Finally!

The song here is "At Last" - the version by Etta James. I felt it was appropriate. Also, I find stories without happy endings to be somewhat pointless. I'll even take a bitter sweet ending in a pinch but I am rooting for these characters at this point so I totally want this to end happily. Doesn't mean we won't all suffer a little before we get there. So sorry not sorry for that. ;P

Please let me know if this chapter meets expectations. Thank you *love and hugs*

Happy reading!

My inquiries lead me to a small bed and breakfast that Klaus is currently staying at. It isn't difficult to get into the room. My heart races and my hands shake as I prepare myself for when he returns. I've missed him so much and yet, I am terrified of how he'll react to me.

I smirk when I notice the decanter with liquid courage in it. It shouldn't surprise me that he has alcohol on hand. I pour myself a glass and sip on it as I head to stand in the window, looking down on the mostly quiet street below.

Soft music drifts through the window from the room above me. I take another sip and remember when Lana was young and I would sing that same song.

"At last my love has come along." Lana giggles at me as I sing dramatically at her from across the kitchen counter. "My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah."

She tries to join me, but she is young, barely 9 years old, and the lyrics aren't as familiar to her as they are to me. "At last the skies above are blue. My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you."

I pull at my daughter's hand as we begin to dance in the kitchen, the voice of Etta James over the radio making mine pale in comparison. "I found a dream that I could speak to, a dream that I can call my own."

"I found a thrill to press my cheek to, a thrill I've never known, oh yeah." As the music builds I begin to twirl her around and she laughs, her smile lighting up her whole face.

My heart clenches in my chest at how beautiful and carefree I remember her at that moment. Before she lost her innocence. Before she truly knew the dangers of the world and just exactly what it meant to be a werewolf.

You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast

And here we are in Heaven

For you are mine

At last

The violins sail by on the wind as the song comes to a close and I take another sip of my drink.

The click of the door opening behind me causes my spine to stiffen ever so slightly. I dare not breathe. I dare not move. I hear the shuffle of feet and the clink of keys being tossed in a bowl. And then nothing.

He is as frozen behind me as I am at the window.

I take a deep breath and speak without turning. "It's funny how things change. Isn't it?"

"You lied to me," he says in response.

I turn and look at him for the first time in decades. The leather jacket he wears gives me the impression of armor. His barely guarded expression hides anger, and hurt too. "When did I lie?" I ask.

"You said you'd come find me."

I look at Klaus and his eyes burn into mine as comprehension dawns on his face. "Marcellus," I whisper. I turn and begin to run back.

"Julia no!" Klaus blocks my path and I reach my hand up toward his face.

"You have to run." He shakes his head and I speak in as firm a tone as I can. "I'll come find you."

I kiss him firmly and he drinks me in like a man without water in the desert. I pull myself away and it hurts so much because I can taste it. I can taste that nameless feeling radiating back at me from him. "Run."

I swallow at the memory. "I could not have known what would happen after that. I did not know that my place would be here."

His eyes narrow at me. "With Marcellus. Taking over everything I built."

I slowly exhale the anger suddenly rising in my chest. "Marcel made a grave mistake. An error that I could not leave unchecked. I did not stay with him. He forced my hand. So here I stayed. And here I prepared." I sigh. "But no amount of preparation has made me ready for this conversation," I nearly mumble under my breath.

"Then leave. I'm in no mood for more lies today."

I study him. He's defensive. He knows. "You've raised a child before. Despite his flaws I think that he turned out well enough."

He looks at me sharply. "Whatever you have heard, it's not possible. It's not mine."

"You can tell yourself that all you want Klaus. But that doesn't change the facts. It doesn't erase the truth that Hayley is carrying YOUR child."

"And what would you know about it!?"

"Hayley is a Crescent. I was there the day she was born. I have been here for years, watching and paying attention, building relationships. Waiting for you to come home. I may not be quite as old as you but I am older than most of the supernatural entities in this community and I am not ignorant. In all my years I have learned that nothing can truly be called impossible. There is always a way around something. Always a loophole. Always."

"Say I accept the child is mine then. What then? I raise them as I did Marcel? Only to have them turn against me and take my place among ashes? To betray me for power?"

