THE courtyard at the Mikaelson compound had been completely made over with Christmas decorations including a huge tree in the middle of the room that was adorned with white lights and gold and red baubles.

Freya was weakly lying on the couch, her broken arm bound up in a makeshift sling. Ingrid walked down the stairs to see the sight and turned to the witch's savior in concern and rage. "What happened?" She demanded, storming toward them.

"She got jumped. Three vampires, all dressed like yuppies." Jackson explained quickly.

Ingrid raised an eyebrow in confusion before realizing what he meant. "The Strix." She sneered out venomously.

Jackson nodded with a deep sigh. "Yeah. She needs your blood."

Ingrid bit into her wrist and offered it to Freya, who gladly took it without hesitation.

"They took it. The Serratura." Freya informed the hybrid then groaned in pain and frustration as she pushed herself into a seated position. "I was meeting with a witch from the bloodline who built the lock. I was hoping she could help me destroy it, but it's not possible. She said the only way to get rid of it is to use it. We have to get it back and lock something else away. Anything but our family."

"Freya, I don't care about that right now." Ingrid reassured her sister-in-law. "We'll figure it out but you need to focus on yourself at the moment."

"I'm afraid we have a far more urgent problem." Elijah added, walking into the room. They all turned toward him but he just looked over to the entrance to the courtyard causing the trio to meet his interest.

Rebekah walked into the room, looking pale and tired, and smiled warmly at her family. "Well, to be fair, I am the prettiest urgent problem you have ever seen."

Ingrid stood straighter on her feet and narrowed her eyes, still furious about her involvement in Hope's kidnapping. "Rebekah..."

The Mikaelson sisters sat side-by-side on the couch while Freya examined the skull-shaped seal on Rebekah's wrist. Elijah was pacing around beside them while Jackson watched them with worry. Rebekah signed in frustration before addressing Freya with a small smile. "Give me the bad news, Doc."

"Aya's stake was cursed. It infected you. As this mark grows, you will go mad. Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable Ripper." Freya reluctantly explained, frowning deeply.

Rebekah sighed again and rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Aya always was thorough."

Ingrid chuckled humorlessly and rested against the back cushions. "True." She mused dully with a raised eyebrow. "That is one thing I admired from her."

"The Strix always employ a safeguard. In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt." Elijah remarked in aggravation then turned to Freya with a concerned expression. "Can you fix this?"

Freya picked up the stake and examined it, noticing a set of unfamiliar-looking runes carved into the end of it before nodding weakly. "The spell is carved here. I can... I can reverse it." She quickly stood to her feet but it was clear by the dazed look on her face and the quiet tone of her voice that something was wrong with her. "I just... need some time... and a hell of a lot of magic."

Suddenly, Freya's eyes rolled back into her head as she fainted. Fortunately, Elijah was able to catch her before she fell to the ground and he set her unconscious body on the couch next to Rebekah and Ingrid, both of whom looked panicked.

Elijah looked down at Freya and noticed the puncture wound on her neck was still bleeding and weeping. "This scratch is not healed." He commented in concern then realized what was going on. "This is poison. This is an assassination attempt."

Freya began to stir after a moment and Elijah held his hand out to Freya. "Are you okay?"

She grabbed it and squeezed it tightly, sitting herself up while panting for air. "I feel weak."

Elijah stood in his spot, quiet, as Ingrid glanced at him in concern. "We don't have time for the brooding hour. What's going on in your head?"

"The Strix are fond of this slow-acting poison." He informed the group. "There is an antidote... If I can get my hands on it." Elijah then pulled out his phone and walked away to make a call, leaving the others to look at each other awkwardly.

Freya reached over and grabbed Rebekah's injured wrist into her hands. "For this, I'll need a pure silver knife, some white muskroot..."

Ingrid turned to the werewolf and stood to her feet. "I trust you're capable."

Jackson sighed with an eye roll but nodded his head regardless. "Yeah." He replied and walked out of the compound.

