Previously on ATCL: 'For the first time in forever, Katherine Pierce felt at home.'
Bonnie popped up from her position on the lush rug, grimoires spread around her in various stacks. Elijah had given her a quiet spot to search for the proper spell to save Katherine the week she arrived, and she really loved this little study. It was a medium-sized room with bay windows, and there was a large table covered in books that had been pushed against one wall. When studying, she preferred to spread her things out around her in piles, and it was halfway through one of the last few boxes she had been sent from Mystic Falls that contained the grimoire Bonnie was currently reading. Glancing over the specific spell one more time, she furrowed her brow. "Kol!" The ghost had been looking over some loose pages she spread out on another table so he could assist her. Sometimes his inability to touch anything normal was a hindrance—as he had complained to her many times before—but she enjoyed his company.
"Yes, darling?" The young man made his way over in his usual lazy manner, coming behind her.
"I can't read this!" The anchor whirled around, hair fanning her face. "I can understand Latin and a bit of Greek, so it's not either of those. So like…you're the language junkie. Have at it!"
Kol smirked and read over her shoulder. "That's because this is in Aramaic. Where did you find this?"
Closing the grimoire, her finger holding the page in place, Bonnie showed him the cover. "This. It's really old, I can tell that much, but the majority of the grimoire was in Latin. It's just this last portion that's unreadable." She shrugged her shoulders. There were still a good twenty pages left in the spellbook, all in what she now knew to be Aramaic.
"Can you turn the page? I think you might have found something." He continued reading as she flipped the pages, before signaling for her to stop.
"Well?"
"This here is a centuries-old spell which was created to counteract the effects a degenerative magical potion had upon the human body. It will restore the body to the condition it was before the potion was taken. It's nearly ridiculously long… The first few pages contain necessary ingredients and such, but there are still a good fifteen of chanting to be done."
"I don't care about the chanting. What I want to know is if it'll work." Bonnie crossed her arms, failing at not getting turned on by the magic-talk coming out of Kol's mouth. There was something about a man who knew his magic that just got to her.
"Of course it'll work, Bunny. I said that at the beginning." He smirked impishly, causing her to glare.
"You're insufferable."
Kol plowed along as if she hadn't said anything. "However, there are some conditions…"
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Can you at least explain to me what we're doing out here?" Caroline crossed her arms. She had been roused out of what was supposed to be a lazy morning—it was Christmas Day, after all, and that gave her the right to sleep in—before it was time to prepare for the evening. She had worked it all out with Rebekah the week before, and the other girl was going to be gathering the materials they needed before they pulled everything together later on. Yet, instead of those lovely surprise plans, she was traipsing through the freezing cold streets of a little town about an hour outside of New Orleans at eight in the morning, all because Klaus wanted to show her something. Marvelous, no?
"Let's call this your first lesson in going to war, sweetheart." Klaus smiled cheekily, his infernal dimples only serving to infuriate her more.
"It's cold. I'm tired. Let's do this like…tomorrow!" The blonde shot back, officially beyond irritated.
"Or we could do it now, and get it over with." He continued walking.
"What on earth are we even doing?" She threw her hands in the air as she jogged to catch up, his strides longer than the pace she had been walking at. "Well?"
The Original let out a breath through his nose. "Today, Caroline, you are going to learn how to fresh-feed. And that is that."
"Seriously?" She stopped in her tracks. "Hell no! I don't fresh-feed."
Klaus turned back around, fully irritated. It would be so much easier if she would just listen and go along with what he had planned, but no. "Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you're a vampire. You drink human blood. Part of the process of accepting that fact is actually acting like what you are, and not sticking to the pathetic little bagged substitute. The rush, the strength: it's absent. It weakens your sense, dulls your feelings. You would do well to stop living a fantasy, and wake up."
Caroline backed up, affronted. "You don't have to be such an asshole about it!" Placing her hands on her hips, she continued. "Besides, we all functioned pretty well in Mystic Falls, and all we ate were bloodbags."
