Four months? Wow, that's one hell of a long break between chapters. My apologies for anyone, who is still interested in this story. This chapter is kind of major and I hope you'll like it!
It was nearly four weeks after Caroline's birthday that their carefully crafted, feeble construction of keeping Rebekah out of the loop came crashing down. Quite literally.
The weeks leading up to the fateful Thursday afternoon on November 4th were surprisingly calm and successful. Caroline was making more and more progress with her foster daughter: Rebekah was not as easily irritated, got good grades and was on the path to become the star of the cheerleading squad. They had had many in-depth talks – partly just easy girl talk and partly heavy discussions, which usually ended with either one or both crying. Jenna was very pleased with the teen's development and reported positive feedback from her therapist as well.
As for the other Mikaelson, Klaus had decided to finally contact Elijah after all. It took him two weeks and about fifteen different drafts to finally send out a simple text message to his half-brother. They met at an upscale bar in a neighborhood Klaus would have never accidentally or purposefully stumbled into. It was however a bar Katherine and her colleagues liked to frequent as well, which had amused Caroline despite the gravity of the situation.
Naturally, she had been incredibly curious how their meeting had gone and, honestly, if Klaus even had shown up. She was patient enough to wait until the next day before calling him, which had led to another lunch coffee date between them. Klaus had not been in a bad mood per se, but he seemed generally conflicted. As per his account, Elijah had been polite and seemed honest with his intentions, especially after revealing bits and pieces of his and Freya's childhood. Just as one could expect, their household was not particularly warm or loving and they had a lot of pressure growing up. Their father had been mostly absent, but Elijah had not elaborated on his behavior when he was present. Klaus surmised that he had probably at least been verbally abusive and that he had not missed out on anything by never getting to know him.
The lawyer had not said anything about his mother or their deceased brother Kol, which was understandable. They had essentially agreed to meet up once a week to get to know each other and figure out if they should deepen that familial connection and inform their sisters about it. Elijah would refrain from telling Freya anything detailed and Klaus, of course, would not inform Rebekah about her siblings just yet.
This system was working really well for two weeks, until Caroline got a call at work. Rebekah's cheerleading coach informed her that the girl had been in an accident during a routine and was being transported to the hospital.
Hot panic shot through her and she barely managed to shout some orders at her assistant while she was scrambling through their floor and dialing Klaus' number. His phone was off and she frustratedly threw her own into her purse.
Once the doors of the elevator closed in front of her, she took a deep and calming breath. It was not the time to panic – she would need to be the composed, supportive adult no matter how light or severe Rebekah's injuries might be. Klaus would undoubtedly be upset and unreasonable so she should probably try to keep everything in order.
As she reached the lobby, she received a call from Bonnie. Miraculously, the ambulance had taken Rebekah to her hospital and her friend happened to witness her arrival.
"She's being prepared for a CT scan since she most likely hit her head, and she might also have a fractured wrist and maybe something with her ribs. I was able to talk to her and she seemed a bit shaken but not too distraught. She even complained about her bases being incompetent before she was taken for prep."
That made Caroline smile relieved, and she thanked her friend for informing her so quickly. During their conversation, she had managed to hail a taxi and was already on the way to the hospital. Bonnie's call had thankfully stopped her from imagining the absolute worst-case scenarios she undoubtedly would have during the cab ride. She had seen some nasty cheerleading injuries during competitions and had already feared the worst.
She tried Klaus' phone again, leaving a message to call her back once he did not pick up.
The drive to the hospital went rather quickly and Caroline made sure to tip the driver generously before jumping out of the car and heading to the reception. She knew where Bonnie worked but asked about Rebekah's whereabouts just to be sure. Indeed, she was sent to the fourth floor and once at the neuro-ward, she announced her arrival to the nurses working at the reception area.
The nurse checked her computer and nodded. "Ah yes. Miss Mikaelson is currently being taken to get a CT scan and will then be put into room 416, where Dr. Griffin will check on her shortly after."
Caroline blinked and looked at the older woman incredulous. "I'm sorry…did you say Dr. Griffin?"
The woman nodded and returned her attention to the paperwork Caroline had distracted her from. "Dr. Griffin is a very skilled neurosurgeon and your foster daughter is in the right hands."
Caroline thanked her and walked to the waiting area, dropping onto a chair exhausted. Now the universe was just mocking her. How high were the chances of Rebekah being assigned to Freya? She could not possibly be the only brain doctor working that afternoon. Should she talk to her before Rebekah came back from the scan?
Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone buzzing in her purse. It was Klaus.
She took a deep breath and then picked up. She relayed the unfortunate news as calmly as possible, trying to downplay the situation but it was of no use. He just asked for the hospital's name and hung up.
Caroline leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. As if Rebekah being injured was not horrible enough, she was now supposed to be treated by her secret half-sister, who was not eager to meet either of her secret siblings. How were they supposed to get out of this situation without hurting anyone's feelings? The family situation should be broken gently to Rebekah with carefully crafted words and in a safe environment. Not in the hospital after she was dropped during a cheerleading stunt. Which reminded her, that she should definitely talk to the school to get to the bottom of this "accident".
