She felt better the next morning.

She'd slept alone, but she didn't actually feel lonely. She'd hugged her pillow, feeling some peace, even if it was only a little. She'd seen Klaus again when he came to tell her that they were going shopping. She and Rebekah needed new clothes before they could go and see Gloria.

"Get anything you want, love," said Klaus when they entered perhaps the most expensive store in the city. "Stefan and I will be on the couches drinking champagne and perhaps draining the artery of whichever employee bothers us the most."

Maddy and Rebekah went their separate ways. While Rebekah kept grabbing outfits and repeatedly going to the fitting rooms because of how confused she was, Maddy moved around, piling shirts, underwear, and pants and shorts onto her arm, which she would try on before making her final decision.

"There has to be more to this dress," said Rebekah indignantly when she came out in a black dress that stopped just above her mid-thigh, and had a wide V-neck exposing quite a bit of cleavage.

"There's not," said Klaus, wiggling the glass of champagne in his hand as he leaned back in one of the seats at the center of the store.

Maddy thought he resembled a king, if a king were allowed to have bad posture. One leg up on the chair beside him, the other spread a bit as he slouched, observing as the younger vampire darted around gathering garments she might like to wear. He could care less what his sister chose to wear. In fact, he found it more amusing to let her be confused.

Rebekah put her hands on her hips. "So women in the twenty first century dress like prostitutes, then. You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers."

Klaus smirked. "You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing."

"And what is this music?" asked Rebekah, pointing at the speakers. "It sounds like a cable car accident."

"It's dance music," said Stefan, sitting up a bit better than Klaus was.

Rebekah looked horrified. "People dance to this?"

"Yep," said Maddy. "I think the next stop should be a club because you are clearly really confused..."

She wasn't sure how to feel about Rebekah. They'd been somewhat close, given that they were dating each other's brothers. But they hadn't been best of friends in the twenties, and they certainly weren't about to be best of friends now. Rebekah didn't seem to like that Stefan and Klaus paid more attention to Maddy than her.

"Are we done yet?" asked Klaus. "You're both taking forever."

"I still need to try on the clothes," said Maddy awkwardly, holding up the growing pile in her arms.

"Why are you so grumpy?" asked Rebekah, who was also nowhere near done shopping.

Klaus was impatient. "I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying, one thing. Your necklace. And you lost it."

"I didn't lose it. It's just been missing for ninety years." She gestured down to her dress. "So, what do you think?"

"It looks fine, Rebekah," said Maddy. "If you're going to a funeral. If you want a black dress for parties and such..." she pointed to a different section. "Go to the juniors aisle. If you look in the 'Women' aisle then it'll make you look like you have the fashion sense of a middle-aged mortal."

Rebekah was pleased with her honesty, then looked at Stefan, wondering about his answer.

"I like it," said Stefan, though he didn't seem to mean it. "What? I said I like it."

"I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan," said Rebekah angrily.

Klaus snickered as Rebekah went back into the fitting room. "Nice one, good work."

"You're the one that pulled the dagger out of her," noted Stefan.

"I heard that!" snapped Rebekah.

Stefan slapped his thighs before getting to his feet. "Alright, I'm going to get some fresh air."

"And I'm finally going to try on all of this," said Maddy, before disappearing into the fitting room beside Rebekah.

She was tempted to ask Klaus to go in with her. She was having trouble with a few zippers and clasps for some of the dresses she'd selected, and it would have been nicer to have someone helping. But she elected to remain silent. If Klaus and her were stuck in a fitting room, with Maddy in a position where her outfit was only halfway on, things would happen. Bad, dirty, sinful things that she didn't even want to think about because it would just cause her to rush out and kiss him. Climb onto his lap and make him abandon his champagne so that he could focus on her.

"Maddy, love," called Klaus when she was trying on the last outfit. "Time to go."

She quickly separated the clothes into piles for what she was taking, and what she didn't end up liking. She opened the curtain, telling one of the employees which was which before grabbing her pile and heading to the checkout stand, where Rebekah was getting bags for her items. Maddy thought that they'd pay for the clothes, considering how much money they must have, but they ended up compelling the store clerks to just forget they were there. Feeling a bit guilty, Maddy popped the case off of her phone and left them at least a one hundred dollar bill, even if it only covered a third or less of their purchases.

