little mikaelson ⚜️ the originals

17

And on the eve of Darla's sixteenth birthday, all of her dreams came true in one singular moment. She was home alone when the phone rang, her Auntie Bex being out and about, getting groceries and no doubt her niece's birthday present from the shops. At first, she let it ring. She knew that there were certain rules she had to abide to, one of them being never answer the home phone. The one Rebekah had in case she misplaced her phone or if ever Darla's school needed to communicate with her. But nevertheless, the young girl was always forewarned that it could be someone who had an agenda of terrible things to do to her if they somehow found out about her existence.

But this time, she had to answer it. It wasn't like her at all to go against the rules of the household, but there was something different this time. She felt as if she needed to answer it. So after the forth ring, she took a deep breath and picked it up.

"Hello...?" She asked timidly.

There was silence on the other end of the line and a hitched breath before the person spoke.

"Who is this?"

"This is Darla Smith." The girl said with confidence, used to taking the last name as her own. "Who might you be?"

There was more silence and the sounds of rushed footsteps, as if the person on the other end of the line was jogging or pacing back and forth. And by common sense, Darla deduced that it was the second option.

"Where is Rebekah?" The voice asked, breathing heavily now. "Give her the phone."

"My mother isn't home right now." She said again, also used to referring to Rebekah as her mother. "Now once again, who is this?"

Silence.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

More silence.

"Look, my mother is going to be home soon, she's just doing some shopping. In fact, she'll probably be home any minute. So if you want me to give her a message for you, I can, but you're going to have to at least give me a name."

"My name... My name is Niklaus Mikaelson." The man spoke, making Darla's jaw drop in astonishment and tears pool into her eyes.

"Dad?" She asked in a whisper, letting a tear roll down her cheek.

"Hello, my beautiful girl," he responded breathlessly with a blinding smile on his face. "Happy birthday, Darla Hope Mikaelson."

"W-What―"

"Darla!" Rebekah called, walking into their home with what looked like ten bags on each arm. "I'm home!"

In a panic, the young girl fled the scene, running up to the bathroom where she knew her dearest Auntie Bex wouldn't disturb her.

"In the bathroom!" She called, knowing that she would hear thanks to her advanced hearing. "I'll be down in a minute!"

"Alright, darling," Rebekah said with a smile, but it dropped upon seeing that their phone wasn't in it's usual place. "One more thing ― have you seen the phone?"

"No," She lied, slightly embarrassed that her father was hearing all of this. "Is it in your room?"

Knowing good and well that sometimes she did indeed leave it in her room, she shrugged and went off to her room, a place where Darla and her father's conversation would be out of earshot. And knowing how big her room was, she'd be there for a while.

"I can see that Rebekah upheld my wishes," Klaus said softly, knowing that she had a rules against her answering the phone amongst other things that could expose her identity to opposing threats. "I am sorry, my lovely Darla. I am so sorry."

"It's okay," she whispered back, closing her eyes and letting a tear fall down her cheek. "You did what you needed to do. I should be thanking you."

"No, you should resent me for having as many enemies as I do to the point where I can't even ensure the safety of my child, or be there to raise her, for that matter." He argued.

And to this, Darla was silent. They both knew that he was right ― having that many enemies just because you could was never a wise choice, especially when you have a family. But then again, he never really did intend on having one.

"But I don't," she told him. "I don't resent you at all. I just wish things were different... I wish we were a family again. I... This is the first time I am hearing your voice in almost sixteen years, dad... It's so hard. I barely even know you but I love you so much―"

"I know, love," he cut her off, sensing that she was becoming hysterical. "Every day has been absolute torture without you here. Your uncle and I, we miss you more than you could ever imagine... Which is why we're bringing you home."

A rush of shock mixed with happiness and fear hit Darla all in one, causing her to lose her breath.

"W-What?"

"You're coming home. Back to New Orleans, where you should have been this whole time."

"What about those threats that I was sent away for?" She asked. "Will I be safe? Does Aunt Rebekah know?"

"Those threats have been eliminated." He said, letting Darla fill in the blanks for herself. "As for my sister, she will find out soon."

"How soon?"

"Well, as soon as you sneak the phone into a safe place where Rebekah would leave it and forget about it, I will call, tell her to pack her bags, and make her merry way back to New Orleans. Your home."

Darla sighed in happiness and tried to hold back her tears, but it was to no avail.

"My home..." She whispered. "I'll finally have a place where I belong."

"You always did, love. And you always will."