"I do not condone this. Not one bit." Marissa, as expected, was entirely displeased with the presence of yet another vampire inside of her home. But it was too late for her to do anything about it.

"Neither do I, but for different reasons." Emma added on, covering up the need to cough as her voice cracked near the end. Her mother disapproved of the presence of vampires in her home already, if she thought Emma's lungs were acting up due to the stress she'd be kicking them out within the blink of an eye. Emma, on the other hand, disapproved of bringing yet another Mikaelson to Mystic Falls to offer himself up to Alaric on a silver platter.

"Mrs Park, I give you my word, we'll ensure no harm comes to you or your daughter. We simply need a safe place to develop a plan, surrounded by someone we know we can trust." Elijah spoke to her mother in a reassuring tone, hoping to ease the woman's ramblings so they could get to work.

He then turned to Emma too, speaking in the same tone, trying to ease her worries as well. "Alaric can't get to us in here, he hasn't been invited in." He reminded her of the reason they were at her house in the first place. Just the thought of it made Emma seriously consider the idea of locking them up in it until the sun rose in the morning.

"Fine. But once you're done, neither of you are welcome here any longer." Marissa said in a firm tone, not leaving any chance for either of the three to say something else as she rushed out of the room in an attempt to distance herself from the vampires as much as possible.

With her mother leaving them to their business, Elijah, Emma and Kol all sat together around the dining table. Elijah pulled out his phone, working quickly to dial Rebekah's number and make her a part of the discussion despite her absence from the town.

"Whatever you need from me Elijah, if it requires coming back to Mystic Falls, the answer is no." Rebekah didn't even bother with the pleasantries of a hello as she answered the call.

"Well, at least we know where you stand, sister." Elijah's voice remained calm and composed. He certainly understood his sister's hesitancy to even consider returning to the town in which they were being hunted.

"But maybe you can help us come up with a plan to make sure everyone gets what they want," Emma made her presence known to Rebekah, words momentarily interrupted as the cough she'd been holding in finally forced itself out. She felt Kol's hand nestle on her back, softly robbing it in an attempt to make it pass. And when it did, Emma added on. "Or some kind of compromise."

"I doubt there will be any compromise as long as Alaric has that bloody stake." Rebekah resisted the urge to question whether Emma was alright and simply remained focused on the topic.

"So we get the stake away from him." Kol acted as the master of pointing out the obvious among the group.

"I suspect that might be easier said than done." Elijah pointed out, maintaining his patience with his younger brother. Because even though what Kol said was obvious, it was another bit of the plan they would have to develop, hopefully as soon as possible.

"Well the other option is to keep running for our lives for decades while Elena lives happy and in peace." The bitterness in Rebekah's voice was unmistakable as she spoke that last part.

"We can't run, not until we have Niklaus' body." That was the part Elijah was determined on accomplishing too. He wouldn't leave his brother defenceless with the Salvatores.

"They know they're descended from him, they won't kill him." Kol spoke, his eyes jumping towards Emma for a second as he felt her leave his side as another soft cough came from her lips while she moved further into the kitchen to prepare herself some tea in hopes of calming her lungs. All the stress of the day wasn't having a very pleasant effect.

"I have a suggestion." Rebekah's voice held a new-found pep as she spoke again. "Threaten to kill Elena if they don't give us Klaus' body, and then when they do... Kill her anyways."

"We're not murdering Elena Gilbert. That is not an option." Elijah voice was firm, entirely unwilling to even entertain such an idea. And while Emma admired his wish to handle this diplomatically and without bloodshed, if what Rebekah said about Alaric's immortality being tethered to Elena's life, her death... Well, it would be a quick and easy solution. At first glance.

"And even if you did, then what?" Emma chose to speak her thoughts, knowing even without running it by anyone that she had a point. There was no need to raise her voice, even though she wasn't at the table, knowing Rebekah could still easily hear her. "A new search for the stake, hoping you're the ones who get it first? If you don't, every vampire Elena's close to in this town will come after you, and you they can kill, unlike Klaus."

