Part 5
KLAUS
It was an odd unsettling feeling, this sinking in his stomach. Of the thousand years of his life Klaus had experienced a multitude of highs and lows, but never this slow sensation of something taking over him. The boy's weight was slight in his arms, because really he was not even two. Klaus had known of his existence for only about an hour now.
And still, he settled into his body like he was home.
Klaus passed by his sister shoving broken crap into a large garbage bucket. He shifted Daniel easily in his arms and picked out a broken picture frame with a poorly focused capture of Daniel and Caroline in the carousel. Klaus shook away the broken glass and salvaged the picture, placing it on top of the table as he made his way up the stairs.
His first stop was to check in on Caroline. He swung the door open and peered inside to find her still deeply asleep as her body healed itself. Klaus turned to the next room and opened the door, finding a bathroom instead of what he was searching for.
"You don't have a room, do you, kid?" And before he could exercise some control over himself, Klaus found himself thinking up a room for the child when really there was no place in his life for one. Still lugging the half-awake child in his arms, Klaus made his way downstairs just in time for the door the open.
In a split second Rebekah was standing right in front of the door.
To his surprise, his own hand came to a protective rest on Daniel's back.
His guard relaxed when Elijah stepped into the house. Klaus waited for Elijah to briefly take in his sister's appearance after the attack in the house. When finally Elijah looked up to acknowledge him, Klaus said sharply, "You have a lot that you've kept secret from me, brother."
"And I intend to disclose it all, Niklaus, but first let us see to getting my nephew clothed." Elijah then walked into the kitchen and emerged with a bag that looked worse for wear. He handed it to Rebekah. "Caroline keeps a change of clothes in the second pocket, and formula in the blue plastic containers at the sides."
For a brief second Klaus was almost jealous. Because Elijah was part of something so intimate; because Elijah knew more. Because when she was half-conscious all she could ask about apart from a child was his own brother.
"Why is she here, Elijah?" he asked.
And then Rebekah reached for Daniel. Klaus released the child, and with a gentle coo from Rebekah and the warm gaze that Elijah bestowed on them he recognized that Elijah had achieved what he wanted from New Orleans. He wanted a family, and the three of them stood under the same roof now, standing as one to care for the child.
Rebekah took the child and the bag up the stairs to care for him, and Klaus narrowed his eyes at the pride and affection that Elijah had at the simple action.
"You wanted her here, did you not?"
"Not if I knew nothing, not if I couldn't protect her," was the quick reply.
"Most of the time even I could not keep track of you, Niklaus, and I knew how powerful Marcel has become. I needed you back," Elijah admitted. "And if I, whom among anyone still walking on this earth has had the longest connection to you, cannot even keep you focused on the path, then I needed someone else."
"You came to her," Klaus concluded.
It was right around that time, before she showed up in New Orleans glowing under the yellow lights of the artists' alley, that he came to her dorm to find it abandoned. It was that absence that led him to the subject of his painting the night he lost himself inside her.
"I came to her because I needed someone who would do whatever it would take to bring you back."
And she came. She was right here, right on Marcel's arm, surrounded by the most hostile and territorial vampires ever created.
"Why?"
Remember I love you, always just you.
"I think that is a question that only Caroline can answer for you, Niklaus, if she has not done so already."
Klaus shook his head. "And the child-" It was so hard to refer to him as his own son. He was still so unused to it. "Daniel? It's impossible. He was dead. Hayley said so. You told me you buried it with your own hands."
"The girl was half-unconscious from the attack and the loss of blood from the birth in the middle of nowhere. I picked up remains surrounding her and buried them. I was not going to put that on you, Niklaus. Your son was dead, and like always no one knew where to find you."
Child's laughter burst through the thin walls. Klaus turned towards the sound. His voice dropped to a whisper, "Was Marcel raising my son?"
"From what I could glean since Caroline came home with Daniel, Niklaus, I can tell you that Marcel had been supporting your child. Who it was that took him on the day he was born—whether they were vampires who were seeking leverage against you, werewolves that were looking to fulfill their own prophecy, or even witches that could not allow the child of powerful creatures from two distinct original lines—we do not know."
Klaus turned around and walked out and towards where Rebekah was sitting on the bed, playing peek-a-boo with his son, an almost human, carefree grin on her face. It was the very first time he had seen his own sister come this close to what she wanted the most in the world.
Elijah followed closely behind him, and Klaus knew he was looking at the exact same picture. "What we do know is that since Caroline had Daniel it has been a constant stream of threats, of wolves following them, trying to take Daniel, and tonight this."
"The child is family, Niklaus," Elijah said. "We have not welcomed anyone into the family in the last thousand years and we may never do so again. Know that every last one of us will die before any hurt befalls your son."
Klaus grinned at his brother. "Good thing you're immortal then, and Caroline's destroyed the last piece of stake that can harm us, brother."
