"You know, that granddaughter of yours is awfully interesting," Lucien said to Klaus. "Did you know that she's having dreams about me?"

Klaus scoffed when he heard this. "Probably nightmares. And would you stop nosing around her? I keep telling you you'll be sorry if you do."

"Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll take my chances." Lucien then looked at Amy. "What do you think?" He asked her. "Do I have a chance with Felicity?"

"You're interested in Felicity?" Amy asked. "That's unexpected."

"Well, if she were to express interest herself, of course I wouldn't refuse her," Lucien replied. "What sort of man would I be if I did that?"

"A smart one," Klaus said. "But if you want to be killed, that's your own prerogative."

"I don't think she could kill me," Lucien replied with confidence. "Regardless of her powers, I still have much more experience than she does. I can handle her easily."

"Yeah," Klaus nodded, scoffing. "Of course you could. Just be sure to protect your lower regions when she sees you."

"Is she really the sort of girl that hits?" Lucien smiled. "How exciting!" Knowing that, he wanted to see Felicity in person even more. "I think I'll tell her that we'll be coming home soon. Can I do that?"

"Sure," Klaus nodded. "Go ahead."

"Good," Lucien smiled. "I'll go and do that right now."

"Remember after we do this that I told you it wasn't a good idea," Felicity said to Adrian as they both stood in front of her bedroom mirror. She'd tired of hearing him think she was crazy for talking to an imaginary friend in the mirror and decided to introduce him to Lucien, even though her gut told her that was a terrible idea. "You might hear things and see things that you won't be able to un-hear or un-see."

"I've seen a lot," Adrian told her firmly and gripped her hand tight. "I think I can handle it. I want to see what's going on in your head."

So they waited and then Felicity, laughing so hard she stopped breathing for a little while, was able to show her father what he'd wanted to see: Lucien, this time naked as he stood in front of the mirror.

"What in the hell?" Both he and Adrian cried at the same time.

"No, don't!" Felicity shouted as her father ran out of the room to get a hammer to break the mirror with. Then she scowled at Lucien. "Good job!" She cried. "Now you made him agitated!"

"Is Klausy Junior as bad as his father when irritated?" Lucien wanted to know.

"Yes," Felicity nodded. "Even worse depending on the circumstances. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Yes, I am, you gorgeous creature," Lucien smiled.

"Just go away!" Felicity begged. "Please?"

"Fine," Lucien sighed. "I'll go bother your grandfather instead. But I'll be thinking of you, Kitten. Oh, and before I forget, Klausy and the others are coming home soon. And I'm coming with them."

"Oh, lucky me," Felicity sighed and then when Lucien was gone, tried to wrest the hammer from her father's grip as he ran into the bedroom with it. "Stop!" She cried. "He's gone! I swear!"

Growling, Adrian dropped the hammer on the floor and turned on her. "How long have you been talking to him?" He demanded to know. "Have you offered yourself to him or anything like that?"

"No!" Felicity shook her head, her face twisting in disgust. "I certainly have not! Don't you think I have much better prospects in mind than someone like him?"

"Well, I should hope so," Adrian shot back as he tried to take deep breaths and calm down. "I really hope so." He paused. "How in the world did you meet him?"

"Oh, I don't know exactly," Felicity shrugged. "Grandpa Klaus and Grandma Amy were talking with me and then they had to leave, so Lucien picked up the talking device, opened his yap, and there we were. The only reason why I started talking to him in the first place was that he was from the past and I thought I would never actually see him in the present. I can't, right?"

"Technically you could if he decided to come with," Adrian replied. "I believe he's dead now."

"Shit," Felicity swore. "That figures. Don't worry; if he shows up and tries to put the moves on me, I'll just slap him silly, kick him in the crotch, and run away."

"That sounds like a plan," Adrian replied with approval. "And if that doesn't keep him away, let me know and I'll let him know the message louder and clearer."

"All right," Felicity nodded. "You will. I promise."

In the past, it was clear that everyone was ready to go home, but there was still some debate about how that would be accomplished.

"Let me do it!" Alistair cried. "I'm the only one who knows how."

"Oh, that's silly!" Astrid yelled back. "I can figure it out. I'm not stupid!"

"Of course you're not, but people rarely get a time travel return right on their first try," Alistair told her. "And it's coming back that's more difficult."

"If that boy who's never done it before can send us here, I can get us back," Astrid said firmly. "I think I'm smart enough to figure that out. And besides, I thought you didn't want to go back anyway. I thought that with the Helene and Malachai situation going on, the return would be too much of a nightmare for you."

"'Nightmare' is a bit of a strong way to phrase it, but I can't deny I'm dreading to see what all Helene's done while we've been gone," Alistair told her. "But if you're determined to be the one to get us back, go ahead and do it. I know I won't be able to stop you. I just know that something terrible will happen. Maybe not right away, but it will."

"Your confidence in me is incredibly touching," Astrid said dryly, narrowing her eyes at him.

Alistair just threw his hands up and went to tell Lucien, Klaus, and Amy to ready themselves for the return home and cast a spell that would protect them from any bad effects of the spell Astrid was casting Then, they stood around the mummy case and after Astrid consulted her spell book, she muttered what she believed was the right spell and everyone closed their eyes and prayed.

