SEVEN years passed since the Mikaelsons absorbed the Hollow and separated, going on to live their own lives.

Rebekah and Marcel had run off to New York City to be together but Marcel kept his promise to Ingrid. On special occasions and holidays, he returned to New Orleans to visit his siblings.

Elijah had asked Marcel to compel him to forget his family and their vow of always and forever and was playing piano in France, blissfully unaware of the torment from the last thousand years.

Kol had run off and married Davina in a small ceremony before the two began traveling around the world.

Freya stayed behind in New Orleans, helping Klaus while searching for answers to get rid of the Hollow and reunite their family. She refused to give up despite Rebekah's pleas for her to go be happy.

No one knew where Ingrid was except Klaus and he refused to tell anyone. Whenever someone asked, he would avoid the question entirely. Their family came to their own conclusion that she didn't want to be bothered so they eventually backed off.

Klaus carried the task of raising their children the best he could. He took Alaric up on his offered and enrolled them both in the Salvatore Boarding School in Mystic Falls. However now that they were approaching their teens, Klaus wished more and more each day that Ingrid was there to help and guide him.

When the children were away, Klaus was left alone in the Abattoir and for the few years, it would drown him. With time, he learned to deal with the silence and decided to fill his time with art and helping Freya when she called. It took all of his strength not to run off and wake Ingrid, even if it were for a day or two.

He kept her office how she left it and refused anyone to go in. He locked the door and kept the key hidden. When the children would ask why, Klaus would tell them he wanted it to look the same for when she ever came home. Truth was, he didn't want her touch to disappear and so he sealed it off, much like a tomb.

Klaus would be lying if he claimed he hadn't developed a problem with drinking. For years he would drink and cry himself to sleep, cuddled up with bottle after the children went to sleep. However, he made his mission to put on a brave face and be the best father he could.

In the North hallway of the Salvatore Boarding School, a Crescent werewolf was wandering around and looking around him quickly.

"Hey. You have the money?" Hope asked as she walked up behind him. He nodded and pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket, handing it to her. She exhaled and took it from him. "I'm not gonna ask where you got this." She tried to remain oblivious and pulled out two vials of blood from her back pack. "Remember, one now, one after. You sure about this, Henry?"

"Yes." Henry assured her with a nod of his head.

"Do me a favor. Be discreet." She requested sternly before walking away from him. She continued walking down the hallway when a younger boy approached her. Rolling her eyes, she sighed and glared at him. "Don't say anything."

"What do you think dad's going to say when he finds out?" He asked her curiously with a taunting expression in his face.

Hope spun around and blocked his path. Her eyes were narrowed into two harsh slits as she pointed a finger at him. "He's not going to find out and you're not going to tell him, Eirik."

Eirik rolled his eyes and gripped onto his backpack straps. "What would mom say?"

"Who cares?" Hope snarled furiously and shook her head. "She didn't care enough to stay so she doesn't get a say."

"Hope---" He began his attempt to talk her down.

"No." She cut him off abruptly and took a step toward him. "You can keep being a mama's boy but she walked out on you too. She doesn't care about us, she never did." Hope said to him emotionally and scoffed before turning back around and walking away.

Hope was sitting in her room, writing something in one of her notebooks when there was a knock on the door. She looked up and sighed in aggravation. "Go away Eirik!" She snapped in aggravation until the visitor opened the door and strolled in. "Oh. I thought you were my brother. Come in. Mr. Williams. What's up?" She asked while standing up to greet him.

"Mr. Saltzman wants to see you. It's about Henry Benoit." He explained with a stern face.

She gulped and fiddled with her fingers before crossing her arms over her chest. "Is, um, Mr. Saltzman calling my dad?"

"That, and he thinks your mom should know what you've been up to." Mr. Williams replied, shooting her a look.

Hope scoffed and laughed humorlessly. "Yeah. Good luck finding her."

"Pack your bags, Hope." He ordered while backing out the door. "You're going home." He explained, leaving to the room and shutting the door.

Hope sat back down in her chair and smiled to herself, looking pleased with the development.

Later on, Hope sat outside of the office alone as a witch is heard chanting in the background. "Faire à voir là ré..."

Hope looked up to see a boy walking out of a room, in her direction. "Later, dude. You going somewhere?" He asked her curiously.

"Home. I, uh, I got suspended." She answered with a small sigh.

