Disclaimer as per usual. I told you I was really excited to write this chapter! So here it is, I still have some editing to do on this baby. But I want you guys to have it early.
Elijah, and Katherine turned the corner and entered into the coffee shop. Klaus was about to do the same when he felt something run into his leg. He looked down, expecting to find a dog, perhaps an elderly woman's walker, but instead he peered down at what appeared to be an oddly familiar looking little girl on the ground.
"Are you okay sweetheart?" Klaus asked reaching down to offer the little girl a hand.
Lexi sat on the ground unmoving from the position she had fallen in. She looked up at Klaus through eyes brimming with tears and significantly blurred vision. She couldn't quite make out what the man with the funny accent was saying to her; she could only feel the very sharp pain in her tailbone.
Klaus waited for a response and studied the little girl's face desperately trying to face her. It couldn't be too hard since he didn't run into children very often. He stooped down on a bended knee and placed a finger under the girl's face.
"You okay, love?" he asked and then began to scan the crowd for signs of adults who might be looking for her. When he looked back down her eyes had glazed over with tears that threatened to fall any minute; Klaus' eyes widened in response. Oh god, anything but the crying, he thought to himself.
It was the one thing that undid Klaus, every single fucking time. When they were younger no matter how upset Klaus became with Rebekah, he couldn't bear it when she cried. From the day Rebekah came into the world, through the awful teenage years when Mikael ruled with an iron fist, till the today, a woman's tears were the reason Klaus' resolve always fell apart.
"You're alright sweetheart; here, let me have a look," Klaus said as he checked for cuts and scrapes.
"Well look at that. Not a scratch on you. What a tough lass you are," Klaus said smiling warmly at Lexi.
"I'm fierce," Lexi replied, her tears disappearing.
"I can see that. What's your name?"
"Lexi."
"Hi Lexi, My name is Klaus. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," Klaus said helping Lexi stand up and extending his hand. When Lexi didn't take his hand, he raised his eyebrows and gave her a quizzical look.
"Is your middle name 'Trouble'?"
Klaus, blindsided, let out a hearty laugh. "Well I've been called a lot of things in my time and I might have been called trouble once or twice, but officially, no. It's not my middle name."
"Oh, okay good," Lexi sighed dramatically.
"So Lexi, now that I've met your requirements, will you let me help you find your parents? I don't see anyone looking for you."
"My p-parents?" Lexi said stumbling over the word that sounded too foreign on her tongue.
"Or grandparents. Who are you hear with?"
"Um, my aunts. They were right behind me…" Lexi said turning to peer through the crowds.
"There they are!" Lexi said smiling with pride at two women rushing towards them.
Suddenly, and quite forcefully, the gears began to turn and Klaus could pinpoint the exact moment where he had seen Lexi before. Looking at the vision before him made Klaus feel restless as his skin started to hum with excitement. This day had suddenly gotten a lot better.
-/-
"Caroline," Klaus said, his voice melodious to Caroline's ears.
Caroline willfully ignored him.
"Lexi! Don't run off like that. You gave me a heart attack!" Caroline reprimanded, but her voice still shook slightly from the fear that had struck very being moments earlier.
She leaned down, keeping her eyes on Lexi alone, and searched for any signs of cuts or scrapes, frowning deeply when she found a scrape on the palm of her hand.
"And what have I told you about talking to strangers little miss?" Caroline whisper-yelled.
"Oh, but I checked Aunt Care. His middle name isn't trouble," Lexi whispered loudly in Caroline's ear. A quick look at the faces of Bonnie and Klaus confirmed that the comment had not gone unnoticed. Blood rushed to Caroline's cheeks and she suddenly felt to warm despite the cool weather.
Caroline brushed the hair out of Lexi's face and took a few breaths to steady herself. Caroline's brow, still furrowed from worry, prompted Lexi to continue, "This is Klaus Aunt Care! I was running and I fell and he was helping me and then you came and…can we get hot chocolate now?" Lexi spoke hurriedly.
