Just Give Me A Reason

Story: Just Give Me A ReasonStorylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9231386/1/Category: Vampire DiariesGenre: Romance/DramaAuthor: RadientWingsAuthorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2643790/Last updated: 01/07/2014Words: 38767Rating: TStatus: In ProgressContent: Chapter 1 to 8 of 8 chaptersSource: FanFiction.net

Summary: Klaus. Caroline. Sparks fly. After one passionate night, they thought they would never see each other againFive months later, Klaus gets an unexpected surprise when he runs into Caroline - a very pregnant Caroline. Klaroline.AU. All human.

*Chapter 1*: Prologue

Ok so, this lovely idea was the courtesy of the wonderful carasedrin (she basically co-wrote it with me). Thanks somuch S! :)

This is my second foray into AU human klaroline, so I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD!

Prologue

"Right from the start, you were a thief you stole my heart, and I your willing victim"

Klaus Mikaelson saw her as soon as he entered the club. She stood out from all of the other women here. At first hewasn't quite sure what it was. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, blonde and blue-eyed, her shortsshowing off long legs. But it wasn't that that drew him to her, it was something in her smile, that sparkle in those blueeyes of hers.

It was just her.

He found himself pushing through the throngs of people, making straight for where she was standing at the bar andleaning on the countertop, a drink in one hand. Her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders and Klaus wonderedwhat it would feel like to run his fingers through those blonde locks. Her back was bare, her black halter-top giving himthe perfect view of her pale skin.

She finally seemed to notice him when she turned around and her blue met his. In that moment Klaus knew he had tobe closer to her. Originally, he had come here to escape, get lost in the people and get away from his troubles with theuse of alcohol. But, now, seeing her looking at him, his plans had changed.

She appraised him with a small smile as he continued to walk to her slowly. In return, Klaus let his own eyes rove overher, smirking. He never actually made it to the bar, though, when the girl herself came forward to him and grabbed himby the hand, pulling him instead to the dance floor, a sparkling smile on her face.

He found himself marveling at the softness of her hand in his, the confident sway of her hips as she led him forward.Only when they were in the middle of the crowd did she stop, turning around and awarding him with another radiantsmile. She immediately started moving with the music, still holding his hand.

For a moment, Klaus did nothing, simply watching her until she sent him a slight questioning look. Suddenly Klauscame to a decision and pulled her flush into his chest, smirking when he felt a surprised gasp run through her body. Hehooked her arms around his neck, his own hands then slowly travelling down her arms and the sides of her body,eventually settling on her her hips. She was looking up at him with wide eyes as he leaned down, putting his foreheadagainst hers.

They started their dance again, this time more fervently, bodies moving together. Eventually, the girl lost her wide-eyedlook and it was replaced with predatory sort of grin as she pushed into him, grinding against him, one of her handsfalling from his neck and to his chest, over his fast beating heart.

Klaus wasn't quite sure how long he and this nameless, beautiful girl danced like that, but he knew it must have been along time as the people around them began to thin. Still, they danced, and as they did so, it grew more impassioned.Their eyes stayed locked as they swayed, their faces moving slowly closer and closer.

Eventually, Klaus couldn't take it anymore and gave into his urges and feverishly put his lips on hers, groaning when sheresponded eagerly, immediately deepening the kiss, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. Klaus' own hands movedfrom her hips, one going around her waist and under her shirt, touching the bare skin of the small of her back, and theother going to her hair, tugging at the end of her blonde locks as he had been wanting to all night.

They soon found themselves moving away from the dance floor and out of the club. The girl pushed him roughly againstthe brick wall of the club, once again attacking his lips. Klaus smirked, not having pegged her for one who liked to be sodominant. Well, unfortunately for her, Klaus liked dominating more than her, he suspected.

He had them flipped in the next instant and her back was to the wall instead of his. He stood still for a moment now, bothof them breathing hard.

"What's your name, love?" He found himself asking, his voice gruff.

She cocked her head coyly. "Caroline." She answered after a moment, her voice the sweetest sound Klaus had everheard.

His lips were instantly over hers again, eventually trailing to Caroline's cheek and down to her neck.

"You never told me your name." Caroline gasped, her fingers threaded through his hair. Klaus lifted his head from whereit was at her neck and smirked at her.

"My name is Klaus."

"Well, Klaus, what do you say we get out of here?" Caroline asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

He chuckled deep in his throat. "I couldn't have said it better myself, sweetheart."

Klaus stepped back from her and offered her his hand. Only a second later, Caroline's fingers were once againintertwining with his.

This time it was Klaus who pulled her along.

Caroline Forbes was not the sort of girl who had one-night stands. She was not the sort of girl who went into a club anddanced all night long with some guy whom she'd just met. She was not the kind of girl who spent the rest of the night inbed with aforementioned guy doing things that were probably better left unmentioned; even if said guy was probably themost handsome, sexy man she had ever met. (If anyone asked, she would say it was the accent that did her in definitely not the mix honesty, pain, and amusement in his eyes or the dark twist of his smirk or the gentleness of hislarge hands.)

And yet, Caroline did exactly that.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that, normally, Caroline didn't do those things. She was the kind of person whowent out on dates and had summer flings, sure. But, easy sex? That just wasn't her thing. She was the girl who wanted aserious relationship; as a child she had always dreamt of having her own Prince Charming.

As an adult, she now knew it just wasn't that easy. After just coming out of a good relationship gone wrong, she knewthat it would never be that easy. In fact, it was because of her ex-boyfriend, Tyler, that she was in that club in the firstplace, acting like someone she usually wasn't.

When she finally got there, she'd thought she wouldn't go through with it. But then she saw him .

Klaus.

And she was done for.

And it was because she actually wasn't that type of girl that she had left early the next morning, careful not to wake Klaus,thinking she would never see this handsome, sexy man who made her forget her morals, ever again.

Which led her to where she was now, weeks later, in the bathroom, bent over the toilet and throwing up all of herbreakfast. It had been happening on and off for the past few days when she came to an awful realization; she was late.Caroline was not the type of girl that was late with anything.

Despite initially denying even the possib ility, Caroline had found herself wandering to the section that held pregnancytests in the supermarket anyways.

Now here she was, washing her face and mouth, trying to make it seem like she hadn't just puked her guts out anddecidedly not looking at the little test that sat on the countertop. Who knew that the waiting time could seem this long?

She leant against the sink, her foot tapping up and down nervously, her eyes on the clock. But, even with the waiting,Caroline already had the feeling she knew what the results were going to be, she could feel it in her stomach. Literally.

But her mind refused to accept it. This wasn't a part of Caroline Forbes, small-town girl and former Miss Mystic Falls'immaculate plan for her future. This wasn't supposed to happen to her now. It couldn't. It wouldn't.

Caroline was supposed to get further in her career before this happened. She was supposed to get married before thisever became a thought. She most certainly wasn't supposed to be just barely starting her life and single when thishappened. If she ever had a child it was supposed to be with her one not some handsome stranger she was sure she

would never see again.

Caroline glanced at the clock again, seeing that enough time should have passed for the results to show.

Suddenly hesitant and a thousand more times nervous than before, she carefully reached out for the ridiculously smallobject that was going to decide the course of her future.

Slowly, she glanced down.

Her heart stopped. Her face lost all of its color.

Positive.

She lifted a hand up to her mouth; panic flooding her system as the realization hit her.

I'm pregnant.

Shit.

Okay so, this is simply the prologue of what is going to be a multi-chaptered fic. Everything is already planned out soupdates should come out pretty regularly :) If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

*Chapter 2*: Crash

Thank you to babyvfan, Klata, Esperanza14, Marta (x2), .Executioner, Lovely Rain Dancer, arabella, RippahGoneWolf,InuGnome17, ILove2Write13, glevez25, Lord of Sin, EmmaRedVelvet, TeddyBee, jinx-inside, Klaus lover, Mel023,Guest, gleeislover, Marina, MoriartyandHisTardis, Guest, PsychVamp, ifancyklarolinexx, Sci-fi Christian, SkaiyaMcFee, Guest, sandiw1875, ANGELiCAWROTE, ApekshaStar, jessinicole, SweetyK, ForverInYourArms,EyesLikeLiquidFire, and Pemfor reviewing! Thanks for the great response everyone! And, of course, a special thankyou to the wonderful and amazing carasedrin for coming up with ideas and beta'ing this for me :D

Ok guys, like all of my other stories, the first chapter acts as kind of a set up chapter for the rest of the story, sobear with me!

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD

Chapter One

Crash

"Your head is running wild again, my dear we still have everything, and it's all in your mind. Yeah but this is happening."

When Caroline Forbes had moved to the city six years earlier to get her university degree, wanting to become aregistered nurse, she had never thought she would end up staying here in Richmond, getting a job at the hospital andeventually be one of their top employees.

She had certainly never expected to end up breaking with her boyfriend and get knocked up a week later by a completestranger.

But here she was, five months later.

At first Caroline had been unsure what to do, panicked. When she first picked up that pregnancy test and saw it waspositive a thousand thoughts had run through her mind. First was, of course, panic. And then denial. The test had tohave been a fluke. So she tested herself again. And again. And again.

Positive. Positive. Positive.

