Summary: First Installment in the Loving Series: The girls are all grown up and entering

their third year of college at the University of Richmond, unaware of supernatural beings. A chilling chain of events leads to Caroline being saved by the patriarch of the new family in the neighborhood. While enjoying their youth they learn more about life and love than what is taught in class. AU

Chapter One: Oh, how they grow. "Oh my goodness guys! Look at this place!" Caroline squealed over her shoulder after opening the door to their new house. Bonnie and Elena followed Caroline through the beautiful wood and stained glass front door of the 1920's bungalow they rented a few miles from campus. The girls oh-ed and ah-ed at the home's original hard wood floors, craftsman style woodwork, and the gorgeous living room fireplace. There were three bedrooms and two up dated baths and a new chef's kitchen along with a detached carriage house at the back of the property. The three girls have been attending the University of Richmond for the past two years and decided to move out of the dorms and rent a house together. Bonnie's grandmother teaches a few World Religion classes at the university and promised Caroline's mother and Elena's parents that she would check in on the girls as much as possible. "Are you ladies going to just stand there or help with some of this stuff." their friend Matt was standing on the front porch holding a box of Elena's things. The girls gave each other a knowing smile and went running throughout the house to put down dibs on who got the bedroom with the en suite bath. Matt closed his eyes, silently wondering why he agreed to help today. He put the box down and walked back out to his truck grabbing the straw out of his soft drink cup from lunch and pulled out his pocketknife. He cut the straw into three uneven sections and walked back in to the house. Finding his friends right where he thought they would be, Matt walked up to the arguing girls in the middle of the living room. "Ladies, ladies, ladies! Please!" he hollered over the high-pitched voices. They all narrowed their eyes at him and he thought, Man if looks could kill. Once they saw the straws in his hand that he gingerly held out as a peace offering, their death stares were replaces with cocky smirks. Each one thought they knew the secret to winning this game. Elena moved first to stand in front of Matt and batted her eyelashes at him, thinking that her ex high school sweetheart would give her some insight as to which straw was the longest. She had no such luck as a devious smile grew across his face and he asked each of them to turn around and put their hands behind their backs. Bonnie looked at him discreditably and stated, "This better not be one of your 'jokes' that are really just perverted." She stressed the wordjokes with air quotes and narrowed her eyes at him again.

"Yeah! What she said." Elena chimed in putting her hands on her hips while Caroline just smirked behind them waiting for the game to begin. "I wouldn't look too upset Elena, you used to love it when I held your hands behind your back." Matt just smiled and winked at his ex who now was doing an excellent impression of a codfish. Caroline and Bonnie looked at their friend who had now regained her composure but was very red in the face. "Whatever! Fine I'm turning around, see, now lets just do this already." Elena stomped her foot slightly while turning around. The other two followed suit and Matt walked up behind the girls. "I'm going in alphabetical order." He stated as he let Bonnie draw a straw, followed by Caroline and finally a still agitated Elena. "Now turn around and lets see who won!" The girls spun around and looked down at their straws. Bonnie and Elena were a chorus of "Not fair!" and "Best two out of three!" while Caroline jumped up and down shaking her hips to her own victory dance. "I'm so glad I had my mom pack my bathroom stuff from back home!" Caroline said waving her straw in the air. Just then Elena heard her phone chime notifying her of a new text message. "Hey, that is my mom, she says that they are a few blocks away with the truck and Care, your mom is right behind them. Probably making sure they didn't speed! Get it?" Matt, Caroline, and Bonnie just looked at Elena like she grew a third arm. They knew her sense of humor was off, but by now they were immune to her bad jokes. "Yeah we get it, Care's mom is a cop. Those jokes were funny back when we were fifteen and didn't know any better." Bonnie said with a straight face. Just then they heard a horn honk out front and went running out of the house, leaving Matt once again wondering why he offered to help. The girls had not seen their families since the Forth of July when they all went home for the big celebration back in Mystic Falls where they are from. "Mom! Dad!" Elena yelled as she threw herself in to their arms. She valued her independence since moving out for college, but she missed them dearly. Just then her brother Jeremy stepped out from the back of the moving truck carrying a box. "Jer!" she exclaimed and went running for him, causing him to drop the box in order to catch his manic sister. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming! I've missed you little bro!" Elena's parents look over at their children with love in their eyes. While Elena was attacking her family, Caroline walked up to her mom, who was getting out of a rented mini van, and hugged her whispering, "Hi mom. I've missed you so much." with watering eyes. When Caroline's dad had left the family her mom threw herself in to being a police woman, mainly working the night shift and avoiding Caroline. They were both hurting and didn't know how to comfort each other. One day when Caroline was a junior in high school she confronted her mom about their avoidant relationship. "Mom, we can't do this anymore!" Caroline yelled from the kitchen of their home in Mystic Falls as her mom put the gun belt on that hung by the front door.

"Sweetie, I really don't have time for this tonight, I'm running behind and I have some paper work to do about those animal attacks that happen last week." "Then when? We have been doing this dance for years, mom! I'm going off to college in a year and I don't want to leave you here knowing that you are still hurting over what he did to our family." Caroline's emotions were betraying her at the moment as two big tears rolled down her face. Liz could never watch her daughter cry, so she put down her belt and walked back to the kitchen and stood across the kitchen island from her glossy eyed, red nosed little girl. "What's on your mind Care?" "I want you to start working the day shift so that we can get to know each other. I'm a woman now and you don't even know me. So I'm acting like a grown person and asking that you please try to know me before I leave." Caroline wiped a tear from her cheek and looked at her mother with her piercing blue eyes. Liz calmly walked around the island and embraced her daughter in a fierce hug. "Of course baby. I will talk to the Captain tonight about getting my shift changed. You are right, I want to know every thing about the amazing, strong, smart, beautiful woman you have become, what seems like over night." By now Caroline was openly sobbing on her mom's shoulder. They parted and Liz give her little girl a kiss on the forehead, telling Caroline that she loves her, and gathered her things for her shift at the station. A third car pulled up towing a small moving trailer and Bonnie squealed, jumped from the stairs where she was still standing and raced toward the car, grabbing her mom in a hug before she could even turn the car off. "Mom! Gram! You made it! I'm glad because I missed youoh and I'm going to need help decorating my room!" She laughed and hugged her grandmother. "Well we couldn't let the Gilberts and Liz have all the fun with you girls, plus Gram needed to know how to get to this place so she can randomly stop by and make sure you girls are alright." Bonnie's mom threw her arm over Bonnie's shoulder and walking towards the house saying, "I can't wait to see the place. Which room is yours?" Matt had hung back by his truck while all the families were greeted. "Hey, Jer. I'm glad you're here. You wouldn't believe what I've had to put up with and I've only been here an hour!" Both guys laughed, bumping fists and reclaiming their boxes and walking in to the house after everyone else. Unpacking the truck and trailer was an all day affair, which included ordering delivery pizza and eating on the floor of the dinning room. "So what are you going to do about common area furniture?" Liz asked the girls. "Well we have all been saving up from our summer jobs and the torturing that we have been doing for freshman and we have about three thousand dollars between the three of us to get a few things." Elena explained. "Well," Liz paused, smiling and continued "there is a surprise for you ladies out in the back of the van."

All three girls jumped up and ran outside and all but tore the trunk hatch off of the van and started screaming causing Matt to run out after them, making sure they weren't being hacked to bits. "What are you guys going on about?" he said before seeing the fifty inch flat screen TV box in the van. "So I'll be coming here on game day." He mumbled under his breath. Matt called for Jeremy's help and they got the TV in the house, unpacked, and plugged in to the wall next to the fireplace. "What will it be?" Jeremy asked over his shoulder while flipping through channels. "ESPN." Both Matt and Jeremy said at the same time, giving each other a nod of approval. The girls just rolled their eyes and took the women off to the bedrooms to start unpacking and planning for a shopping trip in the morning. Elena's dad joined the two boys in front of the TV. The parents, Jeremy, and Matt left about an hour later to stay at a hotel by the university. They promised to be back at nine o'clock in the morning for shopping. The girls all flopped down on Caroline's bed exhausted but giggling about nothing in particular. Bonnie rolled over on to her stomach and propped her hand under her chin and with a mischievous glint in her eye said, "So when is our first party going to be?" This sent the girls back in to a fit of giggles.

The next morning they were off with the families looking for furniture for the living room, dinning room, things for the kitchen, and personal touches for the girl's rooms. "We need a table that fits at lease six people." Elena exclaimed at a second hand furniture shop down town. Liz shot a questioning look over at her daughter's friend and Elena happily answered with, "Well when we all have boyfriends, then we can have nice dinner parties!" Elena's dad mentally wondered what it would have been like if he had been blessed with two boys. He loved his daughter, but sometimes he wondered where he went wrong. It seemed that Bonnie and her family were faring a little better with living room furniture and finding a whole set at a yard sale for really cheap, which left more money for the kitchen and decorating her room. Bonnie sent Matt a text with all of the details to pick up the furniture with Jeremy and her group headed over to the home improvement store to get paint, supplies, and a kit to hang pictures. The girls had already picked out colors, so Bonnie made short work of leaning a little to far over the paint counter and showing her cleavage to the young clerk. He took her samples and almost tripped over a can of paint on his way to fill her order. Her mom crossed her arms and gave a disapproving look while Gram chuckled to herself. The parental units were leaving the next afternoon so they were throwing a painting party tonight, complete with delivery Chinese food.

Bonnie had picked cool, tranquil colors and did her room in soft grays and blues with white accents. Elena picked a light purple, but argued that is wasn't a baby's purple, but a sophisticated young woman's purple. No one really knew where she came up with this stuff. Caroline loved her room so much back home so she went with a light yellow. It matched her warm and sunny personality. After all the edging tape and drop clothes were cleaned up the families went back to their hotel and the girls went to their rooms, all too exhausted to have girl talk.

The next morning everyone slept in and around noon Matt delivered the living room furniture. He plopped himself down on the couch, testing it out, and was quickly joined by Jeremy and Mr. Gilbert. "The women are making lunch and then we are going to hit the road." The eldest stated. A spread of sandwich fixings and other finger foods were on the island in the kitchen when Liz called the guys in from the living room. Everyone stood around casually in the kitchen eating and enjoying each other. As the girls were walking their families back out to their respective cars, they branched off in to family units. Caroline had a heart felt good-bye with her mom and promised to be safe and call if they needed anything. Bonnie hugged her mom and told them to call when they got home. Gram said she would be by later in the week to see the house completely decorated. Elena said bye to her brother and warned him to behave himself. He just laughed and retorted by saying the same thing, causing Elena to blush. Next she kissed both her parents on the cheek and told them that she loves them and will be home for Thanksgiving. The girls came back together on the sidewalk in front of the home, wrapping their arms around each other and waved as their parents drove back home to the small town of Mystic Falls.

Chapter Two: Lovers Quarrel "Elena! Come on! Hurry up in there!" Caroline woke up with a start after hearing Bonnie yelling for Elena to get out of their shared bathroom. Relived that she had her own and could snooze for another fifteen minutes she pulled the covers up under her chin. Yet the yelling continued. Not being able to get back to sleep Caroline threw the thick down comforter off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed before padding off to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She picked out a skirt that came to her med thigh and a lace trimmed tank top, making sure to bring a cardigan with her incase the classroom was cold. A pair of wedge sandals completed her outfit and after some light makeup she was ready to face the world. This was the first day of classes of their junior year and that meant focusing on the main principles for their degrees, while having fun of course. Caroline was going for a counseling degree because she felt a connection to people and her optimistic personality may just rub off on others one day. Elena was going for interior design and Bonnie for teaching.

Caroline met up with the other two girls in the kitchen stealing some of the chopped fruit that was on Bonnie's plate. "So what does everyone's schedules look like and when are we having our house warming party?" Bonnie smiled wide, "Now that's what I'm talking about! I have classes every morning until about one in the afternoon Monday thru Thursday. So how does Friday sound for the party?" "I have a morning class on Friday, but after that we can have a get together. Bon, if I can catch a ride with you on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for classes that would be great." Elena stated. "Okay guys well I have a few morning classes too, but I have a night class on Wednesday, so Friday night works for me. Lets spread the word to some of our friends in class, but I don't want it getting out of control." Caroline said taking another piece of fruit before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. Her first class was Abnormal Psychology and she really got in to it. There was a boy that sat next to her who kept trying to talk to her during the lecture but she ignored him, not wanting to get in trouble. After class the boy came up to introduce him self, "Hey gorgeous, my name is Tyler, what is your?" Caroline's mouth twisted due to this cheesy pick up line, but was polite and answered, "I'm Caroline. So are you going for counseling also?" "Yeah, my old man is a counselor with the Army over in Newport News. So following in his footsteps. Are you from around here?" "I'm from a little town a few hours west of here called Mystic Falls. But I've lived here for two years and just moved in to a house a few miles from here with some friends." Caroline smiled at him thinking that he seems nice enough and he was kind of cute, in a weird way. "Cool, I'm in a Frat and live in a house on the other side of campus. Hey, we are having a party tomorrow night, how about you and your roommates come, but only if they are as hot as you." Tyler looked her up and down like he was wishing he had x-ray vision. "Sure I'll ask my friends, why don't you give me your number and I'll text you and let you know." She took the post-it with his phone number scribbled on it and slipped it in to her book before saying bye and walking off to grab a cup of coffee from the school's common area before her next class.

All of the girls were home by two in the afternoon and Caroline brought up the party while Bonnie took some chicken out to defrost for dinner. "Hey I met a guy in my class today" "Oh did you?" Elena interrupted. "Tell us everything!" Caroline shook her head at how boy crazy her friend is. "Well his name is Tyler, he's in a Frat, tan, dark hair, and I could tell he has a nice body cause his shirt was way too tight." They all laughed at this addition. "So anyway he invited us to a party at his Frat

house tomorrow night, but only if you are as hot as me." She smiled and did a spin before laughing. "He actually said that to you?" Bonnie looked at her with disbelief. "Yeah it makes me not what to go, but we've never been to a Frat party and we can walk home if it's bad. Who knows, it could be fun." Elena looked between her friends like they were speaking a different language, "Of course we are going! A hot guy asked us to a Frat party. Can you say fish in a barrel for boyfriends? I'm going to pick out an outfit now." With that she skipped off to her room. "Well then I guess it is settled. We are going to a party on a Tuesday night. Weird." Bonnie said before looking at Caroline and seeing the same indifferent expression and they both cracked up laughing. "Here Bon, let me help you with dinner." The two sane girls prepared dinner while Elena ran in and out with outfits for approval.

Caroline didn't have class on Tuesday so once Bonnie and Elena left for the morning, she set up shop on the dining room table and decided to get started on research for a paper and also read the chapter for her class tomorrow night. She was startled from her reading a few hours later by the sound of someone yelling and the honking a car horn. "The nerve! Don't people have any respect for us that are trying to educate ourselves?" Getting up to look out of the front door at what all the commotion is she was met with a blonde woman standing in front of her house on the sidewalk by the street yelling at a guy in a black BMW. They both had British accents so it was hard to keep up with their conversation. The man leaded half way out of the car window trying to get the woman to get back in. He looked about mid-twenties and had sandy blonde curly hair cropped short and his eyes looked angry. He caught sight of Caroline looking at them and he held her gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time. He then returned his attention back to the woman who started walking down the block again and the car slowing followed her while the lovers quarrel continued. Caroline smiled to herself and thought, He has a lot to make up for, like flowers every day for a month from the sound of it. She was able to get back to her studies for another hour before Bonnie and Elena came home and stated talking about the party tonight. Caroline had totally forgotten about it due to intense studying and the excitement on the street today. She looked though her books and found Tyler's number and sent him a text asking which house he was in before setting off to get cleaned up and pick an outfit. When she stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body and one around her long blonde hair she saw her phone has a new message. Tyler had sent her a text with directions to the party and said he was looking forward to seeing her with a stupid winky face at the end. She didn't reply just started to get ready. She didn't want to risk some guy getting handsy with her in a skirt so she pulled on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and low cut v-neck shirt. She zipped up her boots with the low heel knowing they would be walking to the party. Applied a little makeup and fluffed her curls and was ready to go.

Since the party started at eight, the girls decided to show up fashionably late and they all met up in the kitchen at nine for some pre-party drinks just incase Tyler's party only had beer. Bonnie had already turned twenty-one and Elena and Caroline would be of age in the next few months, they didn't feel bad about partaking. "To our first Frat party and to maybe meeting mister right!" Elena exclaimed while holding up her fruity concoction. "To mister right." Caroline said. "And to mister right now." Bonnie added, making all of them laugh before clinking their glasses and drinking. "Good God Elena, what did you put in these?" Bonnie said with a sour look on her face. Unable to answer because she was still chugging her drink, Elena slammed her cup on the counter top with the same expression as Bonnie, "You know, a little of this and a little of that." Then she pushed a shot of tequila at each girl. They all finished their drinks, locked up the house and then set out for the eight block walk to the Frat house.

Chapter Three: To Endless Possibilities They walked up on the Delta Alpha Phi house and it looked just like a Frat party out of the movies. There were people everywhere and red Solo cups all over the lawn. Music thumped from inside the house and even the back yard was over taken with party goers. "We need to stick together in there, safety in numbers." Caroline looked at her two friends who were already scoping out some of the guys standing in front of the house. Tyler came walking off the porch and approached the girls. "Hey Caroline. Glad you could make it, and you didn't disappoint in the roommate department either." He laughed at his own joke, but she was not amused. "There are kegs in the back," he said to all of them, "and I have a special stash in my room I would be willing to share with you." His breath ghosted against Caroline's ear and she shivered, but definitely not in a good way. "Thanks Tyler, I'll let you know. But anyways, these are my roommates, Elena and Bonnie. Guys this is Tyler." Both girls waved at Tyler and they all started to make their way into the house. The house was a large two story colonial with sitting rooms on either side of the entry. The room on the right looked like a game room, with a pool table that was currently doubling for beer pong and the room to the left was dark and people were dancing in it. The house smelled like stale beer and cigarette smoke and Caroline twisted up her nose as the odor overtook her. Tyler turned toward someone who called his name and he looked back at Caroline, "Save me a dance later. I have some business to attend to." He winked and walked off towards his friend before she could object.

Elena was already starting to bob to the music and when one of her favorite songs came on she dragged both of her friends into the mass of people in the dark room. The music was good and now that their pre-party cocktails were kicking in the three of them were having some fun singing along to the lyrics and having their own dance off. They danced for about an hour before needing to get away from all the bodies and get some fresh air. They made their way towards the back of the house, passing the kitchen and a small eating area. Bonnie saw Tyler in the kitchen talking to the same guy he left with before, and slipped him a small bag of what looked like white powder. She made a mental note to fill in Caroline once they got outside. In the back yard there was a pool that some people were already in. Thank goodness it was early enough in the night that no one was naked or jumping off the roof yet. Elena grabbed a cup and sweetly asked a cute guy to help her with the keg and begin talking with him. "So Tyler seems..nice?" Bonnie stated it as a question because she didn't want to offend her friend if Caroline liked him. Bonnie was met with a look of disbelief and Caroline replied, "By nice you must mean a sleaze. Then yes, he is nice. Just do me a favor and stay close tonight." "You got it. Operation keeping Captain Sleaze away from Care is in effect." Bonnie laughed while looking over her shoulder at Elena who was still chatting up the guy by the kegs. "By the way Care, I don't know if I saw it right, but it looked like Tyler was dealing drugs in the house. So just be careful around him, okay?" Caroline hugged her friend, "Thank you for looking out for me. Trust me, Tyler is just some guy I have a class with." After their moment they walked over to Elena and she turned to them smiling, "Hey, this is Tim, he just started grad school here, engineering right? Tim, these are my roommates Bonnie and Caroline." Tim smiled at both girls and waved when neither extended their hand for a proper handshake. "Hey, nice to meet you. Elena has been talking non-stop about you two." "It's nice to meet you too, Tim. Hey Lena we are going back in to dance a little, do you want to come or are you okay out here?" Caroline was giving Elena an out if she needed it but it looked like they were actually getting along. "Nah, don't worry about it. I think I'm going to stay out here for a little while longer. I'll text you guys when I'm ready to go." Elena then made a motion with her eyes telling her friends to scram. Caroline and Bonnie took the hint and walked back inside the house. As they were passing the kitchen for the living room dance floor, Tyler called out Caroline's name and motioned for her to come over. She grabbed Bonnie's hand and said, "Remember, don't leave me with him." and they walked over to where Tyler was pouring shots.

"How about some shots for the foxy ladies?" Tyler yelled over the music, making both girls uncomfortable. Caroline knew that to have any fun at this party she needed more liquid courage so she stepped up to the counter and handed a shot to Bonnie and took one herself. They both clinked the glasses and did the shot. The light amber liquid burned on it's way down and she could tell that it was more tequila. Once the glasses were on the counter top, Tyler was refilling them. This time he held one up for himself and said, "To endless possibilities!" and with a smirk he downed his shot. Caroline and Bonnie looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders and also took the shot, this time biting in lemon wedges that were out next to the bottle. They stood around talking for a little while and even did another round of shots before Tyler moved up next to Caroline and breathed in her ear, "How about that dance gorgeous?" Caroline looked back over to Bonnie who was talking to a good looking guy next to her and before she could come up with an excuse, Tyler hand his hand wrapped around her wrist and his other hand on the small of her back leading her towards the mass of moving bodies. Tyler pulled Caroline out on to the dance floor while a slow bass filled number was playing. He grabbed at her hips roughly and pulled her up against him. The tequila shots were starting to take effect and she started to move more naturally to the music. The numbing feeling of the alcohol made Tyler's coarse touch feel like there were hands ghosting all over her body. She closed her eyes and felt her head fall back while she swayed her hips to the beat that seemed to be moving through her body. When she looked back up to search for Bonnie she couldn't find her on the dark dance floor or over in the kitchen. Tyler snaked his hand up behind her neck and laced his fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck bring her attention back to him. He looked her deep in the eyes apparently trying to be sexy, but to Caroline it looked like he was half asleep and she found it ridiculous. She felt a small smile pull at the sides of her lips at how hard he was trying. Tyler took her smile as a sign of encouragement that he was successful in seducing her. "You really are a sexy thing, I hope I get to see more of you real soon." He moved his eyes down her neck and held his gaze on her exposed cleavage, licking his lips thinking about the taste of her skin as it shone with sweat. She knew exactly what he was inferring and she felt sick. Tyler noticed the change in her face and asked, "Hey are you feeling okay? You can go lay down in my room if you want." He tried to put on a concerned face, but his eyes sparkled like a kid on Christmas. That did her in, "Oh, no Tyler I'm fine, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. I don't think those shots are sitting well with me. I'm going to go home, but I'll see you next week in class." Caroline turned to leave the dance floor and text her friends to walk home together, but she was unsteady on her feet and when she looked at her phone every thing was a blur. She cursed herself for doing those extra shots for she knew how tequila effected here. Tyler grabbed her around the waist before she stumbled into the doorframe between the living room and the entry. "I'll walk you home. Your friends seem to be having fun, why ruin their night?"

Now he was trying to put on the charm and she didn't want to walk home alone this late at night, so what was the worst that could happen? She would slip into the house before he could try anything and she could take a nice long hot bath before crashing and preying her hang over wouldn't be too bad in the morning. "Sure, I'll text my friends on the way to let them know I went home." When they walked out of the house, Tyler still had his arm around her waist as they walked down the sidewalk towards her home.

Bonnie looked around for her friend after talking to a handsome guy named Geoff and with some people she knew from past classes. She had only been talking for about thirty minutes so she hoped to find Caroline still out on the dance floor, hopefully not with Tyler. No such luck, she didn't see Caroline anywhere. So she went to find Elena. Bonnie sent a text to both Elena and Caroline and got a reply from Elena that she was still talking with Tim. Bonnie went out to the back yard and found Elena and Tim sitting on a bench under a tree by the pool. There were naked people in the pool now and Bonnie tried to advert her eyes. "Hey Lena, I can't get a hold of Care and I can't find her here. Do you mind if we head out and see if she is at home?" Elena looked up and saw the worry on her friend's face and knew that is was no time to chose a guy over her friends. "Sure Bon. Give me a sec." She turned to Tim, "I had a good time with you tonight. Here is my number, I expect you to use it and soon." She quickly kissed him on the cheek and Tim gave her a genuine smile. Elena got up with another smile and a wave to Tim, her and Bonnie headed to the front of the house and started walking home. "So Tim?" Bonnie lightly elbowed Elena in the ribs trying to get her friend to spill about the good looking, older man that had caught her eye. Elena blushed and giggled before throwing her arm over her friend's shoulders and sighing, "Bon he's amazing! He's smart and polite and oh so fine." Bonnie smiled at Elena, happy for her friend but seriousness took over her expression, "Just be careful. Last time you said that about a guy he ended up being married and you got your heart broken." "Way to be a buzz kill Bon! Don't worry I learned my lesson from Nate." Elena said the man's name with venom then when back gushing over Tim.

A few blocks away Caroline finally found her balance and slipped out of Tyler's arms. He wanted to keep contact with her and make it look like she belonged to him for the few people walking by, so he tried to slip his hand into hers. Caroline quickly moved pretending to need to scratch her leg and then stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans for the rest of the short walk.

They went on in silence until approaching her block, when Tyler spoke, "So, I had a good time dancing with you tonight. Maybe we could do it again. How does Saturday night sound? I'll pick you up around seven." He was talking like it was a sure thing, presenting it more of a statement than a question and she knew that she needed to let him down easy, he seemed like the pushy, aggressive type, a guy that didn't take 'No' for an answer. "Look Tyler, you seem nice but I'm just not looking to get in to anything right now. It's the beginning of the semester and I don't want to start something and then get too busy for it. But we can be friends. You know, study together and hang out in groups." She hoped that he would understand. He clenched his jaw and fists as they ascended the stairs to her porch. Caroline took her house key out of her pocket and slipped it in to the door as she felt hot breath on the back of her neck and she froze. "I get what I want Caroline." His breath reeked of beer and marijuana smoke and his chest was pressed firmly again her back. Before she knew it, she was spun around and trapped up against the side of the house next to the door as Tyler shoved his thigh between hers, preventing her from being able to move the lower part of her body. He looked up into her frightened eyes and a menacing smirk crossed his lips. "You forgot to text your friends, which means that no one is looking for you." He placed his forearm under her chin, pressing down on her windpipe so she couldn't scream and forced his mouth on to hers muffling any sound that she could make. She was able to let out a muted scream and tried to hit him with her fists. She couldn't move her legs because he had her pinned. Just as she thought that she was going to pass out from him cutting off her air and that there was nothing left for her to do, there came a noise from behind them. "I think you should let the lady go, mate."

Chapter Four: Coming Clean Bonnie and Elena came running up the walkway when they saw Caroline crying and talking to a strange man. "Oh my goodness Care, are you alright?" Bonnie said as they reached the porch. The unfamiliar man took a few steps back allowing the girl's friend to comfort the hysterical blonde. Caroline took a deep breath and looked at her friends, "Yeah I'm fine. Tyler attacked me. One of our neighbors, Nik here, was walking by and came to my rescue."

"Oh sweetie that is terrible! I hope that Nik was nice enough to rough Tyler up a little." Elena sighed smoothing out a wild strand of Caroline's hair. "Do you guy mind giving me a minute. I want to thank Nik for his help." Bonnie looks into Caroline's eyes, "Are you sure you are okay Care?" She closed her eyes again to compose herself, "Yeah, I'll be right in." Elena and Bonnie both entered the house, but left the door open to make Caroline feel more at ease. Nik was leaning up against the porch railing and when he heard Caroline's friends enter the house, he looked up at the young blonde woman with blood shot eyes and make up running down her face from her tears. Caroline met his eyes and sighed, "Thank you again for helping me. I don't know if I was able to get that out through the water works before." She motioned to her face and wiped the wetness from her cheeks and under her eyes. "Anytime I can protect a young woman's virtue, I am happy to oblige." His smile reached his eyes and Caroline couldn't help but return a small smile. Being bold and still a bit drunk she decided to bring up what she witnessed earlier. "I saw you early today arguing with your wife. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but hear." Caroline looked at her feet sort of embarrassed after the words left her mouth. She hoped that she wasn't slurring. He smiled again, "She's not my wife. That was my stubborn sister." Caroline blushed, "Oh. Well she seemed very angry with you." "It happens more than I care to account for." Nik pushed himself off of the railing and approached Caroline slowly where she still stood by the door. He bushed a stray curl from her face, "I am just a few blocks down. If that boy gives you any more trouble, you let me know. Okay, sweetheart?" She blinked back the new tears that were threatening to fall and nodded her head. "Thank you again, Nik." "Anytime, love. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around" He paused not knowing her name. "Caroline." She smiled. "Well then, Caroline. I bid you a goodnight." Nik turn and trotted down the walkway and turned left to walk down to his home. Caroline stood on the porch for a few more moments just coming to terms with what had happened tonight with Tyler and how lucky she was that her neighbor Nik showed up when he did. She pushed off the side of the house and walked into the front door, firmly closing it and turning the lock behind her. When she turned around Bonnie and Elena got up off the

couch and quickly walked to her, holding her in a tight embrace. This causes Caroline to break down again and she cried as her friends quietly shushed her and rubbed her back. Bonnie pulled back cupping Caroline's face in her hands, "Do you want to talk about it?" Caroline shook her head no as her lip started to tremble with a fresh wave of tears. "I just want to take a shower. I feel so dirty I can't even think straight." "Okay, hon. Lets get you cleaned up and in bed." Bonnie said as her and Elena led Caroline to the back of the house and into the bathroom. Elena helped Caroline remover her boots as Bonnie turned on the shower and set out a clean towel. "Do you need us to stay in here with you?" "I'll be fine, but do you mind if we have a slumber party tonight? I don't want to be alone." Elena gave her friend a soft smile, "Sure. We will go get changed and bring in some pajamas for you." Bonnie and Elena took their leave and Caroline finished stripping down and upon entering the shower, sunk to her knees as sobs racked her body. She was from a small town, things like this don't happen. She had been completely safe on campus for two years. She hated herself for drinking so much and listening to Tyler. She should have just found her friends and went home with them. She tried to control her breathing and then started remembering everything she had learned about sexual violence victims in her classes. She was taught that it isn't the woman's fault it is the offenders. She got a new fire in her and was mad but no longer at herself, she was mad at Tyler and she was determined to report him to the authorities. She picked herself off of the shower floor with more purpose and scrubbed her body forcefully to get the smell of him and the felling of his hands off of her. She attacked her hair next and shampooed it twice before feeling clean enough to leave the shower. Stepping out she found the clean towels and a pair of matching purple pajamas. She quickly changed and brushed her teeth twice, again to get the taste of him out of her mouth. Finally feeling clean she walked out into her bedroom where her friends were already on her bed with a bottle of water and some Aspirin waiting for her. She took the pills and climbed in to bed with her best friends. "Thank you so much guys. Can we just sleep and maybe I'll be up to talking about it tomorrow?" Caroline pleaded with her eyes for them to understand. "Of course." They both answered together and the three girls pulled the comforter up to their necks and snuggled in for the night.

The next morning Caroline woke up to a softly snoring Elena. Smiling at her friend, she got out of bed with out waking her and quietly walked to the kitchen where she found Bonnie making coffee. "Good morning." "Oh God. Not so loud." Bonnie hissed turning to her friend.

Caroline laughed seeing that Bonnie had on her sunglasses. "Wow that bad huh? Well let's make an oath now to stay away from tequila." "Agreed." Bonnie gladly stated. "You want some coffee?" "Yes please." Caroline answered going to the fridge and looking for something greasy she could make for breakfast. About ten minutes later Elena came stumbling in to the kitchen with her hair looking like a rat's nest and a pained look on her face. "Why are your eggs cooking so loud?" This sent both Bonnie and Caroline into giggles. As a peace offering Bonnie slid a cup of coffee in front of her friend as Caroline placed a plate of sausage patties and fried eggs down as well. "Well now, all is forgiven then." Elena grunted, digging into her food like it was her last meal. After they ate and cleaned up the kitchen Bonnie announced that she was going to get ready for class. "Care, wanna come help me pick out an outfit for today." Caroline just nodded and followed Bonnie to her room. Bonnie closed the door to give them privacy and they heard Elena turn the shower on down the hall. "Any time that you are ready to talk about what happened last night, I am here for you. You are my family and if you need me to go and personally kick his ass I will." Caroline loved that Bonnie had a mother bear attitude when it came to her friends. Caroline sat down on Bonnie's bed as she watched her friend start to pull clothes out of the closet. "I have class tonight until nine, but after that if you wanted to order in pizza we could all talk about what happened. I'm okay, really. And trust me, once I can find Nik again and have him testify to it, I'm going to press charges." "Good for you, Care. Guys get away with this kind of thing too often and I think the boys at this school could use an example." Bonnie was done dressing and had slung her bag over her shoulder and both girls walked out to the living room where Elena was mindlessly flipping through stations on the TV. "Well I'm out of here. You guys have fun today." Bonnie left the house and Caroline flopped down next to Elena. "So, we need groceries. If you don't have anything to do this morning, would you mind going with me to the store?" Caroline felt embarrassed asking her friend, but she wasn't ready to face the world alone yet. Elena turned off the TV and stood up helping her friend off the couch. "I would like nothing more then to go shopping with you." With a smile, Caroline went off to her room to change out of her pajamas. Slipping on a pair of khaki shorts and a long sleeved jersey shirt she checked her self in the full-length mirror and smiled before pulling her hair into a high ponytail. With flip-flops on her feet and her purse on her arm, she walked back out to the living room finding Elena ready with a list in hand. "Well look who's being amazing this morning." They both laughed before heading out the door.

When Caroline turned to place her key in the door lock she felt a cold chill run through her remembering Tyler's words, I get what I want Caroline. Elena finally snapped her out of her frozen state after calling her name a few times. "Wow, Care. You were gone for a few seconds there. Are you sure you want to go out?" Caroline took in a deep breath and turned to face Elena, putting a smile on her face, "Yes, I'm sure. Let's do this." Elena sensed that her friend needed a distraction so on the car ride to the store she chatted about Tim and just then her phone chimed. "His ears must have been burning." Elena giggled reading the text aloud, "Elena, I had a magical time with you last night. I hope that we can see each other again soon. Tim" Caroline smiled over at Elena, as she seemed to be re-reading the text over and over. "Why don't you invite him to our party this Friday. That way you can see each other in a pubic setting again before you decide if you want to really go out with him." "You are so smart Care! I'll ask him right now." Elena's fingers moved quickly over her touch screen and less then five seconds later she squealed, "He said he would love to! I'll text him all the info later." She slid her phone into her bag as they pulled up to the store. The girls had about half of their items in the cart and were heading for the coffee isle when they rounded the corner and Caroline saw Nik standing there with the blonde from the yesterday, his sister. "Hey, isn't that the guy from last night?" Elena whispered to Caroline. Nik looked up over his sister's shoulder as if he heard them talking about him and a slight smile crossed his face. "Caroline, fancy seeing you so soon. This is my sister Rebekah." Nik presented his sister to the two young girls. "Sister, this is the young lady I was telling you about last night." Caroline smiled at the two, "Nice to meet you Rebekah. This is my friend and roommate Elena. Nik, the other girl you saw last night is Bonnie." "Charmed." Rebekah smiled flatly before turning to her brother, "Weren't we just leaving, Nik?" "Yes, well the rest of our family is expecting us back soon. Pleasure running in to your both." Nik slightly bowed his head before turning to leave. Caroline bit her lip gathering her courage. "Wait, Nik!" He turned and looked at Caroline, before telling his sister that he would meet her at the car. He walked a few paces until he was standing about a foot away from Caroline, who had just become fascinated with her shoes and wouldn't meet his eyes. "Yes, sweetheart?" She remembered the pep talk she gave herself in the shower last night and looked up at him. "I don't know how many times I can thank you for last night and I'm sure after what you said to Tyler that he won't be bothering me again, but I was wondering if you would come with me to the police station so I can press charges?" She let out a shaky breath that she seemed to be holding.

"Of course, anything you wish." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a card. "Here is how you can reach me, anytime." With that he bid a farewell to Elena and the beautiful blonde that had invaded his thoughts since first seeing her yesterday. Caroline looked down at the card in her hand reading it twice before putting it in her pocket book. Elena peeked over her shoulder at the card as well, "Niklaus Mikaelson. Hum, no wonder he goes by Nik." They both laughed and continued shopping.

Klaus met Rebekah out at the car and loaded the groceries in to the trunk. Once he started the car and was driving them back to the home they had acquired he looked over at his sister who had been unusually quiet since he started driving. "What is it Bekah?" he asked annoyed. "You can not be serious Nik."

Chapter 5: It's never too late for you and your white horse. "I don't see why you are making such a big deal out of this Bekah." Klaus walked after her into their house with arms full of sacks from the grocery store. The blonde abruptly stopped and perfectly turned on her six inch heel to face her brother. "My problem? You were practically falling at that girls feet and worst off is that she is human! Not to mention her doppelganger friend!" He was the patriarch of the family and he did not need to be scolded by his baby sister. "You act as if you have never had a human play thing. I was just being a friendly neighbor. You know, blending in for you, who just had to have a college experience." He chose to ignore her comment about the doppelganger because he didn't know how it was possible. He just hoped that his older brother Elijah would not over react to an exact replica of his first love Tatia. At least this time Klaus didn't have to kill her. "You are not one to play nice with your food Nik." She stomped her foot like a spoiled child and added, "Just don't mess this up for me." Before she went upstairs to gossip with her other brother Kol. Klaus and his family are thousand year old vampires that had been on the run for most of their lives. Their mother had created them with the help of a witch to protect her family from werewolves. Once her children were changed she was disgusted by what she had created. She had meant to destroy them soon after, but ever the protector of his siblings Klaus had killed his mother by removing her heart. Their father held the same beliefs at his wife and after being turned into a vampire as well, he was destined to kill his children. For the first five centuries Klaus had been running with his family, always trying to stay a step ahead of their determined and violent father. Klaus was different from his family in that he also had the werewolf gene that was suppressed when he became a vampire. His mother had been a bit of a strumpet and

had an affair with one of the men from the wolf pack. Klaus spent many years trying to break the sun and moon curse so that he would become a hybrid, be stronger then his father, and finally put an end to their running. Around the sixteenth century he got news from his witches that the young women he had been waiting for to break the curse was visiting another Lord in Scotland. He got to her and used her to break the curse, she was a beauty and it was a shame that she had to die, but she served her purpose and Klaus finally had the strength he needed to defeat his father. Their father came for them soon after and with the help of his siblings and a small vampire army, he was able to dagger his dear father. The dagger doesn't kill him, but puts him in a sort of hibernation until the dagger is removed. The only thing that can kill an original vampire is wood from an extinct white oak tree. Until he could possibility find a proper steak, his father would remain desecrated. So with almost five hundred years of no threats of death, the family has been making up for lost time, exploring the world and strengthening their bond. At this point he was granting Rebekah one of her desires to experience a normal life of a young lady. So they settled nearest to the area that they were created, so he could look for any clues that would get him a piece of white oak.

Elena and Caroline got home from the store and after putting away all of the food Caroline excused herself to her room to finish reading the chapter for tonight's class. Elena had laundry and cleaning to do, so Caroline didn't feel bad locking herself away in her room. She fell down on to her bed and pulled the crisp white card out from her pocket book looking it over once again. Maybe she was still thankful for his help or because he was very good looking and his accent made her weak in the knees, but Caroline felt a pull towards the new guy down the street. She carefully placed the card back in her purse and opened up her Addictions and Dependency book. It was only noon when she finished her reading and didn't have to leave until five o'clock so she decided to take a nap since she still felt exhausted from last night. Thinking about it gave her chills and every time she closed her eyes she saw Tyler's face smirking at her. Caroline sighed to her self and thought, I can't let this cripple me, I have to process this and move on. Now what is that song where you sing about your favorite things? Oh, Fraulein Maria you are so wise. She started thinking about some of her best memories with her friends; all of the dances they threw back home, camping trips, shopping for shoes, her first kiss, and then Nik's smiling face invaded her thoughts. With another small sigh, she fell asleep hugging one of her pillows close to her body. At four thirty she woke to the alarm on her phone going off across the room. She felt strangely rested and excited about class. She packed her bag and went out to the kitchen, finding the house empty. Looking at the message board on the fridge she saw a note from Elena explaining that she and Bonnie went for a run. Still having fifteen minutes before she had to go, Caroline made herself a quick snack and a large cup of coffee. Savoring both she still left the house five minutes early and

was glad that it was still light outside and she wouldn't have to walk to class in the dark. She drove the short distance to school but still had to park a good five minute walk from her building. There were still plenty of people milling around campus so she felt safe. She took a seat in the middle of the classroom next to two girls that she recognized from some of her underclassman courses. "Hey Michaela, hey Jennifer." She waved at her friends and joined their conversation. "Oh, I almost forgot! We are having a house warming party this Friday and I would love for you two to come. We are keeping it low key, but plan for it to be a blast!" Caroline told her friends with many excited hand gestures. The two girls agreed to come and Caroline said she would email them the details. Just then the profession walked in and started class. Caroline felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and she got a nauseous feeling. Before she could turn around to see what was going on behind her she heard his voice. "Well look what we have here. Hello beautiful Caroline." Tyler took the seat right behind her and quietly laughed to himself seeing how stiff and uncomfortable she was. Caroline made it half way through the class before she felt like she was going to hyperventilate. She grabbed her purse and quickly exited the room heading for the nearest ladies room. She splashed cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Reaching in to her purse she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Bonnie. "Shit!" she cursed as it went to voice mail. Next she tired Elena. "What is going on?" She was starting to feel the hot tears roll down her face when Elena's voicemail picked up also. When she reached in to her purse to find a tissue she felt her hand brush the thick paper of Nik's card. She pulled it out and looked at it wondering if she should bother him. "Ello." Klaus answered his phone to an unknown number. "Is someone there?" He asked because there was only silence on the other end. Then he heard the soft whimper of a woman and then she took a long shaky breath in. "Who is this?" He was starting to lose his patients. "Nik." Caroline managed to get out between her crying and hiccups. He sucked in a breath at the sound of her broken voice, "Caroline, sweetheart. What is wrong?" She was able to stammer out, "Tyler...in classI can'tdo this." before she broke down in sobs again. "I'm going to come get you. Text me where you are and I'll be there soon." He quickly grabbed his coat off of the arm of the chair in his office. "Are you somewhere safe?" "Yes, I'm in the girls bathroom. I don't think he will come in here." "Okay, Caroline. Hold tight, I'll be right there." He ended the call and yelled up to his brother. "Kol! I need you to drop me off on campus." Kol came moseying out of his room and looked at his brother from the top of the stairs. "Why do you need me to take you? Just drive or walk."

Klaus appeared in front of his brother and looked at him with fire in his eyes. "You will take me, now!" "You know you can't compel me right?" Kol replied. After reevaluating the look on his brother's face he sighed. "Fine let me get my shoes." Klaus was gone as quickly as he came and yelled over his shoulder, "I'll be in the car waiting."

Caroline went to her maps app on her phone and dropped a pin on her location and then texted it to Nik. She then sent a text to her friend Jennifer in class, "Hey I'm not feeling well. Can you bring my bag to me in the ladies room?" A few minutes later the door opened and Caroline almost jumped out of her skin. "Hey are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost." Jennifer asked with concern as she set Caroline's bag containing her book and laptop on the bathroom counter. "I'm fine. Just not feeling very well. Thank you for this." she indicated to her bag, "I'll still email you about the party Friday, okay?" Jennifer eyed Caroline for a second more, "Sure Care. Feel better. I should get back to class." Both girls were startled and let out a small scream as the bathroom door swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang. "Hey you can't be in here! If you can't read the sign it says 'Ladies Room'!" Jennifer yelled at the man who had just barged in. Klaus ignored the red haired girl yelling at him and walked with purpose up to Caroline who felt relief wash over her, but also started slowly crying again. "It's alright, love. I'll take you home." Jennifer just stood in shock as this drop dead gorgeous man wiped tears from her friend's face. She waved at Caroline as the man lead her friend out of the restroom and into the hall. "Well if there are any more guys like him at the party I am defiantly going!" she said to herself before going back to class. Klaus asked Caroline for her car keys, which she dug out of her bag and they made the short walk out to the parking structure and he helped her into the passenger side of the car. He rushed around to the other side and slid in next to her. She had her face in her hands but didn't seem to be crying. "What is it, sweetheart?" Caroline still held her face and said, "I'm just so embarrassed. I tried to call Bonnie and Elena but they didn't pick up. I didn't mean to bother you. I must be annoying you by now. I feel so foolish." If Klaus were human he would not have been able to understand her babbling, but with his vampire hearing, he caught every word. He gently pulled her hand from her face and held it lightly in his. "Yesterday when I said you could call me anytime, I meant it." He pulled a cloth handkerchief out of his pocket and presented it to Caroline.

