Author's Note: Hey everyone! So logically I would've liked for this to be a Klaroline/Mabekah chapter, but seeing as how it became a 19 page Klaroline-palooza, I'll be doing Chapter 13 as a Mabekah/Rebekah chapter :) I was actually inspired to write this chapter really early on so I've just been saving it and I'm so glad you guys can read it now! Hope you enjoy it! Please R&R!
CHAPTER TWELVE
Caroline parked on the side road and glanced at the numbers over top of the garden gate door. 219 Alloy Banks Lane, she thought, just like it said in Rebekah's address book. She hoped her showing up on his doorstep would seem romantic and not creepy or stalkerish.
She closed the car door and clicked the key fob to lock it, smoothed out her jacket, took a deep breath and approached the door. She realized it was the door to the garden wall that surrounded the house, and she opened it and timidly walked through, closing it behind her and walking up the pathway stones to the front door and paused. She held up her hand to knock, paused in hesitation but then quickly knocked before she could change her mind. She hastened to fix her hair and touch up her lipstick from around the corners of her mouth. She heard footsteps and righted herself as the door opened revealing Klaus.
"Surprise!" Caroline said, with the biggest, happiest smile she could muster.
"Yeah... this is... a surprise..." Klaus said hesitantly, but still smiling.
"Yeah, well... I was at home... well, at Rebekah's house, and I was thinking of you," Caroline started, Klaus smiling bigger at her admitting she was thinking of him, "and I realized... a little complication never hurt anyone, and I mean, this only has to be as complicated as we make it, and I wanted to apologize for this afternoon..." she continued, her speech slowly disintegrating from the eloquent and witty speech she'd rehearsed in her head a million times on the way over into Caroline-esque babbling word vomit.
"Oh no... it's alright..." Klaus said, cutting off her onslaught of words, shrugging her off and shaking his head.
"No, I mean it really isn't, it was so rude of me, I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm so sorry I did that... I seriously don't know why I didn't invite you in, honestly, it's not like I thought you were trying to-" Caroline paused, as she heard another noise come from inside Klaus's house, becoming the unmistakable indicator that someone, who was not Klaus, was inside making the noise. It caused Klaus to look back over his shoulder without opening the door anymore than it already was.
"Oh my god..." Caroline said, the realization slowly coming to her as she looked at Klaus's obvious discomfort and the way he stood in the doorway, essentially squishing himself between the door and the doorframe, "...you're... not alone, are you?" She quickly identified his obvious attempt to block her from seeing whomever it was inside; or perhaps to keep whomever from seeing her?
"No... I'm not..." Klaus finally admitted, looking embarrassed and apologetic. Caroline tried to recover the trenches and attempt to walk away with at least some dignity left. "I'm sorry, I-" he started.
"No! No no no! Don't be... I.. I.. I just thought I'd... oh my god..." Caroline muttered to herself, and Klaus loosened his grip on the door. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad, and normally he would've moved towards her to make sure she didn't feel embarrassed, but he dare not take his hand off the door.
"Caroline, I..."
"No, seriously, don't worry about it!" Caroline continued babbling, "This is just... me... being stupid, I-" She was stopped dead by the person who suddenly opened the door a bit wider and slipped in front of Klaus; but it wasn't the person she was suddenly expecting to come to the door. In fact, she was a much smaller person. Caroline tried to form words, or at least close her mouth which she knew must be hanging open at that moment, but she couldn't move a muscle or squeak out a syllable. Klaus wasn't breathing a word either, so the little girl, who only reached to the middle of his torso and was smiling at Caroline, decided to speak.
"Who is it, Daddy?" she said in a half whisper, looking up at Klaus. Caroline was pretty certain her heart stopped when she heard those four simple words, but the last was enough to rouse her from her stunned silence. Her eyes went from the little girl up to the man the child was claiming.
"Daddy?" Caroline breathed, her voice barely louder than a whisper either.
"Yes. I am 'Daddy'..." Klaus affirmed, faintly, not sure what else to say. Caroline let out a breath of surprise, looking back and forth between Klaus's daughter and the man in question.
"Caroline, this is my daughter Ettie... Ettie, this is my friend... Caroline..." he paused before saying Caroline's name again because he'd looked back up at her from looking at Ettie, and he was slightly distracted, trying to gauge Caroline's reaction. He studied her face and attempted to convey apologizing for springing this new revelation on her at the same time. Ettie simply gazed up at her father and then the woman before her that she saw him gazing at and smiled.
"How do you do?" Caroline blinked at Ettie, then flicked her gaze back up at Klaus with her classic "seriously?" face and Klaus gave her a tight close-lipped smile. Caroline released an exasperated breath and looked back at the little girl and turned on her camp counselor face and charm.
"I'm fine, thank you... Such wonderful manners... how are you doing?"
"Very well, thank you..." the articulate girl replied, smiling, "...would you like to come in?" Caroline chuckled at the tiny girl who was perhaps the most precocious child she'd ever met, but she and Klaus both started muttering polite refusals, when an even smaller person managed to squeeze herself on Klaus's other side, brandishing a floppy and faded pink doll.
"Hi!" the second little girl said, grinning largely at Caroline. Caroline knew in an instant Klaus's cheeky smile and knew what he was going to tell her before he'd even scooped up the little girl. She just looked up at Klaus, thinking, "There's two of them?!"
"Come here, you..." he said, scooping the tinier girl up and settling her on his hip. The girl wrapped her one arm around Klaus's shoulders and looked at him, then looked back at Caroline.
