Not edited, so sorry. But it's been so long since I updated so I decided to just go for it.

Chapter 84

Marcel stood outside of Izzy and Oliver's open bedroom door, watching as Oliver slept peacefully. He'd been up off and on through the night. Every harsh wind blowing against the children's bedroom window brought him to his feet. If Izzy's father had come back for her, a part of Marcel feared that Oliver's father would come back too. He knew that if Latoya was as dangerous as they suspected she was, Oliver's father could be anywhere. Perhaps he ran away to escape Latoya like Izzy's father did. Or perhaps he was dead. Marcel preferred that outcome that more than any other because at least then he knew he'd never have to part with the boy.

"Up again, are you?"

Marcel rolled his eyes at the familiar voice behind him.

Kol leaned against the wall beside him, staring at the wall across from him as his friend refused to look at him. "Second time in the past hour. You're a more anxious poppa than Klaus was."

Marcel remained silent. At the moment, Kol was more enemy than friend. It was bad enough that Hope knew about his punishments and now...Davina too. Marcel caught her and Kol leaving the bathroom as he and Rebekah left the drawing-room and the girl snubbed him and Kol gave him a wearily look. When he tried to confront her about her attitude, she simply said, 'What are you going to do? Spank me like Klaus does everyone else in this place?' He was too ashamed to ask her to elaborate.

"The kid's fine," Kol groaned. "Hayley's wolves are on high alert now. Nothing's getting in this Compound again without us knowing."

"What do you want, Kol?" Marcel growled.

With a sigh, Kol said, "Nik sent me to fetch you. Family meeting before the tikes wake up."

"Another one? What could've happened between last night and this morning?"

"I don't know but they're waiting for us in the drawing-room."

Marce finally turned to Kol and asked, "By they, you mean?"

"Nik, Freya, 'Lijah, Bex, Hayley...Finn," Kol rolled his eyes as he said Finn's name.

"Davina's not coming?"

Kol stiffened at the question. "No," he answered plainly. Then, catching Marcel's gaze, he added, "I left her sleeping but...if you want-"

"No." Marcel turned away from the kids' door and started down the hall. "I don't think I'm ready to see her yet."

They walked through the third floor in silence, hoping to not wake any of the sleeping Mikaelsons on their way to the drawing room. Once on the second floor, Marcel finally asked the question that weighed so heavily on his mind.

"What did you and Davina talk about last night?"

Kol shrugged. "Oh, y'know. Same old same. Bathroom talk."

"Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

Marcel cut his eyes at Kol. He knew Kol knew exactly what he meant.

With a sigh, Kol said, "She asked, mate. What was I supposed to do? Lie to her?"

"Yes," Marcel all but barked. "You lie to everyone else."

"Not her," Kol barked back. "Our relationship is perfect and stable. I just got her back to me and I don't want to push her away with lies."

"You could have told her nothing."

"And have her hate me all the same?"

Marcel stood suddenly in front of Kol, blocking his path as he stared him in the eyes. Kol's gaze didn't waver as he stared the younger vampire down, unfazed by the challenge.

"A few months ago, Hope found out about my punishments," Marcel growled lowly. "And she asked me if you were punished the same way. You know what I told her? I said she'd have to ask you herself. Becuase I knew that it wasn't my place to divulge your business to her."

Kol's face went paler than it was already. "I...I'm sorry, mate. It's just...Davina's my girl. You've gotta understand that, right? Do you keep secrets from Rebekah?"

"That isn't the same. You telling Davina about my punishments from Klaus would be like you telling me Elijah and Freya also spanked Klaus."

Kol smirked at the thought. "That I'd pay to see. The bastard could use a bit of humbling."

As Kol turned to move around Marcel and continue down the hall, Marcel slammed his hand down against the wall, blocking his way.

"I'm serious, Kol. How do you expect her to respect me after that?"

Kol rolled his eyes again. "Oh, c'mon, mate. Everyone knows there's no one Davina respects more than you. I actually get quite jealous sometimes. She reveers you like some kind of mythological hero. It's sickening." A wily smirk grew across his face. "Maybe this is just the thing she needed to open her eyes to just how human the Great Marcel Gerard really is."

Kol barely flinched as Marcel's fist crashed across his face. Marcel's fury only grew at seeing Kol eat his punch like it was nothing. The only times he resented Klaus for taking his powers as the Upgraded Original were times like this - when he wanted to smash Kol's jaw in but his invulnerable friend barely felt his attack.

"Alright," Kol muttered. "I'll let you have that one, since you're angry. But don't let it-"

Marcel swung against, striking Kol's jaw with enough force to knock the man back a step.

Turning back to the younger vampire with a cold scowl on his face, Kol sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. The iron bite of blood seeping from his busted lip brought a fire to his eyes.

