IMPORTANT NOTE: As of now, June 8, 2019, I will be focusing on a story per week and trying to finish up my fanfics by the end of 2020. If you would like info on a fic, please, PM me, or drop me an anon on Tumblr queenofthedramedies, a link is on my profile page.

Hello, my lovely readers. This chapter is a lighter one and it includes some characters from Legacies, just to fill out Kol's ball team and really having nothing to do with Legacies itself. On with the show…

Chapter 26: Keep Your Chin Up, Slugger

A week passed. Kol tried to prepare himself, mentally, for his next meeting with Bonnie. The last one had not gone as well as he'd hoped for it to. Of course the unexpected company might have played a role in Kol's anxiety. He did not enjoy airing his private pain with other people who were not family and he did not always enjoy airing his pain in front of them either.

"You'll figure it out," Caroline said.

Kol lifted his head and stared at his sister-in-law. She folded a baby blanket, seeming at peace with her up-coming delivery of her and Klaus' first bio baby.

"Yes?" Kol retorted. He had not said much since arriving at Klaus and Caroline's home for an early brunch.

"Bonnie just needs time." Caroline turned and offered Kol a grin. She was glowing and Kol forced a smile. Seeing a pregnant woman held no appeal for him in that moment.

Turning back to the laundry, Caroline nodded her head. "Yup. I always root for you two. And I know you love Bonnie. Just be patient. She'll come around in the end."

"Right." Kol felt less than positive about the outcome of his time with Bonnie.

Finishing her work, Caroline turned to Kol. "Do me a favor, put this in my room. Damon should be here any minute."

Kol moved to take the laundry basket and carried it up the stairs. Dylan was helping Klaus decide between T-shirts to wear to brunch. "Blue or grey?" Klaus asked the boy.

Dylan kicked his feet off the side of the bed. "Grey!" he cried. "Hi Kol!" he shouted to Kol with a wide smile. The boy fit seamlessly into the Mikaelson fold after a few months together. "We're going to eat Alligator pancakes for bunch!"

"Brunch, Dylan," Klaus corrected. He slid the shirt over his head before walking over to the boy and ruffling the child's dark hair. Kol found an interesting spot on the floor to peer at. Klaus seemed to be so natural as a father. Kol wondered if he would have been as well or if he'd lack that gene.

"Brunch! Brunch! Brunch!" Dylan shouted. He stood up on the bed and began to bounce on it.

Klaus tried to grab the boy but Dylan bounced away from him. "If you break your neck; your mother will break mine! Come here!"

"Can't catch me!" Dylan shouted, running from one side of the bed to the other, laughing the whole time as Klaus lunged for him. "Catch me, Kol!" the boy cried and threw himself at Kol.

Kol's eyes flew open. His instincts woke and he threw himself into action, taking two long steps forward and dropping to one knee as the child sailed through the arm…and into the safety of Kol's embrace.

"You caught me!" Dylan enthused, throwing his arms around Kol's neck, hugging him tightly before scrambling away and out the open door.

"Nice catch. Seems you still have it, old boy," Klaus said with a smirk. He offered Kol a hand.

Taking his brother's hand, Kol pushed himself upward and then nearly fell back down. "Kol?" Klaus' smirk dissolved into one of worry. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Kol forced a smile. Taking a step, he gritted his teeth. "Fine. Thank you, Nik."

"You're a bloody liar." Klaus stared at Kol with a stern expression. "Tell me where it hurts."

"Nowhere, dad," Kol retorted.

A tap on the doorframe alerted them to a new arrival. "Is everything alright here?" Elijah inquired, adjusting his ever-present tie.

"Yes," Kol said.

"No!" Klaus snapped. "Kol's reactivated his old injury."

"Did not." Kol replied, sounding like his ten-year-old self.

"What's going on?" Rebekah cried, coming up behind Elijah with her baby on her hip.

"Kol needs to go to the hospital." Elijah entered the room and slipped an arm around Kol's waist like he couldn't walk by himself.

"I am fine!" Kol snapped, trying to move away from Elijah and grunting in pain.

"We're here!" Finn's voice called from downstairs.

