I own nothing except the plot...
This is dedicated to NateBuzzLover.5 who was my 500th reviewer! This also goes out to Luv22. I'll miss you!
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Matt asked Rebekah as he grabbed their luggage."We should have called first."
"But that would ruin the surprise," Rebekah answered as they walked outside and hailed a cab, "Everyone loves surprises."
"I think finding out your brother has a kid no one knew about is enough of a surprise for one lifetime," Matt reasoned, but Rebekah was having none of it.
"It will also give you a chance to spend more time with my brothers," Rebekah pointed out, "They are going to be your brothers soon too you know."
"Yeah the same brothers that refer to me as "Bartender" and "Commoner" rather than my name." Matt said and Rebekah stopped walking and kissed his cheek.
"This is a good thing, and Nik will be on his best behavior because of Caroline," Rebekah promised and Matt put the luggage in the trunk of the cab and they got in, "Kol is in a new relationship too and won't be an ass to his sister's fiance in front of his new girlfriend. You get along well with Elijah. He likes you."
"Only after I asked his permission to marry you," Matt said and Rebekah smiled. Matt had indeed gathered all his courage and asked Elijah if he could marry her. Elijah was the head male of the family now because Mikael was dead. Matt actually asked their mother first, and it was Esther who suggested Matt ask Elijah. Elijah was an old fashioned man and appreciated the gesture.
"This might also bring Elijah and Nik closer together now that Elijah is leaving the she-devil at home," Rebekah said.
"Why did he marry her if he hates her so much?" Matt asked and Rebekah bit her lip, "Becks, I know you know. Why did Elijah marry Tatia?"
"Fine, I'll tell you," Rebekah said and took a deep breath.
K&C
"No...no...excuse me?" Caroline said into a phone, "You gave me a different price yesterday. Let me speak to your manager. Why? Because I am not happy that's why. I'll hold."
Caroline knew she was being harsh but this was Caroline's shot, and she was determined to make it perfect. Klaus also wanted the party to happen Saturday, which was in three days, so Caroline needed to kick some ass. She had been on the phone all day putting the event together. Klaus said money was no object, but Caroline was still going to get the best price for everything.
"I must say I am very impressed," Isobel said coming up to Caroline later that day. "Pulling it all together on such short notice. Well done."
"Thank you Isobel," Caroline said.
"Keep up the good work," Isobel said and walked back into her office. The phone rang and Caroline picked it up.
"Hello? Yes...yes...what? No!" Caroline said.
K&C
"Where are my pants?" Bonnie asked looking around Kol's apartment.
"I threw them out," Kol replied.
"What? Why?" Bonnie said not sure if he was joking or not. It was Kol after all.
"It is a crime to cover that beautiful body of yours up," Kol said, "You should never wear pants again."
"Funny," Bonnie said and there was a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" Kol said getting up. He opened the door and saw his little sister on the other side. "Rebekah? What are you doing here?"
"Can't a sister surprise her brother?" Rebekah said innocently. Kol looked past Rebekah and saw Bartender behind her.
"Tried to stop her," Matt said, "But she's stubborn."
"I am between jobs and I didn't get to spend enough time with you in England so I thought I would come visit," Rebekah said and pushed her way into the apartment. Bonnie was standing in the living room wearing nothing but one of Kol's shirts. "Hello Bonnie, it has been a while."
"Yeah," Bonnie said her cheeks inflamed with embarrassment.
"Hey, I'm Matt," Matt said with a little wave and keeping his eyes on her face.
"Nice to meet you," Bonnie said.
"That thing you are looking for is underneath my bed," Kol said taking pity on his girl. Bonnie nearly ran into the bedroom and closed the door.
"Cute," Rebekah said, "So...is Caroline home by any chance?"
"No, she is at work," Kol informed her, "And Ella is at daycare." Rebekah nodded and looked around.
"Your apartment is very...quaint." Rebekah said surviving his home, "Just the same as I remember. You do know our family has money, right?"
"I have a job Becks," Kol said, "I pay my own way."
"Oh yes designing websites," Rebekah said, "And that cute little blog you run."
