Klaus, Elijah, Freya and I all tred through the drainage pipe before reaching Rebekah and Kol. I have my arm wrapped around Klaus's waist, his arm warped over my shoulder. To touch him like this feels like a dream, but I can't linger on it. We have to get out of here.
"Nik!" Rebekah jumps up from a rock and hugs him.
"Hey, you can hug him later. We need to leave," Freya says.
"Marcel's right behind us. Go. Go!" I plead, pulling Klaus with me.
We walk up a hill and spot the car only to find Marcel blocking our path.
"Actually, I'm right here," he snarls. "You shouldn't have come back, none of you." His gaze flicks between us.
"That's what family does. We fight for each other," I say.
He shoots his eyes to me, rolling his eyes at my words. I adjust Klaus' grip around me so I can fully support him.
"Yeah, so I've heard. Though it didn't really work out for me, did it?"
"Oh, for God's sake, you were never a Mikaelson. Get over it. Don't you have a city to run? Vampires to boot out of town?" Kol retorts.
Marcel steps towards him but Rebekah soon intercepts.
"If you want to kill one of us, you'll have to kill us all," she warns him.
"Hey! Don't push me, Rebekah."
"Then get on with it. Let's end this once and for all."
Klaus sighs, pushing himself away from me.
"Klaus!" He raises his hand to reassure me as he steps in front of Rebekah.
"That's enough. That's enough, Marcel. You've won. New Orleans was our city once. Now it's yours. For good," Klaus says as he straightens himself up.
"Is the great Klaus Mikaelson accepting defeat? Or is this all just another distraction?"
"Neither. In fact, despite your appalling behavior, I'm offering you a chance at peace. Attempt to kill us all, and you will be making a mistake. Any who survived would no doubt return to seek revenge, bringing our enemies back to your city in our wake. And even if you did manage to eliminate us all, one day my daughters would come for you. And their daughters after that. On and on for all your days. An endless cycle of violence you will bring upon yourself. Or... Or we leave and we never come back."
"After all that time buried in a hole, you still got some nerve. Yeah, well, you stand there with a straight face and try to sell this like it's your choice. But here's the truth. I could kill all of you right now and tonight, I would sleep like a baby. Hell, that's what you would do. You've destroyed more people, taken more lives, ended more families than anyone who's ever lived. All because you can. But here's the other truth. Despite being raised by you people I am nothing like any of you. In fact, I'm proud as hell I'm not a Mikaelson. I beat you all without turning into you. And now you can live the rest of your lives knowing that the only reason that you exist is because I am showing you mercy. Now go. And don't ever come back."
Everyone begins to pass Marcel as he finishes his speech. I watch everyone get into the car, but I pause, grabbing his arm.
"You know what Marcel. You're right, you're nothing like a Mikaelson. You're a thousand times more twisted than they will ever be," I growl as I rip my grip from him.
His eyes twist in confusion but there's nothing to be confused about. My words were very clear and there's no way Marcel can play high and mighty without getting a little Felicity Kennedy reality check.
I rush to the car and slide into the drivers seat given that no one knows where we are going apart from me. As much as I want to be with Klaus in the back, I know we will have some time together once he has recovered from the trauma he's endured.
I feel my eyes tear up knowing that I have him back. I have them all back. He won't have to suffer the agony he's been put through these past five years. He will be with his family and we will move on.
We will help him through it.
- - -
After a long drive, I finally pull up the long dirt path that leads to the house. It's dark and the trees that shroud the path cast an even darker shadow. Above that, the stars are twinkling so brightly, it's like they have a new burst of life. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm seeing the things I've seen these past five years in a new light. There's hope in what I see.
All I feel is hope.
At the end of the track, the house Hayley and I have made a home comes into view; the warming image of the white house my girls are currently in sits proudly amongst the dark greenery. I smile to myself in relief.
I pull up and stop the car. Elijah rests his hand on my arm, grabbing my attention.
"Thank you, for everything."
I smile and rest my hand on top of his while everyone else gets out of the car.
"I'm glad you're back. I'm glad we're all here together."
"It's all because of you," he says.
I shake my head. "I couldn't have done this without my sister." His face softens at the mention of Hayley. "Elijah, please don't play with her heart. She's loved you all this time. Please, let yourselves love each other." There's a moment of silence as he looks at the house. "Just make sure you keep it down. My girls are super curious and have super human hearing. Learnt that the hard way," I laugh.
He smiles and I unbuckle my belt.
"Come on. Let's go."
We get out of the car to see Klaus and Rebekah standing side by side. Both of them are looking the house over with an unreadable expression. Elijah and I join them but I keep my eyes on Nik.
"What is it?" Elijah asks sincerely.
"Five years has never felt so long," Klaus says, turning to his siblings. "Thank you for not abandoning me."
"Well, we did consider it. The vote was rather close," Rebekah chuckles before linking arms with Elijah and going to the house.
I take a moment to look him over and I mean really look him over. He body looks tired and slim, clearly deprived of blood. His eyes are sunken and his hair unruly, I'd have to give him a hair cut because there's no barbers around here for miles. His fingers twitch as he grips his palms like a nervous school boy.
I take a step closer to him.
"Nik," he looks at me, "are you okay?"
"Oh, you mean considering the imprisonment, torture, and forced isolation?"
I suddenly become nervous that maybe after all these years, he has lost his love for me. That anxiousness bursts into a thousand pieces as he turns his eyes to me. His blue orbs glisten in the dark, the stars reflecting their ethereal glow down upon him.
