This story takes place about 5 years after season 7 of BTVS, putting Buffy around 26 or so, and in season 2 of The Originals right after the finale. Unlike my other Original heavy VD story, this story will NOT contain any characters from Mystic Falls crossing over. It focuses completely on New Orleans and the characters from The Originals. If you have not seen The Originals, this story will contain spoilers (obviously).

This is a Buffy/Elijah pairing. Although Hayley has grown on me A LOT since the show began, I still don't think she's worthy of Elijah and kind of like Jackson, her werewolf husband.

This story may be hard to follow if you don't watch The Originals, but I will tell you that the Mikaelsons' oldest sister Freya is a witch and is not dead as they were told. Instead, their mom's sister Dahlia, a powerful witch, took her in exchange for a favor when she was 3 or 4. They have just defeated Dahlia by resurrecting their mother, who was killed once again by her children. To bring back Esther, they tricked and betrayed Davina, a young and powerful witch who is in love with Kol and has just become head of all the witches in New Orleans. Klaus paid a heavy price to defeat their aunt, who wanted his child, a vampire, werewolf, witch—the child isn't one year old yet and has shown signs of being very powerful. Rebekah, once again in her human witch body, has left New Orleans to find a life outside of her family's constant squabbling.

This story centers around Elijah, who has had Klaus kill yet another lover of his. His commitment to his niece and love for Hayley, though, won't allow him to forsake his brother completely. Hurt and on the brink of despair, he calls in an old marker. He knows he can no longer handle his impulsive and callous brother alone.

Disclaimer: I don't own either shows, but I LOVE writing stories that bring the two insanely fun worlds together.

Chapter 1: The Call

******New Orleans******

Elijah helped Marcel put Gia to rest. Marcel was probably the only one alive who had an inkling of what he was feeling. Loving Niklaus came at a heavy price. Klaus was a father to Marcel, one he both loathed and admired. There had been a time when Klaus had given Marcel the best part of himself, the part of him that kept Elijah from despairing for his brother. However, Marcel had come to realize what Elijah and Rebekah already knew—that Klaus's love came with a heavy price. Klaus had killed many of Marcel's friends since coming to New Orleans over a year ago. Now Marcel was doing everything he could to keep the rest of them alive. The recent clash with the werewolves in the town had compelled Elijah to extend his hand to his brother's foster son. They were family of sorts. In New Orleans, one must pick one's allies with careful consideration. As an original vampire, Elijah felt a responsibility to the vampires in the French Quarter. He'd felt a responsibility and more toward Gia. Now she was dead, callously murdered by his brother.

Marcel's eyes were filled with sorrow. Klaus had compelled him to kill Rebekah, the only woman he'd ever truly loved. Sure, he'd done so knowing she'd jump back into her original body, but it was still a horrible violation. If Rebekah hadn't killed herself and saved him the torment, he'd have yet another death on his conscience. Then Klaus had killed Gia, one of his. Marcel looked at Elijah with sympathy. She was also one Elijah cared deeply for. The normally stoic and composed original was not looking his normal unaffected self.

"Are you okay?" Marcel asked him in concern. Elijah was their rock. The only one on the planet who had any real influence on Klaus. Without him, Marcel didn't know what the vampires in the city would do. Elijah was like the angel on Klaus' shoulder, constantly reminding him of his humanity. The only man Klaus both admired and respected.

Elijah tore his eyes from the ground that now held Gia's burnt body. "I don't think there's a word to describe what I am," Elijah said woodenly.

"You know Klaus never considers collateral damage when he's fighting an enemy," Marcel said. "He is ruthless."

"Niklaus never considers anything but his own safety and self-interest," Elijah said bitterly. "He took Gia, a girl who never harmed a single soul since becoming a vampire and compelled her to kill herself. He will claim it was to fool Dahlia. He'll say it was her or you. He'll say that I shouldn't care so much because she wasn't the woman I really loved anyway."

"Your brother is an ass," Marcel said bluntly.

A ghost of a smile graced Elijah's face, and he looked at the only man who understood his brother as well as he. Marcel Gerard was a slave Niklaus had saved as a young boy. In an act of rare compassion and kindness, he had killed Marcel's cruel master and had taken in Marcel, loving and raising him as a son. He'd been a part of their family until he was grown. Although Marcel had loved Rebekah, he'd chosen to become a vampire while Rebekah was daggered for five decades. He'd paid a high cost for loving their only sister.

"My brother is forever thinking he has a right to interfere in his siblings' love life," Elijah said with controlled anger. "I loved Celeste. He had her killed. I cared deeply for Katerina, and he destroyed her life and killed her entire family. Now he's invoked the curse on Hayley's pack, condemning her to the werewolf form but three days out of the month. How can she be a mother to Hope? How could he do such a thing to the mother of his child?"

Marcel was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "You know in his mind he was protecting her from Dahlia. He took her out of the fight, so she wouldn't be a threat to Dahlia. He cares for Hayley—more than he'll ever admit."

"That may be so," Elijah acknowledged. "But he cannot be allowed to do whatever he wants. He cannot be allowed to hurt whomever he wants."

"What can we do? He's too strong," Marcel said. "Davina is the only one in this city who isn't afraid of him. She has the power now, but I don't want her drawn into a war with Klaus. He'll kill her. Her love for me will keep her from killing him, and he'll use that love to his advantage. Loving me will get her killed."

