A/N: Thanks so much for reading everyone. And I like the theories people have for what the will says.

I hope you all enjoy this one!

"Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Lilo & Stitch

It was obvious that Finn and Sage were in love. Anyone who watched the two of them together could see it. Caroline had only meant them once before when Klaus and she had been on an extended layover in Seattle a year ago. Instead of spending eight hours in the airport they had headed into the city for lunch and some light sightseeing. When the layover had been extended six more hours because of weather and Sage had somehow gotten wind of them being in town the older woman had insisted that they come over for dinner.

It had reminded Caroline of dinners at the Gilbert home that she'd attended every so often as a child. Not that the Gilberts were all that big of a family, but the steady conversation and eating an actual meal together at a table had been a staple she'd known well. It wasn't a formal atmosphere though, more lively than anything, and while the energy of the four kids was a little much to handle, it had also been a nice way to end their Seattle adventure.

Fast forward a year and the location might have changed, the kids might have grown a few inches and aged another year, but they were still lively as ever. And Finn still looked over at Sage with that same adoring look that she happily reciprocated and had been doing so since they were juniors in high school over seventeen years ago.

Caroline clasped Klaus' hand under the table, giving it a small squeeze as the conversation flowed around them. She hoped that they looked at one another like that after seventeen years. Considering the knowing smile he directed at her as his thumb swept over the back of her hand Caroline had a feeling that he knew precisely what she was thinking. Though his arched brow and playful smirk seemed to be telling her, 'please love, we'll be even better than the two them are'. She couldn't help but quirk her lips at him as she tried not to laugh, leaning over to kiss him briefly instead.

The gagging sounds made by the twins sort of spoiled the moment.

"Alright, time for all of you to head upstairs," Sage announced, Cara and Ida already starting to grumble about not having finished their meals. "Teagan is practically falling asleep in her chair. Besides you can have the dessert you picked out from the store once you're up in the room. Just remember that if you give your sister a hard time you'll be doing math worksheets with your dad while your sisters and I play in the snow. Got it?"

The ten year olds nodded while the five year old slowly slipped out of her chair, rubbing at her eyes as she nodded. "Do you want Aileen to take Henrik? She can watch him upstairs while we finish up down here," Finn suggested, nodding toward the car seat the Henrik was currently fast asleep inside. "She'll call if there's a problem."

Klaus looked over at the little boy, not quite wanting him out of his sight after what he'd seen at the house that day, but having him go with the others was probably a good idea. From what he knew Aileen was a certified babysitter if the facebook entries Caroline was always keeping him up to date about were true. "That should work," Klaus finally agreed and watched as Caroline handed his eldest niece the diaper bag.

"Bottle, diaper, wipes and everything are in there," Caroline assured and Aileen handed the bag over to one of the twins before carefully picking up the car seat. "The stuffed monkey seems to get him to smile if you dance it in front of him but don't let him sleep with it." Google said that was a bad idea.

Was she supposed to be feeling this nervous about letting him go? What was it going to be like once the will was read and Henrik was someone she only saw whenever they all visited one another? She shouldn't have gotten this attached to the little boy in such a short time. But how could she not when she remembered how he'd curled into her body, big eyes wide with fear as he expected her to protect him.

Klaus's hand settled on her thigh, rubbing it gently in that way he always did to reassure her, though Caroline had a feeling he was also trying to reassure himself. Finn, Elijah and Sage seemed to be just fine with Henrik heading off with the other children and they were the experienced parents sp Caroline sucked up her worry.

"Call if you need us though," Klaus reminded and Aileen nodded.

"I've taken care of babies younger than him," she assured her uncle before motioning for her youngest sister to start walking.

"Behave," Sage warned the twins one more time as the group of children headed out of the restaurant.

As soon as they were gone the atmosphere took a drastic turn, melancholy seeming to sweep through all of them. It was time to get down to business away from the ears of impressionable children. "I spoke with the Executor and we'll be able to go over the will tomorrow morning," Elijah started as Sage waved down their order.

