Rebella101 - D'awww. I love people who pull all nighters for little ol me. Okay, well my writing. Not me. But still! Finn means well, his execution is just a little shoddy.
Skyla71 - This is, like, one fic I'm determined to finished, no matter how far out of fandom I fall. Just sos you knows.
Chelseab95 - Aw, thank you honey. Life has gotten infinitely better, despite this whole pandemic. Enzo happened to be a delightful little addition to this story.
Briarsnow - Thank you! It's a different kind of KC dynamic for me. I'm trying to let the story be the melodrama, and not as much their relationship.
TwilightHybrid - I mean, you basically hit the nail on the head with what I was going for. Although Klaus' idea of reasonable isn't always morally aligned.
Guest - I fully admit that last chapter was rushed. I'm always more inclined to write longer chapters, I think I was just determined to post something. Klaus' actions will always have an aftermath, whether or not it affects Caroline is a different story. She's definitely got things to work through with him.
AFangirlofSorts - Aww thank you, sweetheart!
Hi my lovies!
First and foremost, I hope you are all safe and doing well in this super scary time in the world. Please, please, do your best to protect yourself and your loved ones. I would hate to lose any of you, or to hear of anymore tragedy. I've been quarantining myself, which you would think would produce more writing, but the anxiety monster always scares away the muse. I know we're all feeling it, regardless of whether it's a daily occurrence or not. And it's okay. We just gotta breathe and remember to take care of ourselves, mental health included. This too will pass, and by the way, if anyone wants or needs an outlet, my various inboxes are open for business.
Now, onto more mannered subjects, like how ravishing you look in that dre - whoops. My Klaroline is showing.
I think I'm missing them. I hate when the story gets in the way, don't you? ;)
Part 16
Mikaelson Mansion – 4:02 p.m.
"Where were you?"
One could argue that the only reason Elijah's voice was echoing so loudly was because of the emptiness of the foyer. Every little whisper bounced off of the rug-less floors and practically bare walls, booming like schoolyard shouting. At least, that was the mindset Klaus had put himself in when he opened the door to their home. Chalk everything up to acoustics.
"Did you hear what I said?" Klaus kept a straight face but his discontented eyes only enraged his brother further. "I cleared you of your contempt charges. I paid your fine. You owe me an explanation."
"I was thinking."
"Thinking," he repeated with contempt.
Klaus turned to shut the door behind him, rolling his eyes. "The mediation was a power move. She had us right where she wanted us." He shrugged, nonchalantly facing Elijah once more. "I wasn't going to give her the benefit."
"You already did." Finn's voice carried into the room and he soon followed, brandishing an unmarked envelope angrily. "Your lack of appearance sent us straight to trial."
"Good." He spread his arms. "No point in prolonging the inevitable."
"It would not have been inevitable if you had been there!" Elijah berated.
"What difference would it have made?!"
"I'm not going to repeat myself!"
"A trial would play out fairer than this bloody mediation," Klaus argued, pushing past them toward the living room. "You'll thank me in the long run."
Elijah squeezed the rim of his nose and Finn exhaled loudly before they both followed. "On top of everything else going on, a trial is the last thing we need."
"This town already categorizes us as estranged miscreants," Elijah added.
Klaus slumped into the couch, spreading his arms along the back with a look of ridicule. "And since when do you care what people think of us?"
"I would like to be able to settle into a home, for once in our lives."
"So would I," Finn agreed.
"You know as well as I do that she'll see to it that that never happens." He pointed his finger, almost warningly. "She will never stop coming for us!"
"She would have had no other choice, Niklaus!" Elijah slowly inhaled and tried to regain his composure. The creases between his brows only deepened. "This mediation was our chance to put her in her place and be done, once and for all. Don't you want it to be over? To move on with your life?" The desperation in his brother's eyes made Klaus swallow in shame. "We all have a reason. You have Caroline. I have a fianceé and a..." his lips wavered and he narrowed his eyes, "...career – is any of this getting through to you?"
Klaus looked away, jaw clenched. Heat pulsed through his blood, pumping faster to his chest. It was a familiar feeling and he refused to face it. Without a word he was up and past them, starting up the steps to the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Finn demanded.
"To pick up Henrik."
"I've already made arrangements for his retrieval," Elijah told him, not hiding the residual anger in his voice.
Klaus turned and peered at him hotly. "So now you don't trust me to do my duties?"
"Why should I? You failed to uphold your duties today."
