this was a path that led to nowhere

(That works! Since they're all together now, I'm just going to combine the parts)

Jeremy wasn't entirely sure what was going on, really; Grace had looked fairly confused with the phone call and, not long after the call ended, a car skidded to a stop near them. Looking over, he didn't recognize who it was but, upon hearing the interaction, he realized it must be Alice. "What's going on?" he repeated Grace's question, though he froze when he heard a voice that he definitely did recognize. Glancing over at Klaus, he frowned deeply at the sight of the man. "What are you doing here, Klaus?"

Alice could feel herself tense and she quickly turned to face Klaus, her eyes wide. "Grace, you and your friend, get in the car and go. Call your mom and ask her about the rendezvous point," she said, but before the words could really get out, Klaus dropped the secret that Tegan and Alice had worked so hard to keep. She was sure Grace wasn't going to leave now and that meant that Alice would have to do everything she could to try to convince Grace to leave. "Klaus, please, don't start this," she pleaded quietly as she stared at him. "I couldn't tell you, you know that. If I had, you would have killed me for helping Tegan keep her away from you all this time."

But, even Jeremy was reeling from the information and he looked to Grace with confusion. "Wait. Klaus Mikaelson is your dad?" he asked, though shock was evident in his tone and expression. It didn't make sense. How had nobody known about that? How was it even possible? Grace looked plenty human to him. He frowned, though, and turned his attention to Klaus as he listened to Alice mention keeping Grace away from Klaus - which meant that Grace hadn't known at all, especially with Klaus's own previous words. "She's better off without you, Klaus. You'll just get her killed," he said firmly as he shifted to stand in front of Grace in a protective manner.

"Grace, will you please tell your friend to stay out of this? He doesn't know who he's talking to or what Klaus will do if he gets even mildly irritated," Alice said firmly, though her eyes never left Klaus. "You need to leave, Grace. Get in that car and drive away and don't look back."

Grace was frozen as she listened to everything that was being thrown around, it was so much to take in and she didn’t know what to do or what to even think. Joe wasn’t her biological father? The man she was raised by wasn’t her dad, and a man who she had only heard horrible things about was her father. Her mom and Alice knew all this time, they had worked together to keep her away from Klaus. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realised her family had been keeping this secret from her since she was born, they had kept her away from her biological father all her life and never once told her. “How could you?” She whispered as she looked at Alice, the tears now rolling down her cheeks as she felt her world shatter around her. Everything she had known was a lie. She moved closer to Jeremy when he stood in front of her, she didn’t want to be near Alice or her mom right now.

It hurt Klaus to see his daughter getting upset, but he still felt betrayed by not only Tegan but Alice. He hadn’t expected Alice to be helping Tegan, that wasn’t something that the Alice he had known would have done to him. “You shouldn’t have helped them keep my daughter away from me, I didn’t expect this from you.” He narrowed his light eyes at the woman he loved, until he heard the comment come from the Gilbert boy who should have learnt by now to not speak to him in that way. The comment made him turn his attention onto the weak human boy that thought he could protect his little girl better than he could, he was the Original Hybrid and if anyone could keep his daughter safe then it was him.

He hadn’t meant to but he slashed out, he was standing in front of the boy in a second and had his hand firmly gripping his neck. “You need to learn not to speak to me in that tone, little boy.” He threatened even if it would show Grace that maybe the stories of him were true, but that didn’t change the love he held for his girl. “Stop it now.” Grace demanded as she watched Jeremy struggle to breathe, she gave Klaus a second to let Jeremy go and when he didn’t she raised her palm to face both Klaus and Alice. She used her magic to send them both flying onto the ground, “Stay the hell away from me.” She spat out at them both before she turned to Jeremy, “Are you okay?” She looked at him with hurt and betrayal clouding her once happy eyes, she knew that he would now know she was a witch. But he knew Klaus, did that mean he knew about the supernatural? “I can’t stay here,” She whispered to Jeremy as she turned and moved closer to Alice’s car, she couldn’t stay there any longer and although she hoped Jeremy would go with her, she wasn’t going to make him.

Klaus grunted softly as he got back onto his feet, “Grace. If you leave, I will find you again. I’ll always find you,” He watched as she climbed into the car, the human boy following her closely and he could have stopped her from driving away. But he didn’t because it was a lot to deal with, she would need some time to think about all of this. So once Grace had driven off, he looked over to Alice. “How could you keep her from me? My own daughter, Alice. Was it to hurt me? Give me pay back for leaving you, because I never meant to leave you.” He looked at her as he wanted to know why Alice had done what she did, he knew Tegan and Joe would have never allowed him to be in Grace’s life but why would Alice do something like this?

Jeremy was busy coughing after Klaus had released his hold on him, thanks to Grace, and he rubbed at his neck as he looked around at the trio. What the hell was going on here? He knew what Grace had done, though; she'd used magic. So she was a witch. But, she didn't seem to be anything like her father, which was a relief, because she'd actually ended up protecting Jeremy. "I'm okay," he assured Grace, though he watched her go to the car. Pushing himself up, he moved to follow her quickly, half-expecting one of the others to try to stop them but they didn't. It surprised Jeremy to say the least, but he didn't think too much about it and he quickly climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up before he glanced over to Grace, eying her carefully to see her mental state.

"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly, though he knew that she wasn't. She clearly hadn't been aware that Klaus was her father - she probably didn't even know who Klaus was. But, he still felt it was best to ask, just for Grace's sake or in case Grace wanted to talk about what had happened. A small frown formed on his features and he looked out the window as Grace started to drive, though he rubbed at his throat a bit. For a moment, he almost felt bad for Grace's friend; Klaus was probably going to kill her, because that was what Klaus did. But he didn't want to mention that to Grace, he didn't want to make things any worse for her than they already were. "If you want... We could go to my place. You can hide out there for a while and... Process everything that just happened, I guess." He doubted that she'd want to go home right now, after all, and he knew the feeling well. He'd been in plenty of situations where going home didn't feel like an option. "Do you want to talk about it?"

