*slowly wakes up from her fanfiction slumber with a shy smile* I feel so bad, I've been gone for I don't even know how long. I'm really sorry, I've just been dealing with a ton of shit for the past few weeks. My life just really sucks, to be honest. It got a bit better, but now that the weather is getting colder, I can feel my brain becoming mush. It happens. I've been trying to keep myself busy so I wont have time to let myself fall into a depressive, antisocial mood, but I've just been slowly losing interest in everything. But I've been speaking to someone every other week so hopefully this winter won't be too bad.

And I don't know if you want to know how sucky my life is but the run down is: my dog's cancer took it's worst turn and it won't be long now before he dies, my mom almost died and was in the hospital a couple weeks ago, both of my sisters were away all summer (one moved across country with my two nieces and newborn nephew, and the other was away at a place I won't mention and she just came back home on Thursday) so I was having a weird time adjusting to being an only child for four months, and I've been having weekly appointments because my dumbass doctors think I have an eating disorder. I mean, towards the end of the summer, I was reading like a maniac so I didn't have time to write, but then school started and so did all this shit, and I've been losing interest in everything. But now I have a five day weekend and I planned to get at least this chapter done. I've had it planned for almost nine months, and I had half of it written for over two months now- I think it's time to finish it! Especially since I've been looking into colleges, and since I want to be a writer, it's time to get back to my writing, what do you think?

And also, updating this story is in celebration of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals returning the other night! Did you guys watch it? They were actually better than I was expecting... Until, of course, Steroline. I'm sorry if any of you ship them, but I prefer them as friends. And then on TO, my favorite parts were the flashbacks, of course! I got to see my hubby Kol, and then that scene where they were all looking at the ceiling was adorable like my little clueless baby vamp originals :) What were your favorite parts?

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or TO or else the season premiers would have been a long-overdue crossover.

*January 15th, 2015*

"Happy Birthday!" Katherine and Elijah exclaimed when Freya entered the kitchen that morning.

The now-fifteen-year-old slightly jumped in surprise at the exclamation. Both her brother and his wife sat at the breakfast table, each with a twin in their arms, feeding them a bottle (Elijah was feeding Sophia a bottle, but Katherine was just finishing breastfeeding Hayden, who was now sleeping).

"How does it feel to be a year older?" Katherine grinned at the teenager.

Freya shrugged and took a seat at the breakfast table, her hand leaning across the table to grab a spoonful of fruit.

"Just as it did yesterday," she answered.

"Yikes, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Katherine teased.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked, taking the kinder route of his sister's moodiness. She was a teenager after all. He remembers how Rebekah acted when she was a teenager and knew not to tease either of his sisters.

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just tired.." Elijah gave her a look. "It's just, I haven't had a good birthday in a few years.. They never did anything for us in foster care, and I just stopped enjoying this day."

Elijah's mood faltered. Knowing that his sister hasn't enjoyed a day celebrating her in years made him feel perturbed and desolate. He had already wanted to make her birthday special, but now he's even more determined to see her enjoy this day.

He glanced at Katherine who had a sad frown on her face. They shared a sad look, silently agreeing that they were going to make this day special for the girl they took in all those months ago.

"Well, we can't accept that!" Katherine cried. Elijah nodded in agreement.

He began thinking of ways to make this a memorable and outstanding birthday, Freya's first birthday with her family, but he realized an unfortunate reality. Despite living with her for not even six months, he doesn't know her as well as he wished he did. He knows she loves music. But he doesn't know tiny, little details of her past that could help him plan a delightful birthday.

"What did you and your father used to do?" he asked, quietly.

