Bea was staring at herself in the mirror. Her smoky eye was perfect and her eyelashes looked fantastic with the new mascara she'd been trying out. But every anxiety that plagued her was rearing its head.

She was going to see Elijah in a few hours. She wasn't ready.

Every few minutes Bea had to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Rigby had been wonderful and made it clear that she would be around for support, but had known Bea well enough to give her some space. At the moment Bea could hear her in the kitchen chatting with Kol about magic.

With a glance down to her outfit, Bea decided to stop fussing about her appearance. The dress she was wearing showed her copious scarring, but in the last decade or so Bea had honestly stopped feeling as though they were something to be ashamed of, so it wasn't enormously troublesome to bare them. Her very high stilettos made her feel a little bit more confident, and at least she'd only be eight inches shorter than Kol.

Great.

However, her mind was plagued with self-doubt. There were so many emotions going through her that she wanted to scream or cry or feed and tear someone's head off.

What bothered her immensely was the stupid fucking thought in the back of her head – she wanted to impress Elijah.

Ugh. Bea shouldn't give a shit what he thought of her. But she couldn't shake the notion that she was meeting a member of Kol's family. She already adored Bekah and was glad the girl would be there as well to act as a buffer, but it was still nerve wracking.

After a few more deep breaths, Bea realized that the discussion in the kitchen had ended when she heard the front door of the apartment close. A second later Kol entered the bathroom connected to the bedroom they'd been in, where Bea was still fretting. Rigby must have left the two alone. Perhaps she was visiting Katie again.

And that was another source of stress. Katie was a manipulative, fun, carefree bitch. Rigby had already assured Bea that she was aware of this, but she was terrified that Rigby would be hurt by the relationship in the end.

Bea watched Kol approach her in the mirror as he came to stand beside her. When he reached to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, she turned to meet his gaze.

"I'm nervous."

Kol leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling away before it deepened and hugging her to his chest. As he slowly ran his fingers through her hair he murmured to her.

"That's alright. I won't let anything happen to you."

Bea sighed lowly and let herself relax into the embrace. When he moved down to kiss her neck, she shivered. As his lips lightly brushed against her skin, he started speaking.

"My wild girl, we have had to regain time and march backward, in the distance of our lives, kiss after kiss."

Bea hummed in response to his words before saying with a snort, "You didn't come up with that yourself."

Kol pulled back completely, a cocky grin on his face when he replied, "No. Fellow named Pablo Neruda. But you should be flattered that I memorized poetry for you. I thought it especially fitting for us."

Bea gasped with overdone surprise and lifted her hands to cover her mouth in false shock. After melodramatically swooning she said in an infatuated tone, "Oh, I'd thought you were showing interest in being my gentleman caller, but I hadn't dared to hope."

Kol's face went entirely blank before an amused expression took over.

"You are absolutely awful. Taking the romance out of everything."

Bea smirked and realized that most of her nervousness had been abolished. Laughing lightly at Kol's words, she shrugged and answered him.

"You love me anyway."

"Unfortunately."

Bea began to smile, charmed by his clear joking, when he interrupted what she was going to say.

"Want a distraction?"

Bea suppressed her pleased look and instead looked unaffected when she drawled in a bored tone, "Hm. I suppose."

Kol, of course, rose to the bait and immediately lifted her up, ignoring her indignant shriek before putting her down gently on their bed. He climbed up next to her immediately, but instead of moving on top of her he laid flat beside her on his back with his arms loosely crossed behind his head, looking entirely relaxed.

"Well, darling? I'm yours to use."

Bea burst into laughter at the awful line, but smiled a second after she'd finally quieted and kicked off her underwear. Without any fanfare she pulled down Kol's trousers and boxers to his knees, seeing that he was half-hard already. Stroking him a few times did the trick, and she swung her leg over him so her knees were on either side of his hips.

After kneeling above Kol's pelvis and shifting her dress to the side so she could see what she was doing, she began moving her hips in a slow rhythm, rubbing herself against him but not taking him inside of her just yet, letting herself grow wet at the sensation. Kol, ever so impatient, gripped her hips and quickly upset her balance. However, when he tried to pull her down to kiss her, Bea pulled out of his embrace.

Trailing her fingers over his shoulders and then down his biceps, Bea was once again appreciative of her husband's form. But when she reached his wrists she tightened her hands around them and moved his arms so they were stretched out above his head.

Kol looked absolutely delighted at the change – she hadn't taken control in bed in a while – and he immediately crossed her wrists together, keeping them still at the headboard.

At seeing her husband's complacency, Bea felt yet another spark of arousal grow between her legs, and she was sure to press harder against Kol when she ground herself over him yet again, letting out a content sigh as she did. His compliance contrasted with the tenseness in his muscles and fuck Bea wanted to devour him.

Lust and bloodlust at times combined when Kol and Bea had sex. The slow love-making – god, she despised that term – was exactly that, but when she was desperate… it was a dichotomy of hunger for pleasure and hunger for his blood, his flesh, the noises she could viciously wrench from him with a well-timed canting of her hips.