"Miss Forbes?"
The blonde opened her eyes to be faced with the nurse from before. "Miss Mikaelson will be in her room soon. You can wait for her in there if you want."
Her motions robotic, Caroline followed the instructions and headed towards the room the nurse had pointed out. Thankfully, all four beds were empty. Or unfortunately, depending on how the situation with Freya developed. Judging from the day so far, she would probably step into the room at the same time as Klaus and poor Rebekah would either sense their awkwardness or they would just ditch the polite secrecy and argue openly.
Her thoughts were interrupted once again, when the door opened and Rebekah was transported inside in a wheelchair. Her stomach sunk when she saw the IV drip, hospital gown and sling her right arm was in but she damn near could have cried when her foster daughter registered her presence and her eyes widened in surprise. "Caroline? You came?"
Fuck all those goddamn assholes, who had fostered her before.
"Of course, I came, what did you think? I nearly had a heart attack when your coach called me to tell me you've been taken to the hospital!"
The teen grimaced while a nurse helped her into the bed next to the window and Caroline followed them, looking at her intensely. She seemed tired and not her usual spunky self and besides the sling, she spotted quite the bump on her head and a bloody lip.
The nurse checked her IV and once Rebekah was safely in the bed, she informed them about the doctor's imminent arrival and left the room.
"How are you? How did this happen? Bonnie mentioned something about broken ribs, a hurt wrist and maybe a concussion. Are you dizzy? Do you need some water? I can get you tea if you want. Or are you not allowed to drink anything now? They didn't mention surgery, did they?"
Rebekah just stared at her with big, glassy doe eyes and then smiled a little to herself.
"I'm okay. We did that head scan thingy and they put some pain meds into that." She nodded her head towards the IV drip.
"They said the doctor would give me more information on what's up. I'm so pissed at Kenzie and Brittany. I was basically on the way to execute the perfect Toe Touch Basket and those idiots didn't catch me properly! I bet Rachel put them up to it so she could take my spot."
Caroline frowned. "Do you really think so? If there's any chance this might be true, we need to investigate it. Cheerleading sucks if you can't trust your bases or honestly, any of the other team members."
Rebekah scrunched up her face in thought and then shrugged. "I guess not. Kenzie wouldn't do anything to sabotage her already shitty GPA and Brittany is stupid, but not mean."
Caroline smiled at her words. Then the door opened and they both turned towards the approaching doctor.
"Alright, Miss…Mikaelson?" Freya looked up from her chart with what Caroline imagined was a similarly incredulous face as she had made earlier.
Freya's face flew from Rebekah to Caroline and back to Rebekah and then she swallowed hard.
"That's me. Hey, I think I know you!"
The doctor's eyes widened, and Caroline broke out into cold sweat.
"Yeah, weren't you at that charity gig Caroline organized?"
Both blondes let out the giant breath they had been holding and Freya smiled nervously. "Yes, indeed I was. Nice to see you again, Miss Forbes."
Her tone indicated the opposite, but Caroline just nodded.
Freya cleared her throat and looked at the chart again. "So, Miss Mikaelson. It seems like you have a mild concussion, so we want to keep you overnight for observation. You've already received pain medication for the wrist sprain, and you'll be taken for an x-ray soon to check if your ribs are broken or just bruised. Do you have any additional complaints we should be looking at?"
"Can I complain about the food in advance?" The teen asked and Freya cracked a smile.
"I'm afraid, that doesn't fall into my area of expertise. Though, I was told that the vegetarian option for supper is supposed to taste alright."
"I highly doubt that, but thanks anyway. Is there any chance you can send a cute male nurse to take me for my x-ray?"
Freya's amusement rose, even though she tried to hide it. "We're all out of cute male nurses, I'm sorry. Our radiologist is quite the looker though, if you don't mind the fact that he could be your grandfather."
Caroline cringed, but Rebekah just sighed in mock-surrender. "I guess I'll just have to rely on all the sympathy I'll garner from the guys at school and let them carry my books. Can I get a cast to make the pain more obvious? You can't really see bruised ribs."
"Rebekah!" Caroline scolded, unable to keep a completely stern voice.
Freya grinned. "Best I can do is a splint, sorry."
Just at that moment, Klaus burst into the room and all three blondes turned towards him with varying reactions. Rebekah was happy to see him, Freya frowned even more than when she had seen her patient's name and Caroline smiled nervously, breaking into a sweat again.
"Nik, there you are! You totally lose brother points because Caroline was here before you."
Klaus exchanged a quick look with her, looked at Freya cautiously, who had turned her attention back to the chart and then approached the bed.
"I can live with that as long as you are alright."
The girl shrugged but immediately winced, making all three adults in the room jump in alert.
"What's the matter?" – "Are you okay?" – "Do we need to up the dosage of the pain medication?"
Rebekah looked at their simultaneous outburst and then answered slowly, as if talking to mentally deranged people. "I'm fine, guys. Just the ribs."
