"I don't understand." Damon remarked from the passenger side of Klaus' SUV as Klaus quickly but quietly drove them to an undisclosed location.

Following Klaus' confession that he was leaving to see Valentina, Stefan and Damon immediately rushed behind him. Not giving him the chance to leave without them.

"What aren't you comprehending?" Klaus snapped, slightly impatient, as he drove faster than the speed limit.

"Maybe the fact that for six months you let me believe Val was dead and now you're telling us that she, and the twins, are alive." Stefan replied snarkily, pouting in the back seat with his arms crossed. "How do I know this isn't some big, fucked up joke? I read her death certificate, Klaus. I saw the autopsy report."

"What?" Damon reacted in astonishment and spun around in his seat to face him. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"I had to know, and Klaus wouldn't tell me anything except for "She's dead". I wanted answers." Stefan sorrowfully confessed, gulped down the tears, and turned his head toward the window. "I thought it would provide me closure, but..."

"It was in your best interest that you didn't know anything. Take my word for it." Klaus suggested gruffly and made eye contact with him through the rear view mirror. "We had to ensure everyone's safety. Including yours."

"Why?" Stefan pressed for answers with his green eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you running from now?"

"I think we've learned our lesson last time, brother. We don't need to go down that road again." Damon hinted with a strained smile and gave him a look that suggested he stop.

"No. We're technically family, aren't we? I think we've earned the right to know by now. Especially when it puts Valentina in the middle." Stefan stubbornly said.

"I didn't have to allow you to come. You're aware of that?" Klaus remarked agitatedly. "I could've simply left without a single word, and you would've never known."

"Please." Damon scoffed then smirked smugly. "Tin wouldn't let you live that down." He threw in the hybrid's face and sat in silence for a second before everything slowly started to hit him. "Is she really alive?"

Klaus removed his focus from the road briefly to give him a significant look.

It was night when Valentina pulled her van up to the safehouse in Arkansas and cautiously climbed out of the vehicle while examining the surrounding area. She walked toward the back doors, slid them open, and unlatched both of the car seats. She carried the twins into the house and set them down in the living room with a low sigh.

There was a sudden knock on the door so she quickly spun around and approached the door. When she opened it, she came face to face with Elijah and Rebekah.

"I can't imagine what you must be thinking. I need you to know I would never harm you or the twins." Elijah said sincerely, his eyebrows furrowed to express his guilt. "It is my job to keep you all safe."

"I do know that. I know you would never do anything to hurt them. Or me. That's not what I'm worried about." Valentina admitted confidently with a curt nod which caused the two Originals to look at her in shock. "My issue is you're going to draw attention to yourself and by default, us. My priority is keeping these babies safe. So if you can't control yourself, you can't stay here. You'll be too much of a liability."

A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth and he quickly ran his tongue along his lip. "The irony of---"

"Me giving you the same talk you gave me a hundred years ago." She finished for him pointedly. "It would be amusing if my children's lives weren't at stake." Her eyes searched his face for any ill intent before she sighed softly and stepped to the side, allowing them to enter the house.

Elijah smiled slightly in appreciation and kissed her tenderly on the cheek as he walked through the threshold.

Rebekah bowed her head and followed close behind him. She spotted the carriers in the living then immediately ran over to coo at her niece and nephew. "Oh! They're so precious. Hi, babies. I'm your Auntie Bekah."

Valentina shut the front door, locked the deadbolt, and joined them. "I need to put them to bed. It's way past their bedtime and if they don't go to sleep soon, they'll cry through the entire night."

"Can I help?" Rebekah asked, her light blue eyes twinkling in excitement.

The Mikaelson wife seemed hesitant at first but knew that she needed to let them be involved since they were family and nodded slightly with a small smile.

In the morning, Rebekah decided to decorate for the holiday. She hung a festive Christmas wreath on the front door and returned inside to find Elijah leaning against the fireplace with a pondering expression on his face.

"Well, isn't this place rather nice!" She mused cheerfully, picked up a bottle of wine and examined the label. "Nik must have compelled a wine-lover to keep it up, because I found a 2005 bordot! Fancy a sip?"

