MJ smiled as she woke up, a light white blanket wrapped around her and the man she loved, muscular arms holding her waist to his chest, soft snores easing her nerves, and fluffy hair begging her to play with it while her spare hand trailed up his chest.

Kol's face, when he slept, was impossible to look away from.

She pushed up, enjoying the sunlight coming through the large uncovered windows, seeing him shift at the movement.

MJ's mouth opened.

A different language poured out, whispering, 'good morning.'

She paused.

That wasn't right.

Her mouth opened again, but no matter what MJ thought, the strange words rolled across her tongue like it was all she knew how to speak; Kol smiling, lifting a hand to her face as his eyes slowly opened. Tired. Slightly less hyper than what she was used to. Waking up, tufts of hair out of place, his eyes tended to move slower, body less jumpy.

In the mornings, he didn't have to be seen by anyone but her, nothing to mask, simply existing.

Calm and relaxed suited him, eyes big and warm, focused solely on her.

Today's stillness wasn't that.

"My love."

Again, words MJ somehow understood yet had never heard out loud before.

He noticed the panic on her face, thumb gracing her cheek.

"Kol - "

"What's wrong?"

MJ closed her eyes, clutching the blanket, body uncovered underneath, desperately muttering a spell. Searching her brain for it. Spells that would explain what was going on - yet, it was like she'd had a different education. Something that stopped her from finding the right words.

"Mira," Kol was there with her, "Talk to me."

She jolted up, eyes wide open.

Back in her actual bed.

Well, Kol's.

Grey sheets, balcony door slightly open, familiar architecture just beyond it, and modern lights off overhead. Kol staring up at her, MJ having shoved up from where she slept against his chest, i.e. having practically smacked his skin, panicked heart loud in his ears.

It turned out that she and Kol were incredibly clingy people, especially when it came to sleeping. An aftereffect of their ghost period. Now they could actually make contact, over a year of a bendable and watery connection, they weren't about to stop.

His nose twitched, "Darling?"

"Um," MJ rubbed her neck, ears ringing, "I - uh - "

A breath out.

"Weird dream."

She'd been in a stone shack. Like, something out of history that didn't quite make sense. It wasn't creative enough to be some wild dream of the pair of them being let loose on history; it didn't feel lucid enough for that. It was like MJ had been seeing someone else's life. In skin that hadn't felt right around her.

"Did you have a partner back then?"

Kol shuffled up, half glancing around and sniffing.

"In the mortal years."

"We've talked about that," His head half shook, "Nothing even close to a long-term commitment."

She swallowed.

"...Mira?"

"Just," Her hands came to her ears, trying to tune in, "A weird dream."

There was something in the air.

A smell.

Her first thought was to glance to Basil's cage, half-worried he might've died in the night, only to see his tail grazing over the pet bedding, eyes looking right back at her.

"You were in the family wavelength again," He rubbed his eyes, "Weren't you?"

"I don't know."

It was too settled to be his memories. Too loving – if Kol was being honest about his past relationships.

"It was you," She'd never lie, "Me...in some version of the past."

"Machusla," He almost chuckled, hesitant by how tense she was above him, "The panicked wake-up from a dream about us being happy?"

"It was just a weird dream."

"Okay," He let her snuggle back into him, pecking her temple, "If you're sure."

"My head's a weird place," She was adapting, "Everything's heightened..."

"You'll get there."

She smiled up at him, "Yeah."

The smell wasn't going away.

Her mood was killed, rolling off him, "Why can I smell blood?"

Kol shifted up, looking around too.

Until MJ moved the bedsheets to stand up.

"Mira..."

MJ's eyes went wide, determined not to be a cliché and scream at the sight of blood across her shorts.

"...Is that – "

She grabbed her phone from her nightstand, opening her calendar quicker than ever before and scrolling back a month.

Twenty-three days.

The cycle she'd somewhat gotten back into once her periods had restarted.

She stared at it.

She blinked slowly.

"KKKLLLAAAUUUUUUSSSSSSS!"

He vamp-sped into the room, half-asleep, hands out like he expected a fight, stilling at the sight of red.

His arms came down, confused, "What's happened?"

"Did Hayley have her period?"

He pulled a face.

"Don't do that," MJ rubbed a stained section of her thigh, "That's exactly the type of over-invasive knowledge you or Elijah would've somehow kept track of."

"Funnily enough, given that my daughter had suffered an assassination attempt, tracking Hayley's mood swings post-turning wasn't on my to-do list."

Kol pushed up too, "Mira – "

She was in the bathroom, turning on the tap and searching the cupboards for her leftover pads.

"It can't be your period."

"She is a hybrid," Klaus watched her cautiously, the tap running loudly, "If I can reproduce..."

"I'm calling Enzo!"

THE HERETIC
Five Moments of Interest

"So," MJ sat on the floor in her apartment, "Life updates."

She had her new camera set up, her promotion meaning she'd brought a newer, fancier camera for work things, her one from Ryos used purely for the restarted video entries. Them, and meaningful memories. Photos of Josh and Cami, outings with Kol, her family, and the baby playing in front of her. MJ had the place to herself, taking a moment to reset after three months of time moving faster than she'd expected.

From the start of July to the end of September.

"There's just been..." She shook her head, "...a lot...?"

Given Justin and Hope now playing a role in her life, MJ had brought a play mat and some toys, all laid out, the girl fully focused on trying to balance two blocks.

"Hope," MJ started with the easy one, smiling at her, "She's got a small collection of words."

Her voice slipped into a 'baby' voice.

"May-Baby, now over a year old," Her hand reaching forward as Hope looked at her, "Sixteen months."

Hope crawled over with her two cubes.

"And we're having a little morning together," She explained, "My meetings got cancelled, and Klaus is at his weekly Cami session."

Hope picked up her fingers, playing with them.

"And she's been biting – "

The teeth came out; MJ swiftly picking her up and placing her on her lap before she could dig in.

"Definitely somehow already knows she's related to vampires."

Hope was squirming, "Thwee."

"Free?" MJ looked at her, pecking her cheek, "Okay."

Placed back on the mat, two hands sticking out like starfish to pat the fabric firmly before kicking the cubes.

"She's either biting me or wants to prove she can do the puzzle on her own," She smiled, "So I'm just gonna talk while she has her fun."

"Mirma."

"Mirma, indeed," MJ giggled, "Em-Jay."

"Em," Hope pressed her palm into the cube's corner, "Jay."

"There we go, lovely."

"Em-Jay!" She patted the corner excitedly, "Mima Em-Jay!"

A beat.

MJ letting herself watch the tiny baby giggle at herself, spinning the toy in her hands.

"Um..."

The camera had been pulled out for a reason.

"Look," MJ slipped into Spanish, "Está a punto de ser octuber, y los últimos tres meses han estado ocupados."

It's about to be October, and the last three months have been busy.

