1 minute 6 seconds.
That's how long Caroline had been sat on the toilet seat biting her lip nervously as she jiggled her leg up and down. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her resting on the smooth material of her floral pencil skirt. Her panties and tights lay discarded in a corner and she hadn't bothered to tuck in her cream coloured blouse properly after spending so long with her skirt hiked up around her waist as she obsessively read the instructions that came inside the box again and again to make sure that she peed on the stick right.
Caroline immediately felt stupid when she thought about it. Really, how could you possibly get peeing on a stick wrong? But she wanted to make sure there would be no mistakes when she did. She wanted as close to 100% accuracy as she could get!
1 minute 41 seconds.
What would she even do if it was positive? What would they do? How on Earth was she going to tell Klaus? They weren't even engaged yet and an engagement might never happen if they continued rushing around as much as they did and Caroline had a very strict plan that she wanted to follow.
Attend her dream university, NYU, and graduate top of her class with a major in journalism and minor in digital technology (a piece of piss, as Klaus had put it)
Intern at The New York Times (nailed it)
Become Associate Creative Director in the Sales and Advertising department after working her way up from one of many Art Directors (she's been in the job 10 months and is currently crushing it)
Become the most amazing Creative Director the newspaper has ever seen
Get married to the love of her life (if someone had told her back when she was a freshman in college that the love of her life would be Klaus Mikaelson she would have laughed in their face)
Have a kid or two (maybe three depending on her age)
Become the world's best working mum with a super successful career, loving and well-behaved kids, an incredibly active and kinky sex life with her Adonis of a husband whilst still having time to drink wine and dance on tables with her friends twice a month and make the most delicious cupcakes for the PTA.
Now pretty much all of it was shot to hell and it was all thanks to her stupid, annoying, smug but sexy as hell boyfriend Klaus Mikaelson who might have managed to knock her up over the course of the three days she forgot her Pill. (Like it was her fault that she had been sick with flu and Klaus's cure was several bouts of red-hot, passionate, toe-curling and multiple orgasm inducing sex to be taken every day for several days when she could literally keep nothing down but water. It was his fault really. She took solace in the fact that he became ill too and she dropped 8lbs and looked extremely hot in the slinky red Chanel dress she had treated herself to).
She'd probably never get into that dress again now. The thought nearly made her burst into tears.
2 minutes 37 seconds.
Shit. Time was almost up. What the fuck was she going to do if it was positive? She hadn't even been in her current job a year! And Klaus was constantly jetting across the country and sometimes the rest of world as people commissioned him for his amazing art. Not to mention the gallery he owned which took up so much of the time he spent at home with her in New York. They were all over the place! How on Earth could they raise a baby in conditions like that? And would they have to move? Was a penthouse apartment big enough for a baby? And babies bring mess and destruction wherever they go! Caroline so loved the light and airy colours in the apartment and she couldn't bear to think of it underneath a mountain of poop and baby sick. And-
RRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!
The egg-timer that had been cheerfully ticking away next to the plastic stick by the sink noisily erupted. With a little shriek, Caroline turned it off and stood up wringing her hands. She eyed the stupid piece of plastic with uncertainty for several long seconds before she rolled her shoulders and set her mouth determinedly. She was Caroline Forbes. A piece of plastic wasn't going to fuck with her.
Grabbing the stick, she swallowed once and turned it over. She read the words carefully.
Pregnant. 3+ weeks.
And suddenly, all the fear, the worries and silly thoughts melted away. A glowing feeling settled in her stomach as she caressed her tummy with a small smile.
Caroline was going to make pregnancy and motherhood her bitch.
Xoxoxo
Caroline was still standing there staring at her middle in wonder when Klaus strode into the apartment.
"Caroline, love, I'm home."
Shocked, Caroline threw the test in the bathroom bin and hastily covered it with half a roll of toilet tissue and dental floss. Flustered, she smoothed down her curls in the mirror before exiting the bathroom to meet her boyfriend. If you asked her now why she had just done that she wouldn't be able to say anything other than "I panicked and it just wasn't the moment, you know?"
