AN:Hey guys! Sorry this took so long. Lost track of the week. lol. Let me know what you think and -as always- enjoy!

Chapter Five

Klaus wasn't answering his phone, which only made K grow more and more impatient. Being so far away, she had nothing to go off of other than the few tidbits she was given. The trouble came when those tidbits ended.

She did manage to calm Hope down, though. She was fairly certain the little girl was still worried about what Klaus had said, but K tried her best. It was true, after all. Klaus wasn't calling Hope broken. He was just afraid he'd infected her with whatever darkness surrounded them.

One who did finally answer their phone, however, was Freya. Thankfully, the blonde actually told K what was happening in The Big Easy since no one else was offering anything. Hope had been taken back to Mystic Falls so Klaus could remain in New Orleans. K wasn't entirely certain why she'd been "banished" back to school, but assumed it was for that reason. It was school.

But Klaus… Oh, dear, sweet, temperamental Klaus, still refused to speak with K and that simply wouldn't do. Did he already forget whom he'd married? Foolish mistake, surely.


"Maybe you're right." Marcel said as he loomed over the madman in a box. "But that still doesn't mean I can trust you. Look at what you've done in the last twenty-four hours alone."

"You've always known I've had a temper, Marcellus, but you of all people can trust that I just want to find Hayley."

The younger man stood above the demon in the coffin and weighed his choices. He knew Klaus was unstable. If there was one thing everyone in the world knew, one thing that never changed, it was that Klaus Mikaelson shifted attitudes more freely than one could count. It was the only unassailable fact about the hybrid –that he was always unpredictable.

But, along with that, Marcel also knew there was nothing Klaus wouldn't do for family, and Hayley was nothing, if not family. He also knew how much the hybrid queen meant to everyone in the city. Through the years, Hayley was the one person that could move through the factions without resistance, was the one they held with respect because she gave them respect in return. And he liked her. Marcel liked Hayley, too. So, perhaps, against his better judgment, he'd have to side with the Devil, yet again.

With a groan and a sigh, Marcel stomped his foot. The concrete cracked and broke letting the sand-made barrier seep in. The circle was broken, allowing him to enter it easily and break Klaus' chains with the same lack of effort.

"Don't make me regret this." Marcel warned.

Klaus did nothing but smirk his wicked smile. Together, the pair left the dungeons and ascended the stairwell.

"First things first," Klaus said as he took strong, determined steps towards the front door. "We need to assemble every vampire in the city."

"And then?" Marcel asked skeptically. He hated it when Klaus already had plans in mind.

"Yes," a cool, cold voice said. The pair stopped their advance and stared in shock at the dark-haired young woman standing at the opposite end of the courtyard, tenderly holding the hands of two boys bearing identical faces. "What then, dear husband?"

"Kali," Klaus breathed. For some reason, he sounded as though he'd seen a ghost before him, but the reality was far more terrifying. The truth was, that amidst the manhunt for Hayley, the body parts being sent to them with cryptic notes, K had appeared, and not alone. "What are you doing here?"

"How long did you honestly think I'd tolerate you not picking up your phone?" her voice remained icy as her gaze drifted to Marcel. "Marcel, hello."

"K," he gave her a gentle nod. "And who are these guys?"

"My sons," she told him simply. The resemblance was growing more and more prominent through the years, so there was no denying it, and Marcel didn't have to bother asking who the father was. That question was answered quickly.

"Daddy!" they chimed in unison.

Almost immediately, the boys released K's hands and charged for Klaus. Despite his shock, he dropped to his knees and embraced his boys like any father would.

"Hello, lads." He smiled, feigning enough joy he hoped it sounded genuine. In fact, he was terrified at the new complications.

Over their shoulders, he was sure to send K an angry glare. She did little more than raise a brow.

"Now then," Klaus drew back and smiled at both his sons. "My friend Marcellus and I," the boys glanced to the stranger. Marcel offered a kind smile. He wasn't certain what else to do. "Have some business to attend to. Stay here with you mother, and I'll be back home soon. Alright?"

"Promise?" Alexander asked in his small voice.

"Always." Klaus replied.

