Author’s Notes:  For the purposes of this story Bella’s 18th birthday was Monday, December 13, 2010.

Playlist:  I listened to Stay (feat. Merethe Soltvedt) by Two Steps from Hell off their album Miracles while writing this… I pretty much listened to it on repeat the whole time.

Pairing:  Kol Mikaelson/Bella Swan; will have further pairings in the future when I continue the story down the line.

Rating:  Rated M for Mature because of some naughty words.

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Say You’ll Stay

A Vampire Diaries (TV)/Twilight/The Originals Crossover

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Chapter 001

If Only They Could See Me Now

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Kol’s PoV

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Friday, December 17, 2010

The Otherside/The Gilbert’s Kitchen Right After Jeremy Staked Kol

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After the pain of burning up with the White Oak Stake rammed in my chest subsides but before I open my eyes, images from my past flash across my mind.  Mary-Alice standing in front of me in her red blouse and long black skirt, smiling at me and saying, “Kol, there will come a time when three Mikaelson sons will be dead and on the Otherside.  When that happens you need to go to Forks, Washington.  102 Brentway Avenue.  You’ll find a young woman there named Isabella who should be able to eventually help you bring the brothers back.”  I looked into it back then.  Washington State existed but there was no town or city named Forks back in 1908 when Mary-Alice told me of her premonition.  I’m the third Mikaelson son to die, though, so I hope Forks exists at this point, and I can figure out a way to speak to this Isabella despite being dead now.

I open my eyes and see that I’m still laying on the floor in the Gilbert’s Kitchen, but I also find Finn standing in front of me.  My anger begins to boil inside me and my hands ball up into fists before Finn tells me, “Take my hand, Brother, and you’ll finally understand why I helped Esther.”

That’s odd.  None of us started calling her Esther until she tried to kill us, so why is Finn, who was on her side, calling her Esther instead of Mother like he always has.  I frown and narrow my eyes, so Finn frowns back and says, “Please Brother, let me show you what she’s done to me.”  Finn’s sad eyes and soft frown nearly break my own heart, so in an effort to remove the heartbroken look off of my brother’s face I take his hand and images flash before my eyes.  When the images stop I open my eyes and look at my brother with tears in my eyes, “Oh Brother, we had no idea.”

Finn nods, “I know, she began doing it just before Elijah was born, so there was no way any of you could have known because part of it was for me to never say a word about it.  Obviously, now that we’re both dead I found a way around that, but… well, I want to try to find a way to break it and then help you find a way to bring us back, so we can protect our loved ones.  Silas is about to become a very real problem for our surviving siblings.”

I nod but narrow my eyes again while staring off into the space just above Finn’s left shoulder.  A thought occurs to me so I smile a moment later, “Have you seen Esther here?”

Finn nods, “Yes and I’ve given her a wide berth lest I do something I’ll regret later.”

My smile widens, “Tell me what Esther did to you without using the word ‘it’ to describe her actions?”

Finn frowns and begins to say, “Brother I can’t I—wait why do I not feel compelled to keep the secret?”

I pull myself up to a standing position using Finn’s hand for leverage then let go of my brother’s hand and hug him before whispering, “Because she’s dead Finn.  Just as our compulsions die with us so did hers.  Provided we keep her from following us back into the land of the living and then compelling you again you should remain free of her shackles.”

My oldest brother hugs me back and asks, “Are you sure?”

I pull back and say, “Tell me what she did to you.”

Finn narrows his eyes but then says, “Mother compelled me to betray my siblings when you all chose to do things that went against her wishes.  She compelled me to help her kill us all.”

His eyes are wide when I smile and tell him, “Yes, Brother, I’m sure the compulsion has broken.”

Finn smiles cautiously and then pulls me tighter to him and says, “Thank you.”

I laugh before I pull back, “Don’t thank me, Finn, I haven’t actually done anything yet.”

My brother being the smart person he is, and after having known me my whole human life, narrows his eyes at me and asks, “Yet?”

Laughing I nod and tell him, “I know where to go and who to seek out to help us back into the land of the living.”

His eyes widen at that news but then I smile wider and then shout, “Henrik, if you’re here, come to us… please.”

Finn’s eyes are impossibly wide before he asks, “Henrik?  You don’t actually think he’s here do you?”

I nod and tell him, “The witch who told me where to go told me that there would come a time when three Mikaelson sons would be dead and on the Otherside.  Henrik died first, then you, and now me.  That’s three Mikaelson sons dead so unless Elijah is going to die and if it didn’t include Henrik she would have said three originals or something similar.”

Finn nods just before a blur runs into me and hugs me tight.  I look down and see the mop of brown hair that belongs to our youngest brother.  I hug him back and tell him, “Henrik, I’ve missed you.”

