AN: Hello readers! Thank you all so much for your continued support of this story with your follows, favs and reviews! I am terribly sorry that this is getting out later than usual. It has been a busy week for me and between helping out a dear friend who just gave birth to her second baby, checking in on my dad who just had knee surgery and taking care of my house after a snow storm, I have not had much time to write. But here is the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy!
To my very enthusiastic guest reviewer, I did include part of your suggestion and I hope you like it.
"Camille." Klaus called out. The blonde human appeared, a squirmy Hope in her arms. "We must take a quick trip to visit Elijah. You need to stay here with Hope." Klaus didn't even give her a chance to agree or disagree as he stood up and offered his hand to Caroline. Caroline allowed Klaus to pull her up from her chair. They left the home with Rebekah and Stefan in tow. Klaus led the way to Elijah's apartment.
Rebekah flashed up to the door first and knocked loudly on the door. Elijah opened the door and tried his best to hide his shock at seeing both of his siblings, along with the youngest Salvatore and Miss. Forbes. "Rebekah, to what do I owe this visit?" His eyes jump from person to person and land on Klaus.
Rebekah opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Klaus. "Where is Hayley, big brother?" Elijah hesitated long enough for Klaus to raise his hand to Elijah. "Please, do not lie to me. I can smell her. She may not be here now, but she was here earlier. I will repeat my question. Where. Is. Hayley?" Klaus growled, taking some subtle steps in front of Caroline, as if blocking her in case a fight broke out.
Elijah opened his apartment door wider and swept his hand into his apartment. "Do come in." Elijah smiled at Caroline and Stefan, but let his features fall into a scowl when Klaus walked in.
"Enough stalling, Elijah. Where is the little wolf?" Klaus demanded, after barely taking two steps into his brother's place.
"She left. Rather quickly I must say. She heard you calling me and she didn't even give me a reason for her speedy escape." Elijah explained, but not without a hint of mistrust in his voice.
"Interesting." Rebekah drawled out, as she poked around her brother's place.
Elijah moved to stand dangerously close to Klaus. "Niklaus, what business do you have with Hayley?"
Rebekah and Caroline both took in the rather defensive look on Elijah's face and the Hybrid's dangerous expression. Rebekah and Caroline locked eyes and Rebekah motioned with her head for Caroline to step in. "I need to talk to Hayley." Caroline spoke up.
Elijah looked Caroline up and down and narrowed his eyes. "I have it on good authority that you were not that close to Hayley in Mystic Falls, Miss. Forbes. What reason do you have for searching her out all the here in New Orleans?"
Caroline hesitated and glanced to Stefan. She wasn't sure if they could trust Elijah with the problem that concerned all four of them. Klaus finally moved from the doorway and sat down on the couch. "Why are you so protective of my daughter's mother?"
Elijah cleared his throat and turned to face Klaus. He chose to completely ignore all the other vampires in the room. "I am well aware that Hayley is not your favorite person. Aside from Hayley running away at the sound of your voice, seeing Miss. Forbes here can only make me wonder. I know that if it were ever to come down to it, you, my dear brother, would hold Miss. Forbes' life above Hayley's. Someone needs to protect your daughter's mother."
Caroline tried to turn away to hide her blush, hearing Elijah speak of Klaus' obvious fondness for her. Klaus watched Caroline's reaction and let a smirk grace his handsome, stubbly face. "I'm afraid your sweet Hayley has gotten herself into something that is way over her head." Klaus explained.
Elijah nodded and just looked out the window for a moment, processing what his brother said. He was not entirely sure he could trust Klaus, especially since his distaste for Hayley would only be amplified by arrival of Caroline Forbes. "I will go find Hayley and I will get back to you. So you can speak to her." Elijah easily dismissed his siblings and their guests. Elijah pulled out his phone and frantically began texting Hayley, hoping that whatever had her spooked wasn't as bad as Klaus seemed to think.
"So what now?" Stefan asked, as they approached the front door of the Mikaelson home.
