Y/N woke the next morning with Ethan jumping at the end of her bed. "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" He exclaimed as he got in her face.

She groaned and opened her eyes, jumping slightly because of how close he'd gotten. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Yeah, I'm up, I'm up." She sat up and set him to the side of the bed. He got down and told her, "I already got showered and dressed!"

Y/N laughed and ruffled his hair as he fixed it, "Hey! I just got this done!" She chuckled, "Sure, you did. I'm going to take a shower and we'll head out for breakfast. What do you wanna eat?"

"Beignets!" He exclaimed. Y/N nodded and grabbed a change of clothes. She went to the bathroom and turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up before stepping in and letting the water calm her.

Memories of her past rushed over her and she welcomed them. She remembered the horse rides Elijah would take her on when they had the free time, she remembered the village gatherings where they would feast and dance and sing together, she remembered spending time with the Mikaelson siblings.

She smiled softly, remembering Elijah himself. She remembered his long chestnut hair, his chocolate brown eyes, his short stubble. She held onto any memory she still had of him. Through all of the centuries she's lived, remembering things hadn't been her best skill.

She was brought back to reality when Ethan yelled through the door, "Mother! Are you done yet?" She chuckled and shook her head.

She called back, "No, buddy. Give me a little bit more time and I'll be out. Okay?"

"Okay!" He said.

Y/N finished up her shower and got dressed quickly, remembering just how fast Ethan got bored. She walked out of the bathroom and told him. "Okay, buddy. Get your things."

"Okay, Mom." He jumped from the bed and gathered his stuff in his bag. When he was all packed up, he rushed to Y/N and she put her hand on his head. "Ready?" She asked.

He nodded as he threw his arms around her waist, "Mhm!" Y/N chuckled and said, "Then let's go."

They both walked out of the room, headed to the lobby. They both walked out of the hotel after Y/N turned in their room keys. She grabbed one of the maps that were offered at the front.

She opened it as she stepped out to the front. "Okay, so we're here and we need to get here."

She looked both ways before looking down at Ethan and saying, "Let's go this way." She turned them both and they set off the way to the Cafe Du Monde.

After a few moments of confusion, they finally found their way. They sat at one of the tables and made their orders. "Mother, can you guess how old I am?" Ethan asked, giving you a cheeky grin.

Y/N put her finger on her chin, "Hmm. I don't know. Are you...five?"

He chuckled, "What? No! Two more guesses."

"Are you...seventeen?"

He shook his head, "Nuh-uh! One more try."

"If you're not five...and you're not seventeen...then you must be...ten!"

"No, Mommy! I'm nine!" He told her.

She gasped and then sighed, "Well, why are you getting so big?"

He shrugged, "I don't know! I just am."

Y/N smiled at him and said, "Well, I think you're a very cool nine year old. In fact, I think you're the coolest."

He smiled and said, "Thank you, Mom. I think you're the coolest mom out there."

Y/N put a hand over her heart and said, "Well, thank you, Ethan." She pulled him into her side and grabbed the camera that was around his neck. "Here, say 'cheese'."

He smiled and said, "Cheese!" She took the picture as the waitress came by with the beignets. She set them on the plate and told them, "Here are the beignets. I hope you enjoy."

Y/N smiled at her as she left and said, "Well, dig in." He grabbed one and licked the powder off his hands. "They're messy." He stated. She chuckled and said, "Yeah, they are. But you still have to eat them, you know."

She grabbed one and took a bite and Ethan did the same. He smiled, "These are good." She smiled at him as she wiped off some of the powdered sugar on his face. He laughed and you both chowed down on the powdery food.

~

When they finished up, Y/N paid and they left the cafe. "Where do you want to go next?" Ethan shrugged and grabbed the map. He looked through and asked, "Can we go listen to jazz?"

She laughed, "Well that narrows it down to about a hundred different places. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz."

He looked back at it and said, "Can we go to the town square?"

