When they arrived to New Orleans, Beatrix thought her biggest worry would be figuring out what to wear for Hayley's wedding.

As it turned out, there were more things to worry about.

"Bloody hell, this same number has called me three times in the past five minutes," said Beatrix, glaring down as her phone rang. They were at the after-party following Hayley and Jackson's ceremony. The Heretic had been standing off to the side, just drinking wine with a very forlorn looking Elijah.

"Usually, when the same number calls several times, they expect you to answer," he said from beside her, glad to discuss anything but the bride and groom.

"Well, they aren't leaving voicemails and I don't know who it is!"

The Original chuckled. "Perhaps it is the friend you were messaging earlier."

"That's impossible, unless I got hacked and Twitter gave away my phone number. Ugh, fine, I'll answer it..." she picked up the call. "Who is this?"

"Finally you answer, Trix!" came an unfamiliar voice. "I've been trying to reach you!"

"Who is this?" Beatrix repeated.

"It's Bex! Klaus gave me your number. You need to get here right now. Lafayette Cemetery, the Claire tomb. Bring any grimoires you have."

"All my grimoires have been long gone," huffed Beatrix. "What's going on?"

"Kol is dying."

The statement made Beatrix stagger back, nearly dropping her glass to the floor. Elijah caught it swiftly, furrowing his brows. "I-I'm on my way," Beatrix said shakily, hanging up and speeding off.

It didn't take her long to get to the Claire tomb. "Hello?" she called. "Bex? I'm assuming you're here with Davina? And— oh crap."

Sitting in a chair was Kol, his mortal body looking weak, and covered in sweat.

"What the fuck happened?" she hissed, rushing to his side. "Kol— you're all pale... who did this to you? What's going on?"

"Finn hexed me," he said weakly. "Trapped me in this body and I'm dying."

Immediately, Beatrix put one hand on his forehead, and one on his chest. Beginning to siphon. Kol gave out a grunt of pain, squeezing his eyes shut. There was a sound like the cracking of a whip, and Beatrix flew back, hissing as her hands burned.

"Finn's blocked me from siphoning it away," she grumbled. "He must have put that spell when he was still channeling Mikael."

"We have to do something," said Davina desperately, coming closer and holding a book in front of Beatrix. "What about this? Transubstantiation. We can combine it with a protection spell."

"Finn's spell blocks that," said the woman that Beatrix assumed was Rebekah. Definitely didn't look familiar. "The body calls it, and then he dies. We need to jump him into a new one."

Davina let out a frustrated groan. "We can't just pick another body at a farmer's market, we don't even have a spell for that!"

"We can try to take the hex off another way, but it will take a lot of power, and there is no guarantee it will work," said Beatrix slowly. "I worry that Finn covered his tracks too well, and he's thought of everything we could do. We'd need more ancient magic to counter him, but only Rebekah is as old as him. And even then, you didn't study magic while he was daggered."

Rebekah bit her lip. "Isn't there anything dark you could try, Trix? Kol always did say you had a better aptitude for that."

"I could try it," she said. "Please, help me set up candles and salt around him. We also need something to sacrifice."

"I'll find something," said Davina, rushing out as Rebekah helped Beatrix pull Kol to the ground.

"S'too risky, Trix," said Kol weakly. "Could poison you."

"It won't," she promised. "We have to try everything."

Once they set him down, they put candles all around him, and created a wide ring of salt over his body. Davina returned with a dead cat, which smelled terrible.

"Someone just ran over it," she said sadly. "It was convenient, but sad."

"It should work," sighed Beatrix, taking the cat and grabbing a knife, cutting through its middle, and spilling blood into a bowl. Once she had enough blood, she set the cat down onto the dirt, and waved her hand to bury it. She took the bowl and knelt beside Kol, dipping her fingers into the blood and creating an 'X' on his forehead. She stood and went to find some of the other stored ingredients, grabbing some roots and bringing them into the bowl. She dipped them in, letting her hands become covered in blood.

