AN: Hey guys! So I'd like to dedicate this AU to iheartnatebuzz for the request and say thank you to her for being so patient and lovely. I'm just sorry I could't get this written for you sooner! I hope you enjoy this love. If anyone has any more requests, exams are over and I'm taking them. Just drop me a message! Enjoy the angst/fluffiness.

Haunted

If there was one thing Kol Mikaelson hated, it was the phrase 'like father, like son'.

The cliché made his skin crawl when he was growing up, especially as a teenager. His father had been a police Sergeant, of the highest order, and most people in their neighbourhood described him as a hunter of criminals. He was controlling and violent, catching murderers, rapists and serial killers left, right and centre. His father often reminded him of a Viking; tall and muscular, blonde hair and blue eyes; solid stone, with bitter undertones.

Kol's mother loved his father at one point, but it soon faded quickly. Esther was something of a creative soul, who believed in nonsense like spirits and the history of witch craft; although Kol always believed something darker lurked within her and his trust in her was sparse. They'd grew up in the south of England, where the sun often shined and there was no shortage of fresh, clean air. His father encouraged hikes for the boys, whilst leaving Esther, Freya and Rebekah back at their manor house to do what they pleased. They were wealthy, no doubt about it, but Esther and Mikael always craved more for them.

It was not long until tragedy had struck their family. They had been on breaking point as it was; Niklaus (Kol's older brother) and their father were constantly quarrelling. Niklaus was the bastard child, the result of a one time love affair Esther had had with a local farmer, Ansel. Said farmer went missing when Klaus was around seven years old, but no one discussed it. It was a forbidden topic. Since Mikael had found out, he never treated Klaus quite the same, even though it had no effect on his relationship with his brothers and sisters.

It wasn't until the youngest of the boys, Henrick, at just fourteen years old, died a horrific death. The men (because yes, they were no longer boys) took Henrick up to the hills one day, hiking until they were exhausted from heat and hunger. It had been a pleasant day, Kol remembered, where they were able to laugh when their father walked ahead of them with the eldest, Finn, and Henrick enjoyed spending his Saturday off school with his older brothers. It was that night, however, that everything went sour.

It had been late and a full moon had risen, and Henrick, who loved astronomy, wanted to see the stars from the top of the hills, over looking the rest of the town. It was beautiful yet he didn't know how to get there alone. So, he woke his favourite brother; Klaus. Klaus, hesitantly, obliged his brothers wish as he was always one to take his rebellious streak in his stride. They walked that night, hiking boots on their feet and jumpers on their backs, all the way to the top of the hills. They watched the moon and the stars, and Kol remembered Klaus telling him how he, in that moment, wished he had brought his sketch pad with him, to draw his younger, beloved brother in the moonlight, a raw smile on his face.

That was ripped away however, as they walked back through the forest short cut as it had gotten too late. Henrick had been worried that Klaus would get into bother with their father; of course, Klaus pretended that he wasn't bothered, but he so obviously was. It wasn't until the growling of a wolf (oh yes, stereotypical, Kol always thought as it had been a full moon of course) came from through the trees and ripped into Henrick like a rag doll. Klaus had acted quickly, he said, grabbed the knife he kept in the waistband of his jeans and threw it at the animal, momentarily shocking it. It let go of Henrick and ran away, the knife still buried in its side.

Kol remembered vividly, the image of his older brother clutching his younger brother at the entrance of the house, both of them covered in blood and screaming their parents' names. The loss they bared that day was unimaginable. Mikael hated Klaus more than anything, cursing his name whenever he could-

"You! You bastard! You pathetic excuse of a man- You have killed my son and I will never forgive you."

Not even his favourite daughter, his eldest Freya, could stop him abusing Klaus the way he did. Esther was inconsolable. She was no help at all. Elijah and Kol were the only ones who could help protect Klaus from the onslaught, and even Kol was helpless against his father at times. Finn said no words in the matter, and as the eldest boy, he made the decision to leave the family home and move to Europe. He wrote letters and called when he felt like it, after that. They were always only addressed to Esther.

When Mikael was offered a job in the States (New Orleans to be exact) there was no question of his decision- they were moving. They were packed and on a plane to NOLA just three weeks later. They moved into a new house, even bigger than the one before. Their lives had drastically changed in a matter of moments. It was difficult to comprehend.