"No offense but I don't think you're in the proper condition--" Ingrid began kindly with a worried expression on her face.

Freya was still panting and weak from the poison as she shook her head in rejection, cutting off the hybrid. "I'll channel Finn."

Ingrid's face fell into one of anger and disappointment. "Oh... that..." she trailed off, narrowing her eyes, and thought of how to word her statement. "That sounds counterproductive."

Rebekah scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Oh, lovely! My fate rests in the hands of our black sheep of a brother that we have trapped in a necklace! I'm sure he's just leaping to help.

Freya sighed at her sisters, frustrated by their lack of faith. "Well, he's the only other powerful witch here, and we are out of options." She sternly pointed out then weakly stood to her feet and walked upstairs as they watched her in worry.

Ingrid walked out of Hope's nursery, closing the door behind her, to find Rebekah caught a glimpse of the sleeping child as the door closed and smiled widely. "She's gotten so big."

Nodding her head in agreement, Ingrid folded her hands over her chest with a blank expression. "Yeah. It goes by fast."

"I missed it..." Rebekah mumbled sadly until her face fell and twisted into a dark cold sneer. "Maybe if you got off your high horse and quit being a controlling mother, I could be involved in my niece's life."

Ingrid was shocked for a second before narrowing her eyes. "Hmmm..." She trailed off, licking her lips with a humorless laugh. "Maybe had you not let my daughter be kidnapped by Hayley then you could see her. But you did so you don't."

Rebekah sped toward Ingrid and pinned her in a choke-hold against the far wall. Ingrid smirked wickedly at the direction things were heading and kicked Rebekah harshly away from her. Rebekah flew a few feet away and slid across the wooden floor of the hallway. Walking toward the blonde, Ingrid grabbed her by the back of jacket and tossed her over the balcony, sending the Original crashing down onto one of the tables in the courtyard.

Rebekah sped to her feet and glared furiously at Ingrid, who jumped down from the balcony and met her gaze.

"It's because of you that we spent centuries running." Rebekah snarled harshly and grabbed a broken piece of the table.

Scoffing, Ingrid rolled her eyes and watched her sister-in-law's movements closely. "No." She rejected with a shake of her head. "You can only blame me for the first twelve years. That was my fault. I was reckless and destructive and I foolishly alerted Mikael. For that, I am sorry." She expressed genuinely.

"You can't blame me for the following nine hundred years. I spent those nine hundred years in that coffin. If you were still running, you can only blame yourselves." Ingrid sneered, jabbing a finger at her. "You even took it upon yourself to summon him. That's on you!"

Rebekah growled at sped toward Ingrid, holding up the debris aggressively. She swung with force and struck the hybrid in the abdomen with the makeshift stake. Ingrid hissed in pain and gripped tightly onto the wooden beam before harshly yanking it out from her own body. She breathed heavily while her wound healed and glared furiously.

"You corrupted Nik! You ruined him and made him into a monster." Rebekah yelled in an accusatory tone causing Ingrid to frown deeply as her heart panged with hurt.

"Niklaus is not a monster." Ingrid shook her head while holding back the tears she felt welding in the back of her eyes. "He is not ruined or stained." She angrily remarked. "I didn't corrupt him. I wanted him to stop pretending to be someone he wasn't. We were all innocent once and that was taken from us. So now it's your turn to stop pretending. There is blood on your hands same as the rest of us!" She bellowed, pointing the blood stained stake at Rebekah.

Rebekah didn't respond verbally and rushed toward Ingrid, tackling her to the ground and barring her fangs menacingly. Her once blue eyes had faded into pitch black abysses.

Ingrid was caught off guard for a split second before laughing in amusement. This angered Rebekah further and she punched her repeatedly. Ingrid blocked the blows but Rebekah managed to land a few. Noticing that the stake was a few feet away, Ingrid shoved Rebekah off and sped toward it.

