Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the TVDU
*Previously on The Human Diaries*
"Hi, my name is Officer Scott and I am the leading officer on this case," said the head officer, holding the leash of a dog. The other four officers also had dogs sniffing around. "I am so sorry about your children, but we will do the best that we can to find them. We have our canine friends to help sniff out your children, so if you have any article of clothing that will have their scent, that would be extremely helpful. The following children are missing: Hope Andrea Mikaelson, almost 13 years old, Caucasian, reddish/blonde hair and blue eyes; Tate Cassidy Mikaelson, seven years old, Caucasian, red hair and blue eyes; Sophia Nadia Mikaelson, almost five years old, Caucasian, brown hair and brown eyes; Jonathan Henrik Donovan, four years old, Caucasian, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes; and Nathaniel Nikolas Mikaelson, three years old, African-American, brown hair and brown eyes. We already received photos from their Aunt…"
During that whole speech, Freya could feel ten sets of daggers being sent her way. They had trusted her with their children, and she had let them down. She could only look at the ground; she could not bother to look at them. She could barely see the ground with how much she had been crying.
"Now, we spoke to a few witnesses at the park and while no one did see exactly who took your children, there was observations of suspicious activity from an older couple. We got a character description," Officer Scott explained and motioned for one of his officers to show the photos of the suspects. "Our sketch artist drew these images of our Number One suspects. Do you recognize this couple?"
The five Mikaelsons gaped at the sketches, feeling their blood boil in their veins. Recognizing the photos, Hayley, Caroline, Bonnie, Sage, Katherine and Matt felt the same way.
"You've got to be freaking kidding me," Klaus growled.
"Do you know these people, Mr. Mikaelson?" Officer Scott inquired.
"Yeah those are our fucking parents."
Silence spread across the room.
"Are you saying that the suspects are the children's grandparents?" Officer Scott raised his eyebrows.
"You don't understand, Officer," Finn explained, "our parents are dead. Our father for 12 years and our mother for five."
"So, you want us to keep this warrant out for their arrest?"
"Yes," all five Mikaelsons said at the same time.
Officer Scott nodded.
…
Five hours later, the Gerard mansion was silent as everyone sat in despair. Even the youngest kids sensed something was wrong and were just quietly playing in the center. Sage was holding Lydia close to her chest, Finn sitting with his head in his hands nearby. He would've been right by his wife's side, holding both her and their daughter in his arms, but he didn't want to push his luck with how she was mad at him. Although he had comforted her earlier, she eventually moved away to grab Lydia and cuddled with her on the opposite side of the room from him. He wanted nothing more than to hold his two girls.
Klaus and Caroline were each holding one of their girls—Klaus had Josie and Caroline had Lizzie, while Cassie was with Hayley. They figured she could benefit from the warmth of a toddler to keep her mind occupied from the whereabouts of her own daughter—it wasn't working too well, but Hayley appreciated the offer. Hayley loves Jackson with everything she had, but she couldn't help but feel like Hope is all that matters to her, and she wouldn't know what she would do without her daughter. But she held Cassie tight, appreciative of the family that her daughter had, and prayed for her daughter to come home.
Elijah continued to disregard his distress with Katherine and sat with her while she rocked Hayden. Katherine kept playing with her son's hair and humming. Elijah held her in his arms and kissed her forehead every once in a while. He kissed his son's head often as well. He felt like part of this is his fault. If he hadn't been so hostile with his brothers and Katherine, then Freya may not have offered to take the kids to the park and then the kids wouldn't be missing.
Why is the terrible fate of one our kids always my fault?
Rebekah stood looking out the window. She had stopped crying hours ago and instead just felt numb. Every time Elena or Marcel or Matt would try to hug her, she would just nod into their shoulder and her arms were limp like a doll. She couldn't react. She couldn't see her other two boys or else she would break down crying. Matt was sitting with Adrian and Zach on a rocking chair, his face still wet.
Bonnie stood looking out a different window. Kol sat with his head in his hands. Kol wanted nothing more than to hold his wife, but she didn't want him to. Emma sat beside him, holding Jessica and playing with her little fingers. Emma still had tears streaming down her face.
Elena and Freya sat on the staircase with Camille and Davina. The rest of the guys—Damon, Marcel, Jackson, Kaleb, Aiden and Josh—had been in the kitchen, sitting in silence like the rest of the house.
"They are never going to forgive me," Freya whispered. "Those kids have to come home," she let another tear slide down her cheek. "I will never forgive myself."
Elena rested her hand on Freya's back and rubbed it.
"The kids will come home," Camille said. "If Mikael and Esther are really the ones that took the kids, then they would have found a way to get them, regardless of who was with them. Your family will realize that. You have to forgive yourself."
Freya nodded but stared down at the floor.
Damon walked over towards where Bonnie was looking out the window. "Bonnie." He wrapped her into his arms, but she just felt like a fragile doll. She barely lifted her arms up to hug him back. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, "He will be okay. Everything's going to be okay."
Bonnie found some strength to nod into his shoulder. She couldn't think too much. All she wanted to do was cry about her little boy.
As Damon released her from his arms, she looked up and saw Nate walk past the windows near the front door.
She saw Nate.
The front door opened, and Nate stepped through it, followed by Hope, Tate, Jonathan and Sophia.
"Mama!" Nate cried and ran towards Bonnie. Jonathan and Sophia also cried "Mama!" and ran towards Rebekah and Katherine, respectively. Hope cried "Mom! Dad!" and enveloped both Hayley and Klaus to a hug. Tate had cried, "Mommy! Daddy!" He had reached Finn first as Sage was still holding Lydia.
"Oh, my baby!" Bonnie cried as Nate reached her and she lifted him up into her arms. Kol was immediately by her side, kissing the top of Nate's head.
"Oh, thank god," Rebekah cried as she swooped Jonathan into her arms, Matt suddenly by her side and kissing his son's head.
Katherine and Elijah both kneeled with Hayden in their arms and Sophia ran right into her family hug. The four of them just sat on the ground holding each other.
Finn was hugging Tate, but immediately handed him over to Sage who was frantically touching her son's face over and over to make sure he was real, tears sobbing down her face.
Hope had reached Klaus and Hayley at the same time, but somehow got passed to Caroline and then Jackson in the midst of everyone reuniting, then back to her father's arms, and now she landed back with her mother. Once Hayley got her daughter back in her arms after letting Klaus and Hope's stepparents hug her, she locked her arms around the pre-teen and didn't plan on letting her go. She kissed the top of Hope's head repeatedly.
Freya stood up and let out a sob of relief, so happy that they were all home. Elena cried too, her hand on her chest, so happy for her friends and family that their children were home. Damon let out a sigh of relief, tears threating to cascade down his cheek. He grabbed his own son and held him close just one more time for the night.