"The ribs?" Klaus asked and as if on cue, a nurse walked inside to take Rebekah to her x-ray.
The adults waited until she was outside with Freya telling her she would be back after she got the images and once the door closed, she turned on them.
"Well, that is an unfortunate coincidence. What should we do?"
Klaus snorted. "Yes, I would also refer to my sister's accident as 'unfortunate coincidence' if I was completely heartless."
Freya frowned and hung the chart onto the bed. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm just still a bit baffled by the fact that she was assigned to me. But we will simply make the best out of it. I'll treat her like every other patient and not let any personal issues interfere with that."
Klaus shook his head. "Unbelievable. How can you be so nonchalant about this?"
"I'm sorry but would you like to tell her here and now? Rebekah, this is your secret half-sister because you were the result of an extramarital affair your mother had. Enjoy the pudding?"
"Well, I surely wouldn't have put it so eloquently but then again, I didn't enjoy the privilege of receiving the same swanky education as you did."
"Woah, guys, this is completely counterproductive! You're acting like children instead of grown-ass adults and neither of you should be telling Rebekah such life-changing news with that state of mind." Caroline hissed, gaining the quarreling siblings' attention. They both glared but cleared their throat awkwardly in an eerily similar way, which made the whole situation just more uncomfortable.
"Alright. I have other patients to attend to. Like I said, I will be back later and check on Rebekah and alert an orthopedist if necessary."
She nodded at Caroline and was out of the room in a rush.
The remaining blonde observed Klaus. He looked after Freya's retreating figure with a mixture of anger and an emotion she could not decipher. She tried to block out how hot the melancholy made him and focused on the situation at hand.
"She's right, you know? Rebekah needs to be treated with extra-soft kiddy gloves regarding this matter and there's no point in stressing her out even more today. You need to figure out how to reveal it to her and if Elijah is trustworthy enough. Honestly, this is something we should probably discuss with Jenna and her therapist."
"And involve even more people into this mess? What if social services decide to remove her from your care?"
Caroline paused, shocked. "What? Why should they do that?"
The older Mikaelson shrugged and plopped down on Rebekah's bed exhausted. "Hell, if I know. They would probably find a reason to claim that the chaos is no good for her and put her into a different foster family."
Caroline's shoulders sank and her mind was racing. Would they actually do that? Jenna had said time and time again how much Rebekah had improved in her care and her therapist seemed to share that sentiment. But then again, Klaus did have more experience with the system and had seen things happening to his sister which she could not even fathom.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't know how they will react to this. The accident is one thing – it could have happened in anyone's care…even though I should probably have a serious talk with that cheerleading coach of hers. But this whole situation with our…siblings…it's just complicating an already complicated situation."
Caroline nodded and leaned back against the windowsill, contemplating his words. She would really need to think this through to find the best solution. It would get interesting if she came to a different conclusion than Klaus on this matter. He was Rebekah's brother but she was her guardian and at this time, responsible for her wellbeing. She was also obliged to report any suspicious activity or potential danger to Rebekah's development to child protective services.
The thought about talking this matter through with Katherine came to her – if anyone knew where she was standing legally, it was her erudite lawyer friend. She could not even count how many times she had taken free legal advice from the cunning brunette. She definitely knew it had saved her quite some money because lawyers of Kat's caliber did not dole out their advice cheaply. Fortunately, she and Bonnie were among the few blessed people in the world, who could even expect free council from their friend. The only other fortunate souls were her sister Elena and the select few pro-bono cases Katherine liked to tackle here and there.
She felt Klaus' eyes on her but pretended to not notice. If she did happen to ruin their relationship and trust he had managed to develop between them, she would rather not look into those puppy dog eyes too much.
Before either of them picked up any form of conversation again, Rebekah was wheeled back into the room and the nurse had to shoo them both away when they wanted to help her into bed. Once they were alone again, the teen sighed.
"The radiologist was weirdly good-looking for his age, just like Dr. Griffin said."
Caroline chuckled and Klaus furrowed his brow, fully oblivious to their previous conversation.
"Hey Care, could you get me some stuff? If I have to spend the night here, I'd at least like to be somewhat comfortable."
"Sure, right on it! Do you need anything specific?"
Rebekah kinked her head in thought and then nodded. "My phone and backpack are in my gym locker. I could also use my history book because we have a test on Monday."
Caroline nodded. "Yes to the phone, no to the book. I'll take it home when I get you some clothes and other necessities. But you certainly won't study tonight, especially not something tedious as history. You need to rest."
Klaus looked somewhat aghast when she dared to insult one of his favourite subjects, but otherwise agreed with her sentiment. He would stay with Rebekah until she returned, then he would have to head to his shift at the bar.
Caroline promised to hurry and was out of the door.
Classes, including the various after school clubs, were already over once she arrived at Rebekah's school. A friendly janitor let her in after a bit of persuasion and some flirty eyelash-battering, leading her towards the locker rooms. She found the one of her foster daughter easily and picked up her stuff then made her way towards the second floor to locate Rebekah's regular locker.