"I appreciate the sentiment, Rebekah, but I do recognize when I'm being handled with kid gloves." Elijah replied in annoyance.

Rebekah sighed as she set down the wine. "How are you feeling?"

"Patronized." He answered dryly then pointed a finger at the babies lying in the playpen a few feet away. "I am here to protect them."

"I know you mean to, Elijah--" Rebekah started.

"And yet, you found it appropriate to take advantage of my unconciousness to bring me here?" He interrupted her in an unamused tone then raised his voice so Valentina could hear him from the dining room. "Which was unnecessary."

"But it was." Valentina sternly defended her choice while strolling into the room. "You slaughtered a diner full of people, Elijah. Innocent people."

"You're clearly not yourself. What happened back there?" Rebekah inquired softly.

"I don't know." He said tensely, his eyes glazed over with a thousand-yard stare. Suddenly, he snapped out of his trance and glanced at Valentina. "Niklaus sent me to protect you and the twins. My job is to keep you all safe. However, I fear I have failed because Niklaus should be arriving soon."

"N-Nik is coming?" Valentina asked in a small voice. "Oh. This place is a mess." She glanced around at the baby stuff scattered everywhere. "I'm a mess. Okay. I need to get ready." She started to panic, running a hand through her tangled, grown out hair, and looked down to study her outfit. "I'll be right back to clean this us. Watch the twins." She commanded before rushing down the hall toward her room. "Please!" She shouted suddenly, correcting her tone after realizing how she came across.

"Of course!" Rebekah kindly accepted the task. The blonde watched her leave and made she sure Valentina was gone completely prior to turning to Elijah and lowering her voice. "Has she told you their names yet?"

"No." Elijah said, sitting down on the couch and undoing one of the buttons to his grey suit jacket. "She wants Niklaus to be the first to know. Out of respect, I haven't pushed the topic."

"Hmm." The blonde mused under her breath, narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest.

After trimming her hair so that it fell just above her shoulders, Valentina changed her outfit to something presentable. Unfortunately, her wardrobe wasn't as extensive as the one in New Orleans, but it was enough for her to trade her formula and spit up covered clothes in for a decent pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

She stepped out onto the front porch and observed Rebekah stacking wood into a pile on the lawn. A few feet away, Elijah sat on the edge of the deck with both of the twins in their bouncing seats. He heard her footsteps approaching them and craned his head up to smile warmly at her. "Ahh. You look beautiful. He will love it. Although, you know he finds you stunning either way."

"Hmm." She anxiously smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt then pointed at Rebekah, moving the attention away from herself. "What the hell is she doing?"

"It's bonfire season!" Rebekah answered for herself, standing straight on her heels and walking toward them while wiping her hands together. "And I am reviving a family tradition! Especially since we're all going to be together."

"Only because we're fleeing from one of our deranged parents. Another Mikaelson tradition. It's a peculiar thing-- never to be tired, yet forever exhausted by the sameness of things. Why is our family always at war?" Elijah asked them in a worn-out tone of voice.

"Ego." Valentina replied bluntly. "More specifically, Nik's ego."

Tires driving along the dirt path leading to the house caused Valentina's head to immediately snap in its direction. Her heart sped up, her hands shook, and a lump formed in the back of her throat.

It felt silly for her to be nervous over seeing her husband, but she couldn't shake the giddiness coursing through her. She had imagined it every day for over six months.

Valentina watched Klaus' black SUV park haphazardly on the grass. The driver's side door opened, and the hybrid frantically climbed out, rushing over to her. Speeding across the yard, she met him halfway, and the couple embraced one another.

His fingers tangled in her newly cut hair as she gripped tightly onto the back of his shirt until her knuckles turned white. He quietly cried with his chin resting atop her head, and she, not so silently, sobbed into his chest.

"I missed you so much." She expressed between strangled cries.

"I have missed you more." He whispered lovingly while resting a hand on the nape of her neck.