He pulls away and then tosses himself into Finn’s arms before pulling away again a moment later and smiling tells us, “I’ve missed you both so much!”

I reach out and ruffle his hair like I used to and he squirms away just like he always did, but he’s smiling.  He frowns a moment later though when he looks past me and sees Nik still in the live world staring at my burnt body with tears in his eyes.  Henrik looks at me and Finn with tears about to fall from his own eyes and then says, “He blames himself for all three of our deaths when none of our deaths were actually his fault.  I’ve been watching, Kol, he never wanted you dead.  He was going to Dagger you so that your compulsion on that Salvatore ass would be broken but he never intended for you to be gone for more than a few minutes.   He wasn’t even planning to put you in your box.  He was just going to Dagger you, wait a few minutes to be sure your compulsion had been removed, then remove the Dagger, and try to reason with you.”

I nod.  I figured as much.  The pain and anguish on Nik’s face alone would have told me that he never intended for me to actually die a permanent death.  I walk to Nik and lean into his ear hoping this will work, “It wasn’t your fault and I forgive you.”

Nik’s eyes widen and he asks breathlessly, “Kol?”

Smiling I tell him, “It is me.  Worry not, I have a plan.  Finn never betrayed us.  Mother used a witch’s version of compulsion on him since he was a baby.  He never wanted to harm any of us.  We will return to you, Brother.  When Isabella contacts you, know that I sent her, and she should be able to help bring us back.”

He nods with wide eyes, so I whisper one last thing in his ear, “Always and Forever, Brother.”

He smiles and whispers back, “Always and forever.  I’ll be waiting on you both.”

I pat him on his shoulder which causes him to place his hand over my invisible hand on his shoulder and then I let go and turn back to my other brothers.  Finn’s eyes are wide before he says, “Why didn’t I ever think to try that?”

I laugh and tell him, “Because you’re not as smart as me.”

He smiles while Henrik giggles before Finn tells me, “Of course, how silly of me.  That must be it.”

Smiling I nod as Henrik frowns and asks, “Why didn’t you tell him about me?  You’re not going to leave me here are you?  Please don’t.  I hate being alone, please.”

As tears spill over his cheeks, I pull him into my arms and tell him, “Mary-Alice said all three of us would return to the land of the living.  I didn’t tell him about you because he already feels so much guilt about your death.  If this doesn’t work and Isabella can’t help us, I didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. I won’t leave you here if I can help it.”

He calms some and then pulls away and asks, “You, you promise Kol?”

I smile and ruffle his hair again, “I promise Rik.  If there is a way to bring you back with us, then we will do everything in our power to make that happen, and since all three of us are dead what works on Finn and me should work on you just the same.”

Finn frowns and says, “We might need his body, though, which could prove problematic after over a thousand years.”

I smile and tell him, “Don’t worry about that.  His and your bodies are both safe and both have been healed of their wounds and then spelled similarly to the spell used to preserve Esther after Nik killed her.  As for my body, Nik knows enough to know he needs to safeguard my body, so I’m sure he’ll take care of that.”

Their eyes widen at that news so I smile and tell them, “Mary-Alice told me of our deaths on New Year’s Day of 1908.  I wasn’t Daggered until Christmas Eve of 1914.  I went and visited Mystic Falls in the Autumn of 1908 and spent a few weeks searching for Henrik’s grave.  When I found it Mary-Alice did a spell to confirm it was Henrik’s body in the grave and then I dug it up and she healed it and then protected it.  We then hid your body—”

Henrik interrupts me, “In my favorite cave where only a Mikaelson, Nik, or this Isabella girl can access it.”

I just nod and tell him, “Yes and now Finn’s body is there as well.”

Finn smiles at us both and says, “Well for once Kol it seems your plans and schemes may actually be of use to us.”

I laugh and tell him, “Hey now, I’ve saved our asses multiple times in the past.”

Before any of them can say another word a female voice says, “Henrik, where did you—Finn?”

Finn’s eyes widen and then he has Sage in his arms and they’re trying to devour each other’s lips.  I frown and offer up a soft prayer, “Please let us be able to bring her back too.”

Henrik smiles and says, “Oh don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she’ll be coming back.”

I look down at him and he smiles wider and says, “I heard Mary-Alice talk about her premonition with some witch friends.  She said mates would be reunited and bonds stronger than steel will be formed and last for all of eternity.  That’s got to mean that all four of us will be going back and then stopping that Silas asshole from destroying the Otherside, and then we’ll be going back to New Orleans and taking the city back from the false king.”

I frown at that, “False king?”

He smiles one of our family’s not nice smiles and says, “Marcellus thinks himself king.”

