Hello, my lovely readers. Elijah is about to have some family/childcare problems on his hands. On with the show…

Chapter 10: Need a Babysitter?

To have an entire day from work, during the week no less, was a precious commodity to Elijah who had very little time to himself. His plans included catching up on his fiction reading list. He'd intended on reading through the Sherlock Holmes series, years ago. However, what with law school, a complicated marriage, fatherhood and having siblings, who seemed to enjoy drama, Elijah never had time to do so.

Settling into his favorite chair, Elijah picked up a steaming cup of tea and flipped to the first page.

After reading the first line, on the first page, of the first chapter, of the first book, the doorbell rang and Elijah sighed before slamming the book closed. He already knew who it was before he opened the door.

"Elijah!" Katherine groaned, leaning against the doorframe with a long look. She'd pulled her hair up and looked almost professional in a tailored suit and heels. But the red lipstick and the smirk did not help her case. "I need a favor," she said, waltzing in as if she still lived with him.

"Do come in, Katherine," Elijah retorted.

Katherine turned on her heel. "You're not busy, are you?" She arched an eyebrow, gaze flicking over the apartment. "Sherlock Holmes? Again? You really should expand your reading material. Try something written in the last twenty years." Strutting to the cabinets, she pulled one open and removed a bottle.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" Elijah asked her. Walking into the kitchen area, he leaned against the counter while Katherine leaned forward, grabbed a glass and poured herself a drink. "Where is Nadia?" He offered this question because Katherine did not answer the first one.

Back turned away from him, Katherine's shoulder stiffened. Elijah remembered how little she enjoyed answering his questions. She told him that it felt like he was prosecuting for a crime he believed she committed.

"Stop bringing work home, Elijah!" Katherine shouted. She'd taken a high heel and thrown it, barely missing Elijah's head. She stood in the middle of her so-called closet which could be the size of some people's apartments. Her mascara ran as she took off the heel she'd just put on and threw that one at him, too.

"Why are you always questioning everything I do? I can't breathe here!" Katherine choked on a sob and when Elijah moved to comfort her, she shoved him away. "Just get away from me!" she wailed. "You always think you're better than I am. You always did." Her last words came out in a whisper as she slipped to the floor.

Not knowing what else to do, Elijah had stepped out of the bedroom. Nadia sat by the door, her favorite stuffed animal tucked into her arms. Her large brown eyes moved to meet Elijah's. The child did not utter a word.

Leaning down, Elijah picked up his daughter and carried her to the living room. He turned on the TV which he tried not to do because he thought that reading to her would help her development much more than the drivel on the small screen.

A sound came from the hallway and Katherine came out with a bag. "I'm going to stay with friends for a couple of days," she told them.

"Mommy!" Nadia scrambled off Elijah's lap and ran to her mother. She held out a small hand.

Katherine wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Baby, I'm going to be back, soon. And we'll have lots of adventures. But right now I need you to stay here. Be good for Elijah." Pressing a kiss to the top of Nadia's head, Katherine opened the front door.

"Mommy, don't go!" Nadia cried out, grabbing at her mother's skirt. "Don't leave me! Mommy?"

Elijah had come to the door and scooped up a wailing Nadia as Katherine tugged her skirt away from her daughter. "You're coming back?" Elijah had felt uncertain. Surely Katherine would not walk out and leave her child behind, would she?

"I'll be back. This is just for a little bit of time," Katherine said and then she walked away.

Elijah and Nadia could only watch her heels disappear around a corner.

Katherine came back three months later. She demanded that Elijah return Nadia as if he'd chosen to keep the child with him. Without a fight, Elijah had given Nadia over to her mother. This time Nadia did not want to go with Katherine. She'd clung to Elijah.

"No, Elijah! Don't make me go! I'll be good! I'll brush my teeth! I won't ask to watch TV. I'll eat the veggies and go to bed on time! Please! I want to be with you!" Nadia cried out, tears running down her cheeks.

