A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back to the story! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter and are ready to see what happens next.
Reviews are greatly desired, and all contributions are appreciated. What is not appreciated are flames, so please don't post any. Thank you ;)
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by author L.J. Smith.
Please enjoy this chapter! Xx
SECOND CHANCES
"If I had the chance to start again.
Then you would be the one I'd come and find.
Like the poster of Berlin on my wall.
Maybe there's a chance our walls might fall."
~Athlete: 'Chances' (Tourist [2015])
It was hard to tell who out of the three of us moved first. But it was safe to say that it was probably Rebekah, when as one, she and I practically pounced upon Henrik, smothering him in a tearful hug and relishing in the fact that we were able to actually hold him rather than fazing through him like he wasn't even there.
But I was definitely a close second.
"How is this possible?" Rebekah demanded, clutching to her baby brother for dear life. "You haven't aged a day!" She observed and pulled away from him cupping the sides of his face with her hands as she examined every inch of him. Her face fell when she realized what he was wearing. "You're even wearing what you died in." She mumbled, trailing off as she eyed his light grey tunic top, dark trousers, knee-high light brown travelling boots and dark brown belt wrapped about his waist. Rebekah wiped away her happy tears as Henrik rolled his eyes and grunted when Rebekah pulled him back into a smothering hug.
"It's alright, Rebekah. I'm okay, so stop crying already. It's getting embarrassing." Henrik complained as he squirmed uncomfortably in his sister's arms.
"I've missed you so much." She whispered, and Henrik stopped squirming the very second he heard Rebekah's words and returned her hug warmly, burying his face into her shoulder.
"Me too." He confessed. "It's sucked that I haven't been around to experience everything with you though. Even when it was bad." Rebekah straightened up from their embrace and started to pace, still obviously overwhelmed by her brother's reappearance in the living world. I frowned, thoughtfully.
"How the hell is this happening?" I wondered, feeling disturbed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that you can be seen and I don't have to relay what you say to everybody. But this can't be possible." I told him. Henrik nodded in agreement.
"I get it. I thought something weird was happening when I felt like I was being … I don't know … summoned? From the other side." He explained, looking at my perplexed expression. Rebekah stopped pacing and looked at Henrik in alarm.
"You mean like a spell?" She even sounded alarmed. Henrik shrugged.
"I guess. It felt similar to what Mother used to do." He admitted, uneasily.
"You lost me completely." I spoke up, looking between the two siblings for an explanation as to what the hell they were going on about.
"Mother used to use simple spells on us back then." Henrik explained. "But it was usually when she was healing us, or trying to teach us a new spell as part of our studies." I nodded. It made sense; Esther wasn't always selfish, and had genuinely wanted to give her children a better start to life by teaching them the essentials of their witch heritage, should they have chosen to pursue that way of life.
"Who do you suppose is responsible?" Rebekah wondered. "This must be an extremely powerful spell if it's summoning the dead from the other side." She stated, frowning darkly.
"I can only think of one person." I spoke up. "But I don't know what she could be gaining from this."
"Who?" Rebekah demanded.
"Bonnie Bennett." I replied succinctly. "She's the only witch that I know of living in Mystic Falls at the moment." I explained. Suddenly, my phone started ringing and I looked at caller ID and paled.
"What's wrong?" Henrik asked, concerned. In response, I turned the phone around so that both Rebekah and Henrik could read the name.
"Niklaus." Rebekah sounded stricken. I was debating whether or not I should let Nik know that Henrik was back, however temporary it might be, or keep mum about the subject. Henrik seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was.
"Should we let him know about me?" He asked, worriedly. I offered him a nervous smile and nodded my head.
"I think we'd better." I said, reluctantly. "Imagine how pissed he'd be if he returned and found out that you had returned to the living world in corporeal form while he had been away?" Both Henrik and Rebekah shuddered. "His rage would be lethal." I reminded them, as the call timed out and showed up on my screen as a 'missed call'. I felt a little guilty about not answering straight away.
"So how do we tell him? Call or text?" Henrik questioned, warily.
"I've got video call on my phone. There's no way he'd be able to accuse us of deceiving him if he could actually see and hear you." I insisted, and both Rebekah and Henrik nodded in agreement. "However, I don't think we should do it now." I said.
"Why not?" Rebekah frowned. I got to my feet and strode with a determination towards my bedroom, intending on getting dressed.
"I want to get to the bottom of this unusual situation first, to find out if this is potentially dangerous, or just an unfortunate mistake." I suggested. "I'm going to get help from Damon." I announced. Henrik immediately grinned at this.
"I'm coming too." He declared, excitedly. Rebekah frowned with confusion.
"What for? How is he likely to help?" She demanded.
"Because Bonnie trusts Damon more than me." I responded. Henrik made a face.
"But she also hates Damon." He pointed out. I smirked.
