The Originals
S1:E20
☄. *. ⋆
Veronica slid into the booth, sitting across from Klaus.
When arriving at the compound after leaving Marcel's loft, Veronica was met with silence. Neither Klaus nor Elijah were at the compound, which left her alone with her thoughts for hours. Even when she went to sleep, they were still not there.
She was shocked to wake up to the brothers in suits, instructing her to get ready for a funeral.
Which led her to be seated in Rousseau's, a black dress being painted onto her body.
"I must warn you, Veronica, Niklaus is in a spectacularly foul mood today." Elijah said, looking in between the two.
"Sod off."
Veronica sighed, looking over to the hybrid, "What's the deal with these moonlight rings? Alex told me Oliver is trying to set a revolution every five seconds. People are scared, angry, and frankly, I'm tired of all of it. And not to mention, one of the banshees, Juliet, is still in horrible condition."
Klaus groaned, rubbing his temples. "The rings are in progress. I will live up to my word and we will find and punish whoever launched the attack on the Bayou. But, right now I'm gonna finish this bottle in the hopes of drowning the demon who has chosen today to haunt me. Cheers, Mikael. Impeccable, Freudian timing."
Veronica and Elijah shared a confused and worrisome look before turning their attention back to Klaus.
"What do you mean?" Veronica asked, feeling the pace of her heartbeat pick up.
"Go ahead, have a good laugh."
"I'm not laughing, I had a weird dream of him the other night. Which is strange, since I've only met him once."
"Why didn't you say anything–"
"If you two are seeing him..." Elijah cut Klaus off, catching Genevieve's eye, "Perhaps our elusive, unknown enemy is orchestrating a further attack?"
"Well, then. What better way to punctuate a day of peace than by killing someone?"
☄. *. ⋆
Veronica stood in between the two siblings, walking down the streets of the French Quarter. For the past few hours, she had been feeling sick. Not thinking too much of it, she blamed it on her pregnancy and tried her best to power through it. Although they did not talk as often, Veronica wanted to be there in support of Cami.
After hearing a rough cough, Elijah looked down at Veronica with concern.
"Are you alright? You look–"
"–A hundred months pregnant and pissed off at the world?"
"I was going to say you look lovely."
Veronica sent him a small smile before turning away and surveying the rest of the crowd. Her eyes fell upon Francesca, a human.
As they walked she tried, but failed, to block out another one of Klaus' rants. Feeling a wave of annoyance wash over her, Veronica looked over to her right.
"One bad dream and suddenly you want to be a responsible daddy."
Elijah covered up his laugh with a cough while Klaus slung his arm over her shoulders, bringing her in.
"Let me put this into perspective, my father lived to torment me. It is not my intention to become him. This cycle of misery ends with my child."
"You forgot one thing in your little attempt to plead your case. She's not your child. She's ours."
Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Veronica ducking out of his hold and walking ahead to catch up with Cami.
As she walked away, Klaus watched her retreating figure. As if feeling a set of eyes on him, he turned to look at his brother.
"What?"
A small smile coated Elijah's lips, "Nothing."
Klaus rolled his eyes, looking forward again. Only this time, the head of pink hair was gone from his sight. Feeling slightly panicked, his eyes darted around before eventually finding her off to the side, sitting on the sidewalk with a hand to her chest.
Giving Elijah a nod of his head, the two rushed over to Veronica. Elijah knelt to her side, placing a hand on her back as she coughed. Klaus' eyebrows drew together as he saw blood start pooling from her mouth.
Veronica tried catching her breath, but felt as though she couldn't stop coughing. Suddenly, the noises around her seemed to fade away as her eyes grew foggy. Her body sagged to the side, falling unconscious as she fell onto Elijah.
☄. *. ⋆
Veronica gasped, her eyes shooting open. As she sat up, she noticed the main room of the Mikaelson compound was dark and empty. As if realizing the atmosphere seemed familiar, it suddenly clicked. She was on the other side.
"No," She whispered, not believing what happened.
Veronica's mind was buzzing. How did this happen? She desperately tried to recall the last event that occurred, but all she could remember was coughing up blood on the streets of the French Quarter with Klaus and Elijah by her side.
