Chapter Five

The pair sat in their bed, covered only by a thin sheet, sipping on the blood laced coffee looking through their phones and sharing pictures with each other. Fourteen years was a long time to catch up on.

"This is when Lizzie took her first steps," Caroline said with a smile as she played the video on her phone, "Josie had already been walking and was doing her best to help."

The duo laughed as both of the girls fell due to imbalance between the two. Caroline's laughter was present in the video as Bonnie leaned forward to help both girls back up.

"Look at this one," Klaus said as he brought up a picture of Hope in a formal dress, "On the morning she started her period for the first time, Rebekah called me explaining that Hope was nervous about everything. We hadn't had the talk yet, so we Bekah and I decided that we wanted to tell her together. She sat Hope down and explained everything, answering all of Hope's questions. Then she and Hope went and bought a new dress and got Hope all dressed up. I picked her up for dinner and we had a Father-Daughter date. She looked so beautiful."

Klaus had clear wonder in his eyes as he showed Caroline the picture of Hope smiling in front of a fountain. He swiped and in the next picture she was making a funny face and Caroline let out a chuckle.

"You've done an amazing job, Nik," She said as she gazed at Hope.

"As have you, my dear," he responded as he looked over at his queen and gently leaning in to kiss her.

The two have been relishing in each other as their time together has lengthened. Caroline has been with him for about two weeks now as the two have settled in together. Their dependence in each other has grown as they have chosen to focus on themselves and the kids as of late.

"Caroline," Klaus said as he broke away from his queen for a moment, "What do you want from life?"

The dedication was clear in his eyes as he gazed at the apple of his eye.

Confusion crossed her face as she looked away from him.

"I want to raise the girls," she said slowly, before trailing off, but it was clear to him that beyond that she wasn't sure.

"Yes love, and you will do that, but you must want something more," he pushed.

Caroline's brow furrowed as she attempted to come up with an answer.

"I want to see the world," she admitted as she looked at him again trailing off.

Klaus sent her a pointed look, as if to say, tell me the truth love.

"Well, I really love the girls, Nik. I love them more than I thought possible," Caroline said with a smile as she looked into the face of the man she was in love with, "But they're growing up, and they are going to have their own lives with in the next couple decades."

Klaus bent down and placed a kiss on her jaw, encouraging her to continue.

"I really would like to adopt another baby," Caroline whispered, terrified of his reaction, "With you."

Klaus stilled for a moment before whispering into her skin, "Now?"

Caroline's eyes widened in surprise, as she was expecting immediate rejection, "Well, I don't think now is a good time, with all the changes we have been throwing all three of the girls, but in the near future, yes."

"Okay," Klaus said as he kissed her jaw, "On one condition."

Caroline's face broke into a smile as she leveled with him, "Anything."

Klaus smirked and rolled on top of her, placing him weight on her.

"Say it again," he demanded.

Her brows furrowed in confusion before recognizing what exactly Klaus was referring to. She had said those three words during their night of reunion, but had yet to repeat them, even when she was back in passion with him. She was terrified he wouldn't reciprocate the feeling.

"Klaus-"

"Don't you dare pretend like you didn't say it," Klaus said with a hard gaze.

"I-" she tried.

"Did you mean it?" He questioned as his eyes turned to slits.

"Yes, of course," she exclaimed as she placed a hand on his cheek, "But, its just a scary thing to say."

His eyes softened and adoration was clear on his face.

"I love you, Caroline," Klaus said quietly.

Her eyes softened as she no longer felt fear and she whispered back, "I love you too."

The two met the other in a kiss as they relished in the words of love they had both spoken.

"We can have that baby, love, whenever you're ready," Klaus said as he kissed her with a giant smile on his face.

Then the two made passionate love to each other, all before nine A.M.

"Mama! We're home!" Josie yelled as the front door was opened and shut. Caroline was cooking in the kitchen when she picked up on her girls heart beats. Only two of them.

"Im in the kitchen, come get a snack," Caroline called.

Both Lizzie and Josie entered and threw their backpacks on the countertop.

"Where's Klaus," Lizzie said as she moved to sit on the bar stool as Josie opened the refrigerator in search of a snack. Caroline smiled to herself at Lizzie's question, she had taken a clear liking to the man in Caroline's life.

"He had just a bit of work to do, he left a couple hours ago," Caroline said fondly as she remembered their conversation that morning. Babies and 'I love you's had put her in a wonderful mood.

"Where's Hope?" Caroline asked after answering Lizzie's question.