Freya's eyes stung with tears at the mention of her father, but she quickly blinked them away. "Well.." She wasn't sure she should share the wonderful secrets of times she shared with the person who loved her most in this world, but she knew it couldn't hurt. Times she spent with her dad were the happiest memories she owned. It would definitely make her feel better to remember the happiest times of her life. "He'd surprise me with a big breakfast in bed.. And he'd leave little gifts along with clues throughout the house leading up to the biggest gift of them all. And we'd go out for dinner, and pig out on cake and ice cream or some new dessert we'd like to try, but it always ended up tasting horrible so we'd go to the grocery store and buy crappy factory cake but it was a tradition and I loved it." A sad smile appeared on her face as she stared off into nothingness. "It wasn't much, but it was special because it was just me and him." She was her dad's only child, only family even, and he always enjoyed spoiling her or taking her places. He thought she cared about the materials and the trips, but even at age seven, all she really ever cared about was getting to spend time with her father. Now she couldn't even have that as a crummy birthday present.

"That sounds lovely," Elijah said softly. "I'm sure you miss him."

"I do," she nodded sadly.

"Was there anything you and him did that was extra special? Maybe not for your birthday but-"

"Hello?" Someone called in from the front door. That voice was all too familiar. "We come bearing gifts!"

"Caroline, it's not polite to just waltz into people's houses," Katherine scolded as Caroline and Klaus entered the kitchen.

Caroline smirked and held out a set a keys. "I didn't waltz in; you gave me a key, remember?"

"Shiiit," Katherine cursed under her breath.

Caroline rolled her eyes and turned to Freya. "Happy birthday, my love!" She shoved a birthday bag on the teen's lap.

"God, how does everyone know it's my birthday?" Freya asked, a small smile slowly turning her face around.

"We do our research," Klaus grinned.

Freya opened the bag and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a new record player for her albums. Wrapped in tissue paper on the side was a new disk for her to save her digital music since her computer space was filling up. The memory disk was a great bonus, but the record player was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She used to love records when her dad was alive. But she had to give away the player before the next foster parent came to get her. She kept her favorite albums, as the rest got taken away too, but she could never play them. The ones she kept were ones that held some sort of significance to her father, therefore making them important to her.

"It's beautiful, I love it," she grinned. An actual smile full of tears, happy tears, appeared on her face. "Thanks guys," she told Klaus and Caroline. She wanted to express in more words how much she appreciated this gift, but she was speechless. Sharing a look with the two other blondes, she could tell they knew how she felt.

Caroline smiled, grateful she loved the gift. Klaus nodded and squeezed his sister's shoulder. "Happy birthday," he told her. She smiled at him, blinking away her tears.

"We haven't gotten you a present yet, because we wanted to know what you'd like to do," Elijah explained as he burped his daughter.

"You haven't answered our question yet," Katherine reminded the young blonde.

Freya blinked as she tried to remember what she had been asked before Caroline and Klaus walked in. "In the summer, my dad used to take me camping."

"Camping?!" Caroline squealed.

"Camping?" Katherine groaned.

"Camping?" Sage asked curiously as she, Finn, and Tate entered the house.

"WHY DO WE KEEP GIVING OUT KEYS TO OUR HOUSE?" Katherine yelled, waking up Hayden. She cursed herself and lifted her baby up to soothe him, and he immediately went back to sleep. She sighed in relief. A fussy, crying, sleep-deprived Hayden was not something you wanted to deal with at eight o'clock in the morning.

"Very smooth, Katherine," Finn chuckled as he leaned on the back of Freya's chair. He bent forward to place a kiss on her hair, "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," she smiled at him. Sage sent her a wink, making Freya laugh.

Tate climbed onto his Aunt Freya's lap. "It's your birthday! This means we get cake." Before Freya could make a comment about Tate loving cake more than her, her brother spoke.

"No, this means we go camping," Elijah announced.

"Camping?" Everyone turned their heads to Elijah. They all stared at him. Some surprised, some happy, some mortified.

"It's the middle of January!" Katherine cried. "Where would we even go camping?"

"The Gilbert Lakehouse!" Caroline suggested.

"Ew, why would we use their lakehouse?" Klaus joked but Caroline still slapped his shoulder:

"Come on, Kat. You're a Gilbert, you can use it. And then invite your lovely in-laws," Caroline smiled sweetly.

"But camping..." Katherine groaned.

"It's not really camping if it's at a lakehouse," Finn pointed out.

"Yes it is! We can still hike in the woods and swim in the lake, and do campfires and sing songs and make s'mores- we'll just have comfy beds to sleep in at night, and plumbing and cable," Caroline explained.

