When Davina had walked into The Compound to help Cami, she'd found Kol flicking through his old journal, reading the commentary MJ had written around the pages. He could hear her voice in his head, meaning he was grinning at the page.

His favourites were the notes written as responses to his own running commentary.

Then, he and Davina had stood over a small cauldron, filled with a potion he'd already prepared, holding a large straw puppet from the collection of creepy magic objects in the house. The puppet had a drop of Cami's blood added to it, used to represent her.

As they chanted, taking turns to say a line, they dipped it into the cauldron.

"Protéger Sa Scandalum Subsisto."

"Se Pa Toi Inquia Subsisto L'écoulement."

"Subsisto Venenatis Impedit L'écoulement."

Once it was finished, the doll was placed on the table.

"I'm worried it's not enough to protect Cami's body from Esther's magic," Davina admitted.

"It'll work," Kol shook his head, "MJ's version of the spell factors in a far more powerful foe than the original, i.e. perfect for my mother."

"You love her," Davina awkwardly stepped back, "Right?"

He shifted, "I care about her a lot, yes."

The Mikaelson 'if you love someone they'll get killed' ran deep in him.

In Davina's head, she was comparing that reaction to MJ's when she'd asked about Klaus. The bluntness of the 'no' versus Kol's correction and nervous look away.

"You can't have been dead for a year and still smile like an idiot at the thought of her - unless you love her."

"We've never even been on a date," He wanted to end the conversation.

Davina's mouth opened, "What?"

He didn't respond.

"Never?"

"Depends," He backtracked, "Does rushing around a town in another country count as a date?"

"Context?"

"Klaus took her to Italy."

"Um...why?"

"Technically, he kidnapped her," He waved a hand dismissively, "Ran into me. We ditched him to have...fun."

"Doesn't count."

"Well – "

"If it involves kidnapping, it definitely doesn't count," Davina wanted to laugh, "Next?"

"New York?" He thought about it, "She invited me, technically to keep me occupied and away from her friends but – "

"Then it doesn't count."

"We went out and did normal things and everything!"

"Can you two stay on topic?" Marcel stormed into the room, "If not?"

A false smile targeted at Kol, not Davina.

"I can always lock you up in a coffin with your brother Finn," His sarcastic bravado kicked in, "If you'd prefer."

"I'd prefer for you to bugger off," Kol glared, "This spell needs time to cook in peace."

"Cami doesn't have time. Esther can jump anybody into her body right now."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but she's not going to jump anybody," Kol stood up straighter, "She's going to jump Rebekah. Who just happens to be miles away, but, fair dues, Marcel."

Could they get through a conversation without taunting each other?

"I think I'd be a bit testy if my old ex was about to jump into my new ex," He nodded with false sympathy, "I think that would be a bit, uh..."

"Awkward?" Cami walked into the room.

"I was going to say kinky," Kol shrugged, "But – "

Marcel vamp-sped to grab the collar of his shirt, only to be yanked back by Cami before anything too violent could happen.

"I appreciate the chivalry, Marcel. But he'll have an easier time protecting me if he's alive," She then raised a challenging eyebrow at Kol, "And I don't think it's as bad as your mother going into your girlfriend, which was her original plan."

"Touché," He tilted his head, "Though, it never actually happened. And it won't be happening."

"And this won't either," Davina added, trying to reassure Cami.

"It won't if you two keep working," Marcel huffed, walking off, Cami just behind him.

Davina counted down from five on her hand, having picked up the habit from MJ, even though Marcel was a vampire, so could hear them anyway.

"What is it with you two?"

"Complicated family relations," Kol summed up.

"Well, MJ and he are friends," Davina reminded him, "Cami and her too. So you should probably play nice."

"MJ gets it," Kol countered, "She's seen the family dynamic; Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah. Always a party of three, no room for me – but always enough room for Marcel."

Davina started to clean up the herbs and salt from the table.

"She's not going to force me to play nice after a century of playing odd-man-out in my own family."

"Are you sure?" Davina brushed her hands off, "Her and Klaus are...close..."

The word was being picked carefully.

"Like, a lot closer than they'll ever admit. But we've all seen it, and...I think you need to know that."

Kol swallowed uncomfortably.

"She was his 'date' to every event," Davina wasn't entirely sure why she was saying it, but she couldn't stop herself, "They gave joint presents at the witch festival."

He glanced down.

"People don't just think two people are dating unless they seem like they are," Davina wasn't looking at him as she spoke, "She's not going to be okay with your dagger idea."

"I already told her about it," Kol tried to focus on what MJ had said about the situation, not the vibe he was getting from everyone else.

He couldn't get possessive until his mother was out of the picture.

Plus, he'd seen the odd tension on her face after he'd kissed her nose. He needed to figure out what had caused that reaction before he got jealous. Out of the potential reasons, he was really hoping the possession situation made her feel awkward. That was something he could work with.

Learning she'd fallen in love with his brother, he couldn't.

At the end of the day, he just kept reminding himself that she'd sent Klaus away to spend time with him.

"You did?" Davina asked, nervous.

"She's read through the book enough times," Kol tapped the journal, "She assumed we were making it."

She relaxed slightly.

"MJ's developed some kind of attachment to my brother, so what?" Kol fiddled with the cover, "She still understands why the dagger needs to be made. Even if she wouldn't make it herself."

