the sacred bond of family

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'oh, now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
i can feel it
lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes'
-'lightning crashes', live

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And for a moment, Bonnie feels her voice catch in her throat. She stares right at Caroline, unable to form words for the first time in her life.

When she finally finds it, opening her mouth to retort, there is a light knock on the door.

Caroline sets down her coffee cup and gets to her feet, taking quiet steps over to the door. She glances through the peephole before whipping the door open.

Rebekah stands there, with Elijah by her side.

"Where are they?" she asks, her voice almost inaudible. Caroline wordlessly points to the hallway and the vampires brush past her without even a backward glance to either girl.

He hears the footsteps coming and opens his mouth to cast whoever it was away.

And then he takes in Rebekah's scent, Elijah's soft breathing.

He hadn't seen Elijah in nearly four months, ever since he had fled Mystic Falls after nearly murdering Elena. He didn't find out until later that he had been there again, trying to save him once again. His guilt over harming the woman that he loved, Klaus understood it now. After doing what he did to Caroline, even in his haze of grief and misunderstanding, he got it. It made sense.

Love really was a vampire's greatest weakness.

But then again, it was their greatest strength.

The woman he loved was in the other room, with that witch who had been there ever since his little brother had returned to life. He owed his own life to that witch and that pissed him off. But his brother was still here, he was alive and well. He may not be necessary immortal anymore but he was still here.

"How?"

That is the only word that escapes Elijah as his eyes rake over their brother's sleeping form. Klaus doesn't remember ever seeing Elijah look so young. Not even when he had brought Henrik's crumpled and bloodied form back to their village all those years ago. Not even when they had found Tatia's broken body laying discarded in a corner. Not even...

"Bonnie," Rebekah replies softly, her light blue eyes filling with tears. "She did that same whammy that she did on Nik and the wolf. Kol was in that professor's body for a few weeks before Bonnie restored him." She then shifts slightly on her feet, lowering herself down onto the bed beside Kol. Her arm rests behind his head and she lets her cheek rest on his shoulder, the sound of his healthy heart thumping away its lullaby of life.

He is six years old and so anxious.

The sound of his mother's screams sends jolts of fear and trepidation through his bones.

About four months ago, his parents had informed him, Elijah, and Finn that they were going to big brothers once again. At a mere six years old, he wasn't really sure what to think of it. He was the baby of the family but wasn't close to anyone except twelve year old Elijah. But, it became a seed planted in his mind that he would now be responsible for someone. He would have to look after a child now.

"Argh!"

He shudders, feeling Elijah's gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Mother will be all right," his elder brother whispers.

"Of course she will be," Finn says with a sigh. "Mother's strong. Ayanna and Father are with her."

"What about our sibling?" he finds himself asking, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "I'm worried about our little brother or sister."

There is a tiny light of understanding in Elijah's eyes. He pats Niklaus's shoulder once again, gripping it gently.

"Everything is going to be all right, brother."

And it's just then when the glorious newborn cry fills the air.

"It's a boy, Esther!"

They hear their mother's joyful sobs and their father's proud trill.

"Another son!" Mikael says. "Wonderful!"

The three boys find themselves peeking through the tiny window to the hut. Candlelight illuminates the small room, the gentle rays bouncing off of three faces. Nik sees the tiny bundle in his mother's arms and feels a soft chuckle slowly roll up from his belly.

He has a baby brother.

"Is he all right?" Esther asks, glancing up at Ayanna. "He is all right, isn't he?"

The bundle lets out a wail as Ayanna leans over. She stands back up with a laugh of joy. "He's beautiful." She then lifts the bundle out of Esther's arms and hands him over to the other young woman that was assisting. The woman begins to clean him up as Ayanna then leans over Esther once again.

And then they hear it. Another cry lifts through her torso as Esther's arms cross in front of her.

"Oh, my-what is going amiss?" Mikael is beside her in an instant, his hands gripping hers.