"You know she's going to be very angry with me. Rebekah and I tricked her," Elijah said regretfully. "She had one chance to restore our brother Kol, but we swapped the ashes for our mother. We needed Esther to kill Dahlia." The irony was they'd killed their mother yet again. She'd served a purpose, but Elijah wished rather desperately to have his incorrigible brother Kol here in her stead.

Marcel gave a bitter, humorless laugh. "Never get in the way of an Original and something they want."

Elijah gave him a look of regret. "I am sorry, Marcelus. I'm not sure we did you any favors long ago when we saved you from a slave's life," he said.

"Yes, you did," Marcel said firmly. "Everything I am today is because of you and your family. Klaus showed me how to be strong and ruthless, to survive and never be a victim again. You showed me how to have class and culture. Rebekah showed me how to love. I don't regret a single thing. I just wish your brother didn't make everything so damn hard!"

A real smile graced Elijah's face. "I know what you mean," he said. However, his brother had gone too far this time. He'd cursed Hope's mother, her pack. He'd killed yet another lover of Elijah's. It had to stop. There had to be a way to keep his brother in check. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. A face came to his mind—one he'd not thought about in years.

"Are you going to stay with me or return home to Klaus?" Marcel asked.

"I cannot abide in the same place as my brother. Not while I am this angry," Elijah said. "Yet I cannot leave my niece with only Klaus. I promised Hayley I would look after her."

"Your sister Freya is there, too, right?" Marcel inquired.

"And how do you think that will go? They are cut from the same distrustful, treacherous cloth," Elijah said warily. "Hope needs more. She needs Hayley. Even Jackson and his pack would be a better influence on my niece."

"What can you do?" Marcel asked.

"I'm going to do something. Niklaus cannot be allowed to do whatever he wants to us. I will tolerate this no more," Elijah said firmly.

Marcel grew worried as he saw a look in Elijah's eyes that he'd not seen before. He had a feeling that this time Klaus would finally know regret.

Elijah left Marcel making a plan. He made a call. Then he got another number. He called again. His called paid off when he finally tracked down the man he was looking for.

"Rupert Giles?" he asked.

"Yes. This is he. What can I do for you?" the British man asked in a voice that was still familiar to Elijah.

"This is Elijah Mikaelson. I'm calling in the favor you owe me," Elijah said.

*****Two Weeks Later*****

Buffy looked out the window as the plane began to descend over New Orleans. She'd traveled all over the world slaying, training, and recruiting, but for some reason, her travels hadn't ever taken her here. Giles had tried more than once to get a slayer house started in the famous city. However, something always prevented his plans from coming to fruition. It seemed that the Powers didn't want them in that city, so he'd finally given up.

Since it became clear to her, Willow, and Giles that she was different from the other slayers about three years ago, there wasn't an urgency to see it all. She knew she had all the time in the world. As long as a slayer was on earth, Buffy would live. Her life force was linked to the slayer line. It had been five years since Willow had done her spell that had changed Buffy and the potentials for all time. Buffy was now immortal with her strength and powers growing every year she was alive. It was still a lot to take in, so she didn't spend too much time thinking about it. She supposed when more people she cared about died of old age, it'd hit her harder. Unfortunately, in her line of work, dying of old age wasn't very common.

Her reason for coming to New Orleans was as a favor for Giles. He had asked her to, so she'd cleared her schedule as soon as she could. Since her differences became so obvious to the other slayers, her life with them wasn't an easy one. Only when things were really bad did they want her around. She didn't really have a place in their world anymore. The first year after they had left Sunnydale, they'd organized and built on the ashes of the Watcher's Council. She, Faith, Robin, and Kennedy had trained the new slayers while Willow located them. However, when it became apparent that she was growing stronger than even Faith, things began to change. No longer did she have the ease with the new slayers that she'd once had. The awe was tinged with fear when they fought with her. Her calling had once again hijacked her life. She'd been counting the days until she'd get to return to heaven, and now heaven was even further away.

Giles asking a favor for her was a welcome distraction. Buffy thought she knew Giles better than anyone. He'd been her teacher, mentor, friend, and father for over a decade. She thought she knew all his secrets by now. However, he could still surprise her. A phone call from an old acquaintance had made him reveal yet a new facet of his history.

Back in his ripper days, Giles had nearly died. However, he'd been saved by a man who was more than a man. He was a vampire but not the kind she knew. According to Giles, he was much different than the kind she fought and slayed. In fact, Giles insisted the vampire had a soul and was no demon. Buffy remained skeptical, but she would gladly help the man who saved Giles decades earlier. She didn't understand why Giles had never mentioned that there were vampires with souls running around—ones without demons. When she'd questioned him, she said that he hadn't want to muddy the waters—whatever that meant.

She was going to see the vampire who had saved Giles. His name was Elijah Mikaelson. According to Giles, he was very old world and the head of an ancient vampire family that was created by magic and not demons. Buffy didn't understand how she and her slayers had never run across any of his line. Vampires that didn't turn to dust would surely have been noticed. However, she trusted Giles explicitly. If he said this man Elijah was someone she could trust, then she would.

As she walked down the airport tunnel leading away from the plane, she looked forward to the new adventure that awaited her in New Orleans. Something inside her told her that her life was about to change.

*****To Be Continued*****