Author's Note: Whew! I really love the charged reactions you all have towards Bonnie and would like to take the time to validate those feelings. I wrote this with the full intention of Bonnie not being the innocent flower we all know, love, and protect fiercely. That said, Klaus isn't a snowflake either but in this story, his feelings are very justified, haha. I've stated before that Bonnie has been living a 'hot girl summer' which is nice in theory until you're faced with the consequences. These two are not over and neither is their story. I'm trying to remain as true to the characters as possible by not giving in to what I want personally so that I can navigate their emotions authentically as possible. That said, we will experience stages of Klonnie's grief, if you will. In the last chapter, we got a look at an emotionally taxed Klaus and an apologetic Bonnie. In the military, they tear you down before they build you back up. Consider all of this the 'tearing-down' stage. If it helps any, as you read, keep in mind that by Bonnie being Bonnie, she attracts people to her light, and thus we have these, uh, entanglements (I had to), and as a result, everyone is being burned… by their desires. :)

And now, without further ado, enjoy the next chapter…

Chapter Twelve
French Quarter
Present Day

Bonnie and Niklaus stood side by side in the middle of the courtyard as they waited for Elijah to enter. Bonnie was nauseous with nerves and struggled to keep a lid on her sanity. The moment she felt Klaus tense beside her, she knew Elijah wasn't far behind. When Elijah appeared, Klaus took a possessive step in front of her, blocking them from any form of eye contact. Rather than side-stepping him, Bonnie remained behind him, submissively as not to press any more of his buttons.

"Elijah," Klaus greeted tersely. Ever regal, Elijah removed his hands from his pocket and adjusted the buttons on his suit jacket.

"Niklaus."

"Obviously, you came to die for your girlfriend," Klaus provoked. "Why else would you be here?"

"Klaus—" Bonnie's warning was not acknowledged. Despite his promise to her, he wanted to pick a fight. He needed to release all of his anger and Elijah was the only person in the room that could survive his wrath—physically.

"I am here to settle the score once and for all, Brother. I am too old to run from you for the rest of my life. If I perish by your hand, you will have to live with that, not me." His words angered Klaus, mostly because of how true they were. Two of the people he loved more than anything were the ones that hurt him the most. Klaus had no clue what to do about that. The uncertainty in Klaus's eyes gave Elijah the courage to take a step forward. "If you need to dagger me, so be it, I only ask that you allow me to say goodbye to my niece and nephew properly and that you don't bite me this time."

"Elijah, no." Bonnie moved from behind Klaus only to be halted by his extended arm blocking her path.

"It's okay, Bonnie," Elijah comforted. Klaus squinted, wondering just when she went from 'Miss Bennett' to 'Bonnie'. The thought made him so angry he could spit. "If this is what it takes to keep you safe, then allow me this courtesy."

"This isn't what it takes, Elijah. Klaus promised not to hurt you," she pleaded, looking to Klaus for confirmation. Without sparing her a glance, Klaus corrected her.

"I didn't say I wouldn't hurt him, Love. I said I wouldn't kill him." A startled gasp left Bonnie's lips just as Klaus charged at Elijah. His blue eyes flashed amber as dark veins appeared under his eyes. In a flash, Elijah pinned Klaus to the wall while somehow managing to remove his blazer. Bonnie watched in horror as the two men began to savagely beat on one another. For a moment she was frozen in fear while her mind fought to process what was happening. She glanced around the estate, realizing instantly that there were no signs of Rebekah or the twins. She felt relieved and turmoiled once she realized that she would have to get in between two original vampires and break up a fight she wanted no parts of.

Sighing, Bonnie focused on the two men as they flashed from one end of the courtyard to the next. Their growls and grunts were barely audible over the crash of different furniture pieces. She placed her fingers on each side of her temples and concentrated hard enough to cause a slight headache to form. Once the noise quieted, she opened her eyes to find both men on either side of her, pinned to the walls on opposite sides of the courtyard. Her magic struggled beneath the weight of both vampires fighting against her hold, Klaus more so than Elijah.

"Guys," Bonnie gritted out. Sweat beaded across her hairline as her breath hitched. "There are better ways to settle this." A quick glance in both directions revealed that neither men had her to think about. They were both focused on tearing each other limb from limb. Bonnie felt the exhaustion of holding both men at bay begin to take its toll and for a moment, she loosened her hold on them. Instantly, she felt her magic thrum beneath the surface as it quickly tried to regenerate the spent energy.

