A/N- Here we go everyone!
Annabelle Mason missed London.
London was a town that was made for snowy winters and holidays.
Washington D.C lacked the same charm as ancient city not the least because when the clocks struck five pm on the Friday afternoon the city became deserted as senators, congressmen, congressional aides, lobbyists and activists all moved heaven and earth to make it back to their hometowns.
Even the President himself had flown out for the holiday.
London was always filled to the brim with people and tourists every holiday, all those humans determined to immerse themselves in the beauty and glow of the gritty city, to see how it came alive under lights and decorations.
Annabelle Mason missed that, especially when she considered the fact that she likely wouldn't see England again before the New Year.
If she was lucky enough to be able to see it at all for the immediate future.
And she so loved Christmas in her home country.
But she also loved the world not being ripped to shreds amidst supernatural warfare.
Which was why she was in Washington D.C in the first place.
As a rule, supernatural creatures tended to avoid the capital.
Not because they lacked any interest in politics but because there was an unwritten rule in their world that when it came to intelligence agencies, the greater distance between the two parties the better.
Only the biggest idiots would risk the CIA, FBI, or any other of those overfunded, delusions of grandeur weapon wielding fools getting knowledge of the supernatural world. At best, the supernatural community would find themselves being forced into service of these agencies to take part in issues that didn't concern them. At worst, there would be all out worldwide witch hunt that would lead to any and all creatures going underground for decades or centuries.
Which was why it was the perfect place for Annabelle Mason to reside. She knew that she could move about freely without being spied upon by anything not human and make her moves without having to worry about finding herself spelled or compelled.
Had she been even a few towns south she wouldn't have had that luxury.
Ever since the Original Family set up their kingdom in New Orleans, vampires all over the Americas had been raising their heads curiously and trying to determine where their futures lay. Without having to hide from Mikael or Esther, the Originals could finally rule the vampires as they saw fit and if Annabelle knew anything of politics and power, she figured that the werewolves would soon fall under the hybrid Niklaus as well.
This suited her plans perfectly.
The witches on the other hand- did not.
If Annabelle Mason had a penny for every time a witch had torn the balance of Nature to shreds in their deluded belief that they were serving it she would currently own the United States of America.
And the United Kingdom as well.
With a sigh of annoyance she sat back against the leather couch of her penthouse suite and waited for Jesse and Ashley to finally make their appearance.
It was another five minutes and another pot of tea put on to brew before the two of them finally made it to her door. They knock and enter reeking of cigarette smoke,
"Sorry" Ashley apologises quickly, "Traffic was obscene"
Annabelle accepts this with a nod, "And Salem?"
"Fucking freaking the hell out and arming for Armageddon" Jesse grouses, "Bonnie Bennett wouldn't even come out of her room to speak to me, just kept sobbing about how Jeremy's ditched his phone and Abigail Bennett wanted me to make something like a damn blood oath of loyalty"
Annabelle sighs and sits them down, "Well we expected as much when they failed. You don't piss off the Original family, attack them and their loved ones and then skip off into the sunset to feel safe again immediately and forever"
"Right…but unfortunately you also shouldn't be turning to a Plan B" he continues, drawing out his cigarette packet and slipping it back into his jacket when she gives him a pointed look,
"Which they are" he finishes.
"Do we know what it is yet?" she asks quickly but he only shakes his head, so Ashley speaks up,
"I've been working on Abigail Bennett" she reports dutifully, "However, whatever's coming next I don't think she knows what it is. Celeste has pretty much ditched them at this point, which is fair because I don't think they're going to be of any more use to her but I'm going to have a hard time infiltrating the New Orleans witches"
"You won't be able to" Annabelle tells her, clicking her fingers in frustration, "And even if you could it'd be too risky to send you there. Klaus and Katherine Pierce have spies all over the city, they could make you and trace you back to us"
Her two agents go silent as they ponder this dilemma. They can't risk heading to New Orleans but they can't risk being in the dark about whatever was coming next.
"All we know is that whatever Celeste has planned required Elijah's blood" Jesse offers weakly and she shrugs,
"Well, if the witches want Elijah, they'll have to go through Katherine Pierce to get him and that ought to drastically reduce their numbers"
She hands them the dossiers containing their next missions and then allows them a few hours respite. After the debacle in Mystic Falls she is confident that Caroline and Bonnie wouldn't be wondering where Jesse was these holidays or trying to contact him.
And thankfully, with all the supernatural creatures whose survival she was counting on in the French Quarter celebrating Thanksgiving together she knew they would be safe.
Or as safe as anyone born in Mystic Falls could ever hope to be.