---

Alice hadn't expected for Grace to use her magic against her, but that wasn't what bothered her in the end. What bothered her was the betrayal and tears in Grace's eyes. Grace and Tegan were the most important things in Alice's life; they were all she really had anymore, so seeing Grace that upset with her hurt, but she knew she deserved it. At some point, she hoped to explain to Grace, but she knew that Grace needed time alone, so she didn't get in her way when Grace went to the car or when Jeremy followed. Instead, she turned her attention to Klaus while she listened to the car drive away and she tried not to care about how much he hurt in that moment, because she already felt guilty enough about what she'd done and she didn't want Klaus to add to that.

"You think this was to hurt you? To get back at you?" she asked as she stared at him with shock before she quickly shook her head and moved to stand up. "This wasn't about what it would do to you, Klaus. This was solely to keep Tegan and Grace safe. I didn't tell Tegan that I knew you until she was pregnant and decided that she wanted to be with Joe. Because I know you and I know how you deal with betrayals, I told her to run, but it wasn't to hurt you. It was so that Tegan could be happy and so that Tegan and Grace could be safe. And do you know why they wouldn't be safe with you? Everything you cherish gets broken and destroyed by your enemies, Klaus. I know first hand and I wasn't going to let that happen to your own daughter. Everything I did was for them, not because it was to hurt you or get back at you, but because I wanted them safe and happy. So, you can hate me or even kill me, I don't care, because I did what was needed."

“What about my happiness? If you knew me, you would know that I would do everything in my power to keep my daughter safe. She is my daughter, Alice. I would die for her and I would do what I needed to, in order to keep her protected from my enemies. How do you know she wouldn’t have been happy with me?” Klaus looked at Alice as it didn’t just hurt him that Tegan kept their daughter from him, but it also upset him deeply. “Yes, I admit I have done things in my life that I’m not proud of. But Grace is the only thing that I am proud of, she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me besides meeting you. I didn’t even get to see my own daughter until she was two years old, but Tegan and Joe continued to move each time I got close.” Klaus hadn’t seen Grace born, hadn’t watched her grow, didn’t see her first crawl or first step, didn’t get to hear her first word.

He got nothing and that pain was worse than having his heart ripped out from his chest, he stepped closer to Alice and he was tempted to rip her heart from her chest. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t hurt her and he couldn’t kill her. He still loved her, even if she had betrayed him. “I’m the only one who didn’t watch her grow into the beautiful person she is today, Tegan told me she was pregnant and then she disappeared. Used a cloaking spell so I wouldn’t be able to find her, she told me about Grace and then ripped her away from me. I wasn’t given the chance to change or be a good father, because you all see me as the monster. But I’m the one who told Grace the truth,” Klaus held back any tears that threatened to wet his eyes, but he was in Mystic Falls and now Grace knew the truth. He wasn’t going anywhere without his daughter.

---

It probably wasn’t Grace’s best idea for her to drive when she was upset, but she had to get away from them. She didn’t want to see Alice or her mom, she needed to go somewhere to be quiet and try to deal with what she had just learnt. “No, I’m not.” Her voice cracked as she spoke but right now she just focused on driving, “Can we? I’m not going home,” She quickly glanced over to Jeremy as she did want to go to his house, at least then Alice and Klaus wouldn’t be able to get inside. She listened to his directions and drove through the streets of Mystic Falls, only parking Alice’s car when Jeremy pointed out his lovely home. “This is nice,” She complimented him as they climbed from the car, she was trying to think of anything else which wasn’t really working that well. “I don’t want to talk about… not yet,” She told him as she hadn’t processed any of it yet.

She followed him up to the front door before she stepped inside, the house gave off a welcoming and warm vibe. It was a family home and that’s what Grace needed right now, a place to feel safe. She couldn’t hear anyone else home, which was probably for the best as she wasn’t in a good place and she wanted to give Jeremy’s family a good first impression when she did meet them. Grace followed Jeremy upstairs to what she guessed was his bedroom, it suited him perfectly. Dark furniture, messy and even though the curtains were open, Grace knew he hadn’t been the one to open them. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about what I am, I wasn’t sure how much you knew if any. And I didn’t want to lose the only friend I made here,” As Grace spoke she looked around his room, but she couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her cheeks again.

"I didn't say that she wouldn't have been happy with you, Klaus. But Tegan wouldn't have been happy and Joe was good to both of them," Alice said quietly, though her voice cracked slightly from her emotions. It was something she hated about being a vampire more than everything else except for drinking blood - the heightened emotions. "And you couldn't even keep me safe from Mikael, who threw me around my home and broke my walls with my body before he turned me. If Mikael was to show up again and learn that you have a daughter, he'd do even worse to her for being your daughter and to Tegan for birthing your daughter. The decision was made to protect them from people like Mikael, not you - even though, admittedly, knowing what you do to those who betray you is why I couldn't tell you, not even in The Grill earlier when I so desperately wanted to."

She didn't move away when he moved closer. Even though she was fully expecting him to lash out and kill her, she was fine with that at this point. Grace hated her for keeping the secret from her and she'd failed Tegan and hurt Klaus; she had accepted her own death back when Mikael was throwing her around, so she was okay with the thought of dying now. "I don't see you as a monster, Klaus," she murmured as she watched him, "But I did everything I could to protect Grace and Tegan from the real monster. Even though that hurt you, I wouldn't change that."

---

Jeremy watched Grace as he moved to sit on his bed, though he shook his head slightly in response. "No, it's fine, really," he assured her as he shrugged. "My sister's boyfriend is a vampire. Her best friend is a vampire. Her other best friend is a witch. And her boyfriend's brother is, of course, a vampire. She had me compelled to forget about all of that a few times to try to protect me, so... I get it, I do. But, you don't have to worry about that with me. I don't care if you're a witch or if you're Klaus Mikaelson's daughter, you're still my friend." He offered a smile up at her, though he wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe away her tears, possibly promise that everything would be okay, but he'd learned long ago that such a saying was a lie. He'd learned long ago that being a part of the supernatural world was dangerous - but so was not being a part of it, so it was never okay.