Without a second thought, he tackled Marcel onto the floor.

Marcel struggled to push Kol off of him as the Original grabbed both of his arms and pinned them to his chest.

Kol wrenched his arm back, prepared to show Marcel what a real punch felt like, but then he just stared into his friend's face - the look of unhinged rage written across Marcel's youthful face - and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Spitting a wad of blood from his mouth, Kol rose off of Marcel's body, grunting, "You're not worth it."

"What?" Marcel barked as Kol started back down the hall. He leaped to his feet and marched after Kol, grabbing the man by the shoulder and spinning him around to face him as he said, "Don't you dare start treating me like Klaus and Elijah."

Kol shrugged Marcel's hand off his shoulder and said, "Trust me, mate. If I were treating you like my brothers, you'd be in a lot more pain right now than you're currently in. I'm trying to spare you of that embarrassment because if Klaus and Elijah caught us out here fighting, we'd both be in for it and you being angry about me telling my girl the truth is not worth the trouble of dealing with my big brothers."

"It is to me." Marcel pulled Kol closer to him and rose his fist to smash in Kol's nose. He stood stunned by the unexpected hand that grabbed his elbow, stopping him from striking Kol again.

Gritting his teeth, he looked back to see Klaus standing behind him.

"Let him go." Klaus's order was simple and yet it held a promise of punishment to come should Marcel disobey.

Marcel shoved Kol away from him with a heavy grunt.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Kol and Marcel both remained silent. Marcel glared at Kol, expecting him to readily divulge the truth since he didn't do anything wrong but Kol wouldn't even meet his brother's eyes.

Kol knew that if he told Klaus the truth, only Marcel was likely to be punished but he didn't want to be the reason Marcel was thrashed. Even if the brat deserved it.

Klaus grabbed Marcel's jaw in his hand, checking his face for bruises but found none.

Marcel yanked his face out of Klaus's hold. He was as angry at Klaus as he was at Kol at that moment. If it weren't for him, Davina would still be in the dark about everything.

"What did I tell you two about fighting?" Klaus snapped, ignoring Marcel's obvious irritation.

"It's your fault!" Marcel shoved his hands against Klaus's chest, pushing him away from them. "If you would've never spanked Davina, she would've never known about any of this.

"Oh," Klaus said simply. "Is that what's got you in such a tizzy?"

Marcel's nose flared in fury that Klaus, like Kol, made light of his anger as if he were just a child throwing a tantrum. He threw another punch, this one aimed directly for Klaus's cheek. His hand landed square in the middle of Klaus's palm.

His son's hand tightly grasped in his grip, Klaus growled, "I see you're in no mood to talk. Let's fix that, shall we."

Before Marcel could blink, Klaus dropped his fist and wrapped his arm around his waist. Kol was just as shocked as Klaus took him under his arm and sped the both of them through the hall and into the drawing-room.

The rest of the Mikaelsons stood in shock as Klaus vamped Marcel and Kol over to the armchair by the fireplace.

Marcel's face burned as his father bent him awkwardly over his lap, yanking his pajama bottoms and boxers down with one swift move before lighting into his bottom. He squirmed and wriggled as the palm of Klaus's hand came down over his backside but the Orignal kept his other hand pressed firmly against the small of his back, preventing Marcel from just getting up and vamping out of the room like he so wanted to do as he peeked through his lashes for a moment to see the others watching his punishment.

Rebekah couldn't bear to watch and neither could Hayley. But neither Elijah, Freya, or Finn adverted their eyes.

Kol stood silently beside the armchair, knowing he'd be next on his brother's list. He knew it wasn't fair but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Despite how angry he was at the moment, Marcel had claimed him as a brother and brothers did not tattle on one another. A part of him wished he had at least gotten one punch off of Marcel to make it all worth it.

"Klaus," Marcel whined after about a dozen smacks, timidly sliding his hand back to cover his aching backside.

With supernatural speed and dexterity, Klaus grabbed Marcel's arm and pinned it against his back as he continued the tirade of spanks.

"Klaus, please," Marcel tried to wriggle his bottom out of Klaus's reach but his struggles were futile as Klaus wasn't going to let him go until he was done with him. "Stop."

Lifting his knee to get a better angle on Marcel's bottom, Klaus said, "Not yet, son. We're nowhere near close yet."

The longer Marcel's spanking took, the more Kol squirmed. He expected they'd get only a few swats and maybe some corner time for fighting but it seemed like his brother was very intent on pounding in a lesson. He continued the smacking even after Marcel fell into tears but the younger vampire fought against his sobs, refusing to let the pain wash away his anger.

Resting his aching palm against Marcel's quivering cheeks, Klaus finally paused the spanking long enough to asked, "Now then. Are you ready to talk to me like the adult you so vehemently claim to be or should we continue this lesson with the ruler?"