"Holy freaking Hell!"
Rarely was Stefan Salvatore in complete agreement with his brother over anything that wasn't their immediate survival, the current state of the American education system or Elena's welfare but this time…this time Damon's outburst mirrored his thoughts exactly.
But Caroline Forbes is his best friend so he determinedly adopts a light-hearted, positive tone,
"I think it's nice" he tries, earning a stare from Damon that clearly questions his sanity, "It's festive"
"It looks like she got Martha Stewart on a cocaine bender and set her loose with the colour orange compelled into her brain" he snaps, taking in the Bourbon St manor
"Klaus must be whipped as hell if he allowed this"
"Klaus is nothing of the sort"
Both brothers jump as Klaus emerges from the shadows of one of the pillars in the courtyard,
"I simply listened reasonably to Caroline's suggestion that a festive holiday might be of comfort to your poor, homeless and traumatised souls as you drink all my top shelf liquor"
He flashes in front of Damon Salvatore and gives him the same smile he typically wore just before dead bodies started piling up,
"Now she has gone to a lot of effort and you are going to politely notice every single detail and compliment her on her hard work…or you are going to spend the weekend buried underground behind a brick wall in the prison that was left over from the previous king's era, it's quite a barbaric place" he chuckles good humouredly,
"Even by my standards but it does the job, so what shall it be?"
Damon takes in the large gold and orange ribbons gracing the upstairs gallery railing and the hollowed out pumpkins filled with seasonal wildflowers sitting on the banisters. Thanksgiving wreaths, which Damon hadn't even been aware were even a thing were nailed to all the entry doors of the manor.
"This looks great" he says with a tight, fake smile on his face, "Absolutely freaking awesome"
Klaus claps him on the shoulder, "Good man…now don't forget to have a second helping of the pumpkin pie for desert, I hear the chocolate marshmallows and salt caramel ice-cream we're serving with it is to die for"
Stefan tries to hide his amusement at how green his brother's face is growing at the thought of all that sugar and starch.
"Happy Thanksgiving" he snickers before heading off in search of Elena.
No-one had really felt like celebrating Thanksgiving this year, forced out of their homes into the world with nothing but what they carried into their pockets they hadn't felt very thankful.
However, Caroline had been determined to cheer everyone up and after she'd asked Klaus if he had any preference for the holiday- he didn't as the Originals didn't celebrate and considered the pilgrims genocidal monsters- had taken it upon herself to get everyone into the holiday mood.
And she figured if they weren't feeling happy or grateful at the moment, perhaps if she flooded their senses with pumpkin, pumpkin spice and folk rock they would be able to fake it until they made it.
She had lived by this rule throughout her teenage years of anxiety and inability to ever say the right thing, constant second place and rejection.
Just because you felt like you were falling apart inside didn't mean that you should let the world know.
She reminds herself of this as she arrives at Le Coeur Jardin, leaving the car Klaus had loaned her- a modern Porsche which she'd found in the underground garage at Bourbon St and he'd apparently hadn't even realised he owned- in the driveway as she nervously approaches the house.
She unlocks the front door and steps in cautiously, even though she knows that Klaus was at the manor protecting his liquor stash from Jeremy and Damon, Elijah was at a symposium, Rebekah was off somewhere not answering her phone and Katherine had simply left a note on the fridge that morning stating
'BRB- out making questionable life choices'
Surprisingly nobody questioned this six word statement, even though they all figured she was doing a lot more than she let on.
Whatever. Caroline had other things to worry about.
Taking a deep breath she heads up the stairs to the wing where Klaus' bedroom was and where two doors down, Baby Erik's nursery was situated.
Tentatively she knocked on the door and waited to hear the babysitter call 'Enter'
She fixed a cheerful smile to her face, "Hey" she greeted, "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Raina Lakes raised her head and nodded appreciatively, returning the sentiment. The young raven-haired woman was sitting on the hardwood floor with Erik, crayons and paper surrounding them,
"I'm trying to teach him how to make hand turkeys" she explains to Caroline as she cautiously sits down, "But he absolutely refuses to colour with anything other than blue"
Caroline shrugs, "Cold turkeys then?"
Raina smirks, "Maybe next year we'll get some defrosted turkeys"
Caroline notes that Raina is speaking of the future as if she'll still be babysitting Erik in a year even though she probably has other plans and isn't studying childcare at Tulane.
Then again, there were very few professions that paid her as highly as Klaus unwittingly did through his lack of knowledge regarding babysitting rates and being far too lazy to find out.