"Finn, come up, will you?" Rebekah called over her shoulder.

"Not him!" Kol groaned.

Finn's footsteps were heard and then he came to join them. "Kol, what is the matter?"

"Nothing!" Kol shouted at them.

"Kol, needs to go to the hospital. And he's being a baby about it," Rebekah said. "Talk some sense into him, Finn."

"No!" Kol shouted at them.

"Stefan's here!" Jeremy told them, popping his head into the room.

Kol blew out a breath. "Did I grow a cervix and no one cared to tell me about it? Because I think a gyno doc is out of the question!"

"Kol, you're going to the hospital. And you will stop arguing. Or I will call Mother!" Finn snapped.

"You –!" Kol's mind rattled off a series of nasty retorts for Finn when Sage came to the door.

"Get your ass downstairs and into our car. Now, Mikaelson! Don't make me kick your ass like we're still in school!" Sage snapped, hands on her hips.

"Fine," Kol grunted. "This had better involve drugs."

"Like you need to be high. You're enough of a colossal pain in the ass," Rebekah called as Elijah and Klaus helped Kol down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Caroline called to them, coming to the end of the stairs.

"We have to get Kol to the hospital. Be home soon, darling," Klaus told his wife, stopping to kiss her cheek before moving to the front door.

Bonnie stood on the other side of the door. "Hi? What's going on?"

"Kol's hurt. We're taking him to the hospital." Elijah waited for Bonnie to move out of the way before helping Kol out of the house.

"Okay." Bonnie hugged herself and watched Kol. "Do you want me to come?" she asked him.

"No need. I'll be fine. Stefan's going to help me make a baby after this." Kol joked and then wished that he'd kept his mouth shut.

Bonnie looked pale but said nothing. Caroline waved for Bonnie to come in.

Kol slid into Finn's car and allowed his brothers to get him the hell out of there.

~0~

Three days later, Kol stood on a baseball mound, surveying the diamond. Little people's voices rang from close by. Light in the sky dimmed. They would be playing the game at dusk. Their last one for the entire season. The children were excited. It looked like the Mystic Falls team might actually win this time 'round. Or so Kol hoped.

Looking back at the stands, Kol hoped that Bonnie would take his invitation to come to the game. He knew she might still be angry at him. The pain in his tendon had destroyed his ability to think before he spoke—although Bekah would argue that he never could help himself.

Kol spotted his family in the third row. Rebekah, Jeremy and their baby. Klaus, Caroline and Dylan made their way to sit near Elijah and Kat. Katherine pulled a baseball cap low over her head and her eyes were glued to her phone. Finn and Sage were wearing Mystic Falls Junior League T-shirts. Elena and Damon were sitting right behind Elijah and Kat. Elena leaned over and grabbed Kat's phone making Kat turn around and they began to argue. Or maybe Kat just liked raising her arms and gesturing dramatically.

Stefan sat beside his brother with a bag of popcorn looking serene. Kol envied Stefan's calm. Or maybe it was just an outward show of calm. Perhaps the young doctor was a writhing mass of nerves, lonely and exhausted from work.

"Mr. Mikaelson?" one of the girl's on the team called, jerking at his shirt.

"Yes?" Kol turned his attention to Lizzie Saltzman. Lizzie was the niece of Alaric who had come to stay with her uncle while her mother settled her divorce battle.

"Is Hope sick?" Lizzie asked, her wide blue eyes pinning Kol to the spot.

"Ummm?" Kol felt confused.

"She isn't here!" Josie Saltzman, Lizzie's fraternal twin, added, coming to join her twin, also pinning Kol with wide brown eyes. "She's always here. She's never late for practice. We need her, Mr. Mikaelson!"

Kol rubbed his chin. They had fifteen minutes until the game would start. "Let me call her mother. See where she is?"

The twins gave him dubious looks before trudging back to the dugout. Lizzie said, loudly, and clearly: "Hope is not coming to play with us!"

"We're going to lose," Josie related, slumping onto the bench.

"No, we're not!" Penelope Park tossed her dark curls over her shoulder. "We're going to win no matter what!"

