Reigning Pain In New Orleans

Lola chews the inside of her cheek as she stares down at her phone on the coffee table. She can practically hear Damon's voice in the back of her head telling her to trust him about everything that is happening with Stefan and he'll be in touch. Yet she is practically digging her nails into her hands to fight the urge from calling her younger brother, desperate to hear his voice.

She shakes her head as though she's physically shaking out Damon's voice from her mind when she reaches for her phone and clicking on Stefan's name. Lola's eyes are tightly shut hearing the call tone. The tone is painfully slow, as though it's purposely dragging as Lola continues to grow more and more anxious, until the tone stops making Lola's eyes shoot open. She stays silent only for a moment, "Stef?"

A shaky breath falls from Lola's lips as she stands up and begins to pace when greeted with silence, "Look, I know Damon told me not to call and said to wait until he actually called. But, whether you remember this or not, it's not often I listen to what Damon says. I needed to call you, Stef. I needed to tell you how much I miss you and how worried I am about you and I just-" She sinks back down onto the sofa, sighing heavily, "I just really needed to hear my baby brother's voice."

"Uh, I'm sorry. Who were you again?" Stefan's confused tone makes Lola's heart sink. Until she jumps slightly, moving the phone from her ear when Stefan's voice rises, "Hey, Damon! You said we have a sister, right!? The annoying one who is constantly ringing us!? She's on the phone again! Hey, should I tell her how you still hold a grudge about the wooden horse!?"

Lola rolls her eyes as she scoffs harshly, "It's been over 160 god damn years! He needs to stop harping on about that fuc-" Lola stops when she can hear Stefan laughing through the phone. She laughs slightly as she frowns, "You're- You're laughing?"

"I'm sorry that was just too easy, Lo."

"You're such an asshole! You made me think you still didn't know who I was! Was Damon part of this stupid prank as well?"

She can practically see Stefan's eye roll when she hears him scoff, "I'm planning on being as far away from Damon as possible for the foreseeable."

Lola cringes slightly as she sinks into the sofa, "Why are you fighting now?"

"I spent three months trapped in a safe at the bottom of the quarry." Stefan's tone is harsh, understandably, "I was drowning over and over again while Damon was having the time of his life all summer with Elena." He sighs, "And then you..."

"Stefan..." Lola drawls out as she comes to a stand, "Let me explain, I-"

"Just let me finish." Stefan's tones becomes more soft, "You were the only one who didn't give up, despite being hours away from Mystic Falls. I heard all your voicemails, Lo. It took me hours considering you blocked up my entire voicemail."

The siblings both laugh softly as the same time, Lola doesn't even realise the warmth of tears falling down her cheeks. Her smile is so broad her cheeks begin to ache but she doesn't even care, hearing Stefan's voice is exactly what she needs in this moment. Pretty much every day since Lola arrived in New Orleans, she'd ring Stefan. Morning and night. Some were sweet messages saying how she misses him and hope he's doing okay. Then others were more harsh, acting like a stern big sister demanding he answers his phone. Then it would only be a few short minutes later until she rang again apologising for snapping, pregnancy hormones at their finest, she'd always think to herself.

Lola wipes away the stray tears as she steps out onto the balcony of the compound, watching as night life begins to grow along the streets, "Well then I guess you've heard enough of my voice but I haven't heard nearly enough of yours. So tell me everything that's happened while I've been gone."

Over an hour goes by as Stefan explains all the drama that has happened in Mystic Falls. Ending his explanation about how Silas is now gone, as well as yet another Petrova doppelgänger and Silas' crazy ex fiancee who was the reason for Stefan losing his memory. Also that the cure Elena forced down Katherine's throat is no more and because of that she's dying. Lola has done a full lap of the entire compound she's able to call her home once more while she speaks to Stefan now ending up in her and Klaus' bedroom as she lays on the bed.

"How's New Orleans?"

"It's good." Lola doesn't even bother wiping the smile off her face as she looks around being back in the room that holds so many memories for her and Klaus' past, "Really good."

"You sound good. I can't even see you but already I know you seem happier than you were back here. It does suck that one of the few people I can stand to be around is a twelve hour car ride away."

"Oh come on, don't be all doom and gloom Stefan again. What about Caroline?"

Stefan chuckles slightly, "Caroline is on campus throwing a party to celebrate Bonnie coming back."

