No one seemed to be able to hear her.

Dahlia had dragged her into the adjacent building, leaving her to lay on a blanket on the floor. Maddy felt her uterus contracting over and over again. She was howling in pain, trying her hardest to keep the baby from exiting in any way. Her legs were pressed together, her hands draped tight over her stomach.

Time was moving slowly. And at the same time, everything was happening so fast. She didn't know how long it had been. All she knew was that the pain was getting worse and worse, and no one was coming to save her.

"PLEASE STOP!" she was crying out, her throat hoarse. "PLEASE!"

The witch wasn't listening to her. She sat across the room, coiling her fingers over and over again. She seemed to understand that she couldn't just slice her open and pull the baby out magically, because that might just cause both of them to bleed out. Instead, she kept forcing Maddy's body into thinking it needed to be in labor. It would do the work for her, naturally, and Dahlia would simply have to focus her magic on ensuring the child survived the early birth.

Maddy felt her consciousness starting to slip away. And she found solace in memories.

"Mama, you're okay," she whispered to Lily when she'd been giving birth to Stefan. The midwife was already teaching a four-year-old Maddy how to aid another woman in giving birth. The little girl kept peering up at her mother, smiling and trying to calm her as she listened to her whimpering in pain.

"Thank you, Madeleine," Lily gasped, her face beaded in sweat. "Soon... you're going to have... another brother— AHH!"

"One more big push," the midwife instructed. "Madeleine, put your hands here so I can show you—"

Maddy obeyed, and next thing she knew, she was helping the midwife clean the baby. Maddy had been the first to hold Stefan, before handing him to her mother and climbing onto the bed to wipe her forehead down and give her some water.

"He's so tiny," she said, poking Stefan's cheek lightly.

"He is," whispered Lily, drawing a deep breath. "Go fetch your father and Damon."

"Yes, Mama." She climbed off of the bed, exiting the room to find where Giuseppe and Damon were, in the parlor. Just seeing her, they knew the child had been born. Maddy grabbed Damon's hand, practically yanking him back upstairs.

"He looks weird," whispered Maddy to Damon once Giuseppe was examining his son. "He's all peeled. Why is he peeled?"

Damon snorted lightly. "Because he was in there for too long. That is what happens when babies don't leave on time. Father told me."

"Why did he tell you?"

"Because you were born peeled. And ugly."

Maddy glared at him. "You were ugly!"

"You weren't even born, you don't know what I looked like."

"STOP!"

Through her blurred vision she saw a figure moving toward her.

"My sister's lover," said Dahlia, acknowledging Ansel as he came in with his sword. "Do you intend to kill me with that puny weapon?"

Ansel knew he didn't stand a chance against a witch. "Stop this madness," he said coldly.

"Leave," sneered Dahlia, "or I will snap that fragile neck of yours."

Ansel set his sword down slowly. "Do not make her go through it alone." He moved toward Maddy, helping her lay in a more comfortable position.

"No," she panted, shaking her head wildly. "You've got... you've got to stop her..."

"I cannot," he whispered in a pained voice. "The only thing I can do is make this easier for you." He looked at Dahlia. "Stop your magic. I will deliver the child."

Maddy was about to protest, but she realized what he was doing. He was buying them time. If Dahlia stopped the spell now, it might still take hours for her to fully dilate. Which meant the others could break free and come and help them.

"Please," begged Maddy, when Dahlia didn't immediately stop the spell. "You'll kill her if you don't stop, please, I can sense she's not doing well, just stop... stop it..."

Dahlia stopped coiling her fingers. The worst of the pain faded, and Ansel quickly used a different blanket to prop Maddy's head up.

"Is it alright if I remove this?" he asked, gesturing to her pants as he got another blanket to cover her.

She nodded. "Have you done this before?" she asked, trying her hardest to stay awake. She already knew the answer but she needed to hear him talk.

"I have," he said calmly. "I helped my wife and many others in our Pack bring new members into this world. Don't worry." He removed her pants, and examined her. "Alright, you still have awhile to go. But—" he faced Dahlia, "this will ensure the child does not go into distress."

Dahlia merely stared at him. She obviously knew nothing of medicine. She just figured she could rely on magic in case something went wrong. But Ansel knew that she was far too brutal, and had she continued, the baby would have likely died no matter what Dahlia did. Though she knew the risks, she was far too confident in her magic.

"Can you tell if she's okay?" asked Maddy frantically. "Is she still alive?"

"Yes," said Ansel, after a moment of listening. "I can hear her heartbeat. Rapid, because she's agitated. But she will be alright."

"Let's hurry along now," said Dahlia. "We do not have all day."

"If you'd only waited, we wouldn't be so concerned," said Ansel angrily. He turned back to Maddy. "Focus on your breathing. Follow my lead."

