Chapter Twelve

Mikaelson Law Offices – The Next Day…

Olivier Mikaelson looked up when the door to his personal office opened to reveal the face of his ex-wife and their two children, Mitchell and Sierra. "Daddy, hi," Sierra said with a bright grin as her 4 year old self bounced over to him. Olivier moved his chair back until he could pick her up and place her on his lap, smiling as he watched her place her piece of "art" down on the surface of his nearly clean desk.

Olivier kissed Sierra on her little cheek. "That's a very beautiful piece of art you made, sweetheart." He looked over at his ex-wife, Clara Walters Mikaelson, who was just placing Mitchell down, giving her a stern look. "You're late, Clara."

Clara gave him the same look. "Well, I called and said the traffic was a bear. Or did you not bother to pick up?"

"I know you did, but we agreed that you would drop the kids off precisely at 6:00," Olivier said. "That doesn't mean coming in at 6:05, 6:10 or 6:30, which is the time now."

"Whatever, Olivier," Clara said. "You've got your kids here and that should suffice, shouldn't it?"

He nodded and looked at Sierra as she began to babble about her day at pre-school. Later, after Clara was gone, he took them to his childhood home, where he was greeted by his mother and brothers, Elijah and Finn and both of their wives. "Uncle Elijah, Uncle Finn!" Sierra said excitedly as she squirmed in her father's arms until he put her down and she ran to her uncles to hug them both around their legs.

"Hi, Sierra Dawn," Katherine said with a smile.

Elijah smiled as he saw his wife and niece interacting before looking at his little brother. "I take it that things didn't go smoothly with Clara?"

Olivier nodded. "No. That woman has no concept of time. She was half an hour late dropping the children off. I can just imagine how late she'll be picking them up." He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "This is why I envy you and Finn sometimes, Elijah. You two have wives that worship you and actually care about your feelings. Clara, on the other hand, couldn't care less about my feelings, which is why our marriage failed."

"I think you're idealizing things a bit," Finn said, having heard what they were talking about. "Sage and I have had our disagreements, as so Elijah and Katherine. But, that doesn't mean you should give up altogether. Sooner or later, you'll find someone ten times better than Clara. She was all wrong for you, to be honest. It was just a matter of time before her true colors were revealed."

Before Olivier could say anything else, he was unexpectedly bombarded by his daughter, who had tears in her eyes. "Daddy, Mitchell pushed me!" she cried. Sage took over then, picking Sierra up and taking her over to the small couch/settee, putting the 4 year old girl in her lap.

"Mitchell, come here, please," she said sweetly, and the Mikaelson brothers all watched with shock on their faces as the little boy did as his aunt had asked him, coming over to his redhead aunt, who put an arm around him. "Mitchell, can you say you're sorry to your sister? We need to learn that pushing isn't nice, okay?"

Mitchell nodded and hugged his sister then said, "I'm sorry, Sierra."

"Its okay, Mitchell, let's go play!" Sierra said as she climbed off her aunt's lap then grabbed her brother's hand and tugged him off to another room.

Olivier looked at his brothers and then at Sage. "Thank you, Sage. You really have a way with children."

"I'm a mother, I know these things," she replied. "I also work as a nanny, which is also a plus."

"Speaking of your job, sweetheart, are you about ready to go on that assignment to Japan?" Finn asked as he kissed his wife briefly. She nodded and leaned into him.

"Let's get going. Elijah, Katherine, Olivier, it was lovely seeing you. Take good care of Ruby and Cooper for us, okay?" Sage said as she and Finn left the mansion together, hand in hand.

Once Finn and Sage left, Elijah noticed that Katherine had a smile on her face. "What's the smile for, love?"

Katherine smiled again and took her husband's hand. "Elijah, honey, I have something to tell you. I went to the doctor because I haven't been feeling well lately. And it turns out that I'm pregnant."

Elijah felt his jaw slack and quickly closed it. "You are?"

Katherine nodded in confirmation, placing the hand she was already holding on her belly. "Yes, I am."

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her softly then knelt down in front of her to kiss her still-flat stomach, caressing it with a gentle hand.

Elijah looked up at her as he was caressing her stomach. "I love you so much, Katherine."

Katherine smiled. "I love you too." She cleared her throat. "Or should I say we love you too?"

Her husband grinned. "Daddy loves both baby and their gorgeous Mommy," he told her as he stood back up then kissed her again.

Elsewhere…

Caroline gave Klaus a curious look as he helped her out of the car. A few hours ago, he had told her to put her best dress on and that he was taking her somewhere special for dinner, and that he had told Ana to look after Lily, Christian, and Sebastian while they were out. When Caroline had asked where he was taking her, he didn't divulge the information.

