Warning: Spanking of a Minor (just realized I haven't put that warning up in a while, wow. Gonna go back and fix that on old chapters eventually *awkward laugh*)


Chapter 60

Niklaus stared at the blank canvas in front of him, his mind forming his next idea in full detail. He lifted his brush and laid the first stroke.

A knock at the door stilled him.

He groaned as he sensed Elijah's presence on the other side of the door. Sitting the brush down, he made his way over to the door.

"This had better be important," he groaned as he opened the door. "I was just about to-"

Elijah's narrow eyes held a sense of seriousness that worried Niklaus.

"What's wrong?"

"Your daughter needs you."

Stepping outside his studio, Niklaus closed the door behind him and walked briskly down the hall. "Is she hurt?"

"Not yet," Elijah continued calmly. "Though I believe she will be once Hayley is done with her."

Niklaus paused in his stride, listening eagerly as Elijah recanted everything he'd just witnessed Hope and Sebastian do to their brother.

With a heavy sigh, Niklaus leaned back against the wall behind him.

"There was no precursor?" he asked.

"None that I could see. Though I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to her yet. In all, it seemed as though Finn was just going about his way and your daughter and her friend proceeded to...well, I'm not sure if I should call it bullying or assaulting. I believe assault to be the correct term in this case but 'bullying' does make them seem to imply the culprit is a bit more redeemable, don't you agree."

"Where am I going wrong with her, Elijah," Niklaus shook his head. "Marcel was perfect when he was a boy. He was sweet and kind...and he would never hurt an innocent person. Hope is...so much like me it's frightening to think of what she'll grow into. At this rate, I won't have to worry about her inheriting my enemies, she will create her own."

He dropped his head as he thought about Hope having to fight even half the battles he had.

"Do you think...wickedness is genetic?"

"No. I don't. And I don't believe that you are wicked either, brother. At least, not anymore. Children emulate what they see. You did everything that you could to show Marcel what kindness and love were as a boy, and so he grew up expressing those qualities. Hope only sees...distaste from you when it comes to Finn, so she thinks that is how he should be treated. She thinks what she does is right...because she thinks what you do is right. But in this case, brother...I think you're wrong."

"Finn has-"

"I know what Finn has done in the past. We have all made mistakes. But he intends to atone for them by any means necessary, even if it means staying as a fourteen-year-old vampire for the time being. He just wants to be loved and accepted by his family, but you, Kol, and your children refuse to give him the benefit of doubt."

"What if I let my guard down...and he turns on us."

Elijah cupped his hands around Niklaus's shoulders. "Then we will deal with that together, brother. When Marcellus returned, you feared that he was playing you into his web again but you accepted him anyway because you weighed the benefit of having his love and trust was greater than being without him. I believe the same to be true of Finn. He is a Mikaelson. We belong together."

As Niklaus contemplated his brother's words, Hayley suddenly rounded the corner, her eyes hard and resolute.

"There you are," she stated firmly. "I suppose Elijah's told you. We need to talk to your daughter."

Niklaus smirked as he pushed himself from the wall and walked steadily past Hayley in the direction of the staircase.

"Now she's my daughter. I thought she was our daughter."

Hayley followed close behind Niklaus, Elijah at her side. "When she gets like this, she's your daughter."

"So what are we going to do with 'my' daughter?"

"I think you know what we have to do. I've already talked to Freya. She's more than happy to put up a silencing spell for us so Izzy and Oliver won't hear anything."

Klaus sighed as he paused in front of the staircase. "This will never get any easier, will it?"

"Did it get any easier with Marcel?" Elijah asked, knowing the answer already.

Klaus took the first step on his march to Hope's bedroom. "Two hundred years later, and the answer's still no."

-M-

Hope paced the length of her bedroom restlessly.

Through the corner of her eye, she saw something fly across her balcony and watched as the book landed flat on the concrete. She knew exactly who it was then.

She hurried to the balcony to see Sebastian standing on the balcony across from her.

"Good," the boy said with a sigh of relief. "You don't seem upset so I guess that means they haven't come to see you yet."

Hope leaned on the banister with heavy eyes. "Not yet. But mom seemed pissed. She's probably just trying to convince dad to join her side."