"Daddy, who is this?" she said, more forcefully and directly than the older girl, who was currently watching Caroline silently whilst leaning back against her father's legs.
"This is my friend, Caroline," he said softly to the young girl, leaning in and trying to grab her attention to break her staring at Caroline, which he knew was unintentionally harder than she intended. The little girl looked at her father and smiled sweetly, then turned that sweet smile back to Caroline after deciding that his expression confirmed she was indeed a friend.
"And, Caroline, this is my youngest... Nina..." he said, looking back at Caroline with a wary face. Caroline just nodded, clinging to her kid-friendly, camp counselor mask when she suddenly realized why Klaus was still staring at her; what he wanted her to realize.
"Oh! ...Ettie..." Caroline said, looking down towards the eldest daughter, "...and Nina..." she said her gaze ending on the small girl in Klaus's arms, before settling back on Klaus's face to visually let him know she finally made the connection. They aren't women he's seeing... they're... his children... Caroline just smiled, happy to learn the identities of the mysterious woman who had been contacting Klaus. Klaus smiled, relieved to see a smile on her face, but both of their moments of relief were interrupted by the little girl standing by Klaus when she cleared her throat. They both looked down at the Ettie, who was making big eyes at her father, until she finally spoke.
"Dad...!" she said, her eyes pointing into the house then flashing towards Caroline for a second then back inside before staring at her father again expectantly. Klaus caught the meaning of her look in an instant and his eyes snapped back to Caroline.
"Yes, sorry, of course! Please, come in!" he said, looking a little bashful, which Caroline realized his bashfulness probably came from his child silently chastising his rudeness. She immediately became self-conscious, especially knowing that his child wanted her to come inside. Ettie saw the look on Caroline's face and smiled at her.
"Come in!" the little girl said brightly, her younger sister following her example and began insisting Caroline come in their house as well. Caroline started to protest, but her curiosity got the better of her and so she stepped towards the door, which Ettie happily opened wider for her. Caroline stepped inside the foyer and waited there, not wanting to go any further, and glanced to her left and right quickly, attempting to see around corners. She didn't see anymore children scurry out nor did she hear anymore children, which was a relief. Then she realized that no grown women were appearing either. Would Klaus have let her in if his wife were there? Did he even have a wife? As Caroline stood there, silently asking herself all these questions, she heard Nina suddenly speak.
"Daddy, may we still have hot chocolate, please?" the little girl's adorably accented voice matched her father's—both girls' did—and Klaus murmured she could. "With baby marshmallows?" she double-checked, which Klaus also affirmed, stealing a glance at Caroline while he put Nina down since she was already frantically scampering out of his arms. Caroline was too busy looking around and taking in the house to see Klaus's face grimace and roll his eyes at himself when he turned to the door and closed it behind him.
Caroline looked around until her gaze settled on their Christmas tree, which they had conveniently tucked into a nook in the foyer, and she realized both girls were standing between her and the tree, studying her and smiling. She looked down at them and smiled. They were adorable, and she saw Klaus in both of them, but especially Ettie, who shared her father's dirty blonde curls. Caroline realized her theory had to be right; if Klaus's hair was any longer, it'd be much blonder, like his eldest daughter's hair. Nina had a few of Klaus's features, like his eyes and dimples, but her face looked different and she had smooth, pin straight dark brown hair—features she must have inherited from her mother; whoever she was. She started to unbutton the first few buttons of her coat, all of which were at the top, and Ettie took notice of her actions then looked back at her father and gave him the same expectant eyes that she'd given him seconds ago.
"Dad! Take her coat!" she said in the same light voice, which was somewhere between a whisper and raising her voice. Klaus looked at his daughter, then Caroline, and realized once again his daughter was being a better and more prompt host than he was being.
"Yes! May I take your coat?" he said, stepping up to Caroline. She glanced at the girls with a smile, then turned her back to them and face Klaus as she unbuttoned the last buttons and whispered urgently, "Are you married?! Tell me fast!" Klaus closed his eyes with a briefly pained expression on his face, then opened his eyes and searched Caroline's eyes as he said softly but firmly, "No, I'm not..." Caroline searched Klaus's eyes as well, for any sign of deceit, and content to see that there was none, she gave him a small smile to thank him for being honest and turned back towards the girls as she shrugged her coat off, revealing her outfit. She'd decided to wear her black Oscar de la Renta silk-taffeta dress with the ruffled-skirt that blended from the black body of the dress into white at the bottom. It had been completely covered by her coat, so she was really revealing it to the group, and the girls were in awe the moment her coat was open.
"Wow!" Nina responded, excitedly. Klaus and Caroline laughed, Klaus taking her coat and hanging it up in the coat closet for her and Caroline swung her arms nervously and laughed.
"Yeah... I'm a little bit over dressed..." she admitted to the girls clad in sweaters and jeans. When she'd dressed, she thought Klaus was the only one she was going to need to impress.
"You look like my Barbie!" Nina said, delighted.
Caroline laughed and Klaus laughed, embarrassed but happy that Caroline laughed and wasn't put off by children.
"Well she's got some sense of style, so thanks!" she said to the little girl with a big smile.
"Who is that bag for?" Ettie suddenly said, and Klaus and Caroline saw the young girl trying to peer down inside the bag without getting too close or touching it, obviously wondering what was in the bag and trying not to be rude or as blunt as her younger sister. Right on cue, Nina reacted to the bag as well.
