Unexpected Dilemma

Never in her dreams had Evangeline expected to be grateful to Nik. After all, he had locked her away from society for a little over a century, and for what? To maintain her innocence? But she was grateful, there was no hiding it. It was because of him that Ian was right as rain walking up and down the stairs in the compound with ease. So, she decided it was best to give him thanks in her own way.

Walking into his room with a plate of freshly baked cookies, Eve watched her brother as he turned a blank canvas into a work of art. "That's beautiful," she said walking over and placed the plate on a nearby stool, admiring the familiar view of New Orleans. The vibrant emotion in his strokes gave her a thrill of the city. She leaned over and kissed his cheek with a small smile "And thank you…"

"For?" Klaus asked, still looking his painting over, and she could tell he was critiquing it with scrutinizing eyes. He was always hard on himself when he ought not to be.

"You know what for," she said with a nod, "I should say I'm not surprised, but I am. I didn't expect it, but if not for you Ian might not have lasted much longer."

He looked over at her and she met his eyes, frowning to see he was filled with confused curiosity. "I've not the foggiest idea what you're talking about, Evangeline. I nearly killed him. Why thank me?"

Evangeline felt her mind become muddled as she tried to interpret what he'd just said. Her eyes searched his as she spoke in a soft voice "You didn't feed Ian your blood?" she asked, shaking her head "But he's…he's healed, Nik. I thought you were behind his recovery."

"I had nothing to do with that, I gave him nothing. The only thing I granted him was my absence," he said, then narrowed his eyes, "Which raises the question."

"Who did," Eve finished, "I must speak with Elijah," she said and hastily left the room, her thoughts a mixed blur of emotion. She was almost positive Elijah hadn't given Ian anything, and she knew for certain Rebekah hadn't, so where did this leave her?

Quickly enough, she found her eldest brother reading in the parlor in his seat by the fire. She walked across the room and took his book from his hands, very unlike her, and looked him in the eyes when he looked up, his expression perplexed.

"Evangeline- "he began.

"Did you heal Ian" she cut him off immediately, she held very little patience now to speak about her rude behavior.

Elijah arched an eyebrow and slowly shook his head "No, I can't say that I did. I thought Niklaus was behind that charade…" he trailed off.

"As did I, but I've just asked, and he denied the motion immediately," she let out a soft sigh and leaned back, sitting on the corner of the coffee table and scrunched her nose, "I don't understand it. If he wasn't fed any blood, not a drop, then how did he heal? It was gone within a days' time."

Elijah gazed at her, puzzled "Curious…" he murmured before standing to his feet "Where is he?"

"Ian?" she asked hesitantly, "That depends. What exactly do you plan to do?"

"I plan, little Eve, to find the truth," he said before leaving the room as graceful as always.

Oh my, she thought, she didn't want to know how he planned to find the truth from Ian. She only knew more than likely she wouldn't approve of the method. "Don't hurt him, Elijah. Even if he's somehow not being truthful to me, do not hurt him," she said, tone unusually severe as she followed him to her bedroom.

Ian was there, sitting on Eve's bed, flipping through one of the cookbooks she had on display. Her recipes were all handwritten and in a fancy cursive, he could never hope to recreate. Eve had a habit of doodling hearts and flowers on the sides of her cookbooks, making each page a connected work of art.

"Ian," she said softly to gain his attention, which he immediately looked up for and shut the book. He glanced at them both and furrowed his brows puzzled.

"Is something wrong?" he asked setting the book on the side table and gave them his full attention. Eve could hear his heart rate pick up the pace.

Elijah didn't hesitate, his tongue sharp "How did you heal from your wound," he didn't ask, he demanded the answer.

His eyebrows raised "Well, Eve said-" he was cut off.

"Neither myself nor my brother gave you a drop of blood to drink, Ian," he said shortly, "So I will ask you again," he drew closer to him, eyes fierce, "How did you heal from your wound."

Blinking, Ian drew in a breath and slowly shook his head "I don't know. All I remember is being bandaged up and the next thing I know I wake up and there's nothing there. Like it never happened in the first place. I'm telling you the truth, I have no idea how this might have happened…"

"I might," Rebekah said as she walked into the room with a laptop in her arms, "I found this early this morning" she set the computer down on the bed, the browser was turned to the local news site centered on a specific article.

Eve skimmed it briefly and shook her head "I don't understand. What does this article have to do with Ian?" In the article, a man suffered a heart attack while driving his truck down the main road just outside the bayou. The man who had been sitting in the passenger side claimed that as they were driving someone ran out into the middle of the road. Apparently, the incident gave the drivers heart a bit of a scare and his chest seized, causing his death. The passenger was lucky to escape a few minors injuries after swerving off the road and crashing into a tree.

"That's the road that I came out onto when I was leaving the bayou," Ian said, pointing at the name of the road, "But still, that doesn't explain why I would have healed."

Rebekah nodded "Perhaps to you it appears as nothing, seeing as you aren't' very knowledgeable about the supernatural world," she paused and sighed softly as she locked eyes with Ian, "The best way to explain this to you is to just tell you. So, I hope you feel like being open-minded today…"

"Explain what to me…" he said, his voice beginning to reveal the panic he felt.

"Ian, when a person holds the gene of a werewolf, which you do, I double checked and checked again to be sure of it from your ancestor. The way someone triggers the werewolf curse is by taking another life. It doesn't have to be a homicide. It can be as simple as an accidental car accident or…"

"A panic-induced heart attack…" Evangeline finished quietly. She felt her throat tighten with emotion as she watched Ian let the information sink in. His eyes growing wide with sudden fright. Immediately, she took hold of his hand and swallowed "Ian…" she felt so horrible. As if everything was crumbling around them.

"It does make sense," Elijah murmured, "How quickly he healed. Rebekah your sure he carries the gene?"

Rebekah nodded "Yes, Elijah. I'm one hundred percent positive."

"What does this mean?" Ian asked in a shaky voice, clearly on the verge of frightened tears.

Should she tell him the truth? Could she? He had to know, yes, but the idea of telling him in a few days' time he'd transform into a beast that would want to rip her limb from limb seemed a bit of heavy information given what he's been through already.

"It means you won't be seeing Evangeline anymore" Klaus' voice suddenly came from behind them.

"That is not your decision to make, Nik."

"Oh, I believe it is," he said hotly, "You won't be seeing him, and he can go live his life in the muck with the rest of them."

Eve turned to look at him with surprise, a tremor of anger running down her spine. "If you think for a moment you get to choose for me, you are wrong. I want to be happy, and I will be with Ian. Whether you like it or not, I don't care."

She noticed that his eyes were set on Ian, and she could nearly hear his thoughts as he began to saunter forward. Eve knew what he intended to do. What he always did when someone threatened to part their family. Her brother would surely kill him and so she did one thing she never thought she'd do. The action even surprised herself as she stood in front of him and smacked him so hard across the cheek it left a noticeable welt for a long moment.

"Do not touch him," she said, venom in her voice, "We're leaving," she said to Ian who stood up behind her, apparently just as shocked as her siblings. Although, Klaus didn't seem as shocked as he was hurt. It was hard to see, but Eve knew she'd deeply hurt him. She didn't care.