Y/N nodded, "Sure. Let's go...this way." They both walked down the streets and found themselves there in no time. There were a lot of people passing by and people in little booths. There were jazz performers, fortune tellers, artists.

Ethan was so fascinated by everything. Y/N watched as he grabbed the camera and began taking pictures again.

Y/N smiled to herself and said, "We're going to need another photo album." She looked around and smiled.

Ethan ran to her and said, "This place is so cool!" Y/N nodded, "Yes, it is, buddy." He ran over and asked, "Can I get my fortune told?"

Y/N thought for a moment. She didn't want to say yes and then the lady end up being an actual witch.

This was New Orleans after all. Witches were bound to live here, which is why Y/N was a little reluctant to move here.

She walked up to the lady and took inventory quickly. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary and figured it was okay. "Yeah." Ethan sat at the table and the lady smiled at him, "Hello, little one. Can you tell me your name?"

Ethan nodded and told her, "My name's Ethan."

"That's a very nice name." She said as she grabbed her deck of cards. Y/N relaxed. Most witches did palm readings, not cards.

She spread her cards out in front of her and said, "Well, Ethan, can you pick three cards from the deck?"

He looked over the deck and slowly picked out three cards. "These."

The lady nodded and brought the three cards closer to her. Y/N watched closely as the lady put the other cards up and put Ethan's up front and center.

She flipped over the first card and said, "This represents your past. Here, it says you have a lot of experience. You've been places, seen things, done things of your own. I bet you're an old soul, aren't you?"

Y/N thought to herself, 'You have no idea.'

She continued to the next card, "This represents your present. Right here tells me that you yearn for more to learn. You're curious to know more about yourself."

Y/N looked over to Ethan who was eating all of this right up. She tilted her head and something caught her eye. She looked to see where it was coming from but put it to the side.

This was New Orleans. There are a lot of things going on at once. Whatever it was, it was nothing.

She turned her attention back to the lady as she said, "Now for your future." She flipped the card over and slightly gasped. Y/N tilted her head a little, concerned.

She looked at the card, up to Y/N, and then back to Ethan. She spoke, "In your future, someone will reenter your life."

Y/N stopped, she didn't know if she should believe her or not. Someone would reenter her life? There's only a select few who could and they all lead to one person.

"But with that comes a fate that will be hard to surpass. The future from there is unclear." She finished.

Y/N patted Ethan on the shoulder and told him, "Okay. Let's go, bud." She grabbed her wallet and began to pay the woman. She shook her head and said, "No, keep the money. May the spirits be in your favor."

Y/N gulped and then turned back to Ethan. "Come on. Let's go explore some more and we'll get lunch in a bit."

Ethan nodded and thanked the woman. Y/N grabbed his hand and they both walked around more. But as they walked, Y/N couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Y/N began looking around, staying attentive in case something happened. She pulled Ethan close and he asked, "Mommy? Are you okay?"

You looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile, "Yes, honey. Something just feels...different."

As she walked, she felt someone behind her and began to wonder what it was. She turned and heard a whooshing sound. Y/N put Ethan behind her, keeping him safe in her grasp. "I know you're there. Who are you? Come out now."

"Mommy?"

"It's okay, honey."

Y/N continued to search. "Now." She said again. Ethan tapped on Y/N arm and she turned to see him. He pointed in front of him and said, "Mother, who's that?"

Y/N looked up to see where he was pointing and when she saw the person standing before her, she didn't know how to process any of it. Her whole world caught up with her with such a force, she thought she might fall.

Y/N gazed back at the man before her and lost herself. Ethan brought her back to reality as he tugged at the bottom of her shirt. "Mother?"

She looked down at him and rubbed his cheek gently. "Yeah, sorry, honey. Um..." She looked back up to the man and Ethan asked, "Who is that?"

Y/N forced herself to look away from the man and back at her son. She kneeled down next to him and said, "It's...It's him."

