Maddy kept her feelings secret from Klaus.

She spent the following day with him, genuinely happy to be by his side, and forcing the emptiness inside her to recede to a dark pit where it wouldn't emerge prematurely and cause them to have an emotional conversation she wasn't ready for.

She didn't want to resent the fact that they had different ideas and expectations for their future together. She had to pressure herself to understand his side of it, how his past could influence his thoughts on the prospect of becoming a father to a random baby somewhere around the world. Perhaps it was the lack of blood they'd share that caused that. He'd be an adopted parent. A parent who was not truly connected to that child. Sort of how Mikael was with him. And that sort of ruin had left a mark very, very deep.

"You are exquisite," he whispered, kissing down her body. "Mm, I definitely prefer an entire day with you instead of just one night."

"I like spending time with you," she sighed in satisfaction. "As much as possible. It's just not always wise for us to spend our free time in bed when there's so much to be done."

"Let everyone else deal with the problems of the world. I wish for us to relax here together and forget anyone who is not part of this relationship."

Maddy imagined he'd hate taking care of a child, no matter how enthusiastic she would be about it. Being a parent was time-consuming and oftentimes frustrating. They wouldn't get to sleep in or have constant sex because they'd be having to worry about another little being who would rely on them for everything. Maddy could cope with it, but Klaus seemed hornier and more demanding every time they slept together. Waiting long periods of time for release would be literal torture for him.

As glad as she was for their twenty-four hours of bliss, they ended right at midnight, and the following day, they were back to their quest.

"Rebekah informed the others that the sword decodes the map," Klaus told her. "Which is just peachy... she can never quite keep her mouth shut. They have thankfully ceased their whining about wanting the sword in their possession. We will keep it until they manage to grow Jeremy's mark. What is their progress on that?"

"There is basically no progress," said Maddy. "They can't stop the vampire-killing urges, so those vampires we turned have remained locked in that well we shoved them into, hungry and unable to emerge because of the sun. Damon's apparently working on a training plan for when Jeremy stops glaring at him every five seconds."

Klaus grunted. "This is taking far too long. We ought to be holding the cure already."

The door of the art room opened, and Kol came in, fuming.

"What now, little brother?" asked Klaus irritably. "Tell me that you have finally found something about this man you have been observing for days already."

"I can't go into his mind," said Kol. "But I found papers and papers with maps leading to where I believe the cure is. He's been before."

Klaus raised a brow. "Wouldn't that mean we don't require the map?"

"We don't require it to find the cure. But we do require it to get the spell to obtain the cure." There seemed to be something that he didn't want to say to Klaus. Maddy could see Kol was incredibly agitated, but withholding the reason he felt that way.

"You're restraining yourself," mused Klaus, thinking that's what it was. "You know you need Shane alive. Which means you cannot rid yourself of him. Are you trying to be the perfect gentleman for Bonnie? You've gone soft, brother, I've never seen you quell your rage for so long."

Kol sneered. "Maybe you're the one becoming soft for your girlfriend, Nik. Bekah and I begged you to cease with the dagger threats ages ago. You never did. But Maddy says it once, and you stop."

Klaus smirked. "Actually, my girlfriend makes me quite hard."

Maddy and Kol groaned. "Don't say that," said Maddy, covering her face and trying not to laugh, because this was definitely not the time to burst out laughing.

The hybrid looked incredibly smug as Kol walked out of the room.

"If we're not going to help the others directly," said Maddy, getting up, "we ought to do something useful here. Come on, let's clean the house."

He frowned. "That's what the hybrids are for."

"The hybrids clean up after themselves, not after us. They're not maids."

"They should be."

She tapped her foot impatiently. "If you won't clean, then I will. We did our part turning vampires. We just have to wait for news, and we can't afford to relax. Might as well get something done."

"Very well," sighed Klaus. "But you are not to clean in this room, or in my study."

"What are you hiding?" she asked playfully, though it made her slightly nervous, wondering why he'd say it so seriously.

He hesitated. "Cleaning might lead you to find... my souvenirs."

"Souvenirs?"

"You recall Stefan would write names on his wall, in the Chicago apartment. He and I had a tendency to memorialize our dead. There's the briefest of moments before we kill where we literally hold their life in our hands and then we rip it away, leaving us with nothing. So, gathering souvenirs or in his case writing names on a wall, is a reminder that in the end we're left infinitely and utterly alone."

"What are your souvenirs?"

"Letters. From my victims' to other people. It all chalks up to loneliness, love. I'd rather you not find those letters. There are... many hidden in these two rooms."

