In the living room, Rebekah walks in to find her brothers sat on opposite couches, each with a open book in their hands. The body of dead girl laid on the coffee table between them, blood dripping from the wound on her neck to the floor, classical music playing from the stereo. Crossing her arms across her chest, Rebekah walked closer, looking between the pair in disbelief.

   "So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family?" She raised a brow. "Vampire book club?"

   Klaus didn't glance up from the page he was reading. "Reading edifies the mind, sister. Isn't that right, Elijah?"

   "Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus." Elijah agreed, turning the page of the grimoire in his hands. 

   "And what's this business?" The blonde nodded to the dead body. 

   Elijah finally glanced up, his eyes flickering from his sister to the body of the girl. "This is a..." He gestures, searching for the word with a frown. "...peace offering."

   Klaus sighed slightly. "I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish."

   "And I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth." Elijah said with annoyance in his tone, as Klaus rolled his eyes with guilt. "Not this nonsense." He waved off. 

   "Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?" The original hybrid defended, a grin tugging at his lips. 

   Taking a deep breath, Rebekah gritted her teeth and scowled. "Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin, because she's staining a two hundred-year-old carpet."

   Elijah glanced up as she stormed out, looking to see the blood dropping onto the floor. "Ah, yes." He nodded.

   Audrey blinked as she walked in, glancing at Rebekah who walked past her into the kitchen, a seething look on her face. "Do I want to know?" She asked, noticing the dead body laid across the table.

   "Not particularly." Elijah looked up with a smile, closing the book and taking her hands as she walked in front of him. Gently, he pulled her closer, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. "Did you sleep okay?" He asked when he reluctantly pulled away.

   "Best I've slept in months." Audrey said honestly, the smile she wore making his own grow. "I'm going to get some breakfast." She hummed, pecking his lips once more before she left to the kitchen, Elijah's eyes not leaving her till she was out of sight. 

   "Hey." Hayley smiled at her, the Marshall girl standing in front of the open fridge as Audrey walked in. "Listen, I know you and I are the only ones in this house that actually drink milk, but would kill anyone to make sure it's on the grocery list?"

   The Gilbert girl smiled in amusement, perching herself on the counter. "I'll make a list today and make sure we have some."

   "Speaking of, add bleach." Rebekah adds as she stomps past them, dragging an empty trashcan behind her to the living room.

   Hayley blinked, glancing at Audrey. "Why is she...?"

   "Long story." Audrey shook her head. "Best not to question it."

   "Right." Hayley nodded, before she moved from the fridge to the freezer, pulling out a tub of ice-cream. 

   Audrey didn't question it, pulling open a draw and digging out two spoons, and handing one to Hayley as put the tub down on the counter. The two girls clinked their spoons together, before taking a spoonful of ice-cream each, digging into it happily. "You know," Elijah began as he joined them, raising an questionable brow at their food choice. Audrey just gave him an innocent look, as she took another spoonful, making him chuckle as he looked at Hayley. "I do hope my siblings were hospitable to you in my absence."

   Hayley lowered her spoon from her lips. "In your absence, as you like to call it-- which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart--" She begins, as Elijah places two bowls and a bag of cereal down on the counter, removing the ice-cream from their reach. "I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, I've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and I was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced my baby is Lucifer."

   "Nope." Audrey hummed. "That's just her father."

   "I heard that!" Klaus shouted.

   Audrey rolled her eyes. "I don't care!"

   Elijah smiled as he pulled orange juice and milk from the fridge, pouring them each a bowl of cereal, filling them with milk. The pregnant werewolf freezes as she watches, a sheepish smile appearing on her face. "Oh... milk." She pauses for a moment, pushing her embarrassment aside. "They've been fine. Your siblings are weirdly protective, and Audrey has been keeping your promise the entire time you've been gone."

   "I'm just happy to see you're both in one piece." Elijah said honestly, pressing his lips to Audrey's forehead softly. "So, back to the murderous witches. I have some concerns."

   "They're evil." Hayley said with worry in her eyes. "And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is not comforting."

   Elijah nodded in understanding. "Yes, I think it's time we took care of that little problem."

   "I am all for it." Rebekah grinned as she came back in, this time dragging the corpse of the dead girl behind her. " As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town. Who do we have to kill?"

   "Probably no one." Elijah told her, earning skeptical looks from Audrey and Hayley. He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Alright, potentially everyone." He gave in, placing a hand on the small of Audrey's back as she took her bowl of cereal. "Come, my love." He hummed, guiding her back through into the living room.

