What's that? An update from moi? Inconceivable!
No, really, here it is. I'm not sure if I like this one, but there are many interactions between various characters, some growing pains (ha!) for a foster mother and a teaser to an upcoming event, where some dancing might happen for one particular couple or two. Interested? I sure am and I haven't even started writing it yet. Heh.
Enjoy!
"Babysitter? Are you kidding me?" Rebekah's screeching voice echoed through the apartment, and it seemed like it had gained several octaves due to the sheer outrageousness of Caroline's suggestion.
"Yes Rebekah. You're fourteen, do you really think I'll leave you alone for a whole day?"
"You should! I'm not a baby and I can take care of myself for a couple of hours. It's not like I haven't had to do that before."
Caroline cringed at the implication of her former unstable life, but that argument surely would not work in the teen's favor as she expected. "Yeah, by people who neglected you and didn't care much for your well-being. Which I happen to do and therefore, you're not going to be alone."
The young blonde huffed and plopped down on the sofa, arms crossed in defiance. "Why can't you just take me with you? That sounds super glamorous and I wouldn't mind mingling with New York's high society."
Caroline sighed. One of the higher-ups had decided that CBS' annual charity gala would have to be the biggest and best they ever had, probably to outshine NBC's successful spring event. Unfortunately, their event coordinator had quit a few months ago and the new person they had hired was hopelessly overwhelmed with the event and the sky-high expectations of their boss. Then Isobel had the brilliant idea to enlist Caroline's help for the project, since she knew of her experience in event planning. So now she did not only have to do her normal stressful job but also plan some swanky extravaganza in less than four weeks. In addition, her foster child had lost all the last inhibitions she might have had before and was starting to behave like a full-on diva. Not to forget the whole Mikaelson family secret she had to keep for said diva's brother, who still had not come to a conclusion about his stance on the whole issue. Her visit to his apartment had happened two weeks before her current discussion with Rebekah and he was still keeping the girl at arm's length. But the teen knew her brother well and whenever she returned from their few meetups, she mentioned his weird evasive behavior. Caroline always tried to reason it away with being stressed out by the new job and still feeling a bit under the weather, but Rebekah was starting to get suspicious.
"I can't take you with me. There's an open bar and children are not allowed."
She saw how the teenager was about to blow up at the word "children" and quickly corrected herself. "Underaged people, Rebekah. I'm sorry, but you have to sit this one out. You can come to our summer retreat to the Hamptons next year if you want."
"If I'm still here by that time." She mumbled grumpily under her breath.
"Have I given you any indication that you won't be? Now, quit that attitude and go finish your dinner."
The teen grumbled some more but finally rose from the couch and moved back to the dining table. Caroline sighed and joined her, taking a big sip out of her wine glass. A sudden moment of realization made her decide to call her mother later. That poor woman really had a tough time with teenage her.
"Can Nik be my babysitter then?" Rebekah started again, putting a heavy emphasis on the word babysitter.
"Your brother works Saturdays."
"Enzo then?" Finally, a shift in her mood and a wide smirk spread on her face.
"Enzo can't even take care of himself, let alone a teenager who has a crush on him. Besides, he's going to be my obligatory date I have to take to this thing."
"You have to bring a date? What's this, the 1930s?"
Caroline smirked at her outraged tone and nodded. "Well, how can I put this gently? Some of the board members are incredibly old fashioned and have some weird standards for their employees. Give me a couple of years to replace those old farts and that won't be a thing anymore."
Rebekah nodded and took another bite of her salad. "Good. Can it at least be Bonnie then? If you want Katherine to watch me, I'll off myself."
Caroline grimaced. "It'd be a murder-suicide then. But no, Kat is coming to the gala as well. Her law firm always donates a ton of money. Bonnie can't watch you either, since she's working with the charity, we're collecting money for."
"I have no idea how you managed to become friends with Bonnie and Katherine. They're like an angel and a devil. Does that make you Switzerland?"
The young woman shrugged amused, finding Rebekah's assessmentof their friendship funny. "Bonnie and I grew up together and reconnected after she moved here. Kat was my roommate in college and later on. We just have a well-functioning dynamic."
"Still, Bonnie really has to be a saint to put up with that she-devil."
Caroline chuckled, very amused about the title Rebekah had chosen to give her friend since Kat had used the same one on her before. "She's not as bad as you think. Once you know her better, you'll see what I mean."
"Doubtful."
The older blonde sighed. "Anyway, I was going to ask Cami if she could watch you for the night. If I ask her soon enough, she might not have any plans yet."