"Do you want to sit down?" he asked instead, figuring that she might like to relax a little. He hoped so, anyways, but he couldn't be sure if that would help her at all. A part of him wanted to tell her that he was sure her mom and Alice kept the secret about Klaus away from her for a reason - especially since he knew how much of a dick Klaus was - but he felt it wasn't the right time for that, not when she was already upset. The last thing he wanted was to put her even more on edge and make her feel like she didn't have anywhere to go to calm down and feel safe. "I've got a sketchpad if you want to draw or something? Get your mind off things?"

Klaus frowned at Alice, “I would have killed Mikael if I had known what he did to you. And he wouldn’t survive a second here, he wouldn’t have time to learn of Grace.” He hated Mikael and wouldn’t let the man get close to his daughter, he knew exactly what Mikael would do to her and Tegan and Klaus wouldn’t allow that to ever happen. “I still would have protected her, I can protect her better than what Tegan can. A witch can only do so much,” Klaus was still furious with Alice and what she did, he wanted to scream and yell at her but that wouldn’t change a thing. He didn’t want to hurt Alice, and he knew if he did that would give Grace a reason to be scared of him. But the love he held in his heart for the brunette vampire also stopped him from snapping her neck or ripping her heart from her chest.

“We could have protected them together, did you ever think of that? You could have found me, I would have come with you.” Klaus looked into her eyes, his hand found her cheek gently. “All I’ve ever wanted was a family, I had you but then I let you go. I didn’t have a choice in losing my daughter, I’ve thought about her every day since I found out Tegan was pregnant. She was ripped away from me, that’s worse than having my heart ripped out. I would have welcomed death,” He spoke as his thumb lightly moved over Alice’s cheek, “I can’t forgive this.” His voice was a whisper as he looked at her.

---

Grace looked over at Jeremy when he explained that she wasn’t the only supernatural creature in Mystic Falls, “Really?” She had no idea there were so many others like her, she wasn’t the only one who was trying to appear like a normal teenager then. It was a major relief when Jeremy told her that he didn’t care if she was a witch or was Klaus’ daughter, because that was what she was worried about. He was her only friend and she didn’t want to lose him, “Thanks.” Her voice softened as she did sit down on the edge of his bed, she shook his head lightly. “No, thanks…” She didn’t feel like drawing right now, she didn’t know if she felt more betrayal or heart break. “Why wouldn’t they tell me? I deserved to know all of this a long time ago, my dad… wasn’t mine biologically… I should have been told that.” The tears weren’t stopping as more fell down her cheeks, sobs escaped from her lips as all her emotions came flooding out.

Grace didn’t want to cry in front of Jeremy but right now she needed to, she needed to have someone she trusted be there for her and comfort her. She couldn’t go to her mom or Alice, like she normally would have. She didn’t bother to try and speak again, she knew nothing clear would come from her voice that Jeremy would be able to understand. Now she understood why she had seen him over the years, he would show up in various towns every few years but Grace never thought much of it. Because every time she did see him, she wouldn’t feel scared or threatened. She would actually feel pride, which had confused her but she never thought too deeply into the reason why. "Oh I'm sorry..." Grace sobbed when she caught sight of a few items in his room that were now floating in the air, she still struggled to control her magic when she felt strong emotions.

"But you didn't know because you ran, Klaus. How was I to know you wouldn't run again should he ever come after Tegan and Grace? At least with them having no official ties to you and nobody being aware of you being her father, she hasn't had to face your enemies," Alice said as she stared at him, though she left the explanation of her choice at that. She was tired of trying to explain to Klaus why keeping Grace away from him was the safest thing for her; she knew Klaus was too hurt to see the logic of avoiding enemies in general by staying away from Klaus rather than relying on Klaus to get rid of the many enemies he had. One person could only hold so many at bay and, if his enemies decided to team up to go after Grace to hurt Klaus, he wouldn't have been able to keep all of them away.

When she felt his hand on her cheek, she closed her eyes - not because she wanted to enjoy the touch, but because she was fully expecting him to kill her at any moment. "I never expected forgiveness from you, Klaus," she murmured in response, "But, if you're going to kill me, you should at least take these." Shifting, she reached out to move his hand from her face and put it on her head instead, along with grabbing his other hand to do the same. She stayed focus and focused on sharing her memories of Grace with him. Important ones like the first time she saw Grace after Tegan gave birth, Grace's first word, the first time she started to walk, the first time she showed interest in art, the first time Grace's magic really started to show, plenty of firsts that followed through the years, each of her birthdays and many more memories; then came the unimportant ones, like Grace asking for advice, Alice giving the only thing she had left of Klaus to Grace - the paintbrushes he'd left at her home - when Grace became interested in painting, Alice homeschooling Grace while Grace's powers were too strong, and more.

---

Jeremy wasn't entirely sure what to say. He could tell she was really hurt by it, but he could also partially see why it would have been kept a secret from her. After all, he knew Klaus, and he knew that, if Grace had grown up around Klaus, she'd probably be an entirely different person today. Or she wouldn't be alive. She was only a witch, after all; she wasn't immortal like Klaus and the other originals were. Shifting, he moved to wrap an arm around her and rubbed her arm gently in hopes of comforting her. "In a way... I can kind of see why they did it," he said after a moment, "Not that I'm saying they took the best approach, but... Well, I know Klaus and he's not exactly a good guy. From what I know, he killed my aunt and a werewolf and my sister in some ritual, but my sister came back because my uncle had a spell done that let his life be exchanged for hers. And, well, Klaus has tried to ciphon my sister's blood ever since because it's what's used to make hybrids, which is what he is. He's done all of this in just the time that he's been here in Mystic Falls. Who knows what all he did over the centuries before he came here?"