"Oh, my baby, where have you been?" Hayley asked Hope.
"Some weirdo took us," Hope explained. "But it's alright, we're all fine—"
"Grandpa Mikael and Grandma Esther saved us," four-year-old Jonathan said.
"What?" All five Mikaelsons asked, their voices the softest they had ever been.
Once all twelve parents (including Hope's two stepparents) stopped fussing over their found children, they looked up towards the front door. And sure enough, Mikael and Esther were there.
Klaus felt his chest jump at seeing Mikael in over a decade. This man hated him with every fiber of his being, and yet he saves Klaus' daughter?
Kol felt angry, looking at his parents. They were supposed to be dead. Why weren't they dead?
Finn, Rebekah and Elijah stood gaping at their parents. All three of them didn't know what to think. Thank them for rescuing their children? Hate them for faking their deaths?
None of them knew what to do, what to say.
Everyone stood staring at the Mikaelson parents, all in shock of them standing there.
"You're welcome," Esther said suddenly. She sensed that no one was going to speak, but she can tell the corks and screws were spinning in their brains.
Officer Scott stepped forward. He had given the families space when the children arrived back home, but now he needed to talk to the Grandparents to understand exactly what happened.
"Can you two follow me down the police station to give a statement of what happened? We had assumed you were the ones who had taken them, but the kids seem to think you rescued them. You are not under arrest, but we do need a statement."
"Yes, of course," Mikael nodded.
"Great, I will see you down there," Officer Scott as he exited the house.
Mikael and Esther just looked at their children, and upon seeing the looks on their faces, just nodded and then followed the Officer out.
Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and Finn all shared a look. Then they bolted out the house.
"Mikael!" Klaus shouted.
Mikael turned around, feeling happy that his sons had followed him outside. Perhaps that was a good sign. He would get to make up for his past, for his children's upbringing. He smiled at Klaus. He needed to make it up to him the most.
Mikael's smile faded when Klaus's fist collided with his jaw. Mikael clenched his fist and threw it back at Klaus' jaw, only to then be punched by Elijah. So, then Mikael threw a punch at Elijah, who was then defended by Finn. Mikael then threw his fist at his oldest son, and then Kol was the last brother to punch Mikael and receive a punch back. And then all four brothers ganged up on their father. Mikael, outnumbered, fell to the ground.
Everyone had gathered outside and stood watching the fight from a distance.
Meanwhile, Rebekah had tackled Esther to the ground, screaming, "YOU BITCH!"
"Let us explain!" Esther coughed as Rebekah slapped her across the cheek. Matt immediately came to lift his wife off of her mother, kicking and screaming, before she could cause any real damage. The Mikaelson siblings were lucky that the police officer had already left the driveway before Klaus threw the first punch.
"Not in a thousand years!" Rebekah screeched.
"Do something!" Many of the girls cried, voices scattered as they pushed the non-Mikaelson men towards the fight between the brothers and their father.
Damon grabbed Elijah, Marcel grabbed Klaus, Kaleb grabbed Kol, and Jackson grabbed Finn.
"Stop!" a little voice cried. Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows as she saw her oldest son, Jonathan, run towards Mikael. The four-year-old stood as a shield between his grandfather and his Uncles. Soon enough, Hope, Tate and Nathaniel had followed Jonathan with Sophia running towards Esther. The Mikaelson siblings felt another surge of anger at their parents for getting their kids to like them.
"Stop fighting," Hope pleaded. "They saved us."
"Bullshit," Kol muttered. "This was all probably a ruse for them to get back in our lives."
"After they left it in the most dramatic way possible," Rebekah snarled.
"Now we see where our acts of theater come from," Elijah rolled his eyes.
"You don't get to just fake your deaths and then waltz back in—" Finn began.
"You should've just stayed dead!" Klaus cried. He was looking Mikael in the eyes when he said it. At this point, he didn't give a shit about Esther. He cared about the man who made his childhood a living hell. Made his siblings' lives a living hell.
Drunk father. Drug addict. Hitting you every night. Every dollar you had saved to help the family with food or bills getting taken so he can supply himself with more alcohol or drugs. Finding him passed out on the kitchen floor in the morning, home from the bar at 3AM. For a while, Rebekah would leave a cup of coffee for him and put a blanket over him but that was when she was too little to understand why he did what he did and that he would never change. Eventually, she stopped giving a shit about her father. The boys, on the other hand, never gave a shit about their father.
Neglectful mother. Also, a drug addict. Even when she was home, she would disappear for days at a time. Until she finally left for what was it? Six years? Seven? They couldn't remember now. Seven years altogether she had abandoned them and left them with Mikael, who was only angrier for being left with six kids. They understood now that she had left because she had been pregnant with Freya and wanted to save her from being with Mikael, but it wasn't fair. Why didn't she save them too?
Comes back, uproots their whole lives and education to America. They were better for it, sure, but that's not the point. Both of them promising to get their act together in the States, only for the same habits to occur the second their plane landed. Broken beer and whisky bottles in the front yard, needles in the bathroom. Finding Mikael's fucking dead body by the mailbox. Whose body was it then if he was standing here alive? Who the hell did they bury?
Esther, leaving for weeks at a time upon Mikael's death. Always leaving. Until Rebekah graduated from high school and she moved away completely. Comes back five years later wanting to make amends, claiming she had cancer, and then dying. Obviously, a lie. Who the hell did they bury then?
"Tomorrow is your father's ten-year sober birthday," Esther stated as she smoothed out her outfit from being tackled to the ground. "We are going to lunch at the Spitfire Coffee. We would love if the six—" she looked at Freya, "—of you could join us and we can explain everything. Your children may be home, but they are not safe. There are a lot of things you don't know, that I tried to protect you from. Why I did everything that I did, but I fear that it was all for nothing."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rebekah snapped.
"Just come, tomorrow," Esther said as she reached Mikael and they walked towards their vehicle. Sensing how wary all five children were looking at Mikael, she repeated, "Your father has been sober for ten years tomorrow. He is not the man that you all knew."
Klaus shook his head, trying not to laugh. Laughing not because it was funny, but because it was painful. "Why should we believe you?" Even if he had changed, how could they forget all the physical bruises and emotional turmoil? Klaus could never.
Mikael reached into his pocket and threw a coin at Klaus, who had flinched but caught it.
It was an AA nine-year sobriety coin.
"Tomorrow morning I'll get 10," Mikael said.
