Author's note: I've gotten a lot of requests to continue A Pregnant Pause, and finally my muse came up with some fun ideas for a few mini-drabbles I wanted to share with you guys! Thank you for supporting my work!


"There is a tiger in my room,' said Frances.
'Did he bite you?' said Father.
'No,' said Frances.
'Did he scratch you?' said Mother.
'No,' said Frances.
'Then he is a friendly tiger,' said Father. 'He will not hurt you. Go back to sleep."
― Russell Hoban, Bedtime for Frances


"I've slaughtered entire villages and left corpses rotting in a broiling sun that didn't smell this foul," Kol whined, holding his nose as he stomped into the nursey.

Kol was such a drama queen — it's not like he actually had to breathe. After Caroline finished changing August, she pointed to the glass jar on the bookcase and scolded, "M&M Jar." After August had been born, Caroline established the Maim & Murder Jar as a deterrent to keep Klaus and his siblings from discussing torture or killing (or, in WAY too many cases, actually doing torture and murder) in front of the baby. The penalties ranged from obscenely financial to this bizarre supernatural barter system that apparently predated all monetary systems by centuries.

At this rate, August would be able to buy Harvard. And Stanford. And if he wanted to go to Cambridge or Oxford, apparently, there was a fae king that now owed him a favor. (And don't think that didn't blow her mind to find out about the fae — although, for such secretive creatures, it was surprising their king would be so obvious about hiding his pointed ears with enormous fake human ears.)

Caroline cooed at August as she swept him up into her arms, rocking him gently in a bundle of impossibly soft cashmere, Rebekah's latest luxury blanket purchase that she insisted her godson required. At Kol's fake gagging over the smell, Caroline irritably reminded him, "It's been three months — you should be used to the baby's routines by now. And stop acting like you don't have his schedule memorized — you flashed your fangs at our chef because she touched August's bottles in the fridge!"

"My godson feeds every three to four hours and it wasn't time yet and who knows what nefarious purpose that woman had for touching his formula," Kol muttered darkly.

"Seriously?! She was just moving the bottles to make room for that awful spinach, Swiss chard and broccoli casserole Klaus kept glamouring her to make because he's obnoxiously obsessed with my iron and calcium intake!" Heaving an aggravated sigh, she added, "We've got to get him to stop stalking WebMD."

With a slight pang, she tried not to dwell on the fact that her family had discovered the hard way that not everything could be cured with Original vampire blood. It had hurt to learn that she wasn't able to produce enough milk and instead had to use formula for August. It seemed to hit Klaus the hardest to learn that his blood couldn't help this time, and he and his siblings had been a swirling vortex of chaotic energy as they kept trying to "fix" her. Klaus had offered to scour the earth for the most powerful witches, but Caroline had declined; mixing magic with motherhood just seemed way too risky.

Clever Elijah had learned from Klaus' mistake and didn't bother asking Caroline first — instead, he quietly created an entire pediatric research department in his hospital, recruiting the best scientific minds from the World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University, and the Sorbonne. It was such a touching gesture that it caused Caroline to dissolve into tears, letting out ear-splitting wails that had caused Klaus to flash to her side, muttering something about banshees and worriedly texting his on-call coven.

Kol reached over Caroline's arms to affectionately pat August's tiny bald head. He sniffed the air with a grimace once more, asking, "Are you sure he's not possessed by an evil spirit — perhaps our father? Because Mikael used to crack his cheeks quite regularly after gorging on rancid deer meet, and even after he was turned, a horrid stench still lingered. Are you absolutely sure —"

"Yes, we've checked repeatedly that Mikael hasn't possessed our son," Klaus interrupted impatiently, pausing to place a lingering kiss on Caroline's cheek as he gazed down at August with a look of adoring wonder.

Our son. It never failed to make her heart flutter whenever Klaus casually demonstrated his utter devotion to their little family. Caroline sank back into his strong embrace, both of them gently rocking August. She breathed in the tangy spice of Klaus' cologne, realizing that they were probably running late for date night. "I just need a few minutes with the curling iron and then I can be ready," she murmured, carefully positioning August in Klaus' arms.

"Is Elijah downstairs yet," she asked, biting her cheek to keep from laughing at Kol's petulant scowl.

"It's absolute bollocks — I can babysit my godson just fine by myself!"

Klaus' dimples bracketed his signature smirk as he teased, "We all agree that you're August's babysitter for the evening...and Elijah's your babysitter."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Kol pouted, "Last time we babysat together, Elijah said my rendition of the ballad of the elderly yodeling farmer was grating."

Exchanging a confused glance with Klaus, Caroline asked, "Um...do you mean 'Old MacDonald'?"

Shrugging, Klaus mischievously said, "Even without Kol's tuneless rendition, the lyrics are rather discordant and absurd." At Caroline's glare of disapproval, he hurriedly amended, "But Kol's interpretation of the baker of Drury Lane's anthem is surprisingly melodic and soulful."

"Yeah, the 'Muffin Man' is a classic," Caroline quickly agreed, noting Kol's oddly bashful smile at their praise. She paused at the threshold of the nursey, blue eyes a bit misty as she watched Klaus carefully place August back in his beautifully carved crib, a masterpiece Klaus crafted that incorporated wolves frolicking in a forest. Together, the brothers made silly faces and noises, eager for August to smile and babble at them.

Caroline had learned a lot about the real world since she and August had been adopted by an entire family of murder fluffs — like the fact that two of the most dangerous, bloody-thirsty, ancient creatures in existence were standing inches away from her baby. Some baby animals can innately sense danger, but August gurgled happily, knowing he was perfectly safe.

The safest baby in the world.