"That was a bust." Caroline complained and Klaus came up behind her. He placed his large hands on her slender shoulders and leaned in.
He didn't need to speak loud, as they could all hear him, but he whispered for effect. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, sweetheart." Klaus let his hands gently fall away, trailing softly down Caroline's back.
Caroline swallowed hard and tried to remind herself not to let him affect her. "Meaning, what exactly?" She choked out.
Rebekah rolled her eyes at her favorite brother's behavior but answered Caroline's question nonetheless. "If Hayley had something to do with this spell, then Elijah will find out. We are hoping that our big brother still holds family as the top priority and will essentially choose us over her."
"That's great and all, but it still leaves my question unanswered. What now?" Stefan asked again.
They all stood in the foyer of the home, trying to decide on a course of action when Cami walked in while feeding Hope a bottle. "What happens now is I have to go to work." Cami removed the empty bottle from Hope's mouth and handed her to Rebekah, as she was the closest person.
"Thank you for your help, Camille." Klaus held the door open and she left with a nod of her head.
"A witch got you two this far. Maybe we need the aid of another witch." Rebekah offered.
"And is there a witch you currently trust, Bekah?" Klaus asked, his eyes roaming from Hope to Caroline and back again.
"We could try Kol. He is family. Ask him for some answers." Rebekah suggested.
"Kol's alive?" Stefan and Caroline exclaimed at the same time.
"And a witch?" Caroline was flabbergasted.
A teasing smile crept its way on Klaus' face. "My mother dearest brought Kol and Finn back from the dead and placed them in witches' bodies. Kol is rather powerful." Klaus thought about it and rubbed his chin. "It's a rather good idea, Bekah. I will give Kol a call." Klaus pulled his phone out of his pocket as Caroline turned her attention to watch Rebekah and Hope. She decided against approaching the Original and her niece.
"Nik. What can I do for you?" Kol chirped.
"Kol, Bekah and I had a little situation that requires a witch. We need you to come to the mansion to help us out." Klaus politely demanded.
"I'm flattered you would call on me." Kol said, with mock joy. "What do you expect from me?"
"This is a family matter, Kol. You are family. Family matters should be dealt with by family. Just get yourself here quickly. All will be explained." Klaus hung up and Caroline shook her head at his impatience.
The minutes passed slowly, and the four supernatural beings sat in silence, except for Bekah who was talking to Hope. Caroline was skimming through texts on her phone. Stefan was sitting in a chair, switching his gaze from out the window to Rebekah, back to the window. Klaus was standing by the fireplace, drink in hand, growing more and more impatient. Finally Kol arrived, confusing Caroline and Stefan, since they had yet to meet him in his new body.
"I'm here. What do you need?" Kol sounded annoyed and he was.
Rebekah pushed herself in front of Klaus. "We need you to do a spell or something. Some witch cast a spell causing the four of us to have these out of body experiences where we are watching each other's lives, but only while we are sleeping."
Kol's eyes scrunched up and he rubbed his forehead. "Out of body experiences? What kind of spell did you have cast on you?"
"That's what we were hoping you could help us with." Caroline spoke up. Kol turned and smirked seeing the blonde baby vampire. "The dreams are very specific. Whenever I go to sleep, I see Klaus and vice versa. Same for Rebekah and Stefan." Kol's eyebrows shot up and he was most definitely intrigued. "Stefan and I had a witch look into it. She had us fall asleep and cast a spell but she was not that strong and could only help us to confirm the dreams were a result of a spell and where the spell was cast."
Kol nodded. "I could do a spell similar to the one you had done. But I could do it on Klaus and Bekah. Family ties and all that, could help things."
"Ok, let's get this done, then. Bekah, give Hope to Caroline. We need to go have a nap." Klaus belted out, gruffly.
Bekah uneasily handed her darling niece to Caroline. "Don't drop her or I will rip your heart out." She turned around in a flurry of pin straight blonde hair and followed after her brothers. The only sounds were the clicking of her heels on the tiles, Klaus' grumbling and Kol's snickers.
