A/N: All mistakes are alll my own. Enjoy :)

"Sometimes," said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."-A.A. Milne

Shopping in Target was usually a good way to destress after a long day at school. There were cute tops, fun accessories, and a million other things to look at and contemplate buying before she put them all back, ending up with what was only on the meticulous list that Caroline had made sure to create before entering the store.

This venture into the store was definitely not at all helping with reducing either of their stress levels, but at least the baby was still sleeping in the carseat that they'd managed to secure inside the cart she was pushing around.

Baby clothes were one thing. She could pick out the cutest Tyrannosaurus rex shirt with the best of them but staring at the hundreds of different baby bottles on display Caroline thought she might have finally met her match.

She really didn't want to be outdone by baby bottles. Especially not when that was only the first thing on the list she'd made in the car ride over to the store. She glanced over at Klaus who was looking at her and narrowed her eyes at the amusement she saw. "Okay, see, I totally missed that whole stage of being the best babysitter ever when I was a kid. I was a little too busy with the whole cheerleading and ruling the school thing."

He arched a brow at that. "Plus the town if your mother's stories are even a little true."

"They're all true, but that is beside the point." She waved back at the bottles with all their different styles, colors and sizes. "Ugh. Why are there so many different bottles."

"I'd wager its because different ages drink differing amounts," Klaus suggested, unable to contain his chuckle as she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "And now you're thinking how aggravating it is when I know more than you."

"You only do because you're so old," Caroline replied, inspecting the bottles a little closer and finally pulling out a pack of five 4-ounce ones that were apparently labeled for three to six month olds. That should work.

"I'm five years older than you, Caroline," Klaus reminded as he took the bottles from her and added them into the cart.

"Practically ancient." She glanced around the store. "I wonder if we can find you a cane for that bad hip you'll be getting soon."

Klaus maneuvered around to the back of the cart where she was standing and brushed her hair off her shoulder before dropping a kiss against her skin. "It seems I'll have to remind you just how how skilled I am with my hips when we get to the hotel,," he murmured, enjoying the way she shivered and waited for her comeback. She always had one which was something he enjoyed greatly about her.

Henrik chose that moment to wake though and looked at the two of them with wide eyes. They both froze and watched as the baby's face seemed to scrunch up before he started crying. The two of them were strangers to him and now he was in a place that had unfamiliar sounds and smells. It had to be upsetting.

Caroline unstrapped Henrik from the seat and carefully held him close, rubbing a hand over the baby's back in an effort to calm him. For all her talk of not having done any babysitting when younger, Klaus thought she was doing a fine job trying to get his little brother to calm down. "He could be hungry," Klaus told her and pushed the cart forward. "The sooner we get the rest of the things on the list you made, the sooner we can feed him."

Henrik quieted a little, seeming to prefer being held as opposed to being in the seat. "Oh god, why are there so many formula options?" Caroline asked as they turned into the next aisle. The baby seemed to pick up on her anxiety over the situation and let out a wail.

"Why don't you two go and pick out some outfits for the next few days and I'll do this part?" The formula might not be as familiar to him as the diapers—like he was supposed to remember what his mother had used with Rebekah—but Klaus knew he wouldn't deliberate over it for hours like Caroline would.

"Don't forget diapers," Caroline told him and headed over to the nearby clothing section.

Klaus sighed, running a hand through his hair once she was gone. Elijah or Finn should have been there. The two of them had far more experience with children his age than Klaus ever had. The two had actually met the baby at least once and while Klaus doubted Henrik would remember either of them, surely that was better than this being their first introduction? He placed a package of formula, hopeful that it'd be enough for a few days, and then a package of diapers into the cart before finding the other items on the list Caroline had painstakingly researched on the car ride over.

He had to love her lists.

Klaus found her among the aisles of clothes, a few already slung over her shoulder as she rocked Henrik, a motion that seemed to keep the baby calm. "How many outfits do you think we need? How many can he go through in a day? Ten? More than that? Less than that?" Caroline asked as she dropped the ones she'd gotten into the cart with the rest of their items. "And what about something for him to sleep in?"

"The hotel has a crib set up for us in the room already," Klaus assured and she nodded, seemingly appeased by that before tossing a few more outfits into the cart. "I doubt we'll need that many."

"Better safe than sorry," Caroline pointed out. "And we can return whatever we don't use or you can give it to him as a Christmas present."

Klaus swallowed at that. He'd actually be able to send one now. Before that wouldn't have been a possibility. Esther would have sent it back or Mikael would have ripped whatever it was to shreds if he'd seen it. Now he had a chance to actually be in the boy's life.

It was startling how much that meant to him.