When they walked into a fancy restaurant, she gasped in amazement and looked at him. "You know, Nik, when you told Ana that you were going to take care of me, I had no idea that this was what you meant."

"This is a special occasion," he replied. "And special occasions need to be celebrated." He kissed her cheek. "I think that a new baby is definitely worth celebrating."

She smiles and nodded in agreement, kissing him softly on the cheek in return. "I think you are right. I cannot wait to our daughter or son in our arms," she said softly, leaning into him when he kissed her forehead.

Klaus led his wife to a table and pulled the chair out for her, pushing it back in when she was seated, taking a seat across from her and taking her hand. The waiter brought sparkling water for Caroline and champagne for Klaus. Once they had their drinks, Klaus stood up and raised his glass.

"This is a toast to my beautiful Caroline. These past twenty years have been the best years of my life. Thank you for being the wonderful wife, mother, friend, and partner that you are, and I hope that the next twenty years will be even better."

Caroline smiled and clanked her glass against his.

Later, Klaus tucked a blanket in around a now sleeping Caroline as they took a carriage ride around Central Park and kissed the top of her head.

Caroline moaned in her sleep as she felt his lips on her forehead. "I love you, Nik."

Klaus smiled. "I love you too, Caroline."

She snuggled further against him and he closed his eyes.

Later, Klaus carried Caroline into their bedroom and laid her down on the bed, kissing her softly.

He joined her as soon as he went to check on their children, making his quiet rounds before returning to their bedroom and settling with her, one hand caressing her hair when she snuggled into him.

Donovan Photography Studio – That Same Moment…

Carrie moaned in her sleep, tossing and turning before forcing herself to wake up, sweat pouring down her face. She then went to the bathroom to splash water on her face. As she was about to return to the bedroom, she saw Liam standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right, Carrie love?"

"No, I'm not," she replied. "I had a nightmare."

Liam approached her and pulled her into his arms. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"You remember when I told you about Luke kidnapping me?" Carrie said. "That's what it was about." She sighed. "I don't know why I had it. I thought I put that behind me?"

"It's the pregnancy. I think it's messing with your head," Liam said. "But, you're safe now. He's in jail, he can't hurt you anymore."

Carrie nodded and allowed him to carry her back into the bedroom and lay her gently back on the bed. "I am glad that you're here with me, Liam," she said softly as her head nestled into the crook between his neck and shoulder.

Liam smiled. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you, love."

Meanwhile…

Ruby guided her way down the stairs at her Uncle Elijah and Aunt Katherine's home. She had woken up with a sudden craving for food and navigated her way toward the kitchen, feeling the heat of a soft light coming from it. "Who is there?" she spoke in a slow voice, the tone low and full of warning.

Maria heard her cousin's voice behind her and turned around. "It's only me, Ruby."

Ruby heard Maria's voice and smiled. "Oh, Maria, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here as well."

"I just got here," her cousin replied. "Gavin and I got into a fight and I thought I'd come home for a while until things die down."

Ruby nodded when she listened to her cousin. "I hope it won't last through to tomorrow. Gavin is a wonderful man for you, Maria, and I can tell how much you love him; it's in your voice," she said softly.

Maria nodded. "I do love him. It's just that, sometimes, he can be a little childish. Then again, I guess that's what most men are, little boys in adult bodies." She sighed. "Enough about me, was there anything you needed in here, Ruby?"

"I was hungry and I thought I'd sneak down here for something to eat."

"I can get it for you," Maria said. "I know that you don't want to feel like you're imposing on anyone, but I want to help."

"I didn't want anything big, since it's late," Ruby said. "I just want something small, like some Jell-O."

Maria nodded and went into the refrigerator and got out some Jell-O for Ruby, as well as herself. After getting the spoons, Maria guided Ruby to the table and helped her into a chair before sitting down herself.

"So, how have you been, Ruby? How is the business going?" Maria asked as she took slow bites of her strawberry-flavored Jell-O.

"I've been good, all things considered," her cousin replied. "My good-for-nothing husband left me after the accident because he didn't want to be saddled with a blind wife. Thankfully, my parents took me in and have been helping me with Cooper." She sighed. "As far as the business goes, we've had some new clients, and that serves to always be a good thing."

Maria smiled. "That's great, Ruby. I'm glad everything is going well." She placed her free hand on Ruby's. "And about the whole mess concerning your husband, I'd say you should forget about him. If he thinks that you were dead weight because of something that happened to you that you couldn't control, then it's his loss. Someday, you'll find a man that will love you for who you are and not give a damn that you're blind. Not to mention some who will be a good father to Cooper."

Ruby nodded. "Thank you, Maria."

"Hey, what are cousins for?" Maria said. "Life may throw us lemons sometimes, but we just have to make lemonade."

