Always & Forever

A few minutes later, Elijah abruptly disappeared from Octavia's side. She wasn't exactly surprised to see him go, but it made her feel so ridiculously alone. She knew she hadn't even been trapped for that long really, but she was already so scared that she wasn't going to be able to get out.

Just as she was really starting to worry, she gasped awake. Looking around her, she saw the faces of Kol, Freya, Elijah, and Niklaus. She was in the bedroom she'd been staying in, splayed across the bed. There was an IV in her arm that automatically alarmed her. She went to pull it out and Freya stopped her gently.

"I'm afraid it's probably the only answer, dear."

Octavia looked between Freya and the IV and instantly grew even more alarmed.

"Is that blood? Are do you have an IV dripping blood into my veins right now?"

Octavia wasn't sure why it made her feel so weird, seeing as her diet consisted of almost exclusively blood. For some reason, the thought of it actually going into her that way freaked her out.

"My blood to be exact, love."

Niklaus spoke up, his eyes studying her intently.

"What?"

"I've been doing all the research on this curse that I could. I haven't been able to find much, but I did manage to find an antidote of sorts and was able to compose a spell that made it so that the blood of an Original will heal you temporarily. You only have to have the IV until you're back to relative full strength. It's only Niklaus' because we already had enough to fill an IV bag on hand since it's the werewolf venom cure."

As Freya explained it to her, she cringed.

"Beautiful. So I just have to feed on an Original to keep myself alive."

Octavia looked between Kol, Elijah, and Niklaus carefully.

"Yes, basically. Could've been worse I think."

Octavia nodded reluctantly and Freya gave her a final look and pat on the arm before leaving the room.

"I'm scared."

Octavia vocalized the thought to the three brothers, all of whom were still standing there staring at her like she might crumble.

"You've nothing to be scared of, love. We're going to take care of you. If these two brutes and I have anything in common, it's the fact that we all care about you and none of us are going to let your death be even a possibility."

Kol took her hand as he spoke and she was momentarily comforted. Elijah and Niklaus both nodded firmly at her, and just for a moment she felt like maybe everything was going to be okay. She'd never felt safer than she did when she knew the three of them were watching over her and looking out for her.

"But what if-"

Elijah cut her off.

"No what ifs, period. You're going to be fine."

He took the hand that Kol didn't already have and Nik placed a hand gently on her thigh. The three of them watched her for a moment, and then both Elijah and Nik wandered off when they seemed to realize she wasn't going to fall apart then and there.

"Nothing brings the family together like a dying old flame, I guess."

Octavia joked, and Kol sat down beside her on the bed and cuddled in.

"I love you, but if you don't stop being such a brat I'm going to kill you myself."

He smiled as he said the words, and Octavia's enhanced hearing picked up on something that she was sure was Elijah chuckling somewhere else in the house.

"I love you too."

Octavia smiled sweetly back at him, knowing it annoyed him that she ignored the rest of his threat.