Marcel leans back against the couch, hugging the throw blanket close to him. Tyler reaches over Klaus, passing him the popcorn.

"Are you sure this isn't too scary?" Klaus asks.

Tyler rolls his eyes, ignoring the pop he gets to his knee. "It's a parody of scary movies, Dad," he explains. "If this scares one of us, I think there's a problem."

Klaus shakes his head. "I'm still getting used to these films."

"I don't understand how," Marcel says. "You've been alive for the progression of all of them."

"Some things I prefer to be old fashioned." He wraps an arm around each of his boys, pulling them close. "Though, above all, I prefer spending time with my sons."

Marcel smiles, resting his head on his dad's shoulder. He pops a kernel in his mouth. "Ty, press play."

The opening credits crawl across the screen. Marcel glances over at the clock. 9:00. This movie won't be over until well past their weekend bedtime, but they're getting a rare pass. They were supposed to start at 8:30. When Jeremy falls into space, that's when he's supposed to be tucked in. That night, however, it became a game. Started with one more book. That morphed into three more. Then he wanted something to drink. After three kids, Marcel assumed his dad would know better. Yet, he falls into the trap every time with Jeremy.

Just 5 minutes into the movie, Marcel hears the nursery door opening upstairs. Klaus pulls away from his older sons and grabs the baby monitor. He sighs and gets up. Fast footsteps run across the hall, then down the stairs. Jeremy soon stands at the bottom, clutching Ottie to his chest. Tyler groans, pressing pause. Klaus tilts his head.

"Did you climb out of your crib?"

Marcel holds back an eye roll at the obvious question. Jeremy shrugs. "I'm not sleepy."

"Regardless, it's late."

"I wanna stay with you."

"Jeremy, we talked about this. We'll have a movie night tomorrow, all of us. For now, you need to get some sleep."

Marcel and Tyler share a look. They never would've gotten this far with their dad. He would've simply scooped them up and taken them to bed. Of course, this is their dad's baby that they're talking about.

Jeremy pouts. "Daddy, I finished my sippy cup."

"That's all the more reason why you should go to bed," Klaus says, his voice soft, patient.

"I need more water." Klaus opens his mouth to speak. Jeremy pouts. "I'm thirsty."

Klaus sighs. "Alright, my little angel. Let's get you some more water. Then, it's right off to bed."

"Can I watch the movie too?"

"That's for big boys. But, how about I read you one more story?"

Klaus picks up his youngest and nuzzles his cheek against his. Jeremy giggles, tugging at his hair. Marcel has to duck his head to prevent Klaus seeing his disgusted face.

"I'll be right back, boys," their father assures them. "I just have to put this wily little bugger into bed. Say night night, Jer."

Marcel glances up in time to see Jeremy smiling proudly. "Night night, Bubby. Night night, TyTy."

Marcel can barely mumble a goodnight. Tyler is silent. Lucky for them, Klaus is too distracted cooing over Jeremy to notice. Neither of the older brothers speak until they hear the door shut.

"Should we even bother holding the movie for him?" Tyler asks, irritated.

"Yeah, the later we get to stay up, the better."

"We only get to do this because Jeremy is being a little brat."

Marcel exhales through his nose. For once, he's in no mood to defend his youngest brother. "I'm not being crazy, right? There's no way Dad would let us get away with any of that."

"Definitely not! When I first started dropping here, I'd get out of bed. Dad put me right back each and every time."

"I know he's not even favoring him. Dad can be a pushover in general. But Jeremy…"

Tyler develops a fake accident. "Is his precious little angel," he mocks.

Marcel snorts, mimicking their dad as well. "He's just a baby."

Tyler smirks as his voice returns to normal. "That's spot on."

"I have lots of practice."

"Was Dad like this with you when you were human?"

"For a good bit. But I had Uncle Elijah to keep me in line. Eventually, he convinced Dad that I needed more discipline." He makes a face. "Conveniently, he's not here."

"He needs to visit and get Dad's butt in gear," Tyler says. "At first, Dad kept saying that he was new and needed to adjust. It's been 2 years."