"I'm terrified of what my dad will do when he finds out. God, I just hope he doesn't drive over here."

Hope's gut clenched as she saw the worry filling her friend's eyes. "I'm sorry I drug you into this."

Sebastian waved off her guilt. "Hey, you're like my sister. If you're fighting, then I'm fighting too. Just...didn't think we'd get in trouble for this one. When my folks moved us to New Orleans so my mom to take her place a Regent after your dad ran her crazy Aunt out, everyone said that the Mikaelsons had no greater enemies than their own family, and Finn was one of the worst of them. So why are they even accepting him back into the fold? Because he's a kid? Big deal. That's his own problem."

"That's what I've been saying! God, it's like you and me are the only two people thinking clearly."

Hope just barely heard her bedroom doorknob turn. She closed the balcony doors as she vamped back to her room and sat on her bed before her bedroom door was opened.

A shiver went down the girl's spine as she saw the cold glares on Hayley and Niklaus's faces.

"Hope," Niklaus entered the room first, walking casually over to the dresser. He leaned his hips back against it as he said, "Elijah told me you fancy yourself a bit of a prankster. Is that correct?"

Hope blushed, her eyes dropping down to the floor. She folded her hands behind her back and did her best to look as innocent as possible in front of her dad.

"It was just a joke," she muttered. "It's not like we really hurt anyone."

"I've warned you about using your magic against your family," Hayley scolded, unfazed by her daughter's innocent act. "And Finn didn't think your joke was very funny."

Hope scoffed. "Who cares what he thinks."

"Don't get smart with your mother," Klaus bit.

Hope snapped to attention, realizing both of her parents were serious.

"I-I'm sorry."

With a sigh, Niklaus rose off the dresser. "My first instinct was to forbid you from leaving the house tomorrow while Rebekah and your friend went on their little shopping spree. But then Finn unwittingly brought Elijah's attention to another incident that happened between the two of you. Earlier today."

Hope's eyes widened, afraid she knew exactly what Klaus was referring to.

Flashback:

20 minutes earlier

Elijah watched in disappointment as Hayley marched Hope and Sebastian past them to the stairway. Finn could feel Hope's eyes burning into him as she passed and he knew his torment from her was far from over.

As Elijah held Finn sobbing in his hold, he felt the boy's mental walls drop. In hopes of preventing any acts of retaliation, Elijah dove into his brother's mind to see what he was thinking. Instead of angry thoughts of vengeance, he saw Finn lying naked on the floor of the study writhing in pain as Hope and Sebastian tortured him with their magic.

Finn pulled out of Elijah's hold, his eyes shimmering in shock of feeling his brother prodding his mind

"Were...were you just in my head?"

Elijah took a deep breath to calm himself after what he'd just seen. "Why didn't you tell me what they did to you?"

Finn shrugged, wiping the straying tears from his face. "I...I didn't think anyone would believe me. Not against her. I was afraid...you'd just think I was making it up...to cause trouble. And you all would...send me away f-for her protection. I don't...I don't want to be alone again, Elijah. I-I'm sorry."

Elijah pulled Finn back into his embrace, holding the boy until his body relaxed, accepting Elijah's hug as the loving gesture he intended it to be.

"I lost my book in that sandpit," Finn mumbled. "Do you think Freya's going to be angry?"

"At you? No."

End Flashback

"You tortured him with your magic while he was naked and vulnerable," Hayley growled. "While he was already being punished."

Hope's cheeks turned red in shame of being caught.

"Explain yourself this instant, young lady," Hayley insisted. "What reason could you possibly have for what you did?"

Hope stared down at the floor, silent.

With a sigh, Niklaus said, "Did he threaten you...or make you feel unsafe in any way?"

Hope knew her father hoped there was some justifiable reason for her actions but really, she had none. She wanted Finn out of her family and she was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen, even if it meant bullying him.

"No sir," she mumbled. "It was just...he's Finn. Marcel and Uncle Kol say that he shouldn't be here, that he doesn't belong in this family. They say he's evil and that he hates us. So why even bother being nice to him and treating him like family if he wants us dead anyway?"