"Not as much as me, sweetie." I winked at him, and immediately closed the door on him so I could change. I heard Rebekah sigh heavily.
"I'm going to come along too."
"Why? I can take care of myself." I protested.
"This is a family matter, Grace. Which makes it my business." Rebekah retorted, tartly. "Besides, I'll never hear the end of it if I let anything happen to you that I could've prevented while we investigate this." She added, sounding a little bit martyred.
"Fine." I agreed, sighing with frustration. I forgot that Rebekah could be just as stubborn as Nik. It was better to just give her, her way rather than argue.
~:THIRD PERSON P.O.V:~
Somewhere at an unknown location, Klaus frowned, feeling suspicious and a little hurt when Grace failed to pick up his phone call and her voice mail picked up instead. Not that he'd willingly admit it in public, of course.
"Hey there! You've reached Grace Williams. I'm unable to take your call right now, but if you leave a message and your phone number; I'll get back to you soon. Cheers!" Grace's light and cheerful Estuary English voice came over the line followed by an obnoxious beep. Klaus grimaced before leaving his message; idly focusing upon his newly created hybrids darting about all around him, following his orders and making the necessary preparations for the next phase of his plan.
"Uh, Sweetheart? This isn't like you not picking up your phone. Has something happened back in Mystic Falls that requires my attention? Call me back as soon as you get this." He pauses, then hastily adds when he is positive none of his hybrids were within hearing range: "I miss you, and I wish you were here." He hangs up, and tries to ignore the unnerved emotion that suddenly appeared that was a direct indication, something wasn't quite right.
He just hoped that Grace and Rebekah were alright, and that his doppelgänger was staying out of trouble.
~:GRACE P.O.V:~
Henrik, a very reluctant Rebekah, and I travelled to the Boarding House to see if Damon knew about the fact that apparently Mystic Falls was being haunted by ghosts who had become corporeal and were roaming free through the streets, and to see what he could do to possibly help solve the potential conundrum.
Well, that. And Henrik was eager to introduce himself to the vampire who helped me find a strong friendship with him, and some comfort in a town that for the last thousand years became the foundation of not only my problems, but also the problems of the family I had been about to marry into at the time. Before Henrik's untimely death and the discovery of Niklaus' werewolf heritage had caused everything to implode into itself like a falling tower of playing cards.
I must admit, was secretly curious about what Damon's reaction to Henrik's presence would be. The three of us had just breezed through the threshold, almost walking straight into Stefan who was carrying an iron stick in his hands. My eyes widened when I saw that there was blood on the pointed side and I looked at Stefan suspiciously.
"Where is Damon?" I asked, getting straight to the point. Stefan smirked defiantly at me before responding.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He said. I rolled my eyes and pushed passed him, but not before Stefan seized my arm and pulled me to stop. "Wait a minute. Where'd you run off to last night?" He questioned me, sternly. I just raised an eyebrow at him with annoyance.
"Do I look like I'm five to you?" I asked as I pulled my arm out of his grip unsuccessfully. "Besides I'm surprised that you noticed to be perfectly honest. You're the one who went who knows where with Elena." I went to walk past, but was immediately and roughly tugged back again. "Ow!" I grunted through grit teeth. "Seriously, Stefan. Let go of my arm." I stated firmly. Suddenly, Damon started screaming from inside the boarding house and I fought to get free. "DAMON!?" I yelled out to him, but Stefan still wouldn't budge.
"Let go of my sister." Henrik grabbed Stefan's wrist, earning a glare in the process.
"Back off, kid." Stefan insisted, pissed. Henrik merely glared back and increased the pressure on his wrist.
"I will when you let go of Grace's wrist." He insisted. Stefan responded by taking a swipe at him, and was caught off guard when his hand simply fazed through his body like Henrik was a hologram. But it was enough for him to let go, and I took off like a bat outta hell into the house and into the parlour where I had found Damon chained down into a chair and sizzling in direct sunshine. Mason Lockwood of all people was standing at the window, holding open the heavy curtains with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"HEY!" I shouted at him, grabbing his attention. Mason's grin drops when he sees me. I immediately rush over to the curtain and snap it shut, glaring daggers at him.
"You can see me?" He blurted out in shock. I ignored him, snatched back Damon's ring from where Mason had discarded it on the floor and went back to Damon's side shoving it back on his index finger and kissing his forehead. "How can you see me?" Mason demanded.
"Are you okay?" I asked Damon, still ignoring Mason as I helped him remove the chains that were holding him into the chair. He smiled at me gratefully.
"I'll live. Not the first time I was nearly roasted alive." He admits, and I make a face.
"Charming."
"Grace?" I hear Henrik call out from the front door. I straightened up and took a step back from Damon, turning towards the doorway.
"In the parlour, Henrik. Bring Bekah with you." I called back. Damon's head snaps in my direction when he hears my baby brother's name and seconds later, Henrik barrels into the room following closely by a bored looking Rebekah, who eyes Mason with mild interest. Damon blinks at Henrik, obviously recognizing him as the boy from my memories who had been mauled to death by a werewolf, and looking stunned.
