A/N: Hello all :D Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I was going to post a totally different one-shot, but I had a suggestion from a Guest reviewer for a Hope/Caroline argument, and this kind of spewed out.
Just to be clear, because I know I'll probably get a few reviews about this, Klaus is a one-thousand-something year old man. I kind of feel like there would be some things that he'd change attitudes about with the times, and some things that he wouldn't. I think that his sixteen-year-old daughter in a sexy halloween costume would fall into the latter category more than the former. :)
Enjoy!
-Angie

Halloween - October 31st, 2028 - Age 16

Caroline knew what it was like to be sixteen.

In fact, in her humble opinion, she remembered it way too well, and at this point she had the utmost sympathy for her mother. Looking back, though she wouldn't win any mother-of-the-year awards or anything, her mother's patience was practically saintly.

"Why won't you ever let me do anything fun?" Hope yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"Hope, I'm not preventing you from having fun, I'm preventing you from walking down main street with your friends at two in the morning in a sexy nurse outfit."

Yeah. She knew exactly what slut-shaming was. But the second that her daughter bought her first bra that shit went straight out the window. Yes, her daughter should be able to express herself, but not with her ass hanging out of her skirt and her breasts popping out of her top like two awkwardly overstuffed crepes.

There's sexual empowerment, and then there's flashing your father's minions that were twenty years her senior while they were playing bodyguards. Not that she didn't trust Ian and Theo, but it was still completely inappropriate.

Speaking of…

"Theo and Ian will be with us the whole time, It's not like I'm going to get dragged off and kidnapped."

"It doesn't matter. You'll be home by midnight. That decision is final."

"It's not fair!"

"Why do you even want to go out for that long? You know that you, Charlotte, and Kenley are going to be exhausted by eleven anyway, there's no reason to stay out that late."

And by 'exhausted,' Caroline meant 'shitfaced,' but it was probably better not to say anything.

"It doesn't matter why, I just do."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "Well unless you can give me a very good reason why you should be allowed out until two in the morning with your friends looking like that, I don't think I can endorse this."

"Can't you just let me do what I want?"

She was spiraling, and Caroline really didn't want to get into it when Hope would just shout the same six things over and over until she was crying too hard to even talk—yes, they'd been through this before multiple times—and then shut herself up in her room for hours.

Again, her mother was a fucking saint.

"No, Hope. I'm your mother, and I make the rules. Unless you'd like to take this up with your father, there's no reason to keep arguing about it."

Caroline didn't congratulate herself on that particular point, but as a red-lipped, curly-haired, and cat-eyed Hope stood about ten feet away from her with her hands on her hips wearing a Halloween costume that clung to her like a second skin and platform patent-leather heels, Caroline was very sure that Klaus wouldn't even let her within two feet of the front door looking like that. In fact, it was a really good thing that her father couldn't see her, because if he did he'd—Oh.

Klaus was standing behind Hope in the doorway to the backyard, apparently having just gotten back from whatever he was doing with a book under his arm and a look on his face that Caroline associated with one that a person might wear if they were compelled to choke their own puppy.

Hope apparently hadn't noticed. "You can't tell me what to do. You're not my real mom!"

It seemed like the world stilled for Caroline in that second. She heard a sharp intake of breath from Hope as soon as she realized what had come out of her mouth, and Klaus looked on furiously from the doorway.

Caroline's eyes filled with tears and she saw Klaus closed his eyes tightly and take a deep breath trying to calm himself. In an instant he was next to Caroline and pointing up the stairs.

"Hope. Room. Now," He said, so quietly that if the mansion hadn't been silent neither Caroline nor Hope would have heard it.

Hope choked out a sob before running up the stairs, and Klaus turned to immediately pull Caroline into his arms, cradling her head against his chest.

Her shoulders were shaking as she sobbed, and Klaus pressed a kiss to her temple. "She didn't mean it, love. You know that, she's just angry."

"B-but it's t-t-true…I'm not he-her mother…" Caroline said, barely getting the words out through her tears.

"Yes you are," Klaus said, rocking her, "You know she already regrets it, you saw her face."

"It d-doesn't mean she didn't m-m-mean it when she s-said it."

Caroline continued sobbing into his chest and gripped his Henley in her fists tightly, using it to anchor herself while Klaus remained silent, stroking her hair as she cried.

"Sh-she h-hates m-me."

"No she doesn't, she's just upset."

"M-maybe I should have l-let her go…"

"Go where? What was she screaming about, anyway? I only just got back."

"She wanted to stay out with her friends tonight."

"In that?" He asked, scandalized.

"It's Halloween. She has an excuse to wear it," Caroline said with a watery laugh, "But I wasn't about to let her stay out till two in the morning in it."

"She was going to leave the house in that?" He asked again, seeming to not understand why Caroline was even contemplating having allowed Hope out in the first place.

"Things are a little different now than when you were a teenager, you know. When I was sixteen I wore something similar."

He perked up. "Do you still have it?"

She gave a hiccup-y laugh and poked him hard in the side. "Perv."

"Just for you love," He said, squeezing her slightly before letting go, keeping his arms around her waist and letting her rest her head against his shoulder.

"But really, it's not so much the outfit as it is the time of night. I don't think it would have flown if she was wearing a snowsuit."

Klaus nodded. "Well you know that if I had my way she wouldn't be allowed out after dark at all."

Caroline snorted. "That seems like an excellent way to make her hate you," she said, starting to cry again when she registered what she'd said.

"You know she didn't mean it, Caroline."

"I wonder what Hayley would have done," Caroline said quietly, peering up at him.

He shrugged. "We'll never know. But, something tells me that she wouldn't be doing nearly as well as you, seeing as she killed herself about a month after Hope was born."

"Not funny," Caroline reprimanded.