"Breathe, Kol, it's very important," she said, closing her eyes, and humming. "Adsicco." The blood dried around her hands, and she let them hover over his body. "Odstranit trencar roztříštit, fosc kletba netejar venenum duše. Odstranit trencar roztříštit, fosc kletba netejar venenum duše..."

Kol let out a pained yell, but Beatrix kept her eyes shut tight, trying to concentrate. She could feel a tug in her gut— the spell was adequate, but Finn had certainly mounted some very powerful defenses.

"Odstranit trencar roztříštit, fosc kletba netejar venenum duše..." she chanted, the fire of the candles becoming hotter. "Odstranit trencar roztříštit, fosc kletba netejar venenum duše..."

"His eyes are bleeding!" screamed Davina. Beatrix stopped immediately. "Cessare! Kol— Kol can you hear me?!"

He coughed and nodded, his body trembling as Davina broke through the salt to pull him up, removing the blood, which had stopped streaming out.

"Fuck," hissed Beatrix, waving her hands to make the candles return to their place. "Finn's rooted it deep. We can't break it without killing him..."

"B-But if we don't break it, he dies," said Davina, her lip trembling as she pulled Kol back into his chair.

They were at a loss, and the imminence of Kol's death was becoming all too real. The three witches tore around the tomb looking for anything that might yield a solution. Nothing was working and he was getting weaker after every attempt. No matter how often Beatrix tried to siphon it away, she couldn't hold on for long. There was no spell that seemed to be helping at all.

"Bex, Trix," said Kol softly, looking up at the three women after the millionth failed attempt to save his life. "Can you give me a moment alone with Davina?"

They nodded and walked out of the tomb. "I don't think anything is going to work," murmured Beatrix. "He knows magic better than all of us. If he knew the solution, he'd have said something already." She put her hands on Rebekah's shoulders. "Go get your brothers. I'll remain here with them. If they don't want to come... I'll be giving them a very painful experience when I return to the compound."

Rebekah left, and Beatrix let out a pained sigh as she peered into the tomb and saw Kol and Davina dancing slowly, music playing from the gramophone that was nearby them. Beatrix could see them crying, and it was a terrible sight.

Even with such a limited time seeing them both, she knew how much they meant to each other.

She watched them move, whispering things to each other that she did not attempt to hear. Kol's body was trembling, and he looked ready to collapse, but he was forcing himself to remain upright.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see that Rebekah had returned with Elijah and Klaus, who had very serious looks on their faces.

"Should we go in now?" asked Rebekah quietly when she saw Kol pulling away from Davina.

"I think I want to be alone for this bit," he told her, starting to cough loudly, and sinking back into his chair.

"I'm afraid that's not an option," said Elijah, choosing that moment to go in. The siblings followed, and Beatrix went in last.

"'Always and forever' is not something that you just weasel out of, brother," said Klaus, offering Kol a small smile as they surrounded him, kneeling to his level. He started to bleed from his nose and mouth, coughing again. Beatrix moved forward and pulled him to lay in her lap, stroking his hair gently while Davina rushed over to grab a necklace she'd been trying to spell to protect him.

"All my life, all I ever wanted was for you lot to care about me," said Kol softly, beginning to laugh but doubling over in another coughing fit. Elijah rubbed over Kol's back gently, while Klaus helped hold him firmly, and Rebekah took his hand tightly, her eyes teary.

"Kol, listen to me. You don't have long. You're going to die," she whispered. His lip trembled and tears began to roll down his cheeks. Rebekah gulped and squeezed his hand. "But you will die a witch, and we will consecrate your body. You will join the ancestors of the French Quarter, and those spirits can be brought back. And, I promise you, brother, I will not leave this body until I find a way to bring you home."

Kol smiled up hopefully, but just began to cough harder. Beatrix brushed the hair out of his forehead, fighting back the need to cry. This wasn't fair. She hadn't gotten enough time with him after she heard he was alive again. This was wrong, and he shouldn't have had to be in that predicament.