"Correction: you, Elena, and I presume the elder Salvatore as well," the distaste in the way Klaus spoke Damon's name made it evident that while he had let the topic of Caroline's past drop, it was not forgotten "lived off of bloodbags. My family hunts at night, and Stefan is so obsessed with not becoming a ripper, he uses animal blood as the easy way out. Even then, I assume Damon only uses the bagged stuff so to keep a low profile, and the rest of you were too focused on keeping a normal human life than to actually adjust in the proper way."
"Please, tell me how you really feel." The blonde spat.
"This is who I am, Caroline." He gestured to himself. "I have been this way for over a thousand years, and there isn't much changing left to be accomplished. You would do good to accept that."
"And this is who I am!" Caroline ran a hand through her hair, ton rising as she spoke. "And I don't like to fresh-feed, and you can't force me to do it! Get over yourself and your outdated ideas!"
"Are you just worried about killing someone? Because that is a ridiculous notion. I wouldn't let you slip!" He seemed genuinely offended at the notion of her not trusting him.
"No! It's because I don't want to subject someone else to the same terror that I went through!" The lady shrieked, taking a step towards him.
"They are two completely different things, love. There's a difference between compelling and feeding upon someone once before healing them, and your circumstance." Klaus gestured as he spoke, trying to get his point across.
"Maybe so, but I don't like it!" Suddenly, the lessened distance between the two became apparent as Caroline stopped talking and they were nearly nose-to-nose. One more step would be all it took… Caroline's thoughts were cut off as the shrill tone of her phone ringing interrupted the silence. Scrambling for the device, she found it in her coat pocket. "Hello?" Sighing, she listened to the caller speak, her angry demeanor fading away to one of joy. "Really? They found it? Ohmygosh, okay, we're heading back right now! Don't talk about it without us there!" Smiling, she turned to Klaus as she hung up. "Bonnie found the spell to save Katherine! Kol's in the middle of translating it to Latin right now, but we need to head back so we can all discuss it!"
As he was not experiencing her elation—for he did not particularly care for the doppelganger—Klaus attempted to contain his disdain while he followed her back to his car. "This conversation is not over, love."
Rolling her eyes, Caroline decided to put an end to this. "Fine. You know what? I really don't feel like talking about this, so I'll consider the possibility in the near future. But I'm not making any hard and fast decisions right now because we need to get back, and personally, the situation back at the manor is more important than my ability to fresh-feed. Can you accept that?"
"We'll compromise on those terms. For now." Klaus retorted, causing her to sigh again. This is what happened when two stubborn personalities clashed.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Okay, we're here. Sorry it took so long." Caroline bustled into the parlor, shedding her winter coat and dropping it on the coatrack as she walked in the room.
"It certainly took you two long enough." Katherine grumbled from her spot on the loveseat, bundled up in blankets. Her face was paler than normal, and her grey hair had begun to show again, leaving her miserable and feeling ugly.
"Not my idea, trust me." She collapsed into a chair, shooting a glare at Klaus, who just rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Anyways, the ghostly Original is still up in Bon-Bon's witchy lair translating the novella they call a spell. The original caster was clearly around the same time as the bitch-witch Quetsiyah, because the damn thing's written in Aramaic." Katherine sipped petulantly from her coffee mug, which had previously been resting on the end table beside her. "Bonnie's up there also, and Elijah just got back from asking Davina to do the spell."
"Awww, are you pouting because of a lack of attention?" Rebekah sauntered in the room. "Careful Katherine, with your untamed hair and whiny attitude, you're starting to look like Tatia." However, when she saw her brother in the room, she paled.
"Rebekah…" Klaus growled, trailing off as his sister got his meaning.
"Wait," Caroline looked between the two siblings and Katherine. "Who's Tatia again?" She remembered hearing the name before, but just couldn't place who it was exactly.
"A mistake." Klaus turned towards the door, desperately wanting to avoid this conversation.