"He doesn't want us dead, sweetheart. You are very young...and I hope you never have to witness the extent of the Mikaelson temper but sometimes, in our immortality, our family tends to take things a bit too far. After a thousand years, its hard to view circumstances through the eyes of a mortal. Finn...went too far in his past lives but now he intends to atone for them. That does not give you the right to torture him."

Seeing the petulant pout on his daughter's face, Niklaus knew that he was not getting through to the girl.

"How would you feel if Sebastian pulled the same stunts you pulled on Marcellus."

Hope's eyes shot up at him in anger.

"That's not fair," she bit. "Marcel would never do what Finn did. He loves our family."

Niklaus glanced over to Hayley and the two silently agreed that Hope was still too young to know the truth about the circumstances of Mikaelsons' 12-year disappearance.

Kneeling down to Hope's level, Niklaus placed a gentle hand on her knee and said, "There isn't a single blameless person in this family, sweetheart. A thousand years is a long time to go without hurting one another. But no matter what, the Mikaelsons stick together, always and forever. Do you understand me?"

With her bottom lip extended and her arms crossed tightly over her chest, Hope gave a slight nod of acceptance.

"Good." Niklaus gave her knee a pat and stood back beside Hayley. "Now. There is still the matter of your punishment. We have warned you about using your magic against an innocent person, sweetheart. We cannot let today go with merely a warning."

Hope froze with fear as she watched Hayley reach behind her back and retrieve the flat-backed wooden hairbrush she had tucked in the waistband of her pants.

"Not the brush, mommy," Hope whined. "Please, not the brush. I won't use my magic against Finn again, I swear."

"I am very happy to hear that," said Klaus. "And I expect to hear you say it again a bit more earnestly in a few minutes."

Hope groan, squirming on her bed as she thought about the pain the brush would bring.

"Now, you have a choice, sweetie," Hayley slapped the back of the brush against the palm of her hand, the echo of wood meeting flesh causing Hope to jump. "Would you rather have mommy spank you or daddy?"

Hope's eyes pooled with fear. "N-neither...?"

"Neither?" Niklaus repeated with a lilt. Turning to Hayley, he continued, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Mama Wolf, but is that today's slang for 'Both'?"

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, I think it just might be."

Her leg bouncing anxiously, Hope squeaked, "B-but what if Izzy hears?"

"I've already spoken with Freya," Hayley assured her. "She's placed a silencing spell over the room."

"Mommy, please-"

"Well I think she's made her choice," Niklaus leaned back against the dresser, motioning for Hayley to go forward. "Your daughter needs you."

Hayley sped over to Hope, lifting the girl from her bed and flipping her over her lap in one smooth move. Hope's legs were pinned between Hayley's before the girl could get a single wild kick out.

"No, mommy, please!" Hope's screams fell on deaf ears as Hayley pulled her pants and undies down, baring her bottom to the room before she laid the weight of the brush against her wriggling bottom.

"Let this be the last time I have to punish you for using your magic against an innocent person, young lady," Hayley scolded as she slapped the brush down on Hope's behind.

Niklaus couldn't bear to watch it. Though he agreed to sit in on the spanking with Hayley if Hope had chosen her over him to prove that they were a united front on this particular matter, he elected to stare down at the floor rather than watch his daughter squirm and cry on her mother's lap.

As Hayley landed the last ear-shattering swat across Hope narrow bottom, Niklaus looked up to see his daughter lying limp over her lap, her round, red face swimming in a river of tears.

Hayley eased Hope's panties back up over her bright behind and sat the girl on her lap, holding Hope's head against the crook of her neck as she sobbed. Niklaus grabbed Hope's discarded pants, having been kicked off during her struggle for freedom, and folded them neatly before putting them away in her dresser and retrieving a fresh set of pajamas for the exhausted teenager.

Hayley looked up to her father, her shimmering blue eyes looking for a bit of sympathy from her always doting father. Klaus kept his eyes hard as he stared down at her, forcing himself to stay firm so she might take his scolding as the lecture he intended it to be.

"Your magic is for your protection and to help others, Hope," Klaus said as he sat the pajamas down on the bed beside Hayley. "It is not to be misused for bullying purposes."

Hope pouted and buried her face into her mother's shoulder, angry at Klaus for being so hard on her after she was just punished by her mother.

Klaus's jaw dropped at the girl's disrespect. Hayley simply nodded, silently encouraging him to do what he needed to do to get the girl's attention.