"Is that for us!?" she said, excitedly, instantly crossing in front of her sister to grab the edge of the bag that was still on the floor where Caroline had set it to take her coat off.
"Uh..." Caroline was caught in an awkward position, more awkward than she'd already thought she was in, but decided a little white lie was better so she would pacify Nina rather than let her down, "...yes! Except, well, not wine... at least not right now... maybe in a couple of years..." she said, trying to make sense of handing a bag filled with gourmet foods and wine to a girl who looked no more than six or seven years old. Klaus smiled understandingly while Nina boldly dragged the bag over to their Christmas tree, where some presents had already been collecting, and she and Ettie rummaged through the bag, oohing and ahhing at the bag's contents. When the girls were further away and distracted, Klaus took the opportunity to move over towards Caroline and said in a low voice, "I apologize for not..." he gestured towards the girls quickly, "...mentioning earlier-"
"...that you're D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D?" Caroline said, cutting him off, and whispering, glancing back and forth between Klaus and the girls, not sure if they could even spell and understand what she was asking him. Klaus looked at Caroline's face sadly for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"...W-I-D-O-W-E-R..." he corrected then he added quietly, "About two years ago..." She studied his face and it took a second for Caroline to comprehend what he was saying. He wasn't a single dad by choice. The gravity of Klaus's situation suddenly hit Caroline and she couldn't help but gasp and cover her mouth as she looked over at the girls. Klaus hadn't just lost his wife, the girls had lost a mother, and she knew better than anyone that no one is better off without one of their parents. At Caroline's gasp, the girls looked up at them, and Klaus's demeanor immediately changed seeing that the girls were paying attention to them again.
"Caroline! I know you're a big fan of hot chocolate... are you interesting in staying for a bit? I just put the kettle one..." he said, gazing at her softly but strong eyes, urging the subject be changed and Caroline took the hint. She took a glance at the girls then looked Klaus square in the eye.
"As a matter of fact, I'd love to have some hot chocolate..." she replied, looking him square in the eye and giving him the most understanding and caring smile.
"There! Right there!" Nina squealed in between bouts of giggling, pointing at Caroline's upper lip. She and Ettie were in a fit of giggles sitting at their kitchen table enjoying the hot chocolate their father had made them; but they were enjoying Caroline's company just a bit more.
"Oh, you mean right here..." Caroline said, wiping her forehead with her napkin. She'd been at this pretending not to know that there was marshmallow foam on her upper lip for almost 3 minutes and she actually wondered how long she could drag it out.
"No NO! THERE!" Nina finally shrieked, practically standing on her chair and nearly knocking over her mug to point at Caroline's face. Caroline feigned exasperation.
"Seriously, Nina, you are making this up, there is nothing on my face at all!"
"Allow me..." Klaus said, walking past Caroline with his mug of hot chocolate, caressing Caroline's face gently as he brushed away the marshmallow with his thumb in a single movement. It lasted only a second, but Caroline felt her heart flutter, but covered up the intimate gesture quickly.
"Hey! I was saving that for later!" She needled Klaus with her eyes as he casually licked the marshmallow he'd swiped from her off his thumb, smirking his signature dimpled smirk, and took the seat next to her, opposite Ettie. She'd insisted Caroline sit in his normal seat, at the head of the table. He knew that meant she really liked Caroline since Ettie loved having predictable habits and routines. She was always a peculiarly unique child. He could hardly believe she was turning seven years old this Spring; she seemed like such an old soul even when she acted her age. He gazed at her a moment, taking in the happy expression painted on her face and he loved the way her eyes lit up when they were looking at Caroline. He looked back at Caroline and laughed, realizing she was still giving him eyes for pulling that stunt in front of the girls.
"Yeah well you're not the one that's going to have to scrub them down later when they're all sticky and disgusting... don't need you being a bad influence on the girls..." he said with a smirk, watching her over the top of his cup.
"I resent that insinuation that these girls are anything but perfect princesses, and princesses are neither sticky nor disgusting... isn't that right, Ettie?" Caroline said, casting her eyes over at the girl and reaching over and taking a cookie off the plate Klaus had put on the table while he was working on making the hot chocolate.
"Right..." the girl said with a nod, suddenly nibbling on her cookie daintily, which Nina saw and followed suit, even sticking up her pinkie while she did it. Klaus laughed and pinched Caroline lightly.
"See there it is, that's exactly what I mean..." he said, and Caroline yanked her arm away and swatted his hand.
"I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Mikaelson..." she said, sticking her tongue out at him, making the girls giggle. Nina took a small sip of her hot chocolate and but suddenly whimpered. The tiny girl suddenly hopped out of her chair and came around to Klaus's side of the table with her hot chocolate in tow.
"Hello!" the girl said brightly, setting her hot chocolate on the table in front of him and grabbing the table and his shirt, attempting to climb into his lap.
"Hello..." Klaus said in a rumbly silly voice, one that even Caroline couldn't help giggling at, and pulling Nina into his lap. Caroline gazed at him, taking in this new Klaus face that she didn't recognize. She'd seen how he looked at his friends, at his family, at her. Whenever he looked at her that specific way he always looked at her, she felt tingly from her head to her toes. The way he looked at his children was another tingly feeling, but more of a warm fuzzy than a tingly. The fact that it affected her so much shook her to her core, but she ignored the emotions and thoughts that were waring inside of her to enjoy these two sweet children she'd been lucky enough to meet.
