INGRID had eventually cried herself to sleep in Klaus' arms. Klaus put her to bed and frowned at the tear stains on her cheeks and the memory of her painful screams. He let out a heavy, deep breath and kissed her on the forehead. He then walked out of the room, toward Hope's nursery. He saw her sitting in her crib, wide awake, and picked her up.

Klaus held her close and rubbed her back. "What better life might have awaited you, were another man your father? All those who have loved me, have lived to regret it. But I do know this, my littlest wolf, I will do right by you and your mother." He promised sternly, nodding to himself in determination.

Elijah walked into the room and approached Klaus from behind. However, Klaus didn't turn to look at him and spoke in a cold tone of voice. "What do you want, Elijah? If Ingrid sees you, she will kill you and I don't think I'm too inclined to stop her."

Elijaj licked his lips anxiously and stared at his brother's back in guilt. "I'm not foolish enough to ask your forgiveness, so I'll say it again..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I had no choice. We protect this family at any cost."

"And was Marcellus not family?" Ingrid questioned darkly from the door way. They both turned to face her with terrified expressions on their faces, anticipating what she may do next. Truth be told, Ingrid was far too exhausted to get physical at that moment. "When we say "protect family" we mean all of the family. Not just the people you pick and choose." She snarled furiously at him, jabbing a finger in his direction. "You murdered my son." She whispered in a heartbroken tone, her voice cracking as the tears welded up again. "This is so much different than when I murdered Hayley or Camille. Marcellus was my son. Don't play this off as having no choice because you had a million other choices yet chose the wrong one."

"I have done... unspeakable things to save this family and I will admit, I'm the first one to mess it all up. But I make sure my choices are calculated to every possible outcome before proceeding." Ingrid pointed out in a stern manner, tears falling down her face again. "This.... this was irresponsible and cruel."

"Ingrid..." Elijah whispered her name, almost scared out of his wits to even speak to her in that moment. "I was doing what I thought was best.
I had no other choice---"

"Except you did!" She interrupted, yelling loudly in rage and scaring Hope. The toddler began to cry and cover her ears causing Ingrid to frown in regret. "Oh, no." She walked toward Hope and took her from Klaus, holding her head to her chest and swaying her back and forth. "I'm so sorry. Mama didn't mean to scare you." She soothed her child and kissed her softly on the top of the head while glaring at Elijah. "We do not pick and choose which family member is worth protecting. We protect all or we protect none."

Klaus stepped forward with an angry expression and gestured between himself and Ingrid. "You think we're not aware how heavy that burden is?" He asked curiously, waiting to hear an answer that wasn't an excuse.

Elijah shook his head and sighed with a flat lipped look. "No, I think that this time... that burden is simply too much to bear."

Klaus had no words, he was stunned speechless at how his brother was trying to justify the murder of his son. Ingrid, however, had one last thing to say to her brother-in-law before he tried to leave. "You are the family that is not worth protecting."

Elijah looked hurt for a moment and nodded his head in understanding then turned around and walked out of the room.

The couple heard a struggle upstairs and glanced at each other in confusion. Ingrid set Hope down and closed the door as they ran out of the room and toward the gate. Kol and Elijah walked out of their respective rooms and joined them. A crowd of vampires showed up, closing in on the Mikaelsons just as Marcel entered the compound. "Never thought it would come to this. But as always, The Mikaelsons made my choice for me."

Klaus' mouth hung agape in shock and he blinked repeatedly, believing this to be a hallucination. "Marcel, how?"

Ingrid stared at him with wide eyes and began crying in relief. She couldn't believe her eyes, the man who she thought was dead, the man she mourned over was standing before her in perfect condition. "Marcellus..."

"How are we in your home? I've friends who can nullify a deed, forclose on a property like that---" Marcel smirked at his former sire and snapped his fingers. "Or did you mean... how am I not a rotting corpse?"

"I thought my friend was dead, and yet here you are." Klaus gestured to him with a small smile. "So send these fools away, and let's talk. You and me."

"Is that relief I hear? Really? If I hadn't been one step ahead of you, I would be at the bottom of the river." Marcel sneered at him, casting a glare at Elijah.

Elijah stepped forward, placing himself between Marcel and his family. "Marcel, your anger is with me. I'm the one that's responsible for this crime against you."

"One thing I learned sticking around this family, Elijah, you take on one of you, you are taking on all of you." Marcel snapped at him, enraged and betrayed, and turned toward the group around them. "These guys, Klaus's sirelings, they're here to bear witness today."

"Are you planning to put on a little show, Marcellus?" Kol sneered at him with narrowed eyes

Marcel laughed with a sinister smirk. "Damned sure I am. The Fall of The Mikaelsons. And guess what, the show has already started." He then pointed a finger at the female hybrid. "Ingrid, come with me." He almost pleaded, glancing at her sadly.

