Bella bolted upright, heart racing and body trembling. She stared wildly around the darkened bedroom, convinced that she was still trapped in her nightmares- still all alone with no one coming to help her. Unable to stop herself, she threw herself out of the bed and stumbled to her door and out of the room. Not even looking where she was going, Bella opened a door at random and tripped into another bedroom. She thought that this was Rebekah's room but, in her exhaustion, she couldn't be absolutely sure.

She probably should have checked to be sure. Then again, there were a lot of things she should have done.

She should have never gone to Forks.

She should have never tried to get close to Edward.

She should have avoided the Cullen's like the plague once she knew what they were.

She should have said no when Edward invited her to watch his family play baseball- she hated sports, both playing them and watching them, so there was no real reason for her to go there.

She should have ended things with Edward in Phoenix.

She should have…

The room was dark, its occupant clearly asleep. Bella swayed back and forth in her spot by the door, unsure of what to do. If they were asleep then maybe they would resent her for waking them up-

Suddenly, Bella was scooped up and found herself bouncing lightly on the bed. "Something wrong?" came Kol's voice from beside her.

She turned her head, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see him. "Kol?" Bella whispered, still trembling.

A hand suddenly touched her arm. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nightmare," she answered, automatically shifting closer to him. "I…" Bella trailed off, suddenly unsure if she should tell him this.

"Cold Ones or the Wicked Witch?" Kol's tone was even, surprisingly un-pushy, yet she still hesitated. He seemed to inherently understand why though. "That woman you faced wasn't my mother." There was a hesitant touch on Bella's face, fingers pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "My mother died a thousand years ago. The woman you faced was just a shell full of her regrets."

It was like every muscle in her body relaxed at his words. He didn't hate her for what happened. Kol didn't resent that Bella was the one who survived instead of Esther. "She wanted to break me, to destroy my spirit enough that she could take over my body. And she got so angry when it didn't work."

Kol's arms carefully circled around her and pulled Bella into his chest. "What happened?"

"At first, she was just pissed off that I stopped her from getting Rebekah. Then she started talking about how this would be better because using me would truly break you all. Esther said she it would be twice the pain- first because it would hurt you all that you couldn't save me and then because you would be forced to watch as someone you considered a friend destroyed you." Bella buried her face in Kol's shirt to hide her tears. "She was going to use me to hurt you."

"She didn't though. You wouldn't let her."

Clenching her hand into a fist against his chest, Bella admitted, "It wasn't me."

Stiffening against her, Kol asked, "What do you mean it wasn't you?"

"There was someone else there- something else in my head. They're the ones who pushed Esther out. It wasn't me."

Bella could almost hear Kol's mind racing as he tried to process what she was telling him. "Any idea on who it was?" he inquired, voice level and calm.

"I don't know," she murmured back, finally relaxing. If Kol wasn't mad at her, then the others wouldn't be either. "My head... it's all fuzzy. I can't remember."

Kol sighed. "It's alright now, love. Just sleep."

Once he was sure that she was fully asleep, Kol slipped out of the bed and out into the hall. Listening carefully for a moment, Kol heard Elijah, Finn, and Sage speaking in the study. Joining them seconds later, Kol abruptly announced, "There was someone else in Bella's head earlier."

Everyone stiffened and Sage set her glass down on a table with a thud. "What do you mean there was someone else in her head? Who?"

"She just told me. Bella said there was someone else there who pushed Esther out, but she doesn't know who."

"It makes sense," Elijah sighed. "Both you and Rebekah said that Bella was drawing energy from you. I had originally thought that Isabella may have some dormant magic shut away that she'd had no reason to use, but it seems that she might not have been the one funneling strength from the two of you."

"Whoever it was inside her head would have needed to be far more powerful than our mother in order to drive her out," Finn mused. "As far as I'm aware, Esther is still one of the most powerful witches to ever exist."

"So, whoever was helping Bella out is probably the most powerful witch in existence?" Sage asked. "Any idea who that might be?"

Shrugging, Kol admitted, "I may have technically been a vampire for a thousand years, but I spent quite a few of those in a box. Doesn't help that witches have also been around since beginning of man."

Elijah drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "You believe this witch to be on the Other Side?"

"Well, they would have to be, wouldn't they?" Kol retorted. "Unless you have some knowledge of an all-powerful witch nearby who would randomly reach out to Bella and assist her for no apparent reason."