   "Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees." They hear Rebekah say as they entered, the blonde sat scrubbing the blood stained carpet, glancing at the book Klaus was still reading. "Looks like someone's worried about impending daddy-hood."

   "Nonsense." Klaus brushed off, shaking his head. "Elijah's back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie-dust and float away!" Rebekah side-eyes him and grins, and Klaus grins back.

   "Not all problems." Audrey mused as she sat down on the couch, pushing her spoon around her bowl. "You're still here."

   Klaus gave her a look, opening his mouth to retort as Elijah cut him off. "Strange, I don't recall any pixie-dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure."

   Rebekah looks at him as he reopens the grimoire, carefully removing some pages from it. "What are you doing with Mother's spellbook?"

   "Well, in exchange for my freedom, I promised the witch Davina that I would share a few pages from Mother's grimoire." He explained to the three. "To help her learn to control her magic. I thought we'd begin with a little unlinking spell."

   Klaus, Rebekah, and Audrey look at one another in confusion for a moment, before a look of realization appeared on Rebekah's face. "Wait, you want to use her to unlink Hayley from Sophie Deveraux?" She asked in a stunned tone.

   "Sophie brought us here under false pretenses. She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions, she wants to take Davina back. So, she yolked her own cause to ours with magic, threats, and half-truths. Well, no more. As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void." Elijah stated, as the three listen in disbelief. "Niklaus, I need you to come with me. I need five minutes alone with Davina. You need to make certain that I am not interrupted." He points to Rebekah and thinks for a moment before giving his order. "You stay here and watch Hayley. My love--" 

   "Coming with both of you." She said quickly, putting the bowl down and getting to her feet. 

   "What? You can't leave me alone!" Rebekah looks at her in betrayal, annoyance filling her face. "How did I get elected super-nanny?"

   "More importantly, who put him in charge?" Klaus mutters, before reluctantly following him and Audrey out the door. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Once Elijah had delivered the unlinking spell to Davina, the two Originals and Audrey made their way to Rousseau's to find Sophie, only to find Sabine unconscious on the kitchen floor. Elijah stepped in front of the witch as she began to stir, holding his hand out to help her up. "What happened?" He questioned gruffly. 

   "It was Agnes." Sabine groans as she rubbed her head, looking around. "Her men took Sophie."

   Klaus leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Day one with you in charge, brother, and already the witch linked to Hayley has been abducted by zealots."

   "Yes, because everything was running so smoothly with you in charge." Audrey rolled her eyes as she stood beside him. 

   Elijah ignored his brother, focusing on Sabine. "Where is she?"

   "If I tell you where Agnes is, you'll just kill her." Sabine said knowingly.

   "Isn't that obvious?" Klaus shot back. 

   "Look, I know she's a little... coo-coo, but she's our last living Elder." Sabine explained to them with a sigh, looking toward Elijah hopefully. "That might not mean a lot to you, but it means plenty to us. The Elders are the only ones who can do important spells."

   "Like completing the Harvest ritual?" Elijah asked.

   Sabine looked at the suited Original in surprise. "You know about that?"

   "Oh, you'd be astounded by the things I know." He told her with a knowing look.

   "Allow me to entertain you with today's list of priorities." Klaus began, stepping in front of the witch. "One, unlink your friend Sophie so she no longer controls the fate of the woman carrying my child. Two, convince my brother to accept my heartfelt apologies for some recently dodgy behavior. Three, convince his beloved to also accept my apologies for some even more so dodgy behavior. Four...there is no four."

   Elijah stepped in again. "I believe what my brother is attempting to communicate here is that neither the life of this Elder, nor the Harvest ritual, nor your coven's connection to magic are of any relevance to him whatsoever." He told her bluntly, and Sabine face fell, knowing she didn't have any choice in the matter. "Now talk."

   Reluctantly, Sabine directed them to one of the places Agnes tended to hide out in the cemetery. When they found the tomb, they found Sophie inside, chained up to the back wall. Exchanging a look, Elijah and Klaus break the chains to free her, the Deveraux witch rubbed her neck with a groan of discomfort. 

   "Agnes stuck me with a needle. Cursed objects were created a long time ago." She explained, perching on a stone bench as they looked at her expectantly. "We use them so we don't get busted by Marcel for doing magic. The one she used is called the Needle of Sorrows. It was cursed in 1860 when..."

   Klaus cuts her off. "Jump ahead a few decades and tell us what it does, love."

