A/N: Some fluff and family bonding. Short chapter ahead.

-Family matters-

Coldplay – Hymn for the weekend

Hearing a knock on the door of his assigned room, Jake looked up from his phone. He felt a familiar radiating of magic from the other side, so he immediately knew that it was his mother - and he knew what she wanted to talk about.

"Hey," she said, after creaking the door open and peering inside. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Alice got in and slowly closed the door, before walking to her son. She sat at the edge of the bed and looked around the room, a smile tugging on her lips. Jake seemed to have grown on Rebekah, given that she let him stay in her old room. The walls, that used to be painted in a bright violet, were now white, the curtains were gone and so was the plushy blue carpet. Alice could feel the scent of the vampire that stayed there, still lingering on the bed and in the air. It somehow made her feel uneasy.

"Do you like it here?" she asked the question that had been bothering her ever since they left the airport.

Jacob thought for a moment, before answering. "Not particularly – it smells too much like lavander here," he said, scrunching his nose. This caused Alice to laugh.

"I didn't mean the room," she said and Jake smiled for the first time since they arrived.

"Yeah, I think I do." Jake said, after a moment. "But I still won't tell you how I healed Rebekah."

This made Alice's smile disappear. She frowned. "Why not?"

"Prying ears," he whispered, gesturing to his own ears. That boy's mind was fast as a whip and he was a lot smarter than most kids his age.

Of course, he was right. The compound was still full of the vampires they fought just a few hours before and Alice wasn't sure if she trusted them yet. She nodded, turning her head to see someone open the door. It was Klaus.

"I'll leave the two of you alone," Alice said, before getting up and walking to the door. "Behave."

"Will do, mom."

"Oh, I know, sweetie. But I wasn't talking to you." Sending a warning glare in Klaus' direction and giving him a kiss on the cheek, she left, closing the door behind her.

Well, best get this over with, Jake thought, before getting up.

"You don't need to-"

"My mother raised me well, for the most part – don't try to change that," Jacob said, then outstreched his hand. "Jacob."

With slight hesitation, Klaus shook the boy's hand. "Niklaus."

He already knew his son's name and didn't doubt that the boy knew his, but introduction was usually the best beginning of every relationship (or so he read in that book Camille bought him one Christmas).

Plopping back on the bed and crossing his legs, Jake sighed. "So..."

"What grade are you in?" Klaus suddenly asked.

"Huh, you wanna talk about school – not exactly what I imagined our first conversation to be about," Jake mumbled, but still answered the question. "I'm going to ninth next fall."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be in sixth grade? – You're twelve."

"Twelve and a half," Jacob corrected. "And yes, I was supposed to be in sixth grade, but apparently, I was too smart."

Klaus couldn't help but grin at that. Even after spending only two minutes with him, he was already proud of Jacob.

"All A-s, I suppose." It wasn't a question.

"All... except French – the teacher just hated me."

"Perhaps she was just jealous," Klaus suggested, chuckling. He was growning more comfortable as they talked and he honestly admired the boy's easy-going attitude. He definately had more Salvatore genes in him than Mikaelson.

"No, it was probably because I accidentaly told her that her hair looks like a wet cat in French," Jacob said, smiling to himself. "I meant to say it looked like a rat, thinking she wouldn't understand. Turns out she was actually French."

"Tell you what," Klaus said, lowering his voice. "I can teach you a few useful words in my mother tongue. Though you should avoid saying them around your uncles and aunts – especially your mother."

"Deal," Jake said, smiling. "Now, if you don't mind – I'd really like to go to sleep now."

"Of course," Klaus said. "You an get another room, if you'd like."

"Maybe tomorrow. 'Night," Jake said, already half-asleep. Carefully, Klaus tiptoed out of the room and closed the door. He almost jumped as he saw that Rebekah was standing outside the door.

"So?" She asked, expectanly. "How did he do it?"

Klaus sighed. "What can I tell you, sister – the boy has a gift. Leave it at that." Grinning, he walked back to his and Alice's room, only to see that she was already asleep.

Slowly, he undressed and climbed in next to her, careful not to stir her. But as soon as he lay down, Alice scooted closer to him and placed her head on his chest, while placing a hand on his torso.

"Did you talk to him?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"I did," Klaus whispered, while moving to wrap an arm around her. He kissed the top of her head. "His intelligence is outstanding."

Alice hummed in agreement, uttering one last sentence before she dozed off.

"Just like his father."