She's beautiful as usual with bruises on her ego and
the killer instinct tells her to be aware of evil men.
And that's what you get for falling again;
you can never get him out of your head.
And that's what you get for falling again;
you can never get him out of your head.

Sugarcult – Pretty Girl

Chapter 61

What's my age again?

I was right behind Klaus when he yanked the door to his hotel suite open, I was determined to make sure that things wouldn't turn out ugly. Kol looked very relaxed on the armchair, he had lifted his feet on the coffee table and he was reading… Oh come on.

"Hello, brother," Kol hummed without looking up. "Interesting literature you got here, I never thought that you're into romance novels…"

"It's mine," I snapped and zoomed in front of him.

He looked up and grinned.

"Well, hello, darling. I see you found Nik before I did."

"What are you doing here?" Klaus asked coolly.

Kol raised an eyebrow.

"What am I doing here? Let's see… You killed Finn and Rebekah, daggered Elijah and are planning to do lord knows what to Eva…"

"Our siblings are fine," Klaus cut in, his tone of voice was careless. "All of them. And as you can see, so is my Eva."

Kol's lips curved into a charming smile.

"I think you mean my Eva."

"No, I don't."

Kol stood up and crossed his arms.

"Oh please, do you honestly think that she should simply forgive and forget everything you have done to our family…"

"What happens between her and me is none of your business," Klaus snapped.

"I think it is. Do you have any idea how much pain your selfishness caused to Elijah? Well I do, because I was there…"

"Really?" Klaus snorted. "You lived with them in that nice house in California?"

"No, but…"

"You abandoned her again, didn't you? You're very good at that."

"Watch it," Kol snarled.

Klaus smiled.

"I admit that I've done bad things, but at least I've never abandoned her and I never will. I love her the way she is."

"And you think I don't?"

"Obviously not."

"You have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Alright, enough," I snapped. "First of all, I'm standing right here, second of all, I don't belong to either of you and third of all, stop acting like children. I think the whole situation is already messy enough."

Neither of them looked pleased, but they didn't say anything, they simply glared at each other. I sighed and looked at Kol.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you, I was angry."

"I understand," he replied. "But I did what I did because I gave Elijah my word."

"I know. How did you find us?"

"I started from Mystic Falls and followed the trail you left…"

"Okay, why does everyone keep saying that, I didn't leave any trail…"

"You did," Klaus and Kol cut in simultaneously.

Well, at least they finally agreed on something.

"Right…" I muttered and glanced at Klaus. "I guess you were right, I've become sloppy. And way too pampered to travel around by myself."

They both seemed amused.

"I wouldn't say that," Kol stated. "Judging by what I saw, you seem to be quite little beast."

"Yes, I definitely agree," Klaus added. "But then again, you've always been fierce."

"Not really," I huffed. "Lately I've concentrated mostly on cooking, decorating and those."

I pointed at the book Kol had placed on the coffee table.

"A girl needs some romance in her life."

Klaus and Kol didn't say anything; they both had the annoying pity look on their face. I hated that look.

"Are papa and Rebekah far?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

"No," Klaus muttered. "As I promised, I'll take you to them tomorrow."

"Why not now?" Kol asked sharply.

"Because I said tomorrow," Klaus replied, matching his tone.

"You really haven't changed, have you, Nik?" Kol snorted. "You still think you have the right to control everyone else…"

"Feel free to walk out. That's what you do the best."

They both took a threatening step towards each other; I sighed and stepped between them.

"Am I talking to a brick wall?" I huffed. "Stop it, both of you."

I paused and looked at them both in turns.

"I think you need to find some way to settle this before tomorrow, things will be complicated enough when papa and Rebekah will be undaggered. And your forth brother."

"He won't be undaggered," Klaus stated.

"Why not?" Kol asked.

"You really think we can trust him?"

"Well, I don't trust you, brother dear, but yet here we are."

"And you think that I trust you?"

"Oh no, you're really hurting my feelings…"

"Are you two serious?" I snorted. "Settle this, right now. What will it take?"

They glared at each other for a moment before Kol spoke.

"One clean shot."

"What?" Klaus asked.

"I'll let you punch me once, but you'll have to do the same."

"Oh come on…" I started.

"Agreed," Klaus cut in.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"How old are you two?"