Elijah nodded his head, not saying anything, but approving of the point she'd made. "We need to offer Elena something in return for Klaus' body." He proposed.

"What could she possibly want?" Kol questioned. Yes, they had riches and money and luxury at their disposal, but something told him that wasn't the Gilbert's main priority. They weren't bribing a politician to turn a blind eye to their vampire activities.

"Nothing." Emma said as she made her way back to the table, gently holding a steaming cup of tea between her hands and letting it warm them up. "Nothing you can give."

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked, his eyes turning to her and encouraging her to go on. In a way, Emma was their human spokesperson in this situation. If anyone at the table could easily understand what Elena would want, it would be her. Since thinking as humans had become quite a foreign concept to himself and his siblings.

"With Klaus' body in their possession she has all the security she's wanted ever since he came into her life. Dessicated, he can't torment any of them any more, and hiding it from Alaric means he can't get to it and kill him and every vampire she cares for." Emma pointed out. Elena was finally free of Klaus, something she'd wanted for months now. She wasn't about to give that up because Elijah bat his eyelashes at her. "He's more likely to focus on the rest of you and leave her alone." She added on, once again using her chance to point out the stupidity of both Kol and Elijah remaining in town.

"But there will always be the lingering fear of Alaric coming for Klaus' body. Discovering where it is." Elijah pointed out, knowing that fear was something they could use to their advantage.

"Or one of us doing it." Rebekah pointed out in a confident tone. She doubted that Elena and her little group of lovesick puppies could hide from any one of them for too long.

"So we take away that fear." Kol said. It was the angle at which he would approach these negotiations. Well, not really. He'd approach it with death threats. But as long as Elijah was involved, that obviously wasn't an option unless Kol went rogue. An idea he hadn't entirely dismissed just yet.

"How?" Emma wondered out loud, eyes looking between Elijah and Kol wondering whether either had a suggestion. She herself didn't.

"We offer not to revive Klaus any time soon. He remains dessicated for as long as she lives. As long as her children live." Elijah offered, inquisitive eyes turning to Kol to make sure he was alright with the idea. He wouldn't make it without the support of his siblings.

Emma felt a short moment of sadness at the thought of it. If that is the deal they came to, she'd never see Klaus again. But at least he'd be safe. And she knew she had no real say in the discussion of it.

"I can support that idea." Kol finally nodded his head in acceptance.

"That still doesn't solve your issue with Alaric." Emma pointed out. If they did manage to get Klaus' body from Elena and her group, it would possibly mean even more risk as Alaric continued to come after them. Whoever was in charge of protecting Klaus' body, most likely Elijah, could be risking both of them being in the same place if they're found.

"Our family has been running from our father for a thousand years, we can handle a couple of more decades running from Alaric until Elena dies." Elijah said in a reassuring tone. He had some concerns about it, most notably Kol and the destruction he frequently left in his wake, but now was not the time to discuss that matter.

"No!" Rebekah was the one to protest openly. "How is that fair? She gets to live her happy life and grow old while the rest of us are forced to keep looking over our shoulder in fear."

And Kol seemed to agree with the point his sister was making. "Rebekah has a point. Some of us had plans now that we are free, things we wanted to do." Subconsciously, his eyes turned towards Emma for a moment before he regained his composure, but Elijah had already noted the act. Unlike him, Emma herself, remained oblivious as she instead focused on testing the temperature of her tea with a small sip.

"Whether we make a deal with Elena or not, we will be forced to run either way. With this alliance, we might ensure the odds go in our favour rather than Alaric's." Elijah brushed away his brother's behaviour and made his mind return to the topic at hand.

"How do we know we aren't just taking senseless risk? How do we even know she'd go for it? I still believe our best option is to kill her." Kol questioned. It wasn't a secret that ever since their family came to town Elena and the Salvatores wanted them dead. Now that they knew who sired their line, they had no reason to spare their lives another thought.

