꧁𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬꧂

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GRACE WAS SAT UP IN BED, her eyes trained on the ring on her finger as Klaus lay next to her, fast asleep. Her mind kept wandering back to the night that Klaus had proposed to her. It had been six months and she still couldn't believe that it was real. Mainly because she didn't believe that she would ever find real love, especially not with Klaus Mikaelson of all people. But she would never regret her decision, even with the people around her telling her that she was completely insane. Grace would listen to her heart and what it was telling her, not someone who doesn't truly understand Klaus.

There was a pair of lips that placed a kiss on her shoulder which brought her out of her thoughts. Grace smiled as she leaned back against the man who had wrapped his arms around her. "Mm, morning." She hums as she tilts her head to the side, meeting Klaus's gaze. He leans in, kissing her lips softly to which she kisses him back. Grace places her hand on his jaw, stroking it softly as a satisfied sigh leaves her lips.

"How long have you been awake?" Klaus asks her as they pull away from each other. Grace shrugs her shoulders as she leans back against him, her eyes moving back to the ring.

"Not long."

"You know, it won't grow in size by just staring at it." He tells her, raising an eyebrow as his fingers rub small circles on her hips. Grace bites the inside of her cheek as she just continues to fiddle with it.

"It just feels weird." She admits as she tilts her head a bit. Klaus looked a bit confused, wondering what she was talking about.

"How so?"

"Not like the engaged part, I don't regret saying yes. It's just wearing a ring." Grace wasn't much for jewelry, it seemed she only wore what Klaus had bought her. Klaus nods his head slowly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Is that why you've barely worn it since that night?" Klaus asks her curiously, not wanting her to feel bad about it. Some people just didn't like wearing them.

"Partially." Grace mumbles, she had another reason as well but is hesitant to say it to Klaus because of who the reason was about. "I may still be at odds with Elijah but I don't want to rub it in his face." She admits as she just stays quiet after, feeling Klaus tense at the mention of his brother. They had barely spoken since Dahlia was defeated, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room.

"My brother can handle himself. Why do you care how he feels?" Klaus questions with a slight scoff which makes her sigh. Grace moved, turning so she was facing her now fiance.

"Nik, it's been a few months and it just feels like this house is getting colder and colder." She points out, no one was speaking to each other, Hayley was still a wolf most of the time and it wasn't good for Hope who was growing up in this sort of environment.

"He stabbed you and yet you're so ready to forgive him." He grumbles under his breath as he moves to get off of the bed. Grace shakes her head, crossing her arms against her chest as she watches him pull on some pants.

"I did not say that." Grace denies, knowing he is just going to make it up in his head either way. Klaus only ignores her as he reaches to grab a shirt from the dresser. "But this isn't good for Hope, seeing her family so divided." She states, Hope deserves to have a loving family around her. Not one that wanted to kill each other constantly.

"I assume this is where you ask for me to aide in bringing Hayley back?" Klaus questions as he raises an eyebrow at the woman. Grace rolls her eyes, moving to the edge of the bed and standing up.

"Okay, look, I get what you did and why. She was going to take Hope away from you." Grace starts as she looks at the man whose eyes just move to the floor.  "And I understand you leaving her like that for a month or two, but Nik it's been six. Hope deserves to have her mother aswell." She says, Hayley's only being able to see Hope once a month was fine for a little bit but this was just getting absurd now. Grace knew Hayley needed to see Hope grow up and Hope needed her mother.

"And if Hayley had succeeded in leaving, I may not have seen my daughter ever again." Klaus snaps back at her, obviously not happy with her point of view. Grace sighs, bringing her hands up to rub her face.

"Nik--" She starts to say but he just disappeared from her sight. Grace tilts her head back, this was basically the ending of every conversation that they had about Hayley or Elijah. She wasn't asking Klaus to forgive, but being civil wasn't hard, especially for Hope.

Grace walks out of the bedroom, heading across the balcony to just get some fresh air, not realizing that Jenna had been waiting for her down in the courtyard. "Trouble in paradise?" She calls out, watching as Grace begrudgingly makes her way down the stairs. Grace placed a hand on her hip as she walked over to Jenna.

"Just a small argument." Grace mumbles, not really wanting to get into it right now. She just focuses on Jenna who is now far along in her pregnancy, being eight months. "How's my little niece doing." She asks as she smiles lightly. Jenna just narrows her eyes, tilting her head.

