A/N: *Hides behind a pillow* I'm extremely sorry for not updating this story for a really long time. I lost inspiration again and I couldn't find the motivation. I'm horrible. I'm truly sorry. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. :)
Important: I reuploaded the previous chapters. I just made some revisions. Nothing that changes the story much for some chapters. But I think its best to reread the first and third chapters since I added quite a lot of stuff in Caroline's internal monologues there that explains things about the divorce. And also in the second chapter, I added a scene where in Clay comes out to his father. And instead of residing in New York, I thought that it would make more sense for Caroline to live in Mystic Falls instead in this fic.
(CAROLINE'S POV)
"Wow! What's the occasion?" Nathan asked with a surprised smile as he eyed all the food on the table.
It was one of those rare times when Caroline had an afternoon off from work and Nathan was out so she decided to cook something special for dinner.
"Think of it as a late welcome home dinner." Caroline said and went to pinch Nathan's cheek even when she knew how much he hated it.
She expected Nathan to slap her hand away but to her surprise not only did Nathan laugh but he then went to hug her like it was the most normal thing in the world. Which was not normal because the Nathan she knew did not like physical contact the moment he reached the age of thirteen.
"Can't wait to try all this!" Nathan exclaimed then walked around to sit on his chair.
Huh. Where was her moody son? Not that Nathan was always moody. He had his moments but this..This was different. Nathan just seemed more giddy and cheerful.
Then it hit her. Maybe he meet someone at summer camp? Was he.. in love? Is that why he's been acting so different?
Then Caroline remembered that her son would talk to her when he was ready. It wasn't as if he hid things from her. He would tell her whatever it was that was going on with him in his own time. With a nod, Caroline sat on her side of the table.
"So how was your day?"
Nathan took a bite of salad and his eyes lit up. "Oh! I went to this book store. I got you a book too. And something really funny happened at the-" Then he stopped.
"Nath?"
A look of panic crossed his features before he schooled it back to normal. "I mean..Nothing."
It took almost all of Caroline's will not to ask her son straight up what was up. She did not want to push if her son wasn't ready to share anything with her. There were instances before where in she would prod at him to tell her what was up and she knew how well all that went. Nathan would just close off and put his walls up even more. All she needed to do was to make sure that he knew that she was there to listen.
She was just about to tell Nathan as much when she heard him wheezing. "Nath!" She stood up and went over to his side. "Nathan?"
"Its..Okay.. I'm just-" It was like he was having trouble breathing and to Caroline's utter horror, his lips were starting to swell.
Without another word she immediately ran to the kitchen to grab an antihistamine tablet. She ran back to Nathan and saw that small hives were starting to form on his arms. "Here. Drink this. Then I'm taking you to the emergency room."
Caroline's heart was beating fast and her eyes were starting to water.
"Its okay mom, I'm fine. I'll just go up to my room and-"
"No its not! It's an allergic reaction, I know it is! Come on!" Caroline was already pulling Nathan with her to the front door. She grabbed her keys and willed herself to calm down before starting the car.
(KLAUS' POV)
Klaus was feeling so much more at ease than he had the past few days now that he had finally gotten to bond with his son after spending so much time apart while Clay was away at first went to their favorite art shop then in a moment of spontaneity, decided to go to the kart racing. They also visited this music store where in Clay had surprised Klaus with his sudden interest in rock music. It was a good day. Until Klaus was reminded of some things that he didn't want to think about. Clay had asked him about having more kids and..it led him to think about his other son, Nathan. He couldn't count the amount of times he wanted to catch a plane to Virginia and just see his son. The reminder always left Klaus feeling down and closed off. If it were the old him, he'd have locked himself in his room, not wanting anyone to disturb him. Or he'd have driven off somewhere far and done something he'd regret in the morning. But he was no longer that young, reckless and immature guy he once was. He now had responsibilities and to be honest, he just wasn't that kind of person anymore. He now knew that is was better to talk about his problems and that shutting the world out doesn't really help at all.
"Nik? Are you okay? You haven't heard a single thing I said, didn't you?" Rebekah nudged him. He was probably staring into space. They were currently at Finn and Sage's house since it was their turn to host Sunday dinner. He was just sporting a glass of bourbon with Rebekah at the living room while Clay and his cousins were at the entertainment room watching some movie.
"Its just..I was just thinking about Nathan, actually." Klaus answered honestly.
Rebekah gave him a look of understanding and sadness. "Nik.."
"I know, I know. It's just. Clay asked me earlier today if I wanted more kids."
Rebekah gently patted his arm. "You can always call Caroline, you know? I've been telling you this for the longest time, Nik. Its not against the law to ask about your son right?"
"But that was why we had this agreement in the first place. We took one son each so that we'd never have to see each other again."