Ingrid stepped forward toward him but Elijah grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could. He looked at her in disbelief and lowered his voice to a whisper. "What are you doing?"

Ingrid sneered at him and ripped her arm out of his grip. "Let go."

Klaus placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder, giving him a face of warning. "Let her go." He knew Marcel would never hurt Ingrid, especially because she was pregnant. Klaus figured Marcel was finding a way to sneak her out without alarming his army and losing their trust.

Ingrid shot him an appreciative look then glared at Elijah. She walked toward Marcel and he smiled warmly at her before whispering lowly so only she could hear. "Play along."

She kept her face blank but was otherwise confused until he grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her down the hallway toward Hope's nursery. He pulled her into the room and closed the door behind them.

Ingrid immediately burst into tears and threw her arms around him, sobbing in relief. "Oh thank Odin!" The heaviness that had been on her chest now gone at the sight of Marcel alive.

He instantly hugged her back and began apologizing profusely. "I am so sorry."

She pulled away and cupped his face in her hands, staring at him in disbelief. "How...? Niklaus told me that Elijah---"

Marcel scoffed harshly and placed his hands over hers. "Yeah. That he ripped my heart out and threw my body in the river." He snarled furiously then calmed himself down enough to explain how he could have possibly survived that. "I took the serum."

Her eyes widened in shock and she wasn't sure how to process that information. She was more than thrilled that Marcel was still alive but that meant he was there to kill her family. He read her expression fairly well and nodded his head. "Yeah. This isn't going to end well. You can't stay here, ma. I need you to take Hope and go."

Ingrid nodded in understanding and allowed her hands to drop from his face. He held them in his and leaned down to kiss her affectionately on the forehead. "I love you. Now, please go."

She smiled up at him and squeezed his hands, appreciation coursing through her. "Thank you." She then pulled away and picked Hope up from her crib. The hybrid walked toward the enhanced vampire with an emotional expression. "I love you."

He smiled back, staring at his mother and his sister for what he would assume was the last time, and let a tear fall down his face for a brief moment. "Be careful."

"We will." She assured him and watched as he walked out the door.

Ingrid was about to sneak out through the balcony when she heard Freya gasping and grunting in pain in the next room over. Setting the toddler down, Ingrid looked at her daughter with a stern expression. "Stay here." She commanded before speeding off to save the witch.

Freya had fallen onto the carpet while a vampire stood close by, watching her. Suddenly she was killed from behind by Ingrid, who looked at Freya with a raised eyebrow but otherwise lacking in concern. "What happened?

"Poison" Freya groaned out in response.

"Alright. Let's go." Ingrid ordered with an eye roll as another vampire entered but she simply killed him as well. "Come on. Let's go." She rushed the witch impatiently and Freya stood up, leaning on Ingrid for support. They left the room and Ingrid went back to the nursery to get Hope before the three left the compound entirely.

Ingrid had taken them to Lucien's abandoned apartment and lied Freya down on the couch. Freya fell back into the cushions while breathing heavily. "The Prophecy is coming true. This is the day Lucien said would come."

"Well of course it is." Ingrid snarled while setting Hope down on the floor. "We did just about everything to ensure it would. We did this." She remarked then noticed Freya having a hard time and bit into her wrist, offering up her blood. "Here. It won't cure but it'll help. Lucien has an antidote in here somewhere."

Freya refused Ingrid's blood and shook her head. "Even if I was cured, the power I used to fight Lucien, it's gone. There's nothing that can stop Marcel now."

"By power, you mean Davina and by stop, you mean kill." Ingrid commented knowingly with narrowed eyes and Freya gave her a sheepish look. Sighing, the Original rolled her eyes and stormed off toward the bedroom to search for the antidote. "Find another way, Freya!" She yelled loudly, her voice echoing throughout the hallway.

Freya managed to pull herself up off the couch and began to help her sister-in-law. After a moment, she groaned in frustration and threw a series of boxes around. "It's not here. I can't find it."

Ingrid snapped her fingers in Freya's face, trying to get her full attention. "Hey! Breathe. Think. When you were poisoned, Niklaus stole the antidote from Lucien so it has to be here."

Freya shook her head with tears in her eyes as she started to panic. "There's no other place to look. If I can't find the cure, I will die."

Suddenly the Mikaelson brothers burst into the appartment with Kol badly wounded between them. Klaus gripped tightly onto his younger brother and screamed out with urgency into the apartment. "Freya!"

The two walked out of the bedroom to see Kol and Elijah both had bite wounds and gaped in horror. Ingrid froze in her spot for a moment before rushing toward Kol and Klaus. She helped Klaus drag Kol into the living room.

Freya rushed toward them, frantic at the sight of their wounds. "Elijah!"