"We're going to need more wine," Sage told the young man. "You can just leave the bottle when you bring it back."

"I thought we wouldn't be able to get that underway until later in the week," Finn frowned, fidgeting with the napkin in front of him. "Or at least that's what you told me the other day." Sage placed her hand over his, stopping the nervous movement.

"I made it clear that none of us could afford to remain here any longer than necessary," Elijah replied and Caroline had a feeling that money might have crossed hands. Either that or the right amount of pressure in less scrupulous ways.

"And the funeral?" Finn asked becoming paler with every passing moment.

"The day after," Elijah informed them all. Relief swept through half, ready to bury the two and be done with it.

"But what about Kol?" Rebekah protested. He wasn't there yet, none of them had been able to get hold of him via any of the usual means.

"There's only so long that we can wait, Rebekah," Elijah told her, his expression softening some as he looked at her.

"It's been two days. You're giving us two more. You know it can take up to a week at a time to reach him!" she protested, voice rising a bit at the end.

"Do you really want to stick around here for a week when there's no guarantee that he'll be notified in time?" Sage asked, reaching over to touch Rebekah's arm, but the girl yanked her hand back and quickly stood up, the chair nearly falling out behind her.

"Unlike the rest of you who all so conveniently ran away, this is my home," Rebekah glared at the lot of them before quickly exiting the restaurant.

"Shouldn't one of you go after her?" Caroline asked, looking at the three brothers but Klaus shook his head.

"Let her have her dramatic moment," he replied, even if his sister's words cut deep. He hadn't run, he'd been tossed out, but he knew she was going through a whirlwind with the realization that her home for college breaks suddenly wasn't really there anymore. "I'll talk to her when we're done here."

He was far better at calming her down than any of the rest of them were.

"What about the obituary?" Finn asked, pulling the conversation back onto the correct course.

"Elijah had the brilliant idea for me to have my hand at it," Klaus told him with a wry smile. "But I think you're much more suited to that task."

"I'll add it to the list," Sage confirmed as she pulled out her phone and began swiping away. Her phone started ringing though and she frowned as she answered it. "Aileen, calm down. Breathe and talk to me."

Klaus felt himself go instantly cold at that, frozen in place as he stared at Sage, wondering what was causing her eldest to panic in such a way. He worried for his nieces but it was his tiny baby brother that his focus was on and from the way Caroline was suddenly clutching his thigh, her nails digging into his pants, he had a feeling she was worried for the baby as well.

"It seems that Henrik woke up and is inconsolable," Sage started after reassuring her daughter that she was on her way. "I'll go calm him down. Finish hashing everything out."

Caroline rose though because only certain things made that baby cry without stopping, or at least that's what she'd seen over the last two days. "I'll come with you," she offered, pressing her hand to Klaus' shoulder as she looked at him. She knew she'd made the right call by the look of relief he gave her.

"Apparently the twins got into a bit of a screaming match over what movie they were going to be watching while Aileen was helping Teagan brush her teeth," Sage explained, clearly annoyed by her daughters' behavior and Caroline cringed, having a pretty good idea at what had set Henrik off.

"He's doesn't react well to yelling," Caroline murmured, running a hand through her hair as Sage pressed her lips together, putting the pieces into place on why the little boy might react negatively to loud voices.

"Perhaps it would have been better if he'd stayed with us," Sage sighed as they headed off the elevator and toward the room. "Quiet is something he'll never get around those four."

Which worried Caroline because there was a good chance that Finn and Sage were who his parents had intended to be his guardians. They entered the room, finding chaos. Sage headed to deal with her crying five year old and still fighting twins while Caroline headed right over to Aileen who was trying to calm down Henrik.

She took him right away, heart breaking at his red face and hiccuping cry. "You're okay, baby boy," she promised him, holding him closely. Caroline looked at Aileen who looked relieved to not have him anymore and nodded toward Sage. "Go help your mom."

