Surprise! I bet you didn't think I would update this quickly. LoL. Anyway this chapter is a hot mess. Don't say I didn't warn you.

XxX

Caroline groaned as her alarm came to life, the annoying repetitious beeping sound taunting her, a reminder that she did not sleep a wink after her encounter with Klaus last night. Or should she say this morning. Why did he have to be shirtless? Why did he have to look like a Grecian statue? All she wanted to do was trace each line of his chest with her tongue and – Nope! Let's nip that thought right in the bud.

All she needed right now was to work herself into a frenzy and end up sleeping with him. Yes, Caroline lets sleep with Nik and complicate the situation that much more. Because she knew that if she were to sleep with him he would see it as Caroline forgiving him or at least that she wanted to be with him which could not and would not happen. Questions to be answered and friends to be gotten back were the priority and she wouldn't even come close to even trying to forgive him or let alone mend their breach without those two things.

Taking a deep breath she smacked the alarm clock into silence and pushed herself up as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. It was getting harder and harder to get herself up. She felt like a beached whale most days and she still had another three and half months to go. Trying to imagine what she was going to feel like at 9 months was mind boggling. Was there anything bigger than a beached whale? A beached planet maybe?

She was pulled from her musings by a knock on her door.

"Come in."

Klaus opened the door and stepped inside, his brows drawing together in concern as he caught sight of his girl who was looking absolutely disheveled. Her usually bright blue eyes looked bleary which made the dark circles under eyes that much worse. Her usually luminous skin looked a bit sallow and she just looked plain worn out.

"Sweetheart, are you unwell?" Klaus said as he moved to her side, sitting on the bed next to her and taking her hand in both of his, rubbing his thumbs in gentle circles along the back of her hand.

She was too exhausted to scold him for his intimacy; instead she just sighed and shook her head.

"I'm just tired."

"Perhaps you can reschedule your interview so that you can get some more rest, love?

Caroline frowned as she pulled her hand out of his, pushing herself to her feet and started to fuss around the room, gathering her toiletries so she could take a shower.

"No, it is fine. I will be alright."

Half way through her gathering a thought occurred to her and she turned to Klaus to voice it.

"Why are you in here?"

"I wanted to let you know I have ordered breakfast for you, sweetheart. It is in the dining room. And I have had a car brought around that will take you to your interview as well as bring you back." Klaus said as he tilted his head to the side, his hand sliding across the empty bed basking in its fading warmth.

"Thank you." Caroline said with a slight dip of her head before returning to her task of gathering her toiletries and clothes for the day. Klaus just sat there, content to watch her move about the room, admiring how her little yellow slip of a night gown swayed against her curves.

"What did I say about you being a pervert?" Caroline admonished as she continued to gather her things, shooting him a knowing look.

"Apologies, sweetheart, you are too tempting to resist." Klaus said as he gave her a flirty little smirk.

"I am way too tried to handle you right now." Caroline said with a groan. Klaus just grinned at that remark and just as he was about to open his mouth Caroline shushed him.

"Don't even say it. I already know what your perverted mind is thinking."

Klaus lifted his brows as he looked to the side, his shoulders lifting as he gave a shrug not denying or admitting that her assumption was accurate. Caroline just rolled her eyes and made her way out of the room and towards the bathroom only to get side tracked by the table full of breakfast food. Dumping all of her things onto the couch she made a bee line for the table.

There were omelets, crepes, croissant, yogurt, bacon, sausage, fruits and various other breakfast foods along with orange juice, tea, milk, and coffee.

"You didn't have to order the whole menu, Nik." Caroline said as she plucked a piece of bacon from the plate and started munching on it as she watched Klaus come strolling out of her room holding his arms out at his sides for a moment before putting them behind his back and clasping his hands together.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I opted for variety. Besides, I had to make sure there would be at least something you would like. You get rather moody about your food."

