Picking Up Shattered Glass

by LilGray-is-Saoirse-Konstantin

Kol needs three things: save Bonnie from dark magick, give back her spirit magick, and win her heart forever. But Elena keeps insisting she use dark magick, the spirits wish to punish her for it, and his reputation as a ladies' man prevents her from trusting him with her heart. How can he save Bonnie and win her love before her use of dark magick destroys them all? Sequel to Shards

10. Letting Go

Author's Note: So, I had a dream wherein Bonnie was decorating a Christmas tree and singing the Christmas Carol she sings in this story, and when I woke up, I wrote parts of this chapter.

Chapter 010

Letting Go

Monday, December 13, 2010, 4:35 p.m.

The Mikaelson Mansion

Bonnie is quiet during dinner, far more than usual, but Kol explains to Rebekah and Elijah that they spent the day with her intentionally giving him aneurysms so that she can learn to control her power and prevent her from accidentally killing someone she might not mean to kill. The siblings fill in the silence talking about the upcoming holiday. When they finish eating dinner, they all head into the den where Niklaus set up a huge Christmas tree earlier in the day.

Rebekah walks to the couch that has shopping bags covering it and tells Bonnie, "I bought everything we might need."

My grandbaby seems to come back to life when Rebekah begins taking boxes of ornaments out of the bags. Bonnie helps her take everything out. Then she takes the white lights Rebekah hands her and walks to the tree before telling the Mikaelsons, "Okay, I need a tall person because this needs to go all the way around from top to bottom and there is no way I'll be able to reach the top."

Niklaus surprises her by flashing over to her and picking her up by her legs so that she is now much taller. Her arms swing out while she tries to steady herself before she reaches down and swats his head and tells him, "A little warning would be good next time, Nik."

He just grins unrepentant and chuckles before he moves them closer to the tree so that she can wrap the lights around the upper half of the tree.

When they finish the top, Elijah wraps the lights around the bottom of the tree before Rebekah tells them, "Here I'll hand you the garland, and you can do that, too."

Bonnie nods, and they repeat their motions while they wrap the silver garland around the tree.

She breathes out a sigh when Niklaus puts her back on the ground after all the garland is up. Rebekah opens the first box of ornaments and hands one to Bonnie before Rebekah sighs herself and tells my granddaughter, "I wish we still had the ones we had while living in New Orleans. They were blown glass and the prettiest, but I'm not sure what happened to everything we left behind. I know we still own the house but who knows what the state of everything is."

Bonnie nods before Niklaus frowns and tells them, "I believe Marcellus is living in the Abattoir currently."

Kol already knew that, in fact, he's the one who told his brother, but Rebekah stops mid-motion and turns to look at her older brother before asking, "He-he survived? I thought…?"

Niklaus nods and ever mindful that she has stood by his side most of his life he tells her, "He did, and he took over my city. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to let him continue to pose as King of the City or if I'm going to go back to the city we built and take my crown back from that ungrateful brat. For now, I'm letting things remain the way they are because we have all the time in the world to take our city back."

Kol is hoping they'll return to New Orleans sooner rather than later because he has it on good authority from the descendants of his witch friends that Marcellus has enslaved them and kills any who dare do magick without his prior consent.

First, Kol needs to win Bonnie's heart, though. He wouldn't dream of leaving here until the two are bound for all of eternity. He has been working on a spell he started writing in 1701 that should allow them to be together forever without Bonnie needing to transition. Once he has her by his side for the rest of eternity, they will travel to New Orleans, and he will avenge his friends that Marcellus has unjustly killed.

Rebekah just nods at Niklaus and then picks up an ornament and walks to the tree before hanging the little red globe.

My granddaughter smiles and grabs another ornament before she tells Kol, "Start putting ornaments on the tree, Kol. It's more fun if we all participate."

He smiles despite his realization that he is love-whipped and nods, so he takes one of the ornaments she hands to him and places it in the middle of the tree.

She frowns slightly and shakes her head before saying, "The tall people should only put them up on the top so that I can place them on the rest of the tree."

Bonnie smiles when Kol nods and places another ornament, higher up this time. My baby girl grumbles, "I really hate being short, but most of the women in my family, except Abby, have had that affliction."

He laughs and tells her, "Well, being tall definitely has its advantages, but we always get stuck putting everything up on the top… the top of the tree, the top shelf, always the higher things."

Giggling she then asks, "So tell me a Christmas story. Maybe one you all spent together."

He frowns and thinks, 'Did we spend many Christmases together? Really we celebrated Yule until the Church converted enough people and Christmas became the acceptable December holiday.'

Still, he smiles and tells her, "We spent more Yules together than Christmases, but I think my favorite was Spain, 1701. Or 1698 through 1701. I almost forgot during those years that Mikael was after us and wanted us dead. Of course, that all came crashing down around me when he showed up in April of 1702, but Christmas 1701 was fabulous. I converted to Christianity in 1698, and my siblings followed suit the next year, so we celebrated Christmas together in 1699, 1700, and 1701, and I thought life couldn't get any better than it was. I was right for the most part, and everything after that was pretty awful, but my friends and I gathered in each of their homes just about every day leading up to the Holidays, and we would decorate trees much like we're doing now."

Rebekah nods and tells Bonnie, "That's actually where the ornaments we had in New Orleans came from. We managed to bring most of our belongings with us onto the ship when we fled Mikael, so they came with us, and we used them every year we spent in New Orleans as a way of paying respect to those we lost."

Kol is frowning when a lovely caramel skinned face flashes in his mind, and a sharp pain stabs through his heart. After all these years, he still misses her. Even with his heart now belonging to my granddaughter part of it will always belong to Chalina, and he's not sure he'll ever truly get over the loss of her.

My precious and intuitive girl bumps his hip and tells him, "Hey, no sad thoughts. Whoever you're missing wouldn't want you to wallow in your pain. Or at least they wouldn't if they loved you. They would want you to remember them fondly but to still live the life they can no longer live."

He nods and smiles gently before he tells her, "Wise words from one so young."

She smiles before giving him a hug. He breathes in her jasmine scent and has to physically keep himself from tensing when he realizes that he was correct earlier. When he fed her his blood this morning, it healed not just her cheek but who knows how many bruises that were littering her body because her jasmine scent is no longer anywhere near as strong as it was even yesterday.

Kol struggles to reign in his usually short temper and angrily thinks, 'That bastard has been hitting her probably every day, and I didn't even realize something was wrong.' He pauses and breathes her scent in more deeply and then continues his thought, 'Don't even get me started on her other friends either. How could they, who have known her for her whole life, not know?'

He forces a smile onto his face when she pulls away from him. He knew early on that she is excellent at hiding what she is feeling and what her needs are, but he honestly didn't realize the full scope of that ability to hide what's happening to her while everyone else is looking the other way.

Kol doesn't know if he should be proud of her for withstanding her father's abuse and not buckling under Rudy's horrible care or if he should be angry that she hasn't asked for help. Either way, he knows it's not her fault, and if he wants to keep her father alive, it's best that Niklaus and Rebekah not find out what my ex-son-in-law has been doing to my grandbaby, so he can't ask her if she ever told anyone while his siblings are anywhere nearby.

This time it's his sister who bumps his shoulder and softly tells him, "Whatever has you angry can be dealt with later. Right now, we need to be happy because although Caroline and Bonnie decorated both of their houses together on Saturday, I know that Elena excluded Bonnie when the group decorated both the Gilbert's house and the boarding house yesterday. Apparently, Elena vetoed Caroline's and Jeremy's votes that they include her, so smile and be happy so that my new sister can have the Merry Christmas she deserves."

Kol frowns for a quick moment at the cruelty of Bonnie's other friends, but then he forces himself to smile and then relaxes into the smile when Bonnie begins singing.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches?

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches?

Your boughs so green in summertime.

Stay bravely green in wintertime.

O Tannenbaum, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches…

Rebekah hurries out of the room and then returns a moment later with her laptop, which she opens and fiddles with for a minute before 'O Christmas Tree' begins playing.

Both girls begin singing along, and they all decorate the tree together.

…Let us all remember.

In our gift giving and our merriment.

With our family and friends and loved ones.

The real and true meaning of Christmas.

The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How lovely are, are thy branches.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How lovely are, how lovely are thy branches.

The pillars all please faithfully.

Our trust in God unchangingly.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How love, lovely are thy branches.

On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen. Ha ha ha ha.

When the song ends, Kol asks Bonnie, "So what about you? Do you have any family traditions or fond memories you want to share?"