Smiling about the memories walking through a school hallway evoked, she finally found the right one and promptly remembered that she had not asked about her combination.
Sighing, she called Klaus.
"Miss me already, love?" He asked smoothly and she could hear Rebekah gagging somewhere in the background.
She grinned and tried to ignore the blush spreading on her cheeks. "Hardly. I just need Rebekah's locker combination."
Klaus relayed the information to his sister, who she could tell did not answer immediately.
Then she heard Klaus chuckle softly and he finally answered: "It's 1-0-1-0."
Caroline frowned while twisting the numbers on the lock accordingly. "Well, that's not necessarily creative or safe. She should probably pick something else."
Klaus chuckled again. "True as that may be, some people just like to use the birthday of their loved ones as their password. See you later, love."
He hung up and Caroline paused in the middle of rummaging through the books and binders. Rebekah had used her birthday as a locker combination?
Her hands dropped down to her side and her eyes filled with tears. That girl loved and trusted her. She had been betrayed and hurt time and time again in her young life. How could she keep such a big and life changing secret from her? How could she deprive her of her other two siblings if she craved love and familial bonds?
The blonde let out a rattled breath, finished packing Rebekah's things and shut the door loudly.
When she returned to the hospital, Rebekah was picking on her food with a less than amused face, while Klaus could not keep a shit-eating grin from his face.
"This should be considered torture. Seriously, the broccoli was steamed so much that it lost all its colour!"
Caroline chuckled at her foster daughter's whiny tone and Klaus' confused face.
"That's cauliflower, Beks." She exclaimed setting down the backpack and fishing out the teen's phone.
"Bloody hell, that's even worse. Ugh!" The young blonde dropped her fork and eagerly reached for her phone. "Do you think Postmates delivers to hospitals?"
Caroline broke into laughter and Klaus just sighed and reached for his jacket. "I'm afraid, they don't. Just eat your food and stop complaining, Bekah."
"But I'm hurt!" She pouted, doing her best puppy dog eyes.
"Which is why you should eat vegetables and not fast food. And don't even try it: your fake doe eyes have stopped working on me ages ago."
Her head flew towards Caroline and the older blonde sighed. "If you eat that now, I'll stop by in the morning with your favourite breakfast from the Armory."
Rebekah's face lit up and she hesitantly guided a fork full of vegetables towards her mouth.
She cringed and shuddered. "You better bring Enzo along tomorrow to make up for this atrocity."
Klaus left them shortly after and Caroline spent quite some time with the girl. She let her rant about the cheerleading squad and the girls, who were obviously jealous of her. She hinted a couple of times that there might be a guy she was interested in and Caroline made a mental note to keep that in mind.
It was around 9:30 when the night nurse came into the room for the third time, asking Caroline firmly to leave. She had been much friendlier the first two times she had told her it was time to go, but Caroline understood where she was coming from. She was not about to test the patience of an overworked woman, who took care of Rebekah and finally said goodbye to the teen.
The girl returned her hug and yawned. "I hope you're not letting that whole locker combination thing get to your head now. It's no big deal."
Caroline smiled softly down at the tired but emotionally guarded girl and nodded. "I wouldn't dare. It's easy to remember, right?"
Rebekah blushed and looked away. "Yeah."
The older woman leaned down and put a soft kiss on her forehead. "Good night, Beks."
Despite her own exhaustion, Caroline did not head home. She directed the cab driver to Rousseau's and determinedly walked through the door.
She could not see Klaus behind the bar and found Cami instead.
"Caroline, hi! I didn't picture you to be the kind of person, who frequents bars on Thursdays."
She offered amused and the woman in question smiled tiredly.
"Can't say I have done that since college. But I need to talk to Klaus and honestly, I could use a drink after today."
The other blonde nodded sympathetically and started preparing a cocktail. Caroline just let her work. She probably knew what she was doing.
"Klaus had to step out and buy some lemons because somebody didn't order enough last time."
That somebody seemed to be the young bartender, who was flirting with the group of college-aged guys and completely ignoring Cami's accusatory tone."
The bartender sighed as Caroline chuckled softly, pouring the orange concoction from the shaker into a sturdy glass.
"Here, I hope you like it. No straw though – you need to taste the foam to fully enjoy the drink.
Caroline shrugged and did as she was told. True to her word, the slightly spicy drink tasted wonderfully, the foam being a surprising highlight.
"That's delicious. What's it called?"
"It's a Big Easy. Thought you could use it." Cami winked and went to tend to other customers. Caroline sighed. That she definitely could.
"Caroline? What are you doing here?"
She turned around to find a stunned Klaus holding two bags of lemons standing behind her.
"I need to talk to you."
"Sounds serious. Is everything alright with Rebekah? This is quite the déjà vu." He chuckled put a bag of lemons on the counter while storing the other away in the fridge below.
Caroline emptied her glass in one go, remembering their last Rebekah-centered conversation in this very same bar well enough and only hoping that it would not lead to the same result.
"Rebekah is fine, considering the circumstances. But I can't do this anymore, Klaus."
