Hello, all. I know, I know, you haven't heard from me in a while... I just haven't had any inspiration lately. This idea has been in my mind for a while now, but I could never get a hold on it and really start writing it out. Well, tonight I got some inspiration, and wrote this out. I know what I want to happen after this, but I'm not sure of the ending yet... So for now, this is a one-shot which will probably be continued, but I can't promise when. Let me know if you like it, so I know if anyone wants me to keep going. (:

The idea came from a combination of Doctor Who's "The Eleventh Hour" and The Monster by Eminem and Rihanna, and a couple things along the way. Well, I hope you enjoy!

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"Dear Santa," Caroline began whispering, hands pressed together in front of her while she kneeled, leaning on the bed. It was high enough to make it so her hands came up to her forehead.

"This year, I really want my dad to make it for Christmas. He's always so busy lately, and I never get to see him anymore." She paused, not really knowing what else to say. Her mind whirled as she tried to think, but all she could come up with was how her dad's new friend was always with him.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Also, can you make sure his friend Steven doesn't come? He's really weird. And he keeps giving me these creepy dolls."

As she said it, she looked over at the offending dolls with a glare that could melt wax. Too bad they were porcelain.

With a shiver that started at her neck and slithered down her spine, Caroline turned back to her hands. "Anyway," she continued, "If you could hurry on that, that would be great, 'cause Christmas is like, tomorrow, and I know I also sent you a letter, but I really wanted to make sure you got it, and it didn't get lost, so I-" breathe, "so I also had my mom send you an email."

Caroline paused to take another couple of needed breaths before remembering with a start, "Oh, and also I really want to be prettier than Elena when we get back to school, so if you could send me some make-up, or some... or-"

The small crease in her forehead scrunched as her eyebrows came together in confusion. Then she looked down at her chest, underneath her princess pajamas, and looked back up, "Or, if you could give me boobies, that would also work. Thanks."

Suddenly, she found she wasn't sure if that was enough. After all, she was talking to one of the most important men in the world, so...

"Erm, have a good night!"

Then she scrambled up, stretching her now sore knees, and reaching to her full 3 foot, 6 inches. She was only a little under the average height for an eight-year-old, but combine that with her slightly chubbier features, she felt like the ugliest duckling next to Elena. Elena even had a bit of a growth spurt over the summer, and was officially one of the tallest in their class.

Caroline was only a little jealous of her, though she'd never admit it out loud, even if you tickled her.

A loud thunk made her jump out of her thoughts, making the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stand on end.

And then, only a second later, there was another sound... Something that sounded... like a person.

Grumbling.

Jumping onto the bed in the biggest bound she could muster, Caroline slammed her back up against the wall as she scrambled backwards.

Suddenly her room went quiet again, as though there had been no sounds to begin with. The silence of the dark was heavy as it weighed down on her.

It's like waiting for the spider on the ceiling to move. You know it's there, you can see it, and you just hope that by watching it, it wont go anyway. At least, long enough until someone can come along and squash it for you so it can't feast on you in your sleep. That's the feeling that engulfs Caroline as she sits on her bed, waiting for a noise.

Finally, it becomes unbearable, and she almost whispers, "W-who's there?" Her voice is only trembling a little, but it's almost a shock compared to how quick her nerves were moving under her skin.

There was no answer, and Caroline began to wonder if she had merely dropped something, or made the grumbling herself without knowing it, or maybe there wasn't a noise at all...

She closed her eyes, feeling herself losing it. Taking a deep breath, and then a nearly silent exhale, Caroline opened her eyes and began to move.

Caroline Forbes was nothing but stealthy, or at least that's how she perceives herself, forming her lips into a wide 'O'. As she reached the edge and looked down over it slowly, her head moved up, elongating her face. The face of someone who's concentrating on something more important than what she looks like in that moment.

And she expects to see something on the floor... but there's nothing.

Like, literally nothing, because Caroline's room is immaculate for an eight-year-old, so it's not like she has to look at everything and wonder what would have been there before. No, it's pristine. Like she's waiting for some official inspection on who's-room-is-cleanest, even though she's an only child.

Again, Caroline's small chubby face scrunches in confusion. Caroline Forbes has excellent memory, didn't you hear. She definitely heard something. This something is obviously trying to prove itself smarter than her... and that thought suddenly makes her angry as she glares at the vacant floor.