"The original doppelwhore." Rebekah gestured to the doppelganger in the room.
"Actually, you're wrong." Katherine rolled her eyes. "Considering the innocent little cupcake named Amara was the progenitor of the doppelganger line way back when her One True Love Silas was around. Tatia was the second we know of, though it's possible there was another one before her."
"Can someone explain to me why you all are talking about the village bicycle?" Kol asked as he and Bonnie walked in the room, holding hands, Elijah trailing behind them. The latter sent a look towards Klaus, but simply received a sigh in response. The females in the room simply looked at each other after the youngest brother's comment. "What? We all know she was sleeping around with half the village!"
"Actually…" Rebekah trailed off, causing her brother to laugh.
"Then I have more idiotic siblings than I originally surmised. Because frankly, the raging little whore's schemes were obvious to everyone but you two." Kol rolled his eyes, nodding at his brothers.
Caroline looked between Klaus and Kol. "Wait, you and a Petrova?" She rolled her eyes in disgust, crossing her arms and leaning back into her chair as she looked away. "God, all you men are the same."
"I take offense at that." Katherine raised her eyebrows. She always got pissy whenever someone compared her to one of her doppelgangers. She was a person of her own, thank you very much.
"Please." Rebekah interjected. "I think you're probably the only person who can say she successfully seduced two sets of brothers."
The brunette scoffed. "First of all, back then, I was about as much of a blushing virgin as an eighteen-year old, previously knocked up, woman can get. I wasn't seducing anyone." She smirked. "Secondly, it was five hundred years ago. Untwist your panties already."
Then chaos broke out. It started with Rebekah shooting another insult at Katherine, and the two women started bickering. Caroline jumped in every so often, commenting on their repertoire of barbs. On the other side of the room, Klaus and Kol broke into an argument, Bonnie existing as the casual bystander who so happened to be connected—literally—to one of the participants. Behind the ladies, Hayley waddled into the room, for she was already eight months pregnant, and opened her eyes wide at the fighting. Then, she jumped right into the argument with the other ladies, causing World War Three to break out among them.
Elijah looked around the room and made an unamused expression, which went unnoticed by everybody. This was asinine. "Silence!" If there were many unusual things upon this earth, it was that of Elijah Mikaelson shouting. However, it worked, and the room obeyed his command. "Since everyone in this room appears to wish to be treated like children, I shall have to do as such and separate you. Niklaus, you and Caroline take one sofa. Kol and Bonnie, to the other. Rebekah, find a chair. Same with you, Hayley." The suited Original took a seat beside Katherine on the loveseat—causing said woman to receive a jealous glare from the werewolf in the room—and crossed on leg over the other. When no one made a move, he arched an eyebrow and gestured for them to do so. Once everyone complied, Elijah turned to Bonnie. "Miss Bennett, I believe you had a spell to explain?"
"Yes. I do." She sighed in relief. If he had not taken charge, she was three seconds away from detaching herself from Kol and screaming at everyone to shut their mouths. Shuffling through the sheaf of papers Kol had translated for her, Bonnie found the appropriate page. "If Kol translated correctly,"
"Which I did." He interrupted.
Bonnie just continued along. "then this is a spell meant to counteract the effects of a potion which is degenerative to the human body."
"But not the cure specifically?" Katherine pursed her lips.
"No, not the cure itself. When you look at it from a magical standpoint, however, the two are basically the same thing. Same effects, same basic ingredients. If you decide to go through with it, the spell will return to you to the same physical state that you were at before taking the cure."
"Will I be a vampire again?"
"As vampirism did not existence back in this age, there was no evidence within the text to confirm or deny the possibility." Kol jumped in. "However, the spell does speak of freezing time, so it is a viable prospect." He stood behind the sofa Bonnie was sitting on, and leaned forward against it, his hands resting upon the back. "Though, there are a few…conditions which must be carried out for the spell to work."