When they felt themselves hit hard ground, Astrid opened her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw she was in her own living room and nothing seemed out of place. "See?" She told Alistair triumphantly as he helped her to her feet and she pushed some blonde hair out of her eyes. "I did it perfectly. I knew I would! Don't you feel stupid for doubting me?"

"We'll see," Alistair told her. "Everything seems fine, I'll give you that. But I wouldn't be so cocky yet." He then made a phone call and waited for Helene to answer.

"Daddy, you're back!" She cried. "I'm so happy about that. Now you can meet your grandson. Just be careful. He's powerful already and has a bit of a problem with fire. We don't know why, though, so don't ask."

"I won't," Alistair told her dryly. "With Malachai McCullough for a father, I figured that your child would be someone we'd have to be wary of."

"Now, now," Helene told him. "He's not bad at all if you're knowledgeable about how to put a fire out. When do you want to come and see him?"

"As soon as possible, I suppose," Alistair replied. "And just for my own personal knowledge because your mother was the one whose spell brought us back, is it the same year it was when we left? We're not ten years into the future or anything like that?"

"No." Helene told him, making him breathe a sigh of relief. "It's still the same year it was when you left."

"Good," Alistair nodded. "Thank you, darling." He hung up and said to Astrid, "We're in the same year we came from. You're very lucky, Astrid."

"No, I'm not," Astrid said, grinning widely. "I'm skilled. When you're ready to admit that, I'll be glad to hear your apology." She sauntered off then and Alistair's cheeks went pink when he saw that Lucien and Klaus were smirking at him.

"Nice girl you have there," Lucien said at last. "She reminds me of someone I have to go and visit."

"You'll only be able to see Felicity if you know where she lives, and I'm not telling you that," Klaus told him.

"Oh, just go ahead and do that," Amy told him. "Since they've talked before, she's probably expecting him and it would be best to just get the meeting out of the way. I'll even go with him to make sure everything turns out all right."

"Okay," Klaus sighed and reluctantly looked for some paper so he could write the address down. "But don't dawdle too much. I don't want that."

"We'll see what happens," Amy replied. "You never can tell in situations like these." She snatched the address of Adrian's house out of Klaus' hand and then, after Lucien put an arm around Amy, they headed off in Astrid's car, leaving Klaus and Alistair to figure out what to do with the mummy of the Phoenix and then call Elijah to tell him that they were home.

"Have you been waiting a long time for this?" Amy asked Lucien as they sat in the car in Adrian's driveway. "Are you excited?"

"I am indeed," Lucien nodded. But he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was pressing every button in the car he could get his finger on. "What did you say this mode of transport was called again?" He shouted over the loud blaring of the radio.

Amy quickly turned it off and then said, "It's called a car. They were around in 1896, but they definitely were not as common as they are today."

"I think I want one," Lucien smiled as he reached out to stroke the steering wheel lovingly. "I really think I do." He then looked at the front door of the house. "But it can wait. I have other things to attend to now."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Amy asked. "Or would you rather I stayed in the car?"

"Stay in the car, please," Lucien requested. "I want to handle this on my own."

"All right," Amy said doubtfully. "Good luck."

"It's adorable that you think I need it," Lucien smiled, his dark eyes bright. He opened the car door, jumped out, swaggered up the driveway, and knocked, hoping that it would be Felicity who answered the door and not her father. Fortunately, luck was on his side. Or so he thought. "Hello, kitten!" He said brightly, smiling as big as he could. "Aren't you glad to see me?" He tried to steal a kiss then and she slapped him soundly across the face and gave him a swift kick between the legs that sent him flying backwards off the front step.

"What do you think?" Felicity asked smugly as she came to stand over him with a smile. "Does it seem like I'm happy to see you?"

"Strangely enough, no," Lucien shook his head and got to his feet, trying not to wince while she was looking. "But it's my goal to make sure you are, eventually."

"Good luck with that," Felicity said dryly. "It ain't gonna happen."

"Are you all right, Lucien?" Amy asked, getting out of the car and running over to him. "I just knew something like that would happen if you came over here."

"What are you doing with him?" Felicity asked her, feeling outrage. "Don't you know how disgusting he is?"

"That's a bit judgmental," Amy remonstrated her. "You wouldn't say that if you knew him better. You sound so much like Klaus. It's maddening."

"Listen to your grandmother," Lucien said, his voice still a little high pitched from getting kicked. "Get to know me better."

"Oh, I will," Felicity nodded. "When Hell freezes over." She looked at Amy. "Tell Grandpa I said 'Hello' please," She requested and then glared at Lucien. "And don't bring him back here again."

"I get it," Lucien smiled. "You just don't want to see me at home because you're worried about what your father would say."

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I don't know what part of this you're having trouble misunderstanding, but I don't want to see you at all. I don't know how I can make that any clearer."

"You can try to keep me away, kitten," Lucien smiled as Amy led him away. "But we'll be seeing each other again soon. I promise."

The End

Next up: The Rise of the Phoenix, where The Phoenix is resurrected, and that means trouble for the Original family and anyone else that Edele McCullough feels like messing with, meaning that it will take the combined efforts of the entire Original Family to bring them down. Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)