Caroline would worry about the diaper bag and car seat later, right now she needed to get Henrik away from the noise and help him feel safe again. She headed out into the hallway, gently humming to him as she headed toward the elevator. She rubbed at his back, rocked him gently as she waited for it to come. His hands fisted in her dress, head rubbing against her chest as he continued to cry.

It took a few minutes but eventually Caroline was back in their room with him and continued what she had been doing, slowly rocking him as she walked the length of it. Thankfully his crying quieted down until he was only left with hiccups.

She didn't really know where the song came from, it was something she hadn't listened to in years, but she found herself singing it softly to him. It wasn't even her favorite Disney movie as a child but the lyrics weren't that difficult and it was only really the beginning that she kept repeating anyway, but it must have struck a chord in her at some point.

"Come stop your crying, it'll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight," she sang, listening to his breathing even out a bit, the hiccuping stopping. "I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry."

It took a moment for her to realize that Klaus was in the room and she turned toward him, smiling at the love she saw there as he watched the two of them. She remembered when she had first met him, how she had thought he was just another jerk that was too charming for his own good, and while that couldbe true at times, Caroline had seen the depth to Klaus that many people didn't bother to look for. She had also noticed that he purposefully hid part of himself from others too, but hiding parts from her never worked and he hadn't done that in a long time.

"The twins got loud?" Klaus asked as he walked over to them and brushed the top of Henrik's head. He noted the way his brother clung to Caroline while looking up at him with wide eyes for a moment before seeming to realize who he was and that he was still safe.

"Screaming match and then the youngest was balling and this one started. I think Aileen was out of her depth with them," Caroline told him watching as Klaus frowned.

"He doesn't like when people scream," Klaus sighed, remembering Rebekah having a similar reaction when she was younger. Elijah or he had always hid in the closet with her and Kol when their parents had yelled. Henrik wasn't so lucky, no doubt trapped in a crib, helpless and alone whenever the fighting had started.

"Nope," Caroline looked down at the baby. She couldn't imagine what all he must have heard in three months to create such a visceral reaction to fighting. "He did something similar earlier when we were walking around so we weren't cooped up in the room." She brushed her fingers against the baby's cheek and sighed. "He's calming down though so that's good at least."

That was definitely something and once again Klaus couldn't help but be grateful that Caroline had come, that she had been willing to look after his baby brother while he and Elijah had dealt with the rest of it. He really had lucked out with her and he meant to ensure that she knew how much he loved and appreciated her.

"You should go talk to Rebekah though," Caroline started, breaking Klaus from his thoughts. "Because she's right. She might not be as young as Henrik is but in some ways she still is a kid." Not that Rebekah was much younger than her, but Caroline had her parents around, even if they were divorced. She had a place to call home whenever those college breaks did happen, whether with Klaus or with her mom.

"I know." Unlike the rest of her siblings-even Kol with his wandering ways-Rebekah had no other type of homebase except the one in North Salem and Klaus really didn't want her heading back there. Not after what he and Elijah had seen.

"I think…" he started and paused, trying to figure out how best to word it to Caroline. The brownstone wasn't just his place, it was theirs, and she deserved to have a say in who could come and go as they pleased from it.

"I'd let her know the guest bedroom that has an attached bathroom is now officially hers and she can decorate it as she pleases. Unless you were thinking of one of the other ones but you know she'll gripe about having to share a bath with guests," Caroline told him with a grin.

"God I love you," Klaus told her, tugging her close to kiss her hard, careful of Henrik. She knew him well enough to know what he'd been thinking, to know that he wanted to let Rebekah know she had a home with him as long as she wanted it. Whether or not his baby sister would take that offer was up to her, but it meant the world to Klaus to know that Caroline understood that he needed to suggest it to Rebekah. Especially with how the two could butt heads every so often. It was his house with Caroline, one that his lovely fiance had complete control over decorating, and she was giving up a bit of control over one of the rooms he knew she'd had plans for.