"We don't know the sex. How are you so sure it's a girl?" Jenna asks, it's all Grace has been saying for the past few months. Grace smirks as she raises an eyebrow at the blond woman.

"I'm always right." Grace admits as she winks at Jenna. The woman rolls her eyes with a small laugh, placing her hand on her stomach.

"Well, she's been kicking a lot. But the doctor said she's healthy." Jenna tells her and Grace smiles, nodding her head.

"That's good."

"How is Hanna doing?" She asks, wondering how Hanna is getting along with her werewolf transformations. No one has really been able to ask Hanna herself since she had kept to herself since everything happened.

"I don't think she will ever get used to turning every full moon. But she's stopped isolating herself which is a good first step." Grace admits with a sigh, crossing her arms. Hanna still blamed herself for killing that girl. Ann hadn't shown up yet to claim responsibility but they knew it was her. But suppose they should be glad that the woman wasn't pushing her way back in, although it was only a matter of time.

"I'm sorry that I can't help you contain her anymore." Jenna had been the one to keep Hanna locked up most full moons. But as she was getting closer to her due date, it really wasn't safe to use that power because of her baby.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't strain yourself." Grace says, shaking her head, not wanting Jenna to hurt herself. "Davina said she'd help." She admits, she had asked Davina who luckily said yes. But Davina never had any sort of grievances against Grace so it wasn't hard to convince the girl.

"I thought she didn't help people who weren't witches?" Jenna asks curiously, knowing that Davina is now head of the witches and stopped helping others.

"No. She said she doesn't do vampires any favours." Grace corrects and since she wasn't one and Hanna just needed help controlling her transformations so that she didn't hurt anybody, Davina was okay with helping. "You okay?" Grace asks as she notices that Jenna had winced, holding her stomach as she takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, just a little cramp," Jenna tells her as she groans a bit, holding onto the table beside her. Grace became concerned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Are you sure?"

"The doctor said it's perfectly normal," Jenna admits as she nods her head, but the pain seems to be getting worse. Grace hated seeing her in agony, especially considering the baby she was carrying.

"Sit down." She demands and Jenna just stares at her but sits down on the chair behind her. Grace bends next to her, seeing the pain that flooded her features.

"It'll pass," Jenna says as she groans a bit, wincing as the sharp pain occurs again. Grace shakes her head as her hand rubs the woman's back.

"Is everything okay?" They hear a voice from beside them and see that it is Elijah walking over to them. Grace glances towards him, there being a bit of awkward tension between them but he does seem concerned.

"No, she said there's --" Grace starts to say but Jenna cuts her off, a big breath leaving her lips as she tries to get her words out as she holds her stomach.

"Grace, I'm fine," Jenna assured her as she leaned back against the chair, closing her eyes for a moment. That didn't help Grace one bit as her worry for her best friend only grew.

"You don't sound fine." She denies as Jenna just tries to take deep breaths, trying not to make any noise that indicates that she is in pain. Elijah bends down slightly, his eyes moving to Grace.

"We should get her to the hospital," Elijah says, knowing that they should be safe, rather than just letting this go unchecked. Jenna groaned, shaking her head as she didn't need them ganging up on her, especially since they didn't even like each other.

"No, I don't need to go there. It'll go away." Jenna tells them as she rubs her stomach, her breath coming out shaky.

"You should make sure the baby's okay," Elijah states, he knew the woman was stubborn, something she had Grace shared. But this wasn't exactly something that you would want to risk.

"Jenna." Grace sternly says as she glares at the woman. She did not want Jenna to lose this baby, especially by not pushing her enough to go to the hospital. Jenna sighs as she bites the inside of her cheek, glancing between the pair.

"Okay, okay." She mumbles as she nods her head. Elijah reaches for her arm, helping the woman stand up. 

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AS SHE LEANT AGAINST THE WALL OF THE HOSPITAL, Grace glanced over at Elijah who was only pacing back and forth slowly. She clears her throat in order to get his attention. Elijah stops, his eyes moving over to her.  "Uh, thanks for helping me bring her here." She says, glad that Elijah was there in order to help her. Although he didn't seem too enthusiastic about her speaking to him. Grace sighs as she clenches her jaw. "Despite what you may think, Elijah. I'm actually trying to get Nik to help." She admits, placing a hand on her hip. Elijah scoffs, clearly not believing her in the slightest.

"That's why Hayley's been stuck in the bayou for six months." He retorts as he crosses his arms against his chest. Grace narrowed her eyes, she partially understood why he was so angry but it hadn't let up within the six months that had passed.

