A/N: Yes, you are reading this properly. No, it is not Saturday.

Special thanks to Briana, my beta, for helping me with my earlier deadline. She's the best. She really is.

More Author's Notes at the bottom, so stick around.

Next chapter will be up on Monday.

Happy reading!


Nik had barely knocked on the door to Katherine and Elijah's penthouse when the door swung open, revealing Kol. The bastard had probably been waiting in their brother's foyer since he entered the place himself, having arrived literally moments before Nik. When Kol entered the elevator downstairs three minutes ago, Nik had been running to catch it before the doors closed. Kol, as a joke, let them shut before Nik could get in.

Nik growled at the sight of his brother. "You bastard."

Kol shrugged, not bothering to hide his smirk. "Kat yells at whoever comes last. I didn't want to chance it. If she's going to yell at anyone, better you than me."

Nik shook his head, brushing the excuse aside. "Whatever, Kol."

Nik was cranky. He hadn't eaten anything since he'd woken up four hours ago, not wanting to risk being full and having to face Katherine's wrath. When she invited people over for meals, she expected them to be completely starving and ready to eat their own weight in food. As a result, they were all trained to show up hungry. She had put effort into planning a good meal for everyone, and they were supposed to be grateful. Now, Nik was starving, and Kol's childish behavior was doing nothing to help his already sour mood. Noticing this, Kol let his brother in and guided Nik into the depths of the apartment, following the sound of voices. Everyone else was already here, Nik guessed, but he didn't really know whom to be expecting.

When Katherine had called yesterday and told him that he needed to get his ass over to the Sunday family brunch, he assumed it would just be his siblings. Turning into the dining room, however, he saw Elena and Damon Salvatore, as well as Jeremy Gilbert. The adjoining door to the kitchen was open, as well, so he could clearly see Stefan Salvatore leaning against the fridge, trapping Rebekah between his arms. Then Stefan leaned in for a kiss.

That was not something he needed to see, Nik thought. While Rebekah's life was her own, and she'd most likely castrate him if he so much as tried to pull her away from Stefan, her now obviously "on" boyfriend, Nik was still her older brother. No one was actually good enough for his little sister, no matter what she thought, and he'd likely have the urge to pull her away from any male. Looking away was the best course of action if he didn't want to be yelled at. Or castrated.

With the women in this family, he could never really tell where the boundaries were.

So many family occasions had been ruined because of him, and this one, while casual and unimportant, was going to be the event that broke that trend. Even if it meant he had to shut up and endure the PDA.

Katherine came up to him then, two glasses of champagne in her hands. She took a sip from one and offered him the other, which Nik gladly took. He'd already come to the conclusion that he was going to need alcohol if everyone was going to be lovey-dovey with their significant others. Two therapy sessions weren't enough to deal with that.

"What is this?" he asked in greeting. "I thought you said it was a family brunch."

Katherine raised her eyebrow. "It is a family brunch. It's my family brunch."

Clearly, since the Salvatores weren't Nik's family.

He had thought it was going to be a small gathering with only his siblings in attendance, but he was wrong. Katherine had invited her siblings, and Bonnie had tagged along with Jeremy. He didn't know what the relationship was there, but judging by the way they were holding hands, there was something.

"You never mentioned that Damon Salvatore would be here this morning, Kat," Kol pointed out conversationally, dipping a strawberry into the little bit of cream he had on his plate. He put it in his mouth and chewed before continuing, his lips red. "You know I don't get along with Damon Salvatore."

"Not my problem, Kol," Katherine shrugged, unperturbed. It wasn't her job to make sure that everyone had resolved their fights. People would be people; they would hold grudges for stupid reasons. Kol and Damon were, despite all of their faults, mature adults who could handle their own issues. Besides, there were enough people here to ensure that they didn't have to interact. "You're my brother-in law, but he is, too. So, my advice to you is to just ignore him. Go talk to Bonnie or something. Whatever you do, stay away from Damon and my furniture." If they could hang out peacefully at the club, she thought, then they should be able to do so anywhere else.

