Big D 10

The week went by just as the earlier one had, except Hayley was successful giving Freya the antidote. It worked just like it was supposed to and it lifted some of the weight off Hayley. Almost there. Almost there.

Hope was great and having her wasn't a huge change for Caroline except those times when Caroline had her while the twins were with Ric. Caroline took advantage by reading with Hope and of course telling her about Klaus. She also took pictures of Hope through the week for the scrapbook. [Caroline introduced her to posing like Beyonce. The results were of course super fierce. You're welcome, world!] She took one where Hope was reading to the twins. It was the cutest of the cute!

On the wolf venom front in Dallas, her best chance to find the son of the suspected wolf was over the weekend, so she was busy with work, her babies, and Hope in the meantime. She didn't say anything to Hayley…because, well…reasons. [Her pros and cons list was quite detailed.] Hayley would be back soon enough and Caroline would tell her what she found when she knew more.

All she knew for sure is a guy with a certain name accidentally killed someone. His son liked to hang out at a place Friday and Saturday nights.

Step 1. Find him at his favorite place.

Step 2. Follow him home. Using compulsion would work too, but was a little less discreet. Either way, figuring out where he lived was the goal.

Step 3. Find out if he's a wolf and get the venom.

Easier said than done and Step 1 sounded a lot easier than Step 3.

Could she charm the father, appeal to his humanity? Could she offer something in exchange? [Did he like chocolate chip cookies perhaps? A customized day planner? A deep cleaning of his kitchen?] Compel him? Let Hayley take over?

The last thought rankled. She was a smart, capable, awesome vampire who could make a bigger contribution than being a babysitter.

She had to be careful in any scenario. The only known cure was not available. [Ba dum bump.] There was no way she was dying when she had everything to live for.

In the meantime, Caroline kept up with her usual routine. That included her spinning class.

When she moved back to the Big D, she needed more activities to keep her busy when she didn't have the girls. Boredom was her worst enemy. It made her neurotic brain go even more haywire. It was when the guilt of leaving them kicked in. One of those activities? Sweating her ass off.

Ric was once again being a hero. He offered to take Josie, Lizzie, and Hope out to dinner. He was going to try and see if they'd enjoy bowling. Hope would also be sleeping over since Caroline coming and just getting Hope would be hard for the twins. Ric was awesome and yes, in exchange, Caroline was going to organize his office on Sunday afternoon. [It's also when she planned to snoop through his books and find something out about Rebekah's mark if possible.]

Also, Ric had a date!

Yup, Alaric Saltzman asked out a woman he met on campus. [No, he wasn't going after the undergrads any more. Yup, that was creepy. Let's move on.] She worked in Admissions.

He'd had two amazing loves, Jenna and Jo. Rather than being foolish with Caroline, he wanted to find someone who wanted to be with him just as much.

Her name was Lindsay. [Caroline told him if this chick thought she could step in and replace her, she'd have another thing coming!] The idea of a flustered Ric on a date though made Caroline smile. At least someone in Dallas was getting some romantic action.

Caroline missed spinning the week before due to Hope's unexpected arrival, but she was back. She'd made friends with some of the women, bonding over how sore they were and how much a person could sweat. [Shin sweat? Caroline didn't know that was a thing before spin class.] Once a month they went out for dinner and drinks afterwards, eating back all the calories they'd burned off and then some. No regrets!

They always ate outside so them being sweaty wouldn't bother others. [You're welcome, Big D.] They tended to get nearby, cheap Mexican food.

The women were about her age. Seven of them were going out that night which was on the high end. Two also had young kids like Caroline. Another woman was getting married in a few months.

Caroline liked them a lot. Unlike some of the other women she'd met in Dallas, this group didn't take themselves too seriously. [The higher the hair, the closer to God, wasn't one of their mottos either.] It's probably why they bonded. They were the closest Caroline had come to making new friends in her new city.

They knew a version of Caroline's truth; she was a mom with a recently broken engagement.

Settling around two tables pushed together after they sweated a disgusting amount, the first round of margaritas were brought out. Chips, salsa, and guacamole followed quickly. The restaurant was part of an up and coming block. Music poured out from the tattoo parlor nearby. Shoppers and diners strolled along the wide sidewalks. A cool breeze thankfully drifted past. The city was definitely alive.

The women laughed and joked, going around the table to share anything new or funny that happened.

"So," Caroline sang as they waited for their entrees to arrive, "the only new thing is an acquaintance is here with her daughter and living with me for a little bit. She just moved to Dallas and travels a lot, so I've been watching her daughter with the twins when she's gone. Do you guys know any real estate agents?" They probably thought she was asking for Hayley, but she was really asking for her project with Hope for Klaus. [Hayley could use Zillow like everyone else.]

"I don't know how you do it," one said, amazed at all the hats Caroline wore.

Another at the table gave her the name of their cousin who was a real estate agent. Caroline put it on her phone. [Boom! Another item to check off her list. That deserved another margarita.]

"You said 'acquaintance' not friend," Maggie noticed.

Yeah, she did.

