Shielding The Innocent - Niklaus Mikaelson

Chapter 21

It's a sad day today. It's the day Father Kieran is laid to rest. Niklaus and I arrived at the church for the viewing. It had already started, and people filled the church. Nik led the way as we entered, me walking right behind his shoulder. Some people look at us, since opening the door and walking in had made some noise in a relatively quiet church.

Cami being one of the people that took notice to our arrival, stood to greet us as we make our way to the front of the church, where she sits in the first pew. Her face reads of heartbreak making my heart clinch, knowing what she's going through. And knowing she probably wouldn't be lucky enough for Kieran to magically come back, like Davina.

Nik grabs her shoulders and kisses her cheek, trying to provide some type of comfort. Cami then sits down. Niklaus looks at the coffin before slowly making his way up to it. I look at Cami noticing that she had no one that was there for support. I step closer to her, so she can hear me when I speak lowly.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" I ask her. She scrunches her eyebrows in slight confusion. Cami and I haven't had a lot of one-on-one time, but she's my friend.

She doesn't speak. She just scoots over allowing me to sit beside her. And I do. We face forward and watch Niklaus stand at Father Kieran's coffin. I didn't really know Father Kieran. But he was an important person. He aided in helping some of the people I love. Father Kieran saved Hayley when Marcel placed her in his hands. He helped Marcel keep Davina from the witches and tried to stop the Harvest. And he was a great Uncle to Cami. He tried to protect her from all the things that go bump in the night.

Cami's breathing gets shaky as Nik pays his respect, so without looking at her I reach over and grab her hand that is in her lap. I squeeze her hand hoping to help her relax, just a little bit. She squeezes back just slightly.

Niklaus walks away from the coffin. He looks at me and sees me sitting with Cami. Nik nods in acknowledgement and joins Elijah a few pews behind us.

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After the viewing everyone went to the bar. I sit with Niklaus at a booth in silence, having let Cami greet people. Niklaus had been acting weird all morning and I have yet to ask him about it. I know it's more than Father Kieran's death.

I had thought about finding someone else to hang around, but before we let the Compound, he asked I stay close. With the attack on the witch's festival and the attack on the werewolves, he is on guard in case the Originals are next. Normally, I'd probably fight him on it, but today is not that day. Plus, this paranoia is feasible.

Niklaus is drinking another Scotch, as he stares at the table with a miserable look on his face.

"Nik is there someth..." I'm interrupted by Cami sliding in the booth, across from Nik and next to me. I send her a soft smile, however Nik does nothing to acknowledge her.  

"Hey, earth to you." Cami says. Nik looks up.

"Your face..." Nik points out the small cut on her forehead. However, she cuts him off.

"Will heal." She replies. "Listen, I wanted to thank you."

"Unless you come equipped with the means to fill this," Nik holds up his glass. "No additional platitudes are necessary."

"Okay." Cami says frankly. "I'm in a crap mood because my uncle just died, and people are partying like it's Mardi Gras. What's your excuse?" Nik hesitates to answer. "Klaus, seriously, what's going..."

"I've been having these dreams about my dead father." Nik cuts her off. I scrunch my eyebrows in concern. "No diagnosis necessary, Cami. I've already got this one covered. My fears of fatherhood, of scarring my child as my father scarred me are manifesting as nightmares. So horrifically cliché." I stay quiet letting Cami and him talk.