Disclaimer: Only plot and original characters belong to me!

"So let me get this straight, Jack," Klaus Mikaelson said to his friend as he plunked a wad of cash down in front of him. "You're giving me your house for five hundred dollars upfront and that's all? Why? What's the catch?"

"It just needs a lot of work done on it," Jack said. "It's a real fixer upper is all. Nothing else."

Klaus nodded. "Well, fine, Jack. I can deal with that. When can I move in?"

Jack shrugged. "As soon as you can get your things together, I guess," he said. "It's not like I have a deep attachment to the place or anything."

"I think I'll move in tomorrow if that's all right with you," Klaus said.

Jack nodded. "That's fine," he said. "Real fine."

The next day, Klaus arrived at the house. He told his driver to park the car in the street and then strode up to the front door, to which a young woman had handcuffed herself. "So!" She said angrily when she saw him. "You're the one Jack sold the house to! You one of his friends?"

"Yeah," Klaus said. "Who are you? What are you doing at my house?"

She frowned. "This isn't your house, it's my house!"

Klaus smiled. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Jack Taylor sold it to me for five-hundred dollars flat. Says it's a real fixer upper."

"Jack Taylor," the young woman spat. "That snake! He had no right to sell this house to you. It's been in my family for years!"

"Is that so?" Klaus asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Caroline," she said. "Jack's ex-wife. We're just recently divorced. It was my idea and this is his sorry way to get back at me. But I won't let him! If I have anything to do with it, you and he are not going to get past this front door!"

"Well, I'm sorry," Klaus said. "I think this is all a misunderstanding. When I bought the house, I had no idea that you even existed. If I had known, I wouldn't have done it. I would have stuck up for you." He grinned.

"Oh, shut up!" Caroline narrowed her eyes. "You're no different from Jack and the rest of his cronies. If you'd known about me, you'd still have taken this place for all it was worth!"

"Well, it's not really nice to form opinions about people before you actually meet them, is it?" Klaus asked. "It's so awkward talking this way. Tell me where the keys to the handcuffs are and I'll free you so we can sit down at lunch somewhere and talk about this like civilized people."

Caroline eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then sighed. "All right," she said. "But you have to promise not to do anything smart. The keys are in my back pocket."

Klaus' eyebrow went up. "All right," he said. He reached into her back pocket and took out the keys, running his hand over her butt. "Hey!" Caroline said. "Watch your hands, Mister!"

"Remember that I am buying you lunch," he said, his eyes twinkling. "And if you didn't want me to touch you, you should have put your keys somewhere else!" He unlocked the handcuffs and once she was free, Caroline slapped him.

"Putting your hand in my pocket to get the keys was one thing, but I do not remember giving you permission to cop a feel."

"All right, all right!" Klaus said, backing away from her with his hands up. "I'm sorry. I'll behave! Let's take my car. I know some good places to eat around here."

Caroline nodded. "All right. Now you go ahead of me."

"Oh, I don't think so," Klaus said. "I was always taught to let a lady go first."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Caroline replied. "But I'm progressive and I say you should go first!"

"Fine," Klaus said. "I will go first. But you can't say I didn't at least make an attempt at gallantry." He turned and began walking toward the car, and Caroline couldn't help but notice that he had a very nice ass. Much nicer than Jack's. When Klaus realized she wasn't following, he turned. "Aren't you coming?" He asked with a grin.

She nodded and blinked. "Oh, yes," she said, her face turning pink. "I'm coming."

"So where is it that we're going?" Caroline asked. "What sort of place?"

"It's a nice place," Klaus said. "If I'm going to be taking your house away from you, I figure I at least owe you that much."

"You're still gonna take it away from me even thought Jack sold it to you under false pretenses?" Caroline asked.

Klaus nodded. "Well, of course! I paid money for it. I'm not just gonna let that investment go to waste and I very much doubt Jack will give me my money back, so what choice do I have?"

"It's always about money," Caroline said. "Everything is a business deal anymore. No one cares about beauty, or history, or anything like that. No one really cares about the memories inside a house. But I do."

"Really?" Klaus asked. "What sort of memories? Why are you so attached to this house?"

"My great-grandfather built it with his own two hands," Caroline said. "The first thing he did after all his investments finally paid off and he got rich. He moved my great-grandmother in and they had their kids there and my family has owned the place ever since. It's a part of them and a part of me and I just don't want to see it go to any old person. Especially not one of Jack's friends. I want it to go to someone who will love it and appreciate it. "Someone like...someone like..."