Hayley was not exactly a friend really, but also they could be friendly and did occasional friend-type things. [Like she thought Hayley would lend her a tampon if she was still human, but she also thought Hayley wouldn't tell her if she had spinach stuck in her teeth.] They were working together and driving Hayley crazy with her nonsense was kind of fun. [If Hayley made better choices and listened, she'd be doing much better. Duh! If Denial was losing her battle on Klaus, it could at least dig her heels in on Hayley.]

"Well, um," she hedged, enticing the others so much more, "her baby daddy might be an ex?"

They gasped and reached for their drinks, all eyes and ears. Yeah, she liked these women a lot. They were enjoying the soap opera that her life had once again become. She didn't blame them.

"What do you call a guy you might have, but really didn't have a thing with? There was sort of one date, kinda?" Caroline asked.

"Did your mouth touch his mouth?"

"Once," she answered, "well it was one whole day of kissing. Ok fine, he was my one hook up."

The table laughed and reached for more salty, warm chips. "Caroline!" They teased her.

"But he was really into me," she protested. Then she was a little flustered which made her ramble and talk really fast. [You know, her usual.] "So it wasn't really a random thing. It built up over months and months, all this tension between us, and we were both single for the first time. It wasn't really a relationship, but something. He asked me my feelings for him and instead of saying anything, I asked him to give me space…then I kissed him. It felt so good to kiss him, that well, um, more happened." Was she blushing? She felt like she was blushing. [Was it a hot flash? Was that possible?] She dove for her drink to cool off and stop talking.

"But you weren't into him?" Kenya asked skeptically.

"I wasn't ready for him."

Wow. That was actually the absolute truth, she realized.

The table looked on eagerly, ignoring the passersby. Caroline was always entertaining, but usually her stories were about the newspaper guys or more often the twins.

"Klaus is so complicated and I met him when I was in high school. I was way too young for a guy like him."

"Is he German? 'Klaus' sounds German."

"He's technically American. He has a British accent though," she told them, biting her lip.

As predicted…the table exploded and she couldn't help her huge grin.

"Sign me up!"

"Where is he?"

"Does he have brothers?"

Caroline laughed and took another sip.

"Why is his baby momma living with you?"

That was a bit deflating.

"Because I'm the most responsible person she knows," Caroline answered, sitting up, "and she's kind of terrible at life." She smirked and they laughed. "His daughter is so great though. It's really her I'm helping and him too, I guess. Her mom, Hayley, she's not the absolute worst. She's sort of ok, maybe." Caroline looked around the table. "She's one of those women who isn't friends with a lot of women." They nodded, understanding exactly. Caroline had her own problems making friends because of that judginess she was working on. "We're actually getting along pretty well." Something compelled her to add, "Her thing with Klaus wasn't even a thing, so it's not like that's, well, a thing."

There were knowing smiles directed at her.

"Where is this guy?"

"In New Orleans, tied up with family business." [Hahahaha!]

"Is he single?"

"At the moment." [Haha!] Her grin was huge.

"Does he know you're helping?"

"Not yet."

"Does he know you're single?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Have you thought about how he'll repay you?"

Caroline leaned in, hands on the table, and gave them serious looks. "I've spent hours and hours thinking about it."

They all laughed and their entrees were set down in front of them.

Caroline wasn't off the hook though. They still had questions. Important questions!

"So the one time wasn't bad?"

Caroline groaned around a bite of delicious food. What a question. "It was disgustingly amazing. No one should be that good, unless well," she said with a shrug, "it was because it was with me. Maybe I'm just that good," she joked and they laughed again.

"Are you going to call him? Maybe go out with him?"

"Bring him to the wedding," Maggie urged her. Her wedding was in a few months and was going to be a huge event.

"Alaric's probably coming with me," she explained. He was the only single guy she knew at the moment. Sad, but true.

"Would you rather go to an open bar wedding with your ex or the hot guy whose mouth you want touching your mouth?" Kenya questioned her.

"How do you know how hot he is?" Caroline asked quickly.

They laughed at catching her. Caroline rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"He's unbelievably hot. He also really is in the middle of family business that I'm not sure when will end, but Klaus…Klaus is the bad boy." Caroline took another bite of her loaded Southwestern salad and chewed for a minute. "You wouldn't know it with the accent and good looks, but he's dark and makes everything super dramatic. If there's the hardest and most frustrating way to do something that will aggravate the most people, that's the way Klaus will do it. He has to get his own way. Getting involved with Klaus means letting his bad boy behavior go, right?"

"Why are the bad boys so attractive anyway?" Lily asked. They all sighed in agreement and some side conversations began on the topic.

"It's like I want to slap him upside the head when I don't want to rip his clothes off," Caroline admitted nonchalantly.

"I think I've dated his brother," one joked.

"Is he dangerous?" Maxine asked, getting down to the important things.

Um yeah, Maxine, Caroline wanted to say, he's literally a psycho killer. She was pretty dangerous herself too.

"No," she lied.

"Does he respect you?"

After a couple of bites and a post to the gut which she hadn't forgotten about, did Klaus respect her?