"Hello there, Veronica. It's been awhile."
Veronica jumped, shuffling off of the table and looking around her. Watching as Mikael entered her line of vision from the shadows, Veronica felt her heart drop. Putting on a brave face, she straightened her posture and ignored the shaking of her hands.
"Unfortunately, not long enough."
Mikael didn't reply. Instead, simply stared at her with a bored expression. Beginning to get frustrated, Veronica fisted her hands around her dress.
"You're dead, Mikael. Your son already beat you!"
He scoffed, "He is not my son! He's a scourge, a walking symbol of weakness!"
Veronica shook her head, moving backwards until she reached the staircase. Ripping off a piece, she held it tightly in her hand.
"You have no idea how wrong you are."
"There is no saving that atrocity festering in your womb. Klaus will destroy it, one way or another. Better he dies now, and you along with it!"
Mikael jumped to the floor above Veronica, startling her.
Rushing down the stairs, she landed on the main floor at the same time Mikael did. Seemingly catching him off guard, she stabbed the piece of wood in his chest, hitting him in the heart.
Mikael let out a groan of pain, his fingers curling around the wood.
"My daughter has an advantage Klaus never had–she will never, ever know you."
With those final words being said, Veronica woke up.
Gasping for air, she took in her surroundings. This time, she was crowded by Klaus and Elijah on one side of the table and Genevieve on the other.
Klaus helped Veronica sit up, swallowing the lump that resided in his throat. He couldn't bear to see the blood on her face from the failed attempts to wake her up. Rubbing her shoulders, he only focused on her brown eyes.
"You're alright, love. You're alright."
"I saw him. He tried to kill me," Veronica rasped, "I saw Mikael."
☄. *. ⋆
Veronica let the warm water wash over her sore, cold body. Looking down, she watched the stained red liquid disappear down the drain.
She felt numb.
It was a strange feeling. She had felt it before, but it seemed even stranger now. Going from the afterlife and coming back. It was as if she cheated death twice.
Finishing cleansing her body, she shut the shower off and dried off with the soft, fluffy towel.
Not bothering to do her usual nightly routine–which consisted of skin care and meditation, she simply opted on an oversized t-shirt, a warm blanket, and the balcony.
Staring up at the stars, she felt as though it was one of the only things keeping her peace. Rubbing a hand over her stomach, she simply gazed until she heard footsteps approaching.
"You've proven to be quite the fighter, you two."
Turning her neck, she watched as Klaus took a seat next to her.
He didn't question the fact that she sat on the hard floor with a blanket draped around her shoulders. He didn't question the bags under her eyes or her messy, wet hair.
He only gave her his company, judgment free, and that's all she needed.
Veronica shrugged, looking back up to the night sky, "I guess we've had to be."
There was a short pause, before Klaus decided to break the silence.
"You said you saw my father?"
"Why do you call him that? He's not even your real dad."
"He's done damage only a father could do to you." Klaus replied, "What did he say to you?"
Veronica looked back at him, and suddenly, she pictured a young Klaus. One that was so bright and hopeful, she couldn't bring herself to repeat what Mikael had said.
A walking symbol of weakness.
She gave him a small smile, "Nothing true."
The corners of his lips turned up. He knew she was refusing to tell him something, yet it hadn't bothered him. No one had ever withheld information from him to spare his feelings. It felt... good.
Looking down onto the street, she listened to the music and laughter, "I don't think I'd mind if someone threw me a party when I died. It seems a lot less... sad."
"You already have, and you almost did again."
"And the first one was beyond depressing, trust me, I was there."
Klaus clenched his jaw, "So was I..."
Her expression softened, "I know."
The two were silent as they stared at each other. Veronica didn't know who moved in first. But, she did know how Klaus cupped her face with his hand, delicately tracing her cheek bones. She knew how his lips captured her own, and how she wanted to live in this feeling forever.
For the first time in a while, she felt serenity.
As they parted, Veronica looked up at Klaus through her eyelashes. He sent her a small smile, dropping his hand from her face and instead bringing her to lay against his side.
The two sat on the balcony overlooking the streets of the French Quarter for hours. They said nothing, but both of their heads were filled with millions of thoughts.