Of course, he wasn't even sure if Klaus being a killer was why Alice and Grace's mother had kept it a secret, but with his own knowledge of Klaus, he could understand why they took the precaution at least. "You clearly loved your dad, too. Maybe they felt it was best not to say anything after a while because they didn't want to ruin the relationship you had with him. I mean... My sister is actually my cousin and we didn't learn about that for years, long after my parents died, so I can understand why they would have kept it away from you if that was the case." The problem was that he didn't know if that was the case or not, though. And, he didn't want to make things worse for Grace. He blinked, though, and looked around at the floating objects, though he couldn't help but to chuckle lightly. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked her. "I think it's pretty cool."

Klaus closed his eyes when Alice shared her memories of Grace with him, he was able to see his daughter as a baby and saw her grow. He saw many things but what brought tears to his eyes, was when he saw that Grace had inherited his love and talent for art. “You gave her my brushes,” He whispered as his eyes slowly opened, finding Alice’s eyes as he remembered leaving those brushes at her house. He had no idea that she would have even kept them after he had left her without an explanation, removing his hands he looked at Alice. “Now that she knows, I’m not letting her go again. If Grace decides that she wants to know me and have me in her life, I won’t let Tegan stop that.” He told Alice as he would now leave the choice up to his daughter, he hoped that she would want to know him but he wouldn’t pressure her.

“And thank you for keeping her safe,” Klaus still wasn’t pleased about what Alice and Tegan did, but he did know that Alice had a large part in how Grace was brought up. She was an amazing young woman and Alice helped in that, “I know you did a lot for her as she was growing.” He looked at Alice, “I won’t kill you. Do you think that low of me now, I love you and I always will. I can’t kill you, darling.” Klaus told her as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, no matter how angry he was with the secret Alice held from him. He wouldn’t kill her, if it was someone else then they would have already been dead. But it was Alice, she had always been different to him and he wouldn’t be able to live knowing he had killed the love of his life.

---

Grace didn’t want to listen to Jeremy, she didn’t want him to defend her mom and her actions. But deep down Grace could see where her mom and Alice were coming from, the reasons they had for not telling her about who her biological father was. But she still believed she had the right to know, she wouldn’t have seen Joe any differently because he raised her. He loved her like she was his own. But what she did listen to was what Klaus had done already in the town, she wiped her tears away with her fingers before she looked at him. “I’m sorry he’s already caused you so much pain,” And she really was sorry for what her father has done to Jeremy’s family, “I know why I wasn’t told but it still hurts that I wasn’t. I feel like I wasn’t given the choice to know or the choice to make up my own mind about him,” It was still a shock that Grace was yet to get over, she never even had the thought that maybe Joe wasn’t her biological dad so she hadn’t seen the news coming.

“It’s not always cool, this is the exact reason why Alice had to home school me. Sometimes I struggle to control my magic, especially when I go through intense emotions.” Grace explained to him as the items continued to float in the air, “If you think being my friend will cause you more pain. Then I completely understand if it’s better that we stop hanging out,” Grace didn’t want Jeremy to go through any more pain, she would hate to cause him pain or have Klaus lash out for whatever reason or even have an enemy of Klaus’ target Jeremy or the people that he cared about.

"They were all I had left of you and I felt that, even if she couldn't know about you, she could have a piece of you," Alice murmured quietly in response, "Lucky they didn't get broken over the centuries of moving." She hadn't ever told Tegan they were Klaus's but she was sure Tegan suspected it; it never got brought up, though, which made things easier in the end. It was nice to see Grace's interest in art grow over the years, for Alice, because it was like another piece of Klaus. Admittedly, though, she could never allow herself to admit something like that aloud. "I'll talk to Tegan," she promised softly, "Since Grace knows now, anyways... There's no point in Tegan running anymore, as far as I can tell, so long as you promise not to harm her." She gave him a pointed look despite herself.

But, then, Klaus was thanking her, and it was the last thing she expected. Part of her felt a little better with the acknowledgment that she'd kept Grace safe. But, she still worried that Grace would be angry with her for a long time to come. And, when Klaus spoke of being unable to kill her and still loving her, she could feel her own eyes water and she shifted to bury her face against him, unable to help it. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm really sorry." And, she was; she hadn't ever meant to hurt Klaus. Her only goal was to keep his daughter and Tegan safe and to let Tegan be happy with Joe.

---

"I'm not saying that you can't be angry or hurt about it," Jeremy assured her quietly. "I was only saying that... With me knowing Klaus, I can sort of understand. You're right, though. It should have been your choice. Who knows, if he'd had you around, he might be a better person than he is right now." He wasn't really sure, of course. Who knew if Klaus had even a minimalistic understanding of fatherly responsibilities? For the most part, he just wanted to cheer Grace up in one way or another. And, if he couldn't cheer her up, he at least wanted to get her mind off things; she didn't deserve to be at the center of all this mess, anyways, after all, and she deserved to be able to pretend that she wasn't, at least for a little while. "At least you know now. You didn't find out in the best way, but... At least you found out."

He offered a small smile over at her and lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Your powers may get out of control at times, but at least you're not a vampire turning off your humanity or killing everybody you feed from because you have no control over that," he offered up, though he wasn't sure that would help her. It could have been worse, though; at least she was a witch who could learn control and he doubted she'd ever try to kill anybody with her powers. "What are you talking about?" he asked quietly as he shifted, taking her hand in his and giving it a slight squeeze. "I wouldn't dream of ending our friendship just because of this, I promise."

Alice would never fully realise how much it meant to him, that she had given his paint brushes to his daughter. It didn’t even matter that Grace didn’t know the brushes were his, it was that Alice had passed down the brushes onto his daughter when the brushes were all Alice had left of him. “I won’t hurt Tegan,” He promised as he couldn’t hurt the mother of his child, if he did hurt Tegan than it would only push Grace further away from him and that was the last thing he wanted. He needed his daughter in his life, otherwise he wouldn’t have a life that was worth living.

When he saw how upset Alice was becoming after he told her that he would always love her, he wrapped his arms around her body. “Did you really think I wouldn’t love you? That I would have moved on from you? Oh darling, no one would ever come close to you. If I can’t have you, then I don’t want anyone.” He told her as he held onto her tightly, having her back in his arms was like nothing he could describe. He had wished and dreamed this would happen again, he had thought it never would because he honestly thought she would have died from old age. But here she was, with his daughter all this time and he didn’t even know.