Kol deliberated leaving his family. He could have gone anywhere. He was old enough, at nearly 19, but stayed with his family. He loved them all, even if they didn't always show their love for him (it had always been Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah but he tried not to dwell too much). However it was the image of his father's evil that stuck in his mind from the moment he had said to Klaus:

"Not. My. Son."

It all came rushing back to him, the moment she said those two words. He would not be like his father; so the only way to avoid the inevitable was to run.

"I'm pregnant."

Lauren had practised those two words for hours. How was she going to say them? Slowly? Quickly? She decided it was best to say it fast; just like ripping off a band aid, as that old saying goes.

She had seen his reaction in her head; Kol, happy and grinning, picking her up and spinning her around like they do in movies and kissing her like he was the luckiest man in the world. Sure, they'd only been together for nearly two years, but she loved him and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. At twenty-five, she felt like it was the perfect age to have children; marriage had never been an issue with her and she didn't need a ring on her finger to prove that she was in love.

However, Kol's reaction wasn't quite how she'd pictured it. Actually, it was quite the opposite.

Lauren walked into the kitchen where Kol was sat on a bar stool. He was flicking through his tablet, most probably on ITunes or some other music site, she had guessed. "Kol, can we talk?"

Kol looked up, a smile gracing his face at the sight of her. Her hair was fanned around her face and she looked so pretty, but her eyes were glazed with anxiety. "Of course darling, what's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong, I just need to tell you something." It all sounded very serious and Kol wasn't sure he liked it. So, he resorted to his favourite defence mechanism- humour.

"Sounds serious. You know I don't do serious very well, Ren..."

Lauren sighed, exasperated already. "Please Kol..."

"Oh I don't know, this is getting rather dramatic darling, do you want something to drink-"

"Kol, please just- just sit down!" The man was like a child sometimes, she thought.

"Why?" Kol raised his eyebrows, confused as to why she was getting all worked up.

"I-"

"You're not- sick, are you?" Kol looked worried for a second, until Lauren realised he was yet again, just playing around.

"No!"

For a second longer he was humorous until his voice lowered an octave. "You're breaking up with me aren't you?" His tone was playful but his eyes were dead serious.

Another sigh escaped Lauren's lips. "If you let me tell you, you'll know, won't you? So sit."

"So bossy-" Kol whined, but complied anyway. He took a sip of his drink and as he swallowed it down-

"I'm pregnant."

Kol coughed and spluttered his tea and Lauren rushed over to him, rubbing his back gently.

"-Kol?" He was silent after the coughing died down. "Kol? Please say something."

And so he did. "I can't be a father."

Lauren was taken aback, stepping away from him. "Sorry?"

Kol's memories rushed towards him; his father, Mikael, how he treated all of them and the fear of becoming just like him. He was twenty-five; not ready for kids. He couldn't have kids. He'd ruin them.

"I can't be a father, Lauren." He was serious. No playfulness, no messing around. He was serious and Lauren couldn't believe it.

"Why? What are you talking about? What do you expect me to do!?" Lauren heard her voice rising, panic starting to flutter in her stomach. She wasn't prepared for this; she hadn't prepared for a negative reaction. "I don't understand..."

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes and said-

"I love you so much, Ren. But I can't be someone's father. I'm sorry-" He went to turn away and she grabbed his arm.

"No! You will not fucking walk away from me without giving me a reason why! Why Kol? What do you want me to do?" Lauren shouted and he turned back, ripping his arm from her hand.

"I don't care Lauren!" he shouted back. "Do whatever the fuck you want! Keep it, get fucking rid of it, I. Don't. Care. I cannot be someone's father. I won't say it again."

And with that, he grabbed his jacket and phone and slammed the front door on the way out. His temper always did get the better of him.

Lauren braced one hand on the counter and cried. When she composed herself, she put one hand against her stomach and made a promise;

"If he can't be your father, then fuck him. I'll be both parents for you."

It had been two and a half months. Lauren hadn't heard a single word from him; not one call, not one text, nothing. It was infuriating and worrying and scary. She was really doing this, by herself. The second he walked out of their apartment in a rage, she thought about it; for a single second, she thought about what he said. However after the moment passed, she felt her own burning rage that he couldn't even explain himself. She wanted this baby. There was no doubt about it. If she didn't want it, that would be a different story. So she'll go it alone, she decided.

