The Minutes After

"Time, the ultimate truth teller" – Katy Perry

Klaus glanced over to the passenger seat as he drove. The closer they got to Bonnie's, the more Haley seemed to fidget. A glance into his rearview mirror revealed that Hope didn't share her mother's anxiousness as she curled up in the back seat; her eyes focused on her tablet.

"You're fretting over nothing," Klaus chided.

After he'd arrived in Vermont two months ago, he recounted to Haley the events leading up to the Battle of the Cauldron as it was now being called.

Haley had been relieved when she saw him striding up to her front door when he first arrived, telling her that he had the means to revive Elijah and the others. But her face fell slightly when she discovered that the "means" came by way of Bonnie Bennett and that they would all live with her for the time being.

"Do we have to?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because while you're clearly on her good side now, the same might not be said about me."

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "And what exactly have you done to Bonnie?"

"Nothing. It's just that I don't know her and pretty much the only things she probably knows about me is that I had a hand in getting Tyler's mother killed and whatever else Caroline Forbes might have told her."

Haley could admit that her need to discover more about her family had driven her to do things back then that she'd been ashamed of even while she was doing them.

Tyler had considered her a friend, and still she manipulated him as well as the rest of Klaus' hybrids; tricking them into trying to kill Klaus only to set them up for their own slaughter. And while he hadn't killed Tyler for Caroline's sake, he did murder Carol Lockwood as punishment.

Those deaths were on her head just as much as Klaus' and his relationship with the Bennett witch didn't guarantee that things were suddenly square between her and any member of the Mystic Falls gang.

Klaus considered her words. He knew that if Bonnie was holding a grudge, she'd have said something by now.

"Luckily, Hope is your insurance policy. Bonnie would never intentionally leave a child motherless," he smirked.

"Just because she wouldn't kill me doesn't mean she wouldn't screw me over. Witches have long ass memories and know more than one way get some payback."

"Fair point," Klaus mused. "My Bonnie is nothing if not creative. But I daresay that you have nothing to fear from her. Caroline on the other hand..."

"Is she going to be there too?" The annoyance in her voice making him chuckle.

"According to Bonnie, she and Stefan are off to spend time with her daughters. But I think it's safe to say that she'll be a very frequent visitor.

"Great..." He heard Haley grumble.

Here they were two months later and Haley was just as uneasy now as she had been then. Klaus shook his head and turned his eyes back to the road. If only she knew the one most likely to still have a fairly high ranking on Bonnie's shit list, was her beloved Elijah.

It had been two months since he parted from the witch. Two months for Hope to be at ease with the idea of leaving the only home she'd ever known with a father she didn't remember.

He'd had an idea of what to expect, but it didn't compare to the reality of the child's indifference upon meeting him. Haley had spoken of him often over the years; but for one so young, he had become nothing more than a story repeatedly read. Familiar...but no more real than any other bedtime tale.

It had taken time, but little by little, Hope began to adjust to his presence in her life, even going so far as to seek him out in the trailer he occupied when her curiosity finally got the best of her.

He would credit his time among the Five Packs for the level of ease with which he was able to dwell amongst these wolves. The differences between the Five Packs and those around him now were stark. And when his own pack joined him for the full moons, the differences were even more glaring. It was a way of carrying oneself more than anything, he supposed.

There was no question that Haley and Hope had been treated well. As his daughter, Hope was already a member of the Northeast Atlantic Pack by blood. And despite being wary of her mother's lineage, Haley had been embraced as well.

But like the wolves in the bayou, these were just as committed to a life of evasion and isolation; living on the outskirts and subsisting on odd jobs or the occasional dalliance with the wrong side of the law.

He was indebted to them for sheltering his daughter and her mother. But those wolves and the fears that drove them were not the kind he wanted Hope surrounded by for longer than necessary.

"Are we there yet?" Hope asked, turning to peer out of the window.

"Just about, sweetheart," the hybrid answered fondly.

At first it had been slow going; getting Hope to accept him. The child had inherited a healthy dose of her father's skepticism. Talking with her had been like pulling teeth; his efforts to draw her out resulting in monosyllabic responses at best and complete silence at worst.

But as each day passed, curt responses evolved into hesitant questions. She started to seek him out even if she lingered only a few moments. Before long, she began to inquire as to when he would visit, knowing well enough that not a day had gone by when he hadn't.

They took to roaming the woods while she regaled him with tales of school and her friends and he entertained her with stories of his tamer pursuits.

When Hope was in school, his days were filled with unearthing contacts, reestablishing financial connections and recovering assets that had been all but ignored since Marcel passed sentence.

But while his afternoons and evenings belonged to Hope, his nights that extended into the early hours of the morning belonged to Bonnie.

The wonders of modern technology did little to distract from the fact that he missed his witch. He missed the feel of her breath against his neck when she slept. He found that he'd even started clenching an unclenching his right hand; his mind unwilling to process the absence of hers within it. What started as a persistent tightness in his chest, bloomed into a constant ache; not strong enough to hinder, but enough to know that something...that someone was missing.

The visceral nature of their separation weighed heavily, the sound of her voice offering only temporary comfort, while the bond plagued him with the knowledge that her gentle heart endured the same.

Things finally came to a head when Hope happened to overhear her parents discussing a possible timeline for their departure from Vermont and relocation to Maryland.

Hearing that her long lost father planned to move them away from everyone and everything caused the child to do what Klaus suspected most children did when faced with upheaval:

She ran away.

As her father, he was able to sense Hope's distress. She was not in any danger, but his preternatural awareness of her told him that she was confused, frightened and angry. He shifted into his wolf and set off after her.

He found her curled up into the tiniest ball on a bed of fallen leaves; her cheeks stained with tears as she slept fitfully. Rather than wake her, he laid down beside her; the heat of his body and the softness of his fur keeping her warm. When she awakened an hour later and realized that she'd been found, she gloomily began the trek to his trailer, her father padding along close at her heels.

"Why do you want to make us move away?" She asked softly, once he was dressed and on two feet again. She lay on his couch and eyed him sadly.