Kol pulled out his phone and began to call when Hayley came dashing toward them. Hope's hand was clutched in hers and Hope's eyes were on the ground. "We're sorry we're late!" Hayley told Kol. She kissed Hope on the forehead. "Play well, honey. And don't worry. We'll be fine. Mommy's going to go and watch you play now."

"Don't go!" Hope cried, clutching Hayley's hand. Her eyes met Kol's and he saw something there that tore through him. She may not understand everything that had transpired, but she knew enough, and she was taking on the guilt for her father's mistakes. No child should be made to feel that way.

"Hope, come here, darling!" Kol called. "Come, everyone, circle 'round, shall we?"

The entire team came to stand in a circle. "We came to be the champions for the season, did we not?" he inquired with a serious expression.

"YES!" the girls cried, jumping up and down, all but Hope who still stared at the ground. Her mouth stayed closed.

"And we're together as a team. Are we not?" Kol demanded.

The girls nodded, smiling. "YES!"

"And we won't allow anything to stop us tonight!" Kol asked. "Hope?"

Hope peered at Kol before she looked at her teammates. "Yes…" she whispered.

"I cannot hear you, dear!" Kol said, cupping his ear.

"Yes!" Hope's voice rose an octave but she still did not look hopeful.

"Little louder!" Kol waited and waved for the other girls to encourage Hope.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lizzie, Hope and Penelope began to chant. "Go Mystic Falls! Go Team! Go Hope!"

Hope's cheeks burned pink but she began to smile. "Okay. Go team!" she clapped her hands and a genuine smile lit up her face.

"Right then." Kol checked his phone. "It's time."

The girls formed a small line as their enemy team from Richmond came to stand across from them. "Remember, good sportsmanship, ladies," Kol reminded the girls. His girls shook hands with the ladies from the Richmond team. Only Penelope shook a little too long and a little too hard with a huge grin on her face. She did enjoy a competition.

Kol watched the girls get into their positions before he turned to look over the stands, again. Bonnie slipped into a seat beside Elena with her friend, Kai, while Alaric moved over a seat to make more room.

Hayley sat on the other side of the stands and Kol noted that there had been other people sitting there who had moved away from Hayley. Davina sat beside her sister, looking defiant and waved to Kol who nodded back. He had to concentrate on the game.

As the sun glared down at the two rival teams, the girls took their places. First up to bat would be Lizzie Saltzman. Choosing Lizzie could be a bit of a risk for Kol. In the short time he'd spent with the girl, he could tell she had a bit of a temper and this could end with the bat flying into the stands. However, he also knew she enjoyed a good competition and would send the ball flying straight into the outfield.

A tiny girl from Richmond moved to the plate. Her eyes held a glint to them and Kol slid a piece of gum into his mouth, beginning to chew furiously, his arms wrapping around his chest. "Come on, Lizzie, show them what we have," he muttered under his breath.

Josie sat, her hands clasped in her lap, her brown eyes boring into her sister and Kol thought he heard her chanting. "Hit the ball. Hit the ball. Hit the freakin' ball!"

Lizzie bent into position, feet splayed, bat held firmly in her little hands. Kol could almost feel her level of concentration.

The girl on the pitcher's mound wound up the ball and sent it flying toward Lizzie and it…

Went right past Lizzie into the glove of the pitcher's teammate. "Strike one!" yelled the umpire.

"Shit!" Lizzie shouted, banging the end of the bat against the plate and grimacing.

"Language, Lizzie!" Alaric called from the stands.

"Sorry!" Lizzie called back, waving and smiling before turning a death glare on the pitcher.

The pitcher seemed unfazed. With a grin, she wound up again and sent a ball that whizzed through the air. She had one hell of an arm for a child younger than ten. Perhaps she would be recruited for the Majors.

A grunt came from Lizzie when she turned in a circle as momentum took hold of her. "Noooo!" she wailed.

"Strike two!" the umpire called, holding up two fingers.

Kol chewed his gum even more furiously and caught sight of Bonnie. She sat forward on her seat like she used to do when she came to watch him play. Her eyes flicked from Lizzie to the enemy team. Kol almost smiled. It looked like Bonnie might actually be investing in his team.

