WANDERING around the woods of Mystic Falls, Virginia, Ingrid and Klaus came across a familiar blonde. She gaped at them in surprise and was shocked even more to see Ingrid's pregnant belly.

"The Mikaelsons." Caroline drew out in a long breath, unhappy to see them. "Whatever it is, save it. Matt is buried alive and I need to find him."

"Well perhaps you'd be more interested in talking about Tyler." Klaus remarked with a wide smirk.

At the mention of Tyler's name, Caroline came to attention and her heart beat wildly in her chest. "Is he...Did you..."

Klaus shook his head with pursed lips. "No. I sent him off with a little more than a bruised ego. He really does hate me, poor lad. Revenge...it eats at him."

"So much so that he attempted to kill our child." Ingrid snarled furiously and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I hear you two broke up." Klaus recalled with a feigned sympathetic expression.

"Because I made him choose. Me, or his stupid revenge fantasy. He chose wrong." She snapped at them, furious that they had disturbed her just to bring up Tyler. "I suggest that you learn from his mistake and let Katherine die in peace. Dying sucks enough as it is... no need to rub anyone's nose in it." She advised before speeding away into the woods.

Once she was gone, they continued their walk toward the Salvatore boarding house and Ingrid laughed when she stopped face to face with the Salvatore brothers. "Hello, boys."

Stefan sighed heavily while Damon glared at her in annoyance. "Ingrid. Surprised to see you here. Thought your family packed it up and hightailed it to New Orleans." The older sibling remarked in disdain then motioned to her baby bump. "I see why."

"How is that even remotely possible?" Stefan questioned in surprise and confusion.

"You needn't worry your small brains about it." She replied in a mocking manner, waving them off. "But good news is, Original hybrids can conceive. So be prepared for there to be a lot more Mikaelsons running around the world." She informed them with a mischevious smirk.

"Why are you here, Ingrid?" Stefan questioned her, his bushy eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at her in unamusement, not willing to entertain her any longer.

"Word is Katerina is finally about to croak. Niklaus wanted to pay a visit to ensure this was true." Ingrid answered honestly and shrugged her shoulders. "I am simply here because it gets me away from the mess in New Orleans and I figured I would see the small minded people of Mystic Falls once more."

"So, you can remind us how insignificant we are?" Damon questioned with an incredulous look om his face. "Thanks but other people do that now."

She shrugged with pursed lips then narrowed her dark brown eyes. "Oh, good. I had hoped to run into Tyler."

"What do you want with Tyler?" Stefan asked her in curiosity, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tyler paid us a visit a few weeks ago to prove that my daughter could sire hybrids. It was proven true." She informed them before they could ask more questions. "Instead of leaving it at that, he masterminded a plan to kill her. I want what is due." She snarled viciously, her eyes flashing golden-amber.

"While I can agree that was wrong and disturbing for him to do that... we haven't seen him and even if we had, we wouldn't tell you." Damon responded smugly, hoping she would leave soon.

"I figured as much." Ingrid replied, nodding her head and sucking on her teeth. "Niklaus!" She called out into the wooded area and a few seconds later, he sped toward her.

"No sign of Tyler." He informed her in disappointment then looked at the brothers with a smirk. "Ah, the Salvatores."

"They haven't the slightest idea where the recreant is and they have made it clear that they wouldn't tell us either way." Ingrid enlightened him with a blank face. "We wasted a trip, darling. Tell Rebekah it is time to leave and I will inform Elijah that we are on our way home."

Niklaus nodded in understanding then sped away before coming back a few moments later. He walked toward them with a smile. "All set, love."

"Another time then, boys." She bid her farewells and turned around, walking away with Klaus following close behind her.

They arrived back home to New Orleans hours later, Ingrid had fallen asleep in the car so once Klaus parked, he sped toward the passenger side and gently picked her up. He then carried her up the stairs toward their bedroom. In the hallway, he caught the eye of Elijah, who nodded at him, and smiled slightly. Klaus then set Ingrid down on their bed and took her shoes off. He dropped them to the ground quietly, hoping not to disturb her, and gently slipped off her winter coat and scarf.

She stirred slightly but otherwise didn't wake. Instead, she rolled over onto her side, curling up to cuddle with the pillow. He laughed wholeheartedly and pulled the duvet back, covering her up with it and placing a kiss on her nose, cheeks, and forehead. "I love you." He whispered to her and placed a hand on her baby bump. "I love you."

Klaus stood up straighter and walked over to turn the lamp off. He made his way toward his side of the bed and kicked his boots off, sliding in under the covers next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she pulled herself as close as she could be in her sleep. She had her head on his chest with her arm wrapped around his neck. Her one leg was thrown over top of his torso while the other lied undersea her. The ever-growing baby rested against him and he set his hand on her side.

He tried to sleep but his mind wandered as he realized they were almost six months into her pregnancy and had nothing prepared. He admitted to himself that he had allowed other things take up that priority and had completely forgotten that it was even necessary. He knew she had too because otherwise she would have continued to remind him.