"Blow on mine!" Nina commanded, but with a sugary sweet tone that Caroline was sure that even the world's most evil villain wouldn't be able to resist. Klaus smiled at his youngest daughter and reached to take her mug, but her hand slipped slightly as she went to give it to him, promptly splashing him with hot chocolate on his leg. Klaus cried out in surprise at the hot liquid suddenly on his leg, but it wasn't enough liquid or even hot enough to do any damage, except maybe ruin a fine pair of jeans. Caroline went to cover her mouth, half laughing and half out of surprise as well.
"Thanks for that..." Klaus grumbled lightly, wiping as much as he could off with his napkin, "...perfect timing, Nina, as always..." Nina, Caroline, and Ettie laughed, but the youngest only muttered a quick apology and then began begging.
"Dad! Do 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!"
"Oh...no..." he said, knowing exactly what she meant and glancing over at Caroline and quickly refusing his daughter.
"Please! Do it!" she begged.
"Yeah, please, Dad, do it! Do it!" Ettie joined in, and Klaus knew Nina'd make him do it so he'd have to give in eventually. He sighed in protest and groaned but smiled, "'Please!'" he quoted his daughters, "...alright fine! Quickly, and only because you said the magic word..." he said. He looked at his napkin which was riddled with brown stains from his daughter's mishap and laughed, "Caroline, might I use your napkin?"
"Oh! Yep..." she said, surprised but relinquishing her napkin happily. Klaus took his glasses out of his shirt pocket and handed them to Nina as he unfolded Caroline's napkin and whispered instructions to the little girl.
"Caroline! You're gonna love this... It's so funny, I mean, you'll fall off your chair it's so funny!" Ettie prepared Caroline, a wide grin on her face. Caroline turned from Ettie's smiley face and saw the napkin over Klaus's face, shaped slightly for a nose and mouth, his glasses keeping it in place and indicating where his eyes were.
"Hello," Klaus's muffled voice suddenly came out from behind the napkin and Caroline was dying.
"Hello, my name is 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!" he continued, and Caroline realized he was using a silly voice as well, but she still couldn't take it, it was too funny. Seeing Klaus willingly act like this was too much. It hurt to laugh. The girls were in stitches alongside Caroline.
"Now who's this?!" Mr. Napkin-Head-Klaus gestured in Caroline's general direction and she laughed, knowing he probably couldn't see anything through the napkin.
"Caroline!" Nina squealed.
"Who?!" he said.
"Ca-ro-line!" Nina enunciated loudly.
"Yes, but why does she talk in that funny accent?" he said, and Caroline was dying all over again. The man speaking in a muffled voice through a napkin was saying her accent was funny.
"Now smoke!" Ettie giggled, handing him a spoon, which he took purposefully the wrong end and put in his mouth, pretending it was a cigar until he suddenly started to cough and gag, and he fanned away the pretend smoke that had come from his fake cigar. Klaus used the fanning as his opportunity to take the napkin off, and in one swift motion he'd pulled his glasses and the napkin off his face while muttering, "Bleh! Smoking's really bad for you..." The girls laughed and clapped their hands, and Caroline joined in. Klaus looked over at Caroline and rolled his eyes at himself, which only made Caroline applaud louder and Klaus smiled at her.
"Caroline..." Ettie started, her focus back on their guest, "Guess what?! We have a tent we built in our play room, would you like to see it!?" Klaus looked over at her and started shaking his head.
"No, no... Caroline is not going to crawl into that tent of yours..."
"You don't like tents?" Nina's small pitiful voice suddenly came, and Klaus looked at his daughter and saw those same big, puppy dog eyes that he always got when she really wanted something and she knew to use her adorableness to her favor. He looked over at Caroline to see how she was reacting and he saw her conflict. Caroline looked down at her dress thinking, I'm not exactly dressed for climbing around and stuff... But as Caroline looked at Nina's blatant and unabashedly pleading face and Ettie's guarded by still obviously hopeful expression, she knew she couldn't let them down now.
"I love tents! Let's go!" She said, triumphantly hopping up from her chair. Nina and Ettie cheered, getting off of their perches and each took one of her hands and yanked her up the stairs as quickly as they could. Caroline laughed and threw a glance over her shoulder at Klaus, who was laughing, seeing Nina pulling Caroline so hard that she was practically running horizontally and bunching up the rug as she ran like a cartoon character. The girls brought her to a door decorated with signs that bore each of their names and various girly kinds of stickers, and they screeched for her to close her eyes, and Ettie turned the knob and pushed open the door. Caroline stood in the doorway and Nina and Ettie pushed past her, and she could hear them whispering loudly to each other telling the other what to do before they both shouted for her to open her eyes. When she did, her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. In all her childhood, Caroline had never built a fort tent this elaborate.
The fort was built out of blankets and furniture just like Caroline's were in her childhood, but this one was made using at least ten to fifteen blankets, all either flowery, lacy, or pink. The top was as tall as the room because a make-shift pulley system had been rigged using the hanging light on the ceiling, which was not turned on. On the contrary, at least a dozen small lamps were scattered the room, giving it a nice warm glow but still allowing some shadows around the room and the walls of the tent were decorated on the exterior with twinkling clear Christmas lights. The inside floor was comfortably arranged with pillows, stuffed animals, and even more blankets. Caroline smiled and let out a breath and finally spoke.
"Okay, this is seriously cool!" she said, sounding thoroughly impressed. The girls smiled up at her and Klaus chuckled.