   "It only has one purpose." Sophie did as instructed. "To kill a child in utero by raising her blood temperature."

   The three look at her stunned, her words processing in their heads. "It's used to cause miscarriages?" Audrey questioned in disbelief, earning a nod from Sophie.

   "So, how much time do we have?" Elijah questioned.

   "It will do what it's meant to by tonight's high tide." Sophie informed them honestly. "And believe me, it will work. I saw her use a similar object on a kid who went mad and killed a bunch of priests."

   The furious look on Klaus's face darkened even more at this information. "I'd like to have a chat with this Agnes. Where can I find her?"

   "You won't." The witch shook her head. "There are a thousand places she could hole up to wait it out."

   "That's precisely why we need to unlink you from Hayley." Elijah said firmly at that. "No more danger toward her or the child."

   Sophie quickly shook her head at the thought, looking at him in confusion. "No, what? If I am not linked to Hayley, I lose my leverage on you. We had a deal!" She protested.

   "We are not on the same side, Sophie Deveraux. Our deal no longer stands." He tells her bluntly, earning a scoff of outrage in response.

   Audrey felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and she checked it, looking up at Elijah in worry after she read it. "Hayley's starting to feel the effects. Rebekah needs us back."

   "Go." Klaus tells the couple, already making his way toward the exit. "I'm going to see how good at hiding this Agnes truly is."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   When the couple brought Sophie back the compound, they went upstairs to see Hayley laid in bed, with Rebekah sat on her side. It wasn't hard to see how hot the werewolf had became, Rebekah pressing a wet cloth to her forehead, trying to help bring down her growing temperature. Sending Rebekah out for a list of ingredients, Sophie did what she could to try and keep Hayley's temperature down, but it was only getting worse. When it became clear they were running out of time, Sophie came up with a plan that would hopefully buy them some more time. 

   Wrapped in a towel, Hayley sat shakily at the edge of the pool, Audrey and Rebekah doing their best to keep her calm. "She's burning up." Elijah shrugged off his suit jacket, rolling up his sleeves. "We need to do this now."

   Sophie nodded, quickly finishing what she was doing with the herbs Rebekah fetched her. "Get her in the pool."

   "You're gonna be okay." Audrey assured gently, helping Hayley carefully into the pool, as Elijah got in and reached for the Marshall girl. 

   "I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help." Rebekah looked toward Sophie skeptically. 

   "Her temperature is sky high." Sophie follows joins Hayley and Elijah in the pool, mixing the herbs she had in a cup rapidly. "The water, with the help of the herbs, should cool us down." She hands the cup over to Hayley. "Drink this." She ordered before looking at Elijah. "You're going to have to get her heart rate down."

   Elijah looked at her in confusion. "How do you suggest I do that?"

   "Hold her." Sophie ordered, as Hayley quickly downed the herbal concoction. "It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

   "This is never going to work." Rebekah said worriedly.

   Elijah picks up Hayley bridal style, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck as she gasps for breath, clinging onto him tightly. "Davina will break the link, we just need time."

   "I can't breathe!" Hayley cried, starting to hyperventilate. 

   "Okay, long deep breaths, Hayley." Elijah said to her calmly, gently tilting her head so that their eyes met. "Look at me. Long deep breaths, just focus on the sound of my voice." He lowers his voice to a whisper. "You'll be okay. You'll be okay." Hayley looks at him for a long moment, swallowing hard as she tried to control her breathing like he instructed, until she begins to scream and thrash in pain. She doubles over in his arms, her hands clutching as her stomach as she cried. 

   Sophie's eyes glance upwards from what was happening, her face falling slightly. "I just felt it lift."

   Rebekah sighed in relief, as Audrey looked at Sophie. "Are you sure?"

   Carefully, Elijah sets Hayley to her feet as she starts to calm down, the Marshall girl still leaning against as she gathered herself. Removing one of her earrings, poking it into her palm to make herself bleed, her words being confirmed as the same mark didn't appear on Hayley's hand. Davina had managed to break the link just in time. 

   "Come on, let's go." Elijah said, leading Hayley back to the edge of the pool. 

   "Elijah...as soon as your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes." Sophie said with worry on her face. "I know you don't owe me anything, but please, don't let him kill her." She begged, and Elijah said nothing as he rushed out of the pool, pulling his phone from the pocket of his jacket. "Elijah! She's our only access to the power we need to survive. Promise me that you'll stop him!"