Elijah shook his head and rejected her help, trying to attend to the most urgent matter at hand. "Don't. We deal with it later."

Ingrid lowered Kol down and he slumped down on the couch while gasping in pain. "I am going to die."

All the loud commotion caused Hope to start crying and Ingrid walked over to pick the toddler up, soothing her while staring at her family in worry. Klaus tried his best to remain calm and shook his head in denial. "You're not going to die."

Kol chuckled humorlessly at Klaus' attempt to reassure him and rolled his eyes. Now that sounds familiar. Isn't that what you said to Finn?"

Klaus sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He understood the frustration that Kol was feeling but knew it wasn't the best time to be snarky. "Look, Lucien engineered his venom from the seven werewolf packs, so maybe, that's the key to a cure." He concluded, looking directly at Freya for answers.

"Oh great, that's the first piece in a puzzle none of us will be alive to solve." Freya remarked sarcastic and beyond overwhelmed. I'm poisoned, Rebekah is hexed, and our brothers are bitten. We need three different cures to three different ailments, each of which could take years to find, and none of us will make it through the day." She pointed out, sitting down next to a sweating Kol.

"You know, maybe it's fair that you and I pay for what was done to Davina." Kol weakly said, his breathing labored and sweat beading along his forehead.

Freya shook her head quickly and frowned deeply. "No, Davina didn't want revenge, okay?" She tried to soothe his guilt but to no avail.

"Just put me out of my misery! At least put me to bloody sleep!" He screamed out in agony and Freya suddenly formed a plan in her head.

Klaus' phone started ringing and everyone turned to look at him in anticipation and anxiety. He read the caller ID and picked up.

"Nik, it's me." Rebekah answered quickly. "There's an army of your sirelings eager for blood. Marcel has them set to tear apart the city to find you, but after a brief chat, he's considered an alternative." Rebekah informed her brother with a dreadful tone of voice. "Though I think it might be worse. He wants you to come back here and stand trial for your sins."

"Before a jury of those who hate me the most? Like hell I will." Klaus snarled and scoffed harshly.

"If you don't, this mob will hunt you down. And given their current frenzy, I can't imagine they'll show any mercy to you or anyone standing in their way." Rebekah explained causing Klaus to glance at Ingrid and Hope, considering his options.

He hung up the phone and pondered over Rebekah's words. Elijah noticed the look on Klaus' face and shook his head in rejection. "It's not a trial. This is suicide. Take Ingrid, take Hope, get the hell out of the city." He advised sternly, collapsing on his seat as he was too weak to stand on his own.

"Niklaus... we can't just leave them here." Ingrid said to her husband, refusing to leave their family behind to die.

"No! Davina please! No, don't leave me!" Kol shouted deviously and they all rushed to Kol to hold him down while Elijah attempted to hush him.

"There may be a way to save them." Freya informed Klaus quietly, watching her other two brothers suffering from their bites.

"Then I will move the world to make it so." He responded immediately, stern and affectionate.

"I need time." She responded stressfully.

"You think I should stand trial before that death-dealing mob?" He questioned curiously, needing her advice.

"Well, that's the easy part. In order to save your family, you need to come out of that trial alive." She responded, giving him a significant look.

Klaus looked over at Ingrid and grabbed her hand tightly in his, intertwining their fingers. She squeezed it back with a small smile until she realized what the look on his face meant. Pulling him into the next room, Ingrid spoke in a shaky voice and fiddled with his fingers. "You're not coming back, are you?"

Shaking his head, he gave her a heartbroken frown as his blue eyes glistened against the light with tears. "I'm afraid not, my love."

Ingrid couldn't keep herself from crying and shook her head in denial. "No. Please... this isn't fair. Our children need their father. I--I need my husband."

He pulled her into a tight hug and cried softly into her hair, trying to hide his grief by comforting her instead. "I know." Klaus placed a hand on the back of her head and tangled his hands in her hair. She sobbed into his chest, gripping tightly onto the back of his jacket.

He never wanted to let go but he knew he had to. In order to save their entire family, Klaus had to sacrifice his life and he was content with that. Especially if it meant his children could grow up in an environment where death wasn't always waiting around the corner.

Ingrid knew deep down that this was best choice but it was hard to let him go. She didn't want to have to raise their children alone. She couldn't face life without her husband without knowing exactly how long it'll be until she would see him again. It was different when she was daggered, that was a choice she had no hand it. But this was a choice she had to make. To let him go.

She pulled out of the embrace with red puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks, and her lips turned down into a sad frown. Meeting his eyes, she saw the tears falling down his face and attempted to wipe them away but it was pointless, they wouldn't stop. Ingrid choked on her words as she tried to bid him farwell. "I will love you forever. You are the love of my life and I will never stop until our family is whole again. Our children will know you. I'll see to it. I love you."

