Breathing ∞ Kol Mikaelson [1]

[19]

Reunions could often be awkward and a little intense. Reunions between a thousand-year-old family, all of whom had at one point in time, or another (or at multiple points) been killed in some way by a single member... Well, those were a bit more than awkward some would say. And if they doubted it, all they'd have to look at were the faces of some of the Mikaelson siblings. Resentment, anger, fury, irritation... Those were just some of the emotions which could be depicted within their features.

It was only by the grace of their mother that Klaus was even standing in that moment, soaking in the awkward silence which surrounded him. His mother had tired to encourage the forgiveness among the family, and while in front of her they all voiced agreement, once she left the room for only a few moments, it wasn't hard to notice the brewing tension ready to erupt into chaos once again.

It was why the sound of a phone ringing, breaking through the uneasy silence, had all eyes turning towards the table where it lay. And while the text was quickly ignored by many, including the owner of the phone himself, the name displayed on the screen managed to intrigue one of the Mikaelsons. Rebekah snatched the phone from the table, not even giving Klaus a chance to stop her.

Her eyes scanned through the message on the screen, and it wasn't long before she reacted to it. One second, Klaus was sitting on the sofa calmly, and in the next, he found himself pressed against the wall with Rebekah's hands wrapped around his throat. Now he was all for moving on from the past and continuing to be a peaceful happy family, but that didn't mean Klaus wouldn't retaliate. Which he did.

"ENOUGH!" It was the shrill voice of their mother which stopped Rebekah from charging at Klaus once more after he pushed her off of him. "What is going on?!" Esther's questioning eyes moved between both of her children, looking for a quick answer and explanation. Rebekah was the first to speak, although she addressed Klaus instead.

"What the bloody hell are you planning with Emma?"

"Excuse me?" Klaus questioned in disbelief. Completely unaware of what Emma's text had said he didn't even know how to respond to Rebekah's question.

"Why are you having her followed? She has nothing to do with any of this." Rebekah elaborated, finally handing him back the phone so he could read the message which was intended for him in the first place.

'I get it, brotherly bonding is a time consuming activity (another time consuming activity will be catching me up on what I missed), but can you just please say yes or no as to whether the weirdo that's parked outside of my house in the middle of the night is your doing?'

"Emma... I do believe she called this morning about the same issue." Elijah spoke up, remembering the call on Klaus phone which he so swiftly brought to an end earlier in the day.

"Dearest siblings, let me teach you something about the modern world. One's phone is private property, not intended for the lot of you to snoop around at your leisure." Klaus grumbled in annoyance. He hadn't even known Elijah had answered a call from Emma. "And as for you Rebekah, your little pet poses no threat to me. Why would I have her followed? Especially since you last saw her, Emma's chosen a side, the Mikaelson side."

Klaus wouldn't hide that after his first meeting with Emma, he did have her followed by one of his hybrids. However, that stopped quite some time ago. He had no reason to start it up again since she hadn't given him any.

"I have to go." Rebekah announced, finally removing her glare from Klaus and heading towards the door with rushed steps. However, she didn't manage to get out of the house before she was called back by her mother.

"Where must you go? It's our first night together again." Esther pointed out, unsure about letting her children back out to roam the streets. At least not until some basic rules about their new life here were established.

"I know, and I'll be back, I promise. I just have to make sure my friend is alright." Rebekah explained, not really leaving much room for argument as she added. "I'm sure she'll want to know I'm back too."

Emma was starting to believe she spent way too much time around Klaus. He was starting to rub off on her. Most notably his paranoia was. She wanted to go to sleep, but with her mother at work and the car still parked outside of her house, she didn't feel comfortable enough to just turn off the lights and let it be.

While that morning, after her little vervain test, she was happy to know that whoever it was, wasn't a hybrid or a vampire, now that was one of the first things making her uneasy. If it were a vampire, she'd at least know they couldn't get to her inside without an invitation. The only two invited in were Rebekah and Klaus, as far as she knew.

Emma moved back over to the window looking out onto the porch and further into the street. Pulling the curtains back, she was planning on checking whether the car was still there, however, she found her vision obscured by a figure appearing right in front of her. Emma jumped back with a startled yelp and took a couple of moments to get her breathing back under control before swinging the door open.

"You're back." The happy exclamation was the first form of greeting that Rebekah received as she was almost tackled into a giant hug once the door opened in front of her. "I knew it was only a matter of time when what I assume is one of your brothers answered Klaus' phone this morning."

"Yes, I see you've chummed up to my brother in my absence." Rebekah commented as she an Emma pulled apart; her tone somewhat displeased.

"Your brother was the best chance of getting you back from Gilbert. I know you're not his biggest fan, but it was either him or Elena and her bunch, and while I can act, I definitely can't act like I stand her." Emma explained simply, hoping Rebekah wouldn't hold it against her too much.

"Get me back and keep me daggered, the usual Klaus way." Rebekah spat in annoyance, obviously still not fully willing to forgive Klaus for everything he'd done. "Luckily, Elijah took care of it. He un-daggered all of us." At that Emma's eyes widened the size of saucers.

"Wait, your whole family is back? Then what are you doing here? You should be with them."

"I saw the message you sent Klaus, and considering he claims he's not the one who sent someone, I had to come and check." Rebekah shared, her eyes turning towards the car which obviously didn't belong there. With her vision it was easy to see inside, the man's eyes permanently focused on them and never turning away.

Emma opened her moth to tell Rebekah what she knew so far, but before she could even make a sound, the blonde was no longer in front of her. Instead, Emma could see her appearing by the driver's side of the car and pulling the man out of his seat with speed and ease.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Crap." The brunette muttered to herself, starting to run towards the two as she checked up and down the street, wanting to be sure all of her neighbors were asleep.

"Who sent you?" Rebekah questioned, her eyes piercing into the brown ones of the stranger who she continued to hold up by his collar. Emma didn't have to be on the receiving end to know Rebekah was trying to compel the answers out of the man, and the dazed look on his face made her guess it was working. It wasn't...

"I don't know." He said in an aloof voice.

"Why are you watching his house?" Even though Rebekah changed her question, the answer remained the same, delivered in the same manner as well.

"He's been compelled, hasn't he?" Emma questioned. And she wasn't referring to the compulsion Rebekah was using in an attempt to get some answers. No, another vampire had compelled this man. Compelled him to watch her and her home, perhaps even her mother too.

"Yes."

But if it wasn't Klaus... Then who?