The next morning I was sat outside with the rest of the Mikaelsons as they had brunch on the porch. "What's the holdup? All right, we rescued Nik, we escaped mortal danger... Why are we not on a private jet to Saint-Tropez?" Kol asks the rest of his siblings, "You can catch up on the last five years when we're on our way... I assure you you haven't missed much." He tells Elijah as he pulls the newspaper from his hands, "Circumstances have changed. We will leave here soon enough." Elijah tells him, "We have our niece to consider." Rebekah chimes.
"Kol has a point. We need to put an ocean between us and Marcel Gerard as soon as possible." I sip my juice I was leaving today anyways I had to get back to the school, "We're not going anywhere today. I want one day of peace with my daughter before we uproot her." Klaus tells his siblings, "Any delay is a risk." Freya says, "One day. We're in the middle of nowhere, the house is cloaked, we weren't followed, and I'm not asking!" He shouts at the end and a second later the door opens and Hayley steps out with her nervous daughter. "Everybody, look who's awake." Hayley says I watch the look on Klaus's face with a small smile, "Hello." She says softly and full of nerves, "Hello." He replies just as nervous. "Mom, can I go play in the garden?" The young girl asks probably feeling very shy, "Yeah. Sure." Hayley smiles. "Aunty Thea?" She then turns to me, "yes honey?" I put my glass down, "can I wake the twins?" She asks and I nod, "you might have to pour some cold water on Arabella though." She giggles and then runs back into the house to get her playmates.
***
"Where are you going after this?" Kol asks as he joins me in the kitchen, "back to mystic falls, I'm a teacher at the Salvatore boarding school." I tell him his eyebrows furrow, "Salvatore boarding school?" Right he'd been in a magical coma for five years, "it's a school for supernatural kids, made from old Salvatore boarding house." He nods before looking up at me with a smirk, "professor Gilbert? I bet all the boys have school boy crushes on you." I shake my head at him, "professor Parker actually, and there may have been one or two school boy crushes." He laughs, "who could blame the poor lads, you are irresistible." I join in with his laughter. "Anyways I should probably get my kids ready to leave." I say taking a step back from him and watching the slight disappointment on his face.
I notice klaus watching the three girls play, "you don't need to be so nervous you know, she already loves you." I tell him making him turn around, "how can you be so certain?" He asks me, "well she tells me quite a bit, and all she's ever wanted was meet you plus she used to ask about you a lot, so I told her all the good things about you. You're not perfect klaus none of us are, but you're better than you think you are." He nods and gives me a small smile before pulling me in for a hug, "thank you." My arms wrap around him. "Ok now I gotta get ready to go." I tell him pulling away and making my way to the children.
"Ok girls go and pack your stuff, we're leaving soon." I say making all three girls look at me in disappointment, "but mom-" I shake my head already knowing what Arabella was going to say, "come on honey you know that you need to go back to school." I tell them making them huff, "Fine." She groans before stomping off towards the house, "aunty Thea do you have to go?" Hope asks me, "oh you know I'd spend all my time with you if I could sweetie, but you can use all of this time to get to know your dad." I tell her and she smiles and then nods, "yeah, aunty Thea I don't know why but I'm a bit nervous to speak to him." I smile and crouch down to her height, "it's ok honey, I think it's just because you've been wanting to meet him for a long time, your dad is a bit nervous to meet you too because he really wants you to like him, just how you want him to like you." She nods and then wraps her arms around my neck, "thanks aunty Thea." She mumbles, "it's ok sweetie, I'll see you soon ok?" She nods and then kisses my cheek, "ok."
***
I watched Klaus approach Hope with a smile as she slid a piece of paper over so that he could paint with her. "Girls have you got your things?" I ask walking into the house, I get upstairs to see that they weren't there, "girls?" I hear a small scream and then a bloody hell, I run to the kitchen to see Arabella, Kaiara, Rebekah and Kol.
Kaiara was the one who had screamed and was watching Kol with wide teary eyes, Kol was looking back at her with his own eyes wide, and I could see why, in his arms was the lady who had been compelled for brunch, he had blood of his chin and so he'd obviously been feeding off of her.
I drop to my knees and pull my crying daughter into me. "Hey, hey don't cry baby don't cry." I whisper frantically, kissing her head to try and calm her, "mommy, he-" I stroke her hair, "he's a friend Kaiara a good friend ok? You have nothing to worry about." I tell her pulling away to wipe her tears and push her hair back from her face, "gosh kaiara you're such a crybaby, grow up, he's just a vampire like mommy is." I give Arabella a pointed look over Kaiara's shoulder, "Arabella please be nicer to your sister." I say watching the young girl sigh and roll her eyes, "sorry." She huffs in the least authentic voice I've ever heard.