Upon hearing a baby shrieking happily, Klaus opened his eyes to look at the creator of the sound. He saw the twins bouncing around in his siblings' arms, and he gaped at them in awe. He was too overwhelmed to move from his place so Valentina grabbed ahold of one of Klaus' hands and led him over to their babies.

She took the baby from Elijah's arms, turned around, and grinned at Klaus. "Nik... I want you to meet your son, Theodore Henrik Mikaelson."

Klaus held a hand out toward them, so she passed Theodore over to the hybrid, who kissed their son on the top of his head. "Hi." He greeted the infant affectionately.

Getting the hint, Rebekah shifted the other baby into Valentina's arms and watched through tears as Valentina approached Klaus again.

"And your daughter, Adalina Lillian Mikaelson." Valentina introduced the baby to her father and admired them when he leaned over to kiss her on the forehead.

"They're perfect. Like you." Klaus lovingly commented then shifted Theodore on his hip and pressed his pursed lips to Valentina's.

She instantly smiled into the kiss. Her entire body felt like it was floating after violently drowning for so long. When they broke apart, she continued to beam dotingly up at him, her eyes not leaving his.

"You named her after mom?" A voice suddenly asked emotionally from behind them.

It didn't take her long to recognize who it belonged to. Her heart dropped down into her stomach as the beat of it flooded her ears. "Nik... Is that---" She quietly asked Klaus, who smiled in excitement and stepped out of the way to give her a clearer view. Her mouth hung agape at the sight and, as if it were even possible, her green eyes welled with more tears. Despite being happy to see both of them, her vision was trained on the eldest specifically.

"D-- Damon?" She spoke his name, her voice breaking as her lip quivered.

Elijah politely took Adalina from Valentina, who hesitantly walked down the driveway toward them and cupped Damon's face in her trembling hands. "Oh my God. Is it really you? Am I dreaming?"

"You're not dreaming. It's me, Tin." He nodded while crying along with her.

"I thought you were dead." She said in between hiccups while throwing her arms around his neck.

"I thought you were dead." He repeated sorrowfully and held her tightly against him.

The pair broke apart after a long moment, and Stefan didn't give Valentina the chance to recover before he hugged her intensely. She was caught off guard at first but melted into the embrace. "Hi, baby brother."

Everyone's emotions settled down and they all stood around the yard. The Salvatore brothers each held a twin, Rebekah continued to build the bonfire, and Klaus filled Valentina in on everything she had missed over the past six months.

“Curse on the first-born? What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?” Rebekah questioned on confusion as she placed a large stick into the bonfire.

“Well, according to Finn, our sister Freya didn’t die of plague. She was taken as payment by our aunt Dahlia, who then cursed all Mikaelson first-borns for eternity.” Klaus explained gruffly, pacing in front of his fanily with his hands perched on the top of his hips.

"And we... trust Finn?" Valentina said in more of a question than a statement, raising an eyebrow at him. "How does he even know any of this?"

Elijah began undoing the buttons of his dress shirt and rolled up his sleeves as he spoke. “Finn learned it from the bastion of truth - our mother.”

"Oh. Of course." Valentina mused in displeasure.

“Well, no wonder Finn hates us. He lost the sister he adored, and instead got a judgy pack of siblings who found him unbearably dull.” Rebekah commented with a pointed look earning a smirk from Elijah.

"Alright. Well, let's say for a second that everything they're saying is true..." Stefan proposed, holding a hand up when Elijah started to speak. "How likely is it that we actually run into Dahlia? What are our chances?"

“The fable’s over a thousand years old. Dahlia is long dead.” Elijah responded sternly and placed two large branches into the bonfire.

"Like Esther? Or Finn? Or... Mikael?" Damon replied pointedly to which Valentina pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. "Who I watched die, by the way. Maybe we should consider this an actual threat and make a plan to put them down before they can come after us."

"Alright. Enough!" Klaus, over the conversation entirely, turned toward them with a face of determination. “No one’s going to hurt the twins because no one’s going to find them.” He said sternly to all of them but his eyes lingered on Valentina. Noticing how large the bonfire pile had grown, he glanced at his sister with an amused smirk. “There’s enough wood, Rebekah. You’ll burn down the whole bloody state of Arkansas.”

