Hello, my lovely readers. We've got a lot of Mikaelson family business in this chapter. We will see some Haylijah interaction in the next chapter. On with the show…
Chapter 2: For My Brother, Anything
Drumming his fingers atop his desktop, the glare of the computer's screen made his eyes sore. Elijah closed the laptop and rolled his head from side to side. His neck had become increasingly sore from all this dreadful time spent staring into the bright light, artificially emitted from the computer. He wanted to sleep but knew that sleep would not come.
Elijah knew that the last time he'd truly slept was three year ago when he was still under the impression that he and Katherine could make their little life work. A bottle of fine wine, a slow dance in front of the fire place, a decent babysitter for Nadia, and the maddening feeling of his wife's fingers in his hair.
Yes. That was a different life. No less complicated than this one. However, it had had the deceptive nature of making Elijah belief it so.
Sighing, Elijah got to his feet, rubbing at his lower back. His doorbell rang and his eyes moved to the buzzer. What if he were to ignore it? Allow his late night caller to believe that he'd gone out or was in bed.
The doorbell went off again and again and again. Elijah felt his nerves fray just a tiny bit more. Stalking over to the intercom, he paused, collecting himself before answering with a polite. "Yes?"
"Let me in, brother!" Niklaus cried. His words had a familiar thickness.
Elijah sighed before pressing a button to allow his brother's entrance. Going to the door, Elijah opened it to find Klaus stumbling into his apartment, fingers curled around a bottle of wine as if he might strangle it.
"She's done it, brother!" Klaus shouted, whirling on his heel to point his index finger at Elijah, bottle shaking precariously in his trembling hand.
Elijah felt confused. "She who, brother?"
Klaus let out a bitter laugh. "That new bitch of Father's," he said, bitterly, moving over to collapse on a couch, his body reclining deep into the cushions, the bottle grazing the wood floor.
Elijah strode over, his left hand sliding into his pocket as he casually took hold of the bottle, removing it from his brother's clutches. Klaus did not seem to notice, his arm falling over his eyes. "They are worthless…" he moaned.
"Who?" Elijah inquired, taking the bottle and draining it, watching the red of the wine discolor the silver of the sink basin before he poured water after it.
Klaus let out a groan of impatience. "Can't you keep up? This is almost as bad as talking to Kol! Women! All them! They are a cursed lot!"
"Do you really believe that?" Elijah asked, coming over to stand over Klaus, folding his arms over his chest.
Klaus pulled his arm back, staring warily up at Elijah. "Yes." His tone did not reassure Elijah of his belief.
Elijah smiled down at Klaus. "Well then, you must be better off without your daughter. I can go back to my own work."
"No!" Klaus cried as Elijah turned his back on him. Elijah glanced back as Klaus moved to his feet, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Elijah, I need my child," he said, looking from Elijah to the space behind him. The alcohol had done its job, making it all that much harder for Klaus to focus on the topic at hand. Finally grasping what he wanted to say, Klaus looked Elijah in the eye. "She needs me. She needs me to protect her."
"And you believe that Caroline will not be able to protect the child, as you would?" Elijah watched Klaus' lips open to emit a reply as his eyes clouded over.
Removing his hand, Klaus moved back to the couch, sitting down, and placing his head in his hands. Klaus' insecurity became clear as he looked to the floor for a better answer than whatever was running through his mind.
Elijah sat down beside Klaus. "Niklaus, you must understand that it is not I who will be judging you as a parent. It is the judge. You must be prepared for whatever they might ask of you. If they ask why you believe yourself to be better equipped to handle the needs of the girl than Caroline, you must have an answer."
"I've never even met her," Klaus breathed, his eyes filling with tears, his breathing becoming shallow. "Caroline has yet to allow me the courtesy of an introduction."
"Perhaps if you had not called her a 'lying whore' the last time you spoke," Elijah replied.
That had been a terrible day for all of them.
Klaus had called Elijah to let him know that he was on his way back from Syria and wanted to meet for a cup of coffee. Elijah suggested they meet a half-block from the District Attorney's Office, where he'd been working for the past year.
When Elijah arrived, he walked in, spotted Klaus already seated, and sipping from a steaming mug of black coffee. His brother's sketch pad lay across his knee as a pencil drifted over the paper. His brother did not seem to notice him.
Elijah strolled over with a smile. "Klaus," he greeted his younger brother.
Klaus' lips moved into a smirk as he completed his work and set it aside. He stood and walked around the table to embrace Elijah. "How is Nadia?" Klaus asked, patting Elijah on the back.