"She probably won't have any. She and Eva broke up again."
"Oh. Well, thanks for sharing your brother's ex-girlfriend's love life with me, which it's none of my business."
The girl shrugged. "They do this all the time. They're a classic will they/won't they couple. I'm pretty sure she's wasting her time and should just date Marcel again. They were really cute together and he was soooo in love with her."
"Really?" Caroline's curiosity was now piqued. Damn her and her weakness for gossip.
"Yeah. Cami just wasn't ready for the commitment, and I think she also might have a problem with Marcel having a real career, while her plans didn't work out. She doesn't want to be dependent on him."
"Jesus, why do you know all this?"
Rebekah shrugged. "Some info came directly from the source and some things are pure observation."
"Remind me to never tell you any secrets."
The girl snorted. "What secret? Just go to the bar on a day the two are working together and you'll see it. Marcel doesn't even try to be subtle about his feelings and Cami tries to act nonchalant but she's surprisingly bad at it considering the fact that she wanted to be a therapist."
"Yeah, I'm definitely never telling you about my love life."
"You'd have to have one first."
"Ouch."
The next day, Caroline was sitting in her office and had just finished reviewing the stories they would air that evening. She gave her assistant the approval and he quickly forwarded the content to the broadcast team. Once that was done, she took a look at the guest list for the charity gala. It really was a pretty huge deal; the who is who of New York's high society would be present according to the steady stream of RSVPs. She would have to check out the location later before their broadcast started, to make sure it was up to their standards.
The event coordinator, Andie Star, had a meeting with several catering companies that day and they would decide on one later. Oh, and she also had to prepare for her meeting with Jenna, Rebekah's case worker, on Saturday. While some people might get overwhelmed in such stressful situations, Caroline was thriving.
Her seating chart organization was rudely interrupted by her phone ringing. She checked the caller ID, surprised to see Katherine's name pop up.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" The attorney's voice echoed through the phone, and she had to remove it from her ear.
"What now? I'm pretty busy, Kat."
"You invited those charlatans from Gilbert, Griffith & Saltzman to the gala?"
"Yep."
"How could you do that to me? They're our rivaling law firm and my personal mortal enemy works for them too!"
Caroline cringed at the mention of Klaus and Rebekah's half-brother but kept her voice neutral.
"What's that, your 52nd mortal enemy by now? And that's just taking Manhattan into consideration. Listen, two of the partners come from billion-dollar old money families. Do I have to remind you that this is a charity event for underprivileged sick children?"
"I know that! But how am I supposed to have any fun if those people are present and make a better donation than our firm?"
"Well, then use that impeccable persuasiveness of yours to get your bosses to donate more. Bye-bye."
She clearly heard Katherine protesting before hanging up and could not help but grin. Her friend was a kick-ass lawyer, but really had a thing for dramatics – and that was saying something coming from her. But her outburst had given her an idea.
Caroline studied the guest list once again and saw that Elijah Cadogan had RSVPed "yes" and he was not coming alone – a Hayley Marshall was joining him. A quick Google search revealed that Hayley Marshall was a model turned conservation scientist and former Misses Cadogan. The pair had been divorced three years before. She scrolled down on the gossip site, which talked about the their separation and saw a photo of them together. What a gorgeous couple. She looked very much like a model and he was pretty attractive as well. However, there was no resemblance to Rebekah or Klaus – at least optically.
Caroline leaned back in her chair and thought it over. As far as she could tell, Klaus had not made any progress concerning the whole family affair. Moreover, he seemed to be trying to ignore the whole issue. So, what if he got a chance to observe his secret half-brother from a safe distance. Say, at a charity gala he was attending. Chances were that he would be completely appalled by that idea and decline it. She could of course just invite him as her escort instead of Enzo and not tell him about her plan. Though, he was already really sensitive about the whole issue and might have a meltdown if he ran into Elijah at the event without knowing it beforehand. No, it would be better to be upfront about the whole thing.
"As much as I'm happy to spend time with you, love, I feel like an intervention is about to take place."
Caroline took a chill sip from her extra foamy cappuccino and watched the man sitting opposite her. Klaus was more attractive than was fair, but he looked tired. The full-time job at the insurance company, which he hated, and the night shifts at the bar were obviously wearing him out. It probably did not help that his emotions were all over the place because of his family issues.
"Keen observation. You've been avoiding Rebekah and it has got to stop. She's been suspicious two weeks ago, now she's just worried about you. You either have to fess up or use some excuse to explain your unavailability in the last couple of weeks." Well, nobody had ever accused her of not being direct enough.
