Always and Forever

Klaus steps out of the bar he's just been in, he takes in the night life that New Orleans has to offer. The sound of jazz playing on many corners of the streets, parades of people up and down the streets; he never realised how much he missed this city until he found himself back here. But something didn't feel right. Although Klaus spent over 200 years in this city with just his family, it still felt strange being back here without his love.

Klaus takes out his phone from his pocket, dialling Lola's number. A hint of a smile appears on his face when he hears her voicemail, "Lola. I'm standing in one of our favourite places in the world, surrounded by food, music, art, culture and all I can think about is how much more enjoyable it would be if you were here too. Perhaps you'll join me here after your time in New York. I love you."

"No luck?" Klaus turns to see Marcel walking out of the same bar. Klaus shakes his head as he and Marcel follow other vampires, "How's Lola doing anyway?"

Klaus shrugs nonchalant, "She hasn't changed one bit if that's what you mean."

Marcel laughs slightly, he puts his hand on Klaus' shoulder as they continue to walk, "She continues putting you in your place then, huh? I am surprised to hear Lola went back to Mystic Falls. I remember her saying she would never go back there."

Klaus rolls his eyes as he scoffs, "It's a very long story but begins with her brothers."

"I heard about them being in the Quarter a couple months back. Are they-"

"As irritating as we imagined they'd be?" Klaus jests, finishing Marcel's sentence, "More so."

One of Marcel's vampires, Diego, approaches the pair, "We got her."

Marcel chuckles as he claps his hands together, picking up his pace, "It's showtime."

—✤—

Lola and Hayley both watch as a group of witches loiter at the front of the mausoleum they've been forced to stay in for the last couple of days. The witches have been going in and out of it over the days, attempting all sorts of tests on Lola to confirm the pregnancy they claim is true. Despite the tests that Lola has had to endure, she still believes its all false.

Hayley shuffles closer to Lola sitting on the floor, "What's going on?"

Lola narrows her eyes towards the group of witches, some look distraught, "My guess is that weird witch from the other day has been found and killed." One of the witches glances over to the pair as the other witches walk away. Lola flashes a smug grin towards her, "Another one bites the dust, huh?"

The witch steps further into the mausoleum, glaring down at Lola on the floor, "Come with me."

Lola scoffs, "Yeah, right." The witch forcefully grabs hold of Lola's arm, forcing her up from the floor, "Get the hell off me!"

Sophie opens the gates leading into the Lafayette Cemetery and walks into the cemetery. She stops in her step, turning around to see Elijah Mikaelson stopped at the front of the entry, "This is sacred ground, which means vampires have to be invited in. But, since I'm desperate... Come on in." Sophie turns and continues to walk further into the cemetery as Elijah steps over the threshold, "We can talk freely here."

"Then I suggest you start talking." Sophie stops walking and faces Elijah once more, "What did your sister want with Niklaus?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sophie retorts, "We have a vampire problem, and we need help. Marcel has an army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back. We haven't had much luck, until my sister Jane-Anne met a girl. A girl who used to be a vampire but then came back as a witch from a small town in Virginia." A hint of a smug grin appears on her face, "Someone who has a long history with your family."

Elijah's face turns cold, stepping closer to her, "Might I advise you get to your point and tell me what it is you've done to Charlotte Salvatore."

"As you know when Lola died as a vampire, she came back to life as a witch. Human." Sophie purses her lips with determination, "I know all about her history with your brother and how they reunited over a year ago. For a while I've been having visions of Lola and my visions have proven to be legitimate."

Elijah observes her, curiously, "What kind of visions?"

"Lola is pregnant." Sophie steps closer, her expression turned calm, "And the father of the child she's carrying is your brother Klaus."

Elijah's demeanour changes, his shoulders stiffen, "That's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, especially not when it comes to your brother. Think about it – they call him the hybrid, right?" Sophie turns to face further into the cemetery as she raises her voice, "Bring her out!"