If she spoke in Spanish or Mandarin, Hope would tune out, the words too quick for her to attempt to repeat.

"When I was doing this for Ryos, I probably told him a little too much about my life," She'd done daily and weekly summaries, "The best part about the small moments is that they belong to me."

She could have talked for hours about everything.

Her new life routine.

Chats with Whit, her job, Beni and using MiMi Pasare abroad, teaching the young witches, training and running with Marcel, watching the Bachelorette with Cami, and hiding out with Josh drinking homemade cocktails when neither of them were feeling reality too much. Simple walks to get coffee, lie in's and dates with Kol, and getting a family meal – a chance to be a big sister.

"Los últimos tres meses probablemente se pueden dividir en cinco momentos clave."

The last three months could probably be divided into five key moments.

"I got my period?" Her face showed confusion, "Like...What the fuck?"

Twenty-Three days after her last one (as a human), MJ deciding to tackle her list of five in the order they happened.

"I got an ultrasound," She'd had a fun time explaining what that meant to Kol, "I phoned Enzo...so yeah..."

[item one: the period]

"Hello, Sun – "

"Do The Heretics still have periods?"

MJ was sitting on the steps to The Courtyard while Kol sorted breakfast, Klaus sitting with Hope, gently bringing a spoonful of mushy fruit to her mouth, Elijah on his way to hopefully give MJ an answer to her question about Hayley.

Silence on the other end of the phone.

An awkward throat clear, "Um?"

"God," She rolled her eyes, glaring at Klaus, "Periods are a natural thing, and men should ask and know about them. It's not weird. It's healthy. Unless you do it without their knowledge."

"No," Enzo gave her a firmer answer, "They don't."

"Suddenly sure?"

"Surely I would've smelt it?"

"Well," MJ had, "Yes and no. Sure, it's blood, but it's also uterus tissue – "

"Mira," He stopped her, "What's going on?"

"I just got my period," She hissed.

"Are you...sure?"

"Well, I'm not desiccating, and I'm showing no other signs of dying or anything," She needed to run test, "I'll – I'll – "

"I'll ask Lily."

"Thank you."

"It is probably fine," He spoke calmly, "If it isn't? We will figure it out."

"You don't need to – "

"If you're dying, I will obviously be helping."

MJ smiled to herself.

"I will ask Lily and text you any information she has."

"Thank you."

The end of the phone call.

A long breath out.

The sound of Hope cooing behind her.

MJ's features melted as she turned round to look at the baby, "Morning, lovely."

Pushing up from steps to come closer to her.

"Sorry I'm not giving you much attention this morning," She watched Kol reappear with plates, "It's just a period."

"Are we sure?"

"I mean..." MJ had Miranda's books, "Maybe I should've done a few more tests on myself that first night."

Lily's Heretics didn't have them, so if MJ was?

Floare magic was about life...

Somehow, she was having a period, despite being undead.

"This is so unfair," She put her hands out, "The universe could've given me so many weakness's to compensate with the fact I still have magic, and it gives me a period?"

The brothers glanced at each other, both of their lips twitching.

"This isn't funny!"

"I mean," Kol came closer with a croissant, "It is somewhat entertaining."

"It's sexism!" Her arms went up, "What do male Floare siphoners get! There's no equivalent! Like – "

An incredibly dramatic groan.

"The best part about becoming a vampire as a woman is no more periods!"

["it's just weird"]

MJ shifted in front of the camera.

"I got so emotionally attached to my periods, and not having them, in the Prison World, and now I am...like, I – "

How was she meant to explain it?

"As I said," She breathed in, "I booked an ultrasound."

Long story short.

"And I used Miranda's notes."

A week of research.

"And I think I understand, but I also just don't," Her eyes drifted to Hope in front of her again, "The ultrasound was kinda helpful, to be honest. Jordan got me to have one when I started therapy."

Having money to spend on things like that made it all easier.

"To prove that my body wasn't broken beyond repair."

It helped ease the stress she'd info-dumped on Kol that first night.

"Which meant we had something to compare to, giving me stuff to work off."

Magic and Science.

"Enzo has confirmed that The Heretics reacted with complete shock. No monthly check-in's from the red moon."

Hope's head turned back to her, pulling on the part of the mat that could be rearranged like a jigsaw.

"It might just be the two stones of power in me," MJ had to consider it, "Making some weird loophole, overpowering the vampirism."

Hope pulled two of the pieces up and showed her.

"That's amazing," MJ winked at her, them back up to the video, "But I genuinely think it might be a general Floare thing."

"Four-ayy."

MJ needed Hope there to keep her smiling, "Starting with Miranda's stuff?"

The blood texts.

"The vampirism and the Floare kinda seem like they're battling it out inside of me."

The way her blood seemed to bubble when put into the examination state.

"God," She shook her head, "I don't know why I'm trying to give this an order; like, I don't have an actual cohesive order of explanation in my head."

Starting with magic didn't make it easier to understand.

"I have eggs."

They'd found everything in the scan.

"But if I got pregnant, the baby wouldn't be able to survive," She stressed, "Nature may make loopholes, but those loopholes are to make balance. Being able to reproduce isn't balance."

The established deal of immortality?

No reproducing.

Then again...Hope.

"A baby," Her voice went a bit higher again, "Like this little one."

Hope scrunching up her face.

"Would be living."

Hayley had been human.

"But I'd need blood."

Not what babies need.

"Floare need magic to reproduce properly. Asey and Talle literally have rules about it. There's this mentality that if you go mortal, you're helping our species die off."

Saying it out loud to help it make sense in her head.

"I was half-human before. That stuff applied to me."

Two magical parents made a thoroughly magical baby.

One magical parent made a weaker bloodline and a siphoner.

Even if Ryos had seemed anything but weak.

"My kids might not have had magic."

If she and Whit had settled down, as an example. 

The universe would've performed whiplash on itself, taking one of the most powerful witches alive and popping out completely un-enchanted children.

The story her mother had spun upon arriving in New Orleans, believable lies rooted in truth.

"Now...I'm full."

Able to be channelled.

"The gap in my makeup that made me a siphoner was completed with vampirism."

The positive way to look at it.

"My body's all confused. Trying to work out what I am to the natural order – Floare magic celebrating that I now fit their system, wanting me to keep the magic going."

Floare magic was all about life.

It had practically been resurrecting her, cracked spines fixed, showing how powerful it could be when it wanted to preserve itself.

"Davina – none of the witches felt my death."

The big 'huh.'

"My body died, but my spirit never passed – I mean – "

Hope was moving to crawl again.

" – You can sense when witches transition. Yeah, they're still alive, but the magic vanishes or whatever," She really didn't know how to verbalise it, "If no magic 'passed on' from me? The Floare magic makes it possible for me to still reproduce and keep the line going?"

