She burst into tears immediately.
Lucien was quick to set the cup and paper aside, reaching out to hold her shoulders. "Ibeth... Ibeth, look at me, listen to me. It will be alright. You will be alright." He dropped one hand, placing it over her stomach. "I swear to you... I will protect you and I will protect this child, as if it were my own. And though Nik is a beast, I know that he would protect it, too. All of his siblings will. You are going to be safe. I will make sure of it."
She was so tempted at that moment to just tilt her head up and attach her lips to his. The desire was so strong she almost wasn't able to stop herself. She placed her forehead on his, feeling the way he brushed his thumb repeatedly over her belly, caressing it so tenderly. Klaus had never been so gentle with his touch.
But she had to stop it from going further. She couldn't allow anything to happen. It wasn't right. "I'm sorry," she said, stepping back and turning away, trying to stop herself from crying.
"I understand," said Lucien calmly. "What will you do now?"
"I have no idea. I think I need another moment to process this..." she reached for the cup and paper, and went to discard them before heading to the living room and sinking back into the couch. "I still have that tea. I could take it if I wanted to. It would hurt but this would all be over. I won't have to worry."
"Love, I know you want this child. And though it may not be safe... it can be made safe. This can all be resolved as soon as we find out how to prevent this prophecy from happening. That will not take a year, it may only take one month... perhaps at most three. I do not know, but I don't anticipate this problem will last for the entirety of your pregnancy. You should be able to have this child if you want it. I think you would be a wonderful mother."
He sat across from her once more, continuing to look through the dark objects. "You had experience raising those other children, didn't you?" he said, picking out one object that looked like a large pin attached to a thick brown base. "And you've interacted with Hope numerous times..."
"That one," she said, tilting her head when he toyed with it in his palm. "The base is the same size as your hand."
He looked down, then rattled it. There was no sound, as if it was hollow. Still, he trusted her intuition and slammed it down on the table. The pieces of wood broke, revealing a flat medallion that fit so perfectly in the base, there was no space for it to move, which seemed to explain why it made no sound when Lucien shook it.
"Well," he said, surprised. "You and I make quite the team, don't we?" He extracted the Serratura and placed it in her hand. "Here. Take it to Elijah and Freya. This weapon has been handled."
"Thank you," she said, getting to her feet. "Truly, thank you. I-I'm not sure when I'll be able to come by again, if at all, but I may stop by soon. Just... to talk."
"Of course. And if, when Nik finds out, he dares to try and confine you anywhere, you text me immediately. If he takes your phone then... well, I don't know which room you'll be placed in, but if it has a window looking out into the street, place a cloth on it, something sticking out. And I will rescue you."
"He'll kill you..."
"I will run that risk. If he dares to try and imprison you in this condition, I will burn the house down if it means freeing you from it. I meant my promise. You and this child will be safe. If Nik does not have the decency to treat you like he should, then there is no reason to allow him any proximity to this baby."
"I don't plan to," she admitted. "I don't want him to be part of it. I already told him that. I told him I'll tell him it exists but beyond that I don't want this baby to know him. Not with the way he is now."
"If you need any further support... please do tell me. And, if, at any point, you find yourself fully free of him and wishing to be with anyone else... someone who will take care of your child as if it were their own... I will be here."
She blushed. "Lucien—"
"I know, it is forward," he acknowledged. "But I mean every word of it. You are... special, Ibeth. You matter to me."
This time, it seemed he was the one tempted to kiss her. And the worst part, in Ibeth's mind, was knowing that she might have let him if he hadn't pulled away.
This is wrong. I shouldn't be thinking this. I shouldn't be here.
"I need to get going," she said in a small voice. "Thank you for everything. Please let me know if you have any news on Rebekah."
"Of course, love. Let me know when you reach the Mikaelsons safely. If you'd like me to escort you back—"
"No, it's okay. I drove here. But... thank you."
She took her sweet time getting back to the St. Louis Cathedral. She kept making random turns, trying to have as much alone time as possible to let the information sink in.
I'm pregnant. I'm carrying Klaus Mikaelson's child.
This child was made with affection. In a brief moment where my husband and I were happy together.
But that's not the case now.
I want to keep this baby. I want to be a mother. But is it selfish to do that right now, with the way things are?
I have people looking out for me. Looking out for this baby. Maybe it's okay to be selfish.
But I can't let myself be too selfish. I can't keep thinking about Lucien.