Katherine's gaze wasn't actually on Kol as she was speaking to him, but Nik noticed a flash of emotion in Kol's eyes at the mention of Bonnie. He reminded himself to ask Kol about it later.

The doorbell rang again. Kol wandered off, and Katherine excused herself to welcome her newest guest. She was playing hostess with remarkable charm, probably a role she had mastered after seven years of playing the perfect Upper East Side wife. This brunch was a mini-event in and of itself.

Two tables were set up next to the ceiling-to-floor glass wall overlooking Central Park. One of them had a few bottles of champagne, various juices, and milk, with the empty champagne flutes and glasses lined up neatly. The other had a variety of breakfast foods, and there was a giant space between the two waffle-makers that housed six different types of syrup.

The dining table was empty, but they were free to disperse and eat in the rest of the large, two-story home. Bedrooms were avoided on principal, but as Nik's gaze fell on Stefan trying to shove his tongue down Rebekah's throat once again, he actually wished for them to get a room.

"No one needs to see that," a voice said from behind him. He turned to see Henrik approaching. The teen had a plate stacked with pancakes and fruit, but despite the delicious food in his hand, Henrik looked disgusted. "Jesus, Bekah," Henrik said loudly, garnering his sister's attention. "Go get a room."

"Shut up, Henry," Rebekah snapped, automatically pushing Stefan away from her. "Just because you can't even get a girl-"

"Bekah, really," Nik interrupted calmly. "Are you going to have this argument with someone ten years your junior?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "What good are his childhood memories if the boy can't even have a stupid argument with his sister once in a while?"

Henrik snorted. "Stop being a strumpet, Bekah."

"Henry, if you're going to insult me, at least use the word properly."

"No, no, Bekah, he's right," Kol claimed, walking up and throwing an arm around Henrik's shoulder. "You do act like a strumpet."

"Alright, let's all stop ganging up on Rebekah, please," Stefan said, putting one hand up. He wrapped his other hand around Rebekah's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Why can't you all be as nice to me as Stefan is?" Rebekah pouted, looking from her brothers to the man standing next to her. She smiled and wrapped both her arms around his waist. They'd gotten back together on Thursday night, Nik knew, and with what little knowledge Katherine had told him about their relationship, Nik figured the honeymoon phase would be on for another two weeks. Still, at some point, the blonde Salvatore was going to have to get his shit together and pop the question. Stringing Rebekah along was not an option anymore.

"Because he is not your brother, and thank God for that," Elijah said, appearing in the kitchen. Caroline was at his side, and Katherine followed the two of them, arms crossed over her chest. Both women looked upset, evident through the scowls they were both wearing, but Caroline dropped hers when Rebekah greeted her with a hug. Stefan, left to himself, allowed Kol and Henrik to pull him away.

"I'm so glad you're here, Caroline," Rebekah said, taking Caroline's hand and dragging her from the room. "I know I should probably set up a proper meeting, but I need your help with something. See, I have this client and he's saying that..."

Nik tuned out the rest of Rebekah's words, only registering Caroline's welcoming smile. He nodded once at her in acknowledgment as she followed Rebekah through the door, before turning his attention back to Katherine and Elijah. They'd both noticed the nonverbal communication, but, while Elijah smiled at the interaction, Katherine just scowled deeper.

"Why has she forgiven you?" Katherine demanded, arms crossed over her chest. "She won't even look at me, it's like she only showed up to give me the silent treatment. She's acting childish."

"On the contrary, Katerina," Elijah said, looking at his wife above the rim of his champagne glass. "You were the two being childish."

"Whose side are you on, 'Lijah?" Katherine asked quietly, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer.

"Caroline's," he answered calmly. "Because she is right." Elijah tipped his glass in his wife's direction, nodded once at his brother, and then walked away with a smirk on his face. Nik felt like laughing, but Katherine's glare was now faced at him.

"What did you even say to her to make her forgive you?"

Nik shrugged. "I opened up. I actually talked to her, I explained myself, and I apologized. That was really all she wanted out of me. See, Katherine," he said, sticking one hand in his pocket. His other hand started gesturing, champagne glass and all. "Caroline doesn't care about me on a personal level. She just thought that, as her patient, I was being an arrogant jackass. Now, you, on the other hand, you are her best friend, someone she has known forever. Your betrayal stings much, much more, since she actually cares about you."

