Chapter 11: If You Give a Kid a Castle

Cami spilled the entire story to Rebekah in one long run-on sentence, the details flowing out of her in one giant wave of relief.

Turns out she'd needed to talk to someone more than she'd realized.

Ironically, as someone trained in psychology, she'd failed miserably to see her own need to vent her emotions. After pausing to sip the coffee Rebekah had wordlessly pressed into her hands, she laughed nervously, realizing she'd been babbling non-stop for the past twenty minutes.

Rebekah narrowed her eyes and sighed. "He's scared," she said, shaking her head.

"Klaus?" Cami asked, doubtfully.

"Yes," Rebekah replied, firmly. "Nik is at times arrogant and brash, but he can also be quite broody and insecure; never moreso than when it comes to family. No matter how hard we try, how much we love him, he never fully trusts our loyalty to him." She pauses thoughtfully, and then continues, softly, "It's heartbreaking, really…and exhausting."

Cami knew that to be true. She'd seen inside Klaus's mind…knew more than anyone how he saw himself, how he perceived others' views of him.

"But as much as he doubts our family's love for him…it's the only thing that truly keeps him going. His love for Hope and hers for him is the most important thing in his life. And he has no particular connection to Haley, but you…I told you years ago he fancies you. I think it's more than that now though. My brother has a surprisingly immense capacity for love, if he'll only surrender himself to it. I think he loves you, in his way…despite his best efforts to pretend he doesn't. I think it probably terrifies him that the two of you might share a child together."

Cami closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to form. "If that were true…if he," she paused, unable to say the word "love" out loud to Rebekah, "If he has feelings for me," she said, instead, "Shouldn't he be happy that Nik is his son?"

"If he were a normal person, yes," Rebekah said, dryly. "But you're dealing with Klaus here, love. Reason and logic do not apply."

Cami nodded, unsure what to say. What Rebekah was saying made sense, and it wasn't as if she hadn't come to a similar conclusion, herself. But then what was the answer?

"If it's any consolation, I think he'll come around," Rebekah offered. "That kid is gorgeous, and Nik already seems to have taken a liking to him."

"You believe me though?" Cami asked. "That Dominik is Klaus's son?"

"Darling, that child looks the spitting image of my brother at that age. I had no doubt from the moment I saw him…I just don't know how it's possible."

At that, Cami had a thought. "Listen…I know you and Davina are not on the best of terms since she left you bound to Klaus and sleeping indefinitely not so long ago, but do you think you can help me find her?"

"I am the last person in the world to keep tabs on that wretched girl," Rebekah sniffed, indignantly.

"I know, but…I think you have some sway with someone who would know how to find her," Cami hinted.

"If you mean Marcel, I haven't been in contact with him recently either," the other woman answered, dismissively. Her feigned disinterest somewhat unconvincing.

"But you know how to reach him," Cami guessed. "Please? Rebekah, I need to talk to Davina. She's the only person I can think of who might be able to tell me how this happened, how my son came to be. Please, Rebekah," Cami pleaded.

"Oh, fine," Rebekah relented, exasperatedly. "But you owe me for this."

Several days later Cami was spending a quiet morning in the garden with the children. Klaus had ordered them a massive, wooden swing set that was shaped like a castle and featured two turrets and a fully-operational drawbridge. Cami had drawn the line when he suggested they have a small moat dug for the drawbridge to open over. He'd argued that the children would spend most of their time inside the safety of the compound walls and would need fun activities to keep them entertained. She had countered that a water hazard deep enough for a small child to drown in, while likely to keep them entertained, was unlikely to keep them safe. She'd felt a prick of remorse as she'd watched his skin turn slightly ashen at her words. He'd conceded, and they'd ended up compromising by going ahead with the moat, but filling it with a foot and a half of sand, rather than water.

The kids had been duly impressed with Klaus's gift and had spent every subsequent free moment swinging, sliding and climbing on the massive structure.

"That's my girl!" Klaus called, as he entered the yard through the old, wrought iron gate, its groan announcing his presence seconds before his voice did. "Storming the castle like the finest knight!"

"I'm a princess, Daddy, not a knight!" Hope laughed.

"Of course," he nodded, smiling up at her, where she stood perched in one of the turrets. "I stand corrected. You are, obviously, the most beautiful princess in all the land, but you are also as brave as any knight…are you not?"

