, sir," said another voice that Thea recognized as one of Klaus' vampires, Frank. "We thought she was in Toronto, but it was just a decoy."

Klaus snarled. "I've waited 500 years for a lead on Katerina. Now I find she's slipped through your fingers."

"I'm sorry..."

"Enough!" growled Klaus. "And what of the moonstone?"

"Our sources say she no longer has it."

Silence.

Thea considered backing away. She knew vaguely what had happened with Katerina and Klaus. That Katerina had escaped and stolen the moonstone the night before the ritual. Not that Thea blamed her. If she learned she was going to be sacrificed in some ritual, she would have hightailed it out of there too.

"Listen to me very carefully, Frank," said Klaus in a dangerous voice. "I want Katerina found. I want the moonstone. Without it, I cannot break my curse and sire my hybrid line. I've been waiting centuries to build my hybrid army. To conquer the supernatural world. I grow impatien!"

Thea was horrified. It had all been a lie. His supposed 'pain' at being bound, missing his werewolf side. He didn't care about being whole again, he just wanted to create a race of super-vampires to take over the world.

She backed away, trying to calm her pounding heart. Once she was clear of the hallway, she ran. Ran to the room with all the objects and grimoires she loved so much.

She grabbed her purse and glanced around one last time, knowing she'd never see the room again. Then she walked out to her car as calmly as she could, leaving Klaus' house for the last time.

Even now, two years later, Thea the feelings of anger and disappointment still stung. She'd felt humiliated. How could she have judged him so wrongly?

She had thought there had been real moments between them. Genuine friendship over mutual interests. She'd honestly thought there was a good guy buried beneath his domineering, vampire exterior. But he'd just been using her. Spinning some story about losing part of himself so she'd help him break the curse.

And now, she had the power to stop him. She couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way. Maybe he'd really considered her a friend and maybe he hadn't. But she couldn't just let him break his curse and build an army to conquer the world.

"I can't lose you too," said Luka, tearing Thea out of her morose thoughts.

"You're not going to lose me," said Thea.

"So you're not going after Klaus until he's weak?" questioned Luka. "Until after the ritual?"

Thea was silent. How could she put her own safety above others? Elena would survive the ritual, but she doubted there was a way to save the vampire and the werewolf. Would Klaus take her advice and use two ruthless killers in his ritual? Or would he not bother, now that she was no longer in his employ?

"Promise me you won't sacrifice yourself to kill him," said Luka. "Promise me, Thea."

Thea closed her eyes. "I can't make that promise."

Luka's face got angry. "You can't leave me all alone. That's not fair."

Thea's eyes snapped open. "What does that mean?" She frowned. "Has Dad completed his transition?"

Luka's face darkened. "He won't come out of his room."

Thea huffed and grabbed the glass of her blood out of the fridge.

"What are you doing?" asked Luka.

Thea didn't respond, just stomped towards Jonas' room, glass of blood in hand.

o – o – o

"You helped them?" Stefan asked Damon. "Why would you do that?"

"You weren't here, Stefan," said Damon, angrily. "Elijah threatened to drain me of vervain. At least this way, they guaranteed Elena would survive."

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "And you believe they'll keep their promise? After we daggered Elijah and tried to kill Jonas and Thea?"

Damon sighed. "I don't know."

"We're still alive," said Stefan, taking a sip of whiskey. "I suppose that has to count for something." He paused. "Do you think we should tell them that Klaus has Katherine?"

Damon shrugged. "Does it matter? Katherine doesn't know that Thea did the spell and is all juiced up with the power of a hundred dead witches."

"Katherine could guess," argued Stefan. "Klaus might go after Thea."

"Good. Maybe they'll kill each other and we won't have a problem anymore."

"Or maybe Klaus will kill Thea and we'll have no one to save Elena from dying in the ritual."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll call her."

o – o – o

Thea knocked lightly on her father's bedroom door.

No response.

Sighing, Thea called, "I'm coming in."

"Not now," came the response.

Thea turned the doorknob and walked into the room. Jonas was standing near the window, gazing out on the street below.

"Get that shit out of here," he said in a gravelly voice.

Thea glanced down at the glass of blood.

"Here me out," she said.

"No," said Jonas, turning around to face her. "I've made my decision."

"Dad..."

"I should have died! We live, we die. This is..." Jonas closed his eyes, clearly in a lot of pain. "I never wanted this. Vampires are a crime against nature."

Thea sighed. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I can't imagine what you're going through. But this isn't just about you."