Klaus sighed and leaned back in his chair, avoiding eye contact and staring at his espresso. Enzo had presented it with much flourish, enjoying the grumpy Mikaelson staring daggers at him.
Caroline had practically ordered him to the coffee shop before her meeting with Jenna. After that, she would send him on his way to visit Rebekah, who was studying for a French test and could probably use his help. Caroline herself was no use there since she never took that language in high school. Back in the day, she had actually been surprised that her one-horse town offered foreign languages at all.
The older Mikaelson finally sighed deeply and nodded. "You're right. I won't be able to avoid my sister forever. But I just can't tell her about it. Not yet anyway."
The blonde shrugged and reached for her cup once again. "You can't tell her today anyway. She's way too stressed out about exams and cheerleading try-outs on Monday. Besides, you have barely come to terms with all of it yourself, so you'd probably do a horrible job."
His face fell even more if that was possible. "Why thank you."
"Don't mention it. I do however have something that might make you more decisive about the whole matter."
His curiosity was piqued, and he raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be, love?"
She decided to go with the ripping off the band-aid routine and told him about the charity event and Elijah's at said event.
"So, you'll come along as my plus one and can check him out from afar. That way, you won't have to believe any of Katherine's very biased accounts of the guy and can get a feeling for how he might be as a person. You also don't have to meet him at all if you don't want to; it's a huge event and chances are you could avoid him if you wanted to."
The young man grimaced. "I don't know. What use could it have for me to observe my secret half-brother from a distance like some sinister lurker?"
"Aren't you the least bit curious? Besides, when will you get another opportunity like this? It's basically perfect."
The plagued man thought it over and Caroline let him. He did not have to decide immediately and she had a coffee to drink and cake to taste.
"You know what, screw it. I'll come with you."
The young executive choked on her drink and started coughing. Klaus looked at her concerned while she tried to breathe normally again.
"Are you alright, love?" He asked once she had calmed down and reached for her water.
"Yeah – cough – I just didn't expect you to say yes so soon. I figured you'd brood about it for a while and then ask me to come along the day before the event."
Klaus chuckled and enjoyed his own bean beverage. "How extravagant is this party exactly? Do I have to wear a tuxedo?"
Caroline nodded, silently cursing herself for coming up with the idea in the first place. Seeing Klaus in a suit might do things to her that would irrevocably ruin their friendly relationship, but that was a concern for another day.
"It's black-tie, so yeah. But I know some great places, where you can rent one. I can pay for it if you want. That was always Enzo's condition if I wanted him to come along."
Klaus eyed the man behind the counter suspiciously and Caroline had to suppress a grin. He was probably trying to figure out how her friend's mind worked and could not come up with a reasonable explanation.
"Thank you, love, but I think I'll be able to dress myself. Do I need to buy some entrance ticket or something?"
The blonde chuckled. "Hello? You'll be the organizer's date; obviously not. Just look pretty and be ready to be picked up by the limo and you'll be golden."
"So, I actually have been replaced. I feel so betrayed."
Enzo stopped by to refill their glasses and be a nosy bitch, as usual.
"You hate those events. And even if Klaus hadn't decided to come with me, I wouldn't have taken you anyway after the stunt you pulled with that Murdoch girl last year."
Klaus raised an eyebrow, curious about that particular event and Enzo snorted.
"Please. It wasn't my fault that her escort was boring enough for her to seek some fun elsewhere."
"And that fun had to happen in a closet at the party? If her father had caught you, I would've probably lost my job and never gotten one in broadcast journalism again."
"Oh Cinderella, don't be so dramatic. Nobody would have made a connection between me and you."
"You proudly proclaimed to be Caroline Forbes' date to two of my board members before you sneaked off with the girl!"
Enzo chuckled and faced Klaus. "Mate, maybe don't hook up with another girl at that party."
He nodded. "Duly noted."
With that, Enzo walked away and Caroline shook her head. Sometimes she wondered, why she was even friends with him. But then he did something ridiculously supportive, and she remembered.
"Well, I suppose I'm going to a charity gala for the rich and famous in three weeks. What a from rags to riches story." Klaus mused and Caroline laughed.
"Yeah, and Enzo is calling me Cinderella." She checked her watch and her eyes nearly fell out. She quickly downed the rest of her coffee and gathered her things.
"Alright, I've gotta go meet with Jenna. You on the other hand have a free afternoon, which you're going to spend helping Rebekah preparing for her French test. She's in the apartment, have fun!"
