Maddie's POV
I sit and watch as a compelled human stands like a statue letting the blood from her wrist pour into a glass. "I hope he at least pays you." I tell the girl who just smiles.
"Handsomely," I hear Klaus say as he walks in, "and with a generous Christmas bonus. Isn't that right?" He looks at the girl who doesn't speak and just nods making me scoff a little.
Klaus takes the glass as she walks off, "and I see you just compel her to nod and agree with whatever you say."
"I compel her to feed me." He says rather quickly, "and to hang the occasional Christmas ornament. She can say whatever the hell she wants."
I let out a laugh and shake my head. "You seem better." Klaus says tilting his head.
"Yeah, I am. Thank you for everything," I look back up to him. "And for giving me space to not talk about it." Klaus gives me the side eye look with a small smirk. "Why didn't you go with Elijah to help Rebekah? I pray it's not to stay here and babysit me."
"It's not a good idea for he and I to spend hours together in confined spaces, given that the prophecy foretells one family member felling another." Klaus says making me lean forward.
"You don't think he would hurt you..." my eyebrows furrow. I know they might be on the outs but they would never hurt each other.
"I don't know what to think." He says quietly. We stare at each other for a minute before he breaks eye contact and leans forward setting his glass down. "And that damn fortune tellers predictions continue to unfold despite all our efforts."
My phone starts to buzz making me reach in my pocket and Klaus look over to me. "It's Vincent. I have to go."
•
I was standing in the street watching some people play jazz before a hand reached out to touch my arm making me gasp and grab my chest. "You're jumpy."
"Maybe that's because I've been jumped several times in the last 2 days." I tell Vincent as we start walking.
"Yeah."
"I haven't really been out since everything. What's up?" I ask looking at him.
"I need for you to make a house call. Kinney got fired last week." Vincent says making me stop and look at him.
"What?" My mouth parts open surprised at what he said. "No, but he-he's a good cop. A bit creepy? Sure but a good one at least."
"Yeah, he was a good cop until he started having blackouts, going MIA when he's supposed to be on duty. There's gaping holes in his reports. Arrests he can't explain. Missing evidence he can't explain, and now he's isolating, he's not coming out of the house, he's not taking my phone calls."
I speak up before he continues, "I'll go see him. There has to be something I can do or say."
"Thank you, Maddie."
•
I walk up to Kinney's house and knock a few times. "Will? You in there? It's Maddie!"
"I assumed you called first?" I spin around and let out a breath. "I've been told turning up at someone's home uninvited could be considered rude." Klaus says.
"Are you seriously following me?" I complain. "Klaus, I don't need a bodyguard or some white night trying to protect me."
"I'm here as your boyfriend who cares about you." He says genuinely making me smile a little before I turn around and knock on his door. I sigh and turn back to Klaus when I hear nothing. "Vincent said he'd be home, I-"
"Shh," Klaus interrupts me and holds his finger up against his lips. I tune into my vampire hearing and hear a gun safety click off. Klaus pushes me out of the way before he moves towards the door and kicks it open.
"Oh my god, Will! No!" I run in after seeing him sat with a gun pointed up against his chin. He gets spooked and stands up pointing it at me making Klaus scream my name.
"You shouldn't have come here!" Will yells.
"Will, it's gonna be okay." I say a little worriedly but take another step. "Just drop the gun."
"Insert empathetic psychobabble here. It's not ok!" Will freaks out only worrying me more.
"Put the gun down!" Klaus yells at him and slams the door frame.
"Or what, you'll save me the bullet? I am the definition of worthless!" My eyes soften immediately remembering Lucien compel him this. "I try and try to make it different but there are things lurking out there in the shadows, and-and in the face of them, I am nothing! Do you understand?"
I look back to Klaus, "it's Lucien's compulsion, Klaus. There has to be something that we can do, Klaus, please!"
He was silent for a minute before he looked to Will. "Invite me in."
After Will let him in, he sat down as I stayed back a bit and Klaus stood a few feet in front of him. "While I cannot take away the feelings of worthlessness that haunt you now, I can tell you, you will learn to live with them. I certainly have. I have also come to find that the very thing you believe is worth the least matters most of all." Klaus tells him as he takes off his jacket. "There is beauty in the courage of the fragile fighter," Klaus walks forward and takes a seat right in front of Will, who stares at the gun in his hands, making me just watch. "Those who preserve despite all they've been through, those whose still believe there is good in the world."
Klaus looks over to me making me stare curiously before he smiles and looks back to Will. "Us dark things often find we need that light the most." Klaus grabs the back of Will's neck and leans toward compelling him. "What you do not see in yourself, others see in you. You do matter." I stare at Klaus in adoration. This, this is the Klaus I fell in love with. "Have you a family?"
"Yeah, a sister. Baton Rouge." Will nods his head but his eyes stay on the gun.
"Go to her. Enjoy Christmas. In the new year, you will return to your captain, and he will welcome you with open arms and detective, you will remember today as your darkest day." Klaus tells him as he gently takes the gun from Will's hands. "Tomorrow will be better. The day after better still. You will go on."
•
"He's packing." I say softly breaking Klaus out of his thoughts. He turns to look at me, "Klaus...what you did-"
"Was nothing." He cut me off.