"I'm doing the best I can," Grace says, even just bringing up the subject to Klaus was a task of its own. It wasn't easy to get the man to agree to help.

"Maybe that isn't good enough," Elijah muttered back as he glared lightly. Grace was already fed up with his attitude since it seemed she was the only one trying.

"You know what? Screw you, Elijah." She snaps at the man who was clearly just being overdramatic at this point. "I've tried to at least be civil with you after you damn almost killed me, so stop acting like I'm the issue here." Grace sneered as she just wanted to put the man in his place, he definitely needed it. Elijah just stared down at her, anger in his eyes but she could see that it slightly vanished the moment she mentioned him stabbing her.

Luckily Camille had interrupted them and stopped whatever outburst Grace was going to say to Elijah next. "I got your message, is Jenna okay?" Camille asks, out of breath from practically sprinting to the hospital, her voice full of concern. Grace turns to face her, a bit confused before letting out a groan.

"Oh, fuck. That was supposed to go to Mark." Grace admits as she brings her hand up to her face. She thought she had texted Mark but she must have been too overwhelmed and didn't double-check the contact.

"I'll text him now," Camille says as she takes out her phone.

"But yeah, the doctor said she's gonna be fine. It was just a scare." 

"That's great," Camille responds with a sigh, grateful to know nothing was wrong. Her eyes moved over to the suited man who hadn't said a word. "Hey, Elijah." She says with a smile, waving at him but he doesn't respond, barely even glancing at the two women. Camille just sighs, looking back at Grace. "So, when are you going to tell Klaus to stop pulling me out of work for his little talks?" She asks curiously, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"You think he would listen to me?" Grace asks a small smirk on her lips. Camille shakes her head instantly.

"No, I do not."

"I think he's scared, scared that he's gonna lose everyone he loves," Grace admits, placing a hand on her hip. She knew Klaus was too afraid to ever admit what he was truly feeling. Even Grace could barely get it out of him.

"Well, maybe he has to try and talk to Elijah and things will start to work out," Camille suggests as she shrugs her shoulders. Grace knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. "What about you?" She asks curiously and Grace just stares back at her confused.

"What about me?"

"Have you made up with Elijah?" She questions.

"My situation is a bit different," Grace admits, leaning back against the wall as her eyes move over to Elijah for a second who was just starting out the hospital doors.

"But you both said things that you regret." Camille points out, she knew about the argument, she knew how it ended. But she didn't think it should take six whole months to make up for it.

"I don't regret a thing I said, to either him or Hayley." Grace states, crossing her arms. She knew she was harsh with her delivery but they both needed a reality check and that was what she gave them. They both deserved what they had got.  Camille stares back at her, nodding slowly.

"Have you seen her?" She asks, tilting her head at Grace who just scoffs, shaking her head.

"I don't think she wants to see me." Grace denies, although it wasn't exactly something that was on her list of things to do. She would help bring Hayley back from the curse but she definitely would not talk to her.

"You know that's not true. You know she's been asking Elijah to bring you to the bayou." Camille states as she raises an eyebrow at the blonde. Grace glances towards the ground, biting her cheek. She did know that Hayley wanted to see her but it wasn't mutual. She wasn't ready to talk to the woman.

"I'm gonna go see if Jenna can be discharged." She mumbles as she moves past Camille who just frowns, watching her walk away.

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HANNA WAS SAT ON HER BED, watching as Grace paced back and forth across the room. She had barely spoken, too caught up in her own thoughts. Hanna sighs as she tilts her head, raising her eyebrows at the blonde. "Maybe you should go see her." She pipes up, hoping to start an actual conversation. Grace groans as she shakes her head, not stopping her pacing as she thinks about what to do about Hayley.

"It's not a good idea." Grace denied as she fiddled with her fingers. Hanna groans as she stands up from the bed, grabbing hold of Grace in order to keep her still. Mainly because she didn't want to keep looking back and forth.

"I know that you had a big fight and she's not exactly on your list of people you like right now, but you've known each other for years." Hanna points out, no matter what happened you couldn't just throw away those memories like they never existed. If they couldn't work it out, that was fine. But they had least had to try.

"Hanna, I can't, okay?" Grace responds with a frustrated groan, tilting her head back. "I'm partially the reason why she got turned into a wolf in the first place." She states, knowing although it was Klaus's actions, Hayley would blame her as well.

"There was a reason for that. Just explain it to her." She says, surely Hayley would get that Klaus turned her since if he hadn't, Dahlia would have killed all of her pack.