Both girls were silent.

Caroline stopped stirring the pot in front of her, turned off the gas, and turned to see the two girls were both fidgeting.

"Girls, did you hear me?" Caroline questioned a little tougher.

Silence.

"Hey," Caroline said sharply causing both to look at her, "I need you two to pay attention. Now, where is Hope?"

Then Caroline gave the look. The mom look which is absolutely more terrifying than the Hybrids worst mood.

"She's with a friend," Josie said quietly.

Caroline's eyes turned to slits, "What friend?"

"She's with John Anderson," Lizzie said quietly.

"Who's John Anderson?" Caroline questioned as she placed both hands on the countertop in front of her.

"Mom, she asked us not to say anything," Josie pleaded.

"I don't care sweetheart, who is he?"

"He's a Junior at our school," Lizzie said.

"A Junior? Where are they going?" She exclaimed. Because it wasn't so long ago that Caroline herself was a beautiful and naive freshman. It wasn't too long ago that she had her heart broken and her body used.

"We don't know," Josie said as she looked at her mom.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Caroline pressed.

Both girls nodded their heads, truth in their eyes.

"Thank you for telling me, eat a snack and I'm going to call Rebekah to come over," Caroline said before kissing both girls on the head.

Caroline exited the room and sped up to her and Klaus' room, pulling out her phone in the process.

"Hey," Rebekah answered.

"Hey, I know we haven't had time to catch up yet, and I really want to do that with you, but I need a favor, like right now," Caroline said with clear panic in her voice.

"Caroline, what's wrong?" Rebekah questioned hearing the panic.

"I have to call Nik and we have to go find Hope because she didn't come home from school and the girls said that she's out with a boy and he's a Junior and Bekah I know high school boys and this is bad, so I need you to come watch the girls while I'm gone," Caroline rambled.

"I'll be there in seven minutes, go ahead and leave now," Rebekah said quickly before hanging up.

Caroline barely even blinked before calling Klaus.

"Love, are you missing me already," Klaus answered.

"Nik, Hope didn't come home from school, and-" but then she stopped because she picked up on heartbeats outside the front door. One familiar, one a stranger.

"Wait-" Caroline said as she moved towards her window, looking down at the front porch.

"Caroline what's going on," Klaus said with clear edge in his voice.

A smile broke out on Caroline's face as she took in the sight before her.

"Nik, she's here. She's on the front porch, she must have just been running late," Caroline said with happiness evident in her voice.

"Caroline, what's going on?" Klaus said still on edge.

"Really Nik, I just over reacted," Caroline confirmed as she looked down at Klaus' daughter and an unknown boy holding awkward conversation. The boy reminded her of Matt when he was younger, causing Caroline's heart to tighten.

"Hey, I've got to go, but we can talk when you get home," Caroline said.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Nik."

Then the line went dead, and only seconds later Caroline witnessed what was clearly a first kiss between the couple below her.

Not wanted to be considered a pervert, Caroline walked away and down to the kitchen, quickly sending Rebekah a text explaining the situation and how she wanted to approach it, and asking her not to say anything to Klaus. She starting to cook again as could hear some faint whispers on the porch and a gentle goodbye before the front door opened and closed as Hope announced herself.

"Hope, will you come here!" Caroline exclaimed as she worked on dinner.

"Yeah, what's up," she said as she entered the kitchen. There was a faint blush to her cheeks and Caroline noticed the light in her eyes.

Definitely a first kiss.

Caroline once again turned off the gas and decided that the meal would just have to wait.

"Why don't the two of us go for a walk," Caroline suggested as she motioned towards the back door. Caroline heard a slight stutter in Hope's breathing as she became nervious.

"You aren't in trouble, so stop worrying, I just want to talk to you," Caroline said with a gentle smile.

Hope nodded her head and put down her bag as she followed Caroline out the back doors. The pair walked in silence for a few moments, Caroline directing them towards the gardens and trees before she started to speak.

"I know your dad has told you all about me, but I felt that was kind of unfair," she stated with a smile, "You see, his idea of what happened and my idea of what happened are two very different things."

Hope nodded and said, "Dad's story doesn't sound too bad."

"I'm sure it doesn't, but I still think you should hear my side," Caroline said with a wink.