"Hey," she greeted him and took a deep breath, "so-"
"Yes, hello, sweetheart lovely to see you too. I've got a meeting with an up and coming artist later at Balthazar. His model fiancée is going to be there so I need you to get dressed up and put on your best persuasive and complimentary voice. I need to clinch this deal in order to open a new gallery in Manhattan. Perhaps the red dress, hmm?" He kissed her lips briefly before practically sprinting to their bedroom.
Caroline frowned before following him to see him tearing through their shared closet looking for a shirt.
"Tonight? But tonight is…"
"Yes, my love, I know tonight is Chinese food and role-play night but this deal is very important for us. Plus it's an opportunity for you to wear that sexy dress you love so much and drink copious amounts of wine. I know how partial you are to their reds so I'll drive, yes?"
She was halfway through a nod, eyes glazed at the thought of a large glass of sauvignon-blanc when she remembered she wouldn't be able to drink again for the best part of a year. Her inner party girl screamed and cried at the thought.
"No!" She shouted causing Klaus to jump and frown at her.
Caroline cleared her throat.
"Um, I mean, it's your meeting! I'm sure that the artist is partial to a glass or two himself and it would be rude of you not to join him. I'll drive, support you and schmooze your client whilst you do what you do best." She finished with a winning smile.
Klaus's face fell into a soft smile and he crossed the room to kiss her so passionately it left her breathless and weak at the knees. A blush crept into her cheeks and made her hotter than she already was. Damn hormones.
"You really are the loveliest woman I have ever known, my darling Caroline." Her blush deepened.
"What can I say? You bring it out in me." She replied cheekily as she began to get herself ready.
Klaus squeezed her bottom gently before turning away to finish getting ready himself. Caroline glanced at him in the mirror before glancing back down to her tummy, shaking her head to herself. Not tonight, she thought. Besides, there would be plenty of other opportunities.
Xoxoxo
As it turned out, many of those opportunities were taken away from her or just didn't exist.
The day after the successful dinner with the up and coming artist, Caroline took a personal day from work and spent the day wandering around New York buying various baby related things to surprise Klaus with when she got home. She loved a good brain teaser and couldn't wait to see him try and figure it out!
Unfortunately, when she arrived home it was to find that Klaus wasn't there and had instead left a note saying that he had to fly to San Francisco urgently to meet a client who had commissioned a painting of his daughter and he wouldn't be back for two days. Caroline huffed in anger and abandoned her shopping in the middle of the hallway opting for Thai food takeout rather than slave away on an elaborate meal for one. Thankfully, there was some Phish Food Ben & Jerry's leftover in the freezer which she gobbled whilst researching cribs and other baby-related paraphernalia.
When Klaus did return she saw him for all of two minutes before he had to rush to his gallery in Brooklyn. Apparently, Davina Claire, the youngest and most popular artist of the moment was having a nervous breakdown because his brother Kol had stood her up, again, and it required Klaus's immediate attention lest her showcase be left completely unfinished. Caroline nearly saw red at this point because now she had gone the best part of 4 days without jumping her boyfriend's bones and she was seriously horny (she blames the hormones for making her as sex-crazed as she was during this pregnancy but Klaus only grins if it comes up).
The final straw was during a family dinner at the Mikaelson stately home across from the Hudson River. Again, she wasn't drinking (not that anyone had noticed) and there was a brief pause between courses where Caroline was about to bring Klaus aside and get it over with before telling the family. Except this time her best friend Enzo Augustine decided to get down on one knee and finally pop the question to Klaus's sister, Rebekah. They had all nearly gone deaf from the screaming and blind from the indecent displays of public affection and by this point Caroline would have looked like a total bitch if she stole Rebekah's thunder with a pregnancy announcement and so she kept her mouth shut but silently fumed for the rest of the dinner.
By the time they got back to their apartment in Lower Manhattan, Caroline was so worked up and angry that when Klaus finally tried to initiate sex she nearly bit his head off and exiled him to the sofa although he was completely bewildered as to why. Due to their exceedingly stubborn natures, rather than kiss, make up and go at it like bunnies, they decided to indulge in a little bit of self-love that night although it was only a poor substitute for the real thing.
