Chapter 9: Family

a/n: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I had a case of writer's block about Cami's arrival back in New Orleans, but I have a handle on it now, I think! Hope you stuck with me during the delay, and I hope you enjoy where we go from here!

Cami's nerves were shot.

After days of driving and sleeping in roadside motels and being cooped up in a car with Klaus and two cranky children, she was ready to be home. And therein lay the problem. She was home…in New Orleans, not in her safe, cozy little cottage on Durnigan Island. She was excited and relieved to be back in Louisiana, but also tired…and nervous about seeing everyone again. For the last few years she'd lived blissfully unaware of all things supernatural. It was a lot to come home to.

Cami held her breath as Klaus led them into the large, open courtyard. It was late, and everything was dark and quiet. Coming back here after all that had transpired in recent years was overwhelming to say the least, and her footsteps hesitated just inside the great wooden doors that separated the Mikaelsons' domain from the rest of the world.

Klaus must have sensed her hesitation because he stopped, abruptly, and turned to face her. "Cami?" he called, quietly, mindful of the little girl who slept peacefully with her head against his shoulder.

Cami stared silently back at him, willing her stubborn feet to move.

After a few seconds, he gave her an encouraging smile and tilted his head in the direction of the main staircase. Come on, he seemed to say, I'm with you. He took a step back toward her and held out his free hand. Without overthinking it, she shifted Nik's weight to one side and reached forward, twining her fingers with Klaus's and allowing him to tug her, gently, forward.

Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Elijah appeared as if from thin air, as Mikaelsons were inclined to do. He stood, observing them from the landing.

"Niklaus," he greeted, with a formality that was typical of him. "I see that you have succeeded in finding Hope and Camille and returning them to our family home. Rebekah and Freya will be pleased." He placed a finger against his lips and tilted his head to the side, eyes falling on Cami and the sleeping boy in her arms. "However, it appears as though you've returned to us with one more than you sent away."

Klaus dropped Cami's hand, and under Elijah's watchful gaze, she suddenly felt abandoned. A moment later, though, she felt his palm land lightly on the small of her back, and she was able to relax once again. It was a gesture meant to comfort and support. She felt both.

"This is my son, Elijah…Dominik." Cami's voice was strong and steady, though she felt herself trembling on the inside. She wasn't sure why. She wasn't afraid of Elijah. Perhaps she was just wary of everyone's reaction to her return, as she was returning with a son no one knew existed.

Elijah raised an eyebrow, and before Cami could blink he was standing before them at the bottom of the stairs. He looked closely at Dominik's sleeping face and then back at Cami, before turning to face Klaus. "Indeed," he said, cryptically, before turning his attention to Hope. He caressed the slumbering girl's hair, lovingly. "I'm glad to see you all arrived safely. I'll leave you now so that you might have a chance to settle in before the Grand Inquisition in the morning." At Cami's startled look, he added, "Rebekah arrived home from parts unknown early this afternoon. She and Freya can be a formidable duo when they join forces." His eyes moved once again to Dominik's sleeping form. "I imagine you ladies will have plenty to talk about."

Cami opened her mouth to reply, but before she could utter a sound, Elijah bid them goodnight with a curt nod and simple, "Klaus, Camille." And then he was gone.

"Don't let my brother unnerve you. You don't owe Rebekah or Freya any explanations," Klaus assured. "And if either of them crosses the line, I will remind them with whom they're dealing."

Cami smiled, nervously. "I appreciate the support, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I'm sure you're right," Klaus agreed, placing his hand at her back once more and ushering her toward the stairs. "Let's get these little ones settled in, shall we?"

Cami reached the landing at the top of the stairs first and turned left toward Hope's nursery.

"Camille," Klaus called, softly, stopping her.

She paused, turning, eyebrows raised in question.

"I uh…" Klaus began. He looked nervous, which was very unlike him. "I had some work done in anticipation of your return."

He gestured to the right, so Cami followed his lead and moved down the dim hallway in that direction.

They arrived at an intersecting hallway, which had a single door at either end. Klaus led her toward the one on the left. He pushed open the heavy, wooden door and revealed a large, classically-decorated room. A four-poster bed dominated the space, but there was plenty of room for a matching chest of drawers, a chaise lounge and what appeared to be entrances for both a walk-in closet and an en suite bathroom. The far wall held a set of French doors which opened onto a wide balcony that overlooked the city.

It was a breathtaking view this time of night.

"I hope this room is to your liking," he said, watching her reaction very carefully.

She drew in a quick breath. "This is mine? Klaus, it's…it's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it." He seemed relieved.

"Thank you," Cami said, genuinely touched at his thoughtfulness. It was a truly beautiful space.

"You are quite welcome," he said, smiling kindly.

Cami shifted Nik in her arms, his weight beginning to strain her muscles.

Noticing her discomfort, Klaus gestured to a second set of French doors on the opposite side of the room. "Come," he said, moving ahead of her to open the doors.

The curtain-covered, glass doors swung open easily to reveal a large nursery, complete with two tiny beds; one decorated in the vibrant blues and greens of the sea, the other in shades of pink and purple reminiscent of a springtime flower garden.

She turned to him in shock. "How did you…?"

"I had the rooms finished before I left for Maine. It only took a phone call to the local furniture store to do a bit of redecorating in light of the newest addition," he said, dipping his head toward Nik. "I hope you don't mind the little ones sharing a room…"

"No, Klaus, I don't mind at all. They're going to love it…I love it!" She placed her free hand on his forearm. "This is amazing. Thank you!" She meant it. She was touched by the thought he'd put into the rooms. Her bedroom was exactly what she would have picked for herself…and he would know, having spent time in her different homes on more than one occasion. And the nursery? It was nothing short of magical. It reminded her of the story of Peter Pan…a perfect blend of fairy princesses and pirate ships. The children were going to love it.

