"1 Month later
"Klaus and his siblings were at Mystic Grill for lunch. Benjamin and Hayley were at home as the family discussed a very serious subject.
"Elijah, we cannot move. It was stated very clearly by Caroline in her letters. That is the end of it," Klaus stated with a ring of finality in his tone. But Elijah would not drop it. "Niklaus. Hear me out, now. We do not age. We have to leave soon. People get suspicious after just a few months, and we have been here 5 years now. Caroline's passing made everything much more believable, but we have overstayed our welcome.
"Caroline said to raise Benjamin here."
"She won't mind should we happen to take him anywhere else.
"I happen to like it here, Elijah, so we shall stay."
"No, we shall not. You will pack up and come with us to England, understood? America's trip is over for another 40 years."
"I will not come. Neither will my son."
Elijah rubbed his temples and sighed. "What will it take for you to agree? Caroline's letters in a new home? Is that what you would like? Should I move them? I wi"
"CAROLINE IS DEAD!" screamed Klaus. Mystic Grill cleared within moments thanks to Rebekah and Kol. "AND EVERYTHING IS POINTLESS WITHOUT HER! MY HOME IS NO LONGER NEW ORLEANS OR NORWAY! IT IS HERE! THIS SMALL, QUIET, BORING TOWN IS MY HOME. MYSTIC FALLS. BECAUSE THAT WAS CAROLINE'S HOME. AND EVERYTHING SHE LEFT ME IS HERE. HERE! LETTERS, GIFTS, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, SHE PLACED IT HERE WITH HER HANDS INTO OUR HOME. AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU ORDERING ME OUT OF MY HOME. BENJAMIN WILL GROW UP HERE. IF ANYMORE CHILDREN COME, THEY WILL LIVE HERE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU CAN LEAVE, ELIJAH. BUT IF YOU DO, YOU MAY NEVER COME BACK. I WILL MAKE SURE OF THAT. AND BENJAMIN CAN GROW UP WITH KOL AND REBEKAH, BUT NEVER YOU. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Klaus stood panting as pain shot across Elijah's face. His eyes were hurt when he spoke again. "I see. And if Benjamin wishes to leave?"
"Benjamin can leave of his own accord at a suitable age. I will not. I will stay, whether that be out of sight or in the centre of town, I will stay. Now, you only have one chance to answer this. Are you staying with myself, Benjamin and our siblings, or are you going? If you are, you have 3 minutes to collect Hayley and your belongings and get out of my town. Make your decision now."
Elijah stood defiantly in front of the angered Klaus. "That, Niklaus, is not a decision you get to make for me. I am your elder brother, and you may be stronger I understand, but I am older. My nephew's upbringing is as much my issue as it is yours, and if I leave it is no trouble to you. Neither is my return. I am sure Benjamin would wish to see me, his uncle, so if I choose to leave, then I will certainly return. Now Niklaus, it is your turn to choose. I can be your brother, or I can be your enemy. Which is it?"
Klaus growled slightly, baring his fangs. He considered his options as he ever so slightly adjusted into an offensive crouch, watching as Elijah dropped defensively. He could attack, and win, but Kol and Rebekah would never forgive nor trust him again. They might even defend Elijah. He could banish him, forcing consequences should he return. But Benjamin would never forgive him. He could dagger Elijah. Keep him away, locked in a coffin until… He growled internally. What was this person he was becoming? Caroline had taught him to be a good person and offer forgiveness. He felt his control slipping. Caroline would never forgive him if he ever lost control again. He remembered last time and flinched. He had chased Tyler for days into the mountains, very nearly killing him a few times. Then the bag of his blood had revived Caroline, but he hadn't been there. Not fully. He arrived just an half an hour later, but she was already awake. That's where he proposed to her. The memory in her mind was scrambled, so she believed she awoke beside him, but Klaus knew the truth. And he would never, ever let it happen again. He couldn't risk it. Not now, with Benjamin so young. But no matter about Benjamin, he could never do that to his siblings. Not again. But it was so tempting. They wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was his default setting. Easiest option. Klaus was spoiling for a fight though. Elijah wouldn't mind a friendly fight. They hadn't had one in ages. Even Rebekah and Kol could get involved. An all vs all.
Still in an offensive crouch and never turning his back to his older brother, Klaus shed his leather jacket. He rolled up the sleeves of his black cotton shirt and dropped lower.
"Come on then, Elijah. Fight me. A friendly, just like the old days. Rebekah? Kol?"
Kol grinned. "You know I'll never refuse an offer. Come on Bekah, please?"
Rebekah removed her jewellery and her jacket and smiled. "Of course Kol. Just prepare to lose."
This is how the fight went down
Elijah was prepared, he lunged at Klaus before anyone and got in a few good hits before Rebekah caught him in a headlock. Elijah would be out of the game if she snapped his neck. He growled and released Klaus for a bare millisecond, then flipped Rebekah over his head onto Klaus's writhing body. He heard the crunch of Klaus's nose and wrists. He grinned. He had been waiting for this for a long time. But he let his guard down, and Kol appeared from nowhere. Dragging him away with his arms on his neck, he threw him across the Grill. A chair leg stabbed through his thigh. "Aghh!" he shouted as he yanked it out. "Damn it, my suit!"