"She's your family, Klaus. And well, come April she's officially my family, though she's already been that sister that I wanted and now am glad I didn't actually get," Caroline told him and he laughed at that admission.

"You're amazing." He brushed her cheek with his fingers, smile broadening.

"I know," she murmured before pushing him gently away. "Now go. Talk to her and I will work on getting this one to bed. Though we'll see if he actually lets go of me anytime soon."

"Can't have her all to yourself, Henrik," Klaus chided the baby before kissing the top of his head. He moved to Caroline next, letting his lips linger against hers for a moment before heading off to track down his sister. Hopefully she was utilizing the mini bar in her room to get the level of drunk he thought she might want to currently be.

Caroline watched him go before looking back at Henrik with a soft smile. "Why don't we settle down on the couch for a bit and watch a nice, quiet show." Something that didn't have loud noises.

Thankfully Rebekah had headed to her room when she had left the table. Trying to find his sister outside of the hotel would have been next to impossible and Klaus didn't even want to contemplate the trouble she might have gotten into out on her own. At least if she was drinking away the contents of the mini bar she was contained to her room, even if she still had a few years to go to legally be drinking anything anyway. Not that he could say much about that considering he'd given Rebekah her first shot of tequila when she was fifteen. Or...he thought it had been her first.

Klaus could hear the television, some sappy movie playing as he knocked on the door. He didn't say a word, not wanting to give her cause to not answer, and was rewarded with his sister opening the door, clearly annoyed and ready to tell off whoever was interrupting her night.

"The TV is not that loud," Rebekah had started as she fumbled with the deadbolt before pulling open the door. "You uppity old-oh its only you."

She turned on her heel, downing the rest of the small liquor bottle that she had been holding and Klaus caught the door before it closed completely, letting himself inside. "Causing trouble for your neighbors already, Rebekah?" Klaus asked, taking note of the two other empty bottles on the floor as well as the bag of chips his sister had headed back to sit down by.

"The hotel will simply upgrade and move them if they put up that much of a fuss," Rebekah shrugged and waved him off as she sank down on the couch. Or try to kick her out of the room, but Elijah would no doubt smooth that over with money if need be. "What do you want? Did they send you to keep me from having a fit?"

Klaus arched a brow at that as he sat down on a chair and picked up the unopened bottle. "Come now, Bekah, everyone knows there isn't any chance of keeping you from having a fit if you're head is set on having one," Klaus mused, smirking at her glare directed his way. "Finn tried it once and his nose never did quite set how it used to before you broke it with that doll."

"I was two!" she protested, picking up the bag of chips. She looked liked she might throw them at him for a moment before falling back against the couch with a pout, eating the chips instead. "If you've only come here to mock me you can just leave."

His smirk disappeared and Klaus leaned forward a bit, watching his sister for a moment. "No, I came here to let you know that no matter what you have a place to stay at my home."

Klaus watched her process that information, brow furrowed at first before her eyes widened with realization and then her lips pursed in annoyance. He really wasn't expecting the last part. "Oh yes, that guest room with the dreadful color scheme. I don't know why you let her do the decorating."

It was on the tip of his tongue to defend Caroline's taste but Klaus could tell it was a defensive strategy for his sister. "Well, we were thinking you could make the one with its own bath into your own room but if you're partial to the other one I'm sure Caroline would be fine with you having that one instead."

Rebekah looked shocked for a moment and then she stared at her hands. It took Klaus a second to realize that she was sniffling. None of his siblings were good at emotional moments like this, especially not with one another anymore. They had all moved out and away, needing to distance themselves from that life and unfortunately a side effect of that was distancing themselves from one another too. But he remembered the basics, had comforted Caroline more than once, and moved to sit beside Rebekah on the couch, letting her lean against him "I don't have to call ahead? Or only be there at specific times?"

"Do we make you do that now?" Klaus asked, quirking his brow at her. Rebekah always came and went as she pleased, always had since he had been forced to get a place in the city.

