Elena headed down to the kitchen the next morning. She'd woken up after the best night's sleep she'd had in months. For the first time since everything came out, she'd slept through the night with no nightmares. She could only attribute that to her father's return. She felt safe now that he was home. Of course, she wasn't deluded enough to think the nightmares were over, but it was nice to have a little reprieve from them.
When she got to the kitchen, she found her father putting breakfast on the table. "Hi."
Klaus looked up and smiled at his little girl. "Good morning, little love. Did you sleep alright?"
Elena nodded. "It was the best I've slept in a long time."
"Good. Come sit. I made your favorite. Well, it used to be your favorite," Klaus said.
Elena walked over. There were a lot of breakfast items on the table, but the one that caught her eye was the pancakes. "Blueberry pancakes?"
"You loved them when you were a little girl, although you'd never allow syrup on them. If your taste buds have changed, I also made eggs, bacon, and French toast," Klaus said as he pointed to the rest of the spread on the table.
Elena sat down and looked at the pancakes. She picked up her fork and took a bite. She immediately moaned at the deliciousness of them. "These are amazing. Thanks, Dad."
Klaus smiled at the way she addressed him. He hadn't expected her to address him that way in the beginning, but she had even last night. She accepted him as her father without question. No doubt that had a lot to do with the memories she had of him from when she was little.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd cook. I kind of remember there being cooks in the house to do that. Marcel has people to do that kind of thing now too," Elena said.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't get my hands dirty every once and a while. And I haven't seen any sign of a cook or any kind of maid," Klaus mentioned.
"That's because Marcel sent everyone away once he knew you were coming. He would've by tonight anyway. Tomorrow night is the full moon," Elena said a bit nervously. The full moon always put her on edge. She wasn't sure if that would ever stop.
Klaus sat down next to her. "Are you scared, sweetheart? Are the full moons still hard for you?"
"They're not so bad anymore. It still hurts, but I've gotten used to it. I'm more afraid that I'll get loose and hurt someone. Marcel clears everyone out and I'm chained up in the basement, but I'm fairly certain he doesn't leave," Elena said. He was who she most feared of her hurting. Her big brother never left the compound. If somehow, she got loose, he would be the first casualty. She'd never forgive himself if she hurt him.
"I should hope not, but hasn't he told you about the Bayou? Werewolves have been turning there for centuries," Klaus said.
Before Elena could answer, Marcel's voice was heard. "It's not safe."
Klaus turned as soon as he heard his son's voice.
"The werewolves hate me. I was afraid of what they might do to Sadie just to hurt me," Marcel said.
Klaus nodded and turned back to his daughter. "Don't worry, little love. I will make sure it's safe soon. You'll be able to shift without fear of hurting anyone. Turning into your wolf form is never something you should fear."
Elena could hear in his voice how much he loved it himself. It made her feel a little bad for him. "Sorry you couldn't break your curse."
"Oh, no, don't concern yourself with that. It's not important," Klaus said. It was amazing how his priorities had changed in a matter of days. He couldn't care less about breaking his curse now. He had his children back. He would trade anything for that.
"But it's all you ever wanted," Elena argued.
Klaus shook his head. "No. I have everything I could ever want in this room right now. I told myself that breaking the curse would fix everything that was wrong with my life. I hoped that it would fill the hole in my heart, but the truth is that nothing could do that. What I needed was you and your brother. I don't care about being a hybrid anymore. All that matters is that I have you two."
"Why didn't you come back after what happened with Mikael?" Marcel asked his adoptive father. He hadn't originally planned to bring it up, but then Klaus mentioned him as something he needed, along with Sadie. He had to know why. "You just left without seeing if I was alive or dead?"
"Who is Mikael?" Elena asked. Marcel didn't really talk about his last encounter with their father. He didn't speak about him much at all, other than in relation to his connection to Elena. The most information she had was what she'd received the night before from him and her aunt when she asked.
"Mikael is a horrible person, who has been hunting me and my siblings for centuries. He was our father. He's an original, like us," Klaus said quietly.