Kol didn't move, only tensed in response to her movement. Satisfied with his behavior, Bea reached down and guided him between her legs, finally sinking down onto him and letting him fill her completely.

It felt so devious to be having sex entirely clothed. Especially when the way her dress was draping over his hips meant that it was impossible to see their states of partial-undress. Bea's thoughts wandered, considering the implications of their position fully… they could do this wherever they wanted. She could sink down on Kol and force him to keep his composure and –

Kol's hips jolted upwards minutely and Bea unbalanced, moving forward and catching herself with her hands splayed on his chest. Bea glared at him icily at the disregard of their unspoken rules. Kol let out a disgruntled groan but stilled, muttering lowly but sincerely, "Sorry, love. I'll behave."

Bea smiled fondly at this but sat back up. Moving her arms behind her, she braced herself on Kol's thighs before she began undulating her hips.

Merde, he felt good inside of her.

She found a rhythm after a few moments of trying out what would feel the best, and let her eyes close, leaning back more and letting herself take. Minutes went by and Bea felt as though she was floating away, focusing only on the way her body felt and the warmth that sparked low in her belly every time she moved.

When she began slowly lifting herself up and down before grinding down hard on Kol's cock, she heard his harsh intake of breath following by a suppressed groan. Bea's eyes opened and she looked down to see him clenching his jaw with his head thrown back on the pillow. Knowing that he was probably getting close to the edge, she decided to take mercy.

With a low hum Bea let her vampiric face descend and leaned down further to trail her lips over his neck, following the strained tendons with light scrapes from her fangs. The new angle made her clit brush against Kol's body with every roll of her hips and Bea felt him minutely shift each time her body tightened around him.

"God, you feel so good. You're so good, all mine. And je suis a vous, mon amour. You can touch."

Kol grunted and his hands immediately flew to Bea's waist, shifting her back and forth over him much more quickly than she'd been moving. After a minute of his movements matched with her own jerking hips, Kol sat up and buried his face against her chest as he came.

Bea was panting and smiling. Not having an orgasm during sex wasn't a fucking death sentence like everyone tried to make it out to be – sex still felt fantastic, and he'd be making it up to her later. She felt boneless and relaxed, pleased with the look on her husband's face. She began petting his hair and with his lips still pressed against her skin, Kol began whispering again in the tone of voice he'd used to quote poetry minutes before.

"My love, we have found each other thirsty and we have drank up all the water and the blood, we found each other hungry and we bit each other as fire bites, leaving wounds in us."

Bea silently agreed that Kol might have been onto something with this Neruda fellow.

It shouldn't have caught them off guard when they entered the restaurant. They had arrived right on time, but Kol knew Elijah well enough to predict that he would arrive early to their meeting. Still, Kol froze in the doorway when he felt Bea do the same upon seeing Elijah and Bekah sitting down and having a conversation in the corner of the main dining area.

Kol knew that Bea was putting on a brave face. But she'd sacrificed her pride and admitted her fear to him, which had let him know how deeply she was affected.

Upon seeing Bekah catch sight of them and wave them over, Kol felt Bea grip his hand tightly in hers, squeezing hard enough that he suppressed a wince. However, instead he simply stepped slightly in front of her as a quasi-barrier between her and his older brother. After hearing her breathing even out, he leaned down and whispered to her quietly enough that his siblings wouldn't hear.

"I'm right here, chéri. If you want to leave, that's what we'll do."

Of course Bea took that as a challenge of sorts and he felt an enormous amount of pride for his wife when he saw her stand up taller and straighten her shoulders.

"No. Let's enjoy a dinner we insist he'll pay for."

And with that the two of them walked over to the table side by side.

Kol pulled out Bea's chair for her, and she sank down into the seat across from Bekah, while Kol then seated himself so that he was facing Elijah. Immediately he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his side.

Elijah was seemingly studying his face, and Kol began to feel impatient when his brother's expression gave nothing away. He wanted this dinner over with already.

"Well? Anything to say for yourself after ditching me last night?"

Kol could have hugged Bekah for being the one to break the silence. She had crossed her arms with a pout on her face, and he felt Bea relax against him. With a toss of her hair over her shoulder, she let out a haughty sound before she responded in a lofty tone.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean. You never answered me after I cordially invited you to get drunk with me and – "

She cut herself off suddenly, and when Kol turned to see why, he saw that she was staring at Elijah with an apprehensive expression.

Elijah finally addressed them directly.

"I already know about the woman you live with. I give you my word that I have no intention of harming her."

Kol let out a derisive snarl at that and practically hissed when he said, "And of course, we should trust the noble Elijah after you-"

Bea muttered his name under her breath and he halted his sentence, knowing that otherwise he might become violent. His wife had expressed a particular fondness for the shoes she was currently wearing and she'd be unbearably moody if they got bloodstained.

Elijah seemed awkward – something incredibly out of character – but turned to Bea and started speaking. As soon as he opened his mouth, Kol reflexively tightened his arm around Bea.

"I regret my actions the last time we met."

Kol almost burst out laughing when Bea, the little spitfire, cut in with a purposely bland tone.