With a huff, Klaus grabbed Hope's arm and pulled her from the safety of her mother's lap. Hope froze in shock as Klaus wrapped his hand around both of her wrists, keeping her in arm's reach of him as he landed five sharp smacks against her stinging bottom.

"Do not turn you back on me when I am speaking to you, young lady!"

Hope screamed and danced after every smack. "Okay, okay, okay," she repeated in heartwrenching tears.

When Klaus finally finished, he released Hope's wrists and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes as he spoke.

"Consider yourself a very lucky girl to have the privilege of your punishment being dealt in private. If I had been there to witness you humiliate Finn when he was naked and vulnerable, I would have bared you where you stood, in front of your friend, and thrashed you until you felt a fraction of his humiliation."

Hope's tears came heavier at her father's threat. She tried to look back at Hayley, hoping at least one of her parents would baby her like she'd gotten used to since moving back to New Orleans but Hayley's face was just as firm as Niklaus.

"I do not gain pleasure from punishing you, Hope," Klaus said softly as he released her chin. "In fact, this hurts me more than I could have ever imagined it would. But it would hurt me more to see you grow up to be cruel and heartless. Especially with regards to your family. So if I must embarrass you to teach you empathy, I will. Do you understand me?"

Hope gave a slight nod.

Niklaus's eyebrows furrowed deeper. "I said, do you understand me, Hope?"

Realizing her mistake, Hope chocked out, "Y-yes s-s-sir," before diving into her bed, pushing her face into her pillow as she cried.

As Hayley reached out to touch her back, Hope pulled her blanket up over her shoulder and screamed a muffled scream into her pillow, "Go away."

Niklaus's cold eyes softened. He looked to Hayley and she simply nodded at him, reassuring him that they were doing the right thing.

"We love you, Hope," Hayley said over Hope's stifled sobs as she stood and followed Klaus to the bedroom door. "Always and forever, sweetheart."

As soon as they closed Hope's bedroom door, Klaus leaned back against it and took a deep breath. He hated having Hope angry at him and he definitely hated playing the bad guy when it came to his children but if being the bad guy was who he had to be now so that she could grow up to be a good person later, he'd play his role fully.

The sound of the door next to them opening drew their attention to Sebastian's room. Soft whimpering came from inside the room before Elijah stepped out and closed the door behind him, sealing the sound behind Freya's silencing spell.

Noticing Niklaus and Hayley's confusion, Elijah said, "I called Mr. Dupeaux and explained the situation to him. He gave the boy a choice - either he could pick him up now and he wouldn't be allowed to go on the shopping trip tomorrow...or I could handle it."

"And he chose you?" Niklaus chuckled. "Has he gone mad?"

"Yes, well, I think he knows he made the worst of two choices now," Elijah smirked. "But it could've been worse. His father thought I should use my slipper on him but I assured him, as a vampire, my hand would more than suffice on a human bottom for a first offense."

"Technically it's his second offense," Niklaus scoffed as the three started down the hall away from the children's rooms. "It's just his first time getting caught."

Elijah relaxed into Hayley's hold as she wrapped an arm around his waist, dreaming about the comfort of his bed after such a long day. "And I am sure it will be his last."

-M-

Rebekah sat on the edge of the tub, her fingers dipped into the foamy blue bubble bath she bought just for Oliver only to have the boy standing in front of her, his arms tightly clenched over his chest as he stared her down, refusing to get in the tub. Marcel stood in the doorway, a smile on his face as he watched Rebekah try to reason with a toddler and lose.

"Please get in the bath, Oliver," she nearly begged. "You're all stinky from playing with the animals at the petting zoo today. You need one."

"I like being 'tinky!" He stomped his feet.

"You can't be stinky, it's not good for your skin. Besides," Rebekah scooped up a handful of blue bubbles and blue them off the tip of her fingers at the boy. "The bubbles smell like raspberries."

Oliver kept his stern face in spite of the bubbles tickling his toes. "I don't care 'bout ra'thberries. I don't wanna bath. I had a bath yesterday."

Rebekah immediately turned her attention to Marcel. "A little assistance would be nice."