"There is a witch in Maryland," Klaus began, crouching down before her. "And she's going to help us heal your aunts and uncles."

The child's eyes widened, "But why do we have to move away? Why can't we go and come back?"

"Because this was never meant to be our home, Hope," he said gently. "This was never meant to be our family's home."

"Then where are we supposed to be?"

The hybrid was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully as the answer was a great deal more complicated now than it would have been seven years ago.

"That is something that we will decide once our family is whole again. And the witch who's helping us with that is a part of this family as well."

"She is?" the child asked, frowning in suspicion. "How?"

"Because she's my mate," he replied carefully, studying the child's response to the word and seeing that her young mind wasn't fully grasping his meaning.

"She's my wife," he amended, smiling as her eyes widened in surprise and understanding.

"When did you get married?" She gasped.

"Six weeks ago."

"Did you have a honeymoon?"

Klaus chuckled, "Not yet. I wanted to find you first." He reached out and brushed a lock of brown hair from her forehead.

"I know you overheard your mother and I talking, but I don't want you to worry. We have no intention of going anywhere until you're ready. Do you understand?"

He watched as Hope digested his words. Finally she sat up, making room for him to sit.

"What's she like? She's not scary is she?" Her mother had mentioned witches before, and with the exception of her Aunt Freya, they didn't sound very friendly. It had also been explained to her that she too was a witch but the randomness and strength of her magic when it manifested frightened her so much that she never wanted anything to do with it.

Klaus joined her on the couch, "Well...Bonnie can be terrifying when those she loves are in danger. But she's also very smart, funny and impossibly kind."

"Is she pretty?"

"Yes, she is quite pretty," he answered with a small smile.

"And you love her?"

"Very much," he replied, an image of the witch filling his mind's eye.

Hope watched as his eyes softened and it reminded her of the way her mother looked whenever she spoke of Uncle Elijah.

"How did you meet her?"

Klaus pulled the child into the crook of his arm. "Rather than tell you the story of how I met Bonnie, I'll tell you the story of how I came to know her, Sound good?"

Hope nodded as she tucked her feet beneath her and settled her head on his shoulder.

"Now," he began, "your mother told you that I was in a deep sleep for many years, yes?"

Hope nodded, "She said it was like Sleeping Beauty."

The hybrid chuckled, squeezing her. "Well I'll have you know, that Bonnie is the princess who awakened me."

By the time he carried her sleeping form back to Haley, the child's mind had been filled with a tale of ancient evil and a great battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. He told her of how he'd fallen in love with a witch who lived above a cauldron of magic with a humongous dog and managed to save the world when most weren't looking.

Two weeks later, Hope was asking when they would leave and Klaus was already making preparations.

Now he drove at the head of a caravan; his pack riding behind him followed by a moving truck and a semi bearing the coffins of his siblings.

#

Bonnie perused the files Alaric left for her. He'd selected a number of grad students for possible internships.

The night she met Lucy she'd asked her how to avoid being caught in the middle of supernatural bullshit. Her answer had been of little help then, but now after all she'd seen and done over the years, it was clear that there really was no way to truly "stay out of it". Not with the amount of power at her disposal.

What her teenaged self didn't understand then, was that magic wasn't the issue. It was about manipulation. It was about being thrust to the forefront to clean up the messes made by others. It was about being called upon until her body was broken for the sake of someone else's vanity.

That was something that she would never again allow herself to be subject to again, but how?

The answer finally came when she decided to drive to New Orleans to visit Vincent and Marcel. Stefan went with her as far as Mystic Falls. After Damon's death, the vampire was done with the boardinghouse and couldn't decide if he wanted to sell it off or burn it to the ground.

Bonnie was certain that when she returned to pick him on the way back from New Orleans, she'd find him standing in front of smoldering ashes instead of a For Sale sign.

Her visit to New Orleans only lasted a couple of days by the end of which she'd been approached with an interesting proposition.

Marcel had been more than a little affected by the fact that his inner circle had been compromised by Bob's witches. Had it not been for Bonnie and her connection to the spirits, they could have very easily pulled the rug out from under him. Her access to that kind of information was nearly priceless and as such, Marcel offered keep her on retainer.

"I am not going to be your witch, Marcel," Bonnie laughed.

"That's not what I'm asking," the vampire replied, filing her wine glass. "I'm not asking you to use your magic for me. I'm not asking you to use it for anyone. I'm just saying that since you are naturally privy to information that can be useful, I'm willing to pay you for that information. And so would many others for that matter."

Bonnie took a sip from her glass, brow furrowed.

"For instance," he continued. "While all of the vampires in New Orleans are under my rule, I think it's time to consider expanding beyond the city limits and I've got Baton Rouge in my sights. What do you think about that?"

Bonnie set her glass aside. "Expansion for your kind involves creating new vampires. But I'd be careful doing too much of that Baton Rouge. And certainly not by force."

Marcel leaned back in his chair, "And why is that?"

The images drifted into Bonnie's mind like a melody through an open window.

"There is a hunter buried beneath the ruins of an old ritual site. A witch placed him there centuries ago as a warning to vampires. It's a trap."

Marcel's eyes narrowed "What kind of trap?"

"The hunter's life is tied to the magic in that city. It can sense all of it. And if at any point there's an overabundance of a particular kind—namely vampire—it triggers his awakening and he goes on a killing spree until all is set to rights."

Marcel was quiet, digesting her words. Finally, he reached into his desk drawer and handed her a stack of bills.

Fifteen $1,000 bills to be exact.

"And just like that, you just helped me avoid a landmine that would have cost many lives and you didn't need to use an ounce of your magic to do it," he pointed out.

Bonnie eyes widened, "So what...you want me to be an oracle?"

"Considering what you just told me...aren't you one already?" Marcel asked, eyebrow raised.

The question hung in the air as Bonnie chewed her bottom lip.

Marcel leaned back in his chair and studied her.

"Do you know why my kind tends to treat your kind like tools?" He asked. "It's because you don't have any influence. There hasn't been a witch whose words carried any real weight in our world in centuries. Right now, you have the very unique opportunity to change that.