Rebekah ran toward Ingrid only to be met with a stake a few inches under her heart. The blonde moaned lowly in pain and stared directly into Ingrid's dark brown eyes which were narrowed into two dark slits. Ingrid grabbed Rebekah by the shoulder and forced the stake further into her chest. The wooden weapon almost grazed the bottom of the blonde Original's heart and she cried out.

Elijah sped toward them and grabbed Ingrid roughly by the arms, pulling her away from his sister. "Ingrid, stop!"

Ingrid pushed out of his hold and gaped at him in disbelief. "Of course..." she mused lowly to herself and threw her hands up in exasperation.

Rebekah pulled the stake out from her chest cavity and panted in relief. Elijah finally turned to Rebekah and realized that her eyes were pure black. She growled menacingly at Ingrid, who raised an eyebrow in a challenging motion. Elijah understood what was happening and tried to shake Rebekah to get her full attention. "Rebekah, look at me! Rebekah! Control yourself."

Rebekah sighed reluctantly and closed her eyes. When Rebekah opened her eyes again a moment later, they had returned to their usual white and blue. "Dear brother... I have control." She assured him softly.

Elijah, lulled into a false sense of security, sighed in relief and let go of her. "Good."

Then Rebekah's eyes turned black again and she hit Elijah under the chin with the heel of her hand so hard that it nearly snapped his neck. He fell to the floor, not expecting such a reaction, which allowed Rebekah to turn her sights back on Ingrid, who was laughing loudly.

Rebekah rushed at Ingrid again and attempted to snap her neck. However, Ingrid grabbed ahold of her wrists and broke them, a loud, sickening crack coming from the motion. Rebekah growled furiously as she reset her hands into place. She then grabbed Ingrid by the throat and shoved her across the room. Ingrid slammed into the wall before falling to the ground. Before she had the chance to stand up, Rebekah stromed toward her and punched her hand into Ingrid's chest cavity, grabbing hold of the hybrid's heart.

Ingrid gripped her wrist, trying to remove the hand from her chest without removing her own heart. She growled animalistically and barred her dual fangs before biting down on Rebekah's arm. Rebekah yelled in pain as the werewolf venom entered her blood stream.

A familiar male voice echoed in the courtyard, bellowing in fury. "Rebekah!"

Ingrid turned away from her attacker to glance at the owner of the voice, smirking widely when she noticed that it was Klaus.

Klaus approached the duo with a dark glare, grabbing his sister's wrist harshly. "Not her." He whispered desperately, hoping to break through to her.

Rebekah let go of Ingrid's heart and removed her hand from her chest. Ingrid placed her hand over her healing wound and took a loud deep breath of relief. Klaus placed a hand on her cheek, his face covered in concern and panic. "Are you alright, my love?"

Nodding her head quickly, Ingrid rested her hand against his while panting heavily. "Yeah. I'm good."

Kissing her tenderly on the forehead in relief, he stood to his feet and sped himself and Rebekah backward until she crashed into the nearby dinner table, smashing all of the glass plates on top of it.

Rebekah, while in Klaus' choke-hold, still managed to lash out at Klaus. "Ah, Ingrid... still so loyal to her after all she did to destroy you. All she will ever do is destroy you."

Klaus was stunned, involuntarily letting his guard down, so Rebekah siezed the opportunity and used all of her strength to throw herself onto her feet. Klaus still had his arms on her to hold her back but she didn't relent in her position. "Every woman that you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison." She suddenly shoved Klaus away from her. "Ingrid is toxic and eventually Hope will grow toxic too."

Klaus wasn't thrown back very far, however, and he and Elijah, who had finally recovered, stood side-by-side and glared at Rebekah angrily.

Ingrid pulled herself up from the floor with a small grunt and pushed the broken furniture out of her way. "Don't dare talk about my daughter!" Ingrid sped toward her and punched the blonde repeatedly in the face. Rebekah fell back with blood pouring from her nose.

When Rebekah lunged toward her brothers, Klaus and Elijah each grabbed one of her arms and threw her back onto the dinner table, where she struggled against their hold as they pinned her down.