The light was shining directly against her closed lids and Bella groaned, rolling over and pulling the heavy comforter over her face. After a minute, Bella realized that she wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep and finally opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't in her room and then another few seconds to remember just whose room she was in. Swearing softly, she consoled herself with the thought that at least Kol was already gone. She was too tired to deal with his shenanigans right then.

"Long night was it?" Rebekah's voice floated over to her from the doorway, tone amused.

Jerking her head over to see the blond leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed, Bella groaned. "Nooooooooooo…"

Rebekah just laughed. "If you think I'm terrible to deal with right now- when I haven't even said anything- then you might want to leave before Klaus comes upstairs because he will tease you far more than I will."

In her scramble to get off the bed, Bella's legs got tangled in Kol's sheets and she fell to the ground with a soft thud. "Crap," she swore.

Pushing herself up, she considered just flinging herself under Kol's bed and hiding there for the rest of her life. "That is a terrible idea," Rebekah advised through her laughter, correctly interpreting Bella's thoughts. "Considering what Kol gets up to in that bed, do you really want to have to hear everything he does?"

Bella made a face. "You have a point," she admitted. "That does sound exceptionally disgusting."

Finally moving to help her friend, Rebekah untangled Bella from the sheets and pulled her out of the room. "Elijah is making breakfast now; go change and meet us downstairs."

Nodding, Bella headed back to her room. Quickly changing out of her pajamas into a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt, she headed downstairs and followed the scent of cinnamon to the kitchen.

Elijah stood at the counter, smoothly whisking something in a metal bowl while Sage sat at the table, sipping from a cup of coffee. At least, she was drinking from a coffee mug.

Bella hoped it was coffee.

"Good morning," he greeted, glancing over at her with a smile.

"Morning," she returned, making a beeline for the coffee pot and pouring some into a mug. "What're you making?"

"He's making a cream cheese frosting for the homemade cinnamon rolls in the oven," Sage told her, sounding amused. "Elijah's been up for hours."

Bella gapped at the Original brother. "You made homemade cinnamon rolls?!"

His lips twitched in amusement. "I assure you, it's not as big a deal as you seem to think it is."

"Yeah, it kind of is," Bella laughed, and then took another deep breath. "You know, I told Rebekah that I wasn't going to play favorites with her brothers but, if I were to, you'd definitely be top of the list right now."

Sage laughed loudly. "I'm sure the others will be heartbroken to hear that."

Slipping into the seat next to the redhead's, Bella told her, "Kol and Klaus will get over it. But I've claimed Finn as my own already, so I doubt he'll care."

"Your own, huh? Am I gonna have to fight you for him?"

"Oh, don't worry- I've claimed you too. I've always wanted older siblings and you both are it."

Elijah set aside his bowl and turned to face them, leaning back against the counter with his arms folded. "You don't consider the rest of us siblings?"

"No. Kol and Klaus flirt far too much for that. We might be living in the South now, but we're not that kind of redneck."

Sage was visibly shaking with amusement beside her and the genuine smile on Elijah's face gave Bella a warm and fuzzy feeling. She could be wrong, but she doubted that these people had much to feel happy about the past few years. Or, more likely, the past few decades.

"And myself?" he asked. "If I'm not in the same category as Sage and Finn or Kol and Klaus, then what am I?"

Bella playfully narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not sure yet, but I've got my eye on you, Elijah Mikaelson. I'll figure out your category eventually."

He shook his head and turned back to his bowl.

"What category is Rebekah in?" Sage asked, sitting back in her seat.

"Rebekah?" Bella repeated, blinking at her. "Uh, I don't think she has a category. Our relationship is far too complex to be broken down into measly categories."

"Ugh," Rebekah complained, wandering into the room. "That's too rich for my blood. We might need to go on a break."

Bella choked on her coffee. "What the hell," she spluttered. "Where did you hear that saying? And why the hell would you use it? You're a goddamn Mikaelson- nothing is too rich for your blood. You're so rich, there's an actual ballroom in this house."

Klaus appeared in the room, causing Bella to jump in her seat and swear as a bit of hot coffee landed on her hand. "Yes, but it's a tasteful ballroom."

Glaring at him, Bella retorted, "This isn't the eighteenth-century, there's no such thing as a 'tasteful' ballroom in your home. Unless you're somewhere in Europe and it's some kind of ancestral home."

Shaking his head sadly at her, Klaus told her, "Your lack of appreciation for the finer things in life is so tragic."