She smiles, and while White Christmas plays in the background, she tells them, "Well, I would sleep over at Grams' house on Christmas Eve, and we'd stay up late watching Christmas movies. Then I'd wake up in the late morning, and we'd open gifts before I'd go over to Elena's house. All my friends would be there, and we'd open gifts from each other. I didn't get to watch the old movies last year because Grams was dead, and her loss was just still too fresh, so I just wasn't feeling up to it. This year I plan to camp out on my couch and watch all of them, though."

Rebekah thankfully asks what Kol wants to ask, but he thinks they'll get a better, more favorable response, if his sister asks, "Why don't you come over here on Christmas Eve. We can hang out in the den and watch the movies together. One thing I know about the holidays is they should never be spent alone."

Bonnie's whole face lights up before she turns to look at Rebekah who is practically bouncing with excitement and mirroring her actions Bonnie asks, "Really, you'd watch them with me?"

All four of the Mikaelsons nod and Niklaus of all people says, "I've always enjoyed most of the films of the season, so I'd be happy to watch with you."

Rebekah bounces on her feet and claps before she asks, "Yay, what movies do you watch? I'll make sure we have them all."

Bonnie smiles and says, "Awesome, so we always watched 'White Christmas,' 'Holiday Inn' and 'Miracle on 34th Street', but when you're getting that one get the one that was made in 1947. The one from the 90's isn't anywhere near as good."

Rebekah just nods before Bonnie continues, "The 1964 version of 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,' 'Frosty the Snow Man,' and 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' would be cool too. I used to watch those every year with my friends, but I wasn't invited this year."

She's frowning at that last part before Niklaus bumps her shoulder and says, "I know our Cable T.V. has 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' On-Demand so we can watch that later tonight, and I'll see about getting the other movies before Christmas Eve so we can watch them all."

My grandbaby is smiling widely while she nods and says, "Thank you. You know in the slow moments I keep missing my old friends, but then I remind myself that I have all of you now and Caroline and Jeremy still love me too, but I appreciate that the 1,000-plus-year-old hybrid is going to watch Christmas cartoons for me."

He laughs and tells her, "I'll have you know that I only do that sort of thing for very special people, Luv, so you should feel important."

She giggles and with a sparkle in her eyes she tells him, "Oh the mere fact that you're not trying to kill me anymore makes me feel special, so I'm already there."

They all laugh at that and continue decorating the tree while Bonnie lists all her favorite movies, specials, and music of the season.

An hour later the group stands back and smiles while they look at the completely decorated and lit tree. It looks nice with all the red and white little balls and the twinkling white lights.

Kol and his brothers all sit down with drinks while Bonnie and Rebekah go around the downstairs placing little decorations here and there.

When the girls finish placing decorations all around the first floor, the men all get up, and they use Niklaus' camera on a tripod to take some pictures of all of them in front of the Christmas tree. Afterward, they all sit down in front of the T.V. and watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' It's a cute movie, but Bonnie falls asleep about halfway through.

When the movie is over Kol turns to his sister and asks her, "Will you please call her father and ask if she can sleep over? Make whatever excuses you think will convince him to say yes, and if necessary go find him and compel him into compliance."

Her blue eyes are wide before she places her hand on her brother's knee and says, "What aren't you telling us, Kol?"

He shakes his head. He won't tell them what he walked in on without Bonnie's prior permission. Rebekah frowns and asks, "Is it bad?"

He nods but tells her, "If Bonnie wants to talk about it that's fine, but I won't betray her trust. Just know that her father is lucky he's still alive, and we'll leave it at that for the time being."

Niklaus sits up straight and says, "Fuck, that's what's different. Her scent isn't as strong. He hits her, and you healed her."

Despite Niklaus usually being volatile he seems calm enough, and he's not storming out the door to go kill Rudy. Kol cautiously nods and tells his brother, "I promised I wouldn't kill him, and because I compelled him not to lay another finger on her ever again, I would appreciate it if you don't kill him either."

He nods and says, "Only because I know she'd blame herself if he died by one of our hands because he abused her. She seemed tired today but otherwise okay?"

Kol nods slowly and tells his siblings, "When I went to check up on her at her house after Beks couldn't get in touch with her I caught her father hitting her. I healed her broken cheek and compelled him, and then we went to the falls and worked on her magick. I figured if I acted as though everything was fine it would make her more comfortable, and I think I was correct. I know enough now to know that she's been covered in bruises from the first moment any of us ever met her, and she's never let on that anything was wrong. Therefore, I think she prefers others not know anything is amiss."

He pauses and looks at her face, peaceful in sleep, and then after brushing some hair off her forehead, he tells his siblings, "If you could wait until she comes to each of you and tells you to let her know you know, I'd appreciate it. I really didn't want to betray her confidence and only confirmed it after you guessed."

Niklaus nods but asks, "Do you think her other friends know?"

Kol shakes his head. He actually gave this a bit of thought this afternoon, so he tells his brother, "I know for a fact that Ms. Forbes and Jeremy would have done something to protect Bonnie if they knew. They're also observant enough and interested in Bonnie and how she's doing enough that I think if it hadn't been happening since they were all little that they'd have noticed something wasn't right. However, the rest are so damn preoccupied with Ms. Gilbert that I'd be surprised if they have any clue what's been happening right under their noses."

They all nod before Rebekah asks, "You think the bastard has been hurting her since she was a little girl?"

Kol sighs. He thinks he shouldn't tell them what she told him, but they'll pester him until he does so. Therefore he nods and tells his siblings, "She said she doesn't remember a time when he didn't hit her at least some of the time."

Rebekah and the others barely react when the coffee mug she is holding in her hands cracks and shatters spilling what's left of her hot chocolate, but she does say, "He's lucky I sent you to check up on her. I don't think I would have been able to keep from killing him, and honestly, I'm kind of surprised given your short temper that you didn't kill him yourself."

He nods and tells his family, "Honestly, if I weren't so concerned with Bonnie lying on the floor crying, I probably would have beaten him to death, but I knew she wouldn't survive the guilt if I killed him in defense of her, so I held myself in check."

Elijah nods and says, "I've noticed that young Bonnie has that sort of effect on everyone she meets. Everyone, except Elena, would bend over backward to protect her both physically and emotionally, even from themselves."

Kol nods then looks at his sister and asks again, "Can you call him, or should I do it after I bring her upstairs?"

She bobs her head and tells him, "I'll do it, and I'll go compel him if necessary, and don't worry, I won't lay a finger on him if I have to go compel him."

Kol smiles and inclines his head at her and then he stands and bends down and picks my granddaughter up before carrying her out of the room and up the stairs to the bedroom beside Rebekah's room because he's not sure Bonnie would be comfortable sleeping in his bed with him.

I'm not sure if my grandbaby would be comfortable with that either, so the spare bedroom is a wise choice on Kol's part. He lays her down on the bed and takes off her sneakers before pulling the covers up over her. Turning off the light, he then moves and sits in one of the leather chairs in the corner to wait for her to wake up, so she doesn't wake up alone in a strange room.

A few hours later her heart rate increases and so does her breathing before she gasps and then sits up breathing heavily. She reaches over and turns on the light a moment later because the room is pitch dark. When the light comes on she jumps in place and brings her hand up to her chest, "Jeez Louise, Kol, don't do that."

He smirks and chuckles from his seat in the corner of the room and then gets up and goes and sits on the edge of the bed, "I'm sorry, Darling, I didn't want to wake you. I didn't want to leave you alone in a room you've never seen before either, though, especially after what we did this afternoon."

My baby girl just nods obviously still not wanting to talk about it. She looks over at the clock on the side table, and her eyes widen before she tells him, "Please tell me someone called and warned my dad that I was going to be late. He'll kill me if—"

He frowns before he interrupts her with a growl and then says, "He won't lay a finger on you."

Gentling his tone, he smiles slightly before he adds, "'Bekah called your father and introduced herself and told him that you fell asleep watching a movie. She asked if it was okay for you to sleep here tonight because you had seemed so tired. She added that she didn't want to wake me, who drove you here earlier today, either because I was tired too, and she didn't want to risk us getting into an accident because I hadn't had enough sleep before getting behind the wheel of an automobile. She worded it as a question, so he called her very responsible and told her that she was correct to worry and to tell you that he'll see you when he gets home from work tomorrow."

He pauses then adds, "I think he was quite taken with my baby sister. Anyway, now that you know what room you're in, I'll leave you to go back to sleep, okay, Darling?"

