Chapter Fourteen – The Luckiest

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns
The stumbles and falls brought me here

"Niklaus, it's imperative that we do this before word gets out on it's own. It's better for all parties involved-"

"You mean father," Klaus corrected.

"I mean you and Caroline," Elijah said sternly. He gave Klaus a scornful look for interrupting him as he spoke. Walking around his younger brother's desk and taking the filed from his hands indignantly. "If you are going to make comments, you are going to pay attention."

Klaus sighed, looking up at Elijah, "I just don't see the point in a formal statement to the press. I'm the step-son of an ambassador. I did not knock up a cocaine-addicted hooker. I am dating Caroline. We're together. There is no scandal here. Beside the point, Caroline is nearly seven months along. She's showing in every way possible. We don't make an effort to hide our relationship in public, if the press hasn't jumped on the story yet, I don't see why they would now."

"Because," he sighed, "we have been careful to keep the pieces out of the paper thus far, but with Caroline's due date approaching, it would be better to come out and say it. Otherwise, there will be a frenzy when your child is born and that's the last thing you want. This is Washington and as I've told you before, our family's habit of making a mess of themselves in public makes us an easy target, why must I constantly reiterate this to you?"

"I'm not sure, Elijah, why do you feel the constant need to remind me of things you've told me a hundred times. I am not Kol. I am aware that Caroline state is delicate-"

"Then you understand why the timing is important," Elijah spoke, his tone ensuring that his brother would not argue with him.

"Alright," Klaus conceded, shaking his head. He took back the folder from Elijah's hands before folding it and placing it in his briefcase along with several other folders from his desk. He snapped it shut before looking up at his older brother once again. "If you feel so strongly about this I won't stop you, but I also won't be inconvenienced to do it. Release your press release, talk to the papers, whatever you need to do, but I have no intention of sitting through any interviews and I will not allow Caroline to be subjected to that kind of stress, nor my child."

"I will see to it that it's handled in a minimally invasive way, Brother," Elijah assured. He was thankful that Klaus was being as close to compliant as he had ever seen him. It was obvious that Caroline's influence over his brother was positive. Klaus would never admit it, but Elijah could see that she was good for him. He turned his attention back to his brother as he watched him pack up his belongings for the evening. He raised an eyebrow. Leaving early was his brother's behavior before Caroline, but lately he had been quite responsible with his work. "It's barely noon, where are you going?" he asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"Away for the weekend and before you ask, and I know you will, I've already informed Finn and he's handling our afternoon meetings." Klaus stood from the desk before shoving his hand in his pocket to find his car keys. "Caroline is going home for the weekend. Some kind of small town event she has to attend back home and she suggested that I accompany her and meet her mother." Klaus gave a less than enthusiastic look before shrugging his shoulders, "Unfortunately, she's a better negotiator then I am when she wishes to be. I'm picking her up in an hour."

A small smile broke over Elijah's face. Of course, Caroline was able to convince him to do these sorts of things. Elijah could see that in her from the moment he met her. He thought about commenting, but Klaus's face told him not to or his mood would be affected before he got to Caroline's apartment, "So where is home exactly for Caroline?" he asked.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia. It's not far outside of DC. An hour or two with traffic. Precisely why we're leaving early."

"And what event are you attending?"

"Caroline has been a bit dodgy with the details. Something that has me worried, but I'm certain I will find out when I get there. She told me to bring a suit so that's something," Klaus said before shrugging his shoulders dismissively.

"Speaking of events, will you be back in time for the Ambassador's Fundraising Ball on Sunday? Or are you planning on skipping out on the torture again this year? When was the last time you made it?"

"We will be back in time. Caroline already choose her dress and she's rather excited about it. I don't think I could convince her to stay a few more hours if I tried. And not that I owe you any sort of explanation, but I did not skip out on the Ball last year. I had every intention of going, but I got tied up in the office," Klaus explained simply.

