AN: sorry it's been a while. Real life has been crazy, work has been crazy, everything has been crazy. I haven't abandoned anything! Here's what I've written for this fic so far, yes I know it's past turkey day but cmon gimme a break here! hope you enjoy it. thanks for reading! see you at the bottom! and yes i'm using stefan and damon's dad's name now!
The children were sitting at the designated kiddie table, while the adults were sitting at the main table. Klaus looked over at Elijah who looked uncomfortable sitting next to Carol. He realized all the women were staring at him. Was he the only single man here under the age of 50? Apparently he was.
Stefan pulled the tie he was wearing up like a noose and made a gagging sound. Tyler threw his tie on the ground. Damon pulled his clip on tie off, his father knew better than to let him have a real one, and clipped it into his hair.
"If I had 2 I'd look like blondie here" Damon said
Their plates arrived filled with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and cranberry sauce.
"I hate peas" Damon said
"Me too" Stefan said
The children began to eat as well as the adults. Klaus realized they were all using utensils to eat. He had never used them before. He always ate with his hands. He felt strange. He watched as Caroline used her fork to pick up the turkey. Klaus reached for his fork and instead knocked it to the floor. He picked up his turkey with his hand and started eating. The other kids looked up and saw him eating with his hands. He looked up and saw they were all staring at him. He felt out of place again and began to feel embarrassed. Caroline put her fork down and picked up her turkey with her fingers.
"Finally!" Damon said and reached for his food with his hands
"I hate all the forks we have to use" Tyler said using his hands
The children seemed to be happy eating with their hands. Klaus had never had turkey before. He liked the taste of turkey it seemed. The kids finished their plates. The boys raced off into another room. Klaus was still at the table with Caroline. She took her napkin and wiped his hand with it. He smiled at her. She used the napkin to wipe her own hands before getting up and taking his hand in hers and leading him away. The adults didn't notice the children were gone.
Caroline went to the bathroom to wash her hands. She left the door open and Klaus looked in. Caroline stood on a step stool and washed her hands. Klaus looked in and saw a giant bathtub. He flinched and backed away. He remembered the last time he was in a bathtub.
Mikael was yelling again. He dragged Klaus into the bathroom. There was always yelling. Klaus didn't know what made him angry, just that he was always angry. Klaus felt a large hand on his neck, pushing him. He felt the cold water engulf his face. Struggling against him, Mikael held him under the water. Klaus couldn't breathe. And then at the last second, Mikael pulled him up, watched him gasp for air, choking on water before he did it again and again.
Klaus felt a small hand tug on his. Caroline smiled at him and pulled him into the bathroom. She tried to wash his hands, but Klaus pulled away.
"What's wrong?" Caroline asked
"No" Klaus said backing into the corner
Caroline was confused and watched Klaus as he curled into the corner. She didn't know what was wrong. She sat down next to him and put her arms around him.
"It's ok Nik, it's ok" Caroline said
"No, he's going to hurt me"
"Who?"
"My dad"
"He's not here, it's just me"
"No"
"My mommy's the sheriff, she won't let anything bad happen to you. Your brother won't either. You're safe here."
"No, he'll find me, he always finds me"
"I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm the sheriff's daughter"
"Ok"
Caroline grabbed a towel and wet it. She wiped Klaus's hands with it. Klaus looked up at her and saw the bathtub again. He covered his eyes. Images of Mikael holding him under the water kept flashing before him.
"Nik! Nik!" Caroline yelled
"NO! No! Stop it!" Klaus yelled out
"Nik! It's just me here!"
Caroline sat down next to him and hugged him.
"It's just me Nik"
Elijah heard the noise and ran to the bathroom. He saw Klaus and Caroline huddled in the corner.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" Elijah asked as he approached them
"Nik keep saying he'll find him" Caroline said
Elijah kneeled down in front of them.
"Niklaus, he won't find you. He doesn't know where you are. You're safe here. No one will hurt you. Not now, not ever, I swear it" Elijah said
Caroline felt Klaus's arms tighten around her. She knew he was scared.