Her hand shoots out when he begins to rise, and she grabs hold of his arm and asks in a small voice, "Please stay. You-you can lay in the bed with me if you want, but I don't want to be alone. I, uh, I woke up because I was having a nightmare, and I don't want to be alone, please."

His hands come up and wipe her tears from her cheeks before he toes off his shoes and then swings his legs up onto the bed and pulls her into his arms while he lays down with a satisfied smirk. He kisses the top of her head and asks, "Who am I to refuse the invitation of a beautiful woman to spend the night with her in her bed?"

My precious girl giggles, which he had hoped she would and snuggles into his side before he kisses the top of her head again and whispers, "I'm sorry you are so upset by what happened today, but I really do feel it's necessary or a terrible accident will occur, not may occur but will definitely occur. I'd feel worse if I didn't help you train so you can prevent that tragedy. The good news is now you know how to do it without causing me to lose consciousness, so it should only get easier from here on out."

She nods before he reaches over and turns off the light. She closes her eyes and so does he before he tells her, "I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't want to alarm you but when I was unconscious I saw your grandmother."

Bonnie sits up and leans over him turning the light back on before her lips tremble, and she says, "But if you saw her that means I actually killed you!"

He sits up too and wipes the tears from her cheeks again before he nods and tells her, "Yes, which is why I didn't tell you earlier because I thought it would frighten you too much. Now you know how to do it without killing me, so I felt it wouldn't be so frightening. She asked me to tell you that she loves you and she's proud of you and that you're on the right track again."

My baby girl's tears speed up before she asks, "She-she really said she's proud of me, even after everything I did?"

Kol pulls her into his arms and strokes her hair and back before telling her, "Yes and she's proud of you with good cause. I know you made a mistake and touched the dark, but you've learned from that mistake and haven't repeated it. I can't emphasize enough that out of the 14 witches I've been friends with who touched the dark only you and two others didn't immediately go back to it and get themselves killed. Ordinarily, it's too tempting, and the witch goes back to it. You didn't do that, though. You vowed to yourself that you wouldn't touch it again and you haven't. She's not misplacing her pride, and for the record, Rebekah and I are proud of you too, actually so is Elijah and Nik as well. You've done a remarkable thing, Bonnie, and I think you don't give yourself nearly enough credit."

My baby girl who was my world while I was alive just nods then she asks, "Did she say anything else?"

Kol chuckles and tells her, "Yes, apparently despite being a ghost if I hurt you, she will find a way to hurt me back."

Bonnie giggles and says, "That's such a Grams thing to say. I miss her so much."

He smiles and tells her, "I think I mentioned once before that I knew her just after she died before my siblings and I were revived. She is a good woman and a dear friend. Dear enough that I didn't kill you in the hallway of your school because I didn't want to hurt someone important to her even if she was already dead."

My grandbaby frowns and asks, "Your love for Grams is what made you hesitate? I always wondered, but I never would have guessed she was the reason."

Even if he hasn't admitted it to himself yet, he is in love with my granddaughter, so he laughs and says, "Well, she was." He pauses then adds, "I should thank you. I got the opportunity to hug Finn and apologize for not realizing what Esther had done to him."

She pulls away and looks him in the eyes, "Really?"

He nods so she smiles and hugs him and says, "I'm glad then, even if I am going to do everything in my power not to kill you again."

He laughs and then kisses her forehead before laying them back down and reaching over to turn off the light again. Before they know it, she falls back to sleep safely tucked into his arms for the night, and he follows suit soon after.

Friday, December 24, 2010, 2:00 p.m.

The Mikaelson Mansion

Today is Christmas Eve. Rebekah told Kol the other day that there will be no making my granddaughter practice her magick today or tomorrow. If she wants to do a spell, that's fine. However, there will be no causing Kol torturous pain for hours on end because Bonnie is a bit frayed around the edges of late.

Rebekah knows it's because Bonnie is developing feelings for Kol, and he's making Bonnie hurt him. And while all three of them understand that it's for the greater good to prevent a tragedy, the fact of the matter is, Rebekah correctly thinks Bonnie has issues doing that sort of thing to her enemies never mind someone she calls a friend. As I said, Rebekah also thinks my grandbaby is developing romantic feelings for Kol, and so naturally, her instincts tell her to protect him not to cause him immeasurable pain.

Rebekah bounces on her toes while she looks through the stack of DVDs Niklaus and she acquired after their conversation with Bonnie about Christmas movies.

Honestly, she's loving having a girlfriend, and my grandbaby has, in a few short weeks, already earned herself the undying loyalty and devotion of all the Mikaelson children, living and dead, for that matter. Therefore, Rebekah desperately wants to make Bonnie smile and be happy and merry this Christmas season.

To help make that happen, she might have done something that if it works out the way she intends, Bonnie will have a fantastic Christmas and if it doesn't work out, then my grandbaby need never even know that she tried to do it for her.

The doorbell rings and based on the noises she is hearing Rebekah thinks her master plan may have worked out despite Elena's best efforts. Okay, Elena really didn't stand a chance because Rebekah went and compelled Damon to invite Elena to stay over at his house today, tomorrow, and the next day.

Then she may have compelled the bratty girl to agree to stay over and Stefan she compelled to go on vacation. She didn't specify where to, but he is not in town this weekend.

That left Caroline and Jeremy. Rebekah didn't compel either of them. Instead, she visited the two of them and told the teens that she wanted to surround Bonnie with friends who love her this holiday season. Jeremy at first thought his sister would put a kink in their plans, but, as I said, Rebekah took care of that before she introduced the idea to him or Caroline. Rebekah was sure Elena's inherent selfishness meant she would leave her brother alone for the holidays.

So, the younger, and in every original's mind, better Gilbert is free, and Caroline quickly agreed to tell all their friends that she's going to spend the holiday with Bill's boyfriend because it's the first Christmas after her father died.

Rebekah smiles brightly when she opens the door to find the two teens standing on her front step. Caroline has her hands full with her overnight bag and one for Jeremy and three shopping bags full of wrapped presents. Honestly, Rebekah is impressed that Caroline managed to get it all to the front door in one trip without falling or dropping everything.

Jeremy is smiling despite him not having any arms. His smile widens when Rebekah tells them, "Welcome, thank you so much for agreeing to help me out."

He nods and says, "Bonnie's been keeping us informed about her time with all of you, so we know you haven't done anything shady, and really my sister's behavior towards her supposed best friend is sketchy at best. I mean Bonnie saved us all, and you'd think she personally rammed a stake through my ungrateful sister's heart. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Elena to be human again just as badly as she did, but not at the expense of everyone we love."

He smiles and tells her, "Anyway, after you left the other day, Caroline and I talked. We agree that Bonnie needs to be surrounded by people who love her and despite how wary I am of you and your family I'm slowly coming to admit that we may have all been wrong about you guys from the start, so here we are."

He tilts his head slightly and then asks, "Any idea what time Bonnie is expected to show up?"

Rebekah laughs and nods at his words before she takes two of the bags from Caroline's hands and leads them into the house while she tells him, "I told her between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., so we have about half an hour. I'm sure you know as well as I do that Bonnie always shows up on the earlier side of a time window."

They both nod while they walk up the stairs, and Jeremy tells Rebekah, "That's because she doesn't want to miss anything. As much as Care here loves to gossip Bon loves to know everything, too, she just doesn't share what she knows with the entire world."

Caroline pouts but says, "Hey, I might resemble that remark."

Both Caroline and Rebekah break out into giggles while Rebekah nods and shows the teens to two rooms right next to each other and tells them, "Caroline, if you want you can get settled, I'll help Jeremy."

She looks at him, and he looks back at her for a minute before nodding, so Caroline goes into the room, and Jeremy follows Rebekah into the next room. Smiling, Rebekah ignores the thought that Jeremy is 'Super cute' and instead tells him, "Bonnie's slept over three times in the last two weeks, and she always uses the room on the other side of this room, so your room is between hers and Caroline's if you need any help during the night. Incidentally, my room is on the other side of Bonnie's room, so I should hear you if you need help, too. Oh, and Kol and Elijah have promised to help you with guy stuff because we decided to forgo the use of your nurses this weekend, so if you need to use the bathroom or want to change clothes or anything else of that nature just let either of my brothers know."

She pauses then adds, "Nik said he'll help too if you feel comfortable with that, but he told me to inform you that he won't be offended if you choose to stick with Kol or Elijah."