"Nik, I want you to know... not a day went by when I-"
"I know love." He brushes his hand against mine, sliding our fingers to lock together. His breath quicken as he turns me to him, stroking a strand of hair from my face.
I feel tears come to my eyes as he looks at me. He reads my features like it's the first time we met in that corridor at the hospital. Everything just comes flooding back.
"I'm so sorry, Klaus. What Marcel did... I can't imagine what you've been through." I frown, my gaze averting to the floor.
"Well, I had moments of solace to sustain me." He rests his finger beneath my chin, pushing my eyes back up to his. "It's because of them I'm here now. It's all because of you."
I shake my head.
"This was a group effort. I just carried out the instructions."
"You did more than that. You always do. I can't count how many times I would sit in that cellar, the blade imbedded in me, and all I could think about was you. You were there for me, Felicity. I couldn't love you more."
I feel the corners of my lips pull up into a smile.
"You know I do," I say, blinking back the tears.
"But we have time for all that later. For now, I want you to forget. I want you to relax. I want you to see your little girls."
He pauses, his hand falling from my chin. His lips part. Speechless. I squeeze his hand and turn to the house. I let go of his hand and walk through the white picket fence surrounding the house. I pause and turn back to him with an outstretched arm.
"Come on."
He looks down to the ground and smiles a smile I've never seen before. A happiness I've never seen lingers on his lips as he slides his hand into mind.
Our feet meet the porch and then the wooden floor of the house. I can see him looking around in awe but I drag him up the stairs, feeling like a teenager sneaking my secret boyfriend up to my room. His thumb strokes the back of my hand, drawing my attention to him. He's not even looking at me, he's watching his feet as we reach the top of the stairs. I smile, seeing the girls door partially open.
I take a step to their room, using my one free hand to twist the handle and open the door. I take a step into the room with the movement of the open door, Klaus standing by my side, frozen in time.
The girls are fast asleep, Hope laying upside down on her bed, cover thrown off and Grace, curled up on the floor under the window, letting the shimmer of the moon warm her.
I shake my head, a giggle slipping past my lips. They have obviously been waiting for me to get back and were too excited to see what I had brought with me. Hayley probably told them that mommy was coming home but they just couldn't keep their little blue eyes open.
"Do you want me to wake them for you?"
I turn to Klaus as he squeezes my hand. His eyes are wide as he takes a long look over our girls. He shakes his head in complete awe.
"Let them sleep," he begs. A tear glistens over his eyes before falling like a diamond over his skin.
My heart swells.
"Alright, but I can't leave them this way. Help me get them into bed?"
He flinches, looking himself over before shaking his head.
"I can't- I... I am dirty and I..."
"Hey, it's alright." I rest my hand on his cheek, feeling his stubble scratch against the soft skin of my palm. "You aren't going to break them."
He blinks back his tears but remains frozen. I decide to take the first step. I move away from him and walk to the window. I bend down and lift Grace into my arms. I cradle her and place her on her bed where I then pull the covers up. Grace is the more difficult of the two to move because she's a squirmy sleeper. I don't want Klaus to think he was hurting her.
I turn to him to see him watching me, studying my movements before he lifts his eyes to mine. I nod my head towards Hope. He pauses, looks her over before stepping to her. I feel a tear trickle down my cheek as he moves her body so that her head rests against the pillow. My fingers rest on my lips as he pulls the cover over her, tucking her in. I suppress a sob as he strokes the back of his finger down her cheek, looking at he like she's the apple of his eye. It must be so surreal for him.
He stands up straight and walks to the door, holding his hand out to me. I instantly rush to him, sliding my hand into his. He closes the door behind him as if he's lived in this house for centuries. He knows how to shut the door without making a sound. He knows what bedroom is mine. He remains silent as he shuts the bedroom door behind me. He just knows.
I turn around to face him, seeing him resting his body against the door. We stand there, our bodies close together but not touching. His lips part before closing again. His eyes drop the length of my body, a heat radiating from my skin. His eyes finally come to a rest on my lips and he smiles that crooked grin I have missed with everything I am.
"I've missed you," he says, his voice soft yet husky.
I take a step closer to him, our bodies still not touching.
"I've missed you," he repeats, his eyes swelling with tears, his chin trembling. I feel the flood gates burst as his tears fall freely over they contours of his face. "My Little Wolf."
"Nik-"
He grabs my face, his hands cupping my jaw as he slams his lips to mine. I instantly throw my arms around his neck, relishing in the sensation of his lips against mine. His lips are dry from the lack of blood but still soft and plump and forever kissable. His fingers wind into my hair as he slides his tongue over me, begging for more. I grant him entrance without so much as a second thought, my body grinding up against him. One of his hands slips down to my waist, his thumb digging into my skin with such force, I gasp.
We pull apart, our lips detached as he rests his forehead against mine. Our tears mingle, his eyes flicking between mine.
"Never let me go," he whispers, his breath calm out of exhaustion.
I press my lips to the corner of his mouth, my hands on the back of his neck as look into his eyes.
"Never."
- - -
Hellooo lovely readers!
Did you like this Chapter?
Felicity and Klaus reunited for a brief moment but at least they have their family together again.
What do you think about Klaus's reaction towards Felicity?
...towards the children?
How cute was it!?
Any predictions on what might happen next?
Thank you so much for sticking with this story. I may write the words but you all inspire me to keep going so thank you:)
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