Like father like daughter

16

"Niklaus, please. We have company." My father says to the man on the phone. He turns to us and hangs up the phone, walking over and actually plopping himself on the couch. I didn't expect my two uncles to be so informal, seeing my father the way he is.

"Bailey Bennett, what a surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit? Who's your friend?" My uncle Niklaus asks. I look down at our hands still in twined in one another and smirk at the fact that they haven't caught on. She does the same and then we turn back to the adults still staring at us.

"A thousand years ago... you all were turned into vampires." This peaks their interest, including my other uncle who's been staring at the book the whole time. "The woman that you were forced to feed on... that was my mother." They look at me confused.

"Astra... Elijah, that was your wife. Did she remarry after?" My aunt asks my dad. He looks at her then at me and walks up to me. He gets so close that I get scared and flinch into Bailey.

"What game are you playing? What do you want from my family?" My dad asks me. My heart falters as I realize he doesn't include me in his 'family'. My mouth goes dry and I struggle to find the words to tell him the truth. All I can mane to say is...

"Hi, dad. I'm home." A tension hangs in the air and my dad looks me in the eyes, trying to compel me. "It, Umm, it won't work. Grandmother, you're mom, she put a spell on me with all this funky stuff and one of those is that my veins have more vervain coursing in them than blood. I also have about twelve peace's of jewelry on that are leaves in vervain -some of them you can't see because they're... hidden." He takes a step back and then storms out of the room. Bailey and I are now left standing next to one another as my aunt and uncles stare at us. I try to fight the tears that start to feel and I turn to Bailey. "I told you this was a bad idea. I knew I shouldn't have come. Let's just go." I tell her. She puts a hand on their side of my face and forces me to look at her.

"It's okay. It's okay. If you want to go, we will, but do you want to meet your family first?" I sigh and lean in to put my forehead on hers as she does the same. What I would do without her? She's my rock. Maybe now that I have met dad I can set up a life here and be safe. I'll have to figure something out with the whole not aging thing, but if Stefan and Caroline can do it, I can too.

"What's your name?" My aunt asks. I turn away from Bailey and smile at her. "Please come sit down. I want to get to know my niece." I smile at her and grab Baileys hand to lead her to an open seat on the couch. We sit down and my family smiles at me.

"I... I'm your uncle Nik. I am the third oldest of our family." I turn to him and smile. Even though he is "the bad guy" to everyone else, he is my uncle. This is my first time meeting him, and I want to get to know the real him, not the version of him that the Scooby gang has built.

"Kol... love the hair. You two dating? That's cute. You're my favorite niece now. I love rebelling against my family too." I smirk and he does as well. I see parts of him that mirror the way I look and act and smile.

"Okay enough of you two. I am Rebekah but you can call me Auntie Bex. We are going to go get you a whole new wardrobe. Both of you. Let me go get my purse and we will go get some lunch and get our nails done." Auntie Bex speeds off and Bailey and I share a look and laugh. I then hear footsteps, so I look up and see Dad now leaning against the pillar. I don't think he heard anything. What if the rest of my family loves me, but he hates me for forever?

"Astra never told me she was with child." He says. I realized I have still yet to tell them my name. "All I knew was that she was alive when we fled. I told her I would come back for her when it was safe... that I would turn her so we could be together forever. When I came back, her and mother were dad and my father was missing. I thought Niklaus had killed my love as well; he swore he didn't, but I was never sure. He has lied to me once, how was I to know he wouldn't do so again, or at least that's what I thought. She never told me she was pregnant. I'm so sorry-" he stops as he realizes he doesn't know my name. An awkward moment looms between all of us until I speak up.

"Erica... my name is Erica Signe Mikaelson." I say and they all nod.

"Erica, I may have not been with you in the beginning, but I promise you, I am going to redeem myself." I smile and stand up and hug my father. At first, he hesitates, but he soon wraps his arms around me and I bury my head in his shoulder. Finally. I know my family.