Esmeray didn't trust the New Orleans witches at all.

First of all, who the hell was letting them think that they could just arrive unannounced to 'check on Hayley?' This house belonged to Klaus and Rebekah, not them. Obviously, neither of the Originals seemed to mind, but Esmeray was really starting to get peeved by the random arrivals.

Second of all, why the hell did the witches think they could exclude Esmeray from everything? As soon as Agnes had arrived, she'd suggested for Esmeray to go occupy herself elsewhere.

"I was under the impression that Elijah told you about why I'm here," she said with a cheeky smile as she sat beside Hayley. "I'm the one who understands the baby, not you. If you want to shove me aside, prove to me that you're qualified to be the doctor to a werewolf carrying a tribrid."

Agnes shot her a look of disdain, but said nothing, so Hayley stepped in. "I told you, I feel great," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic to lessen the tension. "Esmeray checks on me whenever I feel anything that I deem to be abnormal."

Esmeray looked over to where Rebekah was typing away furiously on a laptop on the other side of the room, rolling her eyes when Agnes clasped her hands together and tried to cast Hayley a motherly look. "You are overdue for a real checkup, with a real doctor."

"You want to know how many times I was a midwife?" asked Esmeray sharply. "Nearly fifty times, since the age of five. It's a magical baby. No human ultrasound is going to give any insight about how it's doing. I have college level knowledge about human physiology. Maybe I can take the memories of an Obstetrician and Gynecologist to do a better job. At any rate, it will be better than whatever you can provide for her."

"I can't just pop into the Quarter for an ultrasound, anyway," said Hayley. "A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch and a hybrid? Nothing to see here!"

"A lot of women would kill to have a child," said Rebekah sourly from the other couch. "It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"We don't know which humans out there have been compelled!" said Esmeray hotly. "We can't just go into the Quarter. Marcel's henchmen recognize me."

"I know a doctor out in the Bayou, off the beaten path," said Agnes patiently, though she was clearly nervous, considering that the house kept shaking every time Esmeray spoke. Hayley and Rebekah were used to it by now. "Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you, Hayley. Tonight, after-hours, just us. Vampires will never get word of it. In the meantime," she looked at Esmeray. "You can create the distraction we need, just in case anyone tries to follow us. Go to one of the doctors in the Quarter and take their memories as needed. Then, we won't have to go do this again."

That was just too suspicious for Esmeray. Oh, yes, you go over there while I take this girl over here. "Absolutely not," Esmeray snapped, the coffee mugs on the table shattering and spilling onto the carpet. "Wherever Hayley goes, I'm going. You can't do magic. I can. You don't know the wolves of the Bayou. I do. I got attacked in the Bayou and my friend was murdered. We don't know how the vampires pass information, but I wouldn't trust you going alone with Hayley."

Agnes frowned. "Well, Hayley, it's your choice."

"Let's just do the Bayou baby doctor this once," said Hayley in a bit of a strained voice as the smell of coffee filled the room. "Esmeray, you can come."

"Good," said the hybrid, glaring at Agnes, who didn't look happy. "But if you have a problem with it," she got to her feet. "We can sort that out right here and right now. I don't care who the hell I have to kill to keep this kid safe."

"I am trying to help Hayley and the baby," said Agnes pointedly as she, too, got to her feet. "She is linked to Sophie, do you really think I'd try to hurt her?"

Esmeray stormed forward, coming right up in Agnes's face. "I don't know what to think because I don't trust any of the witches here if their name isn't Sophie Deveraux. So why don't you fuck off, and—"

"Now, now, love."

Esmeray was pulled back by Klaus, and Hayley took the opportunity to walk a very nervous Agnes to the door. "You're becoming more like me every day," said Klaus playfully.

She shoved him off and sneered at Agnes's departing figure. "I don't like how these witches just decide to show up all the bloody time without telling anyone beforehand!"

"She even says 'bloody' now," noted Rebekah as Klaus brought Esmeray over to where his sister was. "Unfortunately, you're rubbing off on her, Nik."

"I think it's wonderful," said Klaus, kissing Esmeray's cheek as he lowered her into the couch, then went to sit across from the two women. He let out a light laugh. "Please, sister, tell me you're not still at it with the internet search. How does one begin, anyway? Just type in, 'anonymous attic?'"

"Someone has to find Elijah," said Rebekah as Klaus poured himself a scotch, "even if I have to search every bloody attic in New Orleans."

The Original hybrid smirked. "Like looking for a needle in a rather large pile of needles."