She had no time for that, however. For as soon as she let go, both men began rushing towards where she stood in the center. Instantly, Bonnie's hand went back up and both men were stopped by a solid hand on their chest. With the added assistance of magic, it felt as though they each had run into a brick wall. Without sparing her a glance, Klaus growled and barred his fangs at his brother.

"Step back, Bonnie," Klaus ordered. But Bonnie didn't budge. She glanced up at both men as they glared at one another, seething with rage. Unsure of how long she would be able to keep them from tearing one another apart, Bonnie stepped out of the way and released her hold on them. Simultaneously, they lunged at one another. She focused on a spell and with a wave of her hand, they were instantly struck blind. She watched as a wave of confusion descended upon them and used that moment to grab Klaus by the shirt, dragging him away from Elijah with the assistance of magic.

"Unhand me, Witch," Klaus seethed as he grabbed a hold of her. It was the only sure and tangible thing he could hold onto in the darkness.

"No," Bonnie growled stubbornly as she fought against him. Each time Elijah got close to them, she moved Klaus away. "I won't let you destroy each other!" Ignoring her, Klaus pushed her out of the way and focused on his inner wolf. Within seconds, his claws elongated and his fangs extended from his gums. His body bristled as fur began to sprout from his skin in different sections. His bones began shifting at neck-breaking speeds and before Bonnie could react, a large white wolf was standing before her, snarling in her direction. Bonnie took a step backward as the wolf advanced towards her. He didn't need sight to sniff her out.

"Klaus…" His name was barely off her lips when he pounced on her in one bounding leap. Instantly, she was pinned beneath his massive form as he growled in her face, barking and snapping at her. Though she was under no direct threat, to say she was terrified was an understatement. She whimpered as she immediately released both he and Elijah from the spell she struck them with. Still pinned beneath him, Bonnie shifted her gaze away from his, which Klaus received as a form of submission. He continued to pin her under his gaze for several more seconds before releasing her.

Before leaving, Klaus sunk his fangs into her thigh and locked his jaw, eliciting a blood-curdling scream from Bonnie. She barely had time to process what had happened, for, in the next moment, Klaus had vanished. She glanced around quickly and realized, so had Elijah. Bonnie ignored the increasing panic in her chest as she unbuttoned her pants and slowly slid out of the garment. She winced in pain as she examined the bite mark. There, on her outer and inner thigh, were identical teeth marks that thrummed with energy. The throbbing pain from the initial bite was present but slowly fading as an indescribable energy began taking root around it. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she could feel that this bite was different from any other time he had bitten her.

As she gently rubbed her fingers over her inner thigh, she realized there was no blood coming from the wound which only confirmed her suspicions.

"He marked me," she muttered aloud when it dawned on her. Suddenly, Bonnie was overcome with emotions. Her initial thought was to run after Klaus to ensure he did nothing he would later regret, but that thought had taken a back seat. Instead, she succumbed to ten years of grief and collapsed onto the floor in a bubbling mess.

-X-

Despite her lifelong desire to have them, Rebekah didn't know the first thing about children. Babies were easy—you fed them, cuddled them, and kept them dry. She had no clue what to do with pre-teens, teeming with energy. Niklaus One and Two were a handful, she quickly realized. In just under two hours, she had fed them Lemon Ice, Beignets, Gumbo, Po-Boys, Pralines, Bread Pudding, and Doberge Cake. As she watched them devour everything, she realized that they were every bit of the 'hungry little wolves' her brother described them as and wondered how Bonnie kept them satiated.

"Aunt Bex, we should get something for dinner!" Rebekah stopped in her tracks as she looked at her niece in disbelief. At her look, Nicky and Lina giggled. "What?" She innocently asked.

"Bloody hell, Lina! I thought all of that was dinner!" The twins giggled again and shook their heads. Rebekah laughed at the absurdity of it all and scoffed. "Be fortunate you lot have your father's metabolism; that's all I'll say. Rather than buying an entire grocery store, let's leave the cooking to the chef your father hired." Rebekah thought her brother had exaggerated the twin's appetite when he hired a full-time chef. She also thought, in true Mikaelson fashion, that he was being over-the-top in spoiling them, but she was beginning to see the reason behind his actions. Keeping the two of them fed was a full-time job.

Bonnie had mentioned in passing that their appetite was increased by their bloodlust and Rebekah briefly wondered if the twins had ever fed before. Based on Bonnie's nature, she could surmise that they hadn't. Drinking blood from a mug was fine but nothing satisfied that itch like pulling it straight from the source. A thought occurred to Rebekah as she glanced at the twins pensively.

