KLAUS made an impromptu plan to take Hope to the Salvatore Boarding School in Mystic Falls and asked Elijah to come along to keep her company while he to find a solution to Hope's illness. He intended to leave Ingrid in New Orleans, not wanting her to be involved in what he was planning.

Klaus was having a meeting with Caroline in her office while Hope was walking around, looking at artifacts. In it was a photograph of Katherine from 1864 and a series of journals. Elijah walked up from being her and looked at the curio cabinet with recollection. "The diary of Stefan Salvatore."

"We're not supposed to touch it, but I practically have the whole thing memorized. And spoiler alert: mom and dad are the villains and you're the evil henchman." Hope informed him with an amused smile.

"I was friends with Stefan and he had the tendency to..." Ingrid trailed off, searching for the correct word as she joined them. "Over exaggerate the subject."

Hope smiled happily at her then walked over to a shelf and pulled out another book. "Yeah, well, I, uh, got a second opinion. The Mystic Falls Files by Alaric Saltzman, Volume One. In every story, dad is the big bad wolf and mom the evil matriarch."

"He's not wrong." Ingrid commented with a devious smirk and took the book from her. "Does it say anything here about how Stefan and his group of idiots betrayed us, used us, stole our daggered bodies and threatened to toss them on the ocean, murdered Kol, murdered Finn?"

Elijah cleared his throat, stopping her angry rant. Rolling her eyes, Ingrid handed the book back to Hope. The youngest Mikaelson turned to put it on the shelf when she leaned over and clutched her head in pain.

Ingrid placed a hand on her back while Elijah took a step toward them with a face of genuine concern. "Hope, what is it? What's happening?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She brushed them both off and turned around with an annoyed expression.

"Well, Davina said she gave you some pills for the discomfort." Elijah reminded her, confused as to why they weren't working.

"Yeah, well, you know what would really make me feel better? Is spending the day with, like, anyone else." Hope sneered angrily at him and Ingrid licked her lips to hide her amused smirk.

Elijah narrowed his eyes at his sister-in-law and quickly thought of an idea. "Let's get out of here. I know a place in town. Does a disturbingly decadent burger. Let's do that."

"I'm not hungry." Hope breathed out in rejection, not wanting to spend any time with him.

"Fine." Elijah sighed heavily in frustration.

"Hope, do you know want I right now?" Ingrid called out to her daughter and played with the ends of Hope's hair. "I could really use a large peanut butter milkshake."

Elijah narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion and turned to Hope, waiting for her response. Hope closed her eyes and sighed lowly before shrugging her shoulders and nodding her head. He nodded as well, glad they could all come to a consensus. "You can have a milkshake."

The trio walked from the Boarding School to the Mystic Grill and Ingrid gaped at it in awe. "It still looks shitty." She threw her hands up in disbelief as they sat down in one of the outside tables. "Fifteen years and it still looks like this."

Hope leaned back against her seat and glanced at Elijah in exasperation. "If you're here to tell me that my dad has a heart of gold, this is probably the worst spot, considering that there's a plaque inside near the dartboard for some woman that he killed in a moonstone ritual."

Ingrid grabbed one of Elijah's fries from his plate and chuckled to herself. "Ahh yes... Jenna. Boy were they pissed about that."

Elijah gave her an unimpressed look then gestured across from them. "Take a look at that storefront across the street with the charcoal awning. Piece of land used to be our home. Smell of it still haunts me to this day. The burning wood, the crushed flowers, the berries. Your father was incessantly painting back in those days. Mixing, searching for brighter reds, for deeper blues. Used to wake me in the middle of the night just to show me the color that he would swear he himself had invented. I remember the first time that he showed me a turquoise." He mused with a small smile as Ingrid snuck another fry from him.

"Yeah..." She trailed off and looked across the street with fondness.

"It's also the first time I smelled blood. You see, when Mikael found Niklaus fashioning a paintbrush from a small branch, he took that branch... He struck my brother across the face." Elijah told his niece with a deep frown as Ingrid's face fell into one of rage.

"What did you do?" Hope asked them curiously with tears in her eyes.

"I made the foolish attempt to get back at Mikael." Ingrid replied and gulped slightly, her eyes moving rapidly back and forth.

"Mikael beat your mother until her right eye was swollen shut." Elijah added and stared down at the concrete. "Broke her arm and her clavicle. That was Niklaus finally decided it was enough. He begged me to run away with them, but I told him that I would never leave Rebekah and Kol at the mercy of Mikael."

"So we stayed." Ingrid remarked in a watery voice and Hope reached across to grab ahold of one of her hands, squeezing gently.

