A/N- So this season of VD has been tragically disappointing. Katherine and Nadia aside, Caroline and Stefan's cutesy attraction to one another notwithstanding. Damon and Elena's relationship was badly handled by the writers.
For anyone who needs a better version of season five look up author Trogdor 19- seriously, best move you could make.

Caroline's P.O.V

This isn't final.

There's still time for me to change my mind.

I don't have to leave town with Tyler, I won't, but I don't have to fall into Klaus' arms either.

I pace the length of the room, running my hands through my hair, pulling at the strands with my eyes darting wildly as I tally up all the pros and cons, making myself a mental list and wishing I was in my bedroom so I could brainstorm with my extensive collection of colour coordinated stationery.

I'm not O.C.D like Damon, I'm just exceptionally organised.

And completely insane.

I have to be- why else would I be considering getting with Klaus? Or dating him…or whatever it would be that he and I would do.

And I can't go to New Orleans, I'm enrolled at Whitmore and I'd already checked the courses that Tulane offered- which was totally for academic reasons- and not only is it four times more expensive than Whitmore but they have a foreign language requirement for Liberal Arts which Elena would in no way be able to fulfill.

Not that we couldn't compel our way around any obstacle or missed registration dates but I already know in my heart that Elena would never dream of coming with me.

Her life is in Virginia, it's in Mystic Falls with her brother and Stefan and Damon. She'll attend Whitmore because it's only two hours away so she can go home on weekends and be easily reachable in case of emergencies, or Damon can get to Whitmore quickly to deal with her inevitable kidnappings or attempts on her life.

I mean I love Elena but that girl has been kidnapped more times than me.

And I can't believe that is saying something.

Besides if I studied at Tulane would I be able to live on campus? Klaus would probably buy me some penthouse apartment or mansion and insist I live there for security reasons or because its closer to him and would only be a temporary measure until he could convince me to move in with him, and not that I wouldn't enjoy the luxury but I want to live on campus with my two best friends…oh wait…with my best friend and be a regular student with student loans, shared bathrooms, ramen noodles and laundry days.

I want my ramen noodles and laundry days dammit! I've earned them, I've walked through hell, I've buried friends and family, I've been tortured and abused and had to fight for my life while struggling to maintain a semblance of it. I deserve the chance to attend college parties, join clubs, stay up all night in the library studying for midterms and wear ugg boots around campus because I've just rolled out of bed or its cold and it's only a five or ten minute walk to my class anyway.

I want a few years of normality before I dive into the spectacularly supernatural world that would be the package deal in kind of relationship with Klaus.

Suddenly a thought strikes me and my feet stop so abruptly I nearly fall face first onto the carpet. I throw my arms out instinctively but manage to stay upright, I take a deep breath and clench my hands into fists to stop them from shaking as I realise my mistake.

I've been basing all these choices, these decisions to make, purely on the idea that Klaus is still alive.

I mean I know he can't be dead otherwise I would be having this minor panic attack on the Other Side and would be talking this over with Bonnie and maybe even Rick. But what if whatever Tyler did to him, melting him with that vat of vervein has left him damaged somehow?

What if he spends the next three hundred years or something comatose or insane?

Would I have to take care of him? Surely Elijah would do it or he'd have minions or something, someone he couldn't kill with a bite?

Or what if Klaus is perfectly fine but decides he doesn't want me anymore?

Or what if Tyler was right and I won't be enough for him and he cheats on me with every single female that sets foot in the French Quarter?

He's a thousand years old and I'm eighteen. He probably speaks one hundred languages and I can only make basic conversations in French and Italian. He's seen the world and I've never been out of Virginia. He knows all the great artists, musicians, writers and politicians and I only know what I've been taught in school.

He was probably the guy who introduced the Kama Sutra to Europe and I've only ever been with five guys.

I might have been Miss Mystic Falls, Cheer-leading Captain and head of the social hierarchy in school but he's made himself King of New Orleans!

We're not even the same species!

Man what I wouldn't give for Cosmo to have a supernatural column for me to write to with all my questions, or a chat room, or maybe a self-help book that isn't a witchy grimoire.

I take a deep breath before I launch into complete and utter nervous breakdown territory but still manage to jump out of my skin when the bedroom door is kicked open.

I spin on my heel and I'm ready to attack anything but Damon appears through the doorway carrying Erik and somehow managing to look like he knows what he's doing,

"Okay Barbie?" he asks as he crosses the room and I so don't know to answer so I tilt my chin to the baby, "Show me how to hold him properly?"