Caroline quickly made her exit, leaving a stunned Klaus behind.
"Absolutely not. That color totally washes you out." Rebekah exclaimed and Katherine nodded along, eyes critical. In an attempt to involve her foster daughter at least somewhat in the process of planning the gala, she brought her along to buy herself a pretty and tasteful gown. Katherine had decided to tag along as well and purchase her own dress and the two enemies had suddenly decided that they were both fashion experts and did not sugarcoat their opinion about Caroline's choices in garments. Not having lovely and pacifying Bonnie as a buffer made for a really fun experience.
"Yeah, and it looks really cheap. Here, try this on." Katherine handed her a ruby satin number. Caroline took one look at the dress and laughed. "Kat, I'm one of the organizers of the event. I can't possibly waltz in there showing so much skin. That is more of a Katherine Pierce dress anyway."
The feisty brunette looked at her choice again and shrugged. "You're right, I'd look totally hot in it. I'm going to try it on."
Rebekah rolled her eyes and browsed through the gowns hanging on her right side. The shop assistant had abandoned them long ago, after Katherine had told her she had it all covered. Caroline nipped at her champagne flute and sighed. One could think that she would be better at choosing ballgowns after attending several homecomings, beauty pageants and charity events in her hometown and yet there they were.
"What about this?" Rebekah was holding up an ivory dress, observing it carefully. It was mermaid cut, sleeveless and covered in pearls. It was classy and elegant and might just be the right one.
"This looks amazing." As Caroline held it up to inspect the beading closer, Rebekah got a look at the price tag.
"Holy shit, that's one expensive dress. Must be real pearls on it."
The older blonde followed her gaze and cringed only a little bit. It might be a bit over the budget, but if it really suited her well, she might take it. She would get a bonus for organizing the whole thing anyway, so it would be well spent.
"I'll try it on."
"Wait, check this out before."
The two blondes turned around to find Katherine posing for them. The ruby sating was covering her curves in a very alluring way and despite it being more cut out than most people would be comfortable with, Katherine made it work without looking cheap or disreputable.
"You look fantastic. You should buy that and never take it off again. Maybe try wearing it to court – you'll win any case as long as the judge is male."
Katherine threw her locks over her shoulder and observed herself in the mirror. "Please, as if I need to seduce somebody to be the best lawyer in New York."
Rebekah rolled her eyes again and wandered off to check out more of the store.
When Caroline walked out of the changing room, Katherine had already changed back and Rebekah was sitting at the comfy chair, eyeing Caroline's champagne hungrily.
"Don't even think about it!"
The two looked up and Rebekah smiled. "You look amazing! Very Princess Grace of Monaco."
Katherine nodded. "The brat is right. You should definitely take that one."
Caroline smiled and turned to look at herself in the floor length mirror. It was true, the dress fit her really well and was fancy enough for the gala with a touch of vintage.
"Yeah, I do look hot. I'll take it."
Rebekah grinned, proud about the fact that she had found the right dress and Katherine nodded approvingly. "Great. Now we just need to get BonBon out of that hospital long enough so she can buy something cute as well."
Caroline shot her a look. "You know Bonnie doesn't shop with you anymore."
Rebekah looked between the two women, not able to hide her curiosity. "Why?"
Katherine snorted. "She's just way too sensitive sometimes."
"Bonnie literally works with dying people daily and handles that without cracking, but you made her tear up with your comments."
The teenager glared daggers at the lawyer. "You made Bonnie cry?"
Katherine waved her off. "That's water under the bridge. Like, a whole tsunami."
"Honestly, I have no idea what these two see in you."
"And who asked for your opinion again?"
Caroline shook her head and walked back to the cabin to change, leaving the two headstrong girls to fight it out. As long as they got out of this fancy place before hands were thrown, everything would be fine.
"Well hello Sunshine. What can I get you?" Camille raised an amused eyebrow and Caroline rolled her eyes. Honestly, if Enzo were not so attractive, he would not have any customers at all.
"I'll take a Chai Latté please. Do you have any blueberry muffins?"
"Coming right up!"
"…and I'll take a large Cappuccino, asshole!" Caroline yelled after her friend's retreating form. Seriously, she had to remind herself to keep Cami away from Enzo before he decided to screw her too.
The two blondes made their way over to Caroline's favorite table and sat down.
"Sorry about him. Enzo rarely turns his flirtatious side off. But his coffee is really good."
Cami chuckled and waved her off. "Don't worry, I've had worse. You would not believe the things I get to hear at work."