"And, of course, it was a mistake." Elijah explained and looked up at her with a grave expression. "We should've run away but... they wouldn't go alone. But I did swear to him I would protect him from that very day."

"Peanut butter blast, whipped cream on the bottom. Just how you like it." The waiter said as he set Hope's milkshake down in front of her then turned to Ingrid. "Peanut butter cup with extra fudge."

"Sweet." Ingrid praised happily and immediately grabbed her spoon.

Hope laughed at her and looked over at him with a shy smile. "Thanks, Landon."

Landon stared at her as he nodded then glanced between them awkwardly. "Yeah."

"Uh, this is my uncle." Hope introduced, pointing over at Elijah.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gerard." Landon said pointedly and held his hand out to shake. Elijah gladly shook his hand with a smirk and Ingrid choked on her milkshake as she laughed, covering her mouth to ensure that cold ice cream wouldn't fly across the table.

"This is my mom, Ingrid." Hope gestured to the mess of a woman beside her.

Landon's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly held his hand out toward the hybrid. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Gerard."

Ingrid looked at him in confusion but she quickly covered up and flashed a kind smile up at him, shaking his hand. "Likewise."

"So, Hope. You haven't been around much lately." Landon said to the young Mikaelson, prying into her life.

"Oh, yeah, there's been stuff back at home." Hope answered vaguely and Ingrid hummed in agreement as she shoveled another spoonful of milkshake into her mouth.

"Well, I was, I was hoping you'd be back. I mean, you're from New Orleans, right? I've always wanted to go. It's home to some of the greatest musicians of all time." Landon praised happily until a group of teenagers threw food at him while laughing.

Ingrid glared in their direction and was about to stand up when both Elijah and Hope grabbed each of her wrists to hold her down. Hope continued the conversation, trying to ease his embarrassment. "You should go. No matter where you are, there's always someone playing a Louis Armstrong song somewhere." She remarked in awe and looked over at the teenagers, who continued to throw food.

Elijah reached a hand up and caught an ice cube with ease. Landon glanced at him in surprise then shifted on his feet and scratched at his eyebrow. "Uh, actually, there's, um, there's music in the square tonight. I mean, they do it all the time, but tonight there's this kind of bluesy vibe and I thought maybe if you wanted..."

Hope's mouth hung open and her face fell as she realized she would have to disappoint him. "Oh, Landon, I-I can't tonight. I have a thing."

Landon's blinked repeatedly and he looked down at his feet, quickly searching to dismiss himself from the area. "Right, yeah. I should probably pick up an extra shift anyway."

"No, thanks, though, for asking and for the milk shakes." Hope expressed her appreciation with a kind smile.

'Yeah." He whispered softly then looked at the Originals. "It was nice to meet you." He said politely then walked away.

"And you." Elijah replied dully.

Ingrid watched the teenage boy leave then grinned happily at her daughter. "Why were you obsessing over Roman when that young man clearly wants your attention? He's cute. You should go for it."

"Mom..." Hope whined, picking up her spoon to dig into her own milkshake. "Stop."

Elijah waited until Landon was gone completely to glance at his niece with a suspicious expression. "The full moon doesn't crest until later. You could've gone with him. Why didn't you?" He asked curiously.

"Because I'm gonna be dead soon." Hope mumbled, not looking up at either of them.

Ingrid's face fell and she sighed heavily, resting back against her seat. "How did you know?"

"Every witch in our family locked in the bell tower all week. Creepy black veins all over my body. And... it hurts, you know?" Hope admitted in a shaky voice. "How long do I have?"

"In your condition..." Elijah trailed off and shook his head.

"Sweetheart, we don't believe that you'll be strong enough to survive tonight's full moon." Ingrid finished for him with a devastated expression.

"What's not to handle? It's only every bone in my body breaking all at once." Hope replied sarcastically causing Ingrid to rub her back soothingly.

"You listen to me, your father is searching for a cure, even as we speak. We will not allow anything to happen to you." Elijah promised her emotionally with tears in his eyes. "You understand?"

Hope closed her eyes and gave him an exhausted look. "Elijah, it might be all for the best anyway."

"No." Ingrid immediately rejected, shaking her head frantically.

Elijah gaped at Hope incredulously and looked at her in concern. "Why would you say that?"

She was about to respond when the same teenagers from earlier were harassing Landon again. "Hey, nice outfit. That's really cute. All right, boys, let's roll. -" the tall one in the letterman jacket ordered as Landon walked over to clear their table. The three teenagers stood and spilled their drinks all over him. Whoa-ho-ho. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to slip. That's my bad."

"You guys are seven bucks short." Landon informed them sternly with an unimpressed look on his face.