"How do you know all of this?" Sage asked.

"I'm Elena's best friend, you don't think I was invited there once or twice? Seriously, it's such a cute house and it's right on the lake- and Virginia isn't even that cold or snowy this time of year!"

"Sounds like fun!" Freya immediately grinned. She used to love camping. And she's always wanted to stay in a lakehouse or something similar. And to spend it on her birthday with her new family, it immediately lifted her spirits.

"Really?" Elijah smiled.

"Yeah!" The birthday girl nodded.

"Then it's settled," Elijah slapped his fist on the table like a judge. "This weekend we will all head out to the lakehouse for 10 days-"

"What about Freya's school?" Katherine asked.

"And work?" Klaus added.

"And the kids?" Sage finished.

"Nonesense," Elijah cut them all off. "I am going to go call Kol and Bonnie. I will see you all on Saturday." Everyone shared a look agreeing that Elijah has officially lost his mind, but knew not to question it. Knowing how Elijah wants what is best for everyone, they had high hopes that this weekend will turn out to be one they'd remember forever.

...

"This is so exciting!" Freya exclaimed as she helped Elijah load suitcases and bags into the back of the van.

They found Jenna and Alaric to watch the twins because the twins were too young to participate in and enjoy camping. It would be too much of a hassle to bring them along, and Jenna and Alaric were nothing but happy to watch them for a few days. They have gotten better with the loss of their baby, but are still heartbroken nonetheless. Even so, they are still happy and grateful for Katherine and Elijah. Katherine was not so excited to leave her babies behind, she felt even worse when she had to return back to work in December. But after a lot of kisses and nose touches, she handed her babies to Jenna and Alaric, and made Elijah drive her away before she changed her mind.

"Very," Katherine added dryly.

"Oh come on," Elijah wrapped an arm around his wife, kissing her temple. "It's going to be fun," he promised.

"Yeah yeah," she unwrapped his arm from her shoulder and walked away.

All of the adults were able to get the next week off of work, and school for Caroline (and Freya, Tate, and Emma). Hayley had left for England last week, but agreed to let Hope stay with Klaus and Caroline for a while so she can get her stuff together in England and bring it all back. Hope had no problem never returning to the place she grew up. Despite how small and boring this town is, Hope had fallen in love with it and the people. She was eager to complete the move to be closer to her father.

She was young. She didn't understand how hard moving can be. But she didn't care. She begged her mom, and Hayley gave in. Hayley didn't know how long it would take to switch her job, cancel her landlord, transfer Hope's school, and pack everything up, but she knew her daughter would be safe with Klaus and Caroline, well at least Caroline. Hayley thought the blonde was a kind soul, and she loved that Hope had someone successful and beautiful to look up to. It made her a bit sad and a tad bit jealous that Hope admired Caroline so much, and fell in love with her so easily. But petty jealousy was not one of Hayley's qualities, so she pushed her feelings aside and let Hope, Klaus, and Caroline be their own little happy family. It was the least she could do after all of the lying she did and the secrets she kept.

Tate and Emma were thrilled to go camping. They had never been before, but Emma was more eager to go see the Gilbert lakehouse. Jeremy and Elena said it was fine if they used it, especially since Katherine was going, as she was a Gilbert by blood. Katherine felt weird using something owned by her birth parents, but since she became so close to her birth siblings, she couldn't really complain about being a Gilbert instead of a Pierce.

"Caroline and Klaus are driving up with Bonnie and Kol," Elijah announced as he checked his phone.

"Emma and Hope are going to drive them crazy in that car," Katherine grinned. "Little girls can get pretty wild, trust me."

"No talking yet, we get Tate," Elijah teased.

"Aww yay," Freya cooed. "I love that little boy."

"And he loves you, too," Katherine smiled.

Elijah touched his sister's shoulder lightly to get her attention. "We have one more surprise for you before we leave."

"What?" Freya raised an eyebrow.

"Me!" A voice jumped out from the door to the house.

Freya turned around in surprise. She saw Rebekah creep out from the house, Matt grinning behind her.