He wanted to change topics before the jealous and untrusting part of his brain beat up the reasonable side too severely.

"You know that diamond I showed you?"

Davina nodded, "Mm."

"Well, that was the baby version. The one we need to do the dagger spell? That has to be a lot bigger," He got back to the point, "A hundred years ago, I had it in my hand. Marcel ratted me out to Klaus, and they took it."

He lied about the details.

"He probably kept it stashed somewhere."

"Do you think we'd be able to find it?" Davina smiled, "I mean, Marcel's already on edge. If he catches us..."

"If he catches us," Kol rubbed his hands together, "He's not exactly going to hurt you."

Davina paused, then nodded quickly, "Let's go snooping."

She finished putting things back in MJ herbs case, then let Kol lead the way, the pair of them spending the day talking about his past with the city, about magic, and getting into a groove closer to an actual friendship far quicker than either had initially anticipated. Then again, Kol was leaving some details out. Certain Marcel details, and certain Rebekah one – but that was neither here nor there.

~***~

The car ride had been emotional, Klaus and Hayley finally able to truly catch MJ up on everything she'd missed while 'dead.' They'd faked their child's death to keep her safe, compelled away Marcel's memory of saving her, with his permission, and then handed her over to Rebekah to look after.

She'd been called Hope.

Hope Andrea Mikaelson.

Klaus's choice.

God, the Mikaelson's really did have a way of hitting MJ hard in the emotions.

There were a few distressing conversations in the car too.

Specifically, the bombshell of Hayley marrying Jackson to free the wolves from the witches.

MJ did suggest making alternate moonlight rings, but the wolves were done with that type of stuff. They wanted complete freedom, and Hayley had complete freedom when it came to turning. The union would magically join Hayley and Jackson, so his heart and soul would mirror hers, and all the wolves present would be able to control their shifts too.

And they needed to tell Elijah.

Who'd had his mind screwed by Esther, stuck drifting in and out of a 'Red Door' mental state.

Klaus had been speeding the entire journey, causing them to skid into a driveway.

Suddenly all the problems seemed to disappear.

Klaus hadn't even stopped the car, but Hayley was leaping out of her seat, sprinting to Rebekah and Elijah.

They were waiting to greet them on the porch, Hope Mikaelson in Elijah's arms.

Klaus was right behind her.

Hayley stopped at the steps, staring up at the baby girl like she couldn't quite believe her eyes.

MJ wanted to wrap Hayley up in a blanket with her baby till nothing could hurt them. She'd watched how much Hayley had grown to love the kid during the pregnancy, and the fact she'd then had to give her away, after all the fighting, and pain, and attempts on her life, was just plain awful.

Elijah and Rebekah both smiled – Elijah wasting no time handing the baby over to her mother.

Everyone was just radiating happiness, something MJ had never seen from all of the family at once before.

It was perfect.

"Hi," Hayley spoke, on the brink of crying, hugging Hope tightly as relief coursed through her body.

MJ nudged Klaus next to her. He was frozen, tears in his eyes too.

She rubbed his arm, nodding her head with an encouraging smile.

Hayley clocked the reaction too, turning so Klaus could see her.

Hope's arm reached out as she cooed.

God, MJ had never understood the appeal of having a small child until then.

Klaus hugged Hayley, hugging Hope, both kissing her head over and over, a bundle of infectious love.

"Not to take away from this beautiful moment, but," Rebekah looked to MJ, laughing and opening her arms up, "I'm delighted you're not actually dead."

MJ hugged her, leaving Elijah the fifth wheel in the situation and pouting sarcastically.

"I was dead," She clarified, "I just escaped."

"Avoiding life's natural course," Rebekah started to tease, "Careful. You're becoming like us."

MJ rubbed her neck, eyes momentarily meeting Klaus's.

An unspoken agreement.

He'd told Kol and Marcel more specific details about the situation to make his point, but he wasn't going to tell anyone else. Not unless MJ wanted to talk about the fact she hadn't wanted to come back to life.

"MJ," Hayley grabbed her attention, "Meet Hope."

"I love her," MJ stretched out her hand to the baby, whose fingers started to poke her palm softly, "And I completely understand if you need me to wipe all this from my head afterwards."

"You see," Klaus smiled, "That is one of your benefits. You can't be compelled, and you know how to kick people out of your head."

"I do well protecting myself," MJ couldn't look away from the child's face, "What can I say?"

She had kept Kai out of the good memories.

She had done that.

And she wasn't exactly about to let anyone untrustworthy near her head ever again.

They had faith in her, even when she lacked it.

"I've really missed this," MJ repeated the phrase, keeping a steady grip on Rebekah.

"We do have some less happy news," Klaus looked to Elijah, "Though."

Rebekah got MJ to help with dragging sticks into a pile on the front lawn while Klaus filled them in on what he'd learnt about from Finn.

Aunt Dahlia.

A name MJ knew, which the rest of the family didn't. Her Mikaelson expertise had reached a new level of ridiculousness, as she officially knew more about their family than they did.

Hope had been placed down for a nap by Hayley.

She wouldn't have understood their conversation, but it still felt weird to talk about family revenge plots with a baby present.