Caroline cringed. "I can imagine. Thanks for coming out here, by the way. We can meet up at the bar next time if you want."
"Please, I'm glad to be away from that dump for once. And this place is pretty charming, I can see why you like being here."
"Well, it certainly isn't because of the good service." Caroline raised her voice at the last part and Enzo flipped her off before approaching their table.
"Other customers pick up their orders themselves when they are done, so don't ever complain about my service again, Goldilocks. Here you go, Sunshine."
Caroline glared at his retreating form and Camille remarked "He's creative with his nicknames, isn't he? Does he do that all the time?"
"Constantly, for everyone."
"Interesting."
Caroline chuckled and put one sugar cube into her cup. "You'd do humankind a great service if you'd take some time to diagnose that guy. Honestly, the Queen herself might fly out and knight you."
Cami smiled good-naturedly and tried her drink. "Oh, this is really good. I'm afraid I'm not licensed, so it wouldn't really count. But if you ever need to get him blackout drunk, I make the best and deadliest cocktails in New York. So, how was your meeting with Jenna last week?"
And Caroline talked. She told Cami how Jenna had praised Rebekah's improved attitude and her dedication to school. How the teen had only good things to say about her new home, something she had not done for a long time. And how Rebekah could stay in her care long term if that was what she wanted.
Cami listened intently and once Caroline was finished, she let the words hang in the air for a while, where the two women both consumed their caffeinated drinks.
"Do you want that?" The bartender asked finally.
"Yes, of course. I don't want to uproot Rebekah again and like her a lot."
Cami eyed her closely. "But?"
The other blonde fidgeted in her seat and stirred her coffee. Finally, she sighed. "I'm wondering…well, I'm afraid that I might get too attached, you know? I mean…sure, Beks can be a pain in the ass, but I really like having her around. But sooner or later, Klaus will stabilize his life enough for Jenna to consider placing her back with him. Which is fantastic, don't get me wrong. I would be so happy for them…"
"But you're afraid of what that will do to you." Cami finished and Caroline sighed. She put her hands in her face and groaned. "Oh God, I know, it's horribly selfish. Here I am, sitting around and whining about what effect it will have on me when my foster kid gets to move back in with her brother. I suck."
Cami looked at her compassionately and removed her hands to make Caroline look at her. "It's not selfish. The fact that you care so much about Rebekah shows that you're a great guardian. Getting attached to your foster child is nothing negative, but a very healthy development. Foster parents actually play a key role in helping children develop a positive connection with authority figures. Such constructive attachments build the child's sense of self-worth, create beneficial memories, and demonstrate what healthy relationships look like. For someone like Rebekah, who barely has any memories of her mother and was shifted from home to home, while her brother struggled to make ends meet and fought for her whenever he could, it is a wonderful development to have such a stable figure in her life, who actually cares about her."
Caroline could not help the tears that had decided to pool in her eyes and were on the verge of spilling. Despite all the encouragement she had gotten from her friends (well, mostly Bonnie), Klaus and Jenna, it was good to hear that she really was doing something good for Rebekah from somebody who was knowledgeable in the field and had known the girl for a long time.
Cami reached for her purse pulled out some tissues, making Caroline snort a laugh and actually spill some of those tears, she had tried hard to keep at bay.
"Besides, even if Rebekah moves back in with Klaus, it doesn't mean that you have to lose contact. The girl has worked hard to not form any strong attachments in the last few years, simply because the people usually walked out of her life after a short while. But she has gotten so comfortable around you and even opened up – more than she has done with others, mind you – that she'll definitely want to keep you around in the long run."
Caroline offered her a wobbly smile and tried to fix her face somewhat. She noticed a plate with a cupcake being put on the table and Enzo moving away again without a word. Peanut Butter, her absolute favorite. There was that caring side her friend hid so well sometimes.
Cami smiled too at the silent show of support and waited for Caroline to speak again.
"Honestly, you should just start charging me. I always unload my bullshit on you when we meet and we don't even know each other well enough for that."
"That would be highly illegal. Besides, I really don't mind. I also care about Rebekah a lot and I'm happy to see you be so invested in her life. And I like you too, so I enjoy spending time with you."
That woman was a literal saint. "Right back at ya. But since I've already unloaded on you like crazy, please feel free to drop your emotional baggage as well. I can be a good listener if I try hard enough."
Camille waved her off, seeming nonchalant. "Oh, I'm fine. No need to unload anything."
Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Really? Because you seem to be the type, who listens to others' problems and blocks out her own."
The other blonde's eyes shot up to her, a mixture of defensiveness and vulnerability in them.