Elijah took the coin from his brother and inspected it. Looked real. Mikael also stopped fighting back once they all started hitting him. Maybe he didn't want to hit his children anymore. Maybe it was the fact that a man in his sixties couldn't handle four thirty-something year old men hitting him, as opposed to the laughingstock it was when four boys ranging from ages 12 to 17 trying to hit back at a grown man.
"We will think about it," Elijah said. Mikael and Esther nodded and got in their car.
"We will think about it?" Kol cried as their parents drove away.
"FUCK YOU!" Klaus cried as he kicked rocks into the air, hoping Mikael and Esther heard him from down the street.
Klaus felt a hand on his shoulder and turn to see Caroline's blue eyes looking at him with love. Looking into those eyes who have seen him at his very best and at his very worst—and yet, she still loves him to the end of the earth anyway—he let out a sob as enveloped the blonde female into a hug. She held him in her arms and kissed his forehead. He appreciates that even in the midst of fighting, they can be there for each other because their love is unconditional. They all loved unconditionally. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see his brothers being held by their own wives, relieved to know that his brothers had that same kind of warmth and love that he had with Caroline—even in the midst of their fighting. And his sister Rebekah has that with Matt, too. It was amazing how far they have come from the two parents who made it pretty clear they never wanted to have kids in the first place.
…
Finn woke up to being kicked in the face by his three-year-old daughter as she tossed and turned in the bed. In addition to feeling his skull impacted by a tiny foot, his nose also scrunched at the smell of a toddler's foot. Lydia will definitely be needing a bath this morning.
As he opened his eyes, he saw his wife still sound asleep, her arms wrapped around their son as the two of the them slept peacefully. He looked down between him and his wife and saw Lydia on top of the covers, her feet up on the pillows, also sound asleep. He chuckled at his daughter.
After their oldest child going missing yesterday, Finn and Sage did not want to let their children out of their sights, so both Tate and Lydia slept with them in the bed. Finn felt content as his whole family was in arms reach. His first thoughts every morning was how grateful he is for his kids, while his second thoughts were how beautiful his wife is. In fact, he was admiring her face at this very moment.
Sage's eyes fluttered as she could sense someone staring at her. She let out a small smile when she saw Finn's dark blue eyes on her, those eyes full of love and admiration. But then her smile fell when she remembered she was still mad at him.
Finn's smile fell when hers did.
"Good morning," his said softly, trying to not wake the children up.
"Morning," she tried to smile again. She hated being mad at him. "I hate being mad at you," she admitted.
"Then stop being mad at me," he joked, letting out a sound that was crossed between a chuckle and a sigh of a relief.
"It's not that simple," she gave him a pointed look.
"Yes, it is."
She couldn't help but smile at him. It is easy being mad at him when she's not looking at his face. When she's not looking at him look at her that way—the way he looked when she was walking down the aisle, when he told her he loved her for the first time, when they had sex in that broom closet the other night, the way he has looked at her every day for over ten years. It's easy being mad at him when he's not looking at her that way while stinky three-year-old feet are resting next to his face.
"I love you," he whispered. Pushing Lydia's legs down from the pillow, he scooted his face closer to hers. "The only girl I have ever loved is you."
She nodded and let a single tear escape from her right eye.
"I love the family that we have, and I would never ever trade it for anything. What I did before you does not matter, what you did before me does not matter. Young people make mistakes, normal people have skeletons, but you know all of mine."
"You know all of mine, too," she said. She sighed. "I had time to think about what you said yesterday," she referred to his explanation of why he never told the truth about him and Katherine. "It makes sense. I guess I don't really make it easy to tell things to when I am very jealous and territorial. You don't act that way around Damon, I shouldn't act that way around Camille. Both were extremely long times ago; both were high school relationships—I-I can't… You and Katherine does hurt, though; the fact that you both lied. But I understand why you never told me, and I understand why you never told Elijah. I do not have any siblings, but I can imagine how upset I would be if I had a sister who had been with three boys I had liked before I was. And if the boy I liked the most had been with all three of my sisters. It's going to hurt no matter how jealous and toxic you are."
"Do not blame yourself. I shouldn't have said you were a toxic person. You're not."
"But I am when it comes to girls who like you. I have straight up slapped girls at parties who say you are cute."
"But I am cute," he smirked, that Mikaelson humor peeking out.
"You are. And you're mine, and I need to remember that when I meet an ex-girlfriend or a girl smiles at you from across the room."
"I am yours. Always and forever." He leaned forward to kiss her. She gladly accepted.
…
Katherine's first thought this morning was: I love my babies. She smiled at Sophia and Hayden snuggled in between herself and Elijah. They were not going to let these kids out of their sights.
Elijah's first thought this morning was: Sophia and Hayden. He shared Katherine's smile while looking down at their blissfully sleeping kids. Sophia was cuddled into Elijah's chest while Hayden was cuddled into Katherine's.
Katherine's second thought this morning was: God, my man is so hot. Messy hair, pretty brown eyes, holding a baby. God, he was killing her.
Elijah's second thought this morning was: My Katerina is so beautiful. He couldn't help but stare at the way her curly brown hair cascaded around her face and down her shoulders. Those curls never got frizzy or flat in the midst of her sleep and Elijah to this day is in awe of how beautiful her hair is. His smile faded when he saw the way she was looking at him. Most mornings it would mean she wanted to have sex—and he knew that was what she was thinking, but he did not want to have sex with her.
Her smile faded because she knew what he was thinking.
"Elijah…" Katherine said softly, being aware of the two sleeping four-year-olds between them. "Will you listen to me today?"
Despite comforting each other for the six hours when Sophia was missing, they still never talked about what happened. After comforting him after Mikael and Esther left, he had gone to bed and they exchanged simple words between them like who would give the kids a bath and that the kids were sleeping with them—but no words were exchanged about his brothers. He couldn't do it last night. For a split second, it was nice being united as one against Mikael, but when all was said and done, Elijah wanted to switch his anger towards Finn and Kol. That would not have been fair.
"I love you, Katherine, but it hurt to have been lied to by three of my favorite people," he said. She flinched at him calling her 'Katherine' and not 'Katerina.' She honestly loved when he called her that. It meant—to her, at least—that he still saw her as an innocent angel even though she was far from it. After hearing that she has slept with all three of his brothers, it is understandable that he does not see her as that anymore.
"I know," she nodded. "It seemed like such a small matter—"
"A small matter?"
"I did not want to hurt your feelings. I did not expect to fall in love with you the way that I did. I didn't think it would hurt if you didn't know when we were just fooling around. But then I fell in love with you and what was I supposed to say? 'Hey, I'm in love with you and I've also slept with all three of your brothers'? No. You were so upset when Klaus told you, and I just couldn't tell you about Finn. I lied about Kol because my relationship with him was genuine friendship and us having sex was a healing moment if that makes any sense. We were best friends healing—me, from having my miscarriage and watching Stefan be with Elena; and Kol, from being forced away from Davina. Neither one of us was ready to have sex again, but when we were, we had decided to do it together. I know that it sounds weird—"
"No, I get it. I don't really want to hear about you and Kol healing each other through sex."
