A/N: New chapter woo! JSYK I may be a bit slower with updates while I get back into the swing of school again.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and a look into Kol/Rebekah interacting with Henrik plus a few things readers wanted to see Klaus and Caroline do with Henrik. Next chapter should be Klaroline + Henrik visiting Kalijah + Italy.

Thanks so much for reading!

Sticking with your family is what makes it a family-Mitch Albom

"Are you certain you don't want to give him a bath this morning?" Klaus asked as he took Henrik from Caroline, trying not to laugh as his fiance wrinkled her nose before narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yep." She poked Klaus' chest with her finger. "You know I'm terrified that I'll drop him because he's a squirmy, wiggle worm." She was pretty sure she'd nearly dropped him the one time she'd tried and Caroline was not about to try again any time soon. "Besides, it lets you two have some bonding time and I am so not about to take that away." She tickled Henrik under the chin and then grinned at Klaus. "Plus it gives me time to figure out exactly what I want him to wear for his big day!"

She slipped out of their room after that, heading down the hallway toward the nursery. Klaus shook his head as he watched her go before looking down at the baby. Henrik was happily munching away on his stuffed monkey toy. "I used to think she took a lot of photos before but she's definitely upped her game since we got you," Klaus murmured as he headed into the bathroom.

It was an endearing trait, watching Caroline try to photograph every single instance of Henrik's life and then create elaborate pages in the 'Henrik's First Year' album that she'd started. Though the amount of scrapbooking supplies that had ended up in the office was overwhelming. Caroline never did do anything halfway.

"You and mommy will be going to a music class today." Klaus was pretty sure that's what it was this time. One of those Mommy and Me groups that Caroline had been looking into and finally managed to pick one that looked interesting to her. She'd stayed away from the art ones, wanting Klaus to be able to do those with them, and the gymnastics ones she had really wanted to get Henrik involved in wouldn't take him for a few more months.

"I wonder how many pictures she'll end up sending me while I'm in meetings with Marcel and Lexi," Klaus mused as he got Henrik out of his diaper. It took a moment to get his tiny hands to let go of the monkey and Henrik looked quite put out at having his favorite toy out of his reach until Klaus put him into the small baby tub that was already placed in the larger tub.

Henrik's feet started kicking right away, big smile brightening his face as he realized what time it was. Bathtime was a favorite for the both of them, water seeming to be something that Henrik thoroughly enjoyed. Klaus had a feeling he'd enjoy the beach and pools when the warmer weather eventually arrived in a few months and he couldn't wait to test out that theory with the baby. Not to mention it'd give him time to appreciate Caroline in a bikini, one of his favorite pastimes.

Water splashed against Klaus, soaking the front of his shirt and he shook his head. "I truly think that you do this on purpose."

Henrik babbled excitedly at him and Klaus nodded along, not understanding a word of it. He smiled though, wiping the washcloth along Henrik's hair and watched Henrik close his eyes, nose wrinkling in a way that reminded Klaus immediately of Caroline before he kicked his legs again. More water ended up on Klaus' shirt and pants.

"One day you'll remember to do this in just your boxers," Caroline commented from the doorway.

"I think you just want to ogle me," Klaus replied as he gently lifted Henrik from the tub and turned toward her. Caroline wrapped the baby up in a grey towel that had an elephant's head at the top.

"Whenever I can," she grinned at Klaus before retrieving the monkey from the sink. Henrik happily took it from her, munching on it right away. "We're going to meet you for lunch after Mommy and Me, right?"

Klaus pulled the wet shirt over his head and tossed it into the hamper, cocking a brow as Caroline bit her lip while looking him over. "My meeting will be over by then, yes," Klaus assured her. He'd make sure it was. Plus Marcel and Lexi were dying to meet Henrik, the amount of photos that Caroline had sent Lexi via text was no longer cutting it. "It's been too long since we were able to have pizza at our favorite place."

"I think he'll be fine there," Caroline looked down at Henrik. "We see other families in there all the time." It would just be a bit of a first with them. "And if he gets too fussy then we'll just get it boxed up to go." Eating at home wouldn't provide the same atmosphere but making Henrik, themselves or the other customers miserable wasn't their idea of fun.

He didn't seem to mind going out, enjoyed looking around at the scenery and people going by. They couldn't ever predict where a loud noise might come from though or if the baby would start wailing or freeze up in terror. Neither were reactions they liked him having but keeping Henrik sheltered from the world wasn't the answer either. Soothing words and a gentle rubbing of his back usually helped but there were still times when he was inconsolable until they were in the safety that his nursery seemed to provide him.

