In Between

Chapter 79

This is who portrays Todd Mikaelson—>

Now onto the story

Raven's POV
We were at the bar, I was leaned back in my chair, watching Josh text Marcel... which uh... something big is happening with Rebekah and I know how she'll react. I just hope Nik doesn't mess this up for us, it's great right now... so I just need him to stop whatever he's doing and go back to being dormant. I didnt exactly listen till Josh said" Eh, my liver was probably dead before I became a vampire, but thanks, Poppy."
Vincent said" Okay. So we should probably get back to Mardi Gras prep."
Josh said" Oh, come on, Vincent, we got this. Alright? It's gone off without a hitch for, what, seven years now?"
" Josh, that's because we haven't taken it for granted in seven years. Let me remind you, moments of prosperity are invariably followed by times of great pain, unless we remain vigilant."
Freya said" Thank you, Mr. Buzzkill."
" Okay, Freya, what you got, Mardi Gras prep?"
" The witches will be working on their float in the City of the Dead."
Hayley said" The werewolves in the Bayou." I wasn't in Mardi Gras prep since I only care about a few lucky vampires and I'm the sister of Kol Mikaelson... Vincent didn't trust me to control them... which Josh can't do either.
Vincent said" Josh?"
Josh said" Yeah?"
" Hmm? This is when you're supposed to say that the vampires are gonna steer clear of both."
" Yeah. Uh, actually, maybe we should offer them some sort of incentive."
Hayley said" Seven years of peace and prosperity not enough?"
" Well, it is, but we could always use more daylight rings."
Vincent said" Is this a negotiation, Josh? Marcel."
" You know what? First of all, reading that was very rude, and second..."
" Josh, I don't know how many times I have told you that what goes on in this city is no longer any of Marcel Gerard's business. Okay? A-And, guys, this is what I'm always talking about. Marcel means Rebekah. Rebekah means Kol and Elijah. And I don't even want to think about Klaus right now, 'cause apparently, he has lost his mind."
Freya said" Oh, come on, we don't know if those rumors are true."
" I know that we need to make sure that they stay as far away from this city as possible. And Freya, I'll be Mr. Buzzkill if it means reminding everybody here that the magic that those four carry inside of them, if we just put two of them in the same place, it is a ticking bomb."
Hayley said" Relax. Okay? Marcel's in New York. Elijah is..."
I said" In Amnesia-land."
" Right, and Klaus is wherever Klaus is these days. We're fine."
Poppy said" Declan sent these over to tide you over until your date tomorrow." We all looked at Declan,
Josh said" Oh, my god, I swear, if you don't marry that guy, I will."
Hayley said" Baby steps. He's human. Life's complicated enough. Oh. Hope's school." My phone vibrated,
I said" Hope and Todd's school."
" Like I said." I didnt answer and just got up with Hayley, listening into the conversation." Hello?" I heard Alric then dropped my head, oh, Todd, what have you and your cousin gotten yourselves into?

A seven hour car ride back to New Orleans was terrible, Hayley and I were mad, well mainly Hayley, since I know my child far too well. we walked into the compound,
Hope and Todd said" Can you just yell at us already? 7 hours of hostile silence is punishment enough."
Hayley said" The whole point of sending you both to that school and calling you Hope and Todd Marshall was so that you wouldn't draw attention to yourselves, to keep you both safe. Why? Why did you do it? What could you have possibly needed the money for?"
Hope said" That's my business."
" And selling your blood is mine. And you had no right."
" You're being a hypocrite. You're the one who taught me my body, my choice. Well, my blood my choice."
" You are not just anybody, Hope." I nodded to Todd, he followed me away from them.
I said" What were you thinking?"
He muttered" I wasn't?"
" Okay, I understand you helping Hope with this, you get that little detail from me. Now... punching Henry in the face?"
" He made me mad. So... I punched him in the face." His little smirk showed proud on his face,
" Todd... I can't even be mad at you, for that, because you get it from me, and I know you were just trying to protect Hope. I understand that, baby, but as a parent... not a good one, but still a mom, I'm gonna have to ground you."
" Why?"
" Because you're acting like your Uncle, now go, you Mischievous teenage boy."
" Thanks, mom."
" Mm-hmm." She ruffled my hair and kissed my head," You are too much like me, little fox. Now, go to your room." He walked to his room, leaving me, shaking my head, smiling at the boy I raised.

I found Hayley,
I said" So, what're we going to do about our little hybrid problem?"
She said" I'll talk with the pack, you stay here and take care of those two witches."
" Evil... fine! I'll take care of those two just like old times."
" They're grounded, Raven. Don't let them do anything outside of this place, okay?"
" You're no fun.... but fine. That's because they currently need our full attention."
" Thanks, Raven."
" Welcome, Hayley."

