Christmas came around quickly, and while the threat of the prophecy was still looming over all of them, things seemed to be coming around. When Klaus saved Cami from Aurora, he managed to get the coordinates she had from her mind, which helped them to track down Rebekah when Marcel found out what the information they managed to get from Tristan meant. The compound had been fully decorated for the holiday, not only to make special for Hope and Mira, but because soon enough Rebekah would be there to celebrate with them. 

   "Audrey!" Jackson's voice yelled out.

   Audrey gently placed Mira down in her playpen, before she rushed over to Jackson, who was helping Freya into the courtyard. Her arm was wrapped up in Jackson's shirt, which had been made into a makeshift sling, the Mikaelson witch look weak and tired as she laid back on the couch. 

   "Oh God, Freya." Audrey sat down beside her and bit into her wrist, holding it in front of Freya. 

   Freya didn't hesitate, taking her wrist in her good hand and drinking from it, her wounds beginning to heal. "I got your text." Hayley let out, as she walked in quickly, pushing Hope in her stroller. "What happened?"

   "She got jumped." Jackson told the pair. "Three vampires, all dressed like yuppies."

   "Let me guess...Strix?" Audrey asked knowingly, earning a nod in confirmation. 

   Hayley lifted Hope from her stroller, and set her down in the playpen beside Mira, before she moved closer in concern. "You okay?" She asked Freya, who sighed in relief as she let go of Audrey's wrist, nodding. The Marshall-Kenner woman smiled a small smile, glancing toward her husband. "Kind of hard to ignore it when someone needs your help, huh?"

   Jackson made a face and went to respond, but Freya stopped him as she began to panic, everything that happened setting in. "They took it. The Serratura." She groaned, a mixture of pain and frustration filling her face as she explained. "I was meeting with a witch from the bloodline who built the lock. I was hoping she could help me destroy it, but it's not possible. She said the only way to get rid of it is to use it. We have to get it back and lock something else away. Anything but my family."

   "Great." Hayley nodded, sarcasm thick in her voice. "Why don't we pay Tristan a visit and ask him really, really nicely?"

   "He might bend if we grovel enough." Audrey muttered, rolling her eyes with a sigh. 

   "I'm afraid we have a far more urgent problem." Elijah announced as he walked in, a somber look on his face.

   "Well, to be fair," A familiar voice piped up, all four of them looking toward the entrance to see Rebekah, who smiled at them weakly. "I am the prettiest urgent problem you have ever seen." Rebekah moved and sat down beside her older sister, as Elijah explained to Freya what happened while they were on the way home, and about the mark they'd found on Rebekah's wrist. Carefully, Freya examined the large and irritated skull shaped mark on her sisters skin, Rebekah letting out a glum sigh. "Give me the bad news, Doc."

   "Aya's stake was cursed." Freya began, as they all listened to her nervously. "It infected you. As this mark grows, you will go mad. Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable ripper."

   The youngest Mikaelson sister sighed and rolled her eyes. "Aya always was thorough."

   "The Strix always employ a safeguard. In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt." Elijah turned toward Freya with a concerned expression. "Can you fix this?"

   Freya glanced from him down to the stake, narrowing her eyes at the words carved into the wood. "The spell is carved here. I can...I can reverse it." She quickly stands to her feet, her face filling with a dazed look as she does so. "I just...need some time...and a hell of a lot of magic."

   Before she can take a step, Freya's eyes roll back as she collapsed, falling into Elijah's arms. "She was fine. Audrey healed her." Jackson said worriedly, as Elijah gently laid Freya on the couch beside Rebekah. 

   "This scratch is not healed." Elijah says, noticing a small puncture mark weeping on her neck, and realization sets in. "This is poison. This is an assassination attempt."

   Each of them looked alarmed at this, as Hayley noticed something. "She's waking up." She alerted everything, as Freya began to stir in her seat. 

   Elijah held his hand out to Freya who took, squeezing it as she pulled herself to slowly sit up straight. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

   "I feel weak." She panted heavily.

   Jackson frowned, running his fingers through his hair. "Those vampires must have stabbed her with something."

   Elijah looked thoughtful for a moment. "So, the Strix are fond of this slow-acting poison. There is an antidote... If I can get my hands on it."

   As he left to make a call, Freya reached over and took Rebekah's cursed wrist, examining it again a moment before she looked at the remaining three. "For this, I'll need a pure silver knife, some white muskroot." 

   Hayley, Jackson, and Audrey each looked at one another. "I'll get the knife." The hybrid mother nodded.

   "I'll track down the root." Jackson agreed and made his way out of the courtyard.

   "Freya, you can barely float a feather right now, let alone save the world." Hayley voiced in concern.

   But Freya shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I'll channel Finn."