"It'll go great," Klaus told her, gently rubbing her arm before dropping a kiss to Henrik's head. "But you're going to need to get him dressed if you want to get there on time."

Caroline bounced Henrik in her arms. "Don't forget to write a message on the fridge whiteboard to let Rebekah and Kol know where we're going. In case they actually wake up before noon."

Considering they hadn't woken before noon in the last week Klaus doubted that would actually happen. "But right. Getting this one dressed. Say bye to daddy, Henrik. We'll see him in a couple of hours." She helped Henrik wave one of his arms before heading out of the bathroom.

Klaus shook his head before exiting after them. Being called daddy was still exhilarating and strange at the same time. Just like having Kol and Rebekah around for more than a few days was an odd occurrence. It was a welcomed one though, having his siblings there even when they got on one another's nerves. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed having the two of them in his life until they were back again.

Their relationships had strained after he was kicked out, unable to see them like he'd used to and they had drifted apart, not quite as close as they once were. Though that was more so with Kol than it had been with Rebekah. They would probably never be what they once were, too much had happened in between to ever get back to that point. But as Klaus listened to Caroline murmur happily to Henrik as the baby babbled back at her he couldn't help but feel that they could develop even better relationships than they'd once had with enough time.

Especially without Mikael around to stop it from happening and Henrik there to give them all a reason to work toward reconnecting.

Children's songs were something that Caroline Forbes did not know. She vaguely remembered a few bars from random ones of her own childhood but they were mostly ones from Disney movies. Those she would happily hum to Henrik before nap or bedtime and sometimes to simply soothe him after he was frightened. But the songs currently being sung in the 'Mommy and me' class she was trying out with Henrik were ones she didn't remember in the slightest. Though a lot of them seemed to have the same tune to the alphabet song.

They were easy enough to pick up on by the third chorus though and Henrik was fascinated by the sounds and sights, eyes wide and mouth curled into a smile as he took it all in. Caroline worked at helping him clap his hands as she held him in her lap, tossing him up a little in the air whenever the other women did it.

She had felt completely out of her element at the beginning, not all that sure they would be returning the next week, but Henrik's smile and the ease with falling into the simple routine had Caroline thinking she could do this with him. 'Mommy and me' classes were so not something she thought she would ever be doing, not even in her ten year plan when children had finally been allowed to enter into it all, but they were an attempt to have some sort of normal for the baby.

None of her friends had children or were even pregnant and the books she'd read said that it was good to get to know others who did have kids because there were some things that would happen that only those going through similar experiences would understand. While no one probably had gone about having their baby the same way her and Klaus had, there were young couples with children around Henrik's age and that was what she was looking for.

All of his cousins were thousands of miles away and years older than him. Caroline wanted to give Henrik a chance to have friends like she had when she was little. Maybe being in the middle of Manhattan would make that a little more difficult but she was going to try her hardest to ensure it would happen.

"He's got beautiful lashes," one of the mother's commented as they were wrapping up. She was holding a little girl who looked about the same age as Henrik, maybe a little older.

"Just like his daddy's," Caroline murmured. Like Klaus. Not Mikael. The two had nearly the same shade as well. "It looks like she's got your eyes." Maybe? They looked similar at least? Was that what people said to one another about their baby's? Life had so not prepared her for this part at all.

"She lucked out," the woman laughed and Caroline nodded as the little girl looked intently at Henrik. She noticed that he was looking back at the other baby, fascinated. "This is AJ. She's five months."

"Henrik will be five months in two weeks." Caroline couldn't believe how quickly time was speeding by, convinced that he'd be a year before she knew it. "I'm Caroline. And this is Henrik like I've so already said. We're kind of new to the whole Mommy and Me thing."

"First kid?" the woman asked as she angled the girl to get a better look at Henrik. "And I'm Rose. AJ is my second. I still think the whole thing is a bit hokey but the kids love it and it's half an hour long. If it makes her smile and not cry then I have learned to embrace the hokey."

"He's not much of a crier-and I've probably jinxed us now-but I read that interaction with other babies and moms was good for him and me so here we are." And it had been kind of silly but considering the faces she made at Henrik while playing with him at home it really hadn't been that bad.

"Ah you're one of those," Rose grinned while Caroline arched a brow. "Avid parenting book reader. Just remember that your instinct will be right 99% of the time. Carrying him for nine months helped you two bond in ways no book will ever be able to explain." Rose looked her over. "Though you've got to tell me what workout regime you're on because I'd never have been able to tell that you gave birth four months ago."