"A curse on the firstborns?" Rebekah didn't sound convinced, "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Klaus spoke bitterly, "According to Finn, our sister Freya didn't die of the plague. Instead, she was taken as a payment to our Aunt Dahlia, who then cursed all Mikaelson first-borns for eternity."

"Is any of this true?" Hayley asked.

"It is," Elijah was sitting on a log, his expensive suit making him look very out of place in the countryside, "If we are to believe Finn, who learned it from the 'bastion of truth' – our mother."

"Not to kill your hope that it's a lie," MJ spoke up, "But your mother wrote about Dahlia and Freya in her notes."

They all looked at her.

She focused on Elijah, "Do you remember the books I picked up from the Mikaelson spots in Europe?"

"My journals."

"Your journals, sure," She nodded, "A few grimoires and a log Esther kept on you guys. Stuff from when you were growing up...and how you were after you first turned."

Rebekah's voice went quiet, "The book you showed me in Prague?"

"Yeah," MJ focused on the wood, "You get your journaling from her, Elijah...she really wrote down everything."

He looked baffled, "You knew our sister didn't die from a plague?"

It seemed like something MJ would've mentioned before.

"No," She shook her head, "Esther never specified what happened to Freya. She just wrote about Dahlia whenever she'd write about...well, teaching Kol magic."

An awkward silence filled the air.

"Whenever she mentioned Dahlia," She quickly continued talking, "She'd allude to some evil thing her sister had done to Freya. I kinda assumed she'd hexed her or refused to heal her of whatever killed her."

"So unless our mother has been plotting this for centuries," Klaus's face turned sour, "We have to believe there's some truth to it."

"No wonder Finn hates us," Rebekah tried to make light of the situation, "He lost the sister he adored and got a pack of judge-y siblings who found him unbearably dull in return."

"Great," Hayley rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Is there any chance of us running into your loony Aunt Dahlia any time soon?"

"The fable is over a thousand years old," Elijah assured her, "Dahlia is long dead."

"Like you guys?" MJ looked at the group, "The old ones? Searching for the doppelganger – who are definitely just myths."

Their luck meant she was alive.

"But we're vampires."

"And Esther is what?" Hayley added to MJ's point, "What's her excuse?"

"No one's going to hurt Hope," Klaus said firmly, "Because no one's going to find her."

MJ pointed two fingers at him, "I can help with that."

"They're already cloaked,"

"Exactly," She waved the fingers, "Meaning there's something to hide."

They had to be smarter.

"What I'm gonna do is cast a spell on Hope that messes with the signal. It'll slowly appear on Esther's map, like Bex's protection spell is fading, and it'll move about, but in places far from the baby."

"I've missed you so much," Hayley nodded, shoulders relaxing, "We need you here."

MJ forced a laugh, "I'll try to wrap up everything in Mystic Falls as quickly as possible."

"Do you really have to go back?" Rebekah asked.

"Bonnie got me here. I'm not leaving her behind," MJ couldn't, "Plus, an anti-magic border? I gotta fix that before too many vampires die."

She was not enjoying having to think through her very long to-do list.

"There's enough wood Rebekah," Klaus's mood had dropped the moment he'd noticed the bonfire forming, "You'll burn down the whole bloody state of Arkansas."

"Well," She was buzzing with excitement, "We're just missing a key ingredient!"

"We're not."

"Yes, we are, Nik!" Rebekah looked between her brothers, "Back me up, Elijah!"

Elijah laughed, "I suspect Niklaus would rather choke on the ashes."

Awee, sweet sibling squabbles that didn't involve someone getting stabbed.

"Are you following?" Hayley asked MJ, "Because I'm not following."

MJ thought about it, "Winter-Wish burning?"

"Exactly," Rebekah cheered, looking to Hayley, "Before we light the bonfire, we write down our wishes for each other and burn them for luck."

Klaus growled in agitation while Rebekah's eyes shifted to MJ.

"It was Kol's favourite part when we were kids."

Everyone else looked to her too.

"Yes," She tried to keep her face as relaxed as possible, "He may have mentioned it to me at some point."

"Further evidence as to why we should ignore it," Klaus dismissed.

"Hope's first bonfire season," Hayley looked at MJ, "I like it."

Her smile was big.

"We're doing it."

She turned and marched up to the house before Klaus could try to protest.

Rebekah smiled smugly at him, "I love finally having girls in this family."

~***~

Rebekah and MJ were sitting on the porch, paper in front of them as they tried to think of wishes. Rebekah was a lot faster at coming up with them, and MJ didn't know whether that was because she'd had centuries of practice or because MJ was a witch who'd grown up through the 90s and 2000s.

She didn't want to go too vague because she assumed the ancestors would pull a 'genie' on her.

"So," Rebekah broke the silence, "Kol's back."

"Yep."

"And so are you."

"Yep."

"And you're back together?"

MJ's mouth opened, but no noise came out.

Rebekah raised an eyebrow, "You didn't talk about it?"

"No?"

"Oh."

"I mean," MJ felt herself panic, "It's not like we were going on dates and stuff before...We were kind of just...together..."

"And I feel like I've somehow sent you into a spiral," Rebekah sat up, "Talk to me."

"Can we not?"

"MJ."

She sighed, "What's there to talk about?"