He didn't actually know if a single word of that was true, but considering the difference between the way she treated him and the way she treated Katherine, he was probably right. The question was why was Katherine being purposely obtuse?

"You actually apologized?"

He honestly couldn't remember if he had or not. But that wasn't the point, was it? "I am capable of the action."

"No, you're not. No one in this family is! Even when Elijah does something wrong, all he does is try to justify his actions. I can count on one hand the amount of times my husband has apologized to people in the past decade."

"I don't know if you know this, but 'Lijah and I are two distinctly different people. Now, I suggest you run along, find your peppy little blonde friend, and try to fix your situation."

Katherine sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. "Okay, yeah, you're right."

"You deal with cutthroat businessman on a daily basis, but apologizing to Caroline is something that you're reluctant to do? We were wrong, Katherine, just go apologize. Three words, it' isn't that hard."

"Nik, do me a favor," his sister-in-law held up a finger in front of his face. He stepped back, not wanting her to start poking him. It was a habit of hers that he really disliked. "Stop sticking your nose in other people's business."

"Stop sticking your finger into my chest."

Katherine glared at him. "I'm serious, Nik."

"Funny, since we're in this position because you stuck your nose in my business."

"You asked me to!"

"Details, details," he waved her words away. "Are you going to go apologize or not?"

Before Katherine could answer, Nik saw Caroline walking by, now free from Rebekah's clutches. He reached out and grabbed her upper arm and pulled her closer, letting her go once she was standing in front of Katherine. Caroline looked confused, her gaze moving from his hand on her arm to his eyes, never straying to Katherine. She glared at him as he smirked, gesturing between the two women. "You have both tried to help me with my problems," he said, eyes flicking from his sister-in-law to his therapist. "Now I'm trying to help you with yours. Talk to each other." Then, as he walked away from them, he whispered to Katherine, "Apologize."

Who said he never did anything nice for anyone else?

But now he needed to do something nice for himself and get food.

He really was starving.


Caroline was pissed. Not only had Klaus given her no choice but to talk to Katherine, he'd then walked away, leaving her with her bitch of a best friend and no way out.

"I don't want to talk to you," she announced. Katherine didn't really give her a choice, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the dining room. They stopped at the stairs, where Caroline pulled her hand away. By this point, though, Katherine was in full-on fight mode.

Katherine motioned to the stairs with her head and gestured for Caroline to go first. "Let's go, c'mon, we're doing this."

"Kat..."

"The girls are still sick. They're asleep downstairs, so if we're going to be yelling and pulling each other's hair out, I'd rather not wake them up. And not fighting is not an option anymore because I need my best friend back, and you're just itching to have it out with me. I'd appreciate it if we could just get this over with."

"Oh, get this over with? Is that how much I mean to you?"

"Caroline," Katherine said dangerously. "Seriously?"

"Fine," Caroline huffed, pushing back her curls. They made their way up the stairs and into the large master bedroom, and Katherine had only just shut the door before Caroline started ranting. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Excuse me?"

"No, don't just stand there and act oblivious. It's not like I'm hurting your feelings, Katherine. I'm asking you something. Who the fuck do you think you are to undermine me in front of one of my patients?"

"Caroline," Katherine said, taking a step forward. "Nik is family, and with the Mikaelsons, you know that it's 'Family-'"

"I don't care, Katherine. You made a fool out of me, you betrayed my trust in you, and you tried to use our friendship to enable him! It's not even about the fact that he had trust issues, anymore," Caroline said, gesturing wildly to nothing in particular. "That is his problem, and I am helping him with that. I can understand why he came to you, and why he asked you to test me. I get it. From his point of view, I get it. What I don't, for the life of me, understand, is why you thought it would be okay to trick me like that, just so he could feel better."

"I thought I was helping..."

"Well, you weren't. All you did was prove to me that you didn't care about what I was going to feel. You thought, 'Oh, Caroline will understand. Caroline always understands!'"