Lola's eyes widen as she sits up on the bed, "Bonnie's alive? Last time I spoke to Damon everyone just found out Bonnie was dead." She releases a pent up breath, "Wow, so Bonnie is alive and Katherine freaking Pierce is dying. I forgot how much happens in that town."

"Exactly. Caroline did want me to go along to this party but it's a good thing I didn't because now I'm on suicide watch to make sure Katherine doesn't try to throw herself off the clock tower again."

Lola watches as Klaus enters their bedroom, he smiles towards her as he walks over to the balcony doors, stepping outside, "Speaking of Katherine..." Lola drawls out as she stands up from the bed, "She didn't uh," Klaus turns to watch as Lola begins to look awkward, trying to think how to word her question when she steps closer to Klaus, "What exactly did she tell you when she let slip I was in New Orleans?"

"Exactly that. All Katherine said was that you and Klaus had gone to New Orleans and that she doesn't think you'd be coming back any time soon, which I hope she's wrong about. Why? What did you think she has said?"

Lola closes her eyes for a moment as she rests her forehead against Klaus' chest, "I just didn't want her to be feeding you any misconceptions, that's all."

"Are you..." Stefan sighs heavily, "Are you coming home soon?"

She can hear the pain in Stefan's voice when he questions that and can't help but picture him alone in the big boarding house. Lola pulls away from Klaus' chest, looking over to him with a helpless look which locks with his warm stare.

Lola sighs as Klaus wraps his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, "I'm gonna come and see you soon. I promise you."

"Just please look after yourself, okay? I'll speak to you soon. Love you, Lo."

"Love you too." Lola hangs up the phone, she closes her eyes as she buries her face into Klaus' chest, "I'm the worst sister in the world."

Butterflies swarm in her stomach when she hears a low rumbled chuckle from Klaus, "You're far from it, love." He pulls away from Lola, his hands rest against Lola's arms, "Have your brothers tried to convince you to move back to Mystic Falls?"

Lola shakes her head, she turns to look out at the bustling nightlife, "They know this is my home now, they're just gonna have to take time coming to terms with that. But I do need to go back there. I can't keep avoiding them forever and I hate lying to them." Lola purses her lips turning to face Klaus again, "Unless, we wait until the baby is born. Then wait a few years until she can speak and have her tell them."

"Would you feel more comfortable if they came here for you to share the news?"

"Are you kidding?" Lola scoffs, "It's bad enough having one Salvatore in this city."

Klaus turns Lola round so they both face out from the balcony as he wraps his arms around her, "Not for much longer, Mrs Mikaelson."

"Hm, Lola Mikaelson. Quite like the sound of that." Lola turns her head to the side slightly, gazing over to Klaus, "You did it. You got our home back."

Klaus smile broadens when he spins Lola around to face him properly, his hands run through her hair, "We did it, love."

A mixture of confusion and tease lights up Lola's eyes, as she narrows her stare at him, "I wasn't involved in anything to do with getting our home back."

"You believed in me when no one else did. That's more than enough." Klaus can feel her smile when he presses his lips against hers. He pulls away with a loving grin, "After all, a king is worthless without his queen."

Lola playfully rolls her eyes, her hand rests against Klaus' chest as she pulls him away slightly, "What happened to the big bad hybrid who didn't need anyone?"

Klaus hums glancing up at the ceiling in thought before showing a mischievous grin, "He met a crazy woman who completely changed his outlook on life."

"I love you." Lola wraps her arms around Klaus' neck pulling him in a electrifying kiss. She rests her forehead against his as she pulls away, a smile beaming from ear to ear, "You're going to do such great things."

Klaus' arms wrap tighter around her waist, pulling her closer, "We are going to do great things."

A certain gleam in Klaus' eyes makes Lola pull away slightly, "Oh, no...that look. What are you-"

Any words that Lola was trying to speak vanished the second Klaus grips hold of her hips, her legs wrap around him as he picks her up and walking her back into their room. He lowers Lola at the end of their bed, his face just inches from hers with a dominate look in his eyes, "Don't move."

Lola watches as he turns away and walks towards a set of drawers in the room. She sits up slightly as Klaus turns around with the same dominate stare, "Don't move." 

Lola's brows shoot up, eyes shine with amusement when Klaus kneels at the foot of the bed in front of her. The amused look on her face leaves when she watches Klaus reveal a black velvet box, opening it. It's as though all the air within Lola's lungs is no more, her vision becomes blurry as she stares down at the diamond bracelet within the box.

