꧁𝐭𝐚𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐭꧂

𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐳 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫.

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

A KISS IS PLANTED ON THE BASE OF GRACE'S NECK AS SHE IS LEANT OVER HER NOTEBOOK. She furrows her eyebrows, turning her head in the slightest to see Klaus behind her. She squints her eyes, putting down her pen. "What do you think you're doing?" She asks curiously as she sits back in her chair, swiveling it so she was facing him.

"Kissing your neck?" Klaus states the obvious and grace just rolls her eyes playfully.

"And who says you're allowed to do that?" Grace asks as she looks up at him.

"I thought our date went well last night, love?" He was a little bit confused, wondering if she had changed her mind. But he could see the teasing smirk on her lips.

"Oh, it did." Grace states as she crossed her leg on-top of the other. "But I said that after our date I would consider giving you a chance. I never said you automatically had one." She tells him and Klaus gets an amused glint in his eyes as he listens to her.

"Oh, really?" Klaus raises an eyebrow at her and grace just places her chin in the palm of her hand as she nods.

"Mhm."

"So, what can I do to get you to give me a chance?" Klaus asks as he leans against the table, looking down at her.

"Fifty more dates." Grace states firmly and klaus couldn't help but laugh.

"Fifty?" He retorts and she just gives him a cheeky smile. "I don't like you that much, love." Klaus teases her and she only scrunched up her nose.

"Fine, we'll settle for...." She trails off, swaying back and forth as she thinks to herself.  "A kiss." She tells him and he only rolls his eyes playfully before leaning in to kiss her lips softly. Grace kisses him back, her hand going to the back of his neck. When they pull away from each other, Grace acts like she's taking it into consideration. "Your application is sent from inactive to pending, waiting to be approved." Grace states and Klaus smiles, shaking his head.

"Seriously, love?"

"Mhm."

"And what can I do to get my application sped up?" Klaus asks as he leans in close to her. Grace only stared back at him blankly. "This?" He asks before placing a kiss on the nape of her neck. "How about..." He moves to the other side. "This." He places another kiss

"Nope." Grace says as she shakes her head evidently. Klaus only squints at her before suddenly bending down and picking her up, throwing her over his shoulder. "Nik!" She screams as she kicks her legs. The man laughs as she struggles in his grasp. "Let me go." She demands as she hits him in the back but he only grips her tighter.

"Not until you send my application to active." Klaus tells her and she just continues to slap his back until he finally puts her down.

"Get off, weirdo." She pushes him gently and he only chuckles as he steps back. A knock on the door gets both their attention as they turn to see Hanna standing in the doorway. "Hey, kiddo." Grace says with a soft smile on her face. "Your dad talk to you?" She asks her and Hanna nods her head as she fiddles with her fingers nervously.

"Yeah, he's heading back home to sort things over with Ann." She tells them and grace nods her head as she crosses her arms. "I asked him if I could stay here." Hanna admits and grace raises her eyebrows, gentling smiling at the girl.

"Here? As in New Orleans?" Grace asks her and Hanna nods hesitantly.

"Well, I was hoping I could stay with you." She states and Grace was taken aback by a second. Not that she wouldn't take the girl in, in a heartbeat but this wasn't the best place for someone who wasn't supernatural, to be.

"With me?" Grace glances at Klaus, sharing a look with him before moving her eyes back to Hanna. "Sweetheart, not that I wouldn't love having you stay with me. But this isnt my house." She informs the younger girl who nods her head, her eyes immediately looking towards Klaus.

"Can I stay with you?" Hanna asks as she gives him pleading eyes. Klaus opens his mouth but he had to look over at grace since he didn't know what to do. "Please?" She clasps her hands together a she stares at the man.

"We can set you up with a real nice hotel, there's just a lot of people here already." Grace tells her with a sigh, not wanting to turn her away because it seemed like Hanna trusted them.

"Oh." Hanna frowns, a little hurt but she understood. Glancing down at the ground, she just kicks her foot against the floor. "That's okay." She says, going to turn around in order to leave. Klaus glances back over at grace and the two have a silent battle with each other. It wouldn't be easy to keep her away from danger here but at least here, they know Robert wouldn't be near her. Grace silently groans as she nods her head.