Ancestral siphoners may not have the same benefit, but their continued existence as a species didn't depend on the same things. The enchanted blood was everything. Specialised healing, animal communication, souls and spirits alike, whether living or dead, all enhanced by the magic in her blood.

"Basically," She winced at herself, "The magic is going, 'well, if I'm still here, you still owe me a baby. In fact, you owe me one more than you did before half-breed.'"

Hope reached the end of the mat, hand wrapping around MJ's ankles until she pulled her back onto her lap.

"You are all about being indecisive today," She kissed Hope's cheek, "The problem – "

She needed to get it all out.

"The vampire magic is screaming, 'but you're dead!' In response to that."

The science-side.

"The ultrasound gave me an update on the health of everything down there."

Which had apparently fluctuated during the scan itself.

The nurse doing it had pulled a doctor into the room because her uterus seemed to be switching between deteriorated (dead) and perfectly fit right in front of them. Safe to say that MJ had wiped their memory once they'd given her all the information she'd needed.

"Regardless, I wouldn't be able to provide the nutrients needed to grow a baby; in fact, my diet would make it sick. But if I stop my diet, I desiccate, and it would die from lack of function. Nature's rules still intact."

Hope waved at the camera, following where MJ's eyes were, once again creating that warm feeling in her stomach.

"There's this mythology," She thought about Klaus being a loophole, "There's way more to vampires than ever talked about. Like, the actual mythology beyond the Mikaelson family."

Yes, they may have started all the stories, but the stories had kept going without them.

"Balkan Folklore talks of Dhampirs. They believed that male vampires could reproduce."

A lot of reading happened that week.

"With a mortal woman."

'Living' key to it.

"Female vampires couldn't because they were dead. It's like when I was googling sperm to work out why the little one is possible – it's different in men and women. And, the icing on the cake, making it seem like Dhampirs aren't legend because of the Mikaelson's?"

Developments came from everywhere, after all.

"People believed, meaning they probably witnessed it, that dhampirs could practise magic."

Heretics.

"Sense supernatural creatures."

The quality of a witch.

"Immortality, speed, strength."

Qualities of a vampire.

"Walk in sunlight freely."

Hybrids.

"Control animals."

Floare animal communication.

"And used to destroy other vampires."

Siphoning.

"Balkan Mountains stretching through Bulgaria. Which I know Floare and Travellers had bases in."

Meaning there'd been at least one other creature like her before.

"I mean, it could be worse," MJ reasoned, "I have to feed on magical blood – "

Hope patted her own lap.

"Gonna gobble you up, lovely," She started to attack the baby's cheeks, "Yes, I am!"

Only stopping when she was squealing with laughter, "Mirma."

"I have to do that, yes I do," MJ brushed over her nose, "And I get my period...for eternity."

The universe was a bitch.

"Though, maybe I'm weird thinking they're flaws. I'm sure plenty of people out there would love an excuse to only drink from supernatural people and experiment with vampire reproduction."

Even if MJ was convinced that it wasn't actual reproduction.

Just the Floare and vampire magic finding their middle ground.

"Once that was sorted," MJ untensed her shoulders, "A few days later, we had the next 'big' moment."

Hope leant forward to press her lips into MJ's shoulder the same way she had just experienced.

"With your mummy, Hope," MJ shifted, "Hayley. Say it with me? Hay? Hay?"

"Hay!"

"Leeeee – "

"LEEEEEEE."

"Hayley."

"Hayleeeeeee!"

"Exactly," MJ rubbed her back, "Hayley and The Voodoo Queens...I celebrated a little too soon with the whole 'everyone officially knows' moment."

[item two: wolves and witches]

There were five people, teenagers old enough to start joining the coven their parents were already part of, having a bit of a welcome walk through The Cemetery, then The Quarter, led by MJ, giving them a run-down on what her job was as their elder, and how they could use her. Not everyone wanted or needed lessons, but she would always run them, and more and more people had started to show.

Whether she was in The Lycée, the edge of The Bayou, or The Cauldron.

MJ had unintentionally become incredibly popular with the younger witches by dedicating full lessons to the tricks of magic, the ways to use it to have fun, rather than just how to use it for the ancestors.

The lessons Davina had used to love.

MJ had caught her staring from afar a few times, not trying to join in or learn anything new, just watching her.

Watching it.

Rushing off when their eyes met.

Once the lesson was finished, she had a bit of a long trip back to the West End of New Orleans, walking up to the house she'd only visited once before, feeling bad about coming back. Though, this time, it was different. The door to The Voodoo Queen's House was opened by a different woman – one who raised an eyebrow before clicking who she was.

"Ruiz."

"Hi," She was calmer this time, "How many people are home right now?"

"Just me and Nadège."

"Do you mind if I come in to talk to you?"

"Look, sweetie," The new woman leant against the doorframe, "I'm not letting you in here."

"Okay," She'd tried, assuming they'd have questions, "Then can you please pass on a message?"

"Depends on the message."

"I was killed at the end of June."

The woman froze.

"I had vampire blood in my system. As a siphoner, I retained my magic."

"...Oh."

"They call me a heretic."

The woman bit into one cheek.

"I announced it to the covens, but I wasn't sure if you would've found out through other channels or not - and even if you had, a personal update felt right."

Quiet.

"You need to know about changes like this."

The woman scanned her, "I guess that makes you a hybrid."

"Yeah."

"Hm," She stepped back a little, "I'll tell the others."

"Thank you," MJ smiled, then turned to walk back down the path.

"I have a question."

She looked back at the woman.

"I'm Nephtali - Neph."

MJ nodded, noting the name one Tia had mentioned.

"I went to look around Jardin Gras the other day."

She fought off a smile.

"In the window, there's this French Quarter symbol," She waved a hand, "I couldn't get it to wash off."

"It's spelled on," MJ admitted.

"I want it gone."

"I take that to mean you're taking up my offer?"

"I'm doing it for my heritage," She pushed her chin up, "Not for you."

"Obviously," MJ returned to the door, "You can put up any symbols you want, and I can get rid of it...if you really want me to."

"Why would I want it there?"

"Safety?" She reasoned, "In the city, having that in the window means people know they can't start trouble without answering to me."

Neph lifted her brows.

"It's fully up to you, and if you want me to take it down, I will."

Given the history, it was fair to want it gone.

"But there's nothing to say that both symbols can't be there."

"I'll think about it," Neph decided, "I wanna change up the inside."

"It's your shop now."

"Yeah," She seemed to relax a little, "Sorry you died."

"Honestly...it's kinda nice."

["It was just a smooth conversation."]

"The words didn't feel as heavy," She spoke slowly, arms around Hope's waist, "Whether it's because she was a stranger, or because Neph didn't push for more information, but it was just nice."

Warmth.

Empathy.

"Despite the coldness, everyone but Tia's given me, she softened. And Jardin Gris is finally gonna stop feeling like a gimmick. They're taking it back over."

