A/N: Kol is 7, Rebekah is 6, Klaus is 11, and Elijah is 14 and Henrik hasn't been born yet. Some characters are a little OOC sorry

Kol watched his brother and father with a deep frown on his face. Why was his father hitting Klaus when he'd done nothing wrong? Klaus let out a cry of pain as his father's hand came down on his cheek heavily. Kol winced and took a deep breath, puffing his chest out and summoned all his inner courage and stepped out from his hiding spot.

"Stop."

Mikael stopped his blows and turned to his youngest son, "What was that boy?"

Kol felt his bravery deflate just as fast as it had come but he tried his best to keep from shrinking back in fear. His brother needed him,

"I said stop." Kol almost grimaced at how small his voice sounded.

"Kol." Niklaus said quietly. "It's okay."

"No. It's not okay." The seven-year-old objected

Mikael laughed coldly, "Would you rather it be you, Kol?"

Klaus looked at his younger brother, fear for his little brother etched on his features. Kol cringed at the way his father spat his name out as if it were something distasteful on his tongue that he was hastily trying to get off. Kol gulped and gave his father a quick nod of yes. Mikael let out another humorless laugh and sighed as if disappointed,

"As you wish."

He lifted Klaus by the collar of his tunic and tossed him out the door of the hut. Klaus, after his beating, was too weak to stand, forcing him to lie there and listen to his baby brother's cries of pain. It seemed like hours before Elijah came running up to the hut. Klaus was beyond worried since Kol's cries had faded, suggesting he was unconscious or worse. The eldest Mikaelson gasped, kneeling down next to his injured brother.

"Niklaus, what happened?" Elijah demanded.

"Kol." Was all he said as he pointed to the hut. "Help Kol."

That was all it took for Elijah to get up and force his way into the hut. His jaw nearly dropped as he saw his youngest brother lying on the ground, beaten and bloody, with their father standing over him, beating the poor boy with his belt.

"That is enough!" Elijah bellowed, causing his father to cease hitting the boy. Elijah, when angry, was quite intimidating, even to big-and-scary Mikael. Mikael said nothing, he just stomped out of the hut, not even acknowledging Klaus on the way out. Elijah bent down next to Kol, trying to keep his normally calm face on although tears were threatening to fall.

"You're going to be okay Kol… You're going to be fine." He gently soothed Kol's messy hair down with a shaky hand. "Y- you're going to be okay." Elijah couldn't tell if he was trying to convince Kol or himself.

- that night -

When Kol finally awoke, he was first hit with a wave of intense pain and next the worried faces of three of his siblings.

"Hi…" He croaked, surprised at how weak and hoarse his voice sounded to him.

Klaus looked just about ready to hit him, "Why did you do that?"

Kol's throat burned and it hurt to move but he still shrugged and smiled,

"You're my brother."

A/N: REVIEW

Prompts/Requests are welcomed :)