"You need to stop," Katherine said firmly. "I'm pretty sure that you're two seconds away from self-deprecation, so let me just say what I have to say before that happens. Is that okay with you, your Royal Highness?"

"Don't turn this around on me!" Caroline yelled. "I'm mad at you. You hurt me. Does that make sense to you? You chose his feelings over mine. You're supposed to be my best friend. We have been there for each other through everything, Katherine, but this is ridiculous. You entrusted him to me," Caroline said, her voice softening. She willed Katherine to understand. "If you wanted to help him deal with these issues in your own way, Kat, you shouldn't have gotten a professional involved. That's the thing, Kat. I'm not a having this argument with you just as your best friend; I'm also talking to you as Klaus' therapist. What you did was really rude, on a personal and a professional level."

"I was trying to help him," Katherine said, now desperate herself. "Caroline, if I didn't care about your feelings, why would I send him to you? New York is an easy city to find a therapist in, there's like one on every block or something. But I entrusted my brother-in-law to you because I know that you are good at what you do. In this family, the Mikaelsons take care of themselves first. They will literally fight until death for each other, and since I married Elijah, that rule applies to me, too. I care about him, despite how much we fight and bicker. I love Nik; he's like an older brother to me. And after everything he's been through...Caroline," Katherine laughed sadly. "You think you know him in such a short time, I know you do. I can see it in your eyes, along with that look that gives away how badly you want to help him. But whatever he's told you, Care, it's nothing. It's barely a drop in the ocean that is Niklaus Mikaelson."

"I know-"

"No, Caroline, you don't know. He was ready to just not come back to therapy. He literally called me the second he got out of that session, and he said, 'Kat, what if she tells you everything?' Because that is how deep his trust issues run. And then you texted me, and you told me that you didn't want to say anything else about him," Katherine paused to take a breath. "I told him that you would never betray his trust, Caroline, and the only reason I went along with it is because your actions would prove your trustworthiness more than my words would ever be able to. I knew that you would never say anything, Care. I didn't think the test was really a test. It was just me proving to him that you are exactly who I told him you were. A professional, someone who he could trust. I wasn't doing it to hurt you, I promise."

"But you did, Kat," Caroline sighed, running her hands through her hair. She took a few steps back before she collapsed onto the bed. She understood now why Katherine had created the conference call, but while she understood what Katherine was trying to say, Katherine wasn't reciprocating. "You made me feel like I wasn't good at my job. You interfered with the doctor-patient relationship, and you made it personal. It's not personal for me. He may be your brother-in-law, but he is my patient."

"Wait, what?"

The blonde took a deep breath. Explaining this was going to be complicated. "When you suggested to Nik that he should see a psychiatrist, you already had me in your mind, right?"

"Yeah, I did. You're good at your job, there's no one I'd trust more with my family."

"Okay," Caroline pointed out, one arm outstretched towards Katherine. "And that, right there, that's the problem. He's your family. You see him differently than I do. How do I explain this? Oh, God. Okay so, from a physical standpoint, your doctor looks at you differently than your friends and family, right? Friends and family see the color of your hair and eyes, the way your mouth quirks just before you laugh; they know the curve of your body and the color of your skin. But, a doctor doesn't exactly see you like that. What the doctor sees are your blood pressure and your temperature, your exact weight and height..."

"You don't see Nik like I do," Katherine supplied. "You see him as someone who has trust issues, and you want to help him overcome those. We see him as someone who has trust issues, and we do what we can to help assuage those fears, even if it means enabling him and making them worse."

"Exactly. You know so much about him, things that I can only hope to find out. Katherine, It's just- you know, being someone's therapist is a lot different than being their friend. I can only get to know him as much as he lets me; I only know see what he shows me. And I can't, even if it's for his own good, tell anyone what he tells me. I can only get involved up to a point. There are boundaries, and you crossed one."

"I'm sorry, Care," Katherine said quietly. At this, Caroline pushed herself up, so that she could look at Katherine. There was an expression of disbelief on the blonde's face, and she looked around the room, double-checking that she was still on Earth and not in an alternate universe.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said, rubbing her eyes. "What? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

"Shut up, and accept it, okay?" Katherine said begrudgingly. "You heard me the first time."