"Alright," she said quietly. "I won't look." She cupped his face. "You're not alone, Nik. I'm here, and so are your siblings. We care about you. Keep what you need to... create a balance, if it feels right for you. But know that I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here beside you, for a long time."

She wondered, while she cleaned, if maybe she did something out of loneliness, too. She never kept anything from her victims. She sometimes buried them, sometimes didn't. Most times she just tried not to kill.

Then, she realized that it wasn't necessarily actions that she needed to be looking at. It was the desire to do something. That was where Klaus and Stefan's routines came from... wanting to feel like someone was there, because the truth was, being such vicious killers often kept anyone from wanting to be near them.

Was that perhaps the true reason she wanted children? Because at least then, she'd have something to occupy her time with? Because if she did a good enough job, her kids would always come back to visit, and ensure she wouldn't be alone? Klaus could leave her. Her brothers could end up angry with her again. There was too much history and it could all go astray when patterns broke. But if from the very beginning she was a good mother, her kids wouldn't grow to resent her. They would always have fond memories of her and find solace in being near her, instead of relief being away.

She flinched when Klaus suddenly burst in while she was mopping the dining floor.

"The vampires are dead," he fumed. "I went to give them blood bags and they were all dead. Hearts ripped out, heads cut off... this was a vampire's doing."

"What?" said Maddy in disbelief. "But we hadn't even told any of them where to find the vampires because we didn't want Jeremy going over there prematurely. The only ones who might know are your siblings, if they heard us discussing it, but they haven't really been around and we just discussed it this morning and the day before yesterday..."

"Kol," said Klaus instantly, his lip twitching. "Kol came in just after we mentioned the well we placed the vampires in." He dialed his brother's number, waiting for him to answer. "Little brother... tell me you weren't the one that went and made a mess in that well."

"Come on, Nik," said Kol, albeit sounding a bit nervous. "I was only having some fun."

"Those vampires were for the Hunter. Now, I will have to make more. Come home. Avoid any more trouble or you'll find yourself back in a box."

"Just when I thought we were done with the dagger threats. There's no need to be nasty about it."

"On the contrary, I find nastiness to be essential whenever my siblings try to sabotage me. You're pushing your luck, Kol."

He hung up, and Maddy crossed her arms. "Really, Nik?" she said. "No more daggering. Please."

"I won't actually dagger him," muttered Klaus. "But now, I've been landed with the task of turning more vampires. Just... wonderful."

"Go gather criminals, if you want, but don't kill them yet, please. I want to know why Kol did this."

"He won't tell you anything. He's not fond of making anyone privy to his plans."

"Maybe he will tell me. He looked really nervous earlier, like there's something he doesn't want to say because he's afraid he'll be judged. Stefan gets that look all the time when he has to admit he did something bad."

Klaus sighed. "I doubt Kol will say anything. But if you wish to speak with him, you might as well do it when he returns. I'll be gathering criminals." He kissed her cheek before speeding off.

When Kol came back, he found Maddy sitting on the staircase, waiting for him.

He immediately turned around, as if he expected Klaus to pop up behind him.

"He's not home," said Maddy. "No one else is. Elijah's with Elena doing a sparring session, Rebekah is with Matt, apparently, helping him with schoolwork. Nik went to prepare for turning more vampires. I'm here because I want to talk to you about whatever's troubling you."

Kol scoffed a bit. "You may be dating my brother but I won't be spilling my guts to you."

"I'm just trying to understand why you'd kill all the vampires so suddenly. What about this is making you worried? Is it Bonnie? Is the spell dark? Are you concerned about the magic Shane is teaching her?"

His posture relaxed a bit, and he walked over to her. "She hasn't the faintest idea just how much this man knows about witches. It's an obsession. And I found the root of it when I gathered those papers. I know why he's forming a part of this. He wants Silas."

"Silas? Who is that?"

"The world's first immortal being. He's imprisoned with the cure. I never thought everyone would get to this point... where they actually have what they need to get to him. And then when I learned about Shane being responsible for the Council massacre... it made sense. He had everything he needed to wake Silas. The tombstone, a Bennett witch... specifically one who is vulnerable enough that he could have taught Expression to. I found notes of plans to teach her this very, very dark magic that could drive her mad. He's desperate to bring back his dead wife and son. Silas is a very, very powerful being... he could have the power to raise the dead. Oh, and I forgot to mention dozens to die in blood sacrifices. Twelve demons, twelve witches, and twelve humans to form an Expression triangle."

"I've never heard of Silas. How bad is this?"

