••••••

"She's finally asleep." I sigh in relief, stepping out of the nursery room and back into Klaus' room. Klaus sits on his couch and stares into nothing, nodding his head in a nonchalantly manner as he takes another sip of his whiskey.

The events from yesterday still cross my mind. My short death seemed to haunt Klaus throughout the night and he wouldn't leave my side. I don't think it was just to keep me safe, but also for Klaus to process that I'm still here and alive.

Last night, we all decided that in order to keep my child safe, we would need to send her off where nobody will find her. Tomorrow Klaus and I will give her away to Rebekah and clean up the mess we've made here in New Orleans.

I take a seat next to Klaus on the couch and take a deep breath in. I face my body towards him and take his drink away from him, setting it down on the coffee table.

"Talk to me." I tell him and he sighs whilst turning his attention to me. "What is there to talk about, Maya?"

"Klaus, I know my death scared you and I know you have a lot on your mind. But, please, talk to me." I soften my voice. I don't want any thoughts to separate our growth.

"It did more than scare me. I've never met anyone quite like you before... someone who sees me for who I am and knows my past yet still accepts all of it. When I thought I lost you... a part of me had dispersed. It was then I realized that you truly are everything to me, Maya. I don't know how I could live without you."

At this point, I started chewing on my lower lip and my eyes welled up with tears. His fingers reach my cheeks to wipe away the tears that had fallen. "I didn't mean to make you cry." Klaus chuckles softly, his thumb tracing down to my jawline.

"No, it's okay..." I partly smile while wiping the rest of my tears off of my face. "I'm glad you told me that."

I clutch onto him, pulling him closer to me. His hand find its way to the back of my hair whereas the other wraps around my waist. "I love you, Klaus." I whisper to his ear.

"I love you too." he responds back, squeezing me once more before letting go. We part our ways, but our faces remain close together. I slowly lean in and so does he, until he pulls away with a sigh.

"What?" I question, confused. "It seems your friends have made a trip down here." he replies and I furrow my eyebrows, running out of his room and to the railings. I look down and spot my two best friends and sister.

My eyes widen in surprise. "Wh-what are you guys doing here?" I rush down the stairs to greet them in the main compound. "And how did you get in? This place is surrounded with guards."

"Oh, Maya! I've missed you so much. We came as soon as we heard the big news." Caroline pulls me into a big hug, jumping up and down. "One of the security guards thought I was you, so, they let us in." Elena giggles.

I give Elena and Stefan a hug before pulling away, feeling already so overwhelmed with happiness and excitement. "Bonnie wanted to come but she was stuck with her witchy business and as for Damon... I don't know, he didn't really give a reason." Elena tells me.

I sigh in disappointment. I didn't expect much from Damon if I'm being honest. The last time we saw each other, he had said goodbye to me and the way he said it had me believing I'd never see him again. Turns out I was right.

"So, where's my goddaughter?" Stefan asks with a big smile on his face. As soon as I was about to answer him, Klaus appears at the railing above us with our child in his hands, "Right here."

"I just put her to sleep, Klaus." I roll my eyes, pursing my lips. "Don't blame me, love. She was crying for her father." he grins and walks down the stairs, meeting us in the middle.

All three of them rush over to Klaus with hushed voices, making different types of baby noises to her. I let out a laugh at their reaction, watching them gush over the newborn.

"What's her name?" Caroline asks, lightly tapping on the baby. I purse my lips, staring back at Klaus for an answer. We briefly went over names before, but never exactly settled on one.

"Hope." he replies, "Her name is Hope."

§

Klaus steps out of the nursery after putting Hope down in her crib and joins me at the balcony. I take a deep breath of the fresh air and let the new emotions flood in.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing... it feels weird having them around. I'm a completely different person than who I was back in Mystic Falls and it doesn't feel the same anymore." I rant, not knowing exactly what I'm saying.

"Do you like this new person you've become?" Klaus asks and I nod reluctantly. "Yes. I never really felt like myself back at home, not until my parents passed away. But, then I met you and you made my life more exciting and... worth it." I confess, turning back to look at the street below me.