Elijah looks over Sophie's shoulder to see two witches walk out of the darkness, behind them is another witch clutching onto an angry looking Lola, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop manhandling me!" Lola pushes the witch away from her, "Keep going and I'll show you why bitch rhymes with witch!"

"Charlotte."

Lola looks over to where Elijah is standing, her anger leaves and a wave of relief washes over her as she takes in his stance. She sighs heavily as she rushes over to him, "Thank god." She pulls Elijah in a hug, "You don't know how happy I am to see you."

Elijah doesn't let Lola out of his hold as he glances over to Sophie, "Give us a moment, please."

Lola pulls away from the hug as they both watch Sophie and the other witches walk away. Elijah places his hand against Lola's back as they walk back the way Lola came, "I had a hunch that you were in the city when I spoken to a barmaid who said someone by the name of Amelia was in the bar a couple of days ago."

This wasn't the first time that Elijah came across Lola when she was under the Amelia facade. In the early nineties he had unintentionally bumped into her in New York, a rare moment where she was calling herself Amelia.

Lola stops walking and frowns over to him, "How did that get brought up?"

Elijah grins slightly, "It appears it's unnatural for several people enter the bar to specifically find a Devereaux sister."

They both walk into the same mausoleum that Lola was previously in. Hayley stops pacing around it as she looks over to them both, her face pulls with confusion as she glances between Lola and Elijah, "Who's this?"

"Elijah Mikaelson." Lola steps between the pair, gesturing to them both, "Hayley Marshall."

Elijah takes a seat on the bench within the mausoleum, "Have they been holding you here against your will?"

"They grabbed Hayley to lure me back to this City." Lola begins to explain as its now her turn to start pacing around anxiously, "Then they've kept us here while they've tried all sorts of witchy tests on me. I don't care what you have to do, but you need to get us out of here." She laughs spitefully, "I'll gladly help you kill them all if that's what we have to do. This is some kind of sick joke, Elijah. I can't be pregnant, it's impossible!"

Elijah remains quiet for a moment, his stare fixates on the ground as he concentrates, "I can hear it."

Lola stops pacing looking at him confused, "Hear what?"

"The heartbeat." Elijah practically whispers. He stands up, placing his hands on either one of Lola's arms, "I can hear the baby's heartbeat, Charlotte. What they've said is true."

There's one split second Lola thinks it's possible but she shakes herself from that thought. She pushes away from Elijah, "Fabrication. Witches can make people see and hear things that aren't real, Elijah. You know that. They just want to use us to get to Marcel who is apparently alive by the way."

"How is all of this even possible?" Hayley exclaims as she takes a seat, "Vampires are dead! They can't have children."

Lola points over to Hayley, nodding in agreement at her statement, "Exactly."

Elijah watches as Lola sits beside Hayley, he smiles slightly over to her, "You know the history with our father, when he hunted Niklaus – hunted us – for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all, as you know."

He begins to pace once more as he sighs heavily, "Niklaus then went to break the spell which prevents him from becoming a hybrid, he then defeated our father, reunited with yourself. I truly thought after all of that it would make him happy. But if anything, he was angrier than ever before." Elijah comes to a halt as he faces Lola, "The only time he wasn't like that was when he was with you, Charlotte. He resembles the human side of him from a thousand years ago. You balance each other out, you bring happiness into his life. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for you both to find happiness. For all of us to find true happiness."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Sophie speaks up as she enters the mausoleum, "Because we need your help."

Elijah steps to the side slightly to now stand in front of Lola completely, "What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with my family?"

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town." Sophie gets straight to the point, "Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming."

"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do."

Sophie purses her lips, narrowing her eyes at the original, "That's why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighbourhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."

The corner of Elijah's mouth twitches slightly in amusement, "That sounds remarkably like blackmail."

Sophie shrugs her shoulders, showing no expression, "Like I said, I'm desperate."

