Hello, my lovely readers. Happy TVD Thursday is back on. On with the show…

Chapter 14: Getting On with It

Bonnie was gone and I felt empty. It was not as if I expected to stay after I appeared in her life one day but I was hoping that she might. Alaric had taken on her classes. The rumor was that she was taking time off to finish a book that her publisher was putting pressure on her to complete. Of course I doubted that very much. What irritated me the most was that she had not told me that she was going. Maybe I could have tried to talk her out of it. And bloody Tyler had come home without a word about her absence. He acted as if it was nothing unusual.

Now, that we were in the middle of spring term I had volunteered to become a little league coach because I had too much time on my hands. What gave Rebekah a chuckle was that when I had added my name to the list I had not noticed that it was a girl's team that I would be coaching. Caroline was also amused by this little slip but she was too busy fussing over the upcoming birth of Rebekah's baby to pay too much attention to me and my problems.

Stefan was the only one of my mates with a lick of sense at the moment. The more he and Meredith fought the more time he spent with me so that I had someone to drink with. Damon wasn't allowed to come out and play because he had ditched us to go a vacation with Elena to Las Vegas. I was angry at him for not inviting the rest of us but he said it was some kind of "romantic" holiday. That was all I needed to be a part of. Not bloody likely.

Then there was poor old Jeremy who was losing his mind trying to prepare his new home for the arrival of the baby. I had come over one week to find him sitting on the floor of the nursery crying because he couldn't put the crib together properly. I called Alaric and he had come over to help. It ended our sitting on the floor, playing a game of poker and Jeremy winning. Rebekah was thrilled because she said she needed new shoes due to her gigantic feet. "I'm never going to fit in my heels for the wedding," she had complained and I had rolled my eyes and then she had complained that I didn't care about her. "Why did I have to be born into a family with so many men?" That is why I was trying to avoid my baby sister until she popped her own little baby into the world which should be around now sometime.

Today, I had a game to coach and a bunch of little girls who were all vying for my attention. They seemed to be impressed with the fact that I once played professional ball and at the age of seven these little darlings seemed to believe that I was some kind of baseball god. This was an idea that their parents did not try to alleviate. They, too, seemed to be under the belief that I was some kind of a baseball phenom who had hit a stroke of bad luck but my bad luck was their good luck since it meant that I could teach their kids. "Come, Kathy," I yelled out at one of my players as she hit the hall and began to run the bases. She might even make a home run. This child ran like the wind and it made me smile to watch her remembering what that felt like. "Go, girl, go," I shouted with my hands cupped to my mouth. When her foot hit the home plate, I cheered and embraced the child when she ran toward me.

"Did you see how far the ball went?" Kathy asked me with wide eyes and a huge grin. "It went all the way to the back of the field," she said, swinging her arm in a wide arc to demonstrate and I nodded.

"I did, darling, and it was lovely," I told her, patting her head and waving for her to sit with her teammates who began to chatter loudly. Looking out at the field, I saw my next girl taking her stance. Hope. She was a nervous child and was a bit shy when it came to going out on the field. I felt my stomach clench as she looked toward the pitcher. "Come on, Hope, you've got this," I called to her, she looked to me and nodded. Watching the child tighten her hold on the base of the bat, I could see her sucking in a deep breath and then narrowing her eyes at the pitcher.

The pitcher threw their ball and it went flying. I sighed heavily when the ball hit the glove of the catcher. "Strike one," was shouted and Hope's shoulders slumped. The pitcher grinned and threw her next ball and Hope tried to hit it but it hit the catcher's mitt again. Groaning, I stared at Hope, trying to will her to calm down. When the third ball flew through the air, Hope hit it so hard it went flying over the bloody fence. "Oh, my God," Hope screamed and then I was jumping up and down, screaming at her, "Run, Hope, run," the girl snapped out of her shock and started to run the bases with the whole team screaming her name. "Hope. Hope. HOPE."

"We won!" I shouted when the girl with long brown pigtails came running toward me and I picked her up and placed her on my shoulders. "Girls, you know how they say 'It's about how you play the game?' Well, they're wrong. Winning feels damn good."

"You said a bad word," Kathy informed me and I rolled my eyes. Before I could reply we were being swamped by happy and proud parents who were coming to collect their offspring. When almost everyone was picked up, I found that no one had come to collect Hope who was still atop my shoulders.

"Where are you parents?" I asked Hope who looked down at me, staring at me upside down.

"My mom is at work. She's a nurse," Hope said. "My grandmother was supposed to be here to video tape that game but I guess she forgot."

My eyebrows shot upward as I looked at the empty stands. Apparently videotaping the game was not the only thing that Hope's grandmother had forgotten. "You know what? I think I'm going to take you to the hospital and see if we might be able to find your mum."