"Yes, I think so. It was rocky at first." [Yup, that was a mega-understatement.] "He treats me well, but it's just…complicated." She was reminded of Klaus asking her how much she liked knowing he was only good to her.

It was heady, that idea, but it was also naive and shortsighted.

Klaus being a dick to everyone but her wouldn't make things ok. It still made him a dick.

"You're his soft spot," Kenya figured out.

"I know," Caroline whined, "and it's romantic in a screwed up way. It makes it seem like I'm the special one, that I'm the one who can fix him."

Caroline knew enough through a lot of heartache [and that one Coldplay song] that Klaus was the only person who could "fix" Klaus.

"He's stubborn and smart and annoying and sweet and awful and romantic and a drama magnet, not in a good way like I am."

They smirked.

"He's done some of the worst things I've ever seen along with the most beautiful." Wasn't that it? He was the best and worst mixed together in a beautiful package.

"Give him a chance."

Isn't that what she wanted to hear when she mentioned him? She didn't have to bring him up.

"Seriously?" she asked them, confused why they were agreeing. Yeah, he was hot with an accent and a soft spot for her, but what about all the other stuff? You know, the cruel stuff?

"You're smarter and you're onto him," Kenya, who was sitting on her right, told her. Setting her drink down, she expanded. "You were in high school. We're all idiots then, especially teenage boys. You don't have to accept his crap. You need him to step up. If he doesn't, you'll know. You said it wasn't a real relationship, so give it one chance. One and done." Kenya smirked. "See how the bad boy's doing…and then I'll know if I should give Andre a chance when I see him at our class reunion," she admitted with a grin that had them laughing.

Tempting…very tempting. Klaus hadn't been a teenage boy in ten centuries though!

"When did you last see him?" Lily asked.

"Four years ago. I also talked to him on the phone right after the twins were born…he was really great." She bit her lip. "Klaus is the guy I'd run to if I was in trouble."

"Like your one phone call from prison?" Lily joked, making them laugh.

"Seriously," she agreed on a sigh.

"Like your phone-a-friend on a gameshow?" Maxine asked.

"Yes," she agreed again on a groan. He'd be so good at that!

"Like you've been kidnapped in Europe?"

She giggled. "He can growl like Liam Neeson too. Yeah, I'd call Klaus for a ride after I figured out my own way free."

Glasses were clinked around the table in agreement. [Girls rule. Boys drool!]

"Maybe he's grown up," Maggie offered.

"Maybe," Caroline sighed, moving the food around on her plate. An unpleasant thought ran through her mind. "I hope so. I hope being a dad has made him more responsible." The problem was he was barely a dad before he was left behind.

Also, there was one other thing. Insecurity reared its head. "What if he doesn't want to go out with me?" She was a mom now with babies. They were part of her life, the best and most important part of it too. She wasn't in the same place she'd been when Klaus was pursuing her. While Hayley didn't tell her, there could have been someone else, or multiple someones, he'd been with since her.

Ugh.

Caroline pushed her plate away.

"Has he seen you?" Maxine asked with a raised brow, making them smile.

"Has he seen you in those pants?" Kenya teased, bumping Caroline's shoulder, making them laugh. Caroline was in black, gray, and pink workout pants and a black tank top. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Loose tendrils curled up around her face and her cheeks were flushed still. She was a mess, but glowing and beautiful.

Their joking lightened her mood and she took another sip of her margarita. Maybe she was hungry again after all. Tequila certainly made her feel better.

"When he's free [hee, hee,] I'll let you know what happens," she promised, taking another bite.

The conversation moved on to Maggie's wedding and how planning was going, but Caroline had Klaus on the brain. Again. Jeez! It was like a disease, Klaus-brain.

As they were breaking up and going to their cars, Caroline stopped Maxine. She knew a little bit about her. They were the same age. She was dating a Marine. He was stationed in Korea for another two months. She worked as an insurance agent.

"Hey, Maxine, you're a country fan, right?"

The pretty brunette grinned. "I'm a native," she agreed, teasing Caroline's Virginia roots. "Tim McGraw is still so fine."

She almost snorted, but she was focused. "You know Billy Bob's?"

Billy Bob's was a huge country bar in Fort Worth. It was a landmark for everyone who loved country music. It had concerts with big stars dropping in. There was music and dancing [yes, line dancing] every night.

"Of course. My sister loves it."

Caroline leaned her hip against her car. "I want to visit for my blog, see what it's like."

Maxine knew about Caroline's blog. Occasionally someone from their spinning group would give Caroline ideas of places to check out for the column. "It's Texas with a capital T. I'll go with you," the other woman agreed readily and Caroline was thankful she didn't have to ask. "Can my sister come? Actually," she said with a roll of her eyes, "she'll probably already be there."

"Sure. The more, the merrier."

They discussed schedules and agreed on the following Friday.

Caroline was going on a wolf hunt.

Ok, well a werewolf's son-hunt.

Actually, it was the hunt for a son of a possible wolf.

Yup, that was it.

This was going to be good.