"I will have the press squared away by the time you return from your trip. I'll let you get on your way, Niklaus," Elijah nodded, before heading out of the office. He stopped in the doorway. "And for the record, having sex in your office with what I have no doubt was a perfect stranger does not constitute being tied up at work, even if one of you was in fact tied up. We have security cameras in the office, brother." Elijah shook his head before beginning to exit. "Send Caroline my best," he called over his shoulder before leaving Klaus alone in his office.

| Oh What A Night |

Elena gave Caroline a sideways glance as she forcefully pushed her fists into a back of dough once again. She was angry. Caroline always did this when she was angry or frustrated. She took it out on the dough as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone who worked at the bakery knew that it was Caroline's go to move. Kasey had already asked Elena if everything was okay and she and Damon had exchanged a look or two. Someone needed to talk to her and unless she could convince Kasey to do it, she knew it would have to be her.

It wasn't as though she didn't know what this was about. Caroline had been off since their meeting with the investment company. Elena knew she had been harsher than necessary, but she did also knew that Caroline would be better suited to do it. Caroline knew all the recipes and procedures and despite adamantly fighting against having the ability to do so, Elena knew that Caroline was more than capable of running the business side of things as well. She had practically run the school when they were in high school as well as most of the town events. She could do it, but she could also see how it was a huge. Caroline was having a baby and moving that far away from her family couldn't be an easy decision.

"Caroline, I think we need to talk about things. About this deal," Elena corrected, lingering in the kitchen door.

"Or I can get these croissants in the oven before Klaus gets here and we have to leave for Mystic Falls," she said, beginning to section them off and roll it out individually.

"Or we can do both," Elena suggested, walking over to the blonde.

"Why? Is there another town you want to make me move to? Are you going to wait until I'm nine months pregnant this time?" she said, rolling out the crescents and placing them on the tray, one by one.

"That's not what I'm trying to do," Elena said, sighing in frustration. "Is this something you even want to do?"

Caroline sighed, placing another pastry on the tray before looking over at Elena. She loved her best friend, but she didn't understand. Elena was used to getting her way. Ever since they were children, Elena got whatever she wanted, even if it was at someone else's expense. "I don't know, but I think it goes both ways. You are just as capable of going as I am. I understand it's a big opportunity. I'm not ignoring that and I think we should explore it, but I'm having a baby and I'm in a relationship. I can't just up and move across the country. We need to try and sort this out in a way that we are both happy with and if we can't, maybe now isn't the time to expand."

Elena sighed overdramatically, "This opportunity might be gone later on," she complained. "Besides, Bonnie is in New York, you would have someone," she added as if it would make a difference.

"Do you want to move to New York and do it?" Caroline asked, looking over at her friend. Elena shook her head. "Exactly and right now I don't want to either. I don't know where things are going with Klaus, but I can't move right now. I'm pregnant. Moving is one of the most stressful things that can happen when you are pregnant. I know you are excited, but I can't do this." She stopped to pop the pan in the oven. "And I love Bonnie, but I don't love anyone enough to uproot myself and move across the country right now."

"Fine. We'll just table it for now and try to figure things out later," Elena said. The irritation was still noticeable, but Caroline had to give her credit for at least trying to hide it. Normally she budged, giving Elena what she wanted in the interest of keeping the peace. "I have to go. Budgets call," Elena said hastily, leaving the room and leaving Caroline alone with her pastries. She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head and wiping her hands on her apron before untying it and hanging it on the hook by the door.

"Everything alright?" Klaus asked appearing in the doorway.

Caroline turned around to look at him, setting her hand on her chest. "Yes. Well, I think so. Elena is acting weird, but that's becoming the new normal around here." She shook her head, before checking her hands to see if she had missed any dough. Her manicure was trashed, but she could fix it in the car on the way there. "I just have to get my bag into the car, then I am ready to go." She pointed to the other side of the counter where a small bag was sitting on the stool with a garment bag resting over top of it. "We should probably get a move on it. My mom is expecting us." She picked up the garment bag, but Klaus grabbed the bag before she could pick it up as well, leading her out to the two-door, black Porsche sitting outside the bakery. "Very subtle," she commented as he opened the door for her.

"She needs to be driven once in a while," Klaus said, closing the door once she was safely inside. Caroline shook her head before settling into the passenger's seat. She had hoped her return to the small town would be quiet and unnoticed, but they were going to stick out like a sore thumb now. No doubt cause the town to buzz with gossip and questions about the man in the Porsche who knocked up the Former Prom Queen. She knew there would be questions. It was a small town and her mother was rather private. She doubted that anyone knew aside from her and Bonnie. Everyone was about to.