"You can stay here." Klaus tells the girl who stops in her tracks, facing them again.

"Really? Thank you!" Hanna says excitedly as she is quick to embrace grace in a hug. The older woman hugs her back with a smile before Hanna pulls away and moves towards Klaus. The hybrid froze for a second as he felt the girls arms around him. He awkwardly clears his throat as he just pats her back twice.

"Now go grab the bag that your dad brought you." Grace tells her and Hanna rushes out of the room, leaving the pair alone. "This is going to backfire, isn't it." She asks as she glances over at Klaus. Grace groans as she drops her head in her hands. "Fuck." She mumbles to herself.

"Because we often have supernatural fightclub here?" He teases her with a smirk on his lips and her gaze snaps to him. She bites the inside of her cheek as she just stared at him for a solid minute.

"Your status is back to inactive." Grace states bluntly before shoving past the man who let's out an amused groan.

"Oh, come on. Love." Klaus tilts his head but grace just continues walking. "It was a joke!" He calls out after her but she only raises up her middle finger before exiting the room. Klaus smiles to himself as he shakes his head before walking off after her.

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

YOUNG GRACE MAKES HER WAY TOWARDS DYLAN'S BEDROOM AS SHE HAD PROMISED HIM THAT SHE WOULD COME OVER AFTER SCHOOL. But she knew she was late and she knew it would be a problem. Well, at least for Dylan. He made every little mistake she did into a huge deal. She would be lucky to walk out of the house today without some sort of bruise.

"Where have you been?" The question she knew was coming. Grace let's out a sigh as she meets the mans eyes as he was sat on his bed.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I was just with-" Grace tries to explain but Dylan cuts her off, obviously pissed off.

"So, I'm supposed to just waste my fucking time waiting for you?" Dylan asks, his voice getting louder with each word.

"I didn't ask you to wait for me." Grace mumbles, looking down at the ground.

"You getting snarky with me, bitch?" He questions sharply as he gets up from the bed, walking over to her.

"No." Grace responds firmly before she notices what he was holding in his hand. "When did you get a fucking gun?" She asks, she didn't mean to ask harshly because that was definitely not what she wanted to do when he held a gun. But she couldn't help it.

"Trevor showed me how to shoot today, bought me this." Dylan says as he holds it up before placing it on top of his dresser. "You know, when we first met, I thought you were something special." He admits as he turns to her, walking up to the girl. "Apparently I was fucking mistaken." He snaps at her and she only scoffs, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Oh, so you want to break up? Fine by me." Grace retorts as she would not care in the slightest. She didn't care the moment he first touched her. She was just too afraid to leave on her own volition.

"Watch your mouth." Dylan sneers at her as he takes a threatening step towards her. "You don't leave, until I tell you to leave." He tells her as he gets right in her face.

"Do you want me to clean like I normally do?" Grace asks, her voice barely above a whisper as she didn't want to upset him any more. But they were way past that point.

"No, I don't want-" Dylan cuts himself off, scoffing as he rolls his eyes. "What I would really like, is for you to shut the fuck up." He states, shaking his head. "You were right. It was a fucking dare. Do you think that I would actually willingly be with you?" He asks her, pushing her back slightly and she can only just stare at him, fighting back the tears in her eyes. "Are you mentally ill or some shit?" He points to her head and she slaps his hand away.

"Fuck you." She hissed at him and Dylan only smirks at her.

"Oh, you've done plenty of that." Dylan tells her and she only gives him a disgusted expression. "Any guy who says he's interested in you beyond just fucking you, is full of shit." He states and Grace only raises her eyebrows at rhe man.

"So, you're full of shit, right Dylan?" Grace asks him, smirking slightly. By his logic, he would be one of those men who were full of shit. Dylan glares at her, grabbing her face harshly.

"Say that again." Dylan dares her as he squeezed her jaw. "I promise you, Grace. You aren't fucking special." He snaps at her as he pushes her backwards causing her to stumble. "You're just a used up whore, who whines about how her daddy used to fucking hurt her every single minute. No one gives a fuck!" He shouts at her and she couldn't help but flinch as she takes a step back. "And you probably deserved what he did to you. With the way you act around the guys at school." Dylan tells her and grace could feel her heart Plummet into her stomach.

