*waves* Hi all!
Sorry for the super extended hiatus. Life got rather hectic but all has calmed down now,
and I will have much more time on my hands now that I've finished my degree.
I just want to express my love for everyone reading and reviewing with their love. It means the world and I'm so glad to hear how much you love the story,
love to hate the characters/plotlines (cough, Esther, cough), and gushing over Henrik as much as I do when I write him. Thank you always. xoxx
So, uh, I'll just leave this here...
PART 15
Upon the recent news, Finn decided to call a family meeting in the living area. Caroline was the only one sitting while the others scattered about the room in respective distress.
Kol was leaning against the doorway, unenthused by the concept. "If it's just a meeting, what's the problem?"
"It's not a meeting," Elijah corrected. "It's a determination of custody without a trial."
"And?"
"And...it's feasible that the court will side with her, claiming a child belongs with their mother. Things could get rather ugly." He glanced to Caroline with an apologetic double take. "Our mother has a skewed sense of nurturing, particularly when it comes to her parenting style."
"Skewed?" Kol snorted. "Why not say the truth, Elijah? She had no sense of nurture at all."
"Which is why her determination to be a mother to Henrik is so confusing," he agreed.
"Why?" Finn was dubious. "It's not like she was the purveyor of abuse."
"Might as well have been," Klaus grumbled.
Rebekah said his name in quiet warning. Caroline hugged herself a little, remembering their conversation about Mikael.
Elijah cleared his throat uncertainly. "What Niklaus means to say is that our mother had, perhaps, succumbed to her own demons. Our father was not the kindest man and she was too blinded by her love to see how his...behaviors...affected us."
Klaus' eyes rolled. "You can stop with the bloody pleasantries, Elijah. She already knows the truth."
"You told her?" Kol's eyebrows were nearly at his hairline.
"Yes, I told her," he answered defiantly. "So you can stop looking at me like that, Rebekah."
Caroline's heart leapt to her throat, pounding. "What I don't know is why," she braved. She looked around at all of them but no one would answer, just return her question with puppy eyes. "Why just Klaus? Why isolate him?"
Klaus' jaw set and he almost sneered as he said it, still keeping his eyes averted. "I'm not his child."
Every drop of blood in her body turned to ice, searing her heart with cold shock and nauseating her into disbelief. She had been so so wrong all along, so sure it was Henrik who had been abused, alienated and neglected, tossed to the side because of his illegitimacy which completely justified his anti-social demeanor. But it was Klaus who had bore the brunt, the byproduct of adultery, the bane of his not so biological father's existence, which wasn't even his fault and totally unfair. And his mother – oh his mother was even more evil in her eyes now.
"Our mother had an affair," Elijah was saying when she came to again. "When Mikael found out about it she – "
"Did nothing," Klaus answered spitefully. "She stood by and let it happen."
"She was frightened," Finn reasoned.
"She was weak."
"Nik," Rebekah argued.
"You want to defend her, fine, but do it with an honest conscience. Our mother did nothing but stand by as she watched her husband beat her illegitimate child mercilessly. Moreover, she allowed her children to bear witness and become victims of emotional injury. If you think that Henrik isn't scarred, you are gravely mistaken. If you think that you got away unscathed, look at your own insecurities and ask yourself where did they develop? Out of thin air? Or out of guilt?" He looked to Elijah, then to Kol, and Finn. "Or ignorance."
"No one is discrediting her inactions," Elijah reasoned.
"Inaction is the least of her crimes," Klaus gestured, his blood clearly starting to boil.
"There's no need to jump to conclusions right away," Finn object. "It's highly unlikely the case would ever be taken to a court."
"He's right." Elijah was re-scanning the contents of the letter thoroughly. "It says a mediation is to take place."
"How is this even possible?" Rebekah asked. "I thought this had already been decided when they went away."
"She tried to overturn the ruling." They all stared at Finn and he swallowed. "...Obviously she failed."
Rebekah let out a breath of disbelief. "You knew?"
"What else aren't you telling us, Finn?" Klaus thundered, almost lunging with his step forward.
"I had a sense that she might make an attempt, but I never thought she would take it further."
Elijah was bemused. "If you knew, why did you not tell us?"
"You've been playing us the whole time," Klaus accused.