Ayanna's hand presses against Esther's belly. A smile crosses her lovely features and she glances into the faces of the married couple.

"I do believe that you are about to have another, Esther."

Nik looks over at Elijah. "Another? What does she mean, another?"

The same words leave his father's lips a moment later.

"Another child."

It isn't long after that that there is another glorious newborn cry. Nik can see the tumble of golden locks and can almost feel the piercing blue of the child's eyes.

A sister.

Finally, a sister.

"Mikael, let them in."

Mikael looks apprehensive but obeys the witch's words. He walks across the dirt covered floor and carefully shifts the door open, Finn almost tumbling through.

"Come in, boys."

The elder brothers assemble in, one by one, their eyes adjusting to the light in the room.

Nik sees his little sister in his mother's arms. She waves him over and lifts the swaddle of cloths into his arms.

"This is your sister, Niklaus. You have to protect her now," Esther whispers. For the first time in what seems like forever, she looks at him with tenderness and tranquility in her eyes.

"What's her name, Mother?" he breathes, his own dark blue eyes never leaving that tiny face. His finger brushes against her forehead, feeling the softness of her golden curls. She was breathtaking.

"Her name is Rebekah," Esther answers softly.

He finally tears his eyes away from her to see Elijah holding their new brother, Finn beside him. He sees a headful of dark brown locks and can almost see his honeyed mahogany eyes from where he stands. He has finally stopped whimpering and is just gazing up at Elijah quietly.

"And this is your brother Kol," Esther continues. "It is your responsibility to watch over them."

It was very rare, especially in their lifetime, to experience a beauty like this.

But it was there. It was there and it was so pure and so amazing.

"Niklaus?"

"Hmm?"

He is finally pulled out of his daze to find Elijah gazing at him intently. Their eyes meet and there is a sudden spark. A sudden light.

He saw the whole thing.

"I didn't keep my promise, Elijah," he whispers. His eyes dart over to their twin siblings sleeping forms, both looking almost as angelic as the day that they were born. "I couldn't keep him safe."

Elijah shakes his head. "But you did, Niklaus. He's here. He's alive."

"But he's still going to die."

The older brother's undead heart breaks. "Oh, Niklaus..." The vulnerability, the sadness. He hated every minute of it.

But it reminded him how truly real they all were. Especially now.

For nine hundred years, they had been brothers. They fought constantly, of course. He couldn't remember how many broken bones, cracked skulls, and torn arteries had occurred but yes, they were brothers.

It would take a bit before he realizes how very alive his little brother was. Kol was alive, albeit a bit more fragile.

In those brief seventeen years that they had had together as humans, he could remember times that Kol would get himself into a lot of trouble. He and Elijah knew that Mikael would bring down a firm hand (a very firm hand), if he ever found out what kind of mischief the then youngest son had gotten into and they couldn't let that happen. Niklaus was served an all too painful reminder of how Mikael could be nearly every day of his life.

When Henrik came along, all of it changed.

And when they were turned into vampires, the first person he had seen right after turning was Kol. His eyes were black with blood, fangs elongated with the lust of the kill.

He knew then.

He just knew.

Elijah rests a gentle hand on his younger brother's shoulder, gently guiding him towards the doorway of the bedroom. They both glance through and see Caroline and Bonnie fast asleep on the rickety sofa, their heads resting against each other's shoulders. Both women, such polar opposites, so alike in the heart.

And they were here.

They weren't going anywhere.

Elijah couldn't help the flare of jealousy that sparked through him as he eyes Caroline for an instant. He had found the woman that he had wanted to spend eternity with but had lost her to the shadows. He knew there was no way that he could ever bring her back, especially after what she had done. But he finds that he can't hate Caroline or Bonnie. Bonnie had been the one that had saved his brother, bringing his soul back from the other side and bestowing on him and all of them a gift that was so precious.