Klaus lowers his head slightly to catch Lola's stare as he smirks, "Are you going to just leave it in the box?"

Lola swallows harshly to stop her throat from drying up, her hand gently hovers over the bracelet, "Is that-"

"This was the first thing I ever gifted you." Klaus finishes Lola's sentence, he removes the bracelet from the box and fastens it on her wrist, "Can you remember?"

Lola laughs breathlessly as she nods faintly, "I threw it back at you."

"But once you finally seen sense and decided to stop being so stubborn, you never took it off."

The ins of Lola's brows pull upwards, her glossy green orbs lock with Klaus' blue ones, "I thought I lost it the night of the fire."

Memories flood back for the pair as they remember the night that Klaus gifted Lola with the bracelet and then almost thirty years later when they both thought it was lost for good. Lola had never been so sentimental towards things such as jewellery in her life and yet she was almost afraid to tell Klaus that she had lost this bracelet after the Opera house fire, knowing how much it meant to the pair of them. It was the first time in centuries that Klaus ever cared for someone as much as he did for Lola and he wanted to show that by leaving little gifts around for her. However it took almost two years for Lola to eventually begin wearing the bracelet, but that story is for another time.

"Marcel found it in this very room afterwards. Despite what he was feeling after that horrific night, he said he couldn't bring himself to throwing it away." Klaus' hand cups Lola's cheek, "Promise me you'll never take it off."

Lola's hand goes against Klaus' forearm as she leans closer to him, "I promise."

Klaus pulls away slightly, raising a brow, "No matter what."

"I love you so much." 

Too impatient, Lola pulls Klaus pack towards her, colliding her lips against his. She pulls his jacket off him before moving further up the bed as Klaus towers over her. Goosebumps swarm all over her body when she feels Klaus' hands graze up her legs and move further and further up her body until they intertwine with hers above her head. They break away for breath when Klaus' lips move along Lola's jawline towards her collarbone. Lola sinks her head deeper into the bed, her eyes rolls to the back of her head at Klaus' lips exploring her skin.

Klaus pulls away annoyed when he can hear the parade of vampires enter the compound, ready to join in his celebrations of his return to leadership. His thump grazes over Lola's now plump lips as he sighs, "How often do you think we get interrupted?"

"Too many times to count." Lola sits up slightly, her lips brush against his as she smirks, "Perhaps I'll spell this room so we can't hear anyone and they can't hear us."

The corner of Klaus' lip twitches up in amusement as he wraps his arm around Lola's waist, "You really are a little minx, aren't you?"

Klaus watches in awe as Lola pulls away from him and walks over to a mirror, fixing her hair. Everything that has happened through the last few months have lead to this exact moment where Klaus feels some modicum of solace that everything was worth it. Being back in the place he's truly felt at home with the love of his life standing before him carrying their child. The amount of love within the room is beyond description.

—✤—

Klaus and Lola are both seated at opposite ends of the large dinner table set up in the middle of the courtyard in the compound. Yet the pair continue to share teasing glances to one another, both as impatient as each other wanting this dinner to end so they can be on their own once more.

Klaus clears his throat as he comes to a stand, tapping his glass with a fork gaining the attention of Marcel and a group of vampires also seated around the table, "Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish with time. But, as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine." Klaus gestures towards a group of waiting staff, they all join the table standing beside each vampire at the table, "Insatiable need, exquisite pain..."

Lola's face squirms with discomfort slightly as the servants roll up their sleeves, slipping their wrists with knives from the tables and fill glasses with blood for all the vampires.

"Our victories, and our defeats." Klaus glances towards Marcel sat beside him before raising his glass towards everyone at the table, "...To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow..."

Marcel smiles up in Klaus direction as he holds his glass up, "...and the party never end!"

Lola watches as Marcel looks towards Diego who clears his throat and then lifts his own glass up, "To New Orleans."

Klaus smiles towards Lola at the other end of the table, "To New Orleans!"

Lola mimics the same smile as she raises her glass as all the other vampires shout in unison, "New Orleans."

Their eye contact doesn't leave each other as both Lola and Klaus take a drink. Klaus places his glass back onto the table as he continues, "I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership, and I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took," Klaus stands beside Marcel, placing his hand against his shoulder, "And built for this true community of vampires."

"What about her?" Diego grunts, pointing towards Lola at the end of the table, "The witch."