He frowned and leaned his hands on the counter opposite of her, fully ignoring the group next to her trying to get his attention to order.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't keep lying to her. You need to come clean to her about Elijah and Freya."
There, she said it. Klaus' frown deepened and he seemed to contemplate her words. She knew that this might lead to another potential fallout, but she did not care. Rebekah deserved to know the truth and not to be deceived by the people closest to her. However, she also knew that she simply could not be the one to tell her, which is why she needed Klaus to be on the same page with this.
Klaus attempted to answer but when a guy basically positioned himself in front of Caroline to order, he shot him a deathly glare and nodded for her to follow him. He led her towards a door at the back of the room next to the counter and once she walked through, he closed it. The ruckus from the bar was a bit muffled in the small office but it helped to calm her nerves somewhat.
"Where is this suddenly coming from? I thought you wanted to give me time to gauge Elijah's intentions?"
Thankfully, Klaus did not yell at her or seem particularly angry. He was more confused than anything.
Caroline sighed. "I know and I'm sorry for being so straightforward. I just think the longer we wait to tell Rebekah, the worse it will be. I love the girl, despite wanting to strangle her from time to time, and it took me quite a bit of effort to get her to open up and trust me. I don't want her to feel like I broke that trust by keeping this huge secret from her."
Klaus' face softened and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall with a sigh.
"I understand. I cannot even begin to describe how happy it makes me that you care so much for my sister. But I have barely managed to cope with the situation myself. How am I supposed to tell her about it? How do I explain it?"
The emotionally exhausted foster mother leaned against the desk opposite of him and contemplated his words. "To be completely honest: I have no idea. But if there's anyone who can figure it out, it is you. You know Rebekah better than anyone. I am really sorry that I'm putting this kind of pressure on you, but I am convinced that it would be the best to tell her as soon as possible. Otherwise, it might end in disaster."
Klaus stared at her pensively and they remained in that room for a while, the silence deafening.
After a night with barely any sleep, Caroline got ready grumpily. She was naturally a morning person but only if she had enough sleep. A lack of sleep resulted in her being similarly charming as Rebekah in the mornings.
She called her assistant on the way out of the door, informing him about her later arrival because she needed to stop by the hospital and gave him some orders. She only hoped that her boss would not start questioning her dedication to the job. That would certainly be the last thing she needed right now.
Enzo sent her off with some freshly baked raspberry muffins, a stack of pancakes and Rebekah's favorite mocha in a thermos, giving his best wishes for the patient.
She happened to arrive at the hospital just as the morning rounds were ending, noticing some amused interns leaving her foster daughter's room, closely followed by Bonnie.
"Care, hi! How are you doing? I'm sorry, I wanted to call you yesterday evening but my shift was crazy and I barely caught a break."
"It's okay Bon, I'm fine. How's the patient?"
Her friend smirked. "Acting like the Princess on the Pea, but a charming and polite one. It's keeping the nurses entertained."
Caroline chuckled and reached into her paper bag. "I can imagine. Here, take a muffin. I'm sure you haven't eaten since your shift started."
Bonnie's eyes widened in delight. "Bless you! I'm sorry, I have to go before the interns kill somebody. See you later."
Still smiling, Caroline walked into Rebekah's room to see she was not alone anymore. Another girl was sleeping in the bed opposite of hers, the left side of her head bandaged.
"That's Hope. She came in early this morning." Rebekah whispered as she approached her bed.
"I heard the nurses talk about a car accident and somebody died." The teen's eyes were sad and Caroline frowned. She looked again at the curly haired girl. She could not be a day over 16. Poor thing. No matter what exactly had happened with that car accident, she surely would have a hard time recovering from it.
"Should we go outside? I don't want to wake her up." She asked, but Rebekah waved her off.
"They pumped her with so many painkillers, she'll probably sleep through the day. Her parents came by an hour or so ago and they were not happy. I could hear them talking about how it was just a matter of time until something like this happened and what they should do to cover this up and straighten her out."
"Jesus." Caroline muttered and began unpacking the breakfast she brought, quickly distracting Rebekah from the grim thoughts.
"Oh yum! Are those raspberry muffins?"
Caroline smiled and nodded. "Enzo made an extra batch just for you. They were still warm when I got them."
The teen smiled happily and dug into the pancakes and muffins alternatively, washing it all down with the chocolate-y coffee. Caroline took one of the muffins and listened to the girl talk during her feast. How bad the breakfast sucked, which she had gotten at 6 am. How cute one of the interns was and how much of a badass doctor Bonnie was. How her phone was overflowing with messages from her peers and that the cheerleading coach had announced a visit during the morning, while she was still at the hospital.
"Have you talked to Dr. Griffin again?" Caroline asked after her long monologue, trying to sound casual.
The teenager took another sip from her coffee and shook her head. "No, but Bonnie said she would be the one discharging me in the afternoon. That is, if everything's okay."
