"Has anyone seen Bella?" Abby frantically ran into the bullpen at 5 PM, looking desperately for her friend, her worried scowl deepening when she didn't see her there either. "Her phone goes straight to voicemail."
"She is on leave for a week. Didn't she tell you?" Tony frowned at that revelation for several reasons as he turned towards her from by his desk. Gibbs's one of many rules was to never be unreachable. And why would she take off without telling Abby?
"I think she went back to Mystic Falls, Abby. I'm pretty sure she won't make it back tonight," McGee informed her apologetically.
"What? But we had plans for this evening. I was going to take her to a karaoke bar for her birthday," the Goth girl despaired, suddenly lost at what to do.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Abbs, but that just might be the reason why she left," DiNozzo jokingly quipped but placed his arm over her shoulder to comfort her. It was kind of an open secret that their youngest agent didn't care much for bars, drinking, or singing for that matter.
"I obviously didn't tell her where I was planning to take her," the forensic scientist pouted at these turn of events.
"I wouldn't put it past her to find out somehow. Her ability to know exactly what we had been talking about is even more uncanny than Gibbs's," Tim laughed out nervously, but then it died off quickly as he glanced at their frightened faces. "He is right behind me, isn't he?"
The answer to that rhetorical question was a slap across the back of his head.
"Enough of the chit-chat, don't you have work to do?" Jethro rounded the computer whiz's table to make his way to his own.
"Right, Boss!" both boys snapped themselves to attention, McGee turning back to his computer, while DiNozzo grabbed a bunch of files from his desk to drop them off at their appropriate destinations for archiving.
"Gibbs…" the raven-haired girl started uneasily as she followed her father figure.
"What is it, Abby?" the team leader asked without glancing up from his computer.
"It's about Bella…" she tentatively started, trailing off, knowing full-well that Gibbs would understand her from half words.
"Leave her be, Abbs," the peppered-haired agent told her sternly.
"But aren't you worried?" Abby insisted, worry etching her voice.
"She can take care of herself, besides it's personal business. Let her sort it out," he glanced up finally to make his point.
"If you say so," she dejectedly relented, wringing her hands as she stood there before starting off back to her lab.
"Have you made any progress with the syringe or that foreign substance?" Gibbs inquired on second thought.
"Not yet. I had enlisted my buddy from the botanic garden for help, but he hasn't come up with anything yet either," the forensic scientist shook her head.
"Alright, keep up the good work," the team leader stood from his place, grabbing the coffee from the table. As he passed Abby, he kissed her on the forehead and made his way to the director's office for a meeting.
"Wow, your taste in clothing sure had matured," Caroline praised Bella's choice, holding it out in her hands for examination as her friend stepped out of the bathroom, with only a towel around her torso, her hair still dripping wet.
"I actually didn't even plan on bringing that, must have accidentally grabbed it with the shirts," the agent laughed out at the assumption that she willingly would wear stuff like that. She was still the old jeans, long-sleeved shirt, and sneakers or boots kind of girl if she could help it. "I had to get that for an undercover op a few years ago actually."
"Either way, I'm sure it looks stunning on you," the blonde reiterated her approval of the dress. "Okay, did you shave or do I have to do that too?"
"Eh, no thanks. Actually, I was waxed for that same op, and my body hair hasn't grown back since. I think it's due to the cold one part of me," Bella shrugged, pleased to be able to escape that particular torture for all eternity.
"Lucky you!" the vampire enviously appraised her. Vampires have an accelerated cellular growth rate due to their healing factor. That also meant body hair. She had to wax about two-three times as often as in her human life. But at least it only took her a fraction of the time do it. All hail for vampire super speed. "Alrighty then, let's dry your hair, then I'll let you get dressed. Leave your makeup and hair to me afterward," she seemed exceptionally pumped by the whole idea, making Bella whimper just slightly, but she steeled herself in heart. She could do this, agreed to it already, just a matter of enduring now.
Caroline must have grossly overestimated the time required for the process or hadn't taken into account her extra fast working hands, because they were all but done just a few minutes after seven. That didn't mean it was less torturous. Especially the curling iron part of it.
