So very sorry this took so long to come out. I wrote a bunch of KC drabbles on Tumblr, which are posted here on ffn. I also lost interest and my muse fought me on this chapter so hard. This is actually only half of what I wanted to write, but I didn't want to just give an author's note without giving you guys a little something to tide you over.

I've decided to rewrite this fic. My reasons are 1) this was my very first attempt at this fandom, and now that I have a little more experience, I want to write it more in character, 2) I've lost interest and rewriting helps me get back into this story, and 3) this story is messy. Like capital-m Messy. The timeline is wrong, some scenes and parts are plain unrealistic, etc. I want to give you guys something better than that. So I'm probably going to leave this up, but I will be rewriting it. Things will be different. I've already started writing it and, while I'm going to follow the same plot as this story, changes will be made. I hope you all understand 3.

WARNINGS: Mikael has his own part in this that is pretty gross but also sorta tame, so watch out for that. Also: cute siblings moment, and more about the plan.

8.27

Mikael sat down at the table, glad to be away from the crowds. He liked being a politician, but he hated the crowds. He was always having to take suggestions, wave to babies, and stay on his feet for hours. It was one of the downsides of his job.

His friends, Harold and Thomas, sat next to him. No one else sat with them - Mikael and his friends weren't known to be friendly behind the scenes. Understatement, Harold liked to say.

And today, Mikael had something to say no one could hear.

Thomas asked after his family, and Mikael answered, "who cares. The baby cries all the time, and the other kids are annoying, like always."

"Yeah, same. My kids need to learn to shut up."

Harold nodded, and they kept talking about their kids for a few minutes before Mikael said, "one of these days, I'm going to kill all of them, just to of them."

Harold raised an eyebrow, but Thomas laughed. "Sure, man."

"I'll take out Esther's little boy toy, too. He keeps trying to talk to Niklaus. He wants to take him." Mikael scowled and shook his head. Who did that half-breed think he was? First he took Mikael's wife, now his punching bag.

Harold said, "well, that is his son. Didn't you say you cheated a few times? Didn't one say their kid is yours? Wouldn't you want to see your kid?"

Mikael scowled again, and replied, "he hasn't been there for Niklaus, I have been. He's my son." He ignored the comments about his illegitimate children. No need to hash up old news.

"You hate him," Thomas pointed out.

"So?"

"So...you hate him, but you claim him as your son? Why?"

"Because I raised the boy. He doesn't get to come in now and take him away." Mikael glared at the table. "I've already taken Niklaus out of my will, but that man is putting him in his. He's giving Niklaus more than he deserves. All I'm leaving my children is a letter."

Thomas grinned. "What's in the letter?"

"Among other things, the reasons why I hate them. Individually, too." Mikael smiled smugly.

Harold frowned, while Thomas laughed. Harold needed to stop being such an emo pussy. Mikael was just talking smack, he should know that. There was no need to act all uppity and moral.

"Maybe I'll say why I...dealt with Niklaus' biological father." Mikael laughed, imagining the look on the little bastard's face. He'd probably cry like the bitch he was.

"You're not actually going to do that, right? What would Esther think? What'll happen to Niklaus?"

Mikael shrugged. "So what?"

"Yeah, Harold, it doesn't matter. Whatever." Thomas hated the little brat almost as much as Mikael did.

"Harold, just leave it alone. Who cares what they think. Esther's opinions don't matter anyway, she never has anything smart to say. And Niklaus is halfway to brain dead, so he really doesn't matter." He'd beat the boy so many times, there was no way the bastard had retained all his brain cells.

Thomas laughed a little too loudly - must've already started in on the wet bar, then. Harold sighed, and looked away. Mikael knew he'd never get Harold on his side, but whatever. He'd do whatever he wanted and Harold couldn't - no, wouldn't do anything about it.

5.10

Kol comes back to the room after a long few hours. Elijah has metaphorically smacked some sense into him, and he's here, first and foremost, to talk to Rebekah.

But when he walks in, Rebekah isn't there, and neither is Fred. No one is there but Finn, Freya, and, somewhere in the back, in the bedrooms, Katherine, Graham, and the kids.

"Um, where's Bekah?"

Freya shrugs. "She went back to her room. She was tired. So did Leif and Aerona. It's getting late." No one points out that it's only 8:45 P.M.

He groans, and sits at the table with his big sister. He drops his head into his arms. "Shit. I wanted to apologize to her."

Elijah comes up behind him, and squeezes his shoulders. "There's nothing to apologize for. You just want to talk to her."

"Shut up, Elijah." He appreciates his words more than Elijah knows, but he'll never tell anyone that. (Though maybe his tone speaks for him. There's no bite when he says it.)

Finn comes over, practically swaggering, the douche. "You'll just have to talk to her tomorrow."

"Ugh!" Kol burrows deeper into his arms. He doesn't want to lose his nerve. It's already slipping through his fingers.

Finn ruffles his hair, so Kol slaps his fingers away.

Freya taps her nails on the table. "Were you going to tell her about why you had your attack? Because I want to know what set you off so that we can keep it from happening again."