He bobs his head and laughs, "Yeah I don't know how comfortable I'll be with The Big Bad Wolf helping me pee."

She smiles and nods while she empties his bag into the drawers in the closet. She hangs his shirts and then his pants and then she turns and tells him, "There, all done."

He smiles and tells the vampire, "Thanks." Then he smiles wider and lowers his voice before he leans towards her and asks, "Can we go chill with Caroline now?"

Rebekah nods again and leads him out of the room. Caroline meets them in the hallway, and Rebekah says, "Let's go down to the den. We can hang out there until Bonnie gets here."

They nod and go down the stairs. When they get into the Den, they all stand around looking at each other before Caroline laughs and says, "Yeah this isn't awkward or anything."

Jeremy laughs too and then flops down onto one of the couches as much as an armless boy can flop without falling over.

Caroline sits next to him, and when Rebekah sits, too, Caroline frowns then asks her, "Uh, can I ask a question? It's sort of a vampire question, and I figure if anyone's likely to know the answer it would be someone in your family."

Rebekah smiles gently and tells Caroline, whom she's hoping will become a second girlfriend to her, "Ask me whatever you want. If I don't want to answer, I'll let you know, but if it's not a too private personal history question or something that would break a confidence, then I can't imagine my refusing to answer."

Caroline smiles a little and says, "Okay, thanks, so uh, I've noticed recently that Bonnie's scent has changed. Like it's not as strong as it used to be. Is that a bad thing or do you know what would cause it? Is she sick?"

Rebekah sighs but nods and says, "I know what caused it, and it's not a bad thing. It's actually an excellent thing, but I'm not sure if I should answer why exactly her scent has changed."

Caroline frowns again and says, "I knew it. It's got to be bruises. Who was hurting Bonnie?"

Jeremy frowns and turns sad eyes on her before asking, "What makes you think someone was hurting her?"

The ordinarily bubbly Caroline shrugs and says, "How else would her scent change unless her blood isn't as close to the surface anymore. That could only happen if she were covered in bruises before and now she's not."

Caroline looks at Rebekah hard for a minute then she smiles gently and says, "I won't ask you to betray Bonnie's confidence, but I do need reassurances that she's not in danger anymore."

Rebekah nods and says, "Thank you, and for the record, I don't think Bonnie has ever been as safe as she currently is. I do promise, however, to let you both know if that changes."

They nod, and Caroline pats Rebekah's hand and says, "Thank you, Rebekah."

She just nods and smiles before Caroline picks up the stack of movies from the table and flips through them showing each cover to Jeremy. They both laugh a moment later, and he tells the curious Rebekah, "You even got 'Frosty's Winter Wonderland' and the 1966 version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.' How the heck does a vampire who's been daggered for the last 90 years even know what Christmas movies are never mind which ones are the best?"

Rebekah laughs and tells Jeremy, whom she is slowly getting a crush on, "Bonnie told me most of those titles when she was telling me about her fond Christmas memories. I figure we'll watch the cartoons this afternoon and tonight. Then we can watch the others tomorrow after we open gifts."

The two teens nod and then the doorbell rings, so Rebekah tells them, "Be right back," before she hops up and hurries to the door. When she opens it, she smiles at my granddaughter who has her arms full of an overnight bag and two bags full of wrapped gifts. Taking the gifts from her Rebekah leads her into the house while Bonnie smiles and says, "I know I'm kind of early, but I couldn't wait to start watching movies, so I hope you don't mind."

Rebekah shakes her head and tells her, "You know I don't mind spending extra time with you, Bonnie. Let's bring your bag upstairs and then we'll bring the gifts into the den."

My grandbaby nods so Rebekah places the presents on the floor by the door and then leads her upstairs. After quickly unpacking Bonnie's things the two girls then head back down the stairs. Rebekah picks up the bags of gifts and then leads Bonnie into the den where my grandbaby stops in her tracks a few steps into the room. I smile when Bonnie's eyes widen, and she asks her friends, "What, Care, Jer, I thought you guys were busy? What are you doing here?"

Jeremy smiles and tells her, "We are busy this weekend. Busy hanging out with you and the Mikaelsons."

The very full and incredibly bright smile Bonnie flashes all of them before she rushes to give her friends hugs makes Rebekah think that all her hard work was definitely worth the effort.

Kol arrives home shortly after my granddaughter shows up and hurries upstairs to deposit his treasure where she can't see it. When he is sure no one will find it before he gives it to her tomorrow, he heads downstairs where he and Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Rebekah all watch several movies.

When Frosty's Winter Wonderland finishes, Rebekah stands and asks, "I'm thirsty and hungry. Anyone else want some snacks?"

Jeremy laughs and says, "So long as I'm not on the menu, sure."

The three girls giggle at that before Kol turns to Jeremy and says, "We already stocked up on blood bags, so we're good on that front. Elijah wanted to make sure we had enough to last until after the holiday because the hospital will be less populated for a few days, so we'd be more conspicuous trying to deplete their blood stores."

Jeremy turns and looks at him and says, "Seriously, you guys actually have to worry about that sort of thing? Can't you just look into their eyes and make them forget?"

Kol laughs again and asks, "Are you advocating compulsion, Jer?"

He chuckles and tells him, "Not at all, I just figured with your abilities you'd have no problem with that sort of thing. Damon brags about how easy it is to compel anyone to do anything he wants them to do. I think my sister has been compelling people too despite how against it she mostly was when she was human."

Kol frowns and tells him, "First, I would appreciate it if you compare my family members or me to Damon Salvatore as little as possible. The mere idea we might have anything in common makes my skin itch."

Jeremy chuckles but nods so Kol tells him, "Second, my family and I prefer to use our natural knack for persuasion without using compulsion whenever possible. Mikael had a nasty habit of compelling anyone he pleased, so we intentionally set out to do the opposite of him."

He pauses but then says, "Although we know from his practices that repeated and frequent compulsions don't harm the human, if you make the human do too many things they wouldn't ordinarily do often enough it will prompt others to start asking questions. Mikael would just respond by compelling the whole village, but honestly, that's rather bothersome and entirely unnecessary if you use the ability judiciously."

All of the teens' eyes are wide open before Jeremy nods and says, "Oh okay. I didn't mean anything by it. I just figured it'd make life easier."

Kol smiles and says, "Don't worry, Mate, I know you didn't mean anything by it. I just figured I should set you straight now, so you wouldn't be misinformed any longer. And I was serious. Compare us to the Salvatores as little as possible because honestly, the mere fact that we're the same species bothers me enough to make me cranky."

Jeremy laughs while Kol and Rebekah keep straight faces before Jeremy nods to himself and then tells Kol, "I can totally see how that would do that. I mean Damon's okay I guess if you look past the facts that he killed my first girlfriend, compelled me to forget the whole thing, killed me, and then compelled me to leave town. Other than that, he's awesome… not."

Kol laughs and tells him, "Then we're agreed. The Salvatores are unsavory, and we are the creme de la creme."

Bonnie giggles then too and says, "I think we need to feed Kol if he's talking in food metaphors."

They all get up and head into the kitchen where they find Niklaus sitting drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book.

Jeremy decides to take a leap of faith and asks, "That anyone I know?"

Niklaus looks up surprised but then grins and says, "Not unless you're on a first name basis with some coffee beans."

Jeremy smiles back, and chuckling says, "Ooh Coffee, tell me there's more where that came from!"

Niklaus points to the coffee pot which is full of enough coffee to feed all the teens and his siblings a cup each. He smiles and says, "Whoever drinks the last make another pot, otherwise enjoy."

Jeremy walks over to the pot and leans in taking a whiff before he says, "Hmm. Bon, would you—"

She smiles and tells her friend, "Yeah sure," before pouring him and herself cups and then leading him over to the stools. She takes a sip of her own coffee then holds his cup to his lips and lets him have a sip.

Jeremy frowns after he swallows and says, "Don't ever take for granted your mobility and independence. I did, and now I wish I had been more grateful for what I had at the time."

Niklaus frowns and surprises Jeremy by asking, "Kol, is there any way to give him back his arms without allowing the tattoo to continue growing?"

Jeremy's eyes are wide when Kol nods and says, "I'm working on finding a safe way to do it. It won't be ready until the next full moon at the earliest, though. Just hang in there Jer, and I hope I'll be able to come up with a non-dark way to let Bonnie give you back your arms before Valentine's Day."

Jeremy bounces on his seat and says, "That's way more than I deserve from you, but thank you."

