"So you're the mate" Claire stops abruptly as a tall redhead suddenly appears in front of her. The girl bends forward and sniffs her.

"What the fuck?" Claire stumbles back looking at her weirdly. The girl tilts her head. She looks at Claire curiously, studying her, sizing her up.

"Funny, you don't have his scent. How much can you mean to him if he hasn't completed the bond by now?" She wonders stalking towards her.

"Sage" Both women look behind Claire. Both of them smile.

"Finn" They both say. Claire turns back around and gives Sage a glare, one which the redhead returns fiercely. Finn growls at Sage warningly. He comes to a stop behind Claire. His chest brushes up against her back.

"I've missed you" Sage says walking towards them. Instantly, Finn moves in front of Claire. Sage saw this as an invitation to come closer but Claire knew Finn was being her personal protective barrier.

"You need to leave" Finn said sternly. Sage stops abruptly. Utter confusion settles on her face. "Leave Mystic Falls, don't go near my mate again." He growls.

"Finn" Sage said softly. "You haven't completed the bond yet. It's not too late. Come with me. We can both leave" She pleads reaching for his hand. He moves it away.

"Sage there was a time when I cared very deeply about you. That time has gone. Claire is my life. I have not completed the bond yet because she is not ready and I will wait for all of eternity for her if she so wishes." Claire smiles to herself, a blush coming up to her cheeks.

"Finn, please" Sage begs. "I've waited for you, for 900 years. You won't have to share me, you'll have me completely to yourself-"

"I. Don't. Want. You." Finn said slowly trying to get through to her. "Leave. Now. Don't make me tell you again." He growled not wanting to compel her but willing to do so if she doesn't leave. He may not love her anymore but a small part of him still sees her as a friend. However, he knew they couldn't be together, not even as friends. It wasn't a good idea. Claire didn't trust her, his family didn't like her and frankly, he didn't trust her either, especially around Claire.

"Fine" Sage whispers slowly backing away. "I love you" She whispers before turning and walking down the street. Clare glances at Finn nervously.

"Are you alright?" Claire asks gently gaining his attention.

"Of course" He answers truthfully. Claire's slightly hesitant to believe him and he notices this. "Claire, I promise you I'm fine" He tells her grabbing both her hands. "Sage is in the past, you're my future and I will do everything in my power to not jeopardize that. What I felt for Sage all those centuries ago is nothing compared to how I feel about you in this moment and all the moments I have shared and will share with you."

"I love you" She tells him before kissing him. He grins pulling her into his embrace. "We should have some fun. Things have been far too depressing recently." Her arms lift and lazily wrap around his neck. He holds her waist, grinning down at her like a fool in love.

"And what do you want to do?" He asks willing to do anything she wants.

"Well, there's not much to do in small town Mystic Falls." She mutters.

"Well, what do you usually do for fun?"

"Before or after Madelyn?" Claire asks grinning. "Before my sweet baby girl, I was quite the partier. Dancing. Drinking. You name it, there's a 90% chance I did it."

"Oh really?" He grins at her. "So what do you suggest we do on a slightly chilly Thursday evening post Madelyn?" Claire tilts her head slightly. They stay like that for a moment, forcing people to walk around them but they didn't care.

"Well, there's always the Grill." Claire mutters. "I haven't been there in a while." She whispers softly, a small frown on her face. She clearly remembers a time when she practically lived at the Grill.

"Then lets go" He said wanting to keep her smiling. She nods and pulls him into a quick kiss. She pulls away far too quickly for his liking. He pouts which causes her to giggle. A warm feeling spreads through him. It's a feeling that he only gets around her and he likes it, a lot.

Claire gives him another quick kiss before grabbing his hand and pulling him down the street. He grins widely his eyes trained on her as she pulls him along. They enter the Grill.

"What can I get you two?" The waitress asked them after they claim a booth. They both sat on the same side, Claire tucked snugly under his rm.

"What do you suggest Princess?" Finn asks. Claire looks into his eyes contemplating.

"You know Post-Madelyn can be just as fun as Pre-Madelyn." She whispers to him.

"I'll love you all the same." He whispers back to her. Claire grins at him. "What would you like, Princess?" He asks her.

"How about some tequila and lime?" She said looking at the waitress. Finn frowns his eyebrows never having heard of tequila before.

"Are you old enough?" The waitress asked tilting her head.

"I don't know, Finn, am I old enough?" Claire asks looking at her mate with an innocent smile. He smiles back before kissing her forehead. He then looks up at the waitress, staring into her eyes.

"She's old enough." Finn assures her. The waitress nods and wonders off not knowing any better.

"Supporting under aged drinking" Claire playfully gasps. "Finn Mikaelson, I did not take you for a bad boy." She teases. He smirks and leans down towards her. His lips brush against her ear.

"Only for you, Princess" He mutters cheesily. Claire smiles turning her head towards him, their noses bumping into one another. It isn't long until the waitress returns though the two of them hardly notice. They were too engrossed with each other. To busy trying to woo the other.

"Give me your wrist" She whispers to him. He could see the mischief dancing in her eyes the playful smirk painted on her face. He hands over his wrist, a willing victim. "Have you ever had tequila before?" She asks in a soft whisper.

They were sitting so close, practically on top of the other as they sat in the booth. There could be a thousand people in the Grill and they wouldn't pay any of them a lick of attention. They completely had the others undivided attention.

"No" He shakes his head. She looks at him unable to stop the shocked look on her face.