"Come inside!" Nina giggled, practically launching herself into the tent. "Lie down!" she ordered. Caroline giggled and Ettie followed right behind her sister, but suddenly turned back to Caroline, who was stooping down ready to climb in.
"Here, Caroline... you can use my pillow..." the tiny girl said, smiling at her, holding out a big, full pillow. Caroline smiled back at her, feeling the nice quality of the pillow and knowing that she must treasure it, and was immediately touched that she'd share it with her.
"Thank you, sweetie..."
"Lie down!" Nina called again, much more loudly and direct.
"Okay!" Caroline laughed and moved the pillow to place it next to where Nina's head was and going to lie down.
"Excuse me, can you stop being so bossy?" Klaus suddenly said, his tone a warning and giving her a knowing look.
"Lie down, please..." Nina suddenly corrected herself, both sounding that sugary sweet again and making sure to use the magic word. Both Caroline and Klaus laughed as they moved the dozens of stuffed animals to make room for two grown people laying down in the fort. Ettie was on the one end, Klaus next to her, Caroline on his left and Nina to her left. Once they'd comfortably settled, Nina of course burped a perfectly timed burp, making the whole group giggle.
"Oh... very nice..." Klaus said, wanting to scold for being rude, but he could hardly stop laughing over top of Caroline's laugh.
"Not bad, I'd say about a 5.5 out of 10..." Caroline laughed, and Klaus couldn't help but crack up with Caroline. Once the laughs had just settled down to murmurs, Caroline spoke.
"This is a exceptionally great tent..." she said, loving the way the blankets were only opaque and allowed the little dots of light from the Christmas lights on the outside to be seen on the inside, the lights looking scattered stars in the sky all over the top of the tent.
"Yeah, I know right? It's got a special something..." Klaus said, turning his head to the left to look at her and Caroline turned to her right to look at him and nodded and winked at him, agreeing.
"It's cozy!" Ettie declared.
"Yes it is..." Caroline agreed, then let out an impressed gasp, and pointed above them to an assortment of stars made from scrapbook paper with quirky designs printed all over them. They were dangling from the top blanket with different colors of ribbon. "Now who cut all these beautiful stars?"
"We did!" Ettie said, as if the answer was obvious.
"The Three Musketeers!" Nina added, brandishing her hand high in triumph. Caroline felt her heart stop when she heard the words. She felt her body almost seize up, and she could barely form a coherent thought, it totally caught her off guard. She turned her head in the direction of the little girl, and she suddenly felt Klaus move his hand from resting on his stomach to lie down at his side and he brushed his knuckles up against hers.
Caroline felt knots form in her stomach, the same ones she felt during lunch when she told Klaus about her parents, and she turned her head to look at him, and she saw him watching her. His gaze was warm and compassionate, and seeing a man who'd lost his wife and was alone taking care of two young children assuring her with his gaze astonished Caroline. It made her heart constrict in her chest. She looked up and down his face and swallowed the lump that was suddenly in her throat, not knowing what to say or not knowing if there were words to say.
Klaus simply rubbed the back of his hand to the back of hers and Caroline bit her lip and turned her head back to gaze up at the stars again. The whole exchange was lost on the girls, which was obvious by Nina practically laying on top of Caroline when she turned to face her and spoke.
"Caroline?"
"Yes?" she replied, turning her head towards the little girl once more.
"You smell lovely!" Klaus and Caroline chuckled softly at the girl's sweet declaration.
"Do I?" Caroline murmured, loving the irony that Nina loved the same perfume that her father liked on her.
"I love perfume, but he won't let me wear it!" she said, pouting. The two adults laughed again and Klaus turned towards his youngest to catch her eye.
"Because you already smell so good!" he assured her. He glanced at Caroline as he turned back to face forward and added, "So do you, by the way..." and he winked at her.
"Thanks..." she said, giving him a small smile, then turning back to the sweet faced, dark haired child. "But I'm older, so I guess I'm allowed to wear it..."
"Exactly," Klaus agreed, appreciating her backing him up and loving that she was as honest to his children as she was to him.
"I like your eyeshadow..." Nina said, moving on from the perfume battle instantly.
"Thank you..." Caroline murmured, gazing into the sweet girl's face.
"And your lipstick..." Klaus laughed and Ettie giggled, both sharing a moment, looking at each other and laughing at Nina's overexcitement at Caroline's makeup.
"Thank you... it's new..."
"What's it called?"
"I think Dior calls it 'Lucky'..."
"Okay! Dior Lucky it is then!" Nina repeated happily, touching her tiny finger to Caroline's lips, which Caroline also puckered for her, and getting just the tiniest bit of lipstick which she gladly rubbed on her lips.
"'Lucky'..." Ettie whispered to herself, and Klaus looked over at her and raised his eyebrows and she smiled at her father.
"Wow! It looks good on you!" Caroline said, cooing over Nina first by rubbing her cheek with her finger before attempting to tickle her neck with the same finger.
"Caroline!" Ettie called softly, trying to get Caroline's attention. Caroline turned her head to look at Ettie and the little girl turned on her left side and rested her head in her hand. "You know, if you wanted to sleep over, that would be all right with us, we could push our beds together!" Caroline shot a look over at Klaus and he had a smile on his face and had squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head, an attempt to not burst out laughing. If the girls only knew Caroline already had "sleep overs" with Klaus. She bit back a laugh, and cleared her throat.