"I help them by tutoring them." Her voice was shaky, she couldn't help it. It was like her childhood all over again.

"Call it what you want. I see you for what you truly are. An annoying, bland, self absorbed little bitch who is asking to be raped in those God damn clothes that you wear." Dylan tells her as he grabs her shirt, pulling it down causing her bra to be on show. "God, you are so fucking boring." Grace couldn't help but let out a laugh, although it wasn't humourous at all.

"Am I boring or am I a whore? Make up your mind." Grace says with a scoff as she rolls her eyes at the man. Dylan slaps her, making her head swing to the side.

"You little cunt." Dylan sneers at her, bringing his hand up to take a fistful of her hair, yanking her towards him. "You are a waste of space on this fucking planet." He snaps at her and she only hits his chest, letting out a pained scream as he tightens his grip on her.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Grace shouts at him but he only pushes her back, causing her to hit the dresser behind her. Dylan smirks at her, tilting his head.

"Oh, come on baby. We both know you like it rough." Dylan tells her as he grabs her hips, digging his nails into the bone. Grace could feel blood on her lip as she stares back at the man who's eyes were pure evil.

"Fuck you!" Grace screams, spitting blood in his face. Dylan only grows angrier as he wipes his face, glaring at the girl in front of him.

"No one will ever love you, it's best to just put you out of your misery right now." Dylan tells her with a scoff as he throws her to the ground. Grace hits the floor with a thud, pain shooting through her body. "It's not like anyone will miss a little conniving cunt like you." He states as he gets down on top of her. She pushes him off, scrambling away from him. Getting up, she runs towards the door but isn't fast enough. Dylan pushes her against it, causing a strangled groan to leave her lips. He just grabs her hair, pulling her back only to slam her into the door once again.

He forcefully throws her into the dresser, the sharp corner digging into graces stomach making her gasp out in pain. As she turns, her back landing on the dresser, Dylan's hands grab her arms. Grace fights against him but he only punches her, causing her to fall back to the ground. She seems him towering over her, starting to bend down towards her.

Grace let's out a scream as she kicks him back. She crawls fast, trying to get towards the door. As she tried to get onto her feet, Dylan's hand grabbed her leg, yanking her towards the floor. She feels him drag her back, getting on top of her once again. Holding her hands down and using his weight on her legs, she was barely able to move. He only looks down at her with a sinister smirk.

Grace feels the man wrap his hands around her throat. She gasps as he squeezed it, his bodyweight on top of her. Grace hits his hands, trying to pry them off of her but he was much stronger than her. She coughs, feeling her airway become restricted. Her feet were flying everywhere as she tried her best to get Dylan off of her. Grace uses her eyes to look around, trying to see if there was anything she could use to help her.

Her eyes land on something that was on the floor. The gun. It must have fell to the floor when he had pushed her against the dresser. Grace frantically kicks and hits against Dylan but he wasn't budging. She was going to die if she didn't act fast enough.

She reaches her hand towards the gun, trying to stretch as far as she could while also fighting Dylan's hands. Grace screams as she uses all her strength to lift her foot, kicking him in the stomach, sending him back. She uses this time to crawl for the gun while trying to catch her breath. She could hear Dylan getting closer to her as she frantically tried to get the gun. As it finally got in her hands, she quickly turned onto her back, pulling the trigger without even thinking about it.

Dylan falls abruptly to the ground on top of her. Graces eyes were wide, her body physically shaking as she just laid there for a moment. She could feel her breathing increasing as she registered what she had just done. Quickly pushing his body off of her, she scrambles backwards. The blood began pooling around him as he just laid there with his eyes open, no life within them.

Letting out a scream, the gun drops from graces hand as she falls backwards. Hitting the dresser, grace brings her knees to her chest as she continues to let out blood curdling cries and screams.

Grace jolts awake, feeling the sweat covering her skin. She could feel a hand on her shoulder as she tries to adjust her eyes to the light shining through the window. "Hey." Grace says as she sees Hanna looming over her when she could finally see. "What time is it?" She asks as she glances around, sitting up in the chair.

"Noon." Hanna responds and grace groans as she brings her hands up to her face, rubbing her eyes.