Xoxoxo
Klaus awoke early the following morning and completely unsatisfied with the night before. He wondered what had put Caroline in such a foul mood that she refused to let him in their bed and for the life of him he couldn't think of anything terrible he had done (and he was usually the first to admit that he had done something bad).
He reflected on the past week and remembered that he had barely seen her and he hadn't really given her that much attention. He deduced that that was what was wrong and decided to try and make it up to her a little by cleaning the apartment and making her breakfast. It was still very early so he worked quietly throughout the living room and kitchen before he finally made his way to the bathroom deciding to skip the bedroom altogether knowing Caroline was still asleep. He began by cleaning out the bathtub, sink and cabinets before picking up the bin. For the life of him he couldn't work out why or how Caroline had used so many tissues and dental floss in the space of a week but merely shrugged his shoulders. Having decided that the contents of the bin needed to go in an actual bin bag, Klaus began emptying the bin into a black trash bag. A long blue and white stick caught his eye as it fell with the rest of the rubbish and he deftly caught it with his hand. Turning it over, Klaus blinked at the words that were printed on the stick.
Pregnant. 3+ weeks.
Dazed, Klaus could only blink rapidly at the words in front of him. Huh, maybe that's why she had been moody all week.
Xoxoxo
Caroline woke to the pleasant feeling of kisses being placed along her spine. Groaning in pleasure, she opened her eyes and rolled over to find her annoyingly attractive boyfriend hovering over her, an easy smile on his face.
"Hey." She said smiling softly, all the anger from last night forgotten.
"Good morning, love. Sleep well?" Klaus murmured softly.
"I sleep better with you."
"Well, of course."
Caroline sighed happily and looked into his confusing green-blue eyes which smiled down at her lovingly. Never before had she felt so much love and affection from just a gaze. She wondered if he would look at their baby in the same way. Her heart fluttered at the thought.
"Klaus, I need to tell you something-"
"You're having my baby." He said simply causing her to fully wake up for the first time.
"How did you know?" She cried indignantly. She had wanted to tell him after all.
"I found this in the bathroom bin." He said showing her the plastic stick that had changed both their lives forever.
"Huh. I guess taking out the trash slipped my mind." Caroline mumbled.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep it." Klaus said earnestly before kissing her so deeply her toes curled.
"Really? Why?" She squeaked.
"This urine covered piece of plastic symbolises the most important and precious thing you could possibly give me and I love it and you."
Caroline melted at his words, grabbing his head and pulling him down into a passionate kiss.
"You really think that?" She whispered nervously.
"I think," he said kissing her lips, "that you're having my baby," her nose and eyelids, "and that that is a really lovely way of saying," her forehead and cheeks, "that you love me." Klaus finished, finally landing on her lips.
"Klaus, I love you so much and I'm so happy you're happy about this." Caroline cried happily, her eyes sparkling with tears as she kissed him once more.
"How could I not be happy, my love? There's going to be a little bit more of you in the world which I know I will love just as much as I love you." He said rolling them under the covers and bringing his hand lovingly to her abdomen.
"A little bit more of both us." Caroline corrected sweetly covering the big hand resting on her tummy with hers, cradling their little family in their hands.
(Of course, when they were in the delivery room, words of love were very quickly replaced with swear words and cries of 'Don't ever touch me again, Mikaelson!' and 'I will divorce you if you so much as think of coming near me with that THING again, Klaus!' Although, this was all very quickly forgotten when their little boy, Luke, let out his first cry and was placed into his father's arms. And when the next baby came, another boy they named Hunter, two years later and finally their little girl, Isabel, three years after that, they couldn't even remember how awful the experience of childbirth was. All that mattered was the family they loved, grew and nurtured together at the end of it).
(P.S. Caroline did eventually get most of the last item on her list. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to consider that Kol Mikaelson would be the fun loving and mischievous uncle that would be a big part of her kids' lives. Although, she hated to be wrong, Caroline will happily admit that she underestimated the influence Kol had on her babies when she found them following in their talented father's footsteps by painting over the beautiful cream walls her and Klaus loved so much in luminous green with a sheepish Kol looking on. Needless to say, they were livid and Kol was banned from many family events for the next year).