"I can say the same for you, love. Imagine a world where you're born to believe you're an abomination and that nobody would truly love you for who you are... that love is a weakness." Klaus tells me and I turn to him as his hands caress my cheek. "You taught me the exact opposite, Maya."

I give him a smile and exit the balcony and back into the room where he follows me in. Klaus sits on the couch with a grin on his face. I cross my arms and stare at him with a small smile forming on my lips. "What?"

"It's such a shame Damon Salvatore didn't come all the way down here again." he says, his creepy smirk never leaving his face. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, then realization hits. "Klaus, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, sweetheart! I payed him a visit months ago to set things straight... and it seems to have worked." Klaus responds while intertwining both his hands together and placing it on his lap.

"What the hell did you say to him?!" I retort, trying not to attract the guests downstairs with my voice. I walk to his door and close it, turning back around to face him.

"Hm..." Klaus puts his finger on his chin, pretending to think, "I didn't really say much. My actions were enough."

I honestly had no response to what just came out of his mouth and I didn't expect much either. Klaus had promise me that he wouldn't kill Damon, but I guess that didn't stop him from physically and mentally hurting him.

"I don't even want to look at you right now." I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. Poor Damon... I'm sure he's fine now but, I still take the blame for the damages he took because of me.

"Don't be dramatic, Maya. It was time he learnt his lesson."

"When will it end, Klaus? When will you stop terrorizing the people I love just for your own satisfactory?" I question him while running my fingers through my hair.

"My satisfactory?" Klaus stands up from his seating position and glares at me, "Everything I've ever done on your behalf was all for you."

"For me? I never asked you to visit Damon and taunt him for wanting me. He's my friend, Klaus. You can't just do whatever you want whenever you feel like it."

"Of course I can! A thousand years of living proved that theory to be correct." Klaus states with a gleam of humor as he speaks. 

"Time has changed. You better start realizing that." I tell him and turn away from his presence.

I take a step outside his room and sigh in frustration. I notice Caroline walking out of another room, shoving her cellphone in her pocket. She glances at me with a warm smile and I make my way over to her.

"Hey, Care. You didn't happen to hear everything, did you?" I question, walking down the stairs and she soon follows me. "Just a tiny bit... is everything okay between the two of you?" Caroline softens her eyes with a small frown.

"Yeah, I think so." I shrug and lead her into one of the study rooms, closing the two large doors after me. "We're still tying to heal after everything has happened to us recently."

I talk to Caroline on the phone almost everyday, so she's up to date with every problem we've encountered. Even though she's never physically here, she always knows what to say and I really appreciate it.

I let out an airy laugh and look around, "Where's Stefan and Elena?"

"They went to taste some New Orleans famous dishes." she answers and opens the doors, walking back into the main compound. I trail behind her, "Why didn't you come with?"

"I wanted to stay with you instead. You're probably so lonely here without us." Caroline frowns as her eyes searched the compound.

"I'm not always lonely. I have Klaus... Hayley, and sometimes Elijah. Yeah, that's it." My lips form into a straight line.

"Okay, if you say so." Caroline purses her lips with a raised eyebrow. "Just promise me you'll visit Mystic Falls more frequently? It just isn't the same without Maya Gilbert roaming around."

"I will try to! My only hope is that this family doesn't have anymore chaotic problems in the near future." I smile sarcastically, knowing something will probably pop up soon.

"Oh, my god. These are amazing!" I hear Elena's voice enter the compound with Stefan by her side. "Maya, if you visit home with every Louisiana treat, I will love you forever." My sister tells me while shoving a crumb cake in her mouth.

"I'll keep that in mind, Elena." I laugh.

§

Hours has passed and it was now nighttime. I'm sat down on one of the couches next to Klaus and the rest of my guests scatter themselves on the sofas with a glass of whatever alcohol they desire in their hands.