So Caroline decided to suck up her pride and went to visit the doctor's office for confirmation.

Same answer.

Pregnant.

She spent the first week in a haze, completely detached. No one suspected a thing, but she had just been going throughthe motions. That is, until she was caught with morning sickness in the bathroom by one of her best friends, BonnieBennet.

"Caroline?" Bonnie entered the female bathrooms when she heard retching. She knocked on the stall where the noisewas coming from. "Are you okay in there?"

"Just fine." Caroline managed to get out, before another wave of nausea hit her. She had been hiding her 'illness' allweek, trying to avoid the reason for it for as long as she could; seems like she couldn't do so anymore.

"Okay, that's I'm coming, you've been acting off all week." Bonnie barged in, stopping in her tracks when she saw herfriend crying over the toilet. She immediately crouched beside her, placing her hand on the b londe girl's back, worryingat her friend's pallid appearance.

"Oh my God, Care, what's the matter?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

Caroline pulled back from the toilet, now just sitting next to it, uncaring of the unsanitary appearance of the bathroom."Bonnie, I really messed up." She said as she hid her face in her hands, her voice clogged with an overflow of emotion.

"What do you mean, messed up, what did you do?" The other girl asked in return, sitting beside the b londe.

Caroline hesitated, unsure if she wanted to get into this. But she knew she couldn't hide this for much longer. "AfterTyler I, I went a little crazy and I went out for some fun" She swallowed, throat suddenly dry as she sneaked a peek at

her friend, suddenly intensely nervous as to how she would react. "I slept with some guy I didn't know, I just wanted toprove to Tyler that I wasn't who he said I was, that I wasn't some prude b itch, I never thought" She trailed off, unable togo further, desperate tears filling her eyes.

"What, Caroline? You're scaring me" Bonnie said suddenly, sounding frustrated and even more worried than before.

And then it burst out of Caroline. The truth she had wanted so much to ignore.

"I'm pregnant, Bonnie!" She exclaimed. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them and she buried her facedeeper into her hands.

"Oh." She felt her friend pull away from her, shock in her voice. "Oh"

"Bonnie..?" Caroline asked, looking back to her friend who seemed like she was anywhere but here.

"I, uh" The brunette made to stand but her b londe friend couldn't bear to see her go, not now when she needed her,and grabbed her wrist.

"Please, don't go Bon! I don't know what to do." Caroline said desperately. Bonnie hesitated for a moment, beforenodding, and sitting back down, looking unsure but, much to Caroline's relief, sticking around.

"Ok, ok, it's ok, I'll stay with you"

Eventually Bonnie and Caroline made it back to Caroline's apartment, needing somewhere more private (as in, not inthe bathrooms at work) to talk it all through. When they first arrived at her place, it had been quite awkward, as if neithergirl knew where to start and what to say. Bonnie and her had always had somewhat of a rocky friendship, but Caroline stillconsidered the girl to be one of her best friends. She just hoped this wouldn't change it.

"What do you think you're going to do?" Bonnie asked at one point.

"I don't know, Bon. I honestly don't know." And she really didn't. Keep it? Not keep it? Be a mother? Put it up for adoption?Caroline had no idea. It was like she was numb.

Suddenly they heard the front doorknob turn and in walked none other than Stefan Salvatore, Caroline's other bestfriend. Though she and Bonnie had been friends since kindergarten, Stefan and her had a close bond since the minutethey met in high school, after he and his brother Damon moved to Mystic Falls. He was now in his second year of medicalschool, and even interned at the same hospital where she and Bonnie worked. Stefan was the one she knew she couldalways depend on, and they often just dropped by each other's places to chat or hang out, both of them having a key.

"Hey, are you guys ok?" Stefan asked, immediately sensing something was wrong as he kicked off his shoes.

"Hey, Stef." Caroline said, her voice barely a whisper. Normally she would greet him with a hug or even just a smile;today she did neither.

"What's going on?" He asked, making his way to the couches and sitting down in one of them, shooting both girls curiousglances.

Caroline looked to Bonnie for help, who simply looked away, offering no helpful advice to her friend. Sighing, the b londesat back and considered for a moment, before coming to a decision. She could never hide anything from Stefan, at leastnot for long, and she supposed it would be better if he heard it from her and not someone else. Besides, he alwayshelped her when she trapped in a corner.

Only, she feared this corner was far worse and much more complicated than any she had encountered before.

"You're going to find out sooner or later." She said quietly after a moment, barely looking at him, too afraid that he wouldbe ashamed of her when he found out.

"Find out what?"

"I... I..." Caroline stopped, her throat going dry. Come on! Pull yourself together! You've already told one person today,what's two?

It seemed that in the time that Caroline spent contemplating, Bonnie had finally decided to participate and took thedecision from her. "She's pregnant." She intoned b landly.

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed, feeling a slight tick of annoyance, before immediately looking to Stefan, curious andterrified of what his reaction might be.

For a moment, he was completely straight-faced, until finally he cracked a rare smile.

"Oh haha, very funny, guys... " His smile died on his lips when he saw the looks on the two girls' faced. "wait, you're notjoking, are you?" Caroline's shake of her head was enough to confirm his question for him. Stefan opened and closed hismouth a few times, speechless "Wow..." He let out finally." Ok... wow, what are you going to do, Care?" He asked after hetook a minute to collect himself, in true Stefan fashion, trying not to overreact. "Did you already tell Tyler?"

Caroline, who had been planning to stay calm just couldn't anymore, and stood up, storming upset to her room. Of all thepeople he had to mention it just had to be Tyler, didn't it? She tried to ignore the pit of guilt in her stomach.

"Well done, Stefan." Bonnie said sarcastically.

"What? What did I do?" He shot her a confused look.

The brunette sighed, shaking her head. "It's not Tyler's."

Stefan stopped in his tracks. "It's not?" He asked, even more shocked at this news than the fact that his best friend waspregnant.

"No, it happened right after they broke up, she needed to let loose and, well, here we are." Bonnie crossed her arms, agrim look on her face.

"Is she sure it's not his?"

"Apparently." The way the brunette shrugged showed that she really wasn't sure what she believed.

"You have that look on your face, Bonnie." Stefan said admonishingly.

"What look?"

"That disappointed look, she doesn't need that." Stefan didn't exactly approve of the whole one-night stand get pregnantscenario but he wasn't about to let that make him question Caroline and who she is. He certainly wouldn't judge her for it.

"Well, maybe she should have thought things through for once. It's like high school all over again." Bonnie said snipingly.

"Don't say that. You know how much Caroline has grown since high school." Stefan replied, immediately coming to hisfriend's defense. Though he knew Bonnie only wanted the best for them, he also knew that sometimes she showed it inthe wrong way.

The brunette had a slight look of guilt about her for a second, but it soon disappeared and she stood up, grabbing herstuff. "I guess. I just, I don't know, I need time to think... Tell her I'll call her, ok?" Before Stefan could get a word inedgewise, Bonnie had already left.

Stefan sighed to himself, hating to get in the middle of that kind of drama. He approached Caroline's bedroom door,knowing she probably needed some support, even if she didn't want it. He knocked loudly twice. "Caroline? Can I comein?" When he heard no answer, Stefan shrugged and entered anyways. "Hey."

Caroline didn't even glance his way, burying herself deeper in her bed. Stefan didn't push her anymore and instead satby her side, waiting for her to open up to him.

"Bonnie left, didn't she?" She asked, finally breaking their silence.

"Yeah." He said honestly.

"She thinks I'm pathetic, doesn't she?"

Stefan turned to Caroline, finding her looking back at him with sad eyes. "Of course not! You know Bonnie, she justneeds some time to adjust." He reassured, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What am I going to do, Stefan? I can't be a mom! Half the time I can't even keep myself together." Caroline asked,sitting up panicked.

"Hey, hey." She looked back at him. "Come here." Stefan pulled his friend into his arms. "No matter what happens, not

matter what you choose to do, I will be there for you, ok? I promise you."

For the first time that day, Caroline smiled a little.

A week after she dropped the b ig bombshell on her two best friends, Caroline found herself slowly beginning to acceptthe facts. Still, she kept the facts to herself from then on, not wanting to have another person look at her like she wascrazy. So, she went to work, acted as if nothing was going on.

Caroline quickly filed away the rest of the paperwork she had just finished, her shift coming to an end. She was justpulling her hair out of her customary ponytail and grabbing her stuff when she ran into one of the few people who knewon her way out of the locker room.

"Care." Bonnie greeted with a small smile, having arrived early for her own shift.

"Hey Bonnie." Caroline replied emotionlessly, trying to get to the door. She loved Bonnie, but, honestly, she didn't want todeal with her right now.

"How are you? How is everything?" Her friend asked, still b locking her way.

"Good, good. I have a check up in a few minutes, gonna see if everything's ok with the little guy." The b londe hedged.

"Oh, ok..." Bonnie had a rejected look on her face as she stepped aside to let the other girl through.

Caroline hesitated. "Look, I have to get going, maybe we can talk later?"

Her friend smiled brightly. "Yeah, later..." Nodding, the b londe made to leave, but turned back around when Bonniecalled out to her. "Wait, Caroline! Do you want some company? It must be hard, doing all of this alone."