Elijah releases a knowing laugh, "Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" He turns to face Lola, placing his hand against her shoulder, "You have my word that I will come back for you."

Lola nods at him and watches as he walks out of the mausoleum. She watches as Sophie does the same to then turn to face Lola with a smug grin making Lola scoff, "What do you look so happy about, Sophie Devereaux? He won't believe you."

"We'll see about that, won't we?"

Sophie turns to walk out until Lola clears her throat, "I'm curious to know if you have the same thought as me right now."

Sophie turns round to see Lola standing up from the bench, stepping closer to her. Sophie throws her hands up, "What would that be?"

Lola shrugs her shoulders, pursing her lips before showing a insolent grin, "That your sister died for nothing."

Her posture turns stiff as Lola circles round her, "It all seems rather dramatic that to confirm this so called pregnancy you had to perform magic even though when you do, Marcel kills you. Perhaps it's because this make believe pregnancy won't show up on one of those pregnancy tests humans use." Lola stands in front of Sophie, her eyes turn dark, "I'm sure you'll be seeing your sister again soon. I've said it once but I'll say it again, you're not gonna survive this."

—✤—

After finding Klaus at the compound they all used to reside in, Elijah now walks through the cemetery with Klaus following shortly after him, "What are we doing here?"

"You wanna know what the witches have in store for you?" Elijah retorts, turning a corner within the cemetery, "Follow me."

Klaus reluctantly follows Elijah deeper into the cemetery. They approach one of the mausoleums, Elijah enters first when Klaus then sees Sophie already standing in there waiting for them both. Klaus narrows his eyes towards her, "Sophie Devereaux. What is this?"

Elijah stands to the side, "He's all yours. Proceed."

"You know you're famous in this town?" Sophie directs her attention over to an already smug looking Klaus, "Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphan street rat, until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He does what he wants, he kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him, and you're gonna help me."

Klaus smiles, amused as he looks over to Elijah, "This is why you brought me here?"

"Hear her out."

"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time." Klaus glares towards Elijah, "Elijah, what madness is this?"

"Nik."

Lola walks into the mausoleum with witches lingering behind her. Klaus' face drops when he looks over to see an exhausted looking Lola. He rushes over to her, immediately taking hold of her hand, "What are you doing here?"

Lola looks over his shoulder, glaring towards Sophie, "They've been keeping me here for days. I came here to get Hayley but it was all just a ploy to get us all back here."

Klaus' jaw tightens as the anger builds up inside him turning to face Sophie, "You've got ten seconds to tell me what game you are playing before I rip your head from your body."

"Marcel may be able to keep up from practicing real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new. For example, I have a special gift," Sophie looks over to Lola, "...of sensing when a girl is pregnant."

Klaus' face drops, as though all the colour leaves his cheek, "What?"

"I know it's impossible..."

Lola practically whispers, trying to pull Klaus closer to her with his hand. He glances over to her, looking confused as his grip on Lola's hand loosens,

"What are you saying?"

"Niklaus..." Elijah drawls out, Klaus looks over to him, "Charlotte is carrying your child."

"No." Klaus shakes his head, fully removing his hand from Lola's, "It's impossible."

"You're telling me." Lola mumbles under her breath, running her hands through her hair.

Elijah steps closer to his brother, "I said the same thing myself."

"This is a lie." Klaus seethes, he points towards Elijah, "You are all lying. Vampires cannot procreate."

"But werewolves can." Sophie speaks up making Klaus pause in his thought, "Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." Sophie lowers her head for a moment, clearing her throat before looking back up at the trio, "My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us."

Elijah and Lola both glance over to each other, sharing the same surprised expression as Sophie continues, "If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Lola won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."

Lola's hands form into fists as she steps closer to Sophie, "How many more pathetic threats are you going to attempt towards me?"

Elijah steps in front of Lola to stop her from doing anything, "Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself."

"No." Sophie shakes her head, giving Elijah a stern look, "We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules."