"I'm brave!" She called, smiling. "See?" she asked, demonstrating said bravery by sliding down the fireman's pole inside the turret, landing safely in the sand below. Once she reached the bottom, she trudged through the sand-filled moat and sprinted across the yard, flinging herself into Klaus's waiting arms.

He swept her up easily, holding her against his broad chest and smiling into her sweet face. "My brave girl," he said, softly, proudly, before pressing his lips to her cheek. His eyes met Cami's over the little girl's shoulder, his words causing her heart to flutter. They were so similar to the ones he'd spoken to her.

My brave bartender.

Hope beamed and returned her father's gesture, placing her small hands on either of his cheeks and pressing her lips, sweetly, against the left one. She squealed in surprised delight at the feel of his stubble against her face. "You're scratchy and tickly, Daddy."

"Shall I shave it off?" Klaus asked, grinning at his daughter's scrunched-up nose.

She shook her head, rubbing her hands along his jawline. "Nope, it's handsome."

He threw his head back and laughed at that, before leaning down to place Hope back on her feet. "It is? Well, I'd better leave it then, hadn't I?"

Hope nodded, sprinting back toward the castle, stopping along the way to help Nik down from the bottom rung of the climbing wall. Hand in hand, they raced toward the wide, metal slide and began to climb backwards up the shiny slope.

Klaus joined Cami where she sat on an old wooden porch swing. It was suspended from the sturdy branch of an aging but solid weeping willow. He didn't say anything, just placed his arm along the back of the swing and gave them a gentle shove with his feet. Her own feet dangled inches above the earth and she allowed him to set their pace. The swing gained slight momentum and she relaxed, watching the children play and allowing herself to be lulled by the swing's gentle rhythm.

For several minutes, neither of them said anything, they just sat, enjoying the quiet moment. After some time had passed, Klaus sighed deeply and turned to face her. Cami saw him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He wore a concerned look, and her heart sped up a little in anticipation of his words. He was worried about something.

"What is it?" she finally asked, turning to look at him.

He took her left hand, gently, in his and said, "You know the full moon is at the end of the week, right?"

Her heart stopped, briefly, and then managed, after a few skipped beats, to start once again. "Yes, I know."

"You know what that means?" he asked, concern coloring his words.

She tried to curb her anger. It wasn't Klaus's fault…totally. "Yes, I know what that means. Hayley will be coming."

"It means we need to think about how we're going to bring this subject up to Hope."

She looked at him, fear coloring her eyes. "I don't…Klaus, I don't know if I can…"

He let go of her hand and placed his palm on her thigh, squeezing encouragingly. "We'll figure it out, okay?" he said, attempting to comfort her. "Besides, it's just for a day. Nothing's going to change right now. We don't have to tell her everything at once, but we do need to prepare her for Hayley's arrival because I'm sure she'll want to see Hope as soon as possible, and I'm not naïve enough to believe that she hasn't already gotten word of your return."

Cami nodded, wordlessly, struggling to keep her composure. Talking about this was hard.

"Hey," he said, softly, moving his arm from the back of the swing and wrapping it around her shoulders, "It's only one day, love. And then Hayley will be gone and we'll have another month to figure out all of the details. I just wanted to make sure that you realized it's coming up soon, and that you and I are on the same page. If we're a united front, then Hope will be fine, we'll see to it, right?"

She wasn't sure if that last bit was meant to reassure her or him, but she nodded her agreement, nonetheless.

He nodded and pulled her close, pressing his lips into her hair, comfortingly. Keeping his arm around her, he settled them back against the swing and turned to watch the children play. It was a quiet moment, a family moment, not unlike the one at the hotel the week before. It seemed odd that only a week had passed. So much had changed. It seemed a lifetime had passed since he'd found Cami and the children living on that tiny, Maine island. It was unfathomable to him how quickly a person, or persons, as was the case here, could become the center of a man's universe.

Cami watched the children closely, the mother in her ready to intervene at a moment's notice; her eyes, watching for potential dangers, her ears listening for cries of distress. For the moment, though, her children were happy and carefree. She sighed, contentedly, and rested her head against Klaus's shoulder.