"And we can't wait another 4 until we all move to New Orleans, Jeremy will be even worse."

"What can we do, though? Would Dad really listen to us?"

Marcel frowns. Klaus cares about their opinions and what they think. He just doesn't always go along with it. Their father is very defensive when it comes to his parenting if questioned by a stranger. Would it be any better coming from his own kids?

"Let's leave it be for now. We just have to hope it'll get better."

The younger brother shrugs, a disappointed look on his face. "You know what they say. Hope springs eternal..."

Tyler heads into the backyard, ready to get some sprints in. Just as he walks off the last step, he notices that the cover to the pool is off. It's nearly the middle of September and the summer heat is coming to an end. His dad officially planned to close out the pool that very weekend.

Yet, there's Jeremy, swimming laps. Alone.

Tyler storms over to the pool. "Jeremy! What the hell?"

Jeremy pauses and turns to face him. He gives a small shrug. "Hey, Ty."

"I'll repeat "what the hell"? You know Dad doesn't want you swimming without supervision."

Jeremy rolls his eyes. "It's no big deal. I'm not going to drop or anything."

"It's too cold for all of this. You're going to get sick."

"I'm fine. Why don't you just worry about yourself?"

Tyler can think of several reasons. Jeremy could easily slip into a younger space, forget how to swim and then get hurt. Or, he could go too fast and bang his head. Try some idiotic diving move that'd leave him brain damaged.

One side of Tyler wants to play protective brother and watch him swim. The other, doesn't want to get involved.

Tyler goes about his sprints, keeping an eye on Jeremy. He doesn't feel up to arguing, but at the very least, he can keep an eye on him. After about a half hour, the sliding screen door opens and their father steps onto the deck. He smiles when he sees his middle child, but that slowly fades once he gets a look at the pool.

"Jeremy!" He vamps down there. Jeremy stops swimming and looks up at his dad, biting his lip. Klaus turns to face Tyler, who's slowed down some. "Why are you letting your little brother swim? You know I said the pool is closed."

Tyler scoffs, shaking his head. He shouldn't be surprised. "He went in there on his own, Dad!"

"You're older, it's your job to get him out of there." Klaus turns back to the pool. "Jeremy, get out, now."

Jeremy pouts. "But Dad…"

"I am not joking, young man. You are in quite a bit of trouble."

Jeremy sighs, climbing out of the pool. Klaus grabs his towel and quickly wraps it around him. He uses the remote to put the cover back on the pool. Tyler leans back, interested to see how this plays out.

"You're going to get nice and dry. I'll help you with your pull-up. Then it's straight to timeout for you."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. You went swimming by yourself. You can spend a few minutes in the corner thinking about why that was naughty. No TV for the rest of the day as well."

"But we were supposed to have a movie night." Jeremy lets out a dramatic sigh. Tyler does his best to hold back a scoff. "You promised, since I couldn't stay up last night."

Klaus tilts his head for a moment, his eyes softening. Tyler shakes his head, already predicting what will come out of his mouth. "Alright, but a very short movie. Then it's off to bed, and you won't give me a hard time tonight?"

"Nope."

Klaus wraps an arm around him. "Let's get you into some warm clothes, my little angel."

Jeremy is actually smiling as he heads into the house. Tyler clicks his tongue. Yes, his brother is off to timeout, but that'll be over in a matter of minutes. Had Tyler done anything like that, he would've gotten a spanking and it wouldn't have mattered about family movie night. Jeremy will hardly remember the timeout.

Tyler is still certain his father doesn't play favorites. He knows not to rock the boat, either. His dad is certainly softer on him than he is Marcel. And overall, he babies all his kids quite a bit.

Just no one more than Jeremy.

Tyler resumes his sprints, needing to take his mind off the situation.

Klaus slips out of Jeremy's bedroom for the third time that night. Even in an older space, his son is putting off everything to sleep. Begging for just 5 more minutes, which quickly turns into 10 and eventually, 20. He's been working on a special sketch in his book for the past few weeks. Klaus can understand the muses hitting at inconvenient time. Finally, Jeremy's agreed to head to bed, only a half hour after the desired time.