"Ok now you girls get your stuff in the car cause we're going." I tell them, making both nod, "I'll help you girls." Rebekah chimes taking both children out of the room leaving Kol and I.
He finally lets out a breath and moves from his frozen position. "I'm sorry Thea-" I shake my head, "it's ok, you didn't know that they were just going to come running in." I assure him making him grin, relived. "Well the dark haired one seems to be incredibly well adjusted." He says trying to lighten the mood, "she is, fearless and talks to many of the vampires at the school, Kaiara however is very shy and afraid of almost everything she also had separation anxiety to top it off." I tell him, "that sounds tough." I nod, "I love her to pieces but the girl cries at almost anything." I tell him watching a small smirk appear, "just like your sister then." He chuckles and I can't help but giggle.
"Want a sip?" He offers glancing down at the human on the ground, "no humans for me." I tell him shaking my head, "ah so you're still one of those Mary Sue vampires?" He questions, "Oh how I'll miss you and your kind words." I sigh in an over dramatic manner as he inches closer, "I think I'll miss you more Thea." He sighs pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. I look up not really knowing what to say as his face began to inch closer to mine. I can't help the almost gravitational pull that makes me lean in closer as well, our lips were in he's apart when, "come on mom." We both freeze before I pull back to look at Arabella who had interrupted, I noticed the cold look that she was giving Kol and sighed.
"Bye." I whisper before pressing a kiss to his cheek, he closes his eyes at the contact. "Bye Thea." Rebekah then enters, "by Bekah." I hum as she wraps her arms around me, "bye Thea, see you soon." I look over her shoulder at her brother and give him a soft smile, "see you soon."
"Say bye." I tell Arabella as I take her hand, "bye aunty Bex." She grins waving at Rebekah who grins in adoration and waves back, "bye." She says stiffly to Kol giving him a deadly glare, "Arabella, don't be rude." I murmur to her, she then pulls her hand out of mine and storms out of the room. "Sorry." I say looking back at the brother sister duo who shake their heads at me. "She's absolutely darling." Rebekah tells me, "she has that Thea Gilbert spark." Kol agrees, "I'd better go after her, see you guys." I leave the room but for some reason I stay outside the door for a second.
"Go after her you bloody idiot." Rebekah tells her brother who sighs, "I can't Rebekah." He replies in a sad tone, "and why not? What happened to 'Thea's my soulmate?'" I hear another sigh, "she was my soulmate, but I wasn't hers." I feel my heart hurt at his words, I did love Kol but I didn't know if I was ready for a relationship or if we'd even work out. "Oh Kol." Rebekah says, my feet gravitate back towards them and my hand hovers on the door handle. "Mom are we going now?" I'm pulled out of my daze and turn to Kaiara and smile, "yeah, have you said bye to everyone." She nods as I take her hand and we begin to walk away from the kitchen and away from Kol, I look back once to see him stood there already watching me sadly.
"Hey honey you go ahead and catch up to your sister I'll just be a second." I tell Kaiara, she nods and runs off in search for Arabella. "Thea what are you-" I take Kol's face in my hands and press my lips to his, he wastes no time in returning my affections his hands trailing to my waist as mine went to mess his hair up. "I love you Kol Mikaelson and I always will, but our time has passed. Maybe in another life." I whisper to him as I run a finger across his cheek.
His eyes shut as a sad smile makes it's way to his face as he nods, "I'll always love you too Thea Gilbert. You know where to find me if you change your mind." He whispers back affectionately leaving a soft kiss on my forehead. "Goodbye Kol Mikeaslon, loving you was probably one of the best things I've ever done." I tell giving him one more quick kiss before walking away without turning back.
***
After saying goodbye to everyone we were on the road on the way back home, Kaiara has fallen asleep but Arabella was still pouting in her seat, "bella what's wrong honey?" I ask glancing back at her in the rear view mirror, "are you in love with Kol?" She asks me making me look at her in shock, "Where is this coming from?" She looks at me in an accusatory way, "I saw you about to kiss him in the kitchen mom, are you just gonna forget about dad?" I look down feeling guilty as I thought of Kai. "Of course not Arabella I love your father so much, but he's gone baby." She looks up at me her big brown eyes so full of hope that I wanted to cry right there and then, "but he could come back." I decided to not crush her and I just nodded, "I want dad to come back." She tells me, "so do I."