Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of its characters.

A/N: As always, thank you for the reviews! They mean so much to me. I don't know how long I plan on writing this, but as soon as it's done, I have another story idea that I'm waiting to write because I want to get this one done first :) Hopefully if you read it, you'll like it! But for now, I'm sticking with this.

-xxx-

The days after their declaration of love for each other were amazing. Everything that was going on in Mystic Falls had been long forgotten for the time being. They spent their days roaming the cobblestone streets of Paris, exploring the shops and the sights. They toured the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine river, and of course the Eiffel Tower. At night, they would dine at the fanciest restaurants France had to offer, such as Le Meurice to L'Astrance.

Caroline was completely taken with the city, her eyes alight with interest as she dragged Klaus to all the places she wished to see. Although Klaus had seen everything there was to see in Paris multiple times, it was entirely different to see it all with the woman he loved. Her reactions to all of the places amused him. When she opened a brochure and saw somewhere she wanted to go, she would bounce up and down excitedly, a huge smile breaking across her face. Klaus would return her smile, glad to show her everything the world had to offer. He could spend the rest of eternity taking Caroline everywhere she wanted to go, if that made her happy.

"I wouldn't mind living here for the rest of forever," Caroline said casually as they strolled down a cobblestone path, finger entertwined.

"I thought you said you wouldn't want to live here, considering you don't know how to speak French," Klaus reminded her.

Caroline chuckled. "I can learn! And besides, I'd be with you, and you already know how to speak French."

Klaus smiled, thrilled that she could see herself with him for the rest of her existence. "You can live wherever you want to live." She could decide to live in Antarctica and he would join her.

"I want to visit other places too. I was thinking we should go to Rome next, unless you think I'd enjoy someplace else more."

"Rome would be a great place to visit."

Caroline stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk to place her hands on his shoulders and reach up to kiss him. She was glad that he kidnapped her after senior prank night, otherwise she wouldn't have experienced any of this.

-xxx-

The next morning, Caroline heard Klaus on the phone in the living area. She sat up in the bed, listening with her vampire senses to the conversation.

"What do I have to do." Klaus's voice was low and gruff. It was obvious he was constraining his anger.

Caroline heard Stefan's voice on the other line. "Get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls."

Klaus sighed in frustration. Caroline could imagine how he must've looked, with his head bowed and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he said finally. "I'll make them leave. Just give me my family back." He hung up the phone and sat on the couch, rubbing his face in his hands.

Caroline walked out of the bedroom and wandered into the living area, taking a seat beside Klaus. "Is everything okay?" she asked in a small voice.

"I wouldn't have made that deal with him if it weren't for you," Klaus told her.

Caroline smiled sheepishly. He knew she had been listening. "Thank you for playing nice. I know it's hard for you, since you always have this need to prove you're the alpha male," she teased.

There was a ghost of a smile on Klaus's face. "I don't have to prove anything, love, I am the alpha male," he joked back.

Caroline took his face in her hands and kissed him slowly. When she pulled away, she said, "My friends have no idea how wrong they are about you." She stood up and began heading towards the kitchen to get some B positive when Klaus's voice stopped her.

"Caroline," he called.

She turned around and faced him. "Yes?"

"Happy birthday."

-xxx-

They ended up in the Luxembourg gardens, sitting on a bench as Caroline scrolled through all the pictures she had taken on her digital camera. She smiled as she passed one of the giant red windmill that sat atop the Moulin Rouge. She hadn't wanted to go in, but the movie that had been made out of it had always been one of her favorites. She was a sucker for love stories, especially ones with a cheesy dance number or two.

"Are you sure there isn't anything special you want to do today?" Klaus asked for what must've been the billionth time that day.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I don't need any special treatment because it's my birthday."

Klaus could sense that something was bothering her, so he decided to inquire about it. "What's wrong, love?"

Caroline sighed, about to tell him that nothing was wrong, but she realized that she actually wanted to talk about it. She switched off the camera and angled her body towards him. "This is the first birthday I've had since I turned."

Klaus knew this, so he wasn't surprised. "Is that what's got you upset?"

Caroline took a deep breath. "No, it's just... I'm frozen forever at seventeen. The whole point of seventeen was to get to eighteen. It's a filler year. I am stuck in a filler year."

Klaus watched her with a sad expression. All he wanted was to make her happy, but this was completely out of his hands.

"Look, I'll be fine. I'll get over it and I'll be okay. I just need some time to wallow in it."

Klaus didn't have time to answer because Caroline's phone had begun to ring, Mom lighting up the screen. Caroline stared at it apprehensively before pulling it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered tentatively. It was the first time since she left for Paris that Liz had tried to make any contact with her.

"Caroline," her mom answered uncomfortably. "How's Paris?"

"Good," she replied, waiting for the other shoe to drop. There had to be something terribly wrong if her mother was calling her.

"That's good. Well, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
Caroline felt like smacking a hand to her forehead. Duh! She was just talking about her birthday, how could she have totally forgotten about it in less than five seconds? "Oh, thank you."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Are you with Klaus?" Liz gritted out the name Klaus with hatred.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm with Klaus."

Liz was silent again before choking out an awkward goodbye. "Oh...well...stay safe," was all she said before hanging up.

Caroline clicked her phone off, dropping it in her purse. "Sorry," she apologized. "She's still having trouble accepting...us."

Klaus grinned in amusement. "It doesn't bother me, love."

Caroline chuckled in relief, desperate to change the subject. "So, where have you sent your hybrids now that they're not crawling around Mystic Falls anymore?"