I haven't forgiven Klaus for what he has done, but I didn't want to create a scene in front of everyone so I opted to tolerate him just for the night and it seems to be going well.

All three of them have been informing me on every detail I've missed since graduation and I caught myself wishing I was with them but I wouldn't trade anything I have right now for the world.

Some were new information and some were old due to the fact that I do keep tabs on them once in awhile but recently I haven't had the chance and I'm extremely grateful they're here with me now.

Loud noises come from the front of the compound and all heads turn to the yelling and sounds of objects falling to the floor. "What the hell is going on?"

"M-Maya. Where is she? Is she-" I hear from a familiar voice. My mouth opens slightly in shock as I watch the two guards hold him by his arms and drag him over to us in full view.

"Damon? What are you doing here?" Elena asks, running over to him and the guards release him, muttering something to Klaus' ear before wandering off to their spot.

Klaus stares at him and only I can see the anger about to burst from him. Next thing I knew, Damon was smacked against the wall with Klaus' hands covering his neck tightly so he can't escape.

"Klaus! What are you doing?!" I gasp, standing up from my seat. Stefan moves forward but I stop him, unaware of what Klaus might do to him if he interferes.

"I thought I warned you about going near her again. What brings you here?" Klaus hisses and it's been awhile since I've seen so much anger and frustration come out of him to the point where I don't know what to do.

"Car-Caroline called me and said something happened to Maya." Damon says and Klaus releases him in an instinct causing Damon to take a deep breath, bending over in pain and Elena runs over to him in comfort.

"Caroline... I don't understand. There's a list of other reasons to bring Damon here." I cross my arms and stare at the blonde from across the room.

"Well, I kind of overheard you guys arguing and I don't know... it was the first idea that popped in my head! And I didn't want to believe what you said was true and now I'm second guessing myself." Caroline admits while biting her lips.

"What are you talking about?" Elena questions, looking at all of us for answers. I feel myself start to panic a little bit and my breathing begins to quicken.

A laugh slips out of Klaus' mouth in a dangerous way. "Of course! It all makes sense now. What is it with you Salvatore brothers breaking my compulsion for the Gilberts?"

He takes a seat on a sofa, leaning back and taking a sip of his whiskey. "I compelled dear old Damon to stay clear from Maya after I learned he tried to have a go at her... and yet here he is. It's pathetic, really... how he deceives the woman who loves him whilst still loving her very own sister."

I glare at Klaus, not even bothering to watch my friend's reactions from the news. I knew he said all of this on purpose for his own amusement and he doesn't even care if it hurts them.

The sound of my baby crying upstairs snapped me back into reality. Klaus gets up while placing his glass down. "Duty calls." he says and takes the stairs to calm her down. I wanted to join him, but I can't leave my friends like this after the truth was revealed.

"Is this true, Damon?" Elena asks on the verge of tears. Damon looks down to the floor with no response. My sister gets up and walks out of the compound with Stefan and Caroline behind her.

I walk over to Damon, sitting down next to him on the cold floor. "I thought we went over this already." I say after a short moment of silence.

"It's not easy, Maya. You're all I think about and I tried... I really tried to get you out of my mind but..." he trails on, his eyes still glued to the floor below him.

I take a deep breath and burry my head in my hands. I had no response to what he just said. How do you reply to something like that when you have zero feelings toward that person?

Footsteps awake my ears and I look up to find Hayley and Elijah staring at me with bewildered looks. "Why is your sister hysterically crying outside?" Hayley inquires.

Elijah took Hayley out the entire day to guide her through being a vampire since we don't want her getting out of control and going on a murdering spree.

I turn my head and find an empty spot next to me. Damon must've snuck away before the two of them could see him. I sigh, almost wanting to cry just like my sister. I breathe in and out of my nose before getting up.

"Just your average college drama... how was hunting?" I quickly change the subject but my mind wandered off as Hayley began to describe what she did that morning.

Damon definitely won't be coming back to Mystic Falls for awhile until he calms himself and waits for the water to settle down. I can only wait to see what the future brings us.