As she watched, Hope stood on the platform at the top of the metal slide and reached down to pull her brother the rest of the way to "safety", Nik's clumsy toddler steps made sure by his sister's helping hand. Once they were both standing on the platform at the top of the slide, Hope called out, proudly, "Daddy, look! Look, Daddy!"

"Look, Daddy!" Nik squealed, as well, gazing adoringly at Klaus.

Cami's heart froze mid-beat. She looked up at Klaus with wide eyes, paralyzed by shock and fear; shock that, unprompted, her son was calling Klaus Daddy and fear at how Klaus would respond. She didn't know why she was surprised…Nik picked up on everything, and Hope had been calling Klaus Daddy for days now.

She braced herself and waited to see how the moment would play out.

Klaus stiffened. He felt as though someone had thrown ice-cold water over him. He sat, shocked and trembling, as the boy's innocent words dripped down his spine, soaking into his skin, all the way to the bone.

Look, Daddy!

Daddy.

He looked, sharply, at the boy and watched as the child stilled in fear, and the sweet, innocent smile slipped from his face.

In response, something twisted deep in Klaus's gut.

Several seconds passed in which none of them moved, and then, miraculously, as if the words really had been made of water, they began to warm against his skin, to soak into his pores and become a part of him…

He looked at Cami, saw the look of terror in her eyes, and he looked at the boy, quiet now, uncertain if he'd said or done something wrong. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach at having caused the boy to lose his smile, to feel uncertain. He wanted, more than anything, in that moment, to put the smile back on the child's face, the trust back in his eyes. He wanted Dominik to trust him…to love him.

He wanted Dominik to be his son.

He realized, in that moment, that Nik was his son…in all the ways that mattered. He knew…he knew, just as he had known with Marcellus. But this time, he was even more sure.

He had a connection to this boy, a bond. He was Camille's child, Hope's brother…an innocent, fatherless little boy. No matter if he found out differently or not, Klaus knew his feelings for the boy would remain unaltered. Dominik, from now on, was his son.

There was a freedom in the decision. The act of choosing to be Dominik's father, regardless of DNA, alleviated the fear he had about losing the boy if he turned out not to be his biological son. Choosing to take responsibility for him and parent him, regardless of genetics, allowed him to love the boy without restraint, without fear of losing him.

He looked at Camille. She wanted so badly for him to be Dominik's father, to accept that he was, he could see it so clearly in her eyes. Regardless of how it had happened, the only way he would ever not be this boy's father, was if he chose to walk away from him…if he chose to deny him.

It was a revelation, and it allowed him to look upon the child with fresh eyes.

He saw himself in the boy, saw the hope in his eyes as he attempted to make the man he knew as father proud…just as Klaus, as a young boy, had tried desperately to please Mikael. He saw Cami in Nik's wide beautiful eyes, her innocence and her joy. And, when he was doing a bit of wishful thinking, perhaps he even caught a glimpse of himself just there, around the mouth.

Slowly, Klaus's lips slid into a wide smile.

He removed his arm from Camille's shoulders and leaned forward in the swing, placing his elbows on his knees and giving the boy his undivided attention.

"Well done, son!" he called, smiling, broadly.

Nik beamed, proudly, and Klaus rose on sure legs. In four long strides he was at the base of the slide. He opened his arms wide and smiled up at the kids. "Come on then, loves," he called, motioning for them to slide down to him, "Daddy will catch you!"

Squealing with joy, the children hurled themselves onto the slide and flew down the shiny metallic surface into Klaus's waiting arms. "My brave princess and my noble knight," he smiled, kissing the crowns of both tiny heads.

Klaus heard Cami's sharp, indrawn breath, and looked back at her, meeting her gaze.

He watched the muscles in her throat work and knew she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. He could tell she was trying to get words out, but they weren't making it past the lump in her throat. It didn't matter, he could see the sentiment clearly in her shimmering blue eyes.

He smiled, reassuringly, and hoisted Hope and Nik into his arms, one child hanging like a sack of potatoes from either arm. The kids laughed, gleefully, suspended by their waists, their arms and legs dangling several feet above the ground below.

Through a sheen of tears, Cami smiled back at him.

Laughing happily, he gave their children his full attention, twirling until his ears were filled with nothing but the sound of their happy shrieks and Cami's contented laughter.