Davina rushed back to his side, holding the necklace and bringing it to Kol. "I-I tried a different spell," she said desperately.

Kol took her hand slowly. "It's okay," he managed hoarsely. "I'm not scared." He let out a very quiet laugh, then went still. Beatrix swallowed hard and closed his eyes, hanging her head as she heard Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Davina begin to cry audibly, not caring to hide their pain anymore.

_

The following days were terrible.

It seemed only Davina and Beatrix were grieving. The poor young Harvest witch was in a flood of tears, manic and sleepless inside the Claire tomb, trying to find ways to bring Kol back from the dead. She and Beatrix had consecrated him, and lain him to rest, and while both were trying to figure out how to restore his life, none was working harder than Davina.

"You need to eat," said Beatrix on the fifth day, when she saw how weak the younger girl looked. "You've been cooped up here for too long."

"I can't eat, I'll throw up," she murmured, going through yet another grimoire. "I don't feel well. Just eat it yourself."

"Davina, we need to pace ourselves with this. We have to make a plan, split the work."

"Well it's going to take too long to do that!" she said impatiently. "Rebekah is supposed to be helping and she's off shopping or whatever! And Elijah and Klaus are worried about anything else— it almost makes me wonder if their crying was an act! They came and held him and didn't show their stupid faces much often after that."

The Heretic winced. She knew Klaus was dealing with matters of protecting Hope. Elijah was moving into a new place in Algiers to be away from the compound, since Jackson was living there now. Of course, she also thought that perhaps the brothers had acted performatively when it came to Kol. They'd never really gotten along before. She knew they most certainly cared, but she also knew that he wasn't their priority at the moment.

"We'll figure something out, Davina, I promise," said Beatrix. "But please, you need to stay healthy. Otherwise you won't be strong enough to perform the spell when we find it."

Against her will, the girl moved forward and dug into the cheeseburger that Beatrix had brought, wrapped in tinfoil.

"At any rate, at least you're helping," muttered Davina, shaking her head. "The others could care less."

"Ah, we don't need them. I'm sure that combined, we'll have enough power to do this ourselves."

Later that day, Beatrix found herself absorbed in planning.

Klaus had told her that she should feel free to work at her own pace, and that she needn't feel obligated to help them with anything if she didn't want to. He knew how much Kol meant to her and that she needed to feel her grief separately.

Thus, Beatrix tried to be productive amidst her pain.

She had repainted her room, and put the paintings up again, including the one Klaus had made for her. She'd used magic to fix her mattress and other bits of damaged furniture. She'd finally gotten around to going into town to donate all her old clothes, and was able to sell several things that she'd purchased in the past and were now useless. She felt better having put some proper money in her pocket.

She was taking a break around midday with a lemonade in hand when her phone buzzed. Another message on Twitter.

"Trixter, guess who cried for the first time today?" Crying emoji.

Rolling her eyes, Beatrix typed a response. "Don't tell me you spontaneously gave birth to a baby."

"Funny. Do you think we can talk on the phone?"

"IDK if I trust you enough to give you my number."

"Just hurry up and send it."

Against her better judgement, she did as he asked, and within seconds, he was dialing her number.

"Hello," said Beatrix out of habit.

"Hi, this is Dr. Parker calling to tell you that you're pregnant," he cooed playfully on the other end.

"You are so stupid," said Beatrix immediately.

"I may be stupid but I wasn't kidding when I said I cried," he said, sounding amused. "I think I got screwed over with positive emotions after I absorbed Luke."

"Oh, joy, you're finally feeling some empathy," she said, cracking a small smile. "Maybe you'll be more tolerable that way."

On the other end, Kai laughed. "You're just itching to come back to me, aren't you?"

"Ew, don't flatter yourself."

There was a sound like he sipped some sort of drink, and let out an 'ah' of satisfaction. "So, what are you wearing right now?" purred Kai, and Beatrix could practically picture him wiggling his eyebrows.

"Clothes, like any sane person. Did you really just want to call to be gross?"