They picked a guest room with two twin beds. Klaus laid down on one and Bekah on the other. Kol busied himself with a few things while waiting for them to fall asleep. As soon as they were both asleep, Kol began to chant. Immediately he felt something familiar. He stopped his chanting and just basked in the magic around him. A rush went through him and then it made sense. "Oh, Davina. What have you gotten yourself into?" He whispered, knowing that Davina was the witch who had cast the spell on his siblings.
Klaus opened his eyes and took a minute to regain his focus. He had fallen asleep, and Kol must be working on the spell. He wondered into the sitting room, where Caroline and Stefan are talking. Caroline was sitting on the floor, playing with Hope and Stefan was casually lounging on the couch next to her. "I think I might stick around." Stefan said.
Caroline looked up at him, with a confused expression. "Stick around what?"
"Stick around New Orleans. Maybe this is my second or third chance with Rebekah. I won't know unless I try." Stefan admitted. Klaus had to say he was impressed with the Ripper. Stefan might be the first guy who was interested in his baby sister that Klaus didn't want to dismember.
Caroline looked down at Hope, brushed her cheek and smiled sadly. "I get it. It's been kind of nice being around Klaus again. I hate to admit that I missed him." She added quietly. Klaus was elated, just her little admission of missing him meant that he still meant something to her. Klaus walked closer to the friends to make sure he heard every last word of their conversation while he could. "But, I'm just not sure we are ready for each other yet." Caroline almost looked depressed at that thought. As much as he despised hearing that, Klaus understood. His priorities were making New Orleans safe for his daughter and raising Hope with Hayley. That would leave little time for Caroline, especially since it was no secret that Caroline and Hayley didn't get along. The pang in his heart told Klaus that despite his understanding, he still wanted Caroline to stand with him, as his queen. A small high pitched whine brought Klaus out of his daydreams of Queen Caroline.
"She's getting fussy, huh?" Stefan asked, looking a little out of his element.
"Yeah, she's been rubbing her eyes for a few minutes now. I bet she's tired." Caroline deducted. Caroline nearly jumped to her feet and pulled Hope in her arms. She laid Hope's head on her shoulder and began to rub her back as she swayed side to side. Hope stopped whining, but she was still fidgety.
Klaus' eyes widened as Caroline began to sing to Hope. Klaus had never heard Caroline sing and he could not believe the voice she had. Actually, he could believe it because Caroline was perfection in every way to him. He was in a trance as Caroline sang to Hope, resulting in his lovely daughter finally resting her eyes and falling to sleep. Klaus could not tear his eyes away from Caroline and he could only imagine if things had been different, this could be his reality. A beautiful woman by his side and his lovely daughter in her arms. Klaus purposed at that moment that regardless of what Caroline felt he was ready for, he could make room for her in his life. He would make room for Caroline because she was as important as his city and his daughter. She was his love.
Kol walked out of the room where his siblings were still sleeping with heavy purposeful steps. He was almost at the door, when Stefan vamped next to him. Kol physically jumped. "Geez, mate. I don't have vampire reflexes anymore, remember?" He joked, to ease his own tension.
"What did you find out?" Stefan asked.
"Nik and Bekah will be up soon. I just need to run this little errand. I'll be right back." Kol practically ran out of the house.
Caroline walked up to stand behind Stefan, Hope still sleeping on her shoulder. "That was…" She trailed off.
"Weird, bizarre, concerning." Stefan offered, still watching out the door that Kol had been so quick to use.
"Sketchy. He's kind of sketchy." Caroline replied.
It only took a few more minutes before Klaus and Rebekah were vamping to the foyer where Stefan and Caroline were still awkwardly standing. "Where is Kol?" Klaus demanded.
"He left." Stefan said, trying not to make eye contact, as he could feel the rage radiating off of Klaus.