He chuckled and glanced at her in surprise. "Hope Gerard got suspended? Cool." He complimented and continued to walk past her, leaving Hope to stare after him with a giddy smile as Henry took the seat beside her.

"Sorry I got you in trouble." Henry apologized with a low sigh.

"I said "be discreet." What part of jumping out of a tower is discreet?" Hope asked him angrily.

"I had to make sure it would work. If I only hurt myself, then I would've just healed." Henry explained, trying to justify his actions.

"Right. 'Cause no one's ever died peacefully from sleeping pills." Hope snarled sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a person things go right for." He admitted sheepishly and turned toward her. "You ever seen a werewolf with no pecs who quotes E. E. Cummings? I can already tell I'm getting stronger. You know how good it will be not to have to take crap from anybody?"

"What? What makes you think that?" She asked in disbelief then licked her lips and leaned toward him. "You're a hybrid now. You may be able to defend yourself, but they'll only hate you for being different. I don't think that you thought this through, Henry."

Henry shook his head and looked away from her. "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, really? Me? I wouldn't understand?" Hope remarked and gave him a knowing look.

"That's different." He whispered softly to her and glanced around quickly. "None of the students know you're Klaus and Ingrid Mikaelson's daughter."

"I don't know why Lisina told you. You and I aren't even friends." Hope replied, flattening her lips into a tight kind.

"All the Crescent Wolves know." Henry reminded her with a small laugh.

"And so will everyone at school when they start asking how you survived a swan dive out of the memorial library." Hope snarled angrily at him.

"Your dad's not gonna kill me for getting you suspended, is he? Or worse, your mom?" Henry asked in a panic, fear coursing through him.

"I wouldn't know. She can't bother to be a mom." Hope replied with a patronizing smile.

Eirik walked toward them and waved his hand, gesturing for him to follow. Hope rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat before walking toward him. "What?"

"You got suspended?" The youngest Mikaelson asked in a hushed voice, his tone disapproving.

"Leave it alone." Hope snapped at him then noticed a familiar SUV pull up in the drive. "Dad's here. Got to go."

"Nope! I'm coming home too!" Eirik said as he chased her down.

"Why would you come home?" Hope asked in annoyance, trying to distance herself from her little brother.

"Because I miss dad and I miss home." Eirik answered honestly and walked along side of her. "Hope.. whatever you're going through, I want you to be able to talk to me about it."

Hope stopped in her place and glanced at him in shock for a second before shaking her head. "You wouldn't understand." She dismissed him and continued the way to Klaus' car.

When the Mikaelson siblings walked outside, Klaus held the passenger door open for Hope with a strict look on his face. "Get in."

Hope sighed heavily to herself but did as he asked without responding. He closed the door after she climbed in and looked at Eirik curiously. The Mikaelson boy slowly walked toward him and closed his eyes while giving the speech he rehearsed. "Dad, can I please come home? I miss you and I think it'll be good for Hope to have the three of us together again. If you say no---"

Klaus smiled warmly at him and chuckled in amusement before holding the door to the backseat open. "Okay."

Eirik opened his eyes and his mouth hung open in surprise. "Really?!"

"Yeah. Get in. I'll call Alaric about it on the way home." Klaus assured him with a genuine smile. "Hurry now. Before I change my mind."

Eirik ran toward the car and hopped in, buckling his seatbelt. Klaus shut the door and shook his head as he walked toward the driver's side, getting in the SUV himself.

While driving home, the ride was silent and no one dared say a word. Hope shifted in her seat, uncomfortable by this situation.

When they arrived back to New Orleans, Hope threw her hands up as Klaus stormed away from her. "Can you just yell at me already? Seven hours of hostile silence is punishment enough."

Klaus turned to face her and gritted his teeth. "The whole point of sending you to that school and giving you both the last name Gerard was so that neither of you would draw attention to yourselves. I did that to keep you safe." He snarled in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why? Why did you do it? I want an answer Hope! What could you have possibly have needed the money for?" He asked then waited for answer but she remained silent. "Answer me!"

Hope flinched slightly then stood her ground and shook her head. "That's my business."

"And selling your blood is mine." He snapped back and jabbed a finger in her direction. "You had no right."

"You're being a hypocrite." Hope scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're the one that taught me "my body, my choice." Well, my blood, my choice."

"This is different, Hope! Do you even understand what you have done?" Klaus berated her with a disappointed look on his face.

"Henry came to me." Hope responded softly.