Lola sits forward slightly in her seat, a condescending grin appears as she glares towards the vampire, "Oh, Diego, it's a shame that you have to make that average looking face of yours even worse with such an ugly mouth."

Klaus' lips form a thin line to fight back his amusement, "Had you'd let me finish, Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address." Klaus slowly walks by the table towards where Lola is sitting, "As many of you know, Lola is carrying my child." He stands behind Lola's chair, his hand rests against her shoulder, "Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect. You'll have signed your death certificate if not. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our child to create hybrids. I assure you I do not."

Klaus sighs slightly, growing mildly frustrated that the vampires don't seem convinced, "It appears I will have to earn your trust." Klaus walks back to the opposite end of the table, "Very well. We'll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how I can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the Bayou to turn?"

"What?" Lola's eyes widen as she sits up straight, "Nik, you can't-"

"So-- eat, drink, and be merry!" Klaus continues, ignoring Lola, "And, tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!"

Hours after the dinner with the vampires, Klaus goes up towards his bedroom to try and speak to an angry Lola who stormed out of the dinner not long after his announcement. Klaus opens the sliding doors into their bedroom to see Lola standing in the middle of the room, wearing a silk robe and her back to him.

His eyes widen as she turns around, clutching onto an old wooden box he hasn't seen in almost a hundred years, "Where did you find those?"

Lola smiles, her eyes gleam with malice, "They were exactly where I left them. You have your hiding spots for daggers, I have mine for these." Lola takes out a antique gold fork from the box, holding up for Klaus to see, "Remember this one?"

Klaus swallows harshly as he glares at the fork making Lola laugh, "I thought you might. This was the first one I stabbed you with, remember why?" Klaus remains silent, his jaw tightens as he straightens his posture making Lola scoff, "Motus."

Klaus yells out in pain as the same gold fork stabs into his left shoulder with a harsh force from Lola's magic. He breathes heavily, grunting as he pulls the fork out that was deeply imbedded into his skin, throwing it to the floor.

The corner of Lola's mouth twitches up in satisfaction as she watches how angry Klaus is becoming, "Look at us, it's like we've came full circle." Lola's stare is cold as she steps closer to him, "The last time I used that fork against you was when you threatened Anthony Lebonair's life. Now you're following in your own footsteps and threatening against the Lebonair line yet again." Lola's eyes darken with anger, "They may be a very distant part of my family but they are also Hayley's family. Your daughter's family."

Lola turns her back on Klaus, walking further into their bedroom. Klaus sighs to follow but is blocked from entering the room, "Are you going to let me into our bedroom?"

"Are you going to call off the attack on the wolves?" Lola turns her head slightly to see an even angrier Klaus standing in the doorway. She smiles in a mockingly sweet way, "Then no. You can go find another room and think about how I'll be in here wearing nothing underneath this." Lola shrugs her robe of slightly showing her bare skin, "Goodnight." As Lola turns away from the door, she holds her hand up, shutting the sliding doors in front of Klaus' face with magic. 

—✤—

After finding a respite in a separate room, the next morning Klaus attempts to enter his and Lola's bedroom with much to surprise he was able to walk into it this time. Yet when he goes in he sees Lola has already left the room. He raises he brow up slightly when he notices the antique box on top of Lola's dresser, he smirks slightly as he opens it up revealing an array of forks.

With a smug grin, Klaus makes his way downstairs and finds Lola in the kitchen cutting up several items of food, "I take it by the fact I was able to enter our bedroom this morning that means I'm forgiven?" Lola looks up from the food she's cutting, glaring over to Klaus making him laugh slightly, "Just as well I've found my own hiding place for your antiques."

Lola stares over to Klaus, blankly, only for a moment before she continues to chop, "Did you know that we can so easily bite off our own fingers?" Lola holds up a carrot before placing back onto the chopping board, aggressively chopping it in half, "Much like this carrot and yet our brains stop us from doing so."

Klaus frowns slightly, glancing down at the food on the counter then back up and locking eyes with Lola's annoyed stare, "Is there a point to this meaningless fact of yours?" 

"I found this." Lola purses her lips as she unwraps a cheese wire in her hands, "A cheese wire, I haven't seen one in decades." Lola shrugs as she wraps the cheese wire around the carrot, slicing the carrot in half with ease, "It made me wonder if I could just as easily do this to fingers as well as carrots."

