It had been months since the death and burial of Camilla Forbes. The school was always silent and the children kept their heads down in respect and in grief of their fallen Head Master.

Alaric spent his days trying to keep his family together and by night drowning his sorrows in bottles of alcohol.

Jace and Alec spent their days training until the sun rose. Along with the company of Jeremy Gilbert who took the role of their trainer and someone they could confide in. Both having a need to be stronger, better now. Especially Alec who felt the most guilty out of them both. He hadn't told anyone what he and his mother talked about minutes before she died. He couldn't.

Jace cried in his sleep, screaming for his mother. Every once in a while in the early morning hours he would go towards her room that no one had dared entered in months but turn back last second.

Lizzie was more bitchy towards everyone than usual, her magic becoming unpredictable as were her mental break downs.

Josie didn't talk very much and went back to being the very shy girl in her sisters shadow. With out her mother here to assure her she was good enough she had fallen back into her old habits.

Hope Mikaelson was different though. She had become cold and closed off. She was angry. Angry that no one stopped her mother from basically committing suicide, that no one had helped her mother as she had her heart torn out. She was angry that her mom was ripped away from her right as she found her. 

While Rebekah grieved for her long time friend it wasn't as bad as everyone else's and she had no clue how to help them.

Davina often spoke about Kol's sudden bursts of anger. He wouldn't even be near her for more than five minutes before leaving the room because he was afraid he would lose control around her.

Freya spent her time with the Bennett witch attempting to find a way to bring her back to life. But it was like all traces of Camilla Forbes soul disappeared. And that frightened the two witches more than they would admit to anyone else.

Caroline however spent her days finding comfort in a certain original in a suit. He told her about his experience with grief and how he got through it. There would be days where Caroline would be a sobbing mess and he would hold her together. Though no one voiced their opinions everyone was shocked.

Damon and Elena tried keeping everyone sane but Elena could see Damon was close to cracking. Usually by now he would've done something rash or gotten angry but he hadn't. And that worried everyone.

Stefan left town as soon as the burial was over. Not being able to look at her children who had every feature of hers and little bits of her in their personality or the way they would walk. Caroline screamed and was fuming when she found out. In a moment of anger and grief he had said.

"They're not my kids Caroline. I can't take care of them. I won't. They remind me too much of her."

To which Caroline just gasped at him in disbelief. Camilla would have torn his head off of his shoulders right then and there. She proceeded on telling him to just leave. That Camilla wouldn't have wanted him near her children right now anyways.

Klaus Mikaelson. Instead of becoming the cold hearted monster he would've been described as many years ago. Often stayed outside painting the out doors in different shades of yellow and blue. Camilla's two favorite colors. But anyone who lived in the Mikaelson mansion saw the hundreds of paintings he had done of the blonde. It brought tears to their eyes as they watched their brother give his paintings soft smiles and stare at them for hours. As if it was really her.

Besides his paintings he took care of his kids as much as he could, including Lizzie and Josie. The two twins would listen to him tell stories about their mother and it would bring them a sense of peace. Especially Lizzie. Everyone very quickly learned that Klaus Mikaelson was the key to calming down the blonde in the midsts of her episodes.

It was the first time he had approached her in the middle of one of her episodes, ignoring everyone's warnings, that she finally realized why her mother fell in love with the hybrid. She despised Stefan for leaving, she hated him. But Klaus stayed, he took care of kids that weren't even his and it brought a sense of importance in her life. He made her feel what her mother once did. Loved.

Jace spars with Jeremy near the docks of the lake on a sunny day. It seemed like the first one in ages.

Jace grunts as he dodges Jeremy's hit that was aimed for his jaw.

"How are you doing? No bullshitting." The Gilbert says, as he kicks at the boys knee.

"I'm fine." Jace replies as he quickly recovers from the kick.

The only thing he received from the hunter was a raised eyebrow making him sigh and take a break to grab his water bottle.

Once he's finished he looks beside him to see Jeremy still staring at him, studying the boy. "Everyone can stop looking at me like that. Like I'm going to explode."

"Your mom died." Jeremy says bluntly, seeing his, basically, nephew acting the same way he did when his parents passed.

Jace sucks in a harsh breath before shaking it off. "I'm fine."

"You watched her heart get torn from her chest." Jeremy pushes taking a step closer to the boy.

"She let herself die." Jace whispers, staring out into the woods.

Jeremy visibly deflated. Not because he was disappointed but because he was expecting a harsh punch to the face or a shove. Yelling even. But he finally saw the boy for what he was. He was a boy who's world was his mother, and she was gone. He was lost, confused, angry, depressed.

"She did what Camilla does best. Protect those she loves." Jeremy says with a small sad smile.

"Except herself." Jace whispered, but Jeremy heard it. And it made the man frown and gulp harshly.

"You're right." Jeremy states, surprising the boy. Looking towards the Gilbert, Jeremy can see a sudden look of Hope in the boys eyes. Hope that someone finally understood him.

"She protects everyone but herself. With no one ever there to protect her." Jace's eyes go red. "Until 19 years ago." Jeremy states, seeming to be in deep thought.

"When she met your dad she was nothing but a baby vampire. Willing to die in order to protect her friends and family. You would never believe how mad he would get when she would get put in the cross fire. Even before he actually knew her. Here she was this small blonde trying to fight off a whole family of originals. He admired that. He protected her from there on. Until he left for New Orleans. If someone can relate to you Jace, it's him." Jeremy says, knowing he was doing the right thing. Steering him where he might actually get some peace of mind. What Camilla would've wanted.