"And you should have said no." Klaus scolded angrily. "You have no idea what you've done. You cannot create something without taking responsibility for it."

"How can you stand there and lecture me like this when you're a hypocrite?!" Hope snarled at him. "What are you gonna do? Ground me... a-and lock me up? I'll just whammy myself out, I am a witch." She challenged him with a smug look on her face.

"And I am your father..." He reminded her causing Hope to sigh. "Which of course now means that I have to clean up the mess you've made." Klaus yelled and walked toward her. "You want a punishment? You're now responsible for watching over your brother."

"What?" Hope remarked in disbelief and stomped her foot. "Noooo."

"Yessss." He mimicked her tone and gave her a patronizing smile. "Now, go to your room!"

"I hate you!" Hope scoffed and glared furiously at him before stomping up the stairs toward her room and aggressively slamming the door.

Klaus sighed heavily and looked at the portrait of Ingrid hanging on the wall. "I wish you were here..."

"Dad..." Eirik spoke in a small voice causing the hybrid to turn toward him. "Does mom hate us?"

"What?" Klaus was caught off guard by this question and shook his head rapidly. "No. No, no, no. Mom doesn't hate us. What gave you that idea?"

"Hope said she never cared about us and that's why she left." Eirik explained with tears in his eyes. "What if she's right?"

"She's not." Klaus breathed out with a small smile. "Your mother loved all of us so much and it tore her apart to leave. But she had to go to save us." He explained to his son in a watery voice and tried to reassure him. "If mom could be here, she would be. Trust me."

"Okay..." Eirik mumbled and nodded his head before walking up the stairs toward his room. "Good night, dad. Love you."

"Good night, buddy." Klaus replied while watching Eirik retreat down the hallway. "I love you."

Upstairs in her room, Hope sat on her bed while on a video call with Kol. "How is my little ne'er-do-well?" He asked with a wide smile.

"I've been better." She replied with a chuckle. "How's Davina?"

"My darling wife is gorging on papaya right now." He responded affectionately with a giddy smile. "You know, Belize is beautiful this time of year. You should visit."

"I'd love to, but... I'm grounded." Hope said with a sigh.

"Grounded? Can't ground a witch, let alone my favorite niece." Kol replied, trying to stir up trouble.

"That's what I said." Hope smirked then rolled her eyes. "Dad didn't think it was funny."

"Well, I'm sure it will all blow over by Mardi Gras." He assured her.

Hope paused and frowned to herself. "I... I didn't think it was such a big deal at the time, but now that it's stirred up so much trouble I-I feel kind of bad."

"Darling, you can't get your knickers in a knot every time you have a little kerfuffle. You'll never have a moment of pleasure. And I, for one, thought you showed some real entrepreneurial spirit." Kol encouraged her behavior with a sly smirk.

"Yeah, that's me, your friendly, neighborhood blood dealer." She joked with a laugh and began to wander the halls of the compound.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now the best people are black sheep." He winked at her.

"Like my dad?" Hope asked curiously, looking down at the courtyard with a frown.

"I was referring to me." Kol clarified then gave her a shake of his head. "Niklaus is in a league of his own. Especially without Indy."

"Seen her lately?" She inquired, slightly hopeful.

"Not in the last seven years." He replied with a frown. "I haven't heard from her either... don't worry. Sooner or later, something will blow up in New Orleans. Some crisis or other always brings us back. Including your mom." He assured her strongly, feeling sympathetic for her and Eirik.

"Okay." Hope mused with a small smile but wasn't entirely convinced. "Let me know if you see or hear her."

"Will do." He promised, nodding his head. "But don't get your hopes up, okay?"

"Okay." She replied with a heavy sigh.

Hope walked back into her room to see Klaus sitting on her bed with her passport in hand. "Going somewhere?" He asked curiously and held it up for her to see.

Hope stormed toward him and snatched it out of his hands. "Now you're rummaging in my room?"

"Where did you think you were going?" Klaus interrogated, standing to his feet.

"I met a guy online." She admitted sheepishly and Klaus' eyes darkened. "And he's in a band and he lives in London. He says he's twenty five, but he seems older." She lied through her teeth.

Klaus' face fell in realization and he sighed to himself. "You were going to look for Ingrid..."

Hope shifted anxiously and licked her lips. "I know it's stupid. She obviously doesn't care, but I-I just thought, maybe if I could find her, I could convince her to come home..." She admitted, sitting down on her mattress.

