INGRID was doting on Hope in the living room of the safe house, picking up her daughter and carrying her into the kitchen. "Hi, baby!"

They entered the kitchen where Elijah was making breakfast. He kissed Hope on the forehead and smiled down at his niece. "Good morning, sweetheart."

Ingrid smiled at her too before walking over to set the infant down in the highchair. She then poured herself a cup of coffee and glanced at her brother-in-law in concern. "How did you sleep?"

He cleared his throat and flipped a pancake over on the stove. "Alright." He answered gruffly, not telling the whole truth and refusing to keep eye contact.

"Elijah..." She called out to him with an unconvinced expression. "You can be honest."

Elijah sighed lowly to himself and turned to face her, an exhausted look on his face. "I didn't sleep."

Ingrid frowned unhappily and set her mug down on the counter. "My apologies. Is there something I could do to help?"

"Not unless you can think of a way to stop Hayley from getting married." He replied in a depressed tone of voice and turned back to the pancakes, plating them and handing them to her.

Ingrid took the plate from him and looked at him in worry. Realizing it was best to leave it be, she nodded her head and walked over to the table, sitting down next to her daughter.

Elijah walked over and sat down across from her with his own plate of food. The Mikaelsons ate breakfast together in silence, Ingrid sparing a glance Elijah's way every so often and Elijah staring off out the window.

While Hope was taking a nap, Ingrid was standing on the porch and speaking on the phone. "I'm going to kill her, Niklaus."

"While I'm glad he dodged a bullet, I don't think killing Hayley will help Elijah at this point." Klaus replied in stern tone from the other end of the call.

"I should never have allowed them to get so close." She sneered furiously and pulled her jacket closer around her. "I knew this would happen."

"Ingrid, love, there's nothing you could've done to prevent this. Despite what you try to do or how much you try to protect him, there's nothing you could've done." He explained in a calm voice then paused for a second before continuing. "Elijah is a grown man, he can handle himself."

"Doesn't make the inevitable any less frustrating." She remarked with a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What do we do? I cannot think of anyway to help him and it's..." she trailed off while clentching her fist. "...it's killing me." She ran a hand through her long, brunette hair and groaned. "I cannot help my family and it is painful."

"There's not much you can do, love. You have to let him heal on his own." Klaus informed her and continued on. "Listen, I'm on my way. Please be open minded."

"About?" She questioned in confusion but was met with the end of the dial tone. Growling, she looked to see that he had hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket.

Hours later, Klaus arrived at the safe house with a certain blonde following in tow. "I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. The little troublemaker all the fuss has been about." The front door opened and Ingrid walked out on the porch with Hope in her arms as Klaus walked up the steps and joined her on the porch. "Camille, this is Hope."

Cami was absolutely stunned and looks at the couple in confusion before turning her focus back on Hope, gaping in shock. "Oh my god! But-- You said-- I thought she was--?"

Klaus didn't take his eyes off his family while he spoke. "The only way to truly protect her was to convince the world of her death." He explained and looked awkward as he turned back to Cami. "I hope you understand, once it is safe for you to leave here, this secret cannot leave with you."

Cami, clearly happy at this revelation, nodded in understanding and smiled at her with tears in her eyes before she walked past him to see Hope for herself. Hope grabbed her finger and cooed at her and Cami and Ingrid giggled in admiration. "Oh, she's perfect!" The blonde complimented with a wide grin.

"Thank you." Ingrid mused smugly and glanced at the human in obvious disinterest.

They gathered inside and began to discuss their plan and Klaus was standing up, facing them. "Now that we've entombed our mother, I intend to finish making the city safe for Hope." He said while walking over and sitting down next to Ingrid. "Which, to start, means dealing with the lingering problem of Finn."

Cami sighed in dread and shook her head. "Oh, once he figures out what you've done to your mother, he's gonna go off the deep end."

"That's exactly why we need to keep you out of harm's way. Ingrid and I will return home and take care of my wayward brother. Elijah will remain here with you." Klaus explained while looking over at Elijah, who appeared displeased as he peered out the window. The hybrid rubbed his hands together and smirked. "He's been experiencing some side effects since his ordeal as our mother's captive. Best he stay here and convalesce."

Elijah pursed his lips with an offended look, clearly still feeling patronized by his family. "A single violent outburst at a filthy road-side café and one never hears the end of it." He remarked in a sarcastic tone and turns to face them.

"That is because no one expects it from you, Elijah." Ingrid replied with a smirk and motioned between herself and Klaus. "Us? Now, that's a different story."

Klaus laughed and smirked over at them. "Oh, Cami has a way with minds plagued by demons, brother. You two can bond!"

Cami looks over at Elijah awkwardly while Elijah simply looked uncomfortable.

"Well, if you excuse me, I best be on my way!" Klaus stated as he stood to his feet. "Rebekah should have already woken up in the body of Angelica Barker. Once she has cut the ties of Miss Barker's former life, she'll make her way directly here." He smiled at his brother. "You should expect her shortly."

Klaus was in the SUV, waiting for Ingrid, who was hesitant to leave the house and stood on the porch with Elijah. The older Mikaelson was holding Hope and smiled reassuringly at his sister-in-law.

