A/N Hey everyone. As you can see, I've managed to conquer my writer's block. I hope you'll like this chapter, it took me a lot of struggeling to finish it. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. Enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: Nope, the Vampire Diaries still doesn't belong to me

Chapter 9

Bonnie sighed. This was the umpteenth time she had looked through all the spell books she had and she still hadn't found anything. The spell she had used on Kol shouldn't have de-aged him, only torture him. In her head, Bonnie went back to the moment she had used the spell.

Flashback:

Damon and Stefan came into the room, an unconscious Kol between them. Elena helped them to put chains on the Original.

'Pull the stake out,' Bonnie said. 'The spell won't work if the stake is still in him.'

Damon pulled the stake out and they all took a few steps back.

'When are you going to use the spell, Bonnie?' Elena asked.

'I have to wait for him to wake up. Otherwise, torture won't have much use.'

After a few moments Kol began to stir. He blinked a few times before realising what exactly was going on. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'I'm really not in the mood for this. So how about we just skip to the part where I snap the Salvatores' necks, knock the girls unconscious and leave? I would just kill you all but then Nik would be angry with me for killing his precious doppelgänger and I don't fancy that.'

'How about you shut up!' Damon snarled.

Kol glared at him.

'Like I said before, I am really not in the mood for this.'

With that, Kol started to pull on the chains.

'Start the spell, Bonnie!' Elena shouted.

Bonnie closed her eyes and started to chant. Kol pulled harder on the chains, anger flashing in his eyes. Suddenly he gasped and his body started to tremble. Bonnie chanted louder and louder. When she opened her eyes, she could just make out a simple bracelet on Kol's wrist before a huge flash blinded her.

End of flashback

Bonnie gasped. Quickly she grabbed one of her books and started leaving through it until she found the spell she was looking for. She grabbed her phone and called Elena. A few minutes later, Damon, Stefan and Elena were standing in her living room.

'So, you finally found out what you did wrong?' Damon asked.

Bonnie ignored and grabbed the book.

'It's right here. I didn't pay much attention to it because I thought it was the spell we used in the first place. That is because it requires most of the ingredients we used, except for one extra ingredient. In order to use the spell I'm talking about, the person you want to change has to have something personal, from that time, on them. Now, I don't know if any of you noticed but Kol was wearing a bracelet. I'm guessing it has a deeper meaning and that's why he turned into a toddler.'

'Well that's great, Bon-Bon, we finally know what went wrong. But how is that going to help us?'

'Well, the book also tells how the spell can be undone. I'm guessing the Mikaelsons probably want Kol turned back into a vampire, which means we have a bargaining chip. Especially since it requires me to undo it, as I'm the one who performed it.'

Stefan nodded in understanding.

'I think that's great. But what do we want in return from them?'

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Kol woke up feeling very thirsty. He crawled out of bed and walked over to the door that was slightly ajar. He didn't see anyone in the hallway. Kol sighed. Where was he supposed to find something to drink? Then it hit him. The kitchen was downstairs and he had seen how Rebekah got something to drink from what she called a fridge.

Kol happily skipped downstairs and towards the kitchen but stopped when he heard his siblings talking in the living room. They sounded upset. Kol frowned. He didn't like it when his family was upset. When he heard his own name mentioned, he carefully peeked into the living room. Klaus was talking angrily to Finn while Elijah held Rebekah back. Kol thought deeply. Why were they angry with Finn? Maybe because Finn had been mean to him? But Kol had already forgiven him. He smiled happily when he found a solution. He walked into the living room, smile still present. Elijah was the first to notice him.

'Hello Kol. Already awake again?'

Immediately the room went quiet. Kol nodded and looked at Klaus curiously.

'Nik, why are you angry with Finn?'

Klaus sighed. 'Because he was a horrible brother to you, Kol.'

The little boy shrugged.

'So? I don't care. I've already forgiven him.'

Klaus' eyes widened. 'How could you possibly forgive him for what he did?'

'What Niklaus means,' Elijah said. 'Is, how can you forgive him so soon?'

Kol smiled at him, although it was a sad smile.

'It isn't so hard. Finn was probably already angry about something and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, you all have said at least once that you don't love me and you all apologized. I forgave you so Finn deserves forgiveness too.'

Finn thought back to the flashback he had had a few hours earlier. That was probably what Kol was talking about now. He looked down and saw his youngest brother look at him with forgiveness in his eyes. Finn sighed. Several emotions were coursing through him, some telling him to tell Kol he loved him, others arguing that Kol didn't forgiveness, even if he was a toddler now. Suddenly a small hand grabbed his.

'You can think about it,' Kol whispered. 'You don't even have to answer. We're brothers no matter what.'

With that, the little boy let go and turned towards Rebekah.

'Can I have something to drink? I'm thirsty.'

Rebekah swallowed back some emotions and smiled at her twin.

'Of course. How about some apple juice?'

Kol cheered and she picked him up. When the two youngest had disappeared into the kitchen, Klaus glared at him.

'I don't care what Kol said, what you did was unforgiveable. I know you don't love us but then you shouldn't have gone into Kol's head in the first place. I know our brother has done some awful things in the past but you can't hold this Kol accountable for it.'

'You're one to talk,' Finn said. 'If I recall correctly you have daggered Kol repeatedly in the past, even though you knew how much it hurt him. The same goes for you Elijah. You like to consider yourself as the noble one of us, yet you neglected Kol after we turned. You helped Klaus dagger him, time after time. You're no better than me.'