He heads down the hall to Marcel's bedroom. By now, it's time for the older boys to start getting ready themselves. He hesitates when he makes out Tyler's voice.

"How many times do you think Dad will have to go in there?"

Marcel speaks up. "At least 3 more."

Tyler scoffs. "So much for him being certain that Jeremy would go to bed on time tonight."

Klaus arches a brow, remaining silent as Marcel asks, "Did he really just get a timeout for the pool?"

"Yup," Tyler pops the "p". "And Dad had the audacity to lecture me for letting him swim."

"I probably wouldn't have let him."

"Look, I love Jeremy and want to keep him safe, but I can't keep saving his ass like this. What does it even matter, ya know? It's not like Dad is ever going to seriously punish…" His voice morphs into an accent. "The baby."

Klaus scowls. The boys think they're so clever as they perfect his manner of speaking. He shakes away the thought, trying to stick to the matter at hand.

"Has Jeremy ever been spanked?" Marcel asks.

"Dunno. Outside a few warning pops, maybe like once or twice? Then again, who knows what he does when we're not around."

"Jeremy probably would've told us."

"I don't think he's ever been grounded."

"Definitely not. Why would the precious baby have restrictions?"

Klaus blinks several times. He clears his throat, not having time to process this in the moment. Grabbing onto the knob, he enters the room. The boys sit on Marcel's bed, already in pajamas.

"Did you both brush your teeth and take showers?" They nod. "Good. Ty, head down to your room and I'll be down to tuck you in a moment."

"Sure thing, Daddio." He squeezes Marcel's shoulder. "Night, Bubby."

"Night, Ty."

Tyler gets up and heads out of the room. Klaus walks over and pulls back the covers on the bed. Marcel slides under them, allowing his father to tuck him in. He grabs his frog and holds it close. Klaus puts a hand on his cheek. Marcel tilts his head, clearly confused.

"You know how much I love you, my little warrior?"

"Of course I do. Why are you being weird?"

"Am I not allowed to tell my son that I love him?"

"You've just got a weird look on your face."

Klaus sighs. This is getting nowhere. "Never mind. You know you can come get me for anything."

"I'll be fine, Dad. Love you."

"I love you," Klaus whispers.

He kisses his forehead and shuts off the light. Once he's tucked in Tyler, Klaus heads downstairs. His phone dings on the counter, indicating a text. Elijah's name takes over the screen. There's a picture of Kol attached. Klaus finally smiles when he sees his baby brother playing in the garden, absolutely filthy. His eyes lit up, a playful smile on his lips.

Klaus hits the FaceTime button. It only takes 2 rings for Elijah's face to take over the screen. He's already in his loungewear, a long-sleeved cotton shirt and sweatpants. While his love for designer threads has remained, Hayley and Kol have brought out a softer side to him.

"Hello, Brother," Elijah says, grinning.

"Hi there. That picture is quite adorable."

"I know." Elijah's chest puffs out a bit. "I have the sweetest little boy there ever was."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "You're speaking to someone with three sons, ya know?"

"Yes, and I love my nephews. However, I'm also very biased."

"I'd say. Where is my wily baby brother?"

"Hayley tucked him into his crib about an hour ago." Klaus nods, a little disappointed. He hasn't had a chance to talk to him a bit. "If you call tomorrow morning, I'm sure you can speak to him before he heads out with friends."

"I'll try with my own zoo."

"Ah, yes. How are my nephews?"

Klaus shrugs. "Tyler and Jeremy are doing quite well in school. Their grades are improving. Marcel's volunteering at the community center and teaching chess."

Elijah tilts his head. "You don't sound yourself, Brother. Is everything alright?"

A lie sits at the tip of Klaus' tongue until he sees the serious look in his older brother's eyes. Even miles apart and being a father himself, he knows Elijah isn't one to be tested.

"I overheard Marcel and Tyler earlier." Elijah sighs. Klaus doesn't give him a chance. "I didn't mean to this time, I promise."

"Are you sure about that?"

"My days of purposeful eavesdropping are behind me. Regardless, they were speaking about Jeremy."