"You see, I hated him so so much, and I know he explained how horrible he was to you, and I hope he explained what a bitch I was to him, but you should know, that your dad was always a gentleman. Never once did he force himself on me. Never once did he try to get me to do things I didn't want to do. Yes, he pursued me to the point where if he wasn't so powerful, I might have considered a restraining order, but it was always tasteful. He always respected me. And that's why we work, it's because we always respect each other, physically and emotionally. Even when we fight, we try to respect one another. His intentions with me were always clear, and he was always a gentleman, never pushing for more than what made me happy."

Hope nodded, not meeting Caroline's eyes.

"I saw you and John today, sweetheart," Caroline confessed. Hope's head shot up and she looked in alarm at Caroline.

"How did you-,"

"I don't need you to explain yourself, you aren't in trouble. But I need you to promise me something, okay?"

"Mhmm," she said as she nodded quickly.

"I need you to be honest with both me and your father. I didn't know where you were or who you were with and I had to pry it out of my girls. I called both your Aunt and your dad," Caroline said as she watched tears suddenly well up in Hope's eyes.

"Dad's going to kill him," she whispered in fear.

"Oh Hope," Caroline said as she brought the girl into a hug, "No he's not. I called your Aunt first, I was about to go out looking for you and I was going to have her watch the girls, so she knows everything, but by the time you and John got to the front door I was just about to tell your dad, so he doesn't know."

"You aren't going to tell him?" she asked with hope in her voice.

"No sweetheart, I'm going to tell him, but I promise it'll be okay, I'll talk to him about it. But you need to start being honest. You don't have to tell us every detail of every bit of your life, but we need to know where you are and who you are with. Additionally," Caroline trailed off for a moment.

"I don't know where you are right now, but when you feel like you're ready to start having sex, I need you to come talk to me or your Aunt," she saw a blush cover the young girls face as she continued, "I won't stop you, but I would encourage you to be smart about who it's with. Don't just give yourself to anyone, and know that those type of actions are supposed to be intimate and special. I would also want to get you on the pill."

"Okay," she said quietly.

There was silence as the girls walked along the path for a few moments as Hope kicked at the dirt beneath her feet, clearly anxious.

"Do you have anything you want to ask me?" Caroline asked.

Hope took a few moments to think before answering, "How old were you when you started dating?"

"I was just a couple years older than you," Caroline said with a fond smile.

"Did you have sex with him?" Hope asked.

"Yes, but only after I had known him a long time, we started as childhood best friends," she explained.

"Was my dad after him?" she questioned.

"No, your dad and I were a few years after my ex and I broke up," Caroline answered.

There was silence for a while.

"Have you ever regretted having sex with someone?" Hope asked shyly.

Caroline's mind immediately went to Damon and she spoke, "Yes."

Because even though she wasn't actively involved in having sex with Damon, it was still something she would regret, something that still hurt.

"Will you tell dad when I want to?" Hope asked in an even quieter voice.

"Yes, it's part of the respect thing that I was talking about, but I promise to keep him calm. I can't promise that he won't start acting weird around you for a while, and I suggest that you never do it in the house, but I can promise that neither of you will get into trouble for it," Caroline said calmly.

"Okay," Hope said with a small smile on her face.

"And you can always talk to me," Caroline said as she hugged the girl.

"I'm glad you're here Caroline," Hope whispered into the hug.

"I'm glad that I'm here too."

The girls walked back inside and Caroline found Rebekah in the living room.

"So?" Rebekah asked on Caroline's entrance.

"I talked to her. I gave her the be safe talk, and I told her that I have to tell Nik. I also explained that there is more to sex than just sex," Caroline said as she flopped down on the couch.

"I just didn't think it would be so soon," Rebekah said with clear exhaustion in her voice.

"You and me both," Caroline said.

Then the two girls lounged there for a few moments in silence before the front door opened and shut.

"Caroline," Klaus called out.

"In here!" she answered.

A swooshing sound was hear and suddenly he was on top of her placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too," she said as she pecked his lips and pushed him off.

"Rebekah, we'll be upstairs if you need anything," Caroline called out as she took Klaus' hand and lead him to their room.

It was hours later, when they were in the aftermath of passion that Caroline decided to go in for the kill. She had made sure to be extra attentive in their activities and Klaus was in an endorphin induced state.

"I need to talk to you about something," she stated quietly as she drew idle designs on his chest, he grunted in response so she continued, "So, I talked to Hope today about us. I felt like it was a good way to approach the topic of dating."

She only had to wait a split second before he sat up.

"Why did you need to talk about dating," Klaus asked, suddenly feeling very uneasy.

"Don't freak out," she said as she swung a leg over his lap, pushing him back onto his back, "But today when I called you, its because Lizzie and Josie told me that she was out and about with a boy."