"This is different though, Nik," she protested and that was true. His home wasn't simply going to be the place she ran away to because she needed a break from Mikael and their mother, it would be more than that now.

"I know," Klaus murmured with a sigh. Perhaps it should have been Elijah or Finn doing the offering, both being older than him, but Rebekah had always been closer to him and Kol. Probably because they had been around for her childhood longer than Elijah or Finn. Definitely because his place had been a sanctuary for her once he had left him, even if at first he had lived with Elijah. Rebekah had always crashed in his room and he had taken the couch.

"Caroline is okay with this? I can really do whatever I want to it." Because she needed to redo that entire room for it to match her personal style.

"That room only. None of the rest of the house is yours to change," Klaus told her. No doubt Rebekah would make some choice comments but Caroline didn't seem to have an issue with putting his sister in her place if she needed to. It would be tricky and no doubt headache inducing, but Klaus believed they could make it work. He also knew Rebekah, she wouldn't show up all that often, preferring much sunnier places to spend her time than the Big Apple. It was more about the fact that she could and would have a place to call home now that her old one was quickly slipping away.

"I suppose I could get her one of those decorating books as a nice thank you present for this," Rebekah mused and Klaus shook his head, already playing out the conversation that would spark with Caroline if she did that.

"I'm sure a simple 'thanks' will suffice," he suggested, but Rebekah was already waving him off.

"You can go now. I have a room to start mentally decorating," his sister informed him as she pulled out her phone and started pulling up websites to look at. Rebekah paused as Klaus sat up and stopped him from leaving with a touch to his arm. "Thank you, Nik. And thank Caroline for me too."

He leaned down and kissed the crown of her head before leaving the room, a bit of weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Are you going to tell me what had you so...frazzled after you got back from the house?" Caroline finally asked. Henrik was down and it looked as though he would be asleep for a few hours, maybe if they were lucky he would sleep until morning.

She kept her focus on Klaus, watching as the soap he'd been using to wash his hands nearly slipped through his grasp at her question, the tension in his body coming back. She didn't like that one bit and wished she had kept her wondering to herself, that she had been able to stifle wanting to know, but with how he had clung to her Caroline couldn't help but still be worried.

"You don't have to," she hurriedly added, offering up a small smile as Klaus turned to look at her. The haunting look in his eyes only added to her uncertainty.

"You don't want to know," Klaus told her with a sigh. He didn't want that nightmare festering in Caroline's head, it was enough that he and Elijah had been privy to it. There was no need for it to be passed along to anyone else. "I don't want you to have the images that I saw in your head. Not ever, Caroline."

She closed the distance between the two of them and rested her hands against his bare chest, nodding quietly. Maybe talking about it wouldn't help get that haunted look out of his eyes, but Caroline didn't want Klaus going to bed with it fresh in his mind, didn't want it to linger once the lights were out. Her fingers curled into the necklace that he always wore, the one that his birth father had given to him, and she leaned forward just a bit to press kisses along his stubbled chin.

Klaus closed his eyes at the contact, hands sliding down the back of her tank top before moving to cup her ass and hoist her up onto the bathroom counter. "Think you can be quiet?" he murmured, letting his hands trail along her thighs.

Caroline pulled back a little at that and he loved the challenging look she directed at him, ever the little competitor. "Think you can be?"

"You've always been the more vocal one," Klaus reminded as he let one hand slide up the bare skin of her stomach before cupping one of her breasts.

She sucked in a breath at the contact. "Do your worst. But we are so not having sex on this counter. There is no way this place is clean enough. I've seen those specials on hotels, okay."

"And the bed is much better?" Klaus quirked a brow at that.

"I watched the sheets get changed out for new ones but she totally skipped this bathroom aside from like giving us new towels." Which meant the counter hadn't been cleaned and Caroline knew that she hadn't washed it so nope, no nakedness was happening on it.