The settled feeling in MJ's heart, having helped tidy the place up with Neph a few days later, reminded her that she'd made the right call.

"It made it easier to head into the second conversation I had about it that day."

Not that MJ had been scared of telling Hayley and Sam, it had just been...it had been nice to not talk about dying for nearly a month.

["The first full moon after the wedding was July 22nd."]

In The Bayou, MJ was holding Hope, bouncing her on her hip, Elijah with her, standing in The Bayou, waiting for Hayley and Sam. It had been four-ish months, four check-ins, and though MJ had seen Hayley on those nights, she spent most of it with Sam, so he could jump straight into family time, missing them more than anything. Her own family tagging along to two of them for emotional support, Kol making an appearance at the most recent one too

Each visit, Sam was a little bit thinner than the last time.

Consequences of the spell he'd asked for, complete awareness of himself to stop another dead delivery man situation from happening.

Jackson, Sam, and Hayley showed to the regular meeting spot, yanking clothes on quickly, MJ happily moving Hope into Hayley's arms, letting the child babble at her mother. She was showing off all the words she'd learnt, having a very clear understanding of what they were saying, even if she couldn't say much back to them. And if she wouldn't remember it when she was older.

"Baby," Hayley was about to cry.

After about thirty minutes of reuniting, they all relaxed and looked at the slightly uncomfortable Elijah and nervous MJ.

"You two okay?" Jackson said carefully.

Sam was checking his phone, something MJ brought for him every month, staring at the lock screen photo of him and his siblings.

"I'm a vampire."

One way to get his attention.

"Wait," Hayley's eyes were wide, "What?"

"Uh," MJ rubbed her neck awkwardly.

She gave them a quick summary of what Heretics were, not exactly going into how she'd died, other than that it had happened at a wedding, saying she was adapting and doing okay.

"MJ," Hayley handed Hope to Jackson like it was instinct, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"I'm fine, honestly," MJ finally started to feel like she meant it, "It's kinda nice."

She felt whole – magically anyway.

Emotionally, she was a mess, but in herself, she was complete.

"You're a hybrid," Sam winced, "God, Klaus must be having a field day."

"Mira has opted to let Marcel mentor her," Elijah revealed, "Marcel with Kol's inputs."

The wolves all exchanged a surprised but satisfying look.

None of them wanted Klaus to get the best of both worlds – a vampire MJ who could still perform magic for him.

"And, with the upgrade," MJ hadn't told Elijah her other piece of news, "I've got a massive boost in power."

They all went very still.

"I still don't know if I can break the curse," She kept her voice steady, "But I'm working on an anti-moonlight ring."

Sam put the phone away, "A what?"

"A ring that can counter the curse, rather than break it," MJ was loopholing it, "It requires three full moons to power up, which means, in November, you guys will be back to human."

Hayley's eyes were watering, "What?"

"I told you I wasn't going to leave you this way," She reminded them, "I've been working my way through my ideas, and I promise you – this will work."

She was going to make damn sure of it.

"MJ," Jackson was shaking his head as her, Hope grabbing his slightly longer hair, "You're serious?"

"I wouldn't joke about this."

Silence.

"Three moon cycles and you are back on two feet, and," She had another point, "That's just to give you your lives back, you'll still technically be cursed – I figured out what was wrong."

Elijah's body was visibly untensing.

"Dahlia tied her version of the spell to Hope's magic."

"So only a Mikaelson can break it?" Sam assumed.

"Hope's magic is tied to the ancestors," She sighed, "The curse can be broken if they approve of breaking it."

Which meant Davina needed to talk them into it.

And she was currently trying not to address the wolf situation.

"But the rings will keep you upright as long as you wear them, and, unlike moonlight rings," She wanted to clarify, "They will not be tied to Klaus or me. Your pack will be yours."

"Thank you so much," Jackson was staring at the baby in his arms.

"Thank me in November. You've still got three months of this."

"But there's a light at the end of the tunnel," Hayley was clutching her hands, "I'm gonna get my baby back."

"And when you do, I will make damn sure Klaus lets you have your own place."

MJ wouldn't let Hayley run, but she would let her get mad and claim full custody for a few months to give Klaus a taste of his own medicine. Full custody for a few months, then she would physically spell them into a room together and work out an actual agreement they had to follow.

"And are you okay?" Sam asked carefully, "And I don't just mean because you died..."

His face was full of sympathy.

"But like, the Floare magic acted out because you died, are you getting doubly punished now?"

MJ bobbed her head, "Funny thing about that...well..."

How best to phrase it.

"You can't kill a dead body," She reminded them, "The magic still doesn't want me using it, but it's no longer killing me."

"Mirma makes fluerers," Hope cheered, reaching towards Sam from Jackson's arms, making him smile.

MJ laughed, tapping the child's nose with her fingers, "I do."

["you do have such a way with your few words."]

Hope clapped her hands together as MJ whispered the sentence into the top of her head.

"Honestly," MJ looked at the camera, "A way nicer moment than the period one."

Two out of five.

"Though, maybe because you didn't accidentally call me Mama again."

It had only happened once.

"That entire walk in the park was a mess," She rambled, "Kol decided to tag along when I took Hope to the park. Klaus got annoyed 'cos I didn't tell her we were gonna leave The Compound. Found us talking with this other family who'd been sat on the bench next to us, and the pair of them just got – "

Not the time.

"It's not important."

Klaus and Kol being weird about implying things to strangers who didn't know they were asking potentially 'triggering' questions about their relationships.

"It's not one of the five."

A list she was determined to stick to.

"Another nice moment?" She pulled a face, "For me anyway."

She started to tickle Hope's stomach slightly.

"Kol's first dinner with my family?"

[item three: jung family dinner]

Breaking the news to the family that she was a vampire had been a fun conversation, to say the least; Alice absolutely loved it, a little too used to spending time with Josh when MJ was in charge of her. Her parents had tried to react appropriately. They didn't seem to care that she was undead; Serena and Ryan were just stressed that she'd died. Again. Somehow, more traumatically.

Talking them through the wedding had them forcing MJ to sleep at their house for a week post-Kol's protective four days, her dad sending check-in texts every few hours the entire month to make sure she was genuinely okay – not just trying to appear so because she was expected to handle it fine.

Then, MJ started staying at her dad's house once a week.

Playing typical family.

Easy and genuine and nice.

Family dinners and jokes, and after dinner drinks with the adults as they talked to her about things in a way that only people who were proper functioning adults could. MJ never fully understood how so many vampires could be so old yet unadult. Life advice, job ideas – simply watching television together, some shows with Justin and Alice, then less PG dramas Serena loved. Life didn't need to be the drama, no matter how many vampires tried to act like it did.

Or maybe her dad was just incredibly reasonable, making him feel knowledgeable.

Older.