"Most think he's a fairytale. Someone who doesn't exist. But I know the truth. A few hundred years back, I came across a group that worshipped Silas. His followers told me that he would rise again, and when he did, he would trigger the end of all time. Being an immortal, you can see why I'm opposed to time's ending. So I murdered all of them. All the witches I met after that knew of him. They all said the same thing: Silas on the loose would be hell on Earth. I cannot let him be raised."

He held up his hand, counting on his fingers. "I killed the vampires. I'm going to kill Shane. I'm going to drop the Hunter's Sword in the ocean. I'm going to find a way to kill Jeremy to make it far more difficult for anyone to find another Hunter. And I'm going to take Bonnie far from here, where she'll be safe from anyone who tries to corrupt her into doing spells that will only harm her. Go ahead. Have a laugh."

Maddy shook her head, feeling a coldness settling into her. "I didn't know any of this. But it sounds... really worrisome. I don't know anything about witches, however, I know that you do, so I'm inclined to trust your word over anyone else's. If this is a concern, then we shouldn't be going after the cure at all. I'm not opposed to most of what you said, except the killing Jeremy bit. He's a kid. He didn't ask for any of this. I'm sure that if he knew all this, he wouldn't want to go after the cure."

"That's where you're wrong, love. You and Jeremy want it for Elena. He'd do anything to make his sister human again. He has to be put down."

"Hold on... please don't hurt Jeremy. Let me find another way to get everyone to stop looking for it. If I can just talk to everyone about it, I'm sure I can convey how much we should be worrying about this."

Kol narrowed his eyes. "You'd do that? Even though Nik would be furious?"

"He wants the cure because I want it for Elena and Meredith, and because Rebekah wants it. As sad as it would be to accept that they can't all have what they want... isn't it better for them to live a long time— long enough to find another way, one that's safer— instead of getting everything they want just for a few seconds before Silas blows us all up, or something?"

Kol hummed. "You're serious about this. You believe me."

"I do. I hadn't heard about Silas, otherwise I wouldn't have wanted to risk it. With witches, one should be careful. That much, I know. Witch business is tricky. All these spells and herbs, not to mention the use of doppelgängers for important rituals."

"Legend has it Silas had something to do with the doppelgängers."

"I've wondered about that, now that you bring it up. Are Tatia, Katherine, and Elena the only type of doppelgänger that can exist? Females of the Petrova line? Or are there like male doppelgängers?"

"From what I know, there is one set of male doppelgängers and one set of female doppelgängers. The history isn't relevant at the moment. I just know Silas formed part of it, somehow. He may be the first of the male doppelgängers, or perhaps he created the spell. That part, I am unsure of, I'd need to ask a Traveler."

"What's a Traveler?"

"They don't consider themselves witches anymore, but they were an ancient faction of them that supported the idea of immortality, leading them to be cursed. They're pretty close to extinction these days. The point is, they'd know whether Silas was a doppelgänger or not. If he is, then so is your brother."

Maddy blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I've only seen sketches of what Silas looks like, but I always found Stefan bore an almost frightening resemblance to those portraits. If Silas is a doppelgänger, so is Stefan. Which means you and your siblings are part of an old witch bloodline, but you simply didn't get the gene. It's been centuries since then, but you could still carry it. If you'd married someone else from a witch bloodline, but with no magic of their own, you two might have had witch children."

"That's mind blowing," she said, not even sure how to wrap her head around that fact. "Sorry—" she held up her phone, which was buzzing to indicate that Klaus was calling. "I need to make sure he's alright, but I promise I'll be right back."

She answered once she was in the other room. "Everything alright, Nik?"

"Everything is most certainly not alright."

She almost wanted to cower. He sounded beyond angry. She could hear the gritting of his teeth, the roughness of his breaths, the cracking as he gripped his phone tightly in his hand.

"What happened?" she asked, now incredibly worried. "Where are you?"

"The forest, with my hybrids. They're dead."

"How are they—?"

"I killed them."

Her heart sank. "But... why, Nik?"

"Hayley and Tyler," he whispered. "That's why those brats were here... playing a trick. It was all a game... to keep us from learning what they were up to. The hybrids all broke free of their sire bond."

Maddy looked up at Kol, who had come over, his eyebrows furrowed. "Nik, keep talking to me," said Maddy gently. "What else?"

"I need to dig twelve graves. For twelve traitorous hybrids."

Kol frowned, then narrowed his eyes, and mouthed, 'Silas.'

Of course. Another massacre to wake him. Twelve demons.