"No, no, I don't think I did," Caroline said.

"Caroline..."

Caroline got off the bed and started walking towards the brunette. "What did you say, Katherine? I really don't think I heard you the first time."

By this point, both women had tentative smiles on their faces. This fight, while not nearly as bad as any of the others, had been much worse emotionally. The thing was, though, that Katherine had never apologized before. As far back as Caroline could remember, she had always been the one apologizing, whether she was wrong or not. Which is not to say that Katherine was never truly apologetic, because she was. Only in Katherine's case, she apologized using material gifts instead of words. Gift cards and purses, shoes and dresses, anything but actually saying those two godforsaken words.

The fact that Katherine had actually said the words 'I'm sorry' meant a lot to Caroline, simply because her best friend was actually admitting that what she had done was wrong, underhanded, unprofessional, and childish.

Just not in so many words. But she'd take what she could get.

"I said I'm sorry, you bitch! Now can you just awkwardly hug me so we can go back to being okay? I need my best friend because my entire family is out there. Elena is here and I love my sister but she is annoying as hell."

Caroline, about to go in for the aforementioned awkward hug, pulled back. "Wait, if this is a family brunch, why am I here?"

"Caroline. Caroline. No self-deprecation, please," Katherine said seriously, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders. "You are here because you are my family. I know you think that I was choosing Nik over you, but I need you to know, in all honesty, I would never be able to choose between you two, okay? You are just as much my family as he is, Care."

"Okay, okay," Caroline laughed, pulling Katherine in for a hug. "But no more interfering in my professional relationship with Klaus, okay?"

"Okay."

"Seriously, you have to promise me this."

"I fucking promise, Caroline, now can we go downstairs? I am starving. Christ, you put together an entire meal for people and then none of them let you actually eat anything."


"Hey, Klaus!"

Nik turned around to see Jeremy Gilbert walking up to the food. He grabbed a plate and followed Nik down the length of the table, piling his plate with pancakes and fruit.

"Well if it isn't Jeremy Gilbert, the twenty-year-old college graduate!" Nik said. The boy had grown up, and now he was almost a mini-Hulk. Was he taking steroids?

"I'm twenty-seven now, actually," Jeremy laughed. "But good to know that I'm remembered."

"Graduating from college in two and a half years is actually pretty damn impressive, Gilbert, I don't know how you could expect anyone to forget that."

Jeremy shrugged, stepping away from the table as he added the last of the strawberries to his plate. "Where's the cream?"

"Right here," Nik said, picking it off the table and handing it over. Jeremy poured some onto his plate and put the cream container down, but didn't move away. To dispel the awkwardness, Nik continued, "So what are you doing now?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Basically I deprive myself of sleep." At Nik's questioning look, he continued. "I'm a surgical resident, second-year."

"Really?"

"Yep. New York Presbyterian."

"...I don't know what that is?" Klaus asked, brows furrowed.

"Columbia- Cornell teaching hospital," Jeremy explained. As Kol had done earlier, he dipped a strawberry and cream and then stuffed it into his mouth, biting off the stems.

"Oh, that is impressive."

"It helps when you have a fail-safe support system," Jeremy said humbly, motioning around. "All of these people. Plus, Kol's a really good friend of mine, and then, of course, my fiancé. She's incredibly supportive, even when I work for 72 hours at time."

"You're getting married? Sure you want a ball-and-chain?"

At this, Jeremy threw back his head and laughed. "Why does everyone always say that?"

"It's true. Marriage is just one of those tricky things," Nik said awkwardly. He'd meant for it to come off as a joke, but he supposed that marriage was still a sore topic for him. He shook his head free of those thoughts. Not everything in his life had to lead back to Tatia. "But who is the lucky girl?"

Jeremy pointed at the dark-skinned girl who was currently talking to Kol and Henrik. Bonnie was laughing loudly, and when she put up her hand to cover her mouth, Nik saw the ring. He didn't know why he was surprised, considering that he'd seen the two holding hands earlier, but he'd also noted the way Kol reacted when Bonnie name was mentioned.