"I certainly hope you're not upset about a little venting. 'Tis not as if they said anything to their baby brother."

"Certainly not. I'm fine with them sharing their frustrations in a safe, healthy way. The issue is, they were venting about myself as well."

"Children not happy with their father. Story at 11."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Are you going to let me talk or shall you jest me all evening?"

Elijah snorts. "Apologies. I think I've spent a bit too much time with our baby brother."

"I'd say so. Anyway, they claim I'm too soft with Jeremy."

Elijah grows quiet. He glances somewhere off camera. Klaus frowns, his brows drawing together.

"Don't tell me you feel the same."

Elijah sighs. "Brother, you have to admit that you do baby him a bit."

"He is a baby," Klaus argues. "When he drops, he's far younger than his brothers."

"That doesn't make him incapable of understanding certain things. Kol sometimes drops around that age and he knows there will be consequences."

"Jeremy knows he'll be in trouble."

"With what? A timeout?"

"So, timeouts shouldn't be used now?"

"No, but you need to look at your toolbox," Elijah points out. "If timeouts aren't working, you need to resort to other methods. I don't just mean spanking either. Especially when he's older, a good, old-fashioned grounding works just as well."

"He's too young for that."

Elijah laughs. "Niklaus! The boy is 14!"

"Yes, he's just…"

"He's your baby, but he is not a baby. Especially not when he's in an older space."

Klaus pinches the bridge of his nose. Of course, Elijah isn't on his side. His brother tends to be a bit stricter than him.

"Jeremy has had a rough go of things."

"So have all your children. Yet, you punish them."

"I certainly hope you are not accusing me of having favorites," Klaus warns.

"Nay, because you had the same problem when Marcel was younger. You struggled disciplining him. Yet, I thought you learned."

"Marcel and Jeremy are two different children. Heaven knows that he's not much like Tyler either. That means they may need different methods."

"Sure, but he still needs some method." Klaus frowns. "Right now, Jeremy is acting up a normal amount. All age-appropriate. If you keep this up, you are going to have a spoilt little one on your hands. Just like how Marcel once was."

Klaus clicks his tongue. At the time, it didn't seem so bad. Marcel was a spirited pre-teen. He loved to get up to mischief. Klaus was glad to see him actually have a childhood after his rough start. He kept thinking Elijah was far too strict. Klaus gave his siblings permission to punish Marcel, so while he wasn't a huge fan of the spanking to start, he allowed it.

It all came to a head when Marcel threw a temper tantrum because a maid put his clothes in the wrong drawer. Klaus spanked him on the spot. He lost outing privileges for 2 weeks, what would be equivalent to a grounding in modern day. Perhaps a bit harsh for such a small infraction, but Klaus had to send a message. It worked. Marcel's teen years were not easy by any stretch, but with Klaus' firmer hand, it was manageable.

"Jeremy would never," Klaus argues with barely any energy.

Elijah sighs. "I cannot force your hand, Brother. Alas, I am not here this time to lend my hand."

"I think I can manage. I handled Tyler just fine. Jeremy will follow suit. He's still a little boy. I don't think he needs all of what his brothers did."

Elijah shakes his head. "If you say so."

"I do." Klaus clears his throat. "How are things at the school going? Made your way up to principal yet?"

His brother manages a chuckle, going into stories from his classes.

Klaus paces the living room. He checks his watch yet again. His muscles are tense, anxiety racing through his veins. His fingers clench into a fist. He should be out looking for his son! This is wasting so much time! As soon as Tyler turned up without Jeremy after school, Klaus should've been on the road. Instead, his sons talked him down and convinced them that Jeremy would turn up. Now, it's been a full hour.

Marcel pipes up from the couch. "Papa, that's your 10th time in 5 minutes."

Klaus shakes his head. "I do not understand how he could do something so reckless! So stupid! He knew I'd worry!"

"I'm sure he's fine, Dad," Tyler offers, sitting beside his brother. "He probably just wanted to go meet up with some friends."

"Then he needs to tell me! I am not a mind reader." Klaus runs his fingers through his hair. "I need to go out and look for him."