Caroline nodded, slightly relieved. "Okay. I suggest you try to rest until then. I have to get to work, but I'll get off earlier and take you home when you're discharged. If you need anything, give Cami a call. She doesn't have to watch or tutor any kids today and promised to come by later anyway."
Rebekah nodded and leaned back against her pillows. Caroline took the empty boxes and put them into the paper bag, leaving the three remaining muffins on Rebekah's table. She gave the girl a hug, who muttered "Thanks, Care." and rushed through the door. She needed to make a pit stop before heading to her office.
"Caroline. What a surprise. I'm sorry, but I'm very busy right now."
The blonde in question decided to ignore the accusing tone and stacks of paperwork on Freya Griffin's desk and closed the door behind herself anyway.
The doctor sighed and dropped the pen, then she leaned back and crossed her arms.
"I've noticed that you're a stubborn one. What do you want?"
Caroline sat down at the chair in front of her desk and crossed her legs. "I just wanted to inform you, that I told Klaus to tell Rebekah the truth about your family rather sooner than later. I figured you might want to have a heads-up."
The doctor frowned and cleared her throat. "How considerate of you."
The foster mother rolled her eyes. "Listen, nobody is forcing you to become Rebekah's best friend and mentor. She will learn of your connection and might want to get to know you. I'm just asking – no, I'm begging you to not rebuff her too coldly. She's completely innocent in this matter and is just longing for a stable family, even if she probably wouldn't admit it. If you
don't let her down gently and break her heart, I will destroy you. I don't care how great of a doctor you are or how influential and rich your family is. I'm dead serious."
She paused for a moment after her rant, letting Freya digest her less than polite words and then nodded goodbye before leaving the office. The older woman did not stop her, and she let out a breath after leaving the room. Freya was certainly intimidating, but she was Caroline Goddamn Forbes and nobody was allowed to hurt the people she loved.
Horribly distracted by Rebekah's hospital stay and that whole messed-up Mikaelson/Griffin family situation, Caroline managed to nearly mess up the broadcast of their early afternoon newsflash. Thankfully, her associate producer Penelope was as organized as she was sharp, and she corrected Caroline's mistake. It was frustrating, really. If she continued down this path, she would never get another promotion and worse – probably get fired.
Still, she hurried up getting everything done and then handed the reins for the evening show over to Penelope. The young college grad had been waiting for a possibility to prove herself and Caroline had actually hired her to replace her once she continued her climb to the top. There was a slight worry that the girl would follow in her footsteps sooner than expected if she kept losing focus.
Already more than ready for the week to be over, Caroline arrived at the hospital to find Rebekah already dressed with a packed bag, listening intently to something Cami was saying.
Despite her shitty day, the blonde smiled at the sight of her foster child, who had regained the spark she had been lacking the day before.
"Well, hello. Sorry to be arriving late to the meeting of the blondes; next time I'll be punctual."
Cami snickered and Rebekah rolled her eyes, but a small smile slipped through.
"Nik should be here any minute now. Dr. Griffin said you need to sign the release papers. Cami and I will go down and grab some Starbucks while you wait."
Now it was Caroline's turn to roll her eyes good-naturedly. "Always at your service. Wait…they have a Starbucks here? How did I miss this?"
The teen shrugged and walked towards the door; eyes already glued to her phone again.
Cami shook her head and promised to bring her something with loads of syrup in it.
Once they were gone, she plopped down on the vacated bed and let out the longest sigh in human history.
"At the risk of sounding terribly impolite: you look tired, love."
Caroline sat up again upon hearing Klaus' voice, which only included a tiny bit of amusement. His eyes seemed much more concerned. She sighed again.
"This is all so messed up. I'm glad that we'll be out of here soon so we can at least avoid Freya for a bit."
"I feel like I should be offended." Came the female voice belonging to the family conundrum and Caroline huffed, while Klaus stepped closer to her and further away from his half-sister, arm crossed and any trace of amusement from his face gone.
"Seriously, can neither of you announce themselves like a normal person before stepping into a room?" She asked in a last-ditch effort to keep things civil – even though she kinda sorta threatened the young doctor the day before.
The woman in question answered by looking through the paperwork in her hands and gave them to Caroline.
"Rebekah's discharge papers. There were no anomalies during the night and her scan this morning was inconspicuous. Sign this and she is free to go. There is also a prescription for a light analgesic to keep her pain at bay."
Freya took back the binder once Caroline had signed the necessary forms and was about to step outside again.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Klaus let out of nowhere, making both blondes turn to him surprised, but neither said anything.
"You cannot seriously tell me that this is it! So, since Bekah's hospital stay is over, you are just going to erase the knowledge of her existence from your head?"
The doctor shook her head in resignation. "You are portraying me as a villain without even trying to understand my reasoning. But frankly, it is none of your business. Why should I offer any understanding to you if you're just judging me preemptively?"
"Well, how else am I supposed to judge you then? I don't know anything about you because you are refusing to get to know us. You probably think of me and Rebekah as some leeches, who ruined your great family."
Freya scoffed, now showing some anger herself. "You really have no idea what you're talking about. My family was far from perfect and sorry to burst your bubble, but you and your sister being my father's offspring didn't cause that whole shit-show."