"It was one time. It honestly meant nothing because I never saw Kol in that way. We both felt so stupid after because it was so awkward—funny awkward, not awkward awkward," she laughed but stopped when she saw his face. "We both agreed that we would never speak of it again. That's why I never told you."
"And Finn?"
"Silly one-night-stand. Saw him at a party. Wanted to kill myself when you introduced him as your brother. I never caught his last name that night and didn't even realize that he was Kol's brother. I knew you and Klaus were Kol's brothers when I started dating you both. But Finn was already dating Sage and I just didn't want to make it messy. You had also already known about Klaus and again—didn't want it to get messy, didn't want anyone to get hurt—I-I didn't want to lose you."
"The truth always comes out. It would've been better to know ten years ago than now."
"I know. I am stupid and sorry and, as Damon would say, an evil slut—"
"Please don't call yourself that. You enjoyed that lifestyle—I knew that when I started seeing you. I don't care about that. I understand why you didn't tell me. I would've been really upset, but you wouldn't have lost me." Elijah felt some of his anger melting away. He was still really upset, but his love for Katherine was stronger than that. He means what he said.
"How about now?"
"You still have me."
"Really?" A smile broke out on her face.
He nodded, mirroring her smile. "It is going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me." He tried to scoot closer to her, but with two sleeping toddlers it was hard to get close to his wife. But speaking of them, Elijah said, "This family that you and I have built means everything to me. I will be damned if I let anything happen to this family."
Katherine's eyes started swelling with tears. "I love you so so much and I am so sorry I kept those secrets from you," she let of a quiet sob. "I love you with all of my heart and I would never forgive myself if I let something happen to our family—"
He enveloped her into his arms—the twins still snuggled between them—and she sobbed into his shoulder. He patted the back of her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Nothing is happening to this family. I meant it when I said 'til death do us part'. But even in death, I will never stop loving you."
Before Katherine could respond, a little voice said, "Hello! I can't breathe."
Katherine and Elijah laughed through their tears and pulled away from their hug. Sophia and Hayden were starting to wake up, their daughter the owner of the sassy voice. Feeling emotional that their little girl was still here with them, the brunette pair of parents gathered the twins in an actual hug.
…
Klaus fluttered his eyes open, only to see his wife admiring him. "Stop looking at me," he muttered, feeling self-conscious.
"But you are very handsome first thing in the morning," she said softly.
He chuckled. Elizabeth, Cassandra, and Josefine were sleeping all over the bed. Klaus vaguely remember Elizabeth falling asleep in his arms, but she was now on top of the covers dangled across his legs. Josie was dangled over Caroline's legs, and Cassie was straight up in the middle of the bed, her feet between their chests.
"Crazy sleepers, huh?" Caroline joked.
"I know, I am so used to it, I think I just sleep through it," Klaus smiled.
Caroline smiled too but frowned as Josie shifted on her legs. Every morning since Josie was big enough to crawl out of her crib, she would crawl into her parents' bed and snuggle up to Klaus. She didn't do it this morning. It may just be the change of scenery, but she did it yesterday, so Caroline couldn't help but worry if something was wrong.
Noticing her frown, Klaus sighed. "Any thoughts of the list?"
If Caroline could frown any more, she would. "Seriously? That is what you want to ask first thing in the morning?"
Klaus shrugged. "Don't know."
Caroline sighed. "I can give you a sneak peek." Klaus raised his eyebrow. "I made out with Bonnie once."
Klaus had absolutely no idea how to react that. Smirk because that is hot? Shake his head in disbelief? Laugh? Well, he did all three.
"And?" He asked, pressing for more details.
"In high school, we were both single, didn't know if we would like kissing girls. That's a normal thing, right? Kiss your best friend to see if you could be bisexual?"
"I don't think so, no," Klaus shook his head laughing. "I have never kissed Stefan."
"But have you thought about it?" she joked and raised her eyebrows.
"Why? Is he a good kisser?" he decided to play along.
Caroline shook her head laughing. "Maybe. You'll just have to find out yourself."
"No, because the only person I want to kiss is you," he said seriously.
She smiled. "You're the only person I want to kiss, too." After the lips collided, she pulled away quickly to ask. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
Klaus shrugged. "I love you. And I've done worse things as my lovely sister likes to keep reminding me. I have this habit of sleeping with girls my brothers have feelings for. Even knocked one of them up. We're both whores, I guess."
Caroline cackled. "No one is perfect. I am sorry for lying, though. I thought it was something I was taking to my grave. Except I told Elena and Bonnie. Elena and Bonnie know everything about me."
"Do I know everything about you?"
"The big stuff, yeah. As time goes on and I remember a funny story from my childhood, maybe you'll learn something new. But in terms of who I have slept with and kissed; you know of all the people that you know."
"Who else would there be?"
"You don't know them!"
They shared a couple more laughs and kissed each other.
"Do I still need to make a list?" Caroline asked, pulling away once again.
Klaus smiled and kissed her forehead. "No, I trust you." He then scooted closer, trying not to disturb the three sleeping toddlers on the foot of the bed. He kissed her, hoping to finally finish their kiss until they heard Lizzie scream, "YUCK!" and they pulled away and laughed with their groggy daughters.
…
Bonnie's eyes fluttered open and her first thoughts were about how grateful she was for the children asleep beside her. Emma was beside Bonnie, with Nate and Jess between Bonnie and Kol. Bonnie smoothed out her son's hair and kissed the top of his head. She looked over and Kol, who was sleepily braiding Jessica's hair while she was sleeping. She chuckled because the braid was horrendous. Kol does that a lot when he's falling asleep and they are just talking or he's on the couch with Emma late watching a movie or when he's waking up—he'll braid Bonnie's or Emma's or Jessica's hair while half asleep. It's really cute, but the braids are always horrendous.
"You're cute," she said.
"You're hot," he responded. His eyes fluttered open, him being more awake. "I honestly want nothing more than to take you into the closet and—" he covered his sleeping daughter's ears, "fuck you," he whispered.
Bonnie blushed. "That is very tempting."
"Yeah?" he smirked.
She nodded with a shy smile. "Yeah. Except—"
"Except?" he groaned and hung his head.
"I need you to know that I forgive you for lying. I am in no place to judge—I just wish both of you had been honest with me. I wouldn't have been mad. Like I said earlier, I already assumed that you two had slept together."