   Audrey blinked at that, shaking her head. "No offense, Freya, but that gives me even less confidence in this plan then I already had."

   Rebekah nodded in agreement, letting out a scoff. "Oh, lovely! My fate rests in the hands of our black sheep of a brother that we have trapped in a necklace! I'm sure he's just leaping to help."

   Freya sighed before turning to look at Rebekah. "Well, he's the only other powerful witch here, and you and I are out of options, sister." She stood up and walked away, leaving the three girls watching her go with a mixture of emotions on their faces. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   "Oh, look at her." Rebekah smiled in awe, making Audrey smile when saw the blonde sat on her and Elijah's bed, peaking into the nursery as Audrey closed the door. "She's gotten so big."

   "I know." Audrey nodded with a smile tugging at her lips. "The time has just been flying by so quickly with her. I wouldn't change a second of it, but is it bad of me to want her to stay this small forever?"

   Rebekah chuckled and shook her head, a smile of her own appearing. "Of course not. I think every mother makes that wish at some point." Holding her arms out, she pulled Audrey into a tight hug, who returned it with ease. "Bloody hell, I've missed you."

   "I've missed you too." The Gilbert girl mumbled, slowly pulling away from her. "It's good to have you home."

   "It's good to be home." The blonde said wholeheartedly, her eyes glancing over her shoulder. "Don't fret. I haven't gone full hellion yet." Audrey glanced and stepped out of the way, as Hayley joined the pair with a amused smile at that. "No more than usual."

   "Well, that's good. I wouldn't want to have to kick your ass before I got to hug you." Hayley mused, reaching and wrapping Rebekah in a tight hug of her own.

   "You know, we need to talk about your sartorial choices." Rebekah began when she pulled away, picking up a sweater laid on the bed. "This is positively darling."

   "Okay, I know you didn't find that in here." Audrey held her hands up. "We both know you've adjusted my wardrobe since we met to your liking."

   Rebekah smirked proudly at that. "No, I found this precious number in your room." She pointed a finger toward the Marshall-Kenner woman. 

   "That's not mine. That is Cami's." Hayley chuckled. "She has been staying here the past few nights. Actually...Jackson and I have our own place now. Although we still can't manage to stay out of Mikaelson drama."

   Slowly, the smile on Rebekah's face began to disappear, her expression growing cold. "You don't seem to mind the family drama when you need something from us, like a decent dress or a babysitter..." 

   Hayley's face falls in hurt, as Audrey looked at Rebekah in shock. "Excuse me?"

   But Rebekah seemed unfazed as she continued. "But when you're looking for someone to blame for your unhappiness, we seem to be the enemy." 

   "Rebekah." Audrey slowly began to shake her head, noticing how void of emotions she looked. "No, no. You're wrong, this isn't you."

   "You're right, Audrey. I am wrong." Rebekah nodded, and narrowed her eyes in on Hayley. "I believed we were the friends. Nearly sisters. But, the last time we spoke, you were planning on taking Hope away from this family forever." She starts to walk toward Hayley, who nervously leans away from her but doesn't move otherwise. "So where do you stand, Hayley? Are you friend? Are you family? Or perhaps..." She trails off before rushing and grabbing her by the throat, slamming her back into the walk roughly. Her face flaring out in rage. "You've been foe all along!"

   "Rebekah!" Audrey snapped, rushing behind and pushed herself between the pair, Hayley gasping in relief as she rubbed her throat.  "Enough!"

   "Be honest-- you want Klaus dead, don't you?" Rebekah continued to taunt, and this time, her eyes glanced between both of the girls.

   "Rebekah, I have been busting my ass trying to fight this prophecy, at the expense of my own family." Hayley defended adamantly.

   Rebekah let out a bitter laugh, her eyes falling solely on the Gilbert girl. "What about you, Rey? You do, deep down, don't you?" She stepped closer, tilting her head at her. "After all, you have died because of Nik how many times now? He's the reason you became a vampire. He's the main reason you lost your siblings." She took a strand of her hair between her fingers, twirling it as Audrey watched her uneasily. "Poor, poor, Audrey Gilbert. The doppelganger no one asked for, who constantly needs protecting by big brother, even from his own family."

   Audrey tried to hide her hurt, pushing it down as she knew this wasn't Rebekah. This was the dark magic. "Rebekah, stop it."

   "You two tore my brothers apart." She pointed between the two mothers menacingly. "If they turn on each other as the prophecy suggests..." Her vampire face flared out once again, pure rage and anger taking over. "It's because of you both!" She snarled, rushing and shoving the two girls through the wood and glass door and onto the balcony, the shattered glass and wood sending the three tumbling over the balcony railing. 