"You have the wrong idea, Niklaus."
"How quickly you run back to her clutches, doing her bidding."
"I would never put Henrik in harm's way."
"What about us?" Kol blazed.
"Have you or have you not been helping her!?" Klaus demanded.
"I spoke to her as a son would his mother. I never gave her any legal advice."
"You gave her enough to tear this family apart!"
"Niklaus, please," Elijah tried to mediate.
"He's brought this on us, Elijah! He wants to hand deliver Henrik straight to the devil herself!"
"That wasn't my intent – "
"You did this to us, Finn!"
"Will you calm down and let him speak?" Elijah's voice rose over his.
Klaus threw his hand up and turned away, walking a few paces to control himself. Caroline blinked too many times, trying to make sense of everything all at once. She watched Klaus turn his back on them, unsure what to do or what to say or who to say it to.
Finn sighed, wearily pleading with his eyes. "I had hoped the reunion with our mother would not have been so heated." Klaus whipped around ready to snap but Finn held a hand up. "I understand now the courses of action she took were entirely inappropriate. And I understand that my interactions with her may have given her the wrong message."
Klaus laughed bitterly. "The wrong message?"
"It may have been easy for all of you to detach yourselves from our mother, to alienate her from your lives after the way she fell prey to Mikael, but I could not as readily let go. I need you all to understand that this is still an ongoing process for me."
"It's ongoing for all of us," Rebekah reassured him. "She's my mother too, but what kind of mother allows their child to be brutally beaten by a man she claims to love?"
"Or facilitates an attempted murder?" Klaus added darkly.
Finn's eyes grew sad as he met Klaus' gaze. "I haven't turned a blind eye to the harm that was done to you, Niklaus. Nor the violence that took place thereafter. Much as I would have liked to. If anything, these recent events are finally opening my eyes to how manipulative our mother can be."
Kol's lips pursed in a narrow smile. "You always have been a bit of late bloomer."
"If my actions gave her incentive, you can hold me accountable."
Rebekah smiled softly and walked over to hug her brother. "That was big of you, Finn."
Elijah glanced to Klaus who was wordless but his face was taut with skepticism. He sighed heavily and nodded once. "If we are going to go into this and go up against her together, we must have trust in one another."
Klaus' breathing was slow and heavy, and Caroline could see the rigidness of his stance. She reached out from her seat to take his hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze not sure which one of them she was trying to comfort. He turned and looked at her, reading her eyes, and his tension slowly began to ease. He blinked away his anger and turned his head but his gaze remained fixed on the floor.
"It's been a long day. We should all get some rest."
No one spoke but Klaus was right. They were going to need all their force for the following day, and so, wordlessly, they began to disperse until he and Caroline were left alone with Elijah. Klaus sat beside her, letting her hand go, which she placed on his knee in reassurance.
When he was certain no one else was in earshot, Elijah turned to face his brother.
"He makes a fair point, Klaus."
"He makes many, but which ones are the truth?"
"Regardless, he is our lesser enemy right now."
He scoffed. "This entire mediation is just a ploy, a way for her to spite us."
"Yes," Elijah agreed. "It would be to her benefit if one of us were to lash out and prove unfit guardians to Henrik." Klaus shot him a glare to which Elijah only raised a daring brow.
"Seems like a scare tactic to me," Caroline quietly agreed.
"One which will have no effect if we follow through with dignity instead of rising to her bait."
Klaus glowered, thinking of the six-year-old asleep up in his room. If,he thought, was too enticing of a word.
Tuesday – Caroline's Apartment – 11:03 A.M.
While the boys prepared to face their mother in battle, and Katherine gratuitously took Rebekah to look at bridesmaid dresses, Caroline agreed to babysit Henrik. Despite the fact that she was still processing, things were going swimmingly. Thus far, her tasks had entailed chocolate chip pancakes and cartoons, feats no match for Miss Caroline Forbes. The real challenge came an hour after breakfast when an unexpected guest made an appearance.
"Does your mother know you're not in school?" Enzo teased when Caroline opened the door.
"Does yours?"
"Spring break, gorgeous. Time to let loose."
"Please tell me that's not why you're here." She rolled her eyes as he walked past her into her home with a roguish smirk.