"It pains me that you are so adamant about denying your obvious feelings for me, Trixter."

"Kai, we spent eighteen years trapped together. We killed each other too many times to count, and eventually, we had to tolerate the other because otherwise, we would have lost it and not been mentally stable enough to get out. As I recall, I taught you a lot of magic. So I don't know if you should be harassing me right now."

"Harassing you? Wow, that really does make me sound like a dick..."

"You are one."

"Hmm, sure. We'll put it that way. What's up with you and Elijah, then?"

"Literally nothing."

"Oh, come on, surely you can spare a few details. I would think that after fantasizing about him every time we had sex, you'd have actually managed to procreate."

Beatrix rolled her eyes. "That's not true, Kai. But believe what you want. I know you're having fun thinking you're hitting a nerve, or something. I'm unfazed. I'm..."

She was going to say 'happy' to rub it in his face. But she was anything but happy. She had slept with Elijah once and now, they acted as though nothing had happened. He wasn't close by anymore. He was never going to get over Hayley, not fully. Kol was dead and poor Davina was going to lose her mind obsessing over how to bring him back. Hope was not as safe as they'd like her to be. Freya was still a threat, as far as they knew.

"You're miserable," finished Kai. "I know you. I know how your voice changes when you're actually enjoying something. Whatever it is you're up to, you hate it."

"I don't hate it." This was fact, at least. She very much disliked the bad parts, but she felt good being near Elijah and Klaus again, seeing Rebekah and Marcel had a chance once more, and knowing that Hope had been blessed with a mother as amazing as Hayley. Even though Kol was dead, there was most certainly a chance to bring him back. So no, she did not hate her predicament. She just wasn't happy.

"You're lying between your teeth. Come on. Tell me. For old times' sake. Before, you could never stop talking."

"It was really different when you were the only person I could talk to, Kai. I've already seen a psychologist. Or, at least, she's a future psychologist. I'm coping."

"See, this is weird for me to say, but I feel something, and it seems to be worry. I'm perfectly pleased. I'm getting everything I wanted. You were my only source of entertainment, so I listened, and I know for a fact that you're not getting what you wanted. So, spill."

It was so strange to hear Kai speaking like this. But she knew that this was authentic. A slightly better ish version of him born from his merge with his younger brother.

She sighed and leaned her head back, and pointed her hand at the door. "Fuscus silencio."

"Ooh, you're going to get into some juicy details," said Kai eagerly.

"Shut up. Elijah and I only slept together once and it was a mistake."

"Ouch, was he that bad? The way you talked about him, you were making me question my sexuality, thinking to get a piece of what you referred to as a 'fine specimen of a man.' Yikes for Elijah. "

Beatrix let out a soft laugh. Okay, that had been funny. "I never said that it was bad. It's just complicated. There's another girl. Except she's married now, and her daughter's father is Klaus."

"That gave me a fucking headache. What about the other family members?"

"Marcel is doing well, but he's busy. Kol... well, he ended up being alive in a witch's body, but then, he died. A few days ago, in my arms."

There was silence on the other end. She wondered if perhaps, Kai was feeling some sort of sympathy.

"That sucks," he said quietly. "Um... I'm sorry? I think that's what people say. I know you got a little... out of hand last time you heard Kol died."

"I can't lose my head this time. There might be a way to bring him back. I just need to find it."

"Your life sounds absolutely terrible right now, Trixter. Come back to Mystic Falls. We can have some fun wreaking havoc. Canoodle."

Beatrix snorted. "Canoodle? I think absorbing Luke left you delusional, Malachai."

"And there you go, making me murderous again. I'm still a sociopath at heart, you know. I can very easily kill you. I've done it several times before."

"Yes, yes, we've been over that. Thank you very much. Whatever."

Kai sighed, but then chuckled. "You're just as annoying as over. I'm serious, come join us in Mystic Falls. We can—"

"Itza?"

Beatrix shot up as Elijah's voice came from behind the door. She waved her hands to undo the silencing spell. "Um— what do you want?"