And the woman is clearly devoted to Erik. She raises her head now and regards Caroline curiously,
"Are you looking for Klaus?" she asks, "Because I think he's…"
"Uh actually," Caroline tosses a smile at Erik as he raises his head and reaches for the navy crayon,
"I'm here to see Erik…he and I haven't really had much time together since I've been in town and I saved his life when he was kidnapped by…when he was kidnapped last year. I even took care of him while Klaus was busy re-growing his internal organs and skin and he seemed to like me then"
Raina takes all this in with a placid expression and then nods, "Okay, well…it's time for his morning tea anyway so I'll go get that ready"
Caroline exhales as she and Erik are left alone and she turns to the baby as he looks up from his drawing to see Raina's absence and reaches one pudgy arm for an aqua blue crayon.
He's grown so much since Caroline first met him in Mystic Falls, he was nearly two years old now, his hair was starting to lighten and he had Hayley's eyes but his mannerisms, the way he held his head and watched people was all Klaus.
And so was the ridiculous number of crayons he had.
"So…how's things been with you?" she asked nervously and he burbled, mumbling some words which she couldn't understand,
"Well, I'm great, well…I'm good. I mean my friends and I lost everything and have to start over again but you know…it could be worse"
Erik looks down at the turkey Raina had drawn and that he was colouring in, he holds out the crayon for her to take, his eyes wide with innocence and hope.
Touched, Caroline takes the crayon and drops it on her lap, "Thank-you sweetie…anyway I'm here today because you and I are probably going to be seeing each other a lot now that I'm dating your daddy and I was thinking that we should be friends"
She receives a non-committal hum in response and the first turkey is pushed aside so that a new one can start being coloured.
"Alright" she sighs and looks around before settling her eyes on his bowed head, his little ear shells were so cute that Caroline couldn't resist flicking one gently with her finger.
Erik chortled and beamed at her, "Mo" he babbled, holding out his arms and triumphantly she embraced him,
"Okay" she gives Erik a kiss and flicks his ear again as he squeals in delight,
"So I get your approval and you get hugs, we good?"
"If he was smart he'd hold out for hugs and kisses"
Caroline gasps and wheels around in surprise to see Klaus leaning against the doorjamb with his arms crossed and a smarmy smirk on his face,
"How long have you been standing there?" she demands and he can barely bring himself not to laugh,
"Long enough to know that you use the same bargaining methods on my son as you do on me"
She rolls her eyes but can't fight her smile as Erik's eyes light up when he sees his father, a look mirrored on Klaus' face as he scoops him up in his arms and kisses his forehead lovingly,
She can't get used to seeing Klaus like this so paternal and mature as he unthinkingly pulls the crayon out of Erik's mouth before it gets eaten.
And she's still a college student sorting out her majors.
"I…uh…" she stumbles and takes a breath, allowing herself a moment to get her thoughts together so she doesn't start babbling away,
"I just figured I'd come say hi to Erik, get to know him a little more now that he and I are going to be seeing each other all the time"
"You will" he allows, pausing to listen to his son as he points to one of the turkeys and babbles,
"If you're going to be my girlfriend"
His voice is cold with a hint of warning and she frowns, blinking as she tries to figure out why,
"Did I...do something wrong?" she asks nervously, looking about the room "I mean…his nanny trusted me to be left alone with him and I saved his life once so…"
"Hayley will always be his mother Caroline" he interrupts her firmly, "She suffered so much to bring him into the world and loved him with all her heart, I owe it to her to have him cherish her memory and to never have him call another woman mother"
She actually laughs with relief and the absurdity of his fears, "Seriously! Klaus, I'm not trying to worm my way into Erik's life or trick him into thinking I'm his mother, but I am going to be your girlfriend…for the foreseeable future…and I just wanted him to get used to me"
Klaus himself looks reassured by her outburst which has her frowning and leaning back on her heels,
"Hang on…how many women have tried to get in your bed via your son?"
With angelic innocence the Original hybrid looks at the Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat clock on the wall,
"Oh look, it's almost time for lunch"
In one smooth movement, he's on his feet and sweeping out of the room as Caroline hastily gathers the turkey drawings and follows him with a furious glare,
"Klaus…don't you walk away from me, I want names and numbers dammit!"