"That's really so sweet of you, but... maybe another time... would that be alright?" she said, not wanting to disappoint the girl. Ettie blinked her eyes and smiled, "Yes..." before rolling back onto her back and looking up at the hanging stars again.
"Good girl..." Klaus murmured quietly, patting her leg and moving his thumb back and forth over it comfortingly, proud of his daughter's politeness but he knew she was hiding her disappointment that Caroline wasn't staying. I am too, sweetheart, trust me... I am too... he thought. The foursome laid there silently for a few minutes just staring up at the top of the tent. Then, like always, Nina felt like breaking the silence.
"We never have grown ups over that are girls..." she commented, consciously ignoring Klaus and Caroline's presence and speaking directly to her sister.
"I know!" Ettie agreed, her voice sounding disappointed of that fact.
"I really like it..." Nina added, her adorable accent fleshing out her simple words.
"Me too..." Ettie sounded wistful, and Klaus looked over at his eldest and upon seeing the look on her face, silently took her hand and squeezed it gently. It was that same pensive, distant face she got when she was thinking about her mother. She remembered her more clearly than Nina did, she had been about to turn five years old but Nina had only been two or three; however, he knew they both felt the lack of female companionship and guidance and it was a burden he grappled with everyday.
He held his daughter's hand, still staring up, and rubbed his thumb along her hand and Caroline, who'd taken in the whole exchange between the girls, didn't miss Klaus' reaction. She watched him comfort her and stole a glance up at his face and couldn't help but feel like she was witnessing a private moment; even though neither looked at each other, Ettie and Klaus clung to each other and both had the same heavy-hearted expressions on their faces and in their eyes.
Caroline could empathize with their loss but she knew she'd never be with them the way they were with each other. They were like war buddies; they'd gone through the worst together and Caroline could never hold a candle to that, not even by a mile, and she accepted it. She'd been an only child without a normal family her whole life, so she realized why she was so affected by this beautiful but imperfect family.
She'd never known what it was like to be a part of a conventional nuclear family. Even though she always told herself that you can't miss what you've never had, she had not only clicked instantly with Klaus but she clicked with Ettie and Nina as well. The dynamic that the three of them had built together moved her deeply. She glanced around Klaus's face before looking at his and Ettie's clasped hands one more time before averting her eyes.
Klaus finally broke up the "little pow wow" in the tent, calling it just that, and told the girls to get in pajamas, brush their teeth, and say goodnight to Caroline. Nina shrugged off her quiet contemplation the moment she left the tent and chattered away the whole time, even while brushing her teeth, of all the fun things Caroline would have to do with them when she came back for a sleep over. Ettie was silent the whole time, showing a small smile here and there, until they finally had to say goodnight and goodbye to Caroline. Nina had taken a running jump and launched herself into Caroline's arms and Caroline caught her exceptionally well—considering she was in a dress—and Nina kissed her on the cheek and scampered into their bedroom. Caroline couldn't help but touch her cheek where Nina planted her kiss and turned to face Klaus. As she did, Ettie was suddenly there and latched onto Caroline's lower torso in a tight hug. It caught her off guard even more than Nina's kiss had, and Caroline rested her hands on Ettie's back and rubbed her back gently.
"'Bye, Ettie... it was great to meet you..."
"You too..." the girl's voice came out muffled, her face buried in Caroline's abdomen, and she suddenly felt her father's hands squeeze her shoulders.
"Come on..." he coaxed her to loosen her grip, but she nuzzled her face into Caroline's body more.
"Henrietta Claire Mikaelson..." he said firmly, but gently, and Ettie loosened her grip. Caroline looked over at Klaus, taking note of Ettie's full name, then turning back to face her.
"Thank you..." he said softly, and Ettie looked up at Caroline, who put her palm on the girl's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb.
"Sweet dreams, Ettie..." she said softly.
"Goodbye, Caroline..." the girl said with a smile, but with heartbreaking emotion in her eyes. The girl turned and trudged to the room she shared with her sister, Klaus kissed the top of her head as she passed by.
"Just gimme a sec, I'm going to tuck them in..." he said to Caroline, who nodded and shooed him with her hands.
"Go on, I wouldn't dare keep you from them..." she said with a smile. Klaus looked thoughtful for a second, and smiled back at Caroline and went into the girls' bedroom as Caroline turned and descended the stairs and decided to explore the house a bit.
She wandered around and came upon what she guessed was Klaus's studio. She admired the beautiful artwork and was nothing less than impressed that Klaus's artistic vision transcended a single medium and he worked with everything from clay to ink to charcoal to oils and watercolors.
There was a giant canvas in the middle of the room being held up by two easels resting on top of a drop cloth, and Caroline was awestruck. It was truly magnificent, filled with beautiful hues of blues and pinks and purples and it had such movement and vitality. From what Caroline remembered from the art class she took in college, it could only be described as a strange hybrid of Pollack and Monet; it was truly fascinating. Paints were still in cups below the canvas with various types of brushes, so she realized it must be a work in progress that he had not completed yet.
Caroline continued to wander around the studio, impressed by it's sheer size and stopped at a large table, big enough to seat probably twenty people, that was completely covered with papers and sketches and pencils and other drawing utensils. She didn't want to disturb too much, but she moved a paper here and there to see the whole drawing and smiled. God, he is so talented... I can't believe he has to make a living with critiquing, he'd sell out in New York if he had an exhibition, she thought. She poked around the table a bit more and suddenly saw a black leather portfolio amongst the papers. She looked over her shoulder, knowing that she shouldn't be nosy, but her curiosity got the better of her again, and she turned back and slowly opened the portfolio.