Caroline's cool demeanor cracked, anger surfacing. It's not like she wanted to do this alone! Caroline had searched forthe last seven days for Klaus, knowing that he should have a say in it, even if she didn't know him . This wasn't just herbaby (it took two to tango after all) and she had just wanted to get some help from someone else. But, it had all been invain and she just couldn't find him. Heck, she didn't even know his last name!

But, as much as she had wanted to let him know about the baby and maybe have him help out, what she had wantedmore that entire time was the support of her friends.

"Yeah it is, I could've, you know, used you there." Caroline replied, crossing her arms, ready for a confrontation.

But Bonnie didn't react angrily like she had thought she would. Instead, she immediately looked guilty. "I'm really sorry,Care, I don't what was wrong with me, I never should have done what I did. I wasn't a very good friend..." Bonnie lookedaway.

Caroline sighed, her anger dissipating somewhat. "No, you weren't... but we've been best friends since kindergarten, andI don't like this distance between us."

"Me neither." Bonnie admitted.

"Look, we've always done everything together. We went through elementary, middle, and high school together. We wentto the same college, got the same degree. We even work at the same hospital! Can't you just to do this with me? I reallyneed you." Caroline found herself rambling as she explained what she felt to her friend.

"I know that now, and I am really sorry." Bonnie reached out and grabbed her best friend's hand. "From now on, I'll behere for you, whatever you need."

Caroline squeezed her hand gratefully, before cracking a huge smile. "Then apology accepted. But, anyways, I really dohave to go now, I can't be late for this"

"Well, would you like some company? I still have time before my shift starts." Bonnie smiled as well.

Caroline froze, her own grin widening even more. "I would love some company" They made their way out of the lockerroom together. "Hey, maybe we can convince the doctor that this our baby"

As they joked and laughed, Caroline could not keep the happiness off her face, glad that she now had two of the mostimportant people in her life at her back.

The first two months of her pregnancy, Stefan was her rock. He was always ready to talk with her, but didn't push her tomake a decision either. And when Bonnie came around as well, she and Stefan managed to keep Caroline sane enoughto make it through.

She was still undecided with what she would do with the baby, however.

But, the longer she hesitated in what to do, the more she realized that she had already known all along. Every time shethought about abortion, her heart would clench and she decided she wouldn't go through with it.

Caroline knew what it was now. She was already beginning to love her baby.

As soon as she realized this, she picked up her phone and dialed Stefan's number. She didn't even wait for his greetingto speak.

"I've decided to keep it." She announced strongly. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to try and elaborate. "Idon't know, it just wouldn't feel right to get rid of my baby."

"That's great, Care." Stefan finally replied, his voice sincere.

Caroline smiled, grateful. "Thank you, Stefan. Thank you... for everything."

"You're welcome."

She hung up a moment later, and began dialing Bonnie's number.

When she was nearing the end of her first trimester, Caroline decided it might be time to inform her supervisor that shewas pregnant. In the last few weeks, there had been rumors circling that she might get a promotion and she didn't want tojeopardize that by keeping something from her boss.

"Caroline, if you could come with me, now, there was something you wanted to tell me?" Said boss commanded, pullingher aside. Once they were alone, she gestured for her to go on and start talking. Caroline immediately did as she wastold; Rhonda Danner was not a woman you wanted to mess with. She was a tough older lady, with strict views on theworld, including things like abstinence and being single and pregnant. She was also one of the few nurses in the hospitalthat insisted on being called 'Nurse' Danner, and not just by her first name.

"Yes, Nurse Danner, I would just like to inform you that I am..." Caroline swallowed, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "pregnant."

Her boss finally looked away from the paperwork she had been focusing on, surprised eyes on Caroline's form, a certainseverity in her expression.

"Ah, I see." She said only a moment later. "Well, I suppose you are keeping the child?"

If anyone else had asked her that question like that, Caroline might have punched them in the face but, as it was,Rhonda Danner was her boss and now, of all times, was not the time to get fired.

"Yes, of course." The b londe replied stiffly.

Nurse Danner nodded. "Alright, thank you for coming in and telling me this." She said coolly, as if she heard news likethis everyday, though Caroline could see her disapproval in the way she clenched her mouth, the way she looked at her."You and I will have to have a sit down later and work out the finer details, maternity leave and the like."

Well, Caroline knew a dismissal when she heard one.

"Thank you." She said, before running fast out the door.

A week later the rumors about her getting promoted died, instead replaced with awful gossip about her and her'activities.' It was the first time Caroline began to regret her decision, just the tiniest b it.

She began to regret and resent the whole situation somewhat more when Bonnie ended up getting the promotion.

It was around that same time that Caroline finally gathered enough courage to ask her mom to come and visit her. It hadonly been her and her mom for a while now, her father having passed away from cancer while she was still in highschool. He was actually part of the reason Caroline had decided to become a nurse in the first place. In his last few

months, her dad had been confined to a hospital bed, and in that time, it wasn't his doctor that took care of her dad, butthe nurses. It was then that Caroline put away her girlish dreams of princesses and celebrities and decided on a moremature dream.

Anyways, ever since Caroline's dad had died, her and her mom's relationship grew more and more complicated, andstrained. But Caroline knew she needed Liz in this.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Caroline? Being a parent is a lot of responsib ility. It won't be just you anymore." Saidmom asked, sitting across from her, looking pale and worried.

"Believe me, Mom, I know." The younger Forbes woman replied, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice; this was not thefirst time they had this conversation.

"I'm just worried about you." Liz admitted.

"I know you are, but I think I can do this. I really do. Can't you just believe in me? I want my child to know you, I want youto be a part of his or her life. He or she is going to need at least one grandparent."

Her mom looked surprised by her daughter's onslaught of maturity and, in only a moment, a proud smile crept acrossher face. She reached out and took her daughter's hand.

"Ok, ok. You know what, Caroline?" She asked, still smiling.

"What?"

"I think you are going to be a great mom."

Caroline hugged her own mom more fiercely than she had in a long time.

Caroline was pulled out of her thoughts by a sudden knock on her door. She was in the middle of her fifth month ofpregnancy and so far everything has been going ok. Her life certainly wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible either. But, shesupposed, the same could be said for a lot of other people.

As the knocking stopped, Stefan popped his head in the doorway.

"Come on, Care! You have to go out and have some fun." He commanded. For the last three days, he had beenpestering her to go out more, saying she needed to have fun while she still had time. Caroline sighed, getting up;knowing the only way to get him to stop his pestering was to give in.

"Fine, I'll go with you, Stef. But you're buying, okay?" She said as she stood up, grabbing her stuff and heading to thedoor.

"Fair enough." They made their way together to his car. Normally, Bonnie would go along with them, but she was reallybusy lately, with her promotion at the hospital and all. Caroline didn't bother to disturb her.

"Just to warn you, I eat like a cow probably because I'm the size of one." Caroline joked sardonically, causing her friendlet out a chuckle. "Not funny, Stefan Salvatore." She glared as she buckled in.

"Ok, ok." He replied, hands up in surrender.

At this, Caroline immediately started laughing.

"God, these freaking hormones! I swear I feel like I'm on crack or something." She said and only a few seconds later,they both broke out into laughs once again.

They made their way to their usual place, a nice little bar/grill that reminded them both of their hometown. They wereseated without a problem soon enough, and Caroline found she was enjoying herself only moments later, glad to havesome time with her best friend, having missed him when he went on his visit to Mystic Falls last week.

"So how is everyone back home?" She asked at one point, enjoying the copious amount of foods the waitress had givenher.

"Good, good." Stefan hesitated. "Damon and Elena have moved in together." He admitted finally.

Caroline winced, knowing that the relationship his brother had going with his ex was still kind of a sore subject. "Ouch,

sorry, that must suck." She sympathized.

Stefan shrugged. "No, I've been over it a long time. Don't worry, Care, I'm good. I should be asking about you, how areyou? And how is my future godson, or daughter?"

"Kicking up a fury. I'm just happy the morning sickness part is over." Caroline laughed, placing a hand lovingly over herswollen belly, smiling. The evening continued pleasantly, until finally she decided she needed to go home, tired fromsuch a long day.

As they headed towards the exit, Caroline froze, thinking she spotted someone very familiar. But in the next instant, hewas gone.

"Hey Caroline, what is it?" Stefan asked, concerned by her sudden space-out.

"N-Nothing." She replied, before shooting him a smile.

"Ok then, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." I just want to get out of here.

"Ok, just stick around here for a bit, I'll go get the car." Caroline nodded and off Stefan went. In the meantime, she went tostand by the bar, deciding to avoid the cold November air as much as possible. She ignored the people around,especially the woman next to her, who was practically throwing herself at some guy. Wasn't that me five months ago?Caroline found herself wondering.

Suddenly someone very large bumped into her, causing her stumble away from the counter and almost fall. Luckily, ahand grabbed her elbow to keep her upright. This must be the guy that girl has been hanging all over.

"Hey, watch it!" Caroline exclaimed, pulling her arm away from the guy. You'd think people would be more careful whenyou're a baby carrying machine, but NO

She was about to hit the guy with her killer glare when she heard his voice from above her head. "Sorry, love, didn't seeyou there."