"How much tragedy could have been averted if only one person bothered to listen to you? How many warnings went unheeded to disastrous results? How many shitshows have you had to clean up? How many of them could have been avoided altogether?

"After what you just did with Bob...the only way anyone ignores the words coming out of your mouth again, is if you don't say anything. You've got a seat at the table and a winning hand, Bonnie. Are you ready to play it?"

By the time she left New Orleans she'd received an additional fifteen thousand along with the antidote to the poison that had been injected into Freya, two vials of Marcel's blood and a way forward.

For all of Marcel's talk of seats at tables and winning hands, Bonnie knew the driving force behind the vampire's pitch.

Klaus.

While he didn't intend to return to New Orleans any time soon, no one—particularly Marcel—was stupid enough to believe that the hybrid had also abandoned his pursuit of power. It was only a matter of time before the rebuild of his empire began—this iteration baring the canines of the wolf rather than the fangs of the vampire.

Whatever moves he made among the werewolves would naturally involve growth and expansion. Two things that would impact both vampires and witches in the region and placed the one person they have in common right smack in the middle.

Her discomfort with that position stemmed from the lack of control that seemed to go along with it. Marcel was right. How much could have been avoided if she'd held the same amount of influence then as she did now? If her participation—if any—was on her own terms?

And so, on the drive from New Orleans, The Cauldron was born. So named for the ley pool that dwelled beneath it. She'd flippantly referred to the pool as an ancient cauldron of magic in the past, but the description was entirely accurate having been instrumental in both reconnecting her to the spirits and constructing Bob's prison world.

The Armory's original mandate would remain intact, but it would also become an extension of her own. Its resources would focus on the preservation and maintenance of the balance. The Cauldron would maintain a position of neutrality when it came to the political intrigues of the supernatural, intervening only when any action landed in direct conflict with its mandate.

As for herself...she'd never really considered the oracular nature of her relationship to the spirits before. But it was there. They whispered things to her that she couldn't possibly know and offered direction when the path was unseen. And while she was no Pythia and The Cauldron was no Temple of Apollo at Delphi, she knew that there would be those who would seek her out for the counsel the spirits could provide.

Now, weeks later, Alaric was putting together a staff for the main office, Marcel had referred several to her for consultation, Vincent was recommending several witches for employment and Klaus would be arriving soon with his family in tow.

She'd thrown herself into Cauldron business during the hybrid's absence. When she wasn't doing that, she was helping Caroline with wedding plans and when she wasn't doing that, she was doing anything that would take her mind off of the Klaus-sized hole in her heart that seemed to be taking forever to fill.

He'd loomed large in her life and his absence only highlighted how much space he took up. Her bed now felt massive and empty and there wasn't a corner of her home that didn't call up some inconsequential memory that made her eyes sting.

She'd even caught Celeste peering into his old bedroom, only to move on in a huff when she found it empty. She didn't know what had happened between Klaus and Celeste, but whatever it was had put them on better terms before he'd left.

Bonnie continued flipping through her files when the sudden awareness of Klaus overtook her. It wasn't unusual as such feelings travelled through the bond merely at the thought of one another. However the sense of his nearness now didn't carry with it the usual ache-

His nearness.

"Oh my god…" she gasped, jumping up, files spilling everywhere. She raced out of the bedroom and down the stars, startling several interns as she ran through the halls and outside to the courtyard.

The black SUV leading the caravan stopped along with the cars and motorcycles behind it. The trucks were waved behind to the cargo bay.

Bonnie skidded to a stop; her heart leaping in her chest as she spied a head of unruly blonde curls exiting the SUV.

One minute he'd been nearly gnashing his teeth in impatience, the next minute she was standing in his line of sight.

Her hair had grown longer, the chocolate curls lifting off her shoulders in the breeze as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

The moment he cleared the vehicle, she picked up her the flowing skirt she wore and ran to him; abandoning all thought the second she felt his arms around her.

They held each other tightly; Bonnie's flats dangled from her toes before they gave up entirely and clattered onto the cobblestone as Klaus' lips found hers.

They breathed as one, each filling their lungs after weeks of feeling as though they were gasping for air. They fit together in that moment, the final puzzles pieces that turn a mystery into a revelation.

The sound of a throat clearing politely, separated them as Klaus set Bonnie back on her feet.

Haley and Hope were standing there along with Klaus' pack. His wolves filed by, greeting Bonnie warmly before being shoo'd inside to find something to eat.

Bonnie and extended her hand, "Hi Haley."

"Hi," the hybrid answered awkwardly. "I can't thank you enough for what you're doing for all of us," she said, taking the witch's hand.

Bonnie shrugged, "We're family now, right? I'm glad I can help."

She turned to Hope and smiled, "Hi Hope. I'm Bonnie."

The child hadn't taken her eyes off of the witch from moment they arrived. This was the witch of her father's stories? She didn't look big enough to do all the stuff he said she'd done. Instead she looked like one of the fairies in her storybooks minus the wings.

"I'm really happy to meet you," the witch continued. "Your Dad's told me a lot about you." She held out her hand, hoping the girl would take it.

Hope hesitated at first, but the moment their hands touched, her magic flared in that way that always scared her. Her eyes widened in panic until Bonnie's hand squeezed hers gently.

"You know when I first came into my powers," Bonnie began, her eyes never leaving Hope's. "The same thing would happen to me. But my Grams said that it was just my magic trying to get to know me. That it wasn't trying to hurt me and to just breathe through it…because my magic is only as unruly as I am."

She smiled encouragingly as she watched the child calm herself; her breathing slowly returning to normal. Soon, she felt Hope's magic begin to level out; coursing gently throughout her tiny frame, oscillating beneath her skin.

The girl's eyes brightened as her magic flowed harmlessly through her. It made her feel like running as fast as she could through the woods after a spring rain; the rush of jumping from a great height and not crashing to the ground.

Grinning, she shook Bonnie's hand excitedly.

"Not bad, huh?" Bonnie asked, nodding knowingly before winking at Klaus.

BKBKBKBK

Klaus climbed the stairs to their bedroom. After the events of the past few days, he really had no choice but the marvel at how life unfolded in the nearly two years since Bonnie pulled Tunde's blade from his chest.