"Look at those two," he breathes, his lips a breath's away from Klaus's ear. "They are still here. They are becoming a part of this family whether they like it or not. At the fear of quoting some mundane teenage films, we are in this together. All of us. Even if Kol will someday die, he is still our brother and always will be."

Klaus raises a brow and bites back a sigh. "I should let him go."

Elijah shakes his head. "No. Never let him go," he whispers. "You have the next sixty years to spend making it up to him. To bring him into that 'always and forever'. Sixty years is a blink of an eye to us but it won't be to him. Not anymore."

He feels an immediate presence once he beats his way to consciousness.

He can feel her magic, her strength. He practically feeds on it.

"Hey there," she breathes, her eyes overwhelmingly gentle. "How are you feeling?"

He struggles to shift into a sitting position. Her hand darts out and settles the pillows behind his head, her fingertips dancing on his collarbone. For a split second, just a tiny moment, he feels an electric pulse that has absolutely nothing to do his own magic.

"Exhausted. When is this going to go away?"

She gives him a tiny smile. "I don't think it ever will, Kol."

He emit's a small sigh, vulnerability creeping up. He hated every goddamn speck of it as it tore at his throat. He had spent over a thousand years as one of the most powerful, strong, dangerous creatures, using his lust for blood and greed as his dominance.

But he had never lost his appreciation for the natural world. He had never lost his interest in magic, in passion with the earth.

He had it back now.

And it made him feel more frightened than ever.

Having Jeremy Gilbert shove that stake into his stomach had been a piece of cake compared to this.

It all happened so fast.

One minute, Bonnie found herself sitting in the crappy motel living room with the Original family, going over simple spells and chatting about routine things. She couldn't help but think about how she would have acted if someone had told her a year ago where she would be at this moment. She probably would have laughed him right out of the state.

And then the next minute, as Kol works on a channeling spell with Bonnie's gentle assistance, Caroline suddenly clutches at her chest.

"Caroline? Are you all right?" Rebekah asks softly, her blue eyes tracing the other blonde's tightening form.

Caroline gives a trembling nod. "I'm fine." A gasp ripples through her and she lets out a tiny cry of pain. "What is happening to me?" she moans. Her body gives another tremble and Klaus is at her side in an instant, catching her as she begins to fall.

"Kol, stop," Bonnie murmurs, seeing the veins beginning to creep up Caroline's white throat. Her eyes dart back to the thousand year old warlock beside her. "Kol."

"I can't-" Kol whispers, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I can't break it."

Somehow, Kol had linked Caroline's life to another vampire's. Just like Bonnie had linked April's life to Shane's.

"Kol-!" Klaus's voice was caught between a snarl and a half sob, the life slowly slipping out of the woman in his arms.

Bonnie took a flying leap across the crappy coffee table, her arms quickly wrapping around the taller man from behind. A wisp of power leaks from his body and into hers. She grabs onto it, pulling it as hard as she can, their connections finally clasping together. She continues to pull it into her own body, twisting and turning until the link finally breaks.

Caroline's eyes fly open and sits up with a quick gasp, leaning back into Klaus's chest. She clutches at him, her eyes wide with terror. He strokes her hair and murmurs words of nonsense into her ear but she doesn't calm.

"What-what the hell-?" the girl chokes out, the veins slowly receding down her throat until they vanish completely, her skin returning to it's soft and paleness.

"It's okay, Caroline," Bonnie says carefully, emitting a shudder as Kol pulls himself from her arms and vanishes into the kitchen. "It's okay."

She jumps to her feet, quickly disappearing after Kol. She finds him hunched over the tiny sink, his rapidly thinning shoulders trembling.

"Kol?"

"What did I just do out there?" he whips around, glaring at her. "What did I just do?"

"It was a crossing spell," she explains softly. "Instead of channeling me, you connected Caroline's life force to someone else's."

"So I almost killed her," he states, his eyes wide. "Ever since I came back, I have done nothing but harm the people that I care about."