"You said it yourself, we need to settle this," Kol stated. "I would certainly like to do something much worse, but I'll settle for one punch."

"Fine," Klaus huffed. "Agreed."

"I can't believe this," I muttered. "You know what, I think I'll take that shower now, you two do what you need to do." I paused and looked at Klaus. "Where are my clothes?"

He pointed at the small suitcase next to the closet. I picked it up and marched to the bathroom. Men… I took a quick shower, ignoring all the sounds coming from outside the bathroom. Much better. Fortunately Klaus had left his hairbrush in the bathroom; I borrowed it just like the good old times and opened the suitcase. Thank goodness, no children's clothes. I wore a dark purple shirt, short black skirt and black pumps. Klaus and Kol were sitting on the sofa when I stepped into the living room. They both had blood on their face and a drink on their hand.

"Was it worth it?" I huffed.

"Yes," they replied simultaneously before looking up. They were both staring at my clothes.

"What?" I snapped and walked over to the sofa.

"Nothing," Klaus replied quickly. "You look nice, love."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I have a drink?"

I climbed between them when Kol poured me a drink.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, darling."

All three of us were quiet for a long while, but for some strange reason, the silence didn't feel uncomfortable. I couldn't deny how much I had missed them both and I wanted nothing more than us to be a family again. Of course I doubted that things would be that simple, they never were, but I wanted to enjoy this as long as it would last.

I had to look away when I heard Klaus letting out a cry of pain. Rebekah had just sunk the dagger in his chest.

"Bastard," she growled.

I knew that she had every right to be angry, so I didn't intervene. Neither did Kol, he was grinning. Stefan was quietly standing next to us, he seemed very tense. I had told Klaus that he needed to let Stefan return home, but he hadn't agreed. Apparently Stefan was his way to appease Rebekah. Her anger vanished when she noticed me.

"Eva!"

I zoomed in front of her and jumped into her arms. She hugged me tightly and planted kisses across my face.

"My little baby…"

We stayed like that until papa woke up; he wasn't in any better mood than Rebekah.

"Niklaus!" he snarled.

"Papa!"

I zoomed to him as soon as Rebekah placed me on the floor; he was still in the coffin. He was more than relieved to see me.

"Eva…"

"I'm right here, papa," I muttered and rubbed his back when he pressed me against his chest.

The warehouse where Klaus had brought the coffins wasn't very big, but it was well protected.

"Can you forgive me, sweetheart," papa muttered.

"Of course."

I didn't add that we still had things to settle, it didn't matter right now. All I cared about was getting my family back.

Mystic Falls, 2 months later

"Thank you," I said to the cabdriver when he stopped the car in front of the Mikaelson mansion. Home. I was finally home.

"You're welcome, miss," he replied, he had kept staring at me through the rearview mirror the whole time. Probably because of my quite revealing evening gown. It was light blue chiffon, backless, sleeveless, floor length with sweep train. My shoes were silver, my hair was up in a bun and I had beautiful diamond earrings.

There were cars everywhere; my family was hosting a ball this evening. I had texted papa earlier to let him know that I was coming home tonight. I had only been away for few days, but it felt like forever. Klaus, Kol and Rebekah had kept calling me, insisting to know where I was, but all I had told them had been that I was visiting an old friend of mine. None of them had been pleased when I had left without telling anyone, only papa had understood that I needed my privacy.

Things had worked out just fine and we had decided to stay here for now. The only reason why we had returned in the first place had been Elena Gilbert and her blood, Klaus had found out that he needed it if he ever wanted to create more hybrids. Unfortunately Damon and the others had found Mikael and brought him here, he had been waiting for Klaus. Sadly for him, he hadn't known that Klaus wasn't alone, he had a family to watch his back.

Now Mikael was gone for good and the doppelganger had offered Klaus a deal; her blood in exchange for the safety of her family and friends. Yes, everything was just fine; we were a real family again. Klaus had even agreed to undagger the forth brother, Finn. I had tried my best to be polite to him, but we hadn't really talked much, he was quiet and kind of a gloomy guy. Not that I could blame him, he had been daggered for centuries. I felt nervous when I headed to the front door, but I was stopped by two security guards, I had never met them before.

"Your invitation, please," the other one stated.

I frowned.

"I'm Eva Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson's daughter. I live here."

"Oh, I apologize. Welcome home, Miss Mikaelson."