With that he grabs his stuff and walks away, leaving the boy with his thoughts.

A knock on the Mikaelson mansion takes Klaus away from his painting. He frowns a bit knowing he would have to answer it because everyone else was currently gone and Hope refused to leave her room.

As he opens the door his mouth gapes open in surprise. "Jace?"

They hadn't spoken a word to the other since the funeral. Jace blatantly going out of his way to avoid the hybrid.

"Why did no one protect her?" Jace whispers, his bottom lip trembling making Klaus suck in a hard breath.

Klaus wordlessly opens the door silently inviting the boy in.

As Jace walks in he begins to pace. "I don't get it. No one even tried to save her. Someone could've saved her. I could've saved her!" Jace yells in grief.

Klaus speeds to the boy and grabs him by his shoulders, forcing him to make eye contact. "You couldn't have saved her okay? It wasn't your fault."

"Did you even think about saving her?" Jace whispers, not harshly, but genuinely curious.

"Of course I did. I played every single scenario possible in my head. But Hayleys hand was already..." he trails off. "It was already too late. The only thing that would've changed would be that Caroline would be dead." He states the harsh truth he knew his son needed to hear.

"She wasn't supposed to die." Jace whispers in agony. "She was supposed to watch me grow up and get married. She was supposed to lay with me in bed when I got my heart broken. She was supposed to yell at me when I did something wrong. She's supposed to be here."

Klaus brings his son into a much needed hug. "I know... in another life we would've gotten everything we wish so badly for now."

Hope comes down the stairs slowly with red rimmed eyes. Klaus opens his arms gesturing for her to join which she hesitatingly does.

"How about a story, yeah?" Klaus suddenly suggests while leading the two towards the couch and sitting in the middle.

A sudden knock makes Klaus stand up and walk towards the door as Hope and Jace stay put.

On the other side of the door stands Lizzie and Josie along with Alec.

"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asks confused, not having had a decent conversation with her brother since before her mother died.

"I was looking for Jace and the locator spell said he was here." Said Alec monotonously.

Lizzie flinches at his tone and opens her mouth to respond when the door opens.

Klaus looks at Alec perplexed but invites them all in. He had seen how Alec was dealing with his grief. And it involved self loathing and isolation.

"I just came to find Jace for training." Alec states tensely. Wanting to leave the vicinity that held so many of his siblings all at once.

"Why don't you sit down mate?" Klaus says pointing towards the couch next to the one he previously occupied. He already knew why the twins were here.

Hesitatingly sitting down Alec looks at Jace with a brow raised, asking the silent question. Why are you here?

To which Jace ignores looking towards his father.

Instead of sitting back down with his set of twins he turns his art easel the opposite of the children and begins to paint.

"Your mother had finally agreed to be my date to the Mrs. Mystic Falls pageant that she was in charge of planning..." he begins, glancing over to see all of the kids entrances in the story.

"... I teased her about her application having so many "whens" instead of "ifs" and I told her she was very confident in herself. She responded with, 'I am not confident I have hope. Because Hope is being confident in what we have not yet seen.'" He finishes.

Looking up from his painting he sees all of them sound asleep. Peacefully, for the first time in months. All together.

Hope and Jace were holding hands as assurance to the other while Alec had both of his arms around the Forbes Saltzman twins allowing them to cuddle into their brothers sides.

Grabbing two blankets big enough for all of them he covers both groups up.

The front door to the mansion is opened with a smiling Caroline and a laughing Elijah. They both stop near the entrance of the living room and find smiles grow of their faces.

Klaus continues on his painting with out paying any attention towards his brother and the sister of the woman he loved.

"You know, I thought that her death would bring back the old you. That you would change for the worse and all these years of progress would deteriorate. But you've only grown." Elijah acknowledges, Caroline softly nodding in agreement.

"She wouldn't have wanted that." He simply replies with a small waver in his voice at the mention of her death.

"They need you, you know?" Caroline speaks up after a moment of silence.
Klaus looks towards her curiously and she gestures towards the sleeping kids. "You tell them stories of her and it comforts them. They only ever come to you when they miss her. You're the only part of her that they feel they have left. You're their home."

"She looked after me all of these years, I figured it's time I repaid her." He says, looking towards the children. "There are small pieces of her in all of them. I'd gladly be their home for the rest of my life."

Caroline smiles softly at the sight of him looking so fondly at all of the children of Cami. If Cami could see them now she would fall in love all over again with the hybrid. She was sure of it.

With a simple squeeze on Elijahs arm they both leave Klaus to return to his painting.

As he does the finishing touches he hears a small groan.

Looking for the noise he spots Hope frowning. He simply rubs her hair and whispers. "It's okay, love. She's in a happier place, a far better place than this. She misses you too, little dove."

Hope falls back into a peaceful sleep after a moment.

Looking back towards his painting he smiles faintly.

The picture bringing a sad smile to his lips. All of them cuddling on the couch together with Camilla Forbe's ghost behind them smiling widely. Watching over them like always.

Camillas POV

"He always seems to know." Camilla whispers with a sad smile.

"Although I'm still wary of him child. I think we both know who your heart belongs to, rightfully so." Grams says, as she watches the Hybrid bring pillows to tuck underneath some of their heads.