I shouldn't be seeing Lucien at all.
This is wrong. I'm a bad person.
I shouldn't be a mother.
She wasn't sure how many times she cried before she actually parked her car outside the cathedral and rushed upstairs to find that the Locator Spells were still unsuccessful.
"Wait," said Ibeth, confused why not everyone of relevance was there. "Where's Klaus? His sister is missing. I thought he'd be here."
"He said he is pursuing another lead," explained Freya. "Whatever that means. Damn it.... It's not working. I assumed they'd cloaked her, but I didn't expect a spell this strong."
"No doubt conjured by the very witch who lured Rebekah into this trap," said Elijah worriedly.
"What if you use this?" asked Ibeth, holding out the Serratura. "Lucien found it and gave it to me. It's a dark object. Maybe channeling this would help?"
Elijah raised a brow. "You were with Lucien?"
"I went to ask him if he could help us find Rebekah. He says some of his vampire associates are on it. I also wanted to check on the Serratura-finding progress. And..." she bit her lip anxiously, "in the process, I learned... I'm pregnant."
The cathedral was dead silent. Ibeth figured they were excited, surely, because a baby was almost always something to celebrate. But she knew the time wasn't right to be making such an announcement. Still, she needed to get it off of her chest.
"Hey." Marcel spoke first. She blinked, and he was in front of her, pulling her into a hug. She relaxed in his arms. "Anything you need, I got your back, okay?"
"Thank you," she said quietly. "Truly, thank you..."
"I should get going," he said, pulling away. "The Strix trust me. If they know where Rebekah is, I can find her. In the meantime, Ibeth, you should get somewhere safe. Go back into the Bayou where the wolves can protect you. We can handle things here."
"He is quite right," agreed Elijah once Marcel was gone, and Freya and Hayley had each come forward to hug her, though neither said much other than reiterating what Marcel had already promised. "You are not safe here. Ibeth..." he took her hand. "We are here for you, always. I would say congratulations, however..."
"I know," she said. "Just... please back me up, if anything. I don't know how he's going to react. Seriously... what lead is he pursuing?"
Freya and Hayley didn't seem to know. But Ibeth noticed how Elijah's eyes flickered away from her briefly. "He told you," she deduced. "You know where he is. So tell me."
"From what I knew earlier when I spoke to him... he was not alone. I believe he was with Aurora."
Ibeth's heart sank into her stomach. "How... 'with Aurora' are we talking about?"
"I do not believe they were intimately together. It sounded as if they were out in the city, walking. However, he was in her company."
Ibeth clicked her tongue. "Of course. Of course, the father of my child is hanging out with his ex instead of here, trying to find his sister. But why would Aurora be a lead? Because she's Tristan's sister? You know what, I don't even want to know."
Elijah's phone chimed, and despite wishing she didn't have to find out more, she was there to hear as he announced, "Niklaus has just informed me that Aurora took Rebekah from The Strix."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," said Hayley. "And he hasn't killed her?"
"It would not seem so," said Elijah distastefully.
"Perhaps," offered Freya, "the best move would be to take Tristan. A sibling for a sibling. Aurora will make the exchange."
"Mmm, no," said Ibeth immediately. "That doesn't seem wise. These are ancient vampires... not only will it be difficult to get Tristan, but this woman is probably clever, prone to responding with violence, and not someone who stands down easily. Kidnapping Tristan de Martel will only escalate the situation. She won't respond kindly to that. The only way we are going to get Rebekah back is by giving Aurora something she wants, not by taking away something she has."
"That does sound like a smart play," said Hayley. "But what does Aurora want, exactly?"
Ibeth narrowed her eyes. "She wants to be free. Lucien told me about the extent of the compulsion..." she glanced at Elijah, "and how they suffered after it. Even vaguely I can understand that they really don't like this family. But Tristan and Lucien, despite sneaking in and pretending to be enemies when they were really allies, are still protecting their sires out of fear for their own lives. These three First Sired are scared of dying. Aurora could be acting out because she's afraid. So what if we grant them all that freedom? Make it so there is a guarantee that if you all die, they won't die, too? Like... unlinking yourself from your sirelings so they stop feeling unsafe?"
Elijah's eyes widened. "What you suggest would allow any enemy— anyone who aims to harm this family— to enact their vengeance."