Caroline backtracked immediately. "I'm sorry, I way overstepped there. Sorry."
Camille opened her mouth to answer but closed it again. Great, now she had ruined a potential friendship with a great girl because she could not keep her mouth shut Way to go, Caroline!
The other woman sighed. "You might be onto something. I took care of my sick father for quite a while and I could hardly complain about my problems during that time. I guess I just got used to keeping them to myself instead of talking about them. That would be interesting for a therapist to look into, but I can't really diagnose myself."
She offered a weak smile and Caroline reciprocated. She had never had the reputation of being too compassionate and it had taken her a while to work on herself to become less judgmental and more empathetic. Cami seemed to have the opposite problem, being very sympathetic and caring. It was a shame that she could not use that big heart of hers to help people like she had intended.
"You could try opening up to me, if you want to. It might be easier than sharing your problems with your close friends. I'm kind of a neutral party… a Walmart therapist if you like."
That earned her a genuine, loud laugh from Cami and led to them sitting at the café until she had to pick up Rebekah from cheer practice.
It was a regular Thursday early afternoon and Caroline had just put away her budget analysis of the month when she got a call. And not any call – it was the headmaster of Rebekah's school. He told her that her protégée had gotten into a fight, and she had to get there to pick her up.
Cursing under her breath, Caroline gave some quick instructions to her assistant and quickly left the building, texting the driver to be ready to take her to the girl's school. Her mind was racing; this was something she had expected, but somehow still had not. Rebekah had been doing so well; she was doing her homework, had joined the cheerleading squad and school newspaper and had even made some friends along the way. What could possibly have happened for her to get into a fight?
She reached the school just as classes were over and throngs of kids were streaming out of the building while she was trying to make her way inside. Once she finally reached the hallway, she looked around the lockers and trophy cases and bulletin boards and felt a strong case of déjà vu. Though, her school had been much smaller and somehow a bit more welcoming.
She asked a passing student about the principal's office, who pointed her down the hall onto the first floor. She followed the instructions and soon enough, she was standing in front of the door to the office. Inside, Rebekah was sitting on the chairs next to the principal's door and the secretary looked at her expectantly.
"I'm Caroline Forbes, Rebekah's foster mother. The principal wanted to see me?"
The middle-aged woman nodded and walked towards the other door, gesturing for her to wait. Caroline took the chance to talk to Rebekah to get some intel.
"Alright, what happened?"
The teen crossed her arms, face defensive. "I punched a guy in the face."
Stunned, Caroline was at a loss for words. "Well…at least you're not lying about it."
"But he totally deserved it! He's been harassing me constantly for the last three weeks and did not stop when I told him to back off. Today, I was trying to get from my locker to cheer practice and he told me that he bet I was super flexible and he'd know exactly what to do with that. Then he grabbed my ass."
"What?! How old is that guy?"
"He's a junior, a football player. He probably thinks because I'm a cheerleader, I have to put out or something."
"What the actual-"
"Miss Forbes? The headmaster is ready for you." The secretary interrupted Caroline's outburst and she nodded. She definitely was ready for him.
"Miss Forbes, welcome. My name is Logan Fell. Thank you for coming here on such short notice."
Caroline sat down at the chair he had just pointed out and he followed suit.
"I'm sorry that we have to meet in such unpleasant circumstances."
"Yes, too bad. So, what exactly happened today?"
The principal looked down at his papers and cleared his throat. "Let's see…Rebekah punched a male student unprovoked in the hallway between classes. He had to see the school nurse because she gave him a bloody nose."
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Unprovoked? Who said that?"
"Well, we only have eye-witnesses, who saw them talking with each other until Rebekah turned to violence. I don't have any reason to doubt Mister Maxfield's statement. He's one of our star athletes and an honor students."
The blonde snorted. That was so typical. "Oh, and Rebekah is the screwed-up foster child, who can't help herself but get into trouble. Was her behavior in any way questionable or inappropriate since she started school? Did she not join two clubs and have very good grades? Could it possibly be that you're prejudiced against her because of her history despite her never showing any signs of aggression before in this school?"
Mr. Fell paused for a moment, taking her words in. "Well, I don't disagree that Rebekah has been behaving well in the last month. But we don't tolerate violence on these premises."
"Oh, but you condone sexual harassment? That this what, 17-year-old star athlete has been hitting on my 14-year-old foster daughter constantly for the past few weeks and wouldn't leave her alone until she snapped, that is okay in your book?"
