When they pulled away, there was silence.

Elijah and Hayley were pretending they hadn't seen anything. Klaus's eyes were closed, and Beatrix brushed her palm down the side of his face.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Should have warned you."

He smiled, remaining in the blissful moment. "Don't be silly, love." He managed to get to his feet, apparently feeling a bit more energized. "Well, I've got to handle Aurora. Make sure she suffers."

"You should rest first, brother," said Elijah.

"No, I will be quite fine," Klaus assured him. "Make sure the Strix are all dead. As for you." He pulled Beatrix up. "You—"

"Wait." Beatrix turned to face Marcel, who was picking up the unconscious Davina. "Please, I just need one favor."

"Marcellus, is this really the time?" said Klaus impatiently.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Davina is going to be really angry with me for ruining this for her. Do you think... you can get Kol back?"

"Yes, I think so," said Beatrix. "I know the spell and I have the power it takes. I'll do it at St. Anne's— Davina has his ashes there."

"Thank you," said Marcel before speeding off. Beatrix moved over and picked up a small flash, dipping it into the pool and collecting the blood of Elijah and Klaus.

"Love, what are you doing?" asked Klaus.

"I'm going to bring back Kol," said Beatrix gently. "For Davina. He deserves to be back, don't you think? A Nexus Vorti was created with this, and I can use it to bring back your brother."

Klaus opened his mouth, but Elijah spoke for him. "What Niklaus means to say is thank you," he replied.

"Yes, thank you," said Klaus. "Beatrix, I will await you when you return to the Compound."

"Sure," she said, smiling at him as he left. "My turn to go. I assume you can clean up here?"

Hayley nodded. "We'll finish off the rest of the Strix. Go ahead."

Beatrix nodded in return and sped off, arriving soon after at St. Anne's Church. She closed the door behind her and went to set up a salt circle, creating runes and sigils into it and sprinkling a few herbs in the center. She set candles up around the salt, humming and waving her hands over the area to prepare the area. "Pripravit iiedad laboro pyinsain, nexus vorti aistiemal."

The candles ignited. She went to the nearby table and took the silver urn of Kol's ashes, setting it into the middle of the circle. She took out the flask from earlier with the blood of Klaus and Elijah, and poured it into the ashes, letting the lid of the urn sit beside her.

"The blood of two brothers, the ash of their dead," she murmured. "The blood of two brothers, the ash of their dead."

She hummed once again, closing her eyes as she waved her hands over the urn. "La sangre de dos hermanos, la ceniza de sus muertos. Le sang de deux frères, la cendre de leurs morts. La sangre de dos hermanos, la ceniza de sus muertos. Le sang de deux frères, la cendre de leurs morts—"

A strong gust of wind had begun, roaring in her ears as she continued to chant. She sensed movement, and cracked open her eyes, yanking at one of the sheets on Davina's bed and throwing it at Kol right as he appeared.

"Bloody hell, why did you have to appear naked?" said Beatrix, getting up.

"Well, I dunno, Trix, maybe it's a rebirth thing," he chuckled as he wrapped the sheet around his waist and stood up. "You should know, you're the doctor."

"I've never helped a woman give birth to a full grown man," she pointed out. She reached out to her right and murmured a few words before pulling a pair of pants and some underwear out of thin air. "There you go— these were yours in 1914."

"I remember that day," said Kol with a laugh as he took them. He turned to face the door to get dressed, and Beatrix turned away to the window. "You were testing to see if your magic worked, and you vanished my clothes for good measure."

The door opened and there was a soft gasp. Beatrix turned to see Davina, facing away as Kol sped to put on his clothes. "I am so sorry," the younger witch stammered, covering her eyes. "Wow— when Marcel told me Beatrix was bringing you back, I didn't think you'd be—"

"Butt naked?" offered Beatrix. "Yeah, I was fucking shocked too."

"Come on, Trix, you're supposed to be a doctor, you shouldn't be weird about this," teased Kol as he stepped out of the salt circle toward Davina. "It's alright, love, I'm dressed. You can turn around."

Davina turned around, but was met with the task of craning her neck up to look at him, though her eyes darted down toward his bare chest, then lower, as if checking he really was dressed. "You're here," she breathed, her cheeks turning pink.

"I'll give you two some privacy," said Beatrix quickly. "Kol, you'll probably need a lot of rest. I trust you two will do well on your own."

She didn't leave them room for protest and instead, sped back to the Mikaelson Compound, where she found Klaus already waiting in her room.