Just then, a still-weak and bloodied Freya rushed toward them as fast as she could with the enchanted blade in her hand. "Hold her!"

Klaus and Elijah did what they were told and pinned Rebekah down as hard as they could. Freya walked and sliced the patch of skin with the cursed skull weal on it off of Rebekah's wrist with the knife and chanted the spell.

Rebekah screamed so loudly the incantation was unintelligible. Finally, once it was done, Rebekah fell limp as her body started to heal from her injuries. Her eyes closed for a moment and they hesitantly let go of her and backed away.

After a moment, Rebekah began to stir again and she groaned as she came to and sat up. The other Mikaelsons all watched with concern, though they were relieved that her eyes were no longer black. Finally, Rebekah broke the silence and spoke up in a sarcastic voice. "Well, that was annoying."

Freya sighed in relief and Klaus couldn't help but chuckle at her. After a moment, Rebekah smiled a cheeky smile, indicating that all was well for now.

Klaus found Ingrid in the kitchen, standing at the counter. She was wearing an apron over her dress clothes and was chopping a series of vegetables on a chopping block with a large knife. He over and stood behind her, leaning against the island. "Are you okay?" He questioned quietly, glancing at her back in concern.

"I'm alright." She answered with a heavy sigh, scooping the vegetables into a pan on the stove. "It's just... not the day I was expecting. But I'm not surprised. Disappointed but not surprised."

Klaus frowned from her disappointment. "Ingrid--"

"No, it's... it's okay." She cut him off quickly and held her hands out at her sides as she spoke. "We had six months of calm and that--that should be enough."

"But it's not." Klaus commented knowingly, slowly walking toward her.

Setting the knife down, Ingrid turned to face him with a guilty expression on her face. "Is that so wrong of me?"

Shaking his head, he grabbed ahold of her arms and smiled reassuringly. "No. It's not wrong at all." He kissed the side of her head and rubbed her back.

It was quiet between them for a bit and it was comfort. They held each other, not speaking a word or moving to pull away. Ingrid was the one who moved away with a heavy sigh and a bitter smile. "Dinner isn't going to make itself." She joked with an overdramatic look before turning around and resuming her tasks. "I hope your day was at least slightly better than mine."

Klaus walked over and pushed her away from the pan, taking the wooden spoon from her. Scoffing with a small laugh, she backed off while holding her hands up in surrender. He stirred the vegetables in the hot oil for a second then turned to her and motioned that she hand over the apron. Rolling her eyed, Ingrid undid the ties of her apron and handed it to him.

"My day was better than yours." Klaus informed her with a smirk causing her to give him a fake unimpressed look. "I was helping Camille---"

"Hmmm." Ingrid mused unhappily and pursed her lips. "Camille."

"Love, I would never cheat and you know that." He reassured her sternly, turning toward her entirely. "We've been married for over a millennium. Have some faith."

"Yeah... and that's a long time." She replied with a frown, looking down at her nails as she picked at the polish.

"What's wrong, my love?" He asked in worry, turning off the stove, setting the wooden spoon down and giving her undivided attention.

"We've been married for a millennium..." She started, staring at his chest with a distant look as she fiddled with her wedding band. "When we first became immortal, I was ecstatic at the chance to spend a literal eternity with the love of my life." She remarked with a wide, loving smile causing him to smile back. She licked her lips and bit her bottom lip while blinking lightly. "Then I realized that we couldn't have any children..." She said, her voice cracking. Klaus frowned and grabbed ahold of her hands in comfort. "And I was enraged beyond belief. I was heartbroken... all I wanted more than anything was to be a mother. The mother to your children. Not only had I failed so many times but that chance was completely gone. I let that rage consume me... and it clouded judgment, ultimately luring Mikael to us. For that I am sorry. I've never... apologized for putting our family through that. But I am sorry." She expression genuinely in an emotional whisper, looking up at him with teary eyes and shaking her head.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Klaus assured her softly, grabbing her face gently in his hand and rubbing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "It barely makes a dent compared to the mistakes the rest of us made to alert Mikael."