He saw the way Kol looked at the girl now. As if she was the epitome of all of his hopes and dreams and wants, everything he'd ever want out of life.

Well, shit.

"You're marrying Bonnie?" he asked in surprise, using what little tact he had to make a joke. "Like the older women, do you?"

"It's only one year!" Jeremy defended, clearly in jest.

Bonnie looked up and, noticing Jeremy's eyes on her, called him over. Nik, with nothing better to do, followed, taking a bite of his bagel as he went. Henrik and Bonnie were in a conversation about school, and Henrik turned to Nik as he and Jeremy joined the group. Kol, noticing his older brother's stare, averted his gaze, instead giving Bonnie a soft smile. Jeremy, oblivious to what was going on, grabbed his fiancée's hand.

"Hey, Nik," Henrik smiled. "Bonnie was just telling me about the many positives that come with being a biology major."

"That doesn't sound like something you'd be remotely interested in," Nik replied distractedly, keeping his gaze on Kol. Henrik obviously noticed, since he didn't say much after that. The woman of the hour, instead, continued the conversation.

"I'm a biology professor at the City University of New York," she explained to Nik, finally forcing his attention from Kol. "I didn't mention that at dinner on Friday, did I? I don't want to bore you guys with something we've already talked about."

"Not to worry, Bonnie," Kol cut in smoothly. "My brother doesn't forget anything. If you've told him something once, he'll always remember. Right, Nik?"

"Absolutely, Kol," Nik said bitingly. He was irritated now. Kol was not only behaving irresponsibly, but he was being a prick. Bonnie had a ring on her finger and a fiancé at her side, so what the fuck was Kol doing? Did he not understand? Suddenly, he was furious. "Do you lot mind if I borrow Kol for a minute or two?"

"Er, not at all," Bonnie replied. "Actually, Jeremy, there's something I wanted to show you..."

Nik motioned towards the door with his head. Kol followed, and Henrik was left standing alone when Bonnie and Jeremy floated away.

"Why the hell does this always happen to me?" Henrik asked to no one in particular, watching as his brothers walked away. "Damn you all!"

He wanted to go see what they were going to talk about, but Nik looked furious, and Kol ashamed. His brothers were typically okay with letting him into the loop, but this didn't look like something he wanted to get in the middle of. The two of them stopped by the glass staircase in the living room, which he could see from his vantage point, but they were too far away for him to hear them.

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice asked. Henrik turned to see Caroline approaching him, a glass of orange juice in her hand. "Henrik, right?"

"Yeah, hi, Caroline," he replied, pointing to the drink in her hand. "You're the only one in this entire room not drinking champagne, you know that, right?"

She laughed. "I figured it would be a little insensitive to be drinking alcohol in front of someone who so desperately wants it but can't have it."

"Who says I can't have it?"

"As the adult standing next to you? Me."

"Touché," he said, grinning. "So why have you come to seek out conversation with an eighteen-year-old?"

Caroline shrugged. She didn't really know Henrik that well, which made him the only member of the Mikaelson family that she didn't have some sort of relationship with. It wasn't necessary, but he seemed like a good kid. From the looks of it, he had charmed the pants off of Bonnie earlier, and Caroline had only heard good things about him. He seemed interesting, and he looked lonely, so why not pursue a conversation?

She said none of those things, going for the cheeky route instead, eyes shining with mirth. "Maybe I just thought you were cute."

"...What?"


"Are you in love with Bonnie?" Nik blurted out as soon as Kol shut the door behind him. They were in one of the downstairs guest bedrooms, not too far from Karen's room, where both the girls were sleeping. Nik was too impatient to wait until brunch ended to have this conversation, but that didn't mean he wanted everyone to hear what Kol had to say.

"What the hell, Nik?" Kol snapped. "Are you being serious?"

"I am asking you a question, Kol, are you in love with Bonnie?"

"What does it matter to you?" Kol deflected. The truth was that he'd been asking himself that question for quite some time, and he still had no idea how to answer it. Bonnie was a really good friend of his, someone who he had struck up a friendship with despite them having nothing in common.