She took the soft piece of cloth in her hand and saw a beautifully embroidered letters KM in a blood red thread. "You are sort of old fashioned, aren't you?" She commented with a smile as she dried her face. "Well, where I grew up, a young man was taught how to be a gentleman to a lady." He started to back out of the parking spot and looked over at the small girl sitting next to him. She was looking at him with an expression of wonder. He started questioning what he was getting himself into. Driving down their block he noticed that Caroline was looking in her lap and she was tenderly running her fingers over his initials on the handkerchief. He looked back out of the front windshield and a small smile played on his lips. He pulled her car into the driveway and was around to her side before she could unfasten her seat belt. He offered her his hand and she lightly took it, stepping out of the car. He dropped her hand much to quickly for her liking and he grabbed her school bag from the back seat. They were silent walking to the door and she turned to him, taking her bag and didn't meet his eyes, even though she could feel his burning thru her. "I feel like I've thanked you more in the past two days then I have anyone else in the past few years. So, thank you for coming for me today. I don't think that I could have come out of the restroom knowing that he might be there." She finally met his gaze and she felt her body hum like a live wire. His mouth turned up and showed his dimples, "Maybe one of these days you can return the favor and grace me with your presents on an outing." Caroline looked at him stunned for what seemed like minutes when her mind raced, Did he just ask me out? Why can't he just talk normal? I don't want to assume and look like an idiot. "That sounds nice." Her voice was a whisper. Clearing her throat, "In the mean time, we are having a party this Friday night if you want to come by?" This time he looked at her with a worried look on his face. He wasn't sure how quickly he wanted to get in to anything with her. She noticed his hesitation and quickly added, "I mean, you don't have to. I'm sure you have plans." She looked down at the floor and kicked at an imaginary rock. Klaus placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. Caroline took in a sharp breath. He was so close to her she could almost feel the warmth rolling off of him. She held very still incase he tried to kiss her. "Until Friday, Caroline." He was already on the sidewalk heading in the direction of his house by the time Caroline started breathing again. She slowly turned and walked in to the house seeing Elena and Bonnie waiting for her with a few pizzas on the dining room table. Crap, I told them we would talk tonight. Caroline only wanted to go to bed so her dreams could run wild after having Nik so close.

Chapter Six: What does BTW stand for? Caroline set down her bag and purse on the couch and joined her friends at the dining room table. Bonnie opened up a pizza box and inside was Caroline's favorite, mushroom and pineapple. She took two slices and put them on a plate before grabbing a can of soda from an ice bucket on the table. Elena and Bonnie were being very patient, allowing Caroline to start on her own time. "So I guess I can start back at the party." She picked at her food and then told them both about the events leading up to Tyler walking her home. "When we got to the door he attacked me. Held me up against the wall and started to choke me and kissing me." She took a drink to sooth her dry mouth and throat, closing her eyes thinking back to last night. "I think you should let the lady go, mate." Tyler tore his mouth from hers, but still kept pressure on her neck. "I think you should mind your own damn business and move along, pal." He turned back to Caroline and whispered, "If you scream I will hurt you." He didn't account for Klaus being able to hear his every word and before Tyler could blink another eye at Caroline, he was pressed against one of the porch posts with this stranger's hand around his throat. Through clenched teeth Klaus said, "You need to leave now and I don't want to catch you sniffing around this woman again. Do we have an understanding?" He didn't feel the need for compulsion since he could smell that the boy had wet himself out of fear. Klaus squeezed the boy's neck one more time and then effortlessly tossed him down the stairs of the porch and on to the walkway. He watched as the filth ran down the street away from the terrified girl who was now crying. "He was able to ask me if I was hurt before you two came running up." Caroline finished still picked at her food. Both Bonnie and Elena had shocked and concerned expressions on their faces. "Oh, Care." Bonnie started covering her mouth as her eyes watered. "I should have never turned my back and let him take you to the dance floor. This is all my fault, if only I had" Caroline interrupted her friend, holding up her hand with anger in her eyes. "No, Bon. You don't get to do that. It is no ones fault except for Tyler's. He is the one that attacked me, there is nothing we could do to stop it, and I feel that if it didn't happen last night, it would have happened eventually." Bonnie nodded her head and got up to hug her friend. Elena followed and they both held her tight. "You are so much stronger then you give yourself credit for Care. Anything you need, we are here."

"Okay, that is enough depressing talk. Lets take the pizza in the living room and watch some bad reality shows." Caroline picked up her plate and stated to move towards the couch, her two best friends in tow.

Thursday morning all three girls had class so they drove in together. Bonnie dropped Caroline off by the common area since her classes didn't start for another hour. "I'll see you guys in a few hours. I'll text you and let you know where to pick me up." Bonnie and Elena drove off to the other side of campus towards the Professional Studies building and the Graphic Arts facility. Caroline was standing in line for coffee when she saw whom she thought was Nik's sister a few people behind her in line. "Rebekah." She called, hoping that she was right. The tall blonde looked up from her phone and scanned the people around her to see who had called her name. "Hey, Rebekah. It's Caroline." She silently hoped that Rebekah remembered her. Taking a chance she motioned with her hand for the other blonde to join her. Rebekah gave Caroline a small smile and cut a head of three people to stand next to the human. "So we meet again. The girl my brother seems to fancy." Caroline twisted her face in disbelief, "Fancies?" Bekah sighed, "Americans." She said under her breath. "Meaning he likes you, smitten, taken with you." In a low voice Caroline said, "I knew what it meant, I just didn't see how." It was their turn at the coffee counter and they both placed their orders. Rebekah pulled out a twenty and paid for both the drinks. "Thanks Rebekah." Caroline looked at the woman with shocked. She didn't seem like the friendliest person, let alone generous. "You can call me Bekah and don't mention it." She figured if her brother was going off the deep end with this girl that she might as well try to do what a normal girl does and try to befriend her. They walked out of the coffee shop together and stood around talking. "So what are you majoring in Bekah?" "Business. I want to have my own event planning venture and I need to know how to run the behind the scenes operations of a business." She took a sip of her white chocolate mocha, "How about you?" Caroline played with the cardboard slip on her cup, "Psychology and counseling. I empathize and connect well with people. So that is the direction I'm going." She smiled thinking about her future. She looked down at her watch and her eyes grew wide, "Crapsandwich, my class starts in ten minutes. It was nice seeing you again Bekah. We are

having a party tomorrow night, you should come with Nik." Caroline gathered up her things and started rushing towards her building. Rebekah smiled to herself. She had come here to experience college life as a young adult and she was determined to make friends and not let the hurt and betrayal in her past cloud her future happiness. She had just been invited to her first college party and she was over the moon as she walked towards the business center. Caroline held her breath as she walked into her class, praying that Tyler wouldn't be in this one too. She scanned the room and didn't see him so she took a seat at the back of the room near the door so she had an escape plan. The professor kept them there the full three hours and she sent a text to Bonnie letting her know that she was walking back to the common area. She got a text back that she would be picked up in about five minutes. Looking up from her phone she saw Bekah sitting on a low wall in front of the common area. "Twice in one day. Are you stalking me?" Caroline smiled and sat next to her new friend. Rebekah returned her smile, "I would say you are stalking me!" they both laughed and she continued, "No, I'm just waiting for Nik to pick me up and before you ask, no I can't drive." Caroline gave her a surprised look. "Where we lived before, you didn't have to drive, public transit and all. So I never learned. I want to, but Nik is just so over protective, as I'm sure you know." Bekah winked at Caroline. She heard the sound of her brother's BMW pulling up along the curb. "Speak of the devil." Caroline looked over and immediately locked eyes with Nik. He looked away from her and into his lap and she felt her heart fall at the rejection. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and figured it was Bonnie, but when she looked down a blush spread from her hair line down to her chest. You look lovely today. Nik "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow at your house. What time should we be there?" Caroline was snapped back to reality by Rebekah's question. "Um, I guess you could show up between eight and nine." Rebekah just smiled because Caroline wasn't even looking at her when she spoke. The small girl was making eyes at her brother. She got in the car with Klaus and he shot one more look at Caroline and then they pulled away from the curb and back onto the main road though campus. Not a minute later Bonnie pulled up and honked her horn to get Caroline's attention. Quickly the blonde gathered her bag and jogged to her friend's car. "Since we are all free for the afternoon, how about we go shopping for our party tomorrow?" Elena turned from the front seat and looked at Caroline who was fastening her seatbelt.

"Sounds good for me. " Caroline shrugged and pulled out her phone, rereading the text from Nik. They pulled up at the super market and all piled out of the car. They picked up items to make some hor dourves, along with snacks like chips, nuts, and chocolate. Elena put half a dozen two-liters of soda in the cart. "For mixers." Caroline nodded with understanding and also picked up some plastic treys and bowls not knowing if they had enough at home to plate all the food. Bonnie had run next door to the liquor store to stock up on some important necessities. They all met back at the car and headed home. "What is going on?" Bonnie said as she pulled into their drive way and saw a police car parked on the street outside of their house. "I don't know, but keep the booze in the car until later." Caroline said from the back seat. Elena nodded, "Rodger that." As they got out of the car, so did the police officer that reminded Caroline of her mother. "Which one of you is Caroline Forbes?" Caroline stepped forward, swallowing thickly. "That would be me, ma'am." She knew to respect police officers. "I spoke with a mister" she looked down at her notebook, "Mikaelson earlier this morning about a sexual assault that happened against you." Caroline was stunned for a moment. He had gone to the police and reported it for her. She nodded at the officer, "Yes ma'am. Would you like to come in and sit?" The officer whose name badge said Kennedy smiled and followed Caroline into the house. Bonnie brought out two glasses of water to the table and then the other two girls made themselves scarce. Officer Kennedy took a drink and then started, "So Mr. Mikaelson told me that he witnessed a person sexually assaulting you Tuesday night. Can you please tell me everything that happened?" Caroline retailed her story, letting a few tears slip when she talked about how Tyler was choking her. She also informed the officer that he was in two of her classes and he had made her uncomfortable Wednesday night as well. The officer took notes and when they were done she let Caroline know what the next steps were. "From here we are going to do a few things. Since the assault started on the university property, I am going to get with Campus Police and let them know of the situation. You will need to come down to the station some time tomorrow to sign your statement and also file an affidavit for a restraining order. Usually people like him this isn't his first time doing this, so I will see if the Campus Police have any other complaints on him. You will have a court date, where you and Mr. Mikaelson will testify against Mr. Lockwood."

Caroline's head was spinning from all of the information. She took the card the officer handed her with her case number on the back. "Once you have the restraining order, you will have to go to the school's admin office and make sure he is removed from your classes." Caroline smiled at the woman, "Thank you." She said in a small voice as they walked to the door. As they reached the porch, Officer Kennedy turned to the young lady, "Caroline, I ran your information. Your mother is a Deputy in Mystic Falls right?" "Yes, ma'am." Officer Kennedy smiled seeing the fear in this young woman's eyes, "Well I'm not trying to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but if you were my daughter, I would want to know about this." Caroline nodded with understanding and watched the officer get back in to her cruiser and drive down the street back towards town. She walked back in to the house and saw Bonnie and Elena standing in the living room. "You guys heard?" They both nodded. "Well I'm just glad it is taken care of but if you two don't mind unpacking the stuff for the party without me, I'm going to call my mom." Her two friends nodded again and Caroline walked back to her room, shutting the door and hoped that her mother didn't over react to the situation. Lying down on her bed with her phone in her hand she decided to send a quick text before making her phone call. I'm going to stop saying 'thank you' to you, but whenever you do something to deserve the words, I will just tell you that you are amazing. Caroline Is that so? Nik Yes. BTW You are amazing. Caroline Klaus smiled at his phone and then a look of confusion spread across it. "Hey Bekah! What does BTW stand for?"

Chapter Seven: Humbled Caroline was up late talking with her mother and endlessly convincing her that Officer Kennedy would help her with everything and there was no need for Liz to make the trip to Richmond. So she was thankful that Bonnie drove Elena to class this morning, she was in no mood to be awake before ten.

So finally around ten thirty in the morning she pulled herself out of bed and into the bathroom for a long shower. As the hot water cascaded over her body she felt some of the stress from the week wash down the drain. She finished up washing her body and hair and stepped out of the shower in to the steam filled room. With a towel wrapped around her, she went to her room to pick out an outfit. She was going to just put on yoga pants and a tank, but she was distracted when her phone beeped with a text. I will be around at 11:30 to pick you up. Nik She had no idea why he would be coming to get her, but she threw the yoga pants back in to the drawer and went to her closet to find something more attractive to wear. Not knowing what they were going to be doing, she decided on a pair of cuffed grey cotton shorts and a deep purple sleeveless chiffon top. Slipping on a pair of strappy sandals she was ready. Looking down at her phone she saw she had about ten minutes, so she made a cup of coffee and some s'mores Pop Tarts. Half way through her coffee there was knock at the door. She ran towards the front of the house and looked out of the peephole. Nik looked nervous which she found endearing. Swinging open the door she couldn't help but smile back at the handsome man standing on her porch. "You're early." Looking down at his watch, he smiled, "Well I guess I am. If you are not ready I can come back." Caroline faltered, "Oh no. I was just finishing up breakfast." She held the door open for him hoping he could get the hint and walk in. "A little late for breakfast, don't you think, love." "Not when you have only been awake for an hour." Caroline enjoyed his soft laughter and finally asked, "Why don't you come in? I just have to rinse my dishes and get my purse." Finally Klaus thought as he walked over the threshold in to Caroline's quant home. He took it all in, knowing you can learn a lot about people by the way they live. He felt a lightness about the house, like three carefree women lived here. He smiled at how everything seemed to suit Caroline. Walking into the kitchen, Caroline picked up her cup and downed the rest of her lukewarm coffee before rinsing the cup and placing it in the dishwasher. She threw away the paper towel that her breakfast had been on and then padded off to her room to retrieve her purse. She met Nik back out in the living room where he was looking at the pictures on the fireplace mantel. Most of them were of her, Bonnie, and Elena from high school and from the past two years in Richmond. "You ready?" she said standing by the door. Klaus turned and smiled at her and joined her on the porch while she locked the house. He placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked down the sidewalk to the

waiting car. Just like the other night, he opened the passenger side door for her and lightly closed it once she was comfortably inside. He got in the drivers side and merged on to their quite street. "So where are we going?" She asked playing with her hands in her lap. Keeping his eyes on the road in front of him he answered, "Down to the Police station. Officer Kennedy called me this morning and told me that all of your paper work was ready to sign." Still looking at her lap she said quietly, "Oh." "Is there something wrong?" He was worried that he did something that upset her. Caroline finally looked up at him, "No, I just expected to have to do all of that by myself." He mentally cursed himself for over stepping, "If you don't want me there, I can drop you back at home." She smiled now, he was misunderstanding her. "You are amazing." As the words left her mouth, a light blush crept across her cheeks. A small smile caressed his lips, knowing that she was thanking him and he reached out his right hand and ran his thumb across her pink cheek, "And you are beautiful." He could feel her cheek heat further under his touch. They parked at the station and of course he held open her car door and the door to the building. At the front desk Klaus asked for Officer Kennedy and the receptionist picked up her phone to buzz the policewoman. "She is expecting you. If you go down this hallway and make the second left you will see her office." The woman behind the desk smiled and pointed towards a hallway on her right. Caroline smiled at the woman before feeling intense warmth hit her hand as Nik took it and lead her towards the hall. The contact didn't last nearly long enough, for he release her hand when they came upon Kennedy's office. "Ah, Mr. Mikaelson. Ms. Forbes. Please come in and have a seat." Officer Kennedy looked up from a large stack of papers. Klaus allowed Caroline to sit first before he too sat in front of the very ordinary desk. "Any news from the Campus Police." He inquired. "Yes, actually much news. Three other girls have made complaints against Mr. Lockwood in the past year. So our two departments have agreed to go after him together. The result from the court hearing may mean explosion from the school, anger management classes, and some jail time." Officer Kennedy said with a satisfied smile. "I talked to my mom last night and she wanted to make sure that he would be withdrawn from the classes we share." Caroline stated.

Kennedy nodded, glad that the young lady had called her mother. "Well as soon as we can get the restraining order set, you can take it to the Campus Police and the Student Affairs office and they will take care of that. I have already presented your case to a judge and he has signed off on the order, all that is needed is your signature." She said holding out a piece of paper. Caroline swallowed loudly and took the paper with shaking hands. Looking to Nik for support, he smiled and nodded his head. She took the pen that was set in front of her and signed the order. She was also handed a typed copy of her statement, which she also signed. "Well let me get you an official copy of this for your school and then we will be in touch about the court date." The officer left the tiny room with a manila folder with Caroline's name and case number on it. Caroline reached over and placed her hand on Nik's forearm, "You have no idea how much it meant to have you here for support." She felt the warmth beneath her hand again. Klaus just smiled and placed his hand over hers. He looked over his shoulder just as Kennedy walked back into the room. "Alright, Ms. Forbes you are all set. Here are your copies of everything. Give this copy to the school and keep another copy in your car in case you need to present it to another police officer. You still have my card?" Caroline took all of the papers and nodded, "Yes, ma'am" Officer Kennedy smiled and shook hands with Klaus and Caroline, "If he comes within five hundred feet of you or threatens you in any way, give me a call and we can document it in the case file." Both Caroline and Klaus thanked the officer and walked out of the building. Looking at his watch he saw they were in there for a little over an hour. "Would you like to go file the papers at the university now?" Klaus asked. He had the car door open for her and she sat down saying, "If you don't mind. I just want to get all of this done with so I can have some fun tonight." They made their way over to the Campus Police building and she filed a copy of the orders and she was reassured that Tyler would not be in her class on Monday. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders and she took in the first cleansing breath since the attack happened. Getting back into the car she closed her eyes and laid her head back against the warm leather seat. She felt Nik slide in the car next to her. "Would it be possible for me to treat you to lunch?" he asked softly. Caroline's eyes opened and she rolled her head to the side to look at him. He was gazing at her intently, like he thought she would reject him. "Even better, how about you treat me to coffee and dessert." A low laugh came from him as he started the car, "As you wish."

He drove a few miles to a shop that specializes in cup cakes and he could tell he did well by the smile on his female companion's face. Inside the shop Caroline's face lit up like a kid in awell, a cup cake store and this brought joy to Klaus. She ordered a carrot cake and cookies and cream cup cake, along with a vanilla latte. Klaus got a cup cake called the salty mermaid and a black coffer with two sugars. Caroline sat down on a bench in front of the shop and Klaus joined her with treats in hand. "Which one would you like first, love?" She took a long pull from her coffee and placed her index finger on her chin, pretending to think hard for a second, "I think the cookies and cream." She greedily took it from his hand and started pulling the paper cup from the base of the cake. Klaus watched with rapture as Caroline took a massive bite, which deposited whipped frosting on the tip of her nose. When she moaned at the taste he ran through all the things he could do to make her moan like that again. When Caroline looked over at Nik she was surprised at the lustful look in his eyes. "Are you going to try yours? Mine is incredible!" "I will, right after this." He reached out and removed the frosting from her nose with the pad of his thumb. Caroline watched as Nik placed his frosting covered thumb into his mouth and when it came out clean, she felt like a million butterflies had take up residence in her stomach. Amused by her expression he looked her in the eyes and said, "Absolutely delicious." and with a crooked smile he removed his confection from the white paper bag. After Caroline regained her composure, their conversation turned innocent and Klaus asked Caroline about her studies. "What are you studying at the university?" Starting on her second cake she answered, "Psychology and counseling. I want to work with children. You know, these days, parents are so busy that they never stop to talk to their kids. So I want to work in the school system and be there for the children before any issues come to a head." Klaus was impressed at the passion in which she talked about her future. This made a dark thought creep into his mind. What kind of future can she have with me? Once she really knows about me, the real me, will she run? Or want to be turned? He quickly shook those thoughts away and focused back on the beautiful young woman sitting next to him talking animatedly about her classes. "and I swear that Elena has a personality disorder. That's the next chapter we are covering and she's just like Scarlett from Gone With the Wind. Just screams histrionic personality disorder!" Caroline's sweet laughter filled the air around them. Caroline stopped laughing and a shocked look over took her face. Klaus hadn't said anything so he wasn't sure what caused it. Caroline reached down and started rooting around in her purse, finally pulling out her phone. "Crap-sandwich. It's already almost four o'clock. I should be getting home to help set up for tonight." She started gathering up their trash and walked towards a garbage bin.

Klaus met her back near the street and he held her hand as they ran across it between oncoming cars. Caroline laughed as he helped her into the car. When he started driving towards their neighborhood she said, "So I hope you don't mind but I also invited Bekah to the party." He gave her a confused look, but remembered that they were sitting together when he picked his sister up from school the other day. "I'm sure she is very excited. She's hasn't really made any friends since we moved here." "Well she seems very nice. We talked over coffee before class as well. I'll introduce her to Elena and Bonnie tonight. Who knows, our three-some may soon turn into a foursome." Thoughts of Caroline in a three-some made Klaus tighten his grip on the steering wheel and one word assault his mind, Mine! He relaxed slightly reminding himself of how she had meant the word. He was also still somewhat tense because he had never been so possessive over a woman before, let alone a human woman. A few moments later they were parked in front of her house and Nik walked her up to her door. "Nik, I had a good time today. I think I may be inflating your ego by saying this, but really, today you were amazing." "Don't worry about my ego, sweetheart. For you humble me by your mere presence." He reached down and took her delicate hand in his, bringing it up to his lips and placed a lingering kiss on her knuckles as he looked at her through his lashes. Caroline had to do everything in her power not to get weak in the knees from his action. Instead she smiled softly and once he released her hand she turned for her door. Half way inside she looked over her shoulder at him, "I'll see you tonight?" He did not know why she even questioned him. "Of course, love." She nodded once and closed the door behind her. Before taking another step into the home, she pressed her back against the door and pressed the hand Nik had kissed over her heart before closing her eyes and sighing. When she opened her eyes, Bonnie and Elena were staring are her from the couch with the same expression. One eyebrow quirked up as if say, 'Have you gone crazy?' Caroline put on her most innocent smile and said, "So are we throwing a party tonight or what?"

Chapter Eight: Wonderstruck Klaus knocked on his sister's bedroom door. He could hear music being played inside and hoped that she had heard him. "Come in!"

He walked in and saw his sister standing in front of a full-length mirror holding up two different dresses. "So what do you think? Red says, 'I'm sassy' whereas the green one says, 'I'm approachable'." Rebeka turned and held up both of the dresses for her brother. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for you to be 'sassy' out in society yet. Besides the green dress will look lovely against your fare skin." Klaus gave his beloved sister a kiss on the top of her blonde head. She beamed at him. She was loving this softer side of Niklaus that appeared once he met Caroline. She would never admit to him that she thought he was going soft, but it was refreshing to have her humanistic brother back. After Klaus had killed their father he had gone on a vampire bender. Killing and drinking his way across Europe, letting out all of the emotional pain he held in for five hundred years. He was feared and considered a tyrant among the vampire population. Their family had always been seen as royalty, but once Klaus became a hybrid he used his status to gain loyalty and respect through fear. The past few decades Rebekah had noticed her brother slowly coming down from his hurt and anger and that is what led him to finally agree to her wish to go to a university. "There will be a lot of people there tonight, so make sure to feed before we go. I'll be back for you around eight thirty." Klaus left his sister's room and heard the music being turned up. Rebekah rolled her eyes. She hated when her brother treated her like a child. She had been a vampire for a thousand years too. She knew how to handle her blood lust. Klaus got into his car and headed towards one of the less desirable neighborhoods outside of town to look for someone that wouldn't be missed. Even though bottom dwellers didn't taste as good as sweet young college students, after meeting Caroline, he wanted to take as many dangerous people out of Richmond as he could. This theory made him chuckle darkly as he drained his first victim. If these people are dangerous, what is he? The question of his intentions towards Caroline raced through his mind many times a day. He didn't want to hurt her, but violence is in his nature. Finally slated, he dropped the third cold body into the James River and walked through the tree line back to his car. Heading back into town he drove a little faster then usual. The fresh blood running through him gave him a high that felt even better when his adrenaline kicked in. His hyper-aroused state mixed with the scent of Caroline lingering in the car made his fangs drop and his eyes yellow. A low growl came from his chest and he pressed harder on the accelerator. At his home, Klaus threw his soiled shirt in the lit fireplace and headed for his en suite. Looking in the mirror he smiled at his reflection while wiping a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth. He mimicked what he had done with the frosting earlier today and savored it. His eyes yellowed again at the thought of Caroline while tasting blood. Removing his finger from his mouth he turned on his walk in shower as hot as it would go. He hoped to burn away the inappropriate thoughts of Caroline and her blood. The dark voice in his mind came forward, What if she willing gives to you?

The thought of his sweet Caroline presenting her neck to him caught him off guard and he had to support his weight by placing one hand against the shower wall. He took in a few deep, steam filled breaths as the water continued to burn his back. Maybe hot wasn't such a good idea. It reminded him of her touch. Quickly he turned the faucet to cold and the contrast of the icy water on his heated flesh shocked him enough to allow him to finish his shower without any more thoughts of Caroline. It was eight o'clock when he finished dressing for the party. He decided on dark wash jeans that hung low on his hips, a blue button down shirt and his brown leather jacket. He passed Rebekah's room on the way to the stairs and could hear her singing along to some pop song and this made him smile. Once on the lower level he went to his study and pulled out the drawing he had been working on for the past few days. He figured the drawing plus a very nice bottle of wine would be a sufficient housewarming gift. He took out two pieces of stationary paper and wrote a note to all three girls in his elegant script, welcoming them to the neighborhood. The second was going to be his first love letter since being turned. He closed both with sealing wax and imprinted them with the family crest. Looking down at his Omega watch and seeing that he should be collecting his sister in a few minutes he made his way back up to her door. He softly knocked and again was beckoned in. "Oh, Bekah. You look stunning. You will stop the hearts of every man at that party." If she could have blushed, Rebekah's cheeks would be a-fire. "Why thank you dear brother. You look just dashing." She said the last word dramatically and with a hint of sarcasm before softly giggling. It had been a very long time since Klaus had heard such genuine laughter from his sister. This made the place where his dead heart sat feel warm. Giving his sister a full dimpled smile, he presented his arm to her, "Shall we then?" "We shall."

"Elena! We need more ice!" Bonnie hollered from the kitchen. The party had started thirty minutes ago and she can't believe that they forgot extra ice. Looking at Caroline, Elena asked, "Can I borrow your car to run to the store?" "Sure, the keys are in my bag that is on my bed." Caroline was now moving towards the kitchen to help Bonnie with putting out the rest of the food. There were about fifteen people there already and everyone was enjoying the finger foods and mixing drinks. The girls had Pandora going on the TV and surround-sound system where a few guests gathered in the living room. They had moved the coffee table and pushed back the couch to make room for some dancing.

Elena jogged by them with her purse and Caroline's keys in hand. She called over her shoulder "I'll be right back."

Klaus and Rebekah had walked down stairs and as he was about to grab the bottle of wine from the foyer table when the front door flew open and he was pinned up against the entry wall. "Elijah!" Rebekah yelled shocked. Her eldest brother had Klaus by the collar pinned to the wall. She knew that Nik could easily get away from Elijah if he so desired. "Elijah, brother. Please come forth with a reasonable explanation for this before you lose that arm." Klaus indicated with his eyes to his brother's arm that was holding across his chest. His older brother growled and he bared his fangs, "How could you lead me to believe that she was dead for these past five centuries?" "Again, I state. You have very little time before I remove your arm from my persons the fun way." A devious smile played on Klaus' lips. Elijah released his brother and paced a few feet from him. "Katerina! I just saw her! You knew my feelings for her." He was back in his brother's face with a mix between anger and hurt showing on his face. Klaus remembered his sister's words from the other day about Elijah's reaction to the new doppelganger. "Oh, dear brother. That is not Katerina, for she is surely dead. The woman you saw is Elena." "But how?" Elijah whispered. "I'm not sure, but Elena is a doppelganger. Katerina must have had more secrets than the ones she kept for us." Klaus was now smoothing out his shirt collar. "Now Rebekah and I have been invited to a house warming party, if you will excuse us." He didn't dare mention who's home it was, for Elijah seemed unbalanced by the news of Tatia and Katerina's replica. "Shall we try this again Bekah?" He again extended his arm to his sister and collected the bottle of wine and the rolled drawing. Giving an authoritative stare at his brother who still looked lost he said, "You will stay in this house and not go franticly searching for this woman. Am I understood?" Elijah tightly nodded and ascended the stairs to his room in the manor. His brother's episode had held them back for fifteen minutes and he did not want to seem rude by showing up late to Caroline's party. He walked a little faster then human pace down the block to her house. "This is it? Three people live in there. It's so small." Rebekah voiced her thoughts. Klaus stopped their forward motion by holding on to her upper arm. "You will be polite. This is how normal people live and if I were half as wicked as your statement, I would have put you in a dorm at the university."

Nik was right. She was used to living luxuriously and forgot her manors. "I'm sorry Nik. I've just been so bitter for so long. I'm working on it." She gave her brother her best sisterly smile. He gently rubbed the apple of her cheek with his thumb. "All is forgiven. We are both working on being better." They knocked on the door of the bungalow as a few other people came up the steps of the porch. Bonnie answered the door. "Hey everyone! Come on in, welcome to our home." Caroline was walking out of the kitchen with a martini glass filled with red liquid in her hand. "Oh, Nik! Bekah! So glad you could make it." She moved towards them, placing her glass on the foyer table. She placed a one armed hug around Rebekah's neck and the look of surprise on his sister's face make Klaus laugh under his breath. The blonde hostess released Bekah and turned towards Nik. "Are those for us?" she eyed the gifts before reaching up and hugging him in the same fashion she did with his sister. He was frozen with fear, pleasure, shock, wonder, he wasn't sure which emotion this was. As Caroline released Nik she felt the scruff on his jaw brush against her soft cheek and she just had to feel it under her lips. She quickly placed a kiss on his rough cheek before backing away a few feet and taking the wine from his hand. Rebekah elbowed her brother in the ribs to release him from his frozen state whispering under her breath, "Whelp." "Oh, yes. The wine is for all of you ladies." He said and then presented her with the rolled parchment, "This, love, is for you." Caroline looked up at him and he felt her touching his soul with her gaze. "You are amazing." She spoke softly as if caught in a trance. They both came to as someone behind them cleared their throat. Bonnie was looking at them with that raised eyebrow again. Apparently they were blocking half of the entry as other guests were trying to file in. Rebekah had already walked away towards a group of girls that she recognized from a class. Picking her drink back up off the table she said, "I'm going to put these in my room. This wine looks expensive and I don't want it wasted tonight. Please help yourself to a drink in the kitchen." She downed the rest of the red liquid and handed her empty glass to Nik before smiling sweetly and turning off to her room. By the smell of the glass she was drinking a Cosmo, after making his way to the kitchen he made her another drink and pulled his bottle of fine scotch from the inside pocket of his jacket. He had three fingers of the dark amber liquid knocked back before his lady returned.

Taking the fresh drink from him and bringing it up to her lips she smiled, "This is so much better than the one I made. What is your secret?" she took another sip from the chilled glass. "A gentleman never tells." With a smile he clinked his tumbler to her glass. Bonnie came in just then grabbing the rum and a bottle of cola from the fridge. "Care, do you know who that blonde is out there? She is making the rest of us look like uggos." She huffed pouring two shots of rum in a glass filled with ice, topping it off with soda. "I'm sorry Bon, I should have introduced her. She is Nik's sister Bekah." Caroline suppressed her laugh behind her cocktail. With a deer in the headlights look on her face, Bonnie finally spoke, "Oh, I'm sorry Nik. I didn't mean to offend..." Nik was laughing along with Caroline, "Don't worry about it. She has that effect, unfortunately." He put his hand on the small of Caroline's back, "I think you better go mingle with your guests." Being brave, Caroline grabbed his hand from her back and drug him back out in to the living area. She introduced him to some of her classmates, "Jennifer you remember Nik." "Yeah, scare people in the ladies room guy!" Jennifer said enthusiastically. "Guilty." He held up his hands in mock surrender toward the red head. Caroline smiled at their interaction, "And this is Michaela." She motioned to a thin girl with short brown hair. "Michaela, this is my friend Nik." Friend. The word echoed in his brain. What did he expect? He had not make his intentions known, hell he didn't know his intentions. How did courting work in this time? He refocused on the conversation going on around him. It seems Jennifer was talking about what Caroline had missed in class Wednesday. "If you ladies will excuse me for a moment." He touched Caroline's back and then turned to find his sister. Not seeing her in the living area, he walked to the kitchen. "It seems you have a fan club, sister." She had a shot of tequila in front of her, "Yes, it does appear that way." and she slowly licked the salt from the back of her hand, took her shot, and bit into a lemon all while keeping eye contact with a group of boys by the back door. Klaus smiled, "Go easy on them Bekah. They are only human." He was refilling his glass when he heard a voice that made his whole body go ridged. "Where is that little bitch!" Elena tried to block his entry into the house. "You can't be here! I will call the police if you don't leave." Tyler pushed Elena causing her to fall to the ground. He spotted Caroline standing with a few girls. She had a scared look on her face and that made him smirk.

He rushed her and before Caroline could react he backhand slapped her across the face. "That is what I do to little whores that spew lies about me." He was so close to her face when he spoke that she could feel his saliva mist her when he said spew. Tyler didn't get to say another word because Klaus again had him around the throat and was dragging him out of the front door, down to the sidewalk. Most of the party goers had followed out of the house and were gathering on the porch to watch what was going to happen. Bekah was in the kitchen doing shots thinking, Well if he kills him now we will have to move. So much for normal. "Here's to trying." She toasted herself and swallowed the shot. Caroline had picked herself up off the floor, seeing Tim help Elena up as well and pushed between people to see where Klaus had gone. She stopped at the top of the stairs, seeing terror in Tyler's face. Saying very quietly Klaus compelled Tyler, "I want you to forget you ever met Caroline. I want you to walk away from here and keep walking until your feet bleed, then I want you to walk some more." He dropped his hold on the boy and watched as he silently turned and started walking. There were a few cheers from the porch, before everyone went back into the house. Caroline stood at the top of the stairs not knowing how many times this man had saved her in just four day. He walked up to her and saw the wet tracks down her cheeks from tears and a spot of blood on her lip from when she was hit. He had a flashback thought from early tonight when he removed blood from his own lip. Wanting so desperately to do the same now, he mustered some self control and cleared her tears instead. "Come on, love. Lets get you cleaned up." She nodded, looking very broken as he led her towards the direction he guessed her room was in. She helped him by pointing down the hallway at the side of the house. Opening the door to her bedroom, he was hit by just everything her. From the smell, that was so concentrated that he could taste it, to the bright sunny yellow walls, and the sparse art that adorned the walls. Caroline walked into the en suite and turned on the light. Nik followed her and not wanting her to see the angry red mark from Tyler's hand, he turned her around and easily lifted her to sit on the counter top. He took a clean washcloth from a basket by the shower and wet it with cold water. He moved close to her, situating himself between her knees. He tenderly dabbed at her cut lip. He stopped when she winced in pain. "I'm sorry, love." He didn't know which offence he was apologizing for, not being fast enough to stop it, not killing the boy Tuesday night, or not being at her side when he entered the house. He was sorry for all of those things and would give anything to take her pain away. Caroline gave him a compassionate look and placed her hand on his cheek as to wordlessly convey her gratitude. When she touched him it was like time stop and the

only feeling was the warmth being exchanged between their bodies. She blinked once and then closed her eyes, letting the heat guide her. He felt her soft lips brush his and it took everything in him to not ravish her mouth. He knew that she was sore from being struck and he wanted to be very gentle with her. When her hand traveled from his cheek into his hair, he almost lost control. She moved her lips to deepen the kiss and he complied, cautiously reaching out his tongue. He did not account for her cut to reopen from the kiss and as he tasted her sweet blood he could feel the change in his eyes. Placing his hand on either side of her face, he closed his eyes and pulled away from the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers and they both panted for air. "Caroline, you are absolutely enchanting. "

Chapter 9: So This is The Fall Out. With her face in his hands Caroline felt like the most cherished creature in existence. She didn't dare open her eyes for fear that he would be gone and this was just a wonderfully torturous dream. Being so near to him and her lips so close, she could taste him on the air. She felt like she was breathing in his very essence and it made her pulse quicken. "Nik, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to" Caroline stopped when she heard a soft growl come from deep in his chest. He finally opened his eyes and moving himself to look into her pale sapphire colored eyes. "Sweetheart, don't ever apologize for wanting me. It is the most exquisite feeling in the world to be desired by someone as extraordinary as you." They were both smiling at each other in a fleeting blissful moment when a knock came at the door. Peeking her head into the bathroom Bonnie wore a worried expression and said, "How are you two doing? That was pretty intense out there." "I'll be okay Bon. Could you give us a minute?" Caroline was thankful for her friend but wanted to just be in Nik's arms for a while longer. Bonnie nodded in understanding. "Sure. Should I call Officer Kennedy to come over and file a report?" "Yes, Bonnie that would be great." Caroline smiled. With a stern face, Klaus said, "No. Don't call anyone." Both Bonnie and Caroline looked at Klaus like they couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. "What?" Caroline needed an explanation and she needed one now.

Bonnie slowing retreated from the door, "I'll just leave you two alone." There was no way she wanted to get caught up in the middle of the argument that was about to happen. Caroline is very stubborn and the quicker Nik found that out the better it would be for him. Caroline fumed, "You have got to be kidding me right? Why would we not want this in the case file? This could put him away for longer." "Look Caroline, I know you may not understand it now, but after what I told him tonight, it is better if the police are not out looking for him." He tried to convey with is eyes that she should believe him. "He won't be coming back here again. I promise you that." Hopping down from the counter top she said, "Well where I come from we allow the police to do their work and we trust in the justice system to do the right thing. My mom is a cop, Nik! How can I just ignore what happen tonight?" He could see that her strong facade was starting the waver, so he took her face in his hands again. "Please just try to trust me. I wouldn't let anything else happen to you." When he saw that he wasn't getting through to her he continued, "Just stop being so stubborn and put your trust in me." She had heard enough and removed herself from his vicinity feeling betrayed, "Trust you? I don't even know you. We met four days ago and you want me to trust your advice in my case against Tyler. Are you on his side now? Do you want him to go free?" She had let her emotions take over and not wanting for him to see her cry she moved to her window, crossed her arms and wouldn't look at him. "I think you should go." Though he had never been hit by a speeding train before, he imagined that this is what it would feel like. He had opened himself up to this beautiful, strong, and precious human woman and with a few words she had incapacitated the strongest being on earth. Clenching his jaw he said, "It is for your own good that you keep this incident away for the police." The turned and left the room. Caroline jumped slightly when she heard the door slam behind him. She let herself go now and cried openly. Klaus looked through the house for his sister and couldn't find her. Walking up to the group of boys she had been teasing earlier, "Do you know where the blonde girl went?" With wide eyes, the group just pointed towards the back door. He turned and stepped out on the back steps. Looking around him, he didn't see anything then he heard a low moan. Looking to his right he saw his sister pressing a boy up against the back of the house. How dare she feed at Caroline's house. He was standing behind her in less than a second. "Rebekah." He whispered angrily. She turned with a shocked look on her face. The boy seemed to be in a state of bliss. Klaus looked over the boy, trying to find the bite makes, but there were none. Fixing her smudged lipstick Rebekah casually said, "What can I do for you, brother?"

"We are not welcome here anymore. Let's go." He gripped her upper arm and started pulling her away. Bekah quickly pulled her arm from his vice like grasp and said lowly, "No! I am having fun. So you can go home by yourself!" "You are not understanding me Bekah. Caroline asked that we leave. She doesn't want us here!" She had a hurt look on her face. She was hoping to gain a friend out of Caroline. Running back towards the boy, she pulled his phone out of his back pocket. "Here is my number. Call me." She placed a lingering kiss on his lips and she joined her brother on the driveway. Half way to their home she finally asked, "So how badly did you screw up?" His body tensed and he did not answer her question.

Bonnie walked in to the kitchen to start cleaning up when their friend Matt walked in the back door. "Hey, I didn't know you were still here. What is that dirty smirk about?" "I just made out with the hottest girl at the party." He said smugly. Placing some dishes in the sink she dead-panned, "How could that be? I was in here the whole time." They both laughed and Bonnie winked at him. "Well I'm glad Matt. You haven't really had anything serious since Elena and I want to see you happy." "That is why I love you BonBon. You have a heart of gold." He kissed her forehead and walked out to the living room to get his coat. "Thanks for the party guys! I'll see ya'll later!" He yelled over his shoulder as he went out the front door. Bonnie was the only one left in the common area of the house and she picked up a few more cups before locking the doors and shut off the lights. Retiring to her room she removed her olive green leather ankle boots and rubbed the balls of her feet.

"Don't be ridiculous! You can fix this. Where do you think you are going?" Rebekah's shrill voice carried through the whole house as she watched her brother throw a hand full of clothes into his Kenneth Cole leather duffel. Klaus stopped only to zip his bag and throw it over his shoulder. "I have been acting like a common fool. I am going to do what I came here for. I'm going to find what I need to finally end our father's sorry excuse of an existence." He pushed past his sister, not wanting to look at her face and went to find Elijah. Stopping in his study he quickly slipped a drawing of Caroline in his bag and then walked to the kitchen. "Elijah, now that you are back I am going to find the white oak. I trust that you will be able to care for the family?" He picked the keys to the BMW up off the counter.

Elijah stood and walked towards his brother. "What has happened in my absence? You look like you are running from something, and my brother runs from no threat." Klaus drew his lips into a fine line. "Just make sure that our sister gets to her classes and that you keep them safe. I will return once I have found what we need." He brushed past his brother and went out the side door that led to the carport. Rebekah stood with her eldest brother in the kitchen and watched as Nik pulled from the driveway and with screeching tires, sped down the street. Bring his glass of whisky to his lips Elijah took a long pull. "Dear sister, what has happened?" "I think Nik was falling in love." She answered in a low voice. Downing the rest of his drink and pouring another he only had one reply. "I see."

Caroline woke the next morning wearing the same clothes as last night. Her head hurt and her eyelashes were stuck together. Rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands did very little except make them feel more raw. She blindly found her way to the bathroom and splashed cool water on her face, feeling some relief. Once she could open her eyes and fully take in her appearance she was shaken. Her hair was a mess from sleeping with hair spray in, her eyes were blood shot from crying, and her bottom lip had a line of crusted blood and it was swollen. She saw the yellowing of her skin on her cheek and could almost make out the individual finger of Tyler's hand. She gently touched her injured lip and instead of reliving the violent act that had caused it, she closed her eyes remembering Nik's tender kiss. With great fortitude she tore her hand from her lips and squeezed her eyes tight, trying in vain to erase the memory of him. Caroline quickly undressed and showered, finding a few little bruises on her body from her fall to the floor. With no intentions to leave the house today she finally slipped on her yoga pants and tank top as her stomach rumbled loudly. She couldn't remember the last thing she ate yesterday. Walking out to the kitchen, Bonnie was already up with coffee in hand. Bonnie smiled softly and poured Caroline a cup, before adding cream and sugar. "I was thinking about making pancakes, but didn't know when everyone was going to be up," They both heard Elena's door open and they watched in amusement as she walked Tim to the door. The couple shared a quiet conversation and then he kissed her before moving out the front door. Elena turned around with a smile on her face, but once she saw Bonnie and Caroline looking at her with knowing expressions she blushed and walked to the coffee machine. "You know, you could have asked him to stay for breakfast." Bonnie laughed as she took the griddle out of a lower cabinet. Elena blushed deeper, focused on her coffee mug. "Nothing happened." Caroline and Bonnie burst into laughter at Elena's expense. Caroline quickly touched her lip, and winced. Looking down at her hand to make sure she didn't reopen her cut, she could feel her two friends looking at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine. I don't want your pity." She pulled out a big mixing bowl and the pancake mix, setting them by the griddle. The girls ate breakfast at the kitchen island and grilled Elena for details about Tim. "He is sweet, gentle, smart, and not married. I made sure to ask. Anyways he is only twenty-three so that's too young to marry, right?" Caroline and Bonnie just nodded allowing Elena to continue. "He is such a great kisser, like mind blowing! Don't get me started on his body either, he could be an underwear model." Bonnie snickered, "Well if 'nothing happened' how do you know about his rockin' body?" Elena almost choked on the coffee she was drinking. Putting down her cup, she shoved a large piece of pancake in her mouth, "Enough about me. What about you and Nik?" She said through a full mouth, looking at Caroline. Caroline looked down at her plate and Bonnie shook her head at Elena, silently telling her not to push the subject. "We had a fight." Reaching out for her friend hand, Elena said, "Well it will all work its self out." Looking up Caroline give her friend a small smile before picking up her dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. "I'm going to get some laundry and studying done today." Then walked to her room, closing the door behind her. Bonnie gave Elena a hard look. "What? How was I to know they had a fight?" Bonnie's phone chirped and she looked at the new text. It was Caroline asking for her to come help her with something. "Well just keep your mouth shut about it from here on out. I could hear her crying in her room last night. I think she really liked him." She went and knocked softly on Caroline's bedroom door and opened it once she heard Caroline's voice. "What's up, Care?" Bonnie found her friend in the bathroom looking into the mirror. Caroline had her digital camera out and looked at Bonnie, "Can you take pictures of my injuries. For some reason Nik didn't want me going to the police, but I would like some record that this happened." She pointed to her cheek and lip. Bonnie picked up the camera and tuned it on. "Of course. I still think you should report it now, but I know it is up to you."