The blonde proudly regarded her handy work, allowing Bella to check herself out in the mirror too. Her brown hair tumbled down in elegant waves on her right side, her makeup not too extravagant, just smoky eyes in nudes and browns, some mascara, and red lipstick. Vampire skin was flawless in the extreme, foundation and concealer would actually have made it less appealing to the eye. The lace dress still hugged her curves in just the right places, ending at mid-thigh.
"We just need some jewelry, stilettoes and a clutch purse, and you are all done," the blonde smiled encouragingly at her friend.
"Uhm… yeah, like I said, I didn't really plan on bringing this, so I have nothing besides my boots to wear," Bella frowned down on the footwear, just imagining how mismatched that would look with her outfit. "I can just change and go in jeans."
"Don't be ridiculous, I can lend you some of mine. You are a size 8 right?" Caroline inquired on her way out.
"6.5," she grumbled. She was tiny next to the other girl. Her feet would have been huge compared to her frame if they were indeed the size the blonde had speculated them to be.
"We could stuff some cotton fluff in the front or… I know! Elena should still have some stuff here. Let me go check," her enthusiasm never faltered, which annoyed Bella to no end. She wasn't all that attached to wearing the dress even if it would have been a tremendous help in distracting Klaus.
"She is only an inch shorter than you, I doubt her feet are that much smaller either," the agent pointed out the obvious, starting to reach for her zipper on her back to undress when Damon appeared at the open door to the room she was staying in.
"What is it about Elena?" he inquired, sort of challengingly with a hint of hurt in his voice.
"I was just going to see if there were still some shoes of hers around here. You don't mind, do you?" the blonde searched his face for hints of protest.
"Eh, sure. Try the walk-in closet in my room," the older Salvatore informed her without taking his eyes off of Bella.
Caroline glanced between them with some worry, afraid to leave them alone in case they started insulting each other – or worse – but exited moments later without another word. He kept staring at her, which made Bella self-conscious, so she turned back to the mirror, pretending to be fiddling with and adjusting her dress.
"It suits you," was all Damon said a few seconds later as he walked with slow steps towards her. From the refection, she could see that he kept his right hand behind his back, made her wonder what he was hiding.
"Thank you," the hybrid tentatively glanced up, very glad that she couldn't actually blush anymore.
Suddenly he was right behind her, his body flush against her back, holding up a V-shaped diamond necklace to her neck. Bella instinctively reached up to it as he clicked the clasp in place, watching him and the unreadable expression on his face in the mirror.
"Raising the ordinary to extraordinary," Damon commented as he began putting the matching earrings in too.
"Are you seriously quoting Fifty Shades of Grey to me?" the brunette quirked her brow quizzically at him, their eyes meeting in the reflection. She wondered whether it was meant as a compliment or an insult. Could be either, her being the light of the room, or bland and boring as a lamp post without the accessories he just brought.
"Never took you for a BDSM loving girl," he joked with a wink, very much amused that his innocent looking Bella actually recognized the book he was citing. "Or for a mommy porn reader."
"Neither. I just have a co-worker who watches literally every movie, no matter how crappy they are, and makes a point of throwing around references," the agent flinched back a bit at the image of Tony and the way she had left him in the elevator, then shrugged before continuing. "Drawbacks of the vampire life, remembering every line of nonsense people utter around you. But it does make me wonder, how do you know the book or movie it's from?"
"I get bored and read whatever shit I find lying around the house. I think this particular disgrace was in Caroline's room," Damon quipped, mocking her taste in literature.
"Uh-um," the brunette hummed teasingly as if she doubted that allegation. Truthfully, she could imagine her blond friend having bought something like that. Didn't explain why Damon would pick it up and read it though.
"Doesn't make the statement less true," the naughty, playful Salvatore was gone, his expression back to being intense and very serious as if he meant every word of it despite the corny piece of pop literature it came from. Compliment it is then. "You have truly made a full ugly duckling to swan transformation," and the jokester was back again. "No pun intended. Not that you were ever ugly… even as a human… you know what I mean," only to trip up on his words explaining when he heard how wrong that earlier comment sounded. "Anyway, you were very aptly named by your parents."
"What are you doing, Damon?" Bella inquired a strong hint of aporetic disapproval in her voice. Why was he getting so flustered? It was so not like him. The ever-confident and ultimate bad boy of Mystic Falls, breaker of hearts and womanizer extraordinaire.
