Chapter Ten – Ghost

Lately I've been thinking
Lately I've been dreaming with you
I'm so resistant to this type of thinking
Oh now it's shining through

"Morning," Caroline said, looking down at Klaus as she held two cups of coffee in her hands, sipping from the one holding decaff.

Klaus blinked a few times, looking up at the blonde before glancing around the apartment. It took him a few moments to place where he was. Though it was the first time that he had been inside Caroline's apartment, everything about it from the pale yellow walls in the living room to the purple throw that was resting over the back of the couch screamed Caroline. It wasn't that far of a leap. He sat up slowly, his eyes still heavy with sleep as he took the cup of coffee that she had been offering him. "Thank you," he said, bringing it to his lips as he began to put the dots together. "Did we…?"

"Oh yes," Caroline answered quickly with a definite nod. She took a seat never to him on the couch, wrapping both hands around the mug. His eyes widened as he looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "It was crazy. Clothes flying in every direction. I think we may have even cracked the dry wall in my bedroom. It was…" she trailed off with a chuckle. "Well, let's just say I think it might be twins now," she ran her hand over her bump before bringing her mug in for another sip.

"Very funny, love." He shook his head, running a hand over the matted blond curls. "I'd like to think if we spent another evening together it would be something we would both remember vividly." He glanced up at her wearing a sleep-laced, cocky smirk.

She gave him a look, "You had one glass of bourbon and you can't remember what happened last night. How am I supposed to not mess with you over it?" she shook her head, glazing over what he had said completely. She knew he was probably right, but going there wasn't a good idea. She knew better than that, better than to think about how sexy he looked right now.

"I remember. I just woke up somewhere I've never been before, it's a bit disorienting."

"We had some cake and we talked and you fell asleep on my couch," she said, setting her cup down on the coffee table before looking over at him. "How is your eye by the way? It looks a lot better than it did last night."

He made an effort not to wince as she reached out and touched the still tender skin. Her fingers felt warm against his skin, but he tried to ignore the fact that he followed her fingers for a fraction of a second when she pulled away. "Far better than to be expected," he said, finally feeling completely awake. Awake enough to take in her freshly showered and dressed appearance. "How long have you been awake?"

"A few hours ago. The baby seems to think that seven am is the perfect time to get up even when I have the day off. I don't approve, but I'm trying not to start nagging it until it's at least thirteen," she laughed at her own joke before finishing off her coffee. "I'm actually meeting your sister today."

"Well, I will get out of your way then," he said, beginning to get up from the couch.

"Don't be ridiculous. I have plenty of time and Rebekah is fashionably late to everything. I already ran downstairs and grabbed some croissants. Just out of the oven. My recipe. I'll be personally offended if you don't eat. I thought since dinner was such a disaster, breakfast would be better," she said, offering him a small smile.

"I suppose work can wait," he returned the gesture moving from the couch to Caroline's small kitchen counter.

Caroline moved around the kitchen, putting all of the things that they might need for their breakfast on the counter. Jam, more coffee, and most importantly the croissants. "I know last night is probably the last thing you want to talk about, but your mother actually did bring up an important point. My appointment is in two days," she mentioned, setting the plate of flakey, buttery pastries between the two of them. "Do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"That's your discretion, Caroline." He reached for one of the croissants she had been speaking so highly of a few moments before and brought it onto the plate she had placed in front of him.

"No," she disagreed immediately. "You said at dinner that you wanted to be involved. One step at a time were your exact words if I recall. You get a say." She picked up her own croissant, dabbing on a healthy dose of jam before taking a bite of her breakfast. When he still didn't respond, she just smiled, "Tell you what, I will have the ultrasound tech write it down and put it in an envelope and if you want to know you can," she assured him.

"You aren't going to know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was thankful that she took the decision off the table for him. He wasn't sure what he wanted to know and what he didn't, but he liked that she was giving him the option. Mostly he was intrigued by the knowledge that she didn't want to know. "I imagine that most expectant mothers want to know what to expect."

"Well, I hate surprises. It goes against everything in my nature. I like to plan everything, but I think this is something I have to just let happen. The techs are only making an educated guess anyway. I think its better this way. Sometimes they are wrong and what if it's a boy and we call it she the whole time or vice versa. That can't be good for it. I think it's better if it just remains an it or we know for certain. It's only a few more months. I think I can handle it," Caroline said before taking another bite. The planner in her was screaming at her for her decision. She needed color patterns and crib choices and personalized wall hangings. The nursery needed to be perfect before her child arrived, but it was going to have to wait or at the very least be gender-neutral. She had read somewhere that was better for the child anyway. "Did you want to come to the appointment with me?"