"So you covered your ass by getting everything." Caroline said as she rolled her eyes as she pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table and started to eat from the serving platters, not even brothering to make herself a plate.

"Wouldn't want to be stabbed with a fork now would I?"

"I might stab you with a fork anyway." Caroline threatened as she pointed her fork at him giving him a hard glare.

"As I said, moody." Klaus smirked as he came around the table and took a seat across from her. Caroline arched a brow at him as she watched him pile various foods onto his plate for a moment before shaking her head.

"You haven't even begun to see moody." Caroline grouched as she returned to eating her breakfast.

Klaus smirked as he dug into his breakfast.

Once breakfast was over, Caroline got up and scooped up her things and made her way into the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a shower and get ready."

"Would you like me to join you, sweetheart?" Klaus asked as he swiped at his mouth with a napkin before dropping it onto his empty plate.

Caroline shot a glare over her shoulder at his cheek.

"Keep dreaming, sweetheart."

After that Caroline quickly showered and got ready for her interview for the day. She was able to cover her exhaustion with makeup, something she was very grateful for. All she needed was for the person she was going to interview to be like 'hey you look like you are about to try out for Walking Dead'. She found Klaus waiting for her as she came out of the bathroom.

"You look lovely, Caroline." Klaus said with honestly as he gazed at his beautiful girl. She was dressed in one of those maxi dresses she was so fond of; only this one was a royal blue, a color that complimented the delicate cream color of her skin and big blue eyes. A dark green cardigan hung off her shoulders, a cardigan that looked suspiciously like the one she wore for their movie night date. How he wished he could drag it off her shoulders once more and kiss the curve of her bare shoulder.

Between the way he said her name and the intense look he was now giving her it should have been no surprise that he made her tremble with want. Freaking jerk.

"Thank you." She said simply as she moved to gather her messenger bag and phone doing her best to ignore the burning in her center that was screaming at her to throw him to the ground and have her way with him.

Klaus stood up from his chair and made his way to his girl, his head tilting slightly as he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her forehead.

"Have a good day, love."

Caroline frowned at him and his familiarity with her.

"Stop it Nik."

Klaus just smiled as he backed off, his hands lifting as he left her side. Caroline just gave him another dirty look as she walked out the door.

Caroline shook her head and took a deep breath letting her shoulders relax as she took the elevator down to the first floor, happy to have some breathing room. She was constantly on edge when she was around him. He was just this force that could not be ignored and she felt his pull every time they were in the same room. Caroline sighed and rubbed her temple as she mused over her predicament. This trip was supposed to be a chance for her to catch her breath and now it was nothing but keeping herself reigned in enough to not fuck her ex-boyfriend.

As Klaus said there was a car waiting for her, the driver looking as if he was part of an Eastern European mafia with all the tattoos on him rather than a chauffeur. Caroline guessed that he was probably one of Klaus's men he had assigned to keep an eye on her. Over protective jerk. It wasn't as if she was in freaking Afghanistan. Worse thing that could happen to her in Paris was probably getting assaulted by a mime. She almost wanted to ask the driver if he really was part of a mafia but then face palmed when she realized Klaus was the freaking mafia.

The interview went well enough and it gave her a few hours to not think about Klaus. The designer was friendly and they had a great conversation about the fashion industry in Paris. Caroline even got to tour the designers studio as well as where her creations came to life. Caroline was a bit annoyed that her driver stayed outside the entire time. She was almost tempted to slip out the back and disappear for awhile. Just to give Klaus a well deserved heart attack but she knew in the end it would back fire on her. He would just become worse in his over protective tendencies and she didn't want to even think about what he would do to her driver/bodyguard.

The ride back was quiet and when she entered the hotel room she thankfully found it empty. Klaus free was something that was to be celebrated. So she ordered quite the feast off of the room service menu and was sad that she could not order some champagne to go with her celebration.

"You are cramping my style kid." Caroline said as she looked down at her belly giving it a small poke.

