"I can't believe you talked me into this."

   In Hayley's room, she and Audrey stood looking in the mirror, the two having so far spent the morning trying on old wedding dresses. It was the day of the Casket Girl celebrations in New Orleans, in memory of young women who traveled from France once to marry New Orleans gentlemen. Over the years, the story had became an excuse for the people of New Orleans to celebrate, dressing up in things like old wedding dresses and partying till the sun rose the next day. Despite still being allowed to leave the compound, Hayley had dug up some old wedding dresses for them to try on, wanting to get in the mood of the celebrations happening around them. 

   "It's better than sitting around doing nothing." Hayley shrugged, looking at herself in the mirror, as Audrey helped her fasten her dress. "So, we can't go to the actual festivities tonight. Doesn't mean we can't have fun." She ran her hands over the material of her dress, turning to side as they rested on her growing baby bump. "There probably weren't many pregnant casket girls."

   "Probably not." Audrey admitted, giving her smile. "But you look great either way."

   Hayley grinned at her through the mirror, before moving in the direction of the door. "Time to see how women manage to pee in these dresses." She mused, earning a snicker from Audrey as she walked away. 

   Moving into the spot where Hayley once stood, Audrey looked at her own reflection in the mirror, doing a small twirl in the dress she wore. It was a short lace dress, that had long lace sleeves to it. Compared all the ones Hayley managed to find, the Gilbert girl found herself liking this one the most, compared to all the long and big skirted ones. Moving her hair off to one side, she reached her hands behind her back, trying to reach the zip to do it up. 

   "Would you like some help?"

   In the mirror, she could see Elijah now stood in the open doorway behind her, watching her carefully. Audrey stared back at him for a long moment, before slowly nodding. "If you don't mind..."

   "It's no bother." Walking up behind, Elijah gently began to pull the zipper of the dress up. Feeling his fingers trailing against her skin, Audrey bit down on her lip, swallowing the lump in her throat. Their eyes locked through the mirror, as he carefully did the button up at the top, moving her hair so it fell down her back once more. "You look beautiful." He said softly, his eyes not once leaving hers. 

   "Thanks." She mumbled, her fingers playing with the skirt of the dress nervously.

   She knew that he and Rebekah had moved into the compound, having apparently set things right with Klaus. Audrey had managed to avoid Elijah up until now, though she got the feeling he'd been avoiding her too, after their short encounter the night before. Just like the night before, both of them had a million things that they wanted to say to one another, but neither of them knew how to say it. 

   "You know, if you  wish to attend tonight's festivities, I'd be more than happy to escort you." He offered after a moment. Gently, he reached his hand forward to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his look softening even more. "There are some things we need to discuss."

   Audrey bit her lip. "Hayley can't go, so I was going to stay behind with her." She admitted, unable to help the feeling she got as the disappointment became clear on his face. She knew she shouldn't feel guilty, he was the one that put them in this position. "But we do need to talk, so...later, yeah?"

   "Of course." He nodded, managing a small smile. "I'll come find you later." 

   "Great." She gave a small smile back. "Could you...?" She gestured to her dress zipper once again.

   He gave a small nod, and gently pulled the zipper back down, hesitating behind her for a moment. Slowly, Audrey turned her head so their eyes met, both of them leaning in closer to one another. 

   "Audrey!" Hayley's voice called from the bathroom. "I can't get this undone."

   Smiling awkwardly, both Audrey and Elijah pulled away from one another, Elijah looking at her a moment before he walked out of the room. Audrey stayed stood still for a moment, staring at where he stood as she thought about what happened, before she walked away to help Hayley. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   While Audrey had heard about Davina Claire, despite her now living in the compound instead of the church attic, she had yet to actually meet her. News that she had disappeared had spread rather quickly, with Klaus, Marcel, and Elijah all trying to figure how to deal with the situation. Hayley, Audrey, and Rebekah stood on the opposite of the courtyard balcony, rifling through an old chest filled with dresses, the three only knowing whatever they could hear the boys talking about. 

   "So the witch is missing, huh?" Hayley asked, glancing at Rebekah. 

   Rebekah nodded. "Walked right out of the front door, apparently." She narrowed her eyes, noticing a guilt and nerve ridden look appearing on Hayley's face. "Know anything about it?" 

   "No." The Marshall girl shook her head, biting her lip. "Although I did tell her that the witch elders are dead."

   "Well, why would she care, when the witches tried to kill her in their ritual?" Rebekah asked in confusion.

   "I think it was more that Marcel didn't tell her that the one thing preventing her from being free had been eliminated." She admitted after a moment.

   "Hayley..." Audrey trailed off with a sigh.

   Rebekah just stared at her. "So you are the reason she's run off."

   Hayley held her hands up innocently. "Hey, I was just telling her the truth. She's the one who realized they were just using her to keep their control over the witches." She pointed out.

   Rebekah sighed, her eyes glancing back over at where Klaus and Marcel where stood. "Yeah, well, I've never been a big fan of boys club." She said. "Just wait, Elijah will join them and the three of them will be impossible." She said knowingly, shaking her head. "Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, threatened by Klaus. Just like a modern day casket girl."

   Hayley and Audrey glanced at each other, both of them picking up easily on what she was saying. "Are you talking about Davina or yourself?" Hayley couldn't help but ask.