"Has she?" Elijah murmured. "Smart girl." He cleared his throat. "That was the last obstacle before she could extricate herself from your mentee. I guess then there is no doubt that we are waging war on Marcel and his vampires."
Klaus still remembered that voicemail, eerie as it was, and his hands fisted at his sides. "He knew what he was unleashing on Caroline the moment she took Daniel." And that was before she stole and destroyed the stake. His skin crawled at the thought that all along Caroline was inside Marcel's house, in Marcel's protection, surrounded by Marcel's men, and it was either that Marcel knew that she was somehow linked inextricably to Klaus or he just found it an effective way to rid himself of the threat of the Original wolves if he handed the child to another caregiver.
Rebekah waved the two of them into the room, and Klaus stepped aside when Elijah eagerly walked into the room and sat on the bed as well. Klaus nodded to his sister but thought better of completing the ridiculous portrait their image would lend themselves to. Not even when they were children was he truly part of the family, with only half of his blood truly shared with them.
Instead Klaus turned on his heel and stepped into Caroline's bedroom. She was stretching in bed already, her eyes half-lidded as her gaze rested on him. For a moment she had the sweetest smile, and Klaus smiled back. If only they had another morning left, this would have been the perfect way to cap his thousand years.
And then suddenly her smile faded as she realized that this was no dream. Caroline bolted up on the bed. "Daniel!"
He sat on the bed beside her and grabbed her hands. "Caroline," he said firmly, so that she would look into his eyes, "he is safe. He is melting the hearts of two old vampires, right in the next room."
At this, she calmed. Hearing the loud laughter from outside the room, Caroline smiled. "I'm glad they're enjoying each other's company. Your son is an entertainer, you know."
It was the easy way the words dropped from her tongue, maybe, but the phrase did not seem so odd anymore. "An entertainer?" His eyebrow arched. "That might be something he got from me."
She threw her head back and laughed, and Klaus' grin grew larger. When the mirth faded, Caroline shook her head. He reached forward tentatively, resting a hand on hers.
"Elijah told me about your recruitment into this mess. Why did you do it?"
Her eyes searched his, as if trying to see if the question was real, if he truly did not know, if he just did not believe it. "I didn't want you getting hurt out here," she said matter-of-factly.
"Why?"
And he bloody well knew why, knew it like he remembered every breath against his ear, every grip, every whisper.
"Because I'm in love with you, Klaus." And it was exactly what she had said then, in the golden glow that he could not forget in a thousand more years. "I'm so in love with you that I hate you sometimes. You make me so afraid."
Klaus leaned forward and grasped the nape of her neck, then brought his mouth over hers, murmured low in his throat when he felt her fingers bury into his hair deepening the kiss. He raised his head and looked into her eyes. "You will never need to be afraid of me," he assured her. "Believe me, sweetheart, I knew the first moment I laid eyes on you that you were too good for me. If I was ever so lucky to have you, I swore you were going to be the center of my universe."
She forced that smile and he recognized it. "Then where were you for the last two years, Klaus," she said, keeping her voice light, "apart from procreating?"
"Love, have you ever wondered why Elijah has been the one involved with Daniel, where I was when he talked about being the only one there?" Caroline shook her head. "Even when you did not know I was there, when your mom was hurt, when you were mourning, I was always behind you."
Perhaps it was the sudden rush of those difficult memories, but that was when she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. It had been all that he could do to control himself from wrapping himself around her all those nights she had cried herself to sleep after she buried her mother, all that he could do to keep himself from taking her away when she was at her most vulnerable.
"You were right when you called me a terrible person, Caroline. These last two years proved it. I care more about you than I cared about my own son."
She pulled away and those shining eyes held more power over him than anything in the world. "He's a beautiful baby. You can't be that way anymore."
"I won't," he promised, and he hoped whatever power there was that would assist him in his redemption would allow him to keep his promise.
And it was only natural that he would lie down on her bed and she would rest her head on his arm, curled up at his side. Caroline rested her fingers on his shirt. He smiled when she brushed a kiss on his chest. "Tell me about Daniel's mother."
"You are his mother," he said gently, too quickly. But he should have prepared for this question. It was always going to be asked. "He has not known anyone but you. Certainly not the woman who gave birth to him."
"That's not fair, Klaus."
It wouldn't be fair to you.
She sat up on the bed and immediately he felt the coldness from the vacant spot she left on the bed. "Who is it?"
"It was Hayley."
And he sat up, frozen, and watched as Caroline buried her face in her palms. Klaus placed a hand on her back and was happy that she did not jerk away. Her back trembled underneath his hand. He waited, keeping silent.
When finally, she turned to him, her tearstreaked face mostly dried, her eyes red-rimmed, Caroline told him, "As much as I hated her, I can't take away from her what I found with Daniel. You have to tell her, Klaus."
CAROLINE
She leaned over to look at the special creation, and Klaus peered up at her. "You're blocking the sun, Caroline."