Over on the other side, Klaus and Rebekah were locked in a fight of fluid motion. Too slow to catch each other, they circled in dance of snarls and punches. Klaus roared out and reached, but Rebekah countered, snapping both his wrists and all his fingers. Klaus gasped in surprise and pain. While she was distracted, Kol snuck behind her and reached to grab her, but without taking her eyes of Klaus, she pulled him in front of her and snapped his neck. "One down, three to go." Kol was placed in the corner of the room. Even if he awoke before it was over, he wasn't allowed to re-join the fight. Elijah, having scraped out the remnants of the wooden leg, had come over. Klaus snarled at him, forgetting about his little sister. Rebekah smirked. Klaus, distracted, didn't notice his sister behind him until she had her arms snaked around his throat. He reached for her but was far too slow. She snapped his neck before he could blink. Elijah tossed him to where Kol lay. They circled each other slowly, eyes darting, hands clenching, legs tensed to spring. Faster than a cheetah, Elijah and Rebekah both reached for a chair leg and wielded them like swords. He stepped forward, arms outstretched, but got a handful of thin air. Rebekah had leapt into the air and came down hard onto the confused, unsuspecting Elijah. The stake drove through his shoulder all the way down into his thigh. He coughed up blood as she pulled it out and stabbed again. She was kneeling on his shoulders, and he sprinted around trying to buck her off. She clung tight as he cried out in pain. A few seconds later, Kol awoke and gawked at the pair. "Go Rebekah!" he called as Elijah growled at him. It turned into a grunt of pain and Rebekah sunk her teeth into his neck. She dropped gracefully to the floor and spun her elder brother around. "Sorry Elijah," she smirked as her hands twisted his neck and the crack it made echoed around the room.
"I win!" she announced.
Later, the family recounted the story for Hayley over dinner. Benjamin, alone in the nursery that Rebekah and Hayley had designed, began to cry. Klaus, however, made no attempt to move. The siblings, although confused, left him alone as well. A few minutes later, he quietened down and fell back asleep.
"As you were saying, Rebekah? What happened after you beat Elijah?" Klaus grinned.
"You can't say much, Niklaus, she beat you also. You never learned to focus, did you boy?"
In milliseconds, Klaus was out of his chair and had Elijah in a stranglehold. "Do not repeat to me what Mikael said!" he screamed, his voice rasping. "I was stronger than that man on his best day!"
Mikael and his childhood were a sensitive subject for Klaus, for obvious reasons. He had been abused and put down time and time again by his so-called father. Klaus was not Mikael's child, and it was for this reason that he abused him. He was the result of an affair between Esther and a wolf named Ansel. That was how he was a hybrid.
"Nik! Calm down! What's the matter?" Rebekah rushed to Elijah's aid, attempting to pull of Klaus's hands.
"DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! Our brother here, never learned RESPECT! I am the hybrid! I am the strongest creature on this planet! And yet, Elijah here, is open to disrespect me! Do not think for a second, brother, that I will not dagger you for 900 years like I did Finn. I am not afraid of you!"
"And I would be disappointed if you were, Niklaus. As you have said, you are the strongest creature on Earth."
"Then respect me!"
"Oh I do respect you, brother, more than you know," Elijah whispered.
Then he leaned into Klaus's ear and murmered something. Immediately Klaus removed the strangling hand and moved away from his elder brother. Rebekah and Hayley breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Goodnight everybody," Klaus smiled at his family and bolted up the stairs. He tiptoed into Benjamin's room and switched on the light. His baby was still awake. He stopped just to look, and he could feel Caroline beside him, watching them both. "Caroline, please, I can't do this without you. I need you, please."
A coldness, like arms, wrapped around him and he felt it all on his front. It was Caroline, from the other side, hugging him. It had to be. He didn't know how, but it was happening.
"You didn't have to leave me. I know how desperate you were, but you could've waited. I was ready for it. You could've included me in your decision to drain yourself. Oh Caroline, my love."
Tears pricked his eyes, and he wiped them away swiftly. Something rustled in the corner of the room. Another letter.
To my lovely Klaus,
I'm sorry I'm not there to help raise our family. But I will always be with you. Always. I've been planning for many months, and your game of Imaginary Future just set it off. Last night, as you slept, I slipped away to write this. This was my last, most recent letter I wrote. But don't worry, there is older ones, many of them. Some are addressed to our children. You can read them together once they get to a good age. Save them, please. I love you Klaus. Don't doubt it. I just had to do it. You'll be a great father, I know it. Keep drawing. If you want to forget I existed and don't want our children, so be it. But please, out of your love for me, keep drawing. From, Caroline.
He frowned. How could Caroline ever believe that he would want to forget her, or not want their children? He folded it up and slipped it into his pocket, then checked that nobody was looking, before closing the door quietly. He didn't want anyone to see this, or hear it. He took a step and was beside the cot. Klaus lifted Benjamin into his arms and held him to his chest.
"I'm sorry Benjamin. Your mother would be so much better at this. When you get older, I'll tell you about Caroline, but don't worry. You have a whole big family to love you and care. And I'll do my best," he smiled at the boy and laid him back down on to the cot. His child, from the DNA of Caroline and himself. Benjamin Tyler Elijah Mikaelson. Klaus growled at the mere thought of that werewolf's name. If he ever came back to Mystic Falls…