Talking to him about her problems had always been easier, and they continued to be, even if MJ's issues had developed from mean kids at school into trying to reverse a curse on his neighbour's son.

Kol had been pulled into a family dinner, as her dad said he would be, and he'd been on best behaviour to charm them, seeming to work perfectly until Serena and MJ vanished to put her half-siblings to bed while her dad, and he grabbed drinks and moved to the living room.

"You're over a thousand?"

Three words alerted Kol to how all was not okay.

They'd been talking about alcohol preferences! When given free-range, Ryan Jung was a soju drinker but also a fan of white wine, baileys in other beverages, and cider. Not bourbon, funnily enough. Kol's commentary on how his pallet had changed giving an opening to the question.

"Yes."

There was an exact age Kol could've given, but he wasn't about to stress it.

"And you started dating when she was in high school?"

"She was eighteen."

"The fact you added that means you know it's not right."

"Well...no. Actually," Kol tried to keep his defences down, determined to seem calm and acceptable, "The last time I'd been around, it was the 1900s. Eighteen was normal."

"Biologically," Ryan scanned him, "How old are you?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"Not really," He admitted, "Mental age gets used to justify a lot of creepy behaviour."

Kol shifted.

"Whether talking about a young person 'being mature' or an older one refusing to grow up. "

"It's not something I can control."

Silence.

Ryan started to pour the wine for everyone else.

"I am aware it probably sounds bad," Kol still didn't really get the fuss, but he'd seen how other people reacted, "I'm not sure there's a justification that doesn't make it sound worse."

Because, as Ryan had already pointed out, defending it almost proved it was wrong.

"But – "

"MJ gave me a full run down," Ryan had wanted honesty, "And hearing her describe a psychopath who set villages on fire for fun didn't exactly do you any favours."

Kol stared at the glasses.

"But I can't exactly disapprove of you for it."

He tried not to react too visibly, head almost shooting up at the comment.

Ryan lifted one of the glasses towards him, "...I don't like it, but your world is not my one."

He was human, and he planned to stay that way.

"I don't understand it. And it is not my job to cast judgement on it."

There was a bracelet on his wrist, symbols engraved into the wooden beads taking it up – a Tibetan design. Pendant in the centre representing peace. 

"I don't care what you've spent a thousand years doing. I care what you've done recently."

Which was also somewhat less than stellar in places.

"And I care about how you treat my daughter."

"I'm never going to hurt her."

"Can you really make that promise?"

Given his track record, no.

Ryan took the silence as an answer, "I want to get to know you. I want to approve and be happy and welcoming."

Which, until that moment, he had been.

"But," His eyes were calm, but there were clearly a few too many thoughts racing behind them, "As her dad? I do have to say that there's something not right about your relationship."

"If I could change the age and the timing, I would."

Ryan really looked at him.

"I assumed the conversation might drift this way," Kol's coat had been left in the living room, so he quickly moved to it, "And I think I have something that might calm your nerves."

"You make her happy, Kol," Ryan took a sip of his drink, "I said those things because they needed to be said. Now I have; I just need a moment to get used to it."

"And, until you do," He pulled out two silver daggers, "Here."

Ryan stepped back, incredibly confused.

"...MJ hasn't explained this yet?"

"Should she have?"

"It can put me to sleep."

The fear left Ryan's eyes, having momentarily thought he was about to get stabbed.

"MJ has a few of them...these are the two she hasn't hidden yet," Kol placed them on the table in front of him, "I can't really do anything to ease your mind, but as a show...of something."

He'd assumed the worst going into the dinner.

"If you feel unsafe, you can use this on myself or my siblings, and you'll remove us from your life until it's taken out."

Kol had a pot of the ash with him too, adding it to the 'pile.'

"I want to promise that I'll never hurt her and that I'll be better, but – "

"Kol," He shook his head, "I don't want a weapon – "

"But – "

"That just means I'll assume everything you do is performative. Out of fear, I might use it."

Silence.

"I just want to get to know."

Kol paused, brain not quite computing.

"That's the only way I can make a judgement."

Any tension in Ryan's body had faded.

"Because I want to make a good one."

An analysis of the 'uncomfortable' parts of their relationship, so it wasn't the elephant in the room.

"I had been making a good one."

Slowly, Kol nodded.

"Maybe I should be afraid of you and your family, but the supernatural history isn't what matters," He repeated, "Josh is great. I've known Sam most of his life, and he is too."

Kol tried not to get jealous.

"Don't give me a weapon; just show me you care."

"I do."

"Okay then," He pushed the dagger away.

"Keep it."

"Kol – "

"Not because of me."

A shift in the air.

"My family is complicated."

Kol knew MJ was so hesitant about bringing her dad up in front of his family because she wanted to keep him safe. He was entirely in the know; knowledge was power after all, but bringing Ryan up in the heart of the supernatural community was like asking for something terrible to happen.

"They don't affect one of them...but it's smart to have protection."

Ryan finally picked them up, "Thank you."

He was putting them into a drawer to address later, Serena and MJ coming back in.

"Mati wanted me to ask about the breakfast you served the kids last week?"

"I can text you the recipe," MJ loved getting trusted with all the kids, especially since it meant she'd gotten to spend a lot of time with Serena, and Sam's family, helping them out as best she could.

Her brunch sessions with her younger siblings often included Sam's and his mum, them trying to stay connected to him in any way, happy to talk to someone who understood it. And someone who they viewed as good. MJ knew she would have to tell the Mikaelson's eventual, but she could hear Ryos's voice in her ear whenever she went too.

She couldn't prove him right.

She couldn't let the supernatural world kill them off the way it had with the rest of them. Her dad would not become Ric or Carol, or Kol...or him, or her. He would get to live. And he and her siblings would be as normal or as supernatural as they wanted.

["I stand by it being a good night, but Kol was a bit spooked."]

A light laugh.

"My dad now has daggers and a magic stealing gun," She shook her head, "Kol didn't realise I'd already given my dad a way to stay safe...though, we would end up in a bit of a problem if he used the gun on a Mikaelson."

Bye-bye remaining sire-lines."

"He literally believes in non-violence in some partial practice of Buddhism, so the chances of his using them are low."

But he understood why the pair had given him the things separately.

"It was a good start, though. Kol's gone to the past few family outings– and there was the whole work mishap in August," MJ shook her head, grinning, "Leaving him with Alice for a day was one way to get her attached to him. Even if he momentarily thought she was gonna kill him in his sleep."

Kol was slowly accepting that he didn't need to be so stressed about her family.

"Now, we can't see them without her wanting his attention."

Hope's mouth was open, lowkey trying to bite her again, MJ just letting her this time.

This was more of a light placement in her mouth rather than an 'attack.'

["Like, the family barbecue in September was just..."]