"You rip people's hearts out with your bare hands," she responded flatly. "So, you can take your rich aristocrat act and shove it."

Sage laughed loudly as Klaus glared at the small human, eyes bright with humor. "Actually, Elijah is the one who prefers to rip people's hearts out."

Glancing over at the suited Original, Bella shrugged. "Let me guess, he likes testing to see if he can rip out their hearts without bloodying his cuffs?"

Slipping into the seat across from Bella, Rebekah smirked. "Yes, that's exactly it. Well done."

"So, is Elijah just always in charge of breakfast, or is repeated bullying the reason why he keeps feeding me in the morning?" Bella asked, sipping at her coffee. "Because if it's the former, that sounds kind of unfair. If it's the latter, I will join in because the food is divine, but I'll feel bad about it."

"Well, as long as you feel guilty," Sage snorted.

"Of course. I'm not a total monster after all. I have standards. I have morals. I have lines in the sand, if you will."

"I've never understood that saying," Klaus commented, wandering over to stand beside Elijah. "No matter where you place a line in sand, it'll eventually disappear."

"Yeah, well," Bella started, but then trailed off with a sigh. "I've got nothing. It's early, I'm tired, and you people are a lot of work."

Sage tilted her head to the side. "Do those things all go together?"

"Yes, but it's a human thing. You wouldn't understand."

"I knew you were going to throw the fact that we're vampires back in our faces," Klaus sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "I just didn't expect it to be like this."

Bella grinned. "I know. I thought it'd take longer for me to have to use that."

The oven beeped and Elijah was beside it in a flash, grabbing a thin dish towel and opening the door to remove what Bella could clearly were large, puffy cinnamon rolls. Her eyes tracked his movements intently as the vampire gently touched the top of one of the rolls before setting the pan on top of the oven and shutting it off.

"You're watching my brother like he's the human and you're the vampire," Rebekah commented, beyond amused.

"I take my cinnamon rolls very seriously," Bella told her before casually tossing out, "Heathen."

Kol's laughter rang through the kitchen before he arrived. "You know, I don't think our dear sister has ever been granted that particular description before."

"Well, I'm happy to be her first," she joked, quickly turning to look at Kol and pointing a finger at him. "Don't do it."

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"You know what. I know what you were thinking and I'm telling you now, don't say it."

"You're always ruining my fun," Kol complained as he drifted over to the fridge.

"It was in the job description for my position. Human, danger-magnet, loads of enemies, and ruiner of fun."

Klaus raised a mug of what Bella prayed was coffee. She hadn't seen him pour any, but she also hadn't seen him grabbing any blood, so it was possibly coffee. "And you're doing a fantastic job of fulfilling your duties, love."

Bella sat back in her seat. "A first time for everything."

It didn't take long for Elijah to remove the rolls from the pan and ice each of them before bringing them to the table. When Bella bit into one, she couldn't help sighing in happiness.

Once she swallowed, she turned to Rebekah. "I know I said that it goes against the friendship code to get with your best friend's sibling, but that was before, so how mad would you be if I proposed to your brother?"

"Just because of his breakfast-related culinary skills?" Rebekah verified, tearing off a piece of her own roll. "Incredibly so. You need higher standards than that."

"He's also pretty," Bella bantered, grinning at the way Elijah was smiling and shaking his head at her in exasperation. "And he reads. How much higher should my expectations be?"

"Yes, what is above a Mikaelson?" Sage asked.

"Is it the body count thing?" the brunette continued, pausing for a moment to consider what she'd just said.

"Body count?" Kol questioned, wanting to make sure that did mean what he thought it did.

"How many people he's bagged," Bella explained and then groaned. "Wait, no. That could also be taken in multiple ways. Is it because of how many people he's killed? Or had sex with, I guess? You can choose either meaning there. Considering how old he is, I have assume the number for both is pretty high."

"Where's Finn?" Elijah interjected, clearly ready to move on to another topic.

Sage shrugged. "Running an errand."

"What kind of errand?" Klaus asked, and Bella could instantly the tension start to rachet up.

"None of your business," Bella answered before Sage could. "You wouldn't understand. It's a secret."

Kol smirked at her, ignoring the way his brother was starting to seethe. "Is it a secret? Or would he not understand?"

"It's a secret, Kol. You wouldn't understand," Rebekah told him, though she was a bit more obviously-leery than her brother was.

"He went to the library to get some things Bella needed for school," Sage snapped, setting her mug down on the table.