With her lap top open, Caroline worked on her article as she munched on her late lunch. It wasn't long though that the fullness of her meal and the sleepiness from her restless night had her hunched over her laptop passed out and that was how Klaus found her.

A small smile pulled at his lips at his beautiful girl sleeping. Striding over to her, he paused a moment, taking the time to gaze at her beauty before pulling the half eaten roll out of her hand, he then slid one arm just under her legs as the other curled around her back and he lifted her easily into his arms. Once she was pulled against his chest Caroline curled against him, tucking her face into his neck as she let out a soft sigh still fast asleep. Walking into her room he moved to lay her down but found he didn't want to let her go quite yet. He wanted to revel a little bit in holding her against him so he sat down on the bed, leaning back against the head board and just held her.

Again he berated himself for leaving her that night. If he hadn't he wouldn't have to resort to holding his girl in his arms while she was passed out. Klaus tilted his head as he ran his fingertips lightly across her cheek before tucking a stray curl behind her ear. She was absolutely luminous. His hand dropped from her face to rest against her belly, a faint smile on his face as he thought about his child. Their child.

It seemed so surreal to him, the idea of having a child. That there was a new life that was going to be brought in to this world and he would have the responsibility of raising it, teaching it and caring for it. It. Was his baby going to be a girl or a boy? He had told Rebekah that he was fine with not knowing but now that he thought about it he did want to know. Was he going to have a little girl with Caroline's bright curls or perhaps a little boy with his dimples?

The thought of becoming a father pleased him but it also added a healthy mix of fear. Elijah had helpfully pointed out how screwed up he was so how could he raise his kid without screwing the kid up? And it wasn't like Mikael had been best father figure even to the children that were actually his blood. He didn't want to be anything like Mikael. He would be sure his child was protected and loved, loved like he never was.

His head tilted as he looked down at the mother of his child. She had said she loved him once. Perhaps one day he would get her to love him once again. With a sigh he pulled back the blankets and laid Caroline down onto the bed. Tucking her in, he pressed a small kiss against her forehead his lips lingering for a moment and he hoped that one day he would get to tuck her into his bed instead of her own.

Caroline woke up a bit confused as to why she was in bed. The last thing she remembered was working on her article. She must have fallen asleep at her laptop and Klaus must have carried her in. Rubbing at her eyes she pushed herself up right. It was still light out, so she had not been asleep too long. Caroline was pulled out of her musings by few kicks against her stomach that were strong enough to make her wince

"Ouch baby. Why are you in such a tizzy? Are you upset at mommy because I said you were cramping my style?"

Caroline arched a brow as she looked down at her stomach, watching as her stomach stretched and moved as her baby shifted in her belly and kicked her once more. She was assuming that meant yes.

She just shook her head and crawled out of bed, her hand pulling through her curls, taming the mess that was a result of her love affair with the pillow. As she moved to the edge of the bed she felt something crinkle just under her hand. Looking down she found a drawing of her looking out the hotel window at the Eiffel tower. It was beautiful, just like his other ones that he had given her. Stupid romantic drawings. Shaking her head she got up and placed the drawing on top of the dresser before heading to the door.

"Have a good nap, love?" Klaus asked as he heard her bedroom door open.

Caroline just gave a slight nod of her head as she came out of her room, eyeing the handsome man as he lounged on the couch, his feet kicked up onto the coffee table as he sketched onto the pad of paper resting in his lap.

Klaus looked up at her through his lashes before returning his attention to his drawing, a small smirk playing on his lips. She looked as if she had been ravished and his fingers itched to run them through her tousled curls.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she moved further into the living room and looked out the window admiring the view once more.

"Caroline?"

"Yeah?"

"Who were you talking to in there?" Klaus asked as he nodded his head towards the bedroom.

"The baby." Caroline said absently as she rubbed the spot that was currently being kicked.

"Ah ….. and did the baby talk back?"