"Hey! I know you're there! You get out here, right now!" She angrily whispers, making sure not not get loud enough so her mother would come up and yell about her not being in bed still.

And to her very big surprise, a voice answered her. "Alright, sweetheart. I can do that."

Caroline's baby blues went wider than an owl's as she scrambled back to her space against the wall. Okay, maybe she hadn't thought there would be anything that would answer her back. And yes, maybe she should be screaming now, but it seemed to have gotten caught in her throat like a plug, sealing her voice closed.

She was sure her racing heart couldn't run any faster, but when something moved at the edge of her bed, she was sure it would come zooming out of her chest.

That something ended up being a back, which was soon attached to a head and the back end of a man, and Caroline wasn't sure how she hadn't fainted yet.

Maybe it was because he looked a lot like that cute guy in that movie that she couldn't remember. Katherine made her watch it, so she had tried to remove it from her brain, like throwing away a gross, wet piece of paper.

By the time her brain had processed anything, the man was staring back at her, standing completely upright. And then she realized she was obviously dreaming... Why would a man suddenly come out from under her bed.

"Did you just come out from under my bed?" she suddenly blurted out, before she could stop herself. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately...

"Yes," he replied, his big lips curling into... well something. She was sure she should be feeling like he was a creeper, and should be screaming for her mother by now, she just didn't. The glint in his eyes made her feel like he was going to laugh at her.

"Are you laughing at me?" She asked, though it sounded more like an accusation, backed up by her death glare. The one she usually reserves for her creepy Steven dolls.

"Perhaps," he answers, crossing his arms over his chest, still not looking away from her.

She's not looking away either though. Not even to make sure those dolls are still on their shelf, and haven't come alive to eat her. In fact, she watches his arms crossing over his chest, and she can't help but think he had really nice arms. Definitely what male arms should look like, she thinks.

"That's not really an answer, you know," she says matter-of-factly.

He nods, obviously accepting her superiority, or at least that's how she chooses to take it. "You're right," he answers, cementing her theory and taking him down another notch on her should-I-call-for-help list. "Well, I did happen to come out from under your bed, but don't worry," he says, bending down to look at her from the same level, as though he has something really secret to tell her, "I'm not a serial killer."

"Oh," she says lamely. That was a good thing, she supposed. Though, it didn't really tell her why he was under her bed."

"So why were you under my bed?" Her eyes widen a little with a thought that she again blurts out like word-vomit, "You're not a monster, are you?"

He chuckles, and she cant help but notice the little notches on either end of his mouth. She couldn't remember what they were called, so she'd have to find that out later. They looked nice on his face though.

"Monster is such a cruel word. If by 'monster' you mean some hairy creature from the depths of your nightmares who waits unseeingly under your bed or in your closet, merely to wait for the chance to engulf you," he says, his hands coming free from the knot in front of his chest to wave around as he spoke. "Then no," he looks straight at her then, "I'm not a monster."

She nods. He talks pretty fast, and it takes her more than a second to fully comprehend what he's said, but she decides she really likes his voice. That's probably part of the reason it takes her a little longer, because she's focusing on the rounding R's, and the slithering H's of his voice.

"Where did you come from?" She asks, realizing that his voice doesn't sound like her parents, or anyone else she knows.

"Somewhere far away," he says as he turns and starts to walk around her room. Its small, so there really isn't much to see. A couple pictures of her parents and herself on their family trip to the Falls a few years ago, outlined in frames that she made in school that year.

After taking a couple moments to properly examine them, he keeps moving, rounding his way over to her small bookcase with only a few books, mostly the ones she forgot to give back in school. Soon he was standing in front of the Steven dolls. She gave them an extra glare as her eyes landed on them, which was becoming somewhat of a habit.

"Well," the man suddenly says, shaking his head slightly, "These are a little creepy."

Caroline can't help what happens next, but her eyes go wide with surprise as she suddenly bursts out laughing. Her hand clutches at her stomach as a cramp spreads through it, telling her she's probably laughing more than was appropriate. She still can't help it.

But her sudden outburst of hysterics has him turning around to look at her again, and she finds the laughter rushing from her lungs. "S-sorry," she mutters, biting her lip to attempt at cutting off any further giggling. "It's just, I've been thinking that for ages, but my dad's best friend keeps giving them to me," she finishes off conspiratorially.