Katherine stood in the doorway, her hand on her hip, fingers curled around the handle of Nadia's little travel case. In that moment Elijah contemplated strangling Katherine. He could not bring himself to kill her and he certainly would not kill her in front of her child. But what she'd done here, he found unacceptable.

"Nadia, I love you. And I promise, I will always be there for you. If you ever need me, call me and I will come find you," Elijah said, gripping the little girl's shoulders. She felt so small and fragile under his grip. He thought he might cry, too.

"I love you more," Nadia cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and only moving away when Katherine tugged her back.

"We need to go," Katherine said. "Good-bye, Elijah." Taking Nadia's hand, Katherine pulled the child out of the apartment and down the hallway.

Elijah turned to find Nadia did not have her rabbit. Grabbing it and his keys, he left his apartment, locking the door behind him before he hurried down to the first floor. He ran out into the bitter Chicago winter to find that Katherine and Nadia were getting into an unfamiliar car with a man he'd never seen before.

Pausing, Elijah squeezed the bunny in his hand tight. He felt the air entering his lungs, freezing him from the inside. The man closed the door behind Nadia and then slid behind the wheel. Elijah could not bring himself to cross the street or to call out. He could only stand, and watch as his family drove away with a stranger.

Nadia's toy still in his hand, Elijah walked back into the building. He only realized he was crying when he held the bunny up to find it wet.

~0~

"You don't mind watching Nadia, again, do you?" Katherine asked, turning to face Elijah. She tapped the glass with her polished red nails.

"Of course not," Elijah replied.

"I'm going on a job interview. There's an art gallery. A friend of mine is leaving her position there and she said I would work well with the manager." Katherine's eyes became fixed on the contents of her glass.

"Oh." Elijah decided he would not cross-examine her. He did not feel like having another argument. At least he had an excuse to spend more time with Nadia.

"You can pick her up from school?" Katherine inquired.

"Yes." Elijah nodded.

"Okay. I will see you soon." Katherine smiled and walked over to him. Placing a hand on his chest, she pressed a lingering kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back, Elijah watched Katherine's eyes darken and she slipped her hand into his hair. "I should find a way to thank you." She smiled, running her hand down the back his neck and then she seemed to remember something. She took a step back and set the glass on the counter. "I'll let you get back to your book."

Elijah walked Katherine to the door and did not offer a "good-bye." He knew he would be seeing her again. Possibly sooner than he'd like. And with Hayley, he felt that whatever Katherine really wanted from him would just add undue drama to his life.

After closing the door on his ex-wife, Elijah moved to return to Sherlock when his phone began to dance around on the coffee table. Sighing, Elijah rubbed the bridge of his nose and moved to the table. He picked up the phone, noted who the caller was and hit answer. "Hello, Niklaus. What can I do for you?"

"It's Fiona," Klaus gasped.

"What about her?" Elijah felt his throat constrict. From the panicked tone in Klaus' voice, Elijah felt worry fill his nervous system, his heart accelerating and his blood pressure rising.

"Caroline's offered to allow me the day with my child. Today. It's last minute. Apparently she has some type of luncheon she needs to attend and has no one else to care for the child…" Klaus groaned. "I do not know what to do with a child on my own."

"Katherine's asked me to care for Nadia, after school. Bring Fiona here. We'll make it a playdate." Elijah eyed Sherlock and promised him another date, perhaps a decade from now.

"Thank you, Elijah. I truly do not know what I would do without you," Klaus replied.

"Right. See you soon." Elijah hung up and took a seat.

~0~

A knock on the door signaled Klaus' appearance. "Elijah. Fiona, you remember your uncle, Elijah?" Klaus asked the little girl who peered up at Elijah.

"Nope," Fiona said. She stared up at Elijah before she released Klaus' hand and stepped into the apartment. Her eyes moved around the room before she looked up at Elijah. "Toys?"

"I have a stuffed rabbit," Elijah told her.

Fiona placed her thumb in her mouth and looked to her father before she nodded.