"He'll be home soon."

"If he's not in the next 10 minutes, I'm going out there."

The door squeaks open. Klaus' heart beats faster in his chest as he vamps to the entry way. Jeremy stands there, holding his backpack. Klaus instantly crushes him in a huge hug. Jeremy stands in it for a moment.

"Hello to you too, Dad."

Klaus presses multiple kisses to the top of his head. "Where in the world have you been?! You know you're to wait to walk home with Tyler."

Jeremy struggles against him. "I wanted to walk with my friends."

"Then you tell someone! You don't just take off." Klaus pulls off a little, cradling his face and checking him over.

"Daddd," Jeremy whines. "I'm fine!"

"I had no clue for over an hour! It doesn't take that long to walk home."

Jeremy shrugs as his dad grips his chin. "We went over to Ken's house for a bit."

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"It's not a big deal. I was somewhere safe."

Klaus' anxiety and worry lowers a bit, a new feeling taking over. Jeremy's face is blasé. Unbothered. As if he didn't just scare the shit out of his father.

"You know the rules, Jeremy," Klaus lectures. "If I let you and your brother walk home, you need to go with him. Furthermore, if you want to go out, you ask me first. It doesn't matter who you'll be with or where you're going."

"I'm sorry," Jeremy offers, not sounding sincere in the slightest. "I won't do it again."

Klaus draws back a deep breath. "That's not good enough, Jeremy! I was terrified! I had no clue where you were! Anything could have happened to you!"

Jeremy scowls. "Chill."

Klaus' eyes widen. One word, five letters. Jeremy's eyes haven't changed. How can he truly take no responsibility for his actions?!

He grabs hold of his son's arm and drags him into the living room. Jeremy struggles against him once more, but Klaus ignores him. He looks at his older sons.

"Get out."

Tyler raises a brow. "Why?"

"Tyler Mikaelson, you do not want to test me right now. Out!"

Marcel is the first one off the couch. Tyler looks between Jeremy and Klaus, intrigued. The eldest brother snaps his fingers and eventually, the two leave the room. Klaus keeps a grip on Jeremy as he unbuttons the little one's jeans. His son frowns.

"Dad? What are you doing?"

"Spanking you," Klaus says, the words feeling foreign on his lips.

Jeremy frowns. "But you…you don't spank me."

"I have before."

"Not bare."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Klaus declares. He yanks down his jeans, followed by his pull-up. Jeremy wiggles, covering his privates.

"Daddy!"

"You will not give me a hard time, young man."

"You're overreacting! It wasn't that bad!"

"You were missing for over an hour! You broke the rules!"

Jeremy pouts, widening his eyes. "Please, Daddy," he whispers. "I won't do it again."

Klaus swallows. He regards his son for a moment. In this moment, he seems so young. Klaus could just as easily redress him and stick him in timeout. The message would get across…

He remembers the door opening. Tyler walking in alone. The anxiety that still hasn't disappeared.

"I'm sure it won't," Klaus says. "Because you'll remember your punishment."

He sits on the couch and pulls Jeremy over his knee. His son wiggles a bit, kicking his legs. Klaus lays a firm smack to his behind. Jeremy yelps, moving his hands to his behind. Klaus gently pins his them to his forehead.

"Do not make this worse on yourself."

"Pleaseeee, Daddy," Jeremy begs. "I'll be a good boy!"

"You are a good boy," Klaus assures him with a small sigh. "That's why this is so hard."

He lays down three smacks to his bottom. Jeremy kicks his legs, earning him some swats to inside his thighs. He cries out.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

"You will not take off on your own without permission!" Klaus lectures. "You ask Daddy first!" SMACK! SMACK! Jeremy whimpers. "I was terrified!"

"Ahhh, Daddy! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

Klaus ignores him. He resumes smacking his sit spot. "I need to know where you are and who you're with, always!"

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

Klaus smells Jeremy's tears. He steels himself. "Ouchie! Daddyyy!" Jeremy cries. "No more!"