"Satisfied?" asked Klaus, putting his arm around her as they walked to Gloria's Bar.

She blushed. "Yes. Where are we going after Gloria's?"

"Where do you wish to go?"

"We're sort of following your to-do list, so..."

"You're free to make recommendations if there is something you would like to add to the itinerary."

"I don't know what I am or am not allowed to do."

He stopped, letting Rebekah walk ahead of them. "Love," he said, "you are free to do whatever you wish. As long as you do not interfere with the progress I am making."

"I have no interest in that. Besides, you're going to make hybrids somehow, no matter what I do. I don't think getting in your way is wise. I'd like to keep my heart in my chest."

"Don't be ridiculous, love, I'd never kill you. If you wish to call your obnoxious older brother or any of your other friends, you may."

"Is it true Damon was here yesterday?"

"Yes. He attempted to take Stefan's place. He's yet to learn that Stefan wishes to remain here. I've left many opportunities for him to try and escape. He never did."

"Um, maybe because you had me in a coffin."

"He knew where you were, he could have retrieved you."

She reached for her phone, and handed him her bags. "Ten minutes. Just to tell Damon the truth. If Stefan is staying willingly, I'm staying, too. I'm sure you wouldn't stop me from going back to see my friends if I wanted to... right?"

Klaus was definitely not a big fan of the idea, but he said, "If you were to want to see them, I'd take you myself."

"Thanks." She held up her phone. "All I ask for is privacy. There's a lot I'm feeling, and my big brother might help me work through it. You want me to jump back in bed with you, right, Nik?"

Klaus's lips widened into a smirk. "Mm, definitely more manipulative than I remember. I would very much like to kiss every inch of your body again, love—" it made her shiver when he reached down to whisper in her ear, "But it isn't the only thing I desire when it comes to you."

"What else do you desire?" she whispered back.

"More than what we had before. Ten minutes. Meet us at Gloria's."

She nodded, waiting for him to walk after his sister before she ducked into an alley to call Damon.

"Mads," he said, answering within the first few seconds. "Holy shit, you're alive."

"I'm alive, yeah. Ni— Klaus put me to sleep so that I wouldn't be in the way."

"Damn, you're calling him by his full name now? When did that happen?"

"It's a lot to explain but long story short, Stefan and I knew Klaus in the 1920s. Klaus and I were together. Like... really together. Like, epic love together."

"You're joking. You're... you're joking, right?"

"I'm not. I remember everything. He compelled me to forget to keep me safe. My guess is people would have been able to use me against him if he kept me around. As powerful as he is, any enemy of his would have easily found out about us."

"So... you're staying too, huh?"

"Stefan wants to. Something tells me he's ashamed to face... well, everyone that's left... now that he's like this. He's enjoying it to a certain extent, and I worry about leaving him. Please don't come back here. Klaus told me he'll take me to visit whenever I want. He's being... really nice to me."

"Uh, yeah, he's trying to get in your pants! Ugh, Mads, seriously? Him? I mean, I understand Elijah maybe, but him?"

"Hey, Damon, remember when you assaulted two people I care about and did the same thing to Andie Star even though I asked you to stop multiple times? Might want to keep the judgment to a minimum."

"Andie's dead."

Maddy frowned. "Wait... what?"

"Ric and I were tracking Stefan. We couldn't find you, and we figured our best shot was following leads. Stefan killed her to get me to back off. You-know-who wasn't going to take that for an answer, and that's why I went to Chicago yesterday. A lot of disappointment is in the air today. Stefan's too far gone. The longer you stay, the greater the chance that Klaus is gonna corrupt you."

"I like him, Damon. Maybe that's hard for you to accept, and maybe everyone is going to hate me for it. Complain to whoever you want, I really don't care who knows. But no one has ever made me feel as happy as I did when I was with Klaus. And it's so bizarre to even think about because I was so miserable during that time, thinking Stefan would never recover."

"You're gonna wind up getting yourself killed. I can't lose you, Mads. Stefan's completely off the rails and I killed the only person who could bring him back. The only one who ever had enough patience to go through with his rehab. I fucked up. I killed Lexi and now it's just you and me and you know I'm no good at this. If you stay there... how long until you do something Klaus doesn't like, and he puts you to sleep again?"

