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Chapter 36

Klaus and K had been spending their nights together. They wouldn't touch one another in any sexual way, but they would still wake entwined with one another.

On the third day, Klaus was the first to wake again. He hated that he hadn't been getting a great deal of sleep, but he was more than willing to deal with it in lieu of what he was getting in return.

The sun began to spill into the room waking him from his relatively shallow slumber. The weight on his chest was welcomed and something he hadn't realized he missed. The sea of hair spread across his shoulder and pillow and while it wasn't the same ebony he'd grown accustomed to, it still held the same sweet scent of the woman at his side.

Klaus reached over and tenderly laced her hair around his fingers. Gently, he guided it back away from her face so he could better see it. She looked at peace sleeping. He wished he could keep her that way, but he knew otherwise.

"Must you always stare?" she asked in a voice thick with sleep.

Klaus didn't speak or move. K slowly pulled back until she was lying on her pillow again and met his gaze.

"Good morning." He finally said.

"Is it?" she quipped.

K rolled onto her back and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I've a favor to ask." He said after a moment. She turned her head to look at him and waited for what he had to tell her. "Join me this afternoon."

"Where to?"

"A visit, out of state."

He didn't have to go into further detail. K knew he meant Hope. A soft, sweet smile crossed her lips. Whether she wanted to or not, K had begun to develop an attachment to the little cherub and because of that she nodded. Klaus grinned.

"I should head home first, though." She admitted. "I haven't been there… for a little while."

His grin turned into a smirk.

"Been spending a bit too much time elsewhere?" he openly teased.

K lifted her hand and brought it down on his gut. Klaus grunted and laughed from the force. Rolling her eyes, K got out of bed and began to dress. Klaus slowly got up and began to do the same.

Neither of them truly remarked on K and Klaus's 'slumber party'. While it was obvious she'd been spending her nights with him, neither of them pointed it out. It was almost as though they were afraid to. K was worried, afraid that if she pointed out there were somewhere calm and comfortable, that something would come and take it away. Klaus was worried –knew really- that if he said anything about her staying the night with him she'd stop. He didn't want her to leave, not when she brought calmness to his mind in the wake of his ever present madness.

K turned enough she could see him over her shoulder as she buttoned her jeans.

"I'll be back in an hour or so." She told him.

Klaus nodded. She let her stare linger for a moment on his bare chest before leaving. He'd been in the process of pulling on a shirt when she spoke and she clearly wasn't above ogling a bit. He chuckled internally when she had, but again said nothing to point it out.

~!~

The three found themselves driving in relatively uncomfortable silence. It wasn't uncommon.

"Why've you brought the waitress?" K asked in Finnish.

Klaus could see her head resting against her seat, but rolled lazily towards him as he drove. A smirk emerged on his lips, one she'd grown accustomed to through the years. He glanced briefly into the rearview mirror and noticed Cami staring out the window trying to look as though she wasn't eavesdropping.

"Have you already grown so cold towards her?" he teased with the smile. "It seems not long ago, the two of you were friends."

"Friend is a bit of a stretch." She clarified. "I may not have an issue with her, but I'd like to know why she's here, on her way to see your daughter."

"She's proven herself trustworthy."

"Has she?" K countered quickly. "It wasn't long ago she sought to kill you and your family."

"Were you so different just a year ago?" he shot back without hesitation. The comment wasn't said with malice, but he received a glare regardless. "Apologies." He said in order to avoid a fight. "She risked a great deal helping us acquire Finn. You know my brother's wrath," he turned to look at her. "Is it too surprising to think he'd come after her as well?"

K did little more than shrug. He sighed to himself and went back to driving.

"You know," Cami said from the backseat. "It's probably easier to talk about someone in another language, but if they're in the car, they kind of know you're talking about them."

Klaus looked up into the mirror again and saw Cami staring back at him in aggravation.

"It has nothing to do with you." He openly lied. "You'll understand once we get there."

"Get where?" she asked. "You still haven't told me where we're going."

"Somewhere safe." He repeated. That was how Klaus had been able to get her to come with him, the promise of safety from Finn.

With a mild huff, Cami sank back into the seat again and returned to staring aimlessly out the window.

~!~

Cami nearly fainted when she saw Hope which wasn't surprising. Klaus warned her that she wouldn't be allowed to keep the memory of the visit and Cami understood, but she was surprisingly trusting. Evidently, she didn't worry Klaus would do something else with her mind.

Elijah took the background as he had been for awhile now. He didn't mind being around people, but he was always thinking and it turned him silent so 'joining in conversation' fell to the wayside.

As he stood staring out at the open land near the back of the house, K approached. He heard her, but didn't bother turning.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Elijah said nothing for a moment. Instead he took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

"Preoccupied." He answered. It wasn't meant to sound cold, but it did.

"Are they hallucinations?"

"They are hard to describe." He offered instead. "As you know, my mother is adept at making one doubt themselves."