"Hmm," he hums, as though he thoroughly understands her. "Why are they creepy to you?" he asks.

She startles a little. No one really asks her that... She always has a reason, but sometimes it seems like no one really wants to know what it is. Her mother usually just shushes her if she brings it up, saying that it's 'rude'.

"Um," she begins, not sure what to say at first. "I guess, 'cause they always seem to watch me. Like, I cant look away, or they might try something sneaky. Also, they're just gross looking. I mean, who looks like that?"

It's his turn to laugh, but he doesn't get all the way to the stomach-cramping stage, because Caroline doesn't find it funny, and she looks like she might start throwing things violently with her mind.

He then walked forward, his eyes not looking anywhere but at her as he came to the end of her bed. "What's your name, love?"

"Well, it's not 'love'. It's Caroline. Caroline Forbes," she corrects him. "What's yours?" She asks, thinking it only fair.

"Niklaus Mikaelson," he answers, before stretching his hand out to her, "but you may call me, Klaus."

She never really understood why older people would always shake hands, but it seemed like that's what this Klaus guy wanted. So she put her hand out to take his, but it was more like her thumb clasped around his, as his hands outsized her own.

He shook her hand lightly, though it felt like an earthquake rippling through her arm.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Forbes."

"You too, Klaus," she says, giving him a bright smile. For whatever reason, knowing someones name made them more likable, and slightly more trustworthy.

Then, without another word, he let go of her hand and began to bend down. It took Caroline a moment to realize that he was getting under the bed again.

"Wait!" she heard herself say quickly, "Are you leaving?" She wasn't really sure if she was upset by that, or if the strange situation was messing with her.

He looked back up at her from his sitting position on the floor, his legs underneath the bed. "Yes, I'm going to go home now."

With a bit of unknown courage, Caroline found herself inching towards the middle of the bed, towards him. "Aren't you going to leave through the door?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm going to leave the way I came."

"I-I thought you were just hiding under the bed."

"No," he answered immediately. "I came from under the bed."

She was only getting more confused the more he answered her, "But there's nothing under my bed."

Klaus merely shrugged, and she found herself getting more frustrated over confused. "Technically, no there isn't. That is, until I go under it."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid."

"I can see that, sweetheart."

"Well," she started, trying to come up with something more to ask her as he started to shuffle under the bed again. "Are you going to come back?"

As his eyes met hers this time, she could see something there... Like he was sad, or scared of something she'd said. "Yes, but not tonight."

She nodded, crawling over to the edge of the bed as he began to scoot under it until she couldn't see him at all. "Goodnight, Klaus."

Caroline waited for his response, but it never came. She quickly threw her top half over the side of the bed, poking her head around the bottom edge to look underneath, but there was nothing. Nothing but a sock, and as she looked closely, she realized it was the sock she had been trying to find for the past week. She gave it a small glare before pulling herself back up into the middle of the bed.

She stared out at nothing, lost in her thoughts about what had happened that night, when for the second time, she found herself jumping out of her skin at a noise.

"Oh, and next time you find a stranger in your room, call for help please, sweetheart."

Her head whirled around at his voice, only to catch him with a grin on his face before disappearing under the bed again. Caroline's eyes widened, but once again by the time she found herself looking under the bed, this time on the floor on all-fours, there was nothing to be seen but her sock.

Sighing, Caroline got back up to her feet, and carried herself over to the door. Leaning against the cold wood, she tried to listen to see if her mother had come upstairs. It was completely silent though, so she figured her mother either hadn't heard anything, or just fell asleep on the couch again.

Turning, her glance caught sight of the shelf full of Steven dolls, and her eyes immediately glared at them before hitting the light switch and running to where she knew her bed was in the dark.

She had always wished to have the light switch be right next to her bed, so she could just turn it off while curled up in the covers, but that would never happen. Her room was perfectly set up.

As she wrapped herself in her blankets and her head hit the pillow, Caroline couldn't help but think about what he said. Okay, maybe she should have yelled for her mother, but there was just something about him. Something that was making her already excited for the next time she would see him.

To be continued (eventually)...

Well? If it was a little all over the place, good. I feel like she's in that stage of being Caroline where she thinks she's right all the time, until she's wrong, and then she was right anyway. I wanted to show her maturing over the years, as well as their relationship, and this is just the beginning.

Until next time!