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A few days passed after that. Finn, Klaus and Elijah acted coolly around each other when Kol was near them but when he wasn't, they sent each other hateful glares and sneers. Rebekah stayed out of it as much as she could and focussed her attention on her twin brother.

At some point, Klaus had turned the house upside down because he was missing some of his pencils. He finally found them in Kol's room, where he also discovered that he wasn't the only artist in the family. Klaus put the drawing in his sketchbook after Kol gave it to him.

The day after that, Elijah had had the perfect opportunity to learn how to use a fire-extinguisher because Kol had managed to set the curtains on fire with his magic, reminding his siblings that they really needed someone to teach the boy some control.

Today, Kol was outside doing cartwheels. Rebekah sat on the steps by the front door, keeping an eye on him. She shook her head in fond amusement. She never knew her twin could do so many cartwheels in a row. While keeping Kol in her line of vision, Rebekah had pondered over the things Kol had said. She didn't remember Kol feeling unloved when they were five years old. But then again, she wasn't a very reliable source since she was just a child herself back then. But why hadn't she noticed anything when they were teenagers? They were twins, so they had always been very close. Always listening to each other and protecting each other.

Suddenly, she felt something pulling softly on her sleeve. She looked beside her and saw Kol staring back at her. His face was red and he was slightly panting but his eyes were twinkling happily.

'What are you thinking about, Bekah? You look sad, are you sad? Was somebody mean to you? If they were, you have to tell me, then I will make them apologize.'

Rebekah chuckled. 'I'm not sad Kol, I was just thinking. Are you tired yet?'

'A bit. But I was wondering about something.'

'And what would that be?'

'Where are Mother and Father?'

Rebekah's eyes widened. She had absolutely no idea what to say. She couldn't tell Kol they were dead, he would be inconsolable.

'Ehm, they're…traveling. Yeah, they're traveling. I don't know when they will be back though.'

'Okay. I'm going inside, are you coming?'

'In a bit. You go ahead.'

Kol nodded and disappeared inside. Rebekah stared ahead and made a mental note to tell Elijah about Kol's question. Then she returned to her earlier thoughts. Why did she stop listening to her twin when they were turned? He had always been there for her, helping her out with everything. What made her turn her back on him? He hadn't hurt her, not once in his entire life had he hurt her. Suddenly she remembered. Kol had been devastated when he found out he could no longer do magic. The only thing that mattered more to him than magic was his family. And he lost both when they were turned. He closed himself off and pushed them all away. Eventually, he turned into something they all despised and none of them had bothered to find out what had driven the mischievous, protective and loving brother to turning into a violent monster. Suddenly, an old memory popped up in her head.

Flashback

Rebekah ran out of the village, into the forest. Tears were in her eyes, making it harder to see where she was going. Eventually, she tripped and fell on the ground. She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Tears were now freely coursing down her face and her body was trembling with sobs. She didn't know how long she sat there but it was getting dark when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled she turned around and saw Kol crouching in front of her. He smiled at her but his eyes shone with worry.

'What's wrong, Bekah? Why are you crying?'

Rebekah rubbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress.

'It's nothing, Kol. Leave me alone.'

Instead of doing as he was told, Kol sat down next to her.

'Sorry, but I can't do that. There's a party and you are supposed to be there with that boy I don't approve of. So why are you in the forest, crying your eyes out?'

Rebekah stared to cry again so Kol wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back.

'H-he s-said he c-couldn't go w-with me be-because I'm ugly and s-stupid. A-and then h-he k-kissed Olga.'

Rebekah felt Kol stiffen slightly but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just kept rubbing circles on her back. Eventually Rebekah calmed down. Kol let go of her and looked her straight in the eye.

'Listen to me, Bekah. You are the smartest and most beautiful girl in the entire world. That boy is stupid for not seeing that. Don't be upset about what he said because it's not true.'

'Do you truly mean that, Kol?'

'I give you my word, sister. Now, shall we go to that party together?'

Rebekah looked at her dress. It was covered in mud and grass.

'I can't go like this. I look awful.'

Kol smiled at her and helped her up.

'Let's see what I can do about that.'

He took her back home and pushed her to the bedroom, telling to clean herself up. When she returned to the main room, Kol was holding a beautiful dress.

'Put this on, Bekah.'

He helped her with the dress and did her hair. When she was done, they went to the party. Everyone else was already there and dancing. Kol smiled encouragingly at her.

'Do you want to dance?'

Rebekah nodded and let her twin brother lead her to the middle. Halfway through the dance, Kol lifted her up and spun around. Rebekah laughed with excitement. Later on, other boys asked to dance with her and Kol gave his permission when Rebekah wanted to dance with the boys. Every time Rebekah looked at her twin, he was standing on the side, his eyes shining happily as he watched her have fun.

End of flashback

Rebekah smiled at the memory. They had been sixteen at the time. The next day, she heard that the boy who had insulted her, had been beaten up badly but no one ever find out who did it. Only Rebekah had known, since the boy had apologized to her, so she knew Kol had beaten the boy up. Suddenly, Rebekah felt a wave of guilt. She should have been there for Kol when they were turned, help him through things. Just for once, she could have repaid him for everything he had done for her in their childhood. She made a decision. The moment Kol was a vampire again, she would make up for abandoning him. She owned him that much.