He walked up to invade his space. "My duty is to protect Henrik and that is what I was doing."
Elijah lifted his chin, unintimidated. "Your actions today had nothing to do with Henrik and everything to do with you. I'd remember that when you're reflecting in the midst of this trial."
He held Klaus' gaze a moment longer and quietly excused himself, ducking around him toward the staircase. Klaus was left standing in the hall with nothing but the walls and each taunting echo of his brother's steps.
Caroline's Apartment – 3:47 p.m.
After coaxing him out of the guest room, Caroline was able to entice Henrik into some impromptu arts and crafts. A few YouTube tutorials later and they were on their way to making paper mâché monster masks. Every so often a thought of Klaus would jilt her concentration and her stomach would turn with anxiety. She kept wondering how he was coping, how things would turn out - please, let it be for the best. Whatever the outcome, she hoped it wouldn't deter their personal progress. Considering she had just admitted her feelings to his littlest brother.
The last time either of them had been serious ended tragically, on both parts, so it was no wonder there was some hesitation. Speaking of which, she had to remember to file that new restraining order on Tyler. And just as her mind was prepared to start a dangerous nosedive, a knock at the door saved her.
"I'll get it!" Henrik announced.
Caroline laughed as he jumped down from his seat and ran. "Hey, wait for me."
She walked after him casually, her heart pumping in anticipation. It wasn't until then she realized how eager she was to see him too. Henrik struggled with the lock briefly then pulled the door open, his hand dropping from the knob in limp disappointment.
"You're not Nik."
Katherine's brows knit and she teased, "What, no hi hello for your favorite soon-to-be-aunt?"
"Where's Nik?"
"I left him home."
"Why?"
She leaned down, smirking. "Because Elijah told me to."
"But we were a'posed to get ice cream."
"Well, cutie, I'm just the chauffeur. You can give him hell when we get back." His lips pouted and his little brows furrowed. "Tell you what. How about I take you to get ice cream?"
"No! I want Nik!"
And with his demands laid out, he ran off in the direction of the guest room once more.
"Henrik!" Caroline called after him then sighed into a soft groan. "Not again..."
Katherine hummed, righting herself. "Rough day?"
"Not my roughest, but yes." Caroline sighed, shrugging. "So...where is Klaus?"
Katherine eyed her suspiciously. "At home, like I said."
"Oh. Right." She held her arm, fingernail scratching at it like a nervous tic. "And is everything...okay?"
"Let's put that on hold a sec, shall we? I have a bigger bone to pick. With you."
Caroline blinked, thrown. "What?"
"Oh don't give me the doe-eyed crap. I know you know." She folded her arms, waiting, and dread and realization dawned on Caroline's face. "What I don't know is how."
"Okay. Look. Katherine – "
"Did Elijah tell you? How long have you known? Does Klaus know?"
She took a step backward as Katherine inched into the room and toward her with each question. "No. Since Henrik's party. And no."
"Who else knows?"
"No one."
"You swear?"
She laughed through her nerves. "If they do, why would they tell me?"
Katherine finally backed down, the tiniest huff of relief whispering out. She hugged herself protectively, rubbing her arms like she was cold, and looked away. Caroline knew the symptoms of shutting down better than anyone, but that was so not how this was about to go. Making sure she shut the front door, she offered up her living room – namely the couch – waiting for Katherine to take her up on the suggestion. It didn't take long for her to open up once they sat.
"Elijah wants to tell everyone." She shook her head. "I'm not ready."
"You don't have to tell anyone right now."
"That's not what I meant." Her eyes were so full of fear. "I didn't want it," she confessed. "But Elijah was so excited…"
Caroline's stomach clenched. "Katherine…you do have a choice."
"We argued about it. A lot. It was like he hated me for even thinking of not having it. But I get it. He's all logic, very little emotion. And it's not like making that choice is easy, you know?" Caroline just nodded, listened. "I needed him to understand that."
"And did he?"
Her eyes rolled. "Of course he did. Because he's Elijah. Mister Perfect. Mister Say-All-the-Right-Things. Mister Compassion."
"I think you're giving him a little too much credit."
"He backed down." Her voice was louder with adamance. Her arms flopped. "He said it was up to me."
"That's good, right?"
"I don't know. It's like once he caved and gave me what I wanted..." Her eyes drifted to Caroline's and she understood. It was never about not wanting the child. "I'm scared," she admitted. "But," she took a deep breath, "I'm even more scared of not trying."