"Rebekah, Matt!" Freya laughed. She ran to hug her sister, and then her brother-in-law. "What are you guys doing here? What happened to your honeymoon?"

Rebekah reached for her sister to pull her into yet another hug. "Oh, we can take a quick break to come camping for my sister's birthday."

"Really?" Freya smiled.

"Of course," Matt returned the smile.

"Are we ready to rock and roll?" Rebekah asked. Elijah nodded as he closed the back of the van securing all of their stuff. They all climbed into the van and drove to pick up Finn, Sage, and Tate, and then off to the lakehouse they go.

...

"Matt!" Caroline squealed when she jumped out of the parked car and ran to her childhood friend. She reached him, throwing her arms around him. "You made it!"

Bonnie was right behind her, and gave Rebekah a hug to show that she was wanted just as much as Matt.

Caroline pulled away from the hug with Matt so he could hug Bonnie. She and Rebekah shared a look, one that was devious and playful, not annoyed or disgusted. They both laughed and leaned forward to hug each other.

"Caroline and Rebekah hugging? Never thought I'd see the day," Kol announced as he jumped out of the van.

"Oh shush," Rebekah scolded her brother before hugging him.

"Tell us all about Europe!" Caroline pleaded, grabbing Matt's hand. "Is it beautiful? Where have you guys gone so far? Are you having fun?"

"Slow down, girly," Rebekah chuckled. "And fyi; we spend most of our time in the hotel room."

"Too much information!" Finn shouted as he followed Sage and Katherine into the house, carrying both of the ladies' lugagge.

Rebekah was about to speak when she yelped in surprise from someone jumping on her back. The person was too heavy for her to carry, so they immediately fell back on their feet, but still kept their arms locked around her shoulders. She instantly knew who jumped her. She leaned her head back with a smile on her face. "Hi, Nik."

He grinned. "Hello, sister."

"Rebekah! Nikalus! Stop fooling around, we need help bringing luggages in!" Elijah yelled.

"WE'RE ONLY HERE TEN DAYS," Rebekah shouted back.

"TELL THAT TO KATHERINE."

"HEY. NO SELLING ME OUT," Katherine's voice boomed from upstairs.

Rebekah and Klaus were the only ones remaining outside, besides the three kids who were playing tag by the entrance to the woods. They shared a look and shrugged before grabbing the last of the suitcases.

"Get ready for ten days of hell," Klaus muttered as they stepped into the lakehouse.

...

"Okay, so I made a list of fun camp activities to do while we're here," Caroline squealed as she handed everyone gathered in the living room a piece of paper.

"That looks dangerous," Sage said as she read off hang gliding across the lake.

"No, no, and no. I could chip a nail," Katherine said about every other activity on the list.

"While these do look fun... It seems a bit... Busy," Elijah added.

"Yeah, aren't we here to just enjoy Freya's birthday?" Bonnie asked.

"Love," Klaus put his hand on his fiancé's shoulder. "Your ideas are lovely and would be a lot of fun, but maybe we should let Freya pick out what she wants to do."

Caroline nodded. "These were just ideas, God, I'm not that controlling," she laughed. She turned to the birthday girl. "What would you like to do first?"

Freya shrugged. She looked out the window and was surprised how sunny it was. It was the middle of January and it wasn't even that cold outside, thanks to global warming. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that it probably wasn't going to last, so she knew they couldn't waste a beautiful day like today.

"Rope swing into the lake," she answered shyly, as if not sure whether everyone would want to do it or not.

"Yes!" Kol whispered excitedly. He was thankful his foot had healed ahead of schedule. He still had to be careful not to get injured too badly, but rope jumping into the lake isn't dangerous. Is it? Nah.

"Are we swimming in the lake?" Emma asked as she, Hope, and Tate ran into the living room.

"It's really nice outside and I really want to swim!" Hope added.

"Pleeeeaseee?" Tate put on his biggest puppy dog face.

"Lucky for you," Bonnie said, "That's exactly what we're going to do."

...