"I assume it was a success?" he inquired. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten back so early."

"Davina can handle him from there," she told him, coming in and shutting the door. "By the way, be nice to her. She's young, and she just wanted him back. It's not her fault the Strix enticed her."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I shall hold my temper as much as my natural self can bear it." He stood and followed her as she went in front of her vanity and started to part her hair so that she could braid it. "Why do you look so worried?"

"Kol's back, I just want to make sure he adjusts," she said simply.

"Liar," he said, coming to stand behind her and meeting her eyes through the mirror as she faced it. "Something troubles you. I can't imagine what it must be. Wasn't the point to bring him back? He is your best friend, after all."

She bit her lip. "I suppose it's weird, Klaus. He appeared naked as a newborn baby and Davina arrived just a minute later."

"Ah, yes, she doesn't know that you and Kol were an item, does she?"

"I don't think she does. Not that we were an 'item,' really, it was just—"

"Just sex?" finished Klaus innocently. "Ah, you don't want her to feel awkward. You selfless thing. What issue will she have knowing he was your first? It's not like it matters."

"I don't want her to feel insecure, Klaus, it's just a common courtesy."

"Perhaps because you know that you and Kol are very comfortable with each other and she might grow jealous?"

"Yes, she might. Does it matter?"

He slid his hands around her waist, and she stopped braiding her hair. She shut her eyes, and he pulled her back against him. "It shouldn't matter to her. After all, love, doesn't she know that you're interested in me?"

She shivered as he felt his breath against her neck. "Are you going to bite me?" she said innocently.

"Come now, love, I'm not into that anymore, not when my bite can kill you."

"Key word, 'anymore—'"

"Why?" he teased. "Do you want me to bite you?"

She opened her eyes and watched him lean in to kiss her neck. "You're in a good mood," she mumbled.

"I can temporarily forget my worries about the magical forsaking of my sirelings. As I recall, you kissed me."

"Yes, I kissed you. And what of it?"

"Did it mean anything?" he murmured as he moved his lips toward her shoulder, tugging her shirt aside to expose her skin. "Are you ready, or not? I am willing to wait as long as it takes. But I will not lie, love, I am rather eager..."

She let out the softest of moans, closing her eyes once more and leaning her head back. "Klaus, are—"

"If you're going to ask if I'm sure," he said as he turned her to face him, letting his lips trail towards her chest. "The answer is yes. If you're going to ask if I feel strong enough after that spell, the answer is yes. If you're going to ask if I'm able to wait longer, the answer is yes."

She whimpered quietly, leaning back into the vanity. "I was going to ask," she said softly, "are you going to take my clothes off properly or just move them around?"

He smirked, and without giving her a chance to cast any sort of Silencing Spell, he ripped her shirt right off and threw her on the bed.

"You didn't need to ruin that shirt," she panted softly as he crawled onto her.

"Yes I did," he answered before tearing off her brassiere. "I can always get you another one, no harm done..."

She was about to tell him to hold back his destructive tendencies when it came to her jeans, but she was too late— he tore them off and broke the zipper.

"I would curse you if I didn't like you so much," she muttered, tugging him in by his hair to kiss him.

"Curse me, and you won't get any of this," he growled against her mouth as he unbuckled his pants.

Beatrix had forgotten what sex with Klaus was like. It was another level of intoxication and bliss. He was anything but gentle. He was impatient, and did not take as much time with foreplay as Elijah did, but he delivered in other ways, which left the Heretic crying out— begging and whimpering as he whispered all sorts of dirty words and commands in her ear. Similarly to Kai, Klaus needed control, and he took it, leaving her so tired at the end that all she could do was fall asleep and hope to regain some energy in the morning.

Klaus was trying not to worry about the sure influx of enemies that would befall New Orleans once word spread. The day after, he did not speak of it, and it was worse because both attracted quite a few stares from Freya, Hayley, and Elijah, who seemed to either be holding back a comment or a laugh. That night, they'd gone at it again, then again the next night, until finally, the morning after that, Klaus had gotten back into his state of paranoia, leaving Beatrix to wonder who it was between them that really needed to do the waiting for the other to be mentally stable enough for another shot at a relationship.

"Niklaus, I'm surprised to see you up and about," said Elijah teasingly. "I thought Beatrix's bed was your new permanent residence."

