(our ending, new beginnings)

Metal pierced the skin of her wrists as she tugged at the restraints helplessly in a feeble attempt to get free. Her wrists were tainted red and throbbed in pain but she couldn't stop, not now, not after this.

The air was slowly diminishing in the room, the small vent in the far corner did nothing to help her near-empty lungs as she gasped for breaths.

Margot's eyes were red-rimmed with tears brewing inside the corners. She was only thirteen, she couldn't die yet. There was still so much for her to see, so many people for her to meet.

A scream left her lips as a crack sounded from her thumb as she dislocated it to set herself from the handcuff. She held her hand to her chest, watching as the skin turned red and blotchy in a matter of minutes before she forced herself to the small vent.

Slight wisps of air blew against her bruised face as she breathed in, a small feeling of relief filling her as the air filled her lungs.

The cuts on her forehead and cheeks, both inflicted by her father, leaked dark red blood onto the concrete floor beneath her as she closed her defeated eyes with a soft exhale.

Margot gasped, her eyes wide, as she sat up on her and Klaus' shared bed. Without thinking, Klaus quickly wrapped his arms around her, eyes still full of sleep, as he held her shaking body. "I got you, love. You're safe with me. He's not here," he whispered into her ear as he gently rocked her back into proper mind.

His shirt turned a shade darker as her tears stained the white fabric, her hands clutching it so tightly that wrinkles appeared at the fabric around his waist.

Her breaths didn't calm down until moments later when she met his worried blue eyes that stared down at her with nothing but sadness. He had seen the dream, or rather the memory. Her mind had been so unprotected as she slept that it somehow dragged his mind inside to view the darkest of dark times.

"I miss him," Margot cried as his hand came up to hold her cheek, his thumb gently caressing away the stray tears that fell from her eyes and resided on her cheeks.

"I know," Klaus whispered, "But, you are going to see him again. I promise you I will do everything in my power so that you can see Stefan again. Even if it kills me."

The heretic let out a choked laugh as she pressed her forehead to his, "I'd rather you didn't die. I kind of like having you around. Even if you are a little annoying at times."

"Hey!" he shouted with amusement as a laugh left his lips. Bright smiles were painted on the couple's faces, ones so soft that it was as if the nightmares hadn't even existed, as if they were the only people in the universe.

"I love you, Niklaus."

His lips touched hers gingerly before pulling away, unable to stop the smile that seemed to never leave his lips when he was around her. "I love you too, Margot."

— — —

"I'll tell you, jail is no fun, Kai."

The sociopath's eyes widened at Margot's words. He was so shocked he choked on his pancakes. "You've been to jail?"

She nodded nonchalantly as she stabbed her fork into a pancake, "Once, in Monopoly. Fucking Damon, eh?"

Kai nodded, "What a dick."

"That's what I said!" Margot agreed with a bright smile, glancing over when she heard Klaus enter the kitchen.

He sent her a smile as he moved to sit beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She immediately responded, leaning into his touch.

Kai smiled. He was happy for her. Truly happy... Or as happy as a sociopath could be.

He had spent the night in Klaus and Margot's home, sleeping in the spare bedroom. He had been alone for so long. He didn't want to leave them.

Just then, Bonnie and Damon entered, not bothering to knock before they walked into the kitchen. "Did you get anything out of him yet?" Damon asked, carrying a fire poker on his shoulder.

Margot sighed, "No, Damon. And we are not torturing him." She glanced back at Kai, "Do you know how to get out of here?"

Kai nodded without hesitance. He would never lie to her. After everything they had been through, he couldn't.

"We need Bennett magic. That's why I pulled the whole i'm-going-to-murder-one-of-your-only-friends act. I needed her magic to come back."

"Why my magic? Margot has tons," Bonnie pointed out as she leaned against the counter, staying a few safe feet away from the new person. She didn't fully trust him. Who could blame her though?

"Bennett magic created this place so it needs to be Bennett magic to destroy it. Margot has Orion magic and I have Gemini, ergo, we can't do shit."

Damon rolled his eyes as he glanced down at Margot, "You know he killed his family right? It was in the paper."

Margot nodded, "I knew that before we got here, Damon. And you have no room to judge, you've killed Stefan how many times? Tormented him for the last 165 years. Stefan killed your Dad and you were happy about it – you praised him for it, Damon. And when I killed my family you did the exact same thing."

The vampire sighed, "I hate it when you're right."

Kai's eyes brightened, "You killed your family? I raised you well."

Margot chuckled, choosing not to answer Kai and to stay on track with Damon's words. "No, you hate it when you're wrong, Damon. So what else do we need, Kai? I'm assuming it's not just magic."

Kai smiled. She was always so smart. "There is an ascendant. It was used to harness the power of the eclipse to create a portal to this dimension. If we find it, and Bonnie does the spell, we can get out."

"What's the catch?" Damon asked.

"I don't know where the ascendant is and only Bonnie can find it," Kai explained, casting his eyes up at the witch who stood glaring at him.

"I'll need your blood," she said. "I'll grab my things and we'll do the spell at the boarding house."