"And we can deal with that when the time comes, just as we will deal with the prophecy as whatever danger we face draws closer. But right now we really need to get these ancient vampires off our ass. I don't like The Strix being here. And now that I've found out I'm pregnant, I want them gone before this baby's heartbeat becomes perceptible to them. They could hurt me thinking it'll hurt Klaus. So... if this could work, then we should try it."
"It is doable," said Freya carefully. "But it will be difficult. And it will leave our family vulnerable. These vampires come to protect us from the threat of this prophecy because they fear dying. If we unlink them, they will no longer stay to protect anyone. We will be left to deal with the prophecy on our own."
"Honestly, expected," said Ibeth. "Klaus isn't known for having a whole lot of close friends that would ride or die for him. But you've all dealt with other threats without anyone's help but your own. It wouldn't be the first time and I don't think it'll be the last, either. We will figure things out, but we can't respond to this kidnapping with another one because it does nothing to help Rebekah."
"She's right, Elijah," Hayley urged. "I don't think kidnapping Tristan is a smart move. As for the de-linking, I don't know how I feel about that idea but she could be right about it getting them to back off. Davina almost managed it not that long ago... maybe with her Regent power she could finish it. Get those vampires out of here and give them that freedom so that we don't have to worry about being followed around by The Strix or worry about one of them plucking Ibeth off the street and doing awful things because they're scared that you or Klaus are gonna die and so will they. She's right, they're acting out because they're scared. So if we can stop them from being scared... maybe it's the solution."
"If Davina does the de-linking, at least it's within our control," urged Ibeth. "She could accomplish it, I know it. Admittedly, she could probably use the help of someone like Kol so we probably should still be prioritizing his resurrection, but... I don't know, I just think it's the right thing to do. If you'll excuse me... I need to pick the kids up from school soon, they have an early end day today for parent-teacher conferences."
She cried a lot more while she drove around killing time before pick-up. Knowing Klaus was anywhere near Aurora infuriated her. She tried to remember she wasn't being any better by spending time with Lucien, but at least she and Lucien had no history. Aurora had been Klaus's first love, something epic to him, something that only ended based off a compulsion-induced misunderstanding. He obviously would wish to be with her more than he'd wish to be with Ibeth. And she hated knowing that.
She managed to clean her face thoroughly before she stopped to get Angel, then Luna, then Nick.
"Who's up for getting some food before we go out to the Bayou, hmm?" she offered. "I heard the big meal of the night is lentil soup with steak and you guys aren't the biggest fans of the lentils."
"Ooh, yes!" squealed Angel happily. "I want a milkshake!"
"Alright, we could stop by McDonald's on the way back. And you guys can get anything you want."
Nick noticed that she didn't eat much while they sat by the playplace for Luna and Angel to chase each other through the colorful tubes. "Lost your appetite?" he asked.
"Rebekah's missing," she whispered. "Klaus's ex hijacked her."
His eyes widened. "Wait, but she's an Original. How could someone kidnap an Original unless they are also an Original?"
"I don't really know what went down but it's bad. They're handling it, there's really nothing I can do on my end. I gave my advice about how to proceed and that's that. I'm just worried. And..." she chewed on her lip, "there's something I have to tell you. I'm pregnant."
His instinct was to smile until he remembered that this wasn't exactly a joyous time in her life. "You're going to name it after Aiden, right?"
Her eyes welled up with tears. "If it's a boy, yes. If it's a girl, her name will be Mary Evangeline."
"I like those names. Can I be godfather? Or is that for Jackson?"
Her lip trembled as she liked to smile. "Well, you and Jackson will have to rock-paper-scissors for that one, since you'll both be the uncles. Maybe Elijah might join in that battle."
"Oh. He's an Original, I don't think I can beat him."
"Well, in that case, if it's a contest between you three, I pick you to be the godfather."
"Sweet. Your Grandma Mary's gonna be so excited."
"Yeah, she will be..."
"I'm gonna be the best uncle ever," he continued, trying to cheer her up. "The little guy or girl is gonna love me."
"Oh, I don't doubt that," she managed, biting into a nugget. "Just make sure its first words aren't 'fuck' or... what was that that you said to Jackson the other day? That he... hit like a wet rag and smelled like one too?"
Nick smirked. "Well, he was pretty stinky that day. You're going to tell them... right?"
"Yeah. I will, as soon as we're home."
"Are you scared?"