"Hayley won't be doing much talking."

"You've helped me these past few months, and to see your family so divided..." Hanna admits, shaking her head.

"It's always going to be divided. There's always going to be a new problem." Grace points out, that's just how it was in the supernatural world, especially with the Mikaelson's.

"Then why did you say yes?" Hanna asks her, just staring at the woman. Grace tensed lightly, a small frown on her face as she knew Hanna was implying her engagement. "If you truly think the Mikaelsons will never be at peace, then why'd you say yes to becoming one?" She questions, raising an eyebrow at Grace.

"Because I love Nik and I'm not going to let this stop me from getting my happiness," Grace responds, she didn't care how much family drama there was, she wasn't about to let that take away the love that she had found.

"See? You just have to push through." Hanna says with a small smile forming on her face. She grabs Grace's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Go talk to Hayley, work things out. The originals aren't the only ones with problems." She says, seeing how Grace's eyes filled with pain anytime someone mentioned Hayley. It was clear that the woman missed her and no matter what she said, would always want the best for her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay tonight?" Grace asks, knowing with the full moon, she would have to turn back into a wolf and that was always a painful process.

"Davina said to come see her. I'll be fine." Hanna assures her, she could take care of herself now. She was grateful that Grace had been there for her, but she didn't want the woman to have to do it forever. She needed to learn how to look out for herself.

"But--"

"No buts, you're seeing Hayley," Hanna tells her, placing her hands on her hips. Grace sighs, still not knowing what to do. Maybe seeing Hayley and finally getting it over with would help but she still didn't know if she could even face the woman. Her and Hayley's relationship was past the breaking point and it would take a lot to mend,

If it could even be mended.

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"NIK, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Grace asks as she watches the man walk into the compound. She hadn't seen him since he had left her that morning. Klaus meets her gaze, letting out a small sigh as he makes his way over to her. Grace wasn't angry, she was just curious as to where he had been all day.

"Meeting up with an old acquaintance," Klaus tells her, which only makes her confused as she furrows her eyebrows. She didn't know that he had any friends in town, well, she didn't know that he had any friends left.

"Who?" 

"My friend Lucien is in town," Klaus tells her and she just snorts, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Is that all I get?" She asks, narrowing her eyes a bit. Klaus chuckles, knowing she would want to know everything.

"He was the first person I ever turned," Klaus admits which makes her eyes widen a bit, her lips parting slightly.

"Wow, okay.." Grace replies, crossing her arms against her chest. She kept forgetting that there were people who had to be turned into vampires who created the ones they had today.

"He's in town to warn me, but I fear there may be more to it." He tells her, a sigh leaving his lips as he shakes his head.

"Warn you about what?"

"Nothing that I believe," Klaus states, not wanting to worry her as well. "But with his arrival, I suspect they'll be more." He admits, knowing that Lucien often traveled with others, and if he was here, it was safe to assume others knew where he was.

"More people you turned?" Grace asks, and she can see that Klaus is hesitant to tell her. He clears his throat, meeting her curious eyes.

"More like an old flame." He corrects her and she just raises her eyebrows. She was just surprised that he had someone in the past, mainly because everyone he met seemed to hate him already.

"An ex-girlfriend."

"Aurora." Klaus says with a nod and Grace just slowly glances towards the ground. She didn't really care that he had an ex who was still alive, it was more that he didn't tell her even after she told him about Dylan.

"And why haven't I heard about her?"

"Because she broke my heart a long time ago. After that, I vowed never to love again. Talking about her, isn't something I wanted to do with you, love. Because I didn't want to drag you into it." He explains to her and she nods her head, she does understand that but she just wishes he felt like he could talk about these things with her. He knew that she would never judge him.

"Clearly you broke it." She points out with a smile, and he returns it for a second before his tone becomes a little bit more serious.

"If she does come to town, you must not provoke her," Klaus tells her which took Grace a little bit by surprise since she had never even met the woman.

"Me?"

"She'll find out we're together and I fear that may set her off... she's not quite stable," Klaus admits as he knew Aurora had kind of gone off the wagon a little bit.

"Oh, so she's a crazy ex." She corrects herself, those were always fun. Grace noticed the confusion that formed on Klaus's face. "What?" Grace asks him, raising an eyebrow before it hits her, making her laugh. "Oh, you thought I'd be jealous?" She knew he was waiting for her to say something out of line or at least clench her jaw.