"Let's go home Niklaus" Elijah said taking his hand, "You have to let Caroline go"
Klaus reluctantly let go of Caroline and let Elijah pick him up. Elijah lifted him up and carried him out. Caroline got up and followed them out. The adults wondered what was happening as Elijah walked out of the house. Caroline saw her mother standing there watching.
"Mommy!" Caroline said as she hugged Liz's leg
Tyler, Damon and Stefan were outside when they saw Klaus being carried out by Elijah. They wondered what was going on.
"Boys don't cry" Damon said
"Did you boys do something to him?" Giuseppe asked
"No, we left after dinner" Stefan said
Caroline sat in her room. Her mother was busy doing laundry. Caroline got up and went to her mother.
"Mommy?"
"What is it sweetie?"
"Why is Nik afraid of his daddy?"
Liz stopped what she was doing. She closed the lid to the laundry machine. She walked over to her daughter and kneeled down.
"Nik's daddy was a very bad man. He did very bad things to him."
"Why?"
"I don't know why Caroline"
"Nik's afraid of him. He thinks he'll find him and hurt him again"
"His big brother Elijah will protect him. He'll make sure Nik's safe"
"Why are daddies so mean?"
"Not all daddies are mean"
"Daddy left us"
"That's different"
"No it's not, Nik's daddy is mean and wants to find him. My daddy doesn't love me and doesn't want to find me! They're both mean!" Caroline said as she ran off
Elijah was changing Klaus into his pajamas when he heard the door. He stopped.
"I'll be right back." Elijah said leaving
Elijah answered the door and saw Carol Lockwood there with her son Tyler.
"Hello Carol" Elijah said
"Hello Elijah. You left in such a rush, that you didn't take any turkey with you" Carol said offering him the plastic container
"Oh, that's quite alright. You didn't have to. Please come in." Elijah said
"Thank you. It's far too much turkey for us"
Tyler ran in and went looking for Nik.
"Is your brother doing better? We were all worried" Carol said
"He's better now. I don't know what happened. He wouldn't say anything to me" Elijah said
Klaus was in his room, pulling his shirt on. He managed to get his head through finally. Tyler walked in and saw the scars and iron mark on Klaus's back.
"What the hell happened to you?" Tyler asked
Klaus turned around and saw Tyler. He quickly pulled down his shirt. Tyler knew what those scars meant.
"He hurt you didn't he? I know, because my daddy did it to me too" Tyler said
Klaus didn't say anything.
"He's bigger and stronger than you. You can't fight back. It's always the same, isn't it?"
Klaus only nodded
"But my mommy got rid of him, and he'll never hurt me again. And when I grow up I'll make sure he'll never hurt me again"
Tyler walked up to Klaus.
"And when you grow up, you'll make sure he'll never hurt you again. Just because we're small doesn't mean we can't fight back"
Klaus didn't say anything.
"Start talking again Nik. You don't have to be afraid of him. I never shut up cause I don't want anyone to take anything from me again"
"Tyler!" Carol called out for him
"That's my mom. Bye!" Tyler ran out
Elijah was talking to Meredith while Klaus drew pictures.
"He had a slight episode at thanksgiving" Elijah said
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure, I found him in the bathroom, hiding in the corner. He wouldn't say what was wrong. He was afraid, extremely afraid"
"In the bathroom? Was there anything different about the bathroom?"
"Nothing really, it was a larger bathroom then the one I have at home"
"Was there a bathtub in there?"
"I'm not sure, probably since it was so big"
"Your brother may have been abused in the bathtub, it sounds like something his stepfather would have done. Held him under the water to the point of drowning"
"How could he be so cruel to a child?"
"Do you have a shower in your house?"
"Yes, it's small where I live"
"And when you bathe your brother do you use the shower?"
"Yes"
"Your brother probably doesn't know how to swim either. He's afraid of the water, and what his stepfather did to him. You should try to introduce him to swimming, to the water so he's not afraid"
Elijah held Klaus's hand as they walked around the pool. Klaus had on swim trunks and a t shirt and those inflatable arm things. He looked up at Elijah.
"Don't worry, you'll have fun. They'll teach you how to swim, and soon you'll be like a fish" Elijah said
"I'm afraid Lijah" Klaus said
"You don't have to be afraid anymore. You'll learn how to swim and you'll love the water, you won't be afraid of it"
Klaus joined the class which was made up of other kids. He didn't feel alone. They all got into the water but where in the shallow end. A brown haired girl started to cry as she stood by the edge.