"A bit. Your Grandma Mary hates Klaus a whole lot more than you and I do. She's going to be livid. I think she's the only person that didn't know Klaus and I even tried for this to happen. The wolves at the Compound knew, obviously. I told Jackson. The ones in the Bayou found out easily. But everyone was careful not to tell her because you know her, she flies off into a flurry of insults and nobody wants to see that. So... pray for me."
She reacted just like Ibeth expected her to.
"You're what?" she cried when Ibeth burst out the news to her and Jackson. "Ibeth Kenner! Did he hurt you? Did he force this on you?"
"No, Grandma," she said in a small voice. "This was before we got into a fight again. It was intentional. Consensual."
"Dear god. Does he know?"
"I don't know, I haven't told him. But no doubt Elijah is going to have told him by this point, or maybe Freya."
"Ibeth Kenner I cannot believe you let that man knock you up!"
"Keep your voice down! I want to tell the wolves tonight during dinner. Things were different when this happened, I genuinely did think things would be okay and that it was safe to have a baby with him. He was different those past three months... I was a fool to think it would last but I meant it in that moment and I am keeping this baby. I already told him he doesn't get to be involved. I'm raising it on my own."
"Honey, you're the Alpha, you're not raising it alone. This entire Pack will help you with the baby."
"Then it'll be fine! Why are you still so worried and mad?"
"Because! How long until he comes here demanding to see the baby, how long until he decides he's had enough of being on the sidelines and drags you both back there to be under his supervision?"
"I don't know, and I am worried about that but Elijah and Freya would never let that happen. They are going to make sure he gives me my space and they're going to help protect me. This baby is still a Mikaelson, they still care for it. If, in the future, Klaus can ever prove to me that he deserves to know this baby then I'll consider it. For now, I want him to keep his distance and I think he will. For the time being. I think the other day when we left the Compound it finally hit him that he's being a complete dickhead and hopefully he'll make some effort to at least give me the space I need. Which is all I want right now. Space from him, freedom from him. It's going to be okay. Just... let me handle this. Whatever I need, I will make you all aware of. Right now... I just want to go out there and have dinner with my Pack and tell them."
She waited until everyone was gathered and served with their plates before standing on a tree stump and clearing her throat. "Attention." The conversations quieted immediately. "As many of you know due to eavesdropping..." she turned to Kurt and a few other wolves who were intentionally close to Mary's cabin when they saw Ibeth rushing toward it, "I'm..." she wanted to say she was 'excited.' Because she always thought she would be. But she didn't actually feel that way at the moment. 'Pleased' didn't sound like the right word, either. She didn't really feel any positive way when it came to telling them about the pregnancy. So she settled for simply saying, "I'm pregnant."
They all cheered, naturally. Congratulated her, offered their support, asked if she had names picked out, which she told them immediately. A few of the older wolves were sympathetic, knowing that she wasn't in the happiest of situations when it came to having a baby.
She grew drained of their questions and conversation quickly. Excusing herself, she went to her cabin to check her phone. She didn't like what she saw. Elijah informed her that Aurora had admitted to dropping Rebekah in the ocean for protection. Klaus was now furious, and they were doing their best to keep him from snatching up Tristan and murdering him in retaliation.
"My concern," said Elijah once he was on call with her, "is that Aurora's displeasure with Niklaus will extend to you. Please, remain in the Bayou, you are safer there. We will discuss the de-linking with Niklaus and determine how to best start the process. The majority believes it is the best course of action to have Rebekah brought back to us. Of course, we will still be searching for her on our own. Marcel made us aware of a conversation overheard between Tristan and one of The Strix lieutenants— he and Aurora each have one half of the coordinates we require to find my sister. One was given the longitude, the other the latitude. We hope to obtain one or both to aid our search. For now... there is nothing you can do but keep yourself and your child safe. If you'd like me to come by to drive the children to school, I will happily do so."
"It's okay," she said. "Jackson's going to drive them. Thank you for telling me all this. I hope soon enough, Aurora will return Rebekah willingly once she feels safe to. I obviously hate that she went after Rebekah but after hearing what this girl and the other First Sired have been through, I really don't blame them for trying to seize control of their fate."
Elijah elected not to respond to her comment. "Hayley would like to speak to you. One moment."
"Hey," came Hayley's voice. "Tell your wolves to stop telling the entire world about your pregnancy. Marcel just told me Josh and three other guys of his are asking for him to tell you their congratulations. He didn't say anything to them, and we haven't told anyone so I think the wolves are a little too excited about this. If this reaches Aurora's ears, she could go after you. She's not happy with Klaus and if she thinks this could hurt him in any way..."