---

Grace looked at Jeremy when he spoke about how vampires were worse in how they can lose control, it wasn’t something she had thought about or even wanted to compare herself to. But if she thought about it, Jeremy was right. So what if she tended to make objects float into the air, she wasn’t going to hurt anyone. “I guess so, not that I’ve ever compared myself to a vampire before.” She sniffled a little as she wasn’t calming down, but the tears weren’t welling up in her eyes anymore. It seemed like her emotions were settling somewhat as the objects slowly moved back to where they had come from, mostly because Jeremy had assured her that he wasn’t going to stop being her friend. No matter who her father happened to be and no matter what he has done in the past, which Grace wasn’t really expecting.

She was sure that Jeremy would push her away, Klaus had killed two people that he loved and cared for. She had been waiting for Jeremy to tell her that he never wanted to see her again, because she would only cause more trouble for him. “Thank you,” She looked at Jeremy and she honestly meant it, she couldn’t thank him enough for just being there for her and not leaving her. “That’s why you have the ring, your family knew about the supernatural too?” She asked as it would hopefully take her mind off of what she had learnt.

Alice couldn't help the relief that washed over her when she heard Klaus's assurance that he wouldn't hurt Tegan. At this point, she didn't expect him to, but she'd wanted to be on the safe side, especially since she was sure Tegan would have been just as worried about it as Alice had previously been. She'd spent her entire vampire life protecting Tegan and Grace and their ancestors just as they had for her, but she was well aware she wouldn't stand a chance against Klaus if he truly felt the need to go after Tegan.

"After what I kept from you, no, I didn't expect you to still love me. I don't really think I deserve it, either," she admitted quietly, though she kept her face buried against him. Right now, she needed the contact between them, needed to know that she wasn't just imagining things. But, a part of her also just wanted to take in the scent of him, the one she had woken up to plenty of times when she was a human, the one that brought comfort to her each time she found herself frightened or upset with the knowledge that she wouldn't have Klaus forever - even if most of it was her own choice, because she hadn't wanted to become this. "I love you, too, Klaus. I couldn't tell you before, in The Grill, even when I so badly wanted to, but I can say it now because I have nothing left to hide."

---

Jeremy smiled slightly and shook his head. "You don't need to compare yourself to a vampire. I've seen enough to know that they're not usually the good guys," he admitted lightly, though he figured that it was probably more so that he was biased. The only vampire he'd ever really liked was Anna, but she'd ended up dead. Even Anna had her faults, though, considering she'd used him to get the others to open the tomb. "I've seen that the witches I know tend to be good people, though." Even if he only really knew one witch aside from Grace, he figured that it still mattered.

"You don't have to thank me." His eyes took her in and he gave her hand another gentle squeeze. "Really. I prefer to learn about people myself rather than to outright judge them, no matter who they are or who they're related to." Plus, Grace didn't seem to be anything like her father. And Grace was a witch, so she didn't go around draining people of blood, either, which made it easier to decide that she wasn't a bad person, he'd admit. But, he had also gotten to know Grace, so he knew that he had nothing to worry about. She'd kept the fact that she was a witch from him, but that was a pretty harmless secret compared to the secrets Elena kept from him. "Yeah, um, my parents knew about the supernatural and so did my uncle. My aunt didn't, though, and neither did Elena or me until pretty recently. The ring kind of keeps me from dying in the sense that it brings me back to life if I die by supernatural causes."

“You will always deserve and have my love, you stole my heart the second I first saw you.” Klaus held Alice’s body close to his, holding her felt exactly the same as when she had been human. He did miss the warmth that she had once brought to him from the blood that pumped through her body, but that didn’t matter to him as long as he never lost her again. “Hopefully now you’ll be able to say it whenever you like,” His lips pressed to the top of her head, they stayed like that for a little while longer before he needed to bring her attention to something rather important.

“You will still need to protect her for me, I haven’t exactly made friends here in Mystic Falls. Which shouldn’t surprise you, so if keeping Grace at a distance will protect her then so be it. But I am having a home built, so I can bring my siblings here. Maybe once they arrive, they will also be able to keep my daughter safe.” He explained knowing the Salvatore brothers would most likely want revenge on him for what he has done since arriving at the small town, but he will kill anyone who threatens or tries to hurt his little girl. Then he’ll kill everyone that person knew, just for a safety measure.

---

Grace agreed with Jeremy, she hadn’t met many vampires but the only good one she knew was Alice. Which made Grace want to give everybody a chance, but if someone screwed her over then that was it. She didn’t give out many second chances unless she believed that the person could change, “I think you’ll like Alice though.” She told him as she suddenly realised that she had used her magic on Alice to push her and Klaus away, she has never used her magic on her family. Not even once. Guilt settled into the pit of her stomach, she hoped Alice would forgive her. She was glad that Jeremy still wanted to be her friend, even though she would understand if he didn’t. After what Klaus has done to his family and friends, he should have been kicking her out of his house and out of his life.

“I’ve heard about what the ring can do, I’ve never seen one before though.” Grace looked at Jeremy, “I’m sorry that you got dragged into this life. If I wasn’t a witch, I’d prefer not to know about any of this.” She hated knowing that now Jeremy wouldn’t be able to have a normal life, she would have kept her secret from him if he hadn’t known because it would have been better for him in the long run. She was born into this life, she didn’t have the choice but the people around Jeremy did. They could have left him out of it for his own sake. Hearing her phone ring, she knew who it was. Pulling her phone out, she ignored her mom’s call before turning her phone onto silent. She wasn’t ready to talk to her mom, she wasn’t ready to go home but she didn’t really have anywhere else to go.

"Always the charmer, aren't you?" Alice asked with faint amusement, having managed to calm down from her overwhelming emotions from moments ago thanks to Klaus's words. She felt better, though, knowing that Klaus didn't hate her. While she was aware he wouldn't forgive her for keeping Grace from him, knowing that he didn't hate her put her at ease, and she would happily take what she could get. It made it easier to accept with the knowledge that he still loved her as well. "I really missed you." Her voice was quiet, but she was more than aware that he'd hear her either way.