He'd brushed it aside for the last year, saying it didn't matter, that he didn't care if he was unable to know this one sibling. Caroline hadn't pressed him about it though she'd told him a few times to stop with his delusions and that it was okay to not be happy with his parents' decisions. But it wasn't something he could have really fought then, now though…

"Do we have everything?" Caroline asked, breaking Klaus from his thoughts as she peered around him to look at her list. "Did you get any toys?"

"Do they even play with any right now?" Klaus mused and she rolled her eyes at him.

Henrik sniffled and rubbed his face against Caroline's chest, mouth opening and closing as he tried to latch onto her. "Yeah, we'll have to come back for some 'cause sorry, buddy, but those so do not work the way you're thinking they might," Caroline murmured, shifting the baby and handing him over to Klaus. "And don't even think of laughing."

Klaus pressed his lips together to hold back another chuckle as she took hold of the cart and started toward the registers. Henrik looked up at him, clearly not liking the change in who was holding him and started to wail. "I'm not a big fan of when she denies me those either, Henrik," Klaus murmured not at all surprised when Caroline swatted his arm when he caught up to her.

The baby's answer was to cry harder and Klaus shook his head, amazed by how much the baby reminded him of Rebekah at the same age. She'd been a crier as well, causing all of her brothers to ask for earplugs that Christmas. "It gets easier," the cashier assured the two of them as she rang up their items and Caroline popped open the package with the pacifiers before offering it over to Klaus.

It quieted down Henrik long enough for them to pay for everything and load it into the car. Getting him into the carseat was a challenge though, the pacifier spit out as soon as they tried it, little limbs squirming in protest. Caroline worked at pouring bottled water into the newly opened bottle and then carefully adding the appropriate amount of formula to the mixture before shaking it together as Klaus secured Henrik inside the car.

She got into the backseat with him and brought the bottle to his lips, breathing out a sigh of relief when that seemed to be the trick to calm him down. "I hope you know that you're so in charge of diaper changes," Caroline murmured as Klaus started the car.

"Now, sweetheart," Klaus started looking back at her through the rearview mirror.

"I'll make it worth your while," she assured with playful waggle of her eyebrows.

Well then. He wasn't about to pass up that opportunity considering he knew how she usually made things up to him. He could definitely endure a few days of diaper changes for that.

"I think you should wear this green one with the monkeys," Caroline murmured, holding up the outfit as she sat down on the bed beside Henrik who was currently in nothing but a diaper.

Klaus had changed him once they'd arrived at the hotel and was currently at the front desk working out rooms for the rest of his siblings for whenever they actually arrived. The clothes Henrik had been wearing might not have been dirty but he could have also been wearing them since the police found him in the house and Caroline didn't want him in anything that had a reminder to the events that had taken place there.

"We could also do the sailboat ones but they're just not as adorable as these." Henrik stared up at her, tiny gaze following her movements before he brought his hands to his mouth and his chubby legs started to kick a little. "I don't have a clue what that means, kiddo, and like youtube is seriously failing me at the moment." But talking to him was good, right? Caroline could have sworn she'd heard someone say that talking to babies was vital for development. Which was good, because she had a tendency to ramble at times.

She managed to get him into the outfit with a bit of effort though and laid him back in the middle of the bed as she sat down next to him, carefully folding the old clothes so she could set them on the nightstand to be put away later. Henrik started to fuss though and she scooped him up, unsure what was causing his distress. He'd just eaten, burped, and had been changed…what else did he need?

Aside from his mom?

Maybe he was missing Esther, her scent, the familiarity of her touch. Caroline couldn't really give him any of that but she held him close and plucked the pacifier from the bedside table for him. Henrik nestled against her chest and began sucking on the bit of plastic, his eyes starting to shut.

She stood with him, slowly walking around the room and felt him calm down against her as he slowly fell asleep. She watched him sleep, the rise and fall of his of his chest as he laid against her, looking completely innocent and content. He wouldn't remember his mother when he was older, too young to really develop a memory, and that was a heartbreaking notion.

But at least he wouldn't remember Mikael either. Caroline had never met the man, but she'd heard stories about him from Klaus, Kol and Rebekah, had heard the way he talked to them over the phone. He hadn't been a kind man, had hurt all of his children in a variety of ways and while he wouldn't be able to physically abuse Henrik like he had the others, he'd taken the chance for the little boy to ever know his mother and that was unforgivable.

Caroline wondered what had triggered the murder-suicide that had happened that morning, what had kept Mikael from venturing to his son's room and taking one more life in the horrendous events of the day. Thankfully something had or the events would have been even more tragic than they already were. "You've got someone watching over you," she murmured as she kissed the top of the baby's head.