Jonas frowned. "Luka is better off without me. A vampire father?" He laughed bitterly. "How can I go back to my practice? Be a physician who craves blood."

"You can learn to control it," argued Thea. "Many vampires do. And Luka needs you."

"He has you," said Jonas softly. "You'll take care of him."

Thea sighed, pinching her nose. "What about Greta?"

"Greta's lost to us."

"Once Klaus is dead..."

"She's lost!" shouted Jonas.

Thea didn't want to share the chilling phone call she'd had with Greta, where Greta had confirmed that she'd willingly abandoned the Martin family.

"You don't know that..." began Thea.

"She chose him!" Jonas screamed, getting in Thea's face. "She called me! Told me to forget about her and get the hell out of Mystic Falls."

Thea blinked, trying to keep the tears at bay. "So you're just going to give up on your other two kids? Greta chose to serve a vampire, so might as well just lay down and die!"

Thea turned away from her father and set the glass of blood on the table near the door.

"It's your decision," said Thea in a quiet voice. "Greta hurt this family by abandoning us. Please don't make the same mistake she did."

Then she left, leaving Jonas to his thoughts.

o – o – o

"Okay, pop quiz," said Alaric, putting the shirts onto the bed the next morning. "The dagger and white ash are in Elijah's possession, correct?"

Katherine shook her head, though she really didn't want to correct him. He might look like the history teacher, but inside was pure, sadistic Klaus.

"Elijah has the dagger," said Katherine. "The Salvatores have the white ash."

"Because they daggered Elijah, but Thea released him," confirmed Alaric. "So why are the Salvatores still alive?"

"They're protecting Elena," said Katherine.

Alaric looked skeptical.

"Don't forget your on the outs with your girlfriend Jenna," added Katherine.

"Right," said Alaric, buttoning up the shirt. "Elena's aunt. For all the lies about Isobel. What else?"

"That's it," said Katherine, nervously watching him walk over to her.

"Oh, so jumpy," said Alaric, when he ran his hand down her cheek.

"Please," pleaded Katherine. "Just... kill me. I've told you everything that I know."

"You see. I believe that you believe that. But what would you not know?" he asked. "What could they be keeping from you? Hmm? Anything?" He looked her in the eye. "Tell me."

"They were trying to see if a witch could find a way to kill an Original without a dagger," said Katherine.

"What witch?" asked Alaric. "Thea?"

Katherine could have sworn a hurt look crossed his face, but she must have imagined it.

"I don't know," answered Katherine. "They wanted her father to do it, but I killed him to get the moonstone."

Alaric scrutinized her. "Well, we'll have to get to the bottom of that. If there's a witch that could find a way to kill an Original, it's Thea Martin."

o – o – o

Thea and Luka were in the kitchen, having a subdued breakfast when Jonas walked in, carrying the still-full glass of blood.

"Dad," said Luka. "How are you feeling?"

Jonas set the glass of blood down on the table.

"I need to say something," said Jonas. "You both need to hear this."

Thea and Luka stayed silent.

Jonas sighed. "I love you both. I know I haven't said it enough. And I know I wasn't always there for you when I should have been. But this." He picked up the glass of blood. "This is for you."

Then he gulped it down.

Luka smiled. "Dad!"

He quickly hugged Jonas. Then Thea saw the veins appear under his eyes and Jonas pushed Luka away.

"It's okay," Thea said quickly. "It'll take some time." She turned to Luka. "You should get to school. I'll stay with him."

Luka hesitated.

"Go!" Thea said, shooing Luka out the door.

Luka nodded and left with a big smile on his face.

Jonas warily sat down at the kitchen table.

"Thank you," said Thea. "It means a lot. I know you can handle it."

Jonas sighed. "I hope you're right." He looked her in the eye. "And if I can't, I trust you'll do the right thing."

Thea squirmed uncomfortably. "Dad..."

"I'm serious, Thea," said Jonas. "I'll walk right outside in the sun this instant if you don't agree."

Thea remembered the promise Elijah had made to her, when Thea had asked him the same thing, only about her newfound channeling power.

"Alright," agreed Thea. "There's some stuff I should catch you up on though."

o – o – o

"Don't lose it," said Thea, handing Jonas the ring.

He looked at the lapis lazuli ring and slipped it on his finger.

"I haven't worn a ring since..." he trailed off.

"Since you and Mom got divorced?" ventured Thea.

Jonas nodded sadly. "What would your mother say about this?"