"No, that's your tip, Kirby. That's negative seven bucks for the poor service that we received." The tall one retorted and the other two laughed while walking toward a red sports car. They all climbed in and revved the engine before obnoxiously pulling out of their parking spot.

"I'm a murderer but at least I'm not a douche." Ingrid sneered in disgust and began to eat more of her milkshake.

"Know how to drive?" Elijah asked Hope curiously while pulling out a wad of cash and she shook her head. "I think it's probably time you drove a Bentley."

"Elijah." Ingrid snapped at him in disapproval.

"Hope, I need a word with your mother." He said sternly and Hope gave them both a confused and odd look but stood up from the table and walked toward Landon, making sure he was alright. Elijah turned in his seat toward Ingrid and pointed a finger at her. "You're pregnant."

"Ah man..." She groaned in annoyance and threw her spoon down. "How do you always figure it out before everyone else?"

"Are you?" He pressed further, not answering her question.

Rolling her eyes, Ingrid grabbed a napkin and wiped her face. "Yes. I am. I'm pregnant."

"Does Niklaus know?" Elijah asked in concern.

"Not yet." Ingrid answered honestly and sighed heavily. "Don't go blabbering either. When I heard you two in the hallway this morning, I knew I had to follow before either of you did anything stupid." She explained and he gaped at her in shock. "Don't be surprised. You both speak so loud and your voice carries. Eirik heard you and Marcellus speaking by the way. Thanks for that." She sneered sarcastically and narrowed her eyes. "Had to explain to my eleven year old that his sister might die. It was a great conversation to do alone."

"Where is he?" Elijah inquired in guilt and worry.

"He wanted to stay home and help Freya." Ingrid responded emotionally and licked her lips. "And excuse me, who said you could teach my daughter to drive? Especially in your gaudy ass Bentley."

"I want to get her mind off things." Elijah said with a pointed look and gave her a reassuring face. "I would never let anything happen to her." Ingrid raised an eyebrow at him and pursed her lips causing him to sigh in aggravation and rest his hands down on top of the table. "Again." He clarified.

"Fine." She reluctantly agreed and pointed a finger at him. "Be on your A game." She was about to say more when her phone rang next to her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked at the caller ID to see that it was Caroline. "Uh... I'm going to get this. I'll catch up later." She promised and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Elijah nodded in understanding and stood up from the table. "Ask her about that boy." Ingrid requested as he walked way before picking up the call. "Caroline. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"There's something you need to know." The blonde replied from the other end of the call and Ingrid's face immediately fell in dread.

At the Boarding School, Alaric and Caroline were arguing in what used to be the parlor when Klaus walked I'm holding the bloodied arrow that Alaric had shot him with. "Oh, no. Very impressive system. Secure, I'm sure, if you're a baby werewolf navigating puberty." He sneered and tossed it down at Alaric's feet. "But I'm a little past that."

"Klaus..." Caroline shot him a warning look.

"Alaric's right. The ocean won't hold me. But when I've transferred the Hollow's magic out of Hope, I don't intend to drown it." Klaus explained and pulled out something from his jacket pocket.

"What is that?" Caroline asked as she cautiously approached him.

Klaus held it up and walked down the stairs. "This is the last remaining White Oak stake. When the power is in me, there's only one way to make sure it's gone for good. Someone needs to kill me."

"I need the room." Ingrid spoke darkly and they all spun around to face her with different expressions. "Now." She snapped aggressively and Caroline quickly ushered Alaric to leave, making sure to take the stake with her as she did so.

Klaus cowered under her gaze and held his hands up while trying to justify his plan. She cut him off with a furious sneer and clenched her hands into fists. "How dare you?" She questioned with a hurt expression on her face. "Were you really going to kill yourself and not tell me? How can you do that to me? To us?" She demanded as tears began to fall from her eyes. When he stared at her with a guilty face and refused to answer, she flashed her gold eyes at him. "ANSWER ME!" She bellowed at the top of her lungs.

"I was trying to save Hope." Klaus admitted in a soft voice, stunned that she had spoken to him in that manner.

She laughed humorlessly through her tears and threw her hands up. "So you thought that sneaking off to Mystic Falls and killing yourself was the best way to do it? After one thousand and sixty eight years I deserve better than for you to do this without telling me. You can't leave me. Not like this." Ingrid yelling through sobs. "We are supposed to make these choices together."

Klaus started to cry himself and attempted to wrap his arms around her but she pushed him away in fury. "NO!" She screamed and shook her head. "You don't get to do this and act like hugging me is going to make it better. You can't leave me." She choked out and placed a hand over her heart. "I can't... I can't live without you. Don't leave me." She felt her knees begin to buckle underneath of her and caught herself on one of the railings. "You can't leave me. You can't leave us."