"Somehow, I don't think he'll do that. I'm going to get to know him. We're both different people and he was understanding of the fact that I need time. So give me a chance to just see where this might go and then I'll make my choice. If I need an out you're the first person I'll call." She looked down at the screen, seeing that she was two and a half minutes into the call. Good. They had time. "Is um, anyone else there with you? Someone I may be able to talk to?"

"You-know-who's been listening. I've had my hand clamped over her mouth."

"Let me talk to her. Please. Klaus isn't anywhere nearby. He left me completely alone."

A scuffling, and then Elena was on the other line. "Hey, Maddy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's really good to hear your voice. How is everything?"

"Everything's good. Jenna misses you. She's been wanting to thank you for giving Klaus another vampire."

"I'm just glad she's alright. How's she coping with everything?"

"By now, she understands things pretty well. She and Ric are doing good, they're more comfortable together now that they're both aware of everything. He's sort of moved in now, which is nice, but has Jeremy joking way too often about how we're gonna get a little cousin sometime soon."

"As cute as that would be, babies are a lot of work. Is uh, Damon still in the room?"

"Um, no, I think he might be pretending to gouge his eyes out. I'm in shock, too. You and Klaus?"

"Yeah... I was pretty distraught last night when I found out. I was happy but I was crying and I was so scared to even look at him."

"Well, of course. You found out after ninety years that you had an epic love this whole time. Plus with the way he showed up, I bet it was a lot to take in. Are you alright now, though?"

"Yes. Confused but alright. What I'm feeling is hard to put into words. Hard to explain."

"But you want to give him a chance."

"I do. How can I just let it go? He's being patient for now, giving me time to process everything and get to know him again. I guess it's a sort of trial period to see if we'd work out in the modern world. Damon's obviously not happy about that."

"You don't need to be ashamed, Maddy. The rest of us see Klaus a certain way, and yeah, we hate him, but none of us have a right to tell you what you can and can't feel for him. I don't know the details of your romance but I know you, and I know you wouldn't have loved him unless he had some... good qualities. Your perspective is different. You knew parts of him the rest of us probably never will. And I want you to know that it's okay."

Maddy winced. "How can you be so nice to me about it? He killed you."

"And I was traumatized for the first few weeks but I'm okay. Maybe this is a good thing, Maddy. When Klaus inevitably finds out the truth... you'll have more of a voice in the situation than anyone else will. You can keep him from doing his worst. You're his weak spot. It's probably why he compelled you. How can one be all-powerful and indestructible unless they cover up their Achilles heel?"

"It feels wrong. I feel... guilty for wanting to love him again."

"Having feelings for someone isn't wrong. It's natural. It would be different if he was... responsible for your mother's death and the bombing of some children's hospital. Then I'd be like eh, that doesn't bode well. But you know him. And you're going to get to know him again. Just be observant, you know, don't let the past and your memories sway you into looking the other way when he does something really awful. Enjoy yourself, make bad choices, who cares? It's your life. Just take a deep breath and relax. Do what feels right and what makes you happy, even if it's something you never saw yourself doing. If it goes well, then yay, I'm going to be really happy for you, and your brothers will eventually have to accept what their sister wants. If it backfires... then at least you took a shot at your epic love again. All of us are here for you, if anything. Elijah's more my type but Klaus isn't ugly, you know, I definitely understand why you might want to do the deed with him."

Maddy laughed, taking a moment to glance down at the screen. Four more minutes left. "Is there anything you wanted to get out of your system?"

More scuffling, and the sound of a faucet being turned on. "Stefan," said Elena. "Is he... alright?"

"He's accepted this version of himself, just like he did in the past. He's still fairly in control, but I can see in his eyes that things don't matter to him the way they once did."

"He told me that the rehabilitation takes... decades. Is that true?"

"Yep. It's not an easy process. It might not take that long this time... he's holding back, I know it. It might be performative, for Klaus. I have a feeling he's just trying to keep him from finding out about... you. Which means there's a chance it won't take decades this time."

