First, I am so sorry it took a whole month to get this out! Like the Mikaelsons, my family is messed up, and I had to deal with it. Also, finals, man. Killed me. But don't worry, I got my shit together and have a plan for the next chapter and what's going to happen after Klaus is found.

Okay, ahyeon, for the kids, I have a plan about them having a section...so there's only a small one here. But more of them is coming, don't worry.

Your wish is my command: there's more Kol for ahyeon, and more Klaroline for Binx23! (As for Guest, all I can say is ;))

Also, I was looking through this earlier and realized my timeline isn't perfect, so just take it with a wibbly wobbly grain of salt, please :)

WARNINGS: mention of child abuse, slight mention of stalking, betraying a friend, gossiping, Damon, non-graphic talk of child abuse, crying, relationships, and a scene with two naked people in it (no sex, tho).

5.8

Kol hangs up several minutes later, feeling shocked and awed. Henrik had told him the basics - he lives in Richmond for school, but lives with his adopted parents on Virginia Beach, he's a freshman, he goes by Henry, etc. - and asked to not be called until tomorrow, as he's having a hard time coming to terms with his identity. Kol had agreed, but he'd added, "I'm going to tell the rest today, though."

Henrik had said, "um, okay. I guess I'll...call back, or something."

And Kol hung up, and here he is. He wants to go tell them all now - Henrik, the baby of the family, has been found. But he also wants to call Hailie, and who knows how long it will take to get everyone gathered in the common area on the ground floor, which is the only place they can all fit.

He decides, after a moment, that he should tell everyone about Henrik first, to give them time to think on it.

The phone rings just as he moves to get Torunn.

It's a number from New Orleans, and Kol clicks accept before it can get through the first ring. "Hello, this is the line for the Mikaelson Manhunt, Kol speaking."

He doesn't hear a masculine voice like he expected (hoped) - instead it's a woman on the line. "Uh, hi. So, this is going to sound kinda bad but…." She sighs loudly. "Okay, first, my name is Davina, and I'm friends with Niklaus Mikaelson. He goes by Klaus, now."

"Klaus, yeah, I'm aware," he says at the same time that she says his brother's nickname.

"How'd you know? I'm curious." Her voice is cute, he thinks, then gets back to what he was doing with a shake of his head. Now isn't the time, Kol...

"Oh, some woman named Caroline called in not too long ago, said she knew a Klaus Mikaelson. I don't know if I should tell you this, but they were together for six years."

"Holy shit! He told me he ran away from the system when he was seventeen, and spent six years back in his hometown. That's probably when he was with her. Oh my god, that's gold."

"Yes, it is." Finally, someone understands!, he thinks. Then the voice of his therapist comes to mind, telling him to focus. "But, more importantly, other than his new nickname, what info do you have on him?"

"Well, I was talking to him yesterday - to see his cats, he's a cat lady, by the way - and we started talking about his family. I already knew he was one of you guys, but he'd asked me not to tell anyone, so I hadn't...but then he started to talk about how he was abused like it was nothing, and I realized that I have to get him connected to you. He needs someone to talk to him about this that understands, you know?"

Kol swallows heavily, hating the fact that his brother is so nonchalant about what happened to him. "Yeah I understand. I didn't realize he was open about it…."

"He isn't. I didn't know he was abused, really, until I found out he was a Mikaelson. There were a few hints, but he'd never said anything about it until last night." She pauses, then says, "I'm going against his wishes, but I'm going to give you his phone number and his home address."

He perks up instantly. "Okay, hold on. I gotta get a paper and pen." Once he has them, she rattles off the information, and he writes it down eagerly. "Thank you so much, really. I'll let you in on a little secret. Henrik called in just before you did, so now we're almost all together."

"Almost all?"

"Rebekah has said nothing of coming here, Henrik is having a hard time coming to terms, and Nik doesn't know that we know about him. We're getting there, of course, but it's just taking a little while."

"Well, I wish you luck."

"Thanks." There's a moment of awkward silence, then he asks, "can I bother you to do me a favor?"

"Um, it depends."

"Will you ask Nik about us some more? Or Caroline? Or his siblings on his dad's side?"

"He has other siblings?"