He nodded. "I am sorry. We kinda just agreed to never speak about it, and when Elijah didn't punch me in the face ten years ago, I assumed it was a secret we were taking to the grave. But it shouldn't have been. I see that now."
"And I see that, as well as I have kept a secret hookup from you. From everyone, really. Only Caroline and Elena knew. Honesty is important—it's just hard to bring that kind of stuff up when you're happy with someone."
"Any other scandals?" he asked.
She laughed. "Only one. At one high school party—where I was very drunk—Caroline and I were both single and wanted to see if we would like kissing girls, so we kissed."
"And, where was I?" he grinned.
"In England, probably," she smiled. "Needless to say, I am not gay."
"I would hope not. That would make our marriage very awkward."
"How about you? Test the waters at all?" She joked.
"I did actually. You wouldn't know him, though!"
Bonnie laughed and lifted a pillow to hit him in the face.
"Can I still punch Enzo when we get home?" Kol asked.
Bonnie shook her head. "I would rather you didn't."
"Well, I'm still gonna!" He laughed as the pillow collided with his face once more.
…
"Good morning," Matt mumbled groggily as woke up to Jonathan jumping on the bed as Rebekah pulled a shirt down over Adrian's head.
"Morning," Rebekah smiled at her husband. As she was getting her boys dressed, she was on the verge of tears because she was so happy all three of them were here. Her boys.
"Why didn't you wake me?" He asked as he sat up, pulling his oldest son into his lap to stop him from jumping on the bed. "I would have helped you get them dressed."
"Because your sense of style is atrocious," she said half-jokingly. "They look like the dryer spit up on them whenever you get them ready."
He feigned hurt. "I am offended."
"You should be."
His eyes softened as he chose his next few words. "How are you feeling?"
"About?" She didn't really want to talk about it. Either of the things that happened yesterday.
"Your parents."
She shrugged. "Don't know. Got to talk to my brothers."
Matt nodded. "Why don't you go do that? I'll get the kids teeth brushed."
"Before breakfast? You are a monster!" She laughed as she finished combing Zachary's hair. "They are all ready, I'll just take them down for breakfast. You go hop in the shower."
"Okay," Matt said as he stretched and got out of bed. "I love you," he kissed his wife's cheek. And then ruffled his sons' hair, "Love you, boys."
Rebekah took her youngest baby's chubby hand and helped him wave as Matt exited their bedroom. "Bye daddy!" She and her three boys waved. "Wanna go get some breakfast?" she asked the boys. They all nodded eagerly and climbed their chubby little feet to the ground. Jonathan and Adrian booked it out of the room, and she laughed as she swooped Zach into her arms and placed him on her hip. She made her way down to the kitchen—not without yelling at her two oldest boys to be careful running down the stairs.
She was surprised to see her four brothers already in the kitchen, all with cups of coffee and all sitting far away from each other. Katherine was buttering some toast for the twins, and Caroline was setting Josie up in a highchair. Lizzie and Cassie were playing with the twins in the living room, Hayley and Hope being their supervisors.
She wasn't quite sure where Bonnie and Sage were, but probably avoiding Katherine.
"Auntie Kathy, can I have some toast, please," Jonathan ran towards his aunt and tugged on her pant leg.
"Don't touch anything she gives you, Jon, or else you might get syphilis," Rebekah sniped as she put Zachary in a highchair.
"What is syf-ill-is?" Adrian asked at the same time that Caroline and Rebekah's brothers groaned, "Rebekah!"
"Don't touch anything your Aunt Caroline or your Uncles give you either," Rebekah ignored the cries of her name. "Can the excess whores leave the kitchen? I need to speak with my brothers alone," the blonde addressed Caroline and Katherine.
Caroline, who had just sat down beside Klaus to feed Josie some toast and blueberries, sighed. She handed Klaus the plate to feed Josie. Katherine had prepared five pieces of toast—one for each of hers and Caroline's kids. Josie's had been broken up into tiny pieces and Klaus already began putting the pieces on Josie's tray while Caroline grabbed the plate for Lizzie and Cassie, huffed at Rebekah, and follow Katherine out to the living room where their children were waiting. Hayley and Hope were going out for some smoothies with Camille and Davina but were watching the kids while Camille finished getting ready. Hayley really didn't want to take Hope out but figured if they were going on a five-minute walk to grab some preordered smoothies, it should be fine. Plus, three adults would be there. It should be fine. Hayley hoped.
"Just so you know, Rebekah," Elijah said. "I have forgiven Katherine. There is no need for this hostility."
"Same with Caroline," Klaus added.
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "How about our dear brothers?" She asked Elijah and gestured to Finn and Kol.
Elijah just sighed and avoided looking at his brothers. He may have forgiven Katherine but wasn't quite sure how to proceed with his brothers.
"Hey, I was guided towards this family meeting?" Freya asked as she entered the kitchen. When none of her siblings greeted her, she took the hint that they were still upset about her losing their kids yesterday. She still didn't leave the kitchen. She just walked towards the pot of coffee.
"Are we going to that lunch with Esther and Mikael?" Kol asked, getting tired of this awkward silence between his siblings, tired of Rebekah and Elijah being mad at him. He just wanted things to go back to normal.
"I think we should," Finn spoke.
"I do, too," Freya agreed, not that any of them would listen to her.
"Bonnie is making me. That is, if we all go," Kol said.
"Yeah, Caroline thinks we should go," Klaus added.
"So does Katherine," Elijah said.
"Not that any of us want to go," Klaus said. "But if there is some danger out there to our children, we have the right to know."
Rebekah sighed. "I know. I just don't want to," she pouted and plopped down in a chair beside Elijah. "This is going to suck." Elijah patted his sister's upper back.
"I hate this, too," Kol agreed. "I never want to see their faces again. I thought we would never have to. But this is our life right now and our children are supposedly in danger. I just can't believe any of this is happening."
"Them faking their deaths or someone wanting our kids?" Finn asked.
"All of it," Kol shook his head.
"So, would noon be a good time to leave?" Elijah asked. None of his siblings verbally answered, but they all nodded their heads. Not wanting to be in the same room as his brothers and youngest sister any longer, he stood and exited the kitchen.
Elijah entered the living room where he saw Katherine curled up on the loveseat with the twins, watching Paw Patrol on her phone while they ate their toast. He gave a small smile at his family and kissed the top of his wife's head.
Fresh out of the shower, Matt made his way downstairs and greeted Katherine and Elijah as he passed them on his way to the kitchen.
"Hey, Bekah," Matt greeted as he entered the kitchen. "What did you guys decide?"
Rebekah sighed and handed her husband a cup of coffee. "We are going, unfortunately."