He gave her a reproachful look and kissed her temple, which he tended to use as an all-purpose apology when he didn't know quite what he was supposed to be apologizing for.

They could both hear Hope's sobs echoing from her room on the floor above them, and Caroline winced.

"Sweetheart, it'll be fine. We'll just let her cry it out for a bit and then I'll go up and talk to her. All right?"

"'Kay."

They stood there for a few moments before they heard a rustling at the front door. Caroline disentangled herself from Klaus and opened it to see Kenley and Charlotte on the doorstep, Kenley with her fist raised about to knock.

"Hi, Mrs. M, is Hope ready yet?" Kenley asked brightly.

Caroline sighed. "Not yet. Why don't you two come in and I'll get you some hot chocolate. You've got to be freezing in those."

Kenley was wearing what might have been the tightest white peplum dress that Caroline had ever seen in her life, with an incredibly low neckline, fluffy angel wings, and a gold laurel crown. Her long brown hair was done in perfect half-knot, and Caroline was surprised that the she hadn't tripped coming up the path in her six-inch gold strappy heels.

Charlotte, on the other hand, had her red hair down in beachy waves and was wearing what Caroline assumed to be a very creative interpretation of the little mermaid; purple bikini top, black hot-pants, and sky-high green platforms.

She opened the door wider for them to enter and grinned at Klaus's disgusted look. "Their parents let them out like this?" He demanded to Caroline in a low voice.

"They know Hope has Theo and Ian," Caroline said, smiling slightly and following the girls into the kitchen while Klaus went up the stairs.

Caroline put some milk on the stove for it to heat up and chatted with the girls for a few minutes, keeping half an ear on the conversation going on upstairs.

"Hope, may I come in?" Klaus asked, knocking firmly on the door, his tone making it clear that letting him in wasn't optional.

The door opened a crack and he saw his daughter peer tentatively out at him before she opened the door to let him inside. Her eyes were red, and she was sniffling slightly as she slumped down onto the bed rubbing her face furiously with her hands, trying to clear the tears. He let her compose herself for a few moments, making a show of looking away while she got herself together, before sitting down on her desk chair and turning towards her.

"I'm sorry," She stumbled out quickly before he could speak, "I feel awful. She was just making me so mad, and I wanted to hurt her feelings and so I picked the worst thing to say that I could, and now you both hate me."

Klaus sighed. "Caroline and I don't hate you, Hope. I'm very angry with you, I'll admit, and I know that your Mum's not all that happy with you, either."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are, love. What do you think your consequence should be?"

Caroline had read somewhere that when you're punishing kids (or rather, 'giving them consequences'), especially teenagers, you should let them set their own punishment and then adjust it accordingly. Apparently it increased personal responsibility or some sort of bullshit like that.

"I should apologize," Hope said promptly.

"And?"

She bit her lip. "And…I shouldn't be allowed out with Kenley and Charlotte tonight," She said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Well, I agree. However, I know you've been looking forward to tonight for awhile, and Kenley and Charlotte are already here, so I propose that you choose to either not go out tonight and come home directly after school for the rest of the week, or you may go out tonight until midnight, come directly home from school every day for the rest of the week and lose your internet privileges as well. Does that sound fair?"

Hope nodded, still sniffling. "I'd like to go out."

He nodded, having expected that, and got up. "I'll let your friends know that you're on your way down."

"Actually, could you just send them up? I need help with my make-up."

"Of course, love. Although, I'd also highly recommend that you wear the skirt that I'd assume came with that costume rather than the belt you're currently wearing."

"This did come with the costume."

He wrinkled his nose, which made her giggle. "It's not the eleventh century anymore, Dad."

"I'm aware of that. Well, I'll just send them up."

"All right, Dad," She said, hugging him quickly, "Thanks."

He ruffled her hair, causing her to squeak and glare at him before heading back down the stairs.

Klaus sent Kenley and Charlotte up to Hope's room once he got down to the kitchen and then sat down at the kitchen table next to Caroline, who was sipping a mug of hot chocolate. He hoped that she was calmer now, because he honestly had almost hit his emotional tolerance threshold for the night, and he didn't want to end up blowing up because he couldn't deal with it.

"You were really good with her."

"She's still going to go out in that monstrosity, isn't she?"

Caroline laughed, and Klaus was relieved at the sound. At least she wasn't as upset. "Probably."

He nodded slowly, and they were both silent for a few moments.

"Do you think that she wishes Hayley was still alive?" Caroline asked in a small voice, giving Klaus a sideways look.

"She didn't even know her," Klaus said, his voice hard.

Caroline took the hint and didn't pursue the subject. Soon enough, Hope and her friends were bounding down the stairs giggling with each other, and Hope told her friends to wait for a few minutes before walking into the kitchen.

"Mum," Hope said, shifting uncomfortably, "I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it."

Caroline got up and hugged Hope, Hope clung to her for a few moments before Caroline let go. "Hey, c'mon, don't cry. You don't want to ruin your make-up," Caroline said, smiling.

"I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, and I accept your apology. Have fun, okay? And if you're going to get shitfaced, have Theo buy the alcohol so that you don't have to deal with your fake IDs. You don't have a purse."

Hope shot her a look of complete disbelief. "I was sixteen pretty recently, you know," Caroline said, smiling slightly.

Hope gave her a brilliant smile and then skipped out after her friends.

A/N: And there you have it... Haha. Thanks for reading! You guys are super awesome :) Reviews help me improve, so let me know how I did ^_^
Kenley & Charlotte's costumes are on polyvore (the link is in my profile) if you want to see them.
PLEASE keep the suggestions coming. I have a list that I've put together, and I have bits and pieces of a few of them done. :) The one that I mentioned earlier I'll probably post tomorrow.
Hugs!
-Angie