He grins and turns slowly so that he and I are facing the same way, "Hold your arms like this"

I mimic his hold and he slips Erik into my embrace, I press him close terrified to drop him but he's relaxed and heavy in my arms. I sigh with relief and wait for the sound of the door closing but Damon surprises me by perching himself on the edge of the bed, his expression the usual cocktail of dry humour, irritation and sociopathic nonchalance.

Yet somehow when the mask drops and I'm staring at real Damon, the one that only Elena ever sees, that unnerves me more.

He waits for me to sit down as well but he hasn't showered since fifteen minutes ago so there's no way that I'm getting too close to him, I settle back against the pillows leaving plenty of room between us.

He turns his mouth down and closes his eyes before shrugging, "Are you alright?" he asks again more seriously, his blue eyes are burning into mine and I know that I'm not going to be able to ignore this question or shrug it off.

I open my mouth but I can't find the words to explain exactly how I am feeling.

Me- Caroline Forbes, the girl who verbalises her emotions more than the rest of our group combined and I've somehow lost my ability to speak.

"Tyler wasn't making any effort to keep his voice down" he adds, giving me an easier way into this conversation, I swallow and twist my lips into a shaky smile that falls off my face immediately.

I suck at this.

"He hates me" I blurt out feeling tears sting my eyes,

"He absolutely hates me and before he hated me he saw me as some sort of freaking trophy, something to win or steal from Klaus. Seriously!" I kick my legs out in front of me on the bed and tremble with nervous energy,

"I thought he was going to be the love of my life and he turned into this complete asshole- and I'm not saying that it's entirely his fault" I add hastily, switching Erik to one arm so I can wipe my eyes,

"Klaus made him a hybrid and killed his mother although to be fair that was because Tyler un-sired the hybrids and was planning to trap Klaus and Rebekah in concrete and I suppose he was getting pissed off with all our attempts to kill or imprison him by this point…"

"Caroline" Damon interrupts me using my actual name as opposed to one of his nicknames for me, "Breathe"

I obey him and take a deep breath, holding the air in my lungs for a moment before I exhale, "Now" he says, "Try again"

I swallow and try to sort my thoughts into some coherent order instead of just running my mouth until my brain fries and then waiting for my audience to try and make sense of it.

"I think I'm coming to up to a point of no return" I tell him, looking up through trembling eyelashes,

"I'm worried that whatever choice I make I won't be able to undo it and I'll have to suffer the consequences"

He slides over and rests his hand on mine, his calloused palm feeling completely unfamiliar on the back of my hand, his scent alien to my nostrils and his voice softer than I remember,

"Caroline," he murmurs, "Do you really have a choice?"

No.

I suppose I don't.

Not really.

From the moment Klaus walked into my bedroom on my eighteenth birthday and truly saw me for the first time he'd been falling deeper and deeper in love with me.

Eventually he didn't even bother hiding it but showed me constantly how much he cared.

And there was a part of me that was flattered. Flattered that this near-immortal all powerful man found me attractive- me, overlooked, unimportant, silly Caroline. The girl whose best friends could forget about and he couldn't get me out of his mind.

Honestly, I've been caught up in this thing with Klaus for so long now, fighting my attraction in the daylight and revelling in my desire under the cover of night when I lie in my bed with nobody around to witness my fantasies, that I'm tired.

I'm tired of not going further and seeing what could be.

I sigh in defeat and bury my face in my hands.

"I'm scared" I admit but Damon only shrugs, "Relationships are fucking terrifying"

"Elena will hate me"

He smirks, "No she won't, Elena chose to love me knowing full well that I'm a barely reformed serial killer, her glass house is on far too shaky a foundation for her to be lobbing rocks"

I laugh at his analogy and he pushes himself to his feet, apparently satisfied and heads towards the door. And I know that I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth but I am nothing if not self-sabotaging,

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I demand and when he turns back he looks exasperated,

"Because you're the strongest person I know and any idiot can see that Klaus is actually trying to be less of a dick when you're around and if he's what makes you happy than clearly you have no fucking taste but I respect your idiotic decisions because I respect you"

I open my mouth but I'm stunned speechless by this bombshell of a revelation, fortunately Damon isn't one to linger so he continues his trek back to his girlfriend and brother, stopping only at the door,

"Oh, by the way if Klaus asks, tell him it was Stefan who babysat"

I raise an eyebrow, "Seriously! You think I'm going to tell Klaus that Tyler came back and threatened everyone in the house…again!"

Damon mused that over, "Good point" he steps through the door, "Cuddle him for about five minutes and even Klaus won't be able to pick up my scent"

I roll my eyes but settle down next to baby Erik and look into his innocent blue orbs,

"You know whatever I end up being to your father, I hope we'll at least be friends" I say softly, reaching out to stroke his head, he gurgles and for a second I swear I see his eyes flash yellow.