Marcel shrugged. "What do you want me to do? Bribe him? Something tells me a bottle of bourbon won't help this situation."

Rebekah sighed as she stood up. "Maybe not with him, I could use a glass. Or two. Maybe a nice full-bodied red wine instead."

"Can I have some?" Oliver perked up, assuming 'red' meant 'strawberries'.

Rebekah's eyes bucked in surprise but Marcel couldn't help but laugh.

"No, you may not," Rebekah answered firmly. "Wine is a grown-up drink. You're just a little boy, you can't have wine until...you're as old as me."

Oliver stomped his bare feet on the tile floor as tears of frustration rolled down his cheeks. Rebekah stood in silent shock as her once sweet Ollie proceeded to through a tantrum in front of her over not being able to have wine.

"I don't remember," Marcel said. "Is this normal behavior or did we get a broken one?"

Rebekah lifted Oliver kicking and screaming onto her hip and carried him out of the bathroom. "Definitely a broken one. But he's ours. There are no returns polices on Mikaelsons."

Marcel chuckled at her joke. "Always and forever printed right there on the label."

As Oliver's cries calmed with Rebekah's hand rubbing soothingly against his back, Rebekah said, "Perhaps a nice long sleep will help reset him."

Marcel and Rebekah carried Oliver back to his room and the boy calmed down on the walk.

Izzy sat in her bed reading over her notes from her day with Vincent under the light of the lamp on her nightstand when Rebekah and Marcel came in with Oliver. The first thing she noticed was the drying tears on the boy's face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We wouldn't give him wine," Rebekah huffed as she opened a drawer in the dresser at the corner of the room. She grabbed a pair of dinosaur pajamas for Oliver and brought them back over to him. "Okay, Ollie. You won't take a bath tonight but tomorrow, you have to take one before we go to the mall. Okay?"

Oliver shook his head vehemently. "No bath."

Marcel knelt in front of Oliver and said calmly, "Oliver, if you're stinky, you have to take a bath. I know it sucks, but those are the rules, buddy."

"What rules?"

"The...rules of life. It'll keep you healthy. Being stinky means there are germs on your body and you have to wash them off or you'll get sick."

"I don't care 'bout 'tinky," the angry toddler repeated as he crawled into bed without changing into his pajamas. "I like germs and I hate baths."

Just as Izzy considered stepping in, Marcel said, "If you take a bath, Rebekah will buy you candy at the mall tomorrow."

"Really," Oliver shouted.

Rebekah's eyes widened. She gave Marcel's chest a light slap and said, "Me? So I can be the one to hear Elijah's mouth about it?"

"Well, I would do it but I will be otherwise occupied."

Rebekah chanced a glance into Oliver's big, eager eyes and said, "Two pieces and that's it."

Oliver sprang to his feet, jumping with excitement as high as he could.

"And this is him without sugar," Rebekah mumbled to Marcel.

With a wide smile, Marcel said, "I still consider this a win."

Not wanting to waste any time, Oliver crawled out of bed and grabbed both of their hands in his, pulling them back to the bathroom.

Surrounded by blue bubbles and all the bath toys Rebekah could fit in one bag, Oliver played in the bath a lot longer than he was expecting but neither Marcel nor Rebekah rushed him. They weren't sure when they would be able to convince him to take another one so they decided to let him soak in this one for as long as he could.

His arms growing heavy as his body finally started to slowly shut down, Oliver wiped away the bubble-beard that made him 'Captain Blue Beard' and said, "All clean."

"Really?" Rebekah asked. "Did you get behind the ears?" He nodded. "And between the toesies?" Oliver gave a tired laugh as he nodded yes. "Well, alright then."

Rebekah grabbed a fluffy white towel from the shelf and held it out above Oliver. The boy stood into the towel, allowing Rebekah to wrap his body in it before pulling him from the tub.

Marcel pulled the stopper from the drain as Rebekah dried Oliver in the big towel.

"I don't smell 'tinky no more," Oliver said proudly to Marcel. "So I get two candies tomorrow."

Marcel smiled down at the boy, his bright smile causing the old vampire to fell human again.

"Two small pieces of candy," said Rebekah.

Oliver spun around to her, his dark eyebrows in a tight knot. "No. Two big candies."