Kol held up a hand. "Time-out!" he shouted.

"Oh, come on!" Richmond's coach yelled, throwing her hat on the ground and then waved her team into a huddle.

"Lizzie!" Kol called.

Lizzie came to him, her shoulders slumped. "Yeah?" she looked rather put out.

"Stop concentrating on wanting to win. Feel the sun on your skin. Feel the plate under your shoe. Nothing else matters. Just think about the sound of your bat connecting with that ball. You like the sound, right? That familiar crack. And the wonderment you feel as the ball soars into the sky like a bird." Kol patted the girl's slim shoulder. "Now, go and enjoy the sport."

Lizzie bounced back to the plate with a happy grin. The pitcher looked a little confused but wound up again. She sent the ball flying and Lizzie slammed her bat into that ball so hard her entire body rocked backward.

At first no one did anything, including Lizzie who looked somewhat shocked that she hit the ball. Then, "Run, you idiot!" Penelope shouted at a stunned Lizzie. "RUN!"

Lizzie did not have to be told again. Her blonde ponytail went flying as she began to charge along the bases, flying past Richmond's players as the girls in the outfield raced to gather the ball and prevent Lizzie from making a homerun.

But the little blonde was too fast today. She slid back to the home plate, laughing. Josie ran out to embrace her sister and the Mystic Falls audience were roaring with delight in the stands. They were up by one. Still, they had a lot of game to play.

Peering back into the stands, Kol spotted Bonnie. She was grinning, high-fiving Elena and Caroline. For a brief second, Bonnie's eyes connected with Kol and a slew of happy memories filled his mind. All of the after-game parties they had gone to. All of the times that Bonnie would slip into his jersey and he'd hold her nestled into his arms before they fell asleep. Sneaking out in the middle of the night to play a private game with their friends.

"Who's up next?" Penelope demanded, her hands on her hips.

Kol glanced over his shoulder and saw Hope's head hung low. "Penelope, you're up." Kol decided he'd allow Josie to go after Penelope and save Hope for later in the game. She needed to find her confidence before taking the plate, otherwise they might be losing this game after all.

~0~

"We're getting ice cream when we win?" Penelope said, striding off the field. Her uniform had dust all over it. That would be one hell of a dry-cleaning bill for her parents to pick up. However, they'd sent the babysitter to watch their daughter play, so he thought they probably wouldn't think too much about it.

"Ice cream and pizza!" Kol informed the group of girls.

"I think frozen yogurt would be better for our figures," Lizzie remarked.

"No one cares what you think," Penelope remarked.

Josie frowned, but said nothing, leaving Kol to break up the fight. "How about we do both, shall we?" he asked them.

Penelope smirked. "Fine."

"Fine," Lizzie snarled back.

Things were just fine until Hope took the plate. "What's the Kenner kid doing here?" someone called, a little too loudly.

"Who?" someone else asked, also loudly.

"That's the kid of the guy who tried to kill Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett!" the first jackass replied. "Get off the field, Murderer!"

"What did you just call my daughter?" Hayley shouted.

"Shit," Kol groaned.

Hope had dropped the bat and run into the dugout. Kol could hear her sobbing. Turning around, Kol marched over to the gate, separating the stands from the field. "Shut the bloody hell up!" he shouted at the guy with the loud mouth.

"And why the hell should I?" the guy demanded.

Kol could feel his own rage beginning to simmer. All thoughts of frozen treats melted away as a pit of burning lava erupted in his stomach. "Says the man who will be beating you senseless with my own baseball bat if you don't leave my team be!"

"Kol, calm yourself," Elijah said. He came across the stands to stand between the gate and the two men. "I'm sure these two have come to watch a game performed by a group of children who have a right to not be traumatized by their lack of manners. Perhaps we might continue this discussion at a later time?"

The two men gaped at Elijah before the first loud-mouth got to his feet. "Who do you think you are? Coming to our town and trying to tell us what to do?"

