*This chapter took FOREVER!*

"I have to admit, Claire, you don't look like you just gave birth," Vanessa smirks from her position on the floor. She sits, leaning against the wall. Her wrists shackled as if it they were living during medieval times instead of modern. However, the shackles prevented her from using magic, so they weren't just to make her uncomfortable.

While Claire is the only person Vanessa can see, the witch is smart enough to know they aren't alone. She knows somewhere in the shadows is one, if not more, of the Mikaelson's. Vanessa knew they wouldn't allow Claire to be anywhere near her without some sort of protection.

Despite only having just given birth a few hours earlier, Claire looked completely normal. She wore jeans with an elastic waist, a simple blouse along with a jacket. Her hair was pulled out of her face with her hair tie.

"Did everything go alright?" Vanessa questions tilting her head. Claire continues to stand in front of her, under the dim light, with an unamused expression. "Was it a boy or girl?" Claire doesn't answer. "They healthy? No abnormal heart defects? No sudden stillborn-ness or miscarriage?" Vanessa pesters. "I'm genuinely curious about the well being of the child, out of all your pregnancies you only have one success... supposedly."

"I'm not here to talk about my child," Claire finally speaks up.

"Oh? Then what are you here for? Wanna catch up? We used to be besties" Vanessa smirks. "Wanna talk about boys? How's my ex doing?" Vanessa pokes.

"Just fine without you, found someone better" Claire informs her.

"Oh, I know" Vanessa chuckles. "I have to say, I don't know if I should be offended or pleased that the person he goes out with after me is a guy" Vanessa says with frowning her eyebrows and pressing her lips together. "I mean, was I so bad that he abandoned women all together? Or was I enough to show him that he liked sticks instead of holes?" 

"It had nothing to do with you," Claire tells her. "Actually, you haven't really been a thought in his mind since before you supposedly came back from the dead" Claire shrugs. "You haven't really been on anyone's mind, we practically forgot about you" Vanessa rolls her eyes and clenches her jaw causing Claire to smirk.

There's one thing Claire knows about Vanessa. The witch loves to be the center of attention. She craves the spotlight. Being told that she was forgotten entirely is enough to get under her skin.

"You know, locking someone up and torturing them" Vanessa 'tsks' while slowly shaking her head. "Have to say, not your style... You're more of the, suck the life out of someone while in a fit of rage"

"You're right" Claire nods. "Torturing isn't my style but you have information I want and I thought I'd ask before I resorted to allowing my fiance to torture" Claire tells her. "Now, you can answer my questions and die swiftly, or play around and prolong the inevitable"

"What're your questions?" Vanessa asks while trying to see who hid in the shadows. There were a few Mikaelson's that came to mind when the word 'torture' came up. As much as she felt curiosity towards who was in the darkness, she didn't necessarily want to find out.

"Why did Jim work with you?" Claire asks. Vanessa instantly chuckles.

"Convincing him to go against you was so easy it was pathetic" Claire's heart drops slightly. She felt disheartened with the fact that Jim switched sides so easily. "He was already in a dark place with the death of his favorite and closest sister. He blamed you for her death. He tried not too but the more he thought about it, the more he realized you are at fault. Tell me, Claire, how many people have died because of your decisions?" Vanessa wonders.

A warning growl sounds from behind Claire. It's deep and wild. It's enough to make Vanessa's heart rate spike. The fact that she's been captured, the fact that she wouldn't live much longer was starting to set in. The fact that she didn't have an escape plan disappointed her.

"The remainder of your followers, where are they?" Claire asks.

"Dead" Vanessa tells her. "The ones that hit the compound were armatures but the ones that went after Madelyn, those were the real deal." Vanessa tells her. Claire stares at her, debating on if she were telling the truth or not. "I thought Jim would be competent enough to take care of you and the child... I mean, how hard could it have been? You were giving birth, you were at your most vulnerable. The child was minutes old and yet he couldn't do it... Tell me, what happened?"

"I killed him before he could kill my daughter" Claire told her.

"How'd you do it?" Vanessa wonders. "I've seen you kill before... I've never seen you kill the same way twice.. You use magic on your aunt, you siphon your uncle and you drop a building on me... What method did you use on dear old Uncle Jim?"

"I stabbed him in the throat" Claire answers after a few moments. "I let him choke on his blood, I let him bleed out"

"Personal, eh?" Vanessa smirks. "I wonder how you'll kill me" Vanessa whispers.