"No no no, I don't want to jump into the lake," Katherine pouted as Caroline dragged her up the rock. "It's so high up! What if I fall and die?"

"If I can do it, so can you!" Hope shouted.

"Oh be quiet, you're five!" Katherine yelled down.

"I'm eight!" The little girl corrected as she splashed Klaus and Kol.

"Well, whatever." Katherine turned around to leave but Caroline blocked her path. "I don't want to jump. I would rather stay alive. I think my safety outweighs your wishes."

Caroline chuckled. "Kat, the lake is huge, and the rope will swing you to the center and you'll be literally two feet above the water when you jump. And even if you slipped off the cliff, it's only 10 feet high."

"Slip off the cliff? No way, I'm going back." She tried to weave her away down to the ground, but seeing how she'd have to weave around many jagged rocks, jumping into the lake seemed less dangerous than climbing down the rocks. She turned to face Caroline. "What if I crash into a tree? I could break a nail."

"The rope doesn't even reach the trees!" Caroline retorted.

"Oh, for the love of god," Kol exasperated as he climbed up the rocks. He appeared behind Caroline and Katherine, reaching out his hand to grab onto Katherine's shoulder, pretending to catch his balance. "Just-" he applied pressure to Katherine's shoulder, pushing her forward. "-push her in." His voice was washed out by the older Gilbert twin screaming at the top of her lungs.

Everyone began laughing as Katherine hit the water with a splash.

It wasn't a pretty sight when she emerged from the water with a look that could kill. "Are you FREAKING KIDDNG ME, KOL?! I am going to kill you!"

Kol clapped his hands together and laughed mischievously. When the rope swung back his way, he grabbed ahold of it. He stepped backwards before kicking off with his feet. He swung down the cliff before jumping into the water. "KI-YAH!" He exclaimed as he leaped through the air.

Of course, to add to Katherine's misery, he landed right next to her, splashing her all over again. When he surfaced from the water, Katherine attacked him.

She attempted to drown him, but he was stronger than her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and tossed her through the air. She struggled against him, splashing him. He loosened his grip, but spluttered water in her face.

"Someone help me!" she cried. She tried to push him under the water, but he appeared half a second later and splashed her, drowning her in the process.

Elijah appeared between them, pulling Katherine away from Kol. He had to try his hardest to stop laughing. "Break it up. The last thing I need is my brother and wife killing each other."

"Oh, I wasn't going to kill him," Katherine pshted while Kol claimed,
"Oh please, I wouldn't have killed her."

"Only severely injure him," Katherine finished.

"You wish," Kol retorted. She rolled her eyes but had a small smile at the corner of her mouth.

Rebekah swam over to Katherine. "Kol used to push me into the water all of the time. Pushing people is his specialty."

"Well, drowning people is mine," the brunette declared.

"Actually, it's Klaus's," Finn revealed as he tossed a giggling Tate out of the water.

"Hey!" Klaus exclaimed as he played with his daughter.

"You guys are lunatics," Bonnie couldn't stop laughing.

"You love us anyway," Kol hugged her from behind. She yelped and dived under the water, swimming away from him.

"Hey, come back here!" He shouted as he chased after her.

"Watch out!" Freya screams as she swings the rope into the water.

"I think it's time to head inside," Sage announced.

"Yeah, it's getting late," Finn said as he gestured to the setting sun. The sky was a mélange of blue, yellow, and pink as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

"Wow, we've been out here for hours," Matt declared. "Yikes, I'm turning into a prune," he said as he examined his hands.

"I don't know about any of you, but it got freezing out," Rebekah shivered. She swam to her husband and hugged him, basking in his body heat. "Whose idea was it to swim in January?"

"I didn't think it was that bad," Bonnie admits. "And you guys know me; over-bearing, responsible parent who fears every disease ever."

"You were good today!" Emma exclaims.

"Why, thank you, baby," Bonnie smiled as her daughter swam over to her. The water helped the little girl ascend so she was face to face with her mother. She stepped one foot on Bonnie's knee, and rested her floaties on her shoulders.

"You're welcome," Emma kissed her mother's nose. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Bonnie smiled at her daughter.

