Previously in "Pages in Between", Mikael dies after Lydia accidentally shoots him, when she shows up at the Mikaelson mansion to get her revenge.

Chapter Fourteen

A Week after the Shooting

Eleanor sobbed as Finn held her up in front of the casket that held Mikael. The eldest of the siblings rubbed his stepmother's back as soothingly as he could. On the other side, Sage looked over at her husband, putting a forced smile onto her face but Finn could see that she wanted to break down as well.

Liam was next to pay his respects. He knew that it was dangerous to be here, but he wanted to do this, since he loved his grandfather dearly and to not be there for his funeral wouldn't be right. Although he was grieving on the outside, it was clear on the inside, he was planning revenge on the ones who killed him. It didn't matter if it was an accident, because it was murder, no mistake about it. Klaus saw how angry his eldest son was as he walked away from the casket, and, excusing himself from Caroline, gently took Liam's arm and led him outside, where they could talk without scaring anyone.

Once outside, Klaus started things off. "Son, I know what you're planning and it won't make things better if you get vengeance."

Liam looked at his father, tears streaming down his face. "I don't care, Father! I refuse to accept that this was an accident! This was murder, cold, sick, twisted murder!" He made a fist. "Grandfather deserves justice, and so help me, I'll kill those monsters for what they've done to him!"

Klaus then did something he never did before. He grabbed Liam by the lapels of his jacket and slapped him on both sides of his face. "Liam Niklaus Mikaelson, you will stop this at once, do you understand me? I realize how much your grandfather meant to you, to this entire family, and that you feel the need to avenge him, but do you really want to risk your life by carrying out your revenge plan? Your poor mother already tried to commit suicide once, and if she found out that she lost you, I might not be able to talk her out of it. And Carrie, why, I know you love that girl with every breath in your body. Do you really want to make her a widow before you're even married?"

His son began to cry harder, falling to his knees and Klaus felt bad for his son as he knelt down next to him.

Klaus then pulled Liam into his arms and hugged him, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Liam. I didn't mean to hit you like that."

At that moment, Carrie came outside, having gotten concerned when Liam didn't return. She saw him on his knees and in his father's arms. She then approached them and knelt down in front of them, wrapping her arms around them. Liam pulled her to him, clutching onto her hair, trembling as he felt the black velvet against his skin.

"Hush, Liam, I'm here," she whispered and he nodded eagerly, holding her in a gentle but still tight embrace.

Klaus pulled back then, letting the couple hug, and got up in time to see Caroline coming toward them. She had seen Carrie come out and wanted to see what was going on. Her husband approached her and when they got close enough, he pulled her into his arms. Caroline did the same, even though she didn't know why he was doing it.

"Nik, what's going on?"

"It's Liam, love," he replied. "He's really upset."

"I could imagine," Caroline said. "He was very close to his grandfather." She looked over his shoulder and saw Carrie and Liam hugging. "If anyone can make him feel better, it's Carrie."

"Agreed," Klaus said as he kissed the side of his wife's head soundly.

It wasn't long before Liam had calmed himself down and then pulled back to look into Carrie's eyes, bringing his hands up to her face and massaging her cheeks with his thumbs. Carrie placed her hands on top of his and kissed him gently. "I know you miss him, and believe me, I miss him too. I considered him to be my other grandfather."

Liam nodded. "He didn't have to die the way he did. That woman had no right to take him from us."

"Liam, I know. Please, try to calm down, okay? You'll scare the baby," Carrie said softly.

Liam bit his lip and placed his hand on her belly. "I'm so sorry, love." He then kissed her belly. "I'm so, so sorry."

"We're going to be okay, as long as you keep the stress down," she told him with a soft smile.

Liam nodded. "I'll try, Carrie. I'll definitely try…for you and the baby."

"Thank you," she said softly, hugging him again.

Meanwhile…

Sage held Finn's hand as he said his own goodbyes to his father, her head resting on his shoulder. Her thumb stroked over his hand when his fingers tightened around hers, turning to him when he did the same and held him as he cried into her shoulder. "Hush, baby, I'm here," she said softly as she ran her hands up and down his back to comfort him.

Finn nodded tearfully. "I just miss him so much."

"I miss him too," his wife replied. "He was a good man who loved his family."

They both turned when they heard the screams of his sisters and rushed to see what the fuss was about. Sage grasped Rebekah into her arms while Finn rushed out with his brothers attempting to follow after the car that their stepmother was driving, but to no avail.

Finn stomped his foot in frustration as Eleanor drove away. "Damn it, where is she going?"

"I don't know," said Elijah. "I just hope that she doesn't do anything too reckless."

Later, at the Manor…

Sage relaxed against Finn as they sat on the couch together while his hand moved over the buttons of the remote. Finally, she took it out of his hand and rolled over until she was on top of him. "Finn, are you still worried about Eleanor?" she asked softly.