Elijah walked down the hallway. Pulling open the doors of his closet, he removed a much-loved rabbit that he'd wrapped in bubble wrap and placed inside a box.

Coming back into the living room, Elijah noted that Klaus had turned on the TV to a children's program on PBS. The Thomas the Train series, if Elijah remembered correctly. Fiona sat on the floor, her thumb still in her mouth. She sucked at it while Klaus paced behind her. He did not seem to know whether to sit down with his daughter or to run from the apartment.

"Elijah," Klaus said, his relief palpable. He held his phone in his hand. "Should I order lunch? Or would you prefer to cook?"

Elijah stopped himself from saying he'd prefer to have the day to himself. "Order anything you like."

Klaus nodded and began to make a call. "Fiona, do you prefer Chinese or Thai?"

Fiona looked up from the TV program. Her wide eyes narrowed and she pulled her thumb out with popping sound. "Pizza," she replied.

Klaus looked disconcerted. "Love, we don't need to be eating pizza."

"I want pizza," Fiona snapped, her little mouth beginning to wobble. "I want my mommy!" she shouted at Klaus and then she began to cry. Pushing herself to her feet, she ran to the door and began to bang on it. "Mommy!" she screamed.

"Shit," Klaus muttered. His look of panic gave Elijah a moment's pause. Whether to comfort the child or his brother first?

With quick strides, Elijah moved to the door and picked up Fiona who screamed in his ear and kicked him in the stomach. "Darling, it's alright. Your mother will come back to collect you this evening. Don't you want to spend time with you daddy?" Turning Fiona to face him, Elijah stared into Fiona's watery eyes. "Your dad has been looking forward to spending time with you for a long time."

Well, this would be true if Klaus had known about Fi before. Klaus came to stand beside Elijah. "I'll get the pizza, Fiona," his soft tone made Fiona still.

"Sorry, daddy," Fiona said, rubbing at her raw eyelids.

Elijah held up the rabbit. "This is Mr. Stuffy. Would you like to play with him?"

"Mr. Stuffy?" Fiona examined the rabbit. "But he's a bunny. Why is he named Mr. Stuffy?"

"He was a little girl's toy. And she used to call him Mr. Stuffy because he only liked to drink tea and read very old books and spoke like someone from Downton Abbey." Elijah watched Fiona's eyebrows wrinkle.

"What's Downtown Abby?" Fiona asked him, taking the rabbit and hugging him. "He needs a bath."

"Yes. He probably does," Elijah said. Poor Mr. Stuffy had lived in that box too long. "We can give him one when his previous owner, Nadia, comes here."

"Who's Nadia?" Fiona asked, lips pursing around the new name. She smiled then and Elijah noted how much she looked like Klaus.

"Nadia is Elijah's daughter," Klaus said, ending his call with the pizza place.

"You have a daughter?" Fiona perked up and began to bounce on Elijah's hip. "When's she coming?"

"After school," Elijah told her.

"When's that?" Fiona retorted.

"Soon," Elijah said. He sat her down on the couch and turned his attention to the TV show.

Five minutes later Fiona looked at him. "Is Nadia coming soon?" He'd forgotten how little children understand time at this age.

"Yes," Elijah nodded.

Another five minutes passed and Fiona asked the same question. Klaus began to look through Elijah's DVD collection for something child appropriate. "Harry Potter?"

"A bit too old for Fiona," Elijah surmised. He picked up his tea cup and took a sip. It was cold.

"Can I have some?" Fiona held out her hand for the tea cup.

"No," Elijah said. "I have orange juice, or milk?"

"No! I want that!" Fiona held out her hand for his tea cup.

"Oh, Elijah. What harm will it do?" Klaus came over and took the cup. He handed it to his daughter who took a sip. At the look of disgust on Fiona's face, Elijah felt happy that his niece would not take up that habit just yet.

"Ew!" Fiona wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Gross. O. J. Please!" she cried, standing up on the couch and sloshing tea on it.