Caroline laughed and began to feel the tension lift. "Okay, sounds good."
"I think that extra whip cream helps scrapes heal quickly too."
"Oh, do they now?" Caroline asked, knowingly.
Caroline, still not wanting to look at or address Klaus, looked at Bonnie instead, who stood a few feet behind Klaus. This was a mistake, as Bonnie was in the midst of pointing with one hand at Klaus and giving a thumbs-up with the other. Caroline thought she saw her wink too, but she couldn't be sure.
Caroline then looked at a smiling Klaus, who, to her surprise, was speaking to Lexi. For the first time since they met, granted they had only had a few interactions, she wasn't overwhelmed with the need to kiss him or kill him. Despite herself, she was thankful that he had found her. A part of her was even thankful for the fact that she stopped responding to him so primitively. She tried to conjure images of his unbalanced nature, the heavy handed flirting, the model girlfriend, but none of the images could adjust her perception of the reality she was being faced with: a Klaus at complete ease with a little girl, a Klaus, who despite the passing minutes, had nothing insulting nor suggestive to say to her.
She only realized she had been staring at Klaus' and Lexi's interaction, when he caught her looking at him.
"Well, Klaus, I'm sure I speak for Caroline and myself, when I say thank you for helping Lexi," Bonnie said placing a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Let us at least buy you a cup of coffee. It's the least we can do."
"Yay!" Lexi squealed.
Caroline turned her head so fast she thought she might have whiplash. She looked at her supposed best friend and niece with narrowed eyes. Traitors.
Klaus smirked mischievously at Caroline, "I'd love to."
"Shall we?" Klaus asked opening the door open for the three women.
The little bell on the door rang out introducing their arrival to the people in the coffee shop. Caroline was the last to pass through and her eyes widened when she distinctly felt Klaus hand on the small of her back.
"Caroline?" a voice called out.
Caroline searched around and found the source of the voice. Katherine and Elijah were taking the coats off and getting ready to sit down when they saw the four of them walk in.
"Ms. Forbes how lovely to see you again," Elijah said walking over to them. Klaus' hand quickly moved away from Caroline and the warm spot on her back cooled, leaving her feeling oddly bereft.
"Elijah, Katherine, I'm so happy to see you. You remember Lexi of course?"
"Of course I do. Hi Lexi!" Katherine said, shaking Lexi's outstretched hand.
"And, this is one of my dearest friends Bonnie. She's visiting Grass Lake for the weekend."
"And how are you liking it so far?" Elijah asked.
"I love it. We used to come up here all the time when we were kids. We just hadn't had the chance to come back in a while. It's nice to see that not much has changed," Bonnie replied, waving at old Mrs. Miller who had been running the store ever since anyone could remember.
"I think I better go say a quick hello to Mrs. Miller before I get into any trouble! What's everyone drinking? I'll place our orders while I'm up there," Bonnie said.
"Bonnie, would you mind asking her for a first aid kit or a band-aid? Whatever she's got will do!" Caroline yelled after her.
"Oh common Aunt Caroline, I'm fine!" Lexi said not wanting to look weak in front of Klaus.
"Mm-hmm. Nice try."
A few minutes later all the orders were placed and Caroline, Lexi and Klaus took a seat at Katherine and Elijah's table. Caroline held her hand out as Lexi shrugged out of her scarf and hat, placing them in Caroline's grasp. Bonnie was still chatting away with Mrs. Miller and Caroline wished she would hurry up.
"So, tell me love, have you been enjoying the fair?" Klaus asked.
Caroline turned to answer the question when she realized he wasn't asking Caroline.
"Yes! It's wonderful! Aunt Care and I went on the spinning strawberry ride and got to see all the pumpkin carvings and then…" Lexi paused for dramatic effect, and, giving, Elijah and Katherine the side-eye, lowered her voice to a whisper before continuing. Klaus leaned in for effect. "Then, Aunt Caroline let me eat funnel cake for breakfast, but don't tell anyone!"