However after two and a half months, shit gets real. Lauren was three and a half months pregnant, and showing, even if it wasn't huge. Most of Kol's stuff was still there, apart from things that he'd sneaked in and gotten whilst she was at work. She hadn't spoken to any of his family or friends and had no idea where he was; it wasn't until she met his brothers in the French Quarter, when she finally got some insight.

"Lauren, love!" Lauren heard a familiar British drawl say behind her and she closed her eyes with a sigh. She really could not deal with any more Mikaelson drama right now, especially when she had no idea whether or not the brothers knew any of the ordeal.

She turned around regardless, a bright smile on her face. "Klaus, hey. Nice to see you." It was then that Elijah walked up behind Klaus, dressed handsomely in jeans, a blue t-shirt and jacket over the top. Lauren always said that Elijah was the second most attractive, next to Kol. "And Elijah. How are you both?"

Elijah smiled gently. "Can't complain really, how about yours-"

Klaus interrupted before he could carry on- "Let's be honest with each other now sweetheart; we can't find our brother anywhere, he's not answering our calls and it's quite obvious that you're with child. That, or you've gained a significant amount of weight around your stomach area."

Lauren raised an eyebrow at his bluntness. He was insinuating that she had cheated on Kol, and was now pregnant with another man's baby. Great.

"Let's get one thing straight," Lauren started, all pretences dropped. "I don't particularly like how you've just spoken to me, asshole. I haven't seen Kol in two and a half months. He ran faster than you can say 'honey, I'm pregnant!' Yes, you heard correct. When I told him I was pregnant with his child."

Klaus' mouth opened slightly in surprise and looked to his side at his elder brother. Always the sweet Elijah to the rescue, she thought with a tilt of her head.

"You mean to say that he ran because you're pregnant with his child?"

Lauren nodded. "He just kept saying that he couldn't be someone's father. He told me to do what I wanted, keep it or get rid of it, as he didn't care." She rubbed her hand against the back of her neck. "Listen, I'm keeping this baby and raising him or her with or without Kol. He clearly doesn't care. So neither do I anymore. If you find him, you can tell him that. It was nice seeing you both."

Lauren walked away and into the crowd of people, to which Klaus and Elijah lost their track of her. They looked at each other in surprise and began to walk the other way.

"We need to find him, Niklaus," Elijah said. "We need to talk to him about this. He's making the biggest mistake of his life! Why is he throwing this chance of a family away?"

Klaus laughed, bitterly almost. "Oh come on Elijah! He said he couldn't be someone's father. You know exactly why he can't. Because he is haunted by the memory of ours."

"Mikael died almost five years ago...-"

"It doesn't matter! His death did not erase the suffering he imposed over all of us. Kol is merely afraid of being a father as he is worried he will be just like ours," Klaus said, his hands clasped behind his back as they walked.

"It sounds as if you speak from your own worries, Klaus. But you don't need to. You are not like Mikael, and neither is Kol."

"You can't just make those...-"

"-Insecurities?"

"Fine, yes, insecurities disappear. We need to find him and help him through this. We haven't seen him in nearly two months. Lord knows what he's been up to," Klaus finished and with that, they spent the rest of the day and night searching for their younger brother.

When Klaus and Elijah found Kol at an apartment on the other side of the river, they were surprised to find him in good health and the place clean and tidy. The place wasn't littered with beer bottles and empty food containers but really it was just sparse, with his belongings in bags. The place was relatively small and when he answered the door, he sighed at the sight of his siblings. He had been found.

"How did you find me?" Kol asked when they sat down on his sofa.

"Asked around the Quarter; it was actually very easy. You're not great at hiding," Klaus responded. "You always were terrible at hide and seek."

"I have for the past two months, under the radar without anyone looking for me," Kol replied. "And that's rubbish Niklaus; I was excellent at hide and seek."

"We weren't aware that you needed to be looked for. We were both out of town and please try and imagine our surprise to find out that you were nowhere to be seen or heard of," Elijah added. "Then imagine even more surprise when we find out that Lauren is having your child."

Kol's head shot up at that last comment, his eyes wide. "How did you-"

"We saw her in the square. I accused her of cheating on you," Klaus said casually, leaning back against the couch. "Of course I wouldn't blame her with a boyfriend like you-"

"Fuck you, Niklaus," Kol spat but threw a pillow at Klaus, showing him his aggression was not all serious. "What did she say?"

"She was obviously upset," Elijah remarked pointedly, trying to provoke some sort of reaction from his brother. "She said she was going to do it alone, without you."