"That's Henrik?" Damon questions and Rebekah rolls her eyes.
"Obviously." She says, strolling over to a couch and sinking down onto it as Henrik grinned at Damon and rushes over to him; hand outstretched.
"Hi! It's great to finally meet you face to face!" Henrik tells a slightly speechless Damon who reciprocates the handshake uncertainly. I frowned with confusion at Henrik and Rebekah.
"Where's Stefan?" I asked, curiously. Henrik scowled and Rebekah snorted, and started inspecting her nails; while also ignoring a curious and obviously attracted Mason at the same time.
"He ran off." Henrik supplied, moving to inspect the Salvatore's expansive book collection now that he was able to actually pick up and flip through any book. I raised an eyebrow.
"Did he say where?" I asked, a little impatiently. Rebekah just gave me a look.
"Yes, Grace. He went into complete detail about where he was going before he shoved aside Henrik and took off." She responded, sarcastically. I just looked at her, unamused.
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Bekah." I reminded her. "Plus, you're not as good as it as I am." I added, before directing my attention towards Mason who was studying the three of us cautiously.
"Don't bother, mate. She's out of your league." I set Mason straight. "And anyway, you're supposed to be dead." Damon looked at me like I was insane.
"Who the hell are you talking to?" He wanted to know. Rebekah glanced over at him, irritably.
"The tall blonde werewolf standing by the window over there." She said, pointing vaguely in the vicinity of the window.
"Mason Lockwood?" Then he pauses and thinks about it for several seconds before a look of realization passes over his face. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He groaned.
"What?" I asked, alert.
"That explains Henrik's presence, and why I woke up chained in a chair and with the fire poker sticking out of my chest." Damon continues as though he hadn't heard my question.
"Need more information, Damon." I said, as Henrik wonders over to the couch and plops down beside his older sister, reading from a thick, dusty looking book and grinning from ear to ear.
"One of Bonnie's spells went wrong." Damon explained, and both Rebekah and I exchanged looks with each other. Neither of us could decide if we were annoyed or grateful that Bonnie had screwed up. Case in point: it gave us back Henrik. But exactly for how long?
I sighed. "Rebekah and I figured as much." I confirmed to Damon who looked at me quizzically.
"And how would she know?" He asked, a little rudely. Rebekah glowered at him.
"She's sitting right here." Rebekah pointed out.
"And if you remember, Rebekah's mum was a witch. Ergo, it's very highly likely that Rebekah was one before she was turned into a vampire." I also pointed out. Damon snorted.
"And I suppose you want me to go and confront Bonnie and make her fix the problem?" He asked.
"Not exactly. But I do have my own reasons for wishing to speak with her on the subject." I replied, discreetly eying Henrik. Damon observes Henrik also, and after a few minutes; shrugs and heads for the front door.
"Okay. Shall we?" He asked, gesturing for the front door with his hand. Rebekah raises an eyebrow, and Henrik groans when he realizes he would have to leave behind the book.
"That's it? I expected more of a fuss." I observed, and Damon pretends to be offended.
"I'm just as eager as you are to stop this. I'd rather not be skewered like a stuck-pig and roasted alive, if it's all the same to you." He pointed out, and I glanced over at where Mason had been standing observing us, warily. To my surprise he had disappeared. But it was obvious we wouldn't be seeing the last of him before this fiasco was over. We all piled into Damon's Camaro and took off down the road leading back into town.
"So where are we likely to find Bonnie?" I asked curiously from where I was sitting in the backseat. I had been demoted to the backseat with Henrik (not that I really cared where I sat to be honest) in favour of a surprised, and slightly suspicious Rebekah. I snorted, wishing that Damon could be a bit more subtle next time.
"Probably the town's square." Damon responded, bored.
"We just came from there." Henrik piped up, frowning in confusion.
"Well, that's where Witchy is likely to be. The town is setting up for their annual 'Night of Illuminations' or whatever the hell it's called." He stated, dismissively.
"What on earth is this 'Night of Illuminations'?" Rebekah wanted to know.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Bekah. But I'm very quickly getting the impression that this celebration is just one of many parties this town likes to throw." I replied, dryly. We arrived just as Carol Lockwood stood up in front of a microphone and prepared to deliver a 'motivational' speech to a large crowd of locals.
"As a long-time member of the Historical Society, I am especially proud to be kicking off this day of festivities." Carol announced to the gathering crowd, with her voice as loud a bullhorn. "Thank you, volunteers. Tonight, we turn off our town's lights and flare up our lanterns in honor of the night of illumination started by our founders 150 year ago." She then turns towards an older man in his early 50s with receding grey hair, and gestures for him to come forward towards the microphone. "Here's founding family member Tobias Fell with a history lesson." All four of us made a bored face as the audience gives scattered applause.