He gave each a chaste kiss on the forehead and stood. When his eyes fell to K once again, she could see his anger, but didn't care. She was annoyed herself.

"We'll discuss this later." He grumbled in French.

K wondered briefly at the choice, but assumed it was simply because he'd been to France recently and that was where they'd called home for so long.

"Sure," she replied curtly.

And with nothing more to say, Klaus and Marcel left the grounds.


Not long after Klaus left the house, K got the boys settled into her old room. She was glad to see it still in one piece. They were tired after the long flights, so with little prompting and a small something to eat, they fell asleep. For a while, their internal clocks would be off, anyway.

Glancing at them once more before closing the door behind her, K reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone. She searched the numbers for one she had, but never used. Hayley gave it to her a long time ago as a "just in case" precaution. Honestly, K was surprised she needed it.

The phone rang and rang for a few minutes before a smooth but deep voice answered.

"Yeah?"

"Vincent," she said, "It's Kali, please don't hang up."

There was a long pause on the other end, long enough she actually had to check to see whether or not he'd hung up. When she saw the time still ticking away, she pressed the phone to her ear again.

"How'd you get this number?" his voice was deadpan and emotionless. She expected it, honestly.

"Hayley," she said. "A couple of years ago. She gave it to me in case of emergencies."

"Is this an emergency?" he didn't sound amused.

"Yes, actually. At least I think so." She took a breath and let it out softly. She knew how dangerous this conversation was. It wasn't as though she was worried about what "consorting with the witches" might bring. She was simply worried about how Vincent would react. "I'd like to ask a favor."

There was a distinct sigh on the other end of the line. It wasn't a normal sigh, per say. In fact, it held an undeniable edge of annoyance.

"Look, I got a lot on my plate already and I don't need you working on Klaus' behalf, trying to get spells out of us witches, okay? We're out, and I'm going to tell him the same damn thing, as soon as I see him."

Everything was spouted quickly and angrily. It shocked her, just a bit. She wasn't surprised by the anger, but at the sheer volume of it that he sent her way. K was unprepared for it.

"I…" her mind took a moment to come together again. She'd been so focused on what she needed that his barrage disarmed her, just a bit. "I'm not calling on Nik's behalf." She finally got out. "I'm calling because I need help. Or… my boys do, at least."

There was another brief pause. "Hayley told me you had kids." His voice had lost its volume, but not its annoyance and edge. Honestly, it was perhaps the only way he spoke to her for as long as she'd known him.

"I do." She said. "Boys- twins, actually."

"They like Hope?"

"Magical?"

"Yeah," he sounded despondent.

"Yes, they are." She mirrored the emotion. "But… I mean, will you do me this favor, please?"

K had become nervous again, a simple feeling she hated so much and hadn't felt in a long time. Nervousness led to weakness. The two walked hand-in-hand, in fact.

"What is it?" he asked. He still didn't sound happy, but Vincent was coming around, she could tell.

"My sons," she explained. "I'd like you to have a look at them."

"Why me? Why not Freya?"

"Because I can't entirely trust she'll tell me the truth, and…" her voice dropped off for a moment. "You've had more contact with the Hollow, than anyone I know."

K could practically see his face fall despite the inexplicable distance between them. She swore the air actually grew colder at the mention of that creature, and truly felt her insides twist when they had. It knew they were talking about her.

She spoke quickly during his hesitation.

"My sons are actually mine." She went on. "I don't know if Hayley told you that part, but I actually bore my sons. I'm no longer a vampire anymore, in fact, so you see, it's possible. But, that's the problem, too. I-"

"Had the Hollow inside you while you were pregnant." His voice was somber.

"Yes," she breathed the word.

There was another pause, this one tenser than the ones before because she'd finally told him the truth. Thankfully, he ended it with his agreement. K felt herself able to breathe after he said yes, and let her eyes drift shut in relief. They'd meet the following day in the Quarter, near his witches but not so close as to frighten them. She was fine with it, so long as they didn't go anywhere that would frighten her boys. K assumed he knew that and was, again, grateful.