The hotel room door open and she turned around, shaking her head when she saw Klaus before nodding down to the sleeping baby. He held up his hands in surrender and carefully closed the door behind him while she walked Henrik over to the crib and laid him down in it.

"Does he lay face up or down?" She had no idea and stared in horror down at the infant, worried she was about to screw it all up.

"He should lay down on his back," Klaus murmured to her and she let out a sigh of relief because that's how she'd laid Henrik down. Klaus looped his arms around her waist and tugged her back against him. "I managed to book enough rooms for everyone. Finn and family will be getting the presidential suite much to Katherine's annoyance."

"Pretty sure she prefers being called Katerina," Caroline reminded but Klaus simply shrugged. The two had never really gotten along and she knew that Klaus would continue to call Kat by the name Katherine for as long as Kat tried to call him Nik, something only Rebekah and Kol usually got away with. "But she's only got three needing a room and Finn and Sage have…what? Six?"

Klaus nodded. Four children and the two adults. It would be tight in the presidential suite with that many but he knew Sage wouldn't want to be separated from the children, even if they had adjoining rooms. The twins had a tendency to look the adjoining door and cause mischief if left to their own devices. Or at least they had the last time he saw the lot of them two years ago.

"I don't know about you but I could use some food, love," Klaus tugged her away from the crib and Caroline nodded, surprised her stomach wasn't rumbling in protest yet. She hadn't eaten since that morning when Klaus had called her and she doubted that he'd done so either. She knew how focused he could get on things. "Room service?"

"Sounds good cause we are so not risking accidentally waking him by trying to go somewhere." So not worth it when they could order in. And everywhere always had fries at least so she was good. Though considering the hotel they were at Caroline figured they had to have some decent options, not that she would ever say no to fries.

Klaus plucked the menu from the desk off to the side and sat down on the couch, Caroline dropping down on it beside him. It didn't take long for them to figure out what to order and it wouldn't take too long for it to be delivered to them.

"Who do you think your parents chose to have custody of him?" Caroline asked when Klaus sat back on the couch beside her. "I'm guessing Rebekah is so not an option cause college and Kol with his whole wandering thing probably didn't make the cut."

"Finn's marriage with Sage was still considered a big mistake by the two of them," Klaus reminded. It was the reason they all rarely saw their oldest brother even when Klaus had still been welcomed at the family home. "My guess is Elijah."

"Kat's gonna love that," Caroline murmured as she leaned against him. Italy had been a surprise for her and Elijah and while they definitely loved the little girl, Caroline had heard enough times from the other woman how she wouldn't be doing the whole baby thing again.

"She'll have to deal with it." After all, always and forever was their sibling motto. Elijah would want to stick to that, Klaus was certain of it.

"At least you'll get to know him now," Caroline sighed, drawing her fingers along his chest over the henley he wore. "I know it was eating you up that you couldn't." She'd thought it was bullshit, the reasonings for keeping him from his youngest brother's life, but well…Mikael really had been insanely volatile.

Klaus threaded his fingers through Caroline's hair. He'd tried to keep that hidden, how much it had hurt him, how much it'd bruised an already broken interior because of how easily his mother had discarded him to appease Mikael's rage once his true parentage had come to light. And then to be denied knowing a member of his family because of the man's ego had cut away at him, causing his paintings to take a darker when his mother asked him to stay away when she gave birth.

Caroline had seen it though, she always did, and that was something he loved about her. She was the lightness that seemed to seep into even the darkest of his art, something that had been missing since he'd left home until he met her by chance.

"He won't grow up knowing Mikael now either," Klaus finally got out, his voice harder than he meant. Henrik wouldn't grow up under the harsh rule of that man and that was a good thing.

"And none of you have to deal with him ever again either," she shifted and kissed his jaw.

That was also a definite plus. And even if he didn't quite want to vocalize it, the fact Henrik wouldn't know Esther was probably not as bad a thing as some might think. At least he'd grow up only knowing that she had loved him and never learn how easily she could discard him.

There was a knock at the door, alerting them to their meals arriving and Caroline pulled away from him so he could retrieve it. Henrik stirred at the noise but didn't wake. "How long do you think he'll be out for?" she asked as she sat down at the table in their room.

"I've no idea, love," Klaus replied as he tipped the young man who wheeled the cart into the room. "My mother didn't exactly keep me appraised of his schedule."

She wrinkled her nose as he sat down across from her. "Just remember you're on diaper duty."

"I'm looking forward to seeing precisely how you'll be making that up to me," Klaus smirked and she rolled her eyes before digging in. If TV shows had taught her anything it was that baby's had a tendency to wake up whenever someone was about to eat and she was not about to let her fries get cold.