There was a war raging inside of Caroline, wanting so desperately to trust Nik, but she also knew as a cop's daughter, to trust in the law. She snapped out of her own head, and removed her shirt and pants so pictures of her body bruises could be documented. With a sad smile, Bonnie handed the camera to her friend as she redressed and left the room. She had to respect her friend's choices, but that didn't mean that she had to like them.

Monday came to quickly for all of the girls and they all rushed around trying to get out of the house on time. Caroline put on a little more make-up that usual, trying to cover the yellow marks on her face. Her and Bonnie had class and Elena was going to work on a project, so they all drove in to school together. They dropped Elena off first at the Creative Arts computer lab and then Bonnie swung by the Commons to allow Caroline to get another cup of coffee before class. With coffee in hand Caroline sat on a bench to people watch. A few minutes later she saw Bekah walk by. "Hey! Bekah!" she called out. Rebekah just looked over at her, put her nose in the air and started waking away. What the hell? Caroline thought. She got off the bench and jogged after her new friend. "Bekah! Wait up!" Caroline caught up to the other blonde and touched her shoulder. Rebekah spun around at the touch putting on a bored expression to hide the hurt. "What do you want Caroline?" Caroline's face fell. "Just wanted to say hi. Did I do something wrong?" "You kicked us out of your party. I figured that you didn't want to be friends anymore." Bekah said with an angry tone. Understanding washed over her. "No, Bekah. I asked Nik to leave. I didn't mean for him to drag you off too. I still want to try to be your friend, even if your brother is a chauvinistic jerk." Caroline was shocked as Rebekah threw her arms around her neck, hugging her. When they parted, Bekah had a big, toothy smile on her face. "I would very much like to be your friend! My brother is an ass. I'm sorry for being so rude to you just a moment ago." "It's okay. Hey, I have to get going to class but if you are free tomorrow, why don't you come over and we can hang out or something." Bekah squealed. For the first time in over a thousand years she had a friend. "Yeah. How does ten o'clock sound? We could go get lunch too." Smiling, Caroline answered. "Sounds good to me. See you tomorrow." They waved at each other and walked off to class. Caroline was very nervous going into the classroom. She hoped that all of the paper work had gone through and Tyler wouldn't be in there. Entering the room, she let out the breath she was holding when Tyler was nowhere to be found. For the first time in a week, she was able to relax and enjoy the professor's lecture.

When Bonnie picked Caroline up a few hours later she said, "Gram is coming for dinner tonight, so will you help me cook something?" "Sure. What time will she be over?" "Around six, so we have a little time." Bonnie pulled back in to traffic and they headed over to pick up Elena.

"Girls the house looks beautiful!" Gram was giving each one of them a hug and looking around the living room. The table was set with matching dishes, a vase of flowers, and a few candles. The flowers had been on the doorstep when the girls got home from school. Caroline thought they might be from Nik, but handed them to Elena after reading the card that was attached. Elena had been dancing and humming around the house ever since, every few minutes she would take the small white card out of her pocket, read it, sigh lovingly, and then continue on her way. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm about to throw up from the gross displace of happiness." Bonnie whispered to Caroline, who just nodded in agreement as they went back to cooking dinner. They had prepared chicken fettuccine alfredo, one of Caroline's favorite dishes. She had touched up her make up to hide the bruises. She didn't need this getting back to her mom in Mystic Falls. Gram asked them all about their classes, trying to get as much information as she could to report back to the girls' parents. Elena told her a little about Tim and Caroline was thankfully no one mentioned Nik or Tyler. Gram left around nine because she had a two hour drive ahead of her. She hugged each girl again and said a special good-bye to Bonnie. "I can't believe what a beautiful independent woman you have become. I am so proud of you and I love you so much Bonnie." Bonnie smiled at her grandmother, who she has always had a close relationship with and hugged her one more time, placing a kiss on her cheek and walking her out to the car. "Give our love to everyone!" Elena yelled from the porch where she stood next to Caroline. They all waved and went back inside after they saw the taillights of Gram's car disappear down the street.

Chapter Ten: You Leave Me Haunted Bonnie and Elena were gone by the time Caroline made her way to the kitchen for coffee. She had about an hour before Bekah would be over and she took her time

making and eating breakfast. As much as she enjoyed her friends, sometimes it was nice to have some quiet time. After cleaning up and starting the dishwasher, she went to dress for the day. Since they would be going out to lunch later, she picked a white sundress and set aside her sandals for later. A few minutes after ten there was a knock at the door and Caroline opened it with a smile seeing Rebekah standing there. Behind her on the sidewalk stood a very well dressed handsome man. Turning her head towards the man, Rebekah spoke, "Okay Elijah I got here fine, you can leave now." She walked in to the house rolling her eyes and Caroline closed the door behind her. "Who was that?" Caroline motioned for Rebekah to set her things down on the dining room table. Letting out a sigh Bekah said, "That is my oldest brother Elijah. Just as overprotective, since I wasn't allowed to walk the two blocks here by myself. Sometimes it sucks being the only girl and the baby of the family." "It must be nice to have family though. I'm an only child, so I was really lonely growing up." Caroline grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet. "Would you like something to drink?" "A coke would be great. Thank you." Rebekah was very nervous since this was her first time hanging out with a girl friend that wasn't compelled by one of her brothers to like her. Caroline handed her friend the cold glass and poured one for her self. They walked to the living room and sat on the couch. There was a bit of awkward silence and she bit her still tender lip. "So how is Nik?" She almost regretted the words as they left her mouth. Bekah looked down at her glass. "I don't know. He left on business Friday night and I haven't heard from him since. Elijah is looking after the house, me and my other brother Kol for the time being." This news shocked Caroline. "Oh. Well I hope he returns soon." She then quickly changed the subject. "So have you seen that new movie Bachelorette? We ordered it over the weekend and can still view it. It was pretty funny." The last movie that Rebekah saw was Titanic so she was not familiar with recent releases. "That sounds great. Do you have any popcorn?" About five minutes later the girls were settled on the couch with refreshed drinks and a large bowl of popcorn between them. The movie both shocked and entertained Bekah, though she wouldn't be basing her friendship with Caroline off of the characters in the movie. Even for a vampire, their lives were a little too wild for her. After taking their dishes to the kitchen Caroline went to her room to put on her shoes and grab her purse. She wasn't sure where they were going to lunch so she grabbed her keys and walked back out to her friend.

"So where to for lunch? Do you know any good sushi places around?" Bekah asked picking her purse up. Leading them out the door and to the car Caroline spoke, "Yeah. I know a great place just on the other side of the neighborhood. They boast having the best sushi in Richmond." It only took a few minutes to get to the restaurant and they decided to sit at the bar and watch the Sushi Chefs prepare food for the lunch crowd. They both order hot green tea to drink and picked three rolls to share along with clear soup. They had light conversation and were flirting with one of the young Chefs. Caroline was surprised when Rebekah spoke a few words of Japanese to him, making the young man blush. "How do you know Japanese?" Caroline said impressed. Finishing her bowl of soup with a load slurp Bekah blotted her mouth with the cloth napkin. "I went to prep school back home and we had to learn like three languages." "That is very cool. We had to take two years of a language in high school. I took French, which I could possibly hold a very simple conversation in, but I have forgotten most of it." Bekah nodded in understanding knowing that schools in the States didn't stress learning other countries language and culture. "Have you ever seen Paris?" Their food had come and Bekah made sure to wink at the young man one more time for adding his signature roll to their order, on the house of course. Caroline finished chewing her food and answered. "How I wish! I hate to say it but I have never been outside of the States. I've hardly been out of Virginia and only on an airplane once. I am very nave when it comes to the world outside of this state." Rebekah felt very nave about a lot of things, but she was grateful for all of the traveling that her family had done in the past five hundred years. They were able to stay long enough for her to learn the customs and languages of over a dozen places around the world. "We still have a flat in London. Maybe sometime you can go back with me. The shopping is to die for!" She picked up her ceramic cup of tea and took a palate-cleansing sip. Caroline couldn't believe that her new friend had just invited her to London. "I can drink to that!" She laughed and clinked her cup on Bekah's. The two new friends finished their meal and they left a gracious tip for the Chef and Bekah blew him a kiss as they neared the exit. Driving back through the neighborhood they chatted about how good the food was and the cute Chef. "I had a really good time today Caroline. Thank you for invited me over." Just like her friend's brother, Caroline felt a deep connection with Rebekah, like they were always supposed to be friends. "I had fun too. We need to it again soon." Approaching their street she said. "Do you want me to drop you off at your house, or is your brother expecting to come fetch you?" She said that last part in a teasing tone.

Bekah playfully groaned. "I know they can be a bit much. You can drop me at home." She gave directions to the home that was one block down and one over from Caroline's. Pulling up to the large red brick home Caroline was stunned by the size of it. "Yeah, Nik never does anything on a small scale. Apparently this house used to be the home of the President of the University from the late eighteen hundreds until about fifty years ago. With the four of us living here it gives us all our own space." She shrugged like the large house was no big deal. She had lived in hundred room castles just a few centuries ago. The girls exchanged phone numbers and while Rebekah was collecting her things from the car, Caroline asked, "Do you want to meet up before class on Thursday and grab a coffee?" Bekah smiled widely. "That sounds great. See you at the Commons then?" "See you Thursday." Caroline waited until her friend was safely in her house before driving forward on the circle drive in front of the home and pulling back on to the quiet tree lined street. When she got home, her roommates were home as well. "Where have you been?" Bonnie asked from her spot on the couch. Caroline plopped down next to her reaching for the bag of trail mix in Bonnie's lap. "I hung out with Rebekah today. We went and had sushi at that place around the corning that we all like." Bonnie looked at her friend concerned. "You are still going to be friends with her even though things didn't work out with Nik?" Sighing Caroline spoke. "I don't know if things with Nik didn't 'work out' because we weren't even together. I mean I felt like something was there, but I don't know if he felt the same. Bekah said he is out of town for business and she isn't sure when he will return." Patting her friend's hand Bonnie said. "Well this time away will let him think about the wonderful woman he is missing out on." Caroline laid her head on her friends shoulder and put another hand full of trail mix in her mouth. After chewing slowly she said quietly. "Thanks Bon for being my best friend." Interrupting their moment, Elena came down the hallway from her room. "I just had the most genius idea. You will just love this." Bonnie and Caroline just stared waiting for her to continue. "So you know how this weekend is Labor Day weekend and we don't have any class on Monday. I was thinking, why not have a girls weekend? Let's rent a room on the beach over in Newport News and party it up!"

Who could say no to that. The two other girls just smiled and nodded their heads. "Hey do you guys mind if I invite Bekah. She's really nice, and a lot of fun. She hasn't really made many friends since moving here and I think it would be nice to include her." Elena clapped her hands and said, "I say the more the merrier!" Caroline took out her phone and sent a text to Bekah about the weekend plans.

Rebekah was lying on her stomach in bed reading one of her textbooks when her phone chimed with a new message. Hey it's Caroline. The girls and I are going to Newport News this weekend for girls retreat at the beach. We would love for you to join us! Let me know so we can book a room. She jumped from her bed knocking the book onto the floor. Running down the stairs with her phone in hand she yelled. "Elijah! Elijah where are you?" Skidding to a stop she found him in the living room with his thin silver laptop sitting on the coffee table. "Brother! You must let me go. I would die if you said no." Elijah smiled at his sister's contradicting statement. "You have not asked a question for me to say no to." "So the girl that Klaus is in love with, Caroline, and her roommates Bonnie and Elena are going to the beach for the weekend and they have invited me. Please say yes or I shall never love you again." He was quiet for a long moment. Elena, that is the doppelganger. "I would like to meet these young ladies before I agree for you to spend a weekend with them. Invite them to dinner Thursday night for a formal introduction." Bekah was fine with this because even though his answer was not yes, it was also not no. She just knew that her brother would approve of her new friends. "Thank you Elijah!" She ran back up to her room to text Caroline back. My brother Elijah would like to meet all of you first. He has invited you, Bonnie and Elena to dinner at our home Thursday night. Rebekah A few minutes later her phone chimed. What fun! Count us in. I'll see you Thursday morning Caroline Rebekah giggled with excitement, pushed play on her favorite play list and danced around her room until it was time for bed.

"So it appears that we have been invited to a dinner party at the Mikaelson Manor." Caroline said with a dramatic curtsey. Her two friends laughed along with her. The girls had a quite night in with Bonnie and Caroline making fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and potato salad for dinner. They ate on the couch watching a few sitcoms and then a late night talk show before each going to bed.

Caroline checked her phone before going to sleep, still nothing from Nik. She wasn't expecting groveling or anything but she also didn't think he would totally ignore her. She set her alarm for nine in the morning and curled up with one of her pillows and fell into a restless sleep.

The morning brought Bonnie off to school and Elena and Caroline sitting at the dinning room table studying. Elena had her laptop out and was scrolling through websites looking for the perfect set of chairs for her design. "What are you working on Care?" Leaving a highlighted mark where she left off, she looked up at her friend. "My addictions class. We are covering policies behind legal and illegal drugs. How about you?" "We have to design a master bedroom and bathroom this week. I'm looking for armchairs for the sitting area. I just can't find them. I might just have to design them from scratch." Caroline smiled at her friend, slightly jealous of her creativity. "Well it's about lunch time. What would you like?" "Sub shop down the road?" Elena said closing her laptop. Caroline eagerly agreed the sandwiches there were heavenly. She threw her keys at Elena, not really feeling like driving and the two girls made the short trip to the deli. Caroline ordered a turkey and Swiss sandwich while Elena got a pressed Cuban. They got bags of chips and fountain drinks and sat outside in the warm sun to enjoy their lunch. "I have a date with Tim tonight." Elena mused. Caroline finished the bite she had just taken. "That's great. Do you know where you are going?" Her friend twisted her nose a little. "The Diamond. We are going to see a baseball game." Caroline understood the look on Elena's face. "Ouch. Why didn't you just suggest something else?" Elena sighed, "He seemed to excited about it and I mean I don't hate baseball, I'm just not into it. Let's just hope that I can pick the next date." They both laughed finishing up their lunch, throwing away the trash and headed back home. Caroline finished up her reading and Elena found her chairs. Bonnie was home now and with a few hours until Caroline's class they found a movie on demand and curled up on the couch. As Caroline pulled into the parking structure at school her friend Jennifer was gathering her books out of the truck of her Subaru. "Hey Jenn! How was your weekend?"

Jennifer threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "My weekend was good. How about you? That was crazy what happened with Tyler." The bruises on her face had healed and the cut on her lip was just a small scab now. "Yeah, I'll be happy when he is behind bars after the trial." The girls walked the rest of the way to class in silence. The lecture went by quickly and Caroline was ready to be home when they were let out almost three hours later. This time Jennifer, Michaela, and her walked back to their cars together and parted ways until next week. An hour after she got home, she was on the couch watching a made for television movie while eating ice cream right out of the container. She heard Elena get back from her date and quietly tiptoed over to the window watching the couple share a sweet kiss at the door. She felt a pain in her chest and thought about her most recent kiss. Shaking her head, she sneaked away from the window, putting away the ice cream and going to her room to get ready for bed. She took an extra long shower, sitting on the floor just letting the water wash over her. The warmth reminded her of Nik's touch, how her whole body would heat just from a slightest of contact. She let a few tears run down her face, mixing with the now cooling water. Removing her self from the shower, she dressed in a white camisole and a pair of yellow polka dot boyshort panties. Caroline took in deep breath and exhaled slowly picking up her phone. She opened her text messages and found the last one from Nik. Tapping on the message box and exposing the keyboard she typed out a message. I was thinking about you today. I hope you are enjoying your trip and I look forward to your return. Caroline She set her phone on her nightstand and like every night, pulled her pillow in close to her chest.

Klaus had been away from home for three days and he had gathered much information about the small town that his family had settled in a thousand years ago. He had compelled a young blonde woman to let him use her apartment that sat above a hardware store in the small down town district. She reminded him of Caroline that is why she was still alive. He still fed from her, but healed and compelled. Her name was Linda or Laura or something with an L, he didn't really bother with it. He had visited the town's public records office that was in the basement of city hall. The rooms of old books and ledgers were stuffy and he held his breath for most of the day he spent down there. He was looking for milling records from the time the town was settled and had found very little from the fifteenth thru seventeenth centuries. He would return the next day and continue his search. He returned to the apartment and L-name, as he called her in his head, would have dinner ready for him. She still didn't understand what he really wanted. The second night he had been here, he tried to take some of his sexual frustration out on the unfortunate woman. After he drank from her, he tried to kiss her but it felt all wrong. He turned her around so he only saw her curly blonde hair and hiked up her dress. He wrapped his hand in her hair and sank his teeth back into her neck. Usually this would get him aroused, but he felt nothing.

Irritated with himself more than the woman he threw her on the bed and left for the bar across the street. A few women would approach him at the bar and he would usually rudely dismiss them. He went through two bottle of scotch that night. The next day he went back to the records room and started on the eighteenth century catalogs. It seemed that most of the milling in the town was done by one family. The Salvatore family was one of the founding families. The concept of founding families in this town made Klaus laugh because his family was the one and only founding family. He found it pathetic how these families strived so hard for feelings of importance but blessed them for keeping such detailed records of events around the area. The Salvatore's had two living decedents that still owned property in the town but had long since moved on to start families elsewhere. The records he found had spoke of the Salvatore's milling company, but he needed the milling ledgers. He decided to pay the Salvatore estate a visit after nightfall. He went back to his barrowed apartment to find L-name standing in front of the bed in a green lace negligee that came to her mid-thigh and split up the middle. He smirked because through all of her faults, she was nice to look at. He sped over to her, standing mere inches from her. Her breasts were heaving out of the top of the lace brassieres as she looked at him with lust filled eyes. Klaus thought what was the harm in trying again. Before he could make a move she sunk to her knees in front of him and started unfastening his belt buckle. "You are a determined little pet." He smirked as she pulled at his button fly jeans. He felt the fabric give way and pool at his feet. She ran her hands up his thighs to his tight muscular stomach. He had his eyes closed trying to feel something, anything. Feeling his pet's hand slide through the patch of hair above the waistband of his boxer briefs made flashes of Caroline's face show like photographs behind his eyes lids. The woman cupped him through his boxer and moaned. That would be the last sound she made, for Klaus had snapped her neck enraged with guilt for letting the whore touch him. He heard a beep from his jeans at his feet and he quickly refastened his pants and pulled his phone from the back pocket. The screen flashed and he swore he felt his dead heart race. The message was from Caroline. She was thinking of him, she wanted him to return. He carried the lifeless body of the woman to the bathtub for safe keeping until he could properly dispose of her and he raced off to the Salvatore home. He wanted to finish his work here so he could return to his Caroline.

Chapter Eleven: Death by Chocolate Klaus ran out into the night in the direction of the Salvatore's. He was upset that he had lost his blood source. He couldn't kill again in this small town. If anyone went missing it would be noticed. He did not reply to Caroline because what would he say? He was more confused now than ever and didn't know what to do. He had never been this drawn to a woman before and it scared him down to his core.

He was at his destination now and made quick work of the old lock on the back door. He slipped into the dark house and was thankful for his enhanced eyesight. Finding the home's library was easy and he was met by many towering bookcases of old leather bound books and ledgers. It would take him days to go through all of these. He cursed to himself but grabbed the first book and started thumbing through it. He would have to remember to take care of L-name tomorrow before she turned foul.

Tonight was the dinner party at Bekah's and Caroline secretly hoped that Nik would be home but she had not heard a word back from him after her text last night. She drove to school by herself this morning and parked near the Commons where she was going to meet Rebekah. Spotting her blonde friend already ordering coffee she jogged over to her. "Hey Bekah!" Rebekah handed Caroline a vanilla latte and smiled. "Good morning to you as well." Caroline took a long sip from her drink. "You know my coffee order?" "Photographic memory." Bekah pointed a perfectly manicured finger to her temple. They sat on a bench for a few minutes catching up and Caroline got a great idea. "How do you feel about ditching today?" Rebekah had never ditched school before. The idea of breaking the rules and going out with her brother not knowing was thrilling. "I think it is a splendid idea!" They both got up and walked back out to Caroline's car. She headed towards down town Richmond for some shopping and great food. After about ten minutes of listening to the radio Caroline said to her passenger. "So I texted Nik last night." With her hair blowing wildly around her from the open windows, Rebekah asked, "Did he reply?" "Nope." Trying to reassure her friend Bekah said, "Well maybe he is just busy. He can really get wrapped up in his work sometimes." Caroline tried to remember what he did for a living but she did recall him ever saying. "What does your brother do? I mean for a job, on these business trips?" Quickly recollecting what their cover story was this time around she said, "He is an artist. So he goes on trips to sell his work or when he is commissioned to do a piece. Didn't you open the gift he gave you last Friday?" She had totally forgotten about the two gifts that sat in the corner of her room. "No, I didn't. After our fight I just threw them aside. I'll have to look at it when I get home."

They parked in the Carytown district, wanting to look at unique jewelry, vintage clothing and some of the galleries that were open this early. Caroline was thinking about getting a new dress for tonight and saw some interesting clothes in the window of the third or forth shop they came upon. The store was full of vintage pieces and she loved looking at all of the fine fabrics and beading. Looking through the racks of clothing she found a dress that just might fit the bill. She looked over at Rebekah who was looking lovingly at a red evening gown. "A little fancy for tonight don't you think?" Caroline asked her. "It just reminded me of a dress that I wore once back home." Bekah turned to her friend to see what she had picked out. It was a design from the 1940's and looked about Caroline's size. The dress was made from a cotton fabric that had a delicate pink and yellow floral pattern on a cream background. It had a sweetheart cut bust and button back halter straps. The skirt was full with layers of tulle and hit her just below the knee. Rebekah helped Caroline try it on and it zipped up easily and she spun around in the dressing area feeling like a true lady. Pulling out her cell phone, Rebekah snapped a picture of Caroline in the dress. "That is stunning on you. You must get it and wear it tonight to dinner. I always did love Forty's style clothing." Caroline asked if Bekah was going to get anything and she assured her friend that she had plenty of fine dresses at home. "But I do have some shoes that would go perfect with that. They are a little unusually but that is what makes them so special." At fifty dollars Caroline thought the dress was a steal. It was placed in a garment bag and they left the store to look for a place to have lunch. They found a unique diner across the way from the clothing store and went inside. It was decorated like a high-class French pub. They were seated at a table near the back of the establishment for privacy. Looking at the menu both girls agreed upon salads. An attractive young man came to the table and greeted them. "Bonjoue, Je m'appelle Christopher." He extended his hand and placed a chaste kiss on each girl's hand. "Comment vous appelez-vous?" Rebekah smiled sweetly, "Salut. Je m'appelle, Rebekah, ce Caroline. Comment allezvous?" "Bien, merci." The waiter smiled even wider at Rebekah, "What can I get you lovely ladies today?" Caroline just sat back amazed. She knew what they were saying, but she marveled at Bekah's flawless French accent. "We will start with a 2004 Coteaux Du Loir Rouge-Gorge." She compelled the waiter to bring wine without checking their ID's. "I will have the grilled salmon salad. Merci." Christopher then looked at Caroline, "Madam?"

"The roasted chicken salad. S'il vous plait." "Bon, Madams. I will have that right out for you." They laughed over their bottle of wine and delicious gourmet salads. "Where have you been all my life Beks! I haven't had this much fun in as long as I can remember." Caroline toasted. Rebekah raised her glass as well saying, "I feel the same way. It's like you are the sister my parents never gave me." They both laughed finishing off the wine. They paid their bill with Christopher. "Au revoir." They both called over their shoulders at him. "Ok I'm a little tipsy so we need to walk around for a little so that I can drive us home." Caroline threw her arm over her friends shoulder as they walked down the street. They hit up a few art galleries and one jeweler where Bekah bought a necklace. About an hour and a half later, Caroline was all right to drive and they headed back to the car. Looking at the clock, Caroline knew that her roommates would be home before she returned. Just then Rebakah's phone rang. "Merde! It's my brother." She accepted the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hello, dear Elijah." "Where are you? I'm at the school to pick you up." "I'm with Caroline. She is taking me home today. I guess I forgot to call and tell you. I should be home in ten minutes." She could hear her brother growl into the phone. "Next time just make sure to call." After hanging up the phone, both girls started laughing. "You are in so much merde!" Caroline's butchered the word with her horrible French and they both laughed. Caroline pulled up in front of Bekah's house and she got out saying, "Wait here. I'm going to get those shoes. You're a seven and a half too, right?" "Yeah, thanks Beks." She smiled as Rebekah ran into the house. A few minutes later she was back with a very colorful box in her hand. "They are funky, but they are all the rage back in London. Once you put them on you will understand." Caroline thanked her friend and left to go get ready for the dinner tonight. At home, she hung the new-to-her vintage dress on the closet door and got into the shower to wash away the city grime. When she got out she could hear Elena and Bonnie talking in the kitchen. Throwing on her robe and wrapping her hair in a towel she went out to join them. "Hey guys! Are you ready for tonight?" Caroline asked trying to dry her hair with the towel.

Both Bonnie and Elena smiled and said, "You know it!" They had two hours to get ready and Caroline asked for Bonnie's help to curl and pin her hair. While waiting for her hot rollers to warm, she looked at the mystery shoes that Bekah had give her. The brand name on the box said Irregular Choice and that scared her further. Inside the box sat a gorgeous pair of cream colored shoes that looked like they come from Marie Antoinette's personal collection. No detail was spared from the three inch clear heel that was embedded with a gold flower design. The shoe was a closed tow, t-bar design with a leather and suede upper. She had never seen anything like these and knew they would go perfectly with her dress. Bonnie came through the door and put Caroline in the hot curlers and went back to finish her make up. Caroline took this time to apply light make up as well. She took the curlers our and perfect golden ringlets hung around her shoulders. She slipped in to her dress and had Elena zip her up. Next were the extravagant shoes, which fit her flawlessly. Caroline joined her friends out in the living room doing a twirl and curtsey. "Damn Care, you look like an elegant lady." Bonnie complement. "You two don't look too bad yourselves." They all hurried out of the house not wanting to be late. Getting in to Caroline's car, they made the short trip to the Mikaelson home.

Elijah got home and went to find his baby sister. "Rebekah, come on down here." He called from the foot of the stairs. Up in her room, she groaned and went to see her brother. She had been preparing for this talk. She followed him in to the living room and they both sat on the couch. "You know Rebekah, we don't mean for you too feel smothered by our over protectiveness. We do it because we love you so much and cannot fathom live without you." She looked down at her hands, feeling foolish for hating how they coddled her. "I know that you all mean well. I just wish I had more freedoms like normal girls. I mean I'm invincible right?" Elijah patted his sister's knee. "Yes, you are indestructible, but the thought of anyone causing you pain, breaks our hearts. We would gladly bear all of your pain so you would never have to feel it." "But pain is all part of living, brother. How will I know love, if I never have my heart broken? How do I know pure joy, if I have never experienced udder despair? Is it not time that I started living my own life? I thought that is why we came here." Smiling sweetly at his sister, Elijah cupped her cheek. "When did you stop being my baby sister and become this brilliant woman?"

Placing her hand over his, "I had three wonderful gentlemen showing me the way." He leaded over and kisses her forehead. "Go get ready for tonight. Let your outside beauty match what has blossomed inside of you." She stood and removed her hand from his saying thank you with her eyes before running back up to her room to get dressed.

Both Elena and Bonnie's eyes got big as they pulled up to Rebekah's house. "They live here? I thought this was the Governors house or something." Elena gawked. Getting out of the car, they all straighten their dresses and walked up to the door. There was a pull chain that Bonnie pointed at questioningly, before pulling on it. The twinkle of bells sounded from inside of the house and the man that Caroline recognized as Elijah opened the door. "Good evening ladies. My name is Elijah Mikaelson, welcome to our home." He did a sweeping gesture with his hand, ushering the girls into the large marble covered foyer. They all looked around awestruck at the stone covered floors and the deep rich wood that covered some walls and swept up the staircase. Just then Rebekah started descending the stairs in a deep purple silk dress that flowed around her knees. It had a one shoulder, sweetheart neckline and seemed to be painted on it fit so perfectly. She had paired them with a pair of nude peep-tow ruffle front Christian Louboutin heels. The girls could see the red soles of the shoes as she appeared to glide down the stairs. "Oh, you ladies look fabulous! Please come into the dining room." Rebekah hugged each girl and led the way to a room off to the left of the stairs. This room put the girl's dining room to shame. The table was a dark mahogany and twenty chairs encompassed it. There were not one, but two crystal chandeliers hanging from the tray ceiling. There were six place setting at the table with fine china, crystal goblets, and real silver flatware. From behind them they heard some one approach. Caroline got excited in the hopes that it might be Nik. "Sorry, am I late for the party?" Said a young looking man that none of the girls had seen before. Elijah stepped forward, "Please allow me to introduce you to my younger brother, Kol." Kol slightly bowed his head and the girls felt a weird desire to curtsey back. "Kol these are Rebekah's friend, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena." Elijah presented each lady to Kol with a gesture of his hand. Still very excited, Bekah bounced on the balls of her feet, "Come now, let's sit and eat."

Elijah and Kol helped all of the ladies into their seats before taking their own. Elijah sat at the head of the table with Kol to his right and Elena to his left. Bonnie took the sole seat next to Kol and Bekah and Caroline filled the last two next to Elena. As soon as everyone was seated, three ladies in crisp black dresses came out with bottles of wine. Each glass was filled and Elijah raised his for a toast. "To new friends and the happiness of a most beloved sister." Everyone smiled before sipping the wine. Caroline didn't think she could go back to four dollar bottles of wine after this. She was wondering if the wine in her room that Nik had given them was this good. The waitresses hurried back and forth from the kitchen the only sound they made was the clicking of their heels on the marble floor. The first course was a cheese and fruit plate. Next was delicious lobster bisque followed by lamb shank with new potatoes and a bitter greens salad. Each course was perfectly matched with a wine. Finally dessert came and it was a collection of three ramekins, the first had a dark chocolate moose with raspberry syrup, the second was a crme brle with a touch of real whipped cream and the third was chocolate souffl dusted with powdered sugar. The girls had never tasted food this good and they tried a little of everything. With fine food and superior wine, conversation flowed effortlessly. During the first course Elijah started, "So ladies, tell me a little about yourselves." Each one of them told him what they were majoring in at the university and that they had been friends since elementary school. "We are from a small town west of here called Mystic Falls." Elena added The three Mikaelson siblings exchanged a look and Elijah spoke as the main course came out, "What are the plans for this weekend? Rebekah said that you were going to the beach?" Bonnie took point and said, "Yes, we have done this a few times since coming to the university. We get a hotel room in Newport News and enjoy the beach before the weather turns cold." Elijah nodded and looked over a Kol who was holding up his wine glass to be refilled. "You ladies seem very nice, and our Rebekah has taken to you rather quickly, but she is our only sister and we like to keep her safe, so you can understand my hesitation. Perhaps we can strike a deal?" Smiling at the well dressed man, Elena commented, "What did you have in mind?" "Kol and I go with you." Rebekah sighed. "Really that is your compromise. Baby sitting me on holiday!" Elijah held up his hand, "Manners Rebekah. We would rent a beach house for the weekend and you wouldn't even know that we are there. But if needed we could be of assistance. It has been a while since we spent some time at the coast, it would be good for everyone." Caroline and Bonnie had a silent conversation across the table, Beach house? Yes please! Caroline spoke, "That seems like a fair deal to me." When Rebekah started to

protest, Caroline interjected, "We will be on the beach most of the time, and I'm sure the house will be better than the hotel room we would get. Like he said, they won't get in the way. Beks we want you there. Please agree to this." "How can I say no to the sister I never had. Fine Elijah, make your arrangements." She said with the wave of her hand. By this time the desserts plates had come, the only sound was spoons hitting ceramic. The wine served with this course was light and sweet much like to energy in the room once plans for the weekend were finalized. As the night came to a close Rebekah stood and said, "Kol, be a dear and take a picture of us girls together. We all look so good tonight, I would hate not to document it." She handed her phone to her brother. The girls stood in front of one of the lavishly draped windows and posed a few times as Kol snapped photos. With a smile he handed the camera back to his sister. She walked her guests to the door and they all hugged their good-byes. "I'll text you details once Elijah has booked the house." "Thank you for an wonderful evening Bekah, your family is amazing." Caroline hugged her friend. Just saying the word amazing made her think of Nik and she felt a dull pain in her chest. The girls got home, removed their dresses and showered, getting ready for bed. Caroline went to the corner of her room and picked up the wine and rolled paper. She would pack the wine for this weekend but she pulled at the delicate ribbon holding the scroll closed. The thick paper unrolled easily and she gasped covering her mouth with one hand and placing the other over her heart. There before her was a pencil drawing of her from the bust up. He had captured her perfectly, from the light in her eyes, the small smile on her lips, to the soft curve of her neck and shoulders. She lovingly ran her fingers over the drawing ending by feeling the indentation in the paper where Nik had signed his name. With the drawing was a folded card with a wax seal on it. She picked it up and again ran her fingers over her name printed finely on the front. Touching the seal, she carefully broke it and opened the letter. She read it over, four times with tears in her eyes. Bonnie came and knocked on the doorframe. "Hey we are all turning in for the night, you need anything?" Bonnie finally noticed her friend's tear stained face. "What's wrong Care?" Still holding the letter in her hands she stoke, "Bonnie, I have been so foolish."

Chapter Twelve: Playing With Fire Rebekah closed the door after her friends left and she turned to her brother. "Okay, Kol what gives? Why were you so gentleman like during diner. It isn't like you." While she loved her brother, Kol was not known for his polite manners. He has been a sarcastic womanizer for the past five hundred years after they had stopped running from their father.

"Elijah threatened to dagger me if I misbehaved." Kol shrugged. This was surprising because Elijah has always been against Klaus' idea of daggering family members. He was thankful that their father was dead, but their oldest brother Finn had been kept captive in his lifeless body for four centuries now. "He also asked me not to mention the little look-a-like. Which I won't, but her friend, what was it, Barbra, she looks like a tasty little tart." Kol was back to his normal self and licked his lips seductively. "Her name is Bonnie, and if you go near her, I will dagger you myself." As she stormed off she could hear Kol snickering behind her. Bekah found Elijah in the living room quickly downing a glass of whisky. "So what did you think about my friends?" He poured himself another drink, "They are lovely Rebekah." "What is wrong then? You do not seem well." Elijah laughed darkly. "I just met a girl who looks like the only two women I have ever loved. Mother killed the first and Niklaus the second and I don't know if I could handle it happening again." Walking over to comfort her brother Rebekah said. "He has no reason to harm Elena. He broke the curse and he would never upset Caroline by harming her friend. I do not know Elena that well, but I don't think she is anything like Tatia or Katerina. She won't play love games between you and Nik." Back when they were all human Tatia had been courted by both Klaus and Elijah. She strung both of them along, enjoying the attention and gifts. Katerina has been just the same except she had used her body to seduce them. While Klaus was only having fun with the women, Elijah had truly loved them both. He smiled at his sister and finished his drink. "I didn't get the chance tonight to tell you how beautiful you look." "Thank you and good night Elijah. Do not stay up too late and do not worry about Elena's safety." "Rebekah, Kol and I are going out for breakfast in the morning. Would you care to join us?" He called to her as she left the room. Turning back to him she answered, "Of course, brother." She retired to her room and picked up her phone to text Klaus. She sent him one of the pictures that Kol had taken and wrote the caption: Look what you missed out on because you are an idiot. - Bekah

Bonnie approached her friend and sat down on the bed next to her. "What is it Care?" Handing her dear friend the note she said, "You can read it, I don't mind."

Scanning over the document she saw that it was from Nik and read through the lines of perfect script. My dearest Caroline, Though we have only known each other for a short period of time, I feel I must confess what is in my heart. You are an extraordinary woman. Your beauty is overshadowed only by your compassion and strength. I admire your accomplishments and your pure heart has inspired me to be a better man. I no longer desire to walk through life alone. I would only ask that you walk beside me from this point forward. I anxiously await your reply. Yours Always, Niklaus "Wow. He gave you this Friday night before your fight?" Bonnie asked after reading the note twice. Caroline nodded. "Yes and Bon, before you walked in on us, we kissed." Bonnie was slightly hurt that her friend hadn't told her about this. "And?" "And it was amazing. Like nothing I have experienced before." "Well tomorrow we are going to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and then we are going to the beach for the weekend and you are going to have a good time. He will come back, and you two can work it out. A man that writes something like this, doesn't just stop caring about you after a week." Bonnie rubbed her friend's back and Caroline nodded and smiled. "You always know what to say. Thank you Bon." They hugged and Bonnie left for her room, bidding Caroline a good night. Bonnie went to get a glass of water from the kitchen and saw Elena trying to sneak Tim in the front door. She just smiled and knew she would have to sleep with a pillow over her head tonight.

Klaus had been through most of the ledgers in the Salvatore house over the past two days and Caroline's text message kept running through his mind. He kept telling himself that he was so close to finding the white oak that he couldn't stop looking now. He had taken care of the young blonde's body and had to go two towns over to steal from a blood bank. He hated blood bags, but he could not draw attention to himself now. He joyfully thought about killing a few people on the way back home. He may just love the chase and kill as much as the blood. Late on the second night his phone buzzed in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out. He saw the message was from his sister and was about to ignore it when he saw a picture was attached. Opening the message he sucked in a large breath. His Caroline looked stunning. The 1940's would have suited her nicely. He drifted off thinking about her in pretty dresses, waiting at the door for him to get home from work.

She would have dinner on the table and she would kiss him sweetly as she took his coat. Their house would have a white picket fence and she would want for nothing. Snapping back out of his daydream he read what his sister typed along with the picture. He growled and started working with a new purpose.

After closing her door behind them Elena was spun around as Tim pressed her to the wall kissing her sloppily. He pulled at her hips bring her flush against him. He attacked her neck and chest as her head spun. Tim started to run his hand up her thigh under her dress and she gently pushed on his shoulders. "Hey, slow down a little." She panted. Smiling against her neck he very slowly pulled down the zipper at the back of her dress. "Tim, I mean it. I'm not the kind of girl to have sex with a guy I've known a week." Truth be told her and Tim did not have sex last Friday after the party. He felt too drunk to drive home and they just cuddled, kissed and slept. As flirtations as Elena was, she knew her self worth and didn't give it up to just anyone. Trying to distract her, Tim kissed her on the mouth again. This time he deepened it and pushed his tongue into her mouth. That is when she tasted the alcohol on him. "Are you drunk?" "I may have had a few drinks with the guys. I was telling them about the foxy girl I'm seeing and I just had to come have you." Elena's body stiffened. "Well not now, and certainly not when you are drunk." Again she pushed at him and he backed away from her. "I will be expecting some groveling when I get back on Monday." Without another word he left and Elena stood there holding up her dress with a shocked expression on her face.

In the morning, Bonnie let Elena take her car to school and true to her word, Bonnie and Caroline had ice cream for breakfast, curled up on the couch and watched the British television series Pride and Prejudice. "What I never understood is why Mr. Bingley listened to Darcy. I mean he clearly loved Jane, why listen to a bitter friend?" Caroline rated at the television. Bonnie took another spoon full of ice cream from the carton and said. "Well he is of a higher status. Plus Bingley trusts his friend. But I agree, why were men of that time always doing what was 'best' for the woman, without the woman's consent?" "Women were not worth much back then I guess. As much as I love the romance and clothing of the time, I like being independent, educated, and having an opinion." Caroline said with conviction.

They watched three episodes of the show before getting up and preparing a real lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup. They made a few extra sandwiches because Elena was expected back soon. After lunch they all started to pack for the weekend. Caroline threw in plenty of shorts, tank tops, and bathing suits. She also packed a few long sleeved shirts incase the weather turned cool at night. Adding a few pairs of pajamas and underclothes to the bag she zipped it up and sat it by the front door. Everyone had agreed to head out tonight for the hour and a half drive to the beach. Caroline made sure to put Nik's bottle wine in to her oversized beach bag along with a few towels and sunscreen. She walked outside with her bags and saw Elena and Bonnie packing their things away in the back of Bonnie's car. "I think that is it! I just texted Bekah and she is ready for us." Elena ran back up to the house locking the front door and then jumped into the passenger side of the car. They headed over to Rebekah's where they saw Kol loading a large bag into the back of their grey Porsche SUV. Bekah came running out to Bonnie's car and said to her friends. "There has been a change in plans." "Good change or bad change?" Bonnie asked. With a smile Bekah said, "Very good. Elijah couldn't get a house in Newport New on such short notice, but he got one on Virginia Beach. Is that okay?" Every one was stunned. They knew Virginia Beach was better than Newport News, but they could never afford to stay there. "That is very good news. The trip is a little longer, but the beaches are way better." Elena added. Happy that the news was taken positively, Rebekah jumped into the back seat next to Caroline. "My brothers will follow in the other car. Here are the directions Bonnie." She handed over a printed out with the address on it. Bonnie put the address in to her GPS and the car asked if they were ready to start their trip. "This is going to be so much fun!" Elena clapped from the front seat and they pulled on to the road heading for Interstate Sixty-Four. They left Richmond around four o'clock in the afternoon and with heavy holiday traffic they made it to the beach house about three hours later. Getting out of the car and stretching her legs Caroline said, "Man! I'm glad to be out of the car. I can't believe traffic added a whole hour to our trip!" Just then she took in her surrounding and looked with amazement at the large house in front of her. It was a three story home with blue plank siding and white railings that wrapper around on the top two floors. A two-car garage sat on the bottom floor and a wide welcoming staircase led up to the double doors on the second floor. Elijah and Kol pulled up right behind them as a well dressed woman in her late forties walked out of the front door. Walking down the stairs she said, "Welcome Mr. Mikaelson and guests. So glad that you arrived safely. Here are the keys and the house is as you have requested it."

Shaking the woman's hand and retrieving the keys to the property Elijah spoke, "Thank you very much Mrs. Williams for being available on such short notice." The woman smiled and walked to her Cadillac that was parked on the street. Forgetting their bags the four girls tore up the stairs to the front door and started to explore the home. On the first level there was a game room and a door that led to an indoor pool with a wet bar. "Is that what I think it is?" Elena pointed to the wet bar area. "Oh my goodness it is a frozen margarita maker! This weekend is going to be the best!" Bonnie exclaimed before following everyone else back up to the main level. There was a huge kitchen and living area along with three of the bedrooms on this level. The girls noticed that two men with black chef's jackets were in the kitchen, but did not pay them much mind as they raced up the last set of stairs to the top level. This floor held four bedrooms and the girls called in for their own. The house was full of windows and from almost every angle you could see the ocean. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and king size beds. The whole house was decorated in a Cape Cod style. They head someone coming up the stairs and saw Kol deposit their bags on the landing between the four rooms. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes ladies." Kol nodded and went back down stairs. They all picked a room and unpacked their bags. Caroline set the bottle of wine on her dresser and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up before dinner. Everyone gathered down in the kitchen and the men in the chefs jackets started to pull pizzas out of the commercial grade oven. They had made five different gourmet pizzas and after cutting them, were set on the breakfast bar, for a pizza buffet dinner. Everyone received a plate and gathered up which ever slices they wanted to try. They casually ate at the kitchen table and enjoyed dinner and a few bottle of red wine. Bonnie caught Kol looking at her a few times and every time she did, he would just smile then look at someone else in the party. She could not deny that he is a good looking man, but she didn't want to flirt with her new friend's brother. After dinner the girls took another bottle of wine out onto the balcony at the back of the home to check out the view. The moon was high in the sky and made the perfect white sand glow. They sat on some outdoor furniture and finished off the wine while listening to the surf break on the beach. "This is fabulous. Do you always travel like this?" Elena asked Bekah. Finishing her glass of wine Rebekah smiled, "Pretty much. My brothers only go for the best. So this is common place for me." They all raised their glasses and Caroline toasted, "To what is sure to be an amazing weekend with my best friends." Four wine glasses came together with a load clank and Bonnie said, "I can second that." They all laughed and then drank.