"I'm going to kill Tyler Lockwood," said Klaus suddenly, unaware of what they were figuring out about Hayley's involvement.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," said Maddy, panicked. "But you can't—"

"I am going to cause him pain unlike anything he has ever experienced," snarled Klaus. "Either by torturing him for decades or by killing that mother of his, who I can hear from a few miles away, alone in her home."

"Nik," she said more sharply. "Carol did nothing to you. You can't kill my wife."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"It's an inside joke. Stupid of me to bring it up. The point is that Tyler is not the one responsible for this, okay? It's Hayley. I know it. She manipulated him into this. So why don't I do you a favor and get you the head of the person actually responsible for this? I know you just want to tear through anyone in your path right now, and normally I would be okay with it, but I really don't want to see Tyler and Carol hurt. Let me confront Hayley. I swear to you, I will get the head of the culprit and I will bring it to you. Please Nik, don't do anything to Tyler and Carol, I'm begging you."

"I fear your words are going to do little to stop me this time."

"Nik, please," she said more desperately. "Give me time to get the one responsible. Please!"

"You have an hour. If you are not back in an hour, I will rip Carol Lockwood's head off and toss it at Tyler's feet."

Kol motioned for her to go, and she did.

She found Hayley easily. Tyler, who had rushed off, was more than happy to give her phone number for Maddy to track her. She caught her about to board a bus that would have taken her right out of the city.

Maddy tossed the werewolf into an abandoned warehouse, checking the time and seeing it had only been fifteen minutes since she spoke to Klaus. Good. She had time.

"What the hell?" said Hayley, sitting up and staring at Maddy. She knew exactly who she was, and she was definitely afraid. "Maddy... right? Klaus's wife."

"Not yet," said Maddy, smirking sadistically. "But in the future, most likely. A little birdie told me that you just offered up twelve of your hybrid friends up as a sacrifice to raise Silas. Why might that be?"

Hayley didn't say anything, and Maddy kicked her hard in the jaw, making her yelp. "Answer me quickly and I might kill you painlessly."

The wolf wiped her mouth. "It doesn't matter. You're going to kill me anyway, just get it over with."

"You're not getting out of this. What do you know about Silas?"

"I don't know shit about Silas," said Hayley, forcing herself to her feet. "I don't know shit about any of this. All Shane told me was that Silas could bring my dead parents back. That's all I wanted. To know about them. Go ahead. Kill me. I don't have anything else to tell you."

"You're giving up so easily?" said Maddy. "And here I was thinking we'd have a good brawl before you went lights out. Come on. Fight back."

Hayley growled, and lunged at her, but Maddy easily tossed her over her shoulder and slammed her face-down on the ground, yanking her arms roughly behind her back. Hayley let out a yell of pain, and in trying to wriggle free, caused her own shirt to move back, exposing a strange birthmark on her shoulderblade.

Immediately, Maddy let go of that. "What the hell is a Crescent wolf doing here?" she asked. "I think you know more than you're letting on."

"A Crescent what?" said Hayley, turning back around. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That mark on your shoulder," said Maddy. "Years ago, I dated a guy who claimed to be a werewolf. He didn't give me many details, but he said that mark he carried was because he'd been part of the Crescent Wolf Pack, which is based in New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" Hayley looked almost teary. "So my birth family is from New Orleans? I-I was there and I didn't even know..."

"Jesus christ," said Maddy, almost feeling sorry for her. "Did you really not know? What the hell was Shane doing getting you to orchestrate a massacre if he wasn't going to inform you properly?"

"I don't know, okay?" said Hayley, appearing very emotionally exhausted now that she knew this. "He kept promising he'd give me more information with each hybrid that broke the sire bond. I managed to spare Tyler from it, but Shane wasn't happy. He gave me this encrypted flash drive with information but the coward didn't give me a way to open it yet. Oh god... that bitch. She's didn't tell me."

"Who's 'she?'"

"This vampire girl I met in New Orleans who conveniently helped me meet Tyler. Kathy, I think her name was?"

Maddy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, no, her name isn't Kathy, it's Katerina Petrova, better known as Katherine Pierce. No wonder she's been quiet, she's had a spy here this entire time! Which means Shane and Katherine are actually the ones responsible for the hybrids dying... hmm. Where's Shane now?"

"Probably his office at Whitmore. I don't care. Kathy will kill me even if you don't. She'll want to tie up a loose end now that my work here is done. She knows everything that Shane told me. She wants the cure."

"I'll handle Katherine. You, get out of here."