"I guess somewhere along the line that rage and devastation turned to silent worry." She explained quietly as he watched her curiously. "We're not the same people we were thousand years ago. And with Camille so present in your life... I fear she fills a void that was still left behind."

Shaking his head rapidly, he placed a hand on her back and pulled her close to his body. "Cami doesn't fill any void. You are the only woman I have ever loved. I see Cami strictly as my therapist." He explained sternly and kissed her forehead. "I want to be better." Klaus admitted causing Ingrid to glance up at him in confusion. "A better man. A better husband. A better father. I thought Cami's psychological insight could help me understand my flaws and how to better myself."

Smiling widely, she grabbed ahold of his face with her hands and gazed affectionately into his light blue eyes. "Niklaus, you are the most amazing husband and father. There's nothing you can do to make me think otherwise."

"But I'm not the same man you married." He argued with a deep frown.

"I'm not the same woman you married." She pointed out sternly. "We've both changed and it makes sense. We're who we need to be in that moment. I have loved you through each version. From that small, shy boy in the woods to the sweet, caring man I married to the ruthless yet devoted hybrid you are today." She remarked lovingly as he laughed genuinely. Ingrid licked her lips and shifted on her feet, staring up at him. "Niklaus, I am not the same person I was a millennia ago. I've changed and it would be unfair to not expect the same from you."

"I love you." Klaus expressed emotionally and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"And I love you." She whispered against his lips after pulling away slightly.

Soaking in all the words she had spoken, Klaus looked at her in worry. "Why have you never told me you felt that way?" He asked causing her to raise an eyebrow, unsure what he was referring to. "After we transitioned."

"You were going through so much then and I didn't want to take that from you or add more on." She answered honestly. "Besides, I let go of that centuries ago. I was furious at you and Elijah for stuffing me in that box. That's all I focused on for four hundred years. However, as time went on... I started to understand why you had to make that choice. I was selfish and my selfishness was leading our family down a very dark path. One that would have gotten us killed."

"Ingrid--" He began but she cut him off without actually hearing him call out to her.

"I hold no animosity toward you for that. I've forgiven you." She informed him softly, placing a hand over this. "Just in case you were worried about that." She joked earning a laugh from him.

"Well, I'm pleased to hear that." He remarked with a laugh and kissed the tip of her nose.

She chuckled for a second but her face turned into a serious one and shifted on her feet. "Part of me wishes we could be selfish with Hope. Just take her and run away from all of this. Build a new kingdom that's not stained by bloodshed or betrayal..." Ingrid mumbled with furrowed eyebrows then sighed lowly. "But I know it'll follow us where ever we go. There's no escaping it."

"We'll be free eventually." He attempted to assure her but she let out a light snort of disbelief partnered with an eye roll. "We will."

She stared up into his light blue eyes, falling deeply into them and wanting nothing more than to truly believe what he was promising. However, she knew that in that moment, she wouldn't know the peace she craved so much. Their family would only know pain, devastation, and heartbreak. Instead of arguing, Ingrid nodded her head with the best smile she could muster and rubbed his arm soothingly.

Elijah, Freya, Klaus, Rebekah, and Ingrid, all dressed in their best holiday clothes, stood around the lit Christmas tree. Elijah had finished placing a large, beautiful wrapped gift for Hope under the tree and adjusted some of the ornaments on the tree nervously as Freya walked up from behind him and set down a gift of her own. Klaus walked over with more glasses of wine and smiled as Freya came over and kissed him affectionately on the cheek.

Ingrid was balancing Hope on her hip and pointing out the ornaments on the tree. Elijah stared longingly at his niece and Ingrid caught his eye for a moment. She pondered over the cons of allowing Elijah to spend Christmas with Hope but came up short. Nodding her head curtly at him, she gave a nonverbal expression of approval.

He slowly approached them and placed a hand on top of Hope's head. He smiled widely in joy and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, little one."

Ingrid couldn't hide her smile that erupted after Hope made loud, happy coos at her uncle.