Kol just nods before Bonnie leans over and kisses his cheek. He smiles and takes a sip of his coffee but doesn't comment.

Niklaus puts down his book a moment later and says, "Little Witch, I have something for you."

He gets up and goes into the pantry before coming back with a plate of something. He walks to her and then stops before pulling the kitchen towel off the plate with a flourish and extending the dish towards her.

My baby girl looks at the platter and then her whole face lights up, "You made me snickerdoodles?"

He nods and tells her, "Yes. I may have gotten Caroline to tell me your favorite holiday snack and then help me get the recipe your grandmother always used."

She leans up and kisses his scruffy cheek before swiping a cookie off the plate and taking a bite. She moans and then says, "God, that's so good. Just like Grams always made. Thank you, Nik. You rock!"

He smiles and puts the plate on the counter before returning to his seat and picking his book back up. He smiles into the pages while he begins reading again.

A moment later Jeremy softly interrupts him, "Um, do you enjoy cooking?"

Niklaus nods and puts his book back down, "Usually yes. Especially now that Bonnie has taken to teaching us how to cook modern food."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Cool, FYI, Caroline and Bonnie both favor Cheese Tortellini in Pesto sauce with pine nuts mixed in when they're having a bad day. They always keep a package of each in the fridge just in case. The directions for the tortellini are on the package of pasta, and then you just mix the sauce and the nuts in with the hot pasta, and then you serve it hot, or you can put it in the fridge during the summer and serve it cold, too. It's probably the only non-homemade food they like besides pizza, but I don't know a single teen alive who doesn't love pizza so…"

Niklaus' eyes are wide, but he nods and says, "Thank you, Mate. I'll have to keep that in mind."

Jeremy smiles and tells the older man, "No problem. I figure Bonnie and Caroline both dig you, so you can't be all bad. Plus, I'm making a habit now of forming my own opinions outside of my sister's. I also check her facts now, too, before coming to an opinion."

Niklaus nods and says, "Given what I know of your sister that is probably a wise decision."

Jeremy frowns and says, "You honestly have no idea."

Niklaus inclines his head and says, "No probably not. However, as a man with two older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister I think I do understand how annoying siblings can be at times. They're family, though, and we put up with them no matter what because we love them, and they love us back, despite our, in my case, many flaws."

Jeremy frowns but slides his chair closer to Niklaus' and then lowers his voice and says, "See that's just it, I'm not sure my sister loves me. She barely acknowledges me at this point, and when she does, it's usually to yell at me for having screwed up her one chance at becoming human again."

Niklaus nods but tells him, "It can take some people years before they come to grips with their change. I personally took to it fairly well. Kol, on the other hand, had a short temper that became significantly worse with the bloodlust, so he had a harder time coming to terms with what he is now. I've known some baby vampires who took decades or sometimes centuries to get over their own death."

Jeremy leans closer to him, so Niklaus continues, "Of course, your sister is overlooking one critical fact about all the others that have come before her."

Jeremy raises an eyebrow, so Niklaus nods once and says, "Except for my family and me and the Salvatores, most people who transition don't get to keep any of their family. They are presumed dead and forced to leave for a time only to return to their home decades or centuries later to reminisce about what they lost. Why do you think Damon and Stefan keep coming back here? Hell, why do you think my family came back?"

Jeremy frowns but asks, "Didn't you come back for Elena, and the rest followed, sort of?"

Niklaus nods and says, "Yes, that's what brought us back initially. Now ask what keeps us from leaving?"

Jeremy frowns deeper but asks, "Okay, I'll bite, what keeps you from leaving?"

Niklaus turns and looks him in the eyes and says, "The friends and family we have here help us remember what it's like to feel human. While we will never be human again, we can occasionally feel human. Bonnie and Caroline give that to my family and me, that sense of warmth that we haven't felt in centuries. Some of us haven't felt it in over a millennium, but now we do. We're loathed to miss out on it while it's available because while Caroline will be around a couple hundred years from now, Bonnie might not be, though her chances are better because she's a witch and not human. Still, we won't pass up the opportunity to feel human while we can. It's too rare and precious."

Jeremy sits back on his stool and just nods while thinking over everything Niklaus just said. A minute later he smiles and then leans down and slurps his coffee out of his mug while it sits in front of him.

Bonnie smiles and lifts the cup and helps him drink. When they've all finished their coffee and cookies, they head back to the den to watch 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'

When Bonnie walks towards the door, she calls over her shoulder, "You should join us Nik, instead of skulking in the kitchen. Be happy and merry with us."

He laughs and nods before pouring himself more coffee and then following everyone into the den to watch the movie.

When the movie is over Bonnie stretches and then looks around the room and says, "Do us girls and Jeremy want to do girl, plus Jeremy, talk before we head to bed?" She giggles and then says, "I guess we should call it teen talk, huh?"

Everyone laughs before Kol tells her, "I'm invited, right? Technically, I was still 19 when I was turned so I should count."

Caroline laughs and tells Bonnie, "Keep in mind that you and Jer are the only ones here who won't be able to hear our conversation from three floors away."

Bonnie pouts for a minute before smiling and saying, "Then let's do it in here, and everyone can join in." She pauses and then raising her voice ever so slightly adds, "That includes you too, Elijah, mister I'll sneak into the house while everyone is preoccupied and not say hello like a proper gentleman. Honestly, I'm shocked you'd stoop so low, Mr. Mikaelson."

He laughs when he comes to the door carrying gifts and tells her, "Forgive me, Bonnie. I had gifts that needed to be wrapped, so I thought I'd wait to come and say hello until after I had finished that."

She smiles and pauses before her smile widens, and she says, "You're forgiven."

He nods and then comes into the room, and after placing his gifts under the tree, he sits in one of the armchairs before asking, "So what are we talking about?"

Bonnie shrugs and says, "I don't know I just feel like I haven't connected with Caroline and Jer in so long."

Jeremy leans against her, and Caroline gets up and squeezes between Bonnie and Kol much to Kol's displeasure. He frowns and playfully asks, "Oy, woman, what are you doing?"

Caroline giggles and says, "Huggin' on my bestie."

She pauses then she clears her throat and squeezes Bonnie gently before she says, "Um, I have a question for Bonnie. I asked Rebekah what I thought was a vampire question earlier, but she said she couldn't elaborate beyond saying it's not a bad thing so, um, Bonnie care to explain why you smell, um, less potent for lack of a better way of putting it?"

When my grandbaby frowns and looks pointedly at the Mikaelsons, Caroline squeezes her again and tells her, "I'm asking now because I figure it's not something Elena or Damon and Stefan should know about. No matter where I ask in this house everyone will hear, so I thought you'd rather know they're listening than telling us things in confidence when they will also inadvertently overhear."

Bonnie nods and then reaches behind Caroline and grabs hold of Kol's hand while still hugging her friend. Caroline realizes the significance of that action better than my grandbaby currently does, but she says nothing and waits.

My granddaughter clears her throat and says, "Um, I had bruises, so according to Kol when they healed my scent lessened."

Caroline gently asks, "You've smelled so strong for as long as I've been a vampire, Bonnie. Where did the bruises come from, and why were they always there?"

Bonnie squeezes Kol's hand tightly and then tells her friends, "Um, my dad, he uh, well, he would, um, well…"

Jeremy gently finishes for her, "He'd hit you."

My precious girl nods while tears fall from her eyes in little streams down her cheeks. Caroline hugs her tighter and says, "Oh Bonnie. You're okay now, though, right? And somebody compelled him not to hurt you anymore, right? Because if not I'll go do it right now."

Bonnie nods but doesn't say anything, so Kol asks, "Little Bella, would you like me to tell them what happened?"

She just nods again, so he gently explains what happened two Mondays ago. When he's finished Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Rebekah are all crying.

Rebekah tells them all, "Nik and I guessed the night it happened, and although Kol refused to break your confidence by giving us details, he did confirm that your dad had been hurting you, so I went and compelled your dad not to hurt you again, too. I figure while Nik isn't likely to dagger us again, the daggers are still a viable threat so this way if Kol is daggered and his compulsions nullified mine will still keep you safe."

Niklaus nods and says, "I really don't have any plans to dagger anyone, but I compelled your father, too, for the same reason."

Elijah smiles and says, "I did as well."

Bonnie wipes at her tears and says, "Thank you."

They all nod and then everyone just sits there for a few minutes sniffling and reflecting on what they've just heard before Jeremy decides to break the tense silence and asks, "Hey Klaus can you come and blow my nose for me?"