"You're feelings," Rebekah started to list, "About the situation? About him? About the fact it's a different face? About how he died to begin with and all the complications around it – "

"I feel like you've been planning this for a while if we're going all the way back to that fun topic of conversation."

"You didn't talk about it before," She justified.

"And I don't think I need to talk about it now," MJ reasoned, "He's back. What else matters?"

Rebekah folded her last wish, "Kind of seems like an obvious chance for you to be happy."

"Agreed. But right now, we need to defeat Esther, then figure out this Dahlia situation, and I've got Mystic Falls – "

"Ohhh," She leaned back in the chair, "So that's why you're so set on being in Mystic Falls. You're running away from feelings."

"I'm not. I'm just busy."

"MJ."

"You were against me catching feelings," She reminded her.

"And I still think you can do better," She leant back in the porch chair teasingly, "But after all the times my chances of romance have been pulled away from me by other people, I'm not about to do the same. If you want to be happy with Kol, be happy with him. Leave Mystic Falls to burn."

MJ paused, running her fingernails along the side of the paper.

She hated conversations about feelings.

Caroline had basically turned the times she'd finally gotten MJ to talk into therapy because the windows of opportunity were so infrequent. Tyler had managed to break her down a little more. Other than that, Stefan was probably the only person she'd had real conversations about her feelings with.

"We spent yesterday afternoon together," MJ forced herself to say something, "Just sitting in a room. Catching up."

"Different body throwing you off your game?"

MJ gave her a look.

"The pair of you were about to have sex on a bench the last time you were together," Rebekah may not have been the sibling to find them, but the super-hearing meant she'd been fully aware and tuning out, "You want me to believe nothing happened when you were actually alone?"

"It didn't," She shrugged, "...I just wanted to be with him for a little bit."

Rebekah looked at the way MJ seemed to be hiding in her jacket, "And then you're going to sit here and say you don't want to talk about whatever your feeling?"

"I don't know what to say," Her voice went higher, "I don't have these conversations with people. And I'm stressed about a million other things – And I've just come back from the dead – and he's just come back from the dead. And we haven't even talked about 'us', and surely he's the person I need to be talking to, so can we not do this?"

Rebekah laughed at her.

"Bex!"

"You need an intensive girl's day."

MJ slumped down in her chair, "We need to get rid of your mother."

"Come on, MJ," Rebekah was trying not to sound too demeaning, "Take the moment to talk about it."

"No."

"M – "

"Please don't make me."

Rebekah just started laughing again while MJ wanted to jump off a cliff.

"...He's the only person I want to talk about it with..."

Rebekah raised a hand up in victory.

"And until we've had a conversation about it, I'm not talking about it."

"Kol," Rebekah put two hands up like weighing scales, "And a girlfriend."

The hands moved up and down like she was trying to work out how they fit together.

"Never thought I'd see the day."

MJ sunk even further in her chair.

"You're usually really good at talking," Rebekah's face went a little bit softer, "And you were calm enough talking about him when he was dead."

Because she'd been in denial and lowkey dating his ghost.

"That's because it was part of the worst year of my life. I learnt to treat all of it from a third party perspective, or I'd never stop crying," MJ pointed at the vampire, "Now, he's real. And alive. And even more killable."

Rebekah clearly hadn't thought about that last part.

"And that stressed me out."

Elijah appeared from behind the door, "Do you think Niklaus and Hayley are done with their wishes?"

MJ couldn't help but think Elijah might've been avoiding Hayley since he could've used his hearing to listen in. Then again, maybe it was the other way around. Or maybe he was doing MJ a solid and getting her out of REbekahs attempt at relationship counselling.

"I'll go see," She slipped her wishes into her pocket and headed inside.

Klaus was sitting in the dining room.

The house wasn't half as fancy as the other places the Mikaelson's had taken up residence over the years. It was incredibly normal, actually. MJ had never lived in a typical house. She'd been in apartments and dorm rooms until she'd started living at the Lockwood's, and The Compound wasn't exactly standard either.

She'd gone from one extreme, single-room apartments, to the other, mansions.

Her New Orleans apartment was the most middle she'd ever been, and she missed it the most out of all of them. It represented the her that had come home to New Orleans. The her she wanted to be again.

"Are you going to say something, Mira?" He asked, a smile on his face as he played with Hope, lifting her up and down in his arms, "Or just stand there?"

He wasn't about to take his eyes off her.

"Just enjoying this memory," She walked over and bopped Hope under the chin, "She's too cute to be related to you."

"Hmm."

"But, I will admit, there is clearly a Mikaelson devil in her eye."

Hope's eyes were blue, like her fathers, and the way she seemed to watch everything around her was a little too attentive.

A little too smart for a baby.

Hope cooed, and Klaus's own eyes seemed to round.

"You know something," MJ spoke carefully, "I get she's a hybrid and all. But since she hasn't died yet – "

"If what you're about to suggest is going to add to the mountain of problems we already have, consider whether it needs to be said?"

"Not a completely bad thing," She assured him, "She'll have the wolf gene to potentially trigger. But since she won't be a vampire until she dies, what about your witch ancestry?"

"What about it?"

"You can't be a vampire and a witch, but what about a werewolf and a witch?"

Something the pair had briefly talked about in Mystic Falls, funnily enough.