Matt nodded. "I think that's a good idea." He reached into his pocket. "Could you give them this?"
"Matt, no," Rebekah vigorously shook her head.
"Just… if after you hear what they have to say and your hatred for them decreases just a tiny bit… Tell them I said thank you for saving my son."
…
"I do not think they are coming, Mikael," Esther said disappointedly. She glanced at the front door and sighed. She had her doubts, but she really hoped she would see her children. She took out her wallet to pay the check before they left.
"We both knew it wasn't going to happen," Mikael shook his head. He was disappointed, sure, but he doesn't deserve anything from those kids. He knows that. "We screwed up—" his sentence was cut off by Esther gasping.
Mikael turned around and was surprised to see Finn, Elijah, Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Freya enter the café. They looked around nervously until their eyes fell on their parents. Klaus and Kol's eyebrows furrowed, Elijah grimaced, Finn nodded, Rebekah pursed her lips, and Freya's face had no emotion. The siblings made their way over to Mikael and Esther's table. They had requested a big table just in case the kids showed up. They were glad they didn't hog it for no good reason.
"It is so nice to see you," Esther smiled as they all sat down. Starting from her end of the table, they were seated Freya, Finn, Kol, Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah.
"Great that you're here," Mikael agreed.
"Yeah, whatever," Rebekah rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers at the waitress and said, "Can we get six coffees please?"
"Of course," the waitress nodded and hurried away.
"I hope you don't mind but we already ate," Esther said. When she got no response, she decided to make small talk. "Wow, lots of kids at the house last night. Trying to take after your parents?"
Murmurs of "hell no"s and "fuck no"s went around the table.
"I didn't mean how you were raised, just how many of you there were. You always loved being a big family. The five of you were always so close—now the six of you. You all had such a special bond."
"You had built in best friends," Mikael added. "How you all protected each other was really admirable. How you care for each other and look out for each other…"
"Although best of friends, sometimes you were each other's worst enemy," Esther trailed off. "I am sensing some hostility between you all now. What are you fighting about this time?"
Kol snorted. "Mommy dearest trying to act like a caring mother. Nice try."
Elijah shook his head in annoyance but didn't say anything. Klaus and Finn just stared at the floor while Rebekah glared at her brothers. Freya sighed.
"Number 1," Freya began, "they are all pissed at me because I let… whoever it was… steal the kids yesterday. Number 2, it was discovered two nights ago that Elijah's wife, Katherine, had slept with Klaus, Kol and Finn before they started dating. Rebekah is taking Elijah's side and calling everyone in the house a whore."
"Always a girl," Mikael nodded in understanding. "That was all you boys ever fought about when you were younger. Tatia, Camille, Hayley—"
"Enough with the small talk," Rebekah snapped. "Just get to the point about why you're here. Why you invited us here. Who took the kids last night?"
Mikael and Esther shared a look. "I guess we should start from the beginning?" Mikael asked his wife. Esther nodded.
"The person who took your kids was your Aunt Dahlia. My older sister," Esther explained.
"We have an Aunt?" Finn asked.
"What the fuck does she want with our kids?" Kol asked at the same time.
"Let me explain," Esther said. "Dahlia and I used to be so close—the best of friends. She was a fertility specialist and her hobby is black magic. This is important because…when your father and I first got married, I was unable to conceive a child." Seeing the disbelieving looks on her children's faces she hurried on with the story. "I went to my sister, hoping she could help me. We had no money. She would have lost her job and her license if she had used the fertility equipment on me for free, but she had been taking her medical knowledge and tried transferring it to her witchcraft. I know it sounds crazy… but whatever she did worked. I was able to conceive children."
"Worked a little too well, don't you think?" Klaus commented on the fact that Esther had a total of eight kids.
Esther chuckled. "Yes, well…the nature of magic, or black magic, had gotten into my sister's head and she only helped me if I provided her one thing in return. My first born and every first born of my succeeding generations."
"WHAT?"
"You sold your kids?" Rebekah cried.
"One kid," Esther clarified. "Your eldest brother, Aaron."
"You said he died from an illness before any of us were born," Finn said.
"No, he was taken by Dahlia," Mikael stated. "When he was two. Your mother was pregnant with Finn when she came."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Elijah muttered under his breath. Freya looked shocked at her usual prim and proper older brother swearing.
"What did she do with him?" Kol asked.
"I have no idea," Esther shook her head. "But I didn't want this to continue to your kids. I knew that if our family had stayed in London, you all would be sitting ducks when you started a family. It was the main reason why I moved you to Virginia. She would not have been able to track you—"
"What about the internet?" Rebekah rolled her eyes.
Esther ignored her daughter. "It was also why I paid your girlfriend off," she addressed her youngest son. "Davina, was that her name?"
"Jokes on you because she wasn't even pregnant," Kol said. "Instead Klaus knocked Elijah's girlfriend up," he referred to Hayley.
"I slept with her before she was even Elijah's girlfriend," Klaus said as he slapped his brother upside the head.
"You just like to keep doing that," Finn observed, referring to not only Hayley, but Tatia, Katherine and Camille as well.
"Look who's talking," Rebekah muttered.
"Enough," Elijah ordered his siblings. "Why did you not discuss this with us when you were supposedly unleashing the truth to us over five years ago?" he asked his mother.
"Because I was trying my hardest to fix it before she came to collect what was owed to her."
"We do not owe her our children!" Klaus slammed his hand on the table, attracting the stares of many customers around them.
"I know that, but she thinks you do. When I left in 2008, after Rebekah graduated high school, it was to track down Dahlia and try to fix this before any of you had children. When Elijah called and told me that Katherine was pregnant, I knew I needed to come and see you all. At this point, I had known that Dahlia was waiting to collect all five at once. She knew where you were. I came up with a plan to fake my death so that I could try to stop her without her thinking there was a possibility that it was me. And I wouldn't need to worry about getting distracted by having to leave my mission to visit my children. And so, I located her in New Orleans. I knew I needed to be around for if she ever succeeded in what she was trying to do. And when I arrived in this city, I ran into Mikael. He was a new man. Sober. Resembled the man I had fallen in love with over 40 years ago."
"I didn't mean to fake my death," Mikael continued his part of the story. "I guess I was just passed out really hard and it was assumed I was dead. But I saw an opportunity to leave. I didn't need to be in a house full of kids who hated me. I saw an escape. Looking back, I realize that was a mistake. I should've tried to change and be a father to you. I was a drunk for three more years before I became a sober. For years of my sobriety, I wished I could've had the chance to make amends for what I did. When I ran into your mother, I was blessed to be given that chance."
