Savior | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 56

"Nik, I'm fine," she said gently, putting her hands on his when she felt they were shaking. "I'm fine, I don't feel anything."

Klaus said nothing, and she didn't understand what he was doing until he craned his neck slightly, angling his ear toward her stomach. She realized that he was listening to the baby's heartbeat, to make sure it was steady.

"Is it alright?" she asked quietly, since she couldn't really tell.

"It sounds the same as it usually does," murmured Klaus.

"Do you listen to it often?"

"Every night. To ensure it's still alive. It grows louder day by day. It becomes harder to ignore."

"Would you prefer not to hear it?"

"Hearing it terrifies me. I think of how this pregnancy might hurt you. I think of what it might be. Perhaps a creature far too powerful for your body to handle. I have tried my hardest to accept this and yet the worry clouds my mind until all I can see fit to do is withdraw. Pretend it isn't there as often as I can."

Maddy brought her hand up to his cheek. "Do you regret it, Nik? Like I said, if you end up deciding this isn't for you, I will be okay doing it alone—"

"I don't regret it, love," he said, and she knew he was being honest because he looked into her eyes. Those eyes that he shared with his father. The eyes that their child might have. A dark blue that had entranced her since she met him. "Truly, I do not regret it. I simply believe that if I were to feel excitement... it would ruin everything. 'Jinx' it, as one might say."

"It's okay to be excited, Nik. I'm growing an entire life in there. It's still an ugly little blob with barely a heartbeat but soon enough it'll be fully formed and as soon as it exits my body and breathes on its own... it'll be a tiny human. A product of our love for each other. And that is not only fascinating to me... it's beautiful. I've always wanted to have a family with you and I love getting to experience this. I want you to feel comfortable showing every emotion that passes through you. Good and bad. Especially when it comes to this baby. It's okay to be vulnerable and to be happy."

"And yet more often, I feel fear," he muttered, bringing his hand down and pressing it against her stomach. "Something could happen to it. To you. At any time, at the hand of anyone... what if I cannot protect the two of you? What if I fail? As happy as I want to be, it may not last. I could lose you. I almost lost you today. If Mikael had been a tad more violent... if he hadn't hesitated to kill you..."

"But I'm still alive," she said. "I'm alive, so is the baby. It's okay. I'm okay. You can be happy about that. For one instant let the worries about me go to the side. How about we focus on Elijah? Let all the worry go to him. Elena's on her way, she'll be here soon. We should try to have some good news to tell her."

Klaus assented. He carried Elijah up to his room, and Maddy sat beside him, cleaning his face and neck while Klaus went to call Kol, asking about potential remedies. If anyone knew how to fix Elijah, it was Kol.

Elena got there just before Klaus left to get the antidote, which was apparently a merlock orchid. Kol figured that it grew somewhere in the Bayou if Esther had managed to acquire it so easily.

"How is he?" asked the doppelgänger worriedly, coming to sit beside Elijah and taking his hand. "His eyelids didn't even move... he's not alert... god, what did Esther do to him?"

"Kol believes she forced him into a sort of mental prison," said Klaus from the doorway. "In his sleep, she may have tormented him." He looked at Maddy. "I will return soon, love. Don't go anywhere."

"Stay safe, okay?" she told him. "Do you have the weapons with you?"

He nodded, patting his chest pocket, where the white oak stake and Papa Tunde's blade were tucked safely together. He then sped off, and only then did Elena notice the bruises that Maddy hadn't been able to cover properly.