A/N: I heard y'all wanted more? Here ya go! (thanks to jay and alyssa-you're the best.) This one's for Giulia.

Part Two

All that could be heard through his apartment was the wailing cries of an infant.

The only problem with that was that Klaus didn't have a baby in his apartment, it happened to come from next door. He had just laid down, sank under the covers, extremely tired from a long day working on a fairly new commissioned piece. He was exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in after days spent awake and hard at work.

The moment his head hit the pillow, a loud cry came from the other side of the wall. Klaus rolled over, placing his pillow tight over his ears and tried to get some sleep.

It had been two weeks since Caroline moved in next door and Klaus only saw and talked to her a handful of times. It seemed she was always coming and going in a hurry, Hannah always in her stroller and sleeping away. He would see her entering the elevator as he was leaving and that left very little chance for small talk.

The noise for those few weeks had been relatively low; he had no complaints until now.

The thin walls between apartments did little to soften the cries. The poor baby sounded in pain and he briefly wondered what was going on in the apartment next door. Klaus just rolled back over, moving the pillow to cover both eyes and ears, hoping to drown out the noise.

After a while, it seemed that Caroline, his neighbor, was able to quiet the baby down. Klaus let out a quick smile, grateful that the child wasn't in discomfort any longer and got comfortable in bed to get to sleep.

The crying didn't stop. Klaus woke up three times in the past hour, each time believing Hannah fell asleep and was put to bed only to have her screaming and wailing half an hour later.

He didn't really know Caroline that well, other than the few words said in passing, but he got up and headed to her apartment anyway. Klaus didn't grow up around children, nor was he a huge fan of them, so he wasn't sure why he was offering his help but he thought that with Caroline being a single mother she could probably use a little assistance. He doesn't know how much help she has, never seeing anyone coming or going from her apartment.

Klaus threw on a sweater that hung on the back of his couch in the living room before leaving his apartment, locking it for good measure, and knocking on Caroline's door just a few feet away.

He could hear the crying continue and Caroline as well as she moved around the apartment, her words being lost among the noise. A few moments later the door swung open and revealed a disheveled Caroline and a red faced Hannah.

Caroline's hand rose, wiping her hair away from her face. "I am so sorry," she said, slightly bouncing up and down while trying to contain the screaming child in her arms. "She's just teething right now and won't stop crying."

"Its fine, I was just worried," he answered, awkwardly shifting his feet.

"Oh, god, you probably think I'm a horrible mother-" she started saying but was immediately cut off by Klaus.

"Not at all! Do you maybe need any help?" he questioned, looking up and meeting her startled expression.

Caroline stood back from the door, walking into the apartment. She hugged Hannah closely to her body, the baby's arms reaching out and swinging about. He closed the door behind him and watched as she bounced on the spot, her hand rubbing circles on the babies back. "She's been fussy all night."

"I know," Klaus muttered, walking further into the apartment.

Her head snapped up, "You could hear through the walls?"

He nodded slowly, "the nursery must be beside my bedroom."

"I am so sorry, Klaus! I literally don't know what to do, she's fussy and won't eat or sleep," Caroline groaned, her eyes beginning to well up in frustration. She wiped furiously at her eyes before the tears could fall, "I'm such a mess."

Klaus stepped forward, closing the distance between them and rubbed her back, feeling slightly sorry for the mother. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Caroline looked up and slowly smiled. "Can you just watch her for a second?"

Klaus' eyes widened in surprise and he was about to take a step back, his arms up when Hannah was quickly shoved into them. "Watch her?"

"I just really need to run to the store down the street and grab some more teething rings. I lost her last one today amongst the mess that is our apartment," she explained, waving around to the room that was filled with half empty boxes lying about. "They're the only kind that sooth her."

He tried to nod but was too busy watching as she ran wild in the apartment, grabbing at a sweater in a box to throw on and track pants that hung on an office chair in the corner of the living room. Hannah sat heavy in his hands, his own arms outstretched as he held her away from his body, while she continued to cry.

