Lexi sits alone in her old bedroom, her head between her hands. Her shoulders are slumped forward, and her eyes are closed. She hears someone walk into the room, feels the bed dip next to her.
She breathes in deeply, letting herself lean against Derek's shoulder. "I don't know what to do," she admits, her hands finding his.
"You don't have to," Derek says, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "Your brothers are way too dramatic and scheme-y for my tastes."
She laughs, kissing the back of his hand. "All of us Mikaelsons are."
"Hey, I thought you were an Adams," Derek jokes.
"Well, in New Orleans, I'll always be a Mikaelson. Nothing will change that. I'll always be a bloody Mikaelson," she sighs, pursing her lips. Derek does his best not to react, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest.
"Elijah's making the final decision anyway. You don't need to think about it," Derek says.
"He's my brother, Derek," she pauses, looking up into his eyes. "And he killed Kol. How am I supposed to see him as family when he has done nothing to deserve it—"
"Hey," he stops her, cupping her cheeks. She shifts so she is facing him. Her eyes are lined with unshed tears, her nose flaring ever so slightly. "You don't need to love him. Blood doesn't make a family—your love does. He tried to kill you. Multiple times. He betrayed your trust. He betrayed his family. You don't need to love him, not after what he's done."
"Is that what you feel about Peter?" She asks quietly, her mouth going dry when she says his name.
Derek opens his mouth and closes it. His uncle is a complicated topic. Peter had killed Laura in cold blood, betrayed his pack, and most of all, hurt Lexi. He doesn't deserve Derek's forgiveness.
"I think," Derek says carefully, "That Peter has betrayed us too many times for me to ever trust him again. You can think what you want about him, but I wouldn't trust him with anything or anyone."
Lexi nods silently. She takes a deep breath, preparing to speak. A loud noise cuts her off.
Lexi's eyes narrow in confusion, moving from Derek's face to the doorway. More noise sounds from the foyer. "What the hell is going on?" She mutters, walking out of the room with Derek.
When Lexi looks down, her eyes widen. "Kol, stop!" She runs down the stairs, yelling at Kol to stop hurting Finn. "Kol, please! Stop!"
"Kol!" Freya yells, rushing into the room. Lexi tries to interfere, but Freya holds her back. Derek quickly grabs onto Lexi's waist, keeping her from running into a vampire fight.
Lucien appears next to Lexi, his eyes hesitant. Kol just glares at Freya before stalking towards a beaten down Finn. "Kol!" Lexi screams, struggling to get out of Derek's grasp.
Suddenly, Elijah speeds in, shoving Kol backward. "Enough!"
Cora runs in, instantly going to Lexi and Derek. "This is bad," she murmurs under her breath, her claws already out.
"This isn't your fight!" Kol snaps at Elijah.
"I told you to stay your hand!" Elijah glares heatedly at his temperamental little brother.
Kol scowls, "Fine." He throws his weapon, a candle, across the room, surprising Davina, who is standing away from the others. "I'd rather take my chances out there with white oak then stay here with you lot."
Lexi holds back a whimper, blinking back tears. Kol stalks out, practically spitting on Finn. Davina follows silently, sending Lexi a look that tells the blonde that the witch will look after her brother.
Freya runs over to Finn, kneeling before him, She cups his face, checking over his beaten features. She looks back at Elijah, calling his name.
"He'll be fine," Elijah states. "Marcel has paid us a visit." He reaches into his pocket, fishing out the last of the white oak. "The last remaining white oak in the world, right here."
Everyone stares at the wood, each with different expressions. Lucien looks completely focused on Elijah and what would happen. Finn realizes exactly how important that wood is. Lexi doesn't know what to think.
"Sister," he glances between the blondes. "If you would be so kind?"
Freya flicks her wrist, igniting a nearby fireplace. Elijah takes a deep breath, throwing it in.
"No!" Finn screams, speeding towards the fire and plunging his hand into the flames. He groans as the fire flickers against his skin, but he does not pull out until he has the bullet in his hands.
"Finn!" Lexi cries out, taking a step forward. Her eyes are wide with fear.
Finn pulls the bullet out, panting harshly and cradling the bullet in his burnt hands. He looks back at his siblings, pain and anguish in his eyes. "The little witch has condemned me to this! To remain a beast!" He shakes his head.
Lexi feels Derek tense behind her. Cora's eyes are wide with confusion, her heart beating quickly.
"Elijah," Finn's voice breaks. "I can't bear an eternity with no hope of escape. Can you?"
"Finn," Elijah says carefully, holding out his hand. "Give it to me." Finn stays perfectly still. "Give it to me."
Finn does not move a single inch.
Lucien speeds to the oldest Mikaelson vampire, plucking the bullet from his hands. He stares down at it, shocked to be holding the weapon. Lexi's heart almost beats out of her chest. She takes another step forward, out of Derek's arms. Lucien glances up at her before throwing the bullet to Elijah.
Elijah catches it, suspiciously looking at the vampire. "Come on, then," Lucien prompts. "After all this time, go on and destroy it."
"Elijah, forever is a burden that nobody should have to bear," Finn argues, glancing at Lucien with hatred in his eyes.
Cora looks at Lexi, her mind remembering when she and the blonde had a similar conversation. Lexi had never believed she would become mortal, nor had she ever thought she would actually be able to end her long life. Before her now is the argument that has raged inside her head ever since she became immortal.