"Every king needs an heir, Klaus." By this time we have moved enough in the room that we are standing face to face with barley a yard of space between us. "Marcel likes to pretend that he is king. He likes to pretend that the "M" he stamps everywhere is his mark. He likes to pretend that he has power. But he gave up true power."

"Is that what I am to you then? Your king?" his demeanor becomes amused. It's been a long time but our conversations still come easily enough.

I smile. "I bow to no one."

His slight smirk would barely be noticeable if I hadn't once known him so well. "No. You never did." He pauses and looks at me thoughtfully. He backtracks in his mind to a previous comment. "You were there when Hayley was born?"

I nod, "Yes."

"I thought that the wolves were run out of here long ago."

"No," I smirk. "They may not be exhibiting full strength but they are here. And they are ready."

His eyes shift down to my hands. The wedding ring I had long since moved to my right hand is glinting in the light as I absentmindedly turn it with my left. I drop my hands and clear my throat.

He looks up at me questioning. "Rather uncommon to wear a wedding ring on the regular isn't it? And on the right hand."

"The mark of a widow," I say softly.

Any camaraderie we were beginning to build again vanishes like a puff of smoke. "So that's it. You found someone and you got married."

"That's not why, Klaus. I didn't love him."

"And yet he's gone and you still wear the ring." His hand gestures to mine.

"Out of respect for the dead," I say sternly. "I married the Crescent Pack Alpha. To continue wearing this ring is a sign of respect and a mark to my people. I may not be one of them by blood but I am still a leader among them. I am still a face that they have all grown up seeing and trusting." His gaze turns calmer and he begins to understand. I can't help the slight burst of laughter that comes from me. "I am nothing if not a strategist. Remember?"

His smile grows slowly, and with it, the easy camaraderie begins to settle over us again. "I remember."

I swallow and smile in return as I step forward. I find my arms wrapping around his neck as we move into each other's space. His arms come around me and my eyes close as I take in his scent. Everything about him is warm and familiar. I can't help the tension that suddenly leaves my body. For the first time in a century, I feel safe and content.

I feel his face burrow into my neck and his words are muffled. "You're afraid to tell me something. I can see it in your eyes."

My arms slide down his shoulders and chest and I pull back enough to look at him. "The path back to the throne is not an easy one. Even with the support of my pack, the garden vampires and the others I've managed to employ...it will be messy. Nothing about any of this will be easy."

"Nothing we've ever done was easy." His face sets into one of business and he pulls away from me. He leans against the desk and looks at me thoughtfully. "Go on then. Offer me your deal. That's what you have isn't it? Another deal between devils?"

For a moment it feels like I'm back in his old study. He's sitting at his desk as I give counsel about fear and reverence. I find myself pulling a coin from my pocket and examining it in my hand. "I propose an alliance. I think we can both agree that while Marcel has done well ruling the vampires, he is lacking the vision of the bigger picture. The vision of a culturally diverse and cooperative city, ruled by progress and a champion of it."

I look up at him. "I propose to offer you the support of the Crescent wolves, the vampires I have the loyalty of and the random alliances I have built over the years. In return, I want equality in the quarter. I want the wolves to be free to enter. I want the vampires to respect life. I want the humans to have a voice. I want the witches to know their limits."

"A tall order," he responds.

"One I would only ever ask of the one man on earth capable of delivering."

He huffs a laugh. "I'm not Kol. Flattery will do you no good. Not with me. But then again you know that."

"I do. This is not about appealing to your ego. It's about keeping my promise of telling you the truth."

"So that is the deal then?"

"That's the deal. If you agree to continue this discussion, then I think it's best we have a seat. There's a lot we will have to cover in a short amount of time. The longer we can keep everyone from knowing that we are working together, the better. There is something you need to know."

He nods once and sets another chair across the desk before sitting in his own. I take his cue and sit opposite of him. He leans back in his seat, the picture of nonchalance. "Well then," he smirks and rests his elbows on the arm rests before his fingertips come together. "Do tell."

"What do you remember about a witch named Celeste?"

It takes several hours for me to lay it all out. Save for the secret I fear telling him. I pray that doesn't come back to haunt me when he learns the truth.