"I remember details about the attic Marcel took me to. There were shutters on the windows behind Elijah's coffin."

"Well, that should narrow it down immensely. Myself, I prefer actual strategy as opposed to mind-numbing labor. Marcel's delay in returning our brother makes me suspect he's no longer in charge of the situation. If Davina's loyalty to Marcel is strained, perhaps the young witch will be open to discussing a new alliance."

Rebekah cast him a bitter smile. "As usual, your power grabs are more important than rescuing your brother."

"I prefer to think of it as killing two birds with one stone. Rob Marcel of his secret weapon, bring our brother home. Esmeray and Davina together will be a powerful duo."

"Since I'm being praised now," said Esmeray, "can we try the idea I had?"

"Do you really need to look into my mind?" asked Rebekah a bit too quickly.

"Yes, but I'm not going to rat you out if you secretly want to turn Marcel into a Drag Queen."

Rebekah sighed and offered her her arm. "Fine. Have at it."

"Think specifically of your memory of the attic," said Esmeray as she took her hand. "It will keep me from invading your privacy too much."

She only needed to take one quick look. Of course, there were other things she saw, but she wasn't going to comment on them. She could, quite literally, remove certain acquired memories. She didn't care about all the men Rebekah had been with and she definitely didn't care about all the times she talked smack on Klaus. What mattered was that she got a very good view of the attic.

"Let's think aloud," said Esmeray, leaning back and closing her eyes. "I see shutters. Cobwebs. A slanted roof. Simple furniture. Going up, a pretty length staircase."

"How does that help us?" asked Rebekah a bit irritably. "We knew that already."

"Yes, but think deeper. I don't think you've watched Criminal Minds, but I've seen a few episodes. They make inductions based on what they observe. Based on the structure and set up of the room, I think that we're looking for one of the oldest buildings in the French Quarter. Either that, or one of the most unused buildings."

"The French Quarter? How can you be sure? You've hardly been in the French Quarter."

"If he's staying at the Abattoir, he'd want Davina and Elijah nearby, so he can check on them often. The cobwebs indicate that it's old. Davina might not have thought to clean it because she must think of it as a very temporary residence. Maybe it's a place frequented a lot by people, and she might need to leave soon. The old stairs... you climbed for a while but had no view of the downstairs area. It reminds me of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame." She moved toward the laptop and made the satellite map show only the French Quarter, and pursed her lips pensively. "Think of the size of the attic and the way the stairs were. It's like a... a bell tower. What do we know about the churches here?"

"Churches?" asked Rebekah, bewildered. "Don't tell me you're trying to find religion."

"St. Anne's Church," mused Klaus, looking at Esmeray with a very pleased look on his face. "There was a massacre— it hasn't been used, but is being repaired to start holding mass once more."

Rebekah noted it down on her phone. "I'll be off to check it tonight. Isn't there a music festival later? I can use that as a distraction. The place will be empty."

Klaus nodded, and Rebekah got up to return to her room. Esmeray went back to where she had been sitting before and started to clean the coffee stains on the carpet. She wasn't surprised when she suddenly felt someone pulling her to her feet and hugging her from behind. "That, love," whispered Klaus in her ear. "Was a magnificent display of intelligence. No wonder my wolf can never resist you..." He inhaled again. "Today, then tomorrow, and the day after, you will be in heat. I can't wait..."

Esmeray squirmed a bit, not wanting to move, but also feeling flustered. "Your inner wolf is getting prematurely flirty, don't you think?"

"Not at all. Besides, was I meant to hold my tongue from praises after you pieced together clues that my one thousand year old sister could not?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself unless you're trying to father another child, Klaus."

"Is my little werewitch enjoying the praise?" He nipped at her ear. "Is it enjoyable to hear me telling you how perfect you are? If we did have a child, I'd hope for it to have your brains and your eyes." He placed a gentle kiss on her collarbone. "Come with me to the festival. Enjoy yourself for one night."

"I have to go with Hayley," Esmeray said, her eyes shut as she felt his hands roaming over her body. "You know, to make sure that witch doesn't do anything to hurt your child."

"Selfless as always, love. I shall see you when you return, then. Shall I go to your room this time?"

"Is this the new arrangement? Meeting up and making out then sleeping next to each other?"

Klaus wiggled his eyebrows even if she couldn't see it. "I enjoy that."

"I do, too. I sleep better when you're next to me."

"As do I, even if vampires don't really need sleep."

She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep at all after what happened that night.