Caroline returned to him, her purse slung on her arm, and stared at him curiously. She reached out, slowly pushing Hannah into his chest, her moving one of his arms to hold under her bottom while the other hand was moved to her back. Klaus tensed at the new position.

"You have looked after a baby before right?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.

He nodded stiffly, lying through his teeth. "Yup," Klaus gulped out.

"Okay,' Caroline drawled out, giving him one last glance before side stepping him. "I'll be five minutes."

"Hurry back," he joked, but meant it as serious.

She opened the door, pausing and looking back at the two, hesitant to leave. "I just feel guilty leaving her. I mean you're practically a stranger."

Klaus chuckled, "Go ahead, trust me. I'm not a serial killer. I promise."

Caroline laughed in response, nodding slightly. "Alright, I'll just be a few minutes and I'll run back."

The door shut quietly behind Caroline as she slipped out into the hall and onto her late night mission and he was left with a screaming baby.

Klaus stared down at Hannah, her eyes scrunched up and face red. He felt his heart constrict slightly because she was in pain and couldn't be comforted. He tried copying Caroline, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Hannah only cried harder.

He rubbed her back, slowly getting comfortable, but the baby wiggled and stretched out trying to get out of his grasp. "Shh," he whispered, holding on tighter so she wouldn't fall from his grasp. "shh, sweetheart, it's okay."

He bounced and walked around the apartment, noting there wasn't much to take in aside from the boxes strewn about. He could only imagine the hardship of work, taking care of a child and trying to unpack on top of all of that.

Klaus wandered into the kitchen, studying the dark granite countertop and how the kitchen was clean and everything was neatly put away. The only thing out of place was the applesauce container and rubber spoon. He walked the few steps towards it, picking it up and inspecting the rubber end, finding it interesting and different.

Hannah turned towards his actions, tears continued to pour from her eyes. She reached out, her hand clasping around the spoon and put it into her mouth. Klaus went to pull it out right away, not wanting her to hurt herself nor get in trouble with Caroline, but Hannah only cried harder when he took it away.

Klaus just let her have it, finding she calmed down slightly and began to chew on the utensil; he guessed it was baby proofed. Her wails turned to whimpers, eyes and face red while she relaxed. The sweet sound of silence filled the apartment and Klaus could finally breathe again.

Once she had quieted, his heart rate returning to normal, he realized how comfortable he found himself while holding Hannah. He held her close to him, much like Caroline had, but found himself more relaxed than only moments ago. He was surprised at how quickly he became at ease around the little girl but he couldn't complain, there was something about her and he was under her spell.

It was the way she smiled up at him, her big brown eyes soft and trusting. She settled into his embrace, her hands gripping his shirt tight, her head resting on his chest just over his heart. She was warm and small, so delicate that he felt very protective over her.

Klaus moved back to the couch, the one piece of furniture Caroline managed to have set up in the living room and sat down. Hannah sat on his lap, happily biting and sucking on the spoon and staring up at him with big eyes.

His heart skidded and slammed against his chest, an odd sense of accomplishment washing over him. He smiled down at the baby, proud of himself for calming her down. He was just wondering how long it would last.

He couldn't help but study her while he was in close proximity, not able to get the chance before. She had light brown hair, so thin that it looked to only run down the middle of her head. She had long lashes over her light brown eyes and he was close enough to see green flecks in them. She had light freckles sweeping over her nose and big pouty lips.

Hannah was adorable and he couldn't stop staring and watching her every move. Her eyes slowly closed and she leaned forward, her head drooping and tucking into her neck. Klaus readjusted her in his arms so her body was pressed against his chest and her head rested on his shoulder. The spoon remained tight in her grasp so he just let her hold onto it for the time being.

A few seconds later, Caroline came rushing through the door and nearly fell after tripping over her feet. Klaus chuckled, watching as she righted herself and closed the door trying to act as if nothing happened.

"It's quiet in here," she announced, surprise in her voice.