"Just a bit, love," Klaus admits, it was mainly because he thought it was attractive, he didn't care about Aurora, nor if the woman did end up coming to New Orleans.

"I'd only be jealous if I thought you were stupid enough to go back to her," Grace admits, knowing full well that Klaus was completely obsessed with her and would never dare to even blink in Aurora's direction. "Are you?" She teases as she narrows her eyes, tilting her head.

Klaus just smirks back at her as he suddenly wraps his arm around her waist, bringing her towards him and leaving their lips millimeters apart. Grace's breath had increased as they kept eye contact. He presses a long hard kiss to her lips, his hand pressing her back so her body is against him. Grace melts into it, whining when he pulls away. "Does that answer your question?" Klaus asks her, his voice hoarse as he flickers his eyes back to her lips. Grace could almost fall into him but she clears her throat, bringing herself back to reality as she takes a step back.

"When am I gonna meet this acquaintance?" Grace asks him, placing a hand on her hip. She saw the way his jaw clenched, his eyes showing uncertainty. "Oh, my god. You thought I was gonna get jealous and instead, it's you?" She questions with a loud laugh, smiling as she shakes her head.

"Lucien can be quite persuasive." Klaus points out as he brings his hands to her waist, pulling her towards him. She just smirks as she places her hands on his chest.

"Do you not trust me?" 

"No, I trust you, love. I just don't quite trust him." He admits, he knew the second Lucien met Grace, he would start flirting with her. And he didn't know if he could restrain himself from ripping the man's heart out.

"Well, it's okay. He lays a hand on me, I don't care how old he is, I'll sucker-punch him in the mouth." Grace says with a wink, tilting her head. Klaus smirks towards her, his eyes gazing at the woman.

"That's my girl," Klaus responds and just those words sent shivers down her spine, her stomach filling with butterflies. "Were you going somewhere?" He asks, wondering if she was headed out when he came back. Grace was going to the bayou, she had finally decided to go speak to Hayley, but right now she was second-guessing herself. Mainly because of how much he was turning her on. So, she did what any sensible woman would do and shook her head.

"No."

"Good." He responds with a small smirk before kissing her, his hands resting on her hips. Grace moans softly, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer. He speeds them to the wall, causing her to gasp as she hits it. Klaus uses the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his hands moving down her body. As he reaches to her thighs, he lifts her up, her legs going around his waist. Grace moves her hands into his hair, gripping it tightly as she kisses him like her life depended on it. Klaus groans against her lips, his body pressing into hers as his fingers squeeze her thighs. Lifting one to her stomach, he pulls at the end of her shirt.

As Klaus brings his hands to start lifting her shirt, her phone starts ringing out of the blue. Klaus doesn't stop what he's doing, only deepening their kiss as he pulls at the fabric. Grace reaches down to grab her phone, thinking it was Hanna who needed her. But as she lifts it up, pulling away from the kiss for a moment, Klaus just beginning to kiss down her neck, she sees Elijah's name instead. She was beyond confused as to why he would even be calling her. "It's Elijah." She breathes out, causing Klaus to pull away from her. He looks at the phone, his jaw clenching. Klaus just sets her back down on the floor, neither of them looking at the other.

"I'll make myself scarce," Klaus mutters, backing up from the woman who sighs, shaking her head.

"Nik, you.." Grace goes to say but he is already gone. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, he couldn't even be in the room for a phone call, it was a bit annoying.  "Hello?" She says into the phone, her tone a bit harsh as she presses the phone to her ear.

"Grace.. I.. I need your help." She hears the frantic voice of Elijah come through. Grace instantly knew something was going on, and the fact that he was calling her meant that it was something bad.

"Elijah, what's wrong?"

"I'm in the bayou and there's.. there's-- they're dead, Grace." Elijah stutters out as the phone breaks up a little. Grace furrows her eyebrows, confused about what he was talking about.

"Who's dead? Elijah, you're not making any sense." She admits with a sigh, trying to wrap her head around it all. Grace could hear his ragged breathing on the other end of the phone so it was clear whoever was dead, had an effect on him.

"The wolves. They're all dead." Grace didn't know what she was expecting to hear, but it wasn't that. She could feel her blood run cold as her heart stopped. Grace could hear the pain in his voice and was afraid that Hayley was among the dead. All this time she had spent hating the woman, only to maybe now have lost her forever.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

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first chapter of season 3! this season is gonna be a whirlwind. a reminder that this book will end about mid-way through season 3 and continue into book 2!