"Oliver," Marcel's firm tone drew Oliver's attention back to him. "We are the grown-ups. If Rebekah says two small pieces of candy, you're gonna get two small pieces of candy."

Oliver's lip trembled as his tears began to form anew. "Th-that's not fair. You tricked me!"

The boy pulled out of Rebekah's hold and threw himself on the floor, kicking and screaming in frustration.

Rebekah stared in amazement at the boy's tantrum, not sure what to do.

Without missing a beat, Marcel picked up the towel the boy kicked off in his anger, wrapped it back around Oliver's body until the child was almost swaddled in it, and held him in a tight hug, rocking him back and forth and whispering soft coos into the boy's ear until his crying subsided and the tired, angry boy drifted off to sleep.

"How...how did you do that?" Rebekah asked in shock.

Marcel shrugged as he stood and began carrying Oliver back to his bedroom. "He was tired and frustrated. He really just wanted to go to sleep."

"But..." Rebekah followed behind Marcel amazed at how easy this parenting-thing came to him. "How did you know what to do?"

Marcel paused in his stride, suddenly surprised that he knew what to do as well. His mother was gone by the time he was Oliver's age and the Governor was certainly never one to hug him when if he was having a fit.

"I don't know," he muttered. Then, staring down at Oliver's peaceful, sleeping face, he felt a strange, yet familiar power within him. "It just...seemed like something Klaus would do."

Rebekah stood on her toes at Marcel's side and kissed his blushing cheek. "Guess my good-for-nothing brother was good-for-something after all."

Before they could start walking again, Marcel spotted Elijah coming down the hall. He froze completely, feeling every bit like a boy with a tobacco pipe in his hands again.

Elijah's eyes narrowed at seeing Marcel disobeying him once again by straying outside his bedroom with Rebekah. But then he noticed the fluffy towel bundled in Marcel's arms and his frown softened.

"Tuckered out, are we," said Elijah, peeping over the towel to look down at Oliver's sleeping face. "Was he easy to put down?"

"As easy as a John Grisham novel," Marcel joked.

"Certainly hope you didn't use my imported bath soaks for him." Elijah cut his eyes at Rebekah.

The blonde Original smiled widely and said, "Not for his bath, no. But...I might sneak a couple for myself."

Elijah shut his eyes and shook his head, making a mental note to find a new hiding spot for his expensive bath soaks before Rebekah uses them all.

"It gets easier," he stated in regards to Oliver as he started back down the hall. "Don't be afraid to be a little firm with him when need be. Children need discipline. Otherwise, you run the risk of spoiling them. And the two of you will not survive a spoiled child."'

"Elijah," Marcel suddenly called.

Elijah stopped and turned to face him but Marcel didn't know what to say, or rather, he didn't know how to say what he wanted to say without sounding rather childish.

In a prideful grumble, he said, "You're not...I mean...l'm...you said-"

Eliah held up a hand, silencing Marcel's lost speech. "Take care of Oliver. He needs you right now. Your duty to him comes before anyone else. Even me."

With a smirk, Marcel asked, "Is that the advice you used to give Niklaus about me?"

Elijah spun on his heels, walking back in the direction of his bedroom. "No, Marcellus. That's what Niklaus used to tell me."

Flashback

"Niklaus, would you just stop and listen to me for five seconds. It is about your kingdom!" Elijah grew frustrated at his brother as Niklaus continued digging through the cellar cabinets muttering to himself about blankets and damp cloths. "The Northern wolf-pack needs an answer by this evening. What message do you want to send, brother? Are they accepted into the alliance or not?"

Klaus emerged from the cabinets with an armful of thick, long-forgotten old quilts. "I knew there were more blankets somewhere," stated proudly. He brushed past Elijah as he took long strides upstairs into the courtyard, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only. "Now, I just have to get a servant to clean them...and find some more towels for his forehead. And maybe ice. Ice is probably better. Ice will keep the fever down. I think. I haven't had a fever in so long."

Finally turning to acknowledge Elijah's presence as if his brother hadn't been following him through the courtyard all along, Niklaus said, "Elijah, does ice break fevers?"

With a heavy sigh, Elijah said, "Niklaus, you have to focus. The doctor is on his way to take care of Marcellus. You can't be sure if something is wrong with him until the doctor examines him. In the meantime, you have a Kingdom to run."