Bonnie took over at this point, looking around the room. "This is really tricky magic we're dealing with here. To attempt it more than once on the same person will speed up the process of the cure, either killing you immediately or within hours. And, for the spell to be pulled off, we need people with ties of blood to Katherine to…cement her life force to the earth. Her life won't be linked to theirs or anything, but something about the magic of that type of bond will assist the spell to completion."
"Well, there it goes, then." Katherine fell back into the sofa, miserable. She only had one living family member, and that one was angry with her. Her life officially sucked.
"We could call Nadia." Caroline popped in. "She might be willing to help."
"Nadia hates my guts, and even then, that leaves me one person short." The brunette lady rebutted.
"Katherine. She spent the better part of five hundred years searching for you. I don't think she hates you after one little argument."
She sighed. "You underestimate the stubbornness of Petrova women, Caroline." Katherine sipped from her mug again before speaking once more. "However, since Nadia is able to assist in saving my life, you can call her." When her blonde friend gave her a 'bitch, please' look, she simply returned the favor. "I'm not the one in the wrong here, so I won't be doing any groveling. The only reason she's even pissed is because I didn't want to go run off to Bulgaria with my thirty-something daughter when I was given three months to live. Sorry, but I'm not sorry."
"Mother of the Year." Hayley sniped, alerting everyone to her presence.
"Why are you still here?" Katherine shifted around to face the werewolf, disliking the looks Hayley was giving Elijah. He was her man, damn it. Bitches back off.
"Well, I'm sorry that except for the back gardens and doctor's appointments, I'm under house arrest." The young woman crossed her arms and pouted.
"Then go garden. Or read something. Or, I don't know, take up water aerobics. Hell, you can go fuck yourself for all I care. Just don't bitch at me when we are currently in the middle of a meeting about a spell to save my life. Got it, Hally?" Ignoring the looks she was getting from everyone—Caroline and Rebekah were exchanging identical smirks, Bonnie and Klaus looked fairly disgusted, and Kol was impressed, while Elijah seemed the opposite at her delivery—Katherine ignored the disgruntled name correction by the werewolf, and faced Bonnie again. "Bon-Bon, is there anyone else other than my formerly-perceived-to-be-dead-but-not-dead daughter we can use?"
The anchor just looked to Kol and back, exchanging looks, before she sighed. "He thinks there is, and I think it'll work. I had suggested the Salvatores at first, and then Elena, but with Damon and Stefan the bond is different, and Elena harbors only hate for you, so that still won't work. We need a bond of love or family; a bond through blood."
"Yes." Kol jumped in. "And you see, I seem to remember a certain weekend in London last year…"
"Well, I know where this is going." Katherine massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on. During the short weekend Kol had spent with her and Elijah in London, he hadn't let this incident go.
"And my innocent eyes were forever tainted." He smirked.
"You haven't had innocent eyes since you were all of ten." Klaus interrupted, but Kol just kept going, causing Elijah to stare at the ceiling, and Katherine to roll her eyes.
"I had just come to visit my brother for the weekend before I was to head back to the dreadful Mystic Falls, and lo and behold! I came upon the torrid sight of those two going at it in the office." Kol laughed at everyone's horrified expressions. Hayley's, especially, was amusing. She looked somewhat like a dying frog. He had never enjoyed werewolves very much.
Katherine simply shrugged, not particularly bothered. A thought came to her mind, and she smirked, resting her chin on her hand. "I always did particularly like that desk of yours, 'Lijah." When she received a raised eyebrow and amused smile in response, the brunette simply winked.
"Now that we have established that no one wants to visit the London townhouse again, you may expedite your explanation for this sordid tale, Kol." Klaus motioned for his brother to continue.
Kol rolled his eyes. "You, brother, have become boring." Sighing, he continued. "Either way, from the ridiculous amount of times I was forced to listen to similar situations over that weekend as someone is annoyingly loud," Here he shot a glare at Katherine, who just smirked and wiggled her fingers in a half-wave, "I can presume bloodsharing was involved."