"They wanted to sacrifice Hope because of her potential for magic, right? We used her as a Quarter Witch before she was even born."

"She'll be the most powerful witch The Quarter has ever seen."

"I'm sure," MJ took a seat opposite him, "But I started showing signs of magic as an infant. I siphoned my mum during my birth then healed her, and I blew up a toaster at six months to confirm it."

She was too young to remember, but she'd been told.

She also had pulled out one of her mum's old journals during the drive and found the entry she'd written about it while reading over what her mother had recorded about the Gemini Coven.

"If her magic kicks in soon, that might be a problem."

Klaus realised what she was saying, "Magic can be tracked."

"And if this Aunt Dahlia is around, they're related."

A massive problem.

"She'll sense it," MJ should've just kept it to herself, "I can factor that into my protection spell, but supernatural family bonds have a lot of power. It might give her a way to break it."

"No more of this talk," Hayley walked in, holding a pad of paper and pen, "Today is a good day."

She tried to give the objects to Klaus.

"Here."

"I'm holding a small child, Hayley," He ignored her, continuing to play with Hope, "This silly wish game will have to wait."

"You'll write," She smiled falsely back, "I'll hold."

"You do realise it is not I who is to be the husband you can boss around?"

"You do realise that I had to endure horrendous labour and an actual death birthing the child that you're holding?"

Klaus held Hope up in defeat, allowing her to be taken from him.

"MJ?" Hayley suggested.

"Um," She'd never held a baby before, but she wasn't about to say no, "Okay?"

Lifting and making sure to support the back and the underneath, resting Hope's head against her shoulder. MJ was a visual learner, so she just made sure do to exactly what she'd seen the others do, even bouncing the child a little while walking towards Hayley with her.

"Hey, Hope," She hadn't intended to speak in a kiddy voice, but it had just come out.

Hope started to laugh.

"I love that sound," Hayley stroked her baby girls head, "I want her to always be laughing."

"Don't tell someone your wishes," MJ reminded her teasingly.

Hope was warm, and her head smelt like a cosy afternoon as MJ kept her somewhat moving, letting Hayley and Klaus write their wishes.

"I wish Hayley would tell Elijah that she's marrying her werewolf suitor," Klaus decided to narrate his, "At which point, I will pour him a scotch and congratulate him on the bullet he dodged."

He ripped the paper from the pad and handed it to Hayley, causing MJ to laugh.

Hayley was less than amused by the action, crumpling the paper up and throwing it back at him.

MJ carefully handed Hope back to her mother once Hayley had written her last one, so Hayley could take her outside while Klaus finished.

"How are you taking the whole Hayley's getting married news?" MJ asked him now they were finally alone.

"I'm perfectly fine with it."

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Elijah is the one who opened his heart to her."

"And you care an awful lot about your brother and his feelings," MJ wasn't about to let him dodge=, "And you're not the biggest fan of Jackson – he will be your daughter's step-father."

Klaus frowned.

"Marriage equals more family."

"More protection."

She shrugged, accepting Klaus's answer.

She wasn't going to point out that Jackson would probably need to learn about Hope's existence to protect her. Otherwise, he'd just think they were getting married for the other wolves.

She really hoped Klaus could figure that out by himself.

"And talking of my brother's feelings," He turned it back on her, "You and Kol looked awfully cosy yesterday."

She gave him a look.

"Hardly the worst thing I've walked in on the pair of you doing," He feigned thinking about something, "It might be the first time he's been fully clothed – "

"Wonderful," MJ hated everything, "You of all people wanna talk about this too?"

"Tread carefully, Mira," His voice changed, "He may care about you, but he is still Kol Mikaelson."

"Something you already told me. About two years ago."

"Exactly," He covered the paper so MJ couldn't read what he was writing, "You've had nearly two years to re-evaluate your options."

"And here I thought you would've been ecstatic to have someone to use against him."

The comment was completely mocking.

"Motivate him to your side."

"The last time I tried to use you, he threatened to stab me with the White Oak Stake."

And she'd just broken up with him too.

"Which he genuinely had possession of. Given our current circumstances, I'm not about to repeat history."

"You make a good point."

"Another good point?" He glared at the page, "We are telling you about our daughter in confidence."

MJ bit her lip.

"Any loyalty I may be willing to admit he has towards you..." Klaus twirled his own, "Does not grant him access to this information."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to lie to him."

"I'm not asking you to!" He defended, "I'm asking you to simply not mention the small and innocent child who would be at risk if he were to learn about her."

"Kol wouldn't put Hope at risk!"

They were locked in a stare-off.

"He's your family Klaus - her family."

"And he is the one constantly wittering on about how family does not hold any importance to him."

That was true.

"He wants to be accepted," MJ frowned, "You can trust him with this."

"It is my child, Mira," Klaus was more still than she'd ever seen him before, "Until Hayley and I are ready to reveal her existence, her name is not spoken in that city."

She signed.

"The streets have ears," He reminded her, "She ceased to live the day she was born."

She closed her eyes.

"Do you understand?"

"I do," MJ hated it, "But - "

"Anyone who knows, Mira, is at risk."

She froze.

"Esther will target anyone with the potential knowledge - do you wish to put him in that danger?" Klaus knew what he was doing, "While he's in such a fragile form?"

"You've made your point," She winced, "But I don't lie to the people I love."