"Can't a guy wish you luck before your… eh… reconnaissance mission?" Damon laughed nervously, placing his hands on her shoulders. Had Stefan said something to him? To try and get him to behave?
"No… I mean… sure… but what I mean is… I just don't understand. One minute you're hot…" the agent began but was cut off.
"I'm always hot, thank you very much," he smirked at her. Yet again, flippant and ever self-assured. His mood was like a rollercoaster, dragging her along too.
"Then you're cold…" she finished with a frown at the interruption. The whole thing was just so weird, she had trouble putting her finger exactly on what was going on between them.
"Who is throwing around quotes now? Katy Perry fan?" the older brother whispered to her, his lips coming close to her left ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Whether good or bad shiver, she couldn't decide yet.
"Ughh… you are impossible!" Bella wriggled herself out from under his hold, taking a few steps to the right to put some distance between themselves.
"Comes with the package, baby doll," Damon dramatically gestured to himself, causing her to follow the movements of his hands in front of his torso.
"Stop with the pet names! Seriously, what are you doing? You have Elena now, don't you?" the agent snapped herself out of the momentary daze, the real intent of the flirting finally dawning on her.
"In several decades sure. She told me to live a little until she could return to me," he shrugged in a sort of defeated, lonely manner. Bella could imagine this not being easy for him. The waiting. But that didn't make this any less wrong.
"I'm not some human you can have a fling with and forget about it. I wouldn't be long dead or eighty something by that time comes. Not to mention she is my friend," the brunette stated furiously. How the fuck didn't he realize the position he was putting her into?
"Didn't stop you before," Damon pointed out.
"I was human back then, plus she was with Stefan. I had no idea she had feelings for you," Bella groaned frustratedly. Did he really not see the difference in circumstances? "Please don't make this any more awkward. I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye if I ever met her again."
"Fine. If that's what you want," he threw up his hands in the air, as he stormed out of the room he brushed past Caroline who had been standing there in the doorway for who knew how long.
"Good, it seems we have the jewelry problem solved," she came in nonchalantly with her spoils in hand as if she hadn't witnessed that exceptionally embarrassing exchange. They weren't particularly quiet about it so Stefan must have heard it too if he was still in the house. "Pumps or peep-toes?"
Without waiting for an answer, the blonde placed the selection before her friend. Bella stepped into the black suede peep-toes first. They were much too big as she predicted, her feet sliding too much to the front. The patent leather pumps were slightly better, but her heels were still slipping out of them. She didn't have to worry about friction burns or trouble balancing in them – clumsy Bella was a thing of the past alright – but this wasn't exactly comfortable. Even with the stuffing at the front that Caroline brought without being asked to when she noticed the same issue. Unfortunately, the only stuff of Elena's around the house were sneakers.
"I could ask Bonnie if she has anything. We still have time for her to make it here," the vampire mused out loud.
"Sure," Bella nodded distractedly. Caroline wasted no time, already had her phone at her ear requesting their resident witch to bring over some shoes.
After that uncomfortable silence fell upon them.
"Right, purse. I have this cute glittery black envelope clutch," she suddenly focused her attention back to the problem at hand and showed her the mentioned accessory.
"That's fine," the agent agreed, taking it to put her phone, wallet, and lipstick in. She regarded her friend for a moment, feeling ill at ease with the tension in the room. "Just say what's on your mind. The elephant in the room is kind of obvious."
"I just never realized how loyal a friend you are," the blonde tentatively admitted as she ran that conversation over in her head again, Bella turning Damon's advances down for the sake of Elena.
"Hardly," the hybrid snorted, recalling the way she fled from town like a bat out of hell, leaving them right in the middle of the mess with the Originals that ultimately led to Elena becoming a vampire because Rebekah had the tendency to become the ultimate bitch and ran the doppelganger off Wickery Bridge. She had no idea Elena had vampire blood in her system, that act had absolutely been done with the intent to kill. As a human, she hadn't been much help, but as a vampire, she could have stayed behind to tip the proverbial scale in their favor. And then maybe this whole thing would have turned out differently.
"No one is holding you leaving against you. Honestly, I would have done the same," Caroline confided in her. "When I transformed and remembered all the stuff Damon made me forget… To say I was pissed at him was putting it mildly, so I understand that you didn't want to see him ever again."