"Is this your way of threatening to use it against me?" Klaus closes the gap behind Lola, he slowly places his hands against Lola's bare skin on her arms, "I wouldn't have thought you'd want that, love. You know how talented I can be with my hands." Klaus brushes his lips against Lola's ear as his hands slowly make their way down Lola's body finding a place at the top of her hips, "Much like you with your tongue."

Lola turns her head slightly to face Klaus, she scoffs slightly smiling over to him before her smile drops from her face and eyes turn cold, "If you don't get your hands off me, I'll use this someplace else."

Klaus' eyes gleam with amusement as he holds his hands up backing away from Lola before walking out of the kitchen. Lola scoffs, shaking her head before turning music on obnoxiously loud as she continues chopping up food.

It's not long after that Adrianna enters the courtyard of the compound, she looks around confused noticing several vampires lingering about and Klaus sitting in the corner of the courtyard reading. 

As she steps closer to him, the sound of music blaring from another room makes her sigh heavily. She drops her bag onto the table next to Klaus, "Oh, what did you do?"

Klaus shrugs not even looking up from the book he's holding, "I have absolutely no idea what you are taking about, Adrianna."

Adrianna gestures towards where the music is coming from, "Prince is on full volume, I'm guessing that's Lola?"

"It's a shame because some of the music choices this morning haven't been as repulsive." Klaus sighs mimicry, showing fake disappointment, "It's a pity that she's lowered the bar by playing this."

"This song is part of the the list of songs Lola plays as loud as she can when she's angry. Do you even know your future wife?" Adrianna's question gets no response from Klaus, she scoffs snatching the book out of his hold making him look up at her, "This is level 8. What have you done to put Lola at level 8?"

Klaus rolls his eyes as he picks his book up again from the table, "If I were to dissect the mind of Lola Salvatore we'd be here all bloody day. Some things that she may find inexcusable, I find necessary."

Adrianna scoffs, shaking her head as she walks away from Klaus and follows the music to find Lola standing in the kitchen. She frowns over to her best friend, watching Lola aggressively chop, "What are you doing?"

Lola jumps slightly, not noticing Adrianna's presence, she glances down at the food in front of her then back up at Adrianna, "...making food?"

Adrianna gestures towards the speakers at the side, "With prince on full volume?" She walks over to the speakers and switches the music off before leaning against the counter beside Lola, "What's going on?"

Lola laughs spitefully as she puts the chopped up food into a blender, "Why don't you ask that annoying original hybrid reading his stupid little book in the courtyard." 

Lola switches on the blender, walking away from it. Adrianna sighs as she turns it off, walking over to Lola, "Here." Lola looks down at the cup in Adrianna's hand and pulls a face making Adrianna laugh, "It's not kale this time."

Lola purses her lips slightly as she takes the cup, she takes a small sip of it before pulling it away from her. Her face squirms with disgust, "What's in this?"

"Uh," Adrianna drawls out as she jumps onto the counter, "Pineapple, yoghurt, mango-"

Before Adrianna can continue, Lola rushes over to the sink and begins to throw up. Adrianna hops off the counter, pulling Lola's hair back, "It doesn't have kale in it, I swear!"

Lola breathes out as she raises her head from the sink, pushing Adrianna to the side, "Mango makes me sick."

"Since when?"

"Since about 48 hours ago." Lola frowns over to the smoothie on the counter, "Can you make sure that isn't within a five mile radius from here when I come back from taking a shower?"

Adrianna follows Lola as she walks out of the kitchen. Adrianna stops in the middle of the courtyard, watching as Lola walks upstairs, hunched over slightly feeling frail from being sick.

"Let me guess..." Klaus drawls out, still in his same spot reading his book. He looks over to Adrianna with a smug grin, "Mango? I suppose you don't know Lola as much as you thought you did."

Adrianna harshly snatches the book out of Klaus' grip, throwing it across the courtyard, "You're a dick."

—✤—

As Lola walks out of her bedroom, feeling more refreshed after her shower, she bumps into Marcel who nods in her direction, "Lola."

Lola pushes past Marcel, hitting her shoulder against his, "Asshole."

As she descends down the stairs, there's a sudden urge within Lola to leave the compound. As she approaches the front of the compound, Diego appears with a smug expression, "Going somewhere?"

Elijah suddenly appears behind Diego, grabbing him by his shirt and throwing him towards the brick wall with force, making Diego's neck snap instantly. 