   Rebekah looked back at them. "Does it matter?" She asked. "Either way, us girls have got to stick together." She then focused her gaze on Audrey. "Speaking of the stupidity of men..." She began. "Has he spoken to you?"

   "A bit." Audrey gave a small nod. "We said we were going to talk about it later, but now Davina's missing, I'm guessing that won't happen"

   "I don't know about that." Rebekah told her, giving her a look. "Now he's realized how much of an idiotic arse he's been, he's rather determined to fix his mistakes. Don't count him out just yet."

   "Yeah, I guess." She nodded again, looking down.

   Rebekah frowned at the look she wore, opening her mouth to question it when she noticed the three were leaving, and a thought came to mind. "There's something I need to do." She said, looking at the Marshall and Gilbert girl. "Stay here, I'll be back." 

   As Rebekah walked away, Hayley looked at Audrey, crossing her arms over her chest. "Alright, what's wrong?"

   "There's nothing wrong." Audrey sighed, leaning against the wall behind her as she rubbed her face. "I just don't want to get my hopes up." She told her, and Hayley made a face of confusion. "Earlier, something happened. Well, nearly happened. And it gave me hope." She said honestly. "But I don't want to have hope, because what if I just read the signs wrong? What if ends up just sticking with the decision he already made?"

   "Then for the first time, myself, Klaus, and Rebekah will all agree on something, and kick his ass." The werewolf shrugged seriously, making a small smile twitch on her lips. "Like Rebekah said, don't count him out yet. Elijah's a good guy, especially when it comes to you. Things are going to work themselves out."

   "I was wrong." Audrey looked at her. "When I said you remind me of my sister, I was wrong. You're not like her." She told her honestly. "Because you're actually on my side." Giving her a smile, Audrey walked away to head upstairs, leaving Hayley watching her with a smile of her own.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Audrey managed to keep herself out of what was going on. Keeping her promise to stay at the compound with Hayley, she kept herself busy around the compound, though Hayley didn't stick around as planned. She convinced the night-walkers watching her to take her to the plantation, wanting to go pick up some stuff she'd left behind there. Audrey offered to go with her, but Hayley was instant she could manage it alone, leaving the Gilbert girl with nothing to do but sit around in her room. 

   She heard about how things had ended with Davina, and even though now she was back within the compound, she was angrier at Marcel and Klaus more than ever. The night had ended with the boy she liked dead, after Klaus compelled him to drink poison and get Davina to do the same, after deeming she could no longer be trusted. It was only because of a protection spell Davina was still alive. 

   Standing out on her balcony, Audrey watched as the festivities still carried on out on the streets, Elijah silent as he walked to stand in the doorway behind her. His eyes watched her for a long moment, searching for the right words to say. The longer that he looked at her, there were only three words that came to mind. 

   "I love you." He spoke up, causing her to turn to look at him. Her brown eyes locked with his, and Elijah stepped closer, gently reaching for her hands. "I was wrong with what I did before. I thought that I was protecting you, that I was doing what was best for you, and I was wrong. All I did was hurt you, and if I am honest, I hurt myself." He admitted honestly. "We have been without each other before, and I do not want to go through that again."

   Audrey's face softened. "Elijah--"

   "Wait. Please." He said gently, and dropped her hands to her sides, though his eyes didn't leave hers. He reached his hand into his jacket pocket, and he pulled the black he'd been holding onto for months out. Audrey's eyes widened as she noticed it, her mouth opening but no words coming out. "I had this since your prom, even before that. Waiting for the right moment to give it to you." He told her. "And I've realized there never will be a perfect moment. What I do know is, I wish to marry you. You have been a Mikaelson for a while now already, that will never change." Elijah looked at her emotionally, lifting the box open to reveal the ring that sat inside. "Audrey Gilbert, you are everything to me. I am sorry for the mistakes I have made with you, and I give you my word, I will never make them again. I wish to spend my life with you, build a future with you. Be by your side, always and forever. Will you do me the honor o--"

   "Yes." The words tumbled from her lips with no hesitation, tears forming the corners of her eyes. All the doubt she felt earlier slipped away, almost as if it had never been there at all. All that was clear to Audrey in that moment, was that she loved him. A feeling she knew would never fade, and while she was still upset about what he had done, there wasn't a reason to for her to believe he didn't mean every word he said. "Of course I'll marry you."

   Taking the ring from the box, he carefully slipped it onto her finger, before he cupped her face in his hands. Their foreheads leaned together, and not hesitating any longer, he kissed her. In that moment, the rest of the world around them completely faded away, and all that mattered was that they had each other again. 

   And no matter what would happen, they always would. 

Surprise??

I actually updated after over a months wait, and I brought them back with an actually happy chapter? Honestly, seeing them hurting was hard to write, I just want them happy. They do need to talk through properly what happened between them, and they will. Just for now, I'm giving them this. 

Audrey Gilbert is going to become Audrey Mikaelson! 

I will hopefully update again soon, thank you all for dealing with how lacking updates have been lately. This episode was so hard to write for some reason, but by not really involving Audrey much in the episode events themselves, I managed to produce something I was proud of. 

I hope you all enjoyed!

And for those curious, below is what I picture Audrey's ring to look like.