"Yeah, his dad had kids and lots of nieces and nephews. I've actually spoken to a few of them before, including his cousin Cary."

"Wait, wait, wait. Cary? Blond hair, thick New Orleans accent?"

"That's the one. How do you know him?"

"He stalks Klaus all the time, or he used to, at least."

"Probably just wants to reunite him with his family and doesn't know how to go about it. I wouldn't be worried. Now, can I give you my number?"

"Why?" She suddenly sounds like she's creeped out by him. He blanches, then gets his wits about him. She's interesting, but she can't be right now, not when he's on the verge of getting his family back together.

"Well, it'll be nice to have someone Nik knows on our side when he eventually get him back to us. This is my aunt's phone, see, and I just thought it would be easier if you could call me on my cell." He has a realization, and adds, "but if I give it to you, you can't - I repeat, cannot - give it to anyone, for any reason, ever."

She huffs at him, "I'm not stupid. Just give me your number."

He smirks, and thinks about all of the ways they could get Nik back to them while she gets a paper and pen, just like he had earlier.

0.8

Kol gets his family together in the common room within the hour, which Leif and Aerona feel is a feat in and of itself. Everyone sits on chairs, sofas, or stands. A few faces look a little annoyed, but the grin on Kol's face says they won't be that way for long.

Torunn and her parents watch as he stands in front of them, and beams. "I got two very interesting calls today."

Elijah humors him, and asks who they were from.

He pauses dramatically. "The first was Henrik, and the second was a close friend of Nik's."

Freya coughs on her own spit, and Elijah gapes. Finn asks, "what?"

Kol nods, and tells them what happened without his usual flourish. He can't - he's just too excited about it to be dramatic.

The mood saddens when they hear that Henrik is having a hard time, and that Niklaus is still not opening up about his abuse.

Aerona smiles at them all, though, and says something that perfectly lifts their spirits: "we're getting them back soon, and then we'll be able to help them."

Elijah, the most optimistic, smiles widely, and starts suggesting ways they can get him back to them.

8.15

Radley lightly swings Adam's carrier, and wishes he's anywhere but there, watching his cousins mess around. Even listening to his mom and new found uncles go back and forth about something in the common area (which they are...loudly) would be better.

But no, he's stuck making sure that his cousins don't burn the hotel down to the ground. He also has to stave off the creepy reporters who want pictures of them all, and the staff who desperately want the kids out of the cafe area.

He checks his phone, trusting the the next three oldest - Leah at 13, Brooke at 11, and Philip at 9 - will be able to keep the younger kids in check.

He doesn't know why he ever thought that, though, because he's barely checked his FaceBook before Nina screeches, "Uncle Finn is NOT better than Mama!"

Grant and Zach look terribly offended, and so does Lacey. Christine huffs, while Justin and Matthew look like they couldn't care less. Adam's eyelids flutter, and Radley thinks, if they get us kicked out and wake up Adam, I'm going to kill all of them.

He stands, and has to pull Nina away from Lacey before they can tear each other's hair out.

"Okay! Okay! What happened!" Both girls open their mouths to tattle, but he says, "uh-uh. Phil, you, speak."

He sighs. "Nina and Lacey were talking about our parents, and they started arguing."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Brooke rolls her eyes, like always. "Does it even matter?"

"Yes, it matters, you brat - "

"OKAY," Mom says, coming to stand in front of the crowd of children. She takes in the two little girls looking to catfight, and Radley holding Nina by the armpits and a foot and a half off the ground, and purses her lips. "If you're one of Finn's, he'll be out here in a sec. If you're one of mine, come with me. And Matthew, you can go with us, or you can go with Uncle Finn. What do you want to do?"

He thinks for a moment, then says, "Finn!"

She nods, and tells Phil, "watch him, okay?"

He nods with a sweet smile that he certainly didn't give Radley. "I will."

"Okay, good. Let's go, kids."

Radley hitches Nina up further, which pisses her off terribly, while Leah and Brooke get Justin.

As they head back to their rooms, Radley asks, "what were you guys talking about in there?"

Mom smiles a conspiratorial smile. "Expanding the family," she explains vaguely. He rolls his eyes, but doesn't question her any further.