He drew a deep breath, and she tried to imitate him, her legs shaking. Over and over again, she tried to match his pace, trying to ignore the pain.

"We need a doctor," said Ansel to Dahlia. "Allow me to call her friend, Jo. She is a witch, but she does not have magic. She will be no threat to you."

Dahlia scoffed. "No witch is a threat to me. As for that woman... she, like the others, is stuck in the Compound."

"Then procure a different doctor."

"If you insist on staying, you are the sole person that will play this role. If you are not going to perform adequately, then I will take the risk and remove the child by force."

"You cannot do that!" snapped Ansel. "You do not understand the first thing about how delicate this process is! Madeleine has Traveler Magic affecting her. It changes everything!"

Dahlia just stared, her dark eyes glittering with malice. "Speak to me that way again and I will kill you."

"No, you won't, because you know that the best way to ensure you have a healthy child in your arms at the end of the day is to let me help her."

Maddy knew he was just buying time, but all the same, hearing those words hurt her. She stifled a sob. "Please don't take my baby," she told Dahlia. "Please don't... please..."

"I will take her, before you can even hold her," said Dahlia, not caring whether this hurt her or not. "You are frightened for your child. I can assure you, anything that Freya might have told you about our life together... well, she always had a flair for the dramatic. Most of my troubles with her stemmed from the fact that I came for her so late in life. She had such a strong memory of the family that I took her from. But your child has never even met you. She won't cling to the memory of you or cry for you in her sleep. You can take comfort in the fact that for her, it will be as if you never existed. I will be all that she knows, from the beginning, and with me, she will be truly great."

This didn't comfort her at all. It really only made her feel worse, and she let out a whine as another contraction shot waves of discomfort down her body. "Make it stop," she moaned out. "I can't do this... I can't..."

"You will survive this," said Ansel firmly, taking her hand. "You have survived too much for this to defeat you."

"What's the fucking point?" she snapped miserably. "If I won't get to raise the baby I carried this whole time... what does it matter?"

Ansel turned to Dahlia. "Surely you can allow her to go with you."

"No," said Dahlia coldly. "She will only hinder any progress that can be made in her training."

"You just want her to be a psychopath like you," sneered Maddy, closing her eyes for a moment to breathe. "Without a good parental figure she'll be as cold and unfeeling as her teacher... you just want to use her for your own selfish gains."

Dahlia did not answer. She simply held her hand up again, and Maddy screamed as she felt a sharp pain right over her stomach. Blood started to drip out, and she realized Dahlia had already begun to lose her patience.

"STOP!" bellowed Ansel, pressing his hands on Maddy's stomach to keep her from bleeding out. "You will only kill them both!"

"MAKE IT STOP!" screamed Maddy, covering the opening wound with her own hands, too. "MAKE IT STOP— PLEASE! PLEASE! NIK! NIK, HELP! HELP!"

Ansel shut his eyes with a pained expression, and Maddy realized that maybe, just maybe, Klaus was yelling back. Except, she couldn't hear him, not in this body.

"Madeleine," said Ansel, removing his hands when he realized Dahlia wasn't going to close the wound. "I may need to deliver her via C-section. I need to examine you again."

"No, no!" she whimpered. "She can't be born yet, she can't be!"

"Madeleine, breathe. Can I examine you?"

She just nodded, though she was trembling, her eyes shut tightly. She felt Ansel reaching his hand through the opening, and suddenly, he let out a sigh of relief.

"It's okay," he said softly. "The uterus is still intact." He turned to Dahlia. "Heal the wound. She's more dilated now, the baby can be born naturally."

"Then let it be so," said Dahlia, though she made no move to heal her.

"Heal her, damn it!" snapped Ansel. "She's bleeding out faster and faster with each passing second! The child will only be harmed if she has to be removed from a dead body!"

"Then deliver her before she dies," said Dahlia. "I will not ask again."

Ansel swore loudly, and Maddy slumped back. "We need a vampire," he said softly, looking around wildly. "We need a vampire... to heal you... or you won't make it."

Maddy whimpered, another contraction shooting through her. "I don't... I don't think I can push. I can't... I don't have the strength."

"The only other option is to cut you open and bring her out." He cast her a significant look, as if saying that this was not the way to go. The sooner the baby was born, the sooner Dahlia would have her in her clutches. And she'd disappear before anyone found them. "Just hang on. Please. You want her to be born naturally, right? You're almost there, almost fully dilated. Just breathe. Breathe, please, breathe..."

Maddy blinked several times, then closed her eyes. "I'm so tired," she whispered. "I'm so, so tired..."

"It's the blood loss. Keep talking to me. Don't stop talking. Tell me about your brothers. Something I don't know."

She didn't speak, and he couldn't help but grab her arm roughly, forcing her to open her eyes again. "Tell me about your brothers," he demanded. "Do not let yourself go to sleep."