"And that's why she won't go for it." Emma was the one to respond to Kol's question, using it as a means to prove her point about where Elena would stand on this as she turned back to Elijah. "Yes, she'd have your word that you wouldn't let Klaus loose, but what about the rest of you. Rebekah's tried to kill her multiple times, and while Kol's never had any serious reason to, he is known as the homicidal maniac without impulse control."

"I don't mind..." Kol was about to point out that he was actually quite proud of his title, however, he was met with a pointed look from the brunette in the seat next to him, silently telling him now was not the time for his ego to take over. It was enough to make him quiet down and simply nod instead.

"You'd need to convince her that they wouldn't grow tired of running and simply come back to kill her." Emma chose her words on purpose, saying convince instead of promise, because she wasn't sure whether Elijah could make his siblings uphold the promise. However, she doubted the eldest Mikaelson would make it if he had any doubts.

"I am more than willing to make such a promise, but I won't make it unless you two swear to help me uphold it." And his next words only confirmed Emma's suspicions.

"Elijah, I like being here. I want to come back." Rebekah's voice was less argumentative this time, sadness shining through for a moment as the idea of them leaving seemed to become more and more of a reality.

"And no one's saying you can't. It's only now that it is unsafe." Elijah tried to convince his sister that this course was best for all. But he was forgetting one important piece of the puzzle, it seemed.

"I don't mean in sixty years, by then it'll be too..." Rebekah tried to explain but stopped herself before she said too much. However, it was enough for the other two Mikaelsons to gather what she meant, their eyes turning towards the human girl sitting among them. "I've made friends, Elijah, friends I don't want to just abandon."

Rebekah's words made Elijah's eyes turn towards Emma, a silent look in them, asking her to try and persuade Rebekah to side with his decision. She seemed to be the motivation for Rebekah to return, and Elijah hoped Emma could be the one to find a way to reason with his sister. And he was right.

"How about I make a promise of my own?" Emma spoke up, giving Elijah a small nod, silently saying she'll try. If she had to be part of the deal for it to go smoothly with Rebekah, she had no problem with that. "I'll finish school, and then leave this town. I would have done so anyways. Maybe you can then take me on that trip to Europe." She offered.

"But will you... the time..." Rebekah stumbled over her words, not wanting to bring up Emma's condition and dying in front of the two brothers who remained unaware of it.

"I will. I promise." Emma said, trying to ignore the thought of how thrilled her mother would be with the development. She had a check-up with Dr Fell in just a couple of days, she'd use that time to reintroduce the vampire blood treatment back into her system. In truth, she wasn't ready to say goodbye to the Mikaelsons just yet.

"Fine." Rebekah finally spoke after a couple of moments passed in silence. "I won't come after Elena." She gave in, obviously displeased with the idea of Elena having everything she'd want, but at least Rebekah wouldn't be walking away empty handed.

With Rebekah's acceptance, eyes turned to Kol next, awaiting his answer. And this time, he didn't try to control his actions, his own brown eyes turning to the woman sitting next to him, trying to find the words to say without seeming to open in front of his brother.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Emma gave him an encouraging nod. She wasn't sure how much she could sway him, unlike Rebekah. They weren't as close despite their mutual... whatever it was. And she knew whatever suspicions he had about her must still remain in his mind. But surprisingly, it seemed to be enough for the time.

"The girl lives." He finally said, the defeat not as evident as it was in Rebekah's voice, but he did seem genuine, and Elijah believed him.

"I'll see whether we all can come up with a plan to get the stake from Alaric and call you when I have news." The eldest brother nodded his head as he spoke, standing from his seat and straightening up his suit as he hung up the call with Rebekah. He walked towards the kitchen door, leaving Emma and Kol still sitting at the table as he started to make his way out of the home.

However, as he exited the kitchen, Elijah paused in the doorway for a moment, his head turning to his left as he spoke up. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs Park." He said with a grateful nod before disappearing.

The words left Emma rolling her eyes in annoyance at the realization that, while she'd left the room, her mother had been listening to every word they said. "You have got to be kidding me."