"Your father's what?"
Three heads snapped towards the door, where an incredulous Rebekah was standing, staring them down with a mixture of confusion and outrage. Camille was right behind her and for the first time since Caroline had met the other woman, she seemed out of her depth.
"Listen, Bekah…" Klaus was the first to approach his sister, but she gestured for him to stop.
"Did I understand this right? We have the same father?" She asked, gesturing between herself, her brother and Freya, who was pale as her white coat.
Klaus sighed and his shoulders dropped. "Bekah, it's complicated. I was about to tell you about Freya and Elijah-" he quickly shut up but the teen's eyes basically doubled in size.
"Who the fuck is Elijah? Are you fucking kidding me right now? I've been shuffled from foster family to foster family and now you drop this giant-ass bomb on me? How many secret siblings do I have?"
She did not give anybody time to explain because she turned on her heel and quickly marched out of the room. Caroline ran after her, followed by Cami.
"Beks, hold on-"
The teen spun around at lightning speed and Caroline nearly ran into her. "How long did you know about this?"
"I…" She started but had no idea how to continue. Rebekah's anger vanished and her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't believe it! How could you keep this from me? I thought I could trust you!"
"Honey, you can, it was just a complicated-"
"Oh shut up! You are worse than any other foster mother I've had before!"
Her eyes shifted to the blonde behind her. "I guess you knew as well?"
Cami stepped next to Caroline, who was shell-shocked by Rebekah's words and deeply hurt eyes.
"I did but I think you should really-"
"Get the hell out of here? You're right about that. God, does everybody I'm close to fucking suck?"
The teenager threw her hands up in frustration and swiftly ran towards the conveniently closing elevator doors.
"Look guys, I'm not going to sugarcoat it: this just came out in the worst way possible and Rebekah is understandably crushed. But I'm convinced that you should not run after her just right now. She needs some space to digest all this new information."
Klaus glared at Cami and shouted: "She's a fourteen-year-old girl alone in New York and she's angry. Yes, what could possibly go wrong?"
"Did yelling get you anywhere productive today? No? Then turn it down a notch." Cami replied quickly in a calm but no-nonsense manner.
"I'll worry about politeness when I know my little sister is safe and sound, but thanks for the advice." Klaus bit back and Caroline finally snapped.
"Can you like, shut up for a second? We're both super on the edge and Cami seems to be the only one to be thinking clearly so maybe we should listen to her."
Klaus' glare turned towards her, and it seemed like he might say something in return, but he eventually turned away and remained silent.
"Great, thanks. Now, we'll figure out where to find Rebekah just to make sure she's safe. Then we can discuss the next steps. Maybe we can get Freya and Elijah on board, so they know what we'll do next."
Klaus snorted. "As if she will care. She just told us to take it to the cafeteria and left."
Cami crossed her arms and kinked her eyebrow. "It is a hospital after all and she's got patients to attend to. Can't really blame her for that."
"Whose side are you on?"
"Klaus! You sound like a bratty child." Caroline interjected, rubbing her forehead exhausted.
He grimaced and grabbed his phone. "You two are driving me crazy. I'll call her."
"She won't pick up." Cami mumbled, sipping on her coffee while the older Mikaelson waited for his sister to answer the phone. As predicted, it did not happen.
"Okay, we'll should call her friends now. Or maybe their parents, just to be sure." Cami suggested and they went to work.
They divided the numbers of April, the cheerleading squad, a couple of her study friends and some kids from other foster families she was friendly with between them and called each and every one of them.
Lastly, Cami called at the bar to check if she had shown up there and Caroline called the Armory. Neither Davina nor Enzo had seen Rebekah or heard from her.
Now even Cami was getting worried, especially since it was already dark outside. While fall certainly had its perks, the early dusk was not one of them when a child was missing.
"Well, new plan: we'll check out the places she likes and see if she's there. I highly doubt that she went to either Caroline's or Klaus' apartment, so we should look elsewhere. The mall, the coffee shop near my place, that little antique store on 2nd avenue…what else?"
"Washington Square Park, the Met, this playground near April's foster family's house…" Klaus continued.
"This boba tea shop in Manhattan, 'Lilly's Boutique', the movie theater near her school…" Caroline continued and Cami nodded.
"Well, then we have some leads already. We should divide the places among us geographically so everybody is at least somewhat in the vicinity of the next place. If we don't find her, we should meet up at the bar and consider our next steps."
After the group agreed on their respective locations, not many more words were exchanged and everybody left the hospital.
Two hours later, Caroline had already been at the tea shop, the Met and was on her way to Washington Square Park. Both Klaus and Cami had texted her updates but there was still no sight of Rebekah. Klaus was on his way to the park as well – two people could cover more ground after all and if they did not find her, they would meet Cami at the bar.