"Okay," Hope said as I walked toward my car and sat her down in the backseat while still looking around for a woman who might be her grandmother to no avail. 'Bloody hell,' I thought as I strapped Hope into the backseat and drove her to hospital. When we got there I parked in the visitors' parking lot and then walked Hope up to the main entrance. Keeping a close eye on Hope who was standing by my side, I told a woman at the front desk that Hope's mother was supposed to be a nurse at this hospital and no one had come to pick her up at her game.

"Do you know the nurse's full name," the receptionist asked me and I had no idea.

"Ummm," I said.

"Honey," the woman said, leaning over her desk. "Do you know your mommy's name?"

"Hayley Marshall," Hope announced and I wondered why that name sounded vaguely familiar when the receptionist began to hit buttons on her computer and then picked up a phone. "Paging Hayley Marshall," she called. "Can you please come to the main desk on the first floor? Thank you."

I took a seat with Hope and we waited for half an hour before Hayley appeared in green scrubs and she looked frustrated when she saw Hope. "Honey, did Granny, forget you again?" she asked as Hope came running to leap into her arms. Then she looked at me. "Who are you?" she asked with a frown as she patted her daughter's back.

"I'm Kol. Kol Mikaelson, the new coach of your daughter's team," I intoned with a smile that made Hayley grimace.

"Shit," she said, shaking her head. "I must seem like the worst mother in the world that I didn't come to see her game but my husband died last year and things are tight." Turning her attention to her daughter, she grinned. "How was your game, baby?"

"I won," Hope cheered, waving her hands in the air.

"You did?" Hayley looked at me and I nodded. "Well, then I'll have to take you out for ice cream," she informed her daughter. "And, how about you, Coach, do you eat ice cream?"

"By the gallon," I replied and then I remembered that this was the same nurse that had gotten my brother in trouble with Caroline. "But I think that I'm forgetting plans that I already made."

"Please, Kol," Hope begged with her hands pressed together. "I want you to come." Hayley rolled her eyes but laughed at her daughter's antics.

"Okay," I relented. Then I thought of something. "Do you have someone to take care of Hope until you get off work?"

"No, I don't seem to," Hayley replied. And then she frowned again examining me.

"Don't worry, I'm not one of those people. And to prove it to you, I will leave my number and my address with you. Oh, wait, no, I have a better idea. You know Stefan Salvatore and Meredith Fell, yes? They're both interning here," Kol said quickly as Hayley looked thoughtful.

"I know Stefan. And Meredith a little bit. I usually don't work as much with doctors that she works with," Hayley said as Hope played with her hair.

"Well, they're both old school chums of mine. We practically grew up together. So, just ask Stefan about me and he'll tell you what I'm like," I informed the woman who nodded with a smile.

"I'll do that. I get off at seven. So, don't be late or I'll call the FBI. My big shot former baseball pro," Hayley said with another laugh before she set Hope on her feet. "You be good and if Kol turns out to be weird, bite him. Okay?"

"Yes, mommy," Hope said before hugging her tightly and then began walking over to take my hand.

"What are we going to do now?" Hope asked me with wide eyes. Frankly, I had no idea.

"We are going to visit my sister and her fiancée. They like kids. She's about to be a mommy herself," I informed the child.

"Kol, where do babies come from?" I felt my head begin to ache. Maybe I shouldn't have offered to babysit after all.

"I have no idea," I replied as I drove toward Bekah and Jer's home. Parking in the driveway, I rounded the car to extract my charge and we headed toward the house.

When I rang the doorbell, Caroline answered. "Hey, Kol," she greeted me and then looked down with a look of confusion. "Hi there. I'm Caroline. Who are you?"

"I'm Hope," Hope said brightly, "You're pretty."

"Thank you," Caroline said with a giggle. "Aren't you a sweet little thing. Now, why don't you tell me who my brother-in-law stole you from so we can return you?"

I slapped my hand over Hope's mouth before she could reply. "I did not steal her. I'm sitting for her. She's on my team and her mother is a nurse at the hospital that Stefan works at."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "First Klaus, now you. When are all of you going to stop chasing around?" she asked me as she let me into the house.

"I'm not chasing anyone," I snapped. "I'm doing someone a favor. She's my charge on the field so why should I not be helpful."

Caroline gave me an "I don't believe you" look. "Whatever, Kol."

"Kol?" Rebekah came into the living room and stared at me with a look of confusion. "What you doing here? I thought you didn't want to see me again until the baby is born?"

"I didn't, but I changed my mind," I said with my hands placed on Hope's shoulders. "I'm sitting and I thought you might want to help me. It will be a bit of a taste of seeing what parenthood will be like."