Well, they had Jeremy in common.

Jeremy was a good friend of Kol's, since Kol owned the bar that Jeremy had started frequenting after his shifts. That was the whole reason their entire group gathered at 21 Club most days. The kid worked his ass off at the hospital, and if the only time he had to spend with his friends and family was when he was unwinding at the bar after his shifts, they'd be there. Well, Elena and Katherine would be there, dragging the Salvatores and Mikaelsons with them. Bonnie and Caroline simply tagged along due to their decades-old friendships with the Gilbert sisters.

At no point during the ritual was Kol supposed to actually fall for Bonnie. It wouldn't even have been so bad if he knew what it was that he felt, but at the moment, all he knew was that he didn't like seeing Bonnie with Jeremy.

So, did he love her?

Well, he bloody hell didn't know, did he?

"Kol!"

"Why is this bothering you so much, Nik? I'm not going to do anything about it," Kol defended. It wasn't like Nik actually knew Bonnie, or cared about this. If anything, Nik should be consoling him right about now. If anyone knew what it felt like to lose the love of their life, it was Nik. Shouldn't this have been a bonding moment?

Not that Bonnie was the love of his life, Kol reminded himself.

"Do you know she's engaged?"

This was brand new information, Kol thought to himself, saying as much to his brother. "Really, Nik? I didn't know that. This is brand new information. Thank you so much for enlightening me."

"Stop being a smart-arse, Kol," Nik said, bringing his fist to his mouth. He couldn't stop pacing the room, but despite the fact that he was trying to work off his agitation, the anger was still radiating off of him in waves. Kol didn't understand what was happening at all.

"Why are you mad at me?"

"You can't- she's engaged- Kol, you can't do anything about this."

Oh, bloody hell no. Of course he wasn't going to do anything about this, he wasn't stupid. Bonnie was Jeremy's fiancée. She had chosen to go and spend the rest of her life as Jeremy's wife, without even giving Kol a second thought. Why would he try and ruin that for her, especially if she hadn't done anything to encourage him? He knew what kind of havoc he could cause, if he so chose. Nik didn't need to remind him what the consequences would be.

"You're projecting, Nik. But thank you for assuming that I would want to try and take my friend's fiancé from him, over feelings that I can't even label."

"What are you talking about?"

"You think that after everything you've been through, after everything I've seen you go through, you think I'd just go out and put someone else in that position? You think I want Bonnie to do to Jeremy what Tatia did to you? You think I want her to leave him for me?"

"Do you even know how you were looking at her, Kol?" Nik threw his hands up in the air. "As if she was all the birthday presents you were ever going to get for the rest of your life, all wrapped up in one."

"Because she is, Nik! But that doesn't matter! Yes, I do have some feelings for her. But she is happy, Nik. She's happy with him. I'm not going to just ruin that for her. She has him, why would she want me?"

"Kol," Nik said, instantly letting go of his anger. He heard the emotion hidden underneath Kol's bitter tone and he saw the look on his younger brother's face. How was he supposed to stay mad at his brother for something that was so clearly misunderstood? He reached out and put an arm on Kol's shoulder. "Shit, Kol, I'm sorry..."

"Yeah," Kol scoffed, shrugging away from Nik's hold. "You're always sorry. We allow you to say what you want, behave how you want, because something so terrible happened to you. But you know what, Nik? We went through it with you. It wasn't as bad for us as it was for you, obviously. You lost your wife. You lost her once when she died and then you lost her again when you found out about Patrick-something."

"I'm sorry, Kol, I just thought-"

"You're always thinking about Tatia, and how she cheated on you, and how no one can be trusted. But here's the thing, Nik. While you're off thinking about the fact that you lost Tatia five years ago, have you ever bothered to think about the fact that your family lost you five years ago?"

Nik felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "What?"

"You think that even after seeing you so broken, so damaged by your wife's adultery, that I would do unto someone what Patrick did to you. You forget that I know who you used to be, Nik, and this broken man who can't even bring up the courage to talk to that lovely blonde he finds attractive, well, he's just a sad excuse for who you used to be."