"I miss my brothers so much," she whispered. "I just want to see them... I want to see them..."

"You have to stay awake for that. Don't fall asleep on me. Please. Madeleine..." he grabbed her arm again, shaking her. "Madeleine, listen to me."

"I can't even see you anymore," she said, her eyes open. "I don't see anything... it's so dark..."

"Close your eyes, then, but don't stop talking. Tell me something else about your brothers."

She didn't respond, and Ansel shook her. "Madeleine," he said, his voice cracking. "You can't go to sleep. Niklaus will be here soon. He'll help you."

"Please take care of her," Maddy whispered. "Please... take care of her."

"No, you will be the one taking care of her. You can't let go."

"Madeleine," Lily whispered, holding her hand tightly, just days before she would succumb to the consumption. "Promise me that you will always take care of Stefan."

"Of course I will, Mother," she said, feeding her some more stew. "Keep eating, you must keep up your strength."

Lily forced a smile. "Protect each other. Always."

"We will." She hadn't realized her mother was trying to say goodbye in those moments. She'd simply kept feeding her, thinking that it would make her feel better.

Ansel was shaking her more roughly, and she was no longer responding. His own heart was hammering in his chest, terrified that no one would make it to them in time. If Maddy died and the baby ended up in Dahlia's clutches, he'd never forgive himself.

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound outside. Dahlia sat up, and immediately went to check what was going on. Ansel watched as the woman flew through the air, before slamming into a wall that he couldn't see. He knew that the time he bought them had been sufficient. They'd broken free of the spell.

He could hear the Mikaelsons outside, all of them confronting Dahlia. He called out for help, and three figures burst in, though they were unfamiliar to him.

"Mads," said Damon, collapsing by her side. "Shit— oh, shit—"

Stefan had immediately turned away. "I can't be in here," he said, grabbing onto the doorframe. "The blood—"

"Just stay inside," said Enzo, biting into his wrist and immediately started to push his blood into Maddy's mouth. "Our sister needs us."

Maddy wasn't waking up. They could all hear her heartbeat, faint but present. The Traveler magic was keeping the blood from healing her. "Damn it," said Enzo. "It's not working!"

"I need to deliver the baby," said Ansel. "Perhaps when it exits her body, the last of the magic will fade and the blood will work."

"Then do it," said Enzo, rolling up his sleeves as Damon brought Maddy's head to his lap, stroking her hair. "What do I do?"

Ansel had no choice but to have Enzo assist with the C-section. There was no way Maddy would be able to push. "Just keep her comfortable," Ansel murmured to Damon. "As soon as the child is born..." he looked at Enzo, "you will take it to the nearest hospital."

Enzo nodded. Ansel got to work, and Damon bit into his wrist, forcing his other hand to keep the wound open so that blood would continue to flow into Maddy's mouth. With any luck, it would start to battle against the Traveler magic, getting the last of it out of her before the blood loss killed her.

"You can't die," said Damon softly, hearing her heart slowing down. "Damn it, Mads, you can't die... you can't... come on..."

"You're going to need to turn her, mate," said Enzo.

Damon paled. "Wait... what?"

"The instant she starts healing, it'll be because the Traveler magic is gone. And when that happens, the veil that kept her from aging will be no more. She'll start to age rapidly. The instant you see that she's healing, you have to turn her. You have to snap her neck, and she'll wake up completely healed."

"Turn me."

"What?" Damon had said, when Maddy had turned to him, looking at him with puppy eyes. It was 1864, and he had just completed his transition.

"Turn me," she repeated. "I have made my decision. If you two are going to be vampires, living for centuries more, then I wish to be by your side. I refuse to stay mortal and die while you two go on, remaining as young as you are now."

"No," he said immediately. "No, are you insane? I will not turn you."

"Damon, please!" she begged. "I want to be a vampire! Just give me your blood and kill me."

"No." He stepped away from her. "I won't. This is not something you want, Madeleine."

"Yes, it is! We have to stick together. I refuse to be left behind. Just turn me!"

He moved even further away. "No. I won't turn you." He started to walk away, and Maddy watched his departing figure for a moment, before huffing and turning to Stefan. "Then you turn me."

Damon whirled around. "No!"

But Stefan had already bitten his wrist, given her his blood, and stabbed a knife into her gut. She sank down, and within seconds, she was dead.

"Why would you do that?" he yelled. "No! How could you turn her?"

"She wanted to be a vampire," said Stefan simply. "Why deny her?"

Damon sneered, "How could you? You're ruining her life! It was us that got involved with Katherine, not her! We shouldn't have brought those consequences upon her! She should have gotten to be human! To live her life, to be a mother!"

"Look around, Damon," said Stefan. "Look at the people here. She wasn't going to be happy here, as a human. There's nothing left for her here. She might as well come with us."