The headmaster blinked and cleared his throat. "We most certainly don't condone such behavior. However, this has not been brought to my attention before."
"Yeah? Well, maybe you should take off those rose-colored glasses and monitor the behavior of your football players. Sure, Rebekah shouldn't have resorted to violence, but when would he have stopped harassing her? After he got what he wanted? Maybe he's doing it to other freshman girls as well and they were afraid of repercussions and couldn't stand up to him like Rebekah did? Why exactly is she here, waiting to be punished while he's probably off getting handsy with other girls?"
"Now, Miss Forbes, let's not exaggerate. That was just a hormone filled teenager testing out his boundaries…"
"Oh, we're going with the 'boys will be boys' excuse? Fine, I'll stoop to your level then. You are going to investigate that boy and you better find some evidence that he's been a creepy shithead instead of this picture-perfect athlete you seem to see him as. Rebekah should be punished for resorting to violence, true, but don't you dare make her suffer worse consequences than he does. And you better follow through with that. I'm an executive at CBS and you can bet I'm going to me-too your ass until you're begging to get a job at some sleazy burger joint and have kissed your career as principal goodbye. Shame on you for pulling that sexist crap while trying to educate teenagers!"
With that Caroline, grabbed her bag and stormed out of the office, taking a stunned Rebekah with her and saying a friendly goodbye to the secretary, who was staring after her, mouth wide open.
Nobody said a word until they had pulled out of the parking lot and were weaving through New York traffic.
"Hey Care?"
"What?"
"Thank you."
Later that day, when Caroline returned home from work, Rebekah was waiting at the dining room table and looking at her expectantly. She had ordered Pasta al Pomodoro, which smelled heavenly to Caroline's very empty stomach and brought a pie from Enzo's.
"You ordered food?" She asked as she placed her bag on the kitchen counter.
"No, I cooked."
"You WHAT?"
"Cooked. Is that so hard to believe?"
The older blonde checked the kitchen and alas, there were dirty dishes in the dishwasher and a pot of sauce on the stove.
"Woah okay. Why are we always ordering in if you can cook?"
Rebekah snorted. "Because I'm not your personal chef and can only do like three dishes."
Caroline frowned. "Easy there. Just because I ripped your principal a new one, doesn't mean you're off the hook already. Sit."
Rebekah sighed, but she obliged. Caroline followed suit and she stared the teen down. She was not quite sure if the cooking was an apology or thank you, but she had to make a couple of things clear.
"First things first: violence is never the answer. You were upset and rightfully so, but the stunt you pulled could have gotten you expelled. Why didn't you tell me that this guy was bothering you?"
Rebekah shrugged, eyes downcast. "I don't know. I'm not used to talking about my problems. And you were so busy planning that charity event and all…I didn't want you to be annoyed with me."
And send me away. She did not say it, but Caroline had a feeling it was what the girl was thinking.
"Let's make one thing clear: I will never be too busy to talk to you. I want you to be able to come to me if something's bothering you and I don't want you to solve your problems alone. And I most certainly won't send you away because you annoy me. You've done that numerous times already."
Rebekah smirked, but her eyes were still much too anxious for Caroline's liking. It was no surprise, that the girl had trust issues, but she was determined to get through those walls and make her understand that she was in for the long haul.
"Now, I'm proud that you stood up for yourself and showed that asshole not to mess with you. However, I can't let you going full-on Rocky go unpunished."
Rebekah groaned and dropped her head in her hands. "Can't we just call it a feminist move and be done with it?"
"You wish. Even if your punishment in school isn't too harsh, they still have to inform CPS. Jenna won't be happy about it and might question my ability to take care of you after all."
The girl raised her head, all traces of petulance gone from her face. "I don't want them to take me away from you."
Caroline had never heard the feisty girl so timid, so defeated. It broke her heart and she swallowed an enormous lump in her throat.
"They won't. I promise. Just…don't go around punching football players anymore, okay? And if one of those boys harasses you again, come to me."
Rebekah nodded and started distributing the food among them. "We should eat before it gets cold."
Principal Fell had apparently taken Caroline's threat seriously and Rebekah got off with two weeks of detention. The football player suffered the same fate and was ordered to visit the guidance counselor to talk about his behavior towards female students. It was not much, but more than Caroline had expected, so she did not complain about it.
As expected, Jenna had been informed by the school about Rebekah's fight club incident and ordered them both to come by on the following Tuesday.
Caroline was nervous about the meeting. She tried displaying confidence in front of Rebekah and tried to reassure her, but she herself did not know what would happen. If Jenna saw the teenager's behavior as unacceptable, she might think that she was not cared for according to standards or neglected by Caroline.