Ingrid looked at them and shook her hands rapidly. "Are you sure you have it?" She questioned again for what seemed like the fiftieth time. "I can stay--"

Elijah cut her off and laughed at her anxiety. "Ingrid, I have it handled. Now please, go."

"I..." she trailed off and fidgeted with her fingers, staring down at her daughter. "Okay but please, please, please call me. I do not care what it is or how simple it seems, call me. I will rush down here and---"

"Ingrid, dear!" Klaus called out to her from the car, smiling warmly at her. "Trust me, they have it handled." He assured her and waved her over. "Time to go!"

Ingrid hesitated again but finally relented and placed a lingering kiss on Hope's forehead. "Goodbye, baby. Mommy will be back soon. Be good." She whispered to the infant and turned back to Elijah. "Just call."

"I will call." Elijah remarked with a nod of his head and a laugh. "Now, go."

Nodding, Ingrid glanced at Hope one last time before rushing toward the SUV and climbing in. She waved at them as Klaus pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street.

On the drive home, Ingrid stared out the window while bouncing her leg and fiddling with her fingers. Klaus sensed her mood and called out to her softly. "Ingrid, have trust. They're going to be okay. You have nothing to worry about."

"Is this how every mother feels leaving their child with someone new for the first time?" Ingrid questioned nervously and looked over at him with a disapproving facial expression. "I loathe it." She then sighed heavily and sunk down in her seat. "I cannot believe you are entrusting our daughter in the hands of Camille."

"I can personally assure you that Cami would never allow anything to happen to Hope." Klaus said sternly, quickly looking over at her then back to the road.

Scoffing, Ingrid rolled her eyes and looked back out the window. "Yeah, okay... with what? Her watered down psychological insight?" She questioned sarcastically then laughed humorlessly. "I would have chosen anyone else. Marcel, Josh, even Hayley, over Camille."

"You can be displeased but it's already done." He reminded her sternly and frowned slightly. "If anything happens, I'll take the responsibility."

Ingrid shot him a face of agreement and raised her eyebrows. "Correct. You will."

They arrived back into New Orleans to find themselves magically trapped in the compound with the Crescent wolves and Marcel's vampire army. Davina and Kol were trying to undo Finn's spell while the Mikaelsons and Hayley attempted to keep everyone calm.

Klaus stormed toward Marcel after the vampires were snarling at the werewolves in hunger. "Your vampires seem to think it's lunch-time!" He noticed all of them struggling to stay calm and became worried. "What is it?"

"They're not the only ones who are hungry. It's all of us." Marcel explained to him with a groan.

"Yeah, like super-size hungry." Josh added as the veins crawled out from under his eyes. "And there's an all-you-can-eat werewolf buffet right through those doors."

They all looked into the courtyard, where more vampires were rolling around in pain while the werewolves sat nearby and socialized, oblivious to what was happening. Gia's vampire face started to emerge as she stared at the wolves and Klaus suddenly realized that Finn was responsible for what was happening.

Ingrid watched the vampires from the balcony with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. Klaus looked up at her and she rolled her eyes before walking away toward their bedroom. He followed suit and walked into the room just as she threw herself down on the bed.

"What is wrong, love?" Klaus questioned her in concern and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, you know... all of it." She replied in a dull tone of voice and stared up at the ceiling. "I guess that's the thing about paradise... it's always short lived."

"You will have that again." Klaus replied in determination with a stern look. "It'll be for more than one day. I swear it."

Ingrid rolled over to lie on her stomach and pulled the pillow to her face, staring at the wall behind him. "How long do you suppose that will take?" She questioned curiously then watched as his face turned to an unsure and sad expression. "I figured that as well." Sighing, she hugged the pillow and met his eyes. "We have created a world so unsafe that it may never be safe."

It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. While staring off into space, she pursed her and sighed. "The inevitable fact that we must realizes is that... she is going to grow up without us." The hybrid commented with a frown and teary eyes. "I cannot be the mother who pops in once a year for a few days then leave. That is unfair to her."

"I'm sure she would eventually understand." Klaus remarked, hoping to make her feel better but from her face, he knew it wasn't working. Sighing, he lied down next to her and wrapped an arm around her torso. "She'll know all the sacrifices we made were worth it in the end because it made her home better."

Ingrid closed her eyes and sighed. "Niklaus, I know you love this city but we can go anywhere. We can do anything." She remarked in frustration and held a hand up. "Why can't we leave and come back in another twenty years?"

He shot her a look and began to argue. "Ingrid---"

"No, you're right." She said in a reluctant tone and sighed heavily. "It was wrong of me to even ask. This is our home. Our kingdom. Your kingdom. I could never truly ask you to leave it. That would be selfish of me." She admitted with a frown and looked at him with an apologetic expression.

Klaus' light blue eyes darted back and forth as he searched her face. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you." He said sadly, his heart dropping to his stomach as he anticipated her answer.

"No." Ingrid replied immediately and shook her head. "We do this together or not at all." She said sternly causing him to smile widely. "Paradise can wait."

---
Comment
Vote
Share
Xoxo
-the1andonlytifftiff