Klaus chuckled lightly and nodded. "She just fell asleep."

"Oh, sorry." Caroline ducked her head in slight embarrassment and moved through the apartment and into the kitchen, setting her bag on the counter. "Guess I don't need those soothers anymore."

She closed the distance, walking over to the couch and sat down beside him and Hannah. "How did you manage to quiet her down?"

"A spoon," he replied, glancing down to the baby spoon that was held tightly in the baby's grasp.

Caroline laughed, "She loves chewing on those." She reached out, rubbing her back up and down, Hannah letting out a sigh under her touch. "I'll take her and put her back to bed."

Klaus stood, handing the baby over and watched as Caroline disappeared down the hall. He sunk down on the couch, exhaustion taking over. Caroline returned seconds later, flopping down beside him with her eyes squeeze tight.

"I'm so tired," she moaned, turning her head slightly to look up at him. "Thank you for your help tonight."

"It's not a problem, despite all the screaming and crying, it wasn't so bad."

"You just had her for five minutes, try twenty four hours," she reasoned.

Klaus frowned, forehead creasing. "Don't you have any help?"

Her attention turned to her hands that rested in her lap and played with the hem of her sweater. "Not really. I have a part time nanny for a few days a week, my mom lives in Virginia and I only have my friend Bonnie to help out but she's busy most of the time."

"What about Hannah's father?"

"He split, ran so fast when he found out about her I'm pretty sure he left a hole in the wall of my old place," she confided, shrugging slightly. "He didn't want a kid, said it would only slow him down."

Klaus stared, shock at her admission and the nonchalance she displayed at the abandonment. "That doesn't bother you?" He questioned.

"Nope," she smiled. "I get that little girl all to myself and even though it sucks she'll grow up without a dad, she'll have so much love from me she'll be smothered in it."

"You're remarkable," he blurted. When he realized he said that aloud he quickly closed his mouth and looked away.

Caroline reached across the couch, her hand softly placed over his. "Thank you."

"So how old is Hannah if she's teething?" he questioned, changing the subject quickly.

"Eight months, well eight months two weeks and three days," she replied, smiling at him. He liked that smile, the one that appeared whenever she talked about her little girl. He could really see that Hannah was her whole world.

"When does she start walking and talking?"

Caroline laughed, "You haven't been around babies much have you?"

Klaus chuckled, shaking his head. "Not since I was young and my siblings were only a few years younger than me."

"I could tell by the way you were holding Hannah earlier," she stated. He looked away, embarrassed but she powered through. "But you seemed really comfortable when I returned."

"She's a great baby."

"Only when she's not teething," she joked.

Klaus couldn't contain the small smile that graced his lips. He caught the time on the clock attached to the cable box, "I should get going." It was late and he had to be up the next morning for a meeting with the gallery that displayed his art work.

She quickly nodded and stood, "you're probably exhausted with us keeping you up all night."

"It wasn't a problem, and if you ever need help in the future let me know." He stood from his seat, muscles aching and tired from the long day and night.

"Okay," she replied, walking him to the door. "You know I owe you twice over now, don't you?"

"I'll put it on your tab," he joked before walking through the open door and into the hallway.

She reached out, her hand grabbing onto his arm before he walked away. "Thank you for tonight, and if she wakes up again I'll try to move away from your bedroom."

"Thank you, and have a good night, Caroline." He said softly, sincerity in his voice.

"You too," she replied before letting go and watching as he walked the few feet to his own door.

When Klaus entered his apartment, door closed behind him, and maneuvered his way into his bedroom he sighed and fell onto his bed. He was exhausted but the little time spent with Caroline and Hannah almost seemed worth it, especially when he got a small glimpse into her life.

He couldn't help the smile. His thoughts moved to the woman and child next door. There was something about that family, something that made him want to get to know the two and spend more time around them. He should have been more annoyed about the disturbance and lack of sleep but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

A/N: So what did you think? More klaroline? More Klaus and Hannah? Let me know what you want to read next, your wish is my command.