"You would be correct. Continue." Elijah said calmly, as if he and Katherine's sex life was not being discussed in front of all of the occupants of the manor. Then again, he had lived with his siblings for a thousand years. They had all accidentally walked in upon another sibling in the act at least once. This was just Kol's attempt to annoy him.
"Then we've got the bond." Bonnie shrugged, swiftly attempting to move this topic along. "From the research we've done, a bond such as that will work for the spell."
"Fantastic." Katherine sighed. "Now, I need a nap, so I'll be heading back upstairs." She attempted to stand up, but sat back down at the first wave of pain, letting out a whoosh of breath.
"Katerina?" Elijah asked, eyeing her deeply breathing form with concern.
"I'm fine." She gritted her teeth and stood up through the pain, grasping onto the loveseat arm for support. "Really. I'm fine."
Sighing exasperatedly, Elijah stood and buttoned his suit jacket. Walking the few steps to Katherine's side, he reached around her and grabbed her half-full mug of tea before placing it in her hands. "Hold on to that, and don't argue. It won't get you anywhere." She simply smiled and shook her head as he swept her up in his arms and carried her out of the room.
Caroline exchanged looks with Bonnie as this happened, remembering their days of swooning over the stereotypical gentleman. Klaus rolled his eyes and Rebekah shook her head fondly at Elijah's actions. Katherine was good for him. Kol, on the other hand, viewed the seething werewolf in the corner with disdain, Contrary to popular opinion, he enjoyed seeing his brother happy, and Katherine was more fun than any other woman Elijah had eyes for over the centuries. She could at least hold her own in a verbal debate with him. If the little…baby mama of Nik's was going to attempt getting in the way, he would find a way to put a stop to that.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"You didn't have to carry me, you know." Katherine said as Elijah laid her down on her bed. She drew the blanket over herself as he sat down in the chair beside her bed. It was slightly after noon, and she always took a nap around this time.
"I am aware." He crossed one leg over the other and reclined. "However, it is what I wanted to do, therefore it was going to happen."
"You, Mr. Mikaelson, are exceedingly stubborn." Katherine slipped down in the pillows a bit, covering her mouth with one dainty hand as she yawned. "But, as I have reminded you of that many times before, there is no need to be rebut my statement." She played with her hair as she looked at her bedspread, contemplating all which had been discussed downstairs.
"Katerina?" She looked up. "Are you afraid?" No further explanation was needed; both knew what he meant.
The lady paused before meeting his gaze. "I do not want to be. After all, I am dying anyways, so if the spell fails, it will simply speed up the process." She bit her lip. "I am afraid for after I die, though. I am human, after all, and that means I would not go to the Other Side. It would not be like it is with Kol; I wouldn't simply be able to touch Bonnie and see you, or talk to you. I would be gone, and that is something I wonder about." Katherine fingered the edge of her bedspread. She did not have a whirl of emotions running through her, merely an overwhelming sense of apprehension. "For the first time since my father kicked me out, I… I feel like I have a home. And I know that does not make sense, and it's something I would never admit to publically, but I truly feel comfortable here. I have friends, and then there's the whole thing with you, and even though I really don't enjoy your brother whatsoever, I see the way he looks at Caroline when he thinks no one's watching, and I know the monster he used to be has been tamed with her presence. And, well, I don't particularly spend large amounts of time with Bonnie, so I would not call myself a friend of hers, but she is doing a lot for me. I respect her highly."
Elijah slid his hand into hers, squeezing lightly. "It will be alright, Katerina. I can hear Caroline calling your daughter now, and I would do a hundred spells just like this for you. Your life will be saved."
Smiling softly, she yawned once more. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Elijah. When they fail it will only tear you apart more in the end."