"You cannot keep the white oak in this house, Elijah," Lucien reminds him. "It is already a beacon drawing your enemies to you."
Elijah stays put.
"Perhaps," Lucien's eyes move to Lexi. "The best solution is obvious? Entrust it to the one who loves each of you the most."
Everyone turns to the youngest blonde. Elijah's eyes hold veiled emotion as if he can't decide what to feel. Finn's eyes plead with Lexi for his salvation.
After a moment, Lexi nods slowly. "I can cloak myself. If it has to exist, at least I can take it far away." She looks back at the Hales, a smile on her face. "We can get away from this. Hide ourselves and the bullet under a thousand spells, somewhere where no one else will ever find it." Lexi turns back to Finn, a sad expression crossing her features. "Until the day comes when you're ready for release."
"You would need to go into hiding," Elijah says, his voice low.
"We've been trying to live apart from all this for years," Derek states, taking a step up next to Lexi. "We'll do it."
"I have a plan, Elijah." Lexi sighs. "Trust me. I will keep it safe. We all will."
Elijah's expression cracks slightly. Lexi can see the pain hidden there. The thought that he may not see Lexi again before she dies makes him want to break in front of everyone. But he hides the feelings as he presses the bullet into the palm of her hand.
"Cora and I will leave tonight," Lexi announces, turning to the Hales. "Derek, you stay here until I have a place set up."
"Where will we go for now?" Cora asks.
"You won't like it, but I have a secure apartment on the west coast. I'll leave you there for a day or two. Don't complain too much about the company."
"Who will I be staying with?" Cora demands, her expression wary. Lexi just sends her a look. "Someone I hate. Great."
"Why do I have to stay?" Derek asks, his eyebrows raised.
"No one can know we've gone until we can all disappear. For good," Lexi tells him.
Derek glances at her siblings and Lucien before whispering, "This is what you want?"
"If the price for keeping my family safe is to leave forever and protect this bullet with my life, I will gladly pay it." A non-answer.
"But do you want this?"
Lexi pauses, biting the inside of her cheek. She takes a step forward as she kisses Derek fiercely. He kisses back, surprise on his features. Her scent invades his senses, making him relax. When she pulls back, she has a smile on her face.
"I want a life with you and Cora away from all this violence and death. Away from the murderous exes and the homicidal creatures."
Derek searches her eyes for even the slightest hesitation. When he finds nothing, he kisses her again, ignoring Lucien's groan of disgust. "Then, let's do it," he whispers against her lips. "Let's do this."
—|—|—|—
Elijah and Derek stand together in the study, the former's phone on the bar. Klaus' contact information is shown on the screen. "We got the white oak," Elijah says. "Time to come home."
"Well, at least one of us has something good to report," Klaus sighs, his voice holding his anger. "Because Hayley and I have just made a rather unsettling discovery. Seems our friends at Kingmaker Land Development are still targeting wolves." Derek goes completely still, a growl escaping his throat. "What we don't know is why."
Elijah takes a step back, running a hand down his face. Everything becomes more confusing. Why would Lucien's company be hunting wolves? Beside him, Derek's expression turns downright deadly. Even Elijah wouldn't go up against him.
"This whole time, we've been so focused on everything out there. The auction, this hoard of old enemies knocking on our doors," Derek says, his theory beginning to take root. "What if it was just a distraction?"
"Niklaus, I'm beginning to fear that the real threat has been in front of us all along," Elijah sighs.
Suddenly, Derek sits straight up, his eyes flashing blue. "Someone's here," he states.
Elijah opens his mouth, but screaming echoes through the compound, cutting him off. "Derek!" A woman yells. "Derek!!"
"Cora?" Derek furrows his eyebrows, already on the move. The moment he sees his bloodied sister, he runs to her side, calling her name again.
Cora stands in the center of the compound, her leg broken and her face bloody. She cradles her arm and her heart is beating a thousand times a minute. "I'm sorry, I couldn't—" she pants, her brown eyes threatening to close as she falls into Derek's arms.
Elijah speeds in front of them, offering his blood to the werewolf. "What happened?" he demands as Cora drinks.
"One second everything was fine, the next I was unconscious, I—" Cora shakes her head, unable to form her thoughts.
"Cora," Derek's voice wavers as he glances at the entrance. "Where's Lexi?"
Elijah goes stiff as Cora pants out her answer. "I don't know."
On the other side of town, in a penthouse suite that looks over the city of New Orleans, a woman squirms in a chair, her face concealed by a dark hood.
An empty syringe that once held lobelia flower sits on a nearby table. Lucien circles around the woman in the chair, her hands bound by rope.
He drags a finger across her shoulders before ripping off the hood.
Lexi lets out a growl, lunging forward. Lucien just pushes her back in the chair. She snarls at him through the gag securing her mouth. Lucien chuckles, leaning in from behind her. A smirk dawns his lips.
"Hello, love," he whispers in her ear. She fights against the restraints, wiggling in the chair. She stops moving completely when Lucien takes the white oak bullet out of her pocket. "A Mikaelson witch, a white oak bullet... Throw in a dash of wolf venom and a case of champagne, and I'd say we have a recipe for some real fun!"
Lexi's eyes widen in horror as Lucien walks in front of her. He kneels down, the bullet in front of her face. "Wouldn't you say, Lexi?"
LUCIEN WTF DUDE?!?!? Hope you enjoyed!