8.16

Davina hangs up from the phone call and paces her apartment for an hour, pushing her fingers through her hair nervously. Then she sat, cried for a few minutes, and paced again.

She did it in Klaus' best interest. She knows that. He needs someone to talk to about what happened to him, and he needs it 23 years ago, really. Also, if Kol was telling the truth, he wouldn't just be reuniting with one set of siblings, but two. She did the right thing.

It just sucks that she went behind his back, that's all. Klaus and her tease each other a lot, and they've flirted harmlessly, and add to that their rare heart to hearts, then you've got a lifetime friend. A lifetime friend she just betrayed hard.

She's getting ready to just man up and tell Klaus and apologize and probably move to Antarctica or something in shame, but her phone rings. It's the same number that Kol gave her earlier.

She answers, "hello?"

His voice comes over the line, excited as all hell. "Hey! Davina, great news! We have a plan" He doesn't allow for a word in edgewise before he's telling her all the details.

Once he's ended his long winded tirade, she asks, "so all I have to do is distract him?"

"Yep, and not for long, either. We haven't contacted her yet, or at least, I'm not sure if we have. I don't doubt that she'll agree though, and then we can work out all the missing stuff."

"There's stuff missing?" She asks dryly, feeling better now that she knows she hasn't ruined Klaus' life. The plan is going to make sure that Klaus can leave if he wants, not contact them again. Kol even said if Klaus really wanted to never talk to any of them again, then he'd lose the number and address she gave him.

He's going to have options, and she might even get to meet the girl who stole Klaus' heart. She feels so much better about it that she flirts with Kol before he hangs up. He stutters, says something nerdy but endearing, and then ends the call.

For starting the day out so badly, she's happy with how it's progressed.

8.17

Stefan doesn't screech. It's not something he's ever done, and he won't start now. But Caroline can tell he wants to. He'd been rooting for Damon and Bonnie since forever. Now that's she's married - and didn't bother to tell either of them - and it's not Damon, it's to the guy she'd been talking to from California, he's shocked.

He makes the funny confused face, and Matt, as he walks by, laughs. "Hey! Don't make fun of me! Bonnie got married!"

Matt's jaw drops. "What? To who? Damon? God, please tell me it wasn't Damon."

"No, thank god for that. It was Jeremy, the guy she's been talking to. We're all gonna get together soon and meet him if I have anything to do about it."

Stefan, meanwhile, pouts. "What's so bad about Damon?"

"On the scale of dickheads, and if Mr. and Mrs. Mayor are the lowest, and Klaus is the highest, he's up there with Klaus."

Caroline frowns. "Hey, don't say that. Damon is nowhere near as nice as Klaus is." They both give her judgy looks, but she ignores them. Klaus had been nice, he'd been great, even. He'd just broken her heart, and that was why everyone hated him. "Anyway, Matt, go back to work. I'll fill you in when you get off."

"Okay. But if there's a quiet moment at the bar, come over, alright?"

She nods. "I will." He smiles, and walks off, so she turns back to Stefan. "I went by her house, right, and he was there. He seemed nice, so I don't think we need to go into panic mode yet. She really likes him."

"Okay, so he's nice, he came all the way from California to elope with her, and what? Are they going to stay here? Go back to California? Move somewhere else? Do they have anything planned at all?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. All I know is, her ring is beautiful, she seems very happy, and Grams approves."

"Approves like she approved of Klaus or approved like she approved Aurora?"

"Like Klaus. She only approved Aurora so that Damon wouldn't blow a gasket."

Stefan rolls his eyes again, unimpressed by everyone saying bad (but true) things about Damon.

"Oh, and she loved Klaus? Since he was such a great person?"

"She did love Klaus, and he was a great person. Stefan, there are things you don't know about him."

"Are one of those things why he left you?"

"I think so, yeah. It was also the anniversary of his mom dying, so…."

Stefan's eyes turn sympathetic, but that doesn't stop him from saying, "when he left you, Caroline, he was not a great person. He left you all alone, he didn't even say goodbye."

She shakes her head. "I don't want to get into this, Stef. We were talking about Bonnie."

