THE following morning, Valentina strolled downstairs to see an elaborate breakfast set up in the dining room of the plantation house. Rebekah and Klaus were sitting across from each other with a table full spread of fruit and pastries between them.

The pregnant woman raised an eyebrow at the scene and Klaus immediately beamed happily upon meeting her eyes. "Ah. Good morning, my sweet." He greeted fondly as he stood up and pulled a chair out for her. "Sit."

Valentina gave him a look but shrugged and walked over to sit down with a low grunt of exertion. She rubbed her baby bump soothingly as she felt the tense atmosphere.

Klaus stood behind his chair and held the bleeding wrist of one of the compelled waitresses over a glass then looked over at Rebekah in curiosity. "Have you spoken to our good friend Marcel today?"

Rebekah sipped on her tea and pretended to be clueless. "No, should I have?"

"He's been mysteriously silent-avoiding me, some might say. I thought perhaps he may have whispered reasons into your ear. Along with all of those sweet nothings." He responded with a small smirk and dismissed the waitress.

"If I see him, I'll be sure to ask if he's still sore at you." Rebekah responded with a spiteful expression.

Klaus sat down next to Valentina and smiled at his sister. "Let me give a voice to that look in your eyes." He mimicked his sister. "My saintly noble brother lies writhing in agony in the Bayou, victim of my bastard brother's bite, when just one or two drops of his blood would ease his pain."

"On the contrary, Nik, I am simply enjoying my brekkie, waiting for Elijah's healthy return." Rebekah said with a fake smile.

Klaus rolled his eyes in aggravation and sighed, sitting forward in his chair. "Oh, come on, Rebekah, you've been giving me the devil's eye all morning. Out with it"

"Perhaps I'm concerned that if I voice my opinion about what you did to Elijah, I will end up on the wrong side of your toxic hybrid teeth," Rebekah responded in a snarky tone.

Klaus flattened his lips into a tight line and slammed his hand against the table then pointed a finger at his sister. "Poppycock! I would never bite you." He insisted sternly which earned him an eye roll and a fake amused smile from Rebekah. "Elijah made some very offensive accusations about my intentions towards my children. He deserves a day or two of discomfort. Besides, you know my preferred method of punishment for your indiscretions is the dagger."

Rebekah smirked as she stood up from her seat then she leaned across the table toward him. "There is something fundamentally wrong with you." She insulted before walking out of the room, leaving Klaus to stir in his feelings.

"Well, that went exactly how I expected," Valentina commented bluntly before grabbing one of the assorted pastries and taking a bite. She chewed it for a second, tilted her head to the side, then nodded in approval with a soft hum. "Hmm."

Klaus gave her a displeased scowl which she ignored. Sighing loudly, he sat back in his chair with his jaw clenched. "What time is your appointment?"

After the last two days, the couple wanted to be sure everything was alright with the babies so Valentina scheduled a last-minute appointment with her OBGYN.

"Ten." She answered through a mouthful of food.

"I have a meeting here in a few minutes. Once that's over, I'll drive you." He offered affectionately.

"Okay." She accepted with a happy smile before letting out an uncomfortable groan.

"Are you okay?" He immediately asked in concern, readying himself to rush over.

"Yeah. One of them is kicking my ribs." She explained with a pained expression and rubbed her back with the pad of her fingers.

"Here." He stood to his feet and walked over to stand behind his wife. His hand replaced hers, gently massaging that spot.

Valentina closed her eyes, rolled her head to the side, and let out a relieved sigh. The Original smiled widely at his success then leaned down to kiss her lovingly on the lips.

Klaus attended his meeting in the study while Valentina got ready and spoke with Stefan over the phone. According to her younger brother, Elena had gone missing so he and Damon were on a mission at Whitmore to track her down. She listened to him ramble on without caring about what was said but she still listened nonetheless.

After their call ended, Valentina strolled down the stairs toward the foyer. She was making her way down the hall when an unfamiliar blonde threw the office doors open and stormed out of their house. Valentina watched her leave for a second then turned toward Klaus, who walked into the doorway, with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not important." Klaus brushed off her unspoken question and walked out to join her. He led his wife toward the front door, holding it open for her as they stepped onto the porch. He helped her into his SUV, making sure she was buckled in completely before speeding to the driver's side and backing out of the driveway.

Valentina was cleared of any complications and advised to take things easy from there on. Her OBGYN warned her that if she continued over exerting herself, she may end up on bed rest or going into premature labor.