I heard the kids facetiming Kol,
Kol said" How's my little ne'er-do-well and fox?"
Hope and Todd said" We've been better. How's Davina?"
" My darling wife is gorging on papaya right now. You know, Belize is beautiful this time of year. You should visit."
" We'd love to, but... we're grounded."
" Grounded? You can't ground a witch, let alone my favorite niece and nephew."
" That's what we said. Moms didn't think it was funny."
" Well, I'm sure it will all blow over by Mardi Gras."
Hope said" I... I didnt think it was such a big deal at the time, but now that it's stirred up so much trouble, I-I feel kind of bad."
" Darling, you can't get your knickers in a knot every time you have a little kerfuffle. You'll never have a moment of pleasure. And I, for one, thought you showed some real entrepreneurial spirit."
" Yeah, that's me, your friendly, neighborhood blood dealer."
" I'm sure you've noticed by now the best people are black sheep."
" Like my dad?"
" I was referring to me. Niklaus is in a league of his own."
" Seen him lately?"
" Well, thankfully for you, no. Don't worry. Sooner or later, something will blow up in New Orleans. Some crisis or other always brings us back."
" Okay." Once he hung up, I smiled a bit then shook my head, what those two don't say to Hayley or me. I stopped snooping on them, and walked away.

So... Hayley and I divided and found out that the kids have passports... okay, what? I watched Todd walk into his room, then I sped in with the passport in hand. He turned around and saw it,
He said" I can explain."
I said" Then explain, little fox, where in bloody hell were you going?"
" Well... you see... uh, um... I met someone online, she's in a band... and she lives in London. She says she's 25, but she seems older."
" Luv, you need to know how to lie, and you were going to see Nik, with Hope."
" We know it's stupid. He doesn't care, but Hope... she thought maybe if they were in the same place for a little while..."
" It's not stupid. He loves Hope, and he loves you. But he know that being near either of you put you both in danger."
" A phone call wouldn't. Hope really does miss him."
" I know... and I hope one day you'll be able to talk in person. But until then, just... try not to judge him too harshly."
" So, we can't judge Hope's deadbeat dad, but you and Hayley can judge us?"
" No, no. We don't judge either of you. We judge your actions. I'm your mom. I love you, and I would forgive you for anything. But that's not... that's not a blank check for bad behavior."
" We did one... well, I did two... but we did one thing." Then we heard Henry,
He screamed" Hope! Hope!" We walked out and saw Henry, bloody with a dead vampire girl. He whimpered," I... I made a mistake." Then I noticed it was Poppy, Todd was breathing heavily, I looked at Hayley, what in bloody hell are we gonna do!

Vampires came, and now we're gonna have to deal with this,
New vamp said" No one wants any trouble, Hayley, Raven. We just want the hybrid."
Lisina said" You're not getting Henry!"
Hayley said" Let me handle this."
Josh said" Remember that that hybrid is just a kid. But Poppy was just trying to walk home from work, and she was our friend."
Lisina said" He's not going anywhere."
" Hayley, you might not have a choice." I looked at Hayley, I don't know what we're gonna do.
Hayley said" We need to be rational."
Greta said" Should they go back and tell Poppy's mother her daughter's killer's free. But at least we were rational?"
" Peace is complicated."
I said" We haven't had it all this time because we've been perfect. We've had it because we haven't overreacted when we're not. Revenge isn't justice."
" Do we really want to sacrifice a... a kid to assuage our fear?"
Greta said" He's not just a kid. He's a hybrid. With the power to kill any vampire he chooses."
" I'm a hybrid. I'm not a threat to anyone. And after I teach Henry self-control, he won't be, either. Look, every death is a tragedy. And I'm truly sorry for Poppy and her family. But we've evolved beyond an eye for an eye mentality. This a test. Don't... throw away all we've accomplished." I looked at Josh, we need to fix that little vamp before she thinks she can take over New Orleans.

I heard Freya talking with the prisoners of the Compound.
Freya said" Hey, jailbirds."
They said" Hey."
" I've got some news about me and Keelin. Where's your mom?" I walked in, and sat next to Todd, ruffling his hair as I sat.
" We don't know. She said she'd only be gone a few minutes, but then she never came back."
" Where'd she go?"
" Outside to make a call. Auntie Freya?" We saw the blood coming from the fountain, I put my hand over Todd's chest and looked at Freya, what's going on?
Freya and I went to look for Hayley, hoping she was okay. We couldn't find her but we did find Hayley's phone from someone.
We walked back to the kids,
Freya said" Someone found this in the street."  I looked at Hope, as she took the phone. Then it started vibrating, and it was Nik. I gulped, then placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. Hope answered it,
She said" Dad? Yeah, so are we. Um... I don't know where she is. She's missing." Nik will surely be on his way, I know well enough.