𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧- 𝐊𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 [𝐓𝐎]

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟖

Rebekah is standing in one of the upstairs lounges, looking at a painted portrait of herself (in her original body) that was seemingly created centuries earlier which hangs on the wall while Klaus stands behind her.

"That is just not my chin, Nik. It was much more delicate." Rebekah pouts 

"The only delicate thing about you, sister, is your ego."

Rebekah turns to face him with a sarcastic smirk on her face and replies, "Well, placed next to the behemoth size of yours, certainly!"

They both laugh good-naturedly. Suddenly, Elijah's voice is heard, revealing that they are talking with him on speakerphone while he stays at the safe house in Arkansas.

Could we dispense with this fascinating dispute for just a moment and return to the subject of our supposed long-lost sister? says Elijah from the phone

"There's not much to discuss, Elijah. She said she was Freya, and then she darted off into the night." Rebekah says with a sigh

At the safe house, Elijah is folding blankets in Hope's nursery while he talks with his siblings on the phone.

"And you believed her?"

"Well, I met the girl in a mystical loony bin-- she could be anyone telling any lie. But, she did seem... familiar, somehow."

"Then how is she still alive?", He rolls his eyes and sighs as he starts to pace anxiously around the room, "A question, as ridiculous as its possible solutions, given this family's annoying predilection for cheating death."

"I dunno, Nik, I'm just telling you what she said!" she says with a sigh and shrug

"Well, did you happen to ask, if, by some similar miracle, our aunt Dahlia lives as well?" asks Klaus 

"I barely had a chance to process--"

"--Because on the list of obvious questions, it would be nice to know if the woman who placed a curse on the first-borns of this family is still breathing air." Klaus cuts her off and continues

"Well, let me just turn back time and do it again to your liking, then!" replies an annoyed Rebekah

"Enough! Both of you. If she is who she says, we'll find out soon enough. For now, it remains imperative that no one learns of Hope's existence. This has been our salvation thus far." Elijah says from the phone.

"so did I miss anything else?" asks Rebekah

"Akane has been acting unusual" says Elijah

"What?" asks Rebekah worried for her friend

"She has not been sleeping well, eating properly, and even avoiding touching Hope" reveals Klaus

"She must be having nightmares about her mother" expressed Rebekah, "that was the night, she killed a lot of witches, she left mutilated bodies, and hearts everywhere at the cemetery and even siphoned the whole coven's powers. A few months ago she told me, she gets nightmares and sees blood on her hands at times, she avoids contact with people on those days."

"Understandable," says Elijah

After hearing Rebekah's explanation, Klaus was a little worried about the red-haired girl, he knew she was strong enough to handle herself, but he still felt uneasy after hearing about her nightmares, being someone who had dealt with his share of nightmares, he could understand her.

Cami is in the living room, playing with Hope, who is lying on her back on a blanket on the floor. In the kitchen, Elijah has just finished cleaning a skillet in preparation to make breakfast for the girls. He puts butter in the pan before cracking an egg into it. Suddenly, he hears a crash in the next room as Hope starts crying, and Elijah speeds in to see what happened. A broken dish lays on the floor as Cami picks her up. Hope has a small cut on her forehead.

"Oh!, she yanked the tablecloth and that knick-knack fell on her!" she tells Elijah

"What happened?" asks Akane who came out of her room after hearing the crash

Elijah tries to soothe Hope as he examines her wound.

"It's just a scratch," says Cami

As Hope continues to scream and cry from the shock of the injury, Elijah is triggered into another one of his visions, where he gets flashes of the red door at the end of the hallway. Akane takes Hope from his arms and holds Hope closer to her as Cami tries to snap Elijah out of it.

"Elijah? Elijah!" calls a concerned Cami

Finally, Elijah snaps out of it, looks at Cami, and answers, "Yes"

Akane takes Hope to her room and tries to soothe Hope.

Akane was busy folding her laundry, while Hope was flipping through a picture book when Akane's phone vibrated. She picks up the call without seeing the contact name.

"Hello, Akane speaking"

"Good morning Camellia," says Klaus in a smug voice

"Good Morning Klaus," she looks at Hope and says to Hope, "Hope, Daddy has called"

Hope looks at Akane and babbles something that neither of them can understand, and a beat later she says something that fills Klaus's heart with warmth, "Dada?"

"My God! Did you hear that?" she asks him

Klaus is shocked, he replies, "Yes."

Akane takes the phone to Hope and asks her, "Say daddy again?"

"Dada!" Hope says with a giggle, Akane smiles with Hope.

Klaus takes a sharp breath after hearing it again, his eyes a little blurry, he quickly blinks to avoid crying.

"Love you, Sweetheart," Klaus says to Hope

"She recognizes your voice" Akane sees when Hope claps her hands in joy.

"Thank you"

"I think you should thank your daughter, after all, she is the one who called you dada," she says with a smile on her face.

"You just made my day Love."

"So, can you slay a few more enemies and make New Orleans safe for us to return?"

"On it love. I will let you know If I need your help in slaying a few witches." Klaus says with a smug smile on his face

"I would love to help," says Akane and he disconnects the call.