Rebekah runs out of the room and returns with a box of tissues which she hands to everyone under 19 years old and then she extends the box to Niklaus and motions her head towards Jeremy who's still sniffling because he hasn't blown his nose yet.

Niklaus lets out a long-suffering sigh and then grabs the box of tissues from his sister and gets up and goes and helps Jeremy blow his nose.

Jeremy giggles when he's done and says, "Thanks, man, I needed that."

Niklaus frowns but playfully says, "Don't think about it… no really forget it ever happened because it won't be happening again."

Bonnie leans up and kisses his cheek and says, "Thanks, Nik, ya know that pile of pebbles keeps growing, pretty soon it's gonna be a mountain. Hey, maybe I'll start calling you 'Pebbles.'"

He pouts and asks her, "Nik, Klaus, or Niklaus aren't good enough for you?"

She smiles and bumps his shoulder before she tells him, "But everybody else gets to call you those names. Only I'll be allowed to call you Pebbles."

Jeremy laughs again and asks, "What's that make Kol, 'Bam-Bam'?"

The teens laugh and surprisingly so does Elijah. Jeremy looks over at him and asks, "You actually understood that, Elijah?"

He nods and tells them all, "Yes, I actually have seen quite a few episodes of the Flintstones through the years."

Bonnie giggles and tells Jeremy, "That's good, but maybe we should call Elijah Bam-Bam since he knew who we were talking about."

Jeremy laughs and nods but then asks, "Then what will Kol's name be?"

My grandbaby giggles and says, "I already gave him a nickname."

Kol sighs the same time Jeremy's eyebrow shoots up, and he smiles before he asks, "Oh? Do tell."

Bonnie explains about how Kol calls her 'Little Bella,' and why and then tells her two teenage friends, "I needed something to call Kol, so I decided that if I'm Bella and I'm hanging out with a family of Vampires, then that means they sparkle. So, I may have maybe started calling him 'Sparkle Pants,' though I kind of forgot about it and haven't really used it all that much."

Jeremy lets out a bark of laughter and then keeps guffawing. His laughter knows no end and Kol's frown slowly deepens. When Jeremy looks up and sees Kol's scowl, he calms his laughter and tells him, "Don't worry, man, I'm crazy, not stupid. I know that out of all the people on the planet Bonnie Bennett is the only person alive who could get away with calling a thousand-year-old person 'Sparkle Pants', but especially a thousand-plus-year-old person who's probably killed more people than my friends and I have all met combined. No worries, I will not be trying to call you that. I know better."

Despite the reminder of all his victims Kol smiles and tells Jeremy, "Just so we're clear."

Jeremy smiles widely and tells him, "Oh, we're crystal."

Kol nods once before Jeremy smirks and asks, "So would it be bad to get together with the Mikaelson men and brainstorm on ways to prank Mr. Hopkins pretty much constantly to get back at him."

Bonnie giggles but tells him, "Yes, it would be bad. He may be compelled not to h-hit me anymore, but he can still get cranky, and I'd rather not be around him when that happens."

Jeremy smiles at her and then winks at Kol and tells him, "We'll just wait until she goes to college, and then we can drive him nuts until it's time for her to come home."

Kol and Niklaus both laugh and tell him at the same time, "I'm in."

He smiles big and nods before he says to the two originals, "We'll talk later."

My baby girl puts her hands on her hips and says, "There will be no pranking my dad."

He pouts and tells her, "But he deserves it!"

My granddaughter smiles and tells him, "Maybe he does, but this is me putting my foot down."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Okay but if you change your mind you just let Kol, Klaus, and me know, and we'll cook something up, okay?"

She smiles and nods, "Deal."

Caroline has been strangely silent through the whole thing, and I can hear in her thoughts about how she wishes she had noticed something wasn't right. She thinks, 'That's got to be why she would always change in one of the stalls for gym and Cheerleading. How could I not notice? She would have noticed if our roles were reversed.'

Bonnie bumps Caroline's shoulder and tells her, "Hey, no self-doubt allowed on Christmas Eve, or hey is that clock right? If it is, then it's Christmas Day."

She hugs Caroline again and tells her, "Merry Christmas, Care."

She hugs her back but says, "I'm sorry I didn't realize what was—"

Bonnie pulls back and puts her finger on her friend's lips and tells her, "I didn't want anyone to know, not even my bestie. I was too ashamed."

Caroline pulls her back into a hug and tells her, "I love you, Bonnie."

Jeremy leans against Bonnie's back and says, "Hey I love you guys, too!"

Both girls turn and each kiss one of his cheeks prompting him to smile before he asks, "So are we doing the usual one gift before bed or are we forgoing that now that we're older?"

Caroline laughs and says, "I'll never be too old for a gift before bedtime."

Bonnie nods, so she gets up and then helps Jeremy up and over to the tree. He sits down on the floor beside her with a little help. Caroline stands and grabs Niklaus' hand pulling him over to her friends and then pulling on his arm after she sits to get him to join them. The three remaining originals stand, and Kol asks, "I take it this part requires sitting on the floor?"

The teens all nod, so they sit, and then Bonnie starts making piles of gifts according to the names on the tags. When she's done, she says, "We usually go from oldest to youngest or vice versa. We did youngest first last year so we should start with the oldest this year. Each of us should choose a gift, and then we'll open them in the order we were born in."

They all nod and Bonnie hands the piles to each person. Kol shakes his gifts and sniffs them prompting Bonnie to giggle and ask, "Sparkle Pants, you gonna be okay with presents you can't open until after we wake up tomorrow?"

His siblings all laugh loudly at that, and Elijah tells her, "You have him pegged correctly, Bonnie."

She nods and tells Elijah, "I figured."

Kol pouts, but he tells her, "I think I can manage to wait a few hours, just don't make me have to sit through breakfast first."

They all laugh, but Elijah tells them, "Seriously, breakfast will be miserable if he hasn't been allowed to open his gifts beforehand."

Bonnie smiles and says, "So noted, presents before breakfast."

Kol nods and then puts all but one gift down and looks at Elijah and says, "Well get on with it, Brother, times a ticking."

Elijah laughs and tells them all, "If I didn't think it would be unfair to our guests I'd drag it out just to spite you."

I laugh and so does everyone else when Kol sticks his tongue out at his older brother. Finn who has been strangely silent all night chuckles beside me and tells me, "Believe it or not, Sheila, Henrik may have seemed to favor Niklaus growing up, but he idolized Kol. He got Kol's attitude from him, as well as his penchant for sticking out his tongue when he's displeased with someone."

The boy in question laughs and sticks his tongue out at Finn who chuckles and says, "See."

I just snicker and watch Elijah slowly begin opening his present that appears to be in a leather tube.

When Elijah begins opening his present Bonnie says, "Wait, you've got to tell us who it's from first."

Elijah, who is still wearing his impeccable suit despite it being after midnight, smiles and tells her, "This is from Rebekah." He then slowly, oh so slowly, opens the paper without tearing it.

Kol huffs halfway through and says, "Seriously?"

Elijah just lifts his eyebrow and asks, "How long have we been together Kol? Surely by now, you know how I open my presents."

Kol doesn't say anything and instead pouts. After he removes the paper, Elijah opens the top of the tube and then gradually pulls a roll of paper out of it.

He then gently rolls it open and smiles at the antique map of the world. Jeremy leans forward to see better and asks, "Exactly how old is that?"

Elijah smiles and tells him, "If I am correct, I believe it's circa 1450 or thereabouts."

Rebekah nods and says, "Yes, when I sent for my things, I found it. I commissioned it to give to you many years ago. I think I found what I thought was a better present for that year, so I put it away to give to you later and then with all the running from Mikael I forgot all about it. Better late than never I suppose."

Elijah slowly and gently rolls the map back up and then stands and goes to his sister before leaning down and kissing her cheek, "Thank you, Rebekah, it's perfect and in perfect time."

She beams at him, so he returns to his spot on the floor before Niklaus smiles and asks, "Is it my turn now?"

Everyone nods so he picks up a medium sized box and shakes it a little, which causes a little bit of rattling. He reads the tag and says, "This is from Caroline."

She smiles and says, "I actually had a little help from Jeremy, so it's sort of from both of us, but he wouldn't let me put his name on the tag."

Her helper sticks his tongue out at her and says, "It was supposed to be a secret."

Niklaus laughs and tells him, "Oh the word is out, you're my secret friend."