Sometime early in the morning there's a knock on the door, I'm awake and throwing myself down the stairs, ripping open the front door and ready to jump into Klaus' arms before I realise I'm about to tackle Jeremy to the ground.

I manage to stop myself but Jeremy is already jumping back and sideways so that he's out of my immediate path and reach and he's aiming a crossbow at my heart.

"Jesus Christ!" he swears, "What the hell Care, I could have killed you?!"

I stare incredulously at the weapon in his hand, "Why do you have a weapon on you?"

"In case I ran into any vampires" he tells me as if stating an obvious fact.

"You're at Klaus' house!" I point out, "There are three vampires upstairs, one being your sister and hopefully another three vampires…or two vampires and Katherine, will be arriving later today"

He frowns at the weapon, "Good point" he disables it and follows me inside,

"I figured I'd tag out with Elena, Damon and Stefan" he offers, holding up his backpack,

"I have food, weapons and a laptop filled with new movies"

"Porn!" Damon calls, still pulling on his shirt as he comes down the staircase, Elena and Stefan a few sleep deprived steps behind him, "Ew, don't be disgusting" I snap as the three of them make a beeline for the door,

"Don't you have a helpless infant to be watching?" Damon reminds me but I wave a hand,

"Erik's out cold and his heartbeat is totally steady…listen"

Elena and the Salvatore's stretch their hearing and the thumping of Erik's tiny heart reaches their ears, Elena smiles her whole face lit up with happiness
"That's so cute!"

Behind her, Stefan and Damon share a look and I guess they're both imagining what Elena's life would have been like if they'd never come to town, if she'd married and had a white picket fence, a Labrador named Fluffy and two point five kids.

A life of normalcy that she still craves above everything else.

The three of them gratefully hand the shift over to Jeremy, anyone can see that they are tired, we've all been going at it full blast for the last few days but unlike them I can't sleep, not when my ears pick up every unfamiliar noise and my heart leaps hopefully.

I linger at the front door, watching Damon's car amble slowly down the driveway, staring out into the lightening sky waiting hopefully for the glow of headlights approaching through the darkness.

I had really thought Klaus was coming back to me.

It's the waiting that's the worst.

At the beginning it was okay because Katherine had just swanned out with Elijah and Katherine always gets what she wants and Elijah's an Original so I figured those two would have Klaus back here in no time. Basically I felt like I was just temporarily babysitting Erik, but it's been a few hours now and I don't know what's going to happen when he wakes up hungry in the morning, or what happens in the afternoon, or the next few days after that.

What if Tyler's new pack attack Elijah and Katherine? What if they never come back and I'm stuck raising the baby?

I mean if it comes to that I'm sure I won't be raising him alone, I mean Damon and Stefan would have to help and Elena loves kids and I'm not about to die of old age so I could totally put college off for eighteen or so years…God it would be so weird going to college with Klaus' kid.

I'm over-thinking this again.

I focus on taking deep breaths, thinking positive thoughts and…

I was so worried about never seeing Elijah, Katherine or Klaus again that I totally missed the car coming up the driveway.

I'm in shock, I'm completely numb, I can't feel or move anything all I can do is listen to the sound of the front door opening and high heels clicking across the marble as two other pairs of feet brush along far more quietly. A mantra is whispering and trailing through the house, sliding against the walls and slipping out through the window cracks,

"I want my son"

"I want my son"

"I want my son"

His voice mobilises me, it sends electricity shooting through my veins. I scoop up Erik and run down the stairs, my bare feet slapping against the marble as my dress brushes my thighs and I follow the voice to a bedroom bursting in to find Elijah and Katherine standing at the foot of a bed with Klaus propped up against pillows.

And he's okay.

Physically I mean. He looks exhausted but as far as I can see he has all limbs and is awake.

His eyes fly to his son instantly and the longing on his face swells my heart, I hurry over and hand Erik into his arms.

Klaus pulls him to his chest and cuddles him desperately, seeming so relieved and grateful to have him in his arms that he doesn't really notice when I climb onto the bed beside him.

Elijah does, he raises an eyebrow and then ushers Katherine out of the room, wrapping an arm about her waist and scooping her up in a way that startles me. I'm so used to seeing Katherine as a strong, domineering bitch that it's weird to see her so willingly overpowered.

Then again, I was so used to seeing Klaus as a heartless monster and now I'm seeing a man who loves his child with every fiber, who is so amazingly human in this moment that I can't resist reaching out and touching him to make sure that he is real.

His skin feels so soft against my fingertips, for some reason I thought that he would be hard as diamonds, my fingers trail across his jaw which is completely bare.
His blue eyes are unbelievably bright as he looks up at me, he's taller than me so it's weird to be in this reverse position with me above him.