"N-no," Marcel stuttered, barely able to control his voice through the tears.

A heavy smack across both of his cheeks at once forced a broken sob out of his chest.

"No, you're not ready to talk?" Klaus asked.

"No!" Marcel choked out, tears streaming down his face. Turning his burning face away from the room of spectating Mikaelsons so that they would not see his shame, he muttered, "I-I'm ready to talk, Klaus. P-please...no more."

Another heavy-handed swat across his bottom brought a yelp from him. "What did I tell you would happen the next time I caught the two of you fight?"

Marcel's hip squirmed against Klaus's leg as he whined, "W-we'd get...sp-spanked."

Two more smacks alternate each cheek. "Yet you did it anyway. So evidently, this is where you want to be, am I right?"

"No!"

Marcel yelped as Klaus landed spank after steady spank across his bottom. The ache of his bottom was unbearable. Each new smack was hot iron across his sore mounds.

He bit his lip as a thought occurred to him. The last time he wanted Klaus to stop spanking him, there was only one word he reacted to.

"P-poppa." Just as he expected Klaus's hand stilled across his aching behind at the word. "I-I can't take anymore."

Marcel let out an auditory sigh as Klaus's hand dropped from his behind down to his thighs. He assumed Klaus was about to right his pants as he often did after a spanking.

"You can," Klaus said to Marcel's utter shock. "I love you, Marcellus." Klaus lifted his hand and landed a firm smack across Marcel's right thigh. "And it hurts me to see you in pain, sweetheart." A sharp smack to his right cheek. "But I will not have you attempt to attack me without punishment."

Marcel winced as Klaus landed another smack to his left cheek and then down to his left thigh.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Finally overtaken by his sobs, Marcel buried his face in the crook of his arm as he whined, "Y-yesss, Klaus. Pleassseee, stop. I'm s-sorry."

Klaus continued working Marcel's bottom and thighs until his cheeks were red and raw. His own hand ached as well but he knew it was worth it by the sounds of Marcel's heavy sobs coming from below.

Marcel turned his back on the room of Mikaelsons as Klaus stood him to his feet. As embarrassed as he was by his sore bottom, he couldn't bring himself to pull his hands away from his face long enough to cover himself in front of Hayley and Freya so he decided to further wallow in his shame and let them see his burning behind instead. He'd lost his pants and underwear during all of his squirmings so there was no chance of simply pulling them up to hide his shame and he couldn't see clear enough through his tears to find them.

As Klaus stood up, he pulled Marcel into a hug. Marcel pressed his face gratefully into Klaus's shoulder.

"I know it hurts, sweetheart," said Klaus, one hand gently massaging the tension from Marcel's neck as he ran the other hand calmingly up and down his son's back, hoping to break up the sobs still trapped inside. "But you will not try to attack me again, do I make myself clear?"

Marcel nodded against Klaus's shoulder as he leaned in closer to his father, relaxing in his hold. Klaus's shoulder muffled his yelp as Klaus stopped rubbing his back long enough to land another firm smack against his behind.

"Yes, Klaus," Marcel barked without further persuasion, knowing exactly why Klaus smacked him again.

"I also never want to find you fighting with Kol again either. You know the power an Original holds over all other vampires. If I catch you tempting fate again, the pain you feel now will seem a mere love tap compared to what I will do to you."

Pushing his face closer to Klaus's neck, Marcel muttered, "He told Davina. A-about...the spankings. She...she knows."

Klaus let out a heavy sigh as he wrapped his arms around Marcel. "That's what the fight was about?"

Marcel nodded as he fought back more tears.

"It's alright, sweetheart. She was bound to find out sooner or later. She's a Mikaelson, after all. She hasn't run screaming from the Compound, cursing our names yet so I'm sure she's more understanding about it than you think. Talk to her."

Marcel wasn't sure how right Klaus was about Davina but talking to her was the only choice he had left.

He whimpered as Klaus gave his aching bottom two more soft pats before saying, "Let's get you covered up. I still have another Mikaelson to deal with before we start this meeting."

As Klaus handed him his lost boxers, Marcel finally muttered, "K-Kol didn't fight back."

Klaus cocked an eyebrow, turning surprised eyes to Kol still standing silently by his chair waiting for his turn over his brother's knee. A wave of relief relaxed Kol's shoulders at Marcel's honesty.

"Is that so," said Klaus.

Marcel winced as the elastic band of his underwear accidentally grazed his sore mounds. "Yeah," he groaned. "Which...only makes this even more humiliating."

Kol's body tensed again as Klaus stepped past Marcel to stand in front of him. "Were you ever going to tell me the truth, brother?"