"I must have dozed off." She says and Hanna nods her head slowly, but there was concern evident in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asks and grace glances towards her, offering a soft smile.

"Yeah. Im fine, sweetheart." Grace assures her, not wanting the girl to worry. "Did you sleep okay?" She questions and Hanna just shrugs her shoulders.

"Kind of." She says, her eyes flickering around the room before they land back on Grace. "You were screaming in your sleep." Hanna points out and Grace could feel her heart racing. She didn't realize that she was having a nightmare until she was awake. Mainly because you don't realize you're in a nightmare until you come out of it.

"Oh, was I?" Grace says confused, bringing her hand up to rub her head. She could see the concerned expression on Hanna's face. "I promise, nothing to be worried about." She states putting a smile on her face. Grace could see that Hanna wasn't really believing her but let it go anyways.

"Okay."

"Why don't you head down the street and get us some food from Rousseau's? I'm sure Cami will give you the good stuff." Grace tells her as she lifts her hand to rub Hanna's arm.

"You mean like booze?" Hanna asks, raising an eyebrow and grace only rolls her eyes playfully.

"Good food." She emphasizes, making Hanna scrunch up her nose. "Don't be getting any ideas in your head." Grace tells her and Hanna nods her head, pressing her lips together tightly before leaving the compound. Grace watches her for a moment before her smile drops from her face.

Looking to the side of her, she meets her eyes in the mirror. Grace takes a deep breath as she looks at herself.

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

KLAUS HAD WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS AFTER GIVING ELIJAH THE ANTIDOTE TO WAKE HIM UP. He knew he'd have to wait a little bit until Elijah was back up on his feet. Klaus looks in front of him, noticing a man looking around the compound. Klaus squints his eyes as he walks over to him. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Can I help you?" He asks cautiously which caught his attention.

"I'm looking for my daughter, Hanna. She said she was here." Paul states and Klaus becomes less guarded as he knew the man wasn't a threat.

"You must be.. Paul?" Klaus says and Paul nods his head, a tight smile on his face.

"You got it."

"Klaus Mikaelson." He says and Paul holds out his hand for the man to shake.

"It's nice to meet you." Paul tells him and Klaus gives a polite smile.

"You look like you could use a drink." Klaus points out and Paul chuckles lightly.

"I would, but one would probably turn into several after the conversation I just had." Paul states and Klaus nods his head slowly.

"Ann?" He asks and Paul clenches his jaw. "You really need this more than I do." Klaus says as he holds it out to the man. Paul only shakes his head though. It was silent for a second, Paul clearly wanting to say something but hesitating.

"Does Grace know that I would've never married her if I had known..." Paul trails off as he looks towards the ground.

"She doesn't blame you." Klaus assures him, he knew that grace had no grievances towards the man or his daughter.  "I think she feels sorry for you. For Hanna." He says and the man just let's out a sigh.

"I really appreciate you letting her stay here." Paul admits, he didn't know him personally but since grace was here and trusted him, then he did too.

"It's no problem at all." Klaus replies before they are interrupted by Hanna's voice.

"Dad." Hanna says as she walks into the courtyard.

"Hey, kiddo." Paul says with a smile as he looks at his daughter. "I have to head back in order to sort some things out. You sure you'll be okay here?" He asks her curiously and Hanna gives him a smile back, nodding her head.

"I'll be fine." She assures him and Paul still seemed a little reluctant.

"We'll watch out for her." Klaus tells him and Paul gives him a grateful smile.

"Thank you." He says and Klaus only nods his head. "Call me if you need anything, okay?" Hanna nods her head before her dad places a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later." Paul says before leaving the compound. Klaus goes to turn around but Hanna notices this.

"Nik." Hanna calls out and it shocks Klaus at first because people never call him that. Except of course for his siblings and Grace. He turns back to her and she could see he was visibly confused. "Sorry, I heard grace call you that so I just thought-" she starts to explain herself but Klaus just raises his hand up to stop her.

"It's alright, sweetheart." Klaus assures her, it's not like he minded, he was just taken off guard. "Whats on your mind?" He asks curiously.