"Shall we?" I asked, and Damon, Rebekah and Henrik nodded in agreement; none of us in the slightest bit interested in the history lesson, and went off in search for Bonnie. Damon drove around the town's square searching for a glimpse of the young witch. Eventually we spotted her hanging lanterns with Caroline, and Damon pulls up beside them; startling them a little.
"Greetings, Blondie. Witchy. I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicky Donovan." Damon greeted them, and got straight to the point at the exact same time. It appeared he was less than enthusiastic about talking with Bonnie as she probably was with us. She frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean, why?" She asked, cautiously. Damon's usual cocky smile darkened.
"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost." He reported. Bonnie's eyes widened with shock.
"What?" She yelled.
"And why would you think that?" Caroline jumped in, presumably in defense for her friend. I leant over Henrik and wound down the window so I could talk to them as well.
"Because I found Damon chained to a chair in his parlour minus his daylight ring, and with a hot poker in his chest." I explained. Rebekah, eyed both girls from her place in the front seat and was looking decidedly impatient and bored by this entire excursion.
"Let's just say I'm having déjà-vu." Damon confirmed what I said. Caroline looks at Bonnie, worriedly.
"I thought you said that ghosts couldn't physically interact with people." She asked her friend, warily.
"They can't." Bonnie insisted. I encouraged Henrik to lean out of the window to help me prove a point.
"I give you exhibit A. My baby brother-in-law, Henrik Mikaelson. He was killed a thousand years ago, and is pretty much the closest you're gonna get to seeing an actual real life ghost." I explained. Bonnie's eyes widened in shock. It was clear that she had remembered when I told both her and Jeremy about him, and why I could see his spirit. Henrik maintains a poker face, as Damon takes back the conversation.
"I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood." Damon added, sounding rather resentful. "When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead. Whatever it is you screwed up, fix it." Damon requested, before putting the pedal to the medal and tearing out of there before either Bonnie or Caroline could speak.
"You tell 'em, Damon…" I muttered, sardonically. He just threw me a glare via the rear view mirrors, and I smiled sweetly back.
"So what happens now?" Rebekah asked, sounding very much like she was whining a little. I sighed.
"That's up to Damon, he's the one with the vendetta. Although, I'd like to spend as much time as possible with Henrik now that he is corporeal. We don't know when he's likely to become invisible again to you." I responded, feeling the dread set in. I smiled when Henrik wrapped an arm around my shoulders and allowed me to lean my head against his shoulders. He had a worried frown on his face too, and was attempting to comfort not just himself, but me as well.
Rebekah brightened. "Well, what's wrong with that idea?" She wanted to know. "Spending time with Henrik has been one of my dearest wishes since he had died all these years ago." Damon groaned.
"I'm getting a cavity from all of this sweetness." He muttered, and I kicked the back his chair; earning a teasing smirk from him.
"Like I said; we're at the mercy of Damon. But if we get a choice, I'd like to go back to the Boarding House and collect my car so we can go somewhere else for our reunion, however long it lasts." I suggested. Damon shrugged.
"I don't care what you do. But I'm gonna find Alaric to see if knows what we can do to deal with this if Bonnie fails." He tells us. I scowled at him.
"Nice attitude." I bitched. "I pray that if something happened to Stefan and he was killed, that you'd be just as excited to spend as much time with him as you could for as long as you could." I told him. "Even if you both currently hate each other's guts." I added. Damon and Henrik both snorted.
"I doubt it." Damon disagreed, as he pulled up to the Boarding House and immediately disappeared into the mansion. Rebekah stared after Damon with an odd look of both disgust and intrigue. Very odd.
"Well that speech you made, Grace, was a bloody great waste of time. Shall we get on with it?" Rebekah asked brusquely as she hopped out of the Camaro and sauntered back over to my car and got into the front seat. I disagreed. I had definitely gotten through to him, even if it was just a minute second. But I also believed that Mason's reappearance genuinely freaked out Damon more than he probably wanted to admit.
"What is it, Grace?" Henrik placed a hand on my shoulder and I frowned and glanced over at him.
"I'll be back in just a second, then we'll get on with our reunion, huh?" I told him, grinning perhaps a little forced and headed back into the mansion. "Be right back, Bekah. I forgot something." I muttered out loud in my normal voice, knowing full well that Rebekah would be able to hear me, and also knowing full well; that this would increase her annoyance and frustration a couple notches. Hopefully, Henrik would be able to distract her for the few minutes I hoped I could use trying to get to the bottom of the normally unflappable Damon's dismissive attitude. I found him standing in the living room, nursing a scotch and staring morosely into the fireplace. He had his back to me, and he had obviously sensed my presence because his stiffened shoulders relaxed slightly. Without saying a word, I wondered over to him and wrapped my arms around Damon's waist and rested my head against his back.