Jeremy and the teens laugh at that before Niklaus rips open his gift with little care for how well the paper survives. The box is brown and unassuming, so he uses his nail to open the tape and then slides the lid off the box. His eyes widen when they land on the high-quality art supplies. He takes each thing out smiling wider and wider while he goes. Then he gets to the bottom of the box and carefully pulls a small 10x12x3 box out of the bigger box. He opens it slowly and then gently pulls a framed painting out of the box.

His eyes get large when they land on the image, and he smiles and says, "Caroline, whose work is this? This is fabulous!"

She smiles and tells him, "The art supplies were Jer and me, but the painting is one of my favorites, and I happened to see it in a little gallery I was walking by a few weeks ago, with my friends, so I went in and bought it. I wasn't sure if I'd give it to you anytime soon or just hide it in my closet until I hunted you down a century or two from now and then give it to you. I figure since Bonnie's doing the friend thing with all of you I will, too, so I thought it would be good to give it to you now, and the artist is Pirko Mäkelä-Haapalinna. It's called 'On Frozen Lake.' I love the colors and how it mostly just hints at what it is. I kind of like paintings that don't spell it all out for you. Anyhow, I thought of this painting when I first saw your work, and then last month I saw the picture in the gallery and bought it. I used to have a print on my bedroom wall, but it faded and didn't look as nice anymore, so I took it down."

He smiles widely and leans over and kisses her cheek, "Thank you, Luv. I love it."

She blushes and then smiles back before Kol interrupts by ripping open his present, which causes everyone else to laugh.

He barely pauses to open the box and then pulls out a massive tome. Bonnie is still laughing when she tells him, "You're supposed to say who gave it to you."

He starts flipping through the pages of the grimoire and smiles boyishly before he tells her, "It's from you."

She laughs again and tells him, "Mr. Saunders, you remember me telling you about him?"

Kol looks up for a moment and then nods and says, "The bookshop keeper?"

She smiles big and nods, "Yes, so last week he called me and told me that he had this huge estate sale that looked to be mostly grimoires. He was a longtime friend of Grams, so he never charges me what the going rate is and mostly asks me for the lowest number he knows I'll let him get away with. Anyway, he drove the fifteen crates to my house, and I snuck them into the basement while my dad was at work."

Grinning she tells him, "I've been reading through them most nights, but I thought you'd like that one and you'll know why when you get closer to the end."

He keeps flipping and quickly reading each spell until he comes across a drawing. His eyes pop open wide, and he looks from the page to Bonnie and back again before flipping back to the front of the book. When he sees who wrote the book, he closes his eyes. A tear slips out of his eyes before Rebekah asks, "Who's it by? What's the significance?"

Bonnie smiles and tells them all, "It was written by his student and friend, Chalina Fernández. The woman who died was her great-great whatever niece. Apparently, the surviving members of the family insisted that her grimoire collection had to go to Mr. Saunders and that he had a young friend that the boxes should go to. They said that the young woman would know why when she came across a few of the books. I think they were right because as soon as I saw that picture of Kol, I knew I had to give it to him."

She looks away from the book in his hands and up to his face. Her eyes widen when she sees the tears pouring down his cheeks. Getting up on her knees she crawls over to him. Putting her hands on his cheeks, she gently wipes his tears away and asks, "Kol? Are you okay? Was I wrong? Should I not have given it to you? I just thought you'd like to have it I—"

He pulls her into a hug effectively cutting her off. "You weren't wrong. I promise to explain the significance, but not today, though. Honestly, not anytime soon, but eventually, I'll explain the tremendous gift you just gave me."

Pulling away she looks into his dark chestnut eyes, "You're sure? You're okay?"

He nods and then leans in and kisses her forehead, "I'm perfect. Thank you, Bonnie."

She smiles and nods before she returns to her seat. All the Mikaelsons have wide eyes and hanging jaws. They slowly close their mouths while Bonnie tells Kol, "That's only the third book I'd made it through. I'm on book number five, now. Books one, two and four didn't seem to have any connection to you, but if you want, sometime you can come over and look through all the books and take whatever ones you want because I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to give Chalina's books to you."

With wide damp eyes, Kol nods and tells her, "I may very well take you up on that."

She nods back, so Rebekah picks her gift up off the floor and reads the tag, "This is from… Caroline?"

She looks at Caroline and tilts her head for a moment, so Caroline smiles and says, "I saw this on the same day trip when I found the painting. I'm still not sure what compelled me to buy it because at the time we were definitely enemies, but I thought you'd like it. I even considered leaving it on your doorstep and then hightailing it out of here. But then you invited us over for Christmas, so I realized that must have been why I bought it."

Rebekah nods and opens the paper, not as slowly as Elijah, but much slower than Kol. She takes the lid off the shirt box and then gasps at the red fabric inside. She gently pulls the dress out, and a tear rolls down her cheek, too. Caroline smiles and says, "I didn't see the dress you were going to wear to homecoming, but Elena described it, and so did Stefan, which can I just say was creepy. Anyway, it's probably different, but I figured it'd be a good replacement because the first dress now has a dagger hole through the back. Anyway, we have enough dances at school that you should be able to find one to wear it to, it's fancy enough that you could even wear it to Prom. I kept the receipt in case I guessed your size wrong, but I'm usually pretty good about that sort of thing."

Rebekah stands and holds the dress to herself before smiling big and telling Caroline, "Thank you. I love it."

She just grins at Rebekah before she turns to look at Bonnie who has a thin flat gift sitting in her lap. Bonnie smiles and asks, "My turn?" When everyone nods, she looks at the tag and says, "This one is from Kol."

She slowly opens the paper and then takes out the envelope before opening it and sliding a sheet of paper out of it. She reads it and then laughs and says, "Custom bookshelves."

Kol smiles and tells her, "You told me the ones you have aren't designed for such heavy tomes, and you're afraid the shelves will break, and your books will get damaged when they fall, so I paid for as many cases as you need. You could even put them in your basement and attic so that you can actually access the grimoires that are currently in boxes right now."

She gets up again and walks on her knees to kiss his cheek. When she pulls back, she says, "Thank you, Kol. I really was worried, so this is great."

He grins while he nods before she goes back to her seat.

Caroline smiles, but before she can open her box, Niklaus flashes out of the room and comes back with a wrapped package that is obviously a painting. He smiles and asks her, "Luv, can I persuade you to open this one tonight?"

She smiles and nods, so he hands the 16x20 package to her. She gently but quickly rips the paper from the painting and then just sits there staring at it with tears in her eyes. Bonnie leans around to look and then says, "Oh, Nik, that's lovely."

Jeremy peeks and then says, "Whoa! That's awesome."

Caroline just nods with her hand covering her mouth. She eventually says, "Thank you Nik. I… How did you even know about that photo?"

He smiles and tells her, "Your mother was surprisingly helpful once I promised I had no ill-intent planned."

I smile looking at the painting of Caroline and her parents. It's based on a picture the Forbes' had taken when Caroline was about seven, four months before her father left.

He smiles gently and says, "Your mother insisted that I should paint that photograph because it was your favorite growing up and she's had to have multiple prints made over the years to replace the older ones because you used to keep it under your pillow."

Caroline nods, so Niklaus says, "Now you can hang it on the wall and see it every time you enter your room."

She gently places the precious painting onto the floor and knee-walks to him before kissing his cheek and then looking him in the eyes she tells him, "Thank you, Niklaus. This is a gift that I will treasure through the centuries, not just because of the subject matter but also because of the artist who created it and the care and thought you put into making it."

He just nods, so she leans in and kisses his cheek again before returning to her seat.

Jeremy smiles and asks, "So who's going to help me open the second box down in that pile by my foot?"

Bonnie reaches over and grabs the box before telling everyone, "This one is from Kol," then she slowly peels the paper from the package. She uses her nail to open the box and then begins taking out art supplies.

Jeremy's eyes grow dark, but Kol explains himself, "I'm not rubbing your lack of arms in your face as it were, Jer. In fact, quite the opposite. This is a promise of sorts that as soon as I can manage it, I will figure out a way for Bonnie to give you back your arms without endangering anyone so that you can go back to doing all the things you love but can't do right now."

Jeremy's eyes are wide, but he nods and says, "Thanks. I hope you know I'm gonna hold you to that."

Kol just smiles and says, "Good, I hope that you do. Tuesday was The Full Moon. I didn't finish in time, but I'm sure I can get the spell entirely written before the next full moon comes around. If not, then definitely by February's Full Moon."