"I was thinking of color coding your closet once we got home and properly labeling all of your art supplies so your brushes all get put back in the right spot," she teased, before sliding her foot up his leg. "But I'm sure I could be persuaded to think up other ideas too."

"No labeling my studio, Caroline," Klaus reminded and she pouted. His art studio was absolute chaos. It drove her crazy. "You might want to stop pouting, love, or you'll never get a chance to eat those fries."

"Big talk considering there's a baby in the room," she told him and popped a fry into her mouth.

"I do believe that sex is how he came to be," Klaus pointed out. "He's not able to pull himself up yet on the crib so he'll hardly be scarred if he's woken." He cut into his stake and paused as if he was contemplating something serious but she knew that look, he was definitely about to tease her. "Or someone could learn to be quiet."

"You like the noises I make," Caroline reminded, flicking a fry at him. It was worth losing it to see it smack him on the nose. "So not having sex with a baby in the room though. Maybe he won't get traumatized but I will and then you'll like never get sex again."

Oh crap.

She knew that look in his eye, that one that said he was taking her words as a challenge. Not that she wouldn't enjoy him winning this one and Caroline smirked at Klaus before slowly eating a fry. There was a sharp cry from the crib, forcing their attention to turn toward it and Klaus got up, heading over to find Henrik awake and fussing, the pacifier laying beside him.

"You're lucky that you're family," he murmured as he picked up the infant and put the pacifier back into the baby's mouth, finding that eased the fussing some as he headed back to sit down at the table.

He looked over at Caroline, noting how she was watching the two of them together and the gentle smile she had. Children was something they'd talked about, something he wasn't sure about having, at least not for a long time. With her course load it wasn't something she wanted anytime soon either. But Klaus knew that smile of hers, it was the one she wore when she was thinking of future possibilities. He still wondered how he'd gotten so lucky as to become part of those dreams for her.

"You might want to keep him from Kol if he ever arrives cause he's definitely a little chick magnet," Caroline told him and Klaus laughed.

"He's welcome to it, I already found who I was looking for," Klaus told her and her smile brightened before she shook her head.

"Smart answer."

"I know."

He may have deserved that light kick to his shins.

It never ceased to amaze Caroline how night and day Klaus and Elijah seemed to be at times. There were definitely parts of them that were similar, but just a quick glance at Elijah's usual attire compared to Klaus' was a pretty big statement on their personalities. The classic suit, complete with a tie and handkerchief in the jacket pocket was what she always saw him in. Even after a nine hour plane ride followed by another hour and a half drive to the hotel, Elijah still managed to show up looking impeccable as always.

She had a feeling he might even sleep in suits but had learned quickly not to bring up sleeping arrangements with her future sister-in-law because Kat was an over-sharer to a disturbing degree. So much so that even after six months of not seeing Elijah, Caroline still couldn't quite look at whipped cream the same anymore after one late night conversation with his wife.

"Caroline, it's lovely to see you again," Elijah greeted as he found Klaus, Henrik and her at the restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel. "I wasn't sure if you would be accompanying Niklaus or not with this matter. It's good to know that he wasn't alone."

"This seemed like the kind of thing I should be around for," Caroline told him with a smile, watching him nod to her and then to Klaus who simply waved for Elijah to sit down.

They weren't huggers like the Gilbert siblings were, Caroline had figured that out when she'd first met Elijah over a year ago. The family might have left the UK behind years ago but they definitely kept to that whole stiff upper lip stereotype that she'd seen in practically every American made movie about the British ever.

"Katerina will be pleased to know that you'll be here," Elijah continued as looked down at Henrik who was miraculously asleep in the car seat. "He's gotten bigger."

"Babies tend to do that," Klaus replied with a wave of his hand for their waiter to return. "Though I didn't think you ever saw him in person."

"No, I haven't. I was going to come a few weeks back but Italy was unwell. Rebekah sent pictures of him after he was born and then again last week." Elijah turned his attention to the waiter and ordered a glass of wine before looking back at the two of them. "I thought you might have left him at the hospital for the staff to deal with while everything is sorted out."

"He should be with family," Klaus replied with a shrug and Caroline shook her head as silence fell between the two of them for a moment. And to think, the two of them actually got along well compared to some of the other siblings.

Elijah nodded and Caroline was almost thankful when Henrik woke up, immediately fussing at being inside the seat and the unfamiliarity of the place. "We brought a bottle down, didn't we?" she asked Klaus as she unstrapped the infant and carefully held him. They really needed to get one of those diaper bags. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten to add that to her list.

