B is also for Bad Days.

I told you I wasn't gone for good!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

"Will you tell Caroline about it?"

"No."

"What's going on?" Caroline asked as Klaus and Hope came inside the house. She'd just arrived and Klaus had gone to pick up Hope from Hayley. It was October and Hope was a way too cute 3 year old in her jeans, sneakers, and bright red shirt. The weather outside was still mild.

Hope set her hand out. "I'm not having a good day and I don't want to talk about it."

Yikes.

"Did anything happen?" Caroline looked back and forth from Hope to Klaus.

Klaus shrugged as he set down her bag. He hadn't gotten anything out of Hope except that she was having a bad day. He'd hugged and kissed her when he picked her up, but she wasn't her usual, bubbly self. She was quiet during their ride back, staring out the window, not even bopping along to the radio. Hope didn't fall asleep either which also often happened.

"Can we help you? Do you have a tummy ache?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Hope was so frustrated and cranky that she got really upset. "I don't want to use my words," she yelled. Then she began to cry.

Klaus and Caroline knew she was on the verge of a meltdown and there wasn't a lot they could do.

"She's your daughter," Caroline said softly to Klaus with a smile.

"She's your mini-me," he quipped, using the term she used, kissing her in greeting. He was happy to see her, sliding his arms up and down her back.

"Don't talk about me," Hope yelled and then collapsed to the ground. She was a ball of angry fluff on the carpet. "I don't like that." Her temper tantrum continued there. There were tears and yelling.

"We talk about you all the time," Caroline told her, arms crossed over her chest, brow raised.

"No!"

"Yes. When I see any puppies, I say Hope would love them."

"I ask Caroline what you're doing when you're not here. We talk about how much we miss you."

"No. Don't talk about me!" she shouted, tears running down her face.

"This is going to last a while," Klaus said softly. They hadn't been able to tease her out of her bad mood. While her meltdowns were a little less frequent, they were getting more intense. "Do you want me to go get sandwiches?"

Caroline smirked. He was going to leave and she was going to be left with the little girl crying her heart out on the floor. "Sure."

Caroline tried a few times to talk to Hope while Klaus was out, but Hope hadn't gotten all of her anger and sadness out yet, so it didn't work. Her bad day was getting worse. Caroline stopped her from knocking over a small plant with her legs, warning her that a time out was coming if she kept that behavior up. Boundaries were important. Hope eyed her and kept crying, but didn't push.

Klaus was back quickly and Hope calmed enough to join them at the table where they enticed her with potato chips. Her nose was stuffy and her eyes were all red from crying. She went to the bathroom then sat at the table with them.

"There's a tomato on my sandwich!" It sent her into a brand new tizzy. She wailed and wailed.

"They must have gotten the order wrong," Klaus said, acting quickly. "I took it off. It's gone."

"It still touched it!" The tears were flowing again. She was so upset.

"Hope, you're being very rude. I thought you were a big girl."

"No, I'm not," she yelled, not wanting to hear that she was rude, jumping out of her seat and laying on the ground again, writhing in her anger. "I am a big girl!" The only thing missing was her kicking her feet and pounding her fists. Hope bawled and bawled. It was that classic Mikaelson temper on display. Caroline could only imagine what Klaus was like as a little kid having a meltdown.

With a sigh over the screaming and crying, Klaus and Caroline had their dinner. It wasn't pleasant, but Hope was amazing 90% of the time. She was having a rough 10% moment. They'd get through it like the family they were. At least they weren't out in public.

Hope's tears eventually subsided and she put her thumb in her mouth to console herself.

"Hope, did you take a nap today?"

At first she didn't answer them. Then she shook her head and both Klaus and Caroline looked at one another. That explained a lot. Someone was overtired.

They got up from the table.

"I fixed your sandwich. When you're ready, it's here," he said, leaving it for her, not giving her behavior any extra attention.

"Want to play Scrabble?" Caroline asked Klaus. It was an offshoot of the games they played while attached by the magical bracelets. Klaus had a better vocabulary, but Caroline was pickier about letter placement so the games were pretty close, each competitive.

He nodded and they set up the board on the coffee table in the living room.

While they played, they watched out of the corners of their eyes as Hope eventually got up and made her way to the table where she ate her sandwich all by herself. She needed some alone time.

"Can I get some milk? Please?" she asked in a soft voice.

Caroline raced up and got it for her, beating Klaus to it who had been putting his letters down, wanting to help Hope.

"Baby, I'm sorry you're having a bad day and we teased you. I love you so, so much," she said as she kissed the top of Hope's head, setting the milk down. "I really missed you."

"Sorry," Hope said too, picking up the glass of milk.

"Will you come and play with us when you're done?"

"Ok," she sighed which made Caroline smile.

Klaus and Caroline continued their game and Hope came over when she finished eating, climbing into Klaus' lap, resting her head back against him. He snuggled her close as she watched them, sucking her thumb. Caroline pulled out Hope's toy wolf from her bag and Hope hugged him tight.

"Babe, it's too early for her to fall asleep. We have to keep her awake."