Caroline couldn't quiet her squeal quick enough as Klaus maneuvered her off the counter and then proceeded to carry her through the doorway and into the bedroom. "Ass," she muttered because of his smug little smirk before he gently deposited her on the bed.

They paused when Henrik made a soft little sound, both looking toward the crib a few feet from the bed, relaxing once all they heard was the sound of him breathing. Sex in the bed near him wouldn't traumatize the baby, would it?

"It happens all over the world more times than I'd like to think about," Klaus pointed out and Caroline blushed as she realized she had said her worry out loud. She didn't have long to keep thinking about it though as Klaus dragged her tank top up, kissing his way up her stomach and along the undersides of her breasts.

"I was planning on paying extra attention to you," she murmured with a pout and Klaus looked up at her, arching a brow.

"You know how much I love the way you taste," Klaus reminded as she shifted so she could help him pull the top over her head. And then he was kissing her before she could protest, his tongue delving into her mouth, demanding attention. The shift in his body allowed her to be able to reach his boxers though and Caroline didn't hesitate to rub the length of him through the material.

But then he was moving again, mouth against her neck, sucking just the way she liked it at her pulse point while one of his hands lowered back to her breasts, thumb brushing against her already erect nipples. "You're not playing fair," Caroline whispered and proceeded to move her hand under the waistband of his boxers, smirking at the way Klaus groaned as her fingers brushed against his cock.

"When have I ever played fair?" Klaus asked before his mouth replaced his hand, tongue and teeth working over her breast, against her nipple before moving to do the same to the other one. She bit her lip, trying to hold back her keening sounds, the moans that she wanted so badly to let out. But waking Henrik was not an option.

Caroline couldn't help but let out a gasp when Klaus' fingers dipped under her panties and stroked her clit, causing her to become even wetter. Her hand tightened a little around his cock as she continued to stroke the length of him, eyes clenching shut as one of his fingers pressed into her.

"Oh god," Caroline gasped, hips lifting off the bed as she worked to control her breathing. It didn't take long for his boxers and her underwear to be discarded as well, condom quickly put on, and their entire focus on one another as Klaus positioned himself against her.

They froze when Henrik made another sound, waiting to see if the baby would wake, and Caroline tried to remember exactly which way her clothes had been tossed and how quickly it would take to pull them all back on. But the baby quieted again, the sound of breathing filling the room again, and Klaus rested his forehead against hers as they both tried not to laugh.

He pressed agonizingly slowly into her and she glared at his smug expression before twisting her hips into him and delighting in the way the movement made him clench his eyes shut. Klaus kept his forehead against hers once they found their rhythm, the two of them looking into one another's eyes as they moved, seeking their release.

"I don't think you'll ever know how much I truly love you," Klaus murmured, fingers brushing along her cheek before he moved his hand downward to press against her clit.

"I know," Caroline promised as she held onto him, her breathing becoming increasingly ragged with each press of their bodies. She saw how much he loved her with every look he glanced her way, with every touch against her skin, with the way he talked to her, encouraged her and pulled her out of her stubborn ways. "I just hope you know how much I love you."

"Always," Klaus assured, hand pressing into the mattress beneath them as he watched her come undone beneath him, mouth pressing against hers to catch the cry he knew would be coming from her. Her nails dug into his back as she clutched at him, the hint of pain driving him over the edge shortly after her.

He brushed the hair from her forehead as they both came down from their high and Klaus didn't think he would ever tire of the love he saw directed at him in Caroline's eyes as she looked up at him. Reluctantly he pulled away, needing to dispose of the condom and was surprised to see Caroline getting off the bed as well.

"We need to put our clothes back on because I am so not waking up naked in the middle of the night trying to find everything cause he needs a bottle," Caroline informed Klaus who couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I believe your top is in that direction," Klaus offered, unable to keep from staring at her ass she bent over to pick it up. He wanted nothing more than to go for another round with her but Katherine and Italy would be arriving in the morning and Klaus knew that Caroline and he would need as much rest as they could get to deal with those two.