"When you effectively killed my husband, assaulted me, compelled me, and killed me? Those actions?"

The table went silent, and even Bekah seemed unable to call to mind anything to say. However, a minute later Elijah cleared his throat and answered her.

"Yes. Though I had no knowledge that Niklaus had killed you until after you two had been reunited. I'd been under the impression that you'd lived out your human life."

Bea narrowed her eyes at him, and Kol recognized that expression. She was most likely about to verbally eviscerate his older brother.

"Had he not killed me, what do you believe my life would have been like? The best-case scenario? I was with Kol for five years, you knowingly made me forget a fifth of my life. And then I couldn't get back into my house after I was turned, because you had compelled me to forget about vampires. And Jesus fucking Christ you did all this after killing my husband in front of me! Did you tell yourself later that you'd been merciful or kind? Allez vous faire foutre– "

Bekah cut in as Bea's voice became shrill and louder, likely not wanting anyone around them to overhear the conversation.

"So, Bea, when will I get to meet Rigby?"

Bea huffed, clearly seeing through the ploy, but averted her eyes from Elijah. Truthfully, Kol was incredibly glad that Bea had seemingly shed her nervousness about his brother seeing as she'd just told him to go fuck himself. For a second he wondered if Elijah was fluent in French.

Kol, however, was not going to even temporarily stifle his rage towards his brother.

"If you had a lover, I would have delivered their head to your doorstep."

Elijah's expression became pinched at his threat, and his voice was neutral when he responded, "Well then it seems fortunate for me that I currently don't."

Bekah rolled her eyes across the table, as if their discussion was merely a squabble over something inane, and Kol's temper flared even further. He knew that his anger was legendary, but when he was calm – oh, he could do much more damage. So when he spoke, it was with a flat voice that gave nothing away.

"Bea and I have been working with witches and looking into the specifics and the ramifications of the spell mother performed on us to turn us. What it entails, any side effects. Bloodlines came up."

He leaned forward, but Bea's steady hand on his forearm grounded him and kept him from attacking in public.

"I would be looking into ways to torture or kill you. Maybe make you forget portions of your own life. But if one of our family members dies, every single vampire we've turned and that've been turned after them dies."

Elijah and Bekah both startled at that and stared at him with shock. He'd been equally surprised to discover that when he and Bea had first begun looking into the spell to see if there truly was a specific reason she was stronger than she should be. They hadn't gotten the answers they sought, but they'd discovered the information about killing off a line.

Elijah immediately understood what he was saying and nodded in understanding before he turned towards Bea, who sat stoically.

"My blood turned you."

Bea smiled sarcastically and Kol knew his expression was probably a more sadistic version. She was supposed to have been turned by him. There was a primal, possessive rage that overcame him every time he thought of her somehow being connected to his brother.

"Yes, thank you, I was there."

Bekah once more seemed to try to calm everyone down and said, "Nothing can change what happened. But you need to think about what you've been planning against – "

The water glass Kol had picked up a moment ago shattered in his hand. Immediately a waiter came over and began cleaning up. Kol gripped the man's arm and yanked him closer as everyone in the restaurant turned back to their own meals upon seeing that it was evidently being taken care of.

"Isolate yourself and slice open your wrist to fill two-"

After Bea nudged him, he let out a resigned sigh and continued compelling the man, "fine. Four wine glasses and deliver them to our table."

As soon as the waiter left, Bea leaned over, pecked his cheek, and said, "It's only polite, mon amour."

Kol, however, wasn't distracted from his anger.

"You still take his side. Bea was and is everything to me. My best friend and the woman I love. After Nik killed my wife you continue to defend him. It has been this way for one thousand years! Standing by as I'm wronged."

To his surprise, Bea took his hand and squeezed it tightly before she stood up. When he looked at her she had a soft expression on her face. It was a mixture of sadness and fondness. As she spoke quietly, he understood why.

"Je t'aime tellement, but this a conversation for you and your brother and sister. Stay and enjoy your meal. I'll wait up for you."

She leaned down and kissed him gently, clearly trying to convey her sincerity. Kol of course took the opportunity to lick into her mouth and turn the innocent gesture into something a bit inappropriate. When she pulled away her face was flaming with a blush. Narrowing her eyes, she said in an embarrassed and annoyed voice, "Your siblings are sitting right there. You are sleeping on the couch tonight."

Kol smirked and remained nonchalant when he said, "I'll change your mind."

A second later she turned around and strode out of the restaurant.

Bea ran home in a state of detachment. It felt as though she'd separated herself from the events of the night. Usually she wasn't good at lying to Kol, but she'd been able to convince him that she was alright.

She wasn't, of course. Every time she looked at Elijah she remembered every detail of the night she was killed. For him it had been a century ago. But she had regained her memories and re-watched her life only months ago.

Every lilt in his voice, the stoic tone – it was the voice that had destroyed her life.

After she was on the correct street, she began wandering slowly towards her apartment, lost in thought. But when she was only two blocks away, she was pulled into an alley.

A large hand clamped over her mouth, and her scream went unheard as vervain was injected into her bloodstream.