"But what about the kids? Will they really spend their whole lives not knowing that they have a brother?"
"Clay has a million brothers and sisters. Finn and Sage are already at their fifth with little George." Klaus tried to joke but Rebekah just ignored him.
"You know that Clay still asks me sometimes what his mum's like."
That was a surprise to Klaus. Its been a while since Clay had asked him about his mother. "He does?
Rebekah nodded. "He knew that it upsets you to talk about her. And yes, he knows that it's okay to ask you stuff but.." Rebekah shrugged and continued, "you know your son. He doesn't like it when you're sad."
Klaus sighed. "I know."
"Clay has always been so kind and thoughtful. Ironic, cause it's you who raised him."
"Watch it." Klaus warned but he himself wondered that at times as well. He wondered if he was doing a good job at being a parent.
Rebekah's expression softened, seeming to notice the change in his demeanor. "You did well in raising him. Don't doubt yourself, okay?"
"Dinner's ready!" Sage suddenly announced as she entered the living room. Then she quickly left the room again to probably go to the entertainment room to announce the same thing.
"That's enough sentimental talk for today, I guess." Klaus said lightly, trying to brighten up the mood but he knew that Rebekah knew better. But she seemed to let it slide.
Rebekah smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "Come on. Let's eat."
"Food looks great!" Katie, Sage and Finn's eldest daughter, exclaimed while placing some pasta onto her plate.
"I see those lessons are going well?" Kol teased while Finn sent him a warning glare from where he was placing a bowl of salad on the table.
Sage just laughed good-naturedly and stood up. "Oh! I almost forgot about the scallops."
It had been a running joke in their family since Klaus could remember. It all started when Finn introduced her to the family and Sage said that she and Finn had decided to cook dinner instead of going to a restaurant. Needless to say, it was a disaster and they all ordered in. The next day, Finn and Sage announced that they would be taking couples cooking lessons. The have long since stopped taking lessons though and they now serve the best food in these Sunday family dinners.
"These scallops look great." Elijah piped up, when Sage had returned to place a plate of scallops on the table. Good old Elijah, always trying to keep the peace in the family.
Klaus laughed and went on to take a bite out of one of the scallops and suddenly looked up in alarm. He immediately turned to Clay and tensed when he saw that Clay had some scallops on his plate as well.
He was about to berate Clay for not paying closer attention to his food when Sage suddenly went to Clay's side.
"Oh, no! These are yours, Clay." Sage said and placed a small plate of scallops near his plate. "Without peanut sauce."
"But.. the peanut sauce is fine." Clay said, looking confused.
"Very funny, Clay." Rebekah shook her head fondly.
"No, really." Clay insisted and was about to take a bite out of one of the scallops.
Klaus immediately yanked the fork out of Clay's hand which resulted to him knocking the glass of water in front of him.
"Dad!" Clay exclaimed and stood up, the water soaking his shirt.
"Niklaus!" Elijah, who was seated beside him, looked at him in shock.
Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. "That wasn't funny. You know you're allergic to peanuts."
Clay suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights. Then, like a complete 180, he laughed. "I was just kidding, dad. Obviously I wasn't going to eat it."
"You can borrow one of Kyle's shirts. Kyle, go up and fetch a clean shirt for Clay, please?" Sage asked her son who nodded and got up from his seat.
"I'll go too." Clay stood up as well and dashed out of the room.
When everyone went back to their previous conversations, Klaus sighed and excused himself. He was probably being overly paranoid again. But who could blame him?
June, 2002
"How is he?" Rebekah suddenly ran up to him, looking worried. "I left the office as soon as you called."
Klaus was pacing back and forth. He tried sitting still but he couldn't. His whole self was filled with fear and panic right now that he couldn't even see straight.
"What happened, Nik?" Rebekah shook his arm to stop him from pacing.
"We were..we were eating dinner and his lips just started swelling up. Hives started forming on his arms and he just.. He was starting to have trouble breathing and I panicked. I drove him here immediately. What did I just do? What if I didn't make it here on time? What if I-"
"Ssh.. Stop, Nik. You couldn't have known." Rebekah immediately pulled him into a hug and Nik couldn't stop the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. "Ssh. Its okay, just let it out."
"I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to him, Bekah. You know that."
"I know." She continued to pat his back.
Later, the doctor told them that Clay had experienced an allergic reaction to peanuts. Apparently, the food Klaus listed in their dinner had peanuts in them. He then realized that he had never given Clay anything with peanuts prior to that day. The doctor proceeded to tell them that she had already given Clay an adrenaline shot and an oxygen mask to help him breathe. He was going to be okay.
"Daddy!" His five year old seemed to visibly brighten up at the sight of his father.
"How are you feeling?" He patted his son's head as he went to sit down at the edge of the bed.