Klaus groaned at his brother's unhelpful answer and started walking back upstairs, mumbling to himself again.

"Are you really willing to let your Kingdom fall into shambles over what might be a simple cold?"

Niklaus suddenly paused. He turned to Elijah, a coldness in his glare. "Have you been in there with him?" Niklaus asked, taking slow steps back down the staircase to his brother. "Have you touch his head, felt the heat of the fire raging inside him enflame your frozen hand? Have you seen his fitful quivering, bundling under blankets to hide from a chill in the air that's simply not there? Have you seen the tears on his face as he cries about the pain washing over his body?"

Elijah was silent as Niklaus stood inches away from him. Everyone in the New World knew those symptoms.

"He came to me weeks ago, Elijah, attempting to get my attention but I was too busy with the wolves. Then again with the witches. For weeks, months, I've been too busy to give him the attention he deserved. Then...I told him if he would just let me focus on getting all the treaties signed in this damn kingdom we'd go on a hunting trip, just the two of us. No wolves, no vampires, no witches, just me and him. He's been perfect, Elijah," Klaus paused as his voice broke, thinking about how Marcel had to have suffered for days on his own before bringing Niklaus's attention to his pain. "If I was giving him half the attention I gave this damn Kingdom...I would've seen it sooner...before it progressed this far."

Klaus spun away from Elijah before a tear threatened to break from his eye.

"I hardly cared about turning this penal colony into a true Kingdom before Marcellus," Klaus stated coldly. "And I only worked so hard to bring that vision into fruition over the past few months to ensure that his life will be easy; so that he could someday raise his children in a better world than he and I were born into. But if anything happens to him, brother, you'll no longer have the stress of keeping the peace between the species. As I will shut off my humanity and become the monster you so hate, and I will ravage everything between here and Virginia before I even consider taking a break."

End Flashback

-M-

Marcel's king size, memory foam mattress practically called his name. He left Rebekah enjoying the peace if her bath to heed his own calling.

He threw his damp towel in the hamper by his door as he dug through his drawers for clean underwear.

As he slid on a pair of boxers, he wondered what Klaus was doing. If he was sleeping. As the thought weighed in his mind, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he found out himseld.

He slipped on his pajama bottoms and headed for the door. As soon as he threw the door open, he was greeted by Hope in soft tears, her hand raised as if she was just about to knock before Marcel opened the door.

Without a word, she threw her arms around him, pressing her face into his abdomen as she let her tears stream.

"Hey now," Marcel exclaimed, shocked by the girl's sudden appearance. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Marcel's gentle hand on top of her head eased Hope's tears.

Through hitched sobs, she said, "I-I...I used my magic to pull a prank on Finn with Sebastian and-and mom and Uncle Elijah saw and-and then they told dad and-and...m- mom used the brush on me and-and...d-daddy started lecturing me after I'd already been spanked and I didn't want to hear it s-so I turned my back on him and-and...then he spanked me too. And then I yelled and made them leave when mommy tried to tuck me in because I was angry...so I got two spankings and two lectures and no one tucked me in and-and...I'm really tired and I just really wanna go to sleep but-but...I just wanna stop crying and go to sleep!"

Hope's heavy crying returned by the end of her speech.

"Calm down" Marcel lifted the crying girl into his arms and Hope wrapped her arms around his neck, crying against his shoulder as he rocked her on his way back to her bedroom. "You're gonna be okay. Your big brother, Marcel's gotcha."

He walked around the room, rocking and shushing his little sister until her torrential tears became soft sniffles. Then he tucked her into bed, pulling the blanket up to her ears.

Hope grabbed Marcel's hand before he could walk away.

Her eyes too heavy to open, Hope said, "I-I'm happy you're my brother, Marcy. Love you."

Marcel brushed Hope's blonde hair from her face and placed a soft kiss on her temple just as the girl nodded off for the night. "Love you too, Hope."

He closed her bedroom door behind him and started back towards Klaus's studio. The door was closed when he showed up but he didn't bother knocking before going in to find Niklaus focused on smearing paint on an easel.

Klaus didn't turn around at hearing the door open behind him. He knew exactly who it was.

