The snow came down in fist size clumps, blocking every door to their home. Caroline watched Klaus outside, shoveling away at the driveway. The snow blower they had crapped out on them hours ago which forced him to dig out the ancient shovel they had acquired from Stefan. He was always one for a back up plan and now it was finally paying off.

Caroline chuckled as she watched Klaus. He looked more frustrated than ever with the snow piling on his shoulders and the shovel getting stuck multiple times in the mounds. Finally after several minutes he stormed back into the house, throwing his boots and gloves across the hall.

Megan was in the kitchen, coloring a picture from one of the books Matt got her. She giggled at her step-father's attitude. Somehow it amused both women whenever he was in one of those moods.

"Nik." Caroline called. She placed a hand on the small of her back and another on her swollen stomach for support as she sat herself up. Just as her doctor said, this wasn't an easy pregnancy. Because of her condition, Caroline's body wasn't fully equipped to carrying a child any longer. So that meant morning sickness everyday, back pain whenever she stood and a very sore stomach with countless stretch marks. She felt hideous every time her face was confronted with a mirror and no matter how many times Klaus assured her otherwise, she still felt disgusting.

Klaus had rushed into the living room, tending to the low fire. He threw a few more logs on before turning to glare at his wife. But her soft expression and bearing stomach made him take a deep breath. She was so fragile nowadays even though that was the last thing she would ever admit. Caroline still walks around this house likes she's fresh out of college with all the strength in the world. Little does she know it's definitely not the case.

"Yes, love?"

"Don't worry about the outside. We're not going anywhere." She placed her hands on his chest as he pulled her in. But her stomach stopped her halfway, making him grimace.

Caroline chuckled. "I guess he just doesn't want you anywhere near me."

Klaus sighed. "I can't wait until he finally arrives so I can have you all to myself." He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her nose. His hands slid down to her waist and his lips then went to hers, keeping her there for such a longing kiss. But it quickly came To an end when Megan called.

"Mommy! Nik!" She yelled.

Caroline grabbed Klaus' hand and dragged him along with her. They saw Megan hunched over the table, tongue stuck out as she colored in the Christmas pictures. It was a funny little quality of hers when she concentrated hard. Sometimes Klaus would sit and just watch her, admiring all the similar characteristics she shared with her mother. It baffled him sometimes how much they were alike. He could only wait to see what she would be like in her teens.

Megan smiled up to them and spun her picture around. "See! This is Mommy and Nik this is you and there is my brother." A tiny blue blob was in the corner of the picture with a small smile drawn at the top. It made Klaus laugh and tears come to Caroline's eyes. Megan was so excepting about this, so excited to meet her little brother. If anything she was expecting some jealousy issues but it looks like Megan didn't inherit that side of her mother just yet.

"It's beautiful, Meg." Klaus kissed the top of her head and went to hang the picture on the fridge. He looked back to see Caroline sit down, wincing slightly as she fell back onto the chair. She hid her pain well around Megan, never truly letting on how much she was hurting. Sometimes it was even hard for him to decipher what was wrong.

"Thank you." Megan skipped over to her mother and smiled. "What time is Daddy coming to get me?"

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, feeling a sudden pain in her stomach. "Uh,"

Klaus noticed the hesitation and answered for her. "By five o'clock, darling. I'd run upstairs and make sure you have all of your things. Your father won't be happy if he has to drive back again for a stuffed animal."

Megan sighed. "I forgot him once, Nikky."

"Three times." He corrected, smirking down at her. "Go on."

She rolled her eyes and darted up the stairs, humming a Christmas song to herself.

When Megan was out of sight Klaus turned to Caroline who seemed to be breathing harder than usual. She winced at his touch as her scared eyes stared up to his.

"Something's wrong." She shook her head and placed her hand on her stomach. "Nik it hurts."

His eyes scanned anxiously around her body, not sure what to do. She still had three months left, this was far too early for anything to happen. His immediately grabbed his phone and dialed for Stefan. Caroline was trying to get up as Megan called her name.

"Sweetheart, please stay seated."

"But Meg."

He sighed and rushed upstairs, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"Hello?" Stefan answered.

Klaus rounded the corner and saw Megan in a pile of clothes. She frowned once she saw him. "I wanted Mommy." She groaned.

"Give me a second, mate." Klaus said to Stefan. He turned to Megan. "Your mother isn't feeling good. What's the matter, love?"

"I can't find Bunny."

"Your father is coming in twenty minutes."

"I need Bunny!"

He's never yelled at her before but today he couldn't help himself. Caroline was downstairs in excessive pain and Megan was adding unwanted stress to the whole situation.