Suddenly, Klaus' face fell into one of horror as he noticed a very large metal bowl full of burning wood had been set up on the other side of the room. "Oh, no!"

Rebekah appeared to be even more pleased by how terrified Klaus looked at the prospect of their family's holiday bonfire. "Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire, but I improvised." Klaus continued to look nervous about it but Rebekah just groaned in mock frustration. "Come on. It's tradition!"

"Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year..." Klaus grumbled in annoyance and glared at the fire pit.

Elijah smirked as he sipped on his wine. "How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty-list."

Rebekah looked down at the wish she had written on the paper one last time before she throwing it into the burning flames. She then looked nervously around at her family, all of whom appeared somber despite the festive party around them. "One of us is still meant to fall by family."

"Must we speak on this now?" Ingrid questioned in aggravation.

Klaus sighed and placed a hand on the small of her back while staring into the flames.."Right now, what concerns me is our enemies. They have the weapon they intend to use against us. They cannot know that we found you, Rebekah. Our best advantage is if they believe you are lost at sea."

Rebekah realized what this meant and frowned sadly. "Then I can't stay, can I?"

Elijah became teary-eyed at the thought of Rebekah leaving again and she looked around at her family, her eyes staying on Hope for a moment longer than her siblings, and sighed. "It's okay. My wish already came true." She then lifted up her hands and held them out to Klaus and Elijah, who both take them and squeezed them tightly. "We have this moment."

Everyone had finished eating dinner and unwrapping their gifts. They were all hanging around the courtyard doing individual activities.

Elijah rang the bell on the new tricycle he bought for Hope and grinned happily. Hope tried her best to ring it as well, to no avail. Elijah laughed and rang it again.

Ingrid watched them closely while Klaus came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. She grabbed onto his arms and closed her eyes as he swayed them gently side-to-side.

He hummed against her ear and whispered softly. "Stop being a helicopter mom." He commented with a small laugh and placed small, tender kisses on her shoulder.

Scoffing, Ingrid rolled her eyes and side eyed him. "I'm not being a helicopter mom." She whispered in argument. "You can imagine my hesitation given the circumstances."

Just then, Rebekah, wearing a coat and carrying a suitcase full of her belongings, entered the room with a somber expression. Freya's face was one of sadness as she acknowledged that Rebekah had to leave once again and stood to her feet to say goodbye. "Oh, Rebekah. So soon?"

"Take care of our brothers, Freya." Rebekah leaned forward to give Freya a hug, which she gladly returned. "God knows they need it." She pulled away and turned back to Elijah, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before rubbing Hope's back. "Bye, baby." She then turned to Ingrid with an apologetic and guilty expression. "I didn't mean what I said."

"It's fine." Ingrid replied dully with a blank expression.

Rebekah looked at Klaus, noticing his sad expression at the thought of her departure. He frowned and let go of Ingrid, walking toward his sister. "You're always leaving."

"And I always come back." She reminded him with a smile.

Klaus gave Rebekah a tight hug before pulling away to remind her of her instructions. "Run far and fast, stay on the move, and-- should you happen to meet some handsome fool-- know your weaknesses."

Rebekah laughed happily at this remark before giving him a look. She spared a farewell glance at Ingrid, who nodded curtly, and sighed heavily to herself. Realizing that if she stayed any longer, it would be harder to walk away so she turned on her heels and walked out of the compound.

Later on that night, Ingrid was on her way toward the exit of the compound with a wrapped gift in her hand when she came across an unruly sight.

A familiar, and less than welcome, blonde was lying lifeless on the concrete floor with blood covering her chest and arms. Ingrid sighed loudly in disappointment and kicked Cami's body over to reveal that her throat had been slit.

"Lovely..." Gritting her teeth, she yelled loudly from her spot and her voice echoed throughout the house. "We have a problem!"

Both Elijah and Klaus emerged from the rooms and joined her in the courtyard where they were both equally surprised to see what she was referring to. They turned away from Cami to glance at each other in shock.

---
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