"She's nine and quite enthralled with motion pictures. It seems she wants to be an actress. Another artist in our family." Elijah joked with a smile. The thought of his daughter's warm smile felt like a knife slicing through his heart.
Katherine said it was best if Elijah did not come to see Nadia as much. "She needs to adjust, Elijah. She can't do that when Daddy's here, all the time."
"I'm happy for you, brother," Klaus said, taking a seat and closing his sketch pad.
Elijah saw a brief glimpse of a familiar face under a bright sun. "Caroline?" Elijah murmured.
Klaus' eyebrows rose, a smirk forming on his lips. "She can't still be angry with me for leaving. I've been doing work that others refuse to. Telling people what is really happening. She should try to live in the world, not in her own little bubble. It makes us more humble."
"You? Humble?" Elijah scoffed with a smile to soften the blow.
Klaus shrugged. "A bit. When do I get to see my darling niece?" he asked.
"Oh. About that," Elijah said. He started to speak when his phone drew his attention, jiggling in his pocket. Katherine's name stood out on the blue of his screen, in large white script. "A moment," he said, holding up a finger to Klaus whose brow rose.
Hitting the answer button, Elijah forced himself to stay calm. "Katherine, what an unexpected surprise."
"Elijah," Katherine paused. "We can't have dinner this weekend."
"Why?" Elijah asked, frowning. Klaus stared at him, waiting to catch his eye.
Elijah forced a smile. "I'm going to order a cup of coffee," he told Klaus.
"What?" Katherine seemed confused.
"Niklaus is with me," Elijah explained, getting up and moving to stand in a long line.
"Oh. He's back. Already." Katherine's tone was dull.
"Already?" Elijah felt wary.
"I just thought he might stay for the whole war," Katherine retorted sharply.
Elijah rolled his eyes and adjusted his tie, moving as others moved in front of him. "He didn't. Now, why can we not have dinner?"
"Nadia has a play date," Katherine replied.
"But we already set this date, weeks ago." Elijah felt his head begin to ache.
"She's a child. She needs to be around other kids." Katherine paused. "And I'm thinking about moving."
"Where?" Elijah snapped.
"Back home." Katherine replied.
"To Virginia?" Elijah stepped up to the counter. "One large, black coffee. Thank you." Stepping to the side, Elijah took the coffee that a young woman handed him and nodded before turning back around.
"Or California," Katherine continued. "It would be better for Nadia's acting career."
"What acting career?" Elijah snapped, losing his control. "She's nine!"
"She can do some commercials. Maybe booking a modeling gig," Katherine snapped back. "You should try being supportive of her ambitions."
Elijah closed his eyes. Like he had not been of hers, is what Katherine meant. His eyes opened and Elijah took in the sight of Klaus' empty chair. Peering around the shop, he registered Katherine's continual chatter, sounding in his ear when he spotted Klaus.
Klaus stood, just outside the shop, his hands in the air as he shouted at the woman in front of him. Elijah moved toward the door, dodging past people. "Katherine, I need to go," he said, hanging up on his ex-wife.
The sound of his brother's ire pricked Elijah's ears as he walked out the door. "Caroline, what in the bloody hell are you trying to tell me?" Klaus fumed.
Caroline glared at Klaus. "Are you done? Do you think that you could, I don't know, get some counseling for that temper of yours?" Her body trembled as she spoke.
"Brother –" Elijah began placing a hand on Klaus' shoulder.
Klaus jerked away from him. Stepping closer to Caroline, he was seething. "I do hope that you are marvelously happy with him!"
Caroline's whole body tensed and she reached out and slapped Klaus. "You left me! You left! I had a right to move on! With whoever the hell I pleased!"
Klaus' head moved back, his eyes burning with a dangerous intensity. Grabbing Caroline, he held onto her tightly. "You are a lying whore and I hope you burn in hell!" he seethed before he let go of her and stomped off.
Elijah stood, torn between following his brother and speaking to Caroline. Caroline began to cry, her sobs racking her body. "Caroline," Elijah began when she turned and hurried away.
Elijah's eyes followed the blonde down the street, to the corner where she stopped. A tall, brunette, a friend of hers, Hayley, Elijah thought that was her name, held out a small child with a wild mane of blonde curls. The child wrapped her arms around Caroline's neck. That explained Caroline's loose clothing the Christmas after Niklaus' left and her hurry to get away from Elijah.
Turning, Elijah followed his brother, determined to allow Caroline the time to adjust to Niklaus' return before dropping the bomb of his brother's fatherhood on him.