Rebekah rubbed her hands together excitedly as she returned to where they were all standing. “Well, we’re just missing a key ingredient!”

Klaus sighed loudly in disapproval and rolled his eyes. “No, we’re not.”

“Yes, we are, Nik!” She argued sternly and turned to the others for support. “Back me up!”

Elijah crossed his arms over his chest with a genuine laugh. “I suspect Niklaus would rather choke on the ashes.”

"Uh, what is happening?" Stefan questioned in confusion, his green eyes flickering between his in-laws.

"Well, before we light it, we write down our wishes for each other to burn for luck!" Rebekah cheerfully explained. "It was Kol's favorite part when we were kids!"

“It’s further evidence as to why we should ignore it!” Klaus argued with a shake of his head. He looked to his wife, who was giving him a pleading expression. Realizing it was no use arguing, he clenched his jaw, rolled his eyes again, and exhaled dramatically. "Fine."

Valentina clapped her hands together then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face. "Yay! The twins' first bonfire. Oh. I'm excited."

The group made their way inside the house to write their wishes on scraps of paper handed out by Rebekah.

Instead of participating, Klaus sat in the dining room, holding one of the twins on top of the table and grinning as they bounced up and down on their little legs.

Valentina entered the room with the other twin balanced on her hip, stopped in place when she noticed them, and beamed at them in admiration.

"Staring is rude, my sweet." Klaus joked wholeheartedly and smirked over at her. "What kind of example are you setting for our children?"

Chuckling, she walked across the room and sat down in the chair adjacent to him. "I'm not staring."

Klaus shot her an unconvinced yet playful scowl just as Adalina suddenly stopped bouncing and began fussing in Klaus' arms. She sucked on her tiny balled up fist while letting out a low-pitched cry.

"Oh. It's okay, dove." Valentina assured their daughter then rose to her feet, shifted Theodore around, and held her free arm out to Klaus. "She's hungry. Here. I'll take her."

He pulled Adalina away from her reach and gave her the most bewildered expression causing Valentina to glance at him in confusion.

"I can feed my daughter." He commented gruffly.

"Nik, that's not what I meant." She immediately denied with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that--"

"I know. You're not alone anymore, my love." He said, cutting her off before she could finish. "I'm here now. I've already missed too much and I don't want to miss anything more. I want--- need to be involved in everything. Please. Allow me."

"I would never take that away from you, Nik. Of course, I want you to be involved. That's all I've ever wanted." Valentina responded, her face softening upon his request. "That is not how I meant that. I-- I'm just used to doing everything myself. So-"

"You don't have to." He assured her affectionately, holding Adalina to his chest and rising from his seat. "Now. Teach me how to make formula."

After the babies had been fed and the wished had been written, the group gathered, excluding Rebekah, on the lawn once again. Klaus lit the fire then backed up to stand next to Valentina, who had the twins strapped into a duel baby Bjorn.

He grinned widely at the imagery in front of him and kissed the trio on the foreheads. "You are stunning." He sincerely complimented his wife. "I love you."

"I love you." She expressed her affections before smirking deviously. "More." She quickly added.

Just then, Rebekah rushed out onto the porch and down the stairs to join them with a wide grin. “Hey! Look what I found!” She exclaimed while holding up an old Polaroid camera. “I wonder if it’ll work?”

Klaus sighed with his hands on his hips and turned away from her. “Oh, bloody hell.”

“Come on, let’s try it!" Rebekah encouraged, holding it out toward him. "Hey, Nik, do you think you can cram us all into a selfie?”

“Oh, Niklaus is a virtuoso at cramming his family into confined spaces.” Elijah commented in a snarky tone with a smirk causing the Salvatores to laugh at the hybrid's expense.

“Well, I’m just glad I traveled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother, only to have him insult me to my face.” Klaus remarked in a fake offended voice and snatched the camera from Rebekah.