When Klaus looked to Bella to verify, she shrugged. "I was telling him about my course work and he offered to grab a few things I need. He was curious about my textbooks and what I'm learning in school. And he was curious about school in general. Not at first, but I figured out that if you talk about something for long enough to a person who can't escape you, they'll grow interested out of self-preservation."

"And you couldn't just say that?" the hybrid snarled.

"I could. I chose not to. It's fun watching you get all twitchy."

Rebekah sighed. "You really do have no sense of self-preservation, do you?"

"I mean I never got into the car with strangers growing up. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Bella lay slumped on the floor in the family room, feeling full and warm. "Alright," she announced. "I can die now."

"No, you can't," Kol responded, playing with his phone on the couch. "I want to see how many enemies you can make just by breathing. It's only been a short while since you learned about the supernatural and you've already made an respectable amount."

"It is pretty great," Sage agreed.

"Why do you talk?" Rebekah demanded.

"Oh!" Bella suddenly exclaimed, popping up off the floor and racing out of the room. The vampires glanced at one another in confusion, unsure of what Bella was up to.

They could hear her footsteps heading into the sitting room and then the sound of a bag unzipping and papers bumping into one another. Then, the bag was tossed aside, and Bella started running back to them.

"Here," she announced as she hurried into the room, a White Oak stake clutched in her hands.

The Original family froze, automatically on edge at the sight of the one weapon that could end any of them.

Bella stared at them in confusion before it finally clicked. "Oh. Crap. Right. Probably shouldn't be running around with the pointy end facing outwards, huh?" She flipped the stake around so that her hand was covering the pointed edge of the weapon. "Like kids with scissors."

Everyone relaxed slightly and Elijah stepped forward, carefully taking the stake from her.

"Kids with scissors?" Kol asked her, eyes locked on Elijah as he stepped towards the fireplace. "What does that mean?"

As soon as Elijah tossed the final White Oak stake into the fire, the tension seemed to instantly dissipate in the room.

"Kids are told that, when they're moving around with scissors, they should hold the metal part instead of the grips so that if they trip, they don't accidentally stab someone else," Bella explained.

Kol cocked his head to the side. "So, adults are telling children that it's fine if they stab themselves?"

Bella just stared for a moment before sighing. "You know, I don't really think there's a good response to that, so I'm not even going to try."

Sage stared at her. "I have to ask- did you ever stab yourself with scissors?"

"Umm…" Bella stared up at the ceiling. "I mean… I lightly poked myself in the abdomen with a pair of scissors when I tripped and fell. But I bled way more when I stapled my finger that one time in second grade."

The redhead nodded, lips pressed tightly together.

"I wish we could have met you when you were a child," Kol stated bluntly. "You wouldn't have lived for very long, but it would have been incredibly entertaining."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rebekah asked.

"He's right," Bella nodded, retaking her prone position on the floor. "I would have died pretty quick. Don't get me wrong, you would have tried to save me, but there's only so much you can do when my natural instincts are to move towards death rather than away from it."

The sound of the front door opening and closing reached the occupants of the room and then Finn appeared in the doorway, a small pile of papers and a book in one hand.

"Hello," he greeted, seeming confused.

"Welcome home, Phineas," Bella cheered.

Finn blinked at her. "What?"

"Who's Ferb?" Sage asked.

Bella turned her head to look at the other woman. "I don't know, but Klaus is definitely Candice."

Sage threw her head back and laughed.

"I don't understand why I had to come here with you," Bella complained, following Rebekah down the school hallway to the exit closest to the parking lot. The Original had dragged her out of the house and to the school to assist her with a few tasks related to the dance happening that evening. It hadn't taken too long, but it wasn't Bella's idea of fun. "There's nothing here I needed, and you know I'm not attending the dance."

"I thought the fresh air would be good for you," Rebekah answered lightly.

Bella wrinkled her nose. "I might have bought that if we weren't currently breathing in the very stale air of our high school."

Rebekah pushed open the heavy metal door and Bella blinked against the light suddenly shining in her face. "And now we're outside in the fresh air."

"Great," Bella sighed. "Can we at least stop for ice cream on the way back? Your family's great, but I kind of miss being able to hang out with you without having to wonder if everyone in the house is eavesdropping."

Turning to smile brightly back at her, Rebekah said, "I think that can be arranged." She was clearly happy about Bella's request, and the brunette wondered if her friend had been worried about Bella pulling away from her.