Kol feigned nonchalance as he shrugged. "He was angry. Figured I could give him a sore behind at least since I couldn't give him the satisfaction of kicking my ass. Besides...y'know how it is with us Mikaelson brothers. Never tell dad, right?"

Klaus's face remained stoic as he said, "But I'm not Mikael. We grew up...in an environment that required us to do whatever it took to protect each other. At times, that meant taking the blame for crimes we did not commit in order to share the beating Mikael was sure to delve out because one beating spread out amongst all of us was better than one beating focused on a single one. Marcellus is safe with me. I know the two of you got a bit closer of the weekend and you may now consider him a brother, but don't ever attempt to share the blame with him if you've done nothing wrong. Marcellus is a big boy. He can take his own punishments."

Kol bit his lip and nodded his understanding.

"Good." Nodding over to the sofa, Klaus continued, "Now have a seat, both of you. We have a bit of news to share and we'd like you all to get your feelings about it out now before the children wake."

Marcel waddled over to Rebekah's open arms while Kol sunk down into the sofa beside Freya. Finn sat on the other side of their sister but Kol refused to acknowledge his presence.

Elijah took his spot by Klaus's side, waiting for everyone to settle before he said, "That's not exactly how I expected this meeting to start off but it wouldn't be a Mikaelson family meeting without one. But on to why we brought you all here this morning. Klaus and I have been up most of the night in contact with Travis, the leader of the rebel werewolf clan. We contacted him for the first time almost a month ago in an attempt to squash all of this bad blood between us for the sake of the city. And," Elijah leaned back against the fireplace mantle behind him as he motioned over to Freya and Hayley. "After discussing it with Freya and Hayley, we think we've found a solution to a couple of our problems. A way to kill two birds with one stone, if you will."

Picking up where Elijah left off, Klaus continued, "It seems Travis's people are finding it a bit cumbersome to survive on the run. Our family's reach has stretched as far out as Baton Rouge which means their territory has been taken over by ours. He is finally willing to concede defeat if we allow their young free boarding at Caroline's new school. I reached out personally to Caroline tonight and she has agreed."

"Under one condition," Elijah sighed. "We save her friends."

A hush fell over the room. Then Marcel finally asked the question they were all wondering. "You're not really going to give those vamps your blood, are you?"

"Not quite."

Elijah fished Marcel's phone out of his pocket and Marcel narrowed his eyes in anger. He'd wondered where his phone had gone. He thought he'd left it at the cabin.

"We've also been in contact with Tyler Lockwood who has reached out to Richard Farmer and his vampires. They wanted a dozen vials of Klaus's blood in exchange for Caroline's friends but we explained to them that that simply wouldn't happen and issued a compromise."

Elijah nodded to Freya and she stood, leaving Kol and Finn sitting beside each other.

"I will take one vial of Klaus's blood and synthesize it into twelve. They won't be as potent but they will cure a minor bite. Those vamps will just have to be careful of who they pick fights with in the future."

"Unlikely," Finn groaned lowly.

Curling his lip in disgust of Finn's bellyaching, Kol asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Finn's jaw tightened at the bite of Kol's voice. The others were all still focused on the conversation at hand, not paying any attention to the two of them whispering their discontent. Though he wished they would.

Chancing a glance over at Kol, Finn muttered, "They're vamps. They don't always make the best choices."

"I suppose you're proof of that."

"Kol, Finn."

Both brothers stiffened at the boom of Klaus's voice.

"Are we boring you?"

"N-no," Finn quickly answered.

Kol sat back in his seat and pouted, irritated with his brother's brownnosing.

"Good," Elijah continued. "Then I suppose you heard the part about you having to go to Caroline's new school."

"Wh-what?" Finn scooted to the edge of the sofa, his jaw dropped in shock. "What do you mean? Why me?"

"We need someone within the school to keep an eye on Hope while Travis's wolves are there. They're all just kids so we shouldn't expect too much foul play. But we also can't let our guards down just because they're kids."

Finn stared down at the floor, hating his teenage body even more now.

"Don't worry," said Klaus. "You won't be the only little spy we have there. Marcellus will be joining you as well."

"Seriously, Klaus," Marcel barked. "I'm too old for High School and you know it."

"Of course, of course," Klaus tutted. "But, you do hold two degrees under your belt so you will be teaching a small, elective course for a few special, handpicked students. That course will include Finn, Hope, and Izzy."

"You're sending Hope to Caroline's school?" Marcel arched a dubious eyebrow. "Does she know?"

The heavy sigh that came from Hayley drew all eyes to the young mother standing off by the door keeping guard.

"Not yet," she said. "Thought we'd wait a little longer to tell her so we wouldn't have to put up with the attitude all summer."

"Good luck with that," Kol smiled. "She's going to throw one hell of a tantrum when she finds out."