Wait a second I know that voice. Caroline whipped her head up and froze when she recognized whom she saw.

"Um... Oh my God..." She stuttered out, her eyes wide. Oh, this cannot be happening. Holy crap

"Hold on..." The man in front of her furrowed his brow.

"Klaus?" She asked bewilderedly.

"Caroline." He said at the exact same time, smirking down at her now. Caroline stayed silent, her face going completelypale. "How have you been, sweetheart?" He started, beginning to eye her up "It really has been too long, almost-" and down. Klaus froze when his eyes came to her obviously pregnant belly. When he looked back at her, his eyes werefull of confusion, shock, disbelief and a million different things.

"Five months." Caroline finished his statement quietly.

She couldn't believe it. Klaus was here. She had spent weeks searching him out after she discovered nature's littlesurprise for her, but had never managed to find him. He had moved out his place shortly after their little tryst and hehadn't left a forwarding address with the landlord.

And now he was here.

With another woman.

Ok, guys, that's it for this time :D Next update should be up on next Saturday, latest :D Just a few notes, as you canprobably tell Elena and Damon aren't going to play a particularly huge part in this story, simply because I couldn't finda way to make it work without overcrowding it. Also, about the whole Caroline-Bonnie fight. I put that in because, inthe series, Bonnie is usually the one who is quickest to judge (i.e. when Caroline turned into a vampire) but she isalso always there when it counts. I really want to show that because it is in important part to both characters :)

I realize there wasn't much Klaus in this installment, but, don't worry, there will LOTS of Klaus next chapter!

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW

*Chapter 3*: Shout

Thank you to babyvfan, The Hunger Games-My Life, PainfullyShy, ilovetvd (x2), Epitomeofme, and the tree was happy,Sunfiresarah, whisperslove, HelloCutePanda, ANGELiCAWROTE, walkinthegardengnome, AJPunkForever,bamaccolamorgan, Klata, lanibapt, SweetyK, Hellsleprechaun, Hazel21, Esperanza14, Random Reader, Christobel,Guest, Marta, LadyKlaus, batgirl2992, jessinicole, ILove2Write13, Draco-Harry-Lover-1, Lord of Sin, lily94,InuGnome17, sandiw1897, Aaaammber, Jwakeel, Lovely Rain Dancer, kacomu, gleeislove, EmmaRedVelvet,glevez25, PsychVamp, carasedrin (x2), ApekshaStar, MarsterRoo, Ella marelica, and ForeverInYourArms forreviewing!

And, of course, thank you to the wonderful carasedrin for her wonderful asistence with this story and her patiencewith me :)

Hope you forgive me for this being two days late!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own TVD.

Chapter Two

Shout

"I need another story, something took it off my chest. My life is kind of boring, need something that I can confess."

Caroline's heart was beating a mile a minute as she faced him, faced Klaus. Her emotions were going completelyhaywire, varying from fury to nervousness. How the hell is this even happening? He was supposed to be gone but herehe is, with some girl hanging all over him Her eyes narrowed as stared at the girl. She was pretty, Caroline would giveher that, with smooth dark skin and thick, curly black hair.

And she was practically drooling all over Klaus. Please don't tell me I was that pathetic five months ago. For somereason the sight of the girl made Caroline inexplicably angry. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the father ofmy child is apparently a man-whore.

Her annoyed thoughts were interrupted when said man spoke. "Five months?" Klaus repeated, his voice soundingstrained. "That's-" He stopped suddenly, before gesturing to her swollen belly. "You're pregnant." He stated abruptly, as ifneeding to make sure that he really was seeing what he was seeing.

Caroline almost felt pity for him as she nodded her confirmation.

"Well What How?" She could practically see him trying to formulate his question.

"Who's your little friend, Klaus?" The girl he had with him suddenly interrupted them, sneering as she leanedpossessively against Klaus from behind him, sending a fierce glare at Caroline as she did so. At this point, Klausseemed to finally compose himself, and soon enough his smirk was back on, though Caroline could tell it was strainedat best.

"Greta This is Caroline." He said. Caroline was about to do the polite thing and say 'hello' even though she really,really didn't want to when Greta turned away from her, completely ignoring her.

"Can we go? I'm bored." Greta's voice was unbearably high pitched as she whined at Klaus. Immediately, Caroline felther anger rise. Okay, it's official; I've already had enough of this b itch.

"Let me guess? A new flame for the night?" She said, directing the question at Klaus and smiling slightly at Greta'soffended look.

Even Klaus himself wore a slightly amused look at the scene unfolding before him; for some reason his grin only madeCaroline angrier and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face. "Greta, why don't you go get us some moredrinks so I can have a moment with Caroline here?" He kept his eyes on Caroline as he said this, much to Greta'sdispleasure.

"Whatever." The girl groused, turning away and going to the bartender.

"Now, now, love, don't be jealous." Klaus told Caroline with a smirk as soon Greta had stepped away.

"Jealous? Yeah, right. Don't flatter yourself." The blonde snorted, her voice full of sarcasm as she spoke. Really?

"Well, what put you in a mood? Is it the hormones?" He replied condescendingly, eyes narrowed as the amusementdropped from his tone.

"And whose fault is that, do you think?" She hissed back, suddenly furious. What is his prob lem? I'm pregnant, notuseless And, he's the one that caused this in the first place. God, what did I even see in him?

Her reply caused Klaus to pause, suspicion clear in his expression. "What are you talking about, Caroline?" He askedevenly, fist clenching at his side as his eyes burned into hers. For a moment, Caroline wasn't sure she should answer,wasn't sure she could answer, but of course her big mouth got the best of her.

"I'd think it's pretty obvious." She said, sarcasm once again ringing in her tone.

"Obvious? Not sure I follow, sweetheart. I don't see what your being pregnant has to do" Horrible realization enteredhis face as he suddenly stopped mid sentence. "How far along are you?" He asked after a minute, his voice taught withtension.

Well, it's now or never. "Around about five months." Caroline replied, basically confirming his fears. She crossed herarms over her chest as the air around them suddenly became a thousand times more unpleasant.

Abruptly, Klaus let out a dark chuckle, his face splitting into a wide smile. It wasn't the happy kind of smile though, in fact,if she was being honest with herself, it looked rather sinister. "You're kidding. This is a joke." He said, sneering at her."Nice try, but this can't be true."

"Do I really look like I'm joking?"

"So what are you trying to say? That it's mine?" He laughed again. "I don't think so." Klaus leaned in closer to her untiltheir faces were inches apart and spoke lowly. "Careful there, sweetheart, don't forget it was you who jumped me thatnight. I wouldn't be too quick to take the high horse after all, it wouldn't be surprising if I wasn't your only little tryst thatweek." He smirked coldly. "Just look at how easily you spread your legs for me."

Caroline saw red and shoved him away from her, hard. She was practically vibrating with anger. How the hell does hethink he has the right to talk about me like that?

"You don't know anything about me." She hissed, getting right in his face before stepping back again. She took a deepbreath. "You know what? Fine. Don't believe me, what do I care?" Her eyes were narrowed into a fierce glare as shecontinued to speak. "I never even wanted anything to do with you in the first place. But, hey, I thought I should tell youbecause that's the kind of person I am. The kind of person who is honest." Not the kind you want to think I am, you dick.

Klaus scoffed, his eyes still on hers as his gaze darkened with anger. "If you really wanted to tell me, you would havelooked for me before."

"Don't you think I tried?" Her indignant shout caused a few heads to turn and stare at them. "I couldn't find you, you ass. Idon't even know why I looked for you in the first place! I don't want anything to do with you, and I don't want you in ourlives, either." She punctuated each sentence by getting closer and closer.

"Well, the feeling's mutual, sweetheart." Klaus replied, growling down at her.

Caroline finally had enough and stepped back, grabbing her purse and getting ready to go, her emotions almostspinning out of control by now. I've had enough. I don't need this shit. "God, that's it, I'm out of here." She threw her handsup as said this, the frustration of it all too much for her. "Have a nice life and good riddance." She hissed at Klaus. Justas she turned to go, she saw Stefan approaching them, having just gone to get the car.

"Hey, you ready to go?" He said as he reached her. Stefan, being as perceptive as he was, immediately noticed thetension between the two of them. "Who's this?" He asked, hostilely, instantly putting a protective hand on Caroline'sshoulder, sensing that Klaus was up to no good with her.

"No one important." Caroline replied, delivering her last blow to him. She turned away from Klaus and faced Stefan,wanting to nothing more than to get the hell out of there. "Come one, let's just go."

As she walked to the door with Stefan following close behind, Caroline could feel Klaus' eyes burning into her back allthe way.

The drive back to Caroline's apartment building was made in tense silence. She felt Stefan's eyes continually shifting tolook at her, concerned, but she couldn't bring herself to reassure him. She was barely keeping it together as it was, so

full emotion; she was just so furious. How could Klaus dare to imply that she was some girl who slept around withrandom strangers all the time? Klaus was the only guy she had ever done that with! And, like he was one to talk, he wasclearly a no good womanizer and she was ashamed she ever had anything to do with him.