Beatrix growled and covered her face. Klaus did not laugh. He marked into his study and took a painting off the wall, revealing a safe. He pulled out a wooden box after opening it, pulling out several envelopes. He went to stand in front of Freya, Elijah, and Beatrix, showing them the letters.

Freya picked one up and began to read through it. "You collect trophies from all your victims?"

"Letters to their loved ones, to be specific," mused Elijah.

"It was a phase," muttered Klaus as he began pouring through the letters.

Elijah sat into the nearest chair. "A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth. You see," he faced Freya and Beatrix as they too, sat down, "over time, Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous, we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world. And then... well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discrete. Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?"

Klaus let out an exasperated sigh. "We all saw the white oak destroyed! Plus, this city is crawling with vampires, all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they would die, too. I couldn't have been more safe!" He rubbed his forehead. "But now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me... Like never before."

Freya sighed. "It's only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump into crippling paranoia already? I thought you were doing fine after—"

"It's a default setting," said Elijah, rolling his eyes before glancing apologetically at Beatrix, whose cheeks were a fiery red.

"And for good reason!" Klaus snapped.

"Well, Niklaus," said Elijah, "if it offers you any solace whatsoever, you've ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground, and obliterated every last splinter of the white oak. You might do better returning to your fun endeavours."

"I would be mad to believe that," Klaus responded in a low voice.

"Perhaps you should see a therapist," said Elijah, raising an eyebrow. Klaus let out a soft growl and sped out of the room.

Beatrix glanced up at Elijah. "Every last splinter?" she inquired. "I highly doubt that. Aurora wouldn't have been stupid enough to not take precaution. You know how he gets. I thought he would not dwell on it so much, but... he's not wrong to be paranoid. He's made too many enemies to count."

Elijah leaned back in his seat. "And which of these is he most concerned with?"

"Just because we've been sleeping together doesn't mean that he's been telling me who he's worried about. I've been a distraction to him."

"A very loud distraction," murmured Freya under her breath, who pretended she hadn't said anything when Beatrix glared at her.

"At any rate, he can no longer ignore the looming threat," the Heretic pointed out. "He's worried because he wishes to be in a good place, he wishes to have some peace, but he's far from it, and it aggravates him. So he takes it out on me."

Freya immediately became concerned. "He—?"

"No, no, he doesn't hit me. He just er— fuels himself, in certain ways."

Elijah smirked. "I believe the term is... 'angry sex' nowadays."

"Elijah, you're an ass," said Beatrix, covering her face again. "But yes, that's what I meant..."

"I'm surprised he hasn't snapped you in half yet," Elijah teased. "Or asked one of the servants to repair the bed..."

"He feeds me his blood every time we finish, are you happy?" she said with a cheeky smile.

"Yes, certainly, it pleases me to know that Niklaus can still be a gentleman after he takes his anger out on you, likely taking advantage of your flexibility and your many talents..."

"I'm not as flexible as I used to be."

"Oh, I know that."

At the very least, they could joke like friends. It did not seem as though he was having any progress with Hayley, but he did not seem jealous of Klaus and Beatrix. More so playful, which was fine by her. She missed back when she and the Mikaelson brothers could joke about such things. They always aimed to embarrass her, of course, but nothing permanently harmful. Just dirty jokes.

"Either way, Niklaus has reverted to his normal self," said Elijah, getting up to pour himself some bourbon. "I expect instead of whispering what I'm sure are— what do they call it— 'X-rated' phrases... in your ear, now, he'll speak of only his incessant worries of old foes coming to take their chances against him."

"He has every right to worry. We'll handle it, though, won't we? We're not going to let him deal with this. After all, we're all in danger too, especially Freya, Hayley, and I— we can die much easier."

"We're not going to leave Klaus alone," said Freya, who'd been amused at the previous topic of conversation. "Don't worry. We just—"

Klaus was back, and he looked agitated. "What did I say of enemies?" he panted. "I just saw one. It was him. It was Gaspar Cortez."

Freya sighed. "I assume this is someone from your box of letters?"

Klaus nodded. "The youngest son of a particularly vile family of warlords I dealt with in the 17th century, just before Beatrix was born."

Elijah furrowed his brows. "Didn't they burn that philistine pigsty into the ground?"

Klaus scoffed, looking appalled. "Pigsty? Belaga was my favorite artist retreat! Someone had to pay for that, so I murdered Gaspar's brute of a father."

"And?" inquired Freya.

"And one or two—"

"Five," cut in Elijah.

"—five," finished Klaus, "of his bloodthirsty brothers."

