Notes: I'm late! Meant to get this up on Saturday. We are back to hitting my length goal (for once!) Thank you for the reviews last chapter! I'm glad everyone seemed to like Davina. We'll see if she pops up again. And FYI for those of you who maybe aren't on Tumblr The Klaroline Awards start tomorrow! Vote for your favorites!

DECEMBER – SUNDAY

KOL:

Caroline coughed into the crook of her elbow and Kol edged further away. She glared at him, Kol caught it in the shiny surface on the back of the doors, but did not turn her way, "Stop it!" she growled, "I'm fine."

Kol closed his eyes to hide the rolling they were doing and leaned against the wall as she cleared her throat loudly. For such a swanky building the elevators at Elijah's were on the small side. He almost wished he'd taken the stairs. Caroline had been hoarse and sniffle-y since she'd woken up, yet refused to acknowledge it. She'd changed her outfit four times (and he'd reassured her that yes, it was fine to wear jeans) mainlining herbal tea and popping vitamin C capsules. Kol had suggested Caroline go back to bed, and skip brunch (and why she wouldn't take the out, he did not know), but here they were.

Caroline had insisted that she absolutely, positively, could not get sick. It just wasn't possible. Or doable. Or going to happen. It was December, she had said. Her work schedule was packed and she simply did not have time for a cold to try to take her down.

Her determination was admirable, Kol supposed, if entirely useless. Anyone with eyes, ears and half a brain could tell that Caroline was not well, pale as she was, her eyes slightly bloodshot. So Kol gave her a little credit for her commitment to lying to herself. He was not a big fan her insistence on spreading the germs that infested her body, however. Kol had forced Caroline to stay at least two meters away from the quiche he'd made that morning, at all times, until it was safely packed away.

Caroline coughed again and Kol wished he had some hand sanitizer with him. He's sure Elijah has some, so he'll just have to remember to nick some from the guest bathroom.

In the meantime, as a preventative measure, Kol darts out of the elevator as soon as there's a wide enough gap in the doors. Not a shining example of the manners that had been drilled into him as a child. Ladies first, and all that rubbish. But Caroline didn't really count as a 'lady' in Kol's opinion. He barely even bothered to check out her legs in the tiny shorts she wore to bed anymore.

He'd have to remember not to say that in front of Elijah though. Or Nik. Even if he didn't mean it disparagingly at all. Because he didn't want a lecture (Elijah, for a man who had yet to produce a spawn, had a superb 'I'm not mad, just disappointed face' that Kol had often endured) or a black eye (Nik's a volatile wanker on a good day and Kol likes his face to remain pretty and unbruised).

Caroline mutters, "Rude!" just loudly enough for Kol to hear it as she follows him down the hall.

"Sorry, darling. I don't want to touch anything you've touched until your plague has been razed."

"I'm not sick!" Caroline exclaimed, speeding up and stomping past him. Her forcefulness was entirely ruined by the sneeze that came roaring out and Kol flinched away.

Kol opened his mouth, an 'I told you so' primed to come out, but Caroline pointed at him and bit out, "I will lick every surface in our apartment if you don't zip it, Kol Mikaelson! We're doing the power of positive thinking, alright? And it will work."

Closing his mouth, Kol considered her thoughtfully. On the one hand her obsessive compulsive neat freakiness would probably stop her from actually doing any licking of countertops or doorknobs. On the other, he'd learned to never underestimate her insane stubbornness. Better not risk it. He had a coffee date with a certain caterer next week, despite Nik's best efforts at sabotaging him last night, and phlegm was never attractive.

Kol nodded once, "Fine. You win."

"That's right I win."

Kol pressed his lips together to keep in a retort and knocked on Elijah's door. It was quickly thrown open by Rebekah. Bekah was also casually dressed, in an outfit quite similar to Caroline's (though Kol was quite sure Bekah's had cost as much as a used car, since she still had access to actual money, and not just the paltry earnings of her labor) which would hopefully quell his roommate's urge to obsess over the dress code should she happen to come to one of these again.

Rebekah and Stefan were in the entryway, and had obviously also just arrived. "Sister. Salvatore," Kol greeted, shucking his coat, "I feel like I've seen more of the pair of you recently than I really want to."