They had dinner a little earlier than usual, but they were still 2 hours from her normal bedtime. She'd be up way too early if she fell asleep just then and she did well with a schedule, like Caroline. She had to stay up a while longer if she could make it.

"CC, you see baby dogs and think of me?" Hope asked. The idea was stuck in her head.

"Yup."

She liked that. "Will you take a picture of them so I can see them?"

"I'll do my very best," she agreed and Hope gave her the most beautiful smile worth every meltdown ever. Klaus leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"What about me?" Klaus asked.

"Ummm, you can paint the doggies," she decided after a minute, shrugging.

He rolled his eyes and Caroline giggled.

The front door opened and Rebekah, Enzo, and Kol came in with bags, smiling.

"Hey guys," Caroline said.

"Hello," Rebekah said with her big smile. "Have you guys eaten? We were going to grill." The trio had gone out for drinks together which turned into the grand idea of eating at home.

"There was a very upsetting incident where a tomato touched Hope's sandwich earlier," Klaus explained, "but yes, we ate."

Hope nodded seriously, sucking her thumb again.

They noticed Hope wasn't her exuberant self. She hadn't run over to be hugged and kissed. She was snuggling with her daddy.

"What's the deal?" Kol asked, used to being attacked by her when he walked in, especially after she'd been with Hayley and Jack for a few days.

"Hope is having a bad day," Klaus said, acting as her spokesman.

Hope nodded again, still sucking her thumb.

"She doesn't want to talk about it," Caroline said.

Hope nodded once more.

"She'll greet you properly next time, right?"

Klaus tickled her when she hesitated and she laughed. "Right?"

Rebekah raised a brow at her.

Enzo put his arms out, pleading for her to say yes.

Kol gave her a shocked face.

Hope loved that they were waiting for her and eventually she grinned around her thumb and nodded.

Caroline and Klaus smiled at her.

"She's like a Roman emperor, giving the thumbs up or thumbs down. Way to make me wait. Did you learn that from Gorgeous?" Enzo asked.

Klaus smirked as Rebekah carried the grocery bags into the kitchen, ruffling Hope's hair as she passed by. Kol also left and went to turn on the gas grill on the back deck.

First Hope shook her head no and then she changed her mind and nodded yes. Yes, Caroline taught her that.

Caroline laughed.

"Thought so," Enzo said, giving her a fist bump.

"I teach Hope lots of important things, sir," she said with a raised brow, smiling at Hope as Enzo laughed and walked away. "Baby, I teach you nursery rhymes and Stranger Danger. We sing our abcs together. I'm teaching you what colors and patterns go together for great style. You know, the important things."

"Quite," Klaus agreed dryly. "Let's all go outside," he suggested and they agreed.

They put Hope in a hoodie since it was cool when the sun went down. Kol threw a big rubber ball with her in the yard as Rebekah and Enzo prepared a salad, burgers, and sides. Klaus and Caroline flirted as she sat in his lap, enjoying each other's company.

"Should we play a game?" Caroline asked.

"Guess Who!" Hope yelled out and gave a little wiggle.

"Alright," Klaus said, "but only if you put on your pajamas and brush your teeth." They all knew she'd end up collapsing soon, but they could make it easier on themselves first.

Hope was ok with that and Caroline got her cleaned up and got the game from her room. It was her new favorite. They put her hoodie back on so she was warm enough and she had fuzzy slippers on too.

They set up the two boards and chairs. Once again, Hope sat in Klaus' lap. Since she couldn't read, but could otherwise play the game, it was Klaus' job to read for her when it came time to guess the identity of the other person's secret player.

"Does your person have blue eyes?"

Kol stared at her hard and answered. "Yes."

Klaus gave her a little reminder and Hope knocked down all the people that didn't have blue eyes. Klaus pointed one out she missed and she knocked it down.

"Does your person have red hair?"

Hope shook her head no, sucking her thumb again.

Kol knocked down the redheads on his board and then it was Hope's turn again.

"Is your person," Hope started and then pointed to a caricature on her board.

"Judy?" Klaus finished after reading the name.

"How could you possibly get that?" Kol yelped, stunned.

Hope gave her belly laugh that made all of them laugh. She won!

"She's really good," Caroline said and they agreed. She was very aggressive, not waiting to whittle the population down a lot, but jumping ahead once in a while to guess a name. She was definitely Klaus' daughter and he was very proud.

"Very well done, Hope. Who do you want to challenge next, princess?" Klaus asked her.

"Ummm." She looked around. "Zo!"

Of course!

Enzo handed the tongs to Kol and gave him instructions. The burgers were just about done. Rebekah and Caroline set up the table and poured the wine.

Enzo rubbed his hands together after they reset the boards. "I accept your challenge, Hula Hoop, but you're too good at this game. You're up to something sneaky."

"I know," she said with her old sass.

They played a fierce round. Hope went in with her aggressive moves. Enzo played steadily, trying to get to a smaller number of choices. He needed just one more turn to win, but first Hope had her chance. She pointed at the card. Klaus read the name…and she won again! She cracked up at Enzo's face. She loved it and her Uncle Zo.