"Oh, I won't be the one killing you" Claire shakes her head. Vanessa's eyes leave her and move to the left. Klaus exits the shadows and comes into the light. "It wasn't only my daughter you tried to kill but his as well, I figured since I had the pleasure of killing Jim, he would have the pleasure of killing you"

"And a pleasure, it will be" Klaus smirks sadistically. He extends his arm to the side and pulls Claire into him. "Why don't you go check on Kaylin? I'll finish this" Klaus whispers to her.

"I'll be upstairs" Claire mutters to him. He nods kissing for her forehead before unwrapping his arm from around her. She doesn't spare Vanessa a glance as she heads for the steps.

"I may not be alive to see the destruction of the Mikaelson family but at least I know I was part of the process" Vanessa says loudly before Claire could leave. Claire pauses and mulls over Vanessa's words. 

"Alright, that's enough" Klaus growls. "I'm tired of your talking" Klaus lifts Vanessa off of the ground. His hand wraps securely around Vanessa's throat making it impossible for her to breathe.

"What is she talking about?" Claire asks him.

"She's spewing nonsense, love" Klaus tells her.

"I want to hear what she has to say" Claire says walking over to them.

"Love, she'll say anything to prolong her death sentence"

"Then prolong it a few more minutes, please" Claire pleads placing her hand on his arm. "I want to know what she has to say," Klaus sighs before reluctantly releasing Vanessa. The witch collapses to the ground and begins to hack violently. "You said all of your followers were dead" Vanessa smirks and begins to laugh.

"That's because this one isn't alive, not yet" Vanessa smirks shifting on the ground to lean against the wall. "The balance of nature must be kept," She tells them. "A life for a life... You should know all about that" Vanessa grins. Klaus growls moving towards her causing Vanessa to flinch. Claire presses her hand on his chest knowing Vanessa wasn't finished

"I do know about that" Claire nods. "And I know it isn't that simple... Your death won't give another life, that's not how things work."

"Are you willing to risk it?" Vanessa wonders. "Kill a demon today, deal with the devil tomorrow" Vanessa tilts her head.

"You know what I think?" Claire asks. Vanessa hums. "I think that whoever you're talking about is already alive and you're just trying to save your own skin" Vanessa's jaw ticks causing Claire to smirk. "I don't know what evil you brought into this world but I'll deal with it side-by-side with my family and you can watch from hell" Claire says standing up. "She's all yours, love" Claire kisses Klaus's cheek.

"Wait! Wait! Please, I can help you!" Vanessa pleads but this time Claire doesn't listen to her. She continues towards the stairs before traveling up them and to the main floor.

"No one's coming to save you" Klaus says kneeling in front of her. "We're all on our own now" He smirks while Vanessa looks at him terrified. 

"Everything alright, Angel?" Claire looks up from the ground and smiles at Henrik. She walks closer to him. Once she's within reach he pulls her into his arms.

"How are you?" Claire asks caressing his cheek. He leans into her hand. She knew he felt guilty for leaving her alone with Jim but it wasn't his fault. He didn't know Jim would betray them, nobody knew.

"Relieved that you're safe" He answers her truthfully. "That both of you are safe" She smiles and leans up to kiss him.

"Of course, we're safe" She whispers. "I can handle myself and there was no way I was letting anyone harm my daughter" He smiles kissing her forehead. "Speaking of daughters, where are mine?"

"Well, Madelyn is in the library slaying dragons with Finn. Kol is trying to play along but I believe he is the dragon they are slaying" Claire smiles and laughs a bit as she imagines the scene. "Elijah is with Kaylin in the nursery"

"How's my mother?" Claire asks.

"She's fine, spooked but fine" Henrik reassures her. It had been a long time since Liz had seen action from the supernatural world, she felt a bit rusty. Claire was just happy she wasn't hurt, that none of them were hurt. "How'd things go with Vanessa?"

"As expected" Claire sighs. "Apparently she resurrected someone," Claire grumbles rolling her eyes. "So, if she's telling us the truth, we have that to deal with"

"But not right now" Henrik shakes his head. "Every inch of this place is guarded, no one is getting in tonight" Claire smiles resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you" He whispers kissing the top of her head. She smiles hugging him tightly.