Finally around ten o'clock they went up to their floor and into the rooms they had selected. Caroline flopped down on her bed and pulled out her phone. She had been trying to decide all day if she should sent Nik a text about his note. With the warm feeling the wine gave her, she opened a new message. Nik, thank you for the beautiful words in your note. I hope to see you when you return. Caroline She sent the message and went to take a shower and was happy to see the walk-in shower stall with adjustable body jets. She took her time in the luxurious spray and then wrapped herself in the softest towel she had ever held. Back in her room she slid between the cool cotton sheets and picked up her phone. She blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing right. She had a new message. Her hands shook as she pressed the buttons to open the text. I will return to you soon, my wonderful Caroline. Nik With a blissful smile she held her phone to her chest and fell into a deep sleep.

Klaus had just finished the ledgers for the first half of the eighteen hundreds when he had stopped to refill his scotch glass. Diving into the next book he spotted something promising. The Salvatore family had cut down a large oak tree around this time for a major city project. Reading further he saw the wood was used to construct the bridge that crosses the Wickery River. He threw the book back on the desk and raced at vampire speed to the bridge. Climbing down the embankment towards the water, he ran his hand across the wood but pulled back in pain. Looking down at his hand, a thin splinter stuck out of his finger. Smiling he pulled the wood from his finger, watching it quickly heal. Rushing back to town where he had left his car, he gathered supplies and went back to the bridge. He ripped a large piece of wood from the underside supports of the bridge. He could easily get four or five steaks from it. The rest of the bridge, including the wooden sign he drenched in gasoline. Placing the white oak board in his trunk he walked back to the bridge with a road flare in hand. Before he could light the flare, his phone buzzed and he reached for it. "Caroline." He said just above a whisper. Reading her message he was filled with hope. He quickly typed out a reply and hit send. Striking the flare to light, he threw it onto the bridge and watched as the whole thing went up in a blaze. He had parked his car far enough away that anyone coming to put the fire out wouldn't see it. He crept back in to the darkness of the surround woods so that he could make sure all of the white oak burned to ash and was swept away by the river. Around dawn he watched the last smoldering piece fall in to the river. With a satisfied smile he jogged back to his car and started to head north. As much as he wanted to get to Caroline, he needed to feed.

Stopping in Powhatan, he entered a dive bar and ordered their most expensive scotch and told the bar keep to leave the bottle. He scoped out the place looking for someone that would put up some fight. He turned when he heard a scuffle behind him. He saw a woman by the pool tables who had just smashed a beer bottle over a man's head. He wickedly smiled for he had found his target. She was a tall well-built red head who seemed to be in her thirties. She had a fire in her eyes that Klaus took as a challenge. She walked up to the bar, "Hey, Josh! Can I have a rag? I cut my hand while taking out the trash." She smiled at the bar man as he gave her a white towel to wrap her hand in. Klaus could smell the blood and he knew that she would taste sweet. Looking over at her he smile, "I hope he deserved it." He picked up a shot glass from behind the bar, filled it and offered it to the woman. She took the shot, downing it quickly and placed the glass on the bar. "He thought he could cheat me at pool. He won't try that again." She said with a dark smile. He poured her another shot. "Well then I will make sure never to challenge you because I like to play dirty." He smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Klaus." "Emily. You German or something?" She sat down next to him and drank the fresh shot of dark liquid. He laughed and refilled both glasses. "Nope, just parents with no sense of humor." She downed the third shot and looked him up and down. He was attractive and very well dressed. He was drinking a hundred and fifty dollar bottle of scotch and she could see the rich pretty boy attitude as he smirked at her. "Hey, you wanna get out of here?" She thought that if she couldn't get him to pay for sex, that she could just steal the money out of his wallet once he was asleep. "I think that is a brilliant idea." He threw two crisp hundred dollar bills on the bar and grabbed the bottle, throwing his arm over the woman's shoulder and walking them from the bar. Once they were outside and nearing his car, Emily pushed him against an old rusted truck and started forcefully kissing him. He smiled as she broke the kiss and licked his ear before kissing down his jaw. His eyes had changed with hunger and his fangs dropped. Before she knew what happened, Emily found herself pushed against the back wall of the bar by the dumpsters. Her new friend Klaus was kissing her neck before he whispered in her ear. "I'm going to kill you. Feel free to try to run." Her eyes went wide and she tried kneeing him in the groin. She then took off running though the parking lot towards a group of dilapidated buildings. After trying a few doors, she found out that opened with a load creaking sound and she hid inside the large old warehouse. Klaus followed her scent to the building and took the fire escape ladder to a broken window on the second floor of the structure. From his vantage point on the catwalk he

could see the whole dimly lit room below. He closed his eyes and listened for her frantic heart beat and quick shallow breathing. He pin pointed the area she was in and silently jumped down to the main level and moved through the darkness until he was positioned in the shadows ten feet behind her. He slowly walked up behind her and wrapped his arms her, one around her waist and the other across her chest. She let out a whimper and he could smell her tears. "Come one Emily, where is that fire, are you not going to put up a fight?" He could feel her start to struggle under his hold and he was quickly getting bored so without warning he sunk his razor sharp teeth in to her neck and he enjoyed pull after pull of her warm blood. She finally went limp after a few minutes and he let her body fall to the floor with a low thud. He smiled and slowly licked all of the remaining blood from his lips. "That was bloody incredible." While enjoying his high, he found an old drum barrel and put the woman's body inside. Retrieving his bottle of scotch from outside where he left it he walked back to the Emily's body. "What a waste." He said as he poured the rest of the liquid over the corpus before dropping in a match. The room lit up and when he started to smell burning hair, he left and casually walked back to his car, finally heading back to Richmond and his Caroline.

Chapter Thirteen: Sight For Sore Eyes Saturday morning brought all of the girls waking up to the wonderful smell of breakfast being made down stairs. Still rubbing the sleep from their eyes they saw the two chefs were back in the kitchen making waffles. Elijah was already seated at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. "Good morning ladies. Mark and Alan will make you what ever you like." The girls all got big warm waffles piled high with fruit and whipped cream. The chef whose name was Mark came around and filled coffee mugs while placing cream and sugar on the table. Bonnie, Elena and Caroline didn't think they could ever go back to an IHOP after this. They all turned their attention to the front entry as they heard the door close. Kol strolled in with a sport coat thrown over his shoulder. "Good morning everyone!" He said cheerfully while grabbing a cup of coffee from the breakfast bar. "Just getting in, brother?" Rebekah asked in a harsh tone. Kol had piled waffles on a plate and sat down next to Bonnie. "Yep. Had a smashing good time out last night. I found this great dance club that you must see." The three roommates felt a little uncomfortable, like this was a problem that the family dealt with often. They mined their business and kept to their breakfast.

After a long silence Caroline broke the tension. "How about we check out the beach after breakfast. It looked beautiful last night from the porch." Everyone agreed and after depositing their dishes next to the sink were Alan was waiting, they rushed up to their rooms to get ready. Caroline pulled out her blue and white two piece bathing suit, slipped it on and tied a long flowing wrap around her waist. She piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun, found her sunglasses and flip flops. Grabbing her beach bag, minus the wine, she walked out on to the landing just as Bekah was coming from her room. Rebekah looked like a model out of magazine with her flattering red bikini. She had on cut off jean shorts and also had a beach bag over her shoulder. They both walked down to the main level to wait for the others. Elena and Bonnie came down only minutes later. Bonnie had on a green suit that complemented her skin tone and Elena wore a black sting bikini that tied at the back and sides. Kol was still talking with Elijah at the table and whistled at the girls as they pulled bottles of water out of the refrigerator. "My, my. No matter what amount of clothing you all wear, you are still stunning." He pulled out his phone and asked the girls to pose for a picture. They all rushed out to the balcony so that the ocean would be in the background and they posed for a few pictures. "Make sure to email those to me so we all can have copies." Bekah called over her shoulder as the girls walked down the outside staircase to the beach access. "I know exactly who I am sending these to." Kol said under his breath as he headed to his room for some sleep.

Once he left Powhatan, Klaus made a straight shot for home. He could not wait to tell his family the good news and to see Caroline. Pulling up to the house he saw that it was dark inside and that Elijah's SUV was missing. He entered the home and searched for his family. No one was around. He rushed out of the door the two blocks to Caroline's house and knocked on the door. Her car was parked on the side of the house, but no noise was coming from inside. He raced around to the back of the house and peeked into her bedroom window. Her bed was made and he saw some clothes thrown on the floor but nothing looked out of place. Walking back to his house he was pulling out his phone to call his brothers when a new message came in from Kol. Why must his family do this to him? There in the picture was Caroline, her friends and Bekah. They were all smiling and in bathing suits. He looked over Caroline's exposed torso, taking in her creamy skin and toned curves. Dialing his brother's number he cursed into the phone. He heard the line connect and he waited for Kol's voice. "Klaus, what do I own the honor of this call?"

Through gritted teeth Klaus spoke. "Where are you? I came home and everyone is gone." "The girls planned a fun filled weekend at the beach and being the good brothers that Elijah and I are, we are chaperoning them." "Text me your location. I have to clean up here, feed, and then I will be there by night fall." Klaus hung up his phone as he reentered his house. He turned on some lights and started to unload his car. Taking the white oak board to their carriage house, he used a handsaw to cut five equal sized pieces. Sweeping up the sawdust, he set the pile on fire. He couldn't be too careful when it came to the safety of his family. He gathered the wooden blanks and locked them in the safe in his office. He stopped at his desk and ran his fingers over a drawing of Caroline he had been working on before he left town over a week ago. Klaus still needed to feed and didn't have time to look for a low-life or play with his food. So he ran over to the campus looking for easy prey. He made quick work of a young man smoking out behind one of the dorm buildings. Hurrying back to the house he took a very hot shower wanting to make sure that he didn't smell like scotch and death. Klaus dressed and threw new clothes into his duffel bag. He plugged the address of the beach house into his navigation system and headed out of town, driving faster then he should.

The girls were still on the beach and kept getting bothered by boys walking by. "Do you want to go back to the house and swim in the pool?" Bekah said sitting up from her towel on the sand. They all started getting up, "Good idea. Maybe then the vultures will stop circling." Bonnie said with the roll of her eyes. Don't get them wrong. The girls loved getting hit on, it was flattering, but after the twentieth time, it was starting to be annoying. Gathering their beach gear they headed for the low white fence the surrounded the back of the property. There was a larger outdoor pool in addition to the smaller indoor pool. They set the sandy towels by the back door of the lower level where there was a laundry room. Stretching out on a padded lounge chair, Elena rolled over on her stomach to sun her back. "Enjoying the view brother?" Elijah slightly jumped when Kol spoke from over his shoulder. He had been caught looking at the doppelganger. "Clothes in this time are so much better than back in the eighteen hundreds, wouldn't you agree?" Kol asked before laughing and walking to the kitchen to get a drink. Under his breath Elijah said, "You have no idea." before clearing his throat and walking down the flight of stairs that took him to the pool deck. He picked up clean towels for the girls and walked outside.

"Oh, Elijah you are so thoughtful!" Rebekah exclaimed from the pool pointing for him to set the stack of towels on an empty chair. Caroline was in the water with Bekah and she watched as Elijah's eyes lingered on Elena before he turned around and went back in to the house. A half hour later they saw Mark and Alan come out back and start up the barbeque grill. "What is for dinner?" Bonnie called from her lounge chair. "Hamburgers and hotdogs with all the trimmings, Miss." Mark called from his place by the outdoor kitchen. They all decided to go inside and get ready for dinner. They ate sandwiches out at the beach around lunch time but now they were hungry for a real meal. They took turns taking showers and dressed comfortably for a night in the game room. Caroline came down in a simple cotton sundress and could smell the food on the grill and her stomach growled. She heard a chuckle to her left and she saw Alan in the kitchen. "I'm sorry Miss. Pardon my rudeness. Everyone is down stairs on the patio." Alan said picking up a trey of cut lettuce, tomato, and onion for the hamburgers. Joining everyone at the table down stairs by the pool she sat between Rebekah and Kol. She saw Elijah sitting next to Elena again and made a mental note to ask Bekah about it. Mark called from the outdoor kitchen that dinner was ready and everyone got up to build their own burgers and hotdogs. Four or five side dishes were set out and Caroline helped herself to a heaping spoon full of coleslaw. Once seated, Kol said, "So do you ladies have plans for tonight?" "I think we were just going to stay in and hang out in the game room." Bonnie said with a smile before taking a bite of her hotdog. Kol looked at her slightly slack jawed as he watcher Bonnie put the wiener in her mouth. He shook his head and continued. "Well if you would like to accompany me to the dance club, I'm sure we would have a brilliant time." "Oh that does sound like more fun than sitting around here. Let's do it!" Elena chimed in. They quickly finished dinner since it was already seven thirty and they needed to get ready to go out. Just as the girls got up to their rooms Caroline silently cursed herself. "Crap, I didn't bring a going out dress." "Well aren't you in luck. You have a friend like me." Bekah was in her doorway with a smile and a black dress and heels hanging from her fingers. Running to hug the other blonde and look at the dress Caroline said. "I feel luckier and luckier every day that you and your family are in my life." She swore she saw her friends eyes moisten. "None of that Beks, you wouldn't want to get puffy before we go out." Rebekah just nodded her head. She felt like the lucky one to have such a dear friend after being alone for so long. She would hurt her brother if he messed up again. She wouldn't lose Caroline as a friend.

An hour later they were ready to go and did a fashion show in the entry for Kol so he could approve of their dress for the club. "You all look lovely. Now let's get this party started shall we?" He ushered the four ladies out of the front door and down to the Porsche.

Pulling up to the house he saw Bonnie's car in the driveway, but Elijah's Porsche was still missing. Running up the front stairs he was glad the door was open and he didn't need to break it to gain entry. He rushed into the living room and found Elijah sipping whisky and reading a book. "Welcome home Klaus. I hope your trip south was productive." Elijah set down his book and rose from his seat to hug his brother. Klaus returned his brother's embrace. "Very productive. I have what we need to end it all. Now where is everyone?" Pouring his brother a drink Elijah continued. "Kol took them to a dance club he discovered last night. They left about an hour ago." "What is the name of the club?" Klaus had out his phone ready type in the name and get directions. Elijah checked his phone as well. He couldn't be bothered to keep up with Kol, but he at least wanted to know where the girls would be. "Peabody's. Kol says it isn't far from here." Klaus was already half way to the door when he called out. "Thanks Eli."

The club was only a few blocks away so it took very little time to get there. The valet took the keys from Kol and they all stepped up to the line by the door of the building. "It says twentyone and older tonight. Elena and I aren't old enough." Caroline looked disappointed. Bekah came up behind her and put her arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry about that. Kol will take care of it." Caroline saw Kol walk up to the bouncer, say a few words and then slip something in to his hand. Of course they could bribe their way in just like Bekah has flirted with the waiter the other day for the wine. The large man by the door waved them all in and they walked in taking in the large club. It was mostly dance floor with a few sitting areas and a large bar on the other side of the mass of dancing bodies. Kol smiled at a young brunette carrying a trey full of empty cocktail glasses. "Hey Kol! Give me a second, I'll get a table for you." She winked at him and walked off towards the bar.

"Already on first time basis with the wait staff? What did you do last night?" Rebekah asked quietly to her brother. The brunette walked back over with a clean trey with a single glass full of amber liquid. "Follow me." She walked towards the left side of the dance floor and showed them to a large table in the corner of the space. It was private with red velvet curtains that hung on either side of the table. "Thank you Sarah." Kol said taking the glass from her trey and downing it in one gulp. "What will it be ladies?" The girls gave Sarah their drink orders and the waitress soon returned with a fresh glass for Kol along with a bottle of scotch. She sat a rainbow of fruity drinks in front of the girls and smiled before walking back to her other tables. "This is so cool! We have never been to a club like this before." Elena yelled over the music. They raised their glasses and laughed before downing their cocktails and got up to go dance. Sarah had put a 'Reserved' sign on their table so no one else would sit there and Kol joined the ladies out on the dance floor. He picked out a pretty dark skinned girl to dance with and the woman smiled at him, pulling him close to grind to the music. "Your brother is a good dancer." Bonnie said to Rebekah. Laughing Bekah answered her friend. "Put it this way, he has had a lot of partners and practice." Realization washed over Bonnie's face and she laughed with Bekah but thought to her self. There is nothing wrong with a little experience. Caroline was dancing with Elena when a few guys came towards them smiling. There were handsome and well built. One had blonde hair and the other black hair, but cut very short. The blonde approached Elena and they started dancing, ducking their heads together trying to talk over the music. "What's your name?" The man with black hair said in Caroline ear. She was starting to get Tyler flashbacks, but swallowed and lied, "Jamie. Yours? "I'm Brodie. Me and my friend are Officers in the military stationed here for a few months. How about you?" "Just here for the weekend on vacation with my friends." Caroline pointed to the three other girls. Brodie just nodded his head and they started dancing to the new song that came on. He moved from the front of her to the rear and started grinding against her. She felt his hands snake around her middle and she was about to slap them away when she heard his voice in her ear.

"Well Jamie, you look stunning." There was laughter in his voice. Caroline spun around and was face to face with him and she threw her arms around his neck. "Nik! You're back!"

Chapter Fourteen: More of you. Caroline took his hand and led Nik off the dance floor and back to their table. "When did you get back?" She asked as they slid into the back corner of the booth. He noticed that she had not released his hand and this gave him hope. "Just today. When I got home and saw everyone was gone, I called Kol and came right here. I had to see you. You have to know that every day away from you was agonizing. I am so sorry for leaving things the way I did." She looked in to his eyes and saw the sincerity there. "I am sorry also. For yelling at you, being stubborn and not allowing you to explain your reasoning. I only found your letter a few days ago and no one has ever said such beautiful things about me." "I was only writing how I truly see you." He moved a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear and they looked longingly at each other. "Sir can I get you something to drink?" Sarah smiled down at the attractive blonde man. Without turning to the woman he asked for another glass for the bottle that was already on the table and Caroline motioned that she needed a refill as well. Sarah scampered off and returned a few minutes later with their drinks. Klaus passed Caroline her drink and smiled, "No Cosmos tonight?" "Well you were not here to make them for me, so no, Rum Runners are my poison this evening." She took a long pull from the drink and felt the large amount of alcohol burn her throat. "Do you dance?" She asked pointed to the dance floor. She laughed when he almost choked on his drink. "Not to music like this, but if you wish, I will try." He downed his drink, poured another and downed that one before getting up. "Going to need all the help I can get." He said looking at the half empty bottle that now sat on the table. They went out to the dance floor and he stood in front of her, not knowing what to do. She reached out and placed his hands on her hips. She moved in close to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing the fingers of her right hand in to his hair. She stood on her tip toes and said into his ear. "Now just pay attention to how my body moves to the music and try to keep up." She smiled and ran her cheek against his and she started moving to the beat. He was not having any problem focusing on her body because it was rubbing up against his in the most sinful way. He let his hands wonder from her hips to across her lower back and up her ribcage. He felt Caroline's fingers tighten in his hair and her forehead fell to his collarbone as her breathing sped up.

Her hand that wasn't tangled in the hair at the base of his neck moved over his shoulder and down his chest. Caroline ran her hand down his side and linked her finger in the belt loop of his jeans. She used this new anchor on him to pull his hips flush against hers. Klaus slid his hand from her lower back up her arm and rested it on her neck. Placing his thumb under her chin he lifted her face to his. Her gaze burned in to him and he moved closer to her. His nose grazed hers and he could feel her warm breath on his face. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he would kill who ever just interrupted the moment he was having with Caroline. He turned his head and saw his smiling brother. "Nik. You have returned! Come on back to the table, we are going to have another round and then head home. The girls are trash!" Letting out a long sigh, Nik took Caroline's hand they walked back to the table. Bonnie, Elena, and Rebekah were laughing with the Army guys. Elena was slurring her words and was sitting on the blonde man's lap. "Caroline! Nik!" Bonnie yelled throwing her arms in the air as the couple approached the table. "We ordered more drinks!" They took a seat and Sarah came with a full trey of shots and drinks. She set lemons and salt on the table. "Enjoy." She said before walking off. Caroline was feeling buzzed but she could tell that her friends were way gone and she needed to make sure they didn't go home with either of the unknown guys at the table. Kol passed out the shots and Klaus give his brother a concerned look. "They will be fine. Just having some fun, plus we are going right home." Kol said before slamming back his shot. Everyone around the table held up the shot glasses and Elena yelled something that no one could make out before counting to three. In sync everyone threw their heads back and swallowed the burning liquid. Caroline chased it with her new Rum Runner and felt a dizziness rush to her head. She grabbed on to Nik's thigh to steady herself in her seat. "Well hate to be the cock blocker, but we are going to get these ladies home." Kol said pulling Elena off of the blonde's lap. Klaus helped Caroline up and wrapped his arm around her waist. His sister fell onto his other arm and he steadied her for the walk to the car. Kol had Elena propped against the table when he reached for Bonnie. "I can do this myself, thank you." Bonnie said as she rose from the chair a little to fast. She fell on her butt and just laughed. Kol reached down and helped her up and then grabbed her behind the knees as he hoisted her over his shoulder. This just made Bonne laugh more and she slapped his firm rear as Kol took Elena around the waist. "Hey now, most woman have to pay for that kind of action." He called over his shoulder at Bonnie as they all filed out to the car. Kol placed Elena and Bonnie in the back seat and Bekah slid into the passenger side of the SUV. Klaus walked Caroline over to his car and helped her in. He followed behind his brother on the way to the beach house.

When they pulled up to house Bonnie was already half way out of the car before it even stopped. Elena was right behind her as they stumbled up the stairs shoes in hand. Caroline got out of Nik's car in time to hear Bonnie yell, "Pool party!" Caroline looked at Nik and just shrugged. Bekah was running after Elena and they followed them down to the first level and the indoor pool. "Cannon Ball!" Elena yelled as she jumped in. Three dresses were scattered on the game room floor. The girls were in the pool with just their bras and panties on. A devious smile spread on Kol's face and he removed his shirt and pants at lightning speed, jumping in the pool with his boxer briefs on. Reaching down to remove her shoes, Caroline started to work the zipper at the back of her dress. Nik hands were on hers stopping the dress from being removed. "What are you doing?" "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Nik." She smiled as she shimmied out of dress and stood before him in a black strapless bar and black lace cheeky panties. With a smile she turned from him and ran for the pool. Kol got out of the pool and walked over the sound system in the room, turning on the same kind of music that was playing in the club. He then went to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of tequila. "Well just don't stand there. Get in there with your girl." He hissed at Klaus. All eyes were on him as he removed his shirt and he saw Caroline make a cat-call at him. A sexy smirk appeared on his face and he quickly removed his pants and jumped in after the blonde minx. They were passing around the bottle in the pool when Elijah came walking into the room. He had on a pair of sleep pants and no shirt on. The girls had never seen him dressed so informally. Elena unknowingly licked her lips at the sight of his tight chest. "I see you found the girl Klaus." Klaus was behind Caroline holding her around the waist and had his chin resting on her shoulder. He could feel the warm blood in her neck pumping against his cheek. "I did. Do you care to join us brother?" "Perhaps next time." Elijah turned and walked back upstairs. He cursed himself for being so proper. Why could he not be carefree like Kol or outgoing like Niklaus? He went back to his room alone and tried to shut out the squeals and laughs from below him. The group in the pool splashed, jokes, and drank. Kol made the girls laugh by telling funny stories from his past. Klaus ran his nose up and down Caroline's neck placing light kisses behind her ear every now and again. "Lets go jump in the ocean!" Bonnie was half out of the water as she ran for the back door. Caroline shrugged out of Nik's embrace and was out the door behind Rebekah and Elena. Kol and Klaus looked at each other and Kol mumbled, "God that woman will kill me." Klaus didn't know if he heard right, but he got out of the pool after his brother and ran across the sand after the group of giggling woman.

The girls were thigh high in the ocean and splashing each other. Klaus stood on the shore and just watched the joy just radiate off of his beautiful blonde. They spent about thirty minutes in the water before the human girls started to get a chill. Caroline walked in to Nik's open arms as he led her back to the house. Elena called the shower on the lower level and Kol followed Bonnie and Rebekah upstairs. Feeling very cold and uncomfortable by the salt water on her skin Caroline turned on the outdoor shower. Klaus stood there, not know if he should leave or wait for her. His decision was made for him when she beckoned him in with her finger. The outdoor shower was enclosed on three sides by the home's wall and two lattice walls that were covered by a flowering climbing vine and it had a small teak wood bench in the corner. Caroline was under the warm spray and Nik moved in close to her. "I've wanted to do this all night." She said before closing the distance between her mouth and his. She felt his warmth spread over her as he pulled her closer to him. Caroline fought to claim him with her kiss. To tell him that he did not need to walk alone anymore, that she would be at his side. Klaus could tell she needed air when she threw her head back exposing her neck to him. He thought back to the time in his bathroom when he pictured Caroline willing allowing him to feed from her. He lowed his mouth to her neck, but only placed open mouth kisses against the thin flesh. Caroline was panting for breath and grabbed tightly onto his hair as his mouth traveled from her neck to the tops of her chest that were overflowing out of her bra. He could still taste some of the salt water on her skin as he licked between her breasts. She moaned deep in her throat and said, "Off." He backed away from her immediately scared that he had hurt her or bit her. She snapped her eyes open at the loss of contact and looked at Nik who had a scared look on his face. Feeling rejected she said in a small voice. "Why are you way over there?" Still with a scared look he stammered. "You said 'off'. So I moved." Caroline's sexy smile returned and said, "I didn't want you off, I wanted this off." She reached behind her and the fabric of her bra fell away from her body. She watched as his expression went from frightened to understanding to pure desire. He was back on her before she could blink. He ran his hands over every inch of the newly exposed skin. She was so soft and supple. Klaus had her moaning again as he held her breast in his hand while running his thumb over her rosy nipple. He felt it become taut and rolled his thumb over the new texture of her stimulated skin. Moving back up to kiss her again he pressed his bare cheat against hers and he felt like he was on fire. She was pulling at his hips just trying to melt into him. Klaus ran his hands down her back and grabbed her rear, slightly lifting her off the ground. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and she felt his arousal pressed against her thigh through the thin fabric of his boxers. Between kisses she managed to say, "I need more of you."

With Caroline still wrapped around him, Klaus moved to the small bench and sat. She released her legs and she now straddled his thighs. His interests turned back to her chest has he took her peaked nipple in to his mouth. She arched her back pushing her chest towards him a placed her hands on his knees behind her. Kissing up her neck he moved his hand between her breasts and down her trembling stomach. He rubbed his hand above her panty light and moved his hand to her thigh brushing his fingers lightly from her center to her knee and back. Not knowing how far Caroline wanted to take this, Klaus looked at her beautiful pleasure filled face. "Look at me, love." Her eyes met his. "What do you want, my Caroline?" She moved closer to him and licked his neck and up to his ear before she whispered, "Make me come." She leaded back and placed her hands back on his knees. He looked at her, shocked at her words. She reached over and took one of his hands off of her hip and placed it between her legs. "Make me come." She clearly pronounced every word and Klaus almost fell apart right there. This lovely woman just took command of his body and heart. Klaus could feel heat and moisture from under her panties and he started to softly stroke her earning him soft mewing from her lips. She reached up with one of her hands and brought his face to hers and she moaned into his mouth as he pressed on her clit. Brushing his hand along her inner thigh he moved her panties aside and let his index and middle finger slide into her wet folds. He could smell her arousal in the air and it was driving him mad. "You are incredibly exquisite." His voiced against her neck where his lips working at her pulse point. He circled his soaked fingers around her clit and he felt her thighs shake. He wanted to be inside of her so he made one last circle and slowly moved his fingers down to her opening. She moaned loudly as he slid his middle finger into her. He couldn't stop watching her face. He watched her eyebrows knit together and then relax and the small smile that played on her lips. She was magnificent. "More Nik, please more." She spoke through whimpers and he obeyed. This time he added his ring finger and slid into her up to his third knuckle. She momentarily tightened around him and he held still just watching her relax. With a quick sweep of his thumb over her nub he caused her to buck into his hand and he viewed her bouncing breasts and heaving chest. He was desperate to see her fall apart at his hands. He curled his fingered inside of her and felt the textured skin that he knew would bring her to climax. He moved his fingers inside of her while continuing his work her clit. He moved his free hand to her breast, placing her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and applying pressure. Caroline was pushing harder onto his hand and becoming more vociferous as her pleasure started to peak. "Nik, oh my lord, you feel so damn good." Her bliss filled voice spurred him on and he increased his pace. He could feel her thighs start to squeeze him and he saw her chest heave with heavy panting breaths and he watched her face for the moment she lost herself. He was rendered speechless as her eyes met his, her whole face relaxed with relief and her lips parted with a gasping breath. Her whole body became tight as her thighs quaked

and the inner walls of her core produced waves of pressure against his stilled fingers. This moment of pure ecstasy would be etched in to his mind forever as the beautiful woman on his lap collapsed limply against his chest. "Love, that was the single most amazing experience I've had in my existence." Klaus whispered as he stroked her wet hair, kissing the top of her hand. Caroline giggled from his chest and said, "And to think, we haven't even made love yet." She laughed further as she felt the low growl in his chest. She looked up at him, and kissed his lips. "Take me to bed Nik." He lifted her bridal style and walked up the three flights of stairs to her room.

Chapter Fifteen: The Walk Of Shame Caroline woke to the sun streaming through the window. She started to stretch her oddly sore muscles and felt something warm behind her. Carefully she peeked under the duvet cover and saw a masculine arm wrapped around her middle and also noticed that she was practically naked. Flashes of last night started to flood her memory and she stifled a giggle by placing her hand over her mouth. She felt the strong arm start to tighten around her and she gasped when she felt light kisses on her bare shoulder. "Good morning, sweetheart." His voice was still tinted with sleep and sounded deep and rough. "It certainly is a good morning, but I'm sure that you could make it a fantastic morning if you tried." Caroline turned in his embrace and threw her right leg over his hip. "Then I shall try harder." He smirked as he rolled Caroline to her back and hovered over her while pressing his hips between her legs. She lightly moaned for him as he looked over every inch of her beautiful face and wild hair the spread across the pillow. She wrapped her legs around his hips to pull him closer. "You were so kind and giving last night. How generous are you feeling now?" She looked up at him and bit at her bottom lip. Klaus dipped his head to kiss her collarbone and answered along her neck, "I would give you anything you so desired." His trail of open mouth kisses on her neck, worked up to her ear where he lightly bit at her tender flesh. He felt her pulse jump. Caroline just smiled and moved her hands down the wide expanse of his back and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his boxers. When she lowered them to his mid thigh, she used her feet to push the fabric to his ankles. She finally felt all of him press against her and she boldly grabbed his rear as he smiled into the kiss they were sharing. He loved that she took control of what she wanted and was not afraid to show him how to pleasure her. Many other women from his past were so scared of him that they submitted to his every whim. Caroline dominated every inch of his body. Moving down her body he licked and nipped at every piece of skin that he could, taking one of her nipples into his mouth while rolling the other between his fingers. Klaus continued his downward course placing a kiss on her panties over her already sensitive clit.

With a look of pure lust Caroline gazed upon the smiling face of Nik as he settled between her thighs. She watched him curl his fingers around her lace panties and slowly drag them down her legs, discarding them on the floor next to the bed. Klaus ran one hand up her smooth leg as he kissed up the other. He could feel her eyes burning into him and it lit the fire deep within him. He watched her throw her head back and grip the crisp white sheets in anticipation as he ghosted a breath across her core. He heard a low "God, yes." come from her lips as he placed his lips over her engorged nub. She was starting to move trying to increase his tempo. He laid his forearm across her hips to halt the motion. He wanted to take his time and slowly build her into a frenzy. Caroline reached out for his soft curls as he inserted one finger into her wet heat. She whimpered as he removed his finger but her breath came in staggering pants as his tongue replaced it and his thumb took over the job of lightly stroking her clit. As he felt her body start to shake he increased the pressure and speed of his thumb's caresses and lifted his head from her. He quickly slid two fingers into her and pressed up on her sensitive inner walls. He wanted to see her orgasm again more than anything else at that moment. Just before he felt her tighten around his hand, Caroline reached up and cupped her own breasts, roughly pinching her nipples and she cursed out in pleasure, "Fucking hell!" and she was lost to the pulsing sensation that ran through out her body. Caroline became more coherent and sat up on her elbows and watched Nik slowly remover his fingers from her. She smirked at him, sat up further and grabbed the hand that had been between her legs. She held his gaze and placed his fingers into her mouth licking them clean. A moan left her lips and Klaus' jaw when slack thinking, Is this woman trying to kill me? and he clearly understood the contradiction of his thought. Kneeling before her he waited for his hand to be returned to him before reaching behind her and grabbed on to her bottom, pulling her up his thighs until she was chest to chest with him. He kissed her deeply and groaned, as he tasted her arousal on her lips. He lifted her with ease and slowly lowered her on to his aching cock. "Bloody hell, you are perfect." Klaus mumbled into her neck. She started to slowly roll her hips in his lap and they both moaned at the intense feelings they both were experiencing at the intimate connection. He wrapped one strong arm around her lower back and ran the other hand up over her chest, bowing his head down to pepper lavish kisses along her breasts. Pulling his head up to hers, Caroline planted a deep kiss against his swollen lips. Klaus gently laid her back on the bed, never losing contact and tucked his left arm under her right knee to allow him to thrust deeper into her. Again Caroline let him know what she wanted as she moved both of her legs up, crossed them at the ankle and placed them on his right shoulder. Running her hand up his thigh to his hip she pulled him to her and said, "Take me." Klaus smiled in understanding, wrapping an arm around her thighs and holding on to one of her breasts with the other hand he moved deep and rapidly inside of her. He watched her eyes roll back and her breaths came is gasps while her fingernails dug into the flesh at his hip.

He started to feel the building of his own climax and he mimicked Caroline's action from earlier and applied pressure to her taut nipple. She cried out in ecstasy as the intensity of her orgasm swept over her. Her inner muscles sent wave after wave of pressure over his hypersensitive cock and with a final thrust and a deep throaty moan he released into her warmth. Klaus lowered Caroline's legs and while remaining inside of her collapsed on to her chest. He listened to the rapid flutter of her heart and mentally wished he could climb inside of this wondrous woman and never leave. She lightly stroked his sweaty hair and attempted to control her breathing. Never in her life had she ever felt so connected to another person than in this moment. Caroline had been with other men before, but nothing compared to what had just happened between her and Nik. A buzzing noise from the nightstand invaded their afterglow and Klaus pulled out of her as he reached for his phone. There was a message from Kol. If you two are done going at it like rabid bunnies we are going to eat lunch before heading out to the beach. Though after hearing that I have lost my appetite. Kol Klaus groaned and threw the phone back on the table. "What was that about?" Caroline asked placing a soft kiss on his lips. He held her close and enjoyed her lips for another moment before backing away, "You don't even want to know, love. Just that it was Kol and lunch is ready." He helped her out of bed and she started to walk toward the bathroom. Wanting to give her privacy he hung back. Caroline turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat. With a smile on her face she peeked her head out of the door and asked, "You coming in?" She stepped under the spray and sighed at the heavenly feel of the body jets. Nik joined her seconds later and she passed him a loofah that was already sudsing with Caroline's freesia smelling body wash. Taking the pink puff from her hand, Klaus moved it in slow circles over her entire body spending plenty of time on her breasts and the curves of her hips and rear. Caroline smiled at him and washed the bubbles from her body. She washed her hair as Nik continued to play with her chest. She giggled at him and swatted at his hands. "They are just boobs, Nik." Klaus looked up from her chest and stared at her seriously, "No, they are not just boobs. They are a soft, beautiful, perfect pair of breasts that are attached to the most breathtaking woman that ever lived." She smiled at him with kind eyes and then said, "If you wanted to play with them more, you could have just said they were awesome boobs and I would have let you. But I like it your way much better." She moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their wet bodies slid together flawlessly and she pressed her lips to his. As the kiss broke he whispered, "Why don't you go get dressed and I'll be done in here shortly."

Caroline quickly kissed him once more and then exited the shower. Now alone he leaned his back against the shower wall trying to wrap his head around what transpired between Caroline and him since his return last night. Was he really ready for the type of commitment that he promised in his love note to the stunning female in the next room? Klaus was unsure of the answer but he knew that he could never hurt that kind hearted woman so he would stay at her side until she discovered what he felt all along, that he would never be good enough for her. He pushed off the wall and finished washing himself and wrapped a large white towel around his waist. Walking into Caroline's room he saw her brushing her hair in the dresser mirror. "You don't have any clothes up here." She smiled as she spoke. Klaus silently cursed himself as Caroline giggled at him. He playfully narrowed his eyes at her and walked towards her door. Opening it just a crack he saw that no one was on the third floor landing. He could hear everyone down stairs and once out of Caroline's eye line he sped down to the hall where his room was. He grimaced when he came face to face with Kol. "Doing the walk of shame Nik? Not really your style I always thought." Kol said smiling and blocking his brother from advancing down the hall. Klaus smiled and pushed past his little brother, "At least I have a reason for feeling shameful." He let out a small laugh at Kol's annoyed face and walked into his room. He threw on a clean pair of boxers and some swim shorts along with a graphic tee. He usually never dressed like this but he if was going to be spending the day on the beach with his lady he couldn't wear designer jeans. He met Caroline at the base of the stairs and they walked together into the common area and sat down at the table for a lunch of pressed sandwiches and an assortment of delicious soups. Rebekah gave her blonde friend a knowing smile, which made Caroline smile back and mouth 'What?' to her friend. "So you will never believe my luck." Bekah said to Caroline. "This morning I wake up to a new message on my phone. I met a boy at your party last Friday and he called to ask me out!" Caroline smiled at her friend. "That's great! What is his name, I'll give you the rundown on him." She said with a wink. Smiling big Bekah said, "His name is Matt. He has short blonde hair, a chiseled jaw and dreamy smoky blue eyes." Elena choked on the spoon full of soup she had just put in her mouth and everyone at the table looked at her. Bonnie grinned and said, "Oh, we know Matt alright. Elena knows him real well." Rebekah looked at Elena confused and waited as the brunette to swallow and dab her mouth with a napkin. "Matt and I kind of dated in high school. I mean we all grew up together and his family was good friends with my family so everyone just assumed that we belonged together. It didn't work out and we broke up before moving to Richmond."

She didn't like the thought of getting Elena's sloppy seconds, but they had dated years ago and they were clearly just friends now, so Rebekah did the respectful thing and asked for Elena's blessing. "If you have a issue with me going out with him, I'll back off but I really like him and hope you are okay with me seeing him." She pleaded with her eyes. Stunned by Rebekah's words Elena took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Matt and I are water under the bridge. I think it would be great if you two went out. Anyways, I have Tim now and Matt and I have been just friends for years now." Looking relieved Bekah said happily, "Thank you! Thank you!" Elijah spoke for the first time since sitting down at the table. "So you are seeing someone Elena?" She saw a hint of sorrow in his eyes before he masked it with a curious expression and Elena answered Elijah. "Yes, well I think I still am. Him and I had a bit of a disagreement before we all came out here. We've only been together a few weeks and he's a graduate student at the university." She gave the eldest Mikaelson a small smile and looked down at her plate. "Does he treat you well?" His voice was low as he leaded towards Elena trying to make their conversation more private. Elena looked up into the face of Elijah and was locked into his dark eyes. "He did, until a few nights ago." She felt like she could tell him anything. "He came to my house drunk looking for a booty call and I told him that I was worth more than a drunk hook up. He just left after that. I haven't heard from him since." Elijah grew livid listening to this beautiful woman speak of her mistreatment. For some reason, she looked down in her lap with shame written across her face. Reaching out he tucked the hair that had fallen into her face, behind her delicate ear and placed his fingers gently under her jaw, lifting her face to his. "Your worth is greater than you think and you deserve someone who values you as such." He ran his thumb over the apple of her cheek and then released her when someone behind him cleared their throat. Kol and Bonnie were standing by the door that led to the outside stairs and beach access. Bonnie mumbled "Interesting." while Kol rolled his eyes and said, "Typical."

Chapter Sixteen: Lace and Laces The group spent the whole day down by the ocean and their last night in Virginia Beach in the game room with the margarita maker working overtime. Elijah was starting to loosen up and played billiards with Kol while the girls swam in the indoor pool and danced on the pool deck to music on the surround sound system. Klaus was just pleased to be in Caroline's company and they had been stealing glances at each other all day. Caroline also brought out the house warming gift wine from her room and everyone enjoyed the rich aroma and taste of the red liquid. "Where do you even find wine like this?" Bonnie questioned after emptying her glass for the second time.

"France." Klaus answered matter-of-factly smiling at the stunned girl over his wine glass. After more dancing and swimming it was nearing two in the morning and everyone decided to call it a night because they needed to leave for home around noon. Bonnie watched as Elijah placed his hand gently on Elena's back as they ascended the stairs. The girls parted from the boys at the second level, except for Caroline and Nik. They stood on the landing looking at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. "So, I had fun today." Klaus mentally slapped his forehead and thought, Just say, 'Come, love. Let's go to bed.' and take her to bed! Caroline smiled sweetly at him. "I did too. I'm glad you came back and found me." She didn't understand why she just couldn't ask him to join her upstairs. Closing her eyes for a moment and silently giving herself a pep talk, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs behind her. Klaus just grinned and followed his beautiful woman to her bed. They held each other that night, just exchanging kisses, kind words, and loving sighs. Caroline drifted off to sleep in his warm and safe arms. She didn't know how she was going to sleep alone in her own bed tomorrow night.

The next morning Mark and Alan were back and had a wonderful brunch prepared for them before the group departed for home. The girls packed away all of their things and left the bags on the landing of the third floor. The three brothers made quick work of stowing the bags away in the SUV before joining the women for coffee at the kitchen table. Caroline sheepishly asked her friends if they minded her riding back with Nik and was relived when they all agreed. Since she had been preoccupied the past few days, Elena and Bonnie had become fast friends with Rebekah and no one would feel awkward without Caroline there. After brunch everyone thanked to two chefs that had taken such good care of them the past three days and the group walked out to the cars. Klaus was elated when Caroline walked with him towards the BMW. He made sure to drive a few miles under the speed limit so that he could have extra time with his girl. They arrived home a few hours later and Nik dropped her off at home, making sure to walk her to the door and kiss her senseless. "I would like to take you out tomorrow night." Caroline was shocked. She knew she shouldn't be, they had already had sex, but going on a date with him would make what they had official. "I would love that Nik." He beamed at her and kissed her again leaving her breathless on her porch watching him trot down the sidewalk to his car. He waved and drove off towards his house. She just smiled to herself and went inside to start the daunting task of laundry and catching up on schoolwork. The girl's house was very quiet for the rest of the day. Everyone went to their own rooms to clean, unpack, and prepare for classes to start back up. They shared a quick meal of spaghetti and meatballs before turning in early, all of them exhausted from the fun filled weekend.

Caroline slept in for another few hours after hearing her roommates leave for school. She just wanted to lie in bed forever and relive the passion she shared with Nik a few nights ago. Just thinking about it made her whole body tingle. She fell back into a heated sleep, waking up later covered in sweat and tangled in her sheets. After stripping her bed and throwing the soiled sheets in the laundry, she went to take a long cool shower. Walking back out to her room wrapped in towels she hears her phone beep. Look on the porch. Nik Confused for a moment, she quickly threw on an old pair of cheerleading shorts and a tee-shirt and ran to the front door. On the porch sat a large white box tied with a deep blue silk ribbon. She picked it up and ran with it back in to her room, setting the box on her bed. With shaking hands she loosened the bow and removed the lid. Inside was a gorgeous dress that matched the ribbon that tied the box. Sitting on top of the dress was a crisp white card with her name written on it in Nik's script. On the back it said simply, 'For tonight.' She ran her hands over the dress and pulled it out of the box, holding it up to her body and twirling around. The bodice of the dress was rich embroidered black lace that was lightly beaded with sapphire colored stones. The cut of the top had wide straps that hung slightly off the shoulder and came to a deep V in the front and back of the dress. Yards and yards of deep blue silk fell from the empire waist of the dress. She could tell by the structuring of the garment that it would still accent her slim waist. It was full length and would just sweep the ground. She hung it up carefully and saw something else in the box. A pair of black satin heels, a black silk wrap, and black gloves that would come to her elbow. She mused, Where is God's name is he taking me tonight? She knew he was picking her up at four, which didn't her much time to get ready.

