A/N: Hi kids, sorry for the update delay! Congratulations to all us Klaroliners out there who got our Klaroline moment on the series finale of TVD :D Hope you enjoy the update and pass me a review if you're feeling generous! :)
The cab ride to Bonnie's apartment was a blur. In fact, she could barely recall Klaus paying Galen for her tattoo while she quickly dressed before they rushed out to hail a taxi.
Her entire body was vibrating with panic as she stared out the window aimlessly.
The car was weaving through the lighter evening traffic, but still, it wasn't fast enough for her.
Klaus was seated beside her, his eyes piercing the glass of the car window as his leg shook frantically.
"Could you speed it up a bit, mate?" Klaus asked the driver through the plastic shield dividing the front seat from the back seat.
The driver grunted indignantly in response and Klaus sighed in frustration as he fell back against the seat in defeat.
She attempted to give him a faint smile of reassurance, but his disconcerted expression did not falter.
It felt like every two seconds she was checking her phone for any update from Bonnie, Rebekah or Kol. There was nothing save for Bonnie's text simply saying that Grayson was fine and she would explain what had happened once they got there.
She took some comfort in the fact that Grayson was okay, but that still didn't answer the millions of questions racing through her mind. Why had Esther and Mikael shown up at Bonnie's apartment all of the sudden? Why now? What did they want?
Once the taxi arrived at Bonnie's apartment, she had her credit card ready to pay the fare. The expense of the trip was of no concern to her. They needed to get to Bonnie's as quickly as they could – regardless of the cost.
Both she and Klaus scrambled out of the taxi and rushed towards the apartment entrance, luckily able to pass through the secure entrance as another tenant exited.
Klaus darted for the stairwell.
"Bonnie is on the tenth floor," she reminded Klaus.
She had thought about taking the stairs herself, too impatient to wait for the elevator, but she knew the elevator would be just as fast by the time she climbed the stairs to the tenth floor.
Klaus slowed his pace towards the stairwell and followed her instead to the elevators.
The count to the tenth floor was agonizing.
Once they reached Bonnie's floor, she speed walked down the hall towards Bonnie's apartment door.
Klaus was on her heels and nearly collided with her as she stopped at Bonnie's door.
She knocked loudly.
Bonnie opened the door almost immediately and she rushed passed both Bonnie and Kol into the living area towards Grayson who was seated on the floor with Rebekah playing with a stuffy.
"Hi Monkey," she said with relief as she scooped him up into her arms.
Grayson cooed happily, thankfully he was oblivious to what had happened.
She kissed his forehead, grateful to have him close to her.
Rebekah gave her a bittersweet smile as she stood up.
"Where are they?" she could hear Klaus demand under his breath in the hall. "Where did they go?" Klaus pressed.
"They're gone," Kol informed him as he and Bonnie followed them into the living area. "They left just before you got here."
"Of course they did," Klaus growled.
Klaus paced anxiously before his eyes fixed upon Rebekah.
"Rebekah, did you tell Mother and Father why you were coming here?" Klaus questioned accusatorily through gritted teeth.
Rebekah looked dumbfounded and offended.
"Nik, I swear I said nothing. I told them I was coming to visit Kol and Bonnie. I never said a word about you, Caroline, or Grayson," she insisted defensively.
Klaus did not seem convinced.
"Rebekah, if you told them anything…" he said angrily.
"Klaus, she said she didn't tell them," she interrupted, coming to Rebekah's aid in an effort to calm the situation. Even Grayson was growing fussy as the stress and anxiety grew in the room.
Klaus glanced between her and Rebekah and sighed discontentedly.
"You didn't say anything that might have hinted about us being here? You didn't say anything to Finn? Posted anything online?" Klaus confirmed, still uncertain of Rebekah's insistence.
"I'm not stupid, Nik. I wouldn't!" Rebekah stressed.
Klaus turned to Kol.
Kol immediately raised his hands in defence.
"I haven't spoken much to Mother or Father, or even Finn for that matter since I moved here!" Kol denied.