"You need to see how serious this is," Klaus continues. He paddles Jeremy's chubby behind, the baby fat turning a soft pink coloring. Klaus isn't going as full strength as he would with his supernatural children, but this will leave a lasting impact. Jeremy won't heal nearly as quick. "Anything" SMACK! "Could have" SMACK! SMACK! "Happened to you!"

Jeremy howls as fat tears fall down his cheeks. "Owwwie! Ow! Ow! Dada!"

"Promise me you won't take off like that again!"

"I…I promise," Jeremy makes out. He yelps as another smack is delivered to his sit spot. "Ahh! I'll ask you first!"

Klaus continues the spanking for another minute. Jeremy wails the entire time, kicking his legs and pounding his fists. Klaus finally lets up and takes a look at his bright red bottom. Jeremy continues to cry. Klaus' breath catches.

What if his son doesn't want him anymore?

Klaus carefully settles Jeremy on his knee. His son yelps and nearly jumps off. Klaus pulls him back down. Jeremy throws his arms around Klaus' neck, sniffling. Surprised, the father grabs some tissues and wipes his face. Jeremy whimpers.

"You spanked me," he says, his voice soft with a hint of shock to it.

Klaus nodded. "Aye, I did." He still can't believe it himself.

"You never spank me. Not like that."

"I honestly should have." Jeremy frowns. "Jeremy, the truth is, you need to learn that your actions have consequences. You can't run off doing what you want."

"But that hurt."

"You know what would hurt more? Me losing you." Klaus tries to keep the tears at bay. "I mean it when I say I was scared out of my mind, Angel." Jeremy bites his lip. "I had no clue where you were. If you were safe. You and your brothers, you're my entire world. If anything happened, I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"I…I was just with friends."

"I didn't know that."

Jeremy bites his lip. "I'm sorry, Daddy," he whispers. "I won't do it again."

"I certainly hope not. Or you'll find yourself in this position."

Jeremy rubs his sore bottom. "It hurt a lot!"

"Spankings are meant to, just ask your brothers." Jeremy sighs. "This isn't the end of your punishment. You're…" Klaus takes a deep breath. "You're grounded."

Jeremy's eyes widen. "What?"

Klaus nods. He sits up straighter and adjusts Jeremy so he can see him better.

"1 week. No going out with friends. You come home straight from school. I'll be picking you up and I'll get there early so you can't sneak off. Once here, you do your homework, have dinner, then go to bed."

"B…but what about TV?"

Klaus shakes his head. "No TV. No laptop outside schoolwork. Definitely no tablet."

Jeremy pouts. "Daddy! This isn't fair! I already got a spanking!"

Klaus avoids the puppy dog eyes. "And you need further punishment. Truth be told, I am probably still letting you off a little easy. This is partially my fault, perhaps more than that. So, I'm starting you out easy. Hopefully I do not have to do this again.'

"But I'm your baby."

"Yes, you are," Klaus squeezes his chin. "That's what makes this so hard. However, it's for your own good. You're still my sweet angel. This little angel is just grounded." Jeremy's pout increases. "No more games at bedtime either. Two books, you get your sippy and then it's off to bed."

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh huh," Klaus corrects.

"Why are you being so mean?"

"I'm not being mean. I'm being your daddy." Klaus kisses his forehead. "I love you so much, Angel. That's what this is."

Jeremy slinks down a little, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't like you very much right now."

Klaus draws back a deep breath. He manages to stay strong as he looks him in the eye.

"I am not very happy with you either, so I suppose we have that in common."

Jeremy looks down. Klaus rubs his back. He needs to keep a good face. One wrong move and it'll undo the progress they've made here. There are times that Jeremy doesn't like him anyway, such as when he won't let him do something his brothers can.

He'll get through this too.

I still don't plan to have the extended family in this fic much. I just figured Elijah was imperative for this chapter, as he's the one who made sure Marcel was held accountable. So, for now, that's it. Maybe at one point, I'll add more, but it won't be for a good, long while.

Next time, we'll go into Jeremy's feelings on all this. As well as his brothers' reaction to him finally being disciplined. Klaus will still be softer with Jeremy, but he's not going to get away with as much.

As always, let me know what you think and feel free to leave prompts!