"And I love both of you!" Kol grabs Emma and lifts her on his shoulders, making the five-year old squeal in delight.

"Oh, Kol. Always one to ruin a moment," Elijah shook his head.

"I think he livens up the room." Bonnie defends her boyfriend.

"See?" Kol nods his head in approval at his girlfriend. "At least, someone understands me."

Elijah ignores his youngest brother's comment. "I think we should head inside now-"

"Nooo!" Hope, Tate, Emma, and Kol protested.

"What are we going to do now?" Hope asked as she ran out of the water over to Caroline, who had been drying off while the last couple waterlogged interactions occurred. Caroline held open a giant towel, which the young girl ran into. The older blonde quickly dried off the soaked little girl. Once Hope was dry, Caroline pulled her into her lap. Hope cuddled up to Caroline as the older girl kissed her hair.

"What does the birthday girl want to do next?" Katherine asks Freya.

The birthday girl in question pretended to think. "I think it's a perfect night to do a campfire and make s'mores?" Freya suggests shyly.

"Okay, but that's your birthday cake," Sage teases.

"Wait, no actual cake?" Tate pouts as he hits the water with his fists. "I wanted birthday cake!"

"Oh no, honey, we'll bake one tomorrow," Caroline promises.

"Can we help?" Emma asks, Hope and Tate eagerly nodding along.

"Of course," Bonnie smiles, knowing how much kids love to bake sweets.

"Yeah, I'm not cooking," Kol scrunches his nose.

"It's baking, dumbass," Caroline sticks her tongue out at her fiancé's brother. He makes an equally obnoxious face at her.

"Can we just please go take warm showers and then sit around the campfire?" Rebekah snaps, shivering in her towel.

"Sounds beautiful to me," Katherine agrees as she exited the lake. Feeling the cold air hit her vulnerable body, she awkwardly ran to the pile of towels and quickly wrapped the purple one around herself.

"Don't take forever girls or you'll use all the hot water," Elijah warns them.

Rebekah and Katherine took that as their cue to leave. "Wouldn't count on it!" they shout as they run in the house.

Sage understands her sister in-laws' pain. She was cold and wanted nothing more than a nice, hot shower. But she knew she had to wash up her son first. She got out of the lake, wrapped herself in a towel, before picking up a towel for her little monster. "Come on Tate, let's get you inside-"

"No!" He violently shook his head, swimming to hide behind his father.

"You can have extra chocolate on your s'mores," Finn said. Sage shot him a scary look but he smiled and shrugged. She sighed and nodded.
"Tate, if you get out of the lake and come wash up, you can have extra chocolate and cake tomorrow," she told him.

Tate's freckled face lit up at the thought of more sugar, which made his parents and everyone fear the sugar induced two year old. "Deal!" he exclaimed, running out of the water. He ran past his mother into the house, all soaking wet. Sage mentally groaned and chased after him.

"He's such a negotiator for a two year old," Freya laughs.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll start the fire?" Elijah suggests.

She nods. "Thanks." She exits the water, and follows everyone into the house.

The only ones remaining outside were Elijah and Klaus. Elijah exits the lake, but Klaus relaxes and floats on the water now that he's not worried about his eight year old daughter drowning. Hope had claimed she could swim and didn't want the floaties that her cousins wore. Klaus was reluctant to believe she didn't need the floaties, so he didn't leave her side the whole time they were swimming.

"This actually wasn't that bad of a day," Klaus admits as he finally emerges from the water.

"Why, you didn't think it would be?" Elijah raises an eyebrow.

"Eh, you know how our family is," Klaus shrugs. "We haven't all lived together in seven years. 10 days with all of our families? I'm kinda nervous to see where this will go."

Elijah couldn't disagree with that. "Me too, especially since Kol and Katherine almost killed each other," he says as he put on a clean, dry shirt.

"That was my favorite part of the day," Klaus grins wickedly. He then grabs a shirt and throws it over his head before going to help his brother set a fire in the giant pit.

"Niklaus," the second eldest Mikaelson warned.

