This is the longest chapter yet. Shout out to Sam! You are very welcome. :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

I am startled awake in the middle of night as my cell phone rings loudly on the nightstand. I groan and answer, "Hello."

"Marcel was here, and now Hayley is missing," Klaus practically growls.

I sit straight up in bed. "How did he find out about her?"

"I don't know! Likely Rebekah. They've been sneaking around. Elijah and I are on our way to pay Marcel a visit. But I'm willing to bet he doesn't have her hidden at the compound."

"You need me to conduct an outside search," I conclude.

"If you would be so kind."

I roll my eyes at his tone. "You can cut the sarcasm. I'm already half-way out the door. Update me on how it goes with the boy."

This time I hang up on him and I find some satisfaction in it. But it's short lived. I have a pregnant werewolf girl to find.

When morning dawns I receive a message from Eve, informing me that Hayley had been spotted deeper in the Bayou in one of our more remote encampments. I myself like to stay closer to the city where I might keep an eye on things, but others prefer to be farther out where they feel protected in their isolation.

The part that trouble me is that Hayley was not alone, but was being forced against her will by another wolf. A hybrid by the look of it.

I'm quick to call Klaus back. "Let me guess. She's in the bayou with an unknown dark haired male who's fashion sense screams douche?"

I raise my eyebrow at Klaus's description. "I can't speak to his fashion sense, but as I understand it, he's taken her to one of my pack's old encampments. Not sure what he has planned yet but I'm willing to bet it's nothing good."

"Well Elijah is quite keen on finding her. You should see his face right now. He's quite determined."

I hear Elijah's voice as he chimes in. "I believe Klaus is simply trying to distract from the fact that he apparently killed this boy's mother, among some other crimes which are coming back to haunt us now. What did you say his name was again?"

"Tyler Lockwood," Klaus says with disdain. "I'll kill him myself."

"I'm headed that way and wouldn't mind a lift if you don't mind an audience."

No sooner is the sentence out of my mouth than is Klaus standing in front of me after running at full vamp speed. I try not to jump in surprise. I simply huff in mock irritation. "Did you just run off on Elijah?"

"He was being irritating," he says as he bends slightly in front of me as I climb up onto his back.

"Why do I get the feeling that you were the one irritating him?"

He smiles back at me impishly. "Because you know me love."

And then he's off and my eyes are tightly shut to keep from getting sick from moving at such insane speeds through the woods.

When we arrive, Klaus sets me down as silently as possible. I rest a hand on the hilt of my rapier as it rests on my hip. Klaus raises a finger to his lips to signal me to remain quiet which I nod to in agreement.

"Hayley!" the boy, Tyler, shouts. "Don't make this harder than it has to be! Give up now... I'll end it quick."

Klaus steps out from around the tree while I remain hidden. "Quite an offer! Though, not one I'll be extending."

Tyler tenses. "Klaus."

"Hello, Tyler. You look well! I aim to change that." I can hear the threatening smile in his voice. "Threatening a pregnant girl in order to exact revenge against me? I never expected you to sink so low. I admit, I'm impressed!

"Used to hang out with you. I guess something must have rubbed off."

I can hear them shift as Klaus maneuvers Tyler to be in between us.

"What would Caroline say if she saw what you've become?" Klaus goads. "Perhaps I'll ask her when I call her to tell her of your demise."

"Whatever happens to me, Caroline's never going to stop hating you!" Tyler counters.

I don't know who Caroline is, but she seems to be a sore spot between them. She's as much a hot button for Klaus as she is for this Tyler person.

"Come on, mate! Give it a bit more effort! I want to enjoy myself."

Without a backwards glance, Tyler flashes past me. I look around the tree and Klaus's furious face morphs into amusement. "This should be fun," he says.

He begins to follow and I'm hot on his heels at my much slower pace. I want to ask, but my questions can wait.

"Is this your idea of revenge, Tyler?" I hear Klaus calls out as I begin to catch up. "A grueling game of hide-and-seek?"

I peer into the clearing and see Tyler stab Klaus with a stake through the chest. I hiss at the thought of the pain that's bound to cause. Klaus backhands Tyler at full strength before pulling the stake from his chest.

"Let's end this, shall we?"