"I found your boxers too," Caroline tossed them at him after she had pulled on her tank top and picked up her bottoms before heading to the bathroom to freshen up some.

Klaus caught them and once they were on headed over to the crib for a moment, needing to check in on Henrik. The baby was still asleep but he didn't look peaceful like Klaus thought babies were supposed to look. No, he looked like Rebekah and Kol had looked, like no doubt Finn, Elijah and he had looked, entirely too tense for someone so young.

"It's alright, Henrik," Klaus promised the sleeping child. "They can't hurt you anymore." Maybe the memories of Mikael, Esther and that house would continue to haunt him, to haunt his other siblings, but surely he could ensure it wouldn't haunt Henrik for the rest of his life. Maybe he couldn't have protected Kol and Rebekah as much as he would have liked, but it was going to be different for Henrik. Mikael's terror wasn't allowed to follow him around as it still did the rest of them. Klaus would make certain of that.

"Italy Nadia Mikaelson!"

"They're here," Klaus grumbled as his niece's name was loudly yelled, cutting through the chatter happening in the restaurant. Elijah cut him a sharp look and Klaus simply grimaced, wondering if he could change out the cranberry juice he had ordered for scotch.

"Be nice," Caroline chided, though she handed Henrik to him. Hopefully the baby could act as a kind of buffer.

Klaus loved his niece, really he did, but her mother was another story. Katherine and he had never gotten along and Klaus doubted that they ever would. He tried not to be a complete ass to her once it was obvious that Elijah wouldn't be divorcing the woman anytime soon and because he figured it wasn't a good idea to be so blatantly obvious in his dislike of the woman in front of her daughter.

"Caroline!" Kat greeted after kissing Elijah in greeting and leaving her husband to deal with their five year old. "I'll never understand how you look so radiant around that grump."

Caroline shook her head, letting Kat air kiss her cheeks in welcome before sliding into the seat beside her. She just wasn't going to comment on that at all. "How's the new show going?"

"I never thought I'd want to be the latest companion on Doctor Who but it's turning out to be an interesting gig," Katherine told her before motioning toward the young woman who had been standing off to the side. "This is Lisette. She's the new nanny."

"What happened to Gretel?" Klaus asked and Caroline looked over at him, narrowly stopping him from making a further remark.

"She moved to Paris to continue her studies," Elijah informed them as he balanced Italy in his lap. "I think we're good for now though, Lisette. You can head to the room to relax." The young woman hurriedly left.

The five year old was staring hard at Klaus, Caroline and Henrik. She brushed her black bangs from her eyes and then looked over at her mother. "You didn't tell me Uncle Klaus and Auntie Caroline had a baby!" Italy scowled and crossed her arms as she looked between all of them.

"They didn't," Katherine assured but Italy glared at her and motioned to the baby that Klaus was holding.

"He's right there, mummy!" Italy tossed the bear she had been holding to the floor. "Now I'm not the youngest anymore."

Henrik's eyes grew wide at that, the pacifier no longer being sucked on as he stared at Italy before reaching for Caroline. "See, he even wants his mummy," the little girl protested further.

"That's Henrik," Katherine tried to explain. "He's your father's little brother."

"He's too little to be daddy's brother," Italy shook her head. "Daddy's brothers are grown up like Uncle Klaus and Uncle Kol."

"I don't know if I'd really count Kol as a grown up," Klaus mused, earning a sharp look from Elijah and a curious one from Italy. "But your mother is right-"

"That must have pained you to say," Katherine butted in with a smirk.

"-Henrik is our little brother," Klaus continued, trying to ignore Katherine.

"So I'm still the littlest?" Italy asked, looking much more pleased than she had a minute ago.

"Yes, you are, princess," Elijah confirmed and Italy nodded.

She looked back at Henrik and smiled at the baby. "He don't have to go then."

"Doesn't have to go," Elijah corrected with a sigh.