"Could you be anymore of a snob?" Kol said to his baby sister. "And that "Cute little blog" is read by people all over the city. Did you come all the way here to criticize my life choices?" The bedroom door opened and a pants-wearing Bonnie came out.
"I have to go," Bonnie said, "It was good to see you again Rebekah. Nice to meet you Matt." Bonnie gave Kol a kiss on the cheek and left.
"What's wrong with her?" Rebekah asked as soon as she left, "She seems like a lovely girl, but there must be something severely wrong with her if you could convince her to go out with you."
"Becks..." Matt said and Rebekah sighed, "Remember what we said about being a good person?"
"Fine, I like your little blog and I read it everyday," Rebekah said.
"Really?" Kol said surprised.
"Yep," Matt said with a grin. "Checks it every night. She actually thinks you are a good writer."
"Aww...you do you love me!" Kol said and Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"When can I meet her?" Rebekah said cutting to the chase.
"Nik has his opening tomorrow," Kol informed her, "You should come. Meet her then. Caroline has had enough surprises. Let her be prepared for the arrival of another Mikaelson this time."
"Told you," Matt said.
"Fine," Rebekah said giving in, "I can wait one more day, but only one more day."
K&C
"Who are you?" Katherine said sharply when she opened the door and saw a man in a suit. A very handsome man in a suit.
"I...I was looking for Caroline," Elijah said taken aback by her tone.
"Which one are you?" Katherine asked leaning against the doorway.
"I beg you pardon?" Elijah replied.
"Well from the accent you are one of them, which Mikaelson is it?" Katherine clarified.
"Elijah," He told her.
"Oh...the newlywed," Katherine said with a knowing smirk, "How is that working out for you?"
"Fine, thank you," Elijah said, "So I take it Caroline isn't here?"
"Nope," Katherine told him and started to close the door but was stopped by Elijah's hand.
"I never caught your name," He said.
"I didn't give it," Katherine said and closed the door.
K&C
"What!" Caroline yelled into the phone as she started to walk home. It felt weird walking straight home rather than picking Ella up from daycare, but she had the nice distraction of Kol telling her that not only did Rebekah show up without warning, but Elijah did too. Thankfully Tatia was not with him.
"Yeah Becks came to see me and Elijah stopped by not too long after," Kol told her, "I was able to call them off from stalking Ella, but they will be coming to the party on Saturday."
"Does Klaus know Elijah is here?" Caroline asked.
"No, I was hoping you could tell him," Kol answered.
"Me?" Caroline said, "Why me?"
"Because if I tell him Nik will probably yell at me, but if you tell him he might keep his cool," Kol reasoned. "Please?"
"Fine," Caroline agreed, "I'll tell Klaus that his estranged brother is here to see his newly found niece."
"Thanks mate," Kol said and hung up. Caroline sighed and put her phone back in her bag. This was going to be fun.
Caroline walked into her apartment to the sound of two people bickering.
"Yes you do," She heard Katherine say.
"No I don't," Klaus replied.
"Yes. You. Do." Katherine said.
"No. I. Don't." Klaus said back.
"What's going on here?" Caroline said and they both turned to look at her. Ella seemed to be in her room, and Katherine and Klaus were in the kitchen facing each other with hard expressions and their arms crossed.
"I was explaining to Prince William here that he is need of an agent, but he isn't listening to me." Katherine told her.
"I don't need an agent," Klaus said.
"Sure you do," Katherine said, "That last painting you sold? I bet I could have sold it for at least another 5 grand, if not more. You need someone to represent you."
"I have a lawyer," Klaus pointed out.
"Oh yeah Damon," Katherine said, "Decent lawyer, pretty good in bed, but you need someone who can do some ball busting for you. I can do that."
"Your clients are a bunch of brainless models," Klaus said, "And do you know anything about art?"
"I know people," Katherine said, "I know how to get things done, and some of those models are very smart. Isn't your sister a model?"
"I rest my case," Klaus said and Katherine rolled her eyes.
"Think about it," Katherine said and turned to Caroline, "Hey babe."