Klaus wanted to assume that it was because she was so terrified of losing their child in the early stages of her pregnancy that now she was finally accepting that their daughter was going to make it into the world. He didn't think it had finally hit her yet that they were actually having a baby and it wasn't a dream they had so many times in the past.

He was worrying about being a father. He didn't want to raise his daughter the same way his father had raised him. He wouldn't admit that he was terrified of being a horrible father.

He lied there for what felt like ages, internally panicking about all the things he had to have done before his daughter was born until he finally fell asleep hours after lying next to her.

The next morning, when Klaus had taken Diego and Thierry to the Cauldron, they found two vampires desiccated on the floor with a symbol carved into their foreheads. The symbol was a that of a cross and two diagonal lines intersecting.

Klaus, Ingrid, Elijah, Diego, and many of the other vampires were congregating in the courtyard to discuss their findings. Elijah was looking at the mark on the fallen vampires as Klaus glared down, furiously. "Someone will die for this."

"And they will." Ingrid replied with a determined look on her face.

"Remarkably, I don't disagree." Elijah admitted while standing to his feet. "However, I would like to know where they learned such dark magic. I had hoped never to see that symbol again."

"I recall it is the signature of a fool who once stood against us." Klaus sneered darkly. "Clearly, some upstart witch is salvaging old tricks. I'll do for him as I did the other." He remarked sternly then turned toward Diego. "Diego, when night falls, I want you to gather every vampire in the Quarter. Get me the head of whoever did this and put it on a stick." He ordered with a sinister smirk.

Diego walked toward him with a face of reluctancy. "Yeah. That's gonna be a problem." He said causing Klaus' face to fall. "Everyone is freaked out, man. We haven't had witches killing vampires in a long time. Marcel made sure of that."

"Marcel has run off like a scared child. You lot are left with me." Klaus reminded him with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now, who of you will fight to defend our home?" He questioned his army and looked around to see that no one would come forward. "Not a single one of you will stand with me, so afraid are you of this new threat? You should know better." He scolded them in disappointment then stormed off toward the door. "I'll handle this myself."

Ingrid was sitting in one of the chairs in the courtyard, watching Elijah pace the floor in front of her. She slammed her hand down and sighed lowly with a roll of her dark brown eyes. "Please stop. You are driving yourself mad and more importantly, you are giving me a migraine. What has you in a fret, Elijah?"

"Rebekah is not answering her calls." Elijah answered her, holding up his cell phone and clenching his jaw.

"Do you figure it was the work of this witch?" Ingrid asked in genuine concern upon seeing his body language.

"Frankly, I'm worried that she had something to do with this." Elijah replied with a pointed expression then took a deep breath. "She's very displeased with Niklaus, perhaps even conspiring with others.

"When is she not displeased with Niklaus?" Ingrid remarked in annoyance and raised an eyebrow. "She has spent everyday of the last millenia angry at him for one discretion or another. It would be a miracle if she was not angry with him."

Elijah shot her a face of agreement then noticed Thierry drinking alone at one of the tables nearby and walked toward him. "Thierry, is it?"

Thierry looked up at him and nodded, speaking gruffly. "That's right."

"My sister is rather fond of you. Strange, she's not typically drawn to unremarkable men." Elijah smoothly insulted and Ingrid laughed loudly. "Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?"

"I don't know what you're--" Thierry began to play dumb and deny any knowledge but was cut off abruptly.

Elijah, annoyed, grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. "You can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout the Quarter."

Thierry groaned in pain and looked at him with wide eyes. "She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff. I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy. He desiccated her with his touch."

"Like a coward, you left her." Elijah jeered at him in anger.

"What was I supposed to do, fight some warlock that took out an Original?" Thierry questioned bewildered, defending his actions.

Elijah narrowed his eyes, boring holes through the vampire. "Where was this, exactly?"

"The docks, warehouse 57. I was just doing what she asked. You cannot tell Klaus about this." Thierry begged desperately, shaking his head side to side quickly.

Elijah waited a moment before snapping his neck and allowing his body to drop to the floor. He then fixed his sleeves and mused aloud. "I shall take that into consideration." He stormed toward the door with Ingrid following suit. He paused and turned toward her with a disapproving face. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To save Rebekah." She responded in an obvious tone of voice then smiled in amusement. "Say what you wish but we both know I am just going to do as I please regardless. So you can cooperate with me or we can argue the whole time. Your choice."

Elijah paused for a moment and sighed before smirking at her and pointing a finged at her. "Do not leave my sight. Understand?"

"Understood." She agreed quickly and they both left the compound.

The Mikaelson pair arrived to where Rebekah's body was left and immediately ran toward her. "Rebekah." Elijah yelled out in concern and moved to kneel next to her but found that he couldn't cross the barrier made by the salt.

"A bloody boundary spell." Ingrid sneered in aggravation. "I loathe witches more and more with each passing minute."

