Empath ‣ Klaus Mikaelson [1]

Two

She woke up the next morning to Liz opening the back door and practically screeching in surprise.

"Oh, hey there, Sheriff Mom," Talia greeted like it was no problem at all.

"Hey there, daughter of mine that takes pleasure in giving heart attacks," Liz muttered, sipping an extra large cup of coffee. "Never do that again."

"You saw my car in the driveway, right?" she asked.

"I came in through the back." She set her keys down on the coffee table. "Extra long meetings have been happening thanks to Mayor Lockwood's unfortunate passing."

"That sucks." She ran her hand through her hair and realized just how badly she needed to wash it.

"So, how long are you staying in town, honey?" Liz asked tiredly now that she was calmed down.

"I don't know. Am I needed here?"

"Caroline and I need you here all the time, Talia. Well, maybe not need but want. We miss you when you're gone, you know. Care especially ever since Bill up and left."

"That was a dick move on his part."

"Talia..." she warned.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed. "Well, should I stay in Mystic Falls? I mean, I need an answer quickly because my New Orleans roommate is moving out and I'll need to get my stuff shipped."

"Well, I'm thinking you should for a little while. Well-"

"You don't want me to stay because of the vampire problems, right?"

Liz was stunned speechless. "I-"

"It's okay, Mom. I know about the supernatural. I'm not clueless, plus I've been living in the City of Jazz for a while and it's crawling with vampires. Your vampire council meetings are what's taking up quite a bit of your time, right?"

"How did you figure that out?"

"Call me observant." She sat up and grabbed a bottle of water in the kitchen, returning to the living room. "But I need an answer. Am I staying?"

"Do you want to?"

"I'd think so. Yes."

"Then stay."

"Then I shall call my roomie and ask for my stuff back. Later today, I guess I'll go job hunting."

"Job hunting?"

"I'm gonna have to get my own place. I can't mooch off you forever, can I?" 

"I guess not. I'm gonna just sit down for a minute before I have to go back to work."

"Wow. Overworking yourself, as per usual. Spend some time with Caroline at some point."

"I know, I know. I'm a terrible mother."

"You're not a terrible mother. Now, drink some coffee, get into a positive spirit, and get ready for work. I'll pick Caroline up if you can't later, okay? Now, if you excuse me, I need to shower. And Caroline's okay, for the time being. Matt said he'd visit her."

"Don't be a better mom than me, Lia. It hurts my ego and kinda gives you the idea that you could have children. Which you can't for another ten years."

"Well, I guess you'll have to wait to be a grandma, Sheriff Mom. Okay, now let me go shower. I'm disgusting."

Talia stretched up and her shirt slid off her shoulder a little bit, prompting her to make a joke, but Liz caught sight of something on her shoulder, asking, "When'd you get a tattoo on the back of your shoulder?"