"You seem nervous, mate." Kol was lounging on the living room couch sipping his drink and watching his older brother pace the room. Snatching the drink from Kol's hands, Klaus finished it in one gulp. "What if she doesn't like what I have planed? What if she doesn't want grand gestures? I don't know how to court a woman in the twenty-first century." Kol got up, refilling the glass and handed it to his brother, "Seems you need this more than I do at this point." He smirked and said 'Whipped.'under his breath as he left the room. Feeling defeated and confused he went to find his sister. "Bekah I need your help. If you were a girl, would you like the date I've planned?" "First off, I am a girl." Rebekah stared hard at her brother for a moment before continuing. "Second, she will love it. I don't think men in her past have treated her all to well. So you wooing her is a good thing."

Klaus let out a large gust of air and thanked his sister before calling the car company to confirm their transportation for the night and then up to his room to get ready for his first date.

"Care! You home?" Caroline heard Bonnie call from the front door and ran out of her room. "Oh, thank God you are home! I need your help." Bonnie took in the appearance of her friend and let out a very unladylike snort. Caroline was in her pink bathrobe with curlers in her hair, a piece of waxing cloth stuck to her leg and a fake eyelash stuck to her forehead. "Yes, yes you do need my help." She followed behind her friend to the bathroom. "What are you getting all dolled up for?" Bonnie asked quickly removing the waxing cloth. Caroline let out a yelp and pressed her lips together trying not to cry from the pain. When she was able to talk she pointed to the dress and started to pace. "I have a date with Nik tonight, but he left that for me to wear. I have no idea where we are going but it must be fancy because, goodness, look at that dress! I'm trying to look nice for him, but my nerves are getting the best of me." She fell back on to her bed pouting. Still taking in the beautiful dress hanging on the closet door, Bonnie finally looked at her friend. "You are a hot mess Care. Come on, I have my work cut out for me." They walked into the bathroom and Bonnie started to redo the hot curlers and removed the eyelash from her friends face. An hour later Caroline was perfectly quaffed, painted, waxed, plucked, made up and with a spritz or two of her favorite perfume she was ready to put on her dress. She had on a strapless nude and black lace corseted bodysuit that had a boy-short panty cut at the bottom. She was glad she still had it from her cousin's wedding a few years ago. Bonnie walked in to help her with the dress and made a low whistle. "You should just go like that. I'm sure he would prefer that over the dress." Caroline swatted at her friend. "Just help me put the dress on please." Within fifteen minutes she was in her dress, slipped on her new shoes, and was pulling up her gloves. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and she felt like it was prom night all over. She just hoped that this night ended better than her prom did. She heard a knock on the door and then Nik's sweet voice asked if she was ready. Bonnie invited him in and commented on the beautiful flowers he brought. Taking in a deep breath, Caroline walked out of her room and had to support her weight against the dinning room table at the very sight of him. Klaus was wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit and bowtie with a crisp white shirt. He had a dozen yellow tulips in his hands and he kissed Caroline on the cheek as he presented to flowers to her. "They remind me of you. Bright and full of light, like the sun." Gasping at him, she quickly went to the kitchen to put the flowers in some water and than rejoined Nik in the living room.

"Are you ready love? We have a little bit of a drive in front of us." He offered her his arm, which she took and he lead her outside to the waiting Land Rover LRX. Slightly confused when they both got into the back seat of the car Caroline looked to see a man in a black suit behind the wheel. "Are we ready to depart sir?" The driver asked without taking his eyes off the road. "Yes, please get us to our destination as quickly and safely as possible." Nik took Caroline hand in his and brought it to his lips. He placed light kisses from her gloved knuckles up to her exposed shoulder. "I believe you are the most beautiful creature I have every beheld." He spoke into her neck as he placed a final kiss under her ear. She placed her silken hand on his cheek and gazed into his eyes. "Thank you for the dress, Nik. Who wouldn't feel beautiful in such a flattering gown?" Klaus smiled and reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out an aqua blue box that any girl would recognize. Caroline gasped and started to stammer, "You are very sweet Nik, but we haven't known each other long enough, and I don't know if I'm ready for something like" She was silenced when he placed his fingertips on her mouth and displayed a cocky smile on his face. "Breath, sweetheart." He carefully opened the box to reveal a set of heart stopping earrings. There were large sapphires as a center stones with diamonds surrounding them. Smaller sapphires were spaced around the circular platinum setting in a design that looked like the sun. Just like the flowers, he wanted to express the warmth and light that radiated from her. Still breathing heavily Caroline looked from the earrings to Nik's smiling face and then back to the earrings. She reached out and touched them, just to see if they were real. "They are breath taking, literally. But they are too much Nik." She figured they cost as much as all three girls university fees. "They are a family heirloom and consider them on loan for tonight." He said softly as he took each earring out of the box and slipped them into Caroline's pierced ears. Once done he sat back and looked at her, "Now I don't know how I will be able to focus on anything else tonight." This time Caroline leaded over to him and placed a searing kiss on his lips. He smiled in to the kiss and placed his hand on her neck, drawing her closer to him. They broke apart and simply stared at each other with silly grins. Caroline noticed how long they had been driving. She looked out of the windows and just saw trees, she knew they were on one of the interstates, but had no idea which direction they were going. "Sir, we will be arriving in about thirty minutes." The drive spoke from the front seat. A few stolen kisses and longing looks later Nik drew her attention to the windows. Caroline looked with amazement at the city that came into view as they crossed a small river. "You brought me to DC? I've never been here." She looked over her shoulder at Nik and gave him her biggest smile. She saw the Lincoln and Washington Monuments pass as they headed north.

Their car pulled up in front of a modern looking building and Nik helped her out of the car and held her hand as they walked towards the doors. It was a French restaurant that perfectly mixed contemporary with old world elegance. A gorgeous tall dark skinned waitress escorted them to a private room at the side of the space. Klaus held out Caroline's seat for her before taking his own seat and they were then served champagne. After taking her first sip of the golden liquid she had to let out a small laugh. "You are going to ruin the chances of any other guys I ever date. How can anyone top this?" She gazed around the room and settled her eyes on her date. He had a concerned look on his face. "I do not intend to share you with anyone. You have captured my very soul Caroline. I'm not sure I would be able to ever give you up." Without warning she was out of her seat and faster than he thought she could move in that dress she was seated in his lap. She kissed him lightly, "Only you could make my life a freaking fairy tale." She laughed and kissed him again before going back to her seat. Their waitress came back to take their orders. Nik looked at Caroline who was studying the menu. She looked shyly at him. "Can we have dessert first? They all look so good and I would hate to be too full to try them later." He just chuckled and waved his hand towards Caroline, telling the waitress in perfect French to allow his amour to order as she wishes. She ordered the white chocolate crme brulee, with raspberry gelee and Nik got the chocolate banana mousse bar. They each tried the other's dessert and secretly Klaus just loved watching Caroline's mouth wrap around his fork. He would watch her moan at the sweet taste and then lick her lips. This was like cruel foreplay that he could not act upon. "Goodness that was almost as good as sex." Caroline already knew the expression that would be on his face so she smirked at him, "I saidalmost. Nothing compares to you." She lowered her voice at the last statement. He was out of his seat this time. Kneeling next to her running his hand from her crossed ankles up to her inner thigh. "If I didn't think that you would enjoy the next part of the date, I would have you on this table right now." Caroline body felt ready to combust. "You should remove your hand and return to your seat before I ask you to take me on this table, right now." Klaus moved his hand like it had been burned by fire. The amount of passion and wanting that was passing through the space between them was palpable. He returned to his seat in time for the waitress to come back. He ordered a duck dish and a beef dish, wanting Caroline to tasted a little of everything. After the plates were cleared, Caroline was filled with five star cuisines and was leaning back in her chair, swirling champagne around in her flute she saw Nik check a sliver pocket watch. "Well, dearest. We must be on our way if we don't want to be late." He again took her hand and led her back out to the waiting Land Rover.

The trip was short and before she knew it she was stepping out on to a red carpet in front of a large building by the river. "Where are we?" She asked to her partner. "This is the Kennedy Performing Art Center and we are here to see the invitation only sneak peek of Swan Lake." Caroline felt like she shouldn't be stunned anymore by his actions, but she had more extraordinary experiences in the past few days with him than she had in her whole life. She just stared in awe as they entered the Center and were ushered up to the third story where the private box seats were. Of course they would have box seats. She thought looking down upon the amazingly dressed people filing into the theater. The show started and for most of it Caroline sat at the edge of her seat, leaning on the railing, mesmerized by the dancers on stage. She found it very distracting that Nik kept running his hand along her exposed back. He would occasionally play with a curl that came loose from her pinned bun. During intermission they were brought more champagne and a light fruit and cheese platter. Caroline felt nothing short of royalty and had to pinch herself to believe it was real. By the end of the ballet Caroline wanted to dance and she twisted her way down the hallway to the stairs that would take them back to the lobby of the center. Back in the car they drove by the Reflecting Pool and around the Washington Monument before pulling up in front of a very ornate hotel. Caroline looked up around the glass-covered entry and saw it was named The Willard Hotel. She didn't expect them to say the night, but with it being so late and a two hour drive home she was thankful that Nik thought about it. The driver of their car walked in behind them and handed a small duffle bag to a bellhop that would be helping them to the room. They stepped into the elevator and went right to the top floor. Their room was more like an apartment. It had two bedrooms, an office, living room, bathrooms to die for and it was decorated in reds and creams. "Is this the Presidential Suite?" Caroline said looking around the large foyer. "Presidents, Royals, Diplomats, and the lovely woman I fancy have now stayed in this suite." He wrapped his hands around her waist and sweetly kissed her. He led her to the bedroom where there was two more bottle of champagne waiting for them. "The flowers on the bottle are really pretty." She took the glass from Klaus. He chuckled, "Yes dear the bottle is very nice, but wait until you taste what came in the pretty bottle. This is a rare Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque." He spoke with a beautiful accent. Caroline would have a lot to learn about being this classy if she was going to stay with him. She felt embarrassed by her grass roots up bringing and turned her back to him, looking out of the window at the city lights. "Do you not like the champagne, sweetheart?" He did not understand her sudden change in mood.

She turned to him with a small smile. "No, it is lovely. I just feel like the wrong person for you." "Please explain, for I feel you are perfect for me." She set her flute down on the nightstand and started to pace the room. "I grew up in a small town, with a cop for a mother. I've never had very nice things or been many places. This outfit most likely cost you what I would make in four years as a therapist. I don't know fancy drinks or restaurants, never dreamed of staying in a hotel like this. I just feel like I'm not enough. You are so cultured, you have traveled, and know things that I fear I will never know." Caroline plopped herself down in an armchair opposite the bed with a loud sigh and placed her face into her hands. Klaus knelt down in front of her and pulled her hands away. He brought her eyes to meet his. "All of those things you just listed are what make me want to be with you even more. I love the way your face lit up when you saw the city or the delight and wonder you expressed at the ballet. I want to be the one to show you the world, to watch you experience everything for the first time and I want to bask in your joy." A few silent tears fell down her face and he brushed them away with the pad of his thumb. He captured her lips when she leaned into him and the lifted her from the chair. The room was only lit by moonlight as he pulled her back on her feet by one of large windows. He kissed her neck and started to work the zipper at the back of the dress. Within seconds it was pooled at her feet and she felt Klaus' body quickly move from hers. She turned around looking for him. "Nik? Where did you go?" She stepped out of her dress, now just wearing her heels, gloves, lace bodysuit, and earrings. She saw him come out of the shadows at the opposite corner of the room. He stalked towards her like a lion would his prey. Caroline felt a shiver run through her body as she started to try to cover her self. "Don't you dare. Turn please." He wanted to see all of her. He was in utter shock at how sexy she looked covered in lace, satin, and diamonds. She smiled, now knowing that he liked what he saw. Rolling on to the balls of her feet she slowly spun around now letting her back face him. She looked at him over her shoulder and she saw a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Klaus was behind her now running his hands from her exposed shoulders down her arms taking the gloves with him. She started to bend to remove her shoes when he leaned in to her ear, "Leave them." He spoke. He spun her to face him and took her in his arms. Holding one of her hands, his other hand rested over the laces of her undergarment at the small of her back. He used to never like fooling with laces in the past and most times ripped or cut dresses off woman a few centuries ago, but now he was excited about pulling each lace loose to free this stunning woman from her clothing. Swaying to no music in particular, they moved towards the center of the room where a large four-poster bed sat. "Turn around and hold on to the bed." He commanded of her.

She complied and reached up above her head, turning her back to Nik and holding on to one of the bedposts. He lowered himself to his knees behind her and moved his hands unhurriedly up her legs. He nibbled at the skin on the back of her thighs and through the lace covering her rear. He was ruining the garment with his teeth, but didn't care. He wrapped one of the tired laces at her back around his finger and leisurely pulled, watching the bow come undone. Caroline's breaths were coming in labored pants now and she closed her eyes trying to focus on staying on her feet. She felt him start to pull at the corset back of her lingerie. Each second was agonizing as the laces start to loosen from her body. Once he had all of the laces undone, he stood behind her reaching under her arms and cupped the fine fabric covering her breasts. She moaned for him as he pulled the lace down her body. He guided it all the way down her legs until it was at her feet. "Crawl onto the bed and lay on your stomach." He said as he ran his hand back up her body. During their other sexual encounters Caroline had been in control, but she was enjoying Nik taking charge and she felt that anything he did to her body would be mind blowing. She heard the rustling of clothing and figured Nik was removing his suit. She felt the bed dip under his weight and then he straddled her thighs. Cool liquid was being dripped on her back and she smelled strawberries and vanilla. Klaus had covered her back in scented massage oil and he used his strong hands to spread it from her shoulders down to her perfect plump bottom. She let out deep moans and sighs has he worked her taut muscles. He found himself spending more time on her bum and he could now smell her arousal in the air around them. He moved off of her legs and nudged them apart settling back down between her knees. He rubbed oil over her thighs and made a few light strokes over her core. She responded by raising her hips and sighing. She spread herself wider for him and he took in the sight of her perfect pink pussy. Rubbing her lower back with one hand he slid two fingers between her glistening folds. Klaus was rewarded by Caroline with a throaty "Nik, please. God, yes." While she gripped the plush comforter she was laying on. The need to be inside of her took over all of his senses and he moved up her body, placing his hands on the bed on either side of her shoulders. He slid into her with ease and she arched her hips up off the bed to take him in deeper. Klaus moved his legs to the outside of hers and as she moved her legs together, she became so tight around him that he didn't think he could move an inch. Caroline raised her chest off of the bed and propped herself up on her elbows and looked over her shoulder at him. He greedily took her mouth to his and they kissed deeply with tongues battling for control. He wrapped an arm around her chest and cupped one of her breasts, kneading it as he started to move within her again. His chest was pressed to her back as their kiss broke with gasping breaths. He lavished kisses along her neck and back as she chanted his name. Wanting to be totally consumed by her, he rolled them both to the side. Now the whole front of his body was plastered to her back. Klaus ran his hand down the curve of her hip, down her thigh and

grabbed on to her knee moving it back over his hip to open her up more for deeper thrusts. Her shoes were now thrown in opposite directions across the bed and her toes curled with the burning sensation of his hands all over her as he kept a steady and deep tempo inside of her. Her moans and cries started to elevate in volume as Nik started making lazy circles around her clit. She felt her orgasm rushing towards its peak as her speech became incoherent. Klaus felt her body start to tighten so he increased the pressure on her breast and nub. He also brought his mouth to the curve of her neck and sucked hard on the creamy skin. Seconds later she called out his name while grabbing on to his hair to hold his mouth to her neck. His poor Caroline didn't know the kind of danger she just put herself in holding his mouth to her neck. He had sucked so hard on her neck that her blood had pooled under the skin. It was so close that he could faintly taste it and his eyes changed to the animalistic yellow as his climax tore through him. He had such an urge to bite, drink, drain, but he just sucked harder on her neck until the tiniest amount of blood leached from her flesh onto his tongue. When he removed his mouth he saw the purplish bruise left behind. He kissed it tenderly and hoped one day he could share his secret with Caroline and she would willingly give her sweet blood to him.

Chapter Seventeen: Your eyes go cold. Klaus and Caroline shared a lovely breakfast in bed and since she didn't have to be back home until later in the afternoon for class, she asked Nik to show her a few places. They dressed in the comfortable clothes that were packed in the small duffle bag. "I hope you don't mind, but I have Rebekah pack some things for you." Klaus said handing her a pair of jeans and a designer tee. Since they were close by The Mall they walked around the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial and past the Jefferson and Vietnam Memorials. They fed the ducks in the Constitution Gardens Pond and stood at the base of the Washington Monument. Before leaving Klaus took her down E Street to look at the White House. Walking back to the hotel hand in hand Caroline pulled him close and said, "Thank you for this. It was has been the most amazing time of my life." He reached down and kissed the top of her head as they kept walking. The entire drive back home Caroline lounged against Nik while he played with her hair or they caressed each other's hands. As always he walked her to her door and gave her a long kiss. "I plan to show you the world Caroline." He spoke while cupping her face and looking into her eyes. She kissed him once more and then went in to her house to get ready for class.

The next month of their relationship was flooded with love and passion. Klaus took Caroline to New York City for another three day weekend and they enjoyed Broadway and visited a few art museums where he explained painting styles and the history of

some older pieces. She was spending more time at his home and even had two drawers of her stuff in his dresser. Proudly her toothbrush sat next to his in the en suite. Tim never came back around for Elena and she cried for days. She seemed to be spending more and more time in the design studio at school and when asked if she was going to try to date again soon, she would quickly change the subject. Bonnie had been spending a lot of time with her grandmother. They would stay in Gram's office in the Religions Department for hours and Bonnie even drove home a few weekends to spend more time with her family. She never talked about what her and Gram were working on, but Caroline didn't find it odd since Bonnie had always been very close with her grandmother. Matt and Bekah went out a few days after everyone returned from the beach and have been joined at the hip since. She would call Caroline, or steal her away from Klaus' room after every date to gush about how wonderful Matt is and how fast she is falling for the handsome young man. Rebekah has been planning a Halloween party for the past three weeks and everyone was working on perfecting their costumes. "Kol I haven't seen you with a costume yet, you have to dress up!" Rebekah whined at her brother. "Don't worry, I'm going as a vampire." He joked showing his fangs as his eyes darkened. Stomping her foot Bekah yelled, "No one is going as a vampire. There will be no talk or jokes about vampires. No drinking from guests. Please Kol, for me, just behave." She was pleading with him now. Smiling and walking from the room Kol says, "Man, you need to get laid little sister. Let some of that frustration out." He winked at her and left the house with Elijah to go out drinking.

The night of the party the three roommates were getting ready together. Elena was finishing up by pinning the black straw hat to her hair and strapping on her Mary-Jane heels. She smoothed out her red coat and blue scarf. "You really do make the perfect Mary Poppins, Lana" Bonnie commented from the doorway. Bonnie had chosen to be a historical character. She had on cream colored riding pants with brown leather boots that came up to her knees. A white blouse was under her brown leather jacket and she had old aviation goggles resting on her head. He hair was pinned in tight curls against her head. Caroline had on a light pink drop waist beaded slip dress. She wore back-seamed stocking, long gloves, and a felt cloche hat with a collection of fabric rosettes at the side. Her hair was also curled and pinned to her head. "It looks like Bonnie and I picked the same decade." "You two could have easily just walked out of the 1920's." Elena commented grabbing her parrot head umbrella and heading for the door. The Mikaelson house was already filled with dancing people when the girls arrived. Rebekah was at the door welcoming in some people dressed like zombies and witches.

"You guys look fabulous!" she said hugging each of her friends. Bekah was dressed in some of the latest New York fashion. "Who are you supposed to be?" Bonnie asked as they all entered the house. "Some one named Gwen Stacy. I don't know who she is, but Matt is dressed as Spiderman and apparently they are like an epic love or something." She shrugged and Elena laughed, knowing that the couple's costume had to have been Matt's idea. A man dressed in a tweed suit and a newsy cap pulled low on his face walked up to Elena and as he tip his hat the girls saw that he had black smudges on his face and that it was Elijah. "Ms. Poppins." He said as he bowed and offered his arm. Elena curtseyed and placed her white gloved hand in the crook of his elbow. "Good evening Bert." She giggled and walked off towards the ballroom with him. Bonnie and Caroline stood there stunned. "When the hell did that happen?" Caroline pointed at the couple. Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders and walked after them towards the party. Klaus came up in a black pin stripped suit, wingtip shoes, and fedora to collect his woman. "This era suits you my dear." He kissed her hand and then her cheek. They walked towards the make shift bar area to get a drink. Kol spotted Bonnie walking into the ballroom, straightened out his coat and walked towards her. "And you who are you tonight?" He asked from behind her. Bonnie was startled by his voice, but turned with a smile. "I am Bessie Coleman. The first African American woman pilot." She stated proudly. "You must be someone from the Village People." He was in a dark blue sailor's uniform with a white hat. A playful smirk crossed his face. "I am an American Navy Sailor from August fourteenth 1945 living in New York because it gives me the right to do this." Kol grabs Bonnie's waist and wraps his other arm around the back of her head. He bends her back and plants a firm kiss on her lips. Shocked she hangs limp in his arms and a few seconds later he brings her upright and releases her. He smiles down at her still surprised face and walks off into the crowd of people dancing. "Well everyone surely knows about us now." Elena says to Elijah as they slow dance. He pulls her closer to him and brushes a soft kiss on her nose. "You better go talk to your friends. They look like they may combust with curiosity." Elijah whispered in to her ear as he placed a kiss on her neck. Elena walked over to her friends. "What the heck Elena. You and Elijah?" Caroline asked. "How long have you guys being together?" Bonnie hissed. Twisting her hands in front of her Elena said quietly. "About three weeks. We have just been getting to know each other. I didn't want to tell you guys about it or get too excited because if it didn't work out then it wouldn't be a big deal."

Both Caroline and Bonnie's faces soften. They knew the misfortunes that Elena has had with men in the past and Tim walking out on her because she wouldn't have sex with him had taken an emotional toll. Both girls hadn't been around much for their friend, so they were also happy that Elena had someone. Bonnie started to piece the puzzle together. "So when you said you are going to school to work on designs, you were with Elijah?" "Pretty much. Some times when I had to get work done he would go with me. Other times we would hang out here or at home when both of you were out. He is very attentive to me. He actually listens when I talk. As up tight and arrogant that he seems on the outside, when it's just the two of us, he treats me like his equal and that's nice for a change." "So how serous is it? Will we be sisters one day?" Caroline questioned with a giggle. Elena's face went from shocked to amused. "If we ever both have rings on our fingers from those men, I will owe you a pair of shoes." Elena bet Caroline with a handshake. All three girls started laughing together. "While we are talking about the brothers, Kol kissed me tonight. I think he was just being Kol, but for me it was like sparks flew." Bonnie said a tiny blush touching her cheeks. "Goodness, can you just picture the holidays if we were all family. Nightmare!" Elena joked. The girls walked over to the bar where Rebekah and Matt were standing. "Well if it isn't the Amazing Spiderman and his damsel in distress." Caroline called to the couple. Matt wrapped his arm proudly around Bekah. "Super hero's always get the best looking girls." Rebekah looked cautiously over at Elena for any signs of uneasiness, but Mary Poppins just looked happy for the both of them. This made Bekah relax and lean her head on her date's shoulder. Klaus walked up to the group of laughing friends. "May I steal Caroline away from you for a moment?" He asked politely before slipping his hand in to hers. They walked towards the back of the house and into the back yard. It was less of a yard and more like an English garden. Mazes of low cut shrubs lined beds of roses. A fountain trickled softly in the background as Klaus led Caroline through the garden to a stone bench under a willow tree. "This is beautiful Nik. Must remind you of home." Caroline said looking around at the understated lighting in the garden. Klaus was gathering his courage. He could intimidate kings, kill anyone he pleased, he was the most powerful being and he had to find strength to tell this beautiful woman that he was falling in love with her. For a long while they sat close to each other, listening to the fountain and the nightingale singing in the tree they sat under. Ever so often, he would play with her hair, trace the seam of her gloved hand, or finger a bead on her dress. He was distracting himself enough that he wouldn't say the wrong thing. He had a million thoughts rushing

through his mind and he wanted to get this right, this is the first and last person he plans on loving. "I want to take you somewhere, well everywhere really." He stammers out. Caroline smiles sweetly and places her palm on his cheek. "I enjoy traveling with you. I will go anywhere you want to take me." She is encouraging him. "I want to take you to my home in England. I want you to see my history. I can't really take you home to meet my parents, but I can show you that part of me." "That sounds wonderful Nik. I would love to." She felt her eyes water at his sentiment. She was falling hard for him and hoped with everything in her that they would spend the rest of their lives together. Klaus watched her far off look and asked. "What are you thinking about, love?" Blushing at being caught, Caroline states matter-of-factly. "I was just thinking about how we are soul mates. I just know that you feel the energy that we share. It's like every cell in our bodies are continuously trying to get closer to the other." He grabbed the face of his rambling beauty and brought their lips together. He wanted her to feel everything in him. She hikes up her dress slightly to startle his lap because she just needed to be closer to him. "I feel it Caroline. I feel everything, all of you, all of us. You must know by now how much I fancy you." He couldn't bring himself to say loveyet. They came together again for a deep kiss and Caroline moaned in to his mouth. She grabbed the collar of his suit, pulling him to her. His hands were running over her dress covered back, sides, hips, grazing the side of her breasts and tangling in the hair at the base of her neck. He felt some of the bobby pins in her hair give way to his fingers but as he intended to get her to his bedroom as quickly as possible, he felt she wouldn't mind him messing her hair. Klaus was about to stand with her in his arms and walk towards the house when she broke their kiss. "Nik, I've fallen for you. I couldn't go another second and not tell you." "You make me feel something that has been absent my entire life. Sweetheart, you must know that I lo" His eyes snapped up from hers as he heard footsteps on the pea gravel that lined the walkways in the garden. "Oh, please don't stop on my account." Caroline froze. That voice made her feel sick and she looked up at Nik's face, which was alight with fury. She removed herself from his lap and they both stood. She still couldn't turn around and face the man attached to the voice. "What an unlikely surprise seeing you here, mate." Klaus didn't know how Tyler had returned. Compulsions don't just wear off.

Caroline finally turned around to face her past attacker. Tyler's eyes were dark and he had a sickening smile on his face. "Well after you told me to go for a walk I ended up down in New Orleans where my uncle found me. He had a powerful friend that released me from my urge to keep walking and he explained a little about my heritage and yours." Feeling very confused, Caroline just stood still next to Nik as Tyler continued his crazy rant. "All I have to do to start the transition is kill someone and I knew just who would serve that purpose." He eyed Caroline and the grin that made her blood run cold was back on his face. "After that it would only take a little bit of effort to kill you as well." Klaus was quickly putting together Tyler's riddled words. He has the werewolf gene and he wants to activate it by killing Caroline. Tyler also thinks that Klaus is a regular vampire, he does not know about hybrids or the original family. Caroline came back to her senses once she heard Tyler talk about killing both of them. She bravely stepped forward. "You are crazy! So I rejected you! You should have left it at that and went on with your life." Just as she was about to continue she saw Tyler's right arm move from his side and one of the garden lights cast a gleam off of the gun in his hand. She was frozen with fear again, just looking at the weapon pointed directly at her. Everything after that moved in slow motions. She heard a loud bang, closed her eyes and waited for the pain. It never came and she snapped open her eyes looking around. She saw Nik standing in front of her, there was a hole in the back of his jacket and blood was dripping from it. Caroline screamed. She grabbed Nik as he fell to the ground, tears where streaming down her face and she was screaming, just screaming. She cupped his face, "Nik! Niklaus! Look at me." Her forehead pressed into his and her tears fell on his face. "I love you, please don't die. You can't." She was sobbing now and kissed his cold lips. She watched as Nik's eyes go cold and he stops gasping. "Don't leave me!" She yells as his body goes limp in her arms. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think. Looking up to see if Tyler was still around, Caroline saw him standing stunned at his own actions. Then he stretched out his arms, throwing his head back with a howl, like he was waiting for something to happen. Elijah was now next to them. "Please, save him!" Caroline yelled at him. Elijah's focus was on Tyler grabbing him around the neck and chocked him until the boy went limp. Kol was now in the garden and started to drag Tyler into the cellar door at the side of the house. "Why is no body helping Nik?" Caroline was hysterical at this point looking up at Elijah. Bending down the eldest Mikaelson picked up his brother and started walking towards the house. "Please follow me Caroline."

They walked in silence up to Nik's room and Elijah laid Klaus down on the bed. He removed the jacket, vest, and blood soaked shirt of his brother's costume. Caroline could see the bullet hole over Nik's heart and without thought walked in to the bathroom. She came back with a wet cloth and started to clean his chest. She pushed Elijah out of the way, "You did nothing to save him! How could you?" Looking down at his watch and sighed. "I'll leave you for a moment." He turned and walked out of the room, down the stairs and into the cleared out ballroom where his family waited. Elena and Bonnie had left when everyone else and figured that Caroline was spending the night with Nik. "What happened?" Rebekah asked as she saw Elijah approach. "From what I can gather, the boy who attacked Caroline a few months ago came back and intended to kill her. Klaus took the bullet. It went through his heart so he went down but he should be waking up in the next ten minutes." Elijah picked up a drink from the bar and downed it. This is not how he wanted the girls to find out about them. He knew that Caroline meant the world to his brother and his own feelings for Elena were developing. This could end all of it. Kol walked up from the basement joining his family. "He is locked up down stairs whenever Nik is ready for him." The grin on his face indicated that he knew that Tyler's death was coming. The three Mikaelson siblings walked slowly up the stairs and all gathered in Klaus room. Caroline was kneeling by the bed with her head resting on his unmoving hand. When she heard the family enter Caroline looked up with puffy blood shot eyes. Rebekah went to her friend and wrapped her arms around the human's shoulders. "It will be okay Caroline. Trust us." Bekah said lowly in Caroline's ear. Not having the strength to fight anymore, Caroline just cried into her friends shirt as she tightly gripped Nik's hand. She felt the sensation that her hand was being squeezed and she pinched her eyes shut knowing she was just imaging it. Her breath stopped when there was a gasp beside her. "Caroline, sweetheart. Look at me."

Chapter Eighteen: Caught red.lipped? Refusing to open her eyes, Caroline clamped them closed tighter and shook her head as it rested on the mattress next to Nik's body. She was hearing things, he had died in her arms, he was gone. She jumped up when she felt the electricity of his touch. Klaus had reached out and placed his hand on the top of her head. "Darling, please look at me." He pleaded. Finally opening her eyes and stepping away from the bed, she scanned his body from foot to head. The wound on his chest was closed and when Caroline saw his face she

dropped to her knees. He's loving blue eyes were boring in to her. Painful sobs poured through her body. Moving off of the bed, Klaus carefully approached her. With her still shaking body, he wrapped his strong arms around her, shushing her and telling her to take deep breaths. Snapping her eyes up to him she quickly removed herself from his embrace. "How can this be? I saw you die." Fear. The one emotion that Klaus hoped he would never see on her face was expressed very clearly as his love scampered away from him and stood out of his reach. "I can't die Caroline. I had to save your life, you are the only thing that is important to me." He took a step towards her with open arms. Holding up her hand to stop his advances, "How is that even possible? You died in my arm, Nik! Do you know what it was like watching the life leave your eyes?" She was crying again, reliving the emotions. He never wanted to hurt Caroline and he should have told her sooner what he was but he was so scared of losing her. "There are wonders out there that you may not understand, love." "Try me." She was feeling hurt and betrayed now and just wanted answers. The rest of the family took their leave, letting the couple have privacy for this talk. Here goes nothing. He thought to himself as he took a deep breath and started to explain. "My family and I are immortal, the first vampires ever created. Our mother did this to us. I'm slightly special though for I am what is called a hybrid, part vampire and part werewolf." Klaus watched her for any reaction. Caroline just stood frozen, shocked, with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Nik didn't look like he was joking and he had just come back to life, so what he was saying had to be the truth, right? She was trying as fast as her human brain would let her, to reason through what she just heard. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I couldn't have you leave me. I am not a danger to you, I would never hurt you, I couldn't." He needed her back in his arms she had to understand. He took another step towards her and when she didn't move away from him, he reached out and took her hand in his. She snatched her hand away from him, looking at him with fury in her eyes, "How could you do this to me? Make me love you and not tell me. Make me watch you die. You have hurt me Nik. Do you know how that felt, to watch the man that I loved fade?" He was wounded by her action and words. She had said loved, past tense. Did she not love him anymore after knowing what he really was? "I am so sorry, sweetheart. I was going to tell you, I did not intend for you to have to see me parish." He tried to take her hand again and this time she let him. "Out in the garden, I was going to tell you that I love you. I may not be human but I am a man. A man that is completely bewitched by you and never wish to spend a day away from you."

Klaus was now cupping her face and gazing profoundly into her eyes desperate to see her returned love in them. Caroline placed her hands over his and slowly removed them from her face. "I'm sorry Nik, but I need time." She walked around him, down the stairs and out the door of his home. Half way to her house she had to lean against a light pole to collect her self as the sobbing had returned. Caroline made it home and her friends were surprised to see her. "You aren't staying over at Nik's tonight?" Elena asked before seeing Caroline's tear stained face. "Oh, sweetie, what happened?" "Nik...gotshotby Tyler." She was gasping between words trying to break down again. "Oh my God, Care. Is he okay?" Elena ran to her friend and led her to the couch to sit down. Bonnie was oddly quiet. Wiping tears from her cheek she darkly laughed. "Yeah. He's fine." She looks down at her hands in her lap and exhales. "You guys should know something about them." Bonnie now came to sit with her friends on the couch. Elena just reached out and took Caroline's hand to comfort the blonde. "They aren't human. They are vampires. That is how Nik survived a gun shot to the chest." You could hear a pin drop in the room as the girls let Caroline's statement sink in. Elena was the first to talk. "All of them? Even Elijah?" "Yes all of them. Nik says they were the first ones, so they can't be killed by anything." Caroline laughed at the words coming out of her mouth. She never imagined that she would be saying such crazy things. Bonnie finally spoke, "I knew." She said it so softly that it was almost missed. Both Elena and Caroline looked over at her and questioned. "What? How?" "You know all that time I have been spending with Gram? Well our family has a bit of a secret also." She sat up straight, not wanting to seem embarrassed by what she is. "I come from a long line of Witches. Gram has been helping me get connected with nature and my ancestors to build my power. A witch in my lineage created the vampires over a thousand years ago, Gram told me all about them." Caroline didn't know how much more she could take and started to feel light headed. "Can we take a break from all of this for a minute. Lets get cleaned up and meet back in my room and you can tell us about them Bon." They all agreed and went to get out of their costumes. Caroline looked in the mirror and saw Nik's blood all over her dress and she tore it off of her as quickly as possible. She scrubbed herself harshly in the shower and exited to find Elena already in her room. "This is all crazy, Care. What are we going to do? We love men who could kill us." Elena spoke quietly as Caroline slid under the blankets with her.

Bonnie walked in freshly showered and changed and sat on the bed facing her friends, knowing they had questions. "So long ago my ancestor lived in the same village of the Mikaelson's and people kept dying because of werewolves so their mother went to the witch and asked to make her children immortal. They turned out to be vampires, but that wasn't the intent of the mother or witch. The siblings went on a killing spree, drunk with blood lust and drained most of the village. The witch got away, obviously since I'm here." Finding her voice Caroline spoke. "So they are dangerous. Nik told me he would never hurt me, but isn't it in his nature to want.blood?" She felt a chill run through her when she thought about all the times Nik had been near her neck. Bonnie smiled, "I have known about them for a few weeks now and have watched them closely. I don't think they are a threat to us because trust me, if they wanted our blood they would have taken it already." Elena pulled out her phone and typed away at a text message before looking over at Caroline. "So what are you going to do about Nik?" "I really don't know. I told him that I needed time and that is what I'm going to do. Can we sleep now?" "Sure." Bonnie answered as they all snuggled down in Caroline's bed.

Klaus pulled his flat screen television off of the wall and threw it across the room. It went through his door and ended up landing with a sickening crack on the marble floor of the lower level foyer. He stalked down to the living room where his family was and spoke. "Come with me." before walking down to the basement where Tyler was being held. The boy had regained consciousness and was fighting against the chains that held him to the wall. He didn't know what happen, he had killed, he should feel stronger. Tyler heard foot steps on the stairs and put on a brave face. His captures didn't need to know that he didn't change but he was shocked when he saw Caroline's boyfriend walk in, alive. "What are we going to do with a young werewolf that doesn't know how to behave?" Klaus asked his siblings in a sinister voice. Kol came up to Tyler, grabbing his hair and yanking the boys head back. "You could try to turn him into a hybrid but then he would still be alive." "Well I'm not feeding form him, I might catch something." Bekah said from the back of the room. Klaus walked up to Tyler. "You didn't know it mate, but I'm a hybrid. You couldn't kill me even after you transition. So lets see if you are a wolf or still just a wretched human." With a quick movement and a sharp snapping noise he twisted the boys neck and watched his body go limp in the chains. "You all can go about your business, I'll wait to see if he comes around."

Elijah's phone beeped and he looked hopeful. "Caroline told the girls, Elena wants to talk to me tomorrow. That's a good sign right?" "Yes brother. Now lets leave Nik alone." Rebekah walked with her two other brothers back up into the house.

The next morning Bonnie and Caroline decided to drive home to Mystic Falls to see their families and Elena was staying behind to talk with Elijah. "I just feel like I need to get out of here. I can't see him right now. I need to just process everything." Caroline said as she paced her room, throwing clothes in to an overnight bag. They loaded up Caroline's car and set off for the trip home. Bonnie spoke first once the got on the interstate heading west. "Did you love him?" Caroline tried to hide the pain on her face. "I think I still do, it is not something I can just turn off. This is really big, not just like a little secret, but they are freaking vampires!" No matter how many times she said the word, it didn't become any easier for her to accept it. Bonnie just slightly smiled at her friend and said, "Well like I said last night, if they wanted to hurt us, they would have done it by now." "I know but how can I trust that everything he has said up until now wasn't a lie or even half truths, which are even worse?" Caroline was wildly gesturing with her hands now. "Care, first of all. Keep your hands on the wheel, ten and two, please. Second, besides him not telling you that he is a vampire, do you feel that he lied about anything else?" Exhaling a long breath Caroline focused on driving and stated, "No he has not. He told me last night that he loves me. I'll think about talking to him after we get back, but for the next two days I just want to relax and not think about him." Caroline's mother was very excited to see her daughter and after getting her shift at the police station covered, the two woman spent all day catching up. The girls returned home the next evening and found Elena and Elijah in the living room together watching a movie. Caroline gave Elijah a tight lipped smile and walked to her room. She couldn't see how Elena managed to overlook what they are. As she was unpacking her weekend bag there was a soft tap on the door. "I hope I'm not intruding." Elijah spoke from the doorway. Moving around her bed to put as much distance between her self and him Caroline said, "You're not. What can I do for you?" Understanding the blonde's body language he did not advance further into the room. "I just wanted to let you know that we all understand that the news about us is shocking and can take time to accept. If you have any questions about us, our lifestyle and our intentions, you can ask me and I will be honest with you."

"Thank you Elijah." With that he bowed and left her room to go back to Elena.

Klaus waited for two days for both word from Caroline and any signs of life from Tyler. Satisfied that the boy had not transitioned he bent down next to the now bloated corpse and plunged his hand into the chest, removing the heart. "Just in case." He told himself, but he just wanted to further mutilate the boy's body. When he rejoined his family on the main living space of the house he heard from Elijah that Bonnie and Caroline had gone to Mystic Falls for the weekend. Expecting to hear from his love within a few days he set up a new canvas in his office to paint her portrait as a gift. Two days turned into a week and then two. Elena and Elijah were still together, she had acknowledged what they are and with a promise not to be harmed, the relationship between the two bloomed. Klaus took this time to file down one of the white oak steaks and drive it through his father's chest. This brought him some relief from the mounting worry and anger towards Caroline's indifferent behavior. Even Bonnie had come around to see Kol. She approached the family and revealed her recent discovery about being a Bennett witch. They came to an accord that as long as no harm came to the three friends that no unwanted spells would be cast upon the family. Rebekah took all of this the hardest. She lost her best friend for Caroline had no contact with anyone in the family since Halloween. This in turn made Bekah angry with her brother and had not talked to Nik since after helping dispose of Tyler's body. The girls had just gone home for Thanksgiving and were now on their way back home. "Caroline you need to make up your mind. Let him go or talk to him. He is like a caged animal." Bonnie pleaded with her friend. Kol had told her that Klaus was getting restless and when that happened he would eventually snap and go on a killing benders. Caroline was quiet the rest of the way home and when they pulled up to their home it was just after sun down she didn't even take her bag inside just started walking towards his house. She had built up the nerve in the car ride and she knew that if she went into the house, she would find an excuse to not go see Nik. She rang the bell and Kol answered the door slightly shocked to see her. "Long time no see Caroline." "I know. Sorry about that. Is Nik home?" She now felt silly for staying away from her friends for so long. "I think he is in the study if you want to go find him. I was just heading over to your place to see BonBon." He stepped aside and let Caroline in before jogging down the steps to the sidewalk. Walking into the house she felt herself waver a little and almost left but with her hand on the front door knob she heard his laugh from across the house. Turning and walking toward Nik's study she knocked softly not wanted to intrude. "What?" His voice rang from the other side of the door.

Caroline pushed the heavy oak double doors open and felt like fainting, getting sick, and running away all at the same time. She took in the scene around her. Nik sitting in the large chair behind his desk with a voluminous woman perched in his lap, they were both laughing. She saw the red stain on the woman's neck that seeped into her blonde hair and a small dribble of blood ran down Nik's chin. Within a second the woman was tossed aside and Klaus was standing in front of Caroline. She wouldn't look up at his face and he regretted getting caught with the young college student that he had been feeding from for the past week. "Nik, you have, um, food on your face?" Caroline awkwardly stammered out, not able to look at him with blood on his face. He quickly removed his handkerchief and cleaned himself. "Sweetheart, please don't move." He moved to the discarded woman and compelled her. "Leave. Go home and forget everything about me and this place." The young woman got up and skipped from the room as if nothing happened. Nik was back in front of Caroline and she started to move towards a seating area in the middle of the space. "So you're really a vampire." She laughed to herself. "Afraid so, love."

Chapter Nineteen: The Glory of Love Klaus sat in a wingback chair across from Caroline and waited for her to speak. Her eyebrows were knitted together as if deep in thought and she continued to look at the expensive silk rug on the floor. Finally bringing her eyes to meet his she says. "You love me." Though it was more of a statement then a questions Klaus answers. "With everything in me." "We can not have any more secrets. You have to tell me how it all works and mostly I need to know that I am safe to be with you." She was giving him a second chance. If he could die of happiness, it would be right now. "You have my word love, I will be honest with you and answer all of your queries. I promise to never hurt you, well unless you ask." Caroline had to smile at the playful smirk that crossed his lips as he winked at her. "Pump the breaks Casanova. What did I walk in on tonight?" He squirmed in his seat under her gaze and swallowed the lump in his throat. Why am I nervous? He asked himself. "I was feeding. Every few days I need to drink, um, blood. I picked her up last week and have been using her since." With raised eyebrows she asked. "Using her? Like sexually as well?" "No!" He almost yelled. "Nothing like that, just for her blood. I could never be with anyone but you."