"Grace…" Damon mumbled, warningly. But I tightened my grip on my best friend; refusing to back down despite the warning.
"Mason really did a number on you, didn't he?" I observed, with concern. Damon didn't respond, but I felt him immediately grab my hand and squeeze it for reassurance. I knew that this was his way of comforting himself while maintaining some of his pride. "Is that what you did to him?" I indicated towards the chair and abandoned chains, still standing off to the side where Damon and I had left it when I rescued him. "That day when you, Stefan, Bonnie and I roofied him with wolfsbane and brought him back here for interrogation?" I asked, cautiously.
"Pretty much. Except I ripped out his heart; Mason attempted to use sunlight up until you interrupted him." Damon responded, turning around in my arms and crushing me to his chest.
"Wonderful." I groaned, before pulling away after a few long minutes and raking a hand through my hair.
"I thought that you were off for your family reunion." Damon pointed out, and I shrugged.
"We will be. But there was something that I needed to take care of before we did." I stated, matter-of-factly.
"Which is?"
"Making sure that my best friend was alright." I responded, evenly. "Call me crazy, but I actually give a shit; despite the fact that I spent the entire summer away with your Ripper brother and my incredibly stubborn and ambitious Hybrid boyfriend." I pointed out. Damon drained his drink and wondered over to grab another.
"What the hell do you see in him, anyway?" He wanted to know as he sloshed a generous amount of the amber liquid into his glass. I saw the obvious avoidance about the topic of Mason Lockwood and how he had killed him in the end, and rolled my eyes; pretending to give this question some serious thought.
"Well…" I trailed off teasingly and spread a mischievous smirk across my face as Damon looked revolted. I laughed, in amusement. "Damon! Mind out of the gutter, and anyway despite Nik's faults he can be quite charming, sweet and generous when he wants to be." I insisted.
"When he wants to be. And when he's not trying to kill me with the wooden leg off a table." Damon snorted, obviously remembering when he and Nik had that brawl back at Gloria's Bar in Chicago. Damon raised the glass back up to his mouth and I covered the rim with my hand, and raised an eyebrow.
"If you give him the benefit of the doubt, Damon, I'm sure that you and he could become good friends. You both have lots in common." I said. Damon looked unconvinced, as he pulled my hand off his glass, and raised it to his lips so he could brush a kiss across my knuckles playfully before dropping it and taking the intended sip. But eventually, he shrugged.
"I'll keep it under advisement. But I'm not promising anything." Damon told me. I eyed him sternly, but realized that that was probably the best answer I was going to get out of him in his current mood.
"Good enough." I turned to walk back out of the door to my car to get started on our reunion with Henrik. "Oh!" I turned back to him. "Call us when you've managed to find Alaric." I asked Damon, urgently. He frowned at me.
"Why? Wouldn't you want to use this time to be with your brother?" I smiled at him.
"Rebekah and Henrik want to help too." I responded.
"Why?"
"Because Henrik is at risk. We want to find out if there is a way of bringing him back." I explained. Damon looked at me with pitying eyes.
"Them or you?" He asked, pointedly. I scowled at him.
"Us." I insisted, firmly. "There isn't anything in the world that we won't do to make sure that Henrik gets his second chance." I paused, and bit my bottom lip. "If we succeed, this could be the path of redemption Nik needs to reverse all the bullshit that has been inflicted on not just him, but on all of us." I mumbled. Damon looked very doubtful, and I resented him for it.
"That's a really big if, honey. I'm not sure that it's even possible." Damon tried to get me to see this logically. But I shut down almost immediately.
"Doesn't mean we can't try." I retorted, as I continued walking out to my car. "I mean it, Damon. Call us when you find him." I requested, firmly. I didn't need to look back to know that Damon was looking at me with deep concern on his handsome face.
The logical part of me was practically screaming to see reason. But the part of me that desperately wanted Henrik back so that he can be part of the Mikaelsons' healing process, told the logical side to shove it and squashed it down flat. I ignored the concerned expression I saw on Rebekah's face and the confused one on Henrik's as I got into my car and started the ignition. It was obvious that Rebekah had heard the conversation between Damon and me, and that she apparently agreed with Damon … or so I believed. But I had to try to find a solution that we all could agree with. It was a silent journey back to the town's square, but as I pulled up into my usual parking space in front of the Apartment Block; Henrik decided that he didn't like the awkward silence and immediately spoke up.
"So what's happening now?" He asked, tentatively. I cut the engine and turned to smile at him.
"Now, we're going to spend some time together. Just the three of us. At least until Damon gives us the heads up about Alaric's whereabouts." I told him and Rebekah. "I'm gonna go upstairs to grab some stuff. You want to wait here or come up with me?" I asked. Rebekah just gave me a flat look.
"Do you want me to answer that, or should I just glare?" There was a pause before I turned away from her mouthing 'okay then' and scowling a little at Henrik when he smirked at me.
