Elena was not happy as she sat in Klaus' car as he drove them back to his house. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with his mother. She didn't like his mother already, and she hadn't even met her yet. "I can't believe I let you talk me into having dinner with your psychotic family."

Klaus chuckled. "What makes you so sure they're all psychotic."

Elena snorted. "My experiences with more than half of you, and I'm sure you daggered the others for a reason."

"Well, there's Elijah. I know you don't think he's psychotic," Klaus said.

Elena laughed loudly. "Are you crazy? Elijah's probably more psycho than any of you. The first time I met him he decapitated a guy with his hand while acting like the perfect gentleman. He's the kind of psycho you don't see coming until it's too late. He's just more likeable."

Klaus grinned. She had his brother down to a tee. That was exactly how his brother was. Elijah was as honorable and kind as they came until you crossed him. Once that happened, you were screwed and didn't even know it. "I don't know if I like the fact that you seem to think my brother is a better psychopath than me."

"You'll get over it," Elena retorted.

Klaus pulled onto his street. "We'll be there soon. Try to be nice."

Elena raised an eyebrow at her lover. "Really? A murdering, psychotic hybrid is telling me to be nice?"

"You've gotten a little mean since Stefan pulled his latest stunt," Klaus said.

"What did being nice get me?" Elena asked.

"I'm not complaining, for the most part, but this is my mother, and I'm still trying to navigate her return. Just be nice for now," Klaus said.

"Fine. I'll be nice to your abusive mom for now. I make no such promises for your sister," Elena said.

"Abusive?" Klaus asked taken aback.

"She used magic to curse away a part of you. I can't really call it anything else," Elena said.

Klaus didn't even know how to respond to her outrage on his behalf, and luckily, they'd arrived, so he didn't have to. Klaus parked the car and got out.

Elena opened the door and stepped out before joining Klaus on the other side of the car.

Klaus held his hand out. "Ready?"

Elena took his hand. "No, but we might as well get it over with.

Klaus led her inside. He found his mother and siblings waiting for him when he got there. No doubt his mother had insisted on that. "Elena, let me formally introduce you to my mother, Esther Mikaelson.

Esther smiled and held her hand out for the young girl. "Hello, Elena. It's lovely to meet you."

Elena let go of Klaus' hand and took Esther's. "You as well, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Oh, dear, please call me Esther. I would also like to apologize. I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot," Esther said.

Elena let go of her hand. "I assume you're talking about your attempt at having me killed."

"That's not being nice," Klaus said.

"No, it's fine, Niklaus. I can certainly understand if Elena feels uneasy," Esther said before turning to Elena. "Please accept my apologies. I was concerned about my son creating hybrids and the consequences that could have, however, I realize that I took it too far. I hope we can start fresh."

Elena shrugged after a minute. "Why not? It wouldn't be the first time a member of your family tried to kill me."

"Well, let me assure you that will not happen again. My children will be on their best behavior from here on out," Esther promised.

Elena nodded her acceptance.

Klaus led Elena to his siblings. "Elena, these are my brother's Finn and Kol."

"HI, there, darling," Kol said as he held his hand out for her, which she took. "Aren't you lovely. I'm not sure what you see in my brother though. Give me one night and I'll show you the better man in this family."

"Do you need another nap, brother?" Klaus asked with a growl. If Kol thought he was touching his doppelganger, he had another thing coming. The girl was his. Klaus would see him in coffin for the next three centuries if he even thought of it.

Elena chuckled. "It's okay, Klaus. He's probably just teasing."

Finn stepped forward and offered his hand. "Lovely to meet you, Ms. Gilbert."

"You too. Please call me Elena," Elena told him.

"And you know Elijah and Rebekah.

Elena smiled at Elijah. "It's good to see you again, Elijah."

"You as well my dear. I hope you were well after last night. I know those you associate with may have been less than pleased with your association with Niklaus," Elijah said.

"Ugh! You had to remind me. Damon and Bonnie decided to stage a mini-intervention. That's twenty minutes of my life I'm never going to get back. I don't think it worked out the way they expected though."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Klaus said with a smirk.

Elena turned to Rebekah. "Rebekah."

"Elena. I don't see any daggers for you to stick in my back," Rebekah said snidely.

"Rebekah, do not be rude," Esther said.

"Yeah, Rebekah, let's not be rude. Let's just start fresh, like your mom suggested. Look, I'm sorry I daggered you, but we were both stuck in a Salvatore plan. It was bound to get stupid and ugly," Elena said. She did feel a little bad about daggering her, but at the same time, she did what she felt was necessary to protect her loved ones, and Rebekah would've done worse to her if the roles were reversed, so she wasn't about to be forgiveness. She said that she was sorry. That was all Rebekah would get.

Rebekah glared at her and headed for the dining room.

"Well, I believe dinner should be on the table. Let's go sit down and eat," Esther suggested.

Klaus led Elena to the dining room and over to the table. He pulled out a chair for her and waited for her to sit before taking the seat next to her.

The others all sat down at the table and began serving themselves.

"Help yourself, love," Klaus told Elena.

Elena nodded before taking a little of everything and then she began eating.

"So, Elena, I was a little surprised to learn of your relationship with my son. I wouldn't have expected you to want much to do with him after your history with him," Esther said about ten minutes into the meal.

"I assume you mean him sacrificing me to end the curse you put on him. Well, I can't really blame him for wanting to be rid of it, can I. It took away half of who he was. I'm not sure what I'd do in his position," Elena said with a sweet smile on her face. She said she'd be nice, but that didn't mean she couldn't get a dig in on the old witch. Truthfully, she meant what she said. Sacrificing her was never what she hated Klaus for. She didn't exactly like him killing her, but a part of her did understand his perspective. What she'd hated him for was killing Jenna and then later turning off Stefan's humanity.