Finn sighed. "Yes, I am. She lost the man she loved, Sage, and that can make a woman do all kinds of crazy things. In fact, I was even worried about Liam. The boy was close with Father, adored him every bit as he adored his father. If Carrie hadn't calmed him down, he would've done the same thing Eleanor did." He ran a hand through his hair. "I should've done something, Sage. I should've helped to calm her down. If anything happens to her, it'll be my fault."

His wife nodded and relaxed against him, her head resting on his chest as his arms wrapped around her, kissing the top of her head gently. "I love you, Finn," she whispered before letting her eyes drift closed.

Finn forced a smile at her words. "I love you too, my Irish Rose."

He sighed and held her close, running his fingers through her hair.

The next morning, Sage woke up to find that she'd been moved to a bed upstairs, the same bed that she and Finn were staying in for the duration of the estate settlement. She lifted her head when she heard the soft murmur of voices coming from downstairs.

Sage carefully got out of bed and went down to the kitchen, where she saw Ruby and Sabrina, as well as… "Eleanor?"

Eleanor smiled at the redhead. "Hello, Sage. I'm sorry I worried you yesterday."

"Well, you worried Finn, that's for sure," Sage said. "Where did you go?"

"I wanted to clear my head for a bit. I couldn't take being at the funeral anymore," Eleanor said. "So, I went to the park and sat in the bench that Mikael and I loved to sit in, thinking about all the happy times we had together."

Her stepdaughter-in-law nods before turning to Sabrina. "He's outside, in the garden," the blonde told her before Sage could ask where Finn was. Sage nodded again before heading out the back door to find her husband drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hi," she said once she sat down next to him.

Finn looked up from his cup, smiling at her. "Hi. Did you see Eleanor?"

"I did," she replied. "She said that she went to the park because she wanted to clear her head a bit."

"Well, I guess I can't really blame her for what she did," Finn said. "I probably would've done the same thing." He sighed. "Still, I was worried about her."

"I know you were," Sage said. "Your body language last night spoke volumes."

Her husband turned in time to see her disappearing into the house and he put his cup down on the counter after following her inside, ignoring the looks from his stepmother, sister and daughter as he went after her, finding her upstairs with the door to their bedroom locked. "Sage, come on, love, let me in," he said in a soft plea.

"No, Finn," his wife replied. "You can beg all you want, but I'm not letting you in here."

"And why not, Sage; what have I done to anger you?" Finn said. "Tell me what I did so that I can at least try to acquit myself."

"You never try hard enough to consider my feelings, Finn," she said from the other side, finally opening the door a crack. It gave Finn the opening he needed to push his way into the bedroom before closing the door behind him and locking it.

When Finn entered the room, he looked Sage in the eye. "I'm sorry, Sage. I really am." He got on his knees. "See? I'm on my knees for you."

Sage sniffed a little, wiping the tears away as she looked down at him. "It's no wonder why I love you, Finnegan. You're such a wonderful man," she said before tugging him up to her, smiling against his lips before kissing him softly.

Finn returned her kiss. "I love you, my Irish Rose. I'll always love you."

Sage nodded. "I love you too."

Downstairs, Eleanor helped Sabrina get Ruby into her coat before the mother and daughter took the eldest Mikaelson grandchild out to the car. Eleanor had a good feeling that her stepson and stepdaughter-in-law were about to have some private time and wouldn't want anyone else to be present, least of all their own daughter. Back in the house, Finn kissed his wife quickly on the lips before guiding her hands to the buttons of his shirt.

Sage smiled as she then ripped his shirt open, sending the buttons flying across the room, and peeling the shirt from his chest, running her fingers across the smooth skin before leaning down and kissing his chest, earning her a soft moan from him.

Finn growled when her lips moved further down his chest until she stopped at his belt, her fingers tugging the leather material and unbuckling it before going for the button and zipper. "Sage, love, don't tease," he said between gritted teeth.

Sage licked her lips at his words. "You want to cut right to the chase, huh? Good. That means warm-up time is over and the real fun can begin."

She got the button and zipper of his pants undone, yanking them down before getting up and walking toward the bed, Finn following her onto the cool sheets. Once there, Sage wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a hot, deep, passionate kiss.

He growled, the sound practically ripping from inside his chest as he rolled them over until she was on top. Sage grinned as she took him in hand, teasing him a little before gasping when he flipped them back over. "Fun time is over now, love," he said before claiming her lips with his.

Sage moaned against his mouth as she returned his kiss and, feeling herself getting close, she threw her head back and let out a scream of pleasure. She loved these moments with him, especially afterward, when she could curl up into him.

Author's Note: Yes, Erin and I know this is rather short chapter, but I'm going to put her (Erin) next part in the first part of the next chapter. We hope you enjoyed this chapter!