Kol never saw it coming, not for a moment. The shock and horror of it all would've been enough to make him feel as though he'd been cut down at the knees. He found out by happenstance. He was checking in on his siblings.
Kol had spent the first several months on the Other Side stalking the group in Mystic Falls. He had been furious at his death, especially when he realized he'd die for nothing. They'd killed him, and he'd been right all along. He wanted revenge, but he could never have it, as he was dead. He did get one glorious moment to torment Elena Gilbert, but it was short lived. Then he resumed raging at them, much to their oblivion. After a while, however, he grew board. He simply roamed around the Other Side hoping that a witch might try to converse with him here or there, but that never happened.
Occasionally, Kol looked in on his siblings, but for the most part, that was pure torture. It just made him angry that they seemed to forget him. Still, sometimes he visited. He'd heard something about Nik fathering a kid from that blonde in Mystic Falls he had a thing for. He decided to see if it was true one day.
When he arrived at the compound in New Orleans, it was only his sister there. She had a box in her hand with a bunch of stakes and other weapons in it. She was rifling through a drawer in Elijah's study, which was pure suicide. His brother did not like anyone touching his things.
Rebekah picked up a pencil. "I think this qualifies as a weapon. Bloody hell. Why are so many things made out of wood."
Kol laughed as he put the pencil in the box. "Are you afraid someone's going to attack you with a pencil, 'Bekah. It's not like it can kill you."
"I don't even know what else to get rid of. Anything can be a weapon, even to a vampire. The sun is a bloody weapon," Rebekah said to herself.
Kol wasn't sure what was going on with his sister, but he didn't have much time to contemplate it as he saw someone else come in. It was a dark-haired woman with a baby bump. "This must be the girl unfortunate enough to procreate with Nik. Fascinating."
"Rebekah, have you heard from Elijah?" the girl asked.
"For God's sake, Hayley, must you ask me that every moment of the day. And, yes, I've heard from him. He and Nik will be back late tonight," Rebekah said.
"Well, it's nice to know he's answering someone's calls," Hayley said in an annoyed tone.
Rebekah sighed. "He's not answering your calls because he's busy. He's dealing with a lot at the moment."
"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" Hayley asked.
"Look, I don't have time to have this conversation with you. Elijah and Nik will tell you when they decide you need to know," Rebekah said before she resumed going through Elijah's desk drawers.
Hayley huffed and left the room.
"Wow, she is irritating. I almost feel sorry for Nik. He has to deal with that for the next eighteen years. Unless he kills her," Kol mused.
Rebekah finished what she was doing and looked up at the ceiling. "Kol."
Kol felt a glimmer of hope as she called out to him. Could she sense his presence somehow? "'Bekah, can you hear me?" When his sister didn't respond right away, he realized she was just doing what a lot of people did when a loved one died. She was talking to him as though he might be watching over her, which he supposed was technically true.
"I don't know if you're even watching from the Other Side or if you know what's been going on, but if you do, I want you to know that we're going to take care of her. She'll be alright eventually.
"Who is she, and why do I care?" Kol asked intrigued. Of course, he didn't get an answer.
Kol watched his sister for the remainder of the day. She spent a good deal of it collecting weapons and the rest sitting in silence. He didn't know what was going on, but Rebekah wasn't her usual self. It was like there was a dark shadow haunting her.
Kol wouldn't find out what was going on until Elijah and Nik returned home late that night. He watched Rebekah go out to greet them. He was initially pissed by what he saw. His two murders exited his brother's car, and Rebekah actually hugged the Gilbert Girl. "Oh, this is just bloody great! You've invited my murderers to live with you! I meant this little to you?!"
Kol was furious. He watched them all go into the house. Rebekah clung close to Elena and spoke to her like she was a fragile child. Granted, she looked pretty fragile right now, but he couldn't care less.
Kol continued to simmer as Rebekah caught their siblings up on what they'd missed while they were away coddling his murderers. However, his rage was short lived because what his sister said after that left him in complete and utter shock.
"Speaking of unanswered questions. You never told me how this happened. When and how did Kol father a child?" Rebekah had asked.
Kol's mouth dropped in an instant. All his rage vanished at he heard his sister's words. No, it wasn't possible. He couldn't conceive a child. Although, that denial was quickly shut down by the mental reminder that his brother had recently conceived a child.
Kol barely registered the explanation his brother gave to his sister, but when it did register, his rage returned, although it wasn't directed at Elena or his siblings this time. It was directed at the human filth that had created a child of his just to use her as a lab rat. They treated her like an animal. He wanted to rip those people apart. His only solace was that he knew his brothers had.
Kol didn't really know how to process the fact that Elena Gilbert, the girl who helped to murder him, was in fact his kid. What he did know was that any anger he felt towards her disappeared instantly. He didn't know how that was possible, but it was, and the more he listened to her talk, the less angry he became with her. She felt guilt for killing him. From the way she spoke, he could tell it was eating her alive.
Soon enough, Kol watched as Rebekah escorted Elena and Jeremy upstairs. He immediately followed them. He watched as Rebekah showed Jeremy to his room and then brought Elena to hers. He went to Elena's side as she got on the bed and hugged her knees.
"I hope you like the room. You can always decorate if you want," Rebekah said.
"It's fine," Elena said in an uninterested tone.
"Elijah will be up with some blood soon. Then you should get some sleep," Rebekah said.
Elena shrugged. "What's the point? The nightmares never stop. I barely sleep a couple of hours when they hit. Then I watch Kol die over and over again because of me and then he tells me I should burn like he did."
"Oh, God," Kol exclaimed in horror. It made him sick that he could say that, even in a dream. The worst part was that a few hours ago, he probably would've said something like that.
"Is that why you walked into the sun without your daylight ring?" Rebekah asked.
Kol looked at Elena in sheer horror and shock. "You what?! Don't you ever do that again!"
Elena nodded. "He hates me. He should."
"No!" Kol exclaimed. Of course, he knew she couldn't hear him, but he felt like he had to shout it. He didn't hate her, not anymore.
"No, love. He doesn't hate you. Those dreams aren't real," Rebekah told her.
"He tried to kill me," Elena said.
Kol gasped as he remembered that day, the day the veil was done. She was right. He hurt her. He hurt his own child. He suddenly flashed back to his own childhood. He recalled his father beating him with a strap whenever he pissed him off. He was no better. He had been just like his father. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
Just then, Kol watched as his brother came in with some blood for Elena. Elena resisted, but his brother didn't take no for an answer. When she was done, Elijah coaxed her into bed and stayed with her until she fell asleep. Kol stayed too. He never left. He would never leave. He would stay with her forever.
As the days went on, Kol stayed by Elena's side. He hoped that somehow, she'd feel his presence, but she never did. Every time she expressed self-hatred for what happened, he wanted to scream that he forgave her, that it was his fault, not hers. That was why when Jeremy reached out to him for the first time, he was ready to jump at the chance to talk to him. He even tried at first, but it wasn't like he knew how to do it
It didn't take Kol long to realize that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to talk to Jeremy. Even if he managed it and told Jeremy that he forgave Elena, would it make a difference? Elijah seemed to believe that her guilt over his death was only part of it, and he could see that for himself as well. Even if she could accept his forgiveness, her knowledge of his presence might do her more harm than good. The shrink Elijah had her seeing seemed to agree with that when Jeremy told her. As much as it tortured him, he had to settle for staying with her without her knowing. So, that was what he would continue to do. He would stay by her side and pray that everything his siblings were doing would work.