After his siblings had been revived and sorted, the task of acclimating to the changes that had taken place while they'd slept hadn't been easy despite the relative brevity of their slumber. From Klaus' disinterest in reclaiming New Orleans to Bonnie being his mate and every new development in between, the first several weeks had been tumultuous for the Mikaelsons.

All but Rebekah were hesitant about the changes that had taken place in their brother's life. While they slumbered, he'd gone and laid the foundation for a life outside of the one he'd shared with his with them for so many centuries.

The love and fidelity was there as it always would be, but the grappling hooks of guilt and obligation that he'd sunken into them and yanked whenever it suited him were gone. The freedom that Rebekah had all but killed him to achieve was suddenly laid at their feet.

Eventually, Rebekah, Freya and Kol each set out, hoping to lay foundations of their own while only Elijah remained.

Bonnie had been as gracious a hostess as ever, but there'd been no denying the overall disdain she'd felt for the elder Mikaelson. For his part, Elijah had been completely out of sorts as to how to even begin to mend fences with the Bennett witch.

His betrayal of her the night the moonstone curse was broken along with his role in the events leading up to her mother being turned, placed Elijah in the very uncomfortable category of untrustworthy. That-in addition to the discovery of just how tightly woven the connection between the Mikaelsons and the Bennetts and been through Ayanna-left him feeling like a proper shit whenever he was in Bonnie's presence.

Klaus would be lying if he said he hadn't found his brother's discomfort amusing. Nor had he any intention of helping Elijah figure his way out of it. After all, there weren't many opportunities to watch the great Elijah Mikaelson squirm and one needed to take advantage of all of them when they presented themselves.

Besides…knowing them both as he did, he'd known there would eventually be a conversation between the two. When it finally did happen, tensions slowly thawed. Enough for Bonnie to eventually choose to seek Elijah's input regarding The Cauldron. The manner in which he founded The Strix swaying her interest.

The more time he spent with Bonnie and Alaric, the more invested he became in the witch's vision for herself as well as The Cauldron. Bonnie's actions had afforded her the kind of political capital that even the Mikaelsons hadn't achieved. And after witnessing the manner in which she wielded that power, Elijah slowly became nothing less than a devotee.

The elder Mikaelson had always searched for something to believe in—something on which to bestow the tattered remnants of his faith. Klaus didn't know the exact moment when it happened, but he did know that Elijah had begun construction on the pedestal he'd eventually set Bonnie's dainty feet upon.

Between Elijah and Alaric, Bonnie had the support system necessary for The Cauldron to thrive. The organization itself had a veritable Smithsonian of the supernatural both in its ownership and operation.

The Mistress of the Cauldron—as many began calling her—was in equally high demand. When she wasn't providing counsel regarding the spirits, she was in the field with either Elijah or Alaric in search of one magical artifact or another. When she wasn't doing that, she was mentoring Hope and the Saltzman twins with their magic-the three young girls having become fast friends and nearly inseparable.

It was no secret that he found Bonnie's—and by extension The Cauldron's—neutrality on supernatural matters woefully inconvenient. He was mated by blood and magic to one of if not the most powerful witches alive. One who sat at the head of one of the most influential organizations to date, and yet the benefits of such proximity were ultimately no more or less than what anyone else received. If Bonnie were a different sort, he would have been able to claim and rule all in short order.

Instead, his beloved held the preservation of the balance as tantamount to all else, unwilling to be drawn—despite his best efforts—into affairs that were, as she described them, none of her damn business.

She had become like the witches of old. The ones who were able to sit far enough away from the painting to take it all in; intervening only when the balance was in question. It was a stance that carried a great deal of weight, for if Bonnie Bennett-Mikaelson ever felt compelled to enter the fray…then they would all be compelled to enter it with her.

As for himself, the words of his father rang true to his ears now. Ansel told him that he had the power to reunite the Northeast Atlantic Pack and he remembers the night that such a claim had inadvertently been set into motion.

"I've got five new loners," Erik grumbled.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," James snorted.

"It is when they show up and say they want to be part of 'The Six Packs'. Thanks to Klaus here, we now sound like a band of pro-wrestlers."

Frederick snorted into his drink while Klaus frowned, "I've never implied an affiliation with your packs."

"You don't have to," Chloe said quietly from her perch atop Frederick's desk. "The evidence speaks for itself. Your pack follows the old ways…and more often than not so do you, surprisingly enough."

Klaus stared at her, his face unreadable.

"We all know that of everyone in this room, I'm your harshest critic," the alpha continued. "But I can admit that you've done well by your pack. An alpha's duty is not only to ensure that the pack survives, but that it thrives as well. And it thrives when it leads by example. That is how the five packs became a band of pro-wrestlers when you weren't looking."

"Which is why we wanted to speak with you," Neil said finally. "Among our packs, we've had a sort of foster program when it comes to loners for the past few decades. Not every loner is a fit for the pack they initially contact. And because of how close we all are, we tend to have a good idea of where among us loners would fit."

The hybrid's eyes narrowed as he absorbed that bit of information only to have them widen slightly when Chloe spoke again.

"I have four loners that I think would do well to foster with you. Will you have them?"

If he agreed to this, he would also be accepting his place as an alpha among them. That this was being offered spoke volumes as to how his relationship with these wolves had changed. To go from drinking first thing in the morning at the idea of him having a pack at all to now being presented with an opportunity to expand. He couldn't deny the sense of satisfaction that warmed him nor could he ignore the sense that his decision one way or the other would set in motion a series of events that would determine the manner in which his legacy within the Northeast Atlantic Pack would be realized.

"Of course," he replied.

Those four lone wolves were not the only ones. The wolves from the greater Northeast Atlantic Pack had also begun to migrate towards both his and the other five packs. A shift among their kind was underway; an awareness that a place within the supernatural world was for the taking. To be in the midst of it, rather than surviving on the outskirts.

That had been the start.