He paused.

She cleared her throat, "Care about."

Silence.

"When you care about people you don't lie to them."

"...It shall only be until Esther and Finn are no longer threats to her."

Could MJ live with that?

She was going back to Mystic Falls so she wouldn't even really be around to lie...

But - but -

"Please, Mira," Klaus Mikaelson didn't say 'please,' "For me. For us."

"Okay."

He broke their eye contact to write his final wish, glancing at her a few times during it to make sure she couldn't read it. Then it was folded up, and she was offered the pad.

"Mine are all done."

"Then let's join the others in completing this misery."

"Stop being dramatic."

"No."

Klaus was in charge of starting the fire, a box of matches in his hand.

It was amusing watching him fail to get them to work.

MJ let him snap three of them before intervening. One motion with her hand, and the bonfire was roaring.

Klaus glared at her, and she shrugged innocently.

Hayley held Hope, narrating the scene to her, standing by Elijah as they waited for Rebekah.

She came jogging out of the house with an old-fashioned Polaroid Camera in her hands, "Look what I found!"

Klaus sighed like the dramatic diva he was, "Oh, bloody hell."

"Does it work?" MJ asked.

It looked beautiful, and the artist in her wanted to steal it.

"Come on, let's try it!" Rebekah handed the camera to Klaus, "Do you think you could fit all of us into a selfie?"

"Oh, you know Niklaus is a virtuoso at cramming his siblings into confined spaces," Elijah commented, causing all of them to laugh.

"I'm so glad I travelled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother," Klaus complained, "Only to have him insult me to my face."

"Come on," Rebekah hit the back of Klaus's head lightly as he caved, and they all moved closer together, "Just take the picture,"

Klaus stretched the camera out in one hand while Rebekah stood next to him, one arm around Klaus and one around MJ. Hayley rested Hope between MJ and herself, Elijah's hand place on Hayley's arm, leaning against her.

The camera flashed, the paper came out, and they all watched as the picture developed.

All of them were smiling, except for the posing and pouting Klaus.

"Awe, see?" Rebekah shook it out, "I wish that it could always be like this."

Elijah turned his head away, "If wishes were horses..."

"Beggars would ride," Klaus sighed ruefully, "You do realise we'll have to burn it?"

Silence.

"You want me to make a wish for our family Rebekah? I wish it didn't have to be like this," He took the photo from her, "But it does. We can't risk that photo falling into the wrong hands."

Hayley looked at it, then to Elijah.

She took the photo from him, her hand shaking a little as she went to throw it into the fire with the wishes.

"No!" Rebekah stopped her, "This isn't right – We deserve this."

After a thousand years.

"We've earned this."

"Let me take it," MJ said quietly.

They all looked at her.

"I'm leaving town in a day a half. I can turn it invisible and keep it in the locked pocket of my bag. One of the enchanted ones that only I can access," She liked the photo too much to let it burn, "Hope deserves to have memories of her family together like this."

And she needed it too.

"Esther can't find out about her," Elijah answered sadly.

"Then we need to stop Esther," Rebekah crossed her arms, "I'm not letting us lose this. I'm going to take her deal, and, when I do, I'm taking her down with me."

"Bex," MJ had expected it to come down to that, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

She knew that if they wanted to play Esther, they'd have to play along with her. To do that, they needed to show her Rebekah, a healthy Rebekah who had nothing to hide and who'd always wanted to be human. Then they could stop Esther before anything bad could happen to Cami.

"It'll work," Rebekah reasoned, "She'll be distracted during the spell. Vulnerable."

"No," Klaus didn't want her or Cami in danger, "If we kill her, she body-jumps."

"Then we stop her from jumping."

"If I knew how to stop her from bloody jumping, don't you think I would have happily murdered her ages ago?"

"But you have me now, Klaus," MJ smiled, "I can."

"See! You have a Floare, a Harvest Girl, and a Mikaelson witch! Kol knows all her tricks."

Elijah scoffed, "You're insane."

"Hardly, Elijah. It was your idea," Rebekah reminded him, "You're the one who said she needed a win, and if we get this right, she'll have one."

"And if we get it wrong, you're no longer in your own body."

"Would that be the worst thing? You were ready to do it yourself."

Klaus froze and looked at his brother, concern all over his face.

"I'm going to take Hope back to the house," Hayley looked extremely uncomfortable at that declaration and MJ couldn't help but feel bad for her, "She's getting hungry."

Conflicted emotions, potential marriages, and body jumping.

It was a lot.

"That was a foolish moment," He spoke carefully, "And you sagely dissuaded me from it."

"Hopefully, we'll get lucky," She went over the best care option, "And stop the spell before I jump."

"And if we're not," Klaus finished the thought for Rebekah, "You'll get what you always wanted."

She swallowed nervously.

"I mean, that's what you're saying. Isn't it? You're willing to lose."

"I'm willing to risk losing, yes."

Klaus sighed, "What do we need to do?"

The question was for MJ.

"I need you to find someone for her to jump into; that's not Cami – someone anonymous if you want her to stay with Hope."

"Rebekah," Elijah still wasn't getting with the program, "We've been together for centuries...if you were human..."

"When I'm old and wrinkly, you can dump me back into my old body," She pointed out, "Nik already has a coffin he can store me in."