Elijah looks over to Klaus who has his back to everyone. His shoulders stiffen, his anger barely restrained and his voice is frighteningly quiet as he slowly turns to face Sophie, "How dare you command me..." He begins to raise his voice, "Threaten me! With what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses. This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies." He gives Lola a knowing look, "We're leaving."

"Niklaus." Elijah shouts sternly making Klaus pause in his step. He looks over to Elijah, "Listen."

Klaus slowly turns round to face an anxious looking Lola. He listens in wonderment for a moment as he can hear a rapid heartbeat. He meets Lola's eyes before quickly looking away from her. His breath becomes shaky as he closes his eyes, he shakes his head before walking straight past Lola, "No."

Lola clears her throat, trying not to show that Klaus walking out of here without her made her heart drop slightly, "I'm not staying here for any more witchy crap. I'm leaving." Lola turns to walk away but witches block the way out, she starts to laugh maliciously, "You all really need to stop blocking my way."

Elijah points towards Sophie with a threatening look, "No one touches her, do you understand?"

Lola looks over to him annoyed, "Elijah-"

"Charlotte, please." Elijah pleads, taking hold of her hand, "Stay here. I'll fix this."

—✤—

Lola watches as a witch from earlier walks into the mausoleum, "Oh, hey there, witch bitch."

Agnes ignores Lola and looks over to Sophie unimpressed, "What on earth are you thinking, Sophie?"

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control!" Sophie exclaims, "Something had to be done."

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?"

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes." Sophie deadpans, "They're the Originals."

Agnes narrows her eyes towards her, "What makes you think you can control the hybrid?"

"She can't." They all turn to see Elijah leaning against the wall, "I'm not entirely certain that I can, either." He stands up straight, stepping towards them all, standing beside Lola, "But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question: What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"

Sophie steps to the side, grabbing a doll that has a needle stuck within it. She removes the needle, showing it towards Elijah and Lola before sticking the needle into her hand.

Lola winches, feeling a prick against her hand in the same exact place Sophie did on hers. Lola wipes the blood away and glares over to Sophie, "You have got to be kidding me."

"The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Lola." Sophie admits, gesturing towards Lola, "So anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Lola – or worse – to ensure that I have your attention, I will."

Elijah steps closer to the witch, a hint of amusement shows, "You would dare threaten an Original?"

Sophie shrugs her shoulders, shaking her head slightly, "I have nothing to lose." The grin disappears from Elijah's face and Sophie steps closer, "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."

—✤—

Lola continues to grow impatient and bored being stuck within the cemetery. There's now one witch lingering within the same mausoleum that Lola and Hayley are in.

Lola stands up from the ground with her hands behind her back, she starts to balance her weight on the heels of her shoes, walking around on them as she glances over to the witch, "Talk me through your outfit."

The witch rolls her eyes, looking straight ahead, "I like to be comfortable."

Lola scoffs as she stands up properly, "Why?"

She glares over to Lola, "What do you mean, why?"

"That kind of "comfortable" is what you make people wear with a terminal illness." Lola's face twists with repulsion taking in the witch's outfit, "So weird." Lola smirks slightly as she leans closer to her, "I was trying to look devastating." Lola gets no response back from the witch, Lola leans back slightly, gesturing to her outfit as she clicks her tongue, "Obviously."

Lola sits besides an amused looking Hayley as the witch glares at the pair, "You know when Sophie spoke about you I got the feeling that you had a dark soul." Lola nods with a mocking grin as she continues, "Now seeing you I realise the feeling was true, you have a darkness."

Lola laughs in a half-suppressed manner, "Nobody cares what you think, Barbara."

The witch glares at her, "That's not even my name."

She purses her lips as Lola shrugs her shoulders, "Which shows how much of a nobody you are the fact no one has even said your name."

The witch steps closer to the pair, "It may be hard for the likes of you but maybe you could shut up."

Lola's brows shoot up in fake surprise as she releases a breathy laugh watching the witch walk out. She narrows her eyes at the back pocket of the witch when she notices something, "Hayls, can you remember about 3 years ago when we were in Seattle?"