"I love you, too" She whispers back. They stay there for a moment, simply holding each other. "I wanna hold my baby" Claire smiles withdrawing from Henrik. He smiles and nods grabbing her hand. The two of them make their way to the nursery. "I forgot how handsome you look holding a baby" Claire whispers seeing Elijah holding a sleeping Kaylin.

Elijah grins at her. Henrik kisses the side of her head before leaving the two of them to themselves. Claire walks into the room.

"She's so beautiful" Claire whispers resting her head on his shoulder while rubbing his back lightly.

"You did beautifully" Elijah mutters kissing her head. "I can't wait to have one of my own" Elijah smirks winking at her suggestively.

"Elijah, she isn't even a day old" Claire laughs. "Keep it in your pants, I'm not a factory for you men" He chuckles quietly. "You'll get your chance, just be patient"

"For you, I'll wait all the lifetimes in the world" He promises.

"Don't worry, it won't take that long" She grins. Kaylin wiggles in Elijah's arms, her nose scrunching up. She whimpers and soon begins to cry. "Here, let me have her" Elijah slowly shifts the wailing newborn into Claire's arms.

"Shhh, it's alright" Claire whispers to her. She slowly moves towards the rocking chair. She situates herself to breastfeed which silences her for the time being.

"Vanessa?" Elijah asks. Claire looks up to answer only to see his head turned towards the door. Following his gaze she sees Klaus leaning against the doorway, his eyes glued on her with a small, barely noticeable, grin.

"Taken care of" Klaus says quietly. "One less foe to worry about" Claire smiles at him.

"And who knows how many more" Claire mutters looking down at Kaylin. Klaus goes to respond but is silenced as he feels something leaning against his leg. Looking down he sees Madelyn hiding behind him, peeking her head into the room.

"Do you want to go see your sister?" Klaus asks quietly. Madelyn looks up at him with big green eyes making Klaus smile. Madelyn looks nervous and unsure. "Come here" He says turning towards her. She lifts her arms and Klaus picks her up. Madelyn hugs him as he rests her on his hip.

"Who is that?" Madelyn asks quietly.

"It's your little sister" Klaus says kneeling besides Claire. "Her names Kaylin" He introduces her.

"She's small" Madelyn says looking at her sister with a lot of curiosity.

"She'll grow to be just as pig as you are" Klaus tells her.

"Will I grow to be as big as you, papa?" Madelyn asks look at him. Klaus smiles nodding. He kisses her forehead and sets her on the ground. "What do we do with it?" She asks tilting her head. Klaus grins along with Claire.

"We watch her grow" Claire tells her. "And when she's bigger, you can play with her. You two can go on adventures together and color,"

"Really?" Madelyn asks. Claire smiles loving the way Madelyn's eyes light up. "How long will it take?"

"You'll have to be patient with her, alright?" Madelyn pouts but nods.

"Papa, I'm hungry" Madelyn whines looking at Klaus.

"Come here, Madelyn, I'll take you to the kitchen" Elijah speaks from behind Klaus. Madelyn nods moving around the hybrid and towards the vampire. She grabs his outstretched hand and follows him out of the room.

"I've invited Rebekah and Asher to return home" Klaus brings up. He stands and leans against the crib. Claire looks at him and smiles. "I want our family together; I want us happy"

"We are happy" Claire smiles at him. "And when they come home, we'll be a little bit more complete"

"They don't know when they'll come back but Rebekah seemed... relieved to make amends" Klaus says with an equally relieved expression.

"She loves you, Klaus... The people you were when that happened are completely different compared to who you two are now" Claire tells him. Klaus nods in agreement.

"I want to move on, I don't want to divide our family" Klaus tells her. Claire smiles leaning deeper into the rocking chair. When Kaylin finishes feeding Claire burps her before putting her down for her nap.

"She's so beautiful" Claire whispers standing beside Klaus as they watch their daughter sleep. "She looks just like you" She comments with a smile.

"She has your eyes" Klaus adds. "She'll be perfect" Claire smiles hugging Klaus tightly. "Everything's going to be perfect"

*Yes, I named the baby Kaylin instead of Hope. She'll still have the same part and everything like Hope but her names Kaylin instead. Hope to me is Hayley and Klaus's baby, not Claire and Klaus. So, I went with Kaylin.

Fun Fact: Madelyn and Kaylin are alternate names for two very good friends of mine, both of which have been there for me when I truly needed them. I completely believe that without them I wouldn't be here, so I'm very glad to have them in my life and give them a small part in my book*