"Stefan is so vengeful. It scares me. I want to push past that fear and be there for him but I'm not sure how safe I would feel, facing him again. Yesterday it seemed like I meant nothing to him. Like what we had ceased to matter the instant he took off with Klaus. The connection we had feels like it's fading. Just like it's fading with... Damon. I kissed him, when I thought he was going to die. I shouldn't have done it, I just led him on. And I kept leading him on because for a moment I was enjoying myself again. Enjoying Damon. But the more I think of it, I just don't find myself having the same butterflies in my stomach. It's more of a pit of dread. I was attracted to Damon, but I think that's all it is. Attraction. I look at him everyday and there's less and less of a tug toward him. He's become more like a brother to me. I don't think I'm ever going to love him the way he loves me."

"Have you told him that?"

"Not yet."

"You should. Communicate, please. It's important. He needs to know before you get too deep into it and find yourself unable to get out. Eventually, there will come a time when you can speak to Stefan again, and you'll need to communicate with him, too. My brothers are impulsive and when they love, they love so much it's more of an obsession. Maybe I'm the same way, I don't know. But a relationship takes two people. Two bits of effort. No matter what they feel, your feelings matter too, and you need to voice it. Just be honest with them. They deserve that. Just as you deserve for them to be honest with you."

"Thanks, Maddy. I miss you. I hope you can come back soon."

"Did you hear about the issue Klaus is having?"

"Making the hybrids? Yeah... but it'll be okay. If you have to go, then go. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"I'll call again if I can. Just wanted to let you know that I'm fine. Take care."

She hung up, taking a moment to close her eyes, trying to determine if she could sense anyone watching her. She didn't pick up on anything. She had just started to walk back onto the main street to get to Gloria's when someone slammed her into the wall.

"Stefan!" she hissed, seeing her brother there. "What the hell?"

"How could you call them?" he said lowly.

"It's fine, no one was listening. I needed to hear their voices, Stefan, don't get mad at me for that." She shoved him off. "Leave me alone."

"I don't trust Klaus."

"Neither do I. Not yet. I'm still going to see how this goes, so don't get your panties in a twist."

"You shouldn't be with him, Mads. He's just gonna hurt you."

"Give me a chance to get to know him again. There's nothing wrong with that."

She marched ahead to Gloria's. Stefan had no choice but to follow. When they got in, they found Klaus drinking, while Rebekah sat on the bar, watching Gloria, who was much older now, but still alive, and chanting over some herbs.

"Gloria," said Maddy, managing a smile and going to give her a hug. "You still look good."

"My favorite Salvatore," said Gloria, patting her back.

"Excuse me," said Klaus sharply. "Get back to work."

Maddy shot him a look. "She was just saying hi to me."

Klaus's jaw tightened, and Rebekah was amused by how he held back a comment.

"It's hard to find something when you don't have anything to go on," said Gloria.

"So use me," said Rebekah. "I only wore it for a thousand years."

"See?" said Gloria, waving for Rebekah to come over to her. "Now this one offers a solution. All right, give me your hand, sweetheart."

"She's uh, she's looking for the necklace, huh?" said Stefan.

Maddy realized which necklace it was, after trying to remember what Rebekah used to wear in the twenties. That was the necklace he'd given to Elena. Crap.

In an effort to distract Klaus ever so slightly, she moved to sit beside him. His eyes flickered to her as Gloria chanted. "What'd your brother have to say?"

"The usual rant about how I make awful choices when it comes to people I take on as partners. Just being overprotective as per usual. He hates your guts. It was expected."

Klaus smirked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Well, like you said before, the only permission I need is yours."

Stefan didn't like this. "Don't touch her. She's not your girlfriend."

"Yet," said Klaus, though he slid his arm off.

Maddy, who hated being told what to do, grabbed his arm and lifted it so it was on her shoulders again. Stefan immediately looked away, and Klaus chuckled, squeezing her hand.

"I found it," said Gloria, looking up.

"So where is it?" asked Rebekah.

Gloria shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, doll. I get images. There's a girl with her friends..."

Rebekah fumed, "Yes, a dead girl with dead friends, if I don't get my necklace back!"

"Well, I'll have to dive back in to get the details."

"So dive," said Klaus, getting up and walking over to her, leaning onto her menacingly.

"I need more time," said Gloria. "And space. You're harshing my ju-ju."

"We can wait."

"I'm sure you can. But that's not what I asked."

"Hey," said Stefan, not wanting things to get ugly. "Hey, you know, why don't we just come back later. I'm hungry anyway. I'll let you pick who we eat." He clapped Klaus on the shoulder. "What do you say?"