Kol jumped slightly as Caroline poked him (hard, with nail!) in the side as a chastisement. Stefan ignored him but Rebekah puffed up indignantly, and was just about to start screeching if the look on her face, another that Kol was quite familiar with, was anything to go by, when she happened to glance at Caroline. Her brows rose and instead she blurted out, "You look awful!"

Caroline looked down and tugged on her sleeves self-consciously. Elijah tutted from the next room, "Manners, Rebekah. Please do not insult my guests. Take Caroline's coat and hang it up. Kol, if you wouldn't mind assisting me?"

There was an edge in Elijah's voice that either meant he'd bitten off more than he could chew, culinary speaking (he was better in the kitchen than either Nik or Rebekah, but still kind of an amateur, in Kol's opinion) or he had a concerned talk to deliver. As Kol couldn't for the life of him think of what he'd done recently (pranks and underwear thieving aside, and he, Nik and Rebekah generally kept Elijah out of their pettier squabbles – because none of them liked the disappointed face) to deserve a lecture he figured it was safe to join Elijah in the kitchen. There was always the chance that he had a general, "consider your life choices" speech to sit through, but Kol decided to risk it. Because he was hungry and also because dictating instructions to Elijah was a rare treat.

He took the dish with the quiche in it from Caroline, inspected it briefly to make sure it's protective coverings hadn't been breached, before he left the trio behind. He could hear Bekah fussing, demanding to know what was wrong with Caroline, why she looked like death warmed over.

Rounding the corner into the kitchen Kol spied Elijah, whisk in hand, looking perplexed. Nik was seated at the butcher block sipping coffee and watching Elijah with amusement. Taking pleasure in the rare moments Elijah's unflappability cracked open was something he and Nik always agreed was an enjoyable pastime.

"How's it hanging, 'Lijah?" Kol asked genially.

Nik hid a smirk behind his cup and Elijah took a deep, calming breath. He was likely itching to complain about the informal (and purposefully crude) address, and the nickname, but held himself back, "I bought a waffle iron. And it seems to be malfunctioning."

Taking two steps forward to peer into the bowl Kol saw the problem immediately and shook his head in mock disappointment, "It's not malfunctioning. You're malfunctioning."

Nik made a strangled laughing noise before commenting lightly, "I've been saying that for years."

"That's pancake batter," Kol lectured, unable to help adopting an extra officious tone, "waffle batter has more fat and sugar. And it's thicker. Only logical, don't you think? "

Elijah glanced at the batter and then at the fridge, "So I need to…"

"Add more fat and sugar? Yes." Sensing Elijah's hesitation Kol walked around the island and tugged the bowl towards him, "You know what, why don't I just do it?"

"Please do," Nik answered, before Elijah could. But Elijah relinquished his hold easily enough.

"Rebekah, I swear to God, if you don't quit trying to feel my forehead…" Caroline rushed into the kitchen, Rebekah and Stefan on her heels.

She paused, seeing Klaus, and nodded at him. Nik offered a small smile in return. Kol noted the lingering awkwardness and kind of wanted to lock them in a room together until they managed to work that out. He briefly considered making it worse, as a form of payback. Nik had told several stories to Bonnie Bennett last night. The kind of stories a man preferred a woman not to know. But watching them, he hesitated. Caroline perched gingerly on the stool next to Nik, keeping her arms tucked into her body, glancing at his brother out of the corner of her eye. Nik straightened from his slouch, to give her more room. And really, it was all just so pathetic that Kol found he hadn't the heart to make it worse.

Spending so much time with his family was making him soft and squishy and he didn't like it at all.

Elijah slipped into host mode, a much better fit than cook mode, and asked Caroline how she took her coffee. Kol looked at Elijah's mess of a batter and decided to start fresh. He turned his attention away from the middle school mating dance Nik and Caroline were engaged in. Someone had to make sure that they got something edible, after all. Grabbing another bowl he started instructing, "Stefan, be a dear and preheat the oven to 350, will you? I'd ask Bekah to do it but I'm sure Elijah would rather she not start a fire. Again."