Lovely blonde?

Did he mean Caroline?

"I have not been making eyes at Caroline," Nik denied.

"Well you haven't been making eyes at anyone for five years, really," Kol ranted. He was quiet for a few moments before he started on a completely different subject. "And then you come in here and start spouting bullshit about Bonnie and her ring. Fuck off, Nik. Not only do you not want to make things better for yourself, you also want to go around making things worse for everyone else. Lovely, Nik, really."

It was time to tell Kol. This was neither the time nor the place where he'd wanted to bring up the news, but he'd said some things to Kol that wouldn't be forgotten or forgiven with just a simple apology. While he may have had issues with his late wife and her adultery, it didn't mean that he could take those feelings out on Kol. His brother was right; they had all been affected after Tatia's death, and he could see the differences in their lives. Kol had actually stopped with his one-night stands and meaningless flings. He'd started going after girls who actually had some intelligence; he'd cleaned up his act, and, with his business savvy, started a successful restaurant.

Elijah and Katherine had started to trust each other more, making it a point to actually tell each other how they felt. It was almost unheard of in the Mikaelson family, having a married couple actually indulge in PDA, but there were moments when Katherine would feel the need to remind everyone that Elijah was hers and only hers. While it made Nik uncomfortable, he understood where she was coming from.

Rebekah, too, had stopped giving her heart away so easily. She and Stefan had been together for nearly four years, with breaks every now and then, but Nik knew that his sister wasn't going to pressure the Salvatore into marriage. She was too scared that if she did, he'd end up deciding that he didn't want it at all.

Henrik was only one who seemed to have appeared unscathed from the emotional wreckage caused by Tatia. Ironic, really, considering he was his brother's ward after being orphaned at nine. Henrik had already been through too much in his short life

So yes, Kol was right. Tatia's death had affected the rest of the family.

"Caroline's my therapist. I haven't been trying to work up the courage to chat her up; I've been trying to act normal around her. She doesn't like to be in the same social situations, because she claims that the lines get blurred," Nik said quietly, fists clenching and I clenching at his sides. Telling Henrik had been easy. Kol, however, was a wildcard, especially considering the circumstances.

Also, Rebekah was going to kill him for telling her last, since Finn didn't really count.

"Wait, what?"

"You said I'm not trying to help myself. I just wanted you to know that I am. And as for the rest of it, I am sorry that you feel like you lost your brother. But for the record, your brother lost himself," Nik said stonily. Tatia's death had affected his family, but it had affected him the most. They all seemed to want him to move on, but if they couldn't forget what she had done, then how could he? Kol argued that he remembered what Nik had been through, so why did he expect Nik himself to forget?

Without saying anything else, he wrenched open the door and left, leaving Kol behind to sit by himself in silence.


A/N: You guys have been so amazing and so generous with your love for this fic, I felt like I wasn't really doing anything for you. So, after I hit 200 reviews for this fic (eek!), I decided that I would hit you guys with a surprise update on Wednesday. Now, just in case you're wondering, this isn't your usual weekly Saturday update. This is just a surprise, middle-of-the-week update that I wanted to give you guys for. It's my own personal hug to all of you, for all of your love.

In the next chapter, which will be up on Monday, there will be Klaroline. Sorry for the lack of it here. But I think you can forgive me this time, maybe? Also I changed my Tumblr URL. Again. Thanks to Dan (BrOTP Mean!), who gave it to me after I begged a whole lot because he's such a good friend, I am now sassyklaroline. So come follow me!

Now, if you don't know what to put in a review, then here's your review template!

Dear Meha,

Thank you for surprise updating. I wasn't expecting it. (hence the surprise).

Stop changing your Tumblr URL, you are having a serious identity crisis.

I (liked/disliked) the Nik/Katherine interaction because:

I (liked/disliked) the Kat/Caro interaction because:

I (liked/disliked) the Caro/Henry interaction because:

I (liked/disliked) the (Kennett/Beremy) because:

I (liked/disliked) the Nik/Kol fight because:

Next time please include more of (insert your favorite character or ship).

Overall, I really (liked/disliked) this character because of:

Your name here.