"How thoughtful of you," Rebekah replied with a smirk. "Caroline, did you know that Kol was so thoughtful? I think that you're doing it to take your mind off of Bonnie, like you've been doing everything lately. When are you going to just give up and call her already?"

"Who's Bonnie?" Hope asked me.

"Kol's girlfriend," Rebekah said, folding her arms over her chest.

"She's my ex-girlfriend," I retorted. If I had known that coming over here would simply mean that Bekah was going to nag me about talking to Bonnie. Hell, I could have taken the child to the park instead of dealing with a load of rubbish.

"Maybe she wouldn't be if you didn't keep messing everything up," Bekah snapped at me and I felt my irritation reaching the point of no return. There was only so much criticism that a man can take.

"Kol doesn't mess everything up. He's a great coach. And he's super nice to everyone. He helped me win the game today. So, you shouldn't be so mean to him," Hope shouted and I felt myself begin to tremble with laughter and she took my hand and glared at Rebekah.

Rebekah leaned down so that she was eye to eye with Hope. "Do you have a brother, love?" she asked. When Hope shook her head, Rebekah's grin grew. "Well, when you do call me, we'll do lunch after you've learned how horrible it can be."

"Kol isn't horrible," Hope argued. "He's going to take me and my mommy out for ice cream."

Rolling her eyes, Caroline folded her arms over her chest. "You're going out with her mother. How good to know that the old Kol is back. You're unbelievable."

I felt myself beginning to seethe as my sister and my sister-in-law put up a united front to give me the full effect of their judgment. Clapping my hands over Hope's little ears, I stared daggers at the two women. "You know what, darlings, according to my recollection in your high school days neither of you were exactly the picture of innocence. Therefore neither of you have the right to judge me. And do not give me that you are no longer those people. Throw back a couple of drinks and Caroline will be on the table top giving us a show and you, Bekah will be sobbing about some boy that didn't like you in eleventh grade. I am a grown man. Bonnie is not here. She made the decision to not come back. I am respecting her desire. But no one is going to tell me to sit around and bloody well twiddle my thumbs like I died. If I want to have ice cream with a woman who lost her husband and seems bloody nice enough, I will. And if you don't like it then you can go to bloody California and whine to Bonnie about why she left this time. Now, I am taking this child to feed the bloody ducks."

Having finished my speech I took Hope by the hand and strode to the doorway and then I paused. "Oh, and, Caroline, this is Hope Marshall. You know the nurse that Nik was chatting with that one day that you went nuclear about. And believe it or not, not everyone is dying for my brother's boy. Sometimes people just need to talk. Especially when their wives are judgy little things."

Smirking when Caroline lifted a finger to begin yelling at me again, I opened the door and walked out. Taking Hope by the hand, I walked her toward the car. Yes, what I said to Caroline was cruel but her incessant need to bring Bonnie up was cruel too. It was as if she thought that I had driven the love of my life away. No, I came back and tried to make things right. She's the one who walked away this time. Now, I was going to live my life and if they did not like how I did it or who I did it with then they could find the door and get out of my life.

Thank you everyone who has faved, followed read and/or reviewed this story. And thank you to everyone who has faved and/or followed me as an author.

CosmicAngelx: This is kind of a slow burn story during the time that Kol and Bonnie try to be happy and something seems to be working against them. The sad part is that the thing that's usually working against them is that it's usually Kol and Bonnie, themselves who are causing the most problems for their relationship because they don't trust each other. But don't worry. Their end game is in this fic. So, I hope you enjoy the journey.

Alexis2106: Bonnie is very confused, scared and a little depressed. She knows that she loves Kol but she's afraid that he'll run off again which is kind of why she ran off instead. I have fun writing about Care and Bekah and their friendship with Bonnie. I wish that they had shown Rebekah being able to create more friendships on either of the shows. Oh, well…

Laylaboo: Thank you…

Ellavm: Thank you for your continued support…

FallenWitchAngel: I know. For a little bit they're going to be doing their own thing and trying to mend their wounded hearts. And even though Ty's and Bonnie's relationship was falling apart it's still better for Bonnie to not jump from one guy to the other but to gain some perspective on what she wants from her life. The end of a relationship is like a little death and she needs to grieve. As for Kol, he thought that she would contact him. Turns out he was wrong. We will see them connect again sometime in the next couple of chapters.

MissJayde: I don't know. Bonnie needed to break up with Tyler to figure what it is that she wants from her life. Even if she and Tyler were meant to be, (which we know they aren't), but if they were, there would need to be a point where Bonnie took a step back to examine her life especially with Kol coming back in and making her question everything she thought she knew.

GettiAlexander: Your wish is my command. Thank you for being my 100th reviewer. And I hope that you enjoyed reading the update.

Peace,

Jessica