   Audrey let out a low groan, placing her hands flat on the ground as she pushed herself up to her feet, bits of broken glass falling off of her clothing. Rebekah was too her feet next, growling ferociously with her eyes completely black, as Hayley jumps up defensively with her own face transformed. The blonde Mikaelson rushed and kicked the Marshall girl in the stomach before hitting her across the face, sending her spinning and crashing back onto the ground. Audrey rushed grabbed Rebekah's arm, twisting it back and pushing her back away from Hayley, kicking her in the stomach as she tried to lunge closer again. 

   As Hayley scrambled back to her feet, Rebekah went to lunge at Audrey, but Elijah appeared in front of her and grabbed a hold of his sister's arms to roughly hold her back. "Listen to me. Listen to me!" He ordered calmly, as Rebekah continued to struggled furiously against his grip. Elijah didn't falter, shaking her in an attempt to gain her attention from the two girls. "Rebekah, look at me! Rebekah!" Reluctantly, Rebekah looks Elijah in the eyes. "Control yourself."

   Rebekah sighs and closes her eyes, and when she opens them, the black has disappeared and they've returned to their usual state of white and blue. "Dear brother...I have control." She breathed out calmly.

   Elijah nodded in relief, letting her go. "Good."

   Just then, Rebekah's eyes go black again, and she hits Elijah under the chin with the heel of her hand so hard that it nearly snaps his neck. He falls to the floor, not expecting such a reaction, which allows Rebekah to turn her sights back on Hayley and Audrey. Neither girl had chance to do anything as she rushed at them again, thrusting her hands forward and into each of their chests, gripping tightly onto their hearts. 

   "Aah!" Audrey gasped as she choked in pure agony, blood pulling on her shirt.

   "REBEKAH!" Klaus suddenly rushed into sight, wrapping his hands around her wrists to stop her ripping their hearts out. "Not them." He forces Rebekah to release their hearts, and they gasp in relief as their bodies starts to heal. When Rebekah sees Cami trying to check on them, she spins around and tries to lunge for her as well, forcing Klaus to hold onto her arm tightly and pull her away. "Not her either!"

   He forces Rebekah backward and slams her on top of the dinner table, smashing everything that was laid out on top of it in the process. Cami passes a briefcase over to Hayley with a knowing look, who nodded and ran upstairs, leaving Cami and Audrey to watch as Klaus held his sister down. "Aah! Dear, sweet Cami. You're so afraid that you'll ruin her--" Rebekah uses all of her strength to throw herself onto her feet, though Klaus still has his arms on her to hold her back. "-- You keep her behind glass like some breakable object." Klaus, horrified, looks back at Cami while he holds Rebekah back, and Cami looks hurt by Rebekah's words. "She's not precious, Nik. Every woman that you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison." She laughs bitterly. "She'll grow toxic, too." She suddenly shoves Klaus back, as Elijah recovers and stands to his feet beside his brother, both of them glaring angrily toward her. "So will Audrey."

   When she lunges toward them, Klaus and Elijah each grab one of her arms and throw her back onto the dinner table, where she struggles against their hold as they pin her down. Just then, a still-weak and bloodied Freya rushes toward them as fast as she can with an blade in her hand. "Hold her."

   Klaus and Elijah do what they were told and pin Rebekah down as hard as they can as Freya comes up and slices the patch of skin with the cursed skull weal on it off of Rebekah's wrist with the knife and chants the spell, though Rebekah screams so loudly her incantation is unintelligible. Finally, once it's done, Rebekah goes limp as her body starts to heal from the injury. Her eyes close for a moment, and Elijah and Klaus hesitantly let go of her and back away. After a moment, Rebekah begins to stir again, and she groans as she comes to and sits up. Klaus, Elijah, and Freya all look at her with concern, though they are relieved that her eyes are no longer black as they were. Finally, Rebekah speaks in a sarcastic voice. "Well, that was annoying."

   Freya sighs in relief, and Klaus can't help but chuckle at her. After a moment, Rebekah smiles a cheeky smile, as Elijah pulled Audrey into his arms, the Gilbert girl closing her eyes as she rested against him in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   After the chaos that ensued, everyone was determined to try and make the most out of what was rest of the day, and celebrate the holiday together. Showered and changed, Audrey smiled as she looked at Mira, who she had laid on her and Elijah's bed while she was changing her. Mira smiled as she reached her hands up to her mother, indicating that she wanted to be picked up. 

   "Come here, pretty girl." Audrey spoke softly, lifting her into her arms. She straightened out the red bow headband on her head, which matched the lace white floral baby grow and red tutu skirt she was wearing. "Merry Christmas, Mira." She whispered, pressing a kiss on her forehead. 

   "Look at you both." Elijah smiled as he walked into the room, looking at his two girls in awe. "Beautiful."

   Mira cooed and Audrey smiled at him, leaning in to Mira's ear. "Is that daddy?" She whispered, as Mira reached out for him. Elijah chuckled and took her in his arms, kissing Audrey passionately as he did so. "Merry Christmas, Elijah." She mumbled against his lips.