"Don't forget the mistress," said Elijah.

Klaus looked offended. "That was an accident!"

Elijah rolled his eyes and turned to the two women. "The point is that Gaspar was but a footnote."

"Until he became a vampire, hell-bent on hunting me," Klaus muttered. "He's a cunning deviant, known to compel hoards of the helpless to aid him with his tasks. You see, this is exactly what I was concerned about. Devils of all kinds, crawling out of their crevices to strike at me." He paused, listening. "Speaking of which..."

He sped away and Beatrix followed, yanking Klaus back just as he made to lunge toward Davina and Kol, who walked in together.

"What did I tell you?" Beatrix said sharply. "Don't be rude to her."

Kol smirked slightly at this. "Do as she says, Nik, I won't tolerate you going after my girl."

Hearing this, Elijah and Freya came down to the courtyard to meet them. "Hello, Elijah," said Kol with a smile.

Elijah looked pleased to see him. "You haven't aged a day."

Kol then frowned at Freya. "And you...?

"Freya," she replied.

"Right. Long-lost older sister. Speaking of twists and turns in our family tree, where might Rebekah be?"

The Mikaelson siblings shared a look. "That's a long story," said Klaus, looking sideways at Beatrix. They hadn't yet told her about Rebekah— she had told them not to, for safety reasons. "And one reserved for family. Davina can see herself out."

Kol didn't look pleased at this. "Are you—"

"—as per usual," interrupted Klaus, "our family faces a multitude of threats. The sooner you become acquainted with them, the better. I won't have you distracted."

"By Davina?" snapped Kol. "You know, if you could only pull your head out of your—"

Davina stepped in and put her hands on his chest. "Kol, it's okay, I'll go."

"Davina," he started.

"You can make it up to me," she said, turning to walk away.

"And I will," he said, facing her. "Dust off that fancy dress, 'cause tonight we're going dancing."

"Okay," answered Davina with a smile, tiptoeing to kiss him before leaving.

"I'll be in my room," said Beatrix with a small smile. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

And they needed her, soon enough.

Kol had written out a spell for her and Freya to do that involved the burned remains of Klaus's collected letters. The two witches waited beside a large map of the world, pinned down at the corners by white candles.

"Mixing the ashes of these letters with your blood, Nik, will show us where your enemies are," said Kol. He crushed up the ashes with a mortar and pestle. Beatrix handed him a goblet now full of Klaus's blood, and Kol sprinkled the ashes into the goblet. Freya took it together and poured a bit of the mixture onto the center of the map.

Kol handed them the parchment with the spell written on it. "With feeling now, you two."

The two linked hands over the map and closed their eyes, taking a deep breath before beginning to chant, "Calaste piso tal tras es tros. Calaste piso tal tras es tros."

The effect was instantaneous. The blob of blood turned into eleven smaller droplets that scattered across the map without leaving a trail of smeared crimson. Four remained in the North America, three went to Europe, two to Africa, and one in Brazil, and one in what appeared to be South Korea.

"Behold your greatest hits, Klaus," said Freya. "All over the world. But only one is here," she pointed to where one drop of blood resided on the marked 'New Orleans.' "Which means the legion of enemies you were worried about is an army of one."

Kol jabbed his finger in that same direction. "I assure you, this is your Gaspar Cortez." He leaned over the map and with a Sharpie, made a red circle around the city.

Klaus was about to respond when his phone chimed. He looked down at the message and his eyes widened slightly before he sped out.

"He's certainly moving around quite quickly, and quite often in these past few days," mused Elijah playfully, nudging Beatrix lightly as he moved closer to her. "Well, I am off. I shall return promptly."

He left, and Kol raised an eyebrow. "Love triangle again, Trix?"

"No," she replied. "It's just Klaus. Elijah is... wanting to be with Hayley."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "That's not what I expected, but I'm definitely not disappointed. You're good for Nik. I never got to see you both together but Elijah told me quite a bit."

Freya smirked. "Should we start calling you Beatrix Mikaelson yet? The way you and Klaus have been going at it—"

"What is it with all of you being obsessed with discussing the fact I slept with your brother?" said Beatrix, cheeks reddening even more.

"It's fun!" said Kol. "We just—"

There was a dripping noise, and they looked down at the map. The small drops of blood quivered, and began to move toward New Orleans, some faster than others.

"Well, fuck," Beatrix muttered.

Freya let out a soft sigh. "It never stops. Never."