"Shall we?" I asked, hopping out of the car and locking it when both of my siblings vacated it.
"What exactly are you doing?" Rebekah asked, sounding slightly irritated.
"We're having a picnic. And I've got a bit of a surprise for Henrik." I fessed up, earning a delighted smile from Rebekah at the mention of the picnic and a curious expression from Henrik.
"What's the surprise?" He asked, almost immediately. I tsked at him playfully as we ascended the staircase to the residential area.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?" I pointed out to him. "Kinda defeats the purpose." Henrik shrugged and pouted as he lent up against the wall beside my apartment door, while Rebekah perched on the bannister to the staircase.
"Can't blame me for trying though." He defended himself. I chuckled indulgently, as I finally got the apartment door opened and breezed on in. Henrik followed promptly, but Rebekah remained where she was; knowing that I wasn't going to be taking very long to gather what I needed.
"But suffice it to say;" I added. "It's something that your brothers would've been doing with you if they had been given the chance." I hinted, frowning when I couldn't find what I was searching for. Then I remembered that it was in my car and walked towards the kitchen, retrieving my picnic basket and blanket and stuffing it with the foods that were left over from the 'girl's night in' and some wine and some water bottles.
"What my brothers would've been doing with me?" Henrik frowned with confusion. "But they were always too busy to spend any proper time with me. It was usually Rebekah or you that I spent any real time with that didn't involve chores or my studies; magical or otherwise." He pointed out. I nodded, remembering this all too well.
"I know. But I promise that you'll enjoy it, and hopefully take it as it should be seen as: a wonderful memory." I promised him.
"What's taking so long?" Rebekah called out from the corridor and both Henrik and I rolled our eyes at her complaining. Both of us questioning how much of a saint Nik must've been to put up with Rebekah's whinging all these years.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Bekah. We've coming." I reassured her, and pushed the picnic basket and blanket into Henrik's arms as I quickly snatched up my painting supplies and my old shirt that I used whenever I painted. "Let's blow this juke joint." I announced and Henrik practically sprinted like Speedy Gonzales down the stairs to my car, much to both mine and Rebekah's amusement.
"What is this so-called surprise you have in stall for him?" Rebekah asked, curiously.
"I'm going to teach him how to swordfight." I responded almost immediately, confident that Henrik was well out of hearing range. Rebekah's mouth dropped open in shock.
"But that's not your job. That's…"
"Elijah, Finn, Kol or Niklaus'." I finished for her, and I nodded in agreement. "I'm well aware of that. But obviously, Henrik died before they had a chance to pass down what they knew to him. I'm just giving Henrik the opportunity to do what he missed out on before that bloody werewolf killed him." I told Rebekah. Her face fell almost immediately, and angry, sorrowful tears welled up in her light blue eyes.
"Why did this have to happen to him? He was just a boy." Rebekah whispered harshly underneath her breath, and I shifted my easel, painting supplies and blank canvas in my arms as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed in what I hoped was comfort.
"Precisely why I'm giving him this opportunity, so that he can take it with him as a cherished memory when he eventually becomes non-corporeal again." I muttered back to her reassuringly. "For now, let's just enjoy what time we have left with him. And create lots of videos that we can show your brothers if Nik ever un-daggers them in the future." I suggested. Rebekah dried her eyes and nodded, giving me a bittersweet smile before walking back downstairs to the car where an impatient Henrik was waiting for us.
Since my arrival in Mystic Falls, I had taken it upon myself to explore the town to discover if anything was familiar to me from when I was last there a thousand years before. Unfortunately, most of the meadows from my youth; especially the ones that were frequented by Rebekah, Nik and myself, had been used to create accommodations for the growing number of people who had chosen to settle down in Mystic Falls over the centuries. It made it difficult to find an appropriate and adequately private enough space for Rebekah, Henrik and I to have what little time we could with him, before he was 'summoned' back to the Other Side when Bonnie figured out where her spell went wrong. In the end, I settled on the small meadow beside the aptly named mystic falls bridge; where I had had my first flashback of Nik all those months ago.
"What's the surprise?" Henrik spoke up the very second we arrived at the meadow I was leading him and Rebekah towards. He set down my mother's picnic basket and set up the picnic rug for us girls, like the little gentleman his mother had raised him to be, as I playfully scowled at him. Rebekah; who already knew what the surprise was, but was dutifully remaining silent about it, rolled her eyes at her brother's exuberance. Although, I did catch a small nostalgic smile on her face as she sat down on the picnic blanket and helped herself to some wine.
"Geez, your impatience hasn't improved, Hen." I pointed out as I set up my easel and canvas, and carefully set aside my painting supplies. "I've left something in my car, I'll be right back." I said, and Henrik groaned like the fifteen year old he looked like and dropped down beside Rebekah, who was absently fiddling with her wine glass and eying the small waterfall not too far away from where we were sitting. As I made my way back to my car, my phone started ringing shrilly; scaring the hell out of me and I pulled it from my pocket to see who the caller was. I stiffened almost immediately. "Hello?" I answered, praying that my voice didn't betray my nervousness.