She had forgotten about Kai. "Ooh, your real name is Itza," said Kai with great interest. "That's hot. Not hot enough to moan out, I think I'd rather call you Beatrix when it comes to that—"

Elijah opened the door, raising his eyebrows as Beatrix hung up immediately. "Who were you talking to?" he said curiously, feigning innocent interest. But Beatrix knew the look on his face. He was focused. Jealous.

"Um, just the acquaintance from before," she said simply.

The Original came closer, glancing around the room as if to evaluate it. "For an acquaintance, he speaks an awful lot about intimate things. I couldn't hear anything before, but I assumed you were inside. Silencing Spell? For privacy, I presume."

"I just needed to rant," she said, not thinking this need to become an issue. "I thought you weren't going to be around much."

"No, I wasn't intending to. I simply needed to have a more upfront conversation with Niklaus." He stood at the edge of her bed, staring at her. "You know, Itza, you are allowed to be with anyone you'd like. I will not stop you."

"I'm not with Kai," she muttered, standing up and going to the window to open it.

Elijah's face grew with a knowing smirk. "So that is Kai. The man you were stuck with in the prison world."

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. We just have a similar agenda for the near future, it's fine. Doesn't need to be a thing."

"I was merely curious, Itza, I didn't mean to come off as nosy," said Elijah, though the hard tone in his voice suggested otherwise.

Beatrix looked back at him and raised her eyebrow. "I never would have said nosy. Intrigued, yes. You haven't met Kai, and from what I've told you all about him, you have reason not to like him."

"I would never trust him with you, that is for certain. He sounds rather heartless."

"He's a sociopath, darling. But he's not much different than any of you. Just a lot more modern. He lacks any sort of Mikaelson elegance. And he's still human."

Elijah was beside her within instants, his hand under her jaw, tilting her face up to look at her. "Do you desire him?" he asked, glaring intently on her and expecting an honest answer.

"No, I don't. Not that it matters— he's got no capacity for romantic attraction."

The Original narrowed his eyes slightly, as if not believing her. "Then who do you desire?"

The Heretic turned pink. "Come on, 'Lijah," she murmured softly. "You know the answer to that. You needn't get jealous of Kai."

He moved to pin her back against the wall. "Cast your spell again," he said, his voice low.

She gulped, seeing his eyes darkening. Lust. Annoyance, perhaps, that things were not simpler. She knew Elijah was conflicted— he wanted two women, one much more than the other, but that one was now married. So of course, he seemed to be settling for her, the one that was available. But this didn't feel real. In fact, Beatrix felt hurt. Maybe she was looking too deep into it, but it felt harsh.

Beatrix drew a lengthy breath. "I don't want to start something if I'm just going to be a rebound for its duration. I'm not stupid. I know you would rather be with her. If Jackson wasn't in the picture, you would be. I don't want to be your plaything while you wait for some terrible fate to befall the werewolf Alpha. If you're not going to be committed to this, then I don't want you toying with my feelings. I just lost my best friend and I intend to bring him back. I don't want there to be problems between us while I'm trying to bring back your brother."

"It doesn't need to be a problem," he said, his other hand coming around her throat. She closed her eyes, trying to suppress the feelings of need.

"Last time was a mistake," she said quietly, trying to focus on anything else— her phone buzzing, for instance. Kai was likely calling back. "Elijah, I know exactly what you're feeling right now. You're jealous. You have the same look on your face that you did when I was with Kol and when I was with Klaus. You're jealous of Jackson and Kai. The latter, I don't know why, but I can tell that you are. Please... if this isn't going be serious then I don't want us to sleep together again."

For a second, she was afraid she'd triggered him. Angered him all over again. His jaw twitched, and she flinched a bit when he didn't immediately remove his hand from her throat. But finally, he stepped back.

"I apologize, Beatrix," he said calmly. "I am not myself, and I do not wish you any animosity. I will leave you to converse with your... acquaintance."

He sped out of the room.