One way to make the best of their family situation.

"Kol can prep the person while we drive back, then MJ will oversee it all."

"And we're trusting Kol?" Elijah asked

"It's not about trust, Elijah," Rebekah corrected, "It's about finding the proper leverage. Right now, his girlfriend's with us, so he's already going to be more agreeable."

MJ bit her tongue.

The natural response was to remind them that she wasn't technically his girlfriend. They'd never talked about it. But that didn't matter. She knew Rebekah's thinking was sound because of the example Klaus had already given about the time he'd tried to use her.

Label or not, they cared about each other.

"And it's Kol," Rebekah kept talking, "He always has a second agenda going on."

"It's just finding it," Elijah realised.

A pause.

"A Fauline Diamond," MJ gave them the answer, "He'd do it for the diamond."

They all looked at her.

"The what?" Elijah asked.

"A diamond he stole when you guys were last in New Orleans," She felt like a ~bad person~ "He said Klaus and Marcel took it from him. I found it when I was last here."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, "He was using it to make a weapon against me."

"It boosts magic," MJ wasn't going to lie, but she wasn't going to specific either, "A perfect paragon diamond. Kol used versions of it to make dark objects, and yes, dark objects can be used against you."

She made it sound generalised to make it seem less threatening.

"It's in a jewellery box in 'my room' at The Compound, but the barrier spell should still be up."

It hadn't been tied to the room, not her.

"Offer it up. Marcel can grab it."

Marcel, Sam, and Hayley had all been written into the spell when Klaus and Rebekah had been kidnapped.

"You're not going to give it to him yourself?" Rebekah questioned.

"I was."

He needed it for his plan.

"But you all seem to think he needs more motivation to help," MJ called out, "He was always going to end up with it. But, if it makes you all relax about his involvement, use it."

"I'll phone Marcel," Klaus pulled out his phone, "Get ready to leave."

It started to get dark as they were driving away from the house and back to New Orleans.

MJ had managed to keep the photo, and; she'd cast an illusion over the top of it to remove Hope from the image before hiding it in the locked section of her bag. To be extra careful, she then turned her bag invisible and left it in the boot. That way, all her mum and dad's things were also safe with it.

Then, she lay down across the back seats while Rebekah and Klaus sat in the front.

"You do know that you're a little mad to actually give Kol that diamond."

They were utterly aware Kol would be up to no good, which made MJ both relieved and more anxious.

If they were aware, it meant Kol would have to get even sneakier, potentially slowing down his plan, but it also meant Klaus would be on edge around him, which wouldn't end well. On-edge-Klaus was more violent Klaus – less forgiving Klaus. A Klaus MJ didn't want anywhere near the incredibly human version of Kol.

"Our little brother has been plotting against me for years," He reminded them both, "And he hasn't gotten it right once. I'll take my chances."

He sent a look to MJ in the back.

"And this time, he has far more to lose when he messes up than he ever did before."

She pulled a face at him.

It wasn't a threat.

It was a reminder.

If it had been a threat, Klaus wouldn't have warned her; he would've warned Kol. And, he'd already told MJ that he wasn't about to use her as a manipulation tool again. How long that lasted depended on a million other factors, but for the first few days of her revival, MJ knew Klaus would keep it.

A pause.

A silence.

A text from Marcel telling them that Kol had gone to prepare another body.

"Do you both understand what you're to do?"

"Yes, but," Rebekah checked herself out in the wing mirror, "If it doesn't go to plan, will you handle my body with care, please? I may miss the old model."

"If everything goes south, I'll be there to pull you out," He'd wait in the shadows, "We just have to take Esther down before she body jumps. I don't want all of this to have been for nothing."

"Our family, most of us working together for once," Rebekah beamed, "It must be Christmas."

Family.

Who could MJ still put on her list?

-          Tyler.

Tyler was her family. Tyler was so her family that his death had been the tipping point with her actual brother. She'd lost herself to self-hate and forgotten that, but being back in a better place brought all the good emotions back.

Klaus was right. She wasn't as alone as she felt.

-          She had them.
-          She had Tyler.
-          She had Caroline.

And she had Ric...who wanted her to give up magic and remove herself from the supernatural world...

Because he cared about her.

That's what she needed to remember.

The demand came from a good place.

Friendsgiving had been a wake-up call. Partly because she hadn't even made it through the meal, and partly because she hadn't actually known about half the people there. She didn't really know Luke and Liv, not the way the others did. She loved Caroline, and it was nice to be invited, but that didn't change the fact that when she thought about family, she thought about home, and home was New Orleans.

She'd finally gotten home, and she didn't want to leave it again.

She'd been trusted with Hope.

She'd been given tasks to help keep her safe.

MJ knew she wasn't going to let anything hurt that baby, but to do that, she needed magic, and she needed to be in New Orleans. She needed magic to get Bonnie back; then, she would have to get Ric on board because the problems in her life didn't come down to magic. They came down to Mystic Falls.

~***~

Kol walked back into the Mikaelson Compound, Davina, Marcel and Cami waiting for him to confirm that Cami was safe.

"Done," He tossed some keys around in his hand, "As per your request. Miss Angelica Barker, good cheekbones and a tummy you can bounce a quarter off."

He was saying the comments dramatically, his sister having a list of requirements for her new body.