"Right," she said. "Didn't think about that. I'll tell them. Though, I worry she might already know. Does he—? I didn't call or text him."
"He knows. He heard Freya whispering to Hope that she was going to be a big sister. We didn't know he was home. That's the other thing. He's headed to the Bayou to see you right now. Do you need me to rush there so you're not alone when he comes?"
She heard a knock on her door. "Well, he's here. It'll be fine. I don't think he'll dare do anything when all our wolves are here. Goodnight, Hayley. Thanks."
She hung up and went to open the door. "We can talk here," she said when Klaus tried to come inside.
"I need to speak to you alone," he said, gesturing to the curious wolves who were already craning their necks to see what was going on.
"Right here is fine," she insisted. "So... you know."
"Yes," he said. "And I would feel much better if you were in the Compound, where I can protect you."
"Yeah, no, I don't want to go back there, especially not when I know your friend— now enemy— Aurora was there before, and probably even today."
"I did nothing with Aurora. I merely questioned her about her motives. Then, I learned she had taken Rebekah. I do not know what she may attempt to do to you. Please, come to the Compound. We will put it in your name, and no one will be able to enter unless you allow them to."
"I feel safer out here. Where my people are, where my family is. Hayley's just told me that word's already spreading like a fire through the city. No doubt Aurora is going to find out soon and the Compound is just too accessible to her. Out here, I'll know she's coming for me before she gets anywhere close. Unfortunately I can't control the fact people know so I have to assume she does, too, or will soon. Ruins my plan of how I wanted to go about things."
"And what precisely was your plan?"
"I was going to say, to anyone outside this pack, that it isn't your kid. I'd rather the world think me a cheater. That way, at least, none of the vampires here in the city could use me against you. Use this baby against you."
He looked rather hurt when he realized she was completely serious. "Additionally," she continued, "it's probably best you keep your distance to sell that point. Not only do I not want you involved, but if they think you care about me and this baby, they'll be gunning for me and I don't want an influx of vampires out here in my happy place. Shouldn't be too hard for you to pretend you don't care, right? Because you don't."
"Do not dare to imply that I do not care for this child!" he said. "I care for it. As I care for you. I... I have made... many mistakes as of late. In keeping truths and in the way I react—"
"Too little, too late," she replied. "Show me with your actions that you care. Don't just respond to me with half-assed apologies like a dog with its tail between its legs because you realized that you fucked-up. Doesn't change the fact you let your temper get the best of you and you hurt me in the first place. It should never have happened, end of story. I don't want you involved. Not unless you can prove that what's happened between us these past weeks is never going to happen again. Unless you can prove that you will never ever hurt me that way again, then you can consider yourself excluded from this."
"Love, please, there must be something I can do now to have you come back with me to the Compound, I do not feel you will be safe out here!"
"You're convinced you're the only person that can protect me, the only person that can protect Hope, the only person that can protect your siblings. But you fail to realize that you are easily overpowered by your anger and you hurt us more than you protect us. So please, save it."
"Love, please." His eyes were desperate as he kept her from closing the door on him. "Please... come home with me. You are carrying our child. I need to know that you're safe."
"Then you're welcome to come out here every day and take a peek if you want to make sure I'm alive and well. But I'm not going anywhere with you and neither is this kid. Focus on getting Rebekah back. Focus on getting these ancient vampires out of our city. When you've done that, when you can prove the city is safe, maybe I'll consider leaving the Bayou. Until then, I'm fine right where I am."
He seemed to want to retort, but turned away briefly and composed himself. "Is there anything I can bring you? Anything you need?"
"I need you to leave, actually."
His instinct was to reach out, grab her by the throat, and shake her until her teeth were chattering, or until she did what he asked of her. But he knew it was wrong. He knew it. Just like he had always known what was right or wrong, yet still chose to commit wrongs all the time. This time, he chose right. Not putting his hands on her.
"Ibeth," he pleaded. "Do not shut me out. Do not keep me from this child. I want it, just as I want you. I would not have made this child with you if I did not want you both by my side."
She stared at him coldly. "You should have thought of that before you went right back to abusing me the instant I got reasonably angry for your lack of transparency. I am not a perfect person Klaus, I can admit to that. But I don't hurt people for expressing their opinion. Once you've learned how to do that, come talk to me."
She closed the door and flipped the lock.