But underneath all of her anger, she couldn't help but be hurt by his words. When she went looking for him, but didn't findhim, she had stopped searching (after all, the guy had moved out of his place and she wasn't about to hire a privateinvestigator). At the time she told herself that she really tried, that she did her best but, truth is, she had given up so soonbecause she really didn't want to find him. Because finding him would have made the situation all real. And she wasafraid that he would've reacted exactly the way he just had. And it hurt her. Even though she really wanted to deny it, it hurther. Even though his opinion really shouldn't matter to her, it did.

It's like it's Tyler all over again.

Why am I so pathetic? He doesn't matter. He doesn't. So stop thinking about it. You won't have to deal with him again. It'sdone.

Finally, Stefan pulled the car in front of her apartment building, and Caroline attempted to make her escape as quickly aspossible, out of the car in record time. Stefan followed her lead, though, stepping out, and calling to her as she made herway to the steps that lead to the front door.

"Care!" The blonde turned reluctantly to face her friend. "Are you sure you're okay? Who was that?" For a moment,Caroline considered just saying 'no one' again but she knew she couldn't keep it to herself for long, especially not fromStefan. Besides, he always had fortune cookie advice at the ready, so he might be able to help her, right?

"That-" She hesitated before taking a deep breath and trying again. "That was Klaus." She said firmly.

Stefan immediately looked shocked. "Klaus as in?" Caroline nodded. "Oh, okay wow." He was silent for a moment,clearly still processing, until he looked back at her. "So, I guess he didn't take the news well, huh?" He ventured.

Caroline snorted. "Understatement."

"I'm sorry." Stefan replied, not believing her aloof demeanor for a second.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan." She shrugged, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I don't need or want him aroundanyways. We're better off without him." She moved her hand so that it was resting on her swollen stomach.

"Alright" Stefan replied, his tone slightly doubtful.

"What?" Caroline asked in return, with a slight eye roll.

"I don't know, Care." He shrugged. "Far be it from me to defend him, but you did kind of drop a big bomb on him, you can'texpect him to just accept it right away. The guy barely knows you" He reasoned, trying to see the bright side as usual.

Caroline sighed. "Look, I was willing to give him a chance, even though I really didn't want to, I knew I couldn't just keep itfrom him; I mean, what kind of mother would I be if I purposely kept my baby from having a father?" She paused for amoment, trying to keep herself calm and failing miserably. "But he just ugh! I mean, the nerve he had to basically callme a slut? I am done with him. I don't ever want to see him again." She was ashamed to feel the telltale prickle of tearsin her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Stefan looked at her sadly, waiting for her let out her real feelings about the whole situation.

"Does that make me a horrible, shallow person?" She asked after a moment, shaking a little as her breath hitched. "Am Igoing to be an even worse mom?" Suddenly the tears began spilling down her cheeks. Stefan immediately walkedforward and pulled his friend into his arms.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." He told her quietly, his tone soothing. Caroline wrapped herself tighter in his embrace,needing the comfort. "Of course it doesn't mean that. You're Caroline, you're the best person I know and you are going tobe a great mom, okay?" As he said the last part he pulled back and smiled down at her.

She found her own lips turning up in response, her tears already beginning to slow. "Thanks, Stef." She whispered,reaching forward to give his hand a squeeze. "This baby is going to be lucky to have you as an uncle." She told himsincerely.

"Of course." He replied with a smirk causing Caroline's small smile to widen the tiniest bit more.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said before pulling away completely and once again heading to the apartment building.

"Okay, but take care of yourself."

Caroline had to roll her eyes at that. "It's only one night, Stef, I'll be fine."

"If you're sure" He got back into his car, and with a final wave at her, left, driving calmly off.

The blonde sighed to herself as she made it up the final steps to the apartment building and unlocked the front door,heading immediately to the elevator.

As soon as Caroline was up into her apartment, she found her mind drifting traitorously back to Klaus. And shewondered, if I am so done with him, why can't I stop thinking about him?

The tires on Klaus' car squealed as he brought it to an abrupt stop in his driveway. Angrily, he got out and headed to thefront door of his large mansion-like house, slamming it roughly shut as he went inside. He immediately headed to hisfully stocked bar, grabbing a whole bottle of whiskey and taking a generous gulp.

With sudden fury, he slammed his fist down on the bar top so hard that the bottle actually moved a bit. He barely noticedthe pain radiating from his hand and up his arm.

She actually thought that she could fool me? What an imbecile. Klaus leaned heavily on the bar, taking another swig ofhis whiskey as his mind continue to swirl with dark thoughts. That b itch ruined my entire evening.

No one would say that Klaus Mikaelson was a man who was easily swept to the side. But, that is exactly what Carolinedid to him tonight. She had somehow gained the upper hand and had had the last word. He told himself that that waswhy he was so annoyed, so full of emotion, and not for any other reason

Certainly not because of her crazy accusations Why do I always get the crazy women?

Well tonight I didn't even get any woman, Klaus thought, having just realized that he probably left Greta standing alone atthe bar, waiting for him. For some reason, Klaus found that he couldn't care less.

His mind was solely focused on one woman tonight.

Caroline. He didn't even know her last name, he realized.

Not that he cared.

Still, it had been quite a shock to see her again, this woman that had plagued his thoughts for months. Because shehad. After their night together, Klaus just couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. There had just been something abouther. When he had woken up the next morning to find her gone, with nothing for him to be reminded of her but hismemory Klaus wasn't quite sure to explain how he had felt.

At the time, he remembered wishing that he had asked for Caroline's number which was something he didn't often askof from any woman. Klaus didn't do relationships, he just didn't. Too much emotional baggage.

He had known since he was old enough that he would lead the bachelor life. And that is exactly what he had done. Thelongest relationship he had ever had with a woman had been a month long, and that had ended in misery for them both.

Klaus was better off on his own, that he was sure of. So, even though he had regretted not having Caroline's number,this woman that left him curious for more, he didn't even attempt to find her again, knowing it was probably for the best.

He instead went on with his new life here in Richmond, finally moving out of his interim apartment and into his houseafter construction finished. He had only moved to the States a few months before he had met Caroline, deciding to leaveEngland and put an ocean between him and his father. He ended up moving to Virginia because he had found a fewgood business opportunities, and his company had a branch there.

He probably could have moved anywhere in America but he had wanted to move somewhere where he wouldn't beeasily found by his beloved father, and who would expect to find Niklaus Mikaelson in Virginia of all places? So, here hewas.

Luckily, Klaus' company ran smoothly even though it was now headquartered here. His business not particularly huge,it's main function being the acquirement of obscure art and reselling it to various galleries around the world, but it did

bring in a very large income. Still, much as he liked his day job, it was not all he spent his time on. So, since arrivinghere, he had also opened a bar, something he had always dreamed of doing.

Now, he spent most nights in Originals, his very own club/bar.

But, despite it all, his thoughts still often drifted to Caroline. The way she had moved against him, under him, above him.It annoyed him more than anything at first. Klaus did not dwell on old flames; it simply wasn't done. Yet there he was,doing exactly that.

And then he ran into her. He had been foolishly excited in the beginning, seeing her like that. It was pure coincidence thathe had even run into her. Tonight had been the first time in months he had gone somewhere other than his bar (by therequest of Greta) and he couldn't believe his luck.

And then he saw she was pregnant. And everything changed.

Caroline told him that the baby was his. But it's impossib le, just impossib le. The child couldn't possibly be mine Hehad gotten blindingly angry at the mere thought of it. How did she think she had the right to tell him something like thatand think he would actually believe it? So, Klaus did what he did best. He had lashed out in a harsh way.

He had thought at first that that would be enough to make Caroline back off, but she surprised him by staying strong andfighting him right back. It had greatly frustrated him at the time but now as he calmed down a bit from the encounter, hefelt a grudging respect for her. There were not many people who dared to talk to him like that, but Caroline had done itwithout any qualms.

It was shocking, in all honesty, that this woman that had been in his thoughts for all that time, suddenly appeared andmade wild accusations at him. So, he went straight to the most likely truth; the kid was someone else's. After all,Caroline also hadn't had any qualms jumping him that night, a guy she barely knew, why not some other poorunsuspecting man? (For some reason that made Klaus' chest fill with an unfamiliar feeling.)

The baby can't be mine. It can't. But the way Caroline had looked at him, her eyes had been so alarmingly honest. And,Klaus couldn't help but to let her words begin to get to him, no matter how much he wanted to push it away and deny it.

What if What if this child really is mine? Is it is it possib le?

Even if it is, he or she will be much better off without me; I would be a horrib le father.

But a part of Klaus felt suddenly guilty, that part that was hidden deep inside, underneath his rough outer exterior. If this isreally my baby, can I go on knowing that abandoned it before it was even born? Wouldn't that make me an even worsefather?

Maybe, maybe I can be a better father to him or her than Mikael was Maybe I can learn from his mistakes

Every child deserves to have a father right?

Klaus could barely believe the way his thoughts were going. What am I even doing? This isn't even real.

But, the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind. Even the possib ility was too much for him. He needed to know, he needed toknow the truth and, after that, well, he would deal with it, one way or another.

Suddenly, Klaus had his mind made up, and he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He dialed in the appropriatenumber and waited impatiently for the phone to be picked up.

Finally, he heard a stiff greeting. "Hello."

"Maddox, I need you to do something, mate. Can you track someone down for me?" Klaus smirked as heard the man'sreply. "Fantastic."