"Why? Why would your own father want to hurt you like that?" Elena asked in horror. She did know a little about this. Her uncle had told her that her his and Klaus' father never got along. That was what had led to his curse, but she didn't know they were hunted.
"Because I wasn't truly his. He always hated me, but he truly despised me," Klaus said.
"I knew some about it, but I can't believe he'd try to kill you over it," Elena said.
"Marcellus, sit down," Klaus said as he pointed to the chair next to him.
Marcel did as instructed.
"I shouldn't have left you. It broke my heart to do it, but I didn't see any possibility of you being alive. I couldn't bear to see what was left of you after my father was done. I was afraid it would kill me. The pain already nearly did. I lost two children in the span of a few years. I focused on protecting Rebekah and my other siblings. It was the only thing that kept me from presenting myself to my father and letting him do what he would," Klaus said with a shudder.
"I thought you didn't care," Marcel said. That was why he hadn't looked for Klaus or any of the others. He couldn't bear to be proven right. He figured it was best to just move on.
"Never believe that, Marcellus. I loved you very much. I should've come back for you. I failed you. I failed both of you," Klaus said.
"I wish everyone would stop blaming themselves. It wasn't your fault," Elena said.
"I failed to protect you, Sadie. That is my fault," Klaus said.
"No one could've anticipated what happened," she said.
"I knew I had enemies, and I knew Katerina was one of them. I became too complacent and confident. I thought that the life I'd built here meant no one could touch me or my family. You paid the price for that. You paid the price for my sins. I can't change what happened, but I can promise you that those responsible will suffer," Klaus swore.
Elena nodded. "I know they will. It was the last thing I swore to Damon before he died. I told him I'd make Stefan suffer."
Klaus smiled slightly. "That's my girl."
Just then, Elijah walked into the room. He smiled at his brother and his niece and nephew. He was fairly certain it was the first time he'd truly smiled in almost a century. "Good morning."
Elena smiled mischievously at her uncle. "Good morning, Uncle Eli."
Klaus and Marcel both laughed.
Elijah smiled at his niece. He always hated that nickname, or any nickname. He didn't believe in the practice of muddling a person's name intentionally. However, hearing it from his niece right now gave him more joy than he could describe. "I know you're trying to tease me, but the truth is that it is music to my ears."
"So, it's okay for me to call you that then?" Elena asked.
"Nothing would make me happier. Although, I hope you know the power you wield. I would never allow anyone else to address me like that," Elijah said before heading to the refrigerator to get some blood.
"Marcellus, could I have a word please?" Klaus asked before standing up.
Marcel nodded before following Klaus out of the room and down to the living room. "Klaus, it's okay. I understand why you didn't come back. You thought I was dead. I should've come looking for you."
"I thank you for your forgiveness. You have no idea how happy I was to see you last night. I couldn't believe my luck to have both my children back. I also want to tell you how proud I am of you for what you did for your sister. You kept her safe when I couldn't be there. You did right by her," Klaus said.
"I'd do anything for her," Marcel said.
"I know. Now, if I understand correctly, you've taken control of the factions here," Klaus said.
Marcel stiffened a little. He got the feeling that this was where Klaus declared his intention to take back what was now Marcel's. He wouldn't let that happen, no matter how much he wanted to repair things with Klaus. "Look, if you want it back…"
"No," Klaus interrupted abruptly. If things were different, maybe he would, but he had no interest in it now.
"What?" Marcel asked, caught off guard.
"When I had control of this city a century ago, it split my focus. I was out of this house the night your sister went missing for that very reason. I won't allow that to happen again," Klaus said firmly.
"You couldn't have known what would happen, Klaus," he said.
"Regardless, my priority is my family now. I brought it up because I need you to do something for me. I want Katerina Petrova and Stefan Salvatore found. I want them hunted every moment of the day until they are thrown at my feet!" Klaus snarled.
Marcel nodded. "I want that too. I have some of my guys searching, but Katerina has made an art out of hiding."