"Hey," Klaus raised his hands in defense. "Seriously, they were playing. They've actually developed quite the relationship. You're lucky it wasn't me who pushed Katherine into the lake because me and her would have gone down. Now that wouldn't have been pleasant."

Elijah wanted to disagree, but ended up nodding. "True," he had to admit.

"So what else do you think will go down in crazy town?"

Elijah sighs. "Let's hope nothing," he prays. A smile appears on his face as the fire pit finally started. It was getting warmer out there already.

Noticing his brother's distraction, Klaus shakes his head and whispers to himself, "Well, that's no fun."

...

Freya felt warm and cozy from her hot shower. She dressed herself in fuzzy, yellow polka dotted leggings, and a giant, red hoodie. She walked down the stairs to go back outside for the campfire. As she passed the threshold, she was pleasantly surprised by the warmth the fire pit brought to the outdoors. She saw Katherine speaking with Bonnie and Caroline, and Elijah and Klaus "manning" the fire while Hope tried to arrange the s'mores-making-table.

Freya walked over to her niece and helped her organize the bags of mini and jumbo marshmallows, the chocolate bars, and the tray of graham crackers. She saw the pile of sticks and was glad Hope hadn't tried to set those up yet. She picked up the bag of sticks and set them at the beginning of the table, next to the marshmallows.

"Yay! I've never had s'mores before. They look delicious!" Hope clapped excitedly.

"FOOOOD!" Tate screamed as he ran out the door only half dressed and his red hair damp. Sage and Finn followed him out the door, Sage holding her son's shirt, and Finn holding the towel.

"Tate!" Finn scolded.

"You're going to catch a cold if you don't get your cute little butt over here and get dressed," Sage chastised.

"And no chocolate and marshmallows for you," Finn added.

Tate turned around with a pout. "Fine!" He ran back over to his parents so they could help him finish dressing.

Kol and Emma exited the house next, followed by Rebekah and Matt. Now everyone was outside.

"What's for dinner? I'm starved," Rebekah asked as she sat on a log next to Elijah.

"Chocolate is for dinner, Auntie Bex," Tate grinned.

"Oh god," Sage whispered. "What did we do?" She asked her husband. Finn just shook his head in horror.

"We're eating actual food first, Tate," Bonnie told the little boy.

"Chocolate is real food, darling," Kol stood up for his nephew.

"Well, Caroline and Bonnie cooked the first meals when we first got here so all we have to do is heat it up," Elijah explained.

"And you think it's best to do it over the fire pit?" Matt asked, curiously.

"It wouldn't be camping, now would it?"

"True," the blonde agreed.

"What did you guys make?" Rebekah asked her two former fellow cheerleaders eagerly.

Caroline chuckled. "We made mac and cheese with hot dogs and corn on the cob for the kids, and then us adults have a.." She turned to Bonnie, "What's the fancy name?"

"Dutch Oven-Braised Beef and Vegetables. There's tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, and corn," Bonnie answered. "Although, we're also welcome to eat the kids' food because I think we made too much mac and cheese."

"Fine with me," Kol and Rebekah both said.

"Why are you so hungry?" Katherine raised an eyebrow at the British blonde.

Rebekah shrugged. "Skipped breakfast," she lied. Matt rubbed her back soothingly.

"She threw up her breakfast," he corrected. "She's been sick the past two days."

"Are you okay, sister? Would you like to lie down?" Elijah asked worriedly as he put the food over the pit. "You're welcome to be excused."

Rebekah shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I haven't felt sick in hours. It must have just been some French flu."

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked.

"Yes," Rebekah assured her family. "I'm not going to miss my sister's birthday dinner."

"Don't suffer through sickness on my account," Freya spoke.

"Guys, I'm fine! God, leave me alone about it," she snapped.

"Yikes, someone's moody," Kol sang.

"Shut up, Kol," Rebekah snarled.

"Okay... Let's draw the attention away from Rebekah," Caroline suggested.

"Thank you," Rebekah muttered in relief.

"Soo.." Caroline started awkwardly. "How's everyone doing?"

"Horrible. Now, let's eat," Kol joked. Bonnie hit his shoulder. "What? I hate small talk."

