Author's Note:

I'm sure you all thought I was gone forever. Honestly, I thought I wouldn't return, but my muse demanded it. I have deleted all my other stories except for this one, and I will be going through the previous chapters to fix some mistakes I've noticed in a painful re-reading. I never claimed I was writing a great work of literature, but inconsistencies and typos are unacceptable.

I have been going through a rather hard time in my personal life, so perhaps this will help me escape. I don't know how often I'll update, but hopefully it will be more often than this. Now that the new season has started, I have all sorts of delicious Klaus and Elijah thoughts. :)

Song: "Issues" -Julia Michaels

Remember Me

Chapter 15: Reunion

Present Day, New Orleans

When Klaus had them both safely in a study on the second floor of the French Quarter mansion with the door closed, she rounded on him and slapped him soundly across the cheek. A fire blazed in her blue eyes as he held his hand to his face and realized that she hit with the strength beyond that of just a vampire. She was almost 700 years old, true, but even then there was something more. She was strong...very strong. Although his eyes flashed in anger for a moment, he knew she had every right to react that way.

"Don't you ever presume to take me anywhere without asking me again. I don't know what you're used to, but I make my own decisions and will not be handled like some ragdoll!"

Her dimpled chin raised an inch and Klaus smirked as he leaned a hip against the desk. "My apologies, love. I was afraid Elijah would throw a fit, and after over 600 years of believing you dead, I believe I have a right to a private conversation."

She crossed her arms over her chest and sat down on a clearly expensive sofa and looked up at him. "That doesn't excuse your behavior, but fine. I would like to get to the bottom of this as well. As upset as you seemed to be, imagine learning that hundreds of years of your life have been a lie. That you were compelled without your knowledge or consent and that your husband...a man you love...has been lying for centuries."

Klaus growled and paced in front of the window. "Don't call him that!"

She stood up and furrowed her brow...still quite smooth when she'd been turned in her early 30's. "What? Elijah is my husband whether you want to accept it or not. I am pissed off at him as well, but I have loved and lived with him for over 600 years, and I will not throw that away without a damn good reason."

He was suddenly in front of her and cupping her head as he stared into her eyes. "What about the fact that you chose me? You chose me that night all those years ago. I screwed up, and it has haunted me for eons, but you chose me, Ellie!" Without a second warning, he pressed his full lips to hers and yanked her soft body close to his...obviously hungry for contact and any sign that she still held even a flicker of feeling for him. Moving his mouth against hers in the way that he seemed to instinctively know (or remember) she liked it, she was shocked for a moment before pushing him away hard enough that he crashed into the wall and made the light sconce fall noisily to the floor.

"Even if that's true, I DON'T REMEMBER! I will not cheat on your brother!" He quickly righted himself and figured that he should have expected that. She never was easy or docile. She also had a very strong moral code, and even a kiss would count as betrayal in her mind. Klaus growled in frustration and sent a fist through the wall. Plaster and brick crumbled around them and she tried to ignore the fact that his kiss had left her breathless and her lips tingling.

"How can you not remember me when I see your face in my dreams every night?"

She sighed and slumped back in the chair. "You know how strong compulsion is. Don't take it personally."

He gave a dark chuckle and looked out over the streets of the Big Easy with a tortured expression. "Rather hard not to, love."

Ellie shrugged and got up to go stand beside him. "Either way, I fully intend to find a way to lift it. They are my memories, and I will not have them stolen."

Klaus frowned and contemplated this for a moment. "Elijah won't go for it, and not for the reasons you think. Centuries of compulsion being lifted will be both painful and dangerous. So many things could go wrong, let alone the fact that it would take a powerful witch to undo. Although I hate that you don't remember me, I wouldn't want you in danger."

She looked up into his eyes and tilted her head. "It is not either of your decisions to make. I will find someone to do it, or I will do it myself." Klaus frowned again.

"Wait...do it yourself?" That's when he realized what had been off about her strength. He sniffed the air around her and realized that she wasn't just a vampire. She wasn't just a hybrid. She was a tribrid...like hope...but that was impossible! She'd been born human. "Impossible." His tone was awed and soft.

"What? Yes, do it myself. I know it's rare, I'm a vampire who can do magic."

"...and a werewolf."

"Yes. That too."

"But...how?"

"I was a werewolf before I was turned into a vampire, and apparently I also had an ancient witch bloodline. Elijah prefers to keep all this hush-hush, though, as it would put a big target on my back."

Klaus remembered Hope and simply nodded. He also knew that she hadn't been a werewolf or a witch before she'd been turned. They would have sensed that. She had been a human. Suddenly turning into a tribrid was impossible, and yet here she was. He had to talk to Elijah one-on-one, as there were so many unanswered questions. As if he sensed his presence being sought, Elijah opened the door without knocking and came in.

"And I was right to do so, as we have learned with Hope. Right, dear brother?"

Klaus numbly nodded, but Ellie looked between the two. "Hope?"

Elijah smiled and put an arm around her...ignoring Klaus' scowl. "My niece. Klaus' daughter. In fact, why don't you go downstairs and meet her and Freya while Klaus and I catch up."

Ellie clearly didn't trust the two of them alone together, but she stood up anyway. She loved children and wanted to get to know Elijah's family. "Alright, but no killing each other. I don't want to find a white ash stake in either of you." She left the room and Elijah closed the door before turning back to his younger sibling.

Klaus looked to him and sat down before pouring them both a drink. "I think we have rather a lot to talk about, big brother...don't you?"

Elijah took his glass and sat down tensely before answering, "Yes indeed, Niklaus. We do."

Author's Note:

We'll get back to the past again soon and Lucien. So many ideas!