"Someone like you?" Klaus asked. "Do you want it?"

"If I was totally honest, I would say that I do," Caroline said. "But Jack was correct when he told you it was a real fixer-upper. It's a mess and I can't afford to make all the necessary repairs by myself, so I guess selling it was a good thing to do. I just wish he would have told me first." She sighed.

They sat in silence until they reached the restaurant and Klaus led Caroline inside. "Your usual table?" The smiling host asked him.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Thank you."

Klaus and Caroline sat down after a brief argument that began when Klaus pulled her chair out for her, and then continued the discussion they'd had in the car.

"So now that you know why the house is so important to me, will you let me keep it?" Caroline asked.

Klaus shook his head. "No. But I would be willing to let you live in it as my tenant."

"What?" Caroline asked in shock. "Over my dead body! I will not pay you to let me live in a house that should be mine anyway!"

"Well, all right," Klaus said. "But it's either that or say goodbye to the old place forever. What happened to the woman who was so passionate about the house that she handcuffed herself to the front door. Are you really gonna give up on it so easily? I'm ashamed, I really am."

"Don't you talk to me like that!" Caroline said. "You don't even know me!"

"It could be that I want to," Klaus said. "Did that ever occur to you?"

Before Caroline could reply, the waiter came and asked if they wanted wine.

"No, thank you!" Caroline said testily. "I want to keep my wits about me."

"Champagne," Klaus said. "Please."

The waiter nodded and left, coming back a few minutes later, pouring them each a glass, then taking their orders. Once he was gone, Klaus said, "Are you sure you don't want to take me up on my offer? You wouldn't even have to see me. It's a big house."

"Even so, I'm sure you'd find some excuse to knock on my door every night," Caroline said.

"My goodness," Klaus told her. "You're just a piece of work, aren't you? The day your divorce came through, Jack became the luckiest man alive."

"That's it," Caroline said. "Take me home. I don't have to listen to this anymore."

"If by 'home' you mean the house you just had yourself handcuffed to, that's my house not yours unless you agree to my terms," Klaus said.

"I didn't mean that," Caroline said. "I have a different home. An apartment down on Tower Street, building 311."

Klaus sucked in his breath. "Isn't that a bad part of town?"

"Maybe," Caroline said. "But really, it's all I can afford at the moment, not that it matters to you."

"I wasn't going to make light of your dire circumstances," Klaus said. "That happens to everyone at some point." He looked at her, concerned. She was thin, and pale, her cheeks were sunken. "How long has it been since you've gotten a good meal in you?" He asked her.

"I eat well enough," Caroline said. "It's just that I'm a skinny person."

"Even so," Klaus told her, "I would feel better if you ate your salmon. Then I promise you I will take you home to your little apartment and you'll never have to look at me again."

True to his word, after they finished their meals, Klaus drove her home, to a rundown area littered with police cars and rundown buildings.

"This is the place," he said. "Let me walk you to your door."

"That's not necessary," Caroline said.
"I know," Klaus told her. "But I insist.

Grudgingly, she let him walk her inside, but when they reached her apartment, they found an eviction notice on the door. Angrily, Caroline pulled it off and strode away to find her landlord.

"What the hell is this?" Caroline asked, slamming down the notice in front of him.

"You're two months behind on your rent," he said. "You're lucky I didn't throw you out sooner."

"Why, you-" Caroline launched herself forward and grabbed his collar before Klaus pulled her back. "There's a much more civilized way to deal with this," he said. He looked at the landlord, a pudgy, bald, greasy man smoking a cigar. "How much does she owe?"

"A thousand," he said.

Klaus whipped out his check book and wrote the guy a check for $1500 dollars. "Here's the full amount," he said. "And an extra five-hundred with my compliments."

"No, no!" Caroline said, snatching the check out of his hands and ripping it up. "I'm not taking charity from you. This is my problem, not yours. Thank you for taking me home, now go away."

"Where are you planning on staying until you get the thousand dollars?" Klaus asked her. "Obviously, you can't stay here."

Shutting her eyes tight, Caroline turned to face him. She opened her eyes and said, "Fine. I know what you're getting at and fine. I'll come and stay at the house with you, but only until I get the money to pay off my debts and then I'm moving back here."

"Well, all right then," Klaus said. "Now that that's settled, let's go."