"I thought Stefan attended those with you?"

"He does, but you are allowed to come too. It's your child, you are allowed to come. They actually encourage it."

"I think it's best if Stefan just handles that for now." Klaus spoke, before catching sight of the clock above Caroline's oven. "I'd prefer not to eat and run, but I have a meeting in forty-five minutes." He stood from the stool. "Thank you for the cake and the conversation. It's been lovely, Caroline." He looked down at her for a moment, unsure of how to end the encounter.

"I'll walk you down. I have to leave anyway." She took the last bite of her croissant, quickly placing everything back in her fridge. She motioned for him to follow her, locking the door behind them before they made their way down to the bakery underneath. Ignoring the confused glances from Elena as she stood behind the counter with Katherine and Damon, Caroline turned to Klaus once they reached the door. "I'll call you after the appointment and let you know how everything went." She told him before letting him head out the door. She moved back behind the counter to get a bit more coffee before she headed out the door. In theory, she knew it would do nothing to wake her up considering she had to stick to decaf, but it was such a part of her morning routine, she couldn't escape it.

"What was that?" Elena snapped, her hand resting expectantly on her hip. When Caroline turned back to look at her, the brunette was positively fuming. "He spent the night, Caroline?"

"Yes, but it isn't what you think," she told her.

"Give her a break, Elena. She's already pregnant, what else could happen?" Damon teased, earning a smirk from Katherine and a glare from Elena. Sometimes he wondered how identical twins could be so different.

"It wasn't what you think either," Caroline said, her brows furrowing as she looked at Damon. "When I dropped the cake off last night, things didn't exactly go well. It was an ambush. His mother, who is crazy by the way, knew I was pregnant and invited me to join them for dinner so she could call me out and ask me which of her sons had fathered the child in front of everyone." She ran her hand over her face as a gasp left Elena. "It was humiliating, but Klaus saved me from having to answer and then got into a fight with his step father, who is worse than the mother, and Stefan walked me to the Metro. I came back here and Klaus showed up with a black eye. We just talked, Elena, and he fell asleep on the couch."

"I just want you to be careful, Caroline. He's an ass, he's always been an ass," Elena said.

"I am careful. He's not as bad as we originally thought. He was just as scared as I was and lashed out," she said, tugging her jacket around her body before beginning to button it up. "Regardless, he's the baby's father. The two of us getting along is a good thing," she said, pulling her blond curls from the collar of her jacket. "I will see you later, I need to go meet Rebekah. Nothing fits anymore. I need to remedy that."

Forty-five minutes later, Caroline found Rebekah standing outside of a small boutique in the Penn Quarter. She watched as Rebekah pulled her sunglasses off, looking over at Caroline. "You're late. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"You can blame your brother for that. He slept on my couch last night after his fight with your father," Caroline informed her, tugging her purse on her shoulder.

"Well that certainly explains why he wouldn't go home with Elijah. He had a better idea of where to tend to his wounds." Rebekah only looked ahead as they wandered down one of the main shopping streets in the district.

"Rebekah, where are we going? I can't afford any of these stores. When I suggested shopping, I was thinking more along the lines of H&M and The Gap," Caroline said, struggling to keep up with Rebekah's brisk pace. It was clear that the blonde did not take shopping lightly, but Caroline would not have expected anything less. She had been with Rebekah when she picked out her wedding gown after all. It was the first time she actually saw the bridal attendant cry instead of the bride.

"I'm buying," she stated as if it was already fact.

"No, Rebekah, the whole point I'm trying to prove to your family is that I don't need their money. I can't let you buy me maternity clothes, especially ones that are so expensive. It enforces everything they said about me last night." Caroline stopped moving, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Okay first of all, you don't have to prove anything to my family. While I love them dearly, politics are ruthless and it has bleed into the way they handle all matters, at work or otherwise. Nothing they said about you was true, and the only ones that matter know that. As for last night, that is precisely why you will let me pay or everything today. As an apology for my family acting like a pack of wild dogs," Rebekah said, crossing her arms in annoyance that Caroline was no longer following her and slowing down this entire process. She was used to getting her way and this would be no exception. "Besides, that child you are carrying is my niece or nephew. I refuse to allow his or her mother to wear anything purchased at the Gap." She shook her head, her shoulders shuddering with disgust. "Now come along, we have a lot of ground to cover, your bump is growing by the moment."