Their eyes flash gold and fangs extend as they lunge at each other. They tackle each other down the hill, Tyler punching Klaus in the face before Klaus reaches up to catch him in a choke hold. By this point I am quite finished being an audience member.

"How dare you!" Klaus shouts at Tyler.

"I'm just getting started," Tyler says as he lifts a stake ready to plunge down into Klaus, only to suddenly be looking down at the sudden blade skewering him from behind.

I wrap my free arm around his neck and yank him back, my voice in his ear. "I believe that you'll find you're actually quite finished."

"Who the hell are you?"

He doesn't give me a chance to answer before he's throwing his head back into my face painfully. My hand doesn't release its grip on my sword and the blade slips out as I stagger back.

Klaus is up in a flash and has Tyler pinned to the wall of the shed next to us before I've completely shaken my disorientation.

"How rude of me not to make introductions. Tyler, Julia. Julia. This is Tyler."

"The pleasure is not mine," I say as I step up to Klaus's side, wiping blood from my nose.

"You've grown bloodthirsty. Perhaps it's best your mother didn't live to see you like this. It's sad, really. I thought I made you better. Turns out you're quite the disappointment."

"I guess I'm another one of your failures. Like how you failed at making hybrids. How you failed your family! Now it looks like you're going to fail your own kid!"

Klaus growls and thrusts his hand into Tyler's chest. "And thus ends your tedious little life. At least it was brief!"

Tyler gasps in pain before steeling himself. "Do it! You're never gonna break me! Only thing you can do is kill me, so go on! Go on, get it over with!

I cock my head as I look at Tyler's desperate eyes. I place a gentle hand on Klaus's shoulder. "He wants you to end his suffering." I smirk and lean up closer to his ear as I speak in a low voice that I know the hybrid child can still hear. "I think you've already broken him."

Klaus chuckles. "And now he's begging me to sweep away the shards of his shattered little life."

Tyler looks at me in confusion and hatred. "What are you? His newest lackey conquest? Already tossing Hayley to the side then?"

Klaus yanks his hand from his chest painfully and grips his neck instead.

"Death offers more peace than you deserve. It's better to let you live. And each morning, you will wake knowing your wretched existence continues only by HER will. Never mistake her for a lackey again. You will respect and fear her as is the right that she earned long before you were born."

Klaus leans in and his pupils dilate as he starts to compel him. "Now go, and live the rest of your days knowing that you are nothing to me."

I tighten my hand on his arm. "You might send him home without speaking to anyone while he's on his way. He knows more about Hayley then I am comfortable with."

Klaus smiles. "Oh yes." He looks back at Tyler. "You see Tyler. This is why she's more than a lackey. She has a brain."

He tightens his hold. "Leave this place, speak to no one. Tell no one of Hayley's condition."

Klaus then releases him and we go to investigate the area. When I turn back, I'm not surprised to see that Tyler has already run off.

We head inside, expecting to see Haley, but we find the lifeless body of a man instead. Klaus kneels down and checks his eyes. The cause of death is easy enough to determine based on the heart tossed to the side. Klaus's face furrows in confusion. "He's a hybrid…"

I crouch down opposite him and look for myself. "Huh. One of yours then?"

He shakes his head. "No. He's not one of mine. I didn't sire him. How is that possible?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't have let Tyler go so quickly. No bet he'd be able to shed some light on the subject."

Klaus looks around and notices the zip tie, cut and discarded. He takes a deep breath in through his nose. "Hayley was here. Perhaps she can explain as well." His shoulders are tense and his face barely concealing the hurt, confusion and anger he is feeling.

I rub my sore nose. It's already healed but it will take a few more minutes for the feeling to come back to my face. Klaus looks at me in concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing that won't be forgotten again in a minute or two." I pause and regard him. "His name was Dwayne I believe. I knew his parents. They were rather volatile werewolves. They had to be exiled long ago," I say sadly about the fallen hybrid.

"Well, he won't be a problem anymore."

"I never saw them as a problem. I exiled them so they could learn."

He smiles at me. "You have a bad habit of adopting children."

I laugh. "You're the one who brought Marcellus home."

Klaus cocks his head as he hears a sound in the distance that my still human ears cannot detect. "It would appear Elijah has found Hayley."