"Do you think Caroline will be satisfied…"
"No" Elena interrupts before Katherine can even finish the sentence, "She will know and she will glare at you with unending disappointment, keep firing them up"
Rebekah comes into the dining room and sees the two doppelgangers lighting what had to be the entire stock of orange candles in the French Quarter,
"Bloody hell" she snorts and sniffs with disdain at the pumpkin spice scented air,
"Is Caroline trying to have us spied on from space? Marie Antoinette used less candles for her dinner parties"
One of the eternally young, pretty faces shot up to defend the blonde socialite, her brunette hair glimmering in the candlelight,
"Marie Antoinette was horrified about the heinous contrast of wealth in Versailles and poverty in Paris" Katherine retorted with an artistic wave of the taper,
"Caroline however, is not being faced with entire rooms furnished in silver and gold or diamonds being bought at the expense of the national treasury so if she wishes to have three hundred and ninety-one candles lighting up this dreary compound she can have them"
Elena frowns, "You seriously counted every candle in the house?"
Petrova shakes her head, "God no, but it's been three hundred and ninety one years since the first thanksgiving meal and I figure Caroline would celebrate something like that"
Rebekah only snorts, "Well…you two enjoy playing nice despite the numerous times you've both tried to kill each other, I'm going to find someone worthy of my time"
"Or you could, you know, help?" Katherine suggests, "Seeing as you're going to be enjoying this lunch with the rest of us"
"I don't do work suited for peasants" she retorts before turning on her heel and leaving with her nose in the air.
She hears a disgruntled sigh and then the click of stilettoes on hardwood floor,
"Rebekah!" Katherine caught up to her but didn't dare grab her,
"What?!" the Original demanded huffily, already bored taunting her brother's temporary infatuation,
Katherine rolled her eyes, "Let's be honest" she announced decisively, "You hate me, you hate Caroline but you hate me more because you figure I'm less worthy of royal status than her. You think that I am undeserving of your brother and want me gone. However I'm not going anywhere so we need to play nice"
"We don't need to do anything" Rebekah snapped, "You forget that my brothers and I have been together for a thousand years…I could kill you now and in one hundred years Elijah would forgive me and move on to his next brunette trollop, the only thing here that shall remain unchanged is how much your presence irritates me"
Katherine holds her head high and regards her with pitying eyes, "Elijah had me brought back from the dead and asked me to marry him...Is it hard being you? Having all this power and prestige but with absolutely no-one willing to love you at night?"
She had someone once.
She had loved Marcel dearly and the Originals had celebrated their first Thanksgiving with him when he'd been just a child.
And Katherine had killed him.
The resounding slap sent Katherine's head bouncing off the wall and she lost her footing, falling to her knees and bringing her hands up to defend herself from further attack,
"Rebekah!"
Both women turned to see Elijah's form in the doorway, the sun behind his back casting him into shadow, when he steps into the hall Rebekah can see the deep circles under his eyes and the tightly drawn skin across his face,
"I'll thank-you not to ruin this holiday with unnecessary violence" he scolds her as he scoops Katherine up and sets her on her feet only to have her sway and lean against him,
"If you can't behave yourself then please remove yourself"
Her eyes widen with hurt and unable to speak, she storms out of the house but not before she has the satisfaction of hearing Elijah berate his doxy for having picked the fight in the first place.
But when she stepped onto Bourbon St she realised that she now had the rest of the day to fill and nothing to do.
She heads to the very end of the street and dithers uncertainly before her phone buzzes with a message.
'Hey Happy Thanksgiving! Any plans for dinner?'
Oliver.
Her lips curl into a smile as she imagines spending the day in bed with the voracious werewolf.
Her brothers could play chivalrous boyfriends all they liked, she would be enjoying herself with a nice man who wouldn't just rock her world but would listen to her afterwards.
Perhaps that would ease the pain of her memories.
To say Caroline had over catered for the event was to state the overwhelmingly obvious.
Camille had barely managed a slice of turkey after all the delicious entrees, Matt and Jeremy were only still eating because they had the consumption habits of young men whilst Father Kieran was trying to figure out the best way to package all the inevitable left overs to donate to the poor.
And dessert hadn't even come out yet.
The table was creaking precariously under the three oversized turkeys, sweet potato casserole, butternut squash gratin, enough mashed potato to feed Northern Ireland, candied yams and corn pudding.
Caroline sat back in her chair with an air of satisfaction as she sipped the two hundred year old red wine Klaus had stolen from a queen. Beside her Elena was ignoring the turkey in favour of the roast eggplant which Caroline knew she had a weird obsession with and across from her Katherine was fussing over her food, trying everything once and then offloading it onto Elijah's plate only to change her mind and help herself to his servings as well. He was watching her with a gaze of tender amusement but Caroline couldn't help but notice anxiously that he wasn't eating anything, just taking small sips of the brandy in his hand.
Did he not like her cooking?