Klaus feigned shock, and put up two fingers, "Scout's honour".
Caroline rolled her eyes, but was unable to keep the smile off her face.
"Is he always like this?" Caroline asked Katherine.
"Its news to me," Katherine responded.
They both looked at Elijah, waiting for some sort of confirmation.
"We have a younger sister," Elijah stated without further explanation.
Caroline sputtered the hot coffee she was sipping, which had been delivered moments earlier.
"I'm sorry, but the two of you are related?"
"Is that so hard to believe?" Klaus said, his English lilt pronounced as he spoke.
"Yes," Katherine and Caroline replied simultaneously before erupting with laughter.
Klaus held a hand over his chest theatrically.
"Aunt Caroline! It's not nice to hurt other people's feelings. You should say sorry!"
Caroline was taken a back. Klaus was smiling wickedly. Elijah and Katherine chuckled at the absurdity of the situation.
"Uh Lex …"
"Remember the time I hurt Chloe Marsden's feelings because she hurt mine and you told me that all people capable of..."
"I swear, that Salvatore memory of yours is actually remarkable," Caroline responded to Lexi. She then caught Klaus' gaze and replied, "I'm sorry. That was rude."
"I'll forgive you…"
Caroline turned to Lexi, "Happy?"
"…on one condition."
Caroline eyebrows shot up.
"You and Lexi join me at my house for dinner sometime. You'll remember my address of course, the glass house on the lake?"
"Oh my gosh! You're our neighbour? Oh Em Gee, I've always wanted to see inside. Can we go? Please please please!"
"Our neighbor?" Klaus questioned.
"Lexi lives with me," Caroline stated offering no further explanations on the subject matter before continuing, "And that's too kind of you, but really, there's no need"
Looking at Lexi, who was bouncing in her seat and giving Caroline the biggest puppy-dog eyes, made Caroline realize that there was no way she was going to get out of this.
"I really won't take no for an answer," said Klaus.
Caroline racked her brain to come up with a way out and when she couldn't she settled for the next best thing.
"Well, if you insist. Let's make a night of it. I'm sure your brother and Katherine would also love the pleasure of your company," Caroline stated, now giving Katherine and Elijah the same puppy-dog eyes that had roped her into the situation to begin with.
Katherine simply looked at Elijah. And much to Klaus' delight, Elijah sighed, and replied staring into his coffee, "Of course Caroline".
Caroline mouthed a "thank you" to Elijah when Klaus wasn't looking.
-/-
"How are you adjusting to life on the lake? There aren't too many houses out that way," Klaus heard Elijah ask.
"We love it! I can't wait until summer when we get to go swimming all the time!" Lexi answered for Caroline, causing everyone at the table to laugh.
Bonnie returned to the table and Klaus grabbed the first aid kit out of her hand.
Bonnie gave him a quizzical look before he replied, "I don't mind really".
Klaus became keenly aware of Bonnie's eyes on him. She was obviously sizing him up, but for what, he wasn't quite sure.
"It's good and a bit of a learning experience. The old house has its challenges. Take the ancient dishwasher for instance, I've tried to fix that thing like five times this week and I swear every time I take a wrench to it, it falls apart even more," Caroline said, answering Elijah's question.
"I can help with that," Klaus offered, not quite sure why he was offering. In fact, his brain only now began to process what he had already said.
He finished dabbing the alcohol swab to Lexi's palm and applied the band-aid. She flinched in response, but showed no sign of tears. He rewarded her bravery with her with a genuine smile.
"If you'd like, that is," he finished.
"You know how to fix dishwashers?" Caroline asked surprised.
Klaus' surprise mirrored that of Caroline's when he opened his mouth to reply, but Elijah spoke for him instead. "Ah, the Mikaelson's didn't always come from money. Our mother came from old money, but when she married our father her family disowned them."
"Grandmother always did have a nasty bit of a temper," Klaus added.