She was actually freaked out enough to ask Katherine for legal advice. She caught her friend on the phone between two case hearings and thanked the heavens that she had picked up.
"I wouldn't worry about it. The little she-devil kicked some guy's ass to teach him a lesson. I had no idea she had it in her and that social worker will understand it and realize those were extenuating circumstances. If not, we can sue them."
"You'd sue CPS?"
"For you I would, cupcake. Now, put on that beauty pageant smile of yours and convince them that you're killing it as Rebekah's foster mother."
When the two blondes arrived at Jenna's office, the young woman greeted them pretty neutrally and not as warmly as the last few times they had met. That certainly did not help calm Caroline's nerves.
She asked to speak to Rebekah first and her guardian took a seat at the table near the office. She tried distracting herself by answering work e-mails, but it was to no avail. She also ignored the message from Klaus she had received two hours earlier. Neither she nor Rebekah had told her brother about the incident at school, and she had no plans to do so until after her meeting with Jenna. There was no need to freak him out even more before they even knew anything for certain.
The minutes dragged on and still no sign from Jenna and Rebekah. For all Caroline knew, they were already discussing putting the girl in another home and arranging everything to pack up her things from her place. The mere thought of that made the executive's throat close up and tap the floor nervously. Then she actually contemplated calling Klaus and telling him about the issue, making him storm over and stop them from giving Rebekah to another family. That would of course have been massively counterproductive, so she quickly turned off her phone, lest she happened to have more of these stupid ideas.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the door to Jenna's office opened and the social worker led Rebekah outside…and away from the waiting area Caroline was sitting in. The blonde stood up abruptly and followed suit. "Hold on, where are you going?"
They turned around, but Jenna nudged Rebekah to continue her trek down the hall. "I'm just sending her over for a quick meeting with her therapist. They have to discuss the incident from a more psychological standpoint."
Caroline relaxed somewhat, watching the teenager disappear in an office a couple of doors down. She was aware of Jenna's eyes on her, but she could not be bothered to decipher her look.
"Alright, shall we?" The young woman addressed her again and Caroline followed her into her office.
After they were both seated, Jenna asked if she could get her something to drink. Caroline declined. She just wanted this to be over already.
"Okay then. Rebekah told me her side of the story, but I would really like to hear it from you as well."
So, Caroline told her. She clarified that she could not attest to the events in the school's hallway but revealed everything from her arrival at the principal's office. She also told her about the punishment Rebekah and Wes Maxfield had received and the fact that other girls had come up to the teenager and revealed having been harassed by the guy. That they had been impressed by Rebekah's bold move and wished they had done the same.
"I understand. As I've discussed with Rebekah thoroughly and will be discussed with her therapist, using violence to solve a problem is not something that should be encouraged. Naturally, kids with her history tend to use it as first form of defense instead of talking through problems. Now, I understand that this was a comparatively complicated situation and she felt threatened by that young man. I have had a long discussion with Principal Fell about it and made it clear that we do not encourage violence but also will not tolerate if one of our kids is harassed and the school looks away. He then told me that Miss Forbes made herself very clear on that matter. Naturally, I'm now curious what exactly you said to him."
Caroline blushed. It did sound like Jenna was not going to take Rebekah away from her or scold her for this one faux pas. But how could she phrase her slightly threatening words to the principal to not make her sound like an entitled lunatic?
"Well…I might have insinuated that I could potentially see to his early retirement if he decided to let this kid's inappropriate behavior slide."
A brief and tiny smirk appeared on Jenna's face, but she quickly corrected it. "I see. Well, since both Rebekah and the boy got punished and she did neither get expelled nor suspended, I'd say we'll shelve this incident now. But I would highly encourage you to talk about it with Rebekah and make her understand what's at stake for her if she escalates situations like that again."
Caroline was stunned and stared at the social worker. "So…you're not going to take her away?"
Now it was Jenna's turn to stare in surprise. "Take her away? Of course not. Her development has been incredibly successful, and this is just a minor hiccup. I'm thankful that you don't want to stop fostering her."
Caroline shook her head, incredibly relieved. "No, of course not."
Jenna smiled at that. "Great. Thank you for coming by; Rebekah should also be done soon."
As the blonde closed the door behind her, she finally let out a huge breath she had been holding in for quite a while. She walked back towards the waiting area to wait for her foster daughter. Once seated, she took out her phone and powered it up again. It was time to invite Klaus over and give him a short summary of the incident.