Klaus growled but before he could move, she placed her palms on his chest and said, "No listen, I need you to trust me for a second. She got home while I was on the phone with you, but I didn't tell you right then because I wanted to talk to her first. I didn't want to find her sobbing tomorrow because you killed her crush."

She kissed his lips softly and whispered, "They kissed, barely even a peck, on the front porch and then he left. It was painfully awkward, so I'm positive that it was their first kiss. Then she and I had a talk."

"You let him kiss her!?" Klaus yelled from under her.

She kissed him again.

"Klaus, she's fifteen, you have to let her reach these milestones on her own. If you don't let her grow up, she's going to have trouble later on. It was all PG rated, trust me," she spoke softly to him.

"I don't like him," Klaus growled out as he kissed her lips.

"Let me finish," she said as she kissed him again, before pulling away slightly, "I talked to her about respect and I explained that while you were pursuing me, you were always respectful. You always respected my boundaries. I told her that it was important and that was the reason we work, that even when we fight, we respect one another. I told her that I know about him and that I have to tell you, but I promised her that he wouldn't end up dead," Caroline gave him a pointed look.

Then she cleared her throat and placed her palm on his cheek, "And Nik, I had to talk to her about sex."

Not even a quarter of a second later, Caroline was on the bed alone as Klaus stalked over to his dresser, pulling out clothes.

"Klaus-," she started as she stood, pulling the sheet around herself.

"I'm going to kill him," Klaus growled as he searched for a shirt.

Caroline rolled her eyes and dropped the sheet, walking over to her love.

"Stop it, Klaus," she said as she grabbed him, attempting to hold him in place.

"He's trying to defile my daughter," he growled.

"Klaus, sit down and listen, and if you are still mad after we are done, we will deal with it then," she said as she took off his pants, leaving him in boxers.

Klaus allowed her to undress him to his underwear before sweeping her up in his arms and sitting on the bed, holding her tightly.

"Are you going to listen?" she questioned as she was curled into him.

He grunted.

"I brought it up, she wasn't asking for tips or anything. I said that she need to be careful about it when she is ready. I made her promise to be honest with us. I told her about knowing that it was more than just a physical act. I also told her that when she's ready to start having sex that she needs to go on the pill. She needs to be prepared before she has kids. Then I let her ask questions," Caroline explained.

"So she doesn't want to have sex yet?" Klaus asked firmly.

"It didn't seem like it, she seemed quite embarrassed about it actually. But it is really important that you handle this correctly Nik, other wise she might try to rebel to be with him or the next guy that comes along. Then she will be having sex, just to spite you," Caroline explained.

Klaus let out a loud exhale and groaned, "Parenting is hard, love."

"I know."

And the couple sat quietly together for a few moments before he said, "What did she ask you?"

"She asked about when I started dating and having sex, and she also asked if I ever regretted it. That was basically it," Caroline explained and she moved off his lap and to her dresser to retrieve pajamas.

"And?" He questioned.

"And what?" Caroline said as she put on underwear and a loose shirt.

"What did you answer," Klaus asked as she climbed back into bed and he pulled her towards himself.

"I told her that I started dating when I was a couple years older than her, and that I had sex with him, but only after I had known him a really long time," she answered, trying to avoid the final question as she turned off the lamp

"Matt?" Klaus questioned into her body as he held her close.

"Yep."

"And the final question, have you ever regretted it?" Klaus questioned.

"Klaus," Caroline sighed, "I would really rather not talk about it."

"Was it us?" Klaus asked thoughtfully.

"No, I've never once regretted us. Even when I hated you, I never regretted when we were together, just me and you," Caroline said firmly as she came to realize that he may never let it go.

"Who did you regret?" Klaus asked as he tried to stay calm. He wasn't a fan of talking about Caroline's other lovers, but he knew that he couldn't be a hypocrite either.

"Nik, please," she whispered.

"Caroline-,"

"No, stop it, I'm not going to tell you," Caroline said as she pulled herself away from him.

"I've only known you as long as you've been with Tyler, and you claim to have not been with anyone since then, so it can only be a few people," Klaus started thinking out loud.

"And you would tell me if you regretted it, the only reason you wouldn't tell me would be if you felt that someone might be in danger. And you even told me about Hope's little friend, and you were afraid that I might kill him, so you must be certain that I'm going to kill him if I find out," he continued. Caroline heard a slight jump in his heart rate and she knew she was done for.