They sat in silence for a few minutes; so much which needed to be said. There was so much they never did—never got to experience—and with the expectancy of Katherine's life worn down to a fifty-fifty chance, each felt the weight of their relationship weighing upon their shoulders. If only they had communicated better, maybe things would have gone different. If they had just trusted each other more, then maybe Katherine wouldn't spend every day one step closer to death. If this, if that; if everything was different, where would they be? The what-if's were a heavy burden to bear.
Still holding her hand, Elijah looked once more at the woman who held his heart. If she died tomorrow, he had to say it one more time. This could not be left unsaid; never again. "Katerina?"
"Yes?" She was struck by the sheer emotion in his eyes, and it nearly took her breath away.
"I know your reasoning for not wishing to pursue anything between us whilst in your current condition, and I do not begrudge you for it. However, I have something to say before I leave you be." She nodded for him to continue, well aware of where this was going. "Katerina Elisaveta Radomira Petrova." Katherine blushed at his use of her full name. The fact that he still remembered it from when she told him back in 1492 was ridiculous. And sweet. "I am still as ardently in love with you as I have been for the past five hundred and twenty years, and nothing will change that. Not your life, or your death. And if this spell finishes in our favor, there is no force upon this earth strong enough to stop me from making you mine for eternity."
Katherine nearly felt her eyes well up at Elijah's words. He loved her. He truly did. She would have to survive the infernal spell now, if only to spend the rest of her existence at his side. There would be nothing holding them back. Not again. Grabbing his other hand, the lady looked into her love's gaze and asked, "Elijah, would you kiss me?"
They were a pair who normally did not ask permission, for together they were made of fire and passion, but this time was different. It was time to be soft, and to cherish each other. And when his lips met hers, it was exactly that. An overwhelming feeling of love and tenderness came over the both of them. It was not sparks and fireworks, as it normally was. That was just fine, to the pair. For the place where they were at, a mostly-chaste and tender kiss was what was needed.
All too soon the moment was over, and Elijah stood, releasing her hands as he did so. Brushing a light kiss over her brow once more, he departed Katherine's bedroom in silence. No words were needed; not then. Snuggling down in her warm covers, Katherine fell asleep, the last thought on her mind of Elijah.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A few hours later, Katherine was woken up by Caroline, Bonnie, and Rebekah standing over her bed. Sitting up slowly, she looked at the three suspiciously. "What's going on…?"
Caroline smiled. "Tell me, what's today's date?"
It dawned on her what was going on. "It's Christmas Day. And I assume by that look on your face, you have something planned."
"Caroline's favorite holiday is Christmas. So yes, she definitely has something planned." Bonnie laughed. "Get out of bed. We've kicked the boys out of the house for a few hours, and we've got to get dressed and put everything in place."
"I've made charts!" Caroline smiled. "And Rebekah has all the decorations either being delivered in half an hour or in the trunk of her car, so we need to get all festive-d up, and make this a Christmas to remember!" She giggled, clapping her hands and bouncing slightly. "Anyways, because it's Christmas and all, I invited Hayley to help with the decorating, so we need to get ready and down there before she does and messes up a chart or something." Katherine raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Sliding out of bed, she was handed a small vial by Bonnie.
"I was in on the plans, so I had Davina make that for you the other day. It'll take your pain away for around eight hours or so, but it's highly addictive and hard to make, which is why you haven't been getting constant supplies of it." She shrugged. "Anyways, it'll get you through tonight, so you won't have a hard time while we're all celebrating."
Katherine bit the inside of her cheek, attempting to contain what she felt after the thoughtfulness of Bonnie's gift. "Thanks, Bon-Bon." She squeezed the former witch's hand lightly and smiled, before moving to her closet. "I hope you all are planning on dressing nicer than that, because honestly, I have standards for my friends." She eyed the jeans and various tops they were wearing.
