Somehow, I still do not own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, or any characters within.

Ridiculous, Klaus raged. No woman should ever have this much power over him. Yet two managed to worm their way in, and he couldn't make peace with either. His daughter inspired a need to protect even as she tested his desire to smash furniture just as she did. Nine years had never taken off the edge, had not once eased his fear that she too would one day stab him in the back.

And Caroline just heightened his desire to unspeakable levels. Which must be why, though he had fantasized ripping off her lovely head just moments before, he had decided to kiss her instead.

The contact was searing; exhilarating. Caroline responded with gripping intensity, her fingers digging into his scalp as she pressed him impossibly closer. Klaus couldn't resist digging his nails into her arms, enjoying the pained gasp she emitted as he broke skin.

With that he pulled back. All his efforts had done nothing, he realized. A sliver of him had hoped that kissing her would even his thoughts; allow him to think past the blazing need to touch her, caress her, silence that impetuous mouth.

What a foolish idea.

Caroline kept her hands on the back of his head. Her blue eyes darkened. "What was that for?" she whispered.

Without an answer, Klaus shoved her to the bed with inhuman speed. He leaned over her, pinning her arms to the mattress and quietly admiring how her hair haloed around her head. All the beauty he could never encompass in his work was right beneath him, and he couldn't help that his carnal desire for her pressed against her thigh.

Caroline shivered. "Klaus, we can't…"

Because of Hope, he knew. His daughter wasn't too far, and even if she was, she possessed the same incredible hearing he did. For once it infuriated him, because he wanted nothing more than to take Caroline there upon his own bed just as he should have had the chance to years ago before she spurned his affections and simultaneously seduced him in the forest.

Not that he had complaints.

That gnashing hunger ate at him. Klaus growled and kissed her again, this time with more insistence. His whole body was alight with fire, and though touching her only stoked the flames he couldn't help but enjoy the pain. Better was that Caroline didn't cave to him—she hungered for his affections. Nipping his lip, touching his face, stroking his hair, lightly dragging her nails from his throat down to the beads and leather that dangled from his neck.

That was what he loved most about her. Caroline gave as well as she received, no matter the circumstances.

Despite her protest not moments earlier, she slipped her hands beneath his shirt. Sharp nails tore lines of delicious pain down his back as she arched into him. Klaus growled into the kiss, dying to return the favor with a sharp bite—but he couldn't. For once, being a hybrid was absolutely aggravating.

Instead he brought her up with him, shifting her body just enough so he could throw her further onto the bed. Caroline's eyes blazed up at him, and her hands were on him again before he had so much as knelt over her. How undead fingers could feel so hot against his flesh Klaus neither knew nor particularly cared to ruminate.

Her shirt rode high, barely covering her breasts. Klaus took his time to admire with his mouth, kissing her and nipping the skin over her ribs without breaking skin. Beneath him Caroline gasped, muffling ticklish giggles with her arm.

Klaus knew then he was going to have her—and she him. He was ready to capitulate, allow her to consume him as the mere thought of her had exploded into a fiery, tender love over the years. Drawing himself back up to kiss her again, he paused to murmur in her ear, "Rakhem na lekh." She inhaled sharply. A dim part of him wondered if she actually understood what he'd just said, though he seriously doubted it.

Then the slam of a door made her start beneath him.

Klaus initially saw red, prepared to tear out the intestines of the person who dared to pull her out of their secluded passion and string the aforementioned entrails along the walls like tinsel. He broke free with a growl and straightened his clothing. Caroline sat up and smoothed her breezy shirt back over her stomach, the flush in her cheeks going back to a normal complexion.

Klaus was already walking toward the exit when his bedroom door opened. He stopped in his tracks, initially still infuriated. But centuries of practice kicked in and he forced himself at ease. "Brother. I would say welcome back, but I'm certain you've already had your coming home gift."

Elijah held presence that filled a room, so close to rivaling Klaus's own. His clean cut good looks, hawkish yet somehow gentle eyes, and propensity for wearing suits always commanded a sort of respect.

With most, anyway.

His brother offered him his infamous politician's smile. "My apologies, Niklaus, I did not realize…" He paused for the barest of breaths, casting a quick glance toward the bed. "… you still had company."

Klaus smirked. Before he could reply, a slow hiss sounded behind him as Caroline sucked in a breath between her teeth. The bed creaked as she rose. "Yeah, so, I can go now," she said.

"No rush," said Elijah mildly at the very same moment Klaus said, "Absolutely not." He shot his brother a poisonous stare, loathing the glimmer of amusement that arose in Elijah's gaze. Politely, yet with a subtle smile that grated on Klaus's very nerves, his brother cast his gaze toward the carpet.

Caroline stepped in front of him, her eyebrows high upon her forehead, arms crossed. "Excuse me?"

Evenly, Klaus replied, "I don't believe we were finished."

And, oh, how he hated the way his brother enjoyed the discomfort this position put him in. As Caroline narrowed her eyes, Elijah murmured, "As much good as this… situation apparently seems to be for my brother, I must request some time to speak with him. Preferably soon."

"Fine by me." Caroline raised her head, daring Klaus to challenge her—yet her defiance was softened by the faint, coy smile that tugged her mouth.

Casting invisible daggers with his eyes, Klaus forced his concern away from Elijah and to the matter at hand. Hopefully he could salvage the moment with some semblance of grace. "I'll see you out, then."

She didn't object.