"I'm starving," said Rebekah, linking her arm with Stefan as he walked out of the bar.

"We'll be back," said Klaus, holding Maddy's waist to bring her along. "What do you say, love? Should we head off on our own and have a bite to ourselves? I recall you loved feeding alongside me. And feeding on me. Just as I fed on you."

Maddy hummed. "Your bite could kill me now. That's concerning."

"Perhaps we could feed simultaneously. You drink from me while I drink from you. A perfect balance. If you feel sick, all you must do is let me know."

She was tempted. "And you give your word that you won't start getting all grabby if we do that? You give your word that you'll let me initiate if I'm ready?"

"I'm not Elijah, love, I don't give my word that way. I'll simply abide by your terms. Speaking of Elijah, how did you like him?"

"He turned me into a spy and then apologized but it wasn't enough to make me forgive him. Then he screwed us over when we planned to kill you."

"Is it true he compelled you because he fancied you?"

"How... how did you know that?"

"Stefan told me. Before he learned you and I were an item, of course. Elijah will be staying daggered for quite some time after that. Though I cannot blame him for his attraction to you. My brother and I do tend to have the same taste in women."

"How cute," she teased slightly. "But I bet it isn't cute for the woman caught between you two."

"Never quite is. Always ends rather badly."

"Hmm, that sucks. I was just about to suggest that you wake him up to make things interesting." She quickly added, "I'm kidding, Nik," when she saw his lips curling into a frown. "It was a joke. A bad joke. Sorry."

"I don't like thinking of you with anyone else. When I learned you were with Alaric... I nearly killed him."

"That was a one time thing. We have literally no feelings for each other. Never will. I'm here, walking with you, because I want to see where this goes. You don't have to be jealous."

"That's a rather difficult request," said Klaus, pulling her into a pretzel shop with only one customer inside. He grabbed the man (who just wanted a cinnamon pretzel) and pulled him into the bathroom, locking the door once he compelled him quiet. "Shall we?"

"You first," said Maddy.

Klaus allowed his hybrid face to emerge before biting in, growling as he started to feed from one side of the man's neck. Ignoring the sudden flutter in her stomach at the sight of him like that, Maddy bit into the other side, holding the man firm as she started to drink.

The hybrid pulled back first, just watching as she pressed her fingers on the man's throat, bringing more blood to her mouth. She looked like an angel, if angels bore fangs. A vision of beauty.

He touched her face, making her disconnect. He backed her up against the door, eyes flickering between her lips and neck, before he decided to brush her hair away from her shoulder, bringing her blouse down and kissing her just once before he bit in.

Maddy groaned out, grabbing his arm and bringing his wrist to her mouth, lacing their fingers together as she bit in and started to drink. She'd felt some stinging at first, and some lightheadedness, but once they found the perfect balance of gentle slurping, Maddy felt only pleasure.

This is a mistake. A beautiful, wonderful mistake. If it makes me feel this good, is it a mistake at all?

Klaus's other hand was planted against the door, his body keeping Maddy upright. She was the one who reached between them, grabbing onto the hem of his shirt tightly, her hand hovering where his belt buckle was. He tried to pretend he didn't notice it, but how could he ignore it?

"Love," he rasped in her ear as he pulled back to look at her. She had blood all over her mouth, but those eyes, those tantalizing blue eyes were drawing him in with their innocent gaze. "What are you doing?"

"Something bad," she said. "But I think you're gonna like it."

"Don't," he said, seizing her throat when she started to get to her knees. "You said you needed time. It's been less than a day."

"And the entire day all I've thought about is you. I know what I want. So either kiss me, or—"

He kissed her. As if he'd never kissed a woman before, but had somehow kissed a hundred at the same time. Rough and needy like someone who craved what they'd never had, but so precise that it made her legs wobble.

"Tell me," he panted in her ear, once he had her pressed against the door, her bare thighs in his hands. "Has anyone ever made you feel like this?"

She could hardly see, let alone speak. "No. Not since you... not even before you..."

He snapped his hips upward. "Good. That means I'll be the only one who can ever see you this way."

"Maxed out on bliss?" she asked with a weak laugh.

"Perfect. Completely and utterly perfect."