And now nearly two years later, what had then been but six werewolf packs had grown to twenty-five and he was now just returned from a week-long summit held in the woods surrounding The Cauldron. The history surrounding their kind and that land, had transformed it into a mecca of sorts for those who followed the old ways.

The topic of discussion the first few days had been the reorganization of the packs and his installment as The Great Alpha. Each pack would retain their alpha, but those alphas all chose to submit to him during the subsequent Wild Hunt that took place.

As he walked down the hall, he knew that part of the reason for the relative ease with which the decision had been made lay on the other side of his bedroom door.

Klaus entered their master suite to find Bonnie sleeping on their bed with Hope cuddled up beside her-his daughter's nine-year old arm protectively thrown across the witch's protruding belly as she slept.

From the moment she'd been told that Bonnie was pregnant, Hope appointed herself the protector of both her step-mother and her siblings, using every opportunity to fret and fuss over them to Klaus' unending amusement. She wasn't alone in her excitement.

When word got out that the son of the Great Alpha and the descendant of the Great Healer were expecting, the reunification efforts within the Northeast kicked into high gear; the impending birth being seen as a sign among even the most skeptical.

And while he certainly appreciated and benefitted from that perspective, it did not detract from the fact that his mate...his Bonnie...now carried within her not one but two tiny and wholly unexpected expressions of their union. He'd foolishly missed out on most of Haley's pregnancy and it was an error made certain not to repeat.

The hybrid kicked off his shoes before settling himself behind Bonnie, his fingers brushing the softness of the witch's cheek.

Bonnie stirred at the movement before opening her eyes. "You're home," she whispered, snuggling closer and inhaling the scent that always clung to him after a shift.

"Indeed I am. And what's this? You're not one for afternoon naps." Though her due date was a mere two weeks away, the witch was still a whirlwind of constant activity. Caroline's threats seeming to be the only thing capable of slowing her down.

"Blame Wolfie," the witch muttered sleepily, speaking of Hope. "She said I looked tired. I told her I wasn't and she still threw a sleeping spell at me when my back was turned."

"She did look tired, Dad," Hope insisted, yawning as she sat up.

"I'm sure she did sweetheart," the hybrid agreed as he watched the child climb out of bed.

"I'm going to go find Celeste so I finish my homework," she announced before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

Klaus wasn't sure what one really had to do with the other, but Hope had been quite taken with the hellhound from the start and usually sought her out before retreating to her bedroom.

Klaus drew Bonnie closer, his large hand resting on her belly as the tiny lives inside stirred, sensing his presence.

"Where's Elijah?" he asked.

"On his way to the airport with Haley," Bonnie explained. "They dropped Wolfie off on the way," the witch explained, wriggling even closer, the heat of his body soothing the ache in her lower back.

Klaus frowned as he nuzzled her ear. "What would prompt them to leave now, knowing how close we are to your due date?"

"Elijah's got a really good lead on the Skull of Anubis, so he put together a team to check it out and hopefully bring it back," Bonnie explained. "They should only be gone a couple of days." The dark object was a rare and powerful tool, believed lost to antiquity and catastrophically dangerous if it wound up in the wrong hands.

Klaus grumbled in annoyance but said nothing. If Haley and Elijah weren't back before Bonnie's first contraction, there would be hell to pay.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be here in time," Bonnie soothed, her fingers lightly stroking the back of his hand as his nearness started lulling her back to sleep.

"They'd better be," he muttered, inhaling the faint scent of lemongrass in her hair. "Preparations have already begun and if everyone else manages to be here in time and they aren't, I will be very put out."

Bonnie's brows knit in confusion. "Everyone? Who's everyone?"

Caroline and Stefan would naturally be there along with Rebekah, Freya and Kol, but this 'everyone' her husband spoke of seemed a much greater number.

"Everyone, love. My alphas will be here along with quite few pack members. Marcel, Vincent and a healthy portion of New Orleans will be here along with them.

Bonnie's mouth worked as she struggled to settle on which question to ask first. "Um…why? Are they planning to just camp out at the hospital for God knows how long?"

The witch craned her neck around when she received no answer. "Nik?"

Klaus sighed, deciding to put the discussion off no longer. "About the hospital…" the hybrid began, murmuring into her hair.

His tone revealed the truth of it. He was about to try and convince her to do something she should probably say no to out of hand. It didn't take long to add that tone to the subject matter and multiply it by at least two hundred of their nearest and dearest.

"You want me to give birth in the woods," she accused incredulously."

"It has always been the way of the wolf. And considering the political ramifications of such an event—

"You want me to give birth in the woods," the witch repeated, trying and failing to wrap her brain around the concept.

"—the necessity of having a gathering of not only our pack but also our greatest allies—"

"You want me to give birth in the woods."

They hybrid's lips grazed her temple. "I want you to give birth in the woods."

Bonnie groaned before struggling to prop herself up. "You want me to forgo a nice clean hospital and really great drugs to give birth in the woods?"

"Frederick and Pamela will return in a few days," he answered, speaking of the judge and his mate. Pamela was a doula and had been ushering in nearly all of the births within the original five packs for over twenty years.

Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"One: not cool springing this on me this late in the game," she began. "Two: I get it. I get the aesthetic. You and I bringing the fruit of our union into the world with heaven and earth as witness. In the very same woods that you formed our pack and claimed me as your mate. Believe me, I get it. The intangibles are off the charts."

Green eyes narrowed threateningly, "But after carrying around two bowling balls with feet for the past several months, I'm not here for intangibles, Nik. And without the intangibles, all I'm left with is giving birth on the cold, wet ground with low hanging branches smacking me in the face, noisy woodland creatures and insects crawling into places they have no business."

"Bonnie," Klaus chided, cupping her cheek and turning her head gently towards him. "Do you really think I would ask this of you without guaranteeing that your every need is met? Your every comfort attended to?"

The witch's lips pursed in consternation as she frowned adorably. "No," answered, she admitted, sullenly.

The hybrid's lips were at her ear. "I promise that what I have in store for you will make you wonder why on earth you wanted to bring our children into the world while locked in a cement box filled with the sickly and beneath horrible overhead lighting." He kissed the shell of her ear before pulling back to await her decision.