"This is the doctor's office?" said Hayley, looking a bit uncomfortable as Agnes drove the two wolves up to a very random shack in the Bayou.

"This is stupid," said Esmeray under her breath. Luckily, Agnes didn't hear her, because at the same time, she said, "Dr. Paige is only this far out because Marcel's men kept terrorizing her patients. Go! She won't bite."

Esmeray thought back to Paige, her own hybrid friend. She recalled the memory of Klaus killing his hybrids, and grew saddened, realizing that the last time she saw Paige and Sina, she hadn't been very kind to them, and now, she'd never see them again.

But she couldn't ponder on it. She had to remain strong to support Hayley and the little girl inside of her. She got out of the car and led her into the clinic, where they found the doctor waiting for them.

"Hi, there," said the woman brightly. "Which one of you is Hayley?"

"Me," said the wolf, holding up her hand.

"Right this way," said the doctor, leading her in first, but not stopping Esmeray from following. "Do you know how far along you are?"

"Um, less than two months, I think," said Hayley, rubbing her forehead. "I don't know for certain..."

"Forty-two days," said Esmeray immediately. "Or a month and nine days, or six weeks, whatever you want to fixate on."

Dr. Paige nodded and motioned for Hayley to lay down on the examination table as she brought over the ultrasound. "Agnes said you want to learn how to do this?" asked the woman, looking at Esmeray.

"Yes, please," said Esmeray, standing behind her as she fired up the machine.

"It's really very simple if you're a witch," said the woman, showing her how to place the gel and wand over Hayley's abdomen. "You can do a fancy spell to get the image up. Do you know how many beats per minute a fetal heart rate should be at?"

"Isn't it between one-ten and one-sixty?"

"Yes, you got it. So far..." she was moving the wand and clicking buttons on the machine to get an image. Esmeray didn't really understand what the ultrasound was showing, but the doctor had a good idea of what it meant, and it all seemed to be going well. "I think, for a baby at this stage, everything looks normal." She pressed a button to let Hayley and Esmeray hear a strange noise that they both knew to be the fetus's heartbeat. "Your baby's heart rate is perfect, Hayley."

She removed the wand and cleaned it. "I knew it," said Hayley with a smile. "She's a tough one, like her mom."

Dr. Paige handed her a tissue to remove the gel from her abdomen, and seemed to catch a glimpse of something on her shoulder. "That's a unique birthmark."

Hayley didn't seem to find any importance in it, and Esmeray wasn't able to see it before she put her sweater back on. "We're pretty much done here, right?" asked the younger wolf.

Esmeray looked down at her phone to see Rebekah had texted her, asking where they were. She let her know just as Dr. Paige shut off the ultrasound machine. "Your blood pressure is a bit high, I've got something for it."

She walked away, and with the door now open, Esmeray could see Agnes in the waiting room. The two wolves heard a distant howl, and the hybrid went rigid.

"That's Jackson," she whispered, motioning for Hayley to get up. She went to look out the window and saw headlights from an approaching car. They didn't say anything as Dr. Paige came back with some pills.

"Ahh, you know, I'm actually not that good with pills," said Hayley nervously as Esmeray saw several men exiting the new car parked outside.

"Heh, neither am I, truth be told," said the doctor as she went over to get a syringe.

Esmeray glanced back at the waiting room, where the men had now walked in. She shot Hayley a look, and the wolf dropped down as Esmeray thrust her hand out, snapping Dr. Paige's neck and blasting the open door off its hinges so that it could knock the men back like bowling pins.

"Run," said Esmeray, leading the way and shoving Agnes aside before waving her hands again to snap the necks of the four men now on the floor.

Hayley started to sprint out into the Bayou, and Esmeray followed, panting and looking back over her shoulder. She could hear more voices and more cars, and knew that more people would be in pursuit of them soon.

"I need you to listen to me," said Esmeray, stopping her abruptly by a tree. "See that path down there?" She pointed toward a space that moved between the trees. "It shouldn't take you long to reach the cabin I was staying at before. I'm going to put a spell on you to conceal you. You'll be invisible."

Hayley nodded, and Esmeray put her hands over the wolf's head, murmuring a few words before Hayley disappeared from her view. "Move fast and don't look back," Esmeray told her. She heard the footsteps that let her know Hayley had listened.

She stepped out into a clearing where she could see another group of men approaching them. They had some machetes and crossbows— clearly not vampires. That would make things easier.

Esmeray swirled her hands in the air, bringing the machetes out of their grasp and swiping them back to cut the throat of each of the men wielding them. Someone fired their crossbow, and Esmeray managed to catch a wooden arrow before it pierced her throat, but she immediately let out a hiss and dropped it. It was coated in wolfsbane.