"Be careful!" Klaus said, taking the cup.

Fiona gave him a stern look. "Harry Potter!" she shouted.

"What?" Klaus looked to Elijah.

"Harry Potter! And Nadia! And pizza!" Fiona yelled at them before she fell on her butt and crossed her arms over her chest.

Klaus looked at Elijah. "She's your child, Klaus." Elijah felt that perhaps his brother might be getting just deserts from his bad behavior.

Fiona began to bounce up and down on the couch. She came far too close to falling for Elijah's comfort. He would need to child-proof his apartment, again. The idea made him smile until Fiona leapt one more time, her left leg slipped off the couch and she let out a cry.

Without thinking, Elijah ran across the room and caught the child before her head could connect with his five hundred dollar coffee table. "Thanks, Uncle Elijah," Fiona said. She kissed him on the cheek, rolled off and took off for the kitchen.

"Niklaus." The best Elijah could do was to point at the kitchen. "Sharp knives. Very sharp. Electrical outlets. Wires… Oh, my back."

Closing his eyes, Elijah could hear the sounds of his brother's heavy footsteps as he followed Fiona into the kitchen. "No! Not the toaster!" Klaus shouted.

Fiona let out a wail and Klaus began to curse. Oh, yes, Caroline would be thrilled when Fiona let out with "damn it" for the first time.

The doorbell rang and Elijah forced himself into a sitting position. "I'll get it. Don't move, Elijah," Klaus said. He came out of the kitchen, Fiona jerking and shrieking under his arm. "If you do not calm yourself, I will send you to bed without pizza." Klaus gave his daughter a stern look and Fiona pouted up at him.

Opening the door, Klaus stood with his back to Elijah. The delivery boy looked from Klaus, to Fiona, and Elijah, who still sat on top of his coffee table. "Uh. That's $14.98," the boy said, scratching the back of his head.

Klaus turned to Elijah. "I may have forgotten to go to the ATM."

Rolling his eyes, Elijah nodded. "I'll get my wallet." He moved slowly out of the room and into his bedroom. He would need to take some Advil before picking up Nadia. His most fervent hope at this point was that Fiona's behavior did not affect Nadia.

~0~

"Daddy!" Nadia called, hurrying toward Elijah with a wide smile. "Uncle Nik!" she looked happy to see them both. "And is this Fiona?" She grinned down at Fiona who had fallen asleep on the ride there but woke as they pulled up to the school.

"Nadia!" Fiona cried, holding out her arms to the older girl.

"Hi!" Nadia took her cousin and smiled at her. "Mom didn't tell me you would be here."

"My mommy said that I had to be good for daddy. And he bought me a pizza," Fiona told Nadia. "And Uncle Elijah's going to let me watch Harry Potter."

"I never said," Elijah began when Fiona gave him a look and he began to rub his temples. "Right then." It felt a lot like taking care of Kol. Speaking of Kol, perhaps his brother could join them. The worst that could happen would be that his brothers, his niece and his daughter burned down his apartment.

"Is there any pizza left?" Nadia asked on their way back to the car while Fiona played with Nadia's hair.

"Yes. But you'll need to remember to do your homework," Elijah told her, opening the backseat. He watched Nadia help Fiona into her car seat. He wondered how Nadia knew how to do that but thought better of asking. He truly did not want to know what his ex was up to.

Cell phone vibrating in his pocket, Elijah pulled it out and he saw Hayley's name on the display. "Niklaus, do you mind if I take a moment?"

Klaus looked up from his studying Nadia's buckling his daughter into her car seat. His brother looked disconcerted. "I'm sorry?"

"I have a call," Elijah said.

Klaus nodded. "Don't leave me alone too long, brother." He gave Elijah a queasy smile before slipping into the passenger seat.

Popping his head into the car, Elijah grinned at Klaus. "The wheels on the bus" might help. Fiona began to sing and Klaus took the hint as Nadia laughed and began to make driving motions.