The adults had their dinner and they kept trying to get Hope's attention to keep her awake, but it was a struggle. She made her way over from talking to Kol to see Caroline. It definitely looked like she was going to fall asleep when she got there. Caroline put her arms out for her, but someone else arrived that was even closer.

Davina followed the sound through the house and found everyone outside.

Hope was right in front of her and Hope put her arms up, wanting to be picked up by her Aunty Davina, exhausted. She took the little girl up in her arms. "Hi Hope."

Hope didn't respond, snuggling into her.

Caroline and Klaus smiled at her. They'd kept her awake long enough.

"Davina," Klaus said as Hope snuggled even more into Davina's shoulder, "want to see real magic? Rub her back a few times."

Hope's eyes were already fluttering, but after Davina rubbed her back, she was out.

Davina smiled. That was the best kind of magic. "She feels so good."

They all knew what she meant about feeling good. Hope had fallen asleep on all of them at some point and it was the best feeling. She trusted them so much.

Klaus took her from Davina's arms. Caroline came over to kiss her forehead and Klaus carried her up into her bed, also kissing her goodnight.

The adults had a nice dinner and kept playing Hope's Guess Who game. They turned it into a drinking game. You had to do a shot whenever the other person said "no." Kol beat his big brother Klaus in an epic round! Kol taunted him which had Klaus chasing him around the yard, pelting him with the rubber ball as Kol laughed and laughed.

The next morning, Hope slept very late.

In fact, Caroline even beat her downstairs for breakfast! Klaus checked in on Hope to be sure she was ok and she was still passed out.

Hope woke soon after Caroline came downstairs, but she stayed up in her room to play with her toys a little.

Caroline thought she heard Hope say her name and motioned for Klaus to listen. They tried not to listen in on everything she did, giving her privacy, but sometimes they couldn't resist.

"…is why you have to be nice. CC says I'm the nicest person she knows. Mommy says I'm her sunshine." Klaus and Caroline smiled at one another as they listened. "Jasmine," Hope said, obviously playing with her Disney dolls, "my CC says, if you burp near someone's face you have to say 'excuse me.'"

Caroline bit back her laughter. She told her to say it every time she burped, but she guessed Hope thought it was more exciting when it was near someone's face. Hope was hilarious and she was "her" CC all right.

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"My CC also says, Ariel," Hope continued, "that you have to say 'excuse me' and 'sorry' if you toot near someone's face."

Then she gave a little laugh and Caroline absolutely died.

She couldn't ever remember laughing so hard. She was doubled over and Klaus was laughing too.

"Toot" was Hope's preferred way of saying "passing gas." She got it from Hayley they thought, and the term made Caroline laugh on its own, but Hope was just the funniest kid she knew. If Hope hadn't laughed herself, it wouldn't have been quite so funny to Caroline, but it was like Hope knew what she was saying was so funny.

"You're teaching my daughter the important things alright, sweetheart, but you didn't tell Enzo you were teaching her that," he agreed with a devilish grin as she laughed.

"You know it."

Eventually Hope came downstairs and while Caroline still wanted to laugh and wanted to laugh with Hope, she was quiet.

"Good morning, Hope. How are you today?" Klaus asked.

"Good," she replied, feeling refreshed, swiping her crazy hair out of her face.

"You slept such a long time. Look," he said and tipped his head behind her, picking her up onto her booster seat.

What Hope saw made her laugh.

Caroline did a little dance for Hope and laughed. "I know, right? I'm never awake before you."

She put down her coffee and went to Hope.

"This is for yesterday since I didn't get to do it," she said, hugging and kissing Hope like crazy, making her laugh. "This is for today," she said, doing it all over again. "Love you."

"Love you, CC," Hope sighed when Caroline let her go, happy.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

Her head tipped to the side. "Ummm, waffles."

"My turn," Klaus said and then he covered her with hugs and kisses.

"Phew," Hope said when he was done, breathless from laughing.

Caroline made the waffles for her, adding a little butter and syrup, finishing making her own breakfast too.

"Where's the rest of my almond milk?" Caroline asked, shaking the carton. She would have sworn there had been more before. She didn't live there full time, but Klaus kept some in his fridge for her. He was so romantic! "It's Elijah drinking it, isn't it?"

Hope covered her mouth and giggled. CC always thought it was Uncle Elijah doing stuff.

"Sweetheart, you had some last night. You said you needed it for your hot chocolate," Klaus reminded her.

"Oh," she said with a sniff, remembering, as Klaus and Hope grinned at one another.

"What were you guys laughing about?" Hope asked them, having heard the laughter.

"You know your dad's hilarious, baby."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Hope," Klaus asked gently, needing to know, "did something happen yesterday at your mom's?"

"Or were you just grumpy?" Caroline asked, sitting down, reminding Klaus there didn't have to be a nefarious reason involved.

"Just grumpy," Hope admitted.

"Ok," he agreed. "You know if anything happened, we would do anything, anything at all to make it right. Right?"

"Yeah." She knew that.

"I get those grumpy days," Caroline told her. "Even your dad does too."

"Even me, too," he agreed and that made Hope feel better, that people could have bad days just because. It happened to her a lot, especially if she was tired. "Do you think today will be a better day?"

"Yup," she said and she was right. It was a good day.