"Wait... you're not going to kill me?"

"I'll let you live provided you get the hell out of here right now and never show your face here again. Mind you, Klaus and I will be moving to New Orleans soon so maybe watch your back once you're there. Get a new phone as soon as you can."

She left her in the warehouse, and sped to Whitmore, finding Shane was indeed in his office.

"Atticus Shane," she said sweetly as she walked in, checking the time. Twenty more minutes before the hour was up. This, she'd need to do quickly. "Hello. And goodbye, from me, Kol, and Bonnie."

She tore his head clean off, and dragged the body and head with her to her car.

"Nik," she said, leaving him a voicemail, "I'm on my way back with the body. Be there soon." Once she finished, she dialed Katherine's number.

"Maddy Salvatore," said Katherine with fake sweetness. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Don't play dumb with me Katherine. You know what I have with me? A decapitated body. Why? Because Klaus just killed those twelve hybrids you had your little spy deliver to him."

"Ugh... Hayley. Well, I'll take care of her, don't worry."

"Actually, no you won't. You'll leave her alone. You see, I wanted to kill her, because I thought she was the one who manipulated Tyler Lockwood into doing this. But then I realized she was manipulated by you and Shane. So I killed Shane and now, I'm wondering if maybe I should tell Klaus about your involvement in this."

Katherine was silent, and Maddy could only just hear her faint heartbeat growing quicker.

"I got Klaus to give you a full pardon," continued the younger vampire. "And what did he say? If you ever got in his way again, the pardon would be rescinded. I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure you just got in the way. So... I could end his call and get you back on his 'Most Wanted' list. And be warned, he's so pissed, I'm sure he'll actually take off to hunt you the instant I bring up your name. So listen to me very, very clearly, Katherine. You're going to back the fuck off and leave Hayley alone. You won't go after the cure and you will not tell anyone about the cure. If any new face comes at me discussing this matter, I'm going to assume they learned it from you, and Klaus will be after you immediately. I'll even beg him to kill you as viciously as he can. You know he'll do it just for me. Did I make myself clear or do I need to repeat myself?"

"It's clear," said Katherine quietly. "You are one nasty little bitch now that you're screwing him. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Let's not forget how much you hurt my family. I have my reasons for hating you and being a bitch. Don't get involved again, Katherine. No matter how good you think you are at hiding your hand in this, I'm even better at finding it again. So heed my warning."

She hung up, smirking to herself.

Klaus was not happy when he received Shane's body and head. Kol would likely react better once he learned about it the following day.

"Thank you for not hurting Carol and Tyler," said Maddy, taking Klaus's hand. "Come on. Let's go somewhere... anywhere you want. You need to let your anger out, I know it."

"I can't let my anger out!" he snarled in her face. "Every time I try, you re-route my course of action!"

"I'll stop you when it comes to hurting people close to me. But if you want to go on a killing spree at that prison where we got the vampires last time, I'm more than happy to accompany you."

"I despise this," he spat. "I despise having to feel concerned about who I hurt. Tyler and Carol Lockwood mean nothing to me and yet I cannot hurt them, because I'd lose you. I need to break something or someone. However, I can think of nothing that will assuage my ire quite like revenge. There is a certain degree of pleasure it brings. I need that. The release of anger with some pleasurable feeling attached to it. I will not acquire that from murdering prisoners who are of no significance to me!"

"Then I have an idea," she said. "There are... ways that people get their anger out with their partners. If you want passion that will give you that calming feeling murder might... what if we try 'angry sex?'"

Klaus stared at her. "Angry what? Forgive me for stating the bloody obvious but that could kill you. I'd be hurting you."

"You wouldn't be. Trust me. It's better than tearing apart the house or a prison or something. As long as we meet three guidelines, it'll be fine."

He balled up his fists, drawing a deep breath. "And what are these three guidelines?"

"Safety, sanity, and consent. As long as you don't take it too far— which I know you won't— I'll be safe. I promise to tell you if it hurts. Safeword can be... um, doppelgänger, I guess. It's weird enough that you'll react to it. We're both sober, we're in our right minds, you're just a bit agitated, but that's okay— we're sane, and I'm consenting. Do you consent?"

"If this is going to help me, of course I consent. I just wonder how you know these things."

"Those three guidelines are like, the laws of kinky sex. Are you up for it?"

"Yes," he said, immediately bringing her in for a rough kiss.

A/N: I recently saw a tiktok about this the other day and I thought it was an important thing to share. Please remember safety, sanity, and consent whenever doing the silly with someone else. Comment for more!