I need to know if this child is mine, even if his mother most likely hates me now.

That's it for now, my lovelies :) I will see you all with the next installment sometime this weekend! (I think it's going tobe a good one!) I can't believe this story has been getting such a great response! :D

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW

*Chapter 4*: Breathe

Thank you to TheMiseducationofB, Alisha, Someone, KRISTINE.W, linda, chillwithJyl, shadyvale1963, Esperanza14,Arabella, peytonplace78613, sandicus, Psyc0gurl0, The Hunger Games-My Life, gleeislove, Guest, Ellavm18,ANGELiCAWROTE, ApekshaStar, walkinthegardengnome, sarahberah1121, Sunfiresarah, EmaleeKaye, Lovely RainDancer, Pagan-Angel13, HeroSavesPeople, klauslove, babyvfan, jessinicole, ILove2Write13, InuGnome17,ForverInYourArms, ilovetvd, Guest, RippahGoneWolf, HelloCutePanda, carasedrin, Marta, Draco-Harry-Lover1,glevez25, SweetyK, MarsterRoo, EmmaRedVelvet, Riah2386, KlarolineKisses, Ela marelica and Aaaammber forreviewing!

And, as usual, special thanks to carasedrin for being awesome :)

Wow, I truly suck at updating when I say I will My deepest apologies!

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD!

Chapter Three

Breathe

"Tell me what you want to hear. Something that will light those ears. Sick of all the insincere. So I'm gonna give all mysecrets away."

"So, let me get this straight, Care. You went up to this guy, the father of your child, and told him right there and then thathe was the baby daddy." Bonnie looked at Caroline with an incredulous expression as they browsed through thematernity store. Caroline had once again outgrown (well more like expanded horizontally out of) her good clothes andhad decided that she and Bon were long overdue for a shopping trip.

Caroline winced at her friend's words. "Well, when you put it like that" Of course, she hadn't expected that her relaxingshopping trip would end up being a full on interrogation on the event's that happened a week ago. With Klaus

"Hey! I'm only saying it how I see it!" Bonnie defended before giving the blonde a pointed look, disapproval written all overher features.

"Okay, I will admit it was not my finest moment, but, in my defense I am a mess of hormones right now" Her friend senther a disbelieving look, "and he just made me so angry." Caroline admitted before huffing with annoyance. "Look, canwe just change the subject, please? Stefan already gave me this talk."

The brunette just shrugged, that disapproving look still in her eyes even as she began talking about something else."Fine, fine. Did you hear about Elena?"

"What, about her and Damon moving in together?" Of course I did but Stefan told me "Did she tell you?" Theblonde asked, trying to act casual and as if it didn't matter whether Elena did or not. Not like we used to be close oranything.

"Yeah, she did. She sounds super excited." Bonnie answered with a smile; though the brunette hadn't approved ofDamon in the beginning, she had soon come around and supported Elena.

Caroline on the other hand

"I bet she does." She groused. "Why didn't she call me?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that one of your best friend's is her ex boyfriend and her current boyfriend'sbrother." The brunette replied matter-of-factly, causing the blonde to wince once.

"Yeah, I see your point. But we used to be so close I wish she wouldn't shut me out." She sighed, looking pointedlyaway, rifling through the extensive racks of clothes.

"You know Elena. It takes time."

Yeah, I know Elena, that's the whole problem. She might just decide she has had enough of Damon tomorrow and goback to Stefan and Stef won't be ab le to resist her

Don't get her wrong, Caroline loved Elena like a sister, but she couldn't approve of the way she played with other'semotions, even if not on purpose. But then again, she supposed all Gilbert women were like that. Goodness knows her

twin sister Katherine was similar in that way, though a lot sassier. It had been a while since she had seen KatherineGilbert and, in all honesty, Caroline really missed her. She may seem like a crazy, psychotic bitch to most people but shewas Caroline's crazy, psychotic bitch of a friend. Katherine and Caroline had always been closer than the blonde waswith the other Gilbert twin (though the opposite was true with Bonnie). In part it was because Kat took shit from no one,which was something the younger girl admired about her, since for so long she had just let people get to her.

"Oh my god, look Care! That's so adorable!" Bonnie interrupted her thoughts as she held up a tiny, baby-sized witchcostume for Caroline to see. The brunette looked at it with admiring eyes and her friend had to hold back a large smile atthe excitement the usually more reserved Bennet was showing.

"I don't even if it's a girl, Bon." She shook her head with a grin.

"Well, don't you want to know?"

Caroline found herself frowning at the question as she took the tiny witch costume from Bonnie's hands and held it inher own. "Of course I want to know but I just guess I feel like, if I don't know I won't psych myself out too much." Shehung it back up on the rack.

"What do you mean?" The brunette looked at her friend with curiosity, not understanding why she wouldn't want to knowher baby's gender.

"I'm already so worried about this, Bonnie, you have no idea. I'm going to be a mom ." She sighed, placing her hands onthe swell of her stomach, deep in thought. It's scarier than I though it would be. "I just don't know if I can deal right nowwith knowing if I'll have a son or daughter. The minute I know it will all become so real, I'll begin planning my baby'sentire future before he or she is even born!" She shook her head, frustration clear in her voice. "I just" Carolinehesitated, before looking up to meet Bonnie's eyes. "I want this baby, I do. And I'm afraid that I'll convince myself that it'sbest to give my baby away if I know." Because if I know, I will know how many ways I will probably screw this baby up "Iknow it's stupid and irrational but I can't help it"

She was surprised when she felt another hand on her clenched one. She looked to her friend, finding the brunettesmiling understandingly back at her. "It's not stupid, Caroline. Not this time."

"Thanks Bonnie."

Bonnie only nodded in return and they both went back to browsing. Caroline found she couldn't focus. This whole tripwas supposed to get her mind off things, not bring them to forefront. I don't know if I'm ready for this. I mean, will I evenbe a good mom?

There was one thing Caroline knew for sure though. She had no choice but to be a mother to her child.

Her baby didn't have another parent after all.

Not one that counted anyways.

As their little shopping excursion began to wind down, Caroline and Bonnie found themselves sitting on one of the manypublic benches, both holding a fresh bagel from the nearby vendor. They had finally managed to steer their conversationaway from the baby and all things pregnancy and instead moved onto something they both loved to talk about.

Men.

Well, specifically, Bonnie's new mystery man. So far, Caroline had been unable to get the answer out of her friend butshe would get there; she always did.

"Ok, I have to go, my shift starts soon." Bonnie said as she stood, shouldering her purse and grabbing her share ofshopping bags.

Caroline raised a brow, a knowing look on her face. "Please, you're just avoiding telling me."

"Yeah, you caught me" Bonnie laughed, turning away. Just as it seemed she was about to walk away, her eyesnarrowed and she froze for a second. Abruptly, she turned back to Caroline. "Hey, isn't that...?" She began, pointing tosomeone out in the distance.

The blonde focused on the person that Bonnie was gesturing to and nearly had a heart attack, freezing in sudden shockwhen she saw who it was.

"Tyler." Caroline breathed out. Shit. She immediately pulled her shopping bags into her lap, as if that would help hideher. Of course it just had to be her luck to run into her ex-boyfriend. Damn it. Why now of all times?

"Um, Care?" Bonnie asked, sounding surprisingly unsure. "He's coming over here."

"Crap, crap." She hissed, trying to think of some way to get out of there, even though she knew it was too late. Shit, shit,shit!

"What are you going to do?" The brunette asked, shifting her gaze back to Tyler as he got closer and closer, his eyesfirmly on Caroline.

Great. Now I have no choice.

She sighed heavily, resigned to her fate. "I guess I'll just have to talk to him." She muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, he saw me didn't he?" Why couldn't he have worse eyesight? God, what am I? A magnet for unwantedconfrontations?

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Bonnie asked her, concerned.

"No, I think I need to do this one alone." Caroline found herself rejecting her friend's offer, even though she really, reallydidn't want to. I need to do by myself. "I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, you should get going before you miss your shift."

"Okay, call me if you need anything." The Bennet girl still looked wary but, despite her misgivings, began walking away,feeling this was something best done without her presence.

"I will." The blonde nodded, sending her friend a completely fake smile in hopes of stopping her worrying and waving hergoodbye.

"Caroline!" Well here goes. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she greeted her ex-boyfriend with a small smile, therest of her face an emotionless mask.

"Tyler." She nodded, still partially hidden under all her bags.

"Long time." He said after a long moment, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Yeah it was." She replied quietly. As their conversation grew idle again, Caroline took the opportunity to examine him.Tyler Lockwood looked the same as always, of medium height, well muscled and with thick dark hair. He still had thatcocky rich boy sort of look, a remnant of who he had been in high school. Ever since their breakup, Caroline had beenavoiding him at all costs, even as he tried to reopen a connection with her. He called her and texted her but she ignoredhim; eventually, all the messages stopped so she had thought that he finally moved on from the whole thing.

Guess not.

"So how have you been?" Tyler finally broke the awkward silence.

"Good. I've been good." She replied, before making a last ditch effort to escape. "Look, Tyler, I really have to get going, Ihave some errands to run." She began grabbing her bags and made to stand, only to stop halfway as Tyler spoke.