As Caroline arrived at the park's entrance, she took a minute for herself and leaned against a lamp post, letting out a deep sigh. She simply could not get Rebekah's sad eyes and words out of her mind. She could feel the betrayal radiating off the girl and she really could not blame her. Without any context whatsoever, every adult in her life, whom she trusted, had been keeping a huge secret from her. It took her so much work and attention to break down Rebekah's walls and for her to be able to trust her and now it had been destroyed within seconds. And honestly – how much heartbreak could a young girl endure? How many mother figures could show up in her life and disappear again? How was she supposed to go on?
"Are you alright, love?"
Caroline sighed again and turned her head to look at Klaus. He looked worried and exhausted, his short hair disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it constantly, which he probably had.
"Not really, no. We blew it there, Klaus."
"I know, it did not necessarily go the way it should have been. And I know, you were telling me to come clear to Rebekah sooner and I should have listened to you-"
"This is not what is bothering me, Klaus! God, do you really think I'm this shallow and petty?"
His face contorted and it spelled regret. "No, of course I don't think that. I'm just…angry at myself for being such a coward and not facing it sooner. I took so long getting over my own feelings regarding this whole situation that I didn't think Rebekah deserved to know about it as soon as possible. I'm sorry that you were collateral damage as well."
"Am I, though? She is rightfully mad at me and I feel terrible. She is just a kid after all and everybody in her life, who should be taking care of her, betrayed her. I specifically signed up to be there for her and I screwed up."
She shrugged and her eyes watered. She was tired and the guilt had been eating her up for hours now, not counting the weeks of hiding the secret before that.
Klaus' face softened in quiet sadness. "Caroline…"
Whatever he wanted to say was interrupted by Caroline's phone buzzing. She immediately accepted the call. "Rebekah?!"
"Something like that." Katherine's voice came through the line and her shoulders sagged.
"But you won't believe my surprise when I got home from work and found an angry looking teenager lounging in my lobby."
"She came to you?" She could not believe it but then again, she could. Looking at Katherine's place would have never entered her mind and that was probably Rebekah's thought process as well.
"Yeah, I was thrilled. But I figured, there must be something severely wrong if she was that desperate. She didn't really tell me what's going on, but I figured it must have to do with the secret family?"
"Yes. She overheard us fighting about it at the hospital and flipped."
"Oh boy…well, that explains it. Anyway, I ordered some food for her and told her to lie down for a bit in the meantime. She seemed really tired and I guess she did just get out of the hospital after an accident after all. Kinda felt bad for the kid, even though she's the devil's spawn. You gonna come and pick her up?"
"I don't think she wants to see me…"
"I figured as much. But Care Bear, she wouldn't have come to my place if she wanted to run away and never see you again.
"I suppose…"
She could hear Katherine groan on the other end. "Jesus, don't be so dramatic. Where are you?"
"At Washington Square Park."
"Weird time for a nightly stroll there but you can catch me up to speed later. Look, she's asleep right now and the food will be here in about 20 minutes. Why don't you go and get yourself a coffee, let her eat in peace and then come and talk to her? I'll be even willing to give you some space in my own apartment for the greater good."
Despite the circumstances, Caroline managed a small smile. Katherine was just a softie after all underneath her tough and no-nonsense exterior.
"I will. Thank you, Katherine."
She ended the call and found Klaus staring at her incredulous. "She went to Katherine?"
Caroline nodded wordlessly and he laughed. "It kinda makes sense though. At least, we finally know where she is."
The foster mother nodded again and then she burst into tears. Full-on, waterfalls sobbing.
Klaus seemed shocked for a moment with her unexpected emotional outburst but then he stepped closer and hugged her. It only made her cry more.
"It's alright, love. Everything is going to be fine."
"I- I just want her to be…okay."
He caressed her hair while she finally calmed down a bit. She could not remember the last time she had cried this hard or this much. Probably when her father died.
She cleared her throat and detangled herself from Klaus, blushing slightly. Partly because she was embarrassed and partly because his smell still lingered in her nose.
He handed her a tissue and Caroline let out a shaky laugh. "I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to drench your jacket like that."
He smiled and her heart did a flip. "It's alright, love. It was a stressful day after all."
She sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I really do love that girl. I just hope she'll forgive me one day."
His eyes softened. "I wouldn't worry too much about that. I know Rebekah loves you as well. She wouldn't be so hurt if it wasn't true."
Caroline frowned. "You know, you're really better at the silent comfort thing."
He chuckled and just at that moment, she realized how close they were standing together. Despite the bad light the lamp was giving off, she could clearly see the dimples in his cheeks and the intensity in his blue eyes.
His chuckle faded into a smile and his eyes found hers. At that moment, something shifted. The mood had changed from worry to sorrow to playfulness but this, this was different. It felt like the air around them was charged and neither was able to look away from each other's eyes.
Slowly, so slowly, Klaus moved closer towards her and the anticipation was bubbling inside of her.
When their lips were just inches apart and she could feel his breath on her face, he paused and whispered: "Tell me to stop if you don't want this…"
Instead of answering, Caroline leaned forward and closed the distance.
Yes, I went for the cliché "person overhears other people talking about huge secret" reveal. Super predictable, but effective.