Esther returned the smile. She recognized the passive aggressive insult for what it was. She had to admit that Elena Gilbert was not what she expected. She had been taken aback the night before when the girl kissed her son. It had not boded well for her plan to use the girl to kill her children. That was why she'd asked Niklaus to invite her to dinner. She wanted to see if the relationship was serious or if it was in any way coerced. Her plan might still be feasible if that were the case.

What Esther had seen so far wasn't promising for her plan. She didn't think the girl loved her son, but she was at least somewhat defensive of him, and she wasn't one to be easily pushed around. She wouldn't be easily manipulated. If Esther did go through with her plan, she would likely have to do it without Elena's willing participation.

"Well, I'm grateful my son has found someone special to spend his time with. Speaking of that, I'm sure Niklaus told you that I'm planning a ball to formally introduce our family to town. You'll accompany Niklaus, of course," Esther said.

"What?" Elena asked before turning to glare at Klaus. He never mentioned anything to her about a freaking ball.

"Ah, Mother, I'm afraid I didn't get a chance to talk with Elena about that," Klaus said.

If looks could kill, Elena would've burned Klaus alive by the way she was glaring at him. She did not sign up for this crap. She and Klaus had an arrangement. They had sex. It was an arrangement that was going good until her friends started meddling in things that didn't concern them, again.

"Oh, my apologies. Well, this will give her time to start preparing. It will be a wonderful evening," Esther promised.

"Yes, Elena. It will be wonderful. In fact, I was thinking of inviting Stefan, since you no longer appear to be interested in him," Rebekah said with a smirk. She was sure that would get a rise out of the doppelganger. She didn't believe for a moment that Elena was suddenly over Stefan and interested in her brother. She didn't know what the girl was up to, but there had to be something. It wasn't that long ago that the girl wanted Nik dead.

Elena returned the smirk. She knew Rebekah expected her to get Jealous, but she truthfully just didn't care. She'd washed her hands of Stefan. She'd gotten the last of what she needed from him the night before, her revenge. "Knock yourself out. Although I would've thought you'd have a little more self-respect than to go after someone who clearly doesn't care about you, or anyone other than himself. Fair warning though, don't get into a car with him. He likes to drive people off bridges. Although, I suppose that won't do much to you."

Klaus snorted. "Vampires don't enjoy the sensation of drowning either, love."

Rebekah glared at Elena in response. That hadn't gone the way she'd intended. Obviously, she'd missed some things while daggered."

"Is this young man violent?" Esther asked.

"He's a vampire and a ripper, so that should be an answer in itself. Now if you mean to women he dates, I guess it depends on your definition. He forced vampire blood down my throat and threatened to drive me off of a bridge unless Klaus did what he wanted. I'd certainly consider it violent," Elena said.

"Didn't you also tell me he grabbed your arm when you wouldn't help him plot against me, love?" Klaus asked.

Elena nodded.

Esther turned to her daughter. "Rebekah, I'd prefer you not associate with someone like that. I know you're stronger than him, but this young man is clearly not stable."

Elena smiled at Rebekah, silently making it clear that she'd won this round.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Esther was in her room burning sage. Finn would be along shortly, she was sure. Dinner had ended a couple of hours ago, and Niklaus had left a short while ago to take Elena Gilbert home. It was definitely an interesting evening, and very informative.

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Esther said.

Finn walked inside and shut the door. "Mother, I believe tonight put a wrench in our plan. The Gilbert girl is never going to help us, not willingly."

"No," Esther agreed.

"I wasn't expecting this. She's actually in love with Niklaus," Finn said with disgust in his voice. He couldn't believe she shoved his brother. He was a monster. He tried to kill her. No, in fact, he had killed her. Yet she sat there and defended him.

Esther shook her head. "No, she's not in love with him, not yet. But I don't think even she realizes how much she's fallen for him. I admit, I didn't expect it either. At first, I thought that her relationship with him might be a ploy to stop him, but I realized tonight that that was not the case. She has feelings for him, and he for her."

"I can still get her blood. We don't need her willing cooperation," Finn said.

"You can't get it without avoiding suspicion. No doubt she consumes vervain, so you can't compel her either. Besides, maybe it won't be necessary," Esther said.

"What?" Finn asked in surprise.

"I watched the two of them together, during and after dinner," Esther said. Niklaus didn't take Elena home right away. They sat together in the living room. They argued for a bit. Elena wasn't happy about the ball. She didn't want to attend. Niklaus talked her into it by promising to make it up to her. Then they sat together, with the situation turning intimate. That was when Esther left. "I've seen him smile in a way that he hasn't since he was turned. He may not realize it yet, but he's fallen for her, and he's given her a power over him that he's never given anyone. I believe that she may have the power to tame him."

"Are you saying you're not going to go through with the plan?" Finn asked with slight horror in his voice. No, she had to go through with it. This was his chance to end his torment. His mother had to see it through.

"I haven't taken the idea off the table, but for now I want to see how things unfold. If Niklaus is capable of changing, the others will follow suit," Esther said. This was the first time she had real hope of her children correcting their ways. She had to give it a chance. If it failed, she would put a stop to them.

"But we shouldn't exist," Finn said.

Esther stepped closer to her son and put a hand on his cheek. "I know this upsets you, darling. You've suffered greatly. However, this may be a chance for us to truly be a family again. We have to try."

'Yes, mother," Finn said in a strained voice before walking away and heading for the door.