"Still, I could have done better," Bella pointed out, circling back to her self-induced guilt.
"Maybe, but maybe it was for the best. I mean imagine if we had to deal with Klaus wanting to get his hands on you back then besides everything else," the blonde speculated out loud. "Having a child since then might have humbled him some. Hopefully easier to deal with."
"Yes, hopefully," the agent repeated the notion with not quite as much enthusiasm.
"Emergency shoe delivery!" Bonnie's shout came from downstairs.
"Up here, Bon!" the vampire called down to her. Half a minute later the African American girl joined them in the room.
"You sure clean up well!" the witch praised her attire appreciatively. "What's the occasion?"
"Bella is going on a date with Klaus!" Caroline informed her, saying that like it was a good thing.
"For the hundredth time, it's not a date. This is an undercover operation to find out what he really wants from me!" Bella grumbled before Bonnie could get the wrong idea.
"Well, that sure explains why Damon is sulking with a bottle of whiskey in the living room," the witch commented in an amused tone at that revelation.
"More likely because Bella here shot down his proposal to get jiggy with him while Elena is out of the picture," the blonde amended proudly, hugging her yet again – seriously what's with all the hugging? – trapping her arms by her side, and leaving her feeling quite awkward.
"High five then!" Bonnie smirked holding out her palm for Bella to match it, which she did although not quite as elatedly as the girls.
"I can hear every single word!" Damon shouted up from the living room loudly enough for even the witch to hear, causing her and Caroline to go into a giggle fit.
"I think that's quite enough," Bella quietly admonished them, taking the bag from Bonnie's hand to see what kind of footwear she brought. The black glitter ankle strap heeled sandals caught her eye, and she immediately fell in love with them. It was a nearly perfect fit, and the strap took care of the rest. Not to mention it went exactly with the purse Caroline gave her earlier.
"You're smoking hot!" the vampire exclaimed, the other girl nodding along in agreement. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
"You better get that before Damon does something stupid," Bonnie commented wryly.
The girls possessing super-speed whipped out of the room – the witch following more sedately – but they were too late since the older Salvatore had a head start.
The guys were in a staring contest, Damon throwing daggers with his eyes while Klaus just grinned in amusement at his protectiveness.
"Down boy," Bella dryly adjured as she positioned herself between the men, placing a hand on Damon's chest to keep him from pouncing on the Original.
"Ready, love?" Niklaus gazed at her, his eyes roaming freely up and down her body appreciatively. He himself was adorning a casual elegant look, in black jeans and shirt, unbuttoned at the top.
"Yes," she replied simply, throwing one more warning glare at Damon to behave before stepping out of the house to join her "date."
"If there's even a hair on her out of place when she gets back…" the older Salvatore brother warned just as Stefan made an appearance behind him.
"Then what will you do?" the Original taunted with an evil grin, knowing full-well that with the white oak stakes all destroyed there was practically nothing he could do permanently to him, and anything temporary would be retaliated as soon as he was released from its effects.
"Klaus," Bella calmly called his attention to herself. "If you hope to get anything from me, at all, including this dinner, you will leave all my friends and family alone. Are we understood?"
Her tone, so commanding and confident, surprised the werewolf hybrid at first, but a quick assessment of the situation led him to relent.
"As you wish, my queen," he said finally, drawing her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. Much the same as he did in the cemetery, the old school gesture taking the agent by surprise yet again.
He led her towards the car without another word. She allowed herself one quick look above her shoulder at the gang. They were gaping at her in bewilderment and awe. That filled her with a mild sense of pride but made her wonder what the cost of her bold move might be.
Klaus opened the passenger side door of his Porsche Panamera – a car she would have imagined Elijah having instead of the werewolf hybrid, but he could have borrowed it from him for all she knew – for her, closing it after she got in, whipping around the front at a supernatural pace to get in himself.
They rolled out of the driveway with ease, unlike the uncomfortable silence falling on them. Bella intently kept staring out the window at the dark scenery.
"You look gorgeous tonight," the Original broke their laconism first.
"Thank you," she replied quietly, her eyes never leaving the streets of Mystic Falls. Soon they were leaving behind the populated area, which caused her a bit of alarm. "Where are we going?"