"Who cares?" asked Thea, rolling her eyes. "She left, remember?"

At Jonas' sad look, Thea continued. "Don't think about her, okay?" She took her father's hands in hers. "These next few weeks are going to be tough. Heightened emotions are part of the vampire package. Just try and stay calm."

She got up from the table.

"Where are you going?" asked Jonas.

"Luka should be home from school soon," said Thea. "I have to go to the Salvatore's. Apparently Klaus made some kind of move."

"And they called you?"

Thea laughed. "They must be scared and desperate, no?"

"Is Elijah going with you?"

Thea nodded.

"Good."

o – o – o

"How is he doing?" asked Elijah, when Thea climbed into his car.

Thea shrugged. "As well as can be expected. Thanks for the blood bags. They'll help."

Elijah pulled away from the curb. "And how are you, my dear?"

Thea closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "I don't know. It's never gonna be the same, is it?"

"I'm afraid not."

Thea opened her eyes. "My sister called me. Warned me away."

"I'm assuming she did so with my brother's consent?"

Thea nodded. "Klaus must know we're working together. We didn't exactly make it a secret that we planned to kill him."

"He spared you once," Elijah commented.

"I doubt he'll do it again," said Thea. "I just hope..."

She trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Are you having doubts?" asked Elijah. "Greta may be traitorous, but she is your sister."

"And Klaus is your brother. Are you ready to kill him?"

"I must be. I have nothing left but revenge."

Thea nodded sadly. "Then I can't let my personal feelings get in the way either."

Elijah looked at her curiously. "This isn't just about your sister, is it?"

Thea sighed. "Klaus was a friend. I thought... I thought he..." She sighed. "That all his anger was just a mask for the pain. The pain of the curse. Things in his past. I guess I wrong."

Elijah sighed. "I don't believe you were... Our wounds as a family run deep. And Niklaus was perhaps the most affected of us all."

Thea frowned "What wounds?"

Elijah shook his head. "It's pointless to speak of them. My family is lost and he is responsible. There can be no excuse."

"Of course," said Thea.

There was a long pause before she broke the silence.

"His real name is Niklaus?"

"Yes."

"What's your real name?" asked Thea in a teasing tone.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Elijah is a biblical name, my dear."

Thea smiled. "Do people call you 'Lij or Eli?"

His lips twitched. "Not if they expect me to answer."

o – o – o

"He wants you to 'save him the last dance'?" asked Thea with a roll of her eyes.

Thea, Elijah, Elena and the Salvatore brothers were at the Boarding House. Elena had just finished describing how Klaus had apparently compelled a student to taunt Elena at lunch.

"I'm sorry he freaked you out," said Thea, looking sympathetically at Elena. "But I'm not sure what you want us to do about it."

"I thought we were all on the same team," countered Stefan. "Isn't that why Damon showed you where the witch burial site was?"

"I have no intention of confronting Klaus prior to the ritual," said Elijah. "It would be unwise to stray from our plan."

"He's practically begging us to take him out at the dance," said Damon.

"All the more reason not to take the bait," argued Thea. "I suggest you all stay home and away from the high school tonight. Luka isn't going to that dance. That's for damn sure."

"What if Greta is there?" asked Damon. "With Klaus?"

Thea narrowed her eyes at Damon's attempts to manipulate her. "If we knew Klaus was going to be there, I'd go. But we don't. It's probably some sort of trap."

"Well, I have to go," said Elena, shaking her head.

"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Damon. "If they're not going," he indicated Thea and Elijah, "you're not going Elena."

"I have to go, Damon. What will Klaus do if I don't show up? What if he decides to send a message about not listening to him? The same type of message he sent Katherine?"

Thea winced, knowing exactly how Klaus had taken out his rage on Katherine's family.

"I don't give a fuck about..." Damon started.

A knock at the door interrupted whatever Damon was going to say. The door opened and Alaric stepped through.

"What's going on?" asked Alaric, looking at everyone's tense faces.

His gaze seemed to linger on Elijah and Thea.

"Klaus made his first move," said Damon.

"He's coming to the dance tonight," supplied Elena.

"So what's the plan?" asked Alaric.

Everyone looked at Thea and Elijah.

Thea sighed. Maybe Elena was right. She hated rising to Klaus' taunts, but it was better to play his game than risk him killing a bunch of high school students because she was stubborn. If she managed to kill him, all the better. Even if she didn't last the night.

"Fine, I'll make an appearance," said Thea. She turned to Alaric. "Put me down as a chaperone, Ric?"