Bonnie glared up at the spin doctor she shared a life with, "You're awful."

Klaus nodded sagely, "I know."

The witched eased herself up into a sitting position; grinding her teeth before finally folding her hands atop her large belly. "Fine. I'll give birth in the woods," she sulked.

Klaus kissed her pouting mouth, his lips lingering against hers; their bond filling with his amusement.

#

"I can't believe you let Klaus talk you into having these babies out here," Caroline chuckled.

Bonnie gripped the vampire's hand tightly as another contraction overtook her.

"It's a tradition," she panted. "I want my kids to have that. Besides…this is nicer than the hospital."

"It is," Caroline replied, taking in the massive pavilion Klaus had erected far enough away from the wolf encampment as to give the expectant mother some much needed privacy.

"But I've got to say…this looks like something on Vikings," the blonde mused, taking in the woven rugs on the floor, the fur pelts and cushions covering the large bed on which Bonnie was resting. Ornate lanterns had been hung, illuminating the space in candlelight. In each corner, a brazier smoldered; a silencing spell cast by Vincent hanging in the air. Toward the center of the pavilion stood the birthing stool Bonnie would use when the time came.

"It totally does but it's grown on me," the witch chuckled, reaching for her cup of shaved ice.

"Where is Klaus anyway?" Caroline asked.

"At the circle. Vincent needed his blood for the Naming ritual. He's supposed to send someone over here to get mine soon."

Caroline climbed onto the bed and lay next Bonnie. "How are you doing?"

Bonnie sighed, "I'm nervous. I'm excited and I'm still in a little bit of disbelief."

"Disbelief…why?"

"If you'd asked me two or three years ago if I could see myself happy and married and about to have babies, the answer would have been a firm no," the witch explained. "I'm in a future I never expected to be in and I don't know how to feel about that. I mean I'm happy…but I'm shocked," she chuckled ruefully.

"Well I'm proud of you, kiddo," Caroline stated, "From wallflower cheerleader to super badass mama witch. It's a good look on you." She threw her arm around the witch's shoulders.

Bonnie tilted her head towards Caroline. "I hope I'm a good mom, Care."

"Take it from someone who had one. You are the stuff that good moms are made of," the vampire replied, squeezing her.

A throat cleared outside. "May I come in?" Elijah asked

"Sure if you don't mind hormonal witches that also happen to be big as houses," Bonnie answered.

Elijah pulled open the pavilion entrance and stepped inside. "Fortunately for me, those happen to be my favorite kind." He came to stand by her bedside and dropped a light kiss on her forehead.

"Vincent sent me to collect a bit of your blood," he explained, removing an empty vial and a small knife from his pocket.

Bonnie held out her hand to the vampire, wrinkling her nose when he drew the blade across her palm.

Elijah held her bleeding hand over the vial as her blood began to fill it.

"So what's going on out there?" Bonnie asked.

"A lot of eating…a lot of drinking…a lot of dancing…"

"Not that stuff. The good stuff."

Elijah smiled before his voice dropped to a conspiratorial levels.

"Well, Rebekah and Marcel have been deep in conversation for over an hour. Tyler has been exhibiting sympathy pains during Chloe's pregnancy. Hope, Lizzie and JoJo are currently conspiring against Freya, Kol is flirting with James, and I remain in awe of the amount of marijuana Neil seems to have at his disposal for any given occasion. Oh and it appears the Alaric has finally convinced Stefan to come aboard and assist in setting up The Cauldron's field offices for Phase II.

"Finally!" Caroline and Bonnie said in unison.

Elijah removed Bonnie's hand from the vial. He turned the palm to his lips and pressed them against it; his tongue darting out quickly to seal the wound before his eyes met hers.

Bonnie blushed, smiling her thanks as she watched him place a stopper in the vial and leave. Once he was gone, she turned to Caroline who now sat up beside her. Her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth hanging open.

"Ok, what the hell was that?"

"Girl…," Bonnie sighed, "that is a very long and complicated story."

Klaus entered the pavilion with Pamela in tow. The doula immediately went over to the birthing stool and began preparing the area.

The hybrid's hand enclosed hers as another contraction began to build.

"Pamela believes we will begin soon," he said gently.

"Which means that's my cue to leave. I need to find Stefan so he can sit on me until this is over," Caroline announced, scrambling off the bed.

She leaned over and kissed Bonnie's cheek. "I love you," she said before lowering her face to the witch's round belly. "I can't wait to spoil you two rotten," she whispered excitedly.

Pamela waited for Caroline to leave before coming over.

"How are we doing, little mama?" The older woman asked. Frederick's mate was born and raised in Arkansas and the light metallic twang of the region still clung to her every word. Pearl white teeth flashed against reddish brown skin; aged and as supple as fine leather.

"I'm feel like I'm going to pop," Bonnie chuckled, her voice breaking with another contraction. She squeezed Klaus' hand hard as Pamela's hands ran over her stomach, feeling for the placement of the twins.

Bonnie's eyes caught the flash of the amulet that hung from the doula's neck. She'd given it to her two weeks ago after casting a protection spell over it. A matter of caution given the uniqueness of her impending delivery.

"First of all, let me just say that I am honored to be asked to participate in bringing forth this blessing. When my Freddie told me, I almost cried," Pamela drawled.

"What do you mean almost?" Frederick muttered from across the room.

"Oh hush," Pamela chided, her hand waving irritably.

After a time, the judge removed himself leaving Pamela alone with the expectant parents. As a midwife and herbalist, she'd participated in the deliveries of most of the births within the packs for the past twenty five years.

"Now," Pamela said after they'd been speaking for several minutes. "We should probably discuss a few safety precautions."

Bonnie frowned, "What? Safety precautions?" She looked over to Klaus seated beside her, his hand resting lightly on her stomach.

"Explain," he said softly.

"Well…physiologically speaking, this should be a very cut and dry affair. Bonnie is young, strong and healthy. Supernaturally speaking though, we're in unchartered territory here. Not only is one of their parents a witch, she's an obscenely powerful one to boot.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but we don't know what kind of power's brewing in there or how it's planning on showing up." Pamela eyed, Bonnie's belly carefully.