"Megan I can't deal with this right now!" He shouted. "Pack up your things and get on your boots, now." He turned around and brought his attention to the phone. "Stefan, I need Meredith."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. But she's in a lot of pain and I-" his breathing was heavy and he felt his hands shaking. Klaus wasn't aware of how exactly this was affecting him. His mind was racing and he felt faint. This was the panic. The full hysteria of something being wrong with Caroline, his Caroline.

Stefan breathed out. "Alright, alright. Just stay there, the roads are really bad. I'll give her a call and she'll be over as soon as possible. Don't do anything just yet, we don't know what we're dealing with. Just keep Caroline calm, get Megan ready and make sure she stays hydrated. We'll be in touch."

Klaus nodded. "I'll be on stand by." He hung up quickly and noticed Megan in the corner, tiny tears trickling down her cheeks. His heart broke and he sighed, walking back into her abundance of pink.

"Sweetheart." He said softly.

She wouldn't look at him and for a moment she reminded him too much of Caroline. The way her back was slightly turned away from him, how she wouldn't utter a single word. It felt all too familiar.

"I didn't mean to yell. It's just your mother isn't feeling well and I guess I'm just nervous." Klaus confessed, shrugging his shoulders as he came closer to her.

Megan licked her small lips and came into his arms. "Will you help me find Bunny?"

"Of course."

After fifteen minutes of searching aimlessly for the bloody rabbit in her room only to find it already in her suitcase, he was ready to scream. But instead of his cries it was Caroline's. Megan was slipping on her boots when Caroline yelled out. Klaus couldn't get there fast enough, catching her in his arms as she stumbled.

"We need to go to a hospital or something I can't-" she crouched down in pain, wincing so tightly she felt as if her face would stay like that forever. "Nik." Her hands gripped his shirt.

The doorbell rang and Megan ran excitedly to the foyer, swinging the large door open to reveal Matt.

"Daddy!"

Matt's eyes widened. "What's going on?"

Klaus sighed and Caroline tried to sit back down. "I need you to take Megan."

His eyes frantically went to Caroline's. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Nik has everything under control." She stood up slowly. "But Megan can't be here right now."

Matt looked unsettled, unsure of how to let her go. Megan was oblivious to the whole situation as she zipped up her coat and tighten her scarf. The smile on her face was the biggest he's ever seen which made him sigh.

Klaus' phone began to ring, showing Stefan's face in the screen. He stepped to the side as Matt gathered his daughter's things.

"Stefan?"

"It's Meredith. I need you to bring Caroline to the hospital. She could be going into premature labor and I need her here as soon as possible to stop it. But you have to keep Caroline calm. Stress may have set her into this." She advised.

Klaus was confused but nodded. "I'll get there as soon as I can."

"We'll be waiting. Call if you need anything else."

"Thank you." He hung up quickly and turned to his wife.

Caroline wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. Megan was waving to her as they left but Matt lingered by the door, not sure what to do.

"Keep me updated." He said before letting the door shut behind him.

She looked up to Klaus. "What did Stefan say?"

"It was Meredith. She wants you at the hospital."

Caroline's heart began to race. "That's impossible! It would take a lifetime."

"Love, I have to do what she says." He knelt down to her level as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "It's going to be fine."

"I'm scared." She whispered, biting her lip.

There were only a few times during their relationship where he had to be the strong one. Usually Caroline always keeps her cool but now he saw her crumbling. Her hands shook on his body and the tears were welling up in her eyes.

"I won't let anything happen to you or the baby. You have nothing to worry about." He kissed her lips.

She nodded her head slowly, trying to breathe again. "Okay. Okay. I need a bag, something for my things."

"I can do that." Klaus squeezed her hand. "Will you be able to get your stuff on?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

Ten minutes later they were forming a line to the door. Caroline kept breathing slowly as Klaus guided her outside. The snow was coming down harder than before and he didn't feel confident that their little mini van would make it.

"We're gonna have to take the truck." His big, monster size, pick up truck that could hold seven if you squeezed them in tight enough. It was his other baby. But Caroline hated it.

She sighed. "Do we-"

"Yes."

Klaus turned the heat on and hoisted her up inside. She laid her head back carefully and tried to breath. Her focus was Klaus. His face, his hands, their memories. It was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. Her fears slipped away when they were together because she knew somehow he would make it all better. No matter what.

"It's going to take some time to get there." He said, gently backing up over the mounds of snow.

"That's okay. I feel...okay."

"Yeah?"

She nodded and rubbed her stomach. "It's just weird, you know? What if tonight we're going to be parents again?"

"Let's hope not just yet. It's still quite early."

"If he's anything like you, Nik, he'll be a fighter."