"You're an idiot." Caroline said as she glared at him over her shoulder.

Klaus just chuckled and Caroline turned back to the view. There were a few moments of silence before Klaus cleared his throat and spoke once more.

"Would you like to accompany me this afternoon to the Louvre, love?" Klaus asked as he watched his beautiful girl turn and look at him.

"Yes, I would like to go. However I could do without the company."

Klaus just smirked at Caroline's sass and set his sketchbook aside and pushed to his feet.

"Oh, sweetheart, how you wound me."

"If you want I can get a fork and really wound you."

Klaus grinned making his dimples pop and just shook his head.

"Your words wound me much deeper than a fork ever could."

Caroline just rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom closing the door behind her. It was only ten minutes later that Caroline came back out looking less like she had just gotten up from a nap and more put together.

"Are you ready, love?"

Caroline nodded her head as she moved to slip on her shoes and grab her messenger bag. Klaus of course slid his hand along her lower back as he accompanied her out of the hotel to the car that was waiting for them.

The ride wasn't too long, but the line was insane and there were a ton of people much to Caroline's dismay. She should not have been surprised though given The Louvre was one of the most famous art museums in the world. The mass of people thinned out from the lobby as they moved into one of the wings of the museum. Caroline was actually glad Klaus was there as he kept her shielded for the most part from too many people bumping into her.

Caroline was utterly entranced with the art work that was on display before her and was a bit surprised to see Klaus have the same exact expression on his face. But the look really shouldn't have been surprise given what she remembered of his art studio. His passion for art was unrivaled save for his passion for power.

They took their time as they went through the galleries; Klaus was like her own personal tour guide as he spouted off random facts about paintings and sculptures that they viewed. He was like an encyclopedia of art.

"It's so small."

"That it is."

"Like really small. I thought the Mona Lisa would be way bigger."

Klaus just shrugged as they came out of the line that had been set up to view the painting.

"They still don't know who the Mona Lisa is a painting of. Some say the model was the wife of a friend. Others say it is possible Da Vinci modeled it after himself."

Caroline pursed her lips at that bit of information.

"She does look a little manly."

Klaus chuckled with amusement as they continued their tour of the museum.

"Wow! Now this painting is seriously awesome."Caroline exclaimed as she came to a stop.

Klaus quirked a brow as he came to a standstill next to her and looked up at the painting that was currently holding her attention. .

"Ah, The Coronation of Napoleon."

"Looks more like the coronation is of his wife Josephine."

Klaus tilted his head slightly as he lifted a hand to brush a few stray curls out of her face earning him another reproachful look from his girl as he had been on the receiving end of many such looks due to his errant touching of her person throughout their tour of the museum.

"Do you see the woman in the back sitting on the chair?" Klaus asked as he urged her attention away from his inappropriate behavior and back to the painting.

"Yeah."

"That is Napoleon's mother. He had her painted in because she was not actually at the coronation. She disapproved of Napoleon naming himself emperor and stayed home in protest."

"Huh. Interesting… it's kind of sad though when you think about it though. If he hadn't have named himself emperor he would have never left the love of his life because she couldn't have any more children."

Klaus looked at her in surprise at that little bit of knowledge.

"What? There are tons of movies about their love story." Caroline said as she scrunched her nose at him, slightly insulted.

Klaus just raised his hands in surrender.

"Well at least as a King I will not have to worry about my Queen not giving me a child." He said with a smile as he glanced meaningfully at her belly. At which Caroline just rolled her eyes.

"Queen? Seriously?"

Klaus just tilted his head as he raised his eyebrows, lifting his arms up his palms out as if saying 'it is what it is'. Caroline shook her head and lifted her hands to her belly, stroking the rounded bump.

"Did you actually want kids?"

Klaus looked up at her, a little startled from the question. His eyes searched hers for a moment before he answered.

"I honestly had never thought about it."

Caroline nodded thoughtfully at his answer.

