Rescue Me

Chapter 18

Family breakfast had never been a very common affair in the Mikaelson family.

During their teenage years, the elder siblings were always constantly on the move. Between academics and sports and other such activities most students participated in, early morning meals were few and far between. Elijah was always off on some scholastic event, Finn—while quite the overachiever himself—was most of the time already off with Sage by breakfast. Kol's eyes rarely ever saw the early morning light, and Rebekah's moods were always so sporadic, it was always a guessing game as to whether she would join them with a smile or throw a complete fit and lock herself away in her bedroom.

Henrik, of course, enjoyed the few family meals they all shared.

And Klaus...

Klaus preferred to avoid anything and everything that would put him in direct contact with Mikael.

Over the years, once Mikael was dead, anytime the family happened to be in the same place at the same time—which was few and far between, much to Esther's disappointment—their mother made it a priority to have her family together as one.

Which more than likely answered why Henrik came knocking on his bedroom door at 6 the next morning, stifling a yawn while wearing a smile and barely giving his sleep deprived form a second thought.

"If you don't come with me now, Mum will be on her way up," Henrik had warned when his brother opened his mouth to decline, and smirked when Klaus' shoulders slumped in defeat as he turned into his room and grabbed a shirt to pull over his head.

He shuffled after his younger brother, running a hand down his tired face as he cast an anxious look down the hall. He found himself wondering if Caroline had slept as poorly as he had. Did she toss and turn like he had, unconsciously reaching for him like he had found himself doing again and again?

He could admit now, he'd let his anger get the best of him last night. He'd let his wounded pride speak over his concern for her, and the result had been something that pained him worse than any wound Mikael could have inflicted on him. The image of her face falling after he'd muttered the words of her being just as damaged as him was one he couldn't get out of his mind.

He was no better than Tyler Lockwood, using her own insecurities against her.

He sighed, turning back and following Henrik's lanky form down the stairs, his ears picking up the sounds of his sibling's banter and teasing.

Esther sat at the head of the table, her blonde hair perfectly coifed, pale lavender pantsuit perfectly pressed. Her glossed lips turned up in a smile when her two sons waltzed through the door. "Well, it's certainly time you graced the land of the living, Niklaus."

Kol snorted, his face buried his crossed arms on the table, unruly hair even more disheveled. "Land of the living dead," he croaked, his voice still groggy with sleep. "The sun has barely risen, Mother, why the bloody hell you insisted on dragging us all out of bed..."

"Well, perhaps if you hadn't consumed so much of the Devil's drink last night, you would be more coherent, my son," she replied, raising a steaming mug of coffee to her lips.

Klaus' mouth involuntarily turned up in a smirk as he reached for the freshly brewed pot of coffee on the counter.

"Why doesn't Finn have to bear the brunt of an early morning wake up call," Kol whined, raising his head. "As much as I may wish otherwise, he's a part of this family as well."

Elijah cleared his throat, holding a hand to his chest to keep his tie in place as he pulled out his chair. "With three small children, I can assure you, Kol, that Finn and Sage get quite the morning wake up call without Mother's help."