"What do you mean, 'he left'?" Klaus was about to shove Stefan against the wall.
"He said he had an errand to run, but he would be back." Caroline explained quickly.
Klaus backed off of Stefan and turned to face Caroline. His eyes softened as he noticed she was still cuddling his sleeping child. "I see." He muttered, not thinking of anything better to respond with.
The front door opened and Elijah walked in. He looked around and the minute his eyes laid on Hope, being held by Caroline his face contorted in shock. He recovered quickly, but Klaus was witness to it. Elijah was about to speak, when the front door opened again and this time revealed Kol. Klaus wasted no time in pinning Kol to wall, with his forearm pressed up against Kol's neck. "Explain yourself brother." Klaus ground out.
Kol struggled to speak, hitting at Klaus' arm. Klaus eased up just enough so Kol could talk. "The spell, it was done on all three of the Original Vampires, or hybrid in your case."
Klaus continued to hold Kol against the wall, but turned around to glare at Elijah dangerously. "Anything you need to tell us, oh moral honest brother?" Klaus taunted.
Elijah straightened out his suit jacket and looked to the ground. "I have been having these visions. When I am asleep, I am transported to wherever Hayley is. I can just sit there and watch her." Elijah's eyes darted up to Klaus. "It's because of these visions that I acknowledged my feelings for her. That's why I wanted your blessing and that's why I confessed how I felt to her."
"When I did the spell." Kol choked out. "I could sense that neither of you were the focus of the spell. It must have been Elijah."
"Then why did it affect us?" Rebekah demanded.
"The witch that performed the spell must have used Elijah's blood. And it must have had some adverse reactions on the two of you, being his only true blood siblings."
Klaus finally dropped Kol and turned his interrogation on Elijah. A buzzing in Elijah's pocket caused him to hold his hand up to Klaus. The action irritated Klaus, but he waited for Elijah to give him his attention. "I just received a text from Hayley." Elijah announced. "She wants me to meet her."
Klaus nodded. "Fine then. Go. See what she knows or what she did. But we are not done talking, Elijah." Klaus warned. Elijah vamped off and Kol was again the focus of his brother's wrath. "What else did you find from that spell, Kol?"
"Nothing else." Kol lied. He made sure to check his body reactions, knowing that Klaus could detect a rise in his heartbeat or change in his breathing.
"Then we have no other use for you." Klaus dismissed his little brother with a hand wave.
"Thank you for your help, Kol." Caroline called out as Kol began to leave. Kol gave Caroline a smile and left in search of a little witch.
The group of four retired to the sitting room again. This time Caroline eased herself on the couch, Hope still cradled in her arms. Klaus allowed himself to sit next to her. If anyone asked, he would say he wanted to be near Hope. It was true, but being near Caroline was a definite plus. Stefan took a seat in a chair and Rebekah had too much nervous energy to just sit. So she paced the floor.
"Bekah, please. Sit down. You are making me crazy." Klaus rubbed his temples and began to wrack his brain.
"I can't. Hayley had a witch cast some kind of spell on our brother and now we are being effected." Rebekah whined.
Caroline held her tongue, because she didn't want to engage in a verbal battle with the Originals. But she and Stefan were also being affected by this spell. She took solace in the calm breaths of Hope and the little coos she made in her sleep. It relaxed Caroline more than she ever imagined it could.
"Davina." Klaus growled out.
"What?" Stefan turned to Klaus.
"Davina. She is a local witch. Rather powerful." Klaus explained. "She's also the only one who would help a hybrid like Hayley."
"And I doubt you noticed, but Kol seems to have developed a little crush on the witch." Rebekah added in.
"So Kol is protecting Davina." Klaus grunted. "It looks like our next stop will be paying the young witch a visit." A sinister smile appeared on Klaus' face and was mirrored by Rebekah.
The moment was ruined as the door to their home blew into the room and shattered into thousands of splinters. They looked up and were met with the new, witch face of Finn, standing in the door way.