Caroline forced a grin at that. "Lots of yoga. But we have to get going or we're going to have to deal with the lunch rush for our date with daddy and we really want to avoid that."

She hadn't carried Henrik around for nine months, hadn't been there for the first three of them either. It worried Caroline a bit because whatever innate bond that moms seemed to have wasn't going to be between them because of that.

But she thought he was bonding with her. She knew she lit up whenever she was around him and she could have sworn that Henrik grew excited, little limbs flailing happily, whenever she walked into the room for him. Maybe it wouldn't be exactly the same but she would love him with all her heart and he wouldn't be in an environment that caused him to fear noises and to freeze up when things got too loud.

They would create their own bonds, already were creating them even, and Caroline thought that was what mattered in the end. From the way Henrik babbled happily up at her as she wrangled him back into his snowsuit she thought he agreed.

"You ready to go see daddy?"

She was going to take the bubbles he blew as a yes.

Klaus knocked on Kol's door one more time, needing to make sure that his brother was actually awake. Caroline was across the living area, doing the same to Rebekah's door. They had a cake testing appointment in an hour and his siblings had said they would watch the baby. It was nearing noon and Henrik would be waking from his nap soon which meant the other two needed to be up and ready to deal with the infant.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Kol groused as he finally yanked open the door while trying to pull a shirt on as well.

Since the three of them were staying in the brownstone Klaus didn't particularly care what Kol ended up wearing but he wanted to ensure that his brother was actually out of bed.

"We're leaving now," Klaus told him as he handed over the typed out schedule for the baby. "Henrik should wake in the next ten minutes or so. He might need to be changed and he'll want a bottle as well. We've left them out of the counter with the appropriate amount of formula in them. All you'll need to do is add water to them."

Kol took the paper and arched a brow as he looked it over. "I think Rebekah and I can handle the three hours you'll be gone without an itemized schedule."

"Are you sure you want to do this? Because we're fine with bringing him along," Klaus reminded and Kol waved off the idea as Rebekah finally exited her room while ushering Caroline away from her.

"Don't you have an appointment to make?" Kol asked as he leaned against the doorway.

"You both have my phone number if you need anything. His doctor's number is on the fridge and you know how to dial 911 if you need to," Caroline rambled off as she headed toward them.

"Right, it's 9...oh blast, what are the other two digits?" Kol mused, amused by Caroline's glare.

"It'll be fine," Rebekah chimed in. "We'll finally get some time with him all to ourselves without either of you hogging him. Don't hurry back on our account."

Klaus exchanged a look with Caroline before the two of them finally headed down the stairs and out of the house. Kol crinkled up the schedule as soon as the door closed and tossed it to the side. "How hard could it be to entertain Henrik for a few hours?"

"Right?" Rebekah shrugged as they headed down a level to where the nursery was. "Though you're on a diaper duty. I just got my nails done."

The baby was already awake when they looked in on him. Ten minutes later they were down in the kitchen with him, feeling pretty good about how easily the diaper change had gone. Rebekah was sitting at the table with him, feeding him his bottle while Kol looked through the fridge for leftovers they could eat for their own lunch.

"I don't see what the big deal was," Rebekah murmured. "We've now diapered and fed him. What exactly is so hard about any of that?"

Kol shrugged as he put the leftover Chinese containers on the counter. "You've got Miss Lists and Mr Needs Control-or as they will be when they're officially married Mr and Mrs Always Needs Control-raising the kid. Everything would be schedule just so with them. But babies don't need schedules. Right Henrik?"

Rebekah tapped the baby's nose. "He clearly agrees."

She set the empty bottle down a few minutes later as Kol placed the heated up leftovers in front of her. She lay Henrik down in the bouncy seat and strapped him in before sitting back down to enjoy lunch.

Peace lasted for about ten minutes before Henrik started to cry, not wanting to be in the seat anymore, and the older two looked at one another. "How exactly do you entertain a four month old?" Rebekah asked and Kol shrugged before pulling out his phone.

Surely Youtube would have some answers. "Dangle things in front of him," Kol replied a minute later. Or so said the videos.

"For three hours?" Rebekah asked as she scooped Henrik up and bounced him a little to calm down. He stopped for a few but as soon as she sat back down resumed fussing, clearly not happy with the lack of attention. Even Kol's silly faces only entertained him for a few moments before the baby started to sniffle again.

Perhaps this wasn't going to be quite as easy as they'd thought.