Klaus scoffed, "You're joking."

The hybrid watched as Pamela, pulled her shirt away from one shoulder revealing scarred and twisted flesh covering it.

"About twenty years ago I helped a young witch give birth. She was an ancestral witch and the idiot that knocked her up was dabbling in Expression. When the baby came out, every cry out of his mouth was a curse. I got hit with one," the werewolf explained, straightening her shirt.

"Now I'm not saying that something bad's going to happen. But the fact remains that when witches are added to the most mundane equations, things get weird and possibly dangerous."

"She's right," Bonnie nodded. "We should set up some wards and protection spells just to be sure.

"Fine. I'll contact Vincent," Klaus agreed.

Pamela smiled, "I'm sure everything's going to be fine. Hell for all we know, they may decide to just beam their way out," she mused.

"Alpha, we need to move her," Pamela said as Klaus bent to gather Bonnie into his arms. He carried her over to the birthing stool; stopping for a moment as the witch breathed her way through another contraction.

Once she was seated comfortably, Klaus placed himself behind her, close enough for her to lean back and onto him for support. Pamela positioned herself before them and nodded for Klaus to begin.

The hybrid's hands found Bonnie's; fingers intertwined. He felt the telltale signs of Bonnie's magic seeking him out to latch on and channel as her contractions grew stronger. Klaus grimaced slightly, sharing in her pain as a result of the connection.

Pamela smiled encouragingly at Bonnie and Klaus before speaking directly to Bonnie's stomach.

"Alright you two…this is your last chance to beam out…"

#

Hope Mikaelson was not known for being the most patient child. She hated waiting even more than she loved the satisfaction that came after it. Especially when the length of the wait was dictated by someone else.

It had been hours since her father entered Bonnie's tent. Yes there was a huge party going while everyone waited for her brother and sister to be born and yes she was having fun with Lizzie and JoJo. But that didn't distract her from the fact that she was going to be a big sister any minute now.

Excited couldn't begin to describe the way she felt when she was told about Bonnie's pregnancy. Having seen the bond between Lizzie and JoJo as well as between her father and her aunts and uncles, it was something that she wanted for herself. To have that special connection that grows with you forever.

At first she'd been worried that because they had different mothers, that it wasn't the same. But then the day came when she felt them move for the first time. She actually felt them still beneath her hands; a shared awareness of who and what they were to each other. She was their sister and she would love them and protect them and beat up whoever for them.

So it would surprise no one that she soon found herself stealing away from the festivities to delve deeper into the woods and towards Bonnie's tent.

She saw candlelight emanating from the pavilion but heard not sound; the scent of a silencing spell filling her nostrils.

Hope lifted the entrance flat a bit a peered in; her eyes widening as the entire space was awash in golden candle light. Bonnie was settling herself into her bed, as Pamela carried a small bundle in her arms. A pair of tiny indignant fists flailed in the air and a red scrunched face howled an outrage Vincent's spell kept her from hearing until finally being placed in the witch's arms.

Bonnie smiled tiredly down at the infant she held, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Hope watched as her father came to sit on the edge next to her, an equally small bundle tucked into the crook of his arm. She watched as he leaned over and brushed Bonnie's tear away with his thumb before pressing his forehead to hers.

A delighted grin split the young girl's face as she raced back to the encampment shouting the arrivals of Ansel and Ayanna Bennett-Mikaelson.

BKBKBKBK

Klaus sat on the edge of the bed and pulled at the bowtie of his tuxedo, letting it hang loose around his neck as he held a champagne flute. The evening's festivities had been a rousing success. Their seventh wedding anniversary was celebrated with a charity ball as it had been every year. The proceeds from the white tie event going to local charities.

Their circle of friends, extended family and closest allies had all been in attendance; wolves, witches and vampires mingling with the oblivious humans from the region.

Now, he could hear the household staff puttering about below as the last of their guests were finally gone. Their children had been put to bed hours ago, but that did not stop him from peering into their rooms.

Hope was nearly sixteen now; bearing all the wildness and confusion that came with such a tender age. Next came Ansel and Ayanna, the former having his mother's affection for magic while the latter inherited his love of the arts. After the twins, was Henrik whose six year old mind soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

Henrik was swiftly followed by Magnus, who was nothing less than the universe's revenge upon them all. And finally, Sheila their youngest. A happy toddler clearly destined to be the spitting image of her mother.

Their mating had produced five magic-wielding yet beautifully feral children who would, along with Hope carry on the legacy of their bloodlines. Bloodlines that now held him as the Great Alpha of the entire Northeast Atlantic Pack and Bonnie as The Bennett Witch and Mistress of The Cauldron.

The Cauldron had grown by leaps and bounds over the years, solidifying its position in their world. Even now expanding its reach to a global scale. His little witch described it as being "Wolfram & Hart without the evil lawyers and pro-apocalypse platform."

He still didn't know what the hell that meant.

"I'm immortal, Bonnie. Sixty to seventy years is but a minute. Having been in your company, I know that a minute is simply not long enough."

Everyday those words proved truer now than when he'd first uttered them. Being who they are, their life together wasn't easy by any means. There was conflict, but also resolution. They'd brought each both tears as well as joy; rage as well as repentance. And yet the bond between them never let them stray so far as to lose sight of one another.

"And just what are you thinking about?" Bonnie called from the doorway of their bathroom. She still wore the deep red silk chiffon gown that had stolen his breath away when he first beheld her in it. Her hair was no longer gathered into the elaborate chignon she'd worn and instead hung in tousled waves down her back.

Klaus smiled as she walked towards him, the slit her gown offering a glimpse at the full length of her shapely leg with each step. She stopped in front of him, taking the champagne flute from his fingertips and finishing off its contents.

"Time," the hybrid said finally as he stood and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What about it?" Bonnie asked, spelling the flute away to find a flat surface and pressing herself closer to him.

"Oh, just deciding how wisely or recklessly to spend it while we're gone." In the morning they would set off for parts known only to him; spending the next several weeks as far away from responsibilities as humanly and inhumanly possible.