Bonnie nodded in confirmation.
Klaus shrugged.
"What did they want? Did they say why they were here?" Klaus queried.
Kol shrugged.
"All they said was that they were in the City and thought they would pop in for a visit. They seemed surprised to see Grayson here, but I can't be certain if they already knew you were in town," Kol explained.
"Well, if they didn't, now they do," Klaus groaned.
She stroked Grayson's back as he began to whine.
"So they showed up here, Nik. They exchanged a few empty pleasantries and said hello to Grayson and that was it before Bonnie asked them to leave. That's all that happened," Rebekah attempted to assure him.
"Maybe that's all it was, Klaus," she sighed, hoping Rebekah was right.
Bonnie nodded in agreement.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence and they had no idea that they were in town with Grayson.
Klaus scoffed.
"You know that Father never does anything without an ulterior motive," Klaus reminded Rebekah. "He didn't just fly to New York to say hi to check in on you and Kol," he reasoned.
"Father has done similar for a lot less," Kol chimed in, clearly leaning towards a more optimistic interpretation of their visit.
Klaus shook his head in frustration, becoming annoyed that they were not seeing things from his perspective. "I don't buy it," he concluded. "They know Caroline and I are here with Grayson. That's why they're here."
Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "But why would they come to the City just because we're here? They know how to get in contact with us. They know we're in Mystic Falls," she thought it through. "It doesn't make sense."
"Nothing my Father does makes sense. He's sadistic. That's his M.O. he likes to keep everyone in a perpetual sense of anxiety," Klaus grumbled.
"Maybe you're just letting it get to you, Nik? If that's what Father wants, don't let him win?" Rebekah suggested.
"That might be a start," Kol seconded.
She could tell Klaus was becoming more agitated the more they questioned his instincts.
"They're here for a reason," Klaus said defiantly. "It has something to do with Grayson. It's just a matter of time before we find out the rest of the story," he predicted grimly.
"So why do you think they're here?" she asked growing more on edge as Klaus's frustration grew and Grayson's whines became louder.
"I don't know," Klaus admitted. "But between all of us, no one is letting Grayson out of their sight," he said sternly as he gestured towards Grayson.
Klaus's ominous direction and insinuations left her feeling unsettled. She didn't know what he meant by his words. He knew his parents better than she did, but Kol and Rebekah didn't seem as concerned as Klaus was. Still, she didn't know what they were capable of.
She hugged Grayson, who was becoming fussier by the minute. Holding him protectively, she kissed his head and rubbed his back in an effort to settle him.
"You're upsetting Grayson," she warned Klaus.
Klaus sighed regretfully as his attention was diverted from stressing about his parents' visit to Grayson's anxious demeanour.
He approached her and took Grayson into his arms.
Grayson appeared to calm down.
"It's okay, little man," Klaus assured him.
She smiled faintly. The moment was bittersweet, but it made her happy to see how far Klaus had come with Grayson over the past few months.
Klaus walked with Grayson over to the window to look at the city lights.
"It's too bad our night with Grayson got cut short," Bonnie frowned.
"We were having a fun little sleepover," Rebekah agreed.
She nodded disappointedly. It was nice that Grayson was getting some time to bond with his extended family while they were here. She had also been looking forward to having the rest of the night alone with Klaus.
"I'm sure you and Niklaus were having a fun little sleepover, too," Kol chuckled with a wink, referring to their interrupted night alone.
They all rolled their eyes at Kol.
"Kol, shut up," Klaus groaned, having overheard their conversation.
"Since we're here, it's just easiest if we take Grayson now," she said to Bonnie and Rebekah, ignoring Kol's comment altogether.
"I'm sure he will be more comfortable with you two anyways," Rebekah added.
"I think it's more comforting for me, than anything," she mused, knowing that they were more shook up about Esther and Mikael's impromptu visit than Grayson was.
Bonnie smiled sweetly.
"We should head back," Klaus noted, gesturing his head down towards Grayson who was fighting to keep his eyes open.