   But Elijah continued to ignore her as he dialed a number, lifting the phone up to his ear. "It's me, where are you?" He asks and goes quiet for a moment. "Don't hurt her. I'll be there shortly." He hangs up and turns to Sophie. "I'll make you one last promise. I won't let my brother kill Agnes."

   Sophie nodded gratefully, watching as Elijah gathers his things and leaves the four girls alone at the pool side. Audrey watched him go, a knowing look on her face. She knew how he worded himself, he'd done the same when he first made a deal with Elena about the sacrifice. He wasn't going to let Klaus kill Agnes, just like he promised Sophie. That didn't mean he wouldn't kill her himself. Sharing the same knowing look, Rebekah followed Elijah inside, leaving Audrey to wait for Hayley. 

   "Come on." The Gilbert girl told her, holding out a towel as she waded toward the steps. "Let's go get you into something dry." 

   Hayley nods but pauses a moment, blocking Sophie as the witch tried to leave the pool herself, giving her a dark look. "I know you were just using me to save your people, but try it again, and I'll kill you." She warned, before getting out and letting Audrey lead her inside, leaving Sophie standing alone in defeat.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   "Here." Hayley looked up from where she sat, to see Audrey sitting down beside her, placing a bowl and spoon in front of her. "You looked like you could use it."

   Hayley glanced at the bowl of ice-cream, giving her a small smile. "Thanks."

   The two girls had been left alone at the plantation, Elijah leaving to find Klaus and Agnes, while Rebekah announced she was leaving New Orleans. She disappeared before Audrey could try to talk her out of it, leaving the Marshall and Gilbert girl alone to their own devices. "How are you feeling?" Audrey asked, pushing her spoon around her own bowl. 

   "Drained." Hayley admitted with a sigh. "Relieved. I don't know. At least that damn link is gone." She rubbed her face with her hands, and glanced at her. "I owe Elijah a thank you. He really helped me today."

   "He promised." Audrey shrugged with a small smile. "He won't break that promise, ever."

   "Still, I appreciate it." The werewolf said honestly. "I get what you see in him, you know." She told her. "The way he looks at you, it's like when you're around, there is no one else in the world to him. What you two have, it's pretty special."

   The Gilbert girl felt her cheeks go red, looking down thoughtfully. "That's how he makes me feel, and so much more." She tried to find the right words. "You know, I used to think I useless." She told Hayley, making the girl look at her in surprise. "Before I met Elijah, or his siblings, everything revolved around my sister. Protecting her, keeping her safe, seeing who'd she'd pick out of the multiple guys that loved her. My life, how I was feeling, it always came second to that, even when people would say that wasn't true. Or they'd promise it would change, and it wouldn't, it'd just get worse." The frown appeared on her face twitched upwards slightly. "Then I met him, and I came first to someone. I mattered, and I wasn't useless. I meant something, and it got me fighting. For myself, for what I believed, what I cared about." 

   Pushing the bowl out of the way, Hayley reached out and took Audrey's hand, giving it a small squeeze. "The people who made you feel like that? You don't need them." She told her wholeheartedly. "Because I've not known you that long, and I don't know how I would have gotten through these last few months without you." She smiled at her. "And knowing my daughter is going to have an aunt like you in her life? It's one of the things that makes me less worried for her future."

   Audrey squeezed her hand back, and two just smiled at one another, making each other laugh after a moment. A knock at the door brought them out of their moment, and the Gilbert girl rolled her eyes. "I bet it's Josh."

   Already looking unimpressed, Hayley got up and answered the door, the Roza vampire stood there like they expected. "Where is he? I've been trying to find him all day. Marcel knows that Klaus lied to him about where he lives." He asked in a panic.

   "We're not his damn keepers, Josh." Hayley sighed in annoyance.

   "Fine!" Josh groaned. "Just...tell him to call me, please."

   "Okay." Hayley gave in, before closing the door and turning back to Audrey. "Next time, you can ge--" She cut off as the door went once again. "Already?"

   Audrey frowned and got to her feet, stepping in front of Hayley as she opened the door this time. "Josh, really, we don-" She froze when her eyes locked with those of Marcel, and she felt Hayley go stiff beside her. 

   Marcel simply looked between the two with a smile. "Hi there, I'm Marcel." He introduced in a smooth tone. "I don't think we've met."

   And things only got worse from that moment on.

Things are truly about to get worse, as I know which episode is next. Audrey is going to have to face an old friend...well, not really a friend, but you probably all know what I mean. Writing Audrey and Elijah together again made my heart so full this chapter, I love that they are separated anymore.

I hope you all enjoyed!