For the second time that night, Caroline felt her heart stop. She opened the portfolio completely and when it was lying flat on the table, her trembling hand reached out and gingerly picked up the paper that lied within on the top of the collection.
The sketches were stunning. They were so real, so lifelike. Every detail, every stroke of Klaus's pencil leapt off the page. Five beautiful faces graced the page: one lying on its side, eyes closed in a deep sleep; another with eyes closed, but from laughing; one was half covered by a hand, with the face scrunched from its an embarrassed expression; one looking away, with the lips in a flirty smile; and the last one looked straight out from the paper, with soft eyes and a small, sweet close-lipped smile. They were all snapshots of a woman drawn from Klaus's memory.
They were all of her.
Caroline suddenly heard footsteps approaching and quickly placed the paper back in the portfolio, slammed the folder shut and moved and put some of the papers and other sketches on top of the portfolio to hide it. She turned quickly just as Klaus rounded the corner and entered the studio, a big smile on his face.
"I can't believe anyone has been a bigger hit with my children..."
Caroline looked away for a minute, blushing, thinking about the Caroline she saw in Klaus's sketches, but then looked back up at him and smiled and chuckled. "They're really great, Klaus..."
Klaus smiled warmly at Caroline, "Ettie's a tough egg to crack... she's brilliant, but she's the strong silent type, usually... as you might have noticed..."
"Yeah, but she's so mature for her age... she really is..." Caroline commented, remembering how proper and indulgent she was. Klaus simply nodded in agreement.
"She looks so like you, it's uncanny..." Klaus blushed and looked down at the ground. "'Henrietta', is that after...?"
"Henrik? Yeah... yeah it is..." he said, softly nodding, appreciating that she'd remembered his brother's name from their first real date.
"And Nina? Is that a family name as well?"
"Yes... well, not in my family... my wife... Tatia... her family was Bulgarian, and it just sort of fit... she even looked like a Nina... she has so much more of Tatia in her than she does me..." Caroline nodded, agreeing.
"Oh Nina..." Klaus sighed, laughing and rolling his eyes. Caroline laughed at just the mention of the bold girl. "She's going to be a real ball-buster... which, I must admit, I kind of love about her..." he added. Caroline gazed at him for a while, figuring out how she wanted to confront him, but she finally just asked him plainly.
"I'm just trying to figure out why you didn't tell me about them... or..." she trailed off.
"Tatia?" he finished for her, and Caroline nodded. Klaus looked at the floor, nodding, then looked back up at her. "Because... I just don't usually tell women about them," he answered honestly.
"It's just..." Caroline started, "...It's just a little confusing, because you're the one who wanted to go to lunch to get to know each other and..." she said, crossing to sit on a stool over by the giant canvas.
"Oh... well, when you put it like that..." Klaus groaned, "...it sounds awful..." he said, crossing over to stand closer to her, and he crossed his arms in contemplation, then started again.
"I guess... my only defense is, until I really get to know someone... really well... It's easier for me to be this normal, single guy because it's far too complicated to be who I really am..." he admitted. Caroline looked at him sympathetically but he saw the reservation in her eyes, and he didn't know what it was, but the truth suddenly came flying out of him and he heard the words come from his mouth.
"I'm a full-time dad... I'm a working parent, I'm a mother and a father, I'm the guy who reads parenting books and cookbooks before I go to sleep... I usually spend my weekends buying tutus or hair bows! I mean, I'm learning to sew! I'm 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!" his voice growing more incredulous as his speech went on, and Caroline finally laughed, and Klaus continued, "And I'm on some sort of... constant overload and... it helps if I compartmentalize my life... Just until I figure out how to do this... if I ever figure out how to do this..." Caroline nodded and listened, seeing on his face that there was still more he needed to say.
"This past week, the girls were with my brother Elijah and they were with him and his family for a whole week instead of just the weekend because my sister-in-law Katherine took them to visit her family for a bit... they have kids of their own, so the girls are happy to go spend time with them... and when they're gone..." Klaus looked down at the ground again, that same pained expression Caroline saw for a brief moment when she asked him if he was married in the foyer appeared, "...I get to be someone who doesn't have hot chocolate spilled on his jeans..." he added, looking up at Caroline with a look of desperation and vehemence.
Caroline nodded, and seeing her nod, Klaus confessed, "I have no idea how to date and be this... and I suppose there's..." he paused and looked at Caroline's face sadly before looking away again and continuing, "the possibility I'm afraid of what another person might do to who we are... and how we get from one day to the next..." Caroline looked down at her hands in her lap, knowing exactly what he meant, especially after seeing how he comforted Ettie in the tent. The wounds were still fresh, and she didn't blame him. Tatia's death rocked their boat much more than her dad leaving rocked hers, and she knew it. She started nodding, and looked up and when she saw Klaus's apologetic face, she nodded more and smiled.
"Yeah... I guess since I am leaving in a couple days, I... I get you not telling me... sort of..." she said with a small smile.
"I didn't think it'd be fair..." he took a breath, and forced out, "...to introduce them to someone... someone we may never see again..." The words sounded strained and they were scary to hear, especially after the wonderful time she had with all three of them, and Caroline couldn't help but wince at the mention of her leaving them behind. It had been such an enlightening time when she learned more about herself and was never happier that she'd split with Tyler, but she couldn't help but wonder what the point of all of this—her connecting with Klaus, and connecting with the girls, all of them—was for if she wasn't able to stay. Her holiday fling had turned into much much more, and now she was feeling the repercussions of it. What had Klaus called it? "Compartmentalizing."