She led the way silently to Klaus's apartment door with Grayson asleep on her shoulder.
Klaus followed behind, his hands full with Grayson's things they had sent with him to Bonnie's apartment.
Luckily, she had thought to ask Klaus for his keys before they exited the taxi. That was really the extent of their conversation for the duration of the ride. Klaus was preoccupied by the surprise visit of his parents and she was too.
The apartment was dark when they entered and she had to swipe her hand along the wall for the light switch.
Klaus dropped Grayson's things as quietly as possible to avoid waking him up, even though she knew she would have to wake him up to change his diaper before bed judging by how heavy it felt.
Without a word from Klaus, he disappeared into the bedroom.
She picked up Grayson's diaper bag, sighing disappointedly as she brought him into the bathroom to get him cleaned up for bed.
"Did you have a good time at Bonnie's?" she whispered quietly to Grayson who was beginning to wake up as she undressed him.
Fortunately for her, Grayson appeared to be in a better mood than Klaus, despite his sleep being interrupted. He smiled up at her.
"I bet they spoiled you," she teased him, tickling his sides lightly as he giggled.
It helped her to concentrate on Grayson. It took her mind off worrying about Klaus's parents.
She blocked it out of her mind and finished changing Grayson.
When she brought him into the bedroom, Klaus was standing at the window with his back turned to them.
The room was dimly lit by the lamp on the nightstand.
Unsure of what to say to Klaus, she hugged Grayson, kissed his cheek and lowered him into his playpen.
"Goodnight, Gray," she said sweetly.
Once she was satisfied that Grayson was comfortable, it was her turn to get ready for bed.
She returned to the bathroom to wash up and remove the bandage from her tattoo so she could clean it as Galen had instructed her to do.
In their rush to get to Bonnie's to pick up Grayson, she had completely forgotten to mention her tattoo to Bonnie. She would have to take a picture in the morning and send it to her.
When she was finished in the bathroom, she returned to the bedroom to find Klaus in the same spot she had left him, staring absently out the window.
Ignoring the silence, she retrieved a tank top and shorts to change into for bed.
Klaus hadn't said a word. She sighed, still unsure of what to say.
Hesitating for a moment, she looked down at Grayson already fast asleep.
"It's crazy," she concluded softly as she continued to watch Grayson. "Sometimes when I look at Grayson I'm convinced he's the spitting image of Elijah. But then other times when I look at him, all I can see is Elena," she observed.
Klaus remained quiet.
"Sometimes I even see a little of you," she continued.
He snorted lowly.
"How unfortunate for him," Klaus mused.
She smiled, relieved that Klaus seemed to still have his sense of humour, despite his distress.
Cautiously, she approached him.
She ran her hands up his back, over the t-shirt he was wearing.
He released a long exhale as his shoulders relaxed against her touch.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head against his spine, hugging him from behind.
She breathed in his scent.
"It's going to be okay," she assured him.
He sighed, seemingly unconvinced by her words.
"Tonight was not a coincidence," Klaus said to her. "My parents are here for a reason," he repeated.
She didn't want to think so pessimistically.
"Maybe they just wanted to see you, see Kol, see Grayson," she thought. "You're their kids, Grayson is the only connection they have to Elijah," she explained, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.
"My father has spent my entire life reminding me that I'm not his," Klaus muttered, denying her interpretation.
Her heart clenched, thinking about what Klaus must have endured as a child.
"They're here because they want Grayson," Klaus concluded darkly.
"How can you be sure?" she challenged, still not convinced of their intentions.
"I have a feeling. I know it," Klaus replied.
She was quiet for a moment as she thought about Klaus's words. He sounded so certain.
"So then we'll fight for him," she shrugged. "Grayson is ours, Klaus. He's ours. We won't let them take him from us."
A/N: So a lot of people have been asking about Mikael and Esther...and here they are. Sorry! It can't be all sunshine and rainbows. It has to get worse before it can get better :)