"Isn't Teagan younger than her by a month or so?" Klaus asked, earning sharp looks from Katherine and Elijah and a snort from Caroline who had been rubbing her nose against Henrik's to get him to smile.

"Who?" Italy asked, eyes widening at this new possibility.

"Do you want pancakes or french toast?" Elijah asked, trying to steer the conversation into more neutral territory.

"Both," Italy told him before moving to retrieve her bear and sit in the seat between her parents. "Can I have one of the cookies too. It's right there." She leaned over, touching the picture in the menu.

"I don't think they serve cookies until later," Caroline pointed out. "It's breakfast time now."

"But I want it!" Italy protested as she looked at Caroline like that was all that mattered.

"I'm sure we can ask if they'll make you one," Katherine assured her daughter and Italy grinned, taking the coloring book her mother handed her. "Why don't you do this while we wait?"

"Fantastic parenting there," Klaus muttered before taking a drink.

"When you actually parent a child twenty-four seven then you have a right to say something," Katherine snapped at him before smiling sweetly. "Hopefully Caroline regains her sanity before then and has found a decent husband."

"Kat," Caroline started but Klaus was already rising.

"I think my appetite is sufficiently spoiled," he told the lot of them before heading off.

Caroline sighed and rubbed at Henrik's back as the baby looked up at her, clearly upset by Klaus' abrupt departure. "The two of you really need to just learn to let things go," she murmured as she rose and collected Henrik's diaper bag.

"I think I did a rather decent job," Katherine replied with a shrug before sipping her water.

"Don't go, Auntie Caroline," Italy protested, lower lip wobbling as she looked up from her coloring book.

"We'll see her and young Uncle later today," Elijah assured his daughter before looking over at Caroline and mirroring the same almost defeated look that she knew she was sporting.

Caroline nodded and that seemed enough for Italy who went back to coloring. Caroline headed away from the group, shaking her head as Elijah and Katherine started to quietly argue about Klaus. She found her fiance out pacing by the Christmas tree.

"I didn't want to yell," Klaus told her, fists clenched tightly at his sides as the two stopped in front of him.

Maybe he wasn't Mikael's biological child but he had inherited the temper from that man. It was something he was still working on, not wanting to give it the control that Mikael had done. Usually Klaus was able to bury himself in his work, paint until his hands were too tired to move, but that wasn't an option here.

Henrik looked over at him from where he rested against Caroline's chest and Klaus was thankful that he didn't see any fear in those little eyes. He didn't know what he'd do if he had. "Katherine and you are always going to rile one another up," Caroline replied with a shrug. It was a constant in the universe. Hell would freeze over if they were suddenly nice to one another. "You both need to just let things go. You're both at fault for the constant digs you guys do."

Klaus scowled at that, hating that she was right, that he was to blame for part of it all and he couldn't just put it all on Katherine like he wanted. "But leaving was a good thing," she continued and looked down at Henrik. "I think this one missed you though."

She handed the baby over to him, pleased that Henrik smiled as Klaus took hold of him. "See, he's happy now."

Which made the fact that they would most likely be finding out that Henrik was to head home with Elijah or Finn in the next few hours hard to stomach. There was nowhere in her current life schedule for a baby to enter the picture, but then again two years ago there hadn't been room yet for a serious relationship and definitely not for marriage and she had altered the course; Klaus had altered his to include her. Would it be so bad to alter theirs now to include Henrik?

Not that it even mattered since the likelihood of Mikael willing Klaus his infant son was pretty much zero.

Caroline sighed as she looked at the two of them, seeing the same sadness in Klaus' eyes as he looked down at Henrik. "It'll be okay," he assured, but Caroline wasn't sure who it was for, the two of them or the tiny baby in his arms.

No matter what they would still be in the baby's life though. Just...hopefully more than they were in Klaus' nieces lives. "Let's just watch the tree for a little while," Caroline suggested, knowing how much the baby seemed to enjoy the lights.

They could get ready for the will reading in a few minutes. Right now, they would spend a few more happy moments together.