Less than an hour later, the two of them drove down main street and Caroline had never in her life been more thankful for tinted windows as they turned each head on the block. She sunk further into her seat, fully prepared to feign exhaustion if Klaus asked any questions. In high school, she loved attention, even negative attention, but she knew exactly what this meant now. A flurry of questions tomorrow at Miss Mystic Falls when all she wanted to do was support her town and the girls who would supersede her. Now the whole day would be focused on her pregnancy and whether or not the man in the black Porsche was the father. If they were getting married or trying one of those "modern" relationships.

"You want to tell me what we're going to yet, love?" Klaus asked, pulling her out of her inner thoughts.

She looked over at him, pulling the wayfarers off her eyes and pushing them up into her blonde hair. "It's Founder's Day weekend in Mystic Falls. The town was first founded one hundred and fifty years ago. There's a party, there's a picnic, there's auctions and luncheons, but most importantly, there's the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. Which is why we're here," she told him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. All thoughts of negative attention abandoned when she realized how amusing it was going to be to see Klaus so far out of his element.

"Let me guess, you are a former title holder?" he teased as he followed the GPS's instructions to the letter, winding down side streets in an attempt to find the sheriff's house.

Caroline nodded, "Two years in a row," she said proudly. "You are only supposed to have a year, your junior year, but after a nasty DUI and a small teen pregnancy ring, April Young, the girl who followed me, as well as the other contestants for the following year were stripped of their titles and they asked me to remain on for a second year, my senior year," she explained before looking up and pointing. "That one, on the left."

He pulled into the driveway, looking up at the three bedroom home and before the brunette and older blonde made their way out of the home upon their arrival. It was the first time he had ever bothered to meet a woman's parents before. Tatia's were dead, or at least that's what she had told him, and no one else had ever gotten this close. As soon as the car stopped, he watched Caroline slide out with a large smile in place.

"I didn't know you were coming, Bonnie!" he heard Caroline cry as she wrapped her arms around the petite brunette.

"You've gotten so big. How long until the baby comes?" Bonnie asked, resting her hands on Caroline's shoulders and looking down at her.

"Three more months and it can't come soon enough," she said, resting her hands on her stomach before turning to her mother who wrapped her in a large hug. "Hi Mom"

I was worried about you two. There was an accident on the 430. You must have just missed it," Liz said, pulling away enough to look up at her.

Caroline shook her head, "Please tell me you weren't listening to the police scanner until we got here again?" she questioned.

"So do you know what you having? I need to know what to buy when I spoil him or her," Bonnie asked, pulling her attention back.

Caroline shook her head, "I wanted to be surprised." She wondered for a moment if Klaus knew. They hadn't exactly discussed it, but she was quite sure that he did not open the envelope she had given him containing the sex of their baby. Maybe he didn't want to know. The surprise was her entire reasoning. She didn't want to put pressure or expectation on her unborn child.

"So do I get to meet him or is he just going to stand next to the car with the bags until it's time to leave?" Bonnie asked, looking past Caroline to where Klaus was standing. "I need to give my approval or disapproval. Not just anyone is good enough to date my best friend. Or is it more than dating now?"

Caroline held her hand up, "Just dating. We aren't rushing into anything," she informed Bonnie before turning to look back at Klaus and motioning for him to come join her.

Once the introductions were out of the way and Bonnie had said goodbye for the evening, Liz led them inside. Caroline couldn't say she was surprised when her mother told Klaus the couch was his for the evening. Even at twenty-five, Caroline couldn't imagine her mother giving her the green light to have a boy in her room. Not that it mattered, she was already pregnant, what else could happen?

"What's that smell? Mom, are you cooking? Did you learn how to cook? Did something happen to the take out drawer?" Caroline asked concerned as she slipped off the cropped jean jacket she had worn for the drive.

"The take out menu drawer is just fine. You've been gone for six years, Caroline. I did learn a thing or two in the meantime. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, if you want to get settled until then," she told her before walking back in kitchen.

"I hope you are ready for your interrogation," Caroline said, beginning up the stairs, assuming that he would follow her. Klaus raised an eyebrow, picking up her bag and following her up. "My mom is a police officer. She is a single parent to an only child, a daughter no less. Not to mention my dad left her so she kind of hates men, all forms. There are a million reasons why she would ask you questions until you crack." She listed off reasons on her fingers as she reached the top of the steps.

"I'm quite certain this will be fine, love."