That's what she'd do to deal with this... she had to, she just had to take all the memories and tuck them away; Klaus showing up her first night, the first time they made love, all the times they made love, waking up in Klaus's arms, all those meals, meeting his friends... meeting the girls, those sketches he drew of her and that look he always gave her—they would all would have to fit nicely into a little drawer that'd she'd tuck away in the back of her mind... and she realized, in the back of her heart as well.
"Mmm... right..." Caroline said quietly, nodding, trying to mask the disappointment and hurt she felt. She cleared her throat and stood up, and Klaus watched her, noticing the change in her demeanor. "...cause I'm just someone you had sex with and slept with over the holidays..." she said, trying to sound nonchalant, but she realized it sounded terse, and Klaus was immediately defensive.
"Uh, I thought that I was just someone that you had sex with and slept with on your holiday... the cabana boy, remember?" he said, trying to make her laugh.
"Oh man..." Caroline breathed half laughing and half sighing, "I think we just went way past complicated..."
"Right... I'm just an artist from London, and you're a..." Klaus sighed and gazed at Caroline, "...beautiful TV news producer from Virginia... We're worlds apart... Literally and figuratively..." he saw her sad smile again and wanted to hear her laugh. "I have a cow... right in my backyard..." Caroline smiled and could hardly contain her laugh, looking at Klaus's face. He knew that even though she was from Virginia, she'd grown up in suburbs her whole life, between the State and National capitals, and had never had large interactions with farms or livestock.
"You have a cow... in your backyard...?" she chuckled.
"Yep... I sew and I have a cow... How's that for hard to relate to?" he said, with his cheeky dimpled grin that Caroline adored. She reeled in her laughter and gazed at him with a smile, raising her eyebrows, "Pretty up there..." They stood apart, but barely a breath away, gazing at each other, and as Caroline searched Klaus's sea green eyes, she found it unbearable to think that this would probably be the last time that she'd see those unique and captivating eyes.
Her hand flew to her chest and pressed to her sternum, not feeling the stabbing pain in her chest, but feeling her heart beat faster and feeling her breath quicken, and she took a deep breath and tapped her chest softly in an attempt to calm down her body and it's frantic reactions. She had to do something quickly, she couldn't stand there any longer in his house, in his studio, surrounding by his art, knowing what she looked like in his eyes after seeing his sketches and say goodbye, again... He didn't say it the last time, neither of them could bring themselves to say it then, and she knew she couldn't bring herself to say it now.
"Well, I won't impose on you any longer..." she said, moving towards the door to grab her coat and her clutch.
"Trust me, you're no imposition whatsoever..." Klaus assured her, realizing that she wanted to leave, so he followed behind her to walk her out.
"No, you're right, I'm just a... what was it, you called me? Oh right, a 'bad influence' on the girls..." she said, turning to give him her own cheeky grin as she slipped her arms into her coat.
"Yes now that is a completely legitimate reason for me to kick you out... I will not tolerate being usurped in front of my children any longer..." he said with false anger and they both chuckled.
"Well then... thank you for having me... even though I showed up uninvited..." she added.
"No no, thanks for dropping by uninvited... it was an unexpectedly great evening..." he said, smiling. They gazed at each other for another moment, neither sure of what to do, but suddenly both started moving their heads closer to the other and both hesitated, not sure if the other wanted to kiss or not, so Caroline quickly angled her head. Klaus understood her attempt to kiss on the cheek, so they both gave each other a quick peck on the cheek, Caroline smiled and turned and walked out the door and down the steps. Klaus stood in the doorway, holding on the the door like he had when she arrived, tapping his foot agitatedly, then took a deep breath.
"Caroline!"
"Yes?" she spun around quickly to face him. He wanted to say, I don't want you to go, but the words got caught in his chest as he looked at her. He knew this was the moment, he should say goodbye, if there was ever a moment to say it, it was now. He probably wouldn't be able to see her again, what with the girls and with work, but just like after their first night together, seeing her walk away from him was too much.
"I'm glad you came tonight..." he said, and it wasn't a lie. He at least wanted to make sure she knew he didn't regret her coming to his house and meeting the girls, even after that speech he'd given her, he was glad and he didn't want her to feel guilty about it later.
Caroline gazed at the amazing, strong man in front of her, and just like the day after their first night, she knew he was trying to say goodbye without saying the words. And his honest speech in his studio, she knew he really cared if he was saying that to her. He was one of the most honest people she'd ever met, and she was so grateful to him.
"Ditto..." she replied, giving him the same tender face she gave him then and they smiled at one another before Caroline turned and walked back to Rebekah's car and slowly drove away. Klaus took a deep breath, watching her turn the corner and leave the neighborhood before turning to go back inside and closed the door behind him with a heavy hearted sigh.
Author's Note: Okay so... LET THE FANGIRLING BEGIN! DON'T YOU JUST LOVE PAPA KLAUS?! And someone suggested I name the girls after Tatia and other characters on the show, so I thought it would be nice to memorialize Henrik and name Henriette after him and Nina for our lovely Nina Dobrev, keeping with the Bulgarian/Russian/Eurasian background of the Petrovas... Next up: a complete Mabekah/Rebekah chapterPLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS! THEY ARE MY CRACK AND NEED THEM TO FUEL MY WRITING FIRE! :D