Rebekah rolled her eyes and grabbed the previously unnoticed dresses off of Katherine's bathroom door. The brunette also noticed shoeboxes and Caroline's giant makeup bag lying in wait. "Please. We're having a family party. Dressing nicely is a given." She began to pass out the various articles of clothing and Katherine picked a festive-ish dress from her closet; thank goodness she owned a fair amount of red. She even laughed when she saw Caroline had picked out a pair of kitten heels for her, "Because you shouldn't have to spend a holiday without your heels on". Eventually they were all ready and prepared to go decorate the rest of the manor.
Really, when it came down to it, the five women—for Hayley joined the group shortly after they made their way down, calling a temporary truce—did not do much. Rebekah's version of decorating the manor meant compelling teams of people to come in and tastefully decorate the main hall, parlor, lounge, and a few other places, while they did the tree, which was located in the lounge. Overall, it was just a few hours of fun.
And, that was what Elijah and Klaus came back to three hours later. The main hall had been tastefully decorated with garland on the stairway, and other small decorations. Music was wafting down the hall, and the sight inside the lounge was enough to put a smile on both of their faces.
Caroline, Rebekah, and Katherine were dancing and laughing together to some popular song, each dressed festively. Kol was whisking Bonnie away with his "fabulous waltzing skills, darling", 'accidentally' bumping her into the furniture a few times, causing her to laugh. Hayley was swaying to the music from her position on the couch, a plate of Christmas cookies balanced on top of her stomach.
Just then, Caroline noticed they were back, and she smiled brightly. Rushing over, Santa hat bouncing as she did so, the sunshine girl grabbed Klaus's hand, tugging on it. "Come and dance!" She laughed.
Shaking his head, but smiling, he pulled back. "I don't dance, love."
"Yes you do." Caroline put her hands on her hips. "I remember a specific ball in which you were a lovely dance partner. Now come on!" Just as Klaus began to relent, Rebekah stopped them.
"You're under the mistletoe, you two!" The Original sister smirked.
"Seriously? I told you not to put it up!" Caroline stamped her foot, glaring. "There's too many siblings in this house for that stuff!"
"When have I ever listened to anything you said?" Rebekah shot back, snatching a cookie from one of the trays.
Caroline rolled her eyes. Turning back to Klaus, she scrutinized him. He had a challenging look on his face, and she realized he was waiting for her to do something. Steeling her will—and those incessant butterflies which appeared when he looked at her in that way—she stepped closer and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. Her lips brushed the stubble on his cheeks as she pulled away slowly. "That's all you're getting." She whispered, smiling at his mesmerized look. "Now, come and dance with me!"
"I could never turn you down, Caroline." He smiled one of his rare genuine smiles, bringing the lovely lady out onto the makeshift dance floor. Looking around the room, he was satisfied. Everyone was happy for once, in stark contrast to their morning. It felt…nice. Who knew Christmas could actually be enjoyable? And yet, it was. His family felt like a real family, for once; even with the extra additions of Caroline, Bonnie, Katherine, and, yes, Hayley. This would be a Christmas he would never forget.
AN: Soooo... Opinions? What'd you all like? Did you hate it? I'd love to know!
So, yes, I do realize it's April and not December. However, it is in the story, and I don't see Caroline being one to let Christmas pass her by, so you all got Mikaelson Family Christmastime! Yay! Besides, one can never have too much Christmas fluff.
I realize there was a lot of arguing in this chapter, but I wrote it this way for a reason. First of all, Klaus and Caroline argue quite a bit on the show, and I wanted to include that part of their relationship. They challenge each other, and that has not changed. Also, this is a house with a wide variety of opinions residing within it. Though they may be friends, friends argue. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone.
On a different note, how did you all like the Kalijah? That little kiss in there was not in my original plan for the chapter, but it fit well, I believe. And Elijah's declaration of love was like something straight out of an Austen novel. I have a weakness for guys who proclaim they are 'ardently in love', okay? Ughhh. Anyways, this was not the big Kalijah chapter I've been hinting about; that one is yet to be written, though it is swiftly approaching. I'll probably start on it within the next day or so.
Thank you so much everyone for reading and reviewing, and Happy Klaroline Wednesday!
-Abi