"Is Grace okay?" Hanna asks, clasping her hands together. Klaus furrows his eyebrows, taking a step towards the girl.

"Why do you ask?"

"She was just.." Hanna trails off for a moment, letting out a sigh. "It seemed like she was having a nightmare earlier. She kept screaming someone's name." She admits and Klaus just stared at her, waiting for her to finish.  "Dylan?" Her voice was a little bit confused but Klaus tried to control his facial reaction.

"Nothing for you to worry about, okay?" Klaus assures her with a tight smile on his face. Hanna furrows her eyebrows a little bit.

"Are you sure?" She asks, not wanting to push but she knew something was wrong with the woman.

"Positive." Klaus says before clearing his throat. "Now, why don't you see if my brother is awake?" He knew Elijah was still asleep but should wake soon. He just didn't want Hanna asking anymore questions.

"Is he okay?"

"He's just a bit under the weather." Klaus tells her and Hanna nods her head before walking away. Klaus let's out a sigh before he heads up to Graces room.

Peeking his head inside, he couldn't see her but heard a commotion in the bathroom. "Love?" He calls out as he walks inside, closing the door behind him. Klaus walks over to the bathroom slowly, hearing sniffles. Pushing the door open, he notices that she was leant over the sink.

"I-i can't breathe." Grace cries as she holds her chest. Klaus quickly moved over to her, putting his hand on her back. "I-i cant-" She felt herself start to hyperventilate. Klaus puts his hands on her shoulders, turning her body to him.

"Just look at me." He says but he can see her eyes darting around the room frantically. "Right here." Klaus says as he softly grabs her chin in order to get her to look at him. "Follow my movements-" He takes a deep breath, using his hand to exaggerate the movement. Grace follows what he's doing, her breath still coming out shaky but it was slowing down. "That's it, love." Klaus tells her as he notices her coming back. Grace feels the tears escape her eyes as her breathing softens.

Shaking her head, she collapsed against Klaus, gripping his shirt with her hands. Klaus holds her tightly, allowing her to completely let her body go.

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

GRACE WAS LAID ON THE BED NEXT TO KLAUS, simply staring at her hands. Neither of them had talked for some time but she could tell that something was on his mind by the way Klaus was just staring into the air. Grace furrows her eyebrows as she tilts her head.  "What are you thinking about?" She asks as she brings her hand to nudge the man. Klaus glances at her slightly, his jaw clenching and she could see in his eyes that something was wrong. He looks back in front of him, taking a deep breath.

"I killed my father." Klaus says, his voice barely above a whisper. Grace was shocked by the revelation, especially knowing he just met him for the first time in a thousand years. She sits up on the bed, a frown on her face.

"Nik.." Her voice was filled with remorse as she reaches her hand to grab his. "I'm so sorry." Grace tells him as she squeezes the man's hand. Klaus just looks away from her for a second. "God, I should've been there for you-" She starts but Klaus cuts her off, shaking his head.

"No." He states as he brings his eyes back to hers. "There was nothing you could've done." Klaus admits, not wanting her to feel bad for focusing on herself. A lot was going on in her life and he didn't need to add onto that.

"Why did you do it?" Grace asks, she didn't mean to be invasive but she wanted to know if there was a reason why he did it. She doesn't believe he would've just killed the man without a cause. Even though he killed tons of people, his father was different.

"He knew about hope being alive." Klaus states as he closes his eyes for a moment. Graces eyes widen as she stares at the man.

"How?" She asks as she knew that Klaus and Hayley have done everything in their power to make sure that no one figures out Hope is still alive.

"It's a wolf thing.." Klaus explains, although he didn't want to go into much detail. Grace nods her head, understanding. It's silent for a moment before she speaks up again.

"Nik." Grace says, catching his attention. "Thank you." She tells him with a soft smile and Klaus only stares back at her.

"For what?" He asks as he furrows his eyebrows.

"Comforting me. Listening to me. Just.." Grace trails off for a moment as she glances down at her hands ,shrugging her shoulders. "Being a good guy to me." She finishes, moving her eyes back up to his and he looked slightly amused, more by her choice of wording.