"I will never forgive you for this," snapped Damon. "I wanted to die and you made me turn, and now, you've allowed her to join us in this miserable existence!"

"Damon," said Enzo, waving his hand in front of his face. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah," he said quietly. He looked back at Stefan, who shook his head, covering his mouth and nose. There was no way Stefan could be the one to turn her again.

"She's coming out," said Ansel. Enzo immediately prepared his hands, and as soon as Ansel cut the cord, Enzo took the tiny child in his arms and sped off.

"Come on," said Damon, forcing Maddy to keep drinking. "Heal, please heal, just heal..."

It was so hard to tell whether she was healing or not. Ansel tried his best to press down on her skin, waiting. He was terrified it would take too long. If it didn't work...

"There!" said Ansel, bringing his hands up as he saw her skin starting to close on its own. "Do it, now!"

Damon let just a bit more blood drip down her throat before snapping her neck. Maddy's body went completely limp.

There was silence outside. Ansel got to his feet, rushing out to check what was going on.

He saw Dahlia and Esther, wrapped in an embrace, the two frozen for an instant before they turned to dust, which blew up into the wind and out of sight.

"Are you alright?" he asked the Mikaelsons, who all stood side by side, panting. Kol was sporting a massive cut on his lip, Freya's head was bleeding, and Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah all looked extremely exhausted, dust covering their bodies. Behind them, Elena was feeding Bonnie her blood as the witch held her side, keeping her hand pressed on a wound on her abdomen. Alaric was with the two girls, massaging his leg, which had blood all over it.

Seeing Ansel, Klaus immediately rushed into the next building. He found Damon cradling Maddy while Stefan called Enzo, asking if he'd made it to the hospital.

"She'll be okay," whispered Damon, holding his sister and kissing the top of her head. "She'll wake up in a bit. I turned her."

Klaus was surprised. "You turned her?"

"I had to."

Klaus took Maddy's hand, which had already grown cold. He looked down at the mess around them, a large pool of blood already dried on her clothes and on the floor.

"Enzo is at Tulane Medical Center," announced Stefan. "He took Jo with him when he saw her outside. The baby's okay. They've got her in the NICU."

Klaus breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll have someone clean this," he said, gesturing to the mess around them. "Let's get her to the hospital." He picked Maddy up, holding her head to his chest and caressing her face. "One of the nurses will have to give her blood for the transition."

"Where's everyone else?" asked Damon. "Marcel and the wolves?"

"The wolves had to keep the civilians from coming near this place. They're not too far from here. Marcel is with the witches. He and Vincent managed to convince them to help us resurrect Esther." He looked through the doorway, seeing Freya and Kol were there.

"We ought to get started on our spell," said the eldest sister, managing a weak smile. Klaus returned it. "The Nexus Vorti won't last long. We'll be at the hospital soon, once Kol has been returned to his witch body."

"Thank you, sister," said Klaus quietly as Freya lifted her sleeve to wipe the blood off of her forehead.

Freya beamed. "Make sure she's comfortable. In a few hours, we could attempt the power transfer spell to ensure she isn't at a disadvantage. Alaric is here, and willing."

Klaus assented, before zooming off to the hospital.

Maddy woke up hours later, surrounded by people. There was a horrible buzzing in her ears, and the lights were far too bright for her liking. Immediately, she knew what had happened. Klaus was sitting beside her, holding a glass of blood, which he gave to her, guiding it to her mouth so that it wouldn't spill. She drank only a bit before quickly pushing it away, not even noticing that Kol was there, in his real body.

"Where is she?" she asked frantically. "Where's my daughter?"

"Right here."

She looked over to where Elena stood, wheeling over the incubator. "You can take her out, Jo said it was okay. She's strong... she's going to be just fine."

Maddy immediately sat up, opening it and bringing the tiny girl onto her chest. She was much smaller than the average newborn, given how early she'd been born. "Hi," she whispered, starting to tear up. She could finally her heartbeat, rapid and firm. "Oh my god... you are so beautiful..." She noticed the wristband that had been placed on her. "And you have a name already...?" She looked up at Enzo.

"Sorry," he said awkwardly. "I didn't know what names you two had in mind, you never told us. You can change it, if you want."

Klaus frowned, not sure what the name was. He read off the band, "Hope Mikaelson," he murmured. "Why 'Hope?'"

"Well, when we were on our way here, Elijah mentioned we had to do everything in our power to save the baby, which was a given," said Enzo. "He mentioned she represented hope, for both families. And when I brought her here, I was holding onto hope very firmly... praying that Maddy wouldn't die... praying that the baby would be just fine. It felt right to call her that."

"Hope," whispered Maddy, caressing her daughter's face. "Hope Eliana Mikaelson." She looked up at Klaus, who nodded, then pressed his forehead against hers, bringing them both into a tight hug.