"Hello, Darling. Why haven't you returned my call?" Nik's voice was as smooth as silk, which implied that he was less than impressed with me right this second. I winced, quickly wracking my brains for a plausible answer. The very last thing that I wanted to do right this second was to make him suspicious, or give away that Henrik was back and currently attempting to have what little fun he could have with both Rebekah and me.
But I had tell him something. So I decided to feed Nik a little white lie about what was currently unfolding here in his absence.
"Sorry, sweetie. We've been dealing with an incident involving a witch's spell gone wrong." I replied, vaguely. There was silence from Nik's end of the conversation, and I honestly believed I had gotten away with it scot free. But then…
"Could you be a little more specific? Are you in danger?" He asked, sounding impatient and mildly concerned.
"Not exactly. The spell is a little bit more sophisticated than that; but Damon and I are working on it." I reassured him.
"Forgive me if I don't feel very reassured, love. Considering it's Damon Salvatore that we're talking about here." Nik sounded extremely unconvinced that we supposedly had things under control with the botched witch's spell. I let out a frustrated huff. It seemed that I needed to give Nik the same advice as I did Damon regarding each other.
"Oh, don't you start." I grumbled into the phone as I popped the trunk of my car and pulled out my duffel. "I'm not in the mood to repeat the same conversation I had just had with Damon with you." I said, firmly.
"And what conversation was this?" He asked, curiously. Shutting my trunk, I heaved my duffel onto my shoulder and slowly made my way back to where I had left Rebekah and Henrik.
"Damon was curious about what I actually saw in you. Suffice it to say, when I gave him my honest answer; Damon was less than convinced." I explained, flatly.
"Do I need to know what you told him?" Nik sounded paranoid.
"If you trust me like you claim you do, you don't need to know." I replied, coolly. Then I sighed, realizing that delaying calling him back was only going to agitate Nik, so I decided to reassure him that everything was honky-dory here; and that he didn't need to come rushing back here prematurely, if he wasn't completely finished with his 'hybrid army project' as yet. "Everything is fine here, Nik. I swear. I just miss you … a lot. And I wish you were here." So you could see Henrik and be happier for once in your existence… I privately added.
I also chose to withhold the knowledge that some fucking idiot had found Mikael and was currently attempting, or had already woken him up so he could come after his children again. Part of me hoped that Mikael wasn't aware that I was reincarnated and had not added me to his hit list as well.
"Why didn't you call me back then?" Nik's clipped, annoyed and paranoid voice had instantly changed to a warm, tender and loving tone. I smiled.
"Why didn't you try again when I didn't pick up the first time?" I challenged.
"You know why, sweetheart." Nik replied, almost sounding regretful. I snorted.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it, Nik. You know that I will never leave you, if I could prevent it." I told him. "Your actions at the moment make me feel like you don't want me. Like you're trying to avoid me." I confessed.
"Don't you dare say that again! Or even think it! I always want you. I want to see you, touch you, taste you, and wake up next to you every morning." Nik promises me. The air stills in my lungs, and a pleasant and very warm fuzzy feeling envelopes me like I had stepped into a warm bath.
"The feeling is very very mutual." I croaked. Nik's deep voice chuckles into my ear with amusement.
"Good. Please call me whenever you feel lonely, darling. I don't care what time it is; every conversation we have is precious to me." Nik urges me.
"I will. Hurry back. I love you." I tell him. I see Henrik approaching up ahead. He looks restless and impatient, and his eyebrow rises when he notices my duffel slung over my shoulder. He opened his mouth to call out to me, and I immediately placed a finger on my lips; warning him not to say a word. Henrik closes his mouth and nods, looking at me questioningly.
"I love you, too. I'm counting the days until I see you again. See you, love." Nik hangs up and I lock my phone and shove it back into my pocket.
"What's with your duffel?" Henrik asks, coming over and relieving me of my burden. I smirked.
"That's your surprise, mate." I told him, and Henrik's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm going to teach you how to sword-fight. Like Nik, Elijah, Kol or Finn would've shown you before the werewolf attack." I told him. Henrik immediately lit up.
"Are you serious!?" He demanded. I grinned and nodded, then struggled to stay on my feet when he rugby tackles me in a massive hug. "You're the best!" I hooked an arm around his neck and lightly ground my knuckles into his scalp. Kol used to do this to him frequently and out of brotherly affection.
"Naturally." I teased, releasing him when he started weakly protesting. Henrik breaks away from me and sprints back to where Rebekah was lying back on the picnic blanket with her eyes closed as she sunbaked underneath the warm sunshine. "I remember this." I observed, as Henrik dumps my duffel onto the grass beside the picnic basket and swiftly unzips it. Rebekah sits up slightly and eyes me curiously.