He rolls his eyes. "Okay, then let's - "

Her phone rings. There's no name, but she recognizes the number from the Mikaelson Manhunt commercial. "Sorry, Stefan, I have to take this." They might be calling to tell her that they found Klaus, and she can't miss that call.

He shakes his head, rolls his eyes again, and waves a hand allowingly.

She smiles, and answers. "Hello, Caroline Forbes speaking. Did you have more questions about what we talked about?"

Instead of the woman from before, it's a man. He says, "actually, I don't, but it's on topic. I'm Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus' brother." She tilts her head, interested. Klaus hadn't spoken of his siblings as often as he spoke of his life between Mystic Falls and Baton Rouge, but when he did, he'd spoken of Elijah the most. He pauses for just a moment, "is this a good time? Wherever you are, it's loud."

"Ah, yeah, I'm out to eat right now. But it's okay, I have a moment." Stefan gives her the stink eye, and moves over to the bar to talk to Matt. She waves immaturely; he flips her off.

"Good, good. We got a call today, you see, and it was someone with information on my brother. They gave us a phone number and address."

"Wow! Really?"

"Yes. I wasn't the one who spoke with her, but I hear that he's turned into a cat lady." Caroline scowls when she hears that it was a her with Klaus' personal information. "We have a plan in place, and we're hoping you can help us."

Even though she doesn't want to reunite a Klaus who's in a relationship, she does want to get him back together with his siblings. "I'm listening…" she says, already knowing she'll do anything to help him.

8.18 - Mid 2007, Mystic Falls

Caroline absentmindedly ran her fingers through Klaus' hair. He sighed happily, and she shivered as his breath rolled over her bare skin. He smiled, and she felt his lips curl.

It wasn't the first time they'd laid in bed together for hours, but usually, it was her on his chest, him running his fingers over her scalp.

"Klaus?"

"Hmm?"

She didn't stop running her fingers through his hair as she asked, "tell me about it."

He tensed, so she ran her free hand over his back. She drew a silly pattern with one of her fingernails, and he relaxed. "Love...it's not a good idea. I don't want to ruin this moment."

"It won't be ruined, Klaus. I promise. If you tell me, even just something small, then it's a sign you trust me. How could that ruin anything?"

He tilted his head up, and looked her in the eyes. "I do trust you. Implicitly. But I don't want to look back on this moment and think of my father and not you. I want to remember how beautiful you look, not the face you made when I told you what he did to me."

Her eyes softened. "I understand. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

"Thank you, Caroline." He moved upwards for a kiss, which she happily gave him. It was a chaste as a kiss between two naked people could be, and it didn't last long. He settled back over her, his head laying on her breast.

They stayed silent, Caroline not knowing what to say. She wanted to know more about him, but she also didn't want to force him. He was two years older than her, and he'd been so careful not to force her into anything. She loved him, and she wanted him to go at his own pace, but she wanted to know that part of his history just as much.

Instead of saying any of that aloud, though, she kept quiet.

It was a long time before either spoke again.

"He knew the moment I was born. He knew I wasn't his, and he hated me for it." He swallowed, and she tensed. "He never showed it until I was five years old. He wasn't as nice to me as the others, but when I turned five, that was when he turned his back on me, and made my mother follow him."

She desperately wanted to know what that meant, but she didn't dare ask.

"He started beating me whenever I did something wrong. And every thing was wrong, and everything was my fault. Once, someone left the cap of the toothpaste on the counter, and he stormed into my room, enraged, and beat me in front of Kol. Kol cried and cried, and he got Mother, and Freya, and Finn, but none of them could do anything. He'd been drinking, and he wanted to hurt someone. The next day, he said it just happened to be me, but he was a liar. It was always me. Always." He'd closed his eyes when he first started talking, and with every sentence, he shut them tighter. A tear still leaked out, though, and onto her chest.

"Caroline. What did I do?" He asked, suddenly sobbing. He was almost silent, his voice a whispered rasp. "What did I do?"

She took in a deep breath, reminded herself that she asked and that she loved him, and consoled him for hours.

Later, he'd tell her it was the second time he'd ever cried about it, and the first time he'd cried since in eleven years. She'd just hug him and thank god he wasn't dead.