"She will be Rebekah's new host body instead of Cami."

"Who's Angelica Barker?" Davina asked.

"One of my vampire potentials," Marcel had been the one to suggest her, which felt extremely awkward for everyone involved, "Had to turn her down. She was too lost."

"Does she know what's about to happen to her?" Cami fidgeted.

Kol put his hands in his pockets, "It's better when they don't know, love."

"Hopefully," Marcel sighed, not enjoying anything that came out of Kol's mouth, "We won't have to use her."

"Hopefully," The ex-Original nodded, "But my mother is a wily and vindictive woman...Which is why I've got to ask something else of you."

"You're already getting the diamond," Marcel huffed, "Which, by the way, I'm only okay with because MJ was the one to suggest it."

He could assume it wasn't anything too evil if MJ was happy to let it out and about.

"And I am thrilled about that," His giddy smile was clear, "But, for me to help, I need access to my mother's hourglass. Which is in the Lycée."

They waited for the point.

"With my mother."

"So?"

"I haven't been back in a while," He motioned to his wrists, "Been a little tied up. And the only way she won't suspect me is if I bring back the thing I was sent to find."

"And that thing is...?"

"The White Oak Stake."

"Are you out of your mind!?"

Davina gaped at him, "Kaleb – "

"Look," He tried to sound as reasonable as possible, "It's the only way she's gonna trust me."

If Esther was suspicious of anything, she'd go searching in his head. He knew that. And he couldn't let that happen for several reasons.

"She doesn't want to kill them."

Neither Marcel nor Davina looked very convinced.

"She just wants to make sure that the weapon doesn't fall into the wrong hands," He thought that, anyway, "I swear, as soon as she's gone, I'll give it back to Klaus."

"Like hell you will," Marcel wasn't putting his life in Kol's hands, "Deal's off."

That tense situation was what MJ and Klaus walked into.

Everyone standing in the courtyard with their defences up, about to call everything off over the White Oak Stake and the inability to trust Kol.

"Whatever grudges you hold against me," Klaus walked into the centre of it and looked at his brother, "We're doing this for the good of our family."

Family Kol didn't even know about.

"Do I have your word that, for once, you will honour that?"

"You have my word, Nik. Swear on the face of us all."

Klaus managed to a weak smile, "I'll get the stake."

He vamp sped away so no one would know what direction he'd gone in.

"Forever the dramatist," MJ mused.

"Where's Rebekah?" Marcel asked, looking to Cami.

"Figured we should let her make her own way," MJ explained, "Given that we don't want it to feel too staged – Is everything ready?"

Kol drifted closer to her, "I just need to link the hourglasses."

"Perfect."

"You sound rattled," Cami noticed at how tense MJ was standing.

"It's kinda my permanent state at the moment," She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

"MJ, your bad feelings are usually right," Marcel reminded her.

"This isn't a bad feeling."

No witchy warnings bounding through her body.

"I'm just going over everything that could go wrong, you know, as you do. Normal people anxiety."

Cami was doing the same, "What's making your list?"

"You don't wanna hear me say everything," MJ wasn't going to do that to her, "Also, you can relax. You're one hundred per cent protected. I'm worried about Rebekah."

"Is there anything else we can do to help her?"

"If I went to Esther," MJ tried, "I could stop all of it at the source, and everyone would be safe."

"Except you," Kol reminded her, "You're not going anywhere near her until she's harmless."

"I've handled it before."

"She was one word off hexing you to die," He pointed a finger at her, standing on her left, "Which left you chucking me into walls, only able to communicate through Spanish nursery rhymes."

"The ancestors sent me into a screaming madness per her request," She pointed her own finger back, tapping his then wrapping hers around it, "And I was fine after."

"You were fine because I went into your head."

"And you're here this time too," MJ swayed the joined fingers, "I'd be fine."

"I feel like I'm really missing a large part of your history, MJ," Marcel scowled.

"You are," She nodded, not elaborating as Kol moved his hand to her face, lightly stroking her cheek while she rested into it, kissing the palm.

MJ was in control of her body.

She could consent, especially when it was in relation to kissing a non-dodge body part.

His expression softened at the contact, stepping even closer so he could rest his other hand on her back. God - MJ had really missed proper physical contact with him. It was bad how much they both needed it after a year of ghost him, muscles achey, finally starting to relax.

"You can inquire on Mira's night-time escapades another time, Marcel," Klaus held out the stake to Kol, "For now, we need to go."

Once it was in Kol's hand, they turned to leave.

"Still think I should come."

"No," They both answered.

"Fine, just," She bit her cheek, "Don't die."

Kol turned as he walked, holding her gaze until they were out the door.

a/n: Way more Kora moments next chapter - and though MJ will be back in Mystic Falls for a few episodes, there's gonna be a large communication chain with NOLA.

Side Note:
Hayley and Jackson's wedding is stated to be in Feb. This episode is the start of winter season, just after Thanksgiving. End of November...
The two episodes prior to the wedding are back to back. Meaning they're in Feb too.
The two episodes following this one are also back to back in Nov/Dec...

Long story short, time lines are hard.
MJ ain't missing that much TO plot cos the TVD eps she's in take place in December, and apparently Finn nicely decided to give his family the holidays off :)

- Bea xx