Hayley looks at Lola confused, "Yeah, why?" Lola gestures over to the witch when realisation hits Hayley, she nods over to Lola.

"Follow my lead." Lola whispers to Hayley before raising her voice, "Barbara! Hello!" She can see the witch standing in the doorway looking unamused, "Hey, Barbara!"

"I won't tell you again." The witch glares at Lola as she walks fully into the mausoleum.

Lola shrugs her shoulders as she stands up, "Are you really going to deny a pregnant girl some water?"

The witch scoffs, looking Lola up and down before turning back around to walk out. Until Lola grabs a pocket knife out of the witch's back pocket. Lola flicks the blade open with one hand as she presses the witch against the wall with her other forearm. Lola raises her brow towards the witch, indicating for her to not even try to fight back but the witch ignores her. She attempts to fight back but Lola pushes her back against the wall.

One hand rests on the wall beside the witch's head as the other holds the knife against her throat, "It's worse when I push it through slowly." Lola practically whispers as she slowly presses the blade against the witch's throat, "Don't make me." The witch tries to fight back but Lola slams her into the wall, pressing the blade further.

"Agnes!"

The witch shouts out for the elder who soon comes running in. As Agnes rushes into the mausoleum, Hayley grabs her by the hair, kicking Agnes against the back of her leg making her fall to the floor, "Agnes is a little busy right now."

Lola glances between the witch in her hold and Agnes in Hayley's, "Hayley and I are going to walk out of this cemetery and neither of you will stop us. If you do I'll make sure that this blade goes through your throat at an agonisingly slow speed while my friend slowly kills your friend here." Lola adds a little bit more pressure against the witch's neck, "You've had me in here for long enough and I'm not going to stand around here waiting for a Mikaelson to bail me out. We're doing this on my terms."

Lola steps back, removing the blade from her neck. She glances down at the blade in her hand, feeling satisfied then smiles over to the witch who's grip is against her neck, "I'll be keeping this." Lola folds the knife up and places it in her back pocket, she starts to walk out of the mausoleum and looks over to Hayley, "Come on." Hayley pushes Agnes down to the floor and follows Lola out the cemetery.

—✤—

Klaus walks around the deserted market with a bottle of bourbon in his hand. He senses Elijah's presence making him roll his eyes, "Have I not made clear my desire to be left alone?"

"Oh, you demand to be left alone at least once a decade. Your words have ceased to have impact."

Klaus throws the bottle against the floor, shattering it as he glares over to Elijah, "Why must you keep harping on about the baby?"

Elijah vamp speeds up to Klaus, holding his hand around Klaus' throat, "You will not walk away from this!"

Klaus tries to fight back but Elijah forces him back, "Let. Me. Go."

"I will not!" Elijah throws Klaus against a wooden cart, Klaus smashes it with his fall.

Elijah drags Klaus up to his feet, his arm against Klaus neck who tries to break free but cannot, "Don't make me say it again."

Elijah tightens his grip around his brother, "I will not let go. I will never let go."

Klaus grabs Elijah and hurls him against an iron rod fence. Elijah stands up fast and takes one of the iron rods. Then he walks towards Klaus, holding the rod in his hand, "Even if I have to spend eternity saving you from your own stubborn, petulant, vile self..." Elijah vamp speeds towards Klaus, hitting him across the face with the iron rod, "You're finally with the girl you love. After decades of being alone, you're no longer alone."

Klaus tries to stand up but Elijah forcefully hits him once more, "After everything you and Charlotte have been through over this last year are you honestly willing to just walk away from this? I won't allow you to do this. Even if I have to beat you as father used to beat you, to remind you of your own humanity –" Klaus comes to hit feet but Elijah hits him once more, "– to care about anything..."