"I don't think I even have to ask the question of you." Klaus said with a smirk.

Caroline smiled as she gave another nod. "Yeah, although I honestly thought I would be married first before it happened and at least thirty."

They were both quiet for a moment, looking sightlessly at the paintings before them.

"How are we going to do this?" Caroline's soft voice breaking the silence between them. Klaus of course knew instantly what she was talking about and answered accordingly.

"Well I do have three younger siblings, so I do know my way around a baby." Klaus said, half joking half serious.

"I haven't even looked at the legality of the whole thing yet. Is our baby going to be an American citizen or a U.K. citizen or both? I still have to get baby stuff like a crib and clothes and how are we even going to do visitation or whatever and I am worried about the birth on if I want an epidural or not and what –"

"Easy, love, easy." Klaus said as he gently clasped her upper arms in his hands giving them a squeeze.

Caroline looked at him worriedly, trying to not have a panic attack in the middle of the Louvre.

"I'll have Finn look at the legal part of things so you don't have to worry about that. As for baby things, visits and the birth we will take it one day at a time. Together."

Caroline wanted to believe him, wanted to allow herself to lean on him for support but she couldn't. She didn't trust him, no matter how badly she wanted to. And Klaus could see it in her beautiful azure eyes, the distrust she still harbored and the walls she had built to keep him out. It pulled at his heart that his girl was almost falling apart and he could not ease her troubled mind because she didn't think he would stick around to fulfill his promises.

She pulled out of his arms, her own arms curling around herself as if to replace the warmth of his hands. Klaus did not engage her again, as he knew well enough that they would only replay their constant push and pull argument that never seemed to end about Stefan and her wanting to know the truth about why he left and why he came back.

The rest of their stay in Paris was a delicate balance of caution and civility. Notre Dame, The Arc De Triomphe, Versailles, De La Madeleine – their visits to these treasures were kept light hearted and both of them made sure not to bring any topics up that would cause unrest. And although there were no out right hostilities Klaus could see Caroline become irritated as the days passed – building to the point that she was holding back an explosion, one that was surely aimed solely at him.

It was during their last day in Paris that Klaus took Caroline to the Eiffel Tower, the towering land mark she saw every day outside her window. The grounds were green, the tree's full of leafs. There were people swarming everywhere, people in line to take the elevator up the tower, people walking the grounds although there were a few couples who punctuated the landscape who lounged on the grass enjoying the day.

Klaus watched as Caroline walked ahead of him, dressed in a yellow sun dress that flowed gently over her curved and a purple ruffled cardigan. Her golden curls were loose around her face, which was his favorite of all her hair styles. He himself had opted for a white v-neck t-shirt and dark jeans given the pleasant weather. The sun was out and he could not ask for a more perfect day.

The day however was not reflective of Caroline's mood. She had been terse that morning and looked on the edge of losing her cool. Klaus had been careful to keep his hands and his teasing comments to himself for fear of the consequences of setting her off. Although he badly did want to touch given how ravishing she looked in that yellow sun dress.

"Well, sweetheart I –"

Caroline whirled around to face him and poked his chest her bright blue eyes raging with anger as she glared at him.

"Stop it, Nik."

Klaus brow shot up in confusion and backed up a step.

"Stop what, love?"

"This! The trip, the food, the flowers, the drawings, everything! Doing things like this are not going to get me to forgive you! You have to stop this."

Klaus pressed his lips together and rested his hands on her shoulders giving them a gentle squeeze.

"I know, sweetheart. This trip has clearly shown me that I cannot romance myself back into your good graces."

Caroline opened her mouth to expand on exactly why his gestures were not going to work on but froze when she realized he just agreed with her which took the wind out of her sails.

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"Because I'm an idiot remember?" Klaus said easily with a smile.

Caroline just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest still clearly incensed.

"Now don't be cross, love. We have the tower to see. And they always say you should see the tower with the one you love."