Klaus sat down next to her and shook his head. "It's not stupid... she loves you. And she cares more than you think. But her being near you puts you in danger."

Hope shook her head in rejection and scoffed. "A phone call wouldn't..."

Klaus frowned deeply and sighed again. He knew that keeping the secret of where he hid Ingrid was hurting his daughter but if she knew where her mother was, she would go searching for her. "Hope... I wish one day you get to talk to her in person. I do. Trust me... But until then, have some patience with her and try not to judge her too harshly."

"So... I can't judge my deadbeat mom, but you can judge me?" She asked incredulously.

"I judge your choices and your actions. I'm your father. I love you, and I would forgive you for anything. But that's no excuse for how you've been acting." Klaus shot her a pointed look.

"I did one thing." She whined and tried to justify.

"Hope! Hope!" Henry's voice echoed throughout the compound causing them both to stand immediately to their feet.

The duo rushed out onto the balcony and was shocked to see what they found. Henry was standing in the courtyard with blood covering his mouth and neck while holding into the dead body of a blonde vampire.

"I... I made a mistake." He whimpered out in guilt and fear and Klaus slowly looked at Hope, who was breathing heavily at the sight before her.

A few moments later, a crowd of vampires gathered at the compound, trying to get Klaus to hand over Henry.

"No one wants any trouble, Klaus. We just want the hybrid." A woman with short, brunette hair explained to him.

"You're not getting Henry!" Lisina snarled furiously, flashing her gold eyes at them.

Klaus turned toward her and gave the Crescent a warning look. "Easy."

Josh turned toward the group, trying to talk them down. "Remember that that hybrid is just a kid." He then looked at Klaus, feeling conflicted. "But Poppy was just trying to walk home from work, and she was our friend."

"He's not going anywhere." Lisina jeered at him.

Josh licked his lips and lowered his voice. "Look, Klaus, you might not have a choice."

Klaus smirked over at him, amused. "So, glad you barged into my home to make demands." He snarled sarcastically and glanced at each of them. "What we need is to think rationally."

"Should they go back and tell Poppy's mother her daughter's killer's free, but at least we were rational?" Greta questioned passive aggressively, shooting him a patronizing smile.

"I have no problem killing the lot of you if you fail to calm down and cooperate." Klaus replied and smirked back at her. He then paused, trying to think of what would be best in this situation. "Do you truly want to sacrifice a child to assuage your own fear?"

"He's not just a kid. He's a hybrid. With the power to kill any vampire he chooses." Greta sneer slowly at him, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm a hybrid." Klaus reminded them then tried to persuade him. "Allow me the time to teach Henry self-control and he will no longer be a threat to you. If I fail, I will kill him myself."

The vampires glanced at each other before nodding amongst themselves, agreeing to his terms, and slowly leaving the compound. Once they were gone, Klaus turned on his heels and stormed up to Hope's room. He slammed the door open and pointed a finger in Henry's direction. "You best be worth the effort I'm using to be civil." He snarled then whipped around to Hope. "You're not out of the clear either. If you thought you weren't in trouble before, you surely are now!"

"I'm sorry!" Hope cried out her apologies but Klaus held a hand up, unable to hear anymore.

"That's not good enough." He cut her off and was about to scold her again when a familiar voice called out to him from the hallway.

"Klaus!" They yelled out in worry as they walked up the stairs.

He walked out of the room, with Hope following, to see Freya staring down at an object in horror.

He met her eyeline to see she was holding Eirik's Nintendo in her hands then noticed the cracked screen and took a shaky breath. "No..."

Freya held it out to him, her hands trembling. "I found this outside..."

Suddenly, the water fountain in the courtyard had began to run red with blood and the three turned around in horror. "Auntie Freya what is happening?" Hope asked frantically, reaching out to grab her wrist.

Klaus rushed to the living room and quickly turned the television on to the world news. Freya and Hope joined him in the room, both wearing faces of confusion, panic, and worry.

He switched the channel to Russian news and watched closely, his light blue eyes not tearing away from the screen. There was a story on about five bodies having been found dead in Siberia after making an odd discovery. The camera turned around to show the famous slate grey coffin with the Mikaelson emblem on it, empty with nothing inside and blood rolling down the edge.

Freya shook her head and stared at the screen before turning to Klaus, who quickly stormed out of the room.

---
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-the1andonlytifftiff