Elijah attempts to hit Klaus once but but this time Klaus is faster. Klaus grabs the opposite end of the iron rod, hitting Elijah in the face with it. Klaus hits Elijah again with more force, making Elijah fall a few meters back. Elijah stays on the floor, he sits up slightly, wiping the blood away from the corner of his lip.

Klaus lets the iron rod fall to the ground and walks towards Elijah, "You're beyond pathetic, Elijah."

"Well who is more pathetic?" Elijah questions as he glances down at the ground before looking up at Klaus, "The one who sees hope to make his family whole, or the coward who only see the world through his own fear?"

Klaus scoffs, shaking his head he turns away from Elijah, "I haven't cared about anything for centuries. Why on earth do you?"

"Because I failed you." Elijah admits making Klaus turn to face him once more, "Because the first time our father laid a hand on you, I should have struck him dead. I made a promise to you: always and forever, family above all."

Elijah comes to his feet, buttoning up his suit jacket before glaring over to Klaus, "For you to say you do not care for anything is anything but true. You cannot lie to me or to yourself that you do not care for Charlotte." Klaus looks away at Elijah's words making Elijah's tone more harsh, "You're not the only one this is effecting, Niklaus. Do not lose Charlotte. You cannot lose her, Niklaus."

Klaus glares at him, guilt showing in his eyes, "I know that."

"You claim that she is the love of your life, and yet you have left her alone to process this news all by herself." Elijah steps closer to Klaus, pausing momentarily allowing his words to sink in, "Right now she needs someone to support her, whether that be you or myself. Charlotte may say she does not need help but that is only because she is too proud to ask. If you really loved her you would be at her side comforting her and not bickering with me like a child." Elijah pushes past Klaus as he walks away leaving Klaus standing alone.

—✤—

In the middle of Jackson's Square, Lola and Hayley sit on a bench in silence as they can hear the distance tones of jazz music. A million things are rushing through Lola's head in the moment in time, she's being made to believe what the witches have said about this pregnancy is true. They've some how managed to convince two originals and yet Lola remains just as in the dark about it herself.

Lola's thoughts get interrupted as her phone rings, as she answers it Elijah speaks before she can,

"Charlotte, where are you? I told you to stay put."

Lola rolls her eyes, "I'm not going to be used as a toy between this so called war that is happening, Elijah."

She can hear Elijah sighing deeply on the other end, remaining silent for a second, "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm in Jackson's Square and yes I'm okay."

"Stay there, I'm on my way."

Hayley watches a deflated Lola beside her, crowd watching. Hayley can't help but feel a strong wave of guilt that it's her fault all of this has happened. She knows that Lola will say none of this is her fault yet Hayley can't help but feel that way, "There's no way you can remove the link yourself?"

Lola shakes her head, "They're blocking my magic, Hayls. Look." Lola takes hold of Hayley's hand, attempting to siphon yet nothing happens, "I can't even siphon while this link is between me and that bitch."

"You need a water or something." Hayley stands from the bench and begins to walk away, "I'll be back."

Lola watches Hayley walk further into the crowds until she can no longer see her. Feeling exhausted, Lola sighs heavily leaning forward and burying her face into the palm of her hand.

"Amelia." Lola looks up confused to see the barmaid from Rousseau's smiling down at her, "Is was Amelia, right? It's Cami from the bar."

"Oh, right." Lola laughs slightly, plastering a fake smile on her face, "Sorry I was just in a world of my own."

Cami frowns slightly, picking up on Lola's demeanour, "Is everything okay? Did you find your friend you were looking for?"

A faint feeble smile appears on Lola's face as she looks up at her, "Yeah, I did." Cami nods and begins to walk away until Lola sits up straight, "Thank you for your help, Cami."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cami questions again as she sits beside Lola on the bench, "I know I'm a total stranger who you've only spoken to for five minutes in total but it may make you feel better speaking to a stranger." Lola glances over to Cami, she smiles over to her and can't shift the feeling that she knows her. Cami laughs awkwardly, "Sorry. Over-zealous psych major with a grad degree."