"You just let her go. Aren't you scared she will tell someone about you?" This is the part that he hated talking about. He didn't want Caroline to think that he had manipulated her at all. "We can use the power of suggestion on people. In the vampire world it is called compulsion. Vampires can only use it on humans, but as the first of our kind, my family and I can compel other vampires as well. So I asked to woman to forget about me and what I am." Pure shock is what Caroline felt. "Have you everused it on me?" With a loving smile he said. "No sweetheart. Everything that has happened between us has been due to free will. I couldn't live with myself if you did not return my love of your own accord." Caroline thanked him with a smile and was relieved that she had not been forced in to anything. "You drink blood. So have you ever wanted mine?" Klaus shot out of his seat and almost had to leave the room. He walked over to a velvet covered window and looked out into the night. He heard her light foot steps come up behind him. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" He closed his eyes and exhaled before turning to face her and give her an answer. "No, love you didn't. It's just the allure of your blood has taunted me since the first night I met you. I have exercised a great amount of control with you. I could not bear to hurt you though I'm sure your blood would be just as sweet tasting as the rest of you." Caroline thought for a long moment before continuing with her questioning. "If you bit me, would I become like you?" Klaus smiled. "No my dear and we do not glitter in the sun. To be changed you must drink of me and then die. You would awaken and have to feed from a human. After that moment you would be immortal to just about anything." He did not dare ask if that is something she might want. They would come to that in the future. "So no matter how intimate we are, you will not bite me?" With a groan he almost sank to his knees. "Are you trying to get me to beg, because for all that I am sweetheart, I will." She smiled to herself realizing the amount of power she had over him. "Just making sure that it is still safe when we make love." His Caroline has said when and so much hope rushed through him. He advanced forward taking her face in his hands. He looked into her eyes and saw only love and acceptance. The kiss they shared after was burning with passion. "I have missed you so much Caroline." Stepping backwards out of his embrace she walked over by his desk and ran her hand over the dark finish of the massive wooden piece. She spotted a dagger like letter opener on the leather writing station and picked it up. She could feel Nik's eyes on her the entire time even though her back was to him.

Turning to face her lover she slowly moved her finger to the tip of the dagger. Locking eyes with him she pressed down and felt her skin give way. "Come taste me." She spoke as a fat drop of blood landed on the papers scattered over the desk. Klaus was on her within the blink of an eye. He had her pressed up against the wall behind his desk as he captured her wrist and brought her hand level with his face. There was now a small stream of blood trickling down her index finger. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the baroque of her blood. He opened his eyes and gazed deeply into hers as he deliberately placed his tongue on her palm where the stream of blood had ended. Not breaking eye contact he licked up to the tip of her finger before wrapping his lips around her velvety flesh and sucked lightly. Allowing the small amount of blood to swirl around his mouth like a fine wine he enjoyed the savory fruit and fresh notes of the taste. He was able to swallow twice before the wound closed itself. He knew that his eyes had changed and while Caroline looked minutely shocked there was also lustful fire in her gaze. Caroline's breath was coming out in pants and as odd as she felt about it, she had never been so aroused in her life. His eyes changed to an animalistic yellow but all she saw was desire. With a quick turn Nik had her sitting on the edge of his desk, as he was franticly kissing her and pushing up the bottom of her sweater dress. She licked his bottom lip with purpose and could taste the copper of her blood. She moaned while he produced a low growl from deep in his chest. With fingers moving quickly over buttons, Klaus' shirt fell from his broad shoulders onto the floor. Next Caroline pulled at his belt bringing him closer to her while resting him between her thighs. Klaus tangled his hands in to her blonde curls, taking in as much of her as he could. He had missed every trivial thing about this woman and wanted to memorize every inch of her. He felt her leather boot clad calves wrap around his waist and he tore at the cowl neckline of her dress. With the swipe of his hand the items on his desk went to the floor with symphony of thudding books and breaking glass. While kissing Caroline breathless, Nik leaned her back on the large mahogany desktop. He reached for the dagger and stood up looking down on the beauty laid out before him. He watcher eyes get large when he held the knife. "Do you trust me?" Her breath was coming quicker now. "Sort of?" She squeaked out as Nik moved the blade to the hem of her dress. With one swift movement he cut the fabric from her body leaving her only in a deep purple lace bra and panty set. She whimpered when the chilled air around them hit her body. Klaus moved his hands down her legs and one by one pulled the zipper of her boots down before gently removing the shoes and dropping them to the ground. His lovely Caroline was spread out like a feast for a starving man. He wrapped his hands around her hips and his mouth went to her panty covered core wanting to taste all of her. Caroline's back arched off of the wooded top as she reached behind her head to hold onto the edge of the desk. She needed to ground herself or she felt she would float off into oblivion. She looked down at Nik just in time to see him take her panties between

his teeth and pull. The sound of the lace ripping stirred the desire that was boiling in her lower abdomen. With the slight pull of his hands at her hips the amethyst fabric fell in shreds to the hard wood floor. Klaus was not afraid to show her pieces his true nature; he wouldn't dare go full hybrid on her until she was less fragile. He groaned into her core as he thought about one day changing her. The vibration of his moans on her brought on an orgasm that shot through Caroline like lightening. Allowing her to ride out the pleasure, Klaus kissed at her neck and breasts. Again using his hands he tore her bra in two permitting her full breast to fall naturally on her chest. She started trying to work his pants off with her feet and he helped by popping the buttons on his jeans and with the sound of his belt buckle hitting the floor he was sheathed deep within her. "Lord Caroline, I have missed you more than you can fathom." He kissed between her breasts as he wrapped both of his arms around her torso, trying to bring her as closed as possible to him. As he started to move in her she quietly moaned and said. "This is where you belong. I love you Nik." They kissed and made love in his wrecked office. This time Klaus and Caroline's climaxes was slow and tender as if their very souls were finally joined. Holding his love close to his chest he lifted her from the desk and brought her down on his lap as he sat in his large leather chair. Caroline started to giggle into his chest. He halted the movement of his hands across her back and asked. "What is it, love?" "You destroyed all of my clothes." She was now looking behind her at the piles of cloth. Kissing her shoulder he replied. "Not true. You're boots are in perfect condition. I would not mind one bit if you were to wear just those." She playfully slapped him on the chest as she squirmed with laughter on his lap. He was still inside of her and she felt his cock twitch within her and her laughs turned to moans as she rolled her hips against his. Klaus enjoyed Caroline as she bounced on his lap with her head thrown back so far that her hair brushed against his thighs. He held her around the waist and paid some much needed attention to her breasts that were positioned right at his face. She changed her pace and rocked her core against him, which shortly led her to an intense orgasm and falling weakly into Nik's arms. He carried her back to the seating area and placed her on the couch. He wrapped a cashmere throw blanket around her shoulders before going to retrieve his jeans from behind the desk. With just his bottoms on he picked Caroline up bridal style and walked them up to his room. He laid her down on his bed and just stood looking at her. "You look good enough to eat." The lazy smirk that she loved spread across his lips.

Opening the blanket and laying nude before him, her own wicked smile graced her lips. "Well mister, this is not on the menu." She ran her hands down her body. Then with out her control she yawned in a very unladylike fashion and this made them both laugh. "Go to sleep love. I'm going to stay up for a while and read." He sat down in an armchair in the corner his room as he watched her eyes flutter shut with a satisfied smile. Klaus really just want to sketch her sleeping form so he could always have a memento of the night she had unconditionally accepted and loved him.

The next morning Caroline awoke in Nik's bed but he was nowhere to be found. She saw a single primrose on the nightstand and a piece of paper under it. As she enjoyed the fragrance of the flower she looked over the drawing in her hand. He must have done this last night. She thought to herself and read the fine script at the bottom of the page. La nuit, je savais que je ne pouvais pas exister sans vous. As she traced the words with her healing finger there was a knock at the door. Wrapping the throw around herself again, she peeked out of the door seeing Bekah. "Please come in." Caroline opened the door further to her friend who had a stack of clothes in her hands. As soon as the door was closed Caroline threw her arms around her friends neck. "I am so sorry for shunning you when you have only ever been wonderful to me. Please forgive me?" Rebekah had dropped the clothes that Nik had told her to bring Caroline and stood in shock as the blonde human hugged her. "Care, I don't know how I feel about you hugging me while you are naked." In her haste to apologize to Rebekah she had dropped her blanket. Quickly retrieving the throw she covered herself back up. "Sorry about that." She said embarrassed. "I just have missed you and I've been selfish and foolish." "Enough of that. All is forgiven as long as your promise not to do it again." Rebekah had gathered the clothes from the floor and handed them to Caroline. "Now go get dressed. You have class in an hour." Caroline swiftly showered and dressed before going down stairs to the kitchen where she could smell coffee being brewed. "Elena?" Her friend stood at the coffee machine stirring cream in to her cup only wearing a deep blue men's button up shirt. "Oh, hi Care." She smiled sheepishly. Elijah walked in only wearing Burberry sleep pants slung low on his hips. He went straight to Elena, kissed the top of her head and grabbing a cup for him self. "Good morning Caroline. Glad to have you back with us." Caroline stood and watched as the couple walked hand in hand over to the breakfast table before sitting down together and engaging in a private conversation.

Downing her coffee and taking a piece of fruit from the bowl on the island counter she looked up when Rebekah walked in. "Hey do you want a ride to school?" "I don't have any of my things." Caroline answered. Bekah held up Caroline's school bag. "Come on, Kol is waiting."

"Will you please calm down?" Caroline looked over at Nik. He was rapidly tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel of his BMW as they approached Caroline's childhood home. It was a few days before Christmas and she was taking her boyfriend home to meet her mother. Nik was a mess of nerves and hadn't stopped annoying her since they got on the freeway. "I've never done the whole 'meet the parents' thing. What if your mum doesn't like me or disapproves of our relationship?" She gave him an endearing smile and placed her hand on his bouncing thigh. "Don't worry, just be yourself." Klaus gave her a discredited look. "Okay, so don't be, you know, your-vampire-self. Be charming and sweet. She will see how much we love each other and besides, I'm a grown woman. You don't need her permission to have me." He was relaxing under her touch and with her words. "I am from a different time sweetheart. I am expected to ask your parents for your hand." Caroline sat in silence for a moment. "Were you planning on asking for my hand?" Oh bollocks. He thought. "Well not immediately but I figured that one day you might want to" She intruded him by unfastening her seatbelt and throwing her arms around him, kissing his cheek and neck. "Ask me right now." Klaus swerved the car over to the side of the road and came to a skidding stop. Caroline had sat back in her seat and he turned slightly in his to face her. "Are you sure, love?" She just nodded at him and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Caroline Forbes. Would you do me the extreme honor of accepting my hand?" She smiled at him as tears started to pool in her eyes. He started to look uncomfortable at her silence and she decided to end his suffering.

"Yes, Niklaus. Nothing would make me happier."

Chapter Twenty: Vampirism and Voyeurism Klaus and Caroline shared a tender moment with each other in the car, just kissing and letting their happiness radiate around them as a light snow started to fall. "Lets keep this news between us until I can make it more official." He said as he stroked the ring finger of her left hand. Caroline just smiled and nodded as they composed themselves and drove the remaining few blocks to her mom's house. Liz ran out on the porch as she heard a car pull into the driveway. "Hi sweetie! I'm so glad you made it before the snow really started coming down." She hugged her daughter and saw a man walking up the steps with bags in his hand. "Who is this handsome young man?" Liz questions Caroline in a voice that she thinks he can't hear. Klaus tires to hide the smirk on his face, Well at least she thinks I'm good looking. He muses to himself. "Mom, this is Nik, my boyfriend." Caroline and Klaus exchanged a knowing look when she stressed the last word. He could not wait to caller her fianc and later wife. He shook those thoughts from his head because they had a long road ahead before they came to those terms. He dropped the bags long enough to extend his hand and in his most charming British way he said. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Forbes. You have raised an extraordinary daughter." "Please call me Liz." She tried hard not to swoon at his accent, dimples, and piercing blue eyes. She shook his hand and invited him in to the house. As he passed over the threshold Liz turned to her daughter and mouthed 'Is he for real?' while pointing at Klaus' back with her thumb. Caroline just laughed at her mom. "You need a man, badly." She joked as they entered the warm house. Setting the bags down by the entry table, Klaus did not want to assume that Caroline's mom would be open to the idea of them sharing a bedroom. Seeing his uneasiness, Liz stated. "I'm not oblivious. Caroline, show Nik where you two will be sleeping. Get unpacked and cleaned up, we are going to the Grill tonight for dinner with the Gilberts'." If Nik could have blushed, he would have been. What is wrong with me? Bekah was right I am a whelp. Caroline just smiled at him and took one of the small suitcases and walked down the hallway to her room. It looked very similar to the room she had in Richmond and he was happy to see so much of her past in the room. There were photographs in frames on the dresser and pinned to a ribbon board on one wall. He set down his things and then took his time studying each picture. His human teen years were so different from hers that he just wanted to know everything in her life that made her the woman he loves now.

"So this is my room. There is a private bathroom through there and you can hang what ever you want in the closet. We should go get the gifts from the car before we leave for dinner." Caroline started to unpack her bag, placing folded items in the dresser. When she didn't hear Nik reply she turned around to see what he was up to. He was looking intently at a group of pictures on the wall. "Why are you so sad in these ones?" He reached out and touched Caroline in the pictures where she had no light in her eyes. He heard her exhale and walk up behind him. She frowned at the pictures. "That was during a hard time for me." Caroline wanted to keep it brief but Nik questioned her with his eyes. "That was my second year of high school and as if being sixteen isn't awkward enough, there were other issues." Caroline unpinned one of the pictures of her and a dark haired boy. "This is me and Damon. He was a senior and on the baseball team, very popular and for some reason he had been trying to get me to go out with him since freshman year." They walked over to her bed and sat down next to each other. "Finally I agreed to go out with him and we dated for a few months, even went to home coming together. He kept trying to advance our relationship, physically, but I wasn't ready for it. I could tell that he was getting frustrated with me and I didn't want him to break up with me, so one night after a senior party we went back to his place and well, you know." Klaus just sat and listened. He understood that Caroline had other partners in the past, but that did not stop him from being upset with the thought of another man's hand on her body. "The next day at school when I went up to kiss him like I always did, he brushed me off. I heard him later that day bragging to his friend about being my first. I found out from some other girls that the baseball team had a history of only dating virgins and once they got what they wanted, they would dump the girls and sometimes public humiliate them." Caroline crumpled the picture in her hand and laughed, "I don't even know why I still have this picture." She looked over at Nik and was taken back by the pure rage in his eyes. "Would you like me to hurt him, to defend your honor?" He said between clenched teeth. There was the monster. Caroline had only witnessed it a few times, mostly when Nik was yelling at Kol for doing something foolish, but it was always a reminder of what he really was and what he was capable of. "No one has honor in high school. Anyways he died a few years back, driving drunk, went over the side of the bridge and drowned. Karma I guess." Klaus didn't care that the son of a bitch was dead; he would dig up the boy and crush his bones into a fine powder with his expensive Italian leather boots. "After everything with him I kind of became an introvert and it took almost a year for me to stop blaming myself for being so stupid. That is also when I patched up things with my mom and I've been this Caroline ever since." She waved her hands over her body and smiled at the beautiful man sitting next to her.

With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he pounced on her and started to kiss every inch of her face and neck as she squealed and giggled for him to stop. "What I wouldn't have given to be the only man to ever touch you." Their teasing moment turned intense and she moved her face to his to gently kiss him. "Wish as I can that you were my first, know that you will be the only man to touch me every again." They were interrupted by her mother's voice. From the kitchen they heard Liz call. "You kids ready?" This made Caroline laugh again. "Yeah, young man, are you ready to go?" The joke was not lost on Klaus. Though he was centuries the senior of anyone alive today, in this time and place, he was just a twenty-five year old kid dating the town sheriff's daughter. He helped Caroline off of the bed and tried in vain to smooth her wild hair before giving up and just kissing her firmly on the mouth. Before heading out, they all gathered the wrapped gifts from the trunk of Klaus' car and placed them around the sparsely decorated tree. Caroline made a mental note to get some more ornaments tomorrow and really get her home into the Christmas sprite. Klaus offered to drive to the restaurant and dropped the ladies by the door before going to find a parking spot on the snowy street. Walking into the bar that he had spent many nights at a few months ago, he hoped that the barkeep did not recognize him. He found the large table that the two families were sitting at and took a seat next to Caroline. "Elijah." He said curtly. He was not expecting his brother to accompany Elena home for the holidays. Nodding at his brother and passing him a waiting drink he replied. "Niklaus. What a pleasant surprise." He then stood and smiled down at Elena. "Allow me to go get us a fine bottle of wine from the bar to have with dinner." He walked towards the large oak bar at the other side of the restaurant. "Well looks like both our girls found some nice looking men at school." Liz said to Elena's mom Miranda. Grayson, Elena's dad chimed in. "I think he is too old for you sweetie." He directed the statement to his daughter. Across the table, Klaus almost choked on his drink. If he only knew. He thought. "Daddy, he is only twenty-eight. That is not that big of a deal and he treats me well. Shouldn't you be happy about that?" Elena huffed at her father. Liz cleared her throat and nudged her daughter. "Aren't you going to introduce Nik to the Gilberts?" "Oh! Sorry. This is my boyfriend Nik. He is also Elijah's younger brother." Grayson looked like he wanted to eat his foot. He extended his hand over the table and said. "No offence Nik. I'm sure your brother is a fine man but I'm just looking out for my little girl."

"Don't worry Mr. Gilbert. No offence taken. I assure you my brother has the upmost intentions towards your Elena. We have all become very fond of the girls." Klaus smiled as he placed his arm around Caroline's shoulders. Elijah returned with the waitress who had a trey full of wine glasses and dark green bottle of red wine. A glass was set in front of everyone at the table as the waitress popped the cork. Liz took the glasses that were placed for Elena, Caroline and Jeremy and gave them back to the waitress. Caroline looked at her mom with pleading eyes. "Look sweetie, I am a police officer in this town and have to follow the law. Until you're birthday next month you don't drinkout in public." She whispered the last bit. Thankful that she would at least be able to drink something during dinners at home, Caroline asked the waitress for an iced tea. Elena's father started up conversation after they had placed their orders. "So what do you two guys do? Are you students at the university as well?" "No sir." Nik answered. "I am an artist by trade. I do a few large commissioned pieces a year and that keeps me comfortable." Grayson looked at Elijah next. "I handle real estate. Over the generations of our family, we have acquired a large amount of property around the world. I manage the affairs and broker deals for new property." He took a large sip of wine as his dates father eyed him. "I see, and your family?" Klaus took point on this. "Our parents died years ago. We have two other siblings, our younger brother Kol and a baby sister Rebekah. Caroline, Elena, and Bekah have become fast friends and our sister attends university with them." "I'm sorry to hear about your parents. It is never easy losing someone." Liz reached over and patted Nik's hand that was still on her daughter's shoulder. Changing the subject Elena tells her parents. "Their sister Rebekah is dating Matt Donovan. They seem to be very happy together." "That's wonderful." Miranda says. "He is such a good boy, he deserves all the happiness that life can throw at him." After their meal, Klaus and Elijah walked to the bar to take a few shots of whisky to help suppress their thirst. "So it seems you have your work cut out for you with the Gilberts'." "You have no idea Niklaus. To think that I thought courting a girl back in the eighteen hundreds was bad. I am sleeping on the couch down stairs. I'm not even allowed in the guest room on the same floor as Elena." He downed his drink and motioned for another. "How about Caroline's mum?" Klaus laughs from behind his glass. "Well I haven't gotten the 'I have a gun and know how to use it' talk yet, but I feel it is coming. Liz is very welcoming and at least I get to sleep with my girl." They wished each other luck and clinked glasses before downing three fingers of amber liquid and returned to the table.

Caroline and Nik split a piece of tiramisu while a few others order dessert and coffee. After a few more minutes of lighter conversation everyone got up to head out since it was now dark outside and the weather was getting worse. Back at the Forbes house, Nik lit the fireplace while Liz and Caroline went to the kitchen to make hot cocoa with extra marshmallows. Klaus sat back on the couch and chuckled to himself. All he need was an ugly Christmas themed knit sweater and he would be in a bad sitcom program playing the perfect boyfriend. Walking to the living room with steaming mugs and a plate of cookies, Caroline turned on the television where they were playing old Christmas cartoons and she snuggled up to Nik on the couch. An hour or so later she felt herself pressed against his hard chest. She had fallen asleep and he was carrying her to their room. Laying her down, he pulled of her boots, jeans and tucked her in under the thick blankets. He quickly disrobed and joined her, pulling her in close to him while wrapping his arms around her upper body. He fell in to a deep sleep moments later, just listening to her steady breathing and heartbeat.

The next morning was Christmas Eve and Caroline was woken by a knock at the door. She padded over the cold wooden floor and cracked her bedroom door. Her mom stood there in uniform. "Hey Care, I need to run to the station for a few hours this morning. I'll be back in time for dinner at four." Caroline just nodded her head and told her mother to be safe. Looking down at her self once the door was shut she saw she was without pants and starting to get very cold. She scampered back over to the bed, jumped under the covers and shimmied up next to Nik. "Woman, remove your cold feet from me." His voice was muffled by a pillow, but she could hear his joking tone. She wrapped her legs further around him and pressed her chest to his back. "What are you going to do about it?" Caroline spoke softly into his ear. Before she knew it, she was pinned to the mattress with Nik hovering over her. She couldn't hide the stunned look because no matter how many times she saw him move at vampire speed she couldn't get used to it. He started peppering kisses from her mouth, down her jaw and neck to her fabric covered shoulder. When he was back at her neck he stopped abruptly. "What's wrong?" He moved from above her and flopped down on his back at her side. "I need to feed." Caroline knew this happened from time to time and he would need to feed more often, especially when they were around each other for long periods of time. "Well there is a shop a few towns over that sells antique Christmas decoration that I wanted to go to. You could find someone there." Klaus loved that she accepted his nature but it did not come without compromises. One night a few weeks ago they were laying in his bed watching television on his newly mounted flat screen when Caroline turned to him.

"You need a code." She stated matter of factly. Klaus looked up from sketchpad. "What my dear?" She pointed at the program on the TV. "Dexter has a code that he kills by. I think I would be more comfortable if you had a code." He had not been paying any attention to the show, so he put down his pad of paper, pencil and looked at Caroline for an explanation. "So he is a serial killer, but he only kills people that deserve it, like really bad people. You know that I would rather you heal and compel, but I also know that your nature loves the kill. So this way I know you are not out draining soccer moms." Since that day he has lived by 'Caroline's Code' as they call it. She had tried talking to him once about an animal blood diet like in those vampire books, but she never brought it up again after watching him dry heave at the very thought of feeding from an animal. Rolling over he kissed her softly. "I love you so much Caroline." "I love you too, and since temperature doesn't really bother you, can you go and turn on the shower and let me know when it gets hot?" She used her sweetest grin on him, which always worked. She watched as his scantily clad form walked into the bathroom and she heard the shower turn on. A few minutes later she screamed as Nik quickly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He rushed into the bathroom and had her naked within seconds. Caroline was breathing heavy as he turned her towards the shower and with a light slap on her bottom she positioned her self under the hot spray of water. When she got out of the shower Nik was not in the bedroom. Quickly dressing and heading to the kitchen he had a hot cup of coffee waiting for her. She packed another cup in to a travel mug and Klaus helped her in to her coat, scarf, hat and gloves. "We aren't going to Antarctica you know." She laughed from the soft cashmere of the cream colored scarf Nik bought for her before their trip. He just led her out of the door and to the car. "I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, sweetheart." They made their way southwest out of town and about an hour later pulled up in front of a quant shop called Storybook Antiques. The place was decorated for the holidays and Caroline's eyes sparkled at all of the old treasures. She walked up to a tree decked out with mercury glass and older looking colored glass ornaments. "What decade do you think these are from?" Caroline asked her self. "Most likely the colored ones are from the 50's and the mercury glass is from the 40's." When she gave him a questioning look he shrugged. "What? Kol loves Christmas." This made Caroline full out laugh and Klaus called over the shop clerk to come and package up all of the ornaments on the display tree. He walked to the front counter to pay for the items while his love walked around looking at items that he could perfectly recall from the past hundred years.

He quickly paid the six thousand dollar total and wished the clerk a Merry Christmas. He knew that amount of money was nothing to him and he only wanted to see the joy on Caroline's face when she came out to her decorated tree tomorrow, but she would not accept such a lavish gift. It was nearing noon by now and if Nik was going to feed they needed to find a terrible person soon. They were heading out of town when they came upon a run down biker bar. Klaus parked his car on the side of the building. They were so far in the country that the bar backed up against a stretch of forest that was perfect to use a cover while he drank. "Stay in the car, I should be back within an half hour." He instructed her to also lock the doors and if anyone came up to the car to drive away and he would meet up with her later. He didn't want to put her in danger because of his need. Caroline looked at her lap and at this point in their relationship this was odd because she was never shy about speaking her opinion, even when it was not asked for. "Can I watch?" She asked in a small voice as she looked at him through her lashes. He didn't know if he should be angry or turned on, but he stuck with angry for the moment. "Out of the question. It is too dangerous. If I let the blood lust consume me for just a moment, I could go after you. I can't risk that." They hadn't talked about the idea of her being changed so she wasn't sure if he would ever let her watch him hunt and feed if she was human. "I understand. Sorry for asking." She pulled out her phone and started playing a game. Not wanting to leave on a sour note, he leaded over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be right back. Love you." With that he was gone. Caroline signed and locked the car doors before going back to her game. About ten minutes later she saw Nik exit the bar with a tall exotic looking woman. The woman was leaning in to him as he led her towards the back of the bar with a hand at the small of her back. A jolt of jealousy shot through Caroline. She knew that the lady was just a lamb led to slaughter, but the way he touched the black haired woman made Caroline's chest hurt. As quietly as she could she got out of the car and creped around the side of the building. She could hear them both laughing and the smooth accent of her Nik as he asked her where her next stop was. With a Brazilian inflection she answered. "I am meeting my partner in Raleigh and we are going to head south. There is a billionaire widower down in Florida that just needs me to take him for everything he has." The woman let out a sickening cackle. "Once I have access to his wealth, my partner comes in a finishes the job. I must say you are better looking than Jimmy, I might just take you with me." Caroline watches in horror as the woman tries to lick the side of Nik's face. He pulls back and waves a finger in front of her face. "Not here. Lets go further in for some privacy." Klaus was proficient at seducing the woman and they walked into the tree line.

Still trying to be subtle she follows them in and hides behind a large oak tree. It was very cold out and she forgot her gloves in the car. She stuck her hands deep into the pockets of her coat and she peeked around the tree to see what Nik was doing. He had the woman pressed against a tree and she was muttering words in Portuguese to him and from where Caroline was standing they sounded like sexy words. Right when the woman was about grab on to Nik's ass and pull him close to her, Caroline heard the low growl and knew that her end was close. She saw his mouth go to the woman's neck and the foreign woman moaned for a moment before a scream was lost in her throat. Caroline watched with absolute fascination as Nik fed from the woman. About a minute in the woman's dark eyes met hers and Caroline saw fear. The woman reached out to her for help as Nik tightened his grip on the dying woman. Caroline couldn't advert her eyes and she wondered if all of her victims had that same fear on their faces as they died. As the woman's body went limp and all life left her eyes, Caroline was breathing in gasps as plumes of steam left her mouth. She must have shifted from behind the tree because a dead branch cracked under her weight. Klaus turned his head at the sound. He had just taken another killer out of this world and if he was discovered by an innocent, he would have to take them down as well. Caroline would be mad, but she would understand that he couldn't help himself. He bent his head to the side to listen and he heard a beating heart and breathing. Wrong time for a walk in the woods. He thought to himself as he rushed towards the sound. With his eyes still changed and his fangs dropped he pushed the person against the tree. About to bite down on the poor woman's neck he faintly heard his name. The red hue faded from his vision and he looked down on his Caroline. "I told you to stay in the car." His voice was harsh, but he has almost ripped her throat out. She was crying now, out of fear and shame. "I'm sorry. I saw the way she was touching you and I couldn't stand it." Klaus took control of his temper, his eyes changing back to their normal blue and his fangs receded as he leaned his forehead on to hers, cupper her cold cheeks in the process. "It's alright love. I'm upset with you but I'm more distraught with myself." "Don't be cross with me. I just wanted to see and Nik, it was stimulating." Understanding washed over him and he stomped through the snow back towards the car with Caroline in tow. He threw open the door to the back seat and shoved her inside. He pushed the start button on the car's dashboard and cranked the heater before covering Caroline's body with his. The next few minutes were a flurry of hands and winter clothes that were thrown throughout the sedan. Klaus thanked which every Gods were listening for Caroline's love of sweater dresses. He pulled at her knitted tights and before she could protest he was buried deep in her warmth.

Again Caroline tasted the copper on his lips and she licked at his chin causing Nik to drive harder and deeper into her. There was nothing sweet or loving about this encounter. This was pure vampirism fucking. With arms thrown over her head and hand pressed against the car door she pleaded with him to thrust faster. She needed to see the side of him that just took that evil woman's life. Klaus was panting into her neck. "I want it so badly, Caroline." She could hear every ounce of control wavering in his voice and when she looked at him, his fangs were showing but his eyes were still his. "I trust you." At this point those were the three most beautiful words he heard her proclaim. Klaus picked up the pace of his lower body as he ran his hand up her arm and held her hands in place. He lowered his mouth to the inside of her upper arm. When he placed a light kiss over the heated skin he heard her heart rate speed up. As he felt her body start to quake under his he tapped into her brachial artery and took three deep pulls from her. Caroline had never felt anything like this before. Her orgasm hit her like a freight train and she watched with wonder as Nik drank from her. She saw his cheeks hollow as he sucked in her blood. Within a moment it was over and he was applying pressure to her wound. Klaus knew that he had to heal her or she would lose too much blood. He carefully bit into his own hand and presenting it to her. "You have to drink so you can heal." She understood and allowed his sweet nectar to fill her mouth before taking two big swallows. He tasted like the finest wine and she only got another gulp in before his hand started to knit back together. Watching her arm heal he placed more soft kisses over her silky skin and whispered his love and thanks. Once her arm looked perfect again he planted a linger kiss on her lips. "We need to be getting back for dinner." Caroline commented. Though she would rather stay like this forever her mom was putting a lot of effort into cooking for them. They righted themselves and with entwined hands they merged back on to the highway headed for Mystic Falls.

Chapter Twenty One: Dreaming of a White Christmas. Klaus got them back to Liz's home an hour before dinner and Caroline went right to the kitchen to help her mom with getting everything ready. He took this time to call home and check on Kol and Bekah. Once he was satisfied that they were not killing half the town or burning down the house he asked the women if he could help with anything and they had him set the table. "So what did you two do today?" Liz asked when they finally sat down to a Christmas Eve feast.

Exchanging a look, Caroline's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "We went over to Lynchburg to that nice antique shop and I got some decorations. I figured we could put them up after we eat." Dinner consisted of a large ham, green beans, sweet and regular potatoes, dressing, flour rolls, and of course a wonderful bottle of wine that Klaus had gifted to Liz. They were stuffed to the gills and agreed to have coffee and dessert after getting the new decorations on the tree. As Caroline and her mom cleaned up the plates and kitchen, Klaus ran out to the car and unloaded the boxes of glass ornaments. He set them in the living room and added a few logs to the fireplace. The radio was turned to a station playing Christmas music and they started to unpack the antiques. "Caroline! These are beautiful." Liz exclaimed as she carefully held a red and white ball in her hand. "You guys should have these for your tree next year." She had always thought that she would have Christmas at her mom's house so she didn't want to take the ornaments with her. Caroline remembered that she had agreed to marry Nik and where would that take her? Would they live alone or with his siblings? Would she want to become a vampire or wait and try to have children? Was that even possible? Endless questions ran through her mind. Klaus watched his lady get a far off look in her eyes and he walked up to her. "Are you alright, love? What were you thinking about?" He smoothed one of her curls behind her ear. Just giving him a small smile she replied, "Nothing that we can't discuss later. Can you hand me that package of ornament hooks please?" Knowing that they had agreed to be completely honest with each other he was sure they would talk about what was bothering her later. They got the tree decked out within an hour and Liz brought out mugs, small plates and forks for dessert. The group watched some holiday programming, drank hot coffee and ate pieces of a chocolate mousse pie. The fire was dying down and Caroline said. "Ok everyone to bed! We will be up early for presents tomorrow!" Klaus could only laugh at her excitement. He kissed her softly when they entered her bedroom. "Nik, thank you for putting up with all this holiday stuff. I'm sure you're family does things differently, but Christmas has always been a big deal for my mom and I." He kissed her again. "Don't be embarrassed. I am really enjoying myself and I am basking in your humanity. But that is not the only thing on your mind sweetheart, is it?" Caroline walked away from his embrace and towards the bathroom. "Let's get ready for bed and then we can talk." They showered together, just exchanging sweet kisses and caresses before burrowing under the blankets in her bed and lying on their sides facing each other.

"So what is it going to be like after we are married?" Caroline spoke first. His forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean? I would give you anything you desired." She smiled at him knowing that he would give her the world. "Well I'm human and you are not. So do I stay like this or do you change me? Where and with who will we live? Do you want to or can you even have a family with me? These are things that couples usually talk about before they get engaged." "Are you regretting my asking? Do you not want to be my wife?" He felt like his still heart was tightening. Caroline placed her hand on his cheek and spoke. "Don't ever think for a second that I don't want to be with you, but there are many things we have not discussed." Relieves washed over his face. "I want to spend forever with you, so I would love to change you, but the finial choice will be yours. We will live wherever you want, with or without my family. As far as us having a family, I've never had reason to ponder it or think it was possible." "There are other ways if we cannot conceive, like adoptions or donors." Klaus was deep in thought for a few minutes. "What kind of life would a child have with us as vampires? We will be killers, monsters, I cannot rejoice at the thought of being feared by my child. And my dear Caroline, donors are out of the question because I would never let another man's seed inside of you." Caroline giggled at his comment. "Fair enough, no donor. I do want to be finished with school before getting married or considering becoming like you. I figure if I take extra class this coming year, I can be done by next fall and we can marry in the cool weather and changing leaves." Everything was so real for Klaus now that they had a serious conversation about the future. He would have a wife in less than a year and she was talking about children and being changed and he was going to bind his life to this woman for all of eternity. He just pulled her in close to his chest, kissed the top of her head and whispered that he loves her. She fell asleep not long after and Klaus stated up thinking about the kind of man he was willing to be for his sweet Caroline.

"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Caroline yelled while jumping on her bed being effective in getting Nik to open his eyes and tackle her to the mattress. She wiggled out of his hold. "Not even a sleepy, grumpy hybrid will keep me from Christmas morning. Now get up, we always have chocolate chip pancakes!" Before he could reply she was already out of the bedroom door and running towards the kitchen. Laughing to himself he got up, put on a shirt and walked out to meet Caroline and her mother in the kitchen. The blonde seemed to inhale her breakfast and then sat tapping her fingers on the table waiting for the other two to finish. Once they did, she took off towards the living room and sat cross legged in front of the beautiful Christmas tree that was surrounded by stacks of presents.

Staying seated she passed gifs out to Nik and her mom. Caroline didn't have much money after paying her share of the bills for the house, but she had been putting away a little of her monthly allowance and some of her scholarship money and was able to get some nice things for everyone. Klaus was handed a brightly wrapped gift and he read the tag. It was from Caroline and he tore the paper from the rectangle box. Inside were two leather bound sketchbooks, one black and one red. They both had his name imprinted on them with gold leaf. He opened the red one to feel the quality of the paper and saw Caroline's handwriting on the first page. It read that he was to only draw her nude in this book which held over two hundred pages. He smiled up at his love and winked at her. He would very much enjoy this gift. The couple had bought Liz a new mixer, a few books, and odds and ends for around the house. Caroline's favorite thing to give to her mother was a necklace that she got in New York a few months back when Nik took her. It was a white gold chain with raw gemstones for each of their birth months hanging from it. Caroline got some really cute clothes form her mom and some gift cards. There was a huge box from Nik and she got nervous. She removed the perfectly wrapped paper and saw a gorgeous set of StreamLine luggage in cream and yellow. "Wow.luggage. Thank you?" She wasn't sure why he was giving this to her. Klaus smiled and handed her a smaller box as Liz got up to refresh her coffee. "A passport? How did you get this? I didn't file for it." Caroline questioned. He shrugged and handed her another box. "I forged your signature." She pulled the red ribbon off of the stark white box, opened it and gasped. "Seriously!" Klaus was thrown off balance when Caroline launched herself into his arms. Inside the box were two tickets to Paris with their names on them for the week of her birthday. Since it was only three weeks away, he wanted to surprise her with the trip now. "I have to go call Elena!" Caroline jumped up from Klaus' lap and ran to her room. Liz had been watching the exchange from the doorway and walked into the living room as her daughter ran out. "That is a very nice gift Nik. She has always wanted to go to France." Klaus righted himself in his seat and watched as Liz crossed the room and sat down across from him. "Yes, she has spoken about it many times. My family has a property in Paris and I intend to show Caroline everything the city has to offer." "You seem to have a lot to offer my daughter. I can tell that she really likes you and I wouldn't be a good mother if I didn't ask you about your intentions." Liz felt that she needed to have this talk with Nik since Caroline's father was no longer in the picture. "I love your daughter very much Liz and will provide for her needs and desires for as long as she will have me. I would spend eternity with her if she allows it." He was pleased with himself being able to, in a round about way, ask Caroline's mother for permission to marry her daughter.

Liz couldn't help smile at the young man sitting next to her. "Please just keep her safe and happy and you have my blessing. If I hear anything to the contrary, I would hate to use my Glock on you." She chuckles and looked to her gun belt hanging in the foyer. Klaus laughs with her. "No, ma'am. I also hope it would never come to that." There was a knock at the door and getting up to answer it, Liz patted Nik on the leg with a reassuring smile. A few seconds later she called to him, "Nik, your brother is here." Confused Klaus got up and walked to the front door where an embarrassed Elijah was standing. They all stood in silence for a moment before Liz asked Elijah to come in out of the cold before leaving the two men and went looking for Caroline. "What brings you here brother?" Klaus asked as Elijah started to remove his coat. Rubbing some melting snow from his hair the elder answered. "Elena's parents kicked me out." Not being able to hold in his laughter, "What ever did my proper older brother do to be tossed out on Christmas day?" "It started this morning when Elena snuck down to the living room where I was sleeping to give me an intimate wake up call and her father walked in on us before we were too far compromised. Then I was idiot and instead of bringing the gift that she could open in front of her family, she spent this morning opening up packages of sexy stocking, lace under things, thigh high leather boots, and toys." Elijah was rubbing the back of his neck and looked at the floor. Klaus almost couldn't stay standing he was laughing so hard at his brother's misfortunes. Finally Elijah joined in and they both hung on to each other's shoulders for support. Caroline walked out of her room after her mom told her that Nik's brother was here. She had just heard from Elena what had happened and could hear the men laughing by the front door. Walking towards them Elijah had enough sense to put an ashamed expression on his face. "I'll go make up the guest room for you. You know you will have to kiss major ass for the next few years to get back on Grayson's good side?" Caroline smirked as she walked to the room across from her own. Elena came over later in the day to see how Elijah was doing and visit with Caroline's mother. She was slightly jealous of her blonde friend because while Liz was a cop, she was the cool mom when they were growing up. Liz saw her daughter as a young woman, able to make sound decisions, but Elena's dad would always treat her like a pre-teen. She couldn't wait to be done with school, find a real job and not have to depend on her parents anymore. He father would always reminder her that he was paying for everything so she had to follow his rules. Grayson just couldn't see what a great man Elijah is and Elena hated that her father was being so closed minded. The tasseled nipple pasties that she was gifted this morning didn't help though . Elena mused.

Caroline gave her mother the G-rated version of what happened at Elena's and since they were planning on setting out back home tomorrow, Liz agreed to Elijah staying the night in her home. After eating a lunch of left over ham sandwiches the group bundled up and drove down to the town center for caroling and cups of hot cocoa. This is something the town and founding families did every year for its citizens and visiting guests. A dozen people from the local church choir dressed up thick red wool cloaks with white fir trim and would sing for about an hour as people walked off the large meals that usually accompany the holidays. The Grill provided hot coffee and cocoa while the town's bakery set out trays of sweets. Klaus walked hand in hand with his love and they sat on a set of benches looking over the frozen fountain in the middle of town. "You're mother give me the talk." He chuckled as he played with the ends of her scarf. "Oh, God. Please tell me that she behaved." Caroline wanted a hole to open up and swallow her. Bringing her face to meet his, Klaus placed a small kiss on her cold nose and then a more heated one on her full lips. "She gave me her blessing, which I know you didn't say I needed, but it makes me feel better about one day soon making you my wife." She still couldn't get used to him saying that. Her insides felt light as she warmed from within. "Can we look for a ring in Paris? I would love to have something antique and unique. One of a kind, just like me." She smiled against his lips as he laughed at her cockiness and then kissed her thoroughly. In the midst of their kiss Klaus felt something very wet and very cold hit the back of his head. Caroline was now holding in a giggle and he turned to see Elena and Elijah standing a few yards behind him. Elijah had a shocked look on his face with a snowball in his hand while Elena laughed from behind her gloved hand. When Nik narrowed his eyes at them, she just pointed at his brother with an innocent smile. "Big mistake." He said pulling together a ball of snow from the ground and throwing it at his brother who ducked behind Elena. The ball hit her square in the chest. Elena looked pissed now, pushed Elijah from behind her and gathered more snow. "This means war!" she yelled before tossing another ball in the other couples direction. They stayed in the town square having a snowball fight until the girls hands were so cold that they couldn't feel their fingers. Other had joined in on the powdery war and the group had to dodge flying snow on their way to find Liz. This was the first of many Christmas' for Caroline and Klaus and one that they would never forget.

Chapter Twenty Two: Gage de promesse dans la ville de l'amour. ( Token of Promise in the City of Love.)

The next morning everyone packed up for the trip back home to Richmond and around noon Elijah put his tail between his legs and went back over to the Gilbert home to collect Elena. The drive home was quiet and Klaus and Caroline just basked in the glow of love that surrounded them in the car. Caroline had a lot of preparation to do before the semester starts and before their trip to Paris, which she still couldn't believe that the trip was going to happen. A week after their return Caroline met with an advisor at the university to register for two extra classes so that she could finish her degree early. All that was left were online classes but she took them because being done with school after the summer semester was the most important goal to her. Gathering her textbooks from the campus store she set off to Nik's house to inform him of her good news. She found him in his study standing in front of a large canvas, the beginning of a landscape were coming forth. "Good afternoon my love. What news from the university?" He leaned over and placed a simple kiss on her lips. Sitting in a wingback chair close to his working area she spoke. "I am taking six classes this term which will likely run me into the ground but it will be all worth it when I can call you husband." Klaus could no longer help himself. It had been days since they last made love and he was on her within seconds. He could not express how much he loved hearing her speak of him in this way. He raced them both up to his bed where he could properly love his woman.

"This can't happen. It defies everything that I have been taught about our kind." He pressed her hander against the wall at the rear of the large home. "Vampires and witches have been working together since just after the time of my creation." Kol was placing hot open mouth kisses upon her neck. Bonnie gripped on to his hair, holding him closer to her. "Servant and lover are two entirely different positions." "Yes, but if you agree to be my lovers I will only be a servant to you." He dropped to his knees in front of the stunned witch and kissed her hands before looking up at her through his dark lashes. Kol and Bonnie had been dancing around each other every since the kiss at the Halloween party. The gazes across rooms and the grazing touches when one walks a bit too close to the other had only fueled the fire that seem to burn within both of them. She knew him to be a womanizing vampire slut but now with a serous inflection across his boyish face, Bonnie couldn't help but believe that he could be faithful to her. "So help me Kol, if you lie or cheat I will give you an aneurism that will have you incapacitated for a week." Bonnie hissed the words, while pulling him up by the collar to be level with her face.

Kol's lips pulled up in the corner, "God I love it when you are feisty." This spurred on an intense session of lips, teeth, tongues, and wondering hands.

"Thank you very much Professor Miller for understanding and allowing me to submit my outline through email." Caroline had been working with all of her teachers to make sure the time she would miss while in Paris would not affect her grades. She was scheduled to leave with Nik the next afternoon and had been so busy with school that she had not packed a stitch of clothing yet. Once she got home, she employed the help of her friends. "I can't believe you are going to Paris! Why can't Elijah take me anywhere?" Elena whined as she pulled some of Caroline's shoes out of the closet. Bonnie just laughed as Rebekah came bursting into the house. "Ladies! I have brought gifts!" Bekah found everyone in Caroline's bedroom going through clothes and packing things away in the lovely trunks that Nik had given her. "Oh, no. You can not take those with you to Paris." The blonde vampire threw the clothes from the suitcase and held up a few garment bags. Caroline could care less what was packed in the bags for she planed to do a lot of shopping while in France. Also she was so tired that she just wanted to lie down. "Bekah, just pack what ever you see fit. I'm going to take a nap." The next thing she can recall is the feeling of Nik slipping into bed with her. They rarely spent nights at her home, favoring his large bed and the illusion of privacy in the large house full of supernatural beings. Klaus had just finished a brotherly bonding hunting trip with Elijah and missed Caroline so much that he had to go to her. She has been so busy and exhausted lately that their time together had been slim.

