A/N- Short but sickeningly sweet.

Elijah glances over Katerina's shoulder to peer into her suitcase, ensuring that she hadn't forgot anything before she closes the lid,

"Ready, my darling?" he asks, as she leans against him, enjoying his touch,

"I think so," she says, tilting her head back for a kiss.

"But..." she adds, whispering against his lips,

"Maybe I should stay?"

He chuckles under his breath and shakes his head, stepping back from her and reaching over to lift up her suitcase,

"Shall I put this in the car for you?" he offers gallantly.

Not waiting for a response, he strides from their bedroom, down the stairs, through the mansion until he emerges into the spring twilight, the cool evening air delightful against his skin as the scent of roses wafts from the back garden and the rattle of Caroline Forbes kicking the gravel of the pathway reaches his ears.

"Is she ready?" the young woman demands impatiently,

"The plane takes off in like three hours!"

He chuckles and walks over to the taxi waiting patiently for its passengers,

"As our family owns the plane, I doubt it will set off without its two most important and -not coincidentally- only passengers"

Caroline pouts, "Still," she argues, "It's rude to be late."

Elijah laughs as he closes the trunk and turns to wrap his arms about her waist,

"If only I loved you," he declared, kissing her forehead tenderly as she giggled, "How happy I might be."

"I heard that!" Katerina snaps as she appears on the front steps,

"And if you don't think I'm going to be doing body shots off male models at some point this weekend, you're wrong!"

Elijah feigned horror, widening his eyes at Caroline who snorted and bit her lip to keep from laughing,

"Where is your lesser half?" he asks her curiously and she rolls her eyes,

"Sulking in the art studio, we've already said our goodbyes."

Elijah mimics her eye roll, "He's perfectly free to join the two of you in New York, I certainly shan't mind."

Katerina quirks an eyebrow at him as she gracefully sinks into the backseat of the taxi, "Goodbye, my love," she waves her fingers,

"Try not to change the locks while we're gone."

He waves, "Farewell, my darling, do try to resist the urge to buy every last shoe in the city"

He watches the taxi until it is no longer in sight before heading inside. Lilith is sitting patiently on the bed, awaiting his return,

"Hello little one," he murmurs as he rubs her ears, "I assume Katerina put you in charge of taking care of me while she's away."

Lilith yowls in agreement and rubs her head against his palm,

"Well," he smirks, "I was thinking a cup of tea and a book, is that alright, or would you rather strippers and skunk?"

The cat growls in warning and he chuckles, "I jest, I jest."

Around one am, Lilith who had spent the evening curled up upon his lap, raised her head and mewled, causing him to check his watch,

"I suppose it is time for bed, little one," he agrees, scooping her up under his arm, "Come along."

He's awoken just after dawn by a familiar cry and opens an eye to see Lilith standing over him, her green eyes glaring expectantly,

"I think I heard something," he teases, his voice dry with tiredness, "Could it have been the wind?"

Lilith's pupils dilate in the warning signal that she's considering scratching him and he rolls his eyes at her, climbing out of bed and rubbing his face as she leaps down and pads to the door, looking over her shoulder impatiently,

"I'm coming." he assures her, somewhat irritably, resisting the urge to take offense at her opinion of him as she leads the way downstairs, to the room that had once been his study.

The walls that had once been white were now a pale blue and the hardwood floors had been replaced by a soft carpet. Elijah moves to the center of the room where the crib is and parts the lace curtains to see his daughter gazing upwards with her lips parted, ready to issue another cry.

"There, there, my precious darling," he soothes as he gathers her into his arms, "Daddy's here."

He bounces on the balls of his feet and carries her over to the couch, sitting down carefully and laying her on his lap, Lilith jumping up a second later.

"What do you think?" he asks, as she puts her nose to both feet, licking them before stretching her neck towards the hands,

"All present and accounted for?"

When Elijah and Katerina had brought their baby home from the hospital, Lilith had immediately insisted on inspecting her and every morning seemed to count her fingers and toes, as if expecting them to have fallen off in the night.

Or perhaps she was worried that Elijah was eating them, certainly she seemed to think that in terms of decent care-taking abilities, the list was Katerina, Lilith and then Elijah a very distant third and nobody else even registered.

Even Lilith's own kittens were only allowed sentry duty.

When she sits back on her haunches with a satisfied purr, Elijah picks his baby up and runs his hand soothingly down her back,

"Are you hungry, my precious darling?" he questions, kissing her head, "Or simply desiring my attention?"

Of course, being only six months old, Darina Petrova-Mikaelson is unable to specify verbally what she desires but as it was near her feeding time, Elijah took an educated guess and the three of them went downstairs to the kitchen.

"There," he boasts to Lilith when Darina finishes her meal and begins tugging on his hair,

"See, Mistress is gone for twelve hours now and our precious darling still lives."

Lilith offers a reluctant meow, still clearly doubtful of his abilities and he rolls his eyes- an unfortunate trait he's picked up from Miss Forbes.

"Come along, my darling," he whispers into his daughter's ear,

"Why don't we prove your guardian angel wrong, hmm?"

Darina had her mother's eyes and he can see the amusement in them.

When Caroline and Katerina return after their weekend shopping trip in New York, Katerina leading the way into the house, dropping her bags and immediately heading to the nursery, there's momentary panic when she sees it empty.

Without even pausing, she finds the first kitten she can see, Aslan and picks him up by the scruff of his neck,

"Where are they?" she demands, putting him back down again.

Katerina isn't connected with Lilith's kittens as she is with her familiar, but there's a drop of magic in their blood so Aslan knows to take her downstairs, out into the backyard to where her fiancé and daughter are in the swimming pool.

She beams as she hears her daughter squealing with delight as she splashes the water, Elijah with firm hands on her stomach, keeping her hovering just above the waterline so she's at no risk.

"Hello," she calls as she approaches, kicking off her heels and slipping her feet into the pool,

"How are my loves?"

Elijah walks over, carefully placing Darina in her arms and she holds her under the arms, standing her on her lap,

"I missed you," she whispers to her daughter in Bulgarian, "Did you miss me?"

Darina chortles and stamps her feet, clapping her hands happily,

"Most certainly," Elijah confirmed, leaning his arms on the tiles, "I'm a rather poor substitute."

Katerina resists the urge to roll her eyes- damn Caroline- from the moment she was born, Darina had been the very center of Elijah's universe, he absolutely adored her, and- being a true Petrova- she had figured out pretty quickly that she had her daddy wrapped around her finger and exploited it shamelessly.

Katerina leans down and kisses the crown of her husband's head, "I'm glad you two had a good weekend."

He lifts himself out of the pool and sits beside her, his eyes on Darina as she leaned backwards and looked up at the sky,

"And you, my darling?" he asks, "How was New York?"

One torched warehouse.

Four dead bodies.

Three shot down bats.

Two compelled cops.

She smiles nonchalantly, "It was fine."

A/N- Yeah, I just did that.