"Ingrid--" He called out to her quietly and knelt down in front of her. "If I don't, Hope will die. I can't let that happen."

"No. We find someone else. Why does it have to be you?" She asked, her voice cracking harshly. "I need you. I can't raise our children alone. I can't do that again. Niklaus, I need you. Please don't." She wanted to say more but the sobs racking through her chest proved too much for her to continue on. "Our children need you. If not for me then for them. You can't do this to me. I am begging you not to."

Watching his wife fall to pieces before him shattered Klaus' heart and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her but he couldn't. He knew what she wanted but he wasn't able to give that to her. Ingrid rested her head against the wall and sobbed loudly. "I can't do this alone. I can't have this baby alone. Not again."

Klaus fell back on his hands and gaped at her in utter shock. "What?"

"I'm pregnant, Niklaus." She admitted and glanced at him through blurry vision. "That's what I wanted to tell you but how do you tell your husband that you're pregnant when one of your children is dying. Now I find out that you were planning to sacrifice yourself and you couldn't even say goodbye to me. You were just going to go off into the night without a word. You promised an eternity. That means an eternity. Not until you decide it's done."

"Ingrid--" He called out to her again, a series of emotions crashing down on him like a tsunami.

"No. Nothing can make this better unless you swear to me on Odin himself and by blood that you won't do this." Ingrid requested sternly with a shake of her head. "This cannot be the end. You cannot just leave me without a word." She sniffled out as her sobs began to hush into quiet crying.

He sat on the ground in front of her and licked his lips. "We have to save our daughter."

"And we will." She assured him and her lip quivered. "But not like this. Our story doesn't end like this. I will never forgive you if you do this. Don't go." She pleaded desperately and her crying increased again. "Don't go. I will do anything to make you stay. Please just stay."

He opened his mouth to speak when Elijah rushed into the room carrying an unconscious Hope in his arms. He set her down on the floor in front of them. "Niklaus! Ingrid! She just collapsed. - I don't know..." He explained frantically, not having time to take in their tears.

Klaus placed a finger to her neck, taking her pulse and listening to her breathing. "Quiet. No heartbeat. Please. Please. Hope!" He shouted to his daughter and turned toward Elijah. "Get Caroline. Tell her to bring her girls. Go!" He ordered sternly and began to do chest compression. "Please come back to me. Hope! Hope, come back to me. Hope, please."

Ingrid gripped at the roots of her hair and watched in horror, unable to move from her spot as she was frozen in fear. Hope suddenly woke with a gasp and looked at them in relief. "Mom! Dad!"

Klaus pulled her to his body, hugging her tightly with a hand on the back of her head. "Oh, you're okay. Oh, you're okay."

Ingrid walked toward them and wrapped her arms around both of them, kissing Hope's head repeatedly. "Oh. Don't ever do that again."

Hope melted into their arms and started right cry. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

"I know." Klaus breathed out and closed his eyes.

"Don't let me." Hope begged them desperately

Klaus pulled out of the embrace and grabbed ahold of her face in his hands as he spoke emotionally. "I know. You're not gonna die. Sweetheart, you're not gonna die. I found a way to save your life. And everything is gonna be better in the morning. I promise you. I promise." He whispered and pulled her toward him again, glancing at Ingrid, who couldn't control her tears. 

Night fell around them and Klaus and Hope were walking around town square together while Ingrid and Elijah sat on one of the benches a few feet away. Elijah watched them with a distant look on his face and turned toward his sister-in-law, taking note of her red, puffy eyes and tear stained face. "You were crying before I brought Hope. What happened?"

"Niklaus is going to take the Hollow from Hope... and kill himself." She explained, her voice faltering near the end. She looked down at her wedding band and licked her lips. Tears began to sting at her eyes again but she did everything she could to keep them at bay. "Even after telling him I was pregnant... it wasn't enough to sway him. He thinks this is the only way. He's off his rocker."

"Ingrid..." Elijah spoke after a long, tense moment of silence. "I need you to trust me." He requested randomly causing her to look up at him in confusion.

Klaus had finished chaining Hope up in the basement of the Salvatore Boarding School and walked up to the parlor to see Elijah waiting for him. "I thought you were gone." He remarked in confusion

"And miss a chance to say good-bye?" Elijah questioned incredulously.

Klaus looked down at his feet and sighed lowly. "Ingrid told you." He commented knowingly

"I won't allow this, Niklaus. You know that." Elijah drew out dangerously and slowly approached him.