"It is good to spend this time with you brother. It seems our little women have occupied much of our time." Elijah spoke as the two men walked through the club district of down town Richmond. Klaus usually didn't like hunting so close to home, but he did not want to be far from Caroline and planned to spend the night with her before their trip. "I have a confession Elijah. Caroline and I are betrothed." Elijah stopped his forward motion shocked. Klaus turned to his brother and backtracked to stand in front of him just smiling. "Well, I believe this calls for a celebration!" Elijah clasped his brother on the back and they laughed walking into a bar down the way.

Once they had downed a few drinks Klaus warned, "You mustn't tell anyone else. I told you because you are my most trusted brother but we are waiting to reveal our engagement until after we have returned from our trip." Smiling and handing Niklaus another drink Elijah states. "You have my word, I wouldn't dream of depriving you the pleasure of watching our dear sister's face when she hears of this happy news." "Lord." Klaus comments with a roll of his eyes before throwing back his fourth drink. The brothers finish two bottles of fine scotch in celebration before wanting to move on to a more, acquired tasting drink. Not wanting to adhere to Caroline's Code he knew that there would be no killing tonight. A group of women dancing to the music provided by a live band were making eyes at the two vampires at the bar. Klaus and Elijah took this to their advantage and knew they could get their fill. Compelling the four women to follow them to the bottom level of a parking structure where in the shadows the brothers drank from the necks, wrists, and thighs of the moaning women. They were healed and told to forget the events of the night. Elijah and Klaus rode back to the house with trivial chatter about the girls and what Klaus plans to show Caroline in Paris. Once home he raced up to his room to get cleaned up and over to his lady's bed. Klaus checked his luggage and made sure that their passports and tickets were in order. He also sent a conformation email to his associate in Paris to make sure that his flat will be ready when they arrive as well as arranging for a car to wait at the airport for them. With everything to his satisfaction he put his bags into the trunk of his BMW and drove the two blocks to Caroline's house. He parked in the street and used his key to enter the home. The house was quiet because of the late hour and he slid into bed with his blonde beauty.

He allowed her to sleep until late in the morning because the dark circles under her eyes had been growing deeper as the weeks passed. He woke her with soft kisses and the smell of a large cup of coffee on her nightstand. Caroline rolled over with a smile on her face and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?" "Just past ten. We should leave in the next hour or so." She just nodded and wrapped her hands around the warm mug. Nik picked up her bags and walked them out to the car as she got into the shower. She dressed in a comfortable pair of blue cotton khaki pants, knit camisole, and a long sleeved button down shirt. Rebekah had told her that these flights were always cold, plus it was still winter. A wool blend sweater, wool socks, leather riding boots and her coat made her ready for the snowy days that awaited her. They were flying out of Washington DC so that they had a non-stop flight. Grabbing a few snacks for the drive she joined Nik in the living room.

"You ready to go sweetheart?" He asked as they exchanged a sweet kiss. Bonnie and Elena had walked out from their rooms to say goodbye. "Yeah, let me just hug my girls." The three embraced. "You better bring us back something fabulous and take tons of pictures." Elena stated. "I promise I will." Caroline spoke back hugging her friends again tightly. After they broke apart the other girls descended upon Nik. Bonnie spoke with her witch's glair, "You better take good care of her and treat her well. Make sure no harm comes of her and no harm will come to you." Klaus smiled at the over protective friend. "Down kitty. All is well, your beloved friend will be returned to you in the same condition she is in now." "If that is all you two, we have a flight to catch." Caroline spoke through her teeth before taking Nik's hand and heading for the door. The car was already running so it was warm inside and Caroline was grateful because it was very cold out. The trip to Washington DC went slowly because of the snow and ice but they were able to have enough time to have a late lunch before going to the airport.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome aboard Lufthansa Flight 7640, non-stop to Paris, France." Caroline settled into her first class seat aboard the Boeing 747 and reached over to take Nik's hand. This was only her second time aboard a plane and she was very nervous. "How long is this flight?" She asked with a shaky voice. "Just under eight hours. It looks like you need a drink." Klaus stroked her cheek and then waved over a flight attendant and ordered two cocktails. Half way through the flight and a few drinks in Caroline leaned over in her seat and placed a lingering kiss on Nik's neck. She drew patterns on his upper thigh with her index finger. Klaus looked up from the book he was reading and eyed his companion. She only gave him a devious smile, unlatched her seat belt, and while holding his gaze she walked towards the restroom. Caroline closed the door behind her and looked in the mirror. Did she really just insinuate to Nik what she thought she did? When he appeared behind her in the mirror she knew that he had received her message, loud and clear. "You are so bold." He breathed in her ear as he attached his lips to her neck. She started to breath hard has Nik's hand snaked around her middle and found her creamy skin under her blouse. Turning her head to the side she caught his lips on hers and he wrapped his other hand around her neck.

He made quick work of the button and zipper of her trousers with his one hand and kept her lips to his with the other hand on her chin. Caroline's hands were both firmly planted on the edge of the countertop as Nik turned her to face the mirror again. "I want you to watch how I pleasure you." He kissed her neck again keeping his eyes on hers in their reflection. With the sound of moving clothing and an evil grin Klaus buried himself deep within her as Caroline had her bottom lip between her teeth to suppress a moan. "Jesus, Caroline you are always so ready for me." Her mind was reeling from the passion being exchanged between them. His pace was slow, caring, and pure torture as they started to rise to the pinnacle. "Nik, please." She begged for release. Answering his lady, he held her tighter and drove into her deeper. She couldn't control the moan that left her lips. This brought Klaus' hand up over her mouth as he shushed into her neck behind her ear. As her body started to quiver, Klaus trusted further and faster in to his love. With their eyes locked in the mirror she came with a muffled moan and bit down on the meat of his palm that covered her mouth. At the feeling of her teeth on him, he released into her with a grunt buried in her hair and longed to set his teeth upon her but he would never unless she consented. There was a rap at the door and Caroline's eye went wide. "Just a moment." She called out with a squeak. Nik was chuckling behind her as he fixed his clothes. Cleaning her self up and smoothing out her clothes and hair they finally turned to face each other. "I love you dearly my amazing, unpredictable future bride." Klaus kissed her quickly before slipping out of the small room and back to his seat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. We are starting our decent into Paris, France. Please fasten your seat belts and turn off all electronic devices. The local time is six forty-five in the morning and the temperature is five degrees Celsius. We hope that you have enjoyed your flight and thank you for flying Lufthansa." Caroline could only smirk for she very much enjoyed her time on the flight. She gathered her things into her carry-on bag and held Nik's hand again for the slightly rough landing. "Welcome to Paris my love." He leaded over and kissed her while she looked out of the window, trying to take in everything she could see from the runway. Collecting their bags and walking outside of the terminal they saw a man in a black suit holding a sign with Klaus' name on it. The man put their bags into the car and drove them away from the airport. The driver took them south into the city and Klaus watched Caroline's face stare off in wonder at all of the old building, shops, churches, and just general splendor of the city.

Klaus' flat was a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower near Champ de Mars. There was a man in a fine navy suit waiting outside of the front door of the flat and opened the car door and offered his hand to Caroline assisting her in exiting the car, when they pulled up on the narrow street. He opened the front door for her as the stewards took care of the bags. "Please make yourself at home, for what is mine will forever be yours." Klaus then gestured with his hand for her to explore at will. Caroline couldn't move. She should have expected something this grand but coming from such a small town, she would maybe never get used to the magnificent things that Nik possesses. The grand entry of the home was circular and lined with pillars. The ceiling appeared to be glass and was backlit. Four sets of French doors led to different areas of the home. One held a sweeping staircase with a black railing while there was a parlor off to the left. One of the other doors went out to a paved garden that opened to the sky. The second floor held the living area where the furnishings were modern yet very traditional. Caroline loved the perfect mix of old and new that the house's interior conveyed. There was a black baby grand piano in the corner of the room and she wondered if any of the siblings played. The kitchen was bright and open while the dinning room boasted a table for twelve. The plaster details on the walls were in tact and the bright windows opened to Juliet balconies. The modern elements of the home included an enclosed glass elevator and a living wall that spanned the three stories of the home up to a skylight that washed the whole landing in sun. "This is beautiful Nik. Thank you for bringing me here. Tell me about the home." He walked with her up to the top floor. "Well it was built in the year 1900, has eight guest quarters, a small apartment for the two live in staff members, and I will show you the best part later tonight." They walked into what had to be his room. Caroline could see his little touches throughout the design. There was a smaller attached library and studio along with an en suite. "You must be tired from our trip, would you like to take a nap?" Klaus asked as Caroline studied the art hanging on the walls. She turned towards his slowly. "Are you serous? We are in Paris! It is only eight in the morning. I can sleep later, right now I just want to see the city." Caroline walked up to his with pleading eyes. As if he could say no to her he smiled and kissed her pouting lips. "Well then, I have the perfect place to show you." Klaus took out his phone and typed out a message before headed down the stairs with Caroline. They both put on their coats, gloves, and scarves before heading out of the door. The man by the car went to open the door, but Nik waved him off. "We will walk down to the park. Please pick us up near Mur de la Paix in half an hour."

Nik took her hand and they walked down the snow covered street and as they rounded the corner at Reu de Grenelle she saw the top of the Eiffel Tower come into view. Caroline squeezed his hand tighter with anticipation. It was an abnormally clear day for winter and only a slight crisp wind blew from the river Seine. "It is beautiful Nik." She wrapped her arms around his middle as he threw his arm over her shoulders. "Compared to you, pas un hasard." There were quite a few people milling around the park as the couple leisurely strolled through the lanes of bare trees and frost covered grass. They made their way towards the southeast end of the park where they were to be picked up. Sure enough the driver, who she learned was named Jordon, was waiting for them. Once inside the warm car, Caroline removed her gloves and reached over to touch Nik's cheek. She brought his face to hers for a cold nosed kiss. They drove past Les Invalides and over the Pont de la Concorde Bridge and ended up on Rue Royale. Jordon dropped them off in front of Caf Ladure, which Nik held the door open for Caroline and she stepped into the sweet smelling shop. "This tea shop goes back to the late eighteen hundreds." He explained as he placed his hand at the small of her back and led her towards a blue velvet curtain. Caroline took in the splendor of the room. It was everything she expected a French tearoom to be. Rich furniture, soft silks and velvets, blues and creams. Crystal and silver touched almost every surface. Two men were sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room and they both rose to their feet when the couple entered. "Your Grace. Such a pleasure to see you again." The older of the two men said as they both bowed their heads as Nik approached them. Klaus shook hands with both. "Gentlemen, please let me introduce to you my fianc, Caroline Forbes." Again the older of the men acted first. He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "Lady Caroline. Any friend of Niklaus is a friend of France." The other man was now kissing her hand and pulled a chair out for her at the table. "Darling, this is Monsieur Cartier and his associate Thomas Brewer. Cartier's family has been dear friends to us for generations. He has come to show you a few things." Caroline just nodded as a girl about her age came out to serve tea and left an assortment of sweets on the table. She hoped that her nervous didn't show, Nik seemed so at ease with the formal meeting, but again Caroline questioned her place in this world. Once the waitress left them alone, Cartier pulled a finely carved wooded box from the over sized briefcase that Mr. Brewer held in his lap. The box was placed in front of Caroline and the older man indicated that Nik do the honors of opening the box.

She had made the mistake of taking a sip of tea as the lid was lifted and also spit tea all over the contents. She coughed wide-eyed and blotted her mouth with a soft cloth napkin. Caroline looked to Nik for help. "You said that you wanted to find a ring while we were in Paris, so I called in a favor and you can pick which ever one suits your fancy." He cupped her cheek and kissed her lips, which were still slightly open from shock. Inside the blue velvet lined box were a dozen rings along with a few pairs of earrings and necklaces. She felt she needed sunglasses because of all the sparkle. The men started talking about the French market and Caroline set out to find her engagement ring. Klaus was only partly participating in the conversation with the other gentlemen because he main focus was watching Caroline study each piece, slipping them on to her finger, holding her hand out and knitting her eyebrows together in thought before placing it back in the box and going on to the next. He softly chuckled in amusement. He saw that she had gone back to the same one a few times and had it on her finger again. He silenced the two men with a motion of his hand and they all focused on the blonde woman now smiling at her hand. "Ah, Lady Caroline, what a lovely choice." Cartier spoke. "That piece was made for Marquise Josphine de Prigord by her husband Henri in 1840. The Marquise's uncle was the first Prime Minister of France and her daughter was a princess by marriage." She marveled at the ring and loved that it came from such a great family and was so rich with history. Just what she wanted to represent their eternal love. Mr. Brewer spoke now. "The ring is made of hand engraved platinum with a two point five Carat European-cut diamond. Ten more diamonds of the same cut adorn the sides of the ring for a total weight of point five Carats. The center stone is haloed by twelve French-cut caliber sapphires." Caroline was half mindedly listing to the details of the jewels on her hand now. It was the perfect size for her delicate finger and she just couldn't stop looking at it. She became a little cross when Monsieur Cartier asked for the ring. She slid it off of her hand and placed it in the wrinkled one of the old man. "Your Grace, would you like me to create a matching band for this ring?" Cartier said while he wrote something down in a leather bound notebook and placing the ring in a small black box. Klaus stood from his seat, causing both of the men to stand as well. He extended his hand to Caroline; she took it and lifted from her seat. "That would be good. I will be in touch with you to settle the account. Thank you for your time gentlemen." He took the box containing the ring and placed it in his coat pocket before shaking hands with the jewelers. Cartier and Brewer again kissed Caroline's hand and bowed as the couple left the room. They walked back out into the cold where Jordon was waiting with the car. "Where to now my love?" Klaus asked.

Smiling and leaning over for a kiss Caroline answered. "Home please, your Grace." She giggled and couldn't wait for him to explain that to her.

They laid in bed naked tangled together and with Caroline's golden hair spread across Nik's chest she asked. "So what was all that 'Your Grace' stuff about back there with Cartier?" Klaus ran his hand through her curls. "You know that I have been around for a long time." He felt her nod her head. "Previous to building this home over a hundred years ago, the last time my family was in France I was known as Duke of Anjou from 1734 to 1754 before we moved back to England." "Sometimes I forget how old you are." Caroline giggled. Attacking his lovely lady he said. "Old you say? Well tell me how many old men can do this." He picks her up in his arms, presses her to the wall and roughly thrusts in to her. She lets out a happy moan and he knows he has made his point.

Across town Monsieur Cartier dropped Mr. Brewer off at his office. Walking into the building and removing his coat he took in a shaky breath knowing he was signing his own warrant. Thomas Brewer picked up his cell phone, dialed the number on the back of an otherwise blank business card and waits for the other end to connect. "Yes?" A female voice answers. Swallowing thickly he speaks. "He is here in Paris with a human girl. His fianc." The woman on the other end laughs darkly. "Very interesting. Thank you for your service Thomas." The line clicked off and the man went to an old oak cabinet, pulled out an old bottle of whisky and poured himself a large helping. Now all he could do is wait for death to come.

Chapter Twenty Three: Consumed By Death The next day was spent with Caroline shopping to her hearts content. Klaus spared no expense to her happiness. She had found many wonderful items in the smaller boutiques, one of a kind items or designer samples that Klaus had insisted on her having. Almost half a dozen pairs of shoes found themselves among the other packages in the truck of their car. Caroline was amazed that Nik sat with her in each shop, wanting to see her in the fine clothes. They met with a woman over lunch and Nik passed her the black box containing the engagement ring. Caroline looked at him with concern, still wondering why he had not placed the ring on her finger yet.

"My love, let me introduce you to another dear friend of mine. This is Annabelle, she is a witch and has agreed to help me in a most pressing matter." The two women exchanged pleasantries and sat for lunch in a quiet corner of a bistro near the Louvre-Tuileries neighborhood and shopping district. "What does she need my ring for?" Caroline questioned. Klaus stroked her face. "When you are turned, you will need a spelled talisman so you can walk in the sun. Since I hope you will never remove this ring from your hand, I thought it would be perfect for this purpose." "You should have told me this Nik. I was worried that you changed your mind and didn't want to give it to me yet." Caroline looked in her lap feeling foolish. Taking her bare left hand in his, he stroked her finger and said. "I will never change my mind about you, we are coupled and nothing can break the bond we share." He kissed her hand softly. Annabelle had set the ring into a clay bowl with herbs and dried flowers before chanting in Latin the spell needed to bewitch the ring. The jewelry was given back to Klaus in the black box and he gifted Annabelle with a leather pouch filled with gold pieces as payment. They enjoyed lunch after the business was concluded and the witch and hybrid told Caroline stories of years past. Next they set upon shops that sell a more intimate fair. "Since I seem to always destroy your delicate things, I would love to purchase you some replacements." Caroline was very excited about this and eagerly ran her hands over the lace, silk, and satin items in the store. A sales lady approached them. "Don aprs-midi, bienvenue Cadolle. Comment puis-je vous aider?" "Anglais s'il vous plat, madame." Klaus asked the woman to continue on in English. "I would like to get my lady some new things. Please help her find some items in her size to model for me." "Of course sir. This way Madame." The girl gestured for them to follow her to a room at the back of the shop with a silk curtain dividing the room in two. There was a low settee in the room and the woman indicated for Klaus to take a seat. The woman who introduced her self as lisa and the two walked back out into the shop to pick out a few pieces to try on. "Your companion is very handsome, ma'am." lisa spoke in a whisper while holding up a black silk corset. Reaching out to feel the material Caroline said. "He is very pleasing and since I am guessing that you will soon see me naked, please call me Caroline." This made both girls laugh and they took a hand full of items back to the dressing room where Klaus still sat with an amused look on his face. The women disappeared behind the curtain and he heard Caroline start to disrobe.

When his love emerged Klaus had to hold on to the arm of the settee to keep from rushing to her. She was in a lose lace see-through top that hung off one shoulder paired with a satin corset that went from under her bust line to the top of her thighs. Her creamy legs looked like they went on for days and he longed to run his mouth up them. "So I will take that look as a yes?" Caroline asked with a giggle as she spun to show him the laced back. She shook her rear at him before going back behind the curtain to try on another outfit. Klaus could only chuckle to him self and think that she would be the death of him one day. Over an hour later Caroline had picked out five pieces to torment Nik with and she smiled as she had lisa slip a white silk and tulle body suit into the pile without him seeing. She wanted it to be a surprise for their wedding night. They got into their car and drove back to the flat to share a quiet dinner. Klaus had planned a romantic roof top dessert tasting because he knew how much she liked sweets. He also had to plan something because her birthday was in two days and he was unsure what to do that day. The terrace on the roof of the flat was set up with a raised pallet of blankets and pillows under an arbor of dried grape vines. Thick tapestry drapes hung around the four posts and an outdoor heater was running keeping the small space warm. Klaus had ordered in champagne, strawberries, six different chocolates, and of course his darling's favorite crme brle. The enchanted ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he just had to give it to Caroline tonight under the clear January sky. Caroline gasped when she saw the set up with candles and small white lights strung up among the vines. Once inside the pavilion, Nik drew the drapes close to keep in the heat as he watched her lay down on the pallet. "You are romancing me, though you know you don't need to. I am already yours." She spoke as he lay beside her. "Something to drink my love?" He offered her a glass of champagne and asked her which dessert she would like to try first. Taking another long refreshing drink she said. "How about I close my eyes and you put what ever you like in my mouth." She gave him a wicked grin before letting her eyelids fall. A crooked smile crossed his face and he ran a plump red strawberry around her lips before letting her bite into it. A little of the red juice ran down her chin and he stopped her hand from catching it. Klaus leaned into her and licked the liquid from her chin and traced her lips with his tongue before pressing a kiss upon her. Next he cracked the sugary crust of the crme brle and dipped a small silver spoon into the custard. He raised it to her mouth and watched her lips wrap around the utensil as she moaned at the creamy taste. The chocolates came next and he let her try a little piece of everything. Caroline was filled with sweets and champagne as she lay back on the pillows and pulled one of the blankets further up her body. "That was heavenly Nik."

"I have one more for you." With her eyes still closed he pulled the ring from his pocket and carefully ran the cold diamond over her red lips. "Caroline darling. I would like to make a promise to love you fully for all of my days and again ask you to do me the honor of becoming my wife." At her name being spoken she opened her eyes and saw her handsome man hovering over her with the ring she had chosen between his thumb and forefinger. She propped herself up on her right elbow as she placed her left hand on the side of his face. "My answer will always be yes, Niklaus." She kissed him softly before he gathered her hand and placed the ring on her third finger. He bowed his head and placed a kiss on the ring. "Now come here and be of service to your fianc." Caroline spoke as she invited him under the blankets with her. Under a tent of down throws and wool covers they made love on the rooftop. Caroline called his name out into the Parisian winter sky and they uttered exclamations of love and promises of forever between their passion hungry lips. Wrapped in a throw, Klaus carried Caroline down the short flight of stairs to their third story bedroom and he placed her slated body on his large bed. "I need to go feed my love. I will return before you wake." He kissed her once more and left her in a blissful state to fall into dreams of him. He did not want to go too far from the home so he crossed over the Pont de l'Alma and happened upon a club called the Crazy Horse. An announcer was on a stage at the back of the club introducing the next show. Klaus found a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. Five topless women came on to the stage and the music started. They sang and danced in barely there outfits. He had found a cabaret show and turning in his seat he rested his elbows on the bar and decided to enjoy his drink and the show thinking all the while about how much Kol would take pleasure in this place. "Fancy seeing you here Niklaus." A woman with long black hair stood next to him at the bar and asked for a gin and tonic. He didn't even have to turn to her, recognizing her smell before her voice. "Elizabeth, still in Paris I see." The other vampire stirred her drink with the small black straw. "This is my city, you should have come to call on me." "You may think that you run this city but do not pretend to forget who is the leader of our entire race." He spoke to her with out even moving his eyes from the performance on stage. The young woman was turned by his older brother Finn and is the younger sister to his brother's great love, Sage. Finn, Sage, and Elizabeth had lived in France for a few hundred years together before the eldest Mikaelson because a threat to his family and Klaus had to put him away in a box. "Where is your sister?" Klaus knew that Sage still looked to get Finn back but had not heard from her in over a hundred years.

Motioning for another drink Elizabeth answered. "I have not seen her in a few decades. Last I heard she was leading a quiet life in Finn's old home in the north of England. I have stayed here to oversee the city. Are you here alone?" Not wanting to expose Caroline he lied. "Yes, my family stayed behind in America. I needed a holiday from them, you understand." "I do. Between that spoiled twit of a sister and your younger brother the foolish whore, I would need a holiday as well." Elizabeth chuckled from behind her glass. With a smile on his face he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and squeezed. "Flawed they may be, but they are my family and your superiors. I would not hesitate to snap your neck and tear your pathetic heart from your chest this moment for lack of respect." He looked at her face now and she only held a smug look. "Niklaus and the honor of his family. What of Finn then? Do you defend him so?" He tightened his grip on her pale neck. "He was corrupted by your poisonous sister and became a risk to the livelihood of my loyal and loving family. He had to be put down before he caused the death of you and yours. It will not weight on my conscious to finish the job tonight. I pray that I will have no more issue with you during my stay in France." Klaus released her with force as she staggered a few feet in front of him and she bowed still with a grin. "Of course not, you Grace." Elizabeth turned and walked out of the bar. Needing to quickly feed and return to Caroline he found one of the topless waitress near a dark hallway. He compelled her to follow and she held on to his hips as he drank from her. He took a little too much from the woman and he felt her go limp in his arms. Slicing into his palm, he filled the waitress' mouth with his blood. Pinching her nose and holding her lips closed he forced the unconscious woman to swallow. A few minutes later when he heard her heart start to beat stronger he rushed from the club and back to his home. His beautiful fianc was asleep in their bed and he quickly cleaned himself and slid up behind her, holding her warm body to his. Caroline signed contently in her sleep and he buried his face into her blonde curls, encompassing himself in her sweet scents.

"Come on Nik. You must join me." Caroline pleaded with a smile as she glided across the ice towards him as he stood just outside of the wall. It was their third day in Paris and another clear day allowed Caroline to go ice skating next to the Eiffel Tower. Klaus declined her invitation to join by saying that the most feared man does not ice skate but he very much enjoyed his view from the sidelines. He thought about his encounter with Elizabeth last night and had become hyper aware of his surrounding. He checked the air for any scent of vampire or werewolf and was always at the ready to protect his precious human. Bringing himself back to the ice rink he watched his Caroline twirl and laugh with a group of younger girls as she skated in the chilled air. Her cheeks and nose were rosy and Klaus thought she never looked so beautiful.

After Caroline called, "Merci au revoir." to the girls who were still skating around she was met with a steaming cup of hot cocoa and a passionate kiss from Klaus. He walked her towards the outside of the park where Jordon was waiting with the car. "Where are we going now?" She asked excited. The past few days had been a dream and she would always be thankful to Nik for showing her this city. "Musee d'Orsay. I have a surprise for you there." The drive was not long and they hurried inside for it had started to snow. The inside of the space was expansive and open. A large ornate clock took up much of an upper wall. Caroline read the history behind the building and which artists' pieces were housed here in the pamphlet handed to her at the ticket counter. They walked through some of the rooms and she marveled at the works from Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Pissarro. Entering a room with blood red walls and about ten large painting Caroline was drawn to the corner of the room. Nik sat on the velvet couch in the center of the room, watching her intently. Caroline stood back and took in the canvas that had to be at least seven feet tall. In the piece there stood a beautiful woman in fashions from the fifteen hundreds. Her face was calm, in one hand she held strings of pearls and in the other was a golden goblet that was tipping and red liquid spilled form the cup. At her feet were the bodies of two men. Caroline worked her way back up the painting and finally turned to Nik shocked. "That is Rebekah." She pointed to the woman's face. Klaus finally came up to join her. "Yes that is my sister, she was the envy of many women and the muse for many artists over the years. Including myself." Looking back at the painting she saw a delicate NM at the bottom of the canvas. "Of course you have paintings in museums." She laughed. "Is there any corner of this world that you have not touched?" "At the moment I can not think of one but I plan to experience it all again with you by my side." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, still standing behind her and turned her to face another painting. This one was of a young woman who was nude but was clutching a sheet around her body. Her expression was one of total terror and her body curled in on it self as if backed in to a corner. Caroline understood what this was. "You killed her." She stated flatly. Klaus rested his chin on her shoulder and spoke softly into her ear. "Yes my love. She knew her death was near." Caroline was starting to feel crazier by the second. She questioned her place in Nik's world. She was hot and cold about his nature. She never felt more alive when she saw him hunt the woman down over the holidays but right now with the woman in the painting eye's looking right into her soul she felt sicken by what he is. Even worse was her desire to be turned into a vampire as well. Could she live with herself if she caused that much terror within her victims? She twisted the ring on her finger and felt very confused about the path she was taking.

"I'm going to have Jordon take me back to the house. I need a moment to reflect, I suggest you go out for a while." She smoothed out his worried expression. "I love you, but I am very confused. I'll see you later tonight." She placed a quick kiss on his lips and walked towards the exit of the museum. Jordon quickly got out of the car and rounded it to open the door for the blonde. "Lady Caroline, are we waiting for His Grace?" Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "No he will find his own way. If you please, will you take me back to the apartment?" The driver bowed and closed the door behind her before pulling out in to traffic and heading back into the direction of Champ de Mars. Klaus cursed himself. Now was not a good time for her to be without his protection and he ran out of the building after her but only to see the car pulling away into the street. He called the head housekeeper. "Charles, Lady Caroline is coming back to the flat without me. She will most likely confine herself in one of the rooms, but do not let anyone into the home. Watch over her, the Paris Society know that I am here, but do not know of her." Charles had been a loyal follower for many decades. He is a werewolf and will have the tools and strength to protect Caroline if anything should happen.

"Hey, Care. I wasn't expecting to hear from you." Rebekah was in the living room watching a movie with Kol when her friend called. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I really need to talk to someone and I think you will be best to understand my issue." Bekah eyed Kol who had heard the conversation and moved into Nik's study to talk more privately. "What is going on Caroline?" Still in the car with Jordon she wanted to keep everything as vague as possible. "Nik took me to see his art work today." "I'm guessing you are not calling to tell me how wonderful I looked." "No the other one made me question everything." Caroline had reached the apartment and was walking up the stairs to the library to finish her call. Sighing Rebekah went on. "You mean Consomme par la mort, Consumed by Death. Yes I never liked that one. What are you questioning?" "Allowing Nik to turn me." Caroline said quietly. Bekah gasped. She didn't know that they had talked about the possibility yet. "I saw the fear in the woman's eyes. She was looking upon death or the devil, and she was looking at Nik. How can I love the devil and desire to be like him? My heart is telling

me to never leave him but my humanity is screaming at me in opposition. How do you deal with it Bekah?" Caroline was pacing the room now. "It is all I've known Caroline but there are other ways for you to have this life and not hurt anyone. As for my brother being a devil, for a while he was but you have changed him. You have allowed him to love and he is more like his human self now. Have faith in your love Caroline, it will not fail you." Caroline finally sat on a large sofa and exhaled. "Thank you Bekah. I do believe with the love that I share with Nik anything is possible. I'm sorry I ranted to you, many things are just happening very quickly." "Is he turning you while you are away?" Bekah was shocked and a little hurt that they would not inform her. "No, it won't be for some time. I'm just still learning so much about Nik and this life. Everyone here calls him Your Grace." Caroline laughed as she heard a snort from the other end of the line. "Lord, they are just stroking his ego. He hasn't been a Duke for over three hundred years!" They both laughed again. "Thank you again for your help Bekah. I have a feeling I will need it more often as I become acquainted with your way of life." Rebekah smiled at the prospect of having a sister. "Anything you need, I will be at your disposal." The friends ended their call and Caroline moved up one more floor to their bedroom to take a hot bath and then call Nik to come home. She entered the room and saw the silhouette of a person sitting near one of the windows. "Who is there?" She called from the doorway. The person rose and walked a few paces closer. "A human, very intriguing. Are you food or a play thing to Niklaus?" Feeling very uncomfortable with the stranger she backed up a few feet but was startled when the figure moved quickly to the door and closed it. She saw now that it was a woman and at that speed had to be a vampire. Grabbing the human by the upper arm Elizabeth pushed her into the thick wooden doors. "Answer me wench!" Blinking back the pain from the vampire's grip on her arm Caroline spoke. "I am his fianc and I suggest you leave. I expect him back soon and he will not be pleased that you are here uninvited." "Fianc!" Elizabeth roared with laughter. "This is just too convenient. You are coming with me, the question is are you coming the easy way or the hard way?" "I will not be going anywhere with you." Caroline was trying to puff out her chest, stand taller, and sound in control of the situation. "I am the mate of the most powerful man of your kind and you will certainly be destroyed if you take further action against me. If you leave now, I will ask Niklaus to show you mercy."

The vampire laughed and moved behind Caroline quickly, wrapping her arms around the human's neck and spoke, "So you have chose the hard way. Sleep now Princess, you will serve a great purpose." Caroline started to see black spots in her vision and struggled with all her might to free herself from the tight grasp but in the end her eyes grew heavy and her body failed her as she gave in to unconsciousness. With a satisfied grin, Elizabeth threw the human over her shoulder and ran for the open window in which she had used gained entry. She easily jumped up on to the top of the building and ran across the connected rooftops finally using a fire escape that ended in an alleyway where her car was parked. Throwing the blonde into the back seat, Elizabeth slid into the drivers seat and dialed the familiar number. "Dear sister, you will not believe our luck."

After wondering the streets for a few hours Klaus made his way back to his home and hoped that Caroline would be in better spirits and they could talk about her fears and concerns. He reached the second floor and the scent hit him and made his blood run cold. Running up the last set of stairs he threw open the doors to his room and both the scent of Caroline and Elizabeth were mixed in the air. Caroline's purse was spilled on the floor and one of her shoes was laying near an open window. In this moment he regretted not killing the black haired bitch last night. He knew that the sisters were conspiring to get Finn back and they are going to use his love for Caroline against him. He yelled out in anger and quickly dialed Elijah's number. "The Blakeslee sisters have Caroline."

Chapter Twenty Four: Hide and Seek Elijah hung up the phone with his brother and rushed upstairs to his room. He was going to Paris to help in the search for Caroline. After throwing some things into a bag he went to find Kol to tell him the plan. "Kol, something has happened." Elijah spoke in a rush as he opened his youngest brother's bedroom door. "Oh for the love of the Queen." He had walked in to find a very naked Bonnie bouncing on the lap of his brother as he sat in a chair across the room. Bonnie stopped her movement at the sound of Elijah's voice and curled herself into Kol's chest. Kol wrapped his arms around his girl's back and looked over her shoulder with a cocky grin. "What can I do for you Elijah? As you can see I am very busy."

Keeping his eyes averted the eldest spoke. "Elizabeth has taken Caroline. I'm guessing they will want a trade for Finn. I am going to France, can you please go collect our brother and bring him here incase we need him as a bargaining chip." Bonnie had looked over her shoulder as well when her friend's name was spoken. Kol just nodded his head and Elijah shut the door behind him. "Now where were we my temptress?" Kol kissed the skin between her breasts and she grabbed his chin forcing his eyes on hers. "Who is Elizabeth? What is going on with Caroline?" She was worried about her friend but was unable to hold in a low moan as Kol shifted under her. Kol started to slowly thrust up, watching Bonnie start to lose her resolve. "She is the sister of Sage, my eldest brother's wife. I'm guessing they want him back." She cursed herself for not having the willpower to stop their activity for this conversation but everything Kol did felt like heaven. "Don't you have to do what Elijah said?" Bonnie threw back her head because he was picking up the pace and she started to match his movements with the roll of her hips. Wrapping his arms tighter about her back and drawing her chest to his, he buried his face into the curve of her neck and breathed in her allure. "There will be time for that. Right now I have an immensely beautiful woman to satisfy." Bonnie ran her fingers through his short hair and dug her nails into his scalp as she was brought to climax with a low moan and mummer that Kol thought sounded like, "Fucking hell, Kolyes." But he couldn't be sure as he watched the pleasure enlighten her face.

Elijah trusted that Kol would tell their sister about his sudden departure and raced off towards Richmond International having already called ahead hiring a private plane to get him to Paris quicker. The plane was taxiing down the runway with in an hour and the fight attendant came in with a crystal goblet and knife on a sliver tray. "Something to drink sir?" She said with a smile. Being a smaller plane he was able to get to Paris in under six hours and he hailed down a cab to take him to their flat on the southwestern side of the city. He sent a text message off to Elena, not fully explaining why he had to leave, but letting her know that he would be away for few days. Niklaus met him at the door as the car pulled to the curb. "Hello brother. Thank you for coming with such short notice." "Of course, you would do the same if it was Elena in peril." Klaus nodded with a tight smile. "I was able to track their scent to an alley four blocks away. She used the roof and window for access." He explained as they walked into the study on the second floor. "Elizabeth told me that Sage was in the north of England, but I suspect it was a lie. I would expect to hear from them soon with a ransom request." He handed his brother a drink and he paced the room. Elijah didn't know how to console his brother. He had his first two loves taken from him and killed, both for sacrifice and he was now given a third chance at love, he was

determined to ensure Elena's safety. He was also frightened of what his brother would do or become if Caroline were to die in this exchange. "We had just got officially engaged last night and tomorrow is her twenty-first birthday. How could I let this happen, I should have killed Elizabeth last night when I saw her." Klaus was speaking almost in a whisper but he knew his brother could hear him. "I have asked Kol to take Finn to the house in Richmond and hold him there incase we need him. Are you going to give him back to Sage?" Elijah knew that Finn had been dangerous back when their father was alive but now he felt Niklaus was just holding his out of spite. Klaus threw his tumbler in to the burning fireplace sending bits of glass around the room and causing the fire to momentarily flair. "Why should I? If I wasn't feeling so sentimental I would have killed him with the white oak when I did in father. Then we wouldn't have to worry about Sage or the devilish whore Elizabeth." Elijah saw that the black haired vixen was still an open wound for his brother even after nine hundred years and finding the love of his life. Elizabeth and Niklaus were coupled shortly after Finn had brought the two sisters to the castle in Scotland that they were residing in at the time. Although the family was running from their father, having Elizabeth by his side made Klaus have a feeling of normalcy and it was refreshing to feel desired by Elizabeth, unlike Tatia's seduction games or other woman's blatant fear of him. It made him start to doubt all of the awful insults his father had spewed at him his entire life and maybe he was deserving of happiness. "Her betrayals all those years ago are reason enough for her death. Now she has Caroline and Lord only knows what she will do." He picked up a new glass and poured a healthy helping of scotch into it. Once their father had gotten his vile claws and words into Finn and turned him against his siblings, Sage soon followed. A decade after Elizabeth and Klaus had been together he woke to a stake being driven into his chest. She hovered over him and watched his light fade. The traitor made her escape back to her sister and Finn. They had not known about the white oak back then and Elizabeth thought she had killed him. When Klaus regained himself after Elijah had removed the wooden piece from his heart, he turned off his emotions and became a monster. Klaus poured himself another drink. "She will die for her crimes this time. Those sisters have gone too far to not be rightfully checked." He took an angry gulp from his glass and swallowed hard as his phone rang from across the room.

Caroline kept her eyes closed and remained still just listening, trying to figure out where she was and with whom. She heard a French radio station being played at a low volume and from the external sounds and the gentle sway she could tell she was in a car. Then she heard the woman speak. "I'm pulling up now. Come open the door while I haul the human inside."

There was a clicking sound from a phone being turned off and then the car came to a stop and the engine was cut off. The woman exited the car and was speaking fondly to someone else. Then the door closest to Caroline's head opened and she pretended to still be unconscious. She felt herself being carried for a short distance and sat in a chair and then there was a hard sting on her cheek. Her eyes flew open looking at the smirking black haired woman who had just slapped her. "Oh good, you are awake." She smiled as a red haired woman stepped into view. "How rude of me for no introductions. I'm Elizabeth and this is my sister Sage. We are old friends of the Mikaelson's. Sister, this is Niklaus' fianc. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name dear." Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips waiting for a reply. Caroline spit the blood out of her mouth and sneered at them. "You are both are going to regret taking me a way from him. He will not stop until he finds me. He will tear apart this city." Both sisters laughed looking at each other. "She has spunk, right? Niklaus always did like the ones with fight in them." Sage said with a wink at Elizabeth. "He was mine once you know. He tired of me and threw me aside like he will do to you one day. Just look at me! You are nothing to compare, only a worthless, simple, plain looking human girl." Elizabeth smirked when she saw the doubt on the young human's face. "You know nothing of what we have. He loves me more than his own life. You have taken what is most precious to him." Caroline tried to say with a strong voice as her eyes started to moisten. Elizabeth could only laugh at the blonde's courage. "I need to go feed sister. I'm sure you can manage baby sitting for a few hours. Do try to get come sleep human. You have a big day ahead of you." Tomorrow was supposed to be a day of celebration for Nik and her. It was her birthday and he had just proposed again. Caroline felt an empty hole in her body knowing that she should be in his arms right now, whispering their love and drifting off to sleep in bliss. But she was being ill treated by two insane vampire women instead. The younger sister exchanged some quiet words with Sage and then walked out of the door. It was dark outside when Elizabeth left and Caroline couldn't make out any identifying features of what was outside of the room. Sage just sat across the room with a leering smile on her face. The red head got up and dragged a chair over to Caroline, spinning it around and straddled the back of the chair. "Do you know what your dear Niklaus has done with my husband? Do you know the kind of creature he is?" Caroline swallowed thickly, pressed her lips together and lifted her chin into the air. For good measure she also crossed her arms in front of her chest, indicating that she was not willing to play this game with Sage.

"He hunted us down, bleed us dry, and threw my sister and I in a dungeon. He took his oldest brother Finn, broke every bone in his body, and drove a dagger through his heart causing eternal desecrating sleep. Niklaus locked Finn in a coffin and buried him in an unmarked grave to rot for as long as his Grace pleases." Sage was hissing and spitting as she spoke of the past. Caroline finally met the vampire's eyes. "Well you all must have done something very stupid to deserve it." Seeing the woman grow angrier frightened Caroline but she would not let it show on her face. "You imprudent girl!" Sage screamed and grabbed on to the blonde's upper arm, dragging her towards another door. Caroline was shoved into a small dank closet and the door was slammed closed and locked from the outside. She searched the area and found a pull chain for a light. The bulb only burned for a few moments before going out, but Caroline was able to see that there was a thin mattress rolled in one corner. She shuffled in the dark over to the bedding and sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees. Caroline fell asleep with her forehead resting on her knees and only woke when she heard the two women talking out in the main room. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but stood up when she heard footsteps nearing the closet door. "Good morning human." Elizabeth said in a mocking tone. "I hope the accommodations where to your liking." Not letting any emotion show on her face Caroline stood tall and looked directly into the black haired woman's eyes. Not being able to get a rise out of the human, Elizabeth pulled her by the arm to retake the seat in the chair at the center of the room. Caroline could feel that she would have a burse on that arm from being manhandled. She couldn't tell what time of day it was, but figured it was morning by the thin line of light coming from under the door. Sage handed her a croissant with cheese and a bottle of water. "Can't have you starving on us until after we get what we want." The sisters regrouped on the other side of the room and Caroline tucked into her breakfast having not had anything to eat since yesterday morning. Sage pulled out her phone. "Let's make the call and get Finn back once and for all." Elizabeth rushed at Caroline. "Just for insurance." She plainly stated at she bit into her wrist and shoved it at the blonde's mouth. "If you do anything foolish, I will turn you, and then mar you until you beg me for death." When she was released, Caroline coughed and wiped her mouth that was smeared with blood. She watched the two vampires move to the corner of the sparsely furnished room that looked to be a old storefront. The windows were painted over black and she could only faintly hear people walking down the street. She knew that it had to be a relatively populated area and if she could only make it out of the door or even through the plate-glass window she could be free. She moved to edge of her seat and removed the one shoe she still had on. The sisters were still talking in the corner before Sage put the phone up to her ear. Caroline used

this as her distraction and she ran for the door. Her fingertips touched the old bass doorknob and then she felt a pain at the back of her head. Elizabeth saw the blonde make a run for the door and she flashed across the room grabbing the human harshly by the hair and pulled. The girl screamed in pain and fell back on her rear. "You little bitch!" She yelled in the human's face before dragging her across the room by her hair. Caroline scampered on her hands and knees on the floor, as she was being pulled and let out a yelp as she was pushed against the wall with force. Sage knelt down in front of her and with a sickly smile and put the phone near her face. "Say hello to your beloved so he know you are still alive." Caroline almost cried when she heard his voice ring out over the speaker of the phone and she felt her heart clamp down and wanted nothing more than to be in his embrace. "Darling are you alright? Have they hurt you?" A few tears streamed down her face. "Nik I'm fine, considering the insane company I'm keeping." She looked up at her captors. "They fed me blood, don't let them turn me." She was pleading into the phone. "Caroline my love. I am coming for you. Don't worry, sweetheart." Sage placed the phone back to her ear and said, "Your sweetheart will be just fine if you give me back Finn." Klaus needed to buy time. "Sage you know better then to toy with me, so I will only tell you once that if you hurt Caroline in any way, I will kill your sister and then make you watch as I rip apart your husband before ending you." She had always been scared of Niklaus, knew the power he possesses and that he was not squeamish when it came to killing. She kept her resolve and spoke, "I think we have an understanding." She ended the call and smiled victoriously at her sister.

"Did you get that Elijah?" Klaus looked at his brother who had his laptop out on the large wooden desk. Typing a few more keys Elijah answered. "Yes, they are in Rouen. I narrowed it down to a half mile area. We need to leave now before they decide to move her." The conversation with Sage had been heated and Klaus was ready to destroy everything on the mantle above the fireplace that he was looking into. Of course they had demanded the safe return of Finn in exchange for Caroline, but he was not planning on making any such deal. He was enraged that they had fed Caroline blood, with the threat of turning her, disappearing with her and mutilating her beautiful features. He wanted to be the one to turn her, he wanted it to be an experience of love and not one of violence. Becoming a vampire was a big decision for her and he didn't want that choice to be taken from her.