Caroline smiled gently and cautiously put her hand on Katherine's in comfort. Surprisingly she didn't jerk or pull away. "I think all women are scared. Having a baby is a commitment."
Katherine slid her other hand into her hair and rested her head against her palm, her expression growing tired. "What do I know about kids anyway? They don't like me. Henrik certainly doesn't."
"That's not true!"
"Did you not just see the kid run away from me?"
She shook her head. "That has nothing to do with you."
"Please. I've been in his life since he was born and he still avoids me like the plague. He warmed up to you in like five seconds."
Caroline laughed. "No, he did not. It took a lot of work to get him to come out of his shell." She shook her head, smiling. "Sometimes I wonder if he only opened up so he could play matchmaker with me and Klaus."
Katherine grinned. "I guess someone had to get Klaus out of his own way."
Caroline smiled, shaking her head. A new thought tugged at her but...was now the right time to open this can of worms? nervous to ask her next question. She chewed her lip anxiously and finally ventured, "Was he really that closed off?"
"Closed off is putting it lightly. Then again, if I'd been through what he did, I wouldn't want to deal with anyone either."
Definitely relatable, Caroline thought. And yet, that wasn't what was bugging her. The family drama was only one half of Klaus' hardships. And no one ever talked about the other. If this was a golden opportunity, maybe she shouldn't so readily pass it up...
"Did you know her?" Her voice was quiet, tentative. "Tatia?"
Katherine looked down, tucking a curl behind her ear. She refused eye contact when she answered, "She was my best friend."
Caroline frowned. "I'm sorry."
"So am I."
"How did it..." The pierce of Katherine's eyes backpedaled her. She swallowed hard, trying again, "Rebekah mentioned there was a fight right before."
"There was. Which was typical. Klaus isn't exactly a joy to be around." She glanced up with a wry smile. "No offense." Caroline half shrugged. "But Tatia had her vices. She was in a permanent phase of teenage rebellion. Which is probably why they got along so well."
Teenage rebellion and Klaus. It fit like a glove. She tried to picture it. Klaus in high school, a tortured teenage artist, hiding his anger and abuses in his work. What were his vices, she wondered? She had no idea what Tatia had even looked like but she imagined someone pretty, someone who made him smile and come out of his own shell.
"She started drinking in high school," Katherine went on. "A total party girl. She snuck into clubs, did all kinds of drugs – pot, cocaine, ecstasy. Eventually she grew out of the drugs, but the drinking stuck. And it only got worse. She started going out every night, sometimes didn't come home. Klaus hated it. It tore him up, not knowing. He tried to get her to go to A.A. a couple of times. She never listened to me so I wasn't surprised when she wouldn't listen to him."
"So it was her fault, not his." And...there went her foot.
Katherine eyed her glaringly. "Do you have any addictions, Caroline? Something that consumes your every waking thought? Something you can't eat, sleep or even breathe without?" Caroline shook her head. "Then you have no clue what it's like."
"I'm sorry. I wasn't – "
"Trying to make a bad situation just a tiny bit better? Yeah. We've all tried that. And look where it's gotten us."
"I'm sorry," she repeated.
"Tatia had issues. So did Klaus." She looked down, her finger tapping her knee. "Nobody blames Klaus for her death." Her finger stopped but she didn't look up. "But it's not like he took her keys away from her either."
Caroline's chest twisted and air was suddenly on short supply.
"Anyway, I'm going to go try and persuade Klaus jr. to come out." Katherine stood. "Let's keep this little heart to heart between us, deal?"
Caroline nodded, but Katherine's words were still reverberating through her. Every story had three sides. This one had more, she was sure. Now that she had Katherine's, how could she not ask Klaus for his?
One battle at a time, Caroline. Battle being the operative word.
Caroline's Apartment - 8:22 p.m.
Later that evening, Caroline tried to busy her mind with Henrik's issues, carefully tucking away Klaus' for the time being. She began researching custody law and spiraled down a rabbit hole of information. It didn't ease her nerves as much as she'd hoped, but it kept her from wandering down darker avenues.
When it comes to disputes over custody, the court places the best interests of the children above almost all other concerns. This includes parental preference and convenience.
She kept scrolling.
As safety and well-being of any children are the chief concerns, courts don't look kindly on actions and choices that place minors in harm's way.
That made sense. Their mother's behavior was definitely violent and any court would have to rule that as a potential risk to Henrik's well-being. Unless she somehow argued her way out of it. Technically the behavior was incidental. And there was no prior record, that she knew of. She had to keep searching. She tried again, this time typing in the search bar – "CRIMINAL OFFENSE AND CUSTODY."
