A Knick In Time

Revelations

One day later

Tatia and Niklaus have agreed to invite all the Mikaelson siblings to their hut when Elijah and I asked them to. So here we all are. Sitting around the fire in the middle of the hut. The only one who isn't here is Henrik. We decided that he's too young for this. But Finn, Kol and Rebekah are sitting here with me, Elijah, Tatia and Niklaus, sipping tea.

"So, what is it that made you invite us here?" Rebekah asks.

Elijah and I exchange a glance. He squeezes my hand.
"We asked you all to come because I have something to tell you. Something important."

We begin our story with everything Niklaus already knows which means, me. That I'm from the future, who I really am and how I got here. The reactions to this are diverse. Kol is excited and wants to know everything about the spell that sent me here, Finn is merely surprised and Rebekah is cross with me for not telling her sooner.
Then comes the lesser known secrets. We start with Freya and Esther's deal with her sister Dahlia. At that point, Finn interrupts.

"That is none of your business!" he claims.

Everyone's eyes turn on him.
"You knew this." Elijah surmises.

Finn just stares at his siblings defiantly.

Rebekah huffs, visibly angry. "How could you keep this from us??"

"Oh, this is typical!" Niklaus seethes, "Typical Finn! Always aiding our mother, always trying to win her favor."

"We lost Freya. Mother was devastated and father was buried in his own grief. I was the only one she had left. It was my duty to be there for her." Finn meets his siblings' hurt and angry glances with confidence.

Tatia frowns. "She is your mother. If you think it's your job to take care of her and not the other way around, you misunderstood the meaning of parenthood."

The argument continues. Finn insists on having been right to do as he did, Klaus, Kol and Rebekah disagree and Elijah eventually just says it doesn't matter; there wasn't anything they could've done anyway. For a while, Klaus and Rebekah keep poking at Finn, demanding he tell them anything else he kept from them. We sit still and listen to those three bicker, at first. Until Elijah reaches a point of disapproval he cannot keep still about.

"You three" he barks out, "Stop it! There'll be enough time for such childish squabbles tomorrow. Right now, you will shut up and let Elena talk, because believe it or not, our dead-thought sister isn't the only secret within this family."

"There's more?" Kol sounds increduled and slightly terrified at the same time.

Elijah and I exchange a glance and he shortly squeezes my hand.

"Yes, there's more. And this next secret is certainly the biggest secret of your family."
I turn to Niklaus.
"It concerns you. You, your mother and the alpha of the wolf pack living in your neighbouring village."

"Really?" Niklaus furrows his brows and snorts. "I've never even met that guy. What could some wolf that none of us know have to do with our family?"

"Well... you may not have met him, but your mother has." I start, pursing my lips a little. This is going to be difficult to say.
"You see, Niklaus... after this whole mess with Freya, Esther was pretty devastated and Mikael had apparently stopped reacting to literally anything for a while. In that time, she met the alpha I just mentioned. His name is Ansel. I... don't actually know any more details of what happened and why, but I do know that, about a year later... Esther had another child and the father wasn't Mikael. That child... was you."

There is a moment of heavy silence. Niklaus stares at me with wide eyes as his jaw drops.
"You're saying..."

"Yes." I nod, "I'm saying Mikael is not your father. This alpha is."

Niklaus as well as his siblings - except for Elijah, since he already knew this - all need some time to take in the news and process. Until Finn breaks the silence.
"I believe that makes you a bastard."

"Finn!" Elijah, Tatia and I all glare at him.
Rebekah adds: "He is our brother! Don't you ever call him that again!"

"It's the truth. Not saying it won't change it." Finn's voice sounds somber and dry, "I'm not saying he's any less of a brother to us now, but if people ever find out about this, he'll be shunned."

"And how exactly would they find out, Finn?" The dirty blonde man ffixates his elder brother with his eyes. In this moment, he reminds me of the Klaus I knew in the future. "Do you plan on telling them?"

Finn chuckles humourlessly. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?! Would give you someone to blame."

A fiery argument erupts, revolving around the topic of Esther's infidelity, the question of who's to blame for it and whether or not the Mikaelson siblings will be able to keep their mouths shut about it. In the middle are Finn and Niklaus, viciously throwing pokes at each other, while Elijah and I try to calm them down. Meanwhile, Rebekah is upset and tries to interfere. Kol just watches and sips on his tea, a somewhat amused smirk on his face.

Eventually, my sister stands up and lets her voice roar through the hut.
"That's enough!! I will not have this kind of behaviour in my home, especially not when my son is sleeping in the room next to us. You've probably awoken him already. All of you, sit down and stop it! No one is telling anyone about Niklaus and that's final." She sits back down again, looks at her husband and continues in a softer tone, "There is something entirely different we could do." She takes his hand, "How would you like to meet your father, my love?"

Tatia's words have an iinstant effect. The new silence thqt stretches out has a completely different aura than the previous ones. This time, instead of shock, disappointment or anger, there is the realization that there might also become something wonderful from this new knowledge. Niklaus has never had a father who appreciated him.

He looks kind of hesitant though. "Tatia... are you sure? What if he doesn't like me?"

"Oh, don't worry. He loves you. Elijah told me that." I assure him.

His expression adapts confusion. "Huh?"
A quick look to his brother tells him that that Elijah is just as irritated as he is. Only a few seconds later, both of them realize what I meant.

"Wow. This is weird." my fiance says, shaking his head, "I've never met the guy and yet, apparently, I was the one who told you all about him."

I stroke his arm and chuckle a little. He takes my hand and I give him a warm look. "You'll get used to it. Because yes, you are quite a storyteller. I always liked hearing what you told me."

He smiles at me in a way that seems dreamy, even a bit idiotic to some. I just find it adorable and smile back.

"You two are nauseating." Kol comments.

When I look at the siblings, Finn just rolls his eyes while Rebekah seems kind of nostalgic. Knowing her, I'm guessing she wants to find a love like ours too. She'll have that with Stefan, I know, and maybe with a few other guys before that, but for now, she's going to have to wait a while.

"So that settles it then?" Finn's words are more a statement than a question.
"Niklaus will go to meet his father tomorrow, we'll keep our mouths shut to mother and father" he sounds bitter at those words, "and whatever we do in the future; none of us can ever take Henrik with us to see the wolves."

"Agreed." Niklaus confirmes, nodding with determination.

Telling them about their brother's fate was the most difficult part for me. I know, if we won't manage to save him, they might spend eternity blaming themselves for his death. And if we do manage to keep him safe, then these people may never be turned into vampires, never become the originals and I won't have the option to go back to the future without losing Elijah. But the worst option? I may find myself back in Mystic Falls and never have met him in the first palce.

I feel awful for feeling this way. I adore Henrik and I don't wish him any harm by any means, but I also love Elijah. The thought of losing him scares me.