The men ran down stairs and Jordon already had the car running for them. Klaus slid in behind the steering wheel and Elijah sat in the passengers seat with his laptop open still trying to more precisely configure Caroline's location. They sped northwest out of Paris towards the city of Rouen and Elijah was able to get the location down to a few blocks. Niklaus would be able to pick her scent up from that point and they could hopefully catch the sisters unaware. The speedometer of the Mercedes was close to being maxed out as Klaus skillfully weaved throughout traffic on the highway. Pulling in to the city forty-five minutes later Elijah directed his brother to the part of town Caroline was being held in. Klaus parked the car on the street haphazardly, not caring if it was towed and he stood on the sidewalk letting his senses overtake him. Elijah watched his brother close his eyes, inhaling deeply. By tuning out his sense of sight and feel, he was able to heighten smell and sound. He ignored all male voices and tried to pick the sister's voices out of the crowd. Klaus caught the smell of Caroline before he heard them. "This way." He called over his shoulder and walked quickly to the east. He wasn't in a rush he knew they couldn't escape with him this close. He didn't want to spook the sisters and allow them to hurt Caroline. He needed to plan this perfectly. With Elijah close behind him they came down a street that was mostly comprised of vacant rundown shops. They stopped short and hid behind a corner as they saw Sage exit one of the storefronts. Once she was out of sight he moved closer to the building and he could hear Elizabeth clearly now and his stomach churned as Caroline's scream echoed in his ears.

After Sage had hung up the phone she turned to her sister. "I told him we had left the country. I know he is holding Finn in America so it will take him at least a day to transport him. I need to feed, will you be okay with the human?" Elizabeth was sitting on a couch mindlessly painting her nails in the corner of the room. "If she tries anything I'll just lock her in the closet. Go have fun, there are some tasty boys down by the University." She waved at her sister with freshly painted pink nails. "Whatever you do, do not kill her. We will never get Finn back if she is dead." Sage warned before leaving the building. Once her sister was out of ear shot Elizabeth flashed over to the human wrapping her hand around her throat and lifting her off the ground. "Why are you so special?" Caroline couldn't take in air let alone answer the crazed vampire's question. She was thrown back in to the chair coughing and gasping for breath. Rubbing her tender neck she just looked up at the other woman. "I was with him for ten years! Loyal to him, bending to his every whim and satisfying him in everyway you can think of. Yet he proposes marriage to you! A lowly human." Elizabeth grabbed onto Caroline's hair again and pulled her head back so that the human was looking up at her as she hovered over the seated girl.

Caroline's scalp was still sore from being dragged across the room earlier and she winced in pain as the woman pulled harder. Her neck was yanked back and Elizabeth was so close to her that Caroline could smell her sickening sweet scent. She still kelp her mouth shut not wanting to play into the vampire's rage. Still holding on to the blonde hair Elizabeth's clenched jaw and the sneer turned in to a gentle smile. "Could it be your blood?" She stroked Caroline's cheek and grabbed on to her chin, further pushing her head back and exposing the human's neck. "No, don't!" Caroline whispered. " You heard your sister, you can't kill me." The girl's heart was starting to race and her carotid artery pulsed just under the surface of her thin pale skin. Elizabeth licked her lips as her eyes changed and her fang dropped. "Who said anything about killing you?" Taking in panting breaths Caroline tried to think of how to escape but she was being held down aggressively. She felt the sting of her skin being pierced and she screamed out in the hope that anyone would hear her. She closed her eyes as Elizabeth started to feed on her. She was starting to become light headed and feel her body falling away as the pain stopped. Figuring that Elizabeth had her fill Caroline let herself slip into darkness and her body crumpled onto the floor. Her subconscious was being cruel to her as she dreamt about Nik's sweet voice and burning touch. She was scared that she would never experience those things again as darkness took her over again.

Elijah heard the scream as well and before he could stop Niklaus, his younger brother was racing towards the sound. He quickly followed and entered the shop right behind him. Klaus rushed over to Elizabeth and as quickly and carefully as he could, he removed the she vamp's teeth from his fianc's neck. When Caroline was free he twisted Elizabeth's neck, only releasing her when he heard the snap and she went limp in his hands. He hurried to Caroline but was unable to catch her before she fell to the ground with a lifeless thud. He pressed to his hand to her gushing neck wound. "Caroline! Listen to me my love. Please open your eyes, look at me!" He was becoming frantic as he didn't see any movement on her face. Elijah walked towards the couple. "What can I do Niklaus?" Looking over his shoulder quickly Klaus said. "Look out for Sage, she is bound to return soon." He then bit into his hand and using his thumb to part her lips, pressed the punctured skin to her mouth. "Come on, love. Drink!" He stroked the hair back from her face with his other hand and felt two tears escape his eyes. Now he knew what he had put her through at Halloween. He would never forgive himself for causing her so much pain. He saw the wound at her neck start to knit back together and he had hope. Gathering Caroline in his arms he placed kisses on her face and rocked her. Klaus could hear her

heart beat stronger and her breathing come in a slower rhythm. She was coming back to him. Setting Caroline down on an old couch in the room he barked an order at his brother. "Go bring around the car." Elijah nodded curtly and sprinted from the room. Klaus moved Elizabeth's body out of sight of the door and moved in to the shadows to wait for Sage. The red haired vampire did not make him wait long. She walked in to the door smiling. "Sister you were right! I had a delicious blonde hottie." She stopped short when she caught the scent that makes her blood run cold. He was on her before she could react. Klaus had her pressed so hard against one of the walls that some of the bricks crumbled behind her. Dust flew out from the plaster as he slammed her on the floor. "Hello dear sister." Klaus snapped her neck and with a tight expression on his face, rolled his shoulders and got up from his kneeling position. Stepping back into the shop Elijah saw Sage's body flaccid on the floor. The men each picked up one of the sisters and carried them out to the open trunk of the car. Klaus went back for Caroline who was still not awake yet and settled into the back seat with her in his lap. Elijah drove them back to Paris. "What are you going to do with them?" He asked about thirty minutes into the trip. "They will suffer until I feel they have atoned for their actions. Then I will end their lives like I should have done centuries ago."

Chapter Twenty Five: Praying for Humanity "So what are we going to do with him?" Rebekah and Kol were looking down into the open coffin where Finn's gray and dusty body rested. They had placed him in an empty room down in the basement. Bekah reached out and touched the hilt of the dagger sticking from the torso of her brother. "I'm not sure, wait for Nik to tell us, but I know we shouldn't do that." Kol indicated with his eyes that she should remove her hand from the dagger. She pulled back her hand like it had been burned and turned towards Kol with a longing expression. "Do you think Nik will ever let Finn wake up?" "Now Beks, don't get like that. You know that he has his reasons to keep Finn like this." He too secretly thought that maybe Finn had redeemed himself, but feared being daggered by Klaus as well, so he kept his opinions quiet. With a heavy sigh Rebekah closed the lid to the coffin and both siblings walked up to the main level of the house. Elijah had left yesterday and they had not heard any news

about Caroline and they were both worried. Bekah shared Elijah's fears about the type of monster Klaus would become if Sage or Elizabeth were to kill Caroline. Kol walked with her in to the kitchen. "How about we invite Matt, Bonnie and Elena over for a movie night. It will help all of us take our minds off everything that is going on." Rebekah nodded with a small smile. She went up to her room to shower and change out of her soiled clothes. She had not expected to help Kol dig up Finn but after the circumstances were explained to her, she felt like she had to help in any way she could, for Nik and Caroline's sake. An hour later the five of them were in the living room with popcorn and pizza getting ready for the movie to start. Matt sat behind his girlfriend rubbing her back. "Are you already Beks? You seem really tense." He whispered in her ear as he placed a kiss on her neck. Leaning further into Matt's warm chest she answered. "Just a little family drama. It should be resolved soon." Elena started to feel like the odd person out as the others coupled off and a few minutes into the opening credit her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Elijah. She excused herself to the kitchen. "Elijah what's going on? Why did you have to leave so quickly?" She leaned up against the counter top and bit her bottom lip. "A foe from the past took Caroline yesterday. We were able to get her back this afternoon but are unsure of her status." Elena was trying to understand everything that she was being told. "What do you mean her status?" She heard him exhale. "She just woke up but we don't know if she is in transition or not." "You mean if she is becoming a vampire? How did this happen?" Elena covered her mouth felling sorry for her friend. The decision to be turned was a difficult one for her and Elijah but she didn't know how Caroline felt about it. "Her captors feed her blood incase there was a struggle, so she would still be alive and could still act as a bargaining token. One of the vampires' that took her, lost her temper and feed on Caroline to the point of draining her. Klaus tried healing her with his blood but we don't know if it was in time." "When will you be home?" There was a pause and Elijah answered honestly. "Whenever she is well enough to travel."

The brothers had reached the flat in Paris and Klaus carried Caroline up to his bedroom. She was still not awake yet and Klaus started to fear the worst. After laying her down on the bed he called out for Charles. "Help Elijah with the two things in the trunk and secure them in the cellar." Charles nodded and walked out to the car where Jordon was also starting to help. He could smell that the two women were vampires and threw one over his shoulder roughly as he followed Elijah down to the small cellar. With the help of Jordon they were able to restrain the women with ropes soaked in vervain. Elizabeth woke up screaming. She felt like she was being poked with red hot coals. She looked around and saw a man wickedly smiling at her. She looked closer at his face and could see the iridescent lining at the back of his eyes. "Untie me dog! I can give you anything you want. Money, property, girls..." He smiled at her and flicked vervain water at her face. Charles took satisfaction in her screams. "Nothing you have could make me turn on my Alpha. You have hurt his mate, my Queen, and you deserve everything that is coming to you." "That will be all Charles." Elijah spoke from the doorway to the room. "Rest up little one. You and your sister are going to America." Elijah walked up to the second floor and knocked on the door to his brother's room. "How is she doing?" "Still no change. Can you have Charles go get a blood bag just in case." Klaus hoped that it wouldn't come to that but he wanted to be prepared. Elijah left the room and Klaus crawled onto the bed, wrapping himself around Caroline. "Wake up, my love." He laid there for another hour, just running his fingers though her hair and tracing his fingertips down her arm to her diamond ring. He sat up quickly when he heard her breathing pick up, knowing that she would wake soon. Caroline's eyes fluttered open and she tried to take in the bright room around her. She was laying on something soft and warm and she could small him. She thought that she had died and this was just some joke that was being play on her in the afterlife. "Caroline. Look at me. You are safe sweetheart." She tried to process his words and then her eyes focused on Nik's beautiful face. With more strength then she thought she had, Caroline sat up and threw her arms around his neck. Klaus was shocked and quickly wrapped his arms around her back to hold her close and steady. He shushed her and rubbed soothing circles on her back as he felt her body start to shake. "I thought she was going to kill me Nik." As soon as she finished her statement, her body when ridged and she said, "I had her blood in my system. Am I in transition?" Helping her sit up all the way and taking her face in her hands, he looked at her eyes. "I don't know love, she had taken so much blood from you. I tried to heal you but I don't

know if it was too late." He watched as devastation crossed her features. "I'm so sorry Caroline. We are taking all the precautions in case you need to feed." Caroline laughed darkly to herself and said. "Well at least I made it to the legal drinking age before dying." Klaus cringed. He didn't want her birthday to turn out this way. "I'm sorry that a day that was supposed to be happy, full of love and celebration was so traumatic for you." She smiled weakly with tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm scared Nik. I thought I would have more time. That we would have a chance at starting a family." "Now, now my love. We don't know if all is lost. Within the next twenty-four hours we should know for sure if you need to transition or if you are still human." Nik reached out and swiped the tear from her face. Caroline put her hand over his and held it to her cheek then moved it to kiss his palm. "Thank you for saving me. No matter what happens, we are still together and I love you so much." He brought his lips to hers and they shared a chaste but passionate moment. Resting their foreheads together there was another soft knock at the door. Looking over she saw that Elijah was there. Caroline waved him into the room. "So I hear wishes of a happy birthday and congratulation on your engagement are in order." Elijah spoke as he took a seat on the bench at the foot of the bed. Caroline smiled and removed herself from the intimate position with Nik. "Thank you Elijah. I might want a do over for this birthday though." Elijah chuckled and nodded his head. "So what is the plan?" The brothers exchanged a look and Klaus spoke. "We will stay the night here and then head home tomorrow. Elijah still has a private plane on hold incase there is a blood lust issue." Looking down at her hands in her lap Caroline just nodded. Nik moved to sit next to his brother and they entered a quiet discussion. Her stomach growled. "Guys, I'm hungry." They both stopped their conversation and looked at her. "What kind of hungry dear?" Klaus asked. Blushing and then scoffing she answered. "Food hungry. Now one of you hunky men go get me a sandwich. Oh, salt and vinegar chips and cookie dough ice cream." Smiling, Klaus got up to fetch her dinner while Elijah jokingly whispered under his breath. "She may or may not be a vampire but are you sure she isn't pregnant." Klaus turned to his brother with a serious look. They walked out of the room together and then down to the kitchen. "Don't joke about such things brother. Caroline wants a family." "With you?" Elijah questioned with a concerned tone. Grabbing the loaf of bread from the fridge he rounded on his brother. "Of course with me. Are you insane to think I would let another man tough Caroline."

Elijah put his hands up in surrender. "I just don't understand how it will work." Klaus laughed. "Well when a man loves a woman, they take off their cloths and lay down together" "Oh, shut it! I know how that part works." Elijah rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Vampires can't have children." Setting the sandwich and chips on a sliver trey he motioned for Elijah to get the ice cream out of the freezer. "I was going to get with one of my witches and see if anything could be done. I would give Caroline anything, and if she wants a child we will find a way." This news brought many questions to Elijah's thoughts. What kind of father would Niklaus be? Considering their past with Mikael. How would the child turn out with a human mother and hybrid father? Would Elena want children? Elijah stopped his mind's wondering at that point and watched Klaus walk back up the stairs with a trey of food. He made his way to his room on the third floor and decided to call Elena. Nik came into their room and set the trey in front of Caroline. She was sitting crosslegged at the head of the bed and picked up a chip, popping it into her mouth. Next she dipped a chip into the ice cream and moaned at the sweet and salty taste. Klaus watched in horror at her food combination. "Are you pregnant?" He blurted before he could stop himself. Caroline dropped the spoon full of ice cream and looked at him shocked. "Not that I know of. I've always liked chips and ice cream, so this is not an odd combo for me." She smiled at his stunned expression. Heaven forbid if she were to ever be with child he would be even more over protective of her. Caroline looked at him and giggled because he swallowed thickly and seemed nervous. "Relax Nik. We will cross that bridge if we ever come to it. Right now I'm just worried about still being human tomorrow morning." She picked up her sandwich and took a large bite out of it. Klaus laid back with his hands behind his head and closed he eyes. He thought about Caroline's excitement at one day telling him he was going to be a daddy. Going to doctor appointments and hearing the baby's heart beat for the first time. Watching her grow and become round with his child and then meeting the product of their love. Having finally considered becoming a father he was determined to find a way to make it so. His heart sunk, remembering that this would only be possible if Caroline was still human. So he did something that he never thought he would do again. He prayed. Nik had fallen asleep next to her and she quietly got out of bed after finishing her dinner. She placed the trey on the side table and walked off to the bathroom. Caroline cringed at her appearance. Her hair was dirty and matted; her clothes rumpled and there were bruises on her arms and neck. She slipped off her clothes and turned on the shower and got out a clean towel. Stepping under the warm spray was so refreshing that she couldn't help the long sign that left her

lips. Caroline lathered up her hair and tilted her head back under the water. Her eyes were closed but she could feel his presence. "It's not polite to stare." Klaus reached out and ran his hand along her side, starting at her ribs and grazing her breast with his thumb, before continuing down over her soft stomach and finally resting on her hip. "A man would have to be a fool not to marvel at your beauty." She still had her eyes closed when she felt his lips on her collarbone. Forgetting the remaining shampoo in her hair she wrapped her arms around his neck and further buried him in to her bosom. He sucked at her wet skin and lowered himself to his knees and placed kisses on her abdomen, flashing back to the thought of her being with child, which he quickly shook from his mind as he continued to ravish her body with his lips. Klaus moved his hands up and down her silken thighs and enjoyed the feeling of her fingers tangled in his short hair. "Make love to me." Caroline moaned into the steam filled stall. When Nik stood to kiss her deeply and pull her tight to his chest she whispered. "Claim me." Klaus' hand skimmed her back, over her rear and he gripped the back of Caroline's thighs. Using his enhanced strength he easily lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, linking her ankles at the small of his back. Moving one hand to her perfect bottom and the other to her hip he lifted her just enough to press himself at her entrance. Thinking that this might be the last time they make love with her as a human, Caroline grips him tighter around the neck and shoulders before whispering her love and sinking down on to him. They both gasp at the intense feeling and Nik starts to help her move in a painstakingly slow pace. Feeling Caroline losing her grip on his slick skin, Klaus stepped out of the shower, leaving the water running and not even missing a thrust. He walked them to the bench at the foot of the bed that Elijah had been occupying a few hours ago and sat down with his love cradled in his lap. He held her close and felt her dripping hair stick to his chest as Caroline rocked on his lap. Their foreheads were rested together and their hot breath swirled around them. Klaus cupper her breast and assaulted her lips before tracing her bottom lip with his tongue. Caroline loved everything about this man. How he smelled, tasted, felt, everything called to the most instinctual part of her and she wanted to consume him and be consumed. Breaking their kiss she looked into his eyes. "Bite me Niklaus." As his eyes changed and his fangs dropped a shot of adrenaline rushed through Caroline and it heightened the sensation of him moving deep within her. "Are you sure sweetheart?" Klaus asked kissing the area over her left breast.

She shifted her hips deeper and faster on his lap and as her body started to heat from within with her oncoming climax she threw her head back and moaned. "Yes. Now!" He was not one to keep a lady waiting and he gently broke the skin above her heart and drank in a small amount her sweet life force. Caroline was mewing and panting while trying to watch him feed. Once he released his fangs from her, she grabbed his face and roughly kissed his still blood stained lips. She licked at his mouth, tasting copper and iron and a slight bitterness of his venom. Nik growled, picking her up and swinging them around. She landed on her back on the bed with him hovering over her. He grabbed her knee and held it close to his torso as he drove into her with determination. Caroline encouraged him with moans and breathy curse words as she cried out her orgasm and he roared with the intensity of their connection. Klaus collapsed on to her sweaty body and she ran her fingers though his hair as they both came down from bliss and caught their breath. Lifting himself off of her, he looked down at their chests that were both smeared with blood. He dragged his finger from the bite wound, around the curve of her breast and down her sternum before moving the blood tinged finger to his mouth. This made Caroline a wanton mess all over again but she didn't think she could handle a round two tonight. Nik just smirked down at her before they both started laughing. He picked her up and deposited her back into the shower so they could both clean up. "Let me heal you sweetheart." He said about to bite into his hand. Caroline stopped his motion. "It's not too bad. I have enough vampire blood in me. Plus if it is still there in the morning, wouldn't that mean I'm still human?" He thought about her logic for a moment. During transition all of your wounds are healed in preparation of becoming a vampire. "How did you become smarter than me on this topic?" He questioned and kissed her forehead. "Not smarting, just taking a stab in the dark." She laughed as they got out of the shower and dried off. Nik set her on the bathroom counter top and lovingly cleaned and bandaged the wound on her chest. Walking back out to the bedroom she picked up a silk nightie out of her suitcase and slipped it over her head. Klaus had put on a pair of boxer briefs and drew back the blankets on the bed. Turning off the lights he slid in to bed after Caroline and pulled her to him. He brushed a curl behind her ear and looked into her sparkling blue eyes. "No matter what comes about tomorrow, I will always love you and never leave you." "I know Nik. If I turn tomorrow, it won't be the right time, but I won't regret it because it will be the day my eternity with you starts." He must have been a saint in another life because in this one he didn't even come close to deserving Caroline. She was everything wonder, passionate, exhilarating, bright, and loving about this world. Klaus would never take her love for granted and he would cherish her for all of their days.

Caroline thought that she could feel his soul connecting to hers and she leaned in for a kiss. His unkept stubble was rough but his lips were full and soft and she savored both side to the kiss and both side of the man that owned her heart. They spoke words of love and forever in the darkness of the room as they drifted off to sleep anxiously awaiting tomorrow's dawn.

Caroline started to stir when the first rays of sunlight filter through the partially drawn drapes. She looked over at Nik and saw that he was still peacefully sleeping. Slipping out of bed as carefully as she could as to not wake him, she padded off to the bathroom. She closed the door and flipped on the light before standing before the mirror. She didn't feel any different and she wasn't craving blood. Exhaling she lowered the strap of her nightgown and winced as she removed the taped bandage. Once it was completely off she looked back in the mirror. "Nik!" She yelled with a huge smile. Klaus had been dreaming about Caroline and himself living in a manor in England as a toddler with bright blonde curls ran after a small brown bunny rabbit. He was startled awake as he heard her yell. He clambered out of bed and fell flat on his face as his foot got caught up in the blankets. He was thankful that no one was around to see that because his brothers would never let him live it down. Untangling himself from the bedclothes he rushed to the bathroom actually panting for breath when he got there. "What is it my sweet?" "Look! It isn't healed. That's good right?" Caroline smiled and showed him the two marks that were starting to scab over. Shaking his head with a chuckle he kissed her. "We can only hope." He led her back out into the room and started to pull on a pair of trousers. "How about I make you some breakfast?" Caroline nodded eagerly and pulled on a cashmere robe, pulling the tie tight around her middle. They walked out on to the landing just as a groggy Elijah was coming out of his room in a pair of plaid sleep pants. Though she only had eyes for Nik she couldn't help but admire the broad tight chest of his brother. "Good morning Klaus, Caroline. How are we feeling?" Smiling and taking Nik's hand they started down the stairs she said. "Still human, I think." Once in the kitchen Caroline sat down next to Elijah as they watched Klaus get out the ingredients to make French toast. "If we are in France, is it just called toast?" She asked with a giggle and tossed her curls over her shoulder. At Caroline's movement her robe loosened at the top and Elijah saw the two makes on her chest. He wondered how long she had been allowing Niklaus feed from her. The topic was about the only thing that was taboo between him and Elena. He felt that this was not breakfast conversation and would talk to Nik privately later.

"They call it pain perdu, and the French didn't invent it. The recipe actually predates us." Klaus said from his spot by the stove. Caroline laughed and poured herself a cup of coffee. "I didn't know anything predated you. Weren't you created at the same time as the wheel?" Elijah snorted from behind the newspaper as Klaus turned and pointed a spatula at her. "That's it little miss, no cinnamon or sugar for you." Using her best weapon, she pouted and stuck out her bottom lips while giving him her best puppy dog eyes. It worked and Nik threw his hands up in the air in defeat and flashed over to her and planted a playful kiss on her lips. Peering over his paper, Elijah didn't know what to make of this display of affection. He had never seen his brother act this way, not even when they were both courting Tatia. He felt that for the first time, their family had real chance at happiness. They finished their breakfast and everyone went back up stairs to pack for their trip home. Klaus gave an order to Charles to have the cargoboxed up and taken to the airport. With a curt nod the werewolf trotted down to the cellar. He shot each woman with a vervain laced dart before entering each cell and snapping their necks. It would be easier to load them if they weren't moving around and snapping their teeth at him. Placing each vampire in the metal coffins, he ran a bead of vervain gel around the edge before closing the lids and engaging the locks. He called a trucking company and went to secure the rest of the house for his Alpha's absence. Charles was always glad to serve Niklaus because the hybrid had been very good to his family, but he missed his wife back in Ireland and couldn't wait to be reunited with her. Elijah showered and then packed his small bag before sending a quick text to Elena letting her know that they were heading home. He knew that it was the middle of the night back home but was happy to see a simple 'B safe' message back from her. He walked his bag down to the first floor and Jordon took it out to the car. Caroline was looking out of the bedroom window at the small but busy street below. She signed as Nik came up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry your first time in Paris wasn't pleasant." She turned in his arms. "What do you mean? I'm not counting my little fieldtrip. You have shown me a wonderful time in a beautiful city. I will always have fond memories of our time here." "You amaze me more and more each day my love." He kissed her lips before releasing her and going back to packing. Elijah had come up and was helping with Caroline's luggage. She walked though the house and was a little upset that she didn't have the chance to explore every part of the expansive home. Though she could not be too sad, because she and Nik would have a hundred vacations in Paris in their years to come.

Charles held the door for the three as he bowed to both Klaus and Elijah. The werewolf placed an innocent kiss on Caroline's hand and wished them safe travels. Jordon was waiting by the car as Elijah got into the passenger side as the couple slipped in to the back. Caroline glued herself to the window again watching the city pass by them on the way to the airport. She couldn't wait until they could come back. She blindly reached back and held on to Nik's hand, squeezing it slightly conveying all of her gratitude towards him for not only showing her the city, but also saving her human life.

Chapter Twenty Six: Choosing Love Caroline was relieved to be back in the States and hoped that her life would go back to normal quickly. She was also glad that they returned a day early because she was not able to get any schoolwork done while in Paris. The plane taxied into a small hanger and she noticed Kol standing next to a box truck. Exiting the plane she also saw Bonnie get out of the waiting SUV. "Goodness it is good to be home." Caroline exclaimed while hugging her friend. "Let me look at you." Bonnie said as she held Caroline at arm length. "Kol told me what happened. Did you transition?" Caroline smiled and placed Bonnie's hand over her heart. "It still beats. I'm a little beaten up, but I'll be fine." Out of the corner of her eye she saw two big boxes being unloaded from the aircraft and placed in the back of the truck. Walking over to Nik she asked. "What are those? I know I didn't buy that much stuff over there." "I am reuniting Finn with his family." She caught on to the fact that Nik did not consider Finn a part of his family anymore. The eldest had been disowned and now the fate of him and the two women in the boxes rested in the hybrid's hand. Nodding in understanding she walked back over to Bonnie and waited for the men to finish with the luggage and start the short trip home. When they arrived at the Mikaelson Manor all of the girls were waiting in the living room to see Caroline. They rushed over to her with a flurry of hugs and questions of well being. She winced when Bekah hugged her a little too tight. "Oh, I'm so sorry Care." The other blonde released her friend. Giving Rebekah a reassuring smile, Caroline said. "It's alright. I'm just a little sore. The sisters were not very gentle with me." She lifted her sleeve and the girls all gasped when they saw the purplish bruises on her arm. Klaus walked over the group and they all parted so that he could approach Caroline. "I'm going to run to DC to collect my car. Will you be alright here without me?"

Caroline worried her lip. "I'll go with you." "When I said run, I meant that I was going to shift and actually run there." He smirked as her mouth formed an 'O' shape. Looking down at her hand and twisting her ring, which had become a habit on the flight back home, she agreed. "I'll be okay. Is Elijah and Kol staying here?" Cupping her cheek and placing a kiss on her lips Klaus answered. "They will be right down the hall." Once he walked towards the back of the house Caroline turned back to her friends who all wore very different expressions. Bonnie was shocked, Rebekah giddy and Elena lookedannoyed? "What's wrong?" Caroline questioned. Bonnie stepped forward and held up Caroline's left hand. "How did I not notice this at the airport?" Realizing that through all of the kidnapping drama that she didn't tell her friends about her and Nik, made her cheeks flush pink. "We're engaged!" Squealing and moving her feet to something that resembled Flash Dance, Rebekah said. "I have a sister! You do not know what it was like, a thousand years with only brothers." Turning to Elena, Caroline asked. "Are you not happy for me?" "No I am! Just it means that you are one step closer to a new pair of shoes." Caroline laughed remember their bet from Halloween. "Well, we will see how long it takes Elijah to follow." "I heard my name. Can I get anything for you ladies?" Elijah asked walking up from the basement and wiping his hands on his jeans. All four girls giggled, as Elena turned red. "No, we were just taking Caroline up to get settled." She choked out while pushing her friends towards the staircase. They all went in to Nik's room and Caroline told them she was going to take a shower. After she entered the bathroom her friends went to work. "Bekah, go get the cake and ice cream. I'll grab the gifts out of Kol's room." Bonnie whispered as Elena pinned a large Happy Birthday banner on the wall over the bed. They all heard that Caroline spent her birthday as a prisoner and they wanted to do something nice for her. A girl only turns twenty-one once and usually it means bar hopping until you can't stand on our own. Once they heard the shower turn off, Elena quickly lit the candles on the cake and they all stood at the foot of the bed. When Caroline opened the bathroom door, still rubbing her hair with a towel they all yelled. "Surprise!"

Caroline put her hand over her mouth and her eyes watered. "You guys! Thank you, this is perfect." "Come make a wish so we can cut in to this bad boy." Rebekah said holding up the cake. Taking a few steps forward she looked down on the pink and purple icing rosettes and closed her eyes. A moment later she looked at the smiling faces of her friends and blew out the candles. "What did you wish for?" Elena asked. Bonnie elbowed the brunette. "You never say, otherwise it won't come true." "Let's just say I wished for something that Nik and I want very much." Caroline said. "Now let us have our cake and eat it too!" They sat around on Nik's large bed eating cake and ice cream and talking about the more pleasant parts of Caroline's trip to Paris, including the engagement. The girls also had a few small gifts for Caroline and she thanked and hugged each of them for being so thoughtful.

Klaus made it to his car within a few hours. He enjoyed the freedom of running in his wolf form and promised himself to indulge more often. He needed to let out some of his aggression before going home to deal with Finn, Sage, and Elizabeth. He found a man about his size and feed from him before compelling him for his clothes. Once in his sleek car he let the windows down and felt the crisp January air sting his skin as he raced back down the highway. Although he wanted to disown Finn as family, he knew deep in his heart that he couldn't. As much as he hated betrayal he couldn't bring himself to kill his own brother. Finn may have been the first born but he had always been easily swayed to other's whims. Part of Klaus felt that this is why Finn had married Sage. Klaus used the time on the drive home to go over in his head what he should do with the three and even six months ago he would have never thought twice about killing them all, but now that he knew the power of love he was second guessing himself. He knew what he had to do. He would discuss the issue with Caroline. She was his partner for life and he valued her opinions and mostly didn't want to make her cross with him. Pulling into the driveway of his home he saw that the house was dark and quiet. He slipped into the side door and went up to his room. He produced a low growl when he saw the state of his normally emasculate room. Four girls were sleeping in his bed and there was wrapping paper all over the floor. A half eaten cake sat on his dresser and a fully melted container of ice cream was on his nightstand. He grabbed a clean pair of pajamas, along with the ice cream and cake and walked back down stairs. Putting away the food goods he used the bathroom attached to his study to shower and change before he set down to paint the image that had been floating around in his head since last night.

Swirling the amber liquid in his glass he stocked the fire and stepped back to look at the development of the canvas. In the background was a rolling moor dotted with purple flowering heather and stonewalls stretched their way across the plain. Three ponies stood up on the hill and in the foreground stood the blonde toddler. The child was kneeling down to feed clover to the brown rabbit under a large old apple tree. Klaus sat down on the wingback chair and sipped at his drink as he studied the painting trying to fathom if it would ever be possible. Finishing his drink he went to his desk and pulled out pieces of stationary. He wrote three identical letters and addressed them to his best and most loyal witches. Pressing his seal into them he blew out the candle on his desk and walked back over to the sitting area. He refilled his drink and lay down on the couch. Resting the tumbler on his chest and tucking one of his arms behind his head he stared at the painting until sleep came to him. It was midday when Klaus woke up still on the couch. His glass from last night was tipped over on the ground and he picked it up before walking to the kitchen. He stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder at the painting once more before continuing on his way. Picking up an apple in the kitchen he made his way up to his room. Caroline smiled at him as he walked into the bedroom door. She had her computer and books spread out on his bed. "Hello sleepy head. I thought you would never wake up." "Sorry, guess I was just exhausted after last nights run." Klaus walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. "So schoolwork today?" "Yep. I feel like I am so far behind." Caroline looked through a stack of assignments trying to find the one to start on next. Klaus leaned over again to kiss her on the top of the head and walked over to the closet. Pulling on jeans and a long sleeved shirt he then started working on his boots. "I need to go out and feed. It's been four days and I'm getting to my limit. Will you be all right here with just Kol? I won't go far if you need me." "I'll be fine. You will most likely find me in the same spot when you get back." Walking towards the door he called out an 'I love you' over his shoulder. "I love you, too." Caroline said not looking up from her books. He walked down to his car and headed west out of town. Klaus turned in to Deep Run Park a few minutes later and found a spot by the head of the nature trail. It was still cold out but a few devoted jogger and naturists were out. He ended up by the duck pond and saw a woman huddled up on a bench by herself. He started to approach her from behind and stopped stone still when he heard the call of child's voice. "Mama! Mama! I feed the duckies!" The little girl called as she ran towards the bench. Klaus took off into the near by woods before the girl or her mother could notice him. He finally slowed his pace and leaned up against a tree, taking in large gasping breaths. He had never had an issue feeding from who ever he wanted and now he was basically hyperventilating because he was about to prey upon the mother of that beautiful little girl.

Collecting his thoughts he took off towards the running trail and waiting in the tree line for a lone jogger. Starting to think that he had been gone too long and should have just gone on campus when a woman came trudging down the path, large puffs of steam coming from her mouth. Compelling her to following him into the woods was easy before he took his fill, healed and then compelled her again to go on her way. He knew that he would have to deal with the stowaways in his basement tonight and he wanted to talk to Caroline first. Hopefully he was gone long enough that she was able to get some work done. The walk back to his car was not rushed and he again took his time getting home, for when he got there the whole family was convened in the living room waiting for him. "We need to discuss your plans for our guests." Elijah spoke. Klaus curtly nodded and said, "I want Caroline included in this." before walking up stairs to fetch her. True to her word, Caroline was still seated on his bed, attentively typing away at her laptop. She head him enter the room, but only looked up once she finished her online discussion post. Klaus stood by patiently waiting her to finish. "Hey babe. You were gone for a while, I almost stated to worry." Caroline said getting up off the bed and walking to him. He took her in his arms and inhaled her perfect scent. "The family is down stairs ready to talk about Sage and Elizabeth." "Oh, well I have more work to do if you will be busy." Caroline said backing away from him a few paces so she could look into his eyes and not crane her neck. "I actually wanted you to be included in the discussion. You are my future and what we decide tonight will affect our lives. " Caroline understood what he was saying. If he spared their lives, they would forever be out there, to maybe one day come back for revenge. Or if they were put to death, then Klaus would have to live with killing not only his mother and father, but also his eldest brother. She felt honored and respected to be included but scared to have a deciding vote in the death of three vampires. She just nodded and Klaus led her down the stairs with his hand at the small of her back. The family was still seated in the living room and Caroline took a seat next to Rebekah. Everyone's attention turned to Klaus as he cleared his throat and stood in front of the fireplace. "We are here to discuss the punishment for Sage and Elizabeth for their crimes against us both pass and present." Elijah stood. "If I may brother. Could we also touch on the fate of Finn?" Klaus growled low but brought the question to a vote. "Who is in favor of waking our treacherous brother?" All three of his siblings raised their hands. He quickly changed his tactics and opened the floor to Caroline. "Love, you have heard of their past transgression and have been the victim of the sisters' wicked ways this past week. What are your thoughts?"

Still feeling slightly out of place, Caroline put on a brave expression and stood to address everyone. "Well it seems that they have all done horrible things to you all but I have to look at it from their side as well. Nik, when I was taken from you, what were you willing to do to get me back?" Without hesitation he answered. "Anything." "Okay, well you have been holding Finn for a very long time and Sage was just willing to do anything to get him back, because she loves him." Elijah and Kol sat by quietly while Rebekah had a hopeful look on her face. Klaus was starting to understand what Caroline was getting at. "What would you suggest then?" Caroline twisted her hands in front of her and then spoke. "Wake up Finn. Give him and Sage the choice to go and live their lives in peace." "And what about Elizabeth?" Klaus asked. "She tried to kill you all those years ago and then tried to kill me. You can decide about her." Klaus smiled at this idea. "Does anyone else have anything to add?" "I like Caroline's idea!" Rebekah said excitedly. With a tight lipped smile at his sister Klaus indicated to his family that they should follow him down to the basement. Caroline trailed behind them and gasped when she saw the two vampire women with red burns on their faces, hands and legs. Rebekah reached back and took her hand for comfort. They walked into the room that Finn was being kept in. Klaus opened the lid of the coffin and with one last look at his siblings he pulled the dagger from Finn's chest. They all waited around as the gray body started to regain its color and within five minutes Finn's dark eyes shot open. "Hello brother." Klaus said and smiled down at the dark haired man. Finn growled and tried to attack Niklaus but he was too weak to move. Four hundred years of not being able to feed had made his body as useful as a paper weight. Rebekah ran up with a cup full of blood and put it to Finn's ashy lips. Once he had gulped down the liquid he had enough strength to sit up by himself. Smelling the air around him, Finn caught the scent of the human in the room and still being hungry his fangs dropped and he tried to charge at the girl. He was pinned to the floor within seconds and was looking up into the yellow eyes of Niklaus. "Finn, let me introduce you to my fianc, Caroline. If I were you, I would be kind to her for she is the reason you are breathing." His fang receded and he stared up into his younger brothers face with wonder. "Fianc? You learned to love?" Klaus' eyes changed and he too brought his fangs back. "Yes, shocking I'm sure, but we can't believe everything father told us."

Just then Finn caught the scent of someone else. "Sage is here. Where is she? What have you done?" Helping both men off of the floor, Elijah steadied his older brother and they walked out to the room where the sisters were being kept. Finn whimpered when he say the state his dear wife was in. "What is going on here?" He said as he dropped to his knees and crawled over to the cage Sage was in. "They kidnapped Caroline and almost killed her to get to you. My gracious fianc has taken mercy on Sage's cause in the name of love and we are going to give you a choice." Klaus said kneeling beside Finn. Now both Sage and Elizabeth were sitting up straight waiting to hear the conversation. Finn reached between the bars to touch Sage and she kissed his hands with tears in her eyes. "What are your terms?" Finn asked not taking his eyes off of Sage's vervain burned face. Klaus stepped back from his brother and linked hands with Caroline. "You and Sage may go free" Both of the vampires in question looked up at Klaus with disbelieve written on their faces. "Really?" Sage asked. "You didn't let me finish sweetheart." Klaus smirked. "You may go free if you must swear to leave and live peacefully and away from any of us. If I hear even a whisper of you plotting against this family, we will consider this treaty null and void and the penalty is death." "What about me?" Elizabeth asked from the back of the room. Everyone turned towards her and Niklaus sneered at her. "You are not part of the deal. You are mine to do with as I wish. Either Finn and Sage leave with out you or my dear brother goes back in his box and you and your sister will be ash before the hour is up." "We take the deal!" Sage yelled from across the room. Elizabeth's face fell. "Sister! You cannot leave me to die. He will not be kind about it." Everyone in the room watched the volley of emotions between the sisters. Sage sniffled. "I'm sorry Lizy, but if I have even the smallest change of happiness with Finn, I have to take it. I have waited so long for him." Caroline was touched by the love that Finn and Sage exchanged and she knew that she had made the right decision to ask Nik for his mercy and kindness toward the couple. Elijah stepped over to the cage holding Sage and released her from the steel bars and the vervain ropes. She immediately fell into Finn's arms. With tears streaming down her face she met Caroline's eyes. "Thank you for your mercy Caroline. Please forgive me, I just had to get him back." Caroline started walking towards the embracing couple but Nik reached out and grabbed her arm stopping her. She turned and indicated with her eyes that he better release her

and never being able to deny her, he dropped his hand from her arm. She moved forward and took Sages hand in hers, looking right into the vampire's eyes. "I forgive you. I understand how powerful a love like you have for Finn can be. I love Nik and this family as fiercely as you love your husband and know that if you ever try to hurt any of them, I will not be so kind in the future." Sage's eyes widened at Caroline's words and she just nodded her head understanding that the human held a great power of influence over Niklaus. She helped Finn stand up and Kol and Rebekah showed them to the door. Elizabeth screamed for her sister from behind the bars that held her. Sage didn't even look back as she left with her husband. Once Klaus had heard the front door shut behind his brother and sister-in-law he turned to Caroline. "You don't need to be down here for this part. Why don't you go back to your studies and I'll be up in a few hours." He kissed her forehead and whispers how much he loved her before watching her ascend the stairs. Elijah and Klaus were left standing in the main room of the basement and the elder patted his brother on the shoulder. "You have an extraordinary woman Niklaus." He then looked over at Elizabeth. "Don't be too hard on her." Klaus just paid his brother farewell and walked towards his ex lover. "What made you ever think that you would get away with your deceit?" Cowering in the corner she hissed out the words like acid. "You loved me once Niklaus! Yet I see you have stooped low and are now taking commands from a pathetic human girl." He rushed at the bars of the cage, making them shake in their foundation with his impact. "She is a thousand times the woman you are! Caroline is everything that you never were. I never loved you. You were just a convenient distraction." Klaus now opened the door and entered the small space stalking toward her slowly. "It's too bad that you didn't die when I drove that stake through your heart. You always had a weakness for a pretty face with good tits." Elizabeth was getting brave knowing that her death was coming. Klaus pulled at one of the bars to the point that it snapped off and he drove the metal rod through her abdomen. He smiled as she gasped with pain and her wide eyes met his. "You were so desperate to be loved that you would have let any snake into your bed chamber. The only reason I didn't try to kill you sooner was because you too good of a fuck to give up on." She sneered gripping at the rod in her. Elizabeth was baiting him. Trying to get him to loose his temper and just kill her quickly. He knew better then to fall in to her word games and he twisted the rod that was driven in to her and yanked it out, before sending it through the right side of her chest. Removing the pole and tossing it to the ground he watched Elizabeth sink to the floor as her body tried to heal itself. He knelt down by her and tilted her chin so that she looked directly into his face. "You are nothing, you were always nothing to me. If I had killed you back then you would have had a quick death, but now I get to watch you suffer." He picked up her arm and she watched in horror as he sunk his teeth into her flesh. He felt the venom leave his body and enter hers as she screamed out in pain. Releasing her

from his mouth, he wiped her blood from his lips and spit the rest on the ground next to her. "You already taste of death." He walked from the cell and closed the door behind him with a heavy slam. Without looking back at the screaming woman behind him, he walked up the stairs to the main level of the house and closed the basement door to muffle the pleading and painful sounds of the pitiful vampire who was dying of a werewolf bite. As he passed the kitchen, Elijah stopped him. "You are just going to leave her?" Rounding on his brother Klaus held all seriousness in his eyes. "Yes, and you are not to go put her out of her misery. She deserves all sixteen hours of pain before the bite will over take her." Elijah just hung his head in defeat. He did not want to be the next occupant of the empty coffin down stairs so he just left the house to go spend the night with Elena. Klaus opened the door to his room and he was surprised to see the bed clear of textbooks and papers; just Caroline propped up against the headboard reading a Jane Austen novel. "Is it done?" She asked placing her bookmark where she had left off and placing the book on the nightstand. Removing his shoes and starting on the buttons at the top of his shirt he let out a heavy sigh. "Yes my love. We are safe to enjoy our happiness now." Klaus started walking towards the bathroom to shower when he felt Caroline behind him. While he removed the rest of his clothes, she turned on the water and set out clean towels. She pulled her nightgown over her head and joined him. This shower was not about passion or sex, it was just these two beings experiencing a deeper connection to each other. Caroline gently washed his body, leaving burning trails behind her caresses. She knelt in front of him to wash his feet and calves. Hundreds of years ago this was a symbol of humbling yourself for another and she was submitting herself to him. She was saying with her actions that she would be loyal to only him. Klaus lifted her off the file floor and kissed her deeply as he embraced her wet body. When they parted she stepped out of the shower and they both dried off, her putting back on her nightie and him pulling on a pair of sleep pants. They lay in bed facing each other in the dark room. "I sent word off today to my witches about finding a way for us to have a family. I hope to hear back from them soon so we can start trying." He reached out and stroked her damp hair. She chuckled in the darkness. "We are not going to start trying yet mister. There is no way I am going to be big and pregnant in my wedding dress. Plus with the way school is going to be from now on, I couldn't handle the stress." He understood her concerns and also knew that it would most likely be better to wait until after the wedding to explore the topic, but with his new painting burning the image in his mind, he couldn't wait to meet the child of his imagination.

"I'm glad you are so excited thought. I was scared that you still didn't think too highly of the idea." Klaus sat up and quickly grabbed Caroline bridal style as she squealed and he rushed them down to his study. He set her down in front of the canvas and just let her take in every detail. "I want this with you." He said quietly while he stood behind her. Caroline reached out and ran her fingers over the child in the painting. "This is beautiful Nik." She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I want nothing more than to give you a child. We will find a way, our love is too special to not have this." He leaned down and kissed her before lifting her off the floor as she locked her legs around his waist. Klaus carried her back up to their room, never breaking their kiss and he laid her gently on the bed still positioned between her legs. Finally parting their lips so that Caroline could breath, he kissed down her neck and whispered in to her ear. "If we are not trying yet can we at least practice?" Caroline just giggled as she lowered his pants and felt him slid into her. They made quiet love that night with the promise of an incandescent future with each other and obtaining every happiness they deserved.

THE END.