"Now that would ruin the surprise if I told you, wouldn't it?" Klaus told her with a mysterious smirk.
"You'll find that I don't do well with surprises," Bella quipped back serenely, but the undertone told the werewolf hybrid that he better not mess with her.
"Just my family's mansion," he decided to reveal to keep the peace.
"And I'm hoping your idea of dinner won't cause surprises either, right?" The last thing she needed was being expected to drink human blood in front of him. He probably wasn't aware that she never had and she wasn't planning on starting now. Who knew what side effects it might have with her weird hybrid constitution.
"I was thinking of cooking us some Italian pasta if that's quite to your pleasing, m'lady," the Original informed her, his antiquated accent rendering her unable to determine if he meant that line seriously or mockingly. Relief washed over her nonetheless. She could take some playful jabbing any day.
"Most agreeable, Sir," Bella tried to play along with a roll of her eyes, but neither her accent nor her vocabulary was up to the task to pull that centuries-old front off, causing her to snort at her own attempt and Klaus smiling amusedly at her.
"You really ought to smile more often," he brought her hand up for another kiss, thinking that this must have been the first time he had seen her with anything other than a disapproving scowl.
"Yeah, I've heard that a few times," the agent shrugged, pulling her hand back into her lap, her features returning to their resting state that made her look like she was constantly worried or deep in thought about something.
"Hey, I didn't mean that as an offense," Klaus searched her face for signs whether he had insulted her somehow.
"None taken," she quietly replied but returned to watching the trees whipping past them anyway.
The car soon pulled up the U shaped driveway in front of a vast, seemingly newly renovated, neoclassical mansion.
"Wouldn't your siblings be home?" the agent suddenly inquired, remembering that at least one other Mikaelson should have been in town.
"No, I've asked them to steer clear for the night," he revealed with a smirk.
At least that was something. Bella wasn't sure if she could keep her mouth shut about the various grievances she had if she were to be faced with them in person.
The Original cut the engine and was out of the car in a fraction of a second to get to her side to open the door for her, offering a hand to take.
He led her inside to the lobby with a grand staircase. The whole place was magnificent, dominated by whites and creams, quite exquisite, like a magical castle. Halsey's song came to her mind again, making her chuckle darkly.
"Something funny, love?" the werewolf hybrid asked amusedly, happy to see her enjoying herself.
"Oh, nothing. Very nice place you have here," Bella commented, not wanting to bring the trigger of her twisted sense of humor up.
"Why, thank you. A couple of my hybrids had compelled a few construction workers to renovate it," Klaus divulged with seemingly enormous gratification at that fact.
"Go figure," she muttered under her breath. She knew he could hear her, but he appeared to be intent on ignoring her sarcastic jabs.
"Care for some wine?" her host offered graciously as he led her towards the state of the art kitchen that had a connection to their wine cellar.
"Yes, thank you." Liquid courage was always welcome, especially since she could hardly get inebriated. That required massive amounts of alcohol consumption. Like several bottles of hard liquor.
Klaus brought out two glasses with what seemed like an unopened and very expensive bottle of red wine.
"Will 1975 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon be alright?" the original asked with a smirk, quite pleased with the collection they had.
"Sure," she didn't want to point out that she knew absolutely nothing about wine, so whatever would have been just fine.
He proficiently opened it, pouring it in the two glasses for themselves, handing her one, then raised his for a toast.
"Beautiful Isabella, may the best of your past be the worst of your future! Happy Birthday!" Klaus clinked his glass against hers, taking a sip.
Admittedly she must have been a bit paranoid about the situation still because she only began drinking from hers after she asserted that no immediate adverse effects had befallen on him.
"Call me Bella, please. I don't like my full name," the agent automatically told him.
He seemed to frown for a fraction of a second as if it was unimaginable to hate a name like hers.
"Come, sit down, Bella dear," he beckoned her towards one of the high chairs around the kitchen island. At least he adhered to her wishes on that front. Will he keep his word on other issues too?
There was something fundamentally hilarious in the notion of watching a ten centuries old creature flitting about the counters, stoves and other equipment as he prepared their meal. Yet that was precisely what she was doing. The brunette sipped some more on the wine, wondering where exactly this night would take her.