"Never?" He shakes his head. She grins giddily. She caresses his wrist turning it gently so his palm is facing up. She sprinkles salt on it before doing the same to herself. She places one shot in front of him and the other in front of herself. She looks at him as she lifts her wrist to her mouth, licking the salt. Once she licks the salt she takes the shot. Finn mimics her actions. "Happy now?"

"Immensely" She whispers before feeding him the lime. He suckles on it, their eyes never turning away. She giggles as his face screws at the taste.

"I'm truly awed by the evolution of mankind." He tells her. She giggles again. "I love that sound" He whispers.

"I sound like a dying cat" She says while waving down the waitress.

"A very beautiful dying cat" He whispers burring his nose in her neck. She shivers and leans back against him. He kisses her skin softly. Claire struggles to keep her voice steady as she orders them another round.

"If you keep up with that I doubt we'll make it back to the mansion" Claire whispers to hi seductively.

"I believe your mothers house is simply around the corner" He whispers.

"We'd give her a heart attack." Claire laughs. "She can barely accept the fact that one of her daughters is a vampire and the other has 5 mates. I don't need to rub my luck with men in her face." Finn grins kissing her lips.

Claire moans quietly and presses herself into him more. The waitress comes and awkwardly gives them their next round before scurrying away. They eventually pull away before they could get too carried away.

"Once he takes the shot, he'll taste the vervain. Stefan will bait them outside. Get Claire out of the way. That's when we come in. I'll shoot him with a stake and you go in for the kill." Elena whispers too low for the supernatural to hear. Matt frowns slightly as he looks over at Claire and Finn.

This plan left him feeling uneasy. He understood why Elena, Stefan and Damon wanted to get rid of the Mikaelson's. He figured it would be for the best. Chaos, pain and insanity are the only things the Mikaelson's have brought to the town. But even after everything they've done, he hasn't seen Claire smile so big since before she got pregnant and that was over a year ago.

Can someone who puts such a big smile on her face really be that bad? I mean, even Klaus doesn't seem so bad around her. They haven't done anything to him. Except for that incident with Kol but he figured he could always avoid him. But as fa as he knew, he didn't have any ill will towards Claire. Sure she let Klaus turn Tyler into a hybrid but there was some pros to that. Besides, Tyler got away. Who know's where he is? As long as he's not in town, he's safe.

He simply didn't understand why Elena and the Salvatore brothers didn't try for peace. Klaus had reached out to Mayor Lockwood seeking peace for Claire's sake and all Stefan did as spit in his face. They were all so paranoid, scared and filled with the need of revenge that they didn't even remember that Claire used to be their best friend and by killing the Mikaelson's they'd be ruining her.

"What is it?" Elena asked quietly.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Matt whispers back to her. Elena frowns her eyebrows at him.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asks. "You're not having second thoughts are you?"

"How can you not?" Matt asked her seriously. "Look at her" He said nodding over to Claire. "She looks so happy and you look all too willing to take that away from her."

"Have you forgotten all the things the Mikaelson's have done to us?" Elena asked him.

"And what about all the things the Damon and Stefan have done to other people? It's not like they have a clean slate." Matt shrugs. "I just think we should try and work things out."

"We can't trust them." Elena stressed.

"We can trust her" He told her. "Elena, we've known Claire our entire lives. We know her, she knows us. We were all best friends. If we try and make peace we can be friends again. I miss Claire and Caroline, don't you?"

"Of course I miss them but I can't just forget what they've done, Matt. It's only a matter of time before they strike again and who knows who they'll kill. We have to stop them before they get the chance." Elena tells him.

"Kill the Mikaelson's at any costs and damn the consequences." Matt grumbles. Elena's face softens.

"It'll be alright, Matt. She'll be heartbroken but she'll get over it. Look at her, she got over Aaron's death. She'll need a little time but she'll get over their death too." Elena assures him. Matt presses his lips together looking at Claire and Finn with dread in his stomach.

"What should we drink too?" Claire asks sliding his shot to him.

"Happiness. True love." Finn suggests.

"You continue to shock me with your cheesiness Mr. Mikaelson." Claire tells him grinning widely.

"And my sole purpose for life is to continue to surprise you as long as my surprises keep that dazzling smile on your face." He flirts. Claire blushes but doesn't showy away from his gaze.

"To happiness and true love." Claire says raising her shot.

"To happiness and true love" He agrees raising his shot. They take it at the same time. While the shot tastes normal for Claire, Finn immediately spits it out coughing.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Claire asks him frantically.

"Vervain" He chokes. Claire frowns her eyebrows at him before her eyes caught Stefan in the doorway. He gives her a smug look and a shrug. Finn growls spotting him as well. Stefan slips out the door.

Finn and Claire both climb out of the booth. Their hands connect. Finn pulls her out the door. Stefan instantly separates him. He shoves Claire to the side miscalculating his strength. She slams into the wall, all the air in her lungs getting knocked out of her. Her head slams into the wall and she falls to the ground. Blood seeps from her head and she struggles to regain her breath.

Finn overpowers Stefan and snaps his neck. He goes towards Claire and kneels beside her. He can hear her heart pounding in her chest, smell the blood coming from her head.

"St-Stake" She stutters. Finn whips around. Claire pushes him towards it. He flashes to the side picking the stake up. Claire sits up slowly regaining her breath. The back door to the Grill opens. She doesn't see anybody but can see a crossbow pointed at Finn. "No!" She screams.