"It's where Rebekah gets it you know," Elijah replied. The brothers shared a laugh. Moments like this had been so common once upon a time. In recent years, these moments had become a distant memory and the foreign feeling of shared camaraderie caused a deep ache in his chest, an ache that Klaus readily identified as hope.
"Rebekah sounds lovely," Caroline offered.
"That's one way of putting it," Katherine replied.
"Now, now. Rebekah is a bit of a loose canon sometimes, but she's our loose cannon," Klaus defended.
"Niklaus, you are certainly one to talk," Elijah replied with a smile on his face.
Wait a minute. What exactly was happening here? Was this a genuine good old fashion ribbing from his brother? What happened to the cold, aloof Elijah he was dealing with only a few minutes ago? These were questions Klaus could not answer, but he surmised that it had something to do with the company.
"So, two attractive brothers, I'm sure a very beautiful sister, but please tell me there is more… mainly, an attractive brother for me?" Bonnie asked playfully.
Caroline smiled knowingly at her friend. Klaus couldn't help sneaking glances at her every once in a while. Her smile was like a magnet that kept drawing his gaze. The room seemed warmer when Caroline Forbes smiled.
"Well, there's always Kol…" Klaus said adding more marshmallows to Lexi's hot chocolate.
Katherine choked on her coffee.
"It's best to stay away from Kol," Katherine interrupted, grinning from ear to ear as she gazed into Elijah's eyes. Even Klaus could tell Katherine had it bad.
Klaus watched as Lexi pulled on Caroline's sleeve and then whispered in her ear. He watched Caroline's bright blue eyes widen in horror and then melt away when she looked at Lexi and her puppy dog eyes. She buried her head in her hands and then peaked up through the stray blond curls that landed in her face. As her eyes landed on Klaus, he slowly started to unravel, itching to know what the conversation was about. He didn't have to wait too long.
"Klaus, would you like to come to the petting zoo with us?" Lexi asked.
"I'd love to sweetheart, but I wouldn't want to take away from your special day with your aunts. Rain check?"
"Okay," Lexi said, a little downtrodden.
Caroline looked relieved, but quickly gave Klaus a look that suggested she had no idea what he was up to. He may have checked his behavior in front of Lexi, but he hadn't had a lobotomy. As much as Klaus believed bedding Caroline would be the fix he needed for this unearthly attraction he felt, he wasn't here for her. He was here for Elijah and he wasn't going to give up now that he finally saw the first glimmer of hope in years.
"But I am looking forward to our dinner date."
Lexi blushed furiously and leaned into Caroline's side.
"Seriously?" Caroline stated, her voice dripping with disbelief.
"Come now Caroline, surely you know how hard it is for the opposite sex to resist my charm," Klaus said, and then quickly amended, "Well any sex really…"
"Except it really wasn't so hard for me."
"Or me," Katherine joined in.
"Really love, that's not what I remember from the first day we met." Klaus' eyes seared into Caroline, his body set alight by the memory alone of Caroline in his arms.
"Well, look at the time!" Caroline stated gesturing dramatically to her watch. "We better get a move on. Say goodbye Lexi."
Klaus and Elijah stood up as the ladies put on their coats and made for the door. They all exchanged goodbyes and finalized plans for dinner the next weekend, but Klaus felt significantly restless. So, he did something without thinking, which was unfortunately becoming a habit around Caroline.
Caroline had just stepped out into the sunlight when Klaus gently held her back by the elbow. She turned to face Klaus, her hair brushing across his cheek. He waited till Bonnie and Lexi were out of earshot before inhaling the smell of vanilla and lavender. "You look beautiful today Caroline."
With a roguish smile on his face, he left a stunned Caroline in the sunshine as he made his way back into the coffee shop.
You guys have been the sweetest with all your lovely reviews. This is my first real go at the writing thing... like ever... so I appreciate it. I'm nervous about the relationship development between the characters feeling a bit rushed so please let me know what you think! Slow it down? Speed it up?