A/N: So, as promised here is chapter 1 :) I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review :)

Year 42 – The Park

"Time is a game played beautifully by children."

Caroline sat on the wooden park bench, simply watching the children running around on the play equipment. A wry smile was situation on her face, and her fingers picked at the peeling paint of the metal arm of her seat. She'd experience a lot of life in her years as a vampire, but she found that nothing ever measured up to the joy and innocence of youth.

When she'd been in her teenage years she'd displayed such joy, and oftentimes Caroline still plastered that rambunctious smile on her ageless face. However, when she looked at herself in the mirror she found her years distinctly portrayed in the lack of lustre her features showed. Experience killed innocence, and the absence of innocence often resulted in lack of true happiness.

That was not to say that Caroline hadn't had a good life so far. Her enthusiasm for discovering new things, and effort to bring excitement into the lives of others gave her a sense of fulfilment. She had developed a great deal of good memories in the times she had so far and often wondered about her future and the possibility of eternity. One thing stuck in her mind when she thought about these things though, and that was Klaus' comment that one could get lonely after endless days of existence.

Even in her short time, not even yet having outlived a human lifetime, Caroline often felt that understanding in others was limited. She hid her vampirism well, and discovered once leaving Mystic Falls, that there weren't actually that many vampires in the world. Their town was an exception for some strange reason, in the fact that it drew an abnormally large amount of her kind to the area. She had yet to find another place in her travels like it.

Caroline was someone who didn't like to lie, and out in the real world she rarely ran into her own kind more than a couple of times a year. This resulted in her deceit, through the creation of a fake identity, slowly eating away at her resolve until one day she would disappeared out of her 'friends' loves.

Alone again.

Caroline could no longer return to her hometown for more than a few days, as people she once knew from school or work became suspicious. Looking the exactly like Caroline Forbes more than 40 years previous and making your return known was a sure indication to the founders' council to get their weapons ready.

Thus, here she sat a couple of blocks down from her newly furnished apartment, watching as the children played; not a care in the world beside who would the next person to chase everyone around the park.

It's where he found her.

She didn't glance at him, or acknowledge his presence in any way when he sat beside her. The smell of his aftershave pervaded her senses; he smelt of sandalwood and rain, and she found it comforting in a way. His scent never changed over the years, and in a time such as this she found that the familiarity of it settled her nerves.

"Settled in well, love?" He broke the silence after some minute, also not glancing towards her and watching as a child was pushed over by his friend.

"You know, I've told you that you don't have to follow me every time I move cities. I'm sure you have more important things to attend to."

He shrugged at her statement, and she realised he was sitting far closer to her than she'd previously assumed as the material of his jacket rubbed against her arm. She didn't mind too much; through their many strange encounters in the past years the two had called an uneasy truce, or rather she had. They were a long way from being friends, or that's what she told herself, as deep down she knew that all the times they saw one another were him trying to show her he was right. He was adamant that she'd come to him in the end.

It wouldn't be today.

"You make it sound like I watch you all the time, sweetheart; as if I were nothing more than a monster."

"Aren't you?" She quipped back, and a small smile lit both their faces. This banter had become a common thing between them throughout their encounters. It dispelled some of the tension, and averted from each of their individual motives.

Klaus chuckled lightly.

"Perhaps." He smirked, "But even so, you know that I'm only here until you settle in; like always."

His words spoke truths that were supported by the fact that this had been the case every time she moved residence. Although most often she did not see him, she always sensed his presence, and often caught glimpses of his figure at a distance before it disappeared from sight.

Ever since she was attacked over twenty years ago, he did not seem to trust that fact that she could look after herself and it frustrated Caroline. He wasn't as bad as he had once been; that she had to admit after she'd successfully taken him to the ground when he surprised her one time. A smile crossed her face at the thought. It served him right for sneaking up.

"So, why the visitation rights this time? Usually you just lurk in the shadows."

He tilted his head at her words as if in contemplation of his actions, before his head finally turned her way.

"Maybe I just felt like company." He spoke softly to her. She turned to meet his gaze and saw the unspoken words. Maybe I was just lonely.

She nodded.

"Yeah, me too." She said with equal meaning, and his eyes flashed with recognition that she'd understood his words and he was grateful for them.

Again the silence engulfed the two, but neither felt the need to break it. Silence was sometimes an indication of understanding; nobody needed to talk in order to fill it with words in order to interpret its meaning. This kind of communication was their specialty.

"Did you want children? Before, I mean." She questioned him out of the blue, and for a moment he had to find the words to speak.

"I…I think I did; It was a long time ago," He said to her in explanation of his hesitation, and then a thoughtful look came to his face. "I had a younger brother, you know, Henrik. I was quite fond of him, and I liked being a role model to someone. His death…it affected me greatly at the time."

"I'm sorry." She said, because really, there was nothing else Caroline could say to such open information.

In response he shook his head, and a humourless laugh escaped his throat.

"The thing about time is that not only do your memories of the bad things fade, or your emotions become more manageable, but it's a double-edge blade. Your good memories fade also; I can no longer picture Henrik's face in my mind."

His words were sombre and she looked at him to see that he was focusing on his hands. He was spinning his ring around and around on his finger, and she could see the familiar Mikaelson crest engraved into it. She had never seen him take it off.

Before she knew what motivated her to do it, Caroline reached her hand out and placed it upon his. He stopped immediately, but didn't look up while he stared in bemusement. She took his right hand gently and intertwined their fingers, before settling them upon the small space that separated Klaus' body from her own.

"I wanted them too." She whispered to him.

They sat there for hours, observing the world around them whilst remaining behind their own invisible veil of mutual loss and understanding. They mourned for what could have been.

Klaus and Caroline spoke no more to each other, for nothing need to be said.

When he stood to go, she let him.

A/N: So, what do you think? Note the fact that this is 42 years in, and you have to remember there are many interactions before this time - for anything that may seem OOC to you.

REMEMBER! Reviews are better than a naked JoMo ;) and they'll inspire me to keep writing.