"How did this happen?" Caroline asked referring to their argument.
"Katherine was listening in on one of my phone calls," Klaus said and Caroline cringed. Katherine did never have a sense of privacy.
"Hey Kat can you take Ella to the park?" Caroline asked. "I need to talk to Klaus."
"Uh-huh, talk, I got it. How long will you need?" Katherine replied, "15? 20? Don't forget protection."
"Katherine!" Caroline exclaimed and her faced instantly became red. Ella having heard her mother came running out of her room.
"Hi Mommy," Ella said and hugged her tightly.
"Hi baby," Caroline said and kissed her head. "I need to talk to your Dad for a second so you are going to go to the park with Aunt Katherine."
"Okay," Ella said and the two left with one more hug from Ella, and a wink from Katherine. The girl was shameless.
"What did I do?" Klaus said as soon as Katherine and Ella left.
"Nothing, Kol called..." Caroline started to say.
"What did Kol do?" Klaus interrupted.
"Rebekah's here," Caroline said and Klaus smirked.
"That's not surprising," Klaus said.
"So is Elijah," Caroline said and Klaus automatically tensed up. "Kol invited them to your opening. If you don't want Elijah to come I can talk to him. It is up to you. Whatever you want to do I will back you up."
"You will?" Klaus said and Caroline nodded.
"Ella is your daughter too, and you can make decisions on wither or not you want your brother to meet her," Caroline said and Klaus was silent for a moment.
"He can meet her," Klaus finally said, "I am just going to need to get used to see Elijah and Tatia together as a married couple."
"Tatia isn't with him." Caroline said and Klaus looked surprised.
"She isn't?" Klaus said.
"Nope," Caroline said and she could see Klaus relax.
"Good," He said.
"Good," Caroline repeated.
K&C
"Well, well, well, look who it is..." Caroline said to Bonnie as she walked over. Caroline, Elena, Katherine, Bonnie, and Ella were all going shopping for something to wear to Klaus' art show. This was the first time they had seen Bonnie in days. Ella was sitting on Caroline's lap while Katherine and Elena looked in the large mirror at the dress they were trying on.
"Oh stop it," Bonnie said sitting down next to her.
"Oh she's blushing..." Katherine said and Elena giggled.
"Will you quit it?" Bonnie said even though her face was still red.
"So he hasn't driven you crazy yet?" Katherine asked.
"Well if the last 4 years I have known him haven't scared me away then I don't think anything will," Bonnie answered and then looked over at Elena and Katherine who were wearing identical dresses. "Are you seriously going to play that game? What are you 12?"
"What is the point of being a twin if you can't have a little fun every now and then?" Katherine reasoned, "What about you Elles Bells? Do you think it is funny when Elena and I dress the same?"
"Yes!" Ella said excited.
"How about if we keep the hair different?" Katherine suggested.
"Yeah, you are going to straighten it and Elena is going to curl hers," Caroline said and both Elena and Katherine grinned. Caroline turned back to Ella. "Okay baby, let's go find something beautiful for you to wear." Ella jumped off Caroline's lap and the two of them plus Bonnie walked over to the kids section.
"So what color dress do you want?" Caroline asked Ella as they went through the racks.
"Blue," Ella replied, "Daddy's favorite color."
"Not pink?" Caroline said a little surprised. Ella loved pink. Like really loved pink.
"I like blue now," Ella informed her and went back to looking. Bonnie and Caroline shared a smile over Ella's head.
"Blue it is," Caroline said.
"What about you, Care?" Bonnie asked, "What color are you going to wear?"
"I was thinking red," Caroline said and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
"Red?" Bonnie repeated.
"Yep," Caroline said with a smirk, "Red."
K&C
"Oh my god she looks so adorable I could die," Katherine said as she watched Caroline tame Ella's usually wild curls into soft waves. "And that dress you are wearing is killer, Care. Once again you are welcome."
"Well your clients are models so why not use your connections to get fabulous clothes?" Caroline said with a shrug.
"That will change when Mr. Artist decides to sign with me," Katherine said.