MJ had a great Saturday plan. Her therapy that morning had gone incredibly well, leaving her in a good and sociable mood, meeting with Kol for lunch before heading to her dad's house with him. Apparently, he and Serena had a tradition of having a barbecue to signal the end of the American summer in September, and they always tried to put it as late in the months they could. It was still warm enough given how they were in the south, and September could be peak hurricane season, so putting it off as a way for them to relax about the weather.

It had started when they'd first bought a house together, when Alice had first been conceived, and it had been for them and Sam's parents since they'd hit it off as neighbours really quickly.

Sam had always been allowed to bring friends since otherwise, it would've just been him and Spencer; his own mum was pregnant with Jason.

Sam was still a wolf, and they'd considered making the barbecue on a full moon, but he'd asked them not to.

He was adamant their lives had to be kept as normal as possible.

MJ wasn't exactly complaining since Elijah and Freya were coming to more and more of the pack full moon gatherings, and she's still managed to avoid ever having them cross paths with her dad.

Josh had gotten his own invite, bringing Aiden's little brother, Nick, with him.

Mati had somewhat decided she would be taking personal care of Nick after hearing about what had happened with Aiden, knowing that the kids had grown fond of Sam.

MJ and Kol had arrived at the garden, and Alice had run right up to them, jumping onto Kol's leg.

"Hi!"

Kol put on a smile, "Hello."

"You're late," She pressed her face into his jeans, hiding her smile, "That means you have to look after me next weekend."

MJ laughed, "No hug for me."

Alice shoved back, jumping to hug her waist, giggling.

"And is that what dad said - we're looking after you next weekend?"

"Are you?" Rena appeared behind them, carrying Justin, "Ali?"

The kid just beamed up at them, revealing two gaps in her mouth.

"Ali!" MJ cheered, "Your teeth are falling out!"

She frowned, "It's gross."

"It means your gonna get to meet the tooth fairy."

Alice tilted her head, "Tooth fairy?"

MJ nodded, face completely serious.

Alice looked at Kol.

"Tooth fairy," He nodded in agreement, "Vampires, witches, and tooth fairies."

Alice giggled again.

"Hey, JJ," MJ cooed at her half-brother.

"Me-me," He clapped his tiny fingers together, "Hue."

"That's his cue for a hug," Serena lifted him out so MJ could take him, "Hu-g. G-G, JJ."

"G-g," He repeated, using his hands to press into MJ's shoulders, "JJ!"

"Perfect," MJ rocked him a little, looking to his mum, "Do you need a babysitter next weekend?"

"No."

"Mum," Alice complained, "I wanna play on the keyboard again."

MJ bit back her smile.

Alice had been left under her care, which had turned into Kol's care because of work. She'd then come home to find out Kol had bought both a regular keyboard and a kid's version, as well as a kid's guitar, because he's panicked about what to do with her, and she'd wanted to go to the music shop.

"You can play with it whenever you like," She assured the child, "I can teach you to play."

"Yayayaya - "

"Ali," Serena gave her a stern look, "Have you been stealing from the cookie jar today?"

"Maybe."

"Tut, tut, sweetie," Serena ruffled her hair, "There's a lot of sugar in them."

"Dad said I could!"

"Of course he did."

MJ laughed, Justin making a sharp noise at the movement, giving her a reason to stroke his back.

Then Josh arrived with Nick.

MJ half expected Alice to race off to greet them since she loved saying Josh's name, and she loved when he joined in on babysitting time, but she didn't. She just aimed her big eyes up at Kol and grabbed his hand to tug it down.

"I have something to show you."

"Ali."

"Can I show you something?" She corrected.

Kol looked to MJ, "Yes?"

"Yay!" She yanked him away, running as fast as a child could, going to the sliding doors that led to the kitchen, leaving MJ with Serena, Josh and Nick coming toward them.

"Should I be concerned?" MJ asked.

"She drew you something at school," Rena smiled after them, "And she wants Kol's opinion on it."

"Oh"

"Yeah," She nudged into her, "Been excited to see you guys all day."

"Harsh," Josh teased, "Your sister likes your boyfriend more than you?"

MJ just smiled.

"Oh, and," Serena pointed at her, "Ali wants you to take her to her dance class tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

"They're doing a mini show. Wants you to watch."

"Of course."

"Only if you have the time."

"Tomorrow night, Cami and I were gonna watch Catfish, now Bachelorette is over, and drink wine, but other than that, the schedule is relatively free."

Free/Kol.

"You know I'm happy to take over wine and Catfish," Josh patted himself on the chest, "If it overruns."

"I'm sure beginners ballet and jazz will last from eleven a.m. to seven at night."

"You never know."

"Hello!" Jason called, coming through the garden gate on Mati's shoulders.

One family divided, claiming the entire city mirrored them.

Then again, The Mikaelsons had always been a little too focused on themselves to see the big picture.

["It's the energy I need."]

Hope let go, changing from sitting to snuggling, MJ helping her turn around to rest against her shoulder.

"Just like this one," She just loved Hope, "Tiny little positive girl who I am going to make sure has the happiest life."

Because MJ didn't know everything about to hit them.

"...Yeah," MJ looked at the camera, "I am being a little too positive in my list of key moments..."

She could feel the lens judging her for trying to avoid the topics.

"The two major incidents."

As dubbed by most people around her.

"We'll get to my birthday."

A day that had gone pretty well in MJ's book, despite its 'incident' title within the Mikaelson Family.

"Let's start with Ryos."

[item four: the ryos moment]

MJ was lying on top of a thousand hands, eyes rolled back in her head as they pulled at her limbs, walking a line between passing her over the ocean of figures and trying to swallow her inside of them – skin burning. Palm upon palm walking a line between flesh and bone, twigs of body scratching as a scream ripped from her throat, the sound only got knuckles smacked into her cheek.

No matter how her legs kicked, they weren't letting go.

Just blurring skylines, ears buzzing with a million words, features burning into her memory as fire consumed her soul. Not an explosion of gold heat, bursting out like angelic wings to let her fly away, but pain and annihilation wrapping around any craves it could find to leaving a searing tattoo of pain she couldn't escape.

No running.

No thought.

Just floating above the streets as the bodies forced to carry her screamed – victory or madness or mourning undetectable and invisible within each other.

Her body pressed up and into the sky.

Hitting a wall.

Slamming glass.

The stars were not friends or welcoming beacons of safety but eyes looking down at her, MJ's face streaming, sweat and tears trying not to grow stronger with each laugh echoing down from them.

Glass.

Glass –

Windows into the world. Simultaneously trapping her with the living but protecting her from the dead. Yet, she stood on the wrong side. MJ was riding the wave of the afterlife – the chanting and the smell of deterioration streaming up her nose with each smack.

No amount of trembling arms or screams to stop could do anything.

They were screaming.

They were cheering.

They were mourning.