They both turned when the light flickered on above their heads, and Maria saw her mother standing in the doorway. "Maria Rene, do you have any idea what time it is?" Katherine demanded.

Maria gave her mother a guilty look. "I'm sorry, Mother. I had no idea it was so late. Gavin and I got into a fight and I wanted to come home for awhile."

Katherine shakes her head. "Alright, but it's midnight. Your father and grandfather have a conference call in the morning with an important client," she told her daughter, going over and hugging Maria gently.

Maria returned her mother's hug and after a few minutes, stepped away and kissed her mother good night before helping Ruby back to her room. Then, once she was sure that her cousin was safe, Maria went to her old bedroom to get ready for her bed. She knew that she'd probably have a hard time sleeping because of her fight with Gavin, but she had to try. After all, things would look better in the morning.

The Next Morning…

Elijah wandered down to his father's home office and sat down in one of the chairs for his father, smiling at Maria when she passed through to leave the mansion. "Bye, Daddy," she said as she kissed him on the cheek, turning to smile at Mikael when he came in as well. "Bye, Grandfather!" She waves at Mikael and leaves through the front door.

When Maria got to her car, she was surprised to see Gavin standing there. Normally, she would've smiled at him, but she was still angry about the fight, so she glared at him. "What are you doing here, Gavin?"

"I came to talk to you."

"Oh, now you want to talk?" she replied. "Well, I've got nothing more to say to you."

"Come on, Maria, you've got to talk to me sometime," Gavin said. "I felt bad about the fight."

Maria raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really feel bad? Or are you just saying you feel bad to get me to forgive you?"

"Forgive me?" Gavin said. "I wasn't the one who started the fight."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, Gavin Donovan," Maria said. "It was clear who the instigator was." She sighed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

Not giving Gavin a chance to reply, she got in her car and drove off. Gavin kicked the tire of his truck, kind of angry that Maria didn't want to talk to him. He got in his truck and decided to go see his parents for advice.

April was surprised when Gavin came home. "Hello, sweetheart, what are you doing here?"

Gavin sighed. "It's Maria, Mom. She won't talk to me."

"Oh, sweetheart, come in," April said as she stepped aside to let her oldest come into his childhood home.

Matt was coming out of the kitchen with Fiona in front of him, and Fiona grinned when she saw her big brother. "GAVIN, hi," she said excitedly as she ran up to him to give him a fierce hug.

"Hey, Fi," he said as he kissed the top of her head.

Matt smiled at this. "Hey, Gavin, what brings you here, son?"

Gavin looked up from Fiona's head. "I need to talk to you and Mom about Maria. She's not talking to me."

"I'll go finish with the cookies for the bake sale," Fiona said as she left her brother's arm after giving him one final hug and heading off to the kitchen.

April leaned up and kissed her husband. "I'm going to join her. You two can talk in the study," she told Matt before following her dark-haired daughter to the kitchen.

Gavin followed Matt to his study and closed the door behind them for privacy, sitting down in the chair across from his father's desk. For about five minutes or so, there was silence between them until Matt spoke first. "I hear you wanted to talk about Maria."

Gavin nodded solemnly. "Yes, Dad; you see, we got into a fight. Don't ask what it was about, because I don't even remember. The best guess was it was about life, our future. This morning, I wanted to talk to her, so I went to see her at her parents' house. Turns out my effort to get her to talk to me turned out to be all in vain because she refused to talk to me." He sighed. "What do you think I should do?"

"Well, if you wanted her to talk to you, you should've given her a few days to cool off," Matt said. "That's what I do whenever your mother and I have a disagreement. The day after is too soon. Plus, Maria has inherited her mother's stubbornness, so I would definitely use the three-day grace period and see if she's receptive after that."

Gavin nodded again as he sat down. Matt came around the desk and sat next to his son. "Gavin, when your mother and I first met, we got into a pretty big argument over a mistake she made, one that she didn't do ever again," Matt told him quietly.

"You two never told me that," Gavin said, a slight bit of shock on his face.

"She did. She regretted doing it, and swore she'd stay true to our newfound romance," Matt replied. "I know that you and Maria aren't your mother and myself, but just consider that she's probably going through something right now."

Gavin nodded. "You know, I detected in her voice that something was up, something that made our fight seem trivial, like some family stuff that she's dealing with."

"Exactly," Matt said. "So, just let her deal with her family stuff for now and when it's resolved, she'll be ready to talk to you."

"Thanks, Dad," Gavin said with a smile.

Matt nodded. "You're welcome, Gavin. Glad I can help."

Author's Note: Ending another successful chapter here, because, well … I can! I love these collaborations with Erin; she's a wonderful writer and such a tremendous help!