Before I can say anything Finn pulls away from Sage and says, “First we must find Isabella.”

I nod and tell him, “I know where she should be and I know we’ll have to help her protect her loved ones before she’ll be able to help us.  Something will happen while we help that will make it possible for her to help us back, though Mary-Alice led me to believe that she’d be willing to help from the start just unable to do the spell until something changes.”

I hold out my hands and tell them, “Grab each other’s hands and I’ll see if I can take us to her.”

They all nod and clasp hands and then I close my eyes and think of Isabella.  When I open my eyes we are in a dense forest with a young girl curled up on the floor of the woods shivering.  I let go of Henrik and Finn and flash over to her before kneeling and putting my hand on her shoulder.  She turns her face towards me and her eyes widen before she struggles to sit up.  I help her and then frown when Finn points out, “Are you actually touching her?”

My eyes widen and so do hers but for apparently different reasons because she then narrows her eyes and asks, “Is it so horrible to touch me?”

Finn smiles and tells her, “Not at all Miss, however, we’re currently dead and on the Otherside, so you shouldn’t be able to feel us or touch us, or see us for that matter.”

Her eyes widen again before she asks, “Am I dead too?”

I smile and turn her head towards me, “No, Darling, you’re not dead.”  I wipe her tears from her cheeks and ask, “Why are you out here all alone?”

Her face closes off, so I caress her cheek and tell her, “Hey, don’t do that.  Whatever has happened, we’ll help you through it.”

Another tear escapes her eye as she shudders and then tells us, “My boyfriend, he brought me out here to break up with me.  I tried to follow him, but he’s a cold one so I couldn’t keep up.”

Her eyes widen the same time mine do before she says, “Crap, I can’t believe I said that.  I’ve never told their secret before.”

She begins to cry in earnest, so I sit on the ground and pull her into my arms.  Finn’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline at my unusual behavior, but I shake my head slightly at him and myself and tell her, “I’ll tell you our secret.  Finn, Sage, and I were vampires before we died.  Finn and I were actually part of the first family of vampires.  We are called The Originals.”

Her eyes are wide again, so I smile and tell her, “We’re different than cold ones.  They transition because of venom.  Our kind transitions because the person died with vampire blood in their system.”

She smiles and asks a very smart question, “If it requires vampire blood then how did the first of you happen?”

I shift her slightly and then stand with her in my arms before telling her, “Our mother was a powerful witch.  She did a spell and after our father killed us we woke as vampires.”

She smiles and asks, “Wow, how long ago was that?”

Henrik speaks up then and tells her, “I died about 1,010 years ago and they were turned the next day so…”

As she snuggles into my chest she says, “Oh.”

I smile and lead us all out of the woods towards the houses I can smell in the distance.

She opens her eyes when we exit the forest and says, “That’s my house.” And she points to the closest one.

I walk towards the front and then up the steps before dropping her legs.  I swallow thickly as her body rubs along mine when I set her down.  I can’t say I’m terribly disappointed when she can’t stand on her own, so I keep my arm around her while she unlocks the door.  When the door opens, I stick my foot out and smile because it crosses the threshold, so I tell them all, “Apparently we don’t need invitations while on the Otherside.”

She frowns while I walk her into the house and over to the couch where I sit down and pull her back into my arms before she asks, “You usually need invitations?”

Smiling I tell her, “Yes, but only the first time.”

She nods then her eyes widen and she says, “Oh my Gosh, I’m Bella.”

Finn sits down and Henrik moves to the mantelpiece and starts lifting things off of it and inspecting them.  Finn laughs and tells her from his seat in the armchair beside the couch, “I am Finn, this is Sage, my mate, Henrik is the one who can’t keep still, and Kol is the one holding you, though you should know usually we can’t keep him still either.”

She giggles before lapsing into silence for a moment then she softly says, “He said he doesn’t love me.  He grew tired of pretending.”

I hold her tighter and tell her, “He obviously doesn’t deserve you, Darling, especially if he’s not gentlemanly enough to ensure you made it back out of the woods.  If I ask you to drink some of my blood to help heal you will you?”

Her eyes widen and so do Finn’s and Sage’s.  Finn leans forward and asks, “Kol, do you think it’ll work even though we’re technically dead?”

I nod and tell them, “Yes, my gut says not only will it work but there will be some unforeseen benefit that will arise due to it.”  I look at her and tell her, “Honestly, I think it’ll help get rid of the haze your ex’s scent would have put you in.”

She frowns, “Haze?”

I nod, “Yes, their scent is addictive to humans.  If you don’t drink blood from one of us, the chances are pretty high that you’ll end up going through withdrawals.”

She screws her eyes shut tight but whispers, “I can’t stand the sight of blood or the smell, but if you think it’ll help I’ll try.”