Klaus returned later that night with Marcel and found K in the courtyard. She was standing not far from the box containing Hayley's skin and judging by the look on her face, she knew its contents.

"I am in no mood, darling." He told her tightly.

"No mood, hm?" she shot back with the same intensity. "This is handled, is it?" she lifted the box. "This is bringing her home safely?"

"I said-"

"You've said nothing." K said angrily. "I've been calling for days without a word and now I know why. What have you done?" she took slow steps towards him. "What have you done that caused this?"

"How are you so-"

"Don't insult me, Niklaus." She growled. He flinched. Hearing her call him that was no different than an agitated mother using her child's full name. He knew the mood she was in. "This is Hayley and they've sliced her up. What did you do?!"

In her rage, K threw the box down. She couldn't put into words how mad she was at him because she knew this was Klaus' doing. The man had no control, no tact, so of course he'd be brash enough to challenge captures. Without asking she knew it was his fault.

But in her anger, swimming in the emotion and her fear for her sons already, K barely heard the shattering of the wood. But the tinkling of metal, however, that she heard.

The air went tense and silent as attention slowly shifted to the mass of rubble at K's feet. There, barely visible beneath the soiled cloth was a piece of rounded metal. Klaus approached and knelt, picking up the coin when he did. K saw his face fall.

"What is it?" Marcel asked.

"A message," he mumbled, "From enemies I thought I'd buried long, long ago."

The muscle in Klaus' jaw chorded and rolled as he tensed it tightly in aggravation. Fisting the coin, he turned to Marcel.

"Fancy a hunt in the morning?" he asked, his tone lacking any of its usual glee when speaking about murder.

Marcel's eyes danced between Klaus' clenched fist and his angry glower. "Sure," he reluctantly said. "Just give me a call."

Klaus left with a parting nod, sure to grab K's arm firmly in passing. Marcel watched as the two made their way upstairs a single flight before leaving the compound.

"Where are the boys?" Klaus asked tersely while he continued to pull her along.

K –having enough of his attitude- snatched her arm away, forcing him to turn and face her. "Sleeping in my old room." She replied. "What's the coin mean, Nik?"

"Later,"

And with that, he jogged up the remaining steps to the floor that held his room. Glaring lightly, she followed after him.

When she found Klaus, he was standing near his bar pouring himself a drink, still keeping his fist clenched tightly around the Nazi gold.

"Why come here, Kaliope?" he asked, knowing that her name made her cringe internally. "Why bring our sons? You know New Orleans isn't safe."

"They are safest with me, Nik. I wasn't going to leave them with anyone else and the only people I trust are here in New Orleans in the first place."

"You shouldn't have come here." He said as he turned to her.

K's brows came together as she took slow steps towards him. "What would you have me do?" he said nothing. "Of course I came here. Hayley means more to me than you know and clearly there's been no headway. Not to mention you're refusing to answer my calls. What did you think I'd do? No one's telling me what's happening and I'm getting calls from Hope-"

"What?" he interrupted, surprised by her statement.

"Hope called me." K repeated softer than before.

His hardened exterior cracked just a bit. He knew what it meant for her to call K directly. Aside from letters and the like sent through third-party people, he knew the two hadn't spoken directly in years.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"She's afraid."

"Of?"

"She thinks you hate her, Nik."

His exterior faltered completely and his eyes began to glisten immediately. K could practically see the impact of her simple statement and her heart broke for him, but it was true and she didn't lie to him. Sometimes, K thought he'd prefer she did.

"I couldn't." he breathed.

"I know, and she knows that, too. She's just frightened." K stepped closer until she was only a foot from him. K reached up and tenderly held his jaw in her hand, offering him a half-smile that she hoped was reassuring. "She knows you don't hate her, sweetheart. She knows."

"Can you be so certain?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Absolutely and completely."

He tried to nod, but it was little more than a jostle of the head. If there was proof needed that Hope meant the world to her father, it was this. Nothing, no person nor object in the world both known and otherwise could shatter him so completely than his daughter's unhappiness. He loved her more than K had seen him love anyone, including herself. Though, she was glad to be second place to his children.

"Now," she said, keeping her voice soft and kind. "Tell me about the coin."