Kol shakes his head. Elijah sits next to him, a supportive but not touching distance away. Elijah is good at comfort until it comes to physical contact. The only one who ever got a hug was Nik. "It was just more of Father's bullshit, nothing we can really stop."

"Elijah!" Kol brought his head up off the table to stare at Elijah. "Why don't I just tell them every personal little thing about you?"

"I didn't say any particulars, so I thought it would be okay." He shrugs like the French. Kol scoffs.

Freya and Finn watch as Elijah and Kol bicker. Kol's using the interactions to boost himself back up, and he thinks Elijah knows it. His older brother has eyes in the back of his head and a supernatural ability to know everything about everyone. Kol, in some ways, hates it, but it's so uncanny and interesting he can't help but want to know more about it.

You know what, that's a good idea. What better way to break the tension than to make fun of his siblings (or himself, really).

Once there's a break in the sarcasm match, Kol asks, "okay but seriously, can you read minds? Are you the robot?"

He rolls his eyes. "No, I'm not the robot. There isn't a robot," he adds when he sees Kol's face. "None of us are robots. I just guessed, honestly."

"Nope, wrong, incorrect. You're an alien." He turns to Freya, knowing exactly how to continue this. He makes sure his eyes are widened and that he gives off an innocent vibe. "Oh my god, Freya, when he was brought home, was he green? Grey? Big eyes? Big head, thin, short body? Could you see all of his ribs? Was he like that one guy in Men In Black where his body opened up and a little guy popped out?"

She blinks, no longer used to his barrages of questions. Finn laughs, taking a seat himself and settling in. Elijah makes a classic Elijah's-Pissed face at him, which he pointedly ignores for Freya's answers. (It's not like he's ever really acknowledged an Elijah's-Pissed face before, anyway.)

"No, he just looked like any other baby. He isn't a robot or an alien."

"He looked pretty ugly though," Finn teases, a smile on his face that Kol has never seen before.

Elijah scowls. "I take it back, I am psychic. And guess what? You and Kol are going to get a dressing down in your near futures."

Kol laughs, throwing his head back. Finn grins good naturedly, and Freya rolls her eyes. "'Dressing down'?" She quotes. "Seriously?"

Elijah gives her a deadpan look, and they stare at each other without blinking for a whole minute and a half.

Finn pulls out his phone in this minute and half, presumably to text Sage, but Kol watches it avidly. He's missed the staring competitions. Hailie never wants to do one with him.

Finally, Freya blinks, and rubs her eyes. "I have no idea how you do that, honestly."

Elijah shrugs like he doesn't care, which makes Kol's eyebrows raise, amused, instantly. "I'm just the best at being still, silent, and blank, I guess."

"Oh, man. You didn't think that was subtle, right? You were definitely boasting just now."

Finn adds, "over being the most robot like," and even though he and Kol aren't that close, he's got Kol's back. Kol fist bumps him over the table.

Elijah sighs like he's losing brain cells every second he stays out there, and stands. Kol can see and feel the sarcasm that's about to leave his brother, and he loves it. He revels in this.

He employs his pompous voice. "If you'll excuse me, children, I have to go recharge my batteries." Then, he changes his tone so when he speaks, his voice is as flat as a board. "Uh, I meant go to bed. Right. Goodnight."

He moves to the back, to go see his wife and child - and ouch, inner-Kol, shut up - leaving the other three of them out there. Once he's gone, Kol bursts out laughing, and his older siblings follow him into a fit of giggles.

0.10

The next morning, Leif and Aerona are eating their breakfast alone, as the kids are all still in bed, or in the city.

They're just talking about little Matthew and Justin, and how cute they are, when the phone rings. The screen says, Henry, so Aerona picks it up.

Henry has latched onto them, and they don't mind at all. He's their youngest grandchild from Mikael, and he's also one of the two who aren't with them in person. Leif doesn't quite understand his reasons for not being with them, but Aerona does. She and her husband are new ground for all the kids, so Henry must feel the most comfortable approaching them. They don't have expectations like his siblings do.

Leif continues munching on his oatmeal and reading the newspaper while she answers. "Hello, dear. Is there something you need?"

When he answers, his voice is wheezy, like he's out of breath. He talks a mile a minute. "No, not really. I was just calling about the plan. We're drawing Niklaus out, right? What if I drive down ahead of time, set things up? I was thinking, we could take him out to dinner, talk to him. And then see if we can't get invited to his ex's mom's house after. She probably has pictures of him, right? And don't pictures mean a lot to him?" He laughs breathlessly. "Sorry, I'm really excited. I've been up all night."

"Oh! Really?" He makes a positive noise, so she gently scolds, "Henry, you need sleep. American college students have the highest levels of stress, you know. You could have waited until morning."

"But then I would've forgotten. I mean, I know we already know how we're getting him to Mystic Falls, but after that, we have pretty much zilch. Just dinner. We need topics, exact times, a plan!"

She shakes her head at him, and offers, "then what are your ideas?"

He takes a deep breath, and starts talking. An hour later, she's written it all out and promised to tell the others when they get back.

Just want to add, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this up or not, so let me know. Also, please let me know what you guys think about a rewrite! I'll try to add things you want to see.