Henrik leaned over the arm of the couch to peek out and see who was there. He fell back onto his knees in disappointment when he saw. Enzo smiled broadly with a wave.
"Hey there monster king." Henrik turned away immediately, crawling to the other side of the couch out of view. Enzo tutted. "I see he's taken on your charming qualities."
"Ha ha." She folded her arms and let him follow her into the kitchen. "And to what do I owe this lovely solicitation?"
"Boredom, mostly. And I figured I had a lecture coming."
"Ah yes. Your little teacher-student fantasy come to life," she mused, opening the refrigerator to fulfill Henrik's earlier request for juice.
"To be fair, I'm not technically a teacher. And she's not technically my student." She gave him a narrow eyed look. "She has a crush. So what if I indulge it a little?"
"No one should have a crush on you." She grabbed the carton of Juicy Juice.
"Oh come on, gorgeous. Everyone loves bad boys. Even you've had your bouts."
She slammed the fridge shut, cutting her eyes to his. "Not. Funny."
He leaned against the counter, still smirking as he crossed his arms. "Isn't it like some rite of passage for you girls?"
"Seriously? You know, that is the kind of totally warped thinking that completely goes against the idea of feminism. Besides, it is the idea of bad boys that's appealing. The whole risky business thing." She shook her head with a laughing scoff and turned her back on him to get a glass. "In actuality, they just suck."
"Duly noted."
"The real question is why are you indulging her? I know you're not that much of a jerk."
He shrugged, pulling a chair out to casually take a seat at the table. "She's cute."
"She's a minor."
"You're cute too." Caroline's eyes rolled skyward in disgust as she set the glass down and started to unscrew the juice cap. Enzo grinned, spreading his hands defenselessly. "In a completely platonic and not at all intimidating way."
"You know she has four brothers."
"Is that supposed to scare me off?"
"It should."
"Well I always fancy a good challenge."
She slammed the juice carton on the counter. "Consent, Enzo! She's seventeen."
"Well you don't have to get all worked up and make a mess now."
She glared at him and tore a paper towel off the roll unevenly, wiping the spilled juice from her arm and the counter. Enzo sighed.
"I didn't say I was going to sleep with her." She glanced to make sure he was being sincere and his eyes slid to hers with a mischievous twinkle. "But there's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting."
She pressed her lips together and threw the balled up wad of paper at his head, his timely head jerk making her miss. He looked down at it, unimpressed.
"And what about the age gap?" She went on, shaking her head as she began to pour the juice. "You don't think that makes you the least bit creepy?"
"You know, you're the last person I would have expected to judge." She frowned a little. "I am aware of the aesthetics of the situation, but it's not what you think. I would never take advantage of anyone. Especially not someone who's been through as much as she has."
Her head snapped up. "Wait. You know?"
"You really think I'm desperate enough to get suckered into a kid's party by a teenager?"
That earned him a tiny smile. "Lorenzo St. John."
His face scrunched into a dread filled grimace. "Don't use my legal name."
"You like her."
"No." He raised an adamant finger at her. "I feel sorry for her. She has an abusive father, an absent mother, three overly intense brothers and never has anyone stopped to think how she feels, or given her the care she deserves. Of course she's going to act out and go to bloody detention."
The crease between his brows was deep enough to make her heart flutter. "And here I was worried about Rebekah."
He smiled shallowly before he reached down without her knowing and picked up the paper towel wad, trying to rub it in her face, latching onto her arm to prevent her escape. She shrieked playfully, batting his hands away, laughing.
All the while Henrik was peeking around the corner, watching the two with a curious frown. He ran into the room immediately and stopped in front of them. Caroline's laughter trailed.
"Hey buddy. What's up?"
"Can I have my juice?"
"Oh, of course. Sorry, Enzo was distracting me."
She snatched the paper wad from the floor where Enzo had dropped it and went to finish pouring his juice. Henrik glanced at Enzo, briefly, then to Caroline.
"When is Nik coming back?"
"Probably sometime after lunch."
She absently set the glass of juice on the table beside him and returned the carton to the fridge. Henrik pulled the glass closer and looked down in it, contemplative.
"When he's back can we get ice cream?"
"Ooh, ice cream," Enzo fawned playfully. "That sounds delicious."
"Not you," Henrik told him.