Rebekah made a disgusted face as she watched Esther and Mikael hold hands and look at each other lovingly. Yuck.
"Also…" Esther looked at Freya. "Your father is Mikael. Biologically. When I was pregnant with you, I didn't want to give Mikael another child, so I left and found your father. He suspected that perhaps the baby wasn't his, but he loved you anyway."
Freya let a tear slide down her cheek as she remembered the man who raised her and compared it with the horror stories her siblings told her about their father. She supposes she was lucky in that aspect.
Another reason to be pissed at Freya, Rebekah thought bitterly.
Mikael addressed his children. "If you would allow me, I would really like to make amends—"
"I don't want to be a step in your fucking AA recovery," Klaus snarled.
"I am not interested in apologies or explanations, or any of the sort," Elijah said. "I am interested in Dahlia and her interest in our children."
"We took care of that last night," Esther said. "I don't think she'll be coming back."
"Did you kill her?" Kol laughed.
"No."
"Then she could still come back. Where is the bitch, I'll go kill her myself?" Kol began to stand up, only to be yanked back down by Finn.
"Who helped her take the kids?" Finn asked. "There's no way she could've done it by herself," he said, referring to the fact that Dahlia was at least 61 years old at this point. From what Emma said, all five simply vanished at once. With the three youngest running around playing tag.
"Your brother," Esther stated. "He is completely blind-sided by her."
"We only saw him with the kids last night in the hotel room. But we gave him the message to not go near those kids again," Mikael explained.
"So, you didn't actually see Dahlia?" Klaus raised his eyebrow. "Okay, I'll go kill her myself," he agreed with what Kol said moments ago and started to stand up, only to be jerked back down by Elijah.
"What would be the best way to solve this?" Elijah asked his mother.
"TO KILL HER," said Klaus, Kol and Rebekah.
Finn rolled his eyes. "How about we not go commit murder and leave our children without parents?"
"Could we maybe talk to her?" Freya suggested.
Kol snorted.
"I have tried. She will not listen to reason," Esther said.
"Maybe she'll listen to us," Elijah said.
Mikael and Esther shared a look. "Sure. We can try that."
"Sorry to break this lovely family reunion short, but we have to get back. I have to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress," Rebekah said.
Esther looked disappointed that all her children were leaving, although she could not blame them. She made the choice to protect her children and her grandchildren by making them hate her. It was the only way.
"Uhm," Rebekah sighed. She reached into her purse and pulled out a photo. "If you want this…" she shrugged and tossed the photo onto the counter. It was a picture of her three boys sitting together in a train formation—Jonathan, as the oldest, in the back as the caboose; with Adrian in the middle and Zachary in the front. "I guess you can have this. Matt says thank you for saving them."
Kol grudgingly reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of Emma holding Jessica in her lap and her arm around Nate. It is their Christmas photo for this year. He tossed it on the table next to the photo of his nephews. "Bonnie said you could have this."
Three more photos landed on the table.
A professional photo of Hope hugging Elizabeth, Cassandra, and Josefine.
Tate giving Lydia a piggyback ride in a woodsy scenery.
Sophia and Hayden hugging each other with their new black kitten in their laps.
Esther could almost cry looking at the photos of her grandchildren. "Thank you."
Her children just nodded as they walked away.
…
"Thank you," Hayley said from her spot beside Caroline on the couch. The two women were watching their girls draw on the floor, with each of them getting up once in a while to put on a princess crown and spin around. Hope would do that, as well. Her little sisters loved copying her, but sometimes she copied them.
Sage was keeping a close eye on her kids, same with Katherine and Bonnie. Matt was still in his room with his sons, perhaps just watching a movie. Damon and Elena had taken their kids to a museum and out to lunch. The Mikaelsons, however, didn't feel comfortable taking their kids out. That doesn't mean Damon and Elena were forbidden to take their kids out, but the Mikaelson wives and Matt didn't feel quite safe yet. Hope and her sisters found a spot in the middle of the living room floor, so Hayley and Caroline were on the couch. Sage and Bonnie were outside in the gated backyard, watching their kids run around—Camille, Josh and Aiden outside with them. Katherine was in the kitchen with the twins, feeding them lunch. Katherine was still being treated like an outcast by Sage and Bonnie, so she wanted to feed her babies before they came back in from outside.
"For what?" Caroline raised her eyebrow at the brunette.
"For being an amazing stepmom to my daughter."
The blonde smiled and blushed. "Thank you for being her mom. You are an amazing mother."
Hayley smiled. "You are, too. Your girls are very lucky. My girl is very lucky. Also, I appreciated you and Klaus letting me hold Cassie yesterday while Hope was missing. It didn't help the way I am sure you thought it would, but I appreciate it. She's such a sweet girl."
"And a lovely cuddler," Caroline chuckled. "And no problem. You know that you are a part of our family."
"If Jackson heard that, he would have a conniption," the brunette laughed.
"Yeah, after all these years, I do not think that Jackson and Klaus will ever like each other."
"Liking each other is out of the question! Tolerating each other is the goal."
"Oh, I don't even think they do that!" Caroline shared a laugh with Hayley. "I am so glad we're friends. And not fighting like all the other females in the house right now."
"Me too—" Hayley was cut off by Bonnie and Sage entering the house through the back yard, their kids behind them and running towards the kitchen.
"I want chicken nuggets!" Tate exclaimed.
"Crap," Katherine was heard muttering from the kitchen. Caroline and Hayley jumped to their feet to try and keep the peace between Katherine, Bonnie and Sage.
"Ugh," Sage spat as she saw Katherine in the kitchen.
Bonnie just didn't say anything. She had no right to be mad at Kol anymore. She loves him and she forgives him for lying, as she lied too about her hookup with Enzo. But she is still mad at Katherine and didn't really know what to say. It was her friend who lied first.
"Come on, you two were best friends," Hayley said to Sage and Katherine.
Seeing the two of them glare at each other, the brunette sighed.
"We all know Katherine was a slut—I don't really see why this is a surprise," Caroline tried to laugh it off.
"It's not that," Bonnie huffed. "She lied."
"So, did I!" Caroline cried. "We've all lied. I lied about Stefan, Bonnie lied about Enzo, I am sure Sage has lied about something! Did you tell Finn right away about your previous relationship with Damon?" the blonde asked the redhead.
"Not particularly," Sage said reluctantly.
"If you've already forgiven your husbands, I think you can forgive Katherine," Camille suggested.
"Shut up," Sage snapped. "You know you broke Finn's heart when you slept with Klaus." Sage had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying anything else. Stop being toxic to Cami!
Camille sighed. She didn't know how to make this any better.