"Someone is channeling her. They're using her as an endless source of power." Elijah observed with furrowed eyebrows. "We have to get her out of there." Panicked, Elijah was spoke on the phone with Sophie, trying to figure out how to break the magical boundary. "You're not listening." He snapped in frustration causing Ingrid to purse her lips and look down at the ground with wide eyes. "We cannot enter the circle. There's some kind of confinement spell... If I can't remove her, we can't break the link."

"It's a convoluted spell. It's like a witch's recipe. You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient. A mystical binding agent. I don't know, volcanic ash, rock salt... anything up to and including eye of newt." Sophie explained as though it was basic knowledge.

Elijah looked over at Ingrid and suddenly got an idea. "What about the blood of a witch?"

"Do you have the blood of a witch?" Sophie questioned in confusion.

"I need a favor." Elijah said to his sister-in-law, a hopeful expression on his face.

Ingrid immediately understood what he was implying and nodded. "The baby is a quarter witch. You needn't ask." Shen then bit into her wrist, drawing blood.

They walked toward the magic circle together and Ingrid allowed the blood to fall on the magic boundary line. It began to fizzle and deteriorate. Once, Elijah was able to get through, he quickly picked up Rebekah and rushed her out of the circle. The Originals quickly sped away, leaving the dock behind.

Elijah and Ingrid were strolling down the sidewalk and the latter of the two smirked in satisfaction. "See? You needed me."

Elijah chuckled and shook his head. "Well, I suppose I did." He looked down at her in concern and stopped in his place causing her to stop as well. "I understand your need to be involved. To go from the self titled matriarch of our family to the simple "house-wife"--" he placed air quotes around the term and sighed. "-- as you so put it, has to be exceptionally frustrating."

"I have reached the inevitable conclusion, and the unwilling acceptance, that this is temporary. In about three months, I can finally protect her in the best way I know possible without worrying about killing her. Also, I'll be able to take my place in the family again." Ingrid replied with a wide smile and began walking again.

"You never lost your place." Elijah assured her softly and followed her again. "You're still part of this family. I would say, you're the most important member of this family."

Ingrid scoffed and pointed at her baby bump. "No. She is. I am merely her host for a few months. Then she'll get here and be the center of everyone's attention." She commented with a wide smile.

"Especially Niklaus." Elijah added with a laugh.

She was about to respond when she heard Rebekah's voice in the alleyway two streets down. She held a finger up, signaling that she will return to the topic in a moment.

Rebekah had shoved Thierry against a wall by his throat, snarling at him seethingly. "Ugh! I should rip out your coward heart."

"What, Rebekah?" Thierry groaned from the impact and looked at her, dryly. "We made a deal to take out your brother, but at he end of the day, it's every man for himself."

"I am so sick of self-serving narcissists. Are men simply incapable of committing to an alliance?" She rhetorically questioned, exhausted from being let down time and time again.

Elijah sped over to Thierry and snapped his neck again. He looked up at his sister, disappointment written all over his face. "Oh, I asked you to cease these petty moves against our family, and yet you conspire with this fool. Is this what its come to, making moves against your own blood?"

"Don't you try and shame me. Nik grows more powerful by the day, and you do nothing but encourage him." Rebekah yelled at him, incandescent with rage.

"Because it is stupid to do otherwise." Ingrid remarked in a dull tone as she joined them in the alley. "It is also inadvisable."

"I offer him my counsel because it's clear to me that he needs to make the city our home." Elijah replied, explaining his actions to her "Now, perhaps leading these derelicts will curb some of these impulses, grant him some degree of happiness." He said in a hopeful tone and Ingrid snorted to herself.

"You always talk of Nik's happiness. Over thousand years, he has robbed me of any chance at my own." Rebekah tearfully spoke, her voice wavering from years of built up heartbreak. "What about me, Elijah? Am I not a concern for you?"

"We all make sacrifices in the name of this family, Rebekah, but know this. I will never stand against you or Niklaus." Elijah reminded her strongly, shaking his head.

"What about Hayley?" Rebekah questioned harshly, throwing him under the bus, and Ingrid slowly turned toward him with an unreadable face. "Nothing I conspire to do, none of my treachery will harm this family as much as your feelings for her. You're a hypocrite, Elijah. You would choose love over family and then condemn me for doing the same."

"Every time you have chosen love, our family paid the price." Ingrid slowly remarked, her face stone cold. "None worse than Alexander. Niklaus holds that against you because it easily could have meant our extinction. He continues to ruin your love affairs because you continue to make poor choices. I will, however, admit... the only one I approve of is Marcellus." She mused with a smirk before glancing at her, unsympathetic. "Do not come crawling to this family for help after you repeatedly attempt to rid of Niklaus. I can assure you I will not be welcoming. If you expect loyalty, start being loyal."

"Stop acting out like a stubborn child and get your act together. You're an Original, not a love sick, teenager." Ingrid advised sternly before turning on her heels and walking out of the alley.

---
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