Marcel slipped into the room and laid on the sofa, silently watching as his father created a masterpiece in front of him.

As Klaus stood back to contemplate his work thus far, he finally spoke. "Is this to be your nightly routine?"

"So long as suffering alone is yours."

Marcel smiled as Klaus turned to glare at him.

"Oliver threw a tantrum after his bath tonight," Marcel felt the urge to admit.

Klaus grabbed a new pallet, mixing more colors together as he split his focus between his art and his son.

"Did he now. What upset him?"

Marcel laughed as he thought back on it. "We bribed him into taking a bath with candy but then he found out after that it wasn't going to be as much candy as he was hoping...so, he threw a tantrum."

"Seems his reaction was more your fault than his."

Confused, Marcel asked, "How?"

"You don't bribe children, Marcellus. You tell them whay is going to happen and make it happen. If they feel like they've won something over you, they'll never stop trying to win...and you will have to deal with his tantrums whenever he loses for the rest of your life. Why do you think Kol is how he is? Our mother used to bribe him with the possibility of learning new spells if he watched Rebekah and Henrik while she went out foraging. Now the boy feels as if he should be rewarded after every good deed otherwise it's not worth doing."

"So, thats why you never tried bribing me to behave when I was a boy."

"Exactly. I learned from my parents mistakes in more ways than one." Klaus started his painting again, he said, "Apparently...Hope has taken a liking to being a bully. Particularly to Finn. Elijah theorizes that she is only responding to my own treatment of Finn."

Marcel rolled over to his back, prefering to stare at the roof as he knew where the conversation was headed.

"She told me. Don't you think you guys were a little harsh on her? I mean...its Finn."

Niklaus sat his paint brush down, turning his focus to Marcel completely.

"I was afraid you might say that," Klaus strolled over to the sofa and stood over Marcel's head, staring down at his son. "Sit up. Talk to me a bit."

With a groan, Marcel sat up straight and Klaus sat down beside him.

"Finn...betrayed this family," Niklaus started. "He tried to destroy this family. He tried to kill my infant daughter. And he cursed Kol to suffer and die."

"Is there a point to all of this, Klaus? Besides reminding me why we should hate Finn?"

Klaus looked Marcel in the eyes, the blues of his eyes suddenly cold. "You and Rebekah brought Mikael to New Orleans."

Marcel stiffened as Klaus reminded him of his shame.

"You both conspired to dagger me with your army of vamps. And then you proceeded to steal 12 years away from me with a torturous blade, of which, effects still haunt me. Kol has betrayed this family more times than I care to rehash. Elijah conspired with the Mystic Falls riffraff to have me killed and he even tried to take your very life...And I am the devil himself. I am overbearing, cruel to those I do not deem family and worse to those I do. I have taken more lovers from my siblings than even our enemies. And yet, despite it all...we forgive each other. It is what family does. I fear that keeping Finn in a box for 900 years some how caused us to forget his bounds as our blood because he did not suffer through the centuries with us. But he is still a Mikaelson, Marcel. And we must accept him. No matter what."

Marcel let out a heavy sigh. "Are you trying to say that we have to start being nice to Finn?"

Niklaus rose from the sofa, returning to his waiting masterpiece. "Unless you want to soon feel what currently aids your sister to sleep, I would recommend it."

"You can't force me to like him."

"You don't have to like him but you will be civil." Cutting his eyes back at Marcel, Klaus added, "And you will put an immediate in to your tormenting him. Especially in front of the children. They won't learn to trust him if they don't believe we trust him."

"Maybe it's safer if they don't."

"It would be prudent of them to not trust any of us, Marcellus. We are vampires after all, cursed to survive on the very substance that courses through their veins keeping them alive. But we are all also capable of being better than our past, including Finn. He is my brother, Marcellus. I love him in spite of everything, I want him as an ally, as family. I trust him to change, Marcel. If you, Kol, or Hope do anything to hinder his progress, I will use whatever resource at my disposal - Freya's magic, Elijah's palm, Hayley's brush - which ever medium is most suitable at the time to drive this point in: Finn is a Mikaelson. Mikaelsons are always and forever."

Marcel laid back across the sofa, turning his back to Klaus.

Klaus smirked at Marcel's response as he returned to his painting.