   "Merry Christmas, my love." He breathed out, reluctantly pulling away after a moment. His eyes fell onto their daughter, kissing her hand as she reached out to touch his face. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

   "Her first Christmas." Audrey gave a small smile, gently stroking her thumb on Mira's cheek. "It's definitely been a memorable one."

   "Perhaps not the best start." Elijah admitted with a nod. "But we'll make it better." With that said, he held his spare hand out to Audrey, raising a brow. "Ready, my love?"

   Audrey smiled and took his hand. "Let's go."

   With that, the family of three made their way downstairs to the living room, where everyone was all waiting. Freya eagerly held her hands out for her niece, and Elijah chuckled and passed Mira over to her, moving to place some presents underneath the tree. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Audrey turned to see Klaus behind her, offering one of the two glasses of wine in his hand. He offered her a small smile, a hopeful look in his eyes. Nothing had been the same between them since Audrey turned, not with how unwilling he was to admit what he'd done wrong, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever been able to forgive him. If it wasn't for Gia, she might have died for good that day. She'd never have been able raise her daughter. Letting out a small sigh, she pushed it all aside for the night, accepting the glass of wine with a small smile. Almost instantly, his smile grew at the small step in progress, kissing her cheek as he handed it to her. 

   Their friendship would never be anywhere close to what it used to be, but it could get better than what it had now turned into. It was just going to take time. 

   Klaus then moved to where Jackson stood with Hayley and Hope, holding another glass of wine out to the Kenner man. "Thank you for helping Freya." He told him gratefully, his kindness earning a look of surprise from Jackson. "Unfortunately, we're all out of mason jar moonshine."

   As Klaus snickered at his own joke, Jackson gave a small smile of amusement, making Rebekah smirk as she joined them all. "Well, Nik, you are positively merry tonight." She mused, stopping as she looked over at Cami. "All that therapy must be paying off."

   Suddenly, the happy look on Klaus's face morphs into one of horror, as he catches sight of something over Rebekah's shoulder. "Oh, no!" He protested instantly.

   "Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire, but I improvised." Rebekah smiled innocently, glancing over at the metal fire bowl she'd set up in the courtyard. "Come on, it's tradition!"

   Cami looks around in confusion. "Tradition?"

   Klaus let out  sigh as he looked at her. "We write our wishes and then burn them for luck. Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year..."

   Elijah merely smirked as he sipped his drink. "How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty list."

   As everyone else continued to celebrate in the living room, Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah moved to the fire pit she'd set up in the courtyard, Rebekah glancing at the wish she'd written down. Her eyes glanced over the words once more, before she tossed it into the fire, glancing between her older brothers nervously.

   "One of us is still meant to fall by family." She spoke anxiously.

   "Right now, what concerns me is our enemies." Klaus said. "They have the weapon they intend to use against us. They cannot know that we found you, Rebekah. Our best advantage is if they believe you are lost at sea."

   Realizing what that meant, Rebekah's face fell sadly. "Then I can't stay, can I?"

   Both Klaus and Elijah looked down sadly at that, neither of them wanting her to leave. Rebekah glanced over her shoulder toward the living room, where everyone sat on the floor beside the tree, laughing and smiling as they helped Hope and Mira unwrap their presents. Elijah glanced to see what she was looking at, and a small smile pulled on his lips as he watched his daughter and Audrey. It grew a little as he saw the present Mira had opened, a white bear bear security blanket he'd gotten for her, which has her name stitched in the corner in gold thread. Her little eyes lit up as she held the bear, babbling happily as she hugged the bear to her chest. 

   Hope looked over curiously as the sound of her cousin, clutching one her new toys in her hands. She waddled over and sat down beside Mira, wrapping her small arms around her, which made Mira coo even more happily. Both Hayley and Audrey awed at their daughters, Hayley moving to sit beside the Gilbert girl with a content smile, resting her head on her shoulder as they watched their daughters play together.

   Feeling his eyes on them, Audrey looked over at him with warm and loving smile, which he returned before he put his focus back on his siblings.

   "It's okay." Rebekah sighed, forcing a smile despite it all. "My wish already came true." She lifts her hands up to Elijah and Klaus, who take them and squeeze them tightly. "We have this moment." 

   And despite the prophecy looming over all their heads, they'd enjoy this moment and treasure it forever, hoping one day they'd be able to have more.

I loved this episode when it aired, and I loved how it's turned out writing it. The picture is of what Elijah got Mira for Christmas, which I thought was just too cute. Something she'd been able to hold onto for years to come. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out tomorrow, if not, it will be out Thursday. Simply because I'm working all day Tuesday and Wednesday. 

I hope you all enjoyed!