The crowd from Richmond began to whisper amongst themselves. Many of them looked intrigued or wary of the argument ensuing on the Mystic Falls side. Others seemed to think that this would end with Mystic Falls having to forfeit the game. And Kol would be damned if he had to forfeit for some drunken fools.

"He's with us." Damon said. He came over to stand beside Elijah.

Drunk two stared at Damon. "Hey, aren't you that…that lady's husband?"

"The one only. Wave 'Hi,' to Lena for me?" Damon held out a hand, gesturing at Elena who did not look happy with anything that had just happened. "Now, if you don't mind, my wife and I—the one you thought you were defending—would like to watch the game."

Drunk One and Drunk Two looked at each other and then at Damon. "You want to watch the junior murderer play for our town?" Drunk One demanded, his hands on his knees. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbled and a flask fell out of his jacket. "What is this town becoming,

Reggie?" he asked his friend. "Bunch of bleeding hearts. Not like the good old days."

"Oh, boy, the good old days. Yeah, let's go back to that," Damon retorted, a gleam in his eye. Yes, this might become a fight but someone new announced themselves.

"Gentleman, is there a problem?" Tyler Lockwood asked, coming down from the back of the stands. He pocketed his phone and stood in the aisle, glancing from Drunk One to Damon. His hands went into his pockets.

"Yeah. I just want that," Drunk One gestured at the dug-out. "Off our team."

"Well, that would be up to the coach, sir," Tyler said, his eyes fell on Kol. "Do you want her off the team, Coach Mikaelson?" Kol shook his head "No." "Well, then, I guess she's going to play."

"Then we're leaving. And we'll remember this come the election, Mayor Lockwood," Drunk One snapped and Reggie scrambled to his feet. The two pushed past Tyler who looked unfazed as they left. A number of other attendees got up and left, too, making their feelings abundantly clear.

"Thanks for that," Kol said as Tyler came to stand on the other side of the gate.

Tyler nodded. "I'm mayor now. It's my job to support my teams."

With a smirk, Kol cocked his head to the side and gave another quick nod. He returned to the dug-out. "Hope, come here, would you?"

Hope got up and came to him. Bending down so he could see under her cap, Kol lifted her chin. "Look, Hope, none of this is your fault. Do not make the mistake of taking this upon yourself. You have a long life to live. Now, do me a favor, will you?"

Hope looked at Kol, her eyes full of a remorse beyond the years she'd lived thus far. "Yes?"

"Go out there and win us this game?" Kol watched the girl nod.

"I can try," Hope whispered.

"And that is all any of us can do," Kol told her, patting her back.

Hope returned to the plate. The new pitcher came forward and a chant came out that made Kol want to break a bat. "If you can't hit the ball, ya gonna hit me with a car?" the girl's sing-song voice made Kol's hands ball into fists.

"Time!" Kol shouted. His feet carried him onto the field and straight toward the little girl. "Get with your coach, now!" he shouted at her.

The girl's eyes widened and she ran to the coach like he'd hit her. "But…" the girl could be heard crying to her coach whose words were too low for Kol to hear. "The man said… That's not fair! I'm not bad, like her!" Stomping to the opposite dug-out, the girl sat down, her arms folded over her chest.

The girl who almost kept Lizzie from making a home-run came back out. Richmond cheered for the girl, Talia, who came to stand at the pitcher's mound. She stood without a word and her stance said all business.

Hope's stance said she wanted to go home. Still she tried to hit the ball. Each time, she would lift the bat and smack at the ball. But Kol could tell she was in the game. When she hit strike three, she returned, her head bowed. Lizzie returned and made her second home-run. "Yogurt time!" she proclaimed.

Kol caught Hope before she could leave the dug-out. "There will always be another game."

Hope nodded and went to her mother.

Leaving the dug-out, Kol joined his family and friends. "You were pretty good out there today," Bonnie told him.

"Thank you," Kol replied. "Would you and Kai like to join us for yogurt and ice cream?"

"Sure," Bonnie nodded.

Kol smiled. Tonight they would celebrate one of the wins for the year amongst what felt like many losses.

The next chapter will be up next week, unless there's a natural disaster, I am sick or something like that…

Thank you for reading, faving, following and reading.

Peace,

J