Taking it seriously, Klaus went on a spiel the whole drive home about how they both need to be more responsible, and he was determined to make the remaining weeks of her pregnancy as calming as possible. When they returned, Klaus eased Valentina out of the car and followed behind his waddling wife into the house. He pulled his phone out from his pocket then sighed heavily in disappointment.

Valentina turned around to face him with a raised eyebrow as she set her back down in the foyer. "What's wrong?"

"Rebekah hasn't gotten back to me all day and Marcel keeps ignoring my calls." He expressed his frustration and tapped his phone against the palm of his hand. "I hate to leave you but I need to---"

"It's fine, sweetheart. You can go." She encouraged with a curt nod of her head.

He slid the device back into his pocket, crossed the floor toward her, and ran his arms along her upper arms. "Are you alright, my love?" He asked on concern after noticing the way her eyes were drooping.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm just really tired." She breathed out honestly. "I don't think I've fully recovered from everything and hearing that news at the doctor today... I'm only twenty-two weeks but I look due. You heard Doctor Miller. The chances of me making it past thirty-five weeks are low. We are so unprepared and it's stressing me out thinking about it. We only have two things up in the nursery. We don't have names picked out---"

"I know. I know." He acknowledged in understanding and pulled her close, cradling her heart to his chest. "Take a deep breath. When I get back, we can make a plan, go over some names. For now, get some rest, okay?"

She sighed heavily, wrapped her arms around him, and closed her eyes. "Okay." She whispered before backing out of their embrace and beaming up at him with upmost affection. "I love you."

"I love you more." He teased with a wrinkle of his nose.

"Nope." She rejected playfully while swinging their arms side to side. "That's impossible. In fact, there's a law that says you can't love me more soooo..."

Chuckling, he lowered his head so he could kiss her tenderly on the lips. She smiled into it then returned the gesture, raising a hand to cup his cheek.

After a moment, he broke away a d rested his forehead against hers. "I love you." He proclaimed in a dreamy tone of voice.

"I love you." She said softly.

Valentina decided to take a nap on the couch. She had her face snuggled into one of the decorative pillows and a throw blanket tossed over her body. It didn't take long before she drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of her children's faces and the day she would meet them.

Hours passed and she was woken by the sound of muffled voices yelling in the den across the house. She sat up with a confused, drowsy expression, threw the blanket off of her, and strolled toward the source.

"Elijah's home. There's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?" Rebekah cautiously questioned Klaus, who stood by the window while twirling a dagger in his hands.

"I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe." He whispered dramatically then sped toward her, wrapped his arm around her throat, and held the tip of the dagger under her chin. "You betrayed me. My own sister!"

"Niklaus, don't you dare!" Elijah warned from behind them.

Klaus spun on his heels and pointed the dagger at Elijah. "Perhaps it should be you, brother! Making accusations about my intentions for my own children! I needed you and you stood against me!"

"Is that what it is?" Rebekah yelled incredulously. "You are once again worried that you will be left behind? Has history taught you nothing? We don't abandon you, Nik, you drive us away!"

Klaus took in what she said, lowering his weapon and looking between them. "Is that so? What have I done lately, other than cooperate? I bow down to you, brother---" he pointed the dagger at Elijah again with tears in his eyes. "To make up for daggering you. For the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. Looked the other way, sister---" he gestured to the blonde, who watched him through watery vision. "While you repeat the same cycle with Marcel. Falling again for a man you shouldn't be with, while he controls the empire that we built! That he took!" He bellowed emotionally, his voice cracking under the weight of his sadness.

"Now, I make no excuses for past sins. But in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me-- to believe in me, to believe my intentions for my own children were pure-- you chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies." Klaus monolouged sorrowfully, clenched his jaw, and approached Elijah with a single tear falling down his cheek. "I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So, I'm going to live there. And the two of you... you can stay here together and rot." He held the handle of the dagger out to Elijah. The older brother glanced between it and the hybrid before taking it from him. Klaus then stormed out of the room, leaving his siblings behind with guilty expressions.

He passed Valentina on his way down the hallway and spoke loudly to be heard over his angry footsteps. "Pack your bags, Valentine."

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously while following him as fast as she could.

He stopped halfway up the stairs, turned toward her, and smirked smugly. "Home."

---
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-the1andonlytifftiff