She nodded. K turned to leave the solemn brother to his thoughts.

"If you're hungry," she called over her shoulder. "Klaus and I brought a few more blood bags with us."

She saw him nod before she left the room entirely. As she stepped through the house, K was drawn to the sound of Cami, Hayley and Hope. As she neared, she saw Klaus leaning against the doorjamb watching Cami holding his daughter and smiling because of it. He glanced briefly to his side when he saw movement, but when back to the display after seeing it was only K.

K leaned against the adjacent side of the doorframe. To her, she could only see the others if she turned her head while Klaus faced them directly from his perch. She said nothing for a moment or two.

"Did you ever think this was possible?" she asked softly so her voice wouldn't draw attention to the women with the baby.

"What?" he asked casually.

K turned her head to face him. Klaus met her gaze fully.

"That you could have a child."

He smiled to himself and shook his head.

"Honestly, I never wanted a child." He admitted to hers and Hayley's shock. Hayley was more than capable of hearing them, but Klaus didn't notice her sideways glare.

"Why?" she asked.

Klaus sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to tell her the real reason, but K seemed to sense it. She knew it wasn't because he thought a child would 'cramp his style' or that he lacked the paternal gene.

"Ah," she muttered. Klaus looked up from the ground and saw her focused on him still. "Given he's made it abundantly clear he's not your father, do you really think you would've been anything like him?"

"Neither parent was much of a template." He said. "Esther turned out to be no better than Mikael."

"They fought to destroy their children. You've fought to protect yours. As it is, I think you're already ahead of the game." She smiled warmly which in turn had him do the same.

"Hey guys," Hayley called from her seat. Klaus and K turned toward her. "Can one, or both, of you grab a bottle for me? It's time to feed Hope."

Klaus nodded and headed off. K was ready to stay behind until Hayley made the comment Klaus wasn't good at determining the bottle's temp. With a smile, she followed after the hybrid to ensure the formula wasn't molten lava when he gave it to his daughter.

"So," Cami said when they were gone. "I guess K doesn't know you knocked her out the other day."

"Nope." Hayley replied freely. "And hopefully she won't."

"You still think she'll try to kill you?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Cami nodded to herself. She didn't think K would react as violently as she would have anymore. Something was clearly different. The last she'd known, K's humanity was a thing of the past.

A few minutes after the two had stopped talking, Klaus and K emerged. Klaus looked as though he was pouting. Considering K was the one with the bottle, it seemed likely she had taken over the feeding.

When she reached the pair, ready to hand it off, Hope twisted in Cami's arms. She began to reach for the vampire much to the blonde's surprise. As it was, K reached down and picked the infant up without asking permission and began to feed her. Hope immediately relaxed and took the bottle without coercion.

"She seems to like you." Cami said. She couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. "Taken care of many kids?"

A smile touched not only K's lips, but Hayley and Klaus's as well.

"You can say that." She replied simply.

K shifted her weight from one foot to the other to keep the child moving and comfortable when Elijah appeared in the doorway. He didn't immediately speak. For some reason, every time any of them saw the little girl, they couldn't help but pause in awe.

"So, is there to be a plan?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded.

"Well, let me take her," Hayley stood and took her daughter from K's grip. "And you guys can stay in here and talk about killing and maiming and whatever else you want to do to people."

"Fair enough." Klaus chuckled. He waited until she was gone with the young one before speaking again of what he thought they should do. "And now that Esther has been safely entombed, I need to continue making the city safe for Hope. That means, having to do away with Finn."

"Oh," Cami groaned. "He is going to go off the deep end when he figures out what you've done to your mother."

"Which is precisely why you must stay here, tucked away." He said as he slid into his seat. "Hayley, Kalli and I shall return home and deal with my brother. Elijah will stay here with you and Hope. He's been experiencing some issues since his time as our mother's captive." A smirk touched Klaus's lips. "It's better he stay here and convalesce."

"One violent outburst," Elijah sighed heavily from his spot near the window. "At a disgusting roadside café, and one never hears the end of it."

"Well Cami has a way with broken things, brother." Klaus teased.

"Stop it," K chastised weakly. She wasn't truly stopping either of them because neither was being mean to the other. "The both of you are being ridiculous." K rolled her head towards Elijah. "Cami needs to stay out of sight as well as you until whatever Esther did fades," she then looked to Klaus. "And you need to stop enjoying your brother's discomfort as much as you are."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean," he said in thick, 'innocent' sarcasm. "I've only ever shown concern for dear Elijah."

The three in the room collectively rolled their eyes which Klaus found amusing. Without a counter, Klaus stood from his seat and offered K his hand.

"Now then," he said as he helped her stand. "We shall be off. Rebekah should already have woken in the body of Angela Barker. Once she's settled her affairs and cut ties, she'll be making her way here. Do keep an eye out for her."

Together with both of the women in his life, Klaus left the country home in favor for the compound in New Orleans.