"While we're gone to….?" Bonnie needled.

Klaus smirked, "Have I ever revealed our destinations on any of these excursions before?"

Bonnie frowned adorably, "No."

"Then why one earth would I start now?" He asked, eyes gleaming.

"You are such a shit," Bonnie huffed before breaking into a grin.

"I know," the hybrid teased before drawing her close, ghosting his lips across hers; enjoying the familiar flutter of her heart at the action before kissing her fully.

His arms tightened around her as their kiss deepened, his tongue tasting the remnants of champagne mixed with a flavor that was inherently Bonnie. His fingers deftly found the zipper at her back and slowly pulled it down.

The witch froze suddenly, a muffled squeal coming from the back of her throat as she wriggled free of his grasp and danced away from him on bare feet; hugging the elaborately beaded bodice of the gown to herself.

"Oh my God! I can't believe I almost forgot your present," she gasped, her eyes dancing.

Klaus reached for her, "I promise you it can wait," he said, his eyes smoldering.

Bonnie backed away from him even farther. "Nope. This time I think I've got you beat so I don't want to wait."

As competitive as he was about everything, Bonnie was equally so on the matter of gift giving. She was committed to finding something that would provoke genuine surprise in him. And while she was admittedly full of surprises as a matter of course, when it came to gifts there was very little she could do considering one such as he has either seen or owned just about everything of note at one time or another.

He watched as she hurried over to her altar, still clutching the bodice of her gown to her bosom. The massive piece had been carved by Klaus as a gift for her when they moved into the mansion he'd built shortly after the twins were born.

Bonnie lifted a small box from the altar and made her way back to him. She placed it in his hands, her eyes bright with expectation.

It was a known fact that no matter how much effort or secrecy went into buying her husband a gift, he always outdid her; never failing to reduce her to puddle of happy tears. Just once she hoped to elicit the same.

Klaus opened the box slowly, revealing an empty glass vial nestled atop a bed of velvet. He lifted the vial and inspected it, detecting minute droplets of a red substance he couldn't identify still clinging to its interior.

Confused, he held the vial up and quirked an eyebrow. "What was in this?"

Bonnie smiled shyly before taking a deep breath.

"Qetsiyah's immortality spell."

The hybrid froze. Every fiber of his being quite literally froze in place as his mind attempted to fumble at her meaning with tremulous fingers; trying to grasp the implication of her words.

"Turns out you were right," she went on. "A minute isn't long enough."

Bonnie's eyes filled with tears as she watched realization dawn on his face. He appeared to be struck dumb by her revelation as he stared at her; trying to decide if she was joking.

"I tweaked it a little," she explained, needing to fill the silence with something. "So while a little blood will have to be introduced into my diet now, it doesn't have to be hu—

Box and vial fell from Klaus' hands as he reached for her, cupping her face. When his lips found hers, it was as if a dam had burst within the bond. Years of fear and dread at the thought of losing her-fears he'd staunchly kept from her for her sake—crumbled before them as she felt his tears on her face.

He trembled beneath her hands; a great and secret weight suddenly lifted. A forewarned fall into a chasm of grief and loss blessedly averted. She was his. And words simply failed.

He kissed her hard as her arms wound around his neck, allowing her gown to finally pool around her ankles. Bonnie kissed him back with equal fervor, her hands now clawing at his shirt; buttons falling soundlessly to the floor as she pushed it off of his shoulders.

Her legs were around his waist a moment later as he lifted her; turning to lay her on their bed and covering her body with his.

When he finally found his voice, the words of love that escaped were broken and jumbled; a nonsensical litany, yet echoed by the woman in his arms.

Simple words, really. Much too small to bear the full weight of the love that brought them forth.

Words like always…and forever.

THE BEGINNING

A/N: That's all folks! Yay Whoooo! *bootydance*

So sorry it took so long to post these but between the new year, rewrites and that Mango Mussolini in the White House...my brain has been a wee bit scattered.

I hope you all enjoyed Truth Teller. Yes the title comes from a shady ass subtweet that Katy Perry sent about Taylor Swift during the Kanye debacle. (Full disclosure: not a fan of either of them LOL)

Anyway, I hope Chapter 24 made sense as it had a lot of moving parts. I hope that each scene came across clearly both individually and series of events happening at the same time. The final chapter is really supposed to double as both a flashforwards into Klonnie's future and a roadmap for any future Klonnie I write from this universe. I already have one shots, drabbles, etc planned that kind of fill in the blanks that have been set up in 25 (how did klonnie get preggo? How did Klaus unite the packs, what's going on with bonlijah? Steroline wedding anyone? Klonnie honeymoon?)

There were also somethings that I had to cut out. I think early on a Guest wondered why Bob wasn't seeking out Valerie since she's a powerful heretic. I actually do have a reason for that and it involved a flashback scene with Stefan that would've explain why she's not an option for anyone (and no she isn't dead).

The only reason I didn't include it is because by the time I got to the point where Stefan and Caroline arrive, I couldn't figure out where to put it and not have it just stick out like a sore thumb in the narrative. All of the flashbacks are designed to give info on character or plot development. Like the one that explains Caroline's twins also involves Bonnie's convo with Alaric which was a necessary seed that needed to be planted. I didn't have anything that could really accompany the Stefan/Valerie scene in that way so I cut it. But I might still post it later because I think it's a pretty cool scene.

In case anybody's wondering where Matt is in all of this, he's gone. Since I was working with S7 as reference I pretty much left him as having separated himself from the supernatural after his fiancé's ghost got him out of that accident. Because there's really is no place for him in all of that and Bonnie's not the type to try and drag him back. Although he may turn up at a later date.

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and for your reviews and kind words. Y'all made my first time awesome. Please feel free to let me know your final thoughts on this fic either here or on Tumblr. Chapter 24 stressed me out because there's so much going on at one time so I'd really appreciate feedback if it all made sense lol.

And many thanks to the best cheerleader ever Anastasia-G. She made my new title card and it's DOPE.

I'm gonna take a break but I do have two (?!) AH AU's on the horizon which I'm hoping turn out really funny.

Cheers!