Lola laughs as she glances down at her hands, "I must be a magnet to people like you." She looks back over to Cami, she scrunches her nose slightly as she smiles, "My best friend knows a thing or two about psychology."

"Take it into consideration." Lola nods in agreement as Cami stands up and starts to walk away until she turns back to face Lola as she steps away, "I'll even give you the first few shots for free."

Lola smiles as she watches Cami walk away until she feels Elijah's presence sitting beside her, "I see that you still have little patience."

Lola rolls her eyes as she glances over to him, "They had me there for days, Elijah. Plus, I'm not the kind of girl that's just going to sit around and wait for help off others. I seen an opportunity and I took it." Lola purses her lips as she grabs the pocket knife out of her pocket, holding it up towards Elijah, "I also took this." Elijah clears his throat as he takes the blade from Lola, placing it within his suit jacket.

"You've seen him." Lola looks over to him, "Marcel." Elijah sighs as he nods making Lola release a shaky breath, "So it's really true, he survived the fire."

"It appears he did." They both sit in silence until Elijah speaks up once more, "We'll fix this, Charlotte. We can create a home here once more."

Lola can't help but scoff slightly, shaking her head, "You saw it in his eyes, Elijah. He doesn't want this."

"Do you?"

Lola looks over to see Hayley standing amongst a crowd watching someone paint, "I only came back to this city because I was worried about Hayley. I was never expecting to now be stuck here, linked to some stupid witch who says I'm pregnant. To then have Nik too scared to even look me in the eye." Lola's shoulders sink, a lump forms in her throat as she glances down at the ring on her hand, "What if we don't survive this?"

Elijah places his hand on top of Lola's, "You will. We all will, as a family."

—✤—

Lola stands within the old plantation house that holds many memories of their time in New Orleans. Every piece of furniture is covered with white sheets, she walks around the room and starts to remove the white sheets. But in doing so a cloud of dust rises which gets on Lola's chest and causes her to start coughing.

"Are you alright?"

Lola looks up to see Elijah entering the room, she smiles over to him, "Just dust. This place brings back a lot of memories."

Elijah smiles faintly as he remembers of their time here, "Yes, it should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family. You need a good home. So I'm curious... in all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel?"

Lola shrugs as she continues to remove the sheets from furniture, "About what exactly?"

"About being a mother."

Lola's face drops slightly as she looks over to a concerned Elijah. In all honestly, the thought of being a mother is a terrifying thought to Lola. Elijah begins to fold up a sheet awaiting for Lola's response, she clears her throat shifting in her spot slightly, "I remember saying to Caroline's father that our parents live inside us whether they stick around or not. Both of my parents wanted nothing to do with me from when I was a child. My own mother acted as though I didn't exist." She can't help but scoff as she thinks about her parents, "What if I become like my parents? How am I supposed to know how to be a mother when the one I had was so cruel."

Elijah watches as he can see the past pain seep through Lola's eyes, he places the sheet against the table before walking towards her, "After what happened with your parents at such a young age, you helped yourself back up and became who are you today. I've said many times over the years that your inner strength is inspiring. You're not really going to make me go back on my word, are you?" Elijah raises a teasing brow towards Lola making her smile slightly, "I will always protect you, Charlotte. You have my word on that."

"And noble Elijah always keeps his word." They both look over to the doorway to see a smug looking Klaus leaning against the doorframe.

"Is it done?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man, Thierry, yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter." Klaus pushes himself off the doorframe, walking further into the room, "My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."

"I believe them to be honourable." Elijah glances over to Lola, "They did release Charlotte to me. Although, they haven't been entirely forthcoming."

Lola can't help but roll her eyes, "You're mistaken, Elijah. I left on my terms. Those witches had me in that cemetery for too long, they needed to realise I was going to follow what they intended."

"Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead." Elijah concludes, "There must be a reason why."