— — —

Everyone had left the small Salvatore-Mikaelson home, which left Margot and Klaus alone in their thoughts.

Margot smiled brightly as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck, "We're finally going home, puppy."

He grinned as he placed a warm kiss on her nose, "I've always been home, my love. You are my home."

She stood a little higher, balancing on her toes before pressing her lips against his. Their lips moved slowly, Margot gently nipping on his lower lip earning a soft whimper from the hybrid.

"Love," he warned. "Don't start something you can't finish."

She smirked, "I think we both know I can finish it."

Just as he was about to kiss her, he pulled back. His face held a sense of confusion as he stared down at her.

She frowned, "Nik? What's wrong?"

He stayed silent as he kneeled down, pressing his ear against her stomach. It was faint but it was there.

A heartbeat.

There was a heartbeat.

"M- Maggie," he whispered, staring up at her as tears flooded his crystal eyes.

"Nik?" she asked, kneeling in front of him so they were at eye level as worry flooded through her every sense – she hated seeing him cry. "What's got you crying, baby?"

"You– you don't hear it?" he asked, his hands holding her sides as his thumbs rubbed at her skin.

Although she was confused, she listened in, trying to find whatever noise he heard. It had only taken her a couple of seconds, but as soon as she found it, she instantly knew.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, her hand coming up to hold her stomach as tears appeared in her own eyes.

"I hear it," she whispered. "How?" she stuttered.

He stayed silent, his hands tracing her flat stomach, unable to think of an answer.

There was only one thought in his head.

He's gonna be a dad. And Margot was going to be a mom.

— — —

It had been a few hours and the couple hadn't moved from their seated positions on the floor. Instead, they leaned against the counter as they held each other's hands.

They were going to be parents.

Them.

Of all people.

Them.

Klaus Mikaelson. The hybrid. The abomination.

And.

Margot Salvatore. The heretic. The abomination.

Two people with the worst history of parents. How could they possibly parent their own child?

It didn't take the others long to realize the couple was not coming. They did say they were going to meet in an hour and it had been three.

As it turns out, Kai had the ascendant the whole time nestled right in his coat pocket. He wanted to make sure Bonnie couldn't just light candles and do party tricks.

When they walked inside the house, it was silent, just the sounds of the couple's steady breaths. Damon was the first to run over, then Kai who took Margot in his arms, "What's wrong, kiddo?"

She stared up at him as she tightened her grip on Klaus' hand. "Nothing," she whispered in response.

"Then what's got you two looking like Stefan killed Bambi?" Damon asked, slightly spooked at the sight of Klaus looking so fragile. Even Margot, he hadn't seen her so weak since he locked her in the basement.

"Listen," Klaus told them as his eyes cast down at Margot's stomach while he played with her fingers.

Damon frowned but did as told only for a similar look to appear on his face. "Holy shit."

Bonnie and Kai looked between the trio in worry. "'Holy shit what?' What's wrong with my kid?" Kai asked, his voice rash as he continued to hold the girl.

"I'm pregnant, Kai."

His mouth opened slightly along with his eyes, "Holy shit."

Margot nodded breathlessly, "Yeah."

— — —

The group had sat the couple down on the couch and Bonnie had left to make the couple tea before she came back in the room.

"So, how does this work?" Damon asked as Bonnie handed the couple two cups of tea.

Margot and Klaus shrugged. To be completely honest, they had no idea. They were both technically dead.

Bonnie sighed, "Klaus is a hybrid and Margot's a heretic. It must have something to do with them not fully being dead. The prison world could be dampening your vampire sides and strengthening your living sides."

Margot nodded slowly. It made sense, it really did. But that would put her, at the very least, two months in.

They had been in the prison world for four months. She and Klaus hadn't done anything for the first few weeks so that would put the latest date at three months.

Her eyes widened as she stared down at her feet before looking at Klaus, "This is your fault."

"How is this my fault?" he asked.

"You made a move on me, puppy. I was going to live my life in peace but you had to come in all cute and hot and you just had to make me fall for you. You fucking dick."

Kai had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing while Damon held his hand against his lips.

When Margot was angry and confused, she was often the most amusing thing on the planet. Unless, of course, you were on the receiving end of her anger. Then you wouldn't live to see the next day. Klaus, however, is lucky.

"Well, if you weren't so bloody beautiful, maybe I wouldn't have flirted with you, love! This is your fault. You and your stupidly perfect faces fault."

"My fault? You–"

Bonnie cut in, "Alright, let's tone it down, yeah? You're both incredibly hot, we all know. I think the whole world knows actually. I'm going to look through some grimoire and see if there is a spell to see how far along you are and we'll go from there, okay?"

The couple silently nodded.

Bonnie left along with Kai who was talking about some grimoires he had hidden away.

It was just Damon, Margot and Klaus.

"So, you two... oh my god the kid isn't a virgin anymore! Stefan's gonna be sick when he finds out."

Margot chuckled, "You thought I was a virgin? Damon, you had to kick us out due to the noise. Did you never piece two and two together?"

Damon stayed silent. Perhaps he was in shock.

"Shall I get a bucket, love? We don't want a part two of Stefan's reaction," Klaus suggested from beside her, his hand still intertwined with hers.