Klaus lifts Dwayne's body from the ground and stomps outside to meet them. "There you are! I see you've found our wandering stray. Perhaps you could shed some light on the situation. This appears to be a hybrid."

"His name was Dwayne," I hear Hayley answer as I lean into the doorway.

"And I didn't sire him. Any idea how that's possible?"

"As if you didn't know!" she starts to charge toward him, but Elijah holds her back. He looks towards me.

"Julia."

I smile and step around Klaus. "Elijah . Glad to have you back to the land of the living."

I look over his shoulder at Hayley as I embrace him. This isn't exactly how I wanted to meet her but it can't be helped. She looks at me in confusion and what I can only label as the barest hint of jealousy. I pull away from Elijah and step toward her. I smile in the most disarming way I can. "You look so much like your mother."

"You knew my mother?" she says, taken aback.

I nod. "I did."

Klaus interrupts. "Well now that it's established we all know each other, I would like to know what it is I'm supposed to already know."

"Tyler Lockwood brought Hayley here to test a theory," Elijah states. "That the blood of her child could be used to sire hybrids. He claims that you knew that. Furthermore, that you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

I can tell by the look on his face that he had no idea. I am quick to his side and I grasp his hand. Whatever he was about to say dies on his lips. He looks at me and my heart breaks a little. "You don't have to prove anything."

He clenches his jaw and looks at Elijah. "You're quick to assume the worst and accuse me brother."

Elijah looks at me and then hand that Klaus is now clutching like a lifeline.

He sighs. "I don't mean to accuse you brother. But you can't deny that it is not out of the realm of possibilities that your previous actions have proven you might take this path."

"He didn't know, Elijah," I state firmly. "He couldn't have. And I feel I must ask the question of how Tyler even got the idea to test such a theory in the first place."

Hayley speaks up. "Apparently another witch had a vision about my baby. I'm getting sick of it."

I stiffen and look at Klaus as he looks at me.

"Maybe…" he starts.

I shake my head. "No. No. She practices ancestral magic. She wouldn't leave New Orleans. This was someone else."

Klaus's frustration builds in him and he hits the post in outrage. I start pacing slightly, trying to think of what to do next.

"Who are we talking about?" Elijah asks.

"The witch who cursed me," I respond absentmindedly.

"But that was over two hundred years ago," Elijah says in confusion.

I ignore him for the moment to focus on the issue. I turn to Klaus. "There must be a way to block her out of the seer sight. We can't have witches left and right seeing dark prophecies about this little girl. I wasn't good at it. I never really learned to control my abilities, but I have heard of it being done before. Never for something this big. But if we can stop any more visions from occurring to these witches, then we can actually do some effective damage control."

"I'm assuming we'll need a witch to perform whatever necessary spell."

"Yes. Yes, and for something as big as trying to hide the future of an entire person? It's going to need to be someone extremely powerful."

I look at Elijah. "Please tell me that you made enough peace with Davina that she may be willing to do something like this?"

Elijah looks thoughtful. "I'll see what I can do."

"Ms. Julia!" Eve rushes out of the woods towards me and into my arms.

"Eve!" I look at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

She nods. "I found what you asked for." She hands me a worn bible.

I smile and brush some hair out of her face. "Thank you." I turn to Hayley. "This belongs to you. When you're ready, we'll talk about it. In the meantime, I think it's best we get you out of these woods."

Klaus looks determined. "I'll get Hayley home. Elijah. I think the sooner you visit Davina the better."

"But…".

"No Hayley," Elijah interrupts. "My brother is right. We have to protect you and your daughter. The best way to do that is for me to go talk to Davina." He looks at Klaus. "Today...I trust my brother. Family above all."

Klaus nods his thanks and turns to me. "More than likely these visions they are having are all the result of the one conspiring against us. It wouldn't surprise me if she's spreading rumors."

"That...or the visions are real and being very poorly misinterpreted. And this would be why I wanted to make sure no one ever tried to use me for my sight. It's unreliable."

Klaus smiles in understanding. "I'll keep you posted."

With that, he is gone. And Elijah is not far behind. Leaving me in a place I once used to spend summers, with my own daughter playing by the waters edge.