Kol lowered his head, rubbing a hand in his hair and against his neck. "I didn't want to hurt her, but I can't be someone's father."

"She said you said that too," Klaus added. "I understood straight away but poor Elijah needed more explaining."

Kol sighed. "The more I think about it, the more I think I could do it. But I can't. What if I'm like him?"

Elijah stared straight at him and shook his head. "You are nothing like that monster. But you doing this makes him win."

Kol smirked, but there was anger and sadness behind it. "He always did win, Elijah."

"Don't let him win this time, Kol. That's what I'm trying to say. Don't let him win. You can do this. Don't be the man who let's his fears control him. Be a father that your child will love and adore. Don't let your child grow up fatherless," Elijah said.

"He's right, brother," Klaus finally said. "I think when the opportunity is there to be happy, you should take it."

Kol stared at the ground. "And what if I fuck up?"

"Then you make it right. Like you're going to do now." Kol tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to get up and go to the Quarter and tell the woman you love that you're sorry and that you'll get on your knees and beg for her forgiveness. That is one thing our father would never have done. He was always taking our mothers power and choices away. You don't have to do that Kol. You give her the choice. If Lauren wants to take you back, that's her choice. If she doesn't, that's hers too."

Kol nodded. All his life, his father ruled him. Even after his death, his fears control him; he didn't want to be like his father. He would not be like his father. Elijah's words echo in his ears and he knows that his brother is right; he can be the man he wants to be and he can be a father. It's in Lauren's hands now.

Lauren heard the knock on the door before she could reach the top of the stairs. She had just gotten back from the grocery store and she was exhausted. Her feet were burning and she was starving and Kol was in front of the door- wait, Kol was knocking on the door?

When she reached the top, she said his name in a breath and he turned around swiftly.

"I- Hello, darling," he said, as that's all he'd ever known what to say to her. She was so beautiful, her hair a messy pile of waves pulled up into a bun, and a slight swollen belly just outlined under her clothes. So, undeniably beautiful and he just about caught his breath when she said-

"What do you want?" Lauren spat out the words and stayed stuck at her position at the top of the stairs.

"You. Our baby. A family," Kol replied, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could produce a coherent sentence. Lauren was taken aback, not quite sure what to say.

"It only took you two and a half months to decide that? No phone call, no text, no nothing? You just got your things and left? Do you know how fucked up that is, Kol?" she said, her voice wobbling but she forced it back down. No, she was strong.

"I know. I'm a fucking wanker," he cursed. "But I love you, Ren. I was scared. Remember that story I told you, about Henrick?" he said and Lauren nodded, a cautious look on her face. "Well, that flashed in front of my face. How my father treated Klaus, how he treated all of us from when we were small and I thought about that phrase like father, like son. I was so afraid I would be the product of my father that I knew I could not be one."

Kol walked slowly towards Lauren, gesturing her to come forward, away from the stairs and closer to him. She did.

"Then Elijah said something. He said that by allowing myself to be haunted by my father and his cruelty, I was letting him win. I don't want to let him win, Ren. I want to be happy. I want to be happy with you. And I know I'm a sarcastic, annoying, infuriating bastard at times but like I said, I love you and I won't leave you or our baby again. I will be right here," he continued. "The choice is yours Ren. It's all yours. I'll get on my knees and beg if you want me to. I'll do whatever you want. The choice is yours."

Lauren took a few moments to compose herself. The past two months had been difficult and she had been so angry. But she didn't want to feel like that anymore. Because despite his flaws and his fears, behind his cocky bravado and beautiful face, he was just as scared as she was. And she wanted him to be by her side.

"Okay," she said. "You don't need to beg, but I would like you to make me some dinner. I'm really tired and sick of cooking and you're going to have to get used to this anyway-" however before she could finish, Kol had softly pulled her the rest of the way to him and kissed her like his life depended on it. It was soft and she heard the cars go by outside the windows, Kol's hands against her back, his thumbs rubbing lightly against her swollen stomach and she smiled. He was here.

When he pulled away, Lauren's words fumbled out in a daze just like his had minutes before. "I love you. Thank you for telling me why. I forgive you."

"No," Kol said, shaking his head and tracing her cheekbone with the back of his fingers. "Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving me another chance." He leaned his forehead against hers before kissing it lightly.

He promised himself he would never allow his past to haunt him again. Kol beat his father, once and for all.

Thank you again for reading! Please review for one shot requests, or send me a private message. x