Caroline could only smile and shake her head, "Fine, but nothing too expensive." She walked briskly to catch up with Rebekah, knowing far better than to argue with her.

Two hours later, Caroline found herself sitting across from Rebekah at a small café in the quarter. The two women were surrounded by shopping bags, more than Rebekah thought she would be able to carry home. Each was filled with the necessary clothes to get her through the next few months; jeans with belly bands that would grow with her bump. Maxi dresses, tunics, cardigan sweaters, everything paid for with Rebekah's credit card.

"It's kind of sad that I'm only going to get to wear this stuff for a few months. Some of it is really cute, not to mention expensive," Caroline said, taking a sip from the water sitting on the table as they waited for their food.

"That's what maternity clothes are meant for. Just be thankful fashion has evolved and they are no longer relegating pregnant women to oversized sweaters and unflattering tents. I know I certainly would not even be entertaining the idea of children if that were not the case."

"Isn't it a little early for you and Stefan to be thinking about kids? He still has to finish his training and you guys just got married."

"Says the unmarried pregnant woman."

"Mine was an accident. What you are talking about is something else entirely."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about. We've discussed the subject of children. It would have been irresponsible to get married without the subject coming up and us being on the same page about it."

"And?" Caroline asked expectantly.

"We both want children when the time is right, which is not right now. Someday in the future. The far off future. Very far off."

"That's probably for the best. I can't exactly see you changing diapers and reading bedtime stories, Rebekah," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose.

"I will have you know that when the time is right and I choose to have children, I will be fantastic at it," Rebekah defended, "And a very well trained live in nanny." She smirked, looking up when the waitress set their lunch in front of them. "You know, I'm a bit disappointed, I was expecting something a bit odder." Rebekah motioned to the plate of pasta sitting in front of Caroline.

"The cravings haven't been that strange yet. Just when I see something. Like last night all I wanted was cake. That's why I made it in the middle of the night."

"When Nik came over," Rebekah said, glancing up from the salad she was eating. "What exactly happened last night?"

"Nothing as scandalous as your tone is implying," Caroline deflected.

"And yet you still aren't answering my question," Rebekah pointed her fork at Caroline.

"Nothing happened. I'm still not even sure if he wants to be involved in all of this. He came over with a black eye and I asked him in for cake. He apologized about what happened and we talked. That's it. I tried to get him to talk more about the baby, I even invited him to the scan this week, but he looked like a deer caught in the headlights," she laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know, Rebekah, I'm just glad he's not acting like I tried to ruin his life anymore."

"My brother is an ass. He speaks before he thinks and acts when he knows he shouldn't. It's a curse having a temper like that, but I will tell you he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. He doesn't like change, but he's getting used to it. He's just trying to come around to it all. He's never liked being rushed, but I can tell he's warming to the idea. He's very loyal to the people he cares about."

Caroline smiled at the words. Klaus had said nearly the same thing to the night before, letting her know that he included her in that category. She had to wonder what had made him that way though, "Can I ask you a question? Who's Tatia? Your father mentioned him at dinner last night and I've been curious since. I didn't think asking Klaus would go over well."

"It's best that you don't bring up Tatia around my brother. I think he'd prefer not to speak of her. Ever again," Rebekah said, putting her fork down and settling her arms in front of her on the table. "Tatia was my brother's last girlfriend. Only girlfriend really. He was always adamantly against being tied down, but Tatia swept into his life and changed all of that. None of us particularly liked her, but he was positively smitten, it was disgusting." She sighed, shaking her head before continuing. "He even told Elijah he was planning on proposing. Then the stories began breaking. Things about our family in the press. Things people couldn't possibly know. The biggest of all being that Mikael wasn't Klaus's biological father. We couldn't find the leak and then suspicion fell on Tatia. Klaus wouldn't listen to anyone or reason in general. The stories began around the same time Tatia moved in. It didn't take much investigating to find out she was cashing the checks."

"That's horrible."

"When we finally were able to convince him what she had done, he was crushed. She was using him completely. Lied about everything but her name. He hasn't quite been the same since. The press ostracized him for being the bastard son. It was horrible for him and for all of us to watch him go through it."

"How could someone do that to another person? I don't understand how someone could use someone like that." Caroline tried to hide the disgust on her face, but she knew it was evident. She didn't understand how anyone could be that cruel to another person.

"Some people are abominable. There's no other way around it." Rebekah sighed, lifting her fork and turning her attention back to her salad.