"Have you guys fed before?" There was no need for her to elaborate, for the twins instantly knew what she meant. The two of them glanced at one another wearily before Lina spoke up.

"Mom says we should wait until we're older," she said quietly, confirming Rebekah's suspicions. "She wants to be sure that we can control ourselves and says that we should wait until after puberty." Rebekah weighed her niece's words as she glanced back and forth between the two.

"I can respect that," Rebekah admitted. She was in no way willing to cross Bonnie or her brother by overstepping her boundaries, however, she wanted a way to bond with her niece and nephew. "I'll tell you what," she said, leaning close to their level. "When that time comes, I'll be your mentor, how's that?" When the twins nodded eagerly, Rebekah smiled. "I can't teach you how to be a hybrid but I can teach you how to be a proper vampire," she stated confidently. She rubbed the tops of their heads and smiled when they playfully swatted her hand away.

Rebekah glanced at her phone to see if there was any word from their father and grew increasingly worried when she noticed no missed calls or messages from him or Bonnie. She had no clue when to return or if she should. As she led them towards a food truck, she stood in line and dialed Nik's number. She received no answer. She then dialed Bonnie but received no answer from her either. Sighing, Rebekah fiddled with her phone as different scenarios played in her head. When they returned home, there was no telling what they'd be walking into, the most realistic scenario she could dream of was nothing short of a crime scene where Bonnie was the slaughtered victim of her enraged brother.

If Rebekah was being honest, she both hated and admired Bonnie. No one, as far as she could tell, had bested her brother in the capacity that Bonnie Bennett managed. It was refreshing to see her brother be brought to heel after years of inflicting damage on those around him. It was amusing sometimes to watch the small witch handle her brother in ways he had never been 'handled' before. It was selfish of her to think this way but secretly, she enjoyed it. That said, she hated that Bonnie, just like Katherine, had managed to drive a wedge between her brothers. She resented Katherine for stringing Elijah and Klaus along, much like Bonnie was doing however, she could admit that in Bonnie's instance, she genuinely cared for both, which was the problem. Bonnie's 'big heart' was a commodity at best and a curse at its worse. Having Bonnie in your corner meant that nothing could stand against you but having her in your adversary's corner meant the same—nothing could stand against them. Her compassion was her fault and though Bonnie undoubtedly loved Niklaus, she loved Elijah too and that was where the problem lie.

The witch's love was alluring. It seemed to be a cure-all for Niklaus and unfortunately for Elijah, he always coveted what belonged to Niklaus and Rebekah wasn't sure why. From the outside, Elijah was everything Niklaus was not. Elijah had the love of both of their parents, Niklaus did not. Elijah was the heir of their father's fortune, Niklaus was the bastard of her mother's torrent love affair. Yet it seemed that whenever Niklaus claimed something for himself, Elijah was somehow entangled in it—first with Tatia, then Katerina, and now Bonnie. At the very least, Bonnie was prettier and actually worth fighting for, however, the story was getting as old as they were and Rebekah was left to watch her family be torn apart by yet another harlot.

Still, that harlot was responsible for bringing two new additions into their family, a feat Rebekah never thought possible. She could not hate the creator and love the creation; that wasn't how things worked. To accept the twins meant to accept Bonnie and as much as it grated her nerves, she knew that if her brothers didn't get it together, she would have to step in eventually.

Until then, she would do her part and play the dutiful Aunt while praying that she didn't return home to a slaughterhouse.

Judging by the look in her brother's eyes when she left, she wasn't too hopeful.

-X-

Bonnie awoke alone in the dark, sprawled out in the middle of the courtyard of The Abattoir. Night had fallen and there were no signs of life inside of the dark mansion. The muffled sounds of The Quarter could be heard over the chirps of the crickets. She moved to stand to her feet but winced when a pain shot through her right thigh. It was then that she remembered the mark. Klaus had bitten her while in wolf form, thus marking her territorially. She felt different. The bond they shared throughout the years was intensified. Years of being away had weakened it but it never left and though she didn't fully understand what was happening at the moment, she knew that by marking her, he completed whatever it was that was left open between them.

As pressing as it was to sort through her emotions, the need to be near her children beckoned her to suck it up and get her shit together. She scrambled to her feet, using fallen furniture pieces around her to stand. She summoned her magic to the surface and used it to light each of the torches that lined the wall. The flames created an almost magical glow around her and a wave of nostalgia crashed into her as memories of her time here ten years ago began to surface. It was a simpler time, despite not knowing how she felt about Niklaus back then. Her feelings were raw and unrestricted and she wondered how things would have progressed had she stayed.