Lola looks down at Diego's limp body before shrugging her shoulders glancing over to Elijah, "Not bad. It's probably not one of your greatest ideas being here, Elijah." She nudges Diego with her foot, "Especially when there's about twenty more of him lurking around here ready to go and tattle to Marcel and Nik."

Elijah shrugs, unfazed by Lola's words, "I wouldn't worry about them."

Grunting is heard behind Lola, as she turns around, two vampires are pushed down the stairs she's just came down with Rebekah walking down after them with a proud grin.

"Come, we mustn't linger." Elijah holds his hand out towards Lola, "We'll get you some place safe."

Lola shakes her head, stepping away from Elijah slightly, "I'm perfectly fine here. There is no point adding more fuel to the fire when Nik is still pissed at the two of you for thinking the absolute worst of him." She glances over to Rebekah unimpressed, "And what you did, Bex. But there is something you can do, the wolves need help. Nik has ordered a wolf hunt as some jacked-up peace offering to Marcel and his lackeys. You need to help them."

"Out in the Bayou?" Rebekah scoffs in a hushed tone, "Do we look like a bloody vampire-rescue-squad? I think you should be grateful we came to save you!"

Lola rolls her eyes as she sighs, "Bekah, listen. All Hayley has wanted is to know who her real family is and she is finally getting closer to getting everything she's wanted." Lola's pleading stare goes towards Elijah, "Plus, if Hayley is out there in the bayou and they catch wind that's she's a hybrid now, this whole vicious rumour about Nik wanting to create another hybrid army is going to look real. You wanna help me? Help Hayley and her family. Please."

Elijah glances over to an annoyed looking Rebekah before realising a pent up breath, he nods over to Lola, "You have my word. Just please stay safe." Lola watches as Elijah and Rebekah leave the compound before walking back further into the courtyard. 

She sits at a table, opening up her laptop already there and begins searching through dozens of opened tabs until she can sense Diego is creeping up behind her making her roll her eyes, "Don't even bother, Diego. Not unless you want me to fry your brain." She turns slightly to see him glaring down at her, "Go away."

Lola looks up, slightly wide eyed when she sees Adrianna walking towards her, "What you looking at?"

"Nothing." Lola quickly dismisses her as she shuts her laptop. She bites the inside of her cheek looking over to Adrianna who is tilting her head slightly, showing off her formidable no bullshit look making Lola laugh slightly, "It's...It's a surprise."

Adrianna frowns before shrugging off whatever she was going to say, "...okay."

Lola looks over Adrianna's shoulder to see a stressed looking Cami rush down the stairs, "Cami!"

"Lola, hey." Cami smiles broadly over to Lola until she looks over to Adrianna and her smile beams even more, "Oh my god, Adrianna!" Adrianna looks over to her confused when Cami laughs slightly, "It's Cami O'Connell. You probably don't even remember me but I watched your talk at Harvard University about psychology over a year ago."

Adrianna's eyes widen when she realises, "Oh, yes! Cami!" Adrianna stands up from her seat, hugging Cami, "Wow, it's good to see you!"

Cami pulls away from the hug, looking over to Adrianna slightly shocked, "You look incredible, wow. I know it's only been over a year but you look exactly the same. I don't have the horrible lowlights I had back in college."

"Oh, shit." Lola mumbles under her breath as she soon realises why she recognised Cami all those months ago in Rousseau's. She glances up to see Cami and Adrianna looking at her confused which is when she flashes a polite smile, "The baby kicked."

"It's crazy what a small world we actually live in." Cami turns her attention back to Lola who remains sitting down, "Are you sure you weren't there as well, Lola? That might be where I recognise you from." Cami smiles over to Adrianna, "This is going to sound so weird but I had this crazy dream after I seen you. You said you were going for a drink at the bar on campus and I joined you for drinks and we were there until about 4 in the morning." Both Adrianna's and Lola's eyes shoot open as their brows rise up in shock as Cami continues to explain, "It felt so real but it must have been a dream because the next thing I knew was I woke up the next morning and my roommate told me that the bar had been closed from about 6 in the evening because of a faulty gas line."

"That is truly bizarre." Lola breathes out as she comes to a stand, she wraps her arm around Cami's shoulder, walking her towards the entrance to the compound, "You've probably got a shift coming up, right, Cami?"