Caroline was just about to protest at that last bit when Klaus pressed a finger to her lips effectively keeping her quiet for the moment. Klaus searched her face before pressing a kiss to her forehead and then gently turned her around.

Caroline couldn't even begin to comprehend his comment about seeing the tower with someone that you love implied, in fact she was about to yell at him for saying something like that when she had already told him to cut that shit out but everything went blank the moment she saw him. He was leaning casually against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes on the ground before looking up as if he felt someone's eyes on him and his lips pulled into a small smile as he met her gaze making her heart stutter.

"Stefan?" Caroline's voice broke as she said his name, tears already filling her eyes as she stood in shock unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Caroline." Stefan smiled as he straightened and started towards her.

His voice propelled her into motion, a sob escaping her throat as she ran to him and straight into his arms.

"Oh my god! Is this real? Are you really here?" Caroline cried as she buried her face into his chest, hugging him so tightly against her afraid someone would take him away from her.

"Yes, Care. It's real. I really here."

Caroline just sobbed as she held him, her tears a mixture of joy and relief at finally having him back. Stefan just held her, his head resting on top her hers his eyes closed as he relished in the feeling of holding his best friend, the one person who he knew loved him and the one that he could always count on.

It took Caroline a little bit of time for her to calm down and at least stop the sobbing but her tears still ran down her face as she looked over his shoulder at Klaus who was watching them with that unreadable expression on his face. Caroline gave him a small smile and mouthed a silent thank you. Klaus just gave her a small smile and a nod of his head before turning and walking away, leaving the two friends to catch up.

"I can't believe you are really here. I have missed you so very much and I am so happy you are back because I didn't think I would ever see you again because Nik and his stupid pride and now you are back and Damon will be so happy and maybe he will stop calling me and I have missed you so much I cannot believe it and now you are safe and you are not on the run any –"

"Caroline." Stefan interrupted as released her from his hug so he cup her face in his hands.

"Breathe."

Caroline just nodded happily and took a deep breath in before exhaling slowly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that you're back."

Stefan smiled warmly and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I am too. I missed you." Stefan and Caroline embraced once more and he held her until her tears finally stopped.

"Now let me look at you." Stefan said as he stepped back to get a good look at his best friend. His eyebrows going up as he looked at her bulging belly.

"I see Nik told you about the baby."

"He is lucky I didn't give him another punch in the face for getting you pregnant."

"It's not like he did it on purpose." Caroline chided as she wiped away the tears on her face. Stefan just arched a brow and came forward resting her hand on her belly. Caroline rested her hand on top of his giving it a squeeze as she smiled up at him.

"It's the principle of it." Stefan said.

Caroline just laughed and pulled him into another hug making Stefan laugh as well as he curled his arms around her.

"So how did he even find you?" Caroline asked as she took his hand and pulled him with her to sit down on a bench. The whole thing was so surreal she wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Apparently he knew where I was the entire time. I have to give it to Klaus, his information network is impressive." Stefan said with a shake of his head.

Caroline's eyebrows drew together with concern as she squeezed his hand.

"If he knew where you were the whole time why didn't he come after you?"

Stefan gave a slight shrug of his shoulder but there was a sly look in his green eyes.

"I'm not sure but I have a theory." Stefan paused looking to Caroline for her approval to continue.

"Remember when I found you after you figured out that Klaus left you and we talked? And I told you that I had never seen him act the way he acted around you?"

Caroline gave a slight nod, not sure she was liking where he was going with this.

"I think he really cared for you. I think he cared enough about you to not go after me given our relationship and how close we are."

Caroline frowned as she blinked rapidly to keep her tears that threatened to fall at bay.

"If he cared so much for me then why did he leave me?" Caroline said quietly as she leaned into Stefan.

"I think that is something only he can tell you." Stefan said as he put his arm around her shoulders and held her against him, pressing another kiss against her temple.

XxX

Well? How was it?