Jeremy nods and says, "Thank you, Kol. I mean I was trying to kill you, and now you're offering to help me get my arms back. Arms I wouldn't have lost if I had just listened to you in the first place."

Kol smiles and tells Jeremy, "Don't dwell. What's done is done, and we'll see if Bonnie and I can't figure out how to fix the situation so that you're whole again as soon as possible."

Jeremy nods again and says, "Well, thank you all the same."

Kol inclines his head before Bonnie and Caroline both let out jaw snapping yawns. The two girls giggle and then Bonnie says, "Well, I think I need to go to bed now, or poor Kol is going to be stuck waiting to open his other gifts until tomorrow afternoon, or this afternoon I guess, after lunch anyway."

Kol pouts and stands, holding his hand down towards my grandbaby before he tells her, "Best get you to bed then, Little Bella, because you never know what mischief I might get into if I have to wait for very long!"

She laughs and then hugs him before telling him, "Thank you for my gift. It's perfect."

He nods and holds her tight for a moment before he lets her go and says, "Jer you want some help getting ready for bed?"

He nods, so Kol helps him stand, and then everyone heads up to their rooms.

Finn looks at me while I try to figure out who to follow and he says, "Go with Kol. I think you might learn more about him if you watch him in his alone time tonight."

I nod then follow him up to Jeremy's room. He helps Jeremy change his clothes and use the bathroom, bantering lightly with him to keep his mind off the fact that someone needs to help him pee.

Soon enough, though, Kol leaves him alone after helping him to bed, and then he leaves being sure to leave the door open in case Jeremy wants to exit the room in the middle of the night.

Kol walks back down the stairs and into the den where he picks up his new grimoire and flips to the title page. Running his fingers along Chalina's name another tear trickles down his cheek. He slowly flips through the book taking the time to trace many of the words with his finger. When he gets to the drawing of himself he stops and just stares before whispering, "I still miss you, but I have a new love now. I think you'd like her. You both are a lot alike. She's just a touch braver than you were when it comes to putting my siblings and me in our place, but other than that I think you could be soul sisters you're so alike."

I notice a ghost off to the side that I've never seen before. She has tears in her eyes while she watches Kol talk to thin air. A moment later she looks at me and with a heavy accent tells me, "I'm glad he's moving on. I've been surreptitiously watching without calling attention to myself. She's good for him. If my father had beaten me on a daily basis, Kol would not have been able to keep himself from killing him. The fact that he only knocked her father unconscious and then compelled him into no longer harming her is incredibly significant. He doesn't think he's over me yet, but I see it, slowly but surely, the pain of my death is being overrun by his love for her."

She pauses while Kol silently cries. The ghost looks back at me and continues, "The time I knew him was the happiest of my short life. I've always been grateful that he stopped to love me. He's such a big personality, and he noticed shy, quiet, unassuming me and quickly brought me out of my shell. He'll be good for her and her self-esteem. He'll cherish her, and above all else, she'll know she's cherished and loved. Once she comes to him, she'll never doubt his feelings again."

Pausing she watches Kol for a moment and then says, "The book she gave him has the notes I made about the spell he started working on back in 1701. He never finished because I died, and he no longer had a reason to tie a soul mate to himself. What he never knew is that I'm not his intended mate. I was merely the seed that planted the idea that he could love and be happy for eternity. She is his future and his happiness. He's been struggling with the spell, which for the record is unusual for him, but I think it's the memory of me and what I endured at Mikael's hands that make it so difficult for him to work on the spell. That book right there will help in two ways, one it has all the notes I wrote down about the spell he needs to finish and two I wrote him a letter based on a premonition I had shortly before I died. I basically wrote him a goodbye letter."

She sighs and then says, "His brothers daggered him before he ever had a chance to go through my things, and then Josefina and the Mikaelsons packed everything in short order and then fled with Kol in his coffin. The letter should give him the closure he needs to be able to fully give himself to your granddaughter."

I nod. Chalina walks to Kol and places her ghostly hand on his shoulder while he cries into his hands, "Be at peace my love and never let her go."

She kisses his forehead and then turns and tells me, "She'll never want for love or protection. She is already his world. They just don't realize it yet."

Walking farther away Chalina then turns back, "You'll have an opportunity to talk to your granddaughter again after Kol finds a second set of notes that should help him with returning the hunter's arms without putting the world at risk."

She smiles and says, "Henrik should think back on Kol's time in Haiti in the 1680's because he'll remember something from that time that should help you all. If you could tell them both that I give my blessing and that Josefina, Alaric and I will be in touch when Esther finalizes her plans because while she is dead, she will not be satisfied until all her children are just as dead as she is."

I let out a heavy sigh but nod, so she says, "Josefina is also keeping an eye on Mikael who has his own plans. He remembers me, but she's just another nobody he forgot almost as soon as she fled, so she has befriended him and is trying to discover his and Esther's plans are before they become a problem for the Mikaelson Children and all they hold dear."

I just nod, so she inclines her head and says, "Freya, will help you protect them too."

She smiles and turns back to look at Kol again. She closes her eyes for a moment and then tells me, "Help protect them, The Living World and The Otherside both will depend on them to survive. Though they should be able to defeat the main threat in quick order with extraordinarily little effort."

Her eyes open and she turns and looks at me, "They deserve to be happy, though, so protect them always. I will smile upon them while they live the life I never got to live, together like they should be for all time."

Pausing again she smiles sadly before telling me, "It might, however, be best to minimize how much I'm involved, though, especially right now because Kol's wounds from my death are once again fresh, and I don't want him to pull away from Bonnie out of some misguided loyalty to me. Tell them I give my blessing but tell them Josefina gave you all the other information."

I frown but tell her, "I won't lie, but I won't volunteer the information if you think that's best, however, if either of them asks I will tell them the truth, they deserve no less."

She smiles and says, "I see where your granddaughter gets her morals from. You did an excellent job raising her. You are correct, though, so don't lie but please wait as long as possible to tell them of my involvement."

I nod and tell her, "That I can promise I'll do."

She smiles and then whispers, "Goodbye my love." Then she walks away and slowly fades until I can no longer see her.

I jump when Finn and Henrik come into the room, and Henrik says, "Did I hear right? You're going to get to talk to them? Can you tell Nik my death was my fault, not his?"

I smile. Henri may technically be 1,020-years-old, but he still has the exuberance that comes with youth. I think for a minute, and I realize Chalina gave me all the clues I need to solve this riddle of how we're going to get to talk to them, so I tell him, "I think you'll get to tell him yourself."

His smile widens, and he bounces on his toes before he asks, "Really?"

I nod and tell him, "Chalina said you need to think about Kol's time in Haiti, the 1680's I believe."

He scratches his chin and says, "I'll think about it and get back to you."

I nod and watch Kol continue to cry. I wish there were something I could do right now to ease his pain, but I don't have the resources needed just yet.

Kol stays in the den for close to three hours, mostly crying. Towards the end of the three hours, he begins flipping through the book again. I look over his shoulder and smile when he opens it to the letter Chalina told me about. His eyes widen, and he whispers, "You knew. You knew, and you didn't warn me. Why?"

I laugh lightly because the line right after 'Dearest Kol, if you're reading this, then I have passed on to the Otherside,' reads, 'I did not warn you because you would have gotten yourself killed. You must live. There is another who will win your heart, and she will be far more deserving of your love than I ever have been, and I'm not discounting how much I deserve your love, quite the opposite actually. She will be your light in the darkness, your beauty in the ugliness of the world, your Little Bella.'

Oh wow, she really did know. I move away from him confident that she wrote what he needs to read but also quite sure I shouldn't invade his privacy any more than I already do. When he finishes reading, he smiles slightly and tells the air, "I will always love you, but now I have room in my heart for both of you. You are correct, I was still holding on when I should have been letting go. You always knew what I needed to hear. Thank you for loving me and preparing me for Bonnie. Good-bye, my Little Rose."

He closes the book and then stands before carrying the book up the stairs towards his room. He pauses outside Bonnie's bedroom door. Placing his hand on the door, he just stands there for a minute with his eyes closed. He jumps slightly, a moment later, when Rebekah opens her bedroom door and asks, "Kol, are you okay?"

Smiling gently, he turns to look at her before saying, "I am now. Good night, Sister."

She smiles cautiously and then tells him, "And to you as well, Brother."

He squeezes her shoulder before he walks past her and then turns down the other hallway and enters his bedroom where he shuts the door.

I turn back towards the stairs and go sit by the Christmas tree for the rest of the night contemplating everything I've learned tonight.