Margot smiled, "I think he'll be okay. Won't you, Damon? You're alright, yeah?"

He nodded slowly as he swallowed the sick feeling in his mouth. "Did Stef never give you the talk? I swear he did after he caught you kissing that one girl in London."

She blushed, "He did. But I wouldn't call it much of a talk, it was more just him stuttering awkwardly before he left to get donuts. Ripper Stefan wasn't the best with words, Damon."

"Well, what did he tell you?"

Margot thought back to the time.

She slipped her hands around the waist of the blonde girl as their tongues collided.

"Fuck, darling," Margot moaned into the girl's mouth as she was pushed against a brick wall. Her leg was held around the girl's waist by her free hand to get more friction.

The blonde girl grinned as her lips moved down to Margot's neck. Red bruises soon appeared, scattering themselves amongst Margot's pale, once porcelain, skin.

And just as Margot was about to kiss her yet again, a loud gasp was heard from the street.

The two girls quickly parted, their eyes wide as they faced the man.

Stefan stood, a bag of groceries in his arm with a shocked look on his face. "I– Kid– Shit. Fuck. Okay. Home. Now."

The walk was silent. As soon as they entered the small apartment they were still silent.

Margot had helped the vampire put away the food, handing him each object before he placed them in the fridge.

They were both too afraid to speak.

Eventually, Stefan spoke up. "What happened?"

Margot shrugged innocently, "We were walking around, we had just met in a bookstore, you know the one on Adelaide? Yeah, so she took me to get some coffee and we were talking about baby sea lions, for god's sake. And then the next thing I know, we're standing in an alley and she somehow managed to slip her tongue down my throat. And I'm like wait a minute. How'd this happen?"

"I don't understand."

"Yeah, neither did I."

Stefan nodded slowly. "Alright then, sweetheart. Um- uh... just don't get pregnant. I'll be back in an hour with donuts."

"So that's how it went," Margot finished with a shrug, her head leaning against Klaus' shoulder as he smiled down at her. Even as a young teen, she was quite sarcastic. It was one of the things he loved about her.

"So, Stefan just told you not to get pregnant? He didn't think to expand?" Damon asked exasperated. "What about when he found out you two were together?"

"If I remember correctly, his head was stuck in a bush as he vomited for an hour."

Margot nodded, "He was a little too preoccupied to speak. And besides that, no other vampire has ever gotten pregnant. You said it yourself, vampires can't procreate, but we love to try... Did you find the ascendant?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Damon nodded, "Kai had it the whole time. He was testing Bonnie to see if she could actually do real magic. How do you even know this guy? I thought you were alone your whole childhood."

"Samael didn't find out I was a siphoner till I was five. Kai was from the coven next door and helped me hide it. Even though he was only 17, he took care of me when Samuel was too drunk to even notice me," the heretic explained, her grip tightening on her cup of tea as she spoke.

It was no secret she had trauma and talking about it, with Damon of all people, didn't necessarily help.

Even Klaus didn't know the full extent of her childhood. The only person that did know was Stefan.

He knew she was scared of the sun for three months because she thought it was the angels coming down to take her away. He knew she would wake up screaming every single night from nightmares. He knew that she had a fear of water for months.

Eye contact. Simple touches. Enclosed spaces. Dark rooms. Breathing.

Margot had more fears than she could count. But Stefan? Stefan remembered every single one and remembered every way he could attempt to prevent her from feeling them.

Every night as Margot's screams pierced the air, Stefan, ripper or not, would run into her bedroom before waking her up with soft shakes. They would sit for hours, whether it be in silence or if they spoke, he would stay. Some nights, she would tell him about the dreams and each time he was brought close to tears.

On the nights she couldn't sleep, he would stay up with her. They would cuddle on the couch while they watched Disney movies for hours on end, or at least till the sun came back up.

He was there through every panic attack, every asthma attack, and even every doctor's appointment. Ripper Stefan brought her to the dentist. He killed the dentist after, but he still brought her there.

He was her Dad through and through. Switch on and switch off.

She felt Klaus' arm wrap around her side as he slowly pulled her in closer to his side. The act calmed her racing heart immediately.

Damon sighed as he glanced between the pair. "Alright. Bonnie will do the spell and then tomorrow we'll get out of here and we'll deal with the magical baby then, okay? Stefan will know how to deal with this."

— — —

Not long after, Bonnie had laid Margot down on the couch before dangling a crystal above her.

Margot frowned in confusion as she stared up at the witch, "You aren't trying to exorcise me, are you little witch?"

Bonnie chuckled, "Do I look like a nun?"

"Good point. How long is this going to take?"

"If you would stop talking I would already be done."

Margot chuckled, "Did Damon burn your vampcakes this morning?"

"Yes, he did, actually. Now shut up and let me do the spell."

The crystal swayed in the air before it glowed blue. Bonnie stared at the gem for a moment before the glow disappeared.

"How long?" Klaus asked from his seat behind them.

"Three months. Just like I thought. But there's another thing..."

"What is it?"

"It's not just one kid... there's two."

"Oh shit."