Klaus squeezed her hand and turned his brights on. "Do you have a name picked out yet, love?" He decided to distract her from this. To talk about something calming and stress free, it would take a load off. And it was even necessary because they haven't talked much about it.

"Uh," she bit her lip. "No, I don't."

"How about we conjure up a few?"

"I've always liked Benjamin." A smile came to her lips as the name rolled off of them. "And Isaac."

He nodded. "They both sound lovely to me."

"Don't you want a say?"

Klaus chuckled and shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy then I'll be ecstatic."

"You won't hold it against me twenty years later?"

He smiled. "Nope."

"Then I like Benjamin. But you have to do the middle name. It's only fair." She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles softly.

"Let's just worry about you then I'll start to brainstorm. Deal?"

She nodded and then winced slightly. The pain had subsided but every now and then it would come back sharp and hard. Her worry would be right behind it, settling in comfortably in the back of her mind.

"Deal."


He had been waiting outside for nearly two hours, pacing back and forth in front of the double doors. Meredith had to do tests that required his presence elsewhere. So that left him waiting, something he utterly despised.

His whole life seemed to stand still as Meredith came through those doors. Her face was unreadable and she wouldn't look to him yet. She was tapping her pen against the clipboard as she approached him.

"Klaus." She breathed, hugging the papers tightly to her chest. "Caroline is resting at the moment but everything seems to be...okay." She winced slightly. "Her body is under a great amount of stress at the moment. Not so much mentally but physically. Just as her doctor said her body isn't fit for childbirth anymore. This will be her last child I'm sorry to say. But we need to keep a close eye on her now before we send her home with you."

A great amount of relief washed through him as he smiled lightly. "Can I see her?"

Meredith nodded and motioned for him to follow her. He couldn't think of anything else but Caroline. Nothing mattered as long as she was safe and okay. And now their baby boy as well. They only needed to last another two months before anything could be scheduled or planned. But everything would be okay. He would do anything in his power to protect the two most important people in his life.

She was lying on the bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling as he came in. Her head immediately popped up with a bright smile filling her face. She had a hand on her stomach as she propped herself up in the bed. He rushed to her side, taking her hands in his. A half laugh/sob escaped her lips as she frowned, tears leaking from her eyes. She didn't want to cry but so much was going on, so much that scared her.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to make light of things.

"And I'm taking off of work."

"But Elijah-"

"Will understand." He shook his head and pulled up a chair to be closer to her. His free hand went up to her face to brush away the tears. She shouldn't be crying, everything was going to be fine.

Caroline sighed. "I didn't think they were going to let you back in. They did all these tests." She shifted uncomfortably. "Some of them hurt."

Klaus frowned. He wished he could have been with her through it all. As they say always and forever. His love, his life, his everything, together until it's no longer possible which is impossible. He had her for eternity as did she. That was how it was supposed to be.

He caressed her cheek and kissed her lips softly. "It's over now." He whispered. "You'll stay overnight here and tomorrow I'll take you back home."

Caroline looked down at her hands and smiled softly. "Funny how we ended up here."

"As in?"

"Just...you know ten years ago you were getting married and I was just some girl who thought her life was over. And now here we are, together, married, bringing little Ben into the world. It's been rough but you don't know how happy I am."

Klaus smiled. It was all he ever strived to do was make her as happy as she could be. That's all he needed in his life. And this reassured everything. It made every fight they had, every difficulty they endured worth it.

He bent down and placed his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer but yet again her enlarged stomach came in the way. Klaus looked down and placed his hands on her, slowly placing a small peck on her skin.

Caroline scooted over on the bed and patted the space next to her, smiling wide. "Sit by me."

He grabbed the remote and flicked the TV on. "You should get some rest."

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Don't leave if I fall asleep."

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Caroline snuggled in closer to him and yawned, finally letting herself relax. The TV was only a soft murmur in the background everything around her became still. Ben was moving happily inside of her, kicking away which made her smile. She's been through some scares but now it seemed to be okay. Although it saddened her that this was the only child she could produce for her husband, at least they had one. She knew it was always so silly to him that she wanted this so much. But he didn't know what it meant. Her dream was to give him a family, a family he never truly was able to have. And now their life was coming together and she couldn't be happier.


So sorry about the wait. School work and fanfiction seems to have consumed me over the weeks haha. I hope you like it and don't be afraid to review! Part 5 will be the last part of this little series and will go into the future to see an older Megan and a toddler of Ben! I hope you enjoyed how this came together! Follow me on tumblr (andpromisenottopromiseanymore) for updates on this and other drabbles I'm in the process of completing! Thanks!