She didn't know how it was possible that all these people had found her. She could hear more voices, and she didn't have very long before the numbers became too many for her to be fighting them little by little like this.

"I really hope you're out of the way, Hayley," she muttered before closing her eyes and concentrating on the anger, the worry, and all the frustration that had been building up since Agnes's visit in the morning.

Several things exploded at once, but she had no idea what they were. All that mattered was that she immediately heard yells of pain— distinctively male— which were followed by thumps as if weapons were dropping to the floor. When she opened her eyes, she saw several bodies had fallen, and to her surprise, was able to see the mutilated trees in the darkness that let her know that she'd torn off some of their branches to embed them in the chests of the attackers.

And yet, there were still more men to deal with. Four came up, each holding machetes, and Esmeray gave a grunt. There was only so much witch powers could do. She'd kill to be able to turn into a wolf and maul them to death right now.

"I'm really not liking New Orleans anymore," she said, stomping on the ground and bringing the dirt and rocks shooting upward like cannons, piercing the eyes of each man and making the machetes fall to the ground. She ran at the smallest one and snapped his neck before turning to the other one, knocking him off his feet, and stabbing the machete into his chest. The other two had recovered in that time, and she felt two pairs of arms pulling her up. She let her legs swing up before dropping them, using her own weight to toss them forward and dislocate their shoulders, which left them vulnerable and allowed her to make a tugging motion with each hand to tear out their hearts.

"Well, looks like you got it covered," came Rebekah's voice after a brief 'woosh.' Esmeray turned to see the Original and sighed happily. "Great, you're here. Hayley's—"

More voices. "There's more of them," said Rebekah in annoyance. "You should—"

Two arrows came out of nowhere, piercing Rebekah in the heart and making her crumple to the floor. By the time Esmeray was able to sense where the arrows had come from, two more had been fired, and they pierced into her side, making her hiss in pain as she dropped down.

"Fucking hell," she said, scrambling to try and pull them out. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"They're over here!" someone yelled as Esmeray frantically tried to remove the arrows. Wood couldn't hurt her in the same way, but with the slow healing process she had, she might as well have been staked with an entire branch.

Someone pulled her up, holding a knife to her throat. "Where's the girl?" a man's voice snarled in her ear.

"I don't know who you're talking about," said Esmeray, wincing in pain as he pushed the arrows deeper into her with his body as it pressed against hers.

"You know exactly what I mean," he said, letting the knife dig itself into her throat. "I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where's the girl?"

"Why don't you find her yourself?" Esmeray hissed, taking a chance and throwing her head back to bash her skull into his nose. She could smell blood spurting out immediately, and managed to only get a small nick in her throat from the knife as the man brought it down with him. But she didn't know how much longer she would last with blood leaking out of her in multiple places and around eight more men holding crossbows surrounding her.

Three arrows were fired at once. She was able to catch two, but not the third, which pierced on the opposite side of where her heart was and made her wheeze and fall down, her eyes watering, because this time, this arrow had been bathed in wolfsbane.

A growling noise alerted her that someone had come to their rescue. She saw the familiar brown, black, and white blur that let her know Jackson was here. She heard several yells as claws and teeth flew everywhere. Some of the men tried to run, but they were no match for a very angry werewolf who was already about the size of a small bear.

Esmeray's vision was blurring as she tried to stop the bleeding on her neck while also pulling out the arrow in her chest. She heard a shuffling sound and looked up to see Hayley was back. She turned Esmeray onto her stomach and pulled the arrows out as straight as she could to not leave any splinters inside of her body. The hybrid let out a croak as Hayley grabbed Rebekah's arm and cut into it with one of the arrows. "Drink," she coaxed. "Now."

She didn't need to ask twice. Esmeray immediately started to gulp down Rebekah's blood, laying back and looking up at the pregnant wolf in disbelief. "Why did you... why..."

"Jackson moved past me, and I couldn't just stay there," said Hayley. "I guess the spell broke when you got hit, if you can see me."

"It must have... call Klaus. Please."

Hayley nodded and pulled out her phone as Esmeray struggled to her knees and pulled the arrows out of Rebekah's heart, looking up just as Jackson came over to check on her. By then, the eight men were dead.

"Thank you," Esmeray whispered as he licked her face, glad she was okay. She pulled him into a hug, sighing before she lay back, still trying to catch her breath.

She hated not having control over both parts of herself.