They were burning along with her, flesh melting – that was why she could feel everything. That was why, when her head turned to try and fight, she was met with bones, palm, and sunken eyes looking back at her. Blue tint to everything, exaggerated features turning the crowds into beings that could only move in a manner not quite a wobble. Still, a shove forward of their upper halves triggers them to lean back in stumble so their legs could get further ahead.

MJ forced to rock, drop, and chuck between whoever was still vaguely upright.

The feeling of a cool unmovable object thumping.

Again.

Again.

Beating.

Features squishing and bruised with each hit against it, tugging her clothes up to try and protect her. Wrap her up safely. Hide her in the fabric until everything was noise beyond a wardrobe door; she was being kept from – but there was no keeping. The cupboard was holding everyone, desperate to escape.

To save their eyes.

To save their souls.

It wasn't simply burning.

Burning corpses – MJ knew what a burnt corpse looked like.

No amount of time would erase that image.

This was melting.

Blue fading from the flesh, her eyes caught on the faces now, unable to hide or look away any longer, seeing rosy cheeks start to spill, the red first, not coming from the eyes, more pink, if she tried to focus, like painted cheeks being washed away by a careless child, done with her toy. The shape of smiles, curves of noses and cheeks alike becoming off centre to pour down the rugged outline of the skeleton body – all just dolls in the universe.

Just dolls holding her up.

Singing for her –

Screaming for her –

One voice beneath the aura of bitter beef, popping fat, and flickering wood sparks as the people became less and less real. Bones and wood so alike in her mind.

"MJ!"

Finally giving up and letting her drop, screaming as she fell down the well to –

"MJ."

Her eyes were open, staring at the glass window in The Cauldron, sat on the floor and shivering.

They'd never been closed.

"If you don't say something, I'm gonna have to call someone."

"Thank you."

Cami blinked.

It was three a.m., previously a Tuesday night, technically a Wednesday morning, in July. She'd been asleep in her apartment when her fire alarms had started going off, the microwave on fire, and six missed calls from MJ waiting on her phone. Cami had quickly put the mess out and grabbed shoes to try and find where her friend was sending magic from.

The Cauldron had been her first stop, assuming MJ wouldn't be calling for help if she was at her place or The Compound.

Her guess had been correct. Finding the witch huddled on the floor, locked in a staring contest with herself like the reflective surface was a rare item she'd become enthralled by.

But that wasn't the only concerning thing.

They all knew MJ had a lot of ideas, plans, and things to get done that summer, but The Cauldron usually managed to stay relatively organised. The few bad moments MJ had had post-her transition had been mood lows, a day off work doing exercises pulling her back together the same way it had pre-vampirism. Now?

One wall was covered with sheets, a map in the middle, tracking murders across the streets – specifically large-scale massacres, a collection of them connected through lines. Spots that would turn them into equilateral triangles marked with purple tape. A bubbling sound seemed to grow when Cami stepped towards it, eyes darting to the second window, the one that looked over the café's outside seating area, a large mixing bowl turning itself, steaming in the moonlight. Enchantments engraved and written in chalk on everything around it, whether wooden floors, brick walls, or even the edges of the glass itself.

Cami swallowed, "Are you with me? Or..."

Candles littered the floor, flames all blue, far taller than what Cami considered safe.

"MJ, I thought we all agreed; no talking to spirits."

Not alone.

"MJ – "

"It's not about the spirits," Her voice was whispery, "I can see him."

Cami blinked, taking a slow step closer to her, only for the candles to spark, sending tiny burnt debris to the floor for her to stomp out.

The turn to do so showed her MJ's other wall of papers. While the map was surrounded by extracts from different grimoires and journals, newspapers to check dates and numbers of bodies, MJ's thoughts were left on sticky notes, clear to understand, but this wall wasn't.

At first, it seemed like mainly her own spells, but then it turned into handwriting she didn't know, scientific equations and calculations written in full to examine dosage sizes. Vials on a table beneath the wall holding things she didn't dare tough. Not the blood she was used to seeing her friend carry around. Injection needles and cases of equipment that were far from what Cami would call witchcraft and yet, matched a set-up in a different corner of the room – set-up for dark objects. The science was then replaced with pages from a foreign book, leading to a further thought.

Unlinking.

Unbinding.

The spell for vampirism.

Cami didn't understand the language it was written in, but she could guess from what she'd seen Davina trying to do and everything around that overlapping section that MJ had found a reason to go back to the sire-line herself.

"Klaus got me mad," She muttered, "We're good now."

Cami had heard about the pairs squabble the previous week.

MJ stormed out after he tried to hijack her Hayley Storytime with Hope.

The pair didn't align with how much the baby should know about her mother.

Now, a way to unlink people was back in play, even if those notes were hidden among a million other ones – all more used. MJ's scribbles covered a mountain of dates. Thoughts. Trying to decode and make progress. All were stuck on one wall, pieces of string, post-its, and tape, attempting to explain why it all somehow built off each other.

Cami wasn't convinced it did.

She thought it was a visual representation of MJ's ever-growing and complicated to-do list.

"We should get you to a bed," She decided.

"No."

"MJ."

"I'm fine."

"You set fire to my microwave."

That caught her attention, head finally snapping free to stare at her.

"That's why I'm here."

MJ blinked.

"Did you not mean to?"

Her head shook, eyes welling up.

"It's okay – "

"Cami."

An eerie silence.

"He's here," Terrified hissing, "He's looking at me."

"Who?"

Her head just shook.

"They can't hurt you."

"They can."

"They're dead."

"We don't know that."

Slowly, a sound was growing in Cami's ear.

What appeared to be wind, yet not quite the right tone – off key.

She didn't think the weather could sound off-key before that night.

"You need to talk to me, MJ."

"My brother."

Cami didn't know what to say to that.

The tone now had two layers to it, trying to harmonise but just out of sync. But one note couldn't be out of sync. Sync was just – the words didn't – the feeling of –

Discordance rippling out from MJ, filling the air with a coldness catching in Cami's bones. Sunken darkness replaced warm brown, veins of poison pushing against her skin in a way that wasn't familiar. The feeling of a spider crawling over her skin now that her friend's eyes were on her, the colour of the bug the same overtaking red growing in MJ's eyes as fangs threatened to appear.

It was not vampirism.

It was crawling.

Legs of something inside of her trying to claw out.

"He's in the window," MJ was back to whispering, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the ghastly figure only she could see, "And he's looking at me."

The bug leg cut through her cheek, a metallic green head, and wings, forming like she was a cacoon shell.

Cami froze completely at the sight.

"And saying something."

After the creature, some mix of a butterfly and beetle, had crawled down to her skin, tiny things she couldn't even identify swarmed after it, blood dripping free with each of their steps.

"But I can't hear what."

Her voice went up as she started to cry again, the tears catching the bugs like an ocean, all bursting into flames when they washed off her skin.

Nothing but specs of dust and ash to prove they'd ever been there.