The girls heard the front door open and shut. They didn't have to look at the door to see who it was as many of the kids in the kitchen ran to the door shouting, "Daddy!" They knew the Mikaelsons were back.
"Where's Matt?" Rebekah asked upon seeing her sisters-in-laws, nieces and nephews in the kitchen, but her husband and kids were not.
"I think still in your room," Caroline answered. The other blonde nodded before heading up to her room.
"Hayden and Sophia just finished eating," Katherine told her husband who nodded, hugging Sophia tight in his arms and kissing the top of Hayden's head.
"How did it go with your parents?" Bonnie asked.
"Apparently, we have an evil witch Aunt Dahlia who helped our infertile mother conceive eight children in return for her first born and all of our first borns!" Kol explained.
"What?!" Sage, Katherine, Bonnie, Caroline and Hayley cried.
"What?" Hope and Tate asked.
"Your mom was infertile? Why the hell did she have so many damn kids?" Hayley asked.
"Dahlia is supposedly a fertility specialist slash dark magic sorcerer," Elijah said.
"Esther basically sold our oldest brother Aaron and coincidentally our oldest children," Klaus sighed.
"Are you kidding me?" Sage asked. "I am going to kill her."
"No, you are not," Finn talked a fourth person out of committing murder today.
"What can we do about this?" Caroline asked.
"We can report her to the police," Bonnie suggested. "Why didn't Esther do that in the first place?"
Elijah chuckled as Bonnie's words brought his thoughts down to reality. Was he really this stupid? His mother's words were absolutely ridiculous. Magic does not exist. No person, no sister, would vindictively steal their nephew or grand-nieces and grand-nephews. No brother would steal from siblings he had never met.
Klaus, Kol and Finn laughed to themselves as they also processed Bonnie's suggestion. Esther had 37 years to report this to the police and put a stop to this. Why hadn't she? Because this was bullshit. She had lied to them. Again.
And they believed her. Again.
"Also, I wanted to apologize," Kol said. Bonnie raised her eyebrows at her husband. "Klaus and I thought we had seen Mikael and Esther the other night when we were all out on dates, but we had forgotten to mention it in the midst of all the fighting."
"Are you serious?" Finn sighed.
"I don't really know what we could've done differently," Klaus added.
"No. It's all my fault," Elijah said. "If I hadn't been so upset with everyone, maybe Freya would not have suggested to get some of the kids out of the house. They were all sitting ducks at that park with only one adult."
"What? Was I never supposed to take my nieces and nephews out?" Freya asked. "Were all the kids just supposed to spend the next few weeks cooped up in the house for no particular reason? If Dahlia really wanted the kids, she would have gotten them even when Hope was just out with Hayley and Jackson, or if Rebekah and Matt took their boys to the arcade. Or if any of you wanted to go out with your kids. It would not have mattered how many or how little the gathering was or who the kids were with. She would have found a way. No one could have known this was to happen. Do not blame yourself, Elijah."
Katherine's phone dinged and she opened up her email.
"Don't you get it, sister?" Kol chuckled. "Esther lied again. This is some crazy sob story—"
"Not really," Katherine said, reading from her phone. "The investigation officer from the other night stopped by while you guys were gone. They came to ask the kids to attest to the photo descriptions that Mikael and Esther gave them. All the kids said yes that those were the people who had taken them. A man in his late thirties and a woman in her early sixties. They did a DNA swoop of the room your parents found the kids in and it was a DNA match to the kids. Whoever took them was related to them."
"The fingerprints in the room could have just been the kids—" Klaus said.
"No," Hayley cut him off. "They said it wasn't the kids' DNA. I am reading the email behind Katherine's shoulder right now."
"They took fingerprints of the kids and took them back to the lab to compare it to the DNA found in the room," Sage added. "They emailed the results," she held up her phone so Finn could read it. "Just got it now."
"GOD! I HATE IT WHEN THEY ARE RIGHT!" Klaus yelled as he kicked the counter, grabbed a glass of water and threw it at the wall. A few screams from startled toddlers followed. Katherine and Sage glared at Klaus as they covered Sophia's and Lydia's ears. Caroline sighed as she hugged her daughters close to her. She didn't want them to see their father angry. They have not had the pleasure yet. Well, except last night when he was beating up Mikael. Josie was scared of him last night and didn't wake up to crawl next to his side this morning like she always does. She wasn't quite sure her husband noticed, but Caroline definitely did. And it broke her heart.
"Niklaus," Elijah said softly to his brother. "You are scaring the children."
Klaus, upon seeing his youngest daughter Josie look at him as if he was a stranger, felt his heart drop from his chest. Josie had tears in her eyes as she watched some angry man with the same face as her loving father. Klaus' heart broke as he realized he resembled Mikael.
Kol and Finn stared at Klaus too after they flinched when the glass shattered against the wall. It reminded them all too well of Mikael.
Rebekah had come back downstairs during all the commotion and stared sadly at her brother. Of course, Klaus had the abuse the worst so he would be the one most angry. But he is not related to Mikael. Why was he the one who inherited the anger issues if he wasn't even Mikael's son?
Hope, Lizzie, and Cassie were also staring at their dad with wide eyes, not recognizing who they were looking at.
Hayley sighed. She remembered that Klaus had anger issues when he was younger but thought he had it under control. She felt bad that Hope was seeing this outbreak.
"Josie." Klaus held his arms out for his youngest daughter, his baby, who crawled into her parents bed every morning at 5am and snuggled into her dad's arms every time. He didn't even realize that she didn't do it this morning.
Josie hid her face into Caroline's shoulder, letting out a small whimper. Caroline looked at her husband with sad eyes. "Josie, it's daddy, honey. He loves you," she whispered.
Bonnie and Katherine looked away. They felt like they were watching something private.
"Josie, I am sorry—girls," Klaus looked at Lizzie and Cassie and then at Hope. "I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you. Hope?"
Hope nodded, inching slowly towards her dad. She reached him and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. She let a tear escape from her eyes. But being in his arms, she knew that this was her dad. She never wanted to see him angry again.
Upon seeing their older sister hug their dad, Lizzie and Cassie approached Klaus as well. Klaus lifted them both up and kissed both their cheeks. He looked at Caroline and Josie; his wife was smiling at him and his daughter was still hiding her face. He didn't even notice how the rest of his family had quietly filed out of the kitchen.
Hey guys! How did you like the chapter? How do you guys feel about the Dahlia storyline? What should happen? Do you feel bad for Klaus in this last scene? Will Elijah make up with his brothers? Will Katherine make up with Sage and Bonnie? Which morning scene was your favorite: Sinn, Kalijah, Klaroline, Kennett or Mabekah? Leave me your thoughts, comments, and questions!
Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate!
Review. xoxo