He reached up with his charcoal-stained fingers and pushed back a waterfall of her blonde hair behind her ear. Caroline squealed and moved away. "Keep your disgusting hands off my hair!"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I distinctly remember the exact opposite instruction not long ago, love."
Caroline's jaw dropped. Her mouth hanging, she darted her gaze from Klaus to Rebekah and then to Elijah. To his credit Elijah kept a poker face on while Rebekah winced.
"It's your fault, sweetheart." Klaus winked. "Next time don't try to bait me. Or bait me in private because I will definitely bite."
She flushed, wondering if she needed to protect Daniel's delicate ears from that kind of talk. Caroline knelt beside Klaus and looked at the drawing on his sketchbook, almost completed now. "He's very handsome." She turned and dropped a kiss on Klaus' mouth, "Just like his father."
"You know, Caroline, this would look better with you in the picture."
"It's perfect just the way it is," Caroline assured him.
Daniel stood from his position on the grass and ran towards her, launching himself towards her and jumping up. Caroline caught him and fell back from the weight that hurtled towards her, back towards Klaus who dropped the sketchbook and the charcoal pencil and whose arms wrapped around her waist.
"Daniel, my boy, playing too rough today, are we?" Klaus called out. He reached forward and grabbed Daniel by wrapping an arm around the kid's waist and lifting him easily, earning giggles of delight as the kid felt like he was flying in the air.
It was the same park where they had once been surrounded before. Caroline realized the werewolves that she had once thought were a threat had been the pack to which Daniel belonged. To any human that saw them, they appeared like quite the tight family, without realizing that there were three Original vampires there to shield against Marcel and his vampires.
"Ma!" Daniel called out loud, waving his arms in the air, flailing for Caroline. "Save me!"
And Klaus laughed out loud. "Save you?"
Caroline stood and snatched Daniel up and out of Klaus' grasp. Daniel wrapped his arms tightly around Caroline's neck as Caroline ran across the park. When she reached the edge of the park, Caroline stopped.
Her arms unconsciously tightened around Daniel. "Hayley," she said.
The dark-haired werewolf stared at the little boy in Caroline's arms. "Is that my son?" Caroline nodded. Hayley stepped forward, closer to Caroline and Daniel, and touched the little boy. "Klaus told me you convinced him to call me about him. Thank you."
Caroline cleared her throat. The plan was that she would at least have Klaus for some support when Hayley finally saw Daniel for the first time.
"Daniel... that's his name, right?"
And suddenly Caroline pitied Hayley, because she never even had the chance to name her own baby. She nodded. "I think it suits him," Caroline added.
"It does," mumbled Hayley thoughtfully. "Come on, Daniel. I'm your mommy."
And it was a little painful to hear that, even when all along she kept her head level, knew in her heart and her mind that someone else gave birth to Daniel.
"Come to mommy, Daniel." Hayley reached forward and placed her hands under Daniel's arms to extricate him from Caroline.
"Don't force him," Caroline cautioned as she felt Daniel's breathing grow faster and his arms go tighter. "Daniel-"
The little boy squirmed in her arms and Caroline gasped out loud when he jumped, away from Hayley and transformed easily into a golden white wolf pup at her feet, howling at Hayley until Hayley, with wide eyes, backed away by a foot. "Oh my God! It's true."
Caroline turned around and saw that about half a dozen pairs of eyes were trained on them and what had just transpired. She had seen Tyler transition more than once, watched the pain and the contortion and the general ugliness that came along with it. Not once had she since any werewolf transform as smoothly as if it was jumping into another skin. By the looks of those watching them in fascination, Daniel had just answered many questions.
Hayley met Caroline's worried gaze. She declared, "This arrangement won't work. Tell Klaus I want my son."
Caroline barely blinked and then Klaus was standing beside her, slightly ahead of her. "Tell me yourself, Hayley. You don't get Daniel full-time. And you have Caroline to thank that you're seeing your son at all."
Caroline watched the seething passion in Hayley as she looked down at Daniel, then back at Klaus. "Look at him! He is the very creature that my family has prophesied—the blood of the original Alpha, Klaus. Through him, my bloodline will thrive again in Louisiana and overrun these lands."
"You want Daniel as bait for your family to want to take you," Klaus surmised.
"And you want your son to hold over Elijah," Hayley bit back. "That is what this has always been about, Klaus. This was always about power and how much of it that baby brings to the table."
Klaus' lips thinned. "That's why neither of us deserves Daniel, Hayley. Leave him to Caroline. She loves him."
"Everyone saw!" Hayley pressed. "By noon, every type of supernatural will be trying to get to Daniel. My family can protect him better than anyone else can. Give him to me."
"No!" Caroline finally bit out. She had had enough of the argument, of the rationale that was so ridiculous on both their parts. She knelt down beside the wolf and calmed him with strokes down his neck. Hearing Hayley, finally, Caroline could decide for herself, and she did not care how many people would judge her for her presumption. "You don't get to touch my son again. Get out of here, Hayley."
tbc