"And you know this is the only option." Klaus argued sternly, not budging from his position.

Elijah stared at him for a moment then sped toward him, shoving the hybrid backward. Klaus grabbed his wrist when he reached in to grab the stake from his pocket but Elijah tossed him carelessly against the wall. "You tell those girls to take me instead."

"No." Klaus refused through an angry growl, glaring up at him from the floor.

"And you will take my life." Elijah requested from him, holding the stake out for him.

"I have burdened you enough." The younger of the two refused and pulled himself up off the floor.

"Your children need you, Niklaus." Elijah reminded him strictly and continued to push. "Your wife needs you."

"I'm not gonna kill you!" Klaus refused and sped toward him again. They engaged in a fist fight for a minute until Elijah gained the upper hand and immobilized him.

Elijah held Klaus' arms behind his headand forced him down to his knees. They both struggled against each other and Elijah knew he didn't have a lot of time to hold him that way. "Ingrid, now!"

Ingrid suddenly sped toward them and plunged her golden dagger straight into Klaus' heart. He gasped out in pain and stared up at her in shock and betrayal as he started to desiccate. She looked down at him apologetically with tears in her dark, brown eyes. "I'm sorry, my love. But you're not dying today."

He tried to say something but he fell lifeless in Elijah's arms before he could utter a single word. Elijah gently guided his body down to the floor and looked to Ingrid. "Are you ready?"

"If you are." She replied with a nod of her head and gazed down at her husband's incapacitated body. "I am sorry." She whispered to him, knowing he could hear her.

Ingrid undid Hope's chains and helped her outside on the lawn. Hope looked at her mother in confusion but Ingrid shook her head. "You deserve to do this out here." She said then pulled out a bottle from Klaus' backpack and held it out toward the younger woman. "Drink this."

Hope grabbed the bottle and quickly undid the cork, throwing it back and finishing it. Her ankle snapped from underneath her and she fell to the ground, whimpering in pain. "It's starting."

A few feet away, the Saltzman twins were standing in a etched circle surrounded by lanterns. They walked along the circle while changing an incantation in unison. "Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras."

Ingrid knelt down to the gound in front of her daughter and gave her an encouraging smile. "Hope. Listen, this will hurt more than anything you've ever known. Your main focus will be to concentrate on the air in your lungs, and the ground beneath you. Use it to ground yourself to the earth."

Hope's bones began to break and she twisted in with the motion. "Ah! Mom!" She cried out in pain, breathing heavily.

"I know. I know. You can do this. If you fight it, it may take hours. Let it in. Allow it to consume you." Ingrid advised calmly with an affectionate smile.

"Hours?" Hope questioned incredulously with wide eyes.

"Don't fight it." Ingrid recommended softly. "You're going to want to give up and fight it. It'll seem like this is all you can take. Don't give up. If you let it in, if you allow it to swallow you whole, then it cannot and will not break you."

"Yeah. I can do this." Hope said confident with a small smile.

"Yes you can. You can do this and so much more. Just know, you will never have to do this again if you don't want to." Ingrid reminded her and smoothed out her daughter's hair. "When you're a wolf, go. Run wild and be free. I will find you in the morning. But know, I am so proud of you." She expressed emotionally and kissed the top of her head.

Hope's bones broke further and she fell completely to the dirt floor. When she looked up at her mother, her eyes were golden-amber. Ingrid placed her hands on either side of Hope's face and flashed her own set of golden-amber eyes.

"Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras." The twins continued on as Hope's body rose up into the air and the Hollow in its bright blue light began to leave her body. The twins spoke louder as the Hollow's power flowed to them. "Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras. Magia tollox de terras."

Hope screamed out in pain until all of the dark magic was gone and she fell back to the ground on all fours, now a small white wolf. She stared at Ingrid, who nodded in encouragement, before running off into the woods.

Elijah stepped into the circle with the twins as they chanted on. "Solvo." The Hollow's power flew into him and he screamed wildly in pain until he absorbed it all and fell down to his knees.

"Alright, come on, girls." Alaric quickly rushed them, holding out his hands. The twins ran to their father before the Saltzmans left the Mikaelsons alone.

"Thank you." Ingrid whispered emotionally to her brother-in-law. "We haven't been close in a very long time but I am so grateful that you're doing this."

Elijah stared at Ingrid with tears in his eyes as the ghostly whispering echoed in his head and grabbed the white oak stake, aiming it at his own heart while screaming out in anticipation.

"Wait!" A furious male voice called out to them and they both turned to see Klaus rushing toward them from the trees.

---
Comment
Vote
Share
Xoxo
-the1andonlytifftiff