Her own eyes widen. "Kol-"

"I may have been a vampire, Bonnie but I never wanted to hurt my family," Kol says, wild-eyed. "And I tried to stake Rebekah; I burned Niklaus, gave him an aneurism, and almost killed Caroline. I have no control over what I am doing, either or and-"

Bonnie's hand snaps out and grabs his arm. She can feel his instinctual thoughts trying to burn her but she repels it. "Kol, listen to me-"

"I can't handle this, Bonnie!"

Her other hand grabs his free wrist, her fingers tightening around it. "Yes, you can."

He shakes his head, his honeyed eyes practically bulging. "No, no, no. No, I can't do this. I cannot handle all of this. I can't!"

Another rush of magic spills forth. She catches it cleanly, gently pushing it back into his own body. His knees finally give out and her arms reach in, circling around his torso and pulling him close. Her lips pressed against his ear, her soothing words radiating through their bodies.

"It's like being a vampire," she whispers. "It's about learning the method of control all over again. It can be as simple as that or as difficult as the blood lust. But when you feel it, when you understand it, it really is that beautiful."

His violently shuddering body finally stills, becoming practically dead weight in her arms but she doesn't let him go.

Bonnie wonders if she could ever let him go.

"I'm sorry for my freak out, everyone. And Caroline, I'm sorry I almost killed you."

The blonde raises an eyebrow but offers a small smile. "It's okay, Kol."

Wow, she didn't think she'd ever say that.

Bonnie casts a small smile in Caroline's direction before her eyes lock with Klaus's. She wonders if he has torn himself away from her friend ever since the little incident this morning.

With a tiny incline of her head, the two rise slowly.

"Bonnie, would you like to come with me to get some coffee?"

"Why of course, Klaus. I'd love too."

Blech. Even the words taste horrible on her lips.

"What are you two up too?" Rebekah asks softly, taking a draft out of the last blood bag between them.

"It's nothing," Bonnie says carefully, "Just a friendly chat between friends."

Caroline almost chokes on the blood that she is drinking. She wipes her mouth and glances at her friend.

"Bonnie, are you serious?"

Even Elijah has to put in his two cents. "Niklaus, I don't think this is a time for anyone to splitting up."

"We are not splitting up," Klaus rebuffs irritably. He lets out a huff of annoyance and nods at Bonnie. "Shall we tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Kol asks.

"We-" Bonnie swallows. "I cannot teach you all the things that you need to know, Kol. Your magic is much too strong for me to handle. But Klaus knows someone that can probably help you."

Kol's gaze turns on his withering brother. "Niklaus?"

With all eyes on him, Klaus comes clean. That was one of his greatest weaknesses as a human and as a vampire, he was a rotten liar.

"Her name is Magdalene. I believe that you know her, actually. From when we lived in New Orleans."

Had to end it there.

Uh-oh. OC character on the horizon.

I was thinking about taking one of characters from the spin off and trying to flesh him or her out a bit before the actual spin off airs and see how close I get but I threw that out the window. Magdalene is only appearing for one chapter, maybe two because I don't like dealing with OC's in a non-canon fashion, it's kind of hard to keep up with them. But I will say, Kol knows her and is scared shit-less of her.

I have been batting around a couple of songs that are the real theme of this story and the one that I really adore is 'Here's To Us' by Halestorm. It fits for the Originals and how they are about the bond of family and friendship and anyone who tries to intrude on that, fuck 'em. If anyone hasn't heard that song yet, please iTunes it or Youtube it and listen. It's absolutely amazing.

Lots of Original family moments in this and some Kennett. Gonna have LOTS of Kennett next chapter, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with that as well as a bit more Klaroline. Our fab four...bwah! Sometimes they make me want to cry. I guess that's really the point of this story is that it's about the family and about the love they have for each other and how Caroline and Bonnie later become a part of that family.

Special thanks to vilis91 for all of her wonderful help.