“Oh, come on, just take the picture!” Rebekah urged quickly in excitement.

Klaus sighed in annoyance and held up the camera to take a picture of the eight of them together. Damon and Stefan tried to oddly stand on the sidelines, but Valentina dragged them both into the group and forced them to stand behind her.

Everyone had their best smiles on except for Klaus, who remained blank-faced. They all remained huddled together as they waited for the photo to develop.

Rebekah looked over his shoulder and smiled happily. “Aw, see? I wish that it could always be like this.”

“If wishes were horses…” Elijah started the quote while he stared down at the photo.

"Beggars would ride.” Klaus finished ruefully and gazed at the photo before turning to his family with an unhappy look. “You realize we’ll have to burn it. You want me to make a wish for the family, Rebekah? I wish it didn’t have to be like this. But, it does.” He said in disappointment then handed the photo to Valentina. “We can’t risk it falling into the wrong hands.”

"Yeah..." Valentina studied the photograph with a deep frown, closed her eyes, and placed a kiss on the film before reluctantly tossing it into the fire. She watched it be engulfed by the flames until it was nothing by ash and gulped down her tears. She rested her hands on the back of the twins' heads and placed kisses on both of their foreheads.

Damon rubbed her shoulder comfortingly while Stefan stared intensely at the bonfire.

Rebekah shook her head in rejection and turned around to look at all of them. “No! This isn’t right. We deserve this. We’ve earned this.” She said emotionally before getting an idea. “I won’t let it slip away. I know what to do to stop Esther.” She informed them with tears in her eyes.

“Rebekah, no—” Elijah started tensely.

“I’m going to take her deal. And, when I do, I’m taking her down with me.” She said in determination then made eye contact with Klaus and gulped anxiously.

Later that night, Valentina stood out on the porch with Klaus while Rebekah climbed into the SUV, ready for the trip back to New Orleans.

"You just got here, and you're already leaving." Valentina said sadly. "Are you sure you have to go right now? This can't wait until morning?"

"I'm sorry, my Valentine. The sooner we deal with Esther, the sooner you come home. She too much of a threat for this to wait but as soon as all of this over, I will come back for you and I will bring you three home. For good." He promised sternly, grabbed ahold of her hands in his, and kissed her knuckles repeatedly. "Believe me, I don't want to leave. The safety of my family is far more important than my desires. It isn't forever."

"I know." She sorrowfully agreed, slowly nodding her head. "Just... come back soon. Please? Be safe. Be smart."

"Always am." He arrogantly replied.

Making a face, she scratched behind her ear. "I don't know about always, but okay... sure."

He mimicked her, rolled his eyes, and then chuckled wholeheartedly. "I'll be back soon. I swear."

"I love you." She confessed.

"I love you." He whispered in the same tone and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Valentina moaned into the display, leaned her head back to press further against him, and tangled a hand in his blond curls. After a moment, they broke apart and rested their foreheads on one another's.

"Alright." She breathed out through a heavy sigh. "You need to go and I need to go put the twins down for bed." She began to back away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward him. "Nik..."

"Hey." He called out to her repeatedly causing Valentina to look at him, waiting for his point. "Can I just mention how proud I am of you? You are an incredible mother. You've done outstanding job with them the past six months. I am so sorry you had to do it alone but you'll never have to do it alone again."

Valentina's green eyes filled with tears. Those were the words she had been hoping to hear from him. She always questioned whether she was doing a good job or if she was enough. Klaus' words of affirmation were everything she needed to hear to soothe her guilt.

Throwing her arms around him, she held him for dear life while crying softly. "Thank you." She barely said loud enough for him to hear.

Klaus kissed her temple multiple times then pulled away to smile warmly at her. "I'll be back soon. Don't miss me too much."

She wrinkled her nose up and pinched at his side. "Go." She urged with a shove of his shoulder. "I love you, idiot."

"I love you." He chuckled, kissed her on the lips again, and meandered down the stairs to his vehicle. Valentina waited for him to back out and disappear from view before going back inside the house, shutting the door behind with a heavy sigh.

---
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