All of their attentions go to the front door when Hayley walks in, looking over to them all awkwardly. Lola steps further towards her, gesturing to the staircase, "Pick a room." Hayley nods and walks up the stairs, as Lola turns around she sees an annoyed Klaus looking over to her, "Don't. Hayley is staying here, I said so. I don't need your permission."

Before Klaus can quip anything back, Lola's phone rings. She sighs, knowing she can't avoid any more calls from her brothers. She answers the phone as she walks out of the room, "Damon."

She can hear Damon sighing with relief on the other end of the phone, "It's about time you answered your phone! What's going on, Lo?"

Lola cringes slightly as she closes the bedroom door behind her, resting her back against it, "What do you mean?"

"Katherine came by." Stefan's voice comes into play, "She said that Klaus isn't coming back here and neither are you. She's lying, right?"

Lola remains quiet making a stern sounding Damon speak up, "Don't make me call you by your full name."

"It's complicated."

"Charlotte Ame-"

"I said it's complicated!" Lola snaps unintentionally, she sighs as she sits on the edge of the bed, "I don't know when or if I'll be coming back to town."

"Where are you?" Stefan questions, she can hear the worry within his tone.

"New Orleans."

Lola can practically imagine both of her brothers walking towards the front door of the boarding house when Stefan says, "We're coming to see you."

"No!" Lola raises her voice as Klaus walks by the door, he stays lingering there as Lola continues, "You can't! There's just some..." Lola closes her eyes, trying to fathom the right words, "Stuff that has surfaced and I need to stay here for a while. You have to trust me, it's not a good idea for you to come to the city."

"What's going on, Lo?" Damon asks sounding concerned, "You can talk to us."

Lola clears her throat, trying to get rid of the lump that is forming, "I know and I trust you both. It's just-"

Stefan sighs, "It's complicated."

"Are you okay?"

Lola is hating that she can't tell her brothers the true reason why she can't come home right now. She could easily tell them, yes, but explaining to your brothers that you are now pregnant with a hybrid baby isn't exactly news you would say over the phone,

"I just need time to get my head around everything that's going on here first."

"Just please keep in touch." Damon pleads on the other end, "I swear, Lola, if you don't I'm coming to New Orleans and bringing you home."

She can feel the sting of fresh tears forming, she closes her eyes to fight them from falling as she nods to herself, "I will, I promise. Try not to kill each other while I'm not there."

"We love you."

"Love you too." Lola's voice breaks slightly as she holds back the tears until she hangs up the phone to her brothers.

She drops the phone onto the bed as her sobs become uncontrollable. It's as though hearing her brother's voices was the reality hit she needed to realise everything that's happened over the last few days is true and now she doesn't know when or if she'll be able to go back to Mystic Falls. She spent months unhappy there but now the thought of not being there with her brothers breaks her heart even further. Klaus bows his head as he hears Lola's cries from inside the room. Knowing at times like this she would want to be on her own, he quietly walks away making sure he doesn't make a sound.

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A/N: I'm just gonna say this now: NOTHING will happen between Lola and Elijah. I've been in two minds about it for a while but I don't want to risk ruining the bond that they already share with each other. Elijah is like the brother Lola has always needed and I really hope I've written it in that way. This is why the chapter was mainly interactions with each other.

BUT...that doesn't mean a certain someone won't think that there is something going on...

I think the next chapter is going to be more like a filler chapter as there are a couple months in between the first episode of the originals and the second. So I may do a few time hops during it.

There will be someone in particular arriving in New Orleans during this filler chapter also... ;) any guesses?

I honestly feel like some sort of pressure has been took off my shoulders now that I've published this chapter. It was quite a struggle merging the back door pilot and the first proper episode of the originals but hopefully I've pulled it off!

We have now OFFICIALLY begun the originals story, eek!! Hope you all liked it!

I also just want to give a shout-out to adoretvdu who I can always go to when I'm needing help or advice and who I can go to with my crazy ideas. THANK YOU😩

Holly x

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