"Well, that's the first time I've ever been called that." Klaus jokes and grace rolls her eyes playfully. "I will always be here for you, love." He says on a more serious note as he takes her hand in his. "No matter what, no matter when. You call and ill-" he's cut off when a pair of lips connect with his. Klaus is startled for a second but kisses her back. Once they pull away from each other, Klaus just raises an eyebrow at her. "Does this mean my application is approved?" Klaus questions and Grace glares at him but he could see the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Shut up." Grace slaps his arm lightly and Klaus only chuckles underneath his breath.

"I couldn't help myself, love." Klaus replies and grace just shakes her head.

"Did you help Elijah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry I missed everything today." Grace admits with a sigh as she felt like she missed so much for no reason. That text from her father shouldn't have affected her so much.

"Trust me, love. It was better for you to be here." Klaus retorts, knowing that it might've just made things more complicated with her being there. "Hanna told me you had a nightmare." He says warily as he could tell it had already caused her enough stress tonight.

"Nik, can we please just leave it for tonight?" Grace asks with a sigh leaving her lips and he immediately nods his head.

"Of course." Klaus responds as he brings his thumb up to brush her cheek. Grace softly gazes back at him as her eyes move down to his lips.

"Am I interrupting something?" Elijah asks from the doorway. They both lean back, turning their heads to see the man staring at them.

"Elijah. Hey." Grace says as she gets up off of the bed to walk over to him, pulling him into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." She tells him and he sends a soft smile but she could see the pain in his eyes.

"I see Hanna's staying with us." Elijah points out as he had just had a running with the younger girl.

"Yeah and I would really like it if you both would keep your killing and maiming to yourselves." Grace says, slightly teasing them but also not. She really didn't need Hanna getting dragged into anything. "I do not need her involved in this world." She mumbles, pushing her hair out of her face. "She wasn't bothering you, was she?" Grace asks him and Elijah shakes his head.

"No, no. She's a very sweet girl." Elijah admits as the girl had plenty of manners and was very nice. He was just a little confused when he first saw her.

"That's if Ann doesn't taint her as well." Grace says, almost to herself but of course with vampire hearing, you could clearly hear her. She shakes her head, moving towards the bathroom and shutting the door. After a moment, Elijah speaks, his eyes on the bathroom door.

"Is everything okay with her?"

"I wouldn't even know how to answer that." Klaus tells him honestly as he could never really tell what was affecting her and what didn't. Even when she was hyperventilating, he didn't know if that was from a memory of Dylan or if her father had said something else to her.

"Did her father do something?"

"He just sent a message, that's all. And her mother seems to be destroying yet another family." Klaus explains to him and Elijah nods his head, his eyes moving back towards his brother.

"What message?" Elijah asks, his voice full of concern but also anger of what her father might have said.

"It's not my place." Klaus states as his eyes move down to the floor. The bathroom door opens and grace comes walking back into the room. She senses the quiet tension and squints her eyes at the two boys.

"Are you two talking about me?" Grace asks as she makes her way to stand next to Klaus. Elijah only analyzes the two for a moment, squinting his eyes.

"How long has this been going on?" Elijah asks and the two of them freeze. Grace didn't know if he really was asking or if he meant something completely different. Either way, she shared a glance with klaus.

"What?" Grace fakes confusion as she furrows her eyebrows.

"There's nothing going on." Klaus tells the man who clearly didn't believe him as he subtly smirked.

"Mhm. Clearly." Elijah responds as he glanced away from them, putting his hands inside of his pockets.

"Yeah, clearly you need to get your eyes checked." Grace tells him and Elijah only chuckles as he looks out the balcony door.

"How do you feel?" Klaus asks, deciding to change the subject.

"The worst has passed." Elijah admits before turning to face the pair again. "Though I suspect the nightmares are far from over." He points out with a sigh.

"Well, gather your strength. After the message I sent mother tonight, I expect hellfire to rain down on us immediately." Klaus explains to him and graces eyes widen slightly as she looks over at him.

"Wait. You sent you father as a message?" Grace asks him, a little bit taken aback. Klaus shrugs his shoulders like it was no big deal.

"It's poetic, don't you think?" He questions and Grace just shakes her head, smirking at the man.

"You're an idiot." Grace mumbles but Klaus only brings his finger up.