"Wait, Care. I want to talk to you. Look, I don't like how we left things" He trailed off, sending her a helpless look.

Caroline sighed heavily. Looks like I'll have to give him more than just hints. "Ty, you have to quit this, okay? It's over. Youand I just don't fit."

"What do you mean we don't work? Can't we just talk for a second?" He bent a bit, trying to catch her eye again butCaroline pointedly ignored him, instead rifling through her stuff, making sure everything was there before she could go.

"Not now, Tyler, ok?" She told him agitatedly, standing up. She immediately realized something was wrong when Tylersuddenly went slack-jawed, freezing in place, his eyes focusing solely on her stomach.

Oh, he didn't realize She glanced at the various shopping bags she held in her hands. I guess these were hiding mebetter than I thought, she thought randomly.

"Oh Oh uh you're you're pregnant." Tyler stuttered out, his eyes still on her very pregnant self.

"Really?" Caroline couldn't help but remarking. "I hadn't noticed." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she crossed herarms over her chest, a defiant tilt to her chin. Just try and say something

"Oh i-it's mine, isn't it?" Huh? She found her eyes narrowing in confusion. What's he even talking about? "I am going tobe a father. I am going to be a dad." He kept going, excitement clearly beginning to brew in him.

He he thinks

Caroline reached out and gently touched his elbow, shaking her head. "No, Ty, you're not."

"What? I'm not? How can I not be?" He pulled his arm out of her grasp, a look of betrayal brewing in his eyes. Ok, this isgetting out of hand. Fast.

"Just think for a minute." She tried to sound as soothing as possible, though deep down she felt her own shaky calmbegin to break. "You and I We hadn't slept together in more than a month before our breakup, I'm only five monthspregnant, and we ended things weeks earlier than that."

They were both silent as Tyler processed this, the excitement that had been there before completely melting away. "Wait,let me get this straight... I am not the father?" He asked her, looking for confirmation as he wrapped his head around thewhole idea.

"Not the father." She repeated with a small nod.

"So" He continued, speaking as if he had just uncovered a huge secret, his eyes looking at her accusingly. "I'm not thefather because you refused to sleep with me for a month before we split, and, a couple of weeks after our breakup youjust decide to sleep with some other guy?"

Caroline flinched, stepping back. "You know it wasn't like that Tyler. I just didn't want our relationship to be held togetherby sex!" She sighed deeply, still feeling his angry eyes on her. "Every time we got in an argument, we just ended upsleeping with each other and it never solved anything. We didn't talk to each other, Ty." She looked at him imploring,trying to make him see reason even as her insides twisted with uncertainty.

"Right, or maybe it was just because you were banging another guy the entire time." He took a step closer to her, angerclear in stance. Caroline knew he had quite the temper, she just wished she would have been able to foresee thisreaction. "Or did you just turn out to be a slut and not a cheating bitch?" He accused, eyes flashing.

"Tyler!" Caroline gasped, feeling a harsh pang in her heart. "Why are you saying this?" Why does everyone alwaysassume the worst of me? Do I really seem like that type of person? And even if I was, what would it matter? Would thatmake me a bad person? I don't think so! I can chose what to do with my life.

But still... first Klaus and now Tyler and he knows me! Or at least I thought he did

"Because it's true!" Tyler's reply was full of fury and frustration as he raked a hand through his hair. "What am I supposedto think Caroline? I see you for the first time in months after you've been avoiding all my calls, after you refused to talk tome and then here you are, knocked up, saying it's not mine because of some bullshit excuse." His eyes met hers again."We didn't stop sleeping together because we needed to talk, we stopped sleeping together because you were gettingaction somewhere else, weren't you?"

"Tyler" She was ashamed to feel tears well up in her eyes. Stand up for yourself Caroline! What are you doing? Youdidn't let Klaus talk to you like this, why won't you do the same for Tyler?

Because it's different with Tyler, another voice in her mind whispered. He's known you since high school, back when youwere just the shell of the person you are now, back when you were so insecure about yourself that you took every insultwithout a word back.

Tyler was your first love. It just isn't the same with him as it is with Klaus.

"I should have known you're still that same, shallow bitch of cheerleader you were in high school." She took another stepback at his disgust filled words, wanting nothing more than to just get out of there. "God, do you even know who the fatheris?"

Caroline clenched her fist, trying to control her emotions. Don't let him get to you, he's just angry. Show him that you arebigger than you used to be now, and not just physically don't let him get to you.

Just when she thought that she would fail in her mission to keep it together, she heard footsteps approaching them and

then a minute later felt someone place a gentle hand on her shoulder. Caroline whipped around surprisingly fastconsidering her condition and found the last person she wanted to see right now staring back down at her. Oh, no

Klaus

"Well, mate, that'd be me." He said, glancing away from her and to Tyler, eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Klaus, what are you-?" Caroline started, her own eyes narrowed in accusation as her anger started to build. Now he'sgoing to team up on me too? And what's with 'I'm the father' crap? He chooses now to start believing me?

Before she could say anymore, Klaus interrupted her, his hand now going around her shoulders. Caroline was soshocked by the intimate action that she didn't even attempt to throw him off her. "Tyler, is it? Well, as you can see, my girlhere is very pregnant and thus rather prone to emotional outbursts and, with the way you are, how can I put this,bothering her, she just might lose her temper" At this, Klaus leaned forward, a dark sort of smirk on his face. "Orworse. I will. So, I suggest you back off before you cause a scene that you really don't want to start."

By this time, Tyler was staring at them both disbelievingly, before he looked at Klaus challengingly. Caroline couldalready sense the testosterone battle starting and decided she better get a handle on this situation. Right. Now.

She looked from Klaus to Tyler, trying to figure just how to quell this situation.

Finally coming to a decision, she decided on today's lesser of two evil's and chose to play along with Klaus, putting herarm quickly around his waist and pulled him to the side. "Come on, honey. Let's just go."

Surprisingly, Klaus followed her, allowing her to pull him along and out of the mall, getting them away from Tyler as fastas she could. As soon as she was outside with Klaus, the perpetual stranger and father or her child, she shoved hisarm away from her and put a safe distance between them.

Klaus, however, didn't notice, too busy seething. "Who was that asshole?" He asked with a slight growl.

"An ex" Caroline muttered, quietly, the tears that were formerly in her eyes having completely dried. "What are you doinghere, Klaus?" She questioned before he could interrupt her again, glaring at him.

They both stood silent for a moment before Klaus let out a familiar smirk, crossing his arms and leaning one shoulderagainst the wall beside him. "Well, sweetheart, I thought I was getting coffee from my favorite vendor."

"Coffee?" She repeated with no small amount of disbelief. I mean, what are the odds?

Does he really think I'm that much of an idiot? I'm not that b londe

Klaus held out both his arms in gesture of faux innocence. "Why do you sound so incredulous? My office happens to bejust across the street." He told her, annoying smirk still on his face.

What is his problem? God!

"Ok, well, thanks or whatever, but I have to go." Caroline shrugged, the frustration in her actions quite apparent as sheadjusted her hold on her bags brusquely. "Great seeing you." She continued with sarcasm, before turning to go.

"Caroline, wait." Klaus said, almost gently, sighing slightly.

She turned back around, exasperated. "Look, I meant what I said the other day. We don't need you."

His amiable expression melted away into something much darker and Caroline was sure that that would be the end of it,that he would give up. Instead, Klaus surprised her, took her off guard by actually admitting that she had the right of it fora change.

"No, you're right, it's not just coincidence I found you here." He told her, oddly sincere; Caroline had the feeling that thissort of thing was out of character for him. Still, she was wary. "I'll be honest with you and say I was looking for you. Whatyou told me the other day was ridiculous and a lot to take in, even you have to admit." Caroline scoffed at his words,looking away, even though her heart sank a little with guilt for that whole fiasco. "However, I have had time to think of itand I believe, at the time, I came to my conclusions too soon."

She turned back, keeping her shields up. "What do you mean? Can you just get to the point?"

He hesitated for only a brief moment. "Maybe there was some truth to your words."

Hold up

"So you believe me?" She asked doubtfully.

Klaus shook his head, immediately confirming her doubts. "I believe that there is a possib ility, we went quite a fewrounds that night if I recall correctly." He tacked on cockily at the end, causing her to frown at him, glaring again. He justdigs himself deeper and deeper doesn't he?

"So what then?" She questioned, annoyed and frustrated. "You want me to prove it to you? Why would I even do thatnow?" After last time, what do I owe you? You clearly didn't want this.

You caught him off guard, though, made him look like an idiot. Caroline ignored that second thought, instead choosingon the easier emotion to stick with; anger.

But it seemed Klaus knew exactly what to say to get her to change her mind.

"Every child deserves to know their parents, do they not? Look, Caroline" He stopped for a moment, for once serious. "Ijust want to know if I really am the father."

Damn him Of course he knows how to play on my insecurities of being a good mom

He was watching her silently, both of standing tense, waiting for her answer, but already Caroline knew what she wouldhave to tell him, she'd known it since he first appeared today.