With a small nod, she focused on what he said, though his words brought a small amount of concern within her. What about the boy who now knew about Grace's ties to Klaus? Would he tell anybody? She hoped not and she didn't want to mention it when she was well aware Klaus might not even wait to see what happened. She could tell he'd do anything to keep Grace safe, even if it meant harming or killing somebody who might not even be a threat, just because they knew the truth. "It doesn't surprise me," she assured quietly, "But I'm almost insulted that you'd think I'd ever stop protecting Grace." She offered a small smile, her words mostly joking. "I will always keep Grace safe, even if it costs me my life. She may not be my blood, but she is my family. I'd never let harm come to her, Klaus, I promise."

---

"Maybe," Jeremy said with a small shrug, because he couldn't really say that it was impossible. He knew not all vampires were bad; Anna hadn't been so bad. He could understand why she'd done what she had and they'd grown to trust each other after it all ended. "But, I'm having trouble figuring out how she knows Klaus. Or how your mom knows him. I mean, you're a pretty great person from what I've seen so far, so I imagine your mom and Alice are good people, but I can't see why good people would know Klaus or why your mom could have ever fallen for a guy like that." He really hoped he wasn't being insulting his words, but he did find it hard to believe; what had Grace's mom seen in Klaus?

"I really don't blame you," he told her honestly when she'd admitted that, if she wasn't a witch, she wouldn't have wanted to be involved in all of it. It was better being ignorant to what lurked in the dark sometimes. At the same time, it was dangerous, of course, but... Being ignorant to it seemed like the safer route. Most people were unaware of the supernatural part of the world and only a small percentage of them became victims. But, those who were aware of this world? He knew more who were dead or who had nearly died than he knew who came out of it all unscathed. "It seems a lot more dangerous for those who are aware of everything, from what I've seen. Not just for the humans, either, but for those who are part of the supernatural world - the witches, vampires, werewolves, hybrids. Everybody who's aware is fair game, it seems."

“Only with you, darling.” Klaus spoke as he wasn’t trying to charm Alice, he had done that a long time ago when he first met her. He shook his head lightly, “I know that you wouldn’t stop protecting her. I didn’t mean that, all I wanted to make sure that you’d still be by her side. Even if she tries to push us all away, and if I change my mind and want to tell the world how amazing she is.” He did want to boast about his daughter, but he couldn’t and he knew that and that hurt him. The pad of his thumb moved to brush over Alice’s cheek as his eyes took in her beauty, how one person could be so beautiful and still not know it was beyond him. “And Grace will always be your family, I hope one day so will I.” He wasn’t sure how much Alice would give him, in terms of being in her life again.

He had found out what she was hiding from him, if there wasn’t any other secrets that she was hiding then she should want him back. At least that is what Klaus was hoping for, because he couldn’t live in the same small town as she did without being with her. It was drive him insane and he was already dangerous enough. “And I have always missed you, my love.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned in closer to her, his lips finally pressing to hers as he couldn’t stop himself any longer. He had been craving her lips from the second he saw her sitting in The Grill, his urge to kiss her was far too strong for him to refuse.

---

Jeremy did bring up a good point, how did Alice and her mom know Klaus? Grace frowned as she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why her mom of all people would have a relationship with the Original Hybrid. After the stories she had heard of him, he should have been the last person a witch wanted to get involved with. And how much did her dad know about all of this? Did that make her a hybrid as well? Because she didn’t drink blood and she didn’t turn into a werewolf on a full moon, all she had was her magic. “I really don’t know and I don’t understand any of that,” She told Jeremy honestly as she had no answers to give him, the other way she’d get answers if by confronting her mom and Alice about it all and she didn’t know if she was ready for that.

“It is dangerous for everyone who knows, sometimes it’s too much even for me and I’ve grown up with all of this.” Grace sighed as she looked down at her lap, “I’m just worried that something will happen to you. Especially now that you also know who my father is, we can’t tell anyone about this.” Grace looked at Jeremy to make sure that he knew what the cost could be if he did tell anyone, if people started to find out that Jeremy knew that he would quickly become a target. Even more so if someone found out that he was her friend, Grace would hate herself if anything happened to Jeremy because of her.

"You'll get to boast about her some day," Alice assured him with a small smile as she watched him. It amazed her that Klaus could be so... well, fatherly. She'd never imagined the man she met so long ago to be a doting father, but he so clearly wanted to be able to do that and her heart ached for him because she wasn't sure how long he'd have to wait before he'd be allowed that luxury. "Until then, I promise I'll do it for you," she teased. Her expression softened when she heard his later words, and she found herself staring at him for a few moments, uncertain of what to say. In the past, he had been her family and, while she wanted to believe that it was still true, she was worried that Tegan may not be happy with that thought process. After all, Klaus had killed Tegan's husband and Alice was sure Tegan would find it hard to trust Klaus after that. And, since Tegan was family as well, she worried that it would bring trouble between herself and Tegan.

But, while eying Klaus, she couldn't help but to recall all of her own fond memories of her time with Klaus. Their relationship hadn't lasted all too long and she was sure it was only a small speck in the span of his lifetime, but it had meant more to Alice than she really thought possible. She genuinely wanted that back. It took her a moment to register his later words, but she didn't have the time to reply because his lips were upon her own. At first, she gave a quiet noise of surprise, though it wasn't long before her eyes closed over and she returned the kiss, easing into it while her hands moved to rest on his shoulders. She'd missed this.

---

Jeremy watched her while she processed what he'd said and she seemed to be thinking about it herself. Perhaps it would have been best not to mention it in the first place, but he was sure that she would have been just as curious about it. After all, it seemed so far-fetched that he began to wonder if Klaus had simply made it up. But, he supposed it didn't really matter; it didn't seem like Grace understood the situation all that much herself, from her own words. "I guess they'll have to tell you about it themselves at some point," he mentioned, though he hoped that his words wouldn't push her to leave in search of answers. He knew she was still processing everything that she'd learned today and he was almost certain that she wasn't really in the mood to face anybody, so he felt it was likely better for her to hang out there with him for now, at least until she was sure that going back home was what she really wanted to do. He wouldn't push her either way, though.