Oh, how she wished now that she had.

Nothing made sense to her anymore. She tried to remind herself that she made the best decisions she could with the information she had at the time but that excuse no longer sufficed.

Still, she couldn't wallow in regret and pity. She had to find her children, their uncle, and their father and make sure none of them were damaged by the actions of the latter.

But first, she had to find a new pair of jeans.

"Bonnie." The witch in question jumped out of her skin and spun around to face whoever had called out to her. She came face to face with skin as dark as hers and kind eyes filled with concern. A sense of familiarity came over her as she recognized the man before her.

"Marcel," she smiled. It had been ten years since she's seen him and amid all the chaos, hadn't thought about him since she returned to the city. With Klaus now the ruler of said city, she naturally assumed that Marcel was simply out of the picture but clearly, that wasn't the case. "What are you doing here?" She stepped forward to greet him but suddenly remembered she was clad in only a t-shirt and her underwear. Instantly, she became self-conscious and tried to cover herself. Ever the gentleman, Marcel averted his gaze as he turned away from her.

"Rebekah called me," he offered as he listened to Bonnie shuffle around the courtyard, looking for her pants, no doubt. "She wasn't making a bit of damn sense but begged me to come by and make sure that you and her brothers weren't all dead? She said 'the twins' were with her, but didn't say who they belonged to—" Marcel cut himself off when he began to piece things together. When Bonnie left, she was a tiny little thing and for the most part, she still was. However, she had filled out in ways only a mother could which lead him to believe that the twins in question belonged to her. It was the only thing that made sense.

"Me," Bonnie confirmed. "They belong to me." She found her tattered jeans and carefully slid them back on. She moved to stand in front of Marcel and contemplated him for a few moments. She wasn't sure how much Rebekah had told them and hesitated on revealing the children's paternity. Klaus had enemies everywhere and at one point, Marcel was one of them.

"Did she say where they were?" Marcel shook his head.

"Only that Klaus had asked her to watch after them—" He cut himself off once again as a thought began to form. Bonnie watched as realization settled on his face and silently cursed. "Holy shit," he began.

"Do not utter a fucking word to anyone," Bonnie warned. Marcel's eyebrows rose high on his head as his hands went up in defense.

"Not my business to tell," he quickly defended. Bonnie relaxed just a tad.

"I've always considered you a friend, Marcel," she began, and it was true. The two of them bonded immediately over the color of their skin and their love of culture and the history of their people. "Please don't say anything," she pleaded softly. "Klaus has enemies everywhere and if it ever gets out that—"

"I won't say a word," he interrupted. When Bonnie gave him a look that questioned his loyalty, he elaborated. "Klaus is practically my father which makes the twins my siblings and you, my stepmother." When Bonnie blinked at the realization, Marcel chuckled at how fucked up his statement was.

"Well, shit," Was all she could say. The two fell quiet as Bonnie contemplated her next course of action. "I fucked up," she admitted after a long moment of silence passed. Her chest was heavy with sorrow and it was getting harder and harder to function with it weighing on her. "Long story short, I ran once I found out I was pregnant—long story—and Elijah helped me do it, now Klaus wants to murder us, rightfully so." There was a long silence again before Marcel spoke up. Though she didn't say much, he was adept at reading people and knowing the history of Niklaus and Elijah, she didn't have to say much.

"This family is as fucked up as it comes," he began. "Which means, you'll fit right in." Bonnie laughed breathlessly as Marcel smiled. "When Klaus returned to the city, we fought like hell. I thought we were going to kill each other, several times. But at the end of the day, we came to an agreement. Neither of us won anything by beating the shit out of one another but it helped us sort our shit. Once it was out of our system, we compromised. Or rather, I got bored with it and gave in to his stubborn ass." Bonnie chuckled. Just about every fight with Klaus resulted in the other party yielding just to shut his ass up.

"I say that to say that though I don't know all of the details, I do know that if, after all the shit I've done to him if he managed to spare me, a black boy he plucked from the bowels of slavery, he'll spare his own brother—after they finish beating the shit out of one another. Just stay out of the way until they're done." Bonnie nodded as she considered Marcel's advice. She wasn't sure if what happened between Marcel and Klaus was as concrete as what was currently happening between Klaus and Elijah but, she needed something to hold on to.

"I sure hope you're right," she sighed nervously. Marcel said nothing as he silently hoped the same.