She fought the urge to say something and thankfully Raina chose that moment to speak up,
"So, is anyone doing the Black Friday shopping tomorrow?" she asks, seizing on an easy topic that was also appropriate for little Erik's ears,
"Shopping?" Katherine perks up, "Are we going shopping?"
Elena rolls her eyes, "Katherine what could you possibly need to buy? I saw your photos from Paris, do you even have room left on your credit card?"
Katherine smirked, "Please I have a lingerie budget the likes of which could finance the invasion and overthrow of a mid-level dictatorship"
"And don't even get her started on her shoe collection" Elijah muttered darkly as he sipped his brandy, the veins in his eyes starting to glow red.
Caroline's trying to figure out a way to politely offer him one of her blood bags without freaking out the humans at the table when Katherine reaches over and squeezes his thigh and his eyes return to their normal colouring.
Katherine looked up expectantly, "So who wants to go shopping?"
"No-one is going shopping right now!" Caroline snaps, "We're all going to stay here and have dessert like normal, social people"
"Are you sure?" Katherine clarifies, "Because I know the fastest routes to all the major stores that are open today and I have Elijah's credit card right here" she flicks the black card up between two fingers and Elijah once again pats himself down to find that his wallet is missing.
"Maybe you could stop picking my pocket darling?" Elijah suggested as she tucked the card back into her jacket,
"Maybe you shouldn't have died then" she snipes and he sighs,
"That was one time and I didn't die"
She sniffs and ignores him, turning to Camille to discuss the impending chaos of the sales and Caroline turns back to Elena,
"So…" she asks nervously and swallows,
"Are you three all packed?"
Stefan nods over Elena's head, "Just about…Damon compelled a mechanic to head back home and steal the Camaro, it should be here in a few days and there's some people packing up the house for us" he clears his throat and turns to her mother, "I uh…had them go to your place too, they're boxing everything that looks valuable or treasured and shipping it here"
Liz gives him a grateful smile. While Matt and Jeremy were getting ready for New York and the Salvatore's and Elena were using one of the spare rooms in Le Coeur Jardin for storage before setting off on their road trip, Liz was still figuring out her path.
Klaus had already offered to compel the sheriff of any town she wished into early retirement but so far, Caroline's mother was insisting on going about everything in a human and above board manner. Not that Caroline minded her obstinacy, every day she remained there was a chance that she might choose to stay.
A girl could hope.
When Caroline is dumping all the dishes from the main course in the kitchen, an old long since abandoned part of the compound that the Originals had clearly forgot existed, Elena sneaks her hand into hers as she turns to grab the pies from the fridge,
"Hey Care," she whispers as the skies once again turn grey with the threat of rain,
"Yeah?" she queries with half a mind on the ice-cream in the freezer,
"Just…" her best friend sighs and shakes her head, "I'm probably being paranoid but…I want you to be careful okay? I just…have this weird feeling…We've never been apart before and I'm worried about being so far away and not being able to look out for you"
"Hey" Caroline laughs at Elena's adorable- if not slightly deluded- belief that she needed protecting and watching over by her best friend,
"I'll be fine, but I promise to call and text you all the time"
Instantly free from worry Elena chuckled and pulled her into a fierce hug,
"Okay…I love you Caroline"
"I love you too Elena"
Nadia stood with her arms crossed at the window of the dark room, gazing out into the stormy evening as the city before her was soaked by the heavens.
In the doorway, Giacomo Farnese hovered, waiting for her to acknowledge him and when she did not he only smiled.
He was too in love with the mother not to adore the daughter.
"I'm sure Katherine will be back again shortly" he offers by way of comfort.
Comfort Nadia does not need. Whilst she understands that today is an American holiday, it is not one she recognises or understands and therefore, she does not feel the same pang of loneliness and misery she'd felt every birthday and Christmas when she'd marked another year without having discovered her family.
"There is something strange about this rain" she comments, her skin tingling as she stares into the rapidly approaching night.
She couldn't place her finger on it exactly…perhaps it was the suddenness of the downpour, the sheer difference between the rain in New Orleans and the rain in Prague or perhaps it was the strange part of her that had always seemed to sense when something was amiss but this weather unsettled her.
Of course, it could be something else unsettling her altogether.
Such as the knowledge that she had resided in New Orleans for over a month now and her mother still kept her existence a secret, refusing to bring her home to meet Elijah, asking her to stay hidden as much as possible, suggesting in her unspoken way that they were not safe.
That she was not safe.
Katerina Petrova was betrothed to the second most powerful man on the planet and allies with the first. She was Princess of a kingdom where her enemies were too weak to be any threat or completely and utterly destroyed.
So what was she so afraid of?