Just as she was about to reassure the blond about her forever-friend status, Bella spotted someone out of the corner of her eye. "Looks like our plans just got hijacked," she sighed.

Rebekah frowned and faced forward again, sighing when she spotted Klaus leaning the red car they'd driven to the high school.

Waving to him, Bella asked Rebekah, "Is this a bodyguard-thing or do we have plans this afternoon with him?"

Rebekah shrugged. "It may be both. It is Nik, after all."

"If that justification doesn't work when he says it, why would you think it would for you?" Bella teased.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she hastily pulled it, assuming that it was Charlie calling to check on her; he'd taken to calling her on his lunch break since it would be later afternoon for her.

Instead of seeing her dad's name flashing across her screen, Bella found a text from an unknown number.

Don't bother checking on mommy- I got there first.

V

She stared at the screen with furrowed brows. "What the hell…"

Rebekah, who had walked a few steps ahead of her friend without realizing, turned to look back at her. "What's wrong?"

"I have no idea," Bella admitted. Right when she was about to hand over her phone, it started to ring. This time, the number of the screen was one she recognized.

Holding up a finger to Rebekah, she answered the call. "Hey Dad."

It was silent for a moment, and then Deputy Mark's voice came down the line. "Hey Bella."

She frowned. "Deputy Mark?"

His shaky inhale was surprisingly loud, as though the phone volume had been turned all the way up. "Bella… I'm so sorry…"

Bella's legs gave out underneath her as she finally realized what the text meant.

"No," she whispered, as Rebekah was suddenly by her side again and catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Charlie was out searching the woods," Mark was saying but Bella couldn't process it.

Rebekah snatched the phone out of Bella's hands as Klaus raced over to them. Pulling Bella into his arms, he demanded, "What happened?"

She shook her head, inhaling and exhaling far too quickly and shallowly to be helpful but she couldn't help it and she couldn't breathe.

"This is Bella's friend, Rebekah," the blond stated. Even though she already knew, Rebekah had to ask, "What's going on?"

"Charlie," Bella gasped, pressing her face against Klaus' chest so hard it hurt. "Charlie… Victoria… Oh god…"

Klaus' stomach dropped and his eyes flickered up to meet his sisters as they both listened to the deputies stuttering explanation of what they thought had happened to the Chief of Police.

Hastily telling him that they would call him back once Bella had calmed down, Rebekah hung up the phone and immediately pulled Bella's text messages, having heard her phone buzz right before the call.

The blonde's jaw clenched as she read the taunt. "We need to go," she told her brother, reaching down to snatch up Bella's bag from where it had fallen to the ground. "Now."

Scooping Bella up without another word, Klaus strode quickly for the car.

After they'd gotten Bella situated in the backseat with Rebekah, Klaus slipped behind the wheel and pulled out of his parking spot and out of the lot so quickly the wheels squealed in protest against the pavement.

Picking up his phone, Klaus called Elijah. "Victoria's made her move," he stated softly enough that Bella wouldn't be able to hear the moment his brother answered. Rebekah silently held out Bella's phone so that he could see the text. "Her father's death has apparently been confirmed, and Victoria texted to say that she'd also killed her mother."

Elijah must have put him on speaker, because he could hear Kol and Sage begin to swear in the background.

"I'll have someone check for sure," Elijah told him calmly, though Klaus wasn't fooled.

"We should have anticipated this," Finn stated.

Klaus hung up the phone knowing that his eldest brother was right. After all, it's what he would have done- what he had done before. It was cruelty at its finest.

"My mom," Bella finally spoke, voice hoarse. "Klaus, my mom…"

"Elijah's checking now," he told her. He wished he could reassure her, but he knew the odds.

"She's dead," she said, growing more and more hysterical. "They're dead. They're both dead. How could I not have seen this coming? I didn't even consider-"

"This is not your fault," Rebekah interrupted, pressing her friend tightly against her. "You couldn't have known."

She continued to murmur reassurances as they reached the manor and whisked Bella inside.

Elijah was waiting for them inside the house, expression grim. "We should know in a few minutes," he told them, gaze locked on Bella's wide eyes and pale skin.

Bella's phone started to ring again, and she flinched away from Rebekah, who was holding it. She could guess who was calling. After glancing at the screen, Rebekah disappeared, and Bella finally let the tears start to fall in earnest.

(A/N): Happy Valentine's Day!

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