"I feel sleepy. And I have little dots on my arms."
"That's because of the peanuts, son."
"Peanuts?"
Klaus nodded. "Icky nuts."
Clay laughed without worry. "Yucky nuts!"
"Yup. No more yucky nuts for you, mister."
Clay seemed to think about it, then smiled. "Okay." Like it was no big deal. Then he added, "But daddy, can I still eat ice popsies?"
Klaus couldn't stop the smile that was tugging from his lips even he tried. "Of course you can, son. After this, we'll get some ice popsies."
"Yay!" Clay then hugged his dad and Klaus tried to stop himself from crying. He almost lost his son today. He wouldn't allow that to happen to ever again.
Ever since that incident, Klaus has always been careful with everything that Clay eats. He always preferred for Clay to eat homemade food so that they wouldn't have to worry about peanuts. Because of this, they seldomly ate out but whenever they do, Klaus meticulously checked the ingredients for any sign of peanuts. He makes Clay carry his EpiPen with him at all times. They have tons of supplies at home. He is literally always prepared and always on alert so that the incident won't ever happen again. It actually happened again when Clay was thirteen. He was on a school trip. Klaus of course made sure to tell his teachers that he was allergic to peanuts but some things are just truly unavoidable and one of his classmates had brought some food with peanut as an ingredient. Clay had his EpiPen with him so nothing serious had happened. But Klaus, being the paranoid father that he is, still insisted that Clay be brought to the hospital for a check up.
So, no. No one could blame him for being overly protective parent. Not when Clay's allergic reactions were like a Russian Roullete. You never know if it would be mild or severe. For Klaus, it was just always better to be careful. He'd do everything he could to protect his son.
(CAROLINE'S POV)
"Caroline."
Caroline immediately walked towards Elena when she saw her come out of the emergency room.
"Is he okay? Can I go see him now?" Caroline didn't know how long she had been crying but the tears won't seem to stop.
Elena placed a comforting hand on Caroline's shoulder. "He's fine, Care. I gave him an epinephrene and an oxygen mask to help with his breathing. He's going to be fine."
"Oh, Thank God.. Thank God." Caroline sagged with relief. "So it was from the salad?"
"Yes. You mentioned it had roasted peanut oil dressing right?"
"But he's ate peanuts before and he's never had an allergic reaction!" Caroline exclaimed. If she knew, she'd never had given Nathan anything with peanuts.
"When was the last time he ate peanuts? Or anything with peanuts?"
Caroline had to think about it for a while. "I don't usually use peanuts when I cook. I only use it when I cook Thai or Chinese food and its been a while. Aside from today, obviously. So..I think a year? And we don't usually go to restaurants with those kinds of food as well. So yes, it's been a while."
Elena nodded as if it made sense. "Yes. Some people develop an allergic reaction to certain types of food later in life. You wouldn't have known, Care. Don't beat yourself up, okay?"
"So he's really okay now?" Caroline still wanted to make sure.
Elena hugged her. "Yes, he is." She then gave her a smile, "You can go see him now."
Caroline immediately went inside the hospital room and saw her son sitting up on the hospital bed. His face was still a bit swollen but aside from that, he seemed to be breathing fine now.
Caroline walked towards the hospital bed and pulled Nathan into a hug.
"Mom!" Nathan laughed and awkwardly patted her back. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
But Caroline was having none of it. She continued to hug her son. "I was so worried."
"Mom..Are you crying?"
"Yes!" Caroline exclaimed, half crying and half laughing. "I'm so sorry. If only I knew-"
"Mom. Stop." Nathan grabbed her hands. "You didn't know okay? And..And.. just.. No one knew. I'm sorry, too."
"But I'm your mother! It's my job to take care of you."
"Mom..Its not your fault."
"Are you really feeling better now?" Caroline was still anxious. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anything bad had happened to Nathan. It would kill her.
Nathan nodded. "I'm feeling a bit sleepy, and my lips are still a bit swollen. But aside from that, I'm feeling okay."
"Okay, sweetie." She said and went to fix the blankets on the bed.
"Mommy?"
Caroline felt like she was about to burst into tears yet again. Its been a long time since Nathan had last called her 'Mommy'.
"Can we go get some ice popsies on the way home?"
Caroline did burst into tears this time. She went to hug Nathan again. "Of course! We'll get you as many ice popsies as you want."
"Look at me. Who knew allergic reactions would make me act like a five year old again?" Nathan laughed, but Caroline noticed that he too was a bit teary eyed. Her heard tightened. Her son was probably feeling scared, too.
"You're going to be okay, okay? I won't anything happen to you. We'll get your prescriptions and an EpiPen. Then we'll stay away from peanuts from now on."
"And get ice popsies?"
Caroline laughed. "And get ice popsies."