"Fine." She hissed, causing Klaus to send her a small, pleased smile. This just made her even more annoyed at him."But I am not doing this for you." She told him quickly, causing him to raise a brow her way. "I'm doing this for my baby."She stepped closer to him, sending him a death stare. "And let's get something straight, I do not like you and I do notforgive you."

Klaus just nodded, smile dropping away. "Very well."

"Good." She said after a silent moment, surprised at how easily he had given in to her. Huh well, ok, I guess. "We'll findout then" She tried to get her thoughts organized as her mind went reeling, all of today's events finally getting to her. "I'llget a paternity test set up, and I'll contact you." No way am I giving you a way to get to me, she thought pettily. Withoutanother word, she nodded once at him in farewell, before turning to go, stalking away with what was left of her dignityshrouding her.

"Caroline?" Klaus called after, sounding annoyingly amused by something. She turned with a huff.

"What now?"

He smirked widely at her, holding out a white card to her. "You can't exactly contact me if you don't have my number nowcan you, sweetheart?"

Oh Caroline was irritated to feel her cheeks begin to burn up in embarrassment. She shuffled quickly to him andreached out to grab the card from his hand. As her fingers touched his, she felt indefinable sparks run up her arm,something she would definitely deny later on. Klaus met her eyes, seemingly looking into her soul as he grabbed herhand suddenly in his, pulling her lightly closer.

"You know, if this child really is mine, we are going to have to get along to at least some degree, love." He whispered toher, searching her eyes before a light smirk once again graced his features.

This little action caused Caroline to come back to herself and she immediately ripped her hand away from his, steppingback with a huff. "Well since we don't know for sure I have no problem treating the way I am." She told him with her ownsmirk before turning and walking resolutely away.

"I'll see you around, Caroline." Klaus called after her, mirth in his tone.

"Whatever." She replied, barely restraining herself from flipping him off as she sauntered away from him as fast as shecould.

What is it about him that makes me revert back to a five-year-old? Well, whatever it was, Caroline was just glad to putsome distance between her and Klaus.

Right?

Klaus watched Caroline walk away with an amused smirk. Despite the fact that a lot had happened to her today, she stillstayed strong and took no crap from him; it was something that rarely occurred in Klaus' life, and something that hefound himself admiring.

To be honest, Klaus was rather surprised that he had been able to find her so soon. Luckily, Maddox was very good athis job and had given him a list of places that she often frequented and her home address. At first he had thought ofmaybe going to her place, but knew that would probably only get him a door slammed in his face. So, instead, he hadgone through the list of places and found, to his surprise, that one of her favorite places just so happened to be close tohis office. So, for the last week or so, he had been going to the same coffee vendor in the mall everyday, in hopes ofseeing her.

He knew it had been a long shot, and he realized he had been only a day or so away from just going with Plan A and justappearing at her apartment.

And then, there she was. Caroline Forbes. He had finally learned her full name, thanks to Maddox's detective skills andknew a lot about her. She was a nurse at the local hospital and a good one at that, she had grown up in Mystic Falls withher mother, had been a cheerleader in high school the list went on.

For some reason, the more Klaus found out about her, the more intrigued he was by her.

So when he saw her at the mall, sitting by herself, he held back, wanting to observe her for a moment, learn more abouther in a different way (that didn't involve borderline illegal actions). And then the guy came, the stranger. They obviouslyknew each other, but there was a strange tension between them. When they started arguing, Klaus found himselfmoving forward, wanting to intercept them. And when he heard the insults flying at Caroline

He still didn't understand what had made him so angry about that. Hadn't he only a week before said much the samething? But, still, he had found himself defending her, something he had never, in a million years, expected to do. Theprotectiveness that had risen in his chest had truly shocked him.

It must have been a fluke, nothing more than a mistake Or so he tried to tell himself.

Still, at least he had done what he had wanted to do since his decision last week. He had found Caroline and he hadconvinced her into giving him, somewhat, a second chance. He would find out the truth of this possibility that had beenplaguing his every thought.

He'd just have to ignore his other thoughts on the enigma that was Caroline Forbes. After all, like she said, she didn'treally need him right?

That's it for now, my lovelies :) Next update will be a lot sooner, I promise! However, after that, the updates might abit fewer and further between because my exams are coming up! Hope you all forgive me!

Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW

*Chapter 5*: Truth

Thank you to Guest, Jo, Layla, Epitomeofme, Onceuponatimeships, veronica, Laura, Jen, redbudrose,SmilesAndLaughs, Brina3, Nat, Natalie, .5, thexlittlexlisa, RCB04, i love klaus and damon, shadowfaxangel,JennylovesKlaus, Emowyen, Guest, Jen7, Lisolotte, walkinthegardengnome, yourloved, SweetyK, redbudrose,Esperanza14, ILove2Write13, PsychVamp, Rorylvalkovic, Marta, arabella, babyvfan, KRISTINE.W, ilovetvd,chillwithJyl, Ellavm18, vulnera-sapientia (x2), Eliza, Guest, Aaaammber, Christobel, mysticgirl125, Juliet Taylor,jamie, Guest, Guest, ApekshaStar, Lovely Rain Dancer, KlarOlinelOver17, Shellbees, meredith77, HelloCutePanda,.Executioner, Team Damon Mom, glevez25, EmmaRedVelvet, MysteryGirl3, jessinicole, ilyreid, TheMiseducationofB,and the tree was happy, MarsterRoo, and ANGELiCAWROTE for reviewing!

Hehehe.. So. I've been gone for a while. I know, I know, I am a horrible author Life just got to me and majorwriter's block tends to get in the way. Hopefully, from now on I will be able to update more frequently! Still, I'm really,really sorry for making you wait so long!

A huge, HUGE thank you for carasedrin for continuing to be so awesome and helping out with this story ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, sorry.

Chapter Four

Truth

"And everyday I see the news, all the problems that we could solve... And when a situation rises, just write it into analbum Send it straight to gold, but I don't really like my flow."

Caroline considered herself to be the type of person who thought things through. In her world, everything was part of theplan she had meticulously designed back in the seventh grade. Of course, that plan had completely veered off track as oflate. But did that mean everything had to go to shit? Ok, maybe she was over exaggerating but, come on.

She really wished she had thought this whole thing through and hadn't told Klaus when and where her doctor'sappointment would be. Of course, it was implied that a paternity test would include both parties involved but just becauseshe did what she promised and contacted him about it, didn't mean it was an automatic invitation to just come along. Ok,yes, he needed to give a DNA sample for the whole thing to work and all that but he could have done that another day!

But there he was, standing outside the red brick building that held the clinic, hands in the pockets of his dark jeans,waiting. Maybe she should just ask Stefan to turn back around and take her home.

It wasn't that Caroline completely hated the guy (well, she kind of did does), but she just wasn't ready to face him againafter last time. A part of her was embarrassed at the whole Tyler debacle and she didn't want to know Klaus' undoubtedlyannoying opinion on it. Why would I even care what he thinks?

Because he's the father of your child, and this whole thing is to prove that fact to him, the more reasonable part of heranswered.

Caroline sighed, her thoughts shifting to the business card currently occupying her pocket, regretting its very existence. IfI didn't have the stupid thing I wouldn't have felt ob ligated to call him.

The words still stuck in her head.

Mikaelson Art & Antiquities

Niklaus Mikaelson CEO

The guy ran his own company. The idea bothered Caroline more than she thought possible. It just didn't sit right with theimage she had of him the image of the good-for-nothing womanizer with no responsibilities. And yet he's responsib leenough to head his firm. Not that she would admit it, but for some reason that fact made her feel somewhatinadequate.

Sighing, Caroline decided to face her fate. I might as well get used to having the guy around. I mean I'm here to prove tohim he's the father of my child, right? Neither of us would be here otherwise. I need to give this a chance.

Caroline was pulled out of her thoughts when the person in the driver's seat of the car she was currently sulking inspoke to her.

"Earth to Care. Hello? You in there?" Stefan asked, even going so far as to wave a hand in front of her face, trying to gether attention as she stared out of the window of the car.

"Hm?" She finally met his gaze, though there was a distracted light in hers.

Stefan just rolled his eyes slightly, an amused grin on his face. "I just asked if you were planning on getting out any timesoon unless, of course, you're too busy staring at Klaus over there." He tacked on at the end, shooting her a knowinglook.

"Hey!" Caroline immediately exclaimed, her full attention now on her friend, desperately hoping he wouldn't notice the redtinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. "You know it's not like that I just I don't know. Maybe I never should have toldhim."

Her friend lost his teasing expression, suddenly turning serious. "Care, you did the right thing, ok? You may not havegone about it the right way" She shot him a semi annoyed look at the reminder of her little outburst at the bar, eventhough she knew he had a point. Stefan only smiled in response though, shaking his head. "You did the right thing..." Hereaffirmed. "So stop second-guessing yourself and get out of the car. I do have other things to do besides being yourchauffer, you know?"

Caroline looked down at her lap for a moment before meeting Stefan's eyes with a smile. "Thanks. I needed that." Shetold him.

"I know." Stefan replied with a smirk. "Now go before you make me even later."

"Yeah, yeah." Caroline rolled her eyes before leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "See you later,grumpkin." She laughed lightly at her friend's mock annoyed face before getting out of the car. Caroline was grateful thathe had come all this with her to make she was all right going through with