"Remember what?" She asks.
"Sunbathing in that meadow that one time. It was also the day you confessed to me your fears about Esther, Mikael and Ayana plotting to change you and your family into vampires. Remember?" I asked. Rebekah's face darkened a little.
"Dimly." She replied, lying back down again. "It's not my favourite memory to reflect upon." Rebekah then frowned. "What was taking you so long to come back, by the way?" She asked, slightly accusingly.
"Nik called me again. He wanted to know why I had failed to call him back." I said. Henrik frowned at me a little.
"Is that why you told me to be quiet before?" He asked, sounding hurt. I nodded.
"I didn't want to tell him that you've returned from the dead temporarily, Hen." I explained to him, regretfully.
"Why not?"
"Because it would break him even more than he already is if he came all the way back from wherever he was, only to find that you became invisible again; and that Rebekah was the only Mikaelson that saw you again in a thousand years." I pointed out.
"Second Mikaelson, you mean." Henrik pointed out, and I looked at him with confusion.
"Pardon me?" I asked, blinking owlishly at him. Rebekah nodded in agreement with what her brother said, and had a slightly disapproving smile on her face.
"You're a Mikaelson too, Grace. Or have you forgotten that?" Rebekah said, taking a sip from her wine. I stiffened a little.
"That is not official until Nik offers me a ring again. Otherwise it doesn't count." I insisted, turning away to unzip and riffle through my arsenal. I heard more than saw Henrik and Rebekah wince.
"I see your point." Henrik agreed. I looked at him quizzically.
"You do?"
"Not about the 'I'm not a Mikaelson until Nik re-proposes' thing. I call bullshit on that." Henrik responded dismissively.
"I agree." Rebekah pipes up.
"I meant your reasoning about not telling Niklaus about me." He explains, stubbornly. I groaned and resumed rummaging through my duffel.
"We can debate about the 'Mikaelson membership' thing later on. Right now, I'm focusing upon teaching Henrik the basics of sword-fighting." I stated, and withdrew one of my favourite swords and a similar spare; which I promptly handed to Henrik. He staggers a little underneath the weight.
"Woah!" Henrik hollers, earning a giggle from Rebekah. He glowers at her.
"Careful, honey. That sword might be slightly dull, but it still can cut you if you're careless." I warned him. I pulled my phone free from my pocket and walked over to Rebekah, who eyes me both curiously and warily. "Think you could record his lesson?" I asked her, smiling a little. Rebekah frowned.
"What for?" She asks, taking my phone from me.
"Something for your brothers to look at in case Henrik is 'called back' to the Other Side before they can reunite with him again." I explained. Rebekah's response to this explanation was to widen her eyes in horror at the mere thought. But she agreed to help record the lesson after I gave her a brief tutorial about how to work the video on my phone. I walked back to Henrik and showed him the proper way to hold the sword. "Alright, buddy. In every sword fight, whether it is a mock fight or a life or death situation, you always honor your opponent out of respect. Even if they don't show it towards you." I explained, and Henrik nodded. "Let me demonstrate." Henrik watched as I executed the appropriate method before I stood behind him and helped with his grip.
"Now what do you do next?" Henrik asked, as I went back and picked up my sword.
"I'm going to show you some basic blocks and parries. Then we'll focus upon foot work. It wouldn't do for you to have the correct movement above the waist, if you accidentally trip over your feet or were not able to move swiftly to avoid a lethal blow." I explained. Our little impromptu lesson was cut short by Damon's long-expected phone call … which Rebekah promptly answered.
"Hello, Mr. Salvatore. What information have you got for us?" She asked, shortly. Rebekah rolled her eyes and held my phone out to me. "He wants to speak with you." I reach for the phone and held it to my ear.
"Hey, did you find Alaric?" I asked.
"Yep, at the Grill. You still coming?" Damon sounded irritated.
"Absolutely. We'll meet you there." I said, cheerfully. I hung up and looked at Rebekah and Henrik with determination. "Let's get to the bottom of this bizarre situation, shall we?" I announced.
"Let's." Rebekah agreed and immediately got to her feet and started to fold up the picnic blanket while Henrik packed away the swords into my duffel bag. My smile faded as I tried to determine how we could save Henrik. I seriously doubted any of the Mikaelsons would care if Henrik was brought completely back to life or not. Just remaining visible to the naked eye would do wonders for their morale.
I would do whatever it takes to make that wish come true…
A/N: That's a wrap. I apologise for the late update; I've been dealing with Uni, my job and I also recently attended my first cousin's wedding. The late update was also due to slight writer's block, so please don't think I'm abandoning this story if I take a while to update.
Next chapter will introduce the arrival of another notorious member of the Mikaelson Family, as well as solving the puzzle of why Henrik is suddenly visible to everybody else and not just Grace.
Please review, and I hope you've enjoyed this update.
TTFN xx