"Amen," Katherine agreed. "I do miss my babies, though," she sighed sadly.

"I miss my work," Bonnie said.

"Ew, work," Klaus joked.

"I've been doing a great job there. I'm really enjoying all of the people I've been helping," Bonnie explained.

"And I think that's wonderful," Finn said.

"Yeah, we're really proud of you," Caroline smiled, throwing an arm around her best friend.

"Thanks," Bonnie smiled. "But what about Klaus? You're becoming a little celebrity, there."

Klaus tried to hide his blush in the moonlight. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing, brother," Elijah said. "You have an incredible talent and it has finally been recognized. We're all very proud of you." His siblings nodded in agreement.

Caroline kissed Klaus's cheek. "So proud," she whispered in his ear.

"Thanks, guys," Klaus smiled. He was then desperate to change the subject from him. "Matt, Rebekah, how's Europe been?"

"Oh, lovely," Rebekah smiled dopey.

"Our first stop was in London, and she showed me where you guys used to live: around the neighborhood, all the old hangouts."

"Old hangouts," Kol scoffed.

"And what did you think of our hometown?" Elijah asked.

"It was nice. Your neighborhood was.."

"A dump?" Klaus suggested.

"No," Matt blushed. "Small. But the bigger picture, the city, was beautiful. I don't understand why you all prefer Mystic Falls."

"Bad memories," Finn shrugged.

Sage patted her husband's knee. She turned back to the newly wed couple. "So, how long were you in London?"

"A few days," Matt answered.

"And where have you guys been since?" Freya asked.

"We explored Ireland for two weeks, and we were just in France before we came back."

"Aww, have you guys seen the Eiffel Tower yet?" Caroline cooed.

"Of course," Rebekah said. "I also had the time of my life shopping in Paris."

"Please tell me you brought back clothing," Katherine pleaded.

"Of course. I'll show you later," she promised.

"And then when we go back to Europe, we have plans for all of Spain and Italy, and then we'll only have time for one major city in the rest of the countries so we plan on visiting Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Athens, all the capital attractions, you know?"

"Ugh, you guys are so lucky," Bonnie said.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Emma interrupted as her, Hope, and Tate skipped up to the fire.

"What are you guys doing?" Sage shrieked. "Stop running or you'll get dirty all over again!"

"Calm down, Sage," Elijah chuckled. "Dinner is ready now. So please, sit and eat, everyone."

Everyone helped themselves to dinner and enjoyed it.

Except Rebekah.

She was starving for food, but as soon as she filled her plate with food, she barely stabbed it with her fork before she lost her appetite. She pushed the vegetables around the plate, feeling sick of the healthiness. She pushed the meat off to the side, her stomach ready to hurl thinking about the fact that it was a dead animal on her plate. She had taken a small spoonful of mac and cheese, but the smell of cheese made her want to heave. Her stomach was empty, but she couldn't force herself to eat anything.

"Beks, you okay?" Klaus asked.

"No, I feel sick," she puffed out her cheeks to stop from puking. She then stood up with a sudden need to pee. "I gotta pee." She then dropped her plate and ran into the house.

"That's was random.." Caroline laughed lightly. "From not hungry to needing to pee?"

Katherine, Sage, and Bonnie shared a knowing look while the guys all shrugged.

"You know what?" Katherine said as she stood up. "I really have to pee, too. I'll be right back."

That was a lie. Katherine didn't really need to pee. But she did need to talk to Rebekah. She gave a look to Bonnie and Sage that said I got this. And then she disappeared into the lakehouse.

Ooh, what's wrong with Rebekah? I think I made it kind of obvious but whatever. I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long as my past few chapters have been but I plan on making the camping trip a two parter, maybe even a three parter so bare with me! Plus, I'm just coming back from a break, I haven't had all the time in the world to write. Anywho, I hope I have the next chapter up and running and ready for you guys to read asap :)

I hope you enjoyed this cute family chapter! Again, sorry I was gone for so long, but I hope you can understand I was dealing with some shit.

Please review! Until next time :) xx