Klaus's expression darkened, sending a chill down Caroline's spine. She hated seeing him angry. It scared her, even if it wasn't directed at her. "They're scattered around other parts of Virginia. Some of them are in North Carolina."

"But...?" Caroline assumed there was a 'but,' especially since Klaus looked so annoyed. No, annoyed was an understatement. He looked downright furious.

"Stefan has yet to return my family. He's still keeping them hidden."
"But you guys made a deal!"

"I know. He just refuses to live up to his end of the bargain."

Caroline whipped out her phone again, dialing Stefan's cell number and holding it up to her ear. Klaus watched her in confusion, but made no move to stop her. He was interested in what she was going to say to the Salvatore.

"Hello, Caroline," Stefan answered coolly.

Caroline wasted no time getting to her point. "Listen, dick. You can't just make a deal with someone and not follow through with your part. That's not how it works. Klaus got his hybrids out of Mystic Falls, so you need to give him his family back now."

Stefan was his ever cocky, ripper self. "You see, I can't do that until I know for sure he's not coming back to Mystic Falls."

"Just give him his family back, Stefan!"

"No can do," Stefan said, his tone final. He ended their call before Caroline had a chance to say anything else on the matter.

-xxx-

Caroline woke up to an empty bed again. She stretched her arms as she sat up, her eyes catching an object sitting on the nightstand. Curious, she picked it up.

It was a black velvet jewelry box with a note attached to the outside. The note read:

I never got a chance to give you a birthday gift yesterday. I hope you enjoy it. Rest assured it was worn by a princess almost as beautiful as you. Please don't run into any trouble while I'm gone today.

Klaus.

Inside the box was the most elegant—and expensive—bracelet Caroline had ever laid eyes on. Her breath caught as she stared at the light glittering off of the diamonds. Was he serious?

She picked it up gently and wrapped it around her wrist, securing it into place and holding it up in front of her eyes. A smile danced around the corners of her lips as the realization that this amazing piece of jewelry was hers.

But something in the note kept her from breaking out into a grin that stretched ear-to-ear. Please don't run into any trouble while I'm gone today. Why did he leave? And where did he go?

Annoyed, Caroline pulled out her cell phone and tried calling him.

No answer.

So he was avoiding her? What could be so terrible that he felt he had to hide what he was doing from her? She tried calling again.

No answer.

Oh, he was going to get an earful once she got a hold of him.

-xxx-

Caroline spent the entire day in the penthouse. She wanted to be there when Klaus returned, whenever that may be. She was planning a very long, very angry speech in her head for when she saw him. In between her pacing and fuming, she drank all the alcohol she could find, tried to relax by watching television, and called Klaus over and over, all to no avail. All this waiting around was infuriating!

It was three in the morning by the time she heard anything. She had been sitting on one of the couches, fiddling with her bracelet when her phone rang beside her.

She gasped loudly, scrambling to pick it up. Her face fell when she saw that it was Elena, not Klaus, who was calling. "Hello," she said dully. She forgot for a moment that she was supposed to be angry with the girl.

"Caroline!" Elena's voice sounded rushed and panicked.

Caroline perked up, her protective instincts kicking in. "Elena? What's wrong?"

"I just got a text from Bonnie. I'm here at her mom's house with Stefan. There's this guy, Jamie, who she's been taking care of and he was compelled to shoot Stefan and now Klaus is going to take the coffins back and—"

Caroline shook her head swiftly, trying to gather her senses. "Elena, whoa, slow down. You went to see Bonnie's mom?"

"Yes. Bonnie had this dream that made us believe she could help us figure out a way to..." Elena choked on her own words, not sure if she should continue.

"Just tell me, Elena. I can't help you if you're keeping secrets."

Elena sighed. "We thought she could help us kill Klaus." When Caroline didn't respond, Elena continued. "The guy I was telling you about, Jamie, shot Stefan. I'm with him right now, helping him get the pieces out. Bonnie's mom knocked her out and took her to one of Klaus's hybrids who compelled Jamie to keep Stefan down while Abby forced Bonnie to tell him the location of Klaus's family."

Caroline was silent for a minute, letting the information sink in. "What do you want me to do?"

"Call Klaus. Tell him to stop whatever he's doing. He listens to you," Elena pleaded.

"Elena, there's nothing I can do. Klaus hasn't been answering my calls all day. And even if I could reach him, there's nothing I can say that'll stop him from taking his family back."

There was a beat of silence.

"I knew you'd side with him," Elena said dejectedly.

"Elena, he just wants his family back!" Caroline was yelling now. She couldn't believe she was defending him after he left without telling her and put her friends' lives in danger. "It's not my fault Stefan can't keep a promise!"

She hung up the phone, not wanting to hear another word out of her friend's mouth. She loved Elena, even when they were fighting, but she would not be put in the middle.

Caroline was livid. She knew Klaus just wanted his family, but he went behind her back and threatened her friends. She couldn't let that slide. So when she rushed into the bedroom, she began throwing all her belongings into suitcases without a second thought. She had to leave. She couldn't let him think that he could do things like this and get away with it without any consequences.

Caroline packed quickly and sloppily, rolling her suitcases into the living area and grabbing a hotel notepad to scribble a note.

I'm glad you got your family back. Perhaps they'll be okay with you threatening people they love.

Caroline.

She unclasped the diamond bracelet and threw it on top of the note, grabbing her suitcases leaving without a second glance.

-xxx-

A/N: I sped up the canon moments from 3x12, like Bonnie's dream of her mom and the events that resulted from that. I hope you liked the chapter, and I'm sorry about the ending! :( Reviews are MORE than welcome and they motivate me to update faster!