Klaus held her face in his hands and rested his forehead against hers. "You are the love of my life." He sobbed emotionally, stroking her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "You are the most amazing woman in the entire world. I'm the luckiest man because I have you. I'm pleased to be the father to your children and to be your husband. I will never stop thinking about you or our children. I love you."

They held each other as tight as possible while crying softly together. Neither wanted to let go but they knew it would be more painful the longer they waited and it was inevitable. Klaus leaned his head enough to kiss her passionately. Their tears mixing together and falling onto their lips, a heart breaking last moment for the couple.

Klaus pulled away and stared longingly at her for a moment before walking away. She held onto his hand for as long as he could, his fingers barely slipping out of hers as he left the room, and his family, behind. Once he was gone, Ingrid curled up inside herself and sunk down to her knees, clutching her chest while weeping.

Back in the living room, Freya was writing a spell down while Kol suffered a delirium. "No! Don't hurt her!"

Ingrid ran toward him and held him down against the couch. "Freya! It's getting worse." She snapped at the witch in stress. "Hey. You're okay." She whispered to her brother-in-law.

"Don't hurt her, Davina!" Kol screamed out desperately before crying sadly. "Davina is gone. She's gone."

"Hey, hey." Ingrid spoke in a hushed voice, smoothing out his hair and wiping away the sweat. "She's safe."

Kol was panting heavily and reached out to grab her hand. "Don't leave me, Indy."

"I won't. I swear it." She promised him emotionally and kissed his temple affectionately.

Restless, Elijah came over to help and looked at Ingrid in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She answered bluntly, not meeting his eyes, and nodded her head. The sound of Ingrid's phone blaring away caused them all to turn toward the sound. Freya nodded in encouragement and looked after Kol so she could answer it. Ingrid stepped away from them to give herself privacy and accepted the call. "Rebekah. Please tell me it's good." She pleaded desperately, clenching her hand into a fist and biting her thumbnail in anxiety.

"Nik found a way to stay alive." Rebekah informed the hybrid earning a loud sigh of relief from her. "Our plan worked. Now it's up to you, Ingrid. Make his sacrifice count."

Ingrid nodded to herself and licked her lips, shifting on her feet and glancing at the remaining members of their family. "I will." She promised sternly, her eyes staring off into the distance in front of her. "At any cost. Always and forever."

A few moments later, Elijah, Kol, and Freya gathered around the table with a paper with all names of the siblings is on it. Ingrid stood nearby with Hope on his hip and watched anxiously, biting her nails and her lips until they bled.

"Rebekah's dagger. It has her blood." Freya said holding it up before they joined hands and she began to recite the incantation. Her chanting grew louder and louder untill the Mikaelson spirits collapsed in their chairs, lifeless.

Ingrid turned to Hope and pulled her close. "It's just the three of us now." She whispered softly and stroked the toddler's hair.

Morning rolled around and Ingrid looked at the coffins of The Mikaelsons in the back of a moving truck. She let out a deep sigh and watched the sun rise slowly over the horizon. Closing the door, she turned back to stare off into the distance. "Goodbye, my love."

She stepped into the cabin and made sure Hope was completely secured in her seat before starting the engine. On the floor of the passenger seat sat Hope's diaper bag with two letters addressed to Hope and their unborn child from Klaus sitting in the pocket.

"My dearest Hope. I do not know how this will find you. As a child full of wonder, a teenager full of opinions, or a woman with the world at her feet. I write to tell you that I love you, and to explain that in our family's darkest hour, I was called upon to save my siblings, and so I did. Until then, my sacrifice will allow you to grow. To become the beautiful daughter I can now only imagine. Please remember that you are the legacy this family has always desired, the promise we fought to protect. You are, and always will be.... our hope. Please be good to your mother. She loves you more than you could possibly imagine. She has fought tirelessly for you and she knows more pain than most. Protect her, love her, and forgive her when you can. Just know I love your mother with every ounce my being and it is with great pain that I must leave you three. Be sure to watch over your brother or sister because much like you, they are a miracle. I love you."

"My apologies for not having a name to address you as. But may I start by saying, regardless of the name your mother chose, it was perfect. To you I may seem like a ghost story, a fable long told by your mother to convince you I was real. It is with great regret that I was not around. Please be patient with your mother. She is simply trying her best. She is stubborn, impatient, and harsh to the world's eyes but to me... your mother it the most incredible woman. She is loving, considerate, understanding. Protect her. Protect your sister. You both are everything I could have every asked for. Whoever you turn out to be, whatever your name may be. I love you and it was wonderful to meet you."

Ingrid looked over at Hope, who was trying to fight sleep, and rubbed her feet comfortingly. "To a new day, baby."

---
Comment
Vote
Share
Xoxo
-the1andonlytifftiff