"Actually, yeah I do." Cami laughs slightly as she glances down at her watch, she turns slightly and smiles over to Adrianna as Lola continues to walk her out, "It was nice to see you again."

Adrianna stands beside Lola as they both watch Cami leave, "That wasn't a dream, was it?"

Lola cringes slightly, biting her lip as she shakes her head, "More like compulsion because we were the reason the bar closed up so early."

"I need a drink." Adrianna breathes out as she quickly walks away from Lola.

Lola sighs as she takes a seat back at the table as Adrianna walks over to her holding a large bottle of tequila. Adrianna smiles to herself as she pours herself a shot, she brings it up to her mouth when she catches an annoyed glare from Lola, "What's that face for?"

"It's just because I hate you." Lola mumbles as she sinks back in her seat, arms crossed against her chest. She rolls her eyes, "I don't, I love you but it just sucks seeing you drink our favourite drink when I'm stuck with stupid water."

Adrianna glances at the shot in her hand and back to Lola before placing it back on the table, "How about I stop drinking until you have the baby?"

Lola scoffs, "Yeah, right."

"Hey, you are my best friend, okay?" Adrianna reaches her hand across the table towards Lola, a genuine smile on her face, "I said I was going to be with you going through this no matter what. That means as long as you can't drink, I won't drink."

Lola raises a brow towards her best friend, grinning as she narrows her stare, "Adrianna Marie Miller is going to give up tequila for the next four months?"

"If Charlotte Amelia Salvatore can do it for nine then I can do it for four." Adrianna stretches her hand out further for Lola to shake in agreement. She sighs slightly as she sits back but then frowns looking towards the bottle of tequila, "I am going to finish this bottle first though."

—✤—

After Adrianna left, Lola takes this as an opportunity to look around the compound which is when she can hear a familiar voice within the garage, "You know, incognito." Josh mutters, "Gotta run for the hills, but I'm stuck here until it gets dark."

Lola peeks her head around the door slightly, seeing the back of a girl, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Josh pauses for a moment before shaking his head, "No. Not really. I mean, totally led Klaus into a trap that was the most epic fail of all time, so yeah, kinda crapping my pants right now. Figuratively." He glances up at the ceiling as he shrugs, "So far."

"It's okay. You can trust Marcel. And if Klaus tries to hurt you-- I'll hurt him."

"That's quite a bold statement." Lola's voice makes the girl spin around in shock to see a smug looking Lola lean against the brick wall, "I'm sure if you could actually stop Klaus, you would've done it already."

Davina narrows her eyes towards Lola, "You're Lola. Klaus' wife."

Lola shrugs as she pushes herself away from the wall, "I guess you could say that." Lola crosses her arms against her chest as she steps closer to the pair, "And you must be all-powerful superwitch, Davina?" She looks over Davina's shoulder towards a nervous looking Josh, "And let's not forget Josh, newbie vampire way out of his element, voted Most Likely to Die Next."

Josh laughs nervously slightly, shaking his head, "Oh. Fantastic."

Lola raises her hands up slightly, "Don't get me wrong, Josh, I'm rooting for you to prove the odds wrong." Lola clicks her tongue as she shrugs, "Of course, it would suck if Klaus found out you're still lurking around. Perhaps there could be a world where we can all look out for each other?" She glances between the pair who remain speechless, "Ponder on that for a moment."

—✤—

As Lola walks back towards her bedroom, the looks down from the balcony she's on to see Klaus and Marcel standing by the front of the compound as Klaus speaks, "But, at first, the promise of an offspring meant little to me. Then, I recalled my father. How he held me in contempt from the moment I was born, as yours did with you. I will not do to my child what was done to me. To us."

Marcel stays silent as he looks around a part of the compound before turning his attention back to Klaus, "All this-- the spying, the manipulation-- that's just something you were forced into. Is that it? And what now? You feel kinda bad... Hey buddy, it's nothing personal. Is that it?"

"I admit," Klaus scoffs slightly, looking away for a moment, "I was jealous. I saw the empire you had created on your own, without me. I saw it, and I wanted it."

"You're wrong, you know. I didn't do it on my own. I stood in the shadow of my father my entire human life, and I never would've gotten out from under it, if not for you. You're the one who taught me that a man can't be defined by anyone but himself." Marcel pauses, allowing his words to sink in, "So, what now?"