Klaus shook his head. "I can go and get one from the room," he offered and Caroline shook her head, already standing with him and taking their keycard from the table.

"Nah, you two have stuff to hash out. I'll go feed him," Caroline leaned over and kissed him briefly before heading for the elevator.

Klaus watched her go with a frown, knowing she was right and at the same time not really wanting to hash out anything with Elijah. "Have you contacted the funeral home?" Elijah asked as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and placed it down in front of him, stylus at the ready.

"I have no idea which one I'm supposed to contact," Klaus informed him with a shrug, watching Elijah frown at that.

"Unless they changed their will in the last year its the Sherwood one on Maple St," Elijah told him as he scribbled way, no doubt adding that to an already halfway made list. It wasn't at all as endearing as when Caroline made hers.

"I wouldn't know considering I haven't been part of one of their wills since I was seventeen," Klaus reminded, wondering how aggravated Caroline would get with him if he switched his wine for a bottle of scotch.

Elijah paused at that and Klaus shrugged. There was little point in beating around the bush about it. "Since you're the one who knows what their apparent wishes are, I'm sure you can handle the funeral arrangements," Klaus continued with a wry smile. He really did need that scotch.

"That would leave you to do the obituary," Elijah told him and Klaus leaned back against the booth.

"On Saturday, December 6, Mikael Mikaelson finally did what everyone expected and murdered his wife and then himself inside of their upstate mansion. They are survived by five children that they claim and a bastard. The funeral will be on whatever date at whatever time. Feel free to fake your grief over their loss as their children will be doing so," Klaus grinned, Elijah's unimpressed gaze only furthering his amusement with what he'd said. "I was always the creative one."

"Be serious, Niklaus," Elijah urged and Klaus offered up a tight-lipped smile.

"What makes you think I'm not?" Where was the lie in anything that he had said? None of his siblings could dispute an ounce of it.

"And in ten years or so when Henrik searches for them on the internet and finds their obituary, is that what you'd want him to read?" Elijah inquired before slowly sipping his wine.

Yes.

No.

"I'm sure you can come up with something a little more practical for the paper," Elijah continued as he set down his glass. "We'll want to figure out what to the bury the two of them in."

"I don't bloody well care what either of them are wearing," Klaus spat out, and he could feel his anger rising, could practically taste it with each word he said. "I haven't stepped foot in that house in nearly eight years, Elijah. I've no intention of doing so now in order to pick out a suit for that monster to wear."

"Niklaus," Elijah started but Klaus was already rising.

"Repeating my name in that placating tone isn't going to persuade me," Klaus gritted out before tossing enough bills to cover everything onto the table. "Besides, you're the tailored one, I'm sure you can figure something out."

He left the restaurant and headed up to his room with Caroline, trying to the whole way to stifle the anger that wouldn't dissipate. This was precisely why they didn't spend much time together, only seeing one another once a year, maybe twice. They didn't see eye to eye on too many things and one of them would end up walking away from a conversation that turned confrontational much too quickly.

Klaus found Caroline sitting on the couch, watching something on the television as she fed Henrik his bottle. "What happened?" she asked as soon as she saw him.

"Why must something have happened?" Klaus protested and she arched a brow at him, her patented 'don't bullshit me' expression.

"Because you often see what Elijah says to you as an attack against you," Caroline replied as she looked back at Henrik and smiled at the baby. "And that's not always the case."

"Ah, but sometimes it is the case," Klaus pointed out as he sank down onto one of the chairs.

"Mmm. Was it this time though?" Caroline looked back at him.

He waved that off, not really wanting to think about it, to justify his walking away from his brother in that moment. But she simply stared at him, obviously waiting for an answer and he sighed. "Is it a crime for me not to care about the damn funeral details?"

"No." How could it be when Mikael and Esther hadn't cared about his welfare for the past eight years? "But it's not a crime for Elijah to care about it either." Caroline placed the empty bottle down and shifted Henrik so she could try and get him to burp.

No, Klaus supposed it wasn't. "I'm still not helping to pick out their damn clothes."

"Maybe he doesn't want your help picking out the clothes so much as he doesn't want to be the only doing it? Like when you were at the police station and had to do that all on your own and then the hospital…wasn't it easier once I got there and you knew you didn't have to do it all on your own?" Caroline reasoned. Or maybe that was just her personality but having someone to lean on during the hard times in life made them infinitely easier to deal with.

Klaus sighed, not liking the fact that she was right. He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text message to Elijah, Let me know when you're headed to pick out caskets. There. He'd help with that but that was it.

Thank you Niklaus came the quick reply.

This was going to be a very long week.