Niklaus glanced at Elijah. His cheeks turning a light red hue. "She did lie. She lied about moving on with that fool. Then she lied about having my child." He grimaced, running a hand over his eyes.
"She did not lie about the child. She simply choose to not tell you. And can you truly blame her, given what you said to her that day?" Elijah reasoned, getting to his feet and walking over to the refrigerator. He removed a bottle of water and brought it to Klaus.
Klaus accepted the bottle without a word, holding it between his hands. "I do not know." He looked lost.
Elijah wanted to help Klaus. He would help him as much as he could, as much as the law allowed him to. "What is it that Caroline's attorney's done?"
"She filed a restraining order," Klaus mumbled, glaring at the floor.
"On what grounds," Elijah inquired, folding his arms across his chest.
Sighing, Klaus turned and gave him a rueful smile. "I might have dropped by Caroline's, for a chat, unannounced, and ended it with screaming and throwing a lamp."
"Brother," Elijah groaned. "When will you learn that threatening people will get you nowhere?"
Klaus laughed. "Not all of us can be as tightly wound as you, dear brother. Then there is Finn, who is a lost cause to the human race."
Elijah chuckled. "We're having a family dinner this Sunday; you're welcome to join us."
"Family? Are you sure I can be included in that term?" Klaus asked bitterly.
Before he could answer, Elijah's phone rang and he removed it from his pocket. "Sister," he greeted Freya warmly, putting his phone on speaker.
"Brother," Freya replied and he could see her smile. "Have you seen Niklaus yet? He called but I was at a grocery store, picking up some things for dinner."
"Ah, so is that why you did not return my call?" Niklaus grinned at Elijah.
Freya let out a chuckle. "I should have known you would go to Elijah when you couldn't find me. What is it that Rebekah could not deal with and Kol would have taken you out to a bar over?"
Klaus stared at Elijah for a moment before replying. "I have a child."
Freya did not speak for a long moment. "You do," she replied.
"You knew?" Klaus demanded, standing up and glaring at the phone.
"Yes." Freya paused. "Caroline came to me after she found out. She was distraught and afraid. She did not know how you might react. She wanted support from someone who might understand."
"Support? You're supporting her?" Klaus shouted.
Freya was silent. Elijah got to his feet and Klaus began to pace. This was not a good sign. Elijah wondered why Freya had not told him that Caroline had come to her. They could have dealt with this matter, as a family, before the courts became involved. However, for the sake of peace within his family, he did not speak up.
"You knew of my child and did not bother to tell me!" Klaus shouted into the phone. "Freya… Blasted hell!" Stomping across the room, Klaus ripped open Elijah's liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey, his hands shaking as he began to open it.
"Brother… Klaus… I wanted to help her. You do not know what it is like for a woman, on her own…" Freya called.
Klaus dropped the bottle and Elijah closed his eyes as the sound of Klaus' pounding his fists on the kitchen counter filled the room. "Do not presume to tell me what I can and can not understand!" Klaus shouted, his fists still pounding.
"Freya, perhaps we should speak again tomorrow," Elijah suggested, hanging up before she could protest. Walking across the room, Elijah examined the shards of glass and the pool of liquor on the floor.
Klaus continued to beat the counter as tears ran down his cheeks. His entire face was taut with his rage. "I can not. I will not allow her to take the child from me," Klaus said, his eyes moving to Elijah's.
In that moment, Klaus reminded Elijah of a wild animal, caught in a trap, willing to do anything to release itself. "I know," Elijah said, taking Klaus by the shoulders and turning him away from the counter. "You should go to bed. I will clean this up."
Nodding, Klaus allowed Elijah to lead him into the guest bedroom and laid down on his back. "She needs me, Elijah. My little girl. She does not know it but she needs me. I can protect her from the horrors of the world. Caroline has no clue what man can do one another. She did not see… She… She did not see the things that I have seen. She mustn't. I need to protect them…" Klaus mumbled, closing his eyes. "I have to protect them..."
Elijah turned, striding to the door and pulling it closed behind him. He entered the kitchen, his eyes on the broken bottle. A wonderful symbol of his life: shattered to bits. Beyond repair. Elijah moved to a closet, removing a broom and dust pan. He was used to this. Cleaning up after his siblings. It gave him something to do, something to concentrate on, a way to not look inward and to examine what seemed to be missing.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answers to guest reviews:
Guest: So do I and I thank Qwertyismyname for the idea.
Peace,
Jessica