"Elena, don't cry. Jeremy's already in there" Jenna said
"But he's a boy" Elena answered
"But he's having fun, just try it ok?"
Elena nodded and walked into the water
"It's cold!" Elena said
Damon and Stefan were running around. They saw Elena crying.
"She's always crying" Damon said
"She's a girl, that's all they do" Stefan said
"Caroline's a girl, she doesn't cry all the time" Damon said
"Maybe she's not a girl then" Stefan said
"Cannonball!" Damon yelled as he jumped into the pool
"Double cannon ball!" Stefan yelled as he jumped in after him
Klaus was feeling better in the water and walked in some more. He was only up to his waist. The instructor was showing the kids how to hold their breathe and then sink under the water. The instructor demonstrated and then stood back up.
"See simple enough" the instructor said
Klaus held his breath and sank down into the water to his neck and stopped. He really didn't want to stick his head under the water. He didn't want to be under water. Damon and Stefan were swimming around and decided to bother Elena. They swam closer to her. But then Damon saw something. Klaus's t shirt floated up and the scars and iron mark on his back were very visible. Damon stopped and swam closer to Klaus. His eyes looked on all the scars on his bar, the burns, the cuts, the faded bruises. Stefan was by Elena when he realized his brother wasn't there. He swam back to Damon. Stefan looked at Klaus's scars and stood up in the water.
"What happened to you?" Stefan asked
"How did you get all those marks on you?" Damon asked
Klaus stood up and his t shirt covered him again. He didn't answer just looked at the two boys.
"Who hurt you?" Damon asked
Klaus didn't want to answer. Instead he started to leave. Damon and Stefan followed him.
"We know you can talk" Damon said
"Talk to us" Stefan said
"Do you only talk to girls?" Damon asked
Stefan grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her towards them
"Hey!" Elena yelled
"She's a girl, talk to her and we'll listen" Stefan said
"Maybe he only talks to Caroline" Damon said
"Caroline doesn't cry all the time" Stefan said
"I do not cry all the time!" Elena said
"You do too!" Damon said
"You're mean!" Elena said
"And you're a girl!" Stefan said
Klaus didn't know what was going on. He started to climb out of the pool. He slipped and fell back in. He panicked when he was under the water. Damon reached for his arm and pulled him up.
"You ok?" Damon asked
Klaus only nodded wiping the water from his eyes. He looked around and saw that Stefan, Damon and Elena were looking at him. He felt uncomfortable and climbed out of the pool again. He looked around for Elijah.
"Where you going?" Damon asked ask he got out of the pool
"Are you looking for your brother?" Stefan asked as he climbed out
Elena was left standing there in the pool by herself again. She wondered what those boys were up to.
Klaus seemed to panic even more when he couldn't see Elijah.
"Where are you kids going? We still have a class" the instructor said
Klaus looked around and finally saw Elijah talking on his phone. Relief swept through him. Elijah didn't abandon him. Stefan and Damon were jumping back into the pool, splashing water all over Elena.
"Stop it! You're both mean!" Elena yelled
Damon and Stefan were home getting ready for bed. Their father was in the kitchen washing dishes. It was hard being a single father for 2 boys. He dried the dishes and placed them into the cupboard. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his leg and he looked down. It was Damon.
"Thanks for being a good dad to us pop" Damon said
Giuseppe wondered what brought this. Before he could say anything, Damon let go and walked back to his room. Stefan was in the hallway staring at the iron and ironing board in the closet. He looked over at his dad who was walking into the hallway.
"Stefan?" Giuseppe called out
Stefan ran over to his dad and gave him a hug.
"Thanks daddy" Stefan said
Giuseppe hugged his son back and wondered what happened to both of them today.
"What's happened?" Giuseppe asked
"We're lucky to have you daddy" Stefan hugged him a little tighter and then ran off to his room.
And that's all she wrote! things are crazy so I haven't had any time to write! hopefully things will calm down and I can get some writing in. and you can always ask or mesg me on my tumblr. same username. And I have to change the title of this story any recs?