Taking a few steps away from the car, Elijah answered the call. "Hello, Hayley. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I thought I'd see what you're doing after work. I'm thinking of buying a bottle of wine and stopping by your place. A nice, long bubble bath sounds good after the day I've been having." Hayley sounded stressed. Elijah could already feel her body lying against his, the warm water pooled around them and two glasses of Merlot on the floor of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Hayley. I have company at the moment," Elijah replied.

"Oh, well. That's okay. I'll just hang out with Marcel tonight. Unless he has plans." Hayley let out a light laugh.

Elijah glanced at the car full of people. "If you don't mind more company. You could stop by. I do have my hands full and could always use another set of hands."

"You want me to bring the wine?" Hayley waited for his answer.

Elijah thought about it. "Yes," he replied.

"I'll see you around nine," Hayley told him.

"Alright," Elijah hoped he and Klaus would manage to get though the evening until then.

~0~

"What's that?" Fiona asked, pointing at something that looked like some kind of monster and Elijah wondered if she was old enough to be watching this film.

"That's Lord Voldemort," Nadia said, clutching Fiona's hand. They were probably both up past their bedtimes. Caroline had called Klaus and asked how things were going. He'd told her that everything was going splendidly. Even Fiona agreed. So, Caroline was allowing Fiona to stay over. Elijah did not know if he could handle the girls and his brother, all night long.

When the doorbell rang at nine fifteen, Elijah got up and checked before opening the door. "Hayley." He'd forgotten she was dropping by.

"Hi," Hayley said. She slipped into the apartment. "Who am I going to be hanging out with?"

"Hayley!" Fiona shouted, coming around the corner and holding out her arms.

"Hayley?" Klaus looked confused.

"Why is she here?" Nadia asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Nadia," Elijah's reprimand made Nadia look to her feet.

"Sorry," Nadia mumbled before she walked back to the couch.

Klaus looked at Elijah. "If I had known you would be having an evening caller, I would have taken Fiona to Rebekah's."

"Rebekah has to work today," Hayley said, picking Fiona up. "Hey, pumpkin. What are we doing?"

"Watching Harry Potter!" Fiona replied with glee.

Hayley looked from Elijah to Klaus. "You guys really need help, don't you?"

"Yes," Klaus admitted.

"Who has brushed their teeth?" Hayley called out.

Nadia continued to watch the TV. "Not me."

"Okay. Teeth brushing. PJ wearing. And story time. Then bed." Hayley carried Fiona toward the bathroom.

"Why does she know where the bathroom is?" Nadia gave Elijah an accusatory look.

"Did you mother not teach you not to pry into adults' affairs?" Klaus inquired, taking the bottle of wine Hayley brought from Elijah.

"Klaus," Elijah growled.

Klaus glanced back at his brother. "I'll mind my own business while I make myself a drink. It's been a long day."

"Yes. It has," Elijah said. He took a seat beside Nadia who pretended to watch the TV. "Are you angry that another woman and I spend time together?"

"No." Nadia shook her head. "I just thought…"

"What?" Elijah turned to face Nadia.

Nadia turned to face him. "If you're spending time with her," she waved a hand at the direction of the bathroom. "Then you and mom might not get back together and we'll never be a family again. Don't you want to come home?"

Closing his eyes, Elijah felt his heart breaking all over again. There was a time that he would have done anything to have Katherine and Nadia back. Opening his eyes, Elijah placed a hand on Nadia's cheek. "Your mother and I are not going to get back together. But you will always by my daughter, Nadia."

"Not if mom takes me away," Nadia cried out and then she ran back to the bedrooms. Elijah heard the sound of a door slamming and he knew he would not see her until the morning. Hopefully she would have forgiven him by then.

Thank you reading, faving, following and reviewing.

Answer to guest review:

Mia: Thank you! After watching the series finale, I didn't hate it, but I felt like there a number of moments that they missed where they could have paid tribute to characters or stories from previous seasons, like Haylijah. Well, this is why we have FF.

Peace,

J