"Still not giving up, huh?" Caroline asked,
"Never, I want to broaden my clientele," Katherine said and looked at Ella, "Elles Bells think you can talk your Daddy into working with me?"
"Leave her out of it," Caroline said before Ella could reply.
"Fine, but I will wear him down you wait and see," Katherine said determined, "Prince William is not leaving this country without signing with me."
"Leaving?" Ella said and both women froze, "Where is Daddy going?"
"No where, baby," Caroline assured her even though she wasn't quite sure what was going to happen. His life was in England. Her life was here. Caroline had been avoiding the subject of Klaus taking Ella for the summer, but she might need to revisit it. Klaus was right, Ella needed to be able to depend on Klaus and taking her for the summer showed his commitment and gave Ella something to look forward to. At the same time could she give up her baby for months every summer?
"Mommy?" Ella said snapping her out of it.
"Sorry," Caroline said, "So I have to go now to make sure everything is set up so you are going to come later with Kol, Bonnie, and Kat, okay?"
"Okay," Ella said brightly.
"Bye baby," Caroline said and kissed her daughter's cheek. Caroline looked at Katherine, "No giving her candy." Katherine only grinned. Caroline glanced one more time in the mirror before leaving.
"Here you go," Katherine said giving Ella some of the skittles from the bag that was in her pocket after Caroline was gone, "Don't tell your Mom."
K&C
"Put that tray on the table over there," Caroline instructed. She looked down at her clipboard, "It looks like we are missing a table too. Dean?"
"It's in the back," Dean told her, "We will set it out soon."
"Don't forget," Caroline said, "We are expecting a lot of people."
It was true. People were flying in from across the world for this opening. Caroline was shocked by the response. She was also shocked at how high the prices were for Klaus' paintings are. He was going to walk out of here tonight with a lot of money. Caroline paused. She remembered something Klaus had told her earlier. All the money from this event was going to Ella. Holy shit her daughter was a millionaire.
"It looks fantastic," A voice said and Caroline turned around to see Klaus standing there in a suit looking very handsome. She ignored the flutter in her heart and smiled.
"Thank you," Caroline said and Klaus walked towards her. "Thanks for coming early. I wanted to go over the placement of your work. How did you want it organized? Color? Subject?"
"Media," Klaus said and looked at the floor plan on her clipboard, "My sketches should be in a separate area then my paintings. Perhaps this smaller space could be purely for the sketches."
"Excellent," Caroline said, "I'll get right on it. So are you excited?"
"I am not one for social gatherings," Klaus admitted, "I like being an artist because you don't have to deal with many people. Except when you have to work with incompetent fools who know nothing about art. One woman wanted to buy a painting simply because it matched the rest of her living room. I almost refused to sell it to her."
"Katherine could help you deal with those people." Caroline said smoothly.
"Oh bloody hell not you too," Klaus said rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying," Caroline said with a shrug.
"You look ravishing by the way," Klaus said and Caroline blushed.
"You don't look so bad yourself except one thing..." Caroline said and found herself adjusting his tie. "There. Perfect." Caroline looked up and didn't realize how close they had gotten. They stared at each other for a while before the sound of a tray falling snapped them out of it. Caroline stepped away and went to investigate making sure not to look back.
…...
What did you think? The Mikaelson's have arrived! Well some of them. Why Finn and Esther aren't there will be explained in the next chapter.
Why did Elijah marry Tatia? Rebekah knows, Matt knows, and I know. Don't worry you wonderful readers you will soon find out...
Thank you so much for the job suggestions! I wish I could have used them all, but I picked the ones I thought fit best with the story. I pictured Katherine working with fashion (like a lot of you did) and I made her a fashion agent trying to get different kind of clients. Kol I pictured as a computer nerd who works from home so that is what he does. Bonnie and Elena's jobs will be mentioned later.
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! You are all amazing!
I am also in need of someone who is willing to help me out by kind of like a beta, but mostly just reading the content and if parts of the story are good or need to be cut. Basically someone to bounce ideas around with. If anyone is interested let me know!