"Me too," said Damon.

"I will attend as well," said Elijah.

"No," said Thea.

Elijah's face looked confused.

"Can you stay with Jonas and Luka tonight?" asked Thea. "I don't trust this isn't some type of misdirection. We can't leave them unprotected."

"Hold on a second," said Damon. "Since when does Papa Witch need vampire protection?

Thea sighed. "Katherine killed my father yesterday. He's a vampire, not a witch. Luka's no match for Klaus."

"I'm so sorry," said Elena.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Perhaps I ought to attend the dance," offered Elijah. "While you stay with your family."

"You can't kill him," said Thea. "I can."

"That's not gonna be that easy," chuckled Alaric. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around."

Thea rolled her eyes. "He's not the biggest, believe me."

Alaric's face darkened. "I just mean it would take a lot of power to kill him."

"Alaric has a point," said Damon. "Why don't we just use the dagger?"

"The dagger does not work on Klaus," said Elijah.

"Why not?" demanded Stefan.

Thea looked at Elijah.

"What is it?" asked Elena. "What are you not telling us?"

Elijah nodded. "Perhaps it's time you knew the whole truth."

And then he told them. How Klaus was his half-brother, that he'd had his werewolf side suppressed and was trying to unlock it in order to sire his own hybrid line.

"So the Sun and the Moon curse is fake?" asked Damon.

Elijah nodded. "The easiest way to find a lost stone and doppelganger was to have the members of two warring species on the lookout for it."

"So that's why you're so desperate to stop him," said Stefan, looking at Thea. "You're afraid what will happen if he breaks the curse."

"I wanted my sister back," said Thea. "I don't think that's going to happen. She's with him willingly. But we can't let him break the curse and live. A hybrid's bite would be lethal to vampires 24/7. He would own the dominant species on the planet."

"Then let's kill him," said Damon. "Tonight."

o – o – o

"The 60s?" groaned Thea, as she and Elijah pulled away from the Boarding House. "What am I supposed to wear? Bell bottoms and tie dye?"

"Whatever you wear, I'm sure it'll be lovely," smiled Elijah, who seemed amused by her annoyance.

"You still open to switching?" asked Thea.

"I would encourage it."

Thea sighed. "You agree with Luka. You think I shouldn't risk using all this power to kill him?"

"I do not wish to see you harmed, Thea. Especially as we can just as easily end him after the ritual."

"But what if something goes wrong?" asked Thea. "What if we miss our shot and tonight would have been the only time to take him out? Once he's turns to a wolf after the ritual, it's over. This power isn't enough to kill him once he's a hybrid."

"I'm aware of that complication."

"Then you know how narrow our window is," said Thea. "If he shows tonight..."

"I hope you will show restraint," said Elijah, his tone a little sharp. "You convinced Jonas to complete the transition so he would not abandon those who care for him, I wish you would take the same consideration for yourself."

Thea didn't respond. Was this Elijah's way of saying he cared about her? That he didn't want her to die? If his only goal was to kill Klaus, shouldn't he be encouraging her to go for it tonight?

The rest of the ride passed in silence.

When they arrived at Jonas' apartment, Elijah and Thea walked towards the front door.

"Thanks for watching them," said Thea as she unlocked the front door and started to walk up the stairs to her father's apartment.

Elijah smiled sadly. "We all have our parts to play."

"I'll be okay, Elijah," said Thea, as they walked up the stairs. "There's no guarantee killing him will kill me."

Once they were in front of Jonas' apartment, Elijah grabbed Thea's hand.

"Elijah..." she breathed.

And then he kissed her. Not just a small peck on the cheek, but a full-on hard press to the lips. He ran his hands up to her neck and aligned his body with hers.

She moaned when she felt his tongue seeking entrance, readily granting it with a parting of her lips. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his torso, running her hands up and down his back.

The door to the apartment opened and a sudden intake of air startled them.

She jumped back and saw Luka standing there.

"Hey," Thea said awkwardly. "Change of plans for tonight."

Luka just looked amused as he stepped aside to let Elijah and Thea in.

As she faced Luka and her father, she tried to calm her beating heart and not think about the mind-blowing kiss. If she could just focus on the task at hand, maybe she could survive the night and see if there were more kisses in their future.

A/N: Let me know what you think! Both about the changes to canon I'm making and the progression of Elijah and Thea's relationship. I know I said I may pair her with others, but I may scrap that and just go full-on Elijah/Thea...