I chuckle because the girl who’s going to save a bunch of vampires can’t stand the sight or smell of blood.  Someone sure has a pretty interesting sense of humor.  She needs to drink my blood though despite her aversion, so I lean in and whisper in her ear, “Keep your eyes closed, Darling.”  She nods.  Then I bite my wrist and hold it to her mouth before telling her, “Drink, Bella.”

She drinks and when her hands come up to hold my wrist in place I shudder because honestly it’s been a long fucking time since I last shared my blood with anyone I wasn’t planning to kill immediately afterward.  You can’t get much more intimate than blood sharing.  In fact, the only way this situation could be more intimate is if I was drinking her blood too, which she smells amazing, so I wouldn’t be opposed to that idea down the line if she’s ever willing.”

She continues to drink until the wound closes.  When she finishes I pull my arm away after she licks up the stray drops then I wipe the corner of her mouth with my thumb.  Her eyes open just in time for her to see me pop the tip of my thumb into my mouth to suck the blood off of it.

Bella’s eyes widen a moment later before she says, “That son of a bitch.  I feel a million times better already.  He had to know what his scent was doing, right?”

Frowning Finn and I ask at the same time, “How old was he?”

Frowning back, she says, “He was born in 1901 and turned in 1918.”

My brother and I look at each other for a minute.  When he nods I tell her, “Darling, unless he’s incredibly daft then he definitely knew.”

She doesn’t get a chance to respond as Henrik says, “Do you think he did it on purpose?  Like he plans to come back and wants her broken and malleable for some reason?”

I nod even though I don’t actually know this cold one.  He nods back and says, “Don’t worry, Bella, we’ll protect you from him.  Right, Brothers?”

Finn, Sage and I all nod and I brush my lips along the crown of her head before telling her, “Whatever purpose he had for leaving you in the woods and not warning you of the repercussions of spending quantity time with him we will keep you safe from harm, from him and any others who might seek to harm you.”

Her eyes widen and she stiffens in my arms, so I brush my hand along her cheek and ask, “What is it, Darling?”

She frowns but she leans into my caress before she says, “Edward, my ex, and his family killed this cold one named James in my defense.  I mentioned to Edward and his sister, Alice, that James’ mate might try to come after me for revenge, but they brushed the idea away and told me not to worry.  Now they’re gone and you guys are already dead.  Since you didn’t expect to be able to touch me there’s nothing to say you’ll be able to touch Victoria if she comes after me.”

She begins hyperventilating, so I cup her cheeks in my hands and look right into her eyes while I tell her, “Breathe through your nose Bella.  We may not be able to touch her but we can help you in other ways.  Do you know of any witches around here?”

Once she gets her breathing back under control she nods and says, “My best friend, Angela, is a witch.”

I nod back and tell her, “Then we should probably talk to her about us training you up and perhaps making it so no one who means you or yours harm can enter the house.  While it won’t prevent her from burning down the house and killing you and yours as you flee from the flames, it will slow her down enough that any other plans we put in place may have a better chance of working.  The only problem I see is that we’ll need someone with supernatural strength to tear her limb from limb before we set her on fire in order to kill her.”

Finn and Sage nod so I tell her, “Maybe we can have Nik come for a visit?  I already warned him about you, so he’d know you aren’t lying.”

Everyone nods but Bella asks, “Who is Nik?”

Laughing I tell her, “He’s our brother, well one of them.  Elijah is still alive too and so is our sister Rebekah.”

Bella takes out her phone and asks, “If you give me their numbers, I won’t call until you tell me to, but it might be handy to have them in case we’re short on time when the time comes for me to use them.”

Looking at Finn I frown but he nods and says, “It’s a good idea.”

I nod back and then tell Bella all three of our surviving siblings’ phone numbers and email addresses, just in case.  When she’s done adding them to her contacts list she snuggles into my arms and lets out a jaw snapping yawn.  I look at her and tell her, “You need to sleep, Darling.”

She sighs but asks in a hesitant voice, “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

I nod so she gets up and says, “I’ll holler when you can come up.”

I wiggle my eyebrows and ask, “What?  You don’t fancy me seeing you in your knickers?”

She laughs and says, “Not when I only just met you.”

Nodding I tell her, “Another time then.”

She giggles and then hurries up the stairs.  A few minutes later she says, “Okay the coast is clear.”

Chuckling I look at my brothers and Sage and they smile before Finn tells me, “Go, we’ll wait down here.  We might even try to find this ex-boyfriend and see if Henrik’s hunch is accurate.”

I nod and then hurry up the stairs to watch Bella fall asleep.  If only my enemies, and hell even my other siblings, could see me now.

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