"This community that you've built-- you have their respect. Their love. I can rule them, but I cannot win them, not without you. So, rule with me. Side by side as equals. Friends." Klaus holds his flask out towards Marcel, "Brothers." 

Marcel hesitates for a moment before taking the flask and drinking from it. Lola smiles down at the pair, finally making some kind of progress with each other. Both Klaus and Marcel's attention goes towards the balcony where Lola was standing as a door closes. Klaus clears his throat as he walks away from Marcel, "Excuse me."

Lola looks towards the door of the living room she's sat in when Klaus walks in, she shuts the laptop in front of her as he sits beside her. She frowns as she notices marks on his shirt, holes looking like bullet holes. She sits forward, reaching her hand out when Klaus takes hold of her hand, "It's dealt with."

Lola nods, she sits further back on the sofa and places the laptop on the floor as Klaus sighs, "Love, I'm sorry-"

"You're not sorry though, are you?" Lola retorts, she shrugs, "If you were sorry then you'd have called off this stupid wolf hunt."

"If the werewolves are dead, then the vampires have less desire to kill you." Klaus rests his hand against Lola's knee as he leans closer, "I am trying to keep you safe."

Lola clears her throat as she glances down at her hands, "Look, you may not care about Hayley, but I do. That's her family out there, Nik. And like I said earlier, they're technically our daughter's family." Lola scoffs as she stands up from the sofa, "What am I supposed to tell her when she grows up and wants to know more about our history? Sorry, yeah, there were werewolves you could speak to but sorry, your daddy killed them." Lola sighs as she steps closer to Klaus, "I know you were wanting to protect me and I love you for that. But this wasn't the way to go about protecting me."

Lola leaves the room letting her words sink in for Klaus. She continues down the hallway but stops at a room where she sees Davina inside, vigorously searching through large boxes, "What are you looking for?"

Davina looks up, slightly startled at Lola's presence, "My violin. It must be left in the attic."

Lola frowns as she shrugs, "Well here's a genius idea, go get it."

"I can't." Davina protests, "It's not safe for me out there."

Lola scoffs as she crosses her arms, "Funny, I was under the impression everyone was afraid of you."

Davina rolls her eyes slightly, looking up from the box she's searching through, "The witches are after me."

"You mean that crazy witch, Agnes?" Lola questions, gaining Davina's attention, "Yeah, she tried to kill me, too. The thing is, she's dead." Davina glances over to Lola, shocked as Lola shrugs, "Elijah killed her."

"But.." Davina shakes her head in disbelief as she stands up, "Agnes was the last living Elder. If she's dead, then I'm safe. Marcel would've told me."

Lola purses her lips slightly, "Maybe he didn't wanna lose his secret weapon against the witches?"

Davina scoffs slightly, suspicious of Lola's intentions, "You're lying."

Lola rolls her eyes as Davina turns her back to her slightly, "Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you want something from me!" Davina snaps, "Everyone does."

"Do I want something from you?" Lola thinks out loud as she glances up at the ceiling. She shrugs, clicking her tongue before looking back at the young witch, "Yeah, Davina, actually, I do. Thanks to your friend Marcel, most of my friend's family is cursed. They're stuck in their wolf form, except on a full moon." Lola narrows her stare at Davina as she steps closer, "Now, I'm smart enough to know that every curse has a loophole. And, well, you're the strongest witch I've ever heard of. But I wouldn't lie to you to get what I want. I'd ask you. I guess that's the difference between Marcel and me." 

Lola puts her hands behind her back as she circles Davina, "Plus, you're not the only witch living in this compound right now, and I hate the witches almost as much as you do. We can easily become allies, Davina." Lola stops in front of her, "Just like I have a grimoire that has so many spells that may be useful to you...including the daylight ring spell you could use for your bestie, Josh." Lola smiles genuinely towards her, "I'm not an enemy, Davina. I'll help you if you help me."

—✤—

A/N: 

POV: you written some of this when your hayfever was THROUGH THE ROOF so you were dosed up on allergy tablets and then the parts of the story you written didn't make sense so you re-written quite a bit of it...because SAME!!

There will be a flashback of what happened between Lola, Adrianna and Cami, I was just conscious as the chapter was already getting long...oops

Can we just talk about how cute the phone call between Lola and Stefan was!? AHHHH, love them. I am so excited for you all to see Stefan and Damon's reactions when Lola goes back to Mystic Falls, eek!!

Hope you liked the chapter!

Holly x