Caroline laughed. "Henrik, that's not very nice."
"But I don't want him to. Just you, me, and Nik."
Her brows shot up while Enzo chuckled quietly. "Why don't you want Enzo to come with us?"
"Because," he insisted, pouting.
"It's all right," Enzo assured her.
"No, no. This is a learning experience." She pulled one of the chairs out and sat so she was at his level. "Henrik, you know it's not polite to exclude anyone. If Enzo wants to come get ice cream with us, he's more than welcome."
Henrik shoved his juice away with a huff. "Forget it."
"Henrik," she started to walk after him and he started to run, disappearing around the corner toward the bedrooms. Caroline stopped at the doorway, at a loss.
Enzo was frowning at the table behind her. "What's that about?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
Text Message Exchange – 11:19 A.M.
Klaus: How's Henrik? 11:19AM
Caroline: Wondering where you are. 11:20AM
Caroline: How's it going? 11:20AM
Klaus: Finn's been prepping all morning. 11:21
Klaus: He and Elijah are already at the courthouse. 11:22AM
Caroline: Like I said, good to have a lawyer brother. Or two. 11:22AM
Klaus: Provided they're not a backstabber. 11:23AM
Caroline: Have a little faith once in a while. 11:23AM
Klaus: Not the easiest concept when this keeps interfering with our alone time. 11:24AM
Caroline: You'll just have to find a way to make it up to me. :-P 11:24AM
Klaus: I'll take that as a challenge. ;-) 11:25AM
Caroline's Apartment – 11:30 A.M.
After a few minutes of letting him cool down and sending Enzo home, Caroline found Henrik hiding in the farthest corner of the guest room, on the floor, carelessly dragging one of her stuffed penguins back and forth against the floor.
"Knock knock." He looked up, alarmed, then immediately away. She walked in, closing the door behind her and sitting on the bed. He stopped dragging the stuffed animal and instead started slapping it against the floor. "Hey. What'd that penguin ever do to you?"
He didn't respond, or stop, and she frowned. This was a side of him she hadn't seen.
"Can we talk?" she tried. "I don't want you to be mad at me."
"I am," he said, and the fire in his voice seared her heart.
"Why? What did I do?"
"You maked him come with us for ice cream," he grumbled, almost muffled.
She tilted her head, watching him curiously. "And why does that upset you?" He said nothing. She scooted closer on the bed towards him. "You know, Enzo is my friend too."
The penguin fell to the floor with relief and Henrik began fumbling with his fingers, his head hung.
"You like Enzo?" It was almost a whisper.
She paused. "Most of the time."
"And you like Nik."
She nodded again. "Most of the time." Henrik let out a deeply distressed sigh and she pursed her lips, fighting off a laugh as it started to dawn on her. "But I like Enzo a little differently than I like your brother." She pulled one of her legs under her and held it, thoughtful. "See, Enzo is my friend. And your brother is more like…my…boyfriend."
Henrik looked up, eyes lit. Endearing as it was, she had to catch her breath briefly. It was the first time she had actually said it out loud.
Mystic Falls Courthouse – 11:30 A.M.
Outside the courthouse, parked along the curb, sat Klaus in his SUV. He'd had the steering wheel in his grips, never taking his eyes off the numbers on the dashboard.
11:31.
The mediation had been set to begin at 10AM. Elijah was probably tugging at his cufflinks, straightening and re-straightening his tie in excruciating impatience. Finn was probably celebrating a silent victory at his absence.
But he couldn't bring himself to move.
Klaus was squirming in his seat, his blood boiling with anticipatory rage. He couldn't let her get away with this, but God only knew what he would do the second he set his sights on her. How could he sit across from her with nothing but pieces of wood to mediate what was an inevitable onslaught? The last time he'd seen his mother, he was being dragged away by the police. Henrik shouting his name still haunted him in his dreams. He would never forgive her.
His phone buzzed for the hundredth time. He hadn't answered any of the messages other than Caroline's, nor answered any of the calls.
11:35.
Finally, he forced himself to pull into the lot and stop at the striped gate. A ticket shot out at him from the machine outside his window and he stared at it. The light on the screen urged him to take his ticket and proceed. Instead, he shifted into reverse and pulled out, driving off.