This wasn't punishment for anything; her body reacted in the only way it seemed to know how to anymore, too overwhelmed to perform any grounding routines.

"Okay," Cami started blowing out the candles while MJ rocked onto her side, "We'll figure it out."

A ball on the floor, ice cold to touch.

"You know your brother's dead, MJ," Cami spoke clearly, placing her hands on her side once the candles were out, "You saw it."

As painful as it was to make her think about it, it would break the spell.

"You didn't hallucinate it. You weren't tricked. There is no one hear changing or manipulating your memories," Cami kept her tone comforting, "Just people who want to support you."

"He might have found a way here."

"He wasn't consecrated."

Facts that couldn't be argued by her untrustworthy brain.

"He isn't here."

"But – "

"You need to go to bed," She instructed, "So am I taking you to The Compound, your apartment, or Marcel's?"

Silence.

Silence, and a whoosh, a very sleepy-looking Kol in the doorway, hair out of place, phone in his hand.

He took a moment to take the sight in, raising an eye at Cami.

"Got a magic wake-up."

He bobbed his head in understanding, "Similar."

The curtain on fire, similar pleading for help text messages.

"You didn't need to come," MJ hid her head in her arms, "I thought you were asleep, so I stopped texting."

"I'm always going to come," Kol came closer, "What happened?"

No response.

He sat next to her, "Mira?"

His hand touching her arm had her swaying a little, head hurting like a string wrapped around it, pulling tighter and tighter like she was being shoved deep under water, high pressure.

"Her brother," Cami answered as she somewhat rested into his side, eyes closed, "She can see him."

"I – I know he wasn't consecrated," MJ rubbed her hands over her face, "But I don't know where he ended up, and I swear to you, he is behind that glass, looking at me right now."

For a moment, Cami and Kol looked at the empty window.

They stared at it.

A shiver.

They knew better than to dismiss MJ's witchy moments, but encouraging the spiral wasn't a good idea.

Not at three a.m.

Not when she was clearly overwhelmed.

"And we will figure out where he is after you've spent at least eight hours with your eyes closed."

"I have work tomorrow."

"You don't," Kol kissed her temple, "You have 'sleep until noon with Kol' tomorrow."

She almost laughed.

Except, she didn't want to let herself.

"I'm sorry."

The whisper felt a little broken.

Kol chuckled, "No need to be."

"Kol – "

"I love the plan of sleeping until noon."

It was usual for him; sleep schedule was one of the biggest differences between the couple.

"Neither of you should have to be this present," She mumbled, "Relationships? Friendships? They shouldn't be like this."

MJ just felt like a massive weight on several people's shoulders.

"Friendship is when we go book-shopping or drinking," Cami joined them on the floor, "This is friendship level plus."

"I'm a nightmare."

"I'm doing the same things you did for me when Kieran died."

Slowly, MJ's hands dropped so she could look at her friend.

"You made yourself physically ill trying to save him," Cami reminded her, "And you sat with me that entire night."

MJ relaxed a little.

"Because our lives are insane, and if you don't have someone willing to let you blow up your microwave, what's the point?"

"I'll get you a new one."

"In the morning."

"Okay," MJ took a deep breath in, "Yeah. Okay."

"Sleep until noon?" Kol checked.

"You know I can't exactly escape when you fall asleep on me," She shuffled further into his side, "Your grip is pretty strong."

"As it should," He pulled her to her feet.

"But you've gotta stop doing this, MJ," Cami added softly, "Ghosts aren't good for you."

She just shook her head, staring at the candles, "I felt a presence watching me."

"If it's your brother, you shouldn't risk bringing him forward."

"But what if it's someone else?"

"Who?"

"I don't know!" MJ wasn't about to ignore the universe, "But I – I have this power – "

"Why don't you talk to your dad?" Kol had wanted to ask for a while, "About why you might have this power."

He was glaring at the window.

"You still don't know if something happened when you were a child to set it off or not."

MJ managed a nod.

["We ended up on a weekend getaway... kinda exactly what I needed."

A break.

"My dad didn't know," MJ had asked him before, "But he's starting to think something must've happened while he'd been at classes, or away, or something."

Which meant maybe Ryos knew.

Or maybe Ana was the only person who could've ever explained why MJ was so connected to the dead.

She focused on Hope's breathing.

A tiny bundle of life.

["I would've kept the night between us three, but Cami told Klaus while we were gone."]

Klaus and MJ were sitting in the painting room, Hope on the floor – Klaus working at his easel, MJ sketching from the sofa, and Hope creating a collection of finger paintings Klaus was claiming to resemble various shapes as MJ laughed at him.

"Now that my daughter seems to be happy – "

Hope loved hitting the paper on the floor with her palm.

"Camille mentioned an incident the other night."

MJ had known Cami would probably 'snitch' on her, so she'd been anticipating the conversation.

A bit of a circle of communication started whenever anyone thought it looked like MJ hadn't been sleeping properly, though it hadn't been used in a while. Minor slips didn't need to be announced to the world like she was some doll about to break, but that night?

She and Kol had gone off on their first getaway after it, running off to New Mexico again, deciding to pick a new location to explore every month.

"I got carried away mapping out some stuff, and then it was three a.m., and I was having a moment."

They were both aware of Hope following the conversation as she splattered, phrasing things carefully.

"Mapping things out?"

"Can't explain in PG language," MJ summed up, "Marking a map of the city with points of interest, then cross-referencing with a book I confiscated off Davina connected to my brother. That meant I then went to look at his old notes, then, I swear, I saw him."

MJ hadn't been hallucinating.

She'd seen her brother's spirit.

She didn't know how or why, but she had.

"It was just a bad combination."

He made a careful paint stroke, "And the vanishing act following it?"

"Sightseeing," She twirled her pencil, "A little from the vein feeding but nothing to worry about."

["if only I'd realised how debated our trips would become."]

MJ's face was agitated, soothing Hope's back to stop the kid from mimicking the expression, encouraging her to doze off.

"Though," She let herself sound bitter, "They're only so argued about because of my birthday."

The recording was taking place at the end of September, officially twenty-one.

"Which, again," She pushed her lips out, "Whether it counts as a good or bad moment depends on who ya ask."

A throat clear.

"I thought it was good."

Didn't change the fact it had been labelled 'an incident' by Elijah and Freya. And, possibly Klaus. He'd deliberately played indifference, and MJ wasn't about to ask for an opinion.

"Me and Elijah made up, to be honest, but...just – urgh."

a/n: June to Oct is a long time. So many random scenes got cut cos of debatable relevancy. It hurt, cos, like, Kora moments, but that just means they'll eventually come back in the one-shot book.

Separately, did the period thing make sense?
I've rewritten the explanation so many times now I can longer tell lol

Hope you enjoyed the chapter; comment thoughts and vote xx ;D
Bea <3