Klaus caught the look his brother gave him. Don't you run out, his eyes said. Inwardly Klaus scoffed. He could do as he damn well pleased. And he started by slowing his steps a bare fraction, taking the time to enjoy Caroline's heady scent, passion still lingering around her, and the way her hair breathlessly framed her face.

Near the front door he stopped. He reached out to tuck back a stray curl. She tilted her head the bare amount it took to look into his eyes. "What is it?"

"Nothing, love." He wanted to tangle his hands into her hair again. Restraint could very well kill him, but he convinced his hand back down to his side. "Just can't help but think about a trip to Norway. Tromsø in particular. The Northern Lights hardly come close to you in beauty, but I believe you'd find it a worthwhile sight."

"Smooth," she said wryly. A light shone through her gaze at his words, eclipsing any possibility she was displeased.

Caroline opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, then leaned forward and granted him a kiss on the cheek. Unnatural warmth tingled where her lips brushed his skin. Klaus wrestled with the urge to whisk her out the door and to a more private location.

"Good night," she said.

Tense with desire, Klaus gave her a naturally cocky smile. "Good night, sweetheart."

But she didn't leave yet. Caroline lingered in the foyer, ostensibly looking at her surroundings. "Maybe," she said cautiously, "I could drop by tomorrow."

Klaus would have loved nothing more. And yet… "I intend to spend time with my daughter."

Her eyes betrayed her thoughts—disappointment, sadness; yet a positive glimmer of respect. Caroline nodded her assent.

Before she could turn her back, Klaus added, "However…" He deliberately paused. Caroline waited with tolerant amusement, and Klaus couldn't help but smile. "If you're free into the night, perhaps you'd appreciate a visitor."

Caroline lowered her head briefly, but he still caught her grin. Then she looked back up, her face a coy mask of feigned indifference. She wiggled her fingers before she left, her confident stride giving him all the answer he needed.

Klaus didn't shut the door until she was out of sight, and damn if she didn't take her time.

With utmost reluctance, he grimly returned to his room. Elijah stood in the center as though he hadn't moved. And, thought Klaus cynically, it was perfectly within reason that Elijah had not so much as moved a finger.

Without a guest present, his brother's stare went cold. Elijah was the only man Klaus had ever known to possess brown eyes that could become frigid as the Arctic.

Klaus didn't even twitch. He narrowed his own gaze, slow tension turning his muscles to tightly coiled springs.

"Now then," Elijah said quietly. "Perhaps we could talk about your treatment of Hope."

Elijah had always been the brother Klaus could count on to stick up for family. Well, to a degree. He was certainly more reliable than his other siblings, even Rebekah. Foolhardy in his ideals, perhaps, but consistent.

So when he suggested Klaus send Hope and Hayley elsewhere to live their lives, it took all Klaus had not to stake his brother right there. For the sake of bloody family.

With quiet fury, he snarled, "Was this your intention all along, brother? Coerce me into accepting a fluke pregnancy just so you could run off with the mother and my daughter?"

Elijah regarded him coolly, though hurt still glimmered in the depths of his stare. "Of course not."

Klaus began to pace, his movements akin to a tiger on the prowl. Rage heated his vision to a needlepoint peak. The nerve Elijah had, making demands of the king to separate himself from the only child he would ever sire.

Still in those disturbingly soft tones, his brother said, "Niklaus, I would enjoy nothing more than to watch you grow old—insomuch as you can—with your child. Preferably with Hayley in the picture, as well." That aggravating way Elijah's voice softened a barely perceptible note when he spoke the hybrid-mother's name immediately birthed fantasies of ripping off the impeccably dressed brother's head. How dare Elijah preach to him about his treatment of his daughter when it clearly came from a place of inexplicable love for Hayley? "However, in the past six years, both Hayley and I are… concerned… that Hope is not getting the constructive discipline she needs."

A sneer curled Klaus's upper lip. "If you have any concerns, perhaps you should take them up with Hayley's ineffectual discipline. It would seem I am the sole parent willing to be firm."

Elijah's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "I apologize for not seeing the problem before now. You seem to have mistaken discipline for abuse."

The only thought that kept Klaus from breaking his bedpost and spearing his brother was that he did not want more damage than already done to his room. Instead he moved in a flash, grabbing Elijah by his crisp jacket and sending him flying out the bedroom door and into the hallway.

Elijah made no immediate move to defend himself. Instead when he fell, he turned and managed to land on his feet. Just as quickly he was gone, down the stairs and outside. Klaus exhaled through his nostrils, determinedly stalking after his brother. He hardly cast a sideways glance at Hope's closed bedroom door, silently ordering the girl to stay put or else.

She didn't need to know what sort of traitor her uncle was.

A/N: I should have said this 2-3 chapters ago, but... over 100 reviews. Thank you! I know this fandom is huge, but I'm amazed to have that many, given how many stories are posted/updated per day. Even the ones I inherently disagree with, I appreciate wholeheartedly. I love when people are unafraid to tell me they think I'm doing something wrong. A writer is only as good as their honest critiquers; I've sincerely held this belief for years. So, again, thank you.

I'm also considering another short epic after this one... with a little more humor. I had an idea years ago that was originally going to be for Damon. But, much as I adore the character (and I have since the books), I'm starting to think that the... indignity... would be so, so much more hilarious on Klaus. Once the Christmas-fic is done, I'll probably hop right on it, and have it ready to post by/before Easter. We'll see.

Thanks for reading!