"Me? Nothing would happen to me," he assured her as he watched her with mild surprise. "Considering how many enemies Klaus has - my sister and her boyfriend and friends included, - you'd be in far more danger than I would." And that was why he wasn't going to tell anybody. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he told somebody and Grace got hurt or used against Klaus because of it. He was sure that, at the very least, Damon would suggest using her as bait or something, because Damon was the more ruthless of the group; he'd put anybody at risk and not care about the consequences. "Your secret is safe with me, Grace. I won't tell anybody, ever."

Klaus could tell that Alice was surprised at how much to wanted to be Grace’s father, he had been surprised himself when he learned about Tegan being pregnant with his child. At first he’ll admit that he didn’t want anything to do with both of them, but it wasn’t long before the idea grew on him. He didn’t want to abandon his child, he never knew his biological father and the one he had grown up with was an evil man. None of which he wanted his daughter to have, but by that time Tegan had already moved on which he didn’t blame her for.

Everything seemed better when Alice returned his kiss, having her close to him once again could make any day brighter. They stood there kissing for a few more minutes, he hadn’t been able to kiss her this long before as she had needed to breathe when she had been human. Now she didn’t. He wasn’t sure how much Alice would be able to be with him again, not that Tegan could stop Alice but he sensed that Alice saw Tegan as family and only wanted to keep things good between them. Meaning Klaus would be the one person that could come between them, he did after all kill the man who allowed his daughter to call him dad. But it needed to be done, Joe had been planning on keeping Grace away from him forever. That hadn’t pleased Klaus in the slightest.

---

Grace hadn’t even thought about her own safety now that she knew Klaus was her biological father, she had been more worried about the people around her including Jeremy. But he was right, if anybody found out about her and they wanted to hurt Klaus. She would be the number one target, she wasn’t sure if she would be strong enough to protect herself from an angry vampire or werewolf or anyone else that Klaus has pissed off. She didn’t have complete control over her magic yet, and she certainly didn’t want to die so young. “I guess…” She wasn’t sure what else she could say to that, she didn’t want to share with Jeremy that she didn’t want to die as it was pretty obvious that no one ever wanted to die.

Who could she even trust now? She wouldn’t even be able to trust Jeremy’s sister, not if Klaus had done what Jeremy had told her to his family. “Thanks, and thanks for being here with me.” She looked at him as she felt like she wanted to cry again, but she held the tears back because she had cried enough for one day. “Just when I was starting to feel like myself again, I actually wanted to meet more people from school… now I feel like I can’t, I don’t know who to trust anymore.” Grace sighed as she wanted to go back to being a normal girl with magic, where she didn’t have to worry about much.

(Sorry for my long absence! I've been helping a family friend pack up her home and move and she's such a hoarder and had a huge house, so it took way too long. x.x)

So many emotions flooded through Alice as the kiss progressed and she couldn't possibly describe them all, nor could she ever dream of explaining how much she had missed something as simple as this. It felt more intense than it had when she had been human, but she was well aware that it was the effects of being a vampire, with the heightened emotions and feelings. For a long moment, she'd wanted to move closer to him and to press herself to him to allow herself to enjoy this moment to its fullest, but she didn't allow herself that and eventually broke the kiss. It was the last thing she wanted to do in that moment, but she knew she couldn't indulge in the kiss too much, not when she still hadn't clarified things with Tegan; she couldn't allow herself to enjoy this as much as she wanted to when she was still worried about losing what little family she had.

"I have to go talk to Tegan," she murmured after a moment, hoping that Klaus understood why she needed to, but a part of her was certain he would. Klaus had known her too well when she'd been human and she was certain he could almost always read her easily back then. Even with the amount of time that had passed, she was sure it was still partially true. Or he could at least draw the conclusion from their previous conversations. "If... If things go well with the talk, I can meet you somewhere and we can catch up fully," she suggested after a moment, though she sounded more than a little hopeful now.

---

Jeremy watched her for a few long moments, though he was beginning to understand Grace more than he expected. She seemed to put others before herself - especially since she seemed more worried about him than she had been about herself, despite the fact that they'd told her about the many enemies Klaus had. Perhaps it had only taken a little while to process, but Jeremy was pretty convinced that Grace just thought about others first naturally and that she left herself as an after-thought. Something about that was almost heartbreaking, because he was sure she suffered plenty due to her tendency to put others first, if his assumption was correct. "You'll be okay," he mentioned quietly before he reached to give her hand a squeeze, his thumb running over the back of her hand gently in hopes of assuring her. He knew it likely wouldn't help much, but he could hope it would.

"You don't have to thank me," he assured her before he shook his head and offered her a small smile, because he didn't want her to think that it was necessary. He was trying to help her because she deserved it, not because he needed the gratitude or wanted anything out of it. "You can still continue to feel like yourself. You may not feel like the same you now, but... You'll be okay at school. I won't let anybody find out your connection to Klaus. Besides, the only ones you'd have to worry about would be my sister and her friends, so as long as you avoid them, you'll be perfectly fine, I'm sure of it. Either way... I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Klaus understood, he knew that the one thing Alice dreamed about was having a family. Even when she was human, all she wanted was a family to call her own and feel like she belonged. He had desperately wanted to give her that, but he couldn’t without putting her life in danger every single day. Now she had found that family, she wouldn’t do anything to risk destroying that. “I will be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes.” He assured her as he had no reason to leave Mystic Falls now, the love of his life was there and so was his daughter. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Come find me when you can.” He whispered to her before he walked away from her, it was still the hardest thing to do.