"You didn't want it did you?" Klaus said in a whisper so quiet it was terrifying.

Caroline curled into a ball facing away from him, desperately trying to slow down her breathing and heart rate so that he might think that she has fallen asleep.

The lamp on his side of the bed turned on and he rolled her over to lay on her back so that he could climb on top of her.

"Who are you protecting?" Klaus whispered as he attempted to catch her eye.

He grabbed her chin and she met his eyes, "Caroline, who are you protecting?"

"Klaus, I can't, it was a long time ago. I was human," she whispered, silently cursing herself as she realized that she may have just clued him in.

"You would have told someone had you known, and I would know, you were compelled," Klaus stated as he looked in her eyes. The pain that lie in them was enough to confirm his guess.

"You only knew a few vampires at the time. You are too good of friends with Steph-," Klaus fell off at the end.

"Bloody hell, Caroline," Klaus exclaimed as he jumped off the bed for the second time that night.

He pulled on the jeans and shirt that laid on the floor from earlier.

"Nik, where are you going?" Caroline asked as a few tears streamed down her face.

"To kill the bastard," he growled.

"Klaus, you can't. I need you to stop," she pleaded as she stood, rushing towards him.

"Why Caroline? Why shouldn't I go give to him what he has deserved for centuries?" Klaus exclaimed.

"You don't even know what really happened," she tried to reason.

Klaus stalked towards her and stood roughly in front of her, his face only inches from hers, "Did Damon compel you to have sex with him? Did he use you and hurt you?"

Caroline bit her lip and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Klaus knew exactly what that meant.

"That's called rape, love, and in my rule book, it is punishable by death, especially if the victim is my queen," Klaus whispered to her.

"Please, please just stay. It means nothing to me now. I'm past it," she said as she kissed him.

"Stay with me, please," she whispered against his lips. And she brought her hands of to his cheeks and held him there. She felt him shed a tear as it grazed her skin.

"Next time I see him-," he started.

"You two can fight for a week, but just don't kill him, please," she pleaded as she took his hand and lead him out of their room. The two traveled down the stairs and to the kitchen in silence as Caroline held his hand in reassurance.

Klaus groaned and brought her body to his as he kissed the top of her head as soon as they made it to the kitchen, "The things I do for you, love."

"I know, I know, now sit," she said as she moved to make some tea. He needed it after all of the stuff she had unloaded on him tonight.

"Will you let me see one day?" he asked in reference to the memories.

"I don't think that would be fair to you Klaus, I don't want you seeing me that way," she said quietly, and before he could argue the two heard a car pull up in the drive way.

"You expecting someone?" she asked as she pulled out a stake knife.

"No, but I swear if its Hope's little friend, what's his name?" Klaus paused and asked.

"John."

"-If it's John, I'm going to kill him, this has been too much for one night," Klaus growled as he walked towards the entry way. There was a knock on the door and Klaus and Caroline made eye contact.

Caroline nodded at Klaus.

Klaus opened the door causally, and Caroline heard a familiar laugh.

"Brother, what do you want?" Klaus said as Kol pushed his way into the house.

"To see you and my favorite niece," Kol said before he took in Caroline, "Ah, I see you have company."

"Kol, it's been a while," Caroline said kindly as she stuck out her hand in greeting, "Caroline Forbes, we met a while back in Mystic Falls."

"Ah, that's right, you tried to kill me, oh wait, you did kill me," he said as he shook her hand and sent her a wink.

Klaus came to stand next to her as he addressed his brother, "What do you need, Kol?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just wanted to be around family for a while, I miss Hope," he said as he moved to pour himself a drink.

"I see, well, you need to leave," he said as he held Caroline's hand.

"Brother, come on, I'm sorry about what happened last time, I really didn't know that the gorilla would kill all those people," Kol pleaded.

"I had to spend a week cleaning up after you, plus the press was relentless, and it took months to blow over," Klaus deadpanned.

"I apologized," Kol pleaded.

"Find, you can stay, but no messing with any of the girls and you better not bring another stripper home," Klaus spoke firmly.

"I got it, I g- wait, what other girls are there besides Hope?"

"Mine, you can meet in the morning, now go to bed," Caroline said as she rolled her eyes before walking up the stairs.

"Nik," she said as she reached the top of the stairs, "I'll be waiting."

Then she turned and walked away.

"Holy shit, I missed a lot," Kol exclaimed as he witnessed the woman in front of him.

"You have no idea."

Then Klaus followed the same path that Caroline took, and the two spent their night making love to one another.