"An approved idiot." He corrects her and grace just gives him a blunt stare. Elijah was giving them a confused look but grace only shakes her head.

"Don't ask." Grace tells him and Elijah decides to take her word for it.

"We need to make a move before she strikes." Elijah states but a new voice interjects into the conversation.

"Actually, moves were made while you were sleeping." Marcel says as he and Hayley walk into the bedroom.

"It's good to see you vertical." Hayley tells him before her eyes flicker between the two brothers. "Marcel and I each left a gift for you in the ballroom." She states and they all look confused as they stare at Hayley and Marcel. "You're welcome." She says with a smile. Klaus glances back at Elijah before they and grace make their way towards the ballroom.

As they enter, they see Kol and Finn tied up. Grace was a little bit surprised but Elijah and Klaus were mainly smirking at their siblings. "Kidnapping. It's a rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion." Kol pipes up as he looks over at them. Grace scoffs as she crosses her arms against her chest.

"Says the one working with your demented mother." Grace retorts and Kol just keeps his mouth shut. Her eyes move to Finn who was just staring at them. "Who's he again?" She asks Klaus who tilts his head.

"Finn. The eldest."

"Pleasure." Finn says sarcastically as he rolls his eyes. Grace raises her eyebrows, slightly amused.

"Well, Kol. Wait until you see how we end it." Klaus says with a smirk playing on his lips and Kol only drops his head.

"Could you like.. silence the room if you're gonna torture them?" Grace asks them as it would be pretty hard to explain to Hanna why people were screaming bloody murder.

"Sure thing, love." Klaus responds.

"Okay." Grace says, letting out a sigh. "While you two do whatever you're gonna do. I'm gonna go have a smoke." She tells them, beginning to walk away but Kol tries to stop her.

"Oh, come on." He pipes up, making grace only turn her head to him. "Untie me." Kol says as he pulls at the chains. Grace takes a step towards him.

"Sure." She says, with fake optimisim in her voice. "When hell freezes over." Grace finishes, giving him a smile. Kols face drops as he glares at her.

"You're not as pleasant as I remember." He grumbles and she only laughs before making her way out of the compound.

Pulling out a cigarette, she puts it between her lips before lighting it. Grace glances around, holding her cigarette as she puffs the air out of her mouth. "Nice evening." She hears someone say. Grace glances to the side to see a woman walking towards her.

"I guess." Grace retorts as she moves her cigarette back towards her mouth. Esther only smiles at her, squinting her eyes.

"You know, I've underestimated you, Grace." Esther tells her and immediately Grace didn't have to be a genius to figure out who she was talking to.

"And I see, I've overestimated you." Grace retorts as she rolls her eyes a little bit.

"My son's.. seem to fall for the pretty ones I see." Esther states as she clasps her hands together. Grace laughs slightly as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Your daughter too." Grace retorts as she smirks at the woman. Esther only tilts her head as she takes a step closer to the woman.

"Oh, I do believe someone else is on that list too." Esther points out and grace only looks at her with a confused expression. "Cami, is it?" She asks, faking confusion and grace immediately feels anger flood her veins.

"What did you do to her?" Grace snaps at the woman, taking a step towards her but Esther holds up her hand, sending a shooting pain through graces head.

"Don't act like you're anything compared to me." Esther sneers at her as she watches grace kneel over, her hand gripping her head. Grace scoffs as she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment.

"You know, you should always check one thing before you go to attack someone." Grace tells her, her hand reaching for her back near her waistband.

"And what's that?" Esther says cockily and before she can even blink, grace had her gun in front of her, pulling the trigger. She was aiming for the heart but with the stupid pain in her head, it hit Esther's shoulder. The woman goes flying back, the spell breaking and giving grace the time to recover.

"That they don't have a weapon, bitch." Grace sneers at her before quickly making her way back inside the compound. She looks behind her to make sure no one one following her.

But she feels herself stumble forward. Grace let's out a groan as she brings her hand to her head. Glancing around, she sees everything around her become blurry. Her breathing becomes unsteady, squeezing her eyes shut. She rubs them for a moment but it doesn't do anything. Grace could feel her mind cloud as she falls forward

Hitting the ground with a thud.

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

thank you all for your support and love for this story <3