"Who knew that deciding on a flavor for our cake could seriously be that difficult," Caroline groaned as she slid into the booth of the small cafe her and Klaus had headed into. They hadn't gotten any 911 messages or texts from the other two and the appointment had finished earlier than they'd anticipated. So the two had decided to stop in for a cup of coffee before heading back to their place.

They didn't get as much along together time as they used to and usually chose to take Henrik with them whenever they did go out, but being alone together during the cake testing had been a nice reminder of the fact that they needed to carve out times for the two of them to be a couple. Something as simple as enjoying coffee together was a remarkable way to recharge and reconnect.

"I think it was the choice in icing that threw you for the biggest loop," Klaus mused as he sat down next to her.

"Well certain flavors taste better together!" Caroline started to protest before she caught his amused look and she chose to bump her shoulder into his instead. "Should we call?" They hadn't, not once, even if they had both been dying to.

"They'll call us if they need to," Klaus pointed out as he took hold of her hand, threading their fingers together. "They're not expecting us for another half hour."

"Mmmm." Caroline sighed happily at that and leaned against him, sliding her thumb along his hand as they simply sat there enjoying one another's company. "We really need to schedule this in. This time for you and me. Even if we just take a walk around the block or whatever. We've got everything else scheduled in."

Them time was needed.

Especially with the wedding approaching. Everything to do with that was on the calendar, from taste testings to fittings to floral arrangements. Her class schedule and his work. Doctor's appointments. The trip to see Elijah's family in a week. Even her mother coming down later that week.

"Especially with Kol and Rebekah wanting to time with Henrik," Klaus added before chuckling. "We'll see if they still feel the same when we get back." He didn't doubt that the two were doing a good job with the baby, but he had a feeling that spending over three hours with Henrik wasn't quite like what they envisioned. He was still a little too young for many things but that would change soon enough.

"If they get to keep on sleeping until noon they can so watch him for a half hour a week so we can go stroll the park." Especially when some nights would consist of her studying for exams or writing papers instead of cuddling with Klaus before his nightmares drew him upstairs.

"Which day do you want then?" Klaus pulled out his phone, scrolling to the calendar feature that Caroline had already synced to hers.

"Fridays. Definitely at least on Friday." She didn't have class then and he wasn't schedule to need to work then. "At like the time we left earlier. Because he'll be just getting up and so will they."

The other two tended to not actually be moving until after two anyway. That would change some with Rebekah considering she'd be going back to school as well, though she was transferring to NYU. Caroline had seen the girl's schedule, all classes were in the didn't really know what Kol was going to do but considering he'd had some items shipped from the last place he was staying and had actually unpacked his suitcases, Caroline had a feeling he was sticking around for a while as well.

It was different. Not quite what she'd expected but it was a nice change, even with the sibling bickering that went on.

"We'll talk to them about it when we get home," Klaus murmured as he put his phone away.

They took a few minutes to enjoy their drinks and chat some more, Caroline telling him about some of the floral arrangements for the wedding and Klaus detailing the latest details for the gallery, before finally heading home.

"Oh thank god," Rebekah sighed as they walked into the house. She dropped the toy bear down onto the floor beside Henrik as Kol walked in the room with a freshly made bottle. "I do not know how the two of you shake different things in front of him all day long. He was fine though. Still in one piece."

"I doubt they thought we were going to break him, Bekah," Kol laughed as he handed over the bottle.

Henrik was kicking his legs and reaching up as soon as he spotted Klaus and Caroline, smile widening as Klaus scooped him up to cuddle him before passing him over to Caroline. "I suppose they'd only think that when it's just you who has him," Rebekah replied with a smirk.

"No, with Kol we expect Henrik to be used to pick up girls," Klaus told them as he handed the bottle over to Caroline. Kol grinned at the idea.

"Not until it's nice out. We do not need a frozen baby," Caroline butted in as she headed to the couch.

"Or I can just take him to inside places now…" Kol suggested, already planning out his strategy. Babies did seem like a pretty good girl magnet.

Caroline glanced over at Klaus, her look clearly implying that he'd created a monster. Not at all surprised when he shrugged and sat down beside her.

"I need a bubble bath," Rebekah sighed as she headed toward the stairs while Kol mentioned something about a video game tournament. "But let us know when you need us to do it again. It was nice even if it was tedious."

Caroline laughed at that before looking down at Henrik. "They have no clue what they just got themselves into," Klaus murmured against her shoulder causing her to laugh again. The two of them watched Henrik smile before resuming to drink.

Their lives had changed since he'd come into their world and it would only continue to do so, but seeing that smile really did make all of those changes worth it.