He gestured across the nursery to the side opposite her room. "And, if you need anything, I'm just through there."

She looked to where he had indicated. A second set of French doors, identical to the ones they'd entered the nursery through, stood on the far wall.

Oh.

It occurred to her now that the other door, the one at the other end of the hallway, led to his room.

To Klaus's bedroom.

Oh.

"Great!" she said, ignoring the little frissons of nervousness and heat that snaked into her belly at the thought of sleeping so close to Klaus, night after night. They'd just shared a bed less than forty-eight hours ago, for heaven's sake, this was far less intimate than that. And yet, the thought that they had once upon a time shared far more than just a bed, danced around in the back or her mind, and that thought did little to quell her growing unease. In fact, it had her heart racing because deep down she knew she would love nothing more than to know him like that again.

Cami swallowed, thickly. "If I need anything, I'll know where to find you." Realizing that she had just repeated him nearly verbatim, she hurried on, nodding toward the sleeping children, "We should probably get them settled in, don't you think?"

"Of course," Klaus agreed, smiling amusedly at her obvious discomfort with his proximity. He understood. Having her so close every night wasn't going to be an easy thing for him to adjust to either, but it couldn't be helped. He needed to be close to Hope, and Hope needed to be close to Cami. And, if he was being honest with himself, he needed to be close to Cami as well. So, they would all just have to make due.

Klaus pulled back the blue and green comforter on one of the child-sized beds and gestured for her to place Dominik against the clean, cotton sheets. She did so, quickly and efficiently, and then, as Klaus watched, she placed a soft kiss against the apple of the sleeping boy's rosy cheek and pulled the blankets up around him.

Once she had managed to situate her son, Cami turned and found Klaus watching her with a wistful look on his face. She found herself wishing for the millionth time that Klaus had had a childhood full of goodnight kisses and bedtime stories, but she knew that was far from the case. Turning, she pulled back the pink and purple bedspread and then stepped aside to allow Klaus to place Hope amongst the soft bedding. Cami watched as he gently slipped the girl's socks from her feet and carefully tucked her legs below the blanket, before tugging it up to her chin, tucking her in, expertly.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" she whispered, surprised.

Klaus rose to his full height and turned to face her. "When 'beks was little, she used to be afraid of the dark," he said, softly, the pet name falling, unnoticed, from his lips. "She would ask me to tuck her in. Tuck me in tightly, Brother, she would say. So that the monsters can't get me. The irony isn't lost on me that we became the very thing she feared most. And I, the one she looked to for protection, perhaps, the most monstrous of all." He gave a mirthless laugh and dropped his eyes toward the floor.

"You're not a monster, Klaus," she said, softly, into the dimly lit room. "That's what you let people see, but…it's not who you are. It's not all of you."

"You're not a good judge of character, love," he scoffed, not swayed by her reassurance.

"Maybe not, but I know what I see when I look at you," she offered, honestly.

That got his attention.

"What do you see?" he asked, quietly, truly interested in her answer.

She took a step closer to him, ignoring the voice in her head that told her to back away…to stay far, far away from him.

"I see a fiercely protective father, a loyal brother…a man who loves his family above all else. There's nothing monstrous about that." She thought back to a time when she herself had called him a monster.

Turns out I have complicated feelings for a monster.

She'd known even then that it wasn't the truth…or, at least, it wasn't the whole truth. Klaus was damaged…but he was still a man. A man who had been someone's baby, someone's sweet little boy. Esther and Mikael had taken a beautiful and innocent soul and mistreated it and corrupted it to the point that it no longer sought any type of salvation. Klaus was a wounded soul who felt he didn't deserve such luxuries as love and loyalty from others. Afterall, if your own parents can't provide you with those things, how is a person to trust that anyone else ever will?

Klaus was not a monster, but Cami was certain that he believed himself to be one.

"Perhaps you see what you want to see?" Klaus shrugged, as if her words had not affected him at all, as if his insides weren't at this very moment basking in the warmth of her kind words.

"Perhaps," she acknowledged, giving his word back to him. "But maybe I just have an outsider's perspective. Someone who knows the whole story, but who isn't a Mikaelson."

"You are far from being an outsider," he snorted, dismissively.

"Am I, Klaus? Because sometimes I think I'm just a girl you met in a bar, who had good enough insight that she became a friend, rather than a meal."

He looked at her then, startled. Had she truly failed in all this time to see how he struggled against the depth of his feelings for her? Did she truly feel as insignificant to him as he felt to nearly everyone in his life? "Camille, you're more than a friend to me," he spat the word out as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. "You're my family."

Cami's heart seemed to mend and break and mend again in an instant. She had no reply for the words he'd just spoken. She knew family was sacred to him, but it was also the thing in this life with the most potential to hurt him. The fact that he considered her part of his family was both an honor and a responsibility. She swore in that moment that she would do her best to never cause him unnecessary pain. With no adequate words coming readily to mind, she opened her arms to him instead.

He only hesitated for the briefest of moments before stepping into her embrace. Cami wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him tightly, and she felt his arms band low around her waist in response.

The low-light of the nursery lamp bathed the room in a soft glow. The clock ticked on the wall. The children slept. And Klaus and Cami held on.