I have to say something.

I have to say something because he's staring at me and I'm staring at his half-naked chest and typically when he and I get this close I have to break the tension otherwise…

"Did you shave?" I ask clumsily, "I don't think I've ever seen you without a five o'clock shadow"

Smooth Caroline.

He gives his head the tiniest shake and I realise belatedly that of course he hasn't shaved, that it wouldn't even make his list of priorities at the moment,

"The hair will grow back, if I give it time"

Right, desperate to change the topic I find my hand leaving his jaw and my fingers are trailing his smooth chest. It isn't until I'm touching his shoulder blade that I figure out why he looks different.

Klaus is an artist and at some point clearly decided that his body was a perfectly acceptable canvas. I have a cliché dove on my ankle but he has a bizarre mixture of tattoos collected across his torso, my favourite was the feathers.

"Your tattoos are gone"

Wow. Anytime you want to check into this conversation brain, let me know.

He's a lot less upset about this than I am and it isn't the loss of the ink that has makes his voice unsteady when he replies with "I can always get them redone"

He's trembling like a hummingbird everywhere I touch him and for a moment I'm worried- idiotically- that he's cold before I realise that this is the first time I've ever touched him like this. So intimately and without any coercion.

His eyes are fixed on me, flickering from my eyes to my bottom lip which I'm chewing nervously as I try to kick-start my brain into gear and ignore the treacherous parts of me that are reminding me of how badly I missed this man only a few minutes ago and how much I felt for him when we were in Lynchburg.

How gorgeous he looks in firelight, his well-sculpted body.

And, that's it, I give up.

I surrender and lay my head down on his shoulder, exhaling in a soft breath and focusing on the naked chest and the jean clad legs, fighting my blush and nervousness until I can bring myself to look up into Klaus' intense gaze again.

Fortunately Erik decides that this is the perfect moment to practice his cock-blocking skills, he raises his head and releases an ear-piercing cry that has Klaus and I wincing and when his voice only seems to be getting louder and higher his father gives up,

"Big Brother!"

Elijah sweeps into the room and scoops Erik up, "He grows more like you every day" he says snidely as he carries him away. Klaus scowls but I giggle and when I do he lifts the arm I belatedly figure out that I'm lying on and drapes it around my shoulder, I shift so I'm less of a hassle and rest my hand and chin on his sculpted chest. He tilts his head so he can see me and I smile shyly,

"Hi"

He grins as if I've said something brilliant but he always does when I speak, as if the words that fall out of my mouth are smart and funny at the same time instead of stupid and wasteful, "Hello sweetheart, how are you?"

"Falling in love with you" I blurt out before I can stop myself and just give up on my brain ever regaining control of my mouth.

I think I've caused him to go into shock. He appears completely frozen and I want to wave my hand in front of his eyes until he finally blinks.

"Are you?" he asks stunned and I have a momentary coronary before he brings his other arm over and clasps his hands at my shoulders, embracing me or preventing my escaping from this situation.

No more half-truths or twisted confessions, I'm going to have to go all-in for this one.

"Yes" I groan, the truth feeling like its being wrenched from my heart, I run my hand through my hair in frustration, finding comfort in the feel of Klaus' strong arms wrapped around me but unable to voice my emotions properly,

"Or I've already fallen in love with you and I'm only realising it now or I've just stopped denying my feelings or I've just decided to apply for a residency permit in Crazy Town, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since last night and how you looked when you were ready to sacrifice everything for Erik. And I'm not forgetting all the bad things you've done, or the fact that you've irreparably changed Mystic Falls but when I see you with your son and how he's redeeming you…argh"

I growl in frustration because this wasn't anything close to what I wanted to say and I don't know how to dig my way out of this hole so I buy myself some time by dropping my forehead onto his chest, taking a deep breath and counting to ten before pushing myself up and holding my face above his own, looking into his eyes and breathing the same air as him, enjoying the sensation of being so close to him and knowing that I am completely in control of whatever move I make next. If I pull away right now I'm pretty sure he'll be pissed but he won't stop me, he's never forced me into any intimacy with him, yeah he likes to invade my personal space but I suppose that's because every time he did my pulse went haywire and I'm sure his werewolf senses were picking up some scents I'd really wish they hadn't.

I don't want to pull away right now and I know I should probably keep talking, I should really lay out my feelings and have an honest in-depth conversation that self-help books and magazines always hold up as the ideal in any kind of relationship.

But I don't want to have a long drawn out conversation either, so I take a shortcut and jump over the precipice into the abyss.

"All I know is I just really, really want to kiss you right now" I admit before diving in and capturing his mouth with my own.

A/N- No prizes for guessing what's happening next chapter.