To leave Alice again, but it had to be done. She had to speak with Tegan alone, he would only ruin it all if he tried. So he would give Alice and Tegan all the space they needed, but if he found out Tegan was about to run again with Grace. He wouldn’t take to that so kindly anymore, not now that Grace knew who he was and knew that he was her father. He thought about going to see Grace, he was tempted to but he fought that urge. He didn’t want to overwhelm her again, he wanted her to actually want him in her life. She held all the control now and that was something Klaus wasn’t used to.

---

Grace glanced down when Jeremy’s hand found hers, she needed to know that someone was there for her right now. Which is why she held onto his hand, she needed the comfort that it did bring to her. Listening to his words, it did make her realise that if this did get out. Then his sister would hate her, and that could mean she could try to stop Jeremy from seeing her and she didn’t want that to ever happen. Not that Jeremy would probably listen, but Grace also didn’t want to cause any trouble within Jeremy’s family. She nodded lightly when he promised that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, not that he’d be able to do much if someone did go after Grace but it was the thought that counted right now.

“I hate to be a pain, but I’m getting a little hungry.” She looked at him as it would take them off the subject of who her father was and she could do with a snack, she watched as Jeremy chuckled softly but nodded his head. She followed him back downstairs and into the kitchen, she could finally look around the house and take it all in. “I love your house, it feels so welcoming.” It felt like a family home should feel, Grace couldn’t remember the last time her house felt like this. No matter what her parents did, she knew it would only last a few years before they had to move to another town.

Alice watched Klaus leave, though a huge part of her worried that it would be the last time she saw him. She wasn't sure how Tegan would react to... well, everything. She knew Tegan was still incredibly upset at Klaus for what Klaus did to Joe and Alice didn't blame her at all. Even Alice was still upset with it, but she loved Klaus too much to really let this opportunity to return to what they once were slip through her fingers. She knew it'd never be the same, but she hoped that they could still be happy, if given the chance - if Tegan allowed it. Sighing, she waited until Klaus was out of sight and hoped that he hadn't stuck around nearby to listen in on her conversation. Pulling out her phone, she called Tegan as she began walking, heading back to the home that she, Grace, and Tegan shared together.

When Tegan finally answered, she chewed on her lip. "There's been... a change of plans, of sorts," she said quietly as she walked, though she now worried about Grace with the car. She knew Grace could drive, but she still worried that she was too upset to really focus on the road. She could only hope that Grace had safely gotten to wherever she was going. "I'll meet you back at the house and explain everything." After all, she wasn't sure if Tegan had gone ahead to leave, in hopes of meeting Alice and Grace where they'd agreed on, so she wasn't sure if Tegan was still at the house or if she was already miles away. Ending the call, she picked up her pace and arrived at the house within moments, soon stepping inside and glancing around.

---

Jeremy blinked at Grace's announcement, but he couldn't help but to chuckle quietly. Shaking his head, he moved to stand up and carefully helped her up as well, worried that her grief might have affected her in a way that could leave her tired. "You're not a pain," he assured her, "We haven't eaten anything since lunch, after all." Plus, he knew that grieving and coming to terms with some things affected people in several different ways. Maybe it made Grace hungry. Or maybe Grace just hadn't eaten much at lunch. Whatever it was, Jeremy didn't want her to worry about it. With a small smile, he turned and led the way out of his room and downstairs, hoping to get to the kitchen quickly. Her later words, though, caused him to blink again, but he smiled. "Yeah, I guess... Most days, it feels really empty, though."

After all, it was only really him and his sister now. Jenna was dead. Their parents were dead. He and Elena were all each other had and Elena was hardly ever home. Usually, she was at the Salvatore boarding home with Stefan, or just out with her friends. That usually left him there at the home alone - not that he was really complaining, but... Being alone wasn't always the best feeling. "You can come over any time you want," he mentioned as he led the way to the kitchen, though he peered over at her and offered a small smile. "Seriously. Elena's hardly ever here and it's really just the two of us. Sometimes Ric's around, but..." He shrugged. Even Alaric was sometimes too busy to spend much time there. As they got to the kitchen, he began searching through everything. "Is there anything specific you want to eat?"

Tegan had just gotten in her car to leave Mystic Falls behind when she got another call from Alice, saying that there was a change in the plans. What could have possibly happened that would change their plan on getting away from Klaus? So Tegan went back into the house but she left the bags of belongings by the front door, just in case. She paced in the living room until she heard the front door open and close, rushing over to Alice her eyes scanned her but she was relieved when her friend wasn’t injured.

“What the hell is going on, Alice? If Klaus is here, we need to leave right now.” Tegan looked at the vampire as she was confused as to why they hadn’t leave town, they had done this many times before when Klaus had closed in on them. This time was no different. “Where’s Grace? Why isn’t she with you? And where’s your car?” The questions just flowed from Tegan’s lips, panic started filling her body as she realised she had no idea where her daughter was. If she wasn’t with Alice, then where was she? Fear struck her in that second, if Klaus was in town and Grace wasn’t with Alice. “Please tell me that he didn’t find her, please Alice. Did that monster find my daughter?” She begged as she would do anything to keep Grace away from the monster that was her father.

---

“I know how that feels, I can’t remember the last time my home felt like an actual home.” Grace commented as she sat down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, she watched Jeremy as he looked through the fridge. “Whatever you have is fine,” Grace thought if she gave herself something to do, like eating a snack then not only will be make her feel better but hopefully it would also take her mind off of everything. “Thanks, you can come over to my place too. But maybe wait until after I talk to my mom,” That was one thing Grace wasn’t looking forward to doing, confronting her mom about the secret she had kept hidden all these years. She could see why Alice would keep the secret, but she had noticed the way Alice looked at Klaus earlier. Like they knew each other, which wouldn’t be surprising. Alice had been a vampire for a long time.

Grace watched as Jeremy pulled out ingredients from the fridge and started on making them both a sandwich, she knew she’d have to go home eventually as she couldn’t stay the night at Jeremy’s house. That would give her mom a heart attack and Tegan would find her if she did try to stay away from home, but that didn’t mean she had to talk to her mom just yet. She was still processing what happened earlier today, she didn’t have the energy to bring all of it up again.