"Not good enough. I want every vampire that exists on the watch for them. I want you to tell every vampire under your command to inform every vampire that they come in contact with that I am looking for them and that I will offer a magnificent reward for their capture. Those vampires will in turn tell every vampire they know, and so on," Klaus said with an evil smirk.
Marcel slowly met Klaus' smirk with one of his own. "Eventually every vampire in existence will know who they are. There won't be anywhere they can go without worrying about being spotted. It's a torture in itself."
"But far from the only one I intend to inflict on them. They will suffer for what they've done. I will torture them for at least as long as they did Sadie," Klaus swore.
"I have the perfect place for you to put them. You could torture them for centuries upon centuries until you're ready to kill them," he said.
"Help me see it done," Klaus said.
Marcel nodded. Nothing would make him happier. He shared Klaus' hatred for those monsters. He would help make them pay for what they did to his sister.
"Wonderful. In the meantime, I intend to help your sister through what has happened to her. Let's get back to her," Klaus said before leading the way back to the kitchen. When they got there, Rebekah was also there, as were Sadie's two friends. They were all sitting with her and Elijah at the table having breakfast.
Elena was telling her uncle how she'd met Marcel. "I sensed his vampirism from across the way, and he came over. I recognized him, though I didn't really have memories of him yet."
"So, your magic has returned then?" Elijah asked.
"Sort of. I haven't used it much. I'm really sure how to. I got pissed when we confronted Damon and blew out the windows. I thought it was just the windows in the bedroom, but it was all the windows in the house, and it's a big house," Elena said.
"Huh. I thought that was Niklaus," Elijah commented.
"No, but I did destroy the rest of the house. I did wonder how the windows got destroyed. Good job, little love."
Elena shrugged. "I was pissed. I guess I get it from you. Anyway, I haven't really used it since, other than recognizing vampires. I'd like to learn, but I don't know how to even start."
Klaus turned to his daughter's friend, Bonnie. "You're a witch, love. Can't you help her?"
"I can try, but I've only been doing it myself for a few months, and I'm no where near as strong as Elena… Sadie is," Bonnie said. She could tell last night that it bothered Klaus when someone called his daughter Elena. Normally, she wouldn't care about that, but Elena loved him, and she figured she could make an effort not to piss him off. She was pretty sure Elena wasn't going to keep going by that name much longer anyway. She'd been answering to Sadie for a while now.
Klaus raised an eyebrow. "You were powerful enough to take me on after just a few months? You're not too bad yourself, love. Perhaps you could both benefit from tutoring from an experienced witch."
"Klaus, the witches here aren't a good idea. They hate me as much as the werewolves, and they are more dangerous. Who knows what they might do?" Marcel asked.
"There's another option. Kol or Finn. They may not be witches anymore, but no one is more experienced with witchcraft," Elijah said.
"Yeah, you should wake them both up," Elena said. She really wanted to meet them. She told Marcel she'd wait until her father got back, but now that he was, she wanted to meet her uncles.
Klaus shook his head. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous. Kol is unpredictable and Finn is practically suicidal."
"Things have changed, Niklaus. I think what happened with Sadie might be able to make Kol reevaluate his priorities," Elijah said. Kol had been daggered shortly before Sadie was taken, so he knew nothing about it, but he'd met her, and he adored her. As for Finn, the knowledge of a new family member might change things for him as well.
"Yeah, I want to meet them. Please," Elena asked.
"Sweetheart, it's not safe. Mikael is still out there," Klaus said.
"But strength is in numbers, isn't it? Plus, they can help me. I want to get to know them. Please, Daddy," Elena said with a pout.
"Sadie, I don't… It's not…" Klaus trailed off as he stared at his little girl's face. He always gave into that face. The world saw him as a ruthless monster, but with his little girl, he was like putty. "Alright. I'll wake them after the full moon."
Bonnie and Caroline gawked as they looked back and forth between Elena and Klaus. "Wow," Caroline said.
"Every time," Rebekah said in an amused tone.
Elena smiled before getting up and hugging her father. "Thank you, Daddy."
"Of course, sweetheart. Anything you want," Klaus said as he hugged her back.