The judge will look at factors such as how long ago you were convicted; the type of crime; the nature of your sentencing; and the existence of repeat offenses.
Well that seemed promising. Given what she knew about the crime, their mother's involvement in the debilitation of the victim should be sufficient in keeping her from winning her case.
Convictions such as assault, battery, weapons offenses, stalking, etc. are likely to make a court worry about anger management and violence issues, making them a significant factor in a custody proceeding.
A loud pair of knocks made her jump in her seat. She wasn't expecting company, but these days she should have. She closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table before getting up to answer the door. She hoped the smile she had to plaster to her face when she saw Klaus wasn't as obvious to him.
"Hey."
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah."
The tension was emanating from him was unnerving. Then again, it was no surprise given the circumstance of the day. She had wondered how he was going to fare seeing his mother again after their last unfortunate encounter.
He turned to face her but his eyes were untrained, looking not at her but through her, and then away from her in little nervous flickers.
"How was Henrik today?"
"Fine. You'll probably be happy to know he's not a very big fan of Enzo." His eyes widened and she waved it off. "He stopped by today to talk about the Rebekah thing."
"I see."
"I wouldn't worry about him. He has good intentions. And," she crossed her arms with a proud smile, "he is very aware of what will happen if he oversteps, thank you very much." That earned her a small smile. "So...how did it go?"
"I wouldn't know." She waited out his pause. "I didn't go."
"What?!" He turned away, impatient. "What do you mean you didn't go?"
"You can spare me your concerns. I already received an earful from Elijah."
She shook her head, pressing her fingertips to her temples with a frustrated little laugh. "Klaus, you could have settled this without having to go to trial!"
"The mediation was just a means to antagonize. There'd be a trial regardless."
"You don't know that for sure."
"I know my mother."
"And what about Henrik? Did you ever think that maybe a mediation might be better than the possibility of a six-year-old being put up on the stand? Because it can happen."
He glanced at her warily. "Sounds like someone's been brushing up on their courtroom procedures."
"As a matter of fact, I have."
"That's not your place."
"It is my place when I'm as involved as you made me." The words left her lips and she desperately reached for them back but it was too late.
His silent stare made her skin crawl. "My apologies for getting you entangled in our family's mess." His voice was emotionless and she could only sigh.
"Klaus, that's not – "
"Actually, as I recall you little more than insisted on being involved."
"Okay. Stop." She held her palm up. "This fighting is getting us nowhere, and it's beside the point." Caroline shook her head, willing herself to look away and not to glare at him. "You obviously came here for a reason."
He sighed, turning away from her. He didn't know where to start, how to explain, what to feel. He did the only thing he could and retreated to the couch, running his hands over his face as he hunched.
"I screwed up."
Not what she was expecting, but a step in the right direction.
"I got to that gate and I looked up at the building and I thought of Henrik." He looked at her, his face pained. "I couldn't go in there and risk her making me look like a fool again."
She walked over to the couch and sat beside him, laying her hand on his arm. "Klaus, you're not a fool. What happened at the school was manipulative. And disgusting, and...just...all around dirty."
"It doesn't matter. She'll do it again, given the chance."
"But you can't let her. You can't run away."
"How am I supposed to face her, Caroline? After everything she's done? And everything she hasn't?"
"Think about Henrik. Picture his face and let it drive you to be stronger than she is." He sighed, defeated. She pursed her lips, smiling softly. "You know, all he wanted to do today was go get ice cream with you." His laugh was a soft exhale. "He, uh, got a little worried when Enzo was here."
His smile lessened. "Worried about what?"
She shook her head with a scrunched nose. "He...thought that I liked Enzo the way that I like you."
His adam's apple jumped when he swallowed, but he smiled. "It must have been some relief to him to hear that you do like me."
Caroline laughed. "Cocky, are we?"
"I prefer confident." And it was a relief to see him smiling genuinely, but his eyes were still questioning. "Unless I'm wrong and you don't like me."
"No." Her lips pursed as she tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks. She would damn him later for making her blush. "I do. Maybe...more...than like you?"
Klaus dimples taunted her, but, at times like these, they were a saving grace. "Maybe," he repeated, stroking her hair as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"So what now?" she asked, staring off at the wall, her voice as airy and distant.
He took a deep breath, staring with her. There was only one answer to that question.
"Now, we fight."