"Hey," I bring my hands up to the back of his neck looking at him, "it was not nothing." We stare at each other until his phone starts to vibrate making me drop my hands and him look down at his phone before looking up at me and turning around holding his phone to his ear, "Elijah."
I walk down after making sure Will is okay, again, and hear Klaus still talking, "I don't need the recipe. I know exactly where I can find the antidote. I'll be quick." He ends the call before turning and seeing me. "If the strix have been using this poison for centuries, then Lucien has a cure, I guarantee it. Probably keeps it tucked away next to his cure for werewolf bites. I'm sure he won't mind if we break in and borrow it." He starts to walk off but my words stop him.
"You go. I'll be fine." I muster a small smile.
"No. If I'm going to save my sisters, I can't be worried about you. Right now, the safest place for you is with me. Please." I let out a quiet sigh and nod my head.
•
Klaus and I get back to the compound just in time I guess, Hayley screams as Klaus rushes in and grabs Rebekah's hand that was in Hayley's chest. "Rebekah! Not her," he says and rips her hand out. I rush in and gasp as Hayley holds her chest in pain. Rebekah looks over to me with black eyes and goes to attack me but Klaus keeps a hold on her. "Not her either!"
He slams her down on the table as I hand Hayley the antidote. "Dear, sweet Maddie. You're so afraid that you'll ruin her and the babies that you keep her behind glass like some breakable object." Klaus looks back at me as I take in what she says. "She's not precious, Nik. Every woman that you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison. She'll grow toxic too." I walk away into the house not wanting to hear anymore.
•
I walked into the compound seeing it surrounded with lights and everyone gathered by the tree. I stopped to talk with Hayley and Jackson while admiring Hope. Everyone seemed so happy. It was perfect.
"Oh no." I hear Klaus say behind me and turn around.
Rebekah looks behind her to see a small fire in a pit behind her. "Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire, but I improvised. Come on, it's tradition."
"Tradition?" Cami asks confused.
"We write our wishes and then burn them for luck. Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year-"
Elijah interrupts Klaus mid complaint in a teasing tone, "How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty list."
Third person's POV
Klaus walks up behind Hayley to say goodbye to Rebekah.
"You're always leaving." Klaus says coming to a stop.
"And I always come back." Rebekah says before Klaus opens his arms and hugs his sister.
They pull away from each other and Klaus sighs quietly before speaking, "run far and fast, stay on the move, and should you happen to meet some handsome fool, know your weaknesses."
Klaus smiles as Rebekah chuckles. "We'll, perhaps it's time our roles reversed. I'll run away from love if you run toward it." Rebekah turns her head towards Maddie who makes her way upstairs. Klaus' eyes follow her up as well until he looks back to his sister. "Nik, don't waste time. Especially with everything thats happening. We don't know how much time we'll have left." Rebekah smiles at her brother and pats his shoulder before she walks out of the compound.
Maddie's POV
I stood on the balcony of mine and Klaus' bedroom. I really needed to just take a breather and the babies were shifting making me quite uncomfortable. I turn my head back hearing footsteps and see Klaus. He silently worded a few words before he speaks aloud. "You look-"
"Don't say tired. Or big. Or ready to pop two magical babies out of me." I say looking down at my huge stomach. Klaus chuckles as he walks towards me. "I have lived long enough to know you should never tell a woman any of those things."
"I was going to say contemplative. A penny for your thoughts." He says not taking his eyes off me.
I inhale deeply before looking up at him.
"I was thinking about you and a little bit about what Rebekah said. Is she right? Do you see me as this fragile thing that needs to be kept behind glass, to protect me from Aurora-"
"Don't. Please." He looks pained making me go quiet. "When I think of all the ways she could have hurt you-"
"She didn't." Klaus looks back at me. "Klaus...she didn't. Because of you. I've lost count of the amount of times that you've been there for me. For us. For everyone you care about but today, you saved someone who doesn't mean a thing to you. Why?"
Klaus looked down for a minute before looking back up. His eyes held this emotion that made my heart speed up. "Because you wished it. Because what's important to you is important to me. What makes you happy makes me want to keep you so. What scares you I want to tear apart. I do not wish to watch you from behind glass, Maddison."
"What do you wish?" I whisper afraid to speak any louder. I was pretty caught off guard when Klaus passionately grabbed me and kissed me. His hands gently gripped my waist as I slipped mine over his shoulders while kissing him back as passionately.
Third person's POV
Klaus sat on his bed in the dim lighted room not able to take his eyes off Maddie, who made her way into their shared bathroom. Klaus smiled as he leaned back a bit. Rebekah was right. They didn't know how much time they had left and he didn't want to waste it.
Maddie was in the bathroom washing her face. A smile couldn't help but appear on her own face. Ever since the Martel's came to town, she had been so scared that her and Klaus would grow distant but it only made them closer. Her smile soon faded as her hands gripped the counter.
She felt the babies moving but it wasn't the same. "Klaus?" She called out. A moment later he walked into the bathroom, a look of worry on his face when he seen her gripping the counter and water on the ground. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "I think my water just broke."
A/N
Helllooo people!! Hope y'all are staying safe and doing good. I've been writing this chapter for a bit because I wasn't sure which way I wanted to end it but I've finally decided how. DUN DUN DUN