Ethan's eyes widened. "Him?" Y/N nodded and a tear slipped from her eye. Ethan wiped it away and said, "Don't cry."

She wiped at her eyes as more tears formed. "I'm sorry, honey." She looked back at the man and stood. She took a step toward him, almost scared that if she moved too fast, he'd be gone.

She tried to find her voice as she took another step forward, this time he mimicked her actions. With each step, they got closer and closer. Y/N couldn't handle it as she rushed forward, running into his arms.

The strong arms of the man Y/N has loved for hundreds of years wrapped around her. She felt home in his arms as she quietly cried. "Elijah?" She spoke.

He nodded and that only encouraged the tears to flow quicker. "I missed you so much." He told her, his voice broken as he felt what she was feeling.

Both of their emotions spread through their bodies as they found each other again. Elijah put his hand on the back of her head as he breathed in her scent. He found comfort in her as he felt her again.

Y/N slowed her tears, not wanting to cry in front of Ethan. She held out a hand behind her as she sniffled. When Ethan grabbed it, Y/N reluctantly separated herself from Elijah's grasp. She held onto his hand as she pulled him into her, keeping him close.

Elijah asked, "How...how are you...?" Y/N wiped under her eye as she explained, "The night after you all were turned...Mikael found me and turned me himself."

With her other hand, Y/N subconsciously grabbed the necklace around her neck. He looked at Ethan, looking him over curiously. He asked her, trying to keep his voice light, "So...who is this?"

Ethan took a small step back, stepping into Y/N. "It's okay, honey." She said quietly. She looked up at Elijah and smiled. She'd wanted to say these words to him for centuries.

"Elijah, this is Ethan...He's your son." She said, holding Ethan's hand.

Elijah stopped dead in his tracks as he heard these words. There was silence for a good few moments before he spoke, "What? That's impossible."

She glanced at Ethan and said, "By the looks of it, it's very much possible."

Elijah asked, "But how?"

"Well...when a man meets a woman and they love each other very much-"

"You know what I mean, Y/N." He said, closing his eyes with a smile. She chuckled, a sound that Elijah had missed so much.

She spoke, still fiddling with her necklace, "The day that Henrik...you know...I was going to tell you that I was pregnant."

Elijah held his breath and she continued, "But I didn't get to. That very night, you all were..." She trailed off and took a breath, "When Mikael found me the night after, he planned on killing me. But I told him about the child and, instead, he'd turned me into...this."

She motioned to herself.

"I still do not see how Ethan is here then." Elijah commented.

Y/N told him, "Early that day, I returned to the village to see if my mother - Astrid - had been okay...but she had been one of the victims of the slaughter."

Elijah looked down. He knew of Astrid's downfall, and he knew who had done it.

"When I found her, she was dead. Her necklace then found me. Astrid put a spell on it, the wearer would be protected from enemies. When I was turned, the necklace protected Ethan. It's been keeping us from being located by any threats toward either of us. Since it protected Ethan before he was born, it's protected both of us now as well."

Elijah bent down to Ethan's level and asked, "How old are you, Ethan?" He said, "I'm nine now. Today's my birthday."

Y/N smiled and Elijah looked up at her. "Every century he physically grows a year older. He's nine hundred." She mouthed the last part to him.

He nodded and smiled at Ethan. "Happy birthday. I hope you've been keeping your mother company."

Ethan smiled and nodded, "Yep. We do everything together. She says I keep her busy." Elijah smiled and chuckled.

Elijah dug into his pocket and looked at what he'd fished out. He looked at the object and smiled before looking back at Ethan. "This was your mother's a long time ago. I made it for her. Now that it's your birthday, I guess it would be okay to give it to you. Hold out your hand."

Ethan looked at Y/N for confirmation and she nodded, "Go ahead."

He looked back at Elijah and held his arm out. Elijah put something around his wrist and Ethan gazed at it. "It's really cool. Mom, look."

He turned and showed Y/N the bracelet that was now on his wrist. Y/N almost teared as she saw the crescent moon bracelet Elijah had made for her all those years ago.

"It is really cool. You take care of that, okay?" She told him. He nodded and Y/N smiled.

Ethan grabbed the camera and began to gather all the pictures he'd taken that day.

Y/N took a step to Elijah and said, "I've missed you so much. I began to think I'd never see you again." He grabbed her hand, "Not a day went by that I didn't think of you. Now that you're standing right here, it's almost too hard to believe."

She placed her hand on his cheek and said, "I'm here, Elijah. We're here together." He smiled and placed his hand over hers. He leaned in and captured his lips with hers.

Suddenly, a flash went off and they turned to Ethan. He had his camera pointed towards them and had taken a picture. Y/N chuckled and said, "You really love that camera, don't you?"

Ethan nodded as he fanned the picture. "When we put this in the photo album, I'm gonna call this 'Reunion'."

Y/N chuckled again and Elijah said, "Well, you might want to leave that one for when you meet the rest of your family."

"There's more of you?" Ethan asked, confused. Y/N laughed and said, "Yes, but, I assure you, your father's the best of them."

"Of course, you would say that, Mother." He commented.

It was Elijah's turn to laugh as he said, "You are definitely your mother's child." Ethan laughed and Y/N looked at Elijah with a big smile. She looked at his hair and whispered, "I miss the long hair..."

He chuckled and Ethan ran up to the both of you. He took another picture with you all smiling. "That's a keeper." He said, looking at the picture with a smile as he started walking off, Y/N and Elijah following after.

~

As they strolled down the streets, Elijah and Y/N kept an eye on Ethan as he continued going around and taking pictures of things.

"You know, I remember going to Paris with Ethan once...he was six. I kept having to steer him away from the Eiffel Tower because he kept trying to climb it." Y/N told Elijah with a smile. He gave her that small smile she missed gazing at so much.

Y/N thought back to the day after the slaughter, when she'd found herself back to the village. One thing had been bugging her, ever since that day. She spoke up, "Elijah?"

He looked down at her, humming in response as he listened. Y/N said, "The day after the village slaughter, when I found Astrid...she'd said something before she...was gone. One word, a name. 'Mikaelson'."

Elijah tensed a little, having a feeling where this was going, but not wanting to chance it.

"Why did she say that? What happened?" She asked.

Elijah looked down at his shoes, then took a breath and looked up at Y/N. Slowly, he spoke, "Y/N...I know who killed Astrid..."

Her breath caught in her throat as Y/N stopped, turning to look at Elijah. "Y-You do?" Elijah nodded and hesitantly told her, "It was...Finn."

Y/N heart stopped for a moment. It made sense. Finn had never liked Y/N or Astrid. Correction, Finn despised.

Since he didn't find Y/N in her home that night...she guessed he supposed that killing Astrid would be the next best thing.

Y/N felt her anger boil inside of her. She felt - she knew - she had been wronged by that act of cruelty. Y/N knew Finn hated her, but not enough to try and kill her, to kill her mother.

Y/N did nothing but clench her jaw and say, "Of course, he did." Elijah nodded, looking down.

When he'd heard her scream that night, when he'd been unleashed into the village, the blood lust too overpowering to control had subsided, his love for Y/N winning over his thirst for blood.

He'd found his way to her home and seen Finn feeding on Astrid. He'd ripped him away, but it had been too late.

"It's for our own good. She would have brought this family pain like no other." He had told Elijah. He had to restrain himself from snapping his brother's neck then. It wasn't until his